#I ain’t letting up till the day I die

[jackie4dinner]

Look I know we all know that Taylor Swifts discovery is obviously about the marauders but I feel like as a fandom we have completely turned a blind eye to the most obvious one; no body, no crime being about Peter Pettigrew in Sirius’s perspective

[tightjeansjavi]

12 + joel & Gwen pls

you’re fallin’ in love

Joel Miller x f! reader/oc

A/N: this wasn’t originally supposed to be *that* angsty but here we are 😵‍💫 another little Joel blurb. This one is #12 things you said when you thought I was asleep. Enjoy! ♡

~word count: 710~

Summary: Joel has been in love with you for awhile. It’s always there on the tip of his tongue. He finally says it out-loud when he thinks you’re sleeping.

Warnings: angst, angst, angst, brief mentions of injuries, nothing super graphic, some fluff, I love that this grumpy man works through his feelings, he’s a little stubborn but we still love him, (+18) minors dni!

Joel Miller isn’t sure when the exact moment he knew that he loved you. You see, he’s known it for a while. It’s always been there on the tip of his tongue. He’s afraid that it will slip out and if it does, he can’t take it back. It would be out in the open. Bare, raw, vulnerable. Would you even feel the same? He’s too stubborn to admit it outloud. Too stubborn to allow himself to fully feel more than he feels he’s allowed to. He thinks he’s ready to say it when he patches up a wound on your arm. The cut stings. It’s deep in your skin and he watches the way your face constricts when he dabs the wound in antiseptic, wiping away the dry blood and dirt. Your nose scrunches at the slightest and he finds it adorable. He keeps that thought to himself. He thinks he’s ready to say it when you look at him in a different way than usual. There's a smile that graces your face only when you're around him. A lightness in your eyes that you only want him to see. You go out of your way to be near him, close as possible without making it too obvious. He likes the way your fingertips feel against his bicep. Even through the fabric of his worn shirt, he can feel the warmth of your touch.

He thinks he’s ready to say it when you clutch his hand so tight, your knuckles turn white. The life is draining from your eyes as he and Tess work vigorously to save you. He begs you to keep your eyes open, stay with me, please. Baby, baby. Hey, baby. Open your eyes dammit, please. Your eyes are so beautiful. Please let me see them again. You can’t die on him. Not in this way. He hasn’t told you yet and he’ll regret it for the rest of his days living in this hell if he never tells you. He kisses you instead, thinking that his kiss alone can breathe life back into your fading body. He kisses you because he’s afraid it's the last the last time that he’ll ever get the chance to. It’s on the tip of his tongue as his heart screams at him to say it. Say it, Joel. Before it’s too late.

Now you’re here. You’re safe in his arms, beneath his sheets. He’s awake most nights because he’s afraid that this is all just some hopeless dream that he is burning in. He’s afraid that you slip through his fingers like sand along the shoreline. You sleep peacefully in his grasp. Heartbeat steady, soft breaths. He can’t help but watch you. Watch the steady rise and fall of your chest. He watches the way you subconsciously squeeze his hand in your peaceful slumber. He wonders if you dream of him, like he dreams of you. He hates to be lame. He’s never been good at expressing his feelings. His emotions are always one large tangled web that he finds himself trapped in. He thinks you're asleep when he says it. Your eyes flutter when he whispers the words, “I love you.” It falls naturally from his lips, a weight feels lifted off his chest. Oxygen fills his lungs at his confession.

He says it again.

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

He pulls you closer to his body, caging you in his protective warmth. He acts like a shield even when he knows you’re safe.

“I ain’t ever gonna let anythin’ fuckin’ happen to you again. I’ll protect you till my last dyin’ breath.” His tone is hushed. His lips ghost over your forehead as his eyes flutter shut.

“Nothin’ is ever gonna hurt you again, my darlin’ girl. My sunshine. My everything.”

Your eyes are shut but a smile tugs the corner of your lips. Your heart flutters deep in your chest from his words. Joel loves you, and you love him.

“I love you always.”

Joel Miller was irrevocably in love with you. It no longer rested on the tip of his tongue. It no longer hid in the shadows of his heart. He loved you with everything that he had to offer.

Tagging people who I think will enjoy: @chaotic-mystery @peterhollandkait @dinsdjrn @loquaciousferret @last-girl @yazsos @amanitacowboy @lovers-liability @pedgeitopascal @pedrospartner @korynnekorynne @pedrostories @wildemaven

[theafterglow83]

Stray thoughts on a Sunday morning.

5/12/24

Since the release of TTPD I’ve heard and seen a lot of Maylors rising from the grave. Some words of advice- stay buried.

Their claim is that Taylor has had a hidden relationship with Matty Healy for the past 8 years. I’ve even seen some claim Reputation is about him

I laughed.

I’ve heard people say kissgate was to make Matty jealous.

I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes

They even think Maroon is about Matty😂

* shakes head

Let me tell you something honey- NYC ain’t screaming nobody’s name but Karlie Kloss who also just happens to be the only one Taylor’s ever dated who is fit like a daydream and Matty Healy’s lips and disgusting stained teeth are not the lips she called home.

Open the schools!

Dream girls

Do they even realize how utterly ridiculous that is?

Do they process any critical thinking skills whatsoever?

Please tell me why Taylor Swift would have to hide a relationship with a white male her own age ?

What’s the scandal?

Yeah, he’s rough around the edges but PR could have easily ironed him out if she was so in love with him as they claim. Nobody’s worse than the overrated, clout chasing, alcoholic, fading athlete she’s bearding with now. They covered up for him when his old tweets surfaced.

At least they got the hidden relationship part right - but she wasn’t hiding ratty you brainless wonders -she was hiding Karlie Kloss.

There also is that rumor that Taylor had a short lived fling with ol ratty from around Feb- March 2023 till around June. Thing is she was touring through most of that time. He was seen at a couple of concerts and out once in NYC. Hardly the making of a love affair - but a good diversion trail for her beloved Swifties to follow and take the bait that he was her secret lover she was hiding from the world if the topic were to come up in her songs.

The entire thing makes me scratch my head. It’s as crazy as the people who believe Karlie was PR to cover up Taylor’s relationship with Diana ( who there’s been zero connections to her in years) or Lily ( which in my opinion is completely fan fiction)

My God there’s more photos of Karlie with Lily than Taylor and not to mention that Derek Blasberg ( KK’s ride or die) is still friends with Lily. Does anyone really believe he would even associate with her if she betrayed his beloved Karlie.

Use your brains!

And please tell me why you would get Karlie Kloss who had multiple bi/ lesbian rumors attached to her to do a PR relationship with Taylor to cover up the fact that Taylor was bi/ gay.

Open the schools - hire more teachers

All roads always lead to Karlie Kloss … and my God who could blame her! Karlie Kloss is one in a 8 billion. Ratlors - Nice try -crawl back in your hole

Rant over - enjoy your day🤍

[gonegirlaccount]

hey bsf. you totally don't have to do this but it could kinda be like a part two to the last dally fic. after they all find out darry decides to give their relationship a week trial run and if he doesn't like it or something bad happens they have to break up. i saw this idea somewhere forever ago but i can't find the author😭 thsnks babe!

(A/N: my slow ass had to re-read this twice 😭 but I got you stink!!!🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽)

“Uh-Oh!” Curtis!Fem!reader X Dallas Winston. Part 2

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

After the long conversation you had with your brothers about you dating Dally, Darry came up with something.

It made you upset to hear when Darry said “I don’t like this relationship but I’ll give it a chance. For a week. If I don’t like it or see something bad that I don’t like ya doing (Y/N), then you and Dally will have to break up.” You felt tears prick at your eyes. “That ain’t fair! You all be hanging out with greasers and stuff but when I date one, it’s a total headache for you all! That ain’t fair!” You argued with your oldest brother.

“(Y/N), if ya don’t start listenin’, I’ll start restricting you from seeing him from now on till you die.” Darry stated firmly. You gave an annoyed sigh and looked away, upset . “Fine.” You grumbled.

But you started thinking about it. It’s simple! Just bring Dallas over to the house and act all good and stuff, Darry will have no choice but to let you date him!

Easy, right?

Wrong.

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

Almost everytime you and Dally went out for one of y’alls midnight adventures, somebody from the gang was always tailing the both of ya! But the most annoying out of them all was Two-Bit.

He wasn’t even discreet or sneaky about it! He just came up and wrapped his arms around both of you whenever it was his time to spy on y’all. (More like third wheel.)

On the fourth day, Dallas did something bad. He shoplifted. A beautiful necklace just for you. You loved it and thought it was the most stunning jewelry ever but you knew Darry would instantly make you break up if he saw it.

So you hid it. In your bra drawer. And it was successful! Darry never found out about it. So Dally kept shoplifting and bring your more beautiful jewelry. And you’d give him the sweetest kiss ever as a thank you to him.

Fortunately, the gang never saw him do this but if they did, they kept quiet about it.

But then on the fifth, almost close to the end of the week, Pony told on you again. You got upset and you kept asking why he would do this to his sweet older sister.

He told you it was because he wanted you to be safe and not get into trouble because you’re his sister and you’re the best thing ever(even though you were mad at him, his reason was cute enough to cool down your anger). He told Soda, who told Darry, who told you to come to the living room, with Dallas.

“Shoplifting jewelry? Then puttin’ it on her? She could go to jail for Christ’s sake Dally! And she’s a good girl.” Darry scolds Dallas.

“Darry, please, he was just tryna show me he’s a good boyfriend! Darry, please, pretty please, let me stay with him! I…I love him!” You pleaded, clasping your hands together in a beggar way.

Darry looked at you then looked away. He knew what you were doing. You we’re using the puppy dog eyes on him. He hated the fact you could get whatever your heart desired. And it desired Dallas.

He sighed, upset as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Y/N…” He began. “Yes!” You perked up, looking up at him. “If I let you continue to date Dallas, do you promise me you won’t get in trouble with the police, you won’t get pregnant, you won’t do anything dangerous that could possibly kill you or somebody else?”

You nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes, yes! I promise! Oh, thank you Darry!” You smiled and hugged him tightly. He sighed and smiled, hugging you back and patting your head.

