#all of these were so much fun to write - esp trying to come up with different kisses to keep it interesting hehe

[greenleaf4stuff]

Oh, goodness! It looks like someone strung up some mistletoe! What three couples (or throuples!) got stuck together underneath and how’d they react?

Hii @mylovelylittleobsessions and thank you so much for sending me this ask game! I was already itching to do a part 2 of the Seven Minutes in Heaven game, so this is absolutely perfect! It's a mix of modern!AU and leaving it up to the viewer. Again, all pairings will be Adar-centric m/m ships and I will put my ideas below a cut. And again, beware the smooches, ye who enter here.

(Also I did four because I had too many ideas oops)

Pairings:

Adar/Círdan (established)

Adar/Celebrimbor (established, modern!AU)

Adar/Gil-Galad

Adar/Elrond (established, modern!AU)

---

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Adar/Círdan

"Well, would you look at that?" Círdan says and grins. At Adar's raised eyebrows, his gaze drifts upwards, where the uruk can see some mistletoe hanging over their heads.

He looks back at the elf and starts smirking, before he steps closer to the other. "And what does this mean, I wonder?"

"Hm - couples are expected to kiss under the mistletoe. It's a tradition," the elf explains as if Adar isn't already aware of the aforementioned custom.

Adar pretends to ponder that for a moment, then shrugs and leans forward with a mischievous grin. "That sort of kiss?"

And he presses one to Círdan's forehead. The fair-haired elf briefly closes his eyes at the gentle contact, but when Adar pulls back, there is a gleam in his expression. "...not quite."

"Hm. Maybe that one?" And Adar kisses his eyelids, barely a brush of lips.

"No. Not quite that one either. But it's closer," the elf says with a tiny smirk.

"Alright - then what about this one?" Adar asks, and finally leans close and places his lips on Círdan's, contact gentle as a breath. He doesn't pull back far this time.

Círdan makes a humming sound. "Yes - but I am not sure it's completely right yet. I'll need to make sure whether or not I might be mistaken."

"That can be arranged," the uruk smiles, expression fond, and fully presses his lips against the elf's. Their arms find their way around each other's hips as they enjoy the quiet moment.

Judging by the way Círdan smiles into the kiss as well, Adar seems to have managed to figure out which kind of kiss it was that had been required by the mistletoe - and the elf in his arms.

Adar/Celebrimbor (established, modern!AU)

The two of them only briefly split up, Adar to get himself refill of Gil-Galad's famous mulled wine, Celebrimbor to briefly talk to Mirandia about some smithing work.

When they join up again, the smith is beaming - and while Adar had been too late to get himself a glass of mulled wine (Galadriel had been faster, as she usually was), seeing the other so happy puts a smile on the uruk's face as well.

Only when the two stand together and begin hearing snickers from across the room do they realise, after some giddy pointing by Gil and Elrond, that there is a mistletoe hanging directly above them.

While Adar pretends to be a little annoyed at the elves' childish antics, Celebrimbor looks fascinated - and contemplative.

"Is something the matter?" Adar asks and raises an eyebrow. His hand easily finds Tyelpe's shoulder. When the smith focuses his gaze on the uruk again, his expression is warm and open. He shakes his head, and then-

"Aren't you going to kiss me?" Celebrimbor asks, confident and just a little mischievous. Adar never expected the other to be so forward when they first got together, but it is a quality he adores about the elf.

He places his hand in Tyelpe's hair and strokes the soft curls, enjoys how the smith's head tips into his palm, eyes full of affection. Adar knows that he couldn't deny the other a kiss even if he tried.

Their kiss is soft, and they break apart to pepper some smaller kisses onto one another's lips right after. Then they just remain standing together with their foreheads touching for a while.

Only after a moment do they part again. Seeing Gil-Galad bring out a refilled bowl of mulled wine, Adar juts his chin in that direction. "I'll see if I will be luckier this time around. Will you wait for me here?" The resulting grin is almost sly, but quickly morphs into one of fondness again.

The smith smiles back, nods, and then motions for Adar to go. "Better be quick then. And bring me a glass as well, please." The uruk nods, and then he's gone, quickly drawn into another attempt to pester Gil for the recipe of the drink. (The uruk has already tried countless times. He won't be successful this time either.)

Celebrimbor watches the other go, and then looks back up at the decoration over his head. He has pondered finally proposing to the uruk for a while now. And considering his profession, he has decided to fashion the ring himself.

Looking up at the mistletoe, and how close it hangs to a decoration made of holly leaves and its berries, he thinks he might finally have an idea for a design.

Adar/Gil-Galad

The usually so self-confident and flirty Adar is surprised to the point of almost freezing up when Gil-Galad points to the decoration above their heads with a qurik of his eyebrow. The uruk has been too focused on the discussion at hand, and perhaps also on the elven king's dark eyes, his voice, his hands-

One of which is rising up now, slow enough that Adar could pull away, while the elven king keeps his eyes locked onto the uruk in front of him. With gentle fingers, he touches a strand of hair hanging in front of Adar's face, and tucks it behind his ear, fingertips grazing the delicate tip of it in the process.

Adar feels color bloom across his face; he's taken off-guard by the forwardness, but also the softness of the gesture. Gil-Galad's eyes remain warm. And then there is a slight quirk to his lips.

"May I?" asked low enough no-one else could hear. It's clear that the other is being delicate about this for Adar's sake - he is giving him the chance to refuse, even to pretend none of this had happened in the first place.

The uruk feels the skin of his ear prickle where Gil-Galad has touched it, and swallows his fears. "Yes."

His voice comes out breathier than he expected.

The elven king is still slow as he cups the back of Adar's head, grip light, and leaves him room to turn away, to change his mind. Adar remains still and stares at the other right until the moment their lips meet.

He's pretty sure that he makes a small sound - he'll likely be embarrassed thinking about it, later, but for the moment he can't focus on anything but the other's lips on his, the elf's body heat as both of them step into each other's space, how the grip at the back of his head becomes tighter.

When they part for breath, Adar feels as if he were floating, and relishes in the way the elven king looks ruffled as well, lips kiss-swollen and eyes so impossibly dark.

Adar/Elrond (established, modernAU)

The half-elf, who is usually so quick to fluster, is giving Adar a cheeky lop-sided grin when Adar steps next to him. He motions his chin up and when the uruk follows the motion- ah. That is why. Adar looks down at the other again, asking a silent question with only his eyes - 'Do you want to?'

A nod. 'Yes.'

Adar turns fully towards Elrond then and cups his cheek. He smiles warmly at the other, who faintly blushes at the gentle touch. The uruk steps forward and rests his forehead against Elrond's, whose eyes fall closed as they breathe in each other's scents. The sound of everyone else talking, the Christmas carols on the radio, all of it falls away.

Adar brushes the tip of his nose against Elrond's, who chuckles just a little before Adar rubs their noses together gently, his grip shifting to cup the back of Elrond's head. The uruk tilts his head - on the next stroke of their noses, he moves his mouth down and captures the peredhel's with it.

He more feels than hears the exhale of air through the Elrond's nostrils, and then the younger one reaches up to put his hands on Adar's shoulders and kisses him back, lips moving against each other slowly, languidly.

Adar is pretty sure he feels at least one set of eyes on him - on them. But he doesn't bristle. He doesn't even mind. All that counts in that moment is the person he is kissing, and that when he opens his eyes, Elrond is looking back at him, slightly flushed, and undeniably happy.

[revelboo]

I literally adore how you write both es soundwave and tfp soundwave but like esp es because i love how horrible and angry you made him. Can I request that you write more of son of a gun or bad idea please? I read all of them both and they were awesome!

Sure!

I’m having fun writing TFP Soundwave because of the challenge of a nonverbal character and TFP Megs just because of how awful he can be

Bad Idea Pt 21

TFP Soundwave x Reader

• “I’m okay. Really,” you insist as his tendrils and servos check you over, running over your body from the top of your head down to your toes. “He didn’t even touch me.” He’d just asked weird questions making you sure the mech has a crush on some poor human. Soundwave had been much scarier than he was, you’d never seen him like that before, stiff and tendrils thrashing. Not saying a word, but still so intimidating and ominous that goosebumps had lifted over your arms.

• Coming back to find you standing on the edge of his berth with a Vehicon looming over you while Lazerbeak hissed in warning, plating flared out, had jolted through him with the painful realization of how small you are. How vulnerable. That the clone could flick you with his servos and possibly offline you. And you’re far too trusting. Venting in aggravation, he nudges your head with his visor and you lay a soft hand on him. Soothing the fury, but doing nothing for the worry spinning him tight.

• “He was just asking about gifts for humans,” you add feeling the faint tremors coursing through his frame and feeling guilty. “I think he has a crush.” And he pushes against you with his helm, tendrils thrashing slightly. Very clearly upset. Pressing your forehead against his visor as his tendrils coil around your waist and another around your thigh. A third around your upper arm, gently squeezing as your toes leave the berth.

• He’d never imagined anyone would trespass in his quarters. Had deluded himself that you were safe here with Lazerbeak to watch over you even if the drone dislikes the duty because the other Decepticons aside from Megatron feared him. And he’s mass shifting, climbing up onto the berth with you and tugging you up against his frame, tendrils slide over you as his drone makes a disgusted noise and lets himself out.

• Using his tendrils and long limbs to support both of you, his visored face rubs against your cheek. Tendrils and servos plucking at your clothes. And you hear material tearing since he won’t let go of you long enough to let you strip for him. You have so little clothes, but you can’t fuss at him as you realize how worried he must have been to lose his normally calm composure. “I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere,” you whisper, hands cupping his face, tracing over his helm. Trying to reassure him as you press a kiss against his visor.

Previous

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[rinniewvrld]

𝗦𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗧 𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗠𝗦 !

summary, after overworking yourself pass your usual hours to handling your unit and preparing for a big event, you ended up sleeping while hanging out with them.

featuring, mayoi ayase, arashi nakurami && ibara saegusa w/ gender-neutral!reader (romantic, separate)

tags, established relationship, all fluff no angst, headcanons, ooc

notice, first enstars post yippie 🎉 taking a break from grinding so much for the spider halloween event.. reader is a producer if it wasn't obvious.. highkey ooc?? esp for ibara, as much as i love him, i suck at writing characters like him huhu

— m. ayase

the two of you were baking in the dorm's kitchen when you suddenly passed out. just a few hours ago, you had proposed to mayoi to spend the day off with each other and decided baking something would be nice.

after all, after a hectic week of working yourself to the bone, what's a better way to spend the day than hanging out with your beloved boyfriend?

mayoi, at first, was cautious. he had been watching you veryy closely (and he's absolutely sorry-not-sorry for doing that) for pasy few days and noticed your signs of exhaustion. but still, he couldn't resist accepting your date idea when you begged him so desperately.

mayoi stared down at the mixture he's been mixing for a couple minutes, his brow furrowed in uncertainty. is he 100% sure this is how it's supposed to look?

then, mayoi turned around to face you. "uhmm... (name), could you— eek!" just as he did, he had witness your body collapse, hitting the floor with an extremely loud and audible thud that rang through the kitchen like a big bang. mayoi's face turned pale as he immediately ran up to your spot and kneeled down, checking you thoroughly.

his hands were stained with cookie batter, but he couldn't care less at this point and rolled you on your back. he put your head on his lap, pushing your hair out of your face to only be greeted by your peaceful, sleeping expression. he carefully felt your pulse on your neck and immediately let out a sigh of relief when he felt soft thumping under the pads of his fingers.

mayoi sighed, "thank god... you're just unconscious, i don't know what i would've done if you..." he stared down at you again, caressing your cheek. at any other situation, he would've found your sleeping face cute, but the guilt of agreeing to do this with you even when you're exhausted was chewing him up.

he immediately got cleaning up the mess you two made and hurried you to the infirmary. after the nurse was done checking you and confirming it was just exhaustion and stress and not anything serious, he was left alone to sit by your side and wait for you to wake up.

throughout it all... mayoi was nervous. the intrusive thoughts are coming to his head, making up scenarios that your condition became serious and had put you in a coma... he knew it wasn't going to happen, but the thought terrified him still.

when you woke up, mayoi immediately got on his hands and knees and apologized to you with genuine tears. it's gonna take a while for him to calm down...

"i-i'm sorry! i was aware you were overworked a-and yet i still made you bake w-with me! i'm an awful and pathetic person, i don't deserve your forgiveness!"

