#with a nagging ever present feeling of something bad (i don't know what) and some panic attacks when home alone

[zarla-s]

We move forward, 'cause we can't go back...

It's the EIGHTH anniversary of Handplates, and the first one after I finished the comic back in July! I decided to dig up a very old wip that I never finished and finally do it. I've always loved WeMoveForward by The Midnight, and I think it applies not only to the comic itself but also this period after it... there's no way to go back to when I was doing it, only moving forward after it's done.

Even more appropriately, since I did this wip, these characters all moved forward even further... even as this sat in my files, they moved forward, in a sense. I don't know, the song gives me a sort of plaintive, longing, bittersweet feeling... it's hard to explain.

I had a very insistent voice in my head that always made me do a Handplates page over the years I was working on it, no matter what happened. I wasn't sure if that voice would ever stop, even when it's done, but it has! It's gotten quieter now, mostly only nagging me about other projects I should be working on (Defrag, the Ace Attorney/Frozen fic, web design, fic ideas, art ideas...) whenever I'm doing something, much like it did before I started the comic.

How I feel about Handplates finishing though is strange. At times it doesn't feel like it's over, even if I don't feel like I need to do another page. At other times I get sad thinking about it and I miss it, and other times I look back on it with amazement that I was able to do it. Sometimes I look back on it and think about what was happening in my life at that time, and sometimes when I look at it it's unreal and it's hard to believe I even did it, like someone else did the whole thing. It's like it's there but it's not, it's present but it isn't. It's a very strange feeling, it's hard to describe or pin down. I know it'll always be with me in some way, but it is strange to be able to focus so much attention on other things without that feeling of having to set aside a few days to do a page every two weeks... not bad or anything, but I'm not used to it still.

I don't know! When I read the comments on the last page a lot of them made me cry, especially those talking about how the comic had been their childhood, and now their childhood is over. It was sad to think that I had a part in something like that ending... but it ends for everyone, no matter what you do. We, you and me, everyone... we move forward, 'cause we can't go back. That line was so evocative for me that I even used it as a chapter title for the penultimate chapter on Comicfury.

I don't know, just nostalgic thoughts! I don't know if that's the right word for it... but thank you to all of you who read it and enjoyed it. Even now I hear from new people coming to it and reading through it again now that it's done. Even if it's finished, it's still new to people just finding it. It's still "living" in a sense. And thanks to those of you who stuck around even though it's done, I appreciate it. |D

(As a note, the Gaster ukagaka has a surprise if you boot him on the anniversary after seeing the brothers, if you haven't done that)

[index] [patreon]

#undertale #handplates #asgore #gaster #sans #papyrus #asriel #z art #man i like never draw asriel #i always feel guilty when i move on to something different than what brought people to me #but my interests never really die they just fall asleep for a little while #they always come back eventually

[kitsune-oji]

I'm still the anon (🐨 maybe) that wrote the asks about vampire Leviachan, Beel and Satan (and the rpg horror comfort one)

If it wasn't clear I love vampires AUs XD

I don't have an headcanon this time, but I wonder if you had any headcanons about vampire Belphie? He is one of my favourites and yet I can't think of anything when I try thinking about him.

(I sent too many asks, feel free to ignore this one, I won't mind, you already gave me beautiful answers. :D I wish you a great day)

Vampire Belphie

Oh don't worry about it, I love getting asks! I do hope I can make Belphie justice though, because he's... Well, I have a difficult relationship with him you could say. So I hope this is alright and that you like it!

Gn! Mc (you/yours)

Warnings/Tags: Vampire feeding, mentions of manipulation, entitlement, delusional thinking(?), possessiveness; Belphie is a bit what some may call "yandere-ish" I think

Vampire Belphie would be the most moody vampire in the House of Lamentation. Hunting down prey takes up so much energy and his love for naps makes him wake up so hungry that even Beel giving him blood bags can't really curb his frustration. It's not the same as actually biting a human, it can't compare in the slightest.

When he does hunt, he prefers to guide humans to him through dreams. They walk into his trap, dazed and happy while he's ready to pounce and drain them of every drop they have to give. This takes a bit of time though and it's not really effortless either, so Belphie doesn't resort to this all the time. Which may also partially be because Lucifer would nag at him for killing every human he feeds from.

Falling for a human was the last thing he expected, or anyone else for that matter. Belphie doesn't really know how to act and for a while he doesn't even understand what he's feeling. He tries to manipulate and play with you like a cat would with their prey too - until he sees you sad and crying and he realises oh, I don't like this outcome.

The switch from manipulative and honestly mean to sweet and gentle is so sudden it would give anyone whiplash. Belphie doesn't see the problem though and gets frustrated if you dont fall into his arms right away. He's being kind to you, so you should be happy, is what he thinks.

IF however, you do fall for him and you both play your cards right, Belphie is a very cuddly and tempting vampire to be with. He does feel a bit entitled to your blood and will get whiny if you refuse to let him feed from you. When you do let him feed, Belphie loves to do so lying down, spooning you from behind and propping himself up just as much as needed to get a good access to your neck while hugging you close to him.

In his eyes, you're His and you should want to make him as happy as possible. Still, he doesn't actually want to hurt you anymore, so he makes sure to only ever drink little amounts of your blood at a time and orders iron supplements and makes sure you eat and drink enough. There's something he likes about unwrapping your bandaged neck to bite down on your subtle skin once more. It's like a present every time. Good thing his saliva has numbing properties, so it doesn't hurt too much.

It's also nice to him that you need a lot of sleep after he feeds because we all know he would love to have you nap with him all the time. You'll never have to worry about bad dreams as long as you're in his arms. Belphie will keep them all away from you like a protective dome around you, letting nothing malicious through.

#tw yandere #just to be safe #obey me shall we date #mine #om! swd #race neutral mc #gender neutral reader #gn mc #obey me belphegor #Vampire belphie #Vampire #cw manipulation #“deleted something I added at the end because I think it may have been too much”

[yeonnies]

how to protect my bf and i from the villainess! — 17. neck slice! punch to the face!

# ❛synopsis. three years after your last attempt in pursuing romance, you seem to have caught the heart of a shy guy from another university! everything seems to be going well... until you accidentally came out from hiding and caught the attention of two people—one of them being the reason why your last attempt in romance went up in flames! oh no, what ever will you do?

word count. 1.1k

WHEN YOU wake up the next morning, you stare up at the ceiling, squinting as your vision adjusts to the brightness from the sunlight peeking inside the room through the gaps of the curtain. if you remember correctly, everything went back to normal when jaehee and yeonjun left. although you felt bad for yeonjun for missing out since he technically didn't do anything wrong, you felt elated when you went back out with taehyun and kai to see them gone. you really didn't expect jaehee to come, but you forget that the girl is full of surprises. it was shortly after jaehee's absence that beomgyu cut his cake and opened his presents due to taehyun's nagging, wanting the party to end fast so that you could go rest.

you felt bad that beomgyu's birthday bash, as he liked to refer to it as, was cut short because of you. you remember that after everyone left, taehyun and kai being the last ones to leave after a lengthy conversation with soobin which included them saying they would drop by early in the morning to check up on you, you and soobin had gone to bed after cleaning up a bit.

it's then that you find yourself abruptly sitting up from the lack of warmth next to you in the bed. you look everywhere, your eyes watering up. you snap your head towards the door, seeing soobin walk in.

"oh sweets," he mumbles, sitting next to you as he wipes the tears falling from your eyes away. "what's wrong?"

"i love you," you croak, slumping into him while you grasp onto his shirt. "i love you, soobin. thank you for staying... thank you for believing in me..."

soobin tears up and lets out a shaky laugh, his hands patting your back. "of course, i'd believe in you," he says. "i already told you that i'd always believe in you no matter what, didn't i?" he pulls back, cupping your cheeks.

you frown, gently wiping the tears that escape from his eyes. "why are you crying?" you ask, voice wobbly because you know why. how could you not? but still, a part of you thinks the worst.

"because i love you, too," soobin says, leaning forwards and kissing your eyes. "i love you so much that i hate seeing you cry." you sniffle when soobin leans back, a dimpled grin on his lips. he gently tilts your face so that you look at him. "i love you."

his nose brushes against yours, his lips barely grazing your own. he waits, dark eyes watching your every movement while a thumb caresses your cheek. you laugh quietly, "i love you."

with that, he presses his lips against yours in a sweet kiss that has you feeling dizzy and weak.

soobin whines when the sound of knocking sounds throughout the silent apartment. snorting, you push him off you. "go see who it is."

the boy pouts, shaking his head. "no," he drawls, his head dropping into the crook of your neck. "don't wanna."

"i'll go with you then," you play with the ends of his hair until soobin decides to head towards the door, dragging you along with him. you peek over his head when he opens the door, finding yeonjun smiling awkwardly at the two of you.

"morning," he says. "can i... come in?"

soobin nods, and you two step to the side to let the black haired male walk in. soobin says something about going to make some coffee, leaving you alone with yeonjun in the living room. you let out an awkward cough, slowly sitting on the couch behind you. yeonjun does the same.

"i, uh," yeonjun glances at you, quickly looking away when your eyes meet. "why did you... you know..."

you frown. "i didn't do anything, yeonjun."

he sighs. "how do i know you're not lying?"

"and how do you know that jaehee's not lying?" you cross your arms over your chest, your mood souring. of all things he could have said to you after years of not talking to one another, the first thing he does is ask about something you didn't even do.

"jaehee wouldn't lie to me... unlike you..." yeonjun mumbles.

you scoff, staring at him, bewildered. "i never lied to you, yeonjun."

"yes, you did." he's quick to answer back, turning to actually face you. he can see that you're angry, but so is he. "you're the liar here, and i can't believe that soobin is with someone like you."

"what's that supposed to mean?" you raise your voice, and jab a finger into yeonjun's shoulder. "i should be saying that about you, yeonjun. i can't believe you're still with that stupid witch!"

"you're the stupid witch here!" yeonjun swats your finger away. "you're the one that played with my feelings and talked behind my back! jaehee didn't do anything!"

you blink, silent for a couple seconds before answering. "is that what she told you?"

yeonjun's taken aback from your response. "what?"

"is that what she told you?" you repeat. "that i played with your feelings?"

"well, yes—"

"you're stupid. you knew that i liked you. you knew that i would never talk behind your back... dammit yeonjun," you sigh, rubbing your head. "we were closer. you barely even talked to jaehee if i wasn't around, so what made you even believe her?"

what did jaehee do that even made him believe her? yeonjun knows you're right. you two were inseparable in high school, and he barely interacted with jaehee if you weren't around. so what made him believe her easily? he's lost for words, his throat dry as he tries thinking about what to say. he doesn't even get to say anything when soobin walks into the living room, his face blank while he sets down the cups on a table in front of the couch.

"yn... jaehee's the reason why you had a panic attack yesterday, wasn't she?"

you stare in horror at soobin. your fingers wrap around his wrist, trying to get him to calm down because you know what that look on his face means. he's not thinking straight. "soobs," you say. "i—let it go..."

he quirks an eyebrow. "jaehee is the reason for back then, too, isn't she? and yeonjun was the guy that chose to believe her. i'm right, aren't i?"

he's not hurt. soobin knows that. he's just... angry. angry that you, the sweetest girl he's ever met, has to deal with emotional damage caused by his best friend and his evil girlfriend.

"yeah," yeonjun says, breaking the heavy silence. "you're right about everything, soobin."

"oh my gosh, soobin! wait, stop!"

taehyun furrows his eyebrows when he hears you yell just as he's about to knock on soobin's apartment door, and kai blinks in confusion. he can hear that something's going on inside, so he flips over the welcome matt underneath his shoes and gets the key, shoving it into the keyhole and twisting the doorknob open. taehyun rushes inside, kai right behind him. his jaw drops to the ground, brown eyes wide.

"holy shit."

a/n: cliff hanger o em gee what happened 🤨

PREVIOUS ! AU MASTERLIST ! NEXT

TAG LIST (CLOSED!)— @cutesince2000 @suburbiataehyung @captivq @openingssequence @softcabur @miyawwn @laylasbunbunny @officiallyjaehyuns @ghostfacefricker6969 @yjusei @alpha-mommy69 @blondsoobinenthusiast @beeomgui @yvrikoo @mi1-13

#choi soobin #soobin #txt soobin #soobin imagines #soobin scenarios #soobin smau #soobin x reader #soobin x you #soobin x y/n #txt smau #txt imagines #txt fanfic #txt fanfics #choi yeonjun #yeonjun #txt yeonjun #choi beomgyu #beomgyu #huening kai #kang taehyun #taehyun #kpop imagines #kpop smau #yeonnies

[cinamun]

Former DV victim anon clocking in again to answer that last nonny, hello friends (I need a new nickname omg) but… I really think we may be doing Mercy a disservice to just act like Jackson was merely cheating.

Almost every time Jackson speaks to Mercy, there’s an air of condescension that just makes my skin curl. He’s clearly mentally controlling, and it’s easy to see why Mercy would end up seeking/falling into something with someone like Bishop - she’s been controlled before, and in some ways victims will often find that… safe because they know what to expect. In our eyes, everyone can turn into a monster so it’s easier to be with someone that’s predictable to you type shit. So I do think it’s worth pointing out that not only are we talking about an affair, but there is definitely an air of mental abuse/control. While to some people that might not change things, I do think that’s important to note.

However…. I do think that means we’ve also underestimated Mercy, and so has Bishop. If the way Jackson’s death has been depicted is the way Mercy killed him, then she’s done so out of strategic planning and not in a moment of passion or rage. I feel like that often changes how people view it, and it’s interesting to think about if she could’ve just left instead and planned her great escape. On top of that, I’ve never been comfortable with the way it feels Mercy sometimes holds Jackson being dead over Jayce’s head, and if she’s the one responsible for that…Chile, that does make me look at her a lil different. Even if we look past the…um, murder… because that’s a lot more nuanced, the way she’s been dismissing of Jayce at times now seems a little more sinister. Girls, I don’t fucking know. This is some nuanced shit! Some of us have been saying Mercy seems like she’s walking a tightrope and will snap one day, but I think it’s a very different thing when you murdered your husband and have played the sad, grieving widow to your son all these years. In some ways, I’m sure Mercy has grieved. The husband she married is not the husband she buried, but… I think I always come back to some of the conversations between Mercy and Jayce, and that’s where there’s a nagging feeling about Mercy. Once again, you’ve really done such justice to a complicated situation that has nuances and layers!

First and foremost, you are a SURVIVOR. Periodt.

So here's my theory on Jackson: I don't think he was physically controlling at all. I do think his age made him quite authoritative so that dynamic was present. However I think Mercy was enamored by that! When she said she was tired of "every man she's ever known" controlling her, I believe for Jackson, he wasn't physically controlling her but the fact that she felt like she had to keep quiet about the affair probably felt like control to her. He said "the bullshit that comes out of that woman's mouth is none of your concern" In other words, lying to her. Having to keep up a lie is control. Idk, I feel like he made a stupid, drunk mistake and felt like shit so tried to save face by gaslighting his wife (which is bad, don't get me wrong).

As for the alleged crime, I think it does change how people view it based on how it was carried out. If Mercy was methodical and did this (allegedly) over the course of several months that's different than poisoning his cognac after seething with rage all night!! Stay tuned for that tho.

If we have nothing else, friend, we have nuance.

#good morning survivor! #story stuff

[btnclmrttn]

Heyy!! How are you? Just found your blog and tbh I love it.

May I request some HC with the opm four horseman with an reality manipulator! Reader (whatever kind of relationship u feel comfortable) , like they overpowered as fuck but doesn't change anything in their reality because it would make things boring? Would love to see what the characters think.

Sorry for the really specific and random request, the concept got in my mind and I got like 🤔 (feel free to ignore)

Nah u good I have a OPM OC with a similar concept! Easy peasy, bro!

