#((I don't know if this will remain the case forever mind you))

[owl-bones]

Hey, I got a question for ya.Who THA HECK ARE EOS AND HELIOS?! I tried to found their story but I didn’t managed to find it…And since you’re their creator…could you explain ??? 👁️👄👁️

Thanks for your time (if you founded the time to read this) and (in any cases) have a good day ✌︎('ω')✌︎

ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ

backstory/lore/personalities below the cut! it's. longgggg. VERY long. slkdfjlsdk like over 3k words

Backstory (personalities at the bottom)

Nim was a goddess of emotions, tasked with protecting the worlds made by creators throughout the multiverse. Eventually she yearned to create something of her own, but couldn't make something out of nothing-- so she used herself. She made two beings to keep each other company when she was gone, and used what remained of herself to become a tree to give them shelter.

The beings she made were too young and weak to harness her power in its entirety, so she sealed her power away in the fruits of the tree she became so they could grow into her strength slowly.

The beings were Dream and Nightmare, two halves of her whole.

It continues similarly to Dreamtale-- overtime the tree flourishes and the skeletons slowly grow up together. A village is built nearby and, over decades, becomes a busy town. The child guardians are mostly left alone as the people don't understand them and they keep to themselves, but there are many rumors and myths that develop about the tree they guard. One such rumor is that the tree is the reason the town develops so successfully and quickly. Over generations the guardians are a constant, never aging (truthfully just very slowly) and the mythos surrounding them slowly begins to warp.

People get used to their presence and seek them out more often, and as the details about their guardianship and abilities begins to spread more and more rumors develop.

Dream is outgoing and cheery. He's personable and warm and easy to get along with. The townspeople quickly adopt him like a stray cat, and he's given gifts when he visits and treated kindly. He's called things like "little guardian" and "angel" and the like. He soaks up this attention and praise like a plant hungry for the sun's light and, over time, visits more and more often.

Nightmare is more wary and shy, but strikingly intelligent. He's incredibly protective of the tree of emotions, and rarely leaves. It's more than a magic tree; it's their home and history. A hidden library, the sum of all of Nim's knowledge and life experiences, rests within the tree's broad hollow trunk. There's room enough for dozens, if not hundreds of books, and a place for the twins to sleep and hide away. He's dedicated his life to knowing as much as he can about their long-silent mother and their duties as guardians and is very protective of the knowledge. This makes him more enigmatic to the townsfolk, and people are known to be afraid of the unknown. He's quickly dismissed as the ruder sibling, and shunned. Not that he minds.

Dream isn't as concerned with their history-- he's far more interested in the present and future. He's found himself enamored with the town and how it develops; how he's watched children age and have families of their own, how more buildings are built to spread the town further and further. He knows everyone and everyone knows him.

They are young teens at this point. A couple hundred years old but still maturing and growing. As they've aged the tree has lost fruit; the apples drop to the ground and disappear when they're picked up as the twins absorb them to age into their powers.

But prosperity doesn't last forever, and the tree held no real power over the town's success. Soon the town finds itself in trouble-- a drought, an oncoming war, it's not important. What's important is they cling to their superstitions and fears and try to find a scapegoat. Nightmare is that scapegoat, keeping their salvation from them. They haven't been taking proper care of the tree, that's why there's fewer fruit. It's their fault.

If the town can get to the apples the twins protect, maybe they can use them to help themselves. Maybe they can plant more magic trees to increase their prosperity, or their warriors can eat them and gain their strength. They don't know anything about the tree's true nature and don't care to listen to either Dream or Nightmare when they ask for the guardians' boons.

The townspeople aren't dissuaded, and instead turn to manipulation. If Dream and Nightmare won't give them their blessing, they will simply have to take what they need. The guardians are children, anyway. What do they know about the world and politics of adults?

They know they can't get Nightmare away from the tree, but they can at least lure Dream away. He's offered tea and treats by a trusted villager, unaware it contains a sedative. He falls asleep and they go to work-- dozens of villagers go to the tree and start picking the golden apples. They ignore the black apples, not interested in something appearing 'tainted'. Nightmare tries to stop them but things get violent and he's downed with a blow to his skull. He's still young, weak, inexperienced, and hopelessly outnumbered. He's pinned and forced to watch as his mother's body, his home, is defiled.

The townsfolk didn't count on Dream being resistant to the sedative, however. Despite the amount of sleep-inducing herbs he consumed he's awake within a few minutes. He's groggy and aware something is wrong, but he's up.

Concerned and distraught he's been poisoned by someone he trusted, he returns home to find his brother injured and restrained and the tree devoid of golden apples.

The townspeople have decided to cut down the tree without removing the black apples, thinking that will remove the problematic negativity and they can replant the golden ones to only have positive trees. They're already partway through the trunk, and that's what spurs Dream into action.

They haven't noticed him yet and he starts picking up the apples to protect them-- but they disappear as soon as they're in his arms. They're his power by birthright, and absorbing them is what he's meant to do. It's only natural that his power would want to go where it belongs. At first it's warm and he feels stronger and more aware of what's going on, but the more apples he picks up the more his body aches and starts to burn.

His vessel was never meant to contain this much power this quickly, and as he desperately tries to save the apples it starts to break at the seems. His bones crack, the injuries filling with golden light holding him together, but he doesn't stop.

The townsfolk notice him, finally, and stop cutting at the tree to stop him. But it's too late. He's 'consumed' enough now that he's strong enough to keep them back with a magic barrier. He could stop now, talk them down from their frenzy, but... he doesn't want to. Despite the pain of his body breaking and barely keeping itself together, the power he now burns with is... good. His senses feel sharper, he's stronger, and he's brimming with energy. He keeps absorbing the apples.

His power overflows and can't be contained within him anymore, and golden light seeps out of his spine. The people always called him an 'angel', and this moment is where that myth solidifies itself. They aren't wings, not yet, but the amorphous magic light at his back is enough to make the villagers back away. This is the divine salvation they've been waiting for, right? An angel come down to lead them to safety?

But Dream isn't feeling like the happy-go-lucky child they knew him as. He's feeling an all consuming rage like he has never felt before. His emotions are much stronger than they've ever been, burning inside him. And not only that-- the vague impressions of people's emotions he could always feel are clear as day now. He can see exactly what the people are feeling.

Fear. Anxiety. Anger. And... hope.

That hope stands out to him. It doesn't sting like the other feelings steeped around the tree right now. It's warm and comforting and he wants more.

But first he needs to free his brother. Nightmare is falling unconscious and his vision is blurry, but he recognizes Dream. Dream does his best to heal him, a skill he's been practicing as his magic slowly got stronger. Now, though, his magic is much more powerful. It's raw and out of control and the positivity burns Nightmare with its force, scorching his armrs. Dream stops almost immediately, but the damage is done.

Nightmare was already weak, but now he's on the brink of dusting. The faint wisps of Nim left in the tree uses the very last bit of her magic to turn him to stone to help him recover.

Confronted by the loss of his brother, convinced it was his fault and his magic that did it, Dream shuts down. He goes fully into denial. Nightmare is just resting, he's fine, everything's fine. He can fix everything.

He needs to get rid of the townspeople. They're crowding him and his brother and they need to leave immediately. Shockingly, they obey. Dream is left alone with the statue of his brother.

It's not long before he gets a craving for more of that positivity he sensed. When he returns to the town, suspicious and still angry, he finds everything strikingly normal. Everyone is going about their business as if nothing had happened and he's greeted warmly (if a little nervously). There's more hope coming from everyone and it soothes the ache in his chest.

Dream overhears people whispering about him, calling him the angel again, and he starts putting the pieces together. The head of the town meets with him and suddenly he's not treated like a petulant child, but he's given information.

The town's issues are explained to him. The people are putting their hopes and dreams on his shoulders. There's expectations and they want things from him despite what they have done. And Dream finds himself answering the call, drunk on the power and feeling seen for the first time.

The people weren't acting maliciously, he tells himself. They were just misguided. They didn't know what they were doing, just like how they thought he didn't know what he was doing. He's the guardian of positivity. If they want prosperity and joy again, he can help them. He can guide them to what they want. They just have to stay away from the half-felled tree and do as he says.

As it turns out, the people are more than willing to stay far away from the negativity-steeped tree and follow his orders. They very quickly fall into line and worship him. He has no idea how to lead or manage a town, but nobody dares speak a word against him. Not that they need to. Despite the continuing issues they face, no townsperson can say that they're unhappy with Dream in charge. The opposite, in fact.

Since he came to be with them permanently everyone has found themselves filled with nothing but hope and happiness. They work tirelessly without complaint. Under his guidance the town expands even further over the decades until it's a fortified, bustling kingdom.

But Dream grows bored managing the mortals. He still ages slowly, and now an adult and having overseen a kingdom and its silly politics for generations, he wants more. He's grown properly into his powers and the magic at his back is now properly shaped like wings, like the 'angel' he is.

Nightmare used to speak of the other worlds the books within the tree would describe, and Dream for the first time in centuries seeks out his old home. He finds the books, worn but still intact, and learns of the multiverse and the balance.

It's then that he decides, like the expansion of the kingdom and his influence, to bring his light and positivity to other worlds.

It's another century or two after Dream leaves that Nightmare's petrification wears off. The apples have all fallen from the tree over the years, and he's slowly come into his powers himself. And yet he's still so... fatigued. Like something is sapping his strength no matter how much he rests.

The incident feels like it only happened moments ago for him, and yet he's alone. The library of his childhood is decrepit and the books are in poor condition and barely salvageable. His brother is gone, and when he goes looking for him... the town is a massive kingdom. White and gold and successful, flying golden banners and proclaiming Dream as their patron guardian.

But he's not there, either. Nightmare spends time in the kingdom working as a farmhand just trying to understand what exactly has happened and changed in the time he's been away. It's not easy finding information about his brother that's not glorified, and being an 'outsider' makes it even harder. The myth of the guardian of negativity has faded with time, his status as Dream's brother merely a footnote in the story, and for the first time in his life Nightmare is treated rather... normally by those around him.

It's a couple years later that Nightmare finally comes into his own and realizes the extent of Dream's control over both their original home, and the worlds he's visited since. He remembers reading about the careful balance he and Dream were meant to preserve... but he can tell that something isn't right. Somewhere along the way, growing up alone and worshipped and corrupted by the positivity he was meant to guard, Dream has lost himself. He's 'fixing' every AU he can, making them positive and trying to drive the balance as far in his favor as possible.

Nightmare leaves his home, alone and unsure of himself, and quickly finds himself lost in a sea of worlds that hate him. Due to his efforts to right the balance, he is painted a villain. He's used to it, and yet it still hurts. The hope that it was just that village that hated him quickly turns into the realization he is doomed to be hated wherever he goes, no matter how correct his actions.

The first time he runs into Dream, it seems like everything is going to be okay. They're together again, nothing bad can happen to them now that they're both powerful. But Dream's aura is draining to Nightmare, and their goals are too far apart. Dream's joy at the realization his brother isn't dead quickly turns to petulance when Nightmare insists he stops disrupting the balance and returns the AUs he's altered to their proper states.

They argue, and despite how much it hurts they go their separate ways. Nightmare continues to try and fix things, coming into conflict with Dream every so often, but he's outnumbered again. Dream has hundreds of people in his employ, sent out to AUs constantly to help put them on track to be positive. Nightmare is alone and weakened. Despite working tirelessly, there is nothing he can do to fix things. The balance shifts ever further, and Nightmare grows weaker.

It's years into their conflict that Dream hurts his brother again. He's used to them being on relatively even footing. He holds back against his disadvantaged brother, and Nightmare escapes before things get too bad. It's a song and dance they've done countless times at this point. But eventually, the time comes that Nightmare doesn't dodge in time. An arrow pierces his chest.

He's alive, the wound not enough to outright kill him, but he's comatose. Dream takes him back to his home, an opulent palace in an empty AU he's transformed to his liking. Nightmare can't get hurt anymore like this. Dream can protect him, and when he wakes up he'll convince him to see things his way. Everything will be okay. He always fixes things.

(Nightmare does eventually wake up and more things happen, but i'll save the how and why for later ;) )

Dream / Helios

Hundreds of years old, massively powerful, and incredibly influential. Dream has (peacefully) conquered most major AUs and solved their conflicts. Beloved by all and he knows it, he's egotistical and used to getting what he wants. And if he doesn't get what he wants... he finds a way. He's entitled and arrogant but also completely assured in his power. He has no need to gloat, he's quite confident in his status and abilities. But that isn't to say he doesn't like praise; he lives for it.

He's generous and well-intentioned, but also fully capable of justifying the means to get his end. If an AU can't be fixed it's either cordoned off or allowed to be destroyed. He employs many many people from many AUs to do his bidding, including those from AUs that would be considered 'negative'. If there's only one person left in the AU, removing them and giving them a better life is the next best way to fix it.

He doesn't have friends, not really, but his close confidants are Blue and Strike. He collects injured mythological creatures from AUs and rehabilitates them at his palace. He considers himself a patron of the arts, and aside from hiring people to help spread positivity he also hires artisans to live in his palace and fill it with art of all kinds. Tailors, sculptors, painters, writers, singers/musicians, and more.

He has many hobbies he's picked up over the years, but enjoys singing the most. He can fly with his wings, and is strong enough to carry someone along with him. He can change their size and shape depending on need.

He's very self conscious about the golden cracks all over his body, considering it a symbol of his weakness when he was young. He wears full coverings at all times (except his skull), and would only show the cracks to someone he truly trusts and cares for.

He's very skilled with a bow and rapier, but prefers to leave the fighting to his guards. He's very clever with his words and can be a skilled manipulator, but is equally capable of lacing his words with magic and forcing people to follow his will. He's very in-tune with souls and can manipulate even the slightest bit of positivity he senses, and there's a few people around his castle that are effectively his puppets due to their disobedience.

Nightmare / Eos

Cynical and exhausted. He's a workaholic; he doesn't have time to rest, he has to live up to his responsibilities. He rested enough as a statue and he can't afford to stop for even a moment. He wants nothing more than to have everything go back to the way it was and be close with Dream again, but worries the passage of time and what happened when they were young has put an irreparable crack in their relationship. The Dream he fights now is nothing like the Dream he knew when they were young, and he struggles to grasp that disparity.

Dream however can't help but recognize that Nightmare has barely changed. He's still shy and a bookworm. He's vilified and despised by most around him despite his good intentions, and continues to stand up for what he believes in in spite of it. He knows he will never be the hero of the story, but fights anyway.

He's slow to make friends and even slower to fully trust someone. He yearns to be understood and treated like a full person and not as a scapegoat for fears and misunderstandings. He's fighting to right the balance as is his responsibility, but all he really wants is to settle down and rest. He gets easily attached to people that make him feel safe and comforted.

He grew into his magic slowly as a statue, but is still adjusting to the changes even years later. When he's overwhelmed by negativity it can result in him leaking corruption from his sockets and mouth.

He's weakened from the balance being disrupted, but makes up for it with alternative magic he's learned from books. He has a passion for bookbinding and book restoration and has lovingly recreated and repaired what he could from the tree's library. He thinks it's very important to preserve Nim's history and live up to his responsibility as a guardian.

Not as skilled with a bow as his brother, but a decent swordsman with a sickle or scythe. He fights his own battles and eventually gains a team of close friends to support him.

#rayne's art #swapdream!totality #helios!dream #eos!nightmare

[bumblebeesfromvenus]

TF141 getting a boudoir photo album as a wedding gift ♡

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ────── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

A/N: THIS WAS SO FUN!!! Great, absolutely phenomal idea, dear anon. Simon's part is very sappy (I cried) which might be ooc for him?? Idk, that's how I write him/interpret his character! :) let me know who's your favorite 👀

~Fi 🐝

《Warnings》: NSFW content. proceed with caution. PiV, creampie, cunnilingus, Johnny's oral fixation (yes, that is a warning.)

It's still very sweet and lovey dovey with all of them bc I'm a certified sap <3

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ────── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ────── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

John would be grinning and smirking like a proper idiot when he lays his eyes on those delectable photos of you.

I imagine you had a date night at home, sipping wine on the couch and talking about your wedding that's supposed to take place in only 3 days. He's telling you how he can't wait to see you in your wedding dress and slip that ring onto your finger.

Be prepared to he called Mrs. Price the days leading up to the big day. John excuses it with "Need to practice, love. Don't wanna mess it up in front of anyone, eh?"

Sneaky bastard.

He knows what he's doing, you know what he's doing, all is well because if he only knew what that did to you. You're just talking, trying to get the nerves out now so you can go into your wedding with a clear mind and have a good time. When you tell him you have a gift for him, his eyebrows almost overshoot his forehead. Yeah, he knew that was a thing some people did, but he never gave it another thought.

In all honesty, marrying you was the best gift he could ever get. Which is why he feels slightly guilty that he doesn't have one for you (at least that's what you see, internally he's crushed) but that all goes out the window when you sit back down with a sleek beige photo album that has a little romantic quote on the front.

"And what's this, doll, hm?" His heart feels warm and fuzzy, thinking these are some lovely pictures of you together on holidays you went on, casual trips to the local pub or just some domestic shots you managed to sneak during his leave.

What he doesn't expect, however, is the angelic image of your plush body on full display, draped over a velvet chaise lounge with layered pearl necklaces hanging from your neck. This man is shell-shocked. If he wasn't frozen in place, he would've snapped the book shut.

You can basically see the connections to his brain frying. His jaw slacks, and only after what feels like 10 minutes he regains his ability to think and close his mouth. John is sweating and his cock is rock hard as he flips through the remaining pages.

He shoots you the occasional glance while he's trying not to hyperventilate. You just sit back and savor your wine, trying to hide your laugh behind the rim of your glass. You'd expected a reaction, of course, but you didn't think you'd render the John Price speechless just from a few suggestive photographs of you.

But what absolutely breaks the camels back (or John's, in this case) is the last picture of you. You're kneeling, slightly leaned back and supported by your arms, with one of his Flannels covering your soft tits. That alone would've been enough to drive him crazy, but the sight of his old dogtags sitting against your sternum has him groaning out loud.

The only other thing covering you is a simple pair of lace panties, cupping the soft curve and rolls of your tummy so beautifully, John was ready to take a bit out of that damn page.

He nearly misses the inscription underneath the photo;

To my John; the love of my life, the man of my dreams,

I love you.

You hold my heart and you will forever.

May I be so lucky to find my place in the stars by your side when the time comes, so we'll never have to be apart.

With all my love,

Mrs. Price

And that does it. The album snaps shut and you barely have time to put down your wine glass before John is all over you, taking handfuls of you, whatever he can reach. With how fast he smashes his lips on yours, he nearly gives you whiplash.

He's tugging and pulling at your clothes as well as his own, not saying a thing, just hungrily swallowing every one of your sounds and giggled objections before he decides the couch is uncomfortable and he moves you to the bedroom. You're hoisted up without a warning and you cling to his neck. Immediately, worried words start spilling from your lips, remembering how he'd complained about a sore back just today;

"John, baby, your back-"

"I don't give a flying fuck about my back, love."

He's heaving and grunting like a fucking animal, he's downright feral. Despite all of that, you're still laid down gently on the bed, John would never, ever be reckless with you. But he needs to be inside you now, he'll actually lose his mind.

Usually, he'd spent hours between your thighs first, but he just can't wait. He's pounding you into another dimension but with such gentleness in his gestures, it makes your head spin.

He's holding your hand, breathing sweet praises into your ear despite him filling you to the brim. His urge to claim you goes haywire and he fills you with his cum multiple times before he's sane enough again.

He's covered in sweat and his beard is wet from your spit from all the sloppy kisses he gave you. John will definitely make it up to you and eat you out for as long as you want after.

He'll make a copy of one of the photos and take it with him when he's on deployment, just for the nights he's feeling lonely.

His wedding gift to you are the hickeys on your thighs and tummy and new sheets because you two tore the other ones to absolute shreds.

♥︎

Johnny would probably have a boudoir album for you, too. You get at least one shirtless pic a day, so a whole album of his body on display or in suggestive poses basically screams Johnny. He's already drooling the second he spots that book because he knows what it is and that he's in for a treat.

He's buzzing with excitment.

You never really send nudes for privacy reasons, and then for you to do something like this hit him like a truck in the best way possible. You're standing opposite from him behind the kitchen counter, and you look so nervous to him.

Cue his signature shit-eating grin. You tap your fingers on the dark blue album before having enough of your nerves and just sliding it over to him with a few mumbled words of what it is.

"Awe, for me, mo leannan?" He's a teasing bastard, and he chuckles when you huff and turn your head, obviously flustered. Johnny is legit licking his lips, but when he opens the book, his grin fades so fast.

