#I’m a tired man who loves an anime man too much for his own good

[charcoallbaby]

fake marriage

smuttyyyyy ofc so 18+ also a lil toxic

tired asf i’ll do a spelling check tmrw thx for reading!

having a fake marriage was definitely one of the best thing to ever exist especially since i get paid to pretend to love a man who is basically heartless, well to most people he is.

i get to live in a giant penthouse in the city of boston, i get a huge bedroom, with a ensuite plus a balcony, free clothes, mostly everything gets handed to me.

as much i love being in this fake marriage, there are some cons mostly because of matt. i mostly hate hearing him fuck girls in the room next to me, when i can’t do anything like that, he’s very protective of me, he gets jealous very easily, he doesn’t really let me talk to any male being while he’s with me. he punishes me by not paying me that week which doesn’t really effect me, the amount of money i’ve made since this marriage is insane, it would take me months to run through it. but in matt’s eyes he’s somehow “punishing me.”

tonight was a black-tie event for one of his many company’s. he got me a vintage chanel dress from the 90s. it was the most beautiful dress i’ve ever laid my eyes on, i knew the price of the dress would be nothing to him, he just wantedme to look good standing beside him.

“ready?” matt asked while fixing his cufflinks on his wrist. “yeah, i just need to get my heels on.” i grabbed my silver heels from my collection of different types of heels.

“the cars outside y/n.” he looked me up and down. “fuck, can you grab my bag?” i asked slipping myheels on. he rolled his eyes and grabbed my bag off my vanity. “thank you.” i took my small clutch from his hands and made my way to the elevator.

“behave tonight,” matt whispered in my ear before placing his hand around my waist, smiling for the cameras. “i always do.” i say through my teeth. “we’ll see about that love.” he pressed a light kiss to my cheek.

everything is for the cameras and i mean that. the touching, the kissing, theres no contact between us at home. before today i hadn’t spoken to matt in probably 3 days. not that he would talk to me anyway. he only talks to his parents, his 2 brothers, the maids who clean the house(mostly flirting) and the girls he fucks in the guest bedroom, matt would never dare to fuck a girl in his own bed, he’s really weird about that type of thing, he hates when anyone goes into his room well everyone but the maids, as i said he flirts with them a lot, just to make them blush, it boosts his already massive ego. after i come home from picking up some groceries up or going to visit my friends, i hear him making up some story of how he saved an animal or how much money he gives to charity which i know he does. but he hates people, hates them other than the couple people he talks to.

mine and matt’s hands were interlinked as we walked into the building.

“how long have you guys been married?” the older women infront of us asked. i looked up at matt before speaking, “well me and matt have been together 3 years, married for 1,” i gave a fake smile to the women. “that’s just so beautiful!” she chimed. matt gave the women a small smile. “wait!” “what about kids, do you have kids?” matt’s let go of my hand and put the hand i just holding around my waist. i cleared my through before awkwardly laughing. “no, no,” “not as of right now,” i smiled. “maybe soon,” matt finally spoke. “oh really!” she exclaimed. “yes matt really!” i looked up at him, he looked down at me before looking back at the women. “maybe not soon, but in the future.” he licked his lips. “wonderful!” “it was nice talking to your mr and mrs sturniolo, i’m going to find my husband he wanders off!” she laughed. “you too.” matt gave her a straight lined smile. “bye.” i smiled.

me and matt watched her walk away. “fuck,” he took a deep breath. “having kids soon are we?” i turned to him. he moved both his hands around my waist as he looked down at me. “only said that for people to have something to talk about,” i could feel his warm hands through my dress. “it’s crazy how such a cold hearted person can make something up like that,” i teased him. he looked away from me, chuckled before looking back at me again. “you look good.” he licked his teeth. “yeah you too.” i touched his right bicep.

“thank you everyone for coming tonight,” matt awkwardly had his hand in his pocket as he gave a speech. “i would like to thank my team and my wife,” “thanks.” he awkwardly put his drink up in the air before taking a sip.

the room was filled with people loudly clapping.

“what’s wrong?” matt asked as he came down by from the stage. “my feet hurt.” i whined. “y/n baby, i didn’t marry you to whine about your feet come on let’s get a drink.” he put his hand on my back and guided me towards the bar.

“what would you guys like?” the bartender asked. “scotch on the rocks,” “y/n?” matt asked. i looked at the bartender. he smiled at me. i gave him back a small smile. i cleared my throat. “i’ll have a-” “she’ll have a glass of white wine,” matt interrupted me. “alright, that’ll be coming straight up,” he looked at me. “are you trying to piss me off?” he leaned down and whispered into my ear. “no,” i gulped. “you were flirting with that guy,” “matt i just smiled.” “we’re going home, come on.” he grabbed my hand.

the car ride was silent. matt was on his phone making the back of the SUV slightly light up. i looked out the window, mostly trying to notfall asleep.

matt pressed the button for the elevator. he stood there my heels in his hand while looking down at the marbled floor on the lobby floor.

the elevator opened, no one inside. we both walked in. matt pressed the number for our apartment before leaning his head against the wall behind him, closing his eyes. he looked so sexy, his jawline was sharp as fuck, his long hair falling over his eyes and his tie wrapped around his shoulders, he took it off when we got in the car. i pressed the emergency button making the elevator immediately stop. matt’s eyes darted open. he looked at me.

“why’d you stop the elevator y/n?” he groaned. “why are you so overly protective with me matt?” “you know i don’t flirt with guys especially in front of you, you love to make shit up did you see me flirt with that bartender?” “i simply smiled at him as a nice human does,” i crossed my arms. matt rolled his eyes. “what would you like to pretend that i don’t care?” “y/n, you think i care about who you flirt with?” “i actually couldn’t care fucking less, i just you know like to make this marriage look a little bit realistic,” he leaned over and re-pressed over apartment floor button. the elevator began moving again. “this marriage would be a little realistic when i have people over for you to not be fucking some girl,” i looked down at my nails. “what’d say?” “you heard me loud and clear,” the elevator doors opened. “thanks for holding my heels baby.” i grabbed the heels from his hand and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek just to piss him off even more.

i made my way to my room before matt grabbed my arm turning me around. “who do you think you are?” matt asked. i shrugged my shoulders before turning back around. “y/n!” matt yelled, pulling me back and pressing me against the wall beside us. “come on baby, tell me,” matt roughly held my waist. “i’m your wife matt,” i looked up at him. “your my wife y/n and i would like if you actually listened to me when i talked to you,” his grip on my hips became softer. “i’m sorry, i promise i’ll listen better next time daddy,” i batted my eyelashes. his eyes rolled into the back of my head. “i’m going to bed.” he backed away from me. “sweet dreams husband.”

after the little scene matt made, i changed out of my dress and walked into the kitchen to find a snack to eat.

i sat myself down at the kitchen island, a bowl of ice cream in front of me, my phone in my left hand, the spoon in my right. i had been thinking of eating this ice cream all day and now i finallygot a chance.

i was nearly half way through the bowl before shirtless matt walked into the kitchen, he had those plaid pj pants he loved with of course the waist band of his boxers sticking out. i rolled my eyes before focusing back onto the ice cream. i could hear matt open the fridge. i quickly looked at his back. it was so defined, his tattoos making it way hotter that it actually had to be.

“do we have any spare batteries anywhere?” i spoke. matt turned around, opened-water bottle in his hand. “why?” he asked. “for my vibarator,” i popped the spoon into my mouth. matt choked on his water. “do you know?” i asked. he cleared his throat. “yeah, there’s some in the uh-in my office on my desk.” he swallowed. “okay thanks!” i cheekily smiled. matt mumbled something i couldn’t make out before walking back to his room.

i opened matt’s office door to find him sitting on one of the couch’s controller in his hand playing his playstation. hm coincidence.

“sorry i just need to grab those batteries,” i walked past him and looked around his desk. i couldn’t see them. “matt where are they?” i turned around and looked at him. “they should be there,” he said not taking his eyes off the tv. i rolled mine while looking back down at the desk. “matt it’s an empty packet,” i held it up. he finally looked at me.“oh shit yeah- i was just being a nice husband, i already put the batteries in for you there sweetheart,” he flashed me a smile before looking back at the tv. i stomped over right infront of him. “i can’t see the tv princess,” “pause it then,” i bit the inside of my cheek. he paused it, placing the controller beside him. “you went through my stuff?” “you held my viborator!” “yeah, it was a nice one,” he smirked at me. “what the fuck!” “your insane!” i yelled. “eh,” “i’m not that bad love.” he opened his legs, man spreading.

i exhaled. “why would you think that would be a good idea?” i put a hand through my hair. “it was a nice gesture, don’t you think?” he poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue. i groaned. “it’s fucking weird!” “your not even my real husband!” “well if this makes you feel any better i did it so it would make the marriage more realistic,” he titled his head at me. “don’t bring that shit back up matt!” i whimpered.

“come on, it’s okay,” matt pulled himself more towards me. he placed his hands on my waist while looking up at me. “matt what are you doing?” i groaned. “it’s okay.” he pressed his warms lips against my stomach. i slowly closed my eyes. his lips stayed on my stomach while he slipped a finger up my shorts and into my underwear. he slid his finger into my soaking core. i let out a moan. he moved his finger inside me. after a few seconds his finger left me. i opened my eyes. his finger in his mouth. “oh fuck, you taste good,” he moaned. “let me eat you out,” he pulled me by the waistband of my shorts towards him making me fall down onto his lap. i quickly felt how hard he was underneath me. “lay there,” he said moving the controller onto the coffee table in front of us. i nodded my head. i layed myself down. matt licked his lips before pulling my shorts and underwear off. he placed himself between my legs. he was quick to slowly suck my clit. i cried out. “all you do is touch yourself y/n, i bet your dying for this,” matt groaned against me. he slipped his tongue into my licking up all my juices like it’s the best thing he’s every tasted. my hands were pulling onto his hair while parting my mouth open in pleasure. “ma-matt!” i cried out. “nearly there baby?” he pulled away from me making his warm breath hit off the pool he was between. “mhm.” i mumbled.

matt gave me one long stride between my folds before pulling away from me. i opened my eyes and whined. i was on the edge of coming. “i wanna fuck you,” matt said feeling his hard on through his pants. “okay-okay.” i breathed out. “not here, in my room.”

matt placed me down onto his bed, his lips softly meeting mine. we’ve kissed before around people but not alone, it felt so much more different this time.

“you on the pill?” he asked pulling his boxers down. i nodded my head. “i’m gonna fuck you without a condom cause to be fair, i don’t really care if i get you pregnant, your my wife after all.”

matt was inside me, not moving. i was trying to adjust his size. “you can do it, i know you can, matt whispered into my ear. “mhm,” i mumbled. he started to move inside me slowly but then started to pick it up. his arm was hovering over me, grabbing the headboard for support “fuckkkkkkk,” he moaned. “y/n, i’m gonna fuck you until the sun rises okay?” he grunted. “y-yeah.” i let out. “such a girl good for me.” he placed a kiss to my lips. his necklace that had a horse pendant was dangling over me, i got him it for his birthday that he claimed to only wear when we have to put our act on but he wears it all time.

i clenched around matt for like the 4th time in the last 2 and half hours.

matt dropped himself down beside me. “it gets better every fucking time y/n i swear.” matt said before sucking a nipple into his mouth. “mhm, i know baby.” i closed my eyes and put a hand through his hair and down his neck.

he popped my nipple out of his mouth before looking up at me. “you wanna order food, we can fuck inbetween don’t worry, i just hungry as fuck when i have sex,” he leaned his chin between the gaps my boobs. “yeah i could eat something i’m starving,” i ran my hand over his cheek. “your choice to pick.” he said before kissing my lips and getting up to throw his pj pants back on. i looked up at him sprawled out on his bed, naked. “am i the only girl you’ve had in this bed?” i asked. “pretty much,” he grabbed his t-shirt from the ground. “i feel special,” i grinned. he jokingly rolled his eyes. “don’t worry, not gonna happen again,” “that’s what you say until you hear me moan your name while my vibartor is between my thighs,” i sat up. “you think of me?” he chuckled. i nodded my head. “my wife actually thinks of me while masturbating, im a lucky man.”

“yeah, no more sex.” i spoke before rolling my eyes.

[hunnylagoon]

Candy

PT1: Sober to Death

Ellie Williams x Reader

I’m home and here to stay like a ghost to haunt. You can’t shake me off your back for I linger in your head like carelessly uttered curse. Summer falls to ashes in my mouth and so I will spit them into your urn, just like that all of my devotion turns violent.

Premise: After a mental break you are being held together by nothing but glitter glue and craft yarn. You seek refuge with an old friend in a coastal town to live the life you thought you left behind.

Warnings: SENSITIVE THEMES / reader is a recovered addict / mentions of drug and alcohol abuse / angst / brief mentions of violence / possibly triggering discussions of drug addiction

Read at your own discretion

Inside me, something seethes. Inside me, some feral animal has been forced into a cage where it thrashes and screams. Perhaps I will turn into a snarling wolf and rip out the throats of each girl who made me go home crying in middle school. Maybe I will don the pelt of a sheep and surprise all of those who convinced me it was a good idea to try ketamine when I shed my cloak and reveal my long curled claws and fangs sharp as knives.

I'm heartless at worst and helpless at best.

I don't know how else to be. I was raised like a stick of dynamite lit from both ends and I can describe in detail how the earth warps beneath my feet or how I watch the sky bend until it snaps and collapses onto a body too tired to lift it back up.

Everything miles ahead of what I was, to them, I was only ever an addict. Cursed with the nickname 'popper' since tenth grade and everyone thought it to be nothing more than a joke they didn't know how I found serenity in the tablet of acid that rested on my tongue. 

It started with pot and drinking on the weekends then flew into full-blown benders when I swallowed back synthetic sunshine like it was candy. None of my friends thought I would end up with my back plastered on my dorm floor, eyes wide with what once was a bottle of pills frothing out of my mouth. 

It took me two overdoses to get here, had to put my white blood cells to work.

