#anything alive (like the hedgehog) or whatever he said

[vampyrixdarling]

— 「𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓」

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ MASTERLIST

╰┈➤ [Yandere] Sonic the Hedgehog x reader

: ̗̀➛ synopsis; You reunited with your best friend, Sonic, only he’s one of the infected. But he isn't attacking you. Instead, he only seems to be after your affection.

: ̗̀➛ Type; Romantic headcanons [Zombie AU]

: ̗̀➛ warning(s); yandere behavior, gore, manipulation.

Likes/Reblogs are always appreciated!! <3

→ Taking a step back, you couldn't break the eye contact shared between you two. Eyes wide and breathing heavy, you wanted to scream- to run away from the horror in front of you, but you couldn't bring yourself to. You were frozen in place, and there was a lump in your throat. Your throat was starting to hurt.

→ All he could do was stare back blankly at you, and if you looked deep enough in those dead, grey eyes of his, you could see a spark of who he was before. A spark of your friend. Or at least that's what you wanted to see. All attempts of getting away were met with him limping closer. But he wasn't running. He wasn't trying to kill you, and you weren't sure how to feel about that.

→ You didn't know what hurt more. Seeing your best friend right in front of you as one of the infected, or the pain of knowing that if Sonic was gone, you might as well give up all hope of a better future—as well as a cure.

→ The smell of rotting flesh greeted your nose as you couldn't help but make a face of disgust. Tears pricked your eyes as you took in his appearance. His flesh was slowly rotting away, parts of his rib cage visible. He let out a whine, his voice dried and hoarse as he took another step towards you. He reached a hand out towards you, as if to tell you to take it, but you refused, shaking your head and finally managing to say something.

"Sonic?"

→ He groaned again, a faint change of voice, which only made you more confused. You thought for a moment, that if Sonic could've smiled, he would've. And taking a risk, you stepped towards him. He didn't say anything, the silence quickly becoming deafening. Although, you weren't sure if you could say anything if you tried. You weren't sure what was happening. Normally, the infected wouldn't waste a second in tackling you, digging what was left of their teeth into your throat as they feasted, trying to please a hunger that could never be satisfied. So why wasn't Sonic doing the same?

→ After that whole situation was finished and dealt with, and you deemed that maybe Sonic wasn't as much as a threat as you thought, he wasted no time in following you. It's almost as if nothing has changed, like you two were hanging out and laughing like before. Except nobody was laughing, and he wasn't alive. Not anymore, at least. You'd be lying if you said it wasn't unnerving having the mutilated corpse of your former best friend following you around, but something in you thanked whatever god there was left that you weren't alone anymore. That if you were to die, at least you'd die with your friend.

→ Eventually, you decided to try to communicate with him. You'd ask him a question, and he'd look at you and tilt his head. Almost as if as soon as you opened your mouth to speak he just zoned out. Just like he did before. Sure he's groan and whine, those were the only noises you've heard come from him lately, but you never really had a solid way to communicate with him.

→ It wasn't long until the peace and quiet you two shared was interrupted. You didn't know how, or why, but Sonic began to act differently around you. He became more needy, more desperate for any attention he could drain out of you. He started to try to get more physical, such as hugging you and trying to hold your hand. This contradicted the hedgehogs usual nature. He's always been known to tolerate physical affection only briefly, before politely asking you to stop. But not this time.

→ When his attempts of getting closer to you are either ignored or shut down, he began to grow impatient as he kept trying. But the more you turned him down, the more desperate he became. If you tried to separate from him or in the case that someone tried separating you from him, the hedgehog would grow angry and irritated, growling and opting to throw a fit. He never resorted to violence, thankfully, but somehow his growls were more terrifying. You've never heard them before.

→ But you wouldn't be lying if you said, as terrifying as this all was, that you weren't at least a little bit interested in where this could go. He was intensely dependant on you, never leaving your side and never wanting you in harms way.

→ In the case you submitted and let him hug you, despite the sour smell that made you want to vomit, he'd be happy and cheerful, as if his previous meltdown didn't happen, nor did it matter. But something about your friend getting satisfaction from you coming back to him and giving him what he wanted made your stomach turn, but you tried convincing yourself that you were just overreacting.

→ As you two sat down on the grass of a forest, your back against a tree as you dug through your backpack, you pulled out a photo. It was you, Sonic, and Tails. You sighed, running a thumb over Tails' face. You never found out about what happened to the little fox. But looking at Sonic, and the rest of the world, you could make a pretty good guess. Did Sonic know? Was he there? Knowing him, he probably sacrificed his life for his little brother.

→ This gave you an idea. Another test of yours. Hesitating for a moment, you snapped your fingers. Sonic's head snapped to look at you, with that same blank stare. You swallowed, putting the photo in front of him, on the grass.

"Look," you said, sliding the photo towards him on the ground. "Do you remember?"

→ He stared at the photo for a few minutes, before letting out a whine, slowly lifting his finger and putting it on the photo, on top of Tails. A part of you felt terrible, showing him a photo of a distant memory, of someone long gone. But another part needed to know. If he can feel joy, and anger, can he feel grief?

→ He took his hand off, staring blankly again. You couldn't tell if he didn't care, or if he lost all interest in something that wasn't related to you. Which, after his eyes drifted to the photo of you, his eyes were fixed on it. Maybe you could try again another time, but for now, your experiment was unsuccessful. But you still didn't have a solid answer as to why he acted this way towards you. And maybe you never would. But, possessive undead best friend or not, he was still here with you. And that's all you could ask for.

#sonic the hedgehog x reader #yandere sonic the hedgehog #yandere sonic the hedgehog x reader #tw yandere #scenario

[darkmatters-ghost]

I've run into a problem...

06 sucks!

Like we knew that, but writing wise, 06 is such a mess, and I don't- I don't know what to do about it, I have fanfic ideas that take place in 06! And it's such a mess that I feel like it'll tank the quality of my fanfic just from its garbage-ness!

And you might be thinking, oh, but 06 isn't that bad, you said yourself, it's one of your favorite games of all time, and other people deal with it just fine so–

No, you don't get it, it is that bad. And you can tell because almost nothing from that game made it out alive. Like, conceptually, there's some really cool stuff in 06. Crisis City's unique environment, Mephiles as a villain, double chaos control time powers (well...), Iblis, Soleanna. All that stuff is good, but because it was in 06. 06's garbage kinda rubbed off on it, and when everyone realized the game was horrible (including SEGA) all that stuff was never attempted again. No one decided to try and make Mephiles work in new games, no mention of Crisis City, or Solanna, or anything. It all just died with the game. Which makes it all the more impressive that Silver made it out alive.

But that's not the point. We all know it's bad.

The point is that idk where to go from here? Do I keep it the way it is? Do I change it? I'm leaning towards change but what should I change? Would people like those changes?

For example, Blaze is a mess. She's "got amnesia" or whatever, and she's here, but she doesn't talk to anyone but Silver (she almost does when she says "blue hedgehog" but that barely makes any sense and it wouldn't surprise me if it was secretly a pun lost in translation), she always seems to know what Silver was up to even if she wasn't there, she doesn't affect the plot other than making Silver doubt his judgement and then leaving, it's-, it's just a mess.

So, what if we cut Blaze out, altogether? Like, she left before Silver runs into Memphis so Silver's on his own. And since silver can't rely on her to tell him whether or not to trust Mephiles, it makes it so Silver believing him shows it off as a character trait of Silver's desperate naivety instead of it feeling like Blaze sitting there watching him get tricked cuz "it'd be funny". That whole scene really feels like Silver and Blaze get tricked by Mephiles because the plot demanded it of them more than anything else.

Plus, if you don't have Blaze here, Silver's heroes journey can be, in part, trying to figure out what to do when no one's around. Lean on other people less, make his own choices. You wouldn't even really need to cut Blaze's dialogue because Silver would be thinking "what would Blaze do/say?"

And I think it'd add to their friendship, the idea that when he comes back to the future and says he knows how to defeat Iblis, she just goes along with it, and is willing to do anything for Silver because they have such a strong relationship, because she trusts him.

But would people like that retcon? What if people hate it cuz there's less Blaze content?

Idk. It's just something I've been thinking about, there's more things I'd like to change, but luckily, a lot of 06 can be improved by adding extra context, or slightly different introductions that barely change the story.

I'd love to hear what other ppl have to say about dealing with 06's writing, tho

#dadow #dadow related #shadow the hedgehog #silver the hedgehog #sth #sonic 06 timeline #fanfic #psychic and empathetic au #kinda #the musing of a tired fanfic author #blaze the cat

[madefate]

happy wednesday ! let's talk about self hatred or whatever :) warnings for (non explicit) mentions of child abuse / neglect, & classism (fantasy classism, but still). this post is sponsored by the front bottoms.

it doesn't start with the fire, okay. like, YEAH, the fire doesn't HELP. i dare say it's the nail in that particular coffin, and there's so much to unpack with the fire it's kind of unbelievable. but we have to start at the beginning, and at the beginning is a shitty parent because there's always a shitty parent at the beginning. it feels very biblical, no?

blitz was the scapegoat™ of the family from the beginning, to barb's invisible child & fizz's golden child, and boy did cash fuck those kids up, like talk about conditional - eh, let's call it love even though it really wasn't. which just isn't that uncommon - hi systemic classism and poverty. if you had a foothold in a way to make money in the poorer parts of the rings, especially greed, you took it and it takes over your life. even with tilla's love ( and we'll get to that in a second ), it genuinely didn't occur to blitz to be a kid. he was an employee and performer first and foremost, and in close second place was barb's brother and fizz's friend - and only then was he tilla's son.

when he was young, he learned to take every criticism, scolding, and even the worse parts of cash's ❝ parenting ❞ as something to joke about - more with barb than anyone else, even fizzie. and even then, he was never explicit with barb, and she wasn't with him. because how do you have words for things like that ?

what he did internalize was that it was his job - that anything was his job: it was his job to get the routines down - then it was his job to fix the mistakes in the show - then it was his job to pickpocket any rich patrons that attended - then is was his job to undertake more complex robberies - it was his job to make sure cash's shit didn't make it to barb and fizzie because like his dad always said, they were the ones with the careers and the futures and blitz can you finally learn how to make a single fucking balloon animal you useless -

so, yes. it's classic - the protector, the scapegoat, the shitty teenager who'd give his dad a hard time and would only listen to his mother, and the kid without a goddamn future unless it was hitching his wagon to fizz's star. or maybe barb's, when cash deigned to mention her.

we can literally see it animated, the face he makes when he's almost about to give his confession letter to fizz. that's not the face of someone who's just worried about ruining a friendship, or the face of teenage angst. it's the same expression we see when he feels stolas' rejection at ozzie's - it's already a deep, deep self hatred, a deep bitterness that tells him he was right to not trust anyone, not even himself. because as much as he HATES to admit it, when you hear even a shit ass caregiver call you dead weight your whole life, it sticks in ways that's hard to shed.

so, tilla. so, the fire.

when i say that's the nail in the coffin, boy do i mean it. not that he can't heal because personally i hate writing nihilistic it doesn't get better bullshit. but what blitz lost in that fire wasn't just his mother - of course it was barb and fizzie too, and their intertwined futures. but it was ALSO the single source of unconditional love he'd ever known and it was his fault. in his mind, sixteen and malleable, that was the first act of self destruction that destroyed others that would start a pattern of ruining his life and everyone around him.

yes, he blames himself for fizz and barb. but at the root of it is his mom, and who is alive that could forgive him for that? why SHOULD they?

so he's this delightful spike, hedgehog ball of contradictions: his need to love and protect, his need to push everyone away. his deep feelings, his almost pathological need to drown them out with crude humor. his pulling, his pushing. he indulged in one night stands, put himself in any number of life threatening situations, destroyed his chances at meaningful relationships, hopped from job to job, constantly trying to make a life for himself while his greatest enemy - himself - was always there to torch it down.

the first thing that actually snapped him out the cycle was loona. when you're a parent, you no longer have the luxury to wallow in your fuck ups. she needed him. or, she needed someone and he was there and it was really as simple as love at first sight for this girl that reminded him so much of himself. and his love for her is genuinely selfless because having kids means that it has to be about them, not you.

slowly, he makes a more stable life for himself. but the scars run deep and healing will mean slicing them open again to clean them out.

#hh tw #( blitz hc. ) #oh the BIG hc post huh ! #and there's STILL SO MUCH MORE I COULD SAY. #me desperately pausing on the frame of where he scratched himself out of his family picture to icon -

[lucy-the-demon]

Spoiler alert for the fnaf movie

Im gonna rant for a minute

Are people really victim shaming Vanessa and simping for an actual child murderer?!

Vanessa tried to stop William afton from killing a little girl and her brother, and he stabbed her in the stomach!

William afton killed multiple children including Mike's brother when he was young, and attempted to kill Mike and his little sister!

You guys need to get off tiktok! I'm pretty sure those serial killer edits have rotted your brains in the most horrific ways possible for you to shame vanessa for actually trying to help and possibly dying for it!

She's the victim! Not William, he made multiple people into his victims, including mostly children!

He got what he deserved, to get himself stabbed multiple times in his innards feeling exactly what he did to his daughter but much more times possibly worse if he's still alive somehow, just to live eternity suffering and rotting alive for what he did to those children and his own daughter, what he attempted to do to more innocent lives.

Don't know what movie afton's motives were (I know what the afton motive was in the games was but not in the movie, the movie is kinda different then the games in my opinion..i don't think Vanessa in the game is afton's daughter, but i doubt security breach is cannon to the lore to the fans i assume) whatever it is, no motive justifies murder especially towards the amount that he's caused to multiple lives of innocent children who didn't know any better.