"m-mayoi, i said it's fine... c'mon, get up.."

— a. narukami

arashi finally got a day off from idol work and modelling, so she decided it would be fun to tag you along for shopping! it's been so long since she has been able to do some retail therapy, but it's much more longer since the two of you gotten on a date and it was starting to irritate her.

even if you were tired from handling your unit and trying to keep them out of trouble or paying the consequences of their stupid decisions, you still accepted the offer because you missed her a lot as well! you can handle to stay awake for a couple more hours, right?

... right?

arashi finished zipping up the dress and after doing a couple of practice twirls, she stepped out of the dressing room in an elegant and stylish manner fitting for the outfit she's trying on.

"(name), darling, what do you think? should i get it or not?" she spun around once more, showing off a full 360 of her look. when she didn't hear your voice praising her or doing commentary, she took a good look of your slumping figure and noticed that you had fallen asleep.

"oh dear," she chuckled, finding the way your head keeps flicking whenever you hunched too far cute. she sighed and shook her head, "you really should know better than overworking yourself, whatever should i do with you?" then, she walked up to you and tapped you on the shoulder, "come on, let's go home and do a spa day instead!"

when you grumbled something akin to a protest, she merely tutted and kissed your forehead. "mhm, whatever you say, dear. let me change back first and we'll head home, okay?"

"mmmgh... okay.."

true to her words, when you two arrived back, she immediately began setting the things up and prepared all the necessities for a spa day.

facemask? check. her favorite scented candles? check. the two of you in fluffy white robes, sipping on some tea with your feet deep in a bucket of warm water and epsom salt and your favorite drama playing on the tv? check, check and check.

arashi made sure your sitting arrangement is as comfortable ss possible, and frequently checked on you to see if you're in deep sleep. once the time is up, she'll gently shook you awake to let you know and cleaned up the place before bringing you down on the couch for a cuddle.

"i love you, (name), so please don't do that again, okay? i won't scold you right now since you need to rest more, but next time know your limits please. overworking is bad for your health."

— i. saegusa

it was rare for ibara to come back home for a day off. apparently, he was urged by his unit members to take a break and spend some time with his lover aka you, especially since the event is over now, and he had finished months worth of work in one sight.

although, it didn't take the rest of eden long to convince him to go home as he was already prepared to come back to your arms. after all, distance brings fondness and oh does he yearns for you.

he arrived at your apartment in a timely mannera and while his appearance is poised as usual, there was a slight element in his body language that told you he hurried his way back. he never been this ipatient.

there was time to go out for a date, but the two of you lacked the energy to even step out and interact with the world after a hellish week. ibara came rushing to you and spooning you in his arms.

"— it was hard to pull in the reigns on that problem child, but thankfully he seemed to understand and followed my instructions this time around... oh, i'll surely miss that part of him now that this event is over." ibara sighed, playing with a strand of your hair and twirling it between his fingers.

then, he shook his head, choosing to forget about his stressful week and focused on you now. this is the limited times he's able to see you outside of work and he didn't want to talk your ear off about every miniscule thing that has happened the previous days. he wanted to focus on you and you only for now.

"moving on. what about you, my dear? anything interesting happened to you?" he asked, waiting for an answer. he waited, and waited, assuming your silence was just you thinking about what to say. yet you still continue to be silent, confusing him and worrying him slightly.

"(name) dear?" he looked down at your face and relaxed immediately, making a sound of acknowledgement as he found you fast asleep in his arms. he chuckled, shaking his head gently. he said nothing more and joined you in your sleep.

even if the whole conversation he had with you was mostly one-sided, he's still glad he could spend his time with you. when you woke up from your nap, he had put a blanket over you and let you rest on the couch.

he even went out of his way to prepare food for the two of you, just in case you woke up hungry. the table was set nicer and better than you could ever done, and the food looked and smelled like heaven.

"hm? you're finally awake, i see. come, i've prepared us dinner, won't you join me? then, after this, let's talk some more. you still haven't told me how your week went, after all."

notice, leave a like, comment or reblog if you liked the hcs! it helps me a lot, ty^^

[seventeenreasonswhy]

Same Team! A YJH Office Romance Pt. 7

Idol!Jeonghan x ProductionStaff!Reader

You’re serious about your job, but not as serious as Yoon Jeonghan is about flirting.

~1.4k words

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

Series Content: slooowwwwww burn, fluff! but with tension!, cute flirting!, will-they-won’t-they vibes!, did I mention tension!?, some alcohol consumption, appearances by all of the members, reader is shy and gets flustered easily!, jeonghan is jeonghan-ing!

My Masterlist

Author’s Note: thank you to everyone who has read this little series so far! This is pretty much becoming a full-fledged romance novel at this point lol and I’m so glad you are liking the slow-burn dynamic between these two! This part was so fun to write, esp. the slight shift to Jeonghan’s pov towards the end. He’s so sweet. I CAN’T! There’ll be smut involving these two eventually, and I’m going to try to cap the series at 10 parts because I have other series in the works as well 😉. Thank you for reading!!!!! Enjoy 😊

Taglist: @yeoberryx @clownprincehoeshi @soffiyuhh  @wonwoos-wineparty @hamji-hae @junniesoleilkth @seokqt @haniinah (lmk if you would like to be added!)

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+

You stood facing Jeonghan in the dim light outside of the izakaya.

“I’m sorry—” you couldn't find the words to say, instead just repeating the same polite phrase of apology. He stood there, having told you exactly what you had dreamed of hearing—that he did in fact think about you... want you, even. All those times you had caught him staring at you out of the corner of your eye hadn't been a coincidence after all—he was noticing you and wanted to spend more time getting to know you. Your heart was so elated you could hardly even think. Your mind was coming up completely blank.

“It’s okay, nuna,” Jeonghan finally broke the heavy silence between you. He had a serene but slightly melancholy expression on his face. “You don't have to give me a response, but I wanted to tell you how I feel.”

Say something! your brain urged you, but for some reason you were completely frozen. It was like you had forgotten every word of Korean you'd ever learned. Or any language you knew, for that matter. You could only stand there like an idiot.

Part of you, of course, wanted to rush towards him. To take his beautiful face in your hands and kiss his cloudlike lips. Part of you wanted to reach out and hold him closely, run your hand through his hair and whisper to him how much you had hoped for him to want you the way you wanted him… to keep touching him until you knew the feel of his body by heart….

So why wouldn't you move?

“Let me take you home,” Jeonghan said, snapping you out of your thoughts. He had been watching you patiently. He could plainly see that you were overwhelmed. So cute, he thought, despite feeling a small pit in his stomach that grew bigger and bigger the longer you stood there not saying anything. He started to gently guide you towards his car, one of his hands resting at the small of your back, but you hesitated.

“You drank!” you blurted out dumbly.

“Not as much as nuna,” Jeonghan laughed.

How was he being so calm and collected about this? you wondered. Did he do this often? Or ever? Were there other people he’d been interested in?

Of course there have been, you thought, shaking your head. He’s a 28-year-old man. What am I even thinking about?

"Come on, nuna," Jeonghan said again softly, and you finally met his affectionate gaze—his tone melting your heart and your mind even further.

Once you made it mechanically into the car, Jeonghan guiding you like you'd gone temporarily blind, your brain finally caught up to your body.

"You think I'm beautiful?" you asked in a stunned tone, the belated realization of his words hitting you all at once. 

"That's what you have to ask!?" Jeonghan laughed as he pulled onto the road, shaking his head affectionately at your delayed response.

"Are you crazy?" you asked, partly because you couldn't believe this gorgeous man would be attracted to you in the slightest, and partly because this entire situation felt like some absurd dream.

"Who knows," he said, looking at you so sweetly that you almost wanted to jump from the car out of sheer joy—or disbelief, you couldn't tell which.

"I could lose my job if we started seeing each other," you said, trying your best to come back down to earth, thinking out loud, "and, even worse, you could get caught up in a scandal."

"That wouldn't be worse than you losing your job, nuna," he said, letting out an almost-exasperated sigh, even though he couldn't get rid of the relieved smile on his face.

"How would we even make that work?" You were so caught up in the impossibility of dating him, afraid to even entertain the idea despite now knowing that your feelings were more mutual than you ever could've imagined. "You're an idol! And I'm—I'm under a strict contract!" Your head was reeling. You felt slightly tipsy from the beers you'd had at the izakaya, but you knew that wasn't what was making your mind spin out of control.

Suddenly you felt a warm hand close gently around yours. Jeonghan gave you a reassuring squeeze, and you looked at him. He had his eyes on the road, but his expression was one of utter joy. In that moment, you wished with your entire heart that your eyes could turn into cameras so that you would never forget the expression on his face. As if you'd ever forget anyway.

"Nuna," he said softly as he gave your hand another gentle squeeze, "I'm not going to ask you to do anything you don't want to. If you'd rather keep things professional, then consider the whole thing dropped, and I'll look forward to working with you as usual."

He slowed the car, pulling to the side of the road, and you realized that you had arrived at the path up to your building. Jeonghan parked, then turned his body slightly to look you right in the eyes, taking your hand in both of his now.

"But, if you want to see each other when we can—privately, separate from work or anyone else's knowledge," he paused, looking at you with a spark in his eyes that you wished you could take hold of and keep forever, "then I'd be beyond happy."

Your eyes grew so wide that you must've looked like a cartoon. The thought to pinch yourself to wake up crossed your mind. This can't actually be happening, right? you were so struck with disbelief that you started laughing, looking down at your hand, and taking Jeonghan's hands in both of yours.

"Is this a dream?" you said aloud as your stomach finally started to settle down.

Your face was so flushed, your expression filled with a mixture of shock and joy...

He wasn't going to do it, but if he was being honest, the face you were making now made Jeonghan want to forget everything and just kiss you right then and there. A warmth spread through his chest as he looked at your pretty lips, curved into a bashful smile. She's so pretty, he couldn't help but think for what must have been the thousandth time. His mind felt more at ease now that it seemed you weren't going to reject him outright like he had feared for a moment outside of the izakaya. He should have figured that you would be worried about your job—you took everything so seriously and worked so hard. It was one of your many traits that he'd been attracted him to in the first place. Part of him wished he could demand an answer—something that would let him know for sure that you wanted to spend more time with him, as more than a coworker and more than a friend, but he didn't want you to feel pressured or uncomfortable. From your reaction to his feelings (and the way you'd been flustered around him since you met), he deduced that you had probably concentrated so hard on your work life that you hadn't had the chance to get comfortable with dating or romance. He wasn't exactly proud to admit it, but he couldn't help but find this innocence to you irresistible. It made him want to provoke all kinds of reactions from you—to tease you, to touch you, to say shocking things to you...

But instead, he simply released one of his hands from yours, reaching up to gently tuck a strand of hair behind your ear.

"It's not a dream."

You couldn't stop smiling, but then you glanced at the car's dashboard clock to see that it was getting later than you'd thought. And, frankly, if you stayed in this car much longer, you might end up doing something you would regret.

"I need to think things through," you said apologetically, "but... I want you to know that I'm so happy I could cry."

"Don't cry!" Jeonghan laughed, stroking your cheek with the pad of his thumb and sending your heart into a tizzy. "It's okay, nuna. Remember—we're on the same team. There's no rush."

"Thank you," you said, bowing a little out of habit before reluctantly letting go of his hand and getting out of the car.

[pianostarinwonderland]

Skully's Inspirations

sorry guys my brain's latched onto this event and now i can't stop writing my thoughts hhrhhrhjkhhrhkjrhkjthr

tbh im writing this to the tweets i've seen saying that skully isn't that similar to jack because at first i was like nodding along, like yea in the event, jack and skully have views that are clashing, which makes skully go mad. but then i watched nightmare before christmas AND IM CRYING Y'ALL. I KINDA SEE THE POINT OF SOME TWEETS, ESP WHEN THEY WERE ONLY WHEN EP2 WAS OUT. BUT EVEN THEN. I WOULD LIKE TO PLACE DOWN THE ARGUMENT THAT SKULLY IS TWISTED FROM JACK SKELLINGTON THE SIMILARITIES ARE T H E R E E EE EEEE

But here's the fun part about Skully. The past Halloween boys, Rollo and Fellow+Gidel, are written in such a way that most of their basis comes from their respective villains. Yes, they have some qualities of their heroes (i.e. Rollo is the one who diligently cares for the bell tower, which is Quasimodo's role), but the fact that they're twisted from one character is pretty clear.