"I didn't think you'd be up this early," Joel smiled at me, he was nursing a mug of coffee, a plate in front of him with a half-eaten piece of toast and a golden yoke running onto the porcelain. That might've been my favourite thing about the farm, fresh eggs. Once you have them you can never go back to the sad pale grocery store eggs.

"That makes two of us," I pulled out a chair from the wooden dining table and sat down. Joel had put so much love into this home. These days I’m too nauseous to eat breakfast.

"Ellie doesn't even wake up this early," He took a slug of his black coffee, the scent was strong, filling up the entire house, I could smell it the second I woke up. "How's the room? Is everything to your liking?"

I had felt so guilty for free-loading off Joel whom I hadn't seen since I was twelve, it had been eight years. He sent me cards on my birthday every year but I never was able to grasp how close our parents had been. I'm pretty sure I was friends with Ellie when I was little, there were pictures of the two of us hugging each other and playing beneath sprinklers, my front teeth missing, Ellie covered head to toe in Spider-Man band-aids. I didn't have any recollection of us when we were close, as we got older we got more stiff around each other. When my family would visit, she would hang out with her friends and I would keep to myself. Of course, my parents moved us to the city where everything hit me too hard all at once. "It's perfect, thank you."

"It's pretty hard to peel yourself off that mattress, huh?" Joel smiled at me, showing me every ounce of warmth he had when I was a child.

I nod in response "So much more comfortable than those stiff dorm mattresses," It almost felt like I was making conversation with a ghost.

"Since you're up so early, care for a tour while I do some chores?" He asked. I had been here a few days already, though I just kept to myself I didn't want to impose on his pleasant life with his daughter who hadn't called him at three am sobbing because she had too many opioids. I had wandered briefly around the farm of course and I had remembered bits and pieces of it from my childhood but I felt so out of place that I mainly locked myself inside of my temporary room and lived through my friend's Instagram stories.

"I'd love to," I smile politely, unsure of what else to do. 

 "Do you think you're gonna go back to school?" Joel asked as he stood up with his plate and mug in hand and began to wash them in the stainless steel sink. "No pressure, there's life outside of a lecture hall."

This was a question I had been thinking about day in and day out. I was a year and then some into getting my degree when my 'fun habits' began spiralling uncontrollably. My parents had managed to snag me a two-year deferral so I could go to rehab and go back to school the following year but I was so full of shame that I shook with the thought of going back. For the first time in my life, I am afraid I have no real desires. 

When I was dead inside a motel bathtub, I thought I needed to be somewhere different but now that I'm there, I need to be someone different too. "I'm not really sure right now, just please don't tell my parents I said that."

"Secrets safe with me," He opens a cabinet and pulls out a bag of cat food, shaking it until a scrawny calico cat appears out of thin air. Pepper happily devours the food Joel puts in her little bowl. I remembered Pepper, she was a kitten way back then and I would cut open socks to make clothes for her. "You should just know that it's never too late."

Very early in my life, it was too late. "Thanks, Joel," Not yet a corpse and still I rot like all of my ambitions turn to sludge at my tired feet.

He looks around, exhaling a deep breath, trying to scope out anything else he has to do in the kitchen. "You outta get geared up, I'm gonna wake up Ellie then me and you can get to work."

I nod in agreement even though I'm not sure what he means by 'gear up' so I figure that's just him saying to put on a hoodie and some rain boots. I stand awkwardly by the door, waiting for Joel. Absentmindedly I rock back and forth on my heels hands clasped together. I'm twenty years old but I feel like I'm twelve again, trying to find a place for myself in someone else's life. 

I thought of the last time I was in this house. I was twelve, unaware of the future that awaited me, I had buried a time capsule with Ellie and her cousins somewhere on this property. Writing to my future self, talking about all of the things I should be. If only she saw the brain-rotten zombie that was her destiny.

My parents had told everyone back home I was backpacking across Australia and taking a break from academics to see the world. In the eyes of those who knew me well and were more than aware of what happened, it was a shame to them that I had wasted a sharp brain and a pretty face. It takes a whole lot of strength the endure myself.

It doesn't take long for Joel to walk back down the creaky stairs, Ellie trailing behind him, sleep in her eyes. She's in boxers and one of Joel's old t-shirts, hair still messy and unbrushed. Ellie yawns and gives me a little wave- it wasn't really a wave, just her raising a hand in my direction as an acknowledgment. 

We hadn't spoken much since I got here, I had met her in the past but we didn't know each other. A lot can change in eight years. She wasn't unfriendly toward me, we indulged in small talk and laughed at each other's jokes but each conversation was so shallow I wanted to lay face down and drown in them. 

Ellie goes straight for the fridge, unlike her dad, she pours milk into a sickly sweet cereal which seems cavity-inducing. She was back from college for the summer, taking advantage of her father's love and food. Joel walked over to where I was standing at the door, slipping into his mucking boots. "While you're both here," He says before looking at me "How much do you know about boats?"

I furrow my eyebrows "A good bit I guess?" I answer, figuring he was just trying to rekindle a spark between Ellie and me that had been put out eight years ago by rain, ocean spray, and vodka.

"Y'know, Els," He gestures towards me "This one used to work at her parent's marina, they tell me she's done a couple of repairs and I bet she could give you some pointers on how to fix up that boat." I'm confused by his words, this is the first I've heard about a boat. Joel can see the uncertainty on my face "Her uncle gave her a piece of shit boat last summer before she went back to school, over the year I guess some teenagers thought it was a good hideout and trashed it even more."

"Seriously?" Her head pokes up "It would be great if you could come down with me later, she just needs a little love," Ellie spoons some cereal into her mouth. I had always thought it weird how people spoke about their boats like they were women, I even caught myself doing it on occasion. "Only if you want to, of course."

"Sure," I agree, no idea how much repair this boat was in need of "I've got nothing better to do."

I could tell Joel counted this as a win. I knew he had been commuting with my parents and how desperately they wanted me to keep myself occupied for the summer. "Well, we've got some work to do, kiddo."

After a solid five hours of following Joel around like a duckling and re-learning all the names of the animals, I was walking with Ellie toward her pickup truck. "Wanna drive?" She asks as we walk to the long beaten driveway

"Oh, I can't." The coolness of the morning has ebbed away into a borderline unbearable heat, I wasn't sure how Ellie was absolutely unfazed in her Jeans, T-shirt, and trucker hat. 

"You never got your licence?"

"No, it got taken away."

She cracks a grin "Jeez, what did you do? Hit a pedestrian?" Ellie teases.

"Something like that," Truthfully, my licence got revoked after I got a DUI and swerved my car off the highway, I was too high to realize the danger I was in and laughed the entire time warm blood pooled from a gash in my head that had to be stapled shut. Luckily my parents can throw money at anything and the problem will go away. 

She hops in the truck, there are little bits and pieces of it that show how it's lived in. A rubber duck with sunglasses sits on the dashboard and I'm partially surprised it hasn't melted in the sweltering heat. 

As beautiful and scenic as the drive down to the docks is, it's also extremely awkward, only on my end, Ellie seems completely unfazed. Travelling down the dirt roads until we finally hit the pavement. 

The salty breeze of Andromeda Cove carries conversations of clubbing and tanning, mingling with the sweet scent of coconut sunscreen and sea salt. Colourful beach umbrellas dot the shoreline. Seagulls glide effortlessly overhead, their calls blending seamlessly with the distant laughter of beachgoers. Quaint shops and cafes line the bustling boardwalk, offering an array of surfboards, souvenirs, and freshly caught seafood delicacies.

The Cove was immune to those gross and bland modern buildings that looked like something I would've made in Minecraft as a kid. Everything down here was local and kept its charm even after all these years. "Do you ever miss it here?" 

"I don't remember much of it to be honest."

"Really?" She asks, taking a turn down to the docks "It doesn't seem like it was that long ago."

"Yeah, my memory just isn't very good." My lungs are burnt and my brain is fried. You could tell me that I was in cheerleading for five years of my life and I would probably believe you. 

"Alright." 

I hadn't remembered her being this quiet but then again I don't remember much, I should probably write down everything I can before Alzheimer's sets in. There are lapses in my mind where memories should live, I recall my life through glimpses.

Ellie takes her keys out of the ignition and hops out of the truck, leading me down the docks. I keep guessing in my head which boat belongs to her and then the second I spot it, I know and how I dread. It's a sailboat or what's left of one, sharpie graffiti scribbled all around it. The word 'wanderlust' had once been titled along the side though the first half was scratched out by what I assume were those teenagers Joel mentioned so it just said 'lust'.

Ellie had no problem climbing aboard, I on the other hand had doubts that it could support the weight of two people, let alone itself. There were chips of white paint scraped off, Ellie motioned for me to get on deck  "How long has this been abandoned?"

She waves me off  "There's freedom that comes with abandonment."

I raise an eyebrow "Sinking in a boat that's docked is a very lame way to die."

"Nah," She says "We can haunt the marina."

She holds out her hand for me to take it and with hesitation, I do. Stepping over the gap between the dock and the boat, I haul myself over the rails. Even in the dark, I could make that climb, it was almost like muscle memory from working at my parents marina summer after summer. "She's a beauty, yeah? In her own special kind of way," Ellie pats the side of the companionway. "I actually made some progress on it last summer, if you can believe me."

"I don't know if I can," I look around, following her as we duck into the saloon.

She reaches for a notebook with a pink sharpie clipped onto it on the table of the saloon and turns to face me "Whoever was here must've been a real wordsmith, what I can't figure out is how the words got out of the notebook and onto my walls." 

I crawl onto the cushioned V-berth to get a better look at all of the writing on the walls. Most of it had been poetry, not Edgar Allen Poe but the kind that only an angsty teenage girl on the verge of a mental break could've written. 

The Statue of Juliette:

May I ask what you have done to women?

That your hands have only learned to harm one

Hand after filthy hand

Is dragged

Groped

Caressed

Prodded

Over my rusted skin

The things I have seen

The things I have endured

No water can clean me

No blanket can warm me

Take a hammer to my bronze flesh

And I will thank you for your kindness

As my body crumbles and clatters against cobblestone

I am eternally grateful

For this is the gentlest act I have ever faced

"I know," Ellie says, and I look back to meet her sharp gaze "A real Sylvia Plath.”

"Is this your candle?" I reach for it on the ground, it's halfway through its life. A vanilla bean bath and bodyworks candle.

She takes it from my hand and gives it a sniff "I was wondering why it smelled so good in here, I just thought that was you." She places the candle back onto the saloon table "So, Neptune's daughter, where should we start?"

I snatch the notebook from the table and flip it open to a page clean of any writing. It takes a little less than fifteen minutes to seek out all of the trouble spots. Ellie followed behind me and nodded to everything that I was saying. 

The boat isn't in nearly as bad of condition as I expected. I suspected that the teenagers who occupied it while Ellie was away at college had all been girls, they took relatively good care of the boat aside from the graffiti, allegedly most of the damage had been there when Ellie got it from Tommy a year ago.

We now sat next to each other in the booth around the saloon table, the ocean rocked the boat beneath us ever so gently, the same way a mother would rock her child's cradle. I missed the sea when I was in college, on a bender I had driven three hours just to be back with it, it seemed the only safe place to let go and be reborn. I liked the sharpness of the air, the vastness of the horizon and the mystery beneath it. I thought I would rise from the seafoam a new woman the same way Aphrodite did but no, I threw up on the sandy shores and called my parents to make it go away.

I give the notebook over to Ellie, a new entry written in bright pink Sharpie amongst the poetry and anecdotes. 

Wanderlust's issues:

Mainsail and jib seem sketchy; Unfold the hoist for a full assessment

Wiring issues are out of my hands but a probable concern-should probably call in an expert

Nav instruments are cracked

Leaks on starboard window, probs cracked moulding

Interior woodwork is original, mainly solid despite a bit of mildew

Graffiti and chipped paint, graffiti likely cleanable (May need a new coat of paint)

Possible rigging issues

Underside? That's a question for the experts

Final Verdict: Wanderlust is a seaworthy vessel in need of some love

Ellie lets out a low whistle "God, I love a girl who knows the difference between a mainsail and a jib." She cracks a mischievous grin.

"You're teetering very close between sexy and crass," I tease her in return.

She seems a little taken aback by my comment, like she hadn't anticipated a response but ignores it nonetheless "What would it take to make you my first mate?"

"I'm sorry?"

"For someone with a bad memory, you seem to know your boats, Joel said that you used to work on charters. You gotta know more about sailing than me. It'll be a fun summer project, get you out of the house a bit."

I furrow my eyebrows as I look at her "You want me to work on the boat with you?"

Ellie nodded. She didn't rush to fill the silence that stretched between us, she didn't bother to sweeten the deal or hunt for some reason I would like working with her. She just let it stand. I looked her in the eyes, trying to figure her out. She goes from being almost non-verbal with me and now she asks me to spend the summer on a boat with her. I wondered if she knew what she was doing at all and if I would be carrying her through this.

I had a feeling that Ellie would become my next bad habit. It's easy to get addicted when everything interests you and nothing satisfies you. "I'm in."

"You won't regret this," Ellie almost jumps up, I swear I could've seen her making calculations in her head "So, I'm thinking we get rid of all this junk and get a good look at it bare bones, make a list of supplies and give her the spa day shes in desperate need of."

On my second day as first mate, I had been scrubbing away inside of the saloon while Ellie did some work on the exterior, my Scrub Daddy was being put to work. By the time I even made a dent in all of the Sharpie poetry, it was nearly falling apart and begging to be killed.

When I emerged from the companionway to replace my filthy bucket of water I spotted Ellie chatting up a girl on a dock. She had long glossy black hair that cascaded down her back in strategic ringlets. "So you're gonna sail on this thing?"

"Rebuilding her first," Ellie tells her, leaning against the railing. The girl she's speaking to looks like she's freezing, denim shorts cropped high and a white tank top.

"Do you need help?" She smiles and even I'm seduced by it. She has tanned skin that she's clearly been working on and sunglasses pushing back the silky hair from her forehead. "I've been on boats, lots of times," Her arms are crossed over her chest. I can see goosebumps all over her legs from the chill brought to us by the gray sky above and the frigid air. 