Dallas just grinned at the scene and started to leave before you turned to him. “Wait Dally! I’ll be with ya in a second.” You said, letting go of your brother and putting back your sneakers on.

“Don’t teach her how to do anything illegal Dally!” He yelled out after the both of you.

“Too late Darry!” Dallas laughed and so did you.

That’s when you saw Darry come out of the house with his shoes on. He was coming after the both of you. Well more specifically, Dally.

“Uh-oh!” You and Dallas laughed before running off and away to somewhere.

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

I tried my best with this yall���🏽

[thaywrites]

ᯓ★ PALAYE ROYALE PROMPTS, a collection of prompts / lyrics taken from palaye royale’s songs from their album, fever dream— part one.

( mentions of possibly triggering subjects such as violence, self-harm, death, drug abuse, and more. )

✦ ETERNAL LIFE

it feels like the worst days of my life, i still drown in paradise.

i didn’t think i could sink this low.

keep me company ’til the end, does anyone else feel this alone?

my best days are my demise.

i feel pretty when i cry, i’m so ugly when i try.

hallucinations taking off, i’m playing god.

i’m holdin’ out my hands and changing everything i hate about myself.

take me far from me — my worst enemy.

i wanna crawl away into eternal life.

✦ NO LOVE IN LA

livin’ in the moonlight, lookin’ at the hills but the hills don’t shine right.

lookin’ at her nose but the shit don’t blow right.

you can change your face but the pain won’t go away.

addicted to the fame but the fame is momentarily reality.

the creeps are crawling up to the doorways, they’re dying to find out what’s inside.

the creeps are always posting their photos to show off what they’re lacking inside.

on a private jet but you can’t afford your rent.

gettin’ high with fake friends ’cause that’s all you got.

i’m late for my own premiere. maybe i should leave, my dear.

it seems to me that the demons of the city wanna keep me here.

there is no such thing as love in LA.

they’re judging me, i’m judging you. we ain’t got nothing else to do.

✦ PUNCHING BAG.

go ahead and mold me. bought me and then sold me.

i’m smiling upside down.

now i’m all used up, ready for my close up.

am i pretty underground?

i can be your barbie, i can say sorry. i can do whatever you want.

go ahead and slap me if it makes you happy.

use and abuse me till i’m gone.

go on, make my day. go get high on my mistakes.

i wake up, i’m so glad i can be your punching bag.

if you want me, come and take me. because i love the way you hate me.

heaven’s what they sold me, but now i miss the old me before i got stuck in hell.

walking down the street, just a public enemy

this is goodbye, you bled me dry.

this is goodnight, my soul has died.

i gave you my all — you built me up to fall.

✦ BROKEN

i’m trying to be the man that you wanted to see.

cause i’m tired and i’m hurt, and i always try to put you first.

but you say i’m not worth it to you — so why are you worth it to me?

you break my heart cause you’re never home, always with your friends.

i try so hard but you’re just playing games.

i needed you tonight but you got high again.

heartbreaks and mistakes with no change. how did we become this way?

the nights are long and the days won’t end.

no more love between us, let’s not pretend.

✦ FEVER DREAM

don’t look around at all the faces abound.

don’t look behind you cause we are stuck underground.

can you see the words i’m up here tryna preach?

no need to cry, you’ll never find me trying to leave.

cause i see that you’re in pain from your pale and lifeless face.

tell me how it’s fair to put a loved one underground.

follow me into this fever dream — we can be anything and everything we want to be.

✦ LINE IT UP

i’m feeling like a stranger cause i’m stuck here. living like my parents is my worst fear.

they had some kids and got lost in the suburbs, working jobs they hated made them suffer.

crashing in these secondhand motel rooms, driving cross the country ’cause i want to.

i can’t slow down because i’m scared to stand still.

i can’t go home because it feels like hell.

and i’d rather die than live my father’s life and pretend like i’m satisfied.

so line it up for me, steal away my dreams.

cause i don’t need no sleeping when i’m diving off the deep end.

why should i come back to earth when all that’s there is tears and hurt?

diving off the edge feels good, i’m finally not misunderstood.

i’d rather die than ever live my life that way.

✦ TOXIC IN YOU

i can take another hit and overdose ’til you make me sick.

you know i don’t love the shame in my brain when i put you inside my veins.

i can’t take it anymore, will i ever even make it out the door?

all this fucking and fighting that i keep inviting could lead me to my grave.

now i’m self-medicating because i love the pain.

i keep feeling like I’m not enough but i don’t run away from you.

knock me down and twist me up until i’m all fucked up but i don’t run from you.

i guess i’ll asphyxiate — let my heart break straight in two and now i’m turning blue.

don’t know what to do. i just love the toxic in you.

my straight jacket holds me tight and says i’m okay.

locked myself in prison and then i threw away the key.

[thekidsarentalright]

county line, i’m counting down mailboxes until my house. This place had a heartbeat in its day, vail bought the mountains and nothin’ was the same. Yes, the boys are drunk, the sun is high, their license plates “live free or die” but it ain’t that simple, it never was. We’ll drink ‘till New Years then they’ll leave me to clean up. One day, I’m gonna ride like paul revere, and when they ask me who i am, i’ll say i’m not from around here. I’ll leave before the road crews out, before those joggers lookin’ way too proud, and i’ll turn up the music and i’ll forget, until it ends, that i’m not ready to let go yet. One day i’m gonna cut it clear, ride like paul revere and when they ask me who i am, i’ll just pretend i didn’t hear. It’s typical, i fear, folks just disappear and when they ask me who i am, i’ll say i’m not from around here. But I’m in my car, and i see the yard, the patch of grass where we buried the dog, and the world makes sense, behind a chain link fence. if i could leave i wouldve already left. btw. if u care

[ninadove]

Nina reads Dracula 🦇

September 26th

I thought never to write in this diary again, but the time has come. When I got home last night Mina had supper ready, and when we had supped she told me of Van Helsing's visit, and of her having given him the two diaries copied out, and of how anxious she has been about me. She showed me in the doctor's letter that all I wrote down was true. It seems to have made a new man of me. It was the doubt as to the reality of the whole thing that knocked me over. I felt impotent, and in the dark, and distrustful. But, now that I know, I am not afraid, even of the Count.

I love you, my good friend Jonathaaan 🎶

I would listen to him go on praising Mina for a day, so I simply nodded and stood silent.

I ain’t never gonna stop loving you, my good friend Jonathaaaaan 🎶

Dr. Seward's Diary. 26 September. — Truly there is no such thing as finality.

Mood.

I had a letter from Arthur, written on Sunday, and from it I gather that he is bearing up wonderfully well. Quincey Morris is with him, and that is much of a help, for he himself is a bubbling well of good spirits.

It’s hard to stay sad when you have your very own cowboy boyfriend (cowboyfriend…?)

"Do you mean to tell me, friend John, that you have no suspicion as to what poor Lucy died of; not after all the hints given, not only by events, but by me?"

Every day this novel feels more like a Professor Layton game

Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain.

I want this embroidered and framed

Can you tell me why, when other spiders die small and soon, that one great spider lived for centuries in the tower of the old Spanish church and grew and grew, till, on descending, he could drink the oil of all the church lamps?

Taking notes, because spiders are typically associated with Renfield. The symbolism here is interesting.

Can you tell me why in the Pampas, ay and elsewhere, there are bats that come at night and open the veins of cattle and horses and suck dry their veins; how in some islands of the Western seas there are bats which hang on the trees all day, and those who have seen describe as like giant nuts or pods, and that when the sailors sleep on the deck, because that it is hot, flit down on them, and then—and then in the morning are found dead men, white as even Miss Lucy was?

I need an AU where Van Helsing explored the pampa for his research and took on Quincey as his apprentice.

Professor, let me be your pet student again.

[Spit take]

Ah, you are my favourite pupil still.

Okay then

"You think then that those so small holes in the children's throats were made by the same that made the hole in Miss Lucy?"

"I suppose so." He stood up and said solemnly:—

"Then you are wrong. Oh, would it were so! but alas! no. It is worse, far, far worse."

"In God's name, Professor Van Helsing, what do you mean?" I cried.

He threw himself with a despairing gesture into a chair, and placed his elbows on the table, covering his face with his hands as he spoke:—

"They were made by Miss Lucy!"

"Dr. Van Helsing, are you mad?"

A reasonable question.

"Madness were easy to bear compared with truth like this. Oh, my friend, why, think you, did I go so far round, why take so long to tell you so simple a thing? Was it because I hate you and have hated you all my life? Was it because I wished to give you pain? Was it that I wanted, now so late, revenge for that time when you saved my life, and from a fearful death? Ah no!"

OK can we pause a second and get the full Van Helsing lore please.

I drew near and looked. The coffin was empty.

I was too cold and too sleepy to be keenly observant, and not sleepy enough to betray my trust so altogether I had a dreary, miserable time.

Again, mood.

< Prev 🦇 Next >

[ripperdoc-is-daddy]

Cuddle Puddle

Adult Alpha!KiriBakuTodoDeku x Omega!reader

Reader is Afro-Arab coded. READER IS AFAB!

Cuddle Puddle is a term that originated within the Polyam community. This is a Polyam friendly FLUFF fic!

Please Like, Reblog and follow if you enjoyed reading <3

Your friends always underestimated you. This all started because they teased you and said you couldn't make a nest for one let alone multiple people! It was an ongoing joke that greatly irritated you. One day you finally had enough and you decided to prove all of them wrong!

You don't start building your nest till the next warm, rainy day. You make it big enough for six people to cuddle or flop in comfortably. They would still be forced to touch each other though. The thought brings a smirk to your eye because who doesn't enjoy messing with an Alpha's mind every so often?  

Once everything is perfect in your den you text each man and let them know you are finished. You weren't gonna demand they show up. They were grown-ass adults with busy lives and jobs. They would show when they showed up. The first one to arrive being the loudest one to brag about being the first in your next, EVER! Naturally.   

