#bonked my head against the wall next to the window when I tried to look out

[rattoenailclippings]

It’s snowing rn and the only thing I can think about is my mc and muriel curled up by the fireplace in his hut, covered in blankets and drinking hot chocolate and their familiars by their feet all balled up and cozy,,

[punisheye]

Somewhere halfway through the Mistwood, Wolfwood passes out. The last thing he remembers are his legs buckling under him and Vash's startled gasp.

He wakes up God knows how much later in a bed. Not his bed. It's not very comfortable because it's not really big enough for him, but when he weakly tries to shift around to adjust the dull throb in his body makes him wince and go still.

It's a hospital. He's in a hospital. The walls are pale blue and the curtain drawn around his bed is off-white. The heart monitor next to his bed beeps steadily. They're feeding him something through an IV drip in his arm; probably some powerful painkillers. The meds do make him a little nauseated, though.

Vaguely, he's aware of a bandage around his shoulder, one on his gut, another around his thigh. Did he get shot there, too, and just not notice?

A nurse comes in soon enough and, upon seeing him awake, is quick to fetch the doctor.

"Where's Vash?" He asks groggily, before she can even get a word in.

"Mister... Saverem? He's down the hall. He's been asking to see you for hours. You ought to be grateful to him, he carried you here on his back with an injured shoulder and bullet wound in his leg."

"Mmgh." He's too tired to really reply. Or talk in general. While the doctor talks to him a nurse applies ice to his bruised-up ribs. Whatever she says is kinda muffled. Something about fractured ribs, digging a bullet out of his gut, and a lot of painkillers and bedrest. He's fading in and out the whole time before finally, finally slipping back into unconsciousness.

He dreams this time. In front of him stands a dark figure shaped just like him. It has a cross on its back. It's staring at him with his eyes.

"Yer still here," Wolfwood says.

"Always been here," he gets in response. "Always will be here."

They're in the chapel of the orphanage. It was always the cleanest area, but there are still signs of kids. Toys left behind, a small missing shoe, a crude drawing of baby Jesus in the manger sitting on the pulpit. Sunlight filters in through the windows. Dust motes float through the air. Somewhere, distantly, he hears children laughing.

"Even if we shed every other part of ourselves, we'd never forget this place," the Shadow says. "The old man could never beat that out of us."

"Would you've gone after this place, too?"

The Shadow stares at him for a long time. Something inscrutable swims in his eyes.

"No," he finally says. A simple answer.

Around them, the scene shifts. They're sitting on a familiar white couch, holding shot glasses. Wolfwood's on the opposite end now. The Shadow's got The Bride in his other hand, one leg folded over the other, slumped back. Confetti rains down around them.

The Shadow says, "I'm everything you hate about yerself. Think you can ever let me go?"

"I don't know." Wolfwood stares down at the shot glass. "I don't think so."

"Yer friends accepted me. All the ugly parts of you. They saw me and still loved you."

"Yeah."

"You accepted me, too."

"...Yeah."

"That all you know how to say? Jesus." He bonks Wolfwood over the head with the bottle. Wolfwood rubs the back of his head, scowling. "Whatever. I'm not yer therapist. I'm just you."

Again, the scene shifts. They're standing over his own grave. The cross remains a tall, vigilant guardian over the stone. The Shadow leans against it with one arm.

"Time to go," he says. "Everythin' from here on, you gotta figure out yerself."

"You still scared?" Wolfwood asks.

"Always am. I think it'll be a li'l easier now, though." The Shadow stands up straight and lights up a cigarette. He walks forward, his stride steady, and brushes past Wolfwood. "I love you more than you'll ever know. Be well."

Wolfwood looks over his shoulder, only to find the Shadow gone.

When he wakes again, he can still smell cigarette smoke.

Listen to my voice. Listen to our heartbeat. Listen… I forgive you. I forgive you. I forgive you... — Fray, Final Fantasy XIV

[achoonihaachu]

Hi! I was wondering if you could do the mc blind to glass for the datebales? If not thats fine!!

Make sure to take care of yourself and take breaks when needed <33

Dateables React to an MC who is Blind to Glass

a/n: I hope you like this! i'm sorry this took so long for me to get to but i hope you still end up enjoying the read! (i've got alternative endings for god must hate me in the works, a diavolo fic, and like 12 different requests! >< please look forward to all that!)

warnings: cursing, implications of mc getting hurt, solomon's a meanie, not proofread!

-----

Diavolo:

Now, this man is a little clumsy himself. He’s been caught by Barbatos bumping his head against door frames or pillars around the castle. He’s tripped in the gardens and he has run, full force, into windows.

That’s why Barbatos seems a little too competent for his job.

He’s more like a full-time babysitter and helper than just a regular old butler.

With that being said, Diavolo only really lets his clumsiness shine through when he’s sure that no one else can or would spot him; He’s got a reputation to uphold, anyways.

You do not, especially in the Devildom.

You’re known for your peculiar habit of walking into glass walls and hitting your head on windows.

He heard about the Lotan thing Belphie pulled and thought it was extremely hilarious.

Now, when he sees you bonk your head on windows, he’s less mean about it than the brothers. He actually rushes to you to help you up and he’s incredibly sweet as he tends to you.

With that being said, he’ll be laughing about it with Lucifer and Barbatos, trust and believe.

He thinks it’s absolutely hilarious and adorable all at once because he’s caught you on multiple occasions just walking into glass.

He sees you watch birds from the library windows and you’d mindlessly bonk your head against the panes because you were too engrossed with your important bird watching.

Speaking of bird watching, there’s a specific memory that is one of his personal favorites.

He had invited you to the Castle under the guise of discussing your stay in the Devildom but really he just wanted to show you the pretty floral arrangement an acquaintance of his had sent him.

You marveled at the flowers for a minute… Then you pulled the prince away to bird watch.

Diavolo was sitting on the ledge of the giant bow window in one of the many rooms in his castle, and you had accompanied him for the day. The glass extended out, like a dome, leaving enough space on the wall to be a little reading area or just some place to sit and ponder. Diavolo is built quite… heftily and he barely fit if he left his legs outstretched. The Demon Prince had his knees to his chest, with a small goofy grin stretched across his cheeks as he watched your eyes flit from one thing to another as you stared out the window. You were able to kneel, sit down cross-legged, move towards him as you gawked at the different animals you were able to spot from your seat beside the future ruler. Diavolo was too focused on you to look at the fire slugs or the phoenixes. Too caught up in his own admiration of the view before him, he didn’t realize that something rather peculiar and exciting had caught your attention because he was caught off guard with how quickly you shot up onto your knees to point it out. You tried to get a better look and- bonk! Your forehead came into contact with the hard glass. You hissed in surprise and your hands shot up to clutch at your aching forehead. The redhead beside you bursts out laughing, “My, that was really something else, (MC)!” He chuckled heartily as he uncurled from the slightly uncomfortable position he was in. He steps off the small ledge and stretches before he kneels in front of you. You pout, “You didn’t see it.” You mutter. Diavolo hums as he examines your forehead. It was turning a little red; he was sure that you’d have a bump on it for the next few days. “We’ll have Lucifer and Barbatos look at your forehead later but what did I not see?”

“Barbatos fell into a rose bush.”

“He what?! Where?!”

“My Lord, (MC)- neither of you were meant to see that.” You both startle at the sudden voice coming from the doorway. Barbatos stood, seemingly unscathed save for the small pieces of leaves and thorns stuck onto his perfectly ironed uniform.

“I didn’t get to see it at all!”

Barbatos

Barbatos has to deal with Diavolo. He’s seen some questionably stupid shit.

He’s had to save his Young Lord from completely making a fool of himself on multiple different occasions and it doesn’t get easier even as literal eons have gone by.

He wouldn’t outwardly show any semblance of judgment but you could feel it coming off in waves whenever you walk into glass doors or when you accidentally hit your head against windows.

When he first caught you doing it, he was a little surprised because he was sure that you were this perfect human, handpicked by his Young Lord and Lucifer Morningstar but… nope! And he didn’t mind that, obviously.

He was just worried that you’d accidentally get extremely hurt one of these days- Perhaps you’d run into a glass parapet and you’d fall out of the third floor of the Castle or something.

He’s almost always in protective dad mode, you can’t blame him for always being worried.

When he catches you falling victim to your blindness to glass, he simply sighs and walks over wits if he keeps it on his person since you’ve been in the Devildom to ensure that you’re tended to.

He sits you down and makes small talk whilst he inspects wherever you’ve hurt because of your glass blindness and when he’s sure that you’re all good, he smiles and nods at you before he leaves you to do your own thing.

Lucifer had business to attend to in the Castle and he had invited you along.

Ever eager to visit your friends, you immediately grab your shoes and you two head out.

Diavolo was insistent to spend time with you but Lucifer was quite strict- the Prince was forbidden from interacting with you until they were done with the paperwork; Diavolo was whining and complaining the entire time he was being dragged up the stairs to his office.

That left you in the company of Barbatos.

It was one of those rare occasions when Barbatos had you all to himself; no brothers, no master, no angels or sorcerers- just him and you in comfortable silence as you hung around in the kitchen.

Barbatos was busy with making his world famous treats and you were seated on the tall kitchen island behind him. The kitchen in the Demon King’s Castle was a spectacle to behold, truly. It was magnificent; with intricate gold lining the ceiling and a giant light fixture hanging like a tiny Sun. Your eyes wandered aimlessly and took note of the different shapes and patterns you could make out from the ceiling. You didn’t really know where to look; were you allowed to ogle at the butler in front of you? Should you keep your eyes on the ceiling? A flash of brilliant red passed by the open door to the side of the kitchen that led to the gardens. Red? You blink and stare at the door and once more, whatever it was flew by the doorway with such speed that you weren’t able to note what in the Devildom it was.

Then you saw it; A small red dragon.

You gasp inaudibly, it was so cute! “Barbatos! Look at it! It’s a baby dragon!” You hop off the island and head towards the seemingly opened door. One moment you’re making your way to the baby dragon and the next, you’re on the floor with a bottom throbbing in pain and a red mark on your nose. “O-ouch…” You mutter as you rub your nose. Barbatos drops the icing spatula in his hand with a tiny huff, “My dear, what happened to you?” He’s quick to grab an ice pack from the freezer; surprisingly, he didn’t magically create one from thin air.

“I uh- I walked into your sliding door.” You say sheepishly. Barbatos kneels down beside you, glances at the door and sees that you had, in fact, not seen the sliding glass door.

“Shall I request that the Young Master get rid of all sliding glass doors? As our guest, you shouldn’t at all get injured on my watch. You seem to have a habit of walking into glass doors.”

“N-No! Please don’t tell Diavolo or Lucifer! They won’t ever let me live this down!

“You have my word, (MC).” Barbatos tells Diavolo the moment you leave.

Simeon

Simeon is someone you’d expect to be graceful, to be close to what perfection should be like but no- He’s a bit of a klutz.

Aside from his inability to use a cellphone, he’s also clumsy and is adept in walking into walls and whacking others on accident.

He’s used to the Celestial Realm where everything is practically baby proofed for all the new angels (like Luke) so he’s not got a lot of “spacial awareness”.

He knocks into the corners of tables, leaving bruises on his gorgeous skin.

But even he finds your blindness to glass funny.

The absolute nerve.

He sits in silent amusement as he watches you walk into glass doors, making annoying comments like, “Oh, don’t worry (MC). Luke had a similar problem with the door yesterday.” :)

Like I said, the nerve of this angel.

He teases you relentlessly about it but rather subtly, unlike the brothers or even Solomon.

He makes jokes but he watches over you like the sweet angel he is.

He’s got about three different blessings cast over you to ensure that you don’t get gravely hurt from your glass blindness; Unbeknownst to you, he’s probably saved you from seven separate accidents.

Simeon has a young angel under his care, meaning he’s responsible enough to be trusted with the equivalent of a baby in the Celestial Realm.

He’s probably the best at tending to injuries out of everyone, even better than Barbatos and Satan.

He goes a little overboard with it sometimes; He wraps you up in bandages like you were a fragile piece of glass being packed with bubble wrap.

Simeon was able to steal you away from the demon brothers for the day. He was able to leave Luke in the care of Solomon (he gave the tiny blonde angel permission to teleport to him if Solomon ever tries to cook while he was gone), and you both decided to spend the day discussing life at a beautiful garden a little ways away from Purgatory Hall.

It was one of those cafes with an indoors and an outdoors area and it was absolutely ethereal.

Spending the day with Simeon was something you didn’t realize you were in dire need of. The angel was ensuring that the day was going perfectly and you were able to leave your responsibilities behind for the day. He insisted on paying for everything, he was adamant on doing things for you. (You refused to go along with it, though, in the end he settled with splitting the bill equally because you’re independent :) ) You two were at this rather popular cafe that was a hit with the locals; you had honestly heard of it when Asmo came bursting into your room after he went with Solomon.

As you sipped on your cup in this almost forest-y wonderland with Simeon, you understood the hype.

You two were sitting in the outdoors area and the actual cafe had glass walls on the back side. You were a little concerned at first because you thought that the cafe was completely bare at the back but after a closer look (and Simeon’s observations), you realize there were glass panes acting as walls.

Just because you knew they were there didn’t mean you weren’t going to walk into them.

You and Simeon were done with your drinks and you offered to buy him pastries as a thank you for taking you out to unwind. He obviously tried giving you some Grimm but you were quick to dodge and weave your way through the tables to enter the indoor cafe area again. The problem was you were so busy giggling at the yelling angel behind you that you completely forgot about the glass door and you, in front of a crowd of no less than 20 demons all dining and hanging out, ran straight into the door- face first. You yelp loudly and grip onto your nose as Simeon rushes over with a poorly hidden smile, “ We had agreed to eat desserts together, (MC), not glass doors.” He said, voice dripping with amusement.

You grumble and shove him lightly,” I hate you.”

“No you don’t.” You honestly couldn’t.

Solomon

He’s almost as bad as Belphegor in terms of teasing.

In fact, I’d go as far as to say that he’s ranked second among all the boys, only falling short just a smidge to the seventh-born.

He’s ruthless with his teasing and he lives to annoy you and tease you.

He’s only second because you don’t spend nearly as much time with him as you do Belphie and the other brothers.

Solomon has met probably millions of different people from all walks of life, all of whom have unique habits but he’s only met a handful of people who have glass blindness like you.

And you’re the only person he’s met where the glass blindness was to the extent you had.

Like the little shit this sorcerer is, he’d pull pranks on you in school- in front of different demons that aren’t the brothers!

Your dignity is non-existent in the Devildom.

He’d make illusions fly past windows to catch your attention and you’d be so excited by… say… the literal flying spaghetti monster by the window that you’d knock your head against the window.

(Solomon got punished by Lucifer for “bullying” but it was oh so worth it to tease you).

When he sees you get hurt from his pranks, he’ll apologize and help you up but continue to pull pranks on you for the rest of the day.

He’s the type of person to fix a problem he caused; the problem in this situation is an angry you who is giving him the cold shoulder and the only way he sees he’s getting back into your good graces is to suck up to you and apologize.

Solomon teleported into your room once, with your consent obviously!

You two were paired up for a project you had for potions class and you both decided to do it in your room rather than on school grounds.

Solomon was sprawled like a starfish on your bed as you highlighted your class notes at your desk. You two had the basics down on how to create the potion. Theoretically, it would be easy but you two had a few ingredients missing and you had to wait for your package to arrive from Akuzon. Something Solomon had realized about you was that you liked to watch the Akuzon truck drive away after it leaves your package at the front door. You reminded him of an excitable puppy; adorable and also extremely easy to mess with.

The view from your window gave you the best spot to car-watch. Sometimes, you’d curl up beside the window with a book you borrowed from Satan and just bask in the way the rubber of the cars’ tires burn against the road as demons drove by.

Alas, you couldn’t do that as of the moment because of the aforementioned potions project.

Solomon sighed as he stared at your ceiling when he heard a random car honk from the outside. He smirked and rolled flat on his stomach, “(MC), the akuzon truck’s leaving.” He states.

He watches as you jump off your desk chair and bound on the bed. You crawl across the span of the mattress and he watches as you try to stick your head out the window with a bonk. He stifles his laughter as you double over from surprise. That was absolutely hilarious. Your groaning was quiet and low as Solomon scoots closer, “Oops, sorry! It wasn’t the Akuzon truck!”

“Solomon, you better thank your stars that you’re immortal because I would’ve had your head by now, prick.”