"That so?" Ellie asks, rising to her full height. A wrench in hand, it looks like the beginning of a really bad movie, not a family-friendly one. She saw me then, standing behind her. I watched her facade drop. Her smile changed as I approached, turning from flirt to friend in two seconds.

"Oh, hey," The black-haired girl regards me like I'm some kind of threat. "So do you need help or what?" 

Ellie looks at me and then back to her "Thanks for the offer but we're all set."

"Do you maybe wanna grab lunch or something?" She completely ignores me.

Ellie shakes her head "We've got lots of work to do, but-" She takes a deliberate pause and I almost cringe "I'll probably be at the shipwreck later. Stop by if you're around."

"See ya'," She grins and takes the sunglasses off the top of her head, placing them on the nose bridge before walking back down the dock.

"Wow," I dump my bucket of water over the rail of the boat "Looks like super difficult work out here, you are so brave." Sarcasm drips from my tone "Without you, who will flirt with all of the hot girls at the marina?"

"No need to be jealous," She says "I'm spending every waking minute with you after all."

I gave her the evil eye but I truly wasn't jealous. I didn't chase the thrill of a fling or late nights with girls whom I would forget by morning. I had dropped that by college and replaced it with ketamine and opioids, I abused liquor like I was its two-faced love. Now the only thing I chased was calmness. 

I wasn't jealous, just briefly reminiscing over how carefree I used to be. 

The tide was rolling and the sky above us was gray and angry as if something was raging within it. "Shit," I mutter, waves shifting from a distant hiss to a closer hush. The air hung heavy, I hadn't even noticed the change in weather from what seemed like the century I spent scrubbing away in the saloon. 

Ellie must've noticed what I was. "So, I'm thinking we should go?"

"You think?" I retort.

Moments later we're packed and rushing down the dock to find her truck. It doesn't take long for rain to begin to splatter on the ground beneath us, it isn't light and gentle, it's harsh. It sounds like pebbles being tossed onto a sheet of glass.

By the time we reach the truck, I'm soaked, hair sticking to my forehead and neck "You didn't want to poke your head into the saloon and say 'Hey, it's looking like there's gonna be a storm'?" 

"I was a little preoccupied," Ellie isn't much better off than I am, she takes off the flannel she had on top of her tank top and tosses it into the backseat, her tattoo out on full display. The rain is so heavy that everything on the outside of her truck looks like a blur. 

"Can you even drive in this?"

"No, can you?"

"No, I told you I have a DUI," The second the words leave my mouth I regret the slip-up. My eyes go wide and a hand slaps over my mouth, I'm acting like I just told her I was the one who took out JFK.

"You didn't tell me that."

"Well," I look forward, ignoring her piercing gaze, "I thought I did."

If not for the rain outside that pounded against the glass as if it wanted to be let in, we would've sat in complete silence while we drowned beneath all of the words going unsaid. My mind begins to wonder, first I think of the black-haired girl at the docks; I hope she didn't get stuck outside in the rain, especially with her lack of clothing. Then I think about what Ellie's thinking, did she know already? Had Joel told her? I'm humiliated all over again like I'd been when the paramedics dragged my half-naked body out of a bathtub.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" She asks. I don't say anything and she takes this as a hint "We don't have to talk about it."

I'm beginning to grow comfortable with the silence. I almost preferred it to the back-and-forth banter Joel and Ellie constantly had, which was more so father and daughter teasing each other.

Joel had probably known more about me than I did, my parents liked to keep him filled in after all. They just loved to keep tabs on me, if it was legal I'm sure they would put cameras behind my retinas and watch my every move. Eight months ago when I was in rehab, that was the most peace I've ever felt. As much as my parents wanted me clean, they held resentment since I ruined my life and was destroying theirs by association. Joel didn't seem like the type to gossip to his daughter but it nagged at me regardless. "Did Joel tell you anything?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just-like," I search through my brain to find the words "Like what I've been up to?"

She shrugged "He just said you are on a deferral and need a break from the city."

"Okay," I say, my voice so quiet it was almost smothered by the obnoxious rain. 

"Are you hungry?"

We had thrown on two jackets Ellie had in the back seat of the cars. She offered me Joel's black raincoat while she humbly took the bright yellow rain poncho. It took everything in me not to laugh at her, she looked like Georgie.

Ellie slung one arm around me, we were both hunched over as we ran as fast as we could. She was shouting stuff at me but I couldn't hear her through the rain, I just nodded in agreement and hoped she hadn't said something awful.

She tugged me left, the deluge chasing us into Salty's for cover. It was nearly dead in there, two other tables, one was an elderly couple and the other was a group of girls, laughing like hyenas while one of them showed the others a picture on her phone.

Ellie wasted no time in taking off her poncho and I didn't blame her, no one wanted to be seen in that. The second we settled into a booth by the huge glass window which took up the entire storefront, an over-eager waiter came up. He was tall, had dark hair and had handsome features, he must've been bored with how slow it was in here. "Hey, Jesse," Ellie said "Can I have water and a big-buck burger?"

He nodded and swerved his body to look at me, "Alright and for you-" He looked up from his notepad and paused for a moment before a huge smile cracked on his face "I haven't seen you in so long!" 

"Hi," I smiled, my mouth hanging openly awkwardly as I tried to recall him.

"Do you remember me?" He asked, his hand dropping to his side "Jesse," He reminded "We used to go to school together."

I had no idea who he was "Oh my god, yes!" I say "I remember."

His smile grows "God, you look so different."

"You too," I gesture at him "You're way more-" My mind falls flat "Grown."

He nods along to my words "Have you had a chance to look at the menu?"

Wanting this conversation as soon as possible I nod despite not even opening the menu “Yeah, I'll just get the, uh, big-buck and a club soda.” I repeated Ellie's order.

He jots it down onto his notepad "It'll be right up."

"Ellie, I don't know who that is," I say when I see him retreat to the server station to fill in the order. The entire restaurant is nautical-themed, the walls painted black, and there were nets with faux fish covering every square inch of the ceiling.

"Wow, I had no idea," She says, sarcastically "Damn, your memory really is fucked." 

Trust me, I know or at least I think I do. I disregard her comment "Water? Don't you wanna get rootbeer or something? Joel said you drink so much soda that your blood is made of corn syrup."

She grins "Gotta keep up the tough guy act."

Across the restaurant one of the girls waves to Ellie, this one has curly brown hair and a sundress "Hi, Ellie!"

Her eyebrows furrow "Hey there-um...you," Ellie said "Good to see you again."

The girl smiles slyly at Ellie before turning back to her friends. "Looks like I'm not the only one forgetting people, what's your excuse?"

"There's a lot of girls in the world, I can't remember all of their names."

"You must've gone through every girl in the cove, power to ya'," I say "No idea you had such a reputation."

"You don't know a lot about me."

I shrug "You know even less about me."

"I bet I could guess."

"Be my guest."

She leans back like she's carefully considering her next words, choosing them very wisely before she finally settles "You picked a major like communications and got bored quickly, decided you needed to do some soul searching. Probably read 'Eat, Prey, Love,' then went on a backpacking trip, expenses paid by your parents. Alternatively, you lived in a van and pretended to be a broke hippie."

I shook my head "Very cliche and you were only right about one thing."

"What?"

"I got bored quickly," The rain outside was failing to cease. Across from me, it looked like Ellie was calculating my every move. Her auburn hair was still wet, and from her hairline, a droplet of water dribbled down onto her button nose to rest on her cupid bow.

"Can I have a hint then?"

"No."

I see a realisation hit her "You partied with frat guys?"

I shook my head "I've always been too cool for them." I wasn't too cool for them, I was too fucked up to even know they were throwing a party until someone verbally informed me, by that point all I've ever done at a frat party was break in through a window and steal a keg like the disgusting fiend I was. It was nothing to be proud of, my friends thought it was hilarious and posted it on their Snapchat stories, egging me on and feeding into this sickening behaviour. What wasn't funny was how I got caught and winded up with a busted lip and broken rib. With pupils the size of my iris, I couldn't feel the pain I was in.

"Okay, now you have to tell me."

"I can't, I lose my mysterious allure."

The bell above the door chimes signalling the arrival of another customer and said customer makes a b-line for our table. She takes a seat next to Ellie "Jesse texted me that you were here.”

"Dina, were you at work?" Ellie furrows her eyebrows.

"Yeah, it's not like anyone's buying souvenirs right now and Jesse told me you finally came back," She whips her head to look over at me.

I genuinely remembered her, unlike Jesse. She had buried the time capsule with Ellie, her family and I. I also recalled how her older sister used to give us hand-me-down clothes. "Dina, hi."

She has freckles scattered across her face the same way that Ellie does. Her smile was so comforting, I forgot that I was soaked to my bones and shivering. "Well we should all do something together tonight," Dina grins "You're doing Ellie a huge favour by helping her fix that rig, she better give you some good head for it."

I almost choke on my saliva while Ellie just groans with disappointment like she had anticipated Dina saying something along those lines "D, you can't say that stuff around every girl I'm with, this is essentially my sister for the summer."

Dina raises her hands in defence "Sorry, my bad, I was unaware since you failed to mention that you have my old friend living with you." Ellie looks like she's going to say something but Dina speaks up again before she has the chance to "Let me give you my number."

Wordlessly, I hand my phone over to Dina who fills out her contact information and then gives my phone right back to me. I study Dina's face and her mannerisms, hoping that something might bring me back to my childhood which has been wiped away by every upper and downer you could put a name to. Something about her seemed familiar, maybe we had been closer friends than I thought.

I nod along to whatever she and Ellie are saying, chiming in random bits of dialogue but my mind is stuck on the two of them side by side. They're what I could've been if my family never moved us away and I hadn't turned my brain into sludge.

The life I could've had.

 Ellie smoked from what I knew, maybe Dina or Jesse were into something a little more hardcore. Hardcore? If hardcore qualifies as drowning in a concoction of cough syrup, Vicodin, codeine, and Gatorade to balance out the flavour of self-destruction. The bottles I swallowed to sleep, I showed up to almost every lecture high. Here I was handed what was nearly a good life and I tossed it away for something with a sweeter taste than a stable job and proper education.

The horrors I've committed. No good deed will ever outdo the bad that I have unleashed upon this godforsaken earth. From my clouded brain, paralyzing thoughts come to life to curse myself, the nightmare no mother would wish for her child to endure. 

Relapse after relapse, I would fall sick with the thought of how many times I had to relapse until I was finally clean and that bitter flavour washed from my mouth.

"Are you okay?" Dina asks with a smile and furrowed brows "We kind of lost you there."

It's one in the morning and I want to drink wine then slip beneath the rapid waters that will gladly pull me under and claim me as theirs.

Instead, I opt for a class of water. As Dina had said earlier, she wanted to get a bunch of friends together but the second we got home, I showered and locked myself away. Echoes of laughter and chatter drifted through my window.

I slip down the steps that lead to the kitchen. Outside the rain has finally dissipated and Ellie, Dina, Jesse, along with a handful of people I don't know crowd around a bonfire. The kitchen is illuminated only by moonlight, the moon hung over me as I poured myself water from the tap, a dead thing over a dying thing. 

I have seafoam in my veins and centuries-passed sunshine that induces my craving for some pills that will put me to sleep. Three months completely clean and yet that doesn't end the yearning for the drugs that comforted me more than any human ever had. 

The door cracks open and in comes Ellie, she's laughing and from the uncontrollable giggles, drowsy gaze, and slightly disoriented walking I can tell that she's been smoking. "Hey," She smiles at me, reaching passed me to grab a mug with Garfield on the front and fill it with water but she doesn't take a sip, she just sits it down on the counter behind us and stares at me.

Our faces only inches apart, I contemplate her next move. This close I can smell the marijuana on her and I almost want to scuttle upstairs and light a candle. Ellie hugs me, wrapping her arms around my midriff and letting her head find its resting place in the crook of my neck "Are you okay?"

"Mhm" She hums "I'm just glad you're here, whatever the circumstances are, I'm happy that you're helping me with the boat," I'm carrying almost her full way, and she's slouched against me "I love you man, I know you don't remember a lot from when we were kids but we had a lot of fun together."

"Thanks, Ellie," I give her a little pat on the back "That's really nice of you."

She peels herself away from me, using the counter to lean against instead. She looks me up and down, having an intense staring contest with my pyjamas "Do you wanna come out and smoke with everyone?" She's shed her tank top and thrown over a gray hoodie to shroud her from the oncoming cold.

I shake my head, no "I don't mess with that stuff."

"That's smart," She says "Have fun in your room, stowaway, I'll see you tomorrow to work on our boat," With that Ellie leaves without grabbing the Garfield mug she came in here for.

A/N: Hey, y’all. I’m aware I have a million open docs, I assure you they are all getting some love but I needed to come back to my roots and write some angst. These are some issues I have struggled with and I feel that it’s important to bring attention to it so it’s not taboo.

[saytrrose]

Can we see More about your racing AU please?

Looks so amazing and i love It so much

I do suppose I could share the character design line up!

I really just need to finish designing all the go karts, (atleast most are done!) and then I can make proper cards for them and really get into the written details.

To be honest it’s a little hard to just ramble about info and details without specific questions to go off of, so I’ll try my best hhh

for starters, the tent? Not a tent!

It’s actually a stadium, the amazing digital race!

And rooms? Sort of tweaked, they are more like each character owns a personal garage, a large open space where they store their vehicles and then have a loft above that showcases their cozy safe havens. Bed, entertainment, basically a small room in a much larger one.

I haven’t revealed Ragatha, Zooble or Gangles karts yet but I’ll go ahead and just talk about all of them!

Caine:

Caine has a motorcycle, specifically one inspired off of the motorcycle I’m saving up for this summer, a Kawasaki Eliminator. It’s a cruiser, I’m thinking he has a 600cc model but considering Bubble is his right hand man and operates as the races pit crew- he’s definitely tinkered with Caines bike, making adjustments and improving the engine. God only knows what the little psycho did, but it’s a damn good bike that’s not supposed to rev as loud as it does.

