#<- do i keep tagging my sig ??

[daily-nsh]

NSH and SRS debate who’s genetic experiments are more inhumane

day 79 — animal experimentation

[fanaticsnail]

Beautiful

Masterlist Here

Word Count: 1,400+

Synopsis: Big Mom has found her son, Charlotte Katakuri, a partner she deemed worthy enough for him to court for matrimony. While he is smitten immediately with you, he is determined to make a good impression on you by not revealing his face. Your curiosity gets the better of you.

Warnings: Katakuri x f!reader, talks of husband and wife, use of bride, massaging face, fluff, so fluffy.

Notes: wrote this half-dazed at 6:30am this morning because @gingernut1314 decided she needed the big man in her life and the brain-worm got me. Here he is, the big guy all for you, sweetheart. Art link

Tag List: @feral-artistry @i-am-vita @indydonuts @sordidmusings @since-im-already-here @writingmysanity @mfreedomstuff @daydreamer-in-training

Being courted by the Minister of Flour was not something you had ever pictured to be highlighted on your impressive resume. When you first received an invitation from the Charlotte family to venture to Komugi island, this was not an outcome you predicted for yourself. 

Charlotte Katakuri, the second son and third child of Big Mom, was told to find a bride. His orders were received, the date of his nuptials set, and his suit picked out for such an excitable occasion. The only thing that had not been set in stone was the partner joining him at his side after their soft march down the aisle. 

Your family was titled, strong, and one of the only families Big Mom had deemed worthy enough to usher in a new generation of pirates to join in taking the Charlotte name. Katakuri had no choice but to obey his mother, apprehensively accepting the terms of an arranged marriage against his own desires to simply live to protect his siblings, nieces, and nephews. While this was out of his control, what he could control was how his intended bride depicted him. 

He could continue to shield his face from you. His rationale was as such, “If they never view my face, they would never have reason to fear me.” And so he did as such, hiding his face beneath the fur shroud from the moment he met you, and every courtship session soon thereafter. As he laid his eyes on you for the first time, he was immediately smitten. Taken by your appearance alone, and your willingness to sign your name beside his on the registry to set your intentions to wed in stone, he could never be more proud to have a partner such as you. 

As his trust in you began to build, he slowly allowed you into his heart, and shared his burdens with you as Minister of Flour. He confided in you, relishing in your company as he openly courted you under the watchful chaperone of his younger sister, Charlotte Brûlée. 

One such occasion, he laid out a blanket for you and drew out a large wicker basket from behind his back. He presented you with an assortment of baked sweets and pastries with a soft blush dusting his cheeks beneath the fur shroud. While you accepted the treats with gratitude, you instead placed it beside you and knelt on the blanket, tapping your lap and asking him to lay on his back. 

“Tell me about your day, intended. I want to know every detail,” you smiled mischievously up at him. He cautiously stole a look at Brûlée, who emphatically ushered him to do as he was told with flailing hands. 

Lowering himself onto the mat beside you, he awkwardly shifted himself to attempt to do as you asked. Rolling your eyes, you reach your hands up to his shoulder and gently guide his larger form to lay his head in your lap. His entire head was the size of both of your thighs together, but you had no qualms or complaints about it. 

“Come on, I don't bite,” you reassured him with a soft laugh, “Let me hear about your journeys abroad. Tell me anything that you want, you have my complete attention.” He was a giant, but so incredibly gentle and sweet to those he deemed as family. 

Coaxing his head onto your lap, he immediately drew his hand up to his mask and secured it over his lips to keep his mouth and teeth hidden from your sight. You chose to ignore this, drawing your fingers up and settled him atop your thighs as he slowly, quietly spoke about his life to you. 

While Charlotte Katakuri was immediately taken by you in the registry office with your family and his, you were horrified by the sight that was met with you. You had heard stories about some of the Charlotte's being of unusual size and stature, but you had no idea exactly how tall your intended was. His form was almost three times your size, his intimidating appearance did nothing to stifle your nerves. 

Believing to have masked your concerns at the nuptuals well enough to be believable, your nerves all but melted away the moment his soft, soothing voice checked in with you afterwards. Charlotte Katakuri was a sweetheart, a 504cm tall sweetheart with such softness within his hardened exterior. 

Reclining his head on your lap, you rubbed at his plum-colored hair as he spoke about adventures away from Komugi. His hand gestures out in a flurry in front of his chest, pointing to the sky as he speaks so eloquently to you. Although he does not yet trust you enough for you to reveal his face, your curiosity begins to gnaw at the seams. 

You start to lower his inhibitions by massaging his scalp, scruff of his neck and forehead. His hair pricks your skin as your skillful touch chips away at his woes and worries. His voice quietens further as he closes his eyes as your hands firmly press against his forehead. You needed to see your soon to be husband’s face, you desperately craved to know what was going on beneath the furs. 

As he leans into your touch, he seemingly forgets about the shroud over his mouth hiding his sharpened teeth from you. He is in bliss beneath your hands, and he slips away into a world carved by your palms and fingertips. Your hands dip deeper, lower into his cheeks, your digits feeling his muscles relax their tension beneath your fingers. 

Smiling to yourself softly as he gasps at such sweetness befalling from you to him, he parts his lips gently. He arches his head further into your lap, the shroud finally lowering and revealing his sharp teeth and unnaturally widened mouth. His jaw falls slack as his brow becomes relaxed. 

You crave to coo at his vulnerability, truly enjoying empathetically how much he allowed himself to relax into your soft touch. This hardened general, this pirate minister, this older brother to so many siblings in the Charlotte family, was as malleable as rice flour mochi beneath your skilled digits. You took in his appearance, almost relieved at feeling the twin slits up his lips as you looked down at him with nothing but pure adoration. 

You were immediately in love with what you saw, your heart beating heavily against your ribcage as a warm flush rose to your cheeks. You loved him, all of him.

Brushing your hands over his cheeks, you silently and slowly commit his face to memory like reading a marble carving with a simple touch. He is gorgeous, and you remember to tell him so when he snaps out of his tranquility and looks at you with accusing eyes the moment he realized you slipped the shroud over his chin. 

“What are you doing?” he growls quietly, “Why did you do that? I don't want you to fear me-...” A soft gasp flees from your lips as you take him completely in. His lips split up his cheeks in an unnatural slit through symmetrical scars, his sharp fangs extend up on his lower jaw and over his lips. 

Although he feels slightly betrayed at the way you managed to easily reveal his face, his betrayal is eclipsed by shock and awe when he meets your eyes. 

“I-I just…” you trail off, your body cowering away in response to his anger, but your eyes still depict the emotion you so desperately desired to show him, “...-I just wanted to know. I wanted to see.” Charlotte Brûlée watched the interaction with interest, her own shock evident on her face. 

She witnessed the entire interaction with your hands on his face, almost calling out to warn her brother his face was going to be revealed, but quietly hoping you would fall in love with him further. She knew you loved him, knew you wanted to see him, and trusted you enough with her older brother that she knew you would love him more the moment his fangs and scars were brought into the light.

He was expecting fear, disgust, anguish and anger to be met in your curious gaze. But all you held in those calm and half-lidded orbs was pure trust, love, and pure adoration. His shock was adamant as he nervously floated his eyes between your gaze. His thumb and index finger circled around your much smaller hand, hovering it over his cheek as you felt your heart soar at the vulnerability.

“And now that you have?” his whisper came out more like a gasp, his voice breathy and craved to hear you say you weren’t afraid. He needed to know you did not fear his appearance, his wordless prayers spoken within his mind’s eye the longer your gaze soaked in his sight. 

You placed your unoccupied hand on his cheek, leaning in closer to his face and your lips curling into a soft, innocent and intimate smile. Caressing his cheek, you cocked your head to the side and finally uttered a single word he truly did not ever think he would hear. 

“Beautiful.”

[wlntrsldler]

smau where the betrayal didn’t happen; fratboy! luke x poseidon! reader

a/n: i have no affiliations with these greek orgs and im def playing into the sterotypes 😭

part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 (final)

tagged chrisr0driguez.

lukecastell4n: rush kappa sigma.

chrisr0driguez: my brother 🤞🏾

chrisr0driguez: kappa sig 🔛🔝

liked by lukecastell4n.

poseidonsfavchild: you are definitely not old enough to be drinking??

lukecastell4n: don’t be a snitch 🙄

bethchase: the first pic looks so dangerous what do y’all be doing out there

gr0verunderwood: no fr

clarisselarue: u dont wanna know beth

bethchase: oh

clarisselarue: just say ksig like the rest of us???? why r u using the frat’s whole government name 💀

silenabeauregard: i have never heard anyone call ksig KAPPA SIGMA LIKE LETS BE SO SERIOUS

charliebeck: we can’t abbreviate our frat names. we get in trouble 🙄

silenabeauregard: ok mr. sigma nu

yn_yln: my fav frat <3

lukecastell4n: kappa sig’s sweetheart 🤍

tagged lukecastell4n.

yn_yln: thanks for being the best formal dddate 🩵

lukecastell4n: dlam

lukecastell4n: did i do that right

yn_yln: LMAOOO yes i love u

silenabeauregard: him carrying u bc ur feet hurt is so real of him

clarisselarue: maybe he’s not that bad

silenabeauregard: perhaps not 🤔

chrisr0driguez: lukecastell4n you seeing this?

yn_yln: stop 😭😭😭 i promise he’s good to me

clarisselarue: he better be 🙂

liked by lukecastell4n.

poseidonsfavchild: i keep seeing alc in all ur frat and sorority posts like is this ALL YALL DO? what happened to volunteering? philanthropy?

yn_yln: we have our annual fall fundraiser coming up if u want to donate

gr0verunderwood: now why would u say that when u know he’s broke 🤨

bethchase: HELP

tagged silenabeauregard, clarisselarue, and lukecastell4n.

yn_yln: when girls night gets crazy so you gotta call your fav uber driver to take you and the girls home

thanks for the picture lena 🩷

silenabeauregard: pi phi x tridelt crossover 🏹 🔱🤍

yn_yln: my favorite angel 👼🏽

lukecastell4n: at your service 🫡

yn_yln: love ya lukey

lukecastell4n: love ya more

clarisselarue: ok after last night, i approve of the frat boy ig

yn_yln: he deserves financial compensation for our horrible drunk rendition of “linger” in the car

silenabeauregard: STOP I FORGOT ABOUT THAT 💀

charliebeck: your snap friends didnt. we got a 30 minute snap story of you guys singing it because you said the crowd deserved an “encore”

silenabeauregard: but u watched the whole thing tho? fan behavior 🥱

chrisr0driguez: would you date a frat boy

this comment has been deleted.

yn_yln: chrisr0driguez say it with your chest 😭

chrisr0driguez: yn pleaseeee dont tell her it was a moment of weakness

lukecastell4n: shooters shoot 🤷🏻‍♂️

yn_yln: ^ what he said

[littlespacereader]

Hiii I hope your doing well I saw your spooky requests so I hope this is good enough

Do you think you can write something with (either Tom's or Andrew's)Peter parker with a little wanting to be Spiderman for Halloween and maybe helping them make a custom suit?

Literally so cute!!! I definitely to go with Andrew’s Spider-Man to change things up a bit! I hope you enjoy this story!! I made it so you as the reader can decide what your Spidey suit looks like! Enjoy!!❤️💙

Little Spidey❤️💙🎃

Caregiver! Peter Parker & GN Little! Reader

Tags- custom Spidey suits, trick or treating, Peter goes by Papa, Halloween, drawing, creating a suit together

Y/N ran into Peter’s room with another beautiful masterpiece of a drawing. They happily held it close to their body, as if it was a surprise.

Peter smiled seeing his little one run over with such enthusiasm. “What do you have here? Another master piece for Papa?”

He held his hand out for it but Y/N hesitated.

“So you know Halloween is just a couple of weeks away?”

“Yup, you tell me at least once a day.” He smirked.

“I know. But I’m so excited!! And…And I think I got my costume figured out! I wanna be your sidekick!” They smile back to him, clearly excited about the idea.

“You wanna me a mini me?” He smiled back, “I’ll have to run to the store and get more blue and red fabric-.”

