#Some parts of his drawing were weird but i didn't feel like fixing it too hard

[thebirdqueen]

Ms Paint drawing of Vincent(s). Experimental drawing and I honestly half hate it.

[Click for better quality]

Some close ups below. I hope the quality isn't too bad since it's MS Paint...

[devilart2199-aibi]

IDW collection reading update! :D 📖 (Fixed!)

Phase 2 volume 4 done! This volume included: Monstrosity, RID issues 12-18 and MTMTE issues 14-16!

I ended up reading all the way to Phase 2 volume 6 before finishing this update so my notes are a bit scattered! Anyway! As usual my thoughts are below :3 ⤵️

Monstrosity:

This story is set in the past, when Optimus has assumed leadership on Cybertron after the senate and pervious primes were killed.

This story is, I dunno... For some reason I can't really get into these?? It feels... edgy?? Idk, I feel like that's not the best way to describe it. But there's something about the vibe with these ones in the past (like Autocracy and this one).

Of course everyone is becoming the characters we know since this is in the past. So there is going to be a lot of fumbling and growing from them and things that seem out of character. But given their situation at the time, i can't be super harsh on odd decisions.

They have to deal with the senate and their corruption, as well as that from the previous primes, the Decepticons uprising and wanting to take over, Cybertron running out of resources aaaaand I feel like something else I can't remember rn 🤔 but a lot is going on!! Haha.

There is a scene that references the OG animated movie where they toss Megatron out of Astrotrain and he goes "I still function...!" Which was a pretty cool homage tho.

But this kinda felt like a whole way to just show how badass Megs is meanwhile Optimus is going through it on Cybertron 😂 It was entertaining and interesting at parts, but some things I was 'eh' about

RID: 12-16:

Before i go on, I'm sorry, but... this Megs panel is giving me the same energy as that little alien guy that was in the news months ago 🤣 Now actually⤵️

Megatron returns!! This story was very entertaining!! I feel like I can usually guess where something is going, but I was surprised by a lot of the twists here! There was so many!

The character deaths had me shook! 😭 Wheeljack ahhhh!!! Metalhawk!! Also everything with Prowl and the Constructions! O_O;

I'm sorry Prowl 😔 I was pretty surprised when they started killing off the Decepticons at first, but then went: "Well, I guess he's being super ruthless now" I couldn't see you were brainwashed!! 😭🗿To my defense, him teaming up with Arcee and given Arcee's record, it kinda seemed like the natural progression of things lol 💀

Two things I kinda have mixed feelings about tho are:

1. Arcee just casually being part of the Decepticon gang and no one questioning her being there?? She then easily kills the guy controlling Devastator and that was like... Megatron's big plan. Why didn't she do it sooner? I imagine it was to draw out Meg's, but still it seemed weird.

2. Starscream killing Metalhawk after Metalhawk came to save Starscream. It's in his character and everything, and I'm happy that he did it bc it shows who he is. But OOF I thought he was leaning a different way for a bit and that I had Starscream wrong, But no, he's greedy boy. (I was starting to like Metalhawk T_T)

Anyway! Good guy Swindle!! 🥹

MTMTE 14-16:

💀💀💀💀💀 BIG SAD. But!!! It was a super interesting story!! I really enjoyed learning about Overlord and Chromedome.

Chromedome becoming Trepan's apprentice in the past was crazy!! :O And the whole scene with him and Prowl in Prowl's office. When Prowl asks/threatens Chromedome to go into Overlord's mind 😙👌 *chef's kiss* GET 'EM CHROMEDOME!! 💪👊🔪

The whole thing about how the Phase Sixers are made was very interesting too!! This frame ⤵️ Meg's saying this made me lmao 😂 I can now see the thing between him and Overlord better now.

As for Overlord getting out and obliterating some of the crew... ughhhhh 😭😭😭 Pipes man!! Ratchet protecting the medibay was awesome. Best doctor 🚑😌

I was shocked during the fight with Overlord that Magnus got so injured!! I've read ahead already, but I was sweating it, I thought he was gonna die too 😭😭 Overlord goes right for your spark man 💀

Luckily they got Overlord back to his containment cell, but- 😭😭😭😭 LITTLE MAN 😭😭😭 Why'd he have to hop in there to get the sword??? OTL

Then Chromedome blowing it up once the cell disengaged from the ship 😭 It was a perfectly painful sequence! 👏

When I saw the scene with Whirl and the cannon/ blaster shooting asteroids, I knew it would come around 😔

Also!! Learning that Chromedome has had other deep connections with bots (idk if Brainstorm meant Conjunx' specifically) and given them his innermost energon before and that's why he's dry!! Excuse me as I sob 🤧🤧🤧🤧😭😭😭😭 and then he makes himself forget!!! UGHH OTL My heart man!

The tape that Rewind made too!! 😭🤧

Drift taking one for the team too by getting banished 😔 he's a real one. Also pls come back.

RID 17-18:

We got more Shockwave lore here and I'm a big Shockwave enjoyer so I was very happy!! More heartache of course tho 😢

Him pitching/making the Jhiaxian academy of advanced technology is huge. Then all the experiments he did once he was turned purple 💀💀💀

Him going to Dai Atlas and injuring him before the attack on the senate so that he would escape death was a cool surprise. He's still in there ;_; ahhhh.

There is another story that happens in current time where Bee gets turned into Goldbug, but I think he's called "Goldfire" here? 🤔 He really got injured during the whole thing with Meg's so they had to fix him up with pieces of his old earth form.

It was cool to see included in the story :3

Final Random Thoughts:

This volume had a bunch of great stories in it! And I learned quite a bit about characters I like!

Though it was sad, I'd say my favorite story was the mtmte one with Overlord (The Overlord arc?). The art is always fantastic and so is the story!

I look forward to reading more and I'll be making another reading update very soon since I'm already on volume 6!

I didn't want to lump them all together bc I like using images as the story breaks and Tumblr only let's you use 10 per post 😔 Also... I ramble quite a lot haha, so 3 volumes worth would definitely be too much! 😂

Anyway! See you next time! 👋

[rewritingcanon]

( hi is the person who sent you those next gen hcs. Sorry if this bothers you but I decided to make a part 2, hopefully better formated of more hcs or just expanding on the past ones. My interpretation of them!)

About the teddy lupin hc with his teeth- yes! He would most likely mess up his teeth worse then they already were so Andromeda had to get him braces despite his protests and begging. After being straped to the chair and wearing them for like 2 years his tooth gap was still there SO HE DID ALL THAT FOR NOTHING. (biggest L he's ever taken)

Lilly wears lots of colorful and wacky earrings just like aunt luna. They probably trade pairs or something.

James sirius is really into cinema especially horror. He loves being scared and most of the time he just laughs at the jumpscares. I also feel like he has written entire analysis in his head on the things he's fixated on but doesn't have the energy to write them down so he just rants about his favorite stuff to his family.

Victoire was the one making moves on teddy not the other way around. This made bills distaste for teddy even worse cause he wasn't even the one doing anything 🙄

Albus's room is filled with action figures, stuffed animals, posters ect of all the stuff he enjoys. Like people always talk about how much of a loser scorpius is but not so much albus. Trust me though he goes to bed reading fanfiction and was most definitely "the weird kid" at school. Probably grew up watching markiplier and jacksepticeye.

Teddy gives me those vibes where every time something happens teddy just goes "don't worry, I know a guy" and proceeds to fix the problem.

Victoire is really close to her maternal grandpa because everyone on the weasley family had lost stuff to the war including her parents so her grandfather was 1 of the only people in her family that didn't have any tragedy on her birthday so he was one of the few people who celebrated it without any sadness about the day. Then later teddy did as well.

Albus likes to draw and several pages of his sketch book is dedicated to just scorpius.

So when it comes to scorpius's appearance I kinda wrestled with it because on one hand there's no way he's not attractive because his mother is Astoria. Not even draco too just Astoria is enough to make that kid divine looking but if he was super pretty then there's no way he wouldn't be asked out even if it was just for shallow reasons. So in my head he is pretty but looks like a corpse. He has eye bags, beauty marks all over his body he's pale and skinny too so he doesn't look human. Albus of course thinks he looks like a sculpture but others think he looks uncanny.

Teddy loved being in the woods/forest cause he loved running around and getting all that energy out. Probably met a old man named Charles who taught him how to fish and scavenge or something. Nobody knew teddy was being fr when he talked about Charles because Charles was probably some urban legend. He was being real though.

(Anyway hope you don't mind me sending you these! if I wrote a fanfic I would include all this stuff but unfortunately I don't have the dedication or skill to do that)

aw ted babe noooo (little does he know a beautiful person without a tooth gap is like an angel without their wings so in truth he was saved).

i agree with all of these lmfao. i feel like luna makes lily earrings for her birthday every year like a tradition. i also heavily fw assertive victoire— i like to think teddy had always been the flirty, confident one in his other relationships and victoire had been shyer in her other relationships but the roles are just reversed when they actually get together. and james being a horror movie freak is soooo real to me, he laughs at all the western films and only genuinely gets kicks out of asian horror movies. victoire with her maternal grandpa is so cute man, its canon to me now. and i have ALWAYS said this about teddy but he is the definition of “i know a guy.” he could get you any job, get you out of any situation ever, “everybody’s got a cousin who can hook you up with something” type. and charles bro 💀💀 yeah you’re so right nobody believed teddy when he said he mastered muay thai until he whipped out martial moves, or when he learnt tagalog when rooming with this old lady in the phillipines until he started rapping a song in it 😭 the only person who would believe him immediately with no questions asked is andromeda. hes so freaky, now he could tell people he was the first one to set foot on mars and everyone will be obligated to believe him.

“not even draco too just astoria is enough to make that kid divine looking” this is the truest yeah 😭😭 ok ok you’re actually so right about this, scorpius would be attractive but unconventional-looking. i feel like his uncanny years is only in school though, no one saw the vision but albus and it paid off sooooo well in the end.

[wiktorianala]

My oc's + characters they were based of in one way or another

I got bored of sewing, maybe gonna continue on weekend, but anyway i decided that it's time to make smthng more with Bouney 'n Handy so there's a lil drawings and if someone is interested in me yapping about them, story, 'n other stuffs then click here \/

Oki, so I'll start with at which point they were based of well, Salad and Madotsuki. Starting from Handy because this will take me less time. She was created waaay later, at moment when I wanted to start working on comic, so I had to make second character just so Bouney wouldn't be only one, well i wanted to make her an object head of some kind to match with the fact that Bouney's head was created out of rotated eye. It is not anymore but that was honestly how I created this little freak. Fine but coming back to topic I wanted to give her some kind of object, and I'm honestly shit when it come to making any decisions myself, so with my friend we just looked throught my entire sketchbook and we found drawing of Madotsuki with hand palm effect (because I was pretty much fixated over this game and bigger part of sketchbook had Yume Nikki drawings), so we just picked hand. Now, with Bouney it's longer story, just like I said, I created him way earlier, so first thing he got after Salad were simple plain clothes 'cuz I'm layzy and absolutelly didn't wanted to bother with drawing anything complicated over and over again (and I picked Salad, because once again, yes it was my fixation at that time, and I want to remind that thos are two different times btw). So at the point when I wanted to start making thos comics and when I already had character designs I had to give them personalities and story, and the story... it was pretty different from what it is now. First vershion of it was too about a empty world and all thos stuffs, this didn't change, but main difference was the fact that in earlier ver Bouney was only living creature in this world. Handy was more of some kind of imaginary friend that appeared in his head due to loneliness there. (this a bit was based out of Salad too, because, ya know, empty weird world, clearly not very sane main creature character 'n thos stuffs) Plot mostly was just like in current vershion pretty goofy 'n just some "everyday stuffs", but at some points it was getting pretty heavy and sad. AND YES I KNOW THAT IT SOUNDED MUCH MORE INTERESTING, honestly at some point even I liked it more in this way, but there were two main reasons why I changed it. First one, fact that Handy wasn't really a physical person caused some technical writing issues that maybe been not that hard to fix, but as once already I said- I'm layzy, so I didn't wanted to be bothered by them. And now second and honestly more important reason (at least for me), it was time when I was making 2nd re-write of "Fragments of Sanity" plot (rn I'm working on 3rd, and I hope last one, because I want to finally make it into comic too) and I mean first version of it was pretty, well sad (I can't really find better word for it), but on second version? Oh boy, let me tell ya this shit is even worse (and main reason for this is probably because I dunno when but Mike ended up being at least in his personality and behavior (not by plot) a bit of self insert). So I didn't really wanted both of my projects to be like that, and I wantd at least one of them to be one with wich I could more goof around, so yeah, I've changed it. Well I guess that's all I wanted to say? I dunno. I know that in 95% no one is about to read this, but anyway I feel at least better when I can yap somewhere about some certain stuffs, and hey, ain't that for what blogs even exist? For people to yap, and do stuffs they like? Damn after writing for such a long time about them I guess I have a need rn to finish this god damned 3rd chapter. So yeah, now that's all.

