#i would not be able to concentrate if i went to battle with them

[symp4nat]

hi lovely, i saw u wanted requests so how about painting clarisse's nails for capture the flag? cuz i noticed they're painted black and it could be a little ritual they do every year, xx.

Nails

clarisse la rue x fem!reader

authors note: i have headcanoned that there are 2 floors in cabins thank you

summary - um.. as says in request... and a little more cute moments! :)))

word count: 600

warnings: nail polish?, hot nicknames from clarisse

You were well versed in many things. Nail painting being one of them. Just, not on your own nails, but especially Clarisse's. Not that she would admit it, but she really... really... enjoyed it when you painted her nails.

Her nail beds were fine, usually filed. They were pretty. Like her.

-

You rushed into her cabin with a bag under your arm, a hair straightener under the other and her polished spear in your hands. As you entered the cabin, you almost stabbed someone with her spear and you squeaked out, "Sorry!"

You ran upstairs towards Clarisse's corner where her bed laid. You huffed and set everything down on the top of a stand. You leaned her spear against the wall. "No... c'mon, mamas, you told me you were only doing my nails," Clarisse groaned.

"No, we- we have to do your make up, your hair and your nails... And we'll only be ready in time for Capture the Flag if we start now, chop chop!"

You opened your bag and reached for a few colours of nail polish. You set them on the bed alongside a bunch of makeup products, all with labermaker-labels stuck onto them so you knew which ones matched you and which ones matched Clarisse.

"Get your colour real quick and I'll start," You said as you grabbed some brushes.

"I'm still stunned you're not an Aphrodite kid, are you sure you got claimed by the right parent," she asked. With a roll of your eyes, you said, "I'm sure I was." She glanced at the colours as she spoke. "Do you have black," she asked.

You whined, "But black isn't cute," you exclaimed. She raised an eyebrow and with a huff, the black nail polish was in your hand with the lid open. You sat on the bed and gestured for her to give you her hand. She placed her hand in yours.

Your tongue poked out while you tried to concentrate. Once you were done with one hand, you reached for the other and began working on it. You wiped off the excess with a tissue and looked at her hands proudly. "Your hands look even more prettier than usual," you joked.

You applied the quick-dry layer of the nail polish and admired her.

She went to touch her nail and you grabbed her hand. "Clarisse, I swear."

You grabbed the big mirror next to the bed which was there for you when you went to do your makeup in the cabin. You plugged in your hair straightener and sat on the floor after turning it on. You sectioned your hair and began straightening it. "You should stop burning your hair follicles, y'know," Clarisse asked, "Your curly hair looks good."

You shrugged. "It's not the worst? But straight hair makes me feel confident, C," you said.

She knew you were stubborn, so what was the point in her even trying to lecture you. "Want me to straighten your hair," you asked her. She yelped, "Oh hell no, I like my hair!" You giggled as she was being defensive. "I do too," you said.

You turned off and unplugged your straightener and returned it to its bag. You went to stand behind her and your fingers tangled in her hair. You played with her hair and then pinned some of it back to look nice and also battle-able. you tried the ends and then applied a gently hue of blush to her face. You added lipstick and you grinned proudly. "Eyeliner," you questioned.

She pecked your lips a few times and spoke.

With a laugh and a slight red hue on her cheeks, Clarisse grabbed her spear. "Capture the Flag's about to start, let's go."

You huffed. "Fine, my hair looks... fine... and I look shitty, great."

"Hey," she gently snapped, "Don't say that, princess, you look great. And by the way? Thank you... for sharpening and polishing my spear, mamas."

"Yeah, 'course, anything for you," you said as you watched her run out.

-

After Capture the Flag, you went into Clarisse's cabin. You sat on her bed and grabbed her hands. "I didn't appreciate how you almost killed Percy... but I can't blame you, 'cause the... thing... happened," you said as you gazed into her eyes. Your eyes then landed on her nails.

You irritably screeched, "Clarisse!"

Her nails were practically entirely scuffed off. "We're redoing these, I swear," you groaned.

#clarisse x reader #clarisse pjo #clarisse la rue #clarisse la rue x reader #clarisse la rue fluff #clarisse la rue x y/n #pjo tv show #percy jackson show #percy jackon and the olympians

[cottonlemonade]

How You Met

word count: 832 || avg. reading time: 4 mins.

pairing: post-time skip Kenma x chubby!Reader feat. Kuroo (as The Wingman™ doing the most)

genre: fluff

warnings: none

____________________________________________

“You need to get out more. Don’t you ever miss the sun and …”, Kuroo looked around his friend’s gaming room, noting empty take-out containers and energy drinks and balled up socks, “fresh air?”

“No.“, Kenma simply said as he rifled through the games on his computer, trying to decide which one he would stream tonight.

“Come on, let‘s go out. Not for a drink or anything, just for a walk.“

Kenma knew he wouldn‘t be able to hold out long against Kuroo‘s incessant pleas that were bound to follow and so he gave a demonstrative sigh and got up, ignoring the other‘s wide grin.

“Now isn‘t this nice?“, Kuroo took a deep breath of the crisp evening air.

Kenma just looked at his phone and tapped on a nearby checkpoint collecting his rewards.

“It‘s raining.“

“Hardly, drizzling at best. Do you wanna check out that new restaurant that just opened up?“

“No, let‘s go back home. We can order food.“

“We‘ve barely been out five minutes.“

That was already 5 times longer than Kenma preferred in a week.

“Look, the app says there is an event in the park over there. Why don‘t we check it out?“

Lured with the promise of a good game, Kenma shuffled after Kuroo, not hiding a groan of contempt that made Kuroo laugh, “Just like the good old days!“

According to the app the upcoming battle would take place at a fountain in the middle of the small aforementioned park. Only a few other people were already waiting there, periodically checking their phones for the event timer.

Kenma looked around, already thinking about what food he craved once he was back in his warm and cozy house.

There were two young school boys who, in Kuroo‘s opinion, should have gone to bed long ago, another man a little older than him - and you. You stood under a cream coloured umbrella, concentrating on your phone like the others. A fluffy white dog sat at your feet, leaning close to stay dry.

You looked really cute, stunningly cute actually, as far as he could tell in the dim light of the street lanterns, subdued by the misty air. The washed out video game shirt was tied to a knot at your hips, hugging your curvy shape. You reminded him of the big bunny plushie he had gotten a few years ago as part of a game promotion.

The event finally began. He tried to keep his focus on the game but snuck curious looks every now and then across the fountain. Did you live around here, too? How had he never seen you bef- oh, right.

After a few short minutes it was already over and everyone went their separate ways.

“So, what do you wanna have for dinner? Kenma? Hello? Hm?“

Kuroo‘s eyes followed the gaze of his friend and grinned when he spotted you, digging around in your bag.

“Kenma-kun?“, he said teasingly, leaning closer to his friend‘s ear, “You still with us?“

“Huh?“

The younger one snapped out of his daze.

“Why don‘t you go talk to her?“

“Talk to who?“

“Her.“, Kuroo nodded in your direction.

“Why would I?“

“Oh geez, I dunno. Because you‘re staring and for you that is basically equivalent to Tora salivating.“

“Am not.“, Kenma muttered defensively and hated that his ears turned hot.

“Uh huh. Hey, excuse me!”, Kuroo ignored the panicked tug on his jacket when he called out to you.

You looked up, then at them, looked around in confusion, then pointed at yourself.

“Yes.”, Kuroo called with a bright confident smile and walked over to you, Kenma who was still holding onto his jacket followed, but quickly let go before you noticed.

You seemed a bit worried at the tall figure calling out to you randomly in a park but calmed when he asked, “Did you score anything good?” He pointed to your phone.

“Oh. Yes, yes I did.” You turned your phone to show off the rewards.

“Nice. Didn’t you say you got something good, Kenma?”

The younger one nodded and turned his screen for you to see.

“Wow, lucky!”

“I’m Kuroo. This is Kenma.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m (y/n).”

Silence followed.

“And who is this?”

Kuroo pointed at the dog to your feet that sniffed his foot quizzically.

“That’s Plume. I named her after -“

“The berserker in Cloak and Dagger II.“, Kenma finished.

His ears turned hot again when your face lit up.

“Yes! Oh my god, I never met anyone offline who knows the game!“

Silence fell again, Kuroo tapped his foot impatiently.

“Hey, Kenma, isn‘t Cloak and Dagger a multiplayer game?“

“Yeah.“, Kenma replied, weirdly annoyed that his friend would ask such a dumb obvious question in front of you.

Another short stretch of silence.

Kuroo sighed. “Why don‘t you two exchange tags then? You could play together.“

“Oh! That would be great, but I mean, of course you don‘t have to.“, you said quickly.

“Oh no, he wants to.“

____________________________________________

a/n: let‘s just pretend the picture is post-time skip - also this game is entirely made up and it took me way too long to think of a name

#kenma x chubby reader #haikyuu x chubby reader #kenma x reader #kozume kenma #kenma fluff #hq kenma #haikyuu fluff #hq fluff #kuroo deserves an award #chubby reader

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

Being Kidnapped HC (ft. poly!Mates Bat Boys)

Warnings: I’m on a bat boys kick 🙃 has nothing to do with the fact that i'm missing my ex and now just want a strong male (or three) to take care of me lol, blood mentioned, violence, protective boys, polyamorous, drugged reader (faebane)

Summary: Bat Boys rescue their mate

It’s bound to happen

No matter your own power, there will always be others in Prythian who think kidnapping you will give them some sort of leverage over your winged mates

Others kidnap you to experiment on you. Why is it that the Cauldron gifted you three mates? Many wanted to know what made you different than the other fae who only have one mate

Whatever reason they had, it kept you constantly on your toes when you didn’t have one of the boys by your side.

Even in Velaris you were always on guard. You could never be too careful

Many were close calls where you were able to escape

The worse cases were when the boys had to intervene

One of Az’s shadows always accompanied you everywhere you went. Finding you was never a problem for them. There was nowhere in the world they wouldn’t be able to find you

That always set whatever worry you may have at ease

What you never looked forward to was the bloodshed that would follow

“Just take me back. Take me back and I’m sure you’ll be forgiven.” You’d try to talk your captor out of whatever plan they had in store for you. Give them a chance to change their minds.

Usually that earned you a slap across your face and vile words thrown your way

You’d have no choice but to sit back and attempt once more to pull at your restraints. Faebane still flowed in your system. There was no way you could use your magic, let alone your strength.

No way to telepathically contact your mates because of the Faebane

But you can feel the comforting coiling of Az’s shadow around your wrist

And slowly, the shadowsinger appears in the room you are kept captive

The guards assigned to watch you are easily killed by Azriel who doesn’t bother looking at them. Concerned eyes concentrated on you. “Are you alright, sweetling?” He frees you from your shackles and cups your cheeks in his scarred hands. Something dark flickers in his eyes when he spots the red mark on your face from where one of your captors had slapped you.

You could hear the sound of battle going on the other side of the. Well, mainly screams as your fae captors were torn limb from limb by Rhys and Cassian.

The splattering of blood against stone walls hits your ears. You can only imagine the carnage

They tried to shield you from most of the violence but you knew that this offense would not be taken lightly from your mates. Only seeing red and hungry for the flesh of whoever dared to lay an aggressive hand on you.

When quiet finally reined, the door opens to reveal Cassian. Wordlessly, Azriel hands you over to Cassian's strong arms. You don't care that he's covered in blood and gore. He's smiling widely at you.

"Sorry we took so long." Cassian would apologize and hold you closely to his barrel chest. He cocks his head over to the doorway. "Rhys has the boss. I'm sure he'd appreciate your help with him."

Azriel, like always, leaves you with a kiss to the cheek before he leaves.

"Shit, they really banged you around. . ." You catch Cassian curse under his breath.

"Nothing I can't handle." It wasn't the worse abuse you'd been dealt with. "Their punches were as light as a feather."

Snorting, Cassian places his lips against your brow. "You wanna go watch the interrogation?"

"Fuck yeah I do."

Just because you were accustomed to it, didn't mean you wouldn't be petty as fuck

later when they got you home, Rhysand refused to let you out of his arms. You were cleaned up on his lap. Rhysand had a few specks of blood on his face that he didn't bother to wipe away. When you take it upon yourself to reach up and clean it, he turns his face into your palm and kisses your fingers.

Safe and sound, surrounded by your bat boys.

#reader insert #reader insert fanfiction #acotar headcanon #acotar fanfic #rhysand acotar #acotar fanfiction #rhys acotar #azriel acotar #acotar #acotar fandom #bat boys #rhysand fanfiction #rhysand #cassian fanfic #cassian x reader #rhysand x reader #azriel x reader #azriel fanfic #azriel shadowsinger #azriel x you #a court of thorns and roses reader insert #a court of thorns and roses x reader #a court of thorns and roses fanfiction #a court of thorns and roses fanfic #a court of thorns and roses

[zer0pm]

Imagine Luis surviving his knife wound and you patch him up.

