#But I did this today to let off steam so please accept it /////

[sskk-manifesto]

Atsushi Nakajima – Bungou Stray Dogs Season 2 ( •̀ ︿ •́ )

[zuffer-weird-girl]

To say he was a dangerous, hatred and feasome man was a understandment... but no one asides from him and one person knew his dark secret.

Which was quite embarrassing to be honest, bit alas it was the true.

The thing is, he was scared of you sometimes.

Yes, you. The one who managed to cage his heart and make his mysophobic ass feel something asides from disgust for once in his damm life.

Now, to give contest to it, let's roll back a bit in time.

In the start of the relationship, you didn't know why on God's name you decided to steal a bite out of Kai's food.

But you did. And the look he gave you was not at all pleasant. In contrary, he threatened you. Yes, threatened to kill you. And you laughed.

He knew you were crazy but not THAT crazy.

Either way, you still managed to steal some bites out of his food every now or then and he kinda got used to it... well, sorta.

But the funny thing is that he is a VERY picky eater, so not only he didn't do the same thing to you because he was disgusted by it or because of his hygiene habits, is also because he genuily didn't liked some things you eat it.

Rarely he was interested on seeing what you were eating... rarely, but not impossible. After all you knew how to cook and he genuily liked some of your meals.

Although, one time, at dinner, you were craving some spicy noodles, so you got on the job of making it.

In your mind, your boyfriend was working, so you only made a portion for one.

While making it, even with the amount of spice on it, while taste testing, you frowned, not quite achieving the spicy sensation you wanted, so to make it better you decided to add a bit of spicy paprika and pepper sauce.

You finally achieved your goal and was pouring on a bowl to eat while watching something on TV until you jumped at the sound of the sliding door opening.

"Hi honey!" You gleamed in happiness at seeing his face while he only nodded "I thought you were going to work late today? Did something happen?"

"Not quite. Just miracously the old man decided that he could do some of that paperwork and talk with the other yakusa boss" he mumbled nonchalantly while taking off his mask with a sigh.

"I think it was because he didn't wanted you to death threaten his work friend."you snickered while he dead panned at you. "Did you eat anything asides from lunch earlier?"

"No. It was that or risking my health on accepting a tuna sandwich from rappa." He shivered with a face that screamed disgust and repulse "Please let's not talk about that."

You laughed a bit while getting some pans out

"Alright, want me to make something for you?"

"I honestly just want something light and just go to bed. This will do." He pick it up the same bowl you were about to eat.

It sounded out of character of him to simply pick anything to eat? Yes, but here is the thing. Kai loved you, so, he trusted you. He knew you were careful around the kicthen and whatever you cooked it was safe to eat.

He thought.

You let out a confused sound at his words until you looked a bit late to see your boyfriend picking some hashis and picking on it.

"Kai wait-!"

Too late. He eat it.

You saw everything. To the confused hum he let out, to his pale face getting red as a pepper, his golden eyes starting to tear up and even a bit of snot to drop from his nose... he almost sounded like a cartoon character that was about to let steam out of his ears.

He immediately dropped the bowl on the table to get water.

You didn't had time to tell him it would only make it worse.

He was panting and sweating like he had ran a marathon curses leaving his lips as you quickly got him a glass of milk and handed it to him which he gulped down like he was a starving man with a glass of water on the desert.

"What. The. Hell. Was that?" He breathed each word out angrily after he got himself together.

"Spicy noodles." You mumbled while waving a paper at his face "That bowl was for me, you fowl."

Usually he would glare at you for this, but this time you saw a look of pure horror on his face.

"You're actually telling me you were about to eat that cursed thing that looked like it came from the deepest parts of hell?"

You blinked before grabbing the bowl and simply eating with ease a mouthful of the noodles before a sad hum left you.

"What?" He muttered, about to get you a glass like you did to him.

"Is not spicy enough..." you muttered sadly.

Kai dropped the glass on the ground out of shock.

In resume. For the next couple of days you had to hear a mouthful of your boyfriends complains about how your spice tolerance shouldn't be normal, that you needed to check on that. His disbelief was clear.

But also his fear about learning the fact that his sweet angel could eat that cursed thing.

[dragons-and-dwarves-are-nice]

Request from @witheringpain - Could you make a headcanon of how all the autobots/decepticons would react if you died in a war (G1) ?

Will do 🫡🫡🫡

Sorry this is so late but I’ve got so much going on I’ve ended up going through my requests at a snails pace lol.

I haven't done transformers requests in 3-4 years so hello pls don't beat me up over this but here we go anyway:

Warnings: Character Death (Reader), Heavy Descriptions Of Gore And Violence, Themes Of Grieving And Depression

Autobots: (This is mostly Optimus-centred but I included most of the Autobots reactions because this first part was already too long to repeat for each separate character – I’ve also made it platonic)

Also PLEASE keep in mind that I’ve only seen short clips of G1, which is why I don’t write for them often, so the characters may seem a little OOC – if they are I apologise but it’s the best I could do

Ooooh boy, they’re not gonna like that

Let’s say you’re Optimus’s bestie (along with the other autobots ofc)

And let’s keep in mind that G1 Optimus is not as calm/ level headed as TFP Optimus and not as ‘death/kill/angry/rage’ as Bayverse Optimus

So he’s not gonna go round on the battle field murdering left right and centre

But he’s also not gonna just stand there

He’s more likely to turn towards the loud gunshot behind him and watch as your body hits the ground and take a moment

Like it’s not gonna click instantly

He probably thinks you’ve been shot in the leg and he waits a second for you to scream or writhe around in pain

But then your body lops to the side and he sees your eyes frozen wide in shock, with a gaping bullet hole still sizzling and steaming away in the middle of your forehead

And when I say it hits them all

It hits them

HARD

Optimus sort of just stumbles for a moment cuz he can feel every part of himself short-circuit

He also thought his audio receptors had stopped working

But no

It’s the battlefield

It’s dead silent

Everyone seems to have just stopped

He can’t see (cuz he literally cannot take his eyes off your body) but Prowl and Ratchet are nearest

And they’re desperate to run to him but the fact that he’s so still

Ratchet doesn’t dare go near you for a hot minute because it’s not normal for Optimus to be still for that long.

Prowl’s too busy trying to see who shot you, and eventually he spies the steaming barrel of the gun from across the field and he’s instantly seeing red

The decepticon that owns said gun doesn’t look any better

You can practically hear him from how much he’s shaking

Eventually, the dead silence is broken

“What did you do?”

It’s Megatron

He might be Optimus’s sworn enemy

But he knows when to not cross a line

As in murder Optimus’s closest friend

Megatron only murmured it since he was only frozen in place a few metres away

But it was loud enough to break whatever spell Optimus was under

Both decepticons watched in terror as Optimus’s head snapped towards them, his optics wide and glowing brighter than ever

And you know what’s even worse?

His face guard is gone

Sheathed away and full face on display

Now, let’s clarify that you, are the only person in the existence of ever, to know what he looks like under the mask

And the fact that everyone can see his full face right now shows exactly how out of control his emotions are right now

He’s heaving, he’s shaking, and there’s coolant streaming down his face because guess what cybertronians can cry

In his millions of years fighting wars, Megatron can’t recall a time he’s ever seen such despair on a bots face

Let alone on Optimus

The sounding of creaking metal brings everyone’s attention back on Optimus

And it takes a moment for everyone to realise where the noise is coming from but soon enough they watch as his servo tightens even more around his axe, the creaking noise becoming louder

And all of a sudden everyone’s like:

Oh shit

The decepticon that shot you is like

Shit shit shit shit

And Megatron accepts he’s gonna be a Con down after today because looking at the state that Prime is in he knows it’s not worth it

He looks to the Con who is pleading for help with his eyes and just shrugs

“I think you’re on your own now :)”

Megatron along with everyone else takes a step back as Optimus begins to move

He’s not running, no

Just walking

His optics not moving from the con in front of him as he strides over.

Eventually the con drops his gun with a cry and frantically runs into the woods behind him

But Optimus keeps his speed at walking pace

Which is even more terrifying

Megatron just moves aside raising his hands in surrender as he passes

Because a heaving, blank-faced, mask-less Optimus unconsciously dragging a weapon behind him is not something he wants to try and pester right now

Soon Optimus disappears into the woods after the Con

And everyone remains silent and unmoving as they listen

Pedesteps every now and again are heard from within the trees

Minutes pass and no one is yet to move, too occupied with straining their audials for a noise

Though it isn’t long until everyone flinches as a terrified shriek rips through the air, causing the birds to scatter

A string of frantic pleads of help follow

Until they are replaced with screams as loud clangs of metal on metal are heard

But soon the screams are drowned out by the clangs and soon enough the sounds of the Con are no more

But the clanging doesn’t stop

It just keeps going in a steady rhythm

Until one final loud smash reverberates through the air

And it is silent once again

Everyone else takes this as their cue

Megatron instantly transforms and takes off

And it isn’t long before the rest of the Decepticons follow, leaving the Autobots to themselves

The following silence is soon broken as Ratchet finally moves towards your body

Wiping the coolant that won’t seem to stop streaming down his face, he kneels down to scoop your lifeless form into his arms

Prowl drags himself over to you both, his pedes never feeling so heavy

With a dark solemn look on his faceplates, he stares at your corpse in the medics arms

After a moment, he slowly lifts his servo towards your face, where your face is still frozen in a terrified expression

And as gently as he can, he takes two digits and places them above your optic lids before sliding them closed

That seemed to be a tipping point for Ratchet as he broke down in heaving sobs

His frame trembling as he tried to keeps both himself and you balanced as everyone around looked at him in both surprise and pity

This is a first because Ratchet is probably the least likely to react so emotionally to death

He been witnessing it almost every day for the past few million years after all

But you were someone special

Someone he thought would be the last person to die so suddenly

Someone he thought he would have time to save, and time to grieve

But that’s what war does

It has no mercy with anyone

No matter who someone is and how special they are

And Ratchet thought he had come to terms with that idea

But the scene he gave showed everyone he hadn’t quite accepted it fully

Prowl wanted to break down too

He wanted to scream into the heavens and beyond, cursing out those who took you from them but also hoping you could hear him

A sign to show that you were still here with them

But he knew it would prove useless

And with Ratchet gone too far into his own mind

He knew it was his turn to be the level headed one

Now wasn’t the time to flip tables and punch walls

He didn’t want to show his emotional instability in front of the others

So he joined Ratchet by his side, a servo slowly soothing up and down the medic’s trembling back struts.

He noted that Optimus still hadn’t returned from the woods

But that wasn’t who he was concerned about at the moment

As if on cue, three sets of bouncing footsteps along with energised voices were heard as they got nearer

Everyone tensed at the sound, and slowly turned towards the outstretch of cliff nearby where the voices owners would soon be revealed

Prowl left Ratchet’s side after one last reassuring pat, leaving the now slightly calmer bot to cradle you

Turning the corner, he was met with two bright sets of yellow and one red

Bumblebee, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker had returned from their reconnaissance, playing and shoving at each other joyously after a seemingly successful mission, ready to hear what had become of the fight they missed

Though that all halted when they caught sight of a silent Prowl who was suspiciously not scolding them for returning so late

Coming to a stop, they eyed him, Sideswipe talking first:

“We just saw Megatron and his goons flying away! Did you flip enough tables to scare them off or something?”

That set the three of them into another fit of giggles

But coming to a stop again at the sight of Prowls door wings not springing up in frustration like they usually do

“Say Prowl, what’s got your tailpipe in a twist?” Sunstreaker piped up

Prowl opened his mouth, and got exactly one vowel out before going silent again. He did this several times before eventually giving up.

Ok this was different

Prowl always has something to reply with

“What happened.” Demanded Bumblebee

Despite being a joyous bot, Bumblebee knew when it was time to be serious, and Prowl being lost for words meant that only the worst could have happened

Prowl tried to reply again, but his voice box betrayed him for a second time

Without a second thought Bumblebee strode ahead, brushing aside Prowls outstretched servo and rounded the corner

At a first glance all he could see was every bot crowded around something, but when he called out they all parted to reveal something he wished he could never see

A pained cry of despair echoed throughout the forested valley, and Sideswipe and Sunstreaker didn’t hesitate for a second as they sprinted around the corner to their friend with Prowl hot on their heels

The sight before them was the one thing they never wanted

Bumblebee was being held back as he tried to reach for whatever Ratchet had in his arms, howling and crying out as he stretched his arm as far as he could

The two bots rushed to try and help the others in restraining him, but both stumbled in shock as they caught sight of your lifeless corpse

Soon the bots had to be divided as they wrestled the three young bots that were wailing in anguish for their friend

Bumblebee had given up at this point, his head on Prowls shoulder as he stared at you with a glazed unmoving expression

The twins were worse off, crying and screaming in everyone’s faces until their voice boxes gave out, demanding what had happened and why they weren’t able to save you, why Ratchet wasn’t able to save you, but all the bots and the medic could do was look down to not make any further eye contact.