[annabelle-creart]

Adventure Bots Shenanigans. Part 1

*half asleep, already on the berth*

Boulder: Heatwave?

Heatwave: hm?

Boulder: I can't sleep

Heatwave: Have you tried some tea?

Boulder: yes

Heatwave: and the chips Knock Out did?

Boulder: yes

Heatwave: have you tried counting?

Boulder: yes...

Heatwave: ...hm, do you want me to sing?

Boulder: yes, please

Heatwave: hmm... come here, pumpkin, let me hug you. Nightmare or just insomnia?

Boulder: insomnia

*Heatwave's "hum" were so funny, and trying to tune it was as worst as trying to pronounce the words, but the caresses on the cheek gave it a special touch. Boulder loved when Heatwave sang for them, Boulder really needed that today*

---

*from outside*

Blades: BUMBLEBEE!!!!

*from inside*

Bee: What the??

Ratchet: Again that freaking-

OP: Ratchet, come on! You can't be mad with the kid all your life

Ratchet: Yes I can!

Blades: BUMBLEBEE!!! are you ready? Guys?

Chase: Are you sure this will result?

Knock Out: oh! Don't be a pessimist, honey! We're ready

Blurr: Let's break the silence!

*the guys started to play their instruments in a beautiful tiny symphony, but Blades voice was so damned it gave chills*

Ratchet: Are they singing?

OP: Awww

Ratchet: AW NOTHING! I'M GOING TO- *Ratchet shows his head through the window, Blades is singing with such passion that OP feels bad for the guy* HEY- YOU!

Blades: Ratchet! Can Bee show off? I need to talk with him!

Ratchet: GO AWAY FROM MY HOUSE!

Blurr: HE HAS A CANNON!

Breakdown: Oh dammit!

Blades: NONONO! RATCHET, PLEASE, I JUST WANT TO TALK

OP: Ratchet! What are you doing!?

Ratchet: THAT BARD HAD BROUGHT US ONLY PROBLEMS-! BUMBLEBEE PAX, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!

*Bee was already out of the house*

Bee: CAN YOU STOP YELLING?! Blades, what are you doing here?

Blades: I want to say sorry! I did a lot of stupid things that you didn't deserved and I know I don't have anything to give you except my spark but- but I want you to, at least, give me an answer, I can accept anything but-

Bee: Oh, shut up, Blades! You're already the worst bard I've ever met and your apologies are worst!

Blades: I know! And I don't have poems right now, this was my last possible idea, that's why I'm mostly a rescuer, but I'm completely serious! I love you a lot! And I only want you to be happy. I can't be everything you deserve but I can be everything that is on my hand to make you be the most fortunate bot of the world because that's the only thing I want from you, nothing else, because you're the most beautiful, delicate, brave and smart bot I've ever met.

Blades: so, at least, can you give the worst bard of the word and his damned violin an answer about how can I make you happy? Just tell me now and I'll make it possible! Do you want me to travel the word and bring you a rare gem? I'll do it! Or if you want me stay and do whatever you want I'll also do! Or if you want me to never come back I promise I'll go to the farthest place on Middle Earth and never let you see my face again but please! Don't leave me with this agony... please

*silence was made for a moment*

Ratchet: BUMBLEBEE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

Bee: OPTIMUS, CALM DOWN YOUR CONJUNX, I'M TRYING TO THINK!

Bee: Blades, you are the most insane, weird, maybe stupid bot I've ever met, and also the worst singer I could hear despite how good you are at violin, and your spells needs a lot to be fixed. You're also the most weird and extravagant for no reason, you like to draw attention despite how damn anxious you are and your friends are always getting in problems- your damn brother-in-law is a demon and your friend is a black wizard! Sometimes you scare me how weird your ideas are! And damn! You literally lied at my face! And then again, you do something like this and convice me and- and I don't know what's the problem, if you're too much for me or if I'm too emotional and-

Bee: Dammit! I love you a lot! But I'm tired of ending like this. And I don't know if we should still be together but I can't imagine a live without you because despite everything, you make me feel alive... I like our adventures and our conversations, and I love you're so bad and despite that you still want to improved, you're also so cute and caring and- I'm sorry- I don't have an answer but I don't want you to go away. But I need you to talk more with me about everything, no more secret friends or weird adventures without telling me, if you need me you will tell me everything, the only surprises I need are this ones when you want to make me happy AND I want you to never quit something just because of me like the theather group. Those are my only conditions for you to stay with me. I don't know if we always will manage to make the other happy but at least I want us to say at our last days that we don't regret being with each other... I want you to stay with me

Blades: ...oh Primus- Bee, thank you!

*Blades throwed himself with tears at Bee to hug him, both were like that for some minutes, which Blurr and her dads used to go to give the pair some privacy*

Ratchet: I'm going to-

Ratchet: But-

OP: You're not going to anything, Ratchet! Leave Bee alone! He's a grown bot! We gave him our advice but the rest depends on him

OP: Oh, Ratchet! Don't make like if you didn't were the same

Ratchet: ...hm...

OP: now you're relaxed?

Ratchet: ...something

OP: better

---

Blurr: Hey! Salvage!

Salvage: hm? What's up?

Blurr: Boulder taught Sissi to explode things, wanna come with us?

Salvage: ...yes!

---

Heatwave: hey, Sissi? Whatcha doing-? IS THAT MY ARC?!

Sissi: ...am-

Heatwave: Give me that!

Sissi: BUT YOU DON'T EVEN USE IT!

Heatwave: BUT IT'S NOT OKAY YOU USE WEAPONS WITHOUT MY PERMISSION- GIVE ME THAT!!

---

Please, pay a visit to The Garden, my new project, this is the first short of many to come

[snowbaamgyu]

Hi, do you mind writing something about this?

Here it is! Sorry if it isn't that good, also I'm the worst with endings but I hope you like it after all.

A Freezing Burning Feeling

The final months of the year were the busiest in the kpop industry too, all idols having awards, presentations for Christmas or New Year's Eve, seasons greetings and much more, so it isn't a surprise that any of them get sick at some point, specially around those months where it's common for virus to be around.

TXT had to fly to Japan for their MAMA's presentation, all of them having a surprise for the fans there.

It was a busy schedule, and they were feeling tired from everything.

Before they headed to the airport Taehyun noticed the slight discomfort in his stomach after eating lunch, but he payed no attention to it, some sleep could fix it.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Kai offered, Taehyun accepted and it distracted him from his discomfort, they were heading to Japan so the flight didn't take that long.

When they arrived Taehyun felt so exhausted like that plane had taken all his energy to land, even tho he was sitting the whole time.

Some typical procedures at the airport later and they got to their hotel.

"Finally" sighed Beomgyu who was also tired, all of them agreed with him, wanting nothing more than taking a shower, put on some comfy clothes and sleep.

But of course before anything of that could happen Yeonjun said "Wait, let's eat dinner first, I heard there's a buffet tonight and it would be cool if all of us ate together" well, normally each one of them went to their rooms and ate something from room service alone, but this once, they decided it was a good idea. And it was, just Taehyun thought this was unnecessary because all he wanted to do was curl up in bed like a ball.

Halfway through the meal Taehyun's stomach decided it wasn't okay with what he was eating and started to feel queasy, slowly he stopped eating but it was too late, his stomach was now upset, gurgling and making weird noises that he wondered if the rest heard. Without wanting to draw any attention he slipped his hand under his shirt and started to rub it lightly.

"Are you alright?" Kai noticed after a while. Great.

"Yeah, just ate too fast maybe, my stomach is taking its time to process the food" it was more than that but Taehyun didn't want to make everyone concerned about him.

"Why don't you go to your room and rest then? It's kinda late anyway so we should probably go too" God bless Soobin. Without needing to be told twice, Taehyun stood up and wished everyone good night.

Taehyun was taking a much needed long hot shower, helping him relax and forget about his pain for a bit.

Tho at times he had to stifle some burps that tasted just like what he was eating, but in a disgusting way.

He put on his pajamas and turned on the TV, deciding to watch something in the mean time he got sleepy.

But he awoke not too much later, the lights off and the movie he had put on was already over and it automatically played the second part, but what was different was that he felt suffocated.

Everything was burning, it was hard to breathe and his stomach was cramping as if it was trying to squeeze itself.

Taehyun quickly took off the covers and drank some of the water he had left on the nightstand before he layed down.

But it wasn't enough, he was sweating, it was like he had a heater right beside him, and his whole body was hurting, his stomach specially.

He curled up more, embracing his middle as another cramp left him gasping for air, the cramps now turning into some nauseating feeling.

Not sure of what to do he went to the bathroom, not knowing how he made it but at least the cold tiles helped a bit.

His shirt was damp with sweat, and he was sure he was pale, he couldn't look too much to the mirror. Kneeling in front of the toilet, unsure of how long would it take to his very first meal there to re appear, but it was agonizing, and he didn't even have his phone with him at that moment, he could use some help but it's too late to move, with a shaky burp his stomach was finally expelling a its contents.

Taehyun was still trying to regulate his breathing when the second wave came up, much larger and thick than the first one, going through his nose too, he was left coughing and the third one was also the same.

It was like that for a while longer than he would've liked it to be, but for every time he heaved up some more sick, his stomach felt less heavy, though it was still hard to the touch, and was pretty much still vomiting, after a while it stopped. But Taehyun kept on rubbing it, the pain still there, and for the more pressure he applied, more burps kept on coming up and left him dry retching over the toilet. Too nauseous to move and being that exhausted, he finally fell asleep right there on the floor, he flushed the toilet and wiped his mouth, the cold tiles were somehow refreshing him from the burning sensation that made its way through all his body (or making it worse but he didn't care tho)

When Taehyun woke up, he noticed that the nausea had subsided so it was safe to move to his bed, the uncomfortable hot feeling was now replaced by all the contrary, if he fell like burning a while before now he felt like he was freezing.

As quickly as he could Taehyun made his way to his bed, seeking for warmth between the blankets. However, after an hour, his temperature changed again, and so, the cycle kept repeating.

It was a hell of a night, Taehyun had barely slept, not to mention his stomach was still in knots. By now the others must be awake, having breakfast and getting ready for their performance at night, Taehyun decided to call a manager and see what they could do.

"Hello, Taehyun-ssi, good morning"

"Hyung, I'm not feeling well, I had a rough night" Taehyun said with a tired sigh.

"What happened?" the manager was now concerned, if it was necessary they needed to cancel his performance and Kai had to do it alone.

"I don't know, before we got on the plane my stomach was feeling kinda off, I thought it was just the excitement or the nerves about all this, but after trying to sleep I threw up, a lot, and my body was either so hot or so cold and... I'm tired... but I still want to perform".

"Okay, I'll drop by your room with the medical staff, they'll give you something that hopefully will be enough to let you rest for a while and feel better to perform, but I want to let you know that if after that you're still not feeling good then there's nothing we can do, your health comes first, Taehyun-ah".