“¡Joder! That hurts, you know?”

“Don’t have anesthesia, I told you. Stop moving.”

“Right, sorry- ¡Ay, Dios! Are you stitching with a knitting needle or something?”

You had to hide your laugh under a scoff, thankful he couldn’t see your amused smile at his attitude.

Luis was leaning against a crate when you finally caught up to him and Leon. The latter informed you of their encounter with Krauser, the Spaniard’s injuries confirmed by pain-filled groans. Not wanting to waste anymore time, you had Luis moved to one of the metal tables near the mine’s exit and stripped him of his shirt and jacket. He weakly made a teasing comment about you using his injury to get him out of his clothes, but you ceased his attempts at jest by gently making him lay on his stomach and dove right into the task of treating the gushing wound.

Thanks to your meticulous efforts and the medicinal herbs that Leon keeps around in his case, Luis was stable in no time. Able to breathe a little easier, he instructed Leon to fetch the key from his jacket pocket, saying that the agent will need it to gain access to his laboratory on the island where he and Ashley will then use the surgical equipment to remove the parasites from their bodies. After assuring him that the both of you will be fine and will catch up after Luis is completely patched up and ready to go, Leon made his swift exit, leaving the both of you alone. Which brings you to this point in time- you suturing him.

“Should consider yourself lucky. Any deeper and the blade would have struck your heart. Then… well, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“You call it “luck”, my friend, but I like to look at it as divine blessing.” Here we go, this you have to hear.

Curiously you ask, “Oh, yeah? And how do you figure that?”

“Es obvio, ¿no?” he gestures with a wave of one of his hands that he was using to rest his head on. “An angel is healing me.”

You couldn’t stop your eyes from rolling, but there was no denying the warm flutter in your heart at his suave words. “Sweet talker.”

Luis doesn’t respond, but you can tell the man was grinning ear to ear from your remark. Aside from a few more Spanish curses and colorful complaints about the pain, the rest of the procedure went smoothly. Once the final stitch was made, you gently applied antibiotics over the freshly closed wound before covering it with a clean bandage. You notice the man shiver under your touch when you placed a hand upon his broad back to keep him steady.

“There. Now try to sit up. Slowly,” you sternly advised. “Don’t want you opening that up doing something insane.”

Luis mutters under his breath, “Supongo que no debería saltar sobre más gigantes…”

“What was that?”

“��Nada!” He jolts upright into a seated position, wincing at the sudden move that surely aggravated his injury. You would have been incensed if you weren’t so concerned for his wellbeing. After a careful reassessment to ensure that the stitches didn’t tear under the cloth, you proceeded to secure them by rolling more bandages around his torso. Your hands glided against the firm muscles of his defined chest and back as you did this.

You stood within the cage of his legs as you worked and can feel the heavy weight of his eyes on you. There was a concentrated look you tried to maintain to quell the nervous energy beating inside at your close proximity to him, but it was a losing battle. Luis’ body was radiating with an inviting warmth and a musky spice that delightfully filled your senses. You want nothing more than to drown in him, but willed yourself to keep your distance, internally conceding to give him space to recover from his near-death experience.

“This is nice,” Luis comments, breaking the comfortable silence.

You meet his eyes with an inquisitive look. “You find receiving treatment from an almost fatal stab wound to be pleasant?”

“I was not stabbed, the knife was thrown. There is a difference.” the man corrected with snark grin and you would have returned the witty remark had he not continued with his line of thought aloud. “Just thinking that it’s been awhile since it was only the two of us. Leon is good company, mind you. Pero, uh, he lacks your appeal.”

A snort escapes you, secretly giddy from his praise. “Think you’re so charming, huh?”

Mild amusement glints his grey eyes. “Have I not been this entire time?”

You shrug playfully, “Your game could use a little work.”

He returns your jest with an exaggerated pout, “¡Ay, mi orgullo! Your words cut deeper than the knife that struck me.”

Your chest heaves in hearty laughter. You shouldn’t have found it hilarious, but Luis had this innate ability to make a grave situation something to poke fun about. It’s what makes him so endearing. While you try to catch your breath, you missed the look of pure adoration he wore as he took in the sight of your smiling face. His usual coy smirk gently curving into something softer. Eventually you finish patching him up and help him back into his shirt and jacket. The man grumbles that the fine leather was now ruined, earning you another heartfelt chuckle.

Once he was presentable, he beholds you , “Gracias. Guess, uh, I owe you one, ¿si?”

“Your life, I’d say.” you nod, tone cheeky and good-natured.

It was his turn to laugh under his breath. He takes your hand in his, relishing in the feeling of touching you again. Soft determination flashes in his gaze as he mentally mulled over your words with newfound hope.

“Take it then,” Luis says. “It’s yours.”

#luis serra #luis serra navarro #resident evil 4 #luis serra x reader #luis serra imagine #re4 luis #re4 remake #resident evil imagines #gender neutral reader #my writing #zer0pm imagine #resident evil x reader #resident evil 4 remake #not a Spanish speaker so please correct me if anything is off #something sweet and fluffy for the weekend #hope you enjoy #this man has me in a vice grip #please give him his own dlc story Capcom I beg of you #he left us too soon 😭 #let’s be real #leon was the real mvp for giving the herbs #GYR herb OP

[gay4abby]

hii can i request a jordan li x reader comfort type thing? like maybe reader gets hurt during a fight or smth and jordan tends to her wounds & makes her feel better?

why would you want to fight me at cheesecake ??

masterlist. no y/n. requested, yes. warnings, angst (slight) & fluff. pairings, jordan li x reader. hope u enjoyyyyyy, i love me some caring Jordan. divider by kimjiho1.

Justine was the one who started it. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was talking shit about Jordan and how they quite literally dislocated her jaw, you wouldn’t be in this mess. Just like any other Supe, you have the ability of strength, but what differentiates you from the others is that your power is to manipulate dark matter. Essentially, you can take dark matter and change its particles. It is absolutely devoid of any kind of life you can imagine, but by being able to concentrate its compounds, you can create chemicals out of thin air.

This kind of power doesn’t come very often. Anyone from a mile away can recognise the significance this kind of power has. But, it doesn’t protect you from the occasional bruise and cuts whenever you find yourself in a fight. For Justine to step to you as if you wouldn’t manipulate her out of existence was very bold, however. “You fucking cunt!” You screamed before lunging at her, your fists balled up to land a clean one on her eye. The eyeball itself is severely pushed back into her skull, causing her to scream at the top of her lungs. You spat out some blood and wiped your mouth of any remaining traces of it left around your lips.

“Babe! What the fuck?” Jordan was approaching with haste, seeing blood on you was the last thing they’ve ever wanted to see. You can practically feel the worry oozing from them as they cupped your face in their nimble hands, their rings feeling cool against your heated skin. Jordan turned your face every which way to assess any other injuries that may have occurred that went unnoticed the first time. “What the fuck are you doing?” They practically yelled into your face. You clasped on to their wrists, slowly pulling their hands away. “Honey, I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m cool.”

“No the fuck you’re not. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up. Do you see yourself? You’re all cut up, fucking kidding me. “I’m fine” the fuck you’re not,” Jordan ranted on as they made their way out, Justine wailing behind them. “Did you see what they fucking did to me? This isn’t fucking funny!”

“You’re a self healer, Justine, get over it.”

“Look at me, this way.” Jordan instructed you to face them as their subtle hands gently wiping away at the dried blood that developed around the cut on your lip. You whined slightly, Jordan scolding you with a silent expression. “It’s not that bad.” You spoke, turning your head to the side so they can tend to the gash on your cheek. “Stop diminishing the situation. You got into a fight. No wait, you got into a fight, at the Cheesecake Factory! Do you realise how that sounds?!”

A sheepish expression graced your features, embarrassed at the accusation. “At least I lived up to the Drake lyric, am I right?” You chuckled, immediately stopping when you saw Jordan turning red. “I’m sorry.”

“Damn right you’re fucking sorry. You could’ve gotten hurt!”

You were taken aback by that a little. What was Jordan trying to say? That you can’t defend yourself at a moment’s notice? That you’re so weakling who needs their reduce every time you find yourself in a scuffle? “I can defend myself, thank you very much,” you spat. Jordan’s expression suddenly softened.

“That isn’t what I meant. I know you can I just.” They stopped a moment trying to find the right words to say without sounding like a complete douchebag to their partner. “I meant that…actually. I just. I don’t want to lose you, okay? I know you’re strong, you’re the fucking strongest between you and me. But, you don’t always have to fight every battle.” Their voice got lower at the end, cracking just a bit. You saw their waterlines slightly filling up.

Cupping their cheeks, you kissed them off guard, Jordan leaning into it immediately. Soft and tender, your lips moved in unison. A puzzle piece finally connected from its part after being away for so long. It went on like that for a couple moments before the both of you pulled back for some air. You were just staring at each other, your eyes flicking to their lips every now and then.

“You could never lose me, you know that?” Jordan nodded, pressing their forehead against yours. Your warmth radiated off to them, Jordan basking in its comfort before moving back to continue tending to your wounds. “But,” they began pausing for a moment to look at you with narrowed eyes, “Cheesecake Factory, really?”

“Oh my god, you’re not gonna let this go are you?”

“I’m sorry! It’s just, so fucking comical. Like of all places, you guys fight at the Cheesecake fucking Factory.” Jordan’s laughter rang through the room as they placed a Queen Maeve bandaid on the gash on your cheek. Although they were making fun of you, you couldn’t help but feel your heart soar beautifully at the laugh that could light up a thousand street lamps. “Whatever, I was defending your honour!”

“My honour was defended enough when I broke Justine’s jaw.”

#jordan li x reader #jordan li x you #jordan li #jordan li x gn!reader #jordan li x y/n #gen v x reader #‹𝟥 requests

[cool-fancier]

Behind The Scenes

Synopsis: You and Bada, members of BEBE, are secretly dating on "Street Woman Fighter." Fans spotted your hidden affection in background moments, but you continued to keep it a secret, appreciating the support of your fans.

You and Bada had been dating in secret for a while, and the only people who were aware of your relationship were the other BEBE members. It was necessary to keep your love under wraps, especially with the intense competition on "Street Woman Fighter." The last thing you needed was the distraction of public scrutiny.

As you stood waiting for the directors to give the cue when to start, the camera crew prepared to film. Being the committed performer and leader that she was, Bada strictly complied with the no-public-display-of-affection (PDA) rule when it came to dancing for the camera. She was worried about the fans' reactions and the potential backlash.

Bada's attitude completely shifted when the camera started to roll. She concentrated on the women dancing in front of her, making sure each step was flawless and keeping up her professional demeanour. You mirrored her attitude and demeanour.

However, when the camera wasn't on you, it was an entirely different story. You always felt Bada's hands on you. She would sneak glances, brushing her fingers against yours, or lightly resting her hand on your back. It was like she had an itch that could only be scratched when the camera wasn't watching.

One day, during a particularly intense training session, the camera was focused on MANNEQUEE practicing and in the background, Bada took the opportunity and pressed her lips against your cheek, her eyes twinkling with mischief. Although it was a quick, secret kiss, it gave you the chills nonetheless.

As the days went by, viewers who paid close attention to the battles started to notice something odd in the background. Social media comments began to grow with rumours about your hidden relationship.

Week after week, fans of "Street Woman Fighter" were glued to their screens, analysing every frame for hidden gems of your relationship. The production team was particularly fond of filming your crew during practices when other teams were in the spotlight, making it the perfect opportunity for fans to spot those precious moments.

Once more, the camera panned out to capture the entire room as LADYBOUNCE performed their routine for the K-pop Death match. You and Bada stood in the background, intentionally blurry but unmistakable. While the other dancers were focused on their show, you two were smiling quietly while softly connecting your fingers. The viewers at home were giddy with anticipation:

@Y/NHiddenAdmirer: Did anyone else see that? I swear, Y/n and Bada are in love! 🥰

@BadaAndYShipper:OMG, I can't handle the cuteness! They think they can hide, but we see them!🤭😅

@BadaSecretCrush:Forget the dance battle, the real drama is Y/n and Bada's secret love story!🩷✨

@BadaAndYHearts:Who would've thought we would see Bada like this.Thank you Y/N for making our Bada happy.🫶🏽❤️

@BadaY/NAffection:I love that they're on the same team and have been friends for so long.I also hope that they are dating and us as supporters of them shouldn't rush them to announce it.🙂

Heart emojis and speculative comments flooded the show's official YouTube channel's comments section. The fans were determined in their search for proof, and the blurry surroundings further increased their interest. But despite their speculation, you and Bada were able to keep your relationship a secret, giving the show a sense of intrigue.

And once more during one of the rehearsals, you and Bada found yourselves in the background once again, this time while a powerful rival crew showcased their moves.

With her words just above a whisper, Bada leaned in closer. She said, "You know, I don't think they've noticed us yet."

