#and kids threw ROCKS at me for some reason

[catboynutsack]

I love how Miku, Teto, and Neru have always been like a Trio in the Vocaloid fandom even though they're barely related to each other (Miku being vocaloid, Teto being UTAU, and Neru being a derivative fanloid). The power of Triple Baka

[wonderjanga]

Marvel Being a Bad Dad (Pedro, Eugene, and Darla Edition)

By the way in this AU Mary is still his twin, but let’s say he knows the Vázquez for whatever reason. Also, in case it wasn’t obvious all of the Marvels besides Billy look like kids. Like actual kids. 10 to 14 depending on how old they are actually. Anyways, this is just a little short add-on to the original post. Nothing more. Also this has a little bit of Mexican Billy, courtesy of someone’s headcanon I saw and a post of Jason Todd babysitting the other Batkids.

*The League is throwing a party and Billy brings Darla and Eugene along. Marvel is talking to Batman while Darla is running around with Impulse. Also Eugene is talking tech with Tim!Robin*

Marvel: “And so yeah—” *looks to a table before doing a double take* “One sec.” *Looks around for Darla*

Darla: *stopped at the snack table for some juice*

Marvel: *Does that thing my mom does to get my attention: snaps fingers and beckons with her pointer with an expression that leaves me wondering if I’m going to get my ass beat*

Darla: *pauses mid juice sip and zips over*

Marvel: *leans down to whisper in her ear* “Toma esa cosa de la mesa.” *points el adorno on the snack table*

Darla: “Wha?” *looks over to the table* “The centerpiece? You can’t take that—”

Marvel: “Cállate!” *takes two fingers and pinches her mouth close* “No me importa. Tú lo vas a tomar. Vete.” *tries to shoo her away and takes his fingers off her mouth.*

Darla: “But that’s wrong!”

Marvel: “Vete.” *says while gritting teeth* “O corto el pelo de todas tus Barbies.”

Darla: *scandalized gasp*

Marvel: “Ah, y d��selo a tu hermano cuando termines. Gracias.” *shooes her off again*

Darla: *has distraught expression as she zips over and grabs it and runs off to Eugene to hand it to him with a guilty look before running back over to run around with Impulse again*

Eugene: *promptly throws it over his shoulder into his pocket dimension*

Robin!Tim: “Was that one of the centerpieces?”

Eugene: “Yeah?”

Robin!Tim: “Did you guys just steal it?”

Eugene: “Also yes.” *nods head*

Robin!Tim: “Why…? Also where did it go?” *rounds Eugene to look for it*

Eugene: “I threw it in my pocket dimension.”

Robin!Tim: “How does that work?”

*The two then forget about that whole thing and then start talking about magic, then go back to tech, then start talking about combining magic and tech*

*Back with Bruce and Billy…*

Batman: “Why did you just go send that child to go steal one of my centerpieces that I paid for with my money in my own Watchtower?”

Marvel: “You understood that- actually wait. You’re Batman. Of course you understood that.”

Batman: “Hn.” (Batman language for: Just tell me already)

Marvel: “Alright, alright.” *claps hand on Bruce’s shoulder* “Look, we needed it more than you ever will, okay?” (They really don’t)

Batman: “Elaborate on that.”

Marvel: “See, I can’t. So instead I’m just gonna go raid the snack table.” *juts a thumb towards the snack table* “See ya, Bats!” *waves and walks off to the snack table*

Batman: *Bat-glares at him as he leaves*

or

*The Justice League are fighting a super strong villain. Currently, Flash and Billy are hiding behind a rock while the villain’s goons are shooting at them. Billy also forgot to mention to Flash that he brought along Pedro*

Flash: “Okay, so here’s the plan- Dude, why is that little kid here?” *points to Pedro*

Marvel: “Huh, you mean him?” *also points to Pedro*

Flash: “Who else, man?” *gives Billy a look* “Bud, in case you can’t tell, this place is super dangerous. Like, Supes got knocked out for a moment type of dangerous! So why’s he still here? You should’ve sent him away!”

Marvel: “What? Pshhhh… He’ll be fine, Flash. Trust me.” *pats Pedro’s head* “Anyways, buddy, say hi to Flash.”

Pedro: *gives a little wave*

Marvel: *stage whispers this to Flash* “He’s a little shy. Me and the others are trying to get him to interact with people more.”

Flash: *notes how Marvel is a little too carefree about this. He later forgets about that when Pedro actually helps quite a bit in the fight. He also notes how this is one of the only instances he’s seen of Marvel acting positively towards his “kids”*

Translations:

Toma esa cosa de la mesa = Take that thing from the table

el adorno = The ornament/the decoration/in this case the centerpiece

Cállate = Be quiet

Vete = Go away/Go

O corto el pelo de todas tus Barbies = Or I cut the hair of all your Barbies

Ah, y dáselo a tu hermano cuando termines. Gracias = Oh, and give it to your brother when you’re done. Thanks.

[loveinhawkins]

Steve’s bat bites start to bleed again during the drive out of The War Zone.

It’s a slow realisation, a creeping dampness on his skin.

He stays as still as he can, keeps his movements small and contained when turning the steering wheel; he thinks he mostly gets away with it, manages to park the RV and pitch his voice on just the right side of normal as he tells the kids to scram.

Awareness of his surroundings grows a little fuzzy around the edges, but he senses enough to know that he’s alone—the silence feels heavy, makes his ears ring.

He lifts himself up out of his seat, one hand clinging onto the headrest for balance. The ringing gets sharper, more high-pitched; he shakes his head to try and clear it.

One step forward, then another, and another.

There’s a slight rocking motion under his feet. It feels a little like he’s in a boat that’s docked, constant movement even in the gentlest of waters.

His palms brush against the bathroom door.

“Okay,” Steve whispers to himself.

He hangs onto the sink to keep himself upright—feels the room sway, as if the waters underneath have suddenly become stormy.

With one hand, he finds the knot in the bandage.

“Okay, okay…”

Pulls.

Steve doesn’t think he blacks out, not quite, but there’s a shift, a dizzying tilt… and then, somehow, he’s sitting on the closed toilet seat.

And…

The bat bites must cause hallucinations or something.

Otherwise, Steve cannot explain why Eddie—who notoriously threw up and passed out during a dissection in Biology—is currently pressing a clean bandage against his stomach, staring down at the blood like he can’t look away.

“You’re good, you’re good,” Eddie’s saying.

He’s clearly trying to sound calm, but it’s just coming out strained, like what he really means is this is all a fucking nightmare actually, but we’ve gotta find something to be optimistic about.

“Think it just needs some more pressure,” he goes on. “Yeah, there, see? It’s stopping. Oh, thank God.”

Steve feels more gauze getting wrapped around his middle—if he wasn’t injured, it’d almost be a nice sensation, Eddie’s touch somehow the perfect mix of both firm and gentle.

As he works, Eddie hums nervously.

“Talk to me Harrington,” he says in a shaky sing-song. “Come on, don’t leave me hanging, man, gimme some awkward small talk. Got any hopes? Dreams? Anything I should know?

Oh, so many things, Steve thinks, still light-headed.

But then he really does mull that over: his mind goes to The Upside Down, to belatedly telling Eddie about the hive mind, and oh shit.

“Hey, weird question,” Steve says, “but I’ve not been, like, asking you to make it cold in here or, um, anything like that?”

Eddie blinks. “Uh. No?”

“Okay.” Before he lets the relief of hearing Eddie’s answer sink in, Steve adds, “If I ever do, you need to lock me in here and get out. Tell Nancy.”

Eddie’s staring at him like he’s grown a second head. “Sure. Cool. Cool! Uh, for any particular reason or—?”

“Just in case—like, I don’t feel any different, but—one time, Will Byers, when he was in The Upside Down it, like, infected him? Like a virus. Except more… possession. And they had to kinda… burn it outta him.”

“Ha,” Eddie says. A beat. “Oh fuck, you’re serious.”

“I really don’t have the energy to be messing with you, dude.”

“Sorry. Sometimes you all just say things, y’know? And if I don’t get it, I’m like, well, they’ve been living through this for a while, maybe they’ve got a code going on.”

“I mean,” Steve says, “we kinda do.”

Eddie shakes his head. “So when Buckley said she dealt with a human-flesh-based monster, and the one before that was smoke-related, that wasn’t just, like, a really fucked up metaphor?” Eddie’s eyes are wide, pleading. “Please say it was a metaphor.”

“Sorry,” Steve says sincerely.

Eddie sighs through a lacklustre chuckle. “You’re fine, Steve. As for, uh, being possessed, I don’t think so. You’re no weirder than usual, but—”

“Wow, thanks. Means such a lot coming from you.”

“—you were a bit, like, out of it for a few seconds, but it just looked like you were gonna faint on me. Um. How’re you feeling now?”

“Good,” Steve says. When Eddie raises an eyebrow, he tacks on, “As good as I can be, I guess. Still.” He groans slightly as he stands, goes back over to the sink. “Better check.”

“Check? What?”

Steve runs the water as hot as it will possibly go, until the steam is evident. He sticks his hand right into the stream, hears Eddie hiss as the water scalds his skin.

“Okay, yup. Not possessed.”

“Fucking fantastic. Now I want it cold,” Eddie says.

He takes control of the faucet, nods for Steve to put his hand under the now cold water.

After a minute or two, Eddie sighs and collapses onto the toilet seat himself.

There’s a squeak as Steve turns the faucet off—his skin’s probably not had the good of the cold water for nearly long enough, but it’ll do.

Eddie’s tipped his head back so he’s facing the ceiling, eyes closed. Steve watches him with sympathy; he really must hate blood.

“Eddie. You can go.”

“Mm, nope,” Eddie says without opening his eyes. “I’m fine right here.”

“Suit yourself.”

Steve turns back to the sink, frowns at the tiny mirror above it; there’s black spots on the glass, but he can make out enough. Christ, the bags under his eyes are horrific.

“Relax, Casanova,” Eddie says, almost as if he’s heard Steve’s thoughts. “You look good.”

“Uh-huh. Think your brain’s fried from being on the run.”

Steve leans against the sink with one hip, finds Eddie looking at him with a small smile.

“Yeah, probably. Or maybe being on the run just suits you.” Eddie’s eyes flicker down. His smile falters. “You know, in an ideal world,” he says conversationally, “you’d be in a hospital getting stitches.”

Steve scoffs. “In an ideal world, I’d be in bed sleeping.”

“Amen to that,” Eddie says lightly. But he still looks sombre. “Seriously, though. If it gets… you know. I’d drive you.”

“To the hospital? What are you gonna do, Eddie, wander up to the front desk? Sounds like a real interesting way to get arrested.”

But Eddie doesn’t leap at the chance to make a joke.

“Steve,” he says softly. “I mean it. I wouldn’t care.”

“That would sorta ruin the whole priority of hiding you.”

“That’s—” Eddie huffs. “That’s not the priority.”

“Huh, that’s funny, cause it is in my book.” Steve nods at the door, to his whole world just outside. “One of many.”

Eddie’s eyes narrow. “And your name better be right at the top, Harrington.”

Steve hums.

“In bold. Underlined.”

“Whatever you say.”

Eddie groans quietly, runs a hand down his face. “You worry me, man.”

“I’m not trying to.”

“I know. Just…” Eddie hesitates. “Don’t go off alone. You know?”

Steve thinks it over. He steps forward and offers Eddie his hand.

Eddie takes it.

When Steve pulls him up, he stumbles a little, as if he feels like he’s on a boat, too.

“Oops, sorry.” He grabs onto Steve’s forearm for balance. “Think this should be the other way round, man.”

“Hmm, I don’t think so.”

Steve leads the way out of the bathroom—doesn’t mention the fact that, really, they’re both holding each other up.

There’s a bottle of water left in the back. Steve twists the cap off. Drinks.

“You too,” he tells Eddie.

“Huh?”

Steve considers him—thinks of the little flare of panic he felt when watching Eddie walk through the woods, tiptoeing around vines. How he had a sudden instinct to catch up to him, to make sure he wasn’t alone.

“I’m making a deal,” Steve says. “I won’t go off alone if you don’t.”

He lifts the bottle up as if making a toast—drinks again then passes it over to Eddie.

For the slightest of moments, their fingers brush; Eddie’s rings skim over Steve’s knuckles.

“So what’s this?” Eddie asks. “Legally binding magical water?”

Steve shrugs. “Cool metaphor,” he replies.

You say you just turn heel and run, Eddie. But sometimes I think if there was a fire, you’d run towards the flames if it meant no-one else got hurt.

Eddie smiles. Tilts the bottle towards Steve.

“Guess it’s a promise, then,” he says.

He drinks.

Steve prays that it holds.

[valentine-cafe]

 ˖⁺. “ darling, can I be your favourite ? ” : 

﹙ brother's best friend!grim reaper x fem reader ﹚.𖹭 ݁

 . . . verse 9948e jìngyí x fem reader !! 🍒 : ﹙  grim reaper ˖ himbo character﹚

your brother's best friend is such an idiot - yet for some reason you can't stop staring at his d-d-d- face!

﹙ cws ﹚: explicit content ˖ brother's best friend trope ˖ size difference ˖ penetrative sex ˖ wet dreams ˖ caught masturbating ˖ rough sex ˖ dirty talk ˖  fingering ˖ risky sex ˖ face riding  | wc : 1.6k 

﹙ receipts ﹚: been wanting to write something like this for sooooo long <3 this will be a series

꒰  other treats : guidelines ˖ m.list ˖ characters ˖ our lore  ꒱

Brother’s friend Jìngyí !! 🍒 : who you view as just a silly himbo. You hear his loud laughing downstairs and cannot help but roll your eyes before you stuff your face back into your book. You watch how he steals your brother’s food and childishly insists it’s because he’s ‘growing.’ How he is so hellbent on that damn gym . . . why does he need any more muscle? He has plenty! You would know, you’ve stared at his arms, his toned v-line when he stretches, the way his body flexes subconsciously while he is doing everyday tasks.

Brother’s friend Jìngyí !! 🍒 : who is the height of irritation with how he jokes and pokes fun at you though. How he ruffles your hair up or snatches your phone and holds it over your head. He’s known you since all of you were kids, it’s his duty to bully you like a big brother would, he claims! You wanna throw something at him. A chair. Yourself.

Brother’s friend Jìngyí !! 🍒 : who you find to be so annoying, but is such a sweetheart around you! Always asks if you are doing alright, holds doors open and pulls out chairs for you. You snuck out to a party and didn’t want your brother to know and needed someone to come pick you up; Jìngyí was there. He carries the grocery bags for you if he catches you slaving your way along. He’s always there to offer you a lift. Everything. So why do you hate him so? It’s all playful, fun and games, it’s always been like that. Recently, you feel it becoming more genuine. Maybe it’s because. . .

