#anyways that was horrible it was worse than the time I had a dream I killed someone and was a wsnted fugitive

[thegreatestheaver]

Conventional nightmares are scary but I think it’s the unrealistic ones that are the most scary

[pitchsidestories]

la furia roja II Laia Codina x Reader

masterlist I word count: 1408

a/n: based off this request, we always love to hear from you. ❤️

warnings: injury, bleeding, a furious Laia

Laia was seeing red.

Helplessly she saw you going to the ground after the midfielder from the other team fouled her girlfriend. For a moment her whole world stood still for the brunette once the player realized you must be in a lot of pain.

It was an important game for Arsenal, they needed to win this to qualify for the next Champions League qualification round which the team didn’t make it last year.

Under the strong floodlights, the Spanish defender noticed your head bleeding heavily.

Worried Laia called for you. “Y/n!”

“Someone needs to take a look at her.”, Kim said out loud, winking the medical team to your side.

While you could feel the warm blood dropping down your face.

“I’m fine, really.”, you tried to assure them.

“This is so much blood.”, Mariona muttered standing next to Kim to shield you from the curious cameras who were keen to film such dramatic incidents.

“And who’s fault was that?!”, Laia accused furiously the player who committed the foul against you.

“Laia, you need to calm down.”, you told her softly as the medical staff was guiding you carefully to the sideline.

“Laia, she’s right. It was an accident.”, the Spanish midfielder remarked in a gentle tone.

“No, she did that intentionally!”, your girlfriend claimed angrily, shaking off Mariona’s hand who had rested on her shoulder to soothe her nerves.

Meanwhile the adrenaline helped you with not feeling much of the pain that would be later. The team doctor bandaged your head to stop the bleeding effectively.

“Oh, I’ll look ridiculous.”, you stated with a sigh.

“Very Alex Grennwood.”, Leah commented with an amused grin on her lips.

“True.”, you agreed smiling weakly.

“No, from the way she complains about it, it’s more Alanna Kennedy.”, Steph observed.

“Doesn’t matter they’re both blonde, defenders and play for City, so they could be the same person.”, the second captain laughed.

Eagerly you waited until another interruption of the game happened to get back on the pitch.

Impatiently you returned to your position, turning your head to Mariona to ask her. “Did Laia really receive a yellow card now?”

“I tried but I couldn’t stop her.”, the older woman replied.

“It’s fine, Mario.”, you responded, luckily it wasn’t that long to play anymore anyway so that card didn’t affect the game as badly.

“It’s not fine!”, Laia protested upset that you played your head injury down in front of your friends.

The goalkeeper from the opposition was still down, you put a hand on your girlfriend’s chest to put her worries at ease.

“Laia.”

“That looked horrible.”, she confessed with a shaky voice, wrapping her arms around you protectively. A cool breeze came up, heralding the arrival of autumn and the end of summer.

“I know but I promise you it looked way worse than it actually was.”, you gave her your word, soothing the worried lines on her forehead.

Kim interrupted the two of you, clearly annoyed that you kept talking during the game: “Come on, girls. You can talk about that later, we have ten more minutes to go.“

“Right, vamos!“, Mariona agreed, clapping her hands for motivation.

Laia looked over at you, then nodded once: “Okay, let’s go.“

The last minutes of the game dragged out like viscously flowing honey. By the time the referee blew the final whistle, the bandage the doctors had wrapped around your head had come undone, sliding down over your left ear.

Still, neither this nor your head injury could keep you from celebrating moving on to the second round of the Champions League qualification. One more step and your dream would come true.

“Next round of CL qualification, here we come!“

You bounced on the balls of your feet with excitement while you hugged your teammates, a huge grin plastered on your face. At least until someones hands appeared on your shoulders, keeping you standing still.

Looking up, you met Laias eyes who studied your face with unusual sternness: “Calm down, no jumping.“

“Sorry, it just feels so good after not making it last year.“, you apologized, not really sorry. You felt fine and wanted to enjoy this moment.

Your girlfriends eyes softened, knowing how badly you wanted to play UWCL: “Yes, I know. But…“

“But…?“, you asked, hoping she would complete her sentence.

“We need to take care of your head now.“, she said and you wondered if that was what she actually wanted to say.

You sighed: “After thanking the fans, okay?“

“No.“

“But-“, you started but stopped yourself. You weren’t even sure what you wanted to say. You just wanted her to finally stop worrying. The doctors had let you continue the game after all.

“Stay here.“, Laia begged, her hand gently encircling your wrist.

With one last look at the fans cheering from the stands, you finally agreed: “Fine…“

“Thanks. Now how do you feel?“, the Spanish defender asked, her features relaxing a bit more.

You thought about your answer for a moment. You didn’t want to worry her but you also didn’t want to lie.

“Okay, just a bit dizzy.“, you finally admitted. Maybe she was right and the celebrations had been a tad too much. But it was fine, you have had worse injuries in your career.

But of course Laias face turned into a frown, the worried line between her eyebrows making a reappearance. “Are you sure you’re okay? Do you want to sit down? Do you need water?“

You carefully shook your head, just in case the vertigo could worsen: “Only want to go home now…“

“Okay. We’ll get our stuff and then we’ll go home.”, she nodded in an earnest tone.

Cautiously you turned around to look into the eyes of your two friends, biting your lip guiltily. “Wally, Mario, is it okay If we do the dinner another time soon?”

“Of course! Don’t worry about it. Go home and rest.”, Lia replied, giving you a brief but comforting hug.

“Thanks, you two are the sweetest.”, you answered, smiling at the couple in front of you.

“And maybe just maybe Laia can properly cool down. You should let her do an ice bath.”, Mariona teased the defender.

“Hey! I was just worried about her.”, Laia defended herself.

“Yeah, you were a furia on the pitch.”, the midfielder remembered chuckling.

“That’s called being Spanish.”, your girlfriend shrugged.

“Nah, you’re usually less aggressive.”, Mariona remarked.

“It was about her, okay?”, the brunette responded passionately.

“Okay, but pretty sure everyone knows that she’s your girl.”, the older woman commented amused.

“They do now at least.”, Laia said with a proud grin on her lips.

“Oh god, Laia, what have you done.”, you mumbled half seriously half-jokingly, hiding your face into her side.

“Nothing.”, your girlfriend smiled innocently.

“Sure, let’s go now we can deal with the fans tomorrow.”, you pulled her hoodie as you made your way to the front door.

“Please.” Right before you left you waved your teammates goodbye, when you stepped outside into the dark of the night.

At home you were shaking your head slightly while your girlfriend was gathering all the things you could possibly need in this moment.  “You know that I’m not that badly injured, right?”

“It’s a head injury after all.”, Laia disagreed whole-heartedly.

“Yes, but you already took good care of me.”, you reminded her softly.

“And now I make sure you rest enough.”, she declared leading you to the bedroom you shared, the only light source on were the fairy lights wrapped around the top bedframe giving everything in it’s reach a soft glow.

“I do.”, you protested as you made yourself comfortable.

“I got you pillows, water and some snacks.”, your girlfriend listed.

“Thanks, Laia.”, you kissed her cheek, hoping it transmitted the gratefulness you felt towards her.

“You’re welcome, amor.”, Laia waved it off.

After she had joined you on the bed you glanced at her with a shy smile. “I could really need your hugs right now.”

Without another word the brunette pulled you into her strong arms, with closed eyes you inhaled your familiar, calming, fresh out of the shower scent.

“They’re the best.”, you hummed.

“Better.”, she asked.

“Yes.” You paused for a second before adding. “Te amo.”

“I love you too, amor.”, she whispered her voice thick with emotions.

No more words needed to be said that night. You could feel the love tonight you had for each other.

[dyns33]

Only wastelands

I will try to do this Cooper Howard x reader in three parts, but I like the Ghoul so much, I might want to write more

People said Y/N’s neighborhood was lucky.

After a draw, they were selected to join a Vault shelter for free, if something dramatic happened one day, allowing them to survive.

Y/N had received the news with mixed feelings. She didn't want to die from a nuclear bomb, but she also didn't want to think about the possibility of a nuclear bomb falling on their heads.

There was no reason for this to happen anyway.

China and the United States had resumed peace negotiations. The war was going to end and everything would be wonderful. The vaults would then be of no use.

That day, she was washing dishes in her small kitchen. She lived alone, having left her parents who were in another state to settle near Lors Angeles.

Of course, she had first dreamed of Hollywood, and then she had been reasonable, finding a normal job, to live a normal life.

First there was the light. For a moment, she blinked, wondering if she had fainted. And looking out the window, she first saw the smoke in the distance.

Her neighbors were out, she could see them in the street which also looked towards the city center, and no doubt they were talking, but Y/N heard nothing, all her attention fixed on the smoke.

It was just smoke. She watched without being able to move as the cloud grew, before the shock wave reached her house, destroying the windows and shaking the walls.

Screams were then heard, in addition to the sirens. Falling to the ground in shock, Y/N almost didn't get up, but one of the neighbors, instead of thinking selfishly, ran to see if she was still there, helping her to get up and taking her with her to the vault.

Everything happened very quickly after that.

Y/N vaguely remembered those smiling doctors, who explained to them that everything would be fine, doing several exams before putting what they called a pipboy on them, giving them a ridiculous blue and yellow jumpsuit.

"You are now the inhabitants of Vault 8. What has just happened is a tragedy, and we are going to need you to ensure the future of humanity."

They were taken to a large room, with human-sized tubes. The doctors explained that they would be put to sleep, kept in the cold, safe, and awakened only on the day when it would be possible to go out and repopulate the Earth without it being dangerous.

No one could have known that they were not safe at all.

When Y/N opened her eyes, she had a hard time understanding what was happening. There was no light in the vault, except for the one in her crate which had just opened automatically.

Most of the boxes in front of her were open and empty. Then turning around, she discovered decomposing corpses in those that had remained closed.

Her cries of terror brought no one to come, because there was no one in the shelter, just as there were no resources, no water, no food, nothing. Because no one was supposed to survive here.

For two days, Y/N cried, not knowing what to do.

Then she decided she didn't want to die, not like that anyway, and she tried her luck outside. She didn't know how long she had slept, or what she would find, but she had to try.

Her pipboy quickly told her that the air was breathable, despite the presence of radiation in certain places. But that wasn't the most important thing for her, seeing the desert surrounding the vault.

The bombs had destroyed everything, leaving only ruins and sand. Not being stupid, Y/N moved forward cautiously, trying to stay as covered as possible, even if it was difficult with her outfit.

On her way, she encountered two-headed cows, giant cockroaches, and other horrible creatures. No humans though, and she didn't know if that was a good thing.

With war, she knew that men could be much worse than beasts. Maybe they were all dead, from the explosions or all killing each other, or maybe they were still in the other vaults.

But life always found a way, even for assholes, and Y/N was attacked by three men while she was sleeping. Real savages, who talked more about eating her than anything else, laughingly ignoring her pleas.

“Now, that’s no way to treat a woman.” someone then said, stopping them as they were about to cut open her stomach.

"We found the bitch before you, pal ! Go get your lunch somewhere else !"

"Oh, but I think I found my meal. Mistreating a lady."

“You fucking ghoul !”

Too busy trying to get away, Y/N hadn't really looked at the man who had just arrived and was shooting at her attackers. Then, still too busy recovering from her misery, she took a while to raise her head, ready to thank her savior.

He didn't really seem surprised by her terror, although he grimaced as he watched her crawl away from him. She had to put her hand over her mouth to stop screaming.

It was impossible to tell if he had been burned or peeled, but the cowboy no longer had a nose, and his skin was in a catastrophic state.

As she stared at him with wide eyes, he watched her too, his attention settling on her pipboy.

"Ah. A vaultie. I understand the screams better. Never seen a ghoul before, sweetie ? Barely coming out of your little hole ?"

"… Sorry."

"No problem, sugar. You haven't insulted me or thrown things at me yet, it's quite polite."

At first, the ghoul was not very friendly. Yes, he had saved her, but he didn't want her to follow him into the wastelands. He didn't need a burden, and even less if it was a little rich girl.

But Y/N insisted, explaining to him what had happened to her, and the man looked at her with what looked like pity, muttering that she had ended up in one of the "bad vaults".

"I don't understand. What year is it ? Why is it only me who survived ? You… Sorry, what happened to you ?"

"Hey, honey. It's been over 200 years since everything blew up, thanks to Vault Tech. I imagine you and your friends were meant to serve as a pantry or an organ bank but like all their equipment, there's had a problem, and you were very lucky not to die like the others, and since you were there when everything happened, you should be able to guess why I am like this."

The Ghoul was gentleman enough to let her cry without comment.

The world was dead, and all because of money and power. Those who had sworn to protect them had killed them all. Nothing remained but an infertile, polluted, radioactive land, where the few survivors fought between factions instead of trying to find a real solution.

"Please… Don't leave me here…"

"You know, people didn't really like guys like me. It's not a good idea, sweetheart."

“They don’t like cowboys ?”

The question made him laugh. Maybe that was why he let her follow him. Or maybe because he wasn't as bad as he wanted to make out. Surely he felt lonely too, and it was nice to have someone who had lived in the same era as him , and who didn't judge him on his appearance.

Y/N didn’t understand ghoulophibia at all. Yes, they were scary, but that was no reason to mistreat these poor people.

"Okay, we judged on lots of things before, skin color, clothes, religion, but… Now, it's as if we were pointing at a cancer patient and shouting 'Look, he's sick Insult him !”

“It’s more complicated than that, sugar.” sighed the Ghoul, taking out a sort of hynalator to swallow its contents.

He explained radioactivity and the risks for him of becoming feral when they arrived in their first city. A chance for her to stay safe with people, their paths separating quietly.

But after three fights and an attack by Deathclaws, she preferred to stay with him.

So he taught her how to survive, use weapons, hide, follow a trail, earn caps. When asked why caps and not something else, he made a noise, saying he had no fucking idea, but men still wanted something to make business instead of helping each others for free.

After several months, he gave her a name. Cooper. Cooper Howard. He groaned when she asked him if he had anything to do with the old actor who did the Vault Tech commercial.

“Thanks for the bad memories, sweetie. An autograph ?”

“No thanks, never was a fan.”

"Ouch. Not even now, with my new look ? Do you think the cameras would like me ?"

“Let’s say that you will need less makeup for certain types of films, and a bag for others.”

Cooper laughed again, smiling at her with his slightly yellow teeth. It was obvious that it had been a long time since he had laughed like that with anyone.

He told her about his daughter after a year together in the wastelands. Handing her a photo, Y/N could see him as he was before, holding the little girl in his arms. They looked happy.

