#ban vs aus head to head

[rarepears]

In a shen twins au do you think sy is desperate to protect his brothers reputation so he doesn’t blacken further and give reasons for his imprisonment? Would sy get along with lqg as someone who could protect them against lbh or would be get pissed at this guy who keeps making his brother’s rep worse? Also sy vs sqh trying to steer the plot to stay alive lol

In a Shen twins AU, there's no reason why it can't be Shen Yuan that becomes the Qing Jing peak lord Shen Qingqiu instead of Shen Jiu.

Now, it's not that Shen Yuan was more ambitious or more talented than Shen Jiu. Pft, can you imagine Shen Yuan being that motivated to even pursue the spot of head disciple?!

Nah, instead Shen Yuan got the spotlight just through being Shen Jiu's identical twin. It's precisely Shen Jiu's talents (and hard work, but no one on Qing Jing calls it hard work since that implies any old commoner can be just as skilled as a noble-born child) that caught the eye of the old Qing Jing peak lord and yes, it was Shen Jiu that was the head disciple and the selected successor.

Shen Yuan panicked, okay?! He couldn't let his beloved twin become a human stick. Despite all of his twin's prickly faults, Shen Yuan loved the idiot cactus of a human. So... with his knowledge of PIDW, he might had initiated letters with the imperial palace, traded some of the protagonist's future treasures to earn a couple favors of high ranking eunuchs and then even the fucking emperor himself - surely the protagonist wouldn't be so stingy as to begrudge his biggest fan from helping himself to a couple items? - and that's how Shen Yuan won his brother a position as Grand Tutor (and unofficial advisor) to the Crown Prince.

Normally it was Huan Hua that held such strong ties to the imperial throne; most certainly it wasn't Cang Qiong. Thus, when the previous generation of Cang Qiong heard of all of Shen Yuan's hard efforts winning the sect such a opportunity, they were more than delighted to ship Shen Jiu off to be Grand Tutor instead. After all, there was a ready made replacement (cough Shen Yuan) for Qing Jing!

Was Shen Jiu pissed? Yes.

Did Shen Jiu feel betrayed by his twin? Yes, but only shortly because unlike Yue Qingyuan, Shen Yuan knows the importance of communicating. Well, not that Shen Yuan told the truth; instead, he told his Jiu-ge about how he thought that his very ambitious twin would appreciate the chance and influence to craft future bills and laws and maybe get the ball started on banning slavery... Shen Yuan wasn't ambitious or crafty enough to achieve such a thing, but he knew his twin had the skills!

At the end of the day, Shen Yuan is an excellent bootlicker and his bootlicking complimenting skills work on even Shen Jiu. And with Shen Jiu removed from Cang Qiong, Shen Jiu doesn't blacken further with the false promises of having a "family" of martial siblings in the form of fellow peak lords; Shen Jiu knows from the get go that the imperial government is full of vipers and the importance of reputation when it comes to influencing all the ambitious political ambitions that have awakened inside of him.

[Follow #a shen twins au where shen yuan becomes the qing jing peak lord and shen jiu becomes an imperial tutor to the crown prince for more]

[co-co-ocelot]

(I just realised I've never made an intro page- OOPS. WELP. Here it is!)

Salutations! My name is Co Co Ocelot, because no you do not get to know my real name get DUNKED ON. >:D

The things I like right now:

-Undertale

-Five Nights At Freddy's

-Genshin Impact

-Hazbin Hotel + Helluva Boss

-Cult Of The Lamb

Asks: OPEN

What is on my account?

Generally art- specifically OC X Cannon (if you don't like that, I can respect it but that's like the majority of my stuff so you probably won't like my blog, but hey! You never know if I could change your mind :D), Fanart, My ask blogs (which are also probably mainly OC X Cannon- which I'll get into a little later), and reposts.

What are the rules here?

Comments:

-13+ (I mean... Not like you'll listen but still. I'd like to put it there for consideration.)

-No hate for unjust reasons, such as disliking a ship, thinking something is cringe, or disagreeing with an opinion of mine. However! If you are respectful with criticisms or corrections for just reasons such as myself unintentionally coming across the wrong way, this is perfectly fine. We are all human and make mistakes, so if I do something that could come across as offensive, please tell me! I'll really appreciate it.

-Absolutely no racism, homophobia, transphobia EXC, because this will result in a ban. I will tell you though, just telling you what you said was X, Y and Z. I can understand that people make mistakes, or something could be taken the wrong way, so just be careful about this sort of thing to avoid any miscommunication.

-No self promotion (it's kind of rude T<T)

Asks:

Please don't ask:

-Questions about myself, please keep it to the characters, though I do appreciate the interest. <⁠(⁠￣⁠︶⁠￣⁠)⁠>

-Overly sexual asks, (Such as graphic descriptions- but just asking a character "doth thou plough?" Is fine and honestly pretty funny. Just don't take it too far.) (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡

-Ask anything litterally illegal or inappropriate/creepy? Such as PDF-file type behaviour. That stuff is real nasty.

Please do ask these however! And don't be afraid to ask stuff that's not on here! As long as it doesn't go against the "don'ts" section, you're good! Just remember to not be worried, because of you do anything I'm not comfortable with I'll let you know and add it to the list of no-goes, zero hard feelings! (⁠*⁠˘⁠︶⁠˘⁠*⁠)⁠.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡

-Angst (So asking sad questions, making characters remember stuff that no person should ever experience- but what's the point in having a favourite character if you don't mentally and physically destroy them? I LOVE THAT SHIT)!

-Asking about the characters, head cannons, or story! This one is a BIG yes please! It helps me build the story as we go along.

-Anon magic- that stuff is really funny (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

-Show off your OCs! For an example, if your OC is a new employee of Vox Tech, I may have them sometimes be in the background of the panels, occasionally coming in and doing tasks, exc! Just tell me a little about them and their personality and I'll so it! ✧⁠◝⁠(⁠⁰⁠▿⁠⁰⁠)⁠◜⁠✧

What ask blogs are available right now?

Current counting: 1

Secret Garden: OC (Rosemary) X Vox

Yes this is inspired by Flower Fell the Undertale AU ｡⁠:ﾟ⁠(⁠;⁠´⁠∩⁠`⁠;⁠)ﾟ⁠:⁠｡

Content warnings for this blog:

- Gore

- Valentino. I hate that fucker

- Dark/Downright disturbing themes such as SH, SA, PTSD, Child abuse/SA, manipulation, exc... (I'D LIKE TO EMPHASISE THAT I AM NOT ENDORSING THIS, IT'S JUST ONE OF THE CHARACTERS BACKSTORY, AND AT NO POINT IN THE STORY IS IT VIEWED IN A POSITIVE LIGHT)

- Generally soul crushing angst

- Oc x Cannon... If you don't like that for some reason (I'm judging you, it's the best)

Context summary:

The curse:

-A few years back, (post Vox vs Alastor) a man named Zentheal hired Rosemary, a sinner who, as things were then, had a tight hold on pentagram city's drug rings, meaning they had power. He could 'respect' that, he just chose not to because he's a dick. He hired them to spy on a business rival for quite the attractive price.

-Despite the blatant disrespect and death threats if failure occurred, Rosemary accepted, (not that they they had the option to say no) but rather quickly found out said business rival was a nightmare, and it was like staring at paint dry.

-Rosemary ran out of time and Zentheal was beyond livid. After a rather brutal torture session he sent Rosemary back home, completely unaware of what the upcoming hours would entail.

-Pain. Lots of it. And none of it having to do with the torture. The flowers that already held their roots under their skin ever since they arrived in hell...were spreading.

-Rosemary had thrown up from the pain twice, completely immobilised while the flowers slowly breached the surface of their skin, and in the end they experienced all that pain for a mere...what? 7-8 flowers to grow?

-This couldn't be safe at all... Were they going to die...?

How they met the Vees:

- Recently, Velvette and Rosemary had done a collaboration, where -essentially- Rosemary gave Vel a boatload of the strongest drugs they had so she could give them to her team and see what shit they cooked up. It was mainly out of boredom but oh BOY did people go crazy for the nonsensical designs the buzzed out designers made. Both sides saw increased sales from then on, so they decided to do another collaboration in the near future.

- Velvette and Rosemary ended up becoming good friends from that encounter, meaning they came over to the Vee tower often to hang out, becoming quite familiar with the three. Velvette just made sure to keep them FAR away from Valentino.

Where the story is currently:

- All three of the Vees, as it stands right now, are unaware of Rosemary's curse.

- Vox is still stuck in an incredibly toxic an abusive situationship with Valentino, who is getting more and more insane by the day. Vox is getting sick of it.

- Vox is considering letting Rosemary join the Vee's, but is debating it, since Rosemary and Valentino get on awfully. They both want to kill eachother, and oh boy do they try.

What happens next? You'll have to ask and find out.

[starsfic]

Summaries:

After all the events of S4 Sun Wukong is forced to realize that a good chunk of the stuff that he and others have been blaming him for isn't his fault and he goes to therapy and starts doing old hobbies again, working towards putting himself in a better mental health state. Also Macaque and Azure Lion get banned from his mountain but they refuse to accept that.

AU inspired by the King Thrushbeard fairytale, where Red Son refuses all suitors until his father decides to marry him off to the next peasant who walks through the door. Except Qi Xiaotian isn't royalty, but very kind.

Political drama au where to reduce the offers for his hand, Sun Wukong marries Azure Lion. This backfires because now eyes are turning to Qi Xiaotian, his successor. Now Wukong has to juggle Azure’s feelings for him and arranging a match for Xiaotian.

My TMNT incarnation, episode 1: After befriending April O'Neil, the Hamato brothers and Casey Jones must rescue her from a mysterious baron with a sinister plan.

AU where Long Xiaojiao's best friend's new husband is strange and a giant red bull has been killing livestock.

DND AU, Lionpeach fic where Azure Lion gets invited to DND Night

Spicynoodles is very happy together and just had a baby girl when one of Qi Xiaotian's exes claims that he and Xiaotian have had an affair and the baby is his...the baby who is the splitting image of Red as a calf.

Xiaojiao jokingly challenges Red to a duel only for both of their families to take it super seriously, especially when old grudges (aka Ao Lie’s death) are brought up

The beginning of my Scooby Doo incarnation. After a summer at home, Mystery Incorporated try to head back to college. The key word is try.

Set sometime before Agony of a Witch, Raine Whispers is sent to the weekly Coven Head meeting- which is basically just an excuse to hang out at a bar and bitch. They meet up again with Lilith, drinks are drunk, and Lilith ends up drunkenly confessing the truth about Eda's curse to a less drunk Raine.

[criminalmindsgonewrong]

nature vs nurture

a hotchner's future au fic. wordcount: 5.7k

emily is trying to be a good mother, but she never had a good example to learn from.

or

elizabeth comes to visit after ava is born

tw: mentions of pregnancy, mentions of trouble conceiving

Read on AO3, fanfiction.net or under the cut

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"There, there," Emily soothed, running her hand gently up and down her newborn daughter's back. Bouncing on the pregnancy ball, the only thing that had brought her any relief as she had neared fullterm, she had hoped that the familiar sensation would soothe Ava, as it used to when she was in-utero, but, so far, no dice. Emily persisted, though, switching up the position she held Ava in. She moved her daughter from her shoulder, unstrapping her maternity bra and holding Ava nestled against her chest, hoping the skin-to-skin contact, and the scent of her mother, might calm the crying child. Still, Ava went on screeching. Emily closed her eyes, breathing steadily out through her nose and tilting her face up towards the ceiling, determined not to cry. No, she had done enough of that in the past few days.

Getting pregnant had been a chore; she and Aaron, it felt like, were having sex at every opportunity and still, nothing happened for the longest time. Emily had been convinced she was infertile, and wouldn't even have been surprised, after all of the explosions, gun-shots, chairlegs and beatings she'd been through. After eleven long months of negative pregnancy tests, unwanted periods and disappointed tears, though, finally, those two little lines had shown up and a relief the likes of which she had never known flooded Emily's being.

She hadn't stopped crying since.

The littlest things could set her off, from Aaron accidentally ordering her the wrong takeout order to Jack winning one of his football matches. Towards the end of her pregnancy, he had actually banned her from attending games - by that point she was so big that she couldn't do much more than waddle, anyway, and standing for too long made her ache all over, so she didn't really mind all that much, but she still cried when Aaron told her.