And Taehyun was aware of that, so when the medical staff arrived to his room and connected him to an IV of vitamins and supplements and a bunch of more stuff that were supposed to make him feel better, he fell asleep, finally relaxing. He didn't know it but all the members came by to check on him from time to time and then left for some individual schedules, Soobin was there when he woke up tho, almost five hours later since he fell asleep, confused about where he was until he remembered.

"Hey, how're you feeling?" Soobin's calm voice, it soothed any of the discomfort that was left —even if there wasn't anything left—.

"Definitely much better than last night" Taehyun yawned, rubbing the sleep off of his face, Soobin stood up when some room service arrived, he put the tray of food on his legs and opened the containers, it was soup, and some other light dishes for his stomach.

"Eat something, at least just a little bit, but have something in you aside from those fluids, if you're feeling completely better manager hyung said you are able to perform, but if you're still feeling bad then you're also able to rest, they have an statement prepared and all".

Okay, Taehyun now was hungry, so he ate slowly until his appetite got bigger and finished almost half of what Soobin had ordered for him, not wanting to risk getting his stomach upset again, and when an hour passed and his body wasn't trying to reject what he ate he told everyone he was perfectly fine to perform, and started getting ready, giving his all on that stage with the support of his members.

[rorywritesjunk]

(Day 19. "Is this for me?" SunnyxBuggy with some ThistlexMarco. This AU I gave Sunny an injury to her hand which ended her apprenticeship early and had her joining Buggy sooner.)

"So, what are you getting him for his birthday?" Thistle asked as she and Sunny watched Buggy carry around little Rayleigh. The little girl decided Uncle Buggy was the absolute greatest person and refused to be held by anyone else currently. The little visit the four of them arranged was nice: head to an island that would be neutral territory for both crews. Buggy still took some issue with his sister being part of and married to a member of Whitebeard's crew but he stopped complaining about it when he was given the baby to hold.

"I ask and he either says he just wants all the treasure..." Sunny began to say before glancing over at Thistle. "Or... He gets very lovey and says that I'm his greatest treasure so... I don't know yet."

"He's such a romantic nowadays, isn't he?" Thistle hummed as she watched her brother with her daughter, how he kept lifting her up to show her some trees, point out birds, little things like that. All Rayleigh wanted to do was grab his nose. "He's grown up so much."

"I really want to get him something special." Sunny sighed as Buggy tried to keep his head away from his niece. She kept reaching for his face. "I just don't know what."

"The only thing I remember him loving more than treasure was some pancake whale stuffy I stole for him when we were first taken in by Roger and Rayleigh." Thistle told her as Buggy finally caved and let the baby grab him. "He chucked it over the side of the ship when he turned 10 after some asshole said he was too old for that sorta thing."

"What?! That's so mean!"

"Eh, not everyone was always nice." Thistle shrugged. "I stole all of that guy's shoelaces after that, however. I didn't like what he said to Buggy."

"Why shoelaces?" Sunny asked.

"So he had to walk everywhere barefoot." Thistle told her. "And sometimes there were sharp rocks and broken glass."

"... Huh, okay."

"Anyway, you'll think of something. I wouldn't worry too much."

Sunny nodded, a look of concentration on her face as she watched her husband. How could someone say that to a child? She looked back at Thistle.

"Could you draw it for me?"

~

Sunny's birthday came first. Buggy gifted her with pretty fabrics his crew looted from a merchant ship, along with some nice kitchenware. He offered to give her the jewels he found, but it wasn't necessarily her idea of treasure so she let him keep it. He made her dinner, got drunk, told her all night how much he loved her, then crashed on the bed at midnight.

She made sure he was comfortable before she went to clean the kitchen as she thought about what to do for his birthday. She had a small idea but wasn't sure how she'd accomplish it.

~

Buggy's birthday came faster than she expected but she was ready. She cooked him a tasty dinner and gave him his gifts. Three new cravats she found at a shop, two new bandanas (one cut from the same fabric of a dress she managed to make from his gift to her, the stitching was a little rough in places but Buggy said nothing as he tied it around his hair), and the final gift she almost hesitated to give him. What if he thought it was weird? Would he get mad at Thistle for telling Sunny about it? She didn't want the siblings upset with each other, they only just reconnected after all those years apart.

She hesitated on the last gift, keeping it behind her back while Buggy finished fixing his hair under his new bandana. He spotted the polka dotted wrapping paper and looked up at his wife.

"Is this for me?" He asked, pointing with one hand while the other snuck around to grab it. Sunny tried to take it back from him but he kept it out of her reach. "Ohhh, what didja get me, babe? Hm? What's got you so shy?"

"It's-"

"Oh, maybe sexy lingerie you wanna wear for me?" He grinned at her as he brought the gift back to himself. "Feels... A bit bulkier."

"It's not lingerie, honey." She told him. "But... I don't want you to get upset."

Buggy frowned at his wife before looking back at the parcel in his hands. Glancing back at her, he carefully unwrapped it, wondering what she was going to give him. Divorce papers, maybe? No, she loved him. She told him this morning in bed when she was in his lap, her hands touching him as he held her close, grateful for her to be in his life.

The paper fell to the ground and he held up a mishaped flat whale. The fabric was a dark blue with light blue polka dots. The stuffing was uneven in places and the eyes were stitched on lopsided. Buggy swallowed heavily and looked up at her.

"Thistle told me about this. I... I thought maybe you'd like it." She laughed nervously as she reached for it. He hated it, didn't he? Not only did she likely stir up sad memories from his childhood, the thing looked ridiculous. She struggled to do some of the most simple tasks now that nothing came out right. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

He set it down before standing up. Sunny stood her ground, wondering how he would react, but he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close as he let his cheek rest against the top of her head.

"Buggy?" She wrapped her arms around him and looked up at him. "Honey? Are you okay?"

He pulled back and cleared his throat, wiping at his eyes. "It's perfect, babe. Don't stress, okay? It's-uh, it's a one of a kind thing, y'know? And *I* have the only one!"

"You like it then?" She asked. "I-I went off a drawing your sister did for me. She told me what happened and I felt so bad for you and-and I wanted you to have a good birthday since this is the first one since we got married and-"

Buggy silenced her with a kiss. He didn't want her to doubt the appreciation he had for the gift. He knew she worked hard on it, knew it would have been difficult for her to cut out the pattern, sew everything together, and wrap it. Her hand injury made things difficult for her and the fact she took the time to make it for him told him how much she really loved him.

When he pulled back from the kiss, her eyes were wide and shiny with tears but she was smiling at him.

"I'm glad you like it, Buggy."

"Yea, well, I'll like anything you give me, babe." He grinned as he leaned down to cover her face with kisses. She let out a surprise yelp, trying to wriggle away from him but not making much of an effort. He let one hand venture over to the table, wanting to touch the gift once more.

He couldn't believe she made that just for him.

[esta-elavaris]

Part Twelve [2,590 words] ~ James Norrington/OC

An AU of my completed, 400k+ word fanfic Catch the Wind [AO3], in which Elizabeth, not James, is the one to discover Theodora Byrne after she crash-lands into the world of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Page breaks by cafekitsune.

Also now on AO3 and FF.net.

Masterpost - Part One - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four - Part Five - Part Six - Part Seven - Part Eight - Part Nine - Part Ten - Part Eleven - *Part Twelve* [you're here!]

Tag list [let me know if you want to be added!]: @missfronkensteen @teawithshakespeare @dancerinthestorm

"I have a surprise for you."

Norrington looked aghast at her words, and Theo grinned, laughing and quickly continuing before he could get up and sprint back to the Interceptor. Or maybe just directly into the ocean. Whatever he continued to be the swiftest form of escape.

"You can relax, it's not for you. But you had a pretty big hand in it, so I wanted you to be the first to see it."

"The necklace?"

It could never be said that he wasn't shrewd. Or that she didn't have a way or making things painfully obvious, she supposed.

"The necklace," she confirmed, sifting through her skirts until she found the pockets sewn within.

"Wouldn't I be the third to see it, then? Behind Turner and yourself?"

"If I knew that you were going to be like this about it, you'd have been the twentieth."

"The twenty-first would've been too insulting?"

"Had to save a spot for Amelia."

"I shall keep the rest of my comments to myself, so I'm not catapulted further still down the list."

"Mm – any more snark and I'd have to put you square behind taking it to the cells in Fort Charles to show the folk there before I let you see it."

"In which case I would have to give permission – which I would only bestow if you allowed me to see the necklace, as recompense."

"I bow down to a skilled tactician," she said drily.

Of course, her deadpan humoured was dulled a bit by the smile on her face, but she couldn't help it. Who could have ever thought that the inscrutable James Norrington would ever be willing to sit and chat nonsense with her – unbegrudgingly, and with a smile on his face? It beggared belief. And she enjoyed it more than she should.

"It's not an exact replica. They're not so much twins as sisters, but I kind of like that," she explained, drawing the little cloth pouch from her skirts. "It'd be a bit to twee if we were cutting about in matching jewellery."

"Cutting about?"

"Yes, yes, she speaks like a weird little commoner, we know this."

"I was not mocking you," he said simply.

He looked tempted to add something else and she waited patiently for him to do so, but when he finally did, she had the feeling it wasn't what he originally intended to say.

"Must I beg, if I wish to see this necklace?"

"Is that an offer?"

"No," came his emphatic response.

Theo laughed, unwrapping it and then dangling it by the chain before him. The pendant was around the same size as her own, and shone just as brightly, but with small curling designs running along the edges of the shape. Will had explained the reasoning for this – something to do with imperfections in the only silver he'd been able to squirrel away for use, and how this disguised them. But they were very pretty, so she'd hardly been inclined to complain in the first place.

He looked at the necklace – truly looked at it, rather than just fixing his eyes in its general direction for a polite amount of time before he went on to rattle off some sort of canned, polite compliment. The action made Theo more nervous than she let on. Sure, she'd borrowed some of Elizabeth's jewellery here and there for social gatherings, but he'd spent his whole life surrounded by the fashions and the ways of this time. If something was up with the necklace, he'd see it immediately.

Once upon a time, she would have expected him to therefore voice it immediately, too. But now she honestly couldn't say whether she'd expect that from him or not – for he was kinder than she'd first realised. Even if he probably wouldn't thank her for pointing it out.

"It's a fine piece," he said, holding it up to the light and nodding with approval that appeared perfectly sincere. "I'm sure Miss Swann will be ecstatic."

"I hope she will be. It's just such a relief to finally be able to do something nice for her," she admitted, accepting the necklace back.

He cleared his throat, perhaps uncomfortable with the sincere tone their conversation was taking, then he hesitated for a moment before he spoke.

"You must know that neither of the Swanns would hold any expectation in that regard."

"Of course I do. That just makes it worse. If they begrudged what they gave me, I'd feel less bad about it."

"Ireland must be a strange land indeed," he snorted.

Although there was something in his tone that suggested he knew exactly what she meant.

"No," she sighed, only half-joking. "Just me."

Thankfully, he chose that moment to steer them into less choppy, awkward waters.

"I'm curious. You're well-read, and you mentioned missing your books from home. What do you ordinarily read?"

Had she not been trying to rein in a very mortifying bout of emotions, she might've realised how that had the potential to be a dangerous question – given the time discrepancy.

"Whatever I can get my hands on. It depends on my mood. History…"

By that, she meant salacious autobiographies of her favourite musicians.

"…Philosophy…"

That one, at least, he could take at face value.

"…Horror," she added.

"Horror?" he frowned.

Well. It looked like that hadn't been invented yet. Great. Although she shouldn't have really been surprised, she supposed – what book invented it? He'd been pretty generous in describing her as well-read, but she wasn't an expert on literature, nor educated on it enough to know when certain genres began or how. She could guess that horror began as gothic literature and morphed a bit, and it did seem a bit early even for that. Although she wasn't sure what signs she could look for. Amelia stomping about the town in Demonia platforms and black lipstick? Annoyingly, she'd probably be able to pull it off.

Alas, she'd dug herself into this hole now – so she might as well start making it hospitable.

"Horror – stories of…of ghosts, and the supernatural, and of people who do terrible things."

