#“and he missed him” hhhhh

[sysig]

How much of me is me? (Patreon)

[mellowwhumps]

today i find out there's a tag limit

pls sleep earlier squints at you

guys. guys this fic is a DOOZY. over 4k words total.

no one asked for it, no one requested it, but it literally came to me in a dream and i had to write it. this is really a rough draft and i haven't checked it over too much.... @whump-kia i hope the ending of this will suffice for your forehead kiss prompt (′ꈍᴗꈍ‵)

i hope you all enjoy it because i had such a good time brainstorming it, even if my writng was a bit stale at points...... BUT WHATEVER

(not necessary to read but here is character info as well as backstory that kinda shows up in the fic)

whumpee: Archie

caretaker: Simon

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

It was Simon’s finals week.

Archie knew this. He’d known for a while; Simon kept bringing it up in passing, quietly grumbling about his upcoming “week from hell”. All he talked about was how much he had to do.

But Archie knew what he was getting at. He knew what he really wanted to say.

I’m going to be busy. Don’t bother me. Leave me alone.

Well, Simon wouldn’t say it like that. Still, Archie got the message and he intended to respect his friend’s wishes.

He couldn’t blame him either. Having to spend all your free time suturing and cleaning up blood and setting broken bones had to get exhausting, even for someone as patient as Simon. Simon deserved at least the week-long break, if not more, of being free from dealing with Archie’s messes. 

All things considered, he had actually been doing pretty well without Simon’s intervention. The only real injuries he’d gotten during patrol were some nasty bruises that he viciously iced whenever he managed to drag himself back to his own apartment.

Now, he was on his 5th consecutive day of patrol, and his 5th consecutive day of leaving Simon alone.

...And he missed him.

But he made a promise, both to Simon and to himself, that he wasn’t going to burden him. He was going to follow through.

He crouched from his place on the rooftops, scanning the streets below him. It had been a pretty quiet night, which meant it had been a boring night. He was idly tossing a piece of brick up and down when he finally heard some commotion coming from below him.

There was a shout, a crash, and a figure booking it from the little store on the block, arms filled with goods.

Nice try.

Archie easily scaled down the wall and landed on the pavement, catching up to the thief almost immediately. A well-placed kick to the back of the knees caused the guy to go sprawling forward, and all the things he stole to scatter in front of him.

He let out a small grunt and slowly, painstakingly picked himself back up.

Upon looking closer, Archie could now see that the thief was.. a kid. he couldn't have been more than 14.

The kid scrambled away from Archie as fast as he could, turning to face him with a small pocket knife in his hand. The thing was rusty and chipped and trembled as he held it.

“S-Stay back..” The kid rasped. “You’re that vigilante f-from the papers, aren’t you..”

Now that Archie was really looking, he could see what he had been trying to steal in the first place. Littered on the sidewalk was some children’s ibuprofen, tissue packets, water bottles and a small can of chicken soup.

Archie met the kid’s eyes and saw that they were glazed over and unfocused. There was a flush on his cheekbones, one that Archie was all to familiar with. He frowned.

“Yeah, I am. What’s all this? You’re a little young to be stealing from convenience stores,” He said softly. "What's going on."

“You.. you don't get it.. you’re just going to send me to the police station..” The boy mumbled, scooting back slightly as if he was going to bolt at any second.

Archie fought the urge to laugh. Of course he would get it. It felt like looking into a mirror, a reflection of his own childhood.

He sighed.

“I won’t. Not until I hear you out, at least.”

The kid narrowed his eyes, really considering it before speaking

“..It’s my sister. She’s really sick. Haven’t seen my mom in days and.. we don’t have money for the medicine.”

Archie bit his lip. This wasn’t the first time he’d heard a story like that. He lived it for a good amount of time, after all. If anyone understood the kid, it was him. He gave him another once over.

“And what about you? You don’t look too good either, bud.”

“I’m fine,” He said quickly. “I just wanted to get stuff for my sister. She’s six. She needs it more than I do.”

Archie ran a hand through his hair in thought. There was no way in hell he was turning this kid in, even if he technically did do something wrong.

An idea suddenly dawned on him.

“Okay. How about this? If you promise to stay here, I’ll go in and pay for all of this to get you off the hook. Then, I’ll go with you to get your sister and I’ll take you both to a clinic.”

The boy thought for a moment, almost considering it, but then his face fell. “No. We can’t afford medicine, what makes you think we can afford a doctor?”

Archie smiled. “No. It’s a free clinic. My friend has been helping organize it. They’ll look after you and your sister, no questions asked and no payment needed.”

Archie watched the kid mull it over. He figured he might be hesitant. The kid had no reason to trust this vigilante except for what he heard on the street.

On the other hand, he looked tired. Archie hoped he let someone take the burden of his stress, just for a little bit.

The boy almost looked like he wanted to argue again, but he was suddenly overtaken by a coughing fit. Archie furrowed his brows and gently patted his back.

“Fine,” The kid wheezed. “I’ll.. we’ll go to your clinic.”

Archie smiled and nodded.

Smoothing things over with the store clerk was easy enough, since Archie was a regular. All it took was some small talk and a decent tip to make the owner forget about his little delinquent situation.

When Archie came back out to the street, the boy was dozing, knees pulled to his chest with his knife clutched in his hand. He could see the flush of his cheeks peeking over his arm. Archie felt his heart clench. 

It reminded him far too much of his own battles with illness while living on the streets. He’d never forget the feeling of falling asleep on the sidewalk, not even able to rest fully lest your guard comes down. It disheartened him to see it still happening.

He slowly approached the kid, trying to give him enough time to notice, but it didn’t stop the kid from startling awake and launching his knife toward Archie.

Archie caught his wrist easily, and gently pulled it down.

“Sorry..” The boy mumbled, scrubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“It’s okay. Let’s go get your sister, yeah?”

Archie offered to carry the kid. He could see he was flagging. He was clearly more sick than he was letting on, and Archie didn’t want to see him get worse. Still, he refused vehemently, and led Archie to his dingy apartment.

On the way to the clinic, Archie ended up carrying both the sister, and the boy.

Once they were situated with one of the volunteer nurses, Archie thanked her profusely and began making his way home. The night seemed to be staying pretty quiet, and he figured he could afford an extra hour of sleep.

As soon as he crossed the threshold of his apartment, the exhaustion hit him like a ton of bricks. He barely pulled off his shoes and half-unzipped his jumpsuit before he was falling bonelessly on his sofa and letting the world fall away.

••••

When Archie first woke up, it had just been a tickle in his throat.

He chalked it up to dehydration. He woke up as if emerging from a coma. Dried drool stained his chin, he was sporting a severe bedhead and every muscle in his body ached. He groggily wondered if Simon was getting enough sleep. He hoped so.

He peeled himself off of the couch, groaning at the feeling of his joints creaking as he got up.

As the grogginess cleared away, he went over the things he had to do today in his mind. He had two classes, his first one starting in only half an hour. Alright. Plenty of time.

He briskly showered, brushed his teeth, got dressed, and packed his bag for school. The tickle in his throat had transformed into more of an ache, but he didn’t think much of it. It was probably just the dry air.

He grabbed his keys and left.

His first class went by in a blur. He couldn’t explain it, but it felt like time was moving as if through molasses. He’d swear an hour had passed, and look up to see it's been barely fifteen minutes. It was torture.

To make things worse, the ache from before had progressed into the need to keep clearing his throat, which, in a silent lecture hall, was the last thing he wanted.

He had given up on taking notes, opting to focus on making the least amount of noise possible. He kept his water bottle close by.

He felt distracted. He kept thinking about that boy from the previous night. He really didn't look good. He hopes the volunteer nurses were able to take good care of him.

When the class was finally over, Archie all but sprinted out of the room only to double over with a coughing fit that shook his entire body.

Huh. That's weird. Wasn't coughing like this earlier.

He stayed hunched over in the hallway for a few minutes more to catch his breath before straightening and heading to the library to work on some of his assignments until his next class.

As soon as he was sitting down in the squashy chair by the window, though, he conked out before he could even open his laptop.

 ••••

He awoke with a jolt, feeling his heart sink when he realized the sun was no longer streaming through the large window. Instead, he could see his reflection in the dark from outside.

He slept through his class.

“No.. no no no no..” He whined, looking around frantically. No one was around. People must be getting ready to head home. He whipped out his phone.

He’d fallen asleep at 3pm.

It was 8:30.

He ran a hand over his face, silently panicking. He didn't know what to do. This had never happened to him before, he'd never slept that long in public before.  

In the end, he had to accept it. There was nothing really to do. He packed his things and shamefully began making his way back home.

His throat had gotten worse, now coupled with an odd chill throughout his body and a heavy feeling in his chest. He felt somehow even more tired than before, despite his accidental five hour nap.