Vanessa is the victim, if you are a victim shaming Vanessa your disgusting, seek therapy because you clearly need it it if you think a murderer is in the right to stab his own daughter, possibly killing her for trying to save innocent lives her father was trying to take.

-

Rant aside I really loved this movie, I'm not even a fan of fnaf but i loved this movie. I'm excited for the sequels I'll watch the movies, but i can't play the games it's too much for me.. I don't like jumpscares unless I expect the exact moment and second when it happens.

It's easy to digest for me i guess despite the lore dumping y'know I already knew the lore a bit before watching the movie. I mean knowing the basic lore before watching a movie about anything based on an existing thing (ex. mlp gen gen 4 & 5 movie, sonic the hedgehog, mario? Marios a bit of a stretch but if you know Mario lives in Brooklyn it'll make more sense where he's at..i would recommend the smbss its bad but its hilarious if your not taking it seriously i got off topic, sorry it happens)

But loved the movie, would watch again, in fact it's been playing for days on my DVD player, I can't stop it it plays without me knowing i don't even press play it starts playing then the Next thing I know I'm in the middle of the movie again..

The scariest thing in that movie was matpat showing up, that was the biggest jumpscare.. we need Markiplier to show up next time, please hire him movie directors id start dying in the theater if he just randomly showed up and said something as a cameo. Id literally die.

#fnaf #fnaf movie #fnaf vanessa #fnaf rant #fnaf william afton #mini rant #she's the victim #stop victim shaming Vanessa

[stillafanofsonic]

Darkling Wade - Eclipse starts having self esteem issues after hanging out with the hedgehogs more, and noticing that humans seem to respond better to them because they're fluffy and cute. He wishes he was more like them...

Eclipse walked down the sidewalk with his brothers, the hedgehogs. The three of them were on the mission; they had each scourged up some change and loose bills and they were getting treats (candy for Silver, potato chips for Shadow and beef jerky for himself). He hadn't really wanted to go, but their dad had insisted, saying it was good for them to get out of the house. So here they were. After their snack run, Silver mentioned something about a library, whatever that was.

It was his first time around town just them, without their dad. All these humans around. Eclipse was doing his best to act like it didn't bother him. But it did. He could feel their stares and did his best to stick closely to his brothers.

The hedgehogs trotted on ahead of him, confident.

Suddenly a woman shrieked. "Don't touch me!"

Eclipse head snapped upward, yanked out of his thoughts in confusion. He hadn't done anything.

"Get away from me!" She yelled.

Instinct kicked in and he bared his teeth, realizing that as he passed, his spikes on his arm had caught on her skirt. "I didn't!"

She scowled. "Don't threaten me!" She looked over at Silver and Shadow. "Where is your father? I can't believe he lets this thing come out here unsupervised!"

Shadow didn't say anything but Silver spoke up. "He's at home... Our dad let's us walk to the store by ourselves... and he's not a thing, he's not hurting anyone..."

Her demeanor changed right away. "Oh, I see. Well, I know that neither of you hurt anyone, sweethearts but... he's.. different." She snuck a sideways glare toward him.

"How is he different?"

"Look at him." When she did, Eclipse snarled again. “I think you need to tell your dad about this, especially letting him out. ” When Silver nodded, confused, she swept on down the street.

The three of them stared after her. “That was weird...” Shadow said quietly. “C’mon.”

Suddenly, Eclipse didn’t want to be there anymore. On a street, surrounded by humans, seeing them everywhere. It was too much and he couldn’t take it anymore. “No, I’m going home.”

“What, why?”

“I just...” Eclipse couldn't tell them, neither of the hedgehogs seemed to understand. No one was yelling at them like this. “Bye,” he said and took off running back in the direction of safety, darting around and under and between many humans, going as fast as he could to get away from all of them.

Maybe his Father had been right, maybe humans really were the worst and didn’t deserve to be alive anymore.

***

Wade was at home, enjoying the peace and quiet when he heard the front door slam. That was surprising, he had sent the boys off to get a treat with their saved change and then library while he focused on trying to get more jobs lined up for the rest of the week. "Hello?"

"I hate humans!" He heard Eclipse snarl.

Leaving the kitchen, Wade found the smaller darkling standing in front of the door, glaring furiously. Anger was almost glowing around him. "What happened...? Where's Silver and Shadow?"

"They kept going. I wasn't wanted." With that, it all came spilling out. What some woman had said to him, how she said he was different. And then he didn't want to be out in public anymore. Never wanted to see another human being again.

By the time Eclipse finished, Wade felt a rush of anger knotting up in his chest. If he had been there, he wouldn't of hesitated to step up and say something. To defend his son. "Do you know who it was?"

"No." The look of anger melted away from Eclipse's face, replaced by a more vulnerable look, one that was ashamed and upset. "She wasn't upset about either of them.... just me..." He finally looked up at Wade. "Do people them them better?"

Wade's stomach dropped. He knew that answer was yes, of course people liked the hedgehogs better. They were cute and fluffy. Neither of them growled and hissed at people. This situation wasn't one that he expected But now it was here, he understood it. But he didn't want to tell Eclipse that. "Well.... of course not."

"Of course they do..." The darkling muttered, playing with his tail. "You probably like them better... I wish I was more like them..."

"Don't say that," Wade said, hating that he was hearing those words come out of his son's mouth. Especially since Wade knew that he had contributed to this problem; the fact that he had hated the transformation and then been depressed about it probably hadn't helped. But it was too late to change any of that now. "I love all of you equally."

That only made Eclipse's tail lash back and forth furiously. "It's true!" He yelled. "If I had fur and wasn't like this, people wouldn't hate me so much!"

"Yeah well... If I had six arms instead of two, I could probably get more done," Wade blurted out, the only response he could think of to that. It was enough to make the darkling tilt his head to the left in puzzlement. Enough to snap him out of that angry headspace. "But that's something that will never happen, so it's not worth dwelling on."

Leaning down, he put one hand on Eclipse's shoulder. "I like you the way you are, scales and everything. And so do your brothers. There are areas you can improve in, everyone has them but no one wishes you were a completely different person."

"Really...?"

"Really," Wade assured him. A moment later, he had his arms full of darkling. Carefully he stood up, cradling his son tenderly. "I love you so much, sweetheart. You have no idea how much I care about you."

"Thanks..."

Wade grimaced slightly at that response, as Eclipse still hadn't responded properly to being told that but at least he accepted it, seemed like he was comforted by those words.

For now, Wade had others things he needed to worry about. Like what to do about these people who were mistreating his son, especially when he wasn't around. To find who it was and how to put a stop to this. In anyway that he could.

"I know that you're upset, but you need to know not to hate every human now because of something one person did."

"Why? Eclipse demanded, starting to wiggle in his arms.

Wade set him down. "Because it's not fair to judge an entire species for the acts of one person." That was difficult for him to say, as humans hadn't been very kind to him either. But it didn't right. However, that was something that he didn't need to say out loud. "Tom and Maddie aren't like that, are they?"

"No..."

"Exactly." Wade said. "Neither of them deserve hate for something. Just because one person is unkind, doesn't mean you have to be. Or that you can't go around town anymore. You live here just as much as she does."

Eclipse shrugged and headed for the kitchen, clearly done with the conversation. Wade just watched him go, hoping that at least some of what had been said would stay with his son.

But as soon as Silver and Shadow got home, he would ask them if they knew who the person was. Just in case he ever saw her again.

He would protect his kid.

#for you bestie <3 #asks #my writing #darkling wade #doomfox's tag

[thatninjacat27]

DAY 1: TOUCHSTARVED

-A part of my Au where the future is terrible, almost everyone is dead and Sonic lives in an underground bunker alone for years. -(I wrote this very late into the day, close to midnight so there might be some holes.)

(link above and same text below)

“Hey Sonic? Where are all pillows and blankets around here? I can’t seem to fi-“, Tails trailed off.

Before him was Sonic placing his sock puppets in a large circle on a sea of blankets and pillows on the mattress lying on the floor. It looked like a nest.

“Oh.”, Sonic paused. He took a good look at the fox and then looked away. “You’re still here.”, the blue hedgehog said definitely. He turn back to keep adjusting the placement of his Knuckles and Amy puppets. “Thought you would have disappeared by now.”

“Why won’t you just believe that I’m real?”, Tails asked. “That I’m actually here right now? I’m not imaginary or one of your hallucinations.”

“Well, that’s a bit of a long story. To make it short, you’re a trick that my mind constantly plays on me when it wants me to keep staying alive.”, Sonic explained. He finished ordering the representations of his dead friends the way he wanted and fell back on his little nest that he made.

The blue hedgehog stared back at Tails as if wondering the conversation was really happening. After a pause the fox knew his brother was not going to say anything else in regards to his questions.

“Scoot over.”, Tails commanded. 

“Why?”, Sonic asked while moving to give Tails some space.

”Because ít’s late, I’m tired, I need some sleep in order to properly fix that time vest, and you took all the blankets and pillows.

”You never-“, Sonic started to questioned but got interrupted.

”That’s because I’m not a figment of your goddamn imagination, Sonic. Stop telling me that.”, the fox said in a loud angrily frustrated voice. He felt so tired of trying to prove and explain to his brother that he wasn’t insane for seeing a past version of his little brother alive and that he was real and not an imaginary person his mind came up with to help cope with the loneliness of the underground bunker. 

The silence was deafening after that. Sonic stared more blankly at Tails as if he was steeling himself from feeling anything. 

“I’m sorry.” the fox apologized to the blue hedgehog. “It’s just that I don’t know what to do or say that will get you to understand that I’m here now.”

Sonic continued to be silent. Knowing that the blue hedgehog was not in the mood to conversate anymore, Tails jumped on the sea of pillows and blankets, and curled up next to him.

“I love you, you know that right?”, Tails said trying to get close enough to touch Sonic. “I am going to figure out a way to fix what happened so that you never end up in this situation again in the future.”

The feeling of another person physically being this closer felt so foreign to Sonic now. It wasn’t a bad feeling but such a good one if not a bit overwhelming. Typically he’d use one of his puppets to simulate a group hug or put on several blankets to make it feel like someone was there. It was the only thing to help him sleep at night.

The blue hedgehog felt something wet run across his cheek. And then his vision blurred and a hiccup almost escape his throat. Sonic felt tears come out of his eyes. It felt so embarrassing. At least Tails had his eyes closed already and was waiting on Sonic’s response out of habit.

Using one hand and carefully wiping away the tears as to not alert Tails, Sonic decided to say something for his sake and himself.

“Yeah, love you too, little buddy.”, Sonic did his best not to seem choked up about it.

Tails smiled. ”Night, bro.”, he yawned happily. The fox snuggled closer to the blue hedgehog.

Maybe this was a last ditch effort of his brain to keep the last remaining bits of his self preservation or it could be real. Well, whatever the case was, Sonic cuddled closer to the warm body to hold on to this feeling.

“Night.”, the blue hedgehog said as he fell into a deep sleep. 

His puppets and weighed blankets were all he needed and had for the past few years. But this was good alternative too.

#febuwhump #febuwhump2023 #Febuwhump day 1 #Day 1 #sonicthehedgehog #miles tails prower #sonic and tails #future au #Using sock puppets to cope

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

The post I just reblogged made me want to talk more about this so.

I had an incredibly low general opinion of the Sonic movie prior to movie 2 coming out. You can find some of my old posts about it if you want more specifics, but the short version is that so little of that first movie actually feels like it’s about or related to the Sonic series in any way. The green hill scene at the start is great! Sonic’s motions are full of personality and the environment feels alive. And oh shit echidnas are here? That’s a different take on Sonic canon but it’s cool and has implications for this continuity specifically like that’s something to be excited for! And then it all just stops completely. Generic live action setting with a milquetoast police officer human for parents in the audience to relate to while their kids think about Sonic, a Sonic that’s basically himself in name only to begin with. Only thing he really shares with his game self is a tendency towards cracking jokes but even then said jokes have just been turned into pop culture references. Same deal for Eggman who, yeah, is just Jim Carrey being Jim Carrey, we all know this. First movie couldn’t even do the decency of trying to make him look like Eggman either so there’s that. The whole thing was just so lifeless, so afraid of actually being a movie about Sonic the Hedgehog, you know?

Needless to say I was extremely worried for movie 2 as well. Worried that it’d have the same exact problems but now with a Tails and Knuckles that don’t feel like themselves either. But you know what, credit where it’s due, they really did try a lot harder to make it feel like the games. Still don’t love its depiction of Sonic or his character arc here about learning to be a son? And yeah the human inclusions are still barely worth a shit at all. But they gave Eggman a redesign to make him somewhat feel more like his real self even if he’s still just Jim Carrey, Tails is here and they manage to do a decent job with him (plus he’s played by his actual game voice actress!) and they gave Knuckles an actually really great arc capitalising on traits he genuinely does have in the games that these movies are adapting! They expand on their own version of the echidna lore and shit too, bring in the Master Emerald even if it works mechanically different from the games. It’s not perfect but you can tell they’re actually trying to put their own spin on the story now instead of just doing by-the-books safe lame Hollywood shit. And then Super Sonic vs a Death Egg Robot too? Plus the Shadow tease? Like they’re a lot more confident that the Sonic aspects of the Sonic movie can pull people in now, and it’s great to see.

The problem, obviously, is that they’re still just not confident enough. The runtime is still dragged down with movie original human characters, and it’s arguably even worse for that than movie 1 given the wedding scene that, yeah, people can’t stand for a reason! Nobody cares to see this irrelevant side character that’s original to these movie have a “badass” moment where she just does kid-friendly action movie stuff because she’s mad at her fiance or whatever! Why am I watching this in a movie called Sonic the Hedgehog? Or the Uptown Funk dance sequence which like, do I even need to say anything? And the humour’s still just a bunch of lame pop culture references. None of it’s informed by the fact that it’s adapting Sonic the Hedgehog.