"It hardly sounds like the stuff of recreational reading."

"It makes sense, once you dig into it."

"By all means, explain it to me."

From anybody else, it might've felt condescending. Hell, from him it would have been condescending only a few weeks ago. But instead, as he spoke, he watched her with open curiosity – with expectation. Not because he was waiting for her to make an absolute tit out of herself, but because he genuinely expected that what she was about to say might be interesting. From James Norrington, that was damn high praise.

"It…it provides a safe avenue to explore those feelings," she cringed at how new-age faux-intellectual that sounded, especially to someone who had actually fought in battles out at sea, and quickly continued. "For someone who's never experienced real fear, or real danger, if they get really engrossed in a story full of those things, they experience that fear. Obviously to a far, far lesser extent, but it's something. It's better than nothing. I'm not saying a book'll turn them into some grizzled war veteran-"

"Like myself?" he asked drily.

"You're not grizzled," she snorted. "Reading horror is just…microdosing danger."

"Microdosing danger?"

Was she hallucinating, or was that an amused smile on his face? One that wasn't even grudging? God, she was at risk of swooning.

"Yeah, like-"

"I can guess your meaning well enough, even if I've never heard the phrasing before."

"Look at us, bridging the language barrier. You've a promising career in diplomacy ahead of you."

"By God, I hope not. If you'd been paying attention, you would have seen that my skill lies in conflict."

"So does diplomacy, really."

"Diplomats cannot utilise cannons in their work."

"Maybe you could be the first."

He rolled his eyes and she couldn't help but laugh fondly, wrenching them back to the topic at hand. There was only so much of her nonsense that he'd willingly tolerate before he excused himself, and she enjoyed his company.

"There's something thrilling about it, too. Scaring yourself when there isn't anything real to be scared of. Monsters, evil, the like. It can be exciting."

"Spoken like one who has never encountered monsters, nor evil," he said flatly.

"You don't know what I've seen."

She meant the words to be teasing – referring to what she knew lay ahead, perhaps, or maybe just the sight of her dad's brothers-in-arms hungover on a Sunday morning. James didn't laugh, which wasn't that surprising, but nor did he roll his eyes. Instead, he looked…well, not quite stricken, but suddenly very solemn indeed, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly for a moment before he forced his lips together. Bowing his head, he cleared his throat and then looked back at her again, very much the solemn Captain Norrington.

"You are right – I do not. My apologies."

Theo blinked in surprise. She'd gotten fairly decent, although far from infallible, when it came to gauging her daft little jokes here, but Norrington's sincere and solemn response caught her off guard. Not least because he watched her keenly now. Was there something she should be saying?

"Er…don't worry about it. I was only being silly."

He continued looking at her for a few long moments, and she couldn't help but feel like whatever he'd wished for her to say, that hadn't been it.

Governor Swann was holding a dinner party that evening – for the seniormost men in Port Royal who were about to make sail. It was a tradition that the Governor himself had founded shortly after arriving in Port Royal, ensuring that the men about to leave at least got one good meal in, as well as a bit of entertaining company, before they went off to see to their duty. Ordinarily, it was something James merely endured. Yes, he often found he enjoyed the evenings more than he expected to, but that lack of expectation seldom had anything to do with the company he would find there.

He'd more than earned his reputation of being a man of duty. Whatever minor gripes he had with how they extended to whispers that he had no sense of humour, or that he could find no joy in anything but duty, he could roll his eyes and brush off such comments. Not least because of the small amount of truth in them – for on the nights before he was due to leave Port Royal, he simply had no desire to spend the last of his time making small-talk in drawing rooms. No, he would much prefer to instead spend it making sure that everything was in order, including his thoughts, before he left.

This voyage would require no extensive preparations. It was more of a patrol than a real mission. A short journey through the surrounding waters, aimed at both ensuring those waters were safe, maintaining a tangible presence for any foul eyes who may be watching with malintent, and to stop their wits from dulling during extensive time inland.

Still, James found himself disgruntled at what lay ahead…and all because of a conversation he'd had with Governor Swann himself, that morning as they walked the battlements of Fort Charles.

"Elizabeth is ecstatic at the prospect of tonight – it's her first chance to show off her gift from Miss Byrne. I don't suppose you've seen it?"

"No," he lied. "I have not. What is it?"

If he told the truth of the matter, there ran a real risk of credit being attributed to him, and not Miss Byrne. He had no risk to detract from her victory. Not when he'd seen how jubilant it made her.

"A necklace – a pretty little trinket, to be sure. It won't be featured next to the Crown Jewels any time soon, but the sentimental value behind the piece far outshines those in the eyes of my daughter."

James chuckled. "I'm sure it does."

"Truth be told, I was worried about the influence our guest may have on her, but I've discovered those worries were all for naught. Miss Byrne has certainly brightened up her days considerably. Thick as thieves, those two."

"Good. I'm glad."

Worryingly, he found he even meant that. Mostly.

"You never know, perhaps Miss Byrne will find herself a suitor during one such evening as tonight."

Stilling, James blinked and looked up at the Governor. "A suitor?"

"Come, Captain," the Governor chuckled, misunderstanding his shock. "She has her eccentricities, but she's fair. Some may even profess to find her charming, in her way. If we cannot find her father, and if he does not find us, or if he cannot find us, God help him, we must…look to the future. She could do far worse for herself than a strapping young lieutenant. Although, I grant you, it would have to be one with good humour."

There were only two lieutenants who came to mind at all, and the latter part of Governor Swann's statement firmly ruled out Gillette from the running. Although he had to admit, it would make a good show to see Gillette trying to woo a woman such as Theodora Byrne. But Groves? The notion of Groves doing so filled him with less humour. And how could it not, he reasoned? They knew nothing of her background, nor how that background may impact whether she was eligible at all. That was the source of his discomfort. Nothing more.

The memory of the conversation had James' lips thinning. Hopefully Governor Swann had less of a stomach for matchmaking than his daughter did.

Ordinarily, this turn of events would have been a great help. Elizabeth could no longer fill her mind with misguided notions regarding himself and Theodora if Miss Byrne was occupied with the attentions of Groves, that much was true. It would have been an exceedingly neat little solution. One, he was sure, he would have personally encouraged – were it not for the extraneous factors.

And as for those extraneous factors, he was certain – truly certain – that he was getting somewhere. You don't know what I've seen. When they'd first met, she never would have admitted such a thing aloud to him. This camaraderie that had grown between them, that very same camaraderie that surprised him in how little he had to feign or resort to pretence in order to achieve it, and worried him in how natural and easy it felt, was working.

Was it wrong for him to find happiness in that? More than the mere satisfaction in achieving an important aim, but the true pleasure in having gained the confidence of a woman – a person – who had shown themselves to be truly decent, whatever her secrets? For he was good at sniffing out artifice and foul intentions, and while Theodora had some of the former about her, she had none of the latter. Today, he'd almost even slipped up and admitted that he liked her strange little idioms and turn of phrase, but he held himseld back. Thankfully. For that could very well be misread, and spook her. And when she did finally confide in him, as he was growing more and more hopeful that she would, he would in turn finally be able to help her.

The notion of Groves swooping in and courting her was just that. A mere notion. A passing possibility planted in his mind by an errant comment of Governor Swann's – a fleeting comment he probably now had no recollection of making, for it meant so little. It was not set in stone, and it only bothered James personally because he might undo the progress he was making here. That was all.

Yes. That was all.

[supercriminalbean]

The Red Turtle Neck

Emily Prentiss x Gender!Netural Reader.

A/N: Okay, so unsure how I feel about how this turned out. Seeing as this wasn't even meant to be a fic the first two paragraphs were in another oneshot I'm writing but it didn't fit but I still liked so I had to use it somehow and somehow this was created so yeah. Enjoy, please leave feedback where I can improve. Thank you all 🖤

Summary: Gender netural Reader They/Them pronouns no use of (Y/n) Reader and Emily had a friends with benefits relationship before she died, but feelings got involved. How do things go when Emily comes back from the dead.

Warnings: Mention of death and faking death. Swearing, crying, alcohol, drugs. Emotions, fluff.

Words: 2.8k.

Fuck, your neck is covered in dark bruises, how the hell are you going to hide this from your team, you got no idea. Your makeup skills are good, but not that good, and even if they are, it's not as if you have the right type of makeup here. Groaning softly as you look through your draws trying to find something that might help cover your neck up enough, that no question will arise. Aha, a scarf, it's a really old knitted scarf you must have gotten when you were what, 16 or 17, from a family member. You can’t wear this, you never wear scarfs, and this well this will just make the team know what you're trying to hide. 

“For fuck sake” You grumble, shoving the scarf back into your draw slamming it close, well try to. A piece of red fabric keeps getting stuck when you try to close it. Glaring at it with pure hatred, why does clothing only get in the way when you're already in a bad mood. Without even thinking you grab it, pulling it out all ready to throw it on the ground and forget all about it. But now that you're holding it, realisation dawns on you as to what top it is. The red turtle neck, Emily and your shared turtleneck.

~~~

You thought you got rid of this months ago, obviously not. This was originally her top, but it somehow ended up in your washing one night and after that, you both wore it just as much as each other. Derek loves to say that, that turtle neck was the first sign you two had started doing it. You love to hate that dirty mind of his. Taking a deep breath as you hold the top, feeling as it gets heavy in your hand. This top could easily hide your neck, and it is just Emily style to help you hide your hickeys from the team. Maybe it's time to put your  top back on, smiling softly as you slide it on. As soon as it's on, you suddenly don’t feel alone, feeling as if Emily is watching you from above. While of course low key judging you, as you hide your whore phase from the team. Again.

~~~

Months have now passed since you started wearing the turtleneck again. The only thing that still makes you feel close to your late 'friend'. You hold on to so much regret regarding you and Emily's weird relationship. You two of you were always more than friends who worked and slept together but, you two could never make it more, than just that. You never realised it until she died but you were completely in love with your best friend and when she died a part of you did too. You managed to put yourself back together slowly, using alcohol and random sex to fix a strange hole in your life.

~~~

When you walk into the bullpen one morning, getting barely any sleep last night after another nightmare. You're wearing some of your comfort clothes these morning, your favourite jeans and Emily's red turtleneck. The bullpen is quiet and on edge for the first few hours of the morning. Hotch had finally returned back from his assignment this morning and has been in his office with the office door closed all morning with JJ and Chief Strauss. Barely anyone on the team could concentrate on their paperwork just watching and waiting to be included in on, the intense conversation going on behind closed doors. 

~~~

“You don’t think JJ is being transferred again do you?” Reid asks again for what feels like the 100th that morning. 

“Nah, no way I think it has to be way bigger than that” Morgan stare grow the more he watches them. He’s barely moved his eyes off them for the last hour, his paperwork completely forgotten about. 

“Maybe it's about the job she was on when she was transferred, maybe something happened?” Penelope gulps, her worry clear on her face. Sitting beside Morgan, needing his comfort.

“You don’t think they are going to split us up again do you” Looking up from your desk and around at your team. Everyone knows it could happen but no one wanted it to be said out loud. The thought is worse than most may think it could be. The job itself is good, but its hard and makes you question the world more than not, and the only way you get through it is with those that keep you safe everyday. Trust doesn't come easy with this job so once a team trusts each other it is hard to let one another go. 