Pomni:

Her kart is inspired off a Volkswagen Beetle, seemed very VERY Pomni to me. Her car mimics her outfit design a lot, I might do some color changes to be honest but it will be super minimal, it’ll be final when the cards are done! She definitely stops at the pit the most often despite her placement in a race, are my tires okay?? Do I need my oil?? I know you just filled it but it went down- is anything damaged?? Sweetie you did one lap..

Jax:

Jesus Christ he has a giant supercharger on the hood of his car, and he is absolutely one of those annoying mfs that reva their engine OBNOXIOUSLY loud all the time like he’s super cool. If you’re wondering who most of the skid marks on the track are from, that’s also Jax. Hes the best as drifting, and he loves to show that off. His car isn’t based too much on an actual vehicle?? I stared at Mario karts and pieced it together, but also gave it a very sports car look, the wing on the back fr fr I think Jax would dig that.

Kinger:

OHHSOSK I was so creative with his little wagon,,, it’s castle shaped!! And the best part? Operates like a rocket. In the back past the battlement (the crown looking thing you see atop castle pillars) ARE GIANT exhaust pipes and yes, they do spit fire !! Operates like a rocket. It’s very cool! (Also he has a great muffler because unlike Jax he’s considerate of others hearing 💔) Oh also, he has one of those silly horns, I forgot how to describe it but you can just look at how I drew it on his kart and you’ll know heheh!

Zooble:

Our second motorcyclist, owns a trike! If you don’t know what that is, picture a bike with training wheels but super badass. 3 wheels! It’s inspired off the Harley Davidson freewheeler, I like that design a lot but it’s def not actually a Harley because istg when you buy those bikes your just paying for the fancy name brand- expect it to be in the shop all the time, smh not good- BUT ANYWAY!! The looks are inspired off it though and I can’t wait for this one because it’s just as crazy kooky as Zoobles design is.

Gangle:

Her kart is based on my favorite car, classic style but not too cool because you can bet she has anime stickers on the back and a decal that says “please let me merge before I start crying.” It’s similar to a karmann ghia convertible, 1963. Cherry red (so so pretty) She always has the top down, unless competing because damn you gotta go fast. That car itself is really slow, top speed normally is 68mph, however people have modified them enough to get up to 120mph. Thats still pretty slow compared to others, but her kart only reflects the appearance of the ghia! It’s much faster and I assume Bubble works on all their vehicles if asked to.

Lastly, Ragatha:

Our 3rd motorcyclist. 4 Karts, 3 cyclists. Her bike is a futuristic style, if you want a good idea then look up “icare bike”! Not so much a straight forward posture, she leans over ofc, you’ll likely get the idea when you see her bike. I’ll be honest, I haven’t gotten too into her design yet because I haven’t started drawing but!! Dark blue leds,, everywhere yes yes so cool ❤️

Sorry that’s so much ���� but yeah! Just need to finish 3 kart designs for you guys and I can make official ref cards 👀

[itostea]

days off

warnings: just a lot of fluff!! you’re both lovesick for each other 

a/n: the ending is a bit rushed so oops 

It’s not often for your boyfriend to take a day off of practice. He’s a man built on the discipline of a routine, the kind of guy that you wouldn’t expect to ever skip a day. But Rin thinks he’s gotten too comfortable in his relationship with you–not that that’s a bad thing. Truthfully, he’s grown far too used to your company and today was no different. As a matter of fact, he thinks it’s even worse now as he was willing to take practice off just to laze around the living room with you. 

So here he was, sitting on the carpeted floor and listening to you ramble about some anime you just watched about volleyball. His fingers graze over the skin of your palm, tracing little patterns as he sits through your chatter and occasionally offering his own thoughts.

“Why are they using that boring power of friendship shit? Can’t they just score their own goals?”

“Huh? Goals? Are we talking about the same sport right now?” You laughed and the sound just makes him fall in love all over again. “Well, I guess for you, scoring points for yourself is probably more rewarding than having someone do it for you.”

With that, you’re off in your own world again: rambling as you twitch occasionally to sit in a different position. And he just listens, sitting quietly as he resumes playing with your fingers and hands. Rin thinks you’re so cute like this. He’s not very verbal and doesn’t voice his love very often. Yet, he just hopes you notice the fond look in his eyes–see how he’s enamored by your mere presence alone. 

“Then he–” you pause, tilting your head so you can gauge your boyfriend’s reaction. When you’re around him, you practically wear your emotions on your sleeve. It’s not like you could help it–especially when he was looking at you like that. It doesn’t help that Rin was so attractive too. You even think to yourself that there’s no way he could look that good in such a simple, black t-shirt! 

You feel your heart race as your hands impulsively pull him up so you can move onto his lap, hiding your face in his shoulder so he wouldn’t see the effect he had on you. It’s almost natural how his hand slides down your waist while the other brushes the skin of your neck. His voice is quiet against your head. “Tired?” 

You shake your head, not resisting when he leans back, pulling your head so he can see your face. For someone who looks so cold, his fingers sure are warm resting on your cheeks. You’re not sure if it’s normal for your boyfriend to be this clingy but you don’t complain when he reaches over to pepper light kisses all over your face. The feeling of his soft lips is ticklish and you can’t help but giggle. “Rin! What are you–” you laugh, holding onto him as he pushes you down on the couch. 

From the corner of your eye, you can see the slightest smile painted over his lips as he traps you underneath him–kissing you on the lips gently. You can’t help but grin widely at his sudden display of affection. “You’re more touchy than usual. You sure you wanna spend your day here being unproductive with me?” You ask, reaching up to cup his face. 

He presses a kiss on your palm, glancing down at you with a frown that’s awfully out of character. “Are you kicking me out?”

Once again, you laugh and shake your head in disbelief. “I just thought you would rather be playing football right now!”

“It’s fine,” he leans down for another kiss. “You worry too much.”

You smile as he continues his antics, only humming as he leans back up. “I was actually hoping for a different answer…”

“What?” Now he’s really frowning. “So you are kicking me out?”

“No I’m not,” your eyes roll at how dramatic he was yet you can’t resist a little smile. “I wanna go on a date with you.”

“Right now?” 

“Yes, right now,” you confirm. 

“Why didn’t you just say that before,” he deadpans, finally sitting up and sighing. Not even a minute passes before he gestures for you to get up, trying to keep his anticipation hidden from your peering eyes. 

“So is that a yes?” 

“I didn’t say no,” he mumbles.

Your embrace is sudden, filled with surprise as you laugh in success. “Then let’s go get boba! Oh can we try this new place out? I heard it’s good… Rin?” You mumble, feeling a newfound embarrassment as he watches you without blinking an eye. “You good?”

“Hm? Yeah,” he presses one final kiss on your forehead. “Let’s go get some food too.”

The sound of cheers makes him smile as he shakes his head. “Hurry up or else I’m leaving without you.”

“What? Don’t be mean Rin!” 

[ghostmaldo]

₊˚ʚ 💙 ₊˚✧ ﾟNanami x GN!Reader ₊˚ʚ 💙 ₊˚✧ ﾟ

₊˚ʚ 💙 ₊˚✧ ﾟSide walk rule ₊˚ʚ 💙 ₊˚✧ ﾟ

Because he totally would and I had to read what happened to this man, watch it be animated and then watch it AGAIN with my nephew. And I was not prepared each and every single time! So to help cope with his uh… accident, I’m going to pretend it never happened and instead write this cute little fic. Still GN because I feel as if anyone who is Nanami’s love interest is def not walking next to the side walk with him around. So there! End report.

Music while writing (I’M SORRY ITS SAD I NEEDED IT AND ITS GOOD): https://youtu.be/PeW7qRy4Ng0?si=y60zePjuRmo9Hqki

Now, on to the show.

No warnings, just some fluff

Ask box 💙: Open

“Uuuugggh It’s too early for this.” They groaned miserably while dragging their feet along the concrete. Tired eyes barely open and a long yawn escaping their lips. While their fellow Jujutsu Sorcerer walked along side them, wide awake with his head held straight. At least one of them was conscious for this meeting at this ungodly hour. “Come along (Y/N). The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave.”

They groaned once again. Raising their hands up to their eyes to attempt to rub the sleep out of them. It didn’t work. “Kento, you tell me that everytime we have one of these stupid meetings and every time Gojo always make it his *job* to make sure we stay so much longer then we need to.” It was Nanami’s turn to let out a small displeased groan. Knowing very well they were right by their statement. “It was worth a shot.” He grimaced.

(Y/N) walked a few steps… and halted suddenly. Looking to one side of them, they noticed Nanami standing a couple steps behind them. Unmoved and a look of concentration forming on his brows. “Nanami? Is everything alright?” They asked innocently, near too sweet for their own good. The sound of their voice caused Nanami to come back to the present. Abruptly shaking his head as his steps resumed as if nothing had happened. However, they watched as he walked toward them, arm extending out to snag them by the elbow and delicately pull them away from the busy street. Replacing himself in their place. Then, he motioned for their arm to wrap around his bicep, encouraging them to walk with him. Their eyes were wide with bewilderment, gazing at him with admiration. After the shock subsided, a wide smile ballooned onto their face. They buried their face into his shoulder; lovingly enough to cause the man to blush lightly.

“Your so sweet Ken~” He huffed at the nickname. Never would he ever allow anyone else to call him by such a sickingly sweet name. But for you? Well… he supposed he’d let it slide. “You should never walk next to the busy street. Not while I’m here at least.” He stated flatly, pushing his glasses up further onto his face to distract himself from utter cheesiness he was spewing. Gojo would taunt him relentlessly if he ever saw an inkling of this behavior. Which was one of the reasons he reserved this sort of mannerisms for the time he shared with their partner alone. And it just made things sweeter for (Y/N).

“Maybe after the meeting, if we have time, we could go to the bakery for coffee and maybe a treat?” The idea peeked Nanami’s interested. His blue icy eyes flickered over to them. A warm smiling playing at the corners of his lips. “Maybe, if you can manage to stay awake the whole meeting.”

“Awww Nanami noooo.” They whined dramatically, playing pulling on the mans arm. “They always talk about such boring things, it’s not my fault!”

“Then I suppose no treats for you then.”

“Nanaaaammiiiin, you’re so meeeaaan!”

[yourlocaltreesimp]

To Live, To Love

For @trippygalaxy and their Linksona Shifter. Ive fluffified the boy. >:)

Take care of yourself goddamnit. KNOW YOU ARE LOVED!!!

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

You’ve known since his journey had ‘concluded’ that Link was troubled. Not that the word even fully fits the capacity of what he must be feeling. The very goddess who made him into a hero, too young to bear his burdens, never let him know rest. Wherever there was trouble upon her lands, it was Link she sent to resolve it. By any means necessary. Now, no longer a child, your Link was as one could expect from someone of his circumstance. There was no longer a bright eyed wonder to see the world, for he’d already seen everything it had to offer him— the scraps of what others didn’t care to take. He carried each responsibility behind a literal and figurative mask of neutrality. He was strong, though it didn’t need saying and where there was any weakness, there was bite. Where he could not defend by blade was defended by sharp words and sharper stares. But behind that mask of control over himself and the world, there was a man. Not the Hero of Time, or whatever may have you. Behind the whittled wood he’s come to be known by, there was Link. Your Link. Link, who’d stumble into your home without an ounce of strength or power left in him. Link, whose wounds you'd tend to as he stubbornly insists he’s ok. Link, who would only begrudgingly accept the food and clothes you gave him, stabbed in the back one too many times to ever let himself be cared for. Link, who, after enough time to air out from the stress he was put under, would settle next to you in bed only to leave the next morning- Hylia calling him away. While you had him, He’d curl up, occasionally letting his head rest upon your chest. It was relieving to know that in a world where he was expected to be no short of perfect, he could crumple into your arms. You married him not for that man he showed to the world, but for these moments of fragility. You spent a while getting the tangles and knots out of his hair, neglect of travel making the task take longer, but it’s not as if you mind. You hardly noticed the shiver in Link’s body, the tremor of his breath, the flinch of his eyes. It wasn’t until he bolted upright, gasping beneath the mask that you realised what was wrong. Panic attacks were all except expected given everything he’d been through, and yet as he strained to breathe, a panicked eye met yours. You’d seen that state before, like an animal caught in the maw of a trap. Much the same way with him, both were caught by iron. Where the animals were caught by metal teeth, your love was caught by the buckle of the mask he wore. But it didn’t stop you from shuffling closer slowly, gauging his reaction. You took both of his hands in yours, kissing the knuckles.

“My love” He didn’t settle, his eyes darting around the dark of the room, his eyes caught on the full moon’s illumination through the shutter.

“Link” Your words were hardly even more than a whisper, catching him immediately.

“Focus on me alright? Nothing else matters right now” His Adam's apple bobs and he nods. The movement is stiff, hardly even there.

“Good. Take some deep breaths, feel my hands on yours.” He follows as you say until each inhale is less intense than the last.

“Well done.” You feel your own appreciation rise as one hand cups the side of his wooden mask.

“May I?” One eye looks back into yours, an emotion you can’t read because of the mask. I’m cutting himself off from the world, he may have cut you out too. But it wasn’t unfixable, especially because your relationship wasn’t ever as far as broken. One hand wrapped all the way around your wrist, firm and steady.

“I don’t think you want to” His voice just sounds worn and tired, any warning he meant to add to his words was lost.

“Why is that, my Dear?” You let your hand sink back, not wishing to pressure him. You hope the action will show him more curiosity rather than he owes you an answer.

“I-“ His eyes dart away and back to you, “I fear I am not the man you fell in love with anymore. That you will see me for what I am and not bear to see me anymore” There’s a tangible shake in his voice, a waver in his strength.

“Nonsense” You say, and he feels the blood rush to his very fingertips as you look at him like he’s worth something. A shaky scarred hand reaches up to lift the wood mask off his face. There’s a split in his skin -a scar, rather- that runs from his eyebrow down to his chin. It took everything in its wake, his right eye and exposed some of his teeth. There’s a few other marks, burns and the like. But despite the fact there’s less of Link than when you saw him last, you can’t help but feel like this is the most you’ve seen of him. He looks at you with the hope to be loved, that you’ll still accept him for what he is and not what he must pretend to be. You press a long kiss to his forehead before resting yours against his. His hands are hesitant to find their way around your hips.