That was a month ago, and, three weeks later, Ava made her squawking, mewling way into the world and it seemed that the phrase like mother, like daughter was all too true for them because she hadn't stopped crying since either, and everytime Ava cried, one of two things happened. Emily started leaking, either from her eyes or from her boobs.

As she bounced on the birthing ball and tried to breathe her way through the tears that threatened, she felt the hot trail of milk that slowly leaked out of her, and then she couldn't hold back tears anymore.

"Hey," Aaron said, rushing into the room armed with the diaper and wipes she'd sent him out for, "I was just checking on Jack, I'm sorry." He said, misinterpreting her tears, but Emily shook her head.

"Can you-you get me a t-towel?" She stutered her way through her sentence, the sympathy on her husband's face only making her cry harder, and, feeling useless, Aaron did the only thing he could, which was what she had asked for. He hurried into their en-suite, grabbing one of the microfibre towels, the good, soft ones, from the cupboard and came back to kneel in front of his wife and daughter. Lovingly, he mopped up the milk and then fastened her maternity bra back up for her, careful not to disturb Ava, who was still crying.

"Did you try her…?" Aaron asked, and then trailed off at the expression on Emily's face, the one that said she might rip his head off if he finished that sentence. "Of course you did. Sorry, sweetheart."

Emily, though, shook her head, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to take it out on you," She said, and supported Ava with one arm, making sure she was secure before reaching for Aaron. He understood and took her hand, helping her stand off of the ball and leading her to the bed, where Emily painfully lowered herself onto it, still tender from the birth, "Oh, please, close the door before she wakes Jack up."

Aaron had the same thought at the same moment, and was already turning as she made the request. "This won't last forever," he reassured her, making his way back to the bed and rubbing Emily's back in much the same way as Emily had done to Ava, trying to soothe her.

"Do you remember Jack crying this much?" Emily dug around in Ava's blankets, finding her pacifier and once again gently tapping it against her infant's lips, but Ava wiggled her head back and forth as best as she could, and only mewled louder, rejecting the pacifier, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, sweetheart, I'm sorry." Emily said, feeling tears threaten once more, and swallowing down the lump that had risen in her throat. She felt, not for the first time, at a complete loss, unable to determine what her daughter needed at any given moment. This learning curve was the steepest she had ever encountered, and Emily felt like she was faltering with every step she took..

She looked at Aaron with eyes that sparkled like glass, "She hates me," she said, with a sadness so profound that it made him gape at her.

"No, sweetheart, no," He wrapped his arms around them both, pulling his wife and daughter into his chest, "Don't ever think that."

"What's wrong with me," Emily sobbed, her words muffled by Aaron's chest, "that I can't even comfort my own baby?"

Between them, Ava was still crying, and Emily pulled out of Aaron's arms, making to stand up, meaning to pace back and forth in the hopes that a different motion might soothe her, but Aaron stopped her.

"Let me?" He asked, searching his wife's eyes.

Emily had been reluctant to let go of Ava, even to him, since she was born and she appreciated that he asked, even if he was her father. Of course she trusted him, but Ava was the most precious thing she'd ever seen, ever held, and to let her go for even a moment, even to her father, was like physical torment. Right now, though, after Ava had been screaming for almost two hours, the relief of being slightly further away from her noise overcame that pain easily, and she let Aaron gently lift the baby from her arms.

She watched as he nestled Ava into the crook of his elbow, holding her tight to his chest. She was a tiny baby, but she looked even smaller in Aaron's muscular arms, truly like a little doll. It made something inside of Emily ache.

"That's nature's trick," she commented, narrowing her eyes as she wiped her nose on back of her hand, frowning at him.

Aaron looked at her, halted his attempts at soothing their daughter to raise his eyebrows at her, the ghost of a smile playing around his lips, "What?"

"How good men look with babies." Even though Emily couldn't even think about having sex with him without wincing right now, something inside of her tugged at the sight of him holding the tiny bundle, comforting their child with soft words and looking down at her with such adoration, "Tricks you into having more."

Aaron smiled at her, showing his perfect teeth, then turned that smile down onto their daughter. Emily marvelled, not for the first time, at his patience. She loved Ava with everything she had, but she was ready to jam a screwdriver into her eardrum right about now, just for the bliss of the silence.

"She's brand new," Aaron was saying, "Being born is traumatic. Everything is new and big and scary," he rocked, side to side, creating a rhythm, "I know you don't like it right now," he wasn't talking to her anymore, but to Ava, "but you will. I promise you will."

Ava paused for a moment to look at her father, blinking bleary eyes at him, still unable, Emily knew, to see clearly. That, she thought, must be scary enough in itself.

"You know what used to work for Jack?" Hotch said, looking up at her. Tiredly, Emily raised her eyebrows at him. "A bath."

"See? Works everytime."

His fingertips stroked over their daughter's tiny, dark head, her hair wet from the water and plastered flat. She rested on Emily's chest, her tiny fist furling and unfurling against her mother's skin. The water was just the right temperature, a little cold for Emily, perhaps, but perfect for the baby, and her mother's heart beat steadily and surely beneath her ear, as comforting as it had been when she lived inside Emily's body.

"You're a genius," Emily whispered, smiling at her husband, the silence making her ears buzz. Ava's eyes had fluttered closed, along with her fist, and she didn't open them or unfurl them, but instead began a slow and steady breathing that told her parents she had, finally, fallen asleep.

There was a long beat of silence. Then Emily looked at him and said, "What now?"

Kneeling beside the bath, Aaron's shoulders started to shake as he tried to laugh silently, and Emily held Ava's head gently as she did the same, trying to keep as still as she could while giggling, so as not to disturb her daughter.

The next morning, Ava woke them with a cry, as had become the custom, as was normal for a baby her age. It was 5:30am. All in all, her parents had four hours of sleep between them. They tried to nap alternately, but realistically when one was awake, so was the other, and the morning was the same story, so when Ava's cries woke Emily, Aaron was up a few seconds later.

By lunch time, they were both yawning.

"Kids are hard," Emily whined, resting her chin on Aaron's shoulder as she curled her fingers around the mug of coffee she had been reheating and trying to drink since 7am. Ava, blissfully, was taking a nap in her swing, a song that Emily already knew would be haunting her dreams playing for the seventh time in a row. Unfortunately, it seemed to be the only one that Ava found appealing and so, like all new parents, they were putting up with it until further notice. Or until the batteries ran out.

"Yeah," Aaron agreed, just as sleepily, as Jack came bounding into the room with an energy his parents couldn't possibly hope to match.

"Grandma's here," he announced, and they both stared at him in confusion. Impatient, he repeated, "Grandma's here! In the car!"

"My mom?" Emily said, frowning in confusion.

"Has to be. Highly doubt it's mine, or he'd be screaming in terror since she's been dead for twenty years." Aaron replied, standing up from the barstool. There were milkstains on his t-shirt, Emily noticed, and, looking down at her own, she saw that she, too, was covered in them. She also noticed a stain that looked suspiciously like milk-sick, but didn't inspect it too much. Instead, she grabbed a hoodie from the pile of laundry she had been meaning to get to for four days, and tugged it over her head, trying to make herself look at least half presentable.

"Can't we send her away?" Aaron suggested, half-heartedly, already aware of how much of a losing battle that would be.

"It's better if we just let her in, let her see the baby, and then, once she's had her fill, we won't have to see her for about five years. Hopefully." Emily asserted, attempting to fluff her hair in the microwave's reflection before giving up and tugging it up into a bumpy ponytail, fastening it with the hairtie that had been around her wrist.

The doorbell went and they both turned as though it were the cock of a gun.

"I'll get it," Aaron groaned, and Emily shot him a grateful smile, heading straight into the living room to where Ava was in her swing and Jack was sitting at the dining room table, drawing.

"Jack," she said, walking over to him and putting a gentle hand on his hair, stroking it, lovingly, "Don't take too much notice of anything Grandma says, okay?"

Jack looked up at her with curious blue eyes, but she just smiled at him, a smile that fell from her face as soon as she heard the tell tale click-clack on her hardwood floors, the soundtrack of her childhood, the noise that ominously announced the approach of her mother.

"Emily, my darling," Elizabeth swanned into the room, arms open wide, like the loving and affectionate mother she never had been, and enveloped Emily in a hug that felt all wrong and unfamiliar. Over her shoulder, she caught Aaron's eye, and he just shrugged as she furrowed her brows at him, "How are you?"

Shoving her away, Elizabeth held her at arms length, "You look tired."

"I just had a baby, mom," Emily said, deadpan, not at all shocked that the first words out of Elizabeth's mouth could be classified as an insult.

"Oh, yes, my first grandchild," Elizabeth clapped her hands together and Emily ground her teeth together.

"Second," she corrected, wrapping her arm securely around Jack's shoulders.

"Oh, of course, of course," Elizabeth waved a hand, as though to waft away her earlier words, "Jack, how are you?"

Her tone was as it had always been with children; formal and awkward. Jack looked from Elizabeth up to Emily, who gave him a small smile, a reassuring nod and a gentle squeeze into her side.

"I'm okay, grandma," he said, politely, "How are you?"

"Dying to meet my granddaughter," as tone deaf as ever, Elizabeth beamed at Emily, who felt something like possession curl in her chest as she saw the hungry look on Elizabeth's face, and she knew, she had known, the strange ownership Elizabeth already felt for Ava, a child she hadn't even met yet. She wanted, then, to send Eliazabeth away, to keep Ava for herself. She opened her mouth to speak, unsure of what was about to come out of it, but Aaron beat her to it.

"She's over here," he said, from behind her mother, and Elizabeth turned on her heels. Emily followed, right behind her.

The granddaughter in question was stirring, her lullaby having finished, and Emily, supporting herself on the arm of the sofa, knelt slowly down beside the swing and fiddled with the buttons until the song began again.

"Oh," Elizabeth looked down at the tiny bundle, as Emily put gentle fingers on Ava's tiny hand, lowering the arm that had been raised to cover her little face. "She's beautiful," Elizabeth whispered, "Emily, she looks just like you."

And Emily thought that might be the nicest thing her mother had ever said to her. She beamed with pride, staring at the tiny girl in the swing.

Before Ava, Emily was the type of person to say that all newborns looked the same. If somebody had shown her a photograph of Jack at one week old, and Henry at one week old, she was certain she wouldn't be able to tell them apart, regardless of how much she loved them both. Ava, however, was a different story entirely. Ava was the most beautiful newborn she had ever seen, with a shock of dark hair and eyes that were already the same deep brown as both of her parents and therefore, Emily assumed, likely to stay that way. Her pale little eyebrows arched angelically over her eyes, and, already, her eyelashes were shockingly long - the abundance of hair her daughter already had accounted for the heartburn Emily had suffered with throughout the second and third trimester.

She gently pulled back her finger and Ava once again lifted her arm to cover her face, fussing a little in the chair, unhappy about being disturbed.

"She won't stay settled for much longer," Aaron said, knowingly, "Elizabeth, can I get you a drink?"

"Yes, tea." There was no please, and Aaron raised an eyebrow at Emily, who just tilted her head, apologetically, and widened her eyes. He understood her even without words.

Let's just get through this.

"Mom, I wish you'd told us you were going to drop by," Emily said, as Aaron lef the room. The scolding was barely disguised, but Elizabeth either didn't hear it or chose to ignore it. She sat herself down on the sofa, but Emily stayed on the carpet beside Ava, wanting to be the closest one to her when she inevitably started crying, wanting, if she was honest with herself, to pick her up before Elizabeth tried to reach for her.

"I'm your mother, Emily, I don't need an announcement," Elizabeth waved away her words, and then added, "Or an invite." She pursed her lips with disapproval, clearly telling her daughter off in not as many words. Emily immediately felt the need to make excuses, a reminder that even as a grown woman, she hadn't escaped the effect her mother always seemed to have on her, of making her feel like a misbehaving child.

"We're just, we weren't having guests during these first two weeks," Emily said, tiredly, folding her own hands in her lap, "The house is a mess, we're all so exhausted. We've just been settling in with the baby-"

"Nonesense," Elizabeth let out a sharp laugh as Aaron entered the room with her tea, and Ava jumped, her grandmother's laugh effectively ending her nap. Startled, she began to cry as Elizabeth continued, seemingly oblivious, "I was on a plane to Munich two days after giving birth to you."