“That’s mean, (MC)!- hey, ow!” You pushed him off the bed.

[yourdeepestfathoms]

tooth and nail

ask and you shall receive ;) @denpine14 @strawberrygem21

in which the Dimitrescu daughters exhibit cat-like traits

---------

“Dear Mother Miranda,

The girls have grown well, though there are some complications. Bela seems to have some form of anxiety and very low self-esteem, Cassandra has anger issues, and Daniela, I believe, has some type of hyperactivity disorder. Despite all of this, I love all of them dearly.

However…more strangely…they have…feline-like habits. I expected the hissing and growling, but the other things… Well, I’m not too sure how this has happened, as they were born from insects, but they weirdly act like little kittens in the most absurd ways. These mannerisms include, but are not limited to…”

“…headbutting…”

“Oof--” Alcina blinked in surprise and looked down as Bela headbutted her leg. “Yes, my darling?”

Bela giggled and headbutted her again. Alcina rubbed her head, which triggered a strange sound to fill the air.

“…and purring…”

Purring. Her daughter seemed to be purring.

Alcina’s heart swelled with love. She couldn’t help the smile that came to her lips.

Later that day, Cassandra and Daniela did the headbutting thing, too, both of them bonking her in the legs while giggling adorably. When she scratched along their scalps, they purred, just like their big sister had.

--- --- ---

“…staring when they want something…”

“Yes?” Alcina asked, raising an eyebrow at the trio of girls staring at her. If it weren’t for their different hair colors, it would have been difficult to discern them from each other with their matching black gowns and hoods. She made the mental note to give something to them to help make them out better.

Her daughters continued to stare.

“Is everything alright?”

Still nothing.

“Darlings?”

Cassandra reached out, swatted at her dress, and then they all took off running in different directions, their sock-clad feet making them run in place for a few seconds before they gained traction and streaked away in blurs of black.

--- --- ---

“…and also staring at nothing at all, as though they are seeing ghosts…”

Alcina blinked. Her daughters were staring intently at the wall, their eyes wide and shiny, like they had just witnessed the secrets of the universe. She tried to see what they were looking at but could spot nothing at all.

“What in the…?”

--- --- ---

“…pushing random things off of surfaces for seemingly no reason other than the fact that they like to…”

A loud clatter echoed down the hallway, and Alcina was quick to hurry to the source of the noise: the parlor, where Daniela was perched on one of the tables inside, staring down at a fallen candelabra. Luckily, none of the wax sticks were lit, as they would have sent the red-and-gold carpet over the floor up in flames. Daniela looked up at her, her eyes awestruck and shiny.

“Did you knock that over?” Alcina asked.

Daniela stared back. Then, slowly, reached out her hand and swatted over a cup.

--- --- ---

“…causing utter destruction…”

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” Alcina snapped, shooing Cassandra away from the blinds. Her daughter leaped back, her claws ripping out of the fabric she had been sharpening her talons on. “No. Do not scratch things up, Cassandra.”

Cassandra inspected her claws. “Then what am I supposed to sharpen them on? Look at how blunt they are!” They showed them to Alcina.

They were sharp enough to gut a human in one swipe.

In amusement, Alcina said, “How about tree bark? It’s rough enough to hone them.”

Cassandra considered it, then nodded. “Alright!” She bounded away to go destroy one of the trees in the garden.

That same day, Alcina found Daniela chewing on a branch in her bedroom, creating a small pile of woodchips beneath her jaw. She seemed to be doing the same thing as her older sister: sharpening her natural weapons. Alcina left her be.

--- --- ---

“…sudden hyperactivity…”

The loud sound of footsteps suddenly burst throughout the hallways, rebounding like thunder. They would stop at random, then begin again, seemingly in a sporadic pattern. When Alcina finally stepped out of her bedroom to investigate, she barely caught a blur of black as one of her daughters, she couldn’t tell who, whizzed past her like lightning. She spun around, blinking.

“What--”

At the same moment, one of the others came from a different direction and skidded to a stop in front of her. She whirled to them and saw that it was Bela.

“What are you three doing?” Alcina asked.

“Playing,” Bela answered blithely. She stepped forward, headbutted Alcina lovingly, then zoomed off again, slipping on her socks as she went.

--- --- ---

“…getting startled at the most mundane things…”

The parlor had been peaceful at one moment; Alcina was drinking her tea, while Cassandra and Daniela played chess and Bela multitasked reading and watching the game. It was then that Bela’s thread bookmark fell out and she swiped at it to pick it up. However, when the string seemed to catch on her claws, she got frightened, leaping at least five feet up into the air. Seeing their older sister so unsettled, Cassandra and Daniela did the same, nearly jumping out of their skin and scattering the game of chess as they scampered away in terror. Alcina laughed loudly as her daughters huddled against her sides, shaking.

--- --- ---

“…bringing me dead animals as gifts…”

Alcina was cleaning up for bed when there was a knock that filled her bedroom. She walked to the door and opened it, only to see no one. When she turned around, she saw Daniela clinging to her window sill, a mass of fur caught between her teeth.

“Daniela!”

Alcina quickly opened the window, and Daniela hopped inside. She presented the thing in her mouth to her with great pride: a rat.

“For you, Mother.”

“Ah-- thank you, my dove.”

Daniela purred as her head was rubbed affectionately.

The next day, Cassandra padded up to her, her chest puffed in pride, a large snake pierced by her fangs.

“A gift, Mother.”

“Thank you, my sweet.”

And then, that evening, Bela came to her door with a bird in her mouth.

“Here, Mother.”

“Thank you, my darling.”

And then the bird jerked away when Bela set it down and flew off down the hall in terror. They both watched it go.

“It was too pretty to kill.”

Alcina chuckled. “I see.”

--- --- ---

“…laying on my things when I need them…”

Alcina stared tiredly at the stack of girls laying on the folded clothes on her bed. All that space on her giant mattress that was made specifically for her size and they chose that exact spot. On her clothes.

Well. They were much too cute to wake up.

--- --- ---

“…laying on me and keeping me from getting up…”

“Maiden,” Alcina whispered.

The maid passing by stopped and turned to her instantly.

“Get me a glass of blood. I can’t get up and I am thirsty.”

The maid eyed the form of her youngest daughter stretched out on her lap, asleep, and then nodded, whisking away.

She hadn’t moved for three hours.

--- --- ---

“…they have no concept of personal space…”

Alcina was awake that night, her girls piled on top of her to the point where they were practically smothering her, Daniela and Cassandra under arms and Bela on her chest. Every time she twitched, they would move closer, snuggling in deeper to her heat. She wouldn’t be sleeping very comfortably, but at least her daughters were warm.

--- --- ---

“…sitting in strange places…”

“Are you comfortable?” Alcina asked, laughing.

Bela looked up from where she was reading and wedged inside a basket that was meant for quilts. Despite her small, wiry frame, it technically wasn’t her size, but she managed to curl herself inside, piled by the blankets and indulging herself in a good book.

“Yes,” Bela said, smiling.

Alcina would also go on to find Cassandra napping haphazardly on the banister of the upper hallway balcony, which she picked her up from and placed her back into her bed in fear of her falling off, and Daniela hiding in one of the cupboards in the kitchen.

However, none of these things beat when she found all three of her daughters crammed in a box, murmuring and giggling to each other over something.

--- --- ---

“…did I mention the purring? Because the purring is absolutely endearing. I do believe it has healing properties…”

Alcina wasn’t quite sure what she had come down with that day, but she woke up feeling exhausted and achy all over. She didn’t even think to get up and alert her girls to her condition, choosing to rather wallow in her bed, so it wasn’t a surprise when her room was soon filled by three worried bug-spawn creatures.

“Mother?” Daniela’s small hands were set on her shoulders.

Alcina stirred.

“Mother?” That was Bela, now.

She rolled over and blinked tired eyes at the worried-looking faces of her daughters.

“Hello, my darlings,” she croaked.

“Mother,” Bela said again, her voice thick with concern. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, yes,” Alcina nodded, though her mind was wavering, shrouded in a heavy fog. “I am fine. Just a little unwell.”

“Can we help you?” Cassandra asked, her hands twitching.

“Don’t worry,” Alcina answered. “I’ll be fine.”

Her daughters exchanged looks. A moment later, they were climbing onto the bed, curling up around her.

“We’re helping,” Daniela said.

Alcina had no idea how cuddling was supposed to help her, but then she heard the soft churring that filled the air. The purring in itself did little to actually heal her sickness, but something about the soft sound and the presence of her precious daughters soothed her. Bela, with her head on her chest, filled her heart with a gentle rumbling. Daniela, curled up right next to her, chirred gingerly in her ear. Cassandra, stretched out over her stomach, resonated a soothing burr throughout her body.

She chuckled tiredly. “Thank you, my loves…”

--- --- ---

“…and, at least when they were newly reborn, absolutely hating when I go into a room without them…”

She was just taking a shower. That was all. And yet, she could hear her young, one-week-old daughters on the other side of the door, yowling and screaming and scratching their claws into the wood.

“I’m just bathing!” she snapped.

They wailed louder.

--- --- ---

“…to wrap the letter up, it is certainly a strange phenomenon to the experiment, but I am not complaining at all. They are much more entertaining and endearing this way. I wouldn’t have them any other way. I would like to thank you again, Mother Miranda, for letting me have such sweet daughters.

That will be all for now. I will follow up in another letter if anything new comes up.

-Alcina Dimitrescu”

[lil-pine-mha-drabbles]

hiiii! i hope you’re feeling better! i know i’ve requested from you before but i love your writing and you write my bb kiri so well :,))

if it’s doable could i request a road trip with the bakusquad? head cannons are okay if that’s easier, and now i’m talking too much lmao

it’s okay if this is too much, thank you <33

Kirishima x reader

Road trip!!!!

Sweet sapling, never apologize for requesting something so cute, of course I’ll do it!

Thank you so much for the support and kind words I hope you like this. Words just tumbled out and I made this!

Trigger warning!!

Does mention a creepy man who is apart of a trafficking ring. He says one thing that could be disturbing to some people. Otherwise it’s fine, save for some swearing on Bakugou and Sero’s parts.

This was based partly on my last road trip!

Here are some people that inspire me! @alpha-bnha-boys and @random-mha-thoughts

There are 1445 words to read below the line!

—————————

You weren’t really sure how you got roped into it, the road trip. The trunk was packed tightly and you were shoved into the van with your boyfriend and his friends. The radio played “Firework” loudly while Bakugou drove but no one mentioned it, they all just sang along with Katie. He drove roughly five hours while Kiri took a nap, he had to drive next.

Your head rolled to the side and bonked into the window while Kirishima drove with you in the front seat. You were most comfortable with him driving, he was very responsible and drove smoothly. Though, you weren’t the only one falling asleep, Mina was passed out in the trunk on a makeshift bed on all the luggage, Bakugou was snoring lightly, his face shoved against the seat that he pushed Kaminari off of and the electric boy was under the seat with blankets wrapped all around him, and Sero taped his pillow to the window and slept with his neck at an odd angle, drooling occasionally.

You looked up at your boyfriend groggily and smiled when he placed his hand on your thigh lovingly. The car was just coming into a lit up city when your head lolled and you fell asleep.

When you woke up you were at a gas station. You slid on your crocks Kiri bought you and walked into the obnoxiously bright pit stop. You went to the bathroom and looked around the gross room with stalls. Mina was washing her face in the sink and smiled at you when she squinted her eyes at you through the soap. You waved tiredly and walked into the stall with a flickering light. The floor had brown tiles with disgusting stains you hoped were just grease. There was that stupid gap in the door that you could see out of very easily and saw Mina walk out a bump into Kirishima.

“Hey, Mina. Is (Y/n) in there?”

“Yup! She’s using the restroom though, so you should wait.” He nodded and you watched the door close.

You finished up and washed your hands and face then opened the door to meet your red headed boyfriend.

“What’s up, babes?” You asked when he hugged you.

“There was this guy trying to get in the girls room. Bakubro and I asked him to leave but he stuck around so Bakugou walked Mina to the car and I’ll walk you.” You smiled at him brightly and kissed his cheek not even worried about the creepy man, cuz your boyfriend would protect you.

“Where Denki and Sero?”

“They’re getting snacks and energy drinks.” Kirishima smiled at you and opened the door for you, the bell ringing loudly. Outside you saw the guy Kiri mentioned by the trash cans watching Mina.

You poked Kiri in the arm and pointed to the creepy man. Your boyfriend nodded and placed his hand on your lower back and gently pushed you forward with him. You got in shot gun next to Mina who was in the driver seat and shut the door.

Bakugou and Kirishima stood outside the car, talked for a bit, and sauntered over to the suspicious man. The lights over head of the car flickered as a bunch of bugs flew in front of it but you were watching the two boys. They talked to the man for a bit until Bakugou punched the guy in the face and before you knew it, Kiri was holding him back and Sero who just walked out taped the man to the wall and Denki started calling the police.

Neither of you could hear what they were saying but you got a good idea. Sero walked to the car with his snacks and opened the back door.

“What’s up with the guy?” Mina asked him.

“I don’t have all the answers but the guy said some gross things about you guys and Bakubro punched him and was going to beat the shit outa him but Kirishima held him back. I saw a little bit coming out and when the guy tried to make a mad dash, I taped him up. Denks is talking with the police and I’m gonna go talk to the employees.” He said quickly before shutting the door and walking into the station to talk to the workers.

You sighed deeply, guess you wouldn’t be on the road anytime soon. After fifteen minutes of waiting patiently, Mina fell asleep and you were close behind her.

Kirishima shrugged of some dirt that got on his shirt in the scuffle and looked over to the car where Mina was sleeping with her mouth open and you were just about to sleep, and he smiled warmly at you both. You were so beautiful.

The sun was coming up in the distance when the police arrived, it had only been a half an hour but Kirishima was still on edge.

“Okay, tell us exactly what happened. What are your names?”

“I’m Bakugou Katsuki.” He growled loudly.

“I’m Kirishima Eijiro.”

“I’m Single,” Denks flashed a smile at the police woman who sighed and pointed to her wedding ring. “Right... I’m Kaminari Denki.”

“Hanta Sero.” Sero nodded in thought.

“Alright, boys, what happened?” She questioned, hands holding a pen and note pad.

“Well we got here about five and got in for a pit stop, my girlfriend and my friend went into the ladies room to freshen up and Bakugou and I saw this guy,” Kiri pointed to the man being cuffed. “trying to get into the girls bathroom. I asked him to leave but he didn’t. Bakugou walked Mina, my friend, to the car and I waited for my girlfriend to get out. When we got out he was hanging around the dumpster looking at Mina.” He pointed to the car where you and Mina were snoring.

“Okay. Who initiated the first hit?” The woman asked kindly.

“We asked him what his fucking deal was and he started spouting shit about how pretty the girls were and how there necks would look good chained to his bed and all that nasty shit. I punched his dumbfuck face.” Bakugou told her, he was getting steamed just thinking about what happened.

“Okay, we appreciate it. We’re gonna have to have you all come down to the station for more questions.” All the boys groaned loudly. “It won’t take long. You’ll be out of here by two PM.” She smiled and walked away to share her information with her partners.

“Well here we go I guess. This’ll be a Bakusquad adventure that’s for sure!” Kaminari smiled brightly.

“Shut up, sparkleshit. I want to take a nap.” Bakugou growled as he stomped towards the car.

Kirishima and Sero sighed and followed after the loud blonde. Kaminari was the first there, he hopped in the backseat and smiled when Bakugou promptly passed out on his shoulder. Sero sat next to the two while Kirishima gently picked up Mina and put her next to Sero where she flopped over onto all three guys laps. Bakugou grunted but stayed asleep.

Kirishima got in the driver’s seat and kissed your forehead before he started following the police who waved him to follow them.

You and Mina had woken up when you got to the police department and they told you to go to a small café when they figured out neither of you knew anything about the incident. You sat across from the pink girl while you stirred your drink lazily, the latte art getting destroyed but you didn’t care.

Mina played with your hair while you looked at your phone and talked about random things.

“Kiri just texted me,” you told her. Her ears perked up in silent curiosity. “He said they’re done being questioned and that guys going to jail. Turns out he was apart of some sex traffickers.”

“Jeez, can’t even get a break from putting people in jail even on our vacation!” She exclaimed.

“I know. We can head to the car now. They’ll be out in a minute.” She nodded and you both finished your drinks and walked out to the car across the street.