Your eyes remained fixed on the dancers in front of you as you chuckled quietly. "Probably not," you said. "Everyone's so focused on them."

Bada's hand brushed against yours, out of sight of the camera. "It's kind of like our little secret, isn't it?"

You turned to her with a loving smile. You responded in a whisper, "Yeah, it is," and as if on cue, you both gave each other a soft kiss on the cheek, your hearts bursting with love.

The fans may not have seen the kiss clearly, but they certainly felt the love and connection that influenced your relationship. Their excitement increased week after week, and your relationship thrived both on and off camera.

Fans eagerly anticipated those fuzzy background pictures as "Street Woman Fighter" went on the air, expecting to catch another glimpse of your intimate moments. The fact that your fans supported your relationship made it even more meaningful, even if you and Bada still had to act professionally in front of the camera.

#bada lee x reader #bada lee #swf2 #swf2 x reader #bebe #bada lee fanfic #bada lee x oc #bada lee x y/n #street woman fighter 2 #street woman fighter x reader

[karniss-bg3]

Ya bring up a point I’m sure not all monster lovers consider—- turning Kar’niss back being a goal of his would mean sacrificing my love for the freaky and remembering he’s just a guy with needs too. I imagine if there was a WISH spell, given their open-ended nature to do Anything with reality, you’d probably get access to one with only a few options of what to use it for in a limited game context. Probably it’d give you the offer to fix your other companions, or your own lingering plot issues—- could we see some Kar’niss reaction to Tav, after mulling it over (alone or among companions), truly deciding to use the WISH for him and/or let him use it (one of those ‘trust your companion will do the right thing’ moments). Bet they find the spell after robbing Lorroakan or somethin. (Though it’s a Wish Spell—- imagine a man so short sighted as to just wish to be without pain but not change so he can still ‘be of use’. Hopefully he’d have learned better about his worthiness by the time you found a WISH though).

Title: A Wish Come True

Word Count: 3,667

Spoiler Warning: Spoilers for Act 2 and Act 3

Characters: Gale, Astarion, gender-neutral Tav and Kar'niss

Summary: After a hard battle in the sorcerer's tower, Gale uncovers a hidden Wish spell scroll. Kar'niss is now faced with a tough decision; Use the rare scroll to break the drider's curse or remain as he is forever more?

***

It had been a hard fought battle in the sorcerer's tower but the group came out victorious. Lorroakan had been bested and his lifeless body had settled in the middle of the floor. Astarion was the first to root around the wizard’s quarters with Gale not far behind, both searching for powerful items and weapons they could pilfer for their journey. Gale’s sharp eye spotted a peculiar rosewood box in a corner with intricate swirls carved into the lid. He leaned in for a closer look and sensed that the chest was locked tight. Astarion also picked up on the notion and casually nudged Gale aside with his shoulder.

“Allow me,” Astarion said, chuffed.

Gale held up his hands and gave Astarion the chance to unlock the mysterious vessel. Retrieving his trusty lock picking tools he went to work. As he began to fiddle with it a magical aura pulsed from the box and a blast of magical fire surged from the base and onto the fumbling thief. Astarion’s clothes caught alight and made the vampire lurch from surprise and pain. He spun in circles, frantically slapping at the blaze that threatened to consume his clothes whole.

“AH! Hot, hot, HOT!” Astarion screeched.

Gale stood by, his blank expression mirroring his annoyance. He’d flick two fingers aside, a blue aura shrouding them before a downpour of water crashed over the ignited fop. This doused the fire as well as Astarion who now stood there, soaked but free from danger.

“Now, what have we learned, Astarion?” Gale asked.

The vampire’s upper lip rose, exposing his fangs, shooting the wizard a miffed glare.

“That’s right. When exploring a tower of sorcery, maaaybe let the seasoned wizard do the poking, hm?” Gale said, gesturing to himself.

Astarion rolled his eyes, his hands hurriedly squeezing out his hair before flinging his arms side to side to rid them of excess moisture.

“Fine. I doubt there is aught of interest in that chest anyway. Likely moth eaten robes and naughty paintings. Have at it, oh ‘mighty’ wizard.” Astarion gave a disingenuous bow in Gale’s direction, abandoning the chest in an effort to fix his drenched appearance.

Gale wasn’t put off by Astarion’s complaining, rather accustomed to it by this stage in their journey. Instead he put his focus on examining the chest with a more nuanced look. His keen arcane senses were able to detect the sheen of an enchantment that shimmered over the item as a whole. He outstretched his hands toward it, palms hovering inches above the lid, putting his full concentration in breaking the troublesome spell. His eyes took on a purple hue, his robes kicking out at his ankles crackling with magical energy. He called out a single word, willing the weave to do his bidding, assaulting the enchantment in an effort to break it. His determination paid off. The energy pushed from his palms covered the box and the shimmer that once dominated it’s surface shattered like fiberglass removing the danger.

“Ah, there we are.” Gale swung open the lid to peer inside curiously.

The coffer, at first, didn’t seem to contain anything of note just like Astarion predicted. A pile of old robes of various hues sat in a neatly folded pile. Gale picked them up to look them over and while they were of a fine make, they didn’t seem to have any significance beyond that. He frowned with the discovery, continuing to dig in hopes he’d discover more.

“Ah-ha! Utter trash, certainly not worth getting burned over,” Astarion said while wringing out his shirt.

“Mm no, there must be more. A sorcerer wouldn’t go through so much effort to protect worthless robes,” Gale replied.

This prompted Astarion to come closer to investigate once more. Gale cleared out everything leaving an empty chest. The vampire smirked as he leaned over, a knowing gleam twinkling in the corner of his eye.

“Oh darling, it seems we’ve been done in by a red herring. Cazador had many items of value, ones he’d not leave wittingly out in the open.” Astarion reached into the box and ran his smooth fingertips along the wooden walls of the container. He did so until he felt a discrepancy in the wood grain; An indent. “There you are.” He’d press the hidden button, a quiet double click of mechanisms heard within its walls. Both men watched while the false bottom of the box slid open revealing the true treasure beneath.

Astarion’s lips curled in a self-satisfied grin, leaning in closer to Gale to make cocky eye contact with him. “I suppose a rogue isn’t as useless in a tower of sorcery as you thought, HM?”

Gale side eyed his proud companion, palming the side of his face to gently push him away. “You’ve made your point, good work.”

Inside was a pouch of gold coin, a bizarre wooden wand painted red and gold with floral accents and a short stack of scrolls. Gale filtered through the items with some fascination, going through each scroll with fierce scrutiny. His snooping came to a halt when he read over one scroll in particular, his eyes increasing in size as the shock took hold. Astarion was in the process of dumping water from his boots when he noticed Gale’s frozen demeanor.

“What is it, what did you find?”

Gale didn’t answer his curious companion, instead whirling around to call down to the floor below. “TAV! You need to see this!”

All this time Tav was situated on the lower floor with Kar’niss who had sustained injuries during the battle. The drider had lowered himself to the ground so Tav had ease of access to his wounds. They were bandaging a cut on his arm when they heard Gale shouting from above. Tav’s brow crinkled in confusion and Kar’niss followed suit, both exchanging a glance. Before Tav could rush to Gale’s side the wizard was already climbing down the ladder with some urgency. Astarion followed behind, half dressed and damp but equally as curious as to his discovery.

“What’s going on?” Tav asked.

Gale handed over the scroll to them. “Here.”

They took the parchment and scanned over the text inscribed upon it, a creeping realization hitting them the further they read along. Their eyes darted to Gale, then to Kar’niss and back to the scroll, their fingers beginning to tremble.

“A wish spell,” they whispered.

This revelation sucked the air out of the room. Astarion’s jaw dropped with amazement while Kar’niss’ breath hitched in his throat. A silence fell over the massive study, each companion eyeing off the other, uncertainty and excitement palpable in their immediate vicinity.

Gale broke the silence first. “What do we do?

Tav pressed their lips into a thin line, soon turning to Kar’niss. “This is it, what we’ve been searching for. You can return to your true form, Kar’niss. Your suffering could come to an end, right here, right now.”

Kar’niss rose from his crouched position, his hand rubbing over his arm in a self-soothing gesture. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat while legs shuffled beneath him in an anxious dance.

“But...this spell, it’s incredibly rare and powerful, is it not? Why waste it on me? So much could be done with this power. If I suffer it is due to my own folly,” Kar’niss said.

Astarion bolted forward as if angered by the statement, his crimson eyes glaring up at the drider. “Have you learned nothing after traveling with us? I know it’s a difficult lesson to learn, it took me far too long as it was. But what happened to you is not your doing. You were a victim, same as I. Take the scroll and reclaim your life.”

Kar’niss shrunk when he was chided so, unable to maintain his gaze on Astarion for too long. His nervous energy didn’t seem to wane, undecided and skeptical of his own worth.

“It’s true, this spell is not easy to come by. We can only use it once. With that said, I know first hand what it is like to be toyed with by the divine. Yours is a particularly cruel case, Kar’niss. As far as we know this is the only way to undo what has been done. I think we can all agree that despite our myriad of problems, this is your best chance at freedom,” Gale said. “We have alternatives to tackle our afflictions, you do not.”

Tav looked between Gale and Astarion, mulling over their words and watching Kar’niss shuffle about nearby. They took time to think and finally made their approach. They stepped toward Kar’niss, lifting an arm to gently rest their palm at the center of his chest.

“This isn’t a choice for any of us to make. You know better than anyone what is in your better interest and I trust in your judgment. If you need time to think it through then take it, you don’t have to decide this very moment.” Tav took a step closer, a warm smile on their face. “What is important is that you make the choice, that it is of your free will. Know that we will support you no matter the road you take. You are not a waste, Kar’niss, not by a long shot.”

Kar’niss listened to what everyone had to say, observing all present with some trepidation. He glanced down at Tav, resting his clawed hand atop of the one pressed to his chest. Without a word he stepped away from the group needing a moment to think by himself.

The others afforded Kar’niss his much needed space, retreating to another part of the tower to continue their search for other useful items. He was still in shock, scarcely believing that they had found such a rare item, something that could change his life moving forward. He came to a stop near a large standing mirror propped on a nearby wall. The drider turned to face the reflective surface, seeing his own image projected right back at him. He jolted from the surprise of it, as if it was the first time he truly saw himself since his change. His legs carried him closer, crouching down to get a better look.

His torso was bloodied from the recent battle, bandages placed over his arms where he’d suffered ice damage. Those details were the easiest to ignore, instead focusing on how twisted his once beautiful visage had become. His fingers reached to feather across the many eyes scattered across his forehead, trailing down to the scarred gash across his lip, finally reaching the hardened chitin sealed along his jawline. His gnarled hand reached out to caress the surface of the mirror as if trying to console the reflection within, his gaze meeting the pair staring back at him. His eyes tread lower, spotting the spider body his torso was haphazardly melded to, his pedipalps trembling beneath his belly button. He snarled and jerked his head away from the mirror, the biting sting of tears starting to collect at the corners of his eyes.

Was he worthy of salvation? He thought back to all of the atrocities he had committed both under Lolth and the Absolute, complacent in the part he played, a willing puppet for their unspeakable crimes. Astarion’s words rang in his mind, the notion that he was a victim rather than a fervent contributor. Should he be punished forever for actions of his past, or could he move beyond it and become the person he was meant to be? Gale’s statements came to mind next, the idea that he had been toyed with by those he worshiped, that he had the opportunity for freedom. What did that mean for someone like him? He could never return to the Underdark, not as a drider or a drow. That home was forever lost to him. Did the surface offer him something more, something greater? Or would he know the same abuse just with different faces?

Tav’s statement crashed through the walls of self doubt and hesitation. This was...his choice? Could he trust himself to make it? He realized he knew one thing for certain, he wanted to stay with Tav at any cost. He didn’t wish to be a burden on them, forever doomed to defend a drider from the gawking and cruel masses who didn’t understand him. Their life together would never know peace so long as Tav had to play protector. There were many other things they couldn’t do as he was now, things he’d long since thought about but was too afraid to voice. He wanted to know love, to know happiness, two things that were always short of his grasp, just out of reach.

Kar’niss turned to look back at the mirror but with more determination in his expression. He examined himself once more, for the final time, his head lifting as if in defiance of what Lolth had made him. He’d give the mirror a shove, pushing it over and letting it shatter on the floor below.

“Never again.”

During this time the group had pilfered much of the area. Gale had taken to reading the many texts stored on the bookshelves while Astarion hung his clothes on the balcony to dry, parading around in his underwear with no shame. Tav rolled their eyes at the display.

“There are many robes scattered about you could wear in the meantime,” Tav grumbled.

“Yes but they’re old, and ugly. Besides I look stunning au naturel. Really, you should be thanking me for providing your eyes with such a feast.” Astarion swished his arm in an effeminate arc.

