#THIS CONCEPT IS SO VIVID IN MY HEAD PLEASE

[teethburger]

you know what I would really like to see from a season 2 of a new wish?

an episode/multiple episode arc where peri tries out human life with his parents and he’s super anxious and trying to do everything exactly right, while cosmo and wanda are way more lenient

(im imagining a scene where cosmo is dancing in the supermarket and peri is like “NO DAD YOURE GONNA GET US FOUND OUT” (to outsiders it just looks like a teenager getting embarrassed by his dad))

and eventually he learns that it’s okay to be weird and awkward and silly sometimes and making mistakes is actually more human than painstakingly following social rules all the time

[cranberrydietcoke]

based on this request !

content: father charlie mayhew x female reader, sub!father charlie, bratty!dom!reader, oral (m receiving), head in the confession booth, whiny crybaby ass charlie, mentions of self-flagellation, kinda blasphemous

wc: 1.4k

thank u for the concept lovie !! @motherismotheringggg

“h-here? we can’t right now, i-i’m.-” his words spill out in a broken rush, tripping over his own feet as you press him into the mahogany confession booth with a firm grip on his shoulder, guiding your priest down onto the wooden bench.

“oh my god, literally shut up. you saw my text, you came.” you puff out in a light chuckle, rolling your eyes and smacking the glittery pink gloss smeared across your lips. “duhh charlie, why the fuck else would i be here?” you murmur with a flippant shrug, studying your fresh gel manicure.

blush streaked across his face, humiliation written in vivid red. you were right, and he hated it. in the beginning, he believed he could set you on the right path, undo the damage of your sin. he imagined himself as your savior. but now, he knew better. you were too far gone. and so was he. at night, when his whip flooded crimson from the muscle of his back, he thought about how depraved he was for allowing you this control over him. he broke every vow he’d made – for you. was there ever a choice? you weren’t like the other girls in the congregation- meek, eager to please, devotion laced with quiet desperation. they usually lingered after service, batting their eyelashes and asking questions they already knew the answer to in an attempt to feign his attention. he fucking hated them. your interest in him was hollow, never grounded in his wisdom or true affection, but rather in feeding the feral obsession he just couldn’t escape. with nothing more than a fleeting glance from the pew, you could have him hunched over the side of his bed, frustratedly tugging at his leaky pink cock. tears falling from his eyes to lubricate it further, wishing it was you.

lowering to the floor, you never allowed your eyes to meet his, gripping both of his spread knees in each of your hands. “why’d you come then?” you tilted your head, walking your dainty fingers up the crease of his leg. incense and cologne lingered on the fabric of his clothes.

“i-i just thought you wanted to t-talk, maybe?” the anxiety was evident in his shaky voice, going up octaves higher than usual, brow furrowing.

“bullshit,” you spat, flicking open the button of his dress pants.

“you’re sinful, father, y’know that? lying, giving in to the desires of the flesh…what are we gonna do with you?” you felt his desperate gaze following your every motion, but you couldn’t bring yourself to offer him the courtesy of eye contact. despite the protests that slipped from his lips, your touch unraveled him, shifting his body so you could free his thick inches from the confines of his boxers.

“spit.” you demanded, raising a cupped hand to his trembling lips.

he worked it around his mouth, squelching through his gums as it dripped, landing in your palm. wrapping your hand around his swollen red length, you began pumping it in your fist, the other hand holding the base of his shaft steady.

“f-fuck please, i-i,” charlie whimpered, back arching off the latticed wood. your temple lay on the warm muscle of his thigh watching him buck his hips into your hand. poor boy, you could tell he was celibate.

“please what?” you mocked, slowing down your pace with an emphasis on each stroke. “stay still or you won’t get anything,” he mewled in response, sinking his nails into the wood of the bench. rhythmic, wet slapping echoed through the empty chapel as charlie’s dazed eyes fixed down at you, face screwing with pleasure and disgust.

“p-please, ah! - please just put it in your mouth, i promise i’ll be good, fuck,” he cried, tensing up as pressure built on his gut. he was always so pretty like this - completely helpless and absent minded, chasing a high only you could give him. behind it all, everyone’s favorite holy heartthrob was just a greedy slut, begging for you to make him cum whenever you were generous enough to let him.

“charlie, come on,” dropping your head to look at him through dark lashes. “you think i’m gonna reward you for bad behavior?” you coo, planting hot, wet kisses on the skin of each inner thigh, still jerking at his tip lazily.

the air went still as you heard the chapel door squeak open, the tap tap tap of heels growing closer on the tile floor. charlie’s eyes went wide, buzzing with panic. your hand slapped against his mouth, silencing any whines or pants or complaints.

“father charlie, it’s maria! i’m here for confession?” the woman chirped as she wandered through the vast open space. he sighed breathlessly as your hand left his face, coaxing words out of him as you motion with your hand.

“y-yeah, in here,” he croaked out, the perverted curl of your plush lips sent a knot to twist in his stomach. as she stepped into the opposite side of the booth and closed the door behind her, your hands picked back up, massaging the stickiness into his needy cock. his eyes rolled into the back of his skull, wriggling his toes restlessly as you shushed him.

“forgive me father, for i have sinned. it’s been two weeks since my last confession.” the poor lady began, not a clue what her faithful priest was going through behind the screen. beads of sweat trickled down from his hairline.

“go ahead,” he hissed, watching as you craned your neck to lick a glossy stripe up the underside of his shaft. “may the lord help you confess - with true repentance.” he hiccuped, lifting his hands to brush the loose hair from your face. finally, he was gonna get what he wanted; on your terms, of course.

taking the twitching length into your mouth, the woman yaps on and on about how much she hates her cheating husband, her fuckass kids, her stupid minivan. he could hardly comprehend what she was saying, let alone say his own name, as you stuffed the remaining inches down your throat, humming sloppily against him. looking up from your kneeled position, you watched as his head rolled on his neck like a ragdoll, all blissed out. his whole dick was in your mouth now, working your tongue on its veiny underbelly. you tried your best to stifle your gargles and his simultaneous writhing by digging your nails into his skin, leaving tiny crescent indents.

a tiny ah! rolled off his tongue, so close to silent.

his eyes snapped open, wide with humiliation, locking onto yours with the vulnerability of a lost puppy. holding his gaze, you continue slowly and tortuously bobbing your head.  

“father? are-are you okay?”

“yeah, yes, i’m sorry,” he huffed, “pray the rosary for ten minutes each day, u-uhm, for your p-penance.” blinking rapidly in an attempt to clear the haze from his useless little head, chest rapidly rising and falling. “now go on, maria,” his voice was rushed and strained as your cheeks hollowed out, inner softness gripping around him, his seat now a puddle of spit. “recite the act of contrition.”

he could do nothing but squirm under you as you brought both hands to stroke the base of his length, suckling on the engorged head. from the way it pulsed and bobbed in your mouth, you could tell he was close.

“o my god, i am heartily sorry for having offended thee…”

white knuckling the edge of the bench, tingling sensations bled through charlie’s entire lower half, the woman’s desperate prayers concealing the sound of your throat being stuffed.

“i detest all my sins because i dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell,”

his body tensed, coating your throat with sticky warmth before going limp as you continued slurping at him, manipulating every last drop out of his thick, twitching pole. his hands shot up, pressing on your scalp, trying to shove your head away. but this is what he wanted, right?

“i firmly resolve, with the help of thy grace, to confess my sins and amend my life. amen.”

to save him the struggle, you pull your mouth from between his legs, wiping the slick that coated your chin. he should be embarrassed – ashamed even. his body sat slumped, head thrown back in animalistic relief. with a knowing smirk, you raise your fingertips, tracing the sign of the cross in mock reverence. pressing your palms together in prayer, purring and beaming with self-satisfaction.

amen.

[twinkling-moonlillie]

Feather Necklace (Hawks/Keigo x Reader)

Warnings: None! This is really fluffy with little hints of angst.

A/N: HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!! This was an idea mentioned in my Keigo headcanons that I wanted to expand upon. As always, likes, reblogs, and comments are dutifully appreciated <3

Heroism involved sober servitude, a selfless courage and readied ability to sacrifice. There was no room for prioritization of lives. All lives were equal during an emergency, even if the one in danger was the love of your life. 

This was the life that Hawks lived day after day. His wings were stiffly burdened with the lives of millions and he was sure that the weight would eventually kill him. He never truly minded though. Forming any intimate connection with someone else was a foreign concept to Hawks so adhering to these rules wasn’t that much of a challenge. 

Selfishness was frowned upon heavily in hero society, and Hawks never really minded until he met you. You - with your opulent eyes and dazzling smile - somehow made his knees weak. You, who easily unfolded his heart as if it weren’t made out of steel. You who softly reminded him that it was okay, healthy even, to be selfish. 

Keigo wanted to permanently paint your cheeks red with laughter, to be the one you looked for in a crowded room, to have the honor of intimately studying your skin under the canopy of falling stars. For the first time in his life, Hawks experienced what it felt like to fall. 

But, despite the immense love he had for you, it didn’t change the fact that most of his energy was dedicated to the entire population of Japan. Sacrifice never really held meaning to him until his mind started conjuring vivid nightmares where your fingertips slipped from his, realities where he watched helplessly as the stars in your eyes fizzled out. 

Every morning when he left the warm comfort of your shared bed, he was met with unsurmountable anxiety. If there was an emergency, God forbid an attack, there was no guarantee he could drop all his duties and protect you. There was a certain detachment he had to undergo just to perform his job well. He couldn’t be the fast and accurate hero Japan needed if he was bogged down with worry.

The thought only occurred to him one night while you were gently massaging and preening his crimson feathers. Each plume had enhanced senses, allowing him to hear the gentle murmurs of praise perfectly clear. It was an ability that made him great for espionage and spy work, filthy things that he preferred not to mention. 

Your words of him needing to be a little selfish echoed in his mind. 

“Baby?” 

“Yeah?” Your head popped up from the curtain of wings, lips tugging into a small smile. “Everything okay?”

Keigo turned so that he was facing you, the comforter under him folding messily, blankets splaying off the edges of the bed. “mm…you know how I always worry about you during patrol?”

His hand reached to cup your cheek, thumb rubbing the tinted hue as you looked up curiously. It was completely quiet aside from the light chirping of crickets outside and the sound of cars passing every now and then down the street. He can hear the slightest hitch in your voice. 

“Yeah, and I recall telling you how you didn’t need to worry so much,” You said jokingly, and then with a serious note said “what about it? Are those thoughts a little too loud tonight?”

“Just thinking, I want..I want to give you a part of me, to keep you safe.” His hands nervously ran through his locks and his lips twisted into an almost imperceptible nervous pout. He reached for his back, plucking one of his smaller feathers and lightly tucked it behind your ear. “You’ve always looked so pretty in red.” 

Your face was flushed, preferring to look at the ruffled blanket that was on the verge of falling off the bed. “A-are…are you sure? I know how much these feathers mean to you-”

“Please,” he insists with a small kiss to the crown of your head, “I wanna keep you safe, no matter how far away I am.”

His voice was earnest. 

Vulnerability felt like the frigid wind as it roared in his ears uncomfortably loud. But as inconvenient as it was, loving you was worth the bother. 

[authorhjk1]

Surviving NNN

Part Three: A star

You sit on the balcony of your apartment, letting the cold breeze brush your face. The cold shower you just took helped. Or at least it eased the pain. Yena's gorgeous body still wanders through your mind. The way the towel slowly slid up, revealing her legs. How it created a small cleavage over her small breasts.

You are saved by the sound of the door being opened. Hearing small footsteps, you do your best to concentrate on the task at hand.

"Oppa?"

You recognize Chaewon's voice.

"Yeah."

"Minju made breakfast. You coming?"

"Of course. Give me a second."

You feel a little guilty letting your guests cook, but the three girls can cook way better than you. Apart from some basic dishes you can't do very much.

"What are you doing?"

Chaewon steps closer, now standing right behind you, while looking over your shoulder as you sit in one of the comfortable chairs.

"I'm working on some lyrics." "Really?"

You hear the excitement in Chaewons's voice.

"I'm a huge star, you know?"

She grabs another chair and sits down next to you, looking at the ipad in your lap.

She referred to herself as a star, which is the name for your fandom. Your stage name is Jin-wol. It translates to moon or jewel in English. That's why the fandom name stars somewhat fit.

You are happy to hear that Chaewon is a star, she is a well known idol after all.

"Really?"

The young woman nods in excitement.

"I watched your recent MV like a million times."

You chuckle as Chaewon tries to glance at your ipad. Unfortunately, there is nothing much to look at so far.

"What's the new song about?"

"Read for yourself."

You offer her the ipad and Chaewon starts to read. It isn't much yet, but you can see her blushing harder and harder with every word.

"Th-This is gonna be your song?"

"Yeah. I can write and produce my own music, but usually the company decides on what theme we do for every album.

"Ah, I see."

Chaewon's cheeks are still a little red as she gives you the ipad back. It is hard work to write this stuff right now, beacuse of NNN. It's supposed to be a sexy concept. A combination of obvious hints about sex and some a little less obvious. It wouldn't have been a problem without NNN at all. You could just take more than enough "inspiration" from Karina. And even if someone would catch up on that, it's no big deal, since the two of you are together anyway.

You eat breqakfast in silence, while you listen to three girls chatting. With your mind still on the song and your mind capable of more than just vivid imagination, you keep your head down.

"Oppa."

You slowly raise your head, barely able to look at Minju. The things that went through your brain during your run make you feel bad. How could you think about her like that?

"Since its Saturday, the three of us wanted to go shopping. You wanna come with?"