He knew it would be good, but holy shit, this was so much better than he expected. His pupils dilate as he takes in each of the pictures of you, all of you, all your curves and bumps.

Everything he loves about you. God, you're such a woman, he thinks to himself. Some with lingerie, some without. He's full on drooling at this point, and the only reason why he roughly wipes it away with the back of his hand is to not get it on these sacred images.

He smirks at the picture of you in a tub, all soapy, with pebbled nipples. An obvious dig at his nickname, but, god, does your ass look amazing when it's covered in a thin layer of bubbles. He loves lathering you up in the shower and feeling you up while you're all wet and slippery.

"Good thing I can hold my breath, aye, hen? Might even try to set a new personal record." He's grinning and chuckling meanwhile you give him a sharp glare. You can't deny that the idea intrigues you, though.

But this, oh, this one was him swallowing thickly. It's you in very sheer panties (they're barely even underwear) and his name patch is sewn onto the front. Your hair looks so nice, so do your thighs, he doesn't know whether to look at your eyes or your tits. The button on his jeans is about to pop off from his throbbing boner.

He can't take his eyes off that 'MacTavish' patch that sits right on your lower belly, with the slight curve it has to it from your soft tummy.

Johnny has to hold himself back from gripping the book too hard. He wouldn't want to ruin it.

"Steamin' bloody Jesus, bonnie..."

The album is shut and tucked under his arm, and Johnny jumps over the counter to get his hands on you. Or his mouth, more like. He has a huge oral fixation, so he loves sucking and biting on every inch of your skin. You're pushed back into the bedroom, even though you end up on the floor, and the book is thrown onto the bed.

He rips your shirt up and sucks at your tits and nipples, groaning and moaning at the taste of your skin, all while he's rubbing his clothes cock against your leg. You end up on your hands and knees with one of Johnny's hands on your lowerback while his face is buried in your cunt.

He's eating you out like he's been starved for years, and his stubble is already starting to irritate the skin of your thighs and ass.

You'll have the worst case of beard burn in the morning, but how could you care about that when his tongue is so deep inside of you?

Remember when I said he'd have a boudoir album too? Yeah, now you're in between his legs, your back pressed to his chest with Johnny's album in your shaky hands. And the way your engagement ring catches the dim light of the room has your eyes rolling back.

And Jesus christ, Johnny looks fucking phenomal. You clench around his fingers hard, and he doesn't even have to pull his head from your neck to know what photo you're looking at.

He's smirking and grinning like the ceshire cat, knowing that the image of him in a kilt with no shirt one is gracing your field of vision right about now.

"Ah knew ye'd like tha' one, bonnie..."

Johnny's cooing in your ear, telling you to keep looking at the pictures while he's knuckle deep in your pussy. His bare dick is pressed against your ass and you can feel him rocking his hips to get off.

He's mumbling all kinds of gibberish into your ear, but one of the few things you can make out is "mo bhean"* which pushes you over the edge. You won't be leaving that bed anytime soon.

*(My wife)

♥︎

Kyle is such a sweetheart. I've said it before, and I will say it again, he's such a cutie pie!!! But that doesn't mean he can't or won't get nasty.

He'd offered to make lunch, which was delicious as always, and now you're chatting casually about your day at your dining table. Your fingers are laced together, and he's wearing the biggest smile because all he can think of is how he gets to marry you in just a few days.

He's over the moon. He can't wait to see you walk down the aisle, say your vows to each other, and overall have a great time with all your friends and family.

But the thing Kyle is looking forward the most is the honeymoon. He'll have you to himself for 2 whole weeks and he's stoked. He can't wait to treat you to nice things, love on you, but he's the most excited to fuck you as your husband.

He may look sweet and 'innocent' but this man can fuck, okay. And he fucks well. He knows every little spot that has you mewling and he's so good at using them for his gain.

Kyle will fuck you into the mattress in the Hotel you booked, he's already made up his mind about that, but he wants to absolutely melt your brain by being so loving whole doing it that you can't help but cry out for him.

He has heart eyes at this point, watching you talk about all that happened today and he only snaps out of his dream world when you present the deep red album to him with a sweet smile.

He's got a hunch of what it is so there's a hint of a smirk on his lips. Still, he almost gets whiplash when he opens it.

There's no easing into it, just straight up tits, ass and tummy. And let me tell you, Kyle is loving every second of it. It's no secret that he loves your chub, and that fact that it's extenuated so beautifully in every shot makes his heart and his cock happy. He's a very balanced man after all.

He comments on every single photo because he think it's endearing how you get all flustered and giggly from his compliments.

One picture that has him taking a second, though, is one where you have a lacy band tied around your thigh, with a little golden 'Kyle' charm hanging from it. He's all smiley and giddy, but he does try to discreet adjust his trousers because, holy shit, that's hot.

"Have you still got that, dove? Would love to see it tied around your pretty neck."

All you answer is that he'll have to be patient and wait till the wedding night to find out. He's laughing and teasing now, but just what till you get to the last page, Gazy.

And the way his smile just melts off his face is priceless. His gaze is flitting between you on the page and you sitting across from him with a shot eating grin. All the blood that drained from his face went straight to his dick.

Not only are you wearing a set of lingerie in his favorite color, but you've got his iconic pair of sunglasses hooked on the center of your bra. And that's not all either, his eyes travel upwards and his base cap is sat on your head and you've got that beautiful smile of yours on your face.

He makes an audible noise, one that indicates you took his breath away, when he takes in the whole picture.

"How in hell did you manage to snatch my hat and my glasses from right under my nose?!"

"Skilled hands, babe."

He's laughing at you breathlessly because he's still enarmoured by the sight of you.

And Kyle will absolutely whisk you away and fuck you stupid in front of your bedroom mirror while you're wearing his hat.

It makes him feral, seeing you like that. He's got both of his arms wrapped around your middle and he's panting into your shoulder. He does look up from time to time to see your blissed out face all while still wearing his cap.

He lets out a strained moan everytime he looks at you in the mirror and his hips stutter ever so slightly.

Kyle is just spewing jumbled words of love because he's genuinely so happy. You make him so happy.

He honestly can't wait to give you your wedding gift. It's a little booklet filled with poems or quotes that reminded him of you, or of how you make him feel. And it will make you cry when he reads them to you.

Definitely not because he'll be ballsdeep inside of you while doing so...

♥︎

Simon, Simon, Simon.... first of all, he's completely blindsided by this. And he hasn't got a fucking clue what's in that black book you hand him one night when you're cuddling in bed.

There's just a giant question mark above his head. When you tell him it's a wedding gift, he goes silent and just looks at that album in his hands.

He never really got gifts, which obviously changed since he's been with you, but he's still not used to it. You're so thoughtful. And sweet. And kind, and perfect and-

he turns his head to you when you softly call his name and if you notice the slight sheen of tears in his big brown eyes, you don't mention it. You just encourage him to open the book. And when he does, a small huff and gentle smile leave him because how are you so perfect?

Yes, all of the pictures are all filthy, but they're all radiating of love and softness, and he can't get over it. How are you so soft? Simon can't get enough of you. You mess up his emotions in ways he never thought possible, and he can't help that his heart starts beating twice as fast.

That you did this for him means more than you could ever fathom, and he'll treasure this album until his end. He absent mindedly reaches for your hand as he flips through the pages, trying to tell you thank you when his words fail him, like they did so many times before with you.

He comes across a shot of your neck, a black leather collared fasten around it with a little silver skull charm. It makes him smile just a bit. He knows just how much meaning is behind it.

That you love him. All of him, which includes the Ghost. In cursive, 'Riley' is written right above your heart, and he gives your hand a squeeze.

Although you love the Ghost because it's a part of him, you've shown him that it's not all he is. That Simon is enough. That he should give Simon a chance and that he's not incapable anymore, like he was as a little boy. Ghost is sort of a protector of Simon, something not many people know, that's why he wears the mask outside of duty too. To shield himself.

But as much as the Ghost's service is appreciated, Simon can handle himself now. The Ghost will forever be with him, but so will you, and you'll wipe his bloody hands with a smile. You've shown him that you accept Ghost just as much as you accept Simon, and that means the world to him.

He sniffles ever so quietly, and you lean your head against his shoulder, pressing a kiss to his cheek. He moves on, gently turning the pages, and as much as his heart is touched by your kind gesture of this album, that doesn't stop his cock from stirring. It's pictures of your naked form, after all.

He loves every single inch of you and he's told you and shown you so many times, kissed all your insecurities away and took your mind off any bad thoughts about yourself by fucking you so well and lovingly to the point of tears.

Never, in a million years, had he expected you to return these efforts. You kissed all his scars and held him softly when reassuring any doubts he had. That's when he truly and fully fell in love with you.

He can feel himself getting hotter with every passing image of your soft body bent in different positions and clad in delicate garments, if any.

The best for last, as always, and it's a picture of you kneeling in front of a mirror, completely nude. A picture of Simon in full military regalia is tapped to the mirror and it's surrounded by a bunch of hearts drawn on with lipstick.

His name is written under the picture in your handwriting, and he can see you holding a lipstick, in the middle of finishing another heart. His breath hitches just for a split second.

He swears he'll burn this photo into the back of his eyelids.

It shows him just how great and raw your love for him is, and it makes him all fuzzy on the inside. The text at the bottom finishes it all off, and he's actively holding back tears, overwhelmed by so many feelings for you.

Dear Husband,

We're flawed; but that's how I like us. You're you, and I'm me, and I wouldn't change it for the world. You've made me a better version of myself, and that makes me love you so much more. I'm so proud of you, Simmy.

Love,

Your wife

"Thank you, my love. Thank you for this, and for loving me and for everything you've done for me. I love you"

His words are soft and painfully honest as he gently sets the album aside. You've made him a better man. A better Simon. A happier Simon. A Simon that's slowly starting to heal.

It starts off with a soft kiss that slowly turns more desperate and needy to the point you're gently being pushed back onto the bed, your clothes are discarded, and Simon absolutely worships you. He kisses every inch he can reach and touching you in all the ways he knows you like.

And, yeah, Simon can be rough and fuck you stupid for hours, but tonight, he just wants to feel close to you, and make you feel as good as you make him feel by simply loving him. He's talking you through it, holding you while he makes sure you take every inch of his cock.

His strokes are slow and deep, just like his love for you, and he revels in the way your eyes roll back each time he slides into you to the hilt. The drag of his dick against your walls has you moaning and whining, and when he presses down on your pudgy lower belly to intensify the sensation, you're putty.

You two fuck the whole night like this, no matter how sensitive you are, you need to be close to each other.

And in the morning, he'll wake you up with his face buried in your pussy because he's out of his sappy mood and his only goal now is to absolutely ruin you.

♡

Bonus: I can totally see Simon giving his dad the biggest middle finger known to man all the way in hell when he's standing by the altar on your wedding day. It just screams: 'fuck you, stupidly bastard. Despite all you've done to me and my family, despite all that's happened, I've persevered. I've overcome it all. Look at me now.'

Right after he's smiling up at the sky, knowing that his mum and brother are watching and that they would've loved you just as much as he does <3

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ────── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

I hope you enjoyed!! I love all my boys <3

(If you find any typos, it's 2.am. give me a break pls)

#bumblebeesfromvenus #captain john price #john price x reader #captain john price x reader #soap x reader #john soap mactavish x reader #johnny mactavish x reader #john soap mctavish x reader #kyle gaz garrick x reader #gaz x reader #kyle gaz x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley #ghost x reader #cod x reader #cod mw2

[poohsources]

🐝  *  ―  𝑷𝑰𝑵𝑰𝑵𝑮 / 𝒀𝑬𝑨𝑹𝑵𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑺𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺.

❛  i can't stop thinking about you even when i try.  ❜ ❛  every time i see you, it's like my heart skips a beat.  ❜ ❛  i never realized how much i needed you until you weren't there.  ❜ ❛  do you ever feel like there's something missing ... like a piece of your heart is somewhere else?  ❜ ❛  i wish i had the courage to tell you how i feel.  ❜ ❛  if only you knew how much you truly mean to me.  ❜ ❛  do you ever wonder what it would be like if things were different between us?  ❜ ❛  sometimes i wonder if you ever think about me the way i think about you.  ❜ ❛  i had a lot of dreams about you recently.  ❜ ❛  somehow, you're always on my mind.  ❜ ❛  i think i've been in love with you since the day we met - scratch that, i know i've been in love with you since the day we met.  ❜ ❛  my biggest wish is to hold you close and never let you go.  ❜ ❛  all my life i've felt like a part of me was missing, but with you i've finally found it.  ❜ ❛  you deserve better than who i am right now, but i'm gonna keep trying to become someone you do deserve.  ❜ ❛  every time you smile at me, i get this flutter in my chest.  ❜ ❛  do you think i'll ever be worthy of your love?  ❜ ❛  i want to be the person to make you happy. the one person you can always come to with whatever you need.  ❜ ❛  will we ever get another chance together?  ❜ ❛  you were the best thing that's ever happened to me.  ❜ ❛  my biggest regret is ever letting you go.  ❜ ❛  i'm still in love with you ... and i honestly never stopped.  ❜ ❛  when i wake up in the morning, you're the first person i want to see.  ❜ ❛  every time i wake up, i check if you wrote me another message.  ❜ ❛  i wish i could be as important to you as you are to me.  ❜ ❛  it hurts when you don't talk to me like you used to.  ❜ ❛  i miss everything about you, your touch, your laugh, your smile. i wish i could have that back.  ❜ ❛  i want to fall asleep wrapped in your arms.  ❜ ❛  hold me closer; i always feel safer when you're with me.  ❜ ❛  there's so much i wish i was able to tell you.  ❜ ❛  i know things aren't easy right now, but i want to remain a fixture in your life. after all, you're one in mine.  ❜ ❛  i miss the way you always made me smile.  ❜ ❛  you're the reason i keep holding on.  ❜ ❛  maybe we're supposed so to remain a case of 'right person, wrong time' forever.  ❜ ❛  if only you knew how i feel about you.  ❜ ❛  i'm yearning to hold your hand in mine.  ❜ ❛  i think you are the one for me, and i hope one day i'll be the one for you, too.  ❜ ❛  do you think i'll ever become more than a friend to you?  ❜ ❛  my heart belongs to you, always and forever.  ❜ ❛  my first instinct is to protect you, no matter the cost.  ❜ ❛  i've been thinking about us a lot lately.  ❜

#rp meme #rp memes #rp prompts #roleplay meme #sentence starters #rph #type: meme

[cioneo]

staying in

pairing: simon "ghost" riley x gn!reader fandom: modern warfare 2 (call of duty) word count: 0.7k warnings: none, just something short and sweet summary: ghost finally gets a peaceful sleep notes: this man has consumed my thots, so i gotta write fanfiction for him. this is also my first fic. any feedback is greatly appreciated. enjoy!

It was an unusual sight to wake up to. You felt like you were still stuck in a dream. 

But no, it was real, and you welcomed it.

—

Simon Riley and sleep had never gotten along since forever. 

Some nights he would stay wide awake, either staring mindlessly at the ceiling or looking over your sleeping form with warmth seeping through him. This was not the case during the first few weeks of sharing a bed, where he would occasionally go out for a walk. Now he never leaves your side.

On other nights, he would startle during his sleep from the nightmares that just never seem to go away, and you would get up to wake him if he did not already jolt up first. Whether he talks about the horrors he's seen or keeps them to himself, he will always pull your body closer, seeking comfort in it. Then you both would doze off again while holding onto each other more firmly.

There may be nights when he experiences both of them at the same time. But the one thing that remains unchanged is how Simon somehow always wakes up earlier than you, even after a restless slumber. Until now.

—

You were surprised to see that his eyes were still shut. His arms were still locked around your figure in the same way they had been the night before.

Traces of light shone through the blinds you swore you closed the day before. It didn’t matter that much anyway. In fact, you were thankful for the light which highlighted his already stunning features littered with tiny scars. The temptation to brush away the hair from his face is powerful, but you quickly shut the thought down, afraid of waking Simon up from a well-deserved rest.

Instead, you stare at his peaceful state with admiration for who knows how long.

—

Sometime later, he moves against the sheets beneath him and slowly opens his eyes. He blinks his eyes repeatedly to adjust to the lighting and the sight of you looking back at him.

"Were you watching me this whole time?" Simon mumbles, his morning voice apparent.

You let out a hum, too tired to nod your head.

"Would be creepy if it were someone else."

"Then it’s a good thing I’m not. Besides, is it so wrong for me to appreciate this?" you reply while gently caressing the side of his face.

Simon closes his eyes for a brief moment at the feeling of your hand’s movement. "I guess not."

You continue to trace his features while he looks at you with the softest gaze no other has ever had the pleasure of witnessing. He lets out a soft groan at the brushing of your fingers against his hair.

"We should get ready soon," he says, planting his hand over yours and stroking your knuckles with his coarse fingers. "But I got a feeling you don't like the sound of that."

"Your observational skills are getting better," you tease, knowing full well he is an elite operator.

"Alright, just a few more minutes and then we'll get up." 

"Don't think I'm gonna leave this bed for a while. Better hope the boys don't mind us being late."

"I don't give a damn what they think."

Chuckling at his remark, you bring yourself impossibly closer to him and lay your cheeks against his chest. He tightens his grip on you and moves his chin to rest atop your head. You both listen to each other’s steady and slow breaths. A silence so comforting envelops the room, a contrast to the gunfire and explosions you were accustomed to hearing on the battlefield.

You look up and shoot him a quick smile. "We really needed this, y'know? Just a day where we don't have to constantly worry about preventing an all-out war or if we would even survive."

Your comments fall on deaf ears, as Simon didn’t reply, simply offering a quiet hum while he drifts away into your embrace. Content with his acceptance to go back into his rest, you peck the back of his hand and rub it softly so as to not wake him up.

The meeting you both were supposed to attend vanishes from your thoughts as you soon close your eyes and follow him to sleep.

#simon riley #simon riley x reader #ghost #ghost x reader #simon ghost riley #simon ghost riley x reader #mw2 #modern warfare 2 #cod #call of duty #cod mw2 #call of duty modern warfare 2 #my writing

[stationintern]

Hello all!

This month was, truly, a beautiful month for me reading-wise. The birds were chirping, I found smut that made me sweat, and I revisited some old favorites. Let's jump right in. I am so excited to share these with you. (Hence why I am posting this a day early.)

Strap in!

Dwelling On Dreams by @the-sinking-ship for H/D Big Bang 2021, 135k, E

I reread this fic this month, and it was just as delicious as I remembered. There are aspects of this fic that felt burned into my memory, so it came as a shock to me when I realized that the last time I'd read this fic was over a year ago. Everything about it feels so vivid. Harry's magic, his raw sexual energy. Draco's ability to make me scream at my phone and throw a mini temper-tantrum. I love flashbacks, and this fic has them in abundance. If you're looking for a thick read with complex characters and an interesting case to solve, look no further!

Hear Me Out by @rainstormradish for @dronarryfest 2024, 5.2k, E

I am pleased to announce that I have officially bought my ticket and jumped on the Dronarry train. You've all convinced me. This fic, in particular, is what really got the ball rolling. This was... immaculate. When I said I found smut that made me sweat, I MEANT IT. I had to, like, physically reconnect with my limbs after I read this. A bit of fake dating to start you off, and it only gets better from there.

The Way You Say My Name by InnerLilith 5.3k, E

Ya'll ever just bark at your phone? Sometimes, a girl just wants to read about Harry Potter going absolutely bonkers over Draco Malfoy calling him sweet little names. Very hot, very important to me.

Please hold. Your call is very important to us./Bloodlust and Bureaucracy by @goblinmatriarch 5k, T/8.5k E

DOUBLE FEATURE! I love the smell of wizarding bureaucracy in the morning. What a little world you have built! Authors who can create a new little piece of the wizarding world to explore mean the world to me. Very interesting in regards to how the medical system in the wizarding world relates to its real-world counterparts. Also, some biting action. Very smart, very hot.

Crossed Wires by @skeptiquewrites 11k, E

Critics are raving. "Literally ripping up the wallpaper in my home," says one reviewer. "Gnawing at the bars of my enclosure," says another. Bureaucracy lovers win forever and ever. Also, Draco gets to wear many suits. Harry Potter the reluctant politician. I couldn't have wished for more.

Our Objective Remains Unchanged by @citrusses 46k, E

BOATS, REPRESSION, MORE BOATS, EDGING (for sports purposes), EVEN MORE REPRESSION, AND WILL YOU BELIEVE ME IF I SAY THERE'S MORE BOATS. I don't know how you've done it, but you've managed to parallel the epic highs and lows of college rowing with the literal wizarding war. If that isn't talent, I don't know what is babe.