Not long after the screaming match another set of footsteps were heard getting nearer, and a hush fell over everyone, including the twins after pleas from the others, as they all stared at the silhouette emerging from the foliage

As the bot moved into the sunlight, everyone’s optics widened at the sight

Optimus had returned, but he was barely recognisable

Well

You could still tell it was him

But his paintjob was almost unidentifiable

Blue and red peeked through the streaks and smears of pink and magenta, the energon from the unlucky con splattered all over his frame

The worst parts were on his axe and up his arms, his paintjob covered almost entirely with energon still dripping from those areas along with chunks of metal that slowly slid down his frame, looking suspiciously similar to the con’s paintjob

The most horrifying part, though, was his axe

Which looked like it had come straight out of a horror movie

Through the energon and bits of metal that covered the blades, one half seemed to have bent, the blade curving in a way that would fit a cybertronians head shape after hitting it with the force of a mountain

Which is probably what happened

It’s also probably what made that extra load bang at the end

But no one really cared about that

They were too busy trying to figure out what Optimus would do next

Which was a bit difficult considering he was just standing there not saying a word and just staring ahead into the distance

A beat passed before shuffling was heard and Bumblebee broke away from Prowls embrace and rushed towards the Prime

Despite everyone wanting to stop him, they were too scared of going near Optimus at this point

Reaching Optimus, Bumblebee threw himself around him, not caring about the height difference

This seemed to bring Prime out of his trance, half lidded optics looking down at the smaller bot

Though it wasn’t long before Optimus gently pried Bumblebee’s servos away, holding them in his own

The bots watched albeit tense as the taller bot stared down at his smaller companion

All it took was for Bee to look up whilst blinking back tears of coolant for Optimus to drop his axe with a clang and scoop him into his arms, their helms buried into each other’s neck cables, and Bumblebee’s sobbing started up again

After a minute, they pulled away from each other, and Bee tried to say something through the hiccupping of his voice box, but the Prime stopped him with a servo on his shoulder and a small smile that was far from reaching his optics

Which everyone could see since he had yet to re-engage his mask

But they made sure not to bring it up

Soon Optimus was back on his pedes and picking up his axe, gently leading Bumblebee back to the group

Reaching Ratchet, he placed a servo on his shoulder

“Let’s get them back to the ship old friend."

Decepticons: (This one’s a bit shorter I’m afraid – I struggled with coming up with anything for anyone else so this is more headcanon-y)

Warnings: Character Death (AKA YOU), Heavy Descriptions of Gore, Themes of Grieving and Depression.

Now with the decepticons it can be a little different

Depending on what kind of relationship you’ve formed and with who

The Autobots are all tight knit in some way

Whereas with the cons

You could’ve been working with them for eons

But if you’re just another soldier that has been recruited

Then those higher up aren’t gonna bat an optic

They might notice your posts being replaced

But that’s it

However

If you’re higher ranking and have formed some type of relationship with them

Then things are going to go down differently

Soundwave would be inconsolable for a while

The only ones allowed near him were his minicons

Who would scuttle out his berthroom to grab some energon for their robodad, before quickly disappearing back into the dark room

He wouldn’t come out until Megatron demanded entry

And the minocons along with a few others would wait around the corner in the corridor

Tying to get within earshot but failing nonetheless

Megatron then walked out, not bothering with the troops who scattered as soon as he appeared

It would be another day before Soundwave would emerge

But he wouldn’t answer anyone about how he was

He simply got on with his tasks as he did before

Overworking so much that he would have to be dragged to recharge

Life would resume as normal

But during his weekly spying sessions through the security cameras

Starscream would note the pauses the quiet con would take

Each time in the exact same spot

Standing in front of the doors to the comms room where you had worked

Staring in as if he was looking for you to spring out on him

But you never did

Speaking of Starscream

It’s a bit of a 50/50 with him

You could be any rank

And considering how desperate he is to overthrow Megatron and lead the Decepticons

There’s a chance that he could be so obsessed and caught up in his scheming

That he just doesn’t have the spare time to get to know you or basically care about you in any way

But if we went with the other half

And you were someone he had befriended and roped into his overthrowing plans

Then your death would throw him off track big time

It would take him forever to comprehend the fact that the one con he could trust properly on his ship was in pieces that were now drifting somewhere through space

To the other cons he was just being himself after your death

So just annoying

Complaining how he now had to figure out how to achieve the tasks he had set you for universal dominance as well as his own

But the heaving sobs and wails that echoed through the ships corridors late at night said otherwise

Ravage made the unlucky mistake of walking in on Starscream as he curled up underneath his desk

Though not much time was spent inside as Ravage high tailed it out of there, narrowly dodging something being thrown as the seeker screamed for them to get out

Skywarp and Thundercracker had a hard time as well

Feeling the immense grief flowing through the bond of their trine mate’s spark as they watched him brush you off as just another accomplice in front of everyone else

Now

Onto boss man

Megatron would practically explode

He would be throwing himself into every battle and every autobot he can get his servos on

The one commander, apart from soundwave, he could trust with his life

Gone

In a puff of smoke

Well..

More like an explosion

AKA you were blasted to smithereens before he could pull you free from the collapsing power reactor

He would be frozen in place, your decapitated servo still grasped in his own

Bits of wiring and armour plating surrounding him on the floor

Along with the pink flames of your energon that had ignited as it hit the burning debris

He doesn’t quite remember what happened next

All he could recall were flashes of the bodies of other autobots as he tore them apart

And he found himself sat in the medbay, glaring unfocused at the metal floor

And now, in his berth room eons later, he still finds himself staring at the floor

Feeling as useless as the glass case that sat upon his shelf

Where a single servo laid, refusing to rust

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Thank you so much for reading! I will reopen requests at some point, but for now, I'll be posting what I've already written. See you soon!

Do not repost

[d3sserts0ul]

about your fyodor aftercare thing…

let’s get a little more writing on that shall we? also lets include sigma and Nikolai aftercare too because I think they deserve better💔

𝘾𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙙!

( also New layout????? 🤍 )

“ 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. ”

𝘋𝘰𝘈 [ 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴．] 𝘟 𝘎𝘕！𝘙𝘌𝘈𝘋𝘌𝘙, 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴．

𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 ; 𝙨𝙪𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙠𝙬 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙁𝙮𝙤𝙙𝙤𝙧 is his 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜...

— 𝙎𝙞𝙜𝙢𝙖

Sigma’s lips lock with yours as he pulls out of you, trying to match your breath with his to calm down. Despite this slight awkwardness at the end of the heated moment, a sense of a warm and calming aura start to replace the tension in the air. He slowly pulls away, opening his eyes to look at yours. He looked almost dazed and a bit tiredly, though that isn’t surprising.

“ Are you okay? ” He asks, caressing your cheek. Sigma didn’t move until he heard that you were alright, it didn’t matter if he felt sticky from the sweat, or from something else, your needs were always put first.

“ Yeah, I’m okay. ” You finally respond back, a sigh of relief emitted from Sigma’s mouth.

“ You were a bit too rough though, did something happen today? ” You sighed.

He knew he could be rough on some days due stress or irritation from the casino or from Nikolai and Fyodor, and this was one of those days. It’s when he pushes you to the wall and aggressively kiss you deeply right then and there, or when he grabs you by your ankles and pull you closer to him. It can be concerning but your trust in him lowers that feeling to where you find it hot or something.

“ Work was just… harsh today, some drunk customers came in and wrecked havoc in the casino. ” He mumbled as his eyes meet with yours again. “ Could you forgive me for that? ” You couldn’t say no to such a look coming from his face, it made you want to suck him dry all over again.

“ Fine. ” You respond.

After another quick peck on the nose, Sigma finally gets off of you and grabs a nearby hand towel to wipe you and him off. He gently rubs off any fluids on your body, and your face just to be sure with the cloth, looking very concentrated on such a simple act. Once again, not surprising.

Even though Sigma looks so calm, he’s actually about to lose it. What does he say to you? Would it be weird if he just asks if you enjoyed yourself? Is he doing this right?

“ You look pretty with a ponytail, I think you should keep it like that more often. ”

Your voice broke into his head and he returned back to earth. Sigma smiles, a bit of pink dusting his cheeks. “ Really? If you like it so much, I’ll wear it for you more. ” He leans back down to plant more kisses on you as if he hasn’t already.

Sigma puts away the towel, getting a water bottle from the mini fridge near the bed. “ I’ll run us a bath, drink this for now. ” Sigma glanced over to you as he puts on his robe, ready to get up, but once you pull him back down. “ Stay. I want you, please? ” You whined.

Sigma couldn’t deny such a request like that, he can’t help but feel a little more wanted someone, someone he loved back. “ Alright, whatever you want. ” He said, laying back down to cuddle you.

“ You can have me, I’m all yours. ”

－ 𝙁𝙮𝙤𝙙𝙤𝙧

You shift a bit out of discomfort, the water rippling your every movement.

“ Ah ah, stay still. Or would you prefer another round. ” Fyodor’s voice echo in the bathroom, and the abrupt words sent shivers down your spine. “ Sorry. ” You apologize. He didn’t answer back but you knew he accepted your apology either way.

The steam coming from the water smelled of vanilla and lavender, and the water had a bit of a foggy color due to some small oils Fyodor added to it. Your back was to his chest and you had no choice but to bask in the comfortable silence.

This was getting too silent for you, even if you liked it. After picking up some left confidence and courage that he didn’t pound out of you, you sit up and turn to face your body to him. Fyodor’s eyes open and he sneaks his hands to your thighs, to keep you from getting up any further.

“ Can I please play with your hair? ” You ask, attempting to give some sort of convincing face in order for him to give in to your desire.

He didn’t budge, there goes your courage and confidence once again, instead replacing it with embarrassment and guilt. “ You’re rather needy, aren’t you? ” He smirked. Seeing you slowly losing yourself to his words amused him greatly, and since he was in a good mood today, a reward like that seems acceptable for someone like you. ( as if having sex with him isn’t already enough. )

“ Very well, be gentle. ” He gives in finally. Your fingers desperately run through his damp hair, braiding a few strands together, taking them out, then braiding them back together again.

[chvoswxtch]

hello love :)

i can't stop reading your fanfictions!! they are so perfectly done ! thank you so much for writing them :)

i don't know if you are still accepting requests but if you feel like it could you maybe write a reverse matt takes his frustration out on reader? maybe the reader comes home angry because of work or something and first wants to go boxing but matt convinces her to stay with him because he knows she will keep on boxing until her knuckles are soaked in blood. to his surprise (and excitement) reader becomes super dominant. bites him, scratches his back and maybe even rides his thigh.

the next morning when the bruises and scratches are visible she feels guilty but it ends in fluff<33

thank you so much :)

hi nonnie! :)

I actually really love this reversal idea!! thank you so much for requesting it, & for the incredibly kind words. I had a lot of fun with this one a bit too much probably. I hope this is what you were looking for! enjoy!!!

warning: contains explicit sexual content (minors please dni), swearing, a brief mention of blood word count: 2.4k

use me.

“Use me.”

Matt’s words momentarily halted your furious pacing, the first thing to cut through that fog of anger that he understood all too well since you’d walked through the front door moments ago. He could hear the thunder in your heartbeat from three blocks away, and instantly knew today had been a really bad day for you. 

He didn’t want you to go to Fogwell’s. He’d actually grown to regret taking you there, teaching you how to hit, and showing you what he did when he needed to blow off steam in between his nightly patrols. You let your rage consume you just as easily as he did, punching the worn leather over and over until your own knuckles bled if he wasn’t there to hold you back or wrap your hands properly. Matt didn’t want you to hurt yourself. He just wanted to help. 

Matt took cautious steps over towards you, nodding his head slightly in your direction as he kept his voice even and quiet.

“I know you need to get it out, so use me. Let it all out on me, sweetheart. I can take it.”

Your breaths came out in angry, staccato beats and Matt could hear the way your teeth slightly ground together by the way you tensed your jaw. 

“I don’t…I don’t want to hurt you-“

The edges of Matt’s mouth turned upwards slightly in an amused smile as he let out a dry chuckle.

“You’re not gonna hurt me, honey. And even if you do, you won’t break me. I can take a lot-“

���Yeah, but I’m not supposed to add to that, Matt. I’m supposed to be your relief from it-“

“And you are. Now let me be yours.”

You had let Matt use your body plenty of times before to try and tame that thing inside his chest when nothing else seemed to work. Now, he was offering you his. He took another careful step forwards, completely blocking the door frame to cage you into the bedroom as he listened to the violence that thrashed around beneath your ribcage. His fingers twitched at his sides slightly in excitement. Matt had always been the one in control every time the two of you were intimate. It grounded him despite all the other chaos in his life, and you liked it just as much as he did. You didn’t even have to think about submitting to him; your body did it all on its own. Every time he touched you, even faintly, you melted into him, letting his body absorb yours completely as he molded you to his own liking. 

But he couldn’t deny the exhilaration he felt about the thought of you commanding him for once.

Matt loved to please you. Even when he was in control, he was focused on your pleasure just as much as his own. He loved getting rewarded with your chants of his name, endless praises falling from your lips as you let him take what he wanted, leaving marks on your body like trophies for how well he’d treated you. Matt was a giver, even while he was taking, and he never let himself free fall into bliss until you had jumped first. 

But right now he wanted you to be the one to take. He wanted you to take until he had nothing left to give, and then he’d find a way to give you even more.

“Use me, sweetheart.”

Matt moaned against your lips when you dragged him down by his tie to capture his mouth, hands immediately gripping onto your waist as you grabbed onto the back of his neck tightly to keep him in place. His lips parted abruptly when you nipped at his bottom lip, a soft whine sounding in the back of his throat at the way you tugged at the hair at the nape of his neck. He stumbled slightly when you turned him around, forcing him backwards until the back of his knees met the edge of the bed, pushing him back with all your strength before straddling his lap. 

He bunched your dress up around your hips while digging his fingertips into the soft flesh of your thighs. Your kisses were hungry and fervent as you dominated his mouth with your tongue, and it made his head spin. Matt quickly pulled your dress over your head the second you broke apart for air, groaning softly when you attached your lips to his neck to suck on his pulse point. Your fingers savagely tugged the soft fabric of his tie from his neck, nearly tearing every single button off his dress shirt before ardently shoving it off his broad shoulders. Matt instinctively bucked his hips upwards when your nails scratched at the skin above his belt, nimble fingers working on the hook of your bra as yours made quick work of his belt and the zipper on his pants.

Wrapping his arm tightly around your waist, he lifted you up slightly to push his pants down his thighs to his ankles, moving his knee between your thighs so you could straddle one of his. Placing his hand firmly on your lower back, he encouraged you to move your hips as you licked and bit at the sensitive parts of his neck.

“Move your hips, baby. Feel good on me, c’mon.”

