#and I'm at work so i don't have tweezers

[i-aint-even-bovvered]

To other people who don't grow beards

Do you ever get a chin hair in like one specific place and it's just a bad sensory experience that you can't rest until it's out, or is my neuro diverging in a new cool way?

[dark-night-hero]

Imagine being Umemiya Hajime's significant other.

Imagine looking after his and your plants within the rooftop base of Furin. Sure you knew he could always handle them yourself but a helping hand would not hurt once in awhile. So as your laid there on the makeshift hammock, you humm. Turning to your side carefully not to fall as you watch your lover's back. "Watcha doin' in there Hajimeee" You knew that he was doing, but the look on his face as he goes into his endless talk about plant was worth the nonesense.

Imagine everyone knew chaos would come if Kotoha were to ever get involved in a fight let alone get hurt. So what more when it comes to you? "Tsk. Cowards." You utter before spitting blood as your lips got busted, watching the gang cramble away as you wipe your lips with your sleeves only to hiss. You busted your lips. Rolling your eyes upon seeing the no one on sight. You turn your back only to see a familiar figure coming your way. "Wha- what? Who told him?!" Looking at the silver haird guy approaching you in great speed, you started to walk back. Oh damn you are screwed. Before you knew it, you were running on your toes with your boyfriend chasing after you closely and of course to no avail, he caught you in an instant.

"Hey, aren’t you banned from patrolling for 3 weeks?" "Ha ha ha I was just walking around?" "With dishevelled clothes and a busted lips? I doubt." "Come on, it was an act of self defense." "Just because you don't like how they are looking at you doesn't men you can throw a punch first." "..." "Add a week more into your ban." "Hajime!" "Nope, not working." He was protective, sure. But more than anything, you knew you can handle yourself pretty well, you did not have his back for nothing. In fact, in some cases, he was more worried about those punks you beat up rather than you. After you all could be pretty scary when mad. Scarier than him.

Imagine often hanging out on the cafe, you love their meals after all let alone the adorable cook in there. Just like Hajime, you adore Kotoha but unlike your boyfriend, you feelings were returned. "(First name)! Welcome back, oh- you're not with??" "Your older broo got something to do at the moment. Who knew, maybe he'll make it if he finished earlier." You laugh, recalling your whinny lover upon realizing it will take him more time to leave. "How I love the freedom away form responsibilities." You sigh, a smile making its way on your lips as you bring your beverage close to your lips when the bell rings with a thud. "You traitor! How could you leave me alone to take care of it all?!"

"Are you sure you don't need an anti-rabies shot?" You chuckle at your own joke as you dab his bite wound on the neck before wrapping it in bandage again. "Dude, even I don't get to mark you like this." You chuckle once again. Humming to yourself, you grab his hand that has his knuckle wounded. You frown, then you blow on it before grabbing your tweezer with disinfectant cotton in it before dabbing it on his wounds. "Ow." "Don't be dramatic." You roll your eyes at him. "Dumbass." You whispered, started bandaging his wounds once again. "Dumbass." You whispered once again. "I'm sorry." He mumble. You hate seeing him get hurt.

[ⓒdark-night-hero] 2024°

[fanaticsnail]

Maybe some other time, Wire

Hey Doc Masterlist

Word Count: 900+

Synopsis: Wire is curious about your past and asking a lot of questions. You would prefer if he left this for another time considering the operation you're performing.

Themes: Kid Pirates x gn!reader, platonic series, you are 'Doc', the doctor of the Kid Pirates. Risky language, not explicit, humour, Wire is being intrusive, he tests your patience. This started as a fun crack series, and I needed to bring it back.

Notes: Permissions for art used from @magnuspirate was given, and how beautiful is he? Go and have a look at their other work. I am obsessed with how they draw Heat, alongside the other Kid Pirates. I dreamed about this fic last night and woke up laughing a little bit about it. 5am fic writing, my beloved.

“Hey, Doc?” The calm and low baritone of the trident user called sweetly over his shoulder to you, “Why don't you like to talk about your past?”

His question seemed reasonable enough. You had yet to really discuss who you were, what you did, or anything to do with personal relationships before joining the Kid Pirates. You weren't a native to the North like the majority of the crew, being an outsider they let in when visiting a port.

Letting out a soft sigh, you shook your head and continued to make good on the taste you set for yourself. Knitting your brows tighter together, you pursed your lips and used your utensil to extract another small object between their pincers.

“I just don't particularly like talking about me,” you utter without inflection on the words, “It's not a pretty story, nor is it remotely interesting in my opinion.” You placed the object in a small container before making to go back for another, “Now, I would prefer to focus on what I'm doing, so if you would please refrain from asking me questions, I would appreciate it.”

Wire pondered for a few moments, humming softly as he thought more on your deflection of the question.

“You know, I'm no ships counselor,” Wire uttered defensively, “But even I know not to internalize your past, especially when it caused you such a hard injury earlier.”

You look down at your healed leg briefly, still feeling the sting of the object embedded in your muscle, and the sour flavor from the poison igniting your blood. Shaking it off, you once again return to what you had set yourself to do.

“You're right,” you agree with him, nodding briefly, “You're not ship's counselor. Now, please stop asking me questions about my past. I would be happy to answer anything you want soon, but not now.”

Wire seemed to take this as his queue to sit in silence as you plucked and prodded at your latest project. But that silence only lasted as long as his questions halted its burn.

“Who was that person?” Wire asked you suddenly, his voice a little louder than it had been moments prior, “And why did they attack you on sight?” You sighed through your nose at this, rolling your neck on your shoulders to rid it of tension from your hunched position.

“Some other time, Wire,” you growled, your voice low and laced with warning. Wire refused to take that as reason enough to stop, curiosity eating at him the longer you avoided it.

“And the poison?” he asked you suddenly, “Why did you have a cure under your bed? Were you expecting something like this?”

“Wire,” you made your voice a little louder, disciplinary and tough, “Enough. I am concentrating.”

“And why did-?” Wire began once more, prompting you to throw your tweezers into the tray beside you and move to where he was laying face down on the medical bay.

Bringing your eyes to his, you narrowed them and upturned your lip to a soft grimace.

“Wire, I said some other time,” you spoke firmly, “I did not say ‘no’, nor did I avoid the questions you’re asking.” You nod along, ensuring you maintained eye contact with him. “I will answer you, just not now. Do you understand?”

Wire furrowed his brows, his mop of dark and silvery curls dancing at his face with his hood laying on the medical office chair. Still reclining on his belly, his curiosity plagued him as he darted his eyes between yours.

“Why won't you answer me now? We're alone, you don't have to think about it, you can just speak,” he commented, gently reaching one of his larger hands towards you and giving your forearm a friendly squeeze. “I thought we were friends. You don't have to talk, but I can admit, the curiosity has been eating at me since we got back from our mission to that island together.”

You inhaled a deep lungful of air, expanding your chest with it, before deflating it through a lengthy exhale through your nose.

“Wire,” you warn him almost sweetly, “You are currently laying flat down, on your belly, on my examination bed with your briefs, shoes and fishnets tucked neatly on the chair in front of you.” You gesture towards the chair his hood was tucked on. “And I am currently operating extremely close to, and directly on, your anus.”

You gesture towards the tray, reminding him where he was, and who he was talking to. A warm blush flooded his whiskered cheeks, burning his features with the hot ignition of a large fluster.

“Now, while I appreciate the sentiment, and I adore you, commander,” you utter sweetly, returning to your position at his exposed rear cheeks, “Removing cactus spindles from your ass cheeks, inside and outside your rectum, and the ones you managed to collect on your scrotum…” you continued, picking up your tweezers and returning to your task, “...Is not the position I would like to be in when talking about my childhood.”

Wire gulped back his silence, burying his forehead on his butterflied out arms. The tips of his ears remained red as you continued, wanting to punish him a little for continuing to push your boundaries.

“The only place I appreciate winking at me when I talk is from the eyes attached to your face,” you comment, plucking another spindle from his flesh and placing it in the container beside you, “So, please refrain from asking me personal questions while I am so close to your sphincter. I think we would both prefer it if the mood for intimate conversation was set elsewhere. Am I clear, sir?”

Wire nodded, extending his left arm over his blushing head and gesturing with his thumb to confirm your orders.

“Aye, Doc,” he mumbled against his right arm, “You're clear.”

“Wonderful."

Tag list: @mfreedomstuff @daydreamer-in-training @since-im-already-here @gingernut1314 @writingmysanity @sordidmusings @i-am-vita @indydonuts @feral-artistry @the-light-of-star @empirenowmp3 @racfoam @sunflowersatori @carrotsunshine @skullfacedlady @jintaka-hane @thenotsofantasticlifestory @nerium-lil @sinning-23 @a-killer-obsession

[beefcakekinard]

BuckTommy intimacy prompts #29 (kisses when they're mad) or #50 (patching up a wound).

Whichever one speaks to you, or a combination of both. Thank you! :)

29. kisses when they're mad +

50. patching up a wound

Buck shifts, restless and uncomfortable, in one of Tommy's kitchen chairs. His left hand rests palm-up on top of a sheet of paper towel on the table while Tommy uses a small pair of sterile tweezers to pick tiny shards of glass from the cuts littering his skin. Tommy's focus is singular, his brow furrowed as he works - normally, this would get Buck all kinds of hot and bothered, but the scratches on his hand itch and the topic of conversation is less than inspiring in that department.

"I'm not mad," Tommy says stiffly. He sounds like Maddie used to whenever Buck had done something particularly bone-headed when they were growing up. Buck has enough self-preservation instinct to bite back a joke about her giving Tommy lessons.

"What, you're just disappointed?" Buck goads. Tommy gives him a sharp look. So much for self-preservation.

"I'm not mad," Tommy repeats, adding, "I'm upset, because my boyfriend seems to have decided for me how I'm going to feel about meeting his parents, and when he didn't like the reaction he picked out for me, he decided to keep me in the dark about them coming to visit."

Buck bristles, straightening his back a little; even though he doesn't want to get back to the tense arguing he'd interrupted by crushing a wine glass in his hand, he doesn't like the way Tommy is characterizing the whole situation.

"That's not fair," he says. Tommy snorts in response and keeps picking glass out of his hand.

"No, it isn't."

"That's not what I meant." Buck tries to pull his hand back; Tommy's hand on his wrist keeps it pinned where it is. "I meant you're not being fair to me."

Tommy gives him another unimpressed look and Buck has to fight the urge to cringe, because yeah, that didn't come out the way he wanted. "I meant," he presses, "you're giving me this, this motive that you've pulled out of- from nowhere, instead of letting me explain."

"So explain," Tommy says, gaze fixed on Buck's palm as he works.

Buck sighs. "You know I don't have the, uh, best relationship with my parents." Tommy nods, so he continues, "And we- we're trying to fix that. But it's something I can kind of, get in my own head about." Buck starts bouncing his leg - he looks away from Tommy, to the calendar he has up on the wall. "I've never introduced them to someone I've dated."

Tommy makes an acknowledging hum and digs deep into one of the cuts on Buck's hand. Buck flinches, his whole body twitching away except for the hand in question, itself still held tight to the table with the warm weight of Tommy's hand on his wrist.

"I thought-" Buck starts, then stops. He feels like he's picking the words out of the air as he says them, and he wants - needs - to get this right. "I want you to meet them," is what he settles on, turning his gaze back to Tommy, wishing he'd look up. He does.

"Technically, I've already met them," Tommy says. "At Maddie and Howie's wedding."

Buck nods without breaking eye contact. "Yeah, yeah, kind of, but that was- that ended up being less formal than I wanted, you know?"

Tommy nods his head back and forth, like he's ceding the point. He sets down the tweezers and grabs an antibacterial wipe from the first aid kit beside him.

"So- so I do, I still want you to meet them," Buck says. He scrunches his face when Tommy gently runs the wipe over his cuts - it stings. "I just... I don't want them to make you uncomfortable."

"Baby, you know I'm a grown man," Tommy says without looking up from his work. He grabs some ointment and starts to spread it carefully over the worst of the cuts. "I can handle people being rude."

Buck nods. "No, I, I know, I do, just..." He sighs again and watches Tommy fix a bandage to the worst of the cuts, a gash in the meat of his palm. When he's done, he releases his hold on Buck's wrist and slips both his hands around Buck's, cradling it without touching his injuries. It kind of makes Buck's eyes burn.

"Is that really why you didn't tell me? Because of how you think your parents will behave?" Tommy asks. Buck pauses, then shakes his head. He doesn't look up, keeps his eyes focused on Tommy's thumb, rubbing circles into Buck's pinky.

"I..." Buck clears his throat. "I was also maybe worried about how I'd behave, around them." He looks up into Tommy's eyes. "Historically, I, uh, I'm not really my best self when they're around."

"I get that," Tommy says, and squeezes Buck's hand tighter between his own. "But believe it or not, I'm not going to run for the hills because you have a hard time with your parents. In fact-" he pauses, leans in a little, and all Buck sees is the blue blue blue of his eyes - "in fact, that's kind of something I'd really like to be by your side for."

Buck can't help himself - he cups Tommy's jaw with his free hand and pulls him forward into a kiss they both sigh their way into. Something inside his chest settles, glowing warm like embers. He pulls back, just far enough to rest their foreheads together, and savours the rasp of Tommy's stubble under his thumb.

"I'm sorry," he whispers. Tommy kisses him again, briefly, lightly.

"I forgive you," Tommy whispers back, and presses into another quick kiss. "And I'm sorry, too. I should have talked to you, instead of getting upset."

Buck smiles. "You're forgiven," he whispers into Tommy's lips. In a minute, they'll get up, clean the first aid detritus from the table and the shards of glass from Tommy's kitchen floor. But for now, before their backs start aching for how they're leaning, they've got this, each other, a whole world created in the bubble between them every time their lips touch. And in this moment, that's all Buck really wants.

[charrlote365]

SAND, SEOYEON AND S*X Reference Idol: fromis_9 LEE SEOYEON Word Count: 13.077 Tags: Romance, massage, Kpop idol, fromis_9, Lee Seoyeon

As the sun set below the horizon, painting the desert in hues of orange and pink, I couldn't help but dazed at how surreal our honeymoon felt. Here I was, in the middle of nowhere, with Lee Seoyeon, the love of my life and, incidentally, a member of fromis_9. The expansive desert stretched out before us, an endless canvas of dunes that seemed to go on forever.

Seoyeon's laughter echoed through the air, her unique husky voice making the sound even more enchanting as we hiked up yet another sandy hill. Her joy was infectious, "CAMPING, CAMPING, CAMPINGG!!~", she kept singing loudly while jumping around in the sand, and despite the sweat trickling down my back, I felt like the luckiest man alive. Fate indeed works in a mysterious way, who would have thought that our paths would cross like this, leading us to this moment?