Skully, however, is different. The way he's written is pretty similar to the NRC cast, in that he has a mix of different inspirations. While he's clearly twisted from Jack Skellington, he has a mix of the other characters, particularly our heroes and villains, and I'll discuss them in the post below.

On Jack Skellington: It's important to distinguish that for this part, I am referring to Skellington in the movie, not in the event story. And that's the Jack that Skully is very much twisted from.

For one, they are lonely and misunderstood. Jack's loneliness is different from Skully's in that he is well-loved for being the Pumpkin King. But that's the thing, it's because people love what he does that Jack can't confide in anybody that he's tired of it. And that isolates him, as we see in the way he sings alone (or so he thought) in the hill about his problems. Skully, meanwhile, seems to be alone in all senses of the word—his schoolmates don't understand him, and based on the fact that he's grown up spending Halloween alone, he may also be lonely in his hometown.

Skully's being misunderstood is pretty obvious: everyone doesn't understand or agree with his way of celebrating Halloween. But Jack too was misunderstood, particularly when he was sharing with the townspeople about Christmas. When he was trying to convey the joys of Christmas, people asked about how scary it was. And when Jack tried to dissuade the idea of fear, they didn't understand it, and some started to exclaim their disappointment. So Skully had to convey Christmas in the way that they all understood it, even if it wasn't what the holiday is actually about, which frustrated him. Hell, that exact scene mirrors the scene where Skully shared his proposal for Halloween, and the NRC students objected to it. Both characters were passionate about a particular holiday and wanted to share it with others, but were met with misunderstandings. Their methods at convincing the crowd are different, however. Jack appealed to their biases, while Skully disagreed with them.

Both of them persisted in celebrating a holiday to the point of taking over. Skully pushes to celebrate Halloween his way instead of the more festive manner that NRC presented to the point of putting Jack to sleep and is now in the process of taking over the celebrations. Jack Skellington meanwhile persisted in celebrating Christmas to the point of taking it over and kidnapping Santa Claus.

Skully and Jack tend to have an everything is fine attitude in front of others. They'll smile and go with what is happening, but then they'll sigh when they feel that they can. Skully is just more open about his real feelings than Jack is. And on a flipside, Skully has a bit more support from the NRC cast than Jack had in the movie.

On Sally: Funnily enough, Skully has some basis on Sally's character, particularly about stopping Jack from celebrating Christmas. Given that the NRC Halloween is very festive, it can be seen as the 'Christmas' in this story which Skully wants to stop Jack from doing. Aside from that, there's also a lot of notable things.

His putting Jack to sleep is also something that both movie and event Sally do to Dr. Finklestein to prevent him from interfering.

In some way, Skully also has Sally's stubbornness, though taken to a higher extreme. Sally is very firm on her beliefs and would argue with Dr. Finklestein, which causes tensions with the two of them, and she doesn't really leave room for compromise. Skully is also very firm about his ideals and beliefs, and as for now, he doesn't compromise. Both of them also act on their beliefs when they feel strongly about it.

It is well worth noting that Sally has stitches. Skully, whose outfit represents Jack's, has stitches where Jack does not. One could take it too as Skully having to stitch an outfit to resemble his idol. However, it may be a hint to Skully's development in the next two episodes. Sally stitches herself up in the movie when she is broken into parts. Skully may have an emotional representation of this.

a bit unrelated but at this moment in time, i realize that the OB phantoms have stitches on them, and idk what those implications are but twst im scared

I'll call it right now: I think Skully's backstory will be inspired by Sally's and Oogie's (to be discussed in the next part). Skully would have a parent or guardian that is like Dr. Finkelstein to Sally: someone who keeps him under control and would lock him in his room if he misbehaves. Possibly Skully would have a stubbornness that lets him figure out how to leave, if that is the case. A Finkelstein inspiration might actually work though

On Oogie: I give credit to Chrome for making arguments on their thread for Skully being twisted from Oogie. Much of the basis for Skully being twisted from Oogie is his stitches and his taking over Halloweentown in the side games! Furthermore, Skully is employing the help of Lock, Shock, and Barrel, who have mentioned 'the boss' in Episode 3. So there's a nonzero chance of Oogie showing up later on and possibly helping out Skully in some way. Even if he never shows up, though, Skully does play the role of Oogie in the event.

Like Sally, Oogie is also stitched up, except he's an entire bag full of bugs. In the movie, he is defeated by unraveling his stitches completely. The unraveling to reveal his backstory is probably going to be used for Skully's writing in the next parts (at least, I hope so).

In the side games, Oogie and Jack have a rivalry, and Oogie tries to take over Halloweentown in them. In one game, he also tries taking over the 7 Holidays as well, where he's almost successful, but Jack stops him. Skully's taking over the celebration of Halloween in Halloweentown is at least a little more aligned with Oogie since it's at least the same holiday.

Can't go through this part without bringing up their loneliness. Oogie is isolated from Halloween town and is even locked in the basement. It seems to be the inspiration for Skully celebrating Halloween alone and in a dark room.

Onto the Oogie side of Skully's backstory, I'm thinking that there may be someone in Skully's family or community whom everyone favored, akin to how Jack Skellngton was favored as the Pumpkin King when Oogie's own holiday didn't work out. Maybe they favored that other kid for his magic? Either way, this part is written in consideration of Leona and Jamil being the SSRs for this event, where both of them have suffered from having to deal with someone else being favored (Leona) and/or not being able to show off what you can do because of it (Jamil).

This is more brain worms on my part, but I wonder if Oogie's having torture weapons and bringing Sally and Santa very close to their deaths where they become his soup to eat is where Skully's reflection on death during Halloween comes from. Of course, this reflection is also something traditional, so it could be coincidence.

On Vincent Malloy (from Tim Burton's Vincent): So this is a very interesting suggestion for Skully's inspiration that came up when the event was still at Episode 2. I highly recommend checking out myonmyon's thread for this, and if you have the time, to watch Vincent (it's only 6 minutes long, so it's really not a long watch). It's important to note here too that in the DVD for Nightmare Before Christmas, Vincent was a part of that DVD.

Vincent Malloy has a strong admiration for the horror actor, Vincent Price, and it's so strong that he thinks that he himself is Price and not Malloy. His mother—and everyone else around him—doesn't understand this and urges him to play outside. The film is centered around his delusions of being Vincent Price, from dipping his aunt in wax to his beautiful wife being buried alive, and the lines between reality and fantasy end up blurring.

The way Vincent could not distinguish fantasy and reality is somehow similar to Skully, who struggles to accept that Jack Skellington isn't the idol he admired and isn't the guy who understands his ideas of Halloween.

This part may add to the theory that Skully established the first modern Halloween: Vincent Malloy is a character that let Burton represent himself on screen. Vincent the film is a benchmark in his career, as it was where he learned to combine 2D and 3D art styles, which he ends up using for Nightmare Before Christmas. And this led him to success, led him to share his vision to everyone in the world. Hence, Skully's story could be similar in that he gets to share his vision of Halloween one day, and possibly establish the first modern Halloween.

As a final note, Skully’s name is really interesting because it’s pretty clear it’s based on Skelli-ngton, but Skully and Sally both rhyme and end very similarly in their JP names (スカリー and サリー) (you can also say their EN names rhyme but Skully is still technically not official romanization). And crediting a friend for pointing this out, Skully (スカリー) also rhymes with Oogie (ウギ―ブギー), and we know how much Nightmare Before Christmas heavily uses rhymes.

[loveanddeeptrash]

Reset

Sylus Prologue

1.8k words

Tags: injuries, blood, angst incoming, kidnapping, betting

A/N: Each character is going to have their own prologue before I give them all their own dedicated chapter that's gonna be full of angst. Sylus was the hardest one to write for, I don't know why.. I'll try to pace myself since some of these wips are already written, but I don't want to overwhelm the community with my writing right now.. Hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think~

| Next: WIP | Masterlist |

If Sylus was being completely honest, whenever you were away in Linkon or off on one of your many boring hunter missions, he was always bored and itching to start trouble. Since, if there’s trouble, you’d be forced to come and fix the issue. So imagine your surprise when you receive a message through the Hunters Association telling you that the owner of Onychinus had been kidnapped and held for ransom. Kidnapped! You could hardly believe it. This had got to be some mysterious plot planned by the big, scary boss man himself.  With a resigned sigh, you drove to the N109 Zone and began investigating; all the while unknowing that the hostage himself was watching over you through the video feed he had access to throughout the entire zone.

Sylus was enjoying watching you hunt him down, it was a game to him. Give you a few clues here and there, some wanderers sprinkled about for some added difficulty, and he’d just be there, at the finish line, to congratulate you for a job well done. Thank you brave hunter, for rescuing him. Luke and Kieran were already betting behind him on how long it would take you to realize that this was all a ploy to get you to hang out with the Onychinus gang. Mephisto was even cawing up a storm as the avian also seemed to want to join the betting pool. So imagine his disdain when a few people of the N109 Zone began to give you a real reason to actually investigate his disappearance.

There wasn’t a real network or plan he worked on to get everyone in the zone to work with his silly game, he just trusted in the conniving ways the other denizens of the zone would act in while you went about your way. Yet the pure fact that someone actually planned to kidnap him and put him up for ransom rubbed him the wrong way, almost causing the man himself to cut the game short and go out there to deal with it himself. Crossing his arm, Sylus held his chin with the other free hand and contemplated on what to do next. He could do nothing and let the game play out however it ended, or he could intervene and expose that he had planned his own kidnapping to get you to pay attention to him. So he chose to do nothing. His own pride refused to let him admit just how much he had missed you. Not just yet anyway.

Watching you connect the dots he had left you was a highlight of his day, such a shame that his enemies were realizing that they could do whatever they wanted while he was ‘away’. He made a mental note on the ones that were pushing their luck, planning on dealing with them after he was ’saved’. For now, the man kept watch over you as you went around. There was an amused grin on his face as he listened to his two henchmen commentating a play by play on your every action as they excitedly theorized on the reason you would do certain things. His mind began to wonder, picturing how his day to day life would be if you just quit your boring hunter job and come work for him. Oh, the fun adventures and troubles the two of you would get on; fighting wanderers, seeing amazing sights you’d never experienced before, searching for treasure, him adorning you with every splendor he could find. The mere idea made his grin grow more and more - but then he saw something that soon took it away.

As you moved about, he noticed a few unfamiliar men following you from a distance. They weren’t anyone he could recognize off-handedly, which meant that they weren’t originally from the N109 Zone - meaning they were enemies of both you and him. Especially if they were following you. On his turf. “Luke, Kieran,” he called over, inviting them closer with a curled finger as his eyes never left you on the screen. His two henchmen stepped closer and quieted down when they saw how serious their boss was acting. “Look into them, they’re trying to mess with my plan and we can’t have any of that,” he ordered, brows furrowing as he drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. 

“Right away Boss!” one of the twins saluted, scurrying away.

“We wouldn’t want our key player to make us lose our bets,” the other followed after, leaving you with Mephisto.

“Look after her,” Sylus tilted his head to the bird, not waiting for a reply before going back to sifting through a couple of the other camera angles he had access to.

Mephisto simply cawed and flew out the window.

Even though he didn’t recognize who these trespassers were, there was no doubt that their goal was either you or him. There were a few people who knew that you interacted with the boss of Onychinus, but he hadn’t done anything too vindictive recently to his standards so that meant that they were after you. And the only ones brazen enough to go after you in his territory was Ever. Sylus hadn’t expected them to pull such a cheeky move against him, and he was livid that they decided that today was the day they were going to try to steal you away. Again. Now his little game wasn’t all that important anymore, your safety mattered more than pulling the strings behind the scene just to get you to spend more time with him. And it pissed him off, the problem was never supposed to actually threaten you.

You seemed to have gotten cornered in an alley out of a camera’s view, and that was when Sylus knew that the game was over. He stood up and headed out of the room, stopping by the armory to grab a gun before heading out to find you. It was a good thing he knew the general area you were in, and he immediately teleported himself nearby in a stormy swirl of black and red. Turning the corner, Sylus found you surrounded by mercenaries, these he did recognize. What they were doing wagging their tails for Ever he’ll never know; but it didn’t matter, he’ll soon deal with them once he made sure you were safe. What he didn’t expect was that one of the cronies threw an orbed that triggered a protofield before he could react, effectively sucking you and them into a protofield.