He was dragging his feet as he walked along the sidewalk. His head pulsed a bit. Once again, when he entered his cold, empty apartment, he felt the overwhelming pull of exhaustion threaten to drag him under.

He ignored it. His day wasn’t done yet.

He zipped on his Vigil jumpsuit and splashed some cold water on his face, trying to eke some kind of life back into his complexion. God, he was so tired. He chalked it up to still feeling groggy from his nap, and put on his brave face before heading out into the night.

His first stop was to deliver groceries to the little old lady that lived just a few floors down from him. He’d never typically interact with someone so openly as both Archie and Vigil, but she had bad vision and dementia, so he figured she was safe. She needed the help too, and he was more than happy to provide.

When he unloaded the groceries and helping her put them away, she ended up kissing his cheek and calling him the name of her son. He didn’t have it in him to tell her the truth, instead just smiling and telling her he'd be back next week.

On his way out, his breath hitched and he erupted into another coughing fit. He had to hold on to the railing as the force of the coughs nearly brought him to his knees.

He gasped for air as soon as it was over, head spinning. He soldiered on.

Next, he had to help unload some boxes for the old man named Chuy who owned the Mexican restaurant a few blocks away. Chuy would never ask for help, but he had thrown his back out twice in the same month, so Archie couldn't just leave him to deal with it on his own.

He had to be subtle about it.

He chatted with Chuy while he ordered some tacos de asada to go, and while he was distracted, he was already lifting the boxes into the storage room for him. He was silently grateful for Simon’s mini Spanish lessons, as he was able to hold the conversation for a bit longer this time.

When he was done, Chuy clapped him on the back, thanking him as he sent him on his way with a few extra tacos on the house.

For some reason, Archie couldn’t seem to stomach the thought of eating anything. He ended up passing them off to a random bystander, and heading to his next and last scheduled destination. He needed to check on that kid.

Again, it had been another quiet night. Archie was silently grateful. Usually, between his little excursions as Vigil, he would have to stop to break up a fight or reprimand a mugger, but the streets seemed as sleepy tonight as he was.

And boy was he tired. He was starting to wish he slept longer in the library, because his nap had seemed to do nothing for him. Not to mention that the heaviness in his chest had only gotten worse and his bouts of coughing more frequent.

He also felt even more chilled than before. His skin was overly sensitive, and even the fabric of his jumpsuit was beginning to irritate it. He sighed.

Simon would know what to do.

His chest ached in a way that had nothing to do with the coughing.

He snapped himself back to the present when he realized he’d finally reached the clinic. Alright. Final errand, then you can go home and crash. You don’t need Simon to help you. You can handle this.

He puffed out his chest a bit and approached the woman standing at the front counter.

“Oh! It’s you! You're the one who brought in those siblings last night, yes?” She chirped, taking him by the elbow and leading him inside.

“Mhm! That was me!” He beamed. " I just came to check up on them and see how they were doing, especially that boy."

The woman paused. She pursed her lips.

“..His sister is fine. She just had a bit of a fever, but nothing a little ibuprofen couldn't fix. As for the boy.. well, you’d better follow me.”

Archie felt his heart drop to his stomach. Had he done something wrong? Had he been too late?

The woman led him to one of the curtained-off rooms of the clinic and quietly pulled it open.

Archie let out a tiny gasp.

The boy was lying in the cot, completely limp. He was pale and sweaty and his eyebrows were pinched together in fitful consciousness.

The most alarming part, however, was the ventilator he was strapped to.

“It started as your typical flu,” The woman began. “Much like his sister’s. We're assuming that because he didn't get enough rest when he needed it, it quickly turned into pneumonia. He’s been in and out of sleep for a few hours now.”

Archie walked forward in a daze, sinking into the chair beside the boy. He took his hand. 

“Is he..um..” The words went unsaid.

“He’s going to be alright. We managed to catch it before he became even more serious, thanks to your intervention. He and his sister are tough. They’ll pull through.”

Archie released a breath, stifling a cough into his shoulder.

“That’s.. okay, that’s good,” He whispered, giving the boys hand a gentle squeeze. “I’ll be back to check on them soon.”

“I’ll be sure to tell them you stopped by. You have a good night, okay?"

Archie smiled and nodded.

The rest of the evening went by in a blur of small talk and random tasks. For some reason, Archie couldn’t seem to focus. He found himself zoning out during conversations and, of course, apologizing profusely. When he finally decided to throw in the towel and head home, it was close to midnight.

God, he couldn’t wait to be home.

He passed by Simon’s apartment on his way back. Any thoughts of meeting him were quickly abandoned when he saw that the light was out in his window. He must be getting some sleep. Archie smiled at the thought of Simon resting after a long day of studying.

He really couldn’t wait to see him again.

He finally made it to his building and staggered up the stairs. At the top, he felt another tickle in his lungs that had him holding on to the railing as his body jolted with every harsh cough. It felt like his lungs had weights in them. He clawed at his chest.

He pushed open the door to his apartment, hardly even bothering to lock it behind him before he was hunched with another round of coughing. The ache in his throat had quickly become searing pain, and the chills he felt earlier had become full-blown bodily shivers. His knees buckled. He was still coughing.

He thought about Simon again. He knew he should call him, but he just didn’t have it in him. He couldn’t be a burden, he just couldn’t.

The coughing finally let up. Archie panted for air. 

He managed to crawl to the couch, every inch of his body just craving sleep. He hauled himself up and collapsed listlessly.

He didn’t even have the energy to unzip his jumpsuit or remove his shoes before he was already falling into a restless sleep.

 ••••

Archie was back in the alley.

Everything was the same, but he looked down at himself and realized that he wasn’t. He was bigger now. Older. The dealers didn’t seem to notice him.

He took an experimental step forward. 

Suddenly, they turned their gaze to his left, grinning. He blinked and he was in Simon’s apartment. He didn't remember this.

Archie followed the men’s gazes and-- oh.

Oh no.

Simon stood there, back turned and somehow unaware of what was happening. The men began to approach him with the needle. The same needle that hurt Archie all those years ago. The same needle that made him the monster he is today. He felt the panic bubble up in his chest, coming out in violent, painful gasps.

“Simon! Simon, run away! Please Simon, run!” He said, but his words died on his lips. He was paralyzed. There was nothing he could do. 

••••

Archie awoke with a start, the force of his coughing launching him up to sitting. He gasped for air, scrambling to his feet. He was already out the door before he was even breathing properly.

He needed to get to Simon. He couldn’t let those men hurt him, not like they did him. He needed save him.

He was staggering down the street. All he could hear was the pounding of his own head and the stomping of his feet on the pavement. His body was moving in autopilot. 

He had to stop and lean against a wall to cough again. He was left panting. Part of him just wanted to give up and collapse then and there. He was so tired. Everything felt wrong and he was having trouble even walking in a straight line.

But he couldn’t give up on Simon.

He pushed forward.

When he finally began the arduous climb up the steps of Simon’s building, black dots appeared in his vision. He was wheezing.

He lifted a hand to knock on Simon’s door, but found that it was too weak to produce a sound. He let it fall back down to his side as his knees gave out.

He coughed, but it turned into another gasp. He couldn’t breathe.

Tears welled in his eyes. He was too late. He couldn’t save him. He couldn’t save him, just like he couldn’t save himself.

He clawed at the door as he clung to his last strand of consciousness.

••••

Simon was startled awake by the sound of someone clambering up the stairs to his floor, and immediately went on the defensive. He sprung out of bed, snatching up the bat he kept near his bed and stomping right up to his door, yanking it open and-- oh.

Oh. Oh god.

“Shit, Archie!” He shouted, letting the bat clatter to the floor.

Archie--no, Vigil, based on the jumpsuit-- wasn’t breathing right. He was wheezing, almost gurgling, on his own air. Suddenly, he pitched forward with violent coughs, as if all the breath was being forced out of his lungs.

Simon caught him by the shoulders and patted his back firmly, trying to gather his thoughts and figure out what the hell to do. Archie clung to him like a small child, and Simon nearly pulled back at the unnatural heat he felt.

God Archie, what did you do?

Archie had a strict no hospital rule. They established this early on in their relationship. As much as Simon wanted to respect it, this was serious. This was perhaps even beyond his abilities to fix. Archie’s lips were turning blue, and he Simon knew that wasn't promising.

In a quick spur-of-the-moment rationalization, Simon figured that maybe Vigil couldn’t go to the ER, but Archie definitely needed to. 

“Alright Archie, cmon.. stay with me..” He murmured, pulling him inside and shutting the doors. 

As deftly as he could, he pulled off the Vigil jumpsuit and stuffed Archie into some of his own clothes. Archie's body was alarmingly pliable. He cursed the time they were wasting, but he needed to get Archie into civilian clothing before they headed to the ER.