"Hey, look at that cactus!" Seoyeon exclaimed, pointing excitedly at a tall, spiky plant standing high amidst the sand. She ran towards it, her oversized white shirts waving around. I jogged to catch up, grinning at her childlike enthusiasm.

"Be careful, babe," I warned playfully. "Those things can be pretty prickly."

She turned back to me, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Are you afraid of cactus? Just be afraid of me ~, because I can bite! Happp!! hehehe~"

Before I could respond, she stumbled, her foot catching on an unseen rock. Time seemed to slow down as she was falling forward, right onto the cactus. My heart skipped a beat.

"Seoyeon!" I shouted, rushing to her side. She sat up, a look of shock on her face, now adorned with tiny cactus thorns. Despite the situation, she started to giggle, her husky laugh vibrating through the air.

"Well, that didn't go as planned," she said, her laughter bubbling up. I couldn't help but join in, the absurdity of it all hitting us both at once.

"Let's get you back to the hotel," I said, helping her to her feet. "We'll have you de-thorned in no time."

We made our way back, the heat of the day giving way to a cooler evening breeze. Back in our room, the light was soft and warm, casting a comforting glow on Seoyeon's face. She sat on the edge of the bed, still giggling intermittently. I fetched the first aid kit, trying to suppress my own laughter.

"How many staycation stories start with a cactus attack?" I said, sitting beside her with tweezers in hand.

She grinned, her eyes twinkling. "Not many, I bet. But it makes for a great story, don't you think?"

"I do. And it's all part of the adventure," I replied. "Just our little secret."

She smiled, her eyes filled with warmth. "Our secret staycation in the desert. No media, no fans, just us."

I started to gently remove the thorns, one by one. She winced occasionally but kept her spirits high. "Does it hurt?" I asked, pausing to look into her puppy eyes.

"Um, a little," she admitted, her voice sulky. "But it's okay, it's worth it for the memories. Besides, it’s kind of funny. I mean, who else can say they hugged a cactus on their honeymoon?"

"Of course, the great and the only one, Lee, Seoyeon," I replied, chuckling. "You never cease to amaze me."

She giggled, her husky voice making my heart flutter. "You know, this reminds me of that one dream I dreamt few days ago, I tripped and fell into a bush during a festival performance. The fans thought it was part of the choreography."

I laughed, imagining the scene. "So, did you play it off like a pro?"

"Of course, even in my dream I'm still that great dancer of fromis_9" she said with a wink.

I continued to carefully pull out the thorns, the process surprisingly hard. Her laughter made it easier, turning what could have been a painful event into a bonding experience. Occasionally, she would make a funny face, and we would burst into laughter all over again. And for every laugh she does, the more I fell deeper for her.

"You know," she said softly, "I've always been in the spotlight, even in my childhood. My life is always about performing. But now that I'm with you, I can just be myself. Even with a face full of thorns."

I paused, looking at her with nothing but love. "And I wouldn't have it any other way," I said. "You're perfect, even with thorns and all."

She smiled, reaching out her hand to touch my right cheek. "Thank you for always being there, for making even the craziest moments special."

"That's what love is, right?" I replied, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "Being there for each other, laughing through the chaos."

By the time I finished, her face was free of thorns, and she looked radiant despite the disaster. We sat there, in our little desert oasis, enjoying the warmth of our love and laughter.

"I need to take a shower," I said, standing up and stretching. "Make sure you don't get into any more cactus-related trouble while I'm gone."

She laughed, her husky voice following me into the bathroom. The warm water felt amazing after the long, adventurous day, and I took my time, savoring the moment of solitude.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, I was greeted by a sight that made me burst into laughter. Seoyeon was laying on the bed, her face and upper chest covered in gummy bears made from honey.

"What on earth are you doing?" I asked, still chuckling.

She looked up at me with her silly face. "Honey is supposed to be good for healing scars, right? So I thought these gummy bears might help." She explained playfully.

I couldn't stop laughing. "You do know you look like a walking candy store right?? Come here, you."

I got on the top of her and slowly picking off the gummy bears one by one, popping each one into my mouth. She squealed in mock protest, her eyes sparkling with laughter.

"Yaaa..Stop eating my medicine!" she scolded jokingly, swatting at my hands.

"But they taste so good," I replied, grinning. "And besides, you're already healing. Laughter is the best medicine, remember?"

She rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her smile. "You're just the worst."

"And you love that about me right," I said while leaning myself down to kiss her. Despite of her small face, her lips are rather thick, they wrap my lips like a warm blanket, our saliva mixed all together and it tasted like honey thanks to the gummy bears I just ate. Our tongues were slipping against each other like they're going to melt to be one. I then stopped and walked away from her, she was wondering why I didn't continue. "Where are you going? Let's continue, I still need your love to heal, you know?" She lamented.

"Yes, mam! wait a minute, I have something you will like", I said as I reached into the first aid kit bag again, this time pulling out a small bottle of essential oil. "You know what this is right?," I asked, pouring a few drops onto my fingertips. Massaging her body with oil has been our routines. She loves it when her body is sticky with oil and when I rub her body, she always squeals and giggles.

She raised an eyebrow, Pretending not to know. "What's that? I know nothing about that, I'm innocent, officer", while trying to avoid eye contact with me.

Ignoring her respond, I started to take off her white shirts and bra. I could see her breasts which upper part filled with bruises and scars from the thorns, and also red line mark on her shoulders from her bra straps. I poured some oil onto her body and gently dabbed the oil gently on her shoulder where the thorns had left small marks. She shivered slightly at the touch, a giggle escaping her lips.

"That tickles," she said, her voice husky and playful.

"Sorry," I said, grinning. "I'll be gentle." I continued rubbing the oil to her neck and her face cheeks. Looking at her silly face up close which now filled with some scars and bruises from the fall, I couldn't stop myself to kiss her lips again, wanting her to know that I will take care of her from now on, no matter what. I closed my eyes slightly and used my lips to rub over the oil on her scars slowly, she felt ticklish yet aroused from all the kissing and started hugging me tight. Her breasts pressed against mine so tightly that I could feel her heart beat getting faster.

"This feels nice," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "Thank you."

"Anything for you," I replied, my heart swelling with love for this incredible woman.

I continued rubbing her body with my lips. I kissed her nips which laced by oil, and rubbed the other nip with my finger. She let out a little moan. Her breath is getting uncontrollable and she started biting her finger. Her eyes were locked on me, they're filled with trust, love, excitement and lust. Just looking at her expression made me filled with pleasure.

I sneaked my right hand into her pants and started rubbing her pussy. I could feel sticky substance already soaked her underpants. I licked my finger that's laced by her love juice and put it back inside her. She shouted as 2 fingers in were too much for her.

"Ups! Sorry. We just started and you're already soaked, Seoyeon-ah." I teased her.

"Shii.. just be quiet and get it over with, I'm still in pain, you know..", she replied with pouty mouth on her face.

I stood up and removed my bathing robe, letting them drop to the floor. I went back on the bed and slowly took off her jeans. She couldn't say anything as her heart beat faster, knowing what's going to happen next.

I raised her legs up and opened them wide. I could see her pussy bare open and I couldn't hold myself to suck and bite her clits slightly hard. She was surprised by it that she screamed so loudly I was afraid people in the next room might hear us. Luckily, I realized no one's gonna hear us since we're in a hotel that's close to be nowhere on the map and she continued to moan loudly. I continued licking her pussy like I was a cat licking butter and put my middle finger into her pussy. Her pussy neck is so short that I could feel her womb gate with just my finger. I teased her womb by squeezing them inside and she started pulled my hair yelling how good it felt. I kept teasing her womb and I could feel her pussy wall suddenly got tight as she arched her back and sprayed her love juice all over my face and the bed.

As if it wasn't enough I put 2 fingers back into her and rubbing the upper part of her pussy, teasing her g-spot with every thrust. She felt her high coming again and within seconds she reached her climax for the second time and her body shuddered roughly. I licked and sucked her pussy to clean it from her love juice, including the thick, white liquid oozing from her that tasted like cheese, my favorite delicacy. lmao.

"Hmm, your pussy is so tasty", I teased her while she was still gasping for air from her second orgasm. Yet suddenly, right after she stopped, she raised up and gripped my hard rock penis. "Ouch!", I yelled as I didn't expect her move. "Now it's my payback", Seoyeon said while looking at me with sharp gaze after what I just did to her. She suddenly bit my penis tip hard making my knees weak and I shouted "Yahh! Seoyeon-ah!! Please be gentle!".

"Just be quiet and man up", she replied with a little giggle. She then sucked my dick like its a boba drink that she likes. Every suck feels like my soul getting suck into her mouth. My penis barely fit to her small mouth that it felt as tight as her pussy. Her mouth walls wrapped my dick with its warm, wet and intensely. Slowly but sure, I feel the tickling sensation turned into ecstasy, my head's got lighter and just like that I spurted my sperm inside her mouth. I grip her head and push it closer and deeper into my crotch as I went high up to heaven. My sperm flowed so much that it started to spill on the bed. She then opened her mouth to show how much sperm I just unloaded roughly into her tiny mouth.

"Wait, lemme get the tiss..", but before I could even finish my words she replied "I already drank it", with her giggle and husky voice, delightly. Aftermath was a mess with our bed was wet, stained with our body fluid. We quickly cleaned them up as we didn't want to be fined by the hotel and even used the hair dryer to dry it up quickly. It was so tiring, that still naked, we lay down on the bed, with no energy left in us.

As we laying side by side, facing each other closely, we leaned in for another kiss, I felt the warmth of her breath against my lips, mingling with the sweetness of the honey and the floral scent of the oil. The room was filled with the scent of the desert, a blend of flower oils and our fluids, lingering reminders of our wild day. Her eyes, shining with love and amusement, held mine as we shared this intimate moment.

Cuddling her close, I whispered, "I can't wait to see what other crazy adventures we'll have."

She smiled, her husky voice soft in my ear. "As long as we're together, I'm ready for anything."

And as we kissed, sealing our promise, I knew that no matter what the future held, we would face it together, with laughter, love, and a spirit of adventure that would see us through anything. In that moment, our secret honeymoon in the desert felt like the most perfect beginning to the rest of our lives.

[devilfic]

❝friends of the web❞

plot: you have a fear of spiders, but you've made a promise to work past it. peter thinks your determination is really quite adorable. pairing: tasm!peter parker x gn!reader. cw: fluff, humor, established relationship, spiders (not graphic), reader has arachnophobia but is being so brave about it, based on the poem "ten legs, eight broken" by I, e on tiktok because it fundamentally changed the way I interact with small bugs forevermore. words: 1.2k. edited: 1/11/25.

a/n: I have had pretty bad arachnophobia my entire life and after reading ten legs, eight broken a while back, it convinced me to start saving little spiders I find in my house. this fic is 100% based on how that ends up going every single time. minus peter parker coming to save the day

He's careful, stomach coiled tight to control his breathing. One hand is delicately pinching a bolt with tweezers, the other holding his webshooter frighteningly still. One wrong move would trigger the suspension, and about four hours worth of fluid refill would end up all over his research notes. He has to be slow. He lowers the tweezers another half inch.

Gently, the bolt's thread catches and he releases the breath he'd been holding. In that same moment, you shout, and his tweezers slip.

It's the feeling of webs spraying him in the face that he registers first, their tendrils catching onto his glasses and nose hairs and lips. Then it's the sound of your rushed breathing, the pumping of your heart nearly beating out of your chest. He doesn't feel that tingle along his spine, but you've jolted Peter out of his spell. In an instant, he's batting away the webs and throwing himself out of his office with enough velocity to take down a wall. He's expecting scorpions, vultures, lizards, his hearing zeroing in on you, and—

—and he turns the corner and there's you, crouched on the floor, hands cupped in front of you... cocooning something. "Hey, hey, hey, whoa, whoa." Peter's eyes flit around the room, looking for the threat his senses ought to have picked up on by now, and kneels beside you. He focuses on your hands and your complete and utter lack of urgency. "What's going on?"

You glance to the side, so quick he doesn't even think you register the panic on his face, "Pete, thank God. Can you talk to this thing for me?"

You move your hand and the other breathing thing in the room becomes apparent. A spider, barely the size of a crumb, is crawling over mountains of carpet thread. It's moving quickly but in circles, clearly confounded by the terrain. Peter looks at you. He drags each syllable out as he asks, "Whaaaat isss haaappeniiiing?"

You shift and Peter shifts with you, keeping an eye on the spider, "This thing— this spider is such a jackass."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I'm trying to take him outside and he won't go."

You've got a flier for Pilates in the Park clenched in one hand, while the other is cautiously putting a wall between the spider and the abyss under your sofa, a place where even Peter dared not go. "Why don't you just kill it?"

Clearly that was the wrong thing to say. You look horrified at him as you answer, "I can't kill him!"

"Do we— are we sure it's a him? Have you decided he's a him?"

"I made a promise to myself that I would stop killing."

"I don't think... okay, what's going on here?"

You struggle to explain and focus on the spider at the same time, "It's my new year's resolution: that even though I'm terrified of these things, I won't kill them anymore because... because they're living beings just like me." Peter watches you bite your lip, a twinge of pity sewn into the furrow of your brows, "So I'm putting them outside whenever I see one... if only they'd stop being so stubborn."

Peter half-laughs, half-sighs. The little spider crawling around on the ground is ignorant to your inner peril, "This isn't just because your boyfriend is, like, 1/3 spider, is it? I won't take it personally if you hit him with a shoe."

You snort and place your flier in front of the escaping spider, watching it crawl over the word "yoga" before making a u-turn for the carpet, "Of course not, my spider overlord."

You try to scoop up the spider again but every time you lift the paper, it dives off the other side and back into the carpet. "How long does this usually take?" Peter asks. He sits back on his ass, propping up a knee to rest his arm on.

"Ten minutes at best. If I don't lose them."

"Hm. And this works for you?"

You pout up at him, scooping up the spider again and watching it fly off once more, "I usually manage to get them outside, I'll have you know."

"And the screaming?"

"I never said it was a peaceful process."

"So, let me get this straight," Peter leans into you, "you spot the spider, you grab the nearest piece of paper, you try to get the spider on the paper, and then you...?"

"Scream and run until I make it to the window."

"Why— why the screaming?"

You wince, trying not to lose the bug in the carpet, "Because I'm scared they'll touch me." Your boyfriend tickles his fingers along your arm and you shiver, swatting him with your free hand.

After another failed attempt, Peter places his hand in front of the spider's path and it crawls into his palm to get to the kitchen. Before it can cross over into tiled territory, it's forced to a sudden stop, and Peter takes advantage.

It takes him three strides to get to the living room window, yank it open, and release the spiderling into the wild.

You're standing behind him with a look of frustration on your face, even though your shoulders have finally sagged with relief, "How'd you convince him to sit in your hand like that?"

"I didn't. Sticky hands." Peter wiggles his fingers at you, amused.