Brother’s friend Jìngyí !! 🍒 : who has no idea that you have started dreaming about him. About those large, strong hands on your thighs. How they might squeeze and stretch you open. Just like how he’ll stretch you out on his cock. You know that he is big - you accidentally walked in on him changing. You wished your courage won and you threw yourself to his lap. But he’s so stupid! Would he even know how to please a girl?

Brother’s friend Jìngyí !! 🍒 : who caught you humping at your pillow. Ass flushed to your heels as you scrunch the sheets in front of you. The constant rock of your hips that gave him the perfect view of a wet patch forming on your panties. Were you grinding on a vibe? Seems like it. But what shot straight to his dick is the way you were moaning his name. Laced with cusses, pleads, ridicules. How dare he make you feel like this, how dare he make you want his cock soooo badly?

Brother’s friend Jìngyí !! 🍒 : who fucks you over that same pillow since you wanna whine so much. He spanks a broad hand on your thigh and yanks you back on every thrust. Watches how your flesh ripples as his cockhead bullies your cervix. He’s even bigger when he’s hard. Meaner too.

“Such a messy pussy you have here baby. She think of me a lot?”

Where’s the stupid, sweet boy you’ve known for years? Behind you. Hips grinding on your ass while his cock splits you open. A part of you wishes you could see how your gummy walls spasm and strain around the base of his dick, coated with a ring of cream at the base.

The vibrator has become his partner in crime. With the way Jìngyí weighs down on your poor, quivering body, your puffy clit humps against the pillow and pink vibe with every thrust. It makes your jaw drop as your drool coats the dark sheets that your fingers fist.

“J-Jìng - hhhh - J- pleeaaaa - hah!” You’d hate to say it, but you are being outmatched. Your pitiful cries are nothing in comparison to the wet squelches and slobbers of your fluttering cunt. She cries for him like he came back from war. Clings to him as though she wants to remember his shape for the rest of her life. And he sees that. He delights in it.

His voice, once hearty and light, now rumbles deep sins as he hunches over your prone position. “Sooooo wet for me. Yeah? Ah, so wet for your brother’s best friend? Yeah baby?” If anyone were to walk in, surely they wouldn’t see you at all. Only Jìngyí’s broad back and flexed arms. His hands cage your head and show the sheets on either side of your face no mercy either. The same way his balls smack against your swollen cunt like a punishment. A cum-filled reprimand.

“Y’know. . . I was beginning t’think youu hated me,”

He huffs out a laugh. Ragged. A groan quickly follows after and his hand retreats from the sheets to instead slam down on your jiggling thigh. Clap! It reaches under and grips onto your squished breast after. All the more leverage to fuck into you like an animal.

He sounds like one too. His heavy pants and deep grunts. “But thas’ not the - ah fucckk such a sweet pussy - not the case, huh? No. . .” His cold lips drag down the heat of your neck. Your scent is a drug he’s already hooked on. What more than to sink his teeth in?

“No. You ‘ere just - just pent up. Just cock hungry.” His chest crushes against your back. His thrusts shallow into messy, ruthless humps. Squeezing silky strings of cum and staining the sheets further. You’ll have to get ‘em all washed unless you want a cross-question from brother dearest.

“G-Gonna c- hic - gonna - Jìngyí - g-gonna ‘um-!”

“Y-You still remember how to?”

Damn him and his teases. Damn him and the way he’s made you dumb on his dick. You’re made acutely aware of just how strong he is. Guess those long-strung gym sessions count towards something.

Seems so with the way he flips you over like you weigh nothing. Brace your legs with his arms and shove them back. All the while his hips keep slamming against yours as though he’ll shatter if he stops. His filthy mouth sure as hell doesn’t stop either. Nice to see he still cannot shut up even when he’s ball’s deep inside of you.

He strikes you a grin. Maroon irises shrunk. He’s attacking your neck with kisses and making you see stars with every pummel of his cock. Every smear of his cum and yours all over your walls.

Brother’s friend Jìngyí !! 🍒 : who explains it’s because he was ashamed. He thought he overstepped. He didn’t want to hurt you! He loves you, loved feeling you all over his hands and body. Fuck, he’s still dreaming of it. “Please don’t be mad at me - I just - I just . . . want to make sure you okay,” he pouts.

Of course you cum again. He can’t expect you not to when he’s fucking your cunt into next week. This time you claw at his broad shoulders and wretch a sob. In turn he groans and stuffs you full. He simply has to plug you up while you’re squirting all over. With a small click of his tongue and a - “messy girl.”

Brother’s friend Jìngyí !! 🍒 : who distanced himself after that day. You couldn’t believe it. He pounded you raw and now left like you hadn’t cum on his dick ten times and over? You confront him on it. Bunch up his shirt and yank him down to give him a piece of your mind. He was many things but you didn’t know he was a dog - why is he looking at you with puppy eyes?

Brother’s friend Jìngyí !! 🍒 : who you ride the face of in the empty gym bathroom as compensation for jumping to conclusions. He was sooo grateful for the sweet taste of your pussy smearing all over his face. You quickly learn that his tongue is just as devious. It fucks up into you like it’s his damn life’s mission. His lips suck on your clit like candy. His eyes roll back as though the mere feel of you grinding down on his face is gonna make him bust then and there - ( it did )

Brother’s friend Jìngyí !! 🍒 : who has to contain himself whenever he visits your brother. He adores your brother to bits, he does, but he doesn’t have the heart to tell him that the real reason he is visiting is because of those pretty skirts and tight shorts you have suddenly, conveniently, started wearing around the house. He will tell you however. Grunt it in your ear as he gives you a quick fingering over the kitchen sink when he came to ‘help you with the dishes’ while your brother ventured off upstairs after dinner. He makes sure to tell you what a whore you are while his fingers are pumping you to shaky knees and cum on the kitchen floor.

Brother’s friend Jìngyí !! 🍒 : who knows it’s wrong. You’re his friend’s little sister! But he wants you so bad. Needs you even more. He’ll settle for your warm pussy and drooling cries for now; but he wants to take you out on a actual date soon. Maybe to eat. So that he can show you that he wants more than just the squeeze of you around his cock - but your heart as well.

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[gale-force-storm]

Ok, new headcanon I've been playing around with for a bit, and I like it so I figured I'd share. The gist is this:

Morena Dekarios: Bard

Gale's always felt like he has some theatre kid energy to me. He's dramatic, grandiose, expressive, he quotes Shakespeare, he writes poetry, he loves telling stories, he comes up with a little rhyme on the spot if you cheat at that chess puzzle, he's just got That Vibe. Now, he could have come by this energy naturally. Some people are just Like That. However, please join me in imagining little Gale, listening with rapt attention as his mother performs a ballad, or tells a story with such skill that the entire room is enthralled. Imagine her trying to keep baby Gale entertained with some dancing lights, only for him to swiftly pick up the spell himself. Maybe one of the reasons he likens magic to art is because, well, that's what it was to him, when he was young.

Maybe Morena was an up-and-coming bard, travelling around the Sword Coast. Maybe she started a fling, as bards often do, with some handsome adventurer, and they traveled together for a bit. Maybe they found out she'd accidentally become pregnant, and after some discussion her partner agreed to return to Waterdeep with her, because, Morena insisted, the road was no place to raise a child, and she'd rather have her family nearby for support. So they went and found a house to settle in, and things were ok for a time. A bit bumpy, but they made it work, her partner taking odd jobs around the city and her taking gigs in taverns and inns and feast halls for as long as she was able. Even the first year or two of Gale's life things went relatively smoothly. But then his magic tendencies started really manifesting, and while Morena was initially excited, the chaos that quickly followed threw her relationship even further onto the rocks. They kept trying for a few years, but eventually, when Gale was 4 or 5, the partner decided enough was enough. He never wanted a kid to begin with, and all this? It was too much. He was out, and Morena and Gale never heard from him again.

Morena still did her best after that, of course. She was still proud of her brilliant son, despite the chaos and what anyone else might say, his father included. He was with her constantly, including often sitting by and watching her performances when no one else was able or willing to watch him. Luckily he always loved watching her play and sing and tell stories, so he caused relatively little trouble when he came along. She even started teaching him to cook, and to play a few instruments, which he picked up as quickly as everything else, though the piano seemed to be his favorite. She considered getting him into bard college in the future, following in her footsteps, but then Elminster came along. And while she'd been doing her best to help Gale with his magic, it was a bit of a relief to have someone so skilled, so practiced and renowned, be willing to help. A relief too, to have someone who saw Gale like she did (or so she thought): as a gift. Someone special, rather than a nuisance or possible danger. She adored Gale, doted on him, taught him as much as she could, but she could admit that she was a bit out of her depth with him.

By the time she started questioning the wisdom of having him go to Blackstaff at such a young age, started questioning the messages he might be getting, Gale was old enough and had inherited enough of her willfulness that there was no stopping him from diving headfirst into whatever he wanted to do, including more formal wizard training. She was still proud, of course, but she did worry about him. She was glad that he at least had Tara around to keep an eye on him, and that Tara was willing to report back to her. As long as Gale was happy, Morena resolved, that's what mattered. Her little storm. Her darling son with the mind of a wizard and the heart of a poet. A heart like her own.

[in1-nutshell]

Heya! I want to try Rescue Bots request. The Rescue Bots encountered a lazy Decepticon scout Buddy sleeping in the middle of the street that is causing traffic. This version of Decepticon Buddy is very chill and relaxed than they should have to their surroundings, even when their life is in danger. When they try arrested the lazy Decepticon Buddy, Buddy just teleported somewhere else to nap. (This Buddy is an outlier. This Buddy can teleport.) A few days later, another Decepticon (Not Buddy) kidnapped the kids. Lazy Decepticon Buddy asked the other Decepticon what are they going to do with those kids, the other Decepticon responds he is going to torture the kids to force them to reveal where the Rescue Bots are, which Buddy did not like that at all. Buddy asked the other Decepticon to hold the kids for them. Once Buddy gently holds the kids, Buddy shielded the kids views so they don't see Buddy shot the other Decepticon dead in cold blood unexpectedly because they will never condone to harming or killing any kids in any way. Buddy contacted the Rescue Bots to come get the kids while Buddy gently comfort the kids. (Bonus: when the Rescue Bots asked Buddy why they joined the Cons, Buddy responds "The Decepticons gave me an energon cookie.") Characters: Heatwave, Chase, Boulder, and Blades. Please and thank you!

Haven't done a Buddy like this, I welcome the challenge!

Hope you enjoy!

Bot Buddy the Con who can teleport protecting Cody and Frankie

SFW, Platonic, Cybertronain reader

RB

Buddy is a con.

Well, more like Ex-con.

They used to be in the spy unit thanks to their Outlier ability to teleport.

They could have gotten far in the ranks if it weren’t for their laid-back nature and them not wanting to do much fighting.

So, they left the moment they could and kept a low profile on Earth.

They did find their own safe haven on the Island of Griffin Rock.

It was a nice place to be.

They didn’t show themselves to the public, instead opting to watch them in their everyday lives.

Buddy watching the Burns family playing basketball from the wooded area.

“C’mon Cody… a little to the left and…”--Buddy

Kade blocks the ball which bounces off Cody’s head.

“Ow!”—Cody

Buddy gasps.

Kade puffs his chest.

“Sorry Squirt, but when you mess with the champ—”--Kade

BONK!

“OW!”--Kade

Kade looks down at the large stick that had hit him in the head.

“Who threw that?! Dani! It was you wasn’t it!”--Kade

Buddy had a satisfied grin on their faceplate.

“That was for Cody.”--Buddy

They had been considering showing their identity to the community, but ultimately decided against it in fear of the Autobots or any Decepticon finding them.

Or worse, the community not accepting them and then having to find a new home.

They were extremely surprised to see some Rescue Bots at the unveiling ceremony.

Buddy figured that most if not all those bots were no longer operational.

This was just another reason to keep hiding.

They continued their observation of the community and of the Burns family, leading them to find out about the bots working with the small family as well as their location.

Not that they would ever do anything with it anyways.

Their first encounter with the Rescue Bots certainly was one to remember.

They knew that teleporting for long periods of time and long distances made them sleepy…

And they knew their tendency of taking naps anywhere they could…

Yet here they were taking a nap in the middle of a small street in their alt mode.

This eventually caused traffic and that led to some of the bots to come see what the commotion was about.

Chief Burns and Chase are coming on the scene.

The Chief steps out and goes to knock on one of the windows.

“Hello? Is there anyone inside? This is not a parking—”--Chief

Chase spots the Decepticon symbol and feels his energon run cold.

He quickly comms in Boulder and Heatwave.

“Get the citizens out of the area immediately!”--Chase

“Wow, Chase what’s—”--Boulder

“The subject causing the traffic is a Decepticon!”--Chase

“What’s a—”--Graham

“Never mind that! Boulder! You and Blades get the humans! I’m backup for Chase!”--Heatwave

“On it!”—Boulder and Blades

Boulder and Blades make it record time get the civilians out of there.

“Guys what’s going on?”--Dani

Chase transforms and holds his servos out to Chief.

“Chief Burns, step away from the vehicle slowly. That is a Decepticon and of unknown origin.”--Chase

“A Decepticon?”--Chief

The vehicle suddenly starts transforming as Heatwave and the other bots come.

Chase quickly snatches Chief holding him close.

The Con finishes transforming and stretches.

“Primus, I have got to stop taking naps on this street. There’re too many potholes that I know the Mayor wont…”--Buddy

Buddy looks at the bots.

They slowly raise their servos.

“Hey, I mean no harm and all. Just minding my own business here. Just taking a nap…”--Buddy

Heatwave pulls out some stasis cuffs out.

“Yeah, not happening. Tell Cody I said hi!”--Buddy

POP!

“WHERE DID THEY GO?!”—Rescue bots

“How do they know who I am?!”--Cody

Buddy watching from the wooded area behind them.

“So much for good introductions…”--Buddy

The Rescue Team would be on high alert for the next few days after the encounter.

Meanwhile Buddy just watched from afar everything goes down.

It would be one evening that they would receive a ping in their com.

It was from another Decepticon asking for any nearby Cons to come to their coordinates.

Curious, and bored, they answered the call and went to the location.

To their surprise, the location was underneath one of the many caverns under Griffin Rock.

They walked in and was in shocked what they saw.

It was some drone on a data pad on one side of the cavern. On the other side was Cody Burns and Frankie Greene tied up against the wall.

The kids looked okay, a little roughed up, but nothing else.

Buddy walks over to the other Con as calm as they could.

The other Con looks over and smiles maliciously.

