#(what's funny is that I can't have her join in easily because the form of Draco I use is the most clothed)

[glitchy1938]

For the first minion headcanon request, (this one might be a doozie for you) can you do a headcanon with all of them? Scenario, we fall asleep while cuddling them

Oh my goodness I couldn't stop blushing while writing this... ⁄⁠(⁠⁄⁠ ⁠⁄⁠•⁠⁄⁠-⁠⁄⁠•⁠⁄⁠ ⁠⁄⁠)⁠⁄

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Wildberry Cookie

• Now, as we can know this BIG GUY loves hugs, but because of his duties of protecting Hollyberry Cookie, it's not easy task.

• Definitely a Big Spoon during cuddles.

• But when she's safe, he won't say no for some cuddles. Even if he's stoic, he has a big heart.

• Cuddling Wildberry cookie is like feeling safe, his arms embarrassing you softly but protectively, brushing your ice hear and he stay silent.

• He doesn't say anything, but the silence is very comfortable, it's also very warm when you cuddle.

• But if you feel asleep while you two cuddle, he'd supriced but don't wake you or do anything to make you awake.

• He'll just place a blanket on you as he keep an arm on you so he can read a little, or he'll feel asleep as well, but it's only at night...

Crunchy Chip Cookie

• This MAN is a tsundere, but he'll let you hug him when he's free from his job.

• Since he's a little small, he's the little spoon, but if you're as small as him, he'll be the Beeg spoon as he have a proud smile as he held you close.

• But if you fell asleep with him, probably cream wolf would be here too, he know that he won't get away that easily.

• But he can't blame you, the warm it feels is really making him sleepy too, so he'll join you.

• Cuddles with him is like cuddling a medium plush, it's fluffy, and if you pet his head like Cream wolf, he'll melt.

Caramel Arrow Cookie

• During her down times, she'll cuddle with you, and you'll rest your head on her chest.

• It gets her a little flustered, but hey ! It makes you happy ! She'll hold you closer too, enjoying your warmth.

• She'll give you a good night kiss then let you rest on her as you two cuddle.

• She love to cuddle with you, it make her feel safe and warm, specially during snow storms or deluge.

• It's perfect with some boba or hot chocolate, and she'll gladly make it for you.(BEST WIFE EVER !!🥰🥰🥳😤)

• cuddles with her are very warm and safe, it's feels like nothing can hurt you and it brings you comfort.

Pavlova Cookie (platonic and romantic)

• Cuddles with him are very comfortable, he let you hug him as long as you want.

• Since he's a little smaller then you it feels like cuddling a little plush.

• But in his adult form, it feels like he's holding you for not leaving or getting hurt.

• He'll wrap his wings around you so that he'll keep you safe and away from discomfort.

• He usually don't sleep much but he'll stay by your side until you wake up.

• He know Eternal Sugar is watching, but since you two are just cuddling, she'll just watch a little with a smile.

Sugarfly Cookie

• She's always giving you cuddles whenever you need, she'll lay back and let you hug her.

• Cuddles with her feels like laying on a soft cloud with the warmest and softest blinket.

• She, like Pavlova, will wrap her wings around you so it make you feel more safe.

• She'll sing for you a sweet and soft lullaby to make it more comfortable and make you feel sleepy.

• If you sleep on her whole cuddling, she would be supriced, but won't wake you. She think it cute when you're a sleep.

• She'll just cares your ice hear, letting a little giggle here.🤭

Mozzarella Cookie

• Cuddles with her are very warm, she'll just giggle as she'll hug you tightly.

• She find it adorable that you melt when she cuddle you softly.

• If you sleep on her, she'll just cares your ice hear as she sing a little song for you.

• She tell the little Cheese Birds not to make told much noise to wake you up, if you fell asleep and the Cheese Birds came.

• Much to Smoked Cheese Cookie annonced who said not to distract while working.

• She doesn't hear what he's saying and keep you next to her while you sleep.

• She find it funny and cute if you sleep on her, even while she's working, she can do both watching/guarding the Kingdom with the others and cuddle you too.

Smoked Cheese Cookie

• As much as this guy is serious on his work, he'll soft a little when you as for cuddles

• He deserves a break, so he'll take off his hat(I don't know what he's wearing...) so that he can cuddle you properly.

• He didn't experience this kind of affection, but he like it, he just have to get use to the new feeling

• He wouldn't be surprised if you sleep on him, but he'll tense a bit if there is work to do...

• but he'll get over that quickly so that you won't feel alone again or find yourself without him when you wake up

Burnt Cheese Cookie

• This guy is a little bit more complicated to do.

• He always put his work and working himself hard to protect her radiance, the Kingdom and you.

• But he'll let you cuddle him as he feel... Warm and strange...

-"I don't see How this is helping..."

-"But it's nice !"

-".... Yes... I suppose..."

• He's so shy and doesn't know much about PDA but he like head pats.

• Be aware that if dutie calls that's means he'll get to work even if you say to him to take a longer break.

• He'll let one or two Cheese Birds next to you when you sleep to keep an eye on you and warned him if you're in danger.

Cloud Haetae Cookie (platonic)

• He know his fur is soft, so he's not surprised when you two cuddle.

• He often purr while do so, that means he really enjoyed it as much as you do.

• He really like head pats, if you stop he'll pick his little head up and ask for more but if you sleep, he'll just watch over you.

• He usually eat some of his food to pass time, and pet your head.

• Hugging them feels like hugging a litteral plush ! Soft and fluffy, Cloud Haetae really enjoy Cuddles.

• If only their Master let them do the same aw before and get her emotions back...

Candy Apple Cookie

• This silly little girl won't miss an opportunity to cuddle you from behind !

• She had this smug smile on her face as she supriced you when cuddle.

• Black Sapphire and Shadow Milk Cookie find it funny of how happy she get and your reaction when she supriced you.

• She really is small, so she literally climb into you so that she won't feel tiny.

• Don't tease her. I'm warning you. She maybe small and all but she'll get you a bad prank if you tease her too much.

• While cuddling, she'll talk about her plans to finally get her master's intentions on her and make him around of her.

• Or of how Black Sapphire Cookie is a weirdo and she spill some of his secret she found~ Anything she want to ramble about.

• But if you sleep, she'll look at you intensely then get a little more comfortable in your arms then get back to talking but more softly.

Black Sapphire Cookie

• This CHARMER will and I mean, WILL tease you if you two cuddle.

• But he's very calm in those moments, and he'll tell you some secrets he found about cookies.

• If there is ONE thing I think he would do is mumbling a song, one he heard and git stuck in his cookie head.

• If you sleep, He'll keep mumbling the song and/or read a book while he keep you in his arms.

• He doesn't do anything to wake you up, but he'll blush a little of how cute you look when you sleep.

• He'll shoo away Candy Apple when she find you two cuddling, but he... Can't get up as he still asleep...

• Cuddles with him are cold but comforting,cool, weightless, yet entirely enveloping. You can really sleep peacefully in their brace..

[aralisj]

hi umm if you wouldn't mind......... would u drop the "carmy is autistic" list..... because you're so right he's so autistic-coded but i want to compare notes

You don't know the can of worms that you just opened. Know that I cracked my knuckles and kicked my feet excitedly when I got this ask and I would LOVE to hear your insights too.

This is pretty much the format I used for myself, so I do apologize if there's something wrong with it. Also, this is only my appreciation of it and autism is a spectrum, etc.

Difficulty socializing - Imitating forms of communication (sign for "sorry", cursing) - Unable to read when he's being rude (shitty) and need for external confirmation from Sydney - Uneasy in group gatherings (not joining the rest of the staff for family during his first weeks at The Beef), avoiding social events (never been to a party, misses family reunions) - Can be gregarious when masking/using costumes - specifically the scene with him pretending to be Logan at the party - "And [Mikey] had this amazing ability. He could just, he could walk into a room, and he could take the temperature of it instantly. You know, he could just, he could dial it. And, um… I'm not built like that, man. I, um… I didn't have a lot of friends growing up. I had a, a stutter when I was a kid. I was scared to speak half the time. And, uh, I got shitty grades 'cause I couldn't pay attention in school. I didn't get into college. I didn't have any girlfriends. I don't think I'm funny."

Problems with body language - Cannot read easily when he's being teased/mocked and when he isn't: - He gets really defensive when Mikey and Richie mention Claire even if they're being genuine and doesn't calm down until Stevie says so. - He doesn't realize Sydney is joking at first in the alley scene or her outright mocking him in the S3 trailer ("I can sense the sarcasm" "No, no, no. Not sarcasm, snark, contempt even.") - Asking Sydney constantly what's wrong - he listens intently which suggests that he cares but he genuinely can't pick up on what the problem is - Lack of eye contact, especially at the beginning, giving priority to looking at the food than whoever he's talking to. He seems more comfortable with looking at Syd and Richie in the eye than the rest.

Difficulty making friends and navigating relationships - No romantic relationships before Claire (we assume 🤷🏻‍♀️) - When Claire called him and told him that Fak said he was his best friend, Carmy took a second to process and then agreed. He genuinely has no idea. - The whole "a girl who is a friend" debacle

Stimming - Fiddling with his spoon, shaking hands and blinking hard - Arguably, also smoking

Routine -~Consistency~ - "And the routine of the kitchen was so… consistent and exacting and busy and hard and alive" - Wears almost the same outfit every day (white t-shirt, slacks, coat, apron) - Doesn't deal well with change

Special interests - Cooking, drawing, (vintage) fashion - he's really out there cooking in hundred dollar t-shirts and gifting Thom Browne chef whites - Creative and flourishing in his chosen field ("I felt like I could speak through the food, like I could communicate through creativity. And that kind of confidence, you know, like I was finally… I was good at something, that was so new, and that was so exciting") - Understanding the world and other people in terms of food

Abnormal sensory response - Cannot stand certain sounds (~ball breaker~) and doesn't mind others (alarm) - Possibly heightened sense of taste/smell?

From childhood and more notorious overtime - Described as weird and shy even as a child - Stutter - Bad at school

More notorious under stress - Meltdowns and lashing out (1x07, 2x10) - Gets overwhelmed when plans change - Shutdown/anxiety attack after sleeping with Claire

Not playing cooperatively - Individualistic and cutthroat in the kitchen - VERY task focused (when he’s cooking HE IS COOKING) - Territorial over his things (knife) - He has a hard time finding a managerial style that suits him, delegating, and motivating the staff

Detail oriented - Toothbrush cleaning - The bowl thing in S3 trailer - His ~everything~ tbh

Depression, anxiety and APD comorbidity - Having special interests/happy stimming/needs shut down at a young age resulting in a pessimistic mindset (waiting for the other shoe to drop), anxiety attacks and unhealthy attachment styles - His trauma plays a huge role in this too but autistic children are particularly prone to suffering abuse in silence/staying in toxic environments and relationships

Insomnia

Alexithymia - "I Googled fun." - "I guess all the time I feel like I'm kind of trapped because I can't… Describe how I'm feeling. So to ask someone else how they’re feeling, that seems, uh… I don’t know, insane?" - "I hate this feeling" "What feeling, Carm?" "Uh, I'm not sure."

Black and white thinking - Difficulty focusing on more than one thing at a time, a very clear example is the majority of S2 when he's trying to juggle a relationship with Claire with opening the restaurant, while actively compartimentalizing the two of them, ignoring Syd's calls while he's out, then Claire's when he's at the restaurant - At the beginning of S1, he's hanging onto the idea that there's only ONE way to properly run a restaurant - Whatever "advice" he gets from Al Anon meetings is taken to the extreme, causing most of his fuck ups of S1 (more on this) - In the same vein, my boy can't understand a metaphor to save his life

I'm keeping track of the list (more or less) here

[numberonetacostan]

It's been a bit since someone's asked about the Taco in III au but I like so uh yeah

What's Taco's relationship with s3 newbies? (+ The Floor even if he's an assistant the whole time here), like from best to worst?

Hi there!!!^^ Welcome, and thank you for sending in an ask!!! X] It has been awhile, you're right, but I'm still super happy to get an ask about it!!!! :D I love au asks hehe.

Taco's relationships with the s3 newbies from best (top) to worst (bottom)!!!!

Goo- Besties!!!!!!! She got him back in the competition, and their friendship flourished from there. He has no animosity towards her for her past actions, it's a clean slate!!! And who can resist the charms of Goo? Not me and not Taco. He's a refreshingly positive presence in her life, and she is a helpfully intelligent presence in his. And Goo!!! Is an emotional little guy, which can help encourage Taco to express her emotions as well, in the healthy ways that Goo demonstrates rather than violence!!! And him being easily spooked would encourage her to keep herself calm, yeah?

Bot- Would like them a lot more after the robot reveal. Taco hates Bow after what happened in s1, especially in this au, so hates Bot until that reveal. Afterwards, I think they'd get along a lot better. Taco and Goo become quite close friends, so Taco and Bot would end up hanging out and I think end up getting along pretty well. Taco could join Bot in expanding their interests, too, since that girl needs to get a HOBBY.

Candle- I think they'd get along much better post-s3-finale. Candle wasn't the one to get through Taco's walls in the end, but she did her best to do so and to help her through her mental health issues, and Taco would appreciate that. Taco is more open to it after becoming friends with Balloon too, so could form more of a connection with Candle.

Cabby- In a similar situation to Bot, in which Taco would end up hanging out with her because she's sticking with Goo. They both might be a bit wary of each other at first, and they both have 0 social skills, but I think they could get it eventually. They could at least discuss novels, mysteries, schedules, etc. together or something, even if they're not going to be besties.

Tea Kettle- She adopted Nickel, what's another sassy little gremlin baby to take care of? Taco would need some extra caring for and assistance with self-care after all of her years of homelessness anyways, so even if Taco is embarrassed about it, TK's help would do her well and be appreciated. It helps that TK moms everyone, and not just Taco, yeah?

Blueberry- They didn't talk much during the show, especially since he never rejoined, but I think Blueberry would not like her for a bit due to her foiling his plans to rejoin the game. It would come with a healthy amount of respect for her too though, and she would respect him back for the well-made plan, even if it wasn't enough to fool her.

