#4649

[spffnity]

fiercesome ghost king gets CAUGHT by gege, you wont believe what happens next

[mostbelovedaewwrestlertournament]

Most Beloved AEW Wrestler Tournament 2

[avakkins-alter]

🍓🤍 | 埃

[damnfandomproblems]

Fandom Problem #4649:

Not being able to physically take your friend to see a movie you've been wanting them to see because they live halfway across the country and neither of you have cars or the money to spend time together.

[quiltofstars]

M60 (center) and NGC 4647 (lower right) // Michael Maas

[pesterloglog]

Caliborn, Dirk Strider

Act 6, page 4646-4651

undyingUmbrage [uu] began jeering timaeusTestified [TT]

uu: HELLO DIRK.

uu: I WANT TO PLAY A GAME.

TT: Oh mother fuck.

uu: WHAT DO YOu SAY??

uu: tumut

TT: What game?

uu: YOu KNOW WHAT GAME.

uu: THE ONE WHERE I SAY. I'M GOING TO KILL ALL OF YOu SOME DAY.

uu: AND THERE'S NOTHING YOu CAN DO ABOuT IT?

uu: JuST SOME MORE MENACING SHIT LIKE THAT.

uu: ALL JuST BuNDLED uP IN THE PRETENSE OF A LOT OF uSELESS FuCKING PuZZLES.

TT: Oh, right.

TT: That game.

TT: And here I thought you were going to ask me to draw you more weird porn for some reason.

uu: WELL. THE NIGHT IS STILL YOuNG. SO WHO KNOWS?

uu: BuT NAH. I WAS JuST DROPPING BY AGAIN TO SAY HOW I'M GONNA KILL YOu. THAT'S ALL.

uu: AND THIS IS JuST ASSuMING YOu DON'T ALL DIE BEFORE I GET THE CHANCE TO PuZZLEMuRDER YOu. ON ACCOuNT OF YOu BEING A BuNCH OF HIDEOuS FuCKuPS.

uu: I MEAN LOOK AT THIS.

uu: YOu ALREADY BLEW IT.

TT: Blew what?

uu: ON DERSE.

uu: YOu uPSET THE ORDER. DIDN'T YOu.

uu: YOu WENT AND PISSED OFF THE WITCH?

uu: NOW THEY'RE GOING TO HuNT YOu DOWN DuDE!

uu: THEY'RE PROBABLY ON THEIR WAY. TO KILL YOu RIGHT NOW.

TT: I'm pretty well hidden on Derse. I doubt they'll find me until I'm ready to be found again.

uu: NO. NOT ON DERSE. ON YOuR PLANET. EARTH??

uu: YOu'RE PRETTY FuCKING EASY TO FIND THERE. DON'T YOu THINK?

uu: OH YES. YOuR AGGRESSORS ARE COMING FOR YOu. I HAVE SEEN IT.

uu: IN FACT. THEY ARE PROBABLY ALREADY HERE.

TT: Yeah.

TT: Well, I was expecting as much.

TT: It's kind of why I was on my way to the roof just now.

TT: Until I was interrupted by this window appearing, and then by you.

TT: Maybe I should try plugging it in?

uu: OH MY GOD. WHO CARES?

uu: IT'S JuST SOME MORE POINTLESS TRASH FOR YOu TO OBSESS OVER, AND DISTRACT YOu FROM GETTING ANY ACTuAL RELEVANT SHIT DONE.

uu: THE AMOuNT TIME YOu PEOPLE WASTE. IT IS FuCKING uNBELIEVABLE TO ME.

uu: I READ ABOuT SOME OF THE THINGS YOu AND YOuR PREDECESSORS HAVE DONE. FAR MORE THAN I CARED TO. TRuST ME.

uu: AND EVERY TIME. I'M ALWAYS JuST...

uu: *GET THE FuCK ON WITH IT ALREADY.*

TT: I didn't think you were much of a historian.

uu: I'M NOT.

uu: SHE SENDS ME SO MuCH BuLLSHIT ABOuT THIS. YOu DON'T EVEN KNOW.

uu: SHE WANTS TO HEAR WHAT I HAVE TO SAY. LIKE EXCHANGE THEORIES AND SHIT. AND I HAVE TO JuST BE LIKE *BITCH I DON'T GOD DAMN CARE!!!*

uu: EVERY TIME.

uu: BuT IT DOESN'T MATTER. WHAT'S THE NEXT THING I INVARIABLY FIND ON MY TERMINAL?

uu: ANOTHER GOD DAMN WALL OF TEXT.

uu: ALL COLOR CODED AND FORMATTED FOR ME TO READ. AND EVERYTHING.

uu: JuST WALLS AND WALLS. OF CANDY ASSED TOOTY FRuITY FuCKING SHIT. LOADS. OF. TEXT.

uu: OF PEOPLE BABBLING MOSTLY.

uu: WE ARE TALKING ABOuT MIGRAINE INDuCING DIARRHETIC VERTICAL SuICIDE DROPS OF uGLY FuCKING WORDS.

uu: IMPENETRABLY ASININE RAINBOW FREEFALLS OF FRIVOLOuS BANTER. GOT IT?

uu: SO I SAY. WHAT IS THIS? I TOLD YOu IF YOu SENT ME ANY MORE FAN FICTION I WOuLD FLY TO PROSPIT AND MuRDER YOu IN YOuR SLEEP. WHICH I STILL MIGHT DO *REGARDLESS*. BuT ANYWAY.

uu: SHE SAYS THESE ARE ACTuAL ANCIENT TRANSCRIPTS!

uu: I'M LIKE. WELL FuCK.

uu: HOW CAN THESE PEOPLE TALK SO MuCH.

uu: I FEEL LIKE I'M PICKING uP SOME BAD HABITS FROM YOu WINDBAGGING PISSFACES.

uu: LOOK AT THIS. I WASN'T EVEN GONNA GO OFF LIKE THIS.

uu: THIS WAS SuPPOSED TO BE JuST. AN IN AND OuT FuCK YOu.

uu: I'M SO DONE HERE.

uu: ANYWAY. LATER. YOu HORSEPORKING TWIT.

TT: Wait.

TT: Just one thing before you go.

TT: Your sister was saying you were having some doubts about playing.

TT: Is that true?

uu: SHE'S NOT MY SISTER.

uu: WE DON'T GOT SISTERS. IT'S NOT A THING. DON'T DRAG uS THROuGH YOuR NASTY HuMAN FAMILIAL MuD.

uu: OF COuRSE I'M GOING TO PLAY. I WAS JuST SAYING I WOuLDN'T. YOu KNOW. TO FuCK WITH HER AND MAKE HER CRY.

uu: LIKE I HAVE A CHOICE. BuT TO PLAY.

uu: HOW ELSE AM I GOING TO GET OFF THIS DESOLATE ROCK?

uu: YOu THINK I WANT TO STAY HERE? JuST HANG AROuND. TIL I JOIN THE HuNDRED BILLION CORPSES FERTILIZING THE SOIL?

TT: I see.

TT: No, didn't think so. I was just curious.

uu: HuMAN CuRIOSITY IS CONTEMPTIBLE. SHE SHARES THAT WITH YOu. AND I CAN'T FuCKING STAND IT.

TT: Gotcha.

TT: You sure seem to hate us, but I notice it doesn't stop you from talking to us frequently. Or at least to me.

TT: Surely there must be at least one of our virtues you admire.

uu: YES. AMBITION. THAT'S THE ONLY GOOD ONE.

uu: AND I THINK YOu GOT THAT. WHICH IS MAYBE WHY. YOu'RE THE ONLY ONE I CAN PuT uP WITH FOR ANY DuRATION?

uu: LET'S CALL IT A GRuDGING RESPECT. WHICH IS THE ONLY KIND THAT'S EVEN WORTH A FuCK.

TT: I'll take that as a rare overture of friendship.

uu: NO. DON'T.

TT: So, do you even know how this is going to work?

uu: WHAT.

TT: Your session. Can you even really have a session with only two players?

uu: SHE SAYS YOu CAN. AND SHE LIKES TO THINK SHE'S THE EXPERT.

uu: PERSONALLY? I DON'T CARE.

uu: MAYBE IT'S AGAINST THE RuLES. WHAT WE'RE DOING.

uu: I JuST WANT TO GET IN THERE. AND JuST.

uu: FuCK.

uu: SHIT.

uu: uP.

TT: Yeah.

TT: I sensed that was your plan.

TT: Which is kind of what I'm talking about. How can you win like that?

TT: I thought the point was to cooperate with your coplayers to achieve an objective.

TT: Not compete with them or try to kill them. I don't think we've had one conversation where you didn't express the desire to kill her.

uu: I GuESS WE'LL JuST HAVE TO SEE. WON'T WE?

uu: I THINK THIS IS PROBABLY A DIFFERENT KIND OF SESSION.

uu: ONE WHERE THE PLAYERS FIGHT FOR SuPREMACY. RATHER THAN WORK TOGETHER.

uu: I THINK THAT IT MuST BE THAT WAY.

uu: BECAuSE THAT IS HOW I WANT IT TO BE.

uu: AND IF I WANT SOMETHING TO BE TRuE HARD ENOuGH. THEN THAT MAKES IT SLIGHTLY MORE ABSOLuTELY IRREFuTABLE.

uu: ARE YOu FEELING ME, FuCKER?