“Finally, another fellow Decepticon.”—Random Con

Buddy just waves, watching the other Con go over to the children and grabs them.

Buddy’s servos clench a bit when they see the kids flinch.

“So, what’s with the humans?”--Buddy

“I’m going to do some good fashion torture session to find where those pesky Rescue Bots are. Then send a message to Lord Megatron—”—Random Con

“Hold on, hold on Pal. First, can I hold them? Never held humans before.”--Buddy

The other Con shrugs and tosses the kids to Buddy, who quickly catches them.

“Fine, but no torture. I’m going to be in charge of that.”—Random Con

Buddy readjusts their hold on the kids and smiles gently at them before whispering.

“Close your eyes and cover your ears. Don’t open them until I saw so.”--Buddy

They snag the ropes from the kids and toss them inside their subspace.

Buddy could just hope that the kids had followed their instructions.

“Hey what are you—”—Random Con

Buddy blasts the Con in the chassis.

They make sure the Con was offline before teleporting outside.

POP!

They open their subspace and gently get the kids out.

“You can open those eyes now kids.”--Buddy

Both kids open their eyes surprised seeing the outside of the cave.

Frankie looks at them accusingly.

“What do you want? And where’s your friend?”--Frankie

“Firstly, not my friend. Secondly, no one will have to worry about that guy ever again.”--Buddy

“How can we trust you?”--Frankie

Buddy just shrugs.

“You don’t have to trust me, Frankie.”--Buddy

Her eyes widened.

“How do you know her name?”--Cody

“I know everyone’s name on Griffin Rock, Cody.”--Buddy

“How?”—Cody

That led to a slightly awkward conversation of how long Buddy had been spying on the people of Griffin Rock.

The kids ended up warming up to the Ex-Con who had saved them after another hour of talking before the three realizing that the others were probably worried sick.

Buddy quickly teleported to the back of the Firehouse after that realization, scaring the bots and humans in the process.

It was an even worse impression than before.

Especially when Heatwave nearly tore down the doors and nearly dropkicked Buddy after seeing Cody and Frankie in their servos.

It took another hour of explaining, reassuring, to get everything out.

And some wielding patches for Buddy’s chassis and helm.

The humans were grateful for Buddy getting the kids out of that situation.

Blades and Boulder were more on the forgiving side than Chase and Heatwave.

Heatwave and Chase were much more on edge with this Ex-Con, but after a bit they realized that they really weren’t a threat.

“One thing I still do not understand. How long have you been here and never alerted anyone?”--Chase

“Yeah, how long have you been here?”--Blade

Buddy stops to think.

They look at Cody.

“When Cody was in those white thingys.”--Buddy

“Diapers?!”—Burns Family

“You’ve been here that long!?”--Heatwave

“And you never did any harm?”--Chase

“Why would I? I like this community and the humans.”--Buddy

“It doesn’t seem like the Decepticon thing to do.”--Heatwave

“Yeah, I’ve been to odd ball out forever. Even my recruitment was ‘unorthodox’ to say the least.”--Buddy

“What do you mean?”--Heatwave

“They had energon cookies and offered them if I joined. I left as soon as they ran out.”--Buddy

“…”—Rescue Team

[seokmn]

chapter 11.

wc: 1.7k words

another rock was thrown in the lake as you sighed. “i cant believe he did that to me, and i cant believe they hid that from me!”

keeho rubbed your back and listened to you quietly, knowing that all you needed at that moment was someone to listen to you. “he couldve talked to me! he knows im a good listener! it shouldnt need to end up like this…”  you looked at your hands that were resting on your lap while your fingers were playing with the little rocks you were holding. you let out a frustrated sigh and looked at the lake that reflected the moons light. “ah, i dont know,” you threw a rock far away in the lake. the rock jumping a few times before finally leaving your eyesight as it fell down into the water.

“wanna know the worst part?” you chuckled bitterly and didnt even give keeho time to answer, you were already talking again. “i love him way too much to even say that i hate him or wish him the worst. id probably break up with him either way… i just didnt want things to end like this.”

“youd break up with him either way?”

“keeho, i love chan too much to let him keep me by his side after i become a burden for him. ive already met him when he had his dream of becoming an idol clear as day, how would i let him give up on his dream just for the sake of a relationship? he can get over me, but he cant get over his dream,” you said as you looked at keeho with so much sadness in your eyes. you knew that what you were saying was the most rational and right thing to think, say, and do, but deep down, your heart is broken, and you are screaming to have chan back deep inside.

“so, you want my opinion on this, or do you want me to just listen to you?”

“no, you can speak up.”

“first of all, you have all the right to be mad and upset at him, yeri and sieun, but you have to understand their sides as well. about sieun and yeri, they knew about this, but should they really tell you? some people would say yes, some people would say they did the right thing because this is between you and chan and they found out without wanting to. chan didnt tell them, he has no clue that they know,” keeho took a rock out of your hands and threw it in the lake. “now, about chan… he was an asshole, yes. he shouldve never treated you like that. but hes torn between you or his career, and that shows how much he loves you, dont you agree? imagine having someone loving you so much to the point of not knowing if they should choose you or pursue the dream they have had since they were a little kid.”

listening to keeho’s words made your eyes tear up and your lips tremble. he was right, chan loves you that much. “i think you should listen to what he has to say, but not right now. do that when youre feeling ready, okay? and dont be mad at sieun and yeri, they did what they thought was the best for you, and by sieuns message she was feeling really bad from hiding that from you, and you know how yeri is, i bet she was feeling bad as well.”

keeho patted your back and gave you a small and reassuring smile. you studied his face, and you saw nothing but love and empathy in his eyes, not a single hint of pity. he didnt pity you for being lied to and having to break up with the love of your life, he never once pitied you, and thats one of the countless reasons that you love about keeho. he loves you for who you are and always showed you how theres no one better to be your best friend but him.

you closed the distance between you by pulling him into a tight hug. the way he hugged you back immediately made you finally break down into tears.

you knew that even if it hurt and it would take a while to heal from this, everything would be fine because you have the best friendship ever and because you were making the right choice for the guy you romantically love more than anything.

the ride home just wasnt silent because keeho knows how to crack a joke and light up your mood. a part of you was almost forgetting about chan for the moment until your eyes landed on him sitting on the ground outside your house. the boy who was looking down at his own feet immediately looked up when he heard your laugh—your laugh that died once you noticed him—and felt his heart beat faster. he stood up while you stayed still with keeho beside you.

“do you want me to tell him to go away?” keehos question came out as a whisper. its not easy to tell that keeho adores chan, but he would fight him if you asked him to. even tho youre older than him, keeho thinks that he has to protect you just like an older brother would protect his little sister. “no, its fine. you should go tho.. see you at school, and thank you for today.”

keeho nodded and pat your shoulder before glancing at chan and flashing him a smile as he walked away, leaving you and chan alone.

“what are you doing here and how long were you waiting for me?” you made your way to the front door while taking your keys out of your pocket. “i wanted to talk... if youre up to, of course. ive been waiting not for much time,” chan lied. he went to your house a few minutes after you left with keeho. “when i came i saw that the lights of your room were off and supposed you were out. i didnt want to bother your parents by asking for you and waiting inside in case you didn’t want to talk to me.”

“what do you even want to talk about, chan?” your voice showed a hint of frustration, which didnt go unnoticed by chan, making him frown a little bit. “i want to apologize, yn. i shouldnt have acted like that, i recognize my mistake. i dont know what i was thinking… i was under do much pressure yesterday and- and…” his eyes started to be filled with tears, and his voice started to crack, he was trying his best to hold back his tears, but was failing miserably. “and i love you so much, i dont want this to be the end. i just dont know what to do. im so sorry.”

chan started to cry for real, sobs coming out from his mouth as he fell on his knees and looked up at you with a hopeless and extremely hurt expression. “i was supposed to show you every single day how much i love you and never be the reason of your worries, insecurities, and tears from sadness or anger. gosh-“ he choked on his own sob before continuing. “im so sorry. i dont know what to do. this is killing me.”

it was impossible to see that sight of him and not start to cry as well. it hurt you more seeing him like that than the whole situation itself that led you to this. “chan… stand up, please.” he shook his head and stayed on his knees. he tried to speak, but his sobs interrupted him, and his voice didnt even need to threaten him to fail, it was already a fact that if he tried to speak, his voice wouldnt go out. chan’s throat was tensioned, it was like there was something huge and painful stuck in it, and that feeling was more than agonizing.

you took a few steps closer to him and gently wrapped your arms around his head, which made him instantly lean into your touch and hug your hips as he mumbled countless im sorry against the beginning of your thigh.

you let him be as you waited for him to calm down and took the opportunity to calm down as well, trying your best to stop crying and ease the pain in your chest.

“i… i know why you were acting like that. its better for us to break up, chan.” as soon as the words came out of your lips, chan immediately looked at you. his expression showing a hint of shock, confusion, and horror. “w-what? how..? why?”

“dont ask me how, just be aware that i know the reason,” you sighed, ran your fingers through your hair, bit your lower lip, and looked at chan while he slowly started to stand up. “this is your dream, chan. why would you throw that away?”

“because you also became my dream, yn! i mean- fuck! im so in love with you, ever since we started dating, my dream is to see you walking down the aisle in your wedding dress and saying yes to me! i want you and you only! dont do this to me, dont do this to us.”

you clenched your fist. why is he making everything more complicated? all you wanted to do was kiss him until you lost your breath, but you couldnt. you had to stay strong and not back down.

“dont make this difficult. the decision has been made, chan. i dont want to keep in this relationship anymore. you should go after your real dream, not your little fantasy.”

“yn, please-“

“enough, chan,” you cut him off. “stop embarrassing yourself and go home.”

you opened the front door and went inside without even glancing at chan. you knew that if you looked at him one more time, youd give up, and you couldnt risk.

once the door was closed, all your walls were destroyed. you sat down on the floor with your head in your hands and started to cry as hard as possible, even losing your breath.

on the other side of the door, there was chan staring at it with no expression or thoughts. he had cried so much before that there were no tears left to cry, he just stayed there staring at the door for a few minutes before slowly turning around and making his way to his house with his heart broken.

if humans had seven hearts, chan was sure that all of his seven heart would be absolutely destroyed

HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS

yn and chan date since their freshman year and are truly high school sweethearts, but will chan’s dream of becoming an idol get between their relationship?

masterlist — prev — next

taglist: @ivehypnosis @wonkierideul @ateez-atiny380 @noircheols @222brainrot @odxrilove @vixensss @starshuas

[artemismoorea03]

DP x DC Prompt: I Couldn't Just Let Him Die

So one thing I don't think is touched on enough is the fact that Danny never wanted to be a hero. Like, yeah, we all know he didn't want o be a hero and he makes a joke about it but when we actually think about it this was a life he choose because nobody else was there to help. The main reason?

He didn't want people to get hurt.

Something Batman would relate to.

Now, while I love the idea of Danny absolutely beating the shit out of Joker or any villain who absolutely deserves to have their shit rocked by a kid who is only 5'5" and weighs at most 120 pounds, when we actually think about Danny's character what's more likely? Again, no hate to any of the people who do those fics, keep it up, I love seeing Joker get his just deserts.

But hear me out.

Warnings for fighting, violence, and DC typical weapons.

There was a new meta in Gotham and he was driving Bruce crazy. This kid showed up out of the blue with absolutely no information on him anywhere online or otherwise with tech so outdated not even Oracle could hack it. The only thing Bruce knew about the kid was that he called himself 'Phantom' and that he was a teenager around 14 years old.

Other than that the kid had been a pain in the ass.

Muggings? Phantom took care of it by saving the person then lecturing the person until a Bat or police showed up then literally vanished.

Fires? Phantom would fly in and out of burning buildings repeatedly with no care for his own safety. No mask, no fire protection, nothing but the thin suit he wore.

Kidnappings? Don't worry, Phantom had it handled long before Batman could even get the call to help! EVEN WHEN IT WAS ONE OF HIS OWN KIDS WHO GOT KIDNAPPED!

Granted, Phantom never got in the way of a fight but the amount of evidence that was lost due to what he was doing and how he was doing it was inconvenient. Fingerprints got wiped, evidence of what started fires were covered in an unmeltable ice, kidnappers took off the second their captive was freed and were practically untraceable after that.

It wasn't until a massive Arkham breakout that he actually got to properly meet the kid. Every prisoner had broken out and the city plunged into madness as heroes ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. Villains against heroes, criminals verse vigilantes, villains verses criminals - it was a madhouse.

Batman could hardly keep track of it all but when one of Penguin's men threw a bomb into a crowd and it landed near Joker's feet there was a long silence. It was like the city had fallen silent all around him as Batman tried to get to the bomb.

Joker was a villain.

Joker had hurt his family, killed millions of innocents including his own son, but he was sick. He didn't deserve to die.

Apparently Phantom agreed because he flew faster than Batman could track him shoving Joker away from the bomb before encasing the bomb in ice.

"Hey! What's the big idea shovin' me, bub?!" Joker said, seemingly forgetting about the bomb that was still in the kids hand. Joker walked right up to Phantom, glaring down at the shorter male who just looked at him. "Think you're some kind of hero?!"

Phantom blinked, "I feel like answering that is a trap."

Joker grabbed Phantom by the front of his shirt, "A funny guy, huh? Think you can out joke the Joker?"

"Again. That feels like a trap. I'm not trying to do anything, Clowny. But I wasn't about to let you die."

Joker glared, "Why?"

Phantom slipped out of Joker's hands somehow, much to Joker's confusion. "Because that's not who I am. Criminal or not, I'm not going to let you die if I can protect you."

"Who says I need protection?"

Phantom held up the bomb again with a deadpan look. "Lucky guess." He said, then suddenly noticed something to his right. "Oh, gotta go. Later Clowny."

"IT'S JOKER!" Joker shouted after Phantom as he flew away. "Batman! Teach your baby bats some manners!"

"He's not mine, Joker." Batman said, marching over, grabbing Joker's wrists and cuffing them behind his back.

Not yet anyway. But with a mentality like that... maybe this pain in the ass could learn a thing or two from a Bat.

[haveihitanerve]

Had an idea but I forgor it so here's a different one

Bruce Wayne, concussed and on several strong painkillers, socializing with socialites from outside Gotham. They ask him about his kids and joke about how they all look so similar to him.

His brain, moving at about 3mph, does not register that his kids were ADOPTED (safe for one) and answers their questions as if he gave birth to them, forgetting he also doesn't have the facilities for that (unless you want him to- we love old trans people)

"Master Bruce I really must insist-" Alfred tried for the fourth time in seven minutes, Bruce had counted, reaching to push him back to bed and pull off the suit jacket he had only moments before helped Bruce put on.

