#and sometimes when she’s just trying to do something nice or exist and he’s mad at her for no good reason

[banananagoose]

Just got home and already my dad is ✨mad✨ :’)

#lemons and peaches #drove up from the coast and he mad #this whole weekend was illy planned between him me and my mum tbh #a lot of yes no maybe so and then finally last minute this morning fine I’m driving up because mums #plans on the coast fell through so we played car tag on the free way till we got home #but she was so sweet to pick up penne Alfredo for dad and he’s just #mad??? #I don’t understand he came home and he’s pissed off she’s home from the coast early and pissed off about the Alfredo? #I don’t understand #granted his mental health has not been great lately with a lot of his family members passing away and our ENTIRE HOME being on fire #but dude what the fuck?? #it hurts to watch him and mom interact sometimes #sometimes it hurts because she can be so introverted and aloof sometimes when he wants to go do things with her #and sometimes when she’s just trying to do something nice or exist and he’s mad at her for no good reason #neither of them communicate well and both of them act like their parents #which is a hashtag not good situation #it’s frustrating and hurts a lot because they both get so excited when Hannah or I finally get a chance to come home from the coast #but then it’s just tense the whole time #and awkward #I miss my family so much I miss us being a family #I miss us all being together and being happy #but then I just feel guilty? #I don’t know anymore

[xruiiii-blog]

Some ghouls come in pairs and they are giving heavy sidling vibes…

These are just for fun!!! Some hc my friends and I shared:)) forgive my English too…I tried🤷‍♀️!

Swiss & Rain-They are not blood siblings but they’ve been by each other’s side for as long as they can remember. There’s an age gap, they act completely different, into different things, but there are times where they look like each other’s reflection. The pit was a tough memory for both of them but luckily they had each other.

That being said, They will do stupid pranks to the other one and it’s only funny to themselves. No one beside them will understand what the hell is going on. They won’t even stop giggling during practices this sometimes pisses Copia off…but they are his ghouls so he can’t do anything about it. Usually Swiss’ the one who started them. Rain only pays back if he’s bored/got irritated, most of the time he lets it slide.

Ifrit & Zephyr-They are twins! They can be very handful sometimes…the intention was nice(ended badly bc one of them accidentally messed up or got too carried away, drag the other one with them). They are free spirit. Don’t even try n tell them to behave or what to do cuz they always end up doing their own thing. Follow the instructions was never an option. If you trust them on whatever they’re about to do then that’s a promise, they sure knows how to deliver. Usually Ifrit suggests an idea and comes up with a “plan” but then Zeph is the one who’s actually doing all the work…

Rare occasions they get time-out from Terzo. They will start behaving for a week at most. Ifrit has to spend a day or two convincing Zeph to be on his side again. They are the sweetest boys tho, always trying to cheer their papa up and lighten the mood. If papa didn’t like it, try something new. Terzo secretly enjoyed their company. It feels like home when these two hanging around(even if he had to cover his ears or screams “put that down!”) Terzo gets complaints from sisters about these two running down the hall all the time. Besides a disappointed gaze, Terzo never actually punish them, ever.

Aurora & Phantom-baby bat siblings! Aurora is probably minutes or seconds older than Phantom and she won’t ever let this go. There’re A LOT of pillow fights, back and forth arguments about nothing, constantly screaming each other’s name for no reason in the ghoul dorms right after they’re summoned. Copia had to sit both of them down for a chat but ending up realizing there’s nothing he can do from this point on. They’re fine, it’s a sibling thing. The ghouls are on their own now.

(Quick side explaining: our lore is that ghoulettes and ghouls are not coming from the same place. Ghoulettes are like witches?? Their community are tight, function more like merceners, papa had to go hire from the witches. Ghouls are…ghouls. They are from hell, the pit, they can be owned I guess?? Make a living in the pit it’s all on ur own. Doesn’t matter where u from, working with/for the clergy, next to papa is always a pleasure, an honor. A sacred chance for anyone. Exceptions always exist, Mist is a ghoulette but she’s from the pit. Phantom in this case, was adopted by the witches and lives among them, so this makes him a half-witch I guess…there are some ghoul behaviors he simply doesn’t understand, Aether prepared him after his summoning but there’re still alotttt to process. He’s an exchange student if u will. )

If Phantom ever felt frustrated, Aurora is the first person he goes to, and vises versus. Aurora will call Phantom her baby brother only when tommy is not around. They are still on the young side so everyone is looking out for them. They never been on Earth before so they are super hyped about everything. Blew up the kitchen couple times but they were forgiven after a sincere apology. Will you ever say no or stay mad towards a baby bat who love you with all their heart?? That’s right, I don’t think so.

I haven’t read much of the lores in the fandom if there’s similar ones oops!! We have similar tastes I guess! I don’t own any of these they are all just for fun. Thanks for reading and tolerating my on going struggle with writing! Hearts to all the writers out there, idk how y’all did this, it’s so damn hard💀.

u guys’ stuff actually makes sense, mines don’t lol

FYI my drawing always have them in these dynamic as well! These became canon to me…I just love seeing ghouls messing around…

[theminecraftbee]

"You know, you're starting to bother me," Xisuma says.

Joe nearly drops the cat he'd been gently lifting away from an unexpected patch of sculk (can't let the cute little kitty get its paws in the hazardous material without a hazmat suit). The cat yowls. Joe kisses its little nosie in apology and then drops it. It runs behind a bush.

"You nearly made me drop my cat!" Joe says accusingly.

"Why were you holding a cat?" Xisuma asks.

"Well, I don't know, maybe animals are adorable and therapeutic!" Joe says, huffing. "You wouldn't know. All you... you Hermitopia people keep on trying to get me to move them, instead of loving and cherishing them like you ought."

Xisuma pauses. "You confuse me, my friend."

"...are the cats not what you're mad at me about?" Joe asks. "Is it the office supplies? Because, like, you've seen me show up to take more, and you haven't really cared before. Like, you know, if you were gonna be mad about me taking some of my rockets or glass -"

"No, no, it's not that either," Xisuma says. "It's about Cub."

"Oh," Joe says.

He thinks for a while.

"I don't really get it? I mean, I'm not working for Cub. I'm working for Pixlriffs. And for False!" He leaves out which False he's working for; he feels like, right now, it's more helpful if he's just like, oh yeah, I'm working for False, she's giving me an apartment to stay in since you all stole my house, but it's cool, we're fellow Hermits, as opposed to pointing out Joe's currently dubious Hermit status of late by pointing out that he's working for the non-Hermit False that seems confused and distressed by their very existence, and also that he increasingly thinks the Hermit False might be spying on, and...

Look. Sometimes, being Joe Hills is very confusing.

...what was he confused about again?

"No. I mean, sort of? You did sell him all those catalysts," Xisuma says. "We really shouldn't be giving him sculk. It's like I said earlier. He's not the same Cub we know, my friend, and you..."

Xisuma trails off. Joe waits for him to get to the point. He doesn't.

"The catalysts were technically already Cub's, but like, don't tell him that," Joe decides to say.

"You still should have burned them or something!" Xisuma says. "Now he's gonna, gonna infest even more! It's like you don't even care!"

Something strange and hot burns in Joe's chest. "I do care," he mutters. "I care about a lot of things."

"Then why are you - you can tell he's sick, can't you?"

"Have you banned him from Hermitopia yet?" Joe asks, and, hm. He left first. He shouldn't be quite so upset about that, about the feeling like being an outsider thing. He's been here for so long that he should be used to that. Here he is though.

"Yes," Xisuma says. "Because he keeps on - well, you know!"

"Well, the way I see it," Joe says slowly, "Cub might need a job. Or maybe a friend? I don't know."

"Are you blind? He's - he's sick Joe! He's - I don't know what's wrong with him."

Joe huffs. The strange warm thing in his chest gets hotter and colder all at once. It sort of feels like when you drink in hot chocolate on a cold night, and are breathing out again, and all the warm air in your chest condenses into fog in your lungs. Like that.

"Well, maybe he's been perfectly nice to me, outside of annoying my employer. Besides, it's Cub. I'm honestly just impressed he's trying to get away with this. And, um, that's not - none of that is my fault, right? I mean, I didn't... Listen, I have this apartment I have to finish renovating. Also, like, eighty cats to feed. So, um, if... if you don't mind if I just... go do that," Joe says.

Xisuma stares. "Maybe there's something wrong with you too," Xisuma says.

"I don't think so?" Joe says. "I mean... maybe I just..."

He trails off. He still hasn't quite figured out the words for what he just yet. He simply does. He just. And he feels it more every time he remembers that Enemy of the State sign, or that trash can, or the towering monstrosity that he was the first one to build on but didn't get to name, or the way everyone keeps on calling his cats odd, or how hard it was to get hired, or the fact that not-Hermit False had given him an apartment for doing something easy like watching, or the fact that he wants to go home very, very badly, to his pinball machine, and all the things he actually understands, and the rules and friendships that make sense.

And in all of that, burning, he remembers: Cub is one of his closest friends, and Cub has been kicked out too.

So.

"You're in danger, friend," Xisuma says lowly, and he leaves, and Joe's still not really certain which of the many confusing things Joe's been doing lately he's talking about.

He stands there, chest still burning, for a bit, then he goes to the bushes. "Here, kitty," he murmurs. "The big scary Doomguy is gone now, don't you see? Here, here kitty kitty..."

He'll worry about what all this he's feeling is later. Probably at an inconvenient time, actually, like the next time he runs into Xisuma while taking glass from Hermitopia or something. It's fine though. Everything's fine. He's just... he's... just. Yeah. Yeah.

...Maybe he should tell False about this, too. Technically, Xisuma approached the tower, after all. It'll give his shaking hands something to do when he still doesn't have the energy to put the finishing touches on his apartment. Yeah.

No one could possibly be mad at him for that.

#hermitcraft #empires smp #joe hills #a bee fic #....let me have my dramatic joe angst occasionally alright #like this is only BARELY how he's playing this storyline but #let him get to be a LITTLE bitter. about being one of the only hermits not being counted in the group. right

[thenightfolknetwork]

Hello,

I need help. Or maybe I don’t. Maybe I need someone to tell me to stop worrying? Oh let’s be honest I have no idea what I need, that’s why I’m writing in.

See, I have a perfectly ordinary job during the week. I work in an office. It’s nice. Spreadsheets, cake on birthdays, quarterlies. It’s a boring existence but my afternoons and evenings are my own and the pay’s good. Sapio-Liminal relations are improving, but by bit. Honestly I’m just impressed my coworker got the time off when they wound up expecting in two of their three dimensional shifts.

So that’s during the week and you’d be forgiven for thinking I’m just about the most sapio a sapio can be. My liminal properties tend to activate on Friday afternoons, when I- travel.

Teleport?

Move. I move. To the same general area of a whole new plane of existence. It’s a known family trait- I’ve got a grandfather who became king of a small nation in my secondary plane, and my sister’s the apothecary for the capital city. She sells the really good potions, by the way, so if you’re in the area of Spirits and Sundries or someone gives you a radiant quest to bring ingredients to Amaranthia in the Bronze Quarter, just be polite and she’ll fix you right up.

Ah, but this isn’t about my sister’s business, it’s about me and what I do. See, this shift is so regular that I went and got myself a weekend job, just to have something to do. So if you’re sent to the Caves of Madness just north of the Foresaken Forest, be ready for the Riddle Master!

I’m in the first room of the dungeon, just after you pass the initial key puzzle. I keep my uniform in a chest in there, and there’ s a nice break room off the back. I like the work a lot! I see lots of new people and I’m always gathering riddles- there are some chat standards but I like to mix it up sometimes. They aren’t supposed to be hard, or else what’s the point of trying to conquer a dungeon? So sometimes, I admit, I give hints. There’s always the rude adventurer who attacks me first but when you take a job like this you don’t die, it’s in the fine print. I don’t like cleaning the blood off my stuff, though. Takes ages.

Anyway now that we’ve walked halfway around the block, my point.

I look very plain. Humanoid, two arms, two legs, a beard. It’s never bothered me but I am very distinctly ordinary which tends to be recognizable and last weekend I was in the village during my break and I saw a coworker. Not from this side, not from the Caves of Madness, no. It was Tina, from accounting. She was picking up a quest by the stocks.

And I realized, she might wind up at the Caves of Madness. She might make it through the puzzle door and be faced with the Riddle Master only to realize this Riddle Master is Jeff. From the office.

I don’t have hangups about my two worlds meeting- it’s hard to, when your sister pops in for Christmas still dressed for the Winterscratch Festival, or your brother’s filing out taxes for a whole kingdom over lunch. I just really like my job in the Caves, and I like to think I do it well. Our rating as a starter dungeon’s quite high, and I’m proud of that. What if my transdimensional adventurer coworkers encounter me and just- aren’t impressed? That’s not the Riddle Master, that’s Jeff. He has a rubber band launcher on his desk. His mug says ‘party naked’ with a balding chicken on it and he won’t let HR throw it away.

I don’t want to disappoint adventurers, especially not ones who work with me in my primary plane. I also don’t want to cause harm to my dungeon’s reputation. But aside from the whole ‘moving planes’ thing I am utterly dull. What do I do if my performance isn’t enough to make up for not being fantastical like Mordrath the end room boss or Reyala the sidequest kobold queen?

Is it okay to just be Jeff the Riddle Master?

Thank you for writing in, reader. Your letter serves as an excellent example of quite a common genre of letter we get through the inbox here at the Nightfolk Network and I think it might be rather illustrative for other followers.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but what you've done here is make up a scenario in your head based on the worst possible interpretations of everyone involved, and then worried yourself sick about that scenario coming to pass.

This may sound a little blunt, but please understand, I don't mean that dismissively. I only hope to offer you a little perspective, and to help you come to a more accurate understanding of the situation as it actually stands.

You enjoy your work in the dungeon, and are clearly doing a good enough job to keep your managers happy. None of your previous visitors have expressed any disappointment at your relatively mundane appearance, and it hasn't been an obstacle in the job so far.

Perhaps your co-worker will end up in your dungeon. Perhaps she'll make it to your section, and perhaps she'll recognise you. So what? I don't see any reason why she should be any more likely to be disappointed by you than any of your other visitors.

And even if she is disappointed, that doesn't have to mean anything to you. She's a co-worker, not a treasured friend whose opinion could make or break your self-esteem. You owe it to her to be a conscientious, respectful colleague. That's all. What you get up to outside of work, and whether she enjoys your efforts, is irrelevant.

You haven't let down your dungeon so far, and I see no reason to believe you will in the future. Stop borrowing trouble from the future, and concentrate on having fun and being the same old Jeff the Riddle Master you've always been. He seems plenty interesting to me.

#answered #the nightfolk network #monstrous agonies

[loveandmurders]

If you have time do u think you could write about Thomas Hewitt x S/O who's not scared to stand up for him? A little reckless sometimes and normally they wouldn't get too involved with Hoyt but he says something the S/O can't tolerate? I just think it'd be a little surprising for Thomas to see his partner stand up to Hoyt without looking afraid

Hello there, thank you for this request that was really fun to write for! Our poor Tommy deserves to be taken care of from time to time too!

Gender neutral reader here, and no physical description whatsoever.

Hope you’ll enjoy! <3

Warnings: Morally grey reader, mentions of cannibalism and murders, Hoyt, a few strong words, inapropriate questions from Hoyt (sexual).

You weren’t certain of a lot of things in your existence, but you were positive you were in love with Thomas Hewitt.

You had never believed the whole myth of love at first sight. And yet, the second you had seen him, you had known he was going to be yours, and you, his.

And despite the way of life of his family, you had found your place among them.

Of course, Hoyt didn’t trust you, Monty wasn’t particularly fond of you, but Luda Mae was like your own mother now and Tommy was adoring you with everything he had.