When Kiri caught sight of you he smiled brightly as held his arms out in an invitation. You looked both ways and ran across only to jump in his arms excitedly. He smiled and kissed your lips happily.

“Okay, pebble! Let’s get going, everyone, Mina’s driving.” He called out to everyone and set you next to him in the car.

Bakugou sat in front while Denks and Sero sat next to you both.

You were sure more adventures were to come on this road trip.

[thiswasinevitableid]

2 bathtub and 9 folklore, sternclay, sfw, please!

Here you go! Barclay's design is based on a blue catfish.

He wanted the bigfoot assignment. Days spent tramping through the chilly forests of the pacific northwest instead of sweating off a pound a day in Louisiana swamps. But no, he’s assigned to the Loup Garou case until further notice, because one mammalian cryptid expert is as good as another.

It’s not like he’s devoted most of his career to bigfoot or anything.

Contrary to popular belief, FBI agents do not spend all their time in suits. As much as Stern aims to emulate Special Agent Dale Cooper, slacks and a suit jacket are not suitable for tromping through the mud and staving off the humidity. Between his outdoor wear and the tranquilizer rifle over his shoulder, he looks like he could be in some shitty seventies Sasquatch hunting movie.

His best lead is the strange, black fur he found near the location of the most recent sighting, and the ranger in the nearby national park assured him it didn’t come from any common wildlife. So it could be a human cursed to transform into a wolf every night. Or it could just be someone’s dog.

Dusk has come and gone before he turns back towards his cabin, rented for it’s proximity to the supposedly-Loup-Garou-harboring swamp and the reviews citing good water pressure and a large tub. Nothing like a nice bath or cold shower to wash off the heat and grime of the day.

A crack in the trees to his right. There’s something moving, paralleling him. He stops, nerves taught as a drawn bow.

The growl starts low, draws his eyes to a dark-furred shape creeping from the brush. It’s definitely canine, definitely bigger than him, and definitely sees him as dinner. Stern holds his ground, raises the rifle, not willing to fire until he’s certain this is his quarry. All doubts evaporate when it stands on its hind legs and howls. Human eyes lock onto him as the monster stalks forward.

Stern fires, hitting the werewolf in the shoulder. It doesn’t so much as stumble.

“Shit” He loads another dart, fires, and gets the exact same result. There’s no chance of outrunning it, and while he has his handgun he doesn’t want to resort to that unless he absolutely has to.

The creature lunges and Stern dodges, slipping into the water as a result. It swipes a claw out, which he keeps from his face by blocking it with the body of the rifle. His brief hope that the creature can’t swim is quashed when it prowls into the water after him. Something huge swim past his legs and he winces; if he dies by alligator instead of werewolf he’ll never hear the end of it.

As the monster surges forward, something huge bursts from the water between them, knocking Stern off balance in the process. His head goes under and when he scrambles up, spluttering, the werewolf is limping as fast as it can into the undergrowth. And floating face-down in front of him is a man, four jagged rips in his side tinting the water around them a sickly red.

“Sir?” Stern rolls the man over and, in spite of all his training, exclaims, “holy shit.”

The man doesn’t have legs. His hips give way to a smooth, grey-blue tail that twitches weakly when Stern touches him. The wound is visible here too, marring tail and torso alike. It doesn’t take a genius to put together what happened. Or that the Loup Garou won’t make it far with the bite the merman delivered. He could catch it. But he doubts the mer in front of him will survive without medical attention.

He loops his arms under a limp body and makes a mental note to never, ever tell Agent Hayes about this.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Barclays’ whole side is burning.

“Ow, Aubrey, easy with the healing.” He groans, rolling away from the feeling and immediately bonking his head on something cold and solid. Cracking an eye open reveals a white tub and wooden wall. Cautiously, he glances at his stomach and side and finds it bandaged. When he manages another half-turn, he finds a dark-wood bathroom with a human slumped against the wall. It’s the one he saved, though he’s down to a thin white shirt and what he knows to be boxers. For all the blood there must have been, the room and tub are spotless.

He raises up, hoping for a better look at a handsome face, only to catch his side on the edge of the tub.

“OWfuck!”

The man jolts awake, is by Barclay’s side in an instant, “Thank the lord, I was worried you’d lost too much blood to pull through.” He runs a hand through his black hair, “I didn’t mean to fall asleep, I was trying to monitor you for signs I’d have to give up and call the paramedics. I, um, assumed you didn’t want to just be dragged into a human hospital.”

“Yeah, no, not my fave.” His tail flutters awkwardly, “uh, why did you bring me here, then?”

“Because I wasn’t going to leave you to bleed out in a swamp. I learned field medicine for a reason; it’s nice to use it on someone other than myself. Or, well, not nice, but, um-”

“No, I get it. It’s just that, uh, I have lots of friends in the swamp. One of them probably woulda found me. You didn’t have to go to all this trouble or put me in a tub.”

“Oh.” The human sags a little, his confident smile faltering a moment.

“I mean, I really appreciate it. And it looks like you’re good at, uh, stitches and stuff.” He rubs his arms, “uh, sorry. I’m not used to waking up in unfamiliar guys bathtubs.”

“I’m not in the habit of keeping mermen in my tub so, um, I guess we’re even?” His smile is a little shyer, blue eyes reminding Barclay of a spring sky.

The mer holds out the hand on his uninjured side, “I’m Barclay.”

“Joseph” The man shakes it, “it’s nice to meet you. Is, um, is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable? Is the water alright? I can go get some from the swamp if that would be better.”

“As long as I don’t dry out I’ll be fine. Uh, do you have any food?”

“Some groceries, but if you want something specific I can run into town.”

Barclay weighs his hunger and wooziness against the desire not to reveal too much, and his stomach emerges triumphant, “Does this place have a take-out menu for the South Bank Cafe?”

“I...think so? Let me look” The human stands, walking out into another room on long legs that Barclay wants to loop around his waist, continues speaking as paper rustles, “I didn't know merpeople used take-out.”

“Uh, when they live close to humans they do. As long as some of those humans are willing to pick it up.”

Joseph returns, familiar pink menu in one hand and phone in the other, “What would you like?”

“Three fried oyster po’boys please.”

The human orders four of the sandwiches and some coconut cream pie on Barclay’s suggestion leaves the mer to nap while he goes to retrieve it. Charmingly, he puts all the food onto plates and pours the bottled sweet tea into glasses before arranging it on the bathroom floor.

“Cheers.” Joseph raises his glass. Barclay hesitates, trying to remember which human ritual this is, then clinks his own against it.

They barely talk until the plates are clean and Joseph is luxuriating in a second slice of pie, at which point the human explains what the fuck he was doing looking for a rougarou anyway. Barclay has given up on his desire to study the humans face as he eats and is laying on his back, eyes shut, feeling full and content in spite of the nagging pain in his side. Joseph reluctantly gave him painkillers, explaining he was worried about how human medicine would interact with mer biology. So far, all it’s done is made him drowsy.

“Barclay? Why did you get between me and the Loup Garou?”

“Because I didn’t want you to get killed. Like, for starters, I don’t want people to get hurt, and rougarous are nasty fuckers. But also when someone dies in the swamps, a lot of people blame mers for it. So it’s better if we keep humans from getting eaten on our turf.” He feels around for his tea, finds it when Joseph sets cool glass in his hand. His whole body is heavy.

A soft laugh, “Drugs kicking in?”

“Uh huh.”

A scuff as Joseph stands, “I’ll leave you to get some rest. I’m just in the next room, if you need me.” Two steps, then a pause, “actually, let me drain the tub some and put fresh water in.”

Barclay’s pretty sure he says thank you before he falls asleep.

---------------------------------------------------

Joseph wakes up at the cursing coming through the walls. Rounding the corner into the bathroom, he finds Barclay clutching his upper tail with one hand, gritting his teeth.

“What’s wrong?”

“Cramp, really fucking bad one, tends to happen when I get injured and can’t swim. Fuck me if I know why.”

“Here” he kneels next to the tub, water splashing onto his white tank top, “let me try rubbing it out. Is this the spot?”

“YeahOWoh, ohhhfuck” Barclay whimpers, “that’s helping, please keep going.”

He moves his fingers down the smooth skin, muscles spasming under his hands before they surrender to relaxation. Gradually Barclay un-tenses, his whimpers giving way to sighs, and Joseph isn’t really tending to his charlie horse anymore; he’s just petting his tail.

“Thanks, Jo-”

A scratch outside freezes them both. Joseph holds up his hand, signalling for Barclay to stay quiet. It’s the window. Something is opening the window. Worse, a count of five later, the cabin groans as something heavy reaches the floor.

His gun is in the other room, because he’s not about to sleep with it on his person. To get to it, he’ll have to put himself right in the path of the intruder dragging themselves across the floor.

The door creaks open, revealing red eyes in the darkness of the cabin.

“Shit.” He starts to stand, keeping himself between the threat and Barclay.

“There you are. Goodness, we were all worried sick.”

Joseph stays still, but Barclay tries to sit up, “Indrid!”

Their visitor slithers into the room, his upper body human but his tail reminding Stern of a Cottonmouth, “We’ve been looking for you all day; Dani found blood at your watch site but not you. I even swam to the park to ask Duck if he’d seen you.”

“Uh huh, I’m sure that was your only reason.”

“Hush.” He turns his alarming gaze on Joseph, “I saw you ending up with this human in many timelines, but I put off following them for fear of being seen. But he’s taking this rather well.”

“I’m an FBI agent with the UP. Handling strange phenomena with grace is basically my job.”

“Intriguing.” Indrid cocks his head, then his face goes blank for a moment. When life returns to it, he coils his tail to settle next to Barclay, “it seems the most positive timelines occur if you continue your convalescence here. In that case, I’ll leave you be and let the others know you’re alright. I’ll stop by again in a few days. And yes, Joseph, since you’re about to ask, I will knock this time.”

----------------------------------------------------------

Barclay spends most of the next three days eating and sleeping, the combination of pain and painkillers making him sluggish. Joseph is better company than he ever could have hoped for, changing his bandages and sharing meals while regaling him with stories of the world beyond the swamps.

The human rises early, so he’s usually gone to work by the time Barclay wakes up. He’s feeling better this morning, so his internal clock wakes him just as the sound of water in the sink fills the room.

Joseph is bent over, naked from the waist up and using a coffee mug to dump water onto his hair. Beside him is a tube labeled, “compact body wipes.”

“Uh, what are you doing?”

The human starts, but then replies, “getting ready for the day. I have to go into town to meet with the sheriff about this case.”

“Can’t you just use the tub? I can make room, it’s big enough for both of us.”

Joseph’s whole torso is going pink, “I, um, assumed you didn’t want me randomly turning up in your space naked.”

He shrugs, “I’m naked right now.”

“Right.” Joseph gingerly sets the mug down, “right. I guess you are. Um. I don’t mean to be rude, since this is mainly a difference in mer and human culture, but would you be willing to close your eyes while I shower?”

Barclay nods, scoots to the far end of the tub while Joseph pulls the plug to keep the bath from overflowing. Then he shuts his eyes, focuses on the splashes up his legs, the change in the tempo of the falling water that signals it hitting a human body. Joseph showers efficiently, turns the steam mint scented with one of the bottles he keeps in the corner of the tub. Then he’s telling Barclay to open his eyes, towel wrapped around his waist and smile on his face.

“I feel much better.”

Barclay doesn’t bother to hide his staring, “Me too.”

---------------------------------------

Joseph hasn’t liked bathtime this much since his uncle gave him that rubber Nessie bath toy when he was five. Barclay is a much more enjoyable companion, even with his eyes closed. Joseph's also taken to wearing swim trunks and just sitting with him in the tub under the pretense of cooling off from the heat.

It’s not like his morning or evening rinse off lacks competition; Barclay is well enough that, through the use of a wheelbarrow, he can take trips to the back porch of the cabin to swim. His strength has weakened as a result of bedrest, but he’s improving quickly, and Joseph will often end up in the water with him to help him with particular stretches.

The first time another mer pops out of the water, he jumps with a combination of joy and alarm. Courtesy of Indrid, all the merfolk in the area know Joseph is trustworthy, which means he has even more people to question for his research. This is especially good because it means he and Barclay can talk about things other than work when they’re together. Barclay’s friends also offer information about the Loup Garou. So much, in fact, that Joseph determines there is something much larger than a single monster at play and is able to convince Hayes to let him continue the investigation indefinitely until he finds his answers.

When he gets the okay from his boss, he and Barclay celebrate with a massive dinner on the deck. As the mer hauls himself up out of the water after his final dip he slips, splashing sideways into a muddy patch. By the time Joseph gets them both inside, their skin and clothes are a mess.

“Here, let me rinse us off before I fill the tub for you.” Joseph turns on the shower, awkwardly straddling Barclay’s tail as he reaches to detach the head. He knows the mer is staring at him, his usually gentle gaze gaining an edge the way it always does when Joseph is down to his underwear or swim trunks. It doesn’t bother him; it seems a fair trade off for all the times he’s admired Barclays back and tail as he swam.

He turns, intending to hand the showerhead to the mer, only to lose his footing to a splotch of mud. It’s a graceless landing on his knees and Barclays’s tail, narrowly missing the fresh scar.

“Shit, that was close.”

“No kidding.” Barclay picks up the showerhead, turning it to a softer setting and rinsing off his tail. A teasing edge enters his rumble, “careful, might think you’re looking for ways to keep me here forever.”

“I guarantee none of them involve hurting you” he shuts his eyes as he lets the mer clean his neck. Then snaps them open when Barclay chuckles.

“That mean you have thought of some.”

“Yes. Not, um, not that I’d ever act on them. As much as I love your company, I don’t want you stuck in my tub forever.”

“You just want me to visit every day?”

“Um-”

“Or take you swimming in the evenings?”

“I-”

“Or let me finally watch you shower with my eyes open?” He flicks his tail playfully.

“I’ll admit all those crossed...my...mind.” Time turns to ice as Barclay leads forward, nuzzling his nose before bringing their lips together.

“Crossed mine too. I was so happy when you said you were staying.” He strokes Joseph’s cheek, “there’s so many fucking things I wanna do with you now that I’m getting better.”

“How many of them involve this tub?” Joseph kisses a teasing line across his cheek.

An adoring growl, “Plenty, babe.”

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: West Coast Avengers #2: “BLANKING OUT!”

October, 1984

"Up Against the BLANK!”

Beware his crosshatching!

So the formation of the West Coast Avengers continues! I guess! It looks like Tigra, Wonder Man, and Iron Man stuck around at least long enough to be on this cover.

We’ll see if the prospect of being on a team led by Hawkeye manages to win them over.

So last time on West Coast Avengers: Hawkeye was sent by the Vision to create an All-New All-Different Avengers team on the West Coast. A kind of West Coast Avengers. Like the Avengers but in LA.

Vision sent out invites to Wonder Man, Tigra, and Rhodey Iron Man but didn’t tell them what they were being invited for. Leading to not only some hesitance to commit once they learned what was what but also Tigra’s friend the Shroud following her to the LA Avengers Compound because the vague invite worried Tigra’s other friend Jessica Drew. Phew.

The Shroud puts up such a great fight when the hypothetical West Coast Avengers attack him (assuming that some dude breaking in is up to something) that Hawkeye offers him the open spot on the team but Shroud turns it down.

By this point in the East Coast Avengers’ history, depending on where you count it starting, they either got punked by Loki or by a Space Phantom. So, the West Coast Avengers aren’t actually doing so bad, even though they’re not technically officially a team yet.

Its all a matter of perspective.

Huh. We’re like ten years too early for Iron Man to be trying to kill everyone.

To kinda spoil the game early, this is a training exercise.

Hawkeye is attempting to prove a point that Captain America told him “with the proper teamwork, even the strongest opponent can be beaten!”

It gets back to the Avengers’ whole Earth’s mightiest heroes banding together to fight the foes no single hero can overcome thing. It’s a sales pitch for why these reluctant West Coasts should Avenger.

And even given that Iron Man far outmuscles Hawkeye, Mockingbird, and Tigra, teamwork and skill does prove capable of bringing him down. Kinda.

Hawkeye uses some smokescreen arrows to try to cloud Iron Man’s vision but he has infrared lenses. He tries to tackle Tigra but she outmaneuvers him and jumps on his back. Distracting him so Mockingbird can bonk him in the head with her staves and Hawkeye can gum up Iron Man’s boot jets.

Its good teamwork but while Hawkeye is explaining that it’s good teamwork, Iron Man repulsors the ground and knocks the other three on their asses to demonstrate another important lesson.