Reality Shifting!Reader

~~~~

Saitama

Mad respect for you no matter the relationship

He has quite the attachment to you because you're on a similar level of strength and how it separates you from the average Joe's

Seriously. He basically is your shadow and doesn't know it. Subconsciously pulling a Genos

Just glad he knows someone that actually gets it

He asks you weird questions often about some "What if..." Like you can see the said alternate reality or something. Whether you do or not is up to you but he asks a LOT of questions

He never would ask you to change anything otherwise, so least likely to be on you like that

He also is a little protective of you. Outside of the context of knowing you, this could be an intimidating power to the common people and could start some massive scared mob if you're not careful

Just in general he looks out for you a little more and checks in to make sure you're alright. He knows how brutal people can be

Genos

Poor boy. Knowing someone like you gives him a crisis

He would never ask you to change anything, specifically his past. But he thinks about it a lot

Changing it would mean he would never have met you or his sensei though so that's what he sticks to. He loves you both too much

He is EXTREMELY protective of you. He does not want you falling into the wrong hands, or being corrupted somehow. So he's more of a shadow than Saitama

Endless questions so hope you have the patience for them. He loves his sensei but someone with an equal amount of power, despite it being different, he would like to interrogate

Mostly about how you came to have the power, not exactly what ifs. You get one of those every now and then but he has a better understanding of serious cause and effect (like the 9/11 to 50 shades of grey pipeline)

He does sort of go out of his way to make sure you're never seriously pissed off. He doesn't want to know what wrath you could possibly unleash

That being said he's just sweet baby with you and your best neutralizer when it comes to heavy emotions

Sonic

I'll b honest with you, Sonic would likely be the most annoying (at first) if he knew about you.

At the same time, most protective. Even more than Genos. He doesn't want heros or monsters alike tampering with your head and throwing off what you think is best to do with yourself

He would be annoying because he would basically present a thesis of the reason why you should change the day he met Saitama so he doesn't take such a huge L

It would take a long time, and maybe a few bullshit lies, on why you just can't. For consequences sake, and also not caring. Maybe a "if you want it done right, work for it" sort of speech

Doesn't asks as many questions like everyone else. It otherwise isn't something that bothers him or he cares about

You don't intimidate him in the slightest. He made sure to be close (originally) to stay on your good side. Any relationship that came from it is genuine, tho

He does encourage you use it more because it's like a waste of potential or somn

Like you have a bad day from someone he gonna be like "Change reality so they were never born"

Super hella overdramatic. Be glad he would have a hard time learning himself

Garou

He thought you were bullshiting at first, on god

Ever find a way to prove it though(understandably that would be hard) he would be a little intimidated by you

At the same time he wanna piece of that power and is a bit nagging about how you got it

Tried to annoy the shit out of you to get you to crack but alas, it failed

Them bribes you for some sort of training with promises that yes, he would actually keep or things you like. You could tell him you filled out a crossword book everyday for 7 years and he would deadass follow.

No one else is allowed to ask YOU though he'll kick the shit out of them. Ppl fr leave you alone for sure when you're in his company especially if they just trying to start some shit. Sort of hypocritical. He doesn't want people to bother you but he himself is an exception

After a Long ass while he just settles with some sort of "pure of heart" nonsense as to why he can't just train for the powers himself

Still he's going to ask you up and down the what ifs, like the rest. It's just a curiosity hardly anyone can shake

#one punch man #opm #opm x reader #anime #saitama #genos #garou #speed o sound sonic #saitama x reader #garou x reader #genos x reader #sos sonic x reader #sos sonic #saitama x y/n #garou x y/n #saitama hcs #genos hcs #sos sonic hcs #garou hcs #the four horseman of opm

[stardusthuntress]

EnigmaTech - Ch. 3

My Tech Lives AU! (see prior chapters for summary)

Chapter 3 - Up and At 'Em!

Tech x female!reader (pronouns only! Though reader gets a callsign and a touch of background!) Does she catch his eye when they meet in this chapter? Is the inside of Tech's mind ever quiet enough for even him to figure it out? How does a nerd even catch another nerd's attention?

(Part 2) (Part 4)

Word count: ~5.3k 

Chapter Summary: time to break the "lost 3" out! This is supposed to be Tech's story after all!

TW: Some details of Tech's injury (nothing gruesome! Just mentions of bandages, potential concussions, some mods like Echo's, and migraine-like symptoms). Tech does struggle to stay conscious and focused, but mostly the former. FYI, I don’t know much about medical procedures. Medical actions taken herein could be the opposite of what you’re supposed to do and I wouldn’t know!

A/N: Once again, just needed to get this part out there into the world. I've rewritten it so many times! Action sequences are really hard! But I found a way to describe enough of it to make sense, but not all of it so I don't have to come up with a full exfiltration plot worthy of our favorite nerd and his sadistic archnemesis. Someone commented that this seemed like a way to infodump my film theories, and you is 100% correct. They did Tech dirty, and I needed to fix it. Hehehe! So let's fix it! Time to free the inventive genius, the raincloud of angst, and the sunshine child!

Tech dividers: @/djarrex

Translations: Haran = hell (mando'a)

His world was dark. It was strange. He couldn’t see or feel anything. But he knew a lot. And he had his familiar routines. He liked routines. They made him feel useful and gave his life structure. Just like the algorithms he wrote all day long, long scripts of instructions for computers to process and provide him with all the data he needed! 

But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. Nevertheless, he must continue. That was his duty. That was what he was made to do. To keep going despite all odds, and to always find a way. That knowledge reassured him. As did his routines. His routines had become quite a lot like his favorite algorithms... Perhaps too much so... No, that couldn’t be. He was just paranoid because things were calm without the constant chaos of war. As long as his routines kept him and his brothers safe… brothers… his brothers! That was what was missing! No nagging reminders to “please stop fiddling and eat something and get some rest, you’ve backspaced frequently in the last half hour and it’s getting on Hunter’s nerves” from Echo. No roughhousing and horsing around from Wrecker. No dramatic sighs from Crosshair… 

Wait, that wasn’t entirely true. Somewhere in the distance, he was aware of Crosshair. And there was someone with him. Someone familiar. Small… and blonde… and… Tech knew those tears! But he couldn't place the rest of it. Knowing about them felt like a distant memory, but he knew it wasn’t. Those tears, Crosshair’s seething, quiet anger, those were happening in the present, not the past… but where? Where are they? And where was he? 

Somewhere amidst the confusion of his mind, he began to become aware of a warning klaxon alarm blaring far away. Something was happening. He could feel the adrenaline begin to surge. That meant something was coming and he had to get ready to protect those he cared about. Right now, that meant Crosshair and the little blonde one. 

Tech paused to take stock. He knew 3 things for certain, other than his name: 

1) Crosshair and a little blonde girl were nearby, and they were his family, 

2) something was happening, good or bad he didn’t know, but he did know that either way that meant, 

3) his family needed his protection, here and now… wherever here is… 

Slowly, more of his world began to percolate into the recesses of his mind, emerging from the darkness and beginning to take form around him. Though, they did not take physical form, he still could only see darkness, but he was starting to be able to hear and to feel things again. And smell. 

BO, this place smells like body odor. But somehow this smell of corn chippy socks and a desperate need to wash the carbon scoring and battle sweat off was very familiar to him. Like their barracks on Kamino… 

Wrecker! Wrecker was here! Wrecker would help Tech find his way back to his surroundings. That was something else he just innately knew. 

Tech added that to his list of certainties: 

Crosshair, Wrecker, and his sister were here, and they were his family. 

Something was happening, as evidenced by the alarm bells he was beginning to hear, which meant that, 

His family needed his protection, 

But first Tech needed Wrecker’s help to find his way back… 

But… back to what? Something was still missing. A lot was missing actually, but that would get overwhelming, so he focused on the last item on the list, hoping the rest would fall into place after he figured out where he was and what was happening. Which he needed Wrecker’s help for. So he focused on Wrecker. 

Sure enough, his brother’s booming voice reached Tech’s ears. Tech concentrated on it, trying to make out what Wrecker was saying. But things were happening too fast. And the voices blurred together. He was still certain Wrecker’s voice was among the noise, as was a building alarm going off, but there was something else too. Something in addition to Wrecker’s voice, and it had the patterns of language - a voice! He was pretty sure that’s what it was. They seemed to be helping Wrecker with something, giving instructions and Wrecker was following them. As they continued on, Tech could feel himself beginning to become conscious of his surroundings again, but he also felt his emotions spiking, and didn’t dare open his eyes yet. First he needed to use that same old trick he’d taught to Crosshair when he had a panic attack, to ground himself now and regain control of his emotions: the 5-4-3-2-1 method. Tech didn’t want to open his eyes yet. That had a tendency to trigger migraines. And there were so many things in his surroundings he couldn’t place yet. So instead he just focused on just putting names and senses to 5 things. 

Wrecker was here - Tech could smell him and hear him. 

An ally was here - Tech could hear their voice, and they were working with Wrecker, who clearly trusted them! 

Hmm, what else… 

The alarm had stopped! At least in this room it had been silenced. Must not have been long ago either, Wrecker was commenting on being able to hear his own thoughts again! Which meant that: 

Tech’s senses were catching up with the world, he was beginning to be able to hear the things Wrecker was saying! 

Tech sighed in relief, the world was coming back to him. In fact, the world seemed to be approaching rapidly. He could hear footsteps around him now. Heavy footfalls desperately trying to be careful as they treaded nervously across the room. Wrecker again! 

Wrecker’s footsteps approached. 

The voice that was not Wrecker’s spoke again. They seemed excited! Something about someone moving and reacting to his surroundings. Tech realized they must have been talking about himself! 

Tech tried to focus on his surroundings, but it was harder than he expected. 

The sound of finger’s snapping near the side of his face made him flinch. It was loud that close to his ears. 

“Oh good! I thought he passed out again!” Wrecker boomed nervously. 

“Give him time, Big Guy, he’s been through a lot,” answered the other voice. “He doesn’t seem to like loud right now.” 

Wrecker tried to make himself smaller, “Sorry, Tech!” He half whispered and half shouted. 

Tech still didn’t want to open his eyes. Between the loud noises - this must be what Hunter felt like when they were all being loud, he realized - and the fact that Wrecker was probably worried, he couldn’t face that just yet… Pun intended. 

Oh good! So his own special form of humor was still intact! Tech took a deep breath and rolled his head to the side, towards the voices that were now whispering. 

Ow. The movement made his head throb. Specifically the back of his head, which had been resting against what now felt like a very hard surface. Cool to the touch. Probably metal of some kind. Though there was a little fragment of cushioning, beyond that of just his own hair. Probably a makeshift medbay. 

One more deep breath and Tech was ready to have a look around. He opened his eyes… hmm, strange, that didn’t seem to work. He tried again, hand automatically reaching for his face as he did so. But someone caught his hand. 

“No, don’t touch the bandages,” Wrecker whispered. 

“It’s okay Wreck. Tech, we don’t have your goggles,” the unfamiliar voice approached, “so you won’t be able to see your surroundings much. And… lemme have his hand Wrecker… you will only be able to see a little out of one eye. I’m going to put your hand on the edge that’s near your nose, okay?” Tech became aware of small, clammy fingers wrapping gently around his own, as the voice continued.“Be gentle and go slow. You’ve been out for at least a few days by the looks of things and you’ve got some pretty extensive mods now, though a new eye was apparently not among them. Just the necessities to keep you functioning as a computer for Hemlock. There’s a probably a lot to unpack in those details. Let’s get back to that in a minute. Just focus on feeling yourself and your surroundings right now.” And with that the voice placed Tech’s hand on the wrappings around his head. 

He traced them over one eye, and around his head. Then he tried to turn his head again. Once again it sent his mind reeling. Tech swallowed hard, trying to keep his stomach from disobeying him. 

“Wreck, put your hand under his head. The fact that they didn’t bother to give him a pillow doesn’t seem to be helping him much.” 

So his discomfort must be visible. Tech wondered if he “looked green” as Crosshair had once described him when he had nearly lost his lunch after a particularly bad day of training. 

Wrecker gently lifted Tech’s head a fraction and slipped his much softer hand beneath it. “Better?” 

“Thank you,” Tech mumbled. His voice felt horse. It must have been a while since he’d used it. This seemed to agree with the stranger’s sentiment, indicating that he had indeed been unconscious for several days, minimum. 

Slowly, the colors of the room slowed down and stopped swimming around his head. He recognized Wrecker’s large shapes of dark armor, and could see the unfamiliar shapes of the stranger’s armor next to him. Though all he could see was the person’s rough size, no details. 

“Sit up… please,” it took less effort to talk this time around. Progress! Slow progress, but progress nonetheless. 

“You got it!” Wrecker whisper-shouted, helping Tech prop himself up. “Is he okay? Why is it taking so long to get him up?” Wrecker had never been good at being discreet and quiet when it came to worrying over his brothers. 

By the looks of things, the dark blobs that he knew to be Wrecker and co. shifted to exchange glances, but said nothing. 

“I’m going to touch your face a little, Tech. You’re a little pink and I need to make sure you’re stable. Okay?” 

“Wait,” Tech needed more information first, this person was still a stranger. Tech knew he needed to trust his medic, but without the ability to see what his medic was doing that was a lot harder to do, “Who are you?”

“My apologies! Call me Spitfire! Pilot and strategist.” The voice answered. 

“She’s Mandalorian!” Wrecker added. Tech zeroed in on the use of identifying pronouns. 

She laughed. “Yes, and I’ll gladly tell you more after we get you out of here—” Tech’s grip on the world around him began to slip again as his head throbbed. 

Spitfire’s voice close to his ear, but gentle and quiet, dragged him back to the real world again. “I need to make sure you’re stable, I’m going to touch you okay?” 

“Kay,” Tech spoke through gritted teeth. He inhaled quickly as her fingers found his temple. Cold. Her fingers were still cold. Then he found himself automatically relaxing into her gentle touch. The cold felt good, and made the pain of the headache a little more bearable. She chuckled, likely reacting to the way he leaned into her cold fingers. And he felt her fingers run through a semi-familiar check up checklist as they danced across his skin: forehead for a fever test, side of his neck to check for an irregular pulse, tilting his chin up and bringing out a flashlight. She moved quickly but thoroughly, though her checklist was slightly different than the algorithm he’d developed. 

He could feel Wrecker tensing next to him. Wrecker never did like medical exams, though he also had a tendency to use himself as a sentient shield. Apparently Spitfire had noticed Wrecker’s disposition too. 

“He’s okay, Big Guy. Seems like it’s mostly just a nasty headache,” she began addressing Tech more directly, explaining the results of her medical checks. “Your eyes react like normal, and your words aren’t slurred, so no lasting effects of a concussion. Though without your glasses and with the wraps partially over one ear, things might be a little disorienting, and you may still have had a concussion, though you’re okay for now. You’re a little warm, but not warm enough to indicate a fever, so it will likely go away quickly and is probably the result of finally being upright and conscious with adrenaline pumping for the first time in a while. You should also know they seem to have embedded some circuitry in you. You were wired into the central computer. Though Hemlock seems to have learned more than I’d like from Echo’s breakout. Looked like you could only access limited information but no building codes nor structural plans or anything like that?” 

“Affirmative. Perhaps even more restricted than that. I was only vaguely aware of Crosshair and Omega’s existence, but could barely access any of my own memories, beyond the things I instinctively knew. I’d surmise… mmmm… mmmmaybe not… headache…” Tech gingerly massaged the pressure points along his temples, careful around the bandages. 

“Without knowing more about what specifically was altered, and what they used to keep you unconscious, I am hesitant to give you any medication. We don’t know what effect it will have when it mixes with whatever else is in your system right now. You also need time for your vitals to exist at this new stable conscious state for a little while before we introduce anything new. I promise you, I’ll do everything in my power to keep your brothers safe. Okay?” 

Tech nodded a tiny bit. “The others? Where?” 

Wrecker gave her a look. Clearly, speaking in partial phrases was not normal for Tech. The pain must have been getting to him. 

“I think you know the answer to that,” her voice was quiet and quizzical. This was clearly another test - a concussion test to see what he remembered. Tech tried to look up at the dark shape he knew was this Spitfire person. 

“Crosshair, Omega?” He tries. 

“That’s right,” she reassures. “We’ll meet up with them on the way out.” 

Tech’s world starts to swim. 

“It’s okay Genius, Wrecker’s got you. Take it easy.I’ll keep you and your family safe.” 

Tech could feel Wrecker’s arm slip around his shoulders, and lift him off the cold table and onto his own two feet. He managed to stay on his feet, though without Wrecker’s support that would have been a lot more difficult. 

Once again, Tech’s world shrank to the size of his own mind as he tried to find ways to combat the pain and stay conscious. There were moments when he was aware of his surroundings, and moments where he was only subconsciously aware, but through it all he managed to make his feet automatically shuffle forward with Wrecker. 

