#I needed some self insert to recharge o(-(

[yeosin-n]

Do it!

smooch him and hold his hands!

#took a break to answer this ask from 2021 ❀(*´◡`*)❀ #I needed some self insert to recharge o(-( #sans x self insert #sans/yeo #myart #thank u anon for encouraging my delusions #ask #anon #comic #sans x reader

[currentfications]

Christmas Special | 🎄

Synopsis: after your last shift of the year, you excitedly made your way home. The snow had made running difficult, and the delay was enough to cause you to miss your bus. With your phone battery flat and only one phone number memorised, you decided to try your luck, hoping that your ex would pick up the phone.

A/N: this is just cliches after cliches cause I am a basic bitch, special shoutout to @bluebada for the Christmas post (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵) sorry for the cheesiness and general cringe, I just sat down and typed a whole bunch of tropes into one fic, sorry if it’s not my best work, I’ve had the worst week and needed some fluff >/////<

Warning: swearing, fluff and cringe, but mostly sfw (mention/alluded to sex but no smut in this fic)

“Wait!” You waved your hand at the bus’s closing door, to no avail. The hydraulics hissed and the driver took off in haste before the doors had fully closed. “Fuck,” you muttered, tugging the suitcase behind you, the wheels squeaking in protest after being hauled around the past miles while you sprinted.

Walking up to the dimly lit bus stop, you checked the posted schedule for the next bus. A piece of poorly stuck on paper informed you of your continued misfortune while its peeling corners flapping around in the wind seemed to mock you. You bit your tongue from making a sarcastic comment at the situation on hand, not wanting to jinx your already doomed self. Instead you silently wondered if you could survive the night if you wore all your clothings at once. The Christmas sweater at the bottom of your bag ought to serve it’s purpose, you thought.

Noticing a phone booth nearby, you thought the shelter might make the wind chill more tolerable. The stench that hit your nose immediately had you reconsider taking your chances with the elements. Staring at the key pad and the suspicious puddle of stain on the floor, you tapped on your phone screen again, hoping that it had magically recharged itself. It did not.

You hung your head in disappointment and immediately regretted taking a deep breath to self regulate. Picking up the rusty phone and the last few quarters you had at the bottom of your bag, you swiftly punched in the number to the studio, hoping that someone- anyone- had stayed behind. Maybe the night cleaners would call you a cab.

“Thank you for your call. We are currently away for Christmas closure until the second Monday of January. Please leave a message-”

You hung the receiver up and sprinted outside for some fresh air. By the time you had remembered to jiggle the little refund handle on the pay phone, only two quarters are spat back out. Groaning at your own stupidity, you stared at the keypad and dialled in the only cell phone number you remember.

An odd feeling stirred in you as your finger lingered above the last button. Before you could quite identify the emotion, a wave of nausea from the smell quickly dismissed any other feeling in you.

The call went through.

What was I thinking? You thought to yourself as the wait tone went on. She’s not going to pick-

“Hello?” A familiar voice pierced through your doubt.

Instinctively, you took another deep breath. Your eyes watered up, and you’re not sure if it’s from her voice or the reek. “Hey Bada,” you managed to squeeze out.

A brief moment of silence hung in the air, and you thought she had hung up on the call. “Y/n?”

You nodded, realised that she can’t see you, and croaked out a confirmation. “Sorry to call you this late, I-”

A sharp beep cut you off.

“Please insert a quarter to continue the call.”

You fumbled around for some extra changes, but the call ended. Looking down on the mystery stain, you have a sudden irrational urge to defecate on the money hungry technology. Before you could do anything you’d regret, or worse, destruction of public property, the phone rang.

☆*:.｡.:*☆

You waved at the approaching headlights, and the black sedan came to a screeching halt next to you. The door to the driver’s seat flung open, and a familiar silhouette darted towards you. You were engulfed in Bada’s comforting scent warmth as she threw her coat on you.

“Are you okay?” Her soft voice was dripping with concern as she brushed a stray strand of hair out of your face. “Shit, you’re freezing. Get in the car.”

You climbed into the passenger seat of the still running car, thanking her as she shut the door behind you. “Sorry for the trouble,” you muttered apologetically as she buckled herself behind the steering wheel. “Thanks for getting here so quickly too, I hope I haven’t interrupted anything?”

“Don’t be silly, I’m just glad you remembered my phone number.” A hint of pink tinted her cheeks, and you convinced yourself that it’s either the weather or the poor lighting.

You sheepishly smiled at the taller girl, “well I’m glad you picked up an unknown number in the middle of the night, or I’ll probably have to crash in the phone booth.”

“Wouldn’t want the Mouse King to get to you, princess,” Bada teased.

You beamed at the pet name before quickly tuning down your smile, reminding yourself of the distance you ought to put between yourself and her. “How’d you know I got the role?”

Bada’s eyes widen and she whipped herself around, turning her attention to the GPS. “I- uh, Lusher told me. Speaking of which, the girls are having a Christmas party at Minah’s, you wanna come?”

You raised an eyebrow at her sudden change in subject, but nodded nevertheless. “It’s been a while, you think they’d mind?”

“Nah, it’ll be a Christmas surprise.” A smile sat on the corner of her lips as she gripped the steering wheel, her hand on the lowered break lingering beside you went unnoticed as you fixated on her eyes.

“Thanks for the invite,” you said as you finally peeled your gaze away. The scent of her car reminded you of something. “I better change,” you muttered as you pulled out a sweater from your bag, before wiggling off her coat and the shirt that you were wearing, which still faintly smelled like the phone booth. “Sorry for the stench.”

Bada glanced over to you and almost swerved into the opposite lane, immediately hiding her surprise with a cough. “Geez y/n, trying to make me crash the car?”

You chuckled as you pulled the Christmas sweater over your head. “Eyes on the road Bada, nothing you haven’t seen here before.”

Bada bit down on her bottom lip as she fixed her eyes back on the road, her knuckles turning white as she gripped on the steering harder.

☆*:.｡.:*☆

You heard the party as Bada pulled into the driveway, shaking your head at the girls’ energy. “They’re still as lively as ever,” you remarked at the Christmas karaoke blasting through the basement. Bada hummed and nodded in agreement.

“Perks of living near a construction site, I guess.” Bada was worried when Minah first told them she’s moving into this area, but soon discovered that the BEBE dancer is actually the menace of the suburb.

“What took you so long?” The door swing open at the bottom of the stairs and Minah peered through, stopping dead in her tracks when she spot you wrapped up in Bada’s coat, an ugly Christmas sweater underneath. “Holy fuckery are you-”

Bada shot her a warning look and wagged her head ever so slightly, and Minah muttered an apology of some sort before pulling you into a hug with a huge grin on her face.

“Merry Christmas,” you squeezed the redhead, “it’s been too long.”

“Come on in and tell me all about it,” Minah chirped excitedly as she pulled you into the house behind her. “Lusher is here too,” she nodded towards the singing, All I Want for Christmas echoing through the stairwell.

“Hurry up,” you turned around to Bada, who’s already kicking off her sneakers, “don’t wanna miss your part.”

Bada whipped around and sprinted down the hallway, leaving you with Minah, who offered to take your coat. “We have beer and eggnog, Lusher was making something in the kitchen. Do you have work tomorrow or can you stay?”

“I can stay,” you said as you handed her Bada’s coat, “we finally finished our last show of the year. Can I take up on that eggnog offer?”

With a mug full of spiked milk, you leaned against the door frame leading to Minah’s living room, where Lusher and Bada stood in front of the television, singing (Bada rapping Soulja Boy’s Crank That).

“WAR IS OVER!” Lusher screeched when the song finished, turning to you with a hug. “WE CHEERED!”

Bada covered her mouth with her hands, but it was too late as Tatter emerged from the kitchen with a cup in hand, which she flung to the other side of the room as she dived into your arms. Minah’s disapproving groan overshadowed by Tatter’s chatter. “It’s a Christmas miracle, we are no longer children of divorce!”

☆*:.｡.:*☆

“Who’s baking gingerbread at this hour?” You asked, sniffing the air as smell of baked goods slowly filled the room.

“Oh shit,” Lusher recalled, making her way back to the kitchen. “Should we make gingerbread house?”

“Should you be making gingerbread houses right now?” You followed her into the kitchen, hot behind her heels as she stumbled on flat ground.

“Oops,” she chortled. The gingerbread now smelled toastier than before, and you hastened your speed towards the oven.

You found the kitchen mitten hanging by the stoves and reached out to grab it. “I’ll do it, go sit your drunk ass down.” The girl giggled and you heard the kitchen stool being pulled out, lusher plopping into the seat.

A hand appeared from above your shoulder and plucked the mitten off your hands, you turned around to Bada already putting them on. “Your clumsy ass is no better than her drunk one. Go sit next to her.”

You tried to protest but Bada’s firm hand on your lower back guided you away from the oven door. You stood in place even after she had withdrew her hand, too distracted to notice the quickly browning smell of the baked goods. Definitely too distracted to notice the blush taking form on both of your cheeks.

Bada opened the door and a gust of cinnamon and clove scent poured out the oven, and you almost forgot how ridiculous it is to be making gingerbread houses in the middle of the night with your salivating.

“Hot tray incoming,” Bada warned as she pulled out a sheet tray, snapping you out of your daze. You looked around and found a coaster, placing it on the bench behind her as she put down the piping hot tray.

It was brief, but the domesticity stirred up some feelings you thought had long settled in you. You then immediately scolded yourself for dredging up the past. The festive season must be making you all sappy.

You shook your head and turned your focus to Lusher’s trays instead. “Are we building minecraft houses?” You couldn’t help but ask upon seeing two dozens or so poorly formed shapes on the sheet trays.

Bada peered over your shoulder. “These are squoval at best,” she noted, “how many drinks have you had tonight?”

“Enough to spontaneously want to bake,” Lusher slurred.

“You can glue them with melted sugar,” Minah suggested, pulling out a pot from her rack.

“Nope, too drunk to handle hot sugar.” Lusher threw her hands up, sitting back into the stool. “You do it.”

Bada sighed exasperatingly, “is this a Christmas party or a babysitting gig?”

☆*:.｡.:*☆

Between the gingerbread house decoration, eggnog, and Christmas songs karaoke, the tiredness from the bus chase earlier that day had finally caught onto you as you let out a yawn, covering your mouth with the sleeved of your Christmas sweater.

“You alright there?” Noticing your watering eyes, bada checked in on you. “Do you need to go? I can drive you if you need,” Bada offered.

“No, no I’ll be fine, once my phone charges up I can call myself a ride. Plus no drinking and driving,” you added,

“No more Nutcracker this season?” Minah asked.

“Nope, just finished our last show of the year,” you gestured towards your suitcase.

“Speaking of which,” Lusher chimed in with curious eyes. “Have you gotten the role?” She asked, “for Sugarplum Princess?”

You nodded with a smile, before quickly realising something was off. You squinted at Bada, who has taken a vested interest in the bottom of her cup.

☆*:.｡.:*☆

“So,” You prodded, “I thought you said Lusher broke the news?” Leaning against the concrete wall, you took a draw from the cigarette, the dim light from your lighter illuminating the snowy street.

“She must had too much to drink,” Bada adamantly insisted, leaning towards you. You held up the smoke silently for her, raising an eyebrow at her response.

“Lee Bada, are you stalking your ex?” You joinkingly said, gently taping her shoulder with your fist.

“It’s Christmas, nothing wrong with watching the Nutcrackers during the festive season,” choking on the smoke, her tone turned defensive.

“Right, so you came by and watched me without stopping to say hello?”

“I- I didn’t know what to say, after…” Bada trailed off, leaving the silence to fill the icy air. After what felt like minutes, she turned to you with a smile, her eyes suspiciously damp. “You were incredible on that stage, princess.”

You blushed at the pet name, having to remind yourself that she was just referring to your role. With a smile and en pointe, you lifted your arms beside you while you gave her a stage bow. “Thank you for coming to the show.”

When you stood up straight again, the moisture pooling in her eyes seemed to have increased, moments away from falling off her cheeks. You looked up at the tall girl and instinctively reached your hand out towards her. Whilst your hand is still raised in midair, you realised that the gesture may be too intimate, and settled with fixing her fringe instead.

“Are you still putting on one right now?” Bada asked, her voice hushed as it wavered ever so slightly, the tears welling up in her eyes finally falling off.

“What are you talking about?” You frantically asked as you caught a stray drop sliding off her cheek. “Bada are you alright?”

The taller girl shook her head and tilted it back to stop her tears from falling. “I’m sorry y/n, I thought I’ve moved on like we promised to.”

“Bada-”

“But I don’t want to,” Bada continued, still looking away from you. Her neck stretched back as you saw her swallowing hard. “And I don’t think I can.”

“Bada,” you tentatively said again, your voice now much softer with the emotions bubbling up. “I’m sorry I asked that of you. I thought it would be easier if we both just walked away, I-” your voice trailed off as you pondered how the hell did you even thought that was a good idea in the first place.

Sure, work gets in the way of relationships. But if you had just tried harder, accommodated more, would it have made a difference?