Tav groaned and slumped deeper in the chair they had sat upon. “I’m going to regurgitate that feast onto Lorroakan’s carpet if you don’t stop.”

Their prattling was interrupted when they heard the clicking steps of the driders return. Gale closed his book and Tav stood up, Astarion joining the pair to look upon Kar’niss, the air of expectation heavy around them.

“Have you made a choice?” Tav asked.

Kar’niss rubbed his hands together nervously, looking between the three so as to work up the courage to make such an announcement.

“I thought about what you’ve said, all of you. While I still...struggle to believe I am worthy of this gift, I don’t want to spend the remainder of my life in hiding. You found me at the worst point in my life. You could’ve killed me without a second thought, you spared me instead. You showed endless kindness and patience while I struggled to contend with my own mind, feelings I thought to be genuine. I can’t return to the Underdark and Lolth’s shadow will forever follow me. At least with this spell I have the chance to live on the surface with a modicum of peace. I—“ He trailed off, his expression twisted while he searched for the right words. “I want to be happy. I don’t know what that really means for someone like me but I’m willing to find out.” He’d take in a shaken breath. “Use it.”

All three spared a glance to one another, seeming pleased with his conclusion. Tav stepped forward to hold the scroll out to Kar’niss but the drider raised both hands in refusal.

“I think since Gale found the scroll, he should do the honors. That and I am worried I’ll word it wrong and botch the entire thing. I don’t want to make my condition worse,” Kar’niss said.

Gale chuckled and took the scroll from Tav. “A fair concern, I will be diligent with my phrasing. Are you ready?”

Kar’niss inhaled a deep chest full of air, his legs dancing shuffling beneath him once more. “I think so, yes.”

Tav wandered over, issuing a comforting squeeze to his hip. “Everything will be fine. We’re right here.” They’d then back away to give distance for the spell to work its magic.

Astarion and Tav kept their distance, the vampire taking Tav’s hand into his own to give it a reassuring squeeze. Despite all his fanfare he realized the importance of this moment for all involved. Gale stepped forward keeping a gap between himself and the anxious drider, holding up the scroll to focus on arcane concentration.

“I wish for the drider known as Kar’niss to be restored to his true form, complete and whole as the drow he was before Lolth’s cruel curse kissed his essence. Memories hale and intact, body rich and vibrant, freed of the evil rendered upon him against his will.”

As soon as the last word left Gale’s lips the scroll in his hands crumbled to dust, their particles glittering in the air. They floated over to Kar’niss and began to dance in a shimmering ring around him. Kar’niss looked around with an urgent jerk of his head, lifting his arms due to a tinge of fear striking his core. The particles grew in size and number until they formed a continuous beam of golden light, expanding to form a dome of radiance that concealed the drider in full. Gale, Astarion and Tav stood by, their eyes wide and breath baited. They couldn’t look away even as the light increased in intensity, unable to see what was happening within. Loose papers in the tower went flying, carried away by the breeze radiating from the churning sphere in the center of the room. All of them could feel the force of this magic and it’s near infinite power, crackling and buzzing with arcane energy of a grand magnitude. The swirling golden light started to shrink in on itself, a notion that made Tav step forward with concern. Was Kar’niss alright, what was happening to him?

Soon the sphere shrunk to half the size it had been prior to its conjuring, the shell cracking down the center and breaking away, portions of the dome flaking away and disintegrating from sight. Once the shell had all but faded away the only thing that was left behind was the glowing silhouette of a man on the floor, doubled over on his hands and knees. The aura steadily peeled away revealing the changed individual beneath. A doubled over drow male was left behind, his form naked and vulnerable. The trio nearby watched in stunned silence, waiting for a sign that the spell had truly done as advertised.

A soft groan rumbled from the man on the floor, his hands pushing himself up into a seated position. He was dazed but alive and healthy by all appearances. Shoulder length white hair curtained around his pale face, now cleansed of the eyes which had once dotted his brow. The hard carapace that once molded over his arms, chest and jawline were no where to be seen, leaving behind smooth flesh and darkened nipples. Most notable were the presence of legs, two instead of eight, thighs muscular and firm. Kar’niss held up his hands which had begun to shake, looking them over in awe. His fingers were smooth rather than jagged and rough, able to bend his fingers with more flexibility than he had prior. He ran his palms across his face, particularly his forehead, noting the absence of the additional orbs he once carried. Finally, he glanced down to see his legs and genitals, all as they had been once upon a time. A choked gasp surged from his throat as the reality of it all began to set in. He was back to himself.

Tav rushed into action once they assessed the situation. They ran over and grabbed a loose blanket draped over a nearby chair, darting to Kar’niss’ side. They dropped to their knees in front of him, draping the garment over his shoulders to stave off the incoming chill.

“Kar’niss, are you alright? How do you feel?” Tav asked.

The drow didn’t know what to say at first, still patting over his torso and thighs in an effort to make sure this wasn’t a dream. He shook his head, mouth hanging agape, a swell of something building in his chest that he hadn’t felt in an age; Joy. His trembling lips pulled into an emotional smile, throwing his arms out to wrap them around Tav. Pulled into the vice grip of a hug Tav promptly laughed from surprise and relief, their arms threading around his torso to return the gesture enthusiastically.

“Th-Thank you...thank you…” Kar’niss whimpered, his face buried in Tav’s neck.

Tav bit their lower lip while stroking the back of his hair, leaning more into the embrace.

“You did most of the work, Kar’niss. This is your victory as much as it is ours. I’m proud of you.”

He bit back a sob from such a heartfelt statement, fingers curled into the small of Tav’s back. He leaned away enough to make eye contact with them, his body radiating overwhelming emotion. He cupped Tav’s face and brought them in for a kiss, one that he put every ounce of his body and soul into. Tav returned the affection with equal vigor, clinging to the man they adored so.

As the pair embraced Gale and Astarion stood by, looking on with their own sense of pride and joy at the outcome. Gale glanced Astarion’s way.

“You really couldn’t have put on some clothes for this monumental, once in a lifetime moment?” Gale grunted.

Astarion scoffed and waved a hand about dismissively. “Darling, they’re not paying one speck of attention to me. For once, that’s a good thing, mw-ha! Besides, my near nudity will likely help Kar’niss feel less self conscious about his own.”

Gale chuckled and propped his arm on Astarion’s shoulder, leaning into him while looking Tav and Kar’niss’ way.

“True enough, Astarion. True enough.”

Tav and Kar’niss continued to hold and kiss one another, filled with relief and hope for what future lay ahead. This was the beginning of a new journey for the pair, one that they were ready to face together.

To the very end.

#baldur's gate 3 #kar'niss #drider #bg3 #karniss #baldurs gate 3 #answered #my writing #gale #astarion #tav x kar'niss #bg3 fanfic #kar'niss fanfic #gender neutral tav #what if scenario #act 2 spoilers #act 3 spoilers #Lorroakan #gale dekarios #astarion ancunin #sfw #I think this is the longest fic I've posted here #I guess that is what happens when you have more than two characters lol #long post

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Errors, “Errors,” and Animorphs

So in a different post I ranted about how a tiny non-distracting unfixable difference between two shirts is not an error in Jurassic Park.  IMHO, a continuity gap is only an error if:

It draws attention to itself and distracts the audience

It could’ve been fixed pretty easily in-story

It makes character, plot, or setting nonsensical

Animorphs has continuity gaps of its own.  And I have opinions about what we readers do and do not count as “error.”  First, an example that’s clearly an error:

I wondered if Tobias had heard my thought. I concentrated. Tobias, can     you hear me?

«Yeah,» he said, «I hear you.»

“Did you hear my thoughts before that?” I asked.

«No, I don’t think it works that way.  You have to think at me for me to     hear.»

—#1: The Invasion

Tobias briefly hearing Jake thought-speak in #1 breaks the rules of the setting; several other books (#2, #23, #31, #33, #46) clearly state that it’s impossible to thought-speak if one is human and not in morph.  It’s an easy fix; the re-releases and audiobooks delete this moment, and the graphic novel makes Tobias unable to hear Jake.  It distracts the audience; I’ve gotten 5 or 6 separate asks over the years of people going “I was rereading #1, and the weirdest thing...” It’s an error.  I can’t say what happened behind the scenes — K.A. Applegate toyed with a thread that was later dropped, or decided to introduce a limitation for plot fuel at a later time.  But it’s an error.

Second, an example that I don’t think counts as an error:

I returned to my life, feeling strange and out of place. That night Jake came over. We went outside.

"I tried morphing the Tyrannosaurus," he said. "Nothing. Didn't work."

"You could ask Ax. He may know why."

Jake laughed. "Yeah, but even if he explains it, I still won't understand it."

—MM2: In the Time of the Dinosaurs [Cassie’s narration]

The kids not being able to morph dinosaurs outside of the Cretaceous Era makes a lot of sense in context.  The whole book series would fundamentally change if they could use T. rex — that would become heavily a favored morph for many of them.  It kicks off all kinds of plot questions that demand answers: Where do the controllers think the “andalite bandits” got dino DNA? What anti-dinosaur measures would they be forced to adopt? Would the Animorphs’ whole strategy change around having those morphs? How would Rachel feel about everyone but Tobias suddenly having a much stronger morph than her? Would they even bother with contemporary animal morphs afterward?

If the kids are morphing dinosaurs all the time after ~#18, then the series loses a lot of its uniqueness.  Applegate has said that most of the inspiration for the series was about trying to help kids understand what it would really be like to be inside an animal mind, with as many animals as possible.  That’s part of why so many of the plots hinge on giving the Animorphs an excuse to learn a new morph (e.g. #4, #17, #27, #47, #52) so that we can experience the coolness right along with them.  That’s why the war is explicitly about fighting for Earth, nonhumans and all (#7, #23, #53).  If it’s not a menagerie of six different critters — including one immigrant from space — rolling up to battle, then it’s not Animorphs. No, it makes no dang sense that sario rip morphs stop working once the rip gets unripped.  But the series acknowledges it, and it allows us both to have a unique animal-based story (dinosaurs! Heckin dinosaurs!) without ruining its own premise.

Third, one that I find fascinating because it’s kind of right on the margin:

"What I don't get is why I have to be a girl wolf," Marco grumbled.

"We had one male and one female," Cassie explained for the tenth time. "If two of us morphed into the male, we'd have two males. Two male wolves might decide they had to fight for dominance."

"I could control it," Marco said.

"Marco, you and Jake already fight for dominance, and you're just ordinary guys," Rachel pointed out.

—#3: The Encounter

Later, Tobias’s narration uses the word “alpha” to describe Jake’s morphed behavior — howling and peeing to mark territory, challenging another wolf pack to protect his own.

There is scientific consensus right now, as of the 2020s, that the term “alpha” is an inaccurate descriptor of pack-lead behavior, and that dominance fights between adult males are almost nonexistent.  That although wolves usually run in a phalanx-like shape with one middle-aged male and female at the point, this isn’t the result of dominance fights but rather an effort to have the physically strongest wolves absorb blows from rogue prey animals or rival predators.  That the dominance fights observed in captive wolves in the 1970s were the result of an ecology error, putting wolves from rival packs into single enclosures.  Fox (1972, 1973) gave a reasonably accurate description of how wolves behave if you put a bunch of adult strangers in a zoo together: the young adult males fight, the winner of that fight wins first access to food, and the mate of the winner gets the most resources for her puppies.

However, time rolls forward, and advances like hidden cameras (and the resurgence of wild wolf populations) allow us to watch wolves without needing to capture them first.  Mech (1999) follows some such wolves around, and quickly realizes that dominance and submission aren’t nearly as important among wolves who chose to make a pack.  Stahler et al. (2002) figure out a better way to introduce stranger wolves in captivity, and get full cooperation among young adult males.  Nowadays drones and radio collars get 1000s of times the wolf data Fox had to work with, and reveal intense cooperation with little more than play-fighting among puppies.

The Encounter comes out 1997.  Mech publishes the first big takedown of the alpha concept 1999.

Did an error occur anywhere in this process?

No, in that Applegate presumably doesn’t own a Time Matrix and published a book based on the scientific consensus at the time about how wolf social dynamics worked.

Yes, in that the error is pretty distracting — I get drawn up short by it every time I reread #3, and I know others have too.

No, in that the error was corrected in the graphic novel adaptation.

Yes, in that the error is still present in the audiobook, and Michael Crouch delivers the moment about Jake being backed into a dominance fight with all of Tobias’s exasperated humor.

No, in that the error allows for some character moments, both silly (Jake peeing on trees) and sweet (Jake being ready to take on an entire rival pack alone, over a rabbit he doesn’t want).

Yes, in that the error takes away from one of the series’ most fundamental purposes, to educate kids about animals.

Anyway, books are great, science is imperfect, and I think the more we all engage with amateur criticism the more we’re all going to learn about what counts as an error in fiction writing with inspiration in scientific reality.