“I love you” You sounded lovesick, your heart decided on him and no other. His mouth opened as if he tried to speak some form of protest, but he couldn’t argue through a kiss. The split in his lip was new, but nothing than couldn’t be adapted to, no part of him you couldn’t love. After a long while, you parted, gasping for air— albeit for a different reason this time around.

“How I’ve missed you, my beloved” He took you back in his arms, curling around you entirely. He was there the next morning when he woke up, and for many more after.

[nyankochan]

A Mother’s Love

Malleus x fem!reader (platonic)

Summary

As a kid, Malleus had no parental figure outside of his grandmother. When at times she was too busy as queen, he found comfort in the embrace of one of his Royal guards, who happened to be Lilia’s lover.

word count:1K

“My dear prince, don’t you think it’s about time that you get ready for bed?” You ask, kneeling down to the the young child’s height. “It is awfully late now.”

The boy pouts, folding his arms across his chest. As much as he tried to hide it, you could see the sleepiness creeping across his face. Why children fight their exhaustion you would never know.

“But (name), I’m not tired,” Malleus denies. “So why do we have to stop playing?”

“Hmm…” you put your hand to your chin in thought. Your eyes glance around the play room. Tons have toys have been pulled out and strewn around the place making a chaotic mess. There was an unfinished castle that you and Malleus had been building with blocks. A few figures including a dragon and knight as well as some bouncy balls from your earlier game of catch. It would be such a shame to end a fun filled day so soon. Why it wasn’t even eight o’clock yet.

“You are right. We have had quite a lot of fun all day.” You clap your hands together. “How about this. Let’s get you bathed and in your pajamas. Once you are clean and comfortable, then we can come back and finish playing. How does that sound?

Malleus’s electrifying green eyes light up with a sparkle that makes your heart swell from his adorableness. “M’kay!” His small hand fits into yours as you walk down the hall together back to his bedroom.

After you run the bath and make sure it’s not too hot, you add Malleus’s favorite lavender bubble bath with the hopes that it would help the prince relax. It did the trick as usual. Malleus kept nodding off while you scrubbed his black tresses, but would shoot back up when he got too close to face planting into the water.

“We’re almost done, my prince,” you say gently. You rake your fingers through his hair to pull out the knots. “Then we can play all night.”

“M’kay…” Malleus mumbled, clearly growing drowsier by the minute.

You drain the bath water before taking Malleus out of the tub and wrapping him in the fluffiest towel you could find. While you dried his hair and combed through it, he relaxed back into your touch, slowly succumbing to the sand man.

A smile ghosts your lips. “Let’s get get your pajamas on. Then we can play.”

“M’kay…(name)…”

Now dressed, you pick Malleus up and carrying him out the bathroom. He leans against your shoulder, holding on to the sleeve of your dress tightly.

“Are you ready to play now, my prince?”

When You get no response, You let out a small chuckle. Malleus finally fell asleep, no longer able to put up a fight against his tiredness. His determination was no match for his exhaustion plus the soothing bath. Not that he would ever admit it.

Pulling back the covers, you carefully tuck the sleeping child into his bed. He stirs briefly at the loss of your warmth, but quickly relaxes upon feeling the comfort of his favorite stuffed animals. You push a few strands of his hair off is his fluttering eyelashes around the growing horns protruding from the top of his head. It always warmed your heart seeing his peacefully asleep.

You press a gentle kiss against his forehead. “Good night my prince. I hope pleasant dreams await you.” Quietly, you sneak out his room and shut the door.

By the time you reach your shared room with your lover, exhaustion had finally caught up to you without even realizing it. After taking a much needed shower (playing catch with Malleus was more taxing than one thought), you succumbed to the comfort of your own bed. With a simple night gown adorning your body, you snuggled up under the blankets, a novel in hand.

Time raced by as you were engrossed in your reading. You hadn’t realized the hour until Lilia, dressed in his military uniform, entered your room.

“Dearie? You’re still up at this hour?” Lilia questioned with a playful smile but nonetheless he was surprised you were still awake. You usually went to bed early so that you could be ready the next morning whenever Malleus woke up with breakfast already made.

“Oh? I suppose time escaped me,” you chuckle, book marking your page. “How was your day?”

“Hmm, the same as usual,” Lilia sat on the edge of the bed. “But I’d much rather hear about your day. How is Malleus?”

“A handful. He didn’t want to go to bed, so I told him we could keep playing after a bath.”

“I take it he didn’t last?”

“Nope.”

Lilia let out a chuckle, an airy yet youthful laugh that you fell in love with. He rose from the bed to turn the light off. “You should get some rest yourself, Dearie. Don’t work yourself too hard.” The man placed a kiss against your nose causing your face to feel hot.

“Don’t stay up yourself. Her Majesty has you working more these days.”

“Worry not,” he assured. “I’m merely training new recruits, so there is nothing to fear. I’ll be sure to take care of myself.”

Lilia heads to the combined bathroom and you soon hear the shower turn on. You sigh and shift in the bed. Perhaps it was just your anxieties or maybe it was post-war stress. It hadn’t been too long ago since you left the battlefield to assume the responsibility of taking care of Malleus, so you chalked it up as being antsy. Everything was at peace now. There was nothing to worry about. Your focus now was to raise the prince to become a great king of Briar Valley.

Lilia and Malleus

Lilia and Malleus

Read part 2: here

A/n: Obsessed with the idea of malleus having a mother figure since Lilia is like his father

[randomficrecss]

My Hero Academia Fic Rec

i’m not super picky with my mha ships so here’s some of my fav fics for bakudeku, kiribaku, and tododeku! enjoy<3

KiriBaku

An Abundance of Penguin Shit by vixensheart

T | 295.1K | 25/25 | AU no quirks, AU animal handler, Slowburn, penguins, panic attacks

Penguins are overrated, in Katsuki's mind. They smell, they're loud, and they shit every ten minutes. How he ended up working with them, he doesn't know, but he hates it.

Okay, so maybe he needed a pay raise. Sue him. That doesn't mean he enjoys it. It's hard to enjoy getting bit every time he so much as looks at a penguin, after all. Let alone when he tries to handle one.

It certainly doesn't help that he keeps getting paired with Kirishima, who's all smiles and way too damn friendly for his own good.

~

Or, when Katsuki works as an animal handler because he's broke and hungry, and inadvertently warms up to both the penguins, and a certain red-haired boy.

I wasn’t looking for love (but then there you were) by dragontrappedinhumanskin

T | 35.5K | 1/1 | AU college, fluff and angst, strangers to lovers, first dates, public transportation, basketball player kirishima

(past child abuse)

Bakugo always fucking hated riding the subway every week, its crowded, loud and he's tired, but then he starts seeing the same redhead every time.

--

Katsuki blinked in disbelief. What the shit, he’s asking to play rock, paper, scissors. Is he fucking five years old? Who can be this stupid?! And he took his hand off the handle, does he want to fall?

Katsuki glared at him, but the redhead just smiled, and his eyes glint with a challenge, and before Katsuki can really think it through he’s taking his free hand and making a fist in front of himself.

The redhead’s smile turned less challenging and more cheerful, and Katsuki decided that this might not be that bad. He’s going to fucking crush him at rock, paper, scissors, even if it’s a stupid game.

neon season by chonideno

T | 26.3K | 1/1 | AU no quirks, road trips, aged up characters, sharing a bed, happy ending

the car is old and the road is long. nothing truly feels real, gas stations are empty, hotel rooms are on another plane of existence, street lights flicker when they walk past them. the fabric of their relationship changes a bit with every new city they drive through, progressively muffling the buzzing static of their thoughts

or how kirishima and bakugou share food, beds, bodies, and refuse to admit they want it to last

slow it down (go easy on me) by newamsterdam

T | 26.9K | 3/3 | time travel, marriage, future fic, angst with a happy ending

It’s at that moment that Bakugou realizes something is very, very wrong. He glances down at himself and sees scars he’s never had before along his arms, little nicks and scratches he’d never have been oblivious to. When he reaches up, his limbs feel longer, and as he staggers to his feet he stands several centimeters taller than he had, last thing he knew. He glances at the mirror, catches sight of his reflection, and screams.

One of the doors on the opposite side of the room bursts open, steam spilling out into the bedroom. A man crosses the room in quick strides, looking around for some enemy he can’t yet see.

No, not just a man. Kirishima.

When a confrontation with a villain throws Bakugou through time, he's forced to face a future he never imagined, and maybe something he can't leave behind.

the easy parts by chonideno

T | 11.6K | 1/1 | hurt/comfort, canon compliant, scars, insecurity, happy ending

Kirishima made it out alive but his body is covered in wounds that won't heal without leaving marks behind. He hides them away from the sight of others, away from his own, and he hates every part of it. Bakugou watches him reduce his own character to a parody of what it used to be, and he can't stand it.

Or how Bakugou and Kirishima learn to deal with these scars, with themselves, with each other.

Tonight, We’re the Sea by idratherhaveyou

M | 60.7K | 11/11 | AU no quirks, slowburn, hurt/comfort, soft, the ocean

Kirishima goes to a quiet seaside town to take care of his grandmother after she has a bad fall. There he meets Bakugou Katsuki and falls in love.

TodoDeku

sore must be the storm by Pouler (poulerslashes)

T | 10.4K | 1/1 | injury, claustrophobia, near death scenario, hurt/comfort, aged up characters, future fic

(past child abuse)

“We were in a fight,” he said.

“Yes,” Todoroki returned.

“And now we’re trapped?”

“Yes.”

“Under a building.”

“So it would seem.”

Two friends share time and words together as they try to keep a dark situation from turning into a hopeless one.

Summer Stars by PitViperOfDoom

T | 61.2K | 13/13 | hurt/comfort, mutual pining

(past child abuse)

It's been judged safe to send the students of UA home to their families for the first three weeks of summer, much to the relief of everyone whose name isn't Todoroki Shouto. Luckily, Midoriya has a solution for him, and Midoriya Inko has a lot of love to give.

i love you like the sun came out by unreemarkable

T | 46.5K | 6/6 | fluff, angst, developing relationship

(reference child abuse)

Todoroki Shouto is untouchable, until he isn't. What comes after goes a little like this.

[In which Todoroki falls, slowly, steadily, with his eyes wide open.]

Hooked On You by Trenchcoatkitten (love this one bc i just started crocheting like 2 months ago!)

T | 23.3K | 3/3 | crochet AU, college students, getting together, quirkless AU

While looking for a way to get a sweater for his dog, Shouto finds that he may be able to make one himself–and his main way to learn how is from a streamer with gnarled, scarred hands and a very kind voice that Shouto is rapidly coming to like.

OR

The crochet au that nobody asked for but I decided to write because it's like chicken soup for the soul.

prince & prince by Authoress

E | 183K | 22/22 | princes AU, arranged marriage, quirks equal royalty, undercover deku, slowbuild, hurt/comfort

Note to self: don't accidentally fall in love with a prince who's in an arranged marriage keeping your kingdoms from declaring war against each other. Especially when you're spying on him as his manservant.

Checks and Balances by indirectkissesiniceland (literally my fav omg, read the whole series!!)

T | 113.8K | 30/30 | AU college, hockey, cheerleaders, slowburn, friends to lovers

(referenced child abuse)

Izuku Midoriya was a competitive cheerleader up until an injury to his hand made tumbling and stunting an impossibility. It's devastating to think that cheer could be out of his life for good—until a pair of enthusiastic classmates show up at Izuku's dorm room with a signup sheet for a new hockey cheerleading club. All that's left to do is learn how exactly hockey works...and try not to think too much about the prodigious freshman right wing, who's just about the most wonderful person Izuku's ever met.

Shouto Todoroki has eaten, slept, and breathed hockey his whole life. He's got a legacy to live up to with his pro-hockey old man, and he's no stranger to the scrutiny and expectations of his coaches and teammates. It's different now that he plays for UA, though. He's got a former pro coach who sees potential in him and teammates who might actually like him as a person. Then there's the cheerleading captain, who's kind and compassionate in a way Shouto's never known—and who won't rest until Shouto stops dismissing hockey as nothing more than his old man's game.

When He Sees Me by Trenchcoatkitten

no rating | 81.1K | 14/14 | AU no quirks, blind midoriya izuku, dancer todoroki shouto, angst with a happy ending

(referenced child abuse)

“Sorry,” Midoriya says. “I tend to get off in my own little world sometimes. Guess I just talk a lot. Hope that won't bother you.”

“It's fine. I don't talk very much.”

Midoriya grins again, lighting up the booth brighter than the light hanging over the table. “We're a perfect pair, then!”

xx

Todoroki Shouto moves in with someone he's never met, just while he's in town for his show. He's never really known what home could mean, and, well, Izuku's the perfect ball of sunshine to show him.

Basically, this is a Blind!Izuku and Dancer!Shouto AU :)

BakuDeku

i was a little bit lost (but i’m not anymore) by starkliquors

E | 58.7K | 9/9 | AU sugar daddy, ABO dynamics, kid fic, sugar daddy bakugo,

Struggling as a single parent sucks. Especially when he had so many other responsibilities. So when Izuku asks his best friend to help him find a better job, he doesn't expect that to lead to becoming the sugar baby of the Symbol of Victory himself, Ground Zero.

No Perfect Time by ThyNameNotSpoken (read part 2 if u like shinsou hitoshi/kaminari denki, it’s so good)

E | 73.9K | 9/9 | hurt/comfort, dad katsuki, quirkless midoriya, eventual smut, single parents

Katsuki Bakugo has lived his life with no regrets. He goes all in. He doesn’t lose. He doesn’t fail.

Until he does.

Now he's stuck taking care of a baby he swore to protect.