Clover- I think Clover would like Taco a lot and find her funny, but Taco would be a bit off put by that much positivity in one person. Clover would just be a bit much for her, yeah? They wouldn't mesh too well, but there wouldn't be any overt hostility unless Clover was too persistent, but I don't see that happening, really.

Lifering- I can't say they'd be close, but I don't think there would be any animosity or anything. I... don't really see them talking that much. I mean, he'd come help out if she'd gotten hurt as he would for anyone, but over all they just don't really hang out or talk much. Neutral on each other, yeah?

Silver Spoon- Things would still be a bit awkward between them after the whole Overthinkers elimination incident, but he'd probably still want her approval deep down, since he wants everyone's admiration to make up for his own feelings of worthlessness. Candle is working with him on that, so that may help. I can see them gossiping occasionally but their relationship wouldn't go much deeper than gossip buddies.

The Floor- Hm. Well, he's Mephone's assistant, so she automatically wouldn't be his biggest fan, especially after he shows everyone her hiding place. She'd probably just do her best to avoid him, even if he never did anything actively malicious towards her. After the s2 finale reveal, they might get along better, since she's not as annoyed about his loyalty to Mephone when he was literally made to be a loyal assistant after what happened with Mepad.

[jessicas-pi]

Ok so continuing on from this slightly bonkers ramble, I give you: More Spur-Of-The-Moment Thoughts About The Bo And The Blueberry AU.

(for clarity, i'm splitting this up into rebels-era and mandoverse-era..)

rebels-era:

Due to the bad experiences he'd been through on the streets, Ezra was nonverbal for a long time. During his stay on Krownest, he would spend hours painting with Alrich and Sabine, because it made him feel heard even if he couldn't find the words to speak.

Bo-Katan said the adoption vows to Ezra on an impulse. She had just told him that she hadn't been able to save his parents, and he had started to cry. She had never thought of adopting him as her own son, but she changed her mind in that moment and never looked back.

Korkie and Ezra are cousins, but Korkie is honestly closer to an older-brother figure to him. Korkie was very interested in the Jedi when he was young, so he has the knowledge to help teach Ezra about the Force, and how to control and hide his powers. (When Ezra eventually gets the Darksaber, Korkie is his second-most vocal supporter. Bo-Katan is the only one who has him beat.)

When Ezra is about eight, Bo-Katan decides he does need some Jedi training, more than she and Korkie can provide, and sets out to find herself a Jedi who can teach this kid. She ends up on Gorse just in time to plummet headfirst into the plot of A New Dawn. Kanan, upon finding out what she wants, refuses to train Ezra. Bo-Katan is not so easily deterred. She makes a game out of finding Kanan and Hera, helping out on a mission, and then delicately pointing out just how many times she's saved their butts and they really owe her one and yknow Ezra could really use some Jedi lessons...

When Ezra is ten, Maul kidnaps him. Bo-Katan seeks out Kanan again--she knows she can't stop Maul on her own.

In this AU, Kanan defeats Maul, but Bo-Katan is the one to strike the killing blow. She may not be a Jedi, she may not have the Force, but she's a Mandalorian mom. Nobody hurts her boy and lives to tell the tale.

After his kidnapping, Ezra struggles with the Dark side, which gives Kanan the final push he needs to train Ezra. Ezra's recovery is difficult, but he pulls through and is brighter than ever.

Due to Kanan and Ezra training together, connections begin to form between the Mandalorian Resistance and the outside rebellion. By the time Ezra is a teenager, the two groups are cooperating fully.

Bo-Katan knows who Fulcrum is--she recognized the symbol as Ahsoka's face-marking.

Ezra built his first lightsaber with a kyber crystal he found in the Living Waters.

Ezra is much healthier, due to not having to scavenge for his food for most of his childhood. He hit a growth spurt when he was thirteen, shortly before he went to the Imperial Academy and reunited with Sabine. She says she's taller. He says they're the same height. They refuse to measure themselves together and settle it because they're both secretly afraid they're wrong. This is an ongoing argument for the next ten years.

Ezra and Sabine were both really surprised to meet each other at the Academy. I have a funny mental image in my head of them both taking off their helmets at the same time, doing a double take, and then just *spider-man pointing meme* "YOU!"

He was worried for a while that she would turn him in, either as a Force-sensitive or as a spy, but she eventually gave him a vaguely-worded hint that she was keeping his secrets for him.

Sabine still has a big falling-out with her family, but this time, since the Duchess was never used, it's more about the machine's creation itself (and Sabine's decision to run away to the Imperial Academy.) She ends up joining the Spectres for a little while before Hera convinces her to reconcile with her mother. Afterwards, Sabine (and her family) end up joining in with the Mandalorian Resisance.

Korkie, Ezra, Sabine, and Tristan earn the title of Gremlin Squad. Leia is an honorary member as well. Korkie is a lot older than them, but he has enough chaos energy to fit right in.

Ezra and Sabine spend about a year apart during their late teens. By the time they meet again, Ezra has started pulling his hair back. Sabine thanks the Force that she managed to handle the reunion normally because for the first minute and a half there was nothing in her brain except oh no ponytail hot

Thrawn is still purgilled, but since Ezra is a Mandalorian and has a jetpack, he's able to fly out of the window and doesn't get yoinked into the unknown with Thrawn.

mandoverse-era:

So, Mandoverse events take place about five years sooner than in canon. this is solely for the purpose of giving ezra a Chaotic 23 Year Old Who May Not Have His Life Figured Out But By Golly He Has A Laser Sword vibe.

(I've figured some more stuff out, so bear with me because I've changed up the part about Din's introduction from what I said yesterday.)

Luke has also become an honorary member of the Gremlin Squad at this point. He and Ezra met up and discussed their Jedi training. Ezra meets Ben Solo at some point too. He recognizes in the child the same Dark influences that Ezra himself went through after Maul took him, and helps the boy pull through. Ben never Falls, thus averting the events of the sequel trilogy. Luke is secretly a little jealous that Ben thinks his honorary uncle Ezra is cooler than his actual uncle Luke, to which Ezra says, "Aliit ori'shya tal'din."

With Luke's help, the Gremlin Squad becomes the Official Jedi Search-And-Rescue Club. They go looking for more Jedi survivors and invite them to Luke's Jedi school on Mandalore. (Cal and Merrin are some of the first to show up.)

This search for Jedi ends up leading Ezra and Tristan to the planet Arvala-7... mere days after Din Djarin has already retrieved Grogu (AKA the Jedi they were looking for.)

(Din is there early because Moff Gideon's inability to take over Mandalore has moved up the timeline on some other events.)

(Also, Moff Gideon still has the Darksaber, but in this AU, he didn't get it from Bo-Katan, since Bo never got it from Sabine, because Sabine never went to Dathomir, because the events of Visions and Voices never happened. Instead, Gideon got it from Morgan Elsbeth, who took it from Maul's creepy cave and passed it on to him so he could. like. flex on the mandalorians or something idk.)

Ezra and Tristan track Din, because they're worried about Grogu. They constantly follow him for, like, basically 1 1/2 seasons of The Mandalorian. They're always just slightly behind and keep showing up a tiny bit too late to get mixed up in Plot Events.

When Bo-Katan offers to bring Din and Grogu to her Jedi Mandalorian son, Din is not expecting to see one of the two Mandalorians who have been following him constantly. The misunderstanding takes a bit of explaining to clear up.

Oh yeah also. Ezra's response to Bo telling him that she insulted Din to his face when they first met was "Oh, so you're into him?" It was a joke, but the more he saw of the two of them together, the more he started to wonder if there might actually be something there.

When Grogu gets kidnapped, the (official) members of the Gremlin Squad join in the rescue.

After winning the Darksaber and reluctantly agreeing to be Mand'alor, Ezra decides not to live in the palace in Sundari. Mandalore is a dead planet, and a Jedi needs to live with the living. He sets up as Mand'alor on Kalevala, under Bo-Katan's guidance.

Sabine is Ezra's official advisor and Korkie is his PR guy, but Korkie is the one with actual good advice and Sabine is kind of a miracle worker for PR (when she tries. which is not often.) Bo points out that it would make sense to switch their titles, but Ezra thrives on chaos and so he refuses.

Ezra refuses to sit on his Mand'alor Throne in any remotely normal or dignified way. He slouches. He lounges. He sprawls. He sits upside-down. He does one-handed handstands. He and Korkie and Tristan all squeeze together and sit on the throne in identical sets of armor to mess with people. Ezra's Throne Antics are a source of constant exasperation for Bo.

Speaking of the throne, Sabine has claimed the armrest as her official Mand'alor Advisor seat. She thinks sitting there makes her look cool. and yknow what? She's right. It does make her look cool.

Oh yeah, also, nobody knows that Sabine is Ezra's advisor. She wears a plain set of armor, keeps her helmet on, and goes by an alias. This disguise is supposedly for security purposes, but it's actually to keep herself out of the gossip holomagazines. She gets enough attention just as acquaintances with Ezra... imagine what would happen if the press found out she was the one lounging on the armrest of his Mand'alor Throne!

Sabine is also Ezra's bodyguard. She volunteered enthusiastically and kind of begged for the position. Sabine takes a maniacal delight in ferreting out assassination attempts and turning the hunters into the hunted, so to speak. It's like if Kevin McCallister was homicidal.

The first time a Mandalorian clan leader proposes marriage to Ezra, Tristan laughs so hard he falls out of his chair.

----

I have to leave for work now, but I'll probably ramble some more tonight!

[nullfier]

name. sage pronouns. they/them preferred comms. discord! i'm less likely to just hand it out if we've never interacted through the dash and/or tumblr ims (yes they suck) but discord is my preferred method of communication and where i check the most :p name of muse. osamu dazai (+ then my ever - growing multi, +imitor with a muse list that will never shorten, over there i do much prefer to write my ocs when i get the chance but i love all my canons to death too !!) experience in RP. twt rp in the sherlock fandom circa 2010. and then i joined tumblr in 2015, left again for twt rp to write a plethora of the originals you see on my multi today! i came back here in 2021? left again, then came back earlier this year! i think there's something to say that i used to write sherlock and also moriarty, when you look at my muse list now and the character i've fixated on in the glorious year of 2024 (cough, cough - dazai. cough, cough.) best experiences. probably now ? being introduced to bsd after putting it off for almost 3 yrs (sorry macy) was great for me as i've latched onto the world + lore and as a result am very attached to dazai. he just takes up a lot of space in my mind and i love exploring him as a character with so many different sides. but i think i've enjoyed all of my rp experiences as they've come and have put a lot of effort into the friendships i've formed as a result and have travelled to meet friends, but ultimately where i'm at right now is arguably the best. technically it would stem back to 2021 but i met my girlfriend through the grishaverse / secret shanghai rpcs and am the happiest i've ever been as a result :p pet peeves / dealbreakers. i have a lot that i talk about and some that i don't, being that my following/followers are mainly comprised of mutuals and so i curate my space with the utmost care and weed out what i don't like/don't agree with. most things i speak about on dash here and +imitor but i should really add things into a dni even though i don't follow people back if i can see i'd get easily irritated by their content and/or they interact with/write things i don't like. i have the most basic of ones but i think off the top of my head currently the worst one is erasure of women (esp woc) in media and erasure of wlw in media. people think gender - bending their faves from men to women (i'm not including trans headcanons in here, that's totally separate and a non - issue aside from seeing them used purely for sexual fantasy (not here mostly, on twt) - which is not progressive) instantly makes it wlw representation and it isn'tttt, the quicker people learn that, the better. muse preference (angst, fluff + smut). i'm an angst preferer :p to an insane degree almost. i write it well, i like exploring emotion be it happy or sad and like writing tragedy. fluff is next because again it can be so emotionally driven and that's something i really enjoy. smut i only write with one person and that's not going to change. i never used to write it and if i wasn't writing it with her, i highly doubt i would ever be comfortable enough again to branch out and write it with other people. even then it's an still an insane amount of introspection and character exploration but with everything else i just fade to black. :p plots or memes. both! i utilise memes to use when i can't deal with my drafts and want to write (nobody ever has to respond to a meme i deliver if i haven't yet replied to a thread, it just sometimes helps me get into writing) but plotting is preferred for threads or threads that we take from memes to make longer! are you like your muse. like dazai ? not a huge amount. i think i'm funny but i'm unfortunately not a genius! as for my original characters i put a lot of myself into them and their writing, so they're the most like me! esp my unaffiliated originals :p

tagged by. @avichor <3 tagging. @trelonkan, @justsurvival, @nvictive, @reawaken + @tormenther and whoever else hasn't yet done it!!! tag me and say you stole it so i can see it :p

[vorchagirl]

If you want to: what if they had met as children for Rennah and James? (or any characters that spark joy with you!)

Okay - so this works pretty well because Rennah and Vega actually discovered that they were both in San Diego at the same time when they were kids. She was in the Reds, and he would have been younger - a kid who's drug addled and abusive father drove him out of the house more often than not.

Also this turned out longer than I thought, so I've put it behind a cut! The art is by Alex Coggin Art :)

James kicked a rock along the beach, too disappointed and angry that he'd come home to an empty house again to pay attention to the night sky like he'd planned. When his mother was alive she would have greeted him with a warm hug and a snack, but since she'd died he had to fend for himself.

But still, he'd hoped that this time, on his birthday of all days, maybe his father would have cared enough to be there.

James sighed.

His father had gone out the night before on a red sand bender and still hadn't returned. For all he knew, his father was dead in a gutter. And for all he cared, he could be. He didn't give a shit anymore.

Nothing felt right in the world since his mother died. His father couldn't be bothered buying him clothes, shoes or anything he needed for school, and the other kids gossiped about it behind his back. They didn't dare say anything to his face; he was too big and scary for that. But they talked about him, sometimes not even bothering to wait until the 'urchin' was out of the room.

He kicked the rock even harder, tears filling his eyes as his ill aimed kick hit more sand than rock, and the pale beach sand sprayed out around him. He heard a muttered curse from the dune near him, and someone sat up, scrubbing their eyes and shaking sand from their clothes.