A loud moan left your lips when you started to ride Matt’s muscular thigh, and the sound went straight to his fully erect cock. He whimpered softly when you sank your teeth into the juncture where his neck met his collarbone, digging the pads of his fingers further into your soft thighs. He could taste your arousal in the air and feel it coating his thigh as it seeped through your panties, and he swore he could come just like this.

Matt had never seen this side of you before, but he wanted more of it. He loved how greedy and possessive you were with him, a surprised moan of your name leaving his kiss bitten lips when you yanked his head back by his hair.

“Fuck…”

Matt hissed softly when you dragged your nails down the smooth marble of his chest, subconsciously moving his hips upwards every time your clothed pussy rubbed against his thick thigh. Your fingertips paused at the waistband of his briefs, and he leaned his forehead against your shoulder as a needy whine slipped past your lips.

“Matty…please…”

“Go ahead, take it. It’s your cock, baby. Take it and use it. It’s your-oh…God…fuck…”

Matt whimpered as the fabric of his briefs rubbed against his aching tip when you tugged them down. His jaw went slack the second you pushed your panties aside and sank down fully onto his cock, both of your loud moans of relief bouncing off the walls. Matt’s face twisted up in pleasure, his dark brows knitting together in the center of his forehead as you grabbed his face in your hand to moan against his lips.

“Fuck…you feel so good, Matty.”

You clawed at Matt’s back hazardously as you rocked your hips with a vengeance, and he whined loudly from the rapture that followed the sting of your nails carving into his skin. Every one of Matt’s senses had been kicked into overdrive, and he was completely overwhelmed by you. The praise of his name falling off your lips, the tang of your desire mixed with sweat in the air, the smell of your apple scented shampoo right beneath his nose, and the warm silk of your skin beneath his hands…it was almost too much.

Placing your palms flat against his chest, you pushed him back against the mattress and hovered over him, grabbing both of his hands to hold hostage above his head as you rode him even harder. Matt’s eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head as he reached a new depth inside of you at this angle, panting heavily beneath you while squeezing your hands tightly.

“Take what you need baby…take it, that’s-fuck…yes baby yes…”

Matt’s moans were nearly breathless when you quickened your pace, and it was taking every ounce of self control not to combust before you got what you needed from him.

“Keep fucking me like that…fuck me how you want baby, c’mon. Make yourself feel good on my cock…just like that baby-fuck…yes…yes.”

“Look so pretty like this Matty…so fucking pretty. Such a good boy for me.”

Matt moaned your name loudly at that, thrusting his hips upwards to match your rhythm to try and get you as close to the edge as he was.

“Fuck baby…please…come on my cock, wanna feel it. Need to feel it.”

“You like when I fuck you like this, Matty?”

“God…yes. Please don’t stop. Keep fucking me like this…please baby, please.”

He could feel that you were close by the way your walls tightened around him. A strangled moan erupted from his throat when he felt your pussy clench tightly around his cock. He wasn’t going to last another second if you kept doing that.

“Fuck…babygirl…you’re gonna make me come…I-oh…”

“Want you to come for me, Matty. Come inside me, baby. Show me how good I make you feel.”

“Baby-”

Matt’s whine got cut off when your hand wrapped tightly around his throat, fingers squeezing just enough to make him completely lightheaded.

“Be a good boy and come for me.”

He couldn’t take it anymore. He wanted to wait for you. He wanted you to get what you needed first. But you were fucking him too goddamn good, and you gave him an order. He wanted to be good for you. He wanted to make you proud. Matt let out a loud yell of your name as he came the hardest he ever had in his entire fucking life. He was nearly in tears from overstimulation as you rode out your own high, whining when your pussy gripped his spent cock again as the mix of your releases leaked down onto his thighs. 

It felt like his head was underwater as he tried to catch his breath, your voice sounding muffled and far as you whispered into his ear and brushed his sweaty hair away from his forehead. His arms felt heavy from exhaustion, and he couldn’t hardly move them from their place above his head. The last thing he remembered before passing out was hearing your sweet praises in his ear and feeling your soft kiss on his lips.

Matt had never felt more refreshed in his life than when he did the next morning. His body didn’t ache with exhaustion or pain. His mind and senses felt exceptionally clear. The weight of the world didn’t seem to be bearing on his shoulders for once. He felt…relaxed. Happy. He couldn’t remember the last time his body hadn’t felt so tightly wound up with stress, or his soul so heavy with guilt. His entire being seemed to tingle still with electric shocks from the gratification you had given him last night, and he couldn’t stop smiling. 

His ears perked up when he heard the uptick of your heartbeat and the rustle of sheets when you began to stir. A giddiness filled him that you were finally waking up, and he made his way into the kitchen to make you some coffee the way he knew you liked. His excitement only grew hearing your feet padding softly and lazily along the floor, but his good mood was cut short when he heard the soft gasp of shock leave your lips.

“Oh my god, Matt.”

He quickly whipped his head around to face you, blank eyes darting around in your direction as he focused his senses completely on you. A furrow formed between his brows as he cocked his head to the side, unable to identify the source of your unease.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Your back…”

“What?”

Matt stood still as you quickly made your way over to him, gently pushing at his shoulders to get him to turn around. Another shocked gasp was muffled by your hand being placed over your mouth, fingertips hovering just above the skin of his back. 

“Oh my god, I…I’m so sorry. I didn’t…I didn’t mean to do that. Matt, I’m-”

“Sweetheart, what are you talking about? What’s going on?”

Matt’s confusion spread over the rest of his features as he turned back around to face you, gently grabbing onto your waist as he felt the way your bottom lip began to tremble.

“Matt, your back is all scratched up. I made you bleed. And your neck and chest…God, Matt they’re covered-”

“Wait, that’s it? You’re upset because you left a few marks?”

“A few? That is a lot fucking more than a few. I can’t believe I-”

“Hey hey hey, easy. Honey, it’s okay-”

“No it isn’t, Matt. I can’t believe I did that to you.”

Matt sighed softly as he wrapped his arm around your waist to pull you into his chest, gently cupping your jaw in his hand as he gazed down in your direction with a light smile.

“It doesn’t hurt. I’m okay, I promise. I leave marks on you all the time, don’t I?”

“Never like that.”

Matt’s tongue darted out to quickly wet his lips as he shook his head slowly, leaning in to brush his nose against yours while brushing his thumb along your jawline.

“Baby, they don’t hurt. I promise. And you know what? I like that they’re there. Wanna know why?”

A smirk stretched across his mouth at the way your body tensed up hearing his voice drop a husky octave lower, lips instantly parting as he rubbed his thumb along your bottom lip slowly.

“Because you enjoyed yourself that much, that you had to bite down on me to try to not be so loud, even though I prefer when you are. Because you were riding my cock so fucking good, and were so fucking wet, that you had to dig your nails into my back to hang on to me. And now, wherever we go, everyone can see these, and they’ll know that I’m yours. So, why should you feel guilty about any of that, huh? Can’t you feel how much I like them?”

Matt suddenly pulled you flush against his hips, causing a whine to slip past your lips as you felt the evidence of his truth poking into your lower belly. 

“Matty-”

“Shh…you were so good to me last night, babygirl. Treated me so well. Now, you’re gonna sit on that counter and spread those legs so I can say thank you.”

tags: @yarrystyleeza @little-miss-dilf-lover @neverlandcity @charmedkim @messymissy @queenofthenoobs @stilldreaming666 @dark-academia-slut @strawberry1042

[traintrainingmontage]

Crackship writing exercise from the discord today. An Edward & Diesel 10 (or pre-slash Edward/Diesel 10) fic for @ikoarts and @shikariiin !!

When Diesel 10 first arrived on the railway, the experience was about what he'd expected. The whispers had begun following him like gnats, buzzing about Pinchy, his size, his paintwork, and, of course, his resting bitch face. The steam engines especially looked at him like he was some particularly disgusting bug that had crawled onto their line, their gazes judgemental even as their fear prevented them from being loud about it.

Diesel 10 had expected a warmer reception from the diesels, but oddly enough, they appeared to be a mixed bag. Some of them seemed friendly, but several of them seemed to genuinely fear his presence. Others simply avoided him, as if not wanting to associate. It was something of a lonely first day, to be sure, but Diesel 10 didn't care. He wasn't here to make friends. He never had been. He was here to do jobs nobody else could do, and if they didn't want to be around him, so be--

His train of thought was derailed by a friendly "peep peep" coming in his direction--the whistle of a steam engine. Surprised, Diesel 10 looked up to see what looked like an honest-to-awfulness K2 making their way towards him, a smile on their face.

"What do you want?" Diesel 10 growled, brandishing Pinchy threateningly. He didn't believe in the kindness of that smile for a second; if this engine was here to pick a fight, that was fine by him. Maybe it would help him get rid of some stress.

"Hello!" the other engine greeted warmly, once again catching Diesel 10 completely by surprise. "That's a rather remarkable claw you have there. My name is Edward, and I'm here to formally welcome you to Sodor. Might I know your name?"

Diesel 10 blinked, utterly at a loss. This way-outdated steam engine didn't seem intimidated by Pinchy; if anything, he looked rather impressed. And his expression didn't hold any of the judgement that the others had, diesel or otherwise--as far as Diesel 10 could tell, he was just trying to give a genuine greeting. The diesel was so dumbfounded by this whole exchange that instead of a retort like "piss off" or anything else he'd felt like saying to all those judgey steam engines, he instead found himself replying with: "Uh, the name's Diesel 10. And my claw here is Pinchy."

"Diesel 10 and Pinchy, is it?" There was a beat of silence, and the diesel wanted to brace himself for the inevitable teasing, but there was none to be had. Edward's grin seemed to shine even brighter, somehow. "Wonderful! Thank you very much. Oh, and I'm so sorry for the way that the others treated you on your way in. I'll have a talk with them later. But for now, please accept my sincere apologies."

At this point, Diesel 10's estimation of reality felt like it had been tilted sideways. A steamie? Actually apologizing to him? And not just in a lip-service kind of way either; the diesel could tell that Edward was being quite genuine. Once again, having lost all of his bluster, he managed to stammer out: "Oh, uh, it's fine. I'm used to this kind of thing."

Edward's expression suddenly turned stern. How strange it was to see another get angry on his behalf instead of at him. "Well, you shouldn't have to put up with it here on Sodor. Please let me know if anyone's bothering you."

Then, just as quickly as his ire had clouded his face, it vanished, leaving behind only that sunny smile. "I'll come visit you again soon, Diesel 10. You seem like a good sort, and I look forward to working with you!" With that, Edward pulled away, giving another "peep peep!" of his whistle in farewell as he left. Diesel 10 couldn't help but let out an answering honk of his horn.

Only once the steam engine was out of sight did Diesel 10 feel like he could finally think straight. Over and over again, his conversation with Edward seemed to loop around in his head, always lingering on that gorgeous smile.

"Oh, Pinchy," the towering diesel whispered. "Now I'm really not sure what to do."

[call-me-little-sunshine84]

Sick Day

Steven Grant x female reader

Characters: Steven Grant x female reader

Rating: mature

Word count: 1.2k

Summary: Steven takes care of you when you're sick and you want to repay his kindness 😏

Warnings: smut, unprotected sex, a lot of him calling reader 'love', that's about it

A/N: I have never written for the moon boys before. I don't mention the alters in this, I wanted this one to just be about Steven because he deserves so much love. It's fluff with some smut (probably a little self-indulgent); hopefully I did him justice.

Comments and reblogs welcome!

It started halfway through your shift at the office, that feeling that you were coming down with something. Head congested, sinus pressure, body aches, it hit you all at once. By the time you made it back home to the apartment you shared with Steven, you were barely staying upright. Apparently, you must have looked as badly as you felt, because as soon as he came out of his office to greet you, concern flashed across his face. “What’s wrong, love?” he asked, moving to embrace you. Backing up, you said “please stay away, I don’t want to get you sick too. I think it’s just a cold or something. Too much time in the rain, or maybe too much public transportation.” Grimacing, you threw your purse on the table by the door. “Let me take care of you tonight, darling,” he said, and even though you felt like garbage, it still warmed your heart.

He proceeded to run you a bath, even adding eucalyptus oil to soothe your congestion. He helped you remove your clothes, and you sank gratefully into the hot water, letting it seep into your aching muscles. He stayed with you, keeping you company and helping you bathe. He ran the washcloth gently over your body, and you sank into his touch. When he was done, you dried off while he grabbed your robe from the back of the door. “You go get comfortable in bed, and I’ll bring you some soup,” he offered. You accepted gratefully, throwing on your softest pajamas and turning the tv to a mindless reality show. He returned before long, holding a tray with a steaming bowl of soup and some crackers. He even brought a bottle of cold medicine. Your heart swelled. He had to be the most thoughtful, caring man you had ever met. 

You ate quickly, like you were starving. After drinking the awful tasting medicine, you could barely hold your eyes open. He came back in to get your bowl and gave you a tender kiss on the forehead. “Get some rest, love,” he whispered, turning off the light as he exited the room. 

When you finally woke up the next day, you almost had a panic attack when you looked at the clock and saw it was 2:30, and judging by the sunlight streaming through the window, it was afternoon, not morning. You jumped out of bed, almost tripping in the tangle of twisted sheets. Running to the kitchen, you searched for your phone to call your boss. “Hello darling, how are you feeling?” Steven asked when he saw you. “Why didn’t you wake me up? I’ve missed almost an entire day of work!” you said, anxiety taking over. “Love, it’s Saturday. You don’t work today,” he reminded you. Relief coursed through you. Of course. Once you calmed down, you realized you actually did feel a lot better. Then you remembered the previous night. 