Here and there, scenes formed themselves around the brothers. 

Ping! Mandalorian was right! Tech would know the sound of blaster bolts bouncing off beskar anywhere. Based on the proximity of the sound, she was using her own beskar-clad body to shield both Tech and Wrecker. Tech could see flashes and fresh smudges of carbon scoring on the walls they passed and wondered how many of them had bounced off of her beskar first. 

Wrecker made a comment about wanting beskar of his own. Something about his shoulder aching just watching the blast bounce off of her. Tech silently agreed with him. That sounded like a smart idea. If only it was easier to come by. He’d have insisted his brothers all acquire it ages ago. Especially since even when working for the Republic, they seemed to be the ones to get all the reckless jobs. 

Then Spitfire is in front of them, popping open a panel in the extensive, white wall beside them. Sparks fly and wires now dangle from the opening in the wall. A door Tech had not been aware of before, slid open. On the other side were familiar voices and shapes. The rest of his brothers, and a small blonde blur that darted for his waist. Omega. 

He could feel her shaking, and was vaguely aware that his hip was being used as a tissue for those all too familiar tears. He reached down with his free hand and patted the blonde locks. Her arms relaxed a little, but remained wrapped tightly around his waist. 

Crosshair approached, and knelt by Omega, calming her further. Tech didn’t need to be able to see much to know Hunter was puffing out his chest with pride for their brother. Speaking of, Hunter was in front of Tech now. He seemed to be fussing over something, probably the way Tech seemed only partially conscious. Tech tried to pull himself together to answer, but was vaguely aware of only being able to groan and mumble a little. Spitfire gave what was apparently enough of an answer that Hunter backed off a bit, though by the way he continued to hover nearby, Tech could tell he was still worried. Tech did his best to focus on his surroundings and bring himself back to the present moment, for the sake of Hunter’s nerves. 

The slightly smaller armoured shape that he knew to be Spitfire was back in Tech’s line of sight. She seemed to be fiddling with a long, thin item in her hands, which she then held out towards Crosshair. Tech concluded she must have been modifying one of her own blasters into sniper configuration for his brother. 

Crosshair seemed to finally acknowledge the woman. 

“Who are you?” He snarls at her, but accepts the proffered weapon. 

Echo appears at Tech’s side, “She’s basically just like him,” Echo pats Tech's shoulder, careful to be gentle, “except female… and cute.” The Domino Twin in Echo breaking the tension in the room before he continues on, “you sure you’re okay, Crosshair?” 

Crosshair grumbles and glares, but says no audible words. 

“He’s grumpy. He’s fine.” Hunter’s voice! His vocal patterns indicated he was somewhere between annoyed and bemused. “You okay, Tech?” Clearly he was aware that Tech was once again in tune with his surroundings. 

“I have had a constant headache since regaining consciousness, but I am otherwise in a suitable state to continue, so long as I retain vertical support during our exfiltration.” 

“What do ya know, long-winded, highly-detailed, but complete sentences. He’ll be okay too,” Echo muses. 

Someone pats Tech’s shoulder rather roughly this time, and his head pulses again. Tech closes his eyes, he wants to hold his breath at the sudden pain, but knows that won’t help, so instead he focuses on square breathing. To be honest, it is mostly just an attempt to distract himself from the pain and the chaos with a familiar pattern than anything else. While letting Wrecker guide his feet. 

Breathe in to the slow count of 4…

hold to the same slow count of 4…

whole breath out in the count of 4… 

hold to the count of 4, repeat…

After a few iterations, Tech switches back to normal breathing patterns, and then gets jarred back to reality when it suddenly gets loud and he can feel them getting bumped around. Tech opens his eyes again and is struck by the amount of clone voices and the fact that these clones are not fighting against Clone Force 99. Tech looks to Wrecker, confused. 

“We let ‘em all out!” Wrecker booms. “Good ‘ol Cap said he couldn’t leave a job like this half done! They are brothers too, after all.” 

Tech nods, and returns to trying to fend off the headache that is threatening to become a migraine if he’s not careful. Especially with all this new chaos alongside them. 

As they press on, Tech becomes aware of a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. In an attempt to distract himself from the pain in his head, he tries his best to untangle it via the limited data available to him right now. If only he could see! There were always so many clues in places like this, if only he could observe them! 

Suddenly, the start of an answer begins to emerge, and he surfaces from the recesses of his own mind. They’ve been standing still for too long, likely at a control console. Tech has a strange feeling of deja vu, though he’s not entirely sure why, but it definitely has something to do with Crosshair. Without warning the answer dawns on him, as images of Crosshair, alone, collapsing near a control console very much like this one makes it way to the forefront of his mind: they are walking into a trap! 

“This is undoubtedly a trap!” Tech exclaims, finger raised to emphasize his point. 

“We know,” Hunter speaks loud enough the group can hear him, but soft enough any surveillance equipment would struggle. “We sprung it intentionally, it was the only way to get you 3 out.” 

“Yes!” Spitfire seems happy about that, and Tech is grateful when she launches into an explanation of why. “Hemlock made sure that springing it was inevitable. Which meant the part of the plan that really mattered was the part that came after. However, there is no way he could have predicted a Mandalorian on the extraction team, nor my specific skillset, even if he did entertain the idea of you lot teaming up with a Mandalorian. Therefore, my skills represented a wildcard that we could not reveal to him until after we had sprung the trap!” She takes a breath, ready to continue on, but Crosshair gets there first. 

Acknowledging Echo’s earlier comment by looking directly at him, Crosshair addresses the group. “This is getting out of hand, now there are two of them!” 

“You got that right!” Wrecker laughs. 

Crosshair sighs. “So how do you usually get out of the big messes you make now?” exasperation and a longing to have been with them dripping from every word. 

“We don’t,” to everyone’s surprise, it’s Omega’s voice that answers, “we make a bigger mess that cancels out the first one!” 

Tech can tell Hunter’s helmet is turning slowly towards Omega, Hunter’s hands making a ‘hey!’ gesture. This must be the expression Omega had once described to Tech as a “sarcastically offended Dad face”, based on her laughter. It was good to hear such a happy sound again. 

Tech wonders how long it has been since she had laughed like that. Which, in turn, prompts another question: just how long the 3 of them have been stuck here? Tech turns his mind inwards for a moment. He knows Omega arrived not long after he did. He saw her arrive at Crosshair’s cell via security camera feed. He remembered Hemlock’s voice telling him his effort to protect his family was in vain, that she was all that was left, but he was glad he had not believed Hemlock. His family was clearly alive now. But no matter how hard he tries, there’s no sense of time attached to all the memories after the fall… Spitfire was right. Hemlock had learned a lot from Echo’s escape, and had made sure to keep Tech disconnected and in the dark. It felt like everything the sadistic ‘doctor’ had done was as poisonous as his name implied. Tech wondered if the name ‘Hemlock’ was even the man’s given name. It fit him far too well to be a coincidence. 

Once again loud noises draw Tech from his revelations. 

“Oh look!” Echo’s voice is the first thing Tech hear’s clearly. Echo is clearly amused, “they’re lining up for us!” 

“They’re excited,” Wrecker returns the jest. 

“On my belt.” Hunter’s hip shifts towards Crosshair as they stand in front of Wreck and Tech. Crosshair pulls something from Hunter’s utility belt, and Tech notices it glints in the light. Crosshair’s reflector pucks! Crosshair holds the puck in front of Tech’s nose, but does not address him. 

“Throw it to the end of the corridor,” he instructs, never taking his eyes off the targets. Something about the way he’d deliberately brandished it in front of Tech’s face indicated that this was Crosshair's attempt to keep Tech in the loop despite his lack of certain faculties at the moment. 

“You got it!” Wrecker reaches for the puck. 

Tech feels Echo’s arm shifting Tech’s weight off of Wrecker. He complies with the shift, wishing he could do more than just follow lamely like a lost massiff puppy. Though it was comforting to hear his brother’s banter pick up like nothing had changed, and he was grateful for Crosshair’s silent efforts to keep him in the loop. 

With a single shot from Crosshair, the corridor falls eerily quiet. Crosshair turns to Hunter, Tech can only guess that he’s likely raising his eyebrows to ask when that “bigger mess” is coming into play. 

There’s a hissing sound, and the hallway begins to fill with something foggy from the grates in the ceiling. 

Crosshair points up. “That’s a trap. Hemlock is immune.” 

Hunter tosses something to Crosshair and Spitfire from his pack, and then extracts 1 more, turning to Omega. 

Spitfire approaches Tech with the item, “respiratory mask!” She explains, placing it over his nose and mouth. “They took your helmet, but we’ll build you a new one,” these words are only loud enough that Tech can hear them. And they make a small smile cross his lips for a moment, between the surges of pain in his head. 

Tech zones out again, mind jumping between thoughts with little to no consistency. It seems likely that he is also still a little loopy from whatever they used to keep him unconscious and compliant, but his brothers and Spitfire have everything covered for the time being. He can let his mind explore the various scenarios as long as he stays conscious during the exfiltration. 

It’s likely that the resurgence of the headaches is related to the toxin pouring from the ceiling. 

Hmm, more evidence that Hemlock is a chosen name and not a given one. Next time he won’t take such a clearly carefully selected name for granted. It’s almost like Hemlock wanted people to know what he was good at. 

If Tech had his gear he’d take notes. His gear. Tech wondered what Hemlock had done with his helmet… and his datapad… and his helmet… how much had the people here learned about him and his brothers, or had Tech’s own safety measures prevented them from learning anything? 

Had any of the data the Empire had retrieved from Tech’s own work gotten back to his brothers? Is that how they were able to find them? Endless questions… always endless questions… Tech made a mental note to ask Echo about it all later. Hunter too, but Echo was better at included the details Tech wanted in the first go around. 

A raucous but familiar giggle over the intercom breaks through the haze of the hallway that mirrored the haze in Tech’s mind. 

“Your turn 99’s! Ready or not, here I come!” 

Normally, a sentiment like that would have put Tech on high alert, but the voice that said it was one Tech knew he could trust with the lives of his brothers. Captain Gregor! Which meant that Captain Rex was also likely nearby, probably orchestrating the brothers that once clamored through the hallways with them. It was instances like this that showed how much Rex cared, determined to protect all their brothers. That was what assured Tech that Rex was a leader worthy of his title. 

Tech isn’t sure how much time passes, just that he is vaguely proud of Omega for something that seems to help neutralize the toxin descending from the ceiling and accumulating as a foggy drift at their feet. Tech watches it swirl as they start to move again. 

After a few moments as foggy as the clouds drifting around their ankles, Tech is aware that he was witnessed an explosion and is not standing anymore. That jolts him back to his senses. But what he finds is not what he expects to find. 

Echo and Wrecker seem to be sitting Tech on a soft bench. The calming of the chaos around them would suggest they are now safely out of Hemlock’s facility and onboard a ship of some kind. Tech puts a hand on the bench he sits on and feels around. A medbay bench. Probably a smart idea. Tech doubted he was “ship-shaped” anymore as Hunter had once described it. 

That new voice is again near Tech, but he knows his brothers are still nearby too. The voice says something about “might sting” and “hang in there”, and Tech feels a sharp pain in his neck. Tech flinches, sitting up straighter, and feels his senses once again tune into the world around him. This time with less effort on his part. 

“All aboard?” Gregor's voice rings out from the cockpit. Hunter’s still-blurry shape disappears in the direction of Gregor's voice. 

Tech even notices when the ship jumps to hyperspace! 

“Is that better?” Spitfire asks, turning back to him, one hand still on his cheek, but not so cold this time around. 

“Significantly,” Tech answers, the pain subsiding rapidly, “I take it you were able to successfully determine whether my modifications could handle standard migraine medication and administer it?” 

She laughs, “Yes, and it seems to have worked wonders. We were all worried about you there. You started to fade again after that last booby trap. How are you feeling now?” 

“I believe we made the jump to hyperspace a moment ago?” He asks. 

“Yes we did!” Spitfire answers. 

Wrecker cheers behind her. 

“Is there any chance you have been able to fabricate another pair of my goggles? I would like to see my environment.” 

“I’m afraid not. I’m glad you seem to remember you had your spare pair on you, though. But we’ve been a little more focused on finding you than making new lenses. Though, we have the frames, and I was able to locate your notes on your prescription on your datapad, so I’m sure we will be able to pull something together. For now, let’s get everyone patched up. We’re on our way to a secret medical facility, courtesy of the Alderaanean senators, but if we can give everyone a once over before we get there it will save time in the long run, and we will know for certain who needs first priority.” 

Behind her, raised voices begin to echo in the small cabin, naturally summoning Echo to calm them. 

“Crosshair! Hunter! Enough! Yes, we sold the 733. Yes, we are sorry. No, we didn’t have a choice. You know damn well Hunter wouldn’t have sold it without good reason, none of us would have. Haran [hell], he even sold me as a droid. Calm down. We’re all here. That’s what matters.” 

“Good to know being brothers matters so much to you,” Crosshair spits out, reluctant to give up his grudge. 

“I wasn’t gonna–” Hunger starts, continuing the argument in true brotherly fashion. 

“ENOUGH!” Echo interrupts, “Again, we have the whole squad back now. Can we just focus on that? I’m getting a headache just listening to you two.” 

“Family,” Omega’s voice is smaller than usual, but she still pipes up. 

“What?” Hunter asks. 

“Family. Echo said squad,” she turns to him, “but you meant family.” 

Echo smiles and kneels in front of her, “You’re right kid. I did mean family.” And he scoops her into a big hug. 

Tech releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding. His family is safe now. At least that checklist that had started amidst the darkness was now complete. He had found his way out of the darkness. He had his family back. And he and his family were all safe. He could relax and focus on other things now.

(Part 4)

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[obsessedwithkpopfics]

Sickie: Woozi

Caretaker: Hoshi

Hoshi p.o.v

It wasn't often that Woozi was this bad at dancing. Yes, it sounds horrible, but I don't know how else to describe it. It was like he lost all sense of rhythm overnight. It seemed like I wasn't the only one who noticed though because halfway through our practice Chan stopped, "Jihoon hyung, focus!" Woozi didn't even seem to notice he was being spoken to. He continued to stare at the wall as if he was waiting for something to happen. I went over to him, "Jihoon!" I tapped his shoulder. He flinched, and I mentally noted how strange he was acting. He glanced at me, "What's going on? Your moves are so off today." He mumbled an apology. "It's okay, just try and focus better." It seemed like my words weren't going through to him. I looked around at Chan, trying to explain the situation to him. He looked just as confused as I did. "Okay, let's just take a break, everyone take 5."

Woozi p.o.v

Ever since I woke up, I knew it wasn't gonna be a good day though I couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. My head felt stuffy and it seemed difficult to keep my eyes open. Well, I still had to go to practice so I pushed the uneasy feeling to the back of my mind and started getting ready for the day. I internally groaned when Cheol told us we were gonna have a dance practice as well as the group recording today. This day was really not working out for me. Dance practice was pure torture. I managed to annoy even Chan who was known to not get mad no matter how much you mess up the choreography. While he was talking to me possibly about how much I was messing up, I began zoning out. There was an ever-present tickle at the back of my sinuses, and my head was stuffed up making it very difficult to focus. It got to the point where Soonyoung had to come up and tap my shoulder to get my attention. He asked me what was wrong and told me that my moves were off. "I'm sorry," I whispered and I didn't think he could hear. He told me it was fine before announcing to the group to take a break.

I was relieved that Hoshi called for a break because I really needed to blow my nose. Plus another four hours of sleep would be nice, but I'd settle for a tissue right now. I informed Cheol that I had to use the bathroom. I went to the nearest one and took a handful of paper towels and blew my nose. I cringed at the feeling. Glancing at my phone, I realized I had 3 mins left. I blew my nose again and stuffed some tissues into my pocket. Leaving the bathroom, I was about halfway to the practice room when the tickle that had been bothering me all morning decided to fully come out. "Hhktchhu!- Hektchuh!- hh-Hhtkcchu!-"

"Bless you." I flinched at the voice. It was a girl's and it came from behind me. I turned around and saw one of the Le Sserafim members, (Chaewon, I think was her name) "Thank you."

"Are you alright, Sunbaenim? You're kinda pale." She looked concerned. I smiled at the young girl's concern, "Yes, just a cold." She nodded. "Feel better, Sunbae."

"Thank you." She bowed and walked into the bathroom. Once she left, I took a few of the tissues out of my pocket and blew my nose. It was already starting to hurt, the skin around my nose growing raw. I cringed and sniffled one last time before I went back to the practice room.

"You're late," Soonyoung said, his arms crossed over his chest. I glanced at the clock, "By like 1 minute."