TT: Maybe you're right.

TT: But since that's how you feel now, maybe the truth is that the game is challenging you to overcome those feelings?

TT: What if your real quest is to put aside your differences and work together, if you want to both survive, and grow as a person?

uu: NO.

uu: NO. NO. NO.

uu: FuCK THAT SHIT.

uu: HuMAN FuCK THAT SHIT. NOT EVEN ALIEN FuCK THAT SHIT. SO YOu CAN uNDERSTAND BETTER. THE KIND OF FuCKING OF THE SHIT THAT'S GOING ON.

uu: HuMAN FuCK IT SO MuCH. SO HARD, AND SO ANGRILY.

TT: Yeah, I didn't think you'd dig that idea.

TT: Just puttin' it out there.

uu: HOW ABOuT YOu SHuT uP? AND GET ON THE ROOF. AND TAKE YOuR FuCKING PuNISHMENT.

uu: NOW WHERE THE HELL IS YOuR GHASTLY JuJu.

uu: GO GET IT. AND HuRRY uP.

TT: My juju?

uu: THE LOATHSOME FALSE PERSON. WITH THE FLOPPY LIMBS. IN DERSITE ATTIRE. YOu LIKE TO NAP WITH.

TT: Oh, Lil Cal? No, man.

TT: Lil Cal is the shit.

uu: THAT THING IS NOT THE SHIT.

uu: IT IS AN uNCANNY GRINNING MOCKERY. A BAD OMEN. YOu SHOuLD CHOP IT uP AND BuRN IT.

TT: No way, dude. He's my best friend.

uu: HOW FuCKING SAD IS THAT??

uu: I'M JuST TRYING. FOR ONCE. AND THE ONLY TIME EVER. TO BE HELPFuL.

uu: THOSE THINGS.

uu: YOu DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THEY ARE.

TT: A kickass ventriloquist doll?

TT: I've been given reason to believe it once belonged to my bro.

uu: I DON'T GIVE A SHIT. WHAT YOu BELIEVE.

uu: THERE'S ONLY ONE REASON FOR THOSE TO EXIST.

uu: IT IS TO TuRN THE LIFE OF EVERYONE WHO OCCuPIES THE SAME uNIVERSE WITH IT.

uu: INTO A NIGHTMARE.

TT: Is that one of your alien folk stories?

uu: YES.

uu: BuT IT ALSO.

uu: IS TRuE.

uu: GET RID OF IT.

TT: You could argue that my life is already kind of a nightmare, so there's no point in getting rid of him now.

TT: Either way, I'm gonna hang on to him.

uu: YOu STuBBORN FuCK.

uu: FINE.

uu: MAYBE IT DOESN'T MATTER.

uu: MAYBE YOuRS IS uNTAINTED? I DON'T KNOW.

uu: COuLD BE. ITS EYES LOOK...

uu: DEAD TO ME?

uu: MAYBE YOu LuCKED THE FuCK OuT. WITH YOuR PARTICuLAR JuJu.

TT: I honestly had no idea you were this superstitious.

TT: You're a pretty fascinating guy, in a way. I can't really figure you out.

TT: In case you're wondering why I put up with you more than my friends do.

uu: I WASN'T.

uu: NOW ARE YOu GOING TO GO GET IT.

uu: OR WHAT.

TT: Why do you want me to get Cal so bad?

uu: I DON'T!

uu: JuST THAT. I SAW YOu. SLIGHTLY AHEAD OF NOW.

uu: CLIMBING TO THE ROOF WITH THAT THING.

uu: SO APPARENTLY. IT'S REQuISITE FOR GETTING THE FuCK ON WITH STuFF??

uu: DuMBASS.

TT: Ok. So, some self-fulfilling shit, then. I was hoping for a better reason.

uu: WHATEVER. DON'T TAKE IT.

uu: MAKE A PARADOX HAPPEN. WORKS FOR FuCKING ME.

TT: At this point I'm leaning toward grabbing him just cause he seems to bother you so much.

uu: WELL. I'VE HEARD OF WORSE REASONS FOR ACTING LIKE A STuPID PIECE OF SHIT.

TT: This is probably a dumb question, but you don't really care about "causal spoilers," do you?

uu: YES. THAT'S uNBELIEVABLY DuMB TO ASK.

TT: Like, you don't mind telling me I'm about to pick up Cal, and thus causing that to happen.

TT: So I guess you similarly wouldn't mind telling us about more significant outcomes?

uu: IT'S NOT THAT I DON'T MIND. IT'S THAT I FAIL SPECTACuLARLY TO GIVE A SHIT.

uu: THERE IS SuCH A BIG DIFFERENCE.

uu: AND THE FACT THAT I MIGHT NOT CLuE YOu INTO YOuR FATE ALL THE TIME.

uu: DuE TO MY AGGRAVATED APATHY OVER THE MATTER.

uu: IS AN IMMuTABLE FACT. I AM STATING FOR THE RECORD.

uu: IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT GIVING A SHIT IS WHAT IS TAKING PLACE HERE.

TT: I feel like you've said something like that before.

TT: Different statements, but in that exact syntax.

uu: OH. YOu KNOW WHAT ELSE I HATE?

uu: WHEN THAT FuCKING HAPPENS.

TT: Wait. You mean it wasn't intentional?

TT: I thought it was kind of like... this thing you were doing.

uu: SHuT uP.

uu: YOu KNOW WHAT?

uu: I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. AND I DON'T CARE.

uu: I THINK IT'S REGRETTABLY LIKELY. THAT YOu SuCCEED.

uu: I THINK THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE TEND TO DO. WHEN THEY ARE REGARDED AS LEGENDS BY OBSESSIVE ASSHOLES.

uu: SO MAYBE YOu ALL DIE. OR MAYBE YOu DON'T.

uu: BuT IF YOu DON'T. I'LL TAKE SOLACE IN THE FACT.

uu: THAT IT MEANS I STILL GET THE CHANCE TO KILL YOu.

uu: HOW ABOuT THAT? FOR CAuSAL SPOILERS?

TT: Fair enough.

TT: Hey, you know...

TT: For someone who has such strong opinions about long winded people,

TT: You've kinda been talking my ear off. I do actually have shit to do.

uu: uGH.

uu: YEAH.

uu: SEE HOW YOu PEOPLE SuCK ME INTO YOuR BuLLSHIT?

uu: I SHOuLD HAVE KEPT IT BRIEF. AND SuRLY. LIKE I WAS GOING TO.

uu: LIKE JuST SAID.

uu: "HELLO DIRK."

uu: "I WANT TO PLAY A GAME."

uu: AND THEN LIKE.

uu: "BRO."

uu: "ROOF. NOW."

uu: "BRING JuJu."

uu: AND THAT'S IT.

uu: YEAH. THAT WOuLD HAVE BEEN GOOD.

uu: COLD FuCKING BLOODED. TO THE POINT. DAMMIT.

TT: That actually sounds familiar too.

TT: Are you sure you haven't said something like that before?

uu: HAVE I?

uu: FuCK. I DON'T KNOW. WHATEVER.

TT: Anyway, let's wrap this up.

TT: You've stolen enough of my time. I didn't even get a chance to try plugging in that window.

uu: I DID YOu A FAVOR. ANOTHER POINTLESS ACTION STRICKEN FROM THE TIMELINE.

TT: Hang on.

TT: Something's happening.

uu: THE DRONES HAVE COME A KNOCKING. I TOLD YOu.

uu: THEY'RE COMING FOR YOu MAN! HAHAHA.

uu: LATER DOuCHE.

uu: TUMUT

TT: I think...

TT: You just had a flipoff malfunction, there.

uu: SHIT.

uu: uH.

uu: tUMUt!

TT: That's better.

undyingUmbrage [uu] ceased jeering timaeusTestified [TT]

[van-yangyin]

Fischl Casual/Loose Hairstyle and Casual Eyepatch for Teen to Elder and Eyes Recolor for All Ages

我听见命运的嚅嗫，低声呼唤我之尊名…～ I hear the voice of fate, speaking my name in humble supplication…

Casual hairstyle, loose hairstyle and casual Eyepatch based on Fischl from Genshin Impact for female and male frame from Teen to Elder and eyes of Fischl added on my Genshin Impact eyes.