As she was about to give it back to him, he told her to keep it. It was the most important thing to him, so Y/N could keep the picture safe, and she would know that he would always come for her.

She muttered that she didn't doubt it anyway, putting the photo in her bag.

It was even longer later, when she had proclaimed herself the accountant of their small group, that Y/N noticed an inconsistency between the caps earned and the number of vials Cooper had.

“You should have five more vials.”

“Sugar, leave it.”

"No, really, I counted three times. I know the price by heart, you had fifty caps on your way to town, you should have fifteen vials. Is there a problem ? Has the price changed ? You… You Are you feeling well ?”

"I'm fine, sweetie. Sleep."

“But Coop…”

“Y/N, sleep.”

In the end, the price hadn't changed, Cooper was fine, but since they met, he had been spending his caps on non-irradiated water and food. For Y/N.

This discovery was a shock to her, who often watched him drink from puddles or eat human remains.

He didn't want her to do this. For her to become like him. When teaching her how to shoot, he added that it was just in case, because she wouldn't need to fight while he was there.

And now they were arguing about food, and he was ordering her to promise that she would continue to take what he gave her without question.

"You don't drink that dirty shit. You hear me, sugar ? Can you promise me ? You'll never drink that."

"… All right."

Their relationship was complicated. Cooper had probably told her everything, and yet he kept a distance. He didn't like her touching him, patting his shoulder or snuggling up to him to sleep.

Maybe he was afraid of making her sick. Maybe he thought she would rot on contact with him, and not just her skin.

Y/N really liked him anyway. They were both over 200 years old, even though she had been frozen during that time. They had spent a lot of time together. And even if she was still a little dizzy by his lack of nose, it wasn't the most important thing in a man.

It would have been two years when the raiders attacked. Far too many, so Cooper yelled at Y/N to run, to hide far away. He would come get her later.

Several days passed, and nothing. She was good at hiding, he had shown her, so it was possible that Cooper hadn't found her because she had become too good.

So she returned to the town where he came from, to at least find some informations. People did not easily forget the passage of The Ghoul.

But she didn't have to ask. She saw him in the bar, drinking and chatting with several guys.

Silent, discreet as a shadow, she came close enough to hear, thinking that he was in the middle of an business, and that she could surprise him when he finished with a beautiful reunion.

“You really don’t know where she is, Ghoul ?”

"Nah. Look guys, I know she was a real lil puppy that followed me everywhere, but I finally got rid of her, so I don't really care where she is. Not my problem. It was fun at first, but good riddance.”

She had seen the bomb fall, she had seen the bodies of her neighbors, but Y/N had never felt so bad as in that moment. She could feel her heart breaking in her chest, as Cooper and the others laughed together, mocking her.

Once, he had said that she should never trust anyone. It was an important rule to survive. But Y/N never believed that rule would include him.

With her bag and her weapon, she ran into the night, alone in the middle of the wasteland for the first time since she left her vault, and completely unaware of what she was going to do.

Only one thing was certain, she would never see Cooper Howard again.

[save-the-villainous-cat]

"You must feel betrayed," the villain said quietly. It wasn't quite a whisper but the hero was already used to their rather calm nature. It didn't help them at all, though. The acid feeling in their throat wouldn't disappear and neither would the horrible, horrible guilt.

"I failed, didn't I?" they asked. They could barely breathe. Their hands were shaking.

"This isn't the end of the world," the villain said. They sat down on the kitchen chair. "How is your arm?"

The hero looked down at the cast and despite the pain seeping through it, they couldn't really care enough to take any medication. On most days, when their mind bore their rawest desires once they woke up, they wished to wake up somewhere else. They wished all of this was a bad dream, a reality they could escape eventually. But it wasn't. It really wasn't.

"It wasn't a clean break," the hero said. "I didn't expect it to be one."

They were begging for the villain's comfort. Both of them knew it. Crawling to their enemy in the middle of the night wasn't the only humiliating thing.

No, rather that the villain was the last person there was to crawl to - that was even worse.

"I am scared," the hero admitted. They were vulnerable already. And they figured this life was over anyway. This superhero life.

"I know," the villain answered. Their eyes were on the hero but they were gentle, they were pitiful. "But what has happened to you is not your fault. And what they did to you wasn't either."

What had happened to the hero had been simple. Abuse over years from their superior. It had been an open secret that the hero would end up in the hospital wing several times when the superhero's patience would be short-lived. For whatever reason, the hero had always been their favorite target and the hero suspected it had something to do with their resilience.

But what they had done to the hero...The hero suspected the villain wasn't referring to the superhero but someone else entirely. That was the whole reason why the hero was here in the villain's kitchen in the first place.

The hero sat down on another chair and combed with their healthy hand through their hair. For a few moments, they held their own face in their hand, longing for some comfort, even if it was their own hand.

"I must have been quite the unpleasant person in my previous life to deserve this," the hero joked but the villain didn't smile. They leaned forward.

"Your sidekick didn't betray you because you weren't good enough," the villain said. "They believe the lies the superhero tells them. They believe the fairytales and the bedtime stories. They believe there are easy solutions to complex problems. They believe that you have to become just as evil to defeat the bad guys."

"I failed them, then. I tried everything I could to-"

"No. You didn't fail them," the villain said. "The superhero is more powerful than you are. They are more influential."

"But I should have taught my sidekick to-"

"No." The hero was surprised by the sharpness of the villain's voice. Their nemesis took in a breath and tried to collect themselves. "Listen. You're not flawless. No one is. But you are closer to it than any of the rest of us. You tried everything you could. But what on earth are you supposed to do when you are getting beaten up by your own boss all the time?! You never got the chance to teach your sidekick anything."

The hero didn't say anything to that. Deep down, they knew the villain was right about that last part. But the guilt devoured them like a cancer.

"Aren't you angry?" the villain asked. The hero could see how their nemesis was clenching their jaw. Their knuckles were as white as snow.

"No...I'm - God - I don't know." It was so frustrating the hero wanted to cry. Mostly, they were indeed scared. Scared of being in this city, scared of seeing the superhero, scared of going outside.

But anger? The hero doubted they had any strength left for that emotion.

"I just want all of this to be over," the hero said. "I can't fight anymore. But my sidekick..."

Suddenly, the villain stood up from their chair and walked up to the hero.

"Alright," they said gently. "Let's run away together."

"What?"

The villain offered their hand and the hero took it, clearly confused. The villain helped them stand up.

"If it's too much heartbreak and if it's too much pain, we should start over. We can leave the city. We can leave the country. If you want to fight back, I'll fight beside you. It is your decision."

"Why are you...?" The villain avoided their gaze. Instead, they stared at the hero's hand they were still holding.

"Let's clean you up," the villain said. The hero's own blood was still sticking to their fingers. They hadn't noticed. "And think about my offer."

[seneon]

SAVIOUR OF NIGHTMARES ──── rin itoshi × fem! reader

about. in which, a consumer of nightmares saves the delver. made in abyss! au. reader is half-narehate (hollow). ooc rin. kind of fluff. wc of 900+

notes. ( wrote this back in june during my made in abyss hyperfixation ) anyways i love mia and belaf and and and. tagging @sweetheartsaku, @anqelically, @choccorin !!

nightmares. something that he always has. not even in a blue moon or occasionally, but almost every day. every day of his life the moment he shuts his eyes, it is as if a nightmare demon has favoured him and punctured the idea of horrifying dreams into the mind.

not a single day passes without a single speck of a blood-curdling image just roaming around at the back of his mind, awaiting to display like an inescapable horror movie.

in those nightmares, itoshi rin sometimes dreams of the worst possible outcome of the pit, the abyss. but mostly and the worst of all, his brother. as a delver of the black whistle, he fears almost nothing, except for the end of himself failing to his brother.

of course, you need no fear of being at the level of a white whistle. just like his brother. rin only exists to beat his brother, even if sae has gotten a white whistle a few years ago, rin still did not receive one.

it only meant that rin isn't at that level of his brother yet. his brother who has travelled with the most legendary delvers like ozen the immovable, or lyza the annihilator. rin was tempted to descend into a white whistle.

little did the itoshi know, his dreams and goals would only steer further away from him as his nightmares grew worse and worse every night. even now— as his mind swirled with the darkest days where he had a conflict with his brother. an argument that would change rin to be the way he is.

he still dreams of it until this day. even if the younger itoshi’s inner feelings say otherwise, his feelings of hatred are more prominent than the ones of love and affection. that was how horrible it has become until his hatred has formed into a demon in his mind that vomits nightmares into rin.

the delver shifted in his sleeping mattress, sweat already formed from the anxiety that his mind played through. his closed eyelids would occasionally move, eyebrows scrunching in a sense of pain.

“i can save you from your nightmares,” a feminine voice called through the audio of the horror playthrough, as rin remained silent. “just give me a little love.”

huh?

give who a little love?

who is speaking to rin?

“i can help you tonight, and every other night. you just have to give me your love in return.”

tempting, but extremely suspicious. is this another dream trying to coexist with his nightmare about his elder brother? is this possible? a mysterious voice that blocks out all other noises and only speaks to rin himself.

it doesn't matter, rin needed the hellish punishments of a nightmare to cease at this moment. so he agreed, even if he didn't know how to agree with him, the voice responded to him and he could physically feel as if his dreams were being lifted from the insides of his brains.

then, cold yet gentle fingers touched the skin of the itoshi, gently cupping his face to caress his soft skin. you then leaned down on the sleeping form of the delver and placed a soft kiss onto his lips. pulling away not to be distracted by anything else, you placed your forehead on his as your noses touched.

rin felt a cool air on his forehead. it slowly seeped into his forehead and sunk into his mind, giving his mind a place of peace. it was like all his bad memories and all the nightmares he has to sleep through has been frozen by the cool air just as it was all replaced with utter calmness instead of calamity.

for the first time in years, he finally had peace while his eyes were shut. his eyelids weren't shaking or struggling to keep awake or fall asleep into hell, but they were still and peaceful.

you watched in curiousity at the human male, a delver with a black whistle. you wondered, why is he not a white whistle yet? he is already in such a deep layer into the abyss. someone with his survivor skill is bound to own a white whistle.

at least, that's what you knew from the previous white whistle delvers that you've met along the way. you shifted rin’s messy bangs. but the moment you pull your hands away from his face, he grabs your hand gently.

“is it you? the one who punctured peace into my mind.”

you nodded. “i only consumed your nightmares because you consented to it.”

rin’s teal eyes looked up at your hovering form. still in a sluggish state, he scans your being. he couldn't tell if you are human or a creature of the abyss, for he is only focused on one thing.

“you are so beautiful... ” he said, letting go of your hands to shift them to your face. “you are my saviour, aren't you?”

as a narehate, you felt yourself blushing at the human teenager who held your face in his own arms. his voice and words too, were hypnotising, as if they were coated in honey and you are a bee not resisting them.

this human, a black whistle delver, itoshi rin, he's yours. yours the moment you laid your eyes on him through the force fields of the abyss as you watched him ventured until this layer. it was simply fate that brought the two of you together.

rin was even willing to love you for an eternity and become a narehate himself if you'll prevent and save him from having hellish nightmares. even if you become a white instrument for the male, he'll do anything for you.

© SENEON 2024 ♰ do not repost, alter, or translate.

[arc-misadventures]

There’s Something On Your Face

Another day, another dollar, another poorly written news story.

Jaune Arc may have finally landed his dream job at the, Daily Planet. Being able to tell, and explore various stories that help inform people throughout the world. Being able to see, and hear all sort of things. And, being around some of the most talented reporters in the world. It was his dream come true!

But, good gods the people here were illiterate.

Jaune: Haaa… Good lord…

Nora: What’s wrong, Jaune?

Jaune: This place is filled with some of the most talented news reporters in the country, but they all seemingly pose the writing capabilities of an eight grader! Which isn’t all the surprising considering the country’s falling education system…

Nora: Why, what did they spell wrong?

Jaune: Ruby, was writing a report about the ecological damage, Lex Corp has committed in that gas leak we had the other week. And, she wrote: ‘The effects of the ass leak will have unseen effects…’ Ass leak… Good lord…

Nora: Well… it’s where gas leaks emanate from.

Jaune: …

Jaune: You’ve been hanging around, Yang too much. That… that was just horrible.

Nora: She makes worse puns than that, and you know it.

Jaune: True. Speaking of bad puns, where is, Yang?

Nora: I don’t know, maybe she got an exclusive scoop, and had to go report on it again.

Jaune: Yeah, another exclusive scoop…

Jaune turned to look outside, his mind gazing over the familiar high rise landscape before him as a question that had been plaguing him ran amok. That stopped when he saw a green blur fly past followed by a white figure chasing after it.

Jaune: Oh, looks like, Superwoman’s got a dancing partner. Though I don’t think it’s a good dancing partner.

Nora: Wait, what?!

He said this as nonchalantly, and generally uncaring as possible as he saw his coworkers rush to the window to see what was a abuzz.

Jaune had been at the, Daily Planet well before, Superwoman had arrived. He had reported on her first exploits as a hero saving, Metropolis. Had conducted several personal one on one interviews with her. Hell, he had even been saved by her a few times. So seeing her go about doing superhero things like saving the city from an alien invasion, some villain with a massive ego boner, or simply saving some kids kitten stuck in a tree, he had seen it, and written about dozens of times before. It was time that the new blood reported on such stories. Besides, he would know about it all in the end anyway, when he checked up on their atrocious grammar mistakes anyway.

But, as, Jaune looked through the window to see, Superwoman’s white cape billowing in the wind. Her dazzling smile radiating the sky as he blond locks of hair shined seemingly created a halo of light around her. Making her appear like an angel in the sky. He couldn’t help but ask himself the same question he often found himself ask all the time as of later:

Who was it that wore the mask of, Superwoman?

~~~

: Hey, Jaune!

Jaune’s musing from grading more spelling mistakes, and poor grammar was broken when a warm voice freed him from his stupor. He looked up to see violet eyes hidden behind thick black rimmed glasses with a warm welcoming smile he knew all too well.

Jaune: Oh, hello, Yang. Where have you been?

Yang Xiao Long had been working at the, Daily Planet for a few years now, she was a highly skilled reporter with an uncanny ability to always snag the hottest scoop from under your very nose. She also had this odd habit of suddenly disappearing, and reappearing at will. She could have been fired for this if she didn’t keep on bringing such fantastic news stories though.

But, as he looked upon her, her dorky little smile, and her hair tied in its usual ponytail. He could help but wonder how she would look like if she removed those ugly frames of hers, and wore contacts, it was such a shame to hide such a beautiful dace after all.

Yang: Oh catching this juicy story by the docks!

Jaune: The docks? What were you doing around there?

Yang: Oh… I was… I was just out for a jog. That’s all~!

He could help, but quirk an eyebrow at her rather odd remark. They lived in the same building, the docks were on the other side of town from where they lived. And, she found this supposed juicy story on a jog? That didn’t add up.

Jaune: And, the story?

Yang: How, Lex Corp recently bought it, and how a lot of strange items have been coming through. And, an odd amount of stuff like fruit, and vegetables.

Jaune accepted the paper containing, Yang’s story, and put if with pile of stories he need to review. Her brief synopsis sounded ridiculous, but, Lex Corp was a shady place. He was once been given a bag of peanuts by them, and he would swear on his life that whatever he ate that day wasn’t a real peanut.

Jaune: Okay, I’ll give it a look see when I come to it. Need anything else?

Yang: Nope, that’s all.

Jaune: Okay, now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to pondering how our education system if failing to teach proper english to people.

Yang: Okay! I’ll be here if you need me.

Jaune watched her, the country girl in the big city seemingly skip her way to her desk to work on what ever new story she had concocted.

She was a nice girl, but she was a little odd. Everyone was a little odd so that wasn’t a huge problem, but their was something especially odd about, Yang. He had several feelings about the girl, he understood, and rationalized them as best he could.

And, yet there was just something he couldn’t pin down about the girl.