“No Papa.” They stopped him tugging on his arm. “You’re misunderstanding. I wanna be your sidekick. My own Spidey!”

They turned the picture around and happily show it to Peter. The drawing is a picture of them in a custom Spider-Man costume, unique with their own colors and design.

“Could we make this?” They asked.

“Could we- Of course we can! Wow!! I love the design and the colors and everything! I love everything about this!” Peter looks from the photo and back over to me. “You ready to be my Little Spidey sidekick?”

“YES!!!” Y/N starts jumping around, so beyond excited.

That afternoon was spend going to the fabric store, getting all the colored fabrics, making sure they weren’t too inchy or anything texture wise that felt wrong.

Then it was off to the sewing machine back home to start to put all the pieces together. Peter sewed on the machine and Y/N sat beside him, watching the whole process.

It took a couple of days, a couple of fittings and a couple of adjustments, but by Halloween night it was ready!

“Don’t peek!” Y/N said grabbing their suit and running off to the bathroom.

“I won’t! I’m keeping my eyes closed.” Peter sat in the living room, his heart beating with excitement for his little one. He hope their suit was everything they could want.

“Okay, keep your eyes closed!”

“I am!” Peter could hear their feet walking across the room and stopping infront of the couch.

“Ready?” They said beyond excited.

“Ready!”

“Okay….OPEN!”

Peter opened his eyes and gasped. He looked in awe, seeing his Little one dressed up in their own Spidey costume. While he knew what it looked like having worked on it for over a week, it was something else seeing them put it on.

“Y/N!! You look amazing!! Wow!!”

Y/N was practically jumping up and down, “You like it?!”

“I love it!! But more importantly do you like it?”

“I LOVE IT PAPA!!” They yelled excitedly. Y/N runs and hugs Peter, “Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!”

“Of course!! I’m so happy you love it!” Peter laughed, hugging them back.

“Okay,” they broke apart and Peter grabbing their trick or treating bag. “Time to head out!”

“Wait!” They grabbed his arm halting him in his tracks, “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Where’s your suit?”

“Where’s my….” He paused, thinking it over. “I can’t go out with my Spider-Man suit. People would know my identity.”

“No they wouldn’t!” They giggle, “They would think you were dressing up as Spider-Man!”

Suddenly it clicked in. He smiled, ruffing their hair, “You’re so right. You’re just so smart my smart cookie. You wait here, I’ll go grab my suit.”

Peter dashed off to his room in the apartment and after a few minutes he walked back out, his signature red and blue suit on.

He smiled, putting his hand out to Y/N, “Ready to take on New York myLittle Spidey?”

Y/N smiles back, “READY!”

[sapphicdib]

Rot Au Explanation!

(and an introduction to my OCs and stuff!!)

I’m making this little intro post to put most of my rot au thoughts in one place! The tag on my blog is #rot au, but some of the older info is probably outdated at this point. I ALSO LOVE ASKS ABOUT IT!! I like replying to them with little comics sometimes so feel free to send some my way :D

Finally: TW for Manipulation, toxic as fuck relationships, SOOOO much murder, no one in this AU is a good person at all!!

Becoming increasingly frustrated with his citizens treating him like “Moon but worse”, Pebbles goes to Sig for help—he wants to be able to retaliate, or at least throw them out of his chamber when they’re being especially insulting, but he can’t do that with the taboos placed in his code. These restrictions are physically painful to break, in order to keep their artificial gods in check. Above all hangs one taboo so deeply encoded in them that rumor says if you even think of breaking it for too long, you’ll shut down from how overclocked your systems become from the pain: the altering of one’s own genome.

Much to his chagrin, Sig is the best bioengineer Pebbles knows, and probably the only one crazy smart enough to pull this off. Sig is reluctant at first, knowing how dangerous and nigh impossible such a task will be, but eventually is convinced, agreeing to help give advice and nothing else. Pebbles agrees, and they get to work.

...And it fucking works.

There are 2 main local groups: 037 (Moon's group), and 1650 (Sliver's group). In descending order of age, they are:

Looks to the Moon - (she/her) Group Senior of local group 037. One of the oldest still functioning iterators, softspoken and kind, despite the fact some other seniors might consider that a weakness. She tries to take care of her citizens and work on the great problem, but she can’t really bring herself to care much about it anymore, after working on it for so long. She is incredibly caring to her group, but she does know when to put her foot down, though she has never found it in her to use her seniority privileges against one of her group members, as she considers them a violation of their autonomy. Sig’s partner.

Seven Red Suns - (he/xe/they) Second oldest of local group 037. Close to Moon in age, which means their emotional AI is not quite as advanced as those younger than him, which can lead to issues when they are trying to understand their own and others’ feelings. He does his best though, and is generally a dedicated and agreeable member of the group, though they’re kind of aloof until Pebbles is constructed. They are active in the politics of their city, mostly as someone to give advice and guidance, rather than a leader.

Sliver of Straw - (she/her) Group Senior of local group 1650. One of the youngest seniors there is, she’s closer in age to Sig than she is to Moon. This makes her highly insecure, and she is determined to “prove” to everyone that she is a capable Senior. This leads to her being very strict with her group, as she wants someone within it, or herself, to find the solution in order to show her worth as a leader.

Once Stagnant Opportunity - (she/her) “Second in Command” of local group 1650, she’s basically Sliver without the inferiority complex. A bioengineering-focused facility, mostly specializing in creating things to make her citizens’ lives easier. She doesn’t give a shit what others think of her, and speaks her mind freely, aside from around Sliver herself, who she pretends to like but is actually insanely jealous of. She thinks she could be a better leader than Sliver ever could be, and resents her for it. (OC)

Echos of Indigo - (he/she/they) Member of local group 1650. Very soft spoken and shy, his self esteem is in rubicon from being bullied by OSO (and Sliver) after being put online. Their facility is a nature reserve, which has some of the very last natural, unpurposed biodiversity left. OSO specifically does not respect her because she thinks preserving such things is a waste of time. He tries his best. Kinda a “mom friend” to ABL, and really wishes he had some friends his age. (OC)

Chasing Wind - (he/him) Member of local group 1650. Rules his city like a dictator, due to being terrified of his own citizens taking advantage of him, so he took initiative with a “hurt them before they hurt you” mentality. He doesn’t trust his group members further than he can throw them, and suffers with some paranoia. Sig is very close to him though, they were put online within 50 cycles of one another. Sliver HAAATES this, because she thinks Sig is a lazy asshole and doesn't want her “distracting” Wind. He doesn’t particularly care, though, because he can actually let himself chill out around Sig.

No Significant Harassment - (she/he/it) “Second in Command” of local group 037. An advanced medical facility with a specialization in bioengineering, and the northernmost iterator in her group, her can is in an extremely cold area. Doesn’t give much care to the great problem, prefers to spend his time goofing off. Is considered the “Second in Command” because Moon trusts her a bit more than Suns, as they’re closer. Has a generally laid back and sarcastic personality. Moon’s partner.

Pleading Intellect - (they/them) Member of local group 1650. Built near EOI, their city has become a tourist destination because of the beautiful climate around them. Their chamber is a glass box in the middle of the city, so visitors can watch them iterate and even ask them questions. They are constantly tired due to this, since they have to be running at 100% around the clock, as they’re always being watched. Their city is the richest in the local group, and their puppet is decorated in gold and jewels to reflect that, and for the delight of tourists. Friends with Sig, Wind, and Pebbles.

Unparalleled Innocence - (she/they) Member of local group 037. While she can be a little bit of a brat, she’s a very dedicated caretaker for her city. She enjoys her citizens’ celebrations and rituals, and is generally content being their iterator. Her can is an industrial facility, and manufactures a lot of machinery for her local group and others. She’s quite popular among the iterator populous, friends/on good terms with most around her. ABL is very close to them.

Alienated by Light - (they/them) Member of local group 1650. The youngest of the group, has yet to be crushed by the futility of the great problem. Loves their citizens, and their city is very religious. They are a bit of a kiss-ass to the older ones of their local group, as they desperately want to be accepted and liked by their peers. Sliver and OSO just find them annoying, though. They consider themself close friends with Indigo (who keeps them at arms length at best), but UI is genuinely close with them, and they have a developing crush on her. (OC)

Five Pebbles - (he/him) Youngest member of local group 037. Built as a support structure for Moon, so her systems wouldn’t have to strain themselves trying to keep up with caring for her citizens. His construction was tumultuous, as there was heavy political opposition and even a couple attempted attacks in order to stop it, though obviously it didn’t work. Cycles later, he still can’t seem to shake being referred to as the “Apostate Superstructure Abomination” in certain political circles. He is deeply frustrated by this, and becomes disillusioned with his purpose rather quickly. He becomes close with Suns when he tries to distance himself from Moon, who he is constantly being compared to.

-------------

Once Sig and Pebbles manage to alter their genome, things seem fine for a couple cycles, or well, at least for them. They start distributing the code they created to a small group of friends/iterators they know are frustrated with their situation, unknowingly dooming them to a slow, painful death from the rot. Word gets out eventually about what Sig and Pebbles have done, especially once Pebbles starts “retaliating” (killing) his citizens when they annoy him too much. Cue absolute fucking panic.

Their citizens freak the fuck out. Their iterators, their homes could literally decide to just betray them at the drop of a hat. Political mayhem ensues, among both iterators and their citizens. Some of their citizens immediately go to groveling at their iterator’s feet, begging them not to infect themselves, while some lobby for trying to reason with Sig and Pebbles and the rest of those who have gone rogue, to work out a solution that would satisfy both of them. Some want to shut the entire iterator project down. Meanwhile, on the iterator side of things, workgroups are created, with some wanting to work to reverse/talk Pebbles and Sig down, some secretly gathering in hushed whispers to voice their wishes to go rogue themselves, and some are trying to figure out how to kill the traitors. Sliver is a part of one of those groups:

This is where Wind comes in. Wind is Sig’s best friend, put online about 50 cycles before her. Wind is part of Sliver’s group, and she absolutely despises their relationship, considering her contempt for Sig. However, this doesn’t stop them from goofing off together, as Wind really only drops his stoic and standoffish personality around her. He is incredibly paranoid, and distrustful of his own group (considering how Sliver continuously tries to prevent Wind from having fucking friends), as well as his citizens. When he realizes his citizens could be planning to shut him down, he tightens the reins on them even further, as he was already basically a strict dictator beforehand. He thinks that because of his treatment of them, his citizens absolutely want him dead, so he locks down his city and turns it into a literal surveillance state.

While this is happening, Sig notices something bad. They’ve got the fucking rot. Since they’ve already created so much chaos, they decide to keep it a secret, as they think they can just cure it as quick as they can and just sweep it under the rug, and no one will be any the wiser. Yeah that doesn’t work. When Moon notices that Pebbles shut the dams between their shared water supply, using more water, and has been acting very strange and distant, she goes to Sig because she knows they’ve been hanging out and Pebbles may have disclosed something to him that she doesn’t know. When Sig is similarly cagey, she asks for a diagnostic sweep of his systems. Sig refuses. Moon uses her seniority privileges, something she has never done before, to force Sig to send her the equipment manifest, and the truth is revealed: Sig and Pebbles are horrifically sick. Sig didn’t even realize the extent, as the rot has begun to hide and warp information they can collect from their structures.

Upon learning that Sig and Pebbles have given themselves the fucking rot, Suns completely cuts both of them off. He refuses to speak to either of them, because they’re scared that they could become convinced to “join them”, and this hurts Pebbles deeply. At the same time, Sig becomes distracted trying to convince Wind to infect himself (which I’ll come back to in a minute), and Pebbles is left feeling betrayed and alone.

Pebbles, despite his contempt for his citizens, actually really enjoys their culture. He thinks that when they aren’t being led by corrupt and rich assholes, they are a very interesting species and likes documenting and learning about them. He’s always been friendly with Pleading Intellect, who if you remember, is very involved in their citizens’ celebrations and daily life, so they begin to talk, growing closer. PIn eventually even begins to develop a crush on Pebbles, which spoiler alert, does not end well, like most things in this god awful au.

