#but I dunno if we'll get the time or scope for that

[optimist-pine]

When Skies Are Gray (Ch.1)

Summary: You cross paths with someone from your past on the worst day of your life (which is saying a lot).

Warnings: Typical TWD content! Injury, death, suggestions of SA, language, etc.

Word Count: 1,661

Era: Between seasons 3 & 4, before Rick stops going on runs

A/n: I convinced myself that Daryl Dixon and coffee shop AU could totally go together...

One mistake. Very likely your last one at that. However, judging by the look in the man's eye, you may have just enough time to squeeze in another before your life comes to a permanent close. A grand finale of utterly screwing up. Seems fitting.

    Despite everything, you don't actually desire the finality of death yet. The adrenaline surging through your bones reminds you that hope isn't completely gone until your body starts walking around, y'know, without your soul attached.

    Past the end of your revolver, the man's pistol aims back at you, a cruel, sordid smile crawling across his face as his gaze roams around your figure. "Came in here lookin' for somethin' to ease our appetites... Looks like we found ourselves some dessert instead." He sounds quite pleased with himself, and you can only imagine what terrible thoughts are filling his mind.

    You can't withhold the cold shiver that slips down your spine, cursing inwardly. Stupid. There were so many things you should've done differently to prevent this exact scenario from happening, but you'd gotten comfortable. 

    The small shop held the slightest promise of ammunition; that's the only reason you'd even risked investigating it with the encroaching threat of dusk at your heels. But you'd been sloppy in scoping the place out, and careless enough that when a cold hand grabbed you from behind you'd shot without a second thought.

     Now you're reaping the repercussions of your foolishness. The lump of a body lay bleeding on the dirty linoleum floor. And you stand trapped between two men with guns who have worse intentions than using them on you.

     "Dammit, man, she shot Jed!" The second man cries from behind you.

    The first man doesn't even spare a glance. "If he let some bitch shoot 'im, then he d'serves it." He spits

    "Duke, I dunno man." His boots shift nervously. "Let's just get tha' hell outta here." Please, please do your mind pleads.

    The man named Duke begins to saunter towards you slowly, toying with you. "My pal an' I here are gonna have a fun night courtesy of you, doll. Then, after, we'll kill ya." Your arms are beginning to feel the strain from holding out your own gun for so long. You readjust your grip, but what's the point? He's almost to you now. "How's that sound?" Your thoughts are swirling, there's no way you can escape without getting at least seriously injured. But if that's the only option besides giving up willingly... well, you'll take that chance. You have to.

    On the count of three... one... tw

    BLAM!

    You drop to the ground in a crouch, expecting the inevitable overwhelming pain of being shot to take over your body - but it never does. You lift your head to find Duke... dead. You whip around to see the other man with an arrow through his eye. Your gun's back out in an instant, aimed at a new target that emerges from behind a rusty shelf.

    The new man holds a crossbow, posture rigid and shoulders sturdy. A good portion of his face is blocked by the bow except for feathers of brunette hair shrouding a blue eye. 

    "Whoa, there." The sound of a hammer being cocked at your back sends a rush of fury through you. Was this some sort of sick joke? Held at gunpoint by two men, then being rescued only to be held at gunpoint again by two different men? If you were honest with yourself, it wasn't all that surprising though. As far as luck went you were permanently scraping the bottom of the barrel.

    The crossbow in front of you lowers suddenly. "Lav'nder?"

    Now that you can see both of them clearly those blue eyes look awfully familiar. "Dixon?"

    BLAM!

    A blinding pain floods through your right shoulder so quickly that you collapse, sharp waves of heat blooming and spreading and taking over your whole body. You can see your gun lying in the dust and dirt. Huh, you hadn't realized you'd dropped it. You study the weapon as the daylight dims; the sun must not be wasting any time in its descent this evening. You think someone is talking but their voice is fading, the pain is numbing, the darkness is turning to black. There's never been a colder place than the floor of this cursed little shop.

    One last stop before heading back home. An old hole-in-the-wall gun store on the off chance they'll find anything to help replenish the resources depleted in the fight against the Governor. 