Her chuckling made you look up, now meeting her gaze as she looked down at you, a tight smile that couldn’t quite reach her eyes plastered on her face. A nervous habit you knew she had. “It was anything but easy these couple years, y/n.”

You hummed and nodded in agreement, “look at me being stranded on the side of the road without you.”

Bada chuckled, “look at you, still remembering my phone number even in a pinch.”

“I’m surprised you picked up unknown numbers this late at night,” you said with a laugh.

“Can’t help it, I know an accident prone idiot who needs my rescue at all hours of the day.”

“That can’t be safe, how many scam calls do you end up picking up?”

“Probably too many, I actually almost fell for one once- but it’s well worth it, I got the call I’m waiting for.”

You stood flabbergasted by the admission, the cold air stinging the inside of your cheeks as your jaw hung. “Shit Bada, I’m sorry I’m still causing you trouble even after I left.”

Was two Christmas ago? When you sat her down in the kitchen and told her you’re moving out. Between trying to keep your relationship working and your career, you’ve chosen the later. You’d also gotten her a hand knitted sweater that year- speaking of cliched.

“Nah, ‘y can’t help that you’re forgetful-”

“I am sometimes forgetful,” you corrected, and Bada backed off with her palms up, a smile finally returning to her rosy cheeks. Frostbitten, likely. “Get some sleep after this party, sleep debts’ a bitch,”

Bada raised a finger to her under eye. “Oops, busted,” she said as she stuck her tongue out, like being caught red handed in a cookie jar. “Fine, New Year’s resolution,” she announced as she turned to you. “Go to bed by two each night.”

“Ten,” you whacked away her hand placed on her chest.

“Twelve.”

“Eleven.”

“Eleven each night,” Bada replaced her hand on her chest.

You rolled your eyes at her but didn’t correct her this time. “And eat breakfast,” you added.

“Huh?”

“New Year’s resolution, don’t forget to eat breakfast,” you reminded.

Bada groaned. “As if you eat breakfast,” she muttered, scrunching up her nose in annoyance.

“Fine, our New Year’s resolution. Breakfast.” It’s about time you make one and stick to it anyways. “Eight cups of w-” you begin, only to immediately cut off by Bada.

“Y/n, be reasonable.”

You shrugged. “It was a nice try though. Congrats on the competition- you girls’ schedule must’ve been packed lately?”

Bada hummed and nodded a confirmation, “it’s great to have a job, don’t get me wrong,” she said, holding her hands up defensively, “it’s just nice to be able to sit around and do nothing for a while.”

“Word,” you muttered, as the chilled wind blew at the awkward silence that filled as the small talk settled.

“Uhm,” bada started, breaking the silence. “I can send you home?”

“Oh don’t worry about it, my phone should be charged up by now, I’ll call myself a ride. Thanks, again, for coming to my rescue.”

Bada chuckled, “anytime, princess.” The pet name is starting to grow on you.

☆*:.｡.:*☆

“How is the battery STILL flat?” You wailed, clutching your lifeless phone.

“Did you plug it in?” Bada peered behind you.

“Of course I plugged it in,” you snapped, “I’m not stupid.”

Bada took over your phone and charge and wiggled it around. “Is the plug turned on?”

“Of course it’s-” not turned on. You could’ve sweared that you had seen the phone lit up when it was plugged in. “Oh come on who turned it off?”

You suspect foul play, but your streak of bad luck of the day made you sound hesitant. Bada was not convinced.

“Do you want to crash for the night?” Minah poked her head into the kitchen, letting out a yawn. “It’s getting real late.”

Between asking Bada to drink drive and staying the night, you chose the later and thanked Minah for the bed. “Sorry if I’m over staying my welcome.”

“Don’t be silly, we haven’t caught up in a while. Stay as long as you like,” said Minah, as she led you to the guest room. “Lusher fell asleep on the couch,” Minah continued, turning to Bada. “So you can sleep here too I guess. Aight, I’ll see you in the morning,” Minah’s voice trailed off as she quickly made her way back to her room, slamming the door behind.

“Minah set us up, didn’t she?” You said with a sigh.

“Probably unplugged your phone too,” Bada chuckled. “Sorry for the wrongful accusation.”

“That was very hurtful,” you joked, “since you felt so bad about it you’ll let me call dibs on the bed.” You flopped yourself down on the nearest mattress and looked around the room, realising that you’re sitting down on the only bed.

“Minah!” Bada shouted as she marched towards her room, shortly returning with a huff. “Bastard locked her room.”

“I still call dibs on the bed.”

“Well scoot in then,” Bada instructed, “unless you want me to sleep on the cold hard floor?”

You rolled your eyes at her and made room for Bada. “That little minx, I’ll get her in the morning.”

Bada climbed in, and the old mattress sunk at the weight of you two, squeaking as gravity pulled you together at the bottom of the mattress nest.

You opened your eyes to meet Bada’s hot chocolate brown ones staring back at you. “The fuck are you looking at,” you giggled as you pushed her fringed down to cover her eyes. “Go to sleep.”

“Yeah, yeah I will, just-” bada stirred in her cocoon of blanket, “I haven’t seen you in a while. You keep sleepin’ and don’t worry about me.”

You tried to close your eyes but felt her burning gaze on you. “I can’t sleep with you staring at me, you weirdo,” you said as you turned around, the mattress nest pulling you backwards.

As you were falling asleep you felt an arm around you, but you quickly drifted off as the slow rising and falling of Bada’s breathing gently lulled you to sleep.

☆*:.｡.:*☆

The first crack of dawn spilled through the window above the bed, and you snuggled deeper into the warmth as slumber reclaimed you.

A firm hold around you enveloped you as you next woken up from possibly the best sleep of the year. Followed closely by the rudest awakening of the year. Bada’s arms had snaked around your waist as she nuzzled into the back of your neck, you backside pressed up against her stomach as one of your legs have started to fall asleep. You suspect it is between her thighs.

“Bada,” you gently nudged the sleeping giant, poking at her shoulder. “My job needs me to have both legs,” you whispered.

“Hm?” She continued to stir, gripping you tighter into herself.

Seeing that her slumber is not letting up, you yanked your feet out from her weight. Pins and needles attacked your foot as blood returned to your leg, and you let out a hiss as you rubbed your foot.

“Y/n?” Bada opened her eyes in confusion, slowly recalling the events of the night before. “Shit, sorry. You okay there?”

You nodded, pulling yourself up from the bed. “Merry Christmas, Bada.” Judging by the lack of noise in the house you assumed the rest of the BEBE girls are still fast asleep, you pointed at a door down the halls and mouthed ‘toilet?’ at Bada, shuffling towards it as Bada nodded a confirmation.

Bada followed closely behind you out the room, heading for a glass of water in the kitchen. “Merry Christmas to you too.”

A bundle of mistletoe hung by the doorframe, staring back at the two of you, its waxy white berries beckoning. “This wasn’t here last night,” you said, observing the tape holding up the ribbon.

“Mhmm,” Bada hummed, easily guessing the culprit who’d set it up. “Should we let it serve its purpose?”

You chuckled at the offer, before leaning in to plant a quick peck on her cheeks. “Fine, seeing that I didn’t have a Christmas present.”

The kiss was short and sweet, and you tried to not linger on the sweet part too long. Doesn’t stop the butterflies from fluttering in your stomach. You shrugged off the feeling and made quick time to the toilet.

Bada’s hand grabbed you by the arm, pulling you back into her arms. “Y/n, wait.” Her eyes took you in as she hit down on her bottom lips, brushing away a strand of hair away from your face. “Can we try again?” She said with a hushed tone, concealing a break in her voice.

“Bada we’ve been through this,” you sighed, “it’s too much work and it’ll take away-”

“I’m sorry I left you to fend for yourself,” Bada cut you off, her eyes welling up again. “But I promise I’ll be more present this time. It takes two to make a relationship work, right?”

You pondered at her words for a second. “We are both so, very busy,” you reminded, “it’ll be hard fucking work.”

Bada leaned down and pressed her forehead against yours, her breath tickling your upper lips. “Then I’ll put in the hard fucking work,” her soft voice determined, uttering a promise in whispers. The firmness in her voice felt so reliable, and you couldn’t help but falter at it.

Maybe this time it’ll be different. You’re older, know better. And her arms felt like home, like shelter in a storm, a ride in the dark. “Are you sure?” You glanced up, looking for signs of hesitation but found none.

Bada pressed her lips against yours, and you found your answer in her firm hold around you. You melted against her and allowed yourself to let your guard down, to allow the crashing waves of yearning you’ve been feeling wash through you. Grabbing the collar of her shirt, you pulled her closer into the kiss.

An excited screech broke your tender moment, as Lusher had awoken from the couch, now prancing towards Minah’s room. “Wake up Minah! We did it! The room trick worked!” She shouted, slapping the locked door.

You’ll get them back. But first, “I still really gotta pee,” you turned to Bada in the midst of cheerful chaos, peeling her arms off you.

“Since you haven’t gotten me anything for Christmas, I’ll take watersporting as a gift,” Bada teased, earning an elbow to her guts.

☆*:.｡.:*☆

A/N2: Thank you guys for reading~ hope you all have a wonderful time at this time of the year, and to all my hospitality workers: stay strong, thank you so so much for your service!! Thanks for allowing my self indulging fics (I really should be talking to a therapist than putting y/n through shit but alas)◉‿◉

#bada lee #swf2 #bada lee x reader #swf2 x reader #fanfic #bada lee x fem reader #bada lee x y/n #christmas fic #merry christmas #fluff

[xyilous]

Everyone Needs Rest Sometimes

————————————

a friend and someone on here asked, i am (nervously) delivering

comfort fic but this time it’s Optimus getting the care he deserves 💞💞 written as my oc, but no names will be mentioned so it feels more like a self insert thing. Also intended to be read as either platonic or romantic, but my lean towards the latter based on people’s boundaries !! Written with tfp Optimus in mind, uses his holoform (cough cough heres my design cough)

cw for mental health stuff, anxiety, paranoia // might be slightly ooc but shhh

also there’s a bath scene (get your head out of the gutter!!/lh,j)

————————————

It’s been relatively quiet as of late, no new decepticon sightings or M.E.C.H. mischief popping up on the scanner. The peace was welcomed by most of team prime, the kids taking advantage of having free time with their robotic companions while the adults could be at a little ease knowing the youngsters aren’t in immediate danger. Considering there was a bit of a surge of enemy activity, the crew relished in being able to wind down from an intense week. Even Ratchet stepped away from his enhanced computer and projects to watch Raf and Jack go head to head in some (slightly too graphic) fighting game. You just finished prepping different popcorns and gathering a couple large bottles of various sodas, carrying everything including cups and napkins with the help of Arcee.

The only one missing out was Optimus. The old war warn autobot felt uneasy, cautious. While the team did just bust the decepticon’s most recent plan, he can’t help but worry himself by wandering what new scheme they’re coming up with. Seeing everyone having fun and conversing with each other was more than welcomed, the fear of that joy being ripped away from them made anxiety seep into his tired frame. He replaced Ratchet’s usual spot near the ground bridge switch, hitting multiple keys as he typed in the coordinates to yet another location to patrol. This is the third time today alone that he was preparing to drive off and watch for any possible leads, that’s the way it’s been since the updates died down. There wasn’t even enough time between attacks for them to plan something big and yet you could see that it was making him paranoid. Poor thing desperately needed a break, and yet he continues to push through, even though it’s clearly taking a huge toll on his spark. It was sad to witness, you could see how his eyebrows were tilted up in concern, how his steady servos hurriedly danced along the keyboard, it was beyond apparent the Optimus is running himself to the breaking point.

Slinking away from the others, you jogged to where he was standing and leaned against the rails, flagging him down just as the ground bridge started opening. Confusion was written all over his face as he turned towards your much smaller self, wondering why you weren’t mingling with the others. Before Optimus could even get a word out, you opened your mouth.

“You’re not going.” The Prime’s confusion increased at your order, not necessarily out of anger or annoyance, just surprise that you said it so plainly. However you stood your ground and sent him a look that showed you were more than serious. Standing face to face with a 30 foot cybernetic alien would’ve sent anyone else running with their tail between their legs, apparently not you though.

“Excuse me?” Turning to fully face you, Optimus rested his large servos on the railings of the platform, surrounding you like a cage. With a clear view of his front side, you can see just all the scratches and scuffs from recent battles, clearly unchecked by the base’s lone medic. Paint was chipping in areas, mud caked into others, apparently he’s been so caught up in protecting everyone that he didn’t even take his well-being into consideration.

“You’re not going. When’s the last time you recharged? O-Or even had energon?? Have you even seen yourself lately???” With every word that came out of your mouth, you sounded more and more upset, that concern you felt for the bot being beyond apparent in your tone. Optimus’ face drifted from confusion as he thought for a moment, before stating that your worries have been noted. That’s it? Yep. That was indeed it. Silently he turned back toward the still glowing ground bridge, completely brushing off your mini speech.