You rather not. You need to keep writing. And you need some space to breath. Having these three girls constantly around you makes you anxious.

"I actually still have some work to do."

"Oh come on."

Yena looks at you.

"We will reward you afterwards."

She gives you a wink and your mind starts spinning again. What kind of reward?

"What kind of reward?"

Yena chuckles. Your voice may have sounded a little too desperate.

"I'm tot gonna tell you. But it has something to do with cream."

She smirks at you.

New pictures flood your mind.

Yena on her knees, holding a can of wipped cream. She pours some of it into her mouth, before looking up at you. Her hands work to take of your pants. You groan as you feel her warm lips part around your cock. The cold wipped cream is a great contrast to them. It slowly starts to melt in Yena's mouth. She pushes it around with her tongue, while looking up at you.

"Oppa?"

You slightly shake your head, trying to get rid of these thoughts.

"No."

"Why not?"

Yena pouts. You can't stop looking at her lips. Just a moment ago they were wrapped around your cock....

"Please, Jin-wol oppa."

Minju pouts as well.

"Karina unnie told us to take you. She said you hate shopping."

That's somewhat true. You never liked it. Which means Karina usually does it for you. She knows evry size, from shoes to shirt. She also has a better sense of style than you.

The person who breaks your last resistance is Chaewon.

"Like you wrote in your lyrics: 'I see donuts left and right, but I just want to glaze yours all night' you know?"

No. No way in hell she doesn't know what you meant by that. She must. Chaewon must know exactly what you meant. The other lines are even more explicit. She must have picked up on this.

And yet, she looks at you with an innocent face.

"We could get you some donuts."

Yena chips in.

"I like my donut glazed as well."

You almost have to take another shower as you hear her say that. You stuff your mouth with food, trying to avoid the pictures coming back.

"Chaewon? Are you coming?"

Yena shouts through the apartment, while the three of you wait for Chaewon. She is the last on to get dressed.

"Oppa, why don't you go and get her?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. She is a big fan of yours. I'm sure she will hurry up when she sees you.

"Fine."

You walk towards Yena's and Chaewon's shared room.

"Chaewon."

"Come in."

You hesitate for obvious reasons, but you eventually open the door. Bad decision. Not just because of the way Chaewon is dressed, but because the two of you are alone.

"What do you think?"

You think a lot. Way too much actually. The number of days you survived without cuming is increasing steadily. And Chaewons outfit makes you dizzy.

You just want to take her right there.

Push her against the wall, throwing that large bag aside. Open the zipper of her jeans, while she does the same with yours. Your lips dance along her skin on her shoulders, enjoying the smoothness. Without much forplay, you would just enter Chaewon. Her eyes shut tight as her petite body tries to accustom itself to your cock. A moan escapes her mouth while you push inside. Your hands resting on her tight midriff. Your thumb playfully grazes over her mole as you make Chaewon sigh with pleasure.

You start to fuck her hard into the wall. More and more. Faster and faster. Your body releasing all the build up tension.

"Oh god! Your cock!"

Chaewon moans loudly as you pound her hard. Your dick is deep inside her pussy. Your girlfriend's friend's pussy. Your fellow idol's pussy. Your fan's pussy.

Chaewon is all of that. And more. Your lips find hers, trying to muffle her moans as you take her body. The young woman gives herself to you, relishing in the pleasure you give her.

"Harder, please! Fuck me good!"

Her high pitched yelps make you pound her harder. You feel Chaewon's walls contract around you. Her body shakes even more.

"Oh my god! I'm gonna cum on your cock!"

And so she does. Chaewon orgasms in your arms as you keep fucking her. You chase your own orgasm which is building up as well. After almost three weeks of no cuming, you feel your cock almost bursting as you are about to climax.

"Give it to me. Give me your cum."

Chaewon asks for it. She looks into your eyes, her head slightly swaying back and forth as you pound her against the wall. You are surprised when she manages to undo the button of her jeans in a frenzy. She pulls down her jeans just enough for you to get a good look at her pussy.

The sight makes you orgasm right there. You manage to pull out. You start cuming all over her. Your cum lands mostly on her freshly fucked pussy. Some of it on her midriff. The two of you breath heavily after your short fuck.

Looking down, you realize that you mad your lyrics come true. You did glaze Chaewon's donut.

________

Hi everyone!

I hope you enjoyed this. The lyrics might come of as a little cringe but I'm a writer not a composer , so please don't judge me to harshly.

Tomorrow will be the last day of round one for the Decmber speical, if i'm correct. You will be able to vote for the actual chapters as soon as this round ends

Have a great day!

[leavingsunsets]

Hi, Sen! I have a fanfic request here (⁠人⁠ ⁠•͈⁠ᴗ⁠•͈⁠) Psst- Senku and Fem!Reader please

The set is an alternate universe where no mass-petrification ever happened. Instead shs Senku meets a new member (first year) of the science club, where she's passionately into nuclear and stuff (you could add any). The reader here's pretty shy and afraid of men but when it comes to Senku.. yk, love and simp, secret crush 🥺‼️I've had to mention it earlier tho, please make this fic fluff and cute 🩷

Thank you for your time, mind, and whatever it takes to make this fic. And please stay healthy 🩷

omg thank you for the request !!! like the scenario, and reader concept, and will do for cute and fluffy themes!! thanks thanks for the hearts !!!

"𝖲𝖼𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝖼𝗅𝗎𝖻 𝖻𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗌."

[𝚏!𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 & 𝚂𝚎𝚗𝚔𝚞 𝙸𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚊𝚖𝚒]

Your first meeting wasn't much to talk about, other than the fact that Senku's pinned you as a little oddball. He still remembers your head just barely peeking into the empty room, flinching the moment you spotted him.

"Do you, uh, happen to know where the science club president is...?" A timid type, he sees. "That would be me. Anything you need?"

"Oh, uh, just my form."

"Ah, the membership form," pulling off his gloves, he approaches. When you hand it over, his eyes skim over it. "Ah, a junior." He folds the paper, smirking. "Well aren't you eager. Weren't these just passed out today?"

A little tense, you rub your arm. "Ah, yeah. I just, wanted to get a spot, I guess."

He assumed you would've been a more quiet member, working off on the side with your own little experiments. Which, you were, at first. Tinkering with microscope and the like.

"Radiation?" he queries, which makes you jolt. You hadn't noticed him. Following his gaze, you see that he's checking out your notes.

"Uhm, yes. It's just for my research..." you mumble, pulling away from the microscope.

"I see. Into atomics, ey?" Chuckling, he turns to walk back to his own project. "School materials aren't quality enough for that kind of science, junior."

You rub your arm. "Well... I'm only studying about it now.. I'm not ready for experimenting until I know everything about it."

His lips quirked slightly, "Smart. Good plan."

Since then, he's always been aware of that constant student by the club room's window. In her own world, barely talking if unneeded. Of course, Senku wasn't dumb. Based on his observance, you've always been stiff around him, or the guys who even so much as breathe near you. Odd behavior, but it doesn't hinder you, or others, so, he leaves it alone.

When you started approaching him more, he didn't mind.

"Senior, since you know more about this, I wanted to ask if you could teach me...?"

"Senior, here, I'll help."

"Senior, I just wanted to ask if I could conduct this experiment in the lab?"

It wasn't really anything strange for him. In fact, he thought it was great improvement. He encouraged it, even.

And so, here you were, clutching the wrapped bento in your sweaty hands. It was just you and him again, with the others so eager the moment the bell rang.

"I'm going for a drink," he breaks the silence, taking off his safety gear. At this, you jump for the chance.

"Wa- Senior, wait!"

He pauses, looking at you. "Hm?"

With the weight of his eyes on you, your heart beats a little faster in nervousness. This was nervewracking, you were starting to regret it a little. However...

'Come on. It's now or never. You know how busy he always is.'

"I notice you usually spend lunch in the clubroom... So..."

You hold it out to him, shakily. Too nervous, you look elsewhere, too scared to look at his face.

It was quiet. For a little while. But every second for you felt like an eternity.

Senku chuckles. Caught off guard, you look up.

"You got a crush on me or something, junior?" he jests, running a hand through his hair. And you, simply, erupt into a vivid scarlet.

"N-No!" You fluster, gesturing wildly. "I just, I thought you'd want some lunch, cuz I see you everydayandmaybeyou-"

"Calm down, it was just a question."

You hang your head once more in embarrassment.

"But," he says,

"I appreciate it."

His smile is soft, and voice placid, all of a sudden. The light from the window only highlights it, only giving the empty room a bright glow. This felt like some kind of shoujo moment.

It shocked you a little. Knowing his personality, you expected obvious discomfort, maybe even a harsh rejection. You're snapped out of your thoughts when he's already turned for the door, bento taken.

Your eyes linger on the door that slides close.

Yeah. Maybe you do have a crush on him.

[petertingle-yipyip]

STRANGER (vi) - KAZ BREKKER

tags: @beekeepingageissome @shadowzena43 @nikfigueiredo @mp-littlebit @starmansirius @hadesnumber1daughter @directioner5life @strvngestark @hostilityghost @ofmenanduhhhwellmen // previously // next

Pairing: Kaz x Davina Rollins (enemies to lovers)

Word Count: 5,786

Summary: Haunting memories and vivid hallucinations, Davina fights through the surprise takedown and the dynamic nearly shifts. Or maybe, in some sense, it still does.

Kaz dropped his cane as Davina fell against him. One of his hands held her arm still so the other caught her around her back. Her own grip fell away from his sleeve and she was completely still, completely limp.

Jesper was on her other side with panic in his eyes. Kaz knew it was reflected in his own, but when he looked to try and see what Davina was trying to tell him, he saw Per Haskell looking on with a proud smirk.

“Take her to the Slat.” Kaz told Jesper. He didn’t want to hand Davina over, but there was a new rage clawing at the inside of his chest. He heard the feral tone in his voice, felt the tension brewing in his muscles. “Tell no one who she is. Go straight to mine.”

“Kaz…” Jesper said as Kaz placed Davina in his arms.

Kaz drew her hood up, carefully shadowing her face and protecting her identity. She seemed as if she were sleeping and the softness in her features made his heart ache. ‘In another life, maybe’, he told himself. Jesper adjusted his hold on her before he nodded to Kaz.

“Send for Zenik when you get there.” Kaz instructed, Jesper nodding fervently at the tasks being laid out for him.

“What will you do?” Jesper asked. 

“I’m going to get some answers.”

He may not be able to have her in that life, but he would do everything he could to right the wrongs he could. And he would start with Haskell.

—————

“Papa, what if Kaz and Jordie can’t find our new home?” You ask as you skip beside your mother down the path away from your previous home. It was all packed up by the time you woke up and your father informed you that you’d had to move. ‘Mouse problem’ he told you. ‘Can’t have that in your little lungs, now can we?’

You didn’t question it.

“Don’t you worry about it, Davi.” He smiles and reaches down to pat your head. “I left a note for them.”

“Good.” You grin and your father takes your other hand to help your other swing you over a puddle. You land with a fit of giggles. “I like Kaz and Jordie.”

“Do you?” Your father asks but he’s not really interested.

“Yes, they’re my only real friends after all.” You nod. “I hope they find us soon.”

———————

“She didn’t come back, Kol.” Melli said anxiously. “She was only supposed to be there a few hours.”

“I agree she’s taking longer than intended.” Kol nodded. “And I don’t know Davina the same way you do, but I trust that she’ll come back. We’ll need to present that front to the rest of them in the meantime.”

“A front? You’re suggesting we lie to them?” She sounded incredulous, almost offended by the concept.

“I’m suggesting we protect what she’s built.” He put his hands up in surrender. “If something has happened and if her father finds out…”

“He’ll steamroll us.” Melli understood. “You’re right, but… What if one of us goes to the Crow Club to see if there’s anything there? We’re not as known so it wouldn’t seem suspicious.”

“I can get in and out. I don’t have my tattoo yet.”

“Alright… Let’s give it a day or two. In the meantime, see if Nina Zenik knows anything when you go for your lesson.”

———————

“Please, have you seen these boys?” You show the drawing to anyone who’d stop, but hardly anyone stops for a child with a pencil drawing in her hands and tears down her cheeks. “Won’t someone help me?”

You chase down the bodymen every morning as they’re coming off the boats. They warn you to stay back, that they might have the Plague on them, but you stick out your arms with the drawing in your hands.

“Please, Sir.” Your eyes water again but at least you could hide behind the paper. “They’re my only friends.”

“I’m sorry, little one. I think I picked them up last night.” One of the men says and you can hear the sympathy in their voice.

Your arms fall and you know your cheeks are tear-stricken, eyes red and puffy. Your lip quivers and the man can only nod sadly before he leaves.

They were dead… Kaz and Jordie were dead…

You fall to your knees as you sobbed.

—————

Your eyes opened for a moment but couldn’t focus. A sharp pain ignited behind your eyeballs and you slammed them shut. You groaned in pain, covering your face in your hands.

You realized, just barely, that you were laying in a bed. A thin blanket was laid over you and your head was on a soft pillow. Your brows furrowed beneath your hands as you tried to remember what happened.

“Is she gonna be alright?” You heard a voice far off. Maybe he was in the same room, maybe he was on the other side of the door. You had no idea. “What happened to her?”

“Haskell poisoned her.” Another voice, angrier and rougher than the first, answered. It sounded like all his focus was going into keeping himself composed. “It’s a stimulant, mental and physical. He doesn’t know the extent of the effects but he dosed her on purpose. Was damn proud of it, too.”

You knew both of those voices. How did you know those voices? They both seemed to care and that made you feel a bit safer, though the unfamiliar surroundings still left an eerie feeling around you.