#animorphs #animorphs meta #continuity errors #retcons #fandom #lit crit #3 #1 #mm2 #there's a related question: if the third graphic novel is also set in 1997 #then how does cassie know about the alpha wolf hypothesis being debunked in 1999? #but again #answering that question would make the book worse not better #so i don't worry about it

[thisisnotthenerd]

ok the xp leveling chart is updated:

this is my best guess at the dragons. bunch of wyrmlings, bunch of young dragons. sometimes brennan referenced wyrmlings for the little weenies, sometimes he said the young ones, so i made my best guesses based on the state of the minis.

everything has a 1.5 modifier for the number and the fact that the bad kids are dealing with the party mechanics and piloting a ship. it would be higher, but the fact that they had a ship to both take damage and do big damage (3d10 per cannon, 10d10 from the ram) knocked it back down. nightmare king is modified because of k2's divine intervention.

all in all the bad kids basically oneshotted most of the dragons out of the sky from the cannons to individual attacks. they got lucky with saves, and the fact that gorgug could tank the damage that he did was incredible. he only actually went down once and got immediately healed, so functionally the bad kids stayed up through the fight. if we go by the vote counts, this fight was only three rounds. three rounds to kill most of oisin’s extended family, one of which was technically a prep round.

the challenge for the finale is going to be going in with resources spent on the dragons--5-6th level spells gone, barbificer features used (elemental rage & tool knack!), all of their minute concentrations from the fight are gone, artifacts from the vulture king have been used, k2 is gone (only 1 primary healer instead of 2), 2 rages used, bardic inspirations have been sent. gorgug is below half health. adaine is below half health. kristen is below half health. riz, fabian, and fig are okay and have some of their resources left.

depending on the timeline they could squeeze in some healing to start the fight in better condition, at the cost of kristen coming in without spell slots.

i'm lowkey hoping the divine intervention gets them the equivalent of a short rest at least, because they could roll hit dice and get some resources back: adaine gets some spells, fig gets her warlock spell, bardics, and channel divinity, fabian refreshes action surge, his superiority dice, and bardics, kristen gets channel divinity, gorgug likely gets his gadget uses, and riz doesn't get anything, but doesn't really need it because he only cast 1 spell and used sneak attack, which isn't part of the action economy and thus doesn't need a refresh. no wonder riz can just go all the time--rogues don't need to rest unless they need to heal.

in terms of the coming conflict, they've done very well to obfuscate the name of ankarna, claim her domain, call cassandra forth from the nightmare king, and get the votes in. brennan says something about the ritual having invoked too much energy without them being able to complete it--if they hadn't done what they did, the battle would likely be way worse than it already is. as it is they're looking at an unstable divine realm, 7 high level npc opponents plus porter in ascension mode, potentially ankarna, and maybe the nightmare king.

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #fantasy high junior year #fhjy #fhjy spoilers #the bad kids #adaine abernant #kristen applebees #fig faeth #riz gukgak #fabian seacaster #gorgug thistlespring #the perils of xp leveling

[beanibon]

Can I request some post-canon domestic fluff headcanons with Vash? Cuz after everything he deserves to be a cute little husband to a loving doting spouse in a warm stable house.

Our Happily Ever After

Potential Trimax Spoilers! Though I will keep it as spoiler free as possible.

You could only imagine how absolutely exhausted Vash was once delivered to your home, covered in grime, blood and sweat from the final battle. It shocked you, panicked as you held him close.

Vash was in a temporary coma for some time but the moment he woke up, looking at your sleeping form tucked up against him, he cried. It had woken you instantly, soothing hands cupping his face as you whispered sweet reassurances to him.

Those first few months of Vash awakening had been the hardest, yet you persevered for his sake. Through those months you were patient, caring and most of all loving. And that sparked something in Vash, as if he'd met you for the first time since he posed as Eriks.

That ring, created from melted down bullets looked so beautiful to you despite its rough appearance. You accepted without any hesitation, leaping into Vash's arms, kissing him as you cried out endless yesses.

Vash couldn't be more happy to spend the rest of his life with his amazing spouse, holding onto them, kissing them each morning and night, and forever being by their side.

You both ended up moving a little further away from town, not too much but enough to have your own privacy away from anyone that might pass through and harm Vash. It was peaceful and that's what Vash needed after 150 years of pain and sorrow.

You ended up taking an interest in making your own jams and chutneys, selling those to make further money from your small job as a waitress. Often dragging Vash into taste testing any new combinations you weren't sure of, able to read his expressions on whether he was telling the truth or not about how things tasted.

Vash took up writing, a suggestion you threw his way at keeping positive memories alive when he came to you crying about how he feared he forget those he cared for, along with the adventures he embarked on with them as time went on. So that's what he did, he wrote everything down, sliding some pages to you for 'proof-reading'. You adored anything he wrote, knowing that talking about these things would be hard, so entrusting you with reading them was something you felt honoured with fulfilling.

Vash grew out his hair again, often keeping it in messy ponytails when writing or doing any kind of work that required heavy concentration. You loved playing with his hair, styling it while he busied himself writing.

Vash has an adorable habit of pouting when he's in deep thought, pair that with writing and you have the cutest pout with a pen/pencil resting either on his chin or lip. Also wears the same glasses he used when disguised as Eriks, only this time getting special prescription lenses for reading.

The conversation of children has been a topic both of you have discussed in the past, and now that Vash is no longer looking behind his shoulder every second of the day, you've been considering it heavily.

Eventually you do have children, whether through adoption or birth. Vash doting on every single one of them, while you have to play the bad guy to make sure no rules are broken.

Three children you raised with Vash, watching as your husband slowly became a fourth as he was being scolded alongside your kids. But you didn't mind whatsoever, finding you couldn't stay mad for long at him or your children.

You couldn't have asked for a more perfect husband, watching as he went from the most wanted gunman to the most loving husband and father. It still pained you that it took so long for Vash to start properly healing, allowing himself to open up to someone enough to drag them along with his crazy life, but you didn't care.

You'd follow that man to the ends of Gunsmoke if you had to, forever the anchor he needs to keep going.

#trigun #trigun stampede #vash the stampede #trigun x reader #vash #vash x reader #vash x you #vash the stampede x reader #98 vash #98 vash x reader #trimax #trigun maximum #eriks x reader #eriks vash x reader

[justferhere]

We Are the Champions | Armin × Fem!Reader

My Candy Love HSL • Episode 38 > Future

Armin proposed to you once as a joke, but now you can't help but remember that time.

Word Count: 1,088

Warnings: non, just fluff and some, not actually, suggestive jokes

Almost a fucking year later omgg! Hope you enjoy! English is not my first language so, sorry for mistakes.

"AGH, that's it, I'm over with this shit."

I was walking into the classroom for Mr. Farres' history class when I heard Armin complaining in the back. "Such a nice welcome, Armin. I'm very pleased to see you too." I said with a smile. Haven't seen him since the "little" incident with Evan. I tried to support him the most, but there were things I couldn't help with, only his family. Also, we haven't spent much time together like the old times. "Oh, Lovie, I didn't see you, but of course, it's such a pleasure being able to appreciate your beauty." He wink at me with one of his best smiles.

I'd miss him so much.

"What's up, going through a difficult battle over there?" I walked to him and hugged him by the side. "Actually, it's a new game I found, very tricky I've to say. Hum." He showed me the console, it looked like an apocalypse game. "Looks like Resident Evil." I laughed. "But how does Armin S Kennedy-kick-zombie's-ass can't pass a level?" He chuckles at my little reference. That time when we tried to make a Resident Evil marathon, and I yelped every time he played with my nerves. "Well, my Ada Wong, this time we have a hard mission to accomplish."

He started to play to show me how the level was. The level consisted of recollect batteries to light up the building, but when you activate the power, zombies got you from both sides of the hall. It was practically impossible to kill them alone. "I tried to convince Alexy, but he isn't the type to play this kind of game." He shrugged. "It's almost new and not well known so I haven't found someone on the internet that could pass this level."

Mr. Farres entered the room, and we didn't realize everyone was already sitting down. "Why don't we do it together? Team Fuck Zombies come back?" I suggest to him passing my arm through his shoulders. "I would love that, love." Farres started his class, sometimes I wrote down some notes about today's chapter but I was more concentrated on Armin, tracing circles on my hand down the desk. He wrote something in his notebook and showed it to me.

What about you, me, and a furry presence at my house at 4 pm, pizza, and a session of make out? ;))

Later that day, there I was, incredibly nervous about entering my boyfriend's house wearing the outfit I had 1 hour selected because the blouse didn't suit me. I pressed the doorbell and prepared my best smile. What if his mom or dad opens the door? They already know me, but do they know I'm his girlfriend?

"Well, well the little Candy finally has got invited to the house of madness." Alexy welcomed me with a funky tone. "My little brother took soooooo long, I started to think he was just so silly to do so." He laughed. "My god, I'm just kidding, come in. If you could see your face, just relax."

"Are your parents at home?" I asked, giving him a hug. "Nope, cops aren't in the sight, so feel in your house." He turned around and went to the kitchen. "But I'm the officer in turn, so try not to eat my brother... yet" He hooted, turning my cheeks red at his comment. I love him, but he isn't helping with this.

"Come on, Alexy, stop bothering my girl." Armin went down the stairs and hugged me by the back. "That's my job." He hugged me tight and hid his head in the crook of my neck. I giggled, "You aren't helping me!"

The time passed like water, just like it always has been with Armin. A couple of pizzas, sushi, and ice cream later, there we were, trying to pass through a horde of zombies without success. "I need a break, I will kill somebody at this point," Armin said, passing his hands in his face.

Frustration was the only thing we knew at the moment, and seeing Armin getting disappointed got me worse. "How long could you stay? I'm done with that horrendous thing but I would like to enjoy my beautiful girl, you know." He kisses me tenderly. We both knew it had no reason to continue trying, at least that day.

"They are at my aunt's, so I can stay more late." He started playing with my hands. "That's great, princess." He put his head on my chest and kissed my hand. "I'm really sorry. I thought we could get it," I said.

"Oh, don't be. Obviously, I wanted to get it, but I prefer being with you." I played with his hair. "I'm going to the bathroom, stay here." He kisses my head before leaving.

Something has to be wrong... but what is it? Every single time, somehow, even if we were just about to succeed; there was something that made another horde come to us. I took control and started playing this time analyzing everything I could on the map. There was something we hadn't seen.

And it was. After beating the enemies on both sides, something new appeared on the map; we didn't just have two ways. We could go down and get to the electricity center with a passage. It was longer and had some enemies, but it was way easier.

"I got it!" I screamed. "ARMIN! ARMIN!" I opened the door and called him. He hurried to the room, zipping his pants. "ARE YOU OKAY? WHAT-?" I hugged him and hopped. "I got it! We didn't see the correct way!" He looked at the TV and started laughing and pumping kisses all over my face. "No way..."

He raised me in a hug and started spinning. "I knew it! My lord, I'm so lucky to have you." I chuckled in his arms. "God, you are amazing, you know?" He murmured near my lips. "Mmh, I have an amazing boyfriend who gave me some life hacks, you know," I murmured back and kissed him. "Would you marry me?" He said between kisses. "Armin!" I laughed. "Don't laugh, I'm serious!" He smiled. "We are seventeen, Armin!"

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Rosa finished fixing my dress, looking for any lost detail. "You look beautiful! Our little Candy, I can't believe this is the day!" I smiled and looked one last time in the mirror.

One step closer to him. Closer to be his, and he mine. Armin and I, always and forever against anything, even zombies.

Hey there! It's been a long looong time 🤡 In my defense, college is finishing with my life, and creativity isn't helping me. But hey! Here it is. Not the final I hoped, but my self-consciousness couldn't keep this in my notes anymore.

If life treats me better, I'll start writing Lys or Kentins fic! Thanks for all your support 🩷

#amour sucre #my candy love #my candy love high school life #armin x reader #my candy love armin

[sophieswundergarten]

Considering a situation (Books) where Curtain captures the kids and then uses duskwort on one of them to give the others an ultimatum...

“So,” Curtain leered, circling the children in his wheelchair. “The rules of the game are this: You have until the serum I created works its way through young Miss Wetherall’s body to answer my question. If you are able to, then I shall provide an antidote.”

McCracken appeared from the other room, throwing a squirming Kate to the floor. The others rushed to her side, helping her up. Reynie noticed with a twinge of fear that she seemed to be less surefooted than normal, slipping and stumbling as they supported her.

“Now, now, ducky,” McCracken laughed as he followed Mr. Curtain out. “We wouldn’t want you to waste your strength.”

“Look who’s talking.” Kate bit back, but weakly; almost out of breath.

Reynie looked at Sticky over her head, concerned. He motioned the other boy to help Kate over to the corner, letting her rest against the wall. 

“Kate, what happened? What did he do to you?” Constance’s voice was small, scared.

“Oh, nothing much, Connie girl.” Kate inhaled, smiling, face pale.