“No get your ass back here!! Don’t walk away from me!” Charging down the stairs while doing your best to not trip and stumble, you made your way infront of the walkway that led to whatever location he punched in, immediately doing your best to block his path. It didn’t do much, even with your hands sassily propped onto your hips, but it was enough to make his alt mode stop infront of you. By now Ratchet has picked up on your little spiel, alerting the others before inching his way to where he can hear. Not necessarily out of concern for a full argument starting, the old medic just hasn’t seen many tell the high and mighty Optimus Prime off.

It was rather tense, you clearly weren’t going to move from your spot and Optimus was just about as stubborn. After a long pause he folded outward and became upright again, wondering if he should just step around you. You are very small compared to him, he can do it, but he knows both you and Ratchet will chew him out later.

“I must go, if they are planning something it must be stopped before it comes to fruition.” That’s his first reason, usually the first one he says since it’s often times enough to get his teammates to side with his reasoning.

“It’ll be there later, you know that. Besides, they just tried to build some weird giant laser, big Earth threatening plans like that need time. You’ll be alright for a day.” And there’s your counter argument. Although you’ve not been with the autobots for years, you’ve been there long enough to have already thought of ways to get through whatever excuse he tosses at you. At the very least he has good motives.

“I don’t know how cybertronians work, but i do know that any living thing needs a break. That includes you, Optimus. Come on, I know what’ll make you feel better.” It helped convince him a little, but he’s still apprehensive. Ratchet finally buts in, just to confirm what you said, and then goes quiet again. The Prime’s face softened as you rested your hand on his knee, by now he’s kneeled down to be more level with you. Your attitude was harsh, yes, but you still showed that it was because you cared for the mech.

“I’m still a prime. You know this, I have a duty to fulfill.” And there’s the prime excuse. It was often a backup if his original reasoning wasn’t enough, but now isn’t the time for it to be tossed out. His worsening exhaustion is evident in his features and movements, the large digits that attempted to console you felt sluggish, drained. Guilt echoed out of his vocal cords due to the exchange, he felt terrible for making you and his team worry over him. A glance around the room revealed the distressed looks in his teammate’s eyes and optics. They knew just as well as he did that he was being overly cautious and in turn hurting himself, but they weren’t sure of when to intervene.

“Then for a few hours be Optimus. Nothing more.” An ex-vent heaved itself from his chest before he drew back.

“Just a few hours. I will grant you that and then I will patrol. For real this time.” As the words left his mouth you immediately sprung up, somewhat taken back that you got him to reluctantly agree. Ratchet, still hovering behind you, looked beyond bewildered at the fact that you were able to convince him, even when he, a millennia old medic and friend, failed to do so. A few hours isn’t a lot of time so you had to get to work immediately in order to take advantage of the situation. One problem though, a rather large one at that. The art of taking care of massive metal aliens was one far too foreign to your fleshy self, however humans are a different story.

“…Would you mind using your holoform in the meantime…? You don’t have to of course!! It’s just uhh, a bit hard to reach that high.” Rest in peace to your cocky attitude, it was a good run. A small nod and flash of light later, his much smaller and meatier form revealed itself. Technically a very high definition hologram, he still had the sensory inputs that you needed to soothe him the best you knew how. If anything, the softer form would allow you to do better than if it remained stiff. Optimus still towered over you, by the looks of it his intimidating height transferred to his holoform, as well as features to show how tired he is. Scars decorated his exposed bits of skin, a few adorned his face but from what you can see numerous ones were etched into the calloused skin of his hands. His eyes drooped and the bags underneath were beyond visible, the combination of his tired expression and slouched shoulders felt like a crude impersonation of the strong leader you’ve grown to know. It must’ve been obvious that you felt pity towards him since Optimus averted his eyes from your view, almost like an animal preparing for a scolding after doing something it was specifically told not to do.

“Come on, I’ll take care of you.” Your hand took his and you led him down the hall, straight to a bathroom that you did a slight renovation to in attempts to make it more homey. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but the underneath the sink you stored numerous bath salts, some used to help with sore muscles and some infused with lavender to help soothe anyone that could possibly need it. The door swung open effortlessly as the two of you walked into the smaller than ideal room, there was enough space for the both of you to move and exist without knocking into eachother, but it was still a snug fit. With a twist of the faucet knobs cool water flowed out before gradually starting to heat up, while the water slowly filled the tub Optimus found himself lost on what to do besides stand there with his arms stiff at his sides. He wasn’t dirty, you weren’t either, so why did you start a bath,,?

“Here, while this fills up I’m gonna dig out a couple things to help you relax, god knows you need it. Go ahead and get undressed, I promise I won’t look.” Your grin was evident on your voice as you spoke, trying to ease the tension by making joking a bit before hiding behind the now open cabinet doors to dig out the previously mentioned bath salts.

“Is this not an… intimate? thing for humans?” His words were a bit hesitant, unsure if that was the correct term to use. Optimus was always curious about Earth culture and routinely asked you questions about stuff he finds, whether it be online or something he saw a family or friend group do while on patrol, but this time it seems like he was figuring out things on his own.

“To some people, sure. Depends on who you ask in all honesty, for me I don’t mind it. If it makes you feel any better I’ll step out and wait until you’re settled if you want-“

“It’s alright. I’ll let you know when to look.” Turning your head back towards the inside of the cabinet you resumed your hunt for your bath add ins as the sound of rustling clothes filled the room. By the time you finally got a glimpse of the lavender flowers and the word ‘epsom salt’ slapped onto a bag, you could hear rippling water settle before Optimus let you know you’re not at risk of getting flashed.

Crawling on your knees towards the tub, you showed him your miracle workers you salvaged from under the sink, explaining that the salt helps muscles stop aching and that the lavender scent can help people take off the edge, even helps some sleep better. You sprinkled a generous amount of each into the water, getting a glimpse of even more scars that riddled the old Prime’s body. Some were raised, others with lines across them that show just how the skin mended itself together, all caused by a countless amount of battles, some of which were won, some of which were lost. They even speckled his knees and the bits of his legs that weren’t covered by the warm water. He was tense, unsure of what to do. Optimus isn’t used to relaxing like this, the vulnerability of it all made him feel exposed and like danger is lingering around, even with the ‘aromatherapy’ as you called it. His fists were clenched against his own will, he must be ready at all times to protect his team, he has to do anything he can to prevent another loss. Pressure and paranoia gnawed at him, the echoing thoughts in his head didn’t help in the slightest. He shouldn’t be doing this, it’s selfish to stop when everyone could be in danger, he needs to go-

“If something happens the others can handle it. You need to take care of yourself just like the others.” At your words the racing thoughts halted, immediately pausing to let him take in what you said and to wonder how you knew what he was thinking. Your hand rubbed soft circles into his shoulder as you spoke, gently trying to bring him out of his unfavorable headspace. He looked at you for reassurance, eyes wide and nearly timid, you could see his adam’s apple bob as he swallowed rather harshly. Millions of years of wars and battles, and yet one of the coldest things he’s faced is his own anxiety. Nothing to fall back on, nobody he can turn to in hopes of reeling him back from his sea of what ifs. As a prime he felt like he had to hold his head high all the time and did not have the right to step back and let himself rest. You adjusted yourself a bit to try and sit at a better angle, but the second you raised a bit his tattered hand flew out and grabbed onto your shirt like you were going to disappear. The poor thing looked terrified as his knuckles turned white from his death grip, he needed your reassurance and was scared of you being ripped from his grasp like others from his past. Your hand rested against the back of his own, still desperately clinging to your now wet top.

“I’m not leaving, you’re okay, I promise. You know I don’t break promises.” You grazed your thumb against his hand, reassuring him that you just needed to adjust before your knee snapped in two. It took him a bit to give you any response, the only reply being a small nod before his grip loosening slowly before dropping to the edge of the bathtub, followed by the rest of his body.

“Let me wash your hair, hun. You can still hold onto me if you need to, yeah?” Grabbing a cup you had set off to the side specifically for baths, you started the water up again before getting Optimus to tip his head back. It still felt beyond foreign to him, but he couldn’t deny the warm water dancing across his scalp could put him to sleep. When you put shampoo in his hair and began to massage it into the follicles, you could watch as his eyes got heavier, his sleepiness trying to creep up on him. It was tempting to let him doze off, but with the size difference it wouldn’t be a good idea if he started slipping underwater. A light prod to his face was enough to wake him up enough to rinse and finish up with conditioner and a final spritz of water. You stood to grab a couple towels, one for his body and one for the soggy mess of hair on top of his head. The bath alone made his posture a bit less rigid, hopefully that lavender actually did it’s job. While he dried off, you jogged put the door and further down the hallway to a room with spare clothes, grabbing a mostly new t shirt and some pajama bottoms, praying that they were the right size. It felt a little strange to be grabbing a cozy outfit for someone who was tall enough to make some houses look small and someone who happened to be made out of metal, but at least you got him to take it easy-ish. Could be worse.

Upon your return you realized he was probably frozen, your evidence being the goosebumps that littered his crossed arms.

“Sorry for freezing you to death, here’s these. I’ll wait out by the door while you get dressed and when you’re done i’ll blow dry your hair, alright?” With a nod Optimus gratefully took the pajamas as you stepped out into your aforementioned position. In a sense it felt like you were keeping guard of the old man mech, the thought triggers your curiosity and you can’t help but wonder if he’s had someone take care of him like this. If his reactions have told you anything, it’s that he’s not allowed himself to be treated in such a way. Perhaps it’s a matter of not wanting pity, or maybe it’s as simple as he feels like he’s too mature to accept such treatment. It’s a shame really, the one that needs it the most is usually too selfless to allow it. A couple minutes later the door creaked open, revealing a damp, but slightly more relaxed Optimus. You stepped back into the cramped room and instructed him to sit on the toilet seat as you dug out the blow drier and plugged it into the wall outlet. He watched every movement you made with curiosity filled eyes, he always had a fascination with human objects, the way people have invented items for basically everything was so interesting to him, especially considering how primitive Earth’s creations can be.

“What is that in your hands?” He asked you, using his hands to point at the blow dryer in your hands. He’s not seen one before, and the way it resembled a gun made him a little nervous over it, especially considering flesh will suffer much more with a bullet than if he was his usual metal self.

“Oh this? It blows out hot air to help dry your hair. It’s not as scary as it looks, I promise.” As you spoke you used your freehand to lead him to sit down and got to work, flipping the switch that caused the simple device to do what you said. The sudden sound startled him a little at first but with reassurance he calmed enough to let you do your thing, his eyes closing while he absorbed the peace around him. Optimus was still apprehensive to letting you tend to him, but the longer time passed the more he felt his walls chipping away, reluctantly letting his guard down to you. Partway you grabbed a plain comb to send through the synthetic hairs that rested atop his head, the sensation was yet another new one considering his holoform was mainly used as a disguise, not a tool for self care (or in this case care from a trusted individual). It was a nice change of touch, if that made sense. The sensation was a lot more enjoyable compared to battling or trying to track down energon to refuel the already exhausted team. Unfortunately, due to his short hair the moment didn’t last near as long as he wanted or deserved, but at the very least he wasn’t damp anymore. Between the heat from the blow drier and what’s left of the steam from the bath, he felt so cozy and weightless, almost as if the water washed the weight from his tender shoulders. With a click, the air stopped blowing on his scalp and a gentle tap on his shoulder made his eyes open up again.

“Come on, I’m making you watch a movie. Don’t worry, I picked an animated one so it’s nothing too intense.” Despite your order, your tone stayed soft and gentle as you spoke, making sure not to jolt him from his little moment of peace. As you put your tools away Optimus stood and ran a hand through his hair, taking in just how soft it became from something as simple as wind. Being made of metal most of the time didn’t allow him to have such moments, to a human this would be such a normal everyday thing but for him it was a welcomed break. Being able to be over all softer and vulnerable after being alert for Primus knows how long, it was soothing after the first anxieties fizzled away. You took his hand and led him back to the main area of the base, dragging him up the steps and to the slightly worn down couch. A small tv, fit with the kid’s gaming console and various movie and game cases scattered about. By the looks of it, the team has already escorted their human companions home while Ratchet lingered in the background, typing away at his computer as per usual. It was abnormally quiet considering the hubbub that filled the room earlier, but the lack of music blasting or prepubescent voices squeaking their way into everyone’s ears (or audials) wasn’t unwelcome. You led Optimus to sit down before you crouched in front of the tv, popping in your choice of entertainment. Most have already been watched so you made sure to avoid anything overly angsty or gut wrenching, from what you know the prime doesn’t sit down and watch these, hopefully you can get him into something besides recon. Everything was up and ready to go as you made you’re self comfortable next to a rather stiff holoform. His hands were awkwardly tapping against his thighs as his back was straightened, clearly unsure of what to do or even where to look. Has he ever taken the time to actually wind down…?

“You’re stiff as a board, here, get comfy.” A little maneuvering later you managed to get him to lay down with his head in your lap, though the lower part of his legs ended up dangling over the arm rest due to his sheer height. His body was still fairly rigid but, it’s an improvement at the very least. A blanket rested on the back of the couch, it was a thin but fuzzy one that June brought over in case the you or the kids got cold, it’s coming in handy right about now. You draped it over his body and your legs the best you could, it was a bit difficult considering the size difference between you two, but you managed the best you could. After a couple button presses and a huff from Ratchet due to you asking him to turn off the light, the movie began.