Truth or Dare? by @lettersbyelise 3.4k, E

There is truly nothing more intimate than jerking off your childhood rival while a party goes on around you. THAT, my friends, is the key to post-war, inter-house unity.

Borrowed Time by @the-starryknight for @dronarryfest 2024, 7.6k, E

Oh this was fire. What do you know about body swapping threesomes? Would you like to know more? Yes. Yes, you would.

Alrighty, I think that's all for now, folks. Very thankful to be in a fandom with so so so many talented people. You all blow my mind. Here's to another month of fantastic fiction!

See ya!

XX, Moon

#drarry #draco x harry #drarry fic rec #drarry fic #moons monthly fic recs

[the-bloody-sadist]

in case no one else has asked, please list your top 10 BL manga/manwha? 👀

i am. very interested in what other media you enjoy, especially BL

Combining these two bc I didn't wanna leave the second out!

(I wasn't a big fan of Blood Bank personally but I'm so glad it helped you with your world building Lil Whale!!)

I'm hoping some of these are unheard of for you guys because THERE ARE SO MANY BL/YAOI AND I READ THEM CONSTANTLY BUT NOT SO MANY ARE FANTASTIC AND MIND-BLOWING AND SPECTACULAR AND DEEPLY PSYCHOLOGICAL! I'm pretty sure I'll end up listing WAY more than 10, mainly because I want to highlight ones I feel like a lot of people haven't read. ALSO because I read so fucking many of them that I've collected a stash and NOW IS MY CHANCE TO YELL ABOUT THEM.

Just a disclaimer, these are not in any sort of order, as they're all about the same level in my head, just grouped. I'll list the "big name" BLs that I adore after these! First up are the ones that either have a quiet fandom or aren't well known! Since there'll be so many, I'm not going to say much about them, just know that usually no BL/Yaoi is perfect to me, since there are many bad psychology tropes here and there or unnecessary cruelties that aren't exactly realistic etc., but overall, I like the way that the story and characters are handled and/or love the art.

Here's the top five of my top ten that's not a top ten bc there are so many (I just said I wouldn't group them but I lied my ass off apparently):

Jealousy [Scarlet Beriko]: This is one of those that emotionally hits so hard that it will stick with me forever and I will usually tear up just a tiny bit when I think back to the moments that made this one so beautiful. A lot of times a story with major hurt, angst, and tragedy won't wrap up with enough to make me scream and cheer at the end. But THIS ONE DID. And I stopped reading for a while when a big event happened because I thought it would end horribly and I'd have to suffer three weeks of fiction-induced depression for a man who wasn't even real. BUT NAY. The themes you get in this one revolve around loneliness (huge draw for me, it always hits), mafia-connected characters and the rivalries from that, self-destructive prostitution, and characters who have difficulty receiving love without freaking out. Are those even themes idk. OH WELL. YOU GET THE POINT. I want this one on my shelf. You might've heard of it, but the fandom is silent so I never did. T_T OH ALSO THE ART ON THIS ONE IS GORGEOUS I FUCKING LOVE IT.

Hitori to Hitori no 3650nichi [Hitomi]: First of all, favorite manga artist. FAVORITE MANGA ARTIST. I'm never exactly sure if the artist is also the writer or if the writer is never the artist or...BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER. Anyway! I listed this particular title because it was the first that I found by this person - but then I discovered it was a part of a bigger series, and there are like I DON'T KNOW FIVE DIFFERENT MANGA?? OR SOMETHING??? Related to this one. I don't know which order, I just know that I read them all in a frenzy. THE CHARACTERS. OH! OH THE CHARACTERS! Oh my gods, it's so good. LMFAO. The arcs these characters have are fantastic, and I loved the fact that the abuser in one is shown to be the victim of abuse in a prequel story, and that his anger issues and other elements of his personality came about to affect him and destroy him. Just...I don't recall the details, READ IT. That's all. Spectacular depictions of nuanced trauma within abusive relationships.

The Beast Must Die [Lee Hyeon Sook]: This remains one of my favorite depictions IN ANY MEDIA of a psychopath, because it's SO accurate and I'm SO fucking proud of the author for doing their research and OH MY GODS YOU GUYS IT'S ABOUT TO GET A DRAMA CD LET'S FUCKING GO! This story is so good. It's so evil. It's so psycho-thriller. It's so WELL DONE. It features a dark academia-ish secret society within a college setting who hunt people for sport, sometimes. LIKE. Come on. And the psychopath (dark hair) IS THE MAIN LOVE INTEREST! You could literally hear the summary and go "oh this is for Sadist". And I don't get a lot of those that deliver this well. SOMETIMES the art makes me twist my head a little but YOU KNOW WHAT I DO NOT CARE OKAY? It's just SO good. There's murder, there's kidnapping, and - most importantly - a main character who doesn't just DEAL with whatever the psychopath does. He's smart, he fights back, he learns to understand psychopathy to determine if he should remain with the love interest...it's fantastic. That's all. I will stop. *BANGS THE WALL*

Aporia [Seontae]: ALL HAIL THE HEALTHY BDSM RELATIONSHIPS THAT STILL HOLD TENSION AND EMOTIONAL WEIGHT AND SPEAK TO ME!!!!!!! HELLO!!!!! This is my favorite BDSM-themed story. Everything is consensual, but is everything safe??? Not when it comes to the main character's emotions and tendency to sacrifice his wellbeing for a partner. BUT NOT TO WORRY, HIS SADISTIC LOVE INTEREST IS CONSIDERATE AND ATTENTIVE AND CARES ABOUT HIS FEELINGS!! This is, perhaps, one of my favorite depictions of a REAL sadist. A real one as in a realistic, irl BDSM-relationship sadist. Someone who is just as worried about taking care of his partner as he is about hurting him JUUUUST right. ANYWAY! THAT'S ALL! READ IT! HE'S LITERALLY ME!

Royal Servant [MasterGin, Chungnyun]: Okay, we were talking about healthy BDSM in the previous one, now let's talk about TOXIC BDSM-THEMES THAT I LOVE. Lmao. DO YOU LIKE MASTER/SLAVE DYNAMICS? DO YOU LIKE STORIES WHERE THE ARC LEADS TO THE ABUSIVE MASTER EVENTUALLY LEARNING TO NOT BE ABUSIVE AND LOVE THE SLAVE? YEAH ME TOO. I DON'T NEED TO DESCRIBE THIS ANY FURTHER. AUTHOR OF ANGEL BUDDY, THIS IS THE ONE THAT I KNEW HER FOR FIRST.

A bunch of other good ones you may or may not have heard of (I won't describe every one of these unless I have something particular to say, so enjoy the pictures from them that I snatched):

Love me in the Wilderness [Wang Tao]

Neon Sign Amber [Ogeretsu Tanaka]

Zetsubou ni Nake [Shinou Ryo]: Guys. This story is UNIQUE AS HELL. I had to say something about it. The premise is that a man who was raped turns around and goes back after his rapist and rapes him back, and then they fall in love. IT'S....the amount of times my jaw dropped was insane on this one. SOMEHOW IT'S WRITTEN SO WELL. SOMEHOW THEY NAILED THE STRANGE REALISM OF IT AND HAD ME TEARING UP OVER THE INTENSITY OF THE RAPE SCENES. VERY WELL-PACED, VERY TRAUMATIC IN A GOOD WAY. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. The way they come to love each other after this crazy foundation of mutual rape is IMPRESSIVE. Kudos to the writer.

Love or Hate [Yeongha]: This is a very well-known one but there's like zero fandom so I think it fits here. Also a lot of hate going around for it? Which I never understood, fuck those guys. This remains one of the most beautifully-written that I've ever read, and I mean that purely in like...the ACTUAL writing on the page. I'm talking poetry, purple prose. I just recall being blown away by that, and no manga before or since has ever reached its level. For once I felt like the writer was also a novelist because of the way that they put things, and had a clear voice in the style. Did the main boy end up with someone I didn't want him to end up with at the end? Yes. But I felt like it fit pretty well, and it was sort of a tragedy, and it was supposed to hit you painfully in the gut. A lot of people were mad at the main character for that and I don't really think it's fair. In any case! A beautiful story with complex characters and intriguing dilemmas. Highly recommend it.

Shangri La no Tori (Birds of Shangri La) [Ranmaru Zariya]

Two in Six Billion [Denzou]

The Pizza Delivery Man and The Gold Palace [Upi]: Great story and character-building so far! I will say that once it became porn, it dove a little too heavily into it for me. Like I only needed one scene of the porn, I was enjoying the panic attack scenes much more. BUT YEAH, IT'S ONGOING, SO WE'LL SEE WHERE IT GOES! But the panic attack scenes were the reason I read it and yes, I did tear up.

Sleeping Dead and Living Dead [Asada Nemui]: I RECENTLY FOUND THIS ONE AND ADOOOOOOREEE IT SO MUCH. I DO NOT CARE THAT IT'S AN OLD SCIENTIST AND HIS ZOMBIE PATIENT. NORMALLY THAT WOULD HOLD NO SWAY OVER ME, BUT OH GODS, THE ART IS SO PRETTY AND THE STORY IS SO GOOD. I LOVE THE LITTLE ZOMBIE MAN! I LOVE THE LITTLE ROMANCE THEY'VE GOT!

Private Lessons [ANCO, Mongya]: It's cuuuuute what can I saayyyyy it has BDSM and threesomes and I liked it. Very entertaining. Scratches the BDSM itch and the little SUB WAS SO CUTE. Anyway.

Kingyo no Ubugoe [Gontaku Nido]

From Points of Three [White Eared]: Threesome dynamics!!

Silent Lover [Qiang Tang, Bai Li Jun Xi]: I STOPPED THIS ONE AT A CERTAIN POINT BECAUSE IT DIPPED INTO WEIRD M-PREG AND STUFF I CANNOT READ. But BEFORE all that, I was deeply ingrained in this one. It has a main character who can't speak (a particular weakness of mine) and he's OH SO CUTE and he's given as a sex slave basically to the emperor (emperor? idk he's a kingly man, something like that), and the emperor is evil but learns to be soft and yet it takes a LONG TIME SO I WAS BAWLING HYSTERICALLY OVER SOME OF THE HEARTWRENCHINGLY PAINFUL SCENES IN THIS FOR THE POOR YUU-ER. A good read until it decided to go the omegaverse-by-magic-potions route. I didn't stay to figure out where it actually ended up.

Yoru wa Tomodachi [Ido Gihou]

Toumei na Ai no Utsuwa [Hitomi]

Re:Birth [Misuaki Asou]: The singular omegaverse story in existence that I actually liked. Hopefully that says a lot. Mostly because it's about the omegaverse elements NOT being present for the main character and him trying to fake it because he's lonely and afraid that his partner (an alpha *shakes off the disgusting label because who the fuck thought alpha was a cool word*) will leave him if he finds out he's just a regular guy (aka beta I guess? ABO is weird idc).

Sahara no Kuro Washi [Soutome Emu]: MASTER SLAVE MASTER SLAVE---

Haru ni Kaeru [Kunieda Saika]

Incorrigible [Bbong]

Well Done! [ANCO, Mongya]

Nemuri Otoko to Koi Otoko [Zariya Ranmaru]

Even If You Don't Love Me [Pando]: It dropped off SUPER hard (it's ongoing still) but damn was it good in the beginning. I am sick and tired of where it's at currently but the psychological manipulation and the horror of a certain twist in the storyline was CRUSHING to me. I only wish that it would have gone a better way after it happened, because it slowly destroyed itself and became like a lot of tropey rape stories. The asshole just keeps being an asshole and it's not really where the story seemed to want to go with that. But otherwise, it started off strong and I'll give it kudos for that.

Bigger titles I'm pretty sure everyone has heard of that I enjoy:

Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai [Yoneda Kou]: Is it a little unrealistic that literally everyone in this story is gay apparently and wants to fuck one man apparently and/or rape him? Yes, absolutely. Does that matter once you're in the story and it's so good and all these unrealistic cruelties make a really strong bond between the main love interest and this self-destructive masochist who's probably not really a masochist but only interested in hurting himself because he doesn't know how else to handle his trauma from childhood? Ummmm yeah. Anyway! This one had a lot of inspiration and a lot of tears and a lot of obsession from me. I re-read it all the time, I watch the movie over and over, I listen to the audio drama and cry at my favorite scenes. Do I care in the end that it's a little unrealistic at times? No but I do laugh sometimes when I'm about to share it with a new person. Because BL is just like that generally and you've got to put up with a little of those tropes to find your favorite stories. THIS IS ONE OF THE TOP FAVORITES OF ALL TIME FOR ME BTW, IT'S ONLY SO LOW DOWN HERE BECAUSE PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE IN YAOI KNOWS ABOUT THIS ONE ALREADY, AND WE'RE ALL AWARE OF HOW GOOD IT IS.

ENNEAD [Mojito]: I will say that this is basically the best manga/comic/manhua...what's the Chinese word idk ANYTHING OF THIS MEDIA TYPE that I have ever read. It's not done, and people have been complaining that it's starting to fall into the common BL tropes but you know what I do NOT care. Mojito is a genius, Mojito is a master storyteller, Mojito is beautiful, Mojito is strong - I just love Mojito and this work. So much. The action, the horror of rape, the deep-set character conflicts and dilemmas and internal turmoils. Everything, nailed it. Nailed it. And not to mention it's set in FUCKING EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY AND THEY'RE ALL GODS AND THEY HAVE SUCH COOL BATTLES AND COSTUMES AND DUDE???? I'm so hooked. That's all.

Killing Stalking [Koogi]: OBVIOUSLY. I don't really need to say anything about this one except that yeah, some of the psychology is a little off and some of it is just super shallow. But I loved the characters and that's what mattered in the end. I fell in love with Sangwoo too and it ripped my heart out when I read the ending. I was depressed for like two weeks and it was the first story that had ever affected me that way, but I was also younger and this was one of my first yaoi/BLs and yeah. GREAT story though, fantastic storytelling, very lovable characters. Sangwoo was handled so much better than most "asshole/kidnapper/rapist" characters and I will never stop appreciating that, because a lot of writers tend to forget that your villains have to have redeeming qualities if you want us to like them (????). Jinx, I'm fucking coming for you. Suck my dick. KOOGI FTW.

Missing Love/A Married Man [In Hyerin]: Some of the DESCRIPTIONS of how trauma works especially of the sexual nature in this story are SO. SO. GOOD. However, I am beginning to grow VERY ANNOYED at where it decided to go with the most current updates of the story. The author did enough trauma to the main boy, now it's getting so incredibly excessive that it's overdoing it and the author's kinks are showing through. LIKE I GET IT. Okay? I do. But this one became too much and I need him to return to the actual story arc of going through that trauma so he can HEAL with the right person taking care of him.

MadK [Ryo Sumiyoshi]: I am into NONE of the kinks that would lead to me picking up this manga. I hate demons, I'm not a monsterfucker, I can't do extreme guro, and yet I SAW CANNIBALISM. THAT WAS THE ONE THING THAT I THOUGHT I'D GIVE IT A TRY FOR. And then accidentally I got obsessed because the plot is AMAZING and the writing is SO GOOD and who cares if I hate demons and monsters ALL OF THEM ARE BADASS AND HOT (??) AND IT CEASES TO MATTER. Good on the writer for making them appeal by personality alone and expressions and whatever else you signed a deal with the devil to make me like because it worked. Also the guro is beautiful, so it doesn't even matter. Hannibal levels.

Warehouse [Killerwhale]

Painter of the Night [Byeonduck]

Viewfinder/Finder [Yamane Ayano]

Given [Kizu Natsuki, Gusari]

Nii-Chan [Harada] (and basically every other work by Harada)

Sadistic Beauty Side Story [Geumsan Lee, Woo Yeonhui]

Dine With a Vampire [Pangin, Pinko]

Angel Buddy [Mastergin, Chungnyun]

My Partner's Tastes and Fetishes [Deok Hwa]

Interview with a Murderer [KJK]

On or Off [A1]

Steel Under Silk [Snob]

The Pawn's Revenge [Evy]: It was going to be SO GOOD! And then it dropped off harder than a boulder from a balcony and I have absolutely no idea why the author took it the way that they took it, but go off I guess. It's boring as hell now but it started off with promise and I enjoyed the art and character designs. Too bad, I suppose.

Caste Heaven [Ogawa Chise]: An old classic with all the sticky sometimes icky mostly ridiculous BL tropes but hey, it's cute. It's sexy. It's fun. I don't care.

Wet Sand [Doyak]: We're still in the beginning stage of this one but I'm excited to see where it goes! Plus the art SLAPS ASS like nobody's business.

19 Days [Old Xian]: I hate comedy, I hate fluff, I hate buddies that never become lovers, but none of that mattered when I picked this one up. The duality of man. Bite-sized chapters and ACTUALLY AN EVENTUAL ROMANCE that none of us thought we'd ever get.

Legs That Won't Walk [Black Apricot]: Although this one dropped off hard for me and I'm really just following it to see if it picks up again and does something interesting (it probably won't) I did enjoy it in the beginning. I just get tired of the "asshole just keeps being an asshole and nothing else but woobified slut keeps coming back to him??" without the strong and realistic undercurrent of Reasons Why Someone Would Come Back such as manipulation or threats or unhealthy attachment. Perhaps it was sorta there in the beginning with them but now I'm just like why are we still continuing this story.

Pearl Boy [Inking, Zoy]: *Awkwardly scratches neck* It's not the best okay? It's not. It's really not. I don't like half of the things that occur in this one, but the ART, bro. THE ART, BRO? That's what got me into it and what kept me into it, PLUS I do like little Jooha. I stayed for Jooha, too. Dooshik drives me a little batty most of the time and looks ugly for half the story to me, but when he's badass, he's pretty badass, so I can forgive him. I really don't know why he has such drastically changing appearances because I thought he was someone completely different for a bit LMAO. In any case, I have to admit I like the uhhhhh danger that Jooha gets himself into and the crazy things that make no sense but you know what he gets hurt and then there's comfort and rescue and they cry and I cease to care that it makes no sense. (Sorta, I don't actually cease to care I just laugh awkwardly and go okay sure that's how it works because it's so hard to find stories that don't do this LOL I'm beating a dead horse) BUT WHY DOES HE CUM PEARLS? WILL WE EVER KNOW? WHO THE HELL THOUGHT OF THAT AND WITHOUT A SUPPORTING MAGIC SYSTEM IN THE WORLD TO MAKE THAT MAKE SENSE? IT WENT DOWNHILL SO FAST AND THE ENDING IS TERRIBLE BTW. THE VILLAIN SUCKS.

That's it. I can't talk to much or I'll run out of words but HOPE YOU GUYS FIND SOME NEW READS!!

#why does Tumblr only allow a certain amount of images #what a crime #bl recommendation #yaoi manga #yaoi recommendation #bl manga #top ten #my favorites #my recs #yaoi #sadist’s answered asks #whump #fujoshi #yaoi bl #saezuru tori wa habatakanai #scarlet beriko #harada #killing stalking

[a-random-weeb]

Hii can I request yandere fyodor with a fem reader who’s a Broadway actor so almost every night he makes her sing for him so reader escapes only for him to show up in one of the readers musicals in the crowd while smirking at her

i know like nothing about Broadway. I know I'm 19, I know I'm supposed to be knowledgeable, but I never paid enough attention to this kind of stuff. I know basically what it is, I'm not 5 (That sounds so suspicious I promise I am above the age of 5, and am 100% a fellow Homo sapien just trust me) , just don't yell at me if I get a fact wrong or something, I tried my best 😭

Idk why I always get carried away with how dark I make Fyodor in my writing, so... enjoy whatever this is

Warnings: murder, stalking (ig), Yandere themes, r*pe mentions, forced cannibalism he's really ooc, idk what else

〰⊹𖦹⋆✿₊ ⊹𖦹⋆✿₊ ⊹𖦹⋆✿₊ ⊹𖦹⋆✿₊ ⊹𖦹⋆✿₊ ⊹𖦹⋆✿₊ ⊹𖦹⋆〰

This is a bad idea. You know it's a bad idea. He could find you but... this is the first time you've felt happy in forever. The rush of adrenaline as you sing and dance across the stage, it's too good, too addicting. Plus, it's not like he's here... Right? There's no way! Don't be silly! You escaped 3 months ago, there's no way he could have found you! Well, actually, you are a big actor, you guess this was a really bad idea.