“Why would he do that? She couldn’t have provoked him.”

“She could have. I’m sure she could provoke the Devil enough He’d bolt out of Hell if she wanted to, but I doubt she did…  No, he did this because he wants to prove his power.”

“Did she say why was she at the Club?” He sounded nervous.

Kaz is alive? And he was worried about you. He didn’t abandon you as kids and he didn’t die of the Plague.

“I don’t know. She collapsed before she could give a real answer.” 

You tried to sit up, to see Kaz and to talk to him, but the attempted movement caused pain to explode in your head, tightening your chest and weighing down your body. You cried out and collapsed against the mattress. You could’ve sworn you felt your heart stutter in your chest before you fell unconscious again.

—————

It’s dark. There’s seemingly nothing around you. You don’t even feel like a person, just a consciousness. An idea. Do you have a name?

Yes, of course you have a name. But what is it?

“My beautiful little girl.” A woman’s voice comes. But not just any woman, your mother.

She begins to materialize out of the darkness and you find your shape too.

Your name is Davina, Davina Rollins.

“Hello, Davi.” She smiles and cups your face in her hands.

“Hi, Mama.” You smile.

“You’ve grown so beautiful, so strong. It’s been a long time, my sweet girl.”

“Mama…” The idea of your friends wouldn’t leave you, bouncing around your thoughts like a ball of rubber in a box. “Do you remember my friends, Kaz and Jordie?”

Her hands fall away. “The farm boys your father brought in? The ones that ran off and left you in shambles? Yes.”

“They didn’t run off. They were picked up by the bodymen when I was kid.”

“The Queen’s Lady Plague got them?” Her chin turns up in disgust. “Serves them right.”

“Mama!”

“They disgraced your father.”

“Papa lied to them! He called himself Jakob. He stole their money! He left them to die, it’s all his fault!”

Her open hand strikes your cheek and you cry out.

———————

Davina cried out from the bed, twisting and turning like she was trying to get away from something. Her temperature was steady but higher than it should’ve been. Nina had drawn the blanket away and kept a wet towel on her forehead.

“You say she was poisoned?” Nina asked, her hands fluttering gently around Davina.

“Yes.” Kaz answered tightly. He was seated at the edge of the bed, chin resting on balled up fists and his elbows on his knees. “Haskell put something in a drink he gave her. A high dose stimulant, physical and mental.”

“Explains the nonsense she’s mumbling.” Nina said to herself. “She’ll be alright, but what are we to tell her Snakes?”

“They don’t know she’s here.”

“No, but her Heartrender came to the White Rose. He’s worried about her.”

“Why was he there?” Kaz knew he shouldn’t ask. When Davina was lying in the bed beside him, squirming and whimpering as if she was atop pins and needles, he should be focused on her. But of course, his need for information pushed to the forefront.

“I call on him from time to time. He makes me laugh.” She waved him off. He didn’t believe it - considering Davina gave the same reason for visiting Nina - but he had no proof otherwise, so he didn’t ask again. “I told him I hadn’t heard anything but someone should send word that she’s alive.”

“He trusts you?”

“Enough, it seems.”

“Then do it. I don’t care how. I’ll stay with her.”

———————

You’re with Kaz.

You’re sitting in the grass of the front yard of the Rollins’ house. Your brother is kicking his feet on the swing your father made for him. Your mother and your father are laughing as they push him, teasing that he’d fly off.

You look over at Kaz, he has his eyes closed as he faces the sun like a cat. You smile to yourself and as if he knows, he turns to you and returns the smile.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He laughs before dropping to his back. He folds his arms and tucked his hands neatly behind his head. The motion pulls his rolled sleeves above his elbows and you can just see his interlocked fingers behind his scattered hair.

“I’m glad you’re here.” You say honestly. You shift to lay beside him, nestling yourself in the crook of his arm. That arm comes down and drapes across your chest. You fiddle with his fingers before he takes hold of your hand.

“I’ll be here so long as you have me.”

“Kaz Rietveld. that almost sounds like a proposal.” You tease. “You know, you’ll owe my father a goat.”

“A goat?” He laughs. “Just one? That’s selling yourself short. Dear.”

“Several.” You correct yourself. “And you’ll have to see if my brother approves.”

“Really? And what of my brother?”

“Jordie adores me. I don’t think he’ll mind.”

Jordie… No, that wasn’t right. But he was coming up the path with a basket of snacks.

You look around and realize quite a few things are wrong. It wasn’t the Rollins’ house you’re in front of, but the fake home from before the Rietvelds died. Your brother doesn’t have a swing in that tree. And Kaz, well he has his bare hand in yours with his arms exposed.

That wasn’t right. None of that was right.

———————

“Why is she here, Kaz?” A girl was asking. You knew you recognized the voice, but you couldn’t imagine her face. The anger in her voice was sharp as a blade.

“Where else should I have taken her?” A boy - Kaz - answered. “Left her unconscious in an alley?”

“You could have taken her to her Snakes!”

“They could go to war with us over this. I wasn’t going to risk that.”

“If any of them want to declare war, it’s going to be her. Do you honestly think she’ll be happy to wake up here?” Her disbelief made her laugh. “Saints, Kaz, she’ll probably throw a punch at whoever she sees first.”

“Haskell did this to her, Inej. If I had her brought to the Poisoned Rook, her Heartrender would’ve ended whoever had her. I couldn’t take her to her main building because no one knows where it is. If I left her somewhere, what was to stop Pekka or one of the menagerie owners from grabbing her?”

“She won’t see it that way.”

“You don’t know her.”

“And you do?” That disbelieving laugh again.

Silence.

Your eyes hurt so you closed them again. You whined slightly and tried to rub them, but your limbs still felt too heavy.

“Do you know her?” Inej insisted. You could vaguely remember her then. The Suli girl known as the Wraith who could throw a blade with frightening skill. 

If she was upset with your presence wherever you were, you didn’t think you’d be there much longer.

———————

You feel different, like there was something calling to you in every person. Like every person has their own drumbeat that only your ears could recognize. No, not your ears, but your body. You were you, as a child, but suddenly you were Grisha. Corporalnik. A Healer.

You find two boys in an alley, afflicted by the Queen’s Lady Plague. When the younger one looks at you, you immediately recognize him.

“Kaz.” You breathe a sigh of relief.

“Vina?” He looks at you with watery eyes, a red face with flushed cheeks. “Can you help him?”

You look over and see Jordie, frighteningly still in Kaz’s arms. You gulp. You can hear the bodymen coming.

“I can try.”

———————

You sat upright in the bed, gasping for air. Your eyes adjusted to the unfamiliar setting and you scrambled back until you hit the wall. You could feel your hair stuck to your forehead and the back of your neck, your shirt sticking along the length of your spine. 

You looked all around, trying to get a grip on reality. You were just there. Jordie was right in front of you.

Instead, a hand was on either arm and someone was in front of you. You flicked your hand for your blade but nothing came out. You looked down in a panic and wondered if your cuff was broken. When your eyes finally focused on the figure in front of you, you realized it was Kaz.

Kaz, as he was. With his meticulously combed hair, dark and watchful eyes, his all black outfits. The only thing missing were his gloves and that stupid hat. Where were his gloves?

“Where is he?” You breathed. Your mind was still reeling from your latest dream but there was no imaginary thrum of power in you. You wouldn’t be able to save him even if he was there.

“Who?” Kaz asked and the worry in his tone was reflected in his eyes. “Who are you looking for, Davina?”

“Jordie.” You nearly whispered and you watched his face fall. “He was right here. I was…” You felt the tears threatening and you didn’t bother to stop them as your hands started to shake. “I couldn’t save him. I tried, Kaz, I did.”

“What do you mean?” His voice was low and he carefully brushed his thumb against your cheek. The barest of touch, hardly a gaze of skin, but you felt it like a jolt of electricity. “He’s been gone a long time.”

You took a shaky breath and nodded. You knew Kaz was right, but that didn’t make the dream any less real.

You had to sort through the memories, the hallucinations, and the truth. Talking to your mother about the boys, that never happened. Neither did that afternoon on the lawn. And you never had the chance to help Jordie.

“Is this…” You glanced around, wiping your eyes with your sleeve. You realized you were in the same clothes, despite your cloak being missing, and you didn’t feel the material of the cuffed blade either. “Is this real?”

“Yes.” He answered simply. He had leaned away and gave you a few more inches of space. “Whatever you saw, that wasn’t real. Do you remember what happened?”

“I came to the Crow Club.” You nodded, thinking of the chain of events that ended with you in an unfamiliar bed with Kaz sitting beside you. “I was looking for…”

Did Kaz know of Jesper’s debt to you? You couldn’t say for sure so you kept it to yourself for the time being.

“For someone.” You emphasized, hoping it sounded as if you just couldn’t remember. “And I was hoping for a chance to get my ring back.”

He gave a small smirk before he pulled the chain out from under his collar. Your ring was still at the end and you frowned slightly at the sight. Even if you had gotten into his office, you wouldn’t have found it. For a moment, you considered reaching for it.

“Do you always wear it?” You asked in slight annoyance.

“I know better than to leave something valuable unattended.” He answered proudly before tucking it away again. Getting that back would prove to be more difficult than you expected “What happened next, Davina?”

“I started playing cards to pass the time… I was winning, too.”

You remembered tucking your winnings into your boot, which led you to think about your boots. You kicked the blanket off and saw your feet in only your socks.

“Where are my boots?” You asked quickly.

Kaz pointed to the floor near the edge of the bed. You carefully crawled past him and picked them up. You tipped them over on the bed, seeing the folded bills fall out. You counted them quickly, knowing what was in each stack easily since you always situated your money stacks by the hundreds, and found it was all accounted for. You blew a sigh of relief before putting it all back.

“You think I’d rob you while you were unconscious? You think me so underhanded?” Kaz almost sounded offended.

“I think you’d rob the Ravkan King if he let you close enough.” Your boots hit the floor with a dull thud.

“I had Nina take your boots off because I knew you hated shoes on the bed.”

“My mother hated shoes on the bed.” You countered and he shot you an accusatory look. “But I agree she was right… Wait a minute. You called on your Heartrender?”

“Was I meant to call on yours?” He shrugged.

“You weren’t meant to call on anyone!” You yelled. “You could’ve taken me back to the Rook.”

“Well, you should’ve said that. Oh, that’s right. You collapsed in my arms before you could say anything.”

“I didn’t…” You tried to argue but you trailed off as you thought of what happened.

Haskell pulled you aside, tried to get you to sell. You denied, he gave you a drink that didn’t quite taste right. He wouldn’t let you leave until you finished it. Then you saw Kaz and then…

“What did he give me?” You asked quietly.

“Some sort of poison. He didn't say where it was from.” Kaz answered slowly. “It was stimulant-based, meant to affect your head and your body.”

“I was overwhelmed when I ran into you. It was too loud, too bright, and then I was dizzy. I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t think straight.”

“That’s why I had Jesper bring you here.” He seemed to consider reaching for your hand but decided against it. You almost told him he could. “I didn’t want… I couldn’t risk bringing you there and starting a war.”

The same excuse you heard him tell Inej in one of your bouts of borderline lucidity.

“A war… Melli wouldn’t call for it.” You shook your head. “She enjoys the petty crimes of what we do but in my absence, she wouldn’t want that.”

“You’re telling me if you died, no one would want vengeance?” He challenged slightly, and you wondered if it was Dirtyhands asking for intel or if it was Kaz asking if you mattered. But then again, those were the same thing in the end.

“Has anyone come looking?” You asked instead.

“Nina said your Heartrender asked. She was supposed to send word that you were alive.”

You nodded to yourself. If Kol knew you were alive, that was something. All he and Melli had to do was manage a few more hours. However, it did strike you as odd that Kol went to Nina.

“How long have I been here?” Your brows furrowed.

“A few days.” Kaz answered carefully, hesitant for your reaction.

“Saints, I’ve been unconscious here and hallucinating for days?” You practically jumped off the bed. You shoved your hands into your hair as you paced the space. “I need to leave. Where is my hood?”

“You can’t leave yet.” Kaz stood.

“You can’t stop me, Dirtyhands.”

“Trust me, I’ll send you away as soon as it’s safe.” He spat back and the harshness of his tone made you freeze. Your head snapped towards him and his arms were folded, but you could see one of his fingers tapping against his sleeve. “Unfortunately for us both, that’s not an option.”

“And why not?”

“Because it’s broad daylight and what do you think people will think when you come out of my room in the same clothes?” Kaz said plainly. Anyone else would’ve emphasized the implications but Kaz just stared at

you expectantly.

“They’ll think I tumbled with the Bastard.” You sighed. “Great. So I’ll have to sneak out like a shameful nightcap. That’ll be wonderful for my reputation.”

He scoffed slightly and your simple gaze turned to a glare.

“Your reputation wouldn’t be the only one damaged, mind you.” He spoke. 

“Oh, of course.” You bowed sarcastically. “The Almighty, Steadfast Dirtyhands who cannot be seduced or wooed, Saints forbid any woman try. But alas, the Snake manages to bed him. How tragic that’d be.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“You’re too elite a criminal to tumble with the likes of me, correct?” You continued. You didn’t know why you did, but you were just so angry. “A little girl playing dress-up, a wretched little child living off her father’s name. You’re far above that.”

“Davina.” Kaz said firmly.

“Melli would have a grand time with this one.” You muttered to yourself. 

“Alright, enough.” He said firmly and you stared at him as if he had grown an extra limb. Who was he to order you around? “I’ll bring you something to eat and find you a change of clothes. Just stay here.”