"Watch it, or I'll knock your teeth down your throat, asshole!"

The shape in the dunes formed into a tall woman with long dark hair as she stood up. No, James amended as she stumbled out, looking every bit as high as his father had the last time he'd seen him, it wasn't a woman, it was a girl. She looked to be only a few years older than himself, but she was tall - easily the same height as him.

She swayed unsteadily, the crackle of biotics in her eyes as she sank back to the sand with a curse and lay back. Her eyes were red, whether it was from the red sand she'd obviously taken, or the tears running down her face he didn't know. She groaned and let out a sob as she flopped back, milky white skin showing through her ripped black jeans.

James hesitated awkwardly, half-wanting to run away from this reminder of his father's own addiction, and half-wanting to help a girl in distress.

"Are you okay?" he asked hesitantly. "I can call someone if you need help-"

She let out a choked sob that slowly turned into a laugh and held up her hands, making a square with her fingers as she framed something in the night sky.

"No one can help me," she muttered thickly. "But one day I'll get away. One day I'll go up there." The girl pointed up at the stars. "Fuck 'em all. They can't stop me."

Her hands were bloodied, he noticed. Her knuckles were raw as though she'd been fighting, and her pale face was dotted with blood.

He had a feeling the girl was in trouble, or that she'd been through something awful. But he wasn't sure what he should do, so he just stood there, listening as she rattled off the constellations above them, her voice slurring more and more.

"One day I'll see them all," she finished. "One day..."

"Yeah," James wasn't entirely sure what he was agreeing to as he interrupted her gently, but he looked up at he night sky. The stars were brighter than usual tonight, and they shimmered above. "One day I'll get away too."

The girl seemed to find this funny and she glanced over at him, tears shining on her cheeks. "What's your deal, kid? Looking to join up?" She flashed a gang tattoo at him and James stumbled back a step when he recognised the mark of the Tenth Street Reds. She laughed again. "Didn't think so. Go home."

Stubbornly, he stepped closer again, embarassed that he'd almost run. "I don't have a home," he muttered. "Not anymore."

There was an awkward silence, filled by her sniffing as she made an effort to fight back tears. Slowly, she sat up again and looked him up and down, looked properly and nodded at what she saw. The girl's eyes flicked up at the stars, and then back in his direction, and she pulled something from her pocket and threw it at him. It was a wad of cash, and James caught it awkwardly, not sure what she expected him to do.

In the distance he heard angry yelling and the revving of bikes.

"Get out of here, kid," she muttered, her voice breaking. "Get out of here before they find me. Use that to get some dinner and don't fucking end up like me." The girl lay back with a grunt and put her hands behind her head, apparently unconcerned with the trouble heading her way. "And if you do make it to the stars, come find me and say hi."

James stumbled back, clutching the money the weird girl had given him and nodded. He didn't know who was coming for the girl, but she was in a gang and covered in blood, and he had street smarts enough to know when trouble was brewing.

One day, he vowed, he would make it to the stars. And if he ever met the tall scary girl again, he'd say thanks.

[someselfshippernamedalicia]

So because my bisexual ass has decided to fixate on Mòrag Ladair, I guess it's time to make an XC2 self-insert.

Quick mock-up courtesy of Makowka's Picrew. I haven't decided on a name for her yet, but I've been looking into a few Welsh names for inspiration. I'm trying not to let the obvious pun in Catrin get to me, but the fact that it's the Welsh form of Katherine makes it really tempting for personal reasons.

Keep in mind that I've only ever seen a playthrough of XC2, and it's been a while since I've done that, so some of my lore and such might be rusty. (Hey, I want to have some lore compliance in my self-indulgence!) Also, because the Xenoblade fanbase is awesome about marking spoilers, spoilers for Party Member Four of XC2 ahead:

She's a Gormotti apothecary with a small shop in Torigoth. Rex and the gang stop by while getting supplies, and since there's only so much use for traditional medicine when you've got Blade healing, she sells them concoctions more focused on ether replenishment and the like.

Then, uh-oh, one of the party members has a Plot-Convenient Problem™ that can't be easily healed with Blade Arts! Better see if that apothecary has anything that could help. As Rex approaches, he hears voices coming from the door left carelessly ajar:

"You can't expect me to make that! It could kill people!"

That's clearly the apothecary, but the next voice is unfamiliar:

"Either you do what we tell you, or we tell the Ardainian soldiers your little secret."

A third voice, this one sounding downright cruel: "You'd be killing people, anyway, if you had to join the military!"

Rex decides to intervene because these people are obviously up to no good. A fight breaks out, but Rex is all alone! How is he ever going to win this? Suddenly, vines slither out of the ground to wrap up the baddies, and the apothecary emerges from the back room. Behind her is a plant-based Blade whose design I may never figure out because I am garbage at character design.

The rest of the party probably shows up at this point, IDK, but either way, the baddies get clobbered and run away. The apothecary explains that she became a Driver by total accident, but because she hates the idea of hurting people, she kept it secret so she wouldn't be conscripted. Except those guys found out and started blackmailing her to make illicit substances of some kind.

I'd have to go back through the game's story to figure out how this would all fit in, but it'd be funny if this was during the party's first visit to Torigoth just so she can hear Mòrag's whipswords crack followed by "Then I will have to restrain you by force" and be like "Okay that's terrifying but also kind of hot????" And then once Mòrag joins the party proper, my SI probably spends most of her time around her like 😳

Additional fun fact: She writes poetry as a hobby. Mysteriously, her poems start to have more fire imagery as she gets to know Mòrag.

I'm still in the "lol no way she'd wanna be with me, this is just gonna be a big, stupid crush" phase. But that's a potential ramble for later.

[nightcall99]

Dreams from 19.7.24

Dream 1: I was in a classroom and sitting at a desk with ED (a co-worker/friend from 5 years ago). We got along really well, we were chatting and mucking around as class was happening. We had one of those puzzle and game books and were working through the pages to pass the time. One of the most satisfying games was a matching-the-clue-to-a-word game and eventually the words we guess right would spell a sentence. I found it quite fun, but mostly because I was with ED. We talked to the students around us and as they did other things. There didn't seem to be any teacher around. I started talking to a girl about how I thought I was neurodivergent. I said, I think I have autism, when I'm masked I'm normal and you can't even tell because I'm very polite but without the mask I can unintentionally come across as rude and abrasive. ED joined the conversation and said, Me too, that's me as well. I then tried to tell her, Omg that's autism! Are you also sensitive to light and noise? She wasn't. I got excited because I wanted to label her so we could have more in common or some misplaced sense of 'help' where I thought it would benefit her to be aware of it. But I realised it was pointless and not supposed to be part of her experience, so I dropped it.

Then some guy in the class wanted the puzzle book for himself but we refused to give it to him. Some other girl was speaking on his behalf and kept trying to get to us to hand it over. I said, Why doesn't he go to the shop and buy himself one? She said, Because it's like $50 (I think because now it's a rare/old edition) and he can't afford that. After some fighting the guy ended up taking the book off of us. I didn't understand what he was in it for him since we had already filled out all the puzzles so it's not even going to be fun for him. What was the point? I saw him leaf through the pages. Then we had to move to a different classroom and I entered it alone and chose a place to sit down, thinking that when ED caught up she would sit next to me. But she was already on the other side of the room and told me to come over there.

Dream 2: I was in a house and there was a big gathering of family and friends (no one I recognised). We were celebrating something, maybe it was Christmas. Some kid walked in who I recognised as the actor who plays Luke in Modern Family. He looked like he was in his early teens and then when I blinked, I saw him running around the room looking like he was only 8 years old (just like in the earlier seasons). I said to his friend, Did I see that right? The friend said, Yeah he does that sometimes. When I looked at Luke again, he now looked like a teen and then as he was walking away, back to the 8 year old. He didn't say anything to me, he seemed to think it was funny that he could change forms. Other than that, I remember I was interacting with heaps of people which is unlike me irl. I was really happy to engage with everyone and it was like I was a bit manic, or at least just feeling very free to be myself and soak up the good energy. I seemed to know everyone and everyone I came across, I got along with them easily. The energy was very exciting and suspenseful.

Then in the next scene I am walking the streets of the city on my own, when just before I had been with a great many people. It felt like New Year's Eve. I had on a beautiful shin-length party dress and high heels and I felt great. My feet weren't even hurting, in fact I was barely conscious of even having a body. I knew that it was about 11:20pm, so only around 40 minutes left of the year. While I walked, I suddenly thought about the TG chat and were you guys all were. The feeling was I had been with you guys, but you had moved on to another place or scattered and I wanted to find you guys again. Mort replied to me. I don't know what he said but the energy was like we were old friends. In fact, the feeling that pervaded this part of the dream was exactly the feeling of the three of us chatting last night which happened at around 11:20pm too. Subconsciously, it felt like I was 'waiting' for Mort's birthday (even though consciously I did not care), just like I was waiting for midnight in this dream. There was an excitement that nobody knows what to with, and it's only just registering.

As I walked through the city streets, I came across my mother and her friends. She said something low-vibe in Vietnamese, probably shit about me, but I didn't care, I didn't stop. I continued on. Then my father messaged me saying the nursing home tried to get into contact with him and he didn't know why. In the dream, I had tried to get into contact with them a long time ago asking advice about a particular health problem but they were only just now replying. The message they sent him (instead of to me) was referring to him like wasn't even there or sound of mind/able-bodied, like he was a resident of the nursing home, when he isn't. I kept wondering where everyone was.

Dream 3: I was at work in the back area and a big white fluffy dog came up to me. I was highly affectionate toward it and I was so excited to see it. I was saying cutesy stuff to it and another co-worker who was there too watched me and smiled.

Dream 4: I was in somebody else's body and I had just realised. It was a female body. I felt how it was to have someone else's genitalia which disgusted me for a millisecond but mostly I was just shocked to realise I had a human body at all. It's like I hadn't realised I was in a body but I began to recognise that it had been me all along. I then came to realise that I had in fact swapped bodies with anyone at all, it's that I had gone through life unaware of having a body and the strange feeling overtook me just now. It think this dream is about me perceiving the NPC body as foreign.

[draconicmayhem]

"Oh, I see quite fine sets of assets on display today~ Perhaps if one asks nicely, I might join in."

[aphroditesmoon]

as strange as it seems

xavier thorpe x selkie!reader

summary: when your pelt was stolen from you as a joke during carnival night, xavier comes just in time to rescue you.

a/n: xavier warriors, I hear your call, I respond. anyways this is pretty much stupid and insane bcs I absolutely love selkies (they are basically seals that can turn into humans using their pelt) you can google if ur confused.

°°°

There was nothing funny about this. You place your pelt by your side and the next thing you knew, it wasn't there.

A pelt is something very personal to a selkie, and everyone knew that, this went beyond a mere prank.

Now here you were transforming into a fucking seal in the woods alone because, of course there's no body of water near you to dive in.

This is fucking stupid, I have leaves stuck on me, I'm going to throw up, you gagged, which came out as a loud squeaking yelp.

Your angry internal seal monologue was interrupted as you hear loud footsteps running towards the woods.

You stay behind the tree as Rowan enters with Wednesday Addams following him.

It was bizarre what was going on, one moment she was trying to speak to him, and the next, he had her pinned on the tree.

You squeaked in fear, causing him to drop her, suprised. Their eyes glance at you behind the tree for a second before a largely built monster lunges at Rowan and devoured him.

Wednesday's movements only froze for seconds before she sped her way out, leaving you squeaking for help.

The monster's gigantic disgusting eyes stared right into your little sea-lion soul.

Hopping out of the woods was inefficient but also your only choice, so you hopped like a giant bunny as the monster attacks you from behind, grabbing you in one hand and ready to squish you into pieces as your eyes widen and you squeal for your life.

Your panic was halted as a small arrow shoots through his head, it wasn't strong enough to kill him, but enough for him to drop you.

"Stay away from her!" A voice you know too well, shouted from your right.

A wolf lunges at the monster, pushing him back, before a few more of them joins in the bloodbath.

You yelped as you feel hands pull you up to their chest, Xavier grips you to him as he runs out towards the fair, where Wednesday and Enid stands alongside Weems who was already phoning the police. Too much of this evidence can't be removed nor be denied.

She rushes Xavier to go back to the school and he obeys immediately with the other students.

You see him with your pelt slung on his shoulder before he rushes you two back.

The car ride was worse than almost being killed. The way he kept glancing at you, biting his lip from laughing, and immediately failing when you squeaked at him angrily.

"Im- sorry, it's just, I- I mean look at you -"

You squeaked again and slap his hand that tried to squish your slimy face.

Your boyfriend has a way of making you melt and also wanting to shove his face in a bucket of acid.

But god you'd miss that face if it was ever ruined.

He insisted on you transforming when you've reached your dorm so he can carry you up and indulge watching you in your seal form whole repeating terrible seal pickup lines and receiving slaps on his face that he takes too easily for your liking.

When you finally get the opportunity to be back in your human skin and clean yourself from the dirt, you feel relief washing over you, despite your boyfriend's attempt to make you laugh, you were still in a state of shock.

Xavier's own fear was not subtle either, as much as he tries to hide it, and his insistence on sleeping in your dorm that night was only another confirmation.

You swore you'd see nightmares of the monster in your sleep that night, but wrapped in his arms and feeling him press a kiss on your forehead, you woke up the next day with nothing but him on your mind.

[cha-melodius]

Since this is the place to go when one has whacky AU ideas, let me share mine: TMFU fantasy AU where Illya is a galant, brave knight working for evil king Oleg. Oleg sends him on a quest to capture and bring back a mythical creature (I'm imagining a phoenix, but a dragon could work too), beacuse he wants to keep the creature in a cage and show it off to other kings and nobles. Plot twist, this mythical creature is Napoleon (let's say that he can change into human form too because he's magical and powerful). Gaby is a peasant and a part-time inventor from a remote village who joins Illya on his quest.