Panicked, Sylus immediately outstretched a hand out and used his evol to manipulate the gate to the protofield to remain open. Yet, because of what he was doing, the man couldn’t go in himself and make sure that you were fine. He knew that you could take care of yourself, but he didn’t trust whatever Ever was trying to do inside with you. A caw caught his attention, glancing to his shoulder when a pair of talons landed on him. “Go inside, make sure she’s fine,” he commanded, fury causing his face to scrunch up with a scowl. Mephisto cawed again and dove right in, his nerves calmed down a little more now that he had eyes in there. His grip on the gate slipped from his grasp and the protofield closed in front of him, glaring at the spot where it would appear once you cleared it. But that meant he had to wait, and Sylus was a very impatient man when it came to risking your safety.

It was maddening. Having to wait and unable to do anything to help you, Sylus beginning to pace back and forth in a tepid attempt to calm himself down. Only an hour passed when the protofield opened again, an exasperated caw resounding as Mephisto managed to drag you out of the gate. Sylus grabbed you before you managed to hit the floor, cradling you in his arms as he examined you from head to toe. You looked pretty banged up, but you had a heartbeat and that meant you were still alive. Glancing over at Mephisto beside them, the man simply stood up and teleported them all back to his base. “You can give me your report later, we need to tend to her wounds first,” Sylus commanded, taking you to his room.

He took out a med kit and began cleaning and dressing your wounds, deft hands handling the tools with precision. Sylus furrowed his brow more and more as he saw how hurt you had been. It was stupid, he should have stepped in before they were able to throw that activator towards you. The more he thought about it the angrier he got at himself. How many times was he going to wait and see how things played out and risk you getting hurt before something irreversible happened to you? Thoughts continued to spiral as he kept bandaging you up, ignoring the bloodied clothes in case his need for revenge flared up. Sylus was going to make it up to you and you had no right to refuse him, he needed to spoil you as penance.

Only once every injury of yours was tended to did he finally relax, letting out a sigh as his eyes closed. His hand held yours and squeezed it tight, leaning in and resting his forehead over yours. “Don’t scare me like this, Kitten,” he begged, his voice deep and worn from concern. “I would burn the world down if you left me,” his voice fell to a whisper, desperate love spilling out from every pore of his being. Sylus rubbed his cheek against yours and just felt content that you made it through another ordeal, pulling back and opening his eyes to look at you.

His knuckles gently ran down your cheek, watching as you slept away with a tender smile. Yes, this was enough for now. As long as you woke up and played along with his insipid antics then he wasn’t going to destroy anything, his enemies notwithstanding of course. For now, Sylus needed to look into what Ever was trying to do with you this time so he stood up and stepped away. Stealing one last glance at you, the man walked out and closed the door behind him.

“Mephisto,” he called out, hand outstretched for the bird to land on, “Bring up what you saw inside the protofield.” The crow cawed and flew towards his office, followed soon after by the man himself. At his desk, Sylus turned on his screen and let Mephisto connect in order to relay what he saw. It was blurry and full of static at times, but there were snippets of salvageable video he could decipher once he scrubbed it clean of interference. His eyes fell to his phone as he saw an update on what Luke and Kieran were up to, but Sylus would check on them later. Right now, the man needed to temper his anger in preparation for what he was about to find.

How dare they try to steal his most prized treasure away from him? His fury would know no bounds if he found out that they had hurt you deeply.

Borders made by: Cafekitsune

© Picca Shimon 2025

This is my only account, I only post here and AO3. I do not permit reposts or translations of my work.

[ilys00ga]

𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀.

➞ pair: yoongi x reader.

➞ genre: hurt/comfort (why do I keep making these lmao), established relationships, I'm so bad at tagging sorry.

➞ warnings: angst and fluff cuz we all need that (we really do). reader has anxiety and abandonment issues, yoongi is trying his best for the sake of both of them, just relationship things.

➞ A/N: requested by @parkjennykim, this was very fun to write! thanks for yet another idea <3 I hope u like it. I'm organizing this blog/post (?) while listening to mono, and let me tell yall, it's such a vibe omg. I think you should read this while listening to that album, I love it sm, I can't even begin to explain UGH- if namjoon ever goes on a world tour, he better perform every single song in that album, cuz imma be losing my mind in the crowd, esp during moonchild. my vocal cords are already getting sore. yeah. if u want this to hit that spot, maybe u should do what I said (this is a friendly order, if u will). if not, just enjoy and pls ignore any mistakes, english has been challenging me recently (for the last 10 years lmao)

ps. I am in a dire need of a yoongi in my life. specifically the one I wrote in this one. oh how I love being a lonely fanfic writer <33

★ MASTERLIST.

ᵎᵎ 𖦹彡⋆｡˚・ ─ ・ ⋯ ・ ─ ⊹ ♡₊˚๑

God knows how long it had been after it hit midnight when Yoongi stood in the kitchen. His eyes were red and heavy with drowsiness, but he couldn't sleep that night.

How does one sleep through a restless, biting night?

Surely not with a bad headache, or overflowing thoughts, and especially not with guilt chewing on his core.

He gulped, throat begging to be quenched as it held onto a slight, delicious, yet bothersome burning sensation. He opened the fridge and filled a glass with some water, raising it to his lips when loud a cry of his name, followed with a thud and a number of sobs, disturbed the quiet of the night and made him jump, startled.

His limbs froze in their place, glass almost slipping his hand and crashing on the floor when his sleep deprived brain realized that the muffled cries were yours.

Wide awake, he dashed after the sound. Thirst and sleep no longer occupied his mind, all he could think of was holding you in his arms.

He found you on the stairs, trembling as you wailed into your hands.

He hated it so much: seeing you in pain. He wanted nothing more than to shield you from the rainfall of your gloomy sky, from his own rainfall, from the world. How could one be an umbrella and the rain at once?

He blinked, once, twice, then gulped and heaved a deep, tired breath.

One storm doesn’t require another storm to be calmed down, that he knew. One needs to be composed and collected to stand still during a storm, that he knew as well.

With worried eyes, he gently called out your name and walked up to you, “darling, what’s wrong?”

You looked up as soon as you heard his worried voice, some tiny sense of relief washed over you when you saw him right there. A hundred daggers digged so deep into his heart and bones, aching, the moment a broken whimper of his name fell from your lips.

Without a second thought, Yoongi hugged your face to his chest. One of his hands was patting your back and the other affectionately caressed your head.

As he listened to his name that never left your lips, Yoongi held you there on the cold of the stairs with nothing but sweet nothings whispered back to your ears.

Everything he did and said was so gentle and soft, like he was so afraid you'd crack and come to tiny bits and pieces at any given moment. It all made you want to cry even harder, to hold him so tight and never let go.

Soon, when your tears started winding down, pulled away and cradled your face with his hands, palms faintly pressing on your cheeks as if he hoped to share their warmth with you.

Tender eyes met your wet ones and stared as their owner’s voice made its way through the noise of your sniffles and hiccups. He said, “It’s alright. I'm here. Talk to me, hmm?”

You answered his plea with a small nod, before wiping your tear stained skin and hugging him again. He smelt like home. You took a deep breath, greedily feeding your lungs with his lovely scent.

He hugged you back, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling your body closer to his. He pressed light kisses on your temple, patiently waiting for you to talk.

“I had a really scary nightmare. so, so scary- I woke up, didn’t find you there- then…then I remembered the fight we had earlier. I…I thought I lost you- I'm sorry. sorry for the stupid things I said earlier. I love you so much! please don’t leave. please..”

Your voice quivered with fresh tears ready to be spilled again. Yoongi started hushing you as soon as he noticed that you were working yourself up.

Squeezing you in his arms, he whispered “I never left, and I never will.”

“I’m all right, nothing happened to me, see?” he leaned away just enough to allow you to take a quick look at his body, then added, “a stupid fight is not going to make me leave. I love you way too much for that, and I'm sorry for hurting you too.”

He could still read fear and uncertainty all over your face, and he didn't like that. He knew that you trusted him, and he didn't doubt your love for him.

At first, he didn't get it. He didn't understand the insecurities, the anxiety and the nightmares you suffered from especially after the inevitably worst of arguments that happened between you and him. But after longer and deeper talks, with you expressing your feelings and him listening with careful ears, it made much more sense to him.

Sometimes he hated himself for triggering your alarms and making it harder for you, but he knew it was neither his fault nor was it yours.

Growth and pain are two key elements that come arm in arm with love, and fights are an unpreventable part of any kind of relationship. For all that, he always ended up blaming himself for making you question your worth to him when he can't even sleep without you happily cuddling his side.

Softly, lovingly, he started prepping tender kisses over your cheeks, nose, forehead, chin, temples, all over your flushed face.

It worked like watching waving fields of green wheat dancing with the wind, your storm started to slowly die down and your heart felt at ease again. slowly, but definitely.

Smiling ever so affectionately, Yoongi sealed his reassurance with a loving kiss that consumed you whole, and it left the corners of your mouth curving up in a dazzling smile. You nuzzled his chest and sighed.

“I really hate fighting with you.” you mumbled into his clothed chest, drained and light headed from all the crying and nearly-a-panic-attack you went through.

“I know, I'm sorry. I hate it too." he whispered back.

There was a pause of comfortable silence, with both of you breathing each other in, before he wondered aloud: “did you fall down the stairs? are you okay?”

You chuckled breathily at his question, recalling the hysteria he had to deal with just a few minutes ago. But Yoongi was there, right beside you. your arms were tightly wrapped around his torso, right by your side.

He had some kind of exceptionally irrepressible magic in those fierce eyes and that gummy smile of his, you inarguably couldn’t be more grateful for that.

“I'm alright. Was too busy crying, I didn’t even feel a thing to be honest.” you said, and he giggled.

“I love when you’re clumsy like that, but please be more careful, muffin. Can’t have you hurting yourself because of me even more." Even with your face buried into the crook of his neck, you could feel and hear the heavy pout in that comment.

Huffing, you leaned away with furrowed brows and a strict gaze. Yoongi gulped. Hesitation took over him, yet he knew that honesty is the only thing that must be present to drive this conversation to an end.

Honestly brings clarity, he found himself reminding himself of that very often.

"as long as we take care of each other, it's okay. I love you." you affirmed, and perhaps Yoongi almost teared up because of the way you looked at him right then and there. He wouldn't utter a word to spoil that information out loud, though.

The shy grin and the flushed cheeks you were met with were worth risking the entire world and its eight billion residents. You couldn't help but smile and pull him into another hug.

"This is great and all, but my butt is numbed. I think there's no blood flowing down there anymore," he said, his heart swooning when you giggled at his humorous change of topic, so relieved that he was finally able to hear your brightness again.

"Let's go back to rest, darling." He stood up, grabbed your hand and squeezed it in his, then gently pulled your body up and dragged you to your shared bedroom, where everything and everyone else meant little to nothing at all as you laid in each other's arms.

[friendsoup]

WHEN I TELL YOU I WAS ON THE FLOOR READING THE SOBER THOUGHTS FIC⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇⁇ IT WAS SO GOOD ESP FOR MEDICINE POCKET.... WOULD IT BE ALRIGHT TO ASK FOR A PART 2 TO IT? like how reader finally sobers up but doesn't exactly remember what had happened after they got hit with diggers atk until pocket and dikke explain it to them ⎯ bla bla BLAH reader is flustered and embarrassed, frantically trying to hide away and make excuses for their actions even though they were completely pure truths of their affections towards them, and even going as far as to say "Pretend it never happened/you didn't hear it!" how wld pocket and dikke react ... or more like, return reader's feelings while also being embarrassed abt the situation

Sober Thoughts Pt 2

Recipe: Romantic fluff, Proper confessions, Hungover! Reader, Reader x Medicine Pocket, Reader x Dikke, GN! Reader, Devoted Dikke, Playfully teasing Medicine

WC: 1,979 (one day I'll get 1999)

Chef's Note: OUGH sorry this took so long!!! I'm working on like. 3 fics at once. I just happened to finish this one first lmao. I hope it's what you were looking for! I certainly had fun writing it!

The first thing that comes to you is the pounding in your head.

It feels like someone’s beating you with a hammer, a dull thud banging over and over again into your temples. Your brain feels like it’s being squeezed, making it hard to think, or comprehend anything but the pain. Has it always hurt so much to live? 