“You're right, I’m sorry. Thank you so much for everything you did for me yesterday. I feel much better now. Maybe it was just a 24-hour thing,” you told him, and his cheeks turned an adorable shade of red from your praise. “Nonsense, it was nothing. I’m glad you’re well,” he replied. You moved over to him, hugging him tightly. “I am so grateful for you, Steven,” you told him, placing a feather soft kiss on his cheek. “I’m going to take a quick shower,” you said, heading for the bathroom. Using your best smelling soap - and actually being able to smell it - finished lifting your mood. You decided you wanted to do something to show Steven just how much you appreciated him, and there was one surefire way to accomplish that. 

Wrapping yourself in a towel, you exited the bathroom. He was in his office, nose buried in a book. He looked up when he realized you were in the doorway. Walking over to him, you slowly unwrapped the towel from around you, dropping it on the floor. He visibly shivered looking at you, desire vibrating off every inch of him, and you could feel the excitement pooling between your legs. “Are you sure you’re up for this?” he asked, looking deep into your eyes for confirmation. “Yes baby, I’m sure.”

Closing the distance between you, you straddled him in his chair, kissing him deeply. Tongues tangling, he ran his hands over your body, roaming over you like he had never touched you before. You moaned into his mouth, feeling his erection through his pants. You ground down onto him, searching for contact. Running your hands through his chocolate curls, you gasped as he touched your breasts, tracing small circles with his fingertips, hardening your nipples. Then he took first one, then the other into his warm mouth, sucking softly, the sensation pulling sounds from you that you didn’t know were possible. “Come with me,” you said breathlessly, dragging him from the chair and toward your bedroom. 

All of your plans went out the window once you reached the bed. He quickly removed his clothes, pushing you onto the mattress and crawling on top of you. One look in his wide lust-blown eyes and you knew you were done for. “Steven…,” you whined as he positioned himself between your thighs and slid inside you. This was unusual, the lack of foreplay, sex without preamble. “Sorry, love, need you now, couldn’t wait,” he grunted as his thrusts became steady, pushing deeper each time. 

Relishing the feeling of being full of him, you wanted to give him anything he wanted, give him the world if that’s what he asked for. The look of utter concentration on his gorgeous face as he worked so hard to please you made you even wetter. “That’s it baby, you feel so good fucking me like that,” you told him, and the praise from you seemed to break loose something in him. He grasped your hips, pulling your center as tightly against him as he could. Sweat dripped down his chest and you reached out to lick it off. He trembled at the feeling of your tongue on his skin, and you bit gently at his nipples, pulling groans from him that you wished you could record for later. Clenching down on his dick, desperately seeking release, you hissed as he placed a thumb on your swollen clit. Swirling gently, applying just the right amount of pressure, he worked your body until pulses of white-hot lightning shot through you over and over. Yelling his name repeatedly, an orgasmic love song, Steven also reached his climax, shooting his warm seed into you and he collapsed on the bed beside you, wrung out. 

Rolling over next to him, you placed your head on his chest, listening to his rapid heartbeat slowing as you drew random patterns on his torso with your fingernails. You looked up at him adoringly. “Thank you, Steven,” you said sincerely. “What on earth for, love?” he asked, genuinely puzzled, running a hand through his curls. “For being you. For always taking care of me and just for...well, everything. I love you,” you replied, hoping he fully understood just how much he meant to you. Holding him tightly, you knew right beside him was the only place you ever wanted to be. 

[obsidiancreates]

One Undead To Another (Chapter 16)

(Trigger warnings for graphic depictions of injury/dying, blood, nightmares)

Gus tips the delivery person and walks back into the main room of the office with two still-steaming burritos in a bag. Shawn feels the memory of salivating at that same smell– god, not even a week ago. Somehow it feels like it’s been years since he woke up cold and starving, but at the same time it’s been seconds. Is that a vampire thing, an ADHD thing, or a trauma thing? Is it worth figuring out? Not right now.

His mouth is bone-dry as he accepts the burrito. It smells good, great, and the way the warmth of it seeps through the tinfoil into his hands is heavenly. He feels no excitement to bite into it. 

“Alright.” Gus sits down at his desk. “Test number one– garlic.”

“I dunno about this, man. I told you I get hungry after I get hurt.”

“Shawn, we need to figure out your supernatural weaknesses before going back to taking cases.”

“I think we can consider garlic a lock!”

“Sunlight isn’t.”

“... Fair. … Fine. But only if you make some posters to hang around so we get some more private cases.”

“Why? Are you hungry again already?”

“...”

“Do I need to pull out the pencil rosary again?”

“Maybe? It’s not… bad. It’s just kind of… there. Can we just– I’m taking a bite, if I burst into flames or turn into a pile of ash just know my text about my Tears for Fears vinyls still applies.”

“Shawn.”

“Just making sure.” Shawn unwraps the burrito. It’s weird, to know something smells so delicious and know it should be making your mouth water and know you should be excited to eat it, but none of that matters. It’s like the whole experience is hitting a glass wall, clearly there, just barely out of reach to him. 

He takes a bite. Shredded pork, salsa, guac, there’s even roasted corn in this one. It’s loaded, incredible, and he can’t really enjoy it because even though it all tastes exactly like it did when he was human it doesn’t mean anything. Nothing is satisfied by it. In fact, the pang of hunger sharpens as the taste of the pork specifically floods his mouth.

It’s meat, and it’s wrong. Close, so close to what he needs, but not right.

“So?”

Shawn swallows. “Didn’t even burn.”

“Alright, garlic is a no.” Gus crosses it off his list. “We’ve gotta find some garlic flowers next and see if those do anything.”

“Garlic flowers? Don’t be silly, Gus.”

“Garlic flowers are another classic vampire ward, Shawn! They’re used in the original Dracula novel!”

“It’s a novel?” 

“We had to read it in the seventh grade, remember?!”

“Not really. I do remember watching one of those old uh, black-and-white movies with Count Dookie.”

“Count Dooku, Shawn.”

“Gus, he was one of the bad guys, let’s not sweat over his name.”

“You’re trying to distract me.”

“Am not.”

“You are! You’re deflecting again!”

“Deflecting? Please.”

“We agreed, last night, that if you got uncomfortable with focusing on the vampire stuff or the psychic stuff you’d say it outright and we’d switch gears.”

“... Alright. Alright, yes, I’m… wanting to change the subject for a while.”

“Fine. Psychic stuff still fine, or no supernatural stuff at all?”

“None at all, man, I just… let’s watch a movie or something. Least that won’t be different.”

“Alright. Hey, I think American Duos is on.”

“Really? … Wow. Their ratings must be terrible, it’s the middle of the afternoon on a weekday.”

“The guy they replaced Zappato with is kind of lacking, and they had to replace Emilina last season and she’s not great either. I think it’s only still on because the producers are afraid of telling Nigel St Nigel he’s off the air.”

“Really? It sounds awful. Let’s watch the entire season.”

“You know that’s right.”

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Nice of you to join us today, detectives.”

They both freeze in their tracks. Lassiter turns around first, adjusting his tie nervously. “Ready to get back to work, Chief. It was just a 24 hour thing, and I’m firing on cylinders today.”

“We both are,” Jules jumps in.

“Good, because your homicide case wrapped up the other night and we need a few closing details from you both. You’ll find the paperwork on your desks–”

“Chief!” Buzz jogs over. “We just got a report on the wire, body pulled out of a lake. Looks like drowning.”

Jules makes eye contact with Lassiter. Shawn’s abilities really have evolved. 

“Oh, detectives!” Buzz grins at them both. “I’m glad you guys are feeling better today! Oh, um, Detective Lassiter, I put any remains of journals or anything we found from the mansion in a box and left it by your desk.”

The Chief turns to Lassiter with a disbelieving, you-better-explain threatening smile. “Uh, detective, when did you ask Officer McNab to do this?”

Crap. “Uh, over the phone yesterday, Chief.”

“And you heard about the mansion burning down… how?”

“... Well, uh… Spencer! Yes, Spencer called me in the middle of the night, said he had a vision. Normally I would’ve told him to screw off but I… humored, him, when he asked me to tell McNab… that.”

“You… humored… Mr. Spencer?”

“I blame the fever, Chief.”

“Well, then… I’ll blame it as well. If Mr. Spencer thinks something additionally important is in those journals, I’ll let you hold onto them for the moment, but it’s looking like this case is pretty much completely shut, at this point in time. Right now I want this drowning case to be your top priority.”

“You got it, Chief,” Jules says, giving a too-wide smile and overly enthusiastic thumbs-up. The Chief eyes her oddly for a moment, and then walks back to her office.

“Keep it together, O’Hara, you’re the one who convinced me to play along with this crap,” Lassiter whispers as they quickly walk to his desk.

“I’m trying! The bigger the secret, the harder time I have keeping it!”

“Then why in god’s name are we doing this?!”

“Because Shawn doesn’t deserve to go to jail or a mental facility for something he had no control over!”

“You do realize–”

“As soon as I said it. But Shawn’s not one of the the bad guys, Carlton. It’s different. He’s one of us.”

“... Yeah, alright.” Lassiter tries to sound unconvinced as he agrees. They reach his desk and he takes the lid off the box, frowning as he looks inside. “This is what McNab considers salvageable? He’s more off than I was before the divorce.”

“Oh, Carlton.”

“... My therapist says turning the situation into humor could help me move past it.”

“Alright… well, if you think it’s helping.”

Lassiter looks back into the box, slightly flushed with embarrassment now, and carefully looks through. “I don’t know that we’ll get anything helpful from this.”

“Well, maybe they’ll trigger some kind of… psychic revelation for Shawn.”

“We’re bringing him evidence now?”

“He’ll probably steal it out of evidence if we don’t.”

“You finally caught him doing that?”

“No, but, we both know he does.”

“... Fine. At least this way we can ask for it back. … Let’s focus on this drowning thing instead. You were lying when you said you’d call him, right?”

“No, I was not.”

“O’hara, you saw him this morning. He’s not even close to ready to work on a serious case.”

“... Fine. I’ll wait until we have evidence of foul play. If nothing suggests that, I’ll just tell him it was an accidental drowning case tomorrow.”

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Henry closes the door to the security room and gives himself a moment to chuckle, tossing his badge up once and tucking it back into his suit pocket. He forgot how much he enjoyed flashing the badge to get into places.

He pulls up the security feed from outside the store on the night in question. He scrubs through, trying to pick out any suspicious details.

There. 

Just before 3 AM, a motorcycle is caught speeding by. It’s too blurry an image to tell if it’s Shawn’s bike, but Henry’s always considered ‘confirmation bias’ to be something that applies to other people. His investigations have never suffered from such a thing.

He scrubs through some more. Cars, cars, it’s too dark and blurry on the camera to tell them apart by make or model, much less license plates. The motorcycle is all he’s getting from this. 

He stands up, straightens his suit, and leaves. Maybe he’ll get something better from a more expensive store’s security feed. 

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shawn scoots a little further away as Gus lets out a snore and mumbles something flirtatious in his sleep. He thinks he’s getting an okay handle on the hunger thing– his throat is shot to hell again already, the temptation of Gus’s blood a little bit like that time his dad put a marshmallow on a plate and told him if he didn’t touch it for fifteen minutes he could have two. Comparisons keep drifting through his head, all the different things he can taste from having Gus so close, even when he does his best to stop breathing it in. 

Again, the movie snacks aren’t helping whatsoever. He keeps eating them anyway.

His mouth aches again. Pulses with pain in time with Gus’s heartbeat. He should really stop setting up situations where he’s alone with one or more of them.

He leans his head back on the couch and closes his eyes. The sound of the movie is sharp against his ears, just adding to the headache, getting less and less comprehensible as he slowly drifts off to sleep.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Juliet doesn’t have Thornburg.

Juliet doesn’t have Thornburg.

So why is she dying?

Shawn is holding her hand, trying to confess, but the words are stuck in his throat. Jules is wheezing, her eyes bleeding, looking into his with a fear dulled by a thick glaze of illness. Jules is dying. Jules is dying.

Lassie doesn’t get shot in the graveyard.

Lassie doesn’t get shot in the graveyard.

So why is he dying?

Shawn is holding Lassie as he bleeds out– no, he’s holding Mary Light, no, he’s holding Lassie, no, he’s–

Lassie’s blood is spilling out of his chest. He’s looking at Shawn with a level of terror that Shawn never ever wants to see from the detective, never should see from him.

He’s holding Mary again. “Wake up, Shawn.”

Lassie is dying in Shawn’s arms.

Lassie is dying in Shawn’s arms.

Gus doesn’t fall off a cliff when he grabs onto the extreme sports murderer.

Gus doesn’t fall off a cliff when he grabs onto the extreme sports murderer. 

So why is he dying?

Shawn holds Gus at the bottom of the cliff. Gus’s blood coats the rock beneath them. His eyes are completely sightless, his mouth trying to form words that will never come, not with a head injury like this. Gus’s hand grips Shawn’s so tight it hurts, a silent plea to save him.

Gus is dying and Shawn can’t save him.

Gus is dying and Shawn can’t save him.

Henry is not the victim of a plane crash.

Henry is not the victim of a plane crash.

So why is he dying?

Shawn struggles to keep his father’s head straight with one hand as he tries to get the radio working with the other. Henry is barely awake, wheezing, mumbling incoherently. Shawn can’t make the radio work. He can’t call for help.

He looks at his dad and sees regret shining in his bloodshot eyes. Henry reaches out with one bloodied arm and grabs Shawn’s bicep. There’s a tree branch impaled through his abdomen. He looks Shawn in the eye and opens his mouth–

“Wake up!”

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shawn sits up with a gasp! His grandmother’s voice screaming through his father’s mouth echoes in his head as he pushes off the couch and runs to the bathroom, splashing cold–

No, no, he’s colder than it is, he switches the tap and splashes warm water on his face. It’s unnatural, it’s wrong, it’s not something his skin should be anymore– the warmth shocks him into full wakefulness.

“Shawn?!” Gus’s footsteps are like hammers against his skull, his quickened heartbeat like a jackhammer. Shawn presses his hands over his ears.