You were truly happy, and you had adapted yourself quite easily. Love was making you resilient.

You were trying your best to stay inside the Hewitt’s property most of the time. When you were in town or somewhere else, you always were with Tommy or Mama.

It was the only way you had found to not seem suspicious, or you knew Hoyt would find a way to have you dead in the minute.

The Hewitt’s liked you home though because you truly were useful in the house and in the end, they were all benefiting your presence.

For instance, you had revealed yourself to be very good at baking and from now on the family wasn’t only having a very nice meal done by Luda Mae, they would also eat the best desserts they ever tasted.

And it was the only moment the house would be quiet because everyone would be enjoying their slice of cake.

You were trying your best. Truly.

Well, you might try your best for your new family and you might stay inside the property most of the time, but it didn’t mean you were all quiet and peaceful.

Actually, the house was filled with your laughter and witty remarks.

Luda Mae, Tommy, and even Monty, were enjoying it a lot. They loved how you were bringing life into the house, and a positive vibe.

You were a little, and yet fierce, sunshine.

A sunshine Tommy worried about from time to time.

When you were growing bored, you were always finding the worst idea possible.

And you weren’t afraid of the victims Hoyt, and sometimes Tommy, were bringing home to cook later.

You were actually quite curious about them.

You didn’t mind the killing at all, you were no one to judge the Hewitt’s, especially when they were (most of them) treating you so well.

You were reckless enough to talk to your future meals sometimes, and to toy a little with them as well, but you never participated in the manslaughtering. 

Tommy would have never allowed it anyways, and he was already quite unhappy when you would stay around the victims.

Sometimes he wondered if you realised how much danger you were in.

You sometimes did, but you never really cared.

You knew that Tommy was watching over you and that nothing could happen to you. And when he wasn’t there, Mama was making sure you were alright as well.

She truly loved you like her own flesh, and she had needed another presence in the house for quite some time already.

But she always let you play with the tourists, because she didn’t see why you couldn’t have fun as well.

Tommy disagreed a lot.

And after each time he had to pull you away from a tourist, you were trying to make it up to him at night, cuddling him more tenderly than usual. 

It wasn’t like he was mad at you anyways, he just prefered to know his bright sunshine was safe in his embrace.

You were happy together.

You were happier when Hoyt could leave the two of you alone though.

The only thing you hated in the family was the constant yelling from Hoyt and all the arguments coming from his toxic behaviour.

And when there was an argument, you always tried to not be part of it, or to calm things down.

You tried your best to stay away from Hoyt too, because you knew he could be really rough and you didn’t want to give him the pleasure to hurt you.

You didn’t want to force Tommy to stand up for you when he already had so much to deal with.

And you didn’t like Hoyt anyways, so you had no reason to stay in the same room as him, except for the meal times.

You hated the most when you were hearing him insult Tommy though. It would always break your heart and you would make sure to reassure Tommy right after.

You couldn’t let your man believe he was truly not good enough for his family, when they would all starve to death without him.

Tommy only half believed your kind words, but it always appeased him to know that at least one person in his life was truly loving him and looking after him.

He loved you more than anything in his existence and he was also trying his best for you to not be around when he knew Hoyt was going to yell at him. 

He didn’t like how it would instantly sadden you.

He needed you to be happy and out of trouble.

But today Hoyt was really in a slaughtering mood.

It was hard to know why, but the man probably needed some sleep and a better diet.

You knew it wasn’t going to be a good day when you went into the kitchen for breakfast, and Hoyt was already arguing with Mama.

It was rare he was like that with her, so you decided to just grab a glass of orange juice and to go work on the garden. Tommy was already working in the basement.

At lunch, Hoyt seemed to be in an even worse mood than before.

You settled at the table, quite silent for once, which worried Tommy and he grabbed your hand under the table to check on you if you were alright.

You sent him a gentle smile and leaned to press a kiss on his chin, which made him softly smile as well.

Hoyt made disgusted noises as he watched the two of you.

“Ya’re pathetic, boy.”

You both turned to Hoyt, in surprise. And none of you said anything.

“Is he even fuckin’ ya right, kid?” he asked you and you were shocked. ‘M sure he’s not. He can be tall and all, but he’s a pathetic pussy” Hoyt continued.

The misogynistic expression and the way he talked to your Tommy, instantly angered you like never before. 

You tried to contain yourself and to keep quiet as you squeezed Tommy’s hand to calm down.

“Ya’re such a dumb freak, boy, and ya’ll die alone, because they’ll leave you” Hoyt added and this time it was too much for you to bear.

Rage flashed through your eyes as you stared down at the man.

“Shut the fuck up, Hoyt” you said.

“What did ya say?” he asked you. Everyone was watching you with wide eyes; no one talked like that to Hoyt.

“I said shut the fuck up” you repeated with a stronger voice. You had no fear because your anger was too powerful.

“Bitch…” he started but you cut him before he could continue

“You’re the pathetic little bitch here, you know that? The family would die without Tommy, but we all would be better without you. So you have no right to speak to him like that.” you told him “And for the record, yes he fucks me well and he is the best partner I could wish for. He is smart and strong, he is handsome and caring.” you added as Thomas blushed at your words. He hadn’t expected such fierce love coming from you and he couldn’t react. “You’re the one who will die alone, Hoyt, cause no one loves you.” you continued, feeling quite good to be able to spit on him like that.

He stood up to intimidate you, a little bit speechless for a few instants.

You stood up too.

He might be taller than you but you weren’t going to let him dominate you. You locked eyes with him, your fists clenched.

“Who the fuck do ya think you are?” he finally said and you laughed.

“The one who tells you to fuck off” you replied and he took his gun.

You grabbed the meat knife that was lying on the table, ready to strike if he would dare aim at you.

Thomas, who had watched you in total bewilderment so far, got up and separated the two of you. Luda Mae also placed herself in front of Hoyt.

“Have ya lost your minds, you two?” she asked and both you and Hoyt groaned.

“Ya should apologise for what you said to Tommy” you continued even if Thomas forced you to put the knife down.

Full of rage, Hoyt was about to aim at you this time, but Mama and Thomas prevented him. Thomas roughly took the gun from him and placed it on the table as well.

“Ain’t afraid of you old man, and I’m tired of hearing you yell at Tommy. I’ll fucking kill you next time” you threatened.

This time, Thomas had to push Hoyt out of the house, or nothing would have been able to stop the two of you from fighting.

Luda Mae stayed with you and tried to calm you down, but she was secretly pleased. Hoyt needed someone to shut him up from time to time, and she was glad Tommy had found someone who loved him that much.

After a little while, you went into your shared bedroom. You weren’t hungry anymore anyways.

You were grumbling to yourself when Thomas opened your bedroom door.

“Hoyt’s gone?” you asked and he nodded. 

He gestured at the window and you went there in time to see Hoyt taking his car and driving away. He looked really pissed and you were glad.

As you were watching at the window, Thomas wrapped his arms from behind you and hugged you tightly against his chest.

You looked up at him. His touch was appeasing you now.

He nuzzled into your neck before gently kissing your skin. He was maskless so you could fully enjoy the feel of his lips on you.

He tightened his hold and continued to cuddle you like that, as a way to thank you for having stood up for him. 

No one ever did that for him. He was used to being bullied and abused, so it was a nice change, even if he would prefer if you could stay out of Hoyt’s sight for a while.

You turned into his embrace and cupped his face.

He leaned into your touch, his eyes shining with adoration for you.

“You know I meant what I said earlier. You’re perfect” you murmured to him and he shyly smiled at you.

He had no idea how to react to that, and he couldn’t believe such an extraordinary person like you could love him that much. He wasn’t certain he deserved you but you made him very happy.

You never stopped to surprise him and amaze him.

“And I’ll do it again, I’ll kill him if I need to” you continued.

He groaned and shook his head. He didn’t want you to fight for him even if it was warming his heart to know you cared so much about him.

He needed you safe more than anything and he knew how dangerous Hoyt could be.

He scooped you up in his arms, fully taking advantage of his strength, and gently placed you on the bed.

He topped over you before starting to worship you, his lips and hands attached to your body and roaming your skin in delight.

All the fights were leaving you when he was doing that. Your anger was completely forgotten now as all you could do was moan in well-being.

Taglist:

@feathery-ass

#thomas hewitt #thomas hewitt x y/n #thomas hewitt x reader #thomas hewitt x you #thomas hewitt x g/n reader #leatherface #leatherface x you #leatherface x reader #leatherface x y/n #leatherface x g/n reader #texas chainsaw massacre #texas chainsaw massacre x reader #texas chainsaw massacre headcanons #thomas hewitt headcanon #leatherface headcanons #luda mae hewitt #sheriff hoyt #hoyt hewitt #charlie hewitt #monty hewitt #slasher x reader #slasher x y/n #slasher headcanons #slasher x you #slasher x gn reader

[scary-grace]

Love Like Ghosts (Chapter 5) - a Shigaraki x f! Reader fic

You knew the empty house in a quiet neighborhood was too good to be true, but you were so desperate to get out of your tiny apartment that you didn't care, and now you find yourself sharing space with something inhuman and immensely powerful. As you struggle to coexist with a ghost whose intentions you're unsure of, you find yourself drawn unwillingly into the upside world of spirits and conjurers, and becoming part of a neighborhood whose existence depends on your house staying exactly as it is, forever. But ghosts can change, just like people can. And as your feelings and your ghost's become more complex and intertwined, everything else begins to crumble. (cross-posted to Ao3)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13

Chapter 5

There’s something wrong with your house, but you knew that when you bought it, and you’re slowly coming around to the idea that what’s wrong with your house might be one of your favorite things about it. Part of it is how happy Phantom is – you feel guilty leaving her at home alone, but a lot less guilty when you know she’s with Tomura, who’s kind of crazy about her. Part of it is knowing that you’ll never find another insect in your house again, and that even if you do, you won’t have to kill it. Part of it is never worrying about a break-in, because based on how Tomura responds to even friendly people coming over, he could probably give any potential intruder a massive heart attack even without materializing.

All of that is nice. But if you’re being honest – and you try to make yourself be honest, with yourself if no one else – the main reason why you’re so happy with what’s wrong with your house is because you and Tomura are sort of, maybe, finally getting along.

You have to buy a new microwave after the soup can incident, and it wasn’t the only time Tomura tried to take care of you while you were sick. He ruined a lot of the stuff he tried to help with – flooded the hallway with bubbles after using liquid detergent in the washing machine, left the fridge open for eight hours and cranked up your electricity bill to unsustainable levels – but when you explained what went wrong, he didn’t get mad at you. He called you an idiot a lot, mostly for getting sick in the first place, but he also fed Phantom and brought you food so you wouldn’t have to get off the couch, and in the biggest shock of all, he let Keigo into the house to check on you. You’re pretty sure he only did it to piss Dabi off, but still.

There hasn’t been any more touching. Other than dragging you from the hallway to the couch the first day you were sick, Tomura doesn’t get close to you unless he’s dematerialized. That’s fine with you. You’re pretending the whole incident didn’t happen, or trying to. Sometimes the thought creeps into your head anyway. You’ll be doing something completely innocuous and all at once your mind will explode with the memory of Tomura’s raspy voice begging you to keep talking, not to leave him.

And then the images come in, things you never saw but things you can picture perfectly: His pale skin flushed and his shoulders rising and falling in unsteady pants and his hands frantic and shaking as he jerks himself off. It invariably turns your face into a furnace, and Tomura always notices. But Tomura thinks a flushed face means you’ve got a fever, so you’re safe from being found out. You don’t know what would happen if he did find out. The longer you go without anybody finding out anything at all, the better.

The flu sweeps through the neighborhood, but strangely enough, you’re the only non-ghost who catches it. Eri, Himiko, and Magne all get sick, and Hizashi spends a lot of time gloating until he comes down with it, too. The only sort-of-former ghost who avoids it is Dabi, but that’s because Dabi never goes outside. Or Keigo won’t let him go outside. You’re not sure which it is.

“It’s weird,” Spinner says. You’re giving him a ride to the grocery store because you both need to go, and because you owe him for somehow catching a whole anthill and leaving it on your porch. “That just the ghosts caught it. Usually they don’t get sick.”

“Shouldn’t they get sick more than we do? They don’t have immunity or anything.”

“I guess,” Spinner says, frowning. “But I brought home all kinds of weird shit when I was in school, and Magne never caught any of it until now.”

That is weird. “Jin says he and the others always got sick, but never Himiko before this time. If it wasn’t for me getting it, I’d think it was a ghost thing, too.”

“It could still be a ghost thing even if you got it,” Spinner says. “You spend all your time hanging out with the most powerful ghost anybody’s ever seen. Maybe you’ve got enough ghost on you to catch the – hey, are you okay?”

“Fine,” you wheeze. There’s no way you’re telling Spinner that you misheard “ghost on you” as “ghost in you” and choked on your own spit. “Go on. What were you saying?”

But Spinner’s changing the subject. “What’s that like, anyway? Living with a ghost that strong.”

“You should know. Magne’s pretty tough.”

“She’s got a body count, sure,” Spinner says. All the ghosts in the neighborhood have killed somebody, but Magne and Hizashi are the only ones who need both hands and both feet to count how many. “But I never got the feeling from her that the whole street gets from Tomura. That aura he projects is something else. Did you really not feel it when you were buying the place?”

“I didn’t,” you say. “I knew there had to be something off about the house, or somebody else would have bought it. But I did everything I could think of to figure it out and there was nothing. I’ve never felt what you all are talking about from him. From Hizashi, sure. But not from him.”

“Hizashi’s scary even as a human,” Spinner agrees. “I don’t know how Aizawa handles it. I’d be pissing myself.”

“Aizawa seems pretty bomb-proof,” you say. “I guess that’s a good thing. Or they would have been in trouble when Eri’s conjurer showed up.”

The whole street knows the story, even if the Aizawa family never talks about it. You heard five separate versions of it, one each from Himiko, Jin, Jin’s little brother, a former ghost named Atsuhiro who lives at the top of the street, and Keigo. You’re inclined to trust Keigo’s version, but you see the look on Spinner’s face, and it makes you question things. “Do you know something about it that I don’t?”

“They had the same conjurer,” Spinner says. “Eri and Magne.”

Your jaw drops. “We’re pretty sure he was Atsuhiro’s, too,” Spinner continues, “but Atsuhiro says he doesn’t remember who conjured him. The circumstances are pretty close, though. That conjurer liked abandoned buildings, or ones that were in danger of falling in. When the building comes down, it turns the ghost loose.”

“He wanted to set them free?”

“I guess,” Spinner says. “Loose ghosts can cause a lot more trouble than trapped ones. I’m glad he’s dead. And I’m glad he found the Aizawas first.”

Eri’s conjurer sounds like a real creep, but Spinner didn’t strike you as the kind of guy who wishes he could shove the bad stuff off onto somebody else. “Why? You don’t think Magne could have taken him?”

“She probably could have,” Spinner says. He gets out of the car and heads for the store, leaving you to chase after him. “But there’s this legend. Or a myth. Maybe a ghost story. It says that if you kill your own conjurer, even after you’re embodied, it sends you back.”

“I thought they couldn’t go back to the world between,” you say. “Aizawa never said –”

“Aizawa doesn’t know everything,” Spinner says. His jaw is clenched, and the next words he speaks are hard to hear. “I didn’t want her to go back.”

“Oh.” Your feelings on Tomura are just mixed enough that the idea of him vanishing permanently doesn’t make you panic. Or at least you tell yourself that it doesn’t make you panic and try not to think about it any harder than that. But Spinner looks miserable just saying it out loud. “Um –”

“I need to grab my stuff. I’ll meet you back here when I’m done.”

“Okay,” you say. You want to say something else, but Spinner vanishes down the aisle before you can think of what it should be.