But he needs help. He knows now that he can't do everything alone. That's how Izuku comes into his life. . .and never leaves

Baby Face by VersaceThong (classic “who did this to you” fic)

E | 16.5K | 1/1 | friends to lovers, hurt/comfort, trauma, injury, scar, falling in love, sexual content

A thick bloody gash runs from Deku’s right brow, across the bridge of his nose, over his cheek, and all the way down to the edge of his jaw. A sickening, jagged line etched diagonally over his face, wide enough to miss one of his eyes by mere milimeters.

He almost crashes into Deku, grabbing his arm in one hand and his face in the other. Katsuki’s index and thumb press into either side of his jaw, squishing Deku’s cheeks together.

With a voice so low he doesn’t recognize it as his own, Katsuki grinds out his words.

“Who did this to you?”

______________________________

Or; a villain leaves a scar on Deku's face and Katsuki absolutely loses it.

[vivihar]

i have so much to say about tomerus so it’s going here

so first they’re the divorced couple who hate eachother and are mildly successful and have lives for themselves and mansions and cars and severus is eyeing young boys across the room at posh parties and tom is glaring at the back of his head daring him to even try and get anyone that is him and they’re dancing with two different people, kissing them, letting their hands trail while keeping full eye contact and smiling at each other JUST TO RUB IT IN

and they probably try and kill eachother and talk shit about each other to other party goers who are just wanting to chat abt like…rich people shit idk. and then they accidentally find each other in the bathroom and they’re like wild animals clawing and gripping and biting at each other and then walking out like it’s nothing just to go back to shit talking each other until tom gets a message that says ‘i’ll pay for your cab’ so yes he IS going to see his annoying but sexy ex husband

————

and they’re DEFINITELY the ‘you’re going to kill me?’ ‘i’ll do just that.’ ‘well, go ahead.’ ‘i’ll do this my own way.’ ‘you won’t do it. you can’t pull the trigger. you can’t do it because you love me. it takes a very brave and cold man to do that, sev. i don’t think you can. isn’t that true? isn’t that why you’re waiting?’ ‘that’s not true-’ ‘or is it because you want to watch your victim? you want my heart to constrict with agony, my hands to shake. you want me to plead for my life so you can make a generous gesture and spare me.’ while dressed like this

————

i love a good jennifer’s body reference and especially loser sev, jennifer tom js bc of the whole plot of the film and the homoerotic friendship with a hint of ‘you’re killing people!!’ ‘no, i’m killing boys.’

————

tbh i LIKE tom being in charge but severus having a man that stays at home and does whatever he asks is also a very big thing for me with them…like severus makes him wear a cute dressing gown (i put below) and stay at home just being pretty and he just wants someone to bring along to his expensive parties to piss off his old ex husbands with his smile saying ‘look how cute my husband is’ with tom just nodding along to whatever he says.

————

i think they definitely have each others names/initials carved into them somewhere and their bite marks tattooed (at most scarred) into their skin…btw…

OKAY IM DONE !! LOVE YOU VIVI !!

(these are the fits for the first paragraph but i found of them too late)

I was thinking about Fem Tomerus these few days and this kinda made me think about them more thanky.

Also I agree, they would be so petty and have bickerings a lot and other people just be tired of their shit😭 'go marry again leave us alone'

And I know Tom only divorced because he was like "I don't even care about you" lying to himself and now he's all pissed his ex husband is single and others could lay hand on him which comes the bathroom scene lol he would try leave marks as much as he can so other people wouldn't want to be together with Sev.

The dress are in point 😭they would wear all classy and act like toddlers fight always and do their whole dramatic talkings. They're so pathetic it's funny, I think I'm going to make few divorced Tomerus posts after this because it's so funny 😭😭.

I don't remember anything from Jen's body so I probably will rewatch it for only this,,

Btw that's literally canon. Voldemort was making plans and other things but like Lucius was the one in ministry, he makes his followers do the things while he spend time at home lol I like him being rich lover for Severus (because Sev is my fav and I need him get spoiled by someone) but this is canonish so I understand where you come from.

Ooh you're soooo right, Tom would 100% make Severus carry his initials and after being married Tom for a long time Severus would be more confident with what he wants and start to have same interests as Tom's (being obsessively and freaky). I think Tom has initials on Sev and Severus has his bite mark scared on Tom.

I love you too darling 🧡

[its-haughty]

made a new story and cast of characters because i’m insane…

Welcome to Full-Body Attack!! A parody of the action hero/super genre where instead of this super charismatic hero who needs to save his city from evil bad guys, it’s just this tired guy who’s armed with a shovel and infinite revives… …The only thing that Shane shares with a true hero is the unbridled determination and selflessness which he sometimes takes to the extreme.

World building and info on shane under the cut

WORLD BUILDING

Parasites live in this world like animals do, however they’re quite rare and were only recently discovered only a few decades ago… There’s still up incoming science related to their existence because of this

Parasites can talk and can only hold powers if they fed off a human/host, using them as a power source - parasites choose humans in particular as they’re one of the most long lived organisms while also being entertaining

When someone has a parasite attached to them: they require more food, sleep, and are just abit more tired than the average person

Mentally handicapped people are the ones most prone to being attached to a parasite as they’re more vulnerable and can stick around unnoticed by their host much easier (the symptoms of having a parasite in some cases don’t feel very noticeable as the person may already suffer from lack of sleep for example)

Usually Parasites don’t make themselves known to their host right away… To ensure they can live their life relatively conflict free!!

BUT when parasites do become noticed by their host whether the host has caught on or the parasite accidentally poked their head out of smt- they almost always strike a deal: To grant the host a power that matches the host’s personality (eg: vigilance = supernaturally strong senses or hearing) in exchange the host must let the parasite live inside them to keep their power

So because of this, parasites and humans try/normally have a symbiotic relationship where both parties are happy

In the city that Shane lives in, Mako is the ceo of two companies: a public and well known pharmaceutical company and a private crime fighting organisation called Symbiosis. Hiring hosts and training them to become heroes in order to take down villains who cause havoc to cities all over different states

———

SHANE AND PERRY

Tired, reserved and very chill guy who wants a good nap and enough money to pay for himself and his family. Complete opposite to Perry who’s mischievous and has a thrill of action. The two bicker a lot but they’ve grown fond of eachother and have a good friendship!

While Shane doesn’t care about himself, he cares a whole ton about his family and his sister, Nadia. He’ll care for himself if it’s for someone he loves. However, Perry does care a lot about Shane, at first it was for the sake of his own survival but it started to devolve into genuine endearment to the man!

Had Perry for awhile since childhood but was unaware he did until adulthood during a freak accident. While driving to his parent’s house to visit his sister, he’d accidentally ram into a deer which would’ve killed him if it wasn’t for his absolute determination and desperation to stay alive for Nadia… It’s then he’d strike a deal with Perry to grant him the ability to come back after death. Not all heroes come from badass origins stories.

But nevertheless is a pretty sick power, Mako thought so too, offering him a job to be an action hero! Shane would take the offer and now it’d kickstart his new life of zany Villain of the Week adventures

Shane is a huuuge nerd deep down and a part of him also likes to pretend he’s this sick ass hero…. Perry indulges this

Does want to do good if he can, his moral backbone is flawed if money is on the line but if he realises the villains aren’t all bad either then it feels kinda bad to beat them up, right? wait maverick what are you doing here

[aliceheart247]

Rough Morning (Eddie Munson x F!Reader)

(Eddie lives AU)

Warnings: talk of anxiety, self-doubt, low self-esteem, bad brain day, slight depressive thoughts, slight language.

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Female!Reader

Summary: You wake up with just the wrong kind of brain. Anxiety traps you to bed and intrusive thoughts take over. Thankfully, Eddie is there.

Word count: 2.5K

You rolled over again, curling yourself tighter into your foetal position. You had muttered out a goodbye when Eddie had gotten up to go to school that morning. You knew he hated having to still go to high school while you were in college. It made him feel like he was a failure (which you always told him he was not) and like a child. You were always there to comfort him and tell him that he just needed to buckle down these last few weeks and he would be free of it all forever. He just needed to keep it together a bit longer and he would be walking across that stage before he knew it. You had secretly picked out the dress you were going to wear to his graduation and the present you would give him when he came to you with that beautiful smile as he clutched his long-awaited diploma. You could practically feel the tightness of his celebratory hug around you now. Practically.

If you make it that long, the dark voice in the black depths of your mind whispered harshly. You had already survived so much, from him escaping the Upside Down with barely any breath left in his lungs, to the long road of recovery for both of you. His scars were still tender and he still got harsh looks from the people in town who believed the bullshit about his murdering people. His name had been cleared, seemingly by magic, and his wounds were healing, but there were still struggles for you both.

You tucked your head deeper into his pillow. Breathing in his scent generally warmed your heart; this morning was different.

You don’t deserve him.

If you didn’t know better, you would wonder if Vecna was putting thoughts into your head. This voice was your own, however. It snuck up on you once a month, when you were overly tired, very hungry, or—like today—just out of the blue. Your rational mind told you to ignore it, that it meant nothing, but the voice would not go away. Its whispered lies crept up and encircled your mind and heart in dark thorns of self-hate and doubt.

You aren’t enough for him. You never will be. He deserves better. He deserved someone like Chrissy. She was thin and sweet and beautiful. She would have made him happier. She would have given him everything. It should have been you, not her. It should have been you who died. He would have been happier.

A sob croaks out of your throat as you weep into his pillow. His side of the bed has long cooled and you should have been up by now for more than bathroom breaks, but this is too much. You feel the darkness creeping up on you. You see your faults glaringly bright.

You talk too much. You cling too much. You ask so much and give nothing in return. It’s stupid of you to think he could love you forever when you won’t give him what every man wants. What everyone should want. You are just broken.

You weep like a wounded animal into the bed. You don’t care if the voice is lying to you anymore. You don’t care how many times Eddie has told you he loves you. You don’t listen when your heart reminds you of the smile he only ever has for you. You don’t see how someone as boisterously wonderful as Eddie could ever deal with someone as small and pathetic as you.

So all-consuming are these thoughts that you don’t hear the van door slam outside. You don’t hear the thumps of Eddie’s shoes on the steps or the keys in the door. It’s only through some haze of tears that you make out a sung, “Honey, I’m ho~ome!”

All you know is that a moment later the bedroom door opens and he stands at the foot of the bed, looking down at the shaking lump that is you.

Good, you think viciously. Let him see the useless mass that you are. Perhaps then he will see what a waste of time you are and finally come to his senses. He’ll look at you in disgust and that will be the end of it.

“Baby?”

His voice, so gentle and soft at your ear almost makes you gasp. You instead tighten your eyes shut, clenching your teeth, and curling tighter into yourself.

His hand barely ghosting over your ear as he tucks a strand of hair back wrenches a sob from you. Why can he not just see he should leave you? Why does he insist on being so nice?!

“Do you need your heater pad, Baby?”

He thinks you are on your period. He wants to help you. Why?! Why is he so kind?!

“Because I love you,” he murmurs as he presses a small kiss to your bundled up shoulder.

You had spoken your question aloud. How stupidly embarrassing.

“Do you need your pad, or some pills?” His persistence finally makes you shake your head. He sits back on his heels, a bit concerned. If it isn’t your period, then what? He’s never seen you like this before. “Are you sick?” He asks it with a frown. “Should we go to the doctor?”

You shake your head again. “You should leave me.”

Cocking his head like a confused puppy, he leans in again. “Why?”

“Because, you deserve better than me.”

Eyes wide, he stares at you for a whole minute.

Wondering if you have finally earned that look of disgust, you torture yourself with a peek at him. His surprise and horror are not what you expect.

“Why would you say that?!”

He didn’t mean to yell; he really didn’t. It just slipped out.

Your eyes water again, never fully having stopped crying. “It’s true. You deserve someone who makes you happy, not burden you. Even now,” you interrupt what would have been his argument, “you are taking care of me. Stop it. I don’t deserve it. I can’t make you happy.”

Holding himself back from launching at you and making you hear everything he has to say that is contrary to your words, he notices instead the signs that you have not gotten out of bed today. This is not a spur of the moment thing. This has been brewing for a while, or else you wouldn’t have been so knocked out by. He closes his eyes to take a steadying breath.

Your heart clenches seeing him do this, thinking that this is the moment you have been waiting for.

Instead, he calmly opens his eyes and sits there looking at you. His voice, when he speaks, is collected and patient.

“Why do you think this?”

That voice in the darkness of your mind was practically doing backflips in excitement. Finally, it said, time to lay it all out to him. He will finally see what a wretched waste of space you are!

“Because I can’t give you what you need, Eddie. Look at me! I’m just not good enough!”

He blinks slowly, taking a bracing breath. It feels like a knife being jabbed into his heart to hear you talking like this. He supposes you hear it from him when he has these days, but it still surprises him with how much it hurts.

His silence tells you that he still isn’t clueing in.

“I’m not beautiful,” you state, giving yourself permission to be specific. “I’m just not. I was never the cheerleader or the beauty queen or anything worth writing home about. The best compliment I got was that I’m pretty. That’s something you tell a child. It’s polite. It’s not genuine. I never had anyone look at me twice before you. I’m not hot or sexy or anything. I’m the least sexy person on the planet. I act like a child. I’m naïve and stupid.”

The more you talk, the easier it becomes to let it all flow out of you. You start and don’t know if you can ever stop.

“I don’t drink, or smoke, I’ve never done drugs, I didn’t even know what weed smelled like until I met you! I made you quit smoking! What kind of girlfriend does that?! I asked you to change for me, and for some reason you did! Why?! I shouldn’t have done that! I don’t give you anything in return.”

Once again he has to stop himself from interrupting. You need to get this out. He prompts more than asks, “What do you think you aren’t giving me?”

“Everything!” You did not mean to shout at him, but his ignorance of the obvious is upsetting you. If he wants you to list out everything he knows damned well is wrong, then fine!

“I don’t know anything! I’ve never had to deal with the things you have! I’m basically a child. I don’t know how to cook very well, I’m going to school for a useless degree, and I can’t even give you sex because I’m broken! My stupid body doesn’t want it and the one time we tried I ended up crying into your chest after you just touched me! I’m worthless. I know you say I don’t need to do that to make you happy, but what man doesn’t want sex?! What man doesn’t want that, Eddie?! You may think you’re fine with it now, but I know someday you’re going to want more than I can give and you’ll leave me. You’ll leave me and it will be all my fault.”