Commisioned but later gifted to my first paying Patreon member, you know who are! Thank you! 🫶 It was so so fun and cool working on Fischl hairstyle and eyepatch. I hope you're enjoying it very much! 💝

🖤hairstyle with 2 versions: casual and loose (see pictures below) 💜24 EA Swatches + Fischl Swatch 🖤Hair bows recolors located on Facepaint, 20 swatches, compatible with make up sliders. So you can get a lot of recolors! 💜Casual Eyepatch, 2 packages, first one only with 10 swatches, second one with 10 swatches + 84 swatches from BerryQueerBear Crystállum Palette by berryqueercc, you can put both of them as they're standalone, but basically the second one is the same with more recolors added. 🖤2 eyes recolors green and red of Fischl added on my Genshin Impact eyes, if you have the previous file/s, replace them [You need this MOD to unlock occult eye lid category on CAS] 💜Hairstyles and Eyepatch for Teen to Elder, Eyes recolors for All Ages ～ All genders and agender 🖤Base game Compatible 💜All LODs 🖤separate packages or merged packages 💜HQ Compatible 🖤Custom Thumbnails 💜Texture hair, hair mesh, bows, eyepatch and eyepatch texture made by me from scratch, jewelry hair and its texture from original Fischl 3D model 🖤CAS photos below downloads ⚠️Known problem: Some animations on shoulders hairstyle goes across and eyepatch with diagonal hats, strip is seen over hats. (and I don't know how to avoid it first one, so any tip or help will be appreciated 🙏)

If you download my CC it means your agree with my T.O.U (English/Español/日本語). TLDR here

～LOD Information～ Casual Hairstyle: LOD0: 29032 poly LOD1: 14209 poly LOD2: 7102 poly LOD3: 3551 poly Loose Hairstyle: LOD0: 19204 poly LOD1: 9305 poly LOD2: 4649 poly LOD3: 2323 poly Casual Eyepatch: LOD0: 428 poly LOD1: 342 poly LOD2: 170 poly LOD3: 170 poly

I will make Fischl's hairstyle version with her official decorations and another variation of Fischl's hairstyle in the future, in addition on her eyepatches and

~🖤DOWNLOAD LINKS💜~

※Choose download the one/ones you want the most or only download Merged: "_T-E_Merged", "_Child_Merged" or "T-E&Child_Merged" where all T-E, Child or both the files are together.※ DO DON'T DOWNLOAD ALL PACKAGES, OTHERWISE YOU WILL HAVE REPEATED FILES (If you don't understand between merged or not merged feel free to ask me)

Casual Fischl Hairstyle: 🖤PATREON or SFS💜 (Always free, no adf|y)

Loose Fischl Hairstyle: 🖤PATREON or SFS💜 (Always free, no adf|y)

Casual Fischl Eyepatch: 🖤PATREON or SFS💜 (Always free, no adf|y)

Fischl Eyes Recolor: 🖤PATREON or SFS💜 (Always free, no adf|y)

☆BECOME A PATREON | TIP ME ON KO-FI☆ 

Let me know if you find any problem. 🙏❣️ This CC was specially made for one person and didn't find any problems, like me, but maybe someone else may experience it.

Happy spooky simming! 🎃

📻 @maxismatchccworld @sssvitlanz @alwaysfreecc @public-ccfinds, @simblreenofficial

🛹 You can find me on Patreon | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Ko-Fi | My F.A.Q. 🛹

[akashirl]

yumes and selfshippers, try this picrew! here's me and sei having a night out hehe.

[eightball-chronicles]

Deadpool + Wolverine tk headcanons !!!

a/n : i love these 2 so much …. ever since findin out theyre both canonically ticklish in the comics ive been EXPLIDINF . this movie reawakened my obsession so lets goooo ^-^

words : (4649 under cut)

Deadpool

As a ler :

ohmygod . he is RUTHLESS

so mean yet so silly when he tickles

yk in the beginning of xmen origins wolverine ?? how he was usin his katanas to block all those bullets ???? hes so fast w his arms n he would be able to pin anyone in an INSTANT

like he could wrap his arms around you n trap you in a tickly bear hug so easily

SUCH a tease; both verbally n physically

he would slowly lower his hands on his victim while wriggling his fingers n when hes about to touch you he'll quickly shoot his hands back up n keep on doin that

n the baby talk OH LORD THE BABY TALK

this man will leave anyone redder than his suit

"awwww whos a tickwish wittle baby ?? you are !! yes you areeeee !!"

"coochiecoochiecoochiecoochiecoo"

"whats got you laughin so much huh ?? sounds like you got a tickle in your throat"

like SHUT UPPPPDKDJKFJHDJ

points out any noises made

if you snort or wheeze or squeal or anything similar he WILL tease you more

aware when you want him to stop but also aware that he doesnt wanna stop

"did you say stop ?? do you mean it ?? do you ?? huh , huh , huh ?? hmmmm alright alright i'll stop"

n if you actually LIKE being tickled ?? oh god hes never letting you live free of tickles ever again

will use every excuse possible to try n tickle you

you had a bad day ? tickles . youre being stubborn ? tickles .

you need to wake up, need to go to sleep, need to be convinced, need to relax, wade just gets bored,

everything . t i c k l e s

overall : be scared but not worried (if that makes sense)

As a lee :

ohh how the turns have tabled

talks so much shit beforehand but the SECOND he gets it hes all like "WAITWAITWAIT LETS TALK PLS"

absolute gigglefest . when you first strike a bad spot he does this squealwheeze combo

THE MOST TICKLISH THIGHS IN THE WORLD EVER

more sensitive to light touch there but squeezing still gets him CACKLIN

like if you just . lightly drag your fingertips or nails anywhere on his thighs …

oh hes dead . youve officially killed mr immortal .

ticklish palms too DONT ASK I JUST KNOW IT

again, light touch here n hes a puddle

if you try to tease him while ticklin hes gonna somehow turn it around ?????

if you try to fluster him or just point anything out he will get so SNIDEEEE

"yohohou have NO rihight to tahahalk peanuhuht, we AHALL know how bahahad it ihis for you whehehen i WAITWAITWAHAHAHAIT IM SOHORRY NO -"

lil shit deserves it lol (still love him)

Wolverine

As a ler :

isn't as evil as wade, but you dont wanna test him

like he wouldnt go as rough or tease as much but HE STILL WILL

wont do any anticipation tricks, hes just gonna do it

he will chase you, however, but only if you run

more on the playful side; accidently teases you by pointing out the obvious

"wow its real bad for ya here, huh bub ??"

"jesus kid stop kicking so much, oh wait … you cant, can ya ??"

hes always got this cheeky grin on his face too

super analyzes how much certain pressure n techniques works best on all your spots bc hes a BIG BULLY

if he wanted to, youd be dead in a minute ♡ (not really)

if you were being a brat then hes gonna use his facial hair

n GOD it tickles so bad

like if hes getting you from behind he might just decide to . nuzzle into your neck n its amazing HORRIBLE

in short : dont be annoying n youre good !

As a lee :

where do i even begin …

hes got such a precious smile its like how could you NOT tickle him to pieces

its pretty well known how he already has his wheezy snort laughs

catching him off guard will get the best wheezes

like if you sneak attack or switch to a bad spot suddenly

tbh hes gonna snort no matter what you do … its what n where you do it that might give you more muehehehe

pinch his sides ?? 1 snort every 20 seconds

scratch his ribs ?? 1 snort every 10 - 15

do anthing on his tummy / underarms ?? youre getting that 1 per 5 wolvie special !!!

1 SQUEEZE ON THE KNEE N ITS GAME OVER FOR HIM . if you rapid squeeze them it becomes a damn piggie pen

wade definitely abuses this

PLEASEEEE HEAR ME OUT ON HIS BACK

yall know in the first xmen when hes shirtless w his hand on the fence of a fighting ring n you can see his BACKKKK please give me a chance

light tickles there makes him MELT

youll get the sweetest giggles w an occasional wheeze

lightly scratching or tracing his shoulder blades will lead to slightly louder giggles

n rubbing your knuckles into his back dimples gets the absolute bestest snorts

TICKLISH COLLARBONES . THERE I SAID IT

im a sucker for lee wolverine idk if you can tell (its obvious)

oke doke thats it for now !! AAAAAAA im sorry these took so long TwT im just happy i got em done ehehe

sending love to everyone who reads these :D i hope you enjoyed - make sure yall stay healthy n happy ^-^ ♡

[arc852]

Fault 3/3

Summary: Joel and Jimmy finally have that talk.

Warnings: self-blame, self-deprecation, slight anger and jealousy, and crying

Word Count: 4649

Part 1 | Part 2 | AO3 Link

Sorry this took so long! My brain has been mush when it's come to writing lately. But it's finally done! I hope you guys enjoy!

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

 Tango kept the hand holding Jimmy close to his chest as his other hand curled around him in the front, blocking him from view. He walked down the hallway, doing his best to keep steady and being wary and mindful of his surroundings. His eyes were constantly looking around the hall, just waiting for someone’s door to open or for someone to round the corner. Thankfully, the hallway stayed empty as Tango completed the short journey to Grian and Joel’s door.

 After giving one last glance toward both ends of the hallway, he removed the hand curled around the front of Jimmy in order to use it to knock on the door. Though his hand quickly returned back to position right after. He looked down, sharing a small glance with Jimmy in the short time they were waiting for an answer. Jimmy smiled up at him and Tango couldn’t help but smile back.

 His eyes snapped back up to the door though as it opened to reveal Grian. “Oh, hey!” Grian said with a small smile.

 “Hey, Grian! I’m guessing Joel told you, I mean, it’d be weird if he didn’t, but I was hanging out with Jimmy and am just here to drop him back off.” Tango explained and then once again lifted his curled hand to reveal the borrower. Jimmy waved at Grian and Grian’s smile widened a bit more as he saw him. 

 “Yeah, Joel told me. You guys were gone for longer than I thought you’d be though. You guys have fun?” Grian asked though Tango knew the question was mostly directed at Jimmy. So Tango kept quiet as he let Jimmy answer.