~~~

Jaune looked to the clock on the corner of his computer screen, and saw that it had ticked past six o’clock. He looked around the office, and saw that it was only him, and one person left in the office.

He rubbed his eyes as he stood up. He grabbed some paper, and walked over to the last person in the office.

Jaune: Congratulations. You the only person who didn’t piss me off today.

Yang: What?

Yang looked at him confused as he handed her back her news story. She looked at the paper, and the only mark she saw was the stamp that read: ‘Print it.’

Yang: I’m confused.

Jaune: I’ve been reviewing, and fixing everyone’s stories all day, and yours is the only one I didn’t have to fix. To which I thank you.

Yang: Oh, no problem, Jaune! Were there any bad spelling errors you need to fix?

Jaune: Lets see, first off there was, Ruby’s mistake of writing, ‘Ass leak,’ instead of, ‘gas leak.’ Nora got lost on a tangent of talking about pancakes in her story, again. Neptune’s story was supposed to be about the new swimming pool that was built, but he spent most of his time failing to flirt with girls according to, Sun. And, the cherry on top was, Blake’s report on the faunas rights rally. Instead of writing, ‘feline’ she for some reason wrote the worss, ‘peal lime.’

Yang: Pfft-hahahaha!

Yang’s warm laughter was infectious, and brought a smile to his face as he watched her happy smile play across her face.

Jaune: Considering the fact she is a cat faunas she should know what the hell she’s talking about, but nope. Apparently she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

Yang: ‘Peal lime.’ Ha! That’s a good one.

Jaune: Yeah. So thanks for not giving me more work to do for a change.

Yang: Just doing my job, Jaune. Think nothing of it.

Jaune: It’s always nice to have something to relax to. So let me have this one. Okaaaaaaay…?

Jaune’s words began to slur as his head tipped inquisitively to the side as he looked at, Yang’s face. The action made, Yang nervously fidget as he appeared to be looking for something.

Yang: I-Is there something wrong, Jaune?

Jaune: There’s something on your face. Hold still, I’ll get it.

Yang’s face started to become flushed red as, Jaune leaned down, and moved closer to her face. She started stuttering as his hands came closer to closer, and then the unthinkable happened.

Jaune had pulled off her glasses.

Jaune: Ah ha! I got it, there was a disguise on your face, Yang. Or perhaps I should say… Superwoman~!

And, had swiftly, and effortless unmasked her super hero persona.

Yang: H-How… How did you find out…?

Jaune smiled softly at her as he took a seat in the chair across from her. He handed back her glasses to which she rapidly put back on to hide herself so to speak.

Jaune: I thought you’d put up more of a fight, and deny you were, Superwoman. But, to answer your question, I’ve had several reasons to suspect it was you. The fact that when one of you is present, the other has seemingly disappeared. That you seeming always have the scoop, then Superwoman deals with it before the authorities could possibly deal with it. Before we even have the oppression to publish the story. You seemingly have insane reflexes that no normal human with years of experience could develop. And, i know you have super hearing; how else could you have heard where, Mrs. Schnee’s wedding ring fell. You had her back to her, and it fell upon a carpet, I couldn’t hear that, and yet you did. These are all speculative reasonings though, easily can be construed as drawing conclusions. But, do you really want to know how I knew you were, Superwoman?

Yang: H-How…?

Yang was sacred, for the first time since she had dawned on the cape, she was genuinely scared. She knew, Jaune could be highly analytically minded when he wanted to, and that he had this terrifying habit on picking up on the smallest of details. And, if he seduced her secretly identity just by noticing the small details others would pass over, what else had he discovered about her?

Jaune: Your eyes.

Yang: What…?!

Jaune: Your eyes… People may share the same shade of blue, brown, yellow, what ever colour there is. But, they don’t look that same. I remember staring into those violet eyes for the first time, and being mesmerized by how soft of a warm violet they were. Then, I remember when, Superwoman saved me from that weird, Toy Master fellow, I couldn’t help, but notice how beautiful her eyes were. But, I knew this was the first time I saw them, I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that I’ve seen them before. And, I finally answered that lingering question that plagued the back of my mind. So, does that answer your question, Superwoman?

Yang: …

Yang: I-I’m not in my costume… Y-Yang’s just fine… And, yeah… that answers my question… Well at least some of them, but yeah…

Yang looked away nervously before starting, Jaune down with a worried expression etched across her face.

Yang: So you know my secret identity… N-Now what…? Are you going to tell the world that, Yang Xiao Long is, Superwoman?

Jaune: No, no I won’t tell anyone.

Yang breathed a sigh of relief that washed away all the fear she had been building up.

Jaune: However, you have to do one thing for me.

And, suddenly all that fear, and dread came rushing back like a tidal wave.

Yang: A-Are you blackmailing me?!

Jaune: Mmm… Kinda, yeah.

Yang was shocked, she saw, Jaune as such a sweet, and caring person, was he really going to blackmail her?!

And, what would he make her do? Steal a vault, break a bridge, kill someone?! What could he possibly…

Jaune: Perchino’s, tomorrow, say five o’clock?

Yang: Eh…?

Yang looked towards this goofballs smiling face as she was utter lost in thought at what he just said. So lost that she honestly took a minute to go from her fear to being blackmailed to realizing what he had just said.

Yang: P-Perchino’s… a-at five…?

Jaune: Does six work better?

Yang: Waitwaitwait! Are you asking me out on a date?!

Jaune: Surprised?

Yang: Honestly, yes. Yes I am… I thought you would tell me to rob a bank for you, or something like that. Not ask me out… o-on a date…

Jaune: Well, if it makes you feel better I’m asking you because I’ve been meaning to for a while now.

Yang: Y-You have?

Jaune: Yeah, it’s just every time I try you’re suddenly gone. But, now I know why. So, since I have you here; Does five, or six o’clock work for you?

Yang: …

Yang: F-Five o’clock…

Jaune: Awesome! Well, it’s late, and I need to get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow, Yang. Don’t stay up too late saving the city! Bye.

And, with that, Jaune was gone, leaving a bewildered, Yang behind.

In the space of five minutes, Jaune Arc had turned her world upside down. He unmasked her effortlessly, twice. He had her quaking her her boots when he said he was going to blackmail her into committing a crime. And, he had asked her out on a date instead.

He had asked her out on a date.

Yang was asked out on a date.

Yang: I have a date tomorrow…

Yang: …

Yang: I have a date tomorrow…?

Yang: …

Yang: I have a date tomorrow!~!

Yang squealed in glee as she realized that her crush had asked her out on a date. This was unbelievable, unforgettable, highly unpredictable, highly…

(Shatter!)

Yang’s exuberance was cut short as she saw that several of the offices windows had been shattered from the high pitch her joyous squeal had made. She looked about the office, before looking back at the window in shock.

Yang: …

Yang: Oh shit…

///

I had a thought the other day: It’s called the Kryptonian AU, who says, Jaune has to be the Kryptonian.

[anonymous-dentist]

Or: Once upon a time, a man turned himself into a demon for the sake of his husband's soul. It's been a long time since then.

-

Demons don't really need to sleep, but Roier likes to do it, anyway. It's relaxing, and it reminds him of better times back when he was human and his husband wasn't... well.

Well.

Jaiden doesn't get it, but that's because she's never known what dreams are. Because demons don't sleep and, unlike Roier, she was born a demon. Her and Bobby both were, leaving Roier as the odd one out.

...That's fine! Their loss! Because sleep? Great. Dreams? Even better.

Because, in Roier's dreams, he sees him.

-

(They're in bed, because that was Roier's favorite place to be. He's on his back with his husband laying next to him tracing patterns into his shirt with one finger. Rain patters on the ceiling, and some leaks through into the kitchen and lands in a pot placed conspicuously in the middle of the floor. Their blankets are warm, and so are their hearts.)

-

Roier has been married for almost 500 years. His husband has been dead for 499 of those years, give or take a few months.

They were never legally married; that just wasn't something you did back then. Didn't matter, though, because they wouldn't have been able to afford a wedding even if they could get married.

They were farmers- well, Roier was a farmer. His husband just liked sitting and watching Roier work shirtless in the fields. He'd sit with a pitcher of water waiting by his side should Roier need it, and he'd watch shamelessly for hours at a time, and he was horrible.

And now he's dead.

-

But, see, the first thing Roier asked when arriving in Hell was whether or not the Devil was cool with gay marriage.

"Uh," said Jaiden- and this was their first real conversation post-demoning, okay? So she obviously wasn't as cool as she is now. "Maybe? I don't know. I'd have to ask?"

"Could you?" Roier had asked, freshly deceased and still bleeding from the temples where his horns had just finished growing in. "I'm expecting my husband."

"Right," Jaiden tensely replied. "Your husband."

"Yeah," Roier said, and he tried saying his husband's name, but it just. Wouldn't... what was it again?

-

But that's fine, being a demon is a pretty sweet gig. All Roier has to do is go up to the Mortal Realm and do a few jobs for a few witches, corrupt a few souls. In return, he gets badass magical abilities and immortality.

More importantly, he gets his husband's soul. As soon as he reincarnates back in the Mortal Realm, and as soon as he dies again, he goes to Hell with all of the memories from his previous life with Roier intact, and they finally get their happily ever after.

It's what he would've wanted. Hell might sound terrible, but it's no worse than the Mortal Realm, and its public transportation is actually better, somehow. The busses all run on time, and the subway is free.

More importantly, Roier's husband was the one collecting all those books on summoning demons and making deals with demons and communing with the Devil. Roier just... completed his work for him.

It's the least he could've done, and it was his last chance at seeing him again.

-

Fuck, but what was his name?

-

(They're in the fields, because that was Roier's husband's favorite place to be. Roier is shirtless and bent over a row of seeds that are going to grow up to be corn in a few months, and his husband is on the ground under the apple tree watching him shamelessly. It's sunny out, and there's the smell of smoke in the air.)

-

It's been 500 years since Roier's husband died, and Roier has spent that time trying to remember the name of his husband's killer.

Because, once upon a time, there was a farmer, and there was a witch. Ah, but witches were illegal, you see. They communed with the Devil, and they brought chaos into a world of order.

All Roier remembers is that the person who tied his husband to that pole was in all-white. Not a priest, just someone boring.

That same person was the one who lit the straw at Roier's husband's feet on fire. And they smiled doing so even as Roier dove towards the flames as if he could put them out with his bare hands.

It didn't work. Big surprise there.

-

"So the Devil's fine with you two getting married," Jaiden said after a few days of dealing with demonic bureaucracy, "but I have some bad news for you."

Roier, for the first time since Jaiden slit his throat and converted him, felt fear.

"What is it?" he asked.

She let out a breath, slow, and said, eventually, "Your husband's soul isn't here. He isn't in Heaven, either. Or in any of the other gods' realms."

Roier blinked. "What."

It was not a question.

She threw up her hands. "I don't know! It's like he just... disappeared!"

"Is that why I can't remember his name?" Roier asked. "His soul is fucking gone?"

His hands shook. Jaiden reached out and took them.

"We'll find him," she promised, kind despite her whole 'Is A Demon' thing. "Even if it takes five hundred years."

"Yeah, well, it won't," he scoffed. "I'm going to find him. He promised me a wedding."

-

Souls don't just die. They go to someplace that Roier has only ever heard of: Purgatory.

Once in Purgatory, souls get judged by the Eye of Justice. He asks them questions about their life, and they have to answer truthfully, or he'll feed them to his children.

There are a few options for what comes next.

One: they pass the Eye of Justice's judgement and are allowed to move on to whatever afterlife they believe in.

Two: they pass the Eye of Justice's judgement and are allowed to reincarnate into another life.

Three: they fail the Eye of Justice's judgement and are forcibly sent to reincarnate into the life of a bug or a blade of grass or something else boring and tortuous.

Roier got to skip out on Purgatory entirely because he took the direct line to Hell. But maybe, just maybe, if he had died regularly, he could have seen his husband in Purgatory, and they could have reincarnated together.

...Ugh. Hindsight is a bitch.

-

(Roier is visiting his grandfather when the church bells ring.

"A witch!" he hears a woman scream, and his stomach fell right into his shoes.)

-

It's been 500 years, and Roier has gotten a bit of a reputation among modern witches for being one of the easier demons to work with. He'll help with their problems in exchange for information on a certain lost soul: if they hear from his husband's soul, they summon Roier. Or he'll help in exchange for some book recommendations for his son; Hell has many things, but it does not have a public library.

He isn't a particularly strong demon despite what his only angel friend, Etoiles, might say. Etoiles is just a silly little guy, don't listen to him!

-

(He never even got to say goodbye. They locked eyes as the flames rose, and Roier screamed his name one last time, and he hasn't been able to feel anything since.)

-

Jaiden was the first demon that Roier had ever met.

He was on the floor surrounded by the ashes that used to be his home. His husband's books were in charred tatters around him, but one managed to survive the fire. It was almost supernatural, but, like, yeah. Demon book, of course it was fireproof.

He was bleeding. He had offered his blood, and his soul, to the demon in exchange for his husband's life back.

She sat on the floor with him.

"I can't do that," she gently told him. "Demons can do a lot of things, but we can't perform miracles."

Roier's throat burned: smoke inhalation and grief.

"Oh," he said, small-sounding.

"But I can get his soul to Hell," she offered. "In exchange... you have to go to Hell."

His answer was immediate: "Yes."

She blinked. "I wasn't finished?"