"'M going Alf." Bruce grumbled back, rubbing a bleary hand over his eyes. "There's no use in putting it off. Don't have a good excuse and.." He grimaced. "They need to see me. It's been a while."

Alfred opened his mouth to protest again, even going so far as to move in front of the door to block his exit. "You are on far too many medications Mr. Wayne, not to mention a concussion! You simply cannot."

Bruce's lips twitched it amusement. It was a rare day when Alfred's composure was rattled to the point of calling him Mr. Wayne, and while Alfred was admittedly very strong, there was no way his physical blockation of Bruce's path would actually stop him.

"Alf." Bruce began gently, and the butler scoffed, rolling his eyes as he moved out of the way, striding down the long hallway. "Well. I see my advice isn't heeded. As always."

Bruce threw him an apologetic smile, heading for the main door. "Love ya Alfie!!" The butler snorted, but Bruce could tell he was softening.

"Call if you need boy." Alfred murmured. Bruce grinned, offering a wink as he pulled the door open. "I will." He promised, sliding into the backseat of his limousine, heading to the Gala.

He hissed as the needle broke his skin, biting his lip to prevent any further sounds as the anti-biotic worked its way into his system. Alfred would most definitely have protested its use, especially as Bruce tossed back a handful of other added painkillers, but if he was being honest, he needed them to get through the night.

"Thanks Hank. Tell your wife I said hi and grab her a bouquet on your way home. On me." He patted his driver's shoulder as he climbed out. Hank grinned, tipping his black cap.

"You always make me seem like such a good husband Mr. Wayne, I appreciate it. Have a good night." Bruce grinned back, stumbling slightly as he moved towards the doors, using the car to stabilize himself.

"You give me too much credit, send your boys some love and you have tomorrow off, try to actually use that baseball glove I gifted you." Hank chortled, setting the car into drive. "Will do sir. Good night." Bruce nodded the same back, watching until the car pulled away fully to stumble up the steps.

"Maybe those pills weren't such a good idea." He mumbled to himself as he made it to the doors, pulling them open to walk inside, heading straight for the table laid out with food. Of course, one couldn't enter a Gala without greeting the hosts, and he barely made it two steps before he was intercepted.

"Mrs. and Mr. Ketch. How lovely to see you." Bruce offered a bow, bending too low before rocking back upwards. Mrs. Ketch was smiling at him, a lovely, true smile that Bruce noticed tended to happen whenever he greeted the woman first instead of the man. Mr. Ketch was frowning, but more at Bruce's bizarre drunken act than any offense towards being placed after his wife.

"Are you alright, Wayne?" He asked, and Bruce hated that he actually liked the Ketch's, because there was genuine concern in the mans voice. Another reason why he had come.

The Ketch's were new money, self made, and trying to blend in with the old elites, though Bruce had to admit they never would, they were just too good, too kind, too sincere.

He wondered, dimly, in the back of his foggy, drug addled mind, if perhaps they'd finally tire of all the snide comments, rude looks, sneers, and give up on their well meaning charity that they had chosen Gotham for. He hoped they wouldn't. He liked having actual good conversation at these dull events.

"M fine, truly." Bruce answered, a few seconds too late, smiling lazily. "Might've had a few." He tried his best imitation at a drunken smile, wincing as he realized it was dangerously close to how he really felt.. tipsy. Off balance.

Robert, because that was his name, he had told Bruce his first name instead of demanding he call him Mr., frowned a little in concern, and before he knew it they had herded him to one of the seating places, settling down by him.

"How're the kids?" Mrs. Ketch asked, handing him a glass of water that Bruce gratefully accepted. "Amazing." He answered. "Splendid. They're always doing so well. They don't see it though." He frowned at his glass, wondering why that was.

"They're so amazing though. It just doesn't make any sense," He sat up, leaning forward to look at the couple in front of him intensely. They both had their eyebrows raised in surprise, but leaned forward in tandem, intruiged.

"Because see, they're so brilliant, and lovely, and smart, really I think they're the smartest people in the world- like ever. And Dickie, he's so kind and sweet and nice, and he's got a few problems and I'm sorry about it but he's really just amazing and an all around good person, I really oughtta try and be more like him, and oh he's got my eyes, im so glad he got my eyes, but i love his nose too, its nothing like mine- anyway Jason too- whoo he got my height im so happy for him- he also has my eyes! they all have my eyes actually, except cass, and damian, but like he's so brilliant and smart and he was such a good kid, he is now too- oh he doesn't like me calling him kid, but he'll always be my baby, and oh i cried so much when he died, but he better now, oh and Timmy, oh timmy is so smart. Soooo smart like genuis level, and he's wayy smarter than me, wayyyy smarter, and alfie says he has my hair, but i dont see it- i think he got my jaw though- and then Cass oh Cassandra My baby girl she's lovely and sweet and a charmer, beautiful girl, so is Barbara, but she won't let me say that to her, no no, but she is, she's so pretty and smart and quick, she scares me sometimes but I love her, such a good girl yknow? And Stephanie? Oh she and Tim need to make it official so shes mine. mine mine mine. I need another daughter you know? Too many boys. Equality of men and women at home. I need them home. And then Duke. hes so lovely too. Oh and Damian. Damian took some adjusting but they're all so lovely yknow? I remember the day they were born so vividly. I was so happy. I love them so much. It hurt, of course, but what is that to the joy they bring now yknow?"

Bruce took a sip of his drink, nodding thoughtfully as he leaned back. Mrs. and Mr. Ketch blinked a few times, opened their mouths, closed them again, and leaned back as well, exchanging glances.

"Yes. Well. Quite." Mr. Ketch cleared his throat. "Bruce, perhaps we should call you someone? To take you home?" Mrs. Ketch nodded her agreement.

"Come on sweetheart, let's get you home. You need to go to bed and.. and sleep this off." Bruce nodded, letting them help him stand and guide him to the door as Mr. Ketch called someone.

"Yeah. I like bed. And sleep. Oh- but I can't. Uh-uh, I promised Dickie I'd call him." Bruce nodded, turning to head back inside as though that would help his quest.

Mrs. Ketch grabbed his arm and gently, but firmly, led him back outside. "Rob just called him sweetheart, he's on his way."

"Oh." Bruce nodded. "Oh. Thas good." Mrs. Ketch nodded her agreement, rubbing his back soothingly. "I like that." Bruce hummed, letting his eyes close. "Its like what my mother used to do." Mrs. Ketch looked at him in surprise, hand stilling for a second before resuming.

"Really?" She asked gently. Bruce hummed in confirmation. "Oh yes. Yeah she did. You do it well. You'd make a good mom. Just like me. Well, I don't make a good mom." At that he frowned at the ground, biting his lip. "But I try."

Mrs. Ketch smiled, turning them as a car pulled up. "Yes. You do. And you do it marvelously Bruce, truly. That's all we can ever do. Try." Bruce nodded his agreement as the door opened and his eldest emerged, rushing to his side.

"Bruce!" Dick looked genuinely worried, grabbing his shoulder. "You alright?" His son's eyes were searching, scanning his body.

"Oh hes fine." Mrs. Ketch waved with a smile. "Just a few drinks. I think it'd be best he go home though, sleep it off." Dick nodded his agreement, smiling at her. "Yes. I think thats best. Thank you." She shrugged, waving it off.

"Of course. It's what he would have done for me." Dick lowered Bruce into the passenger seat, heading for the drivers. "Bruce." Ketch tapped the window, leaning down. "Hm?" Bruce tilted his head, rolling it down.

"I'm pregnant." Bruce waited, jaw dropping slowly as the words connected in his brain. "You are?" She nodded, a small smile crossing her face.

"Yes. You're the first person I've told." She glanced nervously over her shoulder, to where her husband was waiting on the steps. Bruce reached for her hand, clasping it in his own.

"You'll make an excellent mother. And he will make an amazing father." He promised. She smiled, biting her lip anxiously. "You think?" Bruce nodded. "I know." At that her smile softened, and she patted his cheek.

"Thank you. And, for what it's worth Bruce," She glanced past him to Dick, who was kindly pretending not to listen. "I think you make an excellent mother."

[stars-in-a-jam-jar]

I would like to point out the popular interpretation of The Truck Moment in the recent TADC episode as a thinly veiled sort - of - suicide takes it entirely out of context. The ending to the scene was a moment of brutal dramatic irony to transition us into the crushingly artificial performance review. The horror and despair comes from the fact that the one moment Gangle actively enjoys herself on this adventure and feels a deep and profound sense of joy within her soul that doesn't revolve around Getting A Good Grade In Manager and Proving She Can Be Totally Normal And Functional now that she has her shiny new happy mask, it's cut short by losing her balance in front of a random semitruck. I've had emotionally profound and joyful moments cut short by the equivalent of getting hit by a fuckin' semitruck, It's Not Fun.

And that moment is the only reason she's been docked points in her Shift Manager Score. She left early because Pomni said she could and it would be okay, then she took a good hard look at where she was and threw out the mask that was nice when it started and made her hyperproductive, but was making her more miserable and obsessive the longer she kept it on. Caine is the one who calls it "going a little kooky and running into oncoming traffic", but in the scene we JUST SAW before Caine says this, Gangle ran through the parking lot in a sense of euphoria, do a lil spinny, and then tripped into traffic ENTIRELY on accident. Caine Is Demonstrably Objectively Wrong with how he describes this! That's the point of the performance review scene!!

It's a deeply uncharitable interpretation of Gangle's actions ON PURPOSE, both from a writing standpoint AND a character standpoint. He's playing the little game with them and he understands the proper way to do that is to Be A Normal CEO Guy, and this is how he understands those kinds of people to behave. "I am such a good bo-o-- o-" is Caine going 'I've fulfilled the requirements~ Good job me~' and being either entirely out of touch with Gangle's true feelings and just glitching out for no reason, or being unable to square those feelings he sees with the fact that he Did The Game Properly. It's either a sillie gag or a moment exemplifying he can't quite simplify the layers of complexity going on here 'cause he's a computer who's just as dumb as the rocks he's printed on. His brain is a beeswax polished coconut.

You don't have to be a wage slave to understand these scenes either, kids who get in trouble at school often can tell you exactly what it looks and feels like to have an incredibly reasonable and understandable course of actions (usually even ones that DON'T lead to catastrophic accidents) be wildly misinterpreted by authority figures who just refuse to apply like half an ounce of empathy and compassion. That's the point of that line where Caine describes her 'cutting her shift short' (~choosing to be lazy by leaving early and fucking up the timecards~) 'going a little kooky' (casting away the thing that made her a 'valuable asset to the Spudsy's Corporation', realizing how happy it makes her to not be Like That all the time) and 'running into oncoming traffic' (can you believe she was running in the parking lot and then got hit by a truck because she was reckless and not paying attention? Very unbecoming behaviour of a Spusy's employee), and then he just goes 'B+ for you♡' and we find out that is the score he gave everyone who was in the restaurant!! Because his scoring metrics are arcane and silly and he doesn't actually wanna crush anyone's spirits, he just wants to play the game with them, not at all understanding the underlying logic of some of his own rules he slapped together!

Like, the scene's good but you guys are wrong about why and I'm baffled no one else has made this post.

[flw3rrr]

Ruined by me, known forever

Paring: Billy the kid x fem!reader

18+ Mdni NSFW

Warnings: Smut, Cursing, Choking (not hard), Blood, PnV (wrap it up yall), Oral (Fem receiving ) short Alcohol usage, cream pie, degrading, whore shaming. (please be free to let me know if anything else is needed to be added💖) No description of reader

(I've never written full on smut only like shorts so this should be a fun way to learn, NOT PROOFREAD sorry for any typos)

word count: 2.3k

Summary: You've known Billy for quite a while. Knowing him best, and him knowing you. You've both seemed to have something deep within you both, desperately seeking to know one another's feelings. Until Billy hears your father had put you in an arranged marriage with some wealthy man. leading him to Take you to bed.

Billy was walking down the dirt road, face all bloody after a fight in the saloon. His face was all sore, possibly even with a broken nose on the side. The fight started after someone tried framing Billy as cheating during a game of poker, which led to a messy fight.

Walking down, the crickets made their common noise. stinging feeling around his jaw after being punched to the point of blacking out. Getting up onto his horse, Billy had only one thing on his mind to ease this aching pain he felt. He wanted to see you. wanting to feel the warmth of your body and hear your sweet voice, which he so much admired.

He got up on his horse and began to start his journey to your house. It wasn't far, but it took some time to arrive, just in time for him to gain a bit of his consciousness back. In order to see you, it had been some time since you both were with each other. Billy had been busy with his own things involving Jesse and his gang. doing whatever work needed to be done, getting money, or getting beaten the shit out of over the smallest things.

As for you, you just did whatever society lets women do. It wasn't much, of course. There were book clubs reading silly romance books, doing embroidery on the side, or some parties you were luckily invited to. But nowadays, life doesn't offer much; the only thing that was set for women was marriage, becoming a school teacher, or, if you were brave enough, becoming an outlaw.

Just then, Billy sees the faint house across the horizon. The only light to be seen was the one around the house. porch lights on and near the farm house that carried the horses. As the minutes passed and he got closer, he could feel his desire grow more and more. the desire to see you and to hold you in his arms.

Leaving his horse in a hidden spot away from eyes who may see his horse, those eyes being your father, who didn't really like Billy and wanted him to be as far away from you as possible, but that never worked out as you both found a way to be within another's company. Enjoying every little moment, even if it was a quick hello or a wave across the dirt road from the small town. Nothing really happened between you both, like romance or something. but you both could feel the thick tension between you both. A little stare into one another's eye for a hot moment, but nothing went as far as you both quietly prayed for.

Seeing the outline of your body through the lace curtains, he threw a tiny rock at the wall, gaining your attention. He couldn't knock at the door; if he wanted to, your father would hear and possibly come with a shotgun, leaving Billy with a hole through his head. No, he didn't want to risk that, especially if you would have to see it. So while waiting, you opened your curtains along with the window, looking down at Billy. Gasping at the sight of him seeing his bloody face almost dry up, looking more ruined than ever.

“Billy, Oh my god what has happened to you?” you uttered out. Looking in a state of shock and concern.  

Billy looked at you as he sighed, moving his neck around in discomfort. "Just some silly fight. No reason to be worried," he groaned as he started to climb up to your window. Meeting you face-to-face and giving you a quick peck on your cheek before moving you out of the way carefully before he sat on your bed, inhaling as he relaxed. As you hurried out of your bedroom quickly, returning with a wet rag, taking his face with your hand, and carefully dabbing it over the blood. Hissing as it stung, you let out a quiet apology. His blue eyes were looking into yours as you tried to be as careful as possible not to hurt him anymore.

