#and you could SEE that in simm already too if you just knew how to look

[airenyah]

where's that one tumblr post that asks what the thing is that you're "well actually" about bc that post has crossed my dash multiple times and every time i was like "i'm sure there is something for me too, i just have no idea what it could be" bc like. i know now. i know what it is. it's joong and dunk. joong's and dunk's acting skills specifically, actually

[buggyboba]

✦ October 19th | Sharing

AN 𓏧

↳ ○ | Hi I don’t know how this got to be so long….it was supposed to be smut….and just smut….have a whole ass story….i guess...anyway I started writing this twice, and then changed my mind, anyway, I did steal a bit of it for the first Missy x Reader x Simm!Master one I promised, so that is still in the works, and that one is going to be a multipart, so there is also that. I am sure I used they/them for reader, but fem!anatomy. SMUT MDNI

SUMMARY𓏧

↳ ○  While Sharing isn’t in their nature, they have decided to play nice because you looked so cute

PAIRING𓏧

↳ ○ Missy x Reader x Simm!Master

TW𓏧

↳ ○ Established relationship/companion. Fingering, P in V unprotected sex, cum on stomach, eating out. Voyeurism from Missy.

WORD COUNT𓏧

↳ ○ 4000

A03 lINK𓏧

↳ ○ x

MASTERLIST LINK𓏧

↳ ○ x

★𓏧 𓏧 𓏧★ 𓏧 𓏧 𓏧★

It was tea time. She had very set expectations, and you were already in the kitchen preparing two cups of tea; it wasn’t a full afternoon tea set up, but she was busy, and with the appearance of her past self, the schedule had been thrown out the window much to your dismay. Her past self had made himself comfortable over the past few weeks since he had come ‘aboard’ as he called it. Uprooting the nice thing they had going, stealing you away occasionally, as an extra set of hands, you would catch him staring or muttering. He would watch you and banter with you; it felt natural, as natural as how you and Missy bantered; you felt drawn to him, just like you were drawn to Missy. 

It was interesting, to say the least, if you looked deep enough, you could see bits of him in Missy, some of her facial expressions, some of her habits. Regeneration was odd, she had explained it to you, and you understood the concept. It was like dying, but not really; a new person was just left—a new face, a new body. The personality was a bit different, but the core was the same; at least that's what you understood of it, like The Master was eventually going to become Missy, and Missy was once the Master; you could understand that. Sometimes you worried about the vast paradox they were causing like this, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t your problem—not really. If the universe was going to explode, what were you going to be able to do about it? So you just enjoyed it. 

Missy was protective of you, said she knew herself, and well, she did know herself, so you trusted her decision to be cautious of leaving you two alone too often, but you couldn’t just tell him, ‘No, I’m not going to help you with XYZ.’ So you were forced to interact with him. Sometimes he whisked you off all day, kept coming up with excuses to keep you around, and when he was out of excuses, he said it was just to piss lady him off. You didn’t like being a tool to aid in him annoying Missy. 

Another thing about him was he was cocky; then again, so was she, but he was something entirely else. It wasn’t terrible; you found him interesting, just like you found her interesting. He was a younger her; after all, even if he didn’t look younger, Time Lord's age was odd and sometimes didn’t reflect how old they looked. It just so happened you didn’t mind them looking more mature; it was thrilling. 

He looked so dignified; you liked his style, his salt and pepper goatee, his coffee-colored eyes, his silver hair, He was foxy, cheeky, knew he looked good, and you liked it. Of course, at first, you only recognized him as Harold Saxon, which was wild, but you chose to ignore it. You had mixed feelings about Harold Saxon’s run, killing the president, and all that, but that didn’t matter anymore because, at the end of the day, Harold Saxon was a disguise. 

He did confuse you though, because he could say something so vile and off the wall and then be a gentleman in the same sentence. He liked keeping you on your toes and was interested in what his future self saw in you. You knew that Missy enjoyed your company, that you were sassy, that you weren’t afraid of getting your hands dirty, and most of all that you felt something for her. What you didn’t know was that it had started as sole manipulation at first, but she felt something deeper than that now and was trying desperately not to let her former self say anything that would ruin what you two had now. Little did she know, right? 

Since it was tea time for today, you were in the kitchen of her Tardis making tea when you felt a familiar air behind you, and suddenly his arms were on each side of you, boxing you in against the counter.

“I think I’ve got it.” He started. “What she sees in you.” He whispered in your ear, You went to sidestep, but he kept you in place. His eyes were studying you; there was a mix of something behind his eyes, predatory but also like he was trying to figure something out like you were a bug to be studied.

“Okay, let’s hear it then,” you said, staying calm and keeping your body relaxed as you tilted your head to look at him. You knew you had to be careful; after all, Missy had hypnotized you a few times, so you knew he could do it too. 

He laughed a bit and tilted his head, studying your eyes for a moment. "Oh, don’t worry, pet, I won’t hypnotize you, not right now, though it could be fun, and I am dying of boredom here. Who knew I could be so boring?" He shook his head. “You think too loud, and you are so easy to read, my dear.” He grinned at you. You shook your head and pushed him a bit so he would move so you could finish making tea. “It’s not your fault; you are human... "It is fascinating that Lady Me finds you so worthy of keeping around,” he said but moved so you could make the tea. “It has to be what you give her.” He waggled his eyebrow, his smirk widening. “I mean, I smelled you the other night, heard you... heard her... It’s the sex right, and here I thought she was above it; she went on and on about how she was above primal needs... She’s a liar; wouldn’t you agree, my dear?” He nodded and watched as you felt your cheeks heat up.

“What do you mean you smelled me?” You asked carefully, leaning away from the counter and looking at him. Ignoring everything else, he said for a moment and zeroed in on that detail. 

“What I mean is—oh, did she not—Oh, you poor thing... Time Lords have a heightened sense of smell; we can smell the chemicals in the air; we can tell what time period and where we are just by smell. So of course, confined in this tardis, in the room down the way, I can smell your arousal. Just like I can hear every soft hitched breath, every moan you think is muffled enough.” He mused. “And you are so noisy; I can see why she likes you; I always did like screamers. Wonder what you taste like; it must be fantastic if Lady Me goes back for more.” He mused, and you felt scandalized right then and there. He had heard you two, smelled you two; you wanted to disappear right now; you wanted to cease to exist in the same room as him. 

"Oh, shy now? You weren’t shy last night,” he gave you that cheeky grin. “So I have to assume she keeps you around because you fulfill her needs and wants.” He looked you over; you tried to figure out what to say, and you found yourself suddenly wishing Missy would show up. “Which makes some semblance of sense; it is what you humans are good for, you know,” he teased, but it felt meaner than it should have.

"Yeah, well, what can I say? I give stellar head and have a can-do attitude.” You muttered, turning back to focus on the tea. You were trying to stop yourself from burning up with embarrassment, not that you knew why it was embarrassing; it was clear you and Missy were entangled in some sort of relationship, ergo you two would be intimate, and like he was a stranger; sure, he was strange, but not a complete stranger.

“And you smell delicious,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. “No, I am sure that’s what she likes of you." He tapped his fingers against his chin for a moment watching you, taking in your body language, seemingly pleased he put you on edge, got under your skin. “It’s not so bad, is it? I am very giving. So you aren’t wanting, I’m sure,” he said flippantly. You narrowed your eyes.

“It’s not just sex.” You muttered. Turning your attention to finish the cups of tea, you were already going to have to explain that her former self cornered you in the kitchen, which is why tea was late, so as revenge You had decided to only make yourself and Missy a cup of tea, but it didn’t matter because he ended up stealing yours and sat down to talk to Missy, who entered a few moments after the tea was ready, easily dismissing you. You went to talk back, but Missy held her hand up and motioned you away. You didn’t like this at all; you narrowed your eyes looking between them and definitely called them a bitch in your head before you headed to yours and Missy’s shared room. 

It felt like hours as you lay there quietly, upset at your lack of time with her and how he stole your tea. You sighed deeply and were almost about to get off the bed and go look for her when, speaking of the devil, or devils, she entered, followed by her male counterpart. You sat up and crossed your arms, looking between them; she had never let him come in. You paused and looked between them. 

“We spoke,” she started, “and we have come to an agreement.” She said with a final tone, and you shifted. My younger self understands now what you are to me and us, and if you agree, we would like to... share you.” She said, watching your face for any signs of what you were feeling. 

“Oh well, at least I get a choice,” or at least an illusion of one, you mentally thought. “And why exactly would I want to be shared? I assume you are not just talking about splitting custody of me." You joked a bit, trying to make your own unease go away. You thought he was handsome, and he was technically her, different but still her. You crossed your arms, waiting for him to speak, and he did; it didn’t take long, actually. 

“I know what you think; you are not good at hiding it, pet and I know you have thought about it once or twice, what it would be like, and what I can give you that she cannot.” He started and glanced at Missy, then back to you. “And while we are not prone to sharing what is ours, it’s only fair; if you are hers, you are mine,” he said casually. “So come on, live a little, let's play swingers,” he grinned at you in a cheeky grin that was oh so familiar. “Let me get to know who I apparently adore.” He rolled his eyes a bit but then looked at you studying you again, as if he were actually thinking about how Missy said she adored you to him. 

The statement made you blush a bit. You did know that Missy adored you, and you adored Missy; you also hadn’t been expecting such a proposition. You looked at Missy, who was watching you with an equally cheeky grin, nodding a bit as a go-ahead. You wondered if this was a ploy to get to you sooner by having her past self be involved with you too. It felt very convoluted, so therefore felt like a very ‘Master’ plan to you. 

"So, like, is this you wanting to sleep with me?” You asked, raising an eyebrow, looking at him. 

“Oh no, if I wanted to just do that, I would have told you, and we would have seen where the night took us, but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a tempting thought; after all, you do make the cutest sounds,” he mused a bit. Right, god, you forgot he could hear you, that he could smell your arousal. Oh god, that meant Missy absolutely could too; that would explain the smirks and glances when you were turned on around her. You didn’t have time to unpack all of that right now; you had to focus on the question that was being asked of you. You had never been in a relationship with two people before, more so the same person. You had a lot of questions about the logistics of it but decided now was not the time for that either. 

“I mean, I guess... it's okay... I mean, you are the same person, just in different places in your timeline, I guess, so by all means it’s fine... as long as neither of you gets jealous of the other, which I know is a big ask.” You laughed a bit trying to lighten the very serious topic. 

The pair were silent. “I think we can manage, Poppet," Missy said and rolled her eyes, moving to sit next to you, her hand lightly patting your knee. “Plus, in the grand scheme of things, you are still mine regardless, and in an off way while we are vastly different, I can’t ignore my past, and he has become...” she paused to think of the correct word she wanted to use. “Smitten.” She settled on, “You are an interesting pet, and while he can be...” she trailed off for a moment once again looking for the right word. “Pushy, cocky…an idiot.” She smirked a bit when The Master bristled and made an annoyed sound. “I think this would be a good arrangement,” she said lightly. “We can try it, and if it’s not what we enjoy, no harm in it…right?” She urged you, and you nodded a bit, though you were almost positive it wouldn’t just go back to how it was if they didn’t like it. You shifted again, and Missy’s hand tightened on your knee. “Trust me?” she asked.

You sighed and looked at her. You did trust her, but it was such a turn-around from her wanting you to stay away from him, and now she wants you to sleep with him? Then again, you couldn’t even begin to understand what she was thinking, so you would go along with it; it was fine. He was right; you had been looking at him; you did find him stunning, and since he would eventually become her, you didn’t think it was too weird. 

“Good, perfect!” he clapped once and started over the bed, flopping on your other side, his arm wrapped around your waist pulling you a bit closer to him. “You know something; earlier, when I said I knew why she chose you being strictly satisfying her, I was wrong, and I don’t often if ever admit when I am wrong, though we will see for ourselves, won’t we? I do bet it’s fantastic, from what I’ve heard anyway.” He smirked, and you wanted to die again. 

“Let’s not talk about it; look, Missy."You looked at Missy and said, “Didn’t explain that the Time Lords were basically fucking bloodhounds, pack hunters... Jesus.” You shook your head. 

“That’s not a bad thing, darling.” She grinned at you, moving her hand up to your thigh more. “And if I had told you before you would hide those beautiful sounds from me and freak out anytime you became aroused, it would have made it more obvious, and you would have hated that even more than you hate us talking about it now. I think it’s nothing to be worried about, plus your heart does this little racing thing, oh, like now,” she poked above your now pounding heart. "Yeah, that’s it, lovely,” she grinned. “I think deep down you like it because it is a turn-on, whether or not you know it.” She said her hand moving up to pull your shirt up, her nails scratching up your stomach, leaving little red lines as she did so. “And don’t worry, I’ll be here the entire time.” She practically cooed at you.

Oh, oh so this was happening now, of course, it was, you didn’t expect them to wait, not when you were there already warm, already thinking about how Missy made your body feel, and wondering how He would make your body feel, you felt your cheeks heat more as his hand slid down to undo your pants, pulling the zipper down his hand grazed against your hip as he pushed the fabric down your hips and past your knees, Missy pressed a soft kiss against your neck, as her hand caught the fabric of your shirt pulling it over your chest showing off your chest, which was covered by a black lace bra, his hands moved to pull the strap down over your shoulder so your breast fell free from the cup, his palm cupped the flesh and his thumb traced against your nipple, coaxing it to harden, you shivered, as you felt Missy’s nails against your bare thigh, trailing up towards the apex of your thighs. 

“They are cute,” he mused. He pinched your nipple a bit, rougher than Missy tended to be. You had a feeling where Missy was rough; he was going to be rougher. You were not getting out of this unscathed, you breathed out as his hand moved to kneed at your other breast, his mouth capturing your nipple; he drew long sucks against it; you instinctively let your hand grab his shoulder as you felt Missy shift to move up on the bed more, watching. The Master moved pushing your pants down and off, dragging you up more, his hand moved to your thigh, spreading you out for him more as he pushed you to lay down; his tongue flicked at your nipple before he licked down your stomach, nipping right above the waistband of your underwear, which caused your hips to arch; you felt Missy move to sit with your head in her lap, her fingers trailing through your hair, as she watched with interest. 

“She particularly likes the thing we do with our tongue.” Missy mused, smirking down at you, and you gave a soft sound as his fingers dragged your underwear down. 

“Who doesn’t?” He smirked. 

“Cocky.” She shot back, watching as he pushed your thighs up, so your legs were over his shoulders; she supported your neck more as he moved you; her fingers massaged at your neck; her other hand moved to trail her fingers up the valley of your chest; your hands didn’t know where to go, one gripped against Missy’s skirt, the other against the back of The Master’s head as his mouth made contact with your core. The sound that escaped you was sinful. Missy’s fingers trailed against your arm as it clung to her. 

His tongue curled and pressed before falling flat against your slit, licking a stripe up, before the flat of his tongue wiggled against your clit, pulling a breathy sound from you, your hips arching again, his hands having to grab your hips so you couldn’t squirm away as his mouth closed around the little bundle of nerves sucking and flicking it with the tip of his tongue. His eyes watching you closely, taking in all your body’s cues. 

"See, I told you.” Missy spoke, “Putty.” She smirked, one of her hands fingers stroked against your cheek, almost lovingly. Her other hand cupped your breast, slowly massaging it. You jolted as he slipped a finger into you, thrusting it a few times before he added a second one to stretch you for him. “Making sure you are nice and ready, puppy.” She purred to you like you needed a play-by-play. Your hand moved to try and pull at her shoulder, wanting her lips on yours, which she obliged, swallowing a few of your groans with her mouth. 

“Oi, I want to hear them; that’s the whole point, isn’t it, the fun little sounds?" He pulled back, and you tightened your hand against the back of his head, whining about him stopping. “What a needy little thing we have.” He smirked a bit. “Then again, I don’t blame them, do you?” He smirked at Missy, who watched him and then looked back to you, nodding after a moment.

“All ours… I think we will keep them.” She mused though she said that every time you two slept together, ‘I think I’ll keep you.' It was as close to 'I love you’ as you were going to get. You felt him sit up, hearing his belt buckle undo and the swift sound of leather being pulled before he undid his pants. His hand wrapped around his length and stroked the already semi-hard member to life. He pressed the tip through your slick folds, rubbing against your entrance. “Deep breath,” he breathed out as he leaned over pressing against you, his chest against yours, as he held himself up with one arm. As he heard you breathe in he pushed in slowly, sinking in inch by inch, feeling your body stretch for him. “That’s a good pet.” he breathed out as he felt you flex and clench around him, “Oh yes, like a glove, like you were made for me.” he purred into your ear, you heard the annoyed tsk of Missy, but her fingers continued to play against your nipple and scratch the back of your neck, watching the pleasure split across your face, as he settled to the hilt, “There we are.” he breathed out, and slowly started to drag out, getting halfway out before he pushed back in quickly, his hand found your hip sliding down it and under your thigh keeping your leg pushed up and out as he rolled his hips, he felt your other knee against his hip as he set a steady pace. 

You groaned out, locking gaze with him as he moved, that grin spread across his lips, he liked eye contact just like Missy did, of course, he did. He felt better than any toy Missy and you had used, one hand moved to grab the back of his jacket pulling at it as he hit every right spot with the roll of his hips. You felt your head cloud as your pleasure started to build, you arched more trying to breathe and not let yourself cum, much like when you were with Missy, you wanted her to cum first, though with Time Lord's stamina you knew he would cum plenty of times before he was tired. You gasped out feeling your thighs strain and shake as he pushed as deep as he could with each thrust now. You groaned out his title, “Master.” there was a moment where his eyes darkened, and he gripped you tighter, the way you groaned out ‘Master’ clearly did something for him too, because he picked up his speed. He could tell you were close and he was close too. He growled out something in Gallifreyan, you had heard Missy say it before, in that same growl. Missy’s hands tightened against you as she heard his growl, her own eyes dark with possession, as she felt your body shudder and jolt as you slipped and screamed out as you came around him. 

You choked out, as he kept moving, Missy said something in very stern Gallifreyan, to which he replied, but slowly pulled out stroking himself as he splattered hot seed against your stomach, and looked at Missy with a look of ‘Are you happy now’, you couldn’t even form words for a moment, but you knew they must have argued about where he could cum, you felt Missy press a few kisses against your temple as you breathed trying to catch your breath. 

“I think it’s my turn pet,” she smirked a bit waiting for you to come down. It was going to be a long night between you three, and you weren’t sure about all the implications, but you didn’t care all that much, because this opened a whole new world for you, and you did want to explore more of it. 