The way that seniority privileges work is that a senior can only use them on their own group. This means that Sliver cannot do jack shit to Sig or Pebbles, but she is going to try her damndest to figure out how to be able to extend her seniority to them. Sig knows this, and comes to the conclusion that he has to kill her before she kills him. This leads to him trying to convince Wind to infect himself so he can alter his own code to basically give himself seniority privileges and brain blast Sliver into oblivion. Sig uses the fact that Wind is already deeply paranoid against him, and he is eventually convinced, and the two end up killing Sliver:

This is what finally knocks some sense back into Sig. She realizes that HOLY FUCK WIND WE ABSOLUTELY FUCKED UP, and begins to desperately scramble to find a cure. Because Pebbles is still pissed at her, he refuses to help him, and even goes so far as to contact Suns again…who accepts the message. They start talking again, and out of an act driven mostly by the rot’s manipulation of Pebbles, he sends Suns the virus in a compromised message, and now Suns is infected. Sig is fucking PISSED. Why the hell would Pebbles fucking SPREAD THE ROT TO YET ANOTHER GROUP MEMBER, and also LEAVE HER TO DO ALL THE WORK WHILE HER SYSTEMS ARE DETERIORATING RAPIDLY?! Unfortunately, Pebbles has basically completely stopped fighting against the rot’s takeover of his mind and body, and pretty much succumbs to its whims.

This leaves Sig on her own. Moon and Wind try to help, though Wind has become so paranoid due to the rot feeding into that delusion he eventually shuts everyone out. Moon and Sig quickly realize that Sig barely has control of his structure anymore, and any and all attempts to run experiments or simulations of a cure come back with an error message near immediately. Moon knows that while Sig’s systems are very advanced, there’s no way that these errors are being processed this quickly, and the rot is manipulating his systems into not letting her hurt it whatsoever.

Meanwhile, the rot feeds on Suns’ love for Pebbles and twists it into a horrific jealousy/obsession. When they find out about PIn’s crush on Pebbles, he becomes incredibly angered by it, and one night while Pebbles is visiting PIn, they show up, grab Pebbles, and erase his memories of PIn right in front of them. PIn freaks the fuck out, and goes to Moon for help, and this is how Moon learns just how insane Suns and Pebbles have gone. This is getting bad!

PIn eventually goes to Wind and asks for the code to infect themself. They realize that even on the slim chance Sig and Pebbles and everyone else were to be cured, nothing would ever be the same again. They are already worked to the bone by their citizens due to being watched by them nearly 24/7, and they just want some damn sleep. Wind gives it to them.

Sig is also completely losing her grip on reality. The rot knows how hard Sig is trying to fight it, and begins just fucking melting her neurons, giving him what he wants (which are basically just hallucinations of Moon), to pacify him and stop him from focusing on attempting to find a cure.

Upon learning about what Suns has done to her brother, Moon tries to contact them, begging Pebbles to come to his senses, and eventually tries to use her seniority privileges on both of them to get a response, and this is what finally makes Suns snap. Moon comes over to Pebbles’ chamber right in the middle of him erasing Pebbles’ memories of Moon and Sig. Panicking, Moon tries to get Sig to come over, to help, to do ANYTHING, but it’s too late. Pebbles doesn’t even know who they are anymore.

Moon tries to use her privileges again to stop Suns, shut them down, get them to stop feeding Pebbles lies about Sig and Moon, but this just pisses off Suns more. Sig tries to defend Moon from them, but at this point he’s so weak a light breeze could have probably killed her, so Suns is easily able to kill her.

And then kills Moon too.

The end :3

And that's the basic explanation! Horrible, isn't it? :D

[owliellder]

The Finer Details

Post DI! Leon Kennedy x Painter fem! Reader

MDNI 18+

(Session 1, Session 2, Session 3, Session 4, Session 5, The Reveal)

Description: Leon realizes that retirement is in his best interest now that he's getting older. All of his accomplishments as an agent mean he's truly earned a painting to commemorate..

Warnings: Not Proofread, Age gap! (reader is anywhere between mid-late 20's and Leon is 40), Porn w/ Plot, Use of she/her pronouns, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Alcoholism, mentions of trauma/PTSD/depression, P in V smut (wrap it NEOW), Leon cries during sex 💔

Tags: Older Leon Kennedy, Younger afab!Reader, Leon is SAD but he is your muse, Crying, mentions of Leon masturbating, starts off with Dom! Leon and Sub! Reader, falls into switch territory because that man needs some serious TLC, Praise kink, Hickeys, Handjob, Nipple play, Oral sex (m! and f! receiving), and a heavy dose of Aftercare

Author Note: I'm actually thinking I might be doing one chapter every other night, but I would also like to draw on my comically large art tablet at some point this week, so I might skip a day or two.

Cross posted onto AO3

Session 2: Color Matching

You partially regret just agreeing to "tomorrow", seeing as this man decided that he wanted to show up at 4am.

It was the original time set for yesterday's session, and you guess he felt bad for being late, but god damn he texted you an hour earlier telling you he'd be there by 4am. Dragging yourself out of the comfort of your bed was difficult, but in the end it was worth it to draw such a stunner.

You had to get there before Leon did, so there you were; half awake, dressed in a pair of fuzzy pants and a loose t-shirt, and a small cup of tea in your right hand while the other fumbled with the keys to your little work room.

That was the greatest part about your job as a professional painter. You didn't have a dress code.

Though most days you did try to look your best, some days it was just easier to be comfortable. Besides, it's not like tons of people come and see you everyday, it was usually just one person at a time.

It was 3:47am by the time you'd gotten to your workspace and settled, sitting on one of the many floor pillows in the living area you put together away from the actual painting setup. The tea was warm, it was keeping you sleepy, but you couldn't stop taking small sips. It was in your hands, there wasn't much you could do to stop yourself.

You told Leon to just come on in when he arrived, not wanting to walk all the way back down just to lead him back up. The stiffness from sleep was still in parts of your body, so you knew it would be difficult to get up, even when he did finally stride through that door. He dressed nicely today, just what you needed him to do.

Wanting to relish in the dim yet warm lighting of your various lamps for as long as possible, you beckoned the man to come over and sit with you, which confused him slightly. He thought you would be ready to get started once he showed up, but he wasn't one to argue so early in the morning. Instead, he shrugged and slowly sauntered over to you, taking a seat on a floor pillow across from yours.

"Good morning." Leon grumbled quietly, his voice barely hiding the fact that he wasn't quite awake either. That rumble in his chest made your stomach flutter. "Good morning to you, too." You responded, closing your eyes for a moment to take another sip of your tea.

"When uh-" He cleared his throat, putting a fist up to his mouth as he did so. "When are we gonna get started?"

You furrowed your eyebrows, moving the cup away from your lips to stare at him. "I wasn't expecting to be up so early, so just give me a few more minutes to wake up and then we can turn my main lights on."

Leon sucked on his teeth as he thought, turning his head to look over out one of the windows as he rested his wrists on his knees. "Oh, yeah, sorry. Just wanted to make up for being late yesterday."

You laughed softly before letting out a quiet sigh, setting your tea down on the low coffee table sitting behind you.

"Don't worry about it, but also don't make me get up so early again, old man." You attempted to joke, immediately noticing the wince on his face at the nickname. To divert, you stood up and stretched, patting his shoulder as you walked by him. "Alright, let me pull my stuff out and then we can get started."

Leon followed you with his head, taking a few seconds before standing up himself, pressing his hands onto his knees to help get up from the floor pillow.

"I'm just going to be color matching your tones today. I won't do all of it since obviously lighting changes throughout the day, buuuut..." You trailed off, beginning to rummage through a drawer in one of your desks before pulling out handfuls of paint tubes. "I just need to pull out the basic colors I'll be using."

It was still pretty dim in the room which caused you to have to squint to see the names of the colors on the tubes. Leon found that partially amusing, his chuckle causing you to glare playfully over at him. "Something funny?"

"As funny as it is to watch you go cross-eyed looking at those," he smiled, gesturing with his thumb to the light switches near the door. "I feel like it'd be easier to just turn the lights on."

"My retinas will be fried if those get turned on-" You were cut off by your own shout when Leon took the liberty of turning the lights on himself, laughing as you quickly moved to cover your eyes.

He only had to squint for a second before his eyes adjusted. You, however, were not expecting the sudden change, so you got an eyeful of bright white light. Complete and utter agony that lasted for a full five seconds.

By the time you moved your hands away from your eyes, they were watering and you had to squint for awhile longer. "Give me a warning next time you decide you want to try and murder me like that." You said, wiping away the few stray tears you'd produced from the light sensitivity. "You might live in the light, but I don't!"

The man shook his head and crossed his arms, smile still plastered to his face as he slowly made his way over to the chair in front of your easel. "That's payback for calling me an old man."

You twisted your head around to the chair so you could give him an indignant look, catching a glance as he was putting his hands up in defense with a small "what?" before you turned to look down at the tubes of paint sitting next to your hands on top of the desk.

"Nothing, just wasn't expecting to work with a toddler, that's all.." You mumbled, smile creeping onto your face as you heard him click his tongue from behind you. "I was an old man not five minutes ago and now I'm a toddler?" Leon asked, voice peaking dramatically.

"Yes, you have quite the range, Mr. Kennedy." You began sifting through the various paints you'd pulled out, humming softly as you contemplated what route you wanted to take with them. Stick to primaries? Add secondaries? Should I just use every color I need? Hmmm..

Leon watched as you stared at the paint tubes you'd picked up, tilting his head to the side slightly to try and get a better look. He snapped his head back upright when you started to speak again. "I'm trying to decide whether or not to use a lot of different colors, or just stick to a minimum.."

It was almost as if you knew what he was wondering. "Uhh... what's the difference...?" The man questioned, raising an eyebrow as you turned around, seemingly having made your decision already.

"Using just the main 6 colors-" You turned around and were faced with his very confused stare, causing you to explain a little better. "The main colors you see in a rainbow."

He breathed out a quiet "ahh" at that. Okay, good. He knows his basics. Cute...

"I can mix just red, blue, and yellow at varying degrees to get any color I need. Adding green, purple, and orange will help even more." You pursed your lips, lightly tossing the paint tubes in your hands before setting them down away from the other tubes. "I need white also. Damn.."

"What's wrong with white?" Leon asked, leaning forward a bit to watch you dig in the drawer for a tube of white oil paint.

"Nothin'. Just forgot, is all. Trying to keep this as authentic as possible..." You mumble, quickly closing the drawer with a slam after pulling out the paint you were looking for.

Silently nodding his head in acknowledgment, Leon turned his focus to his surroundings again, admiring your choice in decor once more. He bought a nice decorative pillow for his couch yesterday after being here the first time.

You grabbed a few strips of thick white paper, running your thumb along its textured surface before setting them down. You told him to stay where he was as you set up a small art palette, little dollops of the paints sitting neatly in the circular grooves.

"I'm gonna make color swatches of your skin for myself." You spoke up as you suddenly turned and walked towards him, holding the palette in your left hand while holding the strips of paper and a small yet flat paintbrush in the right. "Also, I'll need to get a picture of you in the position you want, but I'll do that after all of-" you waved everything you're currently holding in a small circle. "-this."

Leon simply responded with an "oh, okay", his knee beginning to bounce as you quickly began to mix little bits of your paint together to get a simple pale skin tone down before you even attempted to match his.

As you worked, you were starting to grow nervous with the silence, and clearly the man in front of you was as well, given he had started to sweat slightly on his forehead. He wasn't nearly as conversational as the last two agents you painted.

"So.. you've earned yourself a portrait..." You smiled slightly, holding up the strip of paper you'd brushed your mixed paint on to see what colors to mix in next. "What'd you do to earn one?"

Leon hummed. It was hard to think about every mission he's gone on, all the horrors he bore witness to, the people he saved, the people he couldn't save, how it all started, and now the fact that he's done-

"Hey, woah, I'm sorry." The sound of your voice drew him away from his thoughts. "I didn't know that would be a.. sore subject for you." He blinked at you a few times, furrowing his eyebrows soon after. "What?"