    What little promise the place does have dissipates the moment a solitary gunshot rings through the air; all senses immediately on the alert. It isn't hard to discern the situation, the lead man's intentions are unmistakable. And so, they do what they've had to do too many times before.

    But when the woman turns around, what he sees takes him a minute to process. You. He knows you. The word sounds stupid, but it escapes him nonetheless. Then again, maybe not completely stupid because you do remember him.

    BLAM!

    "Dammit!" Daryl shouts, unleashing his arrow into the skull of the third man. The man they'd mistakenly presumed was already dead. He rushes to your side, inspecting the wound. Clean through the shoulder. Good. He removes his vest and sheds his long-sleeved shirt, tying it around your shoulder, holding pressure. By the time he manages to bring himself to look you in the eye, you're already out of it.

    Rick rifles around the men's belongings, gathering up their weapons and anything else that's useful. "You know her?" He asks, skeptical, with that particular cock of his head.

    Daryl nods. "M'yeah. I did." He replies softly. You looked so different now; ragged, weary... alone. But still, he would recognize you anywhere. "C'mon, we gotta get 'er back to Hershel and Dr. S."

    Rick's checking out your belongings now, snatching your gun off the floor to inspect it. "D'you trust her?" He asks.

    Daryl hefts you up into his arms - it's easier than it should be. "She's a good one." An understatement.

    "Heh, yeah." Rick chuckles, holding your gun out for him to inspect. "Cylinder's empty. Held off four men with a gun that wasn't even loaded." He gives Daryl a nod. "Let's get 'er home."

    Daryl sits with your head in his lap, the rest of your body carefully draped across the backseat of the truck, hair spilling haphazardly across his pant legs. His fingertips hover nervously above your face, the overwhelming urge to physically reassure himself that you're really here growing by the second. He's terrified though. Why? Jus' do it. Rough fingers ever so gently brush dirty locks behind your ear, revealing sun-worn skin gone pale.

    It's like he can't look long enough or hard enough at your face to make it feel true. To make you feel real. Are you? Out of anyone who could've found their way here from his past... Out of all the deadbeats and scumbags he would be unsurprised to find thriving in the lawlessness...

    It was you.

    The town had one lonely cafe, which was unfortunately sandwiched smack dab between the tattoo parlor and the pub - aka, Merle's playground. Once Merle had left for the military and then landed himself in prison, Daryl had kept to the same old routine more out of habit than desire. 

    He was on his way to the tattoo parlor late that afternoon - he can't remember why he was using the front entrance because he almost always went in through the back - but that day he had to walk past the happy little cafe to get there...

    It's a warm spring day, the air beginning to fill with the scent of flowers instead of just dirt and cold. Which also means that people are sitting out front of the little coffee joint straining to soak up the last rays of sunshine. The shop windows are open to let in the fresh air, making the place seem noisier than usual.

    "Lavender latte!" A barista shouts around the clamor from inside.

    The screech of metal on cement to his left as a girl pushes out her chair. Just as he's about to walk past, he hears the scuff of a foot against the sidewalk and suddenly she's falling toward him. He reaches up to brace himself and stabilize her shoulders as her palms thud against his chest.

    She pulls back, quick as a whip, eyes huge as pink begins to sprout on her cheeks. "I'm so sorry!" She blurts, gaze flickering around. It's weird, but he can't help but notice that she smells good, like really good. Flowers and citrus and earth, real things, not just some overpowering canned perfume like he's used to being around at the bar. She's cute too, feminine but not girly or gaudy, hair wind-whipped, hands and feet with remnants of dirt like she's been outside working. The pages of a paperback flutter in the breeze on the table behind her, the stem of a flower peeking out the bottom of the book.

    "Are you okay?" She asks, eyes focused surely on his now, irises deep and unwavering and... Idiot. He's staring and he hasn't said a thing and you're waiting for a response.

    "M'fine." He says with a grunt, crossing his arms. He almost tells you off for being so clumsy but the barista shouts again:

    "Lavender latte!"

    She brushes her hair behind her ear as if it's a nervous habit. "Oh, okay. That's good... I'd better go get that." She laughs, the corners of her lips just barely pulling up. She starts to walk away but then quickly turns back around. "Thank you!" A full smile this time, and then she disappears behind the door.