Archie was not all the way there, but in a moment of fleeting awareness, he looked around the room and let out a little gasp.

“Th.. needle..?” He murmured, looking as if seeing something that wasn’t there.

Simon kneeled in front of him, cupping his cheek. God, he was burning. “There’s nothing here. It’s just me. Simon. It’s just me, Archie.”

Archie suddenly blanched, doing a double take around the room. There were textbooks and papers scattered about, as well as copious amounts of energy drinks. Tears began to well in Archie’s eyes.

“Finals..Si.. S’mon.. so sorry.. m’bothering you..” Archie slurred, wheezing between every syllable.

Simon stared at him blankly before huffing a pained laugh. Only Archie would be on death's door and still worry about cutting into Simon's cram time.

“You’re not serious.. oh Archie.. fuck..” He breathed, yanking Archie up into a fireman’s carry.

They would have to discuss this later. They were wasting precious seconds they might not have.

Once settled into the car, Archie burst into more vicious, wet coughs. This fit was the worst by far. He couldn’t stop choking long enough to get a single breath in. His eyes were glazing over. Simon had to pat his cheek to bring him back to consciousness once he was able to inhale again.

As soon as he was stable enough, Simon put the fucking pedal to the metal.

He ended up making the twenty-five minute drive to the hospital in fifteen.

Archie was seen immediately, which both comforted and concerned Simon.

He buried his face into his hands.

Was this his fault? Should he have checked in with Archie more often while on his hiatus? More than anybody, Simon was aware of Archie’s poor self-care habits. He should have known Archie would avoid coming to him with a problem for fear of disturbing him.

He didn’t know how many times he had to tell Archie he didn't mind until it stuck in his mind.

Simon sighed and prayed to anybody that was listening that his friend was going to be okay.

After an impossibly long hour and a half, Simon was finally called back to Archie’s room.

When he entered, he felt his breath catch in his chest. 

Simon wasn’t a crier. He wasn’t naturally prone to tears like Archie was, yet when he saw the sight of his friend hooked up to a myriad of tubes like the patients he treated every day, his vision blurred.

“Oh Archie..” He murmured, rushing to the side of the bed. His hand hovered for a moment before gently landing on the side of Archie’s face. He had an oxygen mask strapped to him and he was sleeping, but it didn’t look restful.

The doctor rattled off the details of Archie’s condition. Ironically, this was the material Simon was supposed to be studying for anyways. 

Archie had contracted severe, sudden onset pneumonia. The doctor suspected he’d contracted it from someone, but they’d have to wait until Archie woke up to confirm.

They currently had him on a defibrillator and antibiotics, as well as fluids and fever reducers. Though his condition was dire when he came in, he was being treated properly and would be fine.

Simon sank into the chair beside the bed, finally exhaling with relief.

Archie was going to be fine.

He scooted up closer and slipped his hand into Archie’s, running his thumb along the back of it.

“You’re an idiot. You know that?” He whispered, finally content to just be by his side.

••••

When Archie woke up, he felt like someone was sitting on his chest.

Seriously.

It felt like he was being crushed.

He blinked his eyes open, squinting at the bright lights.

He recognized immediately that this was not home.

His breath hitched as he tried to sit up, but it caught in his throat and he began coughing. It was then that he noticed the mask around his face and the needles in his arm-- oh god.

He whimpered sharply, already reaching to rip out the IVs in his arms. His wrist was caught by a familiar hand.

“Hey. Hey Archie. Look at me. Can you do that?”

Archie swallowed and reluctantly brought his gaze to meet the person beside him. Simon.

“You’re okay. You’re in the hospital. You have pneumonia, you showed up at my doorstep and collapsed. You’re here as Archie, okay? Not Vigil. You’re safe,” He explained softly, pulling Archie’s hand away from the IVs. “These are just for your antibiotics and fluids, okay? Nothing bad.. it's okay.”

Archie still felt panic blooming in his chest at the sight of the needles, but they were different enough from the syringe he was actually scared of that he was able to take Simon’s words to heart and settle.

He was too tired to be worked up anyways. He felt the exhaustion deep in his bones, and it ached. He whined softly, breath rattling in his chest.

Simon reached a hand up and carded it through Archie’s hair, smiling down gently at him. He used his other hand to rub gentle circles with his thumb along the back of his hand.

“I’m.. really glad you’re okay..” He whispered, leaning down and pressing a kiss to Archie’s warm brow.

Archie had many things to say, but they were all forgotten as soon as Simon’s lips met his skin. He melted. He felt a dopey smile creep up on his face and he fluttered his eyes shut.

Whatever he needed to say could wait until the morning.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

[palilious]

your werewolf boyfriend looks at you like this after literally falling down a mountain what do you do

[sasukeless]

just found your blog and having a blast scrolling through it thank you for sharing your very correct opinions with the world, very satisfying. now i'm curious (and sorry if you've talked about it before) what do you think of shisui?

basically

[akkivee]

examples of Jakurai hsbing foot in mouth syndrome?? 😂 /pos

exhibit a!!!!!! in rhyme anima➕, he was tasked to be a good host in that bb/mtr/bat episode and showed off that jakurai charm to the point she was speechless!!!!! and not in a good way lmao!!!!

and it can be directly compared to hitoya’s rizz that we see in the next scene, where he also provided consultation services as his attraction point, but not only did he provide good advice, he also poured and mixed her drink for her like whew!!! 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

if the canonicity of rhyme anima bothers you, you also have that scene of the same vibe during kuujaku posse’s drama track (the second one is what my brain tells me lol) where ramuda gets hypmic’s og high functioning disaster gay to pick up women and not only does he fail, he makes her run away from him lmao

exhibit b!!!!!! he got a hot date with hitoya in the block party tracks!!!!! they totally sounded like bfs who didn’t want to hang up the phone on each other until jakurai fumbled it lmao

exhibit c!!!!!! the most damaging!!!!! who knows what would have happened if jakurai, out of all the things he could have questioned ramuda about in the scene leading to their break up, chose not to pick at ramuda’s ‘realness’ as a being!!!!! but he did!!!! even tho ramuda, caught in the lie, looked to be willing to bare something of himself to jakurai who is on the record of wanting to see the real him btw!!!!!

i hope this is sufficient evidence of jakurai inability to talk to people without fcking it up in some way lmao thanks for coming to my ted talk LOL

[4giorno]

i got the cutscene <3

[orionis13]

Thinking about him (timothy rand)

[totallynotsloughjykk]

okay rant because I need to hhhhh I'm so tired of people misinterpreting mu qing. no he is not a heartless monster nor is he a tsundere baby. he's a complex character and people need to stop dumbing him down to either good/bad mu qing values logic before anything. he thinks everything through too much and only considers feelings after, which makes him come off as unempathetic and uncaring. that's his main flaw. he cannot deal with any emotions and hides behind an indifferent/arrogant mask despite it being far from his actual self. his avoidance with vulnerability is understandable considering just how much he had to watch himself during his teenhood and probably even childhood he's hypervigilant and gets defensive the second he feels any form of attack coming towards him. for example, him freaking out over the red coral pearl going missing during the xianle era - which, again, is understandable since that would've ruined his reputation completely. he's also terrible with showing affection and care and that's another reason why he always come off as so mean and rude mu qing is also deeply insecure; he suddenly turned his attention to hong'er after xie lian praised his skill with a saber and he found reasons to kick him out fast (I'll get onto this later). he jumps any time he's handed a broom and he's also pretty easily envious. he doesn't usually go far beyond petty words and punches - like xie lian said, he's spiteful enough to spit in someone's cup, not poison it his flaws are well thought-out and make a lot of sense for his character. you can trace his behavior patterns back to his past; for example, his hypervigilance and arrogant mask comes the fact that everyone always expected the worst of him. the second he was even suspected to be in the wrong everyone turned on him without a doubt, so he grew wary of what he did and what he said. and for the arrogant mask, he couldn't prove otherwise at all - who would listen? no one. so he just gave up and got used to it mu qing has his flaws but he also has his qualities; he's a kind person beneath everything, shockingly enough. he handed poor children cherries after he was beaten up for picking them, he brought feng xin and xie lian rice and medicine after he left, he helped jian lan give birth, he disguised himself to help xie lian and he took a whole cursed shackle for refusing to hurt him. he can only show affection through actions and it's still uncomfortable for his deeds to be recognized since he's already so used to the selfish, cold and indifferent tag everyone slapped on him so he never expects any gratitude or anything in return at all also controversial take but hua cheng was wrong to hold a grudge against mu qing and feng xin. first of all, the feng xin grudge was entirely unnecessary (for mu qing it's a lot more understandable) but that's for another rant. second of all, while it is, again, understandable from hua cheng's POV, from an outside perspective it's just.. wrong. hua cheng will go towards extreme lengths to anyone who even mildly hurts off xie lian, and that's one of his flaws as a character. I love hua cheng deeply and that's part of what makes him beautifully complex. he's overprotective after seeing his beloved hurt so many times by so many people while he couldn't do much about it. he views xie lian through rose-colored lenses and I doubt he'll let go of the way he sees mu qing any time soon considering just how heavy of a grudge he held and how complicated their friendship/relationship in general is. they don't get along and until they formally talk things out, give them 200 years to warm up to each other they'd still probably stab each other if left unattended

[nxiispire]

Helloo

This is my first time doing requests and uhh

I was wondering if i can request a dom reader and sub tighnari in heat?? Like he just cant handle it anymore hhhhh he just needed to do something about it and the only person he can think of doing it with him is the reader-

i dont know how to do requests

|･ω･`)ﾉ a/n : here is the long over due tighnari fic, i am officially back from my hiatus but uploads may still be slow as i get back into the swing of thing :)

✰ Hot Faced .. !