★𓏧 𓏧 𓏧★ 𓏧 𓏧 𓏧★

Taglist𓏧 ↳ ○ @bees-fart-too , @bakusquadobsessed , @anastasa-mslfedit , @cabinedepapel , @asteria237 , @suckerforcate , @bingewatchingmylifegoby , @toastvogel , @starbucks-06 If you want to be added to the rest here is the l x

[storiesbyjes2g]

3.161 Against my will

Okay, so I know I look like I'm either on a Sulani vacation or a nice date with my wife, but this is the only green dress shirt I have. It's not exactly my style, but it will do for the occasion. Sophia and I stand at the door, hoping our guests will recognize me because I have no idea who's coming to this thing. I had asked Dereck Jang to see who he could find, but I never followed up with him. My friend Justin arrived first, as always. I love our friendship so much. We barely talk or see each other, but when I call, he's right there.

After a while, the club began filling up, so we went inside so we wouldn't impede traffic flow. This guy I'd never seen before walked up and introduced himself. Darius Clemons was his name, and he said his mother was one of Mama's best friends. His mother's name was Diamond, and he recently lost both of his parents too. That fact instantly created a bond between us. I gave him my condolences, and he offered his. He's married, no children. His wife was at the bar talking to Justin. Her mother, Gemma, was another one of Mama's best friends. I honestly did not know a lot about her life before me or even pre-divorce. She was just so laden with guilt and shame, she put the past in a vault and only shared what was necessary. It was kinda nice to meet sims who knew her before I did. After talking to him for a while, I realized they were a lot older than me, despite their baby faces. They were teenagers when I was born. He remembered the day Gammy died. It was Beach Cleanup Day, and Mama organized a big family day in Sulani for us, her friends, and their families. His parents were never together, and his mother had gotten married to someone else, but he remembered spending the day with both his parents. He even remembered seeing me and Less as tiny tots. What a treat! Suddenly, I wanted to interview every single sim who came for us just to learn more about Mama, and even my own life before the divorce.

Dereck and Chi Chi arrived at the same time, and I half expected her to bring a plus one. Sophia says she's been texting her a lot lately, asking if she knows this man or that man she's thinking about dating. I'm glad she's getting back out there and that she has a friendship with my wife, but I don't know why she thinks Sophia knows everyone. Maybe it's more a show of good faith so she knows Chi Chi isn't still gunning for her husband, heh. However, it turned out she did have a plus one...sorta. The guy she raved about last week was the DJ tonight. She went on a date with DJ Simms?! I love that guy. Whenever I go to a club, and he's there, I know the music is going to be on point.

Naturally, she embraced me and asked how I was holding up.

"I'm hanging in there," I said.

"That's about all you can do."

"I appreciate you coming out."

"Don't be silly! I wouldn't miss this. I didn't know your mom long, but she was really cool."

We joined everyone else on the dance floor, and I met a few more sims from Mama's past. I kept my eyes on the door, hoping Alessia would walk through at any moment. Last time she skipped a party, I was furious, but I wouldn't blame her this time. I'm trying to keep it cool, but this is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I don't feel like dancing. I don't want to laugh and be nice to these strangers. I want to be at home with my baby and my wife. But even though she's not here, I'm still Emmy's son, and I'm a damn good son, so here I am, dancing like she wanted me to.

But after a while, it's clear this is too much for Less, so I abandon the idea of waiting for her and try to wrap this thing up. It's getting late, and didn't want to be here, anyway. But, there is one thing that could make this night complete. I grabbed Sophia and went upstairs to do karaoke. This is the perfect way to memorialize Mama tonight. Someone is singing already, so we grab a table to wait for our turn.

An unfamiliar voice called my name. It was the rude girl from the spa. I hadn't seen her in so long, I almost forgot we had fake beef. She wanted to know where I'd been and if everything was okay. Maybe she too thought it was time to bury the fictitious hatchet, heh.

I kept it brief and light, stating life had been super hectic since having a baby. She told me whenever I want to come back to the spa to let her know and we'll work something out. Is it just me or is that code for she misses me? See...if she would have been nice to me the first time... Let me not finish that thought.

Just as we get up to sing, Less walks through the door, and I was so glad to see her. But just like when Mama and I sang, she makes a beeline for the door and goes back downstairs. I'll never understand that woman, but I sure do love her. She's my OG best friend and biggest pain the ass, heh.

Sophia and I sing our little non-singing hearts out and head back downstairs to say goodnight to everyone. I found Alessia in good spirits and told her I was glad she came and proud that she got over whatever she had to overcome to get here tonight. Neither of us wanted to here, but I think we both knew we needed this distraction. I had fun against my will, and I'm glad I did.

[enjoythesilentworld]

Simon's Month - Anime (Backpack)

day 9! @youngroyals-events

Simon and his new backpack take on a new school.

read below or on ao3 (G, 800).

Simon was already incredibly nervous about starting at the new school for big kids. It was enough that he felt like he barely spoke the language, always mixing up en and ett words and adding Spanish endings to Swedish verbs. Pappa spent too much time at work to help him, and Mamá wasn’t very good at Swedish, yet, either. Sara tried to teach him; she’d learned a lot in the year she’d already been at the school, which was nice. But what was worse than off of that was that Simon didn’t know anybody there. There were no other kids on their street and Sara’s classroom was on the other side of the school and Simon did not want to get out of his mamá’s car on that first day.

As they pulled up to the building, Simon looked out the car window at the other kids, with their fancy new clothes and shiny new shoes. Because he didn’t want his mamá, or Sara, to see how nervous he was, he pretended to dig for a rock in his shoe, which was not shiny and new like the other kids’.

Sara hopped out of the car, blowing Mamá a kiss, and started off towards the building, calling, “Come on, Simon!”

She said she liked school, liked learning and coloring. But, Simon heard her sometimes at night, whispering to her stuffed horse about how she hadn’t made any friends and how the lunch room was too loud and how sometimes she just wanted to hide in the cupboards. Sara was the best person he knew, if only tied with his Mamá, so if she couldn’t make friends, how would Simon be able to?

“Mi amor,” Mamá said softly from the front seat, smiling warmly at Simon. He saw the worry and tiredness in her eyes, though. “Are you ready?”

He wasn’t, but he nodded anyway. “Yes.”

“I’ll pick you and Sara up this afternoon, okay?”

“Okay, Mamá. I love you.”

“I love you, my Simme. Have a wonderful first day!”

Her smile and the big warm hug she gave him made him feel better, so he put on his backpack and climbed out of the car.

Sara was waiting for him by the front door. She was nice enough to show him to the door of his classroom but told him they would get made fun of if she lingered too long. So, quickly, Simon was alone, with his second-hand T-shirt and backpack nearly bigger than himself.

He’d been excited about his new backpack. He hadn’t needed one before big kid school, and his pappa let him pick out this new one all by himself. It was purple and had a big red monster from Yu-Gi-Oh!, one of his favorite TV shows. His sister didn’t like it, the show, so he only got to watch it sometimes. But, usually his pappa would join him on the couch for it, and they’d yell about the cool fight scenes, and Micke would tell him all about the art behind animation shows.

Looking around the classroom, though, no one else had a backpack like his. Everyone else had plain, boring backpacks, or backpacks with pictures from shows or movies Simon hadn’t seen. Swedish shows, probably. A few of them he did recognize, having caught Sara pretending to watch them in the living room. Simon would go and sit down with her sometimes and ask her to change the channel.

“No, I’m watching it,” she’d say.

“No, you’re not. You’re only pretending to.”

She’d push her coloring book away and look at him with her eyebrows all drawn together. “Yeah, but all the kids at school have seen it, so I need to watch it, too.”

Simon didn’t really understand. Why watch a show you didn’t like, just because everyone else was watching it?

He kind of understood now, glancing nervously around the room and wishing someone else liked the same things as him, because then maybe they could be friends.

“I like your backpack!”

Simon turned at the voice and saw another young boy standing there, smiling at him and pointing with wide eyes. The young boy was wearing a really cool T-shirt. Simon didn’t recognize the show, but it was the same sort of anime-style as his backpack.

“Thanks!” Simon grinned proudly, feeling not so scared anymore. “I like your shirt!”

“I’m Ayub,” said Ayub.

“I’m Simon,” said Simon.

After that, Simon found it easy to talk to the other kids, too, especially with Ayub by his side. They talked to each other, mostly, until the teacher made them quiet down. Then, they sat together at lunch and played together outside. Just a few days later, Simon got permission to go to Ayub’s house after school, and Ayub showed him all kinds of other cool anime shows and toys. Simon couldn’t remember why he’d been so worried in the first place.

As they grew older, it became a tradition, the last Saturday before school started, to stay up late watching old, nostalgic anime shows, paying tribute to the now long-donated backpack of Simon’s and T-shirt of Ayub’s. Two silly kids’ shows that helped bring them together, then made life a lot less scary to face, because they had each other.

[nnnn99999]

Since summer night is ending soon, I decided that this is the perfect time to start watching mafia the series. Because I can't not have a constant injection of jd content in my life. I mean I could totally rewatch simm or ha, but since I am almost done watching a solo Dunk show, I kinda want to watch a solo Joong show now. I decided not to binge it so that I have something to keep me busy for a while. Life is stressful and I need something good to look forward to everyday. Anyway, this show is really good. Yes, I only watched ep 1. Yes, I am very confident that the whole series is good after watching only one ep. Because my do I have THOUGHTS!!!

First of all why oh why is this series so obscure? I doubt I would have known of its existence had I not been so jd obsessed. Or is it that the style of this show does not suit everyone? I'm just confused because I think it's great.

The cast so far seems to be great. I am so intrigued by everyone and how their characters are going to play out. They are so interesting. And all of them are so different, which makes the dynamics between them so much fun to watch. Particularly, I am very interested to see how the AnnaIntenso dynamics is going to play out. I love frenemies. Also I can already tell the characters have a lot of depth to them.

I love the style of this show. It is a mafia show, but it gives me more of a western + fantasy vibes. The opening scene was a fight between two mafia gangs, but because of the music and the way it was shot and edited, it felt more like an epic fantasy war. But it also gives me anime vibes for some reason. Anyway, I am loving the overall vibes so far.

Also I have to mention the choice of weapons for the main cast. It is interesting. This mafia show is giving me a sword, daggers(I have no idea what Intenso's weapon is actually called so I'm settling for daggers even though I clearly know those are not daggers. I don't want to accidentally spoil myself by researching so yeah) and a red gun. Awesome.

Fun fact about me nobody asked for: I am a huge fan of One Piece. I have a very strong emotional attachment to it. I will not even start on how much I love it and why. My overflowing love for One Piece is relevant because one of my favorite characters is Zoro. And Sven from this show reminds me of Zoro. It's not just because Sven is a swordsman, their fighting styles are very very different after all. It's because Sven is the cold, calm, loyal, strong protector like Zoro. If Sven turns out to be an idiot too, I will probably scream and terrify anyone who is unfortunate enough to be in the same house as me.

Moving on, the story seems really interesting so far. I have literally no idea where this is going to go since I jumped into this without knowing a single thing about it, apart from the fact that Joong is in it. But I am seated and ready for whatever this show decides to give me.

This next section is going to be me gushing over Joong basically.

So obviously I knew Joong is a really good actor. But I didn't know he was this good. The highlight of this ep, and maybe even the whole series, was Beam crying after finding out about his father's death. It was not the teardrops falling silently kind of crying I have seen Joong do before. No, it was the gut wrenching screaming ugly crying to the point you start to throw up because your world has fallen apart right in front of you. It was such a good scene. I felt every bit of Beam's pain and loss. I had no idea Joong could do that. Actually the scene at his father's funeral was done so well too. Joong was crying here too, but the feeling was completely different. Also I love that when Sven came to the funeral, Nut was the one who noticed and recognized him. Beam however was so distraught that he didn't notice Sven at all. Even the part where Beam gets lost in Baifern is so good. Like you can really tell that he is completely enraptured by her. Also the part where Beam looks at Baifern before getting into his father's car in front of the pub. So so good.

To summarize, Joong is a wonderful actor and I love him. This show is great.

Thanks to @airenyah for helping me find this show because if I was not going through your tags, I probably wouldn't have found out about the existence of this show until much later.

[icarusredwings]

S10Saxon:

(Because i'm not classifying him as the same as Simm)

Do you want the earth to explode? Yes? Then put this man near 9. Do it. You won't, you coward. Fact is, these two would have the same energy as the Editor and Nine had, I'm actually gonna say that the Editor IS Nine's "master" on a lower scale. They could have done so much more, but they knew it would be too much for us fans. They have the same relationship that every classic "I hate you because we're immortal enemies, so im going to kill you just to shut you up.... but save you at the last minute because im better than you" trope has, but also I can see him calling Rose a pathethic little girl and that? Ooh, that is a no-no.

10 would kill himself trying to fix him, but alas, this sums up bassically everything. Sax is as stubborn as a mule, so his foalish* words aren't going to help him. But that anger? Oh, that anger would be so fun for him to play with. Something about Time Lord Victorious is not fun, though. Maybe it's his merciless behavior. Maybe it's the fact that the doctor is supposed to be "the good one," so him acting more reckless is not something he'd particularly enjoy, or perhaps it reminds him too much of the Doctor that slaughtered Torvic. All in all, I think this sax could make 10 evil. He's less wild, more civil, and older and isn't one for jumping around screaming 'king of the wastelands' so 10 might actually litsen to him. I mean just look at how intrigued 10 was with yana.

He could manipulate 10 so hard...

Out of spite, I can see sax kissing Rory and then acting like it's not a big deal just to freak them out and gaslight them into believing the doctor doesn't like them.

Im not even sure how 11 would react to him. Seriously, I think Sax would bully the hell out of him for no reason at all. Harrass him with mean nicknames, but in a way that only someone terrifyingly close would he able to do. Send very specific threats, send ominous 'I see you' texts even when he can't, etc. In all good fun, I see them having their classic banter of "Come on. Join me." "No im the good guy," speeches.

"Oh? He hasn't given you a proper gallifryian welcome? Ah well thats a shame... He must not like you guys that much then.."

"Doctor...?"

"I-i.. we- I do! We don't snog people to welcome them he-he's just-!"

"Just what? Go on. Say it."

"He's just... insane."

"Mmh see about that. I wasn't the one to be expelled for killing three kids, was I?"

"Doctor, is he telling the truth!?"

"Oopsiess... what? He didn't tell you? GAASSSPP You didn't tell them?? Oh, how rude of you, doctor..."

The way he would treat 13 would be similar to 12 but in a more sexist manner. I don't *actually* think the Master is sexist. I think the master is just a dick and any human is below him, so they are all worth degrading. What is the best way to irrate the doctor, though?

Be sexist. Insult her driving, insult her hair, tell her to smile more, tell her she should make him a sandwitch, brag about how much better Missy is then her, put any other female friends agasint her, call her a scared little girl, make fun of her for not being able to open the pickle jar.

Honestly? They would have similar behavior to SpyDoc, except he wouldn't be so giggly and clap. Hed still cried during confessions, and he'd still shout until he shut up by force. He'd still laugh when tackled and hit. He'd still strangle her. He'd still blow up Gallifrey.

He'd definitely kill one of her friends just to prove a point and ask if it's "that time of the month" when she confronts him about it.

Saxteen and #Retired Time Lords already exists for a reason- The reason being that they are great together.

14 is fed up enough with the world to hold just the right amount of hate but also remorsful and regretful enough about his past to forgive small everyday things. They're the type of couple that SHOULD get divorced but never do. Both are too stubborn to go through with it, and they will be holding hands during full arguments while walking down the street. They are toxic as fuck and kick each other in bed, steal the duvet, hide things from one another, and complain about one another 24/7 but at the end of the day if anyone talks shit about either one of them? They defend the other and refuse to take "Just break up" as advice. They go to couples counciling now.

They're the kind of couple you see old as fuck shouting how much they hate each other but 5 minutes later they're cuddling on the couch and the Doctor is half asleep already because he feels safe enough to know the Master won't actually kill him. (Especially not in donnas living room!! She'd have his head on a spick with that mess!)

They make each other worse and better in the best ways. Some days, sax is a menace. Some days, he naps on the couch like a tomcat. Some days, 14 is pissed off at the world, and it is THIS close to agreeing to bomb someone. Other days, he's cuddled up to him muttering soft stories from their childhood.

Mind you, this only works AFTER the Master realizes that he can NOT stand with the Doctor AND marry him. It's a very large step for him. You can still L word someone AND want to kill them 50% of the time.

In this relationship, Sax could push him down the stairs, immediately run downstairs to help him, and just whisper "For sickness and in health you annoying fuck.." while kissing his bruises.

Im not sure how 15 would go with him. Part of me wants to say they have beef.. part of me thinks 15 would wanna fight him in the sheets. It's very complicated, and sax is particially scared about it, seeing as he hasn't had anyone so energetically eager to care for him and want to be his friend for real since 10.

"Come on! What happened to ruling the universe toget-"

"Yes."

"... wait.... what do you mean yes? You.... you aren't supposed to say that.."

"Well, I said no a lot, and it didn't work. So yes! Lets go babes!"

"..... You're freaking me out.... wheres the real doctor?"

"Realest youll get is right here honey! Now come on where are we going first?"

"..... Yyeeeaaah... No... is this a trap?"

BUT he would be extremely jealous about Rouge to the point of staying with the Doctor specifcally so he can claim his spot as top dog.

"I tried to kill him first! Way before your civilization was born, kid! You aren't special! And you aren't more edgy than me either! I'm the king of edgy! You don't even wear eyeliner!"

*Foalish: Foal-ish.

Meaning: Young and a metaphorical phrase for 'walking on stick legs'.

Can also mean Clumsy or someone who was just born and is just learning to walk in a metaphorical sense.

Related to the word foolish, but is often used as "standing on your last leg" or a response to an argument that is non-threatening.

"My dear doctor, your foalish plans never cease to amaze me. You truly thought that would work? Oh my dear, you've underestimated me."

Regarding my "Switching up the masters and their respective doctors" post.

How I think Nu who Masters would react to being placed with Nu who Doctors that aren't theirs.

(A thread)

(I would include classic, but I couldn't bare the idea of separating 3 from delgado. They're a bonded pair 🥺 This is all in good fun <and over exagerated>, but I can't promise anyone didn't get hurt during this experiment. Someone most DEFINITELY got hurt. It was me. Im in the hospital as we speak.)

Notes: Technecally, since 9 did *meet* a master in the audios but never actually got one, him and 11 are in for a real suprise.

Going in order! Feel free to comment on what you think!