Against all better reasoning, you attempt to open your eyes. Slowly, they peel open, instantly flooded by the lights and colors of your room. It feels like a stab to the eyeballs, your head throbbing in response. You groan, squeezing your eyes shut. Since when does seeing hurt to do? “You’re awake.” You hear a familiar voice say. Cautiously, you turn your head again, peeking out of one eye. And there they are. Medicine Pocket, sitting right next to your bed. Their hair is undone, falling over their shoulders in a messy cascade. Their eyes look tired, but they’re still managing to pull a smile. “You’ve given everyone quiiiiite the heart attack.” They chuckle, poking your forehead. “Come on, sit up. I have some water for you.” That is music to your ears. 

You scooch upwards, your sore muscles screaming at you to stop. It feels like you’ve just ran a marathon, your body inexplicably pained by… something. Something you can’t quite remember. Medicine shoves a cool glass of water in your hands, and instantly you feel better. Just the cold touch of the glass is enough to relax you, and when you put the glass to your lips? The relief is like no other. You gulp it down greedily, finishing the cup in a matter of seconds. You hand it back to Medi, feeling slightly better.

“Bunny Bunny has something she calls a ‘hangover cure’ that she’s cooking up for you.” Medi states, snorting. “Apparently it’s popular. Both Pavia and Centurion swear by it.” You can barely comprehend what they’re saying, your mind swimming in pain. But the sound of their voice is comforting. You’re glad they’re here, next to you, during this time of need. However, there’s something on your mind. “What… what happened last night?” Your confusion makes Medi burst out into laughter. You writhe in pain as the sound hits your ears, the shrill laughter doing nothing for your headache. You shrink down into your bed, hitting your head against the pillow as you prepare for something terrible to come out their mouth. “You got hit by one of Diggers’ bubbles.” Medi explains between laughter. “You were out of it.” You groan, bits and pieces returning to you. “When we got you to the suitcase, you nearly fell face first down the stairs. I had to catch you.” “Nooooo…” “You started petting Pickles, then broke into tears over how fluffy he was.” “Noooooooooo, don’t remind mee…” You hide your face under the covers. “You sang karaoke with Regulus. I have it on camera.” “Nooo you don’t! Pocket, come oooon…” “You also told me you loved me.” You freeze, suddenly tensing. Surely you didn’t… did you? “Oh.” Is all that can escape you. “That’s…” You bite your lip, not knowing what else to say. “You said I’m smart, and skilled in battle, and stupidly beautiful.” They trail on.

Your face feels as if it’s on fire. You want them to stop, yet you can’t make the words. 

“You said you think about me at night, and that every time I look at you I set you on fire.” “Please, please stop!” You beg, tears beginning to well in your eyes. You can’t stand the teasing any longer, it’s too much. “Just forget about it, alright?! I wasn’t in my right mind. I was out of it! Just act like it never happened, okay?!”

Medi flinches back at your sudden resistance. You’ve never snapped back at their teasing before. This was new. Had they accidentally hit a nerve? 

“Hey, I’m-” “No, just stop! I know you want to continue to make fun of me, but I can’t take it! Everything hurts, and I ruined our friendship, and I just want to be left alone so I can rot forever!” You sob, tears rushing from your eyes now. Your head pounds further, but nothing hurts as bad as the tear in your heart. “[Name]!” Medi exclaims. “I’m sorry!” “You’re…” You wipe your face with your blanket. “What?” “I’m sorry. For teasing you.” Medi rubs at their neck, staring at the ground. “I didn’t know you’d be a big baby about it. I’m sorry.” You blink. For as long as you’ve known Medicine Pocket, they’ve never apologized. You didn’t think it was possible for them to. That they’d explode if they ever tried. Though it wasn’t the most ideal apology, it was more than what you were used to from them. “But.” Medi continued, slowly. “I can’t just forget about it. I’ve been thinking a lot about what you’ve said.” A blush falls upon their cheeks. “[Name], you make me happy. Like, really happy. There’s something about your idiotic face that makes it hard for me to think straight. I’ve never… I’ve never really felt that before. For anyone. It’s weird and confusing, and sometimes I think I hate it. But I want to be with you. Even if it’s just for a bit.” “Medicine…” You look up at them, eyes as round as saucers. “Yeah?” They ask, catching their breath. “You picked the worst time to confess!” You break into a smile, wincing at the sudden movement. “Really? While I’m hungover of all things?” You reach out a hand, playfully pushing them away. “At least I’m not doing it mid-battle! Like some of us.” They playfully whap you back, a smirk returning to their face.

The two of you laugh, before falling into a pleasant silence. “I’d like to give us a shot, [Name].” Medi says, bashfully looking towards you. “I’d like that too.”

Drunk Words pt 2

You have a nightmare that night. In your dream, a large eagle with red eyes stares daggers into you, while you attempt to escape from it’s twisted forest.

No matter where you turn, it’s always ahead of you, it's bird face full of hatred. You duck under branches, twist between trees, and hide under brush, but you can still feel it’s glare wherever you go. Always lurking.

Always ahead. You wake with a start.

The first thing you notice is that you’re covered in sweat. Your clothes stick to your body, making it nearly impossible to move and breathe. It’s a gross sensation, nearly unbearable, made worse by the fact that it’s paired with a killer headache.

Your head pounds, your stomach churns, and everything feels hot and close. You feel as though there’s been a great pressure placed on you, and it’s slowly crushing you into the bed. You force yourself to sit up, wiping your wet forehead with an equally wet arm. Your vision is hazy, blurred and swirling as the room rocks around you. It takes you a moment to realize that you’re in your room. And that there’s someone at the door. The eyes from your nightmare fall upon you, as blank and as cruel as you remember them to be. You flinch back, then flinch again at the pain, as your head spins in confusion. Wait. You know that red glare! “Dikke?” You ask. You didn’t realize it until now, but your mouth is horribly dry. It feels like someone shoved cotton into your jaw and left you to choke. “Yes, M’lord?” Dikke asks, standing up a bit straighter. “What are you doing in my room?” Dikke’s face goes red, her eyes falling to the floor. “Making sure you’re protected, M’lord. I couldn’t be too careful.” Now, you might be out of it, but you’re pretty sure there’s no threats nearby. What the hell was Dikke talking about? “From…what?”

Dikke’s face grows more embarrassed, as she lowers her head now, trying to shield her expression. “You see, you were… compromised last night. You were in a vulnerable state. I had to make sure you got the rest you needed to recover, and that no one took advantage of your stupor.” Well that was at least sweet. You think. Not that you suspect anyone in the suitcase would really do that. The worst would be Tennant, who’d probably try to swindle any remaining money out of you. But other than that? You trusted the people you worked with.

Slowly, memories return. “Oh,” You groan, the cause of all this hitting you like a freight train. “I got hit by one of Diggers’ bubbles, didn’t I?” You sigh, dragging your fingers through your hair. “I didn’t do anything too embarrassing, did I?”

Dikke shakes her head. “You wanted to go out and, uh, socialize, but I put an end to that. Once we got back, I made you dress and go straight to bed. To prevent any further harm from being done.” You sigh in relief. “That’s good. Thank you, Dikke.” “Except- there was one thing.” 

Oh no.

“You…” She stumbles over the first word, you can see she’s struggling to get it all out. “You told me that… Well, the thing is, you said something. And I… I’m simply wondering… Ah, no, that’s not it.” You lean forward, intrigued by the hesitation. “You told me that you loved me.” She finishes, giving a pitiful look to you. “Gah! What? I did?” You exclaim. You don’t remember that at all! “How- What- Huh?” “It was not a full confession.” Dikke admits. “You told me that I was beautiful, and then exclaimed ‘I love you’. But you were quite out of it…” Her expression twists between sad and expectant. It’s clear that she wants you to say something, but you aren’t sure what. “I probably didn’t mean it in a romantic way!” Probably? God, could you be any less convincing?! “I probably just meant it as a friend thing! You know? How friends call each other beautiful and stuff?” You’re sweating bullets all over again, making the bed even more uncomfortable. “Ah.” Dikke looks quite defeated, her gaze returning to the ground. “So you mean to tell me, you do not have romantic feelings for me?” What are you even supposed to say?! The brave knight of justice has never looked so pitiful or small. She looks like a gentle wind could blow her down! You bite the inside of your cheek, closing your eyes as you try to find the correct words to say. “If I did have romantic feelings for you, hypothetically, what would you say?” You ask, opening one eye to study Dikke. “That my heart burns for you as well. And that I want to pledge my unyielding loyalty to you, and to our love.” She states, bowing. “Well, what if, again hypothetically, I said I wanted to take it slow at first? Ease into the whole, unyielding loyalty thing.” “Oh.” You see the gears turning in her head as she stands up straight. “Yes, I’m sure I can do that too.” She coughs into a closed fist, glancing away.

“Then, well…” You sigh. “I do like you. And I do want to take things slow.” You admit, crossing your arms. The light which appears in Dikke’s eyes are like no other. She’s like a kid seeing a christmas tree for the first time, all wonder filled and bright. She runs to your side, kneeling at your bed. Looking up to you with so much admiration, you could swear it was almost worship. “You’re being truthful, M’lord? Yes?” “Yeah, I am.” You sink under her gaze, not used to it being so soft. It’s cute. Too cute. “Then I will be your knight, yours and yours alone, to defend you and follow you to the ends of the earth.” She swears.

You wonder, briefly, what you’ve gotten yourself into.

[lukolabrainrot]

So, I just wanted to give some additional thoughts on March-April timeline & Australia. We know L went to LA in March w/ A (possibly a group trip?) and N was off promoting "Big Mood" w/ that cast in tow, including E. Now whether we think N was dating E or not he'd been on her socials singing her praises and was her co-star, as L had been... but he also plays a role on the wildly popular Witcher (w/ hottie Henry Cavill) and is a bad ass fighter on the show, not as soft boy. I'd think it's fair to say that L would naturally have some jealousy surrounding that, esp. if N did nothing to quell his fears, incl. E being at her b-day party earlier in the year, and E going to the "Renegade Nell" premiere with her end of March.

Also, if we take what we think happened after BTON S3 filming as truth - that L had been all in and N put on the brakes - L prob thought he was giving N what she wanted. You wanted me to date other people, so I am! (I'm quite sure N didn't expect him going off the rails with his HBS nor date young dancers but, to me, it makes perfect sense - because he's was dating for fun not true love, cause N is who he feels destined for & wants... in that way, I think he & N are very different. I think N prob thinks you can love many people & L feels there is "the one")

But I digress... in March, L & N are mostly apart but prob still communicating bts & he likes several of her IG posts. By April, they're back on the BTON press tour and w/ the excitement of spending time together in Jan & Feb, they're already havings feelings for each other again. The Netflix interview where they're watching their scenes & commenting stands out to me - when N tears up & L asks if she's ok 🥹 (He also couldn't stop glancing at her breasts lol). L keeps the flirtation going, pinching her butt in the IMBD interview (as you prev. noted), and at the London Call the polaroid is taken. L & N are "back on" but, also as you noted, L had already taken the InStyle polaroids back in March, perhaps half trying to appease A, half guarding against N's rejection once again.

Then Lukola lands in Australia end of April - they comment on how relaxed it is and secluded being half way around the world. In interviews they talk about how never getting annoyed w/ each other, N makes several comments w/sexual innuendo and says L smells good. They are asked to walk together in a video and L jokes "no, it's too much time", indicating the opposite. They do several photoshoots & L starts playing bodyguard- the crowds are enormous & he's always looking for N. In turn, N starts getting kind eyes w/ L. They mention going to dinner and are seen drinking champagne at the screening... I'm of the opinion, maybe something happened down under, while they were Down Under!

It's the start of the tour & they're already getting questioned about being a couple so they state in an interview they aren't dating & are friends. (Note: they don't say just friends but friends so there is no lie). Then, the Instyle piece comes out on April 29 - after this lovely time in Australia (and perhaps intimacy?), it's like a gut punch to N. On May 2, she posts "Kaleidoscope" by Chappell Roan, which talks about crossing the line but not making that person stay & going back to friends if that person changes their mind. People always say this is a sad song. And I do believe the Instyle stunt was hurtful to N but I also believe N is fighting for L here. The song also says "And if you ever find someone who could write a better song for you well I'd love to see them try...