"The answer is still 'Yes'. As long as I'm with him again, I don't care what happens to me."

"You'll have to turn your life over to Satan. You can't just go to Hell. That isn't how it works."

Roier shrugged. "That's fine."

Jaiden gawked for a moment before nodding and standing and extending her hand.

He took it.

And then he died.

-

But it's been 500 fucking years, and now Roier is being summoned by another witch for another deal. He'll probably have to help supply additional magic for some big important spell, that's basically all he's used for these days. He's more than a battery, thanks! He's a demon, he should be out, like, stealing souls and shit.

He goes, anyway, because he has to. If he doesn't, his contract is void, and he won't get to see his husband because he himself will be sent to Purgatory to be judged and, really, he does not want to deal with that. (The Eye of Judgement is fucking creepy, okay?)

There's the familiar pull at Roier's core, and the familiar blinding burst of light as he's yanked into the Mortal Realm, and the familiar smell of brimstone and evil that follows him wherever he goes outside of Hell.

The room is filled with blood red smoke as he appears- his trademark.

(The most important thing to a demon these days isn't evil, it's marketability.)

The witch in front of him, nothing more than a shadow hidden behind the smoke, coughs and wheezes and fans their hand in front of their face.

They're kneeled on the ground in front of a pentagram drawn in... what the fuck is this, strawberry jam?

Roier crouches and sticks a finger into one of the circle's markings. Careful not to break the circle, he pulls his finger out and licks the red stuff on it.

Shocked, he looks at the witch, and he asks, "Dude, what the fuck? Is this blood?"

What happened to chalk!?

The witch coughs at him indignantly. "I needed to make sure I got someone powerful."

Roier rolls his eyes and plops fully onto the ground, criss-cross applesauce. He wipes his blood-covered fingertip on his jeans. Newbies...

"Well, you got me," he says, humble to the core. (He may be a super evil demon now, but he isn't a dick.) "So... what's up? What do you need?"

The smoke in the room slowly starts dissipating, revealing the witch to be a man in what have to be the previous day's clothes. His head is still ducked, and his face is still hidden in his elbow as he coughs, but Roier could almost call him objectively handsome. Shame Roier's married, this guy would be fun to mess around with.

"I need to- fuck-"

The witch coughs one last time before finally managing to get a lungful of clean air. He raises his head, and Roier finally gets a look at his face, and-

"I need your help," the witch says, voice rough and rugged and absolutely heartbreaking. "I need to kill someone, and I need your help to do it."

"Okay," Roier agrees. He doesn't have a choice, being a summoned demon and all, but he doesn't think he could turn this witch down at all, because...

-

("Cellbit!" Roier screams.

He can see his face in his husband's glassy eyes, and then he sees nothing but the flames as they rise over Cellbit's head and drown him whole.)

-

The man with his husband's face frowns, suspicious.

"What," he asks, "just like that?"

Roier grins, fangs and all. "Just like that."

After all, he doesn't think he'll need any payment for this one.

He's finally found what he's been looking for.

[teneleven12xiii]

Loscar AU where the night before his formula One debut Logan wakes up from a nightmare, it’s alright though, his boyfriend’s there to help him through it.

‘Logan Sargeant graduate to F1 with Williams racing for the 2023 season’

‘Alex Albon to race in Sargeant’s car after Crash’

‘Logan sargeant dropped for Remaining Races’

‘James Vowles; Williams team principal on Sargeant: “He’s reached the limit of what he’s able to achieve in F1”’

‘You’re not going to Monza, Logan, it’s for the best’

‘Not good enough’

‘Bad driver’

‘Failure’

‘Worst driver on the grid’

Logan startle awake, his body drenched with sweat in the cold February night, the distorted voices from his dreams echoing the same words in his head slowly fade out. He looks around the room dazed and confused, it’s still dark outside saved for the moon shining through the curtains of the hotel room. Oscar is dead asleep next to him, his hand laid over Logan’s hips– his fingertips sticking out of the black Mercedes sweater he stole from Logan’s luggage before they went to bed a few hours ago. The sound of the AC humming quietly in the room silencing the sound of Logan’s panicked panting and accelerating heart rate, he takes a few minutes to regulate his breathing and calm down. Oscar stirs next to him, his fist tighten around Logan’s t-shirt and his brown eyes eventually blinks open.

“Logan, What’s wrong?” Logan shakes his head, wiping the sweat off of his forehead,

“Um, I had a really weird dream, or a nightmare I guess,” Oscar sits up, looking half asleep and half worried,

“About what?” Logan chuckles, because now that he has calmed down a bit, the dream was quite ridiculous and improbable.

“It was kinda weird, and a bit long, you sure you wanna hear it?” Oscar smiles at him, nodding, so Logan begins, “it started after the championship in F3, remember I did the testing with Mercedes that year?”

“Uh huh,”

“Also remembered how I said that James Vowels, back when he was still working at Mercedes, how he didn’t want to sign me but Toto signed me anyways? Well in my dreams Vowels was the one who made the decision and I had no funding so I drove for Charouz in f3 while you went to F2,” Oscar nods along, “I won the very last race of the season in that Charouz, I know a miracle,” he laughs when Oscar gave him a look, “I got signed with the Williams Junior Driver program and they paid for my F2 year with Carlin. I got to debut in 2023 with you and Nyck, it was a bad Oscar.”

“Why, what happened? I thought us making our debut together would be good, it’s what we talked about our whole life,” Oscar looks up at him curiously and Logan reaches his hand over and buries it in his soft curls.

“Well, it started off great, then you got better and I got worse, I constantly got 20th for most of the races, I was crashing more than I should. I got one point my whole year and people started to compared us, you were on podium after podium, you were doing great and I was drowning,”

“Oh, Logan, was that your only season?” Oscar asks, concerned whelmed in his eyes and Logan could feel it even in the dark. Logan smiles softly, at times like these he really appreciates Oscar being by his side.

“No. No, they re-signed me for the 2024 season, but the whole season they refused to give the upgrades I needed, it was one shit talk to the media after another. Vowels was courting Carlos Saniz to the media exactly like he did last season, I was forced to sit out when Alex crashed his car in practice. And finally, I got dropped right after Zandvoort,” Oscar throws himself on to Logan, tightening his arms around his waist as they both sink down on to the mattress,

“That’s fucking horrible,” Oscar’s voice muffled by the fact that he has his whole face pressed into Logan’s chest, “But hey, it’s just a dream right?”

“I guess, it just felt so real. It was like I lived through 4 years in just a few hours,” he sighs, draping an arm around Oscar’s shoulders, “I don’t know, I’m just a bit shaken up from real it felt, maybe,”

“Let me help remind you it was just a dream then, because we were teammates in F2, do you remember that?” Logan nods, “and you were never in the Williams Junior program either,”

“Yeah, I never was, was I,” an epiphany washes through him, he feels himself relax in Oscar’s arms,

“Let's go back to sleep,” Oscar reaches over to grab one of the phones off the nightstand, the bright screen flashes at them and Logan has to squint from the brightness. A photo of them at the 2022 FIA prize giving ceremony, with Logan holding his F2 championship trophy and Oscar grinning at him. Their free arms slung across each other's shoulder, Oscar has a similar photo as his lock screen from his own championship win in 2021. The time at the top of the screen shows that it’s only 3am, and Logan stares at the date, 29 February 2024– the season hasn’t begun, Logan hasn't been fired. He’s safe, he’s Okay, it was all just a dream. “Are you excited to make your debut tomorrow, rookie?”

“More than ready,”

[ancha-aus]

RealAgeAu Drabble - Cafe Gossip

I am back with another Drabble <3 It is another kitty one hihi.

First Drabble Prev Drabble Next Drabble

Also. @spotaus You better be ready :D

Timeline wise? about like... 9 months after nightmare got deaged. Guys have been in farmtale for like half a year (so where the gang is it is winter)

*--------------*

Ccino sighs as he tries to find the damn cattoy. He swears Berry hid it somewhere around the cattree. He just knows. He can see Berry staring at him with joy as Ccino searches.

Ccino huffs as he shoots a glare at Berry "Anyone saying you don't like pranks is a filthy liar."

Berry has the nerve to jump down and nuzzle him with a purr before wandering off.

Ccino starts to doubt if the toy is actually here. He sighs and sits down at the base for a moment. Watching as Dream's cat version, Sun, rushes by. Sniffing, searhcing and crying loudly.

Sun makes a lot of noise as he goes and it breaks Ccino's soul.

Sun rushes to another room and a lot of noise comes from it. Well, that doesn't matter really.

It isn't like he gets cross-universe customers anymore anyway.

Ccino used to be a bit of a hotspot for other travelers. They all loved to visit him and eat as his cafe.

But... well.

That changed when he heard people whine about the damage that Nightmare and his gang had done.

And ccino had questioned why they thought they knew better than an actual god whoes job it was to do what he was doing.

That had just been the start. people said he agreed with what they were doing and how. Ccino tries to explain multiple times he doesn't say what happens is right. but he also tried to explain that just that it is stupid to think they knew better if they don't even know their reasons.

Quite a few insults his way later and the customers left.

It continued like that for a while. Now his place is a lot more quiet than it used to be. Ccino doesn't mind however. Honestly? this way at least the special cats cna mvoe around freely without Ccino having to be worried someone will connect the dots.

And people from his own universe still visit anyway so he is good still.

Ccino sighs as he rises to his feet and quickly goes to the counter. he crouches down and opens a cabinet and smiles softly "hey there Noot." he slowly reaches his arm and hand inside.

Noot blinks his one good eye open and sniffs the hand. then he pushes his head into Ccino's hands for pets which he happily gives one of his favourite cats.

Noot purrs loudly and Ccino feels a part of him relaxes. At least Noot didn't seem to get worse and evne the vet agreed.

...

Look maybe he shouldn't have taken a cat that is somehow connected to a very important person in the multiverse but Ccino was panicking!

He was so afraid Noot had been dying and by expansion Nightmare! He got the cat packed up and took him to the vet.

Ccino doesn't think he ever heard Murder, Oreo, Stain or Rust sound that panicked. ever. ccino had felt horrible about taking Noot away form them. The tiny kitten crying had been soulbreaking.

But he needed to be sure. So he took Noot straight to the vet and waited.

After a long examination and some vague lies the vet reassured him that Noot was just an old cat. To make sure the cat was comfortable and to let him rest his body when he felt the need.

ccino had felt such intense relieve he doesn't think anything is going to meassure up to that. ever. He happily took Noot back to the cafe and let him and the others of his little cat gang cuddle as he got to work.

He hallowed out one of the cabinets and made a comfortable little cat den for Noot and any of the cats that followed him around.

Ccino sneaks a look into the cabinet and smiles "alone today?"

Noot just keeps nuzzling his hand.

a sound of something landing. Ccino glances up and sees Murder on top of the counter, staring menacingly at him, which is sightly ruined by the cute kitten he holds in his mouth.

Murder huffs and quickly jumps down and climbs into the little cubby. He lays the kitten right by noot before starting to groom the bigger cat.

Ccino chuckles before rising back to his feet. He leans on his hand as he watches his cafe and keeps an eye on his cats.

Eventually Ccino's eye lights find a pamphlet. He takes it into his hands and rereads it.

It is a message from the Stars. a short explanation that Dream had been in the wrong and making things worse while Nightmare had been helping people.

It felt amazing being right.

Ccino chuckles as he hangs it on the news board before moving back to the counter. His mind thinking back to the one time he met the Stars... It had been ages ago. Back when the Stars patrolled the multiverse for the Crescents. longer than a year ago...

Ccino sighs as he grabs Stain off the counter again. He tried to give the cat a strict look "don't do that. you could get hurt." Stain just makes a little blep as he stares at him.

Ccino chuckles as he puts the cat back to the ground. Stain looks insulted by the very idea of it before huffing and walking off.

He smiles at the cats carefully before stretching his limbs out.

All in all it had been rather quiet today. Some customers had come by and one of the older cats had been adopted. it always warmth his soul to see one of the older gentle cats finally finding their forever home.

The bell rings and Ccino looks up with a smile "Welcome to the Cuddle Cat!" then he sees who it are and freezes.

He never actually met or saw them in person before. His little corner in his nowhere cafe wasn't exactly a big place. it was just a quiet spot people who wandered lost tended to find. It is how most of his cats arrive here too.

So no. He had never truly expected the Stars to just walk in.

The three walk over with purpose and the one with the golden crown smiles brightly. Ccino immediantly knows this is Dream. Mostly because well... it is just the shape of Dream's face is exactly like Nightmare's...

Dream doesn't seem to notice or maybe he assumes his shock is because of awe? Ccino doesn't feel excited. in matter of fact. he feels a bit sick. Wait! What time is it?!

He glances at the clock. okay. okay. it is only 3. that gives him enough time to get these three out before Ngihtmare's normal arrival time.

Oh shit he really is going to lie to the Stars isn't he?! No Ccino. don't panic. Maybe they won't even ask about that stuff?

Dream starts speaking and Ccino focusses back on him. Dream smiles as he speaks "Hello, I am Dream. and these are my teammates Blue and Ink." Blue waves when his name is said and Ink puffs up his chest when he is named. Dream smiles "We are the Stars. we protect the multiverse."

Ccino gives a slow nod "Yeah.. I heard about you guys. euh... welcome to my cafe. it is a cat shelter and cafe in one, if you wish i could tell you a bit about the concept?" when in doubt return to your customer service lines and voice. go full npc.

Drema blinks before looking curiously at the cats. he gives a smaller smile "I would love to hear it.".

Strange. This smile seems more honest to Ccino. Well, not his business.

The cafe however is!

Ccino takes a moment to explain how this place takes in wadnering cats nad helps them heal and socialise until they are ready to be adopted out again. The cafe is to encourage people to relax with some food and drinks to get familiar with the different cats.

At the end Ccino smiles "Would you like to order something?"

Ink grins and looks proud "We are the saviors of the multiverse!" he grins and looks pointedly at the food items "These all look very good! I would love to have some."

Ccino immediatnly feels done with all three of them even as Dream and Blue give Ink disapproving looks. Ccino had 'famous' customers before. Mettaton tries it each time.

Ccino smiles brightly back "Well! Let me know which one you want to buy! The prices are right by the display."

Ink blinks at him wiht two questionmarks in his eyes. Ccino jsut keeps smiling.

Ink frowns before grinning again "We are saviors. It would be very nice to be given thanks."

Ccino tilts his skull "What did you save us from exactly? I don't feel very saved. Not to forget. I don't do special discounts. if you want something you can pay for it."

Ink glares but Blue stops himw ith a shake of his skull. Blue pulls him back and Ccino can hear Blue berate Ink for acting entitled and just because some people gave him stuff deosn't mean everyone has to.