Towards the evening you are disturbed from your book reading by your doorbell being rang incessantly and your door being knocked on so hard you think it might split. Dreading such repairs, you hop out of your nest, dart out the den, and down the hall past your living room then into the foyer. "Mooooving!" you yell loud enough as you slip on a Hawks house robe. The little wings make you smile as they bounce.  

A few giggles later and you open the door on your friends. Katsuki is mid-knock when you open the door and Shouto is just staring at you with his finger just above your ringer.  

"Wanna come in?" you ask, noticing that all four of them are here. And they come bearing gifts. Jumping back, you step aside and allow them entry into your home. Eyeballing their offerings as they pass you, remove their shoes and place on their house slippers. The men set their gifts on the table and you zerg rush yourself over and began to pull the items out their bags.   

First up is Izuku Midoriya! He brought you an extra-large bowl of Tendon and seafood pho! You cheer happily and do a lil happy wiggle. Taking the lid off the container you deeply inhale the scent of the contents. The sweet yet savory aroma has you salivating. “Thanks, Izuku!” you say beaming up at him as you move on to Shouto’s offering. Inside was a cute plushie of a D20 that you had been wanting ever since the company announced it. You chuck it at his head playfully, expecting him to catch it. Instead, it bounces off and rolls onto the ground. Your group looks down at the die as it comes to a complete halt.  

“Nat 20” Shouto announces and the rest of you swear.   

“Of course, your head would alter the dice roll. I call interference!” Katsuki barks out angrily as he snatched up the bright red and black official Sorcerers of the Peninsula die. You pop it up into the air a few times then chuck it at the Ashen Blonde’s head. It makes contact and bounces off his nose to roll on the floor. He starts to yell and you shush him pointing to the settled die on the ground. “An 11.” Izuku states as he returns from your kitchen, he had disappeared off to with a spoon and some chopsticks.   

The green-haired man busies himself setting up your pho while you cheese at a ranting Katsuki. “Aye, simma down now! It ain’t that big. You just ain’t shit, that’s all.” you taunt the Sanguine-eyed man and duck behind his best friend. “Not my fault you suck.” you continue to antagonize the ripped man while his equally as shredded, yet taller bestie held him back laughing.  

“Enough you two! Come on Bakubro, you know she is just doing this to get a rise out of you. This isn’t very manly of you. Let it roll off your shoulder.” Eijiro says with mirth as he rests his hands on the blonde's shoulder. Katsuki glares at the both of you then storms away to one of your dining chairs and plops down into it. “Whatever, hurry up and open the gifts. I want to see this amazing nest you supposedly made,” he growls out.   

You flip him off, grab the taller redhead’s basketball shorts waist and pull him with you towards the table. Not failing to miss how the other three alphas stiffen at the action. Eijiro loops an arm around your waist when you stand in front of the black walnut circular table and points to his gift. The only one actually wrapped. You hum and look up at him. The sharp-toothed ginger leans down and nuzzles your neck. Which gets him growls from the others but a happy chirp from you as you return the action and nuzzle into his cheek. “Mine next,” he says motioning with his finger towards the parcel.   

You take your hand off his elastic and bend over to grab the package. This time you failed to see how their eyes roved over your body. Taking in every curve before they would collectively swallow and send each other warning glares. You grab the parcel, none the wiser and bounce on your heels happily.   

“Aiight! Let’s see what’s in this baby! Can I shake it?” You inquire impatiently. “Do whatever you want, gorgeous,” he replies nuzzling into your Jumbo Bantu Knots. You had them done up into a mohawk crown of sorts. Little gold clasps and cowrie shells interlaced into the braids that made up the knots. The decorations were also a gift from Kirishima from a few years back.   

Wiggling your butt to-and-fro you chirp again then tear into the brown parchment paper that wrapped the inner contents. You then shriek which has every alpha in the room standing up and surveying for a threat except for the man holding your waist. “I take it you like them?” He questions rhetorically. Your head nods frantically and you can’t stop wiggling happily against his abdomen. “Yaaas! I love them! Thank you!” your turn in his arms and jump up to give him a neck hug after setting the box down.   

The other agitated alphas in the room lean over the table to see what was in the box that had you so excited. Several groans and facepalms follow. “Should have known it.” Grumbles Katsuki who is now sitting on your table with Shouto. Izuku is watching your interaction with the redhead with a strange look in his eyes. The redhead smirks at each of the other men while your back is turned and brings you in closer. Pressing you tighter against his body.   

You let go of Kirishima’s neck and pry yourself out of his grasp. You are used to tight bear hugs from the man. He releases you with a deep, throaty chuckle and you return to your gift. Several sets of waist beads in various colors. Including a solid leather and cowrie set. You hear the blonde huff and you give him a warning side-eye. Setting the box aside, you thank Eijiro again then motion for the grumpy Bakugou to give you, his gift.   

He glares daggers at you but is forced to relent after a tic. With the most dramatic sigh you have heard from the blonde since you have met him, he shoves a pretty emerald green gift bag into your chest which you barely catch. It slightly crumples with the force of his exertion and he winces. “My bad,” he says in a form of apology. That catches all of you off guard. Your head nods slowly as you reply while reaching into the bag to get at its contents. “Iz all good homie. You jus’ excited right?” You wink at him lightening the mood.   

Your hand touches several cold objects and you stare down into the bag. Vision obstructed by the purple and yellow decorative paper shoved into the bag. Your eyebrow quirks up at him and he blushes. Turning his head to the side. That was new.    

You flip the bag upside down over the table and the contents spill out. You separate each item out into its own pile and gasp. Katsuki had gotten you your favorite brand of henna cones, bangles for your wrists and ankles, armlets, necklaces, new rings for your fingers, ears, and nose as well as a very beautiful and out-of-place tasfift. You pick up the golden headpiece embedded with emeralds and rubies and look over at him. He was looking away from you but you knew he could feel the burning intensity from your stare.   

Which you held until he turned to meet your gaze.   

You were going to question him on if he knew what set this particular piece of jewelry belonged to until you saw his normally tanned skin taking a tinge of red from the blush. All the way down to his neck. Ooooh. He knows. Now that is different.  You opt to tuck your lips inward towards your mouth and bounce your head breaking eye contact whilst humming. “Thank you, Katsuki. Especially for this. I’ll be honored to wear it when time comes.” You say politely with a delicate, slow nod in his direction.  

The other men shrugged not understanding what was going on while you carefully placed each item of jewelry back into the bag and set it off to the side while you went to your noodles that Midoriya has prepared exactly the way you loved them. The men have a silent conversation between themselves while you noisily slurp your noodles. Izuku’s dark emerald eyes glittered with joy. You suspect the man probably made it himself judging his reaction.  

Your bowl is finished off and quickly replenished by the Hunter green-haired man who then exits your dining room to go to your living room. You can hear them talking quietly amongst themselves while you continue to eat and think over the thoughtfulness of each of their gifts. You would need to do something for each of them in return for their kindness. You finished up and cleaned up before you went to go join the men folk.   

Lightly padding into your living room, you sneak up behind Katsuki and poke your head in between his arms and his side. “Whatcha whisperin’ abouts?” you inquire casually. The blonde stares down at you with his eyebrows twitching. The other three are different shades of lightish red and avoid eye contact with you.   

Your throat clears and you snap your fingers to get a response from them. Which was a series of growls as they reminded you of their secondary genders. Standing up and wedging yourself against Katsuki’s side you ignore their bullshit and motion to the group. “Y’all done gossiping like biddies and ready to see my magnum opus?” You try your best to sound blasé but come off instead as mischievous. Not helped by the ass slap you give the Sanguine-eyed man. You know your forwardness would catch them all off guard and that was fine by you. This was your home and you would do whatever the fuck you want.   

Extracting yourself from his body, you skip out the room and down the hall to your den. Bounding in and jumping into your nest. Bundling yourself up into your favorite blankets and waiting for the four alphas to grow a set and venture in after you. Because right now they were staring into the room but not entering it. Looking between themselves and the wiggling mass of blankets with only a set of eyes peering out that was you in the center.   

You see them playing a short game of rock, paper, scissors that ends with Shouto as the winner. The heterochromatic-eyed man steps in cautiously and smoothly approaches your max comfort and cozy nest. He can smell the items he scented somewhere behind you and off to the side. This pleases him. Not so much the odors of the other scented items you got from the other men. He chose to ignore that and present the underside of his wrist to you and lower his head exposing his neck to you in askance to enter your nest.   

You chuck a strawberry shortcake plushie at his head as you accept his request. He chuckles at your unusual way of saying yes and creeps into your space. Stealthing his way to his section of your nest. Well, he assumes it is his since his scent is all over it but it is still your nest and only your nest until you say otherwise.   

Next up is Izuku. His section is in front of Shouto’s. He pokes at the edge and pleads with his eyes for you to let him in. Tapping the tips of his index fingers together. You nod your head and bean him with an All Might Plush he got you several years ago. Apparently, it was a rare one from his Silver Era. Whatever that meant. You weren’t an All Might stan. He cheered, picked up the plush, and went to inspect the section that smelled so strongly of him. Giving an apprehensive nod to Shouto when they made eye contact.  

Ignoring that weirdness, you waited for the next plebian. Eijiro strode up confidently and sat down but back ramrod straight smiling down at you. He winked as he presented his bare, exposed wrist to you then lowered his head so his neck was open to all. You smashed a confetti-colored octopus plush into the top of his head and growled. He grabbed your forearm and pulled you slightly out of your mass of blankets to playfully snap at you. You stick your tongue out at him and he releases you chuckling. He walks off to your side as you reburrow yourself into your warm pile. “This is amazing! You really put your all into it didn’t you?” he beams and speaks to you as he looks at his section of the nest and fawns over everything.   

That leaves one Katsuki Bakugou as the final person to ask entrance to your nest. He doesn’t look very comfortable and you can imagine why. No alpha wants to willingly share a nest with any other alpha if they can help it. You think he is going to leave with the way he is shifting his weight but he surprises you and approaches your nest. You peel the blankets off of your head and sit up to receive his request. The other three alphas also turn to watch.   

Your jaw hits the floor when Bakugou kneels and presses his forehead to the floor with his arms folded in front of him, fingertips touching in a formal submission. The other Alphas bristle and look at each other over your head and make varied gestures that you fail to catch cuz your attention and focus is solely on the man before you. This is the second overt gesture he has made towards you that has caught your attention this day. The first being the tasfift from earlier.   