“Shawn!” Gus’s hands are so warm, so warm, warm warm warm blood spilling into Shawn’s jeans from Gus’s skull at the bottom of a cliff–

“WHAT THE–!”

Shawn finds himself presses against the bathroom wall, Gus standing in the doorway with the makeshift rosary held up, wet handprints on his shirt. Gus is shaking. Shawn realizes he feels fangs poking his lip.

He gulps in a breath, pressing his hands to his torso, then his face, holding them out– he repeats until he feels like he’s in his own body again. Gus watches, poised to run.

Shawn shakes his head, trying to knock the last echoes of the nightmare out. They won’t ever go away. They won’t ever go away.

Something clicks. He looks up. “Oh, god. I didn’t–”

“You lunged right for my neck.”

“I- Gus, I’m so– I didn’t–”

“I could tell.” Gus relaxes a little. His heart is still pounding. Shawn realizes belatedly that his voice has gone raspy again. Gus keeps the rosary held up. “What was that?”

“I-I… don’t…” Shawn swallows. They agreed he’d be honest. They agree he had to be honest, at least between the two of them. “I had a nightmare.”

“... About?”

“I don’t… want to talk about it.” If he talks about it he’ll relive it, he’ll have the images take over the real world again and if that happens he’s not sure he won’t try to–

“... Okay. Okay, but– Shawn, that was terrifying.”

“Yeah.”

“And your voice is all messed up again.”

“Noticed that too.”

“... You know, when I went out with Willow–”

“You guys actually went out?”

“Yes! A couple times! Anyway, she told me about this vampire bar place for people who pretend to be vampires.”

“So?”

“So… do you think you could handle just having a little from someone, uh… consenting for their own reasons?”

Flash of white, film grain, stalking up behind the burglar, covering his mouth, sinking his aching fangs into warm soft flesh and drinking–

Shawn shudders– he wishes it was because he disliked the feeling of the memory– vision? … Memory. God, he wishes he disliked it.

“Not doing that, Gus. First of all that’s not my kind of kinky business–”

“Eugh! I was trying not to say it outright, Shawn!”

“I know you were, that’s why I did. Anyway, second, that’s… too, vampire. Way too vampire.”

“... I could see if someone there is willing to donate blood.”

“Gus. You’ll pass out just trying to get the bag here.”

“I can handle it.”

“You don’t want to.”

“It’s that or you drinking me!”

“I won’t drink you!” Shawn doesn’t mean for it to come out panicked– but the way Gus tenses and raises the cross a bit more shows it did, in a bad way. Shawn shakes his head again, looking down and trying to regain some composure. “You– you just shouldn’t have to do that, buddy.”

“You shouldn’t have to be undead. It’s not a fair situation to any of us, Shawn.”

Jules, Lassie, Gus, Henry, bleeding bleeding bleeding dying dying dying Dying And Leaving Shawn Along FOREVER–

“I’m going.” Shawn is snapped out of it by Gus digging his car keys out of his pocket. “You just zoned out again and started shaking. If you don’t get blood, one of us is going to be in big trouble, and either way it goes it’ll be bad.”

“Gus–”

“I’ll just close my eyes or something! I’m putting this in front of the door on my way out, I’ll be back as soon as I can. And I’m letting Lassie and Jules know what I’m doing.”

“... Could you uh, leave out the–”

“Don’t even have to ask. Just… try to relax a little while I’m gone, okay?”

Shawn doesn’t agree or disagree. Gus leaves, and Shawn splashes his face a few more times before going back to the couch. He sits in the spot Gus had fallen asleep in. Maybe he’s imagining it because he’s so cold, but the spot still feels a little warm.

His cell rings a moment later. Crap. He lets it go to voicemail.

“Shawn, call me back, would you? What’s the point of these damn things if you just ignore it all the time? Look, I got a letter about your bike insurance and they’re raising the monthly payments. You put the damn bike on my card so I think I’m entitled to know how well you’re taking care of the thing if I’m going to keep paying for it.”

Shawn groans. He tosses his phone to the other side of the couch. He’ll reply later– or maybe never. 

Henry wheezing, staring with dull bloodshot eyes, reaching out–

…

He’ll reply later.

[alexias-left-foot]

Scared of the dark

It´s the first time i write something here so Idk how to do this, sorry about it, also, my native language isn´t english, so im sorry for the spelling mistakes. I wrote a small one so you can see how I write, Hope someone can give me orientation and a feedback, please. Btw, wrote this while listening to the song Scared of the dark by Lil Wayne, Ty Dolla $ign and XXXTENTACION, if you want to hear it i leave here the link for you.

Warnings: Alexia`s ACL Injury, angst, dead, insomnia, nightmares,

Today wasn't a normal day, it wasn't actually a day. It was 4:46am and you were still awake. You couldn't sleep, Everything felt so wrong. Alexia and Olga were sleeping and you were thinking and rethinking everything you have done with your life, on the balcony of your room with a view of the city. The sun was starting to get up and you didn't even start to sleep. Even if you were sleepy you could see how beautiful the city is, it was your home now…

You were only 15 but you already signed a contract with an European giant, with Barça, to replace Putellas while she is injured cause she tore her ACL. You were young, nervous, clumsy and shy when you arrived.You have never been to Barcelona before, but it was espetacular . Everyone of your friends told you how beautiful it was, you believed in them, of course they were right, but you were still scared. You were far from your mami e papi and from your friends and from your little town where it all started, but Alexia and Olga made sure you were gonna be okay and safe. 

—

They made everything feel like it was your home. They helped you with your homework, helped you when you broke up with your girlfriend, helped you when most of your friends stopped to answer your daily calls and messages, and on many other things,like when your parents died in a car crash. That was the low point of your life. the tragic death of your parents. You never went to throw it. It was and is hard for you to accept that they were just gone because of a drunk man. Thinking they were gonna make you happy on their way to see you after long months, they made the worst mistake ever of getting out of your town and never got into the game. You were terrified when Alexia had to tell you what happened. You cried so much that night. It's so scary to think that it was only one month ago.

Since the accident Alexia promised nothing was gonna happen to you, she and Olga would be your family and will forever protect you no matter what. They  were your family now. Your little family. They are everything that you have left. They did a good job with you last month, actually, they were incredibly good at dealing with you, they always listened to you even if you said the most stupid things, even if some words might hurt them they always listened to you. They wanted to make sure that you know that they would always be there for you no matter what happens, they wanted you to know that you will always have a shoulder to cry on if you wanted to. You know that they were always going to be there for you, but you just didn't want to bother them or being a weight

—

You are seated on a small couch that is on your balcony. The fresh air makes you feel good, less anxious than you have been, but it also makes you cry because it reminds you of home, how simple things were.

Suddenly you hear a calm voice interrupting your thoughts ´I didn't know you were an early riser, nena.´ It was Alexia. Alexia has called you nena since she met you, it has no special reasons but she likes to call you that. ´Me neither���` you answered with a tired little smile ´Everything is okay?´ She asked you with a concerned look while getting close to sit with you on the couch. ´Not really, I can´t sleep, I'm having countless nightmares, can't even think of getting into bed again´ you let off steam as you gazed at the city that was beginning to be more illuminated. ´I heard you screaming during your small nap after the practice, now I heard you opening the windows and seeing you like this is hurting me. Me and Olga are starting to be more worried about you again nena, you have been more tired than ever, zoning out every time, and being all day in your room. I know it is normal, it has been a month since the accident happened, I know you are still fighting and denying it, but you can't go through this alone, nena. I also know you are just a teenager, and that the accident isn't the only thing making you like this right now and that you also have this teenagers' problems, I know stupid people will be there and leave you many times, and it will hurt, I know it will leave a big scar on you, just like everything that makes you leave a tear, but we are here to help you, no matter what happens, vale?´ She was being so honest with you, it hurted seeing her being hurt by your own problems, her eyes were wide and she couldn't sleep because of you and you were feeling so guilty because of that. ´ I'm sorry Ale´ you said, clearing the tears that started to fall when Alexia started to talk ´I'm trying my best to talk, but it is so hard to open up, even worse when i'm not sure what to say. I truly don't know what to say, I want to talk so much but I just can't ask for help or open up, I just can´t. I swear it is not because i don't trust you or Olga, cause i do, but yes cause i just don't know how to talk or how to say everything that has been on my mind lately. i'm so sorry, i'm gonna try harder and better, and i'm so sorry, i didn't mean to warn you or to let you guys worry, i´m so sorry. I´m just so scared of everything. Everything is so different now´-you said while you just let the hot tears fall from your face. ´Oh pequeña, you don't have to be sorry for anything, it's  not your fault. We love you, we are just worried. You are our little kid, our child, that's why we are worried about you, because we want to be a part of your life nena. We love you. We believe in you, we know you are strong, but you don't have to go through all these things alone. You are going to be fine, I promise.´ she said while hugging you and wiping your tears away. You both fell asleep after that, because you were woke up by Olga at 11:00 am. ´Good morning sunshines`she said with a little careful laugh ´Morning´ you and Ale said ´Slept well?´she asked with a funny look ´Thanks to Ale, sí,mucho!´you said while hugging the couple

[sunny-reis]

Hi, may I ask you about write Ayato x reader who like be affectionate but only with Ayato? For example they don't like be touched or when someone use pet name or nickname but they like when Ayato do this? They are like this grumpy cat which only one person are allowed to pet haha.

Good day/night

headcanons - ayato with a grumpy(?) reader

credits to @/SodaPuff3 on twitter for the ayato icon :3

sorry, i can't take your touch; it's not that i don't want you...

notes: woohoo first request !! i've never written headcanons like this so please feel free to tell me what you think :)

i now realize that this is a lot longer than it needed to be .. oh well 🤠

tags: i was DEFINITELY projecting while writing this LMAO, reader isn't implied to be fem or masc in any way ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

🫧 there are a whole bunch of reasons you might not be that welcome to physical affection or touch from others

🧋 maybe you're just not comfortable? let's assume so for now lmao

☔️ anyways !! you're going about your day in inazuma, maybe running some errands, when you realize you forgot to get rice flour 🧍

🫧 for SHAME how could you forget the flour !!

🧋 now you have to go all the way back to the tsukomono grocery shop when you're already out of the city 😟 yikes

☔️ yeah that isn't gonna be a fun trip GOOD LUCK

🫧 anyways you're back at the grocery shop and - just your luck!! - it starts raining

🧋 why. does the universe hate you 😶

☔️ sigh. anyways

🫧 you do the mental gymnastics of realizing you have to walk back to the kamisato estate ... yeah lmao there's no way that's happening

🧋 you look back from under the little awning and see that it's now pouring cats and dogs

☔️ today's really not your lucky day huh 🫠 you're just standing there like a fool, watching it rain and holding your little bag of produce and (now wet 😟) flour

🫧 a few minutes later you see the one and only

🧋 your saving grace, the (now) light of your life, your reason to get up in the morning, the apple of your eye, your good samaritan,

☔️ your savior,

🫧 thoma !! you've never been happier to see the man

🧋 waving at him like a madman, he looks your way, eyes wide, and rushes over to you to ask you what the heck you're doing out here in the rain

☔️ you recount the whole flour situation (albeit embarrassed), and thoma, being the amazing person he is, offers to share his umbrella with you

🫧 you thank your lucky stars and gladly accept, now walking back to the kamisato estate as the rain pitter-patters over the polished paper umbrella

🧋 which is great ! you're really thankful and all that ! but there's a small, itty-bitty, minuscule, tiny problem

☔️ he's WAY too close for your liking 🧍

🫧 it's not that you're worried about good ol' thoma flirting with you or ayato being over-possessive or anything !!

🧋 you just Don't. like touching/being touched by other people (which is understandable !!)

☔️ but you don't know how to explain it to thoma without sounding like an absolute asshole (ﾟｰﾟ;

🫧 like he did offer to take you back home in the rain and he's a really good friend and all that

🧋 but every second that passes by with his arm brushing just a little too close for your liking drives you INSANE for some reason

☔️ by the time you reach chinju forest, you're overstimulated and frustrated and grumpy and slightly wet and your robes are clinging to your body and you can feel the water in your soggy socks and

🫧 OUGHHHH you feel like a steaming pile of trash ((´д｀)) at least the kamisato estate's just above the stone steps in front of you

🧋 after a few minutes of carefully climbing up them, drying off with a warm towel from furuta (the sweet old housekeeper), and a change of clothes, you plop down on your and ayato's shared bed

☔️ god the past hour's been .. something

🫧 you don't know if you're being dramatic (although you feel guilty .. so maybe not), but you still feel overstimulated after that sensory nightmare

🧋 so you curl up under the covers and try to sleep it off 💤

☔️ and you do !! you get a solid two hours of sleep (my eepy ass could never) before you're woken up by a tired ayato slipping under the blanket with you

🫧 neither of you say anything, but he understands everything by the look on your face

🧋 he knows about how sensitive you are to touch and proximity with other people, and has helped you get through many a sensory overload before

☔️ so you both just lay down in silence, lights dimmed, and you start to feel a little bit better :)

🫧 at the end of the day, you do think you need to work on setting boundaries with other people when it comes to things like physical touch

🧋 but that's all for another day !!

☔️ right now, you're focused on nothing but the shared warmth between you and ayato and the soft sound of your breathing

🫧 all is well now :)

[martinys-world]

The Girl

this is my first time ever to wright this on tumblr. let me know if you are want to see more. I have a whole back story to this. This is not proof read, so please let me know if there a mistake I want to see if it worth working on.

“You get everyone to the ship and escape with the key.”

One ape hand it to another. 

“what happening.”

“What about you. “

“I will distract scrope and his terracons as long as I can. It will give you and the others a chance to esape.”

I wont let you be left behind. Scrouge will kill you. My sacrifice will be nothing compared to what unicron can do with the key...

“ we need a …..”

Slinceing the other ape.

“ you are there leader now.” 