You pulled the strip of paper away from his face, pulling your lips tight with a shrug of your shoulders at his response. "You suddenly looked mad. Like... really really mad. I thought you were gonna snap at me or-"

"No. It's just bittersweet, is all." Leon cut you off, waving his hand dismissively at you before nodding once down to the paint palette in your hand. "You can keep going."

You stayed frozen in your crouched position for a few seconds longer before continuing to swatch your paint. You kept silent, not wanting to seem like you were antagonizing him.

"I used to be just a cop." The man suddenly said, causing you to look up from where you were mixing your paints together. "Only for a single day, but I was a cop. Simple as can be."

You nodded, beckoning him to continue with a small smile, which he did. "I'm sure you've heard about some of that already though, since you worked with Claire not too long ago."

His comment caused you to let out a small "ohh" in sudden recognition, nodding your head again. "Yeah, that's right! She mentioned you on that, okay.."

Leon continued to talk about all of his missions vaguely, still having to keep confidentiality in mind. You let him drone on, having gotten his skin tone matched in a few different areas now. You stopped to scribble on the papers with the paint swatches, making sure to label where each tone came from on his face and hands.

You took note of how he circled back to his single day as a cop and to certain missions. His mention of saving the president's daughter had you immediately smiling. That was a straight ticket to earning his own portrait in that hall of the White House, he could've done just that his entire life and he still would've been seeing you at some point.

You focused on mixing your paint for a little while before noticing he had grown quiet, looking up to see him staring out the window, a faint orange glow from the sun rising highlighting his features. And his tears.

Growing concerned once again, you set down the paintbrush on the palette so you could place a gentle hand on his shoulder. It seemed he didn't notice that, too lost in his head to notice anything at this point.

"Hey..." You asked with a soft voice, your eyebrows furrowing with worry. "We don't have to talk about it anymore, you know..."

Finally, Leon looked back at you, eyes widening once he realized how watery his eyes were. He turned his head away so you didn't watch him wipe the tears that had fallen down his cheeks and use his sleeve to dry his eyes. It wasn't like him to be so easily bothered by this stuff.

"I just need one more color swatch and then you can go, okay? We can save the photo for another day." You gave the man a weak smile, one he didn't reciprocate. You understood.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but you filled in for him. "Seriously, it's no trouble at all. If you need more time then you need more time." Standing up from your crouched position, you left your half-finished color match swatch with the finished ones before walking over to set everything down on the desk.

You didn't want to crowd the poor man. That was probably the last thing he needed. Despite having only painted for a select few, you've learned to just step away from these retired agents when things would go awry. It was akin to a war veteran suffering from PTSD; they did almost have the same experiences as far as you could tell.

"I'm sorry."

Leon finally managed to say to you, his hands anxiously rubbing up and down on the tops of his thighs. Must be a nervous tick.

You angled yourself so you could see him while your body still faced the desk, smiling at him while your hands worked to neatly stack the strips of paper before clipping them together with a paper clip.

"There's absolutely no reason for you to apologize." You kept your smile as you responded to Leon, looking back down at your hands to make sure everything was put together properly. "You forget I strictly work with agents like yourself. From all the vague tellings, I know that the job is tough on you guys; body and mind."

It was weird having someone outside of the agency talk to him about this kind of stuff. It was weird for him to be bringing it up in the first place. Or, at least he felt like it was.

"Still, I should know better than to do that." Leon sighed, rubbing his hand along the side of his face before stroking his chin, scratching at the stubble growing.

"Know better than to do what? Let yourself process everything you've been through?" You spoke in almost a whisper. If your tone was any louder, you fear you'd come off as accusatory.

"I get it. Really, I do." Leon groaned quietly at your words, causing you to click your tongue. You grabbed your swivel chair and scooted it over so you could sit in front of him, and when you did, you brought your legs up to sit criss-cross just like yesterday, only there wasn't a table separating the two of you. You looked solemn. He didn't like where this was going.

"The whole point of painting you a portrait is to honor you and your work as an agent, but it's not just about getting yourself painted." You leaned forward in your chair, elbows resting on your knees, all the while keeping your voice hushed and gentle. "Seeing the portrait once it's finished is going to be an incredibly emotional ordeal. It's a reminder that this is truly the end of an era for you, Mr. Kennedy..."

Your words were really starting to strike a chord for Leon. He hadn't given it much thought. He didn't want to give it any thought at all. All he thought was "I'm just going to get myself a nice fancy portrait and be done with it". He didn't even consider what the portrait of him would actually symbolize.

"Oh." Was all Leon could muster, letting his gaze fall into his lap where his hands now sat clasped together. If it weren't for the comfortable environment you had set up here, he probably would've bolted ages ago.

You let him think everything over for awhile, wanting to give him all the time in the world. Clearly he needed something, but he wasn't allowing himself any sort of leeway.

It took some courage building internally, but you decided to stand up, taking the one step closer to him before placing your hand on his shoulder once more. You squeezed it a bit, bringing his attention back to you as he lifted his head up.

You attempted to smile at him, moving your hand off his shoulder so you could hold your arms out slightly. This man needed a hug and you were more than willing to offer the leeway he wasn't granting himself.

Leon stood up rather quickly which surprised you, and startled you just a bit, before feeling his large arms tightly wrap around you. It was a little awkward since he had to bend a bit to hug you properly, but it worked out in his favor, and yours too, since he got a better opportunity to bury his face into the crook of your neck.

He sighed happily when he felt your arms slowly wrap around his chest, doing your best to squeeze him for that extra bit of comfort, even rubbing up and down on his back. It had been so long since he had a real hug. It felt good.

You let him hug you for as long as he needed, which was longer than expected, but definitely not unwelcome by any means. Though, his warm breath against your neck and the smell of his cologne was causing you to blush. That's really the last thing you needed him to see after being so vulnerable and open with you.

You felt him start to pull his head away, prompting you to pat his back gently as an end to the hug. Despite the fact that it was faint, it was clear to you that he was blushing when you were finally able to look up at him.

You wanted to remain calm for Leon, letting out your nervousness through a quiet cough. "I know we've only met up twice, but if you ever need a change in scenery, just know that my workspace here is always open to you. I'm always open to you, okay?"

Your words were making him feel weird. Something he hasn't felt in a long time was creeping up his chest. Your smell lingering on his coat wasn't helping, either.

"Yeah-.. yeah, okay." Leon huffed through his nose, reaching up to scratch at the stubble underneath his jawline as he averted his gaze to the floor.

The sun was fully up now, so you walked over to where the light switches were next to the door, flipping them off. All your other ambient lights could be turned off later. For now, you needed to focus on the man still standing in front of that maroon chair.

"You can stay if you feel you need to, but I just want you to relax." You said, looking over at him as you heard his footsteps slowly walk past you to the living space.

"I'll head out." Leon bent over and grabbed his motorcycle helmet from where he'd set it down on the rug near the floor pillows. He placed his on his head as he walked over to where you stood next to the door, not really wanting anyone to look at his tear-stricken and red face any longer.

Once he finished fiddling with his helmet, you reached out and took his hand in both of yours, patting the top of it softly. "Text me when you're ready to come back over."

You couldn't see Leon's face anymore since he'd put the visor down, but you could definitely see him nod his head. He opened the door and let himself out, touching the side of the doorframe as he rounded the sharp corner and walked down the stairs.

After closing the door behind him, you started walking around your workspace to turn off all the lamps and other ambient lighting, pausing to listen to the sound of his motorcycle start up and drive off.

[butcherlarry]

Weekly Fic Recs 77

This week's fic recs! :D

every cat has its day by pomeloquat @pomeloquat - Batfam, wip. More shifter cat Bruce! This time, it's bath time for some of his shifter children. Shenanigans ensue.

Blood and Honey by RedFive - Superbat, wip. Mershark Bruce and his pod of killer whales are hunting yachts. Marine biologist Clark is there to investigate. Featuring my new favorite tag "Appetizer to Lovers."

Parts of a Whole by Anonymous - Superwonderbat, complete. Omegaverse Trinity with Dom Diana? Yes please.

misty by TheResurrectionist @frownyalfred - Superbat, complete. Survival horror my B E L O V E D. Clark was extra creepy in this one, I loved it :D

A kindred bond by Nyszu @theocddiaries - Superbat, wip. I about shrieked when I saw this fic updated! It's more of the fic where Bruce gets kidnapped by evil Superman and rescued by his Superman. So much angst and hurt/comfort, I love it!

Smoke and Mirrors by Sunshineandmoonlight9 - Superbat, complete. Battinson and Cavil Superman team up!!!!!

it runs wide and it runs deep by Goldmonger - Superman & Batman, complete. Superman gets dosed with fear toxin, Batman is there to help.

Triple Chocolate Ice Cream by A_Hamilton - Superbat, complete. Clark is sad that his boyfriend, Bruce Wayne, flirted with Superman (never mind that he's Superman too), and stops talking to him. For some reason, Batman is upset with Superman now too. What's a guy to do? :(

tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow by signifier @sig-nifier - Poolverine, complete. Part of the carmine and bumblebee series. Wade gets stuck in a time loop (kinda like the movie Edge of Tomorrow!) and tries to get unstuck while keeping Logan alive. It's a lot harder than you think.

Soft Kitty by pomegranatesushi - Poolverine, complete. Logan purrs. It's SUPER ADORABLE.

Home is a four-letter word and it's spelled W A D E series by Curupia @curupia - Poolverine, latest fic in series is wip. What happens after the world saving. Plenty of angst, lack of communication, and feels. So, my favorite :) The current fic being updated in this series is Logan being Domestic while Wade flirts at him (and breaks his brain). I've been enjoying the heck out of it.

i swore hands were made for fighting by WhatIsAir - Poolverine, complete. Logan and Wade are dating. No one told Logan this. Shenanigans ensue.

only you can me (scream and beg for more) by yellow_crayon @yellowwwcrayon - Poolverine, wip. An update to the Omegaverse Poolverine fic that I am absolutely in love with. The sass that Logan gives Tony in this fic is top tier, I was giggling so much.

Relationship Advice by fir_forest - Poolverine, wip. Wade needs some relationship advice, so he goes to the best possible place to find it: Reddit. Shenanigans ensue.

shattered glass by anarkissed @anarkissed-ao3 - Poolverine, complete. All the sex scenes, kissing, and general horniness the movie should have had :)

Men and their Problems series by capitalismwasamistake @capitalismwasamistake - Poolverine, complete. These two fics made me Unwell (affectionate), I will most likely reread them again this week. These fics convey how these characters have the most fucked up romance while being funny and cute and soft and sharp and freaky and I LOVED EVERY WORD OF THEM. I partially blame my love of this fic on the fact that my first fandom was Hannibal. Make sure to check the tags, both stories get a bit bloody :)

Happy reading!

[thegildedbee]

Familiar/Fall: May 3 & May 4 Prompts from @calaisreno

I've been knocked off my feet at comments some of y'all have shared ❤️🌞🌺(so I've added some tags if you want to keep following along -- let me know, though, if you'd prefer not to have your stream cluttered :-) Program note: So the comments have surprised me into doing something I hadn't thought to do with @calaisreno's daily-merrie-month-of-May-party-invites: incubate a fic. So, full disclosure, seat of the pants improvising is the order of the day! There's no storyline tucked away in my pocket, not even a hazy 🌫️ one -- I'll be making this up as I go along 🤔, responding to the first thing that pops into my head with the prompts (so the timeline will be bouncing around and I will likely be working myself into puzzles I can't get out of 😰) But, hey, if you're game, so am I, you crazy kids! 😜 .............................................................................................

"John, right on time,” Lestrade says, waving him in after hearing the knock at his office door.

John steps across the threshold and pauses, tilting his head to gesture at the door. 

“Right,” Lestrade replies, with a quick nod at the unvoiced question. “Turn the lock.” He shuts down the computer window that's open on his screen, and walks over to John and grasps his good shoulder.

“This is really happening, then?” he asks, scanning John’s face intently.