"Yes, mother, I know," Emily said, tersely, as she reached her hands into the swing, unbuckling the baby and fastening them securely around Ava. She lifted her out of the chair, immediately pulling Ava to her chest. Emily made soothing noises, picking up the pacifier Ava had spat out and putting it into her own mouth as she adjusted her daughter in her arms.

"You shouldn't do that, you know," And here it was, Emily thought, as she met Aaron's eyes over Elizabeth's head, the real reason they hadn't invited her; the unsolicited advice she was about to give that would make Emily's blood boil, because, really, who was Elizabeth to give anybody parenting advice, let alone the daughter she hadn't raised?

Neither Emily nor Aaron prompted her to continue, as he passed Elizabeth her tea and Emily stared, intently, at the babe in her arms, pretending she hadn't heard her mother at all, but Elizabeth went on, anyway.

"Pick her up as soon as she cries, I mean-thank you, Aaron, dear," She took the tea from him and immediately set it down onto the coffee table. Aaron frowned, picked it up again, set a coaster beneath it, and set the mug on top of the coaster. He wiped at the ringmark with his hand, aware of how crazy it would drive his wife, "You're teaching her bad habits."

"Bad habits?" Emily frowned, casting Elizabeth a glance, swaying her hips on the spot, a state that had become second nature to her already, "Mom, she's a week old."

"Nonetheless, if you let her manipulate you like that, you'll regret it," Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, with an air of superiority, as she brought her tea to her lips and Emily found herself wishing she would scald herself, but instead she just blew on her tea, "Give into her now and you'll be doing it for the rest of her life."

Emily bit her tongue, exhaling, hard, through her nose. She found Aaron's eyes, and, seeing the upset there, he turned to Jack.

"Hey, buddy, why don't you take your colours upstairs for a bit and let the grownups talk, huh?" Jack, who liked to spend most of his time in his room anyway, shrugged and gathered up his crayons and paper, obeying his father almost immediately. As soon as he was out of earshot, Emily raised her eyebrows at Elizabeth, feeling triumphant.

"See that?" She said, "Does it look like we let Jack walk all over us?"

Elizabeth, though, shrugged, "Perhaps his mother knew, as I do, the best way to raise a child. Sometimes you have to let them cry it out, Emily, look I'll show you. Here, here," Elizabeth advanced and before Emily could protest, she was lifting Ava's tiny body out of her arms. Something inside of Emily wanted to snap, as Ava wriggled in midair, and a maternal instinct so primal and violent rose to the surface with a velocity so shocking that it scared her. Emily only just managed to restrain herself, clenching her fists and her jaw, in time to hold herself back from physically attacking her mother, reminding herself over and over that Ava wasn't in any danger.

She caught Aaron's eyes over her mother's shoulder, and knew her own were panicked, even as she tried to maintain her calm.

"Let's just put you down here. Your mother is going to spoil you, isn't she?" Elizabeth spoke to her granddaughter in the same tone she used with Jack; a matter-of-fact, business-like tone that one might use with employees or colleagues, but certainly not grandchildren. As always, it grated on Emily. It was the tone of her childhood, and she didn't like it any better now than she had back then. "I mean, really, Emily, who knows more about raising children, you or I?"

"Emily has been raising Jack since-"

"Oh, pish, children are different to babies, Aaron, you know that," Elizabeth cut across him, curtly. Emily squeezed her fists at her side, eyes on Ava, who was wriggling in the swing, crying openly now. Elizabeth, though, folded her arms pertly across her chest and fixed Emily with a stare. "See? It's not hurting her to have a little cry, is it, Em? And it's not hurting you, either."

Emily, though, begged to differ as she felt the familiar ache in her breasts that always accompanied her daughter's cries. She sighed, heavily, and stepped forwards, unable to listen to Ava cry without at least trying to comfort her.

"Mother," Emily said, trying her hardest, and surprisingly succeeding, to keep her voice level as she reached back into the swing and lifted her crying daughter out of it, "My daughter is a week old-"

"Well, regardless-" Elizabeth began, but Emily spoke over her, still keeping her voice level. All too aware of how her own moods could affect the child in her arms, she tried to maintain what little sense of calm that she had right now, but felt on the edge of an eruption.

"No, mother," she said, levelly, "Ava is one. Week. Old. She is a baby." She emphasised the word, as though to remind her "She does not understand what it meant to 'manipulate'," Emily added a little extra venom to the word, even as she stroked a gentle hand down her infant's back, "She didn't ask to be born. We made that choice, Aaron and I, we brought her here. She didn't know hunger or pain or anything uncomfortable until I decided to have her, because I selfishly desired a baby. And we are her only source of comfort in a world she doesn't understand yet. Why the fuck would we deny her that?"

Elizabeth flinched at the curse, but Emily didn't back down, her eyes blazing, a stark contrast to the care with which she held her child. From where he stood, a few paces behind Elizabeth, Hotch looked on, approvingly. He had been about to step in when Emily proved that he didn't need to; she had been dealing with Elizabeth her whole life. Even now, emotional and full of post-partum hormones, she didn't need him to fight her battles.

"She cannot, does not know how to, 'manipulate' me." She said, with a finality. Elizabeth looked on with disapproval, her lips pursed, "And if she wants me to hold her every goddamn minute of the twenty-four hours in a day, then I'll bloody well do so, mother. Even if that does mean 'spoiling' her."

Ava was squawling now, truly screeching, and Emily sighed, heavily, her eyes blazing when she looked at her mother, "And thank you, for this."

She stalked from the room, Ava's cries growing more faint as she stomped up the stairs. Aaron watched his wife go, and then turned his gaze on Elizabeth, who looked at him, her finely stencilled eyebrows raised.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Shortly after that, Elizabeth made her leave. She looked pretty put out as she stalked down the garden path, Aaron waving to her from the door. He really wanted to slam it on her, but knew that Emily would appreciate him trying to keep the peace. She had been arguing with her mother her whole life, it was an integral part of their dynamic. It would be a whole different story if he started to argue with Elizabeth, too, and he knew Emily wouldn't appreciate it, so he bit his tongue and made nice on her behalf.

But he did breathe a sigh of relief when he closed the door and she was gone. It was like a dark cloud was lifted from the house.

He looked up the stairs, and softly called out, "Emily?" As he began to climb them.

Ducking his head into Jack's room, his son looked up at him from the carpet with a smile. He lay on his stomach, kicking his legs back and forth as he drew pictures.

"Hey, buddy," Aaron said, "You okay?"

"I'm okay," Jack nodded, "Did grandma leave?"

"She did," Aaron nodded, stepping into the room, "Yeah, I don't think we'll see her for a while."

"Good," Jack said, then looked thoughtfully down at the paper in front of him. When he met Aaron's eyes again, it was with the sort of startling clarity that a seven year old shouldn't have, "She makes Emmy sad."

Sad, nod mad. Not even after he'd heard Emily's raised voice towards her mother did Jack think badly of her. Perhaps, Aaron thought, not for the first time, profiling skills could be inherited, afterall.

"Emmy is okay," Aaron said, reassuring him, "She's just tired."

As if on cue, Jack yawned, and then Aaron did, too.

"Ava doesn't sleep good." Jack pointed out, matter-of-factly, and Aaron smiled.

"Not yet, but she will," as he said it, he hoped it was true, and then turned, "I'm going to check on Emmy, okay?"

"Okay." Jack said, turning back to the drawing. Aaron looked at it, and saw that it was a bassinet, holding a tiny little person with a pink bow. He smiled, love for his son sharp in his chest, and pulled the door as he stepped out into the hallway and made his way to the master bedroom.

"Em?" He said, softly, as he pushed the door open, half expecting to find both of his girls asleep, since he couldn't hear Ava's cries. The bedroom, though, was empty. He frowned, and called to her again, "Em?"

"In here." The soft call came from the bathroom, was barely audible, and Hotch followed her voice, stopping in the doorway at what he saw.

Emily, fully clothed, laying in the bath with Ava on her chest.

"I didn't think it would work without the water," she whispered, eyes downcast on her daughter's head as she stroked a gentle finger over Ava's crown, "But I got in anyway, just to try it. I was going to turn on the water, but she stopped crying almost instantly."

With a smile, Aaron settled himself down onto the toilet lid, clasping his hands in front of himself as he looked at his two girls. Emily didn't look particularly comfortable, but he knew better than to ask to take Ava right now, knew that she was bringing Emily as much comfort as Emily was bringing her.

Instead, he asked, "Are you okay?"

Emily waited a moment before answering, and Hotch saw the tension in her brow as she tried to find the right words. Eventually, she inhaled, slowly, and let all of the air go before answering him, "She just infuriates me."

"I know," he nodded, completely understanding, "I know. She always manages to say the wrong thing."

"It's not even that," Emily began, "I mean, yes, you're right, she does that, too, but it's more than that." She shook her head, started to say, "It's stupid-" but Aaron cut her off.

"It's not stupid," he said, earnestly, "It's not stupid, Em. Talk to me."

She fixed him with a stare, then, and he knew he was the person she trusted most in the world, knew she would lay down her life for him, that she would trust him to do the same for her, but there were still aspects of her life she hadn't completely shared with him yet, and her childhood was one of them. He knew the basics, knew the bones of the sore relationship she had with her mother, but the rest of it, the intricate details that patterned together to illustrate her tapestry of hurt, she kept closer to her heart than she should, close enough that it still huirt.

"She rushed to see Ava," she started, slowly, "She tried to tell me how to parent, tried to tell me what's best for my baby, because she has Ava's best interests at heart," Aaron scoffed and Emily rolled her eyes, "Or, she thinks she does." Again, she shrugged, "I don't know. I suppose I'm… jealous."

"Of Ava?" Aaron kept his face impassive, working hard to understand where she was coming from.

"Yeah," Emily touched her nose to her daughter's head, breathing in the evolutionarily enticing scent of baby that made her head rush and her heart swell, "Seems my mom cares more about her than she ever did about me." She looked up at Aaron, desperation in her eyes as she realised what she'd admitted out loud, "And, of course, I want people to-I want you to love her more than you love me, but-my own mother?" Her brows sloped down, confusion mingling with all of her other emotions, and he saw a twinge of guilt there, too, "Why couldn't she have loved me as much as she loves Ava?"

Aaron knew how much it took for her to say that; everything. Even before Ava, Emily couldn't admit how much she had craved her mother's love, as a child and into her adult years. She never spoke of how it hurt, Elizabeth's indifference, but he knew. He'd seen it in the way she still searched for her mother's approval, even as she simultaneously pushed away from her. He'd seen it in the way she always sent Elizabeth birthday and Christmas cards, even though she never got those in return. He'd seen it when Emily was in labour, when she cried out for her mother, and then made no mention of it afterwards.

He nodded. Even if nobody else would have understood, he did. He understood everything about her, everything she let him in on. He made it his mission to understand her, to help her.

"It's not crazy," Aaron said, shaking his head, "And it's not selfish. And it doesn't make you a bad mother, or mean you love her any less," At this, he exhaled, a short laugh of air, "God, no one could accuse you of not loving her, Em. I saw you when your mom took her from you. I thought we were going to be cleaning up a murder scene."

Emily raised one eyebrow, thinking back on the primal instinct that had grasped hold of her, "We almost were," she muttered, darkly, and Aaron laughed, again.

"See," he said, "You love her. You love her like a mother should. You're not the one who's wrong here, Em." His tone turned serious, as did his eyes, as he implored her to understand, "Your mom is. Every child deserves a mother who loves them as much as you love Ava, as much as you love Jack."

At this, she looked up at him, craning her neck, which was growing sore against the porcelain of the bath. There was an innocence, a sadness, in her eyes that he knew was much more to do with her exhaustion than it was to do with her interaction with Elizabeth. Her lack of sleep and her influx of hormones were catching up with her, and her bottom lip wobbled, adorably, when she spoke.

"I love them so much," she said, her voice cracking, "I just…I don't want to be like her."

"You're not," Aaron replied, instantly, shaking his head and, standing up off of the toilet seat, he reached down to take Ava from her chest. Emily didn't protest, and Ava didn't stir. Aaron leaned back, balancing her, instead, on his own chest. Supporting her with one hand, he offered Emily the other and she hauled herself out of the tub.