“No I don’t think that is what’s going to happen” Rossi speaks up. Making the team's head all snap to the senior agent sitting beside you. “They know that we work well together, they won’t split us, trust me on that one” His smile and calm voice does little to comfort the nervous of the four profilers. 

~~~

Another 20 minutes go by when Chief Strauss finally walks out of Hotchner's office, not even glancing at the group of profilers gawking at her as she walks past. 

“My team, conference room now” Hotch’s voice makes you all snap your heads up at him. Hotch and JJ standing on the ledge, staring down at you with almost unreadable faces. Which only makes your anxiety grow worse, as you watch them walk off. 

Once the whole team is in the conference room and both doors have been closed, that is when everyone can get a proper look at Hotch. He wasn't in his usual work wear, he's wearing casual clothing with facial hair, looking like he hasn’t had time to sleep in a long time. JJ stands close to him, looking weary and guilty, unable to look at anyone. 

“I received a call this morning and have been talking with Chief Strauss to see how we proceed with this information” Hotch crosses his arms, staring at everyone. His eyes soften as he takes in everyones worried looks, his eyes stopping on you.

“Hotch what is it?” You press him, coming to stand by Morgan, as the others take a seat. Your heart seems to be wanting to test the theory. If it can really beat so fast, that it will escape your chest. 

“This morning, Ian Doyle was brought into custody when he was found outside his son's school. He is now in our custody and won’t be getting out anytime soon” Hotch's face lights a little as he speaks. The room seems to fill with everyone letting out a sigh of a relife. 

“But there is something else you all need to know” Hotch takes a breath, guilt filling his face as much as he does his best to hide it. 

“Aaron what is it?” Dave asks, staring at his friend, in concern.

“Why don’t you two take a seat” Hotch looks at you and Morgan, gulping thickly as you meet his eyes shaking your head.

“Hotch, what is it?” Morgan asks sharply. Your mouth is becoming too dry to ask anything. Your body runs so close to the edge, fearing that something horrible is about to be said.  

~~~

“Seven months ago I made a decision that affected this team, as you all know Emily lost a lot of blood after her fight with Doyle but the doctors were able to stabilise her, and she was airlifted from boston to bethesda under a covert exfiltration, her identity was strictly need to know, and she stayed there until she was well enough to travel”  As Hotch speaks, he keeps his voice levelled his eyes glancing around the room, taking in everyone's reaction. The rooms fall silent as the news sets in. Your body feels like it's running cold, everything around you feels so far away, almost like it's a dream. Your eyes flick to JJ who's standing there watching you guilty, you open your mouth to say something but no news comes out. 

“She's alive?” Garcia is the first to break the silence. Her voice breaks as tears slide down her face. You let yourself glance at Garcia for a split second before your eyes are back on Hotch. The room feels like it's spinning as people's voices fade into the background, unable to focus on the betrayal falling from Hotch’s lips. The last Seven months of pain that you went through of losing your Emily, could have been prevented but no, It wasn’t. Your best friend is alive and two people you are meant to trust with your life with HER life, have been lying to you. Your stomach is twisting in pain, feeling as if you're about to vomit from this knife that has been stuck into you. 

~~~

The voices are still talking, but that doesn’t get your attention, what does are the footsteps. Footsteps that you never thought you would ever hear again. The voices fall silent once more, when Emily Prentiss comes to a standstill in the doorway. 

“Holy cow….” Garcia is the first to respond as Emily smiles weakly at everyone, seeming to be at a loss for words. 

“Guys… I.. Im sorry” Emily tries her best to string some words together but luckily she doesn’t have to for long. Garica is up in an instant, rushing towards her to wrap her arms around the dead woman. You're unable to move any part of your body as you stare at her in shock. Frozen to your spot as you watch her hug everyone in the team. Morgan is the last to approach her, slowly still unsure if she's even real. Emily wraps her arms around him pulling him close, closing her eyes as she does so. 

“I'm so sorry Morgan, you didn’t deserve that” She whispers softly. Pulling away as her eyes opens, landing straight on you. Taking a few steps away from Morgan, she moves towards you, keeping direct eye contact. Which seems to tear straight into your heart, as you take in her beautiful brown eyes. Something you never thought you would ever see in person again. 

“I'm so sorry” She starts to say, coming to a stop in front of you. Opening her mouth to say something else. 

“Don’t” Interrupting her, your voice is croaky. You hadn't realised you have been crying as you had been processing the news. 

“Please just.. I know I have a lot to explain to you” She reaches out, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder. Which you shrug off quickly, scoffing at her in disbelief. 

“No, no, I can’t deal with this, with you” Shaking your head as your body starts to click into gear, stepping back from her quickly. “I loved you, and you died. I can't do this!” Having finally found your legs, you walk out of the room as fast as your leg could take you, before running towards the elevator. Emily tries to follow you but is stopped by Morgan.

~~~

Two bottles of wine lay empty on the ground beside you. Slowly, you get up to open another bottle. You had been hoping that the alcohol would help get rid of how you feel, or at least ease the feelings. But soon the afternoon turned to the evening, and you're still drowning in your pain. Sipping on another bottle waiting for your pizza to turn up. When the door knocks, you jump from the couch. Stumbling to the front door, opening only to be filled with anger.

“Oh fuck off, not you” Groaning softly as your eyes land on the reason for your alcohol consumption. 

“Hey, I have your pizza okay, just let me in” She sighs softly, smelling the wine on your breath. “Please” Emily adds with a small smile, seeing the hesitation. Sighing, nodding as you step back, making your way back to the couch. 

“Fine, but you get no pizza, dead people don’t eat” Huffing as you sit back down. Picking up your third bottle of wine, which is half empty, already.

“Jesus, Red, how much have you drunk tonight” Emily sighs, looking at the bottle before sitting beside you. Placing the pizza down in between you.

“Don’t you dare judge me, I have had one hell of a year!” Snapping at her as you open the pizza box, ot taking any. As your look back up at her.

“I know it's been hard, it hasn’t been easy for me either. " She starts but falls silent by the look you give her.

~~~

“Why, did the girl you fell in love with, but you couldn’t do anything about it die after her hidden past came to light, and you had to watch as your family was falling apart around you and you couldn’t do anything to help them, and all you really have left of her is this stupid turtleneck, cause wow, what a coincidence.” Laughing bitterly as you lift the bottle to your lips again. Letting the liquor burn your throat as you swallow. Glancing up to see Emily face drop, filling of guilt and heartbreak.

“No, but the person I fell in love with, I had to lie to and leave behind, and I had no idea if they even felt the same way” Emily grabs the bottle from your hand as you go to take another sip, rolling your eyes at her. She places the bottle down as she grips your hands tightly, which forces you to look her in the eyes as she continues 

“I had to live seven months never knowing if I would ever see them again, I had to leave my family behind knowing I have caused nothing but pain for them, I left the person I fell in love with, before I could even tell them how much I love them and how brave and strong they are” 

Your lips are trembling as her words sink in, tears dripping down your face as you allow yourself to read the pure love and the fear sitting in her eyes, as she watches you waiting for your response.

“It hurts Ems, It hurted so much” You whimper out. Pulling her hands up to your face, crying softly.

“Oh baby,” She whisper softly. Quickly she moves the pizza out of the way, pulling you into her arms. You snuggle into her chest, allowing yourself to fall apart in her arms, knowing you're safe with her. 

“You're safe now, my sweets, I'm not leaving you ever again, I promise you, my love” She whispers as she strokes your hair tenderly, helping you calm down. 

~~~

You two lay there for a while even after you have fully calmed down. Not wanting to move, either of you. Feeling at home in each other's present, a feeling neither of you have felt in a long time. Steadily, you pull yourself up into a sitting position, glancing at her. Her eyes follow you worriedly.

“I'm sorry Ems, we still need to talk a lot more but” Your voice comes out weakly, sighing tiredly.

“You're drunk and honestly I'm tired, we can talk tomorrow morning” She smiles lovingly at you, as she wraps an arm around your shoulder lightly. “But, I do need to ask you something. We can figure out everything else out in the morning, but I can’t go another night without asking you properly” Emily places a hand softly on your checks, turning your head to look at her. You smile gently at her, knowing what she wants to ask her.

“Oh and what may that be Prentiss?” Smirking teasingly at her, knowing how much she loves that look on your face.

“Be mine?” She smiles more. Her eyes fill with love as she leans into you when she sees you nod.