You’re turning a lot of things over in your head as you do your grocery shopping. The legend about ghosts returning to the world between. The world between itself, what it’s like there. The now-dead conjurer who summoned Magne and Eri. The maybe-still-alive conjurer who summoned Tomura. But Tomura’s still a ghost. Even if his conjurer came back, there’s nothing they could do to hurt him.

You remember Spinner saying that Magne didn’t like this world at first, all the way back on the first day you met Aizawa. Maybe he was worried she’d go back if she got the chance. You gather up your last items, pay for them, and go to wait for Spinner, who comes back five minutes after you with a bottle of soda, a bunch of bananas, and a whole bag full of makeup and nail polish from the discount bin. “It’s for Magne,” he says when he sees you looking at it. “She likes pretty stuff. I’d buy nicer stuff if I could afford it.”

“Sometimes the cheap stuff is best.” Your favorite sunscreen is a discount brand, and you’ve never had very much money. “I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I think I was being kind of insensitive.”

“You didn’t know or anything,” Spinner says. “I don’t talk about it very much. I, like – it’s not heartwarming. Or cute. Or anything like that.”

“It doesn’t have to be any of those things,” you say. It’s not like your ghost story fits, either. You struggle with what to say as the two of you walk back out to the parking lot. “You don’t have to tell me. You can if you want to.”

“Really? Everybody else wanted to drag it out of me,” Spinner says. “Somebody new shows up in the neighborhood, and everybody else cases the joint for a few days and comes crawling out of the woodwork. I’d been here two weeks when Aizawa ambushed me with a tape recorder. Everybody’s in everybody else’s business all the time.”

You didn’t get that treatment, but then again, you didn’t have a ghost when you moved in. “It makes sense,” you say as you start the car. Spinner raises his eyebrows. “Ghosts don’t have any boundaries at all. The more of them you hang out with, the less boundaries you have.”

Spinner snorts. “You wouldn’t believe what happens when they start talking to each other. The shit they’ll say – one time I heard Himiko telling Eri how cute it is that Jin picks his nose and farts in his sleep. And she wasn’t being sarcastic. Once they choose a human, they really commit.”

You wonder what Tomura would say about you to the other ghosts, if he ever talked to them. If he’d say anything about you at all. “How do you think about your relationship with Magne, then? Is she like your friend, your sister, your aunt –”

“My big sister,” Spinner says. You back out of the parking spot and steer towards the road, and the noise in the car almost covers up what he says next. “My mom.”

You’re not close with your parents. There was never any real reason why, and it’s not like you hate them. You’re an only child, and the three of you just never felt like a family – not like the families your friends were part of, or the ones you saw on TV, or even the weird ghost families in the neighborhood you live in now. Maybe it was different when you were too young to remember, but as you grew up, the three of you felt more like roommates than anything else. You always felt like you were alone. Moving out just made it official.

But it’s not that way for everybody. Not even most people. You glance sideways at Spinner. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he says, and then he tells you the story.

Spinner’s parents weren’t great. That’s not an uncommon story in the neighborhood – Jin’s dad was an all-purpose batterer, and Shinsou was in foster care – but unlike the two of them, there was no friendly ghost in Spinner’s house. Spinner ran away from home when he was twelve, and nobody looked for him. He went from town to town, building to building, alone. He was fifteen when he found himself staying in the abandoned warehouse Magne haunted.

At first, Spinner says, there was no way to tell that the place was haunted at all. When Magne showed herself, she was always embodied, and he thought she was human, just like him. And she was nice to him. She brought him things he needed, although she never said where she found them. She talked to him, although she never answered the questions he asked her about herself. “She cared about me,” Spinner says. “For real, not pretending like everybody else did. I never wanted to leave.”

But he had to. Spinner caught the attention of the wrong gang of criminals, and although Magne hid him, they found him anyway. Magne’s way of draining people was different than Tomura’s is. Spinner tells you about lying on his back on the concrete floor of the warehouse, watching the people who were attacking him implode, one by one. “And then, with the last one, something happened,” Spinner says. “The whole world – I don’t know how to describe it. It did something. Usually people aren’t conscious when their ghosts embody themselves permanently, but I was. I saw it happen. I knew before she did.”

You wish Spinner could describe it better. It’s not like you’re ever going to see for yourself. “It was scary for everybody,” Spinner says. “Me and her. There we are in that stupid warehouse and there are dead people everywhere and we can leave, finally – except I’m so beat I can’t tell which end is up. It was three whole days before we got anywhere it was safe to talk about stuff.”

“Was there a lot to talk about?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Spinner says, shaking his head. “All the human stuff? Even when they embody themselves, they never embody themselves long enough to get a feel for what it’s really like. And there’s no way for them to experience all the human stuff ahead of time. Like eating, sleeping, taking a piss –”

You imagine the look on Tomura’s face if he permanently embodied himself and then found out about having to pee, and then you’re struggling not to laugh. “That’s bad enough,” Spinner says. “But then there’s the thing where she’s, like – a whole human. A whole human who didn’t exist before. There was paperwork. It sucked.”

You hadn’t thought about that. “How does that even work?”

“Honestly? That’s how we met Hizashi,” Spinner says. You blink. “He spent so long blending into the human world before he embodied himself full-time that he had to learn to forge documents to do stuff, and he’s creepy good at it. He gets you the basic stuff – birth certificate, ID – and then he builds a whole paper trail. Somebody who looks at Magne’s documents is never going to know she didn’t exist five years ago.”

“So that’s how you found this place, too,” you realize. That means Hizashi and Aizawa were here before Spinner and Magne, but when did the rest of them move in? “Who was here first?”

Spinner gives you an odd look. “Your ghost,” he says. “Tomura.”

“He’s not mine,” you say, almost on reflex. “He’d be mad if he heard you say that.”

Spinner basically straight up ignores you. “I gotta say, it was weird to hear you name-drop him that first time. We’ve all always known he’s there, but we know so little about him that he’s basically got legend status – and to you he’s just Tomura. And that’s it.”

“What else was he supposed to be? I didn’t know anything about any of this until I moved here.” You feel hurt, even though you shouldn’t. Spinner’s not saying any of the things your brain is telling you he’s saying – not that you shouldn’t be here, not that you don’t deserve to be in the same house as Tomura, not that you don’t understand. “I’m glad he does what he does for everybody in the neighborhood. I don’t think it’s conscious –”

“Oh, we know that. He doesn’t give a shit,” Spinner says, and laughs. “Maybe that’s why it’s weird. Because he clearly gives a shit about you.”

You knew that. Hearing somebody else say it, somebody like Spinner who doesn’t have a weird relationship with their ghost, makes you all kinds of uncomfortable. “Like, he got on the phone for you. Live ghosts hate technology. They hate anything they can’t haunt. For a ghost like him to get on the phone, he must care a lot.”

You laugh, wondering if it sounds as uncomfortable as you feel. “I still have to apologize to Aizawa for that phone call. Tomura was kind of a dick.”

“They’re all kind of dicks,” Spinner says, and your laughter feels a little less uncomfortable this time. “They can’t really help it when they don’t understand. The embodied ones learn eventually.”

You’re not so sure about that. Dabi’s still very much of a dick. Magne was a dick when she was sick, but so was everybody who got the ghost flu, you included. Hizashi’s a dick on purpose sometimes, but most of the time he isn’t. He can’t be. Aizawa wouldn’t have stayed with him otherwise.

Out of all the ghost families in the neighborhood, you’ve spent the most time observing Aizawa’s. You don’t know why, when you’ve got Keigo and Dabi right across the street, but your eyes are consistently drawn to the house where Aizawa and Hizashi and their kids live. At first it might have been because you needed to confirm your conclusion. You needed to know whether Aizawa married Hizashi because he wanted to or because he had to. And you’ve watched them long enough that you’re sure: Aizawa loves Hizashi, in the same weird way Hizashi loves him.

It’s not like you can’t see why, even if you’re legitimately spooked by Hizashi. There’s nobody more committed to a relationship than an embodied ghost. Hizashi likes to make sweeping statements about all the things he’d do if Aizawa asked him to – like fighting God, or bringing him a piece of the sun, or breaking into the cat shelter and stealing all the cats – but what he actually does is quieter. Aizawa’s relaxed when Hizashi’s around. He doesn’t look so tired. He smiles more. Hizashi makes him comfortable. Hizashi makes him happy.

There’s a line in one of the few ghost books Aizawa didn’t write that’s been playing in your head lately: Ghosts haunt the space they’re given. That’s how they haunt houses. Maybe that’s how they haunt people, too.

“Thanks,” Spinner says, and you glance at him. Somehow you’re parked in front of his house already, when you barely remember driving home. “For the ride. And for not being weird about things.”

“Any time,” you say, and you mean it. You watch as Spinner makes his way up the front steps and opens the door, only to find Magne waiting there already. She hugs him so hard she lifts him off his feet.

You drive the rest of the way back to your house, lost in thought, and greet Phantom on autopilot before you start unpacking the groceries. You know Tomura’s around somewhere, and sure enough, there’s a puff of cold air against the back of your neck – the air chilling and then displacing in response to his presence. “Spinner,” he says without preamble. “Do you like him?”

For once you don’t play dumb. “He’s a nice guy. Kind of young for me.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-six,” you say. “How old are you?”

“A hundred and ten,” Tomura says, and your jaw drops. “I think. It was hard to count in here before. It never felt like anything changed.”

“It probably didn’t.” The first time you stepped into the house, you felt almost like time had stopped. “Me and Phantom change. I bet that helps.”

“Whatever,” Tomura says. At his heart, Tomura’s still an asshole most of the time. When he speaks up again, his voice sounds different. “When you say change, you mean age. Don’t you?”

You nod. There’s an edge to Tomura’s voice now. “How long do you live?”

You don’t like thinking about how long Phantom will live. Your vocal cords feel pinched and tight when you speak. “Phantom’s breed of dog can live to be thirteen or fourteen if you take good care of them. I take good care of her, and she’s only two. That’s – eleven more years.”

“That’s not long enough,” Tomura says. He’s telling you. Your eyes well up. “What about you?”

“If I’m lucky?” It’s easier to think about this for you than for Phantom. “I might make it to ninety. If nothing goes wrong.”

“That’s not long enough, either,” Tomura snaps. “What do you mean, if nothing goes wrong?”

If you’re not allowed to play dumb, Tomura isn’t, either. “You’ve watched medical dramas with me. Car accidents. Heart attacks. Alzheimer’s – the one where you forget everything. Cancer. All those things can happen to humans at any time. And they do, every day.”

“No,” Tomura says.

“It’s mortality. You can’t just say ‘no’ and opt out.”

“No,” Tomura says again. “That’s not how this works. You don’t get to leave me.”

Your stomach twists. “I’m sixty-four years away from being ninety. That’s a long time.”

“It’s not long enough!” There’s a light thud from behind you, the sound of Tomura’s feet hitting the floor as he materializes. A pair of ice-cold arms wrap around your waist, gripping you tightly and yanking you backwards against an equally cold chest. He’s breathing hard, even though he doesn’t have to breathe. His heart is beating harder, even though there’s no reason for him to have one. If not for the chill spreading over you, you couldn’t tell a difference between him and someone human.

His voice, when he speaks, is full of menace. “It can try to take you. I won’t let it.”

“There’s not a grim reaper,” you say. At least, you think there isn’t. But the world has ghosts in it. Maybe it’s got a personification of death, too. “There’s nothing for you to fight. This is just how things are.”

“No, it isn’t. You and Phantom are mine.” Phantom comes running at the sound of her name and drops her ball at your feet. You kick it away and she runs off in pursuit. “The others are stupid. They did it wrong. I know better.”

Your teeth are starting to chatter. “What do you mean?”

“They embodied themselves so they could follow their humans,” Tomura says. “Wherever they go. Even after they’re dead. I’m going to make you follow me.”

You want to tell him to quit talking like a lunatic. Remind him that ghosts and humans are two different species, that ghosts can become human but not the other way around. Tell him that this isn’t a fairytale, that the rules won’t bend just because he wants them to, that you’re going to die one day and there’s nothing he can do about it. “Don’t be so sentimental,” you say, like an idiot. Like an asshole. “What kind of ghost are you?”

The last time you said something like that to Tomura, he vanished, haunted your house all night, and then got so turned on from touching your hand that he flooded the entire neighborhood with horniness. This time he doesn’t vanish, but he doesn’t answer, either. He stays exactly where he is, arms lashed tightly around your waist, cheek resting against your hair, and the cold seeps into your bones.

“Is that really why they did it?” you ask after a while. Tomura makes some kind of noise that’s muffled by your hair. “The others.”

“Why do you care?” Tomura’s quiet for a second. “I get it. That human thing where you have to understand stuff so it won’t scare you.”

“I guess.”

“Then ask somebody else,” Tomura says, almost derisive. “I’d never do something that stupid.”

“Yeah,” you say. Your heart sinks, and you compartmentalize like you haven’t done since the first few months after you moved in. It’s almost been a year. A year ago you’d never have imagined this, and you wish you’d stayed that way. Don’t you? “I know.”

#lovhalloweenhorror #shigaraki tomura x reader #tomura shigaraki x reader #shigaraki x reader #x reader #reader insert #shigaraki tomura #ghost story #loser nerd ghost boyfriend

[outstandingblue]

Promises to Keep

Fifteen - Oel Ngati Kameie

recom!miles quaritch x fem!na'vi oc

| Masterlist | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight | Chapter Nine | Chapter Ten | Chapter Eleven | Chapter Twelve | Chapter Thirteen | Chapter Fourteen | Chapter Sixteen | Chapter Seventeen |

Who would do this to themselves? Miles Quaritch would - he wanted her.

cross-posted on ao3 here content warning: angst, hospitals, fluff, mild choking, mild sexual content, making out word count: 8.8k

Miles didn’t visit Jiniraa - not once. Now, that’s not to say Miles didn’t try to visit her - he certainly did. He would stand on the threshold of the door, unable to force his body through. He could barely even toe the line, sometimes only watching through the small window as the thin blinds distorted his line of sight. 

Spider, on the other hand, refused to leave Jiniraa’s side - he would sit and wait, unmoving for hours at a time. Renia had taken a liking to the teen, admiring his devotion to the only maternal figure he’d ever known. She would bring him his meals when she came asses Jiniraa’s condition, always making sure to include a treat or two. 

Spider was angry. Angry at a lot of things - at himself, at Quaritch, at the RDA, at Jake, at Jiniraa. All of them, he was angry. Quaritch and the RDA were easy to justify - they were the reason he was in this place, this cold, metal, lifeless prison of a city. His anger towards Jake was a little harder to rationalize. Spider admired the man unlike anyone else - there was nothing he wanted more than Jake’s approval and acceptance, but when it came down to it, Jake abandoned him. The Sully’s seemingly made no effort to save them from their imprisonment. Being upset with Jiniraa felt wrong, but he couldn’t help himself. He was mad at her for abandoning him - her physical body was here, sure, but she wasn’t there to make him feel better. He just felt utterly alone.

Nothing changed for four days. She was left suspended in unconsciousness as her body fought to repair itself as quickly as possible; her levels were normal and her wound was healing nicely, so it was just a waiting game to see when she would finally wake. Over those four days, Spider slept a cumulative eight hours, not wanting to risk being asleep in case something happened. He was guilty - guilty for falling asleep while she was in surgery. It’s not like he would have realistically been able to do anything, but it continued to weigh on his conscience. What if she needed him? What if she got better? Or what if she got worse? 

Out of pure coincidence, Miles somehow managed to time his almost-visits when Spider was asleep. The medical wing was relatively cleared out by the time he got there, only a skeleton crew of nurses and physicians working the night shift. They were too focused on paperwork and their umpteenth cup of coffee to ever focus on the Colonel.