"Come on," he told her, "You should sleep while she sleeps."

"I won't be able to sleep," Emily said, sadly, even as she yawned, as widely as Jack had.

"Sure you will," Aaron pressed a kiss to her temple as they walked towards the bed, "Sleep now. We'll continue the fight against generational trauma tomorrow."

Emily punched him, lightly in the ribs, "Shut up," she said, but she was smiling, and she lay down as he pulled back the comforter for her. "I love you."

"We love you, too, mommy."

taglist: @hopefulfangirl24 @thebewingedjewelcat @platypus-whit-boots @luhwithah @cvtsbutcut3 @acetheticlytired @ccmattis-22 @duchessas @scorpiofangirl1109 @natasha-barton @lil-koala @themetaphorgirl @sequinsmile-x @emobabeyy @my-mummy-dust @section-chief-prentiss @canyouhearmyfear @psychicmuffinpandasludge @loriprentiss @bingetvcarls @thenerdthatwrites @daffodil-heart

[fanaticastrid]

Obsessed w/ the idea of a mc au for the squips.

What roles would they all fulfill? Like who likes building vs mining and exploring or would rather play hypixel or whatnot? Are they working together or do they devolve into factions (I’d imagine there’d be quite a few disagreements between scribe and observer lol)

Hehehe happy to hear you like my idea!

Observer would probably be the one that likes exploring caves, and as you guess there'd be near constant fighting between them and Scribe lol. Scribe gives me redstone user/builder vibes, while I think Hades would enjoy farming. Not sure why, I just think he'd like it.

Let's face it tho, Observer would be reckless AF. Heck, since this idea and a story for it has been brewing in my head, here's a meme of how the gang all died to a warden thanks to Observer:

Hades would try to keep things from falling apart, but eventually either Scribe or Observer would just ditch the others.

As for Hypixel... the three would end up getting banned within 5 minutes or completely break the server from their shenanigans.

[sakiye]

i have standards to which international cricket teams i support (none of them when they go against india ofc). for example,

NZ - i like them, cute, i want them to win a tournament soon but also no bc 2019 made me cry

AUS - makes me want to kms every five seconds when they go against india but they're so good u have to respect them (also im kinda obsessed with pat cummins so take of that what you will) but also travis head jfc

WI - so cool. so many legends so cool im so excited for their comeback

PAK - the pakistan/india rivalry is bs we're all desi at the end of the day but i want to go to a pak. vs. ind match just for the vibes bc u know the fans will go all out (india better win)

SL - they're cool, i like malinga, also lowkey i want to see sl and ban. go again. just to see what would happen

BAN - same as above, they're cool

SA - Also sooo good i have to respect them but still no

AFG - so cute i support them always (non india games ofc)

NED - cuties im excited to see them grow

USA - very curious to see cricket's rise in the us but also i need to look at the players more bc if i was on the us team i would be supporting india no matter what im curious to see the idols of these players

CAN - same as USA let's be fr i don't really know either team

IRE - whatever happens here england loses so i win either way, excited

ENG - you will never ever get me to support them. hate them on principle may they be last in every icc tournament

[factorialsotherfandoms]

I was asked very nicely for some xcom au fluff by @rabbit-harpist , and am also in need of something soft this morning. Today's angst will be late, for now just... Favela 6, and a holiday in the south of France. During the end of the world, but what's the apocalypse when you have each other?

Also for once, an ao3 link, where it's been spellchecked but is otherwise the same: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52630318

They spend the afternoon in the vineyard, picking grapes and running through the paths. It's a beautiful place, stretching from the old country house down the mountain and to the village in the valley below. It's grown wild over the last ten years - there's still some demand for grapes and juice, but the wine market disappeared along with the ban on alcohol.

Not that that stops their French comrades from producing some, but there are no longer the hands to tend the vineyards and the market in illegal but quality alcohol is slim.

Aypierre's family has owned it for generations, or so Baghera had explained as she showed them around this morning. She's gone down to the village now, spending the weekend with some friends while the Braziliand make use of the old house.

It's been set up like a hotel, specially for the six of them. Forever isn't sure what to make of that, but neither is he sure what to make of his comrades throwing him - and most of his family - out of the door.

Metaphorically, throwing them out of the airship door would probably have killed someone, but out of the door.

And now he's sat on a swinging bench hanging from a large oak tree, watching the late afternoon sun burn lazily in the sky.

Felps sits down next to Forever, leaning his head on his shoulder. On instinct Forever shifts, slipping an arm behind him.

"You good?"

"Oh I'm fine. I just didn't want part of that," Felps points across the vineyard, to where the other four are.

Forever can hear them laughing. He can also just about see them pelting one another with some of the grapes. He's no idea when it started, but as he watches the teams seem to shift - sometimes Pac and Mike vs Bagi and Cellbit, sometimes Pac and Bagi against Mike and Cellbit.

Or perhaps it's actually a free for all.

They were told to do what they liked with the grapes, but it still seems like a waste.

Or perhaps…

Forever leans over to Felps, conspiracy in his tone. "How about we turn the sprinklers on?"

"The grapes are looking a bit dry," Felps nods sagely. And then, a hint of worry comes into his voice. "I'm not sure…"

Forever can see the fatigue in his face, and he understands. There's a lot of things that can kill your stamina, and Felps has survived more of them than most.

"You sit here - I'll get it."

Felps grins, and leans back, pretending to sun himself. Forever can see, though, the way his eyes look towards the warring quartet with anticipation.

Unsure where the control system for the sprinklers is, Forever heads towards the outside tap. Above it is pinned a laminated set of instructions. They're all in French, a language he knows only the basics of, but the diagrams are simple enough.

And Baghera must know them too well, because the lights indicate that all he needs to do is turn the tap.

He glances over his shoulder, waiting for the opportune moment.

Mike ducks behind a grapevine for cover, placing himself directly next to one of the sprinklers.

Perfect.

Forever twists the tap, and waits for the shrieking to start.

The quartet are quickly soaked through, and even over their yells Forever can hear the much closer Felps laughing. Forever himself begins laughing too, hiding his mouth as he watches Cellbit march over and shove his wet hands across Felps' neck.

They're both still laughing - so are Pac and Mike, having taken it in their strides to remain under the water.

Bagi is marching towards Forever.

"What the fuck!" She yells. "Forever!"

He laughs, "you were getting messy!"

"I'll show you messy!"

There's a grin in her eyes as she lunges for him. Forever ducks out of the way, only to slip slightly in the mud. He catches himself, and turns, only to find Cellbit there. Cellbit grabs his shirt, and pulls him the last little bit into the water as well.

The water is cold, but the air is warm - he grabs Cellbit, and pulls him back under too.

"Well Cellbo!" He laughs. "Seems we're both wet now!"

Cellbit pushes him backwards another few steps, deeper under the spray. Soon enough its a tossle for position, both trying to escape the water but refusing to let the other win.

There is no winning - both of them are only getting more and more wet. Forever uses a free moment to glance around, assessing the situation.

Bagi has taken a place at Felps's side on the bench, squeezing water from her hair as they talk and lets the sun begin drying her.

And then there's Pac and Mike, who have left their sprinkler and are creeping closer. Pac's hands are cupped suspicioisly, and Mike is carrying a bucket.

Forever meets their eyes and thinks. Fuck.

The second thing he thinks is that he's absolutely selling Cellbit out.

He waits for the pair to get a little closer, before throwing himself under the heaviest part of the sprinkler's flow. Cellbit, confused, stumbles, and immediately looks around.

He spots the pair just in time for Pac to release the frog in his hands, the little creature instinctively leaping and landing on Cellbit's chest. Seconds later it's followed by Mike's bucket - mostly water, some pond weed, and another four or five frogs.

Pac and Mike run in different directions, deeper into the vineyard. Cellbit gives chase, and Forever can escape.

He returns to Bagi and Felps, the two cackling with laughter. He pulls off his shirt, leaving it to dry, and accepts a towel for his hair.

It's still hot, and bright despite being after dinner - there's no point in drying himself further when the sun will do it for him.

"Having fun?" Felps asks of him.

"If wet is fun, sure," Forever replies, still squeezing his braid and maybe this is bordering on too much hair.

"You're laughing," Bagi points out - and, its true, Forever still is.

"Maybe I am."

The answer to that is obvious; he leans over the back of the bench, one elbow on each of their shoulders as he watches the others play. It goes on for a while, enjoying laughter and each other, before things go quiet.

Forever immediately stops talking, looking for the others.

Where are they where are they, what's wrong-?

They had gone a little way down the mountain, in ear shot but not sight. Forever…

Bagi gets up, and turns off the sprinklers. Felps grabs at the towels, and looks towards Forever

Forever breathes.

"It's safe here," he says as much for himself as the others. "Antoine warded it. No alarms have gone off. We'd see the ship if they sent an attack force."

It's true, he speaks the words, and calms himself down.

Bagi comes back, but doesn't sit. She stands at Forever's side, alert as they wait.

"Maybe I should-" she eventually begins, before the trio appears from between some of the vines.

A quick glance over shows nobody obviosuly hurt, though Pac is especially muddy and Mike being piggybacked by him.

"All good?" Forever asks, checking them over again.

"Mike's tired," Pac keeps his voice quiet. "He kinda crashed when he saw how much mountain there was to climb up. Dumbass forgot about that."

"In my defence," Mike's voice does sound tired, drifting a bit even as he defends himself. "You're the idiot who slipped and dragged us further down the hill."

"You're the one who said leave the heavy duty prosethetic with Tubbo for maintenance- this one's shit in the mud."

"And? Should have been more careful."

Pac doesn't audibly reply, but Forever's known both of them long enough to recognise the flickers of expression as it continuing.

"I'm getting tired anyway," Felps interrupts the silent argument. "Shall we head inside?"

"I'd like to stay out a bit longer, but you guys go," Cellbit gestures to the other.

Pac and Mike's expressions soften, and they nod in time.

"Are we sharing tonight or no?" Pac asks.

It's a question for the group - Pac and Mike always share. He's asking if they're going to the room Baghera set up for all of them, or making their way to their own.

"Together," Cellbit is quick - very quick - to answer, befors suddenly relaising its not only his choice. "If that's alright with everyone…?"

There's a series of nods and agreements and goodnights before Felps, Pac and Mike head inside, leaving only three.

Cellbit takes an offered towel, and sits on the bench. Bagi joins him. Forever lingers a moment, before sitting with them too.

"Are they definitely okay?" Forever asks, eyes trailing a bit.

"I think Mike's got a headache," Cellbit answers. "They wouldn't say, but Pac kept shushing me."

It makes sense, then, as to why nobody called. In the past a headache was just a headache, but ever since…

There's much worse Mike could have been left with than debilitating migraines, especially when they come and go. He didn't look like it was an especially bad one, at least; when they're on the worse end it's easy to read the pain on his face. The worst ones he cannot even speak without making it worse, and he was well enough to argue.

It's fine, then. Sleep will probably solve the problem just fine, and they are here on orders to rest.

"Pac was limping," Bagi frowns.

Forever didn't notice that.

"On his prosthetic," Cellbit points out. "His leg is fine, I think he was just being honest about the mud disgreeing with it."

"We'll make sure he cleans it in the morning, if he hasn't already."

It's another easy problem to fix - sleep, oil, and and a screwdriver. Would all their problems be solvable so simply.

"And Felps?" Cellbit asks. "He wasn't playing with us."

"He just got tired," Forever replies. "And you know he's never been much for the chaos."

"He loves it," Cellbit replies. "He just doesn't want to get his hands dirty."

And, yeah, that's plenty true.

"And you?" Bagi asks of them. "Not too cold?"

Forever looks at his lack of shirt and Cellbit's soaking being, and laughs.

"It's warm enough," Cellbit replies. "You're not?"

"I'm already dry," and so she is. "I left the water before it started getting dark."

And ir is getting dark now. It's not quite sunset, but the sun has finally made it low.

Cellbit looks at Forever. He stretches out, testing tired muscles and old scars. They're a little annoyed by the activity, but nothing hurts.

"I'm fine," he mouths.

Cellbit looks suspicious, but accepts it.

"Are we staying to watch the sunset?" Cellbir asks instead.

"Why not?" Bagi replies. "It's not going to be long."

"Sure," Forever stays intruding, relaxing onto the cushions and rocking it ever so slightly.