And the thing is like, yeah, they’ve kind of already dug their grave. We’re 2 movies in with a Knuckles spinoff show and a third movie on the way. At this point, they can’t ditch the setting. They can’t really ditch the human characters. They’re gonna remain these live action and CG hybrids where the setting is just regular normal United States of America. Maybe the jokes’ll get better! Maybe Sonic’ll start acting more like Sonic! Maybe they’ll make actual soundtracks that fit the series! Maybe we’ll have more game characters come in and be accurate to themselves and we’ll actually start having movies that feel like they’re trying to be Sonic the Hedgehog! But as it stands, the movies kinda just exist in a context so far removed from what I love about the series that it is hard to care.

And yeah I’ll fully admit. Lots of this is in fact informed by my reaction to the Mario movie stuff! Crazy! Thing is the Mario movie’s not even out yet and maybe it will suck and at the very least the voice cast is pretty cringe, primarily fucking Pratt, but you know what, those things aside? That movie’s so unafraid to just be Mario, you know? Everyone looks like they always have, the music sounds like it’s always sounded, the environments are pretty 1:1 with what the Super Mario series looks like to people. Like for all intents and purposes we’re getting exactly what Mario’s always been but just in theatres now. And if anything it’s probably a harder job to do that with Mario since as a series it’s really never been close to as story focused as Sonic games usually are! But they tried their damndest and we’re gonna get a movie where every single second is going to feel like Super Mario on a fundamental level. And I’m upset that Sonic wasn’t able to get that. Animated or not.

#sonic #20.2.23 #mario

[becomeundone]

So everyone you loved has left you?

#hometown cha cha cha #hcccedit #kdramaedit #kdramadaily #kim seon ho #mine #the lighting for this was a bit all over the place.. #realising after making like three gifs #anyway 1. ACTING #2. that person who said he brings death upon people around him at his grandfathers funeral while he was there is going to hell. #like he literally took that on board. he was a teenager and he was alone like what?? #3. it's really obvious why he doesn't want to start anything with hyejin. like i kinda guessed before from when he said he doesn't take in #anything alive (like the hedgehog) or whatever he said #idk it's just sad and ik people are gonna be frustrated when he probably doesn't say he likes hyejin back #but there's a lot he's keeping inside #did not mean to write an essay on this

[imagines-to-quench-thirst]

Visiting your hometown

What happens when you take your man to your home town? As your memories, people and places come together how will he react?

A small/long drabble to get me back into writing. Enjoy!

Victor Creed

This mutant never thought that he would walk in your hometown. He didn't expect to see cultures that morph together into one special town, your town. A place where you grew up. So keeping all that in mind he was cautious. Various not to offend someone or to say a rude word in your mother tongue. For the first time in his life, he is frazzled and nervous. he will keep in his front pocket a small leaflet some words he heard you say a few times that may be of some assistance. trying to woo you.

-that old hag showed me the middle finger. let's go.

Unfortunately, anything that he says wrong, will be your responsibility to amend it. so good luck.

Loki

you just know that Loki will have your mother tongue in his little finger (that sounds weird but let's carry on) but do not be fooled, he can not survive the morning wave of people in the farmers market. something that is pretty much normal for you. Loki doesn't know how to feel when he sees the local butcher wrapping the meat in todays' newspaper giving it to buyers or how people shove him to the side as his black suit with the green scarf is more than brought down in value. he will hear the near shouts of Famers that are trying to sell their livelihood to him as his head goes from one side to another in a split second. he will easily get reeled in by the old farmer who just smells the innocence on the Midgardian addressed god. you know the moment you grabs his hand he looks at you.

-how did you ever survive in this chaos?

-I thought you said that chaos is your middle name.

-it is however my kind of chaos is more dignified.

-survive just a little bit more, I need to go to that man in the corner.

-oh, no...

Thor

we all in the fandom know that thor is a ball of joy. but when he lands in your city, your territory he is stoic. he is here on a mission and no one should stand in his way. he will glue himself to your side and he will hold the dictionary book in his mighty right hand and your hand in his left. he will not stand for wasting a day on mundane stuff that you do with him back in the HQ so say goodbye to lazying around. when you go to the oceanic part of your country you are now almost ready to drown him in the ocean. or just leave him on the road, it is getting that heavy.

-thor, think it is time to stop.

-what do you mean?

-to be honest, I don't know anymore I am so tired.

-you are right... let us stop. for 2 minutes and then you can drive again.

-I will leave you here.

Bucky Barnes

bucky loves to travel. he loves to see you in the role of a guide you tell him about the park where you cut your leg open and when you got to the hospital as a nun stood above you praying for your recovery. bucky loves to feel the fresh air going into his nose thinking to himself how this was the same air that you breathe in. he loves to see all the different parts of the city where you went to. even so much that he went to your former hairstylist.

-bucky, you don't have to do this.

-nonsense, doll. I want to experience it. just like you did.

-that was eons ago. and I wore super short hair, like a hedgehog.

-hedgehog?

-yeah, it was so short that I only put on gel and made small spikes.

- I will give everything I have and say that you looked beautiful.

-alright, your call.

Steve Rogers

steve cannot wait for enough for him to arrive in the city where you walked, ran, and laughed. he cannot wait to enter your old apartment and see all of the hidden pieces that he wants to know. he loves to help you clean the apartment and see a big box of your old photos. he will look with your through on the hard wooden floor with one arm around your shoulders as you talk about each photo. even showing him the photo of your sister.

-when will I meet her?

-I don't know.

-didn't you say that she lived here, still?

-yeah...

-I want to meet her. I think am ready for it.

-okay...

Bruce Wayne

you just know that when you told him to pack his bags to go with you he did his research. he knows when, how the city was built. he will try to memorize the tongue twisters and say them horribly wrong just to make you laugh. when he looks at your old apartment he tries to envision the day you left it all behind to go to Gotham and it breaks his heart to imagine you in tears.

-bruce.

you take his calloused hand feeling his fingers tighten the grip.

-sorry, I immediately imagined you when you moved out. I got sad.

-why?

-because, you surely cried.

-I did, a little, but this city didn't have that something.

-and what is that?

-you dumbass. now stop sulking we need to clean.

Clark Kent

as Clark arrived at the farm where your aunt lived he couldn't help feel but prepared. he saw the cows eating grabs and was ready in a split second to milk it just to show off his soft and delicate side. Clark heard the stories of your aunt, well one of them, and from what he concluded, for now, this aunt was the beginner level, nice one, the one who won't tear him a new one if he doesn't treat you right. as the door opened you greeted your aunt in your mother tongue and introduced your man. Clark shakingly trying to reply in the mother tongue feeling the few letters that stood together could fall more apart than from his mouth. your aunt laughed hugging him and roughly patted him on his back. almost like a punch if you will. you look at your aunt and Clark cannot help but stand behind you as he whispered.

-what did she say?

-she said that you seem stiffer than a goat's turd.

-you said that this aunt was nice.

-she is. but that is the way we express ourselves.

-with curse words???!!

-what better way.

Arthur curry

Arthur was relaxed when he arrived, he was laid back when he slept in your apartment but that all suicide jumped off a cliff as he shook hands with your mother. Your mom wasn't that intimating but he heard the stories of her standing to your abusive father and running away with just some change in her pocket and a used car. he knows that the woman in front of him is strong can make or break your relationship. so he held the coffee cup in his hands as if was the key to everything he needed to know how to make your mother happy. he saw how your eyes sparkled when you talked to her how your smile ever left for a second you take what seemed to him in complete gibberish but cute gibberish. your mother turns to him asking in English.

-so Arthur, can I call you by your first name?

-yes, madam. of course, you can.

-thank you. well, then Arthur what do you do for a living?

with a small nod from you, he tells the honest truth.

-I am a superhero. but minus the stupid cape. I am here to keep you and your daughter, of course, safe from all danger. and I hope you will like me!!!!

you turn to your mother with a small chuckle as you tell her in your mother tongue.

-he is helpless.

-he seems like it, good luck, Y/n.

Orm Marius

nothing can save his pulse from rising as he walked with the crowd of people in the town square only your hand which he held more than tightly enough. you stopped pointing at a big statue of a colonel on a horse placed in the middle of the square.

-he is a big deal.

-yes, I can imagine the poor people that had to lift it up to place it here.

-yes, but thanks to those people, people now in the present can always remember what they went through at that time.

he didn't find any specialness in the statute for him it lacked in far more than that he can count but when he saw your face looking at the statue he knew that whatever that stirred in you he wanted to see it every day. he only squeezed your hand placing a kiss on your knuckles.

-does this mean you want in your likeness?

-sure, but only if you will make it.

-oh, darling, that is a recipe for chaos.

The Joker

j never put effort into himself. he did in destruction, in chaos, in mayhem, and even in covering his white skin with some basic foundation as he meets your off the edge aunt. when you told him that every second sentence from her is a curse he was more than ready to meet her. because sometimes crazy people click with the people who like to curse. everyone knows that. so when he sat in the house of your crazy aunt he firstly observed, he watched you talked together and exchanged laughs, even more, when you ever brought to tears as you laughed off the curses she threw at you so playfully making even j smile. so when she turned to him it was game time. and you were the translator.

-my aunt asked what is that you do for a job?

-tell her I am the man of your dreams.

-I told her that.

-damn, then tell her-WHAT?!

you giggle at his shock as you heard the playful quote she told you when you were little and j wanted to know what she said.

-what did she say?

-she said "if a girl gives a man a hand, she will give him her ass"

-your aunt is a wise woman.

- I knew you would like her.

Duncan Vizla

Duncan likes to take walks and taking a walk with you next to him as you showed him around your old neighborhood and told him stores of the always pissed on metal slide and the always filled cafes that were always the pinpoints for some scammers he found in question why you like it so much. as you showed his around you stopped at your old elementary school. you showed him the main entrance was where everyone hurled in the morning hours and where you sat with your friends and talked about the horribly proffers that still to this day haunt you. something he heard you mumble in your sleep.

-she was that awful?

-yes, and people like here never get old it's like the evilness she has in her keeps her eligible for work.

-am i not the same?

he couldn't ask a stupider question. and for that, you punched him in the shoulder.

-don't compare yourself to her. you aren't evil.

-you are forgetting my job, darling.

-you kill for money, she kills for fun and to keep herself alive. a difference now let's go home I need to remind you just how good and attentive you can be.

-lead the way, dove.

hope you liked it. Tell me what you think❤️

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#marvel imagine #marvel #avengers imagine #loki fanfic #loki laufeyson imagine #loki x reader #victor creed imagine #victor creed x reader #xmen imagine #steve rogers x you #steve rogers imagine #captain america imagine #bucky x you #bucky barnes x reader #bruce wayne x reader #bruce wayne imagine #Batman imagine #clark kent x reader #superman imagine #arthur curry x reader #orm marius imagine #aquaman x reader #joker x reader #suicide squad x reader #dc x reader #dc imagine #duncan vizla imagine #polar netflix #thor imagine #Headcanon

[abizarreyodelingincident]

Braaaaaaains...

Jason Todd is legally – and biologically – dead. His family noted his lack of pulse at three in the morning, inside the cave, his body laid out on a table with medical instruments.

No, really, tell him something he doesn't know.

What else crawls out of a grave moaning and groaning?

Or, Jason thought his family full of the world's greatest detectives was smarter than this. Apparently not.

****************************************************************

It had been an ordinary night. Calm. The stage for very little costumed crime and barely more regular, non-insane crime as well. Half the menagerie that made up Dick's loving ragtag bunch of younger siblings had even taken the night off.

Nothing should have make him arrive to silence this thick, to this faint echo of sniffling.

He sprinted after the noise.

Damian's fine, left before me. Duke didn't go out, nor did Steph. Babs spent the evening with Cass in the cave, Tim swept the bowery and said he was going to stop by Jason's place to-

He collided with a shaking, tear stained Tim right outside the medbay.

There was a body on the closest table. Others around it, crying, pacing, muttering in denial.

Dick couldn't look.

No, no, please, please no. I can't do that again. I can't!

Scarred skin, too pale – to be Duke or Cass – by death. His breath hitched. No. He. Fuck.

He knew those scars. Those arms. That chest and that fucking Y from navel to shoulders.

“Dick! Jason... he was...  I found him in his apartment. And I brought him to the cave... but... Jason doesn't have a pulse. He's... cold...”

Dick stumbled.

No.

No, no, no, that... that couldn't be real.

He caught himself on his little brother. Brought himself into a hug too tight, as painful as the arms gripping his ribs and back. A grip meant for a lifesaving light at sea. For a safeline over a ravine.

Twice. He'd lost the same brother twice. And this time, he didn't even have the excuse of inexperience and unstable situations. He... he patrolled the city whilst his brother was dead, completely oblivious to the fact. How could he? How dare he not know?!

“Shh, Tim, I'm here. I'm here.” But not for Jason, whispered a vicious part of him.

“What's all this?”

Dick's heart just about stopped.

Damian stood at the entrance to the lockers' room, uniform folded under one arm, hair slightly damp from a shower and Bat-themed pajamas worn without shame. His mild annoyance was proof he had no idea of the drama that had happened not twenty feet from him.

With reluctance, he let go of Tim, a gentle hand lingering on his shoulder, before he took a few steps toward his youngest, most vulnerable brother.

“D-Dami, I... ”   Damn it, he had to be the one to tell Damian about this. Because otherwise, the person to break the news would be Bruce, and-

Shit.

Bruce.