The screen displayed whimsical colors as exciting music erupted from the speakers, immediately capturing the prime’s attention. You could see vibrant hues dance along his cheeks and nearly child like wonder swirl in his eyes, the way he processed every sentence and action was endearing, especially considering you’re doing something as small as watching a movie. You could practically see the cogs turning in his head as he clung to every word and movement of the characters, the sight of such a strong bot finally getting a more than well deserved break was heartwarming.

Part way through the movie your hand drifted into his hair, immediately raking your fingers through his soft locks. There was the slightest, almost undetectable, tensing in his body before he eased into the touch, even trying to cuddle closer to the best of his abilities. You could feel how he sunk into you even more as he watched the screen, eventually letting a yawn slip from his mouth. He fought to stay awake though, hellbent on seeing how the main character beats the antagonist and resolves the main issue at hand. Optimus was much more exhausted than he let on, even he didn’t realize just how tired he was. By now he’s twisted to lay on his side and his upper body was layered on top of your abdomen, arm wrapped somewhat around your hip with his head laying on your stomach. Eventually his eyelids grew too heavy and drifted closed, his fleshy frame softened ever so slightly as sleep overcame the poor mech. Your hand still danced around his hair, mindlessly playing with the strands as a similar fatigue settled its way deep into your bones. The ending of the movie will remain unknown (to Optimus at the very least) as you both dozed off, getting some well deserved rest.

————————————

sorry this took me ages!!! between surgery, mental health stuff, and being exhausted every day it’s been in the works for a lot longer than i intended!!!!

#transformers #transformers prime #transformers optimus #optimus prime x reader #optimus prime #tfp #tfp optimus #comfort fic #comfort

[writersblockisdead]

Comfort Cuddles* ˚ 💕

Details

Self Insert x Canon Ship: Rosun (Rose x Rung) Rated: G Category: Fluff CW: None Words: 492

Prompt

Prompt by: LoverBoyInc

Imagine your F/O has been under a lot of stress, whether it’s related to canon or not. The whole day, they’ve been restless, tired and fidgety. You wake up in the middle of the night to your F/O sitting at the foot of your bed (whether you share a bed usually is entirely up to you), their head in their hands, tired, sleepless. You silently crawl up from where you’d been dreaming moments prior, and loop your arms gently around their neck. They tense up, then soften, practically melting to your touch.

“Come to bed.” you hum into the nape of their neck. Your F/O thinks about protesting, but the warmth of you, of your voice, of your sleepy form, draws them back in with you. They climb into the bed next to you, nuzzling your head into their chest.

Tomorrow, you could ask all the questions you wanted. But for tonight, your F/O needs sleep, and your presence makes it much easier for them to drift away into dreams, holding onto you. 

Summary:

Rung has a stressful day at work, and is unable to rest, Rose however tries zir best to comfort him to the best of zir abilities.

Usually night time is where Rung finally gets his peace of mind, the night where he closed up after a long hard day was what he needed– Except, that he couldn’t. Today was not any normal day under any circumstances. 

An incident has occured that left him almost injured, there was a grave importance to this job that he had to risk just to help others, and that he did. Dealing with patients with immense PTSD is something he had to do as a psychiatrist. 

He specialized in trauma therapy, it was all the bots came to him for. Even though some things were heavy, it was what he needed to do. But today– It was bad, he couldn't recharge. He just couldn’t– try as he might, he couldn’t get the most needed hours of sleep he desperately needs. 

So here he was, completely fidgety and nervous, feeling uneasy. It wasn’t normally like this, he could go to sleep and rest his nerves, but for now, it wasn’t easy for him he couldn’t fall asleep, no matter what he did, the urge to sleep didn’t come to him easily. 

The lanky bot tossed and turned for a few seconds until an arm abruptly engulfed his frame, the arm was no other than his lover, his sparkmate Rose. Rung tensed up a bit and sighed. Did his restlessness wake zir up? He didn’t mean to be so loud– With a heavy sigh, Rung got up and sat down on the bed and placed his servos in his faceplates. 

Rose at this time, noticed the empty presence of zir lover and crawled up to him concerned, Rose wrapped zir arms around Rung’s chassis. Giggling, Rung at first tensed but seemingly allowed this interaction to occur, he seemed to settle in the arms of his sweetspark. 

“Come back to bed, it’s very cold without you next to me.” Rose exclaims. Rung gently smiled and turned away embarrassed. 

“I can’t.” Rung said, Rose frowned and pulled away from his chassis. 

“Why not?” Ze asked, Rung rubbed his helm. He turned to face the cybertronian. 

“It’s been a stressful day, sweetspark, I need to get rest but it’s just not coming to me.” Rung said he looked the part certainly. The mech seemed to look so tired. Rose frowned once more and wrapped zir arms back around Rung, this time around his waist. 

“You know, maybe we can both go back to sleep. Just let me…” Rose pulled both of them down. Rung gasped a bit and blushed. 

“I-I am not tired, I-I’m fine, I swear.” Rung stated. But Rose wasn’t having it. Rung sighed and gave into the cybertronians' needs and surrendered himself to zir, he situated himself next to zir. And ze smiled. 

Just having Rose nearby him seemed to change the mood a bit, and by that he seemed to calm down. Falling asleep, he closed his optics and went into a deep sleep. 

#selfship #selfshipping #selfship community #transformers #self ship #self insert #fictional other #s/i x f/o #s/i x canon #f/o #f/o comfort #rung x rose #rung mtmte #idw rung #rosun #self ship fanfiction #purely self indulgent #ok to reblog #fanfiction #f/o gush #f/o tag

[autumnslance]

How did you start writing for your characters? I ask as when I try to write, my mind wants to take a scene from an anime or game I love or currently interested in and use it as a base to leap from to start developing their story. Also when you make a new character or develop your current ones, do you see them as you want them to be and work backwards or start from the beginning and work to develop them into how you see them?

This: my mind wants to take a scene from an anime or game I love or currently interested in and use it as a base to leap from to start developing their story

Actually sounds like a perfectly valid jumping off point. You'll make changes and extrapolations on your version of the character--what they would do, why, where they go from there--that can be different from what happened in that original story.

I've written a few other posts about creating characters, inspiration, development, etc. I’ll add those links below (I may just need to make a section on my static pages...). It mostly comes down, for me, to "it depends." Writing is generally a way to make a little more concrete the character and story elements spinning in my head as I think about how and why a character is, and does does things.

Some characters, like Iyna, come popping to mind with a chunk of backstory and personality and name all nicely formed. There's still plenty of room to figure out more, but a lot of the basics are covered.

Meanwhile, Dark took awhile as I was figuring out the world, lore, and what I myself wanted to do in it and with her as a character, so she slowly formed up over time.

C'oretta just developed over time as I played her, as she was never meant to be an actual character. Random things like getting a pink top quest reward or upgrading my account and seeing the baby behemoth just added themselves to her as story elements, as well as making her very different from how Dark had shaped up.

Aeryn I tried to have a general idea and plan, as I always meant to have a "Warrior of Light" that went through MSQ, with reasons she was coming to Eorzea and had certain background elements, was close to how I see Assumed Default WoL, etc. And then I had to adjust it as I wrote her and she ended up developing in different ways than I initially intended; what some folks call the muse, or the character "taking over," I see as your subconscious telling you what you actually mean to do if you want to stay true to the character you're writing.

I try to start with a general idea for personality, backstory, and other basic info, leaving plenty of room for going back and adjusting/adding things to the backstory, and for the personality to develop. Sometimes it goes to plan. Most of the time, it doesn't and that's OK. I am from the camp that characters should evolve naturally as we write and learn, about ourselves and the real world as much as the fictional setting and the characters we put in them. We can have an idea in mind, but it should be flexible.

How others see my characters can also be helpful; if I intend for a character to be seen as compassionate and kind, what does it say about my writing or roleplay when others think her harsh and selfish? If I am informing people "Characters is X, Y, and Z" then people shouldn't see her as "A, B, and C" instead and if that's the case, I may need to 1) get some other opinions (of folks who will be honest in their assessments, not just blow smoke at me) and 2) think of how I am portraying my character and what I need to do to fix it--or even if I should, if this is a more natural and true to form version of the character over what I thought I had in my head. Is there a way to rewrite, or to try to nudge their development back to what I initially meant? Can really depend on the arc you want that character to take.

Recharging your muse How do you make a character? How do you develop character personalities? How do you stop an OC from being a Self Insert? How do you keep OCs from being similar to each other and yourself? Do you come up with a written or visual concept first? How do you make an OC take off?

#Lyn Prompts #writing #roleplay #characters

[anon-e-miss]

Is Ratchet in the trailer? Did Punch drag Ratchet all the way to Polyhex with him? Do Rico and Jazz know?

Though the newling was rooting at Prowl's chassis, he did not expose his wells or attempt to reignite that bit of code. He had no idea what disease might be hiding in his frame. Prowl had not had a purge in nine quartexes, there was no telling was contagion he might be carrying in his energon. Speaking softly, Prowl rocked the bitlet and encouraged his creations to be patient with the young twins who had become instantly enamoured with them. They rolled a ball on the floor, the Twins, Bluestreak, and Tripwire and the little ones.

As the newling became increasingly distressed, Prowl removed his narrow band of armour. There was a time the idea of Ricochet seeing his wells and spark would have made him recoil but they were hardly sacred anymore. He laid the newling over his spark chamber and hoped the radiation of his spark might be a comfort. The little one seemed to soothe. Prowl stroked his helm as he cooed softly at him. He went silent when the door opened and Jazz appeared, with his originator this time and not with anymore bitlets.

"It's time to go," Jazz said. "Ori, think ya can get those lil bits?"

"Oh sure," Punch replied. Prowl felt his spark race as Punch, just a stranger, an intimidating one at that, coaxed the toddling mechling and femmeling to magnetize as he settled the femmeling on his back and the mechling his front. "Ya don't forget these things."

"Ori carries us like that!" Sideswipe exclaimed.

"Well sure," Punch replied. "It's the best way to carry twins. Yer geni 'n uncle are twins too." "Oh!" Sideswipe exclaimed. "We took after our geni!"

"In more than a few ways," Punch declared, fondly and Prowl had to to like him, a little.

"Trip, can your geni carry you?" Barricade asked. "So I carry Blue? You know he's a little shy with strangers."

"Uh huh!" Tripwire, leapt right into Ricochet's arms. The look of awe on the mech's face when he held his creation for the first time soften a little of Prowl's anger on his batchmate's behalf. "You wouldn't drop me? Right?"

"Never," Ricochet promised and Prowl was prepared to believe him. Barricade scooped Bluestreak up, watching Ricochet with Tripwire. He was anxious, Prowl understood that completely.

"I call Geni's back," Sideswipe declared and Prowl watched as Jazz froze as his/their imperious mechling climbed him like a jungle gym. Sunstreaker looked between Prowl and Jazz. Jazz knelt to his level.

"I can put ya on yer ori's back," Jazz offered. "Or I can carry ya, whatever ya like, Sunstreaker."

"Ori's tired," Sunstreaker said.

"I am never too tired to carry you," Prowl assured him.

"Geni can carry me," Sunstreaker said, he stretched his arms out to his progenitor. "Just this once."

"Thank ya for trustin' me, Sweetspark," Jazz said. He wrapped his arms around Sunstreaker and Prowl's spark fluttered as he watched his first breath in their first emerged's scent. The youngling hung back as they sorted out the mechlings. "Ya good, to walk, Smokey?"

"I'm fine," the youngling said. "You're taking me with you?"

"Of course," Jazz said and Prowl echoed the sentiment.

"Let's get movin'," Punch declared. "We got a friend waitin' in the trailer to see to y'all."

"Who?" Prowl asked, feeling alarmed.

"Ratchet," Jazz replied. Prowl's knees locked. Prime's medic. Prime's own medic. Why was the Prime's medic here? Why? His processor was grinding and it hurt to think. Jazz's digits massed the back of his neck, the magnets pulsing low. Prowl sighed and his helm drooped. "Soon as he got wind what we was comin' after, Ratchet declared he was comin' long. Since he'd o' stowed away if we refused, it was better to say yes. Better to let'm get started sortin' ya out."

"You are intimately involved with the Autobots," Prowl observed as he adjusted his hold on the newling. He only then realized he had not replace his armour, he had become so used to being nude in public. Even after this revelation, Prowl did not bother reaching for. None of the mechs presented teeked of arousal at the sight of him. Why would they be aroused?

"'M Commander o' Spec Ops," Jazz replied. "The left servo 'o the Prime."

"I see."

"Optimus isn't who we thought he was back then," Jazz assured him. Prowl did not care for his assurances. "Y'll see for yerself."

The brothel was dead silent as they walked to the backdoor favoured by those clients who needed to employ discretion. A grey trailer was parked immediately next to the stairs, its ramp already lowered. Maybe they were about the be ferried into the pleasure work for new masters. Prowl looked at and could not believe that this was possible. Ratchet appeared, the Iaconian medic's crisp red and white paint served to identify him as the medic he was. He made a sound, a gruff rumble as they walked up the ramp and Prowl resisted shrinking as he was forced to step passed him. The back of the trailer was covered in pillows and blankets. It was not a crew carrier, but a cargo hauler. Perhaps it would not be the most comfortable of transports, it would be utterly discrete.