Iron Man: “Never count your enemy out, until you’re sure he’s really out!”

Although. This WAS a training exercise.

While you raise a good point, Rhodey, surely you didn’t want them to break your armor or knock you out for a training exercise?

Anyway, after the exercise is over, Hawkeye tells Iron Man (James Rhodes) that it reminds him of when they used to go at it (back when Hawkeye was an accidental villain) and Rhodey Iron Man just awkwardly says that he’s glad they’re buds now. Because THIS IS EXACTLY WHY HE QUIT THE AVENGERS IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Having to awkwardly tip toe around not being the original guy!

But on the other hand, he liked working with the Avengers in Secret Wars, which made him reconsider the team thing. While he doesn’t want to lean on someone else’s reputation, he also doesn’t want to be treated like an amateur. So awkward it is.

Hawkeye tells Iron Man maybe don’t knock him on his ass so hard next time.

I do love Clint and Bobbi’s relationship. They’re delightful.

While Rhodey is rethinking his reluctance to Avenge, Tigra isn’t. This training exercise about how weaker heroes can team up to bring down a stronger opponent is not landing.

Tigra: I’ll bet Iron Man could have blown us away whenever he felt like it... He was probably just toying with us during the whole workout! I’m not anywhere near being in his league... Why did I let Hawkeye talk me into joining his new Avengers team?

There’s always one person on the Avengers whose whole thing is insecurity and the West Coast Avengers is practically full of them. Hawkeye, Wonder Man, Tigra have all served that role in the past. Mockingbird is worrying that she doesn’t belong.

I’d rather Tigra stuck with the insecurity rather than what she gets when West Coast Avengers gets an ongoing...

Anyway, over at Simon Williams, Wonder Stuntman’s house, he’s packing up his house to move to Avengers compound.

Since the house was prefab and pretty shoddily built, the whole wall swings up like a garage door so Simon can just pull all his possessions out and put them in a big crate.

Simon’s good stuntman pal Freddy asks if Simon is really going to go back to the superhero life.

Wonder Man: “Freddy, for good or bad, Wonder Man is what I am! It’s taken me awhile to become comfortable with that. But I finally have. And you know, I think being a stuntman these last few months helped! Doing stunt work day after day has really given me a sense of my own worth. You and the rest of the stunt crews helped me find a new life... I owe you a lot! But I also owe the Avengers! When Hawkeye offered me an active role in the Avengers new west coast expansion team, I surprised myself by signing on. I guess what I’m saying is that the Avengers is part of my life, too. And I found myself missing it more than I’d expected!”

Good for you, you waffling man. But you’d better be careful you don’t end up in a Hank Pym spiral where you bounce between your superhero and civilian lives and don’t find satisfaction in half assing either. Find yourself a good work life balance.

Anyway, Simon doesn’t plan to quit the stunt work. He’s going to try to juggle it and the Avengers.

Now that I’m not sure he’ll manage. Movies and super-heroics both have demanding schedules without set hours.

Simon and Freddy take a break to go buy more nails at the hardware store for Simon to hammer in with his bare hands. But on their way, they hear an alarm at the bank.

Crosshatch man from the cover is robbing the bank, just casually strolling out with a bag of money while bullets bounce off of him.

The Blank: “I have a gun too! And it doesn’t shoot blanks! Hah-haha-ha!!”

I’ve long held that the unspoken rule in comics book is that one of the first things someone shouts about you becomes your name.

Just ask poor Ben Grimm, the Thing.

So when a random person shouts that the bank robber is blank, the robber is like ‘huh, that’s catchy!’

Anyway, the robber confidently strolls out of the bank and right into Simon Wonder Man Williams.

The Blank shoots his gun at Simon and to his dismay finds out that he’s not the only one who bullets bounce off of.

Then Simon punches the guy twenty feet back INTO the bank.

The Blank woozily proclaims that Wonder Man can’t stop the Blank so Wonder Man just kinda picks him up and tucks him under arm. Although the Blank does manage to pistol whip the sunglasses right off of Simon’s face.

Doesn’t hurt him but it does freak everyone in the bank out.

Dunno if you remember but due to being reborn as an energy being, Simon’s eyes are red and full of kirby krackle. He can turn it off if he concentrates but he prefers to wear the glasses.

And while Simon is telling the people in the bank that there’s no need to panic on his account, the Blank slips right out of his grip and jumps through the window.

When Simon comes out to the street, he finds that the Blank has somehow managed to disappear into the crowd, despite being a screentone man.

Probably because the Blank just turned the effect off and pretended to be a Perfectly Normal Man on the Street.

Sneaky.

The guy returns to his apartment and yuks it up at the news report about him making a clean getaway, police baffled.

The Blank: “After a lifetime of bad breaks, Lady Luck has finally smiled on me! Hah-ha! And to think I owe it to lousy bus service...”

So this origin is a lot. And its amazing.

In the Blank’s flashback, he’s waiting at the bus stop for a late bus when an ex-employee of Stark International who quit when Stane took over the company shows up and starts complaining about the bus service. And then smoothly shifts to complaining about his old job.

Very annoyed scientist: “If it’s not one thing it’s another! But it’s no wonder the world’s in the shape it’s in... Not with the quality of management today! They’re idiots... all idiots!”

He tells this random guy he doesn’t know that when he quit, he took his newest invention with him.

Very annoyed scientist: “I put too much work into my brainchild to let that leech Stane get it! I’m going into business for myself!”

And then, as he’s boasting that he’ll be rich enough to buy and sell Stane in a year, the very annoyed scientist walks into the street without looking and gets hit by a car.

The very annoyed scientist’s briefcase lands right at the pre-Blank’s feet who definitely doesn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. So he took it home and after a few months figured out how to operate the invention: a slippery force-field.

Back in the present, he charges the force field belt up and then heads off after a big score. Not noticing a man shaped cloud of energy coming out of the charger pleading for more energy.

Huh.

Weird.

Over at Avengers Compound, the West Coast Avengers are assembled. Hawkeye has gotten the go-ahead of the LAPD to take this Blank case but Wonder Man insists that the Avengers can find him but he’s going to make the collar.

Yup, Simon has gotten a bug in his collar about letting the guy get away.

Wonder Man: “I had him in my hands, and he slipped right through them! What good am I to the Avengers if I can’t handle one gimmicky bank robber by myself?”

Hawkeye: “No good at all, if you worry more about personal performance than you do about how you work as part of this team! What do you want to do, search all of Greater L.A. on your own? That’s crazy!”

Geez, Wonder Man. That’s how gimmick criminals are supposed to work. Its not a gimmick if you beat it in the first encounter. The gimmick trips you up at the beginning of the story so you look like a smarty for figuring it out for the resolution.

The other Avengers chime in a plan divide the city into sections and each search that section. And whoever finds him will call the others.

Wonder Man admits that the plan makes a lot of sense and storms off in a fit of ‘WHAT A REASONABLE SUGGESTION, GOODNIGHT.’

Mockingbird: “Well, hotshot, you just weathered your first leadership crisis. Why the thoughtful look?”

Hawkeye: “I was just remembering how I used to be the one who always blew his stack. Honey, all of a sudden I feel old... real old!”

Hah!

You’ve wanted this for years Hawkeye. AND you’ve built up a lot of lets say debt with the universe by being a jerk about it at times.

Although, Wonder Man isn’t really a great Hawkeye. He’s pretty mellow most of the time. Of the people I expected to get a random obsession with a not very dangerous criminal, it wasn’t Wonder Man.

He has always had a streak of insecurity (which is the secret ingredient when making a Hawkeye) and not being able to stop this guy right when he was feeling good and ready to superhero again. A real situational case.

But Tigra is the one feeling the insecurity the hardest so I’m afraid you’ll need another character beat, Simon. Hothead is available.

So the West Coast Avengers split up and patrol different parts of the urban sprawl. Tigra lurks the rooftops of Chinatown, Iron Man scans the area around the Santa Monica Mountains, Hawkeye flies above the high-rises of Marina Del Rey on his skycycle, Mockingbird cruises L.A.’s freeways in her custom pink convertible, Wonder Man hangs out on the L.A. City Hall in the downtown searching by binoculars, and I learn what the different bits of L.A. are.

Productive night for everyone.

But over in Inglewood, the Blank prepares for his Big Job.

He’s going to heist a Wells Fargo armored car.

Wait, would an armored car be a bigger heist than robbing an actual bank??

And if you somehow got the idea that the Blank is a criminal mastermind, he’s not. The armored car guards spot him coming and just decide to take off when a screentoned man starts running at them.

The Blank shoots one of the guards so he doesn’t manage to lock the rear of the money car but the other guard is locked up tight in the front and refuses to stop even when the Blank is threatening to kill his partner.

Wow. Guess other people’s money is more important to the guy than his co-worker’s life.

Since the guy tells the Blank that he’s driving the armored car right to the nearest police station, the Blank just grabs as much money as he can carry. Then he jumps out the back and slides to a stop on his belly like a penguin.

What a useful force field.

But the Blank’s bad night gets worse because then Mockingbird, Hawkeye, and Iron Man all show up, alerted by the police report.

The Blank at least has a realistic view of his capabilities. In that he’s not the guy that thinks a simple gimmick will let him start taking over the world. He just wants to rob a few banks and armored cars. And he does not want to fight the Avengers!

Especially not Iron Man!

Iron Man’s armor has all kinds of stuff in it and he might figure out a way through the force field!

So the guy decides to tackle some gas pumps.

Which naturally causes an enormous fire.

Not a bad plan, really. The explosion will launch the Blank from the scene with the force field keeping him safe and the heroes will stop to save lives as heroes tend to do.

While Hawkeye and Mockingbird help the gas station employees away from the fire, Iron man picks up a dump truck full of sand and puts out the fire.

Wonder Man and Tigra arrive as he’s doing that and Hawkeye has to tell Simon that the Blank got away or exploded.

Simon actually takes it pretty chill, just betting that no way a tough customer like the Blank died in the explosion.

And he’s right. Although the guy isn’t really a tough customer.

Actually, he’s planning on skipping town.

Avengers heat is too much heat for him. Plus, yeah, the force field protected him from the explosion but he was blown three blocks away and the impact of landing knocked him silly for five minutes and he was terrified he’d be caught anyway. Plus, he lost all that sweet Wells Fargo money.

So he’s going to take the bank robbery money from the morning and move somewhere with fewer superheroes.

He’s just gonna charge the force field for the road and- whoa dang a whole ass man popped out of thin air.

And its Graviton??

What were you doing in thin air, Graviton?

The Blank assumes this guy - wearing a costume and a cape - why he’s gotta be a superhero! And he immediately surrenders! He’ll return the money, turn over the force field device, go to jail, just don’t make him deal with those Avengers again!

Graviton is like hey buddy, I’m not with the Avengers and if you’re skipping town because of them, don’t bother. “Help me, and you’ll never have to worry about Avengers again!”

Ruh roh.

Now Graviton is, historically, kind of a dingus considering he’s a mad scientist, but he is powerful enough that he soloed a pretty powerful Avengers roster which had Iron Man, Thor, Wonder Man, and Vision.

The West Coast Avengers has Iron Man and Wonder Man but also has the more street level Hawkeye, Mockingbird, and Tigra. They don’t have the do-anything bullshit of Scarlet Witch or Vision’s robot brain or Cap’s strategy. Or whatever esoteric power the wild card Avenger of the era has like Captain Marvel’s command of the electromagnetic spectrum, Starfox’s PLEASURE POWERS or Moondragon’s psychic powers.

If Graviton decides to set up in L.A., then the newly formed West Coast Avengers could be in big trouble.

Maybe even two issues worth of trouble!

... What? This is a miniseries! There’s only so much he’s going to be able to do in the time left!

Follow @essential-avengers​ because you want to see what happens next, probably? Also, like and reblog because you want to?

[countessofbiscuit]

*shakes my tin cup like a victorian street urchin* please ma’am spare some rexsoka porn for a poor lass down on her luck?

hope this fills your boots, anon <ladles out some sad smut> it’s all i’ve got ;__;

Some Diversion

(ao3 + art that inspired this by @redsong) (3k, Explicit) 

People were always more receptive when you told them you were honeymooners. Even in a motel that probably couldn’t pony up for a classified ad in the planet’s second-best travelzine.

“Oh!” chirped the concierge, a glum theelin, skin faded by spice. “Congratulations.”

It helped that she and Rex looked odd and threadbare themselves, having stuffed beskar in the backpack and left plates in the ship. Rex stepped an inch closer to put a hand around Ahsoka’s bare midriff, playing along. Her eyes welled up at the gesture. She smiled through it, selling the charade with a wave of her hand under the counter. The concierge became extremely obliging: happy to offer a quiet en-suite near the rear exit, uninterested in payment until checkout, and supremely sorry they didn’t keep bubblezap on the premises.

Ahsoka was just grateful the farce couldn’t follow them to their room.

It’d be a cruel facsimile of previous missions, and of dreams whispered in the dark, now that they could actually do it: get hitched and cut loose. But somehow, with that face and that other chip in his arm—the identifier, a detainable offense to remove even under the Republic—Rex was less free than he’d ever been. He’d jumped the fence. At least in the Grand Army he could leave the wire now and then.

No—Rex hadn’t jumped, Ahsoka reminded herself: she’d flung him over it. And she was finding her actions harder to justify, when he’d been nothing but a studied blank these past few days, clearly at pains to hide himself from her, Force or no Force. White noise had more personality.

She struggled anew when he tossed her poncho aside, leaving him in just his blacks, stamped with that bendu they couldn’t unpick or peel off. Sleek and broad-shouldered and solidly familiar in all his Rex-ness. It reduced her choice to something carnal, and her stomach roiled with shame. Ahsoka gripped the windowsill, unable to even face him in this small room made smaller by the hutt-sized bed.

“I’m taking a shower,” he declared behind her.

Ahsoka stood at the window and stared at their y-wing in the shiplot until her eyes crossed. In just her sparring bra and leggings, she probably looked like some sorry tailhead picked up the station who was already regretting her companion for the night.

Her regrets were abundant, certainly, but how could Rex be one?

The sonic hum ceased, eventually, followed by a rationed burst of water in the sink. Rex padded and rustled around the room. Ahsoka remained fixed to the window. She couldn’t bear to turn around and acknowledge the old sham that had never been so awkward. Faking wedded bliss was once a promise of things to come, not a reminder of everything that had gone wrong.

When Rex’s thighs pressed against hers from behind, Ahsoka nearly crashed into the ceiling.

“Soka,” he mumbled. He circled an arm around her waist, anchoring her, and thunked his forehead against her rear lek. The intimacy washed over Ahsoka like a warm bath. They hadn’t been this close since burying the last of the men they'd been able to reach; her head had bonked his as they arranged Fetch’s broken limbs, their tears that wouldn’t run dry mingling in dots on Fetch’s dusty armor.

“You don’t have to, Rex,” Ahsoka heaved, forcing the words out.

“What.”

“Pretend—pretend like we used to.”

He went very still, catching his next breath before it swept down her skin. “I was never pretending. Were you?”

She swallowed. “No.”

“Good. Didn’t think so.” His voice was husky. His cock was impossible to ignore. Hard and free, lengthening between her thighs where she stood quivering. “And I’m not pretending now,” he said, jerking up to jerk the blind down.

Ahsoka jolted. Rex still wanted her. Even if just to scratch an itch. Even if just to spend one more night in the slipstream of normalcy, before it dissipated forever. The thought was heady, a faceful of exhaled spice. His nakedness against her skin smouldered. This was the first thing that felt real, that felt normal, in days.

She reached for Rex’s hand and slipped it into her bra. Her nipple tightened at the contact, sparking something in her belly. When he palmed her with interest, she tugged the zip down at the front, freeing her breasts, and Rex shucked her bra from her arms.

Ahsoka shoved his other hand down the front band of her leggings. “Touch me, Rex,” she croaked, arching into him.

He obliged. His fingers spread her fine folds, thin from neglect and starved of blood. Ahsoka opened her thighs further, allowing him the full use of his broad hands. His slow, two-fingered strokes against her besh pulled her pleasure down until it pooled like hot oil that threatened to leak. Her arms, propped atop the windowsill, felt spongy and not equal to his skill. These were the same deft fingers that could shoot straight two seconds post-op, when he was still half-under—fingers that could take life and make it worth living. Rex had mastered this terrain a long time ago. He’d know exactly what to do next: two knotted joints would slide into her—

Rex backed off, to her thin moan of protest. “These need a wash,” he said. He squatted and rolled her leggings down to her ankles.