Oh God. How could they possibly tell him- ? After all their fights, the goddamned shattering that had broken the man he had been, and their last conversations even being more admonishment about protocols that Jason had flippantly disregarded. Bruce would never recover. That was it. The end of Batman.

...But first, God he hated himself, wanted to just curl up in a corner and forget everything, first he had a young brother he needed to talk to. One... one little brother less than just this afternoon.

“Jason... ” He swallowed, his throat tight, his heart in denial, the words so damning, but needing to be said. “Jason did not make it. He... he's dead.”

Damian stayed thoughtfully silent.

Not... not the tearful reaction he had expected, but Damian had grown up surrounded by so much death and horror that he would obviously be guarded. And oh, Dick's heart went to his baby brother, and he truly wished he could

“I do not understand. Why such theatrics for the zombie?”

Dick gasped, knowledge warring with the flash of anger.

“Damian! He's our brother!”

“Did he lose his head?” Damian demanded, and Dick's mind buckled.

“Huh, no, but that doesn't have anything to d-”

“Then, why are you acting so weirdly emotional, Richard?”

Before Dick's temper could catch up to his mouth, the longest and most painful-sounding gasp erupted from the medbay, where, to the general shock of all, Jason's gray-ish body shot upward with both his arms raised.

Electroshocks didn't make you jolt like that.

Electroshocks, in fact, remained in their kit on the other side of the medbay, unused. Because Jason had seemingly been dead long before he had been brought to the cave.

That was roughly the moment when Dick's brain caught up with the first of many hints. Latched onto it with a fool's hope.

“... Damian... When you were calling Jason a 'zombie', what did you mean?”

Damian's brows scrunched up together, a look he meant to be intimidating, but had more in common with a disgruntled kitten. “Exactly that, Richard. Do we not have files on zombies in the computer? Dead bodies walking about animated by unholy powers?”

Jason's not- Dick forced the half formed thought to a halt. For once, he rather wanted to be very, very wrong in how he perceived his family.

“What's with all the noise? Can't someone try to sleep like the dead without screaming?” Jason groused. “Should have gotten myself buried ag-OOF!”

“JASON!” screamed the hysterical teenager that had launched himself at a very lively dead body.

“Huhh? Hi, Timmy?” Jason said blearily, ruffling Tim's hair, eyebags suspiciously prominent. “... Fear gas?”

The blinking slowed, the fog of sleep drifting away as he silently begged the rest of them for an answer.

Happily provided by a still crying Tim. “I thought you were gone!”

“What is dead may never die,” Jason quipped, his mouth twisting in that cocksure grin from his Robin days.

And Dick wanted nothing more than to stop right there, pass out from the relief and joy of his little brother being alive and kicking, but...

But... 

That joke. One of many morbidly unfunny jokes and puns.

Bone-deep fatigue crushed his back. A bitter curse for whatever higher forces messing with them echoed strongly inside his skull, before he gave in to the inevitable and inhaled a few times for patience.

“Jason. We thought you were dead-dead.”

With prickly, hedgehog style affection, Jason pushed Tim back and stood up, stretching. “Come off it, Goldie. I wasn't even decapitated. I mean, if you were really worried, you could have just called a necromancer or something.” His expression hardened. “But if you ever call a necromancer on my ass, I'll shoot your perfect glutes.”

Yup, yup, yup, this is happening.

Tim finally wiped the rest of the tears away, helped by one of Stephanie's handkerchiefs, when he froze. “Wait. Your skin's still pale as a corpse.”

The flicker of amusement in Jason's eyes killed it for Dick.

God, how could they have all been this idiotic? If Wally ever learned about this – Shit, did Roy and Kory know before him?!

They were going to laugh their asses off at him.

Jason, unaware of the world recalibration happening in his poor big brother's mind, shrugged and rolled his shoulders – who creaked suspiciously loudly, more like rusty hinges than normal body parts. “Eh, I'm just a bit hungry. Nothing a meal or two won't fix and get some blood flowing back under my s-”

“You're a zombie.”

They turned toward him.

“Way to cross the finish line on time, Mister Rabbit,” Jason drawled.

Barbara, for once, looked completely unprepared. “A zombie,” she repeated, dazed.

Stephanie's nervous giggle died out when she noticed the lack of humor. “... No!”

Cassandra furiously looked down, muttering in her fist. Duke, by contrast, had the expression of a person stuck in a very awkward nightmare.

Even Jason's good-natured ribbing faded in when faced only with the distant screeched of bats. “... Hm, guys, bats, roostery, parasites and octopi? This is old news. What's with all the... ”

He vaguely gestured at their faces.

“Old news?” Tim rasped like he was being strangled.

“I came back from the dead years ago! Come on! Am I in a parallel universe? Hey, Demon Brat,” Jason called, baffled, “you knew, right? I didn't imagine that, right?!”

“Of course, Todd. Mother informed me of everything. Besides, Grandfather's interest in your state of being was of interest for a few weeks. How could I have been ignorant about your zombified state of being?”

In the corner of his eyes, Dick noticed Tim's, Barbara's and Cassandra's expressions all pinching in displeasure. In a way, Dick was reassured. He hadn't been the target of a family-wide hoax to discredit him as an attentive and loving eldest brother. No, he was just naturally blind, apparently.

“He knew?” Tim growled, like it was a personal failing of the fabric of time and space.

Damian's tone was the exact opposite. “And none of you realized...?”

Dick squirmed. “I... huh... you see...”

His baby brother eyed him, completely unimpressed, and for once after years of partnership, Dick felt he deserved every single ounce of it.

“I see... I shall reevaluate the value of this 'detective training' I've been given if this is the result then,” he said, the nearest thing to completely disavowing his older siblings without saying so.  

In other circumstances, perhaps the others would have demanded that Damian stay and explain, but he suspected the quelling look it would have deserved prevented them. Not one of them spoke until Damian had disappeared upstairs and the elevator doors had closed.

“Jason, since when have you been a zombie?”

Jason blinked, jaw hanging. Juuuust enough for some of the scar tissue on his face to stretch past normal. Why did Dick only notice that now?

“Wait, you're all serious? How could you not know? I told you guys!”

And there was Dick's pride rearing its ugly head, because no, no he had not been told and maybe his deductive skills needed a very complete overhaul, but his memory was still excellent!

“You never said that. Heck, we weren't even talking until two years ago!”

“I literally told you all that I crawled out of my grave by myself, groaning the entire time. No experiment, no Lazarus Pit, just a body waking up in its own coffin and deciding to breathe fresh air. Does that not scream 'zombie' to you?”

They cringed.

“Not the only one that returned from beyond,” Babs mumbled. He could see her pull up the mental list right there.

“I greeted you all last meeting with a 'What's up, my bat folks? It's me, your favorite zombie!'. What did you think that meant?”

“That you're an asshole with a morbid sense of humor?” Stephanie quipped, and Jason momentarily paused his indignation to high five her. Fair's fair.

“Okay, but what about that time I got shot in the chest and I told you all not to worry about it?”

“I just figured you were going to get stitched up by Leslie or yourself, you know, regular bat neuroses,” Tim confessed.

Dick made a mental note to keep a much closer eye on Tim's patrols for the next few months.

“From a bullet chest wound?” Jason asked with an incredulousness that was not at all earned, because he was a freaking zombie!

“I thought your armor had blocked it! The hole wasn't bleeding!” Tim protested, cheeks red and tone defensive.

“Well, yeah,” Jason replied. “I don't bleed. It's like some fruit pulp or something. Ain't coming out if you don't press. My heart's not pumping.”

That's a 'nevermind' on the smoothie I saved for after patrol.

“Well, I know that now,” Tim said.

“I feel like I should write it down on the plaque or something,” Jason still sounded amazed, and might have pinched his arm just to be sure he hadn't been daydreaming, “Like, 'a good soldier AND A VERY DISCRETE ZOMBIE!' in big flaming letters. With a spotlight. And a dictionary opened on 'Zombie' or 'Undead'. You know, just in case the next batbrat to come along needs a few subtle hints about my true nature. What'd you think, Dick?”

He could not have been blushing harder than he currently was. “I think shut up.”

“Of course. What about when I shoved my deadly cold toes at Tim under a blanket?”

“Cold feet.”

“Never eating around you guys?”

“Daddy issues with Bruce,” Barbara deadpanned, and got a sock thrown at her for her honesty.

However, Duke, poor kid, turned green. “Wait, so when you offered me some jellied brain... was that not a death joke?”

Dick's stomach spontaneously shrivelled.

By the grimaces and sharp inhales all around, that was a common reaction.

Then the worst possible thing happened: Jason grinned.

He strutted, all confidence and brashness, and viper-quick, snatched an arm around Duke's shoulder. “Narrows, Nightlight, my tiny bitsy bro, everything I do is a death joke. My very existence laughs at death.”

Inside the batcave, the groaning was long-suffering and shameful.

“But that was actually brains,” Duke countered.

“Yeah. Calf brains. It's a delicacy.”

Tim massaged his forehead. What a mood.

Duke narrowed his eyes. “It was purely for the joke, wasn't it?”

Jason patted him on the back so hard Duke faltered. “One tragically wasted on your obtuse mind. I prefer me some Tête fromagée instead. Less like grainy jello.”

Stone-faced, Barbara wheeled herself toward the batcomputer. There, upon a series of quick clicks, she opened up the Bats's files. “Alright, you had your fun. Do you need to eat brains or are you just the world's least funny meathead?”

“I'm the world's most misunderstood vigilante!” Jason loudly protested, milking their pain for all it was worth. And then some. “But yeah, I do. No grey matter in there” -- he tapped his belly -- “no thinking up here.” -- his skull.

“Need some better quality brains then,” Tim stage-whispered to Stephanie.

Cass pointed the finger at Jason. “No killing for brains.”

Jason's good humor flickered with a flash of green. “Ain't ever done it, never will. It's a matter of morals, not hunger, Cass.”

Dick swooped in that minefield before it exploded.

“Great! Proud of you, Jay! You're the good kind of vegetarian zombie,” he said, putting an arm around his ginormous little brother's shoulders.

Wait a minute...

“Hey, you're older than when you died! Zombies don't age.”

“No, I was thrown into a Lazarus Pit, and the evil waters cured the malnutrition-induced delay on my growth. Haven't aged a day since.”

“I just thought you had a weird babyface thing going on,” Tim said.

Jason's grin turned sardonic. “Quite the opposite, Timber.”

Dick put his head in his hands in some vain attempt to prevent his brain from leaking through his ears.  With his luck, his little brother would 'playfully' eat some of it. “There's no way you look this rugged at biologically sixteen! I refuse to believe that.”

“Can you imagine my power if I'd been allowed to reach my full potential?” Jason leered, eyebrows waggling like waves in a sea at storm. “So many heart attacks.”

Barbara and Cassandra exchanged a silent look, and, after a solemn nod, Cassandra reached up to slap Jason upside the head.

“Thank you, Cassandra,” Barbara told her. “Jason, never do such a thing again.”

The disgruntled groan that followed must have been on purpose, because Jay was indeed an asshole.

“Besides, it's not like the world will ever know,” Tim said, cutting, a smirk hiding by his hand.

Dick really thought his little brother was far too relaxed upon learning that Jason was one with the undead. Sure, they had all encountered various levels of zombies during their missions, from all sorts of oral traditions and cultures, alien viruses and hidden nanobots piloting meat puppets. It wasn't even classified as a nation-wide crisis to encounter free-roaming zombies. But since the chronically unalive individual in question was one of their own, Dick felt he was owed at least a whole evening of frazzled panic and incomprehension for once.

“Oh?” Stephanie instead asked, sensing blood.

Tim shrugged. “Well, you know, no pulse, no blood flow,” he said with an angled eyebrow nodding at Jason's crotch

Stunned silence followed, their expressions varying from disgust, horror, unholy glee and, from Jason himself, wide-eyed shock that his shrimp of a little brother had had the balls to assimilate the zombieness fast enough to mock him for him.

Dick prayed for patience. For fortitude. And for an alternate timeline where he was an only child.

Why, for all the love of cotton candy and professional uncriminal clowns, did Tim put THAT image of Jason inside their brains? What had he done, him, a loving model for all of society, to suffer like this?

Maybe if he asked nicely, Jason would eat the image out of his head. He owed Dick that much after this clusterfuck of a conversation.

“Ooooooooh,” Stephanie crooned, miming getting dunked on. With acrobatics.

Jason huffed. “Like I was ever interested in the first place. I ain't Dick.”

“Okay, no slut shaming or virgin shaming, in fact, no shaming at all, please. In this house, we accept all sexualities, but we don't give out raunchy details about any of it, I only have so much brain bleach.”

“Share?” Duke pleaded in a whisper.

Oh, I wish I could, you young innocent soul.

A few beeps turned their attention back to Barbara and the batcomputer. “Well, that's one long overdue update to Jason's files. Anyone else want to share their 'obvious' medical condition?”

“Excuse you, being dead is not a medical condition.”

“I will make you wish for the peace of the grave, Jason.”

Droplets dripped from nearby stalactites.

A few bats flew overhead.

Jason turned to them like nothing had been said.

“Right. That was fun. Best night of my month. Can't wait to tell the Outlaws.”

Dick resigned himself to a series of unflattering texts by the absolute dickheads that were his second family. He could already tell the messages would blow up his phone to the Moon. 'You didn't know your brother that came back from the dead is a zombie?!'

“Have mercy and wait tomorrow morning?”

That smile could have been great or terrible. “You're lucky I'm in a spectacularly good mood, Dick.”

He had lifted his leg over his bike's seat when Duke was struck by genuine worry.

“Wait. Does Bruce know?”

Jason barked out a laugh.