You should argue. You should say something ridiculous that’d continue to annoy him, but realistically, he was right. An unarmed Snake among angry Crows was as good as dead. As unhappy as you were, Kaz was looking out for you, and you wouldn’t admit it, but you appreciated it.

“Something with a high collar, if you can.” You said in defeat, a hand coming to your tattoo. “I’d rather not be a target while I’m captive.”

You huffed and dropped onto the bed.

“And I want my cloak and blades back!”

Kaz said something to himself before making his way across the room.

You sat cross legged on the mattress and the images from your daze came back. Young Kaz, begging for your help. Your father’s smile as he lied to you. Your mother slapping you. Laying on Kaz’s chest while he held your  hand. The last one was the illusion that hurt the most.

You pushed the image away but the ghost of a false touch lingered. Instead, you busied your fingers with counting your kruge again.

He came back in soon after. He dropped the folded clothes beside you, a fresh shirt and your cloak, and you simply glanced at them. When you didn’t hear his steps or his cane, you looked up and saw him waiting for something.

“Why did he do it?” You asked, looking for something to fill the silence. You stood and turned your back to him while you peeled your old shirt off.

“Power.” Kaz answered after a moment of silence. “He did it to show he could.”

“To show me or was it intended to be a message to my father?” You pulled your arms through the dark shirt and began buttoning it. It was too big, intended for someone taller than you, but it was clean so you couldn’t complain. “He was going to drag me to the Emerald Palace, wasn’t he?”

“I didn’t care to ask.”

“Well.” You breathed and turned back to face him. You almost laughed when you saw he was particularly interested in something on the wall to his left. “Regretfully, I have to thank you. If I had to go through that alone…”

He finally looked at you. “What did you see?”

Your brows furrowed.

“You woke up and asked about…” He trailed off.

“Right.” You nodded. You sat back on the bed, pulling your cloak into your lap, and motioned for him to come beside you. Hesitantly, he did but there was a sizeable distance between you. “It was fake. I knew it then but still…”

How were you supposed to explain what you had seen?

“I found you and Jordie before the bodymen did. I was trying to help him. I thought- I felt like I could’ve.”

He said nothing. Instead, there was a light tap of his cane against your foot.

“There were memories, too. When we left the house you knew, my father told me he left a note for you boys. I saw when the bodymen told me they had picked you both up.” You sniffled. “Could you imagine little me, in the dress my mother made, falling to my knees in tears and clutching my drawing?” You laughed sadly.

You couldn’t look over at Kaz. You focused on your hands in your lap instead. You thought again of the wretched illusion of the lawn, the brightness of Kaz’s smile, the lightness of his voice. You remembered the way the sun shined on his features and the way his hand felt in yours.

“I never blamed you.” Kaz offered suddenly. You couldn’t bring yourself to lift your eyes, knowing they were probably bloodshot and watery. You still glanced over but you kept your gaze on his knees. At some point, he had moved closer. “Davina…”

“When I could finally move, I went to my father… He told me you two betrayed him, learned what you needed and ran off. He said you never cared about being my friend, but I didn’t believe him… I started to sneak out in the mornings after that. I tried the cafe but it was gone. I went to the bank and the teller said the Rietveld account was empty. It seemed like you two were gone.”

He said nothing, but his knee brushed yours as he shifted.

“I went to talk to my mother about it. She never made me feel bad for liking you and your brother. She even encouraged my drawings, said it’d help keep your memories fresh. ‘You can keep them in your heart, always, but putting them on paper will help you to remember the little things.’ she said… But I found my father first. He was talking to the teller and told him I was there. I heard the teller say that everything went according to my father’s plan. I’ve hated him ever since.”

You finally lifted your eyes and Kaz was already studying you. One of his hands was gripping the blanket, the other holding his cane as it rested across his lap. He had replaced his gloves and his sleeves were long, his black waistcoat fitted neatly.

“You say you don’t blame me but I know you hate me.” You said plainly. “You hate that I was kind and we were friends. You hate that I didn’t give you a reason to hate me from the start. I remind you of my father and your brother…”

“Not all memories are bad.” He said quietly.

You scoffed slightly. “The way you look at your Crows, the way you look at the Wraith, you don’t look at me like that. You look at me the way you look at my father. Hatred. Contempt. Call it what you want.”

“She isn’t like you.” He gently insisted. “Vina, I-“

“All the Saints, you look horrible!” Nina’s voice cut in suddenly and you jumped. “But at least you’re lucid now.”

“Hello, Nina.” You smiled. “And thank you, for everything you did for me.”

She grinned in response and Kaz got to his feet. He nodded to you before he left. His departure left you feeling rather alone, despite Nina being in the room.

“I’ve brought you a treat.” She said happily and it dragged you from the threatening melancholy. Her hands came out from behind her back and she was holding a plate stacked high with waffles. “Obviously it’s meant for us to share.”

“Obviously.” You repeated. “I’m sorry I haven’t come by lately.”

“Don’t worry, Kol explained it.” She came and sat beside you. “Although, he did not mention that.” She nodded towards the entryway. Your brows furrowed and she rolled her eyes. “You and Brekker.”

“What?” Your eyes went wide. “No, it’s not like that. It’s just a shared past. You know, the enemy of my enemy is my friend...”

“Mhmm.” She smirked and plucked a waffle from the pile. “Your words can lie but your heartbeat doesn’t.”

“What do you mean?” You grabbed a waffle of your own.

“It was racing.” She teased. “And just know, Kaz doesn’t let just any woman in his bed. In fact, he’s never let any woman into his bed as far as I know.”

“You’re ridiculous.” You laughed.

“Says the woman wearing his shirt.”

You felt your cheeks flush. Nina noticed almost immediately and she broke out laughing. You frowned and threw a waffle piece at her.

“How is Kol doing with his lessons?” You asked, desperate to change the subject.

“He’s a prodigy.” She nodded, getting the hint. “It’s so easy to teach him. And I assured him you were well. Turns out your lieutenant has been beside herself since you disappeared.”

“Poor Melli.” You frowned. “I need to get back to them soon.”

“Do you feel well enough to leave?” She leaned in a bit to study your face. “Unfortunately, you do look as if you’ve been unconscious and miserable for several days.”

“I feel alright, I guess.” You shrugged and fiddled with the button of the sleeve cuff. “It brought up some horrid memories but physically, nothing feels wrong.”

“I’ll tell Brekker you can leave in a few hours time then.” She offered a sympathetic smile. “You do need to eat and drink some water to get some strength back. I won’t let you leave until you do. Jesper should be-“

As if on cue, Jesper came in with a tray of glasses and a full pitcher. He beamed at you and hurried to put the tray down, nearly dropping it in the process. He sat on your other side, leaned across you to grab a waffle, and put a hand on your shoulder.

“I’m so glad you’re alive.” He said, his mouth full of waffle.

“Hello to you, too.” You laughed and gestured to a water glass. “Yes, I’m alive and well. Thank you for not leaving me on the Club floor.”

“It was Kaz’s idea.” Jesper shrugged before handing you the glass. “I had no idea what to do.”

You frowned and lightly whacked his arm. “You know, I wouldn’t have been in that situation if someone remembered their debts.”

“Ah, yes, about that…” He said nervously. “You see…”

Nina giggled beside you.

“You’re coming up on a second fee, Fahey.” You warned teasingly. “You wouldn’t want this to snowball, would you?”

“Jesper.” Nina clicked her tongue in playful disappointment. “Did you borrow money from dear Davina?”

“Yes, but-“

“Shame on you!” She continued and you suppressed a smile by taking another bite of waffle.

“I’m going to pay her back!”

“That’s what you tell all your creditors.”

“I know, but I mean it this time!”

You had to laugh at that.

“Alright, how about this?” You faced Jesper with a smile. “Since you helped me, I’ll forget the first fee and the upcoming. It’s still a flat eight hundred.”

“Eight hundred?” Nina gasped.

“I was just as surprised as you are.” He laughed. “But I promise, Davina, I will pay you back.”

“I believe you.” You nodded. “If not, I’ll come back and find you. I won’t be so nice all the time.”

“You’re terrifying when you want to be. Do you know that?”

“I’ve been practicing.”

“She might be able to give Kaz a run for his money.” Jesper told Nina, leaning around you.

“Inej still has her beat.” Nina answered.

“The Wraith wasn’t very happy to know I’m here, was she?” You asked carefully. You remembered the anger in her voice, the sharpness it held. If words could cut, no doubt hers would’ve.

Neither of them said anything.

“I shall take that as my cue.” You nodded. You pushed to your feet, set down the glass, and then bent over to shove your feet into your boots. You fit your cloak around your shoulders and felt the blade still tucked into the sheath.

You thought to ask but once your quizzical expression met Nina’s, she winked. You smiled and nodded once before your hand went to where your cuff usually rested.

“Where’s my other blade?” You asked.

“Boss’s desk.” Jesper motioned to the doorway. “Saw it on my way in.”

“Last time I was in his office, he cut me.” You looked towards the doorway. You remembered when you were tied up in that room, how you could just barely see through it and into the room you were currently in.

“That’s just bad manners.” Jesper joked and you smiled slightly.

“Tell Brekker I appreciate the hospitality and, add this part reluctantly, I owe him.”

Jesper nodded and tipped his hat towards you. Nina blew you a kiss.

You took a deep breath and stepped into the office. It was empty, save for you, and you were thankful. Your blade was sitting on his desk, atop a stack of papers, and you hurried for it. You slipped it on, under the sleeve of your borrowed shirt, and glanced at the paper beneath it.

It was your drawing.

He kept it. You wondered why, but when you heard the turning of the doorknob, you moved. You hurried out the closest window and dropped onto the closest roof. You crouched under the windowsill and pulled your hood up, pressing against the Dregs’ building for a minute. When no voices came and no one crawled after you, you began making your way down to find your way back to the Poisoned Rook.

To your friends.

[pinkrose787]

You Can't Spell Apologize Without Lie

Summary: Bill comes into Ford's dream to apologize.

Ao3 Link

Ever since Bill died, Ford has slept a lot easier. No longer does he have to worry about that damn demonic triangle invading his dreams and tormenting him with threats of destroying his dimension.

That was until tonight.   

In tonight’s dream, he is in the Mystery Shack back when it was still his laboratory. It’s vivid in a way that his dreams never are. Except for whenever he dreamt about Bill.

“Hiya, Sixer! Did ya miss me? Admit it, you missed me.” A familiar perky voice comes from behind him.

Ford swivels around. Standing, or more precisely floating, before him is his triangular tormentor. Exactly the same as he was when Ford last saw him. Except for the crack that runs across his face filled with static. Likely a scar from when Stan punched Bill.

His eye has that smile to it. A smile that used to make Ford’s heart flutter with affection for his “muse”. Now, his heart pounds in fear of his manipulator. “Bill! You’re supposed to be dead!”

“But I’m not! I’m here!”

He takes a step back. A pointless action given Bill’s abilities. “Leave my mind this instant!”

Bill puts up his hands like he’s trying to soothe a panicked horse. He floats closer to Ford. “Listen, I will eventually. But I want you to hear me out first. Please.”

That gives Ford pause. In all his years of knowing Bill, never once did he say please. And there’s a genuineness in his voice. A vulnerability to it. But it could all be a trick. That’s what Bill does. He tricks and deceives to get what he wants.

Bill sighs. His eye looks at the ground. “I know you don’t trust me. And I know why. But it’s been so long. I’ve changed.”

“It’s only been 3 years. That’s barely any time to me, and almost nothing to you.”

“Where I’m at time works differently. It’s been 3 years to you and several eons to me.” He floats over to Ford. Puts his arm over his shoulder, the exact same way that he used to when Ford admired him. Likely a trick to get him to trust him. “You’re a smart guy, you get how all this relativity stuff works.”

Ford pushes Bill off of him. This time his tricks aren’t going work on him. “I don’t care where you are or how time works! I want you gone!”

“Look, I’ve spent all this time being ‘dead’,” He uses air quotes when he says dead. “in this asylum that makes Hell look like Disney World. There’s been nothing to do except reflect on my life.”

“It sounds like you’re in a place that you belong.”

“Yeah, I am.”

That’s not the answer Ford was expecting. At least, not said so sincerely. Still, he can’t forget that this is probably a trick. “So, you’re here to escape from there? That’s it, isn’t it?”

“No! No.” Bill shakes his head. “I came here to apologize.”

“You came here to apologize?” Ford heard him correctly. He knows he did. It’s impossible for him to mishear Bill in these dreams. The concept of Bill ever apologizing is so alien to him that mishearing a voice that is psychically projected into his head is more plausible.

“Yes, I did.” Bill takes off his hat. He holds it in his hands. “I realized that I messed up. Badly. You were the best thing to happen to me in a trillion years, and I didn’t see that. I was blinded by my own ambition and after destroying my dimension I was too scared to let anyone get to close. So, I told myself that you were nothing but a tool to me. A means to an end. But you weren’t. You were everything to me. You were the one person who could understand me.”

A tear forms in Bill’s eye. Combined with holding his hat in hands, he looks so vulnerable and pathetic. “I’m sorry. I really am.”

“So, you came here for forgiveness. Let me guess, this asylum place will only let you out if  get forgiveness from everyone you’ve ever wronged.” He looks Bill straight in the eye. “Well, you’re not getting it from me.” 

Bill puts his hat back on. It seems like he’s actually hurt by what Ford said? “That’s not it. They actually didn’t want me coming back here. They said it was a bad idea.”

“Well, maybe they were right. You should have never come back here.”

“I know, I just…”

“Just what? Just thought apologizing would undo everything you’ve done?” Ford’s voice starts to rise. “You manipulated me. You tortured me. You tried to kill my family. You damn near destroyed my dimension! I almost lost my brother because of you!”