[ Featuring ] -> Tighnari x reader

cw : gn!reader, handj0bs, riding, d0m!reader, sub!tighnari

The air around you started to cool down as the sun made its way over the horizon, glowing orange as it slowly disappeared. The forest didn’t get as cold at night as it did in the desert so you wouldn’t have to rush back to the village to avoid the night, but something else was causing you to pick up your pace, eager to get back.

Today you were surveying the forest with Tighnari, but about halfway through the day he had to excuse himself back to his house, saying he wasn’t feeling well and needed a rest. Quite honestly, you were worried about him as he barely ever misses out on duties and is very stubborn, even when sick. So, as soon as you finished your work, you made a beeline straight back to the village.

Finally, making it back to the village, you headed straight for Tighnari’s house and knocked on the door. At first, you hear nothing, but after a second knock, you hear a muffled groan through the door. Panicked, thinking he was in serious pain, you barged into his hut without waiting for a response. And the sight you saw only made your worries worse. He was curled up on his bed on top of a pile of blankets, only in his underwear, as his whole body was in a sweat. His ears perked up as he heard you enter the room. He looked at you, eyes wide.

"Tighnari, are you ok? You look horrible, well, not like that-"

Stepping closer, you paused mid-sentence, now having a better view of Tighnari’s state. Along with the sweat was a deep blush covering his face and hands, but the thing that made you stop in your tracks was his underwear. A visible bulge was evident beneath his wet, stained pants. Now you understand why he had looked so mortified when you entered the room, but now looking up at his face, his horrified look has relaxed into one of utter lust.

"Sorry… need help, please?" the way he stretched his “please” made it sound more like a whine, the sound causing your stomach to do flips.

" I-um I can get you someone to help? Someone more experienced," you rambled on, not really sure if he was suggesting you be the one to help him in that way. A part of you desperately wanted to be the one to help him, but on the other hand, you had minimal experience in this field, let alone experience with hybrids. You were pulled from your thoughts as you felt him grip your hand.

"Fennec foxes mate for life." You weren't sure what he wanted you to do with this information, but you waited patiently for him to elaborate.

“That's why,” he paused. “It needs to be you.” You swear your heart nearly shot out of your chest at his explanation, and god he looked so cute just looking up at you with those blown out eyes.

All you could do at that point was mutter “fuck” before positioning your knee between his legs and capturing his lips into a desperate kiss. The kiss was sloppy, but nothing less than passionate, releasing so many pent-up emotions. Knowing how much pain he was already in, you waste no time in ridding him of his boxers, wrapping your warm hand around his wet length. He moaned into your kiss as he immediately started to buck into your hand, doing the same thing he was doing to his pillow only moments earlier.

You guided him to lie down as you sat on his thighs, slightly hovering over him as you continued to make out. As much as you wanted to never leave, you parted from his lips, moving your head to between his neck and shoulder, licking and sucking on the sensitive flesh. You hadn’t even noticed he came until you leant up to check on him after his whines sounded somewhat pained. Of course, any worries of him being in pain left as you take in the view of his cum solid stomach, his cock still painfully hard.

“Please, just wanna be inside you, need it.” Even if you wanted to be mean and deny him the pleasure of fucking you, you couldn't deny the need to feel him either. Taking off your pants, you sink down onto his length, humming at the pleasurable feeling of being full. On the other hand, Tighnari was barely keeping it together, head thrown back, nails gripping your hips as he let out the most erotic sounds.

Wanting to hear more of him, you wasted no time moving yourself up and down on him, hands balancing on his chest as you play with his sensitive nipples.

“Ahh! O.. Oh!... Aghh! Uughh!” He let out, drool beginning to slide down the side of his mouth. Even with the quick tempo you kept, he still thrust his hips up, as if it were insufficient. Not that you were complaining. You could feel yourself get lightheaded as he hit all the right spots inside of you.

“Haah.. Ooh god, I'm gonna cum! Pleaseplease let me cum inside! Ughhh Pleeeaase.” Of course, you couldn't deny him, especially as you were on the cusp as well. As you groaned out permission, it only took a few seconds before he was spilling himself deep inside you, your orgasm following quickly behind.

Coming to your senses, you looked down at your lover, laying there covered in sweat. You can't help but smile and he lays there, eyes closed, with a dopey smile on his face.

[sysig]

Utterly Defeated (Patreon)

[bambisnc]

might as well

thinking about you and eunseok being the absolute epitome of an It Couple™; quite literally everyone wants to be you (or yk, .. with you)

but little do all your adoring fans and shippers know that your perfect relationship is in fact, fake.

i see it as having started out with you struggling to try to get over a close friend (maybe sungchan) who ended up indirectly rejected you without you even having confessed

something like “yo jinsu, you and y/n are a thing right?” “y/n? ah no, she’s like a sister to me! <3”

and eunseok ending up being your annoying knight in shining armor.. he’d console you and eventually also propose the idea of fake dating just to let sungchan see what he’s missing out on 

but somewhere along the path of "drafting out a set of rules to follow while fake dating" and being increasingly publicly affectionate with each other (“you guys are dating?? Prove it.”) (but also fleeting touches behind closed doors 🫣); you would find yourself being more and more confused by the blurring lines of your arrangement

eunseok‘s always had an especially flirty personality towards you but it’s only ever increased since you started “dating” and the cheesy pick up lines have started having a much greater effect on you than they should be

obviously he only fuels this uncertainty of yours,, for sure would be super vocal about his real feelings, would never miss a single chance to try to shoot his shot + keeps dropping hints about how you should just tell him you love him for real, you guys are basically a real couple at this point.. it’s basically fate if you think about it; so you might as well let him be your official boyfriend <3

(ALSO imagine this but in a royal setting.. rival prince!seokie  in an arranged, fake relationship with you hhhhh deserves a whole fic ngl)

notes : im hvaing a couple of thoughts + [m.list] song rec : might as well - wayv [GIVE ME THAT SOTY CMON NOW]

𐙚 . regulars : @nicholasluvbot @totheseok @mellowdyverse @fae-renjun ⋆

[batsvnte]

𝐉𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐲, 𝐉𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐲 • 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠

Pairing(s): Wally Darling

Sypnosis: Wally experiences a strange emotion as someone talks to his dear (Name)

Warning(s): possessive behavior (?), scopophobia, (slight) cursing, ooc maybe

Word Count: ???

Notes: gender neutral black human!reader (they/them pronouns) with human Wally Darling hHhhH- based on an audio I heard of Wally being jealous so I wanted to write something similar to that. Characters belong to @/partycoffin

It was a warm sunny day in the neighborhood just as how it is every other day. It was perfect weather to be outside to spend the day away doing fun activities. Or to be staying inside for practicing hobbies, relaxing or doing whatever comes to mind. To a certain blue haired individual, he wanted to take the chance to take his dear (Name) out for a picnic.

(Name) and Wally decided to go out into the open field near their house. They found a perfect spot underneath shade of one of the trees to set up everything. (Name) goes over their mental checklist to make sure they brought all the things for the both of them. Satisfied with themselves as they continue their path to the picnic spot.

Both of them had separated some tasks with themselves so they can have everything checked off. (Name) made themselves in charge with bringing the food for them while Wally made sure to bring supplies such as plates, cups, etc.

Soon (Name) reaches the spot where Wally was standing underneath the shade. He was setting everything up for the both of them, his back turned as he stands up in thought. (Name) jogs up to him whilst carefully holding the basket of food in their hands.

“Heya, Darlin’.” (Name) greets, which gained his attention almost instantly.

Wally turns to (Name) with a friendly smile on his face. He had quickly grown use to them using his last name whenever they greet him. “Hello, (Name). My, you look lovely today.”