"Still." he looked half irritated, half concerned. "Well sorry!" I shook my head, feeling irritated at him. It's just a minute for goodness sake. I rolled my eyes to myself. "This isn't like you Jihoon. You're a lot more serious than this. I don't know what's gotten into you. If you think, just because you write our music, you get to slack off, I'm sorry. In my opinion, everyone here is practicing hard except you and I would like you to be serious." That little speech made me completely lose my patience because frankly, I'd had enough of Soonyoung nagging me that day. "Who the hell gave you the right to decide who's slacking off and who's not?! I may be off today and everyone has those days. Who the fuck are you to nag me about that! Just because you make the choreography doesn't mean you can belittle people who don’t pick up on it quickly. Heck, Chan's definitely a better teacher than you. At least he tries to sympathize with his members, unlike you who's stuck in his own fucking world where everything's perfect. Well, I'm sorry to crush your dreams but everything in this world can't be done according to you!" Every single member went silent and stared at us. Soonyoung's eyes were damp with what looked like tears. I instantly regretted what I said. "Soonyoung-"

"I think we're done for today." he interrupted me, his voice cold. The entire room fell into a heavy and awkward silence. "Let's head back to the dorms," Cheol said, trying to break the awkward atmosphere. The whole group began moving. Little conversations broke out between the members, but Soonyoung remained silent. I went over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Soon-"

"Jihoon, I don't really want to talk to you right now and I would like you to respect that." I nodded. I felt guilty, but I couldn't blame him.

On the way to the car, I stopped by the bathroom to blow my nose in private. I felt bad that I had lost my temper like that, I didn't want to make it worse by drawing unnecessary attention to myself.

Hoshi p.o.v

I was hurt, I felt like crying, a bit angry, but above all just confused. I couldn't figure out what I'd done to make Jihoon snap like that. Like, yeah, I was a bit irritated but I didn't think I deserved… all that. This was one of the very few actual fights I had with Jihoon. Sure we bickered sometimes but Jihoon has almost never been this mad at me before. The thought itself made me wanna curl up into a ball and cry. I was very close to Jihoon, and the fight we just had was really breaking my heart. I know he probably didn't mean what he said to me, but a part of me wondered 'what if he did.' I think my obvious hurt and confusion were showing on my face as Cheol came up to me, looking concerned. "What happened back there?" The concern in the leader's voice made my eyes burn with oncoming tears which I quickly blinked back. "I don't know, hyung. I don't know what I did to make him that mad at me." Cheol patted me on the back comfortingly. "You okay?" I nodded, trying to force the tears away. "Maybe you should talk to him?" The leader suggested, "I really don't want to," I admitted quietly, "I understand that but maybe he had a good reason," Cheol said. I nodded, "Is he still here?"

"I think so. Think he's in his studio." I nodded, "So will you talk to him?" Cheol asked as he started leaving the room. "I'll try. Thanks hyung."

"No problem, I just want you guys to figure stuff out. I'd hate to see you guys fight."

"For the record, he started it." Seungcheol shook his head at me, "Just go talk to him," he said, a hint of a laugh in his voice. "The rest of us are heading back to the dorm. It's just you guys." I nodded, "If you need someone to pick you up just let me know and I'll send someone." "Thanks hyung."

"No problem. I gotta go. The others are waiting for me. But you go talk to him." I waved at the leader as he left.

Woozi p.o.v

Even though I was supposed to be heading back to the dorm, I took a detour to my studio. It felt more like home there anyway. There's also the fact that I didn't want to deal with the others just yet. This situation had been hard enough, I didn't need them making it an even bigger deal than it already was. Plus, there was also the fact that I was trying to hide a cold from them which wouldn't go too well, especially with how fast-moving it was. Right now, I could barely see anything as my eyes were watering so much, plus the ever-present tickle in my sinuses. I turned on my computer, in hopes of losing myself in the music when the tickle suddenly decided to make itself known. "Hhkktschu!- 'snf' Hettschu!- Hh..hkhhschu!-"

"Bless you, Jihoon-ah." I flinched at the voice and whipped around and saw Soonyoung standing in the doorway of my studio. "Soonnie I'm sorry," I stood up and walked over to him. "I didn't mean anything I said. And none of it is true. You're not a bad teacher and I know you were just trying to help. I'm really sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me." I was angry at myself as I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I quickly brushed it off, accidentally hitting my nose causing my breath to hitch once again, "HhkTCHhu!- HhtcHshuH!- HhktChHuh!- HhtKKtchu!-" I sniffled, feeling my sneezes get harsher than they were before.

"Bless you and I forgive you. And I'm sorry for losing my patience with you." I stepped closer and hugged him, he seemed a bit surprised, and I couldn't blame him, I wasn't really the clingy type. He let me hug him and wrapped his arms around my waist.

Hoshi p.o.v

Saying I was surprised by Jihoon's hug was an understatement. But what was even more surprising was the noticeable warmth I felt once I was touching him. I immediately placed my palm on his forehead, checking his temperature. "Jihoonie, you're burning up."

"I am? Hadn't realized." Said the producer. I internally groaned. This was so much like Jihoon. Ignoring and hiding any sign of weakness till it gets to this. "Okay, Ji, I need you to tell me how exactly you are feeling. And don’t lie, I can see right through that." I heard him sigh softly. "Okay, I feel awful, my head is stuffed up and I also have a slight headache, I can barely keep my eyes open. I also feel like I'm gonna sneeze any second, and my nose feels like a faucet I can't control." Wow, I didn't expect all that. 'He must have been feeling like this in dance practice too', I thought. No wonder he couldn't keep up with the rhythm if his head was stuffed up and he could barely see through his eyes. And no wonder he was late, he must've been blowing his nose or something as he was determined to hide this from the others. I mentally beat myself up again for getting irritated but Jihoon needed me and I couldn't wallow in self-pity right now. A soft gasp interrupted my thoughts as I looked down and saw Jihoon, his eyes closed, turning away from me, his breath hitching. "Ahh…hhtKSshu!- HhhktsCHuu!- HhHKtshuu!- HhktsCHhu!- Ugh, 'snf'-" I flinched at how harsh his sneezes had become in a matter of minutes, he must be exhausted.

"Bless you, c'mon let's get you home. You need rest, like a lot of it." Jihoon nodded as I took out my phone and called Cheol. He answered the call in about 2 rings. "Hey Soon, what's up?"

"Cheol, could you send one of the members to pick us up? Jihoon's sick." I said, giving Jihoon a quick glance, he looked half asleep already, and knowing Cheol, he probably knew that too. "Sure thing. See you then,"

"Bye," I said and cut the call. "Cheol is sending someone to pick us up," I said, turning to Jihoon.

"I was gonna finish this first though." He said sniffling against his wrist. "Jihoon, you're sick. You need t-"

"HhhktCShhu!- HhkKtcHHu!- HhttTchuH!-"

"Bless you. You need to go home and rest."

"I know. I'm just bad at resting sometimes, " He said, laughing lightly. I sat down next to him and put my arm around his shoulder. "I know. But let me help you relax. You need to rest. You'll never get better if you don't sleep." I handed him a tissue from the box on his desk, he thanked me and blew his nose wetly. I tried not to cringe but it sounded painful and messy. He coughed after, which sounded equally as painful. I patted his back. "You alright?"

"Sick." He said under his breath. I smiled and brushed the hair off of his face, "I know."

Woozi p.o.v

I knew Soonyoung was worried. He didn't show it too much so as not to overwhelm me but I could see that he was worried about me. It made me feel both happy that he cared about me and guilty for bothering him with something so small. He must've seen the change in my expression as he smiled softly, "Hey, it's fine. It's not your fault you're sick and I don't mind taking care of you." I smiled too. In a few minutes, a car had pulled up in front of my studio. "C'mon, let's go." I quickly gathered up my stuff, shut down my laptop and turned off the lights. When we got to the gate, I saw Jeonghan wave at us. I smiled at him slightly. "Hey, Seungcheol said you were sick. How're you feeling?"

"I'm fine, really hyung, it's just a bad- Hhh…hhtKStshuu!- HhkSHtshu!- 'snf' Hhh…hhhtskshCHu!- It's just a bad cold." I said, sniffling, my nose completely rubbed raw by now. "I can definitely see that," Said Jeonghan, patting my arm lightly. "C'mon, let's get you guys home." He said climbing into the car.

Hoshi p.o.v

I got in the back seat of the car and Jihoon climbed in after me. The manager looked in the rearview mirror, "Is he okay?"

"I-

"HhhktCShhu!-HhkKtcHHu!-HhttTchuH!-"

"Bless you, I think he's got a bit of a cold."

"Does he have a fever?" Jeonghan asked from the front. I reached over and placed my hand on his forehead, "Yep, feels like it," I noticed the way that Jihoon leaned into my touch. "We need to get you home and resting, ok." He sniffled, "Sounds good to me." He cleared his throat, "Can I take a nap on the way home?"

"Sure, Ji." I said, softly.

He laid his head on my shoulder and fell asleep quickly.

Once we arrived back at the dorm I gently shook his arm to wake him up. His eyes opened for a second as he looked around in confusion, before they fluttered shut and he ducked his head towards his shoulder. "Hh-ktchUH!-TCchu!-kktCHshu!-tTch!SHhu!-"

"Bless you!" I patted his shoulder. He sniffled and rubbed his eyes. His pink nose and pale skin made him look much younger and even cuter than normal. "Let's get you to bed, Ji," he nodded, attesting even further to how tired he was. "Thank you, Soonie," he said softly as I half carried him to his room, I smiled and kissed his forehead, "No problem. Just want you to feel better. " The two of us made it to his room, and I got him in bed. There was a bit of a struggle to get the half asleep sickie to change out of his sweaty practice clothes. But finally, I got him into his pajamas and into bed. He seemed very dazed as I did so, and when I moved to leave the room, I felt his small fingers wrap around my arm. "Please stay. I don't really want to be alone." I smiled softly. "Sure thing, Ji." I climbed into the bed next to him and allowed him to curl up with me. I smiled and began running my fingers through his hair. "Feel better, Jihoonie."

💖👾

#kpop #kpop sickfic #woozi #seventeen #kpop snz #Hoshi

[recurring-polynya]

Hey there! I just wanted to sit here and finally get the guts up to tell you how much I truly appreciate your work. Not only do you do this for free, but you have given us an entire series-- three, even-- of a canon rarepair that for some reason nobody else writes much of. It's gotten me through flights, cheered me up through my roughest days, and I'm always on the edge of my seat, excited to read what will come next, or what kind of silly banter will make me laugh my ass off next. (1)

I have read nearly all of your fanfictions, and not only do you grasp the characters insanely well, but you make them fall into such a harmonious rhythm and write them so relatable and well that I feel like at times, I'm in Rukia or Renji's shoes. It's like an entire adventure, and I just absolutely adore every word you type on the page. You seem to really nag on yourself, but please know that you are so amazing, and skilled and talented at what you do, and the Renruki community is so strong with you in it, building us up with the lovely and humorous way you type. I just read your smut, and I get super super shy about commenting, but it's so well written and phenomenally sexy-- but also you capture the sweet tenderness of a long time couple just as well, and it's simply indescribable. I wish I could tell you how much I adore your work, but words can't explain it. Thank you so so so much for all you do, and all your hard work, and all of the stories you create for us to enjoy free of charge. It's my favorite thing to read when I've had a bad day and I get that email saying; "polynya has posted a new chapter of ___!" Your writing is flavorful and inspiring, and makes me want to work harder to create content as wonderful as yours. Again, thank you so much for being such a beautiful, wonderful part of our renruki community. We love you so so much!

😭😭😭😭😭

All of this is far, far too nice, I don't even know what to say.

I'm a really, really socially awkward person in real life, and the easiest way for me to interact with people is to just make things and say "HERE, PLEASE LIKE THIS. I MADE IT FOR YOU" and then run and hide. The fact that people read and enjoy my stories means a lot to me. You mentioned the fact that I do it for free, but it's really really important to me to do something that is outside of the capitalist meatgrinder we live in, and I honestly have less than zero interest in ever making any money from my writing.

I do get paid, in a manner of speaking, by the wonderful things that other people in the fandom make, both past and present. (Also, I very much do read my own writing, so I am getting a lot out of my own labor, too). I did lurk for about two years before I started getting active, and I owe my life to all the Renruki fans that came before me. Which is to say, the idea that I inspire anyone or just make people feel better about giving this a go is absolutely the best thing you can say to me. I wish you lots of luck in your endeavors, and I hope that it is as rewarding for you as this has been for me! 💕

#this was so sweet and kind thank you so much #i never know what to say when people say nice things to me but this warmed my heart and i appreciate it a lot

[missd1vine]

Hello! Could you please do a Michael x reader angst to fluff? Maybe where the reader is insecure about themselves and Michael comforts them or smth? P.S keep up the amazing work!! :)

(*ノз`*) BROKEN MIRRORS | M.AFTON.

Thank you for the compliment :D also sorry if this took long :(

art creds @/imsanlee on tiktok

#summary; you don't see the way Michael sees you. It's a masterpiece but his dad’s rude comments, made you think differently.

#note; none of the aftons are dead, no scooping, no bite of 83, no spring lock, this will take place in the early 90s.

#contains; William being a dick, self-esteem issues, negative talk, past parent issues.

#word count; 1648

#fnaf masterlist

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Michael proposed to you two weeks ago- you couldn't be any happier and eagerly said: "Yes, I want to marry you!". You were aware of Michael's father being inimical about your guys' relationship. But did that ever stop you from being with Mike?

Nope, but your emotions are saying otherwise.

The Aftons weren't aware of your marriage, so Michael most likely gave them some sort of news that they'll invite them for a dinner night at your guys' house for the news he was going to tell them.

Elizabeth was really happy knowing his older brother was going to devote himself to you, The red-haired girl loved you like family, "She's going to wear a really beautiful dress, I have to be the flower girl!"

Evan was a really shy kid but did have a soft reaction, "I'm happy for you both but Michael can be mean sometimes, just saying." which he earned a flick on the forehead by your fiance.

Mrs. Afton was super excited about knowing this surprise, heck she was supportive ever since Michael confessed you were his girlfriend, "I remember you two being young idiots in love and now adults truly embracing it. I'm so proud of you both!"

Although, William...

He is a brutally honest man and could care less what people think, not only did he make rude comments about you but when Michael was a teen and started dating you, William would say to Michael that he deserves someone better, saw you as a bad influence to his oldest son and youngest children, and...he wasn't surprised Michael chose you as a spouse because he was his least favorite son.

But the comments towards you did hurt you. The feeling of years ago when you lived with your toxic parents was now rising from the following comments—

"Just like any other tramp out there."

"Ever thought you were picked out of pity?"

"Are you're parents even attending to your important day?" That comment stung you.

You're parents. You haven't seen nor talked to them ever since you graduated high school. Always making you feel like the donkey carrying all the problems.

Blaming you for everything, nagging about your bad grades, the friends you've made, your personality, and your image.

But Michael was the only person to ever make your day the brightest, always making sure you were okay, reminding or making sure you were eating well and getting perfect sleep.

Yeah, he was the biggest bully in school but when it came to you, he's an absolute charm.

Always putting you first.

So why did you care so much about what William thinks? It's because he was right. That's what you thought, you were asked out as a joke many times when you were young, you'd be compared to other people from your parents and they wouldn't bother showing up to something you're deeply excited about.

But now you're starting to have second thoughts.

Why would Michael pick you out of all people?

present

You got out a cold shower, moisturized your body with lotion, and washed your face. You put on your underwear and an oversized (favorite color) shirt than a fluffy robe.

'One last check on the mirror...'

It became a habit nowadays, checking the mirror constantly before Michael came back home from work.

"Am I too annoying?"

"Do I talk too much?"

"Am I boring?"

"Does my face look creepy?"

"Am I really like any other?"

"Is my body not ideal?"

The questions running around your head you were paused when you heard that British voice yelled out your name.

"Have you fallen asleep yet? Don't sleep if you haven't eaten."

You made sure your robe was correctly adjusted and put on the usual happy mask to not worry Michael about your personal problems.

"Uhhh...no I'm still awake!" you shouted so he can hear you from downstairs. You heard footsteps get louder and louder meaning he was going to come into the room.

His blue eyes searched for you and there you were sitting on the bed, perhaps waiting for him. Once his eyes landed on you, he felt his eyes melt with adoration.

"Damn it I miss you..." he whispered then smashed his lips to yours, you kissed him back immediately hoping he wouldn't notice your slightly gloomy behavior.

"Did you just take a shower?"

You scoffed, "My hair is wetter than the ocean, what do you think? I just soaked it in a sewage pipe?" you say in a sarcastic playful manner.

He chuckled and pecked your check, "Heh, yea you took a nice shower, you smell nice, as always of course."

He parted away from you and rubbed your soaked hair, "Let me help you dry it and brush it, love." you felt butterflies in your stomach flutter at the nickname.

"Okay just don't brush it too hard..."

—

Your (hair texture) hair was now soft and dry thanks to your fiance.

"Thank you, Mikey."

The brunette smiled, "It's no problem."

You felt strong arms wrap around you and made you turn to face his beautiful pale face, his blue eyes gazing at yours with adoration, and that styled mullet brown hair that was messy.

'Fuck...'

Michael began rubbing your sides lovingly, then stuffing his face onto your fluffy robe which had your scent and warmth that hypnotizes him.

You felt your cheeks warmth at the feeling, for a return of affection you ran your fingers through his messy mullet which made him groan.

Michael's reaction to this was a muffled groan and glided his face down, his hands reached to grab your robe and move it out of the way to get better access to your thighs.

Just as he was about to treat them, a soft hand was placed on his shoulder which halted him. "Is there something wrong, Y/N?"

You faced the other direction to avoid his gaze which made him knit his brows together in confusion, "I-...I don't really feel like-"