“Always, I’m not losing you again Ems” Your words are barely audible as you lean forward, capturing her lips with yours. 

~~~

You two share a deep, meaningful kiss, one that helps calm both of your nerves from the last few months. Once you pull away from her, her forehead comes to rest on yours. Smiling at you, like the mad in love woman, she is. 

“You better not leave me again, Emily, because otherwise you will be a dead woman” Laughing faintly, as you pull back from her. 

“Oh trust me, my love I’m never leaving you again.” Smiling at you, as she slowly moves back.

“Good” Smiling as you lay back in her arms, finding a comfortable spot to stay for the rest of the night. Grabbing your blanket that's hanging on the back of the couch as you both snuggle down. She finds a movie to put on as you grab the pizza, knowing you two won’t be far away from falling asleep. Knowing that this sleep is just the start of your new beginning.

[sizebrained]

It's So Hot, Can We Go to the Pool, Part 5

Ben follows after Sam, Hazel is pissed, Sam is embarassed. Cob admits something that complicates things with Sam.

CW: Adult themes, language, fluff, angst, arousal, mentions of bodies, functions, desires, and mouthplay. ***

It was Sadie who finally asked if Ben thought Sam was ok.

Ben had gotten lost in conversation with his neighbor. It was nice. Hazel had been right, but she usually was right. Ben could have found it annoying, but was more impressed than anything else. Several minutes had passed, and Sam didn't return like either of them thought she might. If it had been a bathroom emergency, there were the bathrooms right in the lobby. And if she'd ignored those for some reason, she would have easily made it all the way up to his floor and back by now.

Something must be wrong.

Ben kept sneaking glances over at the inflatable Sam had been in with Hazel and Cob. He didn't see them in the cupholder or anywhere else. He worried that they were in the pool itself, but he couldn't go in and check.

If he suddenly went over to an empty pool lounger in front of Sadie, that could draw her attention. He was worried he seemed weird. Doing that could make it even worse.

He was getting better at casual conversation, but his social anxiety was still there lurking. Maybe the tiny pair were still hiding somewhere he couldn't see. He'd have to go ask Sam so he would know where to look for them when he came back. Ben excused himself from Sadie to go check on his sister. He went back up to his condo. At the closed door, he could hear Sam's voice through it. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I NEED TO SAY I'M SORRY. OK?! I'm obviously stupid!" Sam yelled. "And it was WAY WORSE for me!" Ben's face looked confused again. He didn't hear anyone else besides his sister. It made him think that Sam must have been talking to Hazel or Cob because their voices are too soft to hear through a door, unlike Sam. She had gotten them out of the pool and up here somehow.

Ben opened the door and closed it behind him quickly, in case anyone was in the hallway. There never was anyone else in the hallway, but he was paranoid nowadays. He fretted over Hazel and Cob's safety more and more. It was like his anxiety had shifted from its usual targets to new ones.

Maybe that's what happens when you start caring about other people more. Sam was standing on one side of the kitchen counter still in her bathing suit. It looked way too small which seemed strange to Ben. She usually had a hard time finding clothes that fit, but bathing suits were normally one of the few items she could find easily. In the middle of the counter, he saw Hazel standing her head tilted back so she could fully glare at Sam. He felt relief knowing she was safe. But then he noticed how she was standing. Even from this far away he recognized her body language. It was fury, which was rare. "Hey! I'm glad you got away safely, but uh what happened? You all disappeared." Ben asked while walking over to the other side of the counter.

He sat down on a stool so that he was facing his sister, Hazel standing between them. It was nice to have to look up at his big...well older sister. For years now, it only happened if he was sitting or something. His recent growth spurt made that even worse.

Ben also noticed that his condo didn't feel nearly as hot or stuffy now. Maybe it was from being in the pool for so long or, hopefully, they finally fixed the air conditioning. As Sam and Hazel stayed silent with Ben's arrival, the hurried sound of the spinning ceiling fan filled the otherwise eerily silent condo. Hazel turned to look at him. He was shirtless like he had just come out of the pool. She took a breath and steadied herself. She was so angry. Thankfully, she needed that right now. Being this angry made it easier ignore Ben when he was in such a state of undress. At least he was dry...ish.

She moved in months ago now. As time passed, Hazel found herself more and more bothered by her "roommate" when he was only partially dressed. It made it harder for her to be around him when she felt like she did. She didn't see him as some kind of patient anymore. He meant so much more to her now. "SAFELY?!" Hazel shouted after a moment of silence.

"SAFELY?!" she repeated.

She was breathing in and out of her nose heavily. Ben looked a little terrified, like he was worried he had done something wrong that caused her to be so mad. He was waiting to be corrected.

God does he have to be so...so...bloody cute...Hazel thought in frustration.

Sam kept looking out the wall of windows instead of either Ben or Hazel. She felt so embarassed and ashamed about her spot decision. Hazel was making it worse. Sam swished the last gulp of her beer around in her mouth several times before swallowing. She turned to the fridge, opened it, and retrieved another one. "He's right babe. You are safe. And what else was I supposed to do?" Sam asked, her body bent over, leaning into the fridge while she spoke.

She turned to face them and cracked the beer open using just one hand. She finished half of it in a few gulps. "Did you..." Ben started but was interrupted by Hazel. "IN HER MOUTH!!! IN HER BIG BLOODY MOUTH!!! SHE PUT US IN HER MOUTH AND SCURRIED OUT OF THE POOL!!!" Hazel shouted and stomped her foot in anger emphasizing some of the words as she did. "WITH US!!! IN!!! HER!!! MOUTH!!!"

"What?!" Ben said shocked and looked at his sister. Then at Hazel. He had wondered where they went but never would have thought of that they were in Sam's mouth. "Why...you could have just like...grabbed them in your hand and said it was your phone or something..." Ben thought out loud trying to understand. He looked at Hazel's face again. She was really cute when she was this mad. He felt like he shouldn’t think that given she was angry, but he did. Something about someone so small being so filled with so much rage. She was fierce. Much fiercer than Ben felt like he was, maybe even fiercer Sam.

If she was human sized, based on her look right now, he probably would be trying to hold Hazel back from clawing out Sam's eyes or something.

Hazel tried to calm herself down by vigorously rubbing her face with both hands. Her tail shook a little in sync with her arms as she shook her whole body out. It helped.

Ben looked at his sister then at Hazel. There was a moment of heavy silence between them all as they all stared at one another. Ben started laughing. Hard. Hazel tried to stay angry, her arms were crossed over her chest as she watched him. But she loved it when he laughed. She couldn't help but laugh at his laughter too. She covered her mouth with one hand to stifle it, hoping neither of them noticed.

Ben was holding his chest and wiped his eyes as his laughter slowed.

"Oh my god Sam! Why would you put them in your mouth?!" He asked through the laughter. "Well...what else was I supposed to do?!" Sam asked flustered. She lifted her shoulders and elbows gesturing at herself in her swimsuit.

"Where else was I supposed to put you in this? I can't believe you would have preferred an alternative." Sam normally would have used this as a chance to to egg Hazel on a bit. But she was seriously trying to make her case that it wasn't that bad of a decision. "Good lord! Can you please?! Go put on some clothes. We are not going back down to the pool anymore today anyway. I do not know if you noticed but your air is flowing in here again. It is quite cold actually. So go get dressed...Both of you!" Hazel asked turning away from both Ben and Sam to look out the windows. Standing on the countertop between them, she was buffeted on both sides by more bare human skin than she could remember at one time.

"Sure babe no problem!" Sam said finishing her beer, sounding a little peeved.

Sam then let out a belch that she did not try to hide or excuse herself for like she typically did. She was hurt and acting up because she didn't know what else to do.

"Gross..." Ben and Hazel both said in unison turning to look at her.

"Oh give me a break you two prudes. You want gross? Try having two little tails swishing around the roof of your mouth and tongue." Sam said shivering at the sensation.

Sam turned and walked towards Ben's bedroom. Ben narrowed his eyes knowing she was going to borrow some of his clothes again.

"Uh where's Cob?" Ben asked turning to look around noticing they weren't immediately around.

"They have been in your bathroom sink since we came back. I think they're traumatized." Hazel turned and looked up at him. Then she narrowed her eyes as he remained in place. Ben stared at her for a moment trying to figure out what what he was supposed to be doing. "Oh right. Shirt. Sorry." Ben said sheepishly at the tiny staring figure. Ben didn't really think it was weird for him to be shirtless. Especially not just coming from the pool or in his own home. But he got up and followed Sam into his bedroom. He heard the bathroom door close as he walked into his bedroom. She must have gone into the bathroom with Cob. With Ben and Sam on their way, Hazel got down from the countertop in a few graceful leaps. She made her way over to her bookcase to change out of her own bathing suit. In his bedroom, Ben opened a drawer. Sam had taken the very sweatshirt he was going to put on before going into his bathroom. He took the risk and traded his damp bathing suit for underwear and shorts.

Then he grabbed a tank top instead of the sweatshirt he had wanted. He slipped it on, with a sigh, walking back out to Hazel.

In the bathroom, behind its closed door, Sam pulled Ben's huge sweatshirt on over her head. She looked down to see Cob curled up in the hand towel nest next to the edge of the sink.

Sam had made it for them after they said they needed to wash off from being in Sam's mouth. Sam felt awful. It reminded her of when she first met Cob and had done the same thing when Cob was freezing. Cob had said they loved her. She walked over and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear before deciding to take out her ponytail. It was a mess anyway. She shook out her long hair and brought her face over to the vanity's edge. Sam's big green eyes looked down at Cob huddled in a ball in the hand towel, one edge pulled over them like a blanket. "Hey babe. Are you doing ok? I'm really sorry I just panicked and didn't think it through. I promised I'd never hurt you and I feel like I broke that a little just now...but I was trying to keep you safe you know?" Sam pleaded in a whisper down at the tiny, mostly hidden figure in the hand towel. More than Hazel reaming her out, it was the idea that she had scared or hurt Cob that made Sam feel truly terrible. She hated it when she spooked them somehow. She thought she'd been doing really well. They had a rough start as Sam got accustomed to just how tiny Cob was and how every day things had to be adjusted to make it less accidentally intimidating for them. And now Sam felt like she had to start over from the first spot on a complicated board game again. But Cob didn't feel awful, or unsafe. Sam didn't break her promise. At least Cob didn't think so. They were feeling something else and didn't know what to do. Cob had liked it. A lot. Being in Sam's mouth like the gum she always chewed was terrifying, and amazing, and unlike anything they had ever experienced. It made Cob a mess, and not just pool water and Sam's saliva. "Am I gross? I mean was it really gross and disgusting for you like you said?" Cob asked slowly and softly at Sam.

Both of those things and more had been mentioned by Sam during her argument with Hazel while Cob cleaned up in the sink. Cob heard everything Sam had shouted back at their sister, even from the bathroom.

Thinking that something they liked so much was so awful for Sam made Cob hurt. They felt ashamed for liking something that maybe they shouldn't like. They were so confused.

"Babe! No, no, no, you're not gross!" Sam said hurriedly at Cob.

Hearing the tiny question from the tiny form under the towel made Sam felt even worse somehow, which she didn't think was possible. Cob was, at least, one of Sam's closest friends and she hated the idea that she was making them feel badly. "I just...it...I wasn't thinking. I was worried I was going to hurt you or swallow you by accident. And it's like I've never had anything alive in my mouth before? I wasn't really prepared. And I was worried about Ben's neighbor seeing you...so I was scared. You're not gross Cob, not to me. That's not what I meant ok? I'm sorry." Sam said while bringing a hand up and cupping it over Cob's body in and the hand towel they were nestled in. Sam pressed down gently until she felt Cob's body move up against her in a sort of light hug against her hand. "I'm an idiot ok? Do you forgive me? I don't know how I can make it up to you but I will alright? Anything you want." Sam promised worried she'd done something beyond repair. And perhaps, promising too much. Cob stayed silent and didn't try to move or struggle away from Sam's hand on top of them. It was nice. They loved feeling Sam like this. And with her hair down, the ever present fruit smell of her filled Cob's nose. It was always so sweet and powerful. She must have used a ton of whatever it was for it to linger like this. Finally, Cob felt brave enough to be bold. "You're not an idiot. And I'm not mad or scared or anything...it's just...do you think..." Cob stumbled through their words before stopping. Sam leaned down and towards them even closer and whispered back. "Do I think what babe?" "Do you...think you...we...that we...do you think we could...do that again...sometime?" Cob finished. "Do what...oh...oh...Oh!" Sam said in surprise.

She realized what Cob was asking of her. But she wanted to make sure. "Babe...did you...like being in my mouth?" Sam prodded and lifted up her hand then placed it back down in gentle, reassuring strokes over Cob's whole body under the soft fabric. Sam was a little curious and excited by the prospect of Cob enjoying it. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she tried it again. It wasn't like Sam would be able to do it with anyone else. But it felt like crossing a line that Sam had managed to stay firmly on one side of for some time now. Sam had teased and touched a toe across the line, and especially earlier today at the store. But she never fully crossed it with Cob intentionally and purposefully. She had promised and she was still worried about what that would mean for her and Cob if she did. Cob nodded but realized that Sam might not be able to see it, so they spoke up. "I did...but...it's not gross to you...or gross for you is it?" Sam brought her hand over to one side of the hand towel nest and cupped it delicately. She brought her other hand out flat against the vanity edge while sliding Cob and the towel onto her waiting hand. She lifted Cob up while she stood back up to her full height.