Constance screwed up her face, concentrating. After a moment she stomped her foot angrily. “I know you’re trying to hide it from me! Stop it!”

“Constance,” Reynie murmured, “Why don’t you give Kate a break? I know you want to know what happened, but–”

“Oh no!” Constance cried, tears springing into her eyes. “They injected her with something. With– with–” Her eyes went wide. “With duskwort!”

Sticky glanced at Reynie worriedly. Normally it would have taken much more of a battle for Kate to give up any kind of information, her mental acuity allowing her to dodge out of the way of Constance’s probing.

Kate let out a weary sigh. “Yeah, they did. What, um, what does duskwort do again?”

Sticky pulled his glasses off, nervously polishing them as he spoke. “Duskwort, Translucidus somniferum, is a very rare lichen that only grows in certain, usually damp, areas. It is known for causing deep and uninterrupted sleep, as well as being a possible cure for narcolepsy.”

“Right.” Kate looked confused. “I knew that.”

Sticky nodded. “If he really did dose you with duskwort then it would make sense that you’re confused. Exhaustion, confusion, light-headedness, and dizziness are all symptoms of being injected with a type of sedative such as once derived from Translucidus somniferum.”

Kate didn’t answer.

“Kate? Kate!” Reynie began gently shaking her shoulders. “Kate! You need to stay awake. We don’t know if we’ll be able to wake you again if you fall asleep.”

Kate shook herself, leaning heavily against the wall as she tried to rise. She waved off Sticky and Reynie, who moved to help her stand. “I’ll be fine. Really, boys, I’ve got it.” She yawned, closing her eyes for a long, slow blink. Shaking her head once again, she roughly shoved herself up, falling to her knees as she did so.

Tremulously, she tried to rise, but Reynie quickly reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

“Kate,” He began, hesitantly. “I think… you should stay sitting down for a while. We need to start working on getting an answer for Curtain, and we can do that better without worrying about you.” He explained. “Right now all we need you to do is focus on staying awake.”

“If your body continues metabolizing the duskwort at this rate, then it’s likely you’ll fall into some sort of coma soon.” Sticky confirmed, looking around anxiously. "Try and slow your heart rate. Sitting still and breathing evenly should help."

Kate looked upset, but she nodded, slumping down and gritting her teeth with effort. 

#Thoughts and fragments #the mysterious benedict society #mbs #kate wetherall #reynie muldoon #constance contraire #sticky washington #ledroptha curtain #Mr. curtain

[triptuckers]

enough grief for one lifetime - tech

Request: no Pairing:  tech x reader Summary:  once again you help the bad batch with their injuries Warnings: SPOILERS FOR THE BAD BATCH S2E15+S2E16, angst, mentions of injuries, blood, broken bones, swearing Word count:  2.7K A/N: there I fixed it.

you told hunter you would always be one comm away. they appreciate your help, but most of the time they're too far away for you to be of any help. it's why they rarely call you.

it's also why you nearly trip over your feet as you sprint to answer them when they do comm you.

'y/n here.' you say.

for a few seconds, you hear nothing but static sounds on the other side. then you hear echo.

'...need your help... went bad... on our way...'

'echo?' you say. 'you're breaking up really bad. how far away are you?'

'...injured... going to... you... tech-'

you hear a faint beep as the comm suddenly ends.

you can feel your heart beating faster. something or someone disconnected the connection you had with the marauder. was it simply a bad connection or was someone jamming their comms? or worse?

and then there is the way echo said tech's name. you knew echo, he knows how to keep his cool in battle. but he said tech's name in a panicked tone.

you don't know how far out they are, but you start preparing straight away. you live on a hot planet, and most of the locals live in huts with a lot of big windows. you've helped most of the locals when they get injured, it's how you met the bad batch in the first place. they got stranded on your planet and sought medical attention.

after your first meeting with them, you always stocked up on medial supplies, just in case. it seemed today is the day you'll need most of them.

you've only just finished setting everything up, when one of the local kids runs into your house.

'y/n! there's a ship approaching!' he says.

you follow him outside and spot the marauder. they're coming in fast, and you anxiously watch as they land none too gently and a bit too close to the village.

as you run up to the marauder, wrecker emerges from the ship, his back to you. you frown and run a little harder. you reach the ship and see that wrecker is carrying one of his brothers.

you feel your heart stop as your eyes land on tech. wrecker has his arms hooked underneath his arms, and echo is carrying tech's legs.

it looks like tech's entire body is bruised and bloody. he looks unrecognisable. one of his eyes is swollen shut, his nose appears to be broken and his lip is cut. he's not even wearing his glasses.

you stand there, rooted to the spot. if he hadn't been wearing his signature armour, and if you hadn't committed his face to your memory, you wouldn't be able to tell it was tech at all.

of course you cared about all of them. even though you didn't see them that much. but it always had been different with tech. you'd never acted on your feelings. afraid of too many things. that it wouldn't work out and it would make things awkward between you, that he didn't feel the same way, that something would happen and that he would leave you behind.

it seems like you should have taken the chance while you still had it. now it might be too late.

you come back to your senses when you spot hunter. he's holding tech's broken glasses in his hands.

'get him to my place.' you tell wrecker. 'I've set everything up already.'

wrecker nods and heads toward your house. you turn to hunter.

'anyone else injured?' you say.

'I've got a few broken ribs. might be some internal bleeding but I can't be too sure. omega took a heavy hit, but at least she can walk for now. I'm sure she's got a pretty serious concussion. you need to look at wrecker's neck and shoulder. echo is fine, he wasn't with us when we fell down. but you need to see to tech first. he's the worst of us all right now.' hunter states.

you're grateful for hunter's quick facts. it helps put you in a concentrated mindset. tech first. then omega, hunter, and wrecker. echo could help you. tech first. tech first. tech...

you nod once at hunter, then take off running toward your house.

once you get inside, you see wrecker and echo have put tech on the makeshift medical cot. they've taken off some of his armour.

'move.' you say.

you may sound harsh, but wrecker and echo know it's because you're focused, and a little stressed. they do as you say so you can quickly assess tech.

he's unconscious, but at least he's still breathing.

your fingers trail over his body. you'd been right about his face, a black eye, broken nose, a cut lip. he doesn't appear to have any more damage to his head, which you take as a good sign. you thank the maker for tech's helmet.

after further assessment, you can tell he's dislocated his left shoulder, and he's broken his left arm. you feel along his ribs and feel a few broken ones, but miraculously he shows no sign of internal bleeding in his chest.

he's broken his left leg the same place you helped set right a while ago. it looks like he fell on his left side, because his left knee is also dislocated.

you straighten your back and look at wrecker and echo. hunter and omega have arrived as well, and omega is worriedly looking at tech.

'echo, you're going to be my assistant today. you do everything I say, understood?' you say, slipping back into the role of the village chief medic.

echo nods. 'yes ma'am.'

'I'll get started on tech. you're going to help wrecker and hunter first, so they can help omega. then you're helping me with tech.' you say. 'first, you need to put a brace on wrecker's neck and check for other injuries. wrecker, you need to make sure you don't move your head and neck too much.'

both echo and wrecker nod at you. as echo moves to help wrecker, you give out the rest of the orders.

'echo, when you're done with wrecker, see to hunter's ribs. get a bandage around his chest nice and tight. but he needs breathing room, so not too tight. hunter, you can then see to omega. make sure she rests enough and drinks enough. when she gets dizzy or lightheaded, come to me immediately. echo, when you've seen to hunter, you help me with tech.' you say.

as they all start following your orders, you focus on tech again.

you take a deep breath. it's alright. just do what you do best.

you start bandaging up his chest. nice and tight, but with breathing room. just like you told echo. one thing at a time. you move to his left shoulder, inspecting it. you'd need echo to hold tech still while you set it right, but he's still busy with the others. you settle with taking a look at tech's leg.

just as you're done with tech's leg, echo is by your side.

'tell me.' he says.

you nod. 'I need you to hold him still while I put his knee and shoulder back.'

echo moves and holds tech's leg steady while you place your hands on his knee.

'one, two, three!'

with one quick movement, you snap tech's knee back in place.

'his shoulder next.' you say.

again, echo holds him while you count down and put tech's shoulder back in place.

a part of you is glad tech is still unconscious. at least he wouldn't actually feel you putting parts of his body back where they belong.

'what next?' says echo.

'I'm going to bind his arm and see to his face.' you say. 'can you get the others to the guest bedrooms? there's also water and food in the kitchen, make sure they eat something. then they need to get some rest.'

echo nods and takes off, getting the others to the bedrooms. you turn back to tech.

you exhale a shaky breath. just a few more, then it would be out of your hands. then all you had to do was stay by his side and wait for him to wake up.

as soon as you start taking care of tech's broken arm, you fall back into an easy routine. you'd taken care of more than one broken arm. it's ironic how you could do the movements in your sleep.

once you've finished with his arm, you finally move to his face.

you take a clean bandage, and use some water to make it damp, so you can clean some of the blood off of tech's face. behind you, you hear footsteps.

'the others are resting. omega is in the big guest room, hunter refused to leave her side so we got some pillows for him. wrecker is already asleep in the other guest room, I'm taking the other cot next to him.' says echo.

'alright.' you say, surprised you can maintain such a steady voice. 'I'm nearly done with tech.'

'you should get some rest as well.' says echo.

'sure.' you say.

you and echo both know you're staying up until tech wakes again.

echo's footsteps trail up the stairs, and you hear a door close in the distance.

you turn back to tech, cleaning his face.

'don't you dare scare me like this again.' you say softly. you're aware tech probably can't hear you. but you need this.

you don't know if you could ever tell him how you felt when you saw his bruised and bloody body in the arms of wrecker and echo. you would have given anything to change places with him.

sometimes you don't understand why you still have hope he could feel the same way about you. but there's always some tiny part of you that stubbornly refuses to believe tech doesn't care about you. maybe it was all foolishness, anyway.

you pull up a chair and sit down next to tech, letting your eyes roam over his face. he didn't look like himself without his glasses. hunter had put them on a table nearby, but they were broken. knowing tech, he could probably fix them. if only he would wake up.

now that echo is gone, you let the tears fall. everything you held back while you worked on tech, it's all coming out now. you sit there in silence, tears streaming down your face. you'd been this close to losing tech. and you wouldn't talk to him because you liked him.

no, you loved him.

holy fuck, you loved tech. maybe deep down you'd known all along. that whatever you felt for him went deeper than just caring about him. you loved him. you'd go crazy if you were to lose him.

'wake up.' you say softly. 'I need you to wake up.'

you sit there for hours. the tears long gone. you're just sitting there, waiting for tech to wake up. at some point in the night, echo had come down to get a glass of water for omega.

he didn't seem surprised to see you awake. instead, after taking the glass of water up to omega, he sat with you. talked with you about tech. what had happened. you just sat in silence and listened.

after a while, echo left again. and your fear and sadness turned to anger.

how could tech have done that? how could he have left his brothers behind like that? he almost left you behind.

you're not even tired anymore. the anger is giving you a new reason to stay awake. you needed tech to wake up so you could ask him why the fuck he would do that.

it's nearly dawn, and you're getting hungry. you get up to get a quick snack from the kitchen, then you return to tech's side.

'what the fuck were you thinking tech?' you mumble softly, as you look a this beaten up face. 'you’ve got people who care about you. do you have any idea what it’s like to lose someone that means that much to you?'

the soft rays of morning sunshine begin to fill the room. you watch tech's chest rise and fall beneath the bandages.

'what the hell were you even thinking.' you mumble. ‘it's like you don't even care about us.'

‘I do care about you all.’

you nearly drop the cup of caf you are holding. surely you didn't hear that right? but when you look at tech's face, you see he's opened one eye. the other is still swollen shut.

'then why the fuck did you do it?' you say.

tech looks confused. it might be because he's still in a lot of pain.

'I do care about you all.' says tech again.

you frown, getting up and stepping closer to him. 'I need to check to see if you haven't gotten a concussion anyway.' you say.

'I do care about you all.' says tech, more firmly this time.

you frown as you look at him.

'oh.'

‘it was the only way they would be able to get to safety.’ says tech.

‘I hate heroes’ you mumble. ‘a lot of heroes go to their deaths for what they think is a noble cause. all it does is cause the people who care about them more hurt. I’ve grieved enough for one lifetime.’

tech blinks slowly, as if staying awake is taking tremendous effort.

‘I will not give you any reason to grieve.’ he says.

‘but you can't promise me that.’ you say, feeling tears well up in your eyes.

‘I can promise you I will do my best to ensure you will never have to grieve the loss of either one of my brothers. or omega. or me.’ says tech.

you quickly wipe away your tears. 'you better do your damn best, you hear me? I was terrified you wouldn't wake up.' you say.

'you look like you haven't gotten any rest.' says tech.

'I didn't. I had to see to everyone's injuries.'

'surely that did not take all night?'

'well, no.'

'then why did you stay awake?'