“Of course he does! God knows he's got some massive blind spots, but he's obsessive, paranoid and I find subcutaneous trackers on me every week. No way he didn't get the hint before now.”

But, as his gaze went over the rest of them, his good cheer dimmed, his grin slipping off his face as surely as a bit of decayed flesh.

“... Right?”

#fanfic #Jason Todd #Zombie Jason Todd #Dick Grayson #Batsiblings

[power-rings]

Growing Pains

Chapter Two: A Bond

"I need you to know I would never be this strong without you You’ve seen how I’ve grown you took all my doubt Cause you were home..."

Weeks and months went by, and Maria succeeded in sneaking Shadow out of the lab. It happened so often to the point it was no longer a secret to her grandfather; not that he minded anymore, now. Shadow was developing just perfectly on his own, without anything from IVs, fluid, and some oxygen from a machine. So, Prof. Gerald was more than happy to allow Shadow some exercise. Although, the lifeform was developing just fine he did struggle to keep his balance every so often. With the help of Maria, he was able to maneuver around their unique home in Space. Over the time they've spent together they were becoming quite a interesting pair. It wasn't common they would get into trouble, but sometimes trouble would end up finding them.

One accident occurred between a middle-aged female nurse, which Maria swore to Shadow that she was like 150 years old and would never die. (He didn't quite understand, yet nodded in agreement either way.) Everyone called her an old hag on the A.R.K. but she did well at her job, despite her nasty attitude towards... well... everyone. For the first several years that Maria was on the Space Colony, this nurse didn't allow Maria to do anything except stay in her bed. She would force her to take some horrible medications, with worse side-effects. She didn't believe the old lady that they were helping her immune system, but Grandpa reassured her worries. Nobody really calls her by her real name, therefore she is known by That Nurse, and some other nasty names Maria would not repeat. That Nurse always wore her hair up in a bun, with a light blue pin tightly in her hair. For years, she told Maria that leaving her room would be a disaster for her health, she even hinted that she should go on Earth... because her grandfather wasn't present all the time. Unbeknownst to Maria though, she didn't have any living parents on Earth, so grandpa had to be best option for a guardian. If she was able to go out of the room, she was forced to wear a protective clothing, and uncomfortable masks. Eventually, Prof. Gerald had enough and told her that the treatments will be enough to keep her immune system strong, she of course argued with the man to no avail.

Can you guess how she felt about her friend, Shadow? She would spit out insults at Shadow, such as "you're just a lab rat", and "get back in your tube where you belong!" Maria frowned at her, and continued on her way, blocking the nasty old lady out. Thankfully, the rest of the residents were more approving of Shadow, and even found him to be quite interesting. None of them really knew what Gerald's purpose behind his creation, but that answer will come in due time.

Throughout their days together, Maria invited Shadow to try various foods from the cafeteria. Most of which was prepared by some of the greatest cooks that Gerald hired. It was quite different than some of the foods that they would enjoy on Earth. Her grandpa said that Shadow didn't have to eat, and could get away with eating one meal a week or longer. But, she insisted. Some of the foods such as veggies were packed tightly in portioned out boxes. (at that time they were trying to figure out how to grow veggies, and fruit in Space, so most of it were grown from Earth. ) Shadow was grossed out by broccoli, unless it was covered in the yellow substance called cheese. Anything else that was green, he refused to consume. Some of the other foods given were hand-prepared by the cooks among those meals... spaghetti were their favorites.

Their days would end by looking out the observation room where Earth, and some other planets orbited near them. It was absolutely stunning. Maria talked and talked about the books she read about this beautiful planet, Shadow of course soaked it all in. When it was it their curfew, this alarm would go off around the Space Colony, and everyone made their ways back to their rooms to settle for bed. Prof. Gerald would always walk Maria to bed, and would leave Shadow in the lab, but for the first night, he allowed Shadow to stay in Maria's own room. She worked on a make-shift bed for him, which was surrounded by soft pillows, and tons of stuffed animals - you would almost confuse Shadow for one! This became a routine every night from then on.

Maria's 10th birthday of all days she fell really ill. And when she got sick, it can be very deadly for her. Shadow was forced to stay out of the room, doctors, Prof. Gerald, and That Nurse were huddled around her bedside, checking her vitals, poking her with needles injected with medications. He waited outside of her door for days to come, faithfully obeying Prof. Gerald's orders. She was ill for about fourteen days, but gradually regained her strength, and Shadow was able to keep her company. No one knew what caused her to get ill, but whatever it was, almost everyone caught it and less people were seen roaming around. The next couple of weeks were slow, and their typical routine were a little different because Maria was struggling to regain her strength. When she was allowed to leave the room, because of the illnesses spread amongst the crew were no longer contagious, Shadow ended up carrying the girl to the observation room to see Earth... together. Their bond had grew drastically, and the two were inseparable.

A year went by since Shadow's creation, he grew to be typical hedgehog's height, and weight. Still a shorty, as Maria teases. During that same year, the nurse that everyone thought would never die, she ended up falling sick, and was sent back to Earth and died peacefully surrounded some of her grandchildren. It was almost weird not to hear her voice echo through the corridors of the Space Colony.

"What does it mean to die?" Shadow asked the pre-teen, he watched the screen in the cafeteria, that displayed various pictures of the nurse to pay tribute to her - they learned her name was in fact... Linda.

Maria raised an eyebrow, this wasn't a subject that children typically talked about. But, for her she had came close to the jaws of death more times than she liked. It didn't mean it didn't scare her. Any normal being would be scared... "Grandpa describes as a deep sleep..." Which he wasn't exactly wrong when he watched many of his creations go to sleep and never wake up. Maria played with her food, a little distraught, "but he says that Linda isn't suffering anymore." She gave a little smile. Shadow blinked, and the whole topic of death was completely dropped between the two.

His first year alive was literally hell from then on. Those scientists that observed him when he was tiny... they returned to discover any progress being made with the Ultimate Lifeform, he almost forgot that's what they called him. Shadow was being lead down the hallway to a room that he never knew existed, it was labeled as the "Testing Room". It was a huge empty room, no windows except for the up ahead where his creator observed, and the six other men standing before a platform that had a ton of buttons. "Let's see what it's capable of, shall we?" Stephen who had higher authority than the other 5. "Lifeform," he spoke into the microphone, his harsh voice echoing in the room. "destroy these robots." Within seconds, two robots were dropped from the ceiling. Prof. Gerald nervously watched above.

Shadow's ears pricked back, rather confused. Why did he have to destroy them? It wasn't like they were trying to harm him - OH SHIT, nope nevermind they're shooting at the lifeform now. He winced in pain, and growled. Tossing a glare at the men watching him. They kept firing. Shadow dodged left and right. Eventually, he was on all fours, panting. He was bleeding, but nothing that wouldn't heal on it's own unlike any other living being. His opponents approached him while he was down. "Lifeform! What in the hell are you doing?! DESTROY THEM!" He hollered from the control room. It was at that second Shadow's friend ran inside to his side, shielding him.

"STOP! You're gonna hurt him!" Upstairs, Gerald's face went white as the robot found a new target.

"SHUT IT OFF!" He roared, he shoved the men out of the way, and slammed his fist on the red button in the middle of the console. Immediately, the robot's systems went idle.

Maria hugged Shadow close, tears falling down her cheek - concerned deeply for her friend. Coming to reality, Shadow return the embrace. "Let's get you out of here..." She sniffled.

#my writing #fanfiction #maria robotnik #shadow the hedgehog #growing pains chapter two

[notmanagingmymischief]

𝙱𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚎 𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝙷𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 | 𝙲𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝙰𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚣 𝙿𝚝 𝟷

sooooo....I should be finishing up my requests but I finished this a week ago and forgot to post it so here’s this mess

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warnings: swearing, alcohol consumption, mentions of murder

word count: 1.9K

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taglist: @sarahp-stan, @pearplate, @rainbow-hedgehog, @lostlastsforever756, @sapphicsarahpaulson, @sassicaismysupreme​, @dreamer-queen, @angelxsarahp, @fand0m-obsess3d-g33k

if you want to be added to the tag list, message/ask me and I’ll be sure to do so :)

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the gif is from the lovely @illuminated-blue, so sorry for not crediting you when I posted! You can find it and the others from it’s set here!

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enjoy xx

--

"Yeah, he was a screamer. But I took him out," you chuckled as you listed to your friend's story, nursing a glass of whiskey. "Yeah? You get the best ones huh Sal?" The frizzy haired addict shrugged and smirked. Just as you were about to open your mouth to speak again, you heard a distinct ting sound of someone tapping the bell and your eyes darted behind Sally's shoulder to see who it was. You expected some horny teenagers or maybe an old couple, people who wouldn't make the night probably, but instead you were met with a woman who made your breath catch and fingers freeze their incessant tapping. Your lips parted in surprise and you watched Iris come to the counter, checking the girl in and handing her a room key.

Sally stopped her speech halfway through and stared at you staring at something else. Seeing that she wasn't going to get your attention by just calling your name, the addict rolled her eyes and craned her neck around to see whatever the hell it was you were talking to. Her eyes landed on the blonde and immediately a smirk appeared on her lips. She turned back to you and was about to say something along the lines of "You wanna kill her or should I" when you seemingly read her mind and said "No one is killing her. We're keeping her alive. She's leaving this place, I swear it." Sally's mouth snapped shut at the finality of your tone, how firm your gaze got, but backed down quickly, rolling her eyes and mumbling "Okay fine, spoil sport."

You chose to ignore her in favor of murmuring "I'll talk to you later Sal." while already standing and drifting closer to the other woman who was retreating into the halls rather quickly. Sally's eyes followed you for a moment before returning to her cigarette. So you followed her, your steps light and quick, watching that you didn't touch anything and make any noise even though you knew she couldn't see you anyway. So you followed until she reached what you assumed was her room, where she then checked her key, gave a quiet hum of approval, and unlocked the door, slipping inside easily. Now, being a ghost had it's perks, and this was one of them. You, not obeying the rules of physics or time, could literally go from one place to another in a split second, like teleportation.

You once had a "witch" tell you that it was called transmutation, and you had to admit she was pretty. Came for the black girl, and you watched from the sidelines as they spent days trying to find a way out. They never did, of course. So you, being the empathetic person you are, made it your job to tell her what happened. You sat the woman down, you think her name was Cordelia? And told her what happens to people who die in this hotel. It took her some time to realize that there was nothing she could do, and you allowed her to work it out until she was ready to say goodbye. Really, a very nice gal, you wouldn't mind having her, if she ever came back to this horrid place.

But for now, you weren't thinking of the attractive witch. No, because you had moved yourself from outside of this strangers room to inside, which you knew was rude, but you figured it would be fine. She couldn't see you anyway. You got lucky, she wasn't changing or doing anything except laying a few things out on the vanity. So, you stood in the corner of her room, watching her gracefully move about, her black slacks slightly twisting at her ankles when she spun too fast, peach acrylics tapping on surfaces every so often when she paused to stand for a moment. Eventually she seemed to be done when she finally sat down in the (rather uncomfortable) armchair in the corner of the room, rubbing her temples lightly and sighing. You saw her close her eyes and lean her head back to rest on the back of the chair, and took this as your opportunity to properly check her out.

She was strangely familiar, but in a way that you just couldn't quite recall, it was right there but you just were unable to scratch that itch in your brain. It frustrated you, but you managed to brush it away and refocus on her appearance. Baby pink silk blouse, tucked into black slacks that hugged her hips and thighs and loosed more around her knees, nude heels, a simple pearl necklace and a small ring on her left index finger. She couldn't be married...? No, that's not here you put a wedding ring. So you banished that strangely upsetting thought somewhere else. Eventually you made the decision to move forward, really enjoying being able to look at the woman without having to worry about being seen as a creep. Or....seen at all. It was quite freeing.

When you found yourself next to the chair she was currently residing in you couldn't stop yourself from lightly grazing your finger over her sharp cheekbone, unable to resist the way it seemed to sparkle, the faintest hint of blush noticeable on her pale skin. But you jerked your hand back when she sighed and slightly leaned into your touch, your entire body taking a screenshot when she opened her eyes and looked directly at you. You must have looked like a deer in headlights, judging by the expression on the blonde's face. You took quick steps back, before realizing that she was probably just looking in your general direction because she might have felt the cool air that seemed to accompany you most places. So you relaxed again, shoulders slumping and the breath you were unaware you'd been holding leaving your lungs all at once.

You rolled your eyes and your own stupidity and murmured "Fuckin' dumbass. She can't see you idiot." to yourself, crossing your arms over your chest and looking away, checking out the room even though they all looked the exact same. It was kind of freaking you out that the woman was still gazing towards you, her eyes unwavering and sure. It was unnerving, but you talked yourself down with the fact that alive humans can't see ghosts unless they want to be seen. And you were not in the mood to want to be seen by anyone alive at the moment. So you returned your gaze to hers, staring back just as hard, slightly craning your neck towards her, eyes narrowing in suspicion. You hated the way her head tilted slightly and lips pulled into a smirk. So you walked forward again, licking your lips subconsciously and crouching down next to her chair. Her gaze did not follow you, instead glancing around in the space that you had been, and you chuckled, placing your elbows on the arm of the chair and your chin in your hands.

You stared up at her, appreciating her neck of all things. You could see a few freckles and darker spots splattered over her fair skin, disappearing into the low cut of her blouse. Absently you said "I need to keep Sally away from you. Kinda want you all to myself." into the silent room, not expecting a "Well you could at least take me to dinner first" to come from her and her head to tilt down to once again look directly at you. This time you did yelp, falling backwards onto your ass and narrowing your eyes when the woman laughed. "What the fuck?" You hissed, and the woman stopped laughing after a moment, once again looking to you and raising an eyebrow as she said "Now that's not very ladylike, my dear." You weren't having it though, so you stood up and crossed your arms, marching over to stand in front of her chair, bending over to be eye level with her, completely missing the fact that your faces were now only inches apart.