"I was expecting four," Ratchet's tone was accusing as he spoke to Ricochet.

"So I didn't actually know Prowl'd had twins," Ricochet replied. "Or that he'd adopted a sick bitlet. The littlests Jazz found abandoned after their originators flew the coop and then there's the youngling and he's got his own story."

"Get comfortable," Ratchet ordered. He placed a servo on Prowl's shoulder and urged him down. "That newling looks fresh."

"I found 'm by the smelter," Jazz expained softly.

"Leaking lubricants," Ratchet cursed.

"Language!" Tripwire scolded as he wagged a digit at Ratchet, he was still held snuggly in Ricochet's arms. Ricochet would not let the medic discipline him. Ratchet looked at the fearless mechling and laughed.

"My apologies," he said. "Why don't you settle in? Make yourself a pillow fort."

"Sooo many pillows," Sideswipe sighed and he hopped off Jazz's back and tugged at Sunstreaker's ped.

His twin followed him and his cousin and they dove into the pile. Barricade lowered Bluestreak down next to Prowl and then sat himself, watching, not only the mechlings but the medic and Prowl. Punch sat next to him, with the mechling and femmeling twins. Ricochet joined them. Smokescreen did not seem to know what to do with himself but Punch took his servo and urged him to sit with them. He was safe. They all were and it felt so eerie. Jazz looked between the sparklings and Prowl before deciding to sit with Prowl.

"I'll start with the newling," Ratchet declared and he sat across from Prowl. Though he did not want to, Prowl gave him the bitlet. "Have you initiated the code to fuel him?"

"I have not," Prowl replied. "I had Pox and other ITD, I do not know what I could be carrying now, I am concerned my fuel is contaminated."

"It's unlikely," Ratchet replied at the same time as he examined the bitlet with his servos, he ran scanners over Prowl. "Your self repair systems are non existent. Literally, the programs have gone into standby due to your complete lack of nanite's. Jazz, get some pillows for his back."

"I think Bluestreak may have something of the same problem," Prowl replied, forgetting his fears of this mech. Below him, the trailer rolled as the Convoy took off for parts unknown to him. "He was addicted to Syk, his originator gave him small doses to keep him quiet. He has not put any mass on since we weaned him off it."

"I'll sort him out," Ratchet promised and Prowl believed him. Jazz guided him to lay back on the stacks of pillows and blankets he had claimed. Ratchet strapped a pump to Prowl's belly and inserted a line from it into an energon line near his hip. "The nanites will act as an external self-repair system while yours recharge. You'll wear the pump until I say otherwise."

"Yes, Medic," Prowl replied.

"I'll give you a booster divert energon to your wells," Ratchet said. "And take a sample before we put the bitlet on."

It was startling how quickly Prowl felt his nozzles stiffen as his wells swelled. Ratchet declared his frame must have initiated the code on its own at the sound of a hungry newling. Prowl was wary of such a loss of his autonomy, though the medic said it was common with experience origins. He and Barricade had nursed each other's creations when one or the other had been forced to work passed the fuelling time. They had both over produced in the end but it had allowed their creations to be well fuelled despite their surroundings. With a professional, plantonic touch, Ratchet stimulated Prowl's nozzle and energon leaked from it. He ran a tested on the rich fuel.

"Perfectly clean," Ratchet declared. "You want to try nursing him?"

"Yes, please," Prowl said and he reached for the bitlet. "He has been so hungry. I do not believe he has ever fuelled."

"Since he's dehydrated, I'd agreed," Ratchet replied. Prowl looked at the medic with alarm and Jazz brushed a thumb over his shoulder. "He's sort out quickly after he's fuelled from you."

There was no hesitation from the newling, he latched onto Prowl's nozzle and suckled greedily. Bluestreak watched with a little wonder as the bitlet drank from Prowl's well. He was lurred from Prowl's side with the offer of a treated and he sucked on the lollipop as Ratchet examined him with servos and scanners. When Ratchet said Bluestreak did indeed have no self-repair systems in place, he was encouraged to cuddle into Prowl's side before Ratchet installed not one but two pumps.

"He has Fuel Malabsorbtion Syndrome," Ratchet explained. "The external pump will give him constant infusions of vital nutrients until I can sort him out. This brave mechling is going to be fine and healthy in no time."

"Do you hear that?" Prowl asked as he stroked Bluestreak's helm. "You are going to be chasing after the Twins in no time."

#valveplug #maccadams #ricochet the dead beat geni #jazz the dead beat geni #brothel au #tf punch #tf ratchet #tf prowl #tf jazz #tf barricade #tf ricochet #and the kids #anon asks ficlet #anon fic ask

[aobakukkii]

✬Bokuto Relationship Headcanons✬

Bokuto x Gender Neutral Reader

(+small male reader bonus part at the end because the guys deserve it)

✬

Just really fluffy stuff for you and best boy

✬✬✬✬✬✬✬✬✬✬✬✬✬✬✬✬✬✬✬✬✬✬

- Having someone like Bokuto as your partner will be an incredibly rewarding experience, if you are willing to adapt to his antics. He actively seeks out fun, excitement and chances to grow and expects you to be his personal portable power bank on his journey. For him, one must always try to become the most ideal version of oneself and this also involves moving someone out of their comfort zone because boy does not like feeling restrained. He picks up cues on how to handle people extremely well and makes sure that both of you feel happy and secure on your path. Most of the time Bokuto radiates positive energy and hype, so his s/o really does not have to worry and just put faith into his skills.

- Bokuto likes to express his feelings through physical affection. He is awfully touchy with people he is close with and his s/o gets to feel it double. Bokuto is build for the greatest of cuddles and hugs and he just finds it so easy and convenient to hold his s/o close or touch any given part of their body throughout the day to say “I love you and I deeply care about you”, although his s/o could always ask him to say it out loud and he would shower them with sweet-nothings and compliments.

In return, he wants his s/o to accept his affection, return it in their way and finally their attention. He’s not per se the most jealous person (only to a certain extent) and completely understand that sometimes people need their alone time, but he’s self-absorbed to a degree that he wants and needs to be the center of your love and attention at least a little bit everyday. Otherwise he can become really whiny. To stop him just do something (in his eyes) really cute and everything is forgiven.

- One word that Bokuto does not know of is shame. He wants to show off and attention and this has an impact on how he displays PDA when you don’t stop him. He prides himself a lot on having the best s/o ever and sadly won’t accept nothing as an option because he can’t help himself. He is fine with keeping it on a low level like holding hands, leaning onto each other or throwing his arm around your shoulder, but if you let him go as he pleases him he may just make you sit on his lap or pick you up and spin you around once you guys meet.

- Contrary to what some might think, Bokuto does appreciates relaxed dates to recharge. The most common quality time with him is chilling at one of your places after work/university/school and just play video games or binge shows. However daily responsibilities won’t stop him from dragging you out at night for some “late-night adventures” like getting some food and/or taking a walk and talking about random stuff while appreciating the privacy and beauty of the dark so hopefully you’re into that as well.

He regularly checks for new or popular spots in and around town for you guys to visit on your days off. A popular restaurant, local sightseeing spots, an interesting exhibition, any amusement park (probably his favorite date spot) or some escape room, he wants to see them all. He also really loves to travel to near and far with you and take cheesy, but cute, couple selfies. However his schedule sadly limits his abilities to do so often besides local stuff and short trips.

- When you guys are apart, especially for a longer period of time, he quite literally trashes your phone with the amount of notifications and videos he sends you throughout the day. He begs you to install Snapchat (if you don’t already have it) and vlogs you his training, things you might find interesting and bad jokes in hopes of making you smile. Speaking of bad jokes, expect a lot of memes for another cheap laugh. If you’re somewhat responsible you should not produce content at a similar rate (you both need to get something done after all), but as long as you reply ever so often you make his day.

- In a relationship with Bokuto, you will receive a lot of support but also have to give a lot of support. He feels like it’s his responsibility to bring you back up and make you feel special and that’s exactly what he needs in return. He is without a doubt resilient and some kisses, hugs and compliments can get him back on track most of the time, but he couldn’t handle if the person he trusts the most does not have his back or rejects him when he needs them.

Nevertheless, his style of love involves a lot of spoiling his s/o rotten and if he gets spoiled in return, you should be well prepared for possible hardships.

- Have I mentioned that he is perfect if you take care of him? He won’t have a problem with including you in his friend-circle (his teammates and you have a lot of passive contact through his vlogs anyway) or inserting himself into yours. He’s ready to indulge in interests you might have as long as he can spend some time with you. It’s pretty easy to get him hooked onto something as long as you love it.

- It’s really important for him that try to cheer him on during his games and that you are active enough to play at least a bit of volleyball with him (not like you could keep up with him otherwise). He’s a patient teacher, but you will probably learn the most about being a setter for countless demonstrations of his straights. If you already play volleyball at any level really, he’s even more satisfied. The experience of playing with you is one of the biggest confidence boosts he can get for his games and he's determined to use the techniques he showed you to win! Another big boost is to wear his merch or even better his spare training clothes (or option 3: both) when you attend the games in person. Show others that you're his #1 fan!

✬

Fanboy BONUS~

Warning: Suggestive, but nothing graphic

- If you guys speak English (don’t worry, he passed his English exams), expect him to use surprisingly creative yet lame bro pick-up lines. You just know that he practices those with Kuroo.

- Remember the show off part? With a boyfriend he adds an “own the haters” attitude on top of it. When gushing about you, he can’t stop saying how HIS BOYFRIEND is the most fantastic thing in existence.  He’s maybe a bit overbearing sometimes, but his motivation is just so pure that barely anyone minds.

- He’s a top, deal with it. You can learn it the easy or the hard way, but he will assert it in your relationship in any way he wants.

#bokuto x reader #bokuto x male reader #haikyuu x reader #bokuto imagines #haikyuu x male reader #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu headcanon #haikyuu x you #bokuto x you #haikyuu #koutarou bokuto #himbo #haikyuu x y/n #bokuto #haikyuu fluff #fluff

[a-monsters-love]

Please feed me with a headcanon with our two favourite sleepy bois (Aizawa and shinso obvi) and how they would react when their usually very energetic s/o comes home one day completely exhausted from overworking themselves plz and thank you🥺

Lmao I’m gonna self insert the shit out of this from our texts. ILYS I hope these requests keep rolling in 😭

[Master List]

Aizawa Shota:

No one knows how the two of ended up together

Ancient family secret

You were on par with Hizashi’s crackhead energy

What they did notice was the bags under Aizawa’s eyes were less prominent

He smiled more (not that he did often in general)

He always had lunches packed

Really all his basic human needs were being sated

You had Energizer Bunny energy

Gods only knew where it came from

So when he started to notice you were sleeping in more than usual

You could say he was concerned

At first he didn’t think much of it and wrote it off as the early mornings you woke to were finally catching up with you

He didn’t think much of it till he started to notice you were smiling less

You’d apologize for not making him lunch for the next day

You seemed more jumpy than ever

He decided to take a night off from patrolling to catch you when you get home

You didn’t realize he was home

“Did I leave these on?” You mutter to yourself while turning off a light

“I was using that” You hear Aizawa say

You squeaked in surprise and dropped your bag

You stared at it for a moment when tears started bubbling in the corner of your eyes

his eyes widen in surprise at your reaction

“Hey-hey-hey..” He hushes your sobs by pulling you into his chest

“It’s okay..” He continues

He knew you’d taken on too much

He never thought it would drain you like this though

You held his shirt in your fists

He hears you mumble apologies into his chest

He wasn’t the best at comforting people when they’re upset

But he does understand over working oneself

He hugs you and pets your hair while you calm down

After a few moments he’ll attempt to usher you to bed

“Sho, wait-“ You try and stop him with some excuse about dinner and work

He squints at you but agrees to dinner, making something simple himself

After you finish eating he’ll carry you to your shared bedroom and make you lay down with him

He’ll ask you to explain what’s got you so burnt out

You’ll hesitate but explain

He’ll be mad that you’ve been overworking yourself but he knows he has no room to scold you

“You’re allowed to rely on me (Y/N)” He’d say

“I just- I just didn’t want to burden you..” You’d mutter back

The comment would make him frown, you could never be a burden to him

He was determined to make sure you knew that

He would cuddle you and pet your hair and/or rub you back until you fell asleep

At first he’d feel a little guilty for not saying something sooner

He’d start reciprocating the things you do for him more

He’s have a better understanding of why you do the things you do for him more

He really does love you

Shinso Hitoshi:

Both of our sleepy bois understand working themselves to death

Growing up being told he’d be a great villain only made him work harder

So when Denki introduced the two of you he felt like he took a breath of fresh air for the first time in his life

You were an absolute Meme Lord

You never hesitated to talk to him

He’s never dealt with a someone with so much energy showing him so much affection

“✨W A I T✨ I have a gif/meme for that.” You’d often say scrolling through your phone at a mile a minute to something someone said