Oh, I like this one a lot (and I don't think it's that wacky, honestly)! I love magical creature!Napoleon who can change from human to creature form and back again. A phoenix, I see him preening all the time, being pretty vain about his feathers (and hating it whenever he goes up in flames and he has to grown it all out again lollll). Obviously dragon!Napoleon fits super well since he's a great lover of shiny things. You know he has the most fabulous hoard.

Gaby obviously hears about the quest and invites herself along, much to Illya's chagrin. He doesn't have time to be looking after civilians. Gaby of course scoffs at this, because she doesn't need protection. Her story is that she wants in some of the glory, but really she's worried about the quest. Maybe her father (who disappeared when she was young) told her about this magical creature, and how the creature was special, so she's actually tagging along partly so she can see/meet him, but also so that she can try to disrupt Illya's quest. Illya is conflicted because he wants to be very chivalrous to this lady (Gaby laughs a long time at that), but also he has to put up with this troublesome peasant who's making his life difficult.

There's a little town not far from the creature's lair, and Illya and Gaby stop there to stay in an inn. There, they meet a gorgeous, enthralling man with a sharp jaw and a sharper smile: Napoleon. (More under the cut, because this turned into a whole fairy tale.)

Illya is immediately taken with him, but he can't allow himself to be distracted from his quest. Napoleon isn't easily put off, though. He finds out what Illya's aim is and tells him he can help, offers to go with him. The last thing Illya wants is another tag-along, but he also finds it quite difficult to say no to Napoleon, which is how they all end up traveling together. Napoleon tells them stories about the creature (about how wonderful it is, naturally), and as they get closer Illya's misgivings about his quest grow. He never liked it from the beginning, the idea of caging some wild creature, but he likes it even less after hearing everything from Gaby and Napoleon.

Meanwhile, in the days it takes them to reach the creature's layer, Illya falls steadily more and more in love with Napoleon. How can he resist? Napoleon is vibrant and smart and funny and fucking stunning, and Illya doesn't stand a chance. So when, the night before they're due to reach the creature's lair, Napoleon just disappears, Illya loses it. He's distraught, thinking something happened to Napoleon, and he spends the next day searching for him to no avail. He thinks maybe Napoleon went after the creature himself for some reason, maybe he got into trouble, so Gaby and Illya finally go to the creatures lair. Of course, they find the ring that Napoleon was wearing there, along with the creature, and Illya goes off in a blind rage, thinking Napoleon is dead. He captures the creature, and it's only through Gaby's intercession that he doesn't kill it. Instead, he binds it using the magical rope he'd brought along that will prevent it from escaping or wielding any magic of its own.

The trip back is somber. Gaby tries several times to convince him not to turn the creature over to Oleg, but he won't hear it. For all he knows, this creature killed Napoleon. When they get back, Oleg is naturally delighted. The creature is put in its magic cage, Illya is lauded as a hero, and Gaby goes back to her inventions. There's a problem, though. The creature is fading. Becoming dull and lifeless, a mere shadow of its former glory. Illya finds himself visiting the creature, though he doesn't really know why. To try to find out what's wrong with it, he says, though that's not it. He mostly talks to the creature, because the creature can't speak and just listens. It's safe to talk about all the things he can't normally tell anyone. He tells the creature about growing up, how his father was imprisoned and how he owes Oleg for picking him out of the gutter. That's why he couldn't say no. He also ends up talking about Napoleon (he doesn't notice the creature perk up at this), and even confesses that he thinks he was in love with him.

Despite the fact that he still thinks the creature is responsible for Napoleon's death, he worries about it. He goes to Gaby, because she seemed to know a lot about it before. She convinces him to sneak her into the palace to see it, and the creature perks up again at her presence. Clearly it's this cage, she tells Illya, a creature like this isn't meant to be confined. That's what's killing it. Illya doesn't know what to do. He can't betray the man who gave him everything (even if that man also always treated him like dirt), and anyway the creature killed his love. Why should he help it? But he knows in his heart what he must do. He's the galant knight, after all. So he opens the cage, but by this point the creature is too weak to move. Illya carefully gathers the creature into his arms to carry it out. Once free of the spells that dampened its magic, the creature transforms back into Napoleon, right in Illya's arms (naked, of course, lol—creatures don't wear clothes!).

Illya is stunned, and thinks its some kind of trick at first, but Napoleon convinces him. He's still super weak from the confinement and not being able to use his magic, and so Illya takes him to his house at first. As Illya is nursing him back to health, Napoleon asks if what he said when he was talking to the creature was true. Illya tries to pretend he doesn't know what Napoleon is talking about, because he assumes that there's no way Napoleon can love him back, but of course that turns out not to be true! Napoleon fell in love with him immediately, which was the only reason he allowed himself to be captured in the first place: he couldn't hurt Illya, even to save himself.

Napoleon improves, but before too long Oleg finds them. He's enraged by the fact his creature is gone and he's convinced that the newcomer (Napoleon) is behind its escape (well, he's not wrong). Illya of course refuses to kill him, which makes Oleg even angrier, and he threatens to arrest Illya just like his father. Our intrepid trio have to flee for their lives. Fortunately, between Illya's strength, Gaby's cleverness, and Napoleon's magic, they don't have much trouble. They go back to Napoleon's lair to pick up as much of his hoard as they can, though they can't stay there because Oleg's people will be looking for them. Instead they decide to set out on their own to see more of the world, traveling from town to town and picking up odd jobs. Eventually they find someplace far from Oleg's kingdom to settle down and spend the rest of their lives (this kingdom is ruled by a sarcastic but kind king named Waverly).

And they all lived happily ever after.

[boop-le-snoot]

@buckyownsmylife hey babe! Remember that one time you threw that cool challenge? Here's my entry. Prepare to get absolutely ruined because daddy!Bruce is exactly that sort of man.

main masterlist ☀️ taglist

emotional support nerd

Your best friend's dad, Dr. Bruce Banner, is hotter than you thought he would be. 6k words, NSFW. Kind of Alt!Reader - she refers to herself as 'goth' in one instance. Tony Stark makes an appearance because God forbid I write a fanfic without him in it.

This is filthy pron, ft. age difference (reader is college aged) daddy kink, throat fucking, dirty talk, praise kink, cream pie, possessiveness, belly bulge and ending with a hint at a threesome. I really crammed all I could from Eyre's wheel in here, didn't I. Oh well.

"How much longer, dad?" Lyra's annoyed voice struck a chord within me. I tried to hide my snickering - unsuccessfully might I add - causing my best friend to shoot me a hurt look, equally fed up with me as she was fed up with her forgetful adopted father. "You know what, we'll take the subway."

Lyra's father's voice, both agitated and apologetic, reached my ears in bitten-off phrases as the traffic noises around us grew in volume, NYC rush hour rapidly approaching its peak.

With a sound huff, Lyra removed the phone from her ear, staring me down with the most amount of petulance I've ever seen on her usually reserved, placid face. "It's twenty more minutes. Apparently he's driving Tony's car," she offered in the way of explanation, like it actually did anything to better the cold, wet situation we found ourselves in. "Please, and I can't stress this enough, please don't be weird."

I felt a flood of amusement at Lyra's pleading tone. "Darling, if you wanted a normal friend, you should have looked elsewhere," I gestured to my outfit. I looked like a goth boy's wet dream: chunky platformed boots, fishnets, heavy eyeliner. Of course, all in black.

"You know what I mean," she whined, waving off my pointing hand and fixing me with a hard stare. "The least my dad needs is someone that is terrified of him just because sometimes he turns into a big green monkey. It's not as exciting as internet thinks, anyway," the last part of the sentence was mumbled but I heard it nonetheless as Lyra stared out into the traffic, clever eyes looking for a particular car model.

What Lyra didn't know was that I was not at all considering to be terrified by the man who dosed himself with radiation and developed an advanced version of split personality disorder. I could be intimidated by him, sure, because he was incredibly intelligent, a world class scientist with more PhDs than I had zeroes in my bank account, but even despite his green problem, Dr. Bruce Banner was about as far away from 'scary' as a man could be.

The few scarce pictures of him on the internet showed a short, stocky man with kind eyes and salt-and-pepper curls, always dressed in un-ironed, crumpled button-ups with dorky patterns. Looking at him, I mused that there was a high chance he spoke with a stutter and that fact amused me to no end. Jekyll and Hyde, alright.

Lyra was much the same way. Shy and reclusive, with curly brown hair and doe eyes, she spent a good chunk of her first semester in college being avoided by everybody because of her last name; I, on the other hand, avoided everyone out of habit, I'd never been a social butterfly, but the way people subtly made sure to exclude Lyra from all the activities filled me with quiet, seething rage, and I stepped over my general distaste of people and removed my bag from the seat next to me so Lyra could at least study in relative peace.

Yeah, yeah, you've heard it all, I'm sure. Weird goth chick adopts a socially awkward, shunned nerd and they become best friends forever. I had to admit that under the shy exterior, Lyra was smart, witty and even funny sometimes. She was willing to entertain my crude jokes without moaning, at least, and I was perfectly okay with listening to her rant about science every now and then.

Rain banged on the slanted roof of the café we were hiding in, the autumn wind howled, making both of us shiver at the prospect of having to go outside, even if it was for a short moment to run to Lyra's dad's car. The day had started out warm and sunny, but much like a badly calculated chemical formula, it all went downhill a split second after we had set out to leave campus.

"There he is," the grouch in Lyra's expression had me once again unsuccessfully attempting to conceal my snorting.

Nonetheless, I followed her out into the rain, struggling to keep up with the brisk running in my platformed shoes, unceremoniously crawling into the car behind her without sparing a glance at the driver in my eagerness to get out of the freezing downpour.

"Hi, dad," Lyra's tired voice spoke up at the same time as I angrily shook out my hair.

"I've just about McFuckin' had it with New York," I was afraid the dye in my hair would bleed out into my clothes, or even worse, the nice, cream-colored car seats.

"Hello, ladies," the voice that greeted us was low, gravelly and apologetic to boot.

My eyes shot up, meeting an expression full of surprise and amusement. I stared at the shockingly handsome face of Dr. Bruce Banner like a deer in the headlights.

The fine mimic wrinkles had stretched into a resemblance of a smile, soft, plush lips revealing a set of straight, white teeth. The five o'clock shadow framed his jaw, giving it a sharp, defined edge, his clever brown eyes slid down my form, faltering on the pentagram on my belt and my fishnet-covered legs, settling on my chunky boots before hastily snapping back up to my face.

"Dad, this is..." Lyra's voice was full of suspicious bewilderment as she attempted to dissipate the sudden awkwardness.

"Oh, yeah, I'm Dr. Bruce Banner, but you can call me Doc or Bruce," he cleared his throat, turning himself towards the windshield and starting up the car.

"Nice to meet you," I busied myself with putting away any stray hair just to occupy myself with something during the time I needed to recuperate from being just... Looked at by Lyra's dad.

It sounds ridiculous, I know, but I was so taken aback by his handsomeness and his aura of a gentle but powerful man that the ride to Stark tower, however swift, went on in slightly awkward silence. The streets outside were, thankfully, noisy, and the lack of an attempt to have a conversation could easily be attributed to Bruce's need to focus on the road, but Lyra's increasingly concerned looks did very little to settle the sudden racing of my heart.

"C'mon, I'll give you some sweats so you can let your..." Lyra's vague gesture towards my upper body disappeared behind her side of the door. "Hey, Tony," she suddenly interrupted her sentence, very obviously addressing another person who I managed to miss as Bruce parked in the spacious garage.

"I've been told you're finally bringing your friend, Green Pea," a voice I'd heard a thousand times on the TV poked fun at Lyra.

She bent down to retrieve her bag, shooting big eyes at me and mouthing an exaggerated "Sorry!"

Tony Stark looked about a week in debt on sleep, a contrast to the way he usually appeared in public. The exaggerated eyebrow raise made me shuffle awkwardly in my spot; the Led Zep tee caught my eyes as I lingered on it, aware of my own Mötorhead top on display. He noticed it too, causing his face leave the snide territory.

"Wow, I didn't expect kids these days to have any resemblance of taste in music but you've surprised me, Corpse Bride," he gave me a quiet wolf-whistle, watching me through lidded eyes.

I felt my eyebrow crawl upwards at his attitude but Bruce spoke up before I could say anything: "Tony, no," so firmly, I had to raise both of my eyebrows. I felt a smile tug at my lips, the situation strikingly familiar in it's essence. Like father, like daughter...

"No," Lyra's identical expression, fond and annoyed, topped up with an accusing finger pointed in my direction had everyone snorting a giggle at the situation.

"Lyra," I whined, just so I could coax her grin that she was very obviously trying to conceal. "See, I told you, every crazy genius needs their emotional support nerd," I fixed her with a pointed look.

She promptly grabbed me by the arm, leading all of us to the elevator as the two men behind us shared a hearty laugh at my well-timed joke. It was either that or I would have completely embarrassed myself by gaping and drooling over both THE Tony Stark and Lyra's father.

The rush didn't stop there. I was promptly and generously offered not only a spare pair of pants but also a whole room to stay in after an invitation to dinner I simply could not refuse. Dr. Banner firmly coaxed me into staying overnight with his pleading eyes and a hearty seasoning of guilt tripping, softly crooning how he simply could not let a young woman to wander the cold, rainy night in NYC alone.

Tony added something too, in a tone way too surefire and patronising. I guessed he noticed my eyes lingering on Dr. Banner, being a genius and all.

In a short amount of time, I found myself seated at a dinner table next to a happy, giggling Lyra who'd downed a glass of wine and was well into her second. I found it adorable how much of a lightweight she was; not hesitating in the slightest to point out that fact when she made hands for a pitcher of water.

Tony was the first one to snark back something vague about his college days and all the wild parties he used to throw, booing Bruce upon discovery that he, in fact, actually studied in college in favour of partaking in various illicit activities. That had both me and Tony giggling with Lyra promptly joining in, both of us losing it over the running joke or her being either a test tube baby or the result of immaculate conception.