Imo, N needed to fight for L after being the one who wanted to separate (if true, ofc). I can see L doing the Instyle stunt out of self-protection, not knowing where he stood with N... and this is why one could see the tension in Italy, which came right after all of this. But we also see it resolve, with them presumably getting on the same page. I can see it being like when Pen said to Colin that if he wanted an annulment she understood and Colin replied, in essence, that he loves her and she's not going anywhere... I can also see L not wanting N to go anywhere.

Now, what happened from Italy-on, there are many theories, but because of how remote Australia was and the conflict resolution thereafter, I'm becoming an Australia truther!

#justanopinion #downunder #Lukolalove

Don't agree with everything, but some interesting theories/things I haven't thought about before.

What do other people think?

[chutefullofholes]

If you have any,,, id love to hear more hcs about the intervention

*cracks knuckles* some background first (that is over-riding my wedding headcanons a lil re: the first time they see bucky post attempt- ah c'est la vie). also these were, shocking no one atp a collab effort with @swifty-fox

it comes up to begin with bc the bucks decide to go hang out and muck about in nyc where the others live. yayyy!!! boy time!!!

except not *yay* in that bucky's drinking has been getting. bad.

he tries hard to mask it, takes up chewing gum every second of the day to mask the smell on his breath but he's not perfect. drinks in the shower before they go out for the day with the guys, and he's off but the guys mostly chalk it up to bucky's typical buckyisms. gale maybe knows he probably isn't sober, but he's stressed and hurting and for the sake of having fun with their friends just tries to pretend he doesn't know. esp when he's not being sloppy, just a little off.

then croz walks in on bucky doing shooters (these, if you're unfaimialr) in a bathroom he had them all stop at. tries to be gentle about it- tell him he doesn't need those, if he's thirsty they can stop and get some water. but bucky snaps at him that to not talk to him like one of his kids and things escalate. they get into it and poor brady who volunteered to go see why they were taking so long in the bathroom is the one who has to break them up just like he did in bagram. war flashbacks. literally.

croz doesnt want to make much more of a scene about it so he doesnt walk out blasting what happened, but he does text gale about it. (as written in el dorado he does tell everyone right there bc he’s pissed) and at this point it's obvious to everyone that bucky isn't sober and i just </3. when bucky leans into gale and says he doesn't feel good gale kinda jumps at the opportunity to go back to their hotel. wants to take care of his bucky, but is also hurting and honestly a little embarassed.

then a lot of things happen that i think i'm gonna save to write in a fic but. including not limited to gale realizing bucky is hiding alochol in diff bottles when bucky asks him to grab a water from the mini fridge and is like uhhh no no not that one, not that one. and gale breaking his own heart having to help him drink when theyre back home because he almost went into full blown withdrawal trying to just up and quit cold turkey to save face.

to your actual question about the intervention, it's mostly curt's idea- that he shares on the phone when the bucks are back in wyoming. and gale is pretty much certain it's a horrible idea but he doesn't know what else to even try so he agrees. all the guys that were on the nyc trip fly out, and gale gets bucky out of the house for the morning (curt knows where their spare key is) so that the other guys can at least. get in the house without bucky physically stopping them.

but bucky knows something is up when they pull back in the driveway. sees all the cars and *knows* what this is and just looks at gale like he's committed the ultimate betrayal </3

it's a pretty rough start. curt starts talking all "should we go dig that bullet out of the wall or d'you wanna stop pretending your healing journey is over" and when bucky understandably kinda freaks at that he makes him tell the other guys what he's talking about. poor thing doesn't want to. tells curt's that not fucking fair he's such a narc, a bad friend but curt is like no. this is eating you up inside. you need to say it out loud. they're your friends. they love you. *i* love you.

ends up telling them, and that crack in the armor is enough that he's at least not snapping at all of them/letting them talk.

but it gets rough again when it's ultimatum time. croz’s is not letting him around his kids- not because he thinks bucky would *ever* hurt them, but bucky is just. a liability in a lot of ways with this and the whole point of ultimatums is that they are. tough to hear. they have to be. or they don't work.

demarco's is that if bucky genuinely refuses to get help then gale is getting on a plane with him (whether gale thinks he'd actually be able to go through with that or not he agreed to let demarco say it). and that's when bucky snaps again. talking so hard he's spitting about oh i don't even get to go back to wisconsin? just gonna leave me in wyoming to die, huh?

and gale bursts into tears </3 which is what really makes bucky break because gale *never* cries. but now he's sobbing because god bucky's trying so hard but he's still not better and he's hurting the people he loves. he's hurting them a lot.

bucky on his knees crawls to kneel in front of him and take his face in his hands "i'm sorry im sorry please don't cry, leave if you want just don't cry baby

and gale's crying telling he just wants him to listen to him and to their friends whydoy only care now cause ‘m crying- look at /them/, it’s not fair.

bucky wants to barf when he listens, turns around and looks at their friends and seems them looking back at them like *that*. but some part of him, the part that is desperate to get better feels really damn lucky to be so loved by them that they even showed up. that they want him to get better.

[lesbiansanemi]

Heyyyyyyyy for the fic rqs would you be willing to do MadoHomu? I have no details or specifics but I have never really seen them written or represented correctly and I trust you to do it!

Some MadoHomu, coming right up! This is a post-rebellion relstionship study little ficlet. I didn't want to overcomplicate things, esp because this is my first time writing for them, but I had a lot of fun trying to dig into their characters (Homura esp), and I hope you enjoy it!

Link to the ao3 post here!

The thing about godhood that nobody thinks to consider is the loneliness. 

Not Homura though. She had known that loneliness and godhood were intricately intertwined since long, long ago. 

That didn’t mean she was prepared for it, however. Knowing something existed, and then experiencing it for oneself were entirely different things. 

That was something that Homura knew intimately. 

Being a god, a concept, a devil, whatever it was she truly was at this point, there was not a soul who knew the truth of her. Not even Homura herself knew the truth of who and what she was at this point. 

No, no that wasn’t true… 

She was love for Madoka. That was all that truly mattered. She needed no proper name, nor a term for what she was. She existed because of love for Madoka. That was what made her up. Once Madoka gave up humanity, became something more than it, she became the Law of Cycles. 

Homura became nothing of the sort. Her existence didn’t bring comfort to a single soul. She became nothing but love. 

And it was horrendous. 

It felt too large inside her. Even with a body that was far from human, able to hold and contain more than anyone could ever know, the love was too big to fit within her. The pressure was maddening, it pushed against her skin, as if it wanted to burst out of her. As if it would burst out of her. It scratched along her bones, squeezed them with its coils. 

And Homura had nowhere to put it. She had no one to shower with it. 

She did not have Madoka. 

At least, not in the sense that mattered. She possessed Madoka, she controlled every aspect of Madoka’s life, in an effort to give her the happiest one possible, the one she deserved. 

But she was not a genuine part of Madoka’s life. 

Oh, she was woven into every little piece of Madoka’s life. But Madoka did not truly know her. 

And it… hurt. 

It was far more painful than Homura ever would have imagined. She thought she would not mind, that it would be okay. So long as Madoka was happy, Homura’s own happiness did not matter. And well, that was true, but despite that… 

“Would you like to come to get pastries with me and Sayaka?” Madoka asked with a hopeful smile as she leaned forward and tilted her head. “Apparently they have some new strawberry ones for summer, and I thought they would be so yummy to try!” 

Homura did her best not to frown. She never liked turning Madoka down. She cherished every moment, every second with the other girl. But when Sayaka Miki was involved… 

It was better to stay far, far away. 

“I’m sorry,” she apologized with an all too genuine grimace. “As much as I’d like to, I’m afraid I’m busy this afternoon.” 

“Aw…” Madoka’s pout was almost enough to convince Homura to risk it. “That’s too bad. Would you like me to pick you anything up? I can bring it to school for you tomorrow?” 

No matter the timeline, no matter the reality, no matter every heinous thing that had ever happened to her, Madoka never lost a scrap of kindness. 

She was a better person than Homura for that. But then, that had never really been up for debate. Clearly and obviously Madoka was a better person than Homura. 

“If you would like,” Homura said. “But don’t feel as if you have to.” 

“Of course I will!” Madoka said with a bright smile. “Apparently they’re really good, so you just have to try one.” 

Homura returned the smile. “I appreciate it, Madoka…” 

It didn’t matter that Homura found herself lonely, because no one knew the extent of what she was and what she had done. Because Madoka was able to enjoy strawberry pastries once more. As the Law of Cycles, she hadn’t been able to indulge in little things like that. 

The little things that mattered. That made her happy.

Madoka got strawberry pastries here. 

Loneliness was a small price to pay for that. 

“Come on.” Madoka reached to curl her pinkie finger around Homura’s. Even her fingers were so unbelievably warm in comparison to Homura’s own. “We’re going to be late for our last class.” 

Homura’s smile brightened at the physical touch, as well as the fact that Madoka’s biggest worry was something like being late for class. This was what it should be for her. There should be no concerns of witches and magical girls and time loops and gods and realities and the cosmos. 

Just class. 

A math class to be specific. 

To be quite honest, Homura could do without spending her higher existence in middle school math classes, but for Madoka’s sake, she was happy to do it. Algebra could be a profound experience when it was with Madoka. 

But still… none of this, not strawberry pastries, not a pinkie curled around hers, not math classes seated beside the person she loved more than anything in this universe and beyond, could make up for the fact that Madoka did not know her. 

It was nothing Homura ever thought she would truly care about, in the grand scheme of things. She had spent how many time lines with Madoka never truly knowing her? It had never mattered in the past. 

But perhaps that was because those weren’t permanent. 

Because no matter how hard she tried, how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, Homura knew every single time line would not be the last. It was easier to claim she did not care if she personally lost Madoka, if they were not friends nor anything else so long as she lived. When there would be another chance, the potential perfect timeline where everything worked and Homura saved her and their friendship stayed and maybe… maybe more developed between them… 

But here… 

Homura intended this to be forever. 

Forever with Madoka meant Madoka never knowing her. 

Never know the truth of who she was, what she was, everything she had done for her. 

Homura did not need recognition, she did not want Madoka to be indebted to her, but… it would have been nice… 

If Madoka at least knew how close they truly were. If Homura was not just another friendly girl she went to school with. 

She expected them to grow apart eventually. Especially given how Homura refused to interact with Sayaka Miki. The jagged pieces of memory came and went with her, so it was better to err on the side of caution and stay away. It happened less often if Homura herself did not interact with her. 

Though Sayaka did seek her out from time to time with betrayal deep in her heart and anger on the tip of her tongue, thought she often forgot why by the time she found Homura. 

The point was, Madoka was closer to Sayaka than Homura in this version of the world. As things should be. So with Homura utterly unwilling to give Sayaka a chance, she would soon be left behind by Madoka. 

So really, she should not be dwelling on being unknown to Madoka. 

She should be grateful for and relish the time that she had with Madoka. 

She should relish strawberry pastries and pinkies and math classes. 

Madoka tugged her along, and Homura was happy to follow. 

-------------

Madoka was right. 

The strawberry pastry was delicious. It was not anything too sweet, just the right amount of sugar to land it in dessert territory, but not so sweet it was sickening. Homura did not have much of a sweet tooth to begin with, so this was rather nice. Her fork sank into it with practically no effort, it was soft and moist, and the flavor of strawberry rang true. 

“This is amazing, Madoka,” she said as her fork clinked against the plate. “We’ll have to go there together sometime.” 

Madoka ducked her head, a slight blush on her cheeks, but her beautiful smile was blinding. “I’d like that… I’m glad it tastes good. I was a little worried it might have gone stale overnight, so I’m glad it didn’t.” 

“No, it certainly didn’t.” Homura scraped her fork against the plate to scoop up the last of the strawberry filling and the icing. She bet Kyoko would like this… Perhaps she should mention it to her at some point. It might be worth it to try and befriend some of the other girls aside from Madoka. She’d always liked Kyoko well enough, at least in most timelines. Sayaka was obviously out of the question, and Mami had always been just a touch too kind and responsible for Homura to stomach being around. Her morals were far too rigid. 

“Hey, Akemi-san…?” Madoka stared down at her lap as she shifted uncomfortably. The chatter of the cafeteria almost seemed to quiet, the clink of silverware and dishes following suit. 