Not wanting to disrespect his formal and proper ask you lean over and tap his neck with the tips of your index, middle, and ring fingers of one of your hands. Dragging them back up to rest at the top of his head above his brow. Two more taps and you retract your exposed limb and hunker back down in your blankets. Not feeling so bold as to continue that exchange in front of the other alphas in the room.  

Katsuki sits back up, nods to you then walks off to his spot behind Kirishima and across from Izuku. The men busy themselves with the inspection of their respective areas. Saying their "oo’s" and "ahh’s" at the different items you had stashed. Shocked you kept certain things and touched you had others. A few items like old hoodies you had lied about and said you lost were called into question to which you would feign an “I have no idea how that got there. Weeeird.” while they glared at you.  

Eventually, you got bored and turned on the tv that was in the room and began watching a vampire flick. It looked cheesy but that was ok. You enjoyed B movies. You are halfway through by your own assumption when Katsuki’s burnt caramel scent invades your nose and you are pulled back against his chest. Eijiro’s head finds your lap while Shouto and Izuku’s hands claim your own.  

The actions take you by surprise but you opt to not draw attention to the situation. They don’t smell agitated nor are they acting annoyed. They instead seem to be content to relax and just vibe with you while watching your “Shitty and poor taste!” movie. The label courtesy of the broody blonde whose torso was warming your back.   

At some point, you all fell asleep in one mass cuddle puddle. Everyone curled up tightly around everyone else. Arms slung around each other as the alpha men made a warm, comforting and secure circle around you. Protecting you from whatever might dare disturb or threaten y’all. You couldn’t tell who was where but the security that they provided collectively lured you deeper into your sleep and the last coherent thought you had before REM took you was that you were grateful to your alphas and loved them.   

FIN 

[halaxia]

𓇢𓆸 ever and evermore

❧ welcome to my evermore event!

❧ i will be posting works inspired by songs from taylor swift’s evermore with one song for each character i most associate them with.

❧ this event is multifandom and contains character(s) from jujutsu kaisen, spy x family, bleach, bungo stray dogs, obey me, my hero academia, chainsaw man, death note, and attack on titan.

❧ all works for this event will come under the hashtag #ೄྀ࿐ evermore ˊˎ- for easy navigation :)

❧ if you would like to be tagged under any (or all) works for this event, let me know either with an ask, dm, or in the comments <3

❧ willow — nanami kento | “i’m begging for you to take my hand, wreak my plans, that’s my man.”

❧ champagne problems — loid forger | “left you out there standing crestfallen on the landing, champagne problems.”

❧ gold rush — kurosaki ichigo | “i don’t like that falling feels like flying ‘till the bones crush; everybody wants you, but i don’t like a gold rush.”

❧ ‘tis the damn season — itadori yuji | “it always leads to you in my hometown.”

❧ tolerate it — akutagawa ryunosuke | “i know my love should be celebrated, but you tolerate it.”

❧ no body, no crime — todoroki touya | “but i ain’t letting up until the day i die.”

❧ happiness — hirofumi yoshida | “haunted by the look in my eyes that would have loved you for a lifetime.”

❧ dorthea — fushiguro megumi | “and if you’re ever tired of being known for who you know, you know, you always know me.”

❧ coney island — yagami light | “sorry for not making you my centrefold.”

❧ ivy — gojo satoru | “my pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand; taking mine, but it’s been promised to another.”

❧ cowboy like me — mammon | “takes one to know one; you’re a cowboy like me.”

❧ long story short — okkotsu yuta | “long story short, it was a bad time; long story short, i survived.”

❧ marjorie — geto suguru | “…cause every scrap of you would be taken from me.”

❧ closure — roronoa zoro | “it’s been a long time; and seeing the shape of your name still spells out pain.”

❧ evermore — hayakawa aki | “can’t not think of all the cost; and the things that will be lost.”

❧ right where you left me — eren yeager | “everybody moved on; i, i stayed there.”

❧ it’s time to go — jean kirschtein | “when keeping it how it is will only break their hearts worse.”

[cosmicjoke]

Winter

Winters in the Underground are bleak.

It’s the drafts, Furlan knows, coming in through the holes in the caverns roof, the ice melt which sinks down through the sewer grates, and flurries of fat, freezing flakes of snow. There is no sun to melt it as it carries on the strange currents of wind which suck down like a vortex into the open space, blowing endlessly through the dark tunnels of their world.

Isabel hates it. Complains constantly about how cold it is, shivering and shaking as she tries in vain to warm herself by their pitiful firepit.

Levi bears it like he bears everything. In silence, grim faced and unreadable.

Though, sometimes, Furlan catches the tremble in his small hands.

This year is worse than usual.

There’s a famine up above, apparently. No rain during this last spring resulting in fields of dead crops.

It’s well hard enough getting food down here, even when things up top are thriving.

But people struggling for food on the surface meant people starving to death in the Underground.

It’s been hard for everyone, even the three of them, who usually did a descent enough job staying afloat, thanks, mainly, to Levi.

But these last, few weeks, they’ve had to take to scrounging through the gutters in hopes of finding some tossed out and molding piece of bread, or wilting, days old vegetables, just to get by.

There’s no food. The merchants from the surface willing to come here, few and far between as they are, have all packed up their stalls and left, and whoever’s left has nothing to sell at all, stands left bare and empty, their owners gone and out of sight.

Levi had managed to hit one of the fleeing merchants about a month back now and steal a sizable sack of dried goods from him, and they’d been living off that ever since. But, between the three of them, even with Levi skipping meals and leaving the bulk to Furlan and Isabel, much to their dismay and protests, they’d finally bled the haul dry, and now they had nothing.

Each new day was weighted with uncertainty, then, as to whether they would eat or not.

They all knew what starvation felt like. They’d all been through it.

That didn’t make bearing it any easier.

It didn’t make the pain, or the fear, go away.

And the cold was only making things so much worse.

It was fucking freezing, even holed up in their little space as they were, clinging to each other for what little warmth they could share. Levi has his arms around both of them, drawing them against his sides as they hunch with their heads together in front of their meager fire, and Furlan can feel Levi shaking just as violently as he and Isabel.

Through the thin material of Levi’s shirt, Furlan can feel his ribs and the ridges of his spine. He’s lost a lot of weight, from skipping so many meals these last weeks.

“… I’m gonna’ die, ain’t I?” Isabel’s voice breaks the pressing silence, dried and cracked and barely more than a whisper.

Furlan feels Levi stiffen.

“Don’t be talkin’ like that.” He scolds her, his own voice barely seeming stronger. “You ain’t gonna’ die.”

“… B-but I’m so hungry, B-Big Bro, and… and I’m cold. Oh, God…”

“I know. But ya ain’t gonna’ die, Izzy. I wouldn’t let that happen. Alright? You trust me, don’t ‘cha?”

“Y-yeah Big Bro. Yeah…”

Levi’s arms squeeze tighter around them, and the room goes silent again, but for the pops and crackles of the fire.

Furlan squeezes his eyes tight and bites the inside of his cheek ‘till he tastes blood.

He knows Levi means it. He means it when he says he isn’t gonna’ let them die. Knows Levi would give his last damned breath to keep both him and Isabel going. But… strong as Levi is, it doesn’t amount to much when there just isn’t any food to be had.

Shit… they might have to resort to trying to catch rats soon, if things don’t improve.

Furlan doesn’t think Levi would eat a rat. He doesn’t think Levi could bear it, twitchy as he is about disease and filth and the like.

Something to do with his mother, Furlan thinks, who Levi told him died from disease when he’d been a child. He hadn’t said more than that; Levi rarely spoke about himself at all. But Furlan can guess at the ugliness of the thing.

“… I’ll go out and look for somethin’ to eat. You two stay here.” Levi says after a while, and he starts to stand.

Furlan is slow to react, his energy sapped almost to nothing, and it takes too long for Levi’s words to process. By the time they do, Levi is already wrapping his cloak around his shoulders.

“Levi, wait…” he starts to protest, beginning to stand. “you can’t go out there now. It’s too cold. You’ll…”

“Stay here Furlan. You and Izzy keep holdin’ each other, try to stay warm. I’ll be back soon as I can.”

“Levi, please, you could die out there…”

Levi just shakes his head, starting for the door.

“I’ll be alright. I’m strong Furlan. You know that.”

“Y-yeah, but…”

“I’ll be fine. Stay with Izzy. Don’t leave. Don’t come after me neither. Alright? I’ll be back, soon as I can.”

Before Furlan can lodge any more protests, Levi is gone, the shabby wooden door creaking shut behind him, and Furlan feels what’s left of his energy drain outta him as he sinks back to the floor. Isabel throws her arms around him, burying her face against his shoulder.

“H-he’ll be alright, won’t he Furlan? Big Bro’s the strongest, s-so he’ll be alright. Yeah?”

Furlan puts his arm around her, laying his cheek to the crown of her head and holding her tight against his side.

“… Yeah.” He promises, and wishes he felt as confident as he forces himself to sound. “He’ll be alright.”

//

Levi doesn’t come back ‘till almost four hours have gone by. Isabel had fallen asleep, somehow, and Furlan had been grateful for it, because he’d been starting to grow sick with worry, more and more convinced with each second that past that something horrible had happened to Levi.

He didn’t know what they would do if something happened to Levi.

He didn’t know how they would survive.

But then Levi walks in through the door, carrying a heavy looking sack over his shoulder.

Furlan stands immediately from where he’s still sat by the dwindling fire, stumbling forward a step, before coming to a halt partway, eyes wide.

Levi’s got blood on his face, a thick smear of it coated across his brow, over his eyes, running from what Furlan can see is a large gash, just a little above his left temple. Gaze dropping to his hands, and Furlan sees Levi’s cut up and already swelling knuckles.

He’s been in a fight, then. A bad one, from the looks of it.

Furlan can’t help the words which spring unbidden to his tongue, a tight, sick knot in his gut.

“What happened?”

Levi looks dolefully back at him, silent.