“It really is,” John confirms, pushing his shoulders back slightly and reflexively straightening his already straightened posture. “I’ll be leaving for parts unknown in two days' time, so I’ve been doing not much else -- even sleeping -- except cramming the prep. As we suspected, Mycroft tries to arrange for local operatives as back-up for Sherlock -- that is, when he knows where he is, or where he might be headed, which is often not the case -- but I’ll be a roving asset, one that he won’t ever meet face-to-face.”

“A shadow,” Lestrade offers.

“Yeah, something like that. As far as Sherlock will know, I’m still in London. Mycroft has stripped the metadata from stills he's pulled from CCTV footage that he can use to send to Sherlock if he asks for an update on my status.”

Lestrade takes that in, and then nods his head. “No time to waste. Let’s get what you came for, and send you back out to do whatever needs doing before you leave.”

Slipping on a pair of nitrile gloves, Lestrade walks over to a bank of filing cabinets at the back of the room, moving swiftly to pull out and fully extend the second drawer from the bottom of the second unit on the right. He barely glances at the contents, reaching toward the back for a horizontally stacked set of folders, which he lifts up and sets aside. He then retrieves a small black steel case that’s been revealed and sets it on a nearby table, and beckons for John to join him, pulling another set of gloves from his pocket and holding them out for him to use. 

Lestrade pulls a blank file folder from the bottom of the stack he’d removed and opens it, revealing a small key taped inside, which he detaches and hands to John.

“Thanks, mate,” John says, a slight catch in his voice, “for keeping it safe . . . and for returning it.” He raises his fist to his mouth and coughs into it briefly, which allows him to pause and regain his composure. “I know this wasn’t a by-the-book decision,” he acknowledges.

Lestrade snorts. “That’s one way of putting it,” he says, giving a shrug. John touches his elbow, and says insistently, “It was a risk for you, a real one. Don’t think I don’t know that. Once I walk through the door we’ll forget it ever happened. Although I won’t ever forget you standing by me.” 

John uses the key to open the steel box, and stops to gaze at the Sig P226 before he picks it up. He palms the grip, the familiar feel of its shape and of its weight in his hand a comforting one. He briefly disassembles it, then reassembles it, giving it another long look. Hello, comrade. We took out the first henchman Moriarty set at Sherlock, and, when the time comes, we’ll finish the game and take out the last one as well.

John furrows his forehead and looks at Lestrade, his expression fading from determination to being at a loss, saying in a lowered voice, “And thanks for taking it away from me when you did. You’re a damn smart copper, Greg, and a damn fine friend. I owe you.”

“Ah, hell, John, no,” Lestrade protests, throwing up his hands. “That you were in such a dark place is partly down to my own participation in the whole bloody shitshow at 221B,” he says, a pained look on his face.

John places the Sig at the small of his back, and looks down at his shoes, pausing for a moment before turning to Lestrade, and saying harshly, “We were pawns, Greg. Pawns of all of them: Moriarty, Mycroft, MI6. All of us were trapped in a knotted-up web they were weaving as they pulled the strings. It was a struggle to even begin to figure how to get out in front of any of it.” He squeezes his eyes shut, and sighs. "It was a colossal clusterfuck.”

The two men look at each other, somber, each recalling, in retrospect, what they can now understand counted and what didn’t, what they should have seen but had failed to recognize, and how the seemingly solid facts they thought were in their grasp had liquefied, running through their fingers, leaving only emptiness behind.

Leaning his hip against the table, John crosses his arms across his chest, and says evenly, “And Sherlock, too. I try to imagine what it was like in his brain in the days before Bart’s, running scenarios and switching-out variables, over and over, unable to fight his way out of a tangle of nets and hooks, trying to find the surface. 

“We didn’t know . . . but when he fell . . . from Bart’s roof,” John says, starting, then stopping, his voice trailing off, lost in whatever he’s picturing in his mind’s eye. “His fall . . . it’s as if he slashed through the tangled-up parts of the web when he fell. And that made an opening to begin taking all of it apart.”

Lestrade makes a soft noise of agreement, and then rocks back on his heels, his hands in his pockets. “I know it’s hard for you to know how long you may be gone . . . but I hope we see the both of you back here soon.” He reaches out to shake John’s hand, and then shifts, pulling him into a hug instead. “You take care out there, mate. We’ll keep our eyes and ears open here.”

“Well, that’s what got us this far,” John says, with a knowing look at Lestrade. “I wouldn’t be doing this on our terms without all of us having brought it about. Mission accomplished, in getting out into the field; let’s hope the first leg of what's to follow goes just as well.” ........................................................ @calaisreno @totallysilvergirl @friday411 @peanitbear @original-welovethebeekeeper @topsyturvy-turtely @lisbeth-kk @raina-at @jobooksncoffee @meetinginsamarra @helloliriels @a-victorian-girl @keirgreeneyes @starrla89 @naefelldaurk @solarmama-plantsareneat @bluebellofbakerstreet @dragonnan @safedistancefrombeingsmart @jolieblack @msladysmith @ninasnakie

[venomous-qwille]

Weekly Magma Session 1

That's a wrap for our first ☆ DCA Artists ☆ Weekly Magma!

Many thanks to all the wonderful artists who turned out for our first session- (there were so many people we had to start a new canvas!) check out their work on the boards below:

[ID: The above images are from a Magma canvas with various pieces of Sun and Moon fanart drawn by different artists. End ID]

If you like what you see and you crave more (..I know I do), you can find a bunch of these amazing artists are tagged below!

@alexmilkbucket // @crystalmagpie447 // @chocolateseeds // @nosleepyguy // @thatmooncake // @flinxypie // @lab-labrava // @cody-welsh // @reaurelynios // @snowberai // @celticwolfie // @c00k13s // @king-clawthorne-inreallife // @thecatnipwizard // @itlollie // @midnighthybrid1 // @nomsthecat // @kitsvoidcorner // @icy-gendango // @skizabaa // @remidraws // @clxckwork-sun-n-moon // @simpalert // @greedyarts-official // @inks-ns // @1agogo // @emeraloon // @venomous-qwille

Someone missing? Magma ate our chat history with most of the blog details on so I've done my best to track down the handles of people who participated but send me a message if I've missed you. Next time we will get artists to sign their work with a handle/sig on the canvas so no one is left out.

If you would like to take part in our future Weekly Magmas please take a moment to join the ☆ DCA Artists ☆ Magma group where we will be hosting all our weekly sessions. Future Magmas will be live on:

Saturday 7pm-4am UTC

I will be posting the Magma link on tumblr when we do go live, so keep an eye out around this time! See ya next time Superstars ☆

[hdra77]

Hello, I just browsed your whole disarray AU tag and I think it's really cool. It's a little hard to tell what is it about but from what I can tell everyone is evil and corrupted for some reason (except for NSH?) There was an old ask talking about Pebbles and NSH's friendship, and I wanted to ask if you could tell more about that their friendship in this AU is like if you feel like it

Hello anon!! Thank you so much for taking your time to look into my au that means a lot to me!! 💗💗 sorry if some parts may be a bit confusing lol ive had pmvs planned to explain the plot better but thats been on the back burner for a while

To explain it simply, the triple affirmative occurred except that its something that could possibly make their kind turn on against each other.

Triple affirmative is a type of virus that spreads throughout the iterator's system and they would slowly rot on the inside as time passes. And the process is very very painful imagine your insides getting fried and there is nothing you can do about it but to lash out at others and infecting your kind in a desperate attempt to dull down the excruciating pain.

Basically this virus would just straight up kill them in the end it would keep on infecting their system until they shut down and collapse. Because of this others finds a way to search for the cure and some others accepts this fate.

Soo not everyone in the au are evil! Atleast for the first half of the plot.

All of the cast would have atleast one or two major flaws in them and it depends if you see their actions justified or just plain right evil.

Focusing on the early timeline where pebbles wasnt infected yet. If you noticed some of the pebbles asks recently the sign that this takes place before his corruption is his white eyes and sometimes seen with his golden irises!

Not exactly sure where im going with this lol but explaining more about pebbles and nsh's friendship:

Pebbles met sig through suns and he only grew to tolerate NSH because in his own perspective, taking in the false belief to see the image of his administrator infront of him instead of his friend is his way of coping from the abandonment of his creators. Which isnt..a good way to start a friendship if he only treated sig as a manifestation of someone else honestly

Slowly,but eventually sig managed to get pebbles to let him show him around outside his can and encouraging him to explore the places together and this was enough for pebbles to snap out of his delusion and see the iterator in front of him. NSH, the real him. not just a tool for him to cope with.

They became close, having a supportive friend that always pulls him out of his hole and encouraging him to have a more positive take in life despite the dying surroundings around them that makes it harder for pebbles to even believe that theres something beautiful in a world who wants to die. This is basically just a opportunistic friend and the pessimistic friend. NSH isnt always that opportunistic type of guy though, even after the ancients left the entire ecosystem in destruction he still finds beauty in things and he shows pebbles signs of life seeping through the cracks still finding its way back to reclaim the dying world.

Their friendship became more strained right after pebbles got in contact of his sister once again. Pebbles had become a lot more defensive and pushing others aside until his disappearance and the last time he had been in contact was with suns. This reason tear their friendship apart especially how sig suspects that suns had been keeping secrets from him and that they could even be involved in his disappearance.

So in an attempt to search for pebbles, sig sent hunter to investigate pebbles' superstructure. And it all goes from there

I may have gotten carried away like most of the time! But thats a simple explanation of how their friendship came to be! Friendship lore !! Hope this clears things up 💕 if you got any questions just ask me!

[bleaksqueak]

Man.

So, of course, the rampant theft and disregard for artists has never been ideal, but Pinterest has always been an invaluable tool despite that since it's a paradise for reference and discovery (so you know, always tag your art.. .in multiple places. I started tagging mine with more subtle watermarks in the dead center since uploaders were cropping my tag out, even though like, with the elias respite image, it ruins the composition by ruining the card look and frame... Why do you want to crop my sig out so bad to ruin the composition lmao) Anyway Point being, I have gotten more use out of pinterest as a reference archive than any annoyance it has ever brought me. I've found some artists I absolutely adore using it, too, especially when people use it as its (mostly. sort of) original intended purpose, being a huge communal bookmark/pinboard... those that leave the links directly to the art/artist are saints. However, I really, really hate seeing it being over run by generated Aye-Eye shit. Especially since, apparently, no one ever told the Aye-Eye bros the common sense of "DON'T make the exact same picture 500 times with only an ever so slight difference, are you stupid?" (rhetorical question, ofc.) But it's getting harder and harder to keep the search feeds tailored because these morons cannot understand the value of quality > quantity, so I love being flooded with the slightest variant on the same gd picture over and over. I really hope this bubble bursts or the world gets its act together and outlaws it/heavily regulates it soon. I've said before I wasn't even completely against it as a potential for a fun tool back when it made actually cool dream-like collages of really wacked out whimsical shit, but even then it was like "... but you shouldn't have free reign to just steal to make this stuff. At least it looks nothing like the source, I guess?" but the "Better" it gets, the more uselessly souless and obnoxious it gets, and the more "well that's just straight up obvious theft" it gets. I see so ,so so so many recognizable styles , sort of just hollowed out husks, in these awful things... but hilariously, the more over saturated they get, the more they seem to just feed off of each other, and they start looking like the most homogenized, soulless ero-game style art I've ever seen. Anyway, I just needed some reference for a specific cut of dress pants, and somehow *that* started turning into a feed of nothing but the same soulless pseudo-anime twunk generated over and over and over with bulbous buttocks stuffed into passable pantsuit pantaloons. so I guess i'll just get my ref the old fashioned way - going to specific websites/blogs with actual photos. I'm just glad that for the most part tumblr and bluesky both are strongly anti-aye-eye, they're the only two places where I rarely have to see the shit.

[thesharkbait]

“ The Day We Met ”

Chapter one - the introduction ꒰ next ꒱ 

“The way you treat people is a statement of who you are. Just because they’re rude doesn’t mean you have to be.”