(Name) smiles bashfully at the compliment. “Thanks, you look amazing Wally.”

Wally’s smile seem to grow bigger at their words. He’s always enjoyed exchanging compliments with (Name). Wally found ways to compliment his friends whenever he gets the chance, though the ones from (Name) were ones he looked the most forward to. No matter how simple or extravagant they were.

They kneel down to set up the food since Wally had already set out the plates for the both of them. While (Name) was preparing the food, Wally stays standing from a short distance. His eyebrows furrowed in a focus state while he looks down at the picnic setup he had done himself. Something was missing.

“Hm.. I must’ve forgotten something.” Wally muses to himself, unaware that this grabs (Name)’s attention. He stays silent for a couple of seconds before speaking again. “Silly me. I think I know what’s missing.”

(Name) turns over to look at him with curiosity in their eyes. From what they’re seeing, he’s gotten everything that’s needed for the picnic. Perhaps he’s forgotten something personal of his that he wanted to bring to the picnic.

Wally takes a few steps away from the spot, looking back to (Name). “I’ll be right back, (Name). I just need to go back to grab something.”

“Ok. Don’t take to long.” (Name) watches as Wally departs from their spot, seeing his figure on the path to what could be assumed to his house.

(Name) turns their attention back to the food. Everything was all set up for the two of them. They smile proudly to themselves as they adjusted the small makeshift table that was brought, having only two plates of food on it. Now all they had to do was wait for Wally to get back.

“Excuse me? Are you Mx. (L/N)?”

(Name) jolts out of their thoughts as they look to an unfamiliar person. The person wasn’t someone from the neighborhood at all. Though it was a uncommon occurrence that there would be an visitor from another place. This was the first of the visitors that (Name) had encountered.

They nod slightly few seconds afterwards. “That’s me, is there something you need?”

“Ah, no not really,” The visitor play with their fingers as they attempted to make some sort of eye contact with (Name). “I wanted to come over to say that I really like your outfit! The design for the shirt is really cool.”

They could only smile at the compliment. “Thank you!”

They wore a short sleeve shirt that consists of their favorite color in different shades that meshed well together along with some regular bell bottoms. (Name) wouldn’t be considered underdressed for the picnic, but at the same time not exactly overdressed for the weather. They were in the middle point.

“Anytime!” The person’s gaze goes over to the blanket covered with goods for a few seconds. “I love how this is set up. Are you here with someone else?”

“I’m here with a friend. He just went to get something.” (Name) responds to the question while having a little boost of confidence at the first few words.

Whilst they were busy with their conversation, one had failed to notice Wally’s arrival. He was holding one of his many sketchbooks in hand as he saw the perfect opportunity to draw during their picnic. The moment he was about to call out to (Name), he pauses in his tracks as he sees someone unfamiliar talking to (Name). Strangely the smile that was always on his face was nowhere to be found. He was always welcoming to new people visiting or staying in the neighborhood no matter who they could be. Seeing someone talk to (Name) wasn’t something that he likes to witness. Especially if he wasn’t there with them.

The person however took notice of Wally as he silently approached them. They pause whatever they were saying as their eyes were kept on him. The person wanted to say something to acknowledge Wally but their voice was caught up in their throat as they made direct eye contact with him. His eyes had no light; solely just pitch black darkness in them. There wasn’t any emotion present in his eyes. Not that they couldn’t tell in anyway possible. They slowly started to feel uncomfortable the longer he stared at them.

“Oh (Name). I’m back.” His voice broke through their thoughts, seeing how (Name) finally acknowledged Wally’s presence.

(Name) turns their head to look to Wally, feeling a bit more content now that someone else familiar to them is here. Not that they minded the unknown visitors presence. It was just nice to have someone else around. Wouldn’t really say the same on Wally’s case.

“Welcome back to the picnic, Wally.” (Name) muses quietly as Wally turns his gaze back over to the visitor who stood incredibly silent for the past few seconds.

The look in his eyes never changes which slightly freaks the unknown visitor out. “Welcome to the neighborhood. Who might you be?”

It took a few seconds for the unknown visitor to really process that Wally was talking to them. “Oh.. Oh me? I’m just someone wh-who’s visiting a friend from round here.” They quickly sputter out and trying not to trip over their own words.

“That’s amazing. Who are you coming to see?”

Wally’s voice was kept at a soft tone that can be added into his charm. But (Name) couldn’t help but pick at the hint of anger that was faintly there behind his words. They look between the person and Wally questioningly whilst wondering what’s going on with their dear ol’ friend.

“Sally Starlet.. Speaking of her I should go see how she’s doing. It was nice meeting you two!” Before either of them gotten another word out, the unknown visitor had walked off. Without any final glances to Wally or (Name).

‘What the hell was that?’

They let out a soft sigh before seeing Wally take the open spot reserved for him beside them. (Name) readjusted themselves to facing more towards Wally. As expected he was looking at them with a calm look on his face.

Their observation from the conversation that took place moments before clouded their mind entirely. (Name) maintains eye contact with Wally once again, finding no other emotion other than his usual calm expression with that charming smile he had on his face.

“Is something on your mind, (Name)?” Wally’s gaze never moved or shifted even the slightest bit away from (Name).

Deciding against their own conscious they asked, “What was that just a while ago?”

“What do you mean?”

“You sounded a bit mad when you were talking to that newcomer,” (Name) states as they shifted around slightly to become more comfortable, but never broke eye contact with Wally. “You don’t show much emotion Darlin’ but I can tell that you were.. jealous.”

Wally stays silent. His face didn’t change even the slightest bit. It almost made (Name) second guess their answer to his question. It felt like an entirety before Wally’s monotonous laugh rang through their ears.

“I wouldn’t want to admit it myself, my dear. You see, the picnic was suppose to be the two of us. Alone.” Wally’s laughter faded by the time he finished talking. “It would’ve taken so long for us to enjoy this special day if I hadn’t dealt with them.”

(Name) looks to him with a conflicted look. This was something new even for them to see. Though they were quick to notice how the mood had darken slightly.

“They seem nice though,” there goes their first attempt. “Maybe if you weren’t jealous as fuck then—“

Wally feeds them one of the slices of apples that they made. (Name) looks to him with confusion as he smiles at them. “It’s rude to talk with your mouth full, darling.”

(Name) glares towards Wally playfully as they finish eating the apple slice. The irony of him using his last name as an nickname for them made them smile just a tiny bit. At least with that it lightened up the mood for the both of them. (Name) continues on with the conversation while switching the topic to something else to get their mind off of the visitor situation.

Sharing is caring Wallace “Wallander” Darling.

I don’t like this one it took me a while to keep up with consecutive writing since I’m not use to writing prompts that has to deal with characters being jealous n whatnot. Hoped you enjoy tho–

[odessastone]

NEW LIFEWEAVER AND SYMMETRA LORE BITS FROM "REBUILDING RUINS"

So I got my copy of Heroes Ascendant today and THERE WERE SO MANY GOOD LITTLE MOMENTS IN THIS STORY I MUST gush I MUST

So here are some new bits of Symmetra and Lifeweaver lore that we got! I bolded my personal favorite ones. 😚

(spoilers!)

Satya and Niran "grew up together" as friends, so they were friends in childhood too, not just at a teen or university age.

Apparently when Satya would get overstimulated and need recovery time, Niran would keep people away from their room and tell them she was sick so she didn't have to face anyone 😭

He also used to hang out and watch her practice her dancing for hours on end, without ever getting tired of it.

Satya considered (possibly still considers) Niran her closest friend.

Niran is late to everything (CALLED this one). He's even late for their meeting LOL

"He looked good. Satya almost wished he didn't." Bits like this are going to feed my Symweaver ass for YEARS

Satya is (still) extremely hurt by Niran leaving all those years ago, and perceives it as him having left her, not just Vishkar. She still misses him dearly, even though they've been apart for eleven years.

Speaking of which, being apart for eleven years means Niran was twenty when he left the Academy. For all you fellow fic authors out there 😊

Satya's autism is stated, full-out, no dancing around it or talking about being on "the spectrum". They flat out say "her autism" in a sentence. Cool!

One of Niran's first questions upon reconnecting with Satya is if Vishkar is mistreating her, if she needs help. Of course she denies this, but...

Niran can read Satya's emotions without her saying them, and even while thinking she's hiding them 😭 Several times throughout the story she's surprised because he cuts right through her stoic bullshit and gets right to how she feels about something.

The Architech Academy was really overwhelming for Satya, and it sounds like they made no effort to accommodate her needs. Unsurprising, considering they didn't accommodate Niran's, either.

Vishkar fiercely discouraged her from stimming, instilling in her a fear of looking "immature, or distracted, or rude, or strange".