“No! I…” Bill shouts.

Ford ignores him. “Do you want to know the worst thing you did?”

He looks Bill straight in his eye. Making sure that the demon is listening to his next words. “You made me fall in love with you. Even after every horrible thing you did to me, I still loved you! Even though I knew it was stupid and irrational to love someone who only wanted to hurt me, I still did!”

For once in his life, Bill Cipher doesn’t have anything to say.

“There were even parts of my brain telling me that it wasn’t that bad. That I’m being overdramatic. That being with you is better than being without you. And these thoughts tortured me for years. They haunted me on my coldest nights when I journeyed through the dimensions.”

“I’ve changed! I’m better now! I swear!” Bill cries.

“Well, I don’t care how much better you are! You could be the kindest person in all the dimensions who saves kittens from trees and I wouldn’t give a damn. Because it doesn’t matter how much you’ve changed, it still doesn’t negate all the horrible things you did!”

“I know that. But…”

“But nothing.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I thought that apologizing would help you heal. Give you closure and all that junk.”  

“You thought it would heal me. Thought it would give me closure.” Ford rolls his eyes. “Well thank you for your consideration, but I was healing fine without you. I had just gotten to the point where I’m able to see a yellow triangle without spiraling into a panic attack. But now that’s in the trash, because of you.”

Bill rubs his arm. Not looking Ford in the eyes. “I really thought it would help.” He says in a low voice. “Honest.”

“Do you want to know how I know you haven’t changed? Every single sentence is about how you feel, what you think, how what you’ve done has affected you. There hasn’t been a single time where you have acknowledged how your actions have hurt me. You haven’t even done the bare minimum of asking how I’ve been doing. Because if you did you’d know that I’ve been doing better than I ever have without you.”

“Well, you haven’t given me an opportunity to. You keep cutting me off.”

“Because every time you open your damn mouth, you manipulate me. Every. Single. Time. But I’m not going let you this time. I’m done with you and your lies.”

Bill sighs. “I’m done with all of that. I promise.”

“Goodbye, Bill. If I never see you again, I want you to know that I hate you. More than I have ever hated anyone. You ruined my life, and for that I’ll never forgive you.”

What seems to be tear forms in Bill Cipher’s eye. “I’m sorry.” His voice fades.

Ford wakes up with a jolt. He’s covered in sweat. His breathing is heavy.

He looks around. He’s no longer in the dream.

Now, he’s back in the cabin of the Stan o’ War II. Stan sleeps on the bunk below him. The sound of his snores fill the cabin. The ship creaks as the waves rock it back and forth.

There’s no chance of him falling back asleep. He doesn’t want to risk seeing Bill again. That and his heart is still pounding in his chest. Looking at his watch, it reads 3 am.

He climbs out of bed, careful not to wake Stan, and heads out onto the deck.

It isn’t much lighter out here, but at least there are the stars. Out here in the Artic, there’s no light pollution. The stars shine brilliantly. Ford can find all the different constellations without needing a map of the sky. Ursa Major, Orion, Gemini.

If there is one thing Ford missed during his travel through the dimensions it was the stars. Sure, there were countless stars in all sorts of dimensions. But none of them equated to the beauty of the ones in this one. Looking at them he’s reminded that he’s back.

He’s home.

Though the stars are a source of comfort, there’s still a deep panic within him. Bill is back. He talked to him. His adrenaline levels are the same as if he was being hunted by a polar bear. Frankly, he’d rather deal with a polar bear than Bill.

He hears the floorboards creak behind him. Seems like Stan woke up. “You’re up early. You trying to map out the stars or something?” Stan says.

“I saw Bill in my dream,” Ford says point-blank. There’s no point in hiding it. Nor does he want to. He doesn’t want to be alone in dealing with Bill anymore. Every single time he’s tried, it’s almost ruined his life.

“Are you sure? You have been having a lot dreams about Bill since Weirdmageddon.” The worry in Stan’s voice is palpable.

Ford sighs. “This dream didn’t resemble any of the others. All of those dreams are strange and disjointed. Jumping from one event to another for seemingly no reason. This was one was as clear as day.”

“So he’s back? How? I killed that little triangle jerk!” Stan exclaims.

“You did. He’s still dead, and he has a scar on his face to prove it. I think he told me that he’s in some sort of prison dimension now?” Ford sighs. “It doesn’t matter.”

“What else did he say? Because I swear if that wise guy threatened you-” Stan shakes his fist.

“No, he didn’t threaten me. In fact, he apparently came because he wanted to apologize."

“Apologize? That’s gotta be some sort of trick.”

“That’s what I thought too, but no he seemed genuinely sincere.”

“Eh, I doubt it. I know the likes of him.” Stan leans back against the railing of the boat. “Met plenty of them over the course of my life. And let me tell you their apologies are never sincere.”

Ford rests his arms on the railing. “You may be right.” He sighs. “It just doesn’t make sense to me. I keep thinking I have Bill figured out, then he pulls something like this.”

“You should take what you do know about him, that he’s a lying conniving jerk who wanted to kill you and destroy our dimension, and base your opinion on that. So, he apologized.” Stan shrugs. “That’s just words. Don’t mean nothing.”

“You’re right.”

“Course, I am. I’m always right!”

“What frustrates me is that I feel like I’ve gone backwards. Right when I thought I put everything to rest.” Ford hits the railing. “He comes back and ruins it. Now, I feel like I did before Weirdmageddon. Terrified that he’s going to come back and destroy me.”

Stan puts his arm over Ford. “Look, how bout this? Next time, he comes back, I’ll go into your dream and punch him dead again.”

“I’m not sure that’s possible.”

“Eh, I’m sure you’ll find a way with that smart guy brain of yours.” Stan starts giving ford a noogie.

Ford laughs. “Okay, okay. I’ll find a way to let you into my dreams.” He playfully pushes Stan away.

“Good. Cause there ain’t no way I’m letting that stupid little jerk come back and hurt you again. You hear?”

“Yeah, yeah.” He has a smile on his face. Most of the tension in Ford’s body is gone. Stan always was able to bring Ford back down and out of his own head when they were kids. Frankly, he doesn’t know how he managed without Stan.

But then again, he does know. He didn’t. He got swindled by a demon and became a criminal in multiple dimensions. Not a single part of Ford doubts the idea that if he had let Stan back in a lot earlier, then none of that would have happened.

There’s a moment of silence between the two of them. “Hey, Stan.”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

[bl33df0rm3]

Content not intended for Minors (18+)

Slight Modern!au (mentions of phones/bars)

can we take a moment to talk about men who just have absolutely no shame? whether that's; in public, in private the concept of tending to society's expectations about what's perverse and what's not doesn't even cross their mind. it's not even a passing thought, even if it's implemented into other peoples cogs but you're the only one that stirs his gears.

like how he is now, sitting at a table with his hand on your thigh, gradually trickling his fingers along the oh so soft flesh. just as his friends are chatting away, the comments he makes are bold, deliberate, and everyone notices how he's talking you up. explaining that his partner is the best in bed he's practically bragging at this point.

the man who eagerly takes you anywhere and I mean anywhere, like how he's drilling into you from behind just as your hands are gripping onto the plush couch of the lounge. the sinful noises of his hips connecting with the curve of your ass, he's not even trying to hide it at this point letting his groans waft through the room like a freshly lit candle.

pure filth escapes him even in the confindes of your bedroom, he's groaning, gasping, and even slightly whining because of how good you feel. he's describing it to you in such vivid detail as his hand are firmly pressed on either side of your head.

the way that even as you get dressed he's commenting on every piece of clothing you don. his voice is oddly calm for a man explaining to you how sexy you'd look in anything. how he'd take you up skirt, how he wants to see you on your knees with that low cut top on so he can flood your mouth and watch as you have to clean up any left overs that dribble onto you.

He's practically throbbing in his pants at his voiced thoughts.

"Archons just thinking about it, fuck...I'm hard already, you don't have to leave right now huh?"

men who miss you oh so much that they just assume you do to, so when you pick up your phone the first thing you open up to is a video of him getting off. his breathing is unsteady as he groans out your name as the strokes turning into him almost fisting his cock trying to replicate the same tightness all while he's pleading that he wants- no he needs you.

I love shameless!men

ITTO, KAEYA, Heizou,Tartaglia/Childe, Wriothesley,Kazuha(?),Cyno(?)

-‘๑’-Note; Next drabble coming soon….,If you have any characters you want me to cover in my next post(Or any request/ prompt for that matter) please lmk via question bar (Renamed Q&R), Comments or my Inbox

Request rules

[blakbonnet]

[graphic by @ofmdlovelyletters]

AUTHOR OF THE WEEK @xoxoemynn

I've loved featuring some of the most incredible artists in the fandom for the AOTWs, and thanks to Connie's (@spirker) big brain, this week is dedicated to some of the most beloved fandom authors. I hope everyone will go and check out their fics, maybe discover some new works or give extra love to older beloved fics. There will be 3 authors featured this weekend, please give it up 🥁 for the first one: Emy who we all love.

When I think of an author whose writing feels like a warm, lovingly prepared bowl of soup by someone who wants you to eat and eat well: I think of Em's fics. It's impossible to imagine this fandom without her - not just her words but everything she is and does for her friends. I also strongarmed her into answering a few questions for me (kidding, she was very gracious, I kept harassing her to send the answers over 😌 I have no shame):

What's your writing process like? Do you start with the beginning or the end? Do you write in order or as the scenes come to you?

First comes the idea, which usually presents itself as “haha, wouldn’t it be funny/weird/wild if XYZ… wait a minute. I think I might be serious about that.” Once I’m pretty confident I’m actually going to write the story, I make a channel for it in the private Discord I created to keep myself organized. I’ll start jotting ideas down — doesn’t have to be in any particular order, just tone, beats I want to hit, any particular detail that’s pushing its way to the surface that’s demanding the story be told, and also grab any links, images, music, whatever, and stash them away for inspo later. I almost always have to create an outline for myself, even if it’s just a few bullet points, because otherwise I tend to just sit there spinning my wheels. If it’s a longer story, I’ll create a pretty fleshed out outline, and may also supplement it with an emotions matrix to keep track of the characters’ evolving mindset throughout the story. Tragically, I’m very much someone who needs to write in order. I’ve tried skipping around before, but inevitably I start feeling the tension of “well, how can I possibly write Scene 10 if I don’t know exactly what happened in Scene 5?” But if there are some scenes that feel more vivid to me in the brainstorming phase, I may write a few sentences just so I don’t lose that energy.

One Ed/Stede headcanon that's very dear to you and you love to explore it when you write.

I don’t know if I have one specific one. I generally treat them as my all you can eat buffet and like to play with different ones all the time, depending on my mood. But I’d say my “tell,” if you will, is taking some kind of ridiculous concept (being horny for clocks, running a sleepaway camp for singles, tooth fairies) and sussing out the Big Emotions, which often do circle around learning to be vulnerable in front of the one you love.

Whose voice is easier to write - Ed or Stede? Why?

When I first started writing OFMD fic after S1, I would have said Ed. There was something about that vulnerability and raw heartbreak that I found really accessible, perhaps because I was finally coming out of the fog of my own recent traumatic breakup. But as I spent more time writing and in the characters’ heads, I realized it’s actually Stede. I see a lot of myself in him, and have discovered getting his voice right is a rather cyclical process: the more I understand him, the more I understand myself, and the more I understand myself, the more I understand him.

Your personal favourite thing you've written that you'd like more people to read

I’m going to cheat and list two. The first is The Merry Strays of Lighthouse Sanctuary, which is my heart story. It’s not the first thing I wrote for this fandom, but it feels like it. I wanted to write a fic with a setting that felt to all the characters the way so many of us felt about the show itself — a place of hope, where everyone is loved and accepted and celebrated for exactly who they are. The second, which is definitely a harder sell due to the subject matter, is All Of These Lines Across My Face, which is the most personal thing I’ve ever written that I think has taken on a new, more meta meaning since the cancellation. Love is eternal; it changes everything it touches for the better. Ed and Stede’s world was forever changed because they loved each other; our world was forever changed because we loved OFMD.

What is the one word that you think you use a lot?

Exquisite. But it’s NOT MY FAULT. They ARE exquisite!!! What am I supposed to do, just call them pretty? They are EXQUISITE!

Do you have a beta reader? Have they made you a better writer?

YES! My beloved Hugo (@monksofthescrew/offsammich), who I’ve been working with since Merry Strays. I used to say I’d only use a beta if there was something I was particularly worried about in the story, but honestly Hugo makes everything I write SO much better that I don’t consider a story complete until her eyes are on it. Brainstorming the initial idea, helping me get unstuck in writing, pushing me to look at a scene from a different perspective, fixing all my verb tenses… truly could not do it without her.

Why OFMD?🥹

I found OFMD at a very transitional point in my life, when I finally started to feel healed from a few big traumatic events but didn’t know what to do now that I’d emerged from the fog. I experienced some panic that I had wasted too much time and the world had moved on without me while I was still struggling. OFMD showed me that it’s never too late, that you can always have a second (or third, or 300th) chance, that you deserve to be loved for exactly who you are, and, most importantly, that there’s always hope. It was like someone gently took my hand and said “I don’t care what your brain/society is telling you, there is a beautiful future in store for you, and you deserve all that it brings you.” These days it’s rare to find something with a message like that, that’s equal parts fierce and earnest. It’s something beautiful and precious, and I’ll be holding onto it forever. ❤️

Please head over to @ofmdlovelyletters and send your love for Emy and all your favourite authors (and authors of the week 😈 watch that blog for some special letters coming your way)

[silent-words]

Gale smooches: 33, 41, 50 💜💋

It took a while, but the answers are here, enjoy! Tavs here will be different.