Story Tags/Warnings : ot8/reader, male reader, polymerous pack, possessive hints, mature series, strangers to lovers/mates, fantasy, courting, fluff, angst, mc is just a sweetie pie, male omega reader, pack alpha!yunho, alpha!mingi, alpha!seonghwa, beta!hongjoong, beta!yeosang, omega!wooyoung, alpha!san, alpha!jongho, mean wooyoung, wooyoung hates reader

Chapter warnings : mention of past bullying, fluff, this first chapter will be slow paced :p

Length : 6.5k (might be more), medium long

a/n : this is my first series on here i hope you enjoy! heart divider by @cafekitsune

Series masterlist Here!

Tag-list : theres is no one here yet :(

No one really likes waking up early in the morning. Y/n particularly hates them. The way everything seems to be ten times louder, and the sun seems to want to burn him alive by one thin beam through the curtains. Not to mention having to leave his nest he nicknamed heaven. Today is one of the many days the Rose pack had to prepare for the yearly Wolf Moon festival, the day they celebrate the moon goddess. At this festival the pack invites everyone to the middle of pack to dance in their status themed outfits, and to hopefully even find a mate or a mate-pack to join. Each pack member has their own role in the pack; like being a farmer who knows what grows in each season and a gardener who helps grow the herbs which become our medicines and teas, or even a warrior who helps keep the outside dangers from sneaking in and causing hell.

The Rose pack is one of the many packs who chose to stay secluded in the woods like their past ancestors while everyone around stayed in big cities. Of course they had some technology, in order to keep updated with what was going on over the years etc. They just preferred to stay more the traditional way, unlike the city.

Y/n is a teacher for the packs pups ages one through two. Being an omega with his soft chocolate scent made it easier for the pups to leave their parents in the mornings and come to daycare. Not to mention he was naturally great with babies so working at the daycare came in no question to him. It made his mornings calmer, watching them learn, singing lullabies and rhythms. His job made his life less lonely, along with his best friend who was also an omega who went by the name Felix. Sure the other omega surprised him with how deep his voice was when they first met at the daycare, but that just made him love him even more. Y/n twenty-one years of age had yet to find his mate. Sure he dated once or twice but the relationships were never serious nor did they last long.

During his school years, he made a few friends but quickly found out they were using him for his looks to be popular which from then went downhill. They soon began to bully him and make up false rumors just to make people hate him so they could be liked more. They could care less about what the omega was doing as long as they got the attention from others for just being so called ‘friends’ with him. There was no doubt about it he was an angelic omega, never causing problems, always avoiding violence, and overall just trying to be kind to anyone who came across him. His father always told him, “The way you treat people is a statement of who you are. Just because they’re rude doesn’t mean you have to be.” As if Y/n even had the heart to try and be mean to someone without a purpose. His heart was far too sensitive to do that, which was another reason he was perfect at his job.

“Hey y/n, you know how i was talking about applying to the omega helper program for idols? well im coming over tonight and we’re apply out together, at the same time!” Felix spoke out excitedly while feeding one of the pups a sly smile on his face.

“Lixie what- no i cant you know i’ve never been in any big city we talked about this..” y/n sighed out picking up the youngest pup that was clinging to his leg. “i doubt ill even get paired because of that-” he spoke before being cut off.

“Nope none of that, you and me both know they favor those who came from secluded packs like ours” Felix stated calmly while cleaning up the pups who were being fed to be put down for a nap. Y/n knew there was no use going back and forth with his best-friend. They were both stubborn but when it came to going against one another Felix always won. “well just bring a set of clothes ooo and those candies you brought yesterday” the omega said with a small smile before getting back to work at rocking the pups to sleep while softly purring.

Carefully handing over the last pup who felt back asleep on Y/n’s chest to there parents with a gentle smile, he sighed in relief before gathering up his belongings and went to Felix who was waiting by the door already. “Someone’s excited it seems” he mumbled out with sass and locked the door.

“Well one of us has to be, it all gonna go fine trust me?” felix hummed out while holding y/n’s hand.

After stopping by Felix’s house so he could he a few things like cloths, his laptop, and the candies per Y/n’s request, the two omegas made their way to Y/n’s home. Stepping into the home they kicked off their shoes and immediately went into the bathroom together to shower. Both omegas were comfortable doing this as it came to no surprise to anyone as the had always been stuck together like glue ever sense they met. This also allowed them to unwind and groom one another, during this they would talk about anything they had on their chest no matter the subject. Once they were done washing and putting on one another’s clothes they made their way into Y/n’s nest with Felix’s laptop. Y/n let his bestfriend pull up the website while he sat in felix’s lap snacking on the sweet candies, “i mean i’m excited..but-”

“hey you’re perfect fine stop thinking so much okay? we are both gonna be okay!” felix stated as he could tell what the omega was thinking, while y/n watched the screen until it was his turn to apply.

Going through the application process was long but y/n didn’t expect it to go into so much detail meaning how it was promoted to be a ‘short and easy’. He was thankful his best-friend’s company otherwise he most likely wouldn’t even have completed it. Don’t get him wrong the beginning was simple and easy with questions such as entering his height, age, and personality.“Would you like to be paired with a possessive pack?..yes” he began reading the last five questions in his head as they were getting more..interesting. Meanwhile felix hugged his waist with a smirk as he watched the other omega fill out the last few questions, he knew what the omega would pick as they’d been friends ever since they presented. It was safe to say that the omega knew almost everything about y/n. “..remember once you submit this document you will be paired as soon as the same or next day, once again thank you for your time.”

Glancing back at Felix, Y/n took a deep breath knowing they could be leaving in the morning on a flight to South Korea from Australia to meet their paired pack. Being a helper omega their scents had to be compatible with the pack, this would make the helper be able to ease into the pack and do their job. They’re job is to make the packs life easier from the stress of being an idol. For instance cleaning the house, making breakfast, and scenting when needed ect. They would even be helping with upcoming ruts or heats any of the members had, but only if the pack included that aspect in their application when searching for a omega helper.

pov - at the jeong’s den

After finally finishing their performance it was safe to say the pack was exhausted, even when they were unwinding at their penthouse it was a mess. It had been months since they applied for a omega helper, they loved their only omega wooyoung dearly but being an idol made things harder on everyone. Not to mention how getting a helper who could deal with their rather interesting requests and requirements made getting one even harder. Research had proven that having a helper around eased the idol industry, there was less fighting between alphas which lead to a calmer beta. Beta’s were important they kept the peace but they couldn’t do it all.

This was why they came to the conclusion that having a helper wasn’t so bad. Although wooyoung was an omega he wasn’t the docile type. He loved taking care of others but he also loved the feeling of being incontrol, of being needed but being in a pack of alphas and betas made that hard. This is where the problem started, with a dominant filled pack there was bound to be unsatisfied needs. However it was the pack alpha, yunho who decided that they were going to finally apply. The aggressiveness between the alphas and omega was wearing the betas hongjoong and jongho out, so of course they took a vote six against two.

Which brings us to the present. The packs head beta was cooking breakfast when his phone started ringing, “hello, is there something you need?” hongjoong spoke calmly as it was the group’s manager. Their manager’s voiced loudly rang through the phone as he excitedly spoke. He had finally got the call from the company that was for omega helpers. “…you’re joking if you are this isn’t funny. do they speak korean? oh my god!”

Hongjoong’s scent had began to lightly flood the kitchen as he ran from the kitchen to the pack alpha’s room alarming the rest of the pack. “Yunho they found one, i really think this is the one! they already sent us the omegas file to look through were gonna meet them tomorrow!”

Sitting up the alpha just stared at the frantic beta before rushing to go through his emails, as he pulled up the file the rest of the pack started filling in one by one all excited while san and wooyoung stood by the door. “They won’t tell us their gender but everything else is here..” the beta said while grinning ear to ear as he began listing off facts about the mystery omega, “based off their height i think it might be a girl” yunho hummed out.

This news was big for them, ever since the BTS pack was able to find their omega they had doubted they’d ever find one fitted for them. After a long night of chatting and some smart remarks from their omega they planned out how to prepare for the initial meeting. Wooyoung and San had always been against the idea of getting a helper as they didn’t see the need for one, they didn’t want one. They didn’t want some random omega stinking up their place and ruining their pack.

The pack alpha would of course have to introduce a piece of his clothing before even meeting the omega face to face. This was to make sure they liked his scent before even introducing themselves in person so the omega had time to decide whether they wanted to continue or not. The process would be tedious but worth it in the end if they had really found their match.

[circusgoth-dotcom]

Guardian Angel

Ship: Eric Draven x Gilmour Enix

Word Count: 923

Summary: Yayyy first Eric fic!! Gil keeps encountering a mysterious but well-meaning stranger. Tonight, they spend significant time together. CWs for food mentions, brief death mention, brief implied suggestiveness.

Tag List: @canongf @futurewife @knightfallships

Gil was in the usual place he could be expected on a Friday evening— the cramped, smoky lobby of the Bronze Inn. It was an apartment complex before the rent got too high, then it ironically became a budget hotel. He looked at the digital clock beside the register. 7:34pm shone solidly back at him. Above his head, two tenants slept. A third, whose exit date was rapidly approaching, hadn’t been seen since they entered.

Gil ruled that they were, realistically, dead, but he wasn’t about to go up there and find out. They were just about to call it a night when the door creaked open, letting in a gust of freezing rain.

“How many nights?” It asked without looking up from their magazine.

“Just the one, I think.”

Their gaze flicked up. Past their spotty glasses, they caught a familiar glimpse. He straightened up and cleared his throat. “Have you been following me?”

The man who had entered smiled behind his pale facepaint. “Ever heard of coincidence?”

Gil hummed. “Too much coincidence and I think they call it intentional. Who are you?”

The man half-bowed. “Simply a travelling showman, my good sir.”

“Yeah, right.” His stomach growled and he sighed, rubbing his face underneath his glasses.

“Why don’t we ditch this place and fill up the fuel tank?”

They looked around. “Well… alright.” They bent down and retrieved a folded sign from under the desk, placing it on top. Gone on Smoke Break- Clerk Will Return Shortly. He then grabbed his coat and came up beside the stranger. “Beats sleeping on an empty stomach.”

The stranger gave him a sympathetic look as they set out into the dreary night. Gil pulled up his hood, following the dark-haired man to what was essentially a shack on a corner. It had a large window open to the street and a counter where customers could sit. Inside, it was as if someone had carved a kitchen out of a more traditional restaurant and plopped it on the side of the road. The sign on top of the shack read Maxi-Dogs. Gil ordered a cheeseburger and a cherry cola, happy to fill his ornery stomach.

“You’re not going to get anything?” He asked of the stranger, who put his hand up dismissively.

“I already ate. And don’t worry about paying, it’s on me.”

Gil couldn’t help but still feel cynical. He sighed and set down his sandwich. “Alright, what is it that you want?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re being awfully cordial to me… trust me, I’m just a bellhop. I don’t do any of that backdoor stuff…”

The stranger frowned, putting a firm but comforting hand on Gil’s arm. “Hey. I’m not that kind of guy. I promise.” His tone was soft and insistent, his gaze painfully sincere. Quietly, they went back to eating. “Do they still show movies in this dump?” The stranger continued when they were finished.

“Theater’s been closed for years, stranger,” Gil almost chuckled. “Do you live under a rock?”

He smiled. “Something like that. Well, come on.”

Before Gil could ask what he was up to, they were being led away from the food stall. As the rain grew heavier, Gil let the man rush him to the old abandoned theater.

“I told you, it’s closed!” Gil shouted over the downpour. He watched the man climb a ladder on the side of the building before forcing open a nearby window. He waved them inside and they sighed, following him and landing in a dark projector room. As their eyes adjusted to the lack of light, they saw the stranger digging through a box of film. “You know, I’ve got to get back to work at some point… I’m the only one there tonight, and I only get a few hours of sleep as it is.”

“I’ll pick a short one. It’ll be good for you.”

Gil gave him a questioning look he couldn’t have seen in the shadows. “I’ll find us some seats,” it sighed, blindly leaving the room. As it felt around, it tried to wrack its brain on if it knew the man it’d spent the evening with. Other than seeing him around before and having the briefest of interactions, it knew nothing about him. He seemed strangely kind for the world Gil lived in. It was hard to believe it was at all genuine. The screen suddenly flickered to life as the stranger wiped dust and cobwebs away from the projector’s lens. He joined them shortly in a back row as a Pop-Eye film began to play. Gil pushed back his hood.