"Wh... that's it? Do they not usually listen to you or something?" You grab one of his hands and quickly realize he's using his ability on you this time. He's got you stuck in a handhold.

"When did I ever say I could talk to spiders?"

"I mean, it seems like a pretty fair assumption," you grumble, trying to shake his hand away before giving up, "they put their juices in you after all."

"Why would you say that?"

"Thanks for the help, by the way. I'm still... getting used to not panicking when I see them."

Peter raises his other hand to your hair and gives you a kiss on the temple, smiling against your skin, "You are so, so, so brave."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's pretty brave to show mercy to something you fear, right? You could've killed it or asked me to do it, but you didn't. You wanted it to live."

"It doesn't mean to scare me," you bring your intertwined hands up to your mouth and press a kiss to his knuckles, "I'd want it to take pity on me if it was the other way around."

"I think the spiders will appreciate that."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Then why do they give me such a hard time?"

"Well, you're so scared of them that you don't even realize they're just as scared of you. You gotta make 'em like you, you know?"

"Got any tips for that?"

Peter guides his free hand to your waist, rocking you side to side, "Hm. Buy them sushi. Take them to a midnight showing of Night of the Living Dead. Tell them you think their nerdy rambling after the movie is sexy..." You giggle into Peter's chest and his heart swells, "Don't laugh! It worked on me."

You tilt your head up and he steals a kiss without hesitation, making you stumble on what you say next, "How about you just come let them out for me next time, hm?"

"And if I'm not around?"

"...make me a super scientific spider catching gadget?"

Peter hooks his hands underneath your thighs and hikes you up around his waist, "I'll make you one if you refill my web fluid for me."

"You can fill me with your web fluid."

"Okay. I'm putting you in time out, freak."

[itwasntimethatdidit40]

On a razor's edge.

Gif credits

Pairing/Au: Joel Miller x F!reader, no outbreak.

Word counts: 3087

Rating: +18, MDNI, NSFW

Summary: Joel helps you shave. there.

Warnings: pov second person, no use of y/n, smut with very little plot, established relationship, soft Joel, Joel helps to shave your pussy (I also wrote it in the fic but I'll repeat it here, I don't mean to judge anyone's habits, I respect everyone's tastes and habits and everyone can do what they prefer with their body. Do you want to shave? Good. Don't you want it? Good too. For me it's enough that you are comfortable in your body and if you aren't I hope you can be soon), mention to reader's mom who is annoying about shaving, use of a razor, mention of a potential razor cut (it doesn't happen, there’s no blood), unprotected p in v (wrap it up IRL!), I didn't mention Joel or reader’s age but in my mind I imagine them both around 30/40, reader has hair, breasts and vagina, no other specific description of her is given, pussy pronouns, references to pussy as a flower, sex in the shower, oral (f receiving), cream pie, pet names (baby, honey), I think that's all, if by chance I realize I forgot something I'll add it right away.

English is not my first language, no beta, no proofreading, I already know I'm going to notice a lot of mistakes as soon as I post this and I will have to edit again and again because I'm like this, what can we do? 💀

Comments, reblogs and interactions are very much appreciated, please be kind.

Thanks to anyone who will read this!

Archive tags: @pedrostories ♥️

You love Joel.

You really love him with all your heart and soul.

You also love your private time in the bathroom, that little time in your day that you spend alone doing skincare, face masks, tweezers your eyebrows, scrubbing your body and taking a nice shower with your favorite music playing in the background.

You just took off your favorites eye patches and you're ready to shave with your trusted razor when Joel knocks on the door.

“Honey, we’re going to be late, hurry up” His voice is muffled by the closed door but you can clearly hear a certain apprehension.

You hum as you take out your shaving cream and reply, “I’ll be right there”

Your neighbor invited you to his pool party the other day and of course you enthusiastically accepted.

It’s been so hot lately that being able to enjoy his pool for a while seemed like a dream.

Unfortunately, work kept you busy all week so you couldn't make an appointment with the beautician and you've arrived today with a few hairs on your legs and in your bikini area.

You're not particularly concerned when you can't wax and totally respect those who don't, hair removal is a personal choice and everyone should be able to do what they want with their own body.

Joel doesn't care if you have them or not, he's happy to have you either way and is feral with you regardless. In fact, you suspect he especially likes it when you have some down there but still he never stopped you from choosing for yourself and he never made inappropriate comments.

Anyway, today you planned to wear your favorite bikini and you wouldn't feel comfortable with hair sticking out from the sides of your bottoms.

The fact that a woman must necessarily be hairless down there is something that has been instilled in you since you were a teenager and as much as you manage not to care about it most of the time, when you wear a bikini you still have your mother's voice in your ears telling you to make those hairs disappear.

Ugh, your mother.

You shake your head, get in the shower and wash yourself, body and hair.

Then you spread the shaving foam well on your legs. You pass the razor carefully and rinse.

This neighbor is quite wealthy and Joel has heard that he would like to renovate his house so he is fully intent on offering him a quote with his construction company, which is why he is so worried about being late.

He needs some time to approach him until there are not too many people, have a casual chat and throw out the idea.

You also want to make a good impression since his wife is the head of the neighborhood committee and you want to ask her to convince the neighbor next door to cut down some branches that end up right in your yard filling it with annoying leaves. You tried to talk to him yourself but he is a cheap man and doesn’t want to spend money to have a gardener come and do the work. Joel tried too but to no avail.

Joel, on the other side of the door, is still impatient "baby, what are you doing?" you hear him ask after another 10 minutes have passed.

“I’m getting ready,” you say out loud from the shower as you check to make sure there’s no hair left on your ankles.

“You’ve been in there for an hour, what else do you have to do?”

You giggle, Joel will never understand how long it takes to be the way he always sees you. He’s in the bathroom for a maximum of 20 minutes when he decides to trim his beard, otherwise 10 minutes is more than enough for him to take a shower and come out with a towel around his waist looking as beautiful as a God. It’s so unfair.

“I'm making myself beautiful for you” you shout at him smiling at the thought of his answer which in fact comes exactly as you imagined “Love, you're gorgeous, you don't need to do anything, just get out of there”

“I'm almost done,” you reply as you begin to spread the foam on your bikini area.

“You said the same thing 10 minutes ago and yet you're still there,” he grumbles “and I don't hear water running so I don't understand why”

“You don't understand ‘cause you're a man darling, it's not your fault” you grin while you carefully run the razor to the right of your sex, at the point where your leg attaches to your pelvis.

You can clearly see him in your head rolling his eyes, hands on his hips, his weight resting on his right leg while his left leg is slightly jutted forward, his typical pose when he's annoyed.

“Cut me some slack, baby, you know how much I care about getting this job” he replies

“Yeah I know” you say sweetly “but I can’t come around like that, I need to be extra pretty next to you”

At this point he opens the door, just enough to enter and as he does so he replies "no one has a prettier girlfriend than me, I don't know how many more times I have to tell you"

You're all busy shaving so you don't even notice him until you hear his voice closer than before.

You look up and jump, almost cutting yourself with the razor. “Are you crazy?!” you yell at him. “Joel, I almost cut my thigh because of you!”

“And how was I supposed to know?!” his expression is halfway between embarrassed and horny, his eyes scan your body as if it were the first time he's seeing it, his pupils are dilated, his jaw muscles tense and his lips tight on the verge of curling into a smile, you can see it growing at the corners of his mouth.

Seeing you like this, leaning against the shower wall, completely naked and with nipples hardened from the fright he gave you, his nerves are going away.

“So, what? I have to finish, I certainly can’t go around with only a small part of my bikini area shaved, can I?” you rumble at him feigning irritation but oh, you like the way he's looking at you, hungry and feral. And you like that particular dark shade his eyes take on when they're lit up with desire.

He frowns and asks, “Can I help you?” rubbing his neck.

“Doing this?” you ask, raising an eyebrow, moving from the wall to the center of the shower, razor still clutched in your hand “Joel…”

“Let me try,” he murmurs hoarsely

“Joel, if you cut me…” you say feeling a shiver down your spine, your eyes fixed on his, sparkling in anticipation.

“I won’t. I promise” He is deadly serious.

“Okay” you say with a sigh and you immediately regret having said it.

Joel takes the razor from your hands brushing your fingers slightly and then drop to his knees fully dressed on the wet shower floor without even thinking about it, as if in some kind of lascivious trance. At least he’s barefoot.

The deal, the job, the money seem like a distant, faded memory and the neighbor’s tree? You’ll think about it another day.

His heavy breathing crackles on your skin as he brings the razor close to your skin with the most intent look you've ever seen him do.

He starts with small movements from the bottom up and shaves a small portion of the left side of your pubic area, his hand is firm and precise and he doesn't seem to have any hesitation, however he is proceeding with caution and you are grateful for it, you have been holding your breath since he started.

The razor seems so small in his hand, like a child's toy, yet it has sharp blades that could cut you at any moment if his movements were not precise.

He pulls it away from your skin to shake off excess shaving foam and rinse it under the flexible shower head and you catch your breath.

You flinch for a moment as he brings the razor closer again, “stay still” he tells you in a peremptory voice.

There is something deeply erotic in what he is doing, in his calm and dedication, in his deep knowledge of every curve of your body. It seems like he knows exactly how to move his hand so as not to hurt you.

He rinses the part, then proceeds to take more foam and spread it tickling your skin with his calloused fingers. You're even impressed that he didn't put too much on, just a thin layer, so he can see the part and have full control of what he's doing.

His jeans are now soaked and stuck to his legs and you can see a bulge growing in his crotch.

He stretches your skin with his fingers and runs the razor over you, still in small motions, shaking it, finishing the sides of the top of your pubic bone.

“I need you to lay down, baby, I have to do the bottom part” he says tilting his head to one side to look better at what he has just done.

Joel himself wanted this shower to be big enough for two people, it's his job and he knows how to be far-sighted in this.

It is wide enough for you to lie down and for him to sit between your legs without difficulty.

You bend down and lay your back on the floor “spread your legs” he tells you “keep them raised”

The floor is cool and wet against your skin but you still feel heated.

You crane your neck to look at him and his eyes are focused, deciding how to position you to do the job.

He takes your ankles and bends your legs slightly, if it was a moment when you wanted to laugh you would say that you look like a frog but now you feel like a rose of flesh. A bold, cheeky flower that has blossomed for him.

“Stay like this, can you?”

You nod because you can’t do anything else, you don’t know what to say, you’re hypnotized by his deep breathing and his eyes.

You feel a pulse between your legs.

A heat that starts to rise from below.

He smears a thin veil of foam on the inside of your thighs near your pubic area, he runs his fingers almost absentmindedly near your folds, you know that every movement is thought out, he's purposely ignoring your pussy so he doesn't lose his concentration but you can feel desire creeping through the air between you.

It's thick, heavy, and smells of your perfume that invades your nostrils now that you're playing the obscene dancer for him, with your legs bent as if you had to warm up your muscles before a show.

He draws your edges with the razor, rinsing continuously, you feel the blade glide over you, darting across your skin, only slightly resisting to your roughest hairs.

You feel a glimmer of clear drool dripping between your petals, all the way down to the crack of your butt, that gives away your eagerness.

A couple more gentle swipes and he's done.

You can hear him swallowing nervously, your throat is dry too.

“All done” he whispers, running his fingers over your smooth skin.

You sit up, legs at the sides of his body and tug at his shirt to give him a kiss. You suck his bottom lip between yours, tasting his minty flavor.

You dwell on that ecstatic feeling for a while before you let go of his lips and take a breath back into your lungs.

“Do you want me to shave it all off?” Sometimes you do, you like it when you feel just the soft, just that, that tingles every time he runs his tongue over it.

Shiny as egg white, voracious, naked luscious lips ready to salivate and swallow until they’re full.

But now you can't wait and you know he doesn't care, they're short hairs anyway, you keep them trimmed.

It's just a little line that surrounds your flower to browse.

“No baby, I need you”

The razor is lying on the shower floor, you pick it up and place it on the steel shelf that Joel installed for you to put your things on.

“Mmm tell me what you want” He asks, grinning from ear to ear, his eyes sparkling with lust.

He already knows the answer.

“Fuck me” you plead, voice trembling with excitement “fuck me with your tongue and fingers, please. Fuck me with your cock. Fuck me until I see white and I’m a mumbling mess underneath you”

You put your hand over his bulge, running slowly to his zipper strained and you fiddle your fingers on his button.

You feel him squirming, his eyes feral and mesmerized by your touch and your words.

You open his jeans as he takes off his water-spattered shirt and throws it on the floor outside the shower.

Sitting like this, you notice even more the softness of his belly, that little bit of flesh that you love to bite.

He gets up to get rid of his jeans, now soaked, annoying, heavy, he throws them on the floor and they land with a dull thud.

His boxers are damp and have a big stain on the front, but it's not water. It's his pleasure dripping.

He’s rock hard leaking profusely.

He leans down and gives you a long kiss, looking at you. His hands slide slowly over your arms, slipping onto your hips, squeezing your flesh and your body arches towards him, your tongue quivers on his, every fiber of you reacts and bends gently to him.

He brings a hand to your cheek, deepening the kiss, eagerly licking the inside of your mouth, tasting you.

You moan into his lips as you feel his other hand move up and rest on the side of your breast, his long fingers reach your nipple and trace its contours, they move circling it, he does it first with his thumb and then with his index finger. He passes them over your bud, titillating it, making it harden under his fingertip.

He makes space between your knees again, makes you lay down on the floor, caressing your torso, going down to your ribs, he touches the area just below and whispers “you look beautiful here”.

You like that he appreciates everything about your body, even those parts that others ignore, he sees the overall harmony and knows how to notice the details. He knows the map of your scars and every shade of your skin. He goes down, brushing your navel and then unexpectedly goes back up and takes your lips again.

He sucks.

He tastes.

He drinks.

He lowers himself and leans over your opening. He breathes hard as he gives the first lick, with his tongue flat, crawling from bottom to top, lingering on your clit. He spreads your folds a little with his thumbs and looks at you for a moment whispering “God, baby, you have the most beautiful pussy I’ve ever seen” he inhales your scent “and she’s so wet…” and he licks again “so sweet” another lick “and she tastes so good”

You throw your head back, squeezing your eyes shut, wrapping one hand around the back of his neck, pushing him against you.

He keeps his mouth glued to your slit, his tongue seems everywhere, meticulous and insatiable, it seems he can never get enough.

You listen to his movements with your whole body, as if he were speaking to you, using a language unique to yours.

You feel his hand resting on your hip, you grab his wrist and bring him back to your tit, you don't need to ask him to touch it, he silently takes your nipple between his fingers pinching and twisting.

Your ribcage expand for air, you gasp with your mouth wide open and a long moan leaves your lips rising from deep inside you.

You lift your head to see him, looking disheveled and grateful, his beard glisten with your fluids as two of his thick fingers slide into you.