"Well, you know how I feel when you get injured like this. breaks me every time. You know how I feel about you. when seeing you like this." Stopping your actions as you looked at him for a moment, silence loomed over both of you, the heat outside looming in. "I know, but both of us know we can't stop what happens," he said softly. Glancing at your ring finger as you continue working on cleaning him. A shiny engagement ring sits, looking as if it were expensive. and it possibly was.

Leaning up, Billy takes your left hand into his, looking at it, staring deeply, then looking back up at you with confusion all over his face. "whats this?" looking at you intensely. You stayed quiet. Ashamed to come forth about your recent engagement Your father had put you up with. It was to some young fellow man your age who was in the business and had money. He saw it as an opportunity to gain more money for both sides. "Uhm, Billy, I'm engaged. It wasn't my choice; it was my father's. I didn't want it, but he said I had to go through with it." You uttered out, looking at him ashamed. It hurt you deeply knowing your heart belonged to Billy and Billy only, yet he didn't know that.

Looking at you with Sympathy, then back down to the ring that sat there, looking back at him, mocking him Then back to you. "Do you love him?" He asked. He seemed heartbroken. Some would take it as if he felt upset that he'd be losing a friend, but no, he would lose someone he loved. You let out a huff, shaking your head. "Are you mad? Of course I don't, because I know he would not love me. It is not fair that I was put into this thing." Looking at him, quite offended that he'd ask you such a silly question. "Listen," he stuttered, trying to find his words and the correct way to word them out. "I'm not really sure how to say this, but I'd be damned to see you marrying another man. I just cannot stand the thought of you loving someone who's not me."

Becoming stunned by what you hear, your heart starts to beat faster than ever. wondering if your ears heard what you heard, or just deceiving you. Billy looks at you with desperation. Taking his hand to cradle your cheek, he looks into your eyes, filled with desire. "Billy, you know we can't," you whispered, feeling the heat and tension grow thicker. "I know, but I can tell from the way you look at me that some days you feel the way I do." Slowly moving your hand up, you wrap your hand around his wrists, looking at him, frowning but sighing. "Billy, please..." you beg. wishing him to give you the memory you'll keep in your head forever.

"As long as you agree, I'll give you whatever you want. I'll make sure I'm known forever. That way, you'll know who was the one who took your innocence." His finger is grazing across your lip. Looking at you with an intense look of burning desire Getting tired of waiting, you slam your lips against his. His tongue is fighting against yours as he guides you to straddle him. his hand

moving to your waist, holding them tightly as you place your arms around his neck, pushing the kiss deeper and deeper. A moan slips from your mouth, leaving Billy to gain more motivation, flipping you over the bed, the skirt of your nightgown lifting up as he holds himself above you. His hand slid down, pushing the skirt up more, revealing nothing underneath.

Smirking to himself, he moves his hand to slide down your folds. Letting out a soft cry of pleasure, "I haven't even done anything yet, and you're already soaking for me, hm? Who knew you were a dirty thing?" He let out a huff before slowly lowering his head down to your core. Holding yourself up on your elbows, you watch him as his mouth lands on your folds. Your head is falling back immediately, and you are putting your hand around your mouth to silence any sound that may appear. "No, don't. I want to hear from you. I need to," Billy said as he began to suck onto your clit area. Your hand is immediately grabbing onto this hair.

The pleasure was intensified by the second, as he moved his tongue around your folds. Your moans fill his ears, and he feels himself getting harder by the second of your cries of pleasure. Feeling the heat and intense bliss of ecstasy slowly building up. "Billy im..." You said, Barely able to get a word out of you gripping onto his hair more as he began to slide his tongue more quickly against you, guiding to your release. "Let go for me, Cum for me," he said. The vibration of his voice reached your slick folds, finally making your cum around his face. 

Out of breath, you watched him lean up. The glow of your orgasm on his face was sticky and wet. He kisses you deeply, tasting yourself on his lips. Moaning into the kiss, you feel his hardness against you, grinding into You slowly, letting a deep groan out. Pulling away from the kiss, you look at him, desperately wanting to feel him inside you. "Please, I need you so bad." You whined. never thinking you'd be begging like this one day in your life. "What was that? I couldn't hear you that well." Billy smirked to himself, loving the way you begged. Rolling your eyes, you huff up the courage and speak out. "I want you to fuck me, Billy. I love you so much that I need it now or I believe I may die," you say, the blush appearing on your face.

Your words left Billy completely astonished, never thinking such words would come out of your mouth, yet they did. Quickly undoing his belt and pulling his pants down, he revealed his hard-throbbing cock. He slowly pulled you closer to him, pulling your nightgown Off exposing your breasts. Leaning down, he sucked on your breast as his other hand worked on massaging the other. Letting out another cry of moans, you tried to discreetly try to control not to awaken someone. His hands guiding your legs to wrap around his waist. Feeling him rub himself against through your soaking folds

lining himself to your entrance, looking at you once again, fully looking if you are ready and still wish to go through with this. Giving him a nod, he slowly slides in. You tightly squeeze around him, making his head throw back, biting his lip, and groaning. slowly bottoming fully out, waiting for you to adjust fully. Once you give him the sign, he starts to thrust into you hard. You let out a loud cry, praying your parents didn't hear such a dirty sound come out of you. "Yeah, take that like the dirty whore you are," his words filled up with arousal and sexual desire. Your back arches as his degrading words bring some type of feeling in you. Enjoyment? Yes, you absolutely loved it. 

His hand wrapped around your neck tightly, not tight to the point where you weren't able to breathe. No, it was at the perfect tightness. "Fuck, Oh my god... right there." You sob out as tears fall from your eyes. It was the most pleasure you felt in your entire life. You've masturbated here and there for something, but no, this was more than that. It was everything, and you didn't want it to ever stop. "How would your family be if they knew how much of a dirty slut you are, hm?" he cooed mockingly. His thrusts began to go sloppy and rough, bringing his thumb to rub your clit in a circle. "Billy, don't stop, please. Right there, I'm so close." Looking down, he sees the white, creamy ring forming around his cock.

"Come on... Cum for me. I know you want it badly. Don't hold yourself  back."He huffed out, sweat forming on his temple. His eyes were staring into yours deeply. Eyes full of love—the type of love where he would never let you go and forever call you his. But he knows that will never happen. and it is broken. Your back began to arch once more, stuttering your words as you came, with him following behind you and cumming inside of you. "Fuck..." He quietly spoke, the warmth filling up your womb. Both of you lay there, catching your breath, sweaty and sticky. Looking at each other once more before kissing him deeply. "I loved you for a while, and it hurts to know it took us so long to express our feelings." You watched him as he slid out of you before putting his pants back on.

Billy took a bottle of whiskey you hid sometimes for when he came over to drink and complain about things in life. sitting back next to you before taking a swig and hanging it on you. "Truly, but let this moment of the night be my gift for you to never forget me," he stated before whispering in your ear. "And that every time he fucks you, you'll be thinking of me instead." Kissing your neck and looking at you with an unspoken agreement between you both, you'll never forget this moment.

hoping you and he will one day be able to do this, as your future husband will be out on a business trip. You know he has a mistress anyway, so it would be fair, you thought. Kissing him once more, you'd know he'd be your safe place.

[heathermason6060]

Daryl Dixon x f!Reader: Together Apart Ch.3

Warnings/Mentions: Merle being Merle, History of abuse, neglect, strong language, mentions of character death, alcohol and drug abuse, ptsd, shared trauma, reader is cold, angst, fluff, eventual smut, slowburn, angst

Summary: You reminisce on the old days spent with Merle and Daryl.

Notes: This is mostly flashbacks to life growing up with Daryl and Merle, the good ole days :D Merle says some homophobic and probably racist stuff, cause he's Merle

“Dude, just go apologize, holy shit. You're worse than the teenage girls I went to school with.”

“Mind your own goddamn business. S’between me and Merle.” 

“He's got a point. You're acting shifty as hell. What happened to leaving? Huh? We've got Merle back, nothing's changed, these people still see us as redneck trash, can we just go already?”

“Said mind your business.”

Hindsight is a bitch.

You were five years old when you met Daryl and Merle for the first time. Unless your memory served you wrong, it was the fourth of July, and the trailer park was getting together to set off a bunch of illegal fireworks. You were sitting with your family as your neighbors got everything ready, a few of them grilling hotdogs and hamburgers. Your father had brought your mother a burger, which she split with you.

Your father was the only black sheep in your lives at that point in time. Anyone could tell just by looking at him that he didn't belong there, in a dingy trailer covered in blotches of mildew and rust. He was always clean shaven, no tattoos, perfect white teeth. He never smoked, never did drugs, never even drank. Even his name stood out among the Tammys, the Justins, Tuckers, Mandys, the Brandons and the Krystals. He was a Sebastian. He always wore clean clothes, and it was a stark contrast to your mother, who was the whole reason he was there in the first place. 

She was nothing like him. She had a beautiful face, sure, but that was about the only thing beautiful about her. Most of her teeth were yellow from cigarettes and drugs, some of them missing, and the molars in the back had eventually all turned black. She was never seen without a cigarette in her fingers, her nails a different bright color everyday. Her clothes always stank of cigarettes and BO, but despite all of that, she wasn’t all that much of a terrible human. Not until later on.

Your mother loved your father, and he loved her. She loved you too, even if she was mean most of the time, she never hit or screamed at you until he left. After that she took a dark turn, becoming a woman you grew to despise. She blamed you for him leaving, but  you knew the truth, she was the reason. She’d relapsed one too many times and he had enough, he left and he took you with him, but CPS ultimately dragged you kicking and screaming from your grandmother's house back to the prison that was your trailer.

That fourth of July was one of the last good memories you had with your parents. Your mother had been clean for seven months, and she looked stunning that night in her pink sundress and purple nail polish. She brought you a freeze pop and you ate it like it was a gourmet dessert, sitting beside her on the grass as you watched your neighbors set up the fireworks. 

When you finished eating you went to play with the group of kids, they would end up becoming your last resemblance of a friend group, a pair of girls your age and a handful of boys. One of the older boys made a rude comment about the DIxon brothers, and you decided to introduce yourself. 

Merle was about sixteen then, maybe seventeen, but he treated you and Daryl like you were the same age, something you deeply admired about him. You threw rocks at beer bottles behind their trailer, and you smoked your first cigarette there, hacking your lungs out, much to their amusement. Merle bragged and showed off his father's gun and crossbow collection, and soon after that their mother shooed you all out of the house like stray cats. 

You wished you could say the three of you became thick as thieves after that, but truthfully you didn't have many memories with them. To echo the point, you weren’t really friends. Just people with similar situations that lived near each other.

You took a deep drag of Daryl's cigarette and pulled away from him, holding it in your lungs. 

He didn’t say anything, and neither did you. You sat in silence, your legs hanging off the bridge you sat upon, sharing one of your last cigarettes. 

You turned a spent shell casing over in your fingers as Daryl flicked the butt into the river below. It was Merle's bullet casing, you knew that, the three of you had been on that bridge a few days prior when he let off a few shots into a small group of walkers. It was small, from the little .22 pistol that he’d borrowed from you. He’d never given it back, and it pained you to assume it was most likely still in his waistband, stuck to his rotting corpse until some other survivor came along and took it. 

“C’mon. Let's get back.” Daryl grunted as he hopped off the ledge and slung his crossbow over his shoulder. This was the only thing he said to you for the rest of the day, and for a while after that. 

Once you had said that your odds of survival were higher when there were more people around. World views change fast, apparently, because when the prison group took in the Woodbury citizens, you felt more at risk than when it had been a group of ten. 

Though you always despised the word ‘outcast’, it was the only word good enough to describe your place in the prison. 

It was easier when Merle had been there. It was only a few days but it was nice, you found yourself making an effort to hang out with him more, something he secretly appreciated. There wasn't anyone in his life anymore that enjoyed spending time with him, aside from Daryl. But some days it felt like not even his baby brother wanted to be around him. 

“You know how to fish?” You had asked him one evening as the two of you walked back from a supply run mostly empty handed. 

“Do you know who you're talkin' to sweetheart? Course I know how to fish.” 

You sat on the riverbank as he dumped his fourth trout into your bucket of water. You had caught one small catfish, and that seemed to do wonders for his pride, it gave him another thing to brag about doing better than anyone else in camp. 

“Little asskickers gonna have her first taste of good ole American fish tonight.” Merle laughed proudly, wiping his hands on his pants. 

“I don't think babies can eat fish. I don't think they can eat anything but formula.” You commented and stood from your spot, pulling in your makeshift fishing line. 

“A lil’ fish can't hurt.”

“No, seriously. I don't think she can have any.”

“Psh.” He muttered and picked up the bucket. “Useless fuckers. Can't eat, can't speak, can't walk, hell.”

Before the outbreak, you'd spent the most time with the eldest Dixon brother. Only to buy or trade drugs, occasionally getting high together, but it was still time spent in each other's presence. He very much enjoyed doing speed and teaching you things, normally how to shoot different types of guns, or just sitting in some random person's house listening to his rants about racism, homophobia, whatever he felt passionate about that day. 

“It just ain't natural, and I said, you couldn't pay me a cold million to touch one of you shitlickers. Yessir.” He was laughing then, amused in his retelling of some high school escapade that you weren't really paying attention to. Merle could be tasteless at times, and it was of no interest to you, you were enjoying your expensive high and there was no way in hell you were going to ruin it by getting into an argument with someone like him. 

You must've dozed off, because the long, drawn-out yell of your name had your heavy head lolling back up to see Merle a foot away from you. A grin split onto his face and he slapped your shoulder. “C'mon. Got a hot date, wouldn't look too good bringin’ your ass around. Get up. C'mon now!” 

Maybe you should've stuck around, cause he ended up getting a nasty case of gonorrhea from her. About a week later you found out from the man himself, standing in front of the coolers in your local gas station. They didn't sell gas anymore, too expensive, but they didn't lose any customers. 

“Should'a known a bitch that ugly would be crawlin’ with it.” He cursed, hiking up a six pack of beer on his shoulder as he followed you to checkout, his little shadow following behind.

“Told ya. Just didn't listen.” Daryl muttered, swiping a pack of cigarettes to slip into his back pocket. 

“Yeah, well, that's cause you don't know jack shit about women. The hell would I listen to you for?” 

“Even I could've told you that.” You spoke around the SlimJims between your lips as you handed the cashier a crumpled up ten dollar bill. She said nothing about you obviously being underaged and buying a cheap bottle of wine, everyone in town knew about your mother. “That's what you get for being a dick to that poor kid.”

