#also grey voice reveal i think. hi guys

[qreyert]

i leave my room for 2 seconds and he acts like ive been gone for 15 Years

[rockrosethistle]

Workin Boys was literally the only thing that saved Hidgens from being flanderized beyond recognition

(Spoilers for Workin' Boys)

So what I think a lot of people don't give much thought to is how much Professor Hidgens as a character has evolved since tgwdlm, essentially becoming a parody of himself.

Think of Hidgens as a character. What are his defining traits?

Did you think about how he is a doomsday prepper who has been stockpiling supplies for 20 years? Because that's how he's introduced in Guy.

Did you try think about how he has a weird relationship with his Alexa? Or did we forget about that?

In fact, for the majority of TGWDLM, Hidgens' main character trait is that he says weird shit with a Doc Brown voice.

The whole concept of Workin Boys isn't even introduced until the last half hour of the show. That's where he reveals his real motivation: to live out the musical he wrote as a young man.

Actually, no, that's not right. Because his motivation was world peace, and Workin Boy's was just a convenient means to that end.

I won't disregard the fact that Hidgens clearly has an emotional connection to the show, but in Guy, it serves as a punchline rather than a driving force.

So now we have this lovely, morally-grey, multi-layered character that we can work with.

By the time we get to Time Bastard, the fandom is expecting a show stopping number reference, so of course we get that.

But at this point, Hidge is still that multi-layered character. Sure, showstopping number gets a callback, but we also get a callback to his strange relationship with robots. They make up an equal part of him as a character.

By the time we get to Honey Queen, we have lost several aspects of Hidgens altogether. He is no longer a doomsday-believing recluse. He is now active in the community and his only motivation is to get his show funded. He brings it up at every chance he gets, and his loyalties lie with whoever is more likely to make Workin Boys happen.

So how the hell do we come back from this?

Well, at first it seems like we're not going to. Workin' Boys (the short film) comes out, and it looks like we're leaning even harder into this aspect of his personality than before. But then we get hit with something we're not expecting: Hidge gets the Ted Spankoffski treatment.

I'm referring to Ted's backstory in Time Bastard, where we learn that all of his actions actually stem from a single, traumatic moment, which in his eyes forced him to alter his behaviour, so as to not go through the same trauma again.

Can you see where I'm going with this?

The backstory we get from Hidgens certainly puts things in perspective. No, it's not enough to explain why his behaviour has been so laser-focused on this one show, but it's a start.

Then comes the part that changes everything.

It's left up to interpretation whether these ghosts Hidge is seeing are actually there, or just hallucinations, but that doesn't really matter.

Hidgens had been through a horrible experience, so traumatizing that he is still literally being haunted by it decades later. For one reason or another, he believes that the only way he can relieve himself of these ghosts is by bringing honor to the loved ones he's lost and telling their stories.

This reveal recontextualizes everything we know about Hidgens as a character. Suddenly, this isn't a story about some guy who just really wants to put on his musical, this is a story about guilt. Of course it would be the driving factor in his life. Look at him apologizing to his boys. He feels like he is slandering their memories with everything that goes wrong for the show.

This is supported even more with the ending.

Henry Hidgens dies with a smile on his face, believing he's finally achieved his goal: to tell the real story of what happened that night.

It finally makes sense as to why we've lost those parts of him--we've retconned the character by revealing that all that simplification of his goals and traits wasn't flanderization at all, but a steady downward spiral of grief over his loved ones. It wasn't Hidgens getting a little too into being a playwrite, it was him descending into madness caused by the inability to please the part of himself (or the literal ghosts, if that's how you interpret it) that believes he's not doing enough.

And if not for Workin' Boys, he would have remained that one-dimensional character.

[rcsewcrld]

Hi Rose! I’ve just found your profile and saw you’re accepting requests so here you go:

Poly!wolfstar or poly!marauders where reader is completely in love with them but thinks they don’t like her back. When they confess their love for her she doesn’t believe because she thinks that what they have is already perfect and she doesn’t have a place in it. It takes them a lot of effort to make her believe it. Lots of angst with happy ending

really? || poly!wolfstar x fem!reader | 1.5k words

a/n: hi so this is very cliche and possibly very bad bc i’m very out of practice so i hope you appreciate that and i hope that this is what you wanted. i promise my writing will get better once i get back into the swing of things! also, thank you very much for requesting and i’m so sorry i took so long, something came up but that’s slowing down now so i’m back to it! also i’m really sorry it’s not very angsty but i just wasn’t in that frame of mind i’m so so so so sorry :(

content: as gn as possible but some fem hints in there sorry (im just too used to it :((), minimal use of y/n and pronouns, also bridgerton reference guys😭

“S’wrong, darling?” James queried at your spaced out expression during breakfast in the Great Hall. 

You shrug, “Dunno, James.” The bespectacled boy furrowed his brows but was soon distracted by something Peter was showing him on his other side. You did, in fact, know what was wrong. The two boys sitting opposite you were the bane of your existence this morning. They were also the object of your desires.

Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Best friends of 6, coming up to 7 years and boyfriends of 3 months. The most painful, yearning, pining 3 months of your life. The relationship between you, Sirius and Remus had always been ambiguous between the lines of platonic and romantic, but one fateful morning Sirius and Remus walked towards you in the corridor, holding hands and exuding a sickeningly sweet air of love.

“Earth to Y/n/n… you okay, sweetness?” Dark grey eyes locked with yours, pairing with the saccharine nickname you couldn’t help but smile dreamily at him. 

“Mhm,” you mumbled, “M’fine, Siri.”

“Good. Couldn’t have you spaced out like this all day,” he furrowed his dark eyebrows, “would never get through Potions if I didn’t have my lovely partner to talk to.” He finished with a wink that almost had you melting into a puddle on the stone floor. Peter and James shared a look at your, somewhat pathetic, lovesickness. 

“Ready to go then? Lessons start in 5 minutes.” Remus interrupted the charged gazing between you and Sirius.

“Of course you’d be the one to make us prudishly early, Moons.” Sirius stood up alongside Remus, clapping him on the back harshly as they started to walk off, followed closely by you, James and Peter.

“5 minutes is not prudishly early, Pads…”

———

“Ms Y/L/N, daydreaming again?” Slughorn’s voice broke you out of your stare. Your task today was to brew a successful amortentia potion. Sirius, eager as ever to discover the smell of what he loves, bounded up to the storage cupboard to collect all your ingredients. Also, something about ‘What kind of gentleman would I be if I let a lady lift a finger under my watch?’

“Sorry, professor. Sirius is getting all the equipment so I just zoned out for a moment. Won’t happen again.” You visibly straightened up and put on your best apologetic voice, because you really weren’t sorry at all. You had been ogling Sirius. His shirt riding up to reveal a sliver of smooth, pale skin, his shirt tightening slightly at his arms where his lean muscles were bulging slightly with the strain of stretching. He was visibly far less built-up than someone such as James who was nothing short of stocky, but being a beater still took lots of arm power.

As Professor Slughorn migrated back to his desk, Sirius came back over to your workbench, albeit, more carefully than he left it, as he was now carrying an abundance of supplies ready to begin brewing.

“Siri, y’know I could’ve helped you?” 

“Don’t sweat it, love.” He brushed it off.  

You began brewing the potion and it was going smoothly. (As much as Sirius tried his hardest to be a nuisance in class, he’d never purposefully sabotage you)

A pop from across the classroom made you a jump a little and averted your’s and Sirius’ attentions to James and Remus on the other side of the room. Remus was scoffing and rolling his eyes as James’ face was covered in soot, hair standing up on end. 

“Poor Moony.” You tutted, focusing back on your own potion. Originally, Remus had been partners with Lily, no complaints, perfect work, until Slughorn decided that James and Peter being a pairing was far too chaotic and forced Remus and Lily to re-partner, to quell the chaos caused by James and Peter’s pairing.

“He’ll be alright.” Sirius chuckled as you sprinkled the final ingredient into the brew.

You watched as the potion turned a pinkish colour and turned to Sirius with a pleased smile, “It worked!” He held his hand up for a high five that you quickly returned. 

“Ready to take a whiff, Black? Y/L/N?” Slughorn said as he approached your workbench. You both nodded and Sirius pushed you forward. The entire class had gone quiet, attention on your bench. You took a deep breath in over the cauldron.

First, cigarettes, and a deep, musky aftershave that was awfully familiar.

After a few moments it morphed into the scent of a crackling fireplace, new books and… chocolate.

“So? What do you smell?” Slughorn queried.

You broke out of your trance, glancing around the classroom at all of the pairs of eyes staring at you, awaiting an answer, specifically Sirius and Remus. The two people you had definitely just smelled, “Uh, um- I smelled,” You didn’t know whether to lie or not, “um, flowers?”

James snorted a laugh from across the room, quickly shutting up after a harsh elbow to the ribs from Remus.

“Care to elaborate?” Slughorn raised a questioning eyebrow. You shook your head vehemently and stepped back towards Sirius’ chest, who hurriedly took your place, eager to smell the potion.

“Books… chocolate,” Sirius paused to wink at Remus who glared at him, embarrassed, “…and, vanilla?”

Your eyes widened at that and you sucked in a very audible sharp breath, reminded of the vanilla perfume that you apply rather generously every morning. Sirius locked eyes with Remus across the room, sharing a look that meant We’ll talk later.

Slughorn clapped his hands to diffuse the awkward tension and called on Barty Crouch Jr’s workbench.

———

“Marls, I can’t just tell them I like them. I don’t wanna impose on what they already have together…” You huffed, pulling your knees up to your chest. Marlene wandered over from her bed and sat down next to you.

“Babe, I love you, but you are so oblivious.” She lamented.

You furrowed your eyebrows.

“She really has no idea does she…?” Lily sighed from her bed.

“Those two boys are hopelessly in love with you, Y/N. And if you can’t see that then you are oblivious. Sirius’ amortentia smelled like you and Remus. The boy he’s already in a relationship with.”

“That could’ve been anyone’s vanilla perfume.” You shrugged, certain that the boys couldn’t want you in any way.

Lily rolled her eyes, “Tell them, Y/N.”

You pulled your bottom lip between your teeth anxiously but nodded in agreement, “Wish me luck, girls.”

You trudged down the stairs to the common room, head low and anxiety swarming your brain.

“What’re you doing down here so late, darling?” 

You jumped at the voice, not expecting anyone to be occupying the common room at such a late hour. You looked up to find just the two boys you were looking for… Sirius splayed dramatically (somehow) in an armchair and Remus curled up into the corner of a couch.

“Oh, hi guys…”

“Don’t sound so disappointed, dovey!” Remus feigned offence and caused you to roll your eyes. You don’t know why you were so nervous. These guys were your best friends. Even if they rejected you they’d never stop wanting to be friends with you. Remus patted the space on the sofa next to him, indicating you to sit there and you obliged.

“Actually, I’ll have you know I was looking for you two.” 

“Oh, really?” Sirius raised an eyebrow.

Here goes nothing.

“I like you guys. Like in the not friendly way. And I totally get if you don’t feel the same way and don’t want me to join you guys, ‘cause I don’t even know if you’re into that, but I just wanted to tell you because it’s been eating me up inside-“

“Shut up.”

“Sirius!” Remus scolded, smacking his boyfriend on the arm with the book he was holding. You remained silent, eyebrows furrowed in an attempt to mask your sadness with confusion. Slowly, you began to stand up, ready to make a run for it.

Abruptly, Sirius exclaimed, “Where are you going?

“You told me to shut up.”

“Oh yeah, that…”

“Dovey, he’s just shocked, that’s all. We feel the same way, see?” Remus comforted

“I can’t believe you didn’t bloody know we fancied you!” Sirius sat up straighter and pulled you from Remus’ side to sit on his lap, causing you to flush.

“Wait, you really like me?”

“Yes.”

“Both of you?”

“Yes.”

“Like, actually?”

“Yes.”

“And this isn’t a prank?”

“No.”

“So James and Peter aren’t hiding around a corner ready to throw treacle and feathers on me right now?”

“No.”

“And you really, actually, truly like me?”

“*Yes*!”

“Bloody hell, woman!” Sirius smashed his lips onto yours, leaving you breathless as you relax into his embrace, threading your hands through his hair before you pull apart.

“Is that enough evidence for you, sweetheart?” Remus grins as you nod, albeit hesitantly.

“Look at me. Sirius Black. Not only is he dating the fittest boy in Hogwarts, bar himself, of course, but he’s now dating the fittest girl!”

Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius’ antics.

“Wait, so we’re dating now?”

“Yes! Christ almighty…”

[vlrghoes]

What Once Was | Chapter One

author’s note: I edited and proof read this after coming back from the club so if you see something wrong don’t be afraid to point it out as I’m quite friendly anyway!

I still don’t know if I like this chapter but overall I’m just shy about sharing my work because I’m hyper judgmental of my own work but I still wanted to share this with you guys anyway.

The chapters after this will be set a few years after this (which will be clarified in the chapters)

I’m English so if anything is wrong in terms of America and the health practices please forgive me!

I’m literally yapping now but I do want to say that I can’t promise chapter two will come in under 2 weeks as I’ve just finished my law degree and landed my dream job (not related to my degree) and I start training next Sunday and it’s for 5 weeks, really intense and with exams almost every day and if I mess up I lose my job. (Not sure if it’s obvious what my job is but anyways.) Also it’s my birthday on Wednesday and I’m celebrating Thursday so less time to write!

cw/tw: death, pregnancy complications, heavy angst, references to mental health and body dysmorphia/body image issues

word count: 4370 (I never usually write more than 2k so this is weird for me)

tag list (ask to be added): @trippinsorrows @cyberdejos2 @maeb99 @southerngirl41 @callmekayd @trentybenty @tian-monique @rose-bliss (if your name isn’t in grey, it’s not letting me tag you but I’ll try in the comment section)

masterlist

“You’re choosing that stupid title over your family again.” Ayanna’s voice cracked, the finality of her words hanging in the air as Joe stood frozen, his guilt palpable and his resolve wavering. She had spent all day running around the house and decorating for their special day. She spent hours preparing a nice steak dinner for the two of them, however it had been left untouched, the wait quelling her appetite as she now only felt sick. The dress she picked out now felt too revealing, no longer complimenting her body. Suddenly it clung to all the wrong parts and accentuated her weight gain, making her feel like a whale instead. The candles in the house had melted to the point where the fire had flickered out and the playlist she had queued just sounded like white noise at this point. Nothing matters anymore because Joe is late, late home once again and Ayanna is reaching breaking point. She spent hours waiting for him after she prepared their dinner, but all the effort didn’t matter anymore because instead of romance, the air was filled with tension and dread. “You know they’re due any day now, Joe how could you do this to me, to us. How can you still be wrestling so soon to my due date?” She said, her voice filled with emotion as she tried to steady herself. She didn’t want to cry, she had cried so much this entire pregnancy and she felt miserable. Instead of having that pregnancy glow like Rihanna, she had the life sucked out of her and she just felt lifeless.

“Look baby, I'm sorry.” Joe began, trying to figure out mentally how to get himself out of the trouble he was in. It wasn’t his fault, the media day for Wrestlemania was meant to finish much earlier but they took longer to set up, in turn making Joe’s interview (which was last) late. He had intended to be home earlier but it just seemed like the universe had other plans.