As you bow to close off your performance with the rest of your fellow actors, but the moment glance out at the crowd, your eyes widden in horror. Deep within the crowd, you spot him. How- why- huh? Your heart drops in your stomach and you feel like you could throw up at any moment. You don't know how you maintain the huge, now fake smile spread across your face as you take on final bow and exit the stage.

You attempt to exit the place unnoticed, keeping your hood up in case he is still in the area. You look around, taking note of all your surroundings. Well, apparently everything accept what's infront of you because you bumped right into a guy. Stumbling backwards, you pay no mind to your flimsy hood falling down as you stutter apologies. Your whole face fills with hate, shock, horror, anger, everything, as you stare up at the man before you.

"It's perfectly fine, Myshka." The dark haired man looks down at you with a cunning smile. You stumble backwards, but he pulls you in by your waist. "Try to run and I shoot you, ok?" He chuckles maniacally. You're whole body freezes, you desperately try to scream, move, tell him off, anything! But all that comes out is a quiet whimper. He gently lifts a cloth to your mouth and everything goes dark...

You groan, your head aching and your heart pounding as your eyes flutter open. You freeze as you realize you're in a place you think of as hell. Fyodors punishment room. Sometimes it's sexual, sometimes it's just torture. The sexual ones are better, sure, it's r*pe, and he's sadistic, doesn't let you come and cuts you. But his torture punishments are much, much worse.

He enters the room with the most shit-eating grin you've ever seen. Tears stream down your face as you notice that in his hands lays the head of your brother.

"Hey~ You ran away for a few months, and that really hurt mwy fweelings!" He mocks, "Now it's my turn for some revenge~ now sing those cute little songs you sang in broadway, and maybe I won't shove your brothers remains down your throat!"

You sing and sing for hours, even getting you to dance. Eventually, you start to lose your voice, and that's when his face darkens.

"It's only been 4 hours. How are you losing your voice?" He glares, and the room goes silent for a minute. His sigh breaks the quiet, as he shoves one of your brothers eye balls in your mouth. You feel disgusted as he makes you bite down, the texture disturbingly mushy and chewy. He shoves the other eye in your mouth as you cry, his eyes lighting up in sadistic glee.

"Next time, it'll be your sister. Then your father, then your mother. Oh, but don't worry, that'll only happen if you try to run again!" He chuckles in mock sympathy. "Now, you'll be eating the rest of him if you act up, now, why don't you go get some rest? You did great on Broadway, I'm sure you're tired!" He says like he didn't just make you a cannibale. You sit on the floor, still trying to process everything. You regret ever running away, and now you sit on the cold, hard floor belonging to the man you hate the most... Fyodor Dostoevsky.

#bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd x you #bsd fluff #BSD dark #Dark content #Tw Yandere #Yandere Fyodor #Yandere Fyodor x reader #BSD Fyodor #Bungo stray dogs #bungo stray dogs x reader #bungou stray dogs fyodor #yandere bungou stray dogs #yandere fyodor dostoevsky #fyodor bsd #fyodor dostoevsky #fyodor dostoyevsky bsd #fyodor x reader

[bravevulnerability]

say don't go

A/N: Post 4x06, Demons, AU. Picks up from exactly where the episode ends.

-

"The waiting is a sadness Fading into madness It won't stop... I'm holding out hope for you to say 'don't go' I would stay forever if you say 'don't go'"

'Say Don't Go' - Taylor Swift

-

Castle remains on the sofa long after Alexis shuffles sleepily off to bed. He thinks he did a sufficient job of taking her mind off of her complicated relationship with Ashley, but now that he sits alone, in the dark, with Ghostbusters playing on the television for the third time this week, his mind wanders to his own. Is his relationship with Beckett just as doomed as he feels his daughter's may be? He and Kate may not be long distance the way Alexis and Ashley are, but there are times when it certainly feels that way.

Sometimes his overthinking leads to the bad habit of drinking. He only means to blunt his thoughts of her with a shot glass of bourbon, some scotch, but then he's sleepy yet wide awake at the same time and drifting out the door on impulse and lost inhibition alone.

Anything is possible, he told Alexis, even the seemingly impossible. But he doesn't want Kate Beckett to be an impossible feat. He just wants her to be his partner, his best friend, and someday, more. And tonight, through the hazy thoughts fogging up his mind, he just wants to see her.

-

Kate is sitting at her dining room table, a glass of wine in her hand and a puzzle in front of her. She frowns down at the array of black cats scattered about a pumpkin patch, the thousand piece monstrosity spread before her. Burke said she should find something to distract herself with when she's feeling overwhelmed - something tangible and engaging, like a puzzle. Maybe she should have been less ambitious with her choice.

The knock on the door is almost a relief.

She pushes away from table, sets down her wine, and glides toward the entryway with something like anticipation brimming in her chest. She knows it's him. Who else would it be?

"Still afraid of the demon, Castle?" she chuckles, swinging the door open.

He's standing on the other side, swaying slightly on his feet.

He blinks, brightens. "Kate. Hi."

She tilts her head at him quizzically. "Castle. Have you been drinking?"

"What?" he sputters, lifting an affronted hand to his chest. She purses her lips as he lists further to one side. "No. No, it's just - it's the witching hour, Beckett."

"Excuse me?" she deadpans, but he's pushing his way inside. Kate sighs and shuts the door behind him.

"The witching hour! It's the time of night when witches, demons, and ghosts are thought to be at their most powerful," he rambles on, making excited gestures with his hands. "Times vary, but it usually happens after midnight."

"So," she surmises, strolling towards him as he paces in her kitchen. "You're here to... protect me?"

He nods, solemn.

"We've been dealing excessively in the supernatural this week, Beckett," he murmurs, narrowing his gaze on her. "What if we upset the balance?"

"The only balance upset tonight is yours," she chuckles, stopping in front of him and placing a steadying hand to his waist. "Did you catch a cab here, or car service?"

"Cab," he sighs, leaning towards her. She quirks an eyebrow as he touches his hand to her shoulder, his fingers curling around the hair still twined in a loose braid. "You never wore your hair like this before."

Kate ignores the low, thoughtful timber of his voice, the intensity of his gaze on her.

"I don't always have the energy to style it," she shrugs, letting him play with the rope of her hair. "Keeping my arms up too long aggravates my scars. So sometimes just letting it dry on its own and tying it back is easier."

"Right," he says, sobering slightly, dropping her hair. His gaze drifts to the covered spot on her chest where he knows a bullet pierced instead. "Right."

"It was helpful for this case to have it out of my face, though," she scrambles, not even sure why she does. Only that she wants to see him smile again, to keep the darkness from his eyes. "Made it easier to ghost hunt."

His lips quirk at that.

"Speaking of... since you're here, do you maybe want to watch a movie? Something on theme?" she hedges, chewing on her lip nervously. But Castle only brightens, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Oh yeah! There's a horror movie marathon on right now!"

He scrambles around her to reach the couch, hitting her coffee table on the way. Kate rolls her eyes, but follows him with warmth spreading through the usual ache of her chest.

-

A bloodcurdling scream startles him awake, his arm reflexively tightening around the warmth of Kate's shoulder- oh.

Castle blinks past the grit of sleep in his eyes, enough to look down and find the curl of Kate's body beside his. She's sleeping hard, her limbs heavy and loose against his, puffs of her breath escaping from the slight part of her lips and pooling along his clavicle. He checks the laptop in front of them, the small screen with a black and white film playing on the coffee table - some slasher film he doesn't remember them starting.

He sighs and relaxes back against the plush of her couch and the nest of blankets around them. They both must have dozed off during the first film, shifted closer through lack of consciousness - because this is definitely not the position he remembers watching the movie in. It's the only conceivable notion for Kate Beckett cuddling up against him like this.

"S'wrong?" she mumbles, her shoulders shifting against his chest, her head lifting from the alcove between his neck and collarbone. Her hand rises from beneath the throw across her shoulders and rests on his chest. "Heart's racing."

"Movie," he assures her quickly. "I heard screaming, woke me up."

She hums, still not totally awake and drops her cheek back to his shoulder, nuzzles him. Oh god. It's a Halloween miracle. A torturous, wonderful miracle of a moment.

"Must be late," she yawns, her eyelashes tickling his throat.

He swallows hard. "Yeah, I - I better go. I think I slept off most of the alcohol, I'm sorry. I-"

"Why'd you come here tonight, Castle?" she questions softly, the drowsiness leaking from her voice as awareness swam to the surface.

"I... missed you," he tries, going for lighthearted, but he can feel the dismissal emanating from her.

"You saw me a few hours earlier," she reminds him.

"Yeah, but then... well, me and Alexis were talking, about relationships, and I started thinking about you. Then she went to bed and I starting drinking a little too much too soon-"

"Thinking of me makes you want to drink?"

"What? No, no," he sputters quickly, his heart picking up a panicked speed again. "I just - I had a couple of glasses and I'm - I'm always thinking about you, Kate. Sometimes a little too much. I didn't mean to just show up, but I... when I'm not with you, I wish I was. I think the alcohol just made it easier to rationalize doing something about it."

She's quiet for a long time and he wants to jump out of the window behind them. He's an absolute idiot. Maybe he still has more liquor in his system than he thought.

He's thinking up a way to get out of this gracefully, to preserve whatever dignity he may have left, when she turns her body further into him.

"Oh Castle," she sighs, the melancholy so heavy in the exhale of his name. "I'm sorry."

His brow furrows and he cups her shoulder. "Sorry? Beckett, you didn't do-"

"I feel like I'm just... keeping you in some stupid limbo," she mutters, fisting a hand in the chest of his t-shirt.

"Kate, no," he protests, but her head is already shaking. "Hey, we're waiting. I agreed to wait and I'm okay with it."

"Castle-"

"I'd wait forever, okay?"

A broken noise escapes her lips and then she's shifting against him, rotating in the curve of his arm to face him, desperate eyes meeting his.

"Not forever," she whispers, more vulnerable than he's ever seen her. "And it shouldn't - it doesn't have to be miserable."

He tilts his head at her, confused. "It's not miserable. This-" He waves a hand between them. Her knees are bent into his lap, his arm is loose and low at her back, and he can feel the heat of her breath on his chin. "Is not miserable."

Kate quirks her lips, but shakes her head at him. She leans forward, her forehead grazing his, their noses bumping. He sucks in a quiet breath.

"No," she murmurs, her lashes low and hiding her eyes from him. "But the day to day? The wanting? I'm kind of miserable, Castle."

He clings to the thoughtless courage that brought him here tonight and reaches forward, his palm curving over the heat of her nape as he drags her in close. He catches her sigh of relief on his mouth when he seals his lips to hers.

Castle buries his fingers in her hair, dismantling the beautiful twine of her braid, but she doesn't seem to mind. Kate cups his face in her hands, rising on her knees to tower over him as she does. He can't contain his moan, his gasp of her name when she opens her mouth over his, caresses her tongue to the seam of his lips.

He leans back further into the sofa, her chest falling flush against his as she follows, keeping close. His hands are ceaseless in their exploration along her spine, trailing the bones of her vertebrae, tracing the hem of the loose sweater, the band of her leggings. She hums at the first touch of his fingers to naked skin, the spark palpable, and he splays his hand wide across her lower back to trap it there.

He barely realizes she's in his lap, her thighs astride his hips until he's clutching his hand in her hair again, tearing away from the perfect dance of her lips for air.

She damn near whines - a sound he was not ready for - and nips at his jaw. His hips jerk and they both still.

"Kate," he murmurs, gentling her with the massage of his fingertips to her scalp. Her head falls to his shoulder and he drops his back against the head of the sofa. "I think this might be the best Halloween ever."

She chokes out a laugh. "Halloween is tomorrow, Castle."

"No, it's past midnight. It's today," he argues wistfully. She sighs and it feels so normal already, bickering between makeouts on her couch. Oh, please let this be his new normal. "Speaking of, do you want to come over tomorrow night, help handout candy to trick-or-treaters?"

He feels her throat work with a swallow, but he doesn't move, doesn't say anything. He lets her think it through, lets her imagine a sense of normalcy that goes beyond this massive leap they took tonight.

"Yeah," Kate decides, sitting back on his knees. She offers him a shy smile, her lips kiss-swollen and lovely. She bridges her fingers at his nape, brushes her thumbs to the fine hairs at the base of his scalp. "I'd like that, Castle. I'd also like it if you were here in the morning," she adds, lowering her eyes to the collar of his shirt that her fingers absentmindedly straighten. "We could talk more about... this, over coffee."

He reaches up, strokes one of the stray curls from her cheek.

"Then tell me not to go," he tests. "Tell me to stay."

Kate unfurls from his lap to stand and snags his hands on her way up, dragging him along after her. He rises from the sofa with stiff knees, stumbling into her, and she grins, wrapping arms around his neck. And he can't help marveling at her even then, with her hair a wreck from his hands and her clothes askew, the city at their backs painting streaks of lights across her face, her sparkling eyes and the smile she saves for him and him alone.

"Don't go." She takes a step backwards, leading him towards a half-opened door, to what he assumes is her bedroom. She pauses in the doorway and arches on the toes of her bare feet. "Stay with me tonight." She presses a kiss to the corner of his mouth, dropping another to his cheek, the crease of his eye. "Wake up with me in the morning." His heart is pounding and he tangles his arms around her waist, pulls her in close. Her lips form a smile against his skin. "Then take me to the loft to prep for trick-or-treaters."

He smiles into the kiss he presses to her lips. He kisses her until they're both breathless and stumbling into her bedroom. They trip and land in a heap on her bed, his body half atop hers as he rises to an elbow, strokes his thumb to the harsh bone of her smiling cheek.

"Happy Halloween, Beckett."

She chuckles against his mouth when he kisses her again, her arms banding firm around his neck and tugging him closer.

"Might just be my new favorite holiday."

#castle fanfiction #castle x beckett #castle au #kate beckett #richard castle #castle #4x06 #mine #happy halloween to all #and to all a good night #and happy november! #I did not have time to edit this #so I apologize for what I'm sure are numerous errors

[deep-space-netwerk]

please please please PLEASE share more on your Thoughts about gas giants!! i'd love to learn in a way that doesnt leave me baffled and half my brain leaking from my ears! you explained things so well in the psyche post and also i think things are generally more fun to learn from someone who is Excited To Share than from Published Research Papers where everything has been dried out For Professional Reasons- understandably so, mind, but i am not In The Field and dont know the terms lol

Okay it's taken me forever to get back to this but I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED.

Like other planets, it all starts with a disk made of gas and dust orbiting an infant star, called a protoplanetary disk. Like these in the Orion Nebula, discovered by the Hubble!

To form terrestrial planets (rocky planets with relatively thin atmospheres like Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars), the gas in the protoplanetary disk coalesces to form hundreds and hundreds of rocky bodies called planetesimals, about a kilometer across. These planetesimals collide, and form dozens of protoplanets about the size of the moon. The protoplanets then collide as well, and stabilize to form the solar system as we know it today.

But, in the case of gas giants, colliding protoplanets don't form fully-finished planets. Instead, they form a core, or a seed.

We think the only thing that determines whether a planet will be terrestrial or a gas giant is simply how far away from the sun it forms - that's it. As a new sun warms its evolving solar system, it heats up the material in the protoplanetary disk. Close to the sun, the disk gets hotter, and things like water and other ices melt and evaporate into gas, making them difficult for the protoplanets to gravitationally capture. However, further away, the icy compounds stay cold enough to remain solid and coalesce along with rocky particles.

That boundary in the solar system - where ices evaporate to gas on the sunward side, and remain solid on the other - is called the "Frost Line". In our solar system, the Frost Line is right between Mars and Jupiter.

The protoplanets that form past the Frost Line turn into gas giant seeds, and are able to (kinda literally) snowball, picking up both rocky and icy material. With all that solid ice available, they grow far larger and far faster than planets in the inner solar system, and their gravity gets stronger and stronger. More gravity causes them to collect even MORE material until they're heavy enough to capture extremely lightweight elements like hydrogen and helium. Which, of course, makes them get even bigger and even heavier! Runaway growth!

But weirdly, as we study more exoplanets (planets that orbit stars other than our sun), we keep finding these huge gas giants incredibly close to their stars! Like, even closer than Mercury is to ours, which is insane. These "Hot Jupiters" break so many rules - gas giants "should" only be able to form where ice stays frozen, but here they are up close and personal with their stars, like this artist's concept!

It's possible that these planets are in the process of migrating closer to their stars, and we're managing to see them before they evaporate, but we just! Keep! Finding them!

One of my favorite parts of planetary science is how much we still have to learn. We'll think we have a pretty good idea of how things work out there, and then suddenly we'll find something that we can't explain. And there's an entire universe of weird shit - we've barely begun to scratch the surface!

#space #planets #jupiter #gas giants #astrophysics #planetary formation #Hubble #spost #asked and answered #anxiousdemifaemess #it's crazy though #in the early solar system about 98% of the material in the protoplanetary disk is hydrogen and helium #which is so lightweight it's entirely unavailable for planetary formation #it never coalesces and eventually just blows away #or gets eaten by the star #gas giants are able to utilize even a tiny fraction of that material #which is why they get so big! #The Frost Line is the reaso all our gas giants are far away and why we don't see rocky planets like mars hanging out past Jupiter and Satur #Or rather it would be #IF HOT JUPITERS WEREN'T EVERYWHERE RUINING THAT THEORY

[drippingmoon]

Merry new year to everyone, again! 🥳💞🥂

I know it wasn’t an event this year, but writing a yearly wrap-up is really therapeutic, you know? So I decided to continue the tradition, and if anyone wants to join me, absolutely view this as an open invitation^^ Introduction is over, and now let’s see what 2023 looked like:

(spoilers: I adored it. I'm also probably going to make this my fixed post, in case anyone ever wants to catch up with me. And also because my second baby, AoS, is growing, and it doesn't have an intro, but I can't leave it out.)

Stats

Aquiver, Aglow: 181k (draft 4) + 195k (draft 5) + hmm, draft 6 is an outlier, because I didn’t rewrite from scratch, so I’m unsure of the written word count. I didn’t change much from draft 5, so I’d say an extra 15-20k. Total word count: 376k+

Remains of a Night: 120k 

Aberration of Sunlight: 134k

This was definitely my most productive year to date. And I got so hungry: the more I wrote, the more I just wanted to keep writing, and honestly? I’m proudest of myself for literally carving writing time whenever I got a spot into my schedule. Mostly it was from 8pm-11pm, but I had a mad run where my only free window was from 1am till I literally felt I was dying… I’ll talk about that separately🤣🤣👌

Though, I'm seriously understating it.

Like a lot of other people, I would have all these hours when I was younger when I didn't have anything to do, yet I'd still find some excuse not to write. "I'm waiting for the right time." "I'm anxious I'm not going to get it right." "Tomorrow! Tomorrow I can start right from the morning, and I'll have more time to write, yeah?" or "I'm too tired now, it's late..." and so the snowball rolled down and downhill and I found every reason under the sun not to write, now that I think about it. Sigh. So much time wasted. But I can't regret it either, because I needed those baby steps at that time.

And now! Now I do what I thought I'd never learn to: I prioritize, and I actually organize my daily stuff so it's not so impossible anymore to have a little bit of writing time. I don't take it for granted either. It feels like such character growth for me, I'm immensely proud of it.

And for the record? This year was a huge improvement over yesteryear mentally, too. It turns out, what I needed to get over my word count anxiety… was to be faced with people who literally didn’t give a fuck about it, and just cared about the story. One of the most unexpected things beta stage managed to do to me… was to quench all my anxieties. It’s as simple as that. I read and enjoy very long books. People also do that. So, I’m very happy to say I’m no longer in a tizzy about ‘quiv. It might kill my chances for trad publishing, it might not. I’ll be happy come what may.

Because it’s so simple how working on ‘quiv or thinking about it makes me joyous, and now I can just enjoy that freely. I will miss writing this story so much. I really will. But at least I’ll have it forever to reread, and I hope this thought brings comfort to everyone who also has problems letting go, like it does to me.

Let’s break it down a little, shall we?🤩

Aquiver, Aglow◇◇◇

My little star of the hour. How fond I am of it.

Like you could glean from above, ‘quiv went through three drafts this year. More specifically: in the first part of the year, practically almost as soon as February arrived. I knew it was getting closer to the final version, and gave me the push to finish all three back to back. I couldn’t justify anymore the bazillion AUs I do with rewrites (basically, WHAT IFs from events, WHAT IF it went this different way, WHAT IF Tyrone actually said this here… and so on and so forth. I wanted to test out as many pathways as possible, and did I exhaust every one of them in existence? Definitely not. I don’t think that can happen, you just keep getting new ideas. On and on. What happened, instead, is that these couple different pathways, at some point, cemented themselves as canon in my mind. I didn’t want to tease myself with alternatives anymore, and that’s when I knew they would be it. Some bits from the first draft, some from the third, some from the second. Some were even draft 6 originals!