It wasn’t that Furlan was surprised.

Levi was rough stock. He came from some kind of hardship extreme even from down in this place, and for a long time, violence was his only friend. The only thing he could depend on to make it from day to day. Furlan knows that. He knows. Even though Levi rarely spoke about his life before he met him, or Isabel. You could hardly miss the scars littering the kid’s hands, or all over his body. Knife fights, long, gnarled ropes of raised, white skin, some clean and straight, some jagged and twisted, like whoever’d done the cutting meant to make it ugly as possible. There were starburst shaped patterns of raw, too smooth skin on his chest, parallel in place on his back, and Furlan knew those to be entry and exit wounds from bullets.

Yeah, Levi was rough stock, and he’d made his way before mostly through fighting.

That was the thing down here, in this place. Predators picked off the weakest looking prey, and Levi was small. Just a tiny kid. The top of his head barely reached to Furlan’s chin. Hell, Furlan knows, when he’d first seen Levi, he’d thought like everyone else. Short, scrawny looking kid, should be an easy mark, even though, by then, there’d started to be talk of a scrappy little midget who could take down men twice, three times his size, even. And like everyone else, Furlan had wanted to see if the rumors were true.

Well… Levi was rough stock. He was fucking terrifying. Stronger than any man Furlan had ever seen. He’d felt it, one time. How strong Levi really was. One time, when a guy from a rival gang had come charging at Furlan, ready to sink his knife into his back, and Levi had caught Furlan by the arm and jerked him outta the way before it could happen. In his panic, Levi’d grabbed him hard, harder than he’d meant to, Furlan knows, and the power in his hands, in his grip, had stolen the breath right outta his lungs. He could break bones with his bare hands. Furlan knew it then sure as he knows his own name. And then that’s what he did. He took hold of the man who’d tried to put a knife in Furlan’s back, and he’s crushed his hand. Mangled it, ‘till he couldn’t hold a knife, or any other kind of weapon, ever again.

You didn’t fuck with Levi.

That’s what kept Furlan and Isabel safe. Because everyone knew. You try anything with them, and it was Levi you’d bring down on your own head. And you didn’t fuck with Levi.

Unless you were the MP’s. They fucked with Levi all the time, ‘cause they fucked with everyone, down here, and ‘cause they knew Levi wasn’t fool enough to kill no government workers. That’d draw attention. That’d get people from up above involved. And Levi was always telling him and Isabel, it was best not to get people from up above involved, ‘cause they had money, and money gave ‘em power, and they could take everything from them. Levi was always saying. They could take everything.

Furlan’s eyes catch on the sack over Levi’s shoulder. It’s one of those stitched potato sacks, starched white, and printed out in bold, black letters across the front, are the words “Government Property”.

Well, shit…

“Levi… what happened?” Furlan asks again.

Levi slides the sack down, lying it gentle onto the floor.

He doesn’t say anything as he kneels down on one knee, starts undoing the tie round the bags end.

“Levi… did you kill military police?” And even as the words leave him, Furlan feels a dizzying horror in his head, threatening to black out his vision. If Levi killed police, then…

“… I didn’t kill ‘em. Just roughed a couple up. They ain’t dead. Just socked ‘em, some.”

“Levi…”

“They did me first. I… I tried talkin’ to ‘em Furlan. You know how I ain’t good with no words. But I tried talkin’. I told ‘em I could do stuff for ‘em, if they was willin’ to spare some ‘a their food. They got… all this food, Furlan. More ‘an they need. It ain’t fair. It ain’t right, down here, what you got people starvin’ to death, droppin’ dead in the streets from starvin’, and cold. I told ‘em Fur… I said…”

“Levi, alright. It’s alright.” Furlan says, keeping his voice even and level.

Levi got like this, sometimes. He got emotional, like this. He kept himself so even keeled most of the time. Was most of the time so reserved. He only got worked up like this when he was real upset about something.

Levi sniffs, wipes the back of his hand against his nose, and keeps working at the bags tie. He gets it open after a minute, and starts pulling what Furlan can see are dried goods, mostly. Crackers, standard military rations, some cans of beans. Stuff like that.

Levi’s hands are shaking.

“… What did you tell ‘em you could do for them, Levi?” Furlan asks, even though he doesn’t want to.

Again, Levi says nothing, just keeps pulling the goods from the bag.

There’s a lot.

Enough to last ‘em several weeks, Furlan thinks.

Their lives are saved.

“Levi, you didn’t…”

“I said, ‘cause, like… you know.” Levi cuts him off. “I said I could do ‘em some jobs. If they needed anything, like… like, I could steal stuff for ‘em, or what. You know how good I am at that stuff Furlan. You know, ‘cause I’m small. I can sneak into any place. You know it, right?”

Furlan nods.

“Sure do, Levi.”

“Well, but then they got to laughin’ at me. And one of ‘em says, he says, what I could do for him is suck his dick, ‘cause I’m… ‘cause he says, I’m the perfect height for it. And they were laughin’ at me Furlan. And I got mad. So I beat ‘em up, and took a bag. They got dozens ‘a bags, Furlan. They won’t miss just the one.”

“… Okay.”

“They were laughin’ at me Furlan. They�� they used to laugh at Mama like that. I remember. They used to laugh at her just like that. I got mad.”

“Okay.” Furlan feels his heart sink.

“But I didn’t kill ‘em. I just socked ‘em good.”

“… What happened to your head?” Furlan tries, and Levi blinks at him.

Furlan points to his own head, near his temple, and he sees understanding come into Levi’s eyes.

“… Yeah. I socked the one who said about my height, and the other one came in and hit me with his billy. Caught me good too. I almost went down.”

“God, Levi…”

Levi shakes his head.

“But I kept my feet. Kenny says to me, you gotta’ keep your feet, no matter. No matter what they hit you with. So I kept my feet, and I socked him too. I just knocked ‘em cold Furlan. I didn’t kill ‘em, so you don’t gotta’ worry none about that. Don’t worry none. Only, maybe we’ll have to move soon, in case anyone comes sniffin’ around. Them MP’s don’t like to be stolen from. You ask me, they’re the ones stealin’. There’s people starvin’ to death in the street, Furlan. There’s little babies dead out there in the cold.”

“I know, Levi.”

Levi looks at him, and his eyes are, for a moment, so damned hurt, that Furlan has to look away.

Fuck…

“Well, I gives some ‘a what I stole to some poor lady, ‘cause she had a baby, Furlan. I lied, before. I’m sorry. I took more than one bag. I… I took a couple. And I gives one to some poor lady. Don’t be mad, Fur. We gotta’ eat. You know that. We gotta’ eat.”

“I ain’t mad Levi. God, I ain’t mad at ya.”

And he isn’t. He can’t be.

Fuck, Levi just had too much feeling in his heart, and Furlan couldn’t ever be mad at him for that.

It got sometimes so he could hardly stand to look though, for all the hurt Levi had in him. All the hurt he had for everyone else.

People didn’t know, ‘cause Levi was rough stock, and he grew up learning to keep it all in, pressed down so nobody could use it against him. He kept it all in, usually. But when he got like this, there it was, plain as anything, all that feeling and hurt he carried around inside him for everyone else, and sometimes Furlan could hardly stand to look.

He couldn’t imagine what that felt like, to be carrying around all that hurt, keeping it all inside like that.

“… Yeah? Well, alright then.” Levi says and starts up emptying the sack again.

“Say, Levi, that can wait ‘till later. I should clean up that gash you got on your temple. Okay? Fix up your hands too.”

Levi keeps unpacking the canned goods for a moment, before he stops, rubbing at his nose again.

“… Okay.” He finally agrees, and Furlan feels an almost dizzying relief.

He has Levi sit down along the bench in what they’ve designated the living area of their small hovel, and tells him he’ll be right back, going to fetch a bowl of water and some clean rags.

They’d filled a couple wooden buckets with water a few days ago, when the ice stopping up the well a little ways from their place had final broken enough apart, but they were gonna’ have to get more soon. Assuming the well hadn’t frozen over again. It probably had. Furlan tries not to think about it. Getting drinkable water down here was almost as hard as getting food, now.

He sees Levi’s removed his cloak, finally, as he makes his way back towards him, and he’s got his arms crossed against his chest, his hands stuck in the pits of his arms. He’s shivering, and Furlan knows he must be freezing, though Levi won’t ever complain about it.

Furlan knows better than to make a fuss about it either. Levi never liked anybody fussing over him.

Instead, Furlan just takes a seat across from him and sets to work, cleaning his wounds.

The gash along his temple is pretty bad. Might even need stitches, Furlan thinks, frowning to himself. He tells Levi as much, and Levi huffs, but doesn’t otherwise protest as Furlan gets up to set the bowl of water to boiling over the fire and fetch a needle to sterilize. He needs to add some kindling to the fire to make it hot enough, and Isabel tosses and turns in her sleep, mumbling incoherently to herself, dreaming.

“She alright?” Levi asks as Furlan comes back.

Furlan shrugs.

“Sure. Good as she can be, I suppose. She’ll be happy to see you’ve got us food.”

“… Yeah.” Levi says, and goes quiet again.

Furlan doesn’t say much as he sets to cleaning and stitching Levi’s wound, good as he can, and Levi doesn’t complain, sitting stiff and still, mouth pulled tight at the corners.

“Hands.” Furlan orders after, and Levi dutifully holds them out for him.

There’s scar tissue all over Levi’s knuckles, the skin split and bleeding now. It must hurt, but Levi gives no indication of it as Furlan works, trying to be gentle as he can.

“Alright.” Furlan says when he finishes, letting Levi’s hands go.

“Thanks, Fur.”

Furlan smiles tightly back.

“No problem.”

Furlan packs the materials away, leaving the used rags in the bowl of water to soak for a bit. He’ll have to clean them later, or Levi will get upset.

Levi busies himself by storing away the food items he’d nabbed, and there’s a heavy, comfortable silence which falls over the place.

Furlan wants to ask Levi if he really thinks they’ll have to move again soon, but he knows Levi will let him and Isabel know if they do. If he’s anything, he’s cautious, and keeps his eyes open and ear to the ground. He’ll know if their spot’s been compromised.