The bench is made to swing, and so it keeps the little rocking for a short while, shifting in the low light.

How long has it been since he watched a sunset? A real one, not just out the window as the Avenger crossed the skies faster than the earth turns. One without smoke, or gunfire, or the ending of a world.

They can breathe here, for however long, and Forever…

Well this place is Aypierre's, and Baghera's, and Antoine's, and Etoiles', not his. If he had a place like this, maybe he'd do as Phikza keeps insisting and take a break more often.

Probably not, but he might - and certainly he'd make the others do it, just…

Home is in each other, yes, but it's true the only place they have is the ship.

They should think about what sort of home they want, start making plans for after the end.

"Do you think we can see the stars here?" Cellbit asks.

"Huh?" Forever is startled from this thoughts.

"The stars," Cellbit looks at him like he has three heads. "Usually there's too much light, but we're pretty far from the cities here."

They don't mention the lack of fire, either - the few times the group travels to more rural areas, it's usually for an already too late rescue mission.

"I can already see one," Bagi points up and, sure enough, a few bright ones are already visible as the sun dips below the horizon.

They stay there for a while, talking as the light fades out. It's a good half an hour before the sun dips below the horizon - Bagi yawns, and Cellbit steers her inside and to bed.

Forever stays. Not long, just a couple more minutes - watching the sky, and thinking. About everything, about nothing, about a beautiful but broken world.

Because it is beautiful, and it is worth saving, no matter the pain, no matter the cost.

---

After those few minutes of reflection, Forever finally gets up. He clears the leftovers from dinner into the fridge, before turning out the lights and heading deeper in.

He doesn't bother locking up - the things they need most be afraid of will break the windows to get to them, and it's better to have the easy escape.

The room Baghera - probably with help from Antoine, though Forever hasn't seen the man recently - prepared for all of them is a couple of floors up. It's a whole, large suite. Forever needs to clean up before he sleeps, but first...

First he wants to check on the three who left earliest, make sure they're okay.

He knows they should be, that there's no actual harm done, but he slips through anyway.

Pac's prosthetic - cleaned - is charging in the corner of the sitting room. The rest of the room looks pretty much the same, but for the cracked open door to the bedroom, and the soft yellow light slipping through.

Forever creaks the door open. He doesn't flick on the lights, just trusts the lamp light to be enough. Pac's crutches - propped up against the side of the bed, so he can get up without sending someone to fetch his leg if he wants to - cast bizarrely shaped shadows across the room.

The curtains are drawn, the room is pleasantly cool compared to the heat of outside, and all three of them are tucked safely into bed; Pac lays on Mike's chest, curled up in a tight ball and clutching at his shirt. Pac's body, anyway - one of Mike's eyes is glowing blue as he reads some battered book. Felps is next to them, pressed against Mike's side and more than half asleep.

Mike, or perhaps Pac, raises a few fingers in a quiet hello. Forever smiles and wakes back, keeping quiet so as not to disturb them.

"Hi Forever," it's Pac's tone in Mike's voice, and maybe Forever should have expected that. Still sleepy, though, even as he puts a finger in the book's spine to save his place. "Where's the others?"

"Just cleaning up; I'm claiming the bath, but just wanted to check on you first."

"We're alright," Pac-Mike folds the book away, curling his hands over both people beside him. "Felps is asleep, Mike's… listening, but not up to much."

"You swapped?"

Pac-inside-Mike gestures at Mike's head, "headache. Let him have my body so he could get to sleep, I'm just waiting for the painkillers to kick in before I join him."

"I won't keep you," Forever promises and... It makes sense, well enough. He makes a note to make sure Mike takes more in the morning, just in case.

"You're better for Mike's eyes than the book in this lighting," Pac reassures, before making a shushing noise Forever doubt is meant for him.

Forever moves over, perching on the edge of the bed. Careful not to get mud anywhere he reaches out, rubbing his thumbs into Mike's temples. He watches tension fade from both interlinked bodies, until Mike's arms move up and tug his down.

And it is Mike who speaks this time, voice even more clouded by sleep, "we're fine - go get clean and join us."

"And who is incharge here?" He asks.

"Nobody," Mike replies, before Pac contradicts him with "Baghera, and she said to get a good night."

Forever laughs, slamming his hand over his mouth as he realises how loud he is. Felps stirs, shifting a little and hand reaching out. Forever takes his hand, squeezing it with a quiet "we're all good" before tucking ir next to one of Pac's. Neither Pac nor Mike move Pac's hand, but Felps latches onto it and drifts back to full asleep all the same.

Felps' hands are warm, warm in a way that means it can't have been too long since he showered. That's good - Felps and Mike have both run cold since their injuries, and their discomfort often obvious. He grabs some extra blankets from a shelf, tucking them around the trio.

Pac and Mike are both laughing in Mike's skin once he's done.

Forever ignores them, grabbing a shirt that looks like it'll fir him for the night.

"You to get some sleep, too - I'll be back soon," he tells them.

He gets a wave, and the green flickering out to leave only blue still reading.

The bathroom is just across the hallway, the showers next to it. He can hear Cellbit and Bagi talking, though the words are drowned out by two showers worth of water. Forever leaves the doors to both the bedroom and the bathroom cracked open, and sees the twins did the same - he's no shame in being seen naked, and quite a lot of fear of being needed.

There's a whole selection of bubbles and oils beside the bathtub. Baghera had said use whatever they wanted so… he picks out a couple, turns on the hot tap, and tosses them in. He's not sure how the vineyard still has hot water, but somehow he does. At the sink he rinses the worst of the dirt from both himself and his clothes, before throwing said clothes in a laundry basket for the morning. There's already some in there - Pac's, Mike's and Felps' if he isn't wrong - and it makes him wonder how many people can fit in the bath.

It's an old, fancy, porcaline thing, taking up the entire bay window and then a little. It's so clearly a bath, and yet it also reminds him of a hot tub. There's a bottle of wine in one of the cupboard - how they get away with this is beyond Forever's guessing - and he decides, fuck it. The pretty crystal wine glasses are ignored, but he does grab the bottle opener and the tub of fancy looking crackers.

He puts those on the side of the bath, and grabs a brush. His braid is undone and his hair brushed through. Wetting the brush is enough to get the dust out and its doesnt need soap yet, so he just ties it into a bun once he's done.

By that point, the bath is full. He slips into the warm water, back to the door, and gazes out the windows. This high up there's no need for the blinds - he instead grabs his wine, drinking it from the bottle as he watches the stars. There's a couple of other drinks he thinks he'd prefer, but it's a French vineyard, so they can be forgiven.

There's still the low twilight, the sky still slightly coloured even as the start shine out. Somewhere up there, out there… somewhere in the sky Philza and Bad are taking care of things for him, and all he has to do is soak in the water, drink wine, and gaze at the stars.

It feels almost wrong, and certainly decedent.

Forever drinks the wine anyway - straight from the bottle - and slips further into the water. Pain he didn't even know he had starts slipping away, tension melting from his bones into the pool of warmth and oil.

He can hear the others - Pac-in-Mike talking to Cellbit and Bagi, before conversation turns quiet and he hears snoring instead.

By the time he finishes the bottle, Forever may as well be mush. The water is just starting to grow unpleasantly cold. Rather than add more warm water, he pulls himself out, and keaves the bath to drain. The tiled floor is cold, but his towel is warm - and night shirt, trapped between said tower and the radiator, warmer still.

He leaves his hair up, and makes his way back. The painkilers must have worked, because both Pac and Mike are now asleep, clinging to Felps and to one another. Cellbit and Bagi have taken the other side of Felps, Cellbit holding the man while Bagi pressed her back against his.

There's only a little space left, like this. Forever tucks himself under the blankets by Tazercraft, turning out the lights as he does.

Cellbit stirs at the change.

"Just me," Forever whispers. "Go back to sleep."

His response is unintelligible. Forever sees Cellbit bury his face into the pillow, and decides to leave it be.

Honestly? The pillows seem like a good option.

Forever worms his arm between Pac and Mike to reach Felps, twisted so he can hug Mike and hold Felps' hand. Once upon a time he, the weakest, went in the middle of the heap. Now its Felps, who since his torture cannot stay warm overnight, and Mike, simply because he vanished for months and no matter what injuries the rest have taken it's terrifying that Mike was taken. Like this, Felps stays warm. Like this, nobody can get at Mike and steal him away again. Like this, they're together and as safe as they can be.

Forever is now at the edge of the pile, and he's pleased to be trusted, but he hates why it changed.

He shifts closer to Pac and Mike, despite knowing during the night he's going to end up either rolled onto by Pac or dragged into their tangle during the night. But, to be entangled is to be loved, and what are they to one another but love?

Forever doesn't have an answer to that. So he takes love as love, and holds what family he can reach, and knows the rest are just a flip of the lightswitch away.

[End Notes - Antoine and Baghera spent a few days running around settjng things up as a holiday resort. They do not normally keep bottles of wine in the bathroom

- Pac, Mike, and Felps did share the bath, but in a "they needed to get clean and two of the three were too drained for a shower and the third didnt trust them to not drown so got in too and helped everyone with their hair" way.]

[citrus-blade]

42

Baby Mine (From 'Dumbo'/Soundtrack Version) - Arcade Fire

This song is a great inspiration for another fanfiction I am working on. If you know the song/listen to it, you probably easily find out what it's gonna be about lol

The song is from Dumbo and I love the old animated movie and dislike the real life one, but I do favor this version of the song over the old one

Also I had written this and had to change it completely cause I literally wrote the summary of the fanfiction I kinda work on rn lol So this is not my FIRST idea that comes up by the song but my second one!

I don't know if I ever said this but if ANYONE finds ANY of the ideas interesting you can use them of course. You can credit me when you want then but it's not a must of course! :]

I also think this is the longest one sooo. Here are some CWs that are in this idea: Inplied Mpreg, Omegaverse, Omega Dream, Alpha Techno, retelling of murder, kinda Utopia vs Dystopia vibes, guns

AU:

Dream loved his child. Phoebe (using Phoebe from Infinitesimal here) was adorable and lovely, the sweetest little girl in existence. And he loved her oh so much, the worse it was that he had to hide her away. Because babies weren't allowed, they were seen as a burden in society, only the rich and wealthy could have children. The poor ones on the lowest layer of society couldn't.

There wasn't enough space, not enough food and the rich people who lived on the highest plattform - where the 'better ones' lived - were disgusted by them. How could they keep building their factories and dumb their garbage down there when humans needed to space to live?

No, it wasn't possible. So the easiest solution was to ban having children when you didn't live on the highest plattform. And if you did and authorities found out? Well, you were thrown into prison where you'd either work for free for the rest of your live, or died.

What happened to the children? Dream couldn't even think about it, the way he had seen grown men and women holding their weapon to their heads only to pull the trigger. Unless the child was 'pretty enough', then some rich family would get it as a gift.

Disgusting, but the hard reality. So Dream had hid when he had gotten pregnant, unplanned, after making money by sleeping with every Alpha there was. Every time authorities came to check he found a new hiding spot, always moving to make sure he wouldn't be found.

And then she was born, little Phoebe came a bit too early, but it was okay. She was perfect and he would protect her with everything he could. They lived at the highest apartment of a large building, one that had gotten shut down cause no one could afford rent. So high up no one heard a baby cry and no one went to check there.

Until someone did. Dream was taking a nap after he had returned from the market to get some food and water. He hadn't noticed the man who had followed him, he had felt safe, he had made a mistake.

Cause suddenly there was an Alpha in his home, holding a gun at his head. Dream jumped back, already knowing that he had screwed up, but maybe he could persude the man to leave before Phoebe would show herself.

The man was called Techno, as he had said, and had wondered how someone could live in this building. Dream did everything to get him to leave, tried using his Omega side in hope that the Alpha would want to please him. But it didn't work, because Techno - who worked for the government - had seen the toys. He had smelled someone else.

And then Phoebe came out of her room, tired and sleepy with a plushie under her arm. Immediately the gun was aimed at her, Dream jumping to his daughter and holding her close, pleading to keep her alive, to let them both live.

Techno stared at them, watched Dream cry and Phoebe look confused. And then she giggled, hiding her face in her toy and Techno lowered his weapon. He looked down at himself, breathing heavily, before looking back up.