Dream smiles "Sorry for him." he pulls out a wallet and looks through the many different types of money and gold in there "Three chocolate milks and three shortcakes please."

Ccino nods as he gives the price before turning to make the drinks and get the cakes. It only takes a moment to ready the drinks and food and give them over in trade for the money.

Ccino gives them a smile and motions them towards the table as he turns to put the money away.

A moment later and Ccino can't help but feel like he is being watched. He looks over and sees the stars drinking but also quietly talking. Ccino notices the glances shot his way and it makes him a bit nervous.

It isn't like he made it a secret that he didn't allow slander of Ngihtmare nad his gang in here. maybe that protective feeling he had was going to get him into trouble after all. But how could he not? It wasn't his fault that he had found Nightmare sound asleep in the reading chair before, using his tendrils to wrap around himself as all the gang cats laid around him.

Ccino felt justified in his protective feelings.

silence surrounds them as ccino just does what he usually does.check inventory. check the cats. make sure the machines are clean.

The stars take a long time. it is already past four before Ink and Blue leave.

Only Drema walks voer to him with a gentle smile. Ccino raises a brow "Was something wrong with your order?"

Dream blinks and shakes his skulll "no! Not at all! It was amazing! It is just... I wanted to talk."

Ccino frowns and gives a slow nod "Well. It is quiet now so it should be fine. is there something wrong?"

Dream takes a deep sigh "It is... about my brother." his soul freezes and Dream gives a gentle smile "I have heard.. rumours that he visited this place. I wanted to be sure everythign is okay. and if you dind't realise at least warn you!"

Ccino frowns as he turns back to the machine "I have been clear to everyone in here. I don't allow slander."

Dream frowns as he looks unsure "and I admire that! But... it is for your own safety. If my brother visits this place I need to know. especially when he does."

Ccino shoots him a glare "and why woudl you ened that? To control my place? to control who is allowed to come here and go?"

Drema sputters and backs off looking shocked "of course not! It is for safety reasons!"

Ccino huffs as he crosses his arms "Give me the reason. Because no one here has ever been brought into any danger from Nightmare or the crescents. The people who make the most trouble are those who feel entitled to things or information or feel like they have any say in what i do with MY business."

Dream just gapes at him. clearly unsure what to do or say next. a bit of doubt appears on his face as he rubs his arm "I am just trying to help..."

Ccino huffs as he turns abck to the spotless counter to clean nothing "Give it to someone who actually asked for it or wanted it. I don't need anyone spreading hate and rumours in my place."

Dream just stared at him but afterwards he left.

Ccino is still unsure where he had gotten that bravery from. Protective feelings are overpowered honestly.

The Stars never returned.

Of course they didn't. Ccino had made it clear he didn't want them there at least.

It did slow his customers though and it was a shame to see that happen but at least he ddin't have to worry as much.

Well, that was before Ngihtamre disappeared without a trace.

THe bell rigns.

Ccino looks up and says his greeting wiht his normal smile "Welcome to the Cuddly Cat-" and he freezes.

Because that is Dream. Looking nervous and shy as he waves.

Ccino doesn't even think as he glares before speaking "Well if it isn't the god that didn't evne bother to read his own job description."

Ccino expected a lot.

He did not expect Dream to start laughing before smiling happily a she answers "I know right? I made a mess of things... It is just..." he rubs his arm "I heard you have... very special cats and i was hoping to meet them?"

Ccino wants to say no. Tell him to leave.

But...

The pamphlet.

The fact that Dream's cat version had been screaming his little head off searching for Noot.

Ccino sighs as he waves him up "make sure to turn the sign to closed please."

May as well see this mess through.

*--------------*

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[wintersoldiersoul]

Afterglow

A/N: Final part to the Tolerate it mini series!! Thank you all for the support on this series, I've had so much fun writing it and I hope you enjoy!

 It had been 5 days. 5 days since you were shot. 5 days since Bucky had seen your eyes, had heard your voice, and 5 days since he had gotten more than an hour of sleep at a time. He stayed next to you in your bed at the medbay where you lay unconscious. You had pulled through, for now at least. Bruce had performed emergency surgery on the jet on the way home to stabilize you until he and Helen could get you into an actual operating room.

You flatlined on the table. The rhythmic beeping of the monitor turned into one long tone as your life was whisked away. Steve had to hold Bucky back from breaking down the door of the O.R. as the horrible sound flowed to the other room. It took them 3 minutes to resuscitate you. The worst 3 minutes of Bucky’s entire life. Worse than any moment he had spent with HYDRA. But you fought. You pulled through the surgery. Now, you just had to wake up.

Bucky hadn’t left your side. Steve brought him food, knowing he wouldn’t take the time to go make himself something. After the third day, Helen brought him a bed to sleep in. Not that he was even sleeping anyway.

“How’s she doing?” Steve asked, walking in.

Bucky sighed and rubbed his eyes. “No change. She’s still stable but-” his voice broke. “What if she doesn’t wake up, Steve?” He looked into the eyes of his best friend.

Steve placed a supportive hand on his shoulder. “She’s gonna wake up. Your girl’s a fighter.”

“I don’t even know if she’s still my girl,” Bucky whispered. “God, I wasted so much time! I fucked everything up. This is my fault.”

“It’s not your fault that she got hurt,” Steve responded.

“Yes it is! If we had still been together, maybe I could have convinced her to stay back on this mission. It was too dangerous.” 

Your eyes slowly started to open as he spoke but he didn’t notice since his head was in his hands.

“I could have stopped her. I could have protected her better,” he continued.

“Too…stubborn. Couldn’t have…stopped me,” you croaked. Your voice was raspy from 5 days of silence.

At the sound of your voice, Bucky immediately picked his head up. “Oh my god,” he grabbed your hand and kneeled at the side of your bed, stroking your hair. “Oh my god, Y/N,” fresh tears spilled down his cheeks.

“Bucky,” you whispered. “You look like shit.”

He laughed through his tears. So typical of you, of the girl he loved. Always sassy, even in crisis. He kissed your hand over and over again, still not believing that this was real and not a dream. 

The next day, you were released from the medbay but instructed to stay on bedrest for at least a week. You were just happy to be in the comfort of an actual bed. 

Bucky waited on you hand and foot as soon as you were brought back up to your room. “What do you need?” He asked, hands on his hips. He was ready to spring into action.

“Water, please. And maybe something to eat. Something small.”

He nodded and immediately left the room, returning a few minutes later with a glass of water and a grilled cheese. “Here,” he said, setting the glass on the table and handing you the plate. “I made you a grilled cheese. I know it's your comfort food.”

“Thank you, Bucky,” you answered. An awkward silence fell over the two of you. Technically, the two of you weren’t back together. Your confessions of love as you were dying didn’t automatically mean that he was your boyfriend again.

“Y/N,” he finally said. “I was so scared when you were shot. You were bleeding out in my arms and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I thought I was gonna lose you for good. Do you remember what I said to you?”

You smiled softly. “That we were gonna get married and adopt a bunch of cats?” 

He nodded. “Yes. I meant every word I said. I want a life with you, beautiful. I want to get married in the Fall like you’ve always talked about and I want to get us a nice house and fill it with kids and animals and grow old with you. I wanna give you everything.”

You sat, looking at him. Nothing he said would ever erase the hurt he put you through. But despite yourself, you still loved him more than anything. You wanted that life with him. “Okay.”

“Okay?” He echoed. “Really? You’ll let me be yours again?” His eyes lit up.

“Yes, Bucky,” you smiled. “But you can never pull that shit again, do you understand me? I don’t need you to protect me from yourself. I’m a big girl. I’ll never need to be protected from you, I just need to love you. Fucked up past and all.” 

“Oh, angel,” he looked at you lovingly. “I know I’m never gonna be able to take back what I did. But I can spend the rest of our lives showering you with love and showing how much you mean to me. I promise I will never do that again. But you need to promise me something, too.” He took a deep breath. “Never almost die again, okay? I was so fucking scared.”

You blinked back tears at the pure emotion and love for him that you felt. “I promise.” 

The whole time you were healing, Bucky didn’t leave you alone. He got you whatever you needed, even buying a little bell for you to ring. He knew he’d regret that immediately but he wanted to make this misery a little bit better for you. You were obsessive with it, abusing the power he had given you.

“Bucky!” you would call, ringing the bell. 

He would sprint into your bedroom, flour on his face from the cookies he was baking for you. “Yes, honey?”

“Kiss me.” And he would. 

A few weeks later, you were able to leave the house for a couple hours at a time. You were in the passengers seat of the car with Bucky behind the wheel, driving you to an undisclosed location.

“Are you kidnapping me, Bucky Barnes?” You asked when he refused to give up the location you were headed.

“Patience, baby,” he smirked, keeping his eyes on the road.

20 minutes later, you pulled up to a large farmhouse. The outside was white and it had vines growing up the sides. It was the kind of place you had always dreamed of living.

“Bucky this house is beautiful but what are we doing here?” You laughed. 

“You like it?”

“It’s my dream house. I’ve always wanted to live in a place like this.”

He looked deep into your eyes. “I’m so glad, honey. Cause it’s ours.”

You blinked at him, not sure if you heard his words correctly. “Wait, what?”

“This is our home, beautiful. I bought it for us.” 

You were speechless. The house in front of you was the kind of place you had wanted to live in since you were a child. “Come on, I’ll give you a tour.” 

After he walked you around the interior, he led you out to the backyard. It was stunning. String lights hung from wooden beams, there was a fire pit and a wood fired pizza oven, and flowers perfectly landscaping the grass. Your eyes gazed over everything, not noticing Bucky shifting his position beside you.

You gasped as your eyes found their way back to him, kneeling on one knee.

“Y/n,” he began. “My beautiful angel. The love of my life. My reason for living. We’ve been through so much together. My past isn’t perfect. I’m far from perfect. I’ve done a lot of horrible things. But somewhere in my life, I must have done something good. Because I met you. And by some karmic intervention, you let me love you.” Tears overflowed from your eyes as he spoke. “Baby, will you marry me?”

You nodded your head enthusiastically. “Yes, of course, yes,” you cried. He slipped a ring onto your finger. “When did you even get this? You’ve been glued to my side since the mission.”

He smiled and kissed you passionately. “You wanna know something, baby? Remember when you heard Steve say that I had been looking at rings? Well, I wasn’t just looking,” he beamed. “I’ve been carrying this around in my pocket every day for months now. Just incase the opportunity ever presented itself.”

“Oh, Buck,” you gasped, hugging him tightly into you. “I love you, Bucky Barnes. My fiancé.”

“Ooh I like how that sounds,” he laughed. “I love you too. Forever.”

Taglist: @differenttyphoonwerewolf @jamesbuckybarnes1917 @learisa @mollygetssherlockcoffee @almosttoopizza @kandis-mom

@spookyparadisesheep @vicmc624 @aesthetic0cherryblossom @kjah97 @elizalexwil @scmoobly @wayward-gypsy @sarah1barnes

[waywardstation]

Don't Fall Asleep

Chapter 2

Akari sees Ingo is getting worse, so she once again proposes the idea of staying over with her, in case his own solitary space is only reinforcing his nightmares. This time, he accepts.

Second chapter is finally out! Thank you all for your patience, I appreciate it!

CHAPTER 1 HERE

OR read on AO3!

Enjoy!

—————

The dojo’s bench creaked quietly as Ingo shifted, straightening his back to sit up a little more. Unaware of how long he’d been doing it, he realized he had been hunched over his cup of tea, staring down aimlessly into its rising steam again.

Ingo sighed through his nose, pulling his scarf up higher over his mouth. 

He could not get last night’s incident out of his head.

It had all felt so real. All the nightmares had, really – but last night was worse. Very real and very horrible. That particular one had not exactly been new to him, either.

It had been a long time since he’d thought back to when he’d first woken up under the care of the Pearl Clan, after he’d been unfortunate enough to be dropped into Hisui right within the vicinity of Draugr. 

When all he could remember beside his own name was the incident with the alpha mamoswine — a lone, fresh memory amongst a void of static that haunted him to the point of evolving into a recurring nightmare.

Images in his head of the moment that gnarled tusk of ice had grazed him, replaying over and over again — except in his dreaded dreams, it had gored him entirely. He’d woken up in the medicinal tent many times from the fabricated agony, only to reel as actual, vivid pain seared him and startled clan healers tried to get him to lay back down. 

It had haunted him whenever he slept, day or night. It was the only memory he had to recall at the time, all his brain had to hold onto at that point. So what else could it do, but replay that specific experience over and over?

After a certain point of repeatedly subjecting the healers to so many bouts of terror (and apologizing profusely every time), only Calaba had really been willing to stay with him through the nights anymore. He still appreciated that she did that; the consistent time spent together had allowed him to develop his first friendship within the clan, though she was the only one who had seemed to know how to best handle his episodes anyways.

All in all, even with Calaba’s help, it had taken weeks to shake that recurring nightmare.

Things would always end the exact same way: encountering Draugr in a snowstorm with no way to escape and no people or Pokémon to help, just to end up getting fatally gored by the beast’s tusks.

Last night had certainly been no exception. It disturbed Ingo that it had suddenly come back with such nasty vengeance.

But what upset him more was that it had changed to accommodate the entire Pearl Clan this time. 

It hadn’t ever changed like that before.

As with most dreams, lots of the finer details had faded as the hours passed, but some things, Ingo knew they would stay clear and vivid, keeping a firm grip on his mind for a while — the collective fate of the clan, his own death at the end of Draugr’s tusk, and the appearance of that thing standing against the wall next to his bed .

That thing. That wispy, gangly-legged thing. That was new, too. What was that? 

Whatever it was, it had made his heart clench. Even just thinking about it now… 

It had already been a repetitive nightmare once before. Was he going to fall into the cycle of repeatedly experiencing it again? It was horrible enough already to go through this new variation once, but to go through it over and over? 

Dormant anxiety spiked briefly; it had already been difficult to attend the morning’s meeting less than an hour after the incident, and look at the people he was sure he’d lost the night before. 

To do it again and again, that would be unbearable; he didn’t know if he could handle something like that–

“Hey! Don’t fall asleep in your tea!”

The steam heating his face suddenly became very hot and uncomfortable. Ingo looked up from his cup – he had done it again – as Akari dropped onto the bench next to him, making them both bounce on the bending wood a little.

“Good morning, Miss Akari,” Ingo’s words came out as an exhale more than anything, tired as he mumbled into his scarf and closed his tired eyes. But it was a breath of relief as well; her company and contagious enthusiasm brought about a familiar comfort, and while he always appreciated it, he was especially grateful for the reprieve in this particular moment. “I hope you are doing well today.”