 “Yeah! It was great!” Jimmy exclaimed. Tango could feel his heart warm at the confirmation that Jimmy had just as much fun as he had. He nodded along in agreement, once again letting his eyes wander down to Jimmy, looking at him fondly. 

 Movement, however, caught his attention and he looked back up to see Grian holding out his hand. Ah, right. He got the hint. He hesitated for only a moment before he carefully moved his own hand, the one holding Jimmy of course, up against Grian’s in order to give Jimmy the chance to swap hands. He watched as Jimmy stood, stumbling just slightly but quickly catching his balance, and walked onto Grian’s hand.

 Tango patiently waited, only taking his hand back once he was sure Jimmy was fully settled onto Grian’s. As he moved his hand back to his side, Grian gave him a strange look, an almost confused looking one. Tango blinked, having no idea what that kind of look could be for and feeling just as confused himself.

 He decided to ignore it, turning his attention back to Jimmy instead.

 “Thanks again for hanging out with me Jimmy.” Tango said with a hint of shyness in his smile, rubbing the back of his head. “It really was fun.”

 “We’ll have to do it again!” Jimmy said and once again Tango felt his chest warm again, feeling a bit lighter knowing Jimmy wanted to hang out with him again. Tango grinned as he felt himself bounce a bit at the thought.

 “Absolutely.” Tango agreed.

 “You’re welcome to come around any time, Tango.” Grian said as he moved the hand holding Jimmy close to his chest, mirroring the way Tango had been holding him just a moment ago. “Just give us a bit of warning first.”

 “Of course! I’ll shoot you guys a text if I ever feel like I need some Jimmy and me time.” Tango joked, which was followed by Jimmy laughing. Tango grinned, proud of himself for making Jimmy laugh like that.

 As Jimmy’s laughter died down, he looked back up at Tango. “And I’ll have Joel or Grian send a text if I feel the same.” He was grinning, following along with Tango’s joke, but like Tango, also being completely honest. 

 “Sounds like a plan then.” Tango said, shooting Jimmy with a single finger gun and a wink, which made Jimmy chuckle once again. Tango’s grin then lessened only slightly as he continued. “Good luck by the way, with the…ya know.” Tango said, being vague since he wasn’t sure if Jimmy wanted him to be the one to tell Grian about the talk Jimmy was planning on having with Joel or not.

 Grian looked between the two of them in confusion but Jimmy just nodded. “Thanks.” He said simply and Tango knew he was probably correct in not saying anything. He’s sure once Jimmy and Grian were in private that Jimmy would ask for his help and advice in going about it though.

 “Course.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and smiled. “Well, I better get going. I’ll see you later?” Tango still asked, maybe just wanting that little bit of extra confirmation even if he didn’t really need it.

 “See you later!” Jimmy said, excitement flickering in his eyes at the thought.

 “See you around.” Grian chimed in and Tango gave him a nod and a smile too.

 Tango backed away from the door as Grian made to close it. Sending one last wave to the two, though mostly Jimmy, right before the door closed fully. He let out a little happy sigh and was about to start walking back to his dorm before he paused, hearing footsteps behind him. He couldn’t help but turn back around, only to see none other than Joel round the corner. 

 They both froze as their eyes locked and Tango was suddenly reminded of the bit of hostility Joel had shown toward him earlier.

 Joel, meanwhile, as soon as he had seen Tango, tried his best to keep his face carefully neutral. Just because he knew what and why he was feeling the way he was, did not mean he was done with feeling them. No matter how much he didn’t want to feel it, he still felt that spark of jealousy rush through him at the sight of his friend. 

 Joel took a deep breath, trying his best to not let his feelings get the better of him this time. As he did so, his eyes wandered down from Tango’s face to his hands but they appeared to be empty. Considering he was at Joel’s door, he could only assume he had already dropped Jimmy off. Unless Jimmy was in Tango’s pocket, but Joel highly doubted that, what with the way Tango was currently hoodie-less.

 Joel looked back up to meet Tango’s eyes again, wincing as Tango’s eyes seemed to dart between him and the opposite end of the hall. Yeah, fair enough. But even still, Joel had to make things right. And not just with Jimmy. So, Joel was the first one to move, coming closer to both Tango and his door.

 “Tango.” Joel greeted with a nod, stopping only a few feet in front of Tango. He kept his voice low, not wanting Grian or Jimmy to overhear and open the door before he had a chance to talk with Tango a bit.

 Tango nodded back. “Joel.” He then titled his head. “What are you doing out here?” Tango asked. He had been under the impression that he was inside the dorm already, though he supposed it made sense now that Grian was the one to open the door.

 Joel simply shrugged. “Needed a walk.” He mumbled a bit, turning his gaze away for a moment. He had been hoping to be back before Tango dropped Jimmy off, but the walk had been good for him and he’s sure this talk would be too. He just…had to get himself to the actual talking part. He flicked his eyes back toward Tango.

 “I’m…sorry. About earlier.” Joel said, watching closely as Tango’s eyes widened a bit, not having expected the apology. It looked as though Tango wanted to say something but Joel continued before Tango could, wanting to finish the apology first. “I was angry and-and scared. And…maybe a bit jealous too,” he mumbled that bit more to himself, though Tango still clearly heard it. “But I shouldn’t have acted that way toward you either way. So…yeah. Sorry.” He finished lamely.

 His gaze had drifted to looking at anything other than Tango when he started speaking, afraid of how Tango might react to his apology. A hand suddenly came down onto his shoulder, causing Joel to jump and finally drift his gaze back up to Tango’s face. Joel looked at Tango with wide eyes but felt relieved to see a soft smile had settled on Tango’s features. “Hey, I’m not saying this excuses all that but…I get it dude. Trust me.” Tango said before letting his smile grow a bit more. “And I forgive you.”

 Joel…had honestly not expected to be forgiven so easily. Especially with such a bad apology. But Tango didn’t seem like he was lying. Well, if that was the case, this went way better than he thought it was going to. Hopefully that was foreshadowing for his talk with Jimmy. “Thanks.” Joel said after a moment, letting himself smile back at Tango. 

 “Dude, of course. You’re my friend and clearly going through something. Of course I’m gonna forgive you.” Tango said before taking his hand off of Joel’s shoulder. “Maybe just ease up on the snappiness next time?”

 Joel winced but nodded. “Yeah, no, totally.” He could do that.

 Tango nodded. “Then we’re all good.” 

 Man, Joel had the best friends a guy like him could want, huh?

 Grian, Jimmy, Impulse and Tango, they were all there for him in different ways and maybe Joel was just now fully realizing that. Speaking of Impulse though, Joel reminded himself of his earlier conversation with him. “Hey uh, I actually ran into Impulse while I was out walking. He said we should plan to hang out, the four of us. Would uh, would you be…down?”

 Tango grinned. “Yeah man, that sounds fun!”

 Joel smiled, why had he been so nervous to ask? “We’ll have to text about it later then.” He was looking forward to it, the four of them hanging out. It…would be nice if Jimmy could join them, but obviously that probably wouldn’t be happening any time soon.

  Joel glanced over at his door, his smile fading a bit as he realized it was probably time to head in. He sighed. “Well…I better get in there. I have a uh…a talk I gotta have with Jimmy.”

 Tango’s eyes widened, surprised but happy that Joel seemed to be taking the initiative to speak with Jimmy about how he’s been acting. At least, that’s what Tango’s assuming the talk is going to be about. He’ll have to ask Jimmy about it later, but he’s pretty sure considering Joel had already taken the initiative with Tango himself. Tango smiled.

 “Good luck.” Tango said. “But I don’t think you’ll need it.”

 Joel hummed, a lot of thoughts circling in his head. “You think?”

 Tango shrugged. “I know.”

 Joel bit his lip, not knowing how Tango could possibly know. “How?” He asked and Tango raised his eyebrow, sending him a look.

 “Cause it’s Jimmy.” Tango said and oh. Yeah. Tango did actually have a point there. At the very least, it made Joel feel a bit better about all this. 

 “Right.” He said. “Right.” This was Jimmy and he knew Jimmy. Things would be okay. He just had to keep telling himself that. “I’ll catch you later then.” 

 “See ya.” Tango said with a little wave before turning around and heading back to his dorm. Joel watched him go for a moment, but didn’t wait for Tango to turn the corner before unlocking his door and heading inside.

 As he closed the door behind him, his ears perked up at the sound of a few hushed voices. He turned around and scanned the room, only to see Grian and Jimmy at Grian’s desk. Grian was leaned back in his chair, his laptop open but pushed back to give Jimmy room to stand where the laptop had once been. They appeared to be talking, but when Joel walked a bit further into the room they paused and looked over at him. 

 Well, now Joel just felt awkward.

 Grian gave Joel a little head nod in greeting before turning back to Jimmy. “Don’t worry, everything will be fine.” He said before pushing off the desk and standing up. He walked past Joel, Joel moving out of the way when he realized Grian was heading for the door.

 Joel glanced over at Jimmy and then back to Grian, confused in more ways than one. “Where are you going?” Joel asked, but Grian just shrugged, a small smile on his face.

 “Just giving you two some privacy.” Was all Grian said before he was gone. Joel hearing the lock click into place.

 “Right…” Joel muttered to himself. He had half expected Grian to stick around for Joel’s talk with Jimmy, Grian could be nosy like that sometimes. But he was glad Grian decided to leave it to them this time. He mentally braced himself before turning to look back at Jimmy. He was still in the same spot, looking up at Joel with eyes filled with what seemed to be…determination? Weird.