The Alpha carefully put his weapon down as he kneeled to the ground. Dream watched him, holding his daughter close and not trusting the man. He had seen those people trick children, pretend they were friendly to shoot them when they thought they were safe.

In a moment of confusion Phoebe pulled away from Dream and ran over to Techno. Dream cried out for her but she didn't react. To his surprise the pinket held his arms out, picking the little girl up who laughed.

That's when Dream had noticed it, that something had changed. The icy and hard eyes of the man turned soft, watery even. Slowly the Omega crawled over to the two, telling Techno about Phoebe and how they lived.

Techno listened, nodded and watched as the little girl snuggled up to him for another nap. It was dark outside when Dream finished, watching how the man held his little girl in his arms. The Alpha turned to him, telling him he wouldn't tell anyone about them, that he had been questioning the government and society for a long time now.

It was that day when a very special relationship started, one that would bring Dream a lot of pain but also a lot of laugh. And one that would later make a revolution rise.

[spaceumbredoggos]

Updated Masterlist

So; here's my updated masterlist.

Fandoms:

Warrior Cats

Survivors Dogs

Pokemon and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

Henry stickmin

Gravity Falls (mainly Bill or my self insert OC.)

Undertale

Wings of fire

Stranger things

Cobra Kai

Wander over yonder

Hazbin Hotel

Helluva Boss

The Owl House

The Bad Guys

Puss and Boots the last wish

Kung Fu panda

Madagascar

Dreamworks and Disney in general

Sing

Zootopia (anything furry at this point is fair game.)

Fandoms I may write/draw about, but don't expect it to be regular:

The Lion King

Star Vs the forces of evil

Skylanders (up to swap force. I haven't played the games since I was a kid.)

Amphibia

Harry Potter

The amazing world of gumball

Phineas and Ferb

Steven Universe

My little Pony (Friendship is magic.)

Five Nights At Freddy’s (may be more frequent.)

Fandoms I want to get into, but just lack the time (don't expect me to write any time soon on these):

Percy Jackson

Star wars (Okay, I have seen most of the recent stuff and a new hope)

Marvel

DC (I apologize for some of the normie stuff)

Spyro the dragon

Divergent

The Hunger Games

Earth's Children Series (Clan of the cave bear is all I have read.)

What I will write/draw:

NSFW (will be marked)

Yandere

headcanons

Platonic relationships

Crossovers (heavily encouraged)

Pokemon teams for fictional characters (a fav of mine)

Fakemon

OC's (self insert for the most part)

Statements other than fandom related

What I will not write/draw:

Anything NSFW to a minor. It's hard to tell for sure, and tumblr doesnt have an age rating. This is why I mark it.

Billdip. or bill X any of the pines family. Just not my taste.

Incest (that's really the only nsfw thing I won't draw/write. But anything nonconsent-ish may not be drawn/written if it doesn't make sense for the character's base canon. If you want a character to act somewhat out of character, then you must clarify that it is in an au. I don't want to do canon characters dirty.)

Yandere x Yandere because come on, that's boring.

Political statements about ableism (a statement may be made here or there, but these are for acceptance purposes and are not meant to criticise the other side too much unless for cases of bullying and prejudice.)

I also occasionally post pictures of natural things (animals, plants, fungi). Note: this is not a horny blog; though at times it may seem like it. Expect posts to be sporadic and random, and expect me to take weeks to months off, as I have a busy schedule.

I will also make statements about being autistic, but due to a recent turn of events, these will be strictly non-political.

I may start hosting MAPs now, but don't expect me to do it frequently. Like one every few months. Expect them more towards the end of the year when I have learned how to animate better.

Note: I will tag any of my Kenz posts with their respective AU’s. Base Kenz is So Much For Stardust, my fanfic. Tumblr Falls Kenz is an AU I developed with my moots just for fun. IRL Kenz is me. And Any other Kenz’s will be tagged as such.

Bill sometimes hops on my blog. Ignore him. He is that voice inside my head that gives me all my intrusive thoughts. I’m used to it to the point where I don’t bring it up to my therapist or psychiatrist because it’s prolly internal dialogue. IDFK.

I have a YouTube channel and instagram of the same name. I used to have a TikTok, but with TikTok being banned, I made the regrettable decision to delete it. If the ban is averted somehow, I’ll bring it back.

Update 7/10/2024: I have a Redbubble and patreon. Will link. Commissions will be open soon.

[undertale-museum]

Behind the Stacks

Part 3 / Part 4 (here) / Part 5

Several notes on previous pages given context for Being X's contribution, RIPs, etc. ~Guide

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Snowfall by Taggen96

P:  2016/7___LU:  2019/9 ___Status: Incomplete, unknown ___Pages: 88

C: Fallen Child, UT!Asriel, UT!Chara, UT!Frisk, UT!Flowey, UT!Gaster, UT!Papyrus (cameo), UT!Sans

~

Note: Dub Snowfall【 Undertale Comic Dub 】 Video(s): 5

[Being X] Note to Self: It’s mostly intense. Besides the fear of a reset coming soon, I didn’t find it too nerve wracking. From what is currently available, it mostly focuses on Asriel/Flowey

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TC-96

(A026_1) Entertale

P:  2016/8___LU:  2019/8 ___Status: Incomplete, Pause ___Pages: 52

C: UT!Asriel, UT!Chara, UT!Frisk, UT!Papyrus, UT!Sans

Note: I put this under Classic Undertale except for Flowey is Asriel form so… it’s technically not.

(A026_2) Kiwitale:  Fallen Child / Meet Sans / Pantry Helper / Kiwi Vs Humans / Yoda Kiwi

P:  2017/11 ___Pages: 5 ___ C: KT!Chara, KT!Papyrus, KT!Sans, KT!Undyne

~

Note: Dubs Kiiwiiiii II Kiwitale Dub , Endertale【 Undertale Comic Dub 】 Video(s): 9

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The Bomber Diggity 666

(x) Don't Have to Hide

P:  2016/7___LU:  2016/12 ___Status: Complete ___Pages: 22

C: UT!Gaster, UT!Papyrus, UT!Sans

~

Note: Dub Don't Have To Hide - Undertale Comic Dub Movie (FULL)

[Being X] TW: broken bones

[Being X] Note: Gaster is being a great caregiver. Papyrus is adorable. Sans, poor kid

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thegreatrogue

Guide: I am aware their username was tehgreatrogueblog or something of the like but I'll correct my mistake later.

They were hit by the p*rn ban back in the day. Sadly, about 60 of Being X's links are made useless. At one point, I believe The Orb salvaged some of thegreatrogue's work but it took so long going through all the reblogs it was scrapped.

They did have some horny content but most of it was very cutesy.

For example, their blog featured a short series of wolf cross. They had Afterdeath, ErrorFresh, ErrorInk, High School AUs too.

Though, the Museum's favorite is their Vampireverse series that featured: Encre (alt Ink), Jasper (alt Paper Jam), Suave (alt Fresh), Fallacy (alt Error), Azure (alt Blue), and some version of Underfell Sans who name started with an R like Rufus but I can't remember for sure. It was set an in a medieval AU where Fallacy was the Lord of a castle with his child Paperjam, Suave (butler) and house staff (alt Frisk, Chara, misc monsters). All of the staff except for Suave were vampires while Encre was a painter, Azure a member of the guard, and Rufus a blacksmith.

Most of the comic revolved around shipping Encre x Fallacy or Suave x Jasper. I believe I remember Fallacy kidnapping Encre sometimes which was fun. There might have been shipping between Azure and Rufus but I can't remember.

Thegreatrogue also had also did some Swap Error and Ink called Eraser and Reboot. We're not sure if that's their own version of the Sanses or if it was based on someone else's.

PaperFresh (Paperjam x Fresh) was their most prominent ship. It was mostly contained to the NAJ au aka "nerd and jock."

DUB: Glasses / Mirror Confession / Kiss High

It involved a mixture of kissing, high school style couples courting, comfort/hurt, lots of flirting and with a healthy dose of memes mixed in.

Guide: I don't remember there being so much wolf based AUs.

Another ship that was prominent featured was Poth (Goth x Palette). Unfortunately, the part 1 link is broken so it may be deleted or gone.

DUBS: Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5

Ah... there was a Swap Sans comic that was an NSFW comic. *shakes head* the things you miss when you don't archive early.

Here's a montage of some of their content misc content:

Link 1 / Link 2

At the end of Being X's notes, there's also several reblogged deactivated blogs that ze tried to save. It's truly unfortunate. Even in 2019 when the majority of this "Behind the Stacks" exhibits were collected, it had only been 4 years post the game's release and there were already blogs deactivating. Truly a shame.

Guide: Being X used to call these salvage projects the "Land of Lost Artists" which is quite endearing.

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Tinderboxofsilly ideas (Kinky spy)

(x) [How Much Can Lazy Muster?] ___ P:  2018

Day 2: Nobody Knows Me like Me

Day 3: Getting Productive

Day 4: Closed Door

(x) Land of Forgotten Comic / Part 2 __ P:  2018 ___ Note: two different artists talking in comic form

(x) Kustard Week Day 1: Hello Hello, I’m not Where I’m S’posed to be  ___ P: 2019/10

Kustard Week Day 2: “you can’t do that, he’s baby.”

Kustard Week Day 3: “hit or miss.”

Kustard Week Day 4: “loss.jpg”

Kustard Week Day 5: 30-50 feral hogs.

Pictures:  Geno x Classic / Dom or Sub /Sensory Deprivation / Frottage / Bitty Red / Hate Fucking /Bara Bitty Sans

Comics : Reaping Souls / Over Did It / Heart Lick /Undyne Comforts Red / Licking and Punishment / Dentist / Sensitive Skele Tails

Misc: Bloom Meme

Note:

Dub

sans the skeleton undyne and papyrus

Outfit [Kustard Comic Dub]

Goodbye Sans, Remember Me (Pre Dentist)

I Love you so much【 Undertale Comic Dub 】

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Fatal Error by Xedramon

alt Geno

Guide: I recall FE!Geno being very popular character back in 2019. You saw him EVERYWHERE it seemed. An angsty concept which Being X humorously labeled "asshole Geno."

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RIP xXThe- Purple-GlitchXx or xXPurple-LoveXx

Sadly, all comics for Purple Glitch were deleted it seems. Our notes say that there was some wonderful Fresh x Error one shot comics.

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Insomina by WilyArt

Edit 20May24: Thank you Anon! Wily-Art does still exist. Thank the stars, weird that none of our links worked however… ah well, that is technology for you.