Your smile alone gave him energy

He’d often find himself leaning on you

“Hold on, I’m recharging.” He’d whine if you made an attempt to move out of his grasp

You’d giggle every time

During second year training became 10x’s harder

Everyone expected this

You’d often stay out late training

You seemed just as cheerful in the morning

However you couldn’t avoid Shinso’s watchful eyes

He knew immediately that you were overworking yourself

He’d see the bags under your eyes

He’d notice the way your smile was softer from exhaustion

He’d catch you one night on your way to bed

“You know, overworking yourself will only cause more harm than good.” He’d chide

You’d chuckle forcefully and tell him you’re fine

You’d kiss his cheek and bid him goodnight

You knew he was right

Then one night you could no longer deny the fact

You were making yourself tea in the kitchen when you vaguely heard footsteps behind you

“-N). (Y/N)? Hey-“ Shinso had been trying to get your attention since he saw you leaning over the counter

He’d put his hand on your shoulder and you’d turn to face him with glazed eyes

Your face was heated but you smiled at him

“Hey Toshi, I didn’t hear you come up.” Your voice was strained

He’d press his hand to your forehead

You’d hum at the feeling of his cold hand

“Great All Might, (Y/N). You’re running a fever!” He’d panic

“Oh man, I didn’t even notice.” You’d chuckle and he’d frown

He’d pick you up and carry you to your room

“Wait my tea-“

“I’ll grab it later.” He’d retort quickly

He’d tuck you in bed and get your tea

He’d scold you the entire time

You’d giggle at him scolding you while treating you like a baby

He’d stay up all night making sure your fever didn’t get worse

You wake up to him asleep with his face buried in his arms and leaning over your bed

You’d pet his messy hair until he woke up

He’d check your temp immediately

He’d give you a chaste kiss and tell you that you have to stay in bed for the day

Don’t even T H I N K about denying this request

You’ll never hear the end of this

He adores you too much to let you get like this again

#bnha #bnha x y/n #bnha x reader #bnha headcanons #mha #mha x reader #mha x y/n #mha fanfiction #mha fan fic #mha headcanons #aizawa #aizawa shouta #shouta aizawa x reader #aizawa x you #aizawa sensei #shouta aizawa #shouta aizawa x you #shota aizawa #aizawa shota #bnha aizawa #bnha shinso #bnha shinsou #bnha shinso hitoshi #bnha shinso x reader #shinso #shinso hitoshi #shinso hitoshi x reader #aizawa headcannons #shinso headcannons #hitoshi x reader

[one-of-us-must-be-crazy]

L, u, c, k, y, S, t a , r

hello thank you i love you but I’m very long winded so this is under a cut so it doesn’t block large chunks of everyone’s dash.

A: How did you come up with the title to [insert fic]?

For as ridiculously obvious and uncreative as it is, it took me months. Longer than months. At least a year of it stewing in the back of my head that while I was getting a coherent timeline down, and a prequel/groundwork laid out so that the story will work, my long form story would still need a title. 

I had been using space/star themed titles and phrases for most of the fics and ficlets I was writing for them and just said fuck it and used Ellen Ripley’s lullaby for it. 

C: What character do you identify with most?

any character that’s currently having an emotional breakdown or suffering from a “how the fuck did I get in this mess and how the fuck do I get out of it?” situation. 

In the chapter I’m currently writing I’m more with Conner and Verlaine on “I’m done with this fucking job goodbye,” but there’s something earlier where Chris smiled and would have blushed if he could becuase Amanda and him had the same opinion on a movie and that’s something my affection-starved soul would have done.

H: How would you describe your style?

bad.

Personal writing/original fic has a lot of purple prose, and I’m first to admit that I don’t put half the time/effort into style with fanfic that I do original work. I think my fanfic might come off as dry or fast-paced. Still, I hope it’s got something emotional to it, and eventually some kind of complexity of character.

K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with?

Either: 

That after Amanda’s death Samuels realizes he can just....live through memories but walking through them, and he’ll replay days, weeks at a time to avoid the overwhelming error messages and glitches and pain that come with accepting the fact that she’s gone. He stops taking care of updates and is torn between hoping to just stop entirely and wanting to stay as some kind of memorial of her/becuase she made him promise he’d go on living without her.

OR

Amanda makes him promise that, but fuck that, he goes against her wishes, her express orders and when she’s at her sickest has her put into a shell, preserved in a synthetic body, now so close to what he is, and maybe she’ll be angry but he doesn’t care. He thinks that it’s better she hates him forever, but is still living in the same universe as him than for him to exist every moment knowing that she no longer does. It’s the first time Amanda realizes he’s capable of selfishness, even if he views it as selfish of her to rather die and leave him alone than try this method. 

L: What’s the weirdest AU you’ve ever come up with?

It will never happen in Lucky Star/the main AU, and I’ll probably never write it but the idea that there’s some test tube/clone/scienced together way that Amanda could have a kid that would be considered “his” is cute.

 I don’t think it’s something that they’d go after, and it’s too out there for the story (plus eventually there’s like...a whole sci-fi novel of Action and Horror eventually that they could not have a kid tagging along with them) but I really, really really like the image of Chris going from “afraid he’ll break it [a small infant]” to “will not put said infant down or leave it alone for fear that something might happen to it” and doesn’t sleep/updates/recharging/general maintenance for three or four months until Amanda realizes he’s on the verge of system failure and makes him sleep before he actually dies again.

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?

I try so hard not to, but all the other fic writers’s work is right there in my head while I’m writing. 

S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?

Look, this fandom survives on the “star crossed lovers” and “’I’m not good enough for you’ vs ‘I don’t care’” tropes and I live for it. 

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

slooooooow buuuuuuurns. I don’t mind them, but it’s depression that there are fics from literally four years ago that never were updated, and we never get to see things progress between them.

 If we’re talking fandom-wide, not just ship-wide, I gotta ask (but please don’t answer me, I don’t want to know) WHY THE FUCK DOES EVERY MALE WRITER WRITE AMANDA GETTING R*PED BY OR R*PPING THE XENOMORPH???????????!!!!!! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THOSE PEOPLE????? THERE’S MORE PORN OF HER AND THE ALIEN THAN THERE IS FLUFF OF HER AND LITERALLY ANY OTHER CHARACTER WHAT IN THE VAST DARKNESS OF INFINITE SPACE IS GOING THROUGH YA’LLS FUCKING HEADS THAT MAKE THAT SOMETHING YOU WANT TO SEE. 

U: A pairing you might like to write for, but haven’t tried yet?

DANI AND WALTER. They are. The cutest. Sweetest thing that I’ve ever seen (and would probably once Walter is a little more self aware be the only truely healthy synth/human relationship in the whole fandom). 

Walter is also the only synthetic that has not canonically killed a man, or very seriously attempted to kill a man. He’s a good egg. P u r e    b o y. 

#lucky star #sunnyhomes

[nightblink]

Blink Reads Oathbringer - Chapter 120

Only one chapter, because this was the kind of doozy that got a play-by-play and ended up being long enough to stand on its own.

Chapter One-Hundred-and-Twenty – The Spear That Would Not Break

Ooooo, yesss, 'Rough map of the Battle of Thaylen Field', good. I love having city maps like this to help us visualize.

Kaladin's even believing that he failed the windspren, now, the ones that gathered when he was close to speaking the Fourth Ideal. Oh Kal. For some reason I don't think you 'being down on yourself' is the reason you couldn't swear. You knew that you wouldn't mean it. You weren't ready for it, and that's all right. You can't- you can't push recovery, or coping, or ability to deal with an issue, not like that.

Kaladin vs Amaram – a fated face-off- oh shit Amaram just downed the smokestone. WELL THEN. One bonded Radiant versus one… human just about to- “bond”? host? an Unmade

---

Haaaaah, and there Adolin goes again, self-deprecating about the ill-fitting jacket he'd patched together to lighten Shallan's worries and appear steady despite how unstable he is on the inside. Oh man, but that 'Go. Save the city. Be Radiant, Shallan.” [CLUTCHES HEART] L o rd, but you can just hear the love and admiration that he's pouring into those words, each one of them honest to the core (except, of course, the “I'll be fine.” But that's on a different level entirely.)

There's another scene that I'd gladly pay to see done in good animation – Shallan raising an army of illusions, each glowing like a Radiant, and Pattern's fractals running ever-so-subtly over the shape of him-as-a-Blade.

'The illusory Adolin glowed with Stormlight and floated a few inches off the ground. She'd made him a Windrunner.' 'I… I can't take that.' [claps hands] Hello. Again. Self-worth. Issues. And this time combining his feelings of inadequacy with his memory of her looking at Kaladin – Windrunner, standing tall and heroic, windspren sweeping around him like sparkling starlight – when he breathed out slow and it felt like his hopes started to seep out along with that breath.

No scream from his sword – but he thanks her. Maybe, over in Shadesmar, she can even hear him. Maybe.

---

AIGHT TEAM AWESOMENESS TIME (lets use awesomeness rather than Friction for things like that because lbr it just kind of sounds Wrong otherwise)

Hearing Szeth refer to Dalinar as master just makes me shiver, it feels… not quite wrong, as he chose this person to follow, trusting their judgment, but it definitely feels weird

Nightblood, you definitely eat people. It's not the same method as humans eating thing, but it's the same sort of principle.

Szeth really, really needs some quiet, no-death time, but with people around. A place where he's at least accepted to be. And despite Nightblood being… Nightblood, the sword is good for him. Companionship. I can't wait to see what his bonded highspren has to say about that, though.

---

Right, so. Amaram can just fuck off already. As if he wasn't bad enough already, now he has the sheer gall to tell Kaladin to thank him? “I created you, spearman. I forged you.” Oh get down off your high horse for once in your goddamn life, Amaram. The world does not revolve around you! You are not the lynchpin on which the turning of time rests!

Look at this goddamn weeb with his dual-wielded Shardblades. Fuck up his day, Kal. Fuck up his life.

'One taken in bloodshed, at the cost of Kaladin's crew. The other, Oathbringer. A sword given to ransom Bridge Four.' And wielded by Amaram, who put Kaladin's brother on the front line and took Kaladin's freedom. Branderson's not even trying to hide the symbology here, he's outright stating it. (Kal you are such a Hufflepuff, istg, and I love it)

Yikes, and there starts the transformation. Amaram's probably going to look distorted and sprouting crystals by the time this fight ends.

---

“Hello, old friend.” GODDAMN, I DIE. Dalinar you'd better come out of this alive.

---

Yet another scene that I'd like to see justice done to via animation is this one of Shallan, light swirling around her and expanding from her feet as everyone she's ever drawn comes to life-through-light around her.

[winces] Of course her parents would trigger old trauma and start causing her to falter and retreat. But… her alternate personalities. As unhealthy as her coping mechanisms may be, these two do usually lend her a reprieve (not strength, no matter what she thinks – that is hers and hers alone, as the Real Person) when she needs to lean on them.

---

Adolin: [casually collects a squad of Thaylen soldiers]; Jasnah: [does not need any help whatsoever]; Adolin: ...okay then, next-

Once again we have mention of those “geometric shapes” that we saw with Dalinar when he jumped down the chasm to tap Venli out of the vision, and I still wonder if that's proto-Shardplate or not, especially since Dalinar was unhurt as he dug his fingers into stone to slow his descent and now Jasnah casually tosses a man through the air, nbd

[insert lots of quiet shrieking that will be followed up on in my Adolin Notes post] tldr: Horrors of war (he's gonna have nightmares about this) and so, so many self-worth issues.

Aww yisss, heirs teaming up to go get Navani and Fen out of being cornered, good, because I need both Navani and Fen to survive this battle and their strengths aren't in battle prowess

---

Hmmm, so is the Perpendicularity going to fade over time since Honor is still shattered? That's kind of the feel that I'm getting from what Ivory is saying here.

Jasnah can just wave her hand and a squad of soldiers is Soulcasted into smoke with hardly any effort. Oooof. Yeaaaah, I imagine even Jasnah, who did such in Kharbranth with no regrets, would feel rather horrified at the ease with which she just dispatched those men.

Ah, the Perpendicularity has closed – good to know. 'He had been the storm, and had somehow recharged the spheres – but like a storm, his effects were passing.' That tells us a little more about Dalinar's current state as well – because despite the Stormfather having a large fragment of Honor's power now, they are still 'just' a Bondsmith-pair (though I'm still thrown by and dancing around the whole I am Unity thing, because. goddamn.)

Ooooo, with the worlds this close and Soulcasting as easy as it is- you're gonna pull what we see on the cover and close the wall gap, aren't you, Jasnah?

---

Now Szeth and Lift are getting close to the Singers who aren't Fused – many of whom never wanted to fight in the first place. And you two know if your quarry headed this way or not?

It's an interesting split in the Skybreaker reasoning here – Nale sits out the battle, bowing to the Parshendi as the true keepers/rulers of the land, but Szeth maintains that since this 'law' is the 'product of the many', and his own experiences show how flawed that can be, that he cannot follow it. I'm… still very confused and torn over Skybreakers.

OOOP THERE'S THE ONE WITH THE RUBY they did know where they were going to find her

Okay Sanderson but now that you've put the thought in our heads, we need at least one chapter in a future book where Lift is sitting around with Nightblood and teaching it the filthiest, filthiest language she possibly can in all the languages she knows.