"I understand." Those two words ease you but you still felt...gloomy.

"But don't think I didn't notice your behavior these days. Is something bothering you? Is it something I did?" he asked with concern.

You tried to hold back the tears but gulped and said a simple "no."

He tilted his head still looking at you waiting for a better answer, "Did someone say do something to you?"

'Say...'

"Sort of..." you mumbled with hesitation.

"Who? I'll beat the bastard or bitch."

You breathed in and asked, "Michael, can I ask you something?"

He already paid full attention to you "Yes, anything." and waited patiently for your question, your breath became a bit shaky, "Are...Are you sure you want to marry me?"

His pupils shrunk a bit and his brows furrowed, do you no longer want him? He tried to remain calm and respond to your question with composure, "What kind of question is that? I want to marry you. You're the one for me. Why? Do you...not love me?" the last part sounded like hesitation but you responded quickly-

"It's not that. I love you so much fucking much but...what do you see in me?" you asked, his face now becoming soft and sympathetic.

"Love, what made you think that. You're my everything, fuck if you told me to kill thousands of people I'll do it in a heartbeat." the comment seemed laughable but you still felt gloomy, "It's just that...your father doesn't seem to like me much and he's a brutally honest man...am I like any other...is my parents not even going to attend to my wedding day?"

Michael's Adam's apple bobbed in anger, not at you, but his beloved partner being depressed over the bastard of his father. Messing him was one thing, but messing with you is enough to impel him to break his father's teeth.

Instead of Michael responding verbally, he held you as if there is no tomorrow. He kissed your hair and all over your face, plummeting sweet things "No, don't think that way..." "I will never regret proposing to you or meeting you. Your beautiful, your mine. Y/N please. Don't think you're less because of a stupid 'opinion' my bastard of a father says..."

You tried to contain in the hiccups escaping your lips from the soft crying, "He's right though. My parents won't even attend my wedding they always thought less of me and spoke to me as if I was a piece of horse shit."

Michael sighed and yanked you closer to him and began smooching all over your face, "Please...don't say that...don't do it for me...do it for yourself..." he whispers sweetly.

"You don't understand how I see you. No one can see you the way I do," he says as he gently pulls down the sleeve of your shirt to get better access to your shoulder. "Your parents will make the biggest of their lives by not attending to it, your amazing." he then began kissing your shoulder.

You squeaked at the suddenness,

"You're beautiful."

"I love you."

"I'll do anything for you."

He then began nuzzling your neck, "You're mine. Your parents are the real shitfaces here, not you. Meeting you was the greatest thing that happened to me ever in my life. Our bond is unbreakable, no one can break it."

You began to sob and held him closer to you,

"...T-Thank y-you, Michael."

"No, it's the truth. You're the best thing I never knew I needed..."

#fnaf #fanfic #fnaf 4 #fnaf 5 #fnaf sister location #fnaf x reader #five nights at freddy's #fnaf security breach #michael afton #micheal afton x reader

[sinswithpleasure]

The Playgirl (ft. LOONA’s Yves) [Part 3] [Female Reader]

—————

I’m back with part 3!

I know I said I’d start mentioning Yves being futa here, but welp, I doubt it’d be out until Part 6-8?

If you prefer, this is also on AO3 and AFF!

Thanks to @existslikepristin​ and @ggidolsmuts​ for editing / beta reading!

—————

Another month passes.

Yves has been improving a lot, and you're teaching her more than just math. Even on weekends, she requests tutoring, and both of you work on projects or study together, be it at Seoul U's cafe or in empty classrooms.

Two months since you began tutoring her, about one month since you took up her deal. Something in Yves shifts—when she began studying, it was out of just competitive spirit. Now, she seems to truly like what she's doing, and you can't help but to let yourself enjoy the sight of this Yves. She turns up to school a little more regularly, though she still comes to terrorize people. She doesn't go out to parties as much, choosing instead to hang with you. The attention you get from her feels like too much and not enough at the same time. 

Other than being your student, Yves becomes somewhat of a regular fixture in your life. She still frustrates you—her semi-regular absences from school are met with your nagging and her regular dismissal, her constant nonchalance about how she carries herself still annoys you, and she still constantly flirts with you. That last point is also part of the reason why she is kind of a welcome presence in your life. If she isn't present in school, she will be seen leaning against a wall after class, leather jacket over her shoulders, your favourite mocha frappe in her hands. If she doesn't turn up for a tutoring session, she drops a call and apologizes, then makes it up to you with your favourite dessert next session. On the regular, she always has a compliment or a greasy remark tailored for you on hand, both making you groan and internally panic simultaneously.

It doesn't help that she keeps getting prettier, at least to you. Every day, her empty desk taunts you. Sometimes, you wish she was next to you, lollipop in her mouth, gazing at you and flirting with you. Your heart skips a beat when she pushes herself off the wall to wrap an arm around your shoulder, waving the frappe in front of your face with a "Hey, babygirl" . You look forward to the text exchanges with her every night, where both of you can text for hours. You adore her lip bites when she is focused on something, her soft "Assa!" when she gets something right.

Perhaps your crush on her is starting to get out of hand, but you don't want it to end. 

-----

Your phone rings. Caller ID: yves 💘

"Yo, babygirl."

"Don't—ah, nevermind."

"The cafe's closed today. Wanna come over to my place?"

"What?"

"My place. Come over."

"Oh, um…"

"Text me your address. I'll pick you up."

"Okay."

When Yves hangs up, you panic. Her place? You'll get to see how she lives? Her private space? What?! You fire off a text to Yves, then you carry on panicking.

[yves💘 has sent a message:]

Gotchu

I'll see you in 15, babygirl

Can't wait ;)

-----

Yves's place is cozy. For someone so punk rock, her place looks so homely, so full of life. However, Yves lives alone. Weird, considering there's a lot of stuff that is placed neatly on tables and shelves, too much for one person to use. 

"Welcome to my humble abode, babygirl." Yves curtsies, flashing you her dazzling smile. You place your bag down on the couch in her living room, rummaging to find what you need.

"Hey, would you mind if I went for a shower first? I've had a busy morning."

"Oh, no, sure. Go ahead."

"Right, thanks babe."

Yves leaves. In the meantime, you wander around her living room, glancing at the items on her shelves. A vintage tea set, a back scratcher, and an old camera? Those look pretty cool. Beneath that, another shelf holds a few old DVD cases, each of some old music from the 70s and 80s. Also, are those cassette tapes? You pick each one up, getting a feel of them in your hands. Damn, these are cool.

You wander along the hallways. When you pass by the bathroom, you can hear the water running. Suddenly, you’re hit with intrusive thoughts, all of them about Yves.

Your crush. Just a handful of metres away from you. Undressing. Naked. Under the shower. Water running down her bare skin, maybe over those chiseled abs of hers? Her naked chest, her legs?

You return to her couch, collapsing on it, trying to fight the dirtier thoughts in your head.

You sink your face in your hands, groaning at the thought of a naked Yves. This isn't the first time, and it won't be the last, but it sucks to be thinking of something inappropriate when the time isn't right. The gulps of water you inhale don't quench the correct thirst, but at least it does something.

"Hey baby."

Yves's voice makes you jump. The cutest girl ever greets your eyes, with a look that you never thought she'd rock. That same girl has her head bowed, a sheepish smile on her face, her hand moving to tuck some hair behind her ear.

She looks gorgeous.

Her wet hair, formerly slicked back, now falls over her forehead, forming cute bangs. Her  leather jackets and crop tops are traded for a cozy oversized long-sleeved sweater that engulfs her body, giving her sweater paws. Yves pairs that with sweatpants, and a cute pair of bunny slippers. 

She looks so cute and all you want to do is to mash her lips with yours.

You gasp, freezing. Yves walks over to you, planting her books on the table, refusing to meet your eyes. She grins when she finally looks at you though.

"How do I look?"

"Ah, um, er…" You stammer, unable to process the sight of the punk rock, cool, bad girl Yves now looking like a girly, adorable cutie. This wasn't Yves, this was just Ha Sooyoung. 

"You… you look, er, good," you breathe.

Yves halts, red starting to colour her ears. She looks away, seemingly wiping at her face with one of her sleeves.

"Thank you." Her voice is tiny, tinier than usual. You want to hug her but you control yourself, settling to admire how she looks instead. She looks so pretty, so fucking pretty, and you wonder why she doesn't look like this on the regular. Maybe she's letting you see her more private, intimate side. Maybe she somehow found out you quite like this style. Whatever the reason is, it's working. How do you even continue to function today, now that you've seen Yves look like this?

You love this Yves— no, this is Ha Sooyoung, you hastily remind yourself. She looks so domestic, so cute, so… girlfriend? You want to glomp her, and that urge is increasingly hard to control.

"Let's begin."

"O-Okay."

Both of you slip into your roles as teacher and student. For Yves, it’s seamless, but for you, you struggle to do so. The student herself is a distraction.

The session begins.

-----

"Stay for dinner, babe?"

Yves rises from her chair, walking over to her kitchen. She begins pulling stuff out of her fridge and cabinets, setting them on the table. 

"Oh, sure."

You sink yourself on a dining chair as Yves ties an apron around her neck. She begins work on chopping up some garlic and onions, and you let yourself just… look at her. 

She looks so cool, so domestic, so beautiful as she works on whatever it is. You can't help but fall harder for her, and you let yourself gaze lovingly stare at her.

"You're staring, babygirl."

"Ummfhhhdgh!" You stammer, hastily looking away to pretend you weren't. You drum your fingers on the table, shifting around on your seat to distract yourself from Yves's eyes. 

"Uh-uh, you don't get to hide now." Yves tilts your chin up with her finger, her eyes locked onto yours, her lips inches from yours. This is the umpteenth time Yves has had you in kissing range, and you wish she'd finish the job. 

"You look starstruck, babe. Am I that pretty?"

"Y-Yes." 

Yves chuckles, stroking your cheek with her thumb. 

"God, you're so cute. I'd kiss you right now, but we both know we'd do more than that."

"Wha—?"

"I've seen the way you look at me. I know what you're thinking. If we kiss…" Yves trails off, moving to finish her sentence next to your ear. 

"If we kiss, we both know we won't just be kissing at the end of the night."

When Yves finishes her sentence, you feel her soft lips press against your cheek. Out of the corner of your eye, you see her lips turn up in her signature cocky smirk. You’ve got the urge to kiss it off her face, but you pause, refusing to give in to her. She is right—if you kissed her, you wouldn't be able to stop yourself from jumping her.

-----

Dinner is a relatively quiet affair, with Yves winking at you when you catch eyes with her, and you becoming more flustered each time. All you can think of is about how Yves essentially admitted she knows you want her as much as she wants you, and that thought is enough to fuel your imagination for the night. 

When Yves drops you off in front of your apartment, she gets off her bike, wrapping her arms around your waist from the back.

"Huh?!"

"Goodnight babygirl," Yves whispers next to your ear, her breath causing you to shudder, "I'll be thinking of you tonight."

That settles it. The fire between your legs needs some dousing. You can't help but turn to look at Yves with the utmost shock, meeting her knowing grin. Yves waves, putting her helmet back on and riding off into the night. 

-----

The cold shower you take after reaching home does nothing for you. Yves's words still ring deep in your ear.

If we kiss, we both know we won't just be kissing at the end of the night.

I'll be thinking of you tonight.

Your body feels warm—too warm for the oversized T-shirt and boyshorts you have on. The thought of having Yves pin you against a wall, her lips on yours, tongue swiping at your lips to gain access is way too much for you, and soon enough, you imagine Yves pinning you to her bed, stripping you and teasing you with her touch. These thoughts lead you to lie atop your bed, your shirt pulled up to expose your chest, your boyshorts stripped off to let your hand circle your clit freely. 

"Oh, fuck…"

In your head, Yves has her fingers on you, touching you the same way you touch yourself now. Her fingers mirror the way yours do—rubbing directly over the hood covering your clit, before swiping between your slit to wet her fingers. 

"So wet, babygirl. All for me too."

"Oh, oh shit!"

Yves plunges her fingers deep within you, thrusting freely. Your free hand kneads your left breast, teasing your nipple to drive you crazier. 

"Fuck, Yves, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"

"Yes, babygirl. That's what I want to hear. Moan my name. Let the world know how wet you are for me."

The dirty sounds of your fingers thrusting deep into yourself only fuels your lust even further. The image in your head morphs from Yves fingering you to her between your legs, her panties pushed aside to expose her pussy. Yves pushes her pussy against yours, grinding against you, flexing her abs with each movement of her hips. In the physical world, you strip yourself of the shirt, grabbing a pillow and straddling it. 

"How does my pussy feel against yours, babygirl? I told you I'd make you love me."

You grind harshly on the pillow. The haze of pleasure is all you can process—how loud you moan doesn't matter anymore. 

"Fuck, yes, Yves, Yves, Yves, fuck, Sooyoung, Sooyoung, I'm gonna come, Sooyoung, I'm gonna come, I'm gonna come!"

With a squeal, you grind harder on the pillow, feeling waves of pleasure wash over your body as slick spills out of your clenching hole. Sweat runs down your forehead, your back, down your chest. In your head, Yves comes just as you do, her body writhing in pleasure as slick flows out of her. 

You collapse on the bed, letting the afterglow of your orgasm wash over you. Yves still doesn't leave your head, but you don't really hate that. You're way beyond trying to hide that you want to fuck her, or that you want her to make you hers anyway.

#kpop fanfiction #kpop smut #kpop fanfic #kpop fluff #loona fanfiction #loona fanfic #ha sooyoung #loona yves #smut #female reader #female reader insert

[frustrated-writer-skyeknight]

HiJack AU - Rise of the Guardians Plotbunnies

(Context: Before Hiccup returns to HQ when the Guardian signal came up, he was spending time with Jack, as per usual. When the signal came up, he had to go. Jack looked disappointed, because Hiccup had just arrived a bare ten minutes ago. It was the quickest the Aide of Hope had to leave. Hiccup was in a rush to leave, since it was the first time in a long time that the urgent signal was put up to assemble all guardians at the same time, the last time was to report about what had happened to Kozmotis. In his rush, he wasn't thinking, and accidentally kissed Jack on the cheek in a parting kiss.

They were both shock.

Before Jack could collect himself to make a respond, Hiccup dashed off, all the while thinking "Shit shit shit shit shit what did I just DO?!)

More details added to the Answer (an ask from @hamish-fanfic-fangirl )already mentioned here

The Guardians love children, as they are the Guardians of Childhood. They can't, however, have children. With the exception of Kozmotis and Anastasia's relationship, as they were created together at the same time by Manny.

Manny formed Pitch to safeguard chaos energy that would strike fears in children and leave them traumatize, impeding a healthy and happy development of growing up. Anastasia was formed at the same time, because children, and to an extent people, need to live in a harmonize environment, right?

The Guardians do consider themselves, as what humans coined nowadays, as 'Found family.' Addition to that, they think if they could have kids, they would be like and be treated like their aides.

They joke about it sometimes; North fits the role of a dad, as leader of the Guardians, Thiana being like the mother, with Aster, Sandy, and Kozmotis like uncles. Sandy's the "cool" uncle with a lot of stories to tell (or show). Kozmotis is the "chill" uncle who leaves you be but offers sage wisdom whether or not you ask for them. Aster is the one who nags a lot, sometimes more than the parents but is exciting to spend time with because of all his cool tricks.

Jamie and Astrid found it awkward, but Thiana was being playful and pretending to be like a parent and giving Jamie 'the shovel talk', when Astrid and Jamie got together, as she heard a story told to her by North, from Jim.

She was sweet about it though, going on about how they should be caring of each other and how lovely it all was so Jim made a remark later that he didn't think the guardian of memories got the point of a 'Shovel talk'

Even to the aides that aren't their own, the Guardians do feel rather paternal/maternal towards them.

Dialogue

North: Sandy, thank you for coming.

Sandy descends from the plane and floats to the ground. He joins North, Bunny and Tooth as they walk through the Globe Room. Sand glyphs appear above Sandy's head communicating

Jamie: He says that he is busy and has a lot of work to do.

North: I understand, you work ‘round the clock, da, But I obviously wouldn't have called you all here unless it was serious.

North, Bunny, Tooth and Sandy reach the center of the room. Tooth does her best to shush her mini-fairies.

North: Kozmotis as the Boogeyman was here at the Pole. *points to the globe. The everyone turns to look.*

Astrid: *shocked* Sir Kozmotis? Here? After all this time...

Jamie: Jim, did you really see...

Jim: Well, I didn't but sir North had. I think, I... Wait. *frowning as he looked around in concern* Where's Dimitri?

Tooth: But... Pitch Black? Was it really him?

North: Yes! There was black sand covering the globe.

Aster: What, what...what do you mean black sand?

North: And then a shadow!                                                

Aster: Hold on, hold on, I thought you said you saw Pitch.

North: Well, ah, not exactly...

Aster: Not exactly? Can you believe this guy?

Bunny turns to Sandy, who shrugs while forming a Dreamsand question mark above his head....

Aster: Yeah, you said it, Sandy.

Bunny goes back to painting one of his Easter eggs.

North: Look, he is up to something very bad. *gropes his gut* I feel it, in my belly.

Aster: *eyes narrow* Hang on, hang on, you mean to say, you summoned me here THREE DAYS BEFORE EASTER - because of your? Mate, if I did this to you three days before Christmas-

Tooth (to her fairies): Argentina. Priority alert! A batch of bicuspids in Buenos Aires.  Weather advisory, Astrid?

Astrid: *Pauses* Fair, all of them. Snowstorm warning in Moscow.

Jamie: Maybe that's where Jack is now.

Jim: And maybe Hic too; would explain why he's running late... Now Dimitri...           