[nolspreid]

Jonah Simms relationship hc's time cause i love him, he's criminally underrated (so is the show superstore it's amazing) and i have so many hc's (might be ooc but who cares really)

(also didn't proof read once again, sorry for the mistakes and bad grammar im borderline illiterate sometimes)

<>

as friends

as the show already established, the man starves appreciation and approval, which he will eventually get from you after many failed attempts at breaking the ice.

after you start spending time with him, you discover that he's kind, gentle, always willing and eager to help. at first it's a bit unnerving cause it's not common to meet people like that (plus he can be a little too naive and delusional sometimes) but you eventually get used to it. you even come to really appreciate it. you find it cute the way he sometimes stutters and fumbles over his words when explaining concepts and ideas. his clumsiness and tendency to dig his grave in basically every conversation is really funny to witness.

every time you need help with anything, he's always breaking his back and doing his best to fulfill your needs. he gives you lifts when you need to go somewhere far away, if he notices that you haven't eaten in a while (which happens quite often), he will either save you a piece of whatever he's eating or will go to the extent of buying you something to eat etc...

in return for all his kindness, you started doing the same thing for him. helping him, listening to his little rants about dubious health articles or obscure foreign films and whatnot, just making sure that he's okay. when he first noticed the slow shift in your behavior, he thought that it was really sweet of you.

you both became really devoted and committed to the (for now) platonic friendship overtime. you called each other very often, you hung out all the time in the store and then outside, you knew basically everything about each other atp. you enjoyed one another's company very much.

when everything changed

he fell for you first. he always found you beautiful, like, ever since he saw you for the first time but he didn't think too much about it - or rather tried to - until you guys went to the movies one day. it was one of your first hangout outside the store and in the middle of the day. usually you guys went places after your shifts so you were both relatively tired and not really dressed to the max. but this time was different. you agreed to meet each other in front of the movie theater in the early afternoon. you hadn't had an occasion to dress up in a while so you decided to do so today. you put on a little bit of makeup and your favorite floral dress with some white sneakers and your tote bag. you arrived a bit after him and when he saw you, something inside of him set up on fire. it was like he was seeing you again for the first time. all he could say was "wow. you look great !" or "you really look beautiful" and he did so while looking at you straight in the eyes. ever since that moment, he became more aware of you, of your presence and of your closeness. he now noticed all the little and subtle touches and glances you guys exchanged. he became flustered at every time you brushed past him or took his hand.

at first, he didn't want to believe it but when you hug him one time at the end of the day for a thing that he helped you with, it hit him. he liked since day one. he was only lying to himself all this time.

that realisation was painful but also eye-opening. all those times when he looked at you when you were doing something else or smiling at him and when felt funny inside, he could finally put a name on it. it was admiration and love.

for you it came later, but hit you just as hard. it happened while you guys were hiding in the back to take a little break from a hot day of work. you noticed how he was fidgeting and playing with his hands and fingers. you remembered that he always did and that it was one of the first things you noticed about him. oftentimes you openly stared at his hands and fingers while he was talking to you and moving them. you found them absolutely fascinating and also, pretty. so this day, you decided to tell him. you told him you liked what he was doing with his hands all the time and that you found them really pretty. that's when he looked up at you, with an almost earnest face and a strange light was dancing in his eyes. you didn't know if it was happiness, confusion or something else but it caught your attention. he held up his gaze and looked straight into your eyes, you felt like he was undressing you or rather looked inside of you. that's when you took the opportunity to study the fine features of his face, the deep hazel of his eyes and the plumpiness of his lips. he really is pretty, you thought. there was a few seconds of silence, during which you could feel the tension building up between the two of you. "really ?" he finally answered, his voice surprisingly more sultry than usual and a faint blush making it's appearance on his cheeks and ears, or so you thought. you simply nodded yes, too focused on him to talk. "well, thank you." he just answered before turning his back to you and leaving you rather dumbfounded. what happened was almost surreal to you.

and just like him, ever since, you became aware of his presence and of his closeness. it was like your whole world had collapsed and you now saw him as someone that you wanted. someone whose beauty and attractiveness cause your body to react.

living together

when the tornado hit and he lost his home, you immediately asked him if he wanted to live with you. your apparemment was rather spacious, you could use a little help with the rent and above all else, you couldn't leave him to live in a trailer with an insufferable neighbor when you had the possibility to help him. at first, he didn't want to move in with you, because of his growing feelings for you which made him scared of ruining your friendship and thus losing you. he also didn't want to impose.

you thought it was adorable that he worried about such things when his situation was so difficult. you assured him that he wouldn't impose at all, that he was not a burden despite him seemingly thinking so, and that it would be your pleasure to help him after all that he's done for you. that's when he finally gave in and moved in with you.

at first, it was a bit awkward, especially with your feelings for him and everything. you made sure to avoid any contact, because you feared the same thing as him. you didn't want to lose him and since you were sure that your feelings weren't reciprocated, you limited physical interaction.

jonah did the same and honestly, it hurt him a bit. even if you guys were talking and laughing as usual, he missed the touch of your skin on his and the shivers it sent down his spine everytime.

aside from that, you guys lived well together. you had a cleaning and grocery buying planning. he always insisted on cooking and basically doing everything to make your life easier. when he did so, it would put a huge smile on his face which would cause the same to you. seeing him so happy made you feel all kinds of warm inside.

first kiss

it happened on a random evening. you guys were exhausted after working all day and decided to watch a movie before going to bed. it was a long german movie with an incomprehensible plot, just like jonah liked them. during the film, while he was focused on what was happening on the screen, you were mostly in your thoughts. you were debating whether or not confessing to him today, which btw, you wouldn't have been thinking if you hadn't had a little beer at the end of your shift. it was the end of the week, and you were feeling adventurous, and also a but tired of keeping your feelings to yourself while he was literally living in your apartment. you had had enough of it. everything reminded you of him and his lingering coconut and fresh linen scent was everywhere. you couldn't avoid him so you decided to get on with it.

so you put your head on his shoulder.you couldn't feel it but he shivered at your touch against him. he carefully adverted his eyes to your eyes, confused and also a bit happy. since he couldn't see them, he assumed that you were sleeping hence why you inadvertently touched him, after all this time. tbh, he missed it.

when the film ended, as he was about to grab the remote to turn off the tv, you called his name. he realised that you weren't sleeping at all and turned his head to you.

"can i tell you something ?" you stared right in his eyes, determined to get this over with. even if you knew that he would for sure tell that he didn't feel the same and that it would be super awkward afterwards, you weren't going to stop.

"yeah, sure. go ahead."

"this isn't easy for me to say, and it took me some time to admit but... i think i like you."

his eyes widened and his mouth slightly opened. he was shocked. you went on.

"i realized it a few months ago and i didn't want to tell you because i was afraid it would ruin our relationship." you began to explain with tears forming in your eyes. you didn't think it would be this hard to be honest with him and you had started to get overwhelmed. "but yeah the thing is, i really really like you, jonah. and i know that you probably don't feel the same and that im making everything super awkward but-"

that's when he shut you up with a kiss. it was sweet, gentle, almost innocent. his hands were cupping your face and touching your burning cheeks while his lips chastely planted themselves onto yours. after a few milliseconds of shock where you were processing what just happened, you closed your eyes, savouring the moment.

then he pulled back and looked at your teary eyes in between his hands.

"i like you too, you know. i have for quite some time now."

and that had been the official beginning of your relationship.

[allhallowstiel]

it’s hard to articulate my feelings because a lot of them are conflicting and confusing so im just gonna do bullet points:

under the cut bc this got long

i had a feeling the marwa situation wouldn’t get brought up again so . yeah. there’s that. that’s just a thing we have to accept now ig. i’m sure i don’t need to explain why that was fucked up as many people have already done so in much better ways than i ever could. "but other characters get treated bad too-" you're telling me you don't see anything wrong with a woman of color turning into a white man and the idea that she's "happier like that"?

the colin reveal was fucking amazing like. jaw dropped and everything like. THAT was incredible and i think colin’s storyline this season overall- including his relationship with laszlo- was really well done. im gonna miss baby colin, but we knew from the get-go that it was temporary. i just wasn't expecting him to forget everything.

as far as nandermo goes, i didn’t want them together in this season like. At All. they’ve still got a long way to go and i thought that even before freddie, the episode that people say ruined nandermo. but, going back to what paul said about nandor, if nandor learned nothing from turning marwa into a freddie clone, then it does have me a little concerned on whether or not he’ll learn anything in season 5. in order for him to actually feel regret for how he has treated guillermo and work towards fixing it, he needs a major fucking realization (not necessarily a romantic one) so, it makes me worry that in season 5 their reunion will be nandor begging to have guillermo back because he can barely manage to take care of himself without him, when that shouldn’t be what reunites them at all. in fact, if that does happen, guillermo should reject him. 

so, this season pretty much reset everything and wiped the slate clean. colin robinson is back to his old self and remembers nothing from his childhood. laszlo no longer has the responsibility of parenting anymore. nadja’s club is pretty much dead. and nandor is back to being lonely and single and wants to pretend he doesn’t give a shit. guillermo comments on this, outright saying that nothing there ever changes and that he’s fucking tired of it, so he dips. and, like- i get that the vampires are very set in their ways. i wouldn’t expect them not to be. but this plus paul simms saying that nandor learned nothing this season kind of has me concerned- both for nandermo and for the show in general, but more for the show overall.

on the other hand, the season cliffhanger is an absolutely perfect set-up for some real change to happen all-around, not just with nandermo. probably not anything groundbreaking because we still have to consider how the vampires are- but wiping the slate clean creates new opportunities. but again, what paul simms said has me worried. if he wants the vampires to remain static and never actually become better or stronger people, and have guillermo be the sole dynamic character, that’s fine. despite being static, the vampires are funny enough to continue being entertaining- wwdits is a comedy first and foremost, after all. but that leaves guillermo with the task of moving whatever plot wwdits has forward- and now he’s set his sights on becoming a vampire. i doubt he’ll get what he wants right away- i don't see this whole derek thing immediately going the way guillermo wants it to- but right now it feels like guillermo is kind of carrying the show on his back (one could easily argue that he's BEEN carrying it). if he loses what makes him so relatable to the audience- his humanity- and none of the other vampires show any signs of ever even slightly changing... that kinda worries me. i mean, will i still keep watching?? uh, yeah. of course i will. i love guillermo. but it will change my thoughts on some things.

and yes, one could make the argument that guillermo’s “humanity” even as a human is barely there, given what he does and all. but the fact that he’s the only human main character allows him to connect with the audience in a way that the vampires can’t.

THAT BEING SAID. after the whole marwa thing and now paul simms saying this, im a bit... nervous. not angry (besides the marwa thing)- just nervous. so i’m going to sum up this very lengthy post with some of my hopes for s5: 

(i also want to make it clear that when i talk about the vampires changing i don’t mean them becoming “good people”. god no. by “change” i mean seeing the world in new perspectives, adapting better to the modern world, changing old ideas or beliefs, and yes- even changing how they treat the people that are important to them, because despite how stuck in their ways they are, i don’t think the vampires are completely incapable of genuine love)

i want the guide upgraded to be a main character in season 5. sean too because i think that would be fun, but i’m mostly concerned about the guide bc i think this show needs some more female characters in its main cast.

i also don’t want nandor’s two remaining wishes to be swept under the rug. this is mostly fueled by my desire to see the djinn again.

i want nandor to begin the process of accepting that he cares about guillermo and wants him in his life as more than just a familiar. im not saying i want a love confession right away- i don’t think they should dive into romance right away. i think they should take it slow, but they should also not be afraid of having nandor express care and concern for guillermo, especially if they want that relationship to be endgame (and I still believe it will be. im just a bit shaken rn but i promise im still an endgame truther).

and lastly i want nadja to kiss a woman. as wonderful as wwdits is with representing queer men, i feel like the guide and nadja don’t really get to openly express their pansexuality as much as nandor and laszlo do, so i’d like to see that explored more as well.

[fics-n-stuff]

A Nice Christmas

Thanks to @gayhistorynerd for the prompt, see here (I kind of deviated from it a little maybe a lot but the story still stemmed from this prompt)

Pairing: Wilhelm × Simon

Summary: Wilhelm may have denied being in the sex tape, but that doesn't mean that the world has forgotten. The Christmas break proves to be difficult for both Simon and Wilhelm, one suffering from ongoing harassment and the other feeling completely isolated, and they find that they can't help but be drawn back to each other.

Word Count: 4.5k

A/N: This took me so long to write because I got writer's block right after I started it. This doesn't have a super happy ending because I wanted to try and keep it pretty realistic, but it is pretty sweet and wholesome.

Taglist: @probablyprocrastinatingrightnow @rika90 @angelwilhelm

Wilhelm had never felt more alone than he did being home for Christmas break. He spent as much time as was physically possible holed up in his bedroom, not wanting to see or talk to anyone, especially not his mother. He hadn’t turned his phone on for three days, he had bitten his nails down to the nailbeds and he hardly had any appetite. The ache in his chest was constant and unyielding.

He lay in the dark most of the time, his curtains closed throughout the day and only sometimes opened at night to let the moonlight in. Besides that, he didn’t have much idea of how time was passing.

He did know that it was Christmas eve though. And it must be the morning because nobody had come to drag him out of his bedroom to join the celebrations. A cursory peek around the curtain confirmed that, as Wilhelm saw that the sun hadn’t even fully risen yet.

A deep breath settled the stone in his stomach, and he reached for his phone with a shaky hand.

When the device turned on it immediately started going crazy with notifications, and Wilhelm felt his heart rate increase with every buzz.

5 messages from August

Ignore.

10 messages from Mamma

Ignore.

2 missed calls from Felice

Wilhelm paused in swiping away the notifications. Felice had called him twice and sent him three messages. He clicked on the message notification, sitting back against the wall and holding in a breath without realising it.

Felice: Hey Wille, how are you feeling being home?

Felice: I just wanted to check in but I can’t get a hold of you, I hope you’re doing alright

Felice: You probably don’t want to talk but you can call or text me whenever you do

Wilhelm sighed. Of all the people that he thought that he could depend on, Felice was the only one that he still had. He swallowed the lump in his throat and called her back.

It rang for a while before she answered, and he’d almost decided to hang up the call when it stopped ringing.

“Wille, good morning.” Felice greeted, cheerful but clearly tired. “Merry Christmas.”

“Yeah, merry Christmas Felice.” Wilhelm replied feebly. His voice was hoarse from disuse.

“Are you alright? Do you want to talk about something?”

“Uhm, I- I don’t know, I just... I don’t know.” He stuttered, wrapping his free arm around himself.

“Okay, well, what are your plans for today?”

“I’m not sure, I haven’t really been talking to anyone. What, uh, what are your plans?”

“Oh, you know, just the usual. We’ll watch Kalle Anka's Jul and play some games before dinner, then we’ll open presents.” She explained. The tinny sound of her voice through the phone was actually quite calming.

“What about for the rest of the break?”

“Um, I’m going to New York to see Maddie for New Year, so that’ll be fun. And I’m going back to Bjärstad on Boxing Day to see Sara. I’m gonna stay there just for one night.”

“So you’ve been talking to Sara a lot then?” Wilhelm questioned, moving to bite at his almost non-existent nails.

“Yeah, of course.”

“Has she said anything about Simon? Do you know if he’s alright?” His words came out more rushed than he had intended. Clearly, he was more eager for some sort of information on Simon than he had thought.

“Um, she hasn’t said much but I think he’s pretty okay.” Felice replied, but it was followed by a small sigh that let Wilhelm know that there was more to the story. “Sara says that things have mostly gone back to normal, but Simon goes out a lot less and she’s had to make her Instagram private. I think they’ve had a few people show up at their house.”

Wilhelm swallowed hard, a feeling of guilt crawling under his skin. Simon’s Instagram account had been private ever since the video had been leaked, so it seemed that now people had found Sara’s too. They had attention on them that they had never signed up for, and Wilhelm knew that it was his fault and he felt terrible for that.

“Okay.” He replied shakily. There was a short silence before Felice spoke again.

“How are you, Wilhelm? Really?” She asked.

“Lonely.” He answered. “Listen, I have to go. I need to take a shower before someone comes demanding that I take part in the Christmas celebrations.”

“Alright well, call me back whenever, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Bye, Felice.”

“Bye, Wille. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas.”

Wilhelm ran a hand over his face, letting out a groan of frustration and sadness. Why couldn’t he just be a normal kid?

He stared down at his phone in his lap, gnawing at the nail of his right thumb in contemplation. With a shaking breath and trembling fingers, he picked it back up, opened his conversation with Simon and typed a short message. He dropped his phone in mild panic as soon as he hit send, and rubbed his hand over his chest as he took a deep, steadying breath.

+ + +

“Simon, wake up. Rosh and Ayub will be here soon.” Sara’s voice stirred Simon from his sleep and he rolled over to look at her. She was already dressed.

“What time is it?” He asked with a yawn.

“Nine o’clock. Get up and come help with breakfast.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m getting up.”

Sara rolled her eyes and left the room, and Simon reached out to his bedside table blindly until his hand landed on his phone. He squinted at the screen as he sat up, faltering when he saw the notification on the screen.

Wilhelm: Merry Christmas Simon

He felt his heart race as he stared at the screen, only snapping out of it when he heard Sara shouting at him from downstairs. He blinked, dropped his phone and set about getting dressed.

Every Christmas eve since they were ten, Simon, Sara, Rosh and Ayub would have breakfast together and then go for a long walk. It was tradition for them at this point, but Simon found himself unable to feel excited for it this year. It was all well and good to pretend like life was going on as normal, but it was hard not to feel uncomfortable when people stared at him everywhere he went.

Rosh and Ayub arrived just as he and Sara were finishing up making breakfast, and they exchanged Christmas well-wishes as they sat down to eat.

“You’re being real quiet over there, Simme. You alright?” Ayub asked after a while, and Simon realised that he’d been completely zoned out.

“Sorry, just thinking.”

“About Wilhelm?” Sara questioned. Simon pushed a bite of food into his mouth and shrugged.

“You have to move on, Simon.” Rosh said. “I know you care about him but he’s not worth all the trouble that he comes with.”

“I know. That’s why I ended things.” He replied. “It still sucks though.”

“You’ll get over him eventually.” Sara told him, putting a comforting hand on his for a few seconds before going back to her food. Simon smiled slightly.

He didn’t tell them about the text.

Despite all of that, he was in high spirits when they set out for their walk, happily joking and laughing with his friends, and they made it half an hour before he heard the first comment.