 Joel took in a deep breath, psyching himself up for this. He took a few steps closer, until he was right up against Grian’s chair. He gripped the top of it to ground himself and was just about to open his mouth and start talking when, surprisingly, Jimmy beat him to it.

 “Joel…what’s been going on with you lately?” Jimmy asked, not unkindly but Joel couldn’t help but tense up anyway. “Because you’ve just seemed kind of…off lately.” Jimmy continued. Joel wanted to cover his face in his hands and groan and had to fight the urge to do so. Was he just…that obvious? At the very least he thought he was doing a good job of hiding it from Jimmy. But apparently not. And that just made him feel even worse.

 Joel let out a deep sigh. At least Jimmy bringing it up first gave him a good place to start. “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.” Joel said and suddenly he couldn’t look into Jimmy’s eyes anymore. “I…I’m sorry.”

 Jimmy blinked, looking confused all of a sudden. “You’re sorry? For what?”

 Joel winced. “For what happened. For not…for letting you fall out of my pocket.” Joel said, his grip around the back of Grian’s chair becoming tighter. He let his eyes wander back to the borrower, too curious of Jimmy’s reaction. When he saw that Jimmy’s eyes were wide with what Joel could only assume was surprise, well, Joel couldn’t say he had been expecting that.

 “For letting me-what? Joel, you didn’t let anything happen, it was an accident!” Jimmy exclaimed, raising his hands up as he did. His hands quickly fell and Jimmy’s wide-eyed expression grew softer, sadder. “You do know that right? That it wasn’t your fault.”

 Joel was silent. He couldn’t very well answer that the way Jimmy wanted him to without lying.

 Jimmy seemed to deflate at his silence. “Joel…” 

 “It’s hard to see how it isn’t my fault.” Joel said after a few moments of silence had passed. Joel had done everything wrong. He hadn’t been careful, he had been going too fast, he hadn’t had his hand in the pocket with Jimmy…Everything pointed to him being the one at fault for what had happened.

 Jimmy looked at Joel sadly, mind racing for something he could do. As the idea came to him, he stood up straighter, his determination back like a fire. “Joel.” Jimmy said in order to gain back Joel’s attention. As soon as the human’s eyes were back on him, Jimmy continued. “Come here.” Jimmy practically ordered. Joel blinked, taken aback by the sudden command but he obeyed. Stepping around the chair and coming right up next to the desk, looming over Jimmy in a way that Joel usually tried to avoid nowadays.

 Jimmy nodded at him but he was far from done. “Hand.” Jimmy said next, pointing to right in front of him. Joel was still trying to figure out where this was going but he laid his hand flat at where Jimmy had pointed anyway, his palm up. As soon as his hand had come to a stop, Jimmy wasted no time climbing up and onto Joel’s hand. He took a seat in the center of Joel’s palm before looking back up at him. “Up.”

 Joel couldn’t help the deadpan look and the slight curve of his lips even as he did what Jimmy asked. “I’m not a dog you know.” Joel said quietly, just a hint of his usual sarcasm. Jimmy also let his lips curve into a brief smile before his features schooled back into his look of determination. Joel brought him up, making sure his hand was as steady as ever before stopping at chest level. But it seemed like that wasn’t enough.

 “Higher.” Jimmy said, still pointing up. Joel did so, bringing his hand to eye level. “Now closer.” Jimmy said and Joel was getting increasingly more and more confused about what the heck Jimmy was doing. But he continued to do as Jimmy said. He brought Jimmy closer to his face and paused when any closer would have Jimmy actually touching his face.

 Though that seemed to be exactly Jimmy’s plan.

 As soon as he stopped his hand, Jimmy stood up and went forward, gripping the top sides of his nose. The sudden closeness of the borrower forced Joel to look at him cross-eyed and caused him to tense, not expecting Jimmy to do something like that. He was afraid that one wrong twitch would have Jimmy falling so he carefully moved his other hand underneath the one holding Jimmy, just in case. “J-Jimmy?” Joel stuttered out, wondering what the heck the borrower was doing.

 He could feel the slight pressure on his nose increase just a bit more as Jimmy looked him right in the eyes. “It wasn’t your fault.” Jimmy said sternly, his tone leaving no room for arguments.

 Joel tried anyway. “But-”

 “Nope,” Jimmy cut him off. “It wasn’t your fault and I don’t blame you for it. Of course I don’t blame you for it, it was an accident.” Jimmy’s expression turned sad once more, though his determination hadn’t gone away either. “And I’m fine. Everything worked out and nothing too bad actually happened.”

 Joel couldn’t help but look away, huffing a bit. Though it was hard when he couldn’t move his head and Jimmy was literally taking up almost his entire vision. “Only because of Tango…” Joel muttered. But of course, Jimmy heard it and it caused his previous look of confusion to come back.

 “Wait, what?” Jimmy asked. He briefly leaned back due to his confusion but very quickly went back and leaned in even closer, forcing Joel to look back at him again. “What about Tango?”

 What about Tango? Did Jimmy not see it? The fact that Tango was the whole reason Jimmy was even okay in the first place? “Come on, Jim. The only reason ‘nothing too bad’ even happened was because Tango was there to save you.” Joel said, a lot more snappy than he had wanted.

 Jimmy blinked and the fact that Joel was making Jimmy so confused was starting to get to him a bit. “And you’re…upset with Tango because of that?” Okay, when Jimmy said it like that it really didn’t make any sense. No wonder Jimmy was so confused.

 Joel winced and sighed and if Jimmy wasn’t right up on his face he would have used his free hand to rub at his face. “No. Yes? It’s…complicated?” Joel was doing a terrible job explaining this so far. “...That was one of the other things I wanted to bring up, actually.” 

 In order to continue talking properly though, he needed Jimmy not so close to his face. So, carefully, he brought his free hand up and pinched Jimmy’s sides. He didn’t use the pinched grip to lift him though, just to move him away from his face and back into the center of his palm. Jimmy tensed slightly as Joel’s fingers pinched him but otherwise he simply let it happen. As soon as Jimmy was away from his face, he let go of his pinched grip and then brought his hand farther down so it was resting back at chest level.

 “There’s…a lot more I have to bring up too.” Joel said, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “I ran into Impulse earlier and he helped me figure out what to say but it’s still…hard.” He finished lamely before sighing again. “But yeah, I think I’ve been feeling a bit…jealous lately. Of Tango.”

 “Jealous? Because he was the one who saved me?” Jimmy asked, still looking just as confused as he sounded. Joel shrugged.

 “I mean, yeah…” Joel groaned and shook his head. Why were feelings so hard to explain? “But also like today, you wanted to hang out with him. And…and maybe it was my fault for assuming, but I really thought you would say no to him? Because of what happened? And when you didn’t, I just…I don’t know. I was upset.”

 “...I did notice that you didn’t seem to want me to go with Tango.” Jimmy said after a moment.

 Joel winced. Yet another thing he hadn’t hid as well as he thought he had. “I’m sorry.” Gosh, why was he so bad at this? “But that’s not all of it. I’ve been mad at myself because I blame myself for what happened, I’ve been jealous of Tango for being the one to save you, but I’ve also been…” Joel trailed off, looking away.

 Jimmy stood up in Joel’s palm, which caused Joel’s eyes to flick back over to him. His other hand was already coming up close just in case Jimmy lost his balance. “Also been what?” Jimmy asked, his voice soft, inviting Joel to continue.

 Joel let out a small sigh. “I’ve been…scared. Scared of you being hurt or worse, and…and scared of you leaving.”

 “Leaving?” Jimmy’s eyes were wide again. “Joel, I wouldn’t-”

 “But you could.” And oh, saying it out loud was causing a few tears to leak from Joel’s eyes. “I-I couldn’t even blame you if you did. I should be able to keep you safe and yet you fell out of my pocket and almost died. You fell into a glue trap and almost died. I can’t…obviously I can’t protect you, so why would you even stay if I’m just putting you in danger?” Joel was full on crying now, angry tears streaming down his face. He didn’t want to say these words, didn’t want to believe them. But it was so hard to see them as lies.

 “Joel-”

 Joel shook his head, cutting off Jimmy without even really meaning to, so lost in his own self-blame. “I-I’ve messed up so much that I shouldn’t even really be holding you right now. I shouldn’t be-” Joel cut himself off as he realized he didn’t even feel worthy enough to hold Jimmy anymore. He tried to lower his hands back down to the desk, intent on letting Jimmy off.

 “Joel Beans, don't you dare put me down.” Jimmy said and Joel froze, staring down at Jimmy with wide tear filled eyes.

 Silence filled the room as Jimmy took a deep breath, processing everything Joel had just said. Joel couldn’t help but feel like he had messed this talk up. He was supposed to be telling Jimmy how he felt, which he supposed he was, but calmly and rationally. Not letting his emotions get the best of him. Not letting his own insecurities and fears win again.

 He felt another apology on the tip of his tongue but before he could say it out loud, Jimmy spoke, breaking the silence first. “Joel, I trust you completely.” Jimmy said, surprising Joel. Out of everything, he certainly wasn’t expecting Jimmy to start with that. “You’ve earned my trust over these last few months. At this point I don’t even think-no, I know you would never do anything that would make me want to leave. Ever.”