'I was waiting for you to wake up.'

you look at tech again. there's a look in his eyes you can't quite understand. 'seriously though, don't do that again. I was scared.' you say.

'I will try to be more cautious.' says tech.

'and less heroic.' you say.

'I am a soldier. most soldiers tend to do heroic things.' says tech.

you chuckle softly. 'didn't lose your sense of humour, huh?'

'can I ask you something regarding your medial skills?' says tech.

'sure.' you say.

'how much good can you do in this village? it seems to shrink every time we get here.' says tech.

you shrug. 'that's because it does. most people move to the city, or off-world.' you say. 'in a couple of years this village won't exist anymore.'

'we could use a medic.' says tech.

you slightly raise your eyebrows. 'you're asking me to come with you?' you say.

'yes.'

'shouldn't hunter ask me?'

'I am asking you.'

you smile softly. 'I would go with you.' you say. 'if only to make sure I don't have to set your leg right a third time.' your smile falters slightly. 'why?'

'you said you've seen enough grief for a lifetime.' says tech. 'I simply think you need to balance it out. traveling with us won't be easy, we're still wanted by the empire. but at least you will be with us. people who care about you, instead of staying in a village that's disappearing.'

'if hunter is okay with it, I'll come with you.' you say.

'I'm okay with it.'

you look over your shoulder. 'how long have you been standing there?' you say.

'long enough. welcome to the bad batch.' says hunter. 'echo's making breakfast. I'll make sure he brings two plates here for you.'

'thanks.' you say as hunter leaves.

you turn back to tech. 'looks like you're stuck with me.' you say.

'I don't mind being stuck with you.' says tech. 'and thank you.'

'for what?'

'taking care of me.'

you impatiently wave your hand. 'I'm a medic. it's what I do tech.'

'true. but you did not have to stay with me all night. you have my thanks for that, too.'

'you're welcome, tech. now get some rest.'

A/N:If you want to request something, make sure to read my house rulesHere’s the list of characters I write for. Everything that I have written can be found on my masterlist. Please don’t repost my work, as I spend much time and effort on it!! Thank you for reading! Much love, Max/Marit

#leave me alone im in pain and I needed this #god those last two episodes were stressful as fuck #and im in denial #anyways #enjoy ig?? #bad batch #bad batch spoilers #bad batch s2 #bad batch fanfic #bad batch fanfiction #bad batch fic #bad batch fics #bad batch fanfics #bad batch imagine #bad batch imagines #bad batch oneshot #bad batch oneshots #bad batch x reader #tech #tech x reader #tech x you #tech fanfiction #tech fanfic #tech fanfics #tech fic #tech fics #tech oneshot #tech oneshots #tech imagine #tech imagines

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

A Good, Mean, Dog

Pairing: Sandor Clegane x Baratheon!Reader

Warnings: none really, obvious age gap but to be fair i think he’s supposed to be slightly younger in the books

Words: 2921

Summary: The Princess and the Hound. What a story that would be.

Sequel: The Doe That Chases the Hound

You gaze up at your ever radiant mother. To all of Westeros she was a great beauty and to her enemies, a force to be reckoned with. Regardless, Cersei Lannister was your mother. She showed contempt for everyone except her children. Call the woman what you will, but Cersei loved her children fiercely. Including you, the only dark haired child among heads covered with fine, golden hair. The only sign that you had come out of Cersei’s womb were your vivid green eyes; Lannister green. You would’ve liked the golden hair of your siblings, then you wouldn’t get odd looks when all four of you were together. None were more scrutinizing than the ones that were received from your uncle Jaime. There appeared to be a question in those emerald pools of his, a question he never verbally asked. He’d offer you distant smiles then would go about his business. Because of this standoffish behavior you preferred your stunted uncle Tyrion, much to your mother’s chagrin. He was much more kinder than Jaime. Your mother didn’t like you spending so much time around her dwarf brother. She told you many times if you wanted to learn something to go to Maester Pycelle, not you drunken uncle. You didn’t like Pycelle for various reasons; one of them being that it always looked like his wrinkled gaze was concentrated on your bosom. Besides, you were looking for a surrogate father-figure. Much like your mother, Robert Baratheon treated all his children equally in the manner that he didn’t pay you any mind either. He wasn’t the fathering type which unfortunately led the terror that is known as Joffrey, run wild and for you to try and fill the void. Cersei claimed very often that Tyrion killed her mother, your grandmother, but you knew that Tyrion didn’t do it knowingly. He had been just a newborn. Newborns didn’t spring from the womb with a dagger in hand. Your mother, you knew, was very stubborn and unreasonable.

In the dark cellars under the Red Keep, you found yourself exploring with your uncle as he showed you a room filled with skulls. Not human skulls though; dragons. They varied in size and there were a few that you could hold in your hand.

“As the centuries went on, the Targaryens chained their dragons up. But dragons need freedom and large areas in order to grow. Without those, the dragons that were able to hatch never grew any larger than a cat.” Tyrion waddled beside you as your fingers felt the smoothness of the skull. With torch in hand he ventured further until you came across a dragon skull that nearly reached the ceiling. You stare at it in awe. “Now that, my dear, is Balerion. They called him the Black Dread. He was the largest dragon to ever live in Westeros. Do you recall the other two dragons which rode with him to battle?”

You think for a moment. “Meraxes and. . . I want to say the other starts with a ‘V’. Um. . . Vhagar?”

Tyrion nods. “Very good.”

“If his skull was this big, imagine his wing span!” You grin which makes Tyrion smile at your enthusiasm. Growing sad at the thought that you would never see a live dragon with your own eyes, you put down the small skull that you had been holding. “Why didn’t they see that captivity was killing them?”

Tyrion regards you kindly and pats your hand. “Because men are selfish creatures. Without dragons, the Targaryens were just like everyone else.” Leading you out of the dark room, you wince at the light.

“Balerion was the one who forged the Iron Throne, right?”

“That is correct.” You continued to speak of dragons, enjoying your leisurely stroll with your uncle. That is until you bumped into your brother.

“You shouldn’t waste your time with the likes of the Imp, sweet sister.” In a condescending manner, Joffrey looks down at his uncle. “Shouldn’t you be in a whore house drunk off your dwarf ass? I’m surprised you’re still sober.” Joff sneers, his lips curling in an unflattering manner while his sworn sword looms behind him like a menacing shadow. The Hound, they called him. Your brother’s loyal dog. There was only one other man who stood taller than Sandor Clegane and that was his brother Gregor whom was called the Mountain for that reason. They were both equally terrifying; Gregor more so than his younger brother.

“That’s not very polite Joffrey. You are to be future king and a king should not speak like such a rotten brat.” Scowling at your younger brother you wished your mother had had the nerve to spank him to correct his terrible attitude. However, Joffrey was her golden son; one who could do no harm. She was blind to the monster he was.

His cheeks turn red. Now he’s glaring at you. “Once I’m king I can do whatever I want. Remember that. I won’t have to listen to a stupid woman like you.”

Fingers twitching, you took a step forward. He instinctively backs away, fear shining in the pools of moss that were his eyes. Joffrey knew you weren’t afraid to strike him. You had done it once before, but your mother quickly gave you a good scolding.

“I-I’ll tell mother.” He squeaks.

“Go ahead. She’ll tell father and he’ll just laugh at you again.” You noticed Sandor watching with slight amusement at the altercation. You wondered if he would try to stop you if you went through with slapping him.

Your uncle clears his throat. “Now children, we must learn to get along.” He holds your hand and gazes at you warmly with his mismatched eyes. “Thank you for defending me, but I can handle Joffrey’s quips. I’m sure your mother would not be pleased to find out that her children were quarreling again.”

“Uncle. . .”

Tyrion kisses the back of your hand. “I must go. I have other business to attend to.” He glances back at Joffrey and the Hound before he leaves.

“What is there to possibly talk about anyway with that misshapen creature?” Joffrey spat.

You shoot him a withering glare. Without answering you turn on your heels in a huff and walk away. But that’s not the end of it. Joffrey continues to follow you.

“I wasn’t done talking to you.”

“Well I was. What’s wrong? Don’t you have some poor animal to mutilate?” You say over your shoulder. He must be bored. And a bored Joffrey is never a good thing.

Ever the loyal dog, Sandor follows after Joffrey as the blonde haired prince continues to pester you. When Joffrey opens his mouth to reply you cut him off.

“Don’t you ever get tired of following him around like that?” You address the question towards Sandor, completely ignoring your brother.

Instead of letting Sandor answer, Joffrey pipes up. “He’s my dog. He’ll do whatever I say without complaint. I think he’ll even hit you if I told him to.” You knew it was meant as a threat but you let out a loud scoff making Joff turn red again.

“They must pay you an awful lot to follow around a twat like my brother.” You hear Joffrey inhale sharply as the Hound lets out a chuckle. You knew you shouldn’t have said that word out loud, it wasn’t lady-like. If your mother heard you say it she’d know immediately where you learned it from and would probably ban your Uncle Tyrion from the Red Keep.

You look over your shoulder and smirk at your brother’s fish-like expression. “Perhaps you should be wearing the sigil of House Tully, Joff. You look like a trout right now.”

If looks could kill you were sure you’d be dead already. It gave you immense pleasure to see the utter hate on your brother’s face. Head held high in triumph, you left him to fume.

*

“(y/n)!”

You’re surprised at who is calling you. Robert Baratheon is outside enjoying the weather while under the shade of an awning. You try to ease the look of shock off your face. “Yes father?”

A meaty hand motions for you to where he is. You’d heard that your father used to be incredibly handsome. Now, however, you found it hard to believe. His face grew red at the simplest of physical tasks and his large belly showed how much he enjoyed the finer things in life.

Several Gold Cloaks, including your Uncle Jaime surrounded him. The only time King Robert was ever alone was when he was with his whores.

You flush at the thought when you approach him. He looks up at you with deep blue eyes; Baratheon eyes. “Good gods where has the time gone. You’re a grown woman now. Your mother used to turn heads as well.” Whenever he spoke of his wife it always held a scornful undertone. “You didn’t even notice, did you?”

Your eyebrows scrunch. “Notice what?”

He laughs. “Bling and beautiful. Many men would value that in a woman.”

Anger licked the walls of your stomach. He knew nothing about you. You were definitely not blind. You knew what he did behind closed doors.

King Robert points to where you had just been. There were a few guards walking about. Nothing unusual about that. “They were staring you down like a succulent piece of meat.”

You blush and that makes him laugh louder. Fingers curling into your palm, you continued to feel ridiculed by him.

’Blind and beautiful.’

“Best way to stop that is by marrying you off. You’re old enough for marriage, right?”

’Fat bastard doesn’t even know how old I am.’

You nod.

He settles back into his cushions and takes a long gulp from his chalice. Wine dribbles down onto his beard. “Been thinking about setting you up with Ned Stark’s eldest boy. I think he’s about your age. Your mother wouldn’t have it though. Says it’s not necessary to marry two children off to Starks.” Robert Baratheon shakes his head. “What does she know?”

You’d have to thank your mother later. You didn’t want to go to the north. You’d heard how cold it gets over there and how dreary it was.

Robert heaves a sigh. “Children are such a hassle.”

’Then why are you talking to me?’

“Off you go then. Be more wary of your surroundings next time.” He pats you on the shoulder and shoos you away. Sadness enters his speech. “Wouldn’t want you to end up like Lyanna.”

Yes. Lyanna. The woman he still yearned for after all this time. The one he’d started a war for.

Kidnapped, raped, and killed.

Definitely wouldn’t want to end up like her. You left your father so that he could gorge himself on more wine and food.

You bounced slightly on top of your mare, smiling as you heard Myrcella squeal in delight. Watching as she had her horse take another jump, her gold tresses flying in the breeze. Under a grove of trees your mother clapped. She looked even more lovely when she genuinely smiled. Tommen followed behind Myrcella on his pony. The bars had to be lowered since the pony couldn’t jump too high. You and your sister cheer for your baby brother as he jumps the hurdle. Joffrey rolls his eyes while on his own mount.

“That was nothing.” He scoffs and to prove his point he has the stable hands set them at the highest bar. He jumps them easily and grins cockily. You pretend that you didn’t see and continue to lavish Tommen with praise.

“You’re going to be a great joister Tommen!” Myrcella chimes in.

Tommen’s round face blushes, but he’s smiling from ear to ear. You wished Joffrey had turned out like Tommen. Your youngest brother was to sweet for words and you loved him dearly. Every so often you would wake up to find him curled up beside you in your bed.

“Yes, I can see it now! I bet you’ll unhorse Uncle Jaime some day.” You nod.

“He’s too fat to joist!” Joffrey argued, hating that the attention wasn’t on him.

That’s when Cersei spoke up. “Don’t say mean things like that Joff. He’s your brother.”

Upset he got off his horse and stomped off to the sidelines, not before fixing a glare toward you.