Bruce's face blushed scarlet. He sputtered, a few stray drops of his lemonade landing on the (ironed!) collar of his purple shirt, cough disappearing in the wake of Tony's truly amused cackling. Dr. Banner was well on his way to either choke on his Lo Mein or turn green; thinking quickly, I decided to defuse a situation by sharing a harmless, funny story that happened to me as a freshman.

"I went on a date with this guy who said that music was the most important thing in his life, and I thought, wow, that's so beautiful!" I began my story over Lyra's incessant snickering. "So we had dinner and went back to his place because I'm a whore," the whole table erupted in laughter at my deadpan remark, Tony reaching over to give me a high five.

"And as we got there, he put on one of his demos which was just a bunch of sampled and remixed Guns'n'Roses songs, and I thought wow, that's gotta be one of the worst things I've ever heard," I pointedly looked away as Lyra's cackling grew in volume, having heard the same story several times by now and the outrage I expressed at the situation first hand.

"But instead of that I said, wow, that's so cool! Then we did the thing and his whole bedroom was covered in Axl Rose posters and I'm sure at some point Mr. Rose stared right up my asshole," there were tears streaming down Lyra's face as Tony flopped his upper body onto the table and Bruce convulsed helplessly in a silent fit of giggles. "And then I thought to myself: wow, I would have to pretend to like his music if I dated this guy and I just couldn't do that..." I breathed out, succumbing to the mirth at the dinner table. "It was good but not November Rain good, y'kno?"

Bruce snorted loudly, sliding down his chair with a hand over his face. The table shook with the force of Tony's cackling; I didn't see his expression but the howling, rasping noises sent me into another fit of laughter, right on par with Lyra.

"Is this..." Tony rapidly inhaled the much-needed oxygen. "Is this why you keep wincing whenever I play the 'Roses in the lab?" Tony wheezed and Lyra nodded.

"I just... I can picture it, and I-" she made a vague, encompassing gesture and a face.

"Please, don't," I urged with a snort. "There are better ways to get disappointed."

Dinner went on by smoothly after that, everybody happily making remarks on my dating fail, the topic of Lyra's birth and Tony's college shenanigans dismissed.

I caught Dr. Banner's pointed look as we finished our dessert - he was studying me, eyes searching for something that he very obviously wished was there. From the damp roots of my hair to the soft, cotton top clinging to my chest, I wasn't left unscrutinzed and unexamined. Like one of the many specimens he studied on a daily basis, Bruce lingered on the many characteristics that made me stand out in the grey crowd.

"Would you like to see the labs?" He asked, appearing behind me without a single sound.

The freshly cleaned dishes clattered in my arms. I'd almost dropped them, startled, but Bruce's hand landed on the top of the stack right before the top plate would have slipped off and shattered into pieces on the cold tile of his kitchen.

Blood rushed to my ears. "I'd love to," my brain had briefly returned to reality, the rush of meeting both Stark and Banner succumbing to logic and reason. My and his fields of study briefly overlapped, the question he posed was more than reasonable. In fact, many people would cheat, lie and steal to be in my position.

Bruce smiled, opening a cabinet and taking half of the dishes I was holding to stack them up in their proper place. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up, exposing wide, muscular forearms littered with dark, coarse hair.

I was sure my face was flaming. After waving off Lyra's attempts to put shoes on me and leaving her to watch her TV show, a wide, warm palm rested on the back of my waist, gently steering me towards the elevator.

I tried to keep my eyes off Bruce in the large mirror on the walls of the car as it swiftly moved down, scrutinizing my appearance instead. My throat bobbed, the elevator car suddenly too small and too hot.

His eyes left marks on me - invisible ones, the kind that I knew were there just from the scorching heat sizzling on my skin.

There was a certain je ne sais quoi about him. Perhaps, it was in the way he was acting - a polar opposite of what I'd had expected, Dr. Bruce Banner possessed a quiet confidence and his patience appeared to be endless, heartily doused with an appreciation for his closest ones. The way his eyes lit up in response to people smiling around the dinner table was hard to miss.

When Bruce spoke about his research - whatever wasn't classified, anyway - the spark expanded into a mischievous fire. I could hardly understand the nuances in his work, scratch that- I could not understand a single word he was saying, at all. The individual syllables registered as they should, but my traitorous brain could only focus on the way he licked his lips in between quickly inhaled breaths.

"You're not... Following, are you?" The corner of his mouth lifted upwards, clever brown eyes fixed on my face.

God, I hoped I wasn't drooling. But to deny the obvious would have been a stretch. "No, not really," I swallowed, willing my eyes to lift from the large veins on the hand that was pointing at a set of equations. Reasonably good at math any day, they looked like the scribbles of a madman to me at the time.

Dr. Banner sighed, letting silence creep among the whirring machinery in the lab for a brief moment. "I don't scare you?" He removed his glasses, cleaning them with the corner of his shirt.

The question reeked of self-doubt and, perhaps, insecurity. "No," I answered simply, not giving him the slightest chance to find doubt in my words. I was barely holding my voice from shaking, afraid he'd misunderstand my reaction to the sudden change in atmosphere.

He was closer to me than I recalled. My hip was almost brushing his, the bulk of his shoulder millimeters from touching against my bare skin, the smell of something herbal, like tea, and sharp chemicals clouding my senses. It was such a contrasting experience.

Bruce turned to me, an expression between hunger and regret forcing me to shiver and look him straight in the eye. A hand landed on my waist, holding me in place with gentle firmness. "I'm a monster, I could hurt you," he whispered, leaning into me like a touch starved kitten. The man screamed contradiction. "We shouldn't."

Vivid images of the Hulk and the rampages years prior flashed through my mind; the rubble, the collateral damage in the form of many lives. I barely remembered it, having been too little to really understand what was going on. One thing, though, I knew for sure: ever since the world became aware of Lyra's existence, there had been no incidents. Sure, the Hulk still appeared when there was a threat, but there were no documented incidents of the green creature running amok, accidentally.

"You won't hurt me," I spoke with conviction. Perhaps, I was bluffing just slightly but I wouldn't lie like that to myself. The variable, the... Twelve or so percent chance of things going... Awry, it made a small, malicious worm inside of me rejoice and fill my limbs with familiar adrenalised yearning. "You're not a monster. Far from it, actually," I used the hand that was not supporting me against the desk to gently cradle the side of his face, letting my fingertips brush over the rough five o'clock shadow on his cheek.

Bruce emitted a sound somewhere between an agitated grown and a pleading whine, sagging with the sound exhale, pressing himself flush with my chest. His face slipped from my palm, the warm tip of his nose running a steady line up my neck, sending goosebumps running wildly down my back as his hot breath tickled the arch of my throat.

"Baby," the nickname punched a stuttered gasp out of me with the intensity contained in just that one word. "I've been hearing all these amazing things about you," his voice dropped, low baritone rumbling straight into my ear. "I won't be able to hold back. I'll want you all to myself," his bicep flexed under my hand.

My knees would have bucked if I wasn't grasping onto Bruce for dear life after those words. I had some sense of personal pride in me, so while my body was an easy, traitorous thing, my mind was more than eager to participate in this game, to ping pong a little bit before... "Yeah? What things?" I breathed.

Teeth briefly closed around my tender skin, nipping for just a second. "You're kind, beautiful," his hand took a steadfast hold on the back of my neck, exposing my throat to his mouth. More skin to mark, more time to whisper. "Intelligent, bright and clever," the more he spoke, the fiercer he became. Bruce's grasp tightened until I was pliant in it, willingly following his silent commands. "A bit of a pain in the ass," a healthy dose of humour was added into the mix as my ass was roughly grabbed, our fronts pressed together at his insistence.

"That sounds about right," I didn't resist the sudden urge to snark, thoughts lazily floating in my head, like clouds on a bright sunny day, fleeting and sparse. None of them caught on. I was focused on feeling the need, on my need to feel.

A sharp smack landed on the plump of my ass, the sound resonating in the eerily quiet lab. The sounds of machinery had dulled at some point, leaving just the two of us panting our lust into each other's space. "I know you can be a good girl. Will you, princess?" His fingertips dug into my flesh, surpassing the soft sweatpants as if they weren't even there.

I could only nod, dumbly, overcome by the sudden rush of blood to my body. The life coarsing through me sang, demanding a release of the pent-up tension.

"What's that?" Bruce removed himself from my neck, catching my unfocused eyes with a crooked smirk on his lips.

"Yes," I swallowed, breathing through my mouth.

"Mmm," he hummed, running both hands over my sides, over the frayed edges of my Mötorhead top. He admired it, briefly, setting his eyes on the band logo that was right over my breasts. Having decided something to himself, Bruce promptly removed it, lifting it over my head with ease and leaving it right on the science lab table.

Taking hold of my hand, he walked over to a hidden set of sliding doors that revealed a rather large, frequently used bed, shutting them just as I walked in, wearing only my bra and borrowed sweats. My back was pressed to the door in mere seconds, hot palms chasing away the chill of the lab as Bruce slotted his lips over mine.

He tasted like something I've never had before. His lips - so plush and supple, took hold of the kiss with practiced gusto, sucking me in without a chance or the desire to escape. I drank from him, sucked on the bottom lip as his tongue explored my mouth, danced with mine.

The room was spinning, the ringing in my ears growing in volume. I was only partly aware of the sensation of sliding down the wall; our knees thudded on the carpeted floor simultaneously, heavy breathing the only noise I could distinguish.

"Breathe, baby, that's it," Bruce coaxed, gently stroking my nape. The soft cotton of his shirt crumpled under my fingers where I held onto him, desperately searching something to ground myself with.

The buckle of his belt clattered and then clinked again as he wrapped the worn leather around my wrists, bringing them together in front of my chest. I exhaled sharply at the intimate gesture, a whine bubbling up from my chest when Bruce used a single fingertip to raise my chin.

My eyes met his; a brown iris tinged with the faintest of green around the outer edge. "This okay, princess?" He sought my face for confirmation, for agreement, for anything.

I nodded, stuttering mid-gesture, remembering our previous interaction. My mouth did not want to cooperate but I forced it to, even if it came out as little more than a pitiful mewl. "Yes, daddy," the word, sweet and sticky like fruit syrup, poured from my lips.

My eyes slid shut as my conscience - or was it common sense? - took hold of the situation. I was on my knees in front of my best friends dad, a virtual stranger, and I'd just-

Bruce's soft chuckle stopped the negative spiral of my thoughts. "That's my girl," he sounded a tad more breathless now, a hairliner in his perfect façade of self-control. As if he'd sensed my indecisiveness, he tugged on the makeshift restraints, pulling me closer, closer and into his lap.

A warm, solid chest with a healthy amount of fluff greeted me. Bruce let my lax, pliant body fall into his arms, catching me effortlessly and bringing my face to his lips. "You have nothing to be ashamed of, you're my good girl," he peppered soft kisses all over my flaming cheeks, my twitching nose, my fluttering lashes.

"Please," I begged, shame giving way to the flood of arousal that seemingly hit me all at once. I was aware of the dampness collecting in my panties, the stiffness of my limbs from holding back the ravenous desire to paw at Bruce like a wild animal. "Please, daddy..."

"I know, I know, baby girl," he soothed, not stopping his tender assault on my face. "Daddy will make it all better. I know just what you need," Bruce finally pulled away. I heard the sound of him undoing his zipper and then the awkward shuffle of him shucking off his pants.

Somewhere in between of all that, he'd ended up sitting down on the bed, wearing only his boxers, his shirt hanging open. The red crawled down his chest, partially masked by the coarse salt and pepper hair; his lips were cherry red and his hair was sticking out in odd directions. Bruce looked sinful.

My eyes inadvertently landed on the impressive bulge in his boxers; in response to my widened eyes, he reached out for it, stroking the outline of his thick cock through his boxers. "Like what you see, baby?"

"Yeah," My mouth watered.

"Baby wants a fat cock?" He teased, sounding like he knew exactly what he was doing, testing my self-control like that. With a flick of his wrist, it sprang free, slapping against his tummy, coating the fine hairs with drops of clear, musky fluid.

I swallowed, feeling the taste of him from afar and yearning for more where I was parked between his spread legs.

In a gesture almost loving, he tugged on the belt still wrapped around my wrists, bringing my face to his leaking shaft and my hands to the base of it, letting me feel the weight of his balls in them. The cock throbbed, neglected, weighed down by the heaviness of his full balls.

"Go ahead, baby, suck my cock," the encouragement came with a gentle push to my head.

I obediently followed, wrapping my lips around the pink, moist crown of it, a hum beginning in the back of my throat. My God, Bruce tasted heavenly... I whirled and slipped my tongue a around his head, I dipped into the slit to drink the nectar right from the tap, idly coming to awareness of the broken, choked moans coming from the man above me.

Raising my head got me a view of his chin; head thrown back, the lax O of his mouth glistened in the meager light. My eyes slid lower, to the flex of his abs. Bruce fought hard to stay still. The desire consumed me, a sudden rush of power at having Dr. Bruce Banner's cock in my mouth and the man at my mercy; I inhaled, sliding my mouth further and further down his throbbing length.

"Fuck," I heard him mutter before his hands gripped the sides of my face. "Hungry, baby, are you?" His eyes glowed a faint green; I shuddered at the power he held within himself. Held back for me. "Tap my thigh twice," he spoke and I had no choice but to obey. "Okay. Do that if it gets too much, alright?" I nodded. He gave me a wide, beaming smile. "Good girl," he praised, experimentally bucking his hips into my mouth a few times.

In and out. I focused on my breathing, sharp, little inhales: his girth took up all the free space in my mouth, the tip of it barely fit into my throat. The burn, the stretch; I felt every tenth of an inch, every bulging attempt of my body to accommodate Bruce's huge cock. It was delicious, I couldn't help but crave the same stretch in my neglected, sopping wet pussy.

"Fuck, you're taking it so well," Bruce moaned wetly. "Your mouth... S'like heaven... Could fuck it all day, that's my good girl," the rambling increased in it's intensity as the pace of his hips hastened. Drool and tears flowed like a river; my chin was dropping with it, spit connected my face to his pelvis. "Oh," there was a brief pause to his movements; suddenly, he pulled out, fisting the base of his cock, staring me down with a ferocious gleem in his eye.