It’s a bit of a weird process. I definitely didn’t need to reach draft 3, and meet Mezusa, because I could’ve feasibly made it work with just Yles in the story. It still would’ve made sense, though in a different way. But if I hadn’t… I might’ve missed one of the best characters I’ll ever probably have created, and the story (and Yles) is much stronger for her, if you ask me. 

For that matter, yes, full rewrites every single draft might take a lot of time and effort, but honestly I don’t think I’d ever change my writing process (save for the moments of frustration when I think I will lol) because of the sheer satisfaction of it. Whoever said so long never to settle on the first version, I owe you a beer and probably some curses as well lmao, but very lovingly. You shaped my writing life.

I don’t have much else to share about ‘quiv, other than it’s off with my beta readers my beloved, and maybe a tentative promise that, if anyone wants, you’ll be able to read this precious ball of hope of mine relatively soon. This story is so gentle to me. And as much as I loved to write and work on it, I dearly hope that whoever decides to give it a go, is treated just the same. That’s the only wish I have.

I also don’t know if I’ll go trad or self-published. Instincts say trad, because I fuckin’ suck at marketing (fact), and I know I’d grow resentful if I’d have to put so many hours into advertising when I know I could instead… write. I’m a writer. That’s the only thing I know how to do. Trad, however, might not be as kind on a ~200k as life’s been, so I might not have a choice. If it comes down to that… I’ll just treat it as I do everything. I don't love this story any less if I just write, publish without a fuss, hope that maybe, just maybe, a reader or two will stumble upon the story and we could talk. Maybe we can have the fun of our lives, create some genuine connection. I know that’s applies to a lot of writers. I hope we can accomplish it.

And so, I’ll finish this section of the wrap-up with a kiss to my ‘quiv, for all the warmth it’s ever brought me. It’s come so far, I know it can live distinct from me from now on. It brings me great comfort. And I look forward to the times I’ll reread it, and we can relive our best experiences together. Never thought I’d get to this point. Thank you, ‘quiv.

Remains of a Night♤♤♤

Mwhahaha! And because ‘quiv took all the pressure, this left AoS to be an extremely fun and spirited experience. Literally the chillest I’ve ever been writing. In many ways, it’s more my thing than I expected ‘quiv to be: I get to murder characters left and right, it’s more plot-heavy and banking on the tension created by a creature that horrifies the characters down to their marrow, but still the only way to defeat it is to know it better, which, uh, might have unpleasant consequences for them. It’s got chase and stealth scenes, and it always shoots me with adrenaline to think about them. In short, exactly my jam.

It’s not a new book, nope. You knew it before as Aberration of Sunlight, but from the get-go I felt it would be bigger than ‘quiv. Very fortunately for me, I had a place where to break it, and behold: there’s RoaN (book 1), and AoS (book 2). There might be a third book, which I dearly hope not because titling sucks, but it depends on the Sycamine arc. More on that in AoS.

One last thing to note, before we delve into the story (hoo-ray for earlier drafts, because I can talk more frankly about them). This is the culprit of my 1am writing adventures!!😫❤ My schedule became too packed, then NaNo came round and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to honor how AoS began, because it was last year’s NaNo, aaand I’m happy to say I won NaNo, somehow, with 56k down before I died. At that time, I only had one section left to write (from both books), otherwise, hahahaha, yeah, it wouldn’t have flown. Still, most of draft 2 I’d written in September-October, with my fairy lights, late nights, and cups of hot cocoa, exactly like how life should be<3

Alright. We’re going through them chapter-by-chapter again, exactly because I love seeing the titles so much:

ACT 1

Cracked Visor, Scorpion Grass

I did it! I did! Twas another shower thought I managed to get down in time. Bare broken sentences, but they did the impossible, and arranged this chapter into a structure I adore to bits and won't ever change. (And 'quiv's naughty voice left me alone for once and I could write it properly!) While I don't think I'll ever be happy with a first chapter (not as a concept, but the writing — part of me will always wish that the reader just had all the information already lol), this one is in the right place.

It pays its respects to the story of the broken helmet at the foot of a spaceship, and how it reconnects Madigan with all the people who'd suffered from being tethered to the planets when they yearned to fly, but the Beast punished them cruelly for it. It makes him feel phantoms of their efforts. The tone is exactly what I needed this story to start from: melancholy and numbly hopeless, against the backdrop of the Beasts's echoed cries.

Rain Through the Universe

Unlike 'quiv, because RoaN and AoS are way more plot-heavy, it's not as easy to change things willy-nilly (whereas 'quiv was all about character bonds and dynamics). As such, it's very similar to draft 1. Because of that, I'll frankendraft next (select and combine drafts 1 and 2, rewrite to connect them) and afterwards I'll try something I've always wanted to. (Scrivener keeps hinting at it!) I'm gonna split the chapters into scenes, and focus on those individually and how I can just rewrite them and set their purpose in stone<3 I'm excited!

As for the chapter itself, gods, I love the atmosphere. Just the wreckage of a sundered ship, and Madigan’s sudden madman appearance making a lasting impression on Spica, because how could it not. They no longer answer distress calls in that age, it just means more dead bodies. In fact, they're forbidden to. Madigan instead brings him what he himself lacks: hope. And a lot of crawling around while dreading the Beast's lambent eye opening, and oh my, the moments are really flying by😈👏 extreme fun for me as the writer.

Aberration of Light

If you remember, the books follow two timelines, which will connect at some point. The first and main one is Madigan and Spica’s story. The other is Holloway’s, in the distant past of that universe, and who’s been dubbed the most selfish man in existence. That’s important, because of how the Beast came to be. But that becomes important later. For now, a weird-ass new recruit has joined the ship, and the witchy crew will very soon start making bets if she’s the Beast in human flesh, which really wouldn’t bode well for their future.

Night Falls On Their Reflection

Draft 2 became Spica’s draft. It was high time. He didn't exist in the original idea beyond chapter 2, but he refused to die with his story untold. And now he's one of the most independent thinkers I've ever written. Now he's Madigan's son (yes, even at 25), best friend, back-to-back partner all in one, and I could watch the trust and mutual respect between these two forever. To be sure: Madigan comes up with the dumbass plans, and Spica's only too happy to follow him through everything (it is good fun.)

He's repaying the incredible kindness Madigan's shown him when answering his distress call, after all.

But it goes a bit further than that, doesn't it? Madigan is used to watching over myriad people. He's the Superintendent of his planet, and while he genuinely loves people, kindness is his default. It doesn't go further than that for him. He doesn't necessarily think people need, much less desire his presence there beyond Madigan extending help, and most of the time, he's content with that. Kindness does make him happy. And it should be the same with Spica now, shouldn't it? He's kind, but he's not Spica's family, nor ever will be. Yet he immediately feels a connection with the boy, that has nothing to do with bonding over escaping-a-cosmic-disaster. And so does Spica.

This is the moment when Madigan starts feeling guilty, for stepping where he should not. But here's the beauty of Spica's character: he's nothing if not dead sure of his own feelings, and what he sees with his eyes. It's okay if Madigan keeps unexpectedly taking steps back. For very long, there'd been nobody to support Spica's beliefs. So he does the same, as when he followed his heart to go into dead space: he believes in himself and Madigan, and that their paths aren't meant to diverge. They mean too much to each other for that to ever happen.

(In short, and legend says you can still hear me screeching about these two ten thousand years later, I love these two so much, and especially the parallels between Spica going alone into outer space and loving Madigan.)

(And, okay, obviously all these developments don't happen in a single chapter, but I couldn't stop gushing🤭🥰.)

Who Puts These Tombs in Ice

Overall, I think draft 2’s Luitgart performed worse than draft 1. Mainly it's the setting I want to revert (still an icy, sempiternally dark hell, but with different ice constructions) because some of the beats are a huge improvement, and again, I gotta combine the two. Otherwise, I’m still as obsessed about the Luitgart arc as I’ve ever been, and huge thanks to it for being so strong it could function as an ending of its own, allowing me to split the book.

Gettin’ into spoilery territory, but I have to un-kill Madigan so many times it leaves me in hysterics. That was what I was supposed to fix this draft. It got worse. Considerably.

(One constant: the chapter being a love letter to Madigan, and how his first answer will always be to help the other, no matter if they deserve it or not<3 and finally, finally, he gets acknowledged for it, and the favor returned.)

ACT 2

Lemon-Dotted Days + Remnant

Two Holloway chapters! I’m actually massively pleased with how they’ve turned out. Last year, I said the main issue was that I had an outline, and that never works for me. So I did what I do best and rewrote everything from scratch, and the result is both uncanny and… unexpected.

Unexpected, because I never in my life thought Holloway’s voice would make me laugh so much. He’s supposed to be unsympathetic, but then you get his interactions with Saintlark (the new crewmate, possibly Beast) where they’re contemplating the harvest of a nebula, and he’s harshly critical of it, which gives Saintlark hope… only to go deadpan One Moment Later: if they’d used the nebula to prolong their lives instead of bolstering the war, they wouldn’t have died like clown idiots. 

And, they could’ve maybe stolen immortality from the nebula. They would've had to share it with him, of course. Or he would've murdered them to get it.

That, my guys, is his personality in a nutshell.

I have a lot of feelings on Holloway now, and most involve me huffing and slapping my forehead while groaning, but oh my gods. Was it ever so fun. And wait, wait, wait. Since I'm talking of humor (apparently a lot of comedy fit into this horror lmfao) I have to show you guys the following section🤣🤣👏:

Corpse Snow

The drifters are set howling on the ice. They share glances, five separate vehicles nodding at each other. Madigan revs up the engine, splitting the air with a jet of steam and vibration.

The last of the marines are climbing into the box. A figure flashes past Madigan’s drifter — and he leans over, teeth grinding because of his ribs, and he does his very best to grab someone by the back of their suit and pull. Workout days were never his strength, though. He only succeeds in stopping them in the frost smoke.

It’s Spica dangling from his hand, expressionless.

Lieutenant Hahn instantly seizes on the situation. He throws Madigan a long, withering look. “Whatcha doing, Boss?” he asks softly, about to unhinge his jaw again.

Madigan nudges Spica into the drifter. “Picking up your boy.”

Spica gets the hint and deposits himself into the front seat, glancing from his father to his Superintendent. He seems to give up on whatever’s going on, and makes himself cozy in the frosty spot. And Madigan, of course, pretends not to notice Hahn’s drifter sliding closer.

“And you didn’t consider I might want to have my son with me?”

Madigan looks up and sighs. “Lieutenant, dear Lieutenant,” he starts pleadingly. “Why won’t you show some leniency to a poor, wounded man?”

Hahn’s drifter stops, summoning a breeze across the icy floor that gently rocks the other vehicle. His breathing distorts the comms with static. “And what exactly is my son right now?”

“My trusty navigator,” Madigan answers easily.

“Sir’s emotional walking stick?” Spica pipes in at the same time.

They both look over. Spica’s quietly turned to the navigation, as serene as daylight, seemingly oblivious to how Madigan's expression changes, lightning-fast. He quickly hides it under the guise of a polite mask, as the marines stir and turn their attention on them. They’re snickering.

Lieutenant Hahn throws up his hands, giving up on everything.

This is also the first 30k chapter I’ve ever written. It's everything I've ever wanted to do with ice.

Heart of the Void

The end of the book. Originally, it was the ending section to Corpse Snow, but since it already got so ungodly long, I chipped off that bit and I have to say I’m very happy with how it works as an epilogue! So it ends the frosty, weary journey, and I can’t see the two books as separate yet, but here we bid goodbye to the first.

Aberration of Sunlight♧♧♧

I did the unthinkable and created a fifth arc. This might not seem like much to you, but I was screaming bloody murder you guys😭😭😭. Sigh. It’s so sigh. For so long, AoS consisted of four clear-cut acts, but it was necessary. With the introduction of Sycamine, and making it two books, it was just needed. It’s still one of the worst things I’ve ever done because I was used to four😃💔

(The chapters continue from where RoaN left off – from chapter 10, to 21.)

ACT 3

Retro Spectrum

Sycamine, oh Sycamine. Definitely the break I needed before Days in Darkness. It made for a really neat beginning. It’s calmer, focusing on the knowledge they have on the Beast. It’s also a reflection on Procyon (their main star) and the story of the two straggler dog constellations, and what they'd been running away from. I liked the direction it took. It veered away from the Beast for a bit, so the tension kept expanding in the background. And when it returns, well... maybe they shouldn't have been so eager to see it again🤭.

It suffers from the same syndrome as draft 1’s first chapter… it’s there in the vicinity of the idea, but too much to the left. Not bad for a first attempt. The setting annoys me – I really don't enjoy writing cities, and AoS didn't change that. So, for our next try, I was thinking... maybe we don't need to be on the planet, but up close and veeery personal with it. It's a secret❤.

And, oh gods. I put a moustache-twirling villain in this. And then I couldn’t stop myself from naming some sucker Sweetman Calories. I don’t know what happened to me during those days, but I’m crying🤣🤣🤣.

Toast to the Light

Holloway and Saintlark’s story is slowly coming to an end. Unexpectedly bleaker than draft 1, yet it feels much more sincere. Holloway has a way of saying everything Saintlark needs to hear. No surprise. They did that to themselves.

Dissonant Recognition

Ahhhh, the Madigan-is-slowly-losing-his-grip-on-reality chapter, or maybe he should really stop staring into the suns. One of my favorites<3 Also because it features Moren (!!!) who has a blast staying in the grey morality area, because she doesn’t know if her actions could ever matter, or if she could change anything. Does she just exist? Is she a player or just pawn? Who knows. Besides that, she gets along great with Spica. They form such a teasing duo, the level of mutual respect they felt for each other on sight was a delight to write. My favorite ally of theirs, even if her destiny lies elsewhere.

Night Beneath the Elevator

Best title hands down, dethroning Solgesis. I’m going batshit crazy about the visuals, it's exactly my thing. This half-light slanted over an elevator waiting in a rundown basement to be boarded. And there's something underneath it, and always has been. Something insidiously creeping up and waving its tendril fingers at you as you're just waiting for the fucking thing to ascend. Immaculate, guys, I'm telling you, and I'm cursing my hands because I can't make a wallpaper of this. I want to eat that atmosphere.

Time-sensitive missions, y'all.

And why the heck did nobody inform me I was going to add Command as an actual character and have them talk with Madigan?! That entire convo, made up entirely on the spot but somehow with a direction, made me realize what an idiot I’d been for not doing it sooner. They mean so much to Madigan, after all.

(And Mariya. So much Mariya in these chapters.)

ACT 4

Loop System

Like Who Puts These Tombs in Ice, draft 1 might’ve done it better. Not Spica and Madigan, though, because of the sheer development Spica’s been through and the dynamic he’s managed to form with the crew. It's different from Madigan’s, but similar enough that it’s got Hahn commenting lightly: [Spica’s] picked up quite a few habits from Madigan, hasn’t he? Almost as if they’ve gotten very very close, huh? How about Madigan tell him more?

(I adore writing Hahn.)

Outreach

Another Holloway chapter. Doesn’t have the punch of the kids subplot from draft 1, but this just makes it worse for Saintlark personally, because, this time, the consequences are on her.

Days in Darkness

I knew the moment I first got the idea this would be my favorite chapter. Well, it finally happened in draft 2: when the entire crew is here, this time, and ready for the final countdown, to relive the experience of being trapped in a ship that's disintegrating. No more heroes left behind. I'd been so tired writing this chapter in draft 1, but this time around it was incredible. Everything went up sharply from here, both in terms of events and how on fire I was.

(Maybe less than the gorgon, but I was.)

ACT 5

Echo Terminal

The first of the two log chapters.

I've never written smoother, more visual chapters than in this period. Days in Darkness changed me so much, I was writing day and night by this point and couldn't get enough. Well, I hit my limit in the second half of the very last chapter, but I am beyond satisfied. Even the Beast's metamorphosis took me by storm, because I'd been wondering what the final verbs, the final images, the final design for it was going to be. I didn't expect it to come to me this early, and with such thrill. Those were my very best days of the year, and I toast to them.

(And I knew it was going to be fantastic when Halo's Warthog Run OST started blaring in my head, with as much adrenaline.)

Where, Now? + Solgesis

My beloved. The second and last of the two log chapters, but it’s Noelle Saintlark’s log.

Holloway’s timeline ends here. Or maybe it just gets carried into the future. I thought I’d want to rewrite his parts again, make the plot just a tiny bit more psychedelic and nonsensical because it’s so close to the Beast… but Solgesis put all my fears to rest. Even the formatting and layout is a bit of that special thing I’ve always wanted to try, and it really changes the perspective of the previous chapters. There's a new confession that stands at the heart of Holloway's stories.

Honestly, the only thing that needs urgent working on is the anger at the end of the chapter.

Anger is so hard for me to write sometimes. Not because I don’t connect with it, but because I feel self-conscious writing it. The wildest I felt it was when I tackled 'quiv's chapter 3 and Imera's Turning speech, both in quick succession (before I'd even written draft 1. I'd been taking notes.) Since then... I just thing back to how keenly I'd felt that anger, and I kind of intimidate myself out of it. Kind of like a natural resistence, I quench it from myself. Which is actually hilarious when you think about it. It’s like I’m going I BANISH THEE FROM MY BRAIN because generally, as a person, I dislike feeling and operating on anger. But no worries. I’m going to find a way around it.

Watch me😎.

What Goes Around…

(Now it’s the time for me to start crying some rivers, and, alright, it won’t be visible so I’ll say it: the chapter titles are holding a conversation, guys. They speak to each other. And sometimes it’s both sides of the same coin, like how What Goes Around (comes around) hints here. If you take two chapters, one from the beginning and one from the end (for example 1 and 21) it'll tell you a little secret. Okay, What Goes Around and Rain Through the Universe communicate through their plot, which I can’t spoil but of course it has to do with Madigan and Spica and how they first meet… but there is one title pair that does it best visibly. 

Lemon-Dotted Days and Days in Darkness.

And I hadn’t even planned this. All the parallels I wanted to draw… I feel like they built themselves, guys. They really did, and it makes me so wildly happy I don’t even know how to stop my hands from flailing.

And, with them being 21 chapters, they meet in the middle, on the one unpaired chapter.

Called Toast to the Light.

I friggin’ love everything.

New Sunrise, Forget-Me-Right

Of course, Forget-Me-Right is a play on Scorpion Grass. But it’s also such a gentle name for the chapter, because everything ends here. Lying on their backs, staring out into the universe, and it really, really is over. Just a dark horizon on which stars flare and bloom. And suddenly, that maddened rush to make every sacrifice count, to remember every soul they’ve encountered because the legend says the Beast absorbs you when it kills you – all that suffocating pressure dissipates. Lightness remains. Because they’ve protected each other.

For the first time in my writing journey, blood rushed to my head with such emotion I had to stop writing, which never happens. I had to look up and exclaim, holy fuck. But how could I not, considering how the story ends for the Beast? I am speechless. A lot of gorgeous surprises this draft.

Conclusion□●□

Whew, what a year it's been! As for how 2024 will probably look like, though I don't like making plans: finishing the beta stage for 'quiv, and tackling RoaN and AoS's draft 3. Thaaaat one I'm actually starting on Christmas, when I can (finally!!) reread draft 2 with my mug of hot cocoa (or maybe mulled wine for a change) and, no surprises here, I'm hyper stoked for that<3 <3 <3 I legit can't wait to see where the new draft brings them. I might not have set any expectations for them, but they're vying to keep up with 'quiv and I adore it🤭❤

As for my lovely friends... well, you know by how I spam your tags how much I adore you and wish you happiness forever🤩🥺🥳 I don't know what my activity will look like in the near future, so for now I won't be saying anything, and my semi-hiatus continues. Semi, because you're unforgettable and I crave to see what everyone's been up to and (!!!!) what you've written!

So let's meet in 2024 again, and all the best wishes to you, the reader🥰🥂❤.