She held Cob in the towel nest against her chest while she looked down. Sam felt so torn by all of this. She wasn't sure what to do, but she knew she didn't want Cob to feel bad about having any desires. She wanted them to be safe with her, always.

"Babe it's not gross. You're not gross. But...we have to...it's...uh...well...it's...this is complicated." Sam finally offered.

"Yea..." Cob replied feeling the same.

Sam's stomach rumbled loudly in hunger, breaking into their quiet moment. Cob looked up at her from the towel. Her hair was framing her face and the ceiling light was making a halo around her. Cob thought she looked like a literal angel as she smiled softly down cradling them in her hands. Cob didn't think anyone or anything could be more perfect than right now. Other than getting even more of it with her. "Let's uh...see what Ding Dong has to eat and we can talk about it more later back at our place ok?" Sam said petting Cob again as she held them. She walked out of the bathroom to rejoin her brother and Hazel. Cob pushed up into Sam's hand and nodded. *** End Part 5

[gyunmireu]

who you are | heonwon gang

Fandom: Best Teacher Baek

Pairing: Heonwon Gang x Reader

Word Count: 1.2k

Genre: Fluff..?

Summary: Your visit to Gang's room to treat his injuries leads to a conversation you never thought you would have.

A/n: I just read Best Teacher Baek over the last few days and Gang has my entire heart ㅠㅠ so ofc I had to write a little something something for him~ He might be a little ooc, but I hope you enjoy <333

also available on ao3!

"Did you get beat up by Mr. Baek again?" Your familiar voice startled Gang, who had just slumped onto his bed, having just come back from a beating– ahem, training session with Mr. Baek. You were leaning against his doorway, with a tiny amused smile and your medicine kit propped against your hip.

He flushed, embarrassed that you were seeing him all battered and bruised up (again) but you made your way over to his bed, settling down across him. A tiny voice in the back of his head asked why you always came to his room to do this, when the girls' dorm rooms in the Baekryong school were at the other end.

"You knew I would so why come here to rub it in my face?" He huffed, not really meaning it. He would never admit it, but he liked that you came to fuss over him. You just hummed in response as you opened the kit and started applying the medicines on his cuts and bruises.

"I wonder why, too," you said quietly, avoiding his eyes. Whenever you would come to fix up his injuries, Gang would always stare at you unashamedly. It made you flush but you had learned to ignore and pretend that he couldn't notice it, dense as he was. It's not like you needed to fix his wounds either; it was just an excuse to be close to him, to care for him in your own small way. If he didn't realise that, then he certainly wasn't going to figure out your crush on him through a mild flush on your cheeks in the dim yellow lights of the evening. "It's not like I expect you to ever win."

"Hey!" He pouted, more hurt than he would let on at your lack of belief in him. You paused in your actions to look at him carefully.

"Of course I don't expect you to win against Mr. Baek," you clarified, lips drawing up in a small smile again. "If it's anyone else though… I think you're more than good enough to take on any of them."

"That's right, I am!" Gang's cheeks burned. You complimenting him while he could feel your gentle touch over his face was a dream. Sometimes, he really worried that he was hallucinating you coming to his room every evening. Wouldn't that make him some sort of weird pervert?

You just smiled at his response and continued working quietly. Gang stayed still and silent as always, never letting out even the smallest of hiss or a grunt at the burn he was definitely feeling.

"The medicine must hurt, right?" You asked quietly as you worked on the last one. His eyes flicked up to meet yours (where was he looking?) and he shrugged.

"Nothing can hurt me," he muttered, the line making you huff out a short laugh.

"Of course," you teased, "nothing can hurt the big, strong Heonwon Gang!"

"You…!" Gang narrowed his eyes at you as you stifled the laughter while packing up the kit. Only when you were done did you look back at him. The moment your eyes met, you burst out into laughter much to his protests. "I am the strongest! I'll show you!"

"Alright, alright, I admit you are, really," you giggled, failing to hide it under your hand. Despite his words, you could see the tiny smile peeking out of the corners of Gang's mouth. "Come on, let me circulate your qi once, then I'll leave you alone."

Both of you paused at the last part, neither wanting you to leave but he couldn't justify any other reason for you to stay. (And if the Head Supervisor found out about a girl staying over in a guy's room, the both of you could say goodbye to the Blue Dragon academy for life, so maybe it was a good thing.) Gang offered you his hands, both palms up for you to slide yours into.

"Alright, relax," you murmured, letting your qi into him to check his flow. Your instruction to relax was the only thing Gang could never follow; how was he supposed to relax when you were holding both his arms and he could feel your qi running through his system? It felt like a gentle and intimate caress that always left him flustered beyond belief. (And if it did anything down there, then no it didn't, and he would carefully hide it.) "Everything seems okay! That's great."

Your hands lingered for a second or two more before you slipped them back and fiddled with the kit to distract yourself.

"I was joking before but…" you hesitated for a second then looked up to find Gang staring at you intensely. Your heart raced under the attention, the thumps resounding loudly in your ears. "I just wanted to say that it's okay if it hurts. You can complain and hiss and tell me if it burns. Just because you're strong doesn't mean you don't feel pain– and I know you complain to the others, but you always hide it from me, so I thought…"

Gang stayed silent at first, looking away. When he spoke, he almost seemed a little shy.

"You already see me…like this," he mumbled, uncharacteristically timid for once. "I want you to think I'm really cool and strong and dependable, not… not what everyone else makes me out to be. I know everyone says I'm a troublemaker, violent and absolutely nuts, but, I didn't want you to see me that way."

If you saw him like that, you would never love him. Why would you? You were one of the top students, a role model of good behaviour and obedience. Even the Head Supervisor was a little soft on you! The only reason you had ever even looked his way was because you both studied under Baek Suryong.

"I'm sorry for pretending I'm someone I'm not," he flushed and looked down, really embarrassed. His apology startled you– he was being really unlike himself.

"What's wrong with being who you are?" You huffed, crossing your arms over your chest. You leaned forward, feeling bold from what he had just said, to admit, "I like you as you are, dumbass. You might be violent and a troublemaker but you're also cool and strong and dependable. I wouldn't like you any less if you complained or whined or told me something like you're scared of the dark– you would still be the Heonwon Gang who made me laugh when I was in a lot of stress, the same guy who risk his limb from Cheon, the same Gang who has a heart of gold. You're more than what you make yourself out to be. You weren't pretending to be someone you're not because you are all of that and so much more."

Gang blinked, stumped at your unexpected confession. Suddenly, you wondered if you had said a little too much. You were about to lean back, noticing the proximity now but he leaned in, effectively freezing you. His eyes kept slipping downwards to your lips as he carefully asked, "So… if I show you all of me… all of who I am… would you still like me?"

He was slow, giving you enough time to back away if you didn't want it but you did. You had wanted this for so long and it was like your heart was about to burst.

Instead, you just smiled and said, "I would, because I'm dumb enough to do that," before closing the distance.

(Outside the room, in the hallway, Hyeok and Sang-ung high-fived and Yeomin muttered a "fucking finally" to herself. Cheon just laughed silently, knowing your qi senses were sharp enough to notice them all.)

°•❀•°

[sad-sad-detective]

Hello there! There have been no questions for a long time…We need to fix it!

1)About the sore point. How is the work on the new chapters going? I'M NOT PUSHING OFC NOT, but...you know. Live and wait.

2)How did you find out about DnD? Can you call it your hobby? How long do your parties last?

3)What are your favorite bands besides Ghost?(if you haven't asked about it yet)

Hello, hey!💜 Why, I'm always glad to talk, you can send me asks anytime! Just saying lol

1) Well, right now I have about 2/3 of chapter 6 of "Home to the flames" ready. I keep saying to myself "I have to finish it this month", but you know how it is. Chapter 9 of "Rainbow" is about 1/3 - it is Aether-centric, and the big guy's gonna have a lot on his plate. Some events and decisions from previous chapters are gonna play their part too. But! But I have a small treat for you guys. I've finished a companion piece to "Hot streams will fork and divide" and now I'm just waiting for my beta to finish checking it. The story may be a little weird though… you'll see.

2) I learned about TTRPGs in general back in high school. You know, if you are a geek teen, you'll find out about them sooner or later. But, well… Sometime in 2021 my friend mentioned that she and her gf want to try playing DnD and asked if I wanted to join. I didn't feel interested at that particular moment, but as time went, and my friends told me about their characters and the storyline they were playing, my curiousity about it grew stronger! So, I think it's my new hobby now along with writing and drawing. Our parties last about 4-5 hours (including small breaks for stretching our legs or having a snack) because we are SOCIAL FIENDS. Honestly, I love it. Besides, our DM came up with kind of detective/horror story, so the characters spend a lot of time interacting with witnesses, looking for clues etc.

3) The list is gonna be long! I'm a big fan of Bebopovsky and his music (you may want to look up "Bebopovsky and The Orkestry Podyezdov", if you're interested, it's his dark jazz project)! Always in my playlists: Kaizers Orchestra, Timber Timbre, Glass Animals, Sleep Token, The Raveonettes, Spiritual Front, Morphine, The Kills, Black Sabbath, Type O'Negative, The 69 Eyes. A recent discovery which I highly recommend is Curse of Cain. These guys are pretty cool, and the band lore is interesting. What else… Ulterior? They are fun, if you like post-punk, and have this… I don't know how to describe it… raw feeling about them.

[echoweaver]

Echo in Time: Winter 1307-1309 Part 2

"You've got to be kidding me," Nash said. "I heard you'd gone someplace far from here."

"I did," she said. "Then I came back. Where are you living these days? I'm not going home, or not to that home anyway, and you and I need to have a long talk."

"It's out of town," Nash stammered. "Actually, it's the old Howland farm."

"You went back there?" she asked with wide eyes.

"I fixed it up," he said. "For my wife."

"Oh," Jacqueline said, nodding. "I bet she wouldn't like to see some girl from your past turn up on her doorstep."

Nash shook his head. "She's gone," he said, feeling his chest grow tight again. "Things didn't... turn out like I planned."

Jackie put her hands on her hips. "All right then. I have time. Show me what you did with the place."

"It's a long walk from here in the cold and snow," Nash said.

Jacqueline shrugged. "It turns out I have plenty of time, and my plans canceled. Also, I have nowhere to stay at the moment, so unless you want to pay for an inn, your place is what we have."

So he led her back to the farm. The snow was finished for the moment. The sky was clear, and the wind was low. Jacqueline told him her story in broad strokes -- not long after the Howland fire, she joined up with a troupe of traveling minstrels to see the world. And she had seen some fascinating places, but the work was seasonal, and winter wasn't the season. She and Dagon had been paramours for a while, but he'd gotten very possessive in recent months, and well, "We'd never had any expectation of being faithful," she said, "And he certainly wasn't."

Nash listened in silence and grunted his sympathy. Then he let her draw out his story in bits and pieces until at last they were back at the farm house.

Jacqueline looked around appraisingly. "You built it back better," she said. "I see that there's only one bed, and I'm exhausted. I hope you don't plan to be weird about it.

Nash was too exhausted himself to make any protest.

[gutsfics]

how about a low stakes and high stakes episode "what if Jo had been there" for Time Traveller's Pig (how would he spend his time at the carnival?) and Not What He Seems

eeeee tysm for asking <3 💞

for Time Traveller's Pig, he's running either a caricatures booth or a facepainting booth. im leaning toward face painting though, and you can either choose from a design he made based on Mystery Shack attractions, or just ask for Whatever and he'll do his best (there is a kid rocking the Really Cool Tiger Going Through A Divorce)

his booth is set up close enough to Stan's dunk tank that If someone is able to dunk him, Joseph can help him out but not so close that he or anyone stopped there will get beamed by a baseball. at the end of the episode when Stan gets dunked by Lolph, Joseph is laughing too hard to get him out at first. it takes until Stan inhales some water laughing at Robbie for Joseph to calm down enough to get him out

NWHS got kinda long so i'm putting it under a cut

for Not What He Seems, Joseph was taken into police custody alongside Stan with the assumption that he was an accomplice. which, Correct, but he's also just Better At Lying To Cops than Stan is. plus also he didn't do any of the "stealing nuclear waste from the government" for plausible deniability reasons. like he helped w the portal of course, but it was more "helping Stan do a thing he needs an extra set of hands for" or "making sure Stan eats and drinks water and goes to bed" type stuff. lowkey he kinda resents being put into another "doting housewife" role since his divorce with his first husband but he feels insanely guilty about feeling resentment. especially bc Stan is a WAY better partner than his ex was. low bar to clear but clears it Stan does. also part of it is him not communicating to Stan thats how he feels. he thinks that Stan's grief & problems are More Important than his own.

anyway since he seems to knows nothing, the goverment guys leave him w Blubs and Durland to focus more resources on Stan. bc, you know, Blubs and Durland, all he has to do is just walk out the door after the gravity thing happens. like he didnt even know for sure that Stan was using it to get a way (+ also he didnt have anything to alert him about it the way Stan did) but he figured it was as good a time as any to leave. does this incriminate him, escaping with Stan? yes, definitely, absolutely. but Stan's been working towards this for the past 30 years, he wants to be good emotional support for him