The fluorescent lights were the worst part of it. Miles hated those lights as a human, but those lights were the bane of his existence as a Recom. His new body was more tuned into his environment, so he was aware of every little thing, whether he liked it or not. Antiseptic lingered in the air - the smell so strong he had to cover his nose from gagging as the wall of chemicals hit him at full force. 

EKGs and pulse-ox machines beeped, increasing and decreasing in volume as Miles passed the rooms of other patients. Jiniraa’s room was at the end of the corridor since it was the only room large enough to accommodate her Na’vi body. The walk down the hallway felt like forever, as if his feet continued to move but made no progress to close the gap. She seemed so far away. 

On the third night, Miles approached the room with a newfound confidence. He was determined to step through that threshold today. She deserved that - she deserved his comfort in her time of need. 

There was no way Spider’s position was comfortable. His neck was bent at a ninety-degree angle to the left, resting atop his palm as his legs were folded beneath his body. His free hand was outstretched, resting in Jiniraa’s limp and seemingly lifeless hand. A familiar green bag rested in his lap, the one Miles secretly gave her so long ago. It looked huge in contrast to his human body since it was basically the size of a backpack to him. Spider’s extra mask and filtration system sat on the table, making the bag collapse without anything holding it up. On the side, there was a small personalization Jiniraa made a week or so before the incident: decorative blue, purple, and green leaves dangled off the side, almost like a Na’vi key chain. 

The memory was fresh in Miles’ head as everything came flooding back at once. 

She was sitting under a large leaf, using it to block an abnormally intense beam of light. Miles leaned over her shoulder, trying to get a good look. “What’re you doin’?”

“Decorating,” she replied back, not looking up from the leaves as she tried different groupings to see what looked the best against the bag. 

“It’s green for a reason,” Miles snickered back, “‘posed to help you blend in, not stand out.”

Jiniraa scoffed, motioning to the world around her, “do you not see all the color around you? This is blending in. Plus your gear is ugly.”

Miles’ ears pinned playfully to his head, tail swishing against the ground in mild annoyance. She had grown confident enough for their playful banter, a volley of low-level insults and quips back and forth became a daily occurrence. 

Miles took a seat next to her, watching as she rubbed long blades of grass in some sort of natural wax to preserve it. Nimble and skilled fingers worked to wrap the preserved strands around the base of the leaves, finally pleased with the arrangement she made. Their different shapes and sizes made them hang at various levels, increasing the depth of the project. Jiniraa secured it to a metal loop on the side of the bag before holding it in front of her to admire the work before looking to Miles, clearly asking for his thoughts. 

He shrugged, “not my style.”

Jiniraa rolled her eyes as she clipped the bag around her waist. It was as if Miles had never noticed the intricate jewelry and ornamentation decorating various parts of her body until that day. Around her ankle, a thin string was wrapped around three or four times, decorated with cool toned beads. A thick braided band was wrapped around her bicep, only braided leather, no intricate beadwork. 

Her neck had the most alluring piece. Miles had found himself staring at her neck a few times before, but somehow never managed to notice the necklace before. A dark leather hand was tight around the base of her throat, dark blue, brown, and bone beads were woven into the band. A stone rested softly on top of her collarbone, wrapped in thinner strands of leather and attached at the base of the necklace. It was small, probably less than the width of Miles’ thumb, but it was entrancing. As she shifted in the light, the semi-translucent stone transitioned from a deep purple to a blush pink. How had he never noticed it before?

“You make all these?”

Jiniraa furrowed her brow for a moment before Miles gestured to her various bands and necklace. Out of habit, her finger ghosted over the stone, “I made this and the anklet.”

Miles nodded, entranced by the way her fingers twisted the stone, “pretty.”

“I can show you where I got it some day,” she smiled back, actually meaning it. She hadn’t been there in years and it would be nice to return. 

“What about this little number?” He reached out, allowing his fingers to brush against the arm band. 

Jiniraa’s entire body language changed in an instant. She retreated inward as her eyes dropped to the ground, losing a little bit of their light. Protecting herself. Once Miles’ fingers left the band, hers replaced it. “It was Tsu’teys.”

Miles hummed, watching her face change out of the corner of his eye as he sat forward, “his name comes up a lot.”

“Tsu’tey raised me along with Neytiri’s sister before they were both killed by the Sky People. Sylwanin was killed first. Then Tsu’tey when they attacked the Tree of Souls fifteen years ago.”

“You don’t have to tell me more,” Miles responded, feeling like he already opened Pandora’s box. Jiniraa reached towards Miles, placing her hand on top of his hand, letting her wingers wrap around his knuckles while he remained still. 

“I’ll tell you more about them,” Jiniraa paused, looking towards the treeline, “but that’s for another day.”

Miles recognized both of those names. He’d heard the first, Sylwanin, when Dr. Augustine threw a fit after her school was attacked and half a dozen Na’vi children were lost. Quaritch didn’t feel bad for the woman, but Miles did. Pandora was infectious, changing him down to his very core. The second name had less importance in his past life, but it always seemed to come up in Jiniraa’s stories of her childhood. He never prodded like this before, but his curiosity was beginning to take over as he wanted to know more - about Pandora, about Spider, and about Jiniraa. He wanted it all. He wanted her. 

It was a punch to the gut. Miles didn’t realize he wanted her until she was unconscious in a hospital bed. The intricate network of wires and tubes made Miles sick to his stomach, they looked so unnatural around her. She should be wrapped up in his bed, surrounded by his warmth and scent. Being stuck in this lifeless room with these goddamn fluorescent lights and the stink of chemicals was not the place for her. 

Miles had all the confidence in the world walking towards her room, but it evaporated in an instance when he arrived. He stood there for the third night in a row and froze when her body came into view. How long was he frozen? A few seconds? A minute? An hour? He really didn’t know. 

Spider shifted in his sleep, hand instinctively tightening around Jiniraa’s fingers, hoping for a response yet there was nothing. Her fingers didn’t even twitch, something Miles noticed she did during the two nights they shared together. For those two nights, he was blessed with the warmth of her body against his own. 

The thought that she was safe in his grasp eased his mind. Her scent and heat infiltrated his senses. She smelled like the juice of a sweet yovo - his favorite of the Pandoran fruits - combined with fresh rain. It was like a drug that he couldn’t get enough of. After experiencing her warmth, he couldn’t sleep without it. He would toss and turn all night wrong, desperately wanting her there with him. Hence finding himself in the medical wing in the middle of the night. 

After the second night, Miles used his override code to get into her apartment in a moment of sheer weakness. Inside was relatively bare but there was a tiny line of stones across Jiniraa’s desk. Spider collected all of them, gifting them periodically throughout their travels.

Even though there was little physical proof she ever lived there, Miles was overwhelmed with Jiniraa’s familiar scent as the door slid closed behind him. In the dark, his eyes quickly spotted a neatly folded sweatshirt on her desk, right next to her line of trinkets. Without second thought, he grabbed it and shoved his face into the fabric. Her scent was even stronger as it had woven itself into the very fibers after just one night. 

Miles moaned as her scent became overpowering - it wasn’t a sexual moan, but more painful in nature. It had only been a few days without seeing her eyes as they danced between the Recoms when an argument broke out or heard her laugh when Spider told a joke, but the time made all the difference. He was empty without her by his side. He knew she wouldn’t be safe at his side, but he couldn’t help it. Miles wanted her more than anything. He couldn’t do that. He couldn’t submit to that selfish desire, not when it would only cause her more pain in the future. 

Spider’s eyes remained closed as he cracked his neck. Miles’ head snapped towards the teenager, not realizing he was beginning to wake up. Miles had two options. Option one - move out of the doorway and pretend he was never there, but that would mean not being able to see Jiniraa any longer. Option two - hold his ground and let the kid see he was there. That also was not the best option; Spider was unbelievably distraught when he woke up after Jiniraa’s surgery, screaming profanities until Miles left the room. 

Option one was more favorable, but he didn’t have time to decide as Spider already locked his fiery eyes on the Recom. He seethed with rage as his nostrils flared, seeming he was angrier than the day he first met Miles.

“Hey kid.”

Spider said nothing, ripping his gaze away and looking towards Jiniraa. She looked the same as before. He squeezed her hand again but got nothing in response. Miles hesitated in the doorway before finally stepping through. He had finally crossed the physical and mental threshold, bringing him closer to the woman in the hospital bed.

Spider did a once over of the ghost of his father, noticing his disheveled appearance. He wasn’t in his usual fatigues, boots, and a tank. Instead, he was in dark loose sweatpants cinched tightly around his waist. His feet were bare - ever since Jiniraa convinced everyone to take off their boots in the forest, no one had any desire to put them back on ever again. His top was a sweatshirt, the collar was stretched and loose around his neck from how many times he pulled it to take a deep inhale of Jiniraa’s scent, making the same motion as the regulator currently around his neck. Spider still had no clue that Jiniraa spent the night in Miles’ room. No clue that it was Jiniraa’s scent etched into the sweatshirt. No clue how much Miles cared about her. He knew none of it. 

“What do you want?” Spider growled out.

Miles raised his hands in mock surrender, “just checkin’ on her.”

Under his breath, Spider mumbled, “haven’t done that before.”

Miles grit his teeth. He was trying to be civil, but the kid was making it pretty damn hard. He tried his best to suppress the desire to scold the kid, acknowledging the stress he was under, but that didn’t stop Miles’ patience from wearing thin. “Yes I have. You’ve been too busy snoozin’ to notice.”

Miles wouldn’t admit he was too scared to walk through the door. Spider didn’t need to know that. 

“Why are you here?” Spider demanded.

Miles shifted his weight from one foot to another, “I believe I just told you.”

“That’s not what I’m asking.” Spider wouldn’t break their intense eye contact. Miles knew what he was trying to ask. Why do you care?

“Look, kid,” Miles sighed, “it’s complicated.”

“What is?”

“Everything,” Miles admitted.

Miles rubbed at his face, pulling the tired skin taut. That’s what would have happened if Spider saw him, but he hadn't. A quick slide to the right and Miles pressed himself flush against the cool metal wall. A coward’s escape. Miles exited as quickly as he came, pressing his hands against his ears when Spider began begging for Jiniraa to wake up. He couldn’t listen to the pain in the kid’s voice knowing she wasn’t going to respond. 

He wanted her, but it didn’t matter what Miles wanted. He couldn’t be Miles anymore because it was his fault she was in this position. From here on out, he needed to be Quaritch - and Quaritch had a mission to complete. 

●●● 

By the fifth day, Renia was beginning to seriously worry. Based on her countless scans and tests, Jiniraa had no reason to still be in her unconscious state. She should be up and moving, not plastered to the bed like a dead body. Her chest continued to rise and fall while her eyes moved under closed lids, but that was it.

Renia tossed a small muffin to Spider. Bridgehead muffins were always dry, but a muffin was a muffin and Renia quickly learned Spider like the chocolate ones. Spider gave a quick thanks before digging into the pastry. Renia wasn’t in her avatar form today, so it was a little jarring when a human walked in rather than a huge blue body. She looked relatively the same, but her rich skin was a sharp contrast to the gray scrubs and white coat. Spider noticed small gold jewelry that decorated the shells of her ears, dangled around her neck, and pierced through her nose. Her long thin braids were pulled back over her shoulder in a ponytail, the same hairstyle her avatar always had. Except, of course, she didn’t have a braid that reached her tail - she also didn’t have the tail, obviously. 

“How’d you sleep last night, Spider?” Renia asked, moving around quietly as Spider finished his morning treat. She checked the IV stuck into Jiniraa’s hand, hung a new bag of fluids, and read the monitor. 

“Not great,” Spider shrugged, mouth full of his muffin, “did you stop by last night?”

Renia shook her head, taking note of Jiniraa’s steady heart rate. “No, why? I don’t think Bly did either.”

Spider pursed his lips. He was sure he saw someone last night as their figure retreated into the darkness. He didn’t press the issue further, he must’ve just had a sleep-driven haze. “So anything new?”

“No, I’m sorry, Spider. I wish I had other news for you.” Renia shared in sorrow. Spider nodded, squeezing Jiniraa’s hand once more. A moment passed, then two, then countless others as he waited, but she never squeezed back.

The day came and went the same as always - Renia came in the morning and gave Spider a little food before checking on Jiniraa, then Bly and Renia came together around lunch with some more food and ran more tests, Renia would come after dinner to deliver more food and check Jiniraa’s vitals while Mansk awkwardly hovered near the door.

The cat was out of the bag with Mansk and Renia, so they didn’t have to sneak around as much anymore. Apparently everyone had known for sometime, proven by Ja’s outburst in the forest. Still, Mansk couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable standing there as Spider would occasionally glance over. He left his sunglasses on a table in Renia’s office, assuming it was just going to be a quick check in, so he had nothing to hide under. 

“Anything new?” Spider asked the same question every time Jiniraa came, desperately hoping for a different answer. Renia was forced to give him the same disappointing answer, time and time again. Both of their voices were beginning to lose their hopefulness as despair settled deep in their stomachs. What if she didn’t wake up? Then what?

Like usual, Spider squeezed Jiniraa’s hand and waited. Renia slung her stethoscope over her shoulder, sliding Jiniraa’s hospital gown back into place before getting up to move. 

Then it happened - Spider almost screamed as Jiniraa’s finger twitched ever so slightly against him. Apparently he did scream as the noise made Renia’s data pad tumble to the ground and Mansk reached for the gun strapped to his thigh. 

“What the hell, Spider?” Renia scolded, reaching down to grab the data pad from the ground, inspecting it for damage. 

“She moved! She moved! Her hand - it twitched against me! Look!” Spider yelled, standing up in his chair.

Renia glanced over to Mansk before hurrying over, a sad look in her eyes. It wouldn’t be the first time she had seen someone imagine their loved one doing something in their comatose state. Spider could have been seeing things, driven to imagine a better scenario than the horrible situation he was faced with. Renia didn’t know what she would do if Spider had been wrong, but he wasn’t. She was in her avatar body in the evening, so she towered over Spider as she watched Jiniraa’s fingers fidget against the small human.

“Oh my god,” Renia pointed back to Mansk, “um, page Bly.”

Mansk reached into Renia’s white coat as it laid across one of the chairs, fumbling with the fabric as he tried to find the pager. Once the device was in his hands, he didn’t know what to do. He’d never used a pager before - hell, he hated that goddamn thing. He pushed the device into Renia’s grip. He knew how to shoot and kill, not how to use a pager. 

“Are you kidding?” She quickly pressed on a few buttons, sending a message directly to Bly. She should be here in a few minutes. When everyone was leaving dinner, Bly made a comment about visiting the gym since she hadn’t been there in a while in her avatar body. 

“Jiniraa? Jiniraa? It’s me, Dr. Renia Cox. You’re okay. You had an emergency surgery and you’ve been out for a couple of days.”

Jiniraa’s eyes began to open. It took a few seconds before she realized she didn’t recognize her location at all, beginning to look a little more frantic. Jiniraa laid flat on the bed, unmoving as her eyes adjusted to the blinding fluorescents. Renia’s voice was far away and indistinguishable. She kept talking, but Jiniraa only caught bits and pieces. Her brain was too frazzled to even attempt to put those pieces together. 

An even brighter light made Jiniraa flinch backwards. She tried to cover her sensitive eyes, but the wires and tubes made it almost impossible. She hastily pulled at everything as she finally came to her senses. She felt trapped and tied up. 

“‘Niraa, it’s okay. You’re okay.” Spider tried to reassure Jiniraa, but Renia pushed him behind her as Jiniraa’s limbs began to flail around. With her strength, she could easily throw Spider across the room with ease. Mansk mirrored his partner, holding Jiniraa’s other arm down against the bed until she calmed down enough. Jiniraa only settled when the exhaustion took over. 