“I am, but what about you? Are you sure you’re not sick?” The teen leaned closer to him this time, bumping her shoulder against his; she probably knew he wasn’t, and he suspected as much based on her tone. He was sure this was another one of her unassuming attempts to get him to talk to her.

“I am sure,” Another exhale. There was disappointment with having to stay on this topic, but Ingo hoped that wasn’t too noticeable in his features. “It is still just a matter of experiencing difficulty staying on track with my sleep schedule.”

Akari turned her head towards him, scrutinizing him. He had secluded himself to this bench against the dojo’s wall yet again, he was almost falling asleep in his tea, and he looked like he could barely hold himself up. He was wrapped up in extra layers too, while still shivering and dealing with a runny nose. And the thoroughly frazzled look he’d had before she sat down on the bench…

This seemed like symptoms of something more than just a little trouble sleeping at night.

“This morning, I awoke to find I had… left my tent in the Pearl Clan’s settlement, and had been sleeping in the snow outside.” Ingo added unprompted after a moment; Akari wondered if perhaps her concerns showed through her expression a little too noticeably.

“What, like were you sleepwalking?” If he wasn’t in such a bad state, Akari might have teased him about that. On its own, the thought of Ingo sleepwalking right through his door and stumbling around outside seemed a little comical when she visualized it. But she supposed that answered why he was so cold. “Or is this like, part of that intruding Pokémon problem thing you were talking about?”

“…I’m not entirely sure what it is, anymore.” 

The hopeless words came out with some effort, like he only had the energy to offer a vague summary of the actual answer. He set his cup of tea down on the bench and massaged his eyes with the heels of his palms, leaning into them. Akari sat there awkwardly at his side, not knowing what to really say or do next. 

This seemed heavier than she had expected.

Ingo was deeply troubled, clearly, but he wasn’t offering much information. Much more than she would have ever expected. Was he truly unsure of things, or was he intentionally refraining? She didn’t want to pry if it was the latter. 

“I apologize, I know what I am saying is not making much sense.” Ingo finally confessed, still leaning into his hands. “I suppose I am still just trying to make sense of it all myself, and running on an overworked engine is making the task more difficult than it should be.”

It was sad — and a bit uncomfortable — seeing him like this. Akari knew Ingo would usually take care not to let her see him in such a disposition. But regardless of whether exhaustion or sheer distress was to blame, it was slipping through. She didn’t exactly know what was going on, but it seemed like every time he said something, a little more of this problem’s depth was uncovered. And right now, it already seemed like it went pretty deep.

She wasn’t sure how to best help Ingo, not at this moment. But Akari knew what always made her feel better when she needed a break.

“Hmm,” The teen got to her feet and turned to stand in front of Ingo. “Well, I’m gonna go get some potato mochi; wanna come get some with me?”

The sudden switch caught the man off guard. He finally looked up from his hands at her. “Oh, I um, appreciate the offer, but I am alright.” 

“Aw come on,” She reached forward to tug gently on his coat sleeve. “Wrong answer! You were supposed to say yes!”

As lethargic as he was, Ingo still laughed a little at her efforts, his arm hanging like deadweight as she pulled it. He supposed if he didn’t feel so weighed down, he’d be more inclined to go. His legs ached. “I’m fine, really. I’d just like to rest here a little bit longer.”

“You’ll be fine-er if you come with me, though! You can rest against the table!”  

“I already made a stop earlier for my tea-”

“Potato mochi will warm you up even more then!” Akari began her habit of chanting again, gently jostling his limp arm with each repetition of the phrase for emphasis. “Get up , get up , get up- ”

It took him longer than it should have, but it dawned on Ingo that she wasn’t doing this because she actually wanted mochi. She was just trying to inconspicuously do something to make him feel better. 

Appreciation lessened the ache that weighed heavy in his legs. Ingo finally relented to her pulling and moved to stand up with her, much to her delight. “Alright Miss Akari, you’ve persuaded me. I will accompany you; thank you for the invitation.”

“Yes! We can get dango too!” Ingo was barely able to pick his cup of tea back up before a visibly-excited Akari started pulling him across the training grounds. He was sure he was going to be the one to pay for said dango — he had fallen into a habit of buying it when she wanted it so that she could save her own earnings — but he didn’t mind. 

—————

“What if I steal you from the dojo and make you explain all your Path of Solitude strategies to me?”

“…Pardon?” 

“You know, just have you do something easy that you can do while sitting down.”

It took Ingo a moment to process; allowing himself to rest his head against arms crossed against the table had allowed the edges of his thoughts to blur with static. He raised his head, adjusting his skewed hat.

“Cause you’re like, really tired.”

In Ingo’s defense, just sitting there and waiting for their food made it easy to relax, especially with the rising morning sun warming his back.

“I can let you know when Beni brings the order out, if you wanna to just rest for a second.” 

“Thank you,” Ingo breathed deep, thankful for the reprieve. Dipping his head forward into his crossed arms, he shut his tired eyes and relaxed against the table.

…

Wind howled, and a sharp hooked pillar of ice split through the darkness, jamming itself into and tearing upwards through fabric, then fat and muscle, then organs and bones — like all of it was nothing more than paper.

“AUGH!” Hands clutching at his tunic, Ingo shot up from the table with such a start, he almost fell backwards off the bench as empty plates clattered and Akari shouted, following suit and jumping up.

“What!” The fear in her scream pulled his senses out of its state of uncontrollably misfiring. She stood up, terrified as she looked in every direction. “What? What? What happened?”

“I’m-” Wild eyes drank in the surroundings as Ingo slightly loosened the death grip meant to hold in spilling insides that didn’t exist. He shuttered, the jumpstart shaking his system into nausea as he forced himself to sit back down. “I’m, I’m sorry-” Terror gave way to regret; he absolutely hadn’t wanted her to see that. He shouldn’t have let himself doze off like that, but he wasn’t expecting to- “I’m fine-”

“Ingo, what is going on?” Something tightened around his wrist. He looked up from the table to see Akari had grabbed his arm, holding it securely. 

Grey eyes hard with confliction, Ingo opened his mouth to say something. But before he could even breathe a word out, a plate clattered against the table, piled with fresh hot mochi.

“Here’s your order,” Beni set down two sets of chopsticks for them. “Double helping of Potato Mochi, extra crispy. Anything else?”

“Um, no thank you,” Akari gave him a smile that she hoped didn’t look too forced. “Thanks, Beni.”

“If you find you do need anything else, let me know.”

Ingo sat quietly, listening for the sound of a sliding door as he stared off towards the training grounds. Akari glanced over Ingo’s shoulder, sitting just as awkwardly as she watched Beni head back into the canteen. It felt like he took forever to walk through the entrance and out of earshot.

“I believe my intruder has not been a Pokémon at all, but rather a once-departed, deeply upsetting recurring nightmare that has somehow made its way back to the station. One that I experienced when I first arrived here.” Slumping back into a more relaxed position, Ingo finally filled the uncomfortable silence after waiting another moment for security. “It is rather embarrassing in hindsight, seeing as I’d so loudly insisted it was the former to my community this last week.”

“What’s the nightmare about?” It was said like Akari wasn’t quite sure that was appropriate to ask him.

Ingo cleared his throat, patting his side for emphasis with the one hand still wrapped around to hold it. “Draugr.”

Looking to where his hand was, Akari threaded her fingers together, quieter now. “Oh… man. I didn’t know that… that was something you went through. I’m sorry.”

“You wouldn’t have, it’s alright; I’d rid myself of them long before our tracks had crossed, and I’ve never had a reason to bring it up.” 

Ingo’s hands moved towards his cup of tea to take another drink.

“So, if you’re having them again, is it like every night?” It would certainly explain his worsening lethargy over the past couple weeks.

“No, thankfully as of now, it is not a nightly occurrence,” Ingo confessed. “Just every few nights. But they’re growing more frequent, it seems. And… worse.” He put his head back in his hands as he continued on. “It had not been quite so obvious at first. I don’t know why. I had not even been aware I was dealing with this again, until it had progressed to the point of being unmistakable as anything else. It steals my sleep and leaves me exhausted.”

And frazzled. It’s also leaving him very frazzled. Today it was, at least. Akari could not ignore how blatantly disconnected he had been all morning, but she didn’t blame him; her mind would probably hide somewhere else if she was forced to replay a traumatic event like that, too.

“And they feel so real, ” Ingo added, dipping his head to run his fingers through the hair under his hat. Despite his reputation to avoid doing such things around her, Akari almost thought he was going to delve into more grizzly details. But he didn’t, perhaps stopping himself once he realized, and just sighed through his nose instead.

“Do you know why it’s happening again?” Akari pushed a little more.

“No,” Ingo shook his head. “And that may be the most concerning part about this predicament — I have no idea why it has chosen now of all times to make a reappearance.” 

“Well, I know how to help this.”

“And that is?” A pointless question, as Ingo already felt he knew the answer.

“A sleepover!”

“Ah,” Ingo bobbed his head, like a slow, lazy nod. “Of course.”

—————

“Is that ok?”

“It’s more than sufficient, thank you.”

Standing in Akari’s housing unit after finishing a day of long but easy work — they really had just sat down somewhere so he could take it easy by explaining his Path of Solitude strategies — Ingo assessed the makeshift bed set before him. Akari had certainly been generous with the blanket layers — very generous. There had to have been at least nine or ten there altogether. He knew his back would appreciate that, though. He was sure he wouldn’t even be able to feel the harder floor beneath him.

“While I am thankful for so many blankets,” Ingo pulled the layers back to slip under them. “I do hope you did not have to go through the trouble to borrow some from someone just for me.”

“Oh, no. Rei stays over a lot to hang out with me, so I’ve just got a bunch extra in case.” Akari went over to the lone lantern on her table to extinguish it. “I’m always prepared for a sleepover!”

As Akari blew the light out and the room darkened, Ingo felt a weight settle beside him. He looked over to see Ember settling down against his middle to sap his warmth. She glanced back at him and huffed, curling her head against her shoulder.

Ingo almost wondered if she would actually sleep with him tonight. But once Akari set herself under the covers and began making herself comfortable, the quilava got up and pattered across the floor, taking her new spot against her trainer.

Ingo couldn’t help but find that amusing — Ember was fond of him, but of course, Akari was always going to be her favorite by far.

“Goodnight, Ingo.”

“Goodnight, Miss Akari.”

Ingo relaxed under the comfy layers and turned onto his side, staring across the dark room at the wall.

It felt different, staying in a new environment tonight. He couldn’t deny it made a part of him feel guarded — it wasn’t like he felt this unit was unsafe, it just wasn’t his familiar space. 

But thinking back to his space, to the dark room with the wall his headboard leaned against, where those stretched legs had just stood there. Connected to who-knows-what crammed up in the rafters above…

Ingo felt something inside him lurch unpleasantly. He readjusted himself under the blankets, shutting his eyes as he pressed into his pillow. Perhaps Akari was right; maybe for peace of mind, it was better to be sleeping somewhere else tonight. He listened to the sounds of the room. Just like in his own space, he could hear the elements outside, mellow and subdued. And the sounds of shifting fabric whispered whenever he moved. But this time, he could hear Akari too — her and Ember’s breaths, slow and steady in the corner. 

It was a lot more comforting to drift off to the ambience of company, rather than the usual confirmation of total isolation.

At some point he must have fallen asleep, as he next found himself blinking awake to the dim morning light creeping through Akari’s window

Starly chirped somewhere off in the distance as Ingo moved to sit up, leaning forward into his knees as he rubbed at his eyes. It seemed the night had been kind to him, allowing him to sleep soundly. He found the arm that he had slept on ached, but he supposed he had to blame that on sleeping on the floor.

Ingo turned to glance over at Akari, who’s back was pressed against the wall beneath her unit’s window. She was still lying under her blankets which partially covered her face, breathing slowly and contentedly as she slept with Ember pressed into the crook of her curled body. If they were still sleeping, he didn’t want to wake them. Quietly, Ingo pulled his tunic back on, secured his hat and coat, and slipped into his shoes. 

He glanced back at Akari one last time, making sure she was still asleep as he went for the door. He’d make a quick visit to Choy’s store so he could come back and make some breakfast for them both to share once she woke up.

—————

“So, everything was ok last night?” Sitting next to Ingo, Akari yawned as she watched him remove the cooking pan from where it hung above her housing unit’s irori. Taking it over and setting it down on Akari’s table, he used a spoon to begin dividing through the contents — pan-fried egg and cake-base with bits of oran berries mixed in, crisped perfectly at the edges, if not very slightly overdone.

“It appears so,” Picking up a plate, Ingo shoveled half of the portion onto it, and handed it to her. It was a bit hacked up from Ingo’s indolent cutting with a blunt utensil, but the presentation made no difference — all that mattered was that it tasted good, and by the wonderful way it smelled, that was guaranteed. Akari sat down in her chair and took a spoonful of honey from a jar she kept, and drizzled it over her half while Ingo scraped the remaining half onto a plate for himself. “Though I am hesitant to say it has departed indefinitely. I may have to see how the next few days go first.”

That was how the pattern seemed to go. It would leave him alone for a couple days before returning to strike again. If anything, tonight and every night after were the nights he was worried about. 

“Well I hope that horrible nightmare is gone forever,” Akari jabbed a forkful of her food and bit down onto it; while different texture-wise, to her delight she realized it was the closest thing to a pancake she’d ever tasted in Hisui. “And if you were ok last night, I bet it was ‘cause you stayed here with me and Ember!” Ember purred from where she laid under the table, gnawing on a whole oran berry of her own, as if in agreement. Akari got a look I’m her eyes as she chewed another bite. “Maybeeee you should sleepover again tonight too, just to be safe.”

“Miss Akari,” A warning statement as he joined her at the table with his own plate, meant more to express she wasn’t being as sneaky with her plans as she thought she was, rather than to admonish or turn her down.

“And maybe tomorrow night also, just to be double sure!” She kept going as Ingo picked up the honey jar next, taking a spoonful. “You can make more of these awesome pancake things too every morning-” She held her plate up, already halfway finished as she jabbed more on her fork. “These are like, really really good.”

Ingo huffed a little laugh through his nose; it meant something to know she appreciated what had come to be one of his favorite things to cook — speaking of, he should probably start eating before it got cold. He began cutting into his own portion. “Well, I appreciate the compliment. Though, I’m unsure if I can commit to that.”

He couldn’t stay all the way down here in Jubilife for too long. He still needed to visit Lady Sneasler and her kits in the highlands, and the Pearl Clan were soon going to need his help with planning the winter’s hunting parties. But the thought of going back to that empty tent tonight, all cold and dark and now stained with the stark imagery of debris and destruction that marred his brain… if any place would dredge up the nightmare again, it would definitely be there.