“ now go” 

With the idea of knowing there was no debate let alone time. ran. Leaveing the only place they called home. that will be devour by unicorn the planet eating monster. 

“ahh.” Hand covering my face. Trying to protect my self even thought it would do nothing. I felt a chil was what It felt like. The one that get you spinal core to shake. 

Looking back at the runaway ape did not see me.  I have to be dreaming. 

Then there this metal man robot. Is this a terrcon. What going why dose this look real. Is he losing what going on. 

“ please, stop fighting.” 

Everything was muggy. I don’t understand what going on but one thing was clear. No one is leaveing this fight alive. Everything happen so fast. They were both standing up and now one is loseing a battle that he cant win. 

Sound of a rocket was happing like it was blasting off. 

“ your not getting the key.”

“Today I won’t but my master with have a feast with your planet.”

I was running to the ape theat was laying on the ground. I couldn’t let him feel pain while he was dieing. I know none of these metal or anmials being cant see me. but dosent me I would sit back and do nothing. The one that won. Was melting something on him. He just became a blur. 

I slip pass his legs. If that was what they called them. I was at the apes face. 

“ what do I do? What can I do?”

“ put your hand on him and breathe.”

Spinning around. Trying to find something to show any type of alive or being. 

“wh-“

“If you want him to not be in pain anymore, just put your hand on him.”

I heard a groan. I will slove that voice mystery later. Put my hand on him I felt him skin want cold but smooth and warm. Surprisingly but what shock me more was the area my hand was. It was glowing and a green color. 

“huh?” 

Out of my instinct I want to pull away but the ape groan out of relief. Like he was in less pain. 

I knew that I was doing something. what would happen if I used both of my hands. I lift my hand. And place not tnext to mine but in the same level as mine. I felt eyes on me I  was next to his eye or what ever its called. Two eyes staring at one. 

“ midnight star.” 

Instead of correcting him. Knowing his time is running out.

“ its going to be okay. relax its going to be okay.”

I sounded confident but I was far from that. 

“you were always a star. in the darkest of times.”

For that slipt moment it steam like he accepted his death but wasn’t alone. I have no clue who he is but i am just glad he not alone or in a lot a pain. I saw the light shirnking as it seem like these minutes. Are turning to hours. I don’t care how long I knew the least I could do was make bearable. He closed his eyes for the final time and whisper his last sound in this life. 

“ thank you.”  

I pulled my hands back after his skin turned cold.  I was crying. I knew I was crying because there was not much I could do. I mean almost everyone cries when they see someone died, But this was different type of crying. Like I lost a friend but I never seen him before.

“sliver”

I fell to my knees in front of his eyes. It started to get windy. I wouldn’t have notice if a golf ball sized rock hit me in the side of my head.   turning to see what all the rush was about. This golden sphere was coming closer. And the center was opening up and there was rocks. My brain wasn’t comprehending what was happening. 

“Unicorn!!”

Chatper : (2)

[malsfefanfics]

doropetra

Apologies for the wait!

Dorothea let out a sigh as she sank into the water. The steam of the spring enveloped her completely, blanketing her in a gentle warmth. A much needed distraction after the disaster of that day's events.

It was just a simple luncheon. A simple meal to be shared between the Queen and some of the more high up political members of Brigid's court. But when she had been conversing with someone about fishing numbers, her companion had begun to laugh, nearly choking on his food and needing immediate rescue. Which then lead to a brief misunderstanding, as others saw what had happened and assumed an attempt on his life. Petra had her escorted out of the room while she tended to the issue.

And now, here she sat, trying to relax as she waited for Petra's return.

And so lost in her thoughts, that she didn't even notice Petra come to sit beside her.

"I am knowing that face," Petra said gently. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

"Oh, Petra! I didn't see you there." Dorothea moved over a bit, allowing her partner more space to stretch her legs in the water. "Nothing's wrong, really."

"Are you certain? Because you are being rather closing- er. Closed off? Is that the correct term?"

Dorothea grimaced. "Well...yes. I suppose so."

Petra reached out a hand. "Please, Tell me what troubles you. We cannot be fixing it unless you speak to me."

"It's nothing, really. I promise." Dorothea accepted her hand, allowing Petra to pull her close. "I just don't know what went wrong with today's meeting. Everyone got so angry, and they spoke so fast. I couldn't keep up with what was happening."

"Oh, I am seeing now. That is what is concerning you." Petra giggled softly, pressing a kiss to Dorothea's cheek. "You were simply mispronouncing some words, and it was read in a very different way."

Of course she did. "How exactly was it taken?" Well, she hoped, given Petra's expression.

Petra pulled her closer. "You were attempting to say something along the lines of 'I hope that the next catch is plentiful', yes?"

"Yes, that's right. He said the last few trips hadn't yielded very good quantities."

"Well, the way you are pronouncing the words made it sound like...something different."

"How?" Dorothea asked. "What exactly did he think I said?"

"Well, the words of which are needed to say that phrase are similar in spelling and pronouncing as, well..." Petra leaned in close and whispered into her ear.

Dorothea's face burned as she let out a squeal of embarrassment, sinking up to her neck into the water and turning away. "By the Goddess, what was I thinking?! No wonder he choked! Oh my goodness, I am so sorry."

Petra laughed as she sank into the water with her, wrapping her arms around Dorothea. "It is alright. Besides, it all went well in the end."

"Really?"

"Yes. Everyone, once calmed, found the misunderstanding to be quite thrilling. They are impressed with you being able to be bold that way with me."

Slowly, she began to relax, and leaned into Petra's embrace. "Well, you're just as bold, Petra. Still, I'm sorry for nearly causing him to choke to death over...that."

"It is fine, Dorothea," Petra assured. "The language of Brigid is hard for those not from here. But fret not. I will be continuing helping you with your skills in the language of Brigid. You need only keep helping me with my skills in the language of Fódlan."

"It might take a while for us to master them."

"Well, we are having all the time in the world, as they say."

Dorothea smiled. "That we do, Petra. That we do."

[jordie-gvf]

ahhh blurb requests!!! could you do like any guy with a reader where they have like a small first fight and then both feel really bad and just cling and cuddle after? :)

josh blurb!

because i literally cannot read for shit, its a marital fight. its very minor!

word count : 802

warnings : a marital fight, arguing

enjoy!

You and Josh had never really gotten into fights. Typically, it was over something very minor. You and Josh had a calendar on the fridge, where you wrote down the schedule for the month. He didn't write down on the calendar that he had a meeting at the studio. 

You came home and saw Lia, Jake's girlfriend at the house, but no Josh. “Where's Josh?” you asked her. She said, “they had a meeting today, he didn't tell you?” 

You shook your head and saw Valerie walk over to your legs. She hugged onto your legs and said, “Mama Mama.” You picked her up and said, “Are you hungry, love?” 

She was at the stage where she was walking and forming more and more words. You saw Lia on the couch with Denali on her chest, a blanket over the both of them. “Was he good today, he's been fussy recently.” you told her. She nodded and said, “He loves his Auntie Lia!” You told her you would be right back, so you could change out of your scrubs.

You smiled and started on dinner. Valerie got chicken, egg noodles, steamed broccoli, and banana. Denali gets BeechNut pear and blueberries with milk. You made yourself the same as Valerie and offered Lia some. She politely declined and placed Denali in his high chair, then left. You handed her $100, but she wouldn't accept it.

Valerie had already known how to properly use a fork, she fed herself, but if she needed help you were there. You fed Denali and burped him. 

You gave Denali a bath first after he ate. You put him down to sleep and then gave Valerie a bath, got her changed, and read to her. 

You went downstairs to see Josh at the kitchen table, eating Chick-Fil-A. He held the bag up and said, “I got you food. How was the hospital, Ma?” 

You snatched the bag from his hand and he held his hands up. “Woah, calm down. It's only me.” 

“You never told me you had a meeting. Wasn't on the calendar either.” you told him. 

“Sorry, last minute. They told us last week.” He said to you,

“You couldn't take five minutes out of your day to write it on the calendar, so I know where you are?” you asked him. 

He sighed and said, “I said I was sorry, alright? Can I eat in peace, please?” 

You grabbed your drink and walked over to the stairs. “Where are you going, Mama?” he questioned you. “I'm going upstairs, to let you eat in peace.” you said and went to your bedroom. You locked the door behind you and sat at your vanity, and grabbed your chicken sandwich. You smiled at the label, “EXTRA PICKLE.” He always knew what you liked. You grabbed the mac and cheese out of the bag and ate it. 

You heard the door knob jiggle followed by a, “Really? Can you open the door please?” You unlocked the door and walked over to your bathroom. He followed you into your bathroom, but you closed and locked that door too. You took all your jewelry off, including your wedding ring, and put it to the side of the sink. He sighed and put his head up against the bathroom door. 

You paid him no attention and continued on with your shower. You were in the bathroom for about an hour, you took an ‘everything’ shower and did your skincare and did your hair. You opened the door to see Josh, on the floor, next to the door. As soon as you opened it, he perked up and got onto his feet. You walked over to the closet and picked out your pajamas, a black shirt and your budweiser pants.

He trailed after you and said, “You gonna close the door on me again?” 

You scoffed and said, “Only if you give me a reason to,” 

He went inside the closet and took his clothes off, opting to sleep in his boxers. He glanced at your hand and said, “Where's your ring? You never take your ring off.” You grabbed it from the bathroom and said, “Don't worry, you're gonna have to stick with me. I ain't leaving anytime soon.” 

He smiled and said, “Good, cause neither am I.” You two got into bed and faced each other. He grabbed your waist and said, “I'm sorry. You're right, I should've put it on the calendar.” You shook your head and told him, “No, It's my fault, I shouldnt of snapped at you. I was just worried about you. I just want to know where you are.” 

He laid his head on your chest and soon you heard soft snores coming from his mouth. You kissed his forehead and snuggled up close to him.

[uncaaj]

Fanfic: Two Guys, a Girl, and an Udon Place (Beastars)

READ NOW ON AO3!

“Louis,” I said with a smile, reaching out to shake the red deer’s hand. 

“Legoshi.” He returned his own mild grin behind tired, baggy eyes and gave me a firm handshake.

He was in a simple brown blazer and slacks, no tie around his buttoned blue shirt. I had come still in my stained cook’s jacket, the humble noodle shop’s logo on the back.

“Thanks for coming to meet me,” I said as we made our way to the counter and took two red velvet seats.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, I know this bar isn’t the nicest.” We turned to the approaching bartender as his mouth dropped open seeing who was with me. “A-and people talk.”

“Old fashioned, please,” said Louis to the bartender. He nodded and walked off briskly. 

“Uh, p-plum wine soda, please!” I shouted after, my ears drooping as the barkeep unlocked a safe and retrieved a whiskey bottle from it..

”Let them talk,” said Louis. “I’ve long since accepted that my status is my shadow. My weight to bear.”

“I never thought being the best chef in the country would feel like that,” I said.

Louis smirked. “There’s a lot you don’t understand of my world.” He patted me on the back. 

I could hear the whispering over the gentle jazz and my fur bristled. A deer interacting with a wolf like this? Especially a deer of his caliber. Still very much taboo…and dangerous. But I always knew there was a predator behind this prey’s eyes. That why Louis was where he was, at the head of the hottest restaurant in the country-by reaching for the stars.

“But we’re best friends,” he continued, gripping my shoulder. “And who would I be if I forgot my friends?”

“Uh, still the best chef in the country?” I messed meekly.

“You sound like my father, silly wolf.”

I gulped. “Oh, yeah, heh heh. Right…” I knew how deep that rift lay between Louis and his adopted father,

A throat clearing drew our attention to our drinks. The barkeep took a low bow and left to attend to others. We grabbed our drinks and toasted the night. I nodded. “Thanks, Louis.”

“So what’s new?” asked Louis, leaning an elbow upon the bar.

I scratched the back of my neck nervously. “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I need help.” 

“Help? How’s the udon shop treating you?” he asked, sipping his drink.

I didn’t know how else to breach the topic so I just said it. “I…own it.”

Louis gestured to me with his drink. “That’s the spirit! I knew you had it in you to be a great cook.”

“N-no, I mean I own it.”

“You said that already, and I’m proud of you for keeping up.”

“No, Louis!” I exclaimed. “The owner retired and gave the restaurant to me and I don’t know what to do!” I didn’t know how plainer I could say it.

That sure did it. His eyes strained as he violently spat out his drink first onto me, then off the side. He coughed and sputtered as he stumbled off his stool and to his knees, holding his chest.  My protective instincts kicked in and I followed him to the floor. “A-are you okay?!”

He choked out, “Since when do you own a restaurant?!”

I could feel every eye in the place on me as they stopped their conversations to see what the culinary legend I called my good friend was yelling about. Only the tinny sound of the jukebox remained as I flattened my ears.

“Today, I suppose,” I said in a small voice.

Louis cleared his throat and stood back up. “You suppose?! Is there something I’ve not known about?”

My brow started to sweat. “Uh…would you believe it’s a funny story?”

+++

The smell of comfort is a simple aroma that hides hours of work and many complex components. The perfect broth simmered to extract every bit of umami goodness from the fish. The udon noodles, soft yet toothsome and ripe for slurping. Fried or fresh toppings providing a crunchy contrast in texture. And of course, a little bit of 7-pepper powder to add that special touch.

“Order up!” I called, and a waitress promptly met me at the hot pass. I gingerly placed the steaming bowl on the pass. “Table three, one veg tempura udon soup.” She nodded and took the bowl away to be served. 

One could argue that exacting this amount of painstaking work for a bowl of udon is unnecessary. But I would argue that the surge of pride I get every time a bowl goes out and makes a customer’s day brighter is addicting, and makes every step on the way worth it. This feeling kept me on my toes throughout the busy lunch rush.

I stabbed the old ticket onto the “done” fork and took another from the pass and skimmed the writing. “Working now, Table 7, two aburaage udon, one gyoza,” I said to the beasts in front of me.”