“That’s the guy from the sex tape.” Muttered a girl to her friend as they passed, and Simon felt the smile fall from his face.

“Just ignore them.” Sara told him, wrapping an arm around one of his. He nodded, but it had gotten to him. For the rest of their walk from that point, Simon felt like every person that they passed was looking at him and judging him.

They walked both Rosh and Ayub back to their houses before heading back to theirs just a bit past noon. They had almost gotten home when they were approached by a group of teenagers probably slightly younger than them.

“Are you the guy from that viral sex tape?” One of the boys asked unabashedly, the group coming right up in front of Simon and Sara and blocking their path.

“Uh, I don’t want to talk about that.” Simon replied stiffly, still trying to be polite.

“Oh my god, it is him!” A girl exclaimed.

“Was it actually the crown prince in the video?” Another chimed. Simon felt lightheaded.

“He already said that it wasn’t.” He deflected, trying to sidestep the group.

“Yeah, but there’s a lot of people that don’t actually believe him.” The girl laughed; actually laughed, as if this hadn’t been an earth shattering event for Simon.

“If it wasn’t Prince Wilhelm then who was it in the video?” A boy asked, and that was when Simon spotted the phone filming him and his stomach dropped.

“I’m not discussing my sex life with a bunch of strangers.” He scoffed in disbelief, shouldering his way past the group with Sara close behind him. “Please leave me alone.”

“You could just tell us if it was actually the prince or not.” One of them pressed, the group now following after Simon. “If it wasn’t him then you don’t have anything to hide.”

“Oh my god, did the royal family pay you off? Did they make you sign an NDA!?”

“Were you, like, boyfriends? Or was it just a hookup?”

Simon kept walking, keeping his head down and not answering any of the questions being hurled at him. He could sense that Sara was just as tense beside him. The group followed them for a full block before Simon finally lost his cool and came to a dead stop, turning to face them.

“I’m not going to answer your questions. The fact that you’re following me is not going to make me answer your questions. I’ve had my privacy majorly invaded once already and now you’re invading it again. I’m trying to enjoy Christmas with my sister and you’re chasing me with a camera, I’m sick of people harassing me.” He fumed, making sure to meet the eye of every one of them at some point. “Whatever you choose to believe is not my problem. It doesn’t matter whether you think that the crown prince is telling the truth or you choose to make up some type of theory, I deserve my privacy.”

He didn’t wait for any type of response before he turned around and walked away, thankful to find that they weren’t going to follow him anymore.

“You handled that well.” Sara said quietly once they had turned the next corner. Simon didn’t reply.

When they got home, he went straight upstairs without a word. He slammed his bedroom door shut and buried his face in his pillow, unable to hold the tears back any longer.

By that same evening, the video was viral.

+ + +

I bet that girl was right and the royal family made him sign an NDA

If he didn’t want people to think it was the prince he would have just said that it wasn’t so either the prince was lying or this guy is seeking attention

He’s literally a kid why can’t people just leave him alone??

I don’t care if it was the prince in the tape or not, this guy is hot

The way he said that people are making up theories makes me think that it actually wasn’t the prince in the video

I feel bad for this guy, getting followed around like that must suck

Wilhelm scrolled through the captions and comments on the seemingly endless posts of the video of Simon, feeling like somebody had a vice grip on his heart.

The first time he saw the video had been right after Christmas Eve dinner. He’d had a full blown panic attack and locked himself in the bathroom for half an hour. When he came out, his mother had tried to talk to him about the politics of the situation and he had immediately retreated into his bedroom once again. He missed Erik desperately.

He hadn’t been able to sleep, he'd only gotten about three hours of broken, fitful sleep all night, and now he couldn’t pry himself away from his phone. He knew that it was bad for him, he knew that it was making him feel terrible, but he wanted to know what people were saying.

He had been hesitant to text Simon, especially since he hadn’t received a reply to the merry Christmas text that he had sent in the morning, but in the end he mustered the courage to reach out. He had asked how Simon was doing and apologised for getting him into this situation. He wasn’t surprised when no answer came.

Christmas day was proving to be probably the worst day of Christmas break for Wilhelm. His chest felt like it was bursting open and like it was an empty chasm at the same time. He didn’t eat breakfast or lunch, he didn’t respond to the knocks that came at his door. He felt like he was trapped in a glass box and someone was shaking it.

Wilhelm didn’t know how long he had been scrolling through multiple different social media platforms when his phone buzzed in his hand and an incoming call appeared on the screen. He faltered, sitting up and almost dropping his phone, when he saw that it was Simon. He ran a nervous hand through his hair as he raised the phone to his ear.

“Simon?” He croaked.

“Hi, Wilhelm.” The reply came through the phone, and Wilhelm felt his shoulders relax at the sound of Simon’s voice.

“Hi. H-how are you.” He fumbled, and Simon sighed on the other end.

“I’m okay, I guess. As okay as I can be after... well, you know.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry for putting you in this situation.”

“This wasn’t your fault, Wille.” Simon muttered. “I just wish things were different.”

“Why, um... why did you call?” Wilhelm asked. There was a short stretch of silence that rung in his ears before Simon answered.

“I just wanted to hear your voice, I guess.” He confessed, and Wilhelm couldn’t help the soft smile that pulled at his lips. “Honestly, I was kind of surprised that you didn’t delete my number or something.”

“Why would I have done that?”

“I don’t know, I guess I just thought that you weren’t supposed to have any ties with me since you said that it wasn’t you in the video.” Wilhelm winced at that.

“It's not like my contacts list is available to the public.” He replied, trying to keep his tone light. “I’m not gonna let that kind of thing get in my head again.”

“Is your mum mad?” Simon asked, and now it was Wilhelm’s turn to sigh.

“I’m not sure, I kind of shut myself in my room so that I wouldn’t have to deal with her.” He answered tiredly. “How is your family?”

“Uh, shaken. Sara’s off in her own world with her sketchbooks and mamá can’t go for more than an hour without checking on us both, but we’re handling it.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologise.”

There was a silence again. Wilhelm ran his hand across his leg, back and forth in a soothing motion, not sure what he should say but not wanting the conversation to finish. In the end, Simon spoke first.

“Did you mean it, what you said before you left for the break?” He asked softly.

“Yeah, I did.” Wilhelm answered without hesitation. “I know it wasn’t a good time to say it, and you probably didn’t want to hear it, but I just had to say it out loud. At least once.”

Silence again. Wilhelm heard Simon sigh, and pursed his lips nervously.

“I miss you.” Simon said.

“I miss you too.” Wilhelm replied with a nervous yet relieved chuckle. “I miss you a lot.”

Another pause.

“Where do we go from here, Wille?” Simon whispered.

“I don’t know.” Wilhelm mumbled. “But I... I want to fix this. Or at least just try to fix it. You don’t deserve to be harassed like this, and it’s my fault and I feel terrible.”

“It’s not your fault.” Simon reassured with a sigh. “It was everything else. We still didn’t do anything wrong, and that includes you.”

“No, I did. I promised we would be in this together and I broke that promise.”

“I understand why you did it. And I’m not mad at you. Honestly, having thought about it, you probably made the best decision for my sake too. I mean, I’m getting harassed enough as it is already. I can’t imagine what it would be like if you had told the truth.”

“I’m still sorry anyway.” Wilhelm said softly, and Simon chuckled. “So, um, Felice told me she was visiting Bjärstad tomorrow.”

“Yeah, her and Sara have gotten close. It’s nice, you know, that Sara’s made friends. And Felice is cool.”

“Yeah, she’s great.”

There was silence again, and Wilhelm bit at his nails thinking that Simon was done with the conversation.

“Are you alright, Wille?” Simon asked after a while. “I know this is your first Christmas without Erik, and I guess things with your mum might be a little... well, I just hope you’re okay.”

Wilhelm swallowed. He could lie, pretend he was fine and wave away Simon’s concerns, but he knew the lie probably wouldn’t hold up. Or he could tell the truth and admit how painfully lonely he was, how much he hated being home because the palace felt empty without Erik and how much he longed to be with Simon with every fibre of his being.

“I’m coping.” He sighed, settling for a middle ground of vagueness. “It’s lonely here. The ceilings feel too high.”

“Have you had stuff to do?”

“No, not really. I haven’t really been in the mood for Christmas, but I guess none of us are particularly festive this year anyway.”

“Would you - I mean, if you would even be allowed to, but maybe if you could – would you want to come down here for a day?” Simon asked, and Wilhelm could just picture him fidgeting nervously as he stumbled over his words. The image brought a smile to his face.

“Yeah, I’d like that.” He answered softly. “I’ll try and convince my parents.”

+ + +

Going to Simon’s house had been an absolute no go with his parents. “Just too risky” his mother had said. However, with enough persistence, he managed to wear them down to a compromise.

That was how he ended up in a car on his way back to Hillerska the day after Boxing Day. While Simon’s house had been absolutely off the table, it would be easy enough to get back to Hillerska without being seen. The only people who were there during the break were security and the people who came to take care of the horses.

He had been worried at first that the inconvenience of it would make Simon not want to bother, but when he texted to ask if it was okay he had been met with a quick agreement.

A security guard unlocked the door for him when they arrived, sworn to secrecy of course, and he headed up to his room to wait. He didn’t realise he was biting his nails until there was a knock at the door and he was knocked out of his anxious thoughts.

The door opened slowly, and Wilhelm felt like all of the air was knocked out of his body when he saw Simon step inside, dressed in his beloved purple hoodie under the coat that he took off and draped over the back of a chair that was within reach. The door clicked shut behind him, and silence hung in the air.

“Hey.” Simon greeted finally, and Wilhelm took a deep breath as if he was just remembering how to breathe at all.

“Hey.” He echoed. “How are you?”

“Better.” Simon nodded. “Did you get into a fight with your parents?”

“Yeah, kinda.” Wilhelm muttered. “It’s fine though.”

Simon crossed the room and took a seat beside Wilhelm on the edge of the bed, a good few inches of space between them. It felt like miles.

“You look tired.” Simon commented.

“I’ve been having a hard time sleeping.” Wilhelm replied weakly, eyes downcast, fidgeting with his hands. “I get that way sometimes. It’s fine.”

“Is it?”

He looked over to find Simon watching him, and he practically crumbled under his gaze. He took a very unsteady breath and shook his head.

“No, it sucks.” He mumbled. His hand drifted back up to his mouth and he gnawed on the nail of his thumb nervously.

“Wille, you’re bleeding.” Simon said, gently grabbing his wrist and pulling his hand away from his mouth. Wilhelm looked down at his thumb and saw a bit of blood pooling in the side of the nailbed, becoming aware of the taste of it on his tongue.

“Oh, I didn’t notice.”

“How much have you been biting your nails?” Simon questioned, pulling Wilhelm’s hand towards him to get a look at them. Every nail was jagged and uneven, bitten down to stubs. The skin around them had been bitten at too.

“I don’t know, I do it without realising.” Wilhelm shrugged. “Probably a lot.” He resisted the urge to curl his fingers around Simon’s hand and blinked back the tears that threatened to fall.

“You shouldn’t have to bottle everything in, you’re destroying yourself.” Simon murmured.

“I don’t have anyone to talk to.” Wilhelm’s voice broke halfway through his sentence, a single tear managing to fight its way from his eye. “I used to be able to talk to Erik about at least some of it but now he’s gone and I don’t have anyone, and sometimes it feels like the ground is falling out from under me and I just don’t know what to do.”

He didn’t notice that he was hyperventilating until Simon pulled him into his arms. Wilhelm’s chest was tight, rising and falling rapidly against Simon’s body. Simon's arms were wrapped around him tightly, and Wilhelm was suddenly overwhelmed with how much he had been craving a hug as his hands grasped at the back of Simon’s hoodie and he hid his face in the crook of Simon’s neck.

Wilhelm had always been told not to cry. Ever since he was a child, whenever he began to cry he was told to stop. The seed had planted itself in him when he was very young, but the fear of letting himself cry didn’t truly grow until he once saw an article in a tabloid. He was barely eleven and he had fallen and hurt himself at an event. He had hardly cried, just a few tears and red cheeks, but the tabloid had had plenty to say about it. He hadn’t let himself properly cry since, except for when Erik died. Even then, he had waited until he was completely alone before he let his weakness show. But now, with Simon, he felt an overwhelming need to let his tears fall.

“I’m so sorry.” He whispered into Simon’s shoulder. He could feel the tears coming out of his eyes but they weren’t falling down his face, instead absorbing into the fabric of Simon’s hoodie.

“It’s okay.” Simon soothed, a hand moving up to stroke over the Wilhelm’s hair.

“I never wanted any of this. I never wanted to be a prince.”

“I know.”

“I just wanted to feel normal. Just for once.” Wilhelm said through his tears. “You made me feel normal.”

Simon furrowed his eyebrows, sympathetic. He loosened his hold on Wilhelm and leaned back, sliding the hand that was on the back of Wilhelm’s head forward to rest against his cheek.

“You made me feel normal too.” He replied softly. “At school I was a social outcast because I’m not rich, and at home I have to take care of my mom and Sara. When I was with you, I didn’t feel like I had to take care of anyone or watch where I was stepping. Well, except that one night.” Wilhelm huffed a slight laugh at the comment, lifting a hand to wipe the tears off of his cheeks. “I’ve never seen you cry before.” Simon commented.

“I’m not supposed to.” Wilhelm replied with an awkward chuckle, his head tipping forward in embarrassment. Simon sighed through his nose and lightly touched his forehead to Wilhelm’s.

“You have to cry sometimes, Wille. Everyone cries.”

“I’m not supposed to be everyone.”

“Okay, but sometimes you need to stop worrying about what you’re supposed to be.” Simon told him. “I know you know that.”

Wilhelm took a deep breath. This close to Simon’s face, he could feel his breathing too. He wanted to kiss him, but he didn’t know if that would be okay. He nodded slightly, covering Simon’s hand on his cheek with his own.

“Yeah.” He breathed.

When Simon leaned forward and connected their lips Wilhelm responded automatically, though it took his brain a few seconds to catch up. Once his brain did catch up, his hand took hold of the back of Simon’s neck and pulled him impossibly closer, holding onto this moment like it was his last. Maybe it would be the last time he got to kiss Simon; he couldn’t know. He hoped it wouldn’t be.

“Thanks for coming to see me.” Simon said when they broke apart.

“Thanks for wanting to see me at all.” Wilhelm replied. “I really missed you.”

Simon hummed, a faint smile playing at his lips. He watched Wilhelm for a few moments before kicking off his shoes.

“Come here.” He said, shuffling over the bed towards the wall. Wilhelm followed suit and allowed himself to be guided down to a lying position, Simon’s chest against his back and arm around his waist. “You need to sleep.”

“It’s the middle of the day.” Wilhelm protested, weak as the protest may have been.

“People have naps all the time, and you know that you need it.” Simon said firmly, adjusting the pillow under his head with his free arm and finding Wilhelm's hand to hold in the other. “It doesn’t have to be for long, okay?”

“Okay.” Wilhelm nodded, feeling suddenly very relaxed. He took a deep breath settling into the comfort and warmth of Simon’s body around his as his eyes fell shut. “This is nice.” He mumbled after a while.

“Yeah.” Simon agreed softly. “Go to sleep, Wille.”

It wasn’t long until he felt Wilhelm’s breathing change, signifying that he had fallen asleep. He smiled, fondly but with an edge of sadness to it, and pressed a light kiss to Wilhelm’s shoulder before closing his own eyes. They would deal with the rest of the world when they woke up.

[dustofbrokenheart]

The Covenant: Lazy, Summer Day

Tyler Simms x Reader

Word Count: 1,650

Summary: Tyler and reader enjoy a day on the water to get away from the heat. Based on this post by @saviorsong​ which you should all totally check out! 

“I called in sick?”

“Yeah, this morning. See? We crossed your name off the schedule and everything.” A finger tapped rapidly on the big whiteboard that had everyone’s name written in dry erase marker.

Sure enough, there was a hastily drawn line going right through the middle of yours.

They really had thought you weren’t coming in. “That’s impossible,” you said confused. “Because I didn’t call in sick.”

“Alright, alright. I believe you,” the supervisor said. “You’re one of the normaler ones that we have and a normal person wouldn’t have driven clear across town when they already had the day off.”

Both of you stood there scratching your heads. Your thoughts were leaning towards this possibly being a dream. You had weird dreams all the time, right? And it wasn’t unlike you to be dreaming of work even when you were off the clock.

There was a good chance you would wake up any second now, still swaddled in bed sheets.

The supervisor had a completely different reaction. “Well, the building ghost strikes again! They must’ve called on your behalf knowing how hard you’ve been working. Just take the day off. We’re covered anyway.”

“Are you sure?” you hesitated. It felt weird taking the day for yourself when you were perfectly able to work. “Since I’m here, I could do—”

“Nope. Enjoy some of this weather. Summer is almost over, you know.”  

With that you were ushered out the door and left standing on the concrete sidewalk, not a clue as to what you should do.

There were always things to be done at the apartment. You hadn’t cleaned the bathroom in a while…yikes. Tyler also had his collection of expired leftovers in the fridge that he was terrible about tracking of.

Oh! You could wash the cars, too! Tyler had finally gotten rid of his monstrosity of a Hummer a few summers back in favor of a classic sixties car that Pogue had helped him fix-up. He liked to keep it spotless.

Speaking of his car…you looked up and noticed it parked across the street. And it was definitely his. Not only were there not many of them still out on the roads, but that was clearly Tyler smiling at you in the driver’s seat as he waved you over.

“Were you flagging me down this whole time?” you asked. He nodded with a heavy dose of enjoyment sparkling in those baby blue eyes. “Sorry. It’s been a weird morning.”

“Didn’t expect to have to day off?” Tyler’s smile becoming more pronounced.

“Of course not—wait,” you trailed off in realization. “It was you. You’re the one who called in sick for me!”

He stroked your wrist through the window with his thumb. “You caught me. But don’t be mad, I promise it was for the greater good.”

Greater good? You raised both eyebrows. “And what’s the ‘good’ in question?”

“Weather man predicted we’re supposed to hit high eighties today. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t drag you to the lake house to take advantage of it?”

“That’s a terrible excuse, Ty.”

“Fine,” he admitted with a laugh. “How about you’ve been working this whole summer, and I miss you and want to do something nice for you?”

On the inside you felt yourself vibrate with excitement but you tried to keep it together. You shouldn’t encourage him making plans without you, especially when they disrupted work, but you were a sucker for surprises. “Better,” you admitted with your nose titled up.