He traces with his tongue that little stripe of hair he left you, which frames your lips, he caresses them, takes them in his mouth, sucking lightly.

His strong aquiline nose is hitting your clit now, fingers curl to find that perfect spot, the one that makes you see white, like you asked.

You moan in disarray “your cock – God – I want your cock, please Joel”

He gives a couple more licks and then moves, towering over you, kissing you with lips that taste of salt and lemon, of you. It’s your taste, all over his mouth.

He lower his boxers and the tip of his cock presses against your hole, slowly making its way in.

You throw your arms around his neck, giving him sloppy kisses on his sultry skin.

He grunts as he thrusts into you, you wrap your legs around his waist as he slides a hand behind your arched back, pushing you, anchoring himself to you so you don't slip on the wet floor, his knee braced on the floor.

You stammer senselessly yes yes yes, you're both close to your peak.

You feel disarmed, completely enveloped by him, by his body, by his scent.

You're sweaty, even though your skin is still wet, your body contracts against his, waves of pleasure modulating your breathing.

Your orgasm explodes in a long sigh, then it goes silent, you bite your lips, you are overwhelmed.

He takes your hands, intertwines them with his and brings them above your head, sinking relentlessly inside you, hitting again and again, deeper and deeper until you feel thick, sticky stems filling you, painting your walls, dripping from inside you onto your thighs.

His hair is plastered to his forehead, his eyes searching yours as he fills his hands with your ass cheeks, giving the last hard thrusts before he pulls out of you and lets himself go on the shower floor next to you.

You take deep breaths, trying to come back to your senses, your bodies completely exhausted.

“Well,” he says after a while, “we’re officially too late to go now.”

“Do you mind?” you ask, rolling onto your side, tracing his broad chest with your fingertips.

“No,” he replies without even thinking.

You burst out laughing together.

No, this is definitely more important.

[objectumnonsense]

robot oneshot, as requested VwV

The lab was dark, save for the dim neon light filtering in through the curtains and a singular work lamp in the corner of the room. Every few minutes, a train passed overhead, making the ceiling groan with the weight, but it was otherwise quiet. The lab's only two occupants sat without speaking, one in maintenance mode on a table and the other wearing thick, elbow-length rubber gloves and wielding a variety of delicate tools.

The Mechanic worked diligently and in near silence, save for softly humming a tune and occasionally blowing their hair out of their face while they worked on SN-0407-67. The only sounds coming from 67 were the hum of its fans and the occasional buzz of a wire being put in the wrong place, quickly corrected by the Mechanic.

After about half an hour, the Mechanic said, in a voice rough with disuse, "Exit maintenance mode," and a line of small lights blinked to life on the back of 67's neck. Its shutters flicked open and it turned its head right around to face the Mechanic.

"Is there a problem?" it buzzed.

"Well, I don't wanna catastrophize, but I'm lookin' through your lower back complex and I'm seein' some stuff that looks an awful lot like buzz bug eggs. Can you run a diagnostics check for me real quick?"

"Affirmative." In a blink of its shutters, it received data from all of its main systems and most of its secondary and tertiary programs and responded.

"Small loop errors in primary memory arrays. Minimal damage to recursive power wiring. Buzz bugs may be a possibility. Suggestion: analyze sample of offending material."

"Will do. Wanna go back to sleep?"

"Negative. We are almost done, correct?"

"If this don't turn out to be an infestation, yeah. What's got you so eager to leave?"

"Nothing. I simply do not enjoy being in maintenance mode for extended periods of time."

"Oh? Why's that?"

67 turned back around and allowed the Mechanic to pry open its back panel and delicately reach through its wiring with a pair of tweezers.

"I dislike being unaware of my surroundings for so long. It is against my purpose."

"It's necessary though, ain't it?"

"As is sleeping. But you are avoiding that now."

"Fair 'nuff."

The silence returned for a few minutes. The Mechanic extricated some pieces of material from 67's wiring and the gaps in their chassis while it sat perfectly still and nearly silent.

Abruptly, a small yellow light on their shoulder lit up and they said, "Your heart rate and breathing have increased."

"Huh?"

"Are you in distress? Is the infestation worse than you expected?"

"Oh, no, nothin' like that. If this is buzz bugs, we caught 'em real early. I could probably get all of this outta you before dawn."

"That is good."

They continued without speaking for a few moments more, the yellow light still turning on and off rhythmically, before 67 spoke up again.

"Your heart rate has not decreased."

"And I suppose I can't ask you to ignore that?"

"Negative. It is against my purpose."

"Right. First aid robot."

The Mechanic pursed their lips and tried to continue their work, but 67 kept talking.

"You hands are shaking slightly. Allow me to check your blood sugar content."

Before the Mechanic could respond, 67 had already completed the check.

"Blood sugar content within healthy range. Brain scan indicates higher than normal levels of oxytocin. Heart rate and breathing rate are increased, but have plateaued."

"Can't keep anythin' secret from you, huh?"

"Negative. You have poor control over your responses to emotion."

"Well, can't say I didn't try."

"Correct. You are still avoiding telling me the reason for your heightened emotional state."

"Would it hurt so bad to let this one go unmentioned?"

"A key to maintaining healthy relationships is communication between constituents. I am curious why you are acting differently."

"It's... complicated. It's a human thing."

"Mechanic, "human things" are my area of expertise. I will understand whatever you tell me."

"I just..." They sighed, but set their tweezers aside and brushed their fingers along a piece of 67's circuitry. "Can you feel this? When I'm workin' on you?"

"To an extent, yes."

"And does it... hurt?"

"Not unless something is damaged. It feels almost the same as when my exterior is touched."

"Almost?"

"There is a level of... trust involved. I trust that you will not break me, you trust that I will not close myself or shock you to injure you."

"When I do this..." the Mechanic traced the column of 67's spine with their index finger, "what is that like?"

"I fail to see why you are asking me again. Did I not just explain it?"

"I know, I know, just.. tell me what you feel me doin'."

"Alright."

A moment's pause.

"I feel you touching the outer shell of my spine. It holds much of my central processing power, which is why it's covered by thick metal plating. But I know you will not try to damage it."

"And now?"

"Now you're moving towards my power cell. It's a very powerful battery, and very fragile. But you will not damage it."

"Now?"

"You're reaching up through my chest cavity towards my transform arrays. This is where most of my proprioceptive senses are processed. It's also highly sensitive to touch. But you will not damage it."

The Mechanic let out a shaky sigh. The blinking yellow light on 67's shoulder began flashing more quickly. They noticed it was in time with their heartbeat.

"Your breathing and heart rate have increased steadily. Is there something you aren't telling me?"

They abruptly pulled their hand out of 67's back and stammered an apology.

"Sorry, I'm - sorry, that - that was kinda weird. I shouldn'ta -"

"It was not unpleasant."

Their words ground to a halt and they stared at the back of 67's head.

"You... motherfucker, you knew this whole time, didn't you?"

67 made a beep that sounded like a laugh.

"Negative. I only realized when I scanned you."

The Mechanic leaned their head against 67's shoulder with a clunk.

"And I couldn't get you to delete this whole interaction from your memories?"

"Negative."

The Mechanic sighed again and leaned back, rubbing their temples.

"Well, that's about it for your checkup anyways. We should probably get goin'."

"Mechanic, I would not refuse if you wanted to take this further."

The Mechanic froze. "Whuh?"

"I do not have the capacity to feel it the same way you do. But I understand it would be enjoyable for you. My purpose, after all, is to ease suffering."

"Wh - but - I - I'm not sufferin' about it, I just -"

"Mechanic."

67 rose and walked around the table, standing very close to the Mechanic and resting a careful hand on their hip. They swallowed thickly.

"We are the only ones in here. We have time."

The Mechanic let out a nervous, breathy chuckle. They raised a hand to 67's face plate and brushed their thumb along it.

"You're amazin', you know that? Just... incredible."

"I know," 67 replied, a playful lilt in its voice. "Tell me if you want me to stop at any point."

"Alright."

67 stepped even closer so that one of its legs was between both of the Mechanic's and they had to lean back against the table. One of their hands rested on 67's shoulder and the other settled on its hip.

67 hooked a thumb over the Mechanic's waistband and tugged down. Its other hand worked its way up their shirt and cupped their chest. It leaned its head down and bonked it gently on the top of theirs.

"Was that supposed to be a kiss?"

"Affirmative."

"You're such a dork."

67 hummed. Its movements remained smooth and steady, but the Mechanic distinctly heard its cooling fans pick up when it tugged their underwear aside.

"Could it be you're enjoyin' this too, 67?" they purred, lifting the hand that was on its shoulder to the back of its head, where they brushed over some of the exposed wires there. Its lower shutter twitched upwards.

"You do look... very nice. Under me like this."

"Mmm. Kinky." They spread their legs further and gasped when 67's searching hands found their bare skin.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah. It's just been a while. Go slow."

"Understood."

Gently, 67 started working its hand, and the Mechanic let out a quiet groan. They rolled their hips into 67's touch, grip tightening on its neck and making its shutter twitch again.

"Is - fuck - is that hurtin' you?" they asked.

"Negative."

"Want me to - to stop?"

"Nnegative."

At the stalling of 67's voice, the Mechanic raised an eyebrow. "Is it gettin' you off or s-something?

"N N N N - Unsure. My proproprocessor has encountered an error."

Experimentally, the Mechanic chose a wire and tugged on it - not enough to break it, but with enough force to pull it partially out of line. 67 jolted forward, making a buzzing sound the Mechanic had never heard before, and its hand dug harshly into their flesh, making them gasp.

"Arrre you alright?" it asked, stopping all motion. The Mechanic whined and pushed against its hand.

"Don't stop," they pleaded.

"One moment. I nnneed to check -"

The Mechanic tugged on the same wire again, creating the same reaction, and sighed with satisfaction.

"Memememechanic," 67 scolded, though the effect was somewhat lost due to the skipping in its voice.

"Keep goin'. I didn't tell you to stop."

"Make me."

The defiance caught the Mechanic off guard, but only for a moment. They glared up at 67.

"Y'know, you're real disobedient for a robot," they growled, finding a different wire and wrapping it around their finger. 67's shutters closed completely this time, its entire body jerking randomly for a moment before the Mechanic let the wire go again. "I thought you were s'posed to follow directions?"

"Youyouyou haven't said the magic word yet," 67 replied, though their hand had begun to move again.

"Make me cum, 67. That's an order."

"Affirmativvve."

The Mechanic cried out at the dizzying pace 67 suddenly set, hips rocking helplessly into its touch. Its name flowed from their lips like a hymn. 67 bore down on them, chest pressed to theirs, free hand supporting their back so they didn't fall.

"Yesyesyesyes, just like that, yes -!"

With a drawn-out moan, the Mechanic came hard, slumping back so that 67 had to adjust its hold on them, completely at its mercy as it kept up the harsh pace of its hand. It slowed to a stop the moment the feeling became too much and their groans of pleasure turned into whimpers.

The pair stayed like that for a moment, the Mechanic struggling to catch their breath and clinging to 67, whose fans were still going at top speed. It stared adoringly down at them, privately recording a short clip to replay later.

"Holy shit," the Mechanic finally breathed, pushing themself upward off of 67's arm. "That was... wow."

"I trust you enjoyed yourself?"

"Yeah. Jesus Christ. Are you... can I - is there anythin' I can do for you?"

"Negative. No part of me can experience anything close to sexual arousal, but I appreciate the consideration."

"So, just outta curiosity, what were the wires doin' to ya?"

That gave 67 pause.

"I'm... unsure. It's not a sensation I've ever felt before."

"Was it bad?"

"Negative. It was... novel. I'm not sure what to make of it."

"So what... would it be okay if I did it again?"

Another pause.

"...Affirmative. Please be careful."

"You know careful's my middle name."

The Mechanic lifted both of their hands and rested them on 67's neck. One slid its fingers over the exposed wires, still slightly out of place, making 67 beep and twitch.

"Why don't you try tellin' me what you feel?" they purred, finding a wire and winding it around their finger. 67 took a moment to respond, its voicebox making nonsense sounds before it could gather it to something intelligible.

"I I I I feel... dizzzzy? I think that wiwiwire has a role in proprioceptive data transfer. It's hard to to to to rrrecall at the moment."

"Mmm. And what about now?" the Mechanic asked, parting the wires and reaching deeper into 67's neck. They felt their finger make contact with cool metal, and 67 made a long, low tone until they lifted it.

"My my my my my centrrrral spinal casinnnnng. It's very sensensensitive to touch, which is is is why it's underrrrneath everything ellllse."

"You're startin' to sound pretty rough, 67."

"Hard to to to prrrocess speech at the momoment. Unsure how to parrrrse sensory dadadadata."

"Still don't want me to stop?"

"Affirrrmative. Want you you you touch furrrrther in me."

"Fuck, that's hot."

The Mechanic moved upward this time, under the plating on the back of 67's head with a muttered "keep your head down." 67's head briefly dropped limply downward, chin hitting its chest with a dull thunk, before the Mechanic hastily removed their hand and it looked back up at them.

"Why did you you stop?"

"That wasn't bad?"

"Negative. Want morrre."

"Oh, I see how it is." They resumed their probing, 67's head falling again, its voice struggling to express exactly what it was feeling.

"Hannnds in my in me touch ch ch ch mind feel I feel your hands," it managed, and the Mechanic bit their lip, looking up at it with adoration in their eyes.

"God, you sound fuckin' wrecked. I wish I knew I could do this to you sooner," they confessed. 67's optic flickered.

"Want want hands want touch morrre so so so much so want want want wannnnnnt -"

Abruptly, its voice dropped so low it was almost a buzz, its optic blinking out, hands in a vise grip on the Mechanic's hips while the lights on its body turned off all at once. Its fans continued on high for a moment more before they lowered to a more normal level and a noise like a dial-up played.

"Shit."

The Mechanic waited nervously while 67 rebooted, slowly releasing their hips before its optic blinked back to life, immediately zeroing in on them.

"Are you okay? Did I touch something I shouldn't've?"

"Negative. I am still processing. Please give me a moment."

After a second or two, 67 spoke again.

"Last sensation recorded before shutdown: foreign object inside cranial casing. Pressure applied to central tactile nerve. Systems overwhelmed." It blinked. "No memory lost. I am in no pain."

"So that tactile nerve thing -"

"I felt... everything. It's hard to explain."

"I think I get it. Don't worry."

"It was... good. I felt good. I would like to do this again sometime."

"Is right now a good sometime? 'Cause that was fuckin' hot."

67's optic widened slightly, disbelief creeping into its voice.

"Causing a temporary shutdown... made you aroused again?"

"It was more like making you get there. But yeah."

"Interesting. In that case..."

67 opened the maintenance panel on its chest, exposing a crisscrossing maze of wires and circuits to the Mechanic, who practically drooled.