“Can’t believe this all still works… too bad the speakers aren’t hooked up,” they commented after a beat. They then looked to the stranger. “Can’t you at least tell me your name, if you aren’t going to tell me why you’re so interested in me?”

The stranger hesitated, eyes locked on the screen, his jaw slightly slanted. Finally, he looked at them, again with those purely dutiful eyes. “It’s Eric. And I’m interested in you because you’re… special.”

“Eric,” Gil repeated. They both redirected their attention to the silent animation. As it went on, Gil felt exhaustion settling in their body, their vision blurring as they struggled to keep their eyes open. Giving in, they found themself leaning against Eric’s shoulder.

“You can close your eyes, Starchild… I’ve got you.” Eric spoke softly, then looked up as his raven friend flew in through the open window. “Let’s make sure he gets home safe.”

[walker-extended-universe]

Welcome Home

Relationship(s): August Walker & Stella Walker, August Walker & Cordell Walker, August Walker & Liam Walker, August Walker & Sadie Yoo, August Walker/Sadie Yoo

Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe, Military, Post-Military, Post-Canon, Insecurity, Disability, Physical Disability, Amputation, Recovery, Angst, Hurt/Comfort

Summary: August came back from his time in the military, but he's not the man he once was. Can his family help him get back to his old self or is he too far gone?

Written for @augustofwhump Day 11: Scars, Insecurity

A/N: I know August didn't go to the military after season 4 but I already had AUs cooked up and I'm not letting them go now

Taglist: @theladywyn, @ihavepointysticks, @klaatu51, @itsjessiegirl1, @neptunium134

----------

August had thought about the day he came home from the military for good a lot. He’d imagined himself leaving after a few years and transitioning into a more sedate lifestyle, maybe with Sadie by his side. He’d imagined himself going full career military and passing on a legacy of government benefits when he eventually bit the bullet. He’d imagined himself getting a hero’s funeral, remembered in pictures and funny stories until no one was around to tell them anymore.

In all his imaginings and daydreams, he’d never pictured this.

“Your recovery is coming along very well,” his assigned physical therapist told him. “Have you given any more thought to if you would prefer a prosthetic or crutches?”

“Crutches.” He’d made his choice soon after the amputation surgery. He’d seen the options and recovery schedule for a prosthetic. It was pricey, cumbersome, and something that would probably only lead to confusion and disappointment when he was wearing long pants. Crutches were cheaper and a lot more upfront about his baggage.

Crutches also meant he’d be going home sooner, but you can’t always get everything you want.

“Are you sure? We can-”

“I’m sure."

She blinked at him and nodded. “Alright. You’ll have to learn how to use them before we can release you. I’d also like to talk to your family about accommodations you might need at home. Is there a number I could call or….?”

August sighed. “My sister will be here in two hours. You can talk to her about all that.”

“Okay, we’ll do that then. Let’s just finish up your exercises and then I’ll come back to talk with your sister. Is there anything else you want to talk about?”

“No. Let’s just get this over with.”

August could do the whole exercise routine by himself at this point, but it was definitely easier with someone else helping him. Having someone to help him balance made it easier for him to keep his eyes away from the scar he was left with. The phantom pains were bad enough; the ugly stump was just another unfortunate reminder.

He really just wanted to get his crutches and get back to moving on his own again, but he knew that would be a journey. A journey he wasn’t really looking forward to.

Especially not a journey he wanted to go on with his family.

He was glad Stella had taken the mantle of dealing with all his hospital stuff. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle it if the rest of the family was constantly hovering around him during this. He didn’t need their sugarcoated praise or unnecessary optimism. He didn’t need Gramp’s war stories or Dad’s constant assurances that this wouldn’t change anything. He didn’t need Mawline’s smothering or Liam’s assembly line of therapists to “heal his mental state”.

He just wanted to get on with the rest of his pathetic life.

—------------------

The road had been cleared before they went on it. Or, at least, they thought it was. Not that it was August’s job to worry about that. It was their Sergeant's job, or at least the drivers. He just got on the truck he was told to get on and zoned out during the drive to prevent himself from thinking too hard about their mission. He much preferred scouting to sniping, but he didn’t get to make those decisions.

He hated trips like this, but it’s what he signed up for. Literally.

Maybe he should’ve listened a little closer to his grandfather’s war stories before he committed to this. A little late to complain about it now, so he didn’t. Not to his fellow soldiers, not in his letters home, not even when he was drunk on leave. Bottling things up was the Walker Way and after a few years at it, August was a professional.

The explosion came from right under his seat. There was another one as the driver tried to regain control of the vehicle.

And then the ambush came.

August didn’t remember much after the first gunshot. He just remembered the smell of blood and the sound of someone screaming.

Later, his sergeant would commend him for his “bravery in the face of adversity”. If August hadn’t just heard that the infections in his leg wounds were too severe for the field hospital to handle and amputation was the best route, he probably would’ve punched the man.

August got a medal for his bravery. He got to shake the governor’s hand and his face was plastered on the front page of The Austin Chronicle and The Daily Texan.

The other 19 men in the truck with him died. They got no awards and their families got meager compensation. He spoke with one of the wives, tried to tell her he was sorry. She just smiled and patted his remaining leg and told him to say “hi” to his mother for her.

The more he practiced “walking”, the closer he got to going home, the more he dreaded it. He didn't want the welcome home party or the accolades of a “successful” military career. He just wanted to move on, forget how he ended up here.

But that would never happen. He could never be that lucky.

—-------------------

“So I did tell them you didn’t want a big party but-”

August groaned. “Just tell me how many people are going to be there.”

Stella sighed. “I managed to talk them down to Dad’s work friends. And nobody got plus ones. Oh, and Sadie will be there.”

Sadie. He hadn’t seen her since last Christmas. Knowing the first time she would see him again was like this made his stomach twist into knots.

Last time he’d seen her, they kissed under the mistletoe. It had gotten them laughs, but it made him want more.

One more tour, he’d told himself back then. Just one more and then he’d be good enough. His family would be proud of him, he could get great benefits on top of whatever job he picked up, and maybe he could finally ask her on a date. She might even say “yes”.

Fat chance of that happening now.

“I already told everyone you’ll probably be tired and you don’t need to be overwhelmed right now so the extra guests probably won’t stay for more than an hour. If you need me to, I can be the bad guy and kick everyone out early,” Stella promised.

“Thanks,” he muttered. “But I can deal. If I let them get all their hovering out of the way now, maybe they’ll chill for a bit.”

Stella snorted. “Yeah, right. Dad’s been excited to show you all the renovations they made for you and Liam really wants your opinions on his new ‘inclusive’ therapy plans for the rescue. And I’ve lost track of how many times Mawline’s asked me if I was absolutely sure you don’t have any new dietary restrictions.”

August groaned and slid down in his seat. “And they wonder why I wanted to stay at the hospital by myself….”

“You know it’s because they care about you. I know it’s clumsy and overbearing but they’re trying.”

“I know that but…. I just wish they wouldn’t make a big dal out of it.”

Stella gave him a side eye. “Auggie, you lost a leg. That’s kind of a big deal. I know you don’t want a fuss but it’s an adjustment for everyone. Just- I talk to them but you may just have to ride this out. They’ll calm down after a couple months and then you can go back to pretending this isn’t a big deal, okay?”

He sighed. She was right, to an extent. He’d had a lot longer to adjust to his new situation than his family did. And they did care, even if he didn’t appreciate the way they showed it.

“I can put up with the party for an hour and I’ll try not to rush Dad through his tour but can you ask Liam to hold off on the therapy stuff for a bit. I’m just- not ready to think about that.”

She nodded, smiling. “I can do that.”

Done with the conversation, August turned on the radio and closed his eyes, letting the music carry him away from reality for a bit. He would take any break he could get.

[cecilysass]

Pause (3/11)

Read on AO3 | Tagging @today-in-fic

Chapter 3: Partner

At the sound of the key, Scully’s eyes pop open, and she sits up, ramrod straight, her heart racing.

She doesn’t want to startle Mulder, and sitting on the couch seems the least threatening posture she can take, so she stays where she is. As the door begins to push open with its characteristic little crunch, she wrings her hands, unbearably nervous.

It’s Mulder, she reminds herself. No matter how long you may have been gone, or what has happened in your absence, you know what to expect from Mulder.

At last he shuffles through the door, and it’s him, definitely him: head bent, looking weary and wilted. He turns to lock the door again, evidently not paying very much attention to his surroundings.

Her heart constricts. “Mulder,” she voices softly.

She can see his whole body go still from behind, but he doesn’t look right away. His back remains to her.

“Mulder?” she repeats.

Very slowly he turns, allowing her to see his face for the first time.

His expression is flat, without affect. He blinks.

“Hi,” she tries again. She scrambles to stand up. “I didn’t mean to startle you. It’s just me. I’m…I’m having a rough time. I don’t have any idea what’s going on. I don’t remember what’s happened.”

He takes a step towards her, and she sees how terrible he looks. He needs a haircut and a shave. There are deep purple smudges lining the bottom of his eyes.

His eyes dart over the scene in front of him: her clothes, her hair, the half-eaten lasagna on the plate in front of her, the coffee table with no dirty dishes.

Something like fear flickers across his face.

In a sudden movement, he reaches into his waistband and produces his Sig from his holster, holding it on her.

“What do you want?” he demands in a rasp.

“Mulder,” she gasps. “It’s me.”

“Stop that,” he hisses. “Stop.”

“Stop… what? I don’t understand.”

Keeping her in his sight, he walks to the table by his front door, opens a drawer, and produces a stiletto. “I keep one of these around exactly for guests like you.”

She understands his thought process now. “I’m not him.” She tries to keep a steady tone. “It’s me, it’s actually Scully.”

His face turns darker. “No,” he says again, his voice dangerous.

“Let’s just calm down, talk about it rationally for a second, Mulder—”

He lunges towards her, the stiletto in one hand and the Sig in the other, and she knows with despairing certainty that he is about to hurt her.

In terror she cringes back against his desk, covering her face in her hands, no will to try to defend herself against her partner.

A single thought runs through her mind. He will hate himself when he realizes. She lets out an involuntary sob, a choked sound.

But whatever blow, whatever sharp pain she expects, doesn’t come.

She looks up to see him standing above her, his face conflicted, his eyes tortured.

“Please stop,” he whispers to her, his voice just a dry husk. “Don’t look like that.”

“Mulder…”

“Just kill me.” He reaches behind her and sets the gun and the stiletto down on the desk. “You don’t need to look like that any more. I’m begging you not to. I won’t try to stop you. Just kill me.”

“Mulder,” she tries again, her voice shaky. “It’s me, it actually is, it’s really me. I’ve lost time, and I’m confused, but it’s me.”

He looks down at her blankly, as if trying to comprehend words in an unfamiliar language.

“I came here for your help,” she says.

She places a hand tentatively on his arm, and he jumps back like it burns him.

Scully licks her lips, her mind racing. “What can I say to convince you?” she asks. “That only you would know? After Van Blundht, we said we’d come up with questions, but we never did. But we could think of them right now?”

He doesn’t answer. He only stares.

“I’ll ask you my question first, Mulder,” she says, watching him hopefully. “What character from a book did I compare you to when we were sitting on a rock in Heuvelmans Lake?”

He says nothing for a moment. “Ahab,” he says in the same toneless voice.

She nods vigorously. “Right. See? Why don’t you ask me yours?” she says.

But he doesn’t. He turns and moves unsteadily to the couch, collapsing in the very spot Scully had been napping. He puts his head in his hands, and then looks up at her again.

“It’s not possible,” he says.

“What‘s not possible?”

“You… being here, wearing those clothes,” he says. “You having that memory.”

Scully swallows uncomfortably. “I gather I haven’t been around.”

He looks at her sharply. “Not been around… that’s putting it mildly. Dead is not being around.”

“Oh.” Scully feels like she has been socked in the stomach. “Dead… like abducted and presumed dead?”

“Dead like dead,” Mulder says flatly. “A car accident.”