“Heard!” they barked in unison.

I’ve always loved cooking, but I only ever saw it as a hobby, something nice to do for other beasts. My friends at Cherryton High loved my food and asked me to cook all the time for them. It brought us closer together and forged a bond stronger than steel. I discovered I could connect with other beasts, share a part of my soul even, through my cooking. It did all the talking for me when my anxious nature would glue my snout closed.

“Legoshi?”

My tail bristled. Even now, I had to fight to keep my anxiety from taking me over, especially when it involved people I held in high regard. I cleared my throat and looked down. A snowy barn owl wearing a black jacket and cap waddled over to me. “Yes, sir?” I said, crouching down.

He gestured to a hallway off towards the back of the kitchen. “Can we talk in my office now, please?”

“Of course,” I nodded.

He did back and waddled a short distance before unfurling his wings and flying the rest of the way.

I gulped away my fear and sighed when it settled into my stomach. Many years of school had taught me that when the head of the place calls you into their office, it’s never good news. So as I opened the door to the office of my employer, I couldn’t help but assume the worst. 

A hand tapped my shoulder and I startled. A lioness smiled at me, easing me instantly. “I’ll cover your tables for now. You’d better not keep him waiting.”

I bowed. “Thanks a lot.” I gave her my ticket and headed for the shop owner’s office.

Peeking through the cracked door, I said, “You wanted to see me, Sunaga-san?”

The barn owl flapped his wings upon his perch. “Legoshi, great! C’mon in and uh, shut the door.” He leaned in as he said that and I closed the door with great care.

My respect for this man was far bigger than his small stature would lead you to believe. When I had no idea what to do with myself after dropping out of school, this was the beast that took a chance on a gray wolf with a newly minted criminal record and allowed me to earn my own money for the first time.

“Is something wrong?” I said, tapping my long nails together.

“First of all, I want to assure you that you’ve been doing a great job. Our customer ratings have actually gone up since you started cooking.”

My ears perked up. “Oh, that’s great to hear!”

“Yes, I’m very proud of how quickly you’ve grown up. From chopping green onion to being a big part of our recent success. Which is why I wanted you to be the first to know this.”

Here it was. Either it was good news or bad news and I braced myself for either. “Yes, sir?”

“I’m retiring as manager.”

My ear twitched. I wasn’t quite expecting that from Sunaga’s beak. “E-excuse me?”

“My wife has laid her eggs and I want to spend as much time as I can with them. Managing this shop won’t allow me to do that, so we both decided I’d let it go.”

“Well, wh-who’s gonna run the place? You’re such a great boss. I don’t know if anyone could take your place.”

Much less me. 

I grunted. My low self esteem was rearing its ugly head again. Any other time I’d dismiss it as a reflex I fought against every day.

“That’s what I wanted to speak to you about,” Sunaga continued, “I think you could take my place.”

But this time, it was a prophecy.

“What? N-no, sir, not me!”

“Why ever not?” Sunaga wondered, head tilting to the side.

“I’m just a cook!” I implored. “Th-that’s all I know. I couldn’t run a restaurant!”

He flew across the tiny office and onto my lap. “I say again, why ever not?” He placed a wing on my shoulder and somehow all my anxiety melted. “Legoshi…this industry is fast paced. An owl like me doesn’t have the wings to keep up anymore. You’re young and highly skilled at your job. You’ve got a bright future ahead of you. I know you can take this humble shop and make it soar.”

I was fully content with my bright future at that point containing bowls of udon and the words “Order up!” But once those words were said, they played over and over again like the faulty kitchen radio.

The office melted away and the path that lay before me outlined itself. I blinked and saw in front of me the single doorway that had always been accessible to me ever since succumbing to my predatory nature. I blinked again and doors upon doors appeared without warning. I yelped, seeing multitudes of new options at my disposal, along with Sunaga-san’s gentle hoot, “Bright future…bright future…”

I felt the fear of overwhelming uncertainty begin to tower over my tall, toned frame, just as the door grew ever taller and leaned in toward me. My life had suddenly gained too many possibilities and I was certain they would smother me.

+++

“He said he’d think it over, so I went back to work. But when Sunaga-san announced his departure after tonight’s service, he still named me successor.”

Louis tapped his fingers against the bar we had long before made our way back to, no discernible reaction on his face. I hoped he was not about to throw my desperate cry for guidance out the window like prep scraps. 

Louis leaned in. “Legoshi?”

I blinked. “Yes, chef?”

“There’s a lesson to be learned here.”

I leaned in as well, tail wagging as my prayers were about to be answered. “Yes, chef?”

“Don’t call it a funny story if you’re going to include your existential self-loathing.”

My head and tail fell into a bow. “Yes, chef. Sorry.” The bridge from line cook to restauranteur was not to be built for me.

A finger touched my chin, and a cold sweat ran down my back. Louis tilted my snout toward his gentle face and I found myself smiling along with him. His uncanny ability to calm and center me with a glance had driven me forward and provided a certainty in a very uncertain time in my life. I loved herbivores, and he held a special place in my heart. Him and Haru.

A sharp pressure against my nose drug me back to reality and I sneezed into my arm. “Why do you always do that?”

“Because you need to buck up,” said Louis, kind but firm. “You’ve hit the ground running here, but this isn’t as bad as you think.”

“Wh-why are you telling me this?” I asked, rubbing my nose.

“Because you can do this. Sunaga-san believes in you, otherwise you wouldn’t have the restaurant. And I believe in you because I know what you’re capable of.”

“…meat offending?”

“Greatness, you stupid wolf. Greatness.”

His expression remained unchanged but behind his eyes, I could see the wheels turning. Louis was great at thinking on his feet, coming up with a plan in seconds, and making you believe it was the original plan all along. “What are you thinking about, Louis?” I breathed.

“When’s his last day?”

“Uh, Friday. Then on Monday, it’s my restaurant.”

“Okay, listen. I’ll be there on Monday and I’ll help you run the place for a while. You’re getting the crash course of your life.”

I yelped in surprise. He was dropping everything to come help me?! “B-but what about Horns?!”

“Don’t worry about that,” he assured me, standing up and brushing down his jacket. “Just know that you’re my focus from here on.”

“I…” Any words of gratitude or complete reverence died in my throat. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Then don’t.” He fished out a bill from his wallet. I balked at the amount on it. “But ready yourself.” Louis slammed it down on the bar counter, and I stared in awe as he took his leave. He sent me a wink before disappearing behind the doorway, leaving his unmistakable aura in his wake.

“How does an udon cook get to know the legendary Louis of Chez Horns anyhow, wolf?”

I turned. The bartender had the bill stretched taut in both paws, holding it up to a nearby lamp to check its authenticity.

“W-we’re school friends,” I said.

[engineer-gunzelpunk]

Traintober 2023: Out Of Service

Heavy Harry’s Last Train

1956

A sad day for Harry, for he was to pull his final revenue raising train to Melbourne before his overhaul. But the way things were going, everyone doubted if he would actually get it.

He had slept overnight at Seymour before the trip, which was OK because Newport had taken on a charnel house-like atmosphere. The scrap roads filled with exhausted, sad locos ready to be taken apart. It was basically his second home anyway.

Is this the day I finally get to cry? It would be an acceptable excuse to do it.

The tears would not come. He felt drier than the Simpson Desert. Numb.

His cylinders on the other hand, always felt slightly ticklish. And not from those weird happy butterflies he got in them when he saw VR Hudson R700 Nucklevee again, but bad sort of ticklish.

Steam was leaking into them, his regulator was probably broken in addition to his sore, in-need-of-replacement boiler and if it wasn’t for the Westinghouse brake, venting as much steam as he possibly could through his cylinder cocks, safety valve and his sheer willpower in locking them, he would careen off by himself with an 800 tonne load.

He did not want this to happen.

Please, please, please I need my overhaul so bad! Even if you put me in mothballs, at least make me safe!

That’s not going to happen isn’t it?

I’m now an actual danger to myself and people. You can’t really be this negligent, VR? Say it ain’t so? Its one thing to let us get caked in filth, its another thing to lag behind on overhauls just because you want to be rid of us.

You don't care, do you?

I’m about to have my last ride and I’m actively a danger to everyone. I’m trying so very hard…

He was washed and cleaned for his final ride, which didn’t improve his mood a jot but at least he didn’t look as shabby as he did. His paint did shine a little duller though, whether from sadness or from neglect was difficult to tell.

“How are you, Harry…”, asked Driver

“Not great…” he said as if under water.

“I can understand… its a sad day for everyone…”

“I’m shit scared… my regulator is leaking…I can feel the steam in my cylinders even with the regulator shut… I don’t want to do this…”

“Lets try get through today, Har’, we’ll work our darndest to make it safe and get you home...”

“I’m not going to get that overhaul, won’t I…”

“I don’t think so, boy...”

30th of April, 1958

“What are they going to do with me? I’ve been sitting here for two years...I’m bored and antsy… and I haven’t heard from the Historical Society in weeks… Do you have any news, Driver?”

“I’m so sorry, Harry...there’s no nice way of saying this… you are being withdrawn…”

Harry didn’t quite hear Driver say these words, terrible overwhelming fear and confusion flooded his smokebox.

The physical pain that was in his boiler that was now constant but low, suddenly stabbed him and he exhaled sharply.

“No reprieve?”

“No, big fella”

Driver squeezed his knuckle coupling sadly, in an attempt to give him comfort.

“What is to happen to me, Driver…”, he said in a voice that was barely above a murmur.

“We don’t know…the preservationists are working on something… but it will take time…”

That emotional pain that was already there, more of it was being added. But he had to push that aside and think.

“What will you do, Driver…”

“I’m a railwayman, and always have been…

“There’s no place for us in the brave new world of swappable roles they are going to create… easy to drive, easy to train, which was what I suspect was going on the entire time they were doing this diesel introductory thing anyway...

Not a word of thanks for the work and love we put into you and yours, Harry…

I’ll never forget you, big fella…”

Harry wanted so very badly to cry, but the pain could not flow outwards. Instead, it settled back into his cold firebox and burned as bitterness.

The pain in his side flared, as if expressing what he could not.

He just cast his eyes downward and sighed.

There is no light at the end of this tunnel, just another, even bigger fuck-off train ready to barrel through you and out the other side, leaving you in pieces all over the track.

[sasaranomiya]

Koukyuu no Karasu Volume 3 Chapter 4 - The Twilight Orb (Part 1)

Finally learning more about the mysterious Saname clan...

Translation Notes

1. The word used here,  宝珠 (Houju), means “precious orb,” but also refers to the Cintamani stone, a wish-granting jewel in Buddhism

Previous || Index || Next

After prayers, Hakurai was offered tea for his exertions. He gratefully accepted it. Chatting with his patron over tea was also a steady and important role of a sect founder.

There were bamboo blinds hanging under the eaves of the roof, and the room was dimly lit. In addition to tea, steamed rice cakes with honey, bean stew, and other dishes were laid out in front of Hakurai.

“Is there anything else you want? I’ll prepare it for you.”

“No, I already have all that I need,” Hakurai politely declined.

“Since you started praying for me, my leg has been in excellent condition,” his master laughed in an easy-going manner as he patted his knee.

“I’m very pleased to hear that.”

“Meeting you was very fortunate indeed. For me and the Saname clan. –I heard that the silk merchant who went to the capital on your advice is doing well. He was even allowed access to the prime minister’s residence.”

Without dropping his broad smile, his master talked like it was nothing. It wasn’t nothing at all. By prime minister, he meant Un Eitoku.

“Is that so?” Hakurai narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Your advice was sound. I’m impressed.”

“I’m grateful to be helpful.”

Hakurai bowed his head. The emperor should have killed Un Eitoku immediately, he thought. The person who did the most to bring the current emperor to the throne was Un Eitoku. However, those who contributed greatly should be eliminated as soon the commotion died down. They would only serve as fetters for the next era.

“If this goes well, my…the Sanames’ dearest wish will soon be fulfilled.”

The Saname elder murmured, very quietly.

“Eitoku has been very quiet lately.”

Koushun said quietly in front of the lotus pond. Meiin was standing a step behind him. “I see.”

“I would like to talk to him, but…”

He stared at the lotus buds. The plump white buds looked like hands clasped together.

What do I say to him?

Just the slightest wrong choice of words could cause a person’s feelings to swerve off course.

Koushun, who had been staring at the lotuses for a while in silent contemplation, suddenly turned his head to Meiin.

“I want to meet Un Eitoku in secret. Set up a place for us.”

He was Eitoku’s son-in-law. He served as the assistant minister of the Department of State Affairs’ Ministry of Personnel.

“Also, I need to speak with Shiki.”

Meiin didn’t ask any questions, but simply bowed his head and said, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Jusetsu stared absentmindedly out the lattice window. All the doors facing the corridor were open, but there was no breeze blowing through, and the heat and humidity were unbearable.

“Niangniang—Niangniang!”

She came back to herself with a start and turned her face to the front. Onkei’s beautiful almond eyes were fixed on her. A hint of worry was peering out from his worried-looking eyes. His eyes were as serene and clear as a quiet spring in the depths of the forest.

“It’s your turn, Niangniang, but should we take a break? You don’t look well.”

There was a Go board between the two of them. She was playing Go with him. Staring at the board, Jusetsu let out a breath.

“Mm,” she said, returning the stones to the casket. “I’m not feeling up for it. Let’s stop here.”

“Yes.”

“Is this because you don’t think you can win?” Jiujiu said from the side. Jusetsu glared at her.

“That’s not the reason. I intended to reverse the situation from here.”

She hated to lose. But it was true that she just couldn’t concentrate on the game. When she thought back to the feelings she felt towards for Koushun and Shiki the other day, her heart became unsettled, and she became absent-minded.

Jusetsu sighed. Jiujiu and Onkei looked at each other.