I must've looked a straight mess; my face like a crime scene, my clothes disheveled, covered in fluids and most of all - I was desperately grinding against my own feet, too focused on the glorious cock in front of me to notice the weakness of my own flesh. "Daddy?" I questioned, wincing at the grating of my own voice.

Without a word, the belt was tugged once more; in a set of movements just slightly north of acrobatic, I found myself laying on my back in the middle of the bed, my sweatpants suffering a haste demise in the corner of the room.

Bruce crawled atop me, leaving a trail of sloppy kisses on every inch of my skin he could reach, mouthing something inaudible into every pore of my body. As he drew closer, I discerned bitten-off phrases, stringing my desire into sticky, tangy mess at the apex of my thighs.

"My perfect baby girl," the words reached me; all tongue, he kissed me once more, arching into me as much as I arched into his hot grasp. A brief inspection of my face - he was satisfied with what he saw - and Bruce crawled back, settling in between my spread legs, breathing hot air on the lips of my sex still covered by a sopping wet piece of fabric.

"Oh fuck," I yelped, feeling him smooch it soundly, the hot wetness of his tongue penetrating the meagre lace barrier with ease.

He moved it aside anyway, with a single finger, giving my pussy a broad lick, moaning into my cunt like a man gone mad. It took a few more licks for him to feel sated enough to surface, all the while holding my hips down. I was so sensitive, I felt even the tiniest flicks to my clit, I was sure if I didn't cum then and there, I would explode.

"Such a pretty pussy, princess," his heavy breathing paused briefly. He nipped my thigh. "So wet, is that all for me?"

"Yes, yes, daddy," I rasped, pushing my cunt into his face, losing all shame and trepidation.

"So tasty," he continued the torture, outlining my lower lips before taking another nosedive right into it, swirling his tongue around every fold, sucking onto my clit.

Bruce ate my pussy until my thighs shook, until my core quivered and I could no longer hold back the choked, ragged screams starting somewhere in the low of my belly and coming out as unholy, all-consuming yowls filled with unadulterated lust.

"Louder for me, baby," he inhaled rapidly, and then, he sucked on my clit.

The world stopped, halted on it's axis, every muscle going rigid in my body and every nerve ending simultaneously coming alive. Faintly, I heard a chant, repeating two syllables over and over, it sounded like my voice - but I had no control over myself. All I could do was weakly grind my hips against Bruce's mouth, faltering when the crashing waves of my orgasm began to recede.

The infuriating overstimulation stopped; blinking hazily, I saw Bruce's eyes glimmer brown and green in front of my face. His nose and his chin was glistening with a thin coat of sticky fluid; disheveled and red, he looked a man on the verge of a revelation.

Something hot and blunt nosed at my cunt, bringing back the moment to me - I realized, with a great deal of impatience - how empty I felt. The decision was minute. "Daddy, fuck me, please, I want your cock," the words came easily.

"That's my girl," his eyes fluttered shut as the first inches squeezed through the snug of my cunt. I was sopping wet and as relaxed as I'd be, but even then, it was a stretch. "Good girl, good baby," the mumbled praise made me whine and my pussy clamp on his cock. "Relax, let daddy fill you up." Breathing through it, I consciously unwound myself around him, letting my palms rest freely on his shoulders. "Let daddy take care of you."

Like melted sugar, his husked words stuck to me inside and out. Short, sharp thrusts; Bruce was patiently burrowing himself inside of me, making his way to reach the deepest parts of me I didn't even know existed. His cock head pressed against something hard and spongy inside of me; stars burst behind my eyes I'd clamped shut on reflex.

I moaned weakly, tugging on his arm, pressing myself closer. It felt so, so good. Like a raw nerve had been exposed and he was stroking it, pushing that little switch with every stroke of his hips.

"I'm not gonna last," he muttered as once again, my cunt squeezed him snugly in place, just as greedy as I was to feel that tiny explosion spark up within me again.

"I want..." I panted. Bruce set in a punishing pace after that, a palm under my ass, squeezing it so hard there would definitely be bruising. I craved it, I needed to see the evidence this was not some elaborate fever dream. "I want... Daddy to fill me up," words came out garbled; it sounded like gibberish to my ears but Bruce - they spurred him on.

"Oh yeah?" That breathless, boyish cockiness was back in his voice again; despite how fucked out he sounded, I prepared myself for something truly out of this world. I just knew.

He sat back on his shins, dragging me by the hips with him, making me shiver and moan and twitch and clamp onto him again as his throbbing cock hit that special spot again. And again. And again.

"Look at me, baby," a hand on my belly and his eyes burning right through me. As they slid down, towards the apex of my thighs where he was still moving within me almost lazily, I saw it.

"Oh fuck," I couldn't utter much more than a two-syllabled profanity. There was a bulge in my belly, just above my pelvis, moving in rhythm with Bruce's hips. And then he pressed on it and I-

Something, someone, somewhere was screaming. The noise was loud and pitched, but even then, I could barely hear it though the neverending waves of bliss that enveloped my whole being. Gold and silver at the edges of my rapidly darkening vision; I was drowning in something that smelled and felt like Bruce. The safety of his arms, the warmth of his heated body, the rapid snapping of his hips-

Oh.

"I'm gonna, fuck," the last word was but a ghost of a human speech. Growling low and filthy, Bruce leaned into my ear, his breath hot and moist. "Mine," his hips stuttered, his cock nestled deep, the sensation bordering on painful, forcefully extracted pleasure. It throbbed with every spurt of his seed; each one felt like a solid punch in the gut to my abused pussy.

"Daddy," I mewled, my body jerking away from him but my mind and my soul yearning for more. His rapidly softening flesh made the idea of being separated unbearable.

"S'good, s'my good girl, m'so proud," he mumbled, looking slightly disoriented as he removed himself from me, immediately pressing me to his side and interwining any free, flailing limbs.

We laid in silence, each of us slowly coming back to Earth after the completely unreal experience we just had. I didn't know what to think, didn't know what to do as the realization set in, the post-orgasmic haze giving way to a sudden rush of clarity.

"I can hear you overthinking," Bruce's voice was fond.

Before I could muster up the courage to snark back, the divided doors opened, one very concerned Tony Stark standing there, armed with a tranquilizer gun in one hand and a pack of cookies in the other. His mouth, previously open to (probably) yell at us, remained as open when his eyes had registered the scene in front of him.

I stared at Bruce. Bruce stared at Tony.

"The noise," he offered in the way of explanation, dangling the pack of cookies, looking, for once - speechless. He recovered quickly, however, even if the remark was a thin ghost of his usual sass: "You pick the nerd over me? I'm hurt," he scoffed in mock irritation, although I was pretty sure I saw some satisfaction in there, too.

Bruce looked at me. I looked at Bruce.

A mischievous grin slowly crept up his face, an identical one beginning to appear on my own face seconds after.

"Hey, two nerds is better than one, right?" My response is what did it; or, rather, it was the evidence of my previous throat-fucking clearly audible in my voice... Tony dropped the cookies and then, the tranq gun.

Bruce Banner taglist: @pilloclock @mikariell95 @letsby @sleep-i-ness @toomanyrobins @persephonehemingway @mostly-marvel-musings @schemefrenzy @lillsxd @bluecrazedandbeautiful @slothspaghettiwrites @sapphicnoodle69 @couldntbedamned @xoxabs88xox @marvelsbanner @tripleyeeet @tatestripedsweater @stuckybarton

[firefly-in-darkness]

Separation, Connection - [1/2]

Pairing →Bucky Barnes x Reader

Characters → Marvel Characters

Summary → Your friendship with Bucky deterioates when you catch him in a compromising position with a fellow agent.

Word Count → 2.3k

SSB2021 Square Fill → “God I hate you” - @star-spangled-bingo

AFG Square Fill  → “What the fuck am I seeing?” @anyfandomgoesbingo

Warnings → 18+. Angst, Heartbreak, Jealousy, Swearing

Betas → @kalesrebellion // all mistakes are my own.

A/N → This one was sitting in my WIPs folder for ages, and after brainstorming with @writethelifeyouwant, this 2 parter was finished! Ps. I know I haven’t updated Worst Idea Ever in a while and I’m sorry - I’m just very stuck with it atm, the plot and majority of the story is planned out, I just can’t seem to fill in the blanks.

Firefly’s Masterlist

You and Bucky were close, and there was that little thin line between friendship and something more. Nothing had happened but, god, you had wanted it to. The secret crush you harboured for your teammate, your friend, had only grown over the years. Everyone thought you would be good together, commenting on how well you got along, that friendship was an important part of a relationship. Both of you rolling your eyes and laughing at their comments.

When you finally gathered the courage to tell him how you felt, you saw him with someone else. They were at the back of the training facility; the team were in a simulation of a terrorist attack on Paris and once the time on the training session was called, you stumbled across them.

They were just out of sight, hidden in a dark corner. And it wasn’t just a casual embrace. They were having sex, he was fucking her, hard, up against a wall. You froze at the sight of his bare bottom clenching with each thrust and the blissed-out look on her face. What the fuck am I seeing?! Heart shattered, you fled from the room without a sound, not wanting to disturb them or for anyone to see you crying.

It hurt too much to be as close to him after that, you consciously decided to withdraw from the friendship. Not going straight to him when entering a room or staying in bed instead of heading to the rooftop where you’d usually wander at five in the morning to talk with Bucky, putting the world to right.

And of course, Bucky noticed. It had been a week since you had joined him for a midnight chat in the kitchen. He was missing his best friend. He wanted to share his life with her, and she was nowhere to be seen unless someone else was in the room. 

Bucky knew it was a bad sign when you chose to sit next to Wanda, not sandwiched between him and Nat, on movie night. He felt alone in a room full of friends, as they watched a film about a love triangle set in England. It was supposed to be funny, but Bucky didn’t hear the jokes, let alone the punchlines. 

Nat had realised something was wrong too. She saw the dark circles under your eyes when you drained the coffee from the cup in the morning and the puffy redness from crying in the middle of the day. She had detested the way you and Bucky were before, it was like a pair of magnets drawn together, a connected ribbon, a gravitational pull. But now? Well, you were repelling within a few meters of one another, and she hated that even more.

“What did you do, Barnes?” Nat whispered harshly, eyes still on the film.

“Nothing.” Bucky looked over to you, sleeping with your head resting on Wanda’s lap.

“So why is Wanda looking at you like that?” She raised an eyebrow.

Bucky lifted his gaze, saw the fiery red eyes staring back at him as she stroked your hair, a soft red mist falling over you. He frowned at the Sokovian and tried to talk telepathically but she shook her head and looked back at the television.

On autopilot, you ran from your room to his bedroom door, knocking until the screams died down. Long ago, you’d learnt to not enter the room until he’d settled down, had the bruises to your neck and dealt with the guilt-ridden expression on Bucky’s face for weeks.

Pressing your ear to the door, you could hear Bucky moving about and slowly pushed it open so as not to startle him. A soft glow from the lamp at his bedside welcomed you in, he'd stacked his pillows against the headboard with his knees drawn up and resting his head in his hands.

“Hi, Buck. It’s me.” You spoke softly, his head and eyes shot up to meet yours.

You walked over and sat at the end of the bed, averting your eyes to the floor and fingers fiddling with the edge of a blanket, waiting for him to respond.

“What did I do doll?” He croaked, fingers running through his hair, his knees dropping down.

Your heart raced and you were certain he could hear the harsh thumps, but your voice remained steady, “It's nothing, just need a little time to process some things.”

“You normally come to me. What's different?” His voice was strained, thick with distress.

Standing up, you walked towards the window, arms wrapped tightly around your torso. You could feel his eyes burning into the side of your face, but you remained focused on the navy sky fading to blues and oranges with the sunrise.

“I can't this time Buck, I need space. I need space from you.” With each word, your heart fractured along the lines you’d attempted to piece together with being away from him.

“Get out then, just leave me alone.” His tone was now harsh, stronger than before.

“God, I hate you.” Without a final glance, you left the room. Your heart in tatters once more.

Once in the safety of your room, the sob heaved out of you. Bucky had disregarded you so easily, he let you go without a second thought. And you didn’t know what was worse; what you saw a week ago or what he just said.

Bucky finished his 76th lap when someone caught his eye. It was you. His best friend. The one he stupidly let go of. It had been three months since he'd told you to leave, and you hadn't gone back on his word.

Of course, Bucky was just as stubborn and hadn't approached you unless it was work-related. But there was something different about you. His eyes focused on the man you were standing with, and how you glowed, and Bucky just couldn't stand that you were feeling that way about a random recruit and not him.

“She used to look at you that way.” Wanda’s voice echoed in his head.

He scanned the field and found her figure leaning against a tree, shading herself from the summer sun and a book in hand. Bucky grabbed the small towel and wiped away the sweat, swigging his water bottle, then joined her on the grass.

“What are you talking about? She’s never looked at me like that.” He gestured towards you and the agent.

Wanda chuckled and shook her head, “You're not blind, or stupid, Bucky, she adored you. Still does, even though I wish she would get over you.”

His brow creased. “She wanted space, ended our friendship.” 

Wanda’s eyes flashed red, “And you broke her heart.” 

“Show me.” Bucky held out his hand, pleading with her, “I don’t know what I did wrong.”

“I can’t Bucky. It's private, she would never forgive me.” Wanda shook her head and placed her book in her lap, “I've seen what she's done to you, I'm not going to lose her too.”

Bucky sprang to his feet and kicked at the grass. “Then just tell me what you know. Just something?” He turned to face you, hands on his hips as he tried to think of what he’d done.

“Paris terrorist simulation,” Wanda stated without emotion.

Bucky turned around, seeing nothing but a neutral expression on her face. The simulation had been a success, the whole team had done well but he hadn’t seen you at the debriefing. Steve said you were exhausted and needed to rest. 

“What about it?” asked Bucky.