33. Kiss in a dream

When Laerie opened her eyes to a lavender-coloured sky, she inwardly sighed. Another meeting with false Mira, who did not even bother to dress like her best friend. Another talk of her "potential", another morning spent as if she had never meditated. Laerie stood up unwillingly and looked around.

The elf found herself on the same rock, floating in the Astral plane, with ruins of ancient temples around her. However the false Mira, that Dream guardian, was nowhere to be found. Laerie carefully stepped to the edge of the rock and looked down. What she saw was unexpected.

On another floating island further down there was a figure clad in violet, sitting on the precipice and looking far into the sky. On a closer inspection she found out it was Gale, who appeared to dangle his legs. She found it amusing. Laerie suddenly remembered their kiss in the Weave and his rejection the next night. He said it was the Orb that prevented him from getting "too excited". The elf had been pleased, that she had been able to excite him to the verge of eruption. But nevertheless, she wanted at least to share a kiss. If it was a dream, if Gale was not real anyway, maybe she could fulfil her own desire?

She jumped and gently landed right behind the wizard. He turned around and raised his brows in surprise.

'I didn't think I could summon people I wanted to see by thinking about them intensely.' He smiled. 'Anyway, come here, my dream Laerie, my dearest elf.'

That version of Gale was a bit too close to a real one. With one exception – he would never called her "dearest", he wouldn't have such feelings for her. But it was pleasant to listen to.

'I came by my own will,' she answered and got to her knees by his side. 'And I will do exactly what I intend to.'

'Colour me intrigued. What...' he didn't have time to answer, because Laerie took his face into her hands and kissed him. He froze for a moment, but then gave in. He tasted of rosewater, as the Weave, electricity was tickling on his impossibly soft lips. She didn't quite understand how it happened, but suddenly their tongues were caressing each other, the kiss became messy and needy. Yet she still felt the airiness of the kiss, as if only their spirits were kissing. He put his arm around her waist and pulled. She tried to straddle him, but felt her knee slipping, and then they were swirling together towards the void.

She jolted awake, surrounded by the glowing fungi of the Underdark. The dream was so vivid, that she remembered all the details. Laerie touched her lips and smiled.

When the whole camp gathered for breakfast, Gale seemed more excited than usual.

'I tried lucid dreaming last night.' He began. 'Imagine, in my dream I conjured up the same Astral plane where we meet the Guardian.'

'Thankfully the Guardian was not there,' Laerie said without thinking. Suddenly everyone was silent. She looked up at him and saw an astonished face. Then she understood. In a dream she was with Gale, with real Gale. And he called her "dearest".

41. Forbidden kiss

'Why are you awake at this hour?' Gale closed his book and looked at Kitani curiously. 'If you're going to kill me like you did Alfira, I have to remind you that it will bring destruction to everyone here, including you. Maybe it will make you reconsider.'

Kitani's face became sombre. She said:

'I hope no other innocent dies at my hands.' She pierced him with her eyes. 'Not you, I'd rather die myself.'

'I'm sorry, Tani, I rarely see you at night, let alone in my tent,' he sighed and gestured to his side. 'Anyway, I don't want to be a bad host. Sit and feel yourself at home.'

Kitani wanted to say that just seeing him made her feel at home, for she didn't remember if she had ever had one. She sat next to him, casually brushing her knee with his thigh.

'What do you think of the concept of forbidden fruit?" she tilted her head to the side and curved her lips into a smile.

'Oh, I have one in my chest already, I'll think a hundred times before pursuing another.' His eyes were said.

'Sorry, I wanted it to sound seductive.' She moved her head closer to his face. When he furrowed his brows, she continued. 'They say, forbidden fruit is always the sweetest. I wanted to test it. It's not exactly about the Orb,' she added and then pursed her lips. When he opened his mouth to say something, she interrupted him: 'I want to kiss you. I know we cannot kiss because of this,' she pointed on the scar, 'but maybe a just a little peck will be alright? The thoughts of your lips are driving me mad, I cannot sleep, I cannot concentrate on spells. Maybe if I taste you, it will calm down.'

'I don't think it will.' He chuckled. 'But now that you planted that seed in my mind, I will not stop until I test your hypothesis.' Then his smile widened, and she felt she couldn't wait any longer.

She leaned further and tentatively ghosted his lips with her own. Then, without any reaction from the Orb, she planted a chaste kiss. He gladly reciprocated. Still Gale's chest appeared to look the same way. They deepened the kiss, he put his hand in her hair, she placed her hand on his scar. She was ready to forget how to breathe, when he put his tongue in her mouth. She moaned...

And then they were blinded by a flash of light, and Kitani felt Gale wince under her in pain. She drew back immediately.

'I'm sorry, it was so stupid of me, I never wanted to hurt you...' she started apologising. Gale put his hand on hers, and she looked up at him. The other wizard looked pale and feverish, but he had a drunken smile on his lips.

'Every second of our kiss was worth the pain, Tani.'

50. In Secret Kiss

The tieflings at the Last Light inn had a party, celebrating the rescue of their friends and loved ones. Naturally, their saviour were at the centre of attention. Imogen was showing druidic magic tricks while she noticed a bunch of women around Gale. They looked flustered and enchanted, while he was telling them some stories. Rationally Imogen knew that he loved her, and he wouldn't be swayed by any of these admirers. But her wild nature egged her on to take him by the hand, pin him to the wall and make her lover forget everyone else but her.

She was unable to do it now, of course. Too many people, and, moreover, the promise she gave Gale to keep their relationship a secret for now. Suddenly she noticed one of the tiefling women touching Gale's leg with her tail. Imogen's legs stood up on their own, and in a second she found herself near him. He turned his head and greeted her:

'My time is yours. What do you need?' Only when she heard him say these words she understood what a stupid situation she found herself in. Well, she had to play along.

'Can you help me prepare for our march to the Thorm Mausoleum tomorrow? I still cannot figure everything out.'

He looked puzzled, but nodded: 'Alright, let's go.'

She took him by the hand and led upstairs to a small secluded room filled with brooms and supplies.

'Are you sure it is the best place to talk about our strategy?' He raised a brow sceptically.

'Well, I needed an excuse no one would question,' Imogen shrugged. 'I just wanted to kiss you, that's all.'

As the understanding dawned on him, Gale smiled widely. 'You could just use the tadpole, but I appreciate your effort.' Then he put his hand on her neck and pressed his lips on hers. Two kiss-starved and touch-starved people still couldn't be sated by drinking each other in. They drowned in each other not noticing anything but their warm wet lips.

Suddenly the noise from the celebration became louder. When they parted and looked at the door, they saw an amused grey-haired half-elf.

'I won't say I find this place romantic,' Jaheira said, 'but who am I to judge.'

No beta, we die like my sleep schedule.

[goodluckclove]

Migration Patterns Snippet: Edgar's in the Ghost Zone

Fuck it, since it's Edgar's birthday I figure I'd give you the rest of the scene that snippet I just posted is from. They are having a terrible time. Also Levi is here and he is not doing a great job of making this less weird.

Songbird taglist hop on hop off

@kuebiko-writing @cartoonghosts 

@atlasthecactus @aroaceghosties 

@booksntea6982 @xarrixii 

@mushroommanchanterelle @whoevenknowswhatimwriting

@fukurouonthesea

Edgar opened their eyes and saw a sky of flickering, misshapen stars hanging above them. They took in a breath and it felt – wrong. It felt incomplete. A stereophonic song played with one speaker broken.

Where were they?

They sat up and took in the environment around them. It was immediately nauseating. It was a rotting kaleidoscope that shifted everything around them at odd, uncertain intervals. Edgar groaned and closed their eyes, sickened by the phantom sensation of their stomach churning. They were detached from themselves – even more so than usual.

Once again, they asked themselves: where were they?

They worked themselves onto their feet. This was a huge open space they were in, wherever it was. Ground – broken, but certainly a ground of sorts – stretched as far as they could see. Above them the air had a shifting, oily quality of countless different colors. Prismatic. Opalescent.

Edgar recognized the residue of magic when they saw it. They’d just never seen it quite so vivid before.

Eventually they ventured to speak. “Scott?” They called out.

The voice they heard was not their own. But it was, wasn’t it? It was just an old voice, a ghost’s voice, one they forced themselves to forget and yet recognized immediately.

Edgar touched a hand over their mouth. Their face was hairless, the skin soft. They looked at their hands, small and far less damaged.

They grazed a hand over their scalp and felt their hair, so short that the curls could barely start to curve. Just as it was when their mother still cut their hair growing up.

No. Please – please, no.

“Oh my god,” Edgar whispered, voice cracking.

They felt themselves start to break inside. Because suddenly, and with such lucidity they felt idiotic for not realizing it before, Edgar remembered what happened. They remembered how they got to this place. They remembered everything they lost here.

“Oh god,” they breathed, childish voice breaking in a whimper. “Oh – oh my god.”

Scott kissed them on the forehead. He apologized and promised to find them again, smiling all the while. And then he left. He left with that hellish mockery of the human shape, that mimicked attempt of humanity that understood the silhouette and the concept of eyes and really nothing else.

Eddie screamed at it until their throat tasted like blood and bile. Years of anger broke out of them all at once. They made every cruel, violent, horrible, threat that they could think of – all words that Scott treated with a stony sadness and the human shape didn’t respond to at all. And then they left.

Scott left.

But Eddie didn’t leave, did they?

They clutched their hands against the sides of their head. Something between a sob and a choked scream escaped their clenched teeth. Their knees buckled and they dropped to the floor.

Eddie never left. They were abandoned to an endless nightmare and they never got out. Something had to have broken inside them so profoundly for them to forget for so long.

Or was it even that long at all? What if decades flashed by in a matter of seconds? What even was time here, anyways? What was anything?

Edgar heard themselves start to laugh. The sound was shrill. Desperate. A different type of weeping.

A new presence made itself known with the sudden disjoint of a bad edit. Edgar froze when they felt the odd, non-physicality of being steadied by a force they couldn’t quite feel.

“It’s okay,” a man’s voice assured them. “I got you, buddy.”

The presence started helping Edgar up with a familiarity that made them numb and disgusted. They waited, though They waited until they were as stable as they could be, upright with their feet on solid ground, before suddenly snapping completely.

They flung themselves forward to run. The presence yelped, startled, and grabbed them back.

“No!” Edgar screamed, wrestling with the arms that worked to clutch them in place. “Don’t touch me! Get off me!”

“It’s okay,” the man continuing, trying to soothe while clearly shaken. “I get it, it’s not great –”

“I’ll fucking kill you! I’ll kill us both I’ll burn this whole place to the fucking ground –”

“Oh...oh, kid, that’s –” the voice stopped suddenly before picking up, more genuinely confused than angry. “Are you...biting me?”

They were. As soon as they saw the flash of an arm in front of their face Edgar locked their jaw just below the wrist and dug in tight. They were shaking their head from side to side like a rabid dog finishing off freshly-caught pray. Edgar slowed the motion when the voice questioned them, but kept their teeth tightly clenched.

The bite felt like nothing. Still, it was contact and some sort of pressure, and Edgar would have to die before they let up.

“Wow,” the voice murmured. “Boy, you – you’re really biting me. You’re a biter. That’s crazy, I never would’ve guessed.” It went silent and gave its arm a hesitant wiggle. “I – um – hate to tell you this, but you lack the prerequisites for you to be able to actually hurt me here.”

Edgar scowled around the bite. They tried to dig their teeth deeper into the flesh. Katy once insisted that the human jaw could bite through a finger like snapping into a carrot. They didn’t believe her then and they still didn’t now, but if she was willing to believe something like that they had to imagine they would be able to cause some damage.

But at the same time, they were small and weak. Even smaller, and even weaker.

“I’m a friend, okay?” The voice tried to insist. “You’re Edgar, right? If you’re Edgar, then that means you don’t even really know me. So – so maybe I’m not a friend, but I could be, huh?” He shook the arm Edgar still clutched onto again and let out a soft sigh. “I’m nice. I think I’m nice. I’ve been told before that I’m pretty cool. One person says that and it might be a fluke, don’t get me wrong. But I can think of at least four people that have said that. Four or five,” he swallowed hard, finishing barely above a mumble. “Upwards of seven.”

Edgar spat out the arm to make their words clear. “What are you talking about?” They hissed.

“Oh! Hi! Thanks. Um…” The voice held him tight. The arms looked were a lot stronger than they looked from what Edgar could see of them. “I’d love to put you down now. But you can’t try and run. I don’t think you know how to navigate this place, so if you’re lost...that’d be awful. I’d hate that. A lot of people would, I’m sure.”

The voice didn’t speak after that. Perhaps feeling Edgar start to relax, the tension undoing slightly in their shoulders, their breathing level – he slowly let go of them and took a step back.

Edgar could run.

They didn’t run. They turned around and looked up at the man that rambled so eagerly.

He was a taller figure, broad chested and dirty-blond. But his hair was tousled and shaggy. There was stubble etched on his cheeks. His dark blue eyes were rung with shadows.

This wasn’t the image from the photos Edgar had seen so far. There was no questioning they knew who this was, no denying that this was one more ghost apparently insisting on making himself known.

“Doctor Kaufner?” Edgar asked.

The man’s eyes widened slightly. He broke out in a grin and made a weak, sheepish laugh. “Man, that’s –” he made the laugh again, like someone narrowly avoiding a near-death scenario. “Don’t do that. I’m not a fan of how hearing that makes me feel. You can totally just keep calling me ‘Dad’.”