North grabs Bunny's painted egg, casually juggling it in his          hand as he walks off. Meanwhile Sandy, who is being served          eggnog by a yeti, suddenly notices something high above.         

North: Please. Bunny. Easter is not Christmas.

Aster: *sarcastic laugh* Here we go... North, I, I don't have time for           this. I've still got two million eggs to finish up.

The moon rises into view, high up in the ceiling; its rays of light begin to shine brightly through as they cascade down the walls of the globe room.

North: No matter how much you paint, is still egg!

Sandy points to the moon unsuccessfully to get the others' attention. Even Jamie is distracted with Jim and Astrid, talking about whether one of them (Jim) should go and get Dimitri. Their guardians are distracted and they didn't want to interrupt them...

Aster: Look, mate, I'm dealing with perishables. Right. You've got all year to prepare.                                                

Tooth (to her fairies): Pittsburg, boy eight, two molars. Saltwater taffy.

Sandy puts his fingers in his mouth to whistle, a silent musical note forming above his head.                                                

North (to Aster): Why are rabbits always so nervous.

Aster: And why are you always such a blowhard!                                  

Tooth (to her fairies): Ontario, sector nine: five canines, two molars, and fourteen incisors. Is that all in one house?

Sandy waves a sand flag above his head, pointing and jumping and down as the moonlight continues to fill the room.

North: Tooth! Can't you see we're trying to argue.

Tooth: *Good naturedly* Sorry, not all of us get to work one night a year. Am I right, Sandy?

Sandy tries to signal with a golden arrow, pointing toward the ceiling, but to no avail as the others continue their bickering. Sandy thinks Tooth has noticed for a split second, but then-    

Tooth (to her fairies): San Diego, sector two! Five incisors, a bicuspid and a really loose molar on stand-by.

North: I know it was him. We have serious situation!

Aster: Well, I've got a serious situation with some eggs.

Tooth: Hey, I hate to interrupt the, "We work so hard once a year club" but could we concentrate on the matter-

A silhouette comes out from a black spot of a shadow in the middle of the room, and Dimitri comes up and stumbles out from it. The aide of the former Guardian of Chaos seemed recovering from injuries. Even with his quick healing, it's taking some time...

Jim: Dimitri!

Jim rushes to help support him...

Tooth: Oh dear!

Astrid: Is he okay?

Dimitri: Sorry... The darkness is more restless than ever for some reasons. I had to defeat about a dozen minions before securing and leaving the base.

Jim: Wha- so if Pitch is really back, why hadn't he showed up here yet?

North: He did lad!

Jim: All due respect sir, you said it was a shadow.

North: Shadows are his thing!

Dimitri: I don't think that was Pitch yet, but a harbinger, maybe? If he had awoken, I think I would be the first to know.

Aster: Hah!

Sandy can't take it anymore, grabs an elf by his hat, and vigorously shakes it's bell. The other Guardians are finally silenced and all turn to look at Sandy, who points up, a sand crescent moon forming above his head. The dizzy elf staggers away. Finally the others turn to see the shaft of moonlight as it concentrates on the circle between them as Manny starts beaming down into the room...

North: Aah! Man in Moon! Sandy, why didn't you say something?

Sandy gives him a deadpan stare, Dream sand smoke shoots out his ears.                                                

North (to Man in Moon as he finally appears, with Anastasia by his side) : It's been a long time old friend! Madam Mother Nature *bows curtly*

Manny: Likewise.

Anastasia: A pleasure as always, North.

North: So... What is big news?

Manny: Before I get that, there is one thing I need to address first...

Everyone looks to the center of the room where Manny manipulates moonlight to shine down intensely, the light ebbs away, leaving a dark spot ---- which resolves into the shadowed silhouette of Pitch. The Guardians look on, stunned.                                                

Aster: It is Pitch.                                  

North pats his belly and gives Bunny a look...

North: Manny... what must we do?

Manny: The matter I mentioned needing to be addressed...

The shadow of Pitch disappears and the circle of moonlight intensifies and shrinks, concentrating further luminating an ornate symbol on the floor, at the center of their circle. The symbol rises out of the ground revealing a large gem at the head of a pillar.                                                

Tooth: Ah, guys, you know what this means?

The moons light suddenly refracts through the gem casting          light all over the chamber.                                                

North: He's choosing an aide for himself.

Aster: What?! You never needed one before, why now?

North: Must be big deal! Manny thinks we all need help!

Aster: We have our help. *Gestures to all aides present* Now if my own would show up too...                                               

Tooth: I wonder who it's gonna be?

Then a bright flash, a rush of wind- and a FIGURE resolves over the central pillar: slight, hooded, bearing a familiar  hooked staff.                                                

North:

North: Jack Frost.

The Mini-Teeth all sigh and swoon as the Guardians stand there, stunned.                                                

Jim: Well then, at least Hiccup's going to be happy

Astrid: *Shrugs, and idly shifts her axe from one hand to another* Well, as long as he does his part in caring for the children…

Tooth: And Hiccup’s going to be motivated more than ever now too.

Aster: Jack Frost!? He doesn't care about children! All he does is freeze water pipes and mess with my egg hunts. Right? He's an irresponsible, selfish...                                                

Manny: Aide.                            

Aster: I can tell you that Jack Frost is a lot of things, but he's--

Hiccup finally flies in with Toothless

Hiccup: I'm sorry I'm late! *He jumps down from Toothless* Snow storm in Moscow delayed me... Er, among other things...

Everyone looks at him

North: Perfect timing Hiccup! We need you to find Jack and bring him here.

Hiccup, remembering his final moments with Jack before leaving, looked mortified...

Hiccup: Do you guys hate me or something?

#ChildOfSolace Plotbunnies #HiJack #JiMitri #JamStrid #Hiccup x Jack #Jim x Dimitri #Jamie x Astrid #The Guardians #North #Aster #Toothiana #Sandeson #Manny #Anastasia #Hiccup Haddock #Jack Frost #Jim Hawkins #Dimitri Sudayev #Jamie Bennett #Astrid Hofferson #ROTG AU #HiJack AU

[hankwritten]

Quodlibet

Demoman/Soldier, 2k

Request for ImSorry, College

“How do you even know this guy anyway?” Jeremy asked, leaning over Jane’s back in such a intrusive distillation of his character that this particular instant could have come from any singular moment throughout the semester, right down to the mortal threat to Jane’s class project.

“Watch it, Buster! You are dangerously close to causing the greatest second dolphin extinction event since the invention of the six-pack!”

Trying to dislodge his suitemate, Jane threw his shoulder, pushing Jeremy and his grasping arms backwards and away from the fragile, pseudo-aquatic diorama.

Jeremy slid down Jane’s spine. “Fine, jeez, I wasn’t going to squish your bath toys.” He went boneless just long enough to reach the floor, then promptly popped to his feet and began looking at the aquarium from the other side. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I don't know what you mean by ‘this guy’,” Jane grumbled. “This is clearly a diorama. Not a guy.”

“The guy, man,” Scout nagged, and Jane could already feel the migraine coming on. Jeremy was actually the human embodiment of head pains, to the point where sometimes Jane wondered if he had escaped from a lab that had been trying to bio-engineer the most aggravating person in existence. “This guy that’s making you go wackadoo and put like ten times more effort into a freaking GED project than anyone ever should.”

“This has nothing to do with him.” Jane put an aggressive amount of glue on his last dolphin.

“Right, sure,” Jeremy snickered. “But as soon as I said ‘guy you have a weird rivalry with’ you immediately jumped to him.” When Jane grit his teeth, Jeremy laughed again. “So what is it with you two? You didn’t get the urge to start tearing each other’s intellectual dicks off just because of some Economics of Marine Biology class, right?”

“Applied Oceanography,” Jane corrected, pointedly not looking up.

“C’mon pally, you know what I meant-”

“Hrrn nn brrdaa”

The voice of their third and final suitemate spoke up from a nearby beanbag chair, where its owner was trying to ignite a textbook with a lighter.

Jeremy looked to them, then to Jane. “Really? He plays for the Brawlers too?”

“Yes,” Jane snarled. “Mystery solved. The new power guard is in my oceanography class, and now you will shut your trap, shortstop, so that I can proceed to kick his ass in diorama making and prove that I am the superior guard.”

“That ain’t exactly a perfect chain of events, but you do you pally.” Jeremy pulled to the far end of the couch, drawing his legs into a fold. “Ain’t like, you supposed to develop deep-seated rivalries with players from other schools? Not your own?”

“If you met him, you would understand.” Jane placed some cherry bombs at the bottom of the glass tank. “Plus, he-...” Swallowing his fury, he said, “he got me moved to small guard.”

“To- what?”

“Hurmm umma,” their third put in helpfully.

Jeremy absorbed this for a moment, then burst out laughing. “Oh, oh man. There’s literally a position called small guard? That’s- that’s fucking hilarious you gotta admit.”

“I have to admit no such thing!” Jane rounded on him, diverting his attention from his precious project for the first time in over three hours. “I used to be power guard! Then some one-eyed, Scottish, lay-about, freshman comes in and thinks he can take my spot? This is betrayal of the highest order! A perversion of our constitution!”

“Mrra hudda.”

“I do not care if small guard is ‘technically a step up’,” Jane huffed. “Power guard is further to the front. That makes it better.”

“Basketball’s for chumps anyway,” Jeremy said, apparently having derived all the entertainment he’d wanted from the conversation, laying until he could reach his arms behind his head and dropping his legs in Jane’s lap. “You should try out for a real sport. But hey! Hope your little fish tank fills your inadequacy or whatever.”

“Oh it will.” Jane lowered his face to the glass, breath fogging and obscuring the magnum opus within. “It will.”

#

“And here you will see what happens when America finally colonizes the ocean!” Jane said to the drooling, glassy eyes of an 8am class.

They were significantly less slumberous when he threw a final cherry bomb into his demonstration, causing a chain reaction as dozens of ‘fireworks’ went off under the ocean, celebrating America’s eventual conquest. To really send the message home, he pulled the ripcord in the back, dropping a miniature stars and stripes behind the tank.

“Oorah!” he concluded.

“...Thank you Mister Doe,” the professor said. “Your time allotted for presenting is up.”

He turned and gave her a big thumbs up.

While some staff at Teufort U insisted you call them by their first names, this professor was not one of them, and it was rumored that the TA who had once dared to call her ‘Helen’ in front of her students was never seen again. However, no one could be that much of a hardass all the time; Jane was confident his project had just blown her out of the water (pun intended.)

She eyed his thumbs up with her perpetually sour face. “...That means return to your seat, Mister Doe.”

Jane picked up his aquarium and strolled jauntily back to his desk.

His good mood dissipated as soon as Tavish was announced as the next presenter. The usurper pulled his aquarium in on a cart, a sheet draped over to allow for a dramatic reveal. Dammit. Jane should have thought about dramatic reveals.

Tavish grinned at his audience, whisking away the blanket with a flourish.

“Behold!” he declared. “You’ve heard of desalination to deal with the oncoming global water shortages, but my proposal is this: a complete and total refinement. Salt water? Pah! Whiskey oceans are where it’s at.”

The tanked sloshed, full of something clearly scrumpy or scrumpy adjacent. Within the alcohol floated an awfully realistic looking octopus, expertly crafted and swishing with the tank’s movements. An eyepatch covered its left side.

“With the addition of boozed-based life forms of course, for an entirely new ecosystem.”

Jane curled his lip. Damn. He was good.

“...Mister DeGroot,” the professor said, “might I remind you that this is an alcohol free campus, regardless of any student’s legal status to drink? And, even without that, you are not currently twenty-one years of age?”

“Drinking age is sixteen in Scotland, Ma’am.”

“Sit, DeGroot.”

Tavish sat. He shot Jane a smug grin. Jane scowled.

“That concludes our presentations for today.” If the professor’s voice got any more disappointed, she could have been a ringer for a Badlands Brawlers fan. “As you know, the diorama that scores the highest marks will receive extra credit toward our upcoming final exam. I use the remainder of the class time to grade, and announce the winner shortly. Please return on the bell if you wish to receive those extra credits.”

The ‘bell’, unlike those rinky dinky little red bowl things they had in high school, was actually a proper bell tower, situated over the science building and able to be heard anywhere on campus. This was where Jane retreated to wait out his nerves, pacing around the semi-enclosed area and mulling over his chances. Fine, Tavish’s had been good. He was used to Tavish being good, the bastard, but Jane’s was better, and this time he was going to mop the floor with him.

“I am going to mop the floor with you!” he declared to the heavens.

“Not with that sad display you won’t.”

Jane jumped. A quiet moment of solitude foiled, besieged by his mortal enemy who’d somehow snuck up on him in order to lean cockily against the door to the stairs.

“My display was anything but sad.” Jane shook his fist. “It was joyous! Victorious! Other words that mean not sad!” When Tavish continued to smirk at him, he added, “plus, your idea is bad anyway.”

“Aye?” Tavish challenged. “How so?”

Dammit. Jane hadn’t thought this far. Replacing the oceans with whiskey really did seem foolproof...except…

“If there is no more water, then you can’t make other type of booze either!” he declared triumphantly.

Tavish jaw clenched. Ha! Good. Let him get angry for once.

He walked over and got right in Jane’s face. “Well what about you? How are you going to light off the fireworks underwater?”

“Oil, salt, and various temperature and pressure difference!” Jane didn’t like the other man in his space, and gave him a shove. They were always doing that to each other during practice, blocking and shoulder-checking harder than necessary, doing things that would certainly be penalties in an actual game.

“Who cares?” Tavish shoved him back. “No one’s going to see them anyway.”

Jane grabbed him by the front of the shirt and shouted, “the dolphins will! You would know that if YOU HAD BEEN PAYING ATTENTION.”

One, dangling, aggravating second stretched on, catching friction as they pressed noses and breathed heavy with the effort. Then they reacted simultaneously, lunging forward and attacking each other in mouth to mouth combat.

Jane growled furiously, trying to gain the upper hand, but Tavish was just as motivated not to let him get it. The pair of them sucked at each other’s faces, mastication muscles competing for this year’s WWE championship belt, crashing against the nearest half-wall surrounding the roof. A more wary observer might have worried about them careening over the edge, but Tavish and Jane had more pressing things on their minds. (And ‘more pressing’ was exactly how they were going to resolve it.) Just a whole mismatched ball of absolute frustration as they worked out several months of pent-up attraction.

Their combined rage might have carried them to hell and back, had the bell not struck 9am at that exact moment.

They both screamed, trying desperately to cover their ears as they hundred and fifty year old bell GONGED above them, rattling teeth inside skulls and causing tears to spring to their eyes.

“God! Why don’t they have a warning sign up? Bloody hell!” Tavish moaned, having found his way to the floor and using his beanie to futilely cover his head.

“What???” Jane, who already didn’t have a good ear at the best of times, worried briefly that he’d finally gone deaf.

“What?” Tavish asked. “I can’t hear a thing you’re saying.”

“What?”

This went on for several minutes, the two men lying on the floor of the bell tower.

When they finally staggered down to class, it was in a terribly haggard state, and new bruises around their mouths.

“Hello professor,” Tavish, the least winded of them, declared. “It’s alright, you can tell us which one was the winner now. We’ve worked out our differences, and determined to let the best man win.”

“The best man will be me, but yeah what he said!” Jane put in.

“If you’re going for flashy, maybe, but on sheer sustainability-”

“No one’s going to eat alcohol-based sushi, cyclops-”

“Enough,” the professor cut in. “Neither of you won the extra credit points.”

“What?” Tavish gaped. “But ours were the best out of anyone’s! How could we possibly lose?”

“The assignment,” she said in a clipped voice that spoke of years of dealing with the exact idiots that Teufort tended to attract, “was to create a physical display of algae chemical reactions at different levels of light and pressure as found in the oceanic zones. Not only did you not win, you have failed this project. Now, since I have a lecture in Hale Hall in fifteen minutes, I suggest you both move out of my way, otherwise you will not have the chance to recuperate those points on the final exam. Goodbye gentleman.”

She stripped the last of the grading notes off her desk, shoved them into a manila folder, and disappeared out the door.

Tavish and Jane watched her go. The minutes ticked by on the wall mounted analog clock, which probably could have told them the time just as well as the giant bell that had nearly deafened them.

“Hey,” Tavish said, elbowing Jane in the side. “I got to take Basic Intergluteal Numismatics next semester.”

“...Yeah? And?”

“Bet I can solve systematic inflation before you can.”

“Oh, you’re on son.”

#demosolly #tf2 fanfiction

[well-shit-im-a-morosexual-now]

Guess what just dropped in Obey Me.

I'll give you a hint: it starts with a ‘L’ and ends with a ‘39’...

Then again, you probably already know this, but just in case you don't...

In other news, I finally decided to go and complete Lesson 31, so yay me. Now I'm just gonna stay on Lesson 32 for a bit.

-Lesson 31 32 Anon

Proud of you for graduating past 31!!!👏💖

I played 39 and im sobbing?!? I already went through this bs why do I havta do it again!!!!? Also do you think lesson 40 will be the last lesson for a while?

Spoilers for 39 ahead cause I'm emotional and need to rant

So MC ends up at a party at diavolo's, he thanks them for saving Lucifer and the devildom (pretty sure that was all just simeon's doing but whatever) and says he's holding a party in their honour (really should be in Simeon's honour but whatever)

MC has a flashback about what happened after they woke up during the whole ring and speaking to Michael (and hopefully not God) thing. The rest of the brothers all rush in yelling, asking if MC is okay cause beel saw a light from the celestial realm coming from their room, Lucifer yells at them to shut up and they realise he's regained his memories

Mammon who's the first one who came in, arrived while yelling and asking if MC was alright, if they had died and if they had vanished....sure hope lesson 16 didn't leave any lasting scars there...