“Don’t even bother” Ayanna sighed, playing with the ring on her finger which now felt like it weighed a tonne. When they first got together, he gave it to her as a promise he’d marry her and whilst he did deliver on that promise, since getting pregnant and no longer being able to join him on the road she wondered if it was worth it sometimes. It’s not that she didn’t love Joe, hell sometimes she thinks she loves him too much. However she now isn’t sure if he loved her more than that title. He used to be so romantic; he’d bring her flowers every single day no matter what, he’d take her on dates, even small ones that weren't as lavish and she loved it. But the more he climbed up the ranks of WWE, the less the romance was there. Then shortly after he became champion everything stopped. Their marriage hit the rocks as he was never home and he started to miss things such as birthdays and christmases, so to save their marriage Ayanna gave up everything and joined him on the road. It was all going great until her later stages of pregnancy which stopped her from travelling with him but the most important thing for Ayanna was that he never missed an anniversary.

Well that was until now.

“Do you even know what day it is?” Ayanna asked, her voice quiet as she watched his mind tick, the cogwheels visabilly spinning with his face scrunched up in confusion, dull eyes squinting until it all finally clicks and he looks at her horrified. “You know, as bad as you’ve been lately, I always used to say ‘at least he’d always remembered our anniversary’ but it seems I can’t even say that anymore.” She spits, her heart breaking as the words leave her mouth.

“Yana” he started, feeling dizzy as he watched her flinch, a look almost of disgust flashing within her eyes. The nickname didn’t bring the butterflies it used to bring anymore, instead it forced a swell of emotion that made her feel like she could spew her guts any second. She used to look at him in adoration, but as the years passed the glimmer in her eyes decreased daily until they were fully extinguished. “Baby things are going to change after wrestlemania, I promise. Just one more match, after this I promise I’ll ask Vince again for some time off, I’m sure he’ll give it to me this time.”

The both of them knew that he was telling her what he wanted her to hear, the same conversation being repeated so many times to the point where they felt like they were in limbo. The last time Joe had asked, Vince told him he couldn’t have time off as he was their top star and Joe simply didn’t ask again. He always seemed to lack a backbone in situations that require him having one, but is happy to have a backbone and be stubborn when he doesn't need to be. Ayanna was exhausted, carrying one baby is hard enough but of course Joe carried the twin gene so she was carrying two instead and it felt like they were draining the life from her body. “I just want you to be present Joe, I feel like a single mother despite being married.” She pleaded, her voice filled with desperation. No one ever mentioned how lonely pregnancy is. She had lost many friends as she couldn’t go out to the club or drink anymore which meant that she spent days on end staring at the four walls of her bedroom watching the time pass as she waited up for Joe to come home. She sighed, tears threatening to well in her eyes which made her mentally curse. Stupid baby hormones. “You made the same promise last time, I don’t think you understand that one day I may not be here. You’ve missed so much already and you will never get this time back.”

She waited for Joe to say something, anything that could save the situation and at some points she felt like he was. But he’d then swallow the words back with a bitter taste and instead just looked at her in defeat. Nothing could save Ayanna for the despair she felt and she felt stupid even having this conversation with him. Instead, she gives him one more look over, a silent plea to say something or do something but the window of time closes as soon as she opens and she ends up turning on her feet and going to bed. She kept her room door ajar, hoping he’d come and knock, give her the tight hugs he used to give her and shower her in kisses and apologies but it never happens.

Joseph himself didn’t know what to do. They had the fairytale romance all their friends envied when they were younger, he was the promising D1 football player and she was a shoe-in to be a future Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. They looked good together and spent years in their honeymoon phase, yet somehow as they grew older the fairytale had started to wear off. He looked around the room with a frown, his stomach twisting and his heart aching as he realised exactly how much effort she had put in for their anniversary dinner and in that moment he felt like a horrible person. He knew he needed to pack as he was leaving at 5AM to get a jet for Wrestlemania but a large part of him wanted to go and fix the situation. But he knew nothing could ever fix it. They promised each other that they’d never go to bed without resolving an argument but that promise got broken several times to the point of which it no longer had any weight. So instead, Joe went into the walk-in closet and packed his things, believing that there’s nothing he could do to fix the situation.

That night, for the first time in their marriage the couple slept in separate rooms. Joe in the guest room tossing and turning in his own guilt, whilst Ayanna tried her hardest to muffle her sobs in the pillow. Her tears soaked the case through and her heart shattered in the pieces.

The next morning, Ayanna woke with the worst headache. Her head was pounding so intensely it hurt to open her eyes, however she put it down to the fact she spent all night crying and didn’t sleep. She called out for Joe, hoping he’d be home still so they could make up after their argument and wish him luck tonight as no matter what she loved him and didn’t want to continue on with another argument. But as she made it to the guest room, she realised it was too late and he was already gone. Her heart splintered like fragile glass, and she wept until the well of her tears ran dry, leaving her hollow and desolate.

“Fix your face uce.” His cousin Joshua says with a nudge. Joe having a face like a slapped ass and a snappy attitude had become too common these days and the twins, Joe’s only confidants, knew exactly what was going on. They’d grown up with Joe and practically spent their whole lives with Ayanna through her association with Joe, meaning they had been privy to almost all of the couple’s relationship issues.

“He’s right, every day you walk around here with the face you used to have when my dad used to whoop us all for breaking the window with the football.” Jonathon adds on, a small chuckle escaping from his twin brother as the memory of that day flashes through him. The twins and Joseph had grown up together due to their parents living next door to one another. Rikishi, the twin’s father and Joe’s uncle would say the twins were a bad influence. However everyone who knew them knew that it was actually Joe, he always managed to get away from it all by snitching on the boys before they could save themselves. Which is what led to all of them getting chased with a broom stick as children after Joseph broke the window as they were all playing football, but instead of admitting it he blamed the twins whilst the twins blamed him so the punishment was collective.

“Are you fighting with Yana again?” Joshua asks, earning him a dirty look from both his twin brother and Joseph as the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. The two of them somehow manage to fight more than Joshua and his baby mother, and the pair of them were never even together, just a stupid one night stand.

The pair wait for Joseph to say something but it becomes more and more obvious that he has nothing to say, but the situation is clearly bothering him. Jonathan, the self-labelled “mature” one out of the twins, felt it was best to offer some advice, even if Joe didn’t ask. “Man, I don’t know what’s going on but I know you two have been together since you were both thirteen, whatever it is you’ll make it through it. You guys have always found a way.” The advice, albeit sweet, doesn't really make a difference for Joe. But thankfully he gets called for his press conference anyway so he doesn’t have to engage in the conversation further and he shifts from vulnerable ‘Joe’ to the formidable ‘Roman,’ like a Jekyll turning into Hyde, shedding his worries and fears to become the stoic, unyielding figure everyone dreads.

Joe never really cared for press conferences, however since he was the face of the company he was obligated to fulfil every duty in his contract. He was always used to giving the cookie cutter answers to the usual questions like “what are your expectations tonight?” and “how do you feel about your opponent?” However, he gets caught off guard when someone in the crowd asks "with the demands of your career, how do you balance your professional and personal life, especially with your wife expecting?" The question then places a pang of guilt in his stomach once more as he’s forced to remember their argument from last night. He really wanted to speak to her before he left but he didn’t want to wake her up and his flight was too early for him to stay. He took a thought and tried to compose an appropriate answer before taking a small breath.

“It’s a challenge, no doubt.” He began, slightly sounding defensive whilst making sure to try and make eye contact with the journalist in the crowd to make sure he appeared engaged in the topic. “But I’ve always believed that if you’re committed to something, you find a way to make it work. My family understands what this career means to me, and I make sure to be there for them as much as I can. After tonight, I’m looking forward to some quality time with them.” The words feeling hollow knowing his home life isn’t in a good place.

At home, Ayanna rubs her temples trying to quell the headache that has seemed to intensify from earlier on. She sits on the sofa, her head spinning from the pain when a sharp, twisting pain in her abdomen causes her to shift positions. “It can't be.” she mumbles, it was too early. The twins were not meant to be due yet, she had an entire plan for Joe’s mother to come down and stay in the guest room and help her for the last week of her pregnancy up until the babies hit six months, this can’t be happening. Her phone lay on the coffee table, just out of reach. She stared at it, debating whether to call Joseph or not. But he was probably in the middle of his press conference. She didn’t want to worry him—she could handle this.

She bided her time, until the pain suddenly intensified, radiating from her abdomen up to her chest. Ayanna’s breath hitched, panic creeping in as she realised something was seriously wrong. She forced herself to stand, but her legs buckled beneath her. The room spun, and she fell back onto the couch, gasping for air. She gave in and phoned Joe first, his phone going straight to voicemail as she thought before hanging up, her hands trembling as she dialled 911.“Please” she began with a gasp, struggling to even breathe, “I think something’s wrong I'm pregnant, and I—” Her voice broke off as another wave of pain hit her, harder this time as she screamed, the sound of her pained yells bouncing off the walls.

Joe, pleased with his answer to the first question, felt like he was in the clear and that would be it for the interview but then another question hit him. "There have been rumours that you were considering taking some time off after this match. Can you confirm or deny that?" The question made him feel hot under the collar, he didn’t want to give a definitive answer as Vince had already turned down his request and he didn’t want to put himself in a position that gets him in trouble. He hated it about himself and in a way he also hated Vince for putting him in this situation, however deep down he knew that he was at fault. No matter what, he was a coward and tried to avoid rocking the boat at work but all that has done is cause problems in his marriage.

He once again flashes that million dollar smile that he knew the ladies loved the most before positioning his answer. “Right now, I’m focused on tonight. Whatever comes after, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. I’ve heard the rumours, but my priority is to go out there, put on a hell of a show, and take care of business. The rest will fall into place." He was cool and composed, everything a champion should be, however, the answer in itself was very evasive. It was as though he had mastered the art of saying much while revealing nothing, leaving everyone guessing what truly lay beneath.

Ayanna’s vision blurred as she tried to focus on the operator’s voice. “Stay with me, ma’am, help is on the way,” the voice said, but Ayanna could barely hear it over the pounding in her head. She doubled over in pain, clutching her stomach as the baby kicked wildly inside her. Her thoughts were a jumble of fear and regret. She should have told Joseph—should have insisted he stay home. But it was too late now. The darkness at the edges of her vision crept closer, and she knew she was running out of time

Joe looked at the crowd, wanting to go backstage and get ready for his match, a sigh of relief leaving his body as he’s told this is the last question of the conference. "Any plans to celebrate after the match, or will you be rushing home to be with your family?”

Joe smiled, the question feeling so bittersweet as he’d love to have Ayanna in the crowd like she usually is tonight, but that isn’t the case. "We’ll see how the night goes. My family’s always been my anchor, so I’ll be getting back to them as soon as I can. But first, I’ve got to take care of business in that ring."The reporters nodded, satisfied with his answer. Joseph glanced at the time—just a few more minutes, and he could get back to his routine. But he had no idea that his world was about to shatter.

Ayanna’s strength was fading fast. She clutched her phone, the operator’s voice a distant echo in her ears. “Hold on, ma’am, the paramedics are almost there,” but Ayanna’s world was already slipping away.

The last thing she felt was the sharp pain in her head, then—darkness.

The crowd was electric as Joe stepped into the ring, his face stoic as he played with his wrists to loosen them up. The glamour and feel of Wrestlemania never gets old, but he stayed focused, his mind locked in on the match and his eyes focused on his opponent. He couldn’t afford any distractions - not tonight.

The bell rang, and he moved with precision, every punch, every kick calculated. He could feel the weight of the championship on his shoulders, the expectations of the fans, the promise he had made to himself to be the best. Minutes felt like seconds as the match intensified, the crowd on their feet, chanting his name. With a final, devastating move, Joseph pinned his opponent to the mat. The referee’s hand slapped the canvas—one, two, three.

The crowd booed as Joseph was declared the winner, his arm raised in victory, gutted that their golden boy Cody Rhodes had lost the title. The championship belt was handed to him, and he held it high, basking in the glory of the moment. For a few seconds, everything was perfect. But beneath the cheers and jeers, he felt an uneasy feeling run through him, it was almost as if his body was trying to warn him that this victory came at a price—one that would haunt him long after the spotlight dimmed.

After the match he walked backstage, sweat dripping down his face but a victorious smile plastered on his lips. Fellow wrestlers patted him on the back, congratulating him on another win, another title defence. He had done it again—proven why he was the best. But it didn’t feel the same without Ayanna there to give him a kiss and tell him how proud she was of him. He longed to have her sweet floral scent dancing though his nose, he simply missed her and he was going to make it his mission to call her immediately and apologise and make it up to her. In fact, he was going to ask Vince again for time off or just go to Hunter and get him to explain to Vince.

As he headed toward his locker room, he saw Vince stood them with a solemn expression. His heart dropped, usually if Vince looks at you like that you’ve done a terrible job and you’re about to be pulled off TV. “Joe, we need to talk,” he said, his voice tight with urgency.”

Joseph frowned, still riding the high of his victory. “What’s up, Vince? I’ve got some celebrating to do and I need to call my wife.”

Vince hesitated, his face pale. “Joe, it’s Ayanna… She had a stroke during labour. She had tried to call you as she was going into labour but you were in the press conference.”

The words were like a punch to the gut, knocking the wind out of him. “What?” he whispered, his heart plummeting. “No… no, that can’t be right.” His mind scrambled to reject what he’d just heard, clinging to disbelief as though it could keep the truth at bay.

Vince’s eyes were filled with sorrow as he continued, “I haven’t heard anything else, however I would suggest that you take the jet and go to the hospital now. We will cover you in the post match press conference.” The championship belt slipped from Joseph’s grasp, hitting the floor with a dull thud. The noise of the backstage area faded into nothingness as Joseph stood frozen, disbelief and horror washing over him.

Joseph’s heart pounds as he bursts through the hospital doors, the sounds of WrestleMania’s victory still ringing in his ears. But as he’s confronted by the white walls of the ICU, his triumph feels meaningless, distant. Joseph’s hands trembled as he pushed through the hospital doors, his mind a whirl of fear and denial. He moved as if in a trance, barely registering the people around him as he demanded to be taken to Ayanna.

“Where’s Ayanna? Where are my kids?” he demands, his voice edged with panic.

The receptionist’s eyes flickered with sorrow, looking around in desperation as she did not want to be the one to be here when the news was broken to him. Luckily for her, the doctor steps forward. “Mr. Anoa’i, I’m so sorry. Your wife suffered a massive stroke shortly after going into labour. By the time she got here, there was nothing we could do to reverse the damage. Her brain activity ceased before we could save her.”

Joseph’s breath catches, his world starting to crumble. “What… what do you mean? Where is she? Can I see her?” His voice wavered, a desperate plea for a reality that was slipping through his fingers.

The doctor hesitates, his tone measured but heavy. “We had to make a decision quickly, Mr. Anoa’i. We kept her on life support long enough to deliver the twins via emergency C-section. It was the only way to save their lives.”

For a moment, Joseph just stares, unable to comprehend the words. “You… you kept her alive just to deliver the babies?” His voice is raw with disbelief and rising fury. He couldn’t believe what was being said to him, Ayanna being reduced to a baby making machine made him feel beyond sick. They could’ve had another baby, but he could never have another Ayanna. “She wasn’t just some fucking incubator! She was my wife! She is my wife, why didn’t you save her?!”

The doctor’s eyes hold steady, though full of sympathy. “She made that decision herself. Your wife signed an advanced directive, instructing us to prioritise the babies if anything went wrong. She knew the risks and chose this course.”