#ayearofwriting #2023 #aquiver-aglow #aberration of sunlight

[beesmygod]

"PINWHEEL IS TRYING TO BRING BACK HIS FAMILY": THE WORST AND DUMBEST THEORY OF ALL TIME

we all know and love gravelord nito, right. he's a big jumble of skellingtons covered by a robe of bad vibes. he's not dead, he's just "sleep[ing] deep within the Giant Catacombs, quietly overseeing all death". nito, first of the dead, is weak to fire. nito discovered his flame and burned himself to death making him the first loser in recorded history.

and we know pinwheel, the poorly named (look i know its hard to get the idea across but "pinwheel"???) boss whose japanese name (San'ninbaori) is a reference to a comedy act performed with two people. in this case it's three (hence "san"). you can see in the concept art how they're stacked on each other under the blankey

a particularly nauseating and saccharine theory proposes that pinwheel is but a harmless family man trying to restore his dead family. this theory is based literally entirely on the fact that his masks are named "the mask of the father/mother/son". thats it lol. this ignores several things:

the masks are clearly based on greek theater masks and are representing archetypes and not literal people.

no one in dark souls or any reality wears a mask to inform people what their familial role is. are you stupid.

they're undead you dipshit! it's a world of people where the problem is they don't die!

the idea is also just toothless and stupid; it's cliche and expected. it's the kind of lazy theorizing that occurs when you fundamentally do not understand how to read text beyond just putting the literal words into your head. look,

undead clerics go on pilgrimages to the catacombs of lordran to become fire-keepers by partaking in the rite of kindling, which will tie them to a bonfire (which is kindled with remains, nito's death lead to the discovery that bonfires are kindled by sacrifice/humanity). thisis a power unique to nito as a consequence of burning himself. or it WAS.

pinwheel is "the necromancer who stole the power of the Gravelord and reigns over the Catacombs". when we interrupt him hes in the middle of grafting a gravelord sword onto his next addition in order to mimic ol' nito.

the fundamental difference between pinwheel and nito is size: pinwheel is a collection of (likely) undead, nito and the other lord souls, except the furtive pygmy, were "gods", a race of giants with powers or great strength. if you see a really tall fucker in dark souls, they're a different species and not a human.

with that in mind: it seems like he's trying to usurp nito in a weird parallel to our own adventure. in one of the two dark souls endings, the player character can choose to inherit the role of the gods by giving their life to extend the age of fire, just as the god gwyn did. pinwheel is following the blueprints to become god laid down by his predecessor; nito too was once three dudes smooshed together!

nito's boss area has a weird detail: two open sarcophagi....or....IS THERE!!!!

christ it took me forever to find the source for this and i guess no one cares about it enough to talk or notice it outside of this one video. thank you illusory wall. speaking of illusory, the pinwheels in front of nito poof into illusion dust when you kill them. illusions in dark souls persist even after the death of the person who cast them. you can kill gwyndolin and the fake sun remains in anor londo

#dark souls lore post #dark souls #lore

[alkhale]

So happy you’ve returned thank you for coming back 💜💜💜💜💜💜

So I had a thought with that AU dark!Sabo/Ace fic you have, how would Sabo/Ace react to Law being over at Hoku’s? Like Law’s hanging out or slept over and answers Hoku’s phone for her and Sabo/Ace basically have aneurysms 😂

Basically I’m in a Law era and seeing him with Hoku is always a treat 💜

(Locked Here for Forever AU - Hoku is still currently doing the work for Sabo and Ace)

Minor Warning: Depictions of Dark!Sabo, nothing too serious, just in case you don't want to see Sabs acting... dark ;)

Sabo's gloved knuckles rasped softly against Hoku's apartment door.

The faint sound of other tenants arriving home for the night filled the air. In the distance he could absently make out the sounds of a few cars passing the neighborhood street, the too-loud laugh of a few teenagers walking past.

Sabo took a polite step back from the front door, keeping one arm folded across his chest. A hefty, sleek paper bag hung from the crook of his elbow—carefully picked take-out orders, a thoughtful range of dishes that would be easy to eat while making conversation while still meeting Sabo's own preferences for someone's nutritional intake.

Quietly, with perfect clarity, he considered the image of Hoku in his mind. His eyes traced in place of hands the shape of her curves, the brightness of her skin, the slight press of her thighs against a seat.

"You should eat more," Ace had said, watching Hoku over the tabletop of their last meal. Sabo had remembered needing to touch his shoulder, a faint warning to check his gaze. "You look skinnier."

(Ace's gaze always tended to swallow too much. He was louder about his hunger.)

"You aren't having trouble getting meals, are you?" Sabo had asked, playfully scolding like a good friend. A thoughtful friend.

Hoku, as expected, had denied all claims. I can eat plenty, she'd said. Or I can just cook more—I just get distracted or it gets a bit late...

So Sabo had suggested, as any good friend would:

"Why don't we have more meals together? It's been so long since we all got together to eat."

Ace had grinned, as though the idea were completely novel, leaning forward eagerly across the table, "We used to do it all the time! We practically always had dinner together—damn, why'd we stop?"

Quietly, on cue, a faint trickle of thoughtful guilt made its way across Hoku's expression. Sabo pretended not to see it, brows creasing as he said, "You know how it is. It can't be helped when we all get busy and have things to do... it's just nice we can all reunite together now."

Relief flashed across Hoku's face at the solution to her unknown guilt. Sabo smiled, sweet and easy as he turned to her, "Right, Hoku?"

Hoku's eyes had brightened and Sabo felt his own smile widen, a soft upturn of his lips while he lightly rubbed his gloved thumb over the top of his other hand.

"No, of course! No time better than the present... we can do something as soon as you guys are free—even on days where we don't plan it, maybe just a spontaneous thing?"

Sabo had counted an appropriate pause in his mind, finally replying, "If we can get Ace to remember, I think it'll be perfect."

"Me? What about rounding up Luffy?"

Hoku had laughed, perfectly at ease, a fluttering, hopeful little bit of excitement in her gaze.

I know, Sabo thought, consoling, it's been too long, hasn't it?

(Too long.)

Sabo stood here now, the soft beginnings of evening darkening the sky behind him as he waited in front of Hoku's apartment—the fruit of their conversation, an impromptu drop off of food. An easy, casual set-up that would lead to an expected invitation.

(Progress.)

He remained dressed in clothes similar to his usual work attire, allowing his sleeves to crease slightly and his tie to loosen just so as to appear fresh off of work. He glanced once to the sleek gold watch on his wrist, considering the current time and then lifting his eyes back to Hoku's front door.

His timing should be just right, not too early that stray errands would've kept her away from home, not too late that a full meal didn't seem unappealing—though knowing Hoku, the second option was always less of a risk since her upbringing and own politeness would force her to eat, no matter how late if he'd come all this way, especially after work... just to bring her something.

Sabo smiled, fond—endearing.

(Classic Hoku.)

He knew if Ace was here this time for this one, he might've even come later, pressing for the expected chance that Hoku's hospitality would be their chance to quietly open the door, just a bit wider. It was more than obvious she'd offer them to stay the night, especially if either he or Ace played the part of being oh so tired just a bit harder, but Sabo had known for quite some time now that they'd waited long enough.

They could wait, just a bit more.

(Cover all their bases. The result will follow.)

A second bag hung from Sabo's elbow, the familiar plastic of a convenience store bag. Two canned beers sat comfortably inside, one advertising the sweet, fruity taste of lychee while the other remained a smooth, simple brand—Sabo's usual drink wasn't the kind found at the local convenience store, but this would do.

Hoku had never been one to handle her alcohol particularly well, which was why she tended to either not drink or stick to the one's lighter in taste and content. The flip side to this, however, was that Hoku had grown up close to people who enjoyed a good drink and could hold their alcohol very well—meaning she was more than happy to entertain a sip or two and have a drink for fun.

Sabo had come to realize as well, with a bit of quiet amusement, that Hoku always seemed willing to test if her alcohol tolerance had suddenly become better overnight. She was easy enough to convince.

He gave the door another knock, a steadier sound this time, not to be missed.

An older woman entered the apartment at the end of the hall. Sabo quietly watched her lightly hit the numbers across her keypad before stepping inside. His gaze turned now to Hoku's own keypad lock, still for a moment until Sabo's gloved fingers quietly slid the lock cover upwards.

Sabo's gaze was half-lidded in thought, a lazy, casual expression settled over his face. His dark eyes remained sharp beneath the long curl of his lashes, carefully looking over each number key until he quietly made out which numbers had become more worn from clear use.

He faintly traced the pattern of these numbers, a soft, unamused hum leaving his lips when he recognized the date. His gaze darkened a bit, lightly repeating the pattern as though to key in the code himself.

The sound of footsteps finally making their way down the hallway entrance reached Sabo's ears. His fingers gently slid the keypad cover closed, quietly with the softest click. He schooled his expression into one of quaint ease, a warm smile on his lips as he heard the lock twist and the locking mechanism churn.

Hoku's front door pulled open, stopping just short of yanking the rattled door chain still in place. Sabo took note of the secondary lock for only a split second before he paused, catching himself.

Sabo's mind worked with practiced quickness, a series of short observations.

A young man he did not recognize from Hoku and Luffy's immediate circle of friends stood in Hoku's place by her door. Opening her door. He couldn't have been much older than himself or Ace—his faintly youthful complexion betrayed only by the tired lines by his eyes and the sharp line of his jaw, coupled by a neatly trimmed goatee.

He was tall, hair pitch black and skin tanned. Sabo could easily make out a well-defined build from the width of open door held by the metal chain still in place. He was roguishly handsome in a way Sabo absently thought would give a few models in his agency a run for their money—he had a good brooding face, he was sure of it.

Corded muscles flexed along this man's bicep, his arm leaning against the entryway wall as he kept the door open, regarding Sabo with an expression that looked faintly vexed—the kind a person would wear when they were a bit annoyed they had to answer the door but not so impolite to be outright rude about it. Not enough to care, however, about their slight annoyance being known.

You're imposing.

Sabo's gaze stilled.

That was a very... comfortable expression to wear. It was not the kind of face a person who was only in someone else's home for the first time or for a brief moment would make. Not unless they had Luffy's audacity to make themselves at home.

This was a man who was familiar with Hoku's home.

So familiar in fact, that he felt comfortable enough to answer her door in her place.

Familiar and careful, Sabo thought in the back of his mind, because every time Hoku had opened the door for them her door chain had never been in place.

(Careful men were dangerous.)

He was also in Hoku’s home this late into the day—his bothered expression implying he’d already been here for some time. Hoku wasn’t the type to invite new people to her home this late, it took time for her to bring people into her workspace. Her home was a place he and Ace had to tread with care—it was why their apartment was easier.

(So you’re someone Hoku is comfortable with.)

But what bothered Sabo the most, and it really only bothered him so much, was that this stranger was someone Hoku deemed close enough to allow all those things—and he was someone neither Sabo nor Ace had known of.

Sabo allowed his face to become one of curious surprise. He looked at the unknown man with a practiced, startled smile.

“Oh, hello!” Sabo said. “Are you one of Hoku’s classmates? I didn’t realize she’d have someone over!”

The dark gray eyed man blinked slowly, brows furrowing in a manner that Sabo would almost find skeptical—hmm, he felt quite familiar inside Hoku’s home, didn’t he? He seemed to be considering Sabo’s greeting and inquiry, even judging if it was truthful. But Sabo’s words meant after all that he was familiar enough with Hoku to make such a statement.

“…no,” the man said slowly—his voice was low, a husky sort of natural timbre. Sabo lightly picked at the edge of his glove. “Who are you?”

Sabo allowed his startled smile to become a curious one, polite and wide as he extended his gloved hand to him. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m one of Luffy’s brothers—Hoku’s childhood friend?”

The unfamiliar man’s expression instantly cleared with recognition. Sabo continued to smile but filed this information away with a sharp twist of his lips. The man finally extended his hand through the open gap and clasped Sabo's firmly. Sabo's eyes didn't stray from his face, but he noticed the inked tattoos from the corner of his eye.

His grip was firm. It didn't linger but it did not shy.

“You’re… Sabo,” he said finally. “Sabo, aren’t you?”

Sabo smiled, feigning pleasant surprise, “That’s me! Has Hoku introduced us before?"

"No," the man said simply. He rubbed absently at his jaw for a moment, seeming to consider his phrasing before he answered, "She mentioned reconnecting with some childhood friends. Described you before... I remember you from a few photos now."

The warmth of Hoku's actions made it easy for Sabo's smile to become a touch sweeter, a bit friendlier, though he imagined none of such feelings were meant for this man.

"I'm Law," he finally introduced, "Trafalgar Law. Just a friend of Hoku's."

Sabo lightly pulled the edge of his glove. In his mind he carefully sorted through Hoku's gallery on her social media—a man like this would've easily caught his or Ace's attention. Hoku was not one to purposefully keep people an explicit secret, but she was one to not realize certain circles of her life had never crossed.

(She was also one, Sabo remembered, silent, to wait before making certain announcements.)

"This is—"

The memory of a sheepish laugh.

"He and I decided to give dating a—"

"I see! It's nice to meet you Law," Sabo said brightly. "Is Hoku home? She didn't mention going anywhere..."

Law half-glanced over his shoulder, back deeper into the apartment. "She's home. She didn't mention expecting anyone to stop by."

He said it casually, clear without any malice, simply just to inform Sabo of what he knew. It only bothered Sabo, really, that he was able to piece together a few more things about Law from this statement alone.

Law was here on a planned occasion. Most likely he was expected to be here for some time.

"No, that makes sense," Sabo said with a cheerful laugh. He motioned to the bags strewn over his arm and Law glanced briefly to it. "I was stopping by after to work because I figured she'd be home."

Law made a noise in the back of his throat that meant he understood. His gaze flickered back up to Sabo, "Just dropping this off?"

(Hah.)

Sabo smiled smoothly. "If it's a bad time? I was hoping to see her for a second."

Law seemed to consider his answer, briefly glancing once more over his shoulder back into the apartment. Sabo tilted his head softly to the side, a bit of blonde curling against his cheek.

Law's fingers deftly undid the top chain. He opened the door wide enough for Sabo to enter. "She should be out of the shower in a second."

Ah.

(Telling Ace to sit this one out really was a blessing in disguise.)

"Thank you!" Sabo smiled politely. Law slightly shook his head in a no need to thank me sort of manner.

Sabo carefully adjusted the bags over his elbow, taking a moment to himself before he casually stepped into Hoku's genkan. Law closed the door behind him, locking and bolting the door. Sabo made a point to slip off his shoes with practiced familiarity, opening Hoku's small shoe closet to place them inside instead of just leaving them in the entryway.

(He was not a new guest.)

He noticed the unfamiliar pair of dark loafers sitting beside her worn sneakers. Sabo lightly placed his own shoes between the two of them, softly closing the closet.

"I'll go set this down in the kitchen," Sabo said casually, only half turning over his shoulder. He saw Law nod, simply following behind Sabo as the two of them stepped into Hoku's living room.

Sabo kept his gaze forward, allowing his expression to settle into a simple, thin line as his eyes deftly glanced about Hoku's home. His feet carried him toward her kitchen without needed guidance.

The first thing he noticed was the television on—some kind of show for easy background noise based on the fact that neither of the two people currently in this apartment were sitting to watch. A blanket was tossed hazardously over one arm of the couch, discarded casually by Hoku, he pieced. Two mugs and a set of papers and folders were laid neatly across her table, standing out starkly compared to Hoku's scattered pages and texts—these most likely belonged to the man behind Sabo, though he couldn't make out their contents.

Sabo could hear water running down the hall as he stepped into Hoku's small, cozy little kitchen. Cozy was being kind, he supposed, but Hoku woud not allow him to think otherwise. He kept his mind focused on the task at hand. For the best, Sabo thought, since the sound of running water was only getting louder in the back of his mind, grating on his ears in this occasion where it should've been teasingly soft.

("She's in the shower.")

Law stepped into the kitchen behind him, drifting to the countertop while Sabo began to carefully set his bags down on Hoku's little dining table.

Sabo had already gauged Law was not the particularly talkative type. He smiled and said, "You mentioned you were a friend of Hoku's, but not a classmate? How did the two of you meet?"

"We met properly through a joint project at my work," Law said calmly. "Had a few mutual friends prior to it without realizing."

"I see," Sabo said. He began to pull containers from the bag. "You're an artist as well?"

Law scoffed, a light sound as he shook his head. Sabo's eyes slowly turned his way. "Doctor. She was commissioned to design a mural for the children's ward."

Sabo offered a small hum of interest, watching the broth in one container sway slightly from side to side. "So you're one of Straw Hat's brothers?"

"That's right," Sabo said, calmly adjusting a utensil set. He turned now and lightly leaned back against the dining table to face Law, lacing his gloved fingers together and letting them hang comfortably in front of him. Sabo smiled, a charming upturn of his lips. "Luffy, Ace, Hoku and I all grew up together. She lived with us for a long time as well."

"Must've been a loud house," Law said. Sabo continued to smile. "You seem more put together than either of them at least."

"Haha, we managed," Sabo said, "it was the kind of home Hoku loved. Easy to mind the noise."

Law glanced over from where he'd been lightly moving some stray items off Hoku's countertop. Sabo dully noticed the way Law seemed to know where to put each little item.

"She mentioned the two of you were back in town," Law leaned back against the counter. "What do you do for work? Random business like Straw Hat-ya?"

Sabo grinned easily. "Fortunately more stable than that. I work with a few brands and do some modeling."

"I see," Law said. "A model."

"Are you currently still in school?" Sabo said, though he could tell the answer already. "Residency?"

Law offered him one easy shake of his head. He considered Sabo for a brief moment, a simple look, before he said, "Attending."

"That's amazing," Sabo said, eyes widening. "You only look a few years older than me!"

"Worked hard," Law said with a slight shrug. "That's all."

Sabo nodded in understanding. He could feel Law giving him a curious once over. Sabo had already done the same, after all, taking in the rolled up sleeves of his black button down, undone by several buttons to reveal the top of his chest and casual black slacks. It seemed he'd just gotten off work.

Perhaps he'd be called back into the hospital soon enough.

"What hospital do you work at?" Sabo asked. "Somewhere local?"

Law nodded. "Heart Hospital."

Sabo paused for a moment, wondering briefly where he'd heard such a name before. He was familiar with that hospital, one of the biggest ones in the area. Reputable and good reviews... no, that's right. There was an article Luffy's father had mentioned to him once...

Sabo's expression became one of faux concern, brows creased, "Isn't that the one that was owned by that mobster? Doflamingo?"

For a split second, Law's jaw clenched briefly. Sabo kept his careful mask of concern, watching with lightly narrowed eyes as Law's own expression flickered before it settled. A mask of calm detachment.

"...his brother owned it," Law said clearly. "He'd left that part of the family business behind. He didn't know anything about medicine, but he helped fund the hospital and keep it afloat until it took off."

The most you've said all night. "Oh, I had no idea," Sabo said, eyes round with curiosity. "That must be a relief to know you don't have to worry about treating any criminals or having any troublemakers around, right?"

Law offered a short noise in the back of his throat as a response. One of his hands was drumming his fingers against the side of the countertop. Sabo unamusedly considered the ink etched into his knuckles with distaste.

"You know what," Sabo said now, voice lighter, "you must've been the one who treated Luffy's broken collarbone last year, aren't you?"

Law's expression instantly relaxed into the memory, lips twisting into a furious scowl. Sabo almost laughed. "Yes. Unfortunately."

"I couldn't imagine," Sabo said. "Thank you for that. Luffy's easy because you know he'll never go hungry, but you've got to watch out for what trouble he gets himself into. Hoku on the other hand..."

Sabo glanced to the take out on the table. "I'm always worrying about whether or not she's eating enough or taking care of herself. Especially since she lives alone."

Sabo shook his head. "We've been mentioning to her lately she should consider moving in with us like before. Especially considering in the past..."

Sabo purposefully stopped his explanation, giving Law and innocently hesitant look. "Has she told you about that?"

Law's expression was one of cool calm. He faced Sabo easily, "Once in passing."

"She just forgets to take care of herself," Sabo said softly. "Ace and I used to look after her all the time."

Law considered the take out and glanced halfway over his shoulder. Sabo's smile settled into a thin line. "I know what you mean."

Sabo slowly smiled. He smoothed his thumb over the top of his gloved hand.

"You sound like you know Luffy pretty well too," Sabo said casually, offering Law a grin. "One of the mutuals?"

"Didn't realize we both knew him until later," Law said. "Straw Hat-ya gets around. Realized the same about another friend."

"Who else? Would we know them?"

Law seemed to genuinely hesitate for a moment, not at all nervous, but silently contemplative. Sabo raised a curious brow until Law finally continued, "...Eustass-ya."

He gauged Sabo's reaction to the name, expression impassive. Sabo figured Law was considering the fact that if Sabo and Ace had been close enough to Hoku during high school, they should've been more than aware of Hoku's only long term relationship.

Sabo was very, very aware.

"Oh," Sabo said with oblivious curiosity. He even allowed himself to make a slightly concerned expression, "So you're... a friend of Hoku's ex?"