"Look lady, you're going crazy. I'm not here, calm down, you're seein shit." But again the woman just laughed, her head tilting back slightly and her perfectly white teeth peeking from behind her painted lips. "That's not going to work. You're just as real as I am," she poked your cheek with one pointed nail, making you flinch back and close one of your eyes. "and I'm not crazy. But it's very rude to stare at someone for ten minutes and not once introduce themselves, don't you think?" You sighed, pulling away and falling back onto the bed, refusing to say anything besides "Who the hell are you?" The smirk that once again pulled at the woman's lips had your attention darting between them and her eyes as you tried to focus on what she was saying; "Billie Dean Howard. And you....you are?" She replied, leaning back in her chair again.

You sniffed and looked away as you mumbled "Y/n l/n." under your breath, unwilling to admit to yourself that you'd been caught staring at this woman for the past quarter of an hour like a weirdo. But she, this Billie Dean woman, just chuckled and said "Wonderful. Now that we know each other, why don't you tell me what a doll like you is doing trapped inside a place like this?" You willed yourself not to blush at the casual commentary. Instead you replied "What do you think? I got murdered, dumbass. Two floors up, slit my throat with a letter opener. Couldn't even give me an original death, like come on. A letter opener? Really?" You scoffed, rolling your eyes at the memory as you absently pull down your choker-collar to reveal a long, ragged line across your throat, stretching from ear to ear.

Billie Dean grimaced slightly when she looked at it and you were quick to put your jewelry back over it and hide it from view. You didn't really like people seeing it either, that's why you always either wore chokers, high-collared shirts, or dog collars. Your neck was never fully visible unless you were alone. Which you never really were, not in this place. But you glanced back to the blonde, finally deciding you were taking over. "So why can you see me? If you can't tell, I don't want anyone to see me which means you definitely shouldn't be." You question, resting your elbows on your knees and once again leaning forward towards Billie Dean. After a second the woman responds "I'm a medium, dear. I can see all of you, dead or alive." You hummed shortly, considering her words.

"So you can like, see all of us?" "That's right." "....So you're a psychic." Billie Dean heaved a great, heavy sigh, rubbing her temples roughly and mumbling something too quiet for you to hear before raising her voice enough to say "Medium. Not a psychic. I can't believe how many people get that wrong these days. I cannot read your future, y/n. I see dead people." You couldn't help but cackle at the Shining reference, and suddenly the woman didn't seem all that bad. "Aight, aight. If you aint a psychic, then what do you do? And why would someone like you stay someplace like...this?" You queried, allowing yourself to relax a little bit more in Billie Dean's presence. So the two of you chatted for a few hours, getting to know each other, learning how both of you managed to get to this chapter in your lives, and you found yourself really warming up to this strange medium.

It was all fine and dandy until she came to the real reason she was here.

"You're trying to talk to who?!"

#sarah paulson #billie dean howard #billie dean howard x reader #billie dean x reader #ahs #american horror story #american horror story hotel #ahshotel #fanfiction #romance

[fatilightwood]

Our story

You can read it on Ao3

Chapter 3

Notes: Bold letters is for the person who texts first and the other person is going to be italics.

Chapter 4: I want to see you again

When Thomas entered his apartment, he was immediately showered with questions. “So how was it?”

“Did you have fun?”

“When are you gonna see him again?”

“Why isn’t he here?”

“Are you embarrassed of us?”

All of the Merry Thieves talked at the same time. Thomas didn’t even know what to answer first. And really, it was then when he realized he hadn’t asked Alastair out on another date.

Damn it. How could he forget? Wasn’t that a question everyone asked? Well, just the ones who actually wanted to see the other person again. But Thomas was one of them. Oh, God. Would Alastair want to see him again? He would think so, they had fun, he knew that. And he kissed his cheek! But why he hadn’t said anything?

“No, I’m not embarrassed of you guys, but he had things to do, and no,” Thomas interrupted Matthew when he saw him opening his mouth “I didn’t asked him to come here, we just talked and it came up in conversation, and yes, we had fun.”

Thomas had indeed thought about inviting him but restrained himself because he knew it was too soon. And anyway Alastair had things to do and Thomas didn’t want to distract him.

“Now, weirdos, can I take two more steps? I would like to let my backpack on the couch.”

“Right.” James said.

They all retreated to their previous seats. James was reading in the table, Kit was highlighting one of his books and taking notes and Matthew ended up lying on a couch, reading some pages.

“You still didn’t tell us, when are you going to see him again?”

“Eh, I don’t know, we didn’t set a date. I’ll ask him later.”

“So, that fun, huh?” James said.

“Well, yes, he’s funny, sarcastic and smart, we’ve talked about our families and friends, careers. He’s kinda mysterious, I think. We’ll see later, if he wants, but I liked the way we talked and talked and it was like the conversation just kept going and you know, there wasn’t any uncomfortable silence.”

“Tom, he would be a fool if he didn’t want to continue knowing you.” James talked with the seriousness of a parent.

“Just let him know that we’ll have his guts for garters if he hurts you.”

“So melodramatic, Matthew.” Thomas said, rolling his eyes at his friend. “I’ll be back, what are we ordering tonight?”

Every Friday they ordered food, it was their tradition now. They also watched a movie.

“For example I wouldn’t say no to Chinese or pizza.”

“Pizza!” James and Matthew shouted.

“What?” Kit said at last. Having noted he missed the conversation while he was reading about substratum and agar he continued with the last information he heard. “Oh, I think pizza will do.” Then he returned to his book.

Thomas went to his room, he changed his clothes and laid down on the bed until he heard a little sound. Alastair had texted him.

So, the coffeehouse was amazing. And yes, you got an A.

Btw, I’m home.

You?

Hi. Yes, I’m home.

Thanks, you also proved yourself. I think I won’t ever doubt you and your notes.

Told you.

You’re just so untrusting.

Well, I can’t just go and trust everything.

What about everything I say?

I would have to know more about you but I’ll dare to say we are on a good path.

Speaking of which

Well, I wouldn’t want to get in the way of you knowing me

Would you like to go out on another date?

Can we meet some other day?

They had asked the same question at the same time. Thomas couldn’t stop grinning. He sent laughing emojis.

I’ll say yes if you also say yes

Definitely

Perfect. When are you free?

Sunday or Monday. You?

I think Monday will be great. I’m free after 5.

Well, I’ll be free after 6. And judging the time, I think we will end up at the coffeehouse again.

Would you mind if we did?

Nope. And I’ve been told by my sister that I need to bring more muffins to the apartment.

So she liked those?

That’s an understatement, and I also need to taste the iced coffee.

Then it’s settled.

Now, I hate it but I have to say goodbye, I really need to work on my essay.

Ugh. Good luck.

Meanwhile, and obviously I’m not making fun of your situation, I have an appointment with the couch cause you see, it’s movie night.

So funny, Lightwood.

Thanks for noticing

Thomas sent an emoji winking.

Seriously, good luck.

Thanks, see ya

And then, Alastair managed to make Thomas smile some more, when he sent a sticker of a hedgehog making an ‘ok’ hand gesture.

Thomas was still grinning when he came out of his room.

“Is it Perfect Eyebrows?” Matthew asked.

Thomas looked at him. “What?”

“Your date guy, he does have sharp eyebrows. I thought I’d point that out. I wonder if he shapes his eyebrows himself.”

Thomas was sure Matthew was right but that wasn’t hard to admit. Not when Alastair was so beautiful. Of course he had perfect eyebrows, and eyes, and hair, that wasn’t such a novelty.

“It was him.”

“Anyway, as much as we love seeing our ship progressing, say goodbye, because James just picked the movie.”

Thomas decided it was better to remain in silence. They had one date. Just one. He shook his head and wondered what book adaptation they were going to see.

Every week, one of them chose the movie. And the others couldn’t do much more than complain. Which they tended to do, constantly, throughout the movie. It was fun, because all of them knew it was a joke but sometimes the discussion ended in a popcorn war.

The munitions were almost ready.

“Done.” Christopher said, pouring the popcorn in a large bowl.

When they finally took their seats James pressed play, and in effect, the rest of the Merry Thieves were prepared for James’s comments about what really happened on the book.

***

“Someone’s had a good day.” Cordelia said when she arrived at the table. Alastair was still holding his phone.

“Yep, a very interesting one.” Alastair told her.

“And that’s everything you have to say?”

“What do you want me to say? Guy is handsome, kind, funny—” He stopped. “Let’s just say he is not just a pretty face.”

“Very well. I’ll take that, but I want to meet him later.”

“Easy there.”

Cordelia just winked at him and left to prepare tea.

That was easy, Alastair thought. He suspected his sister wouldn’t pressure him because she knew about his past relationships.

But he had one more to go. He opened Ari’s chat and texted her.

I’m home, alive and before you ask, yes, very surprised and happy.

Yassss, I knew it. He seemed so sweet.

You made me text you the address because ‘what if he’s a serial killer?’

One can never be sure, and you'd do the same for me. Btw, lovely place.

I know.

And, we’re going there again next Monday.

Ahhhhhhhhh

Baby, you are fast.

Alastair couldn’t help but laugh.

Oh, God

Easy.

It’s just coffee.

Whatever.

You’ll see.

They continued talking, Ariadne got some information about Thomas and seemed pretty excited about it.

Alastair just laughed. But she was right, something about Thomas made him feel hopeful, he just wasn’t ready to admit that. He’d been wrong before. Now he would just settle for taking one day at a time.

Chapter 5

#thomastair #alastair carstairs #thomas lightwood #tlh

[devilfic]

❝bodyguard services❞

plot: you’re paying him to escort you safely to your mother’s grave, but he’s just hoping you’ll actually make it there in one piece. pairing: cloud strife x gn!reader. cw: fluff, grieving, minor character death mention, cloud is a man of many skills, therapy being one of them for some reason. words: 2.3k.

“If you don’t slow down, the hedgehog pies will get to you before I do.”

“Maybe if you didn’t carry around such a big sword, you’d be able to keep up!”

It probably wasn’t in your best interest to sass the man who would be single-handedly keeping you alive for your trip, but you’d already put in your down payment for his services before you’d left Sector 5. If he wanted to leave you here, he’d have to refund you. Maybe. You actually weren’t too sure if he had a refund policy. You probably should’ve checked on that before- “Watch out!”

The hiss of Cloud’s voice and the actual hiss of his buster sword bring you out of your reverie as a wererat is sliced cleanly through right before your very eyes, its insides coating the muddy toes of your boots and sending you reeling back with disgust. Cloud’s shoulders aren’t heaving from exertion – no, a wererat was like a spec of dirt to him – but rather from the speed he’d had to pick up in order to get to you in time. Otherwise, that thing would have clawed your face off and then some. You feel incredibly embarrassed as Cloud glares over his shoulder at you, “This big sword just saved you from getting lobotomized with a rat claw.” 

You mutter a timid “thank you” and decide that yeah, you probably should stick closer to him, and so you fall into quiet step beside the ex-SOLDIER. You only knew that he was a friend of Aerith’s, a girl you’d frequently crossed paths with since childhood, and of his past working for Shinra. He was offering merc jobs for a pretty affordable price, willing to bend to any possible requests (within reason), and you’d chewed on the idea night and day until the anniversary of your mother’s death arrived.

Your mom passed when you were only 14, naturally and peacefully. Since you were younger, you were always accompanied by the sweet people in town to go visit her grave on her birthday and the anniversary of her death, but after a few years of it, you’d moved away in hopes of starting a new life somewhere that didn’t constantly remind you of her. By the time you’d come back, not two years after leaving, the paths there just grew more and more dangerous and it became a death sentence to travel through at all on your own. Of course, those who were strong enough made it through just fine, but you… well. 

You didn’t want to burden anyone, anyway. It was for the best.

The only reason Aerith hadn’t accompanied you both was because she had some errands of her own to carry out today. She was usually the one who’d protect you if anything were to come out of the blue on your way to the graveyard, but with her out of the picture and most people in similar situations, you were short on time and luck. You’d only settled on paying Cloud to bring you when he’d been walking in town with Aerith, finishing up whatever odd jobs he’d taken on. You’d seen him chasing after cats yesterday, and then after the orphanage kids the day before, and perhaps that was the only reason you’d mustered up the courage to even approach him in the first place.

Cloud had given you a simple price and no pity when you’d told him you required an escort to her grave, only requesting that you stick beside him for the entirety of the trip. He said he’d do whatever you asked once the money was in his hands. The “no pity” part was exceptionally nice.

“How long are you staying in town for?” You decide to ask, barely a minute passing since he’d cut down your would-be attacker. 

“Depends.” He deadpans. You would have thought he was still annoyed with you if it wasn’t for the fact that he talked to everyone like that. Well… he probably was still annoyed with you.

All that you can hear is the crunching of the dirt underneath your shoes and distant wails of monsters you feared to encounter alone. The walk was going to be long, but you didn’t exactly have a shopping cart of conversation starters under your belt for someone who looked like they were perpetually elsewhere all the time. He looked perfectly fine just walking in silence. You would’ve been too, maybe, if it was any other day. “Aerith seems pretty smitten with you. It’s really cute. I haven’t seen her like that in a long time.”

Cloud scoffs, and whether it’s from disbelief or irritation, you can’t tell, “It’s not like that.”

“You sure?” You gently prod. You have to admit that you like the way his skin burns under your duress. 

“Incredibly. I’m her… bodyguard, nothing more.” 