Ahsoka huffed at his martial fastidiousness. “So do I.” She’d only seen wet wipes since a sink in Sundari. But she’d always been an impatient, hitched-skirt of a lover, either by nature or necessity. Hard to know, anymore.

Her right foot was barely free from the fabric when Rex thrust two fingers into her slit. Ahsoka wobbled and choked on a squeal. The first gasp of the little death that was building in her core.

“You’ll just make another mess.” Rex curled his fingers against her ring, making her vision tremble, loosening her body’s grip around his knuckles until it proved his point. Her slick leaked out, wetting her upper thighs. She flopped forward onto her elbows and let her head hang heavy, to watch his face and watch the blue bleed into paleness down his brown skin.

“What are you going to do with my mess?” she panted.

“What I always do.” He brushed the back of his hand up her thighs, catching some of the slick and bringing it to his mouth. “Clean it up.”

It was definitely meant in tired jest. A natural answer in the easy back-and-forth they fell into before a fuck. But it hit different, now���now that she was standing over leggings still stained with moondirt and blood not her own. Ahsoka slumped forward, away from his hand. Had Rex not been clone-quick and stood to catch her, she’d have fallen to her knees against the wall, faceplanting into the grotty wallpaper where she belonged.

“Hey, hey, hey … ” He may have been trying for comfort, but his voice struck flat, like a flint against her heart; Ahsoka’s face flushed hot with tears. “Don’t think about it, Soka. Fuck, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I shouldn't have—stop blaming yourself.”

They’d already had this conversation—a few times before they’d even dug the first grave. I’d have done the same, he kept saying. But that was an empty reply to a question Ahsoka hadn’t asked, assuming her hypothetical boots in the situation. What would he, Captain Rex, brother and commander to those men, have chosen, if she hadn’t selfishly chosen for him?

And he refused tell her. Because he had his own guilt to bear. Because there was no easy refrain for the truth that would alienate the one person he had left: After what you did, I would have chosen my brothers. I should have chosen Jesse. Even in madness. Even in death.

Ahsoka sobbed, held in Rex’s silent, naked embrace. She was a juggle of raw emotions—guilt, devotion, shame, desire—each clamoring for primacy; some needed to fall naturally, or she’d be crushed trying to hold them all.

Her Force-blessed privilege had told her, you can fix this. She’d been so very wrong, and she’d taken everything from Rex in her blind panic of an attempt. But she could still give him this, at least: her body and small comforts.

Ahsoka breathed deeply through her nose, making a show of regaining composure. Rex's hands gripped his elbows around her. She unfastened one to guide it down to her besh again. “Please keep going,” she said hoarsely, nuzzling her montral against his cheek in encouragement.

His fingers weren’t eager. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“We’ll sleep better,” she countered. They hadn’t slept at all since passing out in their respective seats at the edge of a waystation’s artificial atmosphere. Too many unknowns, too much distance to cover. Surely this would ease some of the anxious wakefulness parked behind her eyes. Ahsoka reached back and found his halfie. It answered to the heel of her hand. “And you started it.”

Rex groaned into her lek, gripping her crotch. “Cockheaded shiny mistake.”

“Finish the drill." She bucked into him. “Please just fuck me out of my head.”

With a pained sound, he began stroking the length of her crotch, like he wanted to tease her in half. Her slit burned for lack of him. With every pass of his fingers, her core clenched as if to suck them in. Ahsoka tugged harder on his cock.

Rex tried to spin her around, weary of this mutual reacharound, but Ahsoka squared herself firmly. “No—from behind.”

His brothers had always held flashes of Rex in the twitch of their smiles, in the warmth of their eyes and the quirk of their earnest brows. Now she was sure it would torment her in reverse. She couldn’t meet his face right now. They were all carved into the features of each other. But saying as much would magnify his survivor’s guilt, adding a mirror to his own, until Rex was trapped in his own reflection.

“If you’re sure,” said the man who knew all her preferences, and doubted the choice of this one.

Ahsoka had all the vanity of a secondhand binary droid. That Rex also knew. She couldn’t quibble convincingly about her red eyes or puffy face. “I’m sure. I want you like this,” Ahsoka repeated, plaintively, rising on her toes in invitation to present her ass. “The harder the better. Like that night in Iziz—on the balcony.”

Rex paused, quickly fetching the memory. “You were in heat, then.” Read: it was easier to thrust like an animal because your besh was too loopy to bite back. A jealous urge to drive everyone else from her head had probably helped, too. It was the first time he’d ever marked her.

“Yeah, and I still can’t think of Onderon without getting wet. So just … take me back there.”

“Alright,” he said. “Into the glass you go. Hold on.”

Ahsoka shuddered at the gruffness in his voice. But Rex proposed himself gently, holding his stout head to her folds. She eased back to push her slit around it and stuff it through her ring. She groaned heavily around the space his cock took up. Then Rex plunged in, giving her the rest, until Ahsoka felt gluttonously full.

He hissed. “Stars almighty. Fuck.” He held still for a beat, as if to recalibrate his sensor array in the vacuum of her body. “You’re tighter than baby’s first blacks.” Like he had any reason to act surprised. But it was calming, in a crude way. One charade supplanted another, like this. They weren’t newlyweds: he was just some washed-up veteran looking for a good time, and she was a local dropout, cashing in on mundane speciesism to cover the debt.

Ahsoka latched onto the conceit and relaxed into the lewd delight of his nakedness flush against her. Of him inside her. “My tail—” She tilted her head back, to offer Rex the forbidden thing his eyes had lingered on since she’d rocked up again, taller and longer and fuller in interesting places. “Take it, Rex. Pull it.”

He didn’t need telling twice. Rex swept his palm along the underside, stopping finally to grab the midsection, just above the flare of her fattier tail. Ahsoka trembled when he squeezed, her nerves clattering between alarm and arousal. A tog who submitted to tailgrips was considered as base as a twi who invited lekjobs. But she had nothing to be missish about anymore, and certainly not with him.

And to be in thrall to Rex, her captain, this best of soldiers, was still a fucking thrill.

The ache of Rex’s grip warred with the pleasure of his hood sliding inside her walls—back and forth, back and forth, until he reached her ring, gauging the give he had to work with.

Holding fast, hand on lek and hip, Rex plowed into her.

Ahsoka cried out, rebracing her arms against the sill to counter him. She slickened further to the sound of smacking skin. What ass she had rippled with every punch of his thighs, and she hoped he was eating up the view.

A purr curled under Ahsoka's breath, sharpening into a growl at the strange clench around her headtail. If her adrenal system got too offended by the intensity of their fuck, she’d be drooling venom into the carpet and would have to sleep on the floor, away from him, for fear of a feral dream. She’d been gagged in Iziz.

“Drop my tail, Rex,” Ahsoka panted. “But don’t fucking stop.”

He let go, but his pace ebbed. Never would take her every order. “You alright?” he asked.

“Yes, yes,” she growled. “Mouth was going cottony.” Ahsoka rocked into him, testing her grip against his shaft. The window of opportunity was narrowing. “Harder,” she urged.

Rex held her hips to better his leverage. He thrust, again and again. Ahsoka tightened around him, his movement tugging her tacky cunt and plucking at her bliss. He took her with him as often as not.

Dropping to her elbows, Ahsoka dunked her head again to get an eyeful of his effort. Rex’s legs were sturdy and strong, flecked with fair hairs, knees pistoning his handsome, muscled thighs. Where they met, his sack hung gravid; it was ready to fill her, slapping her wet folds as they careened together. Her lekku tossed wildly, tits jiggling in time. She’d have to wait for her next heat for a real socking, but this was all Ahsoka needed, now. A vestibular riot. A rave of simple physicality.

Rex made a sound like straining plasteel. “‘m close—so close.”

Everything—all the sucking and jerking and grunting—coalesced in a ferment of pleasure, contracting around knowledge that Rex was the cause of it. Her brave, bright knight, a golden heart and warm smile at the end of so many shit days.

“Fuck—gods beyond, I’m gonna—Soka, I’m—” he groaned and spasmed hard. One shuddering arm landed beside her face.

A heat flooded through Ahsoka. She had to tell him—she had to warn him over the roar of climax in her own head. “Hold on, Rex—oh! Rex—” Her orgasm punched down. She lurched under it and into the curl of Rex’s arm, her senses whiting out.

There was really little danger of flying off in telekinetic euphoria. She and the Force hadn’t communed beyond the basics in days—suited her just fine, there wasn’t much to hear now, and the void was worse than anything. And she was beyond exhausted.

She remained rooted to Rex, held underneath him, sagging soggily. More comfortable than she’d been in weeks. Rex could probably maintain the hold for the next few inescapable minutes. But it was awkward.

So he shimmied them backwards to the bed, where he sank onto the mattress, bringing Ahsoka down with him, hugging her to his bare chest. He couldn’t do otherwise. Her besh had him in a primal lock, eager to relieve a togrutan penis of its seed; it regarded the presence a much broader human appendage as an affront. Ahsoka relished the fullness, but she’d long since been made aware that this aftermath sucked major dick, and no, that wasn’t just a turn of phrase. Untold millennia of reproductive evolution simply refused to recognize Rex’s frequent caller card—or accept that it’d have better luck sucking glue through a curly straw than getting viable swimmers out of a clone.

So they sat, waiting it out. Rex knew the drill.

Once or twice, Ahsoka’s lungs ballooned to speak, but she didn’t have any idea what would come out. Her lek was tucked into his neck. His carotid pulse thumped into her tips, and his strong heart beat solidly against her back. We’re still alive, she might have marvelled, had she not paid for it so heavily: a destroyer of men, whose valiant hearts lay dead as moondust.

At last, Rex sighed broadly, clearing himself out to say something. It took some time before he did, Ahsoka dreading all the while that they’d fucked an inch forward, only to fall a klick back.

“I forgive you, you know,” he said, factually. Like a reporter beginning a transcript of bad news. “For trying to save me. For not letting me march away.” The words were like the stubble on his cheek. Raspy. A little harsh. Trying, in particular, cut her deeply—and not just as someone who still half-believed herself a Jedi. Rex deemed her actions a failure … or unfinished, at best.

But Ahsoka had heard the words correctly, and there was no lie in them. Rex went further. “I’ve got … there’s a lot of work to do.”

There was a chink in the blastdoors. Held open in the way he rephrased what was on his mind. Ahsoka felt a draft of hope. “I’m here to help, Captain,” she said, completing a circle of intimacy as she took his hand. “If you want me.”

Rex twisted to look at her. She let him find her eyes. “I do,” he said. He squeezed her fingers and closed a bleeding circuit of faith with a kiss.

[sapphicomenn]

WELCOME TO MY THOUGHTS WHILE REWATCHING THE MCU IN TIMELINE ORDER: THE AVENGERS

“the tesseract has awakened” oh you mean the glowy cube from captain america AND captain marvel? THAT glowly cube?? cool looking stairs- ew who tf are you? the grim reaper??

what the fuck is a chitauri and why does it sound like sea food. “a world will be his. the universe, yours.” STOP BLAMING THE PRONOUN GAME AND GIVE ME NAMES FFS

ooo shield base. “not a drill.” oh shits going down- COULSON. FUURRRYYY FUCK YEAH. the best marvel characters are here the movie has peaked- oldman from thor is here?? intoresting. and who the hell is this woman tryna question fury??

the glowy cube is a shE???????? HUH??????? oh hey its hawkeye the badass archer guy. oh shit things are going down. the cube is sparking and swirling??- IT OPENED A PORTAL

LOKKIII YOU BEAUTIFUL BASTARD WELCOME BACK. HE HAS A SHOOTY MAGIC SPEAR LIKE A BADASS. he just took out a bunch or shield with a shooty spe- OHMYGODS HE CAN CONTROL MINDS WITH IT.

“loki. brother of thor.” OLDMAN STFU

GUNS GO PEW PEW ALONG SIDE A GOOD OLD CAR CHASE SKSHSKKSHS. RUN FURY RUNNN. the portal imploded on itself like a moron hA

WHO TF NAMES THEIR CHILD “HILL” WTF. “we are at war.” NO SHIT SHERLOCK A NORSE GOD STOLE THE CUBE YOU WERE SUPPOST TO PROTECT

tis a train and a old building- NATASHA. how tf were you taken hostage? im so glad i have subtitles on otherwise i wouldnt understand a thing these ppl are saying. HOW TF IS SHE KICKING ASS WHILE TIED TO A CHAIR WHAT IN THE HELL-

oh his leg deff broke once he fell off the ledge tied to a chain. cut to a lil gorl running to find a doctor- who tf this is of course. THIS GUY IS BANNER??? i mean im glad they changed the actor but wtf. “theres no one that knows gamma radiation like you do.” YA DONT SAY, ROMANOFF. “STOP LYING TO ME” JESUS FUCK THAT MADE ME JUMP

oh damn shield has their own O5 council? cool. EXPLAIN WHAT PHASE2 IS ALREADY. also dont say thor is bad he is a giant puppy dog with a war-boner.

oh hi steve, working off that PTSD by beating the shit out of a punching bag ay? oh right steve knows the glowy cube. “at this point i doubt anything would surprise me.” “ten bucks says you’re wrong” welp ya owe him ten bucks steve

“is there anything you can tell us about the tesseract to help us now?” “you should’ve left it in the ocean.” WELL THAT HELPS ALOT DOESNT IT. hello there iron man, at the bottom of the ocean.? sure why the hell not

aye stark tower’s about to have clean energy, yay stark! “stark tower, is your baby.” how do you give birth to a tower.???????? KSHSJSHSKSJS COULSON BROKE INTO THE TOWER “is first name is agent.” TONY SKSHKSSHKSVSKSHSKS

*whisper whisper whisper* yeah she bribed tony with sex so he’d work on the avengers and stuff. “the guys like a stephen hawking.” “. . .” “hes like a smart person”

awh coulson is fangirling over steve- watched you while you were sleepin- man you’re awkward. you adorable dumbass. ohshit underground musky lab- OLDMAN AND LOKI

the world is breaking around loki. sea food army is restless- shut the fuck up you stupid looking eye wrapped bastard. WHO THE HELL IS THIS HE?????? welcome back to earth you smexy man

FLOATING WATER BASE

back to avenger tingz. man coulson is the biggest cap fan- oh its a giant sub- NO ITS A GIANT FLYING BASE HOLYSHIT SHIELD THATS AMAZING.

now we go into the meetings and talking related stuff :I yey. “lets vanish” wdym- IT HAD A CLOAKING DEVICE. HA STEVE JUST GAVE THE TEN HE OWED SKSHSKHSKSJS

i dont understand a word of all the science stuff they just said but yay. “i need a distraction. and an eyeball” barton what the fuck why do you need an eye.?

oh lokis in germany, at a very fancy party might i add. loki is best boy ever. even if he just bonked a the head/ OHMYGOD AND STOLE HIS FUCKING EYE JESUS CHRIST INFRONT OF ALL THOSE PEOPLE.??????

“i said. KNEEEEL” dont need to tell me twice-

blagh villain speeches are the worst. why tf did this old guy stand up “not to men like you.” shut up. SHOOT HIM- wtf. steve what the hell are you wearing? what the fuck is that- aye tonnnyyy!!!! he hacked into the jet thingy and started playing music from the speaker thats the best.

CAPSICLE SKSHSKSHKSHSKSJ- ohfuck thunder. THOR WELCOME TO THE PARTY. “im not overly fond of what follows” WKVSKSBSKSHSJS

HE JUST BROKE INTO THE JET AND STOLE LOKI FROM EM. “theres only one god ma’am. and im sure he doesnt dress like that.” cap stfu

“i thought you were dead.” “did you mourn.” damn loki thats harsh. thor is angy at his brother. “you listen well brot-ARGH” “..im listening?” STARK YOU CHOSE THAT MOMENT TO BODY SLAM THOR OFF THAT CLIFF AND LEAVE LOKI BEHIND? REALLY?