Here you dissolve; your fears fully realised.

“You’ll leave me because I’m fat. You’ll leave me because I can’t give you sex. You’ll leave me because of my anxiety. You’ll just get tired of me and leave.”

Eddie doesn’t even speak. He crawls into the bed with you, curling your sobbing form into his body. He holds you as you shake and whimper into his chest. He knows you don’t fully realise how tightly you are holding onto him. He knows you had no idea that this whole morning you were listening to your swallowed down fears. He knows because he sometimes wakes up like this. He knows because not a damn thing you said was true.

“Y/N, Baby? I need you to look at me,” he murmurs to you when your sobs slowly start to lose momentum.

With one last squeeze on his shirt, you raise your puffy, red face to his. He is so close that his breath cools the tear tracks on your skin. You can see just how deep his doe eyes are and even the tiny little crease that formed between his brows while listening to you.

“Everything you said to me is a lie, and—no, don’t interrupt; it’s my turn—and I want you to know why.”

Your lip quivers and he kisses it lightly before pulling back to look you in the eye again. His gaze, normally flitting from interest to interest, is steady on yours. He barely even blinks as he speaks.

“I am not going to leave you. I never want to leave you. I love you and want you in my life forever. You are the greatest thing that has every happened to me and I would be a complete idiot if I let you get away. Wayne has told me on more than one occasion how lucky I am to have you and to make sure not to lose you.

“You are beautiful, and I’m sorry if I don’t say it enough. From your soft hair to the way you smirk at my jokes, to the way your fingers lace through mine perfectly, I love you. You are not fat, and even if you were, I would still love you just the same. So long as you keep fitting under my chin when we sleep, and you keep hugging me tight when I come home from work or school, I will always love you.

“I told you when you first explained being asexual to me that I don’t care. There is nothing for you to worry about. I love you just as you are and the fact that you wanted to try at all shows me how much you love me. I don’t care that it didn’t work because every touch you give me means so much more. You never deny me love and that is far more important than sex.

“You are not childish. You may be a bit naïve, but I actually love that. I like teaching you things and explaining life stuff. I would never want you to have gone through the shit that I have and your innocence gives me perspective. You are the light at the end of the tunnel when I feel like it’s all too heavy. You have more drive and ambition that most people I know. When I am struggling, you are there to lend a hand and that means so much more than you will ever know. You support me and are always there for me. I don’t think you understand how important that is.

“The smoking was for you, but it was also my choice. You put up with me when I couldn’t get out of bed, when I snapped over nothing, and when I was afraid I couldn’t make it.

“You are my rock in a storm, Baby. You give me purpose and love. With all the shit I’ve been through, that means more to me than words can say. I love you. I will always love you. I will never leave you, and I hope you won’t leave me.”

You clung to him at this last statement. The voice inside of you had died. It would never fully go away, eventually picking out something else to find fault in and exploit, but for now it was gone. Eddie, your fearless bard, had slain the beast and sung you a song of love so powerful it felt like the sun would never stop shining.

“I love you, Eddie. I promise I will never leave you.”

Kissing your head, he held you while you let out your grief in tears. He rubbed your back and hummed happily when you hooked your leg over his hip and pressed kisses to his tear-damped shirt. Rolling onto his back, he let you lay on top of him, sprawled out on the bed you shared.

He would tell you later about his day while you shared a dinner of leftovers. He would hold your hand and snuggle with you on the couch while you watched a movie on TV. He would cuddle into your embrace as you fell asleep that night.

The next morning was full of kisses and your gentle touches to show him how much you loved him. He would kiss your lips every chance he got and tell you how glad he was to have you in his life.

[f4rlands]

Hi!! I’m so curious about your busk au!! (Also, absolutely adore trans fem scar and need more things with her, the way I got so excited!!) but yea would love to know more about it! :D (also oooo is it scarian??) (also also! I hope you have a great day!)

HI!! HECK YEAH HECK YEAH, BUSK AU IS LIKE MY BABY I'LL TAKE ANY EXCUSE TO TALK ABOUT IT

it's actually a grumbo au! it's essentially just a slowburn romance between them, with a very meet-cute beginning and some very angsty backstories (particularly mumbo im so sorry mr jumbo my beloved...). i don't want to spoil too much in the first ask about it, but i can definitely talk a bit about the plot and characters in it!! i don't imagine i'll end up writing a series for it like i had originally wanted to, so i'm very happy to talk about mostly anything!!

anyway! the general overview!

the au is set in a touristy coastal town, and it follows grian and mumbo, two busks. grian plays the guitar, and he has been since he was very young - it's his one true passion. he wants nothing more than to turn it into a career, to be able to share his music and inspire other people with his creations, but so far it's... not been working out. he works three jobs, just about making ends meet, and he's just like,, chronically tired. this poor man.

anyway, he busks for fun, just to see the way that people flock to his music, and it's a good way to make some extra cash!

mumbo is essentially his opposite - he busks because he doesn't really know what else to do. he enjoys playing the piano, sure, but he doesn't necessarily have a passion for it in the same way that grian does. he's an engineer, making plenty of money to live comfortably and still have a decent chunk of spare time, so he has a massive range of hobbies. he's not necessarily amazing at any of them, but he's decent and they keep him busy, so he's not about to complain.

he started songwriting a couple of years ago, but he daren't play anyone his music because he doesn't think he could stand their disapproval if they thought it was bad. instead, he tends to play seasonal music when he busks - summery, christmassy, and everything inbetween. he plays what people want to hear, and holds anything different close to his chest.

the pair of them play in a similar part of the town centre, on opposite ends of a broad central plaza, but they haven't ever really spoken. until, of course, they do :) i won't get into their meeting now, simply because this post is already long as hell, but i'm very happy to talk about it in another ask, if you were interested!!

and also, YES TRANSFEM SCAR. SHE'S MY EVERYTHING!! she's grian's best friend, an animator who largely works from her own studio and - whenever she has free time - draws caricatures for tourists next to where ever grian happens to be playing that night! :D

(we also have transmasc grian and nb pearl teehee >:))

[ladyinbooks]

About 300 million years ago, @fairflimsyficklefairy talked of a scenario where Hess ends up adopting a dog (and wreaking vengeance on its previous owner). I loved this idea an awful lot, and promised a ficlet. At last, it’s finished! (And @fairflimsyficklefairy I’m so sorry it’s taken so long.)

Title: Worse than his bark Summary: Hespherus Jones: dog dad. Warnings: Usual Hess shenanigans; non-descriptive mention of animal neglect; surprisingly fluffy

“You’ve…got a dog,” Hess says, blinking at Dan.

He’s standing in the living room, shirtsleeves rolled up, hands on his hips as he stares at the bundle Dan’s holding in his arms. He looks disturbingly normal – just another doctor, finished work for the day. A little rumpled and tired, and staring bemusedly at the stray his partner’s picked up.

Were this any other time – any other man, Dan thinks dryly – the whole situation might almost be true.

“He’s a rescue,” he says, and watches the way Hess tilts his head. “We got a call this afternoon from a concerned neighbour. They were going to phone the RSPCA to come and collect him, but –”

“You brought him home instead,” Hess finishes. He blinks again. “And you thought this was a good idea?”

“It’s my house. I can get a dog if I want.”

“You can,” Hess says slowly. “I’m just not entirely sure why you’d want one, but –”

“Because sometimes it’s nice to have someone around who isn’t you!” Dan snaps, a little more viciously than he’d meant to.

The tone of his voice makes the pup in his arms shiver. Guiltily, Dan holds him a little more gently, rubbing his side reassuringly with a thumb. It’s not the poor thing’s fault that he’s been dropped into the middle of a typical Wednesday afternoon meeting of the Hespherus Jones Jealousy Club.

Hess raises an eyebrow. “And does he have a name?” he asks, and for one ridiculous moment, Dan thinks he’s got away with the whole thing.

“Angus.”

“Angus,” Hess repeats. He takes three steps forward and plucks the dog from Dan’s arms, before Dan can stop him.

“No, wait –”

Hess holds the dog up high over his head, face tipped back to look at him. From this angle, the size of Angus’ paws, and the sturdy block of his body are more pronounced. Dan’s not entirely sure what breed he is – a mix of many – but the softness of his big brown eyes had tugged at a part of himself he’d thought long buried.

“Angus,” Hess says again, and this time it’s much gentler. In his grip Angus wriggles a little, smashing one hefty paw down onto Hess’s forehead.

“Give him back,” Dan says. “Don’t you dare –”

The look Hess shoots him from under Angus’s paw is scornful. “Don’t be so bloody ridiculous,” he says sharply. “I’m not going to hurt him.” Carefully, he lowers Angus until he’s cradled against his chest. “He needs a bath.”

“He needs a…”

Oh God. This is it. Dan has finally lost it, hasn’t he? He’s actually standing here, in his own living room, with a man who has so many issues that he’s prepared to murder someone for looking at Dan in the wrong way, and he’s –

Talking about giving the dog a bath.

Dan swallows back a tiny hiccup of hysterical laughter. “Are you going to bathe him?”

“Of course.” Hess drops a small kiss to the top of the dog’s head. “He needs flea treatment too, and a wormer. Is there a vet local to us?”

Yes, Dan’s finally lost his grip on reality. It’s the only explanation. He’s standing here, and the Beast is talking to him about flea treatment. Good God. It really is the end of the world.

“I’ll see if I can find out,” he says, hopelessly wrong-footed.

“If you can’t find anyone, ask Abi,” Hess says absently. “She’ll be able to look someone up.”

“Right,” Dan says, dazed, as Hess makes a gentle little cooing noise at the dog. “I’ll look now.”

He watches as Hess wanders out of the room, talking softly to the bundle wrapped up in his arms. The whole thing is bizarrely normal, to the point it’s making Dan’s head hurt.

If he’s honest, this wasn’t at all what he expected when he brought the dog home. He’d half anticipated a flat-out argument, and Hess banning Angus from anywhere that could be considered shared space at all. Worse, he’d had the worrying thought that Hess might get rid of the dog altogether.

“I’ve fucking lost it,” Dan says quietly to himself, as he hears Hess coo something in the kitchen.

Then he goes to find his phone, so he can look up a vet.

********

“You’ve…got a dog,” Abaddon says, blankly horrified.

The look on her face is priceless, and Hess takes a moment to revel in it.

He’s got Angus perched on his desk, letting the pup gnaw at his fingers. His sharp little baby teeth are wickedly painful whenever they catch a knuckle, but it’s worth it for the lack of destroyed paperwork and Abaddon’s expression.

“Dan found him,” he says with exactly the right amount of cheerful menace to have her frowning. “He wanted to keep him.”

“And you let him?”

“There was no ‘let’ about it. I wanted to keep him too.”

Abaddon eyes Angus dubiously. “You wanted to keep a puppy.”

“No, not just any puppy. I wanted to keep Angus.”

“You’ve named it?” Her expression sours even further. “Now you’ll never get rid of it.”

A particularly vicious nip to Hess’s thumb has him wincing. When he looks down, Angus has his oversized paws wrapped around one of Hess’s wrists. He’s gumming away happily, the look on his blunt little face suspiciously content.

“I’m not planning to get rid of him,” Hess says, softer than he meant to. He hears the small, stifled noise of alarm that Abaddon lets slip, and jerks his head up to look at her.

“Is that a problem?” he asks coldly.

“It’s not really in keeping with your image, is it?” she says. “I mean, having a puppy here while you’re working sends out the wrong message.”

Angus grumbles to himself as Hess pulls his fingers away. He scratches behind the pup’s ears, and raises an eyebrow at Abaddon. “I think it sends out precisely the right message.”

“What, ‘I’ll look after you, if you’re cute enough’?”

“Abaddon.”

It’s the limits of what she can get away with, and they both know it. She scowls, and huffs out an exasperated little sigh. “Fine. Don’t blame me when you push more subordinates in the direction of the rebellion.”

This time he smiles at her, and it is all teeth. Abaddon is too careful to flinch – she knows better than to show such weakness – but she stills. And for a moment, Hess is positive they are both thinking about the last time he was wrists-deep in her, and how she very nearly didn’t walk away after her own little attempt at insubordination.

“If you hear any suggestions that the other side are gaining more of our people,” he says, “then you will tell me immediately. Is that clear?”

“Yes,” she says curtly. Angus lets out a soft little yap, disgruntled now he has nothing to gnaw on. Abaddon’s gaze flickers down to him. “And the… animal?”

“He stays.”

Her mouth very pointedly doesn’t curl into a sneer.

“Fine,” she says. “Just don’t ask for help when it pisses on the carpet.”

********

“You… got a dog,” Raum says, surprised.

The Beast had called him into his office. That hadn’t been a shock – the boss likes to touch base with any demon that’s been Above for a long stretch – but the sight of an oversized mutt gambolling its way across the floor to chew on Raum’s shoelaces is definitely not what he was expecting.

“Is it a problem?” the Beast asks, without looking up from the papers on his desk.

It’s not. But even if it were, Raum isn’t stupid enough to say so. Absently, he reaches down to run a thumb over the fur on the little menace’s head. Its coat is short, but surprisingly soft.

“Not a problem,” he says. From the corner of his eye, he sees the boss glance up, and for a moment he seems to pause. But when Raum looks at him, he’s already shuffling through his papers again.

“Good, because I have a job for you.”

“Oh.”

There’s an odd swelling of something like pride, sitting in Raum’s chest. The boss doesn’t pick just anyone for jobs. There’s only the chosen few: trusted. Loyal. Until now Raum hadn’t even been sure the Beast really knew who he was.

“Paul Stafford. Forty-eight years old. Arrested two weeks ago on a charge of animal cruelty.” The Beast’s lips thin, and Raum feels a frisson of unease. “The arresting officer was PC Daniel Waters.”

Ah. It’s starting to make sense.