Furlan rummages around in their pile of wood bits they’ve been collecting for kindling, throwing a few more pieces on the fire, stocking it and building the flames back up.

“Levi, you should rest.” He calls to the smaller man after a while, watching Levi move restlessly about the space. He’s got his duster out, aimlessly waving it at different surfaces. Even from half the room away, his face looks gaunt, pale and too thin. The circles under his eyes are like dark bruises. He must be exhausted.

Levi stops, but he doesn’t turn to face Furlan, just stands there, staring at the ground.

“Come on, Levi. You can lay by the fire, try to warm up a little. You need rest.”

“… Okay.” Levi at last relents, placing the duster down and making his way to where Furlan and Isabel are lying together. Furlan scoots some to the side and holds his arm out, inviting, as Levi settles down, nestling against him.

They’re quiet for a while, and Furlan stares absently at the ceiling above them as Levi turns, pressing his face against his shoulder.

There’s a thousand and one things Furlan thinks he wants to say to Levi. He wants to beg him to stop doing this. Going out and putting himself in so much danger like that. He wants to thank Levi for it, for taking care of him and Isabel, even at the expense of himself. Wants to find a way to show Levi how much he appreciates it, how grateful he is. Wants to understand why it is Levi seems to care so little about himself in turn. Why he… treats himself like a tool to be used, instead of a person who matters.

Maybe it’s his fault, Furlan thinks dismally. Maybe, because when he first met Levi, that’s all Furlan saw him as too. A tool. Somebody he wanted, so he could use him to move up in the Underground gangs. Somebody who’s strength he coveted.

He was still using Levi for that, in a way. Even though Levi was their de facto leader, he let Furlan make all the plans, let Furlan, ultimately, call all the shots. He didn’t have to. If Levi wanted, he could rule their gang with an iron fist, and there wasn’t anything Furlan, or anybody else, could do about it. But Levi only ever leant his strength to make Furlan’s plans reality, only ever did all the hard stuff, the dangerous stuff, and Furlan let him.

He thinks he shouldn’t.

But he does, and he knows it’s because it’s comfortable for him, this way. Because he’s too selfish to try and change their setup. Because his plans, he knows, wouldn’t even be possible if he didn’t have Levi backing him up.

So he says nothing now, just curls his arms tighter round Levi and Isabel both, lets the silence settle over them as the night deepens outside.

[delioncourtes]

when noah kahan said "if the sun don't rise till the summertime, forgive my northern attitude. oh, i was raised on little light" and when he said "i thought that if i piled something good on all my bad that i could cancel out the darkness i inherited from dad" and when he said "my house was designed to kinda look like it's crying. the eyes are the windows, the garage is the mouth. so when they mention the sad kid in the sad house on balch street, you won't have to guess who they're speaking about" and when he said "i was taking the wrong meds, feels good to be sad" and when he said "my mouth was designed for my foot to fit in it" and when he said "someday i’m gonna be somebody people want" and when he said "no thing so sure that i can't learn to doubt it" and when he said "i divvied up my anger into thirty separate parts, keep the bad shit in my liver and the rest around my heart. i'm still angry at my parents for what their parents did to them, but it's a start" and when he said "at the end of the day, i know there are worse ways to stay alive" and when he said "i'm terrified that i might never have met me" and when he said "i forgot my medication, fell into a manic high. spent my savings at a lulu, now i'm suffering in style. why is pain so damn impatient? ain't like it's got a place to be. keeps rushing me" and when he said "if all my life was wasted, i don't mind, i'll watch it go. yeah, it's better to die numb than feel it all" and when he said "i drink till i drown and i smoke till i'm burning" and when he said "collect every dream in these old empty pockets, in hope that i'll need them someday"

and when he said "it's an ode to the hole that i found myself stuck in, a song for the grave that i dug" and when he said "i only tell the truth when i'm sure that i'm lying" and when he said "i would leave if only i could find a reason. i'm mean because i grew up in new england. i got dreams but i can't make myself believe them. spend the rest of my life with what could have been, and i will die in the house that i grew up in. i'm homesick" and when he said "it only falls into place when you're falling to pieces" and when he said "the whole place is quiet. you miss something that you can't place but you can't deny it. don't know whether you want a place in the coast or the country. you can't stay here, it's hard to face and it feels too ugly. you light a fire inside, let it burn" and when he said "with a past box of photos i rip myself open" and when he said "feel the rush of my blood, i'm seventeen again. i am not scared of death, i've got dreams again" and when he said "a minute from home, but i feel so far from it. the death of my dog, the stretch of my skin. it's all washing over me, i'm angry again. the things that i lost here, the people i knew, they got me surrounded for a mile or two" and when he said "my medicine is drowning your perspective out, so i ain't taking any fault" and when he said "i ain't proud of all the punches that i've thrown in the name of someone i no longer know. for the shame of being young, drunk and alone"

and when he said "'son, are you a danger to yourself?' well, fuck that, sir, just let me call. i'll give you my blood alcohol, i'll rot with all the burnouts in the cell. i'll change my faith, i'll kiss the badge. just wait, i swear she'll call me back. 'son, why do you do this to yourself?'" and when he said "i'll turn up the music and i'll forget until it ends that i'm not ready to let go yet" and when he said "i'm in my car and i see the yard, the patch of grass where we buried the dog. and the world makes sense behind a chain-link fence. if i could leave, i would've already left" and when he said "i thought i had something, and that's the same as having something. i get mad at nothing, blame my dad for something. i pull no punches, then feel bad for months. thought i was raised better. tried to fake better, tried to blame weather and escape better. hope the skin heals where the pain enters" and when he said "i saw the end, it looks just like the middle. got a paper and pen and a page with no space. i filled the hole in my head with prescription medication, then forgot how to cry. who am i to complain? and now the pain's different. it still exists, it just escapes different and evades vision. makes the rain different, makes the news boring and my rage distant. yes, i'm young and living dreams, in love with being noticed and afraid of being seen. but i can finally eat and i can fall asleep. it's fine, fine, fine" and when he said "medicate, meditate, swear your soul to jesus. throw a punch, fall in love, give yourself a reason" and when he said "we spent so long just getting by. that's the thing about survival. who the hell, who the hell likes living just to die?"

[lilbluebastard]

Still wanna draw Leland I just have no motivation to draw that stupid fuck head

So I’ll just tell you headcanons I think about that stupid white man

Warning some nsfw topics, don’t like don’t read

Leland loves ice cream not just pistachio ice cream, he’s a slut for strawberry and bubble gum

(Like I’ve said before lol) Leland’s more into woman that cop gets more horny and aroused by a woman’s screams , men get him off too but I feel like Leland’s the type of monster to jizz in his pants when he hurts a woman (because he’s awful)

Leland isn’t a romantic…..I mean look at him….

What’s about him screams romance 😭 he reminds of the type of jerk that would show a bit of affection and if you act surprised he’ll never and I mean never do anything nice for you ever again lol

If you were his wife, he would still love you but not in a sweet loving way, more like a your only here for my needs nothing else, would I say coyles the type to cheat…I mean he didn’t kill his wives for a mistress no I think he was juts sick of them because one of Leland’s lines in prime he says killed all his wives because goes berry isn’t a obedient house wife she had her own rules and he hated that butttt, I like to think he’s faithful because when Franco comes along he’s upset that Francos thinks Leland’s stuff his belongs to him And by stuff I mean us, reagents gooseberry and etc

Also love to headcanon that Leland’s into curvy woman because gooseberry and the big grunt woman, he likes woman of all body shapes, he ain’t picky lol, if your his type which I think is every woman in that facility 😭 but I will say this Leland’s a thigh guy, I don’t care he his, he’ll do everything to get a hold of your thighs, he’s gross so he’ll think of even grosser thing to do to your legs

I’m sorry I’m just really bored and saying the things I’ve been wanting to say and honestly hears one for a story I’ve been writing in secret lol

If Leland was a yandere, I don’t think he’d give you a chance to run away from him, if he was a yandere he’d probably cut off your feet so your couldn’t get away from him, lock you in a cell play with you till you either died or murkoff took you away and he’d probably find a new toy to torture.

Leland’s stupid but smart stupid, he’s knows big words and all that smart shizz but he can play dumb and be a real dumbass at times and I love that about him, like I said don’t like it done read lol

Leland’s a crybaby, he cried over stupid things, like when something doesn’t go his way or f he doesn’t get what he wants, he’s a manly man strong and intimidating but he’s pathetic and sad,

I feel like he’s checked a few lockers and got pounced on by a pouncer who he ended up hurting really bad or probably killed it,

Also my favorite headcannons

His fears

In a way I feel like men scare him…..sometimes but once he realizes the power he has over them thanks to murkoff he’s a big strong boy and hurt them all he likes and enjoys

He’s scared of cows…..just a adorable headcannon , he fucked around and found out after a cow bit him so he doesn’t like them, only if there a cheeburger or steak lol

Leland hates water thanks to his battery on his back, he could die at any moment with a puddle of water or that pool in the farewell trial,

Afraid the reagents will get sick of him and end up killing him but he’ll never let that happen he knows they fear him and that makes him horny

I feel like if you was actually given freedom by murkoff….and Coyle liked you, I feel like your spot a cop car with the windows rolled up everywhere you went, feel eyes on you from afar, someone right behind you but when you look no one’s there until one night…he heard the familiar sound of creaking leather and you know that monster found you, then you’d go missing the next day and never be found again because he either kidnapped you and brought you back to murkoff or he ended you

Listen I would’ve written more but I’m honestly getting bored of this game and I do still love it, I love it so much but I’ve honestly gotten bored of countdown, don’t get me wrong the games amazing the new maps are amazing, the characters and gorgeous and perfect besides Franco

But idk maybe I’m just losing interest, but I’ll still try to post and draw Leland for you guys! So I just wanna say that i might need a break from the internet because ugh, idk maybe I’m just getting bored of everything again and get off for a whole month or something again but I’ll try to say I touch if I get asks I’ll try to answer them but idk 😭 just not feeling that excited about outlast as I was before , I mean hyperfixations come and go but I don’t wanna lose this one, I met so much cool and kind people here so yeah maybe I’ll take a break or not I’m not sure but anyways

See you love y’all (platonically)

[lauronk]

...A fic where joel is ellie's big ol' dog and the fic takes place in his pov and showing to us how is his daily life when ellie is his owner? Idk, I'm not creative for these things lol

i always seems to be going a little sideways of these requests lol but i hope you enjoy!

you ain't nothin' but a hound dog

length: ~1.8k words tags: alternate universe; joel is a dog; joel & ellie; sarah appearance; joel is a very good boy; joel pov; no beta we die like david

All he remembered was Sarah. His sweet, precious human. He didn’t know a time before her, a time where he wasn’t sitting at her feet at dinner or chasing her around a yard or curling up next to her in bed no matter how many times her uncle told her not to let him do that. She taught him how to shake and roll over, how to play dead and cover his eyes with his paws.