“You talkin' about that-” The noisy chime of the bells above the front door covered his derogatory choice of words. 

“Those men, yeah. Don't know why it's so hard for you to leave people alone.”

“Cause it's America sweetheart, ain't no place for that kind of degeneracy here.” 

You bit back your quip concerning the women he surrounded himself with and looked to Daryl, who was too busy flipping through an obscene magazine to notice.

You weren't the model student after your father left. Most days were spent by yourself in the surrounding woods, fucking around until the buses prepared to leave. On the rare occasion that you had company, it was usually the senior you bought drugs from. He was weird, overly gentle with a very soft voice, something about him extremely off putting. 

Maybe things would've been different if you had been friends with Daryl back in school. He had only gone for a little while, using any and every excuse to get out of that house, even if it did include going from one prison to another. You weren't sure when he dropped out (technically he didn't drop out, he just stopped showing up), but it was right around the time Merle was out of prison. 

They left their father then, moving from couch to couch, and eventually ended up staying with another dealer you were vaguely familiar with. 

“Holy shit, look at you!” Merle whistled playfully after realizing it was you that had just come through the door. 

“The fuck? Merle?” You could barely recognize him. He looked so different from the last time you saw him, hardened by the months in prison. Daryl looked different too, he'd started growing some facial hair and looked a bit larger as well. It had been about a year or two since your last encounter, so it was to be expected. They stood up from the couch they sat on to greet you, Merle offering you a hit from his glass pipe, which you declined. 

“Nah, you know I never liked that shit.”

Merle snickered and held his lighter flame under the glass orb. “Right, right. Forgot you were too classy for crystal. Only the,” he tapped the side of his nostril, “for you.”

You caught up in the dealer's living room, some guy named Jesse, and enjoyed your purchases. You were happy then, for a few reasons. Jesse's shit was a lot better than what you were used to, so you found yourself a new reliable source, but also because you got to see Daryl again. You got to see him laughing, joking, no black eyes or busted lips. You got time with them as they were, before the world changed. 

You found yourself missing that time, watching as Daryl flung dirt over his shoulder into the grass behind him. It was the present, and you were sitting beside the hole he dug, too hungry to help. You'd forgotten to eat breakfast that morning and it was too early for lunch to be ready, whatever it was Carol or Beth had fixed up for the prison members. 

“What do you think Jesse's up to?” 

Daryl squinted against the sun to focus on you, momentarily pausing his digging. “Who?”

“That dealer you guys used to stay with. Beanie guy.” 

“Oh, yeah. Shit.” He grunted and stretched his back, happy for a break from grave digging. “Hell, I don't know. Probably dead.”

“You think? He seemed pretty tough to me.”

Daryl laughed abruptly at that. “Guy was a prick, but he wasn't no ‘tough guy’. Would go straight to usin’ guns instead of fightin’ like a real man.” 

You would never discover the fate of Jesse, but the decision to bring Daryl's mind back to wander in the past did wonders for bringing the two of you closer once again. 

To everyone's surprise, including you, Daryl dealt with his brother's death far better than you had. You'd expected he'd want to leave after that, go live alone and shut out everyone else. He didn't though, he cried a few times, sure, he got distant and chose to only keep you as company, but while you were still angry and grieving, he was laughing and forming bonds with the new group members. 

You weren't too sure why Merle's death had devastated you that much, the two of you weren't exactly best friends. Maybe it was due to the fact that he was one of the only two things keeping you connected to your past life, even though it was awful, it was better than the constant looming threat of being eaten by dead people. As shitty as your mundane life was, it would have gotten better, one day you would've been stronger than your mother and you would've stood up for yourself, put an end to the physical abuse, and if you were lucky you could've been able to leave and find your father and brother. 

Now Daryl truly was the only bit that remained, not counting material possessions. 

The same went for Daryl as well. The difference between you and him though was that the loss of his brother turned into a good thing. He was no longer a shadow of another human, no longer basing his ideals and opinions on said human. While you dealt with the pain by using Daryl as a crutch, he used it to find out who the unbiased Daryl was, abandoning the ‘Merle Dixon’s kid brother' persona. 

@ophelialaufey @carlgrimesgfofficial @theskinniestjackson-denny @dilfish-daydreams @my1fx

[twst-drabbles]

Octavinelle 17

Summary: A stranger approaches you while you're relaxing on the beach. Your large seafolk don't really take to people just coming up to you all that well.

(My brain is all over the place again. Writing a little bit of everything. Have patience and enjoy the seafolk intimidating peeps with their large forms. I have written, so many words!)

That pocket dimension back home was a strange thing indeed. There wasn't really a surface to breach, nor was there a beach to lay on. It was just water in all directions, no matter how far one goes.

So, with the help of some potions and other magical things, you took the seafolk right into an odd beach that you're more than sure Crowley made somehow. You don't know how, but it had crow shape stones sitting on top of a boulder, so you know he did something.

Well, either way, this place was yours for the playing and the relaxing with.

As soon as you set up the towel and umbrella, all of the seafolk carefully set into the water before they all just dove in.

Azul sank deep into the water as soon as he morphed into his true form, just making bubbles with his lips while he sat there and enjoyed the sun.

Jade seemed to be carving into a raised rock in the water with his claw. He always seems to be busying himself with various little projects and hobbies. Likes to keep his hands busy when he can, for one reason or another.

And Floyd was, well, being Floyd. He was diving to the bottom and seems to be digging for things. Clams, sand-dollars, dead starfish. And just when you weren't paying attention to him, he threw wet sand and seaweed right at your knees.

You didn't exactly come to the beach for yourself to be perfectly honest. Sure, the waters are crystal clear and the weather was just perfect, but it was just one of those days where you simply want to bask in the sun, take in the sea-salt smell and listen to the waves as the seafolk played among themselves.

"Uh, hey! Excuse me," then, an unfamiliar voice interrupted your daydreaming. "Is this spot taken?"

A stranger has made there way here. In a place with clear signs that this was a private beach.

You gave a sigh and pushed yourself up.

"Yeah, spot's taken," you waved behind you, "might want to go elsewhere. It's a private beach."

"Wait, really? Well, can I stay? It's not like you anyone needs to know. You don't really need all this space to yourself right? See, it's my kid's birthday and I wanted to bring the family somewhere really special and--"

Then, there was a dual harsh clicking, right from the throats of Jade and Floyd as they crawled from the waters they were just splashing around in. Jade came to your right side, Floyd covered your left. Water dripped off of them both and right onto your skin.

"…holy--"

A hand landed gently dug its gray fingers into sand and your once guppy dragged himself out of the ever-deep ocean. Deliberately slow, both to not make the waves blanket you while you're relaxing under the shade and also to establish a presence.

You would scold him, but Azul's entirely too in character to really listen. He, Jade and Floyd. Look at them all. Jade was curling his large tail this was and that around your legs to truly make his size and length known. Floyd was grinning and looked three seconds away from slithering right up to this stranger and squeezing him just for the fun of it. And Azul…

Azul didn't do anything besides plop his chin on his folded hands, oh so politely lowering himself just to meet the gaze of this stranger who wandered into this spot snagged. His smile wasn't wide but it was there. Empty, not a shred of warmth in there, but charming to those that don't know him.

"My, I wasn't expecting a guest at all, especially not on this private part of the beach," without the water and layers of barrier to separate you all, Azul's voice was sharper than you're used to. Weird. "Had I known ahead of time that strangers were prone to just wandering into places they're not supposed to be, I would've prepared some entertainment."

Ah. He's angry. Just angry and annoyed. Doesn't see this person as any sort of threat or danger, otherwise there wouldn't be any words. There would only be odd masterfully manipulated waves as they avoid you, but drag this stranger under into the dark depths of the sea.

"Should I do the honors and receive this guest?" Jade gave a wide smile, baring his teeth, "I'll be sure to give them the warmest of welcomes."

"Oh come on, isn't it my turn this time?" Floyd clapped a hand on Jade's shoulder, "I'm sure this little slug could do with some squeezing."

"Stop that," you sighed out, kicking Jade's and Floyd's tail off of your legs. Ugh, they're all slimed up. You didn't get up, just lifted your head to look at the slowly retreating stranger, "Yeah, you might want to leave. Public beach is a ways down from here. Hope you can snag a spot for the birthday celebration."

"Thank you so much sorry to bother you have a nice day!" Apparently that was all the permission they needed to make a mad dash out of here. Well, as much one could dash on dry sand and sandals.

"Oh dear, they tripped," Jade noted, "should I help them up?"

"Jade," you warned.

"I'm joking, dear Caretaker," he injected a lot of fondness in that sentence.

But yeah, a joke. Sure.

"Alright, now then," Azul, let the facade drop and rolled his shoulders, not used to his true weight on land, "let's leave the Caretaker to their relaxing while we take a swim, shall we?"

"Huh?" Floyd, not in the mood, flopped over right over your thighs. You made a noise of discomfort, heavy as he was, but Floyd ignored you. "I don't wanna. I'm tired of just swimming and hunting."

"Really now, why must you be like this?" Azul sighed, tired of his antics, but then something caught his eye in the distance, "Would you say no to chasing boats?"

Now that caught his attention. "Oh? Where? Let me see."

"There, that red dot in the distance," Azul didn't finish before Floyd dragged himself back into the water. He speed off and soon was out of line of sight.

"Hmm, I wonder if they'll have anything interesting on their vessel," Jade follows after, a little slower.

"Azul," you called to him before he could sink back under, "come here."

Just his face alone was enough to give you all the shade you needed and more. He leaned in close, wanting to hear every word that comes out of you.

"Yes?"

"Make sure none of you get into legal trouble," because attempting to stop any all trouble all together was just not going to happen. May as well just settle for this instead so it doesn't go back to you.

Azul gave the softest of laughs. "Well, if that boat is so willing to risk fishing in protected waters, then they shouldn't be afraid of the consequences that may happen. Of what may lurk in the seas they treat as an untouched treasury."

"Azul."

"Fine fine, but I won't make promises."

Eh, that's enough for you. Trying is better than nothing.

[wosoimagines]

Captains - Leah Williamson/Reader

part one | part two | part three | part four

prompt: What happens when Captain America and Captain England are roommates?

warnings: none

words: 4317

(Y/N) POV

“I am not rooming with her,” Williamson said as she pointed at me. I rolled my eyes at that. It was true, the two of us had not gotten off to a great start when I joined Arsenal... and we still hadn’t been able to get along even though I had already been playing with the club for nearly two years now. “No way. I’m not dealing with the bad accent. Or her bad attempt at mocking my accent.”

“Listen here, doll, I don’t want to deal with your bad fake southern accent either,” I drawled out. I had purposely thickened my southern drawl for her. “There is a reason why Captain America and Captain England never do room together.”

“I understand that you two don’t get along,” Jonas started out as Leah sent me a glare, “but you’re both the future of this club unless either of you plan on leaving. Do either of you plan on leaving?”

Both Leah and I shook our heads. I knew that Leah was a die-hard Gooner since she was a kid, but I had been as well. It was a dream come true getting to play with Arsenal and I wanted to put them on top.

“Well then, you’ll both have to room together because I can’t have you two at each others throats any longer. While you two have shown that you can be great captains on the national level, I need you to show me that you can put your differences aside off the pitch as well. Especially if you’re both going to be here for the long run.”

All Leah and I could do was watch as Jonas walked away from us. The two of us turned to each other as soon as Jonas went into his own room.

“Look, he’s right,” I said causing Leah to raise a brow. “We should be able to get along. I mean, we work great together on the pitch, so why can’t we off the pitch?”

“You’re doing it again.”

I furrowed my brow in confusion. I had no idea what Leah was talking about.

“You’re mocking my accent.”

I hadn’t even realized that my southern accent had dropped much less that I was copying her accent.

“You ever thought that maybe I’m not mocking it?” I suggested. Leah scoffed as she shook her head at me. “I’ve lived here for the better part of two years now. The only time I go home is during part of the off season and when I have national team duties. It isn’t a stretch to believe that my accent is going to start to change eventually.”

“‘It isn’t a stretch to believe that my accent is going to start to change eventually.’“

I rolled my eyes at her as I pushed past her and into the room that we were sharing. Leah followed me in as she tried talking with my accent.

“You talk too fast,” I said as I turned to face her once I threw my bags on the first bed. Leah paused as she tilted her head at me. “You talk too fast to get mocking my accent down. Slow down how you talk and drawl out your vowels. It’s how to get the drawl right.”

“Whatever.”

Leah pushed past me as she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes but took a seat on the other bed. 

I shook my head as I stared at her. At least I was trying to be friendly. I made sure to grab my key for the room as I headed out. Even if I did have to room with Leah, I could at least spend my time around others who didn’t get upset with me for the slightest thing.

I ended up in front of the door that I knew was Beth and Viv’s room. I rocked myself on the balls of my feet as I waited for one fo them to answer the door. As soon as the door was opened, I pushed my way in.

“I can’t believe her. She seriously drives me mad,” I ranted as I paced in front of the beds. I didn’t pay attention as Viv joined Beth on the bed. “Who the hell does she think she is? I’ve been mostly nothing but nice to her since I transferred here two years ago and all I get in return is mocking? And when I give her some pointers on how to mock me better? An eye roll and a fucking pout. Is she a child?”

“Did Jonas bunk you and Leah together?”

I paused mid step to look over at Beth. I knew that I hadn’t said Leah’s name so I wasn’t sure how she knew that.

“Yeah. How’d you know?”

“You two are so blind to your own feelings about each other all you two ever do is rant about the other,” Beth said with a small shrug.

“I do not.”

“Yeah, you do,” Viv nodded. I shook my head at that because it wasn’t true. “She gets you with a clean tackle and you complain the whole day that it was a foul. You trip her up with your skills and she complains that you get in close enough to knock her off balance.”

“That’s a bullshit lie and she knows it,” I said as I pointed at Viv. “I don’t even touch her.”

“Point is you two talk about each other all the time,” Viv said. That couldn’t be true. “No, I’m serious. All the time.”

“Well it isn’t like I haven’t tried to be nice,” I shrugged. I had made efforts to get to know her. “Leah doesn’t care.”

“She’s had a crush on you since the World Cup,” Beth said. I rolled my eyes at that. It couldn’t be true because if it was then Leah had a funny way of showing it. “And then you were kind of a dick.”

“I was not.”

“You kind of were,” Viv agreed. I huffed at that. “You came over and claimed you would be the best to ever play for Arsenal for a long time. Not only that but everything had to be about you.”