The words hit Joseph like a sledgehammer. Ayanna had known this could happen and made a decision without him—a decision that had ripped her from his life. Anger surged and then ebbed away, leaving a hollow ache where it had been. He had spent his life with her, and now, learning to live without her seemed an insurmountable challenge, a cruel twist of fate.

“Where are they?” he finally whispers, his voice barely audible, eyes vacant.

One of the nurses gently guides him to the room where the newborns lie in their incubators. They’re tiny, fragile, and perfect. But as Joseph looks at them, he’s overwhelmed not with the joy he expected but with a deep, unsettling mix of sorrow and resentment. They’re here, alive and breathing, but Ayanna is gone. She sacrificed herself for them, and Joseph can’t help but feel a stab of resentment toward these tiny beings who cost him everything. He stands over the incubators, his hands shaking as he touches the glass. The twins stir slightly, their small cries echoing in the sterile room, but all Joseph feels is an unbearable, suffocating grief—and an anger he can’t reconcile. Whilst he was angry at the world, he was also mad at himself. What sick bastard resents an innocent child? He thought, trying to force the feeling out of his heart, but it was no use. He just couldn't stop himself being filled with disgust when he looked at them, especially as they both look exactly like her. It felt like some cruel punishment from the universe for his wrongdoing.

Finally, he forces himself to pick up one of the babies, holding the child close to his chest. The warmth of his newborn is supposed to bring him comfort, but instead, it feels like a weight pressing down on him, reminding him of what he’s lost. Tears blur his vision as he collapses into a nearby chair, the sound of the twins’ cries filling his ears. But instead of the joy and love he once imagined, all Joseph can feel is a hollow emptiness and a dark, creeping resentment that only deepens his guilt. The nurse gently touched his shoulder, but Joseph barely noticed. He sank into a chair, the twins still wailing in his arms, as tears streamed down his face. The world had stopped making sense. He had won the match, but in doing so, had lost everything that truly mattered, as if triumph had come at the cost of his very soul.

[berylcups]

La Squadra x Reader: What makes them laugh

CW: suggestive behavior (Melone being Melone), getting scared, food, spicy food, annoyed pets( no pets real or imaginary were harmed in this post), gamer rage, language barriers, minor DNI

Notes: some of the videos suggest may or may not be offensive to you or your morals (mostly referring to cart narcs and some Gi Joe PSAs) so please view at your own discretion and mental health in mind! This is a post made for funsies and not meant to harm in anyway. Humor is subjective and as someone with privilege but also is AuDHD there maybe somethings I overlooked. Just know that Beryl loves you all and cares about you all 💜 Also regarding Prosciutto…he might be a little OOC. The only real humor I could see him having is like boomer humor or political humor but that is such a gross yucky subject and I want to keep this post as positive as possible. I hope I did him justice! I hope you enjoy either way! 💜 Beryl

Risotto

What type of humor do they have?: dark humor/ jump scare reactions

How do they laugh?: he has a low deep rumble of a chuckle when he does laugh it almost sounds like an evil villain’s laughter. It’s a little intimidating! But don’t tell him that we want him to laugh more! 🖤

Anything you do make them laugh?: anytime something makes you jump he can’t help but let out a chuckle. Whether someone shows up in your line of sight suddenly and it startles you, or a loud noise makes you scream like a crack of lightning.

You were in the kitchen of the base sneaking a piece of a cake, you knew nobody else was home so you could easily steal the last piece of strawberry cake. You felt so evil, you couldn’t help but giggle to yourself!

As soon as you took a forkful and put it near your mouth, a flash of lightning struck and you felt a massive hand on your shoulder with hot breath on your neck.

“…that’s the last piece…I hope you plan on sharing it Y/N…” you heard a deep voice rumble.

The pure rush of adrenaline jolted through you like the lightning outside and you jumped up, dropping the plate and letting out the most high pitched pathetic screech. The plate shattered all over the kitchen floor completely ruining the cake.

“Damn it Risotto! Don’t scare me like that!” You whined. “Stop being invisible and show yourself!”

He chuckled as he revealed himself, he had a rare shit eating grin on his face.

“Sorry… I really couldn’t help myself. It was the perfect opportunity to get you like that.” He snickered as rubbed your head.

“Sigh…I’m happy that you are enjoying yourself. But I almost peed myself and I dropped a perfectly good piece of cake.” You whined.

“Well I hate to say it but karma is a bitch. That’s what happens when you try to sneak off with the last piece.” He smirked as he got out the broom and dust pan.

“And I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for you being a creeper.” You huffed.

What types of videos make them laugh?: jumpscare reactions- especially if it’s older people playing the scary maze. He thinks it’s hilarious! But he feels bad when he sees little kids get scared, that’s not funny to him 😞 any kid age 12+ though is fine with him- it’s time for them to grow up 😈

Any examples?: nothing specific- look for videos of people getting tricked into getting jump scared 😅 like scary maze, the video of the car driving down through the hills, FNAF, etc.

Formaggio

What type of humor do they have?: funny memes/ voice over parodies

How do they laugh?: he starts off with a goofy low deep chuckle then as it progresses it turns into a roaring laughter where he’s gasping and holding his stomach. Very infectious 🤭

Anything you do make them laugh?: This guy is all giggles! It’s never hard to make him laugh. But his favorite thing is when you reference his favorite videos.

“Hey hey hey~! Get off the counter Asiago!” You scolded the cat. The grey furball turned its butt at you and continued to prance across the counter. “Oh? We’re playing this game huh? Don’t make me give you a body massage~…”

“Who wants a body massage?”you asked in a deep voice, picking up the cat off the counter before she could escape.

“Mister body massage machine GO” you aggressively rubbed the cats belly.

“Pfft hey~! Where’s my body massage?” He laughed watching you playfully manhandle the cat.

“Make me some pork chop sandwiches and maybe zaddy will give ya a body massage!” You struggled to say through your giggling.

The cat was fed up with both of your guys bullshit and jumped out of your arms and ran off hissing.

What types of videos make them laugh?: GI Joe PSAs, Jaboody Dubs- he loves silly voice overs of his favorite American cartoons. Taking them out of context and rewriting the dialogue makes him want to piss himself from laughter.

Any examples?: Pork Chop Sandwiches! I’m a computer, stop all the downloading!

Illuso

What type of humor do they have?: “nailed it “ humor

How do they laugh?: He laughs just as obnoxiously as he does in the dub. Its very unflattering and he sounds like a hyena. Despite that, it’s very contagious!

Anything you do make them laugh?: when you tried to make cute rainbow cupcakes and all the colors bled together making it look like an absolute disaster. The icing melted and the rainbow candy wouldn’t retain its rainbow shape...Its just a sugary sticky mess.

“Ha-Nice job. Very well done.” Illuso snickered. “It looks like a leprechaun vomited all over your cake pan!” he howled.

“It looks so fucking miserable! Did you even try???” he cackled. “Next time, leave the baking to me!”

“Oh fuck off Lulu.”you groaned, rubbing your temples in frustration. “Anytime I pintrest anything, it always-ALWAYS goes wrong.”

He wiped the tears from his face as he tried to calm himself down from his high.

“Hey, hey… Calm down Y/N. Baking is very fickle. I’ll help you out next time. You did the best you could. Trial and error is unfortunately part of the baking process” he said rubbing your back.

“I just really wanted some cute tasty cupcakes…”you pouted.

“I could tell. You didn’t let the cupcakes cool long enough before you put the icing on them. That's why it melted right off.” he stuck a finger in one of the cakes and tasted the frosting. “Mmm…still tastes good though. Lets just eat them anyway. Ugly cake is still good cake.”

.

What types of videos make them laugh?: “Nailed it” show, parkour/stunt fails, live tv bloopers/ fails, makeup fails

Any examples?: grape lady falls

Pesci

What type of humor do they have?: cute animal humor

How do they laugh?: he tries to hold back his laughs but fails with an adorable snort. He has a giggle that sounds like pure joy from an angel. 😇 It’s a big belly laugh and it’s hard not to laugh along with him. Hearing his laugh is always going to put you in a good mood! 😁

Anything you do make them laugh?: when you panic and freak out holding an upset octopus that you accidentally caught while fishing.

“lil guppy~! Put down the camera and help me~! Ow ow ow!” You squealed trying to pry to the angry octopuses suction cups off of you.

“My poor precious pearl! Don’t worry! I’ll help you!” He quickly took a few more pictures of your scuffle with the cephalopod and walked over to gently but firmly pull the tentacles off your face and chest.

He wrangled the fuming octopus and gently but swiftly removed the hook from it. He then he quickly dropped it back into its home in the sea.

“Oh thank god… Thank you Pesci. You’re my hero!” You sighed in relief and rubbed the sore spots the suction cups left.

. “You’re very welcome Y/N. I’m just thankful you’re okay. You weren’t in any real danger. Octopus encounters are just really uncomfortable.” Pesci looks at you and your red splotches, making a gentle giggle.

“What’s so funny??” You whined, putting hands on your hips. You were annoyed he was laughing after a moment like this but knowing how kind he was you’d give him a moment to explain himself.

“The octopus gave you a bunch of welts making it look like you have polka dots!” He laughed light-heartedly. “ you poor thing, I’ll have to give you some cream to help your irritated skin.”

“Sigh… I’m so accident prone. Maybe it was a bad idea to join you on your fishing trips.” You pouted.

“No! Not at all!” He said, giving you a big reassuring hug . “ I love having you with me! I want you to come with me all the time!…only if you want to of course.”

“I’d love too.” You smiled. “As long as I don’t catch anymore angry octopi.” You softly giggled.

What types of videos make them laugh?: he loves watching cat and dog videos of them being silly and doing goofy things! He has a wholesome sense of humor.

Any examples?: Today I groomed a new species | the weirdest cat ever. Cat barking like dog. Dog of wisdom

Prosciutto

What type of humor do they have?: instant karma

How do they laugh?: he has a deep, rich laughter. It sounds very indulgent. It starts out with a mild wheeze then a chuckle that rumbles out of his chest. He has a habit to put a hand to his forehead and shake his head before he really starts laughing. If you have a voice kink his laughter might make you start acting unwise 😳

Anything you do make them laugh?: it has nothing to do with his type of humor but you underestimate something. You were weak to heat but you thought you could handle some of Prosciuttos pasta arrabiata. You… couldn’t handle it at all.

You were having lunch with your beloved partner. You were eating Gnocchi Sorrentina and he had Pasta Arrabiata. It looked so good and smelled good too. You wanted a taste.

“Hey Prosci, let me have a bite of your pasta pretty please? It looks sooo good!” You said trying not to drool.

“Hmm?” He raised an eyebrow. “I’m more than happy to share amore, but it’s very spicy. I know you don’t do well with spicy foods… are you sure you want to try it?” He asked.

“I know I’m weak to spice but it can’t be THAT spicy. Your nose isn’t even running and you're not sweating! I can handle it!” You reassured him. “May I have just a bite please?”

He seemed a little wary but he took a forkful and guided it towards your mouth.

“Okay amore. Here you go. Open up.” He said bring the fork closer to your lips.

You opened your mouth happily inviting the food into your mouth. You chewed as you felt your senses overcome you. Perfectly al dente pasta and a delicious tomato sauce tantalizing your taste buds.

“Oh my~! Prosci it’s so goo-“an unsettling sensation overcame your mouth. You felt your nose get runny and the sweat begin to form on your skin. The heat in your mouth has made itself known. You could feel it in all your soft tissues, your throat, and even your teeth!

“So..so hot!” You panicked. You jump up from your chair and scramble to the sink to drink water directly from the tap.

Prosciutto wheezed and let a hearty laugh out of his chest.

“I told you it was going to be spicy Y/N!” He wheezed.

“I didn’t think it was going to be THAT spicy!” You gargled. “Ahh~ the pain won’t stop!”

“Drink milk amore. Fats neutralize the capsaicin.” He chucked as watched.

You slammed open the fridge and grabbed the milk and drank straight from it, not caring it was for Pesci. You’d buy him a new one. You drank the rest of the leftover milk panting hard.

“Feel better?” He asked.

“ Yeah… the pain is gone. But now I’m going to have to worry about my lactose intolerance later…” you panted. “I owe Pesci a new milk jug.”

“We’ll worry about that when we come to it.” He said kissing your forehead.

What types of videos make them laugh?: anything to do with instant karma or people getting what they deserve… he looks like he’d enjoy public freakouts/karens getting what they deserve 😂

Any examples?: nothing specific, maybe CartNarcs? He’d like watching people messing with others and then they end up failing at their pranks or they end up getting served 😅

Melone

What type of humor do they have?: “That’s what she said “/ dirty minded humor & video game humor

How do they laugh?: he starts with a giggle and has a somewhat feminine light laugh. It’s very attractive

Anything you do make them laugh?: when you get frustrated playing video games and falling at them. 😅

You were sitting in front of the tv frustrated. You KNOW if you did enough backwards long jumps in rapid succession you could get through the endless stairs and to the final fight with bowser.

“Ugh… come on! It’s soooo hard!” You moaned in frustration.

“That’s what she said.” Melone snickered as he watched you helplessly try to glitch your way up the stairs.

“Ugh shut it Mel.” You hissed.

You kept trying and trying… no success. Your hands were beginning to cramp up.

“Aaah~! My hands! They’re cramping! Finish already!” You bitched.

“That’s what she said~.” He giggled louder.

“Melone! Not right now!” You barked.

“Now now Y/N… it’s just a game ~” he waved his finger at you.

You got so close, but your hands cramped up and spasmed. You had enough and threw your controller to the side.

“WELL FUCK ME SIDEWAYS!” You screeched. “ I give up!”

“That can be arranged ~” he purred while rubbing your shoulders. “ Calm down Y/N, it’s just a game… if you want you can take frustration out on me if you know what I mean ~.” He said kissing the shell of your ear.

“Sigh. ok, fine.” You giggled. “ You always know how to put me in a better mood.”

What types of videos make them laugh?: video game glitches, bad video game hacks

Any examples?: streamers or lets-players: ex: Vargskelethor, Vinesauce, Jerma, (my top 3 personally!) or overly popular YTubers like Pewdiepie, Markiplier, etc…

Ghiaccio

What type of humor do they have?: typos/ illiteracy/ misheard words

How do they laugh?: he always tries to hold his laughs in a “Pffft” if it’s really funny he wheezes before he laughs hard holding his ribs. It’s rare but he does laugh!

Anything you do make them laugh?: when you struggle to roll your R’s and say an Italian word but in the wrong way.

“Ghia~ can you bring me the pene for the pasta salad?” You asked, chopping the vegetables.

“Pffft what did you say?” He asked holding back a chuckle.

“You know! The pene pasta! The tube shaped pasta with the tip at the ends!” You said trying to be more specific.

“I have a pene but not pene PASTA.” He wheezed. “We have PENNE pasta.”

“Uh duh! That’s what I just said! What’s gotten into you today?” You huffed grabbing the bowl of pasta out of his hands.

“Y/N… Pene and Penne are two ENTIRELY DIFFERENT things.” He chuckled while wiping a tear from his eye.

“They sound the same! You just say the N a microsecond longer. It can’t be THAT funny! So tell me what I’ve been saying!” You whined

“Cock pasta. You said you were making cock pasta. Not very appetizing if you ask me. Penne is what you want to say- that means pen. Hence the pen shape of the pasta.” He snickered.