He must’ve seen Edgar react the way they did as soon as they said that. Levi’s cringed, baring teeth, and raised his hands as if ready to keep them from running again.

“That’s weird,” he said it again, forcing humor. “That’s weird! Why did I say it like that? I shouldn’t…” he pressed his hands to his eyes and started over. “My name is Levi. You can just go with Levi. Please don’t run away again, I promise I’m not a scary person.”

Levi watched for Edgar to respond. Edgar forced themselves to blink, even though they realized they really had no need to. They stared down at the surface beneath their feet. It looked like clouded glass, yet gave under their feet like soft soil.

They looked back up at Levi and met his questioning, pleading gaze.

“What?!” Edgar shouted at him.

[udretlnea]

A Conundrum at Cotea Cafe

Inspired by @kunichigo (Owner of the Cotea Cafe concept. Go follow them. They're cool...!)

Prompt: A customer arrives at the Cotea Cafe just before closing time, and he brings a message.

A/N: Hey, been a while, though for those following y’all know I'm still active. Fyi btw you can expect more of these shenanigans prompts in the future; I just want to try to write for fun while getting checkpoints on my growth at the same time. Anyway, enjoy.

“Don’t go dimension hopping soon,” he said with utter seriousness. “Or else you'll end up hurt.”

You widen your eyes. Your hands suddenly felt limp as you processed the threat-no, it was a warning.

///

20 minutes earlier…

You relaxed into your seat as your eyes scanned the page in the light novel; it was about a samurai who was thrust into the future where Teyvat was taken over by a demon with a robot army. You pictured the samurai facing off against an army of Ruin machines with nothing but his magic sword. The scene felt so vivid you thought you could see it in your mind.

You turned the page to continue when you heard the bell rung. Somebody had entered the cafe!

You placed a bookmark in between the pages and got up. You stretched your legs, feeling the circulation return. Making your way to the front, you frowned.

Who could be here at this time? Last I checked, the sun was nearly setting…

When you opened the door to the dining area, you expected to see the Traveler and Paimon. A teenager in a white and gray hoodie looked at you with brown eyes. He had black hair and youthful features; he put on a friendly smile while inertinghis hands in his pockets.

“Hello po,” he said in a meek voice. “Is this…a cafe?”

You nodded. “Yes.”

He put a hand on his chest. “Um, are you open?”

You smiled amicably. “Of course! Would you like to look at a menu?”

He nodded, but his hand didn’t fall to the side. “My name is…Aaron. It’s nice to meet you.”

He took a seat at one nearby one of the windows. You grabbed a nearby menu and handed it to him; while he was reading it with interest, you couldn’t help but stare at him. He didn’t appear to be from any of the nations, at least judging from his clothing. It looked like something one might wear at home. Furthermore, he seemed to know about this place despite the remoteness of this location.

“Excuse me, but do you happen to have…peach mango pie?” His question snapped you out of your thoughts.

“Yes! Would you like that?” He blinked shyly and shook his head.

“No. I was just curious,” he clarified. He pointed at a line of words. “I’ll have a halo-halo please.”

“Sure!” You turned towards the kitchen, deciding to pick up your train of thought after making his dish. Ten minutes later you come back with a tall glass cup full of halo-halo.

“Sal-salamat po…thank you.” He nodded to the glass. You set it down in front of him; he takes a moment to silently observe it. A happy smile slowly forms on his face. “Ah, it looks delicious.”

He gave a brief prayer before picking up the spoon and mixing it.

You decided now was the perfect time to leave him and fiddle away your time; it usually didn’t take long to finish Halo-Halo so you went back to the kitchen to reorganize.

You tidied the kitchen up by cleaning the tools you used to make halo-halo. When you just about finished, the sound of the spoon clattering in an empty cup made you look up.

“I’ve finished,” Aaron announced almost proudly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pouch. He put it next to his empty cup and you heard the sound of Mora clinking; he got up and turned to the door. You made your way to where he sat. The Mora pouch was moderate-sized. A quick calculation told you that he overpaid. You were about to stop him from leaving, but you saw that he was standing a couple feet from you. He looked at you as if he could peer past your mask.

“...Pardon me, but you’re like me, aren’t you.” Aaron put a hand on his hip. “You’re also a...Creator”

You felt the urge to suppress a wave of panic. “I-I’m sorry?”

“Well, they call them Creators. You probably know them as writers. Self-inserts,” he explained. He shook his head. “My apologies for the strange question, and for offending you, if I did. I just thought I finally found someone to talk to. I…can leave if you want. It’s no trouble.”

Rather than tell him to do just that, you waved him off. “It’s fine. Are you one as well?”

“I’ll tell you if you tell me.”

You examine his form, searching for anything that could tell that he’s lying. When you found none, you shrugged. “...Sure. Although I’m currently living out my cottage-core fantasy at the moment. I don’t care for the stuffy paperwork that comes with being in charge of an entire continent."

“Same. And cottage-core is cool, but I never can find the time to do that. Not that I-not that I deserve anything good,” A moment of silence passed as they let that information process. Internally, you felt a strange sense of kinship beginning to form in your gut. It was certainly strange to find another being like yourself standing in front of you, but given that he was similar, or perhaps greater in power than you it made sense to desire to travel to other branches of the SAGAU multiverse.

“Well, with pleasantries out of the way, um…I actually came here to deliver a message for you,” he said. He raised his hands in the air as if he thought it would ease the anxiety in the atmosphere. “Not-not from any of the Archons, I mean. From me.”

“Eh?” This suddenly turned interesting. What could he possibly have to tell you? He took a deep breath and stared into your eyes.

“Don’t go dimension hopping soon,” Aaron said with utter seriousness. “Or else you'll end up hurt.”

You widen your eyes. Your hands suddenly felt limp as you processed the threat-no, it was a warning.

Aaron bit his lip. His eyes darted from side to side as if he were engaged in an intense internal debate. After a couple seconds, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of flash cards. He flipped through them until he stopped at one “No, but for your own safety, I advise not traveling to other universes in SAGAU until They give you the signal that it’s safe. That's all. Thank you for your time, and the food. I hope your story has a happy ending.”

He put away the flash cards and turned around. Then, he placed a hand on the door knob. But he couldn’t leave yet, not when your interest was piqued!

“Wait,” you interrupt. He turns his head back at you with a surprised look “This…thing that’s going to happen? Call it intuition, but I can't help but feel like it'll be terrible, especially for you. Are you.. alright?”

Aaron simply smiled knowingly. His eyes were glossy. “Thank you for your concern. No, but I will be soon. Ingat po…goodbye."

He opened the door and stepped outside; just as it shut there was a flash of light. When you opened it again to look for him, Aaron was gone.

Something hung in the air, but you weren’t sure what it was. Was this regret, awkwardness, or ominousness? Perhaps it was a mixture of all three.

With nothing else to do, you took the empty glass back and cleaned it. Then you flipped the sign to CLOSED before making your way to the backroom. You reclined back into the comfy chair, settling into the plush cushion. You picked up the book, opened to the bookmarked page, and resumed reading.

///

The next day you wake up and found posters plastered in front of your door; they informed you that several AUs and ATs were missing and that creator deities had been displaced. Furthermore, it advised everyone to stay calm and continue their routines while this incident was sorted.

Suffice it to say you were grateful when the Traveler brought Paimon, Yae Miko, the Raiden Shogun, Arataki Itto, and Gorou with them. A distraction was just what you needed. They kept you busy, dodging questions and cooking them food. They left and you closed the cafe for the day.

When you woke up, the posters you collected were gone, replaced with a single white sheet of paper with the words, "THE PRIOR INCIDENT HAS BEEN RECTIFIED. THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO FOLLOWED DIRECTIONS." -M.

You wondered if Aaron was alright and if whatever happened yesterday was related to him. It was clear you weren't getting any answers soon. With a sigh, you head back into your cottage to get ready for the day.

[moonstruck-muses]

same taste of heaven anon back again :) i have so many thoughts omg. first, your idea of the flashes of memories coming back to yn- that would make me so sick. it's so bizarre the first time that surely it must've been a weird dream that just came back to her or smth. and then she gets more and more and seems too vivid to be a dream. literally would have me throwing up bc wtf do you mean my bf drinks my blood without telling me and then makes me forget. god i would be so scared too LOL. idk if you've developed the lore this much in your head but like, would that mean yn just has blackouts in her memory? like she has no recollection of that night if the venom made her forget? oh and also, does the venom get into her blood automatically and the memory loss just happens to be a side effect? and then once jake realizes she forgets after he's like oh nice i didn't know it works like that i'm gonna keep doing it. or does he deliberately poison her to make her forget? either way he's shitty but like lmao

also i loved the fic btw so this is not hate!! but how shitty is he to literally get into a relationship with her and just keep the vampire part a secret when this man is literally IMMORTAL so like eventually she would have to choose to leave him or stay. because he wanted to tell her the entire time but just didn't. how selfish 😭

i needed to finish the plot before bed last night i imagined that the venom wasn't as strong as he thought it would be to fully make her memory go away, so it's hazy when she wake up but she has enough of it to remember and confront him. so he's like oh shit did not see this coming. and then she gets really upset and mad. like she is SO hurt, the angst is going CRAZYYYY. then she's like you're my boyfriend, how could you do this to me! how could u literally pierce my skin multiple times and drink my BLOOD and deliberately make me forget about it! how could you lie to me the whole time!!!,, i asked for the truth and you promised you would tell me how could you do this! and he's like i'm sorryryyy i was just saur scared ilysm i couldn't bear to lose you :(( and she's like yeah that's real i understand, and ilysm but jakey i do not want to be a vampire i literally do not want to live for eternity :/ i like being a human and there is no reason for me to live that long (it was getting a little personal here, like i think 90 years on earth is enough for me tyvm). and then they get sad and hug it out and wtv. i didn't know how to resolve it so i left it there lul

SWEET SWEET NONNIE!!! I almost cried when I saw this, you have no idea how much this means to me have somebody interact with my art like this <3 I hope your pillow is always cold and your blankets always fluffy.

SO the mechanics of how the mind wipe works (and with the wound disappearing with the lick) is actually a little power I borrowed from Vampire the Masquerade, which is a ttrpg I really love. There's two abilities one called Cloud Memory and the other The Forgetful Mind. Cloud Memory is simple--you simple erase a moment of the memory and the victim will be none the wiser to it as long as they don't press on the memory. Then they'll realize something is wrong. The Forgetful Mind is a little more complex, as in that one you're actually rewriting the victim's memory, and giving them false memories to replace it. I wrote Jake's little stunt as a middle ground between the two. So Y/N would wake up the next morning and she'd know they fucked and boy it must've been spectacular but she'd definitely forget the details of what exactly happened (i.e. the venom). A shitty move of Jake for sure--but alas I am a vampire apologist, and wasn't lying when I said this was self indulgent (God please send me a vampire boyfriend I can make him worse). Two things about me: I will die for Jake, and the only thing I love in this world more than Enha is vampires (as you may guess, me discovering Enha's concept was very detrimental to me. In fact my roommate laughed in my face and said "Good Luck!' when I forced him to watch the Drunk-Dazed video).

And yes sweet nonnie--not interpreting this as hate at all! As a reader, I hate being given very morally black and white characters, it takes a lot of intrigue out of a story, and doesn't give us the tension we seek. Morally grey characters (like my vampire Jake) give us two sides of the story. He's being objectively shitty, and taking away so much agency from Y/N, and yet he loves her, and doesn't know how to face the truth because he is, like you said, selfish! His fear of being alone causes him to act in a way that endangers Y/N and only worsens his case when the inevitable happens. I like to think it adds a little spice, where you can see the sweetness and we see the POV of Jake giving Y/N what she's dreamed of and more, but from his POV we see the selfishness and the monstrosity of what he's doing and the danger he puts her in every time he drinks and then wipes her mind.

And TEEHEE just giggled and kicked my feet. I love your interpretation of the ending. I think it's just so fundamentally sad if Y/N wants her mortality but that doesn't mean she'll always be able to keep Jake, and because of that Jake doesn't have a choice but to let her go. How long will they let this relationship last? People will realize he doesn't age, and what happens when she gets to an age where she doesn't feel comfortable being with him anymore? What if she wants a family and a life? So many thoughts so many possibilities! <3

[skzoologist]

Hii! How are you? Congrats on 100 again! You deserve that and much more,

So for the event I would like to request the prompt "Awh, but come oooon, he's sooo cuute!" ☕🧋,

Human!SKZ and Faerie!Bae

(Focused on Bae, Jisung, Chan, Minho pls)

-🐿️

word count: ~1.4k

warnings: none

genre: fluff, crack

a/n: When you dropped this off, I already knew how it would play out instantly, the scene vivid in my head. The concept itself is cute, and I like how it turned out! I can only hope you'll like it too, and thank you for taking part of the event, it means a lot 💜 I only just now noticed that somehow my banner completely, on accident, matches with your requested members. My preferences are showing I think- 💀

Please let me know if I left a warning or anything out, I will add it in! Reblogs, likes and feedback are greatly appreciated!

!I don't condone anyone stealing my work and posting it anywhere without my permission, or feeding it to AI!

!This is just fiction, my interpretation of Stray Kids. By no means is this how they are and how they behave in real life!

It was a chilly autumn day, the sunshine  playfully bouncing off the vibrantly-coloured leaves and the morning dew that briefly stopped there for a quick break. And while the wind had a certain, cold bite to it, Bae was still drawn out of his little hut that was carefully nestled between branches, perfectly out of view, no matter from which angle you tried to look at it.