And he knew that. Knew that you weren’t really cross with him as he turned the engine over, jolting the car to life with a heavy rumble. “Come on, my lady. I promise that it’ll be fun.”

The lake house in question referred to one of several Simms family properties in Massachusetts, appropriately named for it’s position right next to a small, picturesque lake. The area was naturally beautiful with shimmering water that was encased by tall, shady trees that were a godsend when the sun became too much to handle.

The drive there went like it always did: fast, thanks to a good playlist and easy conversation, and soon Tyler was pulling up to the lake house.  

Not wanting him to fixate on the fine dust the gravel kicked up, and how it was dirtying the car, you leaned over the center console to kiss him. It was just long enough to steal his attention.

When his hand cupped the back of your head, you pulled back. “Last one to the dock has to use the tacky orange kayak!” You stuck your tongue out at him as you dashed out of the car and towards the dock.

Unprepared for the challenge, Tyler sputtered as he tried to take his seat belt off with clumsy fingers.

You ran around the outside of the house and dodged trees as best as you could, laughing the whole way. You may have gotten the head start but you could hear the tell tale sounds of the man gaining ground behind you.

The dock was so close you could picture your victory as. Only a few steps more, you would’ve had it.

Then two arms wrapped around your middle in a steel tight grip, halting you in your tracks. A large exhale was forced out of your lungs at the sudden impact.

“No fair,” you whined. Slumping back into his embrace, you turned to look at his smug face. “I can’t match your stupid arm strength.”

Tyler laughed, the argument a familiar one. “We’ve been over this. If you can use the element of surprise, then the element of muscle is fair game.”

That was the agreement but that didn’t mean you couldn’t pout. Not everyone was blessed with good genetics and years of a background in competitive swimming.

“Well, let’s consider this a tie then because I refuse to use that hideous orange boat.”

Tyler hummed, the vibration noticeable against your back. “Nope,” he said. The answer was abrupt and before you could get another word out, you were sailing through the air, lake water rushing to swallow you up.

The shock made your lungs seize up and your limbs flailed in the haze of the foggy water.

Breaking the surface, hair and clothes plastered to your skin you paddled around to glare at him. The effect didn’t have the ferocity you hoped for because he merely but his hands on his knees and laughed so hard it seemed like he might tip over.

Dodging the water you splashed at him, he got the laughs under control and walked to the edge of the dock to give you a hand. You glared at it personally offended by the gesture. Those were the hands that had just thrown you in without any warning.

But Tyler was patient and held his hand out steadily until you were ready to grab hold of it. For a moment, you debated trying to sink him to the murky depths along with you, but as his impressive looking biceps flexed under the warm glow of the sun, you realized you’d have to take revenger later when you were more certain of your success.

With the added help, you hauled up to the dock. The access water from your clothes ran off, darkening the wood in random splatter patterns, and you realized for the first time that it was pretty hot out.

The sun was bright even with your hand covering your eyes as you looked up; not a cloud in the sky as the bugs buzzed around lazily.

“Sorry.” Tyler fidgeted awkwardly, bringing your attention back to down earth. “I didn’t mean to be, well, mean.”

“Most people would think you’re an angel but you surely have a competitive streak, Tyler Simms.”

He shrugged apologetically. After a moment, he stood up and called over his shoulder as he jogged away. “I’ll go grab a towel for you. Meet me in the cabin!”

It was hard to stay mad at him. Especially when he tried to make up for it by doing something cute, like literally running to get a towel. He really was puppy-like; a little reckless but very contrite when he realized he messed up.

True to his word, he did bring you a towel along with a whole bag of clothes he had packed for the trip. Figuring it’d be a waste to dry your hair—you’d be on the water soon again any way—you settled for patting down the rest of your body and changed into extra clothes.

After Tyler managed to coerce you into putting on sun block (he was strict about it, likely leftover from his swimming days, while you tended to be lazy about it), it was back to lake where each of you set off in a kayak.

And even though he had won the bet earlier, he took mercy and neither of you had to row in the garish orange kayak; a mercy on both pairs of eyes, to be sure.

The sun turned sweltering before it had even reached its highest point, the heat feeling like pin pricks all over your body. The water definitely helped. Between kayaking, swimming, and even a brief diving contest off the end of the dock, you kept cool enough.

Enjoying a late lunch under the shade of a large tree, you felt the pull of an after-lunch nap calling your name.

Tyler noticed the way your eyelids drooped and laid down on the blanket and pulled you into his chest. “Nap time?”

Utterly content, you nodded languidly.

“Alright then, let’s nap.” He pressed a soft kiss into your hair. “Thanks for letting me drag you here. This is perfect...”

The was the last words you heard as the summer heat, filling lunch, and buzz of cicadas lulled you to sleep.

_______________

We could all use a summer day like this. I’m contemplating writing more based on the other boys’ preferences too, but we’ll see. Hopefully this one was enjoyable! 

[tardis-ghost-blog]

Did that feel real to you? (Simm!Master x Reader)

Rating: E For explicit sexual content Summary: The Master and you share a dream. Literally.

-0oOo0oOo0oOo0-

Ever since he had found out that being near you caused the drums to be a tad bit quieter, the Master had hired you as his personal assistant. Most of the time you only had to tidy up on the Valiant now, or make him tea. And in return you allowed him to connect your minds every so often.

At first it had been a strange, almost frightening experience, but after a few times you came to enjoy it. Nothing was happening, you two only sat there, the Master with his hands around your head and sometimes his forehead on yours. And sometimes you just watched his face becoming calmer, peeked at his lips that were so close to yours...

You had quickly found out about the drums and about his origin. You also learned that he could become downright insane if the sound in his head became too loud. And those times frightened you, because you could never be sure what might happen.

So when he came in that day and you spotted his deranged look, you were already about to quickly leave the room. But he grabbed you, tried to drag you back into the room and managed. You still wanted to get away, only help him later, when things had calmed down.

But the Master caught you again, pushed against your shoulders, making you drop backwards, where your knee pits hit against something. You got out of balance, fell over the sofa rest and onto the soft fabric. The Master rushed to you, his eyes were dark, clouded by madness. Hastily you got to your elbows and crawled backwards a bit, but he was already at your side, knelt in front of the sofa to grab your head within in hands.

"Make it quiet," he demanded and brushed his mind against yours, not waiting for your barriers to loosen, but simply tearing them down.

You couldn't hold back a sob as you felt his energy surging through your head. It wasn't an unpleasant sensation, but one that made you feel so horribly vulnerable. And it drained you like nothing you had ever experienced before. The few times you had shared minds hadn't been that intense, not that forceful. Not so desperate.

Tiredness overcame you, no matter how hard you tried to fight it. A silent battle, you lying stretched out on that sofa, him kneeling next to you, shivering as if it were ice cold in the room. The image faded, slipped away into a black void.

"'M sorry," you heard the Master whisper, his voice strangely clear and free of the previous madness. "I need this. Just for a while."

Him apologizing... that was a first. But you no longer felt drained, only wanted to sit there for another while with closed eyes.

"You could have just asked," you mumbled back and felt weirdly... light.

Why were you sitting anyway? Just now you had been lying on your back. When your eyes opened, you found yourself suddenly in a completely different place. Perplex you looked around the silent forest, dense green spread all around you, soft grass grew under your fingers. The Master sat next to you, hands clawed into his hair. Some moments later he relaxed, threw his head back to sigh out a painful breath.

"Master?" you asked. "What... is this? Where are we?"

He looked back and opened his lids, blinking tiredly at you, then your surroundings. His eyes widened in mild surprise. "Huh? Mhm... right. Seems like I... slipped into your dreams."

"My... hey!" you protested and slapped his arm. "Those are private, you jerk!"

It appeared he was feeling a lot better now, according to the mischievous chuckle he answered with. "Och, don't whine. You might be the first human to have this experience." Cheekily he stuck out his tongue and got to his feet. "Although... I'm not entirely sure in whose head we are. Probably a bit of both."

You grunted annoyed and got up too. "Then wake me up again."

The Master turned, grinned.

"Nope!"

He let out a childish laugh and jumped from a stone, striding deeper into the forest.

"Hey! That's not fair!" you shouted after him. "First you overpower me like that and then you keep trampling over my private stuff."

"Mine too, just for your information."

"Okay, whatever." You crossed your arms as you halted near a clearing. It actually looked really nice. The vibrant green, the small creek that ran through the grass. "Wait... if this is a dream and we are aware of it... does that mean we can manipulate it?"

"Mhm..." The Master tilted his head a little. "Usually yes. But since we share it..." His eyes closed for a moment and the scenery changed. Trees vanished into dust, grass melted into the ground and suddenly you stood within the overgrown ruins of what once might have been an advanced civilisation. "Okay, that works..."

The scenery was quite beautiful in its melancholic state of long gone destruction. But right now you were not in the mood for something like that.

"Let me try!" you inquired and also closed your eyes. "Where could we go?" You thought for a moment, but your subconsciousness seemed to have picked up on your wish a lot faster than you. The smell of salt and water caressed your nose, a soft wind made goose bumps form on your forearms.

"The sea?" The Master asked, a smile audible in his voice. "Always a good choice. Bit boring, though."

A smile widened on your face as you took in the surroundings. It wasn't a place you knew, more like a collection of images, or rather the idea of sea that lived in your mind. There wasn't that much sand, more rocks, actually. You loved to climb around and be sprayed by the hitting waves.

And the weather was amazing! Perfect temperatures. Not too hot, not cold, either. Your ire was forgotten in an instant and you didn't even mind the Master following you as you explored the shore for a bit, picked up some seashells to admire how real they looked - and felt. As did everything else; the water, the wind, the sun.

You sighed happily and pointed at a round pool that had been formed between the rocks, too perfect of a spot not to investigate further.

"Let's go for a swim there, shall we?" you asked, beaming over your face. "Everything feels so real! I bet the water is amazing."

"Probably." The Master laughed and you joined in, happy to see how relaxed he was now. Here, the drums didn't seem to bother him and you had learned before that he could actually be quite the nice company in moments like these.

"But wait... I need some proper clothes." Again your eyes closed and you imagined the most comfy bikini you could think of. Nothing too revealing.

And still you suddenly felt eyes on you, wandering over your form. When you turned you found the Master not only staring at you with a subtle smile, but also now wearing only swimming trunks. Black, of course.

"Like what you see?" he wanted to know, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

You snorted out a laugh and pointed down into the round basin. "I might be impressed if you jump down from here."

"Here?" The Master didn't seem impressed as he glanced down. The pool was maybe three or four meters below you. "That's not even a challenge," he mocked and promptly jumped.

Surprised you squeaked, your mind running a million scenarios at once how he might smash his head on a rock or maybe... No. This was still a dream. Immediately you relaxed and giggled to yourself. Nothing could happen to you here. So you did the only logical thing and jumped down too.

Air rushed around you, followed by the cool grip of water. You resurfaced with a happy laugh and swam around a bit until you found the Master again. He stood nearby, the water reaching only his waist. Behind him was wet rock that he leaned against with folded arms and still this calmly, satisfied expression on his features.

"Nice idea," he complimented. "Haven't been to any sea since... a long time ago."

It was seldom that he spoke about the past and you weren't going to ruin the moment by digging deeper. Instead your eyes wandered over his form, curious if you would find anything that set him apart from humans. This was the first time you saw him with so little clothes after all, his skin glittering with water drops, hair dripping.

"You look completely human, you know that?" you mocked and trod in front of him. "I had almost awaited you'd have... I don't know... scales maybe?"

A grin split his mouth and he let out a laugh. "Maybe I do and just altered my appearance in the dream?" He poked out the tongue between his teeth.

"Nah, I don't think so." You chuckled and couldn't resist running a finger over his forearm, feeling the skin and muscles.

He let you, simply watched as you trailed up and halted, raising your hand right over his chest, before gently placing it over the spot between his hearts. It was just a dream after all, no harm done in exploring a little.

When you looked up, the Master hadn't moved, but the black in his eyes had widened, was fixated on your face.

"Everything feels so real," you finally stated, your voice weirdly thick. A nervous laugh escaped you. "Strange to think this is only a dream."

He huffed. "You never had a dream before that was so real you had trouble distinguishing it from reality after waking up?"

"Yeah, but... it's different being conscious in it." You ran your hand through the water in front of you, almost so close to the Master that it brushed against him. "I wonder," you mumbled, thinking about just how close you stood together. "if everything feels so real."

The warmth pooling into your belly definitely did. And the heat you felt shooting right to your core when the Master suddenly grabbed your hip with both hands also did. His thumbs stroked along your sides, his eyes darkening a little more. Your gaze wandered down, wanting to break through the crinkled surface of the water to look between the two of you. Curiosity.

His hands left your hip and instead were on your arms, slowly caressing your skin until they reached your fingers. You let out a sigh, happy about the cool water so he wouldn't see you flush. Or did you anyway?

"That feels real too, doesn't it?" the Master murmured, almost absently. His hands left you and he used them to heave himself on a flat piece of stone nearby, his lower half still hidden under the water's surface. "Enjoy the water." The smile was back. "We're actually not in a hurry."

"Won't we wake up anytime soon?" you wondered, boldly stepping closer to him.

"Not if we don't want to." A mischievous twinkle was in his hazel eyes, the boyish smirk arousing you more than it should.

Shit. You shouldn't be aroused at all. He was still holding your entire planet captive. And no matter how nice he sometimes was to you, he still could be mad and dangerous and... You felt eyes on you again and only then realized your hand was again playing with the water between the two of you. When had you stepped so close? His knees were barely a finger width away from your belly. And your hand... Would this feel so real, too?

"I didn't even know you Time Lords can share dreams."

You stepped even closer, right between his legs, your skin touching the stone on which the Master sat. His head slightly tilted backwards, but his now clearly dilated pupils kept staring at you as if he was just waiting.

"Now you know," he said. "It's a nice thing. You can do whatever you want. Experiments, just having… fun."

"And no real consequences," you finished the thought. For a moment your eyes locked with the Master's.

His lips twitched slightly. It seemed he was perfectly aware of what you contemplated doing. So you did, dipped your hand below the water and let your fingers brush over cloth and the obvious bulge in it.

The mere fact shot another wave of arousal straight between your legs. Another, bolder movement along his erection didn't help either and when you sheepishly glanced up the Master had his eyes half closed, his breath hitching when, instead of your fingers, you let your palm run over his length.

A low chuckle rumbled through his chest all of a sudden and he leaned forward, catching your hand. "You've always been staring at me. You want me so badly, little one?" Was there really a hint of threat in his voice?

"Experimenting." The corner of your mouth twitched upwards. "It's only a dream, innit?" Your free hand crept forward, wrapped itself around his dick through the trunks.

His eyes rolled backwards the tiniest bit, his head dropping against yours as a grin blossomed on his lips. "Didn't know you were dreaming about me," he teased, breath shuddering delightfully when you started to slowly stroke him.

God, you wanted to feel him without those trunks, suddenly yearned to let your fingers wander over every inch of him, teasing, fondling, feeling every vein, every ridge. "Right now I do," you said breathy. "Don't worry, 'm pretty sure this is the first time."

Again he shuddered, hot breath ghosting over your lips. Then, with a swift movement that took you completely off guard, he grabbed your sites again and dragged you upwards, right into his lap with a loud splash. Both of you were hidden below the surface still, the water on your skin shimmering in the sun. A moan escaped your lips when your clit rubbed against his length, the wet cloth only adding to the friction.

Before you could even form a thought his lips crashed onto yours, one hand on the back of your head, the other slipping into your bikini pants. When you wanted to do the same to him, however, the hand vanished, grabbed your thigh and dragged you so flush against him that you had no chance to get anywhere near him. His lips were soft and warm, coaxing another moan from yours right as his fingers slipped back under your cloth and brushed against your swollen clit. Another finger slid down below your folds, teased the entrance for maybe a second too long.

You squirmed from your own need, opened your mouth and deepened the kiss, tongues stroking sensually against one another. His fingers finally pressed into you. The Master swallowed another moan, moved back and forth inside your heat, added a second finger and kept his thumb on your clit.

All of your senses were overblown with need and want and the smell of his skin, the taste of his tongue. You couldn't help but rock against his hand and also his erection in the same movement. He groaned, tried to keep you from moving while his fingers pumped in and out of you.

Somehow, though, you managed to slide back enough to fit your own hand between the two of you and promptly use the opportunity. Teasing fingers moved to the waistband of his trunks, slipped inside when there was no protest. Your hand wrapped around his dick firmly and finally you could do to him what he did to you. And he felt great in your hand, sliding up and down your palm, your thump teasing the slit and the sensitive area below. Even through the water you could feel a drop of precum, imagined how it dissolved in.

A low growl of pleasure rumbled through his heaving chest, his second hand vanished from your head, his mouth retreating. You wanted to look, wanted to see what you did to him. Damp hair clung to the Master's forehead, a perfect match for the glimmering sheen of sweat and salt water on his skin.

Again you firmly stroked up his length, hyper aware of his shuddering breath and jittering eyes. His free hand was between your breasts, the bikini simply gone. Carefully he pushed against your torso, bending you backwards a little, so you would have less opportunity to move on him.

His sight, the position, the thumb massaging your clit in firm circles, the fingers pumping in and out, hitting at all the right spots inside of you, it made you want to move again, made you desperate to find out whether or not you could really climax in a dream.

But the fingers vanished. You whimpered when you realized he wasn't going to continue. With both hands he grabbed your head and kissed your wet lips, fierce and hungry and groaning into your mouth when you boldly continued to stroke him.

Seconds later the Master broke the kiss, panted. "That real enough for you?"

All you could do was to swallow and nod with gleaming eyes. His mouth hovered over yours, hot breath ghosting your lips, his eyes fluttering shut. But there was also a blossoming grin and suddenly you realized that you were both completely naked now.

Right in that moment he grabbed your bum, lifted you up from him and sat you on the stone while he slid down from it. You wanted to protest, wanted to grab his arm, but he didn't vanish, as you had feared. Instead the Master positioned himself between your legs, grabbed your thighs and pulled you closer to him on the wet stone so his dick could stroke through your folds and rest at your throbbing entrance.

If there hadn't been water you would have laid on your back, but now you kept yourself upright on your elbows, watching, enjoying how the Master teased your entrance. His eyes sought out yours. "You're ready?"

"Are you kidding me?" you moaned, too far gone for any modesty.

The Master chuckled, leaned forward, snaked an arm around your middle and pulled you up for another kiss, the head of his shaft still at your entrance, almost slipping inside when you moved slightly. But he wouldn't let you, held you in place and grinned against your lips at your desperation. The height of the stone aligned you perfectly and again you shifted your bottom, felt him slip into you the tiniest bit, already enough to spike the pleasure, the anticipation.