“Jiniraa,” Renia insisted, “I need you to breathe. You’re okay, you’re safe. It’s me, Mansk, and Spider.”

“I’m here, I’m here,” Bly came running in. Her skin gleamed with sweat, both from the workout and the spring from the medical wing. Lyle and Ja trailed behind, both in their workout outfits as well, they’d been in the gym when Bly got her page. 

Renia pointed to Lyle, “Wainfleet, get the Colonel.” Lyle nodded and turned to run out of the medical wing. It would be faster than trying to get ahold of him via their tablets. Ja assumed Mank’s place in the mix, the two doctors and one field medic working in tandem to check on Jiniraa and keep her calm. 

Being the most familiar of the faces, Jiniraa locked eyes with Ja, “where’s Spider?” Her voice was weak, scratchy and rough from not being used in so long. 

The human quickly weaved through the legs of the two woman closest and climbed up on Jiniraa’s bed, “I’m so happy to see you.”

Jiniraa’s eyes filled with tears, mirroring Spider’s own expression, “Oel ngati kameie, sweet boy.”

“Oel ngati kameie, ‘Niraa.”

Jiniraa looked around, “where’s Miles?”

Renia couldn’t help the smile that formed on her face, “Wainfleet is already on his way to get the Colonel, he’ll be here soon, don’t worry.” Jiniraa nodded, pulling Spider closer to her.

Ja silently slipped out of the room as it suddenly felt overcrowded. Mansk shifted his weight, nodding to his comrade, “she alright now?”

Ja crossed his arms, turning to stand shoulder to shoulder with Mansk so he could peer into the room as well. “Yeah, just a little shaken I think.”

A few minutes later, a single set of boots could be heard coming down the corridor. They were quiet and unhurried as Lyle returned with his tail between his legs, shooting a look to Mansk and Ja, almost a plea as he called forward, “um, doc?”

In unison, Bly and Renia responded, “yes?”

“Can I talk to you out here?” Lyle asked, continuing to look at Mansk and Ja for some sort of moral support. He knew the news he was about to deliver wouldn’t go down well. 

Renia handed off the monitor before joining the growing group in the corridor, “what is it, Wainfleet?”

“Well…” he trailed off. Mansk’s lip twitched upward as his chest swelled in pride. He’d only ever seen Lyle act like this in front of Renia, finding her absolutely terrifying for some reason. She wasn’t someone Lyle was able to just push around or use his muscles to impress. 

“Spit it out.” She deadpanned, “I don’t have time for this.” 

“Colonel didn’t want to come,” Lyle sputtered out quickly.

“What do you mean he didn’t want to come?” Renia growled.

Lyle paused, mouth hanging open as he looked to his comrades for help. Both averted their eyes - this was Lyle’s problem, not theirs - he would have to deal with Renia’s wrath himself.

“Wainfleet?”

“That’s what he said!” He screeched out, exasperated that she didn’t seem to get the message. The commotion caught the attention of Bly, Spider, and Jiniraa as their attention snapped to the hallway before sharing confused looks.

“That fucking coward,” Renia spat, “where is he?”

Mansk could see the fire in her eyes, so he decided to try and bring her down a level, “Ren, I don't’ think-”

She ignored him, not even acknowledging that he stepped forward, “Wainfleet. Now.”

Mansk quickly shut his mouth. Her demanding tone wasn’t directed towards him, but it made his tail want to hide between his legs as well. Renia reached up, grabbing Lyle by the ear before forcing him down to her height. Her nail pressed into the soft shell, almost hard enough to draw blood. 

“Shooting range. Outdoors.” Lyle admitted in defeat, nursing his ear once Renia released. He knew she wouldn’t ease up until he gave her what she wanted. Like a little firecracker. 

Renia grumbled, already moving down the corridor. Mansk jogged to catch up and lightly grabbed her elbow, trying to slow her down. “Ren, I don’t think this is the best idea.”

“No, Mansk, it is his fault she’s in that goddamn bed in the first place. And now he gets to be a coward and not come? Why? Because he doesn’t want to? Well tough shit. I’ll drag him back here kicking and screaming if I need to.” Renia roughly pulled her elbow out of Mansk’s hold, resuming her march right away. She might as well have been wearing bricks on her feet with how much noise she made. Mansk shot a glare at Lyle as he followed the doctor out - maybe if he hadn’t been a bitch and stood up to the Colonel when Renia asked, this wouldn’t be happening. 

Renia didn’t bother to wait for Mansk as she walked outside, quickly moving towards the outdoor shooting range. The sun was beginning to set and the outdoor field lights had been turned on, dampening the natural Pandoran beauty. 

“Quaritch!”

Miles stood, rifle tucked into his shoulder as he rapidly shot down the alley, hitting the center repeatedly. When the doctor called out, Miles either didn’t hear her anger over his rapid fire or he didn’t care to halt his actions. She didn’t slow her approach as Mansk trailed closely behind, knowing it would be easier to stop the Colonel than Renia. He was being proactive, trying to protect both her and their relationship. If he dared to stop her pursuit, he would never hear the end of it. 

“Colonel Quaritch!” Renia fumed.

Miles set his rifle in a gun stand before slipping his revolver from the holster on his thigh - six shots, six bulls eyes. His shoulders were tense, muscles pulled tightly around his neck. His tail flicked around in utter annoyance while his ears pinned against his head - they spent more time pinned than they did relaxed. “What, woman?”

“It’s doctor.”

“What do you want?” He was already to grab another magazine. Based on the empties spread across the table, Quaritch had been out here for a while. He was never one to haphazardly waste precious ammunition like this, yet he was spending hours at the range, even in the dead of night. After each failed attempt to visit Jiniraa, he would spend the next two hours at the outdoor range. 

“She’s awake.” Renia’s tone had yet to soften, bothered by how rudely the Colonel had been ignoring her. Miles’ actions were stunned for a second before resuming as if nothing happened. If you hadn’t been looking, you wouldn’t have noticed it.

“And?”

“And?” She barked. “The fuck do you mean and?”

“What do you want me to do about it? Jump around and celebrate?” Miles scoffed, turning around to look at the pair that stared back at him. He lent back against the side of the table, crossing his arms and attempted to seem as uninterested as possible. 

“Well, maybe you should, considering it's your fault she was unconscious in the first place.”

Miles bared his teeth, completely seething at this point, “yes, thank you for reminding me. Something you’ve done every day over the last fucking week.”

Renia mirrored the Colonel’s body language, crossing her arms over her chest, “yeah, so you could at least act like you feel bad.”

That seemed to hit a nerve with Miles. He was trying so hard to put up this facade. If only she knew how much he was hurting deep down. If she could hear his thoughts for even ten seconds, she would be utterly overwhelmed by how much Jiniraa had infiltrated his every thought, every action, every breath. He couldn’t even fucking breathe without thinking about the mask strapped to her face, “don’t you dare tell me how I feel.”

“Then stop being a fucking coward, Colonel.” Renia held her ground, even as Miles’ hand twitched at his sides. Rage was coursing through his veins, something Mansk easily picked up on.

“Alright, why don’t we take a step back?” Mansk suggested, placing himself between the pair. He couldn’t tell who wanted to kill who more. Honestly, it was probably Renia.

Renia pointed over Mansk’s shoulder, continuing their spat, “if you aren’t going to see her then at least do it for the kid. You’ve neglected your son while his mother is out of commission.”

“He’s not my son.” Miles didn’t comment on the insinuation that Jiniraa was Spider’s mother. Everyone knew she assumed the maternal role from a young age, basically raising the human as she raised herself. They had to find their way together in the world, but they had yet to find their place. 

Miles huffed three more times before turning back to the table, leaning both hands against it. He could reload the revolver’s chamber and just go back to shooting until the doc got the message, but she was determined. She would stand there until the sun came up if it meant getting her way. “How is she?”

Renia relaxed, seeing the Colonel wasn’t going to stonewall her anymore. She pushed Mansk’s extended arm away, shooting him a look that said I got this. “She wants to see you. Asked for you.”

She wants to see him. She asked for him. “How is she?”

Renia’s gaze softened at the look on Quaritch’s face. He wouldn’t look her in the eyes when he asked the question, preferring to focus on the bullet he rolled between his fingers. 

Renia rested a tentative hand against Miles’ shoulder. He tensed instantly, not used to any sort of comfort, let alone physical. It was okay, but what he really wanted was Jiniraa’s comforting touch. “She’s okay. Really, Quaritch, she’s okay.”

“Is she upset?” 

Renia seemed to understand what the Colonel was really asking - is she upset with me? She shook her head, “I don’t think she would have asked for you if she was upset.”

Mansk offered his own opinion on the matter, “she seemed pretty upset to me.” Renia shot a glare at her partner, eyes a little harsh to ask why he would say that. “You know - I mean, like just from waking up.” 

Mansk tried to fix his misstep, but the damage was already done. Miles' ears perked up in alert. He wanted Mansk to elaborate, but the couple seemed to have a silent debate through their facial expressions. 

Renia sighed, removing her hand from the Colonel’s shoulder, “I think you being there would help, sir.”

Miles scoffed at the irony of it all, “you have spent the past week bitchin’ at me about how this is all my fault.”

“Yes, and?”

“And now you want me there.” He laughed at his own misery.

“She wants you there. Why can’t you get that through your thick skull, Quaritch?”

Miles’ lip curled back in hostility, but Renia’s words had merit. Jiniraa asked for him to come. He nodded before grabbing his revolver, reloading and clicking on the safety before sliding it back into the holster before slinging his rifle over his shoulder. He didn’t say anything to the doctor and Recom as he pushed past them to head back inside.

Once the Colonel was out of earshot, Mansk turned to Renia, “You make me nervous sometimes, you know? Next time tell me before you start threatening my superior like that.”

Renia winked before balancing on her toes to place a soft kiss at the corner of his mouth - her favorite thing to her. “I gotta keep you on your toes, love.”

There was something different about approaching the medical wing knowing she was awake. Adrenaline and nervousness coursed through Miles’ veins, making him feel like he was on fire. Hands continuously clenched and released as the distance to Jiniraa got smaller, but he didn’t slow once. He knew that if he slowed even the slightest, he would stop - he had to push if he was going to see her.

Everything in his head screamed to turn around. Just a few quick turns and he would be back in his apartment. He could hide out there, but it would only be a matter of time before she infiltrated his thoughts once more. He had no way to escape her, so he might as well throw himself into the fire. He was already in Hell anyway.

The two knuckleheads known as Lyle and Ja stood in the hallway, playing rock-paper-scissors to see who would be the unlucky one to go find Dr. Cox. As of right now, they were the best out of thirty-one. 

“Boss?” Lyle tilted his head while glancing at Ja, but he wasn’t focused on the hallway conversation anymore.

“What, Wainfleet?” Miles challenged, daring him to say something. 

“Nothin’, just didn’t expect to see you is all.”

“Well, now you do.” Miles retorted before changing the conversation, “how is she?”

“You could go in and see for yourself, she’s right there.” Ja was too preoccupied watching Bly to even realize the words left his mouth until it was too late. Miles stood with a cocked eyebrow and crossed arms, daring him to say something else. Ja suddenly was keenly aware of the rifle slung across the Colonel’s back.

Miles pushed past them, sending Ja a harsher than usual scowl before standing in the threshold of the door - a place he’d found himself stuck before. This time was different - he wasn’t sick to his stomach at the sight in front of him. No, not this time. Spider sat on the bed next to Jiniraa, slightly curling into her good side as words spilled from his mouth, trying to share every little thought he had over the past five days. They were too preoccupied to notice the Colonel’s presence, but Miles wouldn’t risk ruining their moment so he waited. His turn would come. 

Bly was the one who noticed the presence of someone new in the room, gasping in surprise, “hello Colonel.”

Miles waved her off, locking eyes with Jiniraa as her mouth pulled into the smallest smile, lip quivering ever so slightly. Bly took her leave, hanging her head low as she slipped past the Colonel to join Lyle and Ja in the corridor. 

Lyle snickered as Bly joined that, “what’re you scared?” Bly punched him in the bicep and he rubbed at the muscle as if her punch actually hurt. 

Ja barked out a single laugh, “says the one with his tail between his legs because of Cox.”

“Fuck you,” Lyle muttered under his breath. Ja just hummed as he rolled his eyes. 

Jiniraa squeaked out a little hello as Miles approached, but he didn’t return the greeting. He did a once over of her, still not liking the way the hospital gown laid against her and the tubing that rested on top. Her mask was hanging against her neck, only needed periodically rather than constantly. 

He continued to say nothing as he approached - the silence was slightly unsettling, making Jiniraa reposition herself on the bed. Her stitches pulled as she tried to sit up more, making her suck in a sharp breath. Miles was instantly at her side, no longer taking those painfully slow and calculated steps. “You okay?”

Jiniraa laughed, “not even going to say hello first?”

“No. Are you okay?” Miles repeated. Jiniraa brought her hand to cup the side of his face. He remained completely still - afraid if he moved she would retract her hand and it would never return. 

“I am okay, Miles, I promise.”

Spider scoffed beside them, crossing his arms across his chest while turning around to sulk towards the wall. Jiniraa rolled her eyes at the childish antics and Miles raised a brow. They both knew Spider didn’t like Miles - that much was clear - but Spider hadn’t filled Jiniraa in on how he went bat shit on him while she was in surgery.

If it were really a choice, who would have chosen this? Deep down, Miles wished he never met her in the forest and he wished she never made such an impact on his life. But at this point, he couldn’t undo the past or the present. Maybe he wasn’t brought back just to hunt down Sully. Maybe, just maybe, he was brought back so one day he would cross paths with Jiniraa. Even though he wants it, he knows he didn’t own Jiniraa - she didn’t belong to him. He belonged to her. He was hers, mind, body and soul, he was hers and that would never change. 

Jiniraa ultimately pulled her hand away. Miles knew it was too good to be true, but she didn’t pull away quickly. It was a slow retract as she wanted to keep her hand there as long as possible. Everything he thought earlier was suddenly under her soft touch. 

Jiniraa smiled at Miles as she stealthily reached around Spider’s chest before seizing down and pulling him towards her. Her hair found its way into his hair, rubbing erratically so his hair would stand straight up. Spider thrashed in her grasp, but the smile on his face showed this wasn’t the first time he found himself in this situation. Miles couldn’t help the small twitch in his lip as he watched their playful interaction. 

Spider eventually managed to slip out of Jiniraa’s iron grip. He seemed to be in a better mood, so Miles took the opportunity, “hey kid.”

Spider’s sour face returned instantly, “old man.”

Miles ears pinned, “what did I say-”

Jiniraa’s tut made Miles stop in his tracks, lowering the finger he had pointed at Spider. The kid smirked, knowing Jiniraa was there to defend him and Miles could do nothing. Spider slid off the bed, deciding he didn’t want to be in the room any longer. Based on the looks they were giving each other, he could already tell where this was going.

“How you feelin’?” Miles asked, standing right next to her bed. 

Jiniraa rolled her eyes, “I already said-”

“No - you said you were okay. I asked how you were feeling.”

Jiniraa stretched her arms out in front of her, “I want to get up and move. I’m stiff.”

Miles was apprehensive, but regardless if it’s what she wanted then he couldn’t do anything to stop her. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I need to move. That doctor - I think her name was Campbell - she said I can.” 

Miles didn’t have time to protest or react as Jiniraa moved to slide her legs off the bed, making her chest to chest with the Colonel. His breath was fanning down on her face and she could feel the heat radiating from.

Given their close proximity, Miles only needed to whisper for Jiniraa to hear, “hi, sweetheart.”

She matched his volume, “hi, Miles.” Jiniraa’s gaze kept flickering between his lips and eyes as she continued, “no more baby?”

“Oh no, that’s still here.”