Raum has met the Beast’s Consort before, although he doesn’t think the man remembers. Daniel had fished him out of a fountain, saving him from fighting some drunken idiot in Trafalgar Square. Raum hadn’t particularly wanted that fight, and luckily for him he’d been saved in time by a stern-faced handsome man, who hadn’t treated him any differently to anyone else.

It had been… something of a revelation.

“Raum,” the Beast says patiently, and Raum blinks at him.

“Boss?”

“You’re not to let Dan know about this. Do I make myself clear?”

There’s no threat to his words – mostly because there doesn’t need to be. The Beast’s gaze is perfectly level; his expression neutral. He has his hands folded on the desk in front of him, as he watches Raum.

“Not a word,” Raum agrees. He looks down at the puppy still chewing on his shoelaces. “So, when you say a job…”

“I want him dealt with.”

“Painfully?”

A flash of teeth, white and sharp. “Slowly,” the Beast says. “And as messily as possible.” He leans back in his chair, still watching Raum. “I’ll deal with the necessary paperwork in the meantime.”

Humans, Raum has learnt over the last couple of years, do love their paperwork. So it’s generous of his boss to cover that for him – to leave him with the tasty parts of a job, without the tediousness that usually comes with filing for an extraction from Above.

“I’ll get it sorted,” he promises.

He pats the puppy on the head, and carefully removes his shoelaces from its mouth. He gets a sharp little nip in retaliation, but he’s had far, far worse. Besides, he knows it was an accident.

Raum’s got his fingers on the doorhandle, when the Beast clears his throat.

“Oh, and Raum?”

He looks over his shoulder. The Beast is still watching him; still perfectly calm and level. But there’s something sharp in the way he tilts his head; in the small, sly curve at the edges of his lips. He’s human, Raum knows, but nowhere human enough.

“Yes, boss?”

“Be creative.”

********

It’s not so much movement that wakes Dan, as its absence.

Hess has always been a twitchy sleeper. He tosses and turns, digging elbows into Dan’s sides and generally making a nuisance of himself, unless he’s wrapped around Dan so tightly it feels like their heartbeats are pressed together. He talks sometimes, too: muttering to himself in his sleep, in tongues that make Dan’s ears hurt.

Which is why, at half past midnight on a Wednesday, Dan is woken up by a decided lack of restlessness.

When he slides a hand across the sheets, the mattress next to him is warm. It means Hess can’t have gone far. For a moment he contemplates getting up to go and find him. But Hess is unlikely to be causing chaos at this time in the morning, and anyway Dan is half-certain he can hear him moving around in the next room.

He’s almost dozed back off to sleep, when Hess pads back into the room.

Dan cracks an eye open. In the darkness, he can just make out the broad width of Hess’s shoulders; the bowed dip of his head. He’s cradling something in his arms, careful and gentle as he slides back into the bed, settling on his side with his back to Dan.

“There,” he whispers quietly, and there’s a soft little thump as he deposits his burden down too. “Now, stop fussing.”

A little whuff of satisfaction has Dan blinking further awake. He could have sworn that sounded like –

“No,” Hess says softly, and not at all sternly. “Settle down now. You know the deal.”

Another little grumble, and Dan hears the unmistakable sounds of Angus scuffling around, as though he’s looking for a place to collapse. Even with the room so dark, Dan’s almost sure he can see a small little head pop up to look at him from over Hess’s hip.

He watches, and eventually there’s a yawn and the snap of sharp little puppy teeth clicking together. Another soft whump and then everything goes still again.

“He was crying in the kitchen,” Hess whispers, and it makes Dan jump guiltily, caught in the act of watching the pair of them.

“Yeah, but he’s still meant to stay in the kitchen.”

“He was crying,” Hess repeats stubbornly.

Dan’s lost this argument before it’s even begun. He sighs and rolls over onto his side too, staring hard at the bare curve of Hess’s shoulder. “And what happens when he grows? He’s going to be too big to fit on the bed.”

“We’ll get a bigger bed.” Hess says simply.

Of course we will, Dan thinks tiredly. Of course.

Because that makes perfect sense. The Beast, soft over nothing except a mistreated pup who is – apparently – going to be coddled like a little emperor.

“You’re washing the sheets when he moults,” he says to Hess, instead of half the things he’d like to.

“I wash them anyway.”

He does. Dan hasn’t got a leg to stand on, in this not-really-an-argument. “Fine,” he mutters. “But just remember who takes him out for walks when you’re…working.”

“Are you jealous?” Hess asks, sounding amused. He doesn’t roll over to look at Dan, but he shifts, fumbling a hand back until he can pat blindly at Dan’s thigh. “You’ve got nothing to be jealous of, sweet thing. He loves you too.”

Dan sighs. Almost in spite of himself he tips forward a little, resting his forehead against the top of Hess’s spine, near the nape of his neck. The tips of his hair tickle a little, but Dan ignores it. Hess runs hot – he always has – and the warmth of him is surprisingly pleasant. He drapes an arm over Hess’s hip and holds on.

Hess stills at Dan’s touch; then the lines of him relax all at once. “I love you as well,” he adds quietly into the darkness.

It doesn’t sound false. Or untrue. It might be a little unkind, given that he knows Dan’s at his most vulnerable right now – here, in the dark, with no pretence between them – but it doesn’t make it any less sincere.

“I know,” Dan says eventually. The back of his hand bumps into soft fur and a warm body. Under his knuckles he feels Angus chuff out a little grumble, but the pup doesn’t really stir.

Hess hums sleepily. He settles down further; lets Dan press close and hold him tighter. There’s something satisfied in him; something content. Like he’s got everything he needs here, in this moment, with nothing and nobody to gainsay it.

And Dan –

Dan’s got them too, hasn’t he? Both of them. An odd pair of creatures held safe in his arms, even at the risk of sharp teeth and bloodletting. It should be an uncomfortable realisation, and it’s not.

Oh hell, he thinks, resigned and a little soft, as he lets Hess wrap long fingers around his forearm, absent and fond.

We’ve got a dog.

[transhawks]

Lmao, it always goes back to those Prohero Arc connections and clarity I swear. And people wonder why I’m so obsessed with that arc for this single reason. I think one of my favorite things is the character development you’ve been going through. Perhaps the real iconic narrative arc all along was Rani turning into a passionate AfoHawks spokesperson. *chefs kiss* the pOETRY 🎶

LISTEN. YOU DONT GET HOW FUCKING WEIRD THIS IS????? 2020-21 I was off roleplaying my dhampir!keigo, infiltrating AFO's coven and stupidly falling in love with his ward sacrifice Fae/Werewolf!Tomura and failing in killing him (Tomura cursed him to hell and back and Jin didn't help with his curse, fucking fae :/), but like WE NOTICED when we roleplayed Keigo FINALLY meeting AFO that like....the whole dynamic changed. There wasn't anything non-platonic (except keigo whining in the local monster support chat that the vampire lord of the area was boring af because real vampires throw massive masquerade balls that turn into orgies) but just....Hawks was at once at extremely high alert but also far more honest than he'd ever been. The pleasant and quirky local surfshop clerk/ditzy halfvamp schtick melted. This was a weapon. And not just a weapon; this was a vampire who could see the world just like All For One could, if he'd just flee the coop his human raisers had stuffed him into. Like the similarities in thinking jumped out. Of course Keigo wasn't exactly like AFO but I still remember that our tomura RPer had Tomura specifically mention (once they got all the files from Hawks's treachery/spy chats) how much Keigo sounds like sensei. It was fun! And it made it stick in my mind that surprisingly, Keigo and AFO could interact interestingly. This was bolstered by that chapter in 2021 where Keigo begins psychoanalyzing him, too. It was so interesting seeing him try to think like him. But you know, it's not like I expected canon to explore this. Even in the beginning of the war, I didn't. Something to note is that for the majority of the fight, All For One's own hubris and bias towards very flashy destructive quirks has blind-sided him to Hawks and his role in this war, by which I mean (and I can back up) is that most of the hero effort has indeed been carried on Keigo's back or orchestrated. It took until AFO got rewound to realize how much Horikoshi was setting them up. Endeavor barely mattered between them. And then...well, they started talking. Focusing on each other more. What am I supposed to do, ignore it????? It got heavier and heavier, the panels mirroring each other, converging at times, etc. Just Horikoshi doing excellently for a pair of people I never imagined would interact. And now we have Keigo laying on the ground, defeated, stripped of all that he believes he is, as All For One asks him if he's tired and then leaves with his wings, saying in the end he couldn't protect anyone. Too fast for his own good. Hubris.

LIKE??? HOW AM I NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THE SPOKESPERSON?????? i am a simple man, I like rich dynamics and cool framing and horikoshi feeds me regularly.

EDIT: was about to publish this but got a similar ask

Oh yes I absolutely loved the quietness of this. First he tells him to get out of his way and then, like, "Haven't you done your best?" It's a solemn moment, surprisingly, and I hope the anime does it justice in a year or two. And the god imagery! Ugh! i have SO MUCH to say on this but you have to wait because im doing a Big Meta again lol.

As for HPSC prez Keigo, part of me thinks that would be a Bad End. Or bittersweet at most. I remember misinterpreting one of the vol extras to mean that the HPSC was essentially grooming him to eventually replace her and there's something very fucked in that thought. I do however think he might do something with kids!

[majicmarker]

Sliding into your inbox to just scream about how much I love Demisexual eddie!

Evryone is entitled to their own ideas for the character but Demi eddie will always hold a really special place in my heart. It just feels so right to me and I love how you write him!

I’m regard to your newest fic I’m obsessed with Eddie’s pov! It’s peak queer experience lolll I relate too well

I will say eddie messed up by not trusting Robin to set him up with Chrissy tho! Always trust your local lesbians!

(the fic in question)

listen. he knows he totally biffed it, okay. he's just a demisexual dum-dum lollipop and he's doing his best with that. frankly he’s intimidated by lesbians, they get too much done too efficiently, he can’t keep up, man.

(if you want to know if this is based on my own personal experience, i will tell you… absolutely yes it is.)

yk—and while you didn’t ask for this, i’m offering it free of charge anyway—also this just made me Think abt, is that it’s weird to think abt now, bc when i first started writing eddissy fic, i really didn’t give much thought to either of their sexualities. i was just getting my sea legs with them and everything, and, for me, i think it speaks to my own experience as a demisexual—the sexual aspect didn’t matter until they were with each other (aside from the jason factor, i suppose, but from my perspective as the writer, even that spoke less to chrissy’s sexuality and more to her sense of “duty” in their relationship). 

the catalyst was largely due to @agentmmayy's og virgin!eddie fic—a definite lightbulb moment for me (the quintessential Oh. moment, if u will). eddie had never struck me as a particularly sexual character, anyway (not to mention he’s only like, 20, tops? why are we out here believing this idea that everyone has vast sexual experience at such a young age? is this because of one tree hill?)—i just hadn’t really examined that bc, again, once i paired him with chrissy, well, all bets were off, he really wants to kiss her, etc.

and, like, okay, bit of a rant abt the larger implications of this topic ahead, whoops my hand slipped—

truly just. bonkers. that the assumption is that you must have experience to be good at sexual activity. idc how many ppl you’ve hooked up with, EVERYONE is different—their bodies, their turn-ons, orgasms aren’t one-size-fits-all. communication with your partner(s) is Far More Important than your track record, otherwise you’re just some asshole who thinks they know someone’s body better than that person does. 

and i really like exploring demisexuality through, like, a male lens—because men are so socialized to be sexual, so what happens to their sense of self when that’s just not their inclination?

like, i am. so sick. of even the most progressive of media making the same tired joke abt how all men want sex all the time, or that there’s something “off” or “not right” if a guy isn’t ready/wants to wait.

it happens constantly in so-called feminist media, and it does such a disservice to what feminism actually is—that one of the tenants of the movement is that men aren’t incapable of checking their baser desires, they’re not wild animals who can’t control it; they’re fully-realized human beings who need to be held responsible for their actions, regardless of their “physical reaction” to their attraction to someone.

so, ultimately, we have these two separate but fundamental ideas here: men deserve to feel validated in their sexuality, and they’re also responsible for how they act on it. basically, toxic masculinity can be propagated by anyone, and it hurts everyone.

and just—god, SO OFTEN aphobia is disguised as sex positivity (maybe not intentionally, but still harmfully; casual aphobia is all over seemingly progressive spaces), but sex positivity needs to also acknowledge that not experiencing sexual attraction, not wanting sex, or only experiencing/wanting those things under certain circumstances, etc., is okay, it’s normal, and it’s not less-than. 

sexuality is not this cut-and-dry thing, you know? like ik glee did a number on our perception of sexuality as this strict dichotomy of “gay or straight, that’s it,” but like. c’mon guys, time to move past that, we can all heal together.

so, yeah. tl;dr there’s a lot to unpack with ace spectrum characters, and that’s def where i want to park my wheelhouse.

[cryoexorcist]

in liyue, hui stood out like a sore thumb — and not mainly because of his choice of attire. he wanted to go out and search for suitable clothing to blend in a bit more, but realized it would take most of his mora to find a tailor who can either adjust pre-existing articles or create entirely new ones. so instead of stressing over that, he attended to more pressing issues.

like wrapping his arms around chongyun and resting his chin atop on the exorcist’s head — letting out a soft, good morning grumble. the abyssal energy inside made him especially needy for attention — much like an animal, but he managed to keep the more intense traits under control. “i’m going out to purchase some clothes,” he mumbles into chongyun’s hair. “it should not take long.”

chongyun loves seeing hui here. the man certain sticks out, but that's what chongyun likes -- is being able to see him from a distance. he's tall too, which helps for visibilty.

except, right now, he seems almost deflated. when he rests his chin on chongyun, it's not hard to figure out why. it's clear hui is tired. so, chongyun lifts a hand and caresses hui's cheek gently so as to not startle him. "i can come with you," chongyun offers. "i know some decent tailors."

hui probably doesn't even need the help, perfectly capable of going on his own. but chongyun likes spending time with him anyway. "i can also stay here and prepare a meal for you when you return. it's your choice either way."