    He shakes his head. Entertaining thoughts about a girl like that is ridiculous. At least, that's what he tells the rapid drumming of his heart. Shut up.

#twd #the walking dead #daryl dixon #daryl dixon x reader #optimist pine #twd season 3 #twd season 4 #when skies are gray

[capsensislagamoprh]

Being the calm, cool, and collected ten-year-old that Yuuri was, he pretty much knew he had life figured out. He didn’t realize it then, but he was experiencing awe for the first time. The experience of admiration and elevation in response to physical beauty, displays of exceptional ability, or deep emotional expression being put out for the world to see sirening a song into his very being. The awe-inspiring stimulus could only be experienced as vast and difficult to comprehend for his young mind. It challenged his worldview. His limited sense of island and onsen and town, surpassing the scope of his current frame of reference. Suddenly the world was large and round and waiting.

The realization started in the distance with the sound of an oboe, it's low mournful sound calling the start to an event. It drew in the dark eyes. Ten years on this earth. Five years learning, really learning how to glide and turn, twizzle and slide. Jumps were new, and while he wasn't so bad at it, he admitted he was still learning. And thrugh it all, he'd merely done it for fun. It was a joy, just a thing that could easily become a passing phase. Then he saw Victor Nikiforov make the ice his home. The ease, the grace, the way he seemed to tell stories - older than cold itself - called to him. He turned towards his family and smiled, pointing at the television. "I'm going to skate like him!"

"You'll have to practice hard to get to that level," Mari said, staring at the screen. "Gonna be a lot of work."

"I can do it! I'm going to skate on the same ice one day."

Mari grunted, smiling when Yuuri couldn't see. "Right. Well, if you want to do that, we'll have to figure out some things."

"But I can do it right?"

"I dunno. Can you?"

Light illuminated the the determination in Yuuri's awed smile. "I can do anything! I'm gonna do it! Watch me!"

~~~

He lay on the cheep cotton sheets, his silken hair spread like a fan behind him, damp from the shower, smelling of cold and hotel soap. He'd feasted. He'd dined. He'd savored every crumb. Flowers adorned the thin dresser, lay tossed about the bed, tangled in heaps on the table. These were a mere tokens of the crowed gratitude. Tomorrow was the free skate. Tomorrow he would gorge.

As the drops of water glistening against his winter flesh crackled and steamed, evaporating into mist, Victor smiled to himself. Something was fabulous about this new feeling. Something distant and full of wonder. Perhaps his connection to the Dream was growing, becoming more stable now that he wasn't starving.

He heard what the announcers said. He listened to the cries of shock and delight. He felt the pull of there gasps, sucking life out of the room, afraid to let air back in lest it be their last breath. He'd landed a set of daring combos, wanting - no. Needing to make himself known. The shadows in the ice could echo a summers warmth all they wanted. The shred of snow from its surface could succumb to the heat of artificial lights when ever it wanted. They would not move him from his goal. He'd come here for a reason. He was going to find Yuri. Then he would return to the Dream, where precious things were safe from mundane reality.

His eyes closed, cerulean orbs ready to reflect the day in memory. Breath came in long steady pulls. His skin tingled. He lay limp, a smile tugging his lips.

From the mirror hung uselessly on the wall, far from any purposeful placement, a flicker of something darker remained. It watched, waited, and when the Ice King was well and truly in somnic dreams, it flicked with a quiet presence into dark being, watching. Waiting. When no reaction came, the thin comforter pulled itself over the sleeping teen before shimmering thrugh the shadows into a near by chamber.

~~~

"Tell me," Christophe said to the reflection of a very powerful being, "how is the plan proceeding?"

"If any harm comes to Yuri..."

"That's the mortal world, I'm afraid." Before the threat of manifestation became corporal, the spring fey held up a gentle hand. "You have to trust." The lack of response didn't change the weight in the air. It threatened to suffocate Christophe with a sulfuric caress. Gulping, he reached quickly for the dross he kept in the shape of breath mints, popping open the red and white tin. The stench of peppermint threatened to overwhelm. Despite knowing it would hurt, he crunched three quickly.