“However, let’s see how the day goes first. Then perhaps making a decision will be easier.” Ingo cleared his throat, then finally took a bite. Just as he thought, a little overdone, but the honey covered it well enough.

—————

The sun was setting now, slowly dipping closer to the Hisuian mountain line as the orange sky prepared to shift to purple. Ingo watched it from where he stood at the training grounds, considering.

If he was going to leave Jubilife for the Highlands, he’d have to do so now. Honestly though, the ideal time would have been half an hour ago. An hour, if he would have wanted to get to the Icelands before sundown. But he didn’t mind traveling through the last stretches in darkness if he had to.

He’d already decided that he wasn’t going to return to the Pearl Clan’s settlement, though. Not tonight. 

Returning to that solitary tent. Opening up his eyes to more splintered walls giving way to howling snow. Pursuing the sounds of screaming just to meet with the gnarled end of an ice tusk. Shouting himself awake at the very beginning of the day with yet another night of no good sleep.

The more he thought about it, the more it unnerved him. And the more unnerved he got, the more concerned he was that he’d just trigger another instance of that nightmare. He knew he was just scaring himself and self-fulfilling the fear of it happening. He’d already done it once at The Wallflower yesterday by submerging himself in such thoughts, but he couldn’t help it.

Though perhaps it would be different if he went to Lady Sneasler’s den for the night. The kits were as much a source of happiness and comfort as they were a distraction. Or maybe if he brought out all of his own Pokémon…

Ingo yawned, rubbing his eyes with a closed fist. The day had felt extensive, and he was exhausted — he could feel the ache in his bones. He could, but did he really want to make such a long trip to either place when he could just stay here, a place to sleep waiting just several yards away? 

Truly, that option was the favorable one by far. And he knew how badly Akari wanted him to stay with her. 

It would have been an easy choice, one he would have settled on hours ago, if he wasn’t so worried he’d potentially subject her to witnessing a potential nightmare, and the… intense reactions that usually came with it. 

What if he sleep-walked outside? What if he shouted? What if he did both? Oh, then it wouldn’t be just Akari witnessing it. The Pearl Clan had been put off by it, and Jubilife’s villagers probably would too. The potential shame of it all…

“Ingo!” Finally, the voice he had been expecting all evening rang out from the training grounds’ gates. “You’re still here! Does that mean you’re gonna stay another night?”

And it was bursting with hope too, which he also expected.

Ingo turned his attention to the dirty, scuffed up, sweaty teen running towards him from across the battlefield, returning hastily from the day’s mirelands expedition. She was absolutely filthy — had she been running through the onix tunnels again? “Ah, welcome back, Miss Akari; I was just debating my departure… I am still undecided.”

“Really?” Akari slumped. “Stay with me again! Please? Look, I even found this today in a distortion-”

Turning to reach into her satchel, she rummaged around until she pulled out a little cardboard box. While it once seemed decorative and bright, it was not caked in just as much dirt and mud as she was. 

“It’s a card game! I had to wrestle a heracross for it!” That explained why she was so dirty. “I wanted to play it with you tonight! Now you’ve got to stay over, because I didn’t go through all of that for nothing!”

She was trying so hard to get him to stay, and Ingo could see that.

Maybe tonight would be ok. Maybe he’d be fine again.

Taking in a deep breath, Ingo put his hands on his hips and dipped his head. “Alright Miss Akari, one more night.”

“Yes!”

[thewisaaaaad]

Hnng. I. I GOT AnOTHER FhUCKING COTL AU

Ok so.

Game goes as normal, but the lamb decides to give themselves up to Nari at the end. Naturally, they get no choice in the matter and are forced to kill him, because the crown demands its proper bearer.

And I mean kill-kill him. Hes dead.

Of course, the lamb is NOT OK WITH THIS. So, they look for a way to bring him back. And good ol' mystic seller gives them an out.

The lamb basically throws all caution to the wind, and decides to take the ritual offered. With the sacrifice of four crowns, along with the end of their own now divine life, they send their soul back in time to prevent this tragedy.

Exept they go WAY farther back than they meant to. They end up born into a sheep family under the name Una, and grow up as a extremely gifted child, the pride of the town, but one who finds solace well away from their adoring family and neighbors. To the lamb, all these people are practically strangers.

But there's no sign of Narinder. In fact, there's no sign of the bishops, either. Until one evening, at the charming age of 14, their daily alone time in the forest is interrupted by a familiar three eyed cat.

Narinder had never had a family. Black cats were already considered bad luck after a black cat hat wronged the rabbit god, never mind the fact that his eyes were blood red and that he had three of them. He spent his early years in an orphanage after he was abandoned, and then on the run after a series of horrible accidents were blamed on him. The only solace he could take was with the mysterious sheep in his dreams, who only praised him, and loved him.

And now that sheep sat right in front of him, and looked as happy to see him as he felt about them.

It was too good to be true. But for a few years, it was exactly that good. Uni seemed to know him well, and brought him food every day. No longer did he have to steal food or dig through trash, they even made sure that he had good sleeping arrangements, bringing him blankets and a simple tent.

But as always in his life, tragedy struck again. Someone was murdered in the village, and of course they blamed the beast in the woods. He didn't know they were searching for him until a strange wolf tried to cut his head off with a axe. He lived, but something far worse happened.

The hand that had grabbed his wrist had began to decay violently. The stranger screamed as he rotted alive, skin falling off of bone before even that turned to dust. A few seconds of horrific screeching later, and all that was left of his assailant was a pile of ash and decay.

He couldn't let them see this. They would call him a monster, just like they all did. And they would be right. They had said he was just their friend, but he was a monster, cursed like all those people before had told him he was.

Luck, as always, was not on his side. Moments later, before he found the strength to move again, Una broke through the bush. They saw the rotting remains of the man, the fallen axe beside it.

And they didn't call him a monster. They sighed, stepped around the body, a stuffed pack slung over a shoulder. They reached for his arm, and he flinched away. He did not want to hurt them. But they grabbed him anyway, unharmed, and pulled him to his feet.

"We need to run. I'll help you pack."

They did not fear him. They could see what happened, and they wanted to protect him. Why?

Couldn't they see he was a monster?

Pulled by the hand, he ran after Una. They seemed to know where they were going, so he trusted them.

But they were intercepted by the lambs father. He held a hatchet in one hand, startled to see his child with the beast.

"My daughter, what-"

And then a dagger was plunged into his throat. Uni kept running, not even looking back.

They had always said that their family never seemed to matter to them. Not like he did. Apparently, they meant that more than he realized.

They were a monster. Just like him.

And they would do anything for him.

He smiled, and ran beside them into the future.

[moongothic]

(Frankenstein'd two asks together for the sake of previty)

I've been pretty torn between answering this ask and just doing a deep dive re-analysis post about Marineford as a whole (from Crocodile's perspective) because I feel like rereading it now as a Crocodad Truther, I could probably make a whole lot of new observations and/or read into things differently than I did last time I read it (when I was rereading for the purpose of studying the viability of Crocodad) Like there's so much to say about the whole arc and I'd include this line of thought in there anyways... But also, do I really feel like writing a giant essay like that........

I am going to start this by refering to this mini-essay I wrote like a month ago, about how Crocodile seems to have this attitude of "no crying over spilt milk". What's happened has happened, what's done is done, it's your own fault things turned out the way they did, there's no undoing any of it and you just have to continue on. And I do think that attitude would be key here to understanding Crocodile's actions in Marineford re:Crocodad

(Sidenote because this is not relevant to the rest of the post, but the reason this is about Crocodad and not CrocoUncle etc is because if Crocodile was only loosely related to Luffy it would not have the same kind of impact emotionally (for Crocodile; like there is a difference between a nephew and a son). Additionally a part of Crocodad is that it ties into Crocodile's connection with Ivankov in a really important way. If Crocodile was only loosely related to Luffy, him also being trans would kind of be like a random sidenote without being relevant to the two being family, but suddenly if Crocodile is Luffy's other biological parent, him being trans matters a lot more. Also if he's not Luffy's other dad then we'd be still stuck asking who the fuck birthed Luffy to begin with)

While Sengoku's announcement here would make for a horrific revelation to Crocodile in this situation (a revelation we never see his immidiate reaction to, which continues to be deeply sus), what would it change, really?

The little idiot child who Crocodile had attempted to murder multiple times was his own son. Sure, he might've insantly lost whatever grudge he might've held against Luffy, then what? That feeling would be one-sided, because at this point in the story Luffy hated Crocodile's guts and he knew that too. Luffy has no idea about them being related, and even if Crocodile literally walked up the kid right that second and told him the truth, what would it change? He'd still be the man who nearly nuked a million people off the face of the earth, took over a country and killed Luffy and his friends while laughing about it. Being Luffy's other dad wouldn't make him any less of a horrible asshole (if anything it might make it slightly worse 'cause you get to add shit like "child abandonment" onto his list of crimes).

Luffy came to Marineford to save Ace. Crocodile came to Marineford to kill Whitebeard. He had no reason to interfere with Luffy's quest, and with the help Luffy already was recieving from the prison escapees, the Newkama and the Whitebeard Pirates, what would Crocodile's assistance add to the mix? Would Luffy even welcome him in helping save his brother?

Luffy had his own life, a life Crocodile had not been a part of. He had no right to try to insert himself into it at this point, after all he had done to Luffy. There's no crying over spilled milk. What's done is done, you just have to move on. He should just focus on what he came to do; get his revenge and take Whitebeard's head, as planned.

Deep breaths

...Only to realize that Whitebeard is a dying old man and not worth even killing anymore, because he's not the same Primebeard whom once beat Crocodile and crushed all his dreams. Defeating Whitebeard would not give him the catharsis he came for.

And at that point, the fuck was Crocodile going to do? The revenge he wants isn't there anymore 'cause it went bad a few decades ago. And between the raging war and Doflamingo on his ass it's not like he could just sneak out without anybody noticing. He doesn't have allies (aside from Daz under him) to worry about. He only has his hatred to the World Government.

At that point, he might as well be a nuisance to the Government and assist Luffy. Even if the help wasn't welcomed, even if Luffy hated him and regardless if he knew the truth or not, helping Luffy right then and there would still be better than letting the Government have their way and kill his son right in front of him

[starker-raving-mads]

For You: Part I

This is for @spiderlinging who decided this level of angst needed to exist.

Have thoughts on a follow up, unsure if I'll do it.

Edit: decided to make this multi-parted.

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX

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It had been a week since the last battle with Thanos. A week since the Blipped had returned everyone, a week since Peter awoke to Dr. Strange leading him through a portal straight into battle.

A week since Tony died.

It's all Peter can think about. The only thing he can think about. Not how traumatizing two battles back to back was, not the chaos and insanity of war, not even of how happy he should be that May and Ned and MJ are actually okay.

Instead, it's Tony, Tony, Tony. His thoughts had revolved around the older man for years now, so it wasn't new. But normally it was excitement, arousal, anticipation, joy. Now, though, it's hugging him as he felt like he was being ripped apart by the Blip. The joy of finding him and being dragged to him in a fierce hug, mid-battle, the billionaire's hands running through his hair. His voice, soft and full of this sort of grieving happiness.

"Peter," he'd said, "oh god, Peter."

And finally it was Mr. Stark's face as he sat dazed against a piece of wreckage amidst the chaos. How blank his eyes were, how little of the man was left, barely hanging on.

That face haunted his dreams, the emptiness filling up his nightmares.

And now here he was, at a lake house he could've never seen Tony living in, with people around him crying and mournful. Like they'd lost a friend when Peter felt like he'd lost a limb. Like his whole heart was being shoved out onto that lake with the last part of Tony Stark he'd ever get to see. Behind him, Happy was talking quietly to Morgan, Tony's kid - Peter's goddaughter, apparently.

He never knew you could make a dead person a godparent before, but there's a lot of things Peter never knew.

Like the thing is - Peter thought he knew grief, knew loss. His parents when he was a kid, Uncle Ben just after he'd gotten his powers. These were huge, space-taking people in his soul but losing Tony? Losing Tony was worse than anything he'd ever experienced before. He felt bad about it, sometimes. Because shouldn't his family have been the ones that meant the most, hurt the most? But then again, Tony had been everything. He'd always sort of thought he loved Tony in the way someone might love an idol, like his feelings were somehow offset by hero worship and being a teenager but it was so much more than that.

It might've started off that way, but after years of knowing him, being his friend through tough times and glad ones - it morphed along the way without him really noticing it. Got deeper, got more meaningful with every lab session and every time Tony said, "Just stay the night kid, you know where your room is. Aunt Hottie doesn't need to be woken up at 3AM with you coming home anyway."

The teen thought he'd cried every ounce of pain from him in the week since the battle, but as his eyes misted up again, he turned and headed around the back of the cabin. It was empty of people on this side and he slid down in the corner where the porch extruded out of the building. Hands covering his face, barely aware of the rotting, damp leaves under him. He just needed a minute to get it together. Just one minute and he'd -

A sound of footsteps approaching, light ones, made him stand back up again and wipe his face free of tears. He knew from experience that his eyes would be a horrible red against how pale his skin was, but there was nothing to be done about it.

Around the corner came Pepper in her funeral clothes, looking at him blankly. It was clear she'd been looking for him but he couldn't figure out why. They just stared at each other for a second, neither moving, and as the moments ticked on he got increasingly uncomfortable and awkward around this powerhouse of a woman he'd never really spent time with.

"Sorry, I just needed to step away for a - "

"He did it because of you, you know," she said, voice as neutral as her face. He blinked at her.

"I'm sorry, what - ?"

"He did it for you." And there was the anger. Her face transformed with it, skin flushing a red that clashed with her hair in a way that was still, somehow, beautiful. It was easy to see why Tony picked her out of everyone. Before he could say anything, she continued. "He told me," she said, tears clouding her voice, nose stuffing up with emotion, "that he'd figured it out. Figured out how to save everyone."

She laughed and it was the most hateful sound he'd ever heard. Shaking her head, smiling in a way that said 'fed up', she said, "But I knew. I knew he didn't do it to be the savior of humanity. His ego was always big, and he was always willing to sacrifice if he thought the price was worth it." She stopped again and stared at him, face contorting.

"He saved a lot of people," Peter agreed, spidey-sense screaming at him and he didn't know why. Every hair on the back of his neck stood on end, and he felt like he was being bombarded. It was nauseating.