“Not even a friend?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be telling me where to go?”

You jump at the realization that you’ve just been walking aimlessly, but you knew these paths like the back of your hand. You’re both back on track in a couple of minutes. You haven’t forgotten your choice of conversation topic, though. “Are you single then?” Cloud grumbles something that feels like a “yes, leave me alone”, and so a smile begins to come to your face. “There’s no way! With a face like yours, surely you’ve got admirers down the block every time you land somewhere. Even a frown like that couldn’t turn ‘em away.”

“I’m not interested in stuff like that right now.” Cloud presses, giving you a look that tells you he won’t be swayed. He allows you the privilege to look into his eyes a few seconds longer than necessary, and by the time he’s looked away, you've imagined a drink made out of the colors in them. You wonder if he’d be pissed if you named it after him.

You let the silence hang just long enough for you to gather the ingredients in your head together, wonder if Aerith could point you in the direction of some flowers that could match the particular shade of chocobo blond his hair had going on, when you come across another enemy. This time, it’s a rather spirited gorger. This one gives you pause. Cloud is before you in an instant, sword raised in front of him as the ugly thing’s mouth gapes at you both. Then, with breakneck speed, it lunges at Cloud.

He doesn’t defeat this one as fast as the wererat and for good reason: gorgers were big and disgusting things that, if given the chance, would latch onto you like a leech and suck the very life out of you in seconds. Cloud has to be very careful. As he’s dealing significant damage to the thing, you notice the calculated precision in which Cloud fights. He’s equal parts defense and offense, striking at just the right times for particularly intense blows. He’s moving in and out but always taking care not to get too close to you. 

When he finally finishes it off, you have to ask, “Is this cathartic for you?”

Cloud frowns. He seems to be thinking something that he doesn’t let reach his eyes. “It’s what I’m good at.”

“You look so concentrated,” you hum, recalling the stillness of his expression in battle, “like the end result does something for you.”

“Yeah, it keeps me alive. Come on.” He steps over the grotesque gorger’s corpse to signal for you to get back on your journey. 

“I mean, I get that, but it’s like it does something else for you.” 

“I told you it’s what I’m good at.”

But is it the only thing? 

You keep thinking on your observation as the graveyard begins to come into your line of sight. There’s a big, metal door there that you remember going in and out of plenty of times before. Walking forward, you lead him through, cautiously looking around. You’d seen your fair share of venomantises around and  if gorgers made your heart beat fast, venomantises stopped it altogether. Literally.

Cloud keeps pressed to your side, sword raised and eyes darting around to every nook and cranny of the place. When it seems like the coast is clear, you begin to approach the graves. You find her stone as always, but are hurt to find that in your absence, weeds and things had begun to grow over her headstone. You gently pull away the brush until you can clearly see her name engraved on the stone, as well as little carvings of your own name around it from when you were younger. You kneel before it and feel Cloud behind you, looming, watching for any signs of danger. For a moment, it’s like he’s not even there.

It’s… cold. 

After some time passes of you mainly saying your greetings and mentioning how long it’d been since you’d last seen her, you look over at Cloud who seems to have settled down. He’s reattached his sword to his back and stands, facing away from you, with his arms crossed along his chest. You really would hate to bother him, but…

“Cloud?” You ask. You just barely notice the way he stiffens. Glancing over at you, he peeks at the stone you’re sat in front of before looking back at you. “Would you mind sitting with me? Since the coast is clear?”

You can see the want to protest. It’s written in his eyes down to the growing frown on his lips. Then, as if he’d somehow been broken down by the pleas in your gaze, he drops down next to you and plunges his sword into the dirt (far away from the actual graves, thankfully). 

Something about the warmth he gave off calms you down. You feel a bit awkward talking to your mother alone as most of the people who tagged along would talk with you. Having Cloud’s presence was nice, but you were starting to feel he might feel awkward being here. After all, you’d commanded him to keep you safe, and yet you were also asking him to sit with you like… like a... 

“How… long has it been?” You’re shocked out of your thoughts by the sudden question. Cloud isn’t looking at you but rather at the open space, eyes flitting this way and that at every sound.

“Seven years, I think. Her birthday is coming up in the winter.” You reply quickly, “I remember the day but the years sort of slip out of reach.”

A hum, “Right. I get that.”

You weren’t totally convinced he did, or maybe it was that whatever he said he understood seemed to be eons away from the little world you'd found yourself in, but it wasn’t your place to pry. You imagined there were a lot of things SOLDIERs went through to get in their position, so you could only wonder what it took for one to defect. You instead pick at stray pieces of grass, twirling them between your fingers. “She used to work at the same bar I do now. Sometimes, Aerith’s mom would drop her off there and we’d play in the corner until she came back to get her. My mom would make us mini drinks. Ones that looked like the ones on the menu but, you know, no alcohol.” You chuckle, “We couldn’t tell the difference, though. What we thought got us drunk was just a sugar high.”

Cloud snorts. You take that as a sign to keep going.

“I used to live up in Sector 8 for a while after I turned 18. It was kinda hard to get by but I made it work. I came back when I heard… packed up and started life here again.”

“Did you like it there?”

You ponder on your answer, “Sometimes… sometimes. Aerith would always visit. I think I liked it more because I felt like I was getting somewhere good if I lived there, you know? The truth is that nothing had actually changed. There were just more people and more bills to pay.”

“Aerith mentioned your bartending skills were wasted up there,” Cloud recalls, “Did your mom teach you a lot just from watching?” 

“Mostly everything!” You giggle.

Cloud says nothing about that, though you do notice that his lips look much less frowny now. He fiddles with the baggy fabric of his cargo pants, listening to the spring wind rush through. “Reminds me of a friend. In Sector 7. She bartends… among other things.”

You perk up at the new information, scooting a little closer to the mercenary, “Really? I’d love to meet her someday! Maybe we can have a competition: whoever gets Cloud wasted the fastest wins!” 

“That sounds like an ongoing competition.”

“Oh yeah, it’ll span days.”

“Not interested.”

“Well, will you at least let me make a drink for you before you leave? You’ll have to alert me in advance so I can whip up something special. I’ve got an idea for something already.”

The mercenary looks over his shoulder at you, eyebrows drawn in to closely study you. Whatever he was thinking, he seemed particularly confused by it. Surely, he’d be used to an overabundance of friendliness at this point if he was friends- or, er, a bodyguard to Aerith. He couldn’t be puzzled by you being nice to him, could he?

“Why do you care? You met me two hours ago.” Huh. He could be after all.

You offer him a shrug, smiling kindly, “You look like you could use one, is all. And as a thank you for putting up with me, I think it would be a perfect trade.”

Cloud huffs.

Thankful for the change in atmosphere, you (and Cloud) leave your mother with some parting words before heading back to the slums, much safer and friendlier than how you had arrived.

He’s not leaving yet and he insists so under your constant prodding, but you find Cloud in your bar a few days later asking for your very special parting gift in advance.

You set down the fruity glass of swirling blue and green, topped off with a small yellow flower specifically picked by Aerith herself; she mentioned that it had something to do with reuniting, “It’s called “The Merc”,” you grin, watching his cheeks roar aflame in bashfulness, “sweet but with a powerful kick.”

“And the flower?” He groans, plucking it off the top and holding it in between you both.

You pluck it from your fingers and set the short stem into the confines of his hair, watching, gratified, when the color blends in as perfectly as Aerith said it would. “It means you’ve got to come back and see me sometime after you leave. I know you’re Aerith’s bodyguard, but I’ll be in need of your services in the future too.”

“I’ll come back in the winter, how’s that?”

You hope he will. You really would like that. 

#cloud strife x reader #cloud strife imagines #cloud strife scenarios #cloud strife fanfic #cloud strife fluff #cloud strife #final fantasy vii remake #ffvii remake #ffvii imagines #ffvii scenarios #final fantasy imagines #final fantasy scenarios #mjwrites

[scapegrace74-blog]

The Second First Christmas

A/N Despite the fact that I’m posting it after Boxing Day, this little fic is about Metric Jamie and Claire celebrating their first Christmas as a couple.  It is unadulterated fluff, and in keeping with the season of giving, I’m going to give this an Explicit rating.  You’re welcome.

With special thanks to @lady-o-ren, for Jamie’s gift idea!

All other parts of the Metric Universe are available on my AO3 page.

December 24, 2018, Spitalfields, London, England

Claire could hear her phone vibrating loudly on the metal shelf inside her duty locker.  Overcoming fatigue so severe it blurred her vision, she entered her combination and yanked open the door, thumbing the screen just before the call went to voicemail.

How did he do it?  Jamie had an uncanny, and frankly slightly unsettling, ability to guess her whereabouts, even remotely.  The past week he had found her in the massive Spitalfields Market merely on the hunch that she would be craving sushi after her Pilates class.  At one point she’d found his prescience disturbing, but now it soothed her.  Someone cared for her enough, knew her well enough, to plot the passage of her days on the virtual map of his mind.  And that someone was on the line.

“You’ve reached the voicemail for Claire Beauchamp’s circadian rhythm.  Press One if you’re a cortisol suppressant, Two if you’re an espresso machine, or Three if you’re Claire’s boyfriend, last seen in the flesh prior to the winter solstice.”

Jamie’s low rumbling chuckle filled her ear.

“Ye’re verra funny for a lass goin’ on twenty-four hours wi’out sleep, Sassenach. How was yer shift?”

Having worked most holidays in the A&E since graduating nursing school, Claire knew they went one of two ways: either complete bedlam, or utter boredom.  This one had been the latter, for which she was thankful.

“Surprisingly calm, but that means no lovely adrenaline to keep me awake.  I may sleepwalk into the Thames on my way home.  Are you at the station already?”

“Aye, jus’ starting my shift.  Can ye be at the main entrance of the hospital in five minutes?  I’ll call ye an Uber.”

“Jamie, that’s really not necessary.  I’m quite capable of walking...”

“Claire...” he interrupted, and needn’t say anything more.  They’d had numerous conversations and minor confrontations since becoming a couple over what Jamie termed her “wee addiction to self-sufficiency”.  She was trying to learn to accept help when it was offered, but it was an iterative process.

“Thank you.  I’d appreciate that.  Will I see you tomorrow morning before I go back on duty?”

Both Jamie and Claire were working extra hours over the holidays to offset the cost of refurnishing their flat.  Every minute spent together was therefore doubly precious.

“Aye, I’ll wake ye when I get in an’ we can celebrate our second first Christmas t’gether by tryin’ tae keep the other awake long enough tae open our presents.”

She smiled, but it morphed into a yawn.

“Get some rest, Sassenach.  And Claire,” he added in a serious tone, “t’would be a fine gift tae find ye in my bed, preferably naked, when I come home on Christmas morn.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” she husked, suddenly much more awake.

***

There was a puff of cool air and then the Earth moved.  Straining to hold onto slumber, Claire rolled away from the disturbance, gripping the blanket beneath her chin.  A low chuckle preceded a solid warmth radiating along the entire length of her spine.  Something bristly abraded her shoulder and she flinched away.

“Has anyone told ye ye look like a wee hedgehog when ye sleep, Sassenach?”

“I’m fairly confident they haven’t,” she retorted, rolling onto her back and stretching before opening her eyes.  The room was mostly dark, but Jamie’s auburn curls glowed in the dim lamplight escaping their living room.  His bare shoulders were humid and pink from the shower.  “What time is it?” she asked.

“Gone four.  We have a few hours afore ye have tae be back at the A&E, aye?”

“Mmmm,” she hummed affirmatively, caught up in tracing the ligatures of Jamie’s upper arm.

“Good.  That should leave us jus’ enough time.”

“Just how many presents are we exchanging?” Claire laughed, mesmerized by the eager passage of Jamie’s eyes over her face.  The hand that wasn’t bracing his head aloft began a lazy exploration beneath the blankets, touching her naked skin so softly that it almost tickled.

“Only two.  An’ the first one’s already unwrapped.”

“How fortuitous,” she teased before leaning upwards to capture his waggish lips in a warm introductory kiss.  “Merry Christmas,” she murmured as they parted some time later.

“An’ tae ye as well, Sassenach.  Ye canna imagine how many times I thought of ye t’night, yer beautiful skin warm against my sheets.”  Jamie’s free hand was on the move again, firmer now along the contours of her body as it came alive to his touch.

“Slow night, then?” she gasped as his knuckle found her nipple, slackened with sleep.

“Painfully so.”

There was no further conversation for a time, mouths being employed far more enjoyably.  Four months of intimacy had bridged the span from friends to lovers, replacing hesitation with ardour.  They were still learning each other’s tells; when to lead and when to follow, how to ask and how to demand.  It was a giddy education for them both.  

Tonight, Jamie’s fatigue and drawn-out anticipation left him shaking with want, a sensation akin to sharing a bed with an earthquake.  His broad torso was outlined in the light from the door as he knelt between her thighs, lust pinwheeling like sparklers in his eyes.  Fortunately, condoms were no longer a necessity after they both produced clean blood tests and Claire had an IUD implanted.  So when he slid into her body, there was nothing but the needy clasp of flesh on flesh.  Her sigh of pleasure mingled with Jamie’s groan of relief as they began their dance.

“Yer breasts, mo nighean donn,” Jamie growled past the iron clench of his jaw.  She dragged her pupils down from the back of her eyelids to observe the twin objects in question, undulating in time to their meeting and parting.

“Touch them for me,” Jamie commanded.

Aware that her every movement was being minutely observed, she made a show of arching her ribs and running her hands first beside, then below, and finally between her breasts.