“.. tourist.” FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT KICK HIS ASS, THOR. DONT KILL HIM WITH LIGHTNING THO

if someone throwed me against a tree i wouldnt be walking. im just saying

“THATS ENOUGH.” cap did you think that would work?? and how the hell did your dinner plate stop the power of thor

loki do be in jail tho. how’s this gonna go wrong- oh he smiled at banner. THATS how it goes wrong

tell him off fury! “you have made me very disapoin-“ OH NVM HE SAYS DESPERATE IGNORE THIS

“uNlimiteD pOoWeRRRRR”

“let me know if real power wants a magazine or something.” good comeback fury. i think

“loki is beyond reason, but he is of asgard. and he is my brother” “he killed 80 people in two days.” “he’s adopted.” KSBSKSJSJSJSK

“that man is playing galaga. he thought we wouldnt notice, but we did.” TONYKANSKSHKSJSKSJ tony is a fucking legend. “finally someone who speaks english!” “is that what just happened?” steve stfu you’re a fighty man not a smart man

“i do! . . . i understood that reference.” steve nvm keep talking please. PLEASE THE MAN IS STILL PLAYING GALAGA SOSJSKSJSJKS

why is tony eating blueberrys- where the hell did he get blueberrys. “we have orders. we should start following them.” steve you tried to get into the army under fake locations for months AND broke into a german base when you were a showpony. stfu about following rules

“so you’re saying the hulk.. the other guy? saved me” yes. yes we are saying that, banner. aye steve go break into shit like you’re suppost to :D

oh hi again oldman, welcome back. yay shield saved padme, and awh oldman talked about thor alot. thor i love you alot. loki just tell nat where tf you left barton :/ oh barton was sent to KILL nat?? not hire her?? well that went downhill. whomst the hell is dreykov- sao paulo- the hospital fire???? hawkeye wtf why’d you spill it all to loki.

mewley quim wtf kind of insult is that- oh damn nat figured out the hulk is lokis next plan of attack. PHASE TWO IS TO USE THE GLOWY CUBE TO MAKE FUCKING WEAPONS? SHIELD WHAT THE HELL

HA FURY TRIED TO LIE IS WAY OUTTA IT BUT BC STARK HACKED INTO IT ALL HE JUST EXPOSED HIMSKHSKSJSKS

WAIT THEY WERE MADE FOR THOR AND ASGARDIANS? WHAT THE FUCK SHIELD- oh damn lokis staff is the reason they’re all at eachother. probably

“yeah. big man in a suit of armor. take that off what are you?.” “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.” well you’re not wrong

guys stop fighting, HAWKEYE IS BREAKING IN. “in case you needed to kill me. but you cant. i know, i tried.” awh thats sad, i wanna hug banner so bad :(

OHSHIT AN ENTIRE WING GOT BLOWN UP THE FLYING BASE IS GOING DOWN- HULKS COMING OUT THATS NOT GOOD. the transforming is scary- RUN NAT

loki stop smiling because the plan is going your way. “it seems to run on some form of electricity.” “well you’re not wrong” tony stop being funny this isnt fair

HULK JUMPSCARE JESUS CHRIST- NAT GOT BITCHSLAPPED THROUGH A WALL- YAY THOR TO SAVE THE DAY. HAMMER TIME BABYY

*B O N K*

hulk trying to pick the hammer up is funny. BRIDGE IS UNDER ATTACK. DO YOU THINK SHOOTING HULK IS A GOOD IDEA??? HE JUST TOOK OUT FIGHTER JET AND ALMOST KILLED THE GUY FLYING IT

CAP IS KICKING ASS- OH GOD NO THE ENGINES ARE FAILING. OHGOD LOKI IS OUT- THOR YOU DUMBFUCK DID YOU FORGET LOKI CAN DO MAGIC SHIT? NOW YOU’RE STUCK IN THE GLASS CONTAINER

COULSON SAVE THOR! SHOOT LOKI DAMNIT- COULSON NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

glass cage go brrrrr

HA LOKI GOT FUCKIN SHOT BY COULSON BEFORE HE DIES( :( ) tony almost got minced by the engine thingys

im gonna cry coulson how dare your death make me sad :(( stupid heart breaking aftermath moments.

thor is stuck in a field, banner fell through the roof of a building. awh the security guard is so nice :) barton is a fucking mess right now “how’d you get him out?” “i hit you on the head really hard.” KSJSKKSSK

tony figured out lokis plan- ITS TAKING PLACE AT HIS TOWER? THE AVENGERS IS TAKING ACTION BABY LETS GOOOO

wait a fucking moment, the cards coulson has are covered in blood. so you’d think they were on him when he was stabbed- yet hill just said they were in his locker “they needed the push.” FURY YOU RUINED NEAR MINT VINTAGE COLLECTABLE CARDS TO MOTIVATE SUPER FREAKS???

o hi loki welcome to stark tower

“stalling wont change-“ “no no, threatening. no drink? ya sure? im having one.”

“i have an army.” “we have a hulk.” HE SAID IT, HE SAID THE LINE

HA LOKI CANT TAKE STARKS MIND BC HIS HEART IS SOME TECHY METAL CRAPKSJSKSJSKS- i guess choking and tossing him around works. so does throwing hik out a window

oh no the glowy cube just opened a portal for the army of seafood. they look like creatures from halo.

BROTHER FIGHT

CHAOS EVERYWHERE

PLANE DOWN PLANE DOWN

what the fuck just growled- HOLYSHIT THEY HAVE A SPACE LEVIATHAN. it looks badass ngl. loki redemption arc? nope he just stabbed thor.

SPACE BIKE GO BRRRRR

yes because arrows and guns will stop the, alien monsters with lazer arms. some how its working. “just like budapest all over again.” “you and i remember budapest very differently.” WTF HAPPENED AT BUDAPEST BARTON AND NAt, HUH?

cap just scared the shit outta some police men HAHA

“i have unfinished business with loki.” “yeah? get in line” barton is snarky right now. banner just rides up on a motercycle like “hi what i’d miss”

“im bringing the party to you.” stark says while being chased by a giant metal space whale who’s crashing and crushing everything in its path along a street

“thats my secret cap. im always angry.” FUCK YEAH BANNER MESS THAT SPACE WHALE UP. HE JUST PUNCHED A GIANT FUCKING WHALE THING.

the music, the avengers circling around. its amazing. well things are gonna get worse bc more space whales showed up

“and hulk. . . smash.”

LIGHT THEM FUCKERS UP, THOR. shield maybe instead of watching, maybe, oh i dont know. HELP THEM???

i dont know what else to say other then its alot of fighting and smashing alien faces into the ground

hulk and thor kicking ass on the back of a space whale is awesome. HULK WHY DID YOU PUNCH HIMSJSOSHSKJSKSJSKSKSKSK

i fuxking love when steve turtle shells behind his shield.

“director fury. the council has made a decision.” “i recognize the council has made a decision. but given its a stupid-ass decision, i have elected to ignore it.” fury never stop being awesome

loki thought he was so smug when he caught bartons arrow, then it blew up in his face. literally IKSKSKSKSKS

HULK FUCK LOKI UP! JSHSKSGKSHSJSHSJSJ HE JUST TOSSED LOKI AROUND LIKE A RAGDOLL “puny god.” “*pained wheezing from a smooshed loki*”

oh damn- OH DAMN, STARK. he just jonahed the fucking whale thing and blew it up from the inside. well now the city has a nuke coming for it :/

yall have a chance to shut the portal down, and tony, you want to go INTO that portal and throw the nuke in? wtf stark.

TONY GO BACK TO EARTH DAMNIT FUCKING BASTARD PASSED OUT. yay hulk saved his stupid ass. do cpr.? mayb.? or a hulk roar will wake him up KEJSKJSKSSKJS

tony. you just blew up a alien command center with a nuke, passed out and fell to earth through a portal. and you want, shawarma?

and now back to loki. “if its all the same to you, i’d like that drink now.” ISHSKSJSJSJSKSJSJ

STAN LEEE

the people love em. yey

council lady stfu about the avengers being a threat. they just said the earth and you’re worried about them going rouge??

“if we get into a situation like this again, what happens then?” “they’ll come back.” i mean theres three more avenger movies so i assume so. remodaling stark towers so its the avenger tower? neat!

NEXT MOVIE: IRON MAN 3

*MID CREDIT SCENE* oh hi again mr no eyes. do we get to see this HE? OH WE DO. o hi mr 10 chins

once again ignore the misspells it was three AM when i finally finished this and im just now rereading it

[phoenix-downer]

Journey to the Sky

For SoKai Week Day 2 - First Meeting. 

~1500 words. Birth By Sleep Era. Friendship, Gen. 

“Help! Help!”

Kairi pounded her fists against the walls around her. It was dark and scary, and the scary man was walking away. He should help, shouldn’t he? Her grandma always said grownups should help—

“Grandma!” she called. “Grandma, help!” Tears filled her eyes and made it hard to see. Was she being rude? Was that why the scary man wouldn’t help? 

Maybe if she was polite… Maybe if she asked nicely…  

“Please!” she cried. “Please, I’m scared!” 

But the scary man didn’t turn around. She wiggled and squirmed but couldn’t get out. Her hands were hurting, too. There was so much darkness everywhere. It was all around the pod and wanted to get to her. Wanted her light like those scary creatures from before wanted her light—

She looked at her neck. Her necklace was glowing with light, and she sniffed and wiped her eyes. 

“Grandma? Is that you?”

The pod started shaking and rumbling, and she started crying again. Then there was a loud noise that made her cover her ears. Her stomach felt weird, and when she looked out the window, the scary man was getting smaller and smaller. Crash. She screamed and called for her grandma, but her grandma didn’t hear her. The only thing keeping her from hurting her head were the straps holding her down. The pod kept rocking back and forth. 

When it straightened, the view outside the window was different. The people looked like dolls. There was lots of darkness everywhere too, and the stars were falling. Was she in the sky? All the buildings looked so small. Like the dollhouses she played with with her friends. 

Her necklace was still glowing. With it she could see inside the pod, but the lights outside were going out. It was getting dark, so dark. 

She hated the dark. It was always scary, but it was even scarier now. She huddled against the back of the pod because then the scary monsters couldn’t sneak up on her. She cried some more and called for her grandma, but her grandma didn’t come. The necklace got a little brighter, so she grabbed a hold of it. 

When she sneaked a peek out the window, darkness was all around Radiant Garden now. She looked away and tried not to cry. Big girls were brave. Big girls were strong. But she felt so small and weak. She was alone, and no one would come for her. 

The only thing left was to cry herself to sleep.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When she woke up, her tummy rumbled, and she was really thirsty. But the scary man hadn’t put any food or water in here with her. Where could she get a quick snack or a glass of water? Looking out the window, it was night, and there were stars all around. Maybe that was why there were no snacks or cups. She wasn’t supposed to eat late at night. 

Still, she wanted to move around. The straps holding her down weren’t comfortable. She found a big red button and pushed it. There. The straps released her, and she fell. Her legs were shaking, and she couldn’t stand up. 

Her necklace glowed again, and the pod tilted. 

“Ouch!” She rubbed her head, because it had just bonked the top of the pod. It was cold in here too. She looked around for a blanket, but there weren’t any. Sighing, she curled up in the corner and tried to sleep again. 

Sleep at least was nice. She couldn’t see her grandma right now, but she was still there in her dreams. So long as the scary creatures didn’t come too. Heartless. That was what the scary man called them. Heartless. They were in the pod with her now, and their big yellow eyes made her shrink against the wall. 

But then she clutched the necklace, and the Heartless faded away. A voice called to her instead, a voice she’d never heard before. A boy’s voice. He sounded so warm and kind, and she wanted to meet him.

As her eyes shut, she felt the pod tilt again. 

“Please… take me to the voice…”

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Kairi woke up, the pod was shaking again. She bumped her knee against the walls, and that hurt a lot. So she nestled in the corner and closed her eyes. The boy’s voice was louder in her head now, and she squeezed her necklace tight.

“Don’t be scared,” he said. “I know it’s scary, but you’re close. You’ll be here soon.” 

“Okay.”

It was scary, but the boy’s voice helped. She took deep breaths like her grandma always told her to, and that helped, too. She wasn’t alone anymore. Even the weird feeling in her stomach wasn’t so scary anymore. When she looked out the window, she saw some new things. Lots and lots of water, as far as she could see, meeting something yellow. There were lots of green things on top of the yellow, too. 

Were they trees? The closer she got, the more they looked like trees, but she’d never seen trees like this before. And the water. Was it what her grandma called the sea? Then the yellow stuff must be sand. It was close now, so close, and—

Crash. The pod hit something, hard. It opened, and she tumbled out. The yellow stuff, no, the sand was under her now, and the water kept washing over her. When she looked back, the pod was drifting away and half underwater. 

The water was like her grandma’s lullabies, and the sand felt nice compared to the cold pod. But she was hungry and thirsty and tired, so tired. 

“It’s okay. You’re safe. I’ll be there soon.” 

“Okay,” she mumbled, her face half buried in the sand. Then she let her eyes close because she was too tired to move. The boy would have to come to her. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Grandma…” Kairi mumbled as her dream ended. Her mouth had something grainy in it, and she blinked her eyes open. It was really bright, and a boy was kneeling next to her. He had brown hair and blue eyes and wore red shorts and a white shirt. 

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked as he leaned close.

She knew that voice. It was the boy from the dream. Her necklace glowed, and she sat up and wiped her mouth. 

“It’s you.” 

He nodded. “Yeah. I’m glad you’re okay.” 

He smiled, and she felt warm inside like she did when she first heard his voice. 

“What’s your name?” she asked. She didn’t know his name yet. There was another boy with him, too. That boy had silver hair and green eyes and a yellow shirt and black shorts. He was still standing up, but he was looking at her, too. 

“Oh, me? I’m Sora.” Sora pointed to the boy behind him. “And this is Riku. He’s my best friend.” 

“Sora… Riku…” Kairi repeated, trying out their names.

Sora smiled again and nodded. “That’s right. And your name is…”

“Kairi. I’m Kairi.”

Riku sat down, and he looked at her funny. “You’re from another world, aren’t you?”

“Another world?”

“Yeah. This is Destiny Islands, but you fell out of the sky. Me and Sora saw you.” 

She fell out of the sky? Her lower lip trembled. All she could think about was the pod… the darkness… the Heartless… the scary man… her grandma… her grandma was gone, Radiant Garden was gone… her home—

“Oh no, don’t cry!” Sora said as he scooted closer. He watched her for a few seconds and scratched his cheek, then looked to Riku for help. Riku shrugged, so Sora waited a few more seconds, then bit his lip and put his arms around her. That just made her cry harder as she thought about all the times her grandma had hugged her. Sora was so warm, too. So much warmer than the cold pod. 

“Riku, she’s cold,” Sora said. “Get your dad.” 

“Please, may I have a snack?” Kairi asked as she pulled away from Sora’s shoulder and sniffed. “And some water too. I’m really thirsty.”

“Sure, I’ll be right back,” Riku said, and her tummy rumbled again as he left. 

“Thank you,” she said. She hoped her grandma would be happy she’d remembered to say “please” and “thank you.” 

“It’s okay, Kairi,” Sora said as he looked at her and smiled. “You’re safe. I’ll protect you.” 

For the first time since the scary man had found her, she relaxed and smiled. “Thank you.”

She trusted Sora. He was good and kind, and her necklace had brought her to him. That nice princess with blue hair and a cool sword had said that would happen. The scary man and the Heartless weren’t here, and Sora was instead.

Riku and his dad would be back soon, and until they returned, she made up new stories and told Sora about them.

Maybe someday this would all just be a story, too. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: This story was inspired by the new cutscenes we saw glimpses of in the Melody of Memory trailer. I’ve written a story from Sora’s POV before of their first meeting, but I wanted to try a fic from Kairi’s POV this time. Hope you enjoyed!

[writemymemoir]

Stowaway  Pt 5. (The Mandalorian x fem!reader)

SUMMARY: A start of a plan

A/N:

Going my own way away from the series, but i still want to keep it true to it. So real big plot things will occur when they come out each week. While I’m waiting, I’ll try and do character and relationship 𝒹𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓁𝑜𝓅𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉

T/W:

Adult language

Part 4

The walk back to the ship was done in silence. Mando carried your limp body as if it was nothing.

Even through Mando’s best efforts, you were still dripping from the rain as he settled you on a seat in the ship’s corridor. Your head rested on the back wall, unable to hold its own weight. Mando lifted the child off your lap and turned to put him to bed.

“Why didn’t you tell me the kid had a tracking chip,” You asked, voice quiet.

Mando stilled, just finishing putting the kid to bed.

“I thought this port would be quiet enough,” He said, you scoffed in response.

“You thought? You don’t seem like the type of person to have actual good thoughts,” You were angry, “You withheld vital information, without it the kid and myself could have been killed.”