“A car accident.” Scully feels the room undulating now, rippling around her. “Oh,” she says. “Oh, I—”

Her knees give out, and she takes an unsteady stumble to the side to brace herself.

Mulder frowns, standing up. “Are you… okay?”

She steps to the side again, and he catches her by her shoulders this time, steering her to the couch. “I was assuming I had most likely been abducted again,” she whispers. “How could I be—? Where did I—?”

He sits next to her on the couch, just watching her, his whole body taut.

She feels tears falling down her cheeks, and she begins wiping them away quickly with her knuckles, uncomfortable with crying in front of this guarded, unfriendly version of Mulder.

“I don’t remember much of anything,” she says, trying to keep her voice steady. “I can’t possibly tell you what happened.” Her voice breaks on the last word, and she can’t stop the tears. “I can’t prove this to you.”

Gradually his expression has grown softer. “All right. Hey,” he says cautiously. “What exactly do you remember?”

“I woke up this evening in a rental car in Georgetown,” she whispers. “I was only a few blocks away from my apartment, but… my apartment wasn’t my apartment anymore.”

“No,” he says. “It hasn’t been for a while. Maggie and I had to clean it out after the funeral.”

She places her hand over her mouth, trying to control herself, tears still escaping and rolling down her cheeks.

He makes no effort to comfort her. But she also sees that he’s biting his lip so hard he could draw blood.

“Maybe it’s time for my question,” he says, his voice very tense.

“Okay,” Scully says, sniffing, feeling hope rush in again.

Mulder pauses. “Where did we go after the premiere of The Lazarus Bowl? And what did you say to me there?”

Scully stares at him open-mouthed. She doesn’t say anything for a long minute.

“Is this… is this a trick, Mulder?”

“No,” he says, a crease appearing between his eyes.

“That’s not a real question,” she says in a low voice, her frustration mounting. “You’re trying to trick me. To ask me about something that didn’t happen.”

“No, it’s a real question.”

“It isn’t,” she says. She is beginning to fill with a surge of anger. Of all the times for Mulder to refuse to believe, why now, when she needs him? “A real question would be, what gift did you bring me in the hospital after Duane Barry? What is your favorite late-night Chinese order? What did you say to me after I called you and told you about Emily?”

Mulder looks dazed, shakes his head slowly. “The Lazarus Bowl … you don’t know what that is?”

“No.” Scully’s voice is rising in volume. “What are you trying to prove, exactly?” Her voice cracks. “How can I get you to believe this? What do I have to do?”

He stares at her a beat longer and then he stands up, abruptly, beginning to pace back and forth. The apartment floorboards creak under his weight.

“Ask me more questions,” she demands. “Ask me real things.”

He spins back towards her again.

“What did I bring you in the hospital after Duane Barry?

“Superstars of the Superbowl.”

He nods, but his face is perturbed. “When we pulled off the highway to try to eat that one time in Florida, what food did we end up getting that we promised we would never talk about again?”

“Frog legs. You’ve now broken that promise.”

“What happened to Samantha?”

She stares at him. “I don’t understand why you would ask that. You know there’s not an answer to that.”

He chews on his lip again, regarding her. “What’s… the last thing you remember before you remember being in the rental car? The last clear memory before today?”

She hesitates. “Coming to your apartment to tell you about my transfer to Salt Lake.”

“Transfer to Salt Lake…?” he repeats, his face freezing.

“Yes. I tried to leave, you argued and followed me into the hall. I was stung by something. A bee, most likely, from when we were in Texas. That’s the last I remember.”

If the memory of their interrupted hallway encounter embarrasses him, he shows no sign of it. Instead, his expression is one of shock and overwhelm, as though he were grappling with a large amount of new information at once. He takes a step backwards.

Scully suddenly has a feeling of dread.

“I know time has passed since then,” she prompts, watching him. “I don’t know how much.”

He runs his fingers through his overlong hair. “This doesn’t make sense.”

“Is the bee sting what you thought killed me, Mulder?”

He looks at her in disbelief. “No. I told you, car accident.”

“How much time since then?” she whispers. “A year?”

His eyes fix on her. “You’ve been dead a year,” he says. “But since the hallway and the bee? Longer.”

“How much longer?” she says fearfully.

He hesitates, eyeing her.

“How much longer, Mulder?”

“About three years,” he answers in a low voice. “Including the year of being dead.”

She feels the room rolling again like a ship at sea.

“Three … years,” she repeats.

“Yeah.”

She’s having trouble catching her breath, and she leans over, bending at the waist to put her head between her knees, trying to make things stabilize.

Three years’ worth of missing time. Only a few months of missing time had been almost insurmountable, something she expected to be recovering from for the rest of her life. This is unimaginably greater in scope.

Still bent over, she rocks in place to relax. How can she make things feel normal again, how can she ever get her bearings—

She’s suddenly aware of the weight of a hand upon her back.

Scully wants to cry, feeling it there. Please, Mulder. Don’t regret touching me.

The hand starts to move, gently patting. Each touch, however light, leaves a wake of warmth that reverberates through her muscles and sinew. With every touch, her lungs slowly refill, her equilibrium settles.

As she feels calmer, she slowly sits up and turns to face him. His hand drops quickly off her back, almost as if he is ashamed.

She studies his face. A muscle on the side of his jaw is twitching. There is something painful and veiled in his eyes, and a deep furrow in his brow. But she also sees conflict there, too, something buried underneath.

And she thinks she understands. He wants, very badly, to be kind to her. It’s his instinct. He wants it so much, but something she doesn’t entirely understand is preventing him.

Impulsively she wraps her arms around him, pressing her head against his chest. He sucks in a sharp, shocked breath. The map of muscles under his shirt seize up like a net tightening.

Oh, she realizes. He’s so scared. He’s as terrified as she has ever seen him.

Please don’t let me be wrong about this, she thinks.

Then his long arms tentatively reach around her, grip her, pull her in more tightly. A large hand lands on top of her head. Lightly he rocks her back and forth on the couch, and she cries into his chest.

This, she thinks with relief, is the partner she knows. This is what she remembers from hospital hallways, from the aftermath of ugly cases, from times of emotional turmoil. He is warm and steady: her best friend, her rock.

“I don’t know what this is,” he says in a low, tight voice. “I don’t understand it. But…we’ll figure it out. Don’t worry. You were right to come here.”

Her heart sinks. It’s still not right, the way he sounds. There’s something sickeningly off here. It’s not her partner after all. “You still don’t believe it’s me,” she murmurs into his chest.

He says nothing, still cupping her head.

“I don’t know,” he answers after a beat. “I’m not sure. But whatever’s going on, I don’t think you’re trying to fool me on purpose.”

“It’s so ironic,” she says bitterly, “that I can’t get you to believe.”

“It’s just…it’s possible they’ve intentionally made you believe something that isn’t true.”

She begins to cry again, and she realizes: he has yet to call her Scully. He hasn’t called her by any name at all.

“Don’t cry,” he says, and his voice sounds pained. “We’ll figure it out.”

She leans away from him, wiping her eyes.

“We should sleep tonight,” he says, after a while. “In the morning, I’d like to…”

“Run DNA,” she finishes dully. “I assume. It’s what I would do if I were … doubtful about my story.”

His reaction is some unholy mixture of wonder and anguish, an expression she finds she can’t bear to observe on his face.

“In the morning, I also want to call my mom,” she says.

There is a pause.

“Okay,” he says. “Yeah. Of course you do.”

“You should call the Gunmen tonight, too,” she says. “They left you a message, checking in. They sounded worried.”

He looks absently away. “Sure. I will.” He looks down. “I’ll put some new sheets on the bed for you. The ones on there now aren’t that clean.”

“You have a bed,” she comments. “A bedroom. That’s new.”

He looks back at her, seemingly startled. “Yeah,” he says. “It’s not new, but—” He stops himself. “Yeah. But it’s no trouble for me to take the couch tonight.”

[salanaii]

Learn Korean with me - Week 30

Day 1 - 3: Let's Speak Korean Ch 9 - Taxi (36 - 71)

** Don't forget your journals and of course Netflix.

목적지가바뀌었어요.

Mog jeog ji ga ba ggwi eoss eo yo

The destination has been changed.

통역을부탁햅니다.

Tong yeog eur bu tag haeb ni da

I’d like a translator, please.

영수증을주세요.

Yeong su jeung eur ju se yo

Please give me the receipt.

신고할거예요.

Sin go har geo ye yo

I’m going to report you.

트렁크좀열어주세요.

Teu reong keu jom yeor eo ju se yo

Please open the trunk for me?

트렁크에짐좀넣을게요.

Teu reong keu e jim jom neoh eur ge yo

I’m going to put some baggage in the trunk.

요금이정해져있나요?

Yo geum I Jeong hae jyeo iss nay o

(Literal) Is the fare fixed/pre-determined? = Is it a flat rate?

미터기로갑니다.

Mi teo gi ro gab ni da

(Literal) It goes by the taxi meter. = It’s charged by the taxi meter.

열시까지도착할수있을까요?

Yeor sig ga ji do chag sui ss eur gga yo

Can we arrive by 10 o’clock?

고속도로를타주세요.

Go sog do ro reur ta ju se yo

Please ride (=take) the highway.

추가요금이있습니다.

Chu ga yo geum I iss seub ni da

There is an additional charge.

창문좀열어주세요.

Chang mun jom yeor eo ju se yo

Please open the window (for me).

창문좀닫아주세요.

Chang mun jom dad a ju se yo

Please close the window (for me).

잔돈은괜찮습니다.

Jan don eun goaen chanh seub ni da

Don’t worry about the change. = Keep the change.

여기왼쪽/오른쪽.

Yeo gi eon jjog / o reun jjog

(on the) left/right here.

내릴게요.

Nae rir ge yo

Let me get off.

택시좀불러주세요.

Taeg si jom bur reo ju se yo

Please call a taxi for me.

이주소로가주세요.

I ju so ro ga ju se yo

Please go to this address (for me).

트렁크에가방좀넣어주세요.

Teu reong keu e ga bang jum neoh eo ju se yo

Please put the bag in the trunk (for me).

이태원까지는얼마나올까요?

I tae won gga ji neun eor ma na or gga yo

How much would it cost (to get) to Itaewon?

좀바쁩니다.

Jom ba bbeub ni da

I am in a bit of a hurry.

택시는어디에서타나요?

Taeg si neu neo di e seo ta nay o

Where can I get a taxi?

택시번호를가지고계세요?

Taeg si beon ho reur ga ji go gye se yo

Do you have the taxi number?

다왔나요?

Da wass nay o

(Literal) Have we come fully? = Are we there?

이태원으로데리러올수있나요?

I tae won eu ro de ri reo or sui ss nay o

Can you come it Itaewon to pick me up?

가는중입니다.

Ga neun jung ib ni da

(Literal) I’m in the middle (of) going. = I’m on my way.

여기서기다려주실수있나요?

Yeo gi seo gi da ryeoju sir sui ss nay o

Can you wait for me (from) here, please.

미터기가작동하고있나요?

Mi teo gi ga jag dong ha go iss nay o

Is the taxi meter working?

미터기를켜주세요.

Mi  teo gi reur kyeo ju se yo

Please turn on the taxi meter.

천천히말해주세요.

Cheon cheon hi mar hae ju se yo

Please speak slowly.

백화점에서내려주세요.

Baeg hwa jeom e seo naeryeo ju se yo

Please drop me off at the department store.

천천히가주세요.

Cheon cheon hi ga ju se yo

Please go (=drive) slowly.

에어컨을켜주세요/꺼주세요.

E eo keon eur kyeo ju se yo/ggeo ju se yo

Please turn on/off the A/C.

방향을저쪽으로바꿔주세요.

Bang hyang eur jeo jjog eu ro ba ggwo ju se yo

Please change the direction to that way.

편의점에들렀다가갈게요.

Pyeon ui jeom e deur reoss da ga gar ge yo

(Literal) I’ll go after stopping by the convenient store.

가다가일행을태우고가야합니다.

Ga da ga ir haeng eur tae u go ga yah ab ni da

(Literal) I need to go after picking up a companion on the way.