“Seadh, mo ghaol.” The words snuck unbidden between Jamie’s strained lips.  She didn’t have the Gaihldig, but his meaning was clear.  Go on.  So go on she did, dragging fingernails over the creased flesh of each areola before giving both nipples a sudden pinch.  Whatever tectonic fluctuations her actions caused, Jamie felt them, for he let out an ecstatic whimper.  A worried furrow now marred his brow.  Her fluent eyes read the desperation written on his face.  He didn’t have long, and he needed her to go before him.

Her right hand drifted down to where they were joined.  His cock was thoroughly coated in her moisture as it emerged from her body.  Wetting her fingertips, she began to trace the intricate geometry of self-pleasure against her flesh.  Breathy moans filled the air.  Jamie’s teeth were bared in a snarl of panicked concentration.  She wasn’t going to overtake him in the wire sprint to the finish, she realized.

“Do it, Jamie.”  His crazed glance snapped upward to meet her own certain one.  Doubt clouded the seascape of his irises.  “God, please,” she begged.  They’d spoken of it.  A fantasy.  A mental titillation not yet brought to life.

Resolution came just in time.  Slipping from her heat, he grasped himself and with two hard strokes erupted all over her skin with a hoarse cry, anointing the final acceleration of her fingers as she echoed his climax with a convulsion and a sob.

Minutes later, they lay side by side, still recovering their breath.

“Don’t fall asleep,” Claire warned.  “We still need to exchange gifts.”

“Greedy wee thing,” Jamie groaned, already halfway to slumber.

***

A shared shower and two cups of strong coffee later, they sat on their new sofa.  Claire’s carefully wrapped gift for Jamie lay on the coffee table before them.

“I can’t help but notice that there’s nothing under our tree for me, Fraser.”

“Och, ye mean ye expect me tae serve ye and give ye a wee present, Sassenach.  Ye truly are greedy,” he groused dramatically.  Standing, he extended his hand and confused, Claire allowed him to lead her towards her bedroom.  For a moment she considered that he might actually be taking her back to bed.  As he turned on the light she understood his intention.

As a lifelong wanderer, Claire could count on the fingers of one hand her precious material possessions.  Her mother’s emerald earrings.  Her father’s pocket watch.  A jade fish from the Cat Street night market in Hong Kong, a lucky talisman she carried in her pocket for every test and exam.  And a beautiful antique print of Persepolis left to her by her Uncle Lamb.  All but this last had survived their apartment fire unscathed, but the water and smoke damage to its parchment had been irreparable.  Or so she had believed.

“Jamie,” she gasped upon seeing the lithograph once again mounted in its frame on her wall.  “But... how?”

“Well, I willna bore ye with the details, but suffice it tae say that there’s an antiquarian o’er in Bermondsey who can work miracles.  There’s still a wee bit o’ smudging near the edges, but I reckon it adds to its character,” he explained.

“A palimpsest,” she said, taking his hand.  At his questioning look, she explained, “when one story is written overtop of an older one.  This print is a remembrance of my Uncle Lamb and his love for me.  And now, when I look at it, I’ll be reminded of your love as well.”

“Aye, just so,” he agreed.

***

Claire was unaccountably nervous as Jamie began to unwrap her gift.  She’d felt certain she’d picked just the right thing for him; personal without being sappy, meaningful without being extravagant.  But with eyes still misty from the thoughtfulness of his present to her, she was having doubts.

“Tis rather heavy,” Jamie observed as he lifted the rectangular package onto his lap.  His eyes were alight with childlike glee, which was a gift unto itself.

“A chess set!”  His smile was genuine, but Claire’s heart plummeted.  What kind of woman bought her lover a chess set?  She began to stammer.

“I... ummm... I thought you could invite your friend John over to play.  You mentioned missing the challenge, and ummm....” she broke off, floundering, but Jamie paid her no heed.  He was lifting each wooden piece from its velvet resting place, inspecting its shape with a look of utter fascination.

“Where did ye find this, Claire?” he asked at last.

“Oh, uhh, online, actually.  It’s from a store in Inverness, but of course I wasn’t able to...”

“It’s Culloden,” Jamie interrupted.

“Errr, yes.  I thought, you know, a chessboard is a tactical battlefield.  And with you being Scottish and your family’s Jacobite history...”

“Claire, this is the most amazing chess set I’ve e’er seen.   Look here.  See this wee knight?  Tis a Scotch Hussar.  An’ the white king is the Duke of Cumberland.”  Jamie’s finger traced the words and images carved on the plinth of each piece, going on and on about the clans represented by the tacksmen pawns and his own grandsire, Lord Lovat, symbolized by a tiny strawberry carved on the base of an ebony rook.  Claire’s ribs began to loosen their vice-grip on her lungs.  Maybe she hadn’t horribly miscalculated after all.

“Sassenach, thank ye.  Truly.   Tis a grand gift.”  The chess set had finally been set aside and they sat facing each other, hands gently caressing as the winter sun slowly warmed the room in tones of blush and grey.

“You’ve very welcome.  I’m so relieved that you like it,” she replied with candour.

“I love it.  But no’ half sae much as I love ye.”

“I love you too.”  It was only after the words had taken flight from her lips that she realized she had never said them aloud before.  Not to Jamie, whose sudden stillness indicated that he had heard her.  It was too late, then, to pluck her soaring words from the air and cage them once again inside her heart.  Too afraid to meet his gaze, she concentrated on smoothing her palms over the backs of his hands in a hypnotic rhythm. 

His response, when it came, was whispered into the secret stronghold they had built together.

“There’s naught on Earth tae compare wi’ the gift of yer heart, mo nighean donn.  I want ye tae ken that I shall treasure it, an’ ne’er give ye reason tae regret placing it with me for safekeeping.”

Jamie lifted her hands to his mouth and kissed them both sweetly.  Still looking down, she nodded her acceptance of his pledge, a single tear escaping from the tip of her nose.

It was well past sunrise by the time Claire rose from their bed a second time, kissing her sleeping lover goodbye before creeping out of their flat and into the gemstone light of a perfect Christmas morning.

#my writing #outlander

[hlcreators]

AUTHOR REC: louistomlinsons / @adoredontour 

Be sure to show some love by leaving kudos and comments!

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“I have really great friends. Do you remember Louis? You guys were always hanging out when you were growing up.” Harry remembers Louis. Harry remembers Louis. Suddenly, his throat feels way too dry, despite the ice cream he keeps licking at. He chokes a little on a chocolate chip before saying, “I, uh. I remember Louis.” Her face brightens. “We have dinner every Sunday. He owns the house now. His parents moved further north, and he wanted to stay here, so they just gave it over. Now if you want to worry about someone being lonely, that’s who I worry about.” inspired by watermelon sugar, featuring picnics on the beach and boys being dumb

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“Uhh... it’s Randy?”

or, Niall is an investigative journalist, Liam is his biggest fan, Zayn is just along for the ride, and Harry probably isn’t an alien. A roadtrip au no one asked for.

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louis just wants to write a breakup novel. falling in love was never part of the plan, but the cute barista at his favorite coffeeshop makes him think otherwise.

who’s that girl? (13k)

“So, do you want to tell us a little bit more about why you’re here?” “What do you mean?” Harry asks, furrowing his eyebrows together. “I’m here because I need a place to live and you guys need a roommate.” “I guess let me rephrase that,” Leo (or maybe Liam) says. He taps his pen twice against the notepad, drawing Harry’s attention away from a large hole in one of the walls. “Why do you need a place to live?” “Oh, that’s easy.” Harry sits up straighter in his seat. “I walked in on my boyfriend of four years banging my boss. I couldn’t very well keep living with them, could I?” harry is canadian, louis owns a bar, zayn comes and goes as he pleases, liam's just trying to keep everyone alive, and nobody knows what niall does. a new girl au.

we’re not who we used to be (30k)

“Harry…” Louis’ voice catches in his throat, thick with tears threatening to fall out, so he coughs to clear it before trying again. “Harry is Liam’s best man?” “You didn’t know?” Harry is standing at the entrance of the garage, mouth slightly open and face pulled together. He sets his bag on the ground and puts his hands on his hips. When he does that, he looks just like the Harry that Louis remembers (and loves, he thinks with an aching heart). “I’m sure I mentioned it,” Liam says, but Louis can tell he’s lying by the way he chews on his lower lip and twists his fingers together. “You’re all a bunch of dick heads, I’m getting in the car.” Louis isn’t sure if he’s being unreasonable. He has no idea what the protocol is when your ex-boyfriend shows up after three years and nobody bothered to give you a heads up. He’s pretty sure he’s allowed to be upset about it, even if it’s only for a bit. or an exes to lovers canadian roadtrip au

old macdonald had a farm (5.1k)

Louis is a hedgehog, Harry is a fish, Niall is a parrot, Liam is a golden retriever, and Zayn is Zayn. It’s a crazy twenty-four hours.

or are you giving it to someone else (3.3k)

“Dude, last night I couldn’t tell if he was being murdered or having the best sex of his life,” Louis said, taking a sip of his beer. He tried to say it as quietly as he could in the loud pub, worried about who may overhear him. “Is this your neighbor?” Liam asked. He was newer to the group, and therefore, newer to the situation. He had only heard a handful of the stories about the strange things Louis heard his neighbor doing, as opposed to the book Louis could most definitely write about the man. In the hallways, he seemed perfectly normal. He would smile at Louis and sometimes make polite conversation. He didn’t seem like the type to be having loud, kinky sex every night at the craziest hours of the day. But he was. or, louis hears his neighbor having loud sex through the walls and it's not a problem until it is

The F Word (23k)

When Louis finds himself at a party for the first time after his boyfriend cheated on him, the last person he expects to meet is Harry. They hit it off immediately, conversation flowing all night. Louis finally thinks he’s ready to jump back into the dating scene, when a wrench gets thrown in his plan.

Harry has a boyfriend.

Or, a movie AU based on the F word

tonight’s not over (come over and stay) (16k)

Zayn doesn’t say anything for a moment, pausing and worrying at his bottom lip. Finally, he asks, “Have you heard that Cox guy is coming out with a new song?” Louis freezes, fingers hovering over his keyboard where they had been typing his password. “No, I hadn’t,” Louis says truthfully. “Where did you hear that?” “Tell anyone this and I’ll kill you, but I’d consider myself a big fan,” Zayn says. His face doesn’t change in expression, completely serious as he admits this to Louis. “Big fan? Like run a blog and everything?” or, harry is a famous singer and louis is a student who just wants to write his novel

honey, honey (7k)

another sorority au that no one asked for - featuring squirt guns, copious talks of marriage, and more useless lesbians.

fall in love with the moon (and everything beautiful) (10k)

“It’s adorable that you think you can compromise with me on this,” Louis says. He places his hands on his hips and tries his best to look intimidating. “But I am not budging on this. Every book pun you say will result in one quarter in the jar.” “What jar?” Harry asks. He furrows his eyebrows together. Louis rolls his eyes. “Like a swear jar, but now I’m going to make yours ‘Harry’s dumbass pun jar.’ Maybe I’ll have you put a quarter in for every pun you say, not just the ones about books. Niall was right - you tell the worst jokes.” “One time Niall told me I’d never said a funny joke in my life,” Harry says casually. “Funny. He told me that too.” or, louis and harry work in a bookstore together and harry tells dumb jokes and they fall in love

get a little bit nervous (14k)

Liam goes to say something, probably something dumb, but he chokes on his spit, coughing loudly. The man in front of him is one of the prettiest people he’s ever seen in his life; he’s got thick eyelashes that fan out and frame his dark eyes and tanned unblemished skin. Liam forgets all of his previous thoughts. “You okay, mate?” he asks, concern filtering into his voice. “Yeah, yeah,” Liam says, still choking and coughing. “Sorry.” “We all reacted the same way we saw Zayn for the first time,” Niall says from next to him, laughter evident in his tone. “He’s a god, isn’t he?” or, ziam farmer's market au where liam, louis, and niall work at the produce stand, harry and zayn work at the bakery stand, and nobody's straight

i’ve heard it both ways (26k)

“I, uh.” Harry is scrambling, trying to think of something believable on the spot. He remembers the woman from reception and her phone call and says the only thing he can think of. “I’m a psychic.” Everyone stills. Zayn laughs, Detective Edwards looks confused, and the officer holding the door open looks mildly frightened. “A psychic?” Zayn gets out between his laughs. “I’ve heard it all. You’re definitely spending the night in the holding cell now. You’re wasting all of our time here.” an au based on the tv show psych where harry is shawn, louis is jules, liam is gus, niall is mcnabb, and zayn is lassie.

i just know you (got to taste like candy) (3.9k)

Harry seduces the cute cell phone repair girl with her phone's wallpaper.

i just want you to dance with me tonight (7.6k)

The sorority au no one asked for. Featuring a prank war, Lirry friendship, and useless lesbians.

beautiful wreck, colorful mess (4.4k)

Harry's been desperate to try out the toys she bought for her and Louis.

she says she doesn’t love me (don’t believe her) (17k)

Harry is a disaster gay who works in a coffee shop and Louis doesn't want to admit she's in love.

only you know me (4.5k)

“It’s just unfair.” Louis can’t help her complaining. “You always get these opportunities I would die for to throw parties. I’ve got, like, a billion siblings, so I never get the house to myself. You’re home alone at least three times a semester. Your parents wouldn’t even be mad or anything.” “That’s not even the point,” Harry says, calmly and evenly. Sometimes it’s frustrating to Louis just how easily Harry keeps her calm. “And what is?” Louis asks, throwing a goldfish cracker in Harry’s direction. It misses. “That I don’t want to.” - Based on the prompt, "Nothing really specific just a harry/Louis sleepover while Harry's parents are out of town involving sexy lady times? "

#writer appreciation week #hljournal #1dsource #fics #author rec