Jiniraa hummed, jutting her chin up slightly. If he just leaned forward the tiniest bit, they would make contact. They both wanted the touch, desperately. She was almost whimpering at how much she needed the touch, but he didn’t move. Not here. Not in this sterile room with these fluorescent lights and the overwhelming smell of chemicals. It wasn’t right and she deserved better. Better than him, but she didn’t want anyone else. She knew that - she’s known since he cradled her face with desperate eyes after she was attacked.

Miles was also keenly aware of the peanut gallery behind them, not even trying to hide their interest in the series of events transpiring in the tiny recovery room. So, he took a step back, but not before grabbing onto her hand to make contact, softly rubbing his thumb against her knuckles. Jiniraa was upset, clearly under the assumption that she did something wrong. Maybe he didn't want her after all and she was just some little naive village girl. 

Miles called Bly back in to unhook Jiniraa from her IV and everything else. Miles towered over her as she worked. He was large and imposing to everyone, but Bly was the shortest avatar he’d ever seen. 

Lyle leaned against the door frame, Ja standing slightly behind, “finally awake sleeping beauty?” Jiniraa just blinked, not understanding his reference. “Ah, I’m just joking. Glad to see you’re up, kid.”

“I’m older than you,” Jiniraa threw back with a lopsided smile. Lyle waved a hand at her, dismissing the snide remark.

“Alright,” Bly started as she took a step back. “You’re gonna have to take it slow. Your body is going to be weak from these past few days.”

Jiniraa nodded, moving to push her feet to the floor. She tried to put weight on them, but they gave out instantly. Miles instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her against his chest as she regained her footing. Miles lowered his mouth to Jiniraa’s ear, lips brushing against the pointed tip, “I recall us being in this position the first time we met, baby. You really do go weak in the knees for me.”

Her face burned as she pushed against his chest, trying to prove she could stand on her own. Miles stepped back, but kept a hand outstretched as she took her first tentative steps. There was a throbbing pain around the stitches, but nothing too drastic. Jiniraa continued to berate Bly, asking if she could go outside as the woman checked on her stitches. After the fourth plea, Bly finally gave in. 

Jiniraa’s top was fine, but her pants had to be cut off for her surgery - it’s not like they weren’t already ruined from the attack. Renia had already set out a pair of her own pants for the Na’vi when she woke up. Miles pushed the peanut gallery out of the doorway, closing it behind them so Bly and Jiniraa would have some privacy. 

Lyle wiggled his brows at the Colonel, but didn’t say anything. Words were more punishable than suggestive gestures, something he learned years ago when it came to the Colonel. In sync, Ja and Spider rolled their eyes. 

A long minute later, the door reopened and Jiniraa walked out - long black pants, her tan top, and a familiar black field jacket. Miles quickly ushered her away from the group, not wanting to hear what everyone had to say. He did, however, wait long enough for Jiniraa to make sure the Recoms would take Spider to their housing zone. 

Miles normally moved at a brutal pace, made possible by his long legs and unrelenting determination, but tonight he was forced to slow down. Jiniraa’s movements were slow, as expected, but she wouldn’t let the ebbing pain halt her movements completely. It was nice to just move on her own two feet, plus it gave them time to savor the moment. 

Once they were outside, Jiniraa was suddenly glad she slipped on the jacket. The temperature had dropped significantly since she was outside. Miles seemed to catch the sight of her shivering, slipping a hand inside the open panel of her jacket to rest against her bare back, “the storm came through two days ago. Been a lot cooler since.”

Jiniraa nodded, looking up at the sky, “too bad I missed it. I like watching the rain.”

In their search for a secluded place, Miles ended back up at the shooting range. It was almost ironic - he came here to escape his thoughts about Jiniraa because it was the only place he didn’t have memories associated with her. He couldn’t help but laugh, he wouldn’t be able to return here without thinking of her again. 

“What’s so funny?” Jiniraa prodded, continuing to look up at the clear sky. 

“Nothin’,” he turned to her, checking their surroundings to make sure they truly were alone - there wasn’t a human or Recom in sight. Thank God. He brushed a piece of Jiniraa’s hair back, tucking it around her ear. It gave him the opportunity to cup the side of her face, feeling her press into his hand.

“Miles?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I show you something?” Her voice was growing increasingly breathy as their faces neared.

“Of course.”

Jiniraa turned, pressing her back against his front. He sucked in a breath, not knowing where she was going with this until her finger pointed towards the sky. He followed the length of her arm, almost smiling at how the fabric bunched around her arm since the jacket was multiple sizes too large. “What am I lookin’ at?”

Jiniraa shook her hand, “right there - that’s Earth. That’s your home. Sky is always clearer after a big storm, easier to see.”

“I still have no clue where I’m lookin’, there’s hundreds of stars.”

Jiniraa grumbled in annoyance, reaching behind to pull Miles down to her height. She grabbed his chin, bringing it down to rest on her shoulder so she’d have an easier time pointing out the far away planet, “see that? Right there.”

“No, baby, I don’t see nothing.”

Jiniraa huffed, “you’re not even trying.” Jiniraa tried to think of more ways to get Miles to find his home in her sky, but she was interrupted by a soft nuzzling into her neck. She froze, moving her eyes to the side to confirm it was - in fact - Miles nuzzling into her. She didn’t even have to ask before he already offered an answer, not bashful in the slightest.

“I don’t care about his home right now. You smell good.” His voice was muffled as he pressed into the juncture of her neck, taking a deep whiff of her scent.

Jiniraa hummed, moving her head to the side so Miles could continue his ministrations. What she didn’t expect was the feeling of his lips at the juncture of her neck, just a light touch then the scraping of teeth against her skin. She said nothing - afraid he would pull away if she even breathed too deeply. Her eyelids fluttered closed, suddenly heavy in the euphoria her body was experiencing.

Miles’ large hands slipped around her, one played across her stomach while the other made its way up her neck, wrapping around her jaw to hold her still. It’s not like she wanted to move anyway, but the hold kept her locked in place. His touches grew bolder, leaving a trail of saliva as he transitioned from little pecks to fevered open-mouth kisses.

The weight of Miles’ hand against her stomach was suddenly heavy as it began to press and knead the flesh he came in contact with. Truth be told, Jiniraa couldn’t tell if she wanted his fingers to slide upwards and graze the underside of her breast like before or trail down as she felt the liquid heat pooling below.

Needing more of his touch, Jiniraa leaned further into him, pressing entirely against him. Miles’ teeth drug over her pulse as she pressed against his hardened member. She didn’t know what she had done, but she continued to press further into him. 

Jiniraa tried to turn in Miles’ grasp, but he tightened his hold on her jaw to continue assaulting her neck, “Miles…”

Oh that voice - there it was again. Breathy and dazed, this time without any reservations. Miles eased up slightly, enough that she could turn in his hold. Jiniraa felt his fingers tense around her jaw as she made eye contact with him. His thumb came up to brush along her lower lip, pulling down before letting it bounce back into place.

Their eyes connected and everything else faded away. No more thinking about the RDA. No more thinking about Spider. No more thinking about Sully. No more. Only the here and now, nothing else. 

“I think I like lookin’ at your stars more,” Jiniraa’s face was flushed as the heat from her abdomen ignited a fire within. Miles couldn’t help but notice those purple tipped ears, the ones he’d been so fascinated with before. He trailed his finger down her face, connecting her illuminating dots into one long drawn out line from her ear, down her neck, across her shoulder, and finally stopping on her chest. “I kinda want to see where they go from here.”

“Yeah?” Jiniraa breathed out, voice laced with desire.

“Yeah, I do,” Miles replied a little patronizingly. He watched her mouth open and close numerous times as she tried to find the words, “use your words, baby, tell me what you want.”

He needed her to say it. Say that she wanted him, but she remained quiet as she slowly brought her hand up to his chest, mirroring the flat palm he had against her. His eyes flickered down before returning to her face. She no longer was struggling to find the words. She knew what she wanted to say and how to say it. “Miles, you have a choice right now. You can continue what Quaritch started all those years ago or you can forge your own path. You have a strong heart. Let it tell you where you’re going next. Don’t let the memories of a dead man control this new life you have been blessed with.”

“That what you want me to do?”

“I want you to do what your heart is telling you to do.”

As so, Miles closed the gap between them and they finally connected. She stilled for a second before melting into him as she allowed her entire being to be consumed by his touch. The fire was racing across her skin. His hands wandered the expanse of her body, gripping and squeezing at every opportunity he had.

Jiniraa whimpered into his mouth, feeling light headed at the loss of air, but she didn’t dare separate them. Miles’ hand crept back from her chest to her neck, lightly resting along the sides but not applying any pressure. 

Miles’ tongue swiped along her lower lip, just a quick warning before he slipped it between her lips. He groaned into her mouth at the taste of her, lightly squeezing the sides of her throat, trying to coax another sound out of her. 

Jiniraa’s hands released Miles’ shirt from her grip before sliding it up his shoulders, feeling the muscle shift under her fingers. Her nails scraped along the length of his arm, pausing and making crescent shaped indents when he overwhelmed her senses. They finally settled on his own fingers around her neck. 

Needing air, Jiniraa reluctantly pulled back. Miles’ mouth tried to chase hers, but he wasn’t able to make contact. Opening his eyes, Miles was met with Jiniraa’s even more flushed face, half-lidded eyes, and of course her hand on top of his own, securing its place around her throat. Even though she was still fully clothed, it was the most seductive sight he’d ever seen. 

“I’ve chosen, baby.” Miles whispered, keeping the conversation hushed. “I promise you.”

Jiniraa smiled, eyes twinking, “oel ngati kameie, Miles.”

Next: Sixteen - Playin' Around

●●● 

we've officially entered a new era of this story. buckle up ;)

taglist - let me know if you'd like to be added

@drinking-tea-and-be-obsessed

@oceandeepthirst2

@bolggerist

@mxddymay

@ttreader

@luciddasher

@sofiebstar

@azilove

@fairycaitlin

@graysonmalik2550

@quaritchxx

@dakotali

#miles quaritch imagine #miles quaritch x oc #miles quaritch #colonel miles quaritch #colonel quaritch x oc #colonel miles quaritch x oc #colonel quaritch #avatar oc #avatar the way of water #avatar #avatar imagine #avatar x oc #na'vi quaritch #na'vi oc #avatar miles quaritch #miles quaritch smut #avatar quaritch #quaritch smut #avatar smut #recom quaritch x oc #recom quaritch #recom wainfleet #recoms #lyle wainfleet #mansk avatar #recom mansk #quaritch avatar #promises to keep

[gaycethecard]

TW: Human trafficking, pedophilia

Okay, I need to do a silly rant RRRRIGHT NOW!!!!!!

LET'S BE HONEST HERE! AMERICAN MCGEE'S ALICE AND ALICE MADNESS RETURNS ARE THE MOST UNDERRATED GAMES IN EXISTENCE!

Just think about the games. Ama has amazing gameplay and it's actually decently difficult (or maybe I just suck)! Amr has SO MUCH lore abt Alice!! Like it actually explains her backstory and it shows how the fire actually happened! It kinda confuses me why the cat caused the fire in the first game, but maybe it's trying to show that Alice wasn't sure what happened and she just assumed it was the cat and since I'm assuming she was a kid or something when this happened (because of the fact she was reading Alice in Wonderland), so she wouldn't fully remember what happened. Also, the asylum was having her forget about her traumas so her memory was a bit different. She started realizing the truth in the second game. Like how she was like "Wait a minute, Dinah was in my room! So how could she have started the fire?" LIKE OMGG!! Honestly, Dr. Bumby was a good villain for the story. I think since this was the 1800s, women didn't have a lot of rights and they were treated VERY badly by everyone in society, so I think human trafficking would be a lot more common. It'd make sense for a villain in that type of game to be a trafficker. I think both games are also just beautiful. Amr especially. The visuals are just AMAZING! It gives such a weird but soothing feeling. Same with the OST! I don't know what it is, but the Vale of Tears makes me feel so calm and relaxed. Ama's OST is also BEAUTIFUL! Like, have you HEARD Wonderland Woods?! Literal masterpiece!! It gives you an eerie but nice feeling!! But some are a tad bit spooky. Like the song that plays in the chess map.. If you play that, I am RUNNING away. LIKE OMG?? It's so CREEPY!! LIKE THE BACKWARDS HOG?! NUH UH!! And don't even get me started on Time to Die... IT MAKES ME FEEL SO SCARED BUT IT'S SO FITTING!!! For those that don't know, Time to Die plays in one of the last parts of the game. You're at the Queen of Hearts' castle. Looking for her throne. Her card guards are chasing after you, trying their best to murder you. And when it's quiet and you can just hear the OST.. IT MAKES SENSE!! IF THAT WAS YOU, AFTER YOU DEFEATED A BIG GROUP OF GUARDS, YOU'D BE UNSETTLED!! SCARED!! ON YOUR TOES!! AND THAT'S WHAT THAT SONG MAKES ME FEEL!! IT ALL MAKES SENSE AND IT'S ALL SO POETIC!! LIKE I THINK THE MAIN MESSAGE OF AMA IS THAT SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO LOOK IN YOURSELF TO FIND THE PROBLEM! BECAUSE THE FINAL BOSS WASN'T EVEN THE QUEEN OF HEARTS, IT WAS ALICE HERSELF!!!! LIKE SHE HAD TO DEFEAT HERSELF TO FIX WONDERLAND!!! IT'S JUST SO AMAZING!! Also, just a little comment.. ALICE SLAYED WHEN SHE PUSHED BUMBY INTO THAT TRAIN! He honestly got what he deserved. That nasty pedophilic asshole. I think the main message of amr is to be careful who you trust and surround yourself with. I mean, THINK ABOUT IT!! She worked with a HUMAN TRAFFICKER!!! I also think it sends a message that justice is always possible no matter what. There's always a way to avenge somebody or something even if it's a bit immoral. Overall, I LOVE THIS GAME!! Sorry I ranted this much! This was like the first game I fell in love with in 2012 or 2013 I think!! BYEE!! :33

#american mcgees alice #alice madness returns #alice liddell #silly little rant #i literally love this game sm omgg #this game is so good #like omg

[bmodiwrites]

51 Steddie? 🥺

Hi pal! I love this request and thank you so very much for sending it. I thought long and hard about whether I wanted to be angsty or light, so I hope you like where I ended up @corrodedbisexual! Happy reading :)

51. “I see the way you look at me when you think I’m not looking.”

There's a lot of tension in the room. Eddie feels the weight of it as he walks in to find Steve and Robin facing each other. Unlike most days, the two of them seem upset and completely off beat. Despite not always appreciating the near telepathic link that exists between the two friends, Eddie dislikes this even more.

He's a second away from saying something, attempting to break up the weirdness with a corny joke or unsolicited D&D antidote when Robin eventually barrels through the silence as she walks out the door.

"This isn't over, Steve. Tell him, or I will."

The words are sharp and delivered with a tone Eddie has never heard Robin use before. Robin is full of life and sarcastic to boot - her insults are usually cleverly disguised, wrapped nicely in a joke or witty antidote. That inherent niceness isn't present in the threatening phrase that lingers.

"Are you okay?" Eddie asks, turning to an eerily quiet Steve. What he sees standing there isn't the gorgeous boy Eddie's been slowly falling in love with. Steve is a shell, a husk of someone who's rung out to dry and completely done in.

Unable to stop himself, Eddie starts in Steve's direction. His steps, however, must kickstart Steve into gear. He comes back online with a choked out gasp that quickly turns into a resolute sigh. Though Robin is gone, Eddie still feels the heaviness in the air around him. It makes him stop in his tracks despite wanting to bring Steve comfort.

"Robin's right," Steve eventually says, running an errant hand through his hair. For the last few minutes, his eyes were on the floor - now, they're looking in Eddie's direction unblinkingly.