 Joel bit his lip, trying to focus on Jimmy’s words, but his mind kept swirling around those same anxieties. “But just two days ago I almost hurt-”

 “No.” Jimmy said, cutting off Joel before he could start spiralling again. Joel’s mouth snapped closed. “You didn’t do anything. I almost got hurt, yes, but you didn’t do anything.” Jimmy’s hardened gaze softened. “Joel, it wasn’t your fault. It was just a series of accidents that happened to end with me on the floor. I don’t blame you at all for it.” Jimmy’s eyes went sad as he stared right into Joel’s eyes. “So I wish you would stop blaming yourself.”

 “I-”

 Jimmy cut him off again. “And before you bring up the glue trap, that definitely wasn’t your fault. You had no idea and I was the one who walked right into it.”

 “But I feel like I’ve been failing to protect you.” Joel said, his shoulders tense but his hands never wavering in their steadiness. 

 Jimmy shook his head. “No, Joel, you haven’t failed at anything. You protect me when I most need it. You…you might not be able to  protect me all the time, but that has nothing to do with what you think is failing.” Jimmy reached out and grabbed hold of one of Joel’s fingers, hoping it would help ground Joel, even just a little bit. Joel let out a little gasp but didn’t try to pull his finger away.  

 “Joel?” Jimmy spoke again when Joel didn’t say anything. That gained him back Joel’s wavering attention due to his thoughts. “Can you lift me up higher again?”

 Joel blinked, a few more tears escaping as he did so, but nodded and carefully lifted his hand so that Jimmy was eye level with him again. Jimmy let go of Joel’s finger in favor of touching Joel’s face again. He reached over to below Joel’s eye and wiped a tear away, uncaring that his hand was now soaked. “I trust you.” Jimmy said, staring right in Joel’s eyes, not a hint of hesitation in his features. “I trust you and I’m not leaving and I don’t blame you for anything.” Jimmy repeated, tilting his head and giving Joel a soft smile as he did so. “Okay?”

 Doubt still circled around in Joel’s mind. But seeing Jimmy so earnestly tell him it wasn’t his fault, that he was trusted, well…Joel couldn’t help but believe Jimmy. And he knew, deep down, that that bit of doubt would never leave. There would always be things that Joel would blame himself for, especially when it came to Jimmy. But, at least for now, he felt like he could deal with it. With Jimmy’s help, at least.

 “Okay.” Joel said, his voice as soft as Jimmy’s smile.

 “Good.”

 It was silent for a moment.

 “So…are you feeling any better?” Jimmy asked, his grin urging for the answer to be a yes. He leaned further against Joel’s face, causing Joel’s nose to twitch a little.

 Joel couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the look Jimmy was giving him. “I guess.” Joel groaned out. He poked at Jimmy’s side gently, making sure there was no real strength to the poke. Jimmy remained steady leaning against Joel’s face. “You couldn’t just let me wallow in my own self-blame, huh?”

 “Joel…”

 Joel sighed. “I know, I know.” He paused for a moment. “Serious answer is I will be.”

 Jimmy sighed but smiled softly. “Well, I’ll be here to keep reminding you then.”

 Joel smiled back. “Yeah. Yeah you will be.”

[ladyvandaele]

Ten People I'd Like To Know Better

Got tagged by @thecrazyashley-blog for this one!

Last song: Take A Picture by Filter

Favorite color: I don’t really have a favourite colour but today I will choose purple 💜

Last book: that’s kind of a personal question lol

Last movie: Persepolis

Last TV show: Aqua Teen Hunger Force

Sweet/spicy/savory: Right now I’d say sweet, but sometimes I prefer savoury

Last thing I searched for online: Nauru

Current obsession: Bruno Madrigal (and he probably will be for a long time) ✨

Looking forward to: Spring! When the snow will be gone and I will finally be able to walk on the beaches again! 🏖️

I tag: @prophetic-hijinks @dororoxpenana @lord-madmyth @rosie-chan92 @arinewman7 @thanatos-drive @garnettears @iputhepinprincess @4649-exe @powerpuffmac

[spffnity]

every day in court he brings sharper and sharper brushes in prep to get stabby

[belledaynight]

KakaSaku same age AU in the story A Meeting of Puppy and Hare

Art by @4649-exe

[sapphic-circles]

Amelioration

Pairing: Glinda/Elphaba

Word count: 4649

Summary: Glinda knows Elphaba is alive and that she’s been back in Oz for years, because someone always seems to be watching her and looking out for her. But all she wants is to see her friend again, and she’s desperate enough to go to extreme lengths for it.

Read on AO3

CW for self harm/suicide attempt

It started not long after the third anniversary of the Melting. Glinda remembers this, because that’s how she measures time: by the day the Wicked Witch melted. It wasn’t always like that, of course; there were the years before the Melting that Glinda measured time by the day that Elphaba left. And before that, though it was so long ago that she hardly remembers, she simply used the month and year like any other Ozian.

The eleventh anniversary of the Melting will be coming up soon, and Glinda doesn’t know whether she’ll survive this one. Every year she loses some of her ability to breathe, as well as a portion of her sanity, because every year she must pretend that the Wicked Witch is dead, and that she is grateful for it, and that she doesn’t know the Wicked Witch has been lingering just out of her sight for the last eight years.

It started with something innocuous enough. Just days after the third anniversary, Glinda had stumbled with a drink in her hand and nearly spilled it and its bloodred contents all over her favorite gown. She should have spilled it on her gown, but the wine had parted around the fabric to land in two distinct puddles on the floor.

So, of course Glinda thought she’d finally begun to use magic subconsciously. What other explanation was there? Wine doesn’t just avoid expensive clothing when spilled, and no one else had been around to see the near-miss. At least, she didn’t think there had been.

News had begun circulating around Oz around that time that the Scarecrow had returned. Glinda tried to ignore it at first—what should it matter to her that Fiyero was back if he couldn’t be bothered to drop in and say hello? Never mind the fact that she wasn’t meant to know it was him. He could do what he pleased, and Glinda would continue her work as if that sack of straw were meaningless to her.

And as if she hadn’t been hoping for news of the return of another figure from those events eleven years ago.

She shouldn’t have expected it, and it was pathetic to hope for something like that. Elphaba was dead to the world, and she wouldn’t have stirred things up by returning then. The simple fact was that she’d left Oz—left Glinda—without warning. Oh, sure, Glinda wasn’t supposed to know; she was supposed to believe the Wicked Witch had melted alongside the rest of the mindless, hateful sheep of the country, but she couldn’t pretend for even a moment that it was true.

No, that’s a lie. She had believed it briefly, just for a clock tick, when it had happened.

Those screams had been convincing enough to fool her in the moment. They’d pierced through her chest as if she’d shared Elphaba’s agony, felt it along with her. It wasn’t until the screaming faded away that Glinda’s mind cleared, and she realized how ridiculous it was. Of course Elphaba wasn’t dead. Anyone who had known her for any real amount of time would have seen her in the rain, or washing her hands, or—if they were lucky, and Glinda was quite certain she had been the only one so lucky, though it had only been one time—in the bath.

Which meant Elphaba had put her whole heart into the performance of a lifetime, knowing Glinda was listening, with the sole intention to leave. Glinda hated thinking it, but she couldn’t help but feel as if it would have hurt less if Elphaba had died that day.

But that was a lie, too. Glinda was angry, and she would always be angry, but she could never wish Elphaba dead.

It started with the wine. Maybe a few other little things here and there: the key Glinda had misplaced appearing right in the middle of her desk, the Quadling representative at a public address suddenly losing his trousers after attempting to embarrass her. Those could have been coincidences, though.

What really blew Elphaba’s cover, whether she realized it or not, was the day several months later that Glinda had been taking a walk through the gardens and lost her balance on a slick stone by the pond. She almost fell in, which would have very thoroughly ruined her day, except that she was caught by magic.

It’s easy to recognize magic after one has felt it once or twice. It’s not so easy to recognize the signature, the invisible something in the magic that marks it as belonging to one sorcerer or another, like a fingerprint. But Glinda knew Elphaba, and even after all those years, she felt the Wicked Witch’s signature as easily as if the magic catching her had been Elphaba’s very own arms.

Her breath stopped when it happened. Surely Elphaba hadn’t returned to Oz? Not just to stay hidden and save Glinda from slippery floors. There was no other explanation for what she’d felt, though, and for a moment she actually believed her dear old friend had come to see her again, that she would reveal herself in all her green glory among the verdant foliage of the gardens and ask forgiveness for what she’d done.

But she never showed herself. Not even after Glinda collapsed in tears beside the pond and begged her to come out, just as she had the night of the Melting, and just like that night, her pleas fell on deaf ears. Dead people can’t hear, after all, apparently even when they’re not really dead.

But they can watch.

Glinda had decided then that she hates Elphaba. Another lie, of course, but she hoped that if she thought it hard enough, it would be true. So, she hates Elphaba for leaving. Hates her for coming back, hates her for always seeming to be around and especially hates her for never, ever once in the near-decade she’s been back, allowing Glinda to see her. Not even a glimpse spared for the woman who had thrown away her own hopes and dreams to take on her cause, her responsibilities. Oz, does Elphaba even understand everything Glinda has sacrificed for her? Or does she simply not care?