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[tezlivenews]

AUS vs BAN, T20 World Cup Live Score: ऑस्ट्रेलिया ने बांग्लादेश को 8 विकेट से रौंदा, सिर्फ 38 गेंदों में जीता मुकाबला

AUS vs BAN, T20 World Cup Live Score: ऑस्ट्रेलिया ने बांग्लादेश को 8 विकेट से रौंदा, सिर्फ 38 गेंदों में जीता मुकाबला

दुबई. Australia vs Bangladesh Live Score, T20 World Cup 2021 Latest Updates: टी20 वर्ल्ड कप 2021 के 34वें मुकाबले में ऑस्ट्रेलिया ने बांग्लादेश को 8 विकेट से करारी शिकस्त दी. दुबई क्रिकेट स्टेडियम में खेले गए इस मैच में बांग्लादेश की टीम सिर्फ 73 रन पर ऑलआउट हो गई. ऑस्ट्रेलिया ने एरॉन फिंच की तूफानी पारी की बदौलत इस लक्ष्य को सिर्फ 6.2 ओवर में दो विकेट खोकर हासिल कर लिया. ऑस्ट्रेलिया ओर से लेग…

[doonitedin]

Australia vs Bangladesh LIVE score, T20 World Cup 2021: AUS elects to bowl; Marsh in for Agar, Mustafizur returns for BAN

Australia vs Bangladesh LIVE score, T20 World Cup 2021: AUS elects to bowl; Marsh in for Agar, Mustafizur returns for BAN

Welcome to Sportstar’s LIVE coverage of the T20 World Cup 2021 Super 12 match between Australia and Bangladesh from the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. Australia Playing XI: David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood Bangladesh Playing XI: Mohammad Naim, Liton…

[vilaspatelvlogs]

IND vs AUS पहला टी-20 आज: ऑस्ट्रेलियाई जमीन पर टीम इंडिया भारी, अब तक 9 में से 5 टी-20 जीते; पिछली बार 6 विकेट से हराया था

IND vs AUS पहला टी-20 आज: ऑस्ट्रेलियाई जमीन पर टीम इंडिया भारी, अब तक 9 में से 5 टी-20 जीते; पिछली बार 6 विकेट से हराया था

Hindi News Sports Cricket India Vs Australia Head To Head Records T20 Update; Virat Kohli Aaron Finch | Ind Vs Aus Head To Head Key Batting Bowling Statistics Ads से है परेशान? बिना Ads खबरों के लिए इनस्टॉल करें दैनिक भास्कर ऐप कैनबरा24 मिनट पहले कॉपी लिंक भारत और ऑस्ट्रेलिया के बीच 3 मैच की टी-20 सीरीज का पहला मैच आज कैनबरा में खेला जाएगा। ऑस्ट्रेलियाई जमीन पर टीम इंडिया का रिकॉर्ड शानदार…

[pheita]

AU Tag Game

So, a long time ago @catharticallysarcastic tagged my and now @whimsyqueen and since my Lyran/Ari brainrot starts to create AU worlds.. here we are Tagging @ashen-crest and @stormbrightwriter, you know why ^^

AU Title: The Crystal Queen Setting: Semi-modern fantasy country ruled by a queen. Aesthetic: old halls filled with modern things, tradition vs modern, wind softly blowing, whispers in the sun, light in dark old halls, murmurs of water, faint melodies of times long gone Concept: Arritit is the heiress to the crystal throne and would rather be someone else. A country stuck between the old traditions and the modern technology her urge to learn is stronger than her sense of duty to her country, so she does the only sensible thing a young woman could think of: she ran away from home and became a student at the best university her country has to offer and study alchemy under the guise of a different name. Everything goes well until the family finds her and makes her come home to take the throne and marry the young nobleman she had been betrothed to as a toddler. Her surprise is huge when she meets him the first time and realizes it’s Lyran, the young history student she had been dating. Together they tackle the live as married couple, ruling a country and the schemes of the old folks who try to manipulate her into keeping traditions alive and ban the modern technology. Tiny Scene: “These motherfuckers of idiots!” Arritit entered the room with banging doors. Lyran looked up from his research with an aloof smirk. “Which one this time?” “All of them. I want to strangle them.” She growled frustrated. “Oh no, better, hang them from the main tower, head first. This would be fun.” Agitated, she ran around and gestured with her hands, emphasizing how much she would like to get physical. When she stopped, Lyran had a bad feeling. The big smile and the light up gaze told him, she had an idea that will bring both of them into trouble. He got up and went to take her hands in his, guiding her fingertips to his mouth. “Talk to me, my love.” The wicked smile didn’t falter under the shiver his breath in her fingertips caused in her. Arritit leaned in and kissed him. “What do you think, how long will an elderly man survive to be nailed on a wall, just dangling on his wrinkly little dick?” He chuckled softly. A soft kiss in her lips followed to calm her. “I am afraid, this will count as torture.” “Fuck, I was already planning how to get it done.” Her snicker gave away, it was just a theoretical thing, for now, but she was still furious. “So, what got you worked up in the not so sexy, steamy and loveable way?” A sigh from the deepest depths of her being was the answer. “The same old. Bring back the old traditions. Make the kingdom great again. Old man bullshit who didn’t learn they are way past their time.” “Well, I have an idea.” “So?” She quirked an eyebrow at him, while he lead her to the reclaimer and sat her down softly. The moment both sat, Arritit sneaked in his lap and curled herself around him. “There was once the tradition for the queen to have a harem. If they want the old ways back, why not have some fun with it?” The silent laughter went through her whole body. “You are unbelievable.” “Am I?” “Well, maybe a bit. I like the idea.” “Yeah, never mess with a historian.” She leaned her head back with a smile on her face, the anger gone now and replaced by amusement. “I’ll keep this in mind. You know what is also a tradition?” “No?”, Lyran laughed softly. “Making babies.” “Ah, yeah. I think we need to train for this, don’t you think?” “A lot”, Arritit whispered against his neck as she moved in to place kisses on the little skin, that laid exposed. “An awful lot. What a burden.” His whisper only a little louder than hers. Knowing her for years now, Lyran knew he would better let her lead and just held her, waiting for her actions. “Why don’t you shut up and put your mouth to use?” She changed her position and sat down properly on his lap, straddling him with minimal moves of her hips. “As my queen wishes.” “Oh, I wish a lot, my love.”

[unhealthyfanobsession]

Omg I love all your drabbles they are so amazing and brilliant I can’t believe you do that for free! What a blessing you are!! I was wondering whether there would be a part four to the vacation au and if not could you do maybe more jealous Cassian but in your lawyer au I’m obsessed but honestly anything you write has me happy!

This is so sweet I am so glad you’re loving the drabbles! I did a second part to the vacation AU a couple days ago so I’m going to go with Jealous Cassian in the lawyer AU. I already *kind* of did this but I’ve been doing jealousy light lately and this time we are cranking it up to 100. This one is kinda long and pretty angsty and I think I definitely need to smoosh all these lawyer drabbles into a mini story that follows Nessian from meeting while studying for the bar exam and then through snippets of their careers so maybe that’s what I’ll do next.

Actually facing Nesta in court was an extreme rarity. All of her non pro Bono work was strictly solicitor. Drafting contracts and negotiating deals in different chic board rooms with little glass bottles of Perrier and complimentary latte carts trolling the halls.

Nesta thought that she didn’t want to litigate. She thought that people didn’t like her and because of that she was a bad advocate. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

Watching Nesta fight for something that she believed in, truly believed in, was the closest thing to a religious experience Cassian had ever known.

“And I would urge you to consider in your decision, your honour, the fact that even if it should apply in this case, the very law my learned friend is attempting to uphold is currently under review by the Supreme Court and may soon be overturned on the basis of being unconstitutional as well as unconscionable.” Nesta took a pregnant pause.

“If that happens. If this law is overturned, as you well know, it will not be retroactively helpful to my client. My client who was born here. My client who grew up in Queens. My client who can draw you a map of which bodegas has the best coffee vs the best sandwiches and their proximity to the nearest train, and if that doesn’t qualify her as an American, and a New Yorker, then I don’t know what does.” The judge smiled a little at that. It was a calculated risk, the emotional appeal. But Judge Miluski was already on Nesta’s side and she was a born and bread New Yorker and she had the rare distinction of being a member of the judiciary with a sense of humour. “If this law is overturned, which we both know is highly likely, then my client will be sent to another country, a country she has never even been to, not because she did anything wrong, but because this trial happened a few weeks too-”

Nesta trailed off, eyes caught at the quietly opening gallery door. A man stepped in. Tall and thin and… greasy. Hair slicked back with so much product Cassian didn’t think he’d feel it if he hit him on the head with a hammer. Which he desperately wanted to do. That brutish, violent, raised in foster homes in Harlem side of him that even a legal education and a closet full of Armani suits could never quite polish out of him lit on fire at the sight of this creep. This asshole who was wearing fucking asics with his $4000 suit. And no tie. Top three buttons of a pinstripe white shirt unbuttoned. What a fucking rube.

Except that this guy. THIS fucking guy, made Nesta lose her train of thought. This guy who walked into court late and had yet to drag his eyes up from Nesta’s ass, had distracted her. Caused her to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and smile a little. This shy, light, cutesy little smile that absolutely did not belong on Nesta Archeron’s face.

When Nesta smiled it was a sly, knowing, victorious thing that curled across her lips and set Cassian’s heart hammering in his chest.

This… this was insanity.

The man smirked, deep and arrogant, as he stood at the back of the courtroom, hands slid into his pockets. Not even respectful enough of the proceedings to sit down.

Nesta gathered herself quickly. The whole mess over in under 20 seconds, but Cassian noticed it. Even as Nesta went on and cited the law and the competing jurisprudence and the ethics and the constitution, he couldn’t focus. All he could think about was that little smile.

Cassian said his final piece, the judge ruled, as they both knew she would, in Nesta’s favor, and it was all over.

Nesta didn’t even gloat like she usually would have. She just stuck her hand out, the absolute picture of professionalism, and shook his.

“Good working with you, Counseler.” She said, as if he hadn’t pulled her around the side of a building and pushed her body up against a brick wall the other day, moulding her into him as they fought over this case. Discussed their future. Their passions.

She’d rejected his invitation to dinner, but she always did. It was a part of the game. A game that Cassian was determined to win.

“Who’s the tech bro?” The sneakers with the suit and the unbuttoned shirt and the general shitty attitude all pointed to that being the only reasonable profession.

“Babe,” the slimy man in question pushed past the swinging waist high half door that separated the gallery and the space where counsel’s desks sat. “Let’s go.” He wrapped and arm too tightly around Nesta’s waist and pulled on her a little.

Cassian curled his fists into his palms so hard his nails bit imprints into the skin of his palms. Babe? Telling her when to leave? The pulling? No.

“I’m Cassian.” He held out his hand. “ADA. What firm do you work for? Haven’t seen you around.”

“Tomas.” The man scoffed, “And I’m not a lawyer. Not interested in all that gibberish you’re type is always spewing. Sounds like pure nonsense to me. I’m a tech investor.”

Yeah. That sounded about right. No actual skills. Not an engineer or developer or even a business manager. Just an idiot with a trust fund throwing money at whatever looked cool.

“Well, Tomas. Do you know why they call that big exam full of all that gibberish you hate the bar exam?” The weasel just raised his eyebrows. “It’s because once you pass it, then you are an attorney. And allowed to cross past this BAR.” Cassian pushed Tomas back out the little half door again. “Which separates the civilians in the gallery from the lawyers making their cases. So maybe learn how to show a little respect.” Cassian scoffed, flicking his eyes to Nesta, “In a few different areas of your life.”

“What the fuck, bro?” Tomas rolled his eyes. “This is why I fucking hate going to your lawyer parties and shit. Jackasses like this.”

“Tomas, please.” Nesta placed a hand on his chest, Cassian tensed, and that seemed to calm Tomas down. Not Nesta’s touch, but another man’s jealousy.

“Why don’t you bring the car around. I have to work out a court date for another matter with Cassian but I’ll be right out.”

“Yeah, ok.” Tomas glared, keeping eye contact with Cassian as he kissed Nesta’s cheek, hand travelling too far down her back. “Hurry though.”

“Of course.” Nesta smiled that same tiny little smile that made her look like a doll on a shelf and Cassian wanted to scream.

“What the fuck are you doing with a piece of shit like that?” Cassian minced no words as he turned to face Nesta.

“Excuse me?”

“Pretty straight forward question, Nes.”

“You… you don’t know him. He’s not like that once you get to know him.”

“Sure he’s not,” Cassian scoffed.

“What is your problem?”

“My problem is that your boyfriend, who I’ve never heard of or seen before today despite knowing you for years, had a chance to see you in court. Had a chance to watch you all fired up and passionate and brilliant and instead he walked in late, stared at your ass instead of listening to what you were saying, and then shoved his way up here and pulled at you to leave like you were some kind of toy he didn’t mind tearing the arm off of.”

Nesta blinked. Huffed out a breath. “We’ve been on again off again for a while. That’s why you haven’t seen him before. And he just doesn’t like lawyer stuff that’s why he’s like that in here ok? Not that it’s any of your business.”

“So you’re dating someone who not only doesn’t recognize how brilliant you are but won’t even let you talk about your job?” That was wrong. That was so wrong. That was… why Nesta was so intense with him. Why she debated and fought and talked for hours. Because she couldnt do it at home.

“Why do you even care, Cassian? Let’s just set a date and-”

“Fuck you, Nesta.” Her jaw fell open. “Fuck you for even asking me that. You know why I care. You can’t play dumb with me like I assume you do with him.”

“You don’t know anything about my relationship!” Nesta defended a little too vehemently.

“I know you can’t yell at him about his take on immigration laws,” Cassian stepped closer to her. “I know you can’t get a little tipsy off your favorite Malbec and go on a rambling tirade about the corrupt judiciary and your twenty three- or twenty five depending on the night- reasons why voting for judges completely undermines the integrity of the legal system.”