“What is it?” Homura asked with a tilt of her head. It wasn’t difficult to get Madoka flustered like this, but this felt far more… serious than it normally did. She couldn’t be remembering, there hadn’t been even a glimpse of that since Homura had first created this universe and the laws within it, since she had first broken a piece of Madoka away from the Law of Cycles. 

“How come you never talk to anyone except for me?” she asked. 

Homura blinked, and well, it wasn’t that she expected Madoka to never notice. Madoka was a clever girl, of course she was, especially emotionally. But what she hadn’t expected was for Madoka to feel bold enough to bring it up so soon. 

“I just get busy,” she said. “You’re the one who I feel most inclined to make time for.” 

“But why?” 

“Why not?” 

Madoka hummed, and began to fidget with her own fingers. 

Homura couldn’t help but smile at the nervous tick, that still managed to remain, despite everything, despite all the different versions of Madoka there had been. 

“I just… You look sad a lot, Akemi-san—” 

“Homura,” Homura corrected, unable to stomach being addressed so formerly another time. 

“Oh! Um! Right, Homura-san…” 

Homura decided to give up on convincing her not to use the honorific. For now, she would have to be content with her given name alone. At least she had managed to convince Madoka to use it. She was such a proper girl after all. 

“You look sad,” she continued. “But with me, you seem less sad. Which I’m glad for! For whatever reason, I’m glad you can be happier. But I still worry, especially because even with me, you do still seem… perhaps not sad, exactly. But… melancholy? Oh, that basically means sad too, doesn’t it? I’m sorry, this—” 

Homura reached across the table to take one of her hands and give it a gentle squeeze. “I’m not sad, Madoka.” 

Perhaps lonely, perhaps heartbroken, but she could not be sad. 

How could she ever be sad when Madoka sat across from her, living the life she deserved? 

Madoka did not look as if she believed her. 

Homura must convince her. 

She could not allow Madoka to be upset on her behalf. She couldn’t sully Madoka’s life and happiness like that. 

Because Madoka was so kind, so selfless, she could not be happy herself if she knew others were upset or suffering. 

She was too… good. 

(It was why Homura feared the day Madoka might find out what she had done, it was why she could not interact with Sayaka Miki, it was why she had to be sure that this was forever). 

“I promise,” Homura assured her as she gave her hand another reassuring squeeze. “I apologize if I may seem that way sometimes. I suppose I do get lonely from time to time, but that’s quite alright, and is nothing that anyone can do anything about—” 

“Why not?” Madoka challenged. “Why can’t they do anything to make you feel less lonely? Couldn’t I spend more time with you? Wouldn’t that help?”

Homura let out a shuddering breath, and forced herself to let go of Madoka’s hand. “I don’t want nor expect you to do anything for me. The company you offer is already more than enough.” 

It wasn’t. It was never enough. Homura would never be satisfied until she was right by Madoka’s side every second or every day, until Madoka knew the truth of her and all she had done, until she understood that this universe and these laws had been made for her and her alone, born of a creature who was nothing but pure love for her. 

But Homura loved her too much to do that to her. 

She understood that Madoka would not want that, let alone appreciate it. 

So, she would remain lonely. 

And as she had said, that was quite alright. 

“But why…?” Madoka asked with wide eyes. “Why do you have to resign yourself to that?” 

Homura shook her head. “I haven’t resigned myself to anything. I’ve always done exactly what I wanted.” 

I’ve always done everything I could for you, which is all that mattered. 

She smiled, doing her best to make it appear as genuine as possible. “I promise, Madoka. Everything is exactly as I want it.” 

“You’re so strange, Homura-san,” Madoka murmured. “I wish I could understand you better, but if you’re sure…” 

“I am sure,” Homura lied. As if she would not give anything for that understanding. But she couldn’t, because she had already given everything she possibly could to create this world for Madoka. 

“Okay,” Madoka said. “But if you change your mind…” 

“You’ll be the first to know,” Homura said, a teasing lilt to her voice, hoping that would cover up the tremble within it. 

Of course Madoka would be the first to know when— if this whole charade crumbled. 

Of course she would. 

And there would be no more strawberry pastries shared between them. 

Homura braced herself for that day, despite swearing it would never come. 

Because it wasn’t the best future for Madoka. 

Madoka smiled at her. 

Homura had never felt more alone.

[teenage-mutant-ninja-freak]

Hi, I hope you're doing well. Could you write how and when the mob!boys killed for the first time? I'm sorry if it seemed confusing, English is not my native language, I love your writing so much!

just a quick warning for this one, they were *all* children when they killed for the first time. Their backstory is being held prisoner and forced to perform in an illegal underground freak show until they were freed by activist, and later friend, April. This one will also, by the very nature of the question, be super dark (esp Mikey's) so if kids killing or murder or descriptions of violence makes you feel bad things, please skip this one x

Mob! Leo

He was about 13 when he killed for the first time

it was during the scuffle to free them and forcibly disband the freak show they were being held in

the activists had come with weapons and liberation equipment but the people running the show weren't gonna let their main act go without a fight

It was the save his father, Splinter, that he killed

he didn't mean to, he was only 13

Splinter had to fight his way out once the alarms sounded and people realised they were getting free

3 of the security guys were trying to take on Splinter, he'd gotten 2 of them off and knocked them unconscious but the third one was on his back, wire around his neck, choking him

he couldn't get him off

Leo, seeing his father failing, picked up a piece of broken glass and ran over

he plunged it into the guys side over and over

he didn't realise it punctured his lung in several places

filling with blood, the guy started spluttering and rolling around in agony

Splinter rushed Leo away and got him and his brothers out before the guy actually died but that was Leo's first fatality

Mob! Raph

Again, he didn't mean to

he just gets so angry!

it's like he sees red and then his brain doesn't connect to his fists and then hell breaks loose

it was one of the acrobats apprentices, their new trainee

Raph was about 8 at the time

and always had a short fuse when it came to sharing or being poked fun at

so when we was outside playing and this teen (yes the apprentice was a teen, maybe 15?) came over and started calling him every name under the sun and kicking at the rock formation he was building, Raph just lost it

the final straw was the kid leaning in a sneering "you know they're gonna make you fuck your brothers next, right? That'll be your new act!"

he picked up one of the biggest rocks there

and smashed it across the boy's temple as hard as he could

yelling "fuck you! fuck you! You're a liar!"

it caved in the kid's skull

Raph has never known his own strength

Mob! Mikey

((another warning, poor baby has a horrid backstory because I'm evil))

he was 5

bless him he was 5 years old

he wondered into a tent because he couldn't sleep and the lights were on past curfew

he just wanted to make a friend

they were filming something

it's mostly a blur to him, his brain's way of protecting him from the memory

she was so pretty

and her hands were soft and warm

she stroked his cheeks and smiled at him, no one else ever smiled at him

then there was yelling

and screaming

and a knife

and the camera was still going

and someone was pushing his hands...

the next thing he really remembers he's being held by Splinter, his tears wiped away (he doesn't really remember why he's crying) and there's blood all over him

he hasn't let go of the knife

Mob! Donnie

He kind of knew what he was doing

he knew he wanted to hurt them, hurt them bad

he knew he didn't want them to get back up

but he'd never really been close to human death before

the animals the show runners made them kill for entertainment were different

he was just coming up for 12 years old

some of the other acts at the freak show were constantly tormenting him and his brothers

the last straw for Donnie was them getting Splinter whipped within an inch of his life for standing up for this sons and them giving Leo a bloody nose when he tried to stop the whipping

they had this one security guy, a sadist, he dealt out the punishments

seemed to like getting his hands dirty

he snuck into the guy's trailer after picking the lock one night as he was sleeping

tried him down

whipped him, cut him and then shoved the handle of the whip down his throat and left him there

he didn't realise the guy would choke to death, honestly he didn't think about it

he didn't really care either

Splinter gave him shit for it after the news got round the guy was dead

said Donnie shouldn't be meddling

"you didn't give Leo shit for-"

it didn't matter to Splinter, Donnie fucked up and that was that.

[soarelesiluna-ao3]

May I also request merman!Lucio now that we have satyr!Lucio? Or you can also flip it and make reader!mermaid and Lucio a fisherman who captures her and enthralled by her beauty, falls in love with her.

-🐢

Hi hi did you miss me?

I'm taking this one request and maybe another one, one SFW and one NSFW. Both Lucio related because I just listened to his new album today and I am fascinated!! I really need to yap abt it. Ask me abt it. I also have tons of ideas to write. Esp w Situazione Complicata (other man Lucio anyone?).

But in the meantime let me yap abt Lucio being another fantastic being 💙 Please do comment which scenario you liked best - do continue leaving requests!

Content under the cut!!

(also to the Irkomi request - I swear I still have you in the back of my mind! When I'm a bit more free I'll sit down and write something longer bc I already have the idea and all!!)

— — — —

[ Act One: Maremma Boy. ]

You had never visited Italy, but this little town you found in Maps seemed quite nice. You were used to traveling alone, so getting there and exploring wasn't a big deal. In fact, you loved it. And these towns had such quiet nights that it made you happy to just exist while the streets were empty.

Your steps took you along the beach, walking towards some rocks. There, you sat down and watched the rolling waves and the glistening moonlight shining over the surface of the water. Only the sound of the sea remained at this hour of night. And it was such a pacific moment. You could get lost in it forever.

"Ah... Good evening."

That voice caught you off guard. You look around, clearly startled, but don't see anyone in your line of vision. Until you look amongst the rocks, and find a young man, leaning against the rocks. You can't quite see his hands since he's leaning his head against his crossed arms, but you do see his skin is pale and his wet hair is very long.

"You aren't from around here, are you? I've seen most of the people in town at least once but it's the first time I see you."

As you explain where you came from and how you got here, he seems to raise his eyebrows, amused. This is interesting company.

"Oh, I see. Did you like the town so far? I hope you did. It's full of great people. You'll like it here, you'll see. What is your name?"

As you say it, he seems to take it in like a breath of fresh air. He then grins at you with a playful expression.

"My name is Lucio. I live around here... But you'll only see me at this hour, and at this place. And not for too long. You see, there's a secret I'm trying to keep... And you have to promise me you won't tell anyone about it. But it is late for you. I'll tell you what - I'll make an exception, because I'm interested in knowing you better. Let us meet at sunset in this same spot tomorrow, yes?"

You nod, now fully curious about this. Lucio's smile turns softer as he slowly backs into the sea.

"Very well. I will be waiting. Do not let me down. It was very very nice to meet you. You have a beautiful name, by the way.*

As Lucio fades into the sea, you wonder if it's really this late or if you're really too tired. Because one, you don't see any houses around the shoreline, so it wouldn't be likely that he lived here. And two...

... Was it your imagination, or did you just see a human sized fin come out of the water for a moment, as Lucio swam away?

[ Act Two: Tu sei il mattino. ]

"Come on, Lu, light up a little!"

Lucio sat on the back of the ship with his friends, slightly uneasy. As much as he loved the sea, he would never get used to ships. And so, he clutched a notebook between his hands, fidgeting with the pages

You knew Lucio. He was the boy who came near the shore to sing with his guitar almost everyday. You had never seem him up close, but you've already memorized his voice. And today, it seemed like he wasn't having a great time.

You liked eavesdropping on the ships above your head. Mermaids always have the most fun, seeing the most beautiful parts of the sea, and meeting all kinds of fascinating humans. Even though you had to run away from one or two fishing boats every now and then, you still were very curious about humankind. And particularly, humans like him - artistic, talented and seemingly kind.

"I don't like this very much, are you sure you know how to get back to the shore?"

"Ah, come on, Lucio, of course we know! Doesn't this help inspire you? Being surrounded by all this landscape?"

"I mean... I don't know... I need new ideas for a song but this isn't really working... "

You hear his voice. He's frustrated. And you don't like hearing him like that. You'd rather have him sing a beautiful song as usual. After a while of thinking, you have an idea to make that happen. It might be risky, but you're willing to take this risk.

You wait until you hear the friends laughing and joking amongst themselves, after Lucio announces he will be inside the ship. And then is when you decide to make your great appearance. You knew it had a small window with a view of under the sea. So you waited until you saw his silhouette on the corner of your eye until you made your move.

You tapped the glass thrice to catch his attention. And you saw his eyes widen with clear fascination when he saw you in all your glory, scales covering parts of your face and hands, with shells in necklaces and your colorful fins. There was no way he didn't know you were a mermaid. You smiled at him and waved, waited for him to wave back, and swam away, flustered. This was the closest you'd get to a human, and it was a bit too much for now.