Sarah was everything.

But then she got sick. And stayed sick, no matter how hard he tried to will her better, how tightly he let her squeeze him. Then her uncle took her out of the house one day, and the nice lady from next door came to check on him and walk him every day.

And then finally - finally - the uncle was back. But he was alone, sitting in the dark in her room, head in his hands and shoulders shaking with sobs. He’d put his nose on the man’s knee and whined until finally the uncle placed a heavy hand atop his head and whispered, “She’s gone, buddy. She ain’t comin’ back.”

He had no desire to be here without Sarah, no desire to wander the too-empty, too-quiet house like her uncle was doing, miserable and alone.

So he runs away.

–

He didn’t want another human after Sarah. Nobody could possibly compare to her, nobody could ever be as good as she was. As sweet and kind and funny and generous with her love.

So he just roams. Careful to avoid major roads and anywhere he sees too many people. Doesn’t interact with anyone if he can help it, not humans, not birds or cats or other dogs. He’s not quite sure how much time passes since he’s lost Sarah - he spends it eating just enough scraps to keep going - but it feels like an eternity. And then he finds Ellie.

Or rather, Ellie finds him.

–

He’s laying in the dark of a back alley, minding his own business and keeping one ear on what sounds like the scurrying of rats nearby, when there’s a pain in his side that has him yelping, followed by cursing and thumping and a weight across his back.

“Shit fuck shit goddamnit!”

He turns his head towards the noise, ribs aching, and finds a girl sprawled across the ground next to him. In the shallow illumination of a nearby streetlight he can see scrapes on her palms, tear tracks on her cheeks.

“Oh shit,” she murmurs when she realizes what she’s tripped over, eyes widening. “Oh shit.” She scrambles awkwardly towards him, wincing when she puts weight on her hands. “Dude, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there, I wasn’t paying attention, are you okay?” Her hands immediately start patting at his sides, pressing gently around the mats in his fur. “I hope I didn’t hurt you, oh my fucking God.”

He doesn’t move, whining slightly when she presses too hard.

Her hands retreat. “Fucking hell, of course I stepped on a poor innocent dog, as if my day wasn’t terrible enough.” She curls in on herself, fingertips pressing to her eyes. “I’ll just sit here till I die, it’s what I fucking deserve.”

He finds himself scooting forward just a bit, nudging her leg with his nose. She peels her hands away and looks down at him, eyes shining. She sniffs, a hand dropping to rest back on top of his head, fingers scratching lightly. “I really am sorry.”

They sit there together for a long moment, her sniffling and him content to enjoy some petting while he waits for the pain in his side to lessen

“I’m Ellie,” she finally says. “I’m sorry I tripped on you.”

Ellie. He rolls the name around in his head a little, decides it suits her. She’s scrawny, hair in a messy ponytail, clothing dirty - though that could be from the time spent sitting here with him. But she seems nice, and when she finally moves to stand he pushes himself up as well.

“You don’t have a collar.” Ellie frowns, reaching down to scratch behind his ears again. “You just stuck out here then, buddy?”

He nudges her again with his nose, for lack of a better response. Not like he has a way to tell her he chooses to be out in this hovel, miserable and dirty because he’s lost the only human that ever really mattered.

“Bet you’re hungry,” she murmurs. “How about I feed you to apologize for kicking you?”

It has been a day or so since he’s had any good food…but he shouldn’t. He doesn’t interact with humans, not even seemingly nice ones who want to feed him. He swore off hoping for another after he lost Sarah.

So he shouldn’t.

And yet he finds himself trailing Ellie all the way back to her home.

–

She talks a lot, he notices almost immediately. Chattering at him on the walk, as she pulls down a plate and gets a container out of the fridge. Tells him all about why she’d been crying - the girl she likes is having a baby with her ex-boyfriend - and about an art project she’s been working on. Talks as she heats and slices some leftover meat for him, talks as she fills a bowl of water, as she sits with her bowl of cereal and eats. And he realizes…

She must have been terribly lonely.

He has too, even if he hasn’t let himself acknowledge it. But it’s lonely, being a dog without a human, missing the one you’d had. He was supposed to have Sarah forever, not just a short while.

But maybe, he thinks, maybe neither of them have to be lonely now.

–

He sleeps on the floor the first night, refusing to get on the bed because he knows he’s really gross right now. And in the morning Ellie feeds him again before leaving to run some errands. He waits by the front door as patiently as possible, pacing at times but careful not to touch anything. He doesn’t like Ellie being out of his sight, wishes heartily he could have gone with her, and barks a little over-excitedly when the front door swings open again and she re-enters, arms laden down with bags.

“Well hi,” she says happily, dropping the bags on the kitchen table before bending down to scratch behind his ears. “I brought goodies.”

From her bags she unloads dog food, treats, a rope toy, and

“Hope you don’t mind,” she says, holding the bottle out for him to sniff, “but you could do with a bath.”

–

Ellie washes him out on her back porch, and he does his best to stay as still as possible while she scrubs him free of months worth of grime. She gets just as much water on herself as she does on him, and he can’t help but give one or two well-timed shakes just to soak her further. Ellie just laughs when he does, not minding the bubbles and dirt now streaking her clothes.

“You’re so silly,” she chides him playfully, and his tail beats a steady thumpthumpthump against the ground.

When he’s all clean and toweled dry to the best of her ability, Ellie sits back on her haunches and looks at him with a smile, head tilted. “You’re so gray,” she tells him. “An old man.”

He must be - he feels it in his bones sometimes. He doesn’t really have a concept of how much time has passed - how long he was with Sarah, how long he’s been without her - but he knows it’s been awhile.

Ellie chews her bottom lip. “Probably oughta take you to the vet, make sure you’re not microchipped or something. Gonna suck if you already have a home, dude.”

He doesn’t, he wishes he could tell her. He hasn’t had a home in awhile.

Her head tilts. “We’ll do that tomorrow.”

–

Ellie leads a pretty simple life, from what he can tell. After she washes him, she takes a shower and does some laundry. Sets food out for him, makes herself a sandwich, and settles on the couch to draw in a sketchbook. Talking the entire time, naturally.

“ – and Dina says we can still make it work,” she says, pencil scribbling furiously over the paper, “but I’m barely twenty. Do I want to have a wholeass baby already?” Her hand stills, a sigh escaping her as her head falls back. “But also I just…I really, really like her, you know?”

He doesn’t answer, just adjusts his head over his paws.

She sighs, leaning forward to scratch behind his ears. “Sorry I’m talking your ear off about all this,” she tells him quietly. “I’m sure even dogs like peace and quiet sometimes. You won’t get a lot of that with me. Hope you don’t mind.”

In lieu of an answer, he shuffles forward awkwardly on the couch until he’s practically in her lap, upsetting her sketchbook. She’s laughing though, arms already wrapping around him to squeeze carefully as she buries her face in his fur. “Gonna take that to mean you don’t have a problem with it.”

–

Ellie doesn’t have a car, so he plods along next to her for the walk to the vet the next day. She doesn’t bother with a leash until the building comes into view. There’s a bit of a wait - he spends it ignoring the puppy on the other end of the lobby who clearly wants to play - and then they’re shown back to an exam room, and he dutifully hops up onto the table.

Ellie fidgets in front of him, hands twisting nervously. “I tripped over him in an alley two nights ago, and brought him home with me. Gave him a bath and fed him and everything, and I just wanted to know if he was microchipped and if he’s healthy.”

He can feel the vet poking and prodding at him but he doesn’t move, content to just lay there and watch Ellie.

“No microchip,” the vet finally confirms, and Ellie lets out the breath she’d been holding, grinning down at him. “He’s all yours if you want him.”

“I do,” Ellie says happily, bending down to press a kiss to his nose. “I really, really do.”

“Do you have a name for him?”

His ears perk up - he hadn’t considered a name. He doesn’t remember what Sarah used to call him, had made himself forget those little details a long time ago. Ellie’s head tilts like she’s considering him carefully. “Well, as tempting as it is to just call you Old Man –” he huffs, and Ellie giggles “ – I think…” She chews her lip, studying him carefully. “I think you look like a Joel.”

thanks for reading! you can find the full ficlet collection on ao3 as well

[ashandsweets]

Haunted

JoelxReader

Drabble inspired by Florence, Bill, and Frank. Joel meets a survivor not too far into the outbreak and takes pity on her.

Warning: Major character death, substance abuse

************************************************

“Look, I ain’t calling you a liar-“

“Just for one night. Please! I promise to be gone by morning.” You pleaded with the man, hands clasped together while you fell to your knees. How long was it since you had a safe place to rest your head? Two days maybe? Didn’t sound long now that you think about it…

He cocked his gun and pulled it back, letting out an agitated sigh. You looked like Sarah’s former school teacher. His heart ached, still reeling from the traumatic loss of his daughter just 6 months earlier. He distracted himself from the pang in his chest by assessing your appearance. Joel could tell those eyes ain’t seen a lick of violence. Those soft hands probably hadn’t either. He motioned upwards from the ground, letting you know it was safe to get up.

“Oh, thank you, sir!” You practically leapt up from the ground and futilely attempted to brush off the dirt staining your skirt.