"Make me," he ground out, breathing heavily, almost restrained.

You let out a moan, tried to push yourself closer and him deeper. The Master gasped, pressed you against him for a mere second, but pulled out of you again, his look as desperate as you felt, breath quivering.

And you knew what he wanted, your brain still somewhat functioning, maybe more than his, in this very moment. Despite his own urge for control he slightly rocked forward, silently groaned when your centre swallowed the tip of his dick again. You could feel how much he had to hold back, how he still couldn't help but let himself sink in just a bit deeper, fingernails lightly scratching your back.

"Master," you moaned and felt him twitch against your folds. He wanted to be in control. He needed you to fully give it to him. "Master," you almost whimpered and he slid even deeper, not yet there, but also not horribly far away.

He carefully pulled out again, not all the way, only a little. "Beg me," he ground out. "Tell me what you want."

"I want you." You swallowed a groan when you felt him slightly move again, wondered how long you both could continue this without bursting. You had no intention to find out, leaned closer to his ear, muttering, "I want you to fuck me, Master."

And that was enough. He gripped your hip with both hands, pressed you flush against him, his length finally slipping inside. Both of you let out moans and for a short moment the Master stopped, his breath heavy and somewhat shaky. One hand dropped to your bum, his lips crashed on yours again and he moved, made you moan into his mouth when he pulled back out, only to slam back inside. He repeated it a few more times, building a rhythm that was both desperate and controlled.

You were barely aware of the water around you, of the sun and the wind. All you felt and wanted to feel was the Master moving in and out of you. You cried out when he hit an especially sensitive spot and he tilted you slightly backwards to get a better angle, the kiss getting sloppy as his pace sped up, stopped completely after a moment, both of you lost in the building pleasure. You let out a small groan each time he hit that spot inside of you. His hand slipped down your front, thumb circling firmly on your clit, adding to the tightening coil.

"Master, please," you groaned.

And he sped up his pace, kept his thumb moving. You sensed how close he was, felt that spot again, and again and you cried out, clenched and panted as the climax rushed through your body and set every nerve within it on fire. Your nails dug into his skin, you walls clenching around his slowing dick and with shuddering breaths you moaned out the orgasm, could feel its aftershocks ripple through you each time the Master thrust himself deeper. He was still slowing, still aware of your oversensitive state, but unable to stop himself, and you encouraged his action by rocking against him, another aftershock making you shiver when you felt him hit you deep inside.

It felt just too good, you wanted him to snap, started to speed up your own rhythm until he dug his fingers into your sites and almost stilled, suddenly capturing your lips, but only to make you swallow his groans while he pulsated and spilled himself inside of you.

The sound of wind and waves returned to your ears as the Master released your lips. Breath still calming, heart still racing. The Master pulled out of you, turned and hopped onto the stone next to you.

The scenery changed, but only slightly. Suddenly you lay next to each other on dry ground, flat stones, heated by the sun, your feet splashed by nearby waves once in a while. Both of you wore clothes again, light summer trunks and shirts.

You sighed content, still feeling your body calming.

"Okay,that felt real," you muttered with a smile. "I wonder what happened to our bodies."

"Sleeping." The Master answered.

"No shit." You laughed and slapped his arm playfully. "I mean, uh… you know."

He chuckled and looked at you, head resting on folded arms. "You might wake up a bit aroused," he teased. "But that's it. Nothing new while being around me."

A wink was cast in your direction, made you laugh. "Don't get high on it. When we wake up, first thing I'll do is slap you for being such a prick before."

His face darkened in an instant, eyes darting away almost as if… he felt guilty? Probably not.

"Is it quiet now?" you asked softly and his gaze returned.

"It never is. Not fully." He smiled and the expression was warm. "But it's so much more bearable with you around."

"I'll still slap you." You poked the tongue out. "And maybe laugh at you for having a morning boner."

The Master grinned and turned around to lay his head right next to your ear. "Dangerous idea."

"Oh?" You turned too, facing him. "Why would that be?"

Instead of an answer he snaked an arm around you and pulled you flush against him. Definitely no need to wake up, here, you realized. The wolfish grin on his face also didn't help. Neither did, that he grabbed you with both hands to turn you both and in a way that you ended up sitting on him.

Alright. You grinned back. No waking up yet, then.

[noforkingclue]

Hello, it is i, the one whose send unecessary aus your way. For today, how about roommates? Yknow, typical SO live with either the master or doctor and the other lives next door or sth? Works both for one pair of doc and master or (and credits to @/valc0 for this) multiple docs/masters living in the same apartment :D

For more, if the reader's a landlord :)))))

I wrote this with the reader taking the 10th Doc and Simm!Master in as lodgers. In this fic everyone are humans.

@valc0 is an amazing artist and I hope you don’t mind that I wrote a fic inspired by your art!

Title: Lodgers

Doctor Who tag list: @v4n1r, @queerconfusionthings,  @yourneighbourhoodclown, @love-of-fandoms, @emilythezeldafan, @fabulous-jj-style, @theseeker945, @pleadingeyes, @kjaneway1, @truthbehindthemysteries, @im-a-muggleborn, @startrekkingaroundasgard

Everything tag list: @greenrevolutionary

“So,” Donna stirred her coffee as she looked up at you, “How have you been.”

You groaned and rested your head in the palm of your hand.

“Not going to lie,” you said, “Not great. Money is a bit tight.”

Donna made a sympathetic noise which cause you to look up at her. You narrowed your eyes at her. You knew that facial expression far too well. She was planning something and you knew it had something to do with you.

“What?” you asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Well,” Donna said slowly, “You have a spare room right?”

“I already have one lodger,” you said, “Don’t know if I can manage another.”

“Come on,” Donna said desperately, “Please? He’s been staying at my place for the past couple of weeks and he’s doing my head in!”

“What makes you think that he won’t drive me to madness?”

“I have a studio flat,” said Donna dryly, “And he’s a lanky git who snores. I’m not getting any sleep and I’m very close to murdering him and if I do you’re an accomplice because you could’ve prevented it. I expect you to help me hide the body.”

“Alright, alright,” you held up a hand to stop her, “I do need the extra money.”

“Thanks,” said Donna, “Really y/n. I owe you one.”

“So when do I get to meet this mystery friend of yours?” you asked

To you surprise Donna stood up and started waving. You looked over your shoulder and to you surprise a man stood up and started walking towards you. You looked at Donna and glared at her while she just ignored it.

“How did you know I was going to say yes?” you hissed

“Just a feeling,” said Donna, “Y/n, this is the Doc.”

“Theta,” said the man holding out his hand, “And thank you for this.”

“Don’t mention it.” You said standing up and grasping his hand.

Why did Donna have to have such good looking friends?

 *

 “We’ll discuss rent and all that tomorrow,” you said as you unlocked your door, “I’ll go out and get a key cut for you later. We’ll draw up a contract tomorrow as well.”

“Sounds good.” Said Theta

You shrugged off your coat and dumped it over a chair. You grabbed a shirt off the coat hook and said to Theta as he gave you a confused look,

“You’ll see. There’s someone else lodging here as well.”

“What do you-“

Theta was interrupted by a door swinging open with a loud bang. You sighed and held up the shirt.

“It’s Monday,” you said, “Koschei always works out on a Monday.”

“Did you say Koschei?” asked Theta but you ignored him

“I was wondering when you’d return,” said the dark haired man who was standing in the doorway, “How did your-“

He stopped and glared at Theta. He snatched the shirt from you and you looked between the two men in confusion.

“Umm,” you said, “Do you know each other?”

“I didn’t realise that our new flat mate was going to be him.” Said Koschei

“Y/n,” said Theta slowly, “I realise that we literally just met but you cannot trust this man.”

“Ha,” barked Koschei, “Trust? That’s ironic coming from you.”

“You sure?” you asked, “He’s seemed pretty reliable in the months I’ve known him.”

“See Thet,” said Koschei, “I can be trusting. You’re just pissed that you’re not someone’s favourite for once.”

“I mean,” you said, “You can still be a dick sometimes.”

When Theta and Koschei still continued to glare at each other you sighed.

“Alright Theta,” you said, “If you can’t be with Koschei I guess you’ll have to find somewhere else to live.”

“Wait,” said Theta quickly, “I didn’t say that.”

“So you’re not going to try and kill each other?”

Theta looked between you and the smirking Koschei and nodded curtly.

“Good,” you said as you walked down the hall, “I’ll show you to your room.”

 *

 The three of you had been living together for a couple of months. While you could still sense an underlying tension between Theta and Koschei you could tell that they were trying to act civil around you. You appreciated the effort that they were making.

It was a rare day when you were out that Theta decided to approach Koschei. Koschei was lying on his bed, a politics text book on his lap, when Theta went up to him.

“I know about your crush on y/n.”

Koschei looked up from his studies and raised an eyebrow.

“And you don’t,” he said at last, “You’re not exactly being subtle.”

Theta felt the blush creeping up his neck and Koschei smirked at his reaction.

“I’m not going to let you win,” Koschei said as he shut his book with a snap, “Y/n’s mine.”

“They aren’t an object you can possess!” said Theta, “They are a person.”

“And I know them so much better than you do,” said Koschei, “I’m going to win this, Theta.”

As Koschei walked passed Theta’s hand shot out and grabbed his arm.

“I’m not going to let you have them,” Theta said quietly, “They deserve better than you.”

“Well then,” Koschei said as he pulled his arm free, “Let the best man win.”

“Let the best man win.”

[lifedistractions]

In the dark bedroom, the sound of padded feet nearing, followed by a gentle give of the mattress and rustling of bedsheets caused Amy to turn over towards her fiancé who just settled down beside her.

“Is he asleep?” Amy asked softly.

“Mm yeah, he just needed a cuddle. He’s fine.” Jonah whispered back. A relaxing yawn escape his lips.

“I think I need a cuddle too,” drawing closer, Amy reached across and nestled into Jonah’s inviting arms.

Both knew the other was smiling sleepily into the darkness.

Amy languished in these moments. When everything was still. The moment right before her mind would drift off to dreamland. When she could savour the warmth and security of him enveloping her. His natural scent mixed with toothpaste and soap. And the only sound was him inhaling and exhaling like a distant seashore.

She was in love. Jonah was it. Through all the years of struggling to finally come together and just know, that gave her peace unlike anything she’s ever felt. The universe had righted itself and no matter what happened in the future, they would face it as a team.

She still marvelled at how seamless he returned to the family fold. Without any hesitation, he fell right back into place as a Parker’s co-guardian, soon to be step father and Emma’s confidant. It was like he never left. It’s where he belonged. It was his natural habitat. Amy’s imagination blossomed creating an alternative world where he was Parker’s real dad. And Parker would inherit all of Jonah’s best qualities. His sense of humour, his kindness and his unwavering outlook on life to find beauty in everything. She even fantasized that her son would grow up and look like Jonah. Of course that was ridiculous. Parker already resembled Adam in so many ways.

On this particular night, a familiar pang of regret also appeared before sleep claimed her. Motherhood was thrust upon her twice, and she, for a long time, felt a hidden resentment towards that obligation. The resentment held fast even after Parker’s birth. She was determined to take control of what she could. An IUD was the best solution at the time. Back then, she was exhausted and an unexpected pregnancy would not be her default anymore. Sure, she was in a new and loving relationship with Jonah but she was certain he would understand her decision once she told him. That was the plan. So it frustrated her when she continued to avoid the topic of more children whenever it threatened to resurface. He was completely clueless up until the unavoidable discussion came to ahead one day. He pleaded to talk about it. If they were ever going to have an equal and openly communicative relationship they needed get on with it. The elephant in the room was making a mess of things and she had every opportunity to stop it.

“I should have told you before, but I got an IUD because I don’t want to get pregnant again.” She blurted out. He stuttered after that and processed the news silently like a hard to swallow pill.

Ultimately, he said he did understand and supported her decision but she could see his disappointment despite what he tried to outwardly display. He wanted to please her so desperately, that he would sacrifice his own personal desires, hopes and dreams for her happiness. Damn him.

But plans can change. Dreams can be reimagined, life’s choices can evolve and IUDs can be removed.

Now, as she lay snuggled in his arms, she had the overwhelming feeling to wake him up and declare how much she wanted to have another baby. His baby. Someone who will be half of him. Because the world needs more Jonah Simms DNA. She felt empowered while laying in the darkness. Drinking his is scent, she began her dream of a new little hand gripping onto his finger as he swayed his baby to sleep.

[chief-of-restless-hearts]

Chapter 5: Trial

. . .

It was all wrong.

Dick’s mannerisms were off, twitchy and uncertain and completely foreign to his usual bearing--even under stress. And...his face. Unobscured by the grainy video quality, it seemed drawn...even gaunt.

Batman replayed the street cam footage, and watched as the boy, still wearing that dark mirror of Deathstroke’s costume, ran out from alongside the abandoned car lot and halted abruptly at the edge of the road. He threw his gaze back and forth down the empty street, as though looking for something. As though he had been chasing something.

Dick loitered agitatedly for a few moments longer and then turned and vanished out of the camera's view.

But there had been something about his expression...

Batman replayed the clip on his portable computer again. Heavy rain whipped at his cape and cowl, running in frigid rivers down his shoulders, but he remained utterly fixated. Crouched atop the building that Dick had emerged from in the recording, he had finished examining the roped off crime scene below, the details of it rotating through his mind as he studied the only true evidence that Dick had ever been there--aside from the bloodied shuriken which he had personally ensured would not be entered into police records.

None of the suspects, either captured or deceased, had sustained injuries compatible with what the shuriken must have inflicted. Which meant he had another suspect to hunt and interrogate. One more easily accessible than the survivors who had already been incarcerated.

Batman would need to move carefully to avoid justifying any rumored link between Robin and the boy captured on the tape. The sudden return of the Robin emblem alone was more than incriminating enough, and that made the motivation behind it all too clear. Deathstroke intended to isolate Robin from his allies, to destroy his reputation and relationships beyond repair and entrap him completely.

Batman would see him disappointed. His hatred for the assassin grew more intense with every hour, every day that passed.

Five days. Five days Dick had been missing, with Deathstroke, and now he looked like this.

Bruce lightly traced the image with his finger.

What did he do to you, Dick?

 . . .

 The lone survivor on the lower floor had clearly and gruesomely been singled out for the sake of interrogation or vendetta, and between emergency surgeries and the time necessary for recovery, the suspect was slated to remain unconscious and sedated for at least the next day.

Batman glared down at the haggard-looking man in the hospital bed, lingering in spite of this. It was maddening, knowing that testimony that could incriminate Deathstroke and exonerate his boy accomplice of bloodshed was just out of reach.

He was wasting time.

While the looped cameras would be automatically restored to their normal state once he was clear of the building, a nurse could stop by at any moment. He turned to leave.

No sooner did he face the window than he saw the familiar brightly costumed figure hovering just outside it.

He gritted his teeth and slipped outside. He ignored Superman’s attempts to meet his gaze as he closed and locked the window behind him and he grappled up to the roof, and then he turned to face the man with a scowl.

“So the video has leaked already,” he said flatly, without any question attached to it.

“I’m afraid so,” Superman confirmed, his expression pensive as his feet settled gently on the roof. “It was leaked to the Planet a few minutes ago. I’m not sure how many other papers and stations received it, but I’m not too optimistic.” He hesitated. “I came as soon as I heard. I’ve already done a quick scan of this part of the city, that’s how I found you, but...is there any other way I could help?”

Batman squeezed his eyes shut and resisted the temptation to reject the offer completely. He couldn’t afford to. Not this time. Especially not after...the other time he had tried to save one of his charges alone.

“I already know what you want to do,” he said at last, with effort. “Do it. Call the League.”

Superman was silent, but Batman didn’t turn to look at him.

This wasn’t Clark’s fault, of course it wasn’t. But it was his, and how could he look Clark in the eye when he knew that with so much certainty?

“Bruce...can you tell me that he’s alright?”

“No, I can’t,” he snapped. “Deathstroke has had Robin for nearly a week. I have every reason to believe that he is not alright.”

Superman’s brow creased with confusion. “Deathstroke...?” he started, but then he shook his head. “Bruce, I...I know this can’t be easy for you--”

“This isn’t about me,” he bit out.

Superman’s expression was pinched with open empathy, the same expression he’d had after he heard that...that Jason...

Batman was tempted to slap it off his face.

“I know,” Superman assured him. “I’ll summon as many League members as I can, but before I do, I wanted to make sure that--” He broke off, and his expression said the words left unspoken. “I wanted to see you.”

Batman closed his eyes again, and sighed. “I was about to call you,” he admitted, reluctantly. “Thank you. For coming.” He knew without looking that a small smile had entered the alien’s face.

“Nothing to thank me for,” Superman said easily. “This is for Dick. I mean, aren’t I the kid’s honorary uncle or something?”

Batman rolled his eyes, but the reminder was another little stab in his chest. “He was ten, Clark.”

Clark’s smile widened, and the weight in Bruce’s chest might have eased, if only slightly.

 . . .

 He reached the Hall of Justice inexcusably late and intensely furious with himself.

He had contacted the Titans again for aid in pinpointing the exact location where they had separated from Robin in the tunnels, as well as where they had found a bomb instead of Sarah Simm. His search of both areas had uncovered nothing, absolutely nothing, and had told him only that Deathstroke must have returned to the scene of the crime to cover his tracks.

And then he had woken suddenly in the water speeder, surrounded by frigid dampness and pitch black walls. The sewers had blocked any outside contact from Alfred or the League that could have roused him, he had still uncovered nothing that could help Dick, and after less than twenty-four hours of searching already his body had failed him.

As he exited the jet and made his way into the League building he found Wally West and Donna Troy sitting together in the lobby, both in costume. They started with surprise as he passed.

“Hey, Batman!” Wally called, but Batman’s brisk pace didn’t falter. Wally sliced across his path with lightning speed and tried to catch his eye. “Wait a sec, we just want to know--”

Bruce fixed the boy with such a glare that his eyes widened in alarm and within an instant he had retreated back to Donna’s side.

“Is Dick okay?” Donna called after him. Her voice was high with alarm. “...Batman?”

Their mentors must have seen fit to exclude them from the meeting. They certainly had the ability to do so, as the young people had yet to be granted access to the Watchtower satellite. Dick had been the only Titan to be given a code.

Without further acknowledgement of either teen he approached the zeta tube and stepped through the transporter.