“So that’s why all the guys were laughing at me when I was raving about pasta arrabiata with penne?! And you didn’t fucking tell me???” You screeched.

The blue haired man crumpled into a laughing mess gripping his sides. “You can’t blame me for that fuck up! It was a perfect Language barrier!”

What types of videos make them laugh?: misheard lyrics and song parodies, Bone-app-the-teeth type compilations

Any examples?: how is prangent formed? Curse of the weggy board

[drama--universe]

Five Chickens

Requested by anonymous: Hey Hey! How about our 4 juniors boys from The Untamed, joined by a junior girl from the Nie clan (I think she could be Nie Huaisang's younger sister), when she saves their lives from a demon, but turns ugly during the fight. She is stubborn and so refuses their help, without realizing herself that the weapon that hit her was poisoned and she was in agony after a few days. But they manage to save her, repaying her for her earlier help. THX, have a nice day!❣️❣️❣️

Pairing: Untamed Juniors x fem!reader

Word Count: 2.0k words

Part 2

"She'll do great, she knows what she's doing." Wuxian was teasing Huaisang, with a stupid grin as he watched you and all other younglings march out into the fields. Huaisang's eyes remained trained on you and he didn't even react to Wuxian's comment, much to the man's dismay. He was right, Huaisang knew that much, and yet he couldn't help but worry about you.

This would be your first official hunt, dressed in the dark grey robes that represented your clan and a large saber in hand. Unlike him, you were much more interested in fighting and swords. If anything, you were a carbon copy of your oldest brother, Mingjue. Only differences that you were a bit less aggressive, but in now way should you be angered. You had been hunting since you were 10 years old, a talent for tracking and killing demons that gained you the title of 'the little demon of Nie'. Yet, Huaisang was worried. He didn't want to lose another on of his family members.

"It went this way!" Jing Ling's voice was booming loud, anyone near could hear it and in turn also creatures. Sizhui and Zizhen were trying to shush the boy, but getting Jingyi quiet was another task.

"I know it went this way, I'm not blind! But can you see anything here, stupid?" Jingyi screamed back before all of them froze when something loud growled behind them. With a turn of their heads, the cause of this became clear.

They supposed it was a man, but it's body was disfigured and broken. Black smoke surrounded it, pulling attention away from the obvious dangling arm and broken leg.

"Uh... demon?" Zizhen stuttered and the others nodded before jumping when the creature let out a loud roar. They ran in an instance, avoiding trees as they were chased.

"I thought there were only bunnies!" Jingyi screamed loudly as he jumped over some fallen trees, daring to look back and only screaming when he noticed how close the demon was to him. Curses flew from his mouth, which made Sizhui frown at the breaking of the rules. With another roar, they all dared to look back before slowing down. Someone had jumped on the demon, sword slashing away at the enemy as they avoided the attacks. The quartet slowed down, staring at their savior as they fought. Then, with a final blow, the demon crashed to the ground, smoke completely gone and a girl straddling the body with the sword impaled into it's chest.

"You guys run like chickens." The comment was unexpected, so much so that Sizhui couldn't help but laugh while others stared in shock. You got up, pulling your saber out of the demon's body and watching as it turned to ashes before you walked closer to the quartet. It was then that they realized that you were Nie (Y/n), if not for the saber it was for the smirk you wore that sent shivers down their spines and reminded them of Nie Mingjue. You walked closer before pausing right in front of them, saber now thrown over your shoulder as you placed your other hand on your hip.

'You're hurt." Sizhui noticed the long scratch on your leg, cutting through your robes and revealing your leg along with the wound. You followed his gaze, looking at your leg with confusion before sighing softly as you tore a lower part of your robes before lifting the robes up to your hip.

"Cover up!" Jin Ling and Jingyi yelled in sync, all of them turning away from seeing you practically naked or at least like they believed. You paused for a few seconds before rolling your eyes, continuing to wrapping your leg to keep the blood loss to a minimum. Then you lowered your robes once again and looking back at the boys.

"Let's find something else to hunt, you chickens." You spoke as you brushed past them, walk turning into a sprint as you got sight of another creature. The four boys couldn't help but follow, although it was with slight hesitance in their steps.

"Oi, chickens!" There rang a collective groan from the group as they noticed you approaching, or more specifically from Jin Ling and Jingyi as they all turned to face your approaching figure.

"Stop calling us that!" Jingyi called out, clearly annoyed as he glared at you. You didn't react to the glare, instead you just smiled at Sizhui as he greeted you. He was probably the only once that didn't mind the nickname too much, he was used to worse kind of nicknames at this point (Wuxian being the cause of this).

You stopped once you were next to the group, sighing loudly before looking at the object in Sizhui's hands. It was a child's toy, yet he held it with such care and you couldn't help but wonder why.

"Did you buy that here?" You asked, pointing at the object and Sizhui looked down before nodding. He opened his hands fully to reveal the toy, which now was clearly shown to be a butterfly. It was pretty and reminded you of the toys that you had as a child, not that you cared much for those when you were young as you preferred to play with the swords of your brother.

"Did you go to the doctor for your wounds?" Zizhen asked and you smiled at the boy, but shook your head nonetheless. You didn't see the point, it was a simple flesh wound and you were used to those.

"Are you sure that's okay?" "Yeah, I cleaned and wrapped it. It'll be fine, nothing I haven't had before." You said with another smile, not flinching in the slightest as you prodded at the wound before shrugging it off.

"What about you? You sprained your ankle, no?" You turned to Jin Ling and he looked surprised that you knew that before nodding at you, yet not speaking up besides a thank you. Right when you were about to say something else, you heard a loud shout from behind you as a man walked by with a cart full of snacks. With wide eyes, you carefully watched the sugar covered fruits and your hand was quick to move to your money pouch. You raced to the man, buying five sugar covered fruit skewers before handing the vendor his money. Then you made your way back to the group.

"Here you go, enjoy!" You smiled as you handed out the skewers to the quartet, who all took it with slight hesitation before all taking a bite. In a second, all their faces lit up as they continued to eat to the treat. You followed, carefully biting into the fruit and listening to the small crack of the sugar. With a small, you chewed on the candy with a happy sigh. It was nice to eat some sugar once in a while, even if it was super unhealthy for you. Only halfway through the apple, you suddenly felt a pain in your abdomen that tore right through your whole body. The apple clattered to the ground, shattering on impact while you held your stomach in pain as your vision blurred before turning dark.

Sizhui was the first to react as he watched you go down, his own treat joining yours on the ground as he gently laid you down. You were unconscious, but clearly still in pain as your brows furrowed. Black lines were rising above your collar, stopping right underneath your jawline and the lines were slightly raised up.

"She needs a doctor." Sizhui said and Jing Ling, surprisingly, was first to lift you up on his back, making sure that your arms were wrapped around his shoulders and that he had a firm grasp on your legs before he turned his head to the group. Zizhen was the first to speak again, leading the way to the closest doctor. Surely the doctor must've been shocked to see them run in, all of you from rather major clans, but he was quick to move as he noticed your state.

Your skin had turned pale, the black marks had grown more noticeable and your eyes were flickering open and closed every few seconds. When you were laid down on the bed, the doctor was quick to check your state as the others watched patiently for whatever was happening. The doctor was quick to start treatment, not saying a single thing as he treated you with various things like liquid medicines or cream. It took only a couple of minutes before he finished, sighing loudly before making his way over to the quartet.

"How long has she been like that?" "We don't know, we only saw her today. Before today it has been two weeks or so." Sizhui answered and the doctor nodded, jotting it down before handing them a bottle with medicine pills.

"She needs this every day, one in the morning and one in the evening." He then said, looking at them with a stern gaze while Jingyi took ahold of the medicine.

"She also needs a lot of rest for the poison to get out of her system, I even recommend helping her by making her spiritual energy circulate faster. How you do that is your and her choice." The doctor continued before turning away and continuing his previous work while Jin Ling walked back to you. You were lifted again, once again laying on his back as he made sure that you wouldn't fall.

Then all of you made your way back to the hotel, where they could hopefully warn some of the adults of your condition.

"I am not a child..." You spoke as your medicine was handed to you along with a cup of water by Jingyi, who almost looked like he didn't really want to be here. Nonetheless, you took the pill and swallowed it with a heavy sigh. Being bedridden was not your style, you hated being stuck in the same room from sunrise to sundown. The quartet visited every day to take care of you and Xichen came along every two to three days to help you to help you with your spiritual energy. Right now, the black veins had gone back down, now only near your wound like any normal infection, and it didn't hurt anymore thanks to the faster healing rate due to your spiritual energy.

"Then you would've gone to the doctor when needed. Besides, you're fourteen." Jingyi said and you pouted at him before laying back down. You pulled your blanket up before looking back towards Jingyi, patting the spot beside you. Jingyi gave you a short glare, turning around with a huff and you sighed.

"Chicken." You whispered, to which Jingyi gave you another glare before laying down anyway. You smiled at your victory, leaning your head against his shoulder before sighing again.

"Thank you for the help. You and the other boys, of course." You whispered again, but Jingyi didn't answer you and it just remained quiet in the room. Until the other three appeared, all pausing as they saw Jingyi lay beside you. You lifted your head, patting the bed softly again and causing the three to join you by sitting down near your legs while Zizhen moved to sit against the wall on your other side.

"How are you?" "Well, I'm bored. So, did you bring something to eat?" You asked, staring at Sizhui with curious eyes. He reacted by simply pulling out a pouch and opening it to reveal some hard candies that you had asked for. You sat back up, happily grabbing one and popping it into your mouth with a happy smile.

"You're the best!" You laid back down and chewed happily, laying your head against Jingyi's shoulder once again. The boys talked and you just listened to them with a smile, laughing at the comments they made. It was under weird circumstances, but you were glad you had met them and became friends.

With those thoughts, you drifted to sleep with a smile on your face.

[sh1nch1r0]

𝕿𝖔𝖝𝖎𝖈 𝕾𝖙𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖘

❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁

Shinchiro Sano x Reader

Beeing called Ugly and beeing rejected broke him,and the only thing that brought him away from those events were late night rides…

Tw:Racing,Toxic beauty standarts,being called ugly

❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁

Lights flew by and the world went silent,the thoughts in his head went silent.There were only the Road,his bike and him no one else,behind the tinted visor could no one see him.Nobody could see his ugly face that he was cursed with,being rejected for the 20th time now made him overthink was he too ugly to love?too difficult to love?.

He had to break away from his thoughts cause a red light came up.His bike came to a halt,he looked up and waited for the light to turn green.All of a sudden he heard a sound,a very familiar one.It was the sound of his dream bike a Kawasaki Ninja H2R ,this beauty could speed up to almost 400 km/h and could get to 200 km/h in 6,5 seconds.A beautiful bike and a pricey one too.

Engine sounds got louder and the Bike rolled into view the driver was smaller than him he could see,had black sweats on and a grey oversized hoodie.The Visor of the helmet was also tinted just like his.

❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁

Traffic around Tokyo at this time was calm and the streets were free which was perfect so he could push his bike to the limit.

But the Driver of the Kawaskai still haunted his Mind,he wanted to be friends with this guy he had good taste in bikes.If he was lucky he will see him again.

He took the way to the freeway of Tokyo and a bike rushed by him.It was the guy.He looked right and left and chased after him,his bike was with its’s 150 km/h at its limit but the driver im front of him was slowing down all of a sudden so after a couple of second they were right beside each other.His opposite was going faster and slower which meant he wanted a race which he will accept.He gave his opposite a hand sign,and so they race began.

Cause of the Speed difference the bikes had the other driver was going slower.

The Race was going off Road to a path that led up to a abandoned Shrine.Shinchiro was glad that he choose Tires that could also go off Road so the gravely street was nothing to worry about.

His opposite was the first to arrive at the top of the shrine.He had to accept his loss.

❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁

The engine of his bike went out as he parked his bike beside the other drivers.

His helmet was on the seat of the bike so he was probably in the abandoned Shrine.

To gratulate his opponent he went in too.There he was standing he was a little bit smaller than him,he approached the person.

“Congratulations on the win” he said out loud.

“Thank you…” a feminine voice replied.

Its a woman.A woman who rides Bikes was uncommon.

“Ur a woman i…” he whispers.

“U did not expect me to drive a Bike” the feminine voice cut him off.

The woman turns around and reveals her face,she was gorgeous her hair was shiny,and her eyes were glittering in the moon light she was…perfect.

Her eyes widened as she saw him,which made him back off a little.

“I..uhm..did…not…ah…think my opponent was that…good…looking” she stutters.

What?She called him,HIM Shinchiro Sano good locking SHE the beautiful woman who drove a absolute menace of a bike she called him good locking.

“Good Joke” he replied and scratched the back of his head.

“Huh? what do you mean u look fine…” her voice had a nervous undertone.

“No,i got rejected by 20 Girls” he confessed to the stranger.

“Excuse me WHAT?!” his opposite replied.

“The story is true” he confirmed.

“I mean i understand when people reject me but u,i think some girls dream to be your girlfriend.” she said.

She understands why she gets rejected.Shes beautiful and a talented bike driver why would any guy with a right mind reject her.

❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁

“I dont understand why guys reject you” he says in a serious voice.

“Just look at me…” she says.

“I do” his voice was deeper now.

He closed the gap between her and him.

“I look at you and i see a absolutely beautiful woman”

Her eyes meet his and her lips get closer to his,the gap between them was closed by Shinchiro.

Holy Fuck did her lips feel good on his.She pulled him closer and laid her hands in his neck.

He will now drive more often around tokyo around.But that not alone cause there was no need in anyone rejecting him.Cause he found his girl.

❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁•❁

[olenvasynyt]

I saw this post about how the other side treats Jurian like some sort of villain when Rhysand has committed far more atrocious acts. They treat the latter like a hero when the Jurian does less damning actions than Rhys. Your thoughts?

You seem like someone who has a good head on your shoulders and I would very much like to know your thoughts on this. thanks!

It’s funny when people hate on certain characters who are exactly like Rhys. Eris…Jurian…Tamlin tbh…The only difference is we are seeing them all from Feyre’s POV, and Feyre is very biased towards her mate vs those who are her “enemies”.

I think a lot of people who villainize Jurian bring up his comments about Elain in ACOWAR, and I think this is a perfect way to show the comparisons between what he did and what Rhys has done.

Jurian implied a few times in ACOMAF and ACOWAR that Elain is getting SAed by Illyrian males, and he says it to Lucien and Feyre’s face. Quotes:

Chapter 67 of ACOMAF:

Chapter 2 of ACOWAR:

But are these any more cruel than Rhys making comments about Lucien’s mother and Jesminda? Or going into Feyre’s head and voicing her sexual thoughts?

I would argue that they are more cruel, because Jurian is implying that others will be violent to Feyre and Lucien’s loved ones, while Rhysand is being violent himself. I should have to talk about UTM too.

And tbh I’m not damning Rhys for this, or Jurian. That would defeat the purpose tbh because both of them were playing as the bad guy. They were wearing a mask. And tbh ACOTAR Rhys with his evil mask was my favorite Rhys to read because it was just so interesting and I love a morally grey guy!

But why are we villainizing Jurian for doing the exact same thing Rhys did, and worshipping Rhys and excusing his actions at the same time?

“Oh but Rhysand was going into Feyre’s mind to taunt Tamlin! He twisted her broken arm because he’s playing as the bad guy!” And then when the topic turns to Jurian it’s “he’s a villain for saying the Illyrians would harm Elain!! It’s not true!”