“Don't deny it. I saw it, I felt it. She had no chance of blocking me from that pain.” Wanda stood up, eyes flickering red, “you and that agent. I thought you were better than that Bucky.”

“Shit.” 

Bucky knew exactly what Wanda had meant before she explained. Shame coursed through him; he'd broken your trust by not telling you about the agent he’d been hooking up with. Honestly, he didn't want you to know, didn't want you to judge him for the flings he had. Subconsciously, he knew that was what your distancing was about because he hadn't seen her again or hooked up with anyone since.

All he wanted was you back in his life; he was going to make it happen.

Wanda smirked, shaking her head before walking ahead of him, “Best get a move on Barnes, she’s not thinking of him in a platonic way.”

Bucky’s jaw clenched and he strutted towards you, determined to get you back.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder and he could only hope you still felt the same way.

You couldn’t believe Bucky dared to pull rank on you in front of another agent. That he had the gall to do such a thing after he told you to leave him alone, how he betrayed your trust as a friend and unknowingly broke your heart.

You stormed down the blurry corridors as anger took the form of tears. Your whole body tense and determined to get away from the assassin on your tail. People parted like the sea as they saw your strut and scowl, you scoffed at their reaction and thought, this must be what it’s like to be Bucky on a mission. Using it to your advantage, you managed to pull someone by the arm and into the path of the Winter Soldier.

While you sprinted away, you glanced back and spotted Bucky helping the woman to her feet, apologising profusely and then realising it was the agent you had caught him with. Your blood boiled as you pushed through the door to the stairwell, it slammed against the wall and probably damaged it, but you didn’t care anymore.

It wasn’t until the breeze hit your face that you realised where you were. You’d come to the rooftop, the exact spot that you’d air all your worries with Bucky. It was the place you’d first bonded outside of the team. 

A hand dragged down your face and your shoulders slumped. You spun on your heel, ready to escape when you stopped short. There he was, blocking the doorway. You groaned, of course, he knew exactly where you’d go even before you did.

“I just want to talk.” Bucky quietly spoke, a hint of a question in his tone but a statement all the same.

“I’ll scale down the side of this building if I have to.” You stepped back towards the edge.

Bucky growled and walked towards you, “would you quit being so stubborn and dramatic for one second?”

“Just leave me alone.” You threw his own words back at him, stopping him in his tracks.

At that moment, you could see that Bucky realised how hurtful those words were, but you weren’t going to console him anytime soon. He should suffer for how he spoke to you and for never attempting to speak to you until now.

Bucky slowly circled you towards the edge, his eyes focused on you while you turned in tandem following his moves. He reached the railing then settled down into a seated position, legs hanging over the side, his chest against the metal pole.

“Are you going to join me?” Bucky’s gaze now on the horizon.

With a roll of your eyes, you sat beside him, but at least a metre apart, you couldn’t get that close to him. He was too intoxicating, and your emotions were incredibly high, even if they were full of anger and hurt, and you didn’t trust yourself not to succumb to his charm.

“Are you going to talk then?” You sassed back at him.

“I’m sorry for what you saw. You shouldn’t have seen that.” Bucky didn’t hold back, “I was going to tell you, I just thought you’d judge me.”

“I’d judge you. For sleeping with a colleague. In the middle of a training simulation?” You scoffed, “You didn’t tell me about her. Or anyone else for that matter. Natasha filled me in on all your little late night rendezvous when I was on missions.”

“I didn’t mean to.” Bucky knew he’d not win this conversation and scrambled to bring it back onto his side, “you were away, and I needed something, someone.”

“So, you used them and used me too?” You glared at him.

“That’s not what I said,” Bucky seethed, annoyed at the way you were twisting his words but not surprised with the pain you felt. 

You continued, ignoring his comment, unable to stop the words falling from your lips, “I gave you emotional support. Watched you cry yourself to sleep after a nightmare, held your hand when you had a panic attack during a mission.” You shook your head at him, “I just wasn’t good enough for the sex part.”

Bucky held your chin and pulled your face to look at him, “You mean more to me than that. I just didn’t know how you felt. If I’d had known-”

You jerked away from his touch, it felt too nice, it felt like home, but you weren’t ready to fall back into this friendship. He knew how you felt, and you weren’t ready for his rejection. You still needed your space.

Swiftly, you returned to your feet, brushing down your trousers and hands, “Thank you for your apology, but I can’t forgive you.”

Bucky stood up and watched you begin to leave, “I’ll do my best to make you see how much you mean to me.”

You paused in the doorway, but you had to be strong, to carry on walking away, you couldn’t let him hurt you again. It was time to move on.

Continue Here...

Everything Tag List: @kitkatd7 / @fandomfic-galore / @writerwrites / @thefridgeismybestie / @wedonttalkaboutitenough / @courtneychicken / @persephonesinfernos / @miraclesoflove

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strike through - unable to tag.

[simpingandprocrastinating]

𝙀𝙌𝙐𝘼𝙉𝙄𝙈𝙄𝙏𝙔 - 𝘊𝘏𝘈𝘗𝘛𝘌𝘙 𝘛𝘞𝘌𝘕𝘛𝘠-𝘛𝘞𝘖

𝟮𝟮| 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘

· · ───────────── ·𐂃· ───────────── · ·

"Then stop making that face, it doesn't suit you." An awkward silence overtook the two as Maria stood there, confused by his words.

'It doesn't suit me?' She thought. Did it mean she was somewhat pretty to him? Perhaps this was a weird way for Levi to compliment her face when she wouldn't be frowning or maybe she was just looking into it way too deep. The honey-blonde shook her head and made her way past his form.

"Then I just have to go and visit our Commander. The only problem here is that I don't have a horse and I can't take any of the others." "I will take you in the morning," Levi spoke in return.

"Alright," Maria muttered while brushing some dirt off her pants. "If you don't mind." "I wouldn't have told you so if I didn't." The ravenette sighed and went to turn around. "Right..." She trailed off.

"You're up for a walk?" "Huh?"

"Are you gonna keep this up all night? Because every time you seem to open your mouth, some idiot starts talking. Don't make me repeat myself." Maria scrunched up her face and blinked at his response.

"Harsh." Although Levi was being his usual rude self, she didn't fail to hear the small chuckle that escaped his lips after her little comment. Seeing a certain playful side to this man would be counted as something really rare, but hearing him laugh quietly made her believe she'd at least grown a little closer to him in these weeks.

"But yeah, I'd love to take a walk." "Come on then."

Maria didn't have to let him tell her twice and went to grab her crutch that she had popped up against some hay bales. This time the short male made sure to wait so she could catch up. As the two walked on in silence, Maria made sure to check on the watchtower where she caught a glimpse of Armin's blonde hair.

Being couped up in a cabin with seven teens made Maria think back to her early Scout days. She also realized how different things had worked out considering she never envisioned becoming a Lieutenant in the first place. Aside from that, Maria finally got the chance to talk to each new squad member separately. Except for Historia – who still didn't talk much after she made her past known to the squad, the morning after they arrived at the cabin. That's why Maria took the time to get to know all of them a little better one on one, despite the fact most of them had already spoken to her before.

Even when she was still dealing with the loss of their old squad, Maria felt like Levi had done a great job at picking the new squad. Now that Jean was around her again, she reminded herself how grateful she was for being able to survive for so long.

"Something's on your mind." "It's funny how you can read me so easily these days." But the truth was, Levi had always been able to read the small woman, this time wasn't an exception. Walking on at a slow pace, Maria began to speak again.

"In all honesty, I somehow imagined everything would be different when I joined the Scouts." She began while Levi turned to watch the side of her face. "I felt like I had nothing to live for. Now I realize that Jean was - and still is - a great part of my life. But back then, joining the Survey Corps was for me to escape."

At first, Levi didn't answer and just listened to what she had to say. Although this wasn't the first time Maria would speak in such a vague manner, Levi couldn't help but ask himself what she meant by 'escape'. Surely Erwin knew about her past, but she never brought it up when she was with anyone else. But Levi wasn't dumb either, looking back at how frail and insecure she'd been, he just put two and two together. Just like him, she'd had a shitty past growing up in Trost, or at least something close to that. Even so, comparing the underground with Trost District would be like trying to compare apples to oranges. So it had to come down to something that affected her family, maybe a past relationship, or some kind of incident.

"Here I thought I was going to be an ordinary squad member and die at some point just like everyone else seems to do..." A soft laugh rolled over her lips. "God that really sounds pathetic, but right now I just can't believe I've been doing this for over five years...

"What I actually meant to say is; ever since the expedition, it feels like the weight on my shoulders has increased tenfold... I'm looking over the squad whenever you and Hanji aren't here, and not just because of this. I can't help but think about when I had to take over when Eld died, and my inability to lead because I felt like I wasn't ready to do it. Right now, I feel like I have to be ready for anything because things are bound to go down any day now... This squad needs you more than anything and here I am not even ready to fight whenever you need me to. You and Hanji put in your effort to at least get Erwin to see I'm not completely useless, which didn't even work may I add... Not that I'm not grateful, I just don't think I'm a priority like you've been saying multiple times already, with everything going on regarding Eren and Historia."

Levi scoffed as he stared up at the star-filled sky.

"You're looking too much into it. If that's what you're worried about, then stop. Also, I don't know why you feel the need to take care of everyone all the time but, guiding these brats and training, I know it's tough on you. But you don't owe me anything Bambi, if anything, I owe you for being the one to keep everything together. With that dumb giddy smile of yours..."

'If you think I'm a born leader, you're wrong.' Levi let a sigh roll over his thin lips.

"That may be so, but I can't think of anyone better to lead this squad and give them instructions - when it comes down to cleaning - than you Levi. Meanwhile, I'm trying to make sure Sasha doesn't eat our entire food supply." Maria snickered.

"Speaking about cleaning, they still lack proper cleaning skills." "Yes, that's what you're worried about." She now smirked, earning an ominous look from the raven-haired male. "Hey, you do you. I'm not questioning your ways."

"You know I will keep you responsible if those brats aren't doing it right." Levi couldn't help but enjoy seeing the honey-blonde protest at his words. A content feeling washed over his body and for once he felt at ease again being in her presence, just like before everything became complicated.

· · ─── · ·

The next morning Levi kept his promise by taking Maria back to Trost District. The way to HQ had been silent for most of the ride, but Maria didn't seem to mind as much as she thought she would. Being caged in by Levi's arms made her feel safe, although she'd imagined it would be awkward at first. The talk they had the night before had eased her mind. Maria also reminded herself Levi didn't know about the feelings she held for him, so she was able to push those thoughts away and enjoy the moment.

Now she stood in front of Erwin's room, the honey-blonde contemplated about entering. The past few weeks hadn't done much good between her and Erwin and she felt hesitant about speaking to him. She had called him names and even threw a book at him in a moment of anger. Not to forget that the man hadn't been amused when he found out Maria had joined them in Ehrmich District. The only consolation she had right before facing Erwin, was that Levi told her he would join them as soon as he was done with whatever he needed to do.

Maria just wanted it to be over with and knocked on his door. "Erwin... It's Maria, you wanted to see me?" The way she spoke was pretty informal, but for now, she couldn't bother to use her title for he had dismissed her anyway. Awaiting his answer, she took notice of the many MP's in the hallway.

"Come in Maria."

When she entered the room, Maria's eyes fell on Erwin's stubbled face. She sure wasn't used to seeing him with a beard and unstyled hair. Next, her eyes drifted off to where his arm was supposed to be and grimaced in reaction to seeing it for the first time.

"Hanji kept going on about how she got you to walk again. I couldn't help but want to see for myself." Erwin began, a small smile adorning his roughed face.

"Stop beating around the bush Erwin, why is it you want to see me now. Is it because you want my pity?" It may have come out harder than she intended to, but she did not regret telling him to get straight to the point.

"I got what I deserved I suppose. I do want to make a sincere apology, but I won't be holding any expectations for you to accept it." The honey-blonde let out a soft sigh as she made her way to his bed to sit down next to it.

"I must say, it's incredible to see you on your feet again."

"These days have been challenging," She began. "My leg is getting stronger, and I can walk to a certain extent, although I still have to use a crutch from time to time. Hanji, Levi, and the squad have been a great help, and I wouldn't be here, like this, if it weren't for them."

Maria's doe eyes made contact with Erwin's piercing blue ones, showing the same determination as to when she started to train all those years ago.

"But I do accept it."

· · ────────────── · ────────────── · ·

< 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 | 𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗫 | 𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 >

[doyelikehaggis]

Rowing the Rarepair Rowboat: Zay Babineaux x Isadora Smackle (Girl Meets World)

Requested by anonymous

"Gummy bear?" Zay offers, holding out the bag of Haribo to her.

Isadora smiles. She reaches in and takes one--a green one. They all, of course, have the same flavour, which is of artifical chemicals and sugar. Yet she still can't resist the sugary goodness of sweets.

"Thank you," she says, then bites the tiny head off of the bear, giving it a thoughtful look as she chews. "Why are you so nice to me all the time?"

The question is sudden, she realizes after asking, and after seeing the look on Zay's face. It's not exactly a topic that makes conversation flow very easily.

"Never mind," she quickly says, with nervous laughter. "Um, what would you like to talk about?"

It's usually a good way to make a conversation work. She and Zay have been having many successful ones over the last few weeks. Hence her curiosity, but she realizes that it's not a question people tend to like being asked.

But Zay doesn't take her change in subject like she was expecting him to. Instead, he lets his brows scrunch together in genuine thought.

"Well," he says, "because I think all people deserve to be treated kindly. Most of the time. But also, you're just... really nice to be around."

She tries not to look confused. That's a compliment, she's sure, but it still doesn't answer her question of what about her makes her so allegedly nice to be around. Even if him saying it does give her a strange fuzzy feeling beneath her ribs.

Zay glances at her and must be able to read her confusion anyway. He gives a small smile and shifts himself on the stair to turn to face her better.

"Okay," he says. "For one, you're really smart. Like--genius, scary, could absolutely destroy me with just your mind alone smart, and I like that! I learn so much from just a five-minute conversation with you."