It was at that moment Joel realized you’d die out here on your own. His nostrils flared in annoyance as he continued to study you. A looker, no weapons, too trusting…your misfortune could be worse than death. Thoughts of Sarah and his innate desire to keep her safe flooded his brain.

You tried to break the thick silence. “I”ll be gone by morning. Is there anything I can do?”

“Just don’t lie to me.” Joel spat, putting his gun back in the holster.

You didn’t lie on purpose. How were you supposed to know this stranger’s pity would override his conscious? A widow, safely cocooned in the outer city limits, until other survivors began looting and shooting your town. You made it out by the skin of your teeth with only the promise of a “safe zone” the next state over from your neighbor who stayed to fight. You’d never make it alone.

“I ain’t calling you a thief,” he tossed the stale bread your way. “Just don’t steal from me.”

You greedily gobbled it down, still trailing behind the gruff stranger by second nightfall. Stars shined bright, illuminating your path. Such good fortune seldom came those days. You thought better than to question it.

“You know, we still don’t know each other's names.”

“Names make ‘em real.” Was his harsh response. You decided you’d had enough of this whiplash. Picking up your pace, you got ahead and planted yourself inches away from him. He furrowed his brows in annoyance.

“Move.”

Instead, you took his free hand in yours. Truth is it warmed him up. Been a long time since he was touched by another.

“I am real…” he started to recoil at your words, withdrawing his hand when you gripped it further, placing a timid kiss on his knuckles. An almost inaudible moan escaped past his lips. You raised your head, shaking a little.

“My name is (Y/N)…thank you for keeping me.”

Keep you? Like a stray? Joel couldn’t help but groan in amusement. Well, what the hell? He wouldn’t be meeting up with Tommy for a few more weeks. Having another set of eyes could come in handy till then. Not to mention, you were easy on the eyes…and kind.

“Joel Miller.” He looked down and shuffled a bit. You had the nerve to smile.

“Nice to meet you, Joel Miller.”

*

*

*

“I’m not calling you a ghost, just stop haunting me…”

20 years in the post-outbreak world took a heavy toll on Joel. He crushed up the tiny plastic bag of pills and poured himself another glass of fire. It was the only way he could conjure sleep, the type that made him forget his dreams. Joel was tired of seeing faces, so many he lost count.

“And I love you so much, I'm going to let you kill me.”

Joel tilted his head back, letting the music soothe his senses as darkness took over. His final thoughts before giving into slumber were of you.

A liar that said she’d only spend the night. Instead she spent fifteen years.

A thief that stole his heart, a second chance at love.

A ghost Joel failed to protect, shot down in his arms just like his own flesh and blood twenty years earlier.

[ethereal-bumble-bee]

Okay, but.

The Santa Fe Bonus Track but it’s Jack after he decides to stay in New York, and it’s just representative of the lives of the newsies and how in the end, New York was really where he was meant to be.

“They say folks is dyin�� to get here”- the sacrifices that the parents of some of the newsies made to get to America, where they believed a better life lived in store for them

“If you want, I betcha you could see it too”- the people that came before Jack as leaders of the newsies, teaching him how to survive and molding him into the leader he was destined to become

“Where it’s clean and green and pretty”- a perfect, snowy day, when the newsies engage in a snowball fight and other hijinks, just enjoying one another’s company and relishing the camaraderie

“Why, the minute that you get there, folks’ll walk right up and say; ‘Welcome home, son, welcome home to Santa Fe’”- Crutchie being welcomed into the arms of his friends after being released from The Refuge, finally safe.

“Swappin’ tales around the fire”- the newsies sharing stories of past pranks and reveling in nostalgia, remembering who they all used to be and barely believing how far they’ve come

“‘cept for Sunday, when you lie around all day”- Jack and Davey curled up together on the roof, warm and safe as they doze in each other’s arms

“Soon your friends are more like family, and they’s beggin’ you to stay”- Crutchie, Davey, and the others begging Jack to stay in New York when he says he ‘should really be hitting the road’

“Ain’t that neat? Livin’ sweet, in Santa Fe”- Jack realizing that his home is here, with the boys who he grew up with and would die for

“Don’t you know that we’s a family? Would I let you down- no way.”- and then he remakes a promise to himself, one that he won’t leave his boys alone even if it kills him.

“Just hold on kid, till that train makes Santa Fe…”- Jack looking out over the city that he had always wanted to escape from, realizing that if he can just hold on to the newsies and those who love him, he doesn’t need Santa Fe. All he needs is New York, because even with all its faults, it’s now become just as he’d wished- a home, where he has a purpose and doesn’t need to run anymore.

[bluebutlikenotalways]

🐲 For Rayo and 👑 For Sorpresa, please? You can do either or if you don't want to do both. Thank you :)

Oooohhhhohoho! I love this ask :D

First up OUR SWEET PRINCE

I think I need to redesign her mask to make it less like a butterfly, because that ain’t her vibes!

Nou die draak

I kinda rushed the folded wings because I wanted to show his stupid fucking dragon hands off XD

Of course where would a prince be without her dragon?

hey guess what

LORE

So let’s start with our Prince.

Sorpresa comes from a long line of of women royals and is bright and ready to prove herself. A big part of her job tho is keeping her identity secret so she’s able to walk amongst her people without them acting off so they actually know what to fix, hence the mask. They’re also the first defensive against any attacks so they must always be ready with weapons and strangely sharp crowns. Sorpresa is more than ready to take on the world, she’s just waiting on the chance to prove herself.

Dragon man

Rayo X is a Knucker with horns that grew in wrong. Instead of pointing out they grew sideways to form a cross. With less protection than his fellows he decided to leave them to avoid the shame of them telling him he was a burden. While not able to use his horns he has developed one hell of a tail whip to fight back. It has served him well for a long time, but he still appreciated the beak guard because it makes close range attacks easier.

How they know each other!

Sorpresa was an only child and Rayo was an outcast, so both of their childhoods were really very boring when they weren’t training or sleeping. One day Rayo decided he’d drag his sorry ass out of the pond he was holding up in to try find someone to play with. He stumbled across a very flashy silver gate with blue gems set into its crest. He couldn’t help himself, he slithered up and pecked the sapphires out. Holding one up to admire it he watched as the world through it fractured and spun through the blue shine. On the other side he saw more flowers than he’d ever seen in his life. He had to see more! So he bellyflopped into the yard and went skittering to check everything out. Needless to say he trashed the place.

Meanwhile

A very board student was staring out her window while her tutor was trying to explain why the apple fell on Newton’s head and wishing that she could be doing anything else. Suddenly she saw a shadow climb over her fence and start slinking around her hard pulling up her grandmother’s flowers and toppling statues of her long dead relatives and if that wasn’t the most interesting thing she’d seen all day. Her teacher didn’t even get the chance to grab her before she went bursting out the window and scaling down the vines till she was able to land with only scarped knee to complain of.

Rayo was admiring how his reflection was shining in the depths of their well.

“HEY!”

A shout and poke from behind him made him jump and lose his grip on one of gems. He lent forward to to try catch it before it was out of reach, but a smack on his back made him jolt forwards and go spilling into the the depths below.

For a second he considered just curling into a ball at the bottom until whatever it was went away, but he reminded himself he’s a fucking dragon who can whip ass if he wants to.

Sorpresa peered over the edge of the well wall to the Rocky water below. She thought it was someone in a long robe digging through her family’s yard, but for a second she could have sworn…A dragon’s head come rocketing out of the earth below. Her stomach nearly fell out her ass as she steps back keeping her weapon up list like she was taught and glued her eyes to the opening waiting for a fight. Nothing came. Slowly she approached again to take another peak.

Rayo was about seven feet short from the top and was desperately clinging to the stones trying to claw his way back out, but he kept hitting a smooth one and ended up splashing back down.

Sorpresa watched him struggle for a bit. Poor thing looked like it was panicking. “Hello?”

Rayo paused. He looked up at the face above him. “Why did you hit me?”

Sorpresa cringed. “Well it was you or me.” She glanced at the torn up flowers and shuttered seeing that the crown broke off of her great great great aunt. “My mama is gonna explode when she sees this.”

Rayo curled around himself trying to calm down. “Whatever.” He dipped back below the water to tie himself in a knot. He couldn’t deal with this.

Above him a blip in the water made him stir. A tock on his head made him rise out back out of the water to see he must have fallen asleep because the light around them had faded to a deep purple, or maybe that was just a reflection from him.

“What?”

“I came back to check in you and I was worried you drowned.” Rayo blinked up at her. “You’re…really stuck, huh?” Rayo started sinking again. “I’ll get you out, don’t worry.”

Rayo Sat with his eyes above the water as he watched her work. A few minutes later a rope flitted down next to him and Sorpresa called him up. He reached out and gave it a tug. The beam it was tied to creaked a little, but didn’t break. He wrapped himself around it and started his way up.

Halfway up the rope he heard something snap and he practically turned to stone.

“C’mon! You’re almost there!” Sorpresa leaned over to see her garden destroyer dangling like a uvula in the throat of some great beast. He was so close she could almost…she grabbed the rope, looped her leg around it and slid down far enough that she could reach out and touch him. He was way smoother than she excepted, but when she went to sooth down his spines he flinched away. She hissed. “No! Not back down!” The knucker stayed where he was. She puffed air out through her nose and went over what she had learned. “I’m sorry I scared you down here earlier, but it’s my duty to protect those in my kingdom..where you are, so please let me help you.”

She reached down a second time, but instead of touching him she held her hand in front of his eye. He cocked his head at it, then cautiously dug his claw into her sleeve.

Sorpresa had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from pulling away as he climbed up her arm, cutting her more with each step. She watched blood run down her arm through the rips in her sleeve. Mama really won’t be happy with her destroying her shirts like this. Soon enough Rayo was clinging to her shoulder with his tail wrapped around her arm for balance. Even with the extra weight she pulled them both up and out where she dumped them both on the ground.

Now that they were both safe she got to have a proper look at him. “You had wings this whole time? Why didn’t you use them?”

Rayo was trying very hard to dry off by flopping around in the dirt, but he humoured her and opened them. “Its too cramped down there to fly.”

“Oh. Wh-“

“I dropped your gems in the well.”

“You did what?”

And the rest is history!