Once again, the greater power of the Radiants' Surgebindings prove to be a deciding factor over the Fused's Voidbindings – and Szeth has experience in the air. Which he's going to need, since now that he has that ruby he's got a target painted on the back of his head.

---

I'm thankful that it's Adolin who told Navani about Elhokar's death. Kaladin… Kaladin saw it happen, and he would have catapulted right back into the moment and into the self-blame and overwhelming grief if he'd had to be the one to tell Navani that her son – one of the people he'd sworn to protect – was dead on his watch. Adolin, on the other hand – they're family, and while Adolin doesn't blame himself to the level that Kaladin does, ever since Kholinar he's been in Grieve later mode. He hasn't given himself the time and slackening of self-shouldered responsibility to process the feelings over Elhokar's death, though he's been mulling over the consequences of what it means logically for the entirety of the Shadesmar journey.

I can't even imagine how this must be for Navani – the second time she's mourned the death of a child. Even if the first time, Jasnah eventually returned, that doesn't change the fact that Navani had to mourn both her children.

As soon as his shared moment of grief with his aunt is over, Adolin is assessing the situation and formulating strategy, taking charge without breaking stride and giving orders to the Thaylens – interrupted by Jasnah being goddamn amazing (hah, she DID Soulcast the wall whole again, and how) – and then changing strategies on the fly due to the new fortification. He's so very far from useless, and yet, this seems to do nothing to alleviate that insecurity.

...Adolin, you're damned good with a Shardblade, but that's a thunderclast. Y'know, the twin of the thing that crushed Lift's lower body earlier? You don't have Radiant healing powers! If that thing so much as clips you you're fucking toast. I know you probably want to help your brother, (you want to be useful,) but without Plate or stormlight healing, that's... very close to a deathwish.

---

Oooop, yeah, Amaram is going all crystalline on us. It's not having any apparent detriment on his physicality so far, though with him wearing Plate that could just be hard to tell. Gotta give him one thing, though: Amaram is really good with the Blade, and doubly so with that dual-wielding stance. It wasn't going to be easy for Kaladin in the first place, and now he's bonding with an Unmade.

Oh yeah and don't forget your job – whatever Dalinar's doing, he needs to focus on it and not get killed. That'd be great.

I can't remember – has Kaladin ever felt the Thrill that we've known of? I can't remember it happening even in an offhand reference as opposed to on-page.

When did Amaram get a Shardbow?! Is that Sadeas' old bow that he's shooting at Kaladin with? I… well, that's appropriate, but I'd rather not see Kaladin hit with a spear-sized arrow.

I wonder just how much the swallowed gem + Unmade bonding is going to change Amaram. Bonding with a spren doesn't change the Radiants so physically (yet), but we see here that Amaram's sprouting more crystals from his body – crystals that are piercing through his Plate from the inside out! - and considering what voidspren do to the Listeners/Singers, I wouldn't be surprised if Yelig-nar evicts his soul once it's done changing his form.

Okay, Plate or not, grabbing a Shard-lance is a ballsy move.

---

'Dalinar walked through the mist, and each step was a battle he relived.' After all this trauma relived, the only way you're going to sleep this night if you survive is by passing out from sheer exhaustion.

It's interesting to know that the Thrill isn't a drive to kill, per se, but just to fight – it simply takes that to the extreme end, keep on fighting even when you've won, keep on fighting until there's nothing left, even then keep on fighting there is only the fight

---

'Jasnah existed halfway in the Cognitive Realm.' As great as that must be for her to Soulcast powerfully and on the fly, it… probably isn't good, technically speaking. The 'normal' people who use Soulcasters seems to end up like this over time, and even if the physical effect wouldn't apply to a Radiant in the same way, it's probably still not safe, or even a good idea.

Still. Jasnah can just reach forth and command air to become stone. That is awesome.

'“Bad?” she asked Ivory. “It is,” he said from her collar.”' Uh oh. And saying that about Shallan going through the amount of stormlight that she has… we know that there are effects/repercussions to simply holding stormlight (increased impetuousness, a drive to act) do we know if there are any downsides to using too much stormlight? A sort of burnout, perhaps?

Just. Casually soulcasts a wall of pitch in the air and then sets the Fused that come through it on fire to bun and writhe and die horribly. No big deal. And then slices through the next with the Ivoryblade. Simple. Elegant. Effortless. Very terrifying.

Ah- that's fair, and not the 'bad thing' that I'd originally considered: Shallan's burning through enough stormlight that there won't be enough left for anyone else to do anything (as opposed to somehow having a negative effect on herself). Damn, I didn't realize that she was going though that much stormlight, if she's nearly cleared all the field of spheres around them of energy!

Fingers crossed that Jasnah can help Shallan, and that neither Renarin nor Adolin dies fighting the thunderclast.

---

Dun ruby? Did he or one of the other Radiants breathe all of the light from the King's Drop? I'd thought it was still infused!

'I think they would have flown like you instead of falling down, if they'd really wanted to be saved.' That. That's not how it works, Nightblood. Also you can't exactly be a 'noble sacrifice' when you're you. And on that train of thought – what would it take to destroy such an Invested, sentient object like Nightblood?

'He did not win by dying.' And you actually do understand that, in more ways than just related to the immediate battle at hand – you've faced death, more or less experienced it, and have seen and decided for yourself that it is not the answer that you'd once wished for.

I continue to love this trio's dynamic. Lift and Nightblood are far too quickly becoming friends for Vasher's future sanity, though.

What is 'deevy'. Is that Nalthian or something that Lift actually recognises, I can't tell

Yessss, time for Lift to show off those skills – not the Radiant ones, but those that she honed by stealing people's dinners.

---

'She'd made thousands of illusions. Each one… each one was her. A portion of her mind. A portion of her soul. … Each one of her illusions that died hit her with a little shock. A sliver of her dying.' Aaaaand you're another one that's not going to be sleeping tonight unless you just collapse into unconsciousness. The soldiers have at least had some experience with this sort of battle, but you… this is really your first battlefield of this kind, and you're not only fighting it all on your own, but in a very strange but intimate way, with parts of your very soul.

She's gotten a lot better at her illusions, though, perhaps partly though the sheer power that she's able to access to power these, but that combination of Lightweaving+Soulcasting backed by all that light feels a lot like Kaladin's airbending of the highstorm even as he drew light from it back during Part 1. I'd bet a handful of spheres that what she's doing here is one of the Lightweaver-unique Surge manifestations.

Veil and Radiant are supports, anchors for her mind, but Shallan is the one doing this, not hiding behind a false mask to do so.

Oh? What do you need Shallan's help for, Lift?

---

AMARAM. CAN. SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP.

[winces] A sword may be better for breaking Plate than a spear, but the problem is that you're much better with a spear than a sword, and there's a fair chance that Amaram might be better facing off against a sword, assuming that he's trained Blade-against-Blade. And I think you realize those problems too.

WHOA WAIT WHAT AMARAM'S PLATE IS SHATTERING- 'Beneath, his ripped sock revealed a foot overgrown with carapace and deep violet crystals.' Um. Well then. Carapace and crystal. He's growing his own armor, isn't he?

Oh shit and he has access to surges now. That first one looks like the Stoneward's use of Tension that we saw in Dalinar's initial flashback to Aharietiam in this book, but that second looks more like Friction! Unless it's a use of Cohesion or combined Cohesion-Tension that acts like Friction? It's possible that while the Voidbindings are analogous to the Surgebindings, the combination that a Fused may have is different from the Radiant combinations. And while he's not… technically a Fused? Ish? Sort of? (What do we call this sort of bond.) he's obviously obtained access to at least one if to two or even more Voidbindings or Surges.

And now it's two against one, and Kaladin still has to keep an eye on Dalinar to make sure that nothing's going after him. Greeeeaaaaaat. This is not going to turn out well.

---

Speaking of not turning out well, Adolin I know you want to be of use and help your brother but, uhhhhh you do know that that thunderclast only needs to get one hit on you without your Plate and you're smushed, right?

And you're alone, even better. Renarin was caught in the crowds, I believe I saw? Um. This is. Just about suicide and I think you know that and that's. Mmmmmmmmm- (Of all the things I wish these brothers never had to share...). It’s going to be half-miracle and half breaking the limits of his goddamn skill if he’s going to survive this for any length of time. Seeing a soldier get squished right in front of you isn't inspiring any confidence

………………

'“You want to fight it, don't you? It reminds you of when you were alive.” Something tickled his mind, very faint, like a sigh. A single word: Mayalaran. A… name?' Right, hearing a spren's voice – not out loud, but in your head, from a spren that shouldn't be able to do anything but scream.

….if that's not a proto-Bond of some kind then I will eat a goddamn mushroom. He hasn’t said any Words, but he’s definitely cracked enough for a bond. Even so, though, WoB is that it’s very, very difficult, nigh-impossible but not entirely so to revive one of the dead-by-broken-Oaths spren. If he’s even edging towards managing that... there’s no way that it’s going to come without consequences. With spren and human both broken - that wouldn’t be a normal Radiant Nahel bond; even if they manage a Bond there’s going to be something different about it. (....hah, another thing that the brothers would share, what is it with the Kholins and strange bonds?)

Oh, great, so even if you dodge, the sheer force of the thunderclast hitting the ground in an attempt to smash you can knock you off your feet. Fantastic.

!!! Somehow, in all of that noise and the roar of adrenaline, you manage to hear a child's whimper and dash back to save them, then proceed to parkour through the collapsing buildings as it strikes at you and then reverse back with speed to blitz its legs. I mean I still want Renarin to get here asap because you can't last forever, but I'm at least not as worried for your life as I was before, considering this display.

….yoink?

---

'It returned every memory he hated about himself. War and conflict. Times when he'd shouted Evi into submission. Anger that had driven him to the brink of madness. His shame.' Everyone is going to need a good, long series of therapy sessions after this is over, but you most of all. Oh Heralds, you most of all.

The thrill reacts to his thanks like a favoured axehound to its master's praise, reveling in his acceptance. It loves him, in its own strange, twisted way.

---

Venli! Back to you, finally – you weren't pushed back with Odium and the others when Dalinar opened Honor's Perpendicularity, and I am curious.

Rhythms are overlapping, drowning each other out, and yet, amidst all that chaos, she can pick out one of the old Rhythms, a Rhythm of her people, not of Odium, and the way that she can feel Timbre, like a magnified version of Maya's whisper not two pages before-

...I was wondering if it were possible for Parshendi to become Radiants. I thought I read somewhere that there'd never been a Parshendi Radiant before. Hah. While Dalinar might technically have been holding his hand out to Amaram, the message came across to someone else entirely. 'You can change. You can become a better person.'

You have Words.

'I choose!' Oh man, that gives me shivers. Not as much as 'you cannot have my pain', but damn that sent a jolt down my spine.

Okay, it's really silly, but I'm cackling myself out of my chair at the thought/sight of Venli hunching over, shoulders curling, practically talking to her chest.

'Journey before destination.'

[EXCITED SHIVERS]

(I do wonder, though, especially considering what we've seen of this Avalanche, if all of this generation of Radiants is something new, different from before.)

---

I am very amused but not at all surprised that Adolin can recognise sets of Shards on sight, even though he likely hasn't seen them in person before.

2v1 is better than nothing when you're facing a thunderclast (especially when this guy can take hits and you can't) but I still want Renarin there asap (WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE US BACK-TO-BACK KHOLIN BROTHERS, SANDERSON)

oh yes and then of course it ignores the bait and goes straight for Adolin. Fantastic, it holds grudges.

….did. did you just throw an over-six-foot-long Shardblade like it was a knife. And that's a move you somehow practiced.

his ability to read/react in battle situations is (tbqh) disgustingly good but that 'judging the shadow of the thunderclast's hand and dodging so it landed with him between the fingers'? What the actual fuck is your reaction time

...not good enough, apparently. Ouch. Even a glancing blow is enough to badly injure. (Broken rib, injured arm and injured leg (unknown severity), possible further internal injury)

Seven heartbeats. Panic conveyed to his mind as a warning, unprompted.

So. Uh. That's a thing.

Except then Thunderclast. He is so fucking lucky that that stomp didn't hit him or he'd be paste.

[winces] Between the previous injury from the sideswipe, the drop, and now the fall, his leg is busted. He can't run. He can barely even stand. But there's Maya again, reaching for him (there are no heartbeat counts no indication of summoning since the rooftop collapse and I wonder if that's significant or not) and-

Oh thank fuck Renarin is finally here

HAH THAT'S RIGHT YOU'D BETTER STEP BACK IN FEAR. A Shardbearer is one thing, but a Radiant? Whatever spren is animating the thunderclast, it recognises that glow of stormlight, and know that its death is nearing.