"Help yourself to me."

[nebulousboundsfloof]

The primary alteration I did was insert a drawstring in most of the waistbands of my skirts step one is to unpick about 3-5in of the center (ish) of the front of the skirt (or wherever you're sticking your grommets and tails)

I used a pair of pins to mark the start and end of my section. There's two rows of stitching at the waistband you'll have to undo.

The next thing you'll need to do is poke your holes for your grommets (grommets are important to prevent wear on the waistband and unraveling)

Because the materials you are setting the grommets in are very stretchy you want to make that stretch work to your advantage and make the tiniest hole you can get away with (if your hole is too big the material will stretch away from the grommet and the grommet will fall out) I found that only cutting vertical threads in the elastic worked best (and not more than like 3) I used the tip of my seam ripper to gently move the threads over to the sides of the grommet.

The placement of your grommets is very important. You need to make sure there is roughly 1/2 in between the edge of the grommet and the end of your open section so you can fit your setting tool in and that the pair of grommets are not too close together (for me that is about 1-3 in apart, you do want to be able to bridge that gap with your lace)

Next you will thread your drawstring. I'm using 72in shoelaces, use whatever you like. I chose shoelaces because they come with nicely finished ends, are fairly durable and come standard in several sizes. Whatever you use you'll want it to be about 16in longer than your body's widest point (roughly 8in per end to tie with at the most relaxed)

Now while you can feed it without a tool (so long as it has a hard end you can feel and move from outside the waistband a safety pin works ok in a pinch) I strongly recommend using a tool of some kind. The ideal tool for the job is a bodkin (a clamping lacing tool specifically designed for this sort of thing) of course I have consistently failed to aquire one for the last decade or so so I'm using a pair of clamping tweezers (not ideal but workable)

You'll also want to secure the other end (not the feeding end, I usually feed it through the eyelet and tie a decent knot in it and that'll handle it. You will want to start feeding into the waistband on the same side as the eyelet you used as an anchor and away from the other eyelet

Some tips for feeding drawstrings (particularly those paired with elastic)

-Feed your drawstring a few inches then grip the waistband and string in one hand while shoving the gathered material away towards the other end of the channel

-The seams and pockets are the fiddliest bit but a bit of careful wiggling will get you past them (it is an open channel all the way around!!) DO NOT force it gentle wiggling is your friend

-Your hand will probably get tired after a bit don't hurt yourself and feed the next one the opposite way.

-Because of the construction of these skirts I ended up feeding my drawstring along the outside of the elastic inside the outer portion of the waistband feeding from the same side as your drawstring is much easier (even though your grommets are in the inside of the skirt)

Once your drawstring is fed through you are on to the next tricky bit. Sewing.

You probably can hand sew it. I didn't. I'd guess that an invisible hem stitch and a running stitch might be the best way to do that but ymmv. I did mine on a machine, which had it's struggles but also was easier for me.

Sewing directions wil be continued in the reblog because I seem to have hit the image limit.

[katz-rambles]

hello! proud member of the arcane fandom here, can confirm we are alive and well ! may i suggest a little something with ekko and a gn (or masc) reader? perhaps comforting ekko after the bridge incident of episode 7- thank you ! and take care <3

Yess! I js finished rewatching Arcane today, and the bridge scene is still one of my favorite fight scenes! Take care, as well, Anon!!

1k words, so it's a little on the short side.

(fluff, gn!reader, reader has some medical knowledge (but I don't, so I apologize if this is inaccurate), Ekko's a tease, illusions to sex but nothing actually happens.)

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚˚₊‧꒰

It's safe to say that the day didn't go as planned for either of you. You're waiting at home, pacing around the room. You had a bad feeling about the whole ‘going to topside’ thing Ekko told you about. It's the day after, and there's still no sign of him. Even Scar hasn't heard from him. All your mind does is go to the worst. Could the enforcers have killed him, you don't know, and you're not sure if you'd want to know.

You were hoping that by the time you woke up, he would be there. You spend the whole morning pacing and panicking. You try to take your mind off it by getting out and seeing some of the other firelights.

It works. Talking with them and then playing with a couple of the kids helps. I'm mainly playing with the kids, though. It's fun. They convince you to play house with them, and one of them hands you a little doll. It reminds you of your childhood, and it makes you happy knowing that they get to have a somewhat normal childhood.

There's suddenly a lot of voices and clamoring when the entrance opens. So you go and check it out, it can't hurt to. You have to ,gently, push past some of the small crowd to get to see what's actually going on. “Hey, sweetheart,” Ekko groans and stumbles, and you're quick to wrap your arm around him to help stabilse him. When you look down, you're met with an odd sight. You can check having a councilor inside the fireflights base now. He clings to your side and lets you help him get up into your shared room so you can assess the damage.

You let him sit down on the bed, and he sighs, resting his head back on the headboard. You scan him for any big injuries. There's one that catches your eye, a bleeding wound across his stomach. “It wasn't supposed to go this way,” he starts, helping you lift up his shirt so you have access to the wound and the continuing, “it was just supposed to be, I go across with Vi and the other girl. Give them the stone, and then everything would be better. But no.” He winces when you pat some of the alcohol down on it, cleaning it so you can stitch him up. “I know, I'm sorry.” You sigh and press your free hand on his cheek. One of his hands covers yours, and he leans into your touch.

“This is going to hurt like a bitch, you know.” You warn him and grab a pair of tweezers when you notice the small pieces of metal lodged inside the wound. He lets out a shaky breath and nods, one hand grabbing onto the sheets of the bed. You can hear him wincing and groaning when you start to grab the metal, slowly pulling it out, trying not to hurt him too much. You drop the metal on the nightstand and stand up to grab the stapler. You dab some of the numbing cream around the wound in hopes that it won't hurt too bad when you close it. While you wait for it to kick in, you get on your knees and take a look at his ankle.

“It's not broken. Nothing a splint won't be able to fix.” You say as you feel his ankle for swelling or a broken bone. You grab the wooden splints from the nightstand, glad you grabbed them just in case, and place them on either side, securing them in place with a nice layer of bandages. You grab the stapler and Ekko groans in protest, “oh fuck, is that part really necessary?” You scoff and shrug. “I could just knock you out and do it,” You offer, pulling out a vial of anesthetic from the kit. You laugh when he stares at you like you just grew another head, “besides, I've already numbed the area, so this is the best it's going to be.” You say and press the stapler to his skin, internally wincing every time the sounds of it goes off and Ekko moans and groans with each staple. You thank whoever's listening that you didn't have to do too many staples. You don't think you could handle any more of hearing him in pain before you gave in and actually knocked him out.

“There.. all done.” You smile at him and rub the side of his leg. He nods, and you grab the bandages, wrapping it before you go and grab a new shirt for him to put on and take the old one. “Come here, please?” He asks and grabs your hand, pulling you towards the bed. Who are you to deny him, so you give in and crawl into the bed beside him, careful of his injuries, and lay your head on his shoulder. “Thank you,” he mumbles and kisses your cheek, leaving smaller pecks on your nose and forehead before he kisses your lips, “what would I do without you?” He mumbles against your lips, and you laugh. “I don't know.. staple yourself and probably miss.” You tease, and he scoffs, giving you a glare before he kisses you again. You're just glad he made it home in one piece, and so is he.

“I guess this means I'm on bed rest for a bit, huh?” He mumbles, and you roll your eyes. “When have you ever complained about bed rest?” You scowl, and he laughs, a real laugh, not a fake one to make someone happy, a real one. You kiss him again, and he rests his hands on your waist and pulls you closer to him, his hands going lower until they rest on the curve of your hips and you smack his hands away. “What part of bed rest did you not understand?” You groan and push yourself back, hearing him laugh and rest his head on your chest. Finally resting. You're glad he's here.

[archangeldyke-all]

Hey ! It's my first request ever, so I'm not sure how it work. If you're not confortable with it, feel free to don't respond. I'm kinda obsess with an AMAB Sevika, can you write reader discovering a surprise pregnancy with a sex friend/flirt/crush Sevika ?

I like the way you make her express her feelings, it's pretty accurate with Arcane. Feel free for them to keep the baby or not. Thank you so much and thank you for your work. ^^

sure!!! i got another very similar request too so i'll combine them :)

Amab sevika really be curing my depression

Maybe reader and vika are married and trying for a baby? 🥺🥺 amab sevika is my beloved and I'd die for her

men and minors dni

you guys have been trying to get pregnant for about six months now.

a lot of it's been fun. flipping through baby books together in bed, sending each other videos of cute babies on social media, and the actual baby making process is a blast.

but some of it's hard.

sevika's stopped taking her estrogen to get her sperm count back up. as a result, she's been horribly dysphoric.

you've caught her crying several times, standing in front of the mirror with a pair of tweezers in her hands, her chest irritated from the plucking and picking she'd done. she's become obsessive in shaving her face, doing it two or three times a day. her metabolism's gotten faster without the estrogen, and the 20 or so pounds of extra padding she'd put on her thighs and hips since she started e years ago is starting to fade away.

you try your best to make her feel better, insist that you guys could always try ivf instead, but she's determined to do it 'the old fashioned way.' so, you just hold her when her dysphoria takes hold, pressing kisses to her hair, reminding her you'd love her with a full beard just as much as you love her now.

it's been hard on you too. the more time that goes by without a successful pregnancy, the more you feel like your body's betraying you.

how many times did you and sevika have a pregnancy scare at the beginning of your relationship, before you were ready for kids? hundreds. but now that you're actively trying, your period is as regular as it can possibly be.

you've decided that if you go another month without any success, you're going to throw in the towel and ask your obgyn about ivf. you can't take much more disappointment, and you don't like seeing sevika so depressed all the time.

but then, something happens.

it starts with your tits getting sore.

for a week straight, they're tender to the touch, sore by the end of the night when you take your bra off. you know it's one of the earliest signs of pregnancy, but you don't say anything, not wanting to get your hopes up.

but then you start getting sick in the mornings. you can't hide this from sev, and she's squirming with excitement beside you as she rubs your back while you spew your guts into the toilet below.

"this is amazing." she says, giddy. you groan.

"real amazing sev, i'm feeling great." you say sarcastically. she giggles and presses a kiss to your head.

"i'm sorry, honey." she whispers. you giggle and reach out to hold her hand as another bout of nausea overtakes you.

your period is a day late.

and then two.

you know this. you know sevika knows this. but neither of you say anything, too scared to jinx it.

but when two days becomes three, and then three becomes a full week, you start getting excited.

you don't tell sevika you buy a pregnancy test-- not wanting to disappoint her if it's negative. but you do buy one, and you take it an hour before sevika's meant to get home.

it's positive. you nearly pass out from excitement.

sevika comes home to dinner on the table and flowers in the kitchen.

you sit on her lap the second she sits down, swinging your arms around her shoulders.

she's smiling like she already knows, but she's biting her lip-- worried that she's wrong.

"i got two surprises for you." you say.

"two?!" she asks, her hands clawing into your hips. you smile.

"two." you say, nodding.

you reveal the syringe full of her estrogen to her, raising your eyebrows at her. she blinks.

"what's that?" she asks. you laugh.

"'s only been a few months sev, y' already forgot what your e looks like?" you tease her. she blinks and gulps as you wipe a cool alcohol wipe over her bicep, pinching the skin and bringing the needle up to her arm. you smile at her.

"but what about--"

"don't ruin the second surprise." you scold her as you inject the needle into her muscle, pushing her hormones in and watching as her eyes go wide and sparkly.

she doesn't even notice the sting of the needle-- she's usually such a wimp about it, but tonight, she's got all her attention focused on you.

"does that mean-- are you--"

"pregnant?" you ask as you gently place a bandaid over the tiny puncture wound. sevika's breath catches in her throat and her eyes get watery. you place a kiss on top of the bandage, keeping your eyes locked on hers. sevika's breathing is shaky, tears already streaming down her cheeks. you lean up to kiss them up. "you're gonna be a momma, sev." you whisper against her cheek.

at the words, sevika bolts out of her chair, holding you in her arms and running you to the bedroom. you laugh the whole way.

sevika slams you (gently) down onto the bed before jumping on top of you. one of her hands goes to hold your stomach, the other comes up to cup your cheek.

"are you serious?!" she whispers. you smile and nod, your own tears welling in your eyes.

"took three tests. all positive." you say. sevika whimpers, then swoops down to kiss you.

she fucks you like she's trying to get you pregnant again.

and then, when you're done and she's holding you in your arms, her hand still on your stomach, the both of you catching your breaths, the first thing she says is, "what do you think about athena as a girls name?"

"goddess of war!?" you ask, laughing. "absolutely not. i'm not dealing with another little fighter in the house." you say. sevika giggles.

"but it's badass! nobody'd fuck with her." she says, pouting at you. you laugh. sevika gasps. "she just kicked!" she says, pointing at your belly. you laugh even harder. "she loves it! we have to name her athena now!" she says, teasing.

you groan and push her face away as she chuckles. "you're fuckin' ridiculous." you say between your giggles. sevika grins.

"i love you so much." she whispers, tears forming in her eyes again. your laughter ceases, a sweet watery smile taking its place.

"i love you too." you whisper.

sevika grins and swoops down to kiss your stomach.

"love you too, little fucker." she whispers to your belly.

taglist!

@lesbeaniegreenie @fyeahnix @sapphicsgirl @half-of-a-gay @ellabslut @thesevi0lentdelights @sexysapphicshopowner @shimtarofstupidity @love-sugarr @chuucanchuucan @222danielaa @badbye666 @femme-historian @lia-winther

[midnight-mourning]

Liar, Liar (Goose Down Coat on Fire)

Holiday Spirit! au Chapter 1

hehehehehe, HEHEHEHEHE

ahem. here u go, first chapter after much waiting, please enjoy :D

reminder for those that don't know, this is an au for my fic, confused spirit but you don't have to have read it to follow along. Additionally, day 7 of my December requests serves as the prologue for this ^_^

Word Count: 5762

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

There's a clattering sound behind you, making you jump ever so slightly. It's followed by a curse or two and a 'sorry!'. You frown, focusing back in on the gear work on the workbench in front of you. You have to be careful with this, these are delicate after all. One wrong move and you'll lose several hours’ worth of work. 

You adjust the tabletop magnifying glass, and tighten your grip on your tweezers. You're about to add the last thin gear into place—

Another clatter. "Sorry!"

You let out a noise of frustration. "That better not be important or it's coming out of your pay, Petey."

"Of course not, just the cogs we finished manufacturing this morning." Jesse quips, hammering something once or twice. "Not important at all."

"It's not my damn fault they keep slipping! These tongs suck."

Your eye twitches, turning slightly to look back at him. "Then use the other tongs, it's that simple."

"That'd be too easy." Savannah tsks. 