It’s getting harder. Not just the undefined state of her former friend’s existence—though Glinda did spend about a year wondering whether Elphaba really had died at some point and had decided to haunt her for the rest of her life—but everything. Every little thing is getting harder every single year.

Glinda spent this past year making as many mistakes as she could, just to see whether Elphaba had a limit. She doesn’t seem to, considering the helpful little spells have never stopped, but Glinda has found that the Wicked Witch isn’t always watching after all. There are times, usually late at night or in the early morning, that she’ll fumble a glass and watch it shatter or slip up with a knife in the kitchen and cut her finger.

It feels wrong to admit, but she actually likes the feeling of it, of knowing she’s done something that Elphaba would normally have stopped, like some minuscule act of rebellion. So, she starts doing it more and more, just to feel something besides the mind-numbing drone of politics. Or, maybe she’s hoping the Wicked Witch will get fed up with it and confront her. Anything to break up the monotony of what has become Glinda the Good’s perfect little life.

“You know,” Glinda says the night before the eleventh anniversary, as she sips on her fourth glass of wine to prepare for yet another celebration of Elphaba’s death, “I really wish we could stop playing this horrendible game. Surely you don’t still think I believe you’re gone, Elphaba? It’s not like you’ve been subtle.”

She doesn’t get an answer, of course. Why would she?

“Or maybe you just think I’m an idiot,” Glinda murmurs. “And maybe I am. But it really would have been easier to move on if you weren’t still here, you know. It’s really quite wicked of you to do this to me.”

Glinda grips the glass in her hand as tears threaten to well up in her eyes. No, she will not cry over this. Elphaba doesn’t deserve any more of her tears. Or maybe she does, if it’ll make her feel bad. Surely she feels bad when Glinda cries over her? She must care deeply about the Good Witch’s happiness and wellbeing to have haunted her so thoroughly for so long, saving her from even the most mundane inconveniences.

Glinda doesn’t understand it. How could Elphaba care so much, but never do the one thing Glinda actually wants her to do? Needs her to do? If things keep going this way for much longer, Glinda won’t be able to take it anymore. Something will snap, and she’s not sure what will happen when it does, or who might get hurt. Probably only herself—although, Elphaba would probably stop it before she even earned any kind of release from it.

It’s this line of thinking, coupled with one too many drinks, that drives Glinda to the decision that she simply will not allow this to continue.

She’s confronted Elphaba before. Maybe not so directly—she doesn’t want anyone overhearing and learning that the Wicked Witch is truly still alive—but she has begged and pleaded for Elphaba to show her face just once, to come back into Glinda’s sight for just one night, to allow her a proper goodbye if she would be so insistent on depriving Glinda of her presence.

Now, Glinda throws back the rest of her wine and sits the glass down on her beside table hard enough that it breaks, just long enough for the jagged edge to nick Glinda’s palm before the glass repairs itself.

Glinda laughs. “So you are watching right now,” she says. “Good. You’d better listen to me, Elphaba Thropp. I’m done with this. If you don’t get your green ass in here right now, I’m—I’m going to make you regret it.”

Great Oz, eleven years since she’d last seen Elphaba’s face or heard her voice and Glinda still can’t manage a proper threat. Not that she doesn’t have the practice—unruly dignitaries and political troublemakers have earned her malice more than once—but what could she even truly threaten Elphaba with? It rings hollow with the knowledge that even if Glinda knew where to find her, she could never hurt her old friend.

But she could hurt herself, which Elphaba seems so incredibly averse to.

Oh, yes. That would certainly catch Elphaba’s attention. Perhaps it would even prompt her to finally listen. Perhaps, if Glinda is feeling brave enough, she could make it so bad that Elphaba would be forced to show herself. Sure, yes, it would be risky, but…does it matter? If she dies, at least she’ll be free from the sense that she’s slowly losing her life, anyway.

Ironically, Glinda feels more alive than she has in years as she takes the newly mended wine glass into her hand and brings it down hard, with visible intention, on the nightstand.

“You want to fix things for me?” Glinda hisses. “Fix what you broke and help me.”

She draws the sharp end of the glass stem down her arm so quickly that she doesn’t even have time to prepare herself for the pain—and quickly enough that Elphaba doesn’t react in time to stop her. She grits her teeth and whimpers as she pushes the glass as deep into her flesh as she physically can, to the point that she thinks faintly she may have scraped bone.

It doesn’t last long, of course. Elphaba’s magic wrenches the glass away from her and sends it flying into the opposite wall, which Glinda realizes smugly is the first time Elphaba’s calm demeanor has ever seemed rattled.

Glinda clutches at her arm, nails digging into the unmarked skin around the wound as the blood wells up around her hand, flowing freely from such a deep laceration. It fucking hurts, but somehow it feels good, too. Healing magic is tricky, and as far as she knows, impossible to do from any kind of distance. This wound would keep bleeding and keep hurting and keep killing her until Elphaba finally shows up or until Glinda runs dry—whichever comes first.

She does expect Elphaba to show up. Glinda can’t imagine after all she’s done from the shadows that Elphaba would allow her to die. She must be nearby if she’s watching, after all, and she’d be in no danger of discoveration in the confines of Glinda’s private quarters.

But perhaps Glinda had underestimated how truly unwilling Elphaba would be to show herself even now, because as time ticks by and there’s more blood on her nightgown and on the floor than she’s ever seen in her life, she’s still alone.

Glinda backs into the wall and slides down to the floor as it gets harder to stand, her heart pounding feverishly and her face wet with tears. Maybe Elphaba was never even there. Maybe Glinda’s sanity has been gone for much longer than she’d thought, and she’s only been imagining the Wicked Witch’s presence. Maybe it was all some elaborate subconscious excuse to one day kill herself. Wouldn’t that be something?

Honestly, though, Glinda doesn’t want to die. What she wants is for things to change, but if they can’t change in the way she’d prefer, she supposes this is fine. And the pain, at least—the oscillation of stinging and dull throbbing through her arm and her chest—distracts from the pain of knowing she truly has lost the only person who had ever understood her.

Glinda leans her head back against the wall and closes her eyes. It feels odd, dying. She can feel her heart racing in her chest as if she’d run a marathon, but the rest of her feels sluggish and weak. And it’s so hard to think! Where has her mind gone? She can’t seem to grasp the meaning of words anymore, but at least she doesn’t actually need to use them. There’s no one here to listen.

She thinks it’s probably the wine poisoning what’s left of the blood in her body that grants her the beautiful hallucination in her final moments. She can’t open her eyes to see it, but she can feel Elphaba’s hands on her, touching her arms, her neck, her chest. She can hear that low, sweet voice, though the words don’t register to Glinda’s mind. Still, it’s a pleasant way to ease her into death. She can pretend she got what she wanted after all in her last vestiges of consciousness.

In what should have been her last vestiges of consciousness.

She can’t imagine how or why it’s returning to her now, but she so wishes it wouldn’t. The pain in her arm is somehow worse than before, and her head aches, and Oz, this was supposed to be over by now.

Glinda waits for the tide to pull her back under, but it doesn’t. She’s stuck awake to feel the pain she’d brought on to herself, even as she wills herself to drift off again.

…Is she in bed?

Glinda works her stiff fingers into the fabric beneath her and decides that, yes, she is in bed.

Her bed is not where she had been before. Someone must have put her there.

“Are you awake?”

Glinda freezes. It’s the same voice she’d heard before, but now it sounds loud and clear and real.

She doesn’t open her eyes. She doesn’t want the illusion to disappear, if that’s what it is. And if it’s not, then she’d be better off not knowing, or else she might strangle Elphaba for showing up now—even though it is what she’d asked for.

“You took your sweet time,” Glinda says, her voice hoarse. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“I got here as quickly as I could.” Elphaba’s voice sounds taut. Angry, almost. Well, good; now she could feel a fraction of what Glinda has felt for the last decade. “What if I hadn’t been fast enough?”

Glinda can’t help it. She laughs. “It’s not as if I used a gun,” she says. “You had plenty of time.”

“I wasn’t here, you little idiot. And teleportation only works from a short distance.” A pause. “You can’t refuse all blame. You never looked for me.”

“I asked for you. I begged for you to come.” Glinda opens her eyes now, anger flaring in her chest. And there the Wicked Witch stands at the foot of her bed, tall and proud.

Except…she doesn’t look much like a Wicked Witch anymore. She’s dressed in a simple frock, hair tied back from her face—with a twist in the knot, Glinda notes, just the way she’d taught her to do it back at Shiz. And there are tears in her eyes.

“I couldn’t come,” Elphaba says, her voice low. “And if you’d have thought about it for even a moment, you’d understand. I flew here, Glinda. There will be reports all over the papers by morning.”

Glinda’s throat tightens. “I thought you were already here,” she whispers. “It was your magic. I know it was. You had to be watching.”

“I was,” Elphaba says. “From outside the city. In my crystal ball.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t you know I would have come to you if it wouldn’t get me killed?” Elphaba crosses her arms tight across her chest. “You’ve had the freedom to come to me this whole time. And you never tried.”

“I was supposed to think you were dead.”

“I never expected you to believe that. You’re not stupid. I didn’t think you were, anyway.”