Idk man…are we sure it’s not true? We have seen how SJM has written Illyrians, how they treat their own females. And maybe not Illyrians sure, but there’s also Kier’s Dark Bringers, which are implied to be even more cruel and violent. Jurian was a human general during the War and he fought with them both. And regardless of whether or not he believes he’s right or if he’s just goading Feyre and Lucien, he’s saying this because “he’s playing as the bad guy”. He’s playing as the mad man who says whatever and is goading people. But guess what? As we find out in a dramatic reveal, he is fighting against Hybern: he goes to the human lands and gets to Grayson and his father. He has sided with them this entire time, because of course he did.

I was trying to think of what else people damn Jurian for and I had to look up his whole history with Amarantha because I could not remember for the life of me

Oh? Jurian pretended to be an enemy’s lover to get information that was necessary to protect his people, his loved ones, and to get revenge against the enemy who had tortured him and did him and his people wrong? But he really hated the enemy the entire time and ended up destroying them? That sounds very familiar…

…wait! Didn’t Rhys do that with Amarantha UTM? And technically Feyre with Tamlin in ACOWAR?

We damn the morally grey who are not seen in a good light through Feyre’s eyes, but we excuse the morally grey that Feyre loves. The character bias has a lot of people in a chokehold!

Thank you for your ask! This was a very interesting topic to discuss.

[merrinla]

Meet the Cast

The panel shifted towards the companions themselves, as well as the actors who brought each character to life. First up was Zach Mendez (Horizon: Forbidden West, Married Alive), who voices Lucanis: an expert assassin of the Antivan Crow faction. Bloodthirsty, calculated, and a workaholic, Lucanis was raised with high expectations and fears disappointing those he loves. To him, being an assassin is his only job and identity to be excellent at. “As soon as Zach was cast, he deep dove into Dragon Age and read everything he got his hands on. He did it all to create that depth of character you can really feel,” Barlow remarked. “Zach’s a comedian, he would easily find the humor in anything Lucanis was saying. And sometimes I’d have to remind him he’s a deadly assassin and to stay bloodthirsty, but I think he found this cool way of finding the light in the darkness.” “After I finished [The Wigmaker Job], I realized this might be the coolest guy I ever get to play,” Mendez said. “What struck me was his mind is as dangerous as his knives. He’s constantly attuning himself to the kind of shifting terrain of every mission. And also, he’s kind of hilarious. I mean, if you look at his relationship with his cousin Illario in The WigMaker Job, they’re constantly giving each other crap. But there’s a lot of love there. So I got to pull from my relationship with my brother, because we love each other dearly but we can be ruthless with each other.” Mendez also revealed to fans that, in addition to voicing Lucanis, he actually recorded lines for a variety of other characters, including the Grey Wardens. “I can go ahead and play a bunch of characters, so I had to really steep myself in the understanding that, okay, the Grey Wardens go through a lot to actually do what they do. They make a pretty intense bond. So, I tried to bring that as best I could to the physicality… I cannot wait to see how it plays out the game.”

Smile through the tears, laugh through the tragedy.

[d-issent]

Botched. (Dissent AU.)

Peter Sam encounters Proteus. Having had the Sad Story of Smudger in the back of his mind for decades, he wishes on a whim for Smudger to be restored. Months later, after a remarkable discovery at the Mid Sodor, rebuild!Smudger is indeed - well, rebuilt - but has seemingly lost all of his memories in “exchange.” He loses his personality, his quirks, everything, he’s completely reset.  Peter Sam doesn't do well with guilt. This is part of the Dissent AU! So these guys are all robotisized - robofied? Robotified. Hell if I know. I could've written this with them as their normal engine selves that you see in the show but uhhh I didn't want to! Enjoy!

After days and days of a stalemate, on a hazy, muggy summer evening, Peter Sam finally spoke up, with no one around to hear him but the root cause of his grievances.

“I just feel so guilty,” he blurted out to his shed-mate, “I feel responsible. I feel like I’m the only one at fault for the state you’re in, and I can’t speak about how I feel without someone dismissing everything as ‘just an old fairytale.’ I can’t get closure like that.”

Silence followed his words, at least at first, but soon enough a gentle, almost melodic, metallic ticking of well-oiled parts began to sound, as the second occupant of the shed slowly stretched his arms up to the ceiling. As he moved, the cylinders in his shoulders and elbow joints clunked, releasing a few short, sharp jets of steam, and with it, the tension of the day’s work judging by the sigh of relief that also left him.

“Dunno how I feel about that wording of yours, Peter.” He finally replied, blinking rapidly as the fading daylight from outside prompted the automatic lights in his eyes to flicker on, bathing the shed’s dull, wooden ceiling beams in soft, golden light. Even on their lowest setting, they still illuminated the dust, the cracks and the spider webs stretched across the wood.

Another pause, then his voice sounded again, a twang of something that almost resembled humour mixed into his usual monotone.

“I like to think that I’m in a far better state than some of them poor bastards in the scrapyard at least.”

“That’s setting the bar pretty low if you ask me.” Peter Sam mumbled, his eyebrows pinching together in distress, a crease forming in the soft silicone of his face. “Anyway. My wording’s the least of my worries, God’s sake, Smudger, I’m pouring my heart out to you here, mate.”

“I know, I know. Sorry, I’ll try to be a little more compassionate.”

With another muffled cacophony of clicking and ticking, Smudger hauled himself up into a sitting position, more steam hissed, warming the already humid air.

“I don’t wanna sound like everyone else when I say this, I really don’t,” he began, “but aren’t I enough closure for you? I’m back up and running again, right?”

“Not all of you.” Peter Sam retorted, his voice deepening into an almost pouty, sulking tone. It was a wonder he hadn’t stuck out his bottom lip. “Sure you’re working, Percival even said he’s never seen a re-hauled engine operate so smoothly, but that’s all there is. So what if you’re a ‘miracle of engineering’? You’re not you, Granpuff said so.”

“Duke hasn’t made you feel like this, has he?” Smudger asked. “Because from what I’ve been told, he’s never had the best opinion of me.”

“He hasn’t done anything like that. He never wants to talk about the Mid Sodor anymore.” Peter Sam said defensively, proverbial hackles immediately raising at the thought of the tension between Smudger and his mentor. His hands twitched and twisted in front of him anxiously, wearing down the already peeling, plush grey silicone a little further down his fingertips, revealing the smooth metal beneath. 

Smudger eventually spoke up again, his shoulders pulled up around his head in a tiny shrug. 

“Eh. That’s his cross to bear, I guess. Anyway, even if I’m not all there as you said, I’m not sure if I even wanna be the ‘me’ I was back then if just the thought of that ‘me’ gives our fellow engines a headache, Peter.” 

The older engine tilted his head, eyebrows raising, bringing a little bit of life into his usual plain, weary expression.

“Leave your dang fingers alone. You know it’s not easy for management to get hold of that material. You wanna look like the Terminator?”

“Ugh…”

Peter Sam threw his mauled hands down with a groan of frustration, but the itch to do something with his hands just wouldn’t leave him, and soon enough he was back, almost stealthily picking at the peeling silicone, hoping against hope that Smudger wouldn’t notice.

Silence fell between the two of them, in which the air around them hung heavily with troubles yet to be spoken about, grievances yet to be aired. Peter Sam really couldn’t stand it, he knew that the night was drawing in, and with it the other engines, all groaning and complaining half-heartedly about the day’s work, yet all of them still content and chatting away, filling the shed with noise and stripping away all privacy. He wasn’t sure if he could go another day without getting this off of his chest, he feared his boiler might explode.

“Look. I know how silly this sounds, I know it’s nonsense!” He blurted out, voice high and wavering with misery. “But I know what I saw and I know what I did. I wanted you to be found, I wished for it, I asked Proteus to save you and he said, consider it done! Should’ve known that it would’ve been too good to be true; that it was a botched deal; look at what he’s done to you!”

He turned in his seat, gesturing wildly towards his bemused friend.

“You’re a total blank slate! I know everyone is all cock-a-hoop about your re-haul, everyone’s always talking about how good a job they did and everybody’s always saying how well you run and how bright and glossy your livery is, but what does it matter? You get up; you do your work; you come back here and that’s it! You hardly talk to anyone, you barely react to anything, it’s like you’re sleepwalking through life. Is that really what you want?”

“Sleepwalking through work doesn’t sound so bad.” Smudger quipped.

“God above, Smudger…”

Peter Sam ran his patchy hands down his face, the last remnants of steam leaking out from his ears, covering his face in a misty halo, obscuring his expression for a moment. 

He continued on.

“I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask for you to be so apathetic about everything, I asked for you to be given a second chance, but what does that matter if he didn’t bring you back? You’re completely rebuilt, you don’t have a single original part left, save for your chip, and even that got completely overwritten! It’s like you’re still lost under the Mid Sodor. You don’t remember what happened, you don’t remember who you were, you couldn’t even remember your name when you first came here, for goodness’ sake, and it’s my fault!” 

He exhaled sharply, leaning forward with a creak of metal, his head in his hands, shoulders hunched, a truly pitiful sight to behold.

“I hate sitting on all of this, and I hate that no one believes me.” He grumbled. 

Outside, the muggy, sticky heat was finally given a period of reprieve. From the murky sky, raindrops began to fall, thick and fast, peppering the ground and the buildings of the Skarloey Estate with much needed water, a roll of thunder sounded in the distance, deep yet muffled, a promise of a stormy night yet to come.

From the gaps between his fingers, Peter Sam saw Smudger tilt his head towards the sound inquisitively, and he couldn’t help but wonder if this was the older engine’s first storm since his retrieval from the Mid Sodor, and his suspicions were confirmed as he spoke;

“Man. It ain’t just you. Dang sky’s yelling at me and all now.” He muttered, his voice almost lost in the white noise of the rain.

Peter Sam grimaced.

“… I’m sorry,” he sighed, finally lifting his head out of his hands, an uncharacteristically haggard expression on his face, it made him look far older than he was, “didn’t mean to shout, really.”

“S’fine. Feels good to yell sometimes. You’re just lucky Handel ain’t around to make a fuss about the noise.”

Another lapse, and outside the rainfall turned into a deluge, pouring from the sky in a great sheet. The temperature steadily dropped, and the scent of petrichor lingered in the air; the sight and the smell normally would’ve brought some sense of comfort to Peter Sam, but tonight the gloomy weather just made him feel boxed in. He gazed reproachfully up into the dark hills that surrounded the estate, eyes narrowing.

Was Proteus up there right now? Skulking around, refusing to interact with anyone, human or engine, loyal to no railway, answering to no man; spreading his spoiled wishes across the island, duping silly little engines like him into thinking they could make a difference.

Oh. If he found him again… 

“Think you’re beating yourself up about this for nothing, y’know.” Smudger said, bright eyes watching the rain, blinking slowly, lazily. “All that spiel that came outta your mouth was great and all. But you didn’t actually stop to ask me how I feel about all of this, the uh… So-called victim of the hillbilly and his faulty lamp.”

Peter Sam drew his knees up to his chest, his face pulled into a sullen, moody arrangement, feeling for all the world like a student being reprimanded by his teacher. It was a weirdly familiar sensation, one that he really didn’t care to look into at the moment.

“Alrighty. Penny for your thoughts?” He asked, doing his best to lighten his tone.

“I ain’t that cheap, sorry,” Smudger sighed, barely disguising a yawn, it was clear that the older engine’s lack of steam was winding him down for the night, but still, he spoke, “look, I just reckon you’re thinking about all of this the wrong way. Sure, I don’t remember anything about Duke, or the Mid Sodor, but from what I’ve been told, I’m not sure I want to.”

“I can understand that.” Peter Sam nodded, though an awful, sour feeling now sat resolutely in his throat, a need to tell Smudger that he should at least be a little curious as to his origins, but he stayed silent, letting the older engine speak on.

“Even if I could remember all of my misfortune, all of my spills, all those decades spent as a generator, I’d probably wanna forget all that crap anyway.” Smudger said simply. “Wouldn’t you? Growing and healing from horrible stuff that’s happened to you is cool when it’s a plot for some cheesy novel, but it sucks in the real world. Would you wanna do it if you didn’t have to? I wouldn’t.”

“Depends on the engine.” Peter Sam pointed out. “Some of my friends wouldn’t be who they are today if they hadn’t gone through the hardships of life.”

“Guess you could argue that, yeah. But I’m not interested in working through everything that’s happened to me,” Smudger replied, “if I was given the choice, and I have been; I’m fine with not knowing. That’s good enough for me, and that should be good enough for you too, right?”

Peter Sam didn’t reply, but it was clear that Smudger’s words hadn’t sat well with him. He was frowning mightily, his mouth pressed into a thin line, and when he finally spoke again, that sulky edge was present once more, rough and grating.

“Being told about who you were and what happened to you isn’t the same as remembering it.” He grumbled. “It’s hard to think about the past, of course it is, but how are we supposed to grow if we don’t? We need that experience and those life lessons, otherwise we never learn anything, we end up doomed to repeat the same things over and over again.”

“Peter, I’m not stuck in a loop, you know.” Smudger said sharply. “I’m not an idiot, man. I’m not doomed to make mistakes and then immediately forget why and how I made them.”

The older engine sighed, a short and sharp exhalation of breath, a frustrated sound.

“Maybe I haven’t started growing yet,” he went on, “maybe you, and Duke have just gotta give me a chance to figure some stuff out first. Maybe this right here is gonna lead me to become whoever I am in the future. ‘Cept this time the world’s a kinder place, this time I’ve got a bit more sense and this time, I’ve got a couple hints as to what I shouldn’t do under my belt. How about that?”

“What happened to you on the Mid Sodor wasn’t right.” Peter Sam said doggedly, and in his anxious fidgeting, an entire strip of silicone was peeled away from his thumb, earning a grimace form him. “Fiddlesticks. You shouldn’t have been put away like that because of a bad track record, no engine who was treated like some object with no sentience did. What humans did to some of us back then was draconian, you know that, right?”

“That’s not what I’m getting at,” Smudger replied with a shake of his head, “I don’t wanna be a victim. I’m tryna reassure you that this is a far, far better start in life for an engine like me, and knowing what little I know about who I was back then is enough to make me wanna be better. Useful, if you want, that sounds like a second chance. Sounds like you got your wish to me.”

“But…”

Peter Sam struggled to think of another point to make, another angle at which he could approach this, all of what Smudger said made sense, but it still did nothing to appease the squirming, nauseating feeling of guilt inside of his stomach.

“Think what this all boils down to is you worrying that after all of that effort to restore me, I’ve ended up as some miserable prick. A bit like Duke,” Smudger snorted, casting a glance at the deluge outside, “contrary to what you think, I’m pretty happy right now. I’m not out in that mess at least. That’s a cause for celebration if you want my opinion.”

Peter Sam finally found himself cracking something like a smile, a wobbly expression that didn’t quite reach his eyes, and from across the shed, Smudger appeared to notice this, as with a groan of metal, he sat up a little straighter, fixing the younger engine with those intense, yet warm eyes.

“Peter Sam.”

“Smudger?”

“You did a good thing, alright? It’s fine.”

Peter Sam swallowed a retort, a retort that he wasn’t even sure he wanted to make. Something about the way Smudger spoke worked to calm the storm howling away inside of his head, after such a hard conversation, it was strange how just that simple sentence was enough to quell the unease plaguing him.