Lucio, while he saw you escaping, remained there, with his mouth slightly open, unable to believe that such a beautiful sight was real. He knew he needed to do something about this. He needed to make sure you weren't a dream, but most importantly, he needed to get to write first and foremost.

He had just gotten the inspiration for a new song.

And he was willing to find you so you could hear it.

[steady-diet]

:D ok! i was just curious about word choice where gaspard likened himself to an outcast which is such an interesting contradiction bc he isn't, least not in the way someone would from a more conservative city or upbringing but i wonder if that's more to do with his internalized feelings here. would love to know more if you and or nicante were willing to speak :D

It's been a hot minute since I read it so I'm trying to work from memory here, a lot of the series (there's still two or three unpublished pieces) is wrapped up in fantasy vs reality, a lot of internal struggles and conflict that hasn't been seen yet.

I will say, @nicante and I often disagree a lot on Gasxav and we put both our sides fo the argument in things we collaborate on haha! So, her answer would look different to mine, which is why you should also go ask her lol. This is why I love working with her. I don't like people who are the same as me because I hate myself and all my ideas esp on this ship, so this is great productivity that comes from someone I can be challenged by, and she's a force of nature ^_^

Loooong essay below the cut and some nsfw excerpts just a warning lol

In the original fic, Gaspard still wasn't ready for their relationship to change but there was a more concrete admission of that. Here I think there is even less so, as my idea for this story was to strip Gaspard back and let him be vulnerable in a different way, which apparently meant being naked in a bathtub filled with Xavier's dirty bathwater so...I definitely overshot.

You're right! He's not an outcast, he's hardly oppressed, but maybe he has experienced some things in his past whether it's unhealthy relationships with others and with casual sex too. There's a certain thing I'd like to tag but won't out of fear, but there's some coding with Gaspard I like to keep consistent across anything I do that explains that though that's...idk. Something I wouldn't talk about publicly, I think. He should definitely know better (lol but forty year old men talking about their feelings? oof) because Xavier certainly hasn't turned away from him, at least not completely. So far, we haven't seen his perspective prior to KOF.

There is a lifetime of longing and some really questionable moments between them that have not been spoken about, they know they need to talk about it in kof for example, because how on earth do you platonically justify moments like these:

(I answered a bit more about the above excerpts a few months ago, because the point of b-side's isn't really the smut at all but rather the thought process).

In a lot of lifelong friendships turned romantic, where two people have harboured feelings for each other that are mutually reciprocated there can be so much cognitive dissnoance (?) and a lot of push and pull, the desire to be closer in any way you can achieve (casual intimacy, yes, but also selfishly motivated, but trying not to feel shame for that selfishness), violating boundaries, oversharing which they have a habit of in interviews so it's fun to put that concept behind closed doors and watch it manifest in other ways lol.

I love jealousy because it's totally normal, if you've never experienced it I'm going to assume you are lying because who hasn't? Gaspard, really, is so selfish and jealous in many ways! Part of why I wanted to make a b-sides anthology is because I wanted to write more about jealousy and trying to lose the shame in feeling it, and I think having Gaspard masturbating like that is part of him trying to accept those feelings and maybe even enjoy that negativity. They've said they know each other better than their romantic partners know them, well, here we go. Everything I write is at least a twist of lore which I love doing!

There's one unpublished piece in b-sides which will definitely go into what you've touched on and it was inspired by the film House (1977) and a little bit of Alice In Wonderland as well, because this is perfect for Gaspard. Which is also really funny because b-sides, from the start, was supposed to be a Xavier pov collection, but Gaspard has totally derailed it. In that story, I go into all of that conflict, along with a dose of talking robots and E.T figurines and 80s video games. He has a name for Xavier in this story I'm yet to reveal, but if you've seen House, you might suspect. The only reason I haven't uploaded it is that...it's a bit of a headache to deal with. I think if that were to see light of day on ao3 I'd have to completely restructure sections, hence the Alice in Wonderland, which is too on the nose, but it's public domain so that protects me lol.

[delcakoo]

i’m sure most ppl expected this so i’m not gonna make a big deal out of it but!! yes i am going on hiatus for an unspecified amount of time.

it’s honestly quite simple, i’ve just been losing interest in most aspects of kpop aside from the music, which makes writing for it a lot harder than before. i also dealt with a lot of burn out for months and still forced myself to write which only made it worse. lastly, i’m an executive of two clubs at my school this year on top of all my classes, so finding time to write would be even worse than it was before :’) !

YEAh that’s kinda it! for now my works will stay up, moots can dm me for my disc/spotify!! even if we’ve barely spoken pspsps i wanna stalk ur music cmere 🤲 a special shout out to my emoji anons too, you’re all amazing people ilysm, especially those that have been stuck with me for so long <3 (u know who u are!!)

i’ll try and check in here every so often to chat, esp if a new comeback for enha/txt happens!! love u guys and stay safe <3 you may send an ask if u have any questions!

extra stuff i wanna say to moots below! (it’s all word vomits i’m sorry)

RAVEN. MY WIFEY. my BELOVED blr wont let me tag u but you already know i adore u sm playing roblox with u is so fun even if that one banana game was kinda ass!! 💖 thank u for being so so sweet when putting up with me all the time and raising our fav corgi daughter with sm love <3 i hope u get more confidence in ur writing because your fics are always so creative and well written, and in yourself too bc a certain mf thats name starts with J and ends with N is MISSING OUT. 🙄🙄 ok im still gna be annoying u all the time so. bye ig….. smooches

@seongclb katto u deserve an award for putting up with me in dms ilysm 😞 watching the promised neverland together brought me so much joy and i still have a ss of you calling gilda a tractor ok i love u!!!! i would read your fics all day any day u are so talented and ur photography skills are amazing, i hope we get to keep in touch WE SHOULD FIND ANOTHER SHOW TO WATCH TGTHER !!!!! i need to fix your lack of anime knowledge ‼️ PLS KEEP WRITING AS WELL ENHABLR NEEDS U!!!!

@soov reirei my gf i aspire to be as confident and funny as you, you’re literal sunshine and always make my day better even with just one interaction <3 thank u for being so welcoming my first days in walmart enha and raising sushiwon with me!! as well as entertaining me by dying in genshin every 3 seconds <3 (WE NEED TO PLAY AGAIN) oh and KEEP WRITING BB. i will rise from THE DEAD WHEN IT COMES OUT OK U CAN DO THIS ML!!

@haknom kangaroo karaoke keys we may have had only a few convos but they were all so fun like PLAYING BRAWL STARS WAS HILARIOUS we ate the house down in duo showdown idc. and beta reading ur fics was such a treat esp while watching u plan new smaus every other day 🫶 also your music taste is MUWAH gimme some more recs pspsps !!! KEEP WRITING OKKK?!

@kynrki kimmy kimmy kim one of my first ever moots <3 your writing is always such a joy to read and your energy is amazing, thank you for giving me a chance when i was too shy to ask anyone else to be moots LMAO 🫶 plsplss keep writing you’re so gifted and deserve the whole world LOVEE UU

@bitehee cavvy my big sibling :((( i love u sm kshsdknd its been a while but i really hope everything has been well since you moved and you’re still being as cool as ever <3 im gonna replay a pokemon game in ur honor perhaps mystery dungeon 👁️ ? anyway i look up to u and think u are so cool, one of my fav hee stans ever ever!!! remember u have my disc if u ever wanna chat 🫂 !!!

@sunoksunny sunny <3 my other gf. i remember our first vc u had this goofy pfp i cant remember what it was but like u are so easy to talk to and funny?! and PRETTY??? your fits are always stunning and your singing is beautiful ugh the whole package fr… and. we need. to play. genshin!!! I REDOWNLOADED IT FOR U OK WE WILL DISCUSS THIS SOON!! ILY

@slytherinshua ZANNY. u are so easy to talk to we match each others energy so perfectly?!? I HOPE U AND TUALHA CONTINUE BEING THE COOLEST EVER and ur writing is top tier so pls keep going‼️ thank u for being so sweet to me as another one of my very first moots i appreciate u sm <3333

@flwrshee riri !!! we haven’t even been moots for long but i had to add u in here because u need to know that ILYSM. you’re like an adorable energetic little sister that always makes me smile T-T thank you for taking time out of your day to reblog my fics with so much sweet feedback and i wish u the absolute best always!! if u ever need anything pls dm me on disc i would love to chat with u more, and make sure to keep writing bc u have SO much talent!!!!

@wonieleles sia SIA i genuinely miss talking to u sm i NEED to come back to walmart enha :(( we don’t talk much besides our little interactions in the server but each time you make me smile. you’re so so smart and admirable, i hope you keep up the hard work bc i know you’ll go so far and HAVE MORE CONFIDENCE!! you’re so beautiful okay ily 😞🫶

@sultrybaby kel 😭😭😭💖💖 you’ve literally been a day one THANK YOU for always checking in on me even during your ridiculous NONSTOP EXAMS. 💀 another one of my big siblings on here fr you are such a real one and i care for u sm!!! i hope everything has been well for u?! pls feel free to message me for anything okay <3 I LOVE U SM thank u for sticking with me all this time 🫂🫂

i have so many moots so i can’t write smthn for everyone but i love u all okay <3 AGAIN if u wanna keep in touch thru spotify or discord dm me muwah

[mirxzii]

you've recieved a letter from: roxie! 💌

open?

YES NO

2023 has been like a rollercoaster for me. i had my ups, discovering kpop and seventeen, and my downs, struggling with grades and more.

scrolling through kpop and seventeen tags when i was a little baby carat, i was so nervous. i wanted to be friends with so many people here, to talk and giggle about my faves like others did. but i wasnt a writer, i wasnt even a big account.

however, my desire for friends who loved kpop and seventeen as much as me pushed past my social anxieties, and i began to talk to people here, praying they'd see my efforts, and like me.

so, i want to thank some of those writers and people who heard me, and who i love

@blue-jisungs my silly axie, youre one of my comfort friends and writers. you know just how to cheer me up, and even if you arent the best at math or chemistry, you certainly try your hardest to help me, and i love and appreciate that. id also love for you to proof read any essays i need help with for english sometime ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ your writing never misses, and i love talking with you about polish and jewish cultures. i cant wait to get closer with you in 2024, and i promise i will have that in my dreams cover when im back from japan. （╹◡╹）♡

@fairyhaos yena, im pretty sure you were the first seventeen account i looked up to. not only was your writing accurate and pretty, you were kind and sweet to everyone. i really wanted to be your friend, & im so glad i am now. ◠‿◠

@wheeboo rania!! your writing is always fun to read, or heartbreaking (still not over that hao angst). i remember how ecstatic i was when you asked me to make you a carrd, & i knew i had to make it perfect for you. anytime you want me to make you a new one, let me know! i love you so so much, thank you for listening whenever i needed someone and also trying to help me with math hahhah ٩(๑`^´๑)۶

@slytherinshua my zanna, i remember seeing you interact with so many accs and i had wanted to be your friend too!! so i followed you, thinking nothing of it. but im so glad we could connect over lucy and ofc, seventeen! youre so cute and kind, and i love to talk with u, esp in the server. i cant wait to get to know you more in 2024! ٩(^‿^)۶

@rubywonu nia, youre so amazing (and a little intimidating *´-`) ... your writing is amazing, and your layouts absolutely never miss. i really hope we can be closer friends in the new year!! ^o^

@pixieskie prish, thanj you for dming with me! youre so kind, im sorry for not responding quickly!! lets get closer, ilysm! (๑>◡<;๑)

@weird-bookworm sky, lets absolutely get closer next year!! thank you for liking my voice and i promise ill be active when im back from japan!! (≧∇≦)

@etherealyoungk skye, youre also a writer i really looked up to! thank you for being my friend, and i hope we can talk more and get closer!! (๑･̑◡･̑๑)

an extra thank you to some more of my favourite mutuals, @icyminghao, @hannieheartuu, @hannieehaee, @wonijinjin, @alexwilders, @zhuiren, @haecien, @starry-night-rose, @haowrld, @welcometomyoasis, and more!

thank you all so much for being there. i love you, and may we continue to be friends in the years to come. 🩷

FINISHED: letter from roxie! 💌

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