Of course it was well-hidden, faerie folk was only a thing of legends and myths amongst the circle of humans.

With a sleepy yawn and a little rub at his eyes, he grabbed his bag and tossed it across his shoulder, smoothing out his now slightly wrinkled clothes. His kind had always been careful about their looks, never wanting to look anything less than their best. That was why Bae’d put on his favourite pieces, the glittering fabric loosely hugging his form and granting an almost ethereal glow to it.

After one last look in the mirror and double-checking his bag’s contents, he unfurled his translucent wings and took off, into the vast city of humans.

It didn’t take long for Bae to arrive, despite his tiny stature and the distance he had to cross over. That might have been because he loved to sneak into the place regularly and just quietly observe these exceedingly unique and different creatures, especially if you compared them to the ones living in the forest.

The streets were always busy and lively, even at night, lit up by all kinds of lamps and lights. That was his favourite time to just sit down somewhere, concealed, and to simply soak in the different sounds and feelings. Hours would go by quickly, as he either just watched, or even drew into his little sketchbook, the sky desperately wishing to shine its stars through the smog-filled atmosphere.

Regularly was Bae joined by an animal or two, the creatures more easily sensing him, even through his concealing magic. He didn’t mind, of course not, the fluffy friends never harbouring ill intent. If anything, they wanted his body heat and gentle scratches, enjoying the sensation of his hands gliding through their fur or feathers, only happier by the glitter that’d usually gotten left behind.

And just as he was watching the sun fully rise, a cat purring and putty in his hands, he’d heard voices. Quite loud ones at that, sounding a bit distressed on the empty streets. 

Given how Bae’d decided to stop at a relatively empty place, surrounded by more nature than the others, it immediately drew his attention in. The shout he’d first heard sounded almost pained, sensitive ears able to pinpoint the emotions hidden inside even from far away.

Wanting to investigate, because it both intrigued him and somehow simultaneously pulled at his heartstrings, he petted the cat’s head a final time and bid it a silent farewell. An appreciative meow could be heard in response, pulling a small smile onto Bae’s lips as he was carefully flying down towards the distraught sounds.

The closer he got, the clearer it became that yes, something really must have happened, because someone sounded like they were on the verge of tears, only something fragile preventing their tears from falling.

The faerie’s eyes landed on a trio of boys; one cradling his leg, one assisting him, and the last one kneeling beside them in blind panic. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the seemingly injured one who was now openly crying, instead the kneeling boy’s face was glistening with rivers of tears, apologies endlessly flying out of his mouth, no matter how much he was gently hushed and comforted.

Taking a seat on a tree branch right above them, Bae folded his delicate wings and watched, trying to make sense of the situation.

The problem seemed to be an injured ankle, the one who sported the injury quiet, merely grimacing in pain. His hair shared the same shade as an oak tree’s bark, the strands hiding dark eyes beneath. The one who was trying his best to help had curly hair that shined in a similar colour, although this one was more akin to a pine tree’s skin, deeper and duller. His lips were pulled down, sadness residing in his own chocolate orbs, despite the serious aura that veiled him.

And the last one…

Well, he looked like he was about to have a panic attack, chestnut hair gripped between shaky fingers, pulled from their residence.

Normally, Bae would do nothing in a situation like this, after all, his kind was hunted and kept as pets, and that was only the best possible scenario. It wasn’t his problem, he had nothing to do with it, and yet…

And yet, he found himself flying down, concealing magic slowly unfurling and revealing his tiny, softly glowing form.

The faerie all but ignored everyone and their reactions, his goal to erase the root of the problem, nothing more. Bright light surrounded him, the intricate patterns in his wings shining with the same, deep blue shade as magic pulsed through his veins, concentrated into his hands. He carefully touched the injured limb, hovering above it for only a few seconds, the injury now gone in the blink of an eye.

Tired after the sudden use of healing magic, he let himself flutter down onto the silent male’s leg, letting out a muted sigh there.

“Did you really somehow luck out and get a faerie, a mythical creature, to help you out with your sprained ankle, Minho?” - the curly haired boy asked, disbelief clearly written on his face.

The previously injured boy, presumably Minho, just nodded, stunned into silence with his mouth left slightly agape. The third boy was in a similar state, doe eyes just widely staring at Bae, unmoving.

Right until he suddenly seemed to have come back to his senses, hugging Minho in relief and sobbing into his shoulder with another string of apologies. With the male being jostled, Bae was forced to fly up from his resting place, not happy about it at all. As if sensing this, the curly haired boy looked at him with an apologetic gaze, enough to ease Bae’s temper magically.

It was weird, how Bae felt drawn in by these people, humans at that. Almost like they were a safe place, something he’d been looking for all these countless years ago. As if they were a part of what he’d been searching for all this time, visiting cities throughout human history. He didn’t have an answer to this mystery, and probably wouldn’t have one for a good while. But what he did know was that he didn’t feel the urge to hide again, to conceal himself and erase their memories of their meeting.

While he’d been deep in thought, the boys started talking, quick glances thrown his way.

“So, Channie hyung, can we keep him?” - it was the doe eyed boy, excitement rolling off of him in waves, now that the problem seemed to have been solved. “Naur, absolutely not, Sungie! You’re talking about a faerie over here, we can’t just keep him!” - the curly haired boy, Channie, answered back, a deep sigh leaving him as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "Awh, but come oooon, he's sooo cuute!" - those dark eyes widened impossibly more, a pout taking its place on the boy’s face. “Naur! Sungie, we really don’t w– Minho, take that faerie out of your shirt’s pocket. Right this instant.” “I dunno what you might be talking about.” “You damn well know what I’m talking about.” “But he looks so cosy in there, doesn’t he?” “He could fly out if he wanted to, Hyung, just sayin’.”

With the biggest sigh, Channie, seemingly their leader, threw his hands into the air and muttered something about kids and how he would go bald at this rate. The other two, Minho and Sungie, celebrated, the former giving the faerie a candy he’d just unwrapped.

Content and happy with his place, Bae remained there, munching on the strawberry-flavoured candy as he let himself be taken away, knowing he wouldn’t come into harm’s way. It was a gut feeling, one that only strengthened with each smile sent his way, or with another snack gently held at the entrance of the pocket.

[lets-try-some-writing]

Oooh, can we get a directory’s commentary on the Blind Starscream AU and the Starscream Knitting AU? I know they are small AUs, but I enjoy rereading them from time to time. Plus they involve my favorite (troubled) Seeker. Also maybe one for Broken Record too because that one was just so gosh darn good! Please and Thank you!

I got you! I love giving my thoughts on the writing! Also I seriously adore the Starscream knitting AU and I have fun with the Blind Starscream AU too. I just ran out of ways to continue them. Any ideas for them would be gladly accepted :3

Blind Starscream

It was born of a request, and honestly I wasn't the most enthused with it because I had no plot to give the AU. It was a concept game rather than a story for me. Not a bad thing from time to time, but I like having a story to follow to write for. However with that said, it is a fun one and I recall having a great time thinking about how frickin funny it must be to watch Optimus yeet water at Screamer because he's scared of the bugger.

Extra tidbit about this AU: Starscream actually thinks its super funny to pretend he can see, but ONLY around ST3V3 the Vehicon. Starscream will act as though he can see perfectly and stare with lightless optics right into the Vehicon's visor. ST3V3 is terrified, but not a spark believes him when he says Starscream can see and absolutely can end their lives. Well, they believe the second part, but most don't question Starscream's blindness.

Starscream Knitting

It has been a VERY long time since I last looked at this AU. I hardly remember where it began, but I know it was made when I still didn't know how to format anything in visually pleasing and rational way. I don't go back and read my old work for a reason. (lll￢ω￢)

That said, I have had one image in my head since I learned about how running a small business works. Starscream, with stupidly colorful packaging, slowly and carefully getting every package done with his giant frickin claws. Oh! And those nails are absolutely manicured so that he can take videos and pretend he's just a really stylish knitter. He will never admit he enjoys his claws being painted a vivid red.

He secretly watches manicure videos online and asks Knockout to do him up every now and then.

Broken Record

Oh boy. The emotions were STRONG with this fic. It was the week before midterms and I was STRESSING. So of course I gave my baby some trauma to make me feel better. I was actually at work most of the time while writing Broken Record. I listened to City of the Dead on repeat the whole bloody time because it set the mood. No escape. No victory. No hope. Only loss.

Tidbit about Smokey in this fic: He did absolutely everything under the sun to make things work, and while not shown super closely in the fic because I enjoy being somewhat sane, he had a DEEP relationship with the team. He came to see Arcee as a sister in a sense. He adored her and looked up to her for many long loops before he had to pull away and then grew to see how badly her grief was hurting her. He wasn't the closest with Bulkhead and Wheeljack, but he shared many long nights alongside them, talking about the slightly happier aspects of war. Bumblebee he saw as a brother and eventually a ward as time dragged on. As he matured, he felt the need to watch over the scout, just as Optimus did. This was never fully expressed in the fic, but if given the chance, Smokescreen would take up a parental mantle if only to honor the fallen. He was especially close with Ratchet, that with the medic being the closest mech he ever had to a father.

Surprising right? You would think he's see Optimus that way. However he can't see Optimus like that. In his optics, Optimus is like a ghost. He learns from the mech, but Optimus is a strange thing for Smokescreen. A living dead mech. As much as Smokescreen bonded to the Prime, it was all a very solemn thing. But him and Ratchet? He loves Ratchet as a son would his father. Ratchet was always there for him, always offering comfort instead of the cold conformation of loss that Optimus gave. I didn't have enough time to write it, but I really wanted a scene where Ratchet tucked Smokescreen in after a long day and even managed to get the truth from him. I wanted to write one loop where Ratchet knew, and all he could do was hold Smokescreen's servo and weep as the loop came to an end.

Another tidbit: I fully intend to write a prequel with Orion and his trial. And let me tell you, what I have envisioned is ROUGH. It will take me a hot minute to write I think, simply because writing Broken Record required me to have a VERY off mental state to make it happen. However when I write it, let me say now that Orion Pax will have no frame of reference and do far worse things than Smokescreen in an attempt to get out. There could have been other ways to get out, but after so long? He just wanted to be free, no matter the harm it caused to Megatron at the Council chambers.

[apocalyptichearts]

So, hi! I hope this message finds you well!

I know you might’ve moved on from the AoS fandom, but I’ve come from your TikTok, and I love your May & Daisy edits! The fics that accompany a few of them as well are simply glorious! And the captions are mini fics in and of themselves as well so they’re lovely (if heart wrenching at times) to read, too!

I was hoping, if you wouldn’t mind, could you rec some of your favourite May & Daisy fics? Doesn’t matter whether it’s complete or how long it is :)

Thank you for your time! And for your wonderful edits and works!

Have a nice day/night!

thank you so much for your kind words anon, they really do mean a lot :))

as for maydaisy fic recs, boy do i have some for you!!

now for the sake of not making this post too long here are some of my favourite maydaisy authors:

Book_freak I don't think we can talk about maydaisy fics without mentioning them; of they're 90 or so maydaisy fics, you're bound to find your cup of tea!!

PanicMoon15 for when you need a little fluff and lightheartedness. also, they're Baby Mine, Rest Your Head Close To My Heart series? a must read, no one does AU like they do.

cassiopluto for when you want something a little darker and want to read some insanely good writing <3

daisyqiaolianmay they have so many good fics to choose from and I think I mention The Framework later in this post, but others worth checking out are A Daisy By Any Other Name  and The Parts That Make A Whole Series!!

Inkquillery i can't express in words how beautiful her writing is, all of her maydaisy fics are such joys to read <33

marvelthismarvelthat would've ended up listing all their fics in the following section so I listed them here. they write so many cool concepts it's hard to summarize them, but each and every one is incredible

agentmmayy a lot of sweet philindaisy content as well as a handful of maydaisy angst bcus sometimes that's just what you need.

here are some more specific fics that I (obviously) love:

It’s a Long Road Out to Recovery From Here by PanicMoon15 I enjoy most fics that deal with their relationship post the season 2 finale, but this one is quite something else. the writing and the themes and the characterization and just omg I cannot stress how good this fic is!!

Hold Her Close by StillTryingToWrite I'm a sucker for character studies and introspections and this one is just so beautiful.

silent secret sacred ground by Inkspinner a post-coulson's s5 death fic that is just so sweet and so gentle and I lose my cool a little whenever I think about it.

In Kasias' arena, no one wins… by Axolotl7 read this so long ago but I remember it being just jawdroppingly tragic and such a cool concept. insanely vivid writing <3

Mother’s Day/Father’s Day Series by agentquakingskye philinda becoming grandparents?? yes please. this series is so fluffy and so happy and even if you aren't into daisy x sousa, i think it's still worth reading.

Exposure by agentquakingskye now this isn't maydaisy focused, but they do have quite a few scenes and honestly, I'll take any opportunity to recommend this fic because oh my god. life-changing, I'm telling you.

and if you're into AU's that deal with baby/younger daisy some of my favs are:

from your head down to your toes (and your tiny nose) by agentmmayy of all the "daisy getting turned into a baby somehow" fics, this one is my absolute favourite. sadly I think it was discontinued but I think it's worth reading the 18 chapters posted!

Just a Walk in the Park by Bdoyle1807 I remember lovinggg the dynamic between May and (a much younger) Daisy in this and I'm pretty sure I read it in one sitting so.

The Framework by daisyqiaolianmay such an interesting take on the whole Framework stuff, I can't recommend it enough.

honestly, despite going through my bookmarks pretty meticulously, I'm probably missing some I would absolutely recommend as well, but I hope you find something you like out of the ones listed :))