She gave a speech at graduation, then had to spend a full week in bed afterward to recover from all the stress. And there was no Niran to guard her by then ☹

Even now, she finds many things about Vishkar overstimulating and uncomfortable, such as her uniform's fabric, and her living quarters.

Satya called Niran "Bua" way back when, possibly the first person to use the nickname for him. Partway through the story the narration (from Satya's POV) actually switches to calling him that, which is cute.

The Arcology seems to have uh, basically no real protection against attacks... Null Sector just shows up on a train and starts blasting lol. This is something I address in my fic The Light You Deserve, so it was kinda funny to see that I was right in predicting that.

She feels comfortable enough around Niran by the end to stim around him without realizing it (apparently she taps her fingers together and twirls her hands in circles, I guess kind of like flapping). She immediately stops and is embarrassed when he points it out, but Niran encourages her instead. She then uncertainly stims in front of him, growing more relaxed and confident as she lets herself do so (this had to be my favorite part of the story).

Toward the end they double down on Satya's belief that she can change Vishkar from the inside (girl....) but then at the VERY end, Niran suggests she look more into the founder of Vishkar and his ideals, and then says that "The Arcology will be delighted to have you". SHE MIGHT DEFECT TO THE ARCOLOGY IN CANON AND BE WITH NIRAN HHHHH AAAA sorry this was supposed to be an unbiased list I'm cool I'm cool

AAAAAA I'M NOT COOL I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

THIS WAS EVERYTHING I COULD HAVE WANTED IN A STORY BETWEEN THEM okay minus the random Null Sector attack tbh that was weird

Anyway the very last line says that Satya now has "whenever she needed it, a friend to return to". So they're definitely gonna interact more going forward!!

[lingulaca]

Whisper of Pleasure

Prince Jacaerys finds himself enamored with an angel after she helps him relieve all of his stress left behind from the living world.

𝄞⨾𓍢ִ໋ pairing - jacaerys velaryon x dara (an oc)

𝄞⨾𓍢ִ໋ word count - 1,665

𝄞⨾𓍢ִ໋ includes/warnings - jace getting his first blowjob, light light super light angst like it's barely sad, fluffy smut

𝄞⨾𓍢ִ໋ author's note - jacela not being endgame literally hurts my soul so don't mind the mentions of baela i need them to be together for eternity. my first hotd smut im not used to writing dialogue like this hhhhh

The Prince rose from what could only be described as a hallucinogenic half-slumber. One moment, he swore he and his consciousness had disappeared entirely and the next, he found himself on some sort of fluffy surface with a beautiful lady in front of him. He gasped, air rushing into his lungs for a moment. "Who... are you?" He started to feel dizzy, but in a good way. "I'm Dara," The grinning lady announced. "and you're Jacaerys." Jace blinked. He had half a mind to ask her where she got this information, but after observing his surroundings he ultimately determines that he's died and went to the heavens. 'Baela,' he thinks, 'I've left her all alone...'

"It's okay," Dara starts. "She'll be here with you soon. Or, um, one day I mean..." Jace shook his head as he sat up, noticing all of his physical pain was gone and he was given new clean clothes. He'd read about the heavens as a child, and prayed to the Gods more times than was probably necessary for his brothers but he never imagined the space to be so... comforting. A selfish thought makes its way to his brain, though he does not mean for it to. "She will marry someone else." He means it as a question, it comes out as a statement. "She won't, her heart won't let her. She loves you a lot." The angel, Dara, grabbed hold of both of his hands. She pauses for a moment. "You're Baela's soulmate and she misses you greatly." Jacaerys allows his fingers to intertwine with the angel's. If he'll be here forever he might as well stop being sad and enjoy his time, right? The sentiment isn't enough to stop the immediate flow of tears. He's left all his strength on Earth, he supposes.

Dara holds him closely, her body naturally molding to his. She doesn't think of herself as the calming or soothing type so she chooses to say nothing, hoping her actions are enough. Her efforts do not go unnoticed when Jacaerys' hands wrap tightly around her waist. "I miss my mother. A- and Baela... I don't want her to marry another." He sniffles, thinking of how crushed Rhaenyra will be to learn she's lost yet another son. Dara can tell he's been holding back for quite a while. During his living years, he only allowed himself to cry in front of Baela. Bottled up emotions would overflow, causing him to routinely end up sobbing late at night as she cuddled him in her chambers. "I know." Dara feels Jacaerys' hands grip her even tighter. If angels were capable of pain, it would hurt a whole lot. When he finally looks up at her, doing so as if she were the one component necessary to fix him, his eyes are red and his lip trembles. She kisses his forehead while combing through his hair with her fingers. "Everything will be alright in the end." Her protective embrace is the first good thing he's felt in a while. Ease washes over him. "You really think so...?" Dara's smile returns at Jacaerys' stuttered inquiry. "I know so."

🕊️

Jacaerys lies down on the soft, barely-there clouds upon Dara's request. She figured he wasn't quite ready to be met by all of his relatives just yet so the two were now on Mother's Layer, by far the quietest and least hectic of all the heavens. Children were having quiet time, most choosing to lay near Mother herself as she read to them. "This is where I stay," Dara got comfortable next to the Prince. "Thank you... for all this." Jacaerys felt silly thanking an angel, after all helping humans adjust to the afterlife was simply one of her many tasks. She kissed him again, this time directly on the head. Jacaerys felt his face heat up. He was never truly able to let his guard down this much when he was alive. Nights with his betrothed ended with sex more often than not, though neither of them could fully enjoy it beyond the physical aspect on account of the responsibilities weighing on both of their minds.

"You're... very lovely." He mutters. "The lovely one is you, my child." She replies. Being called a 'child' by a heavenly being who looked no more than a year under him in age made him chuckle. Dara is suddenly close, right next to Jacaerys. "I can't be as lovely as you, I..." He stops, his cheeks heating up at the mere thought of what he was about to admit. "I know." Dara places her hand in his, her warmth making him tingle internally. "I know you've sinned. All humans have." Jace sighs and clears his throat awkwardly. "I didn't mean to." He feels the need to prove himself, be more holy in the presence of someone so perfect. "It's okay... you seem tense." She observes quietly. Tense doesn't begin to describe it. At first, Jacaerys thought he could overcome his lust, thinking that perhaps such feelings went away in the heavens. Even so, looking away from Dara's angelic unclothed body and instead directing his focus to her face didn't help him any. Her eyes, colored like the moon and just as captivating, stared into his soul as if she could tell what he was planning on saying before he could. He wanted to hold her, to have her all to himself forever. He wanted to be greedy for the first time in his life.

"Jace?" Dara smirked. Since she could, in fact, read the Prince's, no, her Prince's mind she knew of his true unspoken feelings. He snaps out of it and stops making eyes at her. "Sorry..." His expression is equal parts cheeky and embarrassed. Dara giggles, standing up and turning away. "Come," Jacaerys, curious as ever, obeys her command and follows her to a large room. It had no ceiling, so Jace could look up to see more clouds and the occasional angel flying high up above.

Dara had an unconventional method of relaxation in mind, one that she was sure would work. She'd heard of it first from Father, who was swiftly quieted by Mother for mentioning such concepts within earshot of her "innocent angels", as she so lovingly called them. Dara wanted to be the best angel she could be, rising above her siblings and hoarding all of Mother's praise and affection for herself, so she couldn't possibly be doing anything bad. Additionally, she had a desire to take care of Jacaerys, which included caring for his needs as well. 'Mother knows my heart.' She told herself, 'She won't care if I indulge just a little this once.'

"Jacaerys?" She called out. He was sitting across from her bed as he observed her belongings with a look of awe on his face, being careful not to touch any of the items she had packed into the golden-red box. "Yes?" He answered, not moving from his spot. He was entranced by the glimmer of a purple harp that was placed under her bed. "I think I know what would make you feel better." "Hm?" Jace wondered what tricks Dara had up her sleeve. "You could say no if you want, but —" "Why would I say no?" Jacaerys wasn't suspicious at all of the angel's intentions. Dara takes this as a sign and sits in front of him, their knees touching in an effortlessly intimate way. She then, after waiting a moment for Jace to actually look at her even through his nervousness, pushes him down gently so he lays on the carpet.

"Dara...? What's this?" Dara's hands started at Jace's shoulders and then trailed down. She shushed him, her right hand resting on his bulge. His eyes widened. "Dara!" He whisper-shouted, sitting up a bit now so that he was leaning against the wall. Dara could only smile, feigning innocence. The two exchanged curious expressions, a minute's silence is taken before Jacaerys decides to let Dara work her godly magic. In an instant, his pants are tugged down to his knees, exposing his obvious hardness, which Dara gazes at with much interest. "Wow." Hesitantly, she takes just the tip into her mouth at first. "Mmm..." She hums, lips wrapped around Jacaerys' cock. The taste is sweet in a way and unlike anything she's ever had before. Carefully, she lets the rest of his cock slip past her lips. It twitches in her mouth as her tongue glides up the side of it. Jace's whole body starts to feel hot, hands grasping at the soft surface below to keep himself grounded. "Dara - Dara, I..." He inhales sharply, cursing himself for almost finishing so soon.