Glinda takes a deep, shuddering breath. “I’m sorry, Elphie.”

“I’d certainly hope you are,” Elphaba says. Then, her voice softens. “I almost lost you.”

“I lost you a long time ago,” Glinda murmurs. “Not all of us have crystal balls to spy on each other with. If I had known—” She sighs and shakes her head. “It’s not your fault. I’m sorry. Truly, I am.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Elphaba says. She finally moves closer, skirting around the foot of the bed to sit at the edge beside Glinda. She reaches out to cup Glinda’s face, brushing a gentle thumb across her cheekbone. It feels so familiar and so good that Glinda thinks she might still pass away. “I’ve missed you, my sweet.”

Tears well up in Glinda’s eyes. She truly hadn’t thought she’d ever hear that endearment in that voice again. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, you know,” she breathes. “For coming. I won’t let them, I swear.”

Elphaba smiles, baring that lovely gap between her front teeth, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “I’m sure you’ll try,” she says.

“I’m going to do more than try.” Glinda pushes herself upright, wincing at the strain in her arm. The wound is closed, but it still throbs painfully beneath the skin. “I would have done it all those years ago. You know I would have. I wanted to clear your name. Let me do it now.”

“I’m afraid it might be a bit too late for that.”

“I’ll do it anyway.” Glinda clutches at Elphaba’s hand and holds it against her chest. “I can’t go back to the way things were. I can’t, Elphie.”

“Glinda…”

“Elphaba.”

Glinda stares into the gemstone-green eyes she’d missed for so long, desperately trying to convey how serious she is. She can see the warring emotions Elphaba’s face, and she pushes just a little harder.

“You must want it, too,” Glinda says. “Or were you keeping such a close eye on me because you had nothing better to do?”

“I didn’t,” Elphaba says. “I don’t. But I like seeing you; I like making sure you’re okay. It’s the best I can do with what I have.”

Glinda grips Elphaba’s hand tighter. “But I wasn’t okay.”

The thin green hand trembles in Glinda’s grasp. “I know.”

“I loved you.”

Elphaba’s jaw clenches, fighting off the fresh tears welling in her eyes. She watches Glinda for a long moment as if debating whether to say what’s on her mind, and then she does.

“I still love you,” Elphaba says, her voice so low that Glinda almost can’t hear it. “That’s why I came back to Oz at all. I love you, Glinda. That’s all.”

“It might have been easier for you to move on if you’d stayed away,” Glinda says equally as quietly. “Easier for both of us. Perhaps we could have forgotten one another.”

“I could never forget you.”

Glinda sighs. “No. Neither could I.”

Elphaba’s eyes drop to her hand, still held so tightly against Glinda’s chest that she wouldn’t be able to pull it away even if she wanted to. “So, why?” Elphaba asks. “Why do you want me here so badly if you don’t love me anymore?”

“Because I still love you,” Glinda admits. “I never stopped. Not for a moment. You’re in my lungs, Elphie; I can’t breathe without you.”

Elphaba swallows hard. “You must be able to,” she says. “You’ve done so much for the good of Oz. You’re an incredibly competent politician. You’re telling me you’re not even a little bit happy with what you’ve made?”

“Of course I am,” Glinda says. “But I did it for you. I never wanted this to be my life.”

Elphaba knows that. Glinda recalls every single one of the late-night talks they’d had at school about their childhoods and their dreams and the things they would do if they could do anything. Politics was never even a distant option for Glinda, but Elphaba was always the first thing she took into account. In her dreams, Elphie was always there.

“Okay,” Elphaba says. “You’re right. So, tell me what I can do for you now. Tell me what you want, and I’ll make it happen.”

Glinda shakes her head. “You know what I want, and I don’t believe you will.”

“Tell me anyway.”

Glinda could feel her own heartbeat through Elphaba’s hand as it thunders beneath her ribs. She doesn’t want to say it. If Elphaba refused for eight full years, why would she accept it now? Because Glinda finally dove off the deep end and can’t be trusted with herself? She wants her friend back, not a caretaker.

“Please, Glinda. It’s been a long time. I need to know exactly what it is you want from me.”

Glinda had managed to hold her own tears at bay until now, but now they fall down her cheeks all at once. “I want you,” she says. “You’re all I’ve ever had. I want you back at my side. I want a life with you.”

Elphaba finally manages to free her hand and holds Glinda’s face between both of her palms, wiping the tears away and leaning closer. “And if it goes wrong when you try to pardon me? On the anniversary of the day that you told them I was gone, no less?”

Glinda’s stomach turns. It would be a lot for the people to take in, and she’s sure many of them wouldn’t accept it. But the Wizard is gone. Madame Morrible is gone. And if there’s anyone they’ll listen to, it’s their Good Witch.

“You’ll be protected,” Glinda says. “I’ll make sure you’re safe, even if they don’t understand. But it’s high time history learns the real story.” She attempts a smile, but she’s so certain that Elphaba will refuse once more that she can’t muster it. But until Elphaba replies, at least, she can pretend her friend will agree.

Elphaba takes a deep breath and nods. “Then I’ll stay.”

Glinda blinks. “What?”

“I’ll stay,” Elphaba says again. “I want to stay.”

“What changed?” Glinda doesn’t want to sway Elphaba’s decision, of course, but she literally cannot believe it. “Why not go back to wherever you were hiding and keep watching me with your fancy crystal ball?”

“Because now that you’re here in front of me,” Elphaba says, “I can’t leave you again. I can’t go back to pretending I didn’t tear a piece of my heart out to leave in your hands that night. It hurts. And sitting next to you right now is the first time it’s stopped hurting in eleven years.”

Glinda can’t breathe, and she’s not sure whether it’s hope or fear clamping down on her chest. “Even though I…I forced you to come?”

She’s well aware that what she did was probably the worst act of manipulation she’s ever committed, and she wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d ruined any chance she’d have had to keep Elphaba in her life. She wouldn’t have even been surprised if Elphaba had healed her and then left for good, never to betray her watchful eye with a silly little helpful spell again.

But now she’s saying she wants to stay. Despite it all.

“I should have come sooner,” Elphaba murmurs. “I’m sorry I didn’t see how unwell you were. I want to stay, my sweet, but swear to me you’ll never do that again.”

“I won’t,” Glinda says quickly. “I won’t, Elphie, I promise. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

She doesn’t feel the wave of emotion coming until it washes over her, crumpling her into Elphaba’s chest where she cries with all the desperation that had built up inside her over the years. It comes pouring out without her permission as she clutches at Elphaba’s clothes, balling her fists in the fabric and spilling her tears onto warm green skin.

Elphaba’s arms wrap securely around her, hugging her close and tucking her safe beneath her chin. “It’s okay,” she breathes, and Glinda faintly registers a sob escaping Elphaba’s chest. “It’s all right, Galinda. I’m here. Oz, you scared me.”

“I’m sorry,” Glinda whispers again. “I’m sorry. I love you.”

Elphaba presses her lips to the top of Glinda’s head and rakes her nails soothingly down her back, her own tears wetting blonde hair where they fall.

They stay like that for so long that Glinda’s cries fade to quiet hiccups, and the hiccups fade to sniffles, and she’s almost soothed to sleep by the steady beating of Elphaba’s heart. But she forces herself awake again to reach up and wrap her arms around Elphaba’s neck, running her fingers through those lovely tiny braids and nuzzling against Elphie’s cheek.

She doesn’t want to fall asleep now, not when she can finally feel Elphaba’s presence again—the touch of her skin, the scent of pine and paper and incense, the sweet sound of her voice crooning terms of endearment against Glinda’s ear.

“I love you.” Glinda can’t stop saying it. The words tumble from her aching chest out of her mouth: “I love you; I missed you; I love you so much, Elphie. Please don’t go.”

“Never.” Glinda feels Elphaba’s lips on her cheek, and she melts further into the embrace. “I love you, too, my sweet. I’ll never leave again. I promise.”

Elphaba has broken promises before, but Glinda doesn’t mention that. It’s been too long, and she needs to believe it even if she has to force that belief into her bones. What’s the point in any of this if she can’t muster enough trust to let herself be happy?

But with the way Elphie’s arms press possessively into her back and her waist, hands firm but tender where they hold her, and full green lips leaving soft, ardent kisses wherever they could reach, Glinda finds she doesn’t need to force anything at all. The belief and the trust fill her chest to the brim so naturally, offering her the promise of life, of a real life, and allowing her to breathe freely for the first time in years.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

I haven’t seen this petition on tumblr and thought you might be able to boost it?

[quiltofstars]

M60 (center) and NGC 4647 (above left of center) // Wei-Hao Wang

The elliptical galaxy M60 was discovered by Johann Koehler just days before Messier himself observed it. It is the third-brightest giant elliptical galaxy in the Virgo cluster and contains about a billion times the mass of our Sun.

Notably, M60 appears to be close to the spiral galaxy NGC 4647. However, there doesn't seem to be any evidence that these two galaxies are actually interacting. New data from the Hubble Space Telescope seems to suggest that the interaction has only just begun.

Visible in this image within the disk of NGC 4647 is the supernova SN 2022hrs that occurred on April 16, 2022. You can see below the progression that the supernova took, being very bright at first and dimming over the course of four months.