Mando’s back was still to you.

“I knew you could handle it,” Was all he said.

You bared your teeth at him.

“You don’t even know me, we met days ago,” You felt energy return to your body, the anger fuelling you.

“I knew because of what you did when we fought,” he paused. Turning he finally looked at you. “I was confident you would be ok. I knew you would protect him.”

Springing to action, you stuck out your hand towards your staff. It flew into your hand. Jumping up from your seat, you ran towards Mando. Your first hit landed across his helmet.

“How dare you,” You punctuated your words by hitting him again each time. “I could’ve been killed!” You swung again, aiming now at his gut. He wasn’t defending himself, letting you take your anger out on him.

 “At least tell me I’m in some kind of danger! I walked into that cantina as blind as ever,” Your hits were getting weaker, the energy being spent as soon as it entered your body. He caught your last swing.

“I’m sorry,” He said, a hint of sincerity in him voice, “I had no choice.”

Yanking your staff out of his grip, you turned away from him and made your way back to your seat.

“You always have a choice if you have trust.”

He walked towards the med kit. Sighing, you slouched. “This should be enough to fix up your cut.” Handing you an ointment, he stepped back assessing you.

Turning, he walked to the bed. He opened one of the cabinets inside the bed’s area. Spending some time quietly shuffling around in it, he found what he was looking for and made his way back to you, holding a bundle of clothing.

“You can change into this if you want, and let your clothes dry out,” He said, handing you the bundle. You nodded to him and he turned and made his way up to the cockpit.

Resting your head in your hands, you rubbed you head. A headache was forming.

Getting up from your seat, you stripped and put on the clothes. The pants were way too big for you, making you have to roll up the pant legs, tighten the drawer strings. The shirt was loose as well, sleeve coming over your hands.

Climbing up the ladder to the cockpit, you joined Mando.

“So, why exactly does the kid have a bounty?” You asked, looking out the window to space.

“I don’t know,” He said, and you turned your head to look at him.

“You don’t know?” You said, confused. “Do you have an idea?”

“The people who want him, I think they’re with the Empire,” He said. Fear ran through you.

“What makes you think that?”

“The person who set the bounty was guarded by Stormtroopers,”

“You know who set the bounty?” You asked, someone who still had allegiance to the Empire would want to have the utmost secrecy.

Mando sighed.

“I took the bounty in the first place,” He said. You chuckled.

“Big bad bounty hunter couldn’t bring in a kid, huh?”

“I did bring him in,” He said, you squinted your eyes, “I just changed my mind after I got paid.”

“You are the dumbest person I have ever met, and I’m saying that,” You said shaking your head. “So, what has been your plan? And why haven’t you taken out his tracking chip?”

“Plans been quite simple. Find a planet that is quiet, and leave the kid there,” he said. You whipped you staff out and bonked him on the head. He tried to swipe at you staff, but you pulled it away from him quickly. Turning his head, he seemed to glare at you through his helmet.

“I am coming up to the limit of how much stupidness I can take Mr Mando,” You said, “If the Empire wants that kid, there are a lot of bigger things at play here.”

Turning back around, Mando slouched a touch.

“What about the tracking chip? I feel that would assist you somewhat in your dumb plan,” You asked, resting your staff next to you for quick access.

“I don’t know what he is, I couldn’t safely perform surgery on him without knowing his species vitals.”

“Wow,” you said breathlessly, Mando turned to look at you, “You do think.”

Scoffing, he turned around again.

“Were you with the rebellion?” You asked. Mando didn’t respond. After a while you continued.

“Well, as you may have figured, I don’t know many things. I don’t even know what you are.”

Mando looked at you.

“I am a Mandalorian, I come from a clan of mercenaries whose history dates back years,” He said, “I feel it is time for you to expand your knowledge.”

You pursed your lisps. Rude. You thought about the information.

“So Mando isn’t even your real name?”

Mando chuckled.

“That is what you get out of that? The mere thought of a Mandalorian is enough to put fear into the hearts of millions and yet you’re focused on my name?”

“Well I told you mine, its only fair you tell me yours,” you said, crossing your arms.

“You’ll find out my name when you need to,” He said, you rolled your eyes.

“I just killed two people to protect your child, and you wont even tell me your name,” You said, leaning back in your chair.

“He’s not my child.”

“Not biologically,” You said smirking. “Now, I think we need to get a better plan. And if you think its because your current plans completely sucks, then you would be correct.”

“Well then, what do you think we should do?” He asked.

“Find out what’s so important about the kid, then destroy the person who put the bounty up,” He said, it was quite simple in your head.

“I did some reading at the port-“

“When I was fighting for my life?” You cut in.

He sighed.

“Yes.” After a pause.

“So, what did you find,” You asked, interest piqued.

“You know how the Empire was destroyed right?” He asked.

“Yeah, the rebels blew up the Death Star,” You’d never seen the Death Star, but you had heard rumours. Evens those made it sound like the most terrifying thing.

“Well, have you heard of the Jedi?” He said, you looked up to him.

“You don’t hear much of them in the outer rim, but yes, I have heard a thing or two,” You said, Jedi were kids stories. Stories of the Empire tracking them down and killing them for going against it. You shivered.

“Mustn’t have heard a lot, since you didn’t recognise one of their most notable traits.”

“And that is?” You asked.

“Use of the Force,” He said plainly.

“The Force?” You hadn’t heard of it before, the most you had heard of the Jedi were lightsabers, acrobats and one blew up the Death Star himself.

“What is it?” you asked.

“It’s what the kid used once,” Mando pause, “And what you did when you fought me.” You looked at him in confusion.

“I’m a Jedi?” You were dumbstruck.

“No, you’re what they call, force sensitive,” He said.

“Well, there’s an obvious explanation here,” You said after some thought, “The Empire killed the Jedi, they would want to kill force sensitive people as well.”

“The kids different, they were offering the kind of money you’d never see for a bounty,”

You looked down into the corridor to the bed. You knew you were getting into something big. Galactic Empire big, but you knew this was important.

“Well, we should try and did for some information about this underground Empire,” You said, “Lets try and get this ball rolling.”

“We’ll start at the last place you saw him,” You continued. Mando looked at you.

“That would not be a good idea, I left that place in a worse social standing then when I found it,” He said.

“How annoying. That really doesn’t make this easier.”

“How about we come back to your plan at a later date, we need to do a job.”

“We? Last time I checked you were the bounty hunter and I was the babysitter,” You said, “I’ve been doing my job, only fair you do yours.” Mando sighed.

“Great,” he said, none too enthusiastically, “Guess I’ll go make some money.”

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[blooms-of-ice]

[ RP LOG ]

Lin pays Wyda a visit in jail.

Aislinn Like these things tend to go, the ship ride over seemed to drag on for much longer than Aislinn ever remembered the trip taking. By the time they made berth, she was ready, the first one down the plank and she made her way to the Aleport gaol with purposeful strides. She spied the guard, though the sight hardly slowed her steps. Instead, she approached and with little preamble let go a Maelstrom salute that walked the fine line between the cynicism of a veteran and the eagerness of a recruit. "Til sea swallows all." she said by way of greeting. It certainly couldn't hurt to start off by flex her credentials a bit. To let him know she had served under the Maelstrom.

The guard blinked in surprise as Lin approached. He could sense the determination radiating off of her, but for what purpose, he had no clue. It worried him somewhat. The guard returned the salute, and then sat back down in his chair. “Til sea swallows all. What can I do for you?”

Aislinn "Here to see one of your prisoners. Aiswyda." she replied, her tone clipped and efficient, her gaze steady on the man.

Ah, right. He had been told by the other guards to expect more visitors for that one. The guard flipped open a book and turned it towards Lin. “Alright, alright, but hold your horsebirds just a second. You gotta check in first. Sign here and mark today’s date in the box next to it.”

Aislinn Her shoulders relaxed somewhat. That was easier than she expected but she certainly wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. With a single nod, she leaned forward and signed and dated the book, a small tremble in her script the only outward sign that she might not be as self-possessed at the moment as she projected.

“Mhm. ‘ppreciate it. Follow me now.” The guard got up from his chair with a mighty stretch. Several, loud pops could be heard as he bent from side to side. How long had he been sitting?!

After some searching he eventually fished out a ring of metal keys from his pockets. With a nod of his head, he beckoned for Lin to follow, as he made his way deeper into the Aleport jails.

Aislinn stepped back to let the guard move past her before falling into his shadow as he led the way into the jail. Unlike those who had never stepped foot inside, she knew better than to gawk, to cast her gaze around like her head sat on a bleeding swivel. Instead, she seemed intent on something else entirely, her hands clasped together in front of her.

Some inmates bothered to open their mouths and heckle them as the pair moved past. Others didn’t notice them at all, preferring to sleep on the cold floor or simply stare at the stone wall ilms from their face. The guard grunted. “Feh, the new ones are always so fiery. Just takes a few moons to shut ‘em up. Anyway, here’s your stop. Ye got until me shifts up.” He motioned to a cell, and then took a spot against the wall not too far away.

Aiswyda was again staring out the window, intensely focused on how the clouds slowly moved into and out of her view. At the sound of the two stopping by her cell, she turned around. The sight of Lin filled her drained body with an echo of her usual spunk. She jolted up to greet her. “Ah! Lin! It’s so good to --- !!” There was a loud bonking sound. Wyda had hit her head on the jail cell bars. “Oww..”

Aislinn As she silently followed the guard, Lin seemed immune to the catcalls and abuse hurled their way. In reality she was too focused on discretely palming the smallest of her gemstone bracelets from her wrists into her hand. If Heartwood's report had been correct, she wasn't going to like what she saw when she met Wyda. As the guard came to a stop, she nodded and passed him a look of thanks as he went and took up a spot further down the wall...

Aislinn All that self-possessed efficiency went out the window as Wyda seemed to come to life, rushing to the front of the cell and colliding with the iron bars. Aislinn winced, hurrying to meet her, the bracelet flat in one hand's grip as she held the bars. "Wyda." she breathed out in a rush, her eyes scanning over the woman's face in concern. "I only just heard. How're you holding up? They treating you okay?"

Aiswyda: “Er, well. Um.” Wyda eyed the guard who stood nearby, watching for any reaction. “To put it lightly, staying here makes the Heartwood company housing feel like a five star resort.”

Aiswyda rubbed at where her head had made contact with the bars. As she lifted her arm, her sleeve fell slightly, exposing a constellation of bruises and half healed cuts that dotted her arms. Wyda quickly lowered it back down and pulled the cloth down, self conscious. “How've you been?”

Aislinn And there it was, that flare of anger at the sight of the injuries. Like a red hot blade drawn from a forge. She had never had the temper Barengar had, she spent most of their childhood talking him down from doing something stupid, but seeing people she cared about mistreated was one surefire way to stoke the coals. She breathed out, slowly. Nothing good could come from her being angry right now. Nor was it what Aiswyda needed. Another breath until her temper had cooled into something sharper. "Nevermind that." she said with a shake of her head. "All the same. The Company's working to get you out of here as soon as we can."

Aiswyda felt a wave of emotions wash over her. Gratitude, but also guilt. She was so glad that Lin had come to visit, and that the company as a whole was working towards getting her free. But did she deserve all that effort? If only she hadn’t gotten thrown in jail to begin with! If only she could free herself on her own. She hated being a burden on others. It stung like sea salt on an open wound.

Aiswyda: “Ahh, yeah! I hope it’s not too big of a bother. I can’t wait til we can all look back at this moment and laugh...Or forget about it. Both would be fine.” Wyda cracked a small smile, but even that motion seemed to give her trouble. She rubbed her temples afterwards.

Aislinn "What're you talking about, bother?" Aislinn said, almost wanting to laugh but somehow the sound wouldn't come out of her throat. "You think any of us would just let  you sit here for something you didn't do?" her lips compressed as she watched Aiswyda's obvious discomfort. She tapped the bars with both forefingers and glanced meaningfully at her hands in a subtle attempt to get the woman to grip the bars as she was doing. "Not sure when you'd have the time to go off and do some pirating without any of us knowing about it, after all."

Aiswyda: “Haha, anyone who ‘pirates’ as a hobby would get my respect. It’s more of a full time commitment, from what I hear.” She managed a dry laugh at the idea. A pirate in the Black Shroud? It sounded more like the beginning of a bad romance novel.

Aiswyda noticed Lin tap the bars of the cell. Her eyes quickly glanced up at the guard, who was still staring intently at the two of them. But he couldn’t see through Lin’s back, right? Wyda wrapped her hands around the bars...somewhere that was blocked from the guard’s view.

Aislinn "Piss poor pirate, otherwise." She leaned closer to the bars and shifted, her body hopefully blocking the guard's view of one hand. Slipping her hands over the Seawolf's own as any concerned friend would do, deft fingers tucked the bracelet snug between one of Wyda's palms and the iron bars as she continued talking, her voice never wavering or speeding up out of nervousness. As if she had done this kind of thing before. Maybe not *exactly* this, but something like it. ...

Aislinn "The report said someone by the name of Momori Mori's been round to see you. That she's going to help us track the Red Argos down. What's she like?" She tried to communicate with a level gaze, willing Wyda to understand about the gemstones. To remember how Aislinn managed her aether manipulation. To follow her lead and not give the little bit of sleight of hand away.

(Aiswyda) oh ho! :O )) (Aiswyda) these are like, the aether filled bracelets right? )) (Aislinn) ((Yup! The backup batteries she uses ^_^))

Aiswyda ‘s eyes widened as the other woman slipped her a gemstone bracelet. She was unsure what to do with it, and that anxiety manifested with her completely clamming up. Her hand tightened around it as her mind raced. Think, Wyda, think! Okay, so she had seen the other woman use it while healing. Perhaps she could use it to heal herself?

Aiswyda: “GHf. Momo? Oh! Yes, the weird lalafell.” Wyda fidgeted with the bracelet. “Err, she’s kind of weird. Very focused. Really odd sense of humor. But I guess overall, she seems...professional?” If by some freak accident, Wyda began to tap into the bracelets power, aether draining from them with alarming speed. The aether seemed to just...get sucked into her.

Aislinn As Aiswyda spoke, Aislinn nodded, her attention rapt on Wyda's face but one finger of her grip continually moved along the back of the Seawolf's hand. To any casual observer it would look like nothing more than the nervous tics of a worried friend. But in reality Aislinn was slowly but surely writing out an arcane formula that would draw aether from the gemstones to lessen or block some of the pain stemming from the Aiswyda's injuries. However, she felt the sudden aetherical tug ....

Aislinn as the bracelet began to release the stored aether much sooner than she anticipated. Her calculations ceased. What had happened? The stored aether just seemed to drain away. Her brow furrowed. A hiccup in her plan. "Weird." she repeated, though she might not have been referring to Momori. Quickly, she recovered. "But she's willing to help, which is a plus for her in my book." She didn't dare try to tap into her own aether, suddenly recalling the one time she had tried to teach Wyda some magic. She passed the woman an apologetic look.

Aiswyda - Though the cuts and bruises remained, Wyda found that her headache had mostly disappeared. She desperately wanted to ask Lin about the bracelet, and if she had used it right. Honestly, the Seawolf hadn’t intended to use it at all. Whatever just happened, just sort of happened. Naturally.

Aiswyda: “Yeah, she is. But not as. Weird as. Those nifty bangles I see you wearing, eh? Magic. How the heck does that work?” Her voice was turned up a notch higher, as she tried to word her question in the least suspicious way possible.

(Aiswyda) wyda: NOTHING TO SEE HERE!!! :) :)  )) (Aislinn) ((Aislinn: oh no)) (Aiswyda) Random! 957 (Aiswyda) oh well thats good )) (Aislinn) ((Lol!))

The guard doesn’t pay Wyda’s ramblings any mind. He yawns, in fact.

Aislinn did her best not to startle but it was a good thing the guard couldn't see Aislinn's face. She stared wide-eyed at Aiswyda as if to say 'By the Twelve, Wyda, you can't just ASK people how they do magic'. But with the oddness of the rapidly drained aether, she could guess what the Seawolf was getting at. With practiced calm, she pushed up her sleeve to show the woman a better view of her bracelets. "Well, sure. You know. Remember how I told you there were different schools....

Aislinn "Some use their personal aether, some use aether stored in other ways. Those grimoires you see the bookish type toting around. They're written with enchanted ink. Made from rubies or other...*stones*" she said pointedly as she brushed her sleeve back. "Some have to do some tedious calculations to make it work...others just seem to pull aether from the air or...what have you. Quickly."