“Everything was about me when I came over,” I pointed out. It was a true statement. Arsenal had fought hard to get me to join them especially since I had been looking to play with other clubs overseas as well. “Everyone has always talked about me as if I’m some savior wherever I go. And if I can’t live up to that? You don’t know what it’s like. To be a kid and be the reason why the national team lost, it isn’t easy especially when you were supposed to be the saving grace. So yeah, it is easier to just give in and embrace the attention and the narrative and then deal with the fallout.”

“You were also pretty harsh to Leah during practices,” Beth added.

“And now she’s an even better defender.”

“That’s not how everyone is always going to see your approach,” Beth said. I shook my head at that because it wasn’t anything personal against Leah, but I needed the best defense to practice against or else I couldn’t improve as much. “Look, all I’m saying is that, to Leah, you’ve always been the cocky American who thought she was better than everyone else.”

“I am better than pretty much everyone else though.”

“That’s the problem,” Viv said. I rolled my eyes at that. It was the truth. “You’re too cocky about it.”

“If I don’t have that, then what do I really have?” I asked. They didn’t get it. “The World Cup? I won it because I’m one of the best. My family? They’re all shit and they kicked me out because none of their kids will be gay and if you are then you ain’t part of the family. All I have is being the best.”

“You could be nicer about it,” Viv said. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do because it wasn’t like I went around actively bragging about it. I just didn’t deny it. “I get it. Well, I don’t cause I hate exercise honestly, but you hold yourself to a higher standard. But you can’t hold everyone else to the same standard.”

“If you don’t want to be the best, then why are you playing?”

“They teach you that in the States?”

“No, Viv, my father drills it into each of our heads. Okay? All I have is being the best. That’s all I’m worth, so I have to make myself worth it.”

“That’s not all your worth.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I don’t?” Beth asked. “I’ve seen you. You’ve worked with people who really need help. You think we wouldn’t notice that you took on a building project to build homes for people in need? You’ve gone and worked with kids who can’t afford club training. You’re more than just some football player.”

“Then why does no one else see me as more than ‘just some football player’?”

Beth went silent at that. It was also very true. I hadn’t been shy in raising money for charities or even going to help out when I could. I tried to put on as many free football clinics as I could and help where I could. But no one ever talked about that.

“You know how many people I run into that only see me as an athlete and not more? Everyone.” I shook my head. They just didn’t understand. “I went and helped feed those in need and asked one of the other workers if she wanted to go out sometime. She told me yes and then on the date all she tried to talk to me about was soccer. No one, outside of my national teammates could even tell me what my favorite color is.”

“It’s blue,” Viv said. I turned my gaze over to her. “It’s like a deep dark blue.”

“It’s forest green.”

“Okay, so we’re shit teammates.”

“You’re not shit teammates because you don’t know my favorite color, Viv,” I denied. None of them were bad teammates. Just because we weren’t friends outside of the club didn’t make them bad teammates. “But I ask you guys to come and hang out and those of you who do show up don’t try to get to know me. I get left alone to my own devices while the rest of you just invade my apartment to spend time with everyone but me.”

“We do care about you,” Beth said.

“No one said congrats when I won bronze at the Olympics, or when I won the golden boot, or when I won the Ballon D’or,” I pointed out. I hadn’t even received any texts from my teammates. “No one ever said it in person or over texts or anything on social media.”

“Your national teammates did,” Beth said.

“None of you did. The first thing I got asked when I went to the November camp and the first thing I get asked after the first game against Germany? How did I celebrate with my Arsenal teammates,” I explained. I shook my head at that. “I had to lie to them about that, but hey I don’t expect any of you to know that because I doubt any of you even watch my national games.”

“Do you watch ours?” Beth asked.

“Every single game. I congratulated you guys on social media and praised you guys when you won,” I said as I sent her a soft glare. “If I can’t catch them live, I record them.”

“You do?” Viv asked.

“Yeah, I do,” I nodded. Was it really that hard to believe that I was interested in my own teammates performances? “And I’ve made public comments about your performances. All praising them because you’re all amazing players.”

“You left Leah out of the post you made about the Euros,” Beth said softly.

“I took pictures with you and the others. Leah didn’t want a picture with me. That’s not on me,” I shook my head. “And I said congrats to all of my Arsenal teammates.”

“Well, Leah took it the wrong way.”

“Then that’s on her.”

“You should still probably have an actual talk with her. I mean, the rest of us get that you aren’t just some cocky asshole,” Beth shrugged. “But that doesn’t mean that Leah does.”

“And why should I? I’m not exactly craving the desire to get close to someone just to have them kick me out of their life.”

“(Y/N), do you want her to like you or not?”

“You don’t get it, people don’t like me. They tolerate me until I’m not worth anything anymore and then they leave,” I said. I didn’t miss how Beth and Viv shared a look between themselves. “I’m not the only one here. I’m not the only one who needs to make an effort.”

With that, I headed out. Even if I didn’t want to go back to my room, I could at least go hang out in the lobby.

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

“Here,” Leah said as she held out a bag to me. “It might have been brought to my attention that I should extend an olive branch and it shouldn’t be entirely up to you to make the effort.”

“Is it gonna kill me?”

Leah laughed as she shook her head. I hesitantly opened the bag.

“Viv might have told me that your favorite color was forest green.”

“You got me a hoodie?”

“You kept talking about how your old one was getting really old and it had holes in it and that it was mostly worn out,” Leah shrugged.

“So Beth and Viv told you what we talked about?” I asked.

“Well, not all of it,” Leah said. I looked away from her as I held onto the hoodie. “They really just said that I was kind of being an ass and that you aren’t always some cocky American. Which I’m not sure about that, but I figure that the least I could do was extend the olive branch.”

“I appreciate it,” I assured her. Leah softly smiled at me before I pulled the hoodie over my head. “So, how’s it look?”

“Not bad,” Leah said. I grinned at that. “It’d look better on me, but it doesn’t look the worst on you.”

I shook my head at that.

“And you can’t even compliment me.”

“Only in your dreams, (Y/L/N).”

“Oh, trust me, we do a lot more than compliment each other in my dreams,” I muttered under my breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing to worry that pretty little head about, Williamson.”

“You think my head’s pretty?”

I only shrugged as I got up. I didn’t mind as Leah followed me continuing to ask me if I thought she was pretty or not as I headed up to our room.

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

I groaned as someone knocked on my front door. I really didn’t want to get up. Besides, I hadn’t been expecting anyone since it was already so late at night. Plus, I had training in the morning, and I wanted to get in early so I could get some extra skills work in.

Maybe the person would just go away if I didn’t answer.

The knocking echoed through my house meaning that they were going away. I sighed as I pulled myself up from my couch where I had a random game playing on the TV. Once I got to the door, I pulled it open to.

“What the hell are you doing?” I asked as I grabbed onto the blonde’s arm as I pulled in her inside my house.

“I-I don’t... I mean, I didn’t... I’m an idiot.”

“You’re not an idiot, Leah. However, you are soaking wet, so stay here.”

Leah nodded as I turned and headed to the bathroom. I opened the cabinet under the sink before pulling out a couple of towels. I walked back out to the door before giving one to Leah before I bent down to start wiping up the water that was on my floors.

Leah eventually pulled off her shoes and left them next to the door as I stood up. She was still running the towel over her hair trying to dry it off.

“You should probably get a warm shower,” I said. Leah looked over at me before slowly nodding. “Come on, you can use my shower. I don’t have any shampoo or conditioner or body wash in the guest bathrooms.”

Leah followed me as I headed through the house to my room. I let her into my bathroom before pulling out some fresh towels and sitting them on the sink.

“I’ll leave some clothes for you on my bed. You can throw your clothes into the wash when you get out.”

Leah nodded at that as she wiped at her eyes. It was obvious to me that she had been crying, but I definitely wasn’t going to point that out to her. I closed the door behind me as I exited the bathroom. I went through my dresser and closet before pulling out a pair of my sweatpants and a hoodie for Leah. I also left a pair of my socks on the bed with them. I threw a couple of different packages of unopened underwear and sports bras on the bed for Leah as well.

I immediately headed to my kitchen. I had a feeling that Leah might want some comfort food after all. It was a while as I made a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches as well as some crispy potato bites.

“I didn’t know you could cook.”

I glanced over my shoulder as I grinned at Leah.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing too fancy. Or too southern for Captain England,” I said as I plated the food and placed it in front of Leah. “Besides I was pretty much on my own at a young age, so I had to learn if I wanted to eat.”

Leah looked down at the plate in front of her before hesitantly lifted the top part of the sandwich.

“Those are obviously potatoes.”

“Obviously.”

“But what the fuck is this?”

“That? That? That is the best grilled cheese you will ever have.”

“This is not a grilled cheese.”

“That is not a grilled cheese. It is the grilled cheese,” I assured Leah. I motioned to the sandwich. “Feta cheese, spinach, bacon, and mac and cheese. It will be the best grilled cheese you have ever had.”

Leah raised an eyebrow, but she picked up the sandwich. I grinned as she took a bite from the sandwich before her eyes widened. I grabbed a plate for myself as I put my sandwich on it and some potatoes.

“That is really good.”

“I told you.”

We both fell into silence as we ate on the sandwiches and potatoes.

“So, is there a reason you showed up outside of my house soaking wet?” I asked, finally breaking the silence.

Leah stayed quiet as she picked at her potatoes. I sighed as I nodded my head at that. I truly hadn’t expected that she answer me, but it would have been nice to know why Leah had suddenly turned up.

“Jordan and I got into a fight,” Leah admitted. I raised my head to look at her. “I think it’s over between us. For good.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded at that. I knew how rough a breakup could be especially when you lived with your partner and you were the one being blindsided by it.

“You can stay here for as long as you want.”

“(Y/N), I couldn’t impose-”

“You wouldn’t be imposing. Not really,” I assured her. I motioned to the space around us in the kitchen. “It’s a big house.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

Leah nodded as she went back to picking at her potatoes.

“Don’t worry about your clothes. We can go pick them up tomorrow. And I’m assuming your car,” I said. Leah looked back up at me and I only shrugged. “I assume you ran here considering you were soaking wet.”

“I just had to get out of there,” Leah admitted. I softly smiled at her. “I didn’t think about grabbing my car.”

“If you were that upset, it was probably best that you didn’t drive.”

“Why are you being so nice to me? I mean, we aren’t exactly friends.”

“Because there was a time in my life when I was alone and I had nowhere to go, and I refuse to turn someone I care about away like I had been.”

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

“You know, you’re going to have to cook for me more often now,” Leah said as she took another bite from her breakfast burger.

“It’s just a burger with bacon, egg, and cheese,” I pointed out. Leah rolled her eyes at me. “I mean, I don’t mind having someone to cook for. It’s just that it’s something simple to make that you could probably make it in your sleep. Well, so long as you can make a good burger.”

The two of us fell into silence as we both ate on the sandwiches that I had brought for us.

“You didn’t have to let me sleep in your bed last night,” Leah said as I went to take a bite from my burger. I paused as looked over at her. “I would have been fine on the couch.”

“Trust me, I’ve fallen asleep on the couch more times that I wish to admit. I’m quite used to it. I think I’ve slept more nights on my couch than I have in my bed,” I admitted. Leah raised an eyebrow at that. “Being in such a big house can be lonely sometimes. I don’t like having a TV in my room, so I fall asleep on the couch watching TV so it isn’t so quiet at nights.”

“Have you never had a TV in your room?” Leah asked. I shook my head. “Something else the States taught you?”

“No, not the States,” I denied. Leah tilted her head to the side. I glanced at the clock on my dashboard, we still had a little bit before training was supposed to start. “My... father. My siblings and I weren’t allowed to have TVs in our rooms growing up. We were only allowed to watch stuff approved by him too, so I’ve never exactly been too into movies and shows. So getting a TV for my room when I moved here seemed silly since I didn’t care for any shows.”

“That actually sounds kind of sad.”

“It’s just how he is.”

It didn’t bother me anymore. I guess you couldn’t really miss what you never had.

“What you said last night...”

I turned to look out my window. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Leah knowing about my past. Sure I had told Beth and Viv, but that was different. I didn’t care if they looked at me like I was messed up because of my past. I wasn’t sure if I wanted Leah to look at me that way.

“My parents and I... we had a falling out when I was a teenager. I had scholarships pulled because of how unstable everything in my life was, and every single one of my friends showed their true colors,” I admitted. I scratched the back of my head as I wasn’t sure just how much to tell Leah. “I was homeless for a little bit since I was supposed to leave for college. Then my Stanford scholarship got pulled because false reports about me were made. I immediately made it known that I was looking into going pro rather than college. My reputation was pretty damaged though. I was put on probation with the national team.”

“I... didn’t know that.”

“Most people don’t. All they see are the fancy awards and trophies.”

“I’m sorry it’s like that.”

I shrugged at that. I had grown used to it by now. Besides, there wasn’t anything anyone could really do about it.

“So the big house?”

“Just playing into the narrative, I guess? I decided somewhere along the way that if I was going to be painted as some selfish bad guy, that I could at least enjoy the stuff I was supposed to while I was still helping others.”

“Isn’t it lonely?”

“Sometimes. But that’s what teammates are for. They’re my found family. I’ll always have my national teammates. And I hope that Arsenal is going to be my home for a long time.”

Leah nodded at that. I glanced at the clock on my dash again.

“We should probably go in,” I said, causing Leah to look at the clock before she nodded in agreement. “Don’t want to be late.”

We both got out fo my car before heading in. Both of us still eating on our breakfast burgers. I wasn’t too surprised at everyone who was already in the locker room. I moved away from Leah as I moved to join Beth and Viv who were sitting near Viv’s locker. The two forwards were glancing between Leah and I as I dropped my bag in my locker.

“Hey, isn’t that your hoodie?” Beth asked. I looked over at her before looking over my shoulder at Leah. She was still in the hoodie I had left out for her last night. “The one that Leah gave you?”

“And you both came in together?”

“It’s a long story,” I shrugged. I turned back to my bag. “And it’s not mine to really tell. If Leah wants to tell you, she will.”

“I told you that Captain England and Captain America would get together.”

I rolled my eyes at that because we definitely weren’t together, but maybe this was a start to something that could be more than friends.

[xiuminsmygrandpa]

I'm rereading a diary entry I wrote a few years ago and it reminded me of Charles Rowland. Since it's pretty lengthy I'll only pull out the parts I think are relevant to his character.

"When I was a kid I assumed there was something so inherently wrong with me, so unlovable that no one would ever want to be my friend."

I was never physically abused when I was a child but my dad came very close to hitting me on several occasions and my mom, my primary caretaker was verbally abusive. So I grew up in a home with two parents who were incapable of loving me unconditionally. Just like Charles I never felt like I measured up to the impossible standards my mom set for me. Because of that, I assumed there must be something wrong with me, fundamentally, that made people incapable of ever loving me.