Back in the present time the brothers are crowding around MC and Lucifer. Belphie & Satan note how they'll miss Lucifer with amnesia and how they'll have to get back to pranking him. Asmo calls them out about actually caring about Lucifer.

Diavolo asks MC for a dance, and has one of those dialogues that make me think he'll be a romanceable character in the future. He tells MC how they're helping him bring the three worlds together and how they're his guiding light and how he wants them by his side forever, except before he finishes that last sentence the song ends and Luke cuts in. When MC tries to leave he grabs on to their hand, and you can either say 'ow that hurts' or ask him if he wants a second dance. If you choose the second he blushes and you dance again but he doesn't finish his sentence from earlier

The next morning Lucifer is nagging everyone even more than normal (possibly to make up for lost time) but at the same time he seems even closer with the brothers (asking about Levi's game and Asmo's crush)

On the way to rad MC meets up with the angels and Solomon. Solomon says that they'll have to be leaving soon to their own worlds (why!!!?) Luke and MC both get visibly bummed. They tease Luke and tell him he can live in the devildom if he wishes (he denies it) and Solomon asks MC if they want to leave MC can either say they don't wanna leave the brothers or 'the human world fuckinh sucks what the fuck have you been up there recently it's the worst' (since we got those 'hang in there' pandemic voice messages from the brothers can we assume that this game happens in the present? Y'all really wanna throw MC back out there?)

At rad MC tells this to asmo, beel and mammon (I imagine they do this while facedown on a desk cause that's the only appropriate response rn)

They're all upset and MC says they don't ever want to leave. The brothers tell them to go tell this to Diavolo after RAD.

MC goes and tells this to diavolo (in the presence of Lucifer & barbatos). Lucifer & diavolo aren't surprised and were both expecting this. They tell MC that they are happy that they made such lasting connections and that hey want them to stay as well (yesyesyes-) but (MOTHERFU-) MC is a human and belongs with the humans and that they don't have to leave immediately but that they have a life in the human world anhddjdidndjx do y'all not remember when they were moping around in the human world and how they literally jumped at the chance to come back down to the devildom with no preparation at all???? Y'all remember how asmo noted that they had got thinner after they came back????? Can you pls just ask them if they have anything worth going back to!?

Anyway MC's back home moping around in the library with Belphie and Levi. They tell MC that Lucifer & Diavolo are just playing hard to get and want MC to stay as well but think their positions mean they can't ask for it.

Belphie says that if MC can learn teleportation magic they could constantly drop down to the devildom

MC invites Solomon out to a fancy date and asks him to teach them teleportation magic. He tells them that though their raw magic power surpasses his, they don't have the skill yet and that he'll teach them but teleportation magic usually takes years to learn.

He tells them that usually when making pacts with demons they are done in the human world and a ritual must be conducted. At the end of the ritual a demon may give the human what is most dear to them and the human can use it as a token to summon the demon at any given time (while this is great and all I need my family feels and it'll probably not be practical to summon all 7 of them at a time....maybe MC can summon Lucifer and show him how bad life can be when you're (probably) someone in their mid twenties with no attachments or consistent job and he'll feel sorry for them and whisk them back home?)

Asmo had given Solomon is favourite picture of himself. Except back in their times cameras didn't exist so really it's a large portrait of himself. Solomon says it's a real problem (and I'm cackling, imagine bringing someone home and you have a -knowing asmo- giant probably vaguely sexual picture of some guy on your wall!!!?)

Back home MC meets Satan first (he's being crushed under a collapsed mountain of books after Lucifer told him to clean his room) MC helps him not die and clean his room. He gives them the body switch book (remember that!!!!) He says its power's all gone so it's basically worthless but he still treasures it because of what it did for him (I'm not crying!) He tells MC that even though they'll be able to summon him, he'll still miss them and that he won't be able to be with them when he wants to and it's all really sad and meaningful and I'm okay I swear. You get a choice to either kiss or hug him. Even if you choose to hug him he tells MC he wants to always be with them

Lucifer has asked asmo to throw out all the clothes he doesn't use (the reason lucfier is an undateable option to me is cause he reminds me too much of my own family) and now Asmo's struggling with 10 packed boxes of clothes. MC helps and asmo tells them that Solomon told him about everything. He tells them that he can't give the things dearest to him 'cause those things are himself and MC. MC suggests taking a picture together.

After taking pictures in his room they tell him that now they'll miss each other less and he gets teary eyed and tells them that as long as they're not with him he'll still miss them and he asks them to summon him whenever they want even if that means everyday, he asks them never to forget him (lucifer why the fuck are you putting your family and yourself through so much pain just let the human stay!) you get to stroke his hair and he says he'll miss not getting physical affection from MC whenever he wants to.

(There should probably be ways to get the option to kiss asmo and belphie but I couldn't get them in my first play through and I didn't want to immediately do all that again to check out other options)

MC finds Belphie hiding in the music room from Lucifer who has asked him to clean up the attic (imagine asking someone to clean up the place you locked them up in???? I mean ik Belphie likes the attic now but that's still all kinds of messed up)

MC and belphie head to the planetarium and watch the stars belphie says that MC has a look on their face that means they want to ask him something. You can either immediately dive into the whole summoning thing or tell him you want to be by his side forever. He tells MC about their stars, which he spoke about in s1, he tells them each of his brothers has a star and even though he lives with them when he comes and looks at their stars altogether he feels closer with them/like they're all together. So he gives MC his star. MC gets to say all these things about how they don't wanna leave him and wish they could stay together forever, they hold hands and there's this gorgeous visual & line of dialogue

And well that's it. If mc has to leave and if all the brothers' interactions are like this my heart will be well and truely broken

#asks #answers #obey me spoilers #obey me #obey me shall we date #shall we date? obey me! #obey me! #swd obey me #obey me diavolo #obey me solomon #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me belphegor #om! diavolo #om! solomon #om! satan #om! asmodeus #om! belphegor #swd diavolo #swd satan #swd solomon #swd asmodeus #swd belphegor

[coinofstone]

3x12 The Coming of Arthur pt 1

The title is such low hanging fruit I feel bad cracking a joke about it.

It's a quest episode! I love a quest episode. Srsly feel free to send me any and all Merthur quest fics. I can't get enough 😂

This is the episode responsible for the lovely Leon fanon headcanon that he's immortal. Always handy in an Arthur Returns fic.

Uther: you must go on this mission alone

Arthur: *brings Merlin*

I do love Merlin being being a smart alec and nagging Arthur while packing. Excellent banter.

Arthur said

Arthur threatening a young boy like this is such an ugly and uncharacteristic action it makes me angry.

Merlin tending to Arthur while he's sick and injured 🥺

Also I'm sorry but Merlin shows fuckin Gilli his magic but he's hiding it from fuckin Gwaine while Arthur is suffering? Silly.

Cenred's massive army makes me wonder if it's a result of his tolerance of magic or lower standards than the knights of Camelot, or some combination of both.

Poor Leon, though. He's just got back from near death in that forest and Uther sends him right fuckin back in 😂

Looks like they snuck in to Camelot via the dragon's cave. I doubt that was the intention but I still approve 😂

Knowing he's on a suicide mission, Arthur gives Merlin an out, knowing he'll never take it, knowing he doesn't even want him to: he still presents him with the choice.

How come literally everyone else gets a crown that fits them but Arthur walks around looking like he's wearing hand-me-downs?

Morgana might be evil but she looks damn good on a throne.

3x13 The Coming of Arthur pt 2

There's a post going around Twitter about ppl who nitpick at TV shows... this comment falls into exactly that category 100% but I'm sorry, I cannot just ignore the fact that Morgana's got these massive banners and an entire army's worth of uniforms, I mean look:

Every guard with the sigil on his uniform and half a dozen banners in the council chambers alone. That's to say nothing of the ones outside. I mean look at the sheer fuckin size of these things:

Look how tiny the ppl are next to em! They've gotta be at least 15 feet long, at least. Where did they come from? Were they all magicked into existence? Who designed that sigil? What does it represent? Is it Gorlois' banner? I HAVE QUESTIONS.

Leon isn't someone I've ever been particularly attracted to, personally, but his defiant shout of "Long Live the King" in the face of Morgana's threats, is sexy as hell.

Depressed Arthur is such a mood.

So. Gwen. Originally in 3x12 when Morgana essentially invited Gwen into the fold (insofar as a Queen's servant can be), it seems to be a set up, because Morgana has been treating Gwen like shit for ages, why would she suddenly want her friend back? Especially since Morgana knows something is going on between Gwen and Arthur - there's no way she believes that they were actually under the spell of some random sorcerer, that just doesn't make any sense. So you kind of assume - or at least I did - that Morgana is keeping Gwen close knowing that she'll be useful as bait or a hostage, just essentially as a person of value to Arthur. She's known Gwen for too long to actually believe she'd cross Arthur, there's just no way someone as machiavellian as Morgana doesn't see Gwen's 'loyalty' as a simple survival tactic. All of this is to say, when Morgana and Morgause eavesdrop on Gwen's conversation with Sir Leon, Morgana is just like, 'welp, she's betrayed me. Guess I'll kill her in the morning.' as though she was actually expecting Gwen to do anything else?!?! Like, why? It would've made so much more sense to just cut that line entirely and go straight to something like

Morgana: it's as we suspected, she's betrayed me

Morgause: yes, now she can lead us straight to Arthur

And it would've made so much more sense than the weird sort of purgatory they've implied where Morgana changed her mind about Gwen very suddenly the night before she took the throne. It's not a super important detail in the overarching story but it's another example of how carelessly their story has been handled.

Me rn:

I do love that they made Freya the Lady of the Lake, and that she kept her promise by telling Merlin how to defeat the army of the dead.

How Merlin really sees Kilgharrah:

Gwen really is the smartest of all of them.

I do love that Merlin's first undead kill with excalibur is entirely an accident lol

The subtext between Morgana and Morgause is really gross. I haven't said anything before because I generally don't approve of ship shaming but the not so subtle subtext gives me the heebies.

This is such a great shot

Everything about it, his woman at his left and his man at his right, his romantic rival opposite him on his wife's side, as directly opposite her as possible at a round table with an uneven number of placements. It's a really beautiful shot, fitting for an equally beautiful scene. It's a very moving scene, the music really adds the exact emotion you'd expect for this moment we all recognize... and I feel like the knights' oaths are very well matched. The snarky part of me wanted to make a 'call me maybe' joke about Percival, but he's so sincere I just can't do it. The moment of levity added by Merlin's banter with Arthur is really, really well paced. Honestly I think it's probably the next perfect, iconic scene since Gwen and Arthur's first kiss. Hats off to this crew.

(Don't worry dear reader, I'm sure I'll get back to complaining shortly)

Santiago is so dreamy. I'd share his bedroll any day.

I like that despite all the talk of equality and doing the thing Uther wouldn't approve of, Gwen still worries about the company seeing her and Arthur kiss. Like, he's planning an insurrection with a bunch of commoners and two dudes who've been officially banished from Camelot, but she's internalized the classism and the rules of royalty so deeply that even amongst friends she instinctively keeps their relationship hidden. I'm not sure how intentional that was but it's brilliant.

The fight big fight scene with Merlin just barely missing the cup while the knights are cornered, and Gaius showing up like the brilliant deus ex machina that he is, honestly makes the previous budget-slashed episodes more bearable. Because this really is great, even knowing it's great at the expense of those others.

Morgana's screeching is eerily similar to Aithusa's.

I wonder if they knew they were getting renewed for a fourth season when they wrote this. Because you know, it really could've worked as a series finale as well. An open-ended series finale, but a series finale all the same.

As a Queens kid, I cannot explain to you the joy it gives me to watch Arthur and Merlin just chillin on the steps to the castle as tho it were a stoop, which I suppose, in a sense... it kind of is. Ahhh youthful days.

Commentary is Jeremy Webb and Julian Murphy.

And this kids, is why we're watching with commentary! They've just explained that Morgana's sigil is supposed to symbolize the Rowan tree that's supposed to be at the heart of the Isle of the Blessed. That suggests she designed it herself, so there's at least one of my earlier questions answered.

They talk a lot about how Emila Fox was very pregnant when they were filming her in this season, and they shot entirely around it - and I can't help but feel anger toward Joss Whedon and his 'handling' of Charisma Carpenter's pregnancy during S4 of Angel.

One of them called the round table scene 'curiously moving' and I think that is really fitting. They'd had this in mind for about two years, which is probably why it's so extraordinary. That's a great gestation period for a scene as iconic as this.

One final tidbit: the sword in the stone was filmed in France, and made it back to Wales intact. I guess nobody wanted to take it out. That's kind of an interesting thought, like a little set superstition or something. It's kind of cute.

The DVD extras/special features will get a separate post if I feel I have comments worth sharing.

#bbc merlin #bbc merlin spoilers #merlin #merlin spoilers #merthur #3x12 #bbc merlin 3x12 #merlin 3x12 #3x13 #bbc merlin 3x13 #merlin 3x13 #the coming of Arthur #the coming of Arthur part one #the coming of Arthur part two #the coming of Arthur pt 1 #the coming of Arthur pt 2 #i cannot believe that's the actual title of this episode #onceandfuturerewatch

[recurring-polynya]

I have to say I knew that at one point renji, ikkaku, yumichika and iba were in the same squad with kenpachi but good god you managed to paint a beautiful picture for me. I simply assumed that for them it was simply party time all the time along with a few bald jokes but this is much better. Emotionally healthy squad 11 which still love fighting more than anything. I always cringed when someone would just describe them as hooligans that do nothing but fighting. I mean they do that too but I love the idea that they are all emotionally healthy and mature, a loving and supportive family to their own - in their own wakka doodoo kind of way thats endearing - and of course they are in my opinion they single capable force against sexisim. Because they don't care about anything else - gendere, sexuality, gender performances, race, mentality or anything - other than if you fight good you respectable and if you fight good in squad 11 you family. ( like when kenpachi just became captain he made yachiru his lieutenant and no one was against it no one thought it was beneath them, sure thru nag at her sometimes but that's mostly in a banter like way because she call them stupid nicknames but no one hates her for being unrightfully their superior. One day they got a new captain and a new lieutenant that's a child and they just went with it.) I admit their disdain and disrespect to squad 4 is still frowned upon but I do believe some squad 4s can handle their own, it's just that we saw the really peaceful ones. Anyways sorry for ranting. Just wanted to say that yeah, I really like how the past squad 11 with iba and renji in it was a great place in general. I think if they found out some one was being sexist - for whatever reason - they would be there right next to nanao - or iba's mom protesting. Kenpachi and yachiru as well. And that makes me want to be squad 11 ,despite not being much for fighting, so bad.

So, for starters, thanks! I try to have fun whenever I write Squad 11, and I’m glad you enjoy my take on them.

My Squad 11 is just... really not very canon, though. Canon Squad 11 is actually pretty gross and sexist. Yumichika is transphobic, Kenpachi makes homophobic remarks about Yumichika, they bully Squad 4, there’s a filler episode devoted to a guy that Ikkaku bullied for, like 100 years because the guy lost his reiatsu saving Ikkaku’s dumb ass.

When you write fanfic, you occasionally run into these more problematic aspects of the source media, and you can choose to dig in and analyze them, or just... remake them in your own way. Take for example, Gin. If you read fanfic about Gin, there are some people who will peel away the layers of him and his fears and insecurities and still make him be a horrible gremlin, and it’s really stellar writing. Other people prefer to write him in an AU where maybe less bad stuff happened to him, and he’s more mischievous than sociopathic, and this is a less meaty interpretation, but it’s also more fun. Sometimes fanfic is a meal and sometimes it’s candy. It fulfills different needs and different fantasies and all of it is welcome.

Yumichika, who for me is the fulcrum of Squad 11, presents this problem. I really don’t like the way his “appreciation for beauty” plays out in canon. He doesn’t actually appreciate beauty, he just likes telling other people they’re ugly. I don’t think he’s ever pointed out beauty in anyone else aside from himself or his zanpakutou. I remember the first time I watched his fight with Charlotte and it struck me as so off -- why wouldn’t he find her beautiful? I mean, I know it’s a transmysogynistic joke, that’s why, men dressed as women is funny, hurr hurr, but Yumichika is gender nonconforming himself. This was an opportunity to make a cool character point, and Kubo took the cheap laughs road instead. Going back to what I said last paragraph, a skilled writer could, in theory, write about his insecurities and his brittleness and meanness and write a pretty compelling story, but a) Kubo certainly doesn’t, and I have never actually found a Yumichika-centric fanfic of this nature, and b) this doesn’t fit the role I need him to play in my stories. I am rarely really interested in writing about Squad 11 for its own sake. I like to write them as a backdrop for the period of Renji’s afterlife where he hit absolute rock bottom and bounced back up again. We already know the role Ikkaku played in this, except that Ikkaku is a complete moron in terms of mental health, and I really, really felt like this is where Yumichika needed to come in.