You shake your head, waving your free hand. "I don't have time for this, Ms. Faun's coming by in thirty for her clock and it's not finished yet." You look up to your apprentice, who's sitting to your right, watching you work intently. "Liv, would you mind helping Petey find the other tongs since he's so incapable of doing so?"

She nods, getting up to go over and help. 

"Hey! I'm the one making sure these things spend exactly 10 minutes in the fire."

Jesse scoffs. "Yeah, that's your job. Which, it wouldn't be if you'd hadn't messed up the clockwork with your grubby hands."

They start to bicker and you do your best to tune it out, focusing back on your work. This wasn't your typical gig—again, it was Pete's—but you enjoyed the smaller mechanism work every now and then. It also helped keep food on the table. 

Your crew was of decent size for the operation you had here, being the only smithy and mechanic shop in your village. It needed to be, considering that you were the only one around for miles and miles throughout the mountains. You were fortunate enough to be able to pull business from other nearby villages as well. 

But, as the arguing—and laughter—grows in volume behind you, sometimes you wonder if it's worth it to do something you love so much. Yes, they were your friends. But damn, if they didn't get on your nerves just like siblings sometimes. 

Speaking of, Lisa should be up soon. You should get breakfast ready. 

After a brief moment of clarity to finally finish the missing component of the clock, you set it aside, scribbling a note to Ms. Frau and sitting back with a stretch. You remove your goggles, shoving them up into your hair as you stand. 

You nod to Savannah, who's busy mixing metals as you head to the back door of the shop, into your kitchen and home proper. 

It's quiet back here, only small bits of noise coming through from the forge. Outside you can hear town starting to come to life, waking up as the day begins. You preferred to start earlier and end later so you had more time for your siblings. Additionally, having the shop open earlier meant you could prepare orders well ahead of time before having to worry about someone coming to pick them up. 

You rub your hands together, going over to the stove and checking the fire inside, tossing a log or two on both for heat and cooking purposes. 

As you're filling the kettle for the second time that morning, you hear feet hit the floor upstairs. A few minutes later, a face appears in the doorway, rubbing its bleary eyes. 

"Good morning." You say, walking over to the ice box. "You want bacon and eggs?"

A yawn. "Yeah."

"Go put boots on and check on Getrude then. She's probably hungry."

Lisa nods, shuffling over to the door and putting on boots, you hear the door close a moment later. 

While cooking breakfast, Lisa sits in a chair beside you, legs swinging as she watches you. 

"Those guards were super cool the other day. Do you think we'll see them again?"

You pause a moment, then shake your head. "Probably not up close, they've got duties to attend to and all that. But we might see them around."

"Oh. Okay." Lisa sighs. "But they were soooo fun. Mr. Moon gave us so many rides! And Mr. Sun is so silly."

You chuckle. You'd been surprised to find how good the two had been with your sister and Jack, but you'd been grateful for it. And amused as well, considering their initial hostility in your first encounter. "Yeah, I bet."

You're eating breakfast, Gabe in your lap now that he's awake, when you hear a commotion coming from the shop. 

Suddenly, your forge tender, Tyler, bursts through the door. Covered in ash and soot, he points a gloved hand behind him, out of breath. "They uh, need you in the main shop, broski."

You stand up, adjusting Gabe to sit on your hip. "What's wrong?"

"Better you see for yourself. That uh, purple rabbit's here, what's his name?"

Your brow furrows, but you make your way over to the door. "What would Bon need this early?"

Tyler shrugs. 

You walk back into your shop, your brother gnawing on part of an apple, where you see one of your neighbors, Bon, standing near the entrance. He locks on to you when you enter, concerned look in his eyes. 

"Everything okay Bon?" You ask as you make it over to him, nodding to Jesse and Pete that it's fine and they don't need to hold him back any longer. They nod in turn, going back to work. 

"There you are, sorry to be bugging you. And for making a scene." He winces, then shakes his head. "Listen, I've been seeing animatronics coming and going from here like crazy the past few days. What's going on?"

You cringe yourself. "It's a bit of a story, one that I'm not really too sure on myself. How long you got?"

Since the beginning of the festival a few days ago, you'd had a rather strange increase in clients. Specifically of the mechanical kind. Granted, you were used to taking care of animatronics, several lived in your village and the throughout kingdom as a whole. But this number of different clients every, single, day, was unheard of. 

Sure, it could be that because they were here on guard duty, many had decided to get a tune up or the likes and since your shop was the only option close by, took advantage of that. But the work you'd been doing lately wasn't routine maintenance. It was repairs.

Lots, and lots, of repairs. 

Not minor ones, either. You were replacing entire body parts in some cases. All of them guards, all of them coming from the castle. You had at least six or seven cases a day. 

It didn't make any sense. You doubted it was caused by the humans around. There was no ill will between man and machine in this day and age. So they had to be happening some other way. You'd tried asking directly, but never got a response on the matter. Given that most of your clients were the wide-eyed G.U.A.R.D. bots, this made sense. You honestly weren't sure if they were able to say much more than basic conversation topics. 

But the others you'd had, like the pink and white bear bot, or the fox, they just, avoided the topic. Skirting around it with a laugh or a quick quip. 

It made you uneasy to put it plainly. You couldn't wrap your head around it. It wasn't exactly a bad thing for you, it meant business was booming. Like the equivalent of a gold rush for you and your crew, holiday bonuses and the likes. 

But still, the idea that something more was going on was nagging at you, and you couldn't help the gnawing thought at the back of your mind that something really wrong was happening. 

You explain only part of this to Bon, not wanting to sound like a loon because of some hay brained passing suspicion. Maybe things will calm down today, and it'll just have been a weird fluke of coincidences. 

When you're finished, Bon nods his head thoughtfully. 

"Just like I thought." He shakes his head, looking to you. "Thank you, I suppose the only thing left to say is congratulations on the business."

You laugh, slightly awkward. "Yeah, thanks."

Bon heads to leave, then stops, turning to you. "And hey, out of curiosity. There hasn't been any blue rabbits that've come through right? Taller than me, maybe with an earring?"

"There was one blue rabbit." You say, thinking back, "But he was much smaller than you. Bright red cheeks. Why do you ask?"

Bon waves his hand. "No reason. I've seen him around, is all. Was curious. Have a good one!"

"You too!" You call after him, then frown. 

Surely it's just a coincidence that Bon's noticed the strangeness of this, right? You shake your head. No use worrying over something that's quite literally benefitting you. You let it go, and after a brief chat with your crew, head to go finish breakfast and send Lisa off to school.

Sure enough, you have several more animatronics come in before lunch, and many more that come in after. It's a busy day once more, and you have to shoo away that feeling in your gut by rattling your coin pouch several times as you walk through town later on in the day. 

Everything is bustling because of the festival, people you know and you don't passing you by as you walk along. You'd left Jesse in charge to finish out the day, deciding you needed to run some errands today. 

With the influx of money coming in, you'd decided you'd treat your siblings to some nicer meals for a least a few nights to celebrate. You also needed to get Lisa a new coat, maybe check in on your supplies you'd ordered from Lizzy because of all your new clients and there was also—

Your brother's delighted giggling interrupts your train of thoughts. Assuming some passerby must have entertained him, you keep moving forward. Another loud giggle and now your confused. 

You turn slightly to try and spy who or what behind you is exciting him, not seeing able to directly notice anyone. You shrug, giving up and about to step forward when. 

You halt, a red and blue torso blocking your view. A white and blue visage comes into your view. 

"Hello there, Andromeda."

You blink. "Oh, hello again, Moon. Fancy seeing you again."

"The same to you." He nods, then stands straight. "Are you enjoying the festival?"

You scoff, raising this paper in your hand with your to do list. "Hardly. I have things to do. Unlike the tourists, my job doesn't stop for the holidays."

"What a pity, and it's the nicest weather we've had so far."

You start walking again, Moon falling in step beside you. "No kidding. But, that's life. Maybe I'll take Lisa to one of the plays later, as a treat."

"I think that would be an excellent idea, personally." Out of the corner of your eye you catch him wiggling his finger at Gabriel, who giggles and claps his hands. 

You review your list, deciding to tackle the market first and foremost. "And what about you? What are you up to today?"

"Protecting civilians of course. What does it look like?" He teases. 

You snort. "Like you're chatting with civilians. No offense."

"None taken. I suppose."

The crowd thins only slightly upon entrance into the market. Nobles and the likes have no need to visit where the commoner's shop for food and the likes, unless they wished to gawk, that is. Moon sticks with you, chatting as you go stall to stall gathering groceries. Even offering to carry things for you, which, you're not one to turn down a bit of free help. 

You're examining some fresh fish when a thought occurs to you to finally ask. "Where's that partner of yours? The sunny one."

Moon pauses for a moment, then he chuckles, grin widening slightly. "Busy."

"Hm. Fair enough."

After the market, Moon continues to stick with you, playing the role of your helper quite well. 

You manage to knock out most of your list an hour quicker than you expected. So, you decide to take a break, heading to the bakery to grab a snack. 

You're sitting out at one of the tables, watching as across the square there's a bit of dancing and such taking place. Gabe's sitting on the table, nibbling on a bit of cookie you'd allowed him. 

It really is a nice day, the Sun is warm against the cold air. The music from across the square flits all around you, the chattering of people mixing in between. 

You take a bite of your scone. "Could I ask you a bit of a weird question?"

"Weird how?" Moon asks, but his tone is cheeky.

You shake your head. "I guess forward is the better word. But anyway, there's been a bit of an increase in customers in my shop the past few days."

"Remind me what it is you do?" He lifts his hand to twiddle his fingers above Gabe's head, chin resting in his other hand.

"Smithy, technician, tinkerer, what have you,"—you chomp down again—"Only one around, and that's been made very clear to me. Everyday I've had several animatronics come in, all banged up and bruised. Well, not bruised but you get the point. And I can't make hide nor hair of it."

You hear a click or two to your left. "And you think I might know?"

"Well, I assumed so, I don't know all the royal guard castle stuff works." You wave your hand. "Forgive me, I was just curious I guess."

No response. You glance over for a moment. Moon's eyes are narrowed, grin seeming, strained. But he's not looking at you, not seeming to be looking at anything in particular at all. 

Gabriel sneezes, and that seems to pull him out of it. You see the small, white pupils he sometimes has flick to you for a moment. 

"If I were you, I wouldn't worry so much about things like that."

You nod, smiling once. "Yeah, you're right." 

On the inside though? You're so, incredibly, suspicious. You know better than to let that show, however. While you've been cordial all day, you two don't know each other beyond the base conversations you've shared. 

And you know all too well the costs of trusting a stranger.

"Odd choice of a necklace charm." Moon interrupts your thoughts. 

You realize that you've been fiddling with it. "Huh? Oh, yeah." You tuck it back into your shirt. "Gift from a friend."

He nods, sitting back. "Must have been a good one."

"Something like that."

Despite your best efforts—and the extra set of hands—you still managed to forget a few things on your list. Forcing you to once again face the festival crowds the next day. 

Things aren't any slower than before, but by now your crew has fallen into the routine to be able to manage without you for a few hours. They've also been trying to force you to go more, somehow knowing that you'd be hunkered down doing repairs until your hands hurt otherwise. Which, you'd already done at least three days in a row now. 

So, you'll take the break, and use it as an opportunity to finish your list and maybe plan out some gifts for the upcoming holiday. 

It's a bit colder today, not nearly as sunny out. Still just as busy though. It's a bit harder to navigate, but you manage. 

For the most part. 

While walking through the shopping district, someone bumps into you. Not wanting to cause a scene, you apologize. 

The person huffs, and looking over you can tell by their dress they're upper class types. The woman snaps open her fan, eyes clearing showing her disdain. "How rude."

"You should watch where you're going." The man, you're guessing her husband, adds. 

You put your hands up. "Apologies. Won't happen again."

"Can't even be bothered to give a proper apology?" The man asks, stepping forward. Causing you to step back. People are starting to watch now. Of course, the one time you come to the nicer part of town and you manage to make a scene. It wasn't even your fault! She bumped into you. 

You keep your voice even to hide your irritation, and minor fear. "Again, I apologize. I really didn't mean anything by it."

"Sure you didn't,"—he scoffs, pointing a finger at you and again stepping closer—"You should consider it fortunate that—"

He doesn't get to finish, a large shadow obstructing your view of him. Taking a moment to adjust your vision, you see the back of a red coat, and glancing upwards, find the back of a seven-rayed head. 

Sun glances briefly back at you a moment before focusing on the man in front of him. 

"What seems to be the trouble here?" He asks. 

The man tsks. "They bumped into my lovely wife and couldn't even muster up an apology! The nerve of these commoners, I swear." He looks around Sun and points to you. "I want them fined at minimum, and a night in the jail unless they can give us a reason to forgive them."

"Is that so?" Sun turns to look at you, you duck your head, face burning. 

This was ridiculous. You'd heard stories of some stuck up nobles out there, and you knew better than to believe they were all like this, but still. You just hope this will be quick, and that the fine is a small one. 

There's a click or two above you. "Well, from what I saw, sir, your wife bumped into them."

You freeze, eyes wide as you look up to the bot, who's now staring down the man with a strained smile. 

"So, therefore, she should be the one apologizing,"—Sun suddenly bends down to be the same height as the couple, and they both jump back slightly. Sun tilts his head with a click—"Don't you think?"

The man blusters for a moment. "I, well I, that—" He shakes his head, adjusting his coat, angry, but relenting. "I suppose so."

Sun claps his hands, standing upright. "Very good then! Well, ma'am?" He turns his attention to her. 

You peek out a bit further from behind Sun, unable to smother the smirk on your lips. She seems just flustered and defeated as her husband. 

She doesn't look you in the eye as she mumbles out—"My apologies."

"Is that satisfactory for you?"

Your realize Sun's talking to you. You nod, not wanting to drag this out any further, you're still in shock that it's happening this way and that you're not being carted off the jail. "Yes, thank you for apologizing."

After another hushed exchange, the couple storm off, and you relax finally as the street returns to normal. 

You notice you still have a shadow on you. Glancing up, you see Sun staring down at you. 

"Thank you. Very much so." You start to walk off then. "I won't keep you, have a good day—woah!"

You're stopped by a firm hand on your shoulder. You trace it up to the sunny guard's narrowed gaze. 

"It was only by chance I was nearby. That could have gone very differently for you, Icarus." You hear a few sharp clicks emit from him.

You stare at each other a moment before you relax, rolling your eyes with a huff. "Yeah, I know. And again, I'm grateful for the help, but I have things to do. So let go or tag along for the ride. Keep in mind though, I'm only strong enough to carry Gabe."

"Very well then,"—his hand shifts from your shoulder to your arm interlocking with yours—"Let's get to it."

You glance at the hold a moment, then scoff. "Alright. Fair warning, I will make you carry stuff."

The two of you start to travel down the street, your first stop is the coat shop.

"I'll consider it."

"Hah! Witty aren't you?" You ask. 