"...mutuals," Law said, slightly clipped.

Sabo had discovered where he could lightly tap the knife.

"I see," Sabo said, looking naively concerned. "That's nice! It's good that you two can still be friends despite that..." Law looked up at Sabo. His expression remained unbothered, but his jaw shifted slightly. "You know how it usually is for people. Easier to just cut it clean."

"...we became acquainted after the matter," Law said. "It's no problem."

There was a slight shortness, almost barely noticeable. Sabo tried to hide his slow, curling smile. "Of course! If anything, I'm happy to meet one of Hoku's friends. We try to make it a habit to be familiar with all of them."

Sabo smiled, tilting his head to the side. Law's gaze was cool, regarding Sabo with the slightest furrow of his brow. "She's one of our closest friends, after all. We've known her for so long..."

Sabo snapped his fingers as though he'd suddenly had a thought. Law leaned back against the counter, slowly sliding his arms crossed over his chest. His shoulders leaned back somewhat, giving him a broader appearance. Sabo blinked slowly, languidly.

"You guys seem pretty close," Sabo said, simple and easy. "But I'm surprised Hoku's never mentioned you before."

Law shrugged. A light raise of his shoulder. His tone was lazy.

"It's been awhile since you've been in touch."

Sabo smiled, a slow curl of his lips.

The door to Hoku's bathroom swung open with a slight bang! A happy sigh of relief flooded the whole apartment, slightly damp feet slapping against wooded boards. "Done! Shower's all yours if you wanna wash—Sabo!"

Sabo's eyes turned in an instant to the sound of her voice. Hoku stood in the entryway of the kitchen, the faintest wisp of steam curling off her skin. He kept his gaze evenly on her face, expression warm, but he could make out easily the looseness of her shirt, falling in a way about her chest that made him want to offer Law a very persuasive ride home. She slipped pajama shorts on, loose and falling too short over the top of her thighs.

Law turned lazily to look at her entrance.

Sabo's fingers clenched briefly, loosening almost instantly.

Hoku's jaw dropped in surprise, eyes wide in shock for a moment. She quickly swung her gaze from Law to Sabo, looking blatantly confused.

Sabo smiled, his eyes crinkling this time at the corners. "Good evening Hoku... I was just stopping by to bring something over in case you hadn't eaten yet. Just got off work. Dr. Trafalgar was nice enough to let me in."

"Aw, thanks Sabs!" Hoku's eyes went round, quickly hurrying over into the kitchen. She playfully shoved Law aside and he scowled, keeping to the countertop while she stopped beside Sabo. "You didn't have to! Traffy and I actually already ate an early dinner today—but are you hungry? We can heat some of this up and I'll share with you."

Sabo's smile widened even further, gaze fond as he reached over and ruffled the top of Hoku's still damp hair. He watched a bead of water roll down her neck, the smell of her conditioner lingering in the air.

Sabo lightly pulled his fingers away.

"No worries. I already ate. I just wanted to make sure you were eating."

"I am, I am," Hoku said with a pout. She flashed Law a look. "See? You're rubbing off on people!"

"This is the first time we've ever met."

"That's right," Hoku look scandalized. "Have you two introduced yourselves yet? Sabo, this is—"

"We have," Law and Sabo said in unison. Sabo laughed lightly while Law remained silent. "But that's all Hoku, don't let me keep you."

"Aw, well if you're sure," Hoku said. Her brows creased and she frowned. "You can always hang around here for a bit if you wanted! Law's hanging out until his next shift so he's resting here."

"No, no, it's fine," Sabo said sweetly, already beginning to make his way back to the entrance. Hoku followed quick at his heels, coming right up to his side. Sabo's smile widened an inch and he gently set an arm around her shoulders. "Sorry for dropping in so suddenly."

"No need to apologize! I'm happy to see ya," Hoku said brightly. "Are you sure you don't want to stay? You and Law can chat a bit, share some crazy stories—I bet you'll both realize you have plenty about Lu."

Sabo glanced over the top of Hoku's head to where Law had drifted soundlessly to the edge of the kitchen, leaning against the hallway wall.

"I'm sure," Sabo said. "But I have a short meeting with Ace... he says you need to respond to his messages faster, by the way."

"That dumbass blows up my phone at the most random time, I swear—"

"And also, Hoku," Hoku turned at his tone, eyes round and attentive. Sabo's smile curled, his gaze half lowering, pleased. His gloved fingers gently helped guide her, the softest tap, turning her body a bit more toward him.

(Just like that. Good job.)

"We wanted to move the usual appointment up a few days... would that be fine with you?"

Hoku blinked, once with a furrowed brow before her expression cleared. For a brief moment a light flush touched her cheeks, only natural given the memory of her current job with them—but Hoku instantly waved it away with an air of professionalism. "Sure, that's fine with me! The usual?"

"Yes," Sabo said lowly. "I'll keep you updated on the time." He lifted his fingers from her shoulder, drawing her attention away briefly before Sabo gently tucked a damp strand of hair behind her ear. Hoku looked up at the touch.

"Make sure you dry your hair," Sabo said. "You'll catch a cold."

"I will, I will," Hoku laughed, finally stopping by the genkan. Sabo easily reached into the shoe closet, taking out his pair while leaving a gaping spot between the unfamiliar loafers and Hoku's sneakers. "Text me when you get back home!"

"I will," Sabo echoed. Hoku grinned. "I'm sorry again for not staying longer, but I'll be seeing you soon."

"Right," Hoku said brightly. "Thanks again for the food, Sabs!"

"Of course," Sabo said. He looked again down the hall, smiling politely. "Good bye, Dr. Trafalgar. It was nice to meet you!"

"Likewise," Law said.

Sabo adjusted his coat as Hoku reached under him to open the door. He glanced briefly to the top of her head, watching the way the ends of her hair clung damply to the curve of her collarbone.

(A thin strand. The ends clinging to the imagined image of sweat slicked skin. Plastered messily.)

Sabo stepped through the doorway, giving Hoku a tight, one-armed hug before he stepped out into the hall. "Have a good night, you two. Doctor, hope to see you again."

Law nodded from the shadow of the hallway. Hoku grinned up at him, holding the door open as Sabo began to make his way to the elevator. "Bye, Sabs!"

Sabo waved over his shoulder, disappearing around the corner.

Hoku waited a second, staring at the empty space before she hummed happily to herself, stepping back into the apartment. Her fingers twisted the lock with ease, waiting for the familiar click click of the locking mechanism.

Hoku turned on her heel, eyes widening in surprise as she stumbled back a quick step. Law suddenly stood directly in front of her, the slight remains of his cologne still clinging to the air and his chest nearly pressing her flat to the door as he stood over her—"What the hell? Law?"

The cloth of his button down almost touched her lips from the proximity. Hoku tried to lower herself a bit so she could crane her neck up to look at her friend, eyes round with curiosity and surprise. "Traffy?"

Law's gaze was fixed for a moment on the doorframe. His expression was somewhat unreadable, his brows a bit furrowed. They always seemed furrowed in Hoku's opinion, part of his perpetual stress, but there was a strangely... thoughtful? look on his face this time. Law didn't seem to hear her startled inquiry, one of his hands resting above her against the door, as though to keep it pushed closed.

Without a word, Law's long fingers carefully slid her lock chain back in place. His gaze seemed to narrow a bit, staring intently at the door—

Hoku's knuckles knocked against his chest. Law's expression finally cleared and he glanced down, leaning his forearm against the door as he hovered over Hoku.

"Hey," Hoku began, looking curiously confused. "You good?"

Law gazed down at her for a second longer. Hoku's brows started to furrow.

"...Always lock your doors," Law said flatly, he briefly knocked Hoku's head back, ignoring her hiss of pain as he promptly moved her in front of him, forcing her back down the hallway. "I'm tired."

"Tired! We still have a whole season to get through—I think Sabo left a few drinks! Let's have some and finish up."

Hoku practically skipped down the hall, once more unbothered. Law took a few steps after her.

He paused briefly in the entryway, stilling for a second longer before Law finally turned back to the front door.

His eyes lingered on the lock for only a breath longer before he turned, making his way back to Hoku's couch.

Iif you drink that you're going to knock out."

"No way! Look at it, I think the percentage is super low. It's probably basically soda."

.... ..... ..... .... .....

Sabo silently slipped into his car.

He went through the familiar motions, locking the doors and pressing the button for the engine to start. Sabo leaned back against his seat, still tracing the fading warmth over the top of his hand.

His phone began to vibrate. Sabo lightly tapped the button to answer, placing his brother on speaker. “Ace.”

“How was it?” Ace questioned, a hint of a sulk to his tone. “Tell me eve—“

“There’s someone we need to look into,” Sabo said without missing a beat. Ace fell silent on the other end and Sabo leaned forward against his arm crossed over his steering wheel. He looked up from his windshield toward Hoku’s floor in the apartment complex.

“See if you can get a head start. His name’s Trafalgar Law.”

... .... .... .... ....

Law slowly opened his eyes to the almost comforting drone of the television.

Hoku's living room was dark, save for the soft glow of the television screen in front of them. A cooking competition rerun with one of Hoku's friends—the blonde cook, as the guest star currently flirting with one of the female judges. Law eyed the screen for a second before he slowly sat up from his sunken position on the couch, raising himself up by his elbows.

Her apartment was silent save for her friend's professions of love. Law rubbed the back of his neck, working out a kink before he looked over to the heavy weight plastered over his leg.

Hoku was completely knocked out. She slept like the dead, chest rising and falling and hair spilled out messily around them. Her arms were wrapped tightly around Law's thigh and refusing to let go as she occasionally mumbled something against it.

Law ran a hand through his hair, slicking it back as he shut his eyes and took a second to gather his bearings. He reached over Hoku, fishing for his phone and pager. Everything seemed clear, as he expected till at least noon when his next shift would start—Law raised a brow at one message from Shachi saying to disregard a memo to his pager asking him to come in maybe an hour ago.

"Mistake from front desk. Said they had a call of someone requesting you but nothing serious."

Law's brows furrowed slightly, sliding the message open and checking his pager as well. Sure enough, a message had been sent and then a quick follow up.

His hand absently settled over the top of Hoku's head. Law's long fingers half-carded through her hair as he skimmed through the notifications on his phone, half-debating if he needed to call Shachi.

Law paused, glancing down at Hoku. His brows furrowed deeper, gaze becoming focused as he moved his hand from her hair to press the back of his hand to Hoku's forehead.

Warm. She's totally flushed. Law set his phone down, nudging Hoku by her shoulder. "Hoku-ya. Hoku-ya, wake up."

"Mmmm," Hoku slurred. "'m... not yet... you feel... cool..."

The sickly sweet hang of alcohol finally reached Law's nose. He blinked slowly in faint surprise, scanning Hoku's coffee table for where she might've grabbed an extra drink when he didn't realize—they'd both just been nursing small cans of whatever until they'd knocked out on the couch—

Law paused. His eyes focused on Hoku's drink sitting at the corner of the table. He gazed at it for a second longer before Law finally turned his focus back to Hoku.

"Hoku-ya."

Hoku's eyes finally fluttered open. She moved sluggishly, expression dazed and cheeks flushed in the darkness. Law's gaze narrowed at the sight and she mumbled, shaking her head awake as Hoku slowly unwound herself from his calf, sitting up between his legs.

"Ugh," Hoku mumbled. She shook her head and them seemed to instantly regret the action. "Man... I'm... beat... 's it... time for you... go?"

Law shook his head. Hoku began to lean against the couch now, eyes heavy with sleep. He carefully considered how hard it was for her to stay awake, deeply buzzed without being properly drunk.

"'orry," Hoku yawned, shaking her head against the couch. "So... tired..."

Without another word, Law rose from the couch. Hoku mumbled something, nuzzling into the side of the cushion until Law silently slipped his arms underneath her. Hoku's eyes fluttered openly briefly, rolling up to look at Law as he lifted her up before she shut them once more, not even making a fuss as she turned to rest her head against his chest instead.

Law manuvered his way to Hoku's room, nudging the door open with his foot and quietly stepping over her scattered projects. He lowered Hoku into her bed, checking the flush of her skin before he briskly made his way out back into the livingroom.

He stopped briefly before the kitchen, grabbing the two cans off Hoku's table and flicking the light switch on. Law approached the sink, dumping out first the last of the beer from his can before he finally focused on Hoku's.

Law held the can up to the light, carefully turning the label around.

"It's sweet and fizzy," Hoku had said. "Pretty light in taste. Like a soda. These aren't so bad. Percentage seems low."

It wasn't clear on first glance. Law turned away from the label now and meticulously checked each line of the nutritional box until he found what he was looking for. He scoffed in disbelief, rolling the can once between his fingers as the bit of remaining liquid sloshed about.

The percentage of alcohol in this was one of the highest he'd ever seen in a can.

He heard Hoku's laugh. "Sabo has good taste!"

Law stared at it for a moment longer before he promptly dumped the rest of the contents into the sink, trashing the cans into Hoku's recycling bin.

He pulled a bottle of water from her fridge, quietly making his way back to Hoku's room.

Law considered her sorry state for a moment, curled into a tight little ball over the top of her sheets while she wrapped her arms tightly around one of her pillows. Hoku's cheeks were flushed a bright red, her breathing slowed. Law set the bottle on her nightstand and took a seat on the edge of her bed, working her comforter out from under her.

Hoku's eyes fluttered open once more at the disturbance, turning lazily toward Law. Hoku freed an arm from her pillow, reaching over to grip the edge of Law's shirt.

"...'ay here?"

Law glanced down at Hoku. She gazed sleepily back up at him, brows creased imploringly. He remained silent for a few beats before Law wordlessly motioned with his hand. Hoku seemed lucid enough to understand, grinning cheekily as she shuffled over so Law had room. He turned, laying himself in the freed space of her mattress as Hoku's entire face seemed to relax now, holding her pillow loosely.

Law laid sideways, pulling the comforter up over Hoku while he laid on top of them. Hoku's soft scent covered the lingering whisper of alcohol, wrapping lightly around Law. He stared silently at Hoku's face, her expression slowly growing more and more relaxed, breaths slow and easy.

A thought remained in the back of his head. He considered the conversation he'd had with Hoku just an hour or so ago before they'd fallen asleep on the couch.

"Hoku-ya."

She'd looked up at him from the top of her can.

"Has that guy always been like that?"

A wide grin, brows a bit furrowed.

"Sabo? Like what?"

She'd laughed.

'If you mean always that put together, yeah, hahaha. Between the four of us, he was always good at—"

Law had dropped the conversation there, instead letting Hoku tell him a few stories about their childhood and high school days. He listened for small pieces in Hoku's stories, a faint clue to give weight to a careless thought.

Perhaps it was because Law himself wasn't quite sure what name to put to what he'd considered he'd seen.

(His gaze meeting his own over the top of her head.)

Gloved fingers splaying widely across the back of Hoku's shoulder, featherlight she probably didn't even feel the touch.

(The way that hand had covered so much.)

The way he'd look at Hoku, just for a second—

(Possessive.)

-sorry it mightve ended up a bit more sabo-centric than law, i'll do more law TT

#memos #memos au #sabo #hoku #law #trafalgar law #locked here for forever #lhff #ace #wow that was a doozy #so fun to write hope it was fun to read #i go sleep now #law seems indifferent but i liked writing him thru sabos eyes it was a bit tricky #love law wanna do his own au fr

[eldritch-spouse]

May I give Pebble a flower?

[Flöwer :))]

Last night, you got him to stay for ten whole minutes.

It wasn't easy, by any means. Usually, as soon as your eyes met, the abnormal monster would tremble and make an uneasy groan before taking off into the sky. You'd say it's scary, if it hadn't happened so many times already.

You still remember the first time you saw him. It was probably around midnight, maybe one in the morning, dead hours. Restless, you had slipped a robe on and went to catch some air on your backyard. Except, when you glanced up with the intent of observing the stars, what you saw instead was something much closer. A looming, broad and two-headed figure perched on your roof, beady red eye fixed on you. The entity was seemingly as in shock as you were, which is ridiculous to say, but you know now that must have been the case- He was motionless, the two of you gawking at each other like statues.

What a curious thing he is.

Bathed by the soft glow of your light pole, you could try to make sense of the male. Stone, a gargoyle with an odd blueish tint, featuring two pointed tails and a pair of paper bags covering its heads. The right one has a hole torn in it from where that ruby glow emanates. He... Has a collar around his neck, and even though you can clearly tell something is engraved in that silver tag, you haven't been able to get close enough to read it.

Yet.

That first night, he took off the moment you screamed at the top of your lungs, after making his own startled bleat that is. The encounter remained in your mind however, making you wonder if that mutated gargoyle was actually someone's pet. But surely, that can't be. He's no animal, his figure is so very humanoid. Observation has taught you better. No animal would comb its hand over the flowers of your garden with the knowledge that it had to be gentle so as to not ruin them. No animal would tap its claws on the bulbs of your light post just to hear the pleasant tink tink tink they make when they hit each other.

And no animal would have a conversation with you.

Granted, they're very one-sided conversations, which he either nods or shakes his heads at, sometimes offering vague noises that don't quite classify as words. But he clearly understands what you're saying! It took forever just to get him to stick around after a whispered "Goodnight".

He's no pet.

This time, you're determined to keep him around for just a bit longer. Because, weirdly enough, you've grown oddly attached to the gargoyle that perches on your roof every other night. You don't know what makes him keep coming back. It might be food nearby, it might be a particularly good spot to observe the sky- But you like to think he finds you just as charming as you find him. Wishful thinking, maybe.

Nonetheless, you have a plan, one whose core you hold pinched between index and thumb. A blue daisy. You smile to yourself, waiting for the telltale woosh of wings flapping and the loud thump of taloned feet finding purchase on the tiles.

" Hi... " You whisper after slowly walking outside, keeping yourself a fair distance away for his comfort. You'll never know why he fears you.

The gargoyle tenses, wings rising on his back, though he relaxes again eventually and warbles something quietly.

" I have something for you. You look like you enjoy flowers. " The monster tilts his head, blinking.

Eyes fixed on his, you make sure to take each step forward at a snail's pace, observing for any sign of aggression or terror. The entity squats straighter, grip on the tiles tightening, but makes no effort to flee. It's enough to have a smile steadily spreading on your cheeks. You never really thought you'd be the one feeling like a predator here, but it's definitely how you think of yourself as you stalk forward.

Once you're close enough to hear his slightly labored breathing, see puffs of hot air flow from beneath those odd paper bags -Things you've stopped questioning- You sedatedly raise your arm. The pretty daisy faces him delicately.

Slow seconds pass, a minute probably. Two? You're not counting. Moths fly past you both. He's studying your figure the same way a corralled chicken gazes at a wolf.

Finally, with a trembling hand, he reaches forward, hunching, stony claws scraping your knuckles in the brief moment it takes for him to pluck the flower off your grasp. It was all you needed.

Pebble.

Engraved lovingly into that rounded, shiny tag.

Taking a step back, you offer him a gentle smile.

" It's a pleasure to meet you, Pebble. "

The monster, previously studying the daisy, jumps a bit- Offering you a trepidation-filled glance full of confusion, until he remembers the nametag on his collar, tugging at it.

His free hand tugs his paper bags down harder, tails swishing as he apparently flusters.

A calmer silence settles after that, with you sitting by a stray chair, content to enjoy his mute company for a while.

It must have only been a handful of minutes before he moves again.

You don't bother looking, assuming he's about to depart for the night. Only to gasp when the monster lands on the ground, sitting next to you by the small backyard table with the daisy being twirled between bulky fingers.

Neither of you dare utter a word. And you don't need to.

This is more than enough.

#Pebble oc #monster boyfriend #monster x reader #yandere monster #terato

[alexa-fika]

Chilly Prisioner ( Kuzan x Hellhound!gn!Reader)

A/N Here we are with another dark ish one, and first one with out freeze lord, I already have a part two maybeee a part three? I just have to exit them, depending on how you guys like it ill speed those up.

Part 2

This is a testrun on a hybrid oc with reader? ‘Reader’ is replaced with Dokusha here wich stands for Reader in japanese, let me know your thoughts on it afterwards, just trying new things and maybe finding a balance for including both Oc and reader without leaning too far in either direction but I also don’t want to like you know try that and fail at appealing to both so let me know, though that begs the question what should I advertise it at, eg, Kuzan x reader or Kuzan x oc?

Dividers by @/saradika

They roll their eyes, watching as Kuzan enters the Ship’s dungeon, approaching the cell where they were held and dropping himself to the ground in a lazy manner

“What do you want? I told that captain of yours already I have no intention of helping you and your rag-tag group of idiots

“Ara, Ara, are all hellhounds this uptight? I don't care about that. I'm not here to talk business; I'm just here cause I have nothing else to do right now. I just wanna chill and chat a bit."