The was almost no space between them as Cassian looked down, gently set his hand under Nesta’s chin and raised her gaze to meet his. Burning with anger and passion and barely concealed desire. “I know that he didn’t understand why you were crying when RBG died. Because he doesn’t care about how appointing Supreme Court judges works or what that meant for the future of the court. And because I know that you weren’t with him that night. You were with me. Just like election night in 2016. And the Kavanaugh trials. And when the travel ban came into effect. You found me. Because I get it, and I care about your thoughts on all of those things. I’m devastated by them too. You were with me, Nes. And don’t you dare pretend that doesn’t mean anything.”

“It does,” Nesta let her cheek sink into his palm. “It means everything Cassian, but…”

“But we fight,” he smiled. “We bicker and yell and cross ideologies and disagree on all the little things. But not the big things, Nes. Never on the big things. We disagree on how to change the world, not what we want to change in it. Isn’t that what matters?”

Nesta swallowed. “I can’t risk losing you.” She said quietly. “I need you. For all of those reasons, I need you to be in my life and if we… I hurt the people I love, Cassian. So if I let myself love you, I would only hurt you. And I can’t bear the thought of hurting you.”

“So you date him.” Realization was an arrow sailing into Cassian’s chest. “Because you won’t hurt him. Because you could never actually love him.”

Nesta swallowed. “See? See how awful I am?”

Cassian moved his hand to her back, pulled her into his chest. “Go,” he whispered. “Go do whatever you need to do. I’ll be here. And I’ll be waiting for you to realize that I’m not going anywhere. That I can take it. Whatever you want to throw at me, I can take it, Nes.”

[anlian-aishang]

How to Play

A troll on the ladder, pro-gamer Levi has dealt with many of them before. But when this one claims that he can't please his wife, Levi knows that a ban is not the only way to shut him up.

special thanks to a generous anon for feeding me ideas to this fic! I love you and cannot thank you enough!

Word count: 2100

Tags: levi x reader, smut, trashtalking, fucking with an audience, modern AU, fem!reader

<WARRIORS>zeke_the_fr34k

vs.

<SCOUTS>l_ackrmn [and his little toy]

Is he serious?

Just a few stretches outside of his base, his lookout caught a jagged red blur speeding closer and closer inbound. Toggling to his mini-map, brows knit together in focus then rose in startle. The twelve workers that his opponent started with were being sent across the map.

Levi shook his head and frowned, it wasn’t going to be a long one.

It was a strategy he never prepared for because it was a strategy that did not work. With thousands of dollars on the line, throwing all one’s workers away was throwing all one’s chances of winning away. They would have to be stupid, sadistic, or both to try it.

However, tournament play and server play were different beasts. For some, the server was an off-season practice zone. For others, it was a way to climb the ladder, no matter how cheap or temporary the gain.

l_ackrmn being the former, zeke_the_fr34k being the latter, it was a clash of opposites -

- and that was before they turned their mics on.

// // //

The second the flurry ran up his ramp, Levi already knew the outcome of this game. His instincts, his instant understanding, his knowing what to do in every situation, they were the qualities that had landed him this career - what had made him the champion of tournament after tournament. His loss was imminent, but he was not going down without a fight, at least, not without a few words to say.

Unmute. “Haven’t seen this since 2009.”

Lighthearted banter went unreciprocated. It was something you often warned him of, that his voice was so deep and flat, any stranger would immediately label it salt.

Lifetime player Zeke Jaeger, or as Levi knew him - zeke_the_fr34k, had dealt with plenty of that on the server. So much so, that he learned to thrive on it. The more pissed off he could make his opponent, the better, and the better he played, too. Regardless of intentions, any words would be combatted. For him, it was half the fun.

“What’s this? The back-to-back Blizzcon champ brought down by a worker rush?”

Levi rolled his eyes, body language as if it could be seen through the monitor. “Is this what you spend your days doing? Trying to revive a dead strategy?” The game was lost, but he was not a quitter. At the very least, this was an opportunity to practice - which, after all, was what he came for. Frantic clicks filled the air between words, “Kinda sad.”

“Former Open Cups champ dies to ‘09 worker rush - ” his tone dripping with mockery, “in what he himself calls a ‘dead strategy’.” Laughs reverbed in his headset, “That’s the sad part.”

Levi clenched his teeth and shook his head. One by one, his supply plummeted. Outnumbered 12 - 10, 12 - 9, 12 - 8...

“Fucking shit.” Levi hissed. It was not the loss that had him riled, but the audacity of this asshole. So cocky. Was he proud of himself for this cheap and mindless strategy - could it even be called a strategy?

“No no no, wait.” A snicker barely stifled, Levi could hear his finger brush the microphone as he moved to cover his mouth. “You know what the real sad part is?”

Controlling the few units he had left, Zeke’s babbling was the furthest thing from his mind. That was until a few scathing words demanded his attention.

“It’s that your wife is married to those fingers.”

It was only then that his thoughts became scattered, his clicks slowed, his APM plummeting. Of all the stupid shit he had heard online, and he had heard a lot of it, nothing else had ever made him feel this way - had ever thrown him off his game this much.

For one, he always kept his personal life so private, how did… how could he…? Maybe some crazy fan had noticed a recurring figure at his tournaments, maybe someone in his clan had leaked it out, maybe it was just some lucky shot in the dark - that he did in fact happen to have a wife that he loved and cared for, more than anything else on earth.

More glaring, though, was the slander. He knew better than to let it get to him. Of course, you were happily married to him. Of course, he did just fine with his fingers. Not to mention, someone that played the game in such an idiotic way was far too stupid to have any idea about anything. As his vision grew red and ears started to ring, however, his calm demeanor, his sensical mindset, his entire composure began to waver unlike ever before. A seething anger started to overtake, blinding him from logic and reason, and clouding his vision with revenge revenge revenge.

Three swift fingers hit the hotkeys to put his opponent on silent, he did not need to hear any more from this fool. What he did need, though, was the last word. F10 pulled up the menu, mouse hovered above the resign button, but the moment before he clicked out, he laid the foundation for his return.

“Rematch in 5.”

// // //

There was something about 4 AM.

Staying up that late, it meant there was something to be done - something urgent, something enjoyable, something worth sacrificing sleep.

Sex and video games, that was what 4 AM was to you two.

That was as much thought as you gave it.

Somehow, you had landed on his lap, and when you were riding him, your thoughts only had so much reach. Who cared how you got here? All that mattered to you now was the pleasure you felt and how to get more of it. A cold-blooded and heartless chase for your orgasm alone.

When it got to a certain point, even he was somewhat lost to you. What you noticed were his lips on your neck, his arms at your sides, his length deep within you, his tip slamming your end. Meanwhile, his eyes focused on the screen, his fingers dancing along the keyboard, hand tight around the mouse - you could not care less.

Little did you know, he was playing three games at once. There was - of course - the video game, then the added task of keeping you blissed, and finally - the dynamic of dueling his opponent.

It was an added challenge, what a distraction you were. All he wanted to do was to roll his head back, slam his hands down on your hips, and fuck you with all he had. But before those wants were needs: to win his game, to make that Zeke fucker bite his tongue and eat his words.

Levi nudged himself closer, nuzzling himself into your neck, “You enjoying yourself, sweetheart?”

Continued bouncing, exertion had you nearly out of breath, “Y-Yeah.”

Chuckled breaths fell on your skin, making you hiss through your teeth. He rocked his hips just a little, causing you to squirm likewise, “I can tell.”

The stir he gave was riling. It one couldn’t be far off. You felt your throat seize up, your insides swirl. Your tells were clear to both of you - the first climax was nearing.

High-pitched and breathless you sounded, he decided, It’s time. It was no manipulation, but his purely filthy thoughts, “You’re so cute, you know that?”

A quick assessment of the match’s status, he knew he could afford it: to lift his finger and thumb from the keyboard and pinch your hardened nipple, drawing more of those yearning cries. “What if we let them listen in?”

“N’ngh…” You ground yourself against him, in search of that one angle. “I don’t give a fuck.”

Your indifference right at the start, his jaw dropped. The perfect mix of adorable, tenacious, and downright shameless, it was precisely why he fell for you. Still, that combination never failed to surprise him, least of all at a time like this.

It was not that you had played into his hands, but that you were his perfect match. It was exactly what he had hoped for, but he thought it too good to be true. “Should we let them hear?”

You winked one half-shut eye open, squandered his jaw with your shaking fingers, “Levi, you heard me.” A tight pinch, just on the border of painful, before you brought your touch to his headset and flicked that mute switch - doing the unthinkable for him.

Prompt was your return to what you came here for. You fucked him from base to peak, each oscillation making your voice louder, your cries more frantic.

You knew the dam would crumble soon. “Levi, I… I…!”

“Go on,” he sucked bruises along your skin, licked his lips of your salt, “I wanna hear you scream, baby.”

And he wanted Zeke to hear it, too.

// // //

Easy was the choice to keep you unmuted and to keep his opponent silenced.

Nothing would turn him on more than having you ride him to finish after finish of yours. Likewise, nothing would kill the mood more than hearing the snide voice of that bearded shit.

Zeke was infamous for stirring shit online, it was time for a taste of his own medicine.

Levi cranked up his input sensitivity, capturing both your voices plenty loud.

“Does it feel good?”

Arousal dripped down your quivering thighs, “Isn’t - Isn’t that obvious, Levi?”

Silent were his words, but tangible was the single laugh that tickled your shoulder. “You’re so tight, but so wet...”

That teasing of his, you knew to submit now - or it would only get worse. Delaying or outright denying your impending climax - it was an unthinkable, unacceptable risk.

You openly admitted, “Only for you, Levi.”

He snickered. Knowing it was safe to, he lifted his hand from the keyboard and used it to pet your head, “Come on,...” he sighed, “cum all over me.”

This dirty talk, how fast it came, was catching you off-guard. So quickly were these sweet nothings tonight, but that was the thing, they were not nothing to him. He was not only talking to you, not only trying to flatter you, but there was an additional audience he had in mind.

Even though he was silenced, the evidence was obvious: this plan of his was working. Zeke walking his units into his own self-defense mines, flying his transports over Levi’s turrets, move-commanding rather than attack-commanding his army - thus handing it to Levi’s - ripe for the slaughter.

Levi watched those little mistakes become big mistakes, more and more frequent as well. However thrown off Levi had been by Zeke in the prior match, Zeke was ten times more thrown off by you now. Trash talk had its moments, but hearing a pretty girl, her angelic voice, the calls of Levi’s name, and his ensuing groans, it was a whole nother league. Hearing the dirty talk of his rival, the orgasms of his wife, both while he was getting his ass kicked? Zeke wondered if it was some weird dream he was having, but the vividness of his units' blood, of the pain in his fingers, of your voices were all proof otherwise. For once, Zeke found himself speechless.

Levi's focus remained intently on the match, the one he was quickly seizing. As the red figures on the screen vanished, as his chances grew up and up, he allowed himself a single moment. For just a split second, Levi’s mind took a step back from the game to the scene.

Heart fluttered hard in his chest. Maybe he would tell you, maybe he wouldn’t, but he could not recall a time he had loved you more. You probably would have slapped him if he told you what he was deciding between: back then - the first look on your wedding day and now - the time that you rode him while he played and let his opponent listen in, he could not decide which memory he would cherish more.

That was, until you muttered, “Can I have your fingers, Levi?”

A new favorite.

// // //

At the least, he knew he had married the right one. At the most, he wanted to marry you all over again.

It was much longer than the rush match from earlier, but still fast enough to be classified as a quick win - decisive enough to be called an easy win.

Zeke tapped out, not with a GG, but a “Fuck y-”, forfeiting the game before his words came through - a bright white Victory! took up Levi’s screen and encased your body in a neon glow.

A deep sigh of relief, but not even for a second did he forget who this all was thanks to. Levi arched his hips, a rewarding thrust. Hot hands and hardened fingertips met your clit and circled. The first of many praises. “You’ve been such a good girl for me…”

“Yeah?” You slowed your pace down to a tantalizing rock.

“Oh, yeah...” Warm hand rubbed your shoulder, sending chills down your spine. Arms tucked behind your back and below your knees, as he stood up from his chair and away from his desk, he simultaneously lifted you into a bridal hold.

Fast and hard was his kiss on your lips. At last free to do what he had wanted all along. Levi spoke into your mouth, “Let’s get you to bed.”

His princess had earned her thanks.

// masterlist //