during the final confrontation in front of the portal, he's........ quiet. since he joined Stan in Gravity Falls, he has these reoccuring dreams he can't ever quite remember when he wakes but that leave him with this foreboding that he cant explain* and he kind of..... doesn't want the portal fixed? yes it Has put a strain on his and Stan's relationship, thank you for asking. he hasn't brought it up in a while but Stan knows full well his thoughts on the portal & about that sense of unease and dread he doesn't know the source of. so anyway he just kinda...... leaves himself out of that confrontation? its been long enough that now he just feels "whatever happens, happens" about the whole thing. although if he had a say in it, he'd side with Dipper

*there are hints to this as early as Dreamscapers when he goes into Stan's mind with the rest of them & he recognizes Bill but doesn't know why

if i were framing shots for this episode (which i am planning on doing at some point, for a lot of episodes, once im back in a I Can Draw Things Again way), he would be kind of hanging back aways from everyone else, just watching everything play out, clearly worried/uneasy but like. nothing framing him specifically. the kind of thing you notice on rewatches after you learn his full involvement in this

also i think prior to this episode, its left vauge if he knows whats going on with Stan or not. like he definitely knows about the weird things in Gravity Falls (& unlike Stan he thinks its good the kids know bc that way they've got Something Else to focus on than anything going on in the Mystery Shack. another point of tension between the two tee hee), but we don't ever see him down in the lab. so him escaping police custody w Stan would be us learning that he knew the whole time, bc him lying to the cops is also him lying to the audience

anyway yeah. thank you again for asking 💞

[niphuial]

Elias nods, his blond curls bouncing. "Yes please," he replied, gently and precisely putting the two pictures Niklaus had drawn him safely inside two pieces of leather, which he clumsily tied together. "I'm gunna have my uncle put them in my two frames," he told Niklaus, looking up at the original. "Daddy bought them and told me that he'd be proud of me when I made art that brought in the money." He said, not noticing the flash of rage in the original's eyes.

"And you'll really show me your paintings?" He asked, blue eyes and face so much like Niklaus's own looking up at the original in curiosity. "And teach me how to do feathers and wings?" Elias asked, his small hand taking Niklaus's free one as the Original gathered his gifted drawings in the other. "You're the best dragon," the little boy stated as they left the kitchen, his art satchel and stuffed wolf in one hand, the other firmly gripping Niklaus's. "I wish I could stay with you during the Moon hunts," the young werewolf unconsciously added, pressing closer to Niklaus and breathing him in. "The big wolves who watch me get mad at missing the hunt to watch a dumb pup," he told Niklaus, frowning slightly. "And Auntie Katerina says I'm too small to join in--I'll get all smooshed up and hurt bad then everyone will be sad."

__________

Anders snarled, fangs bared as he sent yet another rowdy pack member away. Spotting his Alpha, he straightened, shaking off the dirt and dust from the recent fights. "Alpha," he murmured, bowing and showing the proper respect. "There's been sightings of two vampires--a male that smells of witch hazel and River Birch that travels with a redhead--they're making quite the headway and should arrive late tomorrow afternoon." He informed Elijah, perking up as Elijah smiled in genuine joy.

"Another werewolf pack has been slaughtered in France, as well---they died keeping quiet about a doppelganger vampire and Lord Lucian," he stated wiping some blood off of his face. "Alpha, I know it's not my place--that I'm only the beta, but I believe Astrid is not ready for patrol leadership," he stated firmly looking Elijah directly in the eye.

"I know Our Lady named her Patrol Leader, and I don't wish to contradict her, but a Patrol Leader is in charge of two wolves for an entire hour. They are expected to ensure a patrol's safety. I followed your orders and put Astrid with Diana, and Diana let her lead. Astrid nearly got them all killed," Anders reported dully, golden eyes flashing. "I've put her on village duties as punishment. Enid, however, is flourishing. I think her personality just didn't mesh with our Lady's," Anders said, cracking his knuckles. "Is there anything else that needs to be done? Ivar's and Finnick's guard patrols are at the castle until midmorning tomorrow."

________

Lucian puffed up, forcing his elbow back into place and fixing his prized necklace. "I am graceful, no matter what you and Quicksilver say," he shoots back, petting the large raven. "I was just about to set them out to go be our eyes in the air but....I don't know what Mikael looks like." He gently takes Kol's hand, squeezing it. "Part of the magic i had imbued into my flock is you can show them a picture from your mind and tell them if they're an enemy of not. They already know Finn's a friend, just like they knew you were-- "Luke's mate! Luke's mate!" Quicksilver croaked, as Lucian blushed, his eyes looking everywhere but Kol.

"A-anyway, just concentrate on what you dad looked like last time you saw him, what his scent is now and my flock will take care of the rest." He told Kol, smiling shyly. "It'll feel a bit weird, but it won't hurt. Then we can go get a snack. Maybe some oranges and blood and go cuddle or go make some blood orange so I'll have some for winter." He told his Kol, watching as his ravens drew closer, Quicksilver perching on his shoulders.

this would be fun to watch

[literaila]

jack-o-lantern 

tasm!peter x reader 

summary: 

"you just have to scoop out the seeds and put them in the bowl."

"thank you for explaining de-gutting to me."

warnings: fluff and pumpkins 

a/n: sorry i’ve been watching sherlock. here’s halloween. love ya. 

"peter," you say, whining. 

he laughs--teeth still stained with chocolate--looking at you with his wide eyes. with his too smart smile and fabulous eyebrows. "it's not that bad." 

if there's anything to blame, it's the candy you'd brought over for him.

"i'm digging around this poor pumpkin's guts." 

peter pushes a bowl towards you. "try not to get any on the counter," he says, amused. 

you scowl at him, blinking. "why are you making me do this?" 

"'cause i love ya," peter hums, scooping out his own seeds. he's moved on from your dramatics, preferring to pay more attention to his pumpkin. "this is fun." 

"i told you i didn't want to do this." 

peter raises a brow. "you told me that you hadn't carved a pumpkin since you were a kid--"

"cause it's slimy and weird and gross--" 

"--and i told you that we had to fix that." 

"i'm going to throw up." 

peter nudges you, laughing. "you're fine." 

"peter," you whine some more. "can't you just do this part? i'll help you carve, i promise, but i don't--" 

"this is a part of the experience." 

"i've experienced enough." 

he laughs again because he is a monster. "baby, you just have to scoop out the seeds and put them in the bowl. you can even close your eyes." 

"thank you for explaining de-gutting to me, peter." 

"look," he says, proudly. "i'm already done." 

he shows you the inside of his pumpkin, which is... orange, but fairly clean. 

and if it wasn't for the adoring smile on his face you might've pushed the pumpkin away. if it wasn't for this childlike peter, elated at the prospect of halloween. 

you're doing this just for him, you swear. 

smile at him.

"you missed a spot right there," you point to a string dangling around the inside. 

peter frowns, looking. "this is why i'm not helping you." 

*

"you know," peter says, picking up the bowl full of pumpkin meat and carrying it to the kitchen. "i let you borrow that shirt for nothing." 

"where'd you put the pictures?" 

"pictures?" 

you flip your pumpkin around, smiling at the now-cleared table. nonetheless, the seeds that you may or may not have thrown at peter, which are, of course, now on the floor. 

he'd finished clearing your pumpkin for you. it only took a couple of kisses to convince him. 

and he'd started cleaning up without a word. you might feel guilty, if not for the fact that he got pumpkin in your hair when he was kissing you. 

instead, you decide to be proud. 

"the cute little faces," you say, looking under the tarp on the table. moving a chair. 

"the design book?" 

"yes, peter, that." 

"i think it's on the couch." 

you check the couch, smiling when you find it sprawled out across the cushions, open to something that looks like a skeleton. 

"are you doing this one?" you ask, tracing the drawing with a fingertip. 

and running directly into peter as he walks out of the kitchen, of course. 

"woah," he lets out a small laugh, hands on your shoulders, skin tracing down yours, steadying you. "you good?" he asks, eyes soft and playful. 

"are you carving this one?" you ask again, frowning. you hold it open so that peter can see. 

"oh," peter takes the book from your hands, flipping through the pages. "i just thought that one was cool." 

"you can't do that one," you tell him. 

"why not?" 

your brows are furrowed as you look up at him. your heart is begging for escape. "cause i want it." 

peter laughs, setting the book on the table. 

he grabs your hand, tickling the skin because he wants to see you smile. "okay, picasso. first, we're gonna go over some knife safety." 

you stare at him, blinking. "i know how to use a knife." 

peter pushes you to sit down, gently, leaving another kiss on the top of your head. and then he sits down next to you grabbing one of the knives. 

"i really don't want to have to sew you up tonight." 

"there's this thing called a hospital. dunno if you've heard of it, but us regular people can go there when we get stabbed--" 

"first things first," peter says, completely ignoring you. "never point your knife at anyone. namely me." 

"peter," you complain, throwing your head back. 

“and you have to promise not to stab me, because it happens more than you’d think—“

you groan.

"okay, okay," he relents, putting the knife down, and grabbing your face so you'll look at him again. "i'm done." 

"you're never done." 

he laughs at your face and nods. "yeah, but we've gotta get going so we have time to put them out before it gets dark." 

you turn your head so you can kiss his palm. then smile back at him. 

"you don't have anything to say about the shirt?" 

and then you look down at the shirt peter had given you. just so your clothes wouldn't get dirty. 

it's almost spotless. 

you hum. "i figured i'd take it home and wash it."

peter raises a brow. 

"i mean, you didn't really think i'd give it back to you, did you?" 

"it's my shirt." 

"it's our shirt," you flash your best smile at him, lips curling at the edge. 

"i gave that to you so that--" 

"i was thinking that maybe i'd wear it around for a while. and, you know, if you happened to get it back sometime, it would smell like me." 

"--you could keep it for as long as you wanted." 

*

"you're really not going to let me see?" 

peter is sticking his tongue out of his mouth a bit, intensely concentrated on whatever he's carving out of the pumpkin. 

judging by the scraps he's left on the table, it's just a hole. 

"you'll see when i'm done," he mumbles, grabbing a different carving knife. 

you're still not sure what the difference is between all of them. 

when you were carving your face--which is brilliant, thank you very much--you only used one. it took you ten minutes. 

peter's been going for almost an hour longer. 

not that you're complaining, really. he's fun to watch. fun to laugh at when his eyes widen after something falls off of his pumpkin. 

"how much longer?" you ask him, chin resting on your hand. you're attempting to distract him with your smile, but it has proved futile so far. 

it's only been thirty minutes. 

you grab another piece of candy from the bag across the table, unwrapping it. 

peter glances at you, raised brow. 

you look back at him innocently. 

"can't rush art, baby." 

"but i can rush my boyfriend when he's taking too long..." 

"art," peter says. "you'll see." 

"in a decade, maybe." 

he says nothing, just keeps on carving. 

you take a moment to look outside, to the fall world that you'd just randomly woken up to one day. 

and this holiday activity that you've begun to enjoy--not that peter needs to know that. 

but it's all a meek moment, compared to this. 

to staring at peter with his warm brown eyes, with his loving gaze, and charming smile. 

the epitome of fall, you're sure. 

he's much more worthwhile. 

"okay," peter says after a couple more minutes have passed. "i think it's done." 

ignoring his choice of words, you lean over the table, eager to get a peek. 

but peter frowns and moves it away from your gaze. 

you pout. "hey. i wanted to see." 

"you didn't let me finish." 

you sigh and raise a brow, patience limited. 

peter smiles. "thanks for doing this with me, bub. i know it's not your thing, but i figured we should do something to celebrate together." 

you blink at him, a ghost of a smile on your face. "sure, love." 

"but next year you're cleaning your own pumpkin--" 

you scoff, mouth dropping. 

"--because, really, we're both adults and--" 

peter is distracted by your sneaking hands, making their way toward his pumpkin and spinning it around before he gets the chance to stop you. 

"hey! that was a surprise." 

your mischievous smile falls. "peter." 

"this is a violation," he says, crossing his arms. 

"what is that?" you ask, looking between his pumpkin and him, thoroughly confused. 

it looks... well. there's a giant hole in the middle. and two triangular shapes on the edge. a mauled cross-hatching on the side of the pumpkin, and something that looks like a stab wound. 

it's a bit unbelievable. 

peter sighs. "you weren't--it wasn't," he sighs again, hand dropping. his mouth looks for words that aren't there. 

you laugh, confused. "it took you an hour to do this?" 

he scowls at you. "i'll have you know that my pumpkin could win awards." 

"oh, for sure." 

"in fact, i'm thinking of submitting it to queens pumpkin carving contest," he continues. 

you nod. "no doubt that you've got a winner here. the trick-or-treaters will be terrified." 

his top lip curls, so you know that he's not really upset. 

"did you and the pumpkin get in a fight?" you ask, after a moment, laughing. 

"he was mocking me." 

"the bastard," you gasp, rubbing a hand up and down his arm. comforting. "don't worry, i won't let those pumpkin guys mess with you anymore."

"thanks, baby," peter smiles at you, leaning a bit closer. 

"what were you trying to carve?" 

"it was supposed to be you." 

you blink, staring at the monstrosity that is his pumpkin. 

"i don't know if i should be flattered or offended." 

"i think i went a little bit too far with the eyes." 

you nod with your mouth open, not sure which hole is supposed to look anything like an eye. 

"that's so..." you look at peter trying not to laugh. "sweet." 

peter looks at you, proud smile. 

"c'mon," you whisper to him, standing up. "let's get these outside." 

he kisses the side of your jaw as he stands up, grabbing both of your pumpkins. 

and just there you decide that fall might be your favorite season. 

that peter is. 

*

my masterlist here.

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