"And that... makes you want to be around me?" Isadora asks, a smile forming on her lips.

Zay nods. "Absolutely! And you don't get fed up of me easily, so that's a bonus. And you actually laugh when I make a joke!"

"Because you're funny!" she says, laughing.

He joins in, nodding. "I know that! But no one but you agrees with me! So, it's nice to be around you, because you... get me, I guess. I just really like you."

Isadora perks up. "I really like you, too, Zay."

Zay smiles, and the fuzzy feeling is suddenly in her face. Warm and making her cheeks ache as her smile refuses to fade. He pulls out another green gummy bear and hands it to her.

She takes it and silently eats it, pondering over her thoughts as Zay takes one for himself and goes back to observing the people walking people. This is nice, she thinks as he gently nudges her and asks her thoughts on what the couple at the end of the hall are discussing.

[anthropwashere]

our indestructible days ch 3

ch 1 | ch 2

=

Stubborn child! Tenacious little brat!

Pride seethes as he carries his new container up through another ruined, empty floor of Father's home, teeth gnashing at stone and metal. How could one inconsequential human soul cling so stubbornly to its body? Especially after being absorbed into his Philosopher's Stone?

It's lucky the little alchemist is such a mad acrobat, otherwise Pride wouldn't have been able to climb to the surface as quickly as he has, even with his shadows to assist. There's only a floor left between him and the parade field. The light from Father's attack has faded now, but he's still wary of jumping out without having a better idea of the situation out there. The light alone hadn't been enough to damage his Stone, but it had been an altogether painful experience for his true form.

A part of him hates to let those survivors scurry off—all those long years guarding Sloth's tunnel, no doubt—but now isn't the time to hunt down vermin. His Stone has only barely stabilized thanks to those few soldiers he'd consumed. He was able to grow this container a new leg without much strain, but he doubts he'd be much good in a proper fight. He's made the mistake of underestimating humans before. It's not a mistake he's keen on repeating.

He slims his shadows to a few cautious coils, tasting the air. Even up here he can smell the living humans below, soaked in blood and snaking away from the epicenter of things. They could reappear virtually anywhere in Central but he doubts they'll go that far, not with how injured they are. Aside from them there's nothing but corpses down there, which won't do him any good. Thanks to absorbing Gluttony he finds the meat delicious, yes, but it's souls he needs. 

Aboveground is a far different story. He sniffs again and can't help but smirk. There's dozens—no, hundreds of humans gathering up there, rushing around with their hearts racing and sweat salting their warm skin. He smells too, all the silly little guns they're hauling around in some vain hope of stopping Father.

Pride licks his lips, eager now. They want a fight, do they? He may be weak, but he thinks he can at least provide Father a distraction.

He's careful to keep his container out of sight as he peers over the last crumbling edge, curling tendrils into the air and squinting in the brightening daylight. Behind him Central Command is in ruins, as if some enormous hand had come along and taken a scoop out of it. He can smell only a handful of living humans there, most of them bloody and bruised and terrified. Before him a triangular stretch of the parade field is charred black, heat to sting the razor edges of him still rising from it. Greasy smoke smothers the air, reducing visibility to a frustrating few feet. From here he can only make out the woman sacrifice, sprawled nearby and barely conscious. He can smell her pain, the new bruises and welling blood, but it's nothing serious. There's no urgent spike of adrenaline in her blood, no sour snap of broken bone nor the damp heat of exposed organs. She'll live, for now.

The wind shifts. He narrows his eyes, sniffing, and finds the shredded remains of Alphonse Elric's armor a little further off. Beside it is the troublesome Xingese girl, weeping loudly. Has the younger Elric's blood seal broken? Either way, he won't be taking part in this fight any longer, not in the shape he's in.

The woman sacrifice—Izumi, wasn't it?—wakes, coughing roughly. "H-Hohenheim," she forces out, and as if summoned by her voice Father appears before her, so quickly that neither Pride’s eyes nor nose sensed him move. A strong hand grabs Van Hohenheim out of the dust that had obscured him as well, knocking him aside like so much refuse. He lands in a heap some distance off. Pride pays his piteous groaning no mind, relieved to see that Father still has God's power within him.

"Father!" He cries, springing out into the open to present himself. Izumi twitches nearby, straining to see him over her bloodied shoulder.

"You're first," Father says, raising his hand. Red light arcs between his fingertips. Too late, Pride realizes what he means to do—

Pain riots through his container. All his thoughts collapse to panicked static. His newly acquired lungs and heart seize, his every muscle spasms and his every joint locks. He would scream if he could because to have true flesh is to be set on fire. He'd thought the leg bad before, but he'd retreated into his Stone at the first white-hot shock of hurt and here he's pinned in place, nerves flayed, choking on ash—he can't, he isn't, how is it possible to—hurt—so completely? Defense—he—he must defend against—shadows—his self—all gone, he can't think, he can't—

Father is going to kill him—

A gunshot cracks in the distance, and a wound appears in a fizzle of come-and-go alchemical light at Father's temple. Father's concentration breaks. Pride nearly falls on all fours, sucking in dirty air with a relief that unmoors him. He doesn't hesitate, falling back on the instincts of this taken flesh. His hammering heart says run, so he runs. He sprints through the thinning smoke, wanting distance, needing time to get his bearings, needing to understand why Father just tried to kill him—

He ducks behind some heap of rubble near Central Command's wall, pressing his spine against it and shutting his eyes against the acrid sting. He's—he's panicking. He is, isn't he? He's never one to panic. He is first of the homunculi, oldest and strongest and cleverest. He won't—can't—be cowed so easily as this. Even if—even if it was Father that came so close to—

He is one part of a greater whole. This is something he's always known. But it's never occurred to him that Father might one day want that part back.

No. Never mind that. Father had his reasons. He always does. Surely Father only intended to siphon Fullmetal's soul away, to tear the stubborn child out so Pride could have unfettered control over this container—

[Coward.]

Pride freezes—still panting for breath, damn this flesh—and glares with several pairs of eyes. That voice. It shouldn't be possible, and yet— "Just how many of you damned insects are clinging to sentience within my stone?!"

[Oh, it's just Fullmetal and myself in here, and he's not doing too well at the moment.] Kimblee's laughter grates for all that it's not, technically, real. [He doesn't enjoy the company as much as I do.]

In the distance Pride can hear-smell humans shouting, soldiers making a perimeter in some feeble-minded attempt at hemming Father in, barking out nonsensical orders to one another over the bustle and clatter of all their useless weaponry. A man shouts over a megaphone that Fullmetal is not to be confused with Father, which is a relief and in some small way, terribly funny. He watches the clamor with his container's eyes, peering carefully around the crumbling edge of what might have been a bit of the east wing. If he focuses he thinks he can very nearly feel the pinpoints of solidity within his Stone, Kimblee as fine and bright as a needle, Fullmetal a stolid lump fumbling his way back to consciousness at a snail's pace. "I suppose you'll be wanting to fight me for control over this body next?"

[Oh no, not at all. It'd be a poor fit, I think. And besides, I already have a front row seat to the glorious battle going on right now. Just listen to it!]

The attacks are certainly concussive, if nothing else. From his position on the field it only looks like the soldiers are wasting a great deal of ammunition for nothing; Father's glimmering shield is protecting him even from the heat and dust of the blasts. Some soldier down there belts out a command to take cover and scarcely a moment later a gout of flame rushes down the same charred path as Father's earlier attack to engulf the majority of the parade ground in an inferno. It seems that despite his newfound blindness the Flame Alchemist remains unwilling to sit idly by while there's murder and mayhem to sow. Still, it'll take more than that to slow Father down now.

"They stand no chance against him," he mutters aloud. The plan has fallen apart, perhaps disastrously so, but Father will win. It's only a matter of time.

[No chance?] Kimblee asks, pausing when another gout of flame explodes across the parade field. This one Father catches as easily as a child's toy and sends it right back. Even after that display, amusement curls Kimblee's voice. Infuriating creature. [You say there's no chance, that you homunculi are so much better than humans, but what's Greed without his human vessel? What are you?]

"I am Pride the Arro—"

[Just the two of you left now, and that only thanks to the humans you've attached yourselves to. You claim to be higher life forms, yet you're really nothing more than parasites. How disappointing.]

"I won't die here! Whatever the cost, I refuse to die today!"

[And if your Father willed it otherwise?]

He flinches, and loathes this treacherous body all the more.

[He seemed eager enough to kill you a moment ago,] Kimblee goes on cheerfully, [Yet you turned tail and ran away the second you could. You were named for your dignity as much as your arrogance, yet all you've proven today is that you're a hypocrite and a coward.]

"BE SILENT, KIMBLEE!"

[Mmph.] The Fullmetal lump shifts within his Stone, waking up properly. Pride very nearly throws his hands up in exasperation. [Ah, hell. That hurt. What happened?]

[Welcome back, Edward. I wasn't sure you'd be joining us again.]

Pride curls his mouth irritably, digs dirty nails into the stone's crumbling edge. The automail arm only twitches at his side, still stubbornly resistant to his will. "How many times must I put you in your place until you stay there?"

[Ha. At least one more. Where are we?] 

Pride has no chance to reply before his control is tugged away from him. Edward Elric wavers, bracing himself with both hands against the same stretch of scorched stone. Pride's connection to the container and all its startling sensations remains; a sour tang of nausea burns their shared throat, dizziness makes their pulse pound in their ears, a line of sweat down their spine makes them shiver. Edward directs their eyes about the parade field and back to Central Command, taking in the splendor of Father's power. Their ears ache with the ceaseless crack and boom of gunfire.

"Holy shit,” Edward breathes.

With a growl of displeasure Pride pushes back and retakes control. The boy's too stunned to put up more than a token resistance, one that's easily brushed aside. Pride smiles, licking the new configuration of his teeth. "Do you understand now? Do you see what Father is capable of, despite all your little tricks? Are you still so certain you'll win?"

Kimblee whispers, so quietly that Edward seems not to hear, [Are you?]

[Of course I am,] Edward retorts, and while he's unable to wrestle control of his body back he does manage a few of the eyes circling at their feet. Their shared vision wobbles and blurs, and Edward grumbles. [Jeez, how can you stand this? I think I'm gonna puke.]

"Then stop it."

[Nah.] Their shadow twitches, an inelegant lurch that nevertheless forces one of their eyes to loll, and in just such a way that it glimpses Edward's bare left foot. Through their mutable connection of his Stone Pride feels the stuttering evolution of Edward's reaction—dumbfounded, denying, horrified, furious. Their mouth opens against his will and Edward's snarl froths out. "My—my leg. It's—the automail—it's gone. You—you son of a bitch! You really cut it off?!"

[It was slowing me down,] Pride replies calmly, content for the moment to take refuge in his Stone. It almost feels as he did in his Selim container this way; placid, unflappable, controlled. [You're welcome, by the way. I saved you the trouble of trying to get back the original one.]

"Wh—That's not the point! Al and I made a promise! After we found out the cost of making a Philosopher's Stone we promised not to use one for ourselves! We never wanted to be so selfish as to use another life to fix our mistake! Al and I—we—I didn't...."

Edward's inhale is a shaky mess. He sways again, gritting his teeth. It seems he has a new tendency to speak through more than one mouth if he lets his anger get the better of him. How interesting. Pride certainly hadn't manifested one of the three thin mouths in their shadow. Edward bends at their waist to brush their left hand across their new knee cap, draws a line down their shin, splays their toes on the sun-warmed concrete. Pride feels each sensation like a static shock, which isn't half so bizarre as the curdled snatches of Edward's thoughts he absorbs secondhand. Nerve damage—phantom pain in the night—gone, it's gone, he shouldn't feel anything because it's gone—Granny said the cold would be harder on him—cold night spent lying awake, teeth gritted, muscles aching—no amount of massaging around the ports ever helped—Al's metallic voice, "Did you dream about Mom again—"

Pride retreats deeper into his Stone, startled by how real that felt. The ever-groaning souls inside him keep their distance from his toothsome shape—all but Kimblee, who sidles up to him with an overly familiar grin. 

Outside, Edward reins in his anger enough to ask, "Where's Alphonse?"

[In pieces,] he replies sullenly, and finds base satisfaction in the diminished jolt of panic he feels from the boy. [The Xingese girl has been using what's left of his armor as a shield—]

Red light crackles in their shared vision and a feeling not unlike a brand burns his Philosopher's Stone. He writhes within and without, as much from shock as from pain. When he can see clearly again Edward's braced against the rubble, breathing raggedly. "Shut up," he growls.

[You're so willing to be free of me you'll hurt yourself to do it?] Pride marvels. 

"Shut up," Edward repeats, a mouth splitting in their shadow to hiss the same. "You too, Kimblee."

[I didn't say anything.]

"I can feel how much you're enjoying this." He spits, wiping their mouth with the back of his automail hand, then begins a clumsy half-jog back into the thick of things. There's no telling if it's the new leg or their shadow nipping at their heels giving him more trouble.

[Where are you going?] Pride demands. [What do you intend to do?]

"I'm gonna find Al, then I'm gonna make that bastard pay."

[If you confront him, Father will take my Stone for sure!]

"Good. Let him take care of you for me!"

[He'll kill you too!]

"I don't care!" Edward picks up speed, keeping low and favoring their new leg. When Pride opens a train of eyes in their shadow Edward trips, slapping a hand over their container's eyes with a curse. Nausea tongues his Stone, altogether unpleasant. "I gotta make sure Al's okay!"

[Damn you!] For all that he tries to wrest back control Edward just hangs on to himself harder. Pride rages, scattering souls like gravel beneath the wild sweep of his awareness. Edward snarls back and picks up speed.

[Such dedication!] Kimblee exults, a white sore in his Stone. [Such drive! He really is an admirable creature, isn't? Put a fire under him and he'll burn himself gladly for the chance to keep those he cares for out of it!]

[Be quiet!]

Kimblee calms, raising one unimpressed eyebrow. [Why should I listen to you? A pitiful homunculus who couldn't keep a single human under heel?]

Pride seethes.