They scoff

“You can’t stay silent forever. Besides, isn’t talking to me better than just sitting in a dark dungeon and doing nothing?”

They look away from him, ignoring him entirely

“Fine, if you wanna sulk, I’ll just sit here and relax.

“I’ve got nowhere to go, nothing to do. So I don’t mind just sitting here for as long as I need to. I can just wait for you to get bored of your grudge and start talking to me like a normal person.” they glance at Dokusha for a while

“Hellhounds are supposed to be resistant to fire, right?”

They glance at them for a second at his words but look away quickly, returning to ignoring him, hoping he will eventually give up

“Wonder how you would fare with the cold?” he stated

They wince as the room’s temperature quickly drops as ice begins covering the cell

“Hm, pretty sensitive, it seems,” he mumbled.

He then stood up and got up close to the cell bars.”

“You know, I’m kinda wondering what are you so sour about?”

They glare up at him, trying to keep their flaming ears and tail out of the ice

“you arrested me for no clear reason, you threw me in a cell and drugged me so I can’t use them at all, and now you're trying to freeze me to force me to talk to you because you ‘are bored,’ so you tell me Kuzan.”

“Hm, you’re quite feisty, aren’t you.”It was mean what you did, trying to set the entire ship on fire; I had to take some measures to keep you in check. Besides, you have a pretty dangerous power; it should be evident that we can’t just let you out to roam freely.” he stated, glancing at the shivering hellhound

“It was self defense” they growl

“You know, I’m not going to let you go. Even if I have to freeze you entirely, so you can either start talking right now, and I’ll lower my guard a bit. Or you can continue to sulk, and I’ll just freeze this cell completely. Your choice, really.” He tells them ignoring their outburst

They start inching backward as the ice begins approaching them, chills running down their skin

His eyes narrow as he watches them inching backward.

“The cold getting to you?”

Another gust of cold air surrounds them as the frost grows closer, almost touching their skin.

“You know I can easily unfreeze people, but I wonder if that's the case here; seeing how you’re trying so hard to protect those flames of yours, im guessing it’s game over for you if I put your fire out, so I would reconsider your choice and soon”

They growl, making their flames bigger, attempting to ward off the ice, a panicked look growing on their face as the flame flickered until only small flames remained

“The drugs I gave you are pretty potent; I would like to see you maintain those flames.”

His hands spread, and the air got colder, the frost growing faster now.

“So… are you ready to talk now?”

“Don’t you have anything you should be doing?”

“Nah, I told you, I have nothing to do now. So I’m just chilling here.”

His tone is laid back as if nothing is a problem

“Besides, the way I see it, I’m doing a nice thing and keeping you company. I’ve been told I’m quite the interesting and charming person.”

They groan as the ice reaches them, slowly freezing their feet and making its way up

He watches the frosts slowly creep up their body.

“Hm, it seems you’re not going to cooperate. Too bad.”

His hand gestures towards them, and another burst of frost shoots toward them, making the ice crawl up to their ankles and up their legs.

“All im asking is for you to talk to me and answer some questions.”

They shake their head, a cloud escaping them each time they took a breath as the temperature continues dropping; unable to move their legs, they hug their tail tighter, trying to protect the blue flame on it’s tip

“You know when I said I was going to freeze you entirely. I wasn’t kidding. I can do that and more.

I’m sure those flames must mean a lot to you, right? What would happen if, say, I were to extinguish them?”

Kuzan pauses, and the ice stops crawling up further.

“So, Would you like to talk now?”

I lowkey feel like idk, like Dokusha’s personality is not consistent? Or maybe it’s Kuzan’s personality that dosent quite fit and jumps all around the place, thoughts?

Taglist:

@imaginarydreams

@amethystviolin

@h0n3y-l3m0n05

#aokiji kuzan #kuzan #kuzan one piece #kuzan x reader #one piece #one piece x reader #one piece imagine #one piece x oc #kuzan x oc #aokiji #aokiji x reader #aokiji x oc

[decieve-ineigle-obfuscate]

Finally and Forever

Category: Fluff

Pairing: Spencer x Reader

Warnings: Language. So, so much pining.

Word Count: 2.1 K

I had met her upon her first defence of me. I'd been young and stuttering.

A raging man stood over a younger, significantly more insecure version of me.

She'd come out of the multitude of people buzzing about the station, yanking his arm so that he was forced to face her.

"You know, most kids are dropped at some point. It's safe to assume your parents threw you head-first at a wall. Why don't you save us all the torture of listening to your nail-on-a-chalkboard-esque voice and go the way of the dodo?"

He fumed a few moments, and I feared him striking the girl who was nearly a foot shorter than me, never mind him.

She glared, holding her ground stubbornly.

As he stalked off, cursing her under his breath, she relaxed.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly, coming closer to me.

I opened and closed my jaw a few times before producing a rather disappointing "Yeah.".

She offered a small smile before disappearing once more.

My brain remained silent and still, watching after her.

"You good, pretty boy? You look a little heart-eyed there." Derek teased, coming up and teasing me.

I quickly fled to the single bathroom, attempting to cool my face with tap water.

Despite being on the case for another 3 weeks, I didn't see her again.

Not for another 4 years.

When I did see her again, I was a very different person. I had and lost Maeve and had gone to and left prison. I hardly felt the same in my skin.

She had not changed. She was, once again, squaring up to someone much taller than her, clearly defending a woman behind her.

"If you even look at her wrong again, you won't see the outside of a cell again. Am I clear, hothead?"

I watched, the world seeming too slow as he reached for and drew a weapon.

She grabbed his wrist and forced it upwards, leaving them both vulnerable.

I drew my gun and aimed. "FBI! Drop the weapon, sir!" I shouted.

He glanced over, then back to her. His face hardened, and he kneed her in the stomach before bringing his gun down to aim at her.

I squeezed the trigger and watched his head jerk back as the shot hit its target.

The woman behind her screamed and covered her face.

I rushed over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" I asked frantically.

"Fine. Just need air." She wheezed hoarsely.

"Yeah, you're okay," I said, unsure whether I was soothing myself or her.

She shifted back onto her heels and breathed deeply.

"That's a lot of paperwork." She groaned.

"Yeah." I chuckled. "I'll live." 

She nodded, allowing her head to drop forward.

"You're the uh — boy genius the dodo was yelling at, right?"

I smiled, face warming, mind slowing, and chest tightening at her remembrance of me.

Again, all I conjured was a "Yeah." 

She smiled. "Always this articulate?" 

"No, usually people have to tell me to shut up," I replied.

"Mmm. M'I special then?"

Oh, if only you knew. If only you knew how I am inexplicably unable to stop thinking of you.

I had no solid reply.

She only smiled. "Well, help me up, boy genius?"

"Spencer," I said, taking her hand and helping her up.

She smiled more widely and introduced herself.

My chest tightened once more at the sound of her name, finally and forever in my mind.

I tried it once, enjoying the sound of it.

"Yeah. I'm plainclothes." She said, rubbing her neck.

"That's really cool."

"You're FBI. That's a hell of a lot cooler." She said, a crooked smile adorning her face.

We stayed, waiting until local law enforcement arrived, giving our stories of what had happened.

I gave my number and other contact info before being released.

"Are you doing okay, now?" I asked as we leaned against a nearby building.

"Bumps and bruises. I'll live."

I smiled softly.

"Can we grab lunch? I'll pay. I was going to eat. It's fine if you're not hungry. I just wanted to offer. And —"

"Lunch sounds good. I'm pretty hungry too. Any place you wanna go?" She said, shrugging.

"There's a great Thai place. It's two blocks east."

She nodded and followed after, quickly taking place beside me. 

My mind raced, interrupted only by the occasional bump of our shoulders as we walked.

Lunch was filled with exchanged stories and easy-flowing conversation.

For the first time in so long, I felt safe — at peace.

Our bubble was shattered by Derek's obnoxious ringtone that I still had not been able to change.

She only smiled. "You should get that, boy genius."

"Oh. Yeah."

I pulled my phone from my pocket and answered. 

My irritation increased as Derek invited me to a "guys' night" with the rest of the team.

"This could've been a text, you know," I said, attempting to keep my impatience from my voice.

"I didn't know you knew how to text, pretty boy. My bad. Next time."

I sighed. "I have an IQ of 187. Of course, I know how to text, Derek."

I glanced across at her amused smile as she gently brushed the toe of her sneaker against my sock-covered ankle.

"Well, I'll think about it, anyway. I gotta go." I said, refocusing.

"You busy?"

"At the moment? Yes. I'm having lunch." I said.

"Alright. See you later."

I hung up without replying and muted my phone before shoving it back into my pocket.

"Co-worker," I explained simply.

She nodded and went back to her food, a smile still not gone from her face.

I always want to be the reason you smile.

I shook my head, attempting to dislodge the thoughts of permanence involving a woman I'd met only twice. It was more difficult than I'd like to admit.

"You smile a lot when you look at me." She said, dabbing at her face with a brown napkin.

"You're smiling. It's contagious."

Her smile widened, and a blush adorned her cheeks.

It was more moments than I could keep track of before my brain — which had apparently been reduced to that of a single-celled amoeba — came up with something else to say.

"Lunch good?"

Two words. Great going. And you told Derek you have an IQ of 187. Nice to know a pretty girl can flush that down the toilet.

"Lunch is fantastic, actually. Just what I needed today, thank you." She said, taking another bite of whatever noodles she'd ordered.

"Yeah. That's one of the many reasons I love this place. And it's open all night."

"That's great! I'm gonna come here when I'm on patrol more often. Fast food all the time fucking sucks." She joked, gently brushing her shoe against mine again.

"Don't I know it," I replied, finally looking away from her and eating some more of my own food.

I immediately looked back up, though.

"You're not on the clock, right? Like I'm not keeping you from anything?"

She shook her head and swallowed another bite. "Nope. It's not my shift today, and honestly, my supervisor can suck 100 dicks if he wants to call me in on my day off. Especially after he just got back from a 2-week long cruise."

I smiled and finished eating with her.

Our time together was up far too quickly, as I only had the luxury of a lunch hour.

We exchanged numbers and promised to speak soon before parting ways.

It would be another 6 months before I saw her.

‡

She texted me at 2:30 in the morning.

• Can I come to see you?

6 months of phone tag between our busy jobs (and luck not allowing us to meet by chance again).

I was ready to give her anything she needed.

• Of course! 

I sent my address along and waited impatiently.

• Do you have a first aid kit? Like a good one?

My stomach dropped.

• Yeah.

I waited. And waited. And waited.

My intercom buzzed and I ran for it.

"Hello?" I asked eagerly.

"Myeh, what's up, doc?" She teased.

"Me, on the second floor, apartment 23."

She chuckled, and I buzzed her in.

I waited. And waited.

Her knock came sooner than expected, but longer than I had wanted to wait.

I opened the door and looked her over.

"I cut my shin open hopping a fence. Your building maintenance person's gonna hate me."

I ushered her in and sat her on the toilet before rushing to grab my kit.

She had, in that time, removed her shoes and pulled her pant leg up.

"That looks painful."

She nodded. "You use your uh, profiling skills for that one?" She asked, the corner of her mouth crooked up.

"Yeah. We at the BAU can tell when a boo-boo hurts." I teased right back.

"Good to know." She chuckled.

I pursed my lips as I knelt down.

"You're not squeamish, right boy genius?"

"Think I like doc better, and no. I just don't like the fact that you're hurt."

She nodded. "Are you an actual doctor or a diploma doctor?"

I smiled. "Mathematics, chemistry, and engineering."

"Diploma doctor. Got it."

Something clicked in my brain before I ran the first alcohol pad over the gash.

"So, who was chasing you?" I asked, making contact.

"Fuck! I don't know. He's in worse shape than I am, though. I just didn't wanna go home. He's been following me for the last few days."

I glanced up. "Do you need help?"

"That is why I'm here, doc." She teased.

I nodded. "That's fair. If you need anything more —"

She nodded. "I will let you know, I promise."

I finished cleaning her wound and wrapped her leg in gauze.

"I want you to stay the night, so I can change that in the morning. Please?"

"Will there be coffee?" She asked, using the counter to stand.

"Whole pot," I replied.

"Twist my arm, why don't ya? Where's the couch?"

I brought her out into the living room, not bothering to argue.

Despite not having known her long, I knew well enough to know. She wouldn't change her mind.

I grabbed sheets and blankets from the top of my closet and returned to find her conked out. I draped the blankets over her and turned the lamp out.

"My room's across from the bathroom if you need anything," I said lowly.

"Spencer." 

I stopped in my tracks and turned back to her. "Yeah?"

She worried her lower lip.

"I can sit out here with you for a bit. It's Friday night. I don't have work tomorrow."

She nodded gently. "Just for a bit?"

I sat on the couch beside her and turned on the TV.

"We can watch whatever you want," I said lowly.

"One of your coworkers, the blonde one. She was teasing you about Russian films?"

"I have the 1967 Anna Karenina in Russian. I could translate." 

She nodded and leaned back.

I put the movie on and began translating.

‡

Her head's on my shoulder. Her head's on my shoulder.

A second, more moving thought came to mind.

She trusts me enough to sleep around me.

I turned the TV off and leaned my head back.

You trust her enough to sleep too.

I closed my eyes and drifted off.

‡

She was gone when I woke up.

A note was next to a freshly brewed pot of coffee.

Sorry I didn't stay. I got a call. The guy was picked up by a patrol. See you later, doc.

My heart sank.

You miss her.

I shook my hands, pacing around my kitchen.

Knocking sounded, and I rushed to the door.

I opened the door, and — there she was.

"I was hoping to be back sooner. I had a shit ton of paperwork." She said softly.

I nodded gently, watching her pupils dilate.

"I was hoping I could make you breakfast."

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" She teased.

Mulan, 1998. Henry made me watch it. Historically inaccurate, but—

"Would you like to stay forever?" I asked, unthinking.

"I don't know about forever, yet. But, maybe, for now?" She asked, wrapping her arms around my waist.

"I would like that a lot."

"And definitely for breakfast." She added.

I nodded.

A small kiss was pressed to my cheek, and she pulled me further into the apartment.

I have her in my arms. Maybe not forever, yet. But for now. And I know her name. Finally and forever.

#spencer reid #criminal minds #spencer reid x reader #reid x reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid fic #oneshot #criminal minds oneshot #spencer reid one shot #one shot #fluff #spencer reid fluff #criminal minds fluff #one shots

[swords-of-a-soilder]

The Healing Process

Chapter 7

Flight or fight

Forever observed Cellbit pace back and forth as he remained seated at Cellbit's desk; Richarlyson also sat nearby, sketching in his notepad Cellbit's description of the elusive Ender king.

Amongst the group were remnant of Cellbit's late night research; mountains of papers, some neatly organized, others scatters about.

Stood close by was a corkboard, covered completely in images and documents all connected by red strings.

"Okay," Cellbit started suddenly. "So we know the entitie's name, we know Phil travel's to his domain though dreams.."

"we know the entity has been controlling Philza during the night time, and that it's obsessed with rest." Forever added.

"And we know the entity claims Philza is the one keeping him captive, also that Phil is some how related to him." Cellbit stated

"The word bloodline could mean anything, he could be his son or his twice removed cousin for all we know."Forever noted

Cellbit released a sigh as he stared at the corkboard, his eyes darted back and forth. "Forever, can't you enter people's minds?" Cellbit recalled

"You have to be more specific," Forever informed, he rest his chin in the palm of his hand. "if you mean deep state, then it's a little more complicated than that."

"How complicated?"

"we'd need a sensory deprivation chamber and Philza would have to consent." He stretch his arms behind his back, "besides that, a spell like that takes a lot of power."

Richarlyson finally finished his sketch then showed it to Cellbit, whom seem overjoyed at the work.

He gasp the book then show it to Forever, who observed the figure carefully. "Spooky." He commented.

"It's even worst in person," he joked. Suddenly his phone let out a alarming sound, Cellbit pulled it from his pocket then observed the message. "Philza's awake, wanna come check it out?"

The group approached the Nest, stationed at the bottom entrance as they awaited Missa's approval to enter. Soon enough Missa would show up, slopping down the stair case in exhaustion.

"Well he's still a bird." Missa began, "for two weeks my husbands been a bird, I'm a man with a bird for a husband."

"I see.. how's his injuries?" Cellbit began.

Missa eyes feel half lid as his shoulders slouched, "you know what, you guys tell me." He suggested as he pointed to the stair case.

Cellbit briskly ascending the stairs, while Forever waited behind. "You know if you're having a hard time, I would happily take your place." Forever joked

"Ha, you don't understand how difficult it is to watch over Philza like this!" Missa rebutted as he then also acessend the satirs.

Forever followed behind Missa, catching up with him in the main hallway. "Well it's the sacrifice you make when you marry an adventurous man like Philza." Forever teased

"Can you believe this man?" Missa poked at Cellbit.

"Well they're both crazy, if anyone knows how to manage him, it's likely Forever." Cellbit joked

"Exactly.. Hey wait a minute!" Cellbit Chuckled as he acessend the leader, the group soon followed behind him.

"Good morning Philza." Cellbit greeted, Philza glanced over at him, then stood up to stretch. Forever step around cellbit as he approached Phil with cautious.

"Philza, may I see your wings." He asked. Phil though hesitate spread his wing for inspection, which Forever observed intently.

"how does it look?" Cellbit asked

"Like brand new, seems he's fully healed."Forever informed, "So why is he still a bird?"

Cellbit let out an Irritated sigh, then sat on the hay that built the nest. he rest his head in his hand while he quietly complained.

Meanwhile Richarlyson finally stumbled up the leader with Tallulah and Chayanne behind him. He then immediately rushed to Phil, where they collapsed on his form.

Phil simply crackled at this, then sat down covering Richardyslon with his wings. Chayanne took the opportunity to climb under Phil's wings, Tallulah however simply sat next to him.

"He's always more patience with the eggs." Missa complained.

"hm parental insistence ." Forever stugessed

"what?" Missa asked

"Philza was always the fatherly type before this right?" Forever debated, "wait is insistence the right word?"

"I don't get it." Cellbit interupped, "It's just makes no sense!" He pointed towards Phil, "I mean he's a bird, like he's straight up just a bird now?!"

"yes, I'm also struggling with this event." Missa commented.

"For what it's worth, I don't think even Philza understands what's happening." Forever debated, Phil shook his head in respond.

"the difference here is I'm supposed to be the one who does, People know me as the guy who knows things, what good am I otherwise?" Cellbit ended

Philza suddenly sprung upright, taking Cellbit up by his collar, he threw him on his back then flap his wings in perparation.

The children seeing this, grasp onto Phil tightly; followed by forever whom quicky climb on before Phil took off. Missa then quickly grabbed Phil's leg complaining loudly as they took off.

The minute they were air born Cellbit cried in terror, not even the grapple tool could prepared him to explore the earth at that rate.

Meanwhile Forever pulled the others closer, allowing for safer travel, "everyone hold on tight." He warn.

"Philza put me down, Philza!" Phil would ingore Cellbit's pleaded and instead flow through the trees prompting the others to cheer.

He would go from looping through clouds to rushing perpendicular through the tress, Cellbit found his fearful screams became joyous laughter.

The wind in his face, the rush of Adrenaline, once he got over the terror it was actually really fun.

Eventually Phil glide to a stop in a shallow pound, bringing a gentle fade to everyone assumment.

"I think this is our stop." Forever chuckled out as he slide off, then help the others.

Cellbit fell into a giggle fit as he made his way through the shallow water, settling happily on the shore.

"Richarlyson, he's not gonna let you stay." Forever informed as he held his hands out for his son.

Richarlyson blew a raspberry in his father's direction as an act of rebellion, however as Phil flipped over Richarlyson was completely semerged underwater.

"I Tried to warn you." Forever chuckled, Richarlyson climbed from under Phil weight then went to brother the remaining eggs.

Forever took the opportunity to return to shore, he then sat next to Cellbit as he observed the children, splashing each other as they roamed around in the water. "Feeling better?" Forever asked.

"Yes, oddly." Cellbit admitted.

"you have to stop talking down to yourself." Forever requested, "you don't need to have all the right answers, no one expects that from you."

"Missa expected me to tell him why his husband was still a bird." Cellbit debated.

"you're allowed to say you don't know, no one's going to crucify you for it." Forever insisted, "you're not doing this alone, don't put so much pressure on yourself."

Philza observed the group from afar, soon closing his eyes as slipped into a peaceful sleep.

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