“Niangniang, you really don’t seem to be in good spirits today. You don’t look depressed, though. Could it be because of the weather?”

Jiujiu looked up at the sky through the open door. It was cloudy today. The sky didn’t look as though it was about to rain, but rather, it looked like it was covered with a thin film.

“It doesn’t look like it’s about to rain, so why don’t we go outside? Say, didn’t the Crane Consort urge you to come and visit Hakkaku Palace yesterday?”

“…The Crane Consort, huh…”

She was a girl who was difficult to read. Was there an agenda behind her excessive invitations? Or did she genuinely want to befriend Jusetsu?

“…I have to investigate her at least once,” Jusetsu murmured and stood up.

“Are you going out?” Jiujiu asked enthusiastically.

“You don’t have to dress me up too excessively,” she told her in advance, but Jiujiu probably wasn’t listening.

“I’ll send Tan Kai to Hakkaku Palace to inform them of your visit,” Onkei said and left the palace. Tan Kai would definitely complain again about being sent on errands.

Jiujiu chose a thin silk crimson robe and a scarlet skirt. The thin silk was embroidered with gold thread, and the skirt was printed with designs of flowers and birds. “These would look beautiful in the gardenia garden in Hakkaku Palace,” she said. The vivid crimson color looked good against Jusetsu’s translucent white skin. She hung the wooden fish carving she received from Koushun on her sash.

“As for the hair ornaments—” Just as Jiujiu was about to pick up the ivory comb, Jusetsu stopped her. “Don’t use that one.” It was a comb in the shape of a bird and waves. This was also a gift from Koushun.

“But I do think it will go well with your outfit.”

“It would be troublesome if I lost it.”

Jiujiu looked between the comb and Jusetsu for a moment, and then she grinned.

“I understand. It’s a precious gift from His Majesty, after all.”

“It doesn’t matter who I received it from. Combs are easier to fall off than hair sticks. Hakkaku Palace is a little farther away, so if I drop it on the way there—”

“Yes, yes, I understand. Then, let us use these hair sticks.”

With a big smile on her face, Jiujiu put the golden hair sticks into her hair. It seemed like she was only making excuses if she kept talking, so Jusetsu remained silent.

Tan Kai, who was sent as the messenger, returned with a palace lady of Hakkaku Palace. It was Ki Senjo.

“I have come to take you to the palace.”

“I don’t require someone to pick me up,” Jusetsu said, perplexed.

“The Lady Crane Consort was so overjoyed that she insisted on you being taken there,” Senjo laughed. “She was worried that you would change your mind.”

She’s exaggerating, Jusetsu thought. Perhaps realizing this, Senjo added, “The Lady Crane Consort is very much looking forward to talking to you. She’s filled with a childlike innocence about it.”

“Ever since she left Ga Province, the attendants around her are all the same, and the consorts are a little older than her, so she can’t become too close with them…”

It seemed that she was bored. I see, Jusetsu answered. She suddenly noticed that there was an ornament hanging from Senjo’s sash. She hadn’t been wearing the white coral ornament when they saw each other before, but now she was wearing a fish ornament. It was similar to Jusetsu’s.

“Are you wondering about this?” Noticing Jusetsu’s gaze, Senjo put her hand on the ornament. She smiled embarrassedly.

“It may be presumptuous of me, but I had it made to resemble your ornament, Lady Raven Consort.”

“This one? Why?”

“I am no longer a follower of the Eight Truths, but—” That was only natural, since she was cursed by them. “I was wondering if I could wear something of the Lady Raven Consort, who saved me, as a talisman…”

“I don’t believe that can be used as a talisman.”

“It’s a matter of feeling. It’s a symbol of my great admiration for you.”

Should she be happy about that? Jusetsu didn’t know.

Jusetsu took Jiujiu with her and Onkei and Tan Kai as escorts to Hakkaku Palace. After Senjo led down through the gate, they were met with rows of gardenias. Beyond them, the Crane Consort, Banka, was waiting for them with her attendants. Jusetsu could feel the gazes of the attendants flickering to the left and right of her. They were looking at Onkei and Tan Kai. It seemed that their eyes were captivated by the two beautiful eunuchs.

“I’m so happy that you’re finally visiting me,” Banka’s dark eyes were sparkling. She truly was a girl with no malice. “You and I are close in age, aren’t we? The other consorts are all older. It’s difficult to approach them.”

Banka seemed more excited than the last time they met. Jusetsu was led to a room in the palace and sat down. It was a room with a good view of the garden beyond the outer corridor. The strong fragrance of gardenias entered through the open door. Does she not find it unpleasant? Jusetsu thought.

“I actually didn’t want to become a consort. I was scared of leaving my hometown, and I didn’t know what kind of person His Majesty was. But Father ordered me to go,” Banka spoke frankly as she drank the tea served by her attendants. “But His Majesty was a good person, so I’m glad. I was wondering what I would do if he was self-important and unpleasant like my eldest brother. Or if he was mean like my second-oldest brother. I thought it’d be good if he was kind and gentle like my great-uncle, but if he really was like my great-uncle, he would be an old man. That would be a problem as well. But I was so relieved when I saw that he was young, though he is older than me.”

Banka talked a lot. Jusetsu listened to her as she stuffed her cheeks with honey-simmered peaches.

“How do you think of those peaches? They’re boiled in honey. In my hometown, they’re a bit smaller, and we simmer the sour peaches to sweeten them, but here they are sweet as they are.”

“They’re delicious,” Jusetsu answered, and Banka looked delighted.

“I’m so happy to hear that. They’re simmered with honey and cloves. We use peaches that are still hard and—”

“Is there something you’re worried about?”

“Huh?”

Banka stopped talking, the smile still on her face.

“You’re acting strangely restless. It feels like you have some other concern, and your mind is elsewhere.”

“…My,” Banka rubbed her cheek. “I wonder if you really can see everything.”

“It isn’t like that,” Jusetsu put one of the honey-simmered peaches in her mouth. “Is it about the emperor? Or your hometown?”

Since Banka talked about Koushun and her hometown, she thought that those things must be what was on her mind.

“Oh—no. No, but I suppose it does have something to do with my hometown…” Banka seemed to stare into the distance. “Will you listen to my story? It isn’t the kind of worry that I want you to solve. Sometimes I just can’t endure it. Will you listen to me…?”

At that moment, Banka looked terribly fragile, like a child who had nowhere to go.

Banka had her attendants stay behind and invited Jusetsu to the garden. Jusetsu also left Jiujiu in the room and followed Banka into the garden. Gardenias filled the garden, burying it in their sweet and sharp fragrance. Even though many of the flowers had their petals scattered due to the rain, their scent seemed even stronger in spite of that.

“There’s an heirloom that’s been passed down for generations in my family,” Banka spoke as she walked slowly between the flowers.

“Heirloom?”

“Yes. It’s called the ‘Twilight Orb.’” (1)

“Twilight Orb…” Jusetsu repeated.

“It resembles the sky at sunset. Orange, pale pink, rose, violet…a jewel with all kinds of colors mingling together. It’s very beautiful. It’s beautiful…but terrifying.”

“Terrifying? How?”

Banka stopped and turned around.

“Because it’s cursed.”

Jusetsu widened her eyes. A curse.

“Did you know that my family is from Kakami?” Banka changed the subject while playing with the petals of a gardenia.

“I know.”

“Then, do you know why my family left Kakami?”

Jusetsu tilted her head. “No, I don’t.”

Banka glanced at her. “It’s because we killed a god.”

God slaying?

Jusetsu silently waited for her to continue.

“In the land where my ancestors lived in Kakami, they worshipped a certain god. The god of harvest. The god of the land, you see. But at some point, my ancestors wanted to keep that god all to themselves. So, they made a deal with that god. We will give you our youngest daughter as a bride, so won’t you be our family’s guardian deity?”

“…Youngest daughter…”

Wasn’t Banka a youngest daughter as well?

“The god seemed to agree to this. So, it was decided that the youngest daughter would marry the god. The wedding preparations were made, and she went into the cave where the god lived. But—”

Banka plucked off the petals of the gardenia.

“What resounded in the cave was the scream of the god. The one who was dressed in the bridal costume was a servant disguised as the youngest daughter. He stabbed the god to death with a sword he had hidden on his person. The Saname head had no intention of marrying off his youngest daughter from the start. What he wanted was the orb possessed by the god. It’s an orb that was said to be able to bring about long rains and droughts as the owner wishes. It was in the god’s stomach. The servant tore open the god’s stomach and took out the orb. Apparently, the god took the form of a toad.”

Banka tossed the torn-off petals to the ground and turned to face Jusetsu. She had a strange expression on her face, neither smiling nor sad.

“This orb was the Twilight Orb. The Sanames tried to rule the country with the orb, but the murder of the god angered the people. The clan was hated, and it became difficult to even live as before, let alone rule the country. In the end, the Saname were forced out of that land, despised as god-killers wherever they went, and had no choice but to flee to a distant foreign country…”

That was the reason why the Saname clan came to Shou. Banka looked at Jusetsu with her dark eyes and smiled slightly.

“And now, we come to the main topic. A short time after the god was killed, the youngest daughter died of a mysterious high fever. She was fifteen. Then, when the eldest son took over as the head of family, his youngest daughter also died of a fever in the year she turned fifteen. After that, the youngest daughters of those who took over the Saname clan would all die at fifteen. Someone started to call it a curse. It was the curse of deceiving a god and killing them. Some family heads tried to break the orb. But no matter how strong the person we asked, no matter how renowned the sorcerer we asked, the orb couldn’t be destroyed. There were those who said we should throw it away if we couldn’t break it. But even if we discarded it in the mountains or the sea, it always returned. The curse never went away. After some time, everyone gave up on parting with the orb.”

Banka took a breath. Before Jusetsu could interrupt her, she started talking again.

“I heard this story from my father when I was twelve years old. He showed me the Twilight Orb. It was very beautiful. But, it was also terrifying. It was scary, sinister…its beautiful color was like it came from absorbing all the pain and sorrow of people.”

She narrowed her eyes in memory. Jusetsu, staring at her profile, spoke.

“,,,But you’re already past fifteen, aren’t you?”

Banka’s cheek twitched as soon as she asked that.

“I’m seventeen.”

Her voice was like a bird chirping out of tune.

“The youngest Saname daughter will die at fifteen—that still hasn’t changed. Then why do you think I’m still alive?”

Jusetsu didn’t answer, just furrowed her brow.

“Once, a Saname head tried something. I don’t know how he came up with the idea. And, I don’t know how he could carry it out, but he did.”

Banka laughed lightly. It sounded contemptuous.

“He adopted a girl younger than his youngest daughter. A girl who was once a servant. He wanted to find out if the curse was attached to the Saname blood, or if it was just a matter of being a youngest daughter of the Saname, even if only in form… I’m the proof of that result. The real youngest daughter didn’t die at fifteen, and it was the adopted girl who died at fifteen instead. Since then, the Saname clan has always adopted a daughter before their youngest daughter turned fifteen. An adopted girl who would only serve as a substitute for the youngest daughter.”

Banka looked at Jusetsu.

“What do you think of this custom?”

Jusetsu stared back into her eyes. What a sad look in her eyes, she thought.

“…You were also able to live by sacrificing your adoptive sister…”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The pain and sadness on Banka’s face grew even more intense.

“I chose that. I…”

“You chose it?”

“In the year I turned thirteen, the adopted daughter came to us. She was a servant girl from somewhere and had no family. She was one year younger than me. She didn’t have a name until that point, so I gave her the name of Shouzen. Shouzen was a thin girl who looked younger than she was. She was always anxious and shivering like a puppy.”

Banka smiled faintly. Her curved lips looked like a wide-open wound.

“She was pitiful and adorable. I grew very fond of my fragile little sister. I gave her lots of delicious food and played with her a lot. My precious little sister…” Banka cast her eyes down. “That’s why I asked Father to save Shouzen. I didn’t want her to die… Father is a strict man, but I thought if I begged him, he would listen to me.”

“He didn’t listen to you?”

Banka shook her head. Her face stiffened, and she was trembling slightly.

“Father said, Very well. If that’s what you want, then we’ll return Shouzen to her old home. That will save that girl’s life. On the other hand, your life will be forfeit.”

Jusetsu sucked in a breath.

“He told me, ‘That’s to be expected. You want to save Shouzen, but it’s fine for another servant girl to die. That is not acceptable. If you want to save Shouzen, choose to sacrifice yourself. There is no other way. So…I chose.”

I chose to live, Banka whispered.

“Shouzen died of a fever when she was fifteen. I am, as you can see…not sick at all.”

Banka’s voice cracked. Oh, I see, Jusetsu thought.

This girl is an empty shell.

It seems like she would crumble and shatter at the slightest movement.

“…That cannot be called a choice. It was chosen for you.”

By the mistakes of her ancestors, by the curse—and by her father.

Banka stared at Jusetsu, then smiled.

“There is a reason why the Sanames won’t let go of the Twilight Orb, and it isn’t just because we can’t. Do you know what it is?”

Jusetsu was bewildered by the sudden change in topic. “…I don’t know.”

“You see, the Sanames have a long-cherished wish. It is for that reason that we want to keep the orb, which is a sacred treasure.”

“A long-cherished wish?”

“Returning to Kakami. Becoming its rulers. It sounds like a pipe dream, doesn’t it.”

How ridiculous, Banka laughed.

“Ah, I feel so refreshed after talking to you. Thank you very much. I never told anyone about these things before.”

Banka exhaled a laugh, then stretched. Had she been constantly inviting Jusetsu because she wanted to confide this to her?

Banka snapped off a gardenia branch and put it with the white flower in Jusetsu’s hair.

“You look beautiful. It suits you very well, much more than peonies.”

Looking at Jusetsu with narrowed eyes, Banka smiled with satisfaction and turned around.

“Shall we have another cup of tea? Let’s talk about something pleasant this time.”

With light steps, Banka returned to the room.

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