Dara handles her Prince with feathery softness, her warm and wet inviting mouth enveloping his cock each time she moves her head down. Jacaerys' noises fill the room, ranging from gasps to proper whimpers and moans. "Dara, angel, I can't..." A delicious ache once thought to be unachievable forms deep inside him. He feels lightheaded, but not in a bad way, he feels all of his troubles being lifted away and cast aside with every nudge of his tip to the back of his angel's throat. He moans her name one last time when releasing in her mouth, her fingers digging firmly into his thighs.

Dara stays still for about three seconds as to not spill any of the thick, sticky liquid before coming up for air at last. Her tongue swirls around in her mouth to savor the foreign taste. She hums, sitting up next to Jacaerys who looks her up and down with half-lidded eyes. He's completely amazed, feeling like he's just entered two new worlds in one day, one literally and one figuratively.

"I can never repay you." Dara fully digests Jace's words while watching him fumble to stuff himself back in his trousers. "You don't have to..." She kisses her Prince on his lips sweetly, making him taste himself.

[truths33k3r4]

CHAPTER 5 - The Stain of Guilt

The quiet of the living room was abruptly interrupted by the sound of shifting on the couch.

Mikey’s eyes wrenched tightly shut as he twisted and shuddered into his oldest brother’s shoulder. Squeaked whimpers escaped his lips, as his hands twitched and gripped the air. His plastron rose and fell in between sharp, quiet gasps through his clenched teeth.

“Mghhh….n-no..”

He buried his face deeper under Leo’s chin.

“Ghhhh…don’t…”

His hands unconsciously wrapped around Leo’s waist, striving for safety and comfort. Leo’s still slumbering form slowly leaned further into his shaking embrace. 

“Hhh.. stop.. HhHHh.. Stop…”

Mikey’s heart beat rapidly, pounding from the inside of his plastron. His quiet gasps quickly worsened as he began to frantically choke on each cracking breath.

“...Mgghhh...No…No!...NO!!!!”

Mikey shot up from the cushions of the couch, reaching his arm out to grasp something that wasn’t there. His dazed pupils searched around the room as his hand clasped onto his heaving chest.

Leo’s oldest brother instincts prevailed against his need for sleep as he too leapt to his feet, patting his shell down in a sloppy search for his missing katanas. He nearly slammed into the nearby coffee table in his dazed state.

“-WHHaaaaAAAT?!?! Whaaaaasss wrong?!?!” The oldest brother slurred and shouted as he scrambled to find his bearings, grabbing his phone from the table and holding it as if it were an impromptu weapon over his head. 

Mikey’s ears rang with the fading echoes of Don and Raph’s agonized screams. His heart pounded into his ribs, making him wince and press his trembling hand onto his chest. A pellet of fear fell down into the depths of his stomach, disintegrating the outer casing and unleashing a vile acid into his core. The hand squeezed to his chest shot up to clasp over his mouth as he felt noxious fumes expel a bitter taste into the back of his throat.

Oh crud. 

I cannot throw up in the middle of the living room- this is the ONE ROOM in the lair with a carpet- Dad will KILL ME.

Mikey recalled the time years ago when Klunk, his cat, had coughed up one heck of a hairball on that very carpet. Master Splinter banned her from that room for eternity, and would always chase the tortie out whenever she got close. 

His mind got ripped back from his loving memories of his cherished cat by the clawed grasp of the growing doom climbing its way up.

Swallow. 

J-JUST. SWALLOW!

With a shuddering but stubborn wince, he forced the acid back down his throat. Tears sprang to his eyes by the vile taste and lingering burn in his mouth.

Ughhhh that was so gross.

 I’ll just wash it down with some pizza later.

Both of Mikey’s hands hesitantly lowered from his mouth, planting themselves onto his thighs. His hunched shoulders relaxed, and he took a much-needed deep breath.

Chill. It was just a dream. It was all in your head. You’re fine. Leo’s fine. Don and Raph are-

alive and home.

To distract from the nausea, Mikey watched Leo as the leader blinked the sleep from his eyes and scanned the room for any intruders. His posture quickly tightened into a defensive stance as he gripped his phone with one hand and formed a slightly quaking fist with the other. Finding no enemies in the general vicinity, he began to search through the room, continuing to hold up his phone as if, in the scenario he did find someone, would beat them to death with it.

His search came to an abrupt halt when he turned around to see Mikey.

“W-whoa. Mike, you alright?” 

Leo’s tight fist opened as he reached out his hand to the youngest. Gentleness and concern masked over the tenseness in his eyes, as his voice quieted to a soothing chime in the settling winds of panic. A firm hand landed on Mikey’s knee as the eldest knelt down in front of him to be at the same eye level.

“Mikey. What’s wrong?”

DANG IT. Didn't think of his big brother senses going off...

“I-I’m fine. Everything’s goo-UGH- d.” 

Mikey’s hands shot right back up over his mouth at the feeling of acid creeping up his throat again. He didn’t mean to allow a gag to escape through his last word…When Mikey looked back up to see the eldest’s face, the concern flushed over Leo’s expression had multiplied tenfold.

“-Michelangelo! Are you sick? What’s going on? Do you feel warm? Chills?...” Leo reverted back to ‘Medic Mode’ faster than Mikey could scarf down a pizza, searching over his brother by taking his pulse, craning his neck to spot any injuries, and placing a cool palm on his forehead.

“Hmm no fever- Your color seems a bit greener than normal.. Pulse is a little elevated...” Leo mumbled to himself as he sandwiched the youngest’s face in between his hands. 

“Leo! I’m fiiiiine!” Mikey stated in an exasperated sigh. “I just… woke up weird.”

Leo’s icy irises constricted, peering into Mikey’s soul like they always did. The eldest’s mouth closed and slid into a thin line sitting slanted on his face. His firm palms squeezed into Mikey’s cheeks impelling an actually honest answer. Classic older-brother-speak for ‘You got two seconds to tell me the truth before I beat it out of you’.

Mikey sighed exaggeratedly as he gave in to the icy gaze that had made him crack under pressure for as long as he could remember. He’d never been that great at lying. Especially to his oldest brother who was capable of breaking any poor soul with his patented ‘disappointed mom’ look.

“Ok…fine. I…” Mikey raised his hand and began rubbing at the back of his neck, averting his eyesight from the piercing stare his oldest brother was shooting at him. “...It… it was just a n-nightmare.”

Leo’s laser-pointed gaze fizzled out instantly, leaving nothing but a fallen expression of understanding saturated in remorse. The cool palms surrounding Mikey’s face slowly released their grip, falling and landing onto the fabric of the cushions.

“Oh…I’m…I-I’m sorry.”

Mikey’s aqua eyes searched through the freezing tundra of his brother’s, looking past the dutiful worrying, and finding something far more unrelenting and destructive. The nausea quickly morphed into an unsettled pit of concern for his oldest brother.

He leaned over and placed his quivering hand onto Leo’s shoulder.

“It’s not your fault…I had the nightmare.”

“No…I guess it’s not…” Leo whispered to himself.

…not this time.”

Mikey barely caught the last wisps of Leo’s words.

“You can’t control when these things happen, bro.”

Leo averted his gaze to the floor as his muscles all tensed under Mikey’s palm.

No. Stop it.

Mikey tightened his grip on Leo’s shoulder.

“You didn’t know it would happen.”

“...Not being prepared made it happen.” Leo snarled to himself. His jaw was taut, and his eyes began to shine with moisture. Just as a tear was about to fall, Leo forcefully blinked it away as he shook his head and growled.

STOP IT.

“There was no way you could’ve prepared! Being ready doesn’t always keep things from happening!!” Mikey raised his voice with determination. “You didn’t know that would happen to them. You didn’t KNOW, Leo. You can’t be ready for something that you never expected would ever HAPPEN.”

Mikey grabbed Leo’s shoulders with both his hands, and yanked the oldest close, causing a quick yelp to escape Leo at the rough treatment.

“You are an amazing leader, bro. And you worked your shell off to make it so our brothers could come home. You searched for days! You barely ate.”

Leo’s eyes mimicked saucers as he remained pinned down by Mikey’s increasing grip. His breath hitched in weak gasps as his pupils continued to shrink. 

Mikey let out a steadying breath as he relaxed his grip on his brother’s battered shoulders.

“Why are you trying to redeem yourself when you’ve done nothing wrong?”