When at last he swept into the Watchtower conference room with unprecedented tardiness and a fresh bout of transporter-due nausea, not only was the League seated but the new Teen Titans team as well. Wonder Woman was standing beside them, indicating that she had been speaking to them before his interruption.

In the sudden quiet all eyes turned to him, but he met only Wonder Woman’s gaze as he stalked toward the head of the table. In passing the others he counted, with a sting of resentment, that only five League members were present: Wonder Woman, Superman, Flash, Green Arrow, and Green Lantern. A smaller turnout at such short notice was to be expected, of course, but there were a few missing faces that he had expected to see.

He ignored Clark’s less than subtle attempts to catch his eye. Wonder Woman, understanding Batman’s intention, nodded but said nothing as he firmly set his palm-sized portable projector on the table.

“Of the twelve suspects found at the location of the sighting,” he began as several photographs from the police archives lit up the wall behind him, “these four HIVE members were found on the upper level, and on the lower level there were found three more in addition to five men who have been identified as members of the local mob.” he switched to a new set of images, these far more gruesome than the first, “Of those found on the lower level only one, a HIVE member, was found alive. The survivor had clearly been tortured.”

Not only for the sake of the young people at the far end of the table, who already looked nauseous, but out of the bare minimum of respect due to the victim he declined to share those final images with the table.

“All injuries on the lower floor, lethal or otherwise, were inflicted by a long blade,” he continued. “In marked contrast the four HIVE members on the upper floor sustained no injuries more serious than severe bruising. The zip-tie restraints confirm that only these attacks could be credited to Robin, and that Deathstroke was responsible for the lower level killings.

“The surviving suspects have so far refused to respond to police interrogation, and the most gravely injured suspect remains unfit for questioning. Which leaves the video footage of Robin as the only publicly accessible evidence as to the crime’s motivation or perpetrator. Because of this the authorities have not tied Deathstroke to the crime, nor do they have any reason to.”

The video flickered onto the wall and began to play as he spoke.

“The footage that captured Robin on the scene leaves no question that he has been mistreated.”

The blurry image of Dick on the screen staggered to a halt at the edge of the street, and Batman paused the video. He zoomed in on the boy’s face, and found that he needed to swallow before speaking again.

“Robin has lost weight, his movement is stiff, almost clumsy, and if he were thinking clearly he would never have unwittingly placed himself within sight of a street camera. This footage was taken five days after the last footage we have of him, from the day he disappeared, and...”

He broke off as something like a fist closed around his throat. He cleared it with some difficulty.

“...and we cannot afford to leave him in Deathstroke’s hands any longer than we already have.”

For the first time he looked across the table. The video must have been played prior his arrival to give any who hadn’t seen it an understanding of the crisis, and while the Titans were gazing at the projection with evident grief, the League members at the other end of the table seemed...uncomfortable. Only Clark and Diana returned his gaze, while Barry looked distant, Ollie toyed with the straps on his suit, and Hal’s gaze was firmly averted. The Lantern’s leg was bouncing idly.

“And we will not,” Wonder Woman said firmly but gently. “We must hope that Robin’s friends can help us further understand the circumstances.”

Batman could only nod and seat himself.

Wonder Woman turned again to Cyborg beside her at the end of the table. “If you would continue for us, Victor?”

Cyborg’s gaze lingered uneasily on Batman before he spoke up. “The whole ‘Red X’ thing was just Robin’s way of getting to that assassin.” He shrugged. “Maybe it would’ve worked out better if he had trusted us with the truth, and maybe it wouldn’t have...but he was only thinking of us--how to best protect the team.”

Wonder Woman nodded. "Of course," she said kindly. “Thank you, Victor. Now, Garfield,” she said, trying to catch Beast Boy's eye, “could you add to Victor's perspective of that night?”

Beast Boy’s chin didn’t move from where it rested on his arms crossed over the table. “Red X knocked me in front of a train while we were fighting,” the boy said frankly, but as League members exchanged glances he rolled his eyes and finished. “And then he pulled me out of the way. That didn’t make much sense ‘til we found out he was Robin.”

The questions continued, alternating between Titans as they covered events that had already been recounted to him. Still, Batman kept his eyes fixed on the Titans at the other end of the table, pointedly ignoring Clark, who was seated a few chairs to his left and still trying to catch his eye.

At last the tale reached the fateful night that Robin had resurfaced in Deathstroke’s colors.

“It doesn’t feel right, but Raven says that he wasn’t brainwashed,” Beast Boy mumbled, half into his arms. “and that’s kind of her thing, so she probably knows what she’s talking about. But...after Red X, that would make it twice this month that he’s kicked me around without that excuse.”

Wonder Woman’s lips pressed together tightly, and she paused before thanking the boy and turning to Raven. “Raven, can you confirm with absolute certainty that Robin’s mind was not interfered with in any way when you last saw him?”

Only the shift in Raven’s eyes indicated that the cloaked girl had heard her. With rigid posture, she sat with her hands folded in her lap and her hood drawn over her head.

“I wouldn’t say that it had not been interfered with in any way,” she said slowly, “but not in the way that you’re asking. I could feel his...frustration, as he fought us, but if he hadn’t been in control of his body his emotions would have been clouded.”

“Thank you, Raven. Now, Koriand’r?” The Tamaranean girl’s head of thick, knee-length curls turned sharply at her name. “Could you tell us what happened that night?”

For an instant the girl’s eyes grew round, almost alarmed, before her gaze returned to her lap. After a moment she began describing Robin’s erratic behaviour that morning--all due to his anger at Deathstroke--and how he had vanished during the subsequent search for Sarah Simm. By the time she reached the fight on the roof, her words came more slowly, reluctantly. At last, her words trailed to a stop.

Wonder Woman leaned closer, trying to meet her eyes. “The footage we have of the incident shows that both you and Robin disappeared from view for a short period of time. Could you tell us what happened?”

Batman noticed when Green Lantern looked significantly at Green Arrow, who was frowning.

Batman suddenly shared far more of the girl’s trepidation than he cared to.

So slowly and painfully that he could visualize her fists clenched at her sides, Starfire began to recall the incident that she had already told him.

“I...I had pursued Robin to the top of the sign, and then we--”

Raven suddenly gripped her shoulder. Starfire halted mid-sentence to look over her shoulder in surprise. What Batman could see of Raven’s face under her cowl was tight and wary, fixed on the other end of the table.

“Koriand’r,” she said in a low voice, dark and cold as a winter night. “They’ve already decided on his guilt. They aren’t thinking of how to help Robin, they’re thinking of how to stop him.”

Batman followed Raven’s gaze to the league members to his left, most of whom seemed taken aback. He studied their faces with a barely concealed scowl. Robin had always thought highly of Raven’s competence as an empath, as well as of her friendship, but in this circumstance Batman sincerely hoped that she was mistaken.

Green Arrow leaned forward and jabbed a finger in her direction. “Look kiddo, if you’re so good at reading minds, why don’t you tell us what was going on in Robin’s head? That’s all we want to know.”

Clark shot Green Arrow a stern look from across the table that was enough to make the man press his lips together and lean back in his chair.

Starfire rose above the table with clenched fists and fire in her emerald eyes. “You deceived us!” she snarled. “We came here only because we knew that Robin trusts you!”

“You said it,” Beast Boy muttered, narrowing his eyes at the League.

Cyborg gestured toward Batman with a scowl. “At least we expected better from Batman, here. You’re his father or somethin’, aren’t you?”

Batman scrutinized the unusual tension darkening Lantern’s features, Arrow’s irritated grimace, and the way Flash was awkwardly rubbing his jaw. Clark was the only one to return his gaze, but that pinched expression of concern only served to aggravate him.

Batman recalled seeing Donna and Wally waiting restlessly back in the hall of justice, and began to wonder exactly why they had been excluded.

Wonder Woman withdrew her own disapproving look at Green Arrow to face the Titans. “Children, I assure you that we ask these questions with the purest of intentions toward Robin and his safety. Koriand’r, dear...what happened next on the rooftop? If we are to help Robin, we must know.”

Starfire descended until her feet again touched the ground in a defiant stance, but she did not sit.

“He escaped us,” she answered shortly, leveling a scathing look on Diana.

Wonder Woman spread her hands entreatingly, meeting the girl’s openly defiant gaze. “Your records state that that night you were the only member of your team to sustain injury. We must know what happened.”

Starfire blinked in surprise, Cyborg’s jaw dropped, and all four Titans turned to Batman with betrayed expressions. At the moment, for different but similar reasons, Batman felt the same.

“I supplied them only with the relevant documents,” he said through gritted teeth, his granite-hard gaze fixed on Wonder Woman, who returned it with a pinched brow. “Or those that I perceived to be relevant at the time. You’re taking a while to get to the point, Wonder Woman.”

Wonder Woman gave him an earnest look that pleaded to be understood before turning back to the Titans. “I assure you, all of you, that this is necessary.”

Cyborg scowled deeply and crossed his arms over his chest. “You aren’t gettin’ anything out of us until you explain why it’s necessary. Robin may be our leader, but he’s also our friend, and we have a right to know what’s going on here.”

Diana closed her eyes for a long moment. “I...believe the League should review a few things before we continue this discussion. We will contact you when we're ready to resume.” Reaching down to her waist, she raised the lasso of truth in her hand. “I swear to you that we shall do everything in our power to help Robin. And children, though we may have led you to think otherwise, please believe me when I say that we do all share in your sorrow.”

They hesitated for a few moments, but the young people rose from their seats to follow Diana’s guiding arm toward the hall.

Green Arrow leaned toward Green Lantern, and the sensitive audio enhancers in Batman’s cowl picked up the words spoken under his breath.

“Diana did pretty well, considering,” he said wryly. “I’m sure glad I didn’t get saddled with that job. Never been much good with kids.”

Green Lantern was staring down at the table as though he hadn’t heard him, and Clark was wearily rubbing his face with his hands.

“But your ward is a teenager,” Flash protested in an equally subdued tone, sounding confused.

“Exactly,” Green Arrow sighed.

The other vigilante’s all too familiar facetious tone snapped the last fragile tendril of patience Batman had managed to retain.

“Every last one of the Titans’ questions and concerns were valid,” he snapped, “especially considering how this team appears to be blatantly disregarding the amount of time that has already been wasted. Or has the purpose behind this gathering been forgotten already?”

His voice carried, and the young heroes paused on their way to the door. Green Arrow’s gaze snapped irritably toward his for a split instant before a flicker of remorse replaced the irritation. He dropped his gaze.

“We haven’t forgotten anything,” he muttered.

“Sorry about that, Batman,” Flash said ruefully, as though he had been included in the accusation. “And...I want to say how sorry I am for what happened. I mean, if it had been Wally...”

Flash’s tone, rather than his words, grated strangely in his ears. “Sorry for what?” he demanded.

Flash seemed taken aback. “Well, you know...” he faltered. “I can’t even begin to imagine how hard this must be for you after...”

Flash faltered again, possibly because of the overly sharp question, and also possibly, Batman considered as he picked up on sharp motion out of the corner of his eye, because Clark was staring at him, slashing his hand urgently across his throat.

“--After what happened to the other one,” another voice finished, so dry and uncharacteristically cold for Green Lantern as to be rendered nearly unrecognizable. “After that, someone should have known better than to leave a kid loose on the streets.”

“Lantern!” Wonder Woman barked, but she went unheeded. Green Lantern glowered at Batman over crossed arms.

Batman’s fingers tightened around his arm rests, but his face was an impassive mask, the muscles of it frozen of their own volition.

Seated to the Lantern’s right, Green Arrow’s gaze flickered between them. He shifted in his seat uneasily. “C’mon, Hal...” he muttered, “we don’t need to...”

“I’m sorry for lumping you in like this, Ollie, but even with Roy the situation was different. Star City is not and never will be what Gotham is. Batman chose to raise two kids on that twisted city’s streets, and nothing comes out of Gotham uncontaminated.” He turned a significant look on Batman. “Not even the good guys.”

Batman rose slowly, stiffly. “What are you implying?”

Green Lantern rose in turn, leaning over the table toward him. “I’m implying that Robin was in the perfect position for an opportunistic creep like Deathstroke to get into his head--thanks to you.”

Wonder Woman’s fist slammed down on the table with a roar. “Lantern, that is ENOUGH!”

The entire table surface shuddered, a hair of pressure away from snapping in two.

“Bruce.” He heard Clark’s whisper from just beside him. There was warning in it. Clark didn’t trust him not to start something.

And he shouldn’t.

Neither he nor Lantern made any move to sit.

Flash turned his head suddenly, and zipped to the other side of the room to quietly send off the Titans, who had been standing forgotten in the doorway with stunned expressions on each of their faces. Solemn silence filled the moments until the children were gone, and then Wonder Woman spoke again, this time with quiet anger in her voice.

“Any discussion of guilt or innocence can wait until we have found Robin. As Batman has already established, we are losing valuable time.”

“Yes, we are,” Lantern agreed sourly, dropping back into his seat. “The press will be all over this. It’s exactly what our critics have been waiting for--evidence that we’re just as dangerous and unpredictable as the criminals we take down. And the more convinced the public becomes that Robin’s turned coat, the more difficult it will be to salvage their trust in us.”

“I don’t think we need to worry about that just yet,” Clark interjected calmly, “but if it comes to that, I can help us prepare a press statement.”

“The truth should be more than enough to satisfy the public,” Batman said flatly. All faces turned to him, their expressions difficult to read. He ignored them. “The video evidence removes any question from the situation. Tell them that we are dealing with a hostage situation--that henceforth Robin’s every action should be presumed to be done under some form of coercion, and that all possible effort must be made to track Deathstroke down and recover Robin uninjured.”

There was a moment of silence.

“We can’t prove those assumptions, Batman,” Flash said quietly.

We can’t lie to them, Batman heard, though it remained unspoken.

Clark raised his hand before he could snap out a retort. “Wait Barry, the video may not be the tangible proof we need, but I know Robin pretty well, and his body language in that video was definitely concerning.”

Green Arrow interjected again. “C’mon, Supes, you’ve got to admit that won’t convince anyone. If Robin was ever in a hostage situation wouldn’t he have made some attempt to leave us a message? That’s basic training, right? And that videotape doesn’t count. Even Bats admits that Robin didn’t realize he was being filmed.”

“And that isn’t all that we need to discuss, either,” interjected Green Lantern. “We can’t forget that Robin knew all of our identities and had a very high level of clearance in the Watchtower. So long as Robin is with Deathstroke our most carefully guarded secrets are at risk.”

“Gentlemen,” Wonder Woman said sternly. “Until the facts lead us to certain knowledge, please keep your theories to yourselves.”

“But we do know something for certain,” Batman snapped. “We know Robin. Every single one of you has known him for years. And you know what he is and is not capable of.”

“Uh, Bats...” Flash began hesitantly, and Batman wheeled a stony glare at him. “I can’t stand behind everything Hal is saying, but...if we’re wondering why Robin would do something like this, I mean, you do realize what this looks like.”

“What does it look like?”

Flash visibly balked at the acid in his tone, and shrugged miserably. “C’mon, man...don't make me say it...”

“Say what?” Batman growled.

Flash swallowed, shrugged again, and started fiddling with one of his gloves. “It’s just that...I mean, we were all kind of under the impression that, uh...you and Robin didn’t part on the best of terms?”

Ice, hard and painfully sharp, formed in the center of his chest. Cutting into his lungs until all he could take in and release were barely controlled hisses of breath.

He stood, slowly, using the utmost of his self control to contain the rage when his hands were nearly shaking with it. “I am...truly disappointed to discover that this team is willing to use an innocent boy as a buffer between the world and its reputation.”

For a moment, before he turned away, he almost thought that he saw him, perched on the table in front of him with his long, gangly legs swinging over the edge, a familiar image from all those years that Bruce had relented to let him sit in while a league meeting droned on.

The image faded.

He turned away, but paused to wheel a piercing glare at his seated teammates. “When you speak to the presses I suggest that you try to explain how it is possible that a fifteen year old boy has more integrity in him than does this entire facade of a Justice League.”

  + - + - + - +

  Bruce swept out of the conference room without another word or glance.

The entire room was dumbstruck, and it took a few moments for Clark to gather himself enough to go after him.

Within an instant he had breezed into the hall, and he caught up to Bruce a few steps past the door. Bruce’s expressionless white lenses looked right through him, and then Bruce stepped around him as though he were an inanimate object obstructing his path.

Clark wished that hadn’t hurt.

He moved just quickly enough to keep up with Bruce’s long, snapping pace. “Bruce,” he began, trying not to sound desperate, “please, you can’t just walk out now. I know this went badly, and I’m sorry, but you can’t--”

“You were very quiet tonight,” Bruce interrupted icily.

Clark stared for a moment, guilt holding his tongue. “Diana was...”

“You knew him better than all the others put together,” Bruce cut in again, and only then did he look Clark in the eyes. Clark felt himself wilt a little under the accusation in them. “Don’t tell me that you’ve lost faith in him too.”

“No, Bruce, I would never--I do believe in him, Bruce. He’s an amazing kid, I’d give anything for him and you know that. I’m just trying to tell you that we need to communicate. All of us. That’s what a team does. I know they handled it badly and jumped to conclusions, but you can’t just give up on them like this. This is your team and--”

“No, Clark, it’s your team.” That retort almost came out in a rasp, and Bruce had already looked away again. “Call me once they come to their senses and decide to stop scapegoating the victim of this situation.”

“That isn’t--Bruce--”

Bruce vanished into the teleporter without a backward glance.

Clark closed his eyes, counted slowly to ten and then back down to zero, and then released his breath as slowly and calmly as he could.

He turned on his heel and stalked back to the conference room at a human speed to allow himself to work off the edge of his temper.

But he could hear his teammates’ chattering as clearly as if he were in the room with him, and the subject set his teeth on edge.

“But then...why wasn’t Robin in Gotham?” Barry asked helplessly.

“Barry, please...” Diana sounded exhausted.

Hal’s voice broke in, and as Clark approached the sliding doors, he again began counting to ten. “We can’t just drop these questions, Diana. In that video Robin was even wearing that ‘R’ of his. If that doesn’t tell us something I don’t know what would. And as for Robin’s health...I mean, it’s not that I think Deathstroke’s a fun guy to live with, but what reason do we have to believe that Robin wasn’t there voluntarily?”

“Maybe you don’t need a reason,” Clark said, stalking through the conference room doors. “Maybe all you need is a little faith in a longtime friend, and just the barest smidge of respect for a man grieving the loss of his only surviving son.”