You wanted to stick your tongue out at him, but your mother was in sight. So, instead you had your mare trot tauntingly in front of him. “Don’t be like that Joff. You’re just cranky. I think you’re overdue for your nap.” You turned Blue Moon away from him. Perhaps it was your own fault for antagonizing him further then turning your back on him, but the next thing you knew you heard something hit your horse; making her shriek and rear up on her hind legs. You hear your mother scream as you struggle to regain control of Blue Moon. Once she has all four hooves back on the ground she’s charging blindly in all directions and scaring the other horses.

All around you became a blur and as you duck your head trying to stay on her. You catch more of your mother screaming for someone to help you. Galloping beside you, you’re able to discern them as the Hound. He makes a grab for your horse’s reins and curses when he can’t reach. On top of his own horse he lunges again and successfully grabs hold. Blue Moon resists at first until other stable boys go to calm her down. Sandor’s strong arms lift you out of your saddle like you weighed nothing and sat you in front of him on his own horse.

“You’re alright now.” He whispers to you.

You didn’t even realize you had been shaking until your back pressed against his chest. Thick arms cage you in as he turns his horse around to where your mother and siblings stood. Alarmed guards had also flocked to the yard, quite useless as they were now. The Hound gets off first and helps you down. You look at his face, his dark eyes making your skin heat up. The scar that plagued the right side of his face in full view as he made sure you were safely on your feet. You felt like a doll when he handled you.

Cersei rushes to you, fear having drained the color on her face. “Are you alright? Did you get hurt?” If only everyone else could see this side of your mother. The fretting hen. Next to her, Myrcella looked to be on the verge of tears.

Urging a smile onto your face you say “I’m fine mother, thanks to Sandor.” You shoot him a grateful smile that has him turning his face away. He mumbled something incoherent and went back to where Joffrey stood. Joff’s nose scrunches and he turns away.

You notice your mom staring after Joffrey as well, her face unreadable before she turns back to you. Her palm cups your cheek. “Let’s go inside for the evening.”

Obediently you follow her back inside. After supper you made your way back to your room, tired after what had happened that day. Behind you are the subtle sounds of footsteps thumping behind you. You half expected it to be Tommen but they sound too heavy.

“Here to escort me to my room?” You ask once you see it was the Hound. “Might as well. I’m partly worried that Joffrey will pop up from the shadows and kill me.”

“So you knew it was him.” It wasn’t phrased as a question. He had seen Joffrey throw a rock at Blue Moon’s rear. You hadn’t seen him do it yourself, but you had expected as much. When you nod Sandor growls. “That little cunt.”

You chuckle. “Careful. Don’t want anyone to hear you call the future king that.”

“What a terrible king he’ll be.”

“Gods help us all.” Like last time when you smile up at him he turns his face away so that you saw the side of his face that was damaged. “Thank you again for today. Really, you saved me while everyone else was scratching their ass.”

Sandor laughs. “A lady like you shouldn’t use words like that. You’re a princess.”

“Would that make you my knight in shining armor?”

That perpetual brooding face of his returns as he looks at you with serious eyes. “I’m no knight.”

“No. I suppose you’re not. You’re better than a knight. You’re a dog.”

He appears taken aback by your statement. You didn’t know why but his confused expression had your heart pounding. When you reach your room you bid him good night, not before asking him what he wanted in return for saving you.

“I don’t want nothin’.” He merely says.

Why was your heart racing? “Not even a kiss from a maiden fair?” You partly said it as a joke, half hoping he’d actually want to kiss you.

He eyes you warily, unsure of how to respond. “This isn’t a face made for kissing maidens.”

You knew many others in his position would take up the offer in seconds. Either he didn’t find you attractive of he truly wanted you to preserve your virtue. Trying to hide your disappointment you shrug your shoulders. “Suit yourself. My offer still stands whenever you want it though.”

Alone in your room you slump to the ground, your hands touching your burning face.

The Princess and the Hound. What a story that would be.

#sandor clegane x reader #the hound x reader #sandor clegane fanfic #sandor clegane fanfiction #the hound #the hound game of thrones #got #got fanfiction #got fanfic #got fandom #game of thrones fanfic #game of thrones fanfiction #game of thrones fandom #game of thrones #reader insert #reader insert fandom #asoiaf #asoiaf fanfic #asoiaf fanfiction #asoiaf fandom #a song of ice and fire

[save-the-villainous-cat]

Firstly, you and your husband is an extremely great writers!

second, is it alright for a touched starved vampire x touchy human. please, im lonely. thank you very much and have a pleasant day!

An unhealthy obsession wasn’t deadly per se but the vampire didn’t even begin to comprehend that they stood in problems knee-deep. 

It had started with one lazy afternoon, the vampire had lain on their couch and wasted their endless hours graciously. They’d eaten little that week (their eating habits were dangerously bad, even for a vampire) which had left them sleepy and totally useless for the rest of the day. Everything in their vision had swum in a soup of colours and when they’d pressed their palms into their eyes, it left them with the urge to throw up. 

When their roommate had stormed into the apartment, agitated and apparently ready for battle, the vampire didn’t even notice it at first. It was only later when the human straddled them that the vampire guessed their date hadn’t turned out to be successful. What happened after that was a total blur, all that remained in their memory was the feeling of skin on skin and the prurient sounds that filled the apartment.

Ever since that…incident, they touched whenever the possibility arose. Sitting on the couch together didn’t work anymore without holding hands or sitting on top of the other. The vampire had never thought their relationship would develop into this and they had certainly not thought that they would fancy it.

After all, they knew the human since childhood and with that, every dirty little secret they had. And likewise did the human.

What the vampire hadn’t considered was the possessiveness the human personified. They were too blind to see that they were nothing but a puppy on a leash, someone the human wanted to themselves without sharing.

There was some thrill to that — feeling wanted and feeling at peace was something the vampire welcomed. 

“Have you eaten anything today, my love?” The human’s fingers went through the vampire’s hair until their hand was full of it and they were able to pull on it gently. The vampire let out a pathetic whine, still drunk on the feeling of their lover’s hands massaging their shampoo into their skull. 

“Breakfast, yes,” they answered obediently. The vampire was taller than the human and oh so much stronger but in reality, they were never scared of hurting their mortal lover. The human was in charge, after all, wrapping the vampire around their little finger with ease. 

“I don’t mean that, my love.” The vampire turned towards the human and watched them patiently. 

“I’m trying to quit that,” they said, blinking.

“You can’t quit drinking blood. You’re a vampire,” the human said, chuckling at their lover’s response. Even though the vampire already felt hot from the bath, they blushed. Humiliation was something the human used in little doses but when they did, it always forced a reaction out of the vampire.

“I’m still trying.”

“You can have my blood, you know?” their lover said, one finger following their spine all the way down. Their nail scratched a painful line into the vampire’s back but it made them feel some sick ecstasy they couldn’t explain. They drew in a sharp breath. 

“I…I know…”

“You’re good for me, aren’t you?” The human stood up on their tiptoes and pressed a kiss to their vampire’s cheek.

“O-of course.” The vampire threw their head back when a cold hand slid down their stomach. It made them feel like a human again. They had to squeeze their eyes shut and concentrate on breathing.

“You have already claimed my body and my blood, haven’t you?” the human asked with a voice that could’ve been a siren’s.

“…yes—” The vampire’s thoughts were mushed together.

“Then eat me whole.”

#fuck what is my vampire tag again ughh #is the human using them? or are they just kinky? we will never know #writing snippet #vampire #human #vampire x human #human x vampire #vampirexhuman #humanxvampire #request #an answer for an ask

[girl-next-door-writes]

And The World Shifted

Characters: Bucky Barnes x reader

Summary: Panic attacks are terrifying, even if you are a 100 year old super soldier. Luckily for Bucky, he doesn’t have to deal with them alone.

Word Count: 1165 words

Request: Anything about panic attacks or helping the reader through them.

For: @shield-agent78  I went with Bucky being the one having the panic attack because I felt I knew how he would react. Hope that’s okay.

It was happening again. It started slowly, almost imperceptible. The hairs on the back of his arm rose like sunflowers following the sun. A static electricity caressed his skin, leaving a tingling sensation that set every nerve ending on fire. His jaw tightened as he felt the telltale tremble, his teeth capturing his lower lip to prevent what he already knew was coming. The vibration swept through him like a tsunami, every inch of him shaking even as he fought it. He should be able to stop this, he was a grown man for fuck sake, he’d been in actual life threatening scenario’s. The chill of metal against his skin as he gripped his arm grounded him for a moment, and then he was plunged back into the thick of it.

He had to sit down, had to find somewhere safe before his legs gave out. The room around him seemed to swell and distort, then shrink, the walls pressing in on him as he sank down in the corner. Either the floor was undulating beneath him, or his legs had turned to jelly, he couldn’t be sure which. Pulling his knees up to his chest, he tried to focus, tried to use all the strategies he had been taught, but the world felt so distant, he was untethered. His eyes searched the room frantically. A place which usually felt so familiar was suddenly alien. The creeping sensation that this was not his room grew larger in his mind. Everything looked like it belonged to him, and yet he felt no connection to any of them, almost like he was trapped in a film set. Opening his mouth to cry out, he discovered his voice had been stolen and the lights overhead seemed to flicker ominously.

Bile rushed up his throat, leaving it burning. He quickly crawled across the room and grabbed a trashcan. The nausea rose and fell, like a vomit inducing tide. He hated this, hated losing time in this way. When he came through the other side he wouldn’t know if he had spent moments or hours locked in this internal battle where his body told him he was in danger, despite everything around him indicating the contrary. Bucky was in a safe space, there were no threats, no missions, no danger. He dry heaved into the bin, wondering if he would feel better if he actually threw something up.

Resting his forehead against his metal arm, he closed his eyes and tried to focus. The world around him seemed to slip away and the only sound he could hear was the rapid beating of his own heart, so loud in his ears it was deafening. It seemed as if every few moments his heart skipped, the beat irregular, snatching away any hope of him concentrating on a steady rhythm and helping him to find an inner peace. His heart stuttered once more and he wondered if this was it, if this was what killed him. These panic attacks were brutal, flashes of his time as the Winter Soldier taking over his mind like a strobe light in his brain.

Pushing himself into a sitting position, he leaned his head back against the wall, hugging the trashcan to his chest. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he let out a strained whimper. His mouth felt so dry, like every inch of moisture had been sucked out of him leaving nothing but a mouthful of broken glass. His tongue stuck to the top of his mouth, feeling like it was swollen and filled with sand.

Focus, Bucky. You need to focus. He could hear your voice in his head and he forced himself to slow his rapid breathing. His eyes scrunched closed as he breathed in for the count of five, held it a beat, then let it out slowly. Focus on your breathing. Focus on the way the air fills your lungs. This is just anxiety. You are not dying. Just breathe. Swallowing thickly, he focused on his breathing. In. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Out. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Placing his hand on his chest he felt it raising. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. And deflating. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

“That’s it. You’re doing so well.” His eyes opened and despite the room still spinning and warping around him, he could see you knelt beside him, a damp cloth in your hand that you were using to wipe the sweat from his brow. The dizziness hit him hard, and he thought he was going to hurl. Screwing his eyes shut, he shifted his focus to your touch. You were always here for him, even when he was a complete mess.

Gradually, his heartbeat slowed back to a normal rate, his breathing grew less labored, and he didn’t have to think about it. His grip on the trashcan grew slack and he felt you remove it from him before tentatively pulling him into your embrace. The way your hand rubbed circles on his back, the way your chest rose and fell against his cheek, the warmth of your body as it wrapped around his, it all pulled him back to this reality. You were his anchor, his tether, the voice of reason when his brain and body lied to him.

Opening his eyes, it was as if the world had shifted. Everything around him was bright and familiar, solid. A soft sob escaped his lips and he looked down, shame and embarrassment rolling over him.

“Hey, I leave you alone for five minutes and you miss me so much you’ve got to sit on the floor.” You teased lightly, hoping to lighten the mood.

“In those five minutes you could have been swept off your feet by some other guy. One who doesn’t fall apart in his sleep.”

“You do realise the only guy I would meet in your kitchen at this time of night is Sam, and it would take a hell of a lot more than five minutes to steal me away from you, Buck. You’re stuck with me. I’m gonna be the one sitting right here beside you, always.” You assured him and he felt his body finally relax. The whole panic attack had lasted eight minutes, but it had felt like an eternity. His body protested as he moved to get to his feet, exhausted after the internal battle.

“Let’s go to bed, doll.” He hummed, reaching out his hand for you. You always made him feel less alone, less of a monster. Even after seeing him curled up around a trashcan, sobbing, you had nothing but love in your eyes for him. He would be eternally grateful that you landed in his life, even more so that you loved him. As the two of you climbed into bed, he pulled you close, unable to find the words to tell you just how much you meant to him, but somehow you just knew.  

#Bucky Barnes #Bucky Barnes x reader #gndw fic