"He didn't save people, Peter," she screeched, stomping toward him, hand fisted around a cloth handkerchief, finger pointing at his face. "Tony's ego was always enough to think he could save the world," she continued, voice as mad as a wolf's growl, "but he didn't do it for them. He did it for you." She hissed out, "He kept your picture in the kitchen and just stared at it - all the time! Stared at it like you were some missing part of him and if he just looked long enough you'd reappear." She laughed again, rolling her eyes.

Behind her, a crowd was appearing. Sam and Bucky first, eyes scoping out the situation like the heroes they were. Then Happy, peaking around. The other teenager - Harley, Peter remembered - was further back, near the trees, watching with a ducked face, riveted.

"Tony saved the universe," she agreed, voice even more watery. "But he didn't do it for them - he did it for you." She had moved forward enough now to jab her finger into his chest. "He could've killed everyone with his stupid time travel bullshit," she spat, jabbing harder. "He could've undone reality with it, he could've made it to where Morgan never existed." She sobbed and the anger started to drain from her, head bending. "But it didn't matter as long as he got you back." She sobbed again and as much as his heart was rending itself atom by atom by what she was saying, he couldn't fault her anger, her rage, her sadness.

He stepped forward and she dropped onto him, letting him hold her weight up as she continued to sob.

"He did it for you."

And Peter had never heard anything worse in his entire, fucked up existence.

How was he ever going to live with himself now, knowing this.

How?

[lowkeyrobin]

......you already know what....anyway dancer!reader and fuckshit established relationship. Reader has a full ride scholarship to a really popular and well know dance academy but doesn't tell fuckshit because they planned a party to reveal it. Also fuckshit is very supportive of readers dream but he's going through that phase where he feels that he has nothing going for himself....and then you know the crash happens and reader becomes paralyzed from his waist down (i was gonna do from their back down so he grateful lmao <33) and that's when reader and their parents tell the gang about his scholarship and fuckshit just feels horrible.....reader also doesn't want to see him....ilyy

-♣️

♣️ I hate you. you know I know who you are.

FUCKSHIT ; selfish

summary ; you have a full ride scholarship to a dance academy, as gay as it may sound, you wanted to reveal it to your friends after the skate competition, but it didn't go so well

warnings ; language, car accident, mentions of alcohol, & drugs

genre ; angst

word count ; 1.4k

masterlist

Your mood had been ruined today. You wanted to tell your boyfriend and friends that you'd finally got a scholarship to Juilliard, a dance college, a full ride, but you couldn't bring yourself to speak about it. Stevie and Ruben got in a little fight, Ray wasn't talking to Fuckshit since he was wasted all day and embarrassed him. And you didn't want to talk to anyone now, you didn't want to make the situation any worse.

Fourthgrade sits behind Fuckshit, Ruben next to him, and Ray on the opposite end. Stevie sits in the middle console seat on your left, and Fuckshit in the driver's seat. You sit in the front passenger seat, staring out the window, hoping to God your depressed, drunk boyfriend wouldn't kill you all.

Fuckshit was going through a little phase where he felt like he had nothing going for him, feeling as if he were worthless. All he was living for was partying and drugs, apparently.

You'd been sober for a couple months now, learning that throwing your dreams away because you were mentally unstable wasn't a good idea. You cared about your future while Fuckshit didn't, which started some arguments and fights here and there. You were just worried about him in all honesty, and he'd get jealous that you talked to Ray about the future instead of with him. You needed someone to bounce back on and agree with you, not someone to just nod and half ass listen to you. He was supportive of you and your attempt to make dance your career, but sometimes he didn't know how to properly show it.

You'd been trying to help him find a place in the world, to give him a head start like what you had. You didn't even know what you were doing but you were making an attempt at least.

You imagine you were off at your new school, come two years' time, the new environment, the new people, being able to do the one thing you loved more than skating. It sounded like a dream. It still did, really. All that hard work finally amounted to something, something that you could make yourself out of. You fantasize about your career, yet you're snapped out of it, realizing that leaving everything and everyone you knew was going to be difficult and hurt, a lot.

But now, you listen to Ray, trying to convince Fuckshit to drop you all off at home. You roll your eyes, hearing him mumble something about how you guys weren't gonna ruin his mood.

You turn to the curly haired blonde, tiredness pulling your eyes down. "Dude, stop. Just take us home"

"No! Now you're ganging up on me too?"

"I'm not! Do whatever the fuck you want, dickhead. Just let me out" You speak, unbuckling your seatbelt.

"No!"

"Let me out, right now!" You exclaim, pulling at the handle beside you, seeing the sidewalk right outside.

You hate this, you feel like your parents arguing, your friends acting as you, hiding in silence in the back.

"Pull over, please-"

Your eyes reflect bright headlights, blinding you as you swing your arm over to protect Stevie beside you. Your ears are defeaned by car horns and breaking glass.

You awaken slowly, nurses standing over you, one rushing in food to place in front of you. You notice your face is all tingly, and your arms and hands are covered in bruises and scratches.

You talk to the ladies before they disperse and grant your friends entrance to the room, which smelt like clorox wipes, the lighting an eerie cool. The others had some cuts and bruises here and there, but Stevie's arm is covered by a cast, signed by the other four.

You almost gasp as you see him, "Holy shit, are you okay?"

He nods with a little smile, "Yeah, I'm good"

You blink a bit, looking up to Fuckshit who's unable to look back at you. You scan the others, their expressions somber.

"What? Did someone die or something?" You question them.

Ray looks at Fuckshit, slapping his shoulder to deem him responsible.

The blonde sighs before sitting down next you on the hospital bed, fitted with light blue sheets with a little white pattern. He fidgets with his fingers before looking back up at Ray, who raises a hand towards you and mouths something to him.

Fuckshit finally looks at you, biting the inside of his cheek. "Y'know that scholarship to Juilliard?"

"How do you know about that?" You quickly question, running a hand through your hair.

His gaze shifts down, "Your mom came in earlier and yelled at me"

"What's it have to do with my scholarship?"

"...You can't go anymore"

"Why not?" You ask, the inflection in your voice becoming more stern.

Fuckshit looks back up at the other boys, then back to you. "Uhm, you're paralyzed from the waist down. Doctors said you probably won't walk again"

Your eyes widen as you stare at him in silence, thinking this was some sort of prank to make you not as mad at him for the accident, you're unable to believe him. He watches as you try to move your legs to a criss-cross position, but they remain straight underneath the blue blanket covering you. You look back up at him, feeling an overwhelming sense of anger building in your chest.

"What the fuck?"

He's silent, staring down at his shoes. "I'm sorry"

"You're sorry? You're sorry? You're fucking kidding me! You are a fucking asshole! You selfish piece of shit, I fucking hate you!" You yell, your voice becoming louder and louder as you shout at him. "You fucking selfish asshole! You stole my dream from me, and you think 'I'm sorry' is gonna help you? You can't fix a broken body with a shit, half-assed apology. It's about time you learned that"

Ray holds Stevie a little close, seeing his uneasiness in the hospital and while you were screaming at Fuckshit.

After a moment, the blonde begins to fight back, and once he gets a sentence or two out of just degrading you and blaming you, Ray pulls him back. Fourthgrade hugs you, letting you cry into his shoulder while the two teens talk in the hallway. Ruben and Stevie sit on the other side of you, doing their best to try and comfort you.

"What the fuck? What the hell?" You quickly sputter, digging your fingers into Fourthgrade's arms to try and sense some sort of reality to make sure this wasn't some sick dream.

Eventually, you calmed down a bit, and the scrawny boy decides to cheer you up a bit, as you'd ask, with the little movie he'd been making the past couple of months. He inserted the VHS into the player under the TV, and watched your expression go from teary-eyed to a light smile.

Ray and Fuckshit walk back in, looking like the typical mother and child who just got scolded duo. Fuckshit stands awkwardly at your side, halfway hiding behind Fourthgrade in case you regain motion in your legs and tried to pounce on him.

Ray begins, watching Ruben replay the VHS on the TV for you. "Fuckshit has something to tell you" He glares over at the blonde, taking notice of Stevie turning the volume down some so you could converse.

You look up at him, unable to really hold eye contact for long.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I got wasted and didn't want to listen to you, and I crossed a major line not letting you out the car and shit... I don't have an excuse for saying all that shit to you a minute ago, but it's not how I really feel, I was... I was just trying to win, I guess" He shrugs, pulling at the ends of his curls a bit. "I know you're never gonna forgive me for fuckin', I don't wanna say mutilate..., like, ruining your life, and that's fine. I just wanna see you happy and succeed and overcome this, and I'm so sorry for taking your dream away, and I am selfish for that-"

"Just get out" You mumble, quickly shutting him up. "Please" You look back down at your fidgeting fingers, resting in your lap. "I need to process shit, okay,? Fuck, I don't wanna worry about this right now"

He nods, stuffing his hands in his pockets before leaving with his head hung low.

[kozumesphone]

masterlist

💌┊₊˚⊹꒷ TOO SWEET PT. 1 .ᐟ

⤷ leo valdez x fem!reader ‧₊˚ ⋅

ᝰ. 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 . . . percy jackson and the heroes of olympus

ᝰ. 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐬 . . . street racing au

ᝰ. 𝐤𝐞𝐲 . . . y/n: your name | y/l/n: your last name | n/n: nickname

ᝰ. 𝐰𝐜 . . . 946

ᝰ. 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 . . . y/n and leo are the queen and king of the shinjuku and shibuya street racing circles, respectively. they meet for the first time at the annual tokyo races to see who's better. (ft. best friend!percy fanboying over racer king!leo + an appearance by passenger princess!leo <3)

ᝰ. 𝐚/𝐧 . . . uhtgufshew tokyo + leo + street racing is such a fever dream for me,, and this one, I wrote bc of my love for leo and fast and furious (esp tokyo drift <3) and I totally based y/n's car off han's from td sue me I love him (: so, enjoy! i'll start working on part 2 soon (:

✮⋆˙ y/n’s pov

'the next station is . . . shinjuku.'

I was busy icing the bruises on my forearm from last night’s race when my best friend barged into the bathroom without knocking.

“HE’S COMING TODAY, N/N!” he screamed, and giggled like a school girl.

“I could’ve been naked, you know,” I muttered, shutting the first-aid box and shoving it into the cabinet under the sink. “who’s coming?”

“ignis-”

“percy, come on, not this again,” I groaned. “you’ve been fanboying about him for the past 48 hours, and I really just want to sleep. and besides, I really don’t see what the big deal about this guy is.”

“uh, hello? he’s the king of the shibuya street races!” percy exclaimed, following me as I walk out, and flop onto my bed. he stops at the foot of it.

“and the people have crowned me the queen of shinjuku’s. so what?” I asked.

‘ignis’, as the others call him, is someone called leo valdez. and apparently, he’s a pretty good racer.

“look,” I continued, interrupting percy before he started fanboying again, with hearts in his eyes or whatever. “if he’s that good, he can come and beat me at the annual tokyo races.” I declared.

“oh yeah, he probably will,” percy commented. I flung my pillow at his head, and smirked when I found I didn’t miss. “OW!”

“whatever. tell me more about him. what’s he like?”

it was almost as if I asked him to marry leo. and this time, he really did have hearts in his eyes, I fear.

“okay, so supposedly, he builds his own car, like you, and started racing at 17! isn’t that cool? I mean, you did too, but still. it’s cooler when he does it. anyway, he’s locally the undefeated champion of street racing, and oh my god, he drives a 1966 ford gt40, it’s so cool-”

“okayyy, i’ve heard enough. I guess it is going to be fun meeting him at the car meet for the races.” I smirked. “let’s battle it out on the roads, ignis.”

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

✮⋆˙ leo’s pov

'the next station is . . . shibuya.'

“jace, how much farther is the hotel?” I asked, knocking my legs onto the dashboard, and crossing them at my ankles. simultaneously, I pulled down my sunglasses.

“relax, passenger princess, just a few more minutes and we’ll be there.” he replied.

jason glanced at piper in the mirror and smiled.

I would never admit it, of course, but it was terrible being so good at one thing and horribly bad at another. honestly, who would ever believe that the king, ignis, had never been in an actual relationship? the one-night stands didn’t count, obviously. I’d never felt anything close to… love.

pondering my status of being single, I fell asleep in jason’s car.

“dude, bro, homie, my man, whatever, WAKE UP, WE’RE GOING TO BE LATE-”

“did you… did you carry me into bed, jason grace?” I opened one eye and grinned at him lazily.

“you were sound asleep, even worse than a log. I tried kicking you awake, but it didn’t work, so I had to pick you up, ufortunately.”

“aww, don’t sound so happy.”

“shut up. if you don’t get ready to get to the car meet, we don’t get a ticket to race for the entire next month,” he said.

“what- OH, I forgot about that. one ticket’s enough for all 23 races, right?”

“yeah, i’ll explain the details to you in the car, go get ready, dumbass.”

I grinned. “jason grace is cursing, the world is healing-” a pillow hit my face. “i’m going.”

timeskip

“okay, the serious ones you need to look out for are python, shooting star, and tsunami.”

“shooting star?” I choked on my water. “what-”

“weird name, huh?” a girl chuckled behind me, and I whipped around.

“oh no no no no, i’m sorry- are you shooting star? uh, shit, I apologi-”

“nah, but it was funny seeing you get so flustered, valdez.” she smirked.

“do we… know each other?” I asked, confused. her smirk widened.

“not yet, but real soon,” she said, her smirk never faltering and confidence never wavering. she turned and began walking away, and I stood there, mouth open.

“she’s pretty, but she’s also tsunami,” piper commented. oh.

“who said she’s pretty? I didn’t. did you? I don’t know,” I rambled. whatever. “she’s my competition. she’s just in the way of me and my golden trophy.”

“there’s no trophy, dumbass.” jason reminded me.

“a 700$ cash price is equivalent to a trophy, man,” I corrected him.

“ok, well, listen up. she’s called tsunami for a reason. she’s vicious, takes everyone by surprise at every race, and is the queen of shinjuku’s street racing. and most importantly? she’s never lost a single race.” piper explained. I took in every bit of that info, and filed into a part of my brain labelled ‘dangerous and pretty competition, stay away’.

“what’s her ride, then?” I asked, a little curious.

“1997 mazda rx-7 veilside fortune.”

“damn,” I whistled. before I could find out more about her, the announcer on the stage started talking.

“welcome, racers and audience! today is day 1 of the annual tokyo races! here’s a quick rundown about it, in case you haven’t a clue: starting today, there will be 23 races for 23 days, each race held in a special ward of tokyo. we start here, at shinjuku, and end the 23rd race at shibuya!”

everyone cheered and whistled at the mention of shinjuku and shibuya, the two hubs of tokyo’s street racing.

starting at tsunami’s turf, and ending in mine, huh? this was going to be fun.

tags! — @sunnitheapollokid @puffoz

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