“I can handle it, Adolin. Just go! Please.” AHHHH, RENARIN GETTING TO BE THE ONE TO PROTECT HIS BROTHER THIS TIME I LOVE- (I still want back-to-back brothers sometime but this is awesome so I'll forgive BrandoSando for now)

………...Adolin is going to have nightmares about the thunderclast smashing Renarin for the rest of his life. That said, Jesus fuck what a fucking TANK- looks like Regrowth use in battle isn't just for healing others, but will accelerate the stormlight healing to the point of well I just got flattened by a boulder but that's okay I'm good

Seriously, though, Truthwatchers and Edgedancers must be just goddamn unkillable

Handing the Mayablade over is not something I'd expected, but better that Renarin have someone at his side that's uninjured and won't have to dodge every single blow and can instead focus more on the attack.

---

'Szeth of the Skybreakers had, fortunately, trained with all ten Surges.' Which means that you've already practiced with Division even though you're not trained with the power that you'll use as an actual Sybreaker, and you know what the other Surges look like and what to expect from them, which is more than any of the other Radiants here have.

Szeth on ice skates is something I need to see art of now

PFFFFFT okay I know that technically a Radiant doesn't have to transfer the stormlight with their hands, but for Szeth to do so with his face just sends me cackling

YOU GOT THE RUBY GO GO GO

Ahhhh, that's what you needed Shallan for. Good job on the switch; they definitely believed it, and now you have time

[winces] Yeaaaah – even if the Thrill never had a hold on Szeth, it'll take the memories of the fighting and the killing and break him all the more, and he does not have the stability to come out of that all right.

But what of Lift? How will the Thrill affect her?

---

Um. Well. Looks like that transformation that Amaram's experiencing is not a painless one.

Unless we see another Surge use from him (which would mean more than two Surges), I think this confirms that Yelig-nar confers the Surges of Tension and Division(?), given that he's burning stone like we heard that the Dustbringers could do from the TWoK prologue and saw Malata do to Taravangian's table.

Ouch. This fight is really showing just how bad it can be for a Windrunner(/Skybreaker) to lighten themselves when their opponents are coming in with blows hard enough to fling them across the battlefield. Also he is once again getting dangerously low on stormlight, and unless he wants a successor-scene to the aerial chase he had in Shadesmar that ended with him plummeting, he'd better be very judicious and efficient in his stormlight use.

Um. Okay so- “Syl. Syl, that was a Lashing.” - confirmed that the Unmade can confer Surges beyond the strict two-Surge-limit on their host. That. That is terrifying.

Gotta agree with Kaladin that's it's not entirely Amaram that he's speaking with right then. While Amaram may still be present, he's been twisted even further – first by the Thrill and then by Yelig-nar – to a point beyond what probably even Meridas Amaram alone would have gone, despite being an utter shitsack of a man.

Then again, I could be wrong. The revelation of the Heralds 'betrayal' could very well have been a no-turning-back point for him, going over to Odium instead out of anger and hurt and spite when he found out that the Heralds he so trusted and believed in were revealed to be already on Roshar, and not as holy as he'd thought.

“After I was forced to kill your squad, I… hurt.” 'After I was forced-'? Oh, you despicable, putrid barf-stain of a human being, I hope one of those amethysts is stabbing you in the balls right now, because what the hell is that passive acceptance. Nobody forced you to murder men for a Blade. This is definitely your fault and you have zero remorse and I am going to cheer when you finally get your face stabbed like you deserve.

Igniting the air?! Oh fuuuuuuck, that's new- note, Division doesn't require solids or liquids it can just. Pull a full Colonel Mustang and ignite the air. Greeeeaaaaaat.

“Then why do you still hurt?” Oooo, that struck deeper than any of his physical hits have thus far, and it's making him angry and unstable – both of which could make him reckless and sloppy.

!!!!! UM. That's. Well then. That's a pretty sickening transformation. Here I thought he'd end up with more of a crystal carapace, but no, this is…. He's a hollowed geode curled around that dark light.

Oooop, yeaaah, and there he goes into the air – Kaladin's domain indeed. Especially with Kaladin so close (yet so far) from the Fourth Ideal, and with far, far more practice in the air, Amaram can't hope to match him.

Daaaaamn, but what an epic sight, Kaladin floating down like a wind spirit himself, the storm still raging in the background, hovering above Amaram as the light of Hatred flickers and fails - “All the war did was identify the spear that would not break.” How very Stoneward of you in that moment, Kal, especially with that parallel between ten spears and ten Heralds.

Aw, shit. Looks like the Fused got smart and brought backup, and now there's barely any Light left for you to fly/heal/Lash with. This is not good.

---

RENARIIIN – HELL YEAH MAN, YOU DID IT

Very good fighting indeed, especially when you're not used to battle – though the technicalities of battle with humanoid enemies is one thing, and going up against a thunderclast is entirely another, you still made it through the adrenaline and the nerves and the fear and you pushed through.

I think it already fears him, Glys; it feared him from the first time it saw him. Also Glys is really excitable and it's adorable.

Huh. So – a 'beacon' of stormlight, and that… did it force the voidspren to flee the thunderclast body and return to the Everstorm, then? I can't imagine that it was a powerful enough light to purge the voidspren into nonexistence, but this scene is a little sketchy on the detail of what the power is/is doing. WE NEED MORE DETAILS, SANDERSON.

Is this an echo of your worries from earlier, back in the temple, Renarin? Or do you mean you saw yourself die in battle – do Truthwatchers have some sort of psuedo-Atium-like ability?

---

...Shallan is Not in a mentally stable right now. Hopefully Jasnah gets there soon because this whole flowing identities thing in the midst of the effort of keeping her illusory army up, that army dying, and the energy drain of the slowly decreasing stormlight is very worrying.

YES thank the heralds there's Jasnah- ooooh, shit, but two of the three Shallans are illusions and the 'Shallan' one isn't her – this is, mmmmmmm… every new paragraph comes with a new name, Radiant to Shallan to Veil and around and around, the personalities not so much bleeding over into one another as flickering, each step accompanied by a different face. This does not bode well. It seemed like she was healing a little in Shadesmar, but this is as bad as if not worse than she's ever been, Veil and Radiant pulled into prominence by the stress.

For all that Jasnah hates teaching, she certainly doesn't hesitate to infodump on Shallan when the opportunity presents itself, even if that opportunity is when they're still in the middle of a battle! This is giving us-the-readers a lot of information on Soulcasting, as well as giving Shallan something to focus on – and it's not like the stream of information is keeping Jasnah from being utterly badass and fending off any Fused that approach, so it's not quite as inopportune as she might believe.

---

'He was… unaccustomed to being able to do things like this. Not only using the Shardblade, but being physical. He'd always been afraid of his fits, always worried that a moment of strength would instantly become a moment of invalidity. Living like that, you leaned to stay back. Just in case.' I'm so, so glad that Renarin's finally getting the chance to step forward and do these things that he's always wanted to do – what is a moment of freezing up in a fit if he can heal from getting smeared by a thunderclast, after all? I don't think its likely that the stormlight 'healed' his epilepsy, though I'd have to wait for a WoB to be sure – but it sounds like the stormlight might be acting as a sort of buffer? idk, I don't know enough about epilepsy to give any kind of informed opinion

All of this sound and activity and frenetic energy sounds like it's playing hell on his nerves, oh man. You've gone through so much today, Renarin, it sounds like you need some serious recharge time after everything's done here.

Uh oh. Yeaaah, a thunderclast was one thing, but twelve small, fast Fused with weapons, and your stormlight running out… that's not something you can face right about now.

OH GOOD they have spanreeds to Urithiru; they're not entirely in the dark about why their forces aren't coming through

[narrows eyes] I'll bet that their inability to contact the Kharbranthians isn't an accident, but not in the way that they're thinking it is.

“There's nobody else.” R e n a r i n. He knows this could mean his death, even with stormlight healing, but then again, when has that ever stopped him? Certainly not in the first book when he tried to charge out, and not in the second when he stepped out into the ring to help his brother. But this time, no one is stopping him. No calls of 'That's not for you. You can't do that. You're not well.' This time, they're seeing Renarin Kholin as the man who can step forward and make a stand.

'Not very noble or brave, now was he?' Hah, it looks like you're one more that doesn't understand the definition of bravery, 'Rin.

Fffffffft, damn, but those stained-glass visions are still the coolest shit. 'These had always been right. Until today – until they had proclaimed that Jasnah Kholin's love would fail.' But it didn't. It didn't, in the greatest middle finger ever to anyone who thinks that Jasnah Kholin cannot feel.

AAAHAHAHAHAHA BOOOM, here come the REINFORCEMENTS. ENDGAME, MOTHERFUCKERS.

---

Shallan is still personality-flickering with no sign of stopping. She needs an anchor of some kind or I feel like this is just going to keep going, and that's. not healthy.

“We're getting too good at pretending.” YEAH, NO SHIT, Y'THINK.

“You don't have to worry. After I rest, I'll recover and settle down to being just one. I actually… actually don't think I'm quite as lost as I was before.” ...okay that's heartening but I'm still worried. That alone isn't gonna stop me worrying.

Oh, great. Looks like the humans aren't the only ones with reinforcements.

---

Yessss, Renarin giving orders like the prince he is! Lopen/B4 following them without a hint of hesitation!

Three shardbearers and two thousand troops? Plus B4 in the air once again and tackling the problem of the Fused? Considering how many of the Sadeas troops have already likely been defeated and the fact that the vast majority of the Singers have absolutely no battle training? It wouldn't be a complete rout, but the tides have turned to where the end outcome is a certainty, I believe.

D u d e, twenty times you healed yourself from getting smacked and/or smushed by that thunderclast-! Hooooly fuck, you're a tank, Renarin.

Carrying an injured Rock all the way down to the Oathgate had to be a trial without stormlight. Good thing they all know how to heave a heavy bridge!

“I think I used up all my Radianting for the day.” I feel you, Renarin. Working the Gate means you'll still be helping but won't be required to interact, and it'll be quieter. Not exactly recharge time, but it's the closest you'll probably get for now.

SUDDEN ROCK HUG. Ahhh, that's a nice thought, Rock, but sudden hugs from not-family prooobably aren't the best thing for Renarin. (Though he does need some time just Being Around his Bridge Four friends for a while, I think.)

'Renarin settled down nearby on some steps, trembling from it all, but grinning anyway.' Good. Even overwhemed and with the city buzzing too-loud around you, you can grin wide. You were awesome today, Renarin, and you deserve every second to bask in that.

---

Lift doesn't seem affected at all by the Thrill, at least from the outside. The Nahel bond can't help guard against its influence, but perhaps her boon/curse from the Nightwatcher can?

You are going to try to capture the Thrill. 'You lure the spren with something it loves.' At least Taravangian gave Dalinar some good advice at least once. And the Thrill… it does love Dalinar, is familiar with him, was probably all but bonded to him during those past years. If anything could tempt the Thrill into that ruby, it's Dalinar.

'“Thank you,” he whispered again to the Thrill, “for giving me the strength when I needed it. … Now, old friend, it is time to rest.” It… it really is amazing to see just how far Dalinar has come, from the first flashback and through the books up until now, and see how it all shaped him, each step of the way, so he could make that decision – and this one – at the crucial point.

---

I'm worried that you're not going to last long enough, Kaladin. Outrunning all those Fused takes power, and you're running out.

[winces] This is just a beatdown, and it's painful to watch. For every step he manages to get ahead, something else rises to take away that clawed-for advantage.

Well, shit. And there's the last of the light.

….except that they're turning tail-? OH, THE THRILL-

But Amaram didn't run. Amethyst-creature that he is now, despite the crack in his gemheart, he's still able to rise and make his way over to the broken, injured Radiant.

'Bridge Four.'

[quiet, internal screaming]

---

Looks like the Rosharans have their own version of '300 Spartans vs the entire Persian army' legend. It doesn't look like they're even going to need the battalion of reinforcements from Urithiru, though, because with the capture of the Thrill, they're collapsing like puppets with cut strings. Some are choosing to stay and some are choosing to split and run with the retreat, though, which. Hmmm. They're not under Unmade influence, but yet they're choosing to go with Odium's forces anyway? I'm actually surprised that there's not more of them that are simply too shell-shocked to move.

And the Everstorm passes as well, its power sucked away – why? Did it take that much energy to stay there in one spot in the first place, or does the removal of Nergaoul and the fleeing of Yelig-nar diminish its power here, or did Odium simply decide that he wasn't going to waste any more of his effort on this battle?

---

GOOD Lopen got light over to Kaladin so he's not lying there suffering from all the pains of his broken body

Haaaaaaaah – Rock broke his vow of pacifism. He'll probably be the next to swear Words, or at least do so soon, I think. We caught a glimpse of the cracks during his POV chapter, and this might well be the tipping point; he killed to protect.

Rock drawing the bow does indeed beg the question of how he did it if stormlight's not enough, and even if he was a Windrunner already, which apparently he's not, gravity and air pressure aren't gonna do squat against a bow's draw weight.

Another scene that needs to be done justice via art – the light breaking through as Dalinar kneels on the stone, the ruby that holds the Thrill (old friend) held gently, Lift resting her hand on his shoulder.

Tears of joy, maybe, but also of relief, and regret, and pain. There's nothing simple about it.

#blink reads oathbringer #oathbringer spoilers #this was like fourteen and a half goddamn pages of bullet points #yeah I'm just going to let this chapter be the only one in the post