I like to massage Yumichika’s character a bit, but I do want to keep the flavor of some of his character flaws-- he’s still shallow and mean and judgy, and I love that for him, but I like to add in a positive side to his appreciation for beauty. Having Yumichika make fun of Izuru’s pores is funny but it’s even funnier if he’s just given Renji a compliment on his hair first. The idea that a Yumichika compliment is attainable makes all his drags the more vicious. Yumichika also judged people by their beauty instead of their moral character, which is humorous to me. He dislikes Byakuya as a person, but is obsessed with his haircare regime. I like to have him treat Rangiku as an equal, beauty-wise, and a person whose opinion he respects based on her aesthetic. Rangiku is actually a pretty savvy and very emotionally intelligent person whom many people write off because she likes to present herself as a lazy airhead, so in an extremely convoluted way, this all works out. I like to think that Yumichika’s ideas of beauty are also caught up in boldness and risk-taking and having one’s outward presentation ring true to their inner self. To me, this is the core of why he loves Ikkaku. To him, Ikkaku’s devotion to doing the most Ikkaku thing at all times, no matter how stupid, is irresistibly sexy. 

Aside: At some point, I decided that the fact that a lot of people in Bleach have colorful marks on their faces and elaborate hairstyle and accessory games implied that make-up in Soul Society is gender neutral. I like to think there is actually more of a divide between the nobility, who like their make-up to follow rules and be classy, and, well, Squad 11, who like to get make-up ideas from Jem and the Holograms. I don’t even wear makeup (I don’t know how and it’s expensive and I am ashamed of myself, we can talk about my own gender presentation later) but I like to write about both my male and female characters wearing make-up. I don’t actually know how my readers feel about it, but it just falls under the “Is that what people want?”/“It’s what we do” philosophy of all my writing.

I think one of the theses of my writing is that middle management is more important to the character of a squad than the person at the top. Captains sort of act as ideals to strive for, but they are generally unapproachable for one reason or another. Yachiru is more like her captain in this respect (which makes sense, since she is, in fact part of her captain). Ikkaku and Yumichika present this dual idea that 1) strength is awesome, fighting and being the best is awesome, and 2) part of strength is presenting yourself to the world in a bold and confrontational way. (The fact that both of them are hiding huge parts of themselves is laughably ironic). Kenpachi and Yachiru are shining examples of Do Whatever You Want and Be So Strong That No One Can Stop You. 

What really makes this work is that you need someone one layer down-- does anyone actually subscribe to this nonsense, and that’s why Iba - Abarai Squad 11 is Best Squad 11. I really, really enjoy the genre of Reddit posts where a total bro will find out that his girlfriend is trans and react by becoming a vehement advocate for trans rights. I love the bodybuilders typing encouragement to each other meme. Our world is flooded with disingenuous messages from concern trolls trying to tell us why being kind and inclusive to one another is bad or that you should reject help because struggle makes you stronger and the idea of a Himbo looking at something like that and saying “that seems dumb" is delightful to me.

I actually feel like there are a lot of awful people with bad ideas in Squad 11, it’s just that Renji and Iba don’t put up with their shit, and over time, that becomes the culture of Squad 11. I think that Squad 11 has incredibly turnover, but the ones who stay are the ones who subscribe to the ideas you mentioned-- fighting is what matters, if you wanna go argue about shit, go join Squad 5. In the IkkaYumi story I wrote, which happens shortly after Zaraki takes over, a ton of people leave. The Bount Arc (which I know a lot of people skipped) features a dude who was extremely pissed off because he had liked the old Kenpachi and thought Zaraki sucked and was so mad about it that he betrayed Soul Society. You might think that this arc would feature Zaraki caring about this in some way shape or form, but he really didn’t. So, I think there are a lot of Soul Reapers that took issue with serving under a little girl as a vice captain, they just aren’t in Squad 11 anymore.

Oh, one last note on Iba’s mom. I am of an age where a number of my friends have mothers who were Second Wave Feminists. The moms in question are a real mixed bag, because they Came From a Different Time, and on one hand, you have to respect what they went through, and on the other hand, they are very difficult to get along with. I liked the idea that Iba has always chafed against his mom and her big personality, and then Renji comes in, and is like, “hey, your mom is strong as hell and she has a lot of ideas that I never thought of but they make sense” and Iba realizes that, even though she’s still a huge pain in his ass, his mom is the person who made him who he is. Moms are complex.

Uhhhh, I have definitely lost the thread of wherever I was going with this post. Thank you for enjoying my Squad 11, which is nothing like canon Squad 11. Hopefully maybe this year, I will actually finish my Squad 11 Self Care story, where Renji stops being a drunk disaster person after Yumichika teaches him how to fill his brows; I got stuck on a part where Rangiku gives Renji a talk on ethical sluttery.

#squad 11 #sometimes i look at Things I Have Wrought and pull a full Talking Heads style 'how did i get here?' #my squad 11 stuff is my absolutely weirdest most bonkers writing #i am glad people seem to like it #just trying to find some meaning in this hot mess #i think i blame The Toast

[starlessskies94]

Consequence (Joel Miller x OC)

Summary: What if Joel survived his injuries from the Abby and Fireflies attack but ends up with really bad amnesia. He can’t remember his wife, Ellie, or the Outbreak; only before. How will his family bring back the man they once knew?

Pairing: Joel Miller x OC

Note: Sorry I'm a little late posting an update. After so much sadness, why don't we take a break? We need some cute happy moments...my babies are too sad. :( Here's a flashback that is well needed right now. I hope you enjoy it <3

Chapter Six

The sun had long since set, the night unusually calm and still after a morning spent travelling and walking through the Wyoming Museum that Joel had surprised the girls with for Ellie’s birthday.

It had been fun and Ada had enjoyed every second of it. That was until they’d been separated and Ellie had seen the dead Firefly and his messages of hate and anger towards the group after they’d been forced to disband.

Ada had always wondered what would become of them after Marlene’s death, she supposed now she had her answer.

They’d set up their tents for the night with a roaring campfire burning away in between them as the horses grazed contently not too far away. The older woman sat a small distance from the campsite by the water’s edge of the deep pool flooded into the forest beds. Brown eyes stare into the lazy river flowing through the fallen rocks and dead trees, filtering through the cracks into a string of waterfalls that beautifully reflected in the soft moonlight above.

She watches the water move, her mind completely quiet and undisturbed. It’s strange even now to still have quiet moments like this. She’s so used to running for her life, constantly vigilant for the sounds of nearby infected or potential threats that sometimes find their way through. But now she can relax, she can breathe and it’s glorious. There’s just that tiny nag in the corner of her mind. It tugs gently until she can no longer ignore it. She glances back to the tents, towards the young girl that is currently occupying her mind. Ellie sits quietly by the entrance of her tent, headphones in her ears, comic book on her lap as she idly flips through the pages. While Joel tends to the fire, poking and prodding here and there to keep it burning long enough for their supper to be cooked. She’d made sure to pack enough for the whole journey but Ellie had  chosen to catch a few fish for tonight’s meal, what with it being her birthday and all. And as the teen was quick to remind both her and Joel…repeatedly...

My birthday, my rules.

It was the first time she’d seen it in Ellie’s eyes but it had definitely been there and it terrified her. That doubt. For so long Ellie had taken Joel and Ada’s words as fact, she had never brought up the Fireflies or what had happened in the hospital after they’d left so quickly. After all, what reason would they have to lie?

Ada felt her chest tighten at the thought. What would she say if the girl started asking questions? What would Joel say? For the first time in over a year, she was starting to feel guilty for hiding the truth of what really happened. Maybe Ellie deserved to know, maybe they never should have lied in the first place.

But as she glanced back across at her daughter, the fear went away. She was a mother and it was her duty to protect her child. No matter how old she was. And while she may not have been Ellie’s biological mom, she was every bit a mother to the girl whether they were related by blood or not. She'd raised Ellie from being a few days old after her mother had passed. And she had done the best she could with what she had.

She’s was so lost in her own barrelling train of thoughts, that she doesn’t hear Joel approaching until he sat beside her.

“Hey you doing alright over here?” He asks.

“Yeah I’m fine.” She lies and Joel instantly knows that something is wrong, the concern evident on his face as he leans closer towards her.

“No you’re not. You're worrying.” He says gently. “It's Ellie ain’t it? You saw it too.”

She doesn’t even have to question what he’s talking about. They both saw the look on Ellie’s face when they forced their way into the abandoned building and found the girl stood alone in the dark, her light illuminating the Firefly sign and the dark letters painted below.

‘Liars’

In a way it felt as if the very message was speaking directly to them. For what else could they call themselves for the stories they had spun, for the protection of a girl that they both wanted to save? That they both loved.

Ada said nothing as she moved to rest her head on Joel’s shoulder, the man sighing deeply, lifting his arm to wrap around her waist, his own head then rested upon hers. They held each other close as they’d done so many times before, staring out at the glistering water before them. The soft lapping of the water danced by the edge with the breeze of the night’s air, carrying with it the melody of chirping crickets in the long grass under foot.

“What are we gonna do?” The brunette whispers into the silence settled between them.

“With how things are going; I say we do nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“She ain’t asked about it, reckon there’s no reason to go pulling at strings until it’s time.” Joel reasoned. And he was right, Ellie was happy. She was making friends back in Jackson, learning new skills and discovering new talents. It wasn’t until Tommy had gifted her with a journal for her birthday that she actually discovered she was a pretty damn good artist. She had a bed to sleep in every night, a family to come home to, just like she’d always wanted. It was the closest thing Joel and Ada could remember from before; that somewhat resembled a normal life.

They had structure, a reason to get up in the morning. And it felt good. Eventually they moved from the water. Walking hand in hand towards the fire and sitting together, while Ellie continued quietly in her own little bubble, reading her comic book.

They glanced at one another and in that instant that their eyes met, it was decided they would keep their secret for a little longer. Ellie was happy and that was what mattered to them. Nothing more needed to be discussed.

Joel moved to tend to the burning fire, checking over the fish as it cooked above the flames. Though Ada had to quickly take over when the man sent her a lost look at the state of the food. The older man was talented at a lot of things throughout his twenty years of survival but it was obvious that cooking was not one of them. A trait that Ada found rather endearing about him. To meet this confident, strong and stoic man; only to then find out that he struggled to cook a simple can of soup without somehow managing to burn it to the bottom of the pan.

Although it was considered rather old-fashioned, Ada still enjoyed looking after Joel. After everything he had done for her and Ellie, something as simple as cooking him a decent meal made her feel like she was giving something back. She’d tried teaching him in the early days they’d arrived in Jackson but it seemed it was a skill Joel just couldn’t pick up, no matter how often she attempted it. It was a small thing but it made her feel better knowing that; even if she couldn’t control anything regarding Joel’s safety when he left on patrols, at least he wasn’t going out with an empty stomach.

With the food done Ada quickly served the meal, splitting the fresh fish between herself, Joel and Ellie. Who, as a typical teenager, said nothing as she took the plate from her mother and disappeared back into her tent, comic book under her arm and headphones still blasting in her ears. The older woman merely smiled, taking her seat back at Joel’s side as the two ate in a comfortable silence.

When they’d finished Joel had offered to wash up, a credit to his Texas manners as he moved towards the stream to fetch water. He heated it through after grabbing a rag from his backpack and once again found his place at Ada’s side.

She watched him as he worked, a smile tugging at her lips. It had been almost two years since she’d met this man and she still wasn’t quite sure what she’d done to deserve him.

If she was honest she had never loved anyone the way she loved Joel. It was almost laughable how irritating they once found each other when they'd first met. Constantly arguing over plans, ideas and routes to take to get to their destination. She’d wanted so badly to get rid of this gloomy grump, confident in her own abilities that she could find her way with Ellie on her own. And yet now she couldn’t even fathom the idea of living without him.

“Hey.” She called gently, grabbing Joel’s attention as he glanced her way. “ I wanted to thank you, for all this. Everything you’ve done for Ellie. I think this is without a doubt the best birthday she’s ever had. Back in Boston I could never really do a lot for her. Couldn’t even get her a decent present with those damn ration cards.”

“You don’t gonna thank me Ada, reckon this was good for all of us.” He said, wringing out the rag as he finished the washing up, then hanging it dry. Ada shuffled on her behind, grabbing her legs to cross them underneath her and leaned back on her arms to gaze up at him.

“Yes I do, you didn’t have to do this. And that tape you found her...I mean she loves it Joel.” He smiled at her words, his eyes moving to find Ellie still sat alone with her Walkman.

“You do realise she’ll be listening to that on repeat for months right?” She laughed with him. His face lit up with joy, it was the same feeling he’d felt when he gave her the gift in the first place. The pure wonder and glee when she played it. He looked back to Ada and his heart leaped in his chest when he saw the love in her eyes.

“Well...you know, speaking of presents, I do actually have something else.” He teased with a mischievous grin widening across his face. He kneeled down beside the woman, rummaging through his bag then pulled out a small vinyl cover. Ada’s mouth agape in surprise as she took the album from Joel, a small gasp leaving her, her smile hid behind the hand that rested on her chin.

“Joel...I...how did you…” She uttered, completely at a loss for words. It was a Fleetwood Mac album, one of her favourites in fact. The man beside her lowered himself back down, his hazel eyes level with hers.

“You said they were your favourite growing up, cause of your mom and I found a music store before we left Jackson so I figured...you know…” He explained and Ada was touched by how considerate he was. How sweet. She’d told him the story of her mother listening to the band throughout her childhood and teen years, when they’d first started to soften to one another while travelling through Pittsburgh. But that had been months ago and yet he had remembered every detail. A fact that Ada was quick to point out to him, but he just smiled and shrugged.

“I guess I do listen more than you think.” He simply said. And damn if Ada didn’t fall in love with this man all over again.

“I love it, thank you.”

“You’re welcome darlin’.”

She still hadn’t said the actual words to him yet. Which, when she thought about it seemed so ridiculous. She put the album to the side, unfold her legs and tackled the man in a hug. A reaction Joel clearly hadn’t been expecting as the force of it left them both in a tangled mess on the forest floor. Ada landing on top of him, as he let out a muffled grunt as he met the ground with his back. His arms wrapping around her middle and holding her in place, while hers found themselves round his neck, her fingers brushing through his hair.

“I love you.” She said breathlessly, her eyes never leaving his. She saw his throat quiver as he swallowed hard, his face softened as his calloused fingers caressed against her face. A gentle touch but one that still made her feel warm and giddy. He brushed her hair from her eyes, sweeping the brown locks behind her ear and smiled lovingly.

“I love you too.” He replied. The words said for the first time between them. He moved forward to kiss her, eyes sliding close, noses touching as they leaned closer.

“Oh come on guys!! Seriously?! Fucking gross!” Ellie bellowed, instantly killing the mood as Joel groaned letting his head fall back against the floor, his arms releasing Ada as she quickly scuffled from him and back to her feet. Hand reaching out to help Joel up.

Both adults stepped away from the other, attempting to put the distance between them as Ellie stared them down with a raised eyebrow.

“And on my fucking birthday, what are you trying to scar me for life or something?” She joked. But Ada and Joel were far too embarrassed to see the funny side. The girl continued with a deep chuckle, her tongue sticking out as she gagged and pulled faces at the whole thing.

“Oh man that image is gonna be stuck in my brain forever!” She groaned. “Get out! Get out” She whined tapping her head with her small fist as she squeezed her eyes closed. Turning on her heel and retreating back towards her tent.

Joel awkwardly cleared his throat when the girl had gone, looking anywhere and everywhere except towards Ada. The woman doing the same, her stomach fluttering and cheeks hot from endless blushing.

“Well that was uhhh...unexpected.” The man mumbled. Ada just laughed as she felt the tension melt away between them as Ellie shouted at the two to go to bed and jokingly threatened to ground them if they didn’t behave. Joel just shook his head at the girl and smiled at his love as they called it a night and headed towards their tent. Ellie watched them go and readied herself for first watch, taking the risk to glance through the tent door and seeing Joel and Ada had already fallen asleep. She'd never tell them but it was actually kinda cute when they cuddled up to each other. She was glad they were happy. It was nice.

Yeah  Ellie thought to herself as she settled in for the night.

Best. Birthday. Ever.

#Joel Miller #joel the last of us #joel and ellie #joel miller x oc #the last of us part 2 #the last of us #Ellie Williams #fanfiction #starlesskies writes