"He's here! I know he is! We'll complete him, and then he wont be so reckless. That's what you wanted isn't it? For Victor to stop putting lives at risk because he couldn't figure out what was missing?" For a precious moment he thought the shadow wouldn't listen, was to upset. Then the pressure lifted, leaving the smell of spice and warm autumn breezes. Gasping, Christophe swallowed hard. Clamoring to stand, he looked around. The shadows were merely shadows, the mirrors showing nothing more than they should. When he turned to sink into his bed, he cried out in alarm. He'd sat on a dried leaf, it's crinkling decay crunched under his weight.

He was lucky, he knew, to only receive a warning. The Hero didn't do half measures, no unseelie did. They really needed to find Yuri. And Victor's other half. He didn't know they could survive what would happen if they didn't.

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13, part 14, part 15, part 16, part 17, part 18, part 19, part 20, part 21, part 22, part 23, part 24, part 25, part 26

#YoI #!!! #Yuri on Ice #story #WoD frame work #gay boys on ice #fey bois on ice #victor nikiforov #yuri katsuki #yuuri katsuki #victor x yuuri #yuri plisetsky #otabek altin #otabek x yurio #victuuri #otayuri #changelings #WE SAIL THIS SHIP TO THE STARS! #I love this fandom #cannon compliant ships #primary cannon ship #secondary cannon OTP

[honeybeewhereartthee]

Pink kkomas 160

Spoiler for my stories

"what's up with Bee?" Doll ask as he look at bee who seems to be in his emo phrase since he wake up. He refuse to say anything. "I dunno. But it's cool now that somehow bee and I are both have heterochromia eyes!" Reaper pointed out. The haft human is quite glad that he aren't standing out from the rest with his eyes. Now bee have join his troop! How nice!

"how strange. It seems that..." Hallow who can see the sand of bee that seems quite similar to blood but it was merge with him.

"they should be up by now..." The fae mumble as he look at something others cannot see. It seems he really enter some emo phrase for real.

'someones here...' sea alarm them and they look around before they look down and saw a small pinky in a bear fox onesie outfit staring at them... While holding a gun.

"Intruder. Surrender or be a food for Bon." Even with teary eyes the little fellow tries to be threatening.

"aww how cute." Hallow reach out to the small bun but a bullet went through his palm as the said cute little bun have fired the bullet. "Ah?" The undead stared at the hole in his hand that slowly closing up on its own as the effect of his odd genetic " all good." He smiled.

"... Oh shoot that thing is a psycho!" Doll point out. "Hell nah how did that crazy bastard turn into a midget." And there conclude no one crazy as certain twist au self of them to do so.... unless it's that Omae of Bee. Who is not in the world at the moment.

"intruder. Leave or be a food for Bon?" The intimating bun pinky in a bear fox onesie says again loading his gun.

"..." As the little pinky bun tried to take another shot. His scope up by a shadow. hand that remove his gun away before he soon been held by one of the intruder. Which is Bee who look at him with blank look, his multi colored eyes stared at purple scared one.

"How could a silly child like you be left alone by others. How impudent of them." Bee chuckle as he clean the messy thing that seems to smug in the cute outfit as he did so. The little one stared at him first out fear before realization. "... Don't treat me as a child... I'm.older.than you." Even through in a young child voice he seems to still bare authority and pride.

"sure sure." Bee agreed as take out a candy that was given by you. He give it to the bun who refuse at first but accepted it and went docile as bee approach others who's looking at bee oddly.

"Did you change personality with blood or what?" Doll haft jokingly ask as bee give a soft smile but did not agree or disagree. Earning a sigh from the darling doll.

"We'll talk about it later. Let's go home first." -Doll

"ok!! Let's go home!"

"this is home." - smoll bean.

"no. You stupid, blood is coming with us."-doll dragged everyone out the the hell hole.

"who's that." -smoll bean ask in question to the one holding him.

"you."- bee. "At least the you before the reset." He added in the almost an inaudible tone.

"then if that's not me. Who am I?"