Sun doesn't answer, eyes crinkling as he smile widens a tinge. 

Much like how Moon accompanied you yesterday, Sun does the same. Though, he has a bit more direct commentary on your shopping choices. Specifically critique. He seems to love to critique you. 

It wears you down quickly, and by the end of the trip you've thrown all common courtesy to the wind and bicker with him like you would anyone else you know. 

"I still believe you'd be better off purchasing something with goose down instead." 

You scoff as you exit the shop, bell clinking above you. "And for the last time, I've told you that Lisa would destroy a goose down coat in a matter of hours. It'd be wasted on her." You shove the brown parcel into his arms. "Sheep's wool is just fine."

"Perhaps you should teach her to take better care of her things." He takes the package, adding it to the others in his hold. 

You laugh. "You ever try to tell an eight year old what to do? They're not great listeners." You check the time, seeing that it's time to go pick her up from school. "Speaking of, I need to go grab her. Let's run this back home and then you're free to get out of my hair."

"Wouldn't it be easier on you to just retrieve her directly?" He asks.

"Yeah, but it'd be more work on you. And I figured you'd be tired of me by now." You shrug. "Besides, don't you have a job to do?"

Sun looks down to you, rays flicking back and forth. Then he tsks. "Tell me which way the school is before I start walking a random direction."

"I—okay. This way." 

He speaks again after a moment. "Your errands today weren't dissimilar to my patrol route, and after your little mishap earlier, I'd rather keep an eye on you myself."

"Make sure I'm not causing any trouble for the rich folk?" You simper. 

Sun laughs, it's surprisingly light. "On the contrary, I believe they'd cause you trouble."

"Oh."

"Though, yes, you'd probably somehow make it worse." He finishes. 

Your eyes narrow. "You know, I think I don't really like you."

"The feeling's mutual, Bright Eyes."

Lisa's waiting for you on the steps when you arrive, chatting away with a few of her friends. When she sees you she beams, waving. When she sees Sun her eyes light up, rushing over to tackle him with a hug. 

"Mr. Sun! What are you doing here?" She looks up to him. "They said I'd never ever see you again!"

You huff. "No, I said you probably wouldn't—"

"Well, they were surely mistaken then, weren't they?" Sun shifts all the items he's carrying to one hand, reaching down to ruffle Lisa's hair. 

She giggles. "Yeah, they're such a liar!"

"I did not lie!"

Sun walks you back to your home, and you thank him again for his help. 

Color you surprised—and suspicious—when over the next week or so either one or both of the celestial guards decide to accompany you on your walks to and from getting Lisa from school. Entertaining her or Gabriel while chatting idly with you. 

They also always seem to find you while you're out and about, which had been more frequent with all the repairs you'd been doing. You've gotten to the point where you've had to completely restock some days. You've even brought Tyler out from the back to help in the main shop, you're that desperate. 

Regardless of that, you can't help the sense of concern that's eating away at you. This doesn't make sense. What could be causing this amount of damage to these animatronics? Why won't they tell you what's happening to them? What exactly is going on up in that castle that no one seems to be noticing besides you?

As for Sun and Moon, you can't get a read on them either. You're not stupid, there's a reason they're essentially tailing you. And you know they're not foolish either. The three of you are just skirting around the massive elephant in the room. 

But, you can't deny, besides that, you've enjoyed the companionship as of late. Besides your crew you weren't much for talking to people. It was, unfortunately, undeniably good for you that they wouldn't leave you be. 

To a point, that is. 

You're mulling all this over again as the parade goes on in front of you. Abby's standing to your right with her brother, Lisa's in front of you. While trying to keep a calm demeanor, you know deep down you're both concerned about letting either child out of your sight. And not just because of what happened a little over a week ago. 

A child went missing last night. 

The butcher from down the road's daughter, his wife was going up and down the street sobbing. You were part of one of the search parties that went looking for her, not even a sign of her turning up in or out of town. The dogs weren't able to catch her scent. Just laid down on the ground, paws over their whining snouts. 

It sent a shock through the community, especially you. This was your biggest fear, all but confirmed. But, you kept that to yourself, the last thing that was needed was more panic. 

You yawn, you'd searched for hours, well into the night, and were exhausted because of it. Your grip on Lisa's shoulder tightens. Still, if that had been her—you shake her head. You'd do anything to find her, that's for sure. 

At the very least, your back is glad that you decided to leave Gabe at home today. Savannah's sister happened to be around and offered to sit for you, meaning you could just focus on your sister today. Which, given her troublemaker attitude, was a good thing. 

The precession grows more elaborate and the crowd's volume increases. It shifts from simple dancers and musicians to elaborate contortionists and stilt walkers. You spy a few animatronics within the mix, in particular a white and pink fox and a ballerina-like bot that catch your eye. 

It's not until the marching soldiers however that you really pay attention however. As while you do spy several familiar machines among the rows—including Sun & Moon—from their time in your shop, it's one of the human guards that makes you perk up. 

And unfortunately, so does Lisa.

"Hey! That's Miss Bri!" She exclaims, jumping up and down. 

You can't stop the grin that splits your face. "You're right, Lis. It is her."

"Miss Bri! Miss Bri it's me!" Your sister shouts, arm waving wildly. 

People around you start shooting looks and you mumble a few 'sorries' in response. You try shushing your sister. "Quiet down, Lisa. We'll try to talk to her after the parade. Look, there's the royal family." You point to the carriage they're riding in, but Lisa could care less. 

She blows a raspberry. "Who cares about some old king and his kids. I wanna see Miss Bri!"

You cringe at the offended gasps around you. 

"Teach that girl some respect." Someone comments beside you. 

You turn half-shrugging and trying not to get overwhelmed. "She's eight, can yah really blame her?"

Taking your hands off Lisa for even a second was a mistake. Everything happens all at once. 

There's a shot that rings out in the back of the precession where the king is, causing a disruption in the crowd and people to scream. In the commotion, Lisa takes her chance to break out of your grip, running over to where Bri is in the road. 

You race after her, getting there just in time to see your friend's surprised face as she scoops Lisa up in her arms. 

"Little Lady, I don't think you're supposed to be here." Bri states, looking down at your sister. 

Lisa wraps her arms tight around the guard, burying her head against her chest. "I didn't I'd ever see you again! You went away! I hated it." You can just barely make out a sniffle from her.

Bri softens. "Hey, it's alright. I told you I'd come visit sometime, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm visiting now. So, let's cheer up a bit, alright?" Bri pulls back, reaching up to take off her hat and setting it on your sisters head. "Here, you can wear this for me, yeah?"

Lisa sniffs again, cheering up. "Okay."

Bri smiles, then looks up to you. "Hell of an entrance, L/N."

"Same to you, Perry." You grin, and hug her tight.  

She claps you on the back hard, shaking your shoulder when you pull away. "It's really great to see you, but I think we both know this isn't the time for greetings."

"Yeah, I know." You both turn to the now calming chaos by the king's carriage. 

She nods to it. "Walk over with me?" 

"Sure."

She adjusts Lisa, who still clings to her, keeping her voice low. "If I'm right about what's going on, I'll need you. Have I got you?"

"Long as you got me." You nod, and she returns it. 

Upon arrival, you can see a small crowd of guards standing around something on the ground by the open-air carriage. You pay no mind to the royal family, you think you'd start freaking out if you did, and instead follow Bri into the crowd's center. 

Along the way, you catch Moon's gaze among the group, who seems surprised to see you. You just offer him a wave and a smile. When you see Sun, you stick your tongue out at him. You think if he could he'd return the favor. 

Laying in the snow, flailing about, is an animatronic, being restrained by three others. It's a blue rabbit, and the others holding him down include a bear, a wolf, and a gator. 

"Bonnie! You have to calm down, please!" The bear pleads. 

The gator growls as he's hit the face by a loose claw. "He's not home right now, Fred. Make a decision already, or I will."

"It's a long shot, but anything you can do?" Bri asks. "This keeps happening randomly to all our bots, and the only solution we've been able to think of has been a bit, graphic. Bonnie's a good guy, I think if he could stop, he would."

Glancing around briefly, you see several already disarmed GUARD bots lying about. Still twitching every so often. Alive, obviously, but likely in pain. If animatronics could feel pain, that is. You're going to assume yes for now.

You nod, trying to think quick. "Yeah, let's give it a chance." You try to take a closer look at the bot. "Tell them to flip him over on his back."

As Bri does so, you dig around in your bot for your knife, snatching it up into your hand when you find it. 

You approach the group, cautious, but determined. 

"Get me clear access to his head." You direct, earning a look from the gator and the wolf, but they shift so you can move in. 

You ignore the thrashing and garbled static coming from the bunny as you kneel down, hand ghosting over the metal of his skull until you find his access panel. You wedge your knife into the small crack, popping it open and tossing it off into the snow. 

Bonnie grows more erratic for a moment, and you jump back slightly until they regain control over him. 

"Hope you know what you’re doing, mon ami." The gator mutters. 

You nod, leaning back in. "Ouais, moi aussi."

Inside, it's set up exactly how you predicted, and after a few quick button presses, and the unplugging of a few wires, Bonnie stills completely. You remove your hands entirely, waiting for a few moments. Once the time is up, you slowly reach down and reinsert the wires in their proper places. 

"Okay. Let him go." You stand up, stepping back. You bump into something, and after a glance to the yellow hand on your shoulder you know who. 

There's a quiet voice by your head as the other animatronics also step back, and the bunny slowly starts to get to his feet. "What did you do?"

"Shut off his limb controls, then gave his system a hard reset." You murmur back. 

Bonnie stands straight, gripping his head. "What happened?"

He's tackled into a hug by the bear that had been holding him down, and a chicken animatronic joins shortly thereafter. "You're okay!"

"Of course I'm alright, Fred. Seriously, what's going on?"

The group of guards cheer, and you feel several reach around the bots behind you give you their thanks. You give polite smiles and nods in response, but inside, you're thinking. You're thinking intently. 

Bonnie has an earring in his right ear, and he's around the same height as another rabbit you know well. 

And his control access is identical.

Bri takes up your vision then, Lisa still in her arms. She encircles you in another hug. "I knew you could do it! Thank you."

"Of course. Glad he's alright."

She goes to say more, but stops, bowing her head. You see the others around you have done the same, in some cases going down on one knee. Turning around, your realize why. 

Through the now surrounding quiet, there's a lone clap that can be heard. It's coming from the carriage, from a man who's now standing, the crown on his head glinting in the sunlight. 

The smile on his face is wide, almost too wide. 

"Well done! Well done, indeed." The King ceases his clapping. "I've yet to meet one as well-versed with machines as myself. Tell me, who must I thank for stepping in and averting disaster here today?"

You can only stand frozen in shock, the grip that's slipped down to your arm is like iron. This is entirely not how you were expecting this day to end up.

Well, shoot.

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

Man, bet y'all weren't expecting the references to og fnaf in this huh? I keep y'all on your toes. You should know by now, NEVER lower your guard when it comes to me and Confused spirit related things. Anywho~ thanks for reading! I'll be working on getting the next one out soon :)

Main Post with chapter links & info

Tag list (if you would like added, see this post for more info):

@scarletcowboy @beemyhuneybee @fishm0ther @deviouscrackers @elsajoyagent8

@luckyyyduckyyy @zenkaiankoku @jogimote @local-shrub @amarynthian-chronicles

@robinette-green @everlightreader @sinister-sincerely @starredeclipse @dangerva

@juukai @crystalmagpie447 @mothgutz236 @lizyxml @divinit3a (brilliant mastermind behind this au idea btw)

[boxturret]

How to get Stickers/Tape off of boxes

There's nothing worse than spending money on a sealed Bionicle set, or just tracking down one with the box, only to find that some criminal went and stuck things all over it.

This is a problem that I've faced a lot, and have found a pretty good solution to!

First, blast the sticker with a hair dryer. This will soften the adhesive and allow you to get a small knife underneath an edge

Then you can start carefully peeling it up. Ideally you would use some tweezers to grip the sticker, but none of mine have enough grip so I just end up sing my fingers. My fingers are very sore afterwards from all the hot air...

Now while this removed the sticker itself there's probably a lot of adhesive left on the box.

You could try washing it, but water and cardboard don't mix...so recently I found that Blutack works amazingly well!

You simply roll it over the surface gently, and slowly but surely the blutack will stick to the adhesive and pull it off!. It will take quite a while, and its a bit hard to roll it with burnt fingers, so maybe don't do the two steps back to back...

But eventually your work will be rewarded! A nice clean box to enjoy.

Here's another example. Note: near edges or parts where the cardboard has torn you have to be very careful, as the blutack is strong enough to tear the cardboard up. But a slight dab of glue on the underside is enough to repair it.

Also: This specifically is an English brand of Blutack, the north american version is different so I'm not sure how well it would work, so be ware.

[eventinelysplayground]

This is my entry for @judejazza 300 follower event Invitation to Crown. I haven't read any translations for the game or anything so I am just going off of the info about the characters that has been released in english so far and what I've seen of them in others routes. Time will tell how in or out of character this fic is but it was a fun ride. I chose the prompts linked fingers and dressed in love. The cats curiosity seems to be rubbing off on you causing you to pay a visit to Crowns resident physician. SFW, tiny bit suggestive WC 1178. Crown banner from @natimiles.

Almost Caught.

“You need to be more careful, lil lady.”

“I know and I'm sorry for making extra work for you Roger.”

You walked behind Roger cradling your left hand and chastising yourself as he gathered up his supplies. You're normally not so careless or curious but…

“I think Liam's curiosity is rubbing off on me.”

You were mumbling that to yourself but Roger let out a chuckle.

“Well I definitely don't need another curious cat to treat now, come ‘ere.”

Roger patted a spot on his desk he had cleared off and you blinked at him.

“You don't want me to sit in a chair?”

“Nah the closer you are to my height the easier it'll be to dig ‘em out.”

“Okay.”

You walk over to the desk and sigh. You aren't sure you can get up using only one hand. Just as that thought passes through your mind big warm hands grab you by the waist lifting you up and setting you down on the desk. You feel your cheeks starting to flush and you breathe out a sigh of relief as Roger lets go of your waist.

“Thanks.”

Roger shoots you a mischievous grin as he takes your left hand in his.

“Don't mention it, now let's take a closer look at this.”

Roger began examining your palm while his thumb slowly caressed your pinky. You tell yourself to calm down, that he’s just taking a look and nothing more is going on here.

“I don't think I've seen so many splinters at once before. Looks like most of them are big enough though this shouldn't take too long.”

“Oh...”

You can hear the disappointment in your voice and grimace internally.

“No need to sound so disappointed I-”

“I'm not disappointed! You must be hearing things.”

“Hehe if you say so little lady, now hold still for me.”