It’s fine.

Directly above Smudger’s head, the lamp hanging from the wooden ceiling beam suddenly fizzled, the lightbulb buzzing and dimming almost to the point of popping, before it flashed back up again, bright and warm as if nothing had happened.

Smudger glanced up, an eyebrow cocked.

Peter Sam held his breath, hoping against hope that nothing would come of it, hoping that it was just a faulty lightbulb, hoping…

“Someone’s gotta check out the wiring in this shed tomorrow.” Smudger commented, his eyes sliding closed. “Reckon I might know a thing or two about that.”

[piracytheorist]

Episode 31 reactions!

Okay, first off, mind. blown. There's some VERY good action in this one!

Yor's coworkers are at the "Well, we're still better off!" jealousy stage. It's a small thing but something I can definitely see people like them do. Sharon seems to be the most passive-aggressive one, so it was a bit revealing that she was the first one to go like "Hey I got beer and sausage, I'm not jealous at all!" Our truest selves come out in the hardest times...

A very beautiful shot of the ship!

By the way, if Yor's coworkers knew what she was going through, they'd definitely stop being jealous.

Yor appears a little too nervous, if you ask me. Granted, we only saw her once before working, and when she was imagining what she'd tell Anya she sounded quite secure in her abilities. But now that she's been living in a family, her way of work has indeed changed, if anything else because she's worried they may find out the truth about her.

At first I thought McMahon had kicked her in the shin, but upon rewatching I realized he kicked the leg of the chair. I'm sure if it were the Shopkeeper he'd probably kick her leg, if not stomp down on her foot just to get her to focus.

Gram was sneezing again? Should I pay attention to this or is it just a baby being a baby?

Yor is smart to try and think how the enemy would think in order to be prepared for their plan, but she doesn't take into account the fact that some of the assassins are actual psychopaths who don't care about taking innocent people's lives in their effort to do their job. That's what being too kind of an assassin will do to you XD

And it's driven to the point even more with Yor being cute like that - and probably remembering the times she played with Yuri when he was little - and Olka saying she doesn't look like a criminal. She really doesn't. Sweetest assassin ever <3

The "mmm" Yor made at the end was the exact same "mmm" Anya made while stuffing up her face with food XD

Loid is not impressed, and this is only the beginning.

It's so fun having the actual, physical copy of the manga in front of me as I watch the episode! I notice here that when Anya talked about Yor missing, she also told Loid "You miss dinner all the time", but the anime omitted that. STOP DENYING US THINGS!

Anyway, Anya calls him out for catching feelings, and Loid is quick to drop his voice a couple octaves to show how secure he is.

I AM NOT LONELY I AM NOT.

Sure buddy, sure.

The office guys are on the opposite side of relaxing and actually enjoying themselves on this trip, going out and drinking a little too much, while the "Greys", Yor and McMahon are walking on eggshells.

The anime team obviously had enough time available for this chapter, as they have a couple of added lines from the office guys, so I doubt they omitted Anya's line about Loid missing dinner due to time issues. I wonder what might be the reason - it's not like they're trying to make us think he doesn't miss dinner? We know the guy's schedule is tight as a drum.

Anyway. Assassin-ing time and holy shit.

I'm pretty sure I gasped at this.

And the rest of the scene, of course!

Obligatory mention that it's been proven time and again that torture is not an effective means of interrogation. People can and do lie while being tortured for information, so the things they say may or may not be accurate. Torture may make them speak, but whether they speak the truth or not is another issue, unrelated to torture itself. So while there can be various goals of torturing someone (illegitimate, of course, like punishment, making an example out of a "traitor", or in very few real-life cases, gratification), obtaining information has proven to not be a feasible one. I understand the point of the scene was to show McMahon's abilities and to establish that there are multiple people on board after Olka, I just needed to say that.

I've been certain they'd go the "dumping bodies into the ocean" route. A cruise is a great setting for that!

The knock on the door was intense! Especially since it's put right after the scene of McMahon and Furseal walking back to the room, but just those few seconds of slowed down tension make you think "Oh no. It's not them. It's them".

I expected the "Oh, it's just room service!" and of course, I expected the "I didn't order any" reply.

Great animation of the attack and Yor protecting Olka and Gram though I'm begging the animators to look a bit into trigger discipline, at this point whenever I see a gun my eyes go immediately on the trigger and I go D: whenever there's a finger on it that shouldn't be

But oh, McMahon is good, and resourceful!

The assassin points his gun at them, Furseal freaks out while McMahon marches on.

We also finally see one (1) eye under the reflection of his glasses. I get that the reflection makes it easier in animation and such, but still I appreciate this detail, especially in such a moment.

And more action! Yor being a badass and at the same time caring for the baby!

"I can excuse murder in self-defense but I draw the line at scaring a baby"

THE GUY WAS STILL WIGGLING. WHILE HE HAD A DAGGER THROUGH HIS SKULL.

(probably last uncontrollable movements from his dying nervous system but still. it was fucking chilling and I love it)

Also, I can understand Yor being strong enough to break the door. But I think it takes a different kind of strength to throw an object, even a sharp one, and make the object break through the door, a human skull, and then latch onto a wall. Absolute unit.

Seeing the body was freaky, too! If I'm correct, I think this is the very first time we see a person being murdered on screen in the story.

Ah no wait we do see a guy in the second episode getting a dagger to the back and falling down. But it was much more palatable than seeing a dagger go through someone's skull and practically nailing him to the wall.

I'm gonna think about this for a long time, lmao. It was brutal!

I just noticed this on my rewatch! McMahon is wearing a ring in the shape and place of a wedding ring! He then goes on to tell the ship's services that the "mister and missus had a fight" though in the manga he says "me and my wife" so is his cover that he's on board with his wife?

And here's the same thing that shows Yor's side. She sees assassins as people doing their job and "cleaning out trash" especially in her case, not people who do this job just because they have no issue killing.

I mean, I don't want turtleneck guy to defeat Yor, but he's got my respect for now.

He also says there are other members from the gangster family on board? Just how many people did manage to get on this ship XD

The eavesdropping guy tells turtleneck guy that he sells his information equally and practically tells him good luck getting ahead, so now I'm thinking, there's another eavesdropping guy, or is he selling all his intel to other assassins that weren't there in that scene?

Also, good luck getting them to work together without getting greedy and/or paranoid, lol

Furseal was actually blushing while wearing the mask XD and the plague doctor mask on the baby!

The poison guy thinks he's some dude. He has no idea who he's dealing with.

This arc will be perfect for creepy shots of Yor, won't it XD

Furseal asks for his button back and dude! Priorities much? This button saved all your lives XD

Blonde mask guy tries to go for Olka right in the middle of the crowd like wtf and the moment Yor grabbed his hands I went like "BREAK THEM. BREAK HIS FINGERS." And then she did <3 We stan <3

That's it. That's their dynamic in one shot.

While Anya is having an overdramatic tantrum, we see how even when Twilight is trying to not be on the lookout - he even says he just has to stay away from suspicious people - his skills are so fine that they kinda work subconsciously. He spots the listening devices (I mean, there are a ton of them) and notices all the suspicious people even if he doesn't make a conscious list of all of them.

Then Twilight has a fucking breakdown over one (1) silly keychain. I mean it is a skeleton keychain so his mind immediately went "IT'S EITHER THAT OR MY OWN DEATH" is anyone even surprised

Anya is still learning how easily Twilight overreacts. And like the scene with the sandbox in the hospital, she realizes she caused him a little too much anxiety and tries to take some burden off.

This entire tension is going on and Twilight is still stuck on whether he should buy a stupid keychain. This man is incapable of relaxing, you tell him to relax and he goes like "Okay spy mode on standby, parent with anxiety mode is on".

I love how this reads a bit like "Papa considers hating frogs as much of a dealbreaker as being an assassin!"

It's so weird - though fitting - to think that Anya believes she can keep this up indefinitely. She has no idea how easily they could discover each other's identities and believes she can stop that from eventually happening. It makes sense for her age, though.

It's also a bit sad, how quick she is to think that she would be abandoned if they found out about each other. It's probably what makes her go "I have to keep this up as long as possible". Her young mind can't comprehend an alternative.

And oop! Taking part of the next chapter too, I see!

I might have lost it during these shots.

"You go around having battles" is definitely something Anya would come up with. It's why she's so hard to write and why Endo should receive an applause for how accurate to her age and experience he writes her.

Next, Twilight's biggest foe; the unreadable expression of a five six year old who is trying to take responsibility for her actions.

I love how when Twilight is facing actual danger and difficult missions he's all cool and collected. Meeting Desmond? Piece of cake. Taking down entire groups of people aiming guns at him? No problem. Anya acting unpredictable? THE WORLD IS ENDING.

However funny the scene is, it slowly drifts into a sadder territory. Twilight actually worries over Anya's mental state, and though he has no idea Anya is having the time of her life, there must be a part of his understanding of her trauma that is true. Now why he undermines completely his own trauma... It's projecting, isn't it?

Anyway, he concludes that the Handler knew from the beginning that Anya needs some vacation in order to recover from her trauma, and for some reason, instead of going like "Yo give her a break" she conjured up this entire idea for a vacation... But in reality, the Handler was only saying that in order to justify his time off in paper.

Like, the man can be so off sometimes that I want to shake him and then hug him because god I cannot imagine going your entire life like this and not even comprehending the idea of actual time off.

Anya: Have fun! Twilight: Cannot compute!

Like yeah it's funny but how am I supposed to not feel just a little bit sad with how he's completely unfamiliar with the concept of relaxing and having fun 😭😭

This is going to be a disaster XD

Anya prepares to run for it, realizes he can change and wear everything within seconds, and freezes... But then Overanalyzing TwilightTM takes control and he starts spending long minutes in front of the mirror freaking out about how his weird ensemble will manage to fix Anya's mood.

This truly is his most difficult mission. Anya is the perfect age to teach him about how sometimes he cannot control how people will react to his manipulations... and then there's the mind-reading, too.

Anyway. I love how Anya goes like "That's not how I expected to win some time but it works" and just steps back into the corridor XD

OH MY GOD

I love me a good fight choreography! Here Yor pushed Olka down from the shoulders, and at the same time pushed Furseal's knees to the front so they'd bend and he'd go down just enough to miss the sickle. Awesome!

The guy just starts a fight right in the middle of the crowd. And Yor has no choice but to stop him, Anya has to hide and also keep Loid from coming out of the store...

That IS a very interesting cliffhanger! I nearly screamed when it ended there, lol. It even ends in the middle of the page! I had to cover it with my hand to avoid spoilers XD The things I go through in this crazy experience XD

Overall, awesome episode! Though I felt that the Twilight panicking scene dragged on a bit. I don't know why. Maybe it's just that I'm an angst ho and I wanted a bit more angsty vibes from that scene. It's not bad, but maybe I still haven't realized just how much on comedy the show belongs in. It has a peculiar but for some reason very efficient balance on everything.

[shuniverse]

dark nights ,, g.tnka

🧷 I decided to write gundham because I adore that man and I want to marry him fr 😔❤️

🎐 f!reader (because I’m self-indulgent 🥲) ;; cute fluff ;; a storm ;; gundham + a tight muscle shirt 🤭 ;; gundham calls you paramour and dove and darling because those nicknames suit him and they’re so fucking cute 😭 ;;

;;

gundham had invited you over, missing your company, because ‘even the supreme overlord of ice gets lonesome in his abode.’

you happily obliged however, also missing the warmth you felt in your boyfriend’s apartment, as well as his adorable little hamsters, the devas.

and so, you’re driving to his home, playing some low, soft songs on the way there, your bag packed in the passenger seat with hoodies and other assorted clothes, and your hair done in a messy bun in the back of your head with light bangs framing your face, and subtle dark eyeliner around your eyes.

finally arriving at his door, your things in hand, you knock on his door.

you giggle at the rustling behind it, and you smile softly when the door finally opens, revealing your boyfriend with his hair down and messy, face mostly clean aside from the gentle eyeshadow still around his eyes, in a snug black tee that accentuates the subtle muscle of his arms and the thicker muscle of his chest, and loose grey sweatpants hanging low around his hips. he looks absolutely delectable.

“darling? you’re gawking, is something the matter?”

his comfortingly deep voice pulls you out of your trance, and you giggle and nod. “sorry, baby, you’re just super pretty.”

his cheeks flush at the compliment, ever the shy guy despite his normal persona. “ah, thank you, my paramour.”

you nod, stepping forward to press a kiss to his lips, more prominent now that the pale foundation isn’t covering them, and he reciprocates happily with a ringed hand to your cheek.

he pulls away though with a beautiful close lipped smile. “let us get inside, my love, we mustn’t let it get cold. besides, I’ve been dying to feel your most comforting presence in my dark abode.”

once again, you nod, and step inside and walk to his room, where you set your things. you know he doesn’t mind, he’s let you know, and you’re comfortable considering you’ve been together for two years. you’re surprised you’re not living together at this point.

you leave his room, having stolen one of his hoodies, which makes him chuckle when he notices. “cold, my dove?”

you giggle. “yeah, it was kinda chilly outside, especially with the rain coming in.”

he nods with a knowing grin on his defined features. “of course, I understand, love. come, I’ve prepared some movies for us to enjoy. ah, but first, please make yourself comfortable, I’ll go grab our treats for the night.”

“ok, baby.” you smile and kiss his cheek while he presses one to your head, lifting your hand and kissing the back of it, before walking to the kitchen to retrieve your snacks.

god I got lucky with this man, you think, he’s perfect.

as soon as you utter those words, you notice four familiar little blobs in your peripheral vision, and you turn your head to see the devas crawling over to you to cuddle against you, maga-z gently nibbling on your forearm, making you giggle. “hi, babies. miss me?”

you smile fondly at them. cuties, they are.

gundham walks back into the room, seeing the cute little scene, and he smiles. “how adorable. a goddess with fearsome creatures, shall I call you circe?”

you giggle at his reference, knowing Circe is one of your favorite Greek goddesses. “I wish, baby, but she’s too cool for me.”

“oh nonsense, dove. you’re goddess enough for me, and I think that suffices enough, yes?”

you smile and kiss his arm as he sits down next to you. “I suppose, love. now, what movie do you have picked out?”

he gives a small smile as he pecks your temple before handing you a bowl of fresh fruits as well as the chips he knows you love. “I’ve picked out a few, darling, just let me know what you’d like to watch, okay?”

you nod, getting comfy and munching on your fruits.

he scrolls through movies he rented for you, passing through Atlantis, The Phantom of the Opera, The Conjuring, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Incantation - and as soon as he stops on that, your face lights up; it’s your favorite horror movie.