"I'd like to think I'm confident and self-assured but really I'm desperate for people to like me. To be accepted for who I am. Because for so long I thought that wasn't possible."

Before and even after meeting Edwin, Charles constantly tries his best to charm everyone he meets. Growing up with a dad who beat him he had hoped that by living up to his father's impossible standards he would be beaten less. But, as Charles says at the end of episode 4 it didn't matter how good he was, his father would still find a reason to beat him.

"I was a different person back then but the pain still lingers. Back then I was small and defenseless. I was a child but trauma has a way of sticking to the wounds I thought had healed. It turns out the scares were actually scabs and I'm bleeding all over again."

In episode 5 Charles is forced to confront the kids he thought were his friends, who betrayed him and ultimately killed him. He desperately wants to believe in Brad and Hunter just like he believed in his friends. But by acknowledging that they were not good guys starts him on a journey to healing some of the trauma that still lingers from when he was alive.

"But I let 6 fucked up people fuck me up. I let them in and they stabbed me in the back. I'd forgotten what that felt like. And I should've known better than to befriend them" (author's note I didn't mean this literally unlike Charles Rowland who doesn't technically get stabbed but they threw rocks at him as he was freezing in a lake which is almost the same thing)

I think this is why it hurts so much more for Charles to realize Brad and Hunter were truly evil. It must have felt like he was being betrayed a second time and after having to literally relive the moment his friends turned their backs on him in the previous episode it must have felt that much more palpable.

"I'm not a vengeful person. But I'm hurt. And a part of me wants to hurt them back."

At the end of episode 4 when Charles beats the Night Nurse we as the audience know his actions are justified. Afterall, she literally made him relive the moments before his death that he hasn't fully processed in 35 years. We know this but Edwin, Crystal, and Niko don't know this. They see a boy with anger issues and as someone who's been unfairly villainized by people who he thought he could trust oooof I can see why he ends up crying and confessing to his best mate that his dad beat him. I was bullied a lot as a kid and this show captures how awful and isolating that feels. Bullying isn't brushed aside because two of its main characters literally lose their lives to their tormentors.

"I'm a good person. I have many passions. I'm friendly, genuine, and honest. And yet people love to assume the worst in me. That I must be too good to be true. That it's all an act."

A big part of Charles' journey throughout season one is him coming to terms with who he is and how he presents himself to the world. I think one of his biggest, if not his biggest fear, is that if he weren't his usual charming self that no one would like him. But we know this is fundamentally not true because even when Charles was at his absolute lowest point (when he was literally freezing to death in an attic) he befriends another boy who also assumes he's unlikeable.

And that is why I love Dead Boy Detectives because it shows us that no matter what everyone is worthy of love, but most especially those who are told they aren't. Just like Charles finds the unconditional love and acceptance he never had when he was alive in Edwin and Crystal, I know I have it with my best friend and family. At it's core this show proves time and time again that we're never alone, even at our lowest when we feel abandoned, there is always at least one person who will gladly guide us back towards the light.

I know this is super long and wordy (the art history nerd in me sucks at being concise) but I had a lot of thoughts, particularly about episode 5, after the cameo I requested and I really wanted to share them. I do not expect George or Jayden to ever see this but I wanted to thank them profusely for being part of a show that has brought me so much joy and community that I really needed this year.

[togenabi]

throwing pebbles because I love you

megumi fushiguro x reader (royalty au)

♡—Whenever the night is clear, and the wind blows softly, Megumi throws rocks at your window.

word count♡— 2.3k words

genre♡— fluff, royalty au

aged up characters♡— 18+

content notes♡— childhood frenemies to lovers, megumi throws rocks, no use of y/n, mc is a bit of a snob, very fluff, secret codes, confessions, not really proofread, megumi is ooc I'm sorry TvT

author's note♡— I really didn't mean to make my second royalty au to also be related to windows, but here we are. (⁠◡⁠ ⁠ω⁠ ⁠◡⁠) no windows were harmed in the making of this fic.

The first time it happened, it was an accident. You were both eight.

Their royal highnesses, prince Megumi and prince Yuji, were staying over at your family's estate as guests. Your mother was a royal through and through, having descended from the greater empire then married into a neighboring kingdom's duchy. After your father passed, she never remarried; choosing instead to focus on serving the kingdom as the perfect duchess.

She never forced you to take on too many responsibilities, despite her own workaholic tendencies. Your mother had simply let you be a child. Eventually, you learned to be extremely grateful she let you grow into your own person.

For now though, you were eight. And some kid just threw a pebble at your very pretty window.

You throw it back at him.

“Ow!” The kid cries as he rubs his forehead, on which a mark has begun to redden. “Hey! Mine was an accident!”

“You still did it!” You say, pointing at the dent he caused while looking down at him from the windowsill. “My response was your consequence.”

The both of you glower at each other until you realize how far he is. “What were you doing throwing rocks at my manor anyway?”

The kid suddenly looks sheepish as his eyes turn to anywhere but you. “My friend needed rocks for some game he made up, and he bet he could catch all of them.” You notice he starts glaring ahead of him at the ground level, so you lean down—out of the window, to follow his gaze. Your eyes catch a head of pink hair before it runs away.

Realizing these two were the royal guests everyone was fussing about, you scoff. “That's hardly very princely of the two of you.”

He bristles. “Is that how you act towards the prince of the kingdom you serve?!”

“I'll greet you properly when our interaction doesn't begin with a pebble being thrown.” You say as you begin closing the window, throwing on a smile just to mess with him more. “Have a pleasant evening.”

You got terribly sick not long after that, and you never saw him for the rest of that summer. The duchess had forbidden visitors unless absolutely necessary so that you could recover quickly.

Prince Megumi fades into your memory, turning into one that you recall only when you spot that dent on your window frame.

You never made the effort to have it repaired, for some reason.

❀ ♡ ❀ ♡ ❀

You're fifteen, hiding in your room as a ball rages downstairs. Your maids would be distraught if they caught you, donning your best clothes, yet curled up on the couch with a book. No matter, this was the perfect way to spend an evening, in your opinion.

When a pebble glides through your window and lands on the floor nearby, you look at it incredulously.

‘This feels strangely familiar...’ But you decide to ignore it, your position on the couch is much too comfortable to leave. You resume reading.

But another rock comes in. Then another.

“Tsk!” Snapping your book shut, you spring up and finally look outside the window. Your eyes meet a certain familiar prince, holding even more rocks in his hands.

You frown at him, crossing your arms over your chest. “This time's deliberate, then?”

“I'm sorry but I need to hide! Please help me—could I come up?” His voice is urgent, and it's only then that you notice the state of his clothes. They were filthy, and part of his coat sleeve blooms red.

Without thinking further, you push a mechanism hidden beneath a flower pot by your window. A rope ladder immediately falls to the ground outside. Megumi is stunned for a moment before reaching for it, and you wonder if he had planned to climb the vines painfully when he asked to come up.

You assist by pulling him once he's within arm's reach, and he collapses into your room with a loud groan. You slam your hand on the mechanism again, and the rope reels back into place.

He looks exhausted, but you have to make him get up. You're not sure how you would move him to the couch if he fainted.

“Stand up for me, please.” You plead with him. “At least to the couch.”

Megumi's breaths are labored as he glances towards the couch. He closes his eyes and groans louder as he gets up and walks slowly, leaning on you the whole time.

He's out like a light once he lies down. Your first instinct is to go get help, but it hits you that you have no idea who Megumi was running from. It dawns on you that if he could ask help from a professional, especially one nearer the palace, he would have. It could be dangerous for anyone else to know he's here.

You purse your lips as you think, and reach for a medical journal on your shelf. You must do your best to tend to his wounds on your own while he rests.

Megumi looks so peaceful as he sleeps. He looks the most relaxed you've ever seen him, and you're thankful he's at least comfortable. While his wounds weren't that deep, he was probably running for a while, which had exhausted and strained him further.

You're cleaning up the medical supplies you used when Megumi regains consciousness for a moment.

“...Thank you.” Megumi's eyes reflect how truly grateful he is. He croaks out the words despite the toll on him. He even grasps your hand dearly.

You clear your throat and look away, but your ears clearly turn red. “If you ever need my help again, just throw a rock. I'll be here.”

That brings a sleepy smile to Megumi's face. “What happened to ignoring me if the encounter starts with a pebble being thrown?”

It takes you a moment to respond. You're not sure what surprises you more, that he remembers your exact words all those years ago, or that he has the gall to crack jokes in his condition.

You stutter out a response lamely to cover up how flustered you are, “I—there can be exceptions, even if it's for you.”

Megumi laughs quietly, and lets out a soft sigh before falling asleep.

You drape a blanket over him as he rests, pausing only to brush his hair away from his eyes.

You don't notice, but the gesture makes Megumi's breathing still for a moment.

❀ ♡ ❀ ♡ ❀

When you're eighteen, your window is severely banged up with dents and scratches. The glass had already broken on more than one occasion, and while of course you had that replaced, the frame stays strong from all the rocks it's been hit with throughout all these years. And, on the day it finally breaks and shatters into spikes, you think you'll make a picture frame out of it.

‘Megumi and I don't have a single nice portrait together, though.’ The thought makes you laugh softly. Both of you weren't exactly exemplary at the frivolous details that come with being nobles, you often helped each other out to skip balls and escape from dreadful hours posing for portraits. But neither of you ever minded.

You bought the most wonderful chair when you were sixteen, you simply melt into it while reading. The best part of it, however, was that you could put it by your window; with the ladder mechanism easy to reach nearby.

Megumi visits less often these days, though. His responsibilities are becoming far too great to leave the palace for too long. He even leaves for other nations and kingdoms sometimes.

But you keep waiting, and he always comes back to you.

A rock clatters into your room and you smile absentmindedly at the sound. You continue reading as your hand moves to trigger the ladder down.

Megumi enters through the window. You'd look at him, but the novel you're reading has suddenly taken an interesting turn, and you're absolutely absorbed into it.

If you had looked up, you would have seen the softest of smiles on Megumi's face.

He approaches and kisses your forehead. By the time you process what happened, he's already walking away as if that was the most normal thing to do. You blink at him in surprise. Megumi only sits on your desk, as he's done so many times before, and begins to do some paperwork he's brought with him.

“What was that?” You ask, still stunned.

“What was what?” Sounds of paper shuffles as he sifts through documents.

“That kiss.”

He pauses.

Your heart seems to rattle in your chest. Were you too blunt? Was it really a normal thing that people like both of you did? Both of you? What were both of you? Does he—

Your thoughts come to an abrupt halt when Megumi smiles, and you finally see that soft and caring smile he saves only for you.

His next words, however, make you throw a pillow at him.

“I'll give you another one later if you liked it that much.”

❀ ♡ ❀ ♡ ❀

It's late into the evening after Megumi has left. You don't speak of the kiss again, and he doesn't either. Though you already had an inkling of your feelings for Megumi, you've never spoken of or acted upon it.

But tonight suddenly made you question if you should start to.

As you retrieve it, your fingers trace a rough texture on the rock Megumi threw earlier. Turning it over, you read something that seems to be etched into it.

‘TWK—p.402, q.1'

Is it some sort of code? What could this be? Surely Megumi was the one to carve this, but how do you decipher it? You stare at the rock and return to your chair. Before you sit down, however, your eyes catch the cover of the book you were reading...

The Wicked King.

The puzzle pieces click into place. A title, a page number, and a quote! Your fingers flutter to get to page 402, not caring that you haven't actually reached that part of the book yet...

The first line makes you gasp and your heart stutter.

“You are my daylight.”

As you trace the line delicately, you wonder if he's always been doing this. But you would have definitely noticed if he was. The jagged texture of the letters are obvious no matter what way you hold the rock. The others before were always perfectly intact.

Your heart skips a beat again. ‘Then... Does this mean that this is the first, and that he'll leave another code next time?’

❀ ♡ ❀ ♡ ❀

A month passes, and Megumi has visited you exactly three times since the first rock with a clue.

Though he's visiting less, you're certainly thinking of him more. The messages you decoded all engraved into your mind at this point, with how many times you've read them.

“You are my daylight.”

“May your day be filled with happiness and warmth, as much as you have given to me.”

“My mind has not forgotten how you smiled at me so.”

“Thank you, for being my home.”

You never let on that you cracked the ciphers, however. He hasn't ever mentioned their existence either, but you suspect he knows that you're aware. Especially since he's been acting so much more dearly during his visits.

After writing all the messages down on a sheet of paper, you realize you should give Megumi a reply. But, how should you do it?

Your eyes find the four small rocks on your desk...

Ah, of course! Of course that's the most perfect way!

Your mind whirls with excitement as you rush outside to find a rock. Once you find one, you realize Megumi is the only person you would do this for...

Because you love him.

And that's it, you've decided. That's what you'll tell him, no code needed.

You love prince Megumi.

❀ ♡ ❀ ♡ ❀

‘Is this how he felt, all those times before?’ His window seems so far and almost out of reach. ‘Was he ever this nervous? Nervous that I wouldn't respond?’

You tighten your grip on the pebble. Megumi never had to worry about that. You'd always respond to him no matter what.

And yet, you're nervous as hell, and shaking like a leaf. If you weren't so anxious, you would have laughed at how baffled the palace staff were when you arrived but didn't enter the palace at all.

The head butler looked so confused when you asked to be led to Megumi's window, but you assured him your intentions meant well.

The pebble suddenly feels heavy in your palm, but you hold yourself firm. You blow a kiss on it softly, before beginning to aim.

The pebble flies from your hand. It was a perfect throw that collides with his window loudly before rattling along his balcony floor.

Megumi peeks out carefully, but then brightens up the moment he sees you. He laughs as he waves at you. “It feels so strange to be on the receiving end of the rock.”

You smile shyly up at him. “But, you haven't just been giving me rocks recently, haven't you?”

He suddenly looks nervous, and starts to search your face for any sign of rejection. When he finds none, he looks cautiously optimistic.

“Pick up that rock now, would you?” You say, acting impatient, but your heart is beating eagerly to see his reaction.

He turns this way and that looking for it, and you stop breathing when he finally finds and reaches for it. Once he reads it, he looks at you with a dazed expression. The rock falls from his hold as he quickly jumps over the balcony edge, and lands safely in front of you.

You're about to nag that he nearly gave you a heart attack when he slowly gets on one knee. Your words die in your throat.

Megumi laughs at how stunned you look. “I'd throw this rock at your window, but my family might actually kill me.”

His smile widens as he jokes, “I don't suppose I need to write a code to express what this one means...” He opens a small box to reveal a stunning ring that suits you perfectly.

“Will you marry me?”

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