"Do you ever feel like something inside of you is too big?" The question is barely out of Steve's mouth before he continues. "There's like - this part of me, Eddie. This piece that I've been struggling with for ages. I think it's finally grown to a size and capacity that I can't handle anymore and I don't know what to do. I'm - "

Eddie can't take the sadness of Steve's voice, it's too much. He cuts in with a loud "yes" that seems to echo around the room. Though it's an awkward thing to do, Eddie is rewarded with Steve's silence. That, at least, is better than heartache.

"I know exactly what you mean. It's feelings for me. I never know what to do with them or how to get them out. They take me over sometimes, like they're controlling me, or something." Eddie wants to add more but he can only share so much without giving himself away. "What is it, Steve? What's wrong?"

For a second, the question hangs in the air. Steve is quiet and Eddie waits, counting each of their perfectly timed breaths. Though, when Steve eventually speaks, Eddie suddenly loses count.

"I see the way you look at me when you think I'm not looking." Steve with each word spoken, doesn't stutter or fumble. There's no mistaking the meaning, either - Steve's accusation is very clear.

Yet, it's almost a relief, to finally have the huge elephant in the room out in the open. He's glad for just a moment before Eddie realizes that heated conversation he walked into was about him. Whatever Steve needs to say, good or bad... is to him.

That feeling of a light and empty chest is quickly washed away then. After gauging the chilly temperature in the room a few minutes ago, Eddie is certain nothing good is going to come out of Steve's mouth. If his crush were reciprocated, why would the two very best of friends be mad at each other over it?

Before his thoughts can spiral any further, Eddie is brought out of the cyclone of worry by a soft touch against his shoulder.

"I don't hate it, Eddie. Quite the opposite, actually. Robin's been trying to get me to tell you how I feel for ages. They eat me up, too. My feelings, I mean." Steve is smiling now, his somber attitude dissipating as fast as it set in. "Kind of seems like they don't have to anymore, though. Why were you looking at me like that, Eddie?"

It's so easy to blurt out the answer then, to finally speak his truth. "Because I love you. Fuck, I've been in love with you since eighth grade. A vision of you, at least. These last few months, learning the real you, understanding who you are - my feelings have only grown. I can't help but stare, Steve. You're all I can think about."

Steve's eyes soften seconds before there is no space between them any longer. There seems to be some moisture collecting at the edges of those hazel orbs but Eddie can't take in that tiny detail - Steve is kissing him, taking his attention and holding onto it with every forward press of lip against lip.

One day, when they're both feeling vulnerable, Eddie thinks he'll revisit the topic.

Until then, he's plenty happy to lean into Steve's embrace and dream about forever.

These prompts are so fun! Want to send me more?

#steddie #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve harrington x eddie munson #steve harrington/eddie munson #corrodedbisexual #bobbie writes #drabble things #'i see how you look at me when you think i'm not looking'

[rphelperblog]

Lizzie Saltzman Quote Rp Meme

I’ve got a lot of secs...I mean time.”

“I’m trying to rise above it so let me freaking rise.”

“Did she who must not be named just fat shame me?”

“Are we poor?”

“That is why I have decided to permantly release my inner bitch.”

“If you hurry, you can catch up with blair bitch and tongue chum her again.”

“Distracted during a monoluge, classic villain mistake.”

“For the record, this selfless act of heroicism fully cancels out my previous dodgy behavior.”

“I just have this feeling that everything is going to work out just fine.”

“Only a threat to those dumb enough not to fall in line.”

“Great luck sending jimminy cricket after me.”

“”Aparently not long enough to think of something clever to say.”

“Fifty shades me.”

“This sentient jar of artisinal maynoaise.”

“Don’t worry. I will just ask him about star wars and he will talk the whole time.”

“This is a nergasm, not a plan.”

“If I am destined to die in my prime, at least let it be in a blaze of heroes glory.”

“I know that I am great, but everyone else- terrible.”

“I spent a lot of time bettering myself over the summer and I am gonna need you all to rise to my level.”

“This is terrible news. It’s freaking fall not winter. What am I gonna wear?”

“I’ve always wanted to be apart of a power couple.”

“I’m mad at the world and you just happen to be in it.”

“Thanks a lot. Way to ruin life for the rest of us.”

“One word. one word and I could burn her perky little boobs to ash.”

“We aren’t in the prison yard, ass hat.”

“Would you like to be the robin to my batwoman?”

“You’re fine. Just a little- Slutty.”

“We are gonna suck?”

“Anything to keep me from picturing my sister’s tragic visit to the shire.”

“Sometimes, she was just tired or having a bad day or whatever.”

“I just want to soak in this gold moment when we thought that your plan would work.”

“You are pagent pretty, reasonable well spoken and the added benefit of being an orphan.”

“It’s effective, but her methods- quaint.”

“Screw this world.”

“Well, in that case, screw personal growth.”

“I’m sorry. We can’t all be born with resting pouty face.”

“We get it you came back. Now, disapear again.”

I fancy sex with you. The jury’s out on all the rest.”

“For the love of frodo, go rescue your hobbit. We will muddle through.”

“I’m a taste maker. An influencer. people don’t know what they want til I tell them they want it.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve seen that on a poster at the dentist’s.” 

“New plan. The gloves are off. Let’s burn these bitches to the ground. We’re going to give these townies a taste of what we’re really made of.”

“No one has been better off without you.”

“And we don’t exist for just one boy.”

“This is an honor. It’s so nice to know that you all love me as much as I love myself.”

“Epic former frenemy reunion is going to have to wait.”

“A mission for a hero and her league of- whatever.”

“In order to conquer, we had to divide.”

“i thought you would have wanted to spend the day canoodling with your hipster boyfriend.”

Ew. Wait, that leaves me with High-and-Mighty Granger. Like Hermione Granger, but just more stuck-up?”

“You only get one chance to make a good first impression, and you don’t want to be the girl that wears a uniform to a school that doesn’t have uniforms.”

“That wreath can’t go there. That is where the doves are being released which is after the video, remember?”

“Oh god, he has got you speaking nerd.”

“I’m getting back to me. I am who I am.” 

“If you would be happy to be my date to my birthday on Friday.” 

“Do I look pretty when I play quarterback?” 

“You are not friends. Your just a montage.”

“I’m not worried about losing the election. I’m worried about what I’m going to wear to my victory rally. The outfit makes the speech.” 

“No, I am not a virgin.”

“Oh god, that was my inside voice.”

“For once, your weird relationship with my dad is paying off.”

“You cannot leave me alone with just her for company.”

“I was making an entrance mop head.”

“If she still wants to kill me, the safest place I can be is right next to you.”

“No, I am right on time to kick your ass.”

“On a scale from horrific to apocalyptic, a 12.”

“That is such a move.”

“I am nosey, in like a charming way.”

“Do I look like a nerd?”

“nothing that you and I will be proud of.”

“It’s hero time.”

“Nu-uh, we are all good.”

“Are you seriously telling me that I am going to die because I become a better person?”

“on the bright side, we are all happy that you are single.”

“I don’t do trash.”

“I should have said this earlier but black isn’t your color.”

“No wonder you had a thing for me.”

“Is it because I am prettier than you?”

“It’s so much less impressive when you give the hero speeches.”

“Oh god, I am having an episode again.”

“I did. I do. Also- I am incredibly turned on by him.”

“I prefer to die with dignity.”

“Unchain me, and maybe I will tell you. You thrift store hobbit.”

“Trust me, no one thinks that.”

“We are about to die. Figure something out.”

“I’m unique and special and for some reason I am angry at the world because of it.”

“Good morning... more like despair.”

“I care that instead of being welcomed at the airport, we were stuck taking a shuttle that smelled like a sewer for three hours.”

“See the new you is so snarky.”

“Be surprised quitely.”

“So buckle up. We are in this tell the bitter end.”

“It’s okay. Just let it out the real way. Like you have needed too all this time.”

“All good things, I hope.”

“What is with the performance anxiety?”

“Why? I am wearing polyester.”

“Who is this trollop?”

“When I said that I wanted to hang out, this is not what I had in mind.”

“This is the definition of girl power. I am proud of us.”

“If you tell anyone else this, I will deny it, but I am glad you are back.”

“WIth global warming, I might never see the florida keys because of you.”

“who better to put a touching memorial to me than me?”

“That hair, that shirt... oh, I see you have a point there.”

“We are airy clouds flying high above a tuburlant sea of teenage drama.”

“He is hot and crazy and the language barrier would make it hard to communicate. Just how I like it.”

“Why are you carrying a sword?”

“Sorry, I think.”

#open to all #open to anyone #open rp #ask meme #open meme #open to anybody #rp meme #ask prompt #roleplay meme #memes #lizzie saltzman #elizabeth saltzman #hizzie #hope mikaelson #landon kirby #josie saltzman #legacies starter #legacies #open legacies rp #open legacies starter #open tvd rp #open tvdu roleplay #open tvd starter #tvd rp #legacies rp #jenny boyd #mg #open vampire diaries starter #open vampire diaries roleplay #tvd universe

[chumpovodir]

You got into an argument with a Lenore simp on Reddit who is 100% convinced that she was a perfect angel who loved him from the get-go

My post on Twitter about how Hector should have shown more resentment and Lenore more guilt attracted the attention of three Lenector shippers who started to converse under my thread about how much Lenore "deserved" better (I didn't even attempt to follow their conversation, both because Twitter sucks as a confrontation platform and because where do I even begin)

I guess this week is Lenector Week. Can't say I'm thrilled.

Anyway I love when Hector in the games ran away from his mad Lord who was forcing him into a life he didn't want and then found love in a woman who came to genuinely like him as a person and human being 💖 I love when a victim of abuse finds their hard-earned freedom away from their abuser and they can heal properly 💖 I love when abusers pay for what they've done and are shown as being terrible people 💖 and most importantly, I love the them 💖

(to be fair, the dudes on my thread were being very civil when they disagreed with each other about some stuff, and sometimes they even said things I agreed with, such as "Isaac didn't deserve that big happy ending after all the shit he did in S3". Always nice to see I'm not the only one who thinks Isaac was too much of a darling babyboy of the narrative. Too mad it always came from the perspective of "if everyone got a sappy happy ending, then Hector and Lenore deserved one too, it's not fair", which I'd say is a childish way to see a story 🙄 and i'm being generous and not calling them out for ignoring lenore's actions. at least one of those people admitted they wanted to see them addressed properly before they could move on. baby steps.)

i wish that person's argument was just that Lenore was a perfect angel who twuwy wuvs Hector. i don't really take issue with people seeing Lenore as more compassionate than how she's presented, there's some stuff in the show that supports that view but i had to draw the line with the way they were very insistently downplaying or even justifying that it's okay Hector was essentially raped because he got a better bargain in the end. the wording "it was for his own good" is especially vile

the sticking point for me is that while, yes, she did manage to secure a better position for him, it still stands the way she went about it was downright heinous - she did not have to do any of that. especially when it was already established that she's supposed to be this master manipulator diplomat who holds all the cards, while Hector is easily manipulated to begin with, and has since the end of S2 been suffering indignity after indignity that no doubt already wore down his spirit. the situation was already so stacked in favor of Hector complying out of his own self-interest, i dont even know why the enslavement ring has to exist, and has to specifically be activated by the wearer declaring their loyalty except as a really roundabout way to justify that sex scene happening. it could've still been a magical ring that binds the wearer to a master, which she then could've tricked Hector into wearing by way of something innocuous like trying to show him they're all equals or something. the point is, the whole situation was set up in a way where she's clearly taking advantage of him, and because they just had to introduce a sexual element to it, people should just call a spade a spade and say she raped him because that's what happened. even if she didn't she was taking advantage of him for her own gain and that should be recognized as being y'know. a bad thing that outweighs any good she got out of it for Hector.

i know that person was probably viewing it super positively as a kink thing they enjoy, but the whole basis of kink is mutual consent which obviously none of that was and was just. so frustrating and lowkey kind of worrying to see someone just. not able to see a horrible, toxic relationship for what it is, just because it wasn't outright abusive.

also ahhhhh Hectaly my beloveds <3 their story is much simpler but do you really need more than that?

sounds like you got the better end of the deal lmao. it seems to me like Lenector shippers are at least willing to acknowledge all the parts of their (hypothetical) relationship, and it would actually be interesting to see how that would develop from such a rocky place. it felt like there should have been an entire extra season between S3-S4 to explore not just this, but the rest of the plotlines properly, and also build up to those happy endings

#anti netflixvania #<- for tagging purposes

[amywhereyouwant]

Some TOH HCs I wanted to share

There are a LOT of them, so They're under the read more for your scrolling convenience

Luz

-Uses She/They pronouns

-Would watch the entirety of Sword Art Online just to be able to shit on it properly

-Eats way too much Shredded Cheese even though she’s Lactose Intolerant

-Has made a Your mom joke to Willow only to remember she doesn’t have one

-Mains King in Tekken and made a custom attire trying to make it look like the other King

-Screenpeeks religiously in Split Screen Multiplayer

-Predicted Hecazura 2 books into the series, still won’t shut up about it

-Relatively known Digital Artist, her blog probably took off when she started making art of the Demon Realm 

-Hates baking

-Helps Amity bake out of the kindness of her heart(Also seeing Amity enjoying herself is really nice)

-Had a cold once, hasn’t had a Human Realm illness since

-Has SH scars from her depressed period back in the human realm(S3E1), still ashamed over them

-Quotes Memes constantly, only Hunter understands what she’s talking about

-Cracked a rib tripping on a rug on her way to bed

Amity

-Absolutely hates Bugs, like, genuinely despises them

-Does not know how computers work, but still tries to use Luz’s laptop to look up date ideas

-Can and will dress as the most stereotypical Witch ever

-Adopted(All 3 Blight Kids are in my HC)

-Likes to bake

-Does not know how to bake

-Gets sick constantly

-Works out a lot so she can help out with rebuilding the Isles(and also a little bit for Luz)

-Used to apologise a lot for minor things(Pre-timeskip)

-REALLY Bummed she didn’t get to see Titan Luz

-Watched the barbie movie the same day Gus watched Oppenheimer

Gus

-Goes nonverbal when stressed out, uses Illusions and his palisman to communicate

-Cried for hours when he finished the last Cosmic Frontier book, even though it was a happy ending

-Likes the idea of Professional Wrestling, but wishes the fights were to the death

-Quotes Cosmic Frontier as a Vocal Stim

-Dramatically perishes in Matt’s arms on the regular

-Headcanons O'Bayley to look exactly like Hunter just for the memes

-Thinks Human 2D Animation is the most beautiful thing to have ever been created

-Watched Across the Spider-Verse and Begged for Luz to draw a Spider-Suit for him, she did one for everyone

-Got really jealous when everyone else got flapjack tattoos, then he realised he could just make one of his own with an Illusion

-Got insanely mad when he learned about Human Discrimination(“How can you hate someone for something they can’t change? That’s ridiculous!”)

-Watched Oppenheimer the same day Amity and Hunter watched the Barbie Movie

Hunter

-LOVES Dino Nuggies

-Didn’t know Dinosaurs were real for a while until Luz showed them to him, Velociraptors are his favourite because “They’re like Wolves but Lizards!” (They’re not)

-Has a tumblr account where he posts about Wolves, Luz is his only follower

-Definitely has a Fursona

-Kicks Luz’s ass at most video games, except for Halo 2 specifically(I wonder why)

-”Will you go out with me?” “Hunter we’ve been dating for a year” “Oh.”