Leo’s crystal irises became tainted by the stain of guilt in his heart.

“THEY GOT CAPTURED ON MY WATCH, MIKEY.” Leo shouted, clamping his hands onto Mikey’s arms in a death-like grip. “I let them go to the junkyard! I FAILED TO KEEP THEM SAFE!!”

The sermon on Mikey’s tongue vanished as his breath was knocked out of him by his brother’s fury.

“I am their leader…” Leo’s own breath hitched as he let go of his grip on Mikey’s arms and placed his hand onto Mikey’s face. “...I am your leader. I…h-h-have to keep…you all…safe.” Leo’s voice shattered into millions of fragments as he rubbed his thumb over the tears flowing down Mikey’s eyes. 

“You…are my responsibility, little brother…” Leo whispered in choked attempts to keep from crying. “Sensei chose me to lead you. God chose me to protect you. All of you.

...And I failed.” 

“You didn’t. You didn’t fail, Leo.” Mikey brokenly whispered as he flung himself onto his brother, wrapping his arms around the eldest’s neck as they both fell to the floor with a *thud*.

“You didn’t fail.” Mikey tearfully whimpered as he clutched Leo tighter. “We’re all still here, bro. *hic* W-we’re all h-home.” 

Mikey felt the shudders of Leo’s breath and body as the eldest fought to stay together. Strong arms encompassed Mikey, trying to return the comfort. A weak breath filled Leo’s lungs, slowly being let out in an attempt at a calming sigh.

“..Thanks, little brother.” Leo whispered as he nuzzled his face deeper into the brother’s embrace.

But do you believe it?

“But…d-do you believe me?” Mikey asked in a shaky but hopeful voice.

Everything went silent.

“...No. 

M-maybe. 

I… I don’t know.”

SERIOUSLY?!?!?!

Before Mikey could pull himself together to deliver one HECK of a message to his stagnant brother, Leo spoke up one more time. His words were the most quiet they’ve ever been, and sounded like they were almost painful to speak.

“...P-please pray for me, Mikey…Please pray f-for me.”

Mikey’s eyes widened at his brother’s broken voice. It brought him back to the night Don and Raph were taken. 

The night he watched Leo fall apart right in front of him.

Mikey tried to calm his hiccups and sobs by clearing his throat and taking a quick breath.

God wasn’t the only One Who needed to hear this prayer.

“D-dear Lord.. Please h-help Leo. Um..please help him to n-not blame himse-elf. Help h-him to speak truth in his heart. Help him not to b-believe the lies in his head…

…H-help him to remember how much he is loved.” 

Mikey felt the cool sting of tears prickle the skin on his neck as Leo wept softly over his shoulder.

“..I l-love you, bro. Never forget that. N-never forget it.” Mikey whispered.

“You didn’t fail. You n-need to forgive yourself, bro. You need to-”

“- I can’t.” 

“Yes you can.”

“I can’t!...”

“You c-can do all things through Christ Who strengthens you, right?”

“I…”

“You can!”

“I… I-”

“You need to believe that, L-leo. You need to remember you’re already forgiven. What gives you the r-right to refuse? Who are you to not forgive yourself when Jesus has forgiven you for e-everything??”

Mikey held down a pained yelp as Leo’s embrace squeezed even tighter around his arms and plastron. Drips of the eldest’s long-restrained tears unleashed into thin, remorseful threads flowing down Mikey’s neck.

“God can see everything, right?... S-so.. He saw that you couldn’t have stopped Don and Raph’s capture from happening. He knows it wasn’t your fault.”

Mikey wasn’t positive, but Leo’s grip felt as though it would soon draw blood.

“You n-need to trust Him with that.

 You need to t-trust Him with us.”

Mikey looked up from where he laid, wrapped tightly in his brother’s grasp. His tearful gaze rose to the wooden picture frame hanging on the wall. 

Thank You for pulling us all through. Thank You for bringing us home.

Thank You for giving us all a second chance.

“...T-trust Him, Leo.”

That's it for this chapter! :) This was both a treat and a pain to write- mostly because of how I wanted Leo to react to Mikey's words.

Something you should know about each of the characters in my story- all of the turtle's main weaknesses are mine as well: Leo's pressuring himself, Raph's guilt and anger, Don's responsibility and need to be useful, Lotus' weariness to trust, and Mikey's fear and worry for his family. These are all things that I'm sure a lot of other people deal with as well. And these kinds of weaknesses can dig DEEP. They can be so very harmful.

That's why I wanted this chapter to bring to light how we combat our guilt, anger, worry, and fear. We bring it to the foot of the cross. We bring it to God, and give it to Him. We study His Word, and meditate on the truths to combat the lies of our heart. We need to trust Him. We need to trust Him with all of us. Our good, our bad, our past, present, and future. Nothing is out of reach of His forgiveness.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make straight your paths." ~Proverbs 3:5-6

I pray this chapter touches hearts. I pray it leads others to the light of the cross. I pray it lets them see that they're not alone.

To God be the glory.

~ Melissa

MASTERPOST <- PRIOR CHAPTER NEXT CHAPTER ->

[brittleangel]

❝ HEAVEN’S IN YOUR EYES ❞

!! SONG RECCOMENDATION: a soundtrack to my life - mage tears

content: yuta okkotsu x reader / another list of headcanons yippieeee!!! ٩(ˊᗜˋ )و

genre: fluff <3

warnings: none!!

notes: hhhhh might be a lil half-assed sorry!!!! (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

- yuta is awkward at the start. he never thought he’d be able to fall in love again, and he doesn’t know what to do with this pecculiar feeling bubbling in his heart. something about your relationship is different from the one he had with rika, and well, it’s not surprising. he was just a kid back then. but now, he doesn’t know what to say, or do, and neither does he know where to put his hands. although, hes willing to learn. for you. he takes his time, and he soon learns that loving once more is not as hard as he initinally thought. he learns how easy it is to be vulnerable around you, how easy it is to be comfortable with you. you’ve warmed his heart, the walls he has built around it melting just for you.

- he’s a sucker for skin on skin contact. it’s not even in a sexual way, he just loves feeling your skin against his in a way he can’t describe. let it be his fingertips tracing your collarbone when you wear an off shoulder top, or his hand wandering under your shirt to hold your waist while the two of you cuddle in bed. your warmth is more than enough to make him feel safe.

- yuta has a habit of nearly always having a hand on you. he’s the type to worry, be nervous over things that might seem silly to other people. but you keep him calm. so, when he’s in the train with you, dont be surprised if he takes your hand and plays with your fingers. or when he places a hand on your thigh while you sit next to him somewhere.

- he leaves notes for you sometimes. he doesn’t have the heart to wake you up in the morning when he has to leave for a mission, you simply look too peaceful. so instead, you recieve a kiss on the temple along with a note on your bedside table. he’s definitely the type to scribble hearts on it as well.

- however, if both of you have important matters to attend to and he’s the first to wake up, he makes sure to wake you up gently. he’ll take your hand in his, and place soft little kisses to your fingertips, your knuckles, and then eventually, your face. even if you two slept in and you’re running late, he’ll make sure to wake you up in the softest way possible, because he believes that’s the only way to wake up an angel like you.

- sometimes, you make him nervous too. but he feels nervous in the best way possible. your actions, such as throwing random compliments his way, never fail to get his heart racing. and at times, he lets you know. he’ll take your hand, placing it against his chest and so that you’ll be able to feel his heart pounding beneath your palm. the soft chuckle that slips past his lips afterwards is the best part of it.

- he can’t handle you flirting with him, it’s too much for his heart to take. he feels as though he’s about to turn into a puddle in your palms as you stroke his cheeks and innocently toy with him in that way. he’ll forget his train of thoughts, simply staring at you while stuttering throughout nearly every word that comes out of his mouth. and as you giggle in response to his pure embarrassment, he’ll sigh and place his hands atop of yours.

- yuta is a busy guy. and as much as he hates it, there are times where he needs to be away from you for long periods of time. sometimes it’s quite short, other times it’s unbearably long. during these times, he likes texting you. it calms him down, knowing you’re doing fine. he’d be a little shy, but after gaining the courage to do so, he’d also ask for you to send him a picture of you. he misses you. a lot.

- he’s the type to tie your shoelaces for you. for some odd reason, he really likes doing it. perhaps it’s about the little amount of success he feels after providing you his assistance. it might sound silly, sure, but even a gesture such as small as this is able to make him feel even the slightest bit of genuine happiness.

- yuta loves gently, unconditionally. so tenderly, you feel like it could make you cry. his kisses can be chaste, quick and soft, but they can also be passionate. he holds you so tightly, and at the same time, his embrace is so delicate that he sometimes feels as if he’s holding something sacred. he’ll love the ugly parts of you, and he will always find them beautiful.