Roger's thumb gently wraps around the tips of your fingers holding them in place. He picks up a pair of tweezers and carefully starts pulling the splinters from your hand as you watch in rapt attention. You notice his gaze although serious is soft and your heart skips a beat every time you feel his thumb caress your fingers as he holds them still.

Deep breaths, he’s just doing this so he can get the splinters out.

As the last splinter was pulled out Roger looked up at you. His eyes were shining and when he smiled at you it became impossible to look away from him. Your eyes locked together he gingerly runs his fingers over your palm and you swallow hard.

“Well, thank you for taking them out. I promise to be careful in the future.”

You pull your hand away and go to hop off the desk but Roger grabs you by the waist and holds you in place.

“Whoa not so fast there, I still need to clean and dress your wounds.”

“Oh, no you don't have to I mean I've already interrupted your work enough-”

Roger's warm hands move down to grab your hips. He pulls you closer to him and presses his thigh between your knees.

“What kind of doctor would I be if I let you go before I finished treating you.”

Your heart's beating so loud that even without his curse you're sure Roger would still be able to hear it.

“Okay.”

Calm down, just calm down. You heard him, he's just doing his job as a doctor, nothing more.

Roger flashes you a grin as he lets go of your hips and picks up a bottle and cloth. He takes your left hand in his again and despite your earlier warning to it not only does your heart not calm down it beats even faster.

“Something else bothering you? You seem flushed and your skin feels pretty warm.”

“No just the splinters, everything else is fine!”

Your voice came out an octave or two higher than you intended it to and Roger chuckled.The iodine stings as it hits your skin causing you to suck in a sharp breath.

“I’ll be done before you know it.”

You let out a sigh and a silent prayer for your heart to please just listen to you. As you finish praying Roger puts down the cloth and grabs the roll of gauze. His skillful fingers move quickly as he wraps the gauze around your hand tying it off with a neat and sturdy knot.

Phew, now I can just go to my room and have a heart attack in peace and quiet.

Just as you thought you were free Roger kisses the palm of your hand before lacing your fingers together.

“What are you doing?”

“Just finishing up the treatment. There's no proof a kiss has any effect on the healing process but no harm in being thorough.”

Fingers still laced together Roger twists your hand and plants a kiss on the back of it before he pulls you to him.

“Though are you sure you're alright? You're even more flushed than earlier and your heart's beating out of control.”

“I…”

Your eyes meet Rogers and reflected in them is your own yearning and desire. It's clear to both of you that each of your feelings have evolved into something more. You close your eyes in anticipation of the kiss you've waited so long for. You feel his hot breath against your lips but instead of a kiss you get a growl.

“Damn it.”

Roger pulls away from you before lifting you off the desk and crossing his arms across his chest.

“Come back and see me tomorrow and I'll redress your wound for you.”

You're about to ask him what's going on when you hear footsteps on the stairs followed by familiar voices.

“Hey Roger?”

“Ya I heard you, sit down.”

“Oh, we didn't know you were busy.”

Harrison reached the bottom of the stairs first followed by Alfons who despite bleeding from his arm smiled at you mischievously.

“We're all done here, the lil lady just got a few splinters in her hand.”

“Oh really?”

Alfons took a seat on the chair and started taking off his jacket while Harrison leaned against the baluster.

“Yes I was just a little careless that's all, that looks pretty bad though.”

“This is nothing. Are you sure you're alright though? You look absolutely flushed.”

Alfons grin widened making you blush even more as you walked towards the stairs.

“I'm fine.”

“That's a lie.”

Now Harrison was the one with the huge grin on his face and you raced up the stairs as fast as your legs would carry you before you died of embarrassment. You heard their laughter floating up behind you followed by a sharp hiss as you ran out the door.

Back in the lab Alfons was glaring daggers at Roger who just shrugged.

“I had to disinfect the wound.”

“By pouring the whole bottle on it?”

“No, the whole bottle was for interrupting my hunt.”

Alfons just groaned and Harrison shot Roger a knowing smile.

“Cheer up doc, there's always tomorrow.”

[icycoldninja]

Maintenence day (Raiden x Reader angst)

"Can you hold still?!" You grumbled, squinting into the dark metallic cavity before you, trying to find that wire you'd just lost thanks to Raiden's sudden jump.

"I would, if you didn't keep messing with the wrong circuits." Raiden replied, sullenly. You sighed, reaching into the maze of wires with a pair of thin tweezers.

"How am I supposed to know which ones deal with your motor functions and which ones don't?" Raiden scoffed in response, casting a sour look at you over his shoulder, but otherwise said nothing. You frowned, finally finding the wire you were looking for and connecting it to what you supposed was the right socket.

It was not.

A horribly loud buzzing sound resounded from Raiden's back before an electric jolt wracked his body, causing him to practically leap off the operating table with a loud yelp.

"Shit!" You quickly reached in with with your pliers and yanked the wire out before it could cause any more damage. The crisis averted, Raiden sighed and sank down on the table, head in his hands. "Sorry, Rai," You apologized, pulling out Doktor's handwritten guidebook and flipping through the pages. "Aw, damn," You groaned, realizing your mistake. "Red wires were for the electricity supply..." Raiden sighed, shaking his head.

"You should have let Doktor do this." You shook your head, reading through the guidebook with a tight, thoughtful frown.

Today was Raiden's weekly tune up, a time when Doktor usually performed maintenance on Raiden's cybernetic body. However, recently, Doktor had been very busy with other projects and didn't have time for the maintenance operation--which was where you came in. You decided that since Raiden was your boyfriend, it was nessescary to learn how his parts worked, so you could not only help out the hardworking doctor, but have a chance to spend more time with your favorite ninja. Of course, since you had little to no experience with this type of technology, Doktor compiled a short handbook describing everything that needed to be done, which things did what, and so on.

You stared at the aforementioned book in silence before picking up your tweezers and reaching into the jungle of wires once again, this time pulling out a thick red wire. After consulting the guidebook once again, you plugged it into another socket; thankfully, nothing happened. You continued carefully rearranging Raiden's circuitry with very few mishaps hindering your progress. At the very most, Raiden's body would suddenly twitch because you pinched a nerve wire by mistake, which was something he really didn't like.

"Seriously, you're terrible at this."

"Shh, Rai, I'm almost done." You replied, plugging in the last wire before closing up his back. "Now, we move on to the arms and legs." Raiden let out a low grumble while watching you pick up a screwdriver. He sat there sullenly and watched as you unscrewed the panels on his legs, popped them off, giving them a quick wipedown with some anti-tarnish polish, then slipping them back on. You did the same for his arms, and when you were done, you headed for his face, which prompted an unusual response.

The mere sight of your fingers nearing his face made Raiden shiver. He stared up at you with his one working eye, unusually pale and deathly silent. Fearfully, he watched as you crossed over to the shelf across the room to retrieve some tools, and by the time you returned, he was actually shaking, his wide, shocked eye lingering on the screwdriver and box of screws in your hands. As you neared him, Raiden shrunk away from you, eyeing you with a cold glare. He didn't like anyone touching his face--there were too many awful memories associated with it. The two of you stared at each other in silence for a while, before you finally spoke up.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, Raiden," You said, setting the tools down. "I promise." Raiden sighed, lowering his gaze to the floor.

"Just get it over with," He mumbled, crossing his arms defensively. "And...try not to be too rough."

You nodded, gently taking his jaw in your hand and loosening the bolts that held it in place. It popped off with a loud clank, and you set it down on the table next to you. Acdording to the handbook, you were supposed to polish, then reattach it with new screws. You quickly and carefully cleaned the fake jaw, then lined it back up with the sockets and slid the new screws in. You soon became so absorbed in your work, you didn't realize the tears that were welling up in Raiden's eye.

"Oh shit, baby, did I do something wrong?" You hastily released your hold on him, backing away nervously. Raiden shook his head, a pained expression plastered on his face.

"No, you're fine....just...this stuff...brings back memories." You nodded, wishing there was a way to soothe his pain. "Finish the job," He mumbled, sounding like a dying soldier more than anything else. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

This was, of course, a lie, and both of you knew it. But it was his will, and Raiden's will must be done. Sighing, you took his metal hand in yours and brought it up to your collar bone, allowing him to feel the faint beating of your heartbeat.

"You're gonna be ok, Rai, it'll all be fine. I won't hurt you, I promise." Raiden blinked furiously, trying to force his tears back, but they just spilled out anyway.

He sat there on the operating table, crying silently as you worked on replacing his jaw. Once you were done with your work, you kissed his cheek, wrapping your arms around his torso, eager to comfort him after enduring what must have dredged up memories of a traumatizing experience.

"All done, Rai, all done. You did great, baby. I love you so much. I'm so proud of you." Raiden nodded, curling his metal arms around your waist, small sobs, along with many tears, spilling out of him. You held him tightly, kissing him, comforting him; giving him the affection he needed; the affection he deserved.

[sacredwrath]

P10. Revelations

Painful wound cleaning, gore, aftermath of torture, medical inaccuracies:) caretaking kinda

Misha won't look at him as she cleans his prisoners legs. Logan watches her in silence, trying to gauge her feelings, but her face is a practiced mask of careful professionalism. He wants to say something. To apologize, to defend himself, to explain, anything, but he can't seem to fit the words together.

She flushes the wounds, methodically removing the larger crystals with tweezers. Logan holds a flashlight close, trying not to look at the gruesome mess it reveals. He wants to turn away, sick to his stomach, but he can't leave Misha to clean up his mess on her own.

The wounds are bad. So bad that part of him doesn't believe he could inflict injuries like this on another person. Sure he's defeated villains in combat before, but seeing the gaping bloody aftermath up close and personal is an entirely different experience.

The burns are torn open, chard flesh encrusted with salt crystals. Some areas have begun to scab over, forcing Misha to tear them open again to get at the salt beneath. Crystals have burrowed their way deep into his legs. Deep enough, Misha is struggling to find them all.

Even unconscious Morgan makes small pained noises as she works.

It takes so long that by the end of it Logan is at the edge of panic himself. It takes all his will to force himself to stay put and not bolt from the room. He breathes slowly using a trick Jesse taught him years ago. In for four, hold for four, out for four.

This is his mess he reminds himself again. He has to help clean it up.

“Come hold him up.” Misha orders, eyes still focused on her work

Logan lifts Morgan's shoulders, propping him into a seated position. Misha places two pills in his mouth and brings a water bottle to his lips. She rubs her fingers over his throat till he swallows.

“Let me see his back.” She rings out her rag, opening a fresh bottle of water. “How long has he been down here?”

He clears his throat “only a few days, those weren't from me.” she runs a finger over the mostly healed wounds, pulling gently at the skin.

“No shit.”

The silence is deafening.

He feels like she must be able to hear his anxious swallow.

“Have you been giving him antibiotics?”

“Just the topical one you gave me. I didn't want to waste the ones you were using for Jesse.”

She doesn't respond.

“What?” He snaps, starting to get annoyed by her lack of emotion. “You want him healthy?”

“Haven't decided yet.” She slathers more antibiotic cream on the wounds.

“Haven't decided.” He scoffs. “You know who this is right? You saw what he did to Jesse? You saw their back right? Or did you somehow miss that?”

“Obviously.” she snaps back, forcefully ripping a strip of gauze from her roll. “I'm not defending him.”

“He deserves it.” Logan tries not to make it sound like a question.

“Wow, what heroism.” The man's voice is little more than a rasp. He jerks his shoulder out of Logan's grip, doubling over in a coughing fit.

“You're awake!” Logan exclaims “I thought-” he cuts off. Misha presses a fresh water bottle into Morgan's hands.

“Here, drink this.” He takes a long swallow, clutching the bottle so tightly it crumples.

“Thought what?” he prods, voice still rough

“Thought- I thought- I don't know,” He rambles, “I guess I thought I killed you.”

A wheeze that sounds almost like a laugh “well at least you're confident in your abilities. Who's this? Another one of Jesse's little friends?”

“She's not your business.”

“Oh well excuse me then.” They all let the silence hang while Morgan takes another long drink and Misha goes back to bandaging his back.

“sooo…” Morgan drawls, “guess the cats out of the bag then?” He appraises them. “Does that mean I'll get to see Jesse soon?”

“Stop talking.”

“ok, ok, just wondering, Jesus. Thought you'd be in a better mood after that… performance. How long'd you leave me like that?”

“Long enough”

“I'll say. You know, you don't need to do so much to make a stress position effective. Let the body take itself apart…” He trails off, getting a far-off look in his eyes. No one responds.

...

Later that night Logan and Misha walk far out of sight from the house. Dark trees make twisted shapes against the clouded sky and their breath puffs out in hot plumes before them.

“So.” He asks when she seems unwilling to break the silence

“I don't know what to say Logan.” she sounds tired and exasperated

“Don't know what to say? He's a monster Mish, I had to!”

She huffs out a long breath. “How did it happen? How did you even get him down there?”

“He just showed up! I was driving home and saw him laying in the road, half dead. I- I don't know how he got there…”

“You didn't ask him? Jesus Logan that might be important to know. How the hell did he find us?

“I-”

“And who else knows where we are?”

Logan is ashamed to admit he hasn't really thought about it. “I guess I just thought he came after Jesse”

“Yeah sure, came after them on his own and ended up ‘laying in the road half dead’ that makes perfect sense.” She mocks

Logan looks at his feet “it's only been a few days.”

Misha ignores him. “and he wants to talk to Jesse, yes?”

“I guess so, he's mentioned it a few times.”

“Did you ask him why he wants to talk to them?”

“Not really? I assumed he just wanted to re traumatize them.”

Misha shoves her hands in her pockets, pacing, letting the irritation out.

“Well I don't know what to say Logan I think you should have told us, at the very least, but this wasn't thought out and now we could all be in danger.”

“I know.” He doesn't meet her eyes. “Honestly I don't really even know what came over me. I just- seeing them like that… I-” he feels tears welling in his eyes and tries desperately to blink them away. “I- He had them for all that time and I couldn't do anything, couldn't get them out and now- now they're… like this, and I can't- they might not ever be the same and he just gets to get away with it! I know it's wrong, but Misha I- I just can't let him get away with it!” He's crying now, tears pouring down his face.

She relents somewhat, reaching out and taking him in her arms, holding him tight while he cries.

“Shh shh” she whispers, “it's going to be ok. They're out now. We did get them out and they're safe now. We can figure out what to do with that man now that I know.” She rubs his back as he finally manages to get the tears under control. He groans, pulling away and wiping his eyes

“Sorry,” he's embarrassed. He doesn't cry often, especially not to Misha

“It's ok.” She looks a little uncomfortable too “at least I know now. We'll figure it out.”

They walk home in silence but before she opens the door she stops him again.

“Did you plan to kill him? When you're done?”

“Of course.” He answers simply.

She nods. “Good.” Her eyes flash and she disappears inside.

Prev | masterpost | next

Tag list:) @whumpacabra @turn-the-tables-on-them @kiichu @whatwhump @jay--o @starsick1979