Hal turned to look at him, openmouthed, but Clark’s gaze shifted from him to each of the other leaguers in turn.

Ollie shook his head with a quiet sigh. “I’m glad Roy wasn’t here to see this,” he muttered, a little bitterly. “He’s been worried sick.”

“Wally, too,” Barry added miserably.

Diana stood still and somber, absorbed in her own thoughts, and the silence stretched on as they all did the same.

Barry broke it. “Hal, I can’t believe you threw Robin’s death in his face like that. He wasn’t just any sidekick, he was...was that one adopted? I...don’t think I ever asked.”

“All the more reason for him to know better.”

“This is beyond being wrong or right, Lantern,” Diana said sternly. “You prioritized your feelings over team unity.”

“Alright, alright,” Hal sighed, “I get it. I came on too strong, like always, right? But it’s not like I blame the kid--if I’d been in his shoes I’d probably have lost it years ago. And besides, Bats had it coming.”

Clark approached the table only to grip the back of his chair almost tightly enough to break it. “Well I hope getting that off your chest was worth it,” he said fiercely, “because we just lost the one League member who had a decent chance of finding Robin if he doesn’t want to be found. And we were gathered here to help his son.”

“Yes we were,” said Diana, her eyes still weary, but her hands planted squarely on the table. “And we still are. But I must agree with one of the points that Lantern presented. In time we will need to address the public’s suspicions.”

Clark closed his eyes, his heart sinking, because he knew exactly what Diana was about to say. Worse, he wasn’t sure he could contradict it.

“If we deny the increasingly obvious truth that Deathstroke’s young accomplice is Robin, we lose their trust. If we admit to his identity but do not pursue him as we would a criminal our impartiality will be called into question. We can afford to delay this, but not inevitably.” She let out a long, carefully controlled breath. “We have only one choice, and Hera help me, I wish there was another way.”

  + - + - + - +

  He emerged from the teleport back into the Hall of Justice, and this time saw Donna and Wally with the Titans gathered around them in a conference of their own. The group had already turned to watch him, and six pairs of eyes fixed on him as he redirected his steps to approach them.

If the League couldn’t comprehend the inherent absurdity of the suspicion that Dick--that Robin would ever willingly join an assassin, then he was left no choice but to seek out allies who could.

Both the former and present members of the Titans readily and eagerly agreed to help. The small entourage made its way through the sewers toward the former location of the bomb as well as the point of Robin’s departure, and under his direction they set about combing the tunnels inch by inch.

The search, though now performed with the very best of Cyborg’s tech as well as his own, uncovered nothing. Searching the tunnels from the point of Robin’s departure proved even less fruitful, even with Beast Boy’s attempts at catching his scent that proved useless among the pungent sewage and Raven’s futile attempts to feel Robin's presence.

To bypass the sewer water issue Batman had earlier asked Wonder Girl to call Aqualad to help their search. The girl had winced, probably at the prospect of assigning her friend such an unpleasant task, but she readily agreed.

Along with Aqualad, Roy Harper--Speedy--arrived some hours into the search, stared up at Batman in his red and yellow archer’s costume and demanded, rather than offered, to help with the investigation.

Batman shot a frustrated look at Wonder Girl, who was clearly biting back a grin. She raised her hands defensively. “I promise I didn’t call him!”

“Yeah, about that,” Speedy cut in. “How come I had to hear about this get-together from Wally, huh? Since when did I become the team member to get snubbed for invitations?”

Batman bit back a sigh. “Green Arrow--”

“Hey, Ollie doesn’t get a say in Titans business, okay? He--hey, Wonderdoll wait up!” He broke off running after Wonder Girl down the tunnel.

The dark tunnels devoured precious hours, again cutting him off from outside communication, but there was still so much ground to cover. He had been all too happy to evade any attempted contact from the League, but guilt over leaving Alfred completely in the dark about his activities since leaving the cave that morning finally drove him to return briefly to the surface.

He crawled out of the manhole and slipped into a nearby alley before activating his comm. “Alfred. I--”

“Oh, thank God, Sir. I have been trying to contact you for the past hour, and--your witnesses from the HIVE...they’ve been murdered.”

 . . .

 The five kills had been executed swiftly. Neatly. But despite what the circumstances could have led him to believe, poison had never been part of Deathstroke’s repertoire.

The last surviving witness, the torture victim, had evidently been saved for last. He was still breathing when Batman again broke into his hospital room with disconcerting ease despite the increased security. The man was still unconscious, but twitching slightly, with thick, beading sweat dripping from his forehead into his hair.

Batman pressed a gloved hand over the man’s mouth. He jerked awake. Two wide, bloodshot eyes locked on him and the man writhed and fought uselessly to scream through the hand.

“Less than two hours ago your allies were assassinated by the HIVE,” Batman said, his voice low, but too guttural to be a whisper. The man’s pathetic struggles only worsened. “Answer a few questions and I will ensure that you don’t--”

The man’s eyes rolled back in his head. The writhing evolved into convulsions, and Batman became suddenly aware that the man’s skin under his gloves was unnaturally hot. Suddenly that made horrifying sense.

He whipped out a batarang and sliced through the catheter connecting the bag of fluids to the man’s arm. How long had it been feeding the poison into his system? The machine beside the bed was already beeping an automatic alarm.

Help would come too late.

“Did you see Robin?” he demanded, releasing the man to moan freely. “The boy with Deathstroke!”

The man’s rolling eyes briefly flickered over his, confused and probably delirious. “...R...Renegade?” he gasped.

 . . .

 Until the cave analysis of the poison sample was complete, all he had was a suspicion. One that he could confirm through another, more readily available means.

He hacked into hospital security footage to search through the hours prior to his own entrance, and there at last he found the assassin: a dark haired nurse, glancing both ways as she entered the room.

She pulled a long syringe out of her pocket, and as she injected it into the bag of fluids, Batman could just make out her nails--long, sharp, and painted green. With the job finished so easily, she turned to leave the room. The lower half of her face was covered by a hospital mask, but her cat-like eyes flickered up toward the camera, and he recognized the assassin's distinctive matching emerald: Cheshire.

Batman had vanished by the time the medics poured into the room, but carefully out of sight, he had watched.

The man had died within minutes.

And still, Batman had a new, wrong name that chanted through his mind until it lost meaning in the din.

[smokyproggrock]

Spyfall part 2 thoughts

SPOILERS!! also this ended up a lot longer than I expected.

so much of this episode were callbacks to past doctor who!! basically fanservice but I was an absolute sucker for it

the first scene on the plane was so good, from that alone I could already tell this episode would be amazing. The way it transitioned from 13 in the strange dimension to the plane scene, and how 13 talking to herself worked with the action...

the doctor saving them from crashing was the main reason why I knew it would be good bc I knew it would eventually explain how she saved them and I love when stuff like that happens

the blink reference had me screaming, I know it’s basic but that was so cool

I was very glad we got to see 13 in a suit for another entire episode. gay rights

the “chase through time” was so cool, it was amazing and worked perfectly in the story, and I feel like if they elaborated on that it would make a stunning story

l loved Eda so much. The fact that the doctor didn’t kiss her at the end is homophobic

The WWII scene at the beginning rly reminded me of the empty child/the doctor Dances and I was hoping they’d make a reference

I was sad she had to erase their memories but I understand why

I also loved the contrast between the historical scenes and the fam in modern day

A lot of the things 13 did this episode reminded me a lot of 11. like talking to herself in the weird dimension and the apparating man scene

also when she addressed the light beings after coming to save the day she said “listen you lot” which reminded me of the pandorica speech and then she said something like “this planet is protected” which reminded of 11’s speech at the end of the eleventh hour

I also loved seeing her in a more serious mood

When the doc stole the masters tardis that was so good, especially when he was like “that was the worst 77 years of my life”

It’s so satisfying to see the master get outsmarted when he thinks he’s in control

the light beings across time is not what I expected, I wanted it to be parallel earths bc of part one and when the master said everything you know is a lie I thought it was about the nature of reality being a lie but I guess not. that would’ve been cool though

The fam were great

I love graham even more now if that’s possible, in part one I was hoping they’d use the laser shoes that was so good!! “dance graham dance!!” iconic.

I liked seeing those 3 interact without the doc around. It probably happened in s11 i don’t remember anything, but it was cool seeing them talk without her

The tech plot was especially scary bc like. That’s something that could feasibly happen right now except without the aliens

The idea of humans as a hard drive is interesting and very creepy, especially the vor guy using his own mom??

also the vor guy reminds me of an rtd era villain for some reason plus the evil tech concept reminded the of the WiFi episode from series 7

ok so one of the main reason I love the master is their Drama and this guy. did not disappoint

his enterance into the room in 1834 and. the fucking tissue compression eliminator (shrink ray)!!!!!! that made me so happy in part one I’m so glad they brought it back. anyway. exquisite

like many have said he really reminds me of simm

he’s so emotional, like his sadness, his anguish, his anger and rage, he’s like batshit crazy and I love it. Sacha Dhawan Has The Range.

he’s also good at dramatically screaming which is a huge plus. the “DOCTAHHH!!!!” at the end.

Every time the master and doctor interacted in this ep it was like. wow I am thoschei trash, like those two know each other so well!! best enemies 4ever y’all

also all of those scenes reminded be how fucking bi i am like holy shit those two are unstoppable

The frigging contact scene. pure artistry. have they done that since classic who? I thought ten and simm might have but I don’t remember

anyway “old school, you’re not the only one who can do classic”, loved that line (referring to the tissue compression eliminator I assume)

also THE DRUMS!! that scene was amazing, I especially loved how the music synced up with the beeping and the beeps became the beat, and how the drums doubled the beeping... pure fucking artistry

When the doctor shows up to save the day the look on the masters face is priceless

Also “Oh.” “That’s your name don’t wear it out!” that was one of the best moments in the ep holy shit!!!

I think the master is genuinely sad and angry at both himself for bombing gallifrey and the time lords for their supposed lies. I’m excited to find out

I’m asssuming he burned all of gallifrey and not just the capital bc they only showed the capital, too bad though I hoped we’d see some of the doc talking to gallifreyans again

And of course I like that the fam is finally getting to know her past, what she said at the end was very reminiscent of the many “I am the doctor” speeches.

still don’t know wtf a “timeless child” is tho

[nooowestayandgetcaught]

1-36 ALL OF EM. ALL OF EM.

THIS IS WHAT I LIKE TO HEAR, BRO. ALL FANDOMS.

1. First ship you remember

Peter Pan/Wendy Darling (Disney’s Peter Pan) is my best guess as far back as I can remember. That’s the original OTP next to Bruce Wayne/Selina Kyle (DCU) and Ariel/Prince Eric (Disney’s The Little Mermaid).

2. Your newest ship

Hmmm,,, I haven’t really watched anything new,,,,,,, but I mean I did get into Geralt/Jaskier (Netflix’s The Witcher) recently. I really like them.

3. Favourite ship ever

STARES LONGINGLY AT PETER/WENDY

I go between them and Mulan/Li Shang (Disney’s Mulan) and Korra/Asami Sato (Avatar: Legend of Korra) and  Yuuri Katsuki/Viktor Nikiforov (Yuuri On Ice) and Arya Stark/Gendry Waters (GOT/ASOIAF)  for my favorite ships of all time 

4. Favourite m/f ship

I grew up on the His Dark Materials books and I always was a Lyra Belaqua/Will Parry shipper and that has never ever changed. They’re so sweet. I WOULD LIKE PHILIP PULLMAN TO BRING THEM IN THE NEXT BOOK THAT IS SUPPOSED TO COME OUT. DO NOT FUCK AROUND.

5. Favourite m/m ship

you really can’t wrong with Ash Lynx/Eiji Okumura (Banana Fish) except you can and I don’t care,,,, everyone’s alive and fine and not depressed,,,,,,,

6. Favourite f/f ship

do you know how much my heart broke when they refused to do Emma Swan/Regina Mills (Once Upon A Time) EVEN THOUGH everything in canon said they were True Love????? now I’m just pissed,,,,, I can’t let go of them

7.Most innocent ship

OH GOD,,, KATARA/AANG (AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER). THE FLUFFIEST. THE HAPPIEST. THE SWEETEST BABIES.

8.Most fluffy ship

WHAT DID I LITERALLY JUST SAY???

9.Most angsty ship

good god it’s Clarke Griffin/Lexa (The 100) but I still love them and I know I wasn’t THERE for Lexa dying but I’m STILL livid about what they did and how they treated the LGBT+ community and I’m gonna throw hands,,,, ever since it happened and Clexa is mentioned in the show,,, it’s always so painful,,,,, Clarke is not letting Lexa go and tbh she shouldn’t and I’m gonna get mad again

10. Most smutty ship

Smut is optional, not a requirement for my ships.

11. Ship that you would never have wanted in canon but like in fanworks

I don’t fucking trust MCU so they can have none of my ships!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

12. Character that you can only imagine in one ship

BOOOOOOOOOOOOORING.

13. Most shippable character

Merlin (BBC Merlin) and Harry Potter.

14. Character that you can’t imagine in any ship

Any character I don’t like.

15. Favourite poly ship

I love love love love Rey/Finn/Poe Dameron. Finnreypoe. Jedistormpilot. I fell in love with Rey/Finn and Finn/Poe through “The Force Awakens” and then saw in the novelization that there was hints of Rey/Poe Dameron and LATCHED onto it. Don’t even fight me with “The Rise Of Skywalker” because it was COMPLETELY a Jedistormpilot movie and that’s all I was there for. Those three characters.

16. Characters that you kinda ship but prefer as brotp FRIENDSHIP

since I think Katniss might be aroace,,, I wanna say Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark and don’t get wrong,,,, I do ship but more platonic ship

17. Characters that you ship and can’t imagine to be friends

Spike himself said that Buffy Summers/Angel (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) dynamic could never be friends and only friends and he’s right

18. Guilty pleasure ship

GUILT IS CRINGE!! CRINGE CULTURE IS DEAD!!! YOU SHIP THINGS TO YOUR HEART’S DELIGHT!!!!! HAVE FUN!!!

19. Ship that you never expected to ship.

I was straightbaited by Black Sails while watching as it aired and never saw Captain James Flint/Thomas Hamilton coming,,,, or them unburying the gays,,,,, I thought the whole time Thomas and James were sharing Miranda,,,

20. Ship that you liked but don’t anymore

at one point I liked Callum/Soren (The Dragon Prince) but I’m over them and I’m over that show and I don’t support Aaron fucking Ehasz

21. Ship that one day you were thinking of and thought “wait,when I started shipping it?”

I DO THAT LITERALLY WITH EVERY SHIP I HAVE

22. Ship that you immediately fall in love with after one scene despite not considering it before.

aahhhh I saw Toni Topez interact with Cheryl Blossom from Riverdale after their confrontation which was like,,,, the first time they ever spoke to each other,,,, but then the diner scene happened, and now I ship them. And they’re canon.

23. Poly ship that you ship despite not shipping some of the characters in it outside of poly ship.

I only ship Ryn/Maddie Bishop/Ben Powell with each other. That’s it. IT’S A CANON INTERRACIAL LGBT+ SHIP. IT’S REAL. I’M SO HAPPY.

24. Biggest notp

Dick Grayson/Barbara Gordon (DCU),,,,, oooh don’t get me fucking started

25. Favourite foe yay ship

L/Light (Death Note). That’s a classic. I know Light made sure his ass was murdered but c’mon,,, c’mon,,,, THE CREDITS TO THE LAST EPISODE THO??? DID YOU SEE THAT SHIT???? THAT WAS GAY AS HELL.

26. Characters that you like in every dynamic (lovers,friends,enemies)

we gotta go with Doctor/Master (Doctor Who),,, they’ve been all three,,,,, nobody can tell me otherwise and that’s the beauty of these two! My favorite versions are 1) Thirteen/Dhawan!Master, 2) Ten/Simms!Master, and 3) Twelve/Missy and if you add Simms!Master with the last one then it’s GOLDEN

27. Ship that you expected to ship before reading/watching franchise and you do

I saw gifs and things of Anne Lister/Ann Walker (Gentleman Jack) before I started watching and I already knew I was gonna fall in love AND I DID

28. Ship that you expected to ship before reading/watching franchise and you don’t

this might be a weird one but I really thought I was gonna ship Victor Van Dort/Victoria Everglot or Victor Van Dort/Emily (Corpse Bride) and I just didn’t for either of them. I DO HOWEVER SHIP EMILY/VICTORIA EVERGLOT.

29. Favourite crossover ship

OHHHHH we gotta go with Kate Kane/Kara Danvers (Arrowverse) like look at them look at the gay it’s like SuperBat but the female millennial version

30. Favourite canon ship

Princess Bubblegum/Marceline (Adventure Time)! I’m overjoyed they are canon! I’m not done watching all of this show but still,,,,, and that means we can get Prince Gumball/Marshall Lee to be confirmed canon too?? Yes?? 

31. Favourite non-canon ship

I know we can’t like CONFIRM in canon but Frodo Baggins/Samewise Gamgee are in love and there’s no denying this. They’re canon enough to me.

32. Favourite ship for hurt-comfort

All of my ships are good for hurt/comfort and whump. I don’t discriminate.

33. Ship that you ship in one installment of franchise but not in other (for example in movie,but not in the book this movie is based on)

I ship Hannibal Lecter/Clarice Starling in the movies for Hannibal related things, even though Will Graham exists in them, but I ship Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham for NBC’s Hannibal 100% and won’t ship them with anyone else

34. Ship that you never expected to ship when you were younger but here you are

I never expected to ship Harry Potter/Ron Weasley/Hermione Granger all together years down the road,,,,, since as a kid I flip-flopped between Ron/Hermione & Harry/Me,,,, er,,,,,,,,, I mean Harry/My OC That Was Definitely Not Me At All and Harry/Hermione but here we are

35. Ship that you have kinda love/hate relationship with

right now it’s Rue Bennett/Jules Vaughn (HBO’s Euphoria) because they’re so cute,,, they really are,,, but they can be so bad together and I hate that! I just want it to work out but Jules doesn’t understand her own feelings,,, and is kinda fucking around with Rue’s feelings,,,,,, and Rue needs to deal with her drug addiction problems first,,,, but let’s see what happens for Season 2

36. Characters that you can’t decide if you prefer as ship or brotp

okay FIRST OFF we don’t “brotp” anything no more because the term was created with homophobic connotations so replace it with “friendship” and honestly I can’t decide if I like Lucifer/Chloe Decker (Netflix’s Lucifer) as a romantic or platonic ship or somewhere between. I haven’t decided.