"if you wish to follow the path of who come before you and become the fearsome and well simpable or followed Blood or become who you wish to become." The fae simple says as he think he getting the bun to become close to him will earn Him good points from omae once you learn about it. He can't help but smile for the first time after waking up from a dream into a nightmare reality of that person gone.

#pink kkomas

[booasaur]

The Nevers (2021) - 1x05

#theneversedit #the nevers #amalia true #penance adair #laura donnelly #ann skelly #the nevers spoilers #the nevers 1x05 #amalia x penance #femslash related stuff #but subtext #an interesting ep! #I've said several times that they remind me of xena/gabrielle but sometimes I also think of jessica/trish #because of the krysten ritter/laura donnelly resemblance #if we go by both those at some point pen will do something neither right now can imagine #but I dunno if we'll get the time or scope for that #the ''if you get hurt--'' trope here was good enough for me! #these scenes were by far the best part of the ep #like it's not even about them being cute or just working together #it's just the most compelling relationship by far #and tbh disagreeing in a real and organic way is almost more interesting than being cute #though I will take that any day

[a-non-ymouswriter]

WISHES AND FAMILY UPDATE LETS GOOOOOOOOOO oh my god i forgot how hype this fic is and just *chef's kiss* that scene w george!!! Creative mode!!! I am losing my goddamn mind.

All the build up and allusions to tommy as a very formidable and terrifying mag is scratching my bamf!tommy itch. Seriously the way each pov never fails to mention how strong he is and how much they respect him is making my little inniter heart happy. I'm seriously looking forward to the newbies reconciling the image of regular teen tommy to mag tommy, i'm already giddy with what you have written so far. Purpled #1 tommy apologist is real and trueeeeee

But also the Human Santorini moniker!!! I googled it bc, naturally, it made me curious as to what that means and by now its pretty obvious that tommy has volcanic related powers. Which is so. Fucking. Cool. And although yes, volcanoes are more associated with fire, earthquakes are a pretty close second too. And oh boy if this tommy does know how to shake things up!

And i dunno why but it also brought to my mind Atlantis, you know, the great ancient city obliterated by natural forces, except w Santorini and Thera. This is just speculation on my part but maybe what makes tommy's mag powers so terrifying beside the whole fire and boiling-you-inside thing is because of his reach? Because thinking about the sheer scope that volcanic erruptions cover is terrifying, never mind that i nearly got a taste of it last year because a volcano several cities over nearly errupted and gave us weaks of ash fall hehe

Now that tommy is finally awake, i am so looking forward to his interactions w others and we finally get to see how the whole team operates! Lovely update op, excited to see what happens next :DDD

:DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

GALAGHIEL!!!! it's been a while :DDDDDDD

i'm so glad you like the latest updates!! you have no idea how long i've been waiting to write creative mode!!! not only that, tommy's creative mode is something i've been thinking of for a long, long while, even during the writing of rewind long while!!!

alas, it's not for some time that we'll see volcano boi truly erupt.

BUT YEAH

VOLCANO POWERS TOMMY INNIT HERE

i was gonna call him mt. vesuvius bc of pompeii and everything but after i googled a few things, i decided on santorini since it fits his greek aesthetic and theme better and is very fucking terrifying holy shit

we. need. more. respected. bamf. tommy fics

yes i know there's been plenty of bamf tommy fics but the respect in them varies. so viola! respected and feared tommy innit fic in wishes and family >:)

oh trust me, i am going to enjoy the chapter where tommy human santorini gets to erupt

because he is terrifying

though he does have his weaknesses obviously, i love a good op character but balancing him out is important. dont get me wrong, op characters are amazing and i love reading about them but in this fic, there definitely needs to be a balance and a crutch here and there.

that's why we have the other mags and hattie, the one mag that tommy could never truly go against. because past angst and survivor's guilt. (no i have not forgotten about henrietta gourd aka hot girl from dsmp, i have PLANS for her and tommy dont worry (and yes i did actually use hot girl from dsmp and turned her into an actual character in this story because why not?))

at any rate, thank you for reading wishes and family!! i hope you enjoy the rest of the fic as it comes out! i'm so happy :D

#ask #long answer #long post #GALAGHIEL! #wishes and family #we love bamf characters #tommyinnit bamf