“Ooh, ooh, that one!”

he chuckles. “okay, my paramour, we shall watch this one.”

you smile giddily at him and kiss his cheek. “thank you baby.”

he gives you a warm smile, one you’ve grown to love and appreciate, seeing as it usually only comes out with you. “anything for you, my dove. let’s watch now, I know you’re practically vibrating in your seat.”

you giggle at his comment, snuggling up close and grabbing a chunk of watermelon and handing it to gundham, who opens his mouth for it. you pop the fruit into his mouth, and he chews with a little smile, waiting til he’s done to kiss your head and speak again. “thank you, my paramour.”

nodding, you chomp on a piece of your own. “of course, pretty boy. let’s watch the movie now!”

he gives a small laugh, turning on the movie for you both to watch.

all goes well, until about 10 minutes later, thunder booms outside, and a flash of lightning is the last shine of light you see before all goes dark.

you scream, clinging onto gundham. you wouldn’t necessarily say you have a fear of storms, but this one got to you.

you feel arms wrap around your form in a comforting manner, and a kiss is pressed to your head as a hand brushes down your hair. “shh, my love, all is well, it’s just a power outage, you are okay.”

you bury your head into gundham’s thick chest, whimpering a bit. “are.. are the devas okay?”

he smiles against your head, feeling the aforementioned hamsters crawl and snuggle against his neck, and close to your head. “yes, darling, they’re just fine. are you?”

you pause for a moment, before looking up at him, faintly seeing his defined facial features from what little light is coming through the window, and nodding. “yea, I.. I’m fine, baby.”

he nods in response, kissing your forehead. “good, that’s good. I suppose no movie then?”

you pout, before sitting up and grabbing your snacks. “let’s just head to your room, baby. it’s comfy in there, and we can light candles!”

he chuckles at your enthusiasm, standing up and holding out a hand for you to hold. “let us go then, dove.”

you both head down to his bedroom, the familiar smell of incense and cedarwood filling your senses, making you smile, and you plop down on his bed, the black silk sheets comforting you with the plush pillows.

he gently grabs your snacks and places them on the bedside table, and he picks up a candle from a drawer, lighting it, and setting it down. the smell is a mix of lavender, and musky oak-like wood. he then turns to light and burn some incense as well, the woodsy smell complementing the candle.

he smiles at you now, and you lay back on the sheets comfortably, opening your arms to the beautifully misunderstood man in front of you, who happily takes your invitation and gets on the bed to lay comfortably on top of you, the top of his dark head close to your chin.

you press a kiss to his head, feeling drowsy and comforted by the way he runs his hands up and down your sides, and he presses a kiss to your collarbone.

“a nap would be good now, darling, storms are good for sleep. let us rest, and feel rejuvenated when we wake.”

you smile, nodding, softly scratching the base of his neck with your nails. “sleep.. sounds good, my love.”

he sighs deeply, his deep and rumbly voice making you warm inside. “sleep well, my paramour.” and with a kiss to your jaw, he’s snuggled his head against you, on his way to dreamland.

and it’s now that you realize, however.

this.

this is home, you think.

and you think you could stay til those candles burn out, til all of them do.

or forever.

yeah, that. that’s a good idea.

;;

hope you enjoyed this!! I love writing for gundham :((( he makes me so so happy and I want a boyfriend like him 😭😭

feel free to like and reblog, it’s greatly appreciated!!

[peepism]

Number | Levi Ackerman

modern AU! Levi sees you standing in line with your friends waiting to order some food, he strikes up a conversation in hopes to getting your number. Some swearing, obviously. (Levi is also around the same age, not much of an age gap)

wc: 1,369

The streets of Maria were full of loud bustling this particular evening, with children screaming in joy while continuously going up and down play structures at the local park, people selling their products at the market, and various activities being held.

Everyone was outside, including the college students whom usually would've stayed in their dorms studying for their year end exams.

"I SAY WE GO GET SOME ICE CREAM!" Sasha randomly chimed in, bringing your focus to your large group of friends, that was one way to break your train of thought.

"I agree, the sun is out and everyone is enjoying their time. Surely it won't hurt to get some sweets in our stomachs." Historia- better known as Krista added, her sweet smile making anyone want to agree.

You trailed behind them, keeping your mouth shut just out of habit, occasionally pulling out your phone to check if you had gotten any messages from anyone. It wasn't that you weren't interested in being out spending time with them, not at all, it was just your anxiety from being out in the open and also thinking about how much studying you'll need to cram. Especially your psychology, that class had no breaks what so ever and the content was heavy. "Y/n, you alright?" A small voice beside your whispered, causing a small jump from you. "I'm fine Mikasa."

"Y/n/n.. be honest. Usually you're being loud and obnoxious right now with everyone else. What's going on?" She pestered more, her grey eyes practically piercing into your soul.

– I suppose I'm just a bit stressed, is all.

– About what? You know you can talk to me, it's not like I'll tell the others.

– It's just the studying I need to do, sure, I shouldn't be thinking about it and should be out here enjoying my time with everyone but I just can't. You all know how much I've been struggling lately in Psychology.

– I know, but hey... will those hot guys take your mind off it for even a little while?

Your e/c looked to where she had nudged, a small mischievous smile trying it's best to not appear on your lips, knowing full well she would have proved her point if you allowed her to see it. This caused stifled laughter from the both of you, making everyone else turn around in curiosity, demanding and begging for you both to reveal the secret but to no avail.

"Seriously, what is it Mikasa?" An angry Eren continued, bugging the poor girl. It was incredibly obvious they both fancied one another. You just couldn't stand the bickering, which lead you to pushing past them up to the front so you could order your ice cream.

Unbeknownst to you, Levi Ackerman had walked up having spotted his sister and Eren. Questioning them on what they were up to and vice versa, until his eyes had landed on you.

His slender fingers grabbed Mikasa's arm, wanting her to pay close attention to what he had to say. It was a weird habit of his he had, he also wasn't the most gentle with his grip either. "Who's that?" His eyes squinted, his head giving a curt nod in your direction.

– That's Y/n L/n. A friend of mine, clearly.

– No shit, fuckface. Clearly she's a friend of yours. Is she single?

– Why do you want to know? She's too young for you, besides. Why would I want you dating a good friend of mine. It's weird.

– "I'm not even that fucking old?" Levi scowled, his forehead creasing at the small digs his younger sibling kept giving him.

"Whatever Levi, do what you want. However it doesn't mean I'll be happy with you." She finally warned, giving the short man a little shove towards you who had begun ordering their ice cream.

Now that his mood had been ruined, he grumpily made his way towards, brushing himself off from every inch.

As you began to laugh from something Connie had said, his heart began to skip. Cheezie of him to think, but your laugh truly was the most adorable thing he had ever heard in his life. It up lifted his mood faster than light.

With one last final mental pep talk, he excused himself from cutting in front of the large friend group, making quick conversation with a few and butting into yours in particular.

"I'm so glad most guys don't ask for numbers. I don't think I'd know how to react. It's a bit awkward now a days to ask for a number. The sucky part about it is, if he doesn't ask for your number then you automatically know he doesn't want anything serious, and I'm just not that type of person. Ya know?" You had been talking, answering a silly question that Ymir had asked once she saw the amount of guys that had been taking quick glances at you.

When Ymir noticed Levi standing behind you, a shit eating smirk adorned her face, arms folding over her chest and her finger giving a quick point.

"What?" Your face furrowed in confusion, whipping around to come face to face with the attractive man. The blood that rushed to your face out of embarrassment was unmatched. "Oh fuck, hello!"

– "Hello." He chuckled quickly adding on to have a conversation with you. "I'm Levi, Mikasa's brother. I figured I'd do my rounds introducing myself to everyone. Not that I planned on it. I just saw her with you guys and thought I'd come say hello. Everyone was around when I spoke to her except you two. Didn't want to leave you guys out."

– "Mhm. Is that so?"

An amused look shone in your eyes, a small giggle wanting to force its way out of your throat. He was a bit awkward with it, yet it was cute in it's on way.

– Indeed. Might I catch your name?

– Y/n L/n. Everyone calls me Y/n/n though.

– Noted. So tell me about yourself?

– Well, I'm a (Your major) student. I plan on becoming a (profession).

– Interesting, I'm studying to become a lawyer. So far I have two years of studying left. I wish you luck in yours.

– Must be hard, but yes, you as well! It was nice meeting you!

– It was nice meeting you as well Y/n.

You were practically melting inside, your attention completely on him as he had slowly began to walk away. Yumir was the one who pointed out your ice cream had been dripping down your hand to your arm from not having eaten any yet from being in la la land with Levi.

This caused you to frantically grab napkins and clean yourself up, your friends giggling at you. When you were suddenly being helped by another pair of hands, a pair you recognized but didn't at the same time until your gaze shifted up. Nose inches away from Levi's.

"By the way. I forgot to ask. Can I get your number?" His steel eyes glimmered, knowing full well you weren't going to say no.

"Depends. How old are you?" You shot back now being all cleaned up with his help, heart absolutely feeling as though it was going to jump out of your chest.

"I'm twenty-three. You?"

"Nineteen. Too young?"

"Pushing it."

A row of giggles spewed out, not being able to be held down any longer. You had to admit, he was pretty smooth with it, it probably ran in the Ackerman genes. Gingerly you passed him your phone and he added his number in your contacts, fingers brushing up against yours as he handed it back. "Your ice cream, it's melting again.." He droned out, shaking his head to grab some more napkins and help you out. Not leaving until he tucked a strand of h/c behind your ear.

– We thought you said you were glad guys don't ask for numbers, Y/n/n. Everyone in unison laughed

– Oh shut the fuck up, this is an exception.

– An exception who just so happens to be my older brother. Mikasa finally teased.

It was a nice day. Amazing even. A day you'd never regret skipping studying for.

[tangerinesgf]

You Look Happier Pt.2

Tangerine x fem!reader

Summary: Tangerine left because he thought you’d be better off without him, but neither of you really moved on.

Tags/Warnings: language, jealousy, smut, bit of angst, cheating

Disclaimer: English is not my first language and I didn’t proofread it, cuz I'm lazy and really wanted to get this out there :)

A/N: this got a bit longer than I intended it to be, but I was having too much fun with it so I couldn’t help myself. Hope you like it too!!

18+ Minors DNI!!

Tangerine had been sure leaving you had been the right decision. It’s like he said on the night he left, what he had to offer you was no life, no matter how much he loved you. He still believed that. He also still loved you. 

That made the way you had talked to him sting ever more. You had every right to hate him. Tangerine certainly hated himself for leaving you, but he had seen no other option at that time. 

Of course you had moved on. He didn’t expect you to just wait around for him all your life in the hope that one day he would change his mind. Partially because up till one week ago, he’d never planned to. 

Yet here he was in his car outside of you apartment building, deciding if he ought to go in or not. Tangerine knows he shouldn’t, he left you. He had made that decision. Then how come he’s here, almost crawling back to you after he saw you with some guy that wasn’t him. Fucking hypocritical it is. 

He started at your window for another 10 minutes before finally giving in. Fuck it. If he was gonna do it he might as well get it over with. He slammed his car door shut and pulled his coat together, making his way over to the entrance of the building. 

As he walked up the stairs to your apartment he thought of what he was going to say, but by the time he was standing in front of your door his mind was still blank. 

He was about to knock on the door, finally having found the courage when he heard a voice coming up behind him.

“Hey.” Tangerine recognized the man from the pictures in your apartment. Your boyfriend. He looked okay, fancy with his grey suit and slicked back hair. Guess you had a type. 

“Hello.” 

“Can I help you?” 

Fuck, yeah... what was he doing here exactly?

“Uh, yeah, I used to be friends with your partner, thought I’d stop by, but if you’re busy I can always come back later.” Meaning never, Tangerine didn’t think he’d find the courage in himself to try this again. 

“Nonsense, we’re about to have dinner, I’m sure she’d love to see an old friend.” 

Great...he’s fuckin' polite too.

Tangerine gives him a smile he hopes doesn’t come off as forced and steps aside so the fancy prick can open the door. He just now realizes he doesn’t actually know his name. 

“I’m Richard by the way.” introducing himself as he walks inside.

“Tangerine.” he mumbled back, not really in the mood for any fruit related questions. 

At the reveal of his name, nothing happens on the man's face, no sort of recognition, suggesting he's never heard about Tangerine before. Meaning you'd never mentioned him, at least not by his name. He shouldn’t care, you were allowed to move on. That’s all Tangerine had wanted when he left, for you to find someone better then him.

Maybe you had referred to him as your 'arsehole ex'. He wouldn't blame you if you did.

However before Richard can respond, you walked into the living room, probably having heard the front door.  

"Hey, honey."

You immediately ran for your boyfriend, completely missing Tangerine standing awkwardly by the door as you hugged him.

The man pulled back to give you a kiss on your cheek, then gesturing to Tangerine who had to watch all of that while trying not to vomit.

"Look who I found at the front door."

The smile on your face fell instantly once your eyes landed on Tangerine.

"Tangerine?" You breathed out just loud enough for him to hear on the other side of the room.

Richard was still painfully obliviously to the situation at hand.

"Why don't you two catch up and I'll get supper ready, hopefully you made enough for 3."

"Oh that won't be necessary, love, Tangerine's not staying." You said looking straight into his eyes. "He has places to be, don’t ya Tan?"

He was gonna say yes and just leave. He really was, but apparently his brain had other plans. “Actually I’m free all night, darlin’.” 

'Darling' was whispered just loud enough so only you could hear it. You glared daggers at him, what in the hell was he up to?

"Wonderful.” Richard shouted from the kitchen.

Dinner was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to sit through. It was in moments like this Tangerine wished he had better social skills. He had to admit you were fairly good at pretending the two of you were actually old friends, painfully good. 

Richard was probably one of the nicest guys he’d ever met. God knows he wouldn’t have just let an old friend who also happened to be a guy visit you out of the blue. There was always a reason beyond just catching up, Tangerine himself was the perfect example of that. 

He should be happy for you, he couldn’t imagine that the prick wasn’t giving you everything you deserved and more. But seeing the two of you looked at each other and the way he kept his hand firm on your thigh he couldn’t help but think that it should be him. 

His jealousy is acting up again and he hates it. Both you and Lemon told him he should talk to someone, but he never did. He didn’t need it without you. The longer the night went on the more frustrated he got. The kissing and stomach-churning pet names were driving him fuckin’ insane.

Just as he went to put his arm around you again, Tangerine’s self-restraint broke.

"Will you quit fuckin' doing that?" He regretted it the moment the words left his mouth. He couldn’t help it, it just slipped out. Richard just stared at him in confusion, while you on the other hand

“Tangerine, can I talk to you? In private.” you said, wrangling yourself out of Richard’s grip to stand up.

He was sure you could see the frustration on his face, not quite sure how Richard didn’t notice since Tangerine felt like he was about to explode. 

“Of course, yeah.” 

He followed you to your bedroom, waiting until you locked the door behind you. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you? You look like you’re about to burst a fucking vein.” At that moment it looked like you yourself might burst one, clearly agitated by his childish behavior. 

“What's wrong with me?! That fucker is holding onto you like he fuckin' owns you.” Tangerine knows he has no right to be bothered by it, but he can’t help it. 

“We’re dating, Tan, you used to do the exact same thing, remember?” you said matter-of-factly. 

He did in fact remember that. God did he miss the feeling of you tucked into his side as the two of you fell asleep on the couch to your favorite show.

“Yea, but he’s not me.” Tangerine stated as he took a step towards you. 

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” 

“It means, love, that every time that prick touches you I want to cut his fuckin’ arms off.” Another step.

Tangerine slightly lifted your chin up with his hand. You didn’t recall when he had gotten so close to you. For a moment you stay like that, a loud silence filling the room. 

The next moment his lips were on yours, kissing you hard. His hands roamed all over you from your hair to the curves of your body. There were no words that could describe how much he missed this. Missed you.

For a moment you allowed yourself to kiss him back, getting lost in the way his lips felt on yours. It was too long before you fully registered what was happening. Too long before you finally pushed Tangerine away from you.

“The hell was that?” You tried to get your breathing under control as you backed away from him.