-Thinks Huggbees’ How it’s actually made videos are 100% Legit and honest

-Made Willow a Flower Shirt to match his Wolf Shirt

-Wears Willow’s Flower Shirt he made

-Imagine Dragons is his favourite band

-Has Epilepsy

-Steals Willow’s dresses sometimes

-Found Nicole Coenen on YouTube, showed her to luz “She looks kinda like Amity!”(Nobody else sees the resemblance)

-Probably plays a LOT of Roblox

-Watched the Barbie Movie with Amity(Luz forced him to)

-Has seen every single vine there is(Thank the Titan for Vine Compilations on YouTube)

-Any kind of facial hair he grows is really patchy so he just goes clean shaven for convenience

-Snuck food during TtT even though he was 100% allowed to eat normally

-Bananas do exist in the Demon Realm, Hunter has just never learned that they do

-Gets visits from the Spirits of the other Golden Guards in his dreams

Willow

-Tackled someone to the ground when they only slightly bumped into Hunter(We stan a protective queen)

-Feeds her palisman doggie treats, nobody knows why

-Filled Camila’s entire back garden with way too many plants during TtT, they’re still there despite not being watered for a while

-Made a Garland made of both Demon and Human Realm plants for Hunter on their anniversary

-Has no real idol/role model

-Happily Listens to everyone else ramble about their interests

-Wears Hunter’s Wolf Shirt

-Calls Hunter “Hun” as a short for his name, started doing it even more after she figured out what it actually meant

-Pranks people she doesn’t like by putting giant Grape Vines around their house

-Held a presentation about plant care for the Gravesfield Gardener Society

-Thinks most Human Sports are boring(Except for Hockey and Roller Derby)

Vee

-Pulls off some crazy ass cosplays

-Knows how to drive Camila’s car perfectly, still has no idea how it actually works though

-Laughed so hard she couldn’t breathe first time she heard Metal Pipe Fall Sound Effect

-Considers Luz to be her Sister, Camila burst into tears and hugged her when she called Luz “Big Sis” in front of her for the first time

-Plays Minecraft on Camila’s home PC, has spent tons of time on Hypixel and built a little shrine for the other basilisks on a private world

-Takes after Luz in a lot of ways

-Is way better at Spanish than Luz, flexes about it constantly(Nobody really cares)

-Had no idea how to tell Masha she was a Basilisk when they confessed to her(Masha knew long before she told them)

-Is really cuddly in Basilisk form, not so much when shapeshifted(“I don’t really feel like it’s myself”)

-Her first kiss with Masha was really awkward, she apologised like 45 times and cried because it wasn’t good

-Steven Universe is a canon IP in the universe, so she got really confused when Amethyst sounded EXACTLY like her

I have no idea why I made this

#the owl house #toh headcanon #the owl house headcanon #toh community #toh #amity blight #hunter noceda #vee noceda #willow park #gus porter #luz noceda

[dadbastiandisaster]

First of all, thank you all so much for the nice reblogs on the Claude Headcanons, post, second of all

✨🌸 Hannah and the Triplets Headcanons 🌸✨

Hannah is the only Demon in the show I imagine as being very old and very powerful. She could kill Sebastian and Claude with both hands tied behind her back and it wouldn’t even be difficult for her. I also think she is a fallen Angel, unlike all the other Kuro Demons who I headcanon as humans who went to Hell

Conversely, the Triplets are all fairly young, only a couple of hundred years old, and especially individually they are fairly weak

I read on someone’s headcanons (possibly @eemoo1o-animoo) that they were one Demon broken into three, which I think is really cool, so I guess my other idea would be that they were a human soul that either as punishment or just be happenstance got broken into three

My personal headcanon is Demons can’t have kids, they just start existing, so the Triplets aren’t technically siblings, they just popped into existence in roughly the same region of Hell and have been together ever since.

Hannah saved their lives in Hell and they will now do pretty much whatever she says. They were also the first of instance of Hannah just being like ‘I’m your mum now deal with it’ (I’m electing to ignore all the weird shit about Hannah’s boobs - remember, Marie Kondo approach to canon)

She didn’t realise that what she felt for Luka was maternal love, and not hunger for his soul, and she does feel sorrow that she killed him. She had mostly taken contracts with less than pleasant humans that she was always more than happy to dispatch, so she’d never really spent much time around children.

She both wants to protect Alois from Claude for Luka’s sake, and because she felt she lost her chance to raise a child in Luka and so she sought out Alois.

She’d definitely try, but I honestly don’t know if Hannah would do a vastly better job than Claude. Other than anything else, since she barely talks to Alois, so she doesn’t really know him all that well, and he is a very different person to Luka

Also she’s approximately a bajillion years old so she definitely has 0 moral compass, even less of one than Claude or Sebastian.

The Triplets sometimes switch their partings around and pretend to be each other to fuck with Claude. Problem is, Claude doesn’t care which is which as long as things get done, so like, nobody’s winning

I think the Triplets do the ridiculous Cockney accents as a joke.

When they speak to others, they have to speak in turn. They will not speak individually. No one knows why.

Unlike sort of Claude and definitely Sebastian, Hannah has no issues reconciling her maternal feelings with her being a Demon. As previously mentioned, she is a bajillion years old and could probably kill people with her mind so she has absolutely nothing to prove. Also she has experienced all the murder and bloodshed one could ever hope to and maternal love is something relatively new to her.

Basically Hannah is mum and she’s a cool lady who can stab things and she is unfathomably old and powerful with no concept of puny human morals

Hannah is she/her and I think the Triplets are of the ‘whatever pronouns make the joke land’ persuasion.

The Triplets will obviously always side with Hannah, especially if it screws over Claude (Claude is a dick to them because he doesn’t want to deal with them and also he makes them do chores) but they really don’t have much in the way of personal stakes in the whole thing so they’re kind of just vibing

The Triplets don’t like Alois, but in an annoying younger brother way. Plus he stabbed Hannah’s eye out, so they have mild beef with him for that. It’s just as well because combined their forces of chaos would simply be too strong.

It would be cool if they were the Demons of threes, or trios. Since 3 is such a significant number, maybe it has a number, and maybe that’s why the human whose soul they were mad from was split?

Much like Claude, they do what Hannah tells them to but they’re not especially house proud.

Sebastian Michaelis, who lives at the Phantomhive manor & cleans 10,000 floors each day, is an outlier adn should not have been counted

Much like Claude, they just do not get why Sebastian puts so much effort in. Frankly, they think it’s weird.

They definitely fuck about when no-one’s looking

Actually entranced by light switches.

Pretended to be repelled by crosses to Alois until Hannah told them to stop.

Tldr: the Trancy Manor is chaos as well

Might make more of these at some point, but rsi is hitting to so here we are. Hope you enjoyed

#black butler #kuroshitsuji #claude faustus #hannah annafellows #black butler 2 #black butler headcanons #kuroshitsuji 2 #black butler season 2 #mey rin would actually think hannah is so hot #the triplets are agents of chaos #the triplets #original post

[pupkinpumpkin]

Cole appreciation post

I love Cole so much, I genuinely think about this man multiple times a week.

My brother got me into DAI and the first time, I missed Cole's backstory and general context because my brother was the one playing and I couldn't watch him all the time, so I kinda thought he was like a telepath empath spirit dude who was really nice but didn't know how exactly to help sometimes

Then, I played by myself and I did the small "Odd Things" side quest where you hear people talk about odd things happening and them forgetting who exactly did it. So, I went to him and I eventually, with the help of a wiki with only one spoiler, I figured it out

And my dude, the amount that I held myself back from crying

Someone complains of a person they don't remember putting plums on the windowsill which attracts flies

You ask Cole about this and he says the plums don't mind. Odd, but whatever

Then you hear a woman talk about how lucky it is that there are more spiders, which means more spiderwebs to help the wounded

Rotting plums means more flies, means more spiders, means more spiderwebs, means more stuff to heal people who are injured

You hear a soldier complain that someone is taking daggers and putting them in barrels

Cole comments that they're safer there

A woman tells someone how she's a lot less scared in Skyhold now that the guards are fighting each other less. When they had their daggers, they'd threaten each other and get into fights

Cole is protecting both the soldiers and the people from harming or being harmed

In the kitchen, someone mentions mint and cheese being taken

In the tavern, a girl laughs about a cat acting funny and chasing a mouse, and how much it made her laugh

Go to the kitchen, and a maid says how the cook is in a good mood

Mice like cheese, cats like mice, and the catmint (probably) made the cat act weird, which made people laugh, including the cook.

Cole says the cook has been so stressed since Haven, and how the flames from the oven remind her of everything that happened, the people that died. By doing this, she forgot for a little bit. Enjoyed herself.

You don't know how much of this side quest almost made me cry

He just wants to help, he literally just wants to help

When I made him human, there's a cutscene at a restaurant and he laughs

Do you know how beautiful it is to hear a person laugh for the first time? For one of, if not the only time in the entirety of Dragon Age Inquisition

I try so fucking hard to remember him when I'm mad or pissed off because he wouldn't want me mad. He wants to help. A lot of the time, it doesn't work. I still ignore people, I still scream, I still get stressed, I still get annoyed at being told to do something I don't want to do even though I'm just watching a video, I still cry at night, but it helps sometimes. It just helps to know someone cares and wants you to feel and be better, even if they may not exist

I don't know why, but he's just so good, so kind and that is something that is so beautiful to me

I fucking love Cole, he is quite literally all that is good in the world and his existence matters so much to me

I could talk about him way way more but I'm about to walk in the rain, thank you and goodnight

#cole dai #cole dragon age #dragon age inquisition #dai #dai spoilers #also i had no idea he was supposed to be autistic until someone told me

[ibelieveinthejrsupremecy]

HC: Being the youngest member of The Gang

They are all protective, to an extent.

Considering how young you are, at least younger than any of them, they always prefer you not joining on their more dangerous missions.

Always covering for you when J.R questions why you are not present on the dangerous missions often.

"Hey, where the Hell is (Y/n)??"

"Oh, they didn't feel well-"

"Had to use the bathroom-" Ect.

But sometimes Myc will rat you out.

Intentionally or unintentionally, he's still a total asshole about it but that's just how he is.

He's also the one to tease and talk shit to you, mostly in a playful way, but eventually he will inevitably go too far without meaing to.

If you react all upset and maybe close to tears; Myc will feel like total shit. Like really bad.

He won't say sorry at all, that's not his thing, but he will do something nice for you like doing some of your work or buying you something nice.

But if you react by anger and retaliation, that will escalate your situation. You are mad and therefore it will make him mad.

The only way the situation will be resolved is when HR and Mr. Mothman intervenes.

Like parents making their kids apologize to each other after fighting who gets a turn on the Xbox.

Brett, Gigi, and Andre would absolutely give big sibling vibes 💯

Brett would happily spend quality time with you like having family breakfast, lunch, and dinners together. Having movie nights, playing board games, and sleepovers.

Gigi would take you out on shopping sprees and gossiping with you about anyone, getting manicures and hairs done.

Andre would be the one you can chill with and just exist in the same space with. Unless you wanna party, than he will gladly take you out to a rave, even share some of his stash if-you-know-what-i-mean. But if the hard stuff is too much, than he'll let you have 🍃 instead.

If you were to spend time with all three of them at once?? Whoo! Chaotic hijinks ensures.

Andre would be an absolute menace and try to drag you in crazy situations, while Brett tries to stop you guys and freaks out as Gigi records the whole situation.

Reagan would be... initially uncertain about you. Maybe even suspicious.

You can't blame her, in her work you could've been some sort of sleeper agent or something.

But she would warm up to you and would maybe even try to help you with anything you struggle with. Whether it would be paperwork, a mission, anything work related. Anything else that is more personal? She'd fumble and be super awkward about it and would stear you to literally anyone else with help for personal stuff.

Glenn would almost be fatherly, in a way, not too much since you are a full-grown man/woman/person. But it would be hard to warm up to the man and dolphin hybrid with how he can be sometimes.

Sometimes a little distant but seeing how young you are, it would bring up his more paternal.

Would absolutely teach you how to pay taxes, how to drive, or even how to cook if you don't know how to do any of these.

If you ask him for any stories in the military, this man would fucking cry and start going on and on about any story from his time in the military.

#insidejob #reader #gn reader #reader insert #reagan ridley #brett hand #gigi thompson #andre lee #magic myc #glenn dolphman #samEEL'S writing #samEEL'S post #hcs #headcanons #male reader #fem reader #platonic #platonic headcanons

[until-the-brahmin-come-home]

little snippet that i don't think is really going anywhere anytime soon (it's just Nate thinking about his prosthetic and being briefly kinda gay for Danse):

The Brotherhood had made him a cybernetic hand. It wasn’t better or worse than the first one he had gotten, over two centuries ago now, after the initial loss. Just different. But still not good enough; nothing could ever be good enough.

The best way he could explain it was that there was a delay. Imperceptible to anyone watching, for sure, but that tiny fraction of a second was enough to make every movement with the hand miserable. So he usually went without.

The other issue is proprioception. And god, isn’t that an old world word now – and he doesn’t even remember where he learned it. In the doctor’s office, maybe, in those long hours where they outlined his recovery and fitted him for a new hand. He can’t feel the prosthetic the way he can feel his other limbs, even if he can make it move with a thought. It’s just dead weight hanging from his elbow.

It does make some activities more difficult, even if he’s mostly learned to adapt by now. He’s not as good with rifles, his attempts at sewing usually end in him cursing at the fabric, and he can’t do the fine manipulation he used to be able to when working on mechanical projects. That’s generally the only time he puts the arm on, anymore, when he has a vision he needs to make real and absolutely needs all ten fingers to pull it off. Otherwise, he asks for help.

He used to be bad at that. Used to go for days running on fumes because his stepfather and brothers and every other goddamn person had drilled it into his mind that asking for help was a weakness. He had gotten better because of Nora. Because she was bad at asking for help, too. It had taken a lot of nights going mad with worry over her before he realized that she likely did the same over him, and they came to a mutual agreement to just reach out to each other if they needed anything. That, more than anything, served as the foundation of their marriage. What was love, if not helping one another?

He missed her all the time. This skip into the future had been messy and confusing, a chaotic scramble to keep the people he cared about alive. Nora was often away on her own missions trying to eke out an existence in the wasteland, while he played nice with the Brotherhood or investigated the safer mysteries available to him. He spent his days playing twenty questions with Piper, teaching Dogmeat new tricks, cleaning up settlements with Preston and Codsworth. He knew he was being useful. He just...still missed Nora.

He scrubbed a hand over his beard and groaned. He had preferred to keep it trimmed neat, before getting flash-frozen, but that was less of an option now. He rooted around in his pack until he found his straight razor, idly flicking it open. It was a bit of a bitch to pull off, but he had managed to shave like this before. It was just a bit of a process, and he’d probably nick himself a couple times.

“Problem, soldier?” came Danse’s voice suddenly, and Nate barely refrained from flinching. The man was rarely stealthy, but Nate had been lost in thought.

“I just need to shave,” he said, tapping the flat of the blade on his thigh. Danse frowned – or rather, frowned deeper. There was usually a mild scowl on his face. Nate tried not to take it personally.

“Do you want me to fetch your-” Nate waved him off before he could even finish his sentence.

“No need, really. I can handle it. Thank you, paladin,” Nate didn’t mean to bring out the title, but he had a habit of doing such things when he got annoyed with people. Danse never seemed to notice. Sometimes, the man’s obliviousness was endearing. Other times...less so.

“But wouldn’t it be easier?” Danse pressed, moving so he was more directly in Nate’s line of sight. Nate grumbled something wordless, before flipping the razor around and offering Danse the handle.

“If you’re so worried about me, why don’t you do it yourself?” he asked. He meant it mostly as a joke, but watching the way Danse flushed and looked away, he was immediately swept up in the possibility. Danse’s hands on his face, careful and precise. He was sure Danse would take to it with the same brisk efficiency the soldier approached most tasks. And he wouldn’t dare let the blade slip.

Okay, let’s dial it back a little, Nate thought to himself.

#fallout 4 #fallout danse #oc tag: nate #my writing