Tangerine could tell you were trying to come off as angry, but found it impossible to take you seriously. Your lips were slightly puffed and your cheeks were red. Hair messed up from where he had grabbed at it before. God you were beautiful.

“Tangerine, why did you come here?” 

“Because I thought I could move on, that I could forget about ya, but it’s been 2 years and I still think about you every single day.” You could tell from the way he’s looking at you that it’s true, but that didn’t change anything. He still left you. 

"You have no right." You scoffed. 

"You can't just come in here and expect me to throw away my entire life for you after you left me!” You said, careful not to yell too loud. 

“You don't think I know that? You think I like being like this, love?” Tangerine stepped closer again. You tried to back away, but were met with the wall behind you.

“Stop calling me that.” 

Tangerine was now hovering over you, trapping you between his body and the wall. “I tried so fuckin’ hard not to love you, to let you go, but the truth is that I can’t. I need you.”

“Well that’s too bad for you, ‘cause I have.” You could feel Tangerine staring directly at you, but you refused to make eye-contact knowing you could never resist those demanding eyes of his.

"Have you?” 

“Yes.” you breathed out, still looking at the ground beneath you.  

“Didn’t feel like that from the way you kissed me just a second ago.” He brought his hand to your face again, lifting you chin up forcing you to make direct eye contact with him. 

“Now you be honest with me, when he touches you, is it his face you see or mine?” Tangerine’s eyes never leave yours as one of his hands slides down your body and starts undoing your belt, the other still cupping your face.

“Tan, we can’t.” your breathing became more ragged as he continued to roam his hands over you, purposely ignoring his question. This was wrong, so fucking wrong. Your boyfriend was innocently waiting in the living room while your ex was trying to finger fuck you against the other side of the door.

“Tell me to stop and I will.” his hands gently pushed your pants down to give himself better access. 

You should tell him to stop, you know that, but no words came out of your mouth as he continued to pushed your panties aside. He raises his eyebrow asking for permission to continue as if he didn’t already have you wrapped around his ringed finger. 

Tangerine took the moan that escaped from your lips when his fingers ghosted over your clit as a cue to continue. You threw you head back against the wall as he slowly pushed one digit inside you. 

“Fuck, love, you’re already so wet for me.” his mouth went to your exposed throat kissing and sucking on it lightly. Before he could even think about leaving a mark you managed to push him away, only to drag him back pulling his lips to meet yours. 

After lazily pumping his finger in and out a few times he added a second without warning, whimpers forcing their way past your lips. You could feel the rings on his fingers against your sensitive skin every time his fingers thrust back into your cunt, hitting that perfect spot every single time. 

You had been doing a decent job at keeping quiet until Tangerine decided to see how far he could go and added a third finger into your folds. And if that wasn’t already driving you over the edge he crooked his finger inside you, dragging them along your walls. 

A loud moan escaped from you mouth and Tangerine’s other hand immediately came up to cover it, but giving no indication that he was going to slow down his movements. 

“Shh, can’t have your boyfriend hearing your pretty little sounds now, can we?” 

But apparently Richard had already heard something, because not seconds later there was a knock on the door. Tangerine slowed his pace, but not completely stopping, as you waited for what would come next. Luckily you had remembered to lock the door behind you. 

“You two alright in there?” he called through the door.

“Yeah we’re good, we’ll be right out.” You hoped you sounded convincing enough. You knew Tangerine was loving this, the way you tried to hide how fucked out you already were from just his fingers. 

“Good girl.” he praised after he heard your boyfriend walk away from the door.

There was something so thrilling about almost getting caught, right now it only made you want Tangerine more. You felt your climax getting closer and closer as he picked up where he left off thrusting in and out your cunt at an unforgiving pace. 

Apparently Tangerine could sense your upcoming orgasm too as his fingers started dragging along your walls impossibly faster, he knew exactly how to get you off and you fucking hated it. Hated how you’re supposed to be over him, but still allowed this to happen. 

Every single one of those thoughts left your mind as the pleasure of your orgasm took over. There was nothing on your mind except him and the way he was making you everything you hadn’t felt in years. Tangerine slowed his pace as he helped you ride out your high.

“That’s it, love, did so well for me.” he continued to whisper praises into your ear as you tried to get yourself back together. 

After a while he pulled his fingers out and you whined at the empty feeling they left behind. Before you could even get your breathing under control Tangerine brought his fingers, still covered in your juices, up to your mouth. Knowing where he was going with this you opened your mouth and starting to suck them off.

After he was satisfied he walked over to the bathroom connected your bedroom, grabbing some paper towels to clean you up. By the time he was done, you started to get your common sense back, realizing what you had just done. 

“Fuck.” 

A/N: decided to make a part 3 and perhaps a part 4 to this, because I have too many ideas :) 

Taglist: @venusthepirate @waiting4ff @bratdoll666 @assmaster37 @wrendermedone @earth-elemental18 @nocturnest @sisterslytherinog@dontknownameauthor @thirstyfortangerine @betheac​ @ilovetangerinewithallmyheart​ @kpopgirlbtssvt​ (let me know if you want to be added or removed)

[littlefanficprincess]

Your scarred face

"Oneshot"

Pair: Tord/Red Leader x reader

Song: When will i see you again by Shakka

part 4

(A/n): I am running out of Tord gifs

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Footsteps could be heard throughout the hallway, as (Y/n) patrols the hallway. Her (e/c) eyes scan the surrounding area.

She had gotten more used to the life in the red army, even with her small incident a few days ago.

"There is no fucking way I'm gonna join that good for nothing idiot" An awfully familiar voice complains.

"Come on, think about it, we could get a lot of benefits by joining the red army" Another familiar voice argues.

(Y/n) stops in place and poke her head around the corner. She spots two figures, one had his back turned to her.

The one who didn't have his back turned, had brown spikey hair, blue button up with a black tie and a grey vest. He had a visor on his face, pixels presented on them representing eyes.

The other, who had his back turned. He had somewhat messy ginger (strawberry blond) hair, a purple sweater with a green overcoat over it.

"Matt, Tom? Is that you guys?" (Y/n) calls out, making them turn to you. It reveals that Matt had a metal chin.

"(Y/n)!" Matt exclaims, picking the girl from the ground and pulls her into bone crushing hug. "It feels like ages since we last saw you"

"Maybe you should let go of her, or she won't be breathing soon" Tom cuts in. Matt gives in and puts her back down on her fett. Tom's digital eyes go up and down, inspecting (Y/n)'s outfit.

"What are you guys doing here?" The (h/c)nette asks them, looking curiously at them.

"We could asks you the same. You're wearing a red army uniform, I take that you are a soldier here " Tom replies, motions to the outfit (Y/n) was wearing.

"Yeah, I joined a few weeks ago. You guys sure look do look different, are you also part of the army?" (Y/n) crosses her arms, looking at her two old friends.

"Not really, atleast not yet" Matt answers.

Tom rolls his digital eyes "Never. Commie asked us to join, no way I'm doing that"

"Commie? Isn't that what you called Tord, does that mean he is too"

At her statement, Matt and Tom look at eachother. Matt's blue eyes turn back to (Y/n) "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

┏━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┓

Meanwhile

┗━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┛

Tord grumbles under his breath as he stomps through the corridor, holding his arms behind his back. He couldn't believe that someone was accepted without his knowledge, especially someone who could possibly be his old friend.

He turns the corner, finding Tom and Matt. They were talking to a girl with (h/c) hair, which was tight in a ponytail.

(Ignore this if you have too short hair)

Tom and Matt notices him and their faces fall immediately. Confused, (Y/n) asks "Is something behind me?" She turns around to met a single silver eye.

There stands Tord, standing tall. There were many scars on the right side of his face, an eye patch covering his right eye. There was bandage covering his neck, he was wearing a red army uniform, but had a red hoodie instead of a sweater. His left hand was covered by a glove and his right was replaced by a red mechanic one.

On his blue coat was a name tag Red Leader.🤔In (Y/n)'s mind, everything clicks. The reason why she was immediately accepted, it was because she mentioned that they used to be friends."Hey, To–" Matt stops himself when he sees Tord glaring at him.

"(L/n), I want you in my office" He orders. He turns around, walking towards the infamous red door.

(Y/n) Looks back the other two, silently asking for help. After a call from Tord, she follow behind him. She feels nervousness rise up in her, her hands slightly shaking.

He leads her into his office. He takes a seat in his chair, motioning for the girl to sit on the one on the other side of the desk.

She does that, placing her hands on her lap. She looks up to meet his eye, trying her best not to break eye contact. It was so odd, a few years ago, they were super close. But now, it felt like he was a different person.

"So, (Y/n). How did you found about the Red Army?" Tord questions, pulling out a file and placing it on the table.

"I found a poster about it on a walk, quite a while ago"

"Hm...who had spoken to you when you called?"

(Y/n) places her index finger on her chin, trying to remember her name "I think her name was Senna Akuma. She interviewed me when I first arrived here, she seemed intrested when I said your name"

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Tord grumbles "Ofcourse she would do something like that. My final question is, how long have been part of the army?"

"Four weeks, I've been trained by general Marrison. I'd say she has been a great teacher so far" (Y/n) explains, fiddling with her thumbs.

"From now on, I will be taking over the training from general Marrison on the Thursday" Tord writes something on a nearby paper. He places the pen down and looks back to (Y/n).

"Wait, you're serious?" The girl says in surprise, her shoulders perk up in. Tord keeps stares at her, his face staying serious.

Before they could say anything, an alarm blares. Tord stands up, confused what is going on.

"The base is being attack!"

~~~~~~~

I'm sorry that I dissapeared for twee (and only posted a kungfu panda oneshot). On here I am a lot less open then on my other platforms. I am currently in my final year, so I am sometimes too busy to work on my stuff.

[magickhajiit]

Boy Wonder No More

Chapter 1

Summary-

Tim Drake has been Robin for years. Its a secret he holds close to his chest. Unfortuanatly for him the truth has a way of revealing itself in the worst moments. And Amanda 'The Wall' Waller has decided Batman's proteges, the Boy Wonder and Nightwing, have more use under her thumb than they do out flying through the dark streets of Gotham.

---------- Also known as Tim Drake and Dick Grayson join the Suicide Squad.

Rating - T

Chalk lines jumble together as Tim slumps at his desk, Shakespeare’s words melt into white noise as he watches the clock, its arms moving with the urgency of a pensioner counting their coins at a store checkout. Either three minutes or three hours ago the clock had struck two. Giving him ninety minutes till the bell screeches in the hall and about four hundred and eighty minutes till he’s flying through the dark streets of Gotham.

When the professor’s clipped voice stops Tim buries his head into his book, his bangs blocking his view of the clock and his pencil teasing the edge of the blank page. The bite of a lead pencil into his skin keeps his eyes from drooping further as he nipples at his inside cheek.

Only a few years separate his teacher and her students, a fact that she compensates for a no-nonsense attitude and a severe bun. Mrs Miller is a newly Wed who just moved from the state of Nevada after studying for three years. Her father’s a big-time banker, with connections in New York, giving her first access to a faculty spot in Gotham State Academy. According to a mixture of private emails and transfer papers courtesy of the Bat Computer. Not that Tim is meant to look, but some stalker-like habits are harder to drop than others.

‘’Timothy Drake.’’ With her non-vigilante background in mind, Tim mentally kicks himself when he starts at the sound of his name. She’s managed to sneak behind him, so close he can see how her chalk-stained fingers have smudged a hint of green onto her dark skin. Hopefully, she rubs it off before her four PM meeting.

‘’Uh- Yes.’’ Subconsciously, Tim splays a hand over his empty page.

Her green eyes don’t flick downward, focusing over his shoulder, ‘’As I just stated these gentlemen are here to see you.’’

Unease running through him Tim follows her gaze, landing on the men in the door. Both are wearing pressed black slacks and ties, their eyes shielded by black glasses. Hints of grey have started to invade the hair of the first man. The second stands inches behind him, looking like he wanted to barge into the room first but was foiled. His form is almost satirical in its stature, the empty doorway space left by the first agent has been consumed by the second. ‘’Right. Sorry.’’ When Tim stuffs his work into his backpack no one speaks up to correct his assumption. The gaze of his classmates burns a hole through his blazer as he walks to meet them, the door closing in his wake.

Despite a warning bell blaring in his mind, he plasters on his best Timothy Drake smile when he asks, ‘’Can I ask what this is about.’’

‘’We need you to come with us, son.’’ The older man speaks first his speckled military-style moustache wiggles as he talks.

‘’Not until I know what this is about.’’ Deep in his pockets, his hand tightened to fists, nails embedding. He pushes a joke past his lips, its intent to disarm. ‘’My parents did warn me about stranger danger after all’’

Moustache man cracks a grin and for a split second, Tim thinks he’s won. ‘’If you tweet any louder than that you might cause a scene. And that’s not going to end well for any of us. Capesh.’’ When the second guy opens his mouth Tim can hear a slight whistle, and when he sneers he flashes empty gums and sparse teeth.

Tweeting. Maybe it's a coincidence. Maybe not. ‘’Sorry. I didn’t mean any disrespect I’m just curious.’’ Placatingly Tim raises his hands, taking note of the flintch that crosses the men’s faces.

‘’Curiosity killed the cat you know.’’ The hand that lands on his shoulder propels his body down the corridor, his fingers embedding marks that will likely blossom into bruises before the next sunrise. Just as Tim’s thanking God third period hadn’t yet finished the boy shuffles around the corner, his gaze locked onto the device clutched in his hand. With a teenage sixth sense, he knows to glance up moments before collision. His eyes widen like saucers as he takes sight of Tim.

‘’So it's true.’’ Tim thinks he might take double math with the boy but he’s not too sure. Before he can question and feed that voice in his head warning him the phone plucked out of the boy’s hand, earphones trailing behind, and crushed beneath the heel of a recently polished office shoe. ‘’ Hey. You can’t do that. I have rights.’’

The meaty hand that propels him forward is quickly replaced by a grip on the back of his neck, the pressure almost reassuring. ‘’Stay Calm and don’t struggle. You don’t need to make this any worse.’’ The older man guides him faster down the hall, but not before he sees the giant agent lift the boy a few inches from the floor, held aloft by the lapels of his own blazer. Robin knows at least a few dozen ways to untangle himself from the hold, another dozen ways to drop the agents and be out of the building before their bodies hit the ground. Timothy Drake however knows none.

Bright rays of sun leave him blinded for a moment when they burst through the front doors and only by habit does he manage the following steps without tumbling. Already he knew not to expect to be led to the principal’s office. Whatever this was, was bigger than a detention. Still, the black special ops van that’s rolled up to the school’s front doors is a surprise, as are the armed men surrounding it. ‘’Wait there’s been a mistake.’’ One hand dives into his pocket, digging around he presses the help button moments before his hands are wrenched behind his back.

‘’Sure there has.’’ Gum Guy was back, now forcing him forward into the awaiting open doors of the van. Two armed guards are already occupying the space within, not reacting even as Tim is forced to his knees between them. The chains that are resting on the van’s floor are quickly wrapped around his wrists, keeping his hands at the same level as his knees. As he’s trussed up he puts up a token protest at best, still hoping there is still a secret identity he's protecting. Though he takes satisfaction at hearing a grunt as he stabs backward with a sharp elbow, hitting a softness that promises a stomach hit. ‘’I hope I didn’t ruffle your feathers too much today, birdy boy.’’ The van’s doors slam closed as Tim’s throat runs dry.