(Aislinn) ((Annnd that's my first ever 'Mean Girls' reference in RP ^_^)) (Aiswyda) pff I love it ))

Aiswyda nods along. The jail isn’t exactly bursting with aether - a measure that the Maelstrom probably put in place to keep mages from simply blasting their way out. But the bracelet is. Or was, at least. With more purpose this time, she tries to draw aether from the drained bracelet, and nothing conclusive happens. With a sigh, Wyda covertly slips it back to Lin.

Aiswyda: “It’s a bit hard to learn conjury on the fly. I MEAN. You know, theoretically speaking? Haha!” Wyda gives the guard another worried glance. And then, in a hushed whisper: “Thanks anyway.”

Aislinn she nods, slipping her hands back to the bars. "I don't know. Some people pick it up quick. With conjury, say, a person really isn't limited to their own aether or some book. Technically speaking everything alive has aether." she hurriedly adds. "Plants." trying to make it clear she's not advocating Wyda tap into another person's aether.

Aiswyda: “Plants. Right.” Wyda looked at her mostly bare cell. Stone walls, a stool, a small window. Really not much to write home about. “A bit out of luck in that department then.”

Aiswyda - In terms of living things, there were only the guards and other inmates to draw on. Though perhaps if a gull flew close enough by the window... Wyda shook her head. Just idle thoughts.

Aislinn bit her lower lip as she followed Aiswyda's gaze around the small, cramped cell. "Insects." she added lamely. She heard the guard shift behind her. She knew what that meant. Time was almost up. She let go a troubled breath. "Listen Wyda, I've been where you are. Except I didn't have anyone. You have Heartwood. We're gonna get you out of here. Bet on it."

Aiswyda: “You’ve been where I...?” Wyda frowned, displeased by the sudden news. Though neither the time nor place, she reached out and gave Lin’s hand a squeeze. “That’s awful! If you ever need someone to talk to...”

Aiswyda - The guard cleared his throat, and Wyda jolted slightly. “Take care of yourself Lin. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”

Aislinn gives something approaching a smile. Leave it to Wyda to be concerned on someone else's behalf no matter how dire her own situation. "I will worry. And I'll be back to visit again tomorrow. I'll be here every day until that Momori has something for us to do about this."

Aislinn taps the bars once and then drops her hands. "Stay strong."

[waitineedaname]

For the request thing Dirk and Roxy in some supernatural AU if you feeling it! Congrats on the follower count, too, dude!

this took FOREVER to finish simply bc I had Too Many ideas, but I’m super happy with how this turned out

—-

“You know, there’s no evidence that ghosts are real.”

“Mhm.”

“Sure, there’s- fuck,” Dirk paused to avoid tripping over a root cutting across his path before continuing, “There’s plenty of folklore. Anecdotal accounts. But there’s nothing scientific to back it up. If ghosts were real, wouldn’t scientists have caught one to test on yet?”

“That doesn’t sound very humane, though.” Roxy countered, shining their flashlight on another root so Dirk wouldn’t trip. “Testin’ on them, I mean! They’re still people. Shouldn’t they have the same rights and stuff?”

“They’re ghosts. It’s not like they’re going to die again.”

“How do you know? Maybe that’s what we’re testing them for!” Roxy flashed the beam of light onto Dirk’s face briefly, laughing a little when he made a face at them. “Look, would you want a bunch of scientists pokin’ around at your ghost when you die?”

“First of all, when I die, I’m going to be cold, unconscious, and rotting. Or hot, unconscious, and dusty if I get cremated. Either way, I’m not going to be a ghost. But-” He added when he saw Roxy’s silhouette gear up to speak, “If I was a ghost, I would be happy to let scientists do whatever the fuck they want. Test the hell out of my incorporeal form. Go hogwild in the name of science. I don’t give a shit.”

Roxy hummed and shrugged. “I mean, yeah, mood. There’s still gotta be consent forms and shit, though. I’m the one that works in a lab that involves people here. I know my shit.”

“That still doesn’t change my point though.”

“Which was…?”

“That ghosts aren’t real.”

“Ah. Yeah.” Roxy glanced down at the map on their phone, making sure the two of them were still headed in the right direction. “Yeah, they probably aren’t.”

“Then why the fuck are we exploring a haunted house?”

“Because it’s fun, dummy. Get in the spirit of the season! Eat some pumpkins! Wear a sweater! Fuck a ghost!”

“The spirit of the season.” Dirk’s voice was flat as he tried to think of a joke to make off of the obvious pun there before the rest of what Roxy said caught up to him. “Please tell me there won’t be any ghost fucking involved here. I mean, had I known that, I would’ve at least brought a condom. Worn something nice. Put on some cologne.”

“As if.” Roxy laughed. “Do you own any cologne? Axe does not count.”

“No comment.”

“You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were nervous, Di Stri.” Roxy teased, giving him a side eye. Dirk’s expression was carefully neutral.

“Good thing you know better. Do I look nervous to you? The answer is hell no. I’m cool as a cucumber riding a private jet ski into the sunset. I don’t get nervous.” His mouth twitched at Roxy’s failure to contain a snort. “No, I’m just not looking forward to freezing my ass off a mile away from where we parked the car in a shitty abandoned building that’s going to give me mesothelioma. Do you want to be the one asking for financial compensation when I get mesothelioma? I don’t think so.”

“You’re such a big baby.” Roxy muttered, laughing softly. “I think we’re here.”

They stepped out into a clearing and shined their flashlights on the decaying building in front of him. It looked so cartoonishly like a haunted house that Dirk almost wanted to laugh. He shivered instead, hugging his jacket tighter around himself. Roxy bounced on their heels beside him and all but bounded up to the crumbling porch. It took some maneuvering to get up the stairs without falling through wood that had seen better days, but it seemed that all of a sudden that they were both staring down the door handle. 

“Do you want to do the honors?” Roxy asked. Dirk almost protested that this wasn’t his idea, why should he do the honors, but there was a telltale waver of anxiety finally catching up to them in Roxy’s voice, so he bit it back. The metal of the handle was cold to the touch, and hinges creaked dramatically when he pulled it open. Dirk did a little flourish with his flashlight and pretending to bow, hoping the humor would sooth Roxy’s nerves. 

“After you.” He said. Roxy giggled a little.

“Oh, wow, such a gentleman. My prince.” They cooed, walking through the doorway. Dirk followed close behind. Yeah, he wasn’t looking forward to anything this haunted house had to offer, but like hell was he going to let Roxy out of his sight.

As soon as they were both inside, the door slammed shut behind them and their flashlights flickered out. Roxy let out a tiny “eep!” and Dirk tensed.

“Dirk?” Roxy called out into the pitch black.

“I’m right here.” They sounded close, and in a moment, he felt Roxy’s hand slip into his. He squeezed it gently. 

“The flashlight batteries are brand new, they shouldn’t be going out like this…” Roxy mumbled, and Dirk heard a noise that sounded a lot like they were thwacking their flashlight on their thigh. “Aha!” The flashlight flickered back to life. After a few seconds of fumbling, Dirk managed to turn his back on too.

The room they illuminated was… surprisingly mundane, all things considered. A moth-eaten couch, a layer of dust thicker than the rug laying in the middle of the floor, peeling wallpaper that had seen better days. It kind of just looked like an abandoned house, nothing particularly out of the ordinary. The only thing that really set it apart was that-

“Jesus, it’s colder than Satan’s left nut in here.” Roxy said, shivering.

“You can say that again.”

“Jesus, it’s colder th-”

“Rox.” Dirk gave them a look, and Roxy giggled nervously again.

“Come on, let’s explore.” They said, tugging him in the direction of one of the doorways. It led them into a modest kitchen, similarly covered in a thick layer of dust. The cabinets were all empty except for one - also empty - box of Bisquick and a startled rat. Dirk most definitely did not shout in surprise when it squeaked at him, and Roxy didn’t laugh so hard they nearly cried, thank you very much.

The laundry room was also empty, and so was the office they poked their heads into, except for a piano that sat against the wall in surprisingly good condition. First floor exhausted, Roxy put a hand on their hip and grinned at Dirk, their confidence bolstered by the lack of spooky happenings beyond the door.

“Ready to go upstairs?”

“There’s no possible way saying ‘no’ will work, will it?”

“Dirk,” Roxy’s expression softened gently, “If you wanna leave, we can.”

“…Nah, I’m good.” Dirk bonked his shoulder against Roxy’s. “If we end up breaking our legs on an unstable set of stairs, though, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Roxy laughed. “You warned me about the stairs, bro.”

“I told you dog.” Dirk added emphatically. Roxy took the lead up the stairs, which creaked uncomfortably underneath them, but otherwise held steady. Atop the landing, only one door was open, albeit only slightly. They pushed it open and found themselves in a tidy bedroom. The bed was neatly made and covered with cobwebs, and the posters on the wall were too dusty and bleached with age to reveal what they originally were. Moonlight trickled in through the open window, painting the room an eerie blue. 

The pair poked around curiously, though Dirk expected it to be just as barren as the rooms downstairs. He stepped closer to the wall to investigate the posters, and his blood ran cold.

“Uh, Roxy?” He called them over, taking a step back from the wall. There was something dripping from it.

“The fuck?” Roxy said at Dirk’s side. “Wait… is that slime?”

“If we get slimered, I’m going to be so fucking mad.” Of all the ways to die, that would definitely be pretty high on Dirk’s list of ‘dumbest ways to beef it.’ The goopy green slime started forming shapes on the wall. 

6 6 6

“Oh, great.” Dirk said, trying to hold back the urge to bolt. “It’s a satanic Slimer.” Roxy frowned next to him, then looked around. They bounced over to the desk and Dirk gave them a bewildered look. “The fuck are you-”

“Aha!” Roxy withdrew a lonesome sharpie from one of the desk drawers and bounded back over to the dripping wall. Before Dirk could stop them, they drew their own dark shapes beside the numbers.

6 9 6 9 6 9

“You have got to be kidding me.” Dirk stared the wall, Roxy grinning at their handiwork. Another set of letters started appearing.

h a h a  n i c e .

Roxy brightened even further and wheeled around to face Dirk. “What do you say? Ready to be paranormal investigators?”

Dirk glanced at where the slime was spelling out w h o  y o u  g o n n a  c a and sighed. “I guess we’re the ghostbusters now. They are us.”

“Fuck yeah!” Roxy cheered.

f u c k  y e a h !

[profitinaecho]

Dark! Max pt5 (explicit under cut)

“Morning.” Liz startled at Max’s voice next to her in bed. He had stayed the night. She hadn’t expected him to, but then he constantly surprised her lately.

“You stayed.” Liz stretched as she woke up, her toes rubbing against Max’s leg as she elongated. She willed herself not to get her hopes up but she was giddy and couldn’t help it.

“Well, you wore me out and then you fell asleep on me and I couldn’t bring myself to move you.” Max ghosted his lips against her forehead. Waking up next to Liz was nice, but confusing. “I remember how I used to feel. Ever since we connected I’ve felt strange.” Liz gasped at his admission. “And I still feel something, but I’m not sure I am in love with you yet.”

“That makes sense and is fair, Max. Maybe someday we will find our way back to each other.” She reached to turn the bedside lamp on and realized Max blew out the lightbulb last night.

“Maybe. I’ll stop by soon and we can talk.” Max climbed out the window and Liz took a deep breath and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She had hope that things would be alright for the first time in a long time.

——————————

“Liz, how did you get that huge bruise on your inner thigh?” Isobel asked as Liz came down the stairs.

“Uhm, I ran into my bedside table.” Liz was a horrible liar. Max was definitely the one who marked her there.

“But that would hit your… oh. My. God. That’s a hickey. I don’t know whether to hope Max did it or not.” Isobel wrinkled her nose in distaste. Would she rather her brother be well enough to be banging his true love? Sure, if she didn’t have to think about it. It was definitely better than thinking about how else it might have gotten there.

Liz blushed furiously then reached for her phone in her back pocket when it buzzed.

Max: You up?

Liz: Who is this again?

Liz watched the dots start then stop several times before her phone buzzed again.

Max: The guy whose dick you rode less than 5 hours ago.

Liz smiled then quickly typed a response.

Liz: Which one?

The dots on her phone start humping as he typed rapidly back. “Is that my brother? You’ve got a stupid smile stuck on your face.” Isobel called her out and Liz nodded in answer.

Max: I better be the only guy covered in your fluids this morning.

Every muscle below Liz’s waist clenched. Blood rushed to her cheeks and then lower. Isobel scoffed and left the room. She didn’t need to watch their bizarre foreplay. Liz chewed on her index finger nail unsure if she wanted to entertain the direction their conversation was going. Max was still kind of an ass but those orgasms…

Her phone rang in her hand when she didn’t answer fast enough and Liz jumped then answered it. There’s no hello, just Max’s gravelly voice low in her ear. “Still confused, Liz? Having a hard time remembering my tongue on your body? Wanna swing by my house before work so I can remind you?”

Liz bit her knuckle to stop from immediately agreeing to the idea. She’s guaranteed to make all sorts of bad decisions if she went over there. She doesn’t think it is normal to be this attracted to another person.

“My dick is holding out for you, Liz.” Max rumbled across the line when she didn’t reply.

Liz felt her hope grow again and laughed. “You should tell it not to hold its breath. It’ll turn blue.”

“He’s already blue. You should come by and see.”

“You can send me a picture.” Liz almost hoped he actually did.

“It’s not the same if you don’t see it in person.”

“I can’t today. I’m on my way out the door to the Crashdown.” Liz told him goodbye and left for work. On her way to work, her phone buzzed with a picture of Max flipping her off completely naked. That exact finger was inside her last night. His abs and prominent V pointing further south were on display. Liz almost hit a curb when she realized he’s touching himself with his other hand. She doesn’t send a response and just pulls into the Crashdown flushed.

——————————

That evening, another photo text came in. It was a close up of Max’s neck and jaw. He was wearing a white undershirt like he was changing clothes or relaxing at home. There were red lines of scratches from his ear disappearing down under the collar of his T-shirt.

Max: I’m collecting for damages next time I see you

Liz realized those were scratches- from her. She wondered about how exactly he was planning to collect for damages. She was excited to find out.

Liz: Are you trying to sext me?

Max: Is it working? Do you want to be sexted?

Liz felt a giant smile spread across her face.

Liz: Maybe. I haven’t ever really done this before.

Max: What are you wearing?

Liz bit her lip and looked down at her outfit. She was wearing her Crashdown uniform since she just got off work. She unbuttoned the top two buttons, fluffed her hair and put her antennas back on, Holding her phone up, she looked into the camera with doe eyes and pouty lips and sent it to Max before she talked herself out of it.

Max: Fuck.

——————————

The next day, Max came into the Crashdown during his lunch break in uniform and was headed to sit in Liz’s section when an attractive blonde woman rushed up to him.

“Officer Evans! Three years ago, you saved my life. How can I ever repay you?” The woman clung to his biceps and batted her lashes. Liz couldn’t take her eyes off of them. She felt warm and some strange emotion curling in her belly. Rolling her eyes when the woman threw her arms around him, Liz moved around them to head towards the bathroom. As she passed them, she heard Max make an excuse before feeling his heat against her back.

“Where are you off to?” Max ran a finger from the nape of Liz’s neck just under her ponytail, all the way to the base of her spine.

Liz shivered as sparks moved down every inch of her body before settling in her clit. Her body tightened in anticipation- just from his finger. Liz can’t scientifically explain what he does to her body. Now all she can think about is jumping him. “You were busy.” Liz shrugged.

Max smirked at her because he knew she was jealous. They stand and stare at each other for a moment. She should have hugged him hello but it seems awkward now. They had been sending each other all these racy texts and he continued to sneak into her room at night. It made her skin hot. Liz excused herself and went to the bathroom to throw some water on her face to cool down. She adjusted her ponytail and applied a fresh coat of clear sparkly lipgloss. When she swung the door open, Max was standing there.

“Took you long enough.” Max stepped into the bathroom with her and locked the door. Liz backed up until her back hit the wall. “Don’t run away from me.”

His eyes searched hers for something and she willed herself to stay still under his gaze. “I wasn’t running. You were occupied and I needed to use the bathroom.” Liz fought the urge to run her hands down his broad chest. If she arched her back at all, she would rub against him.

“I think you were jealous.” Max braces his large arm against her head on the wall. His uniform stretched tight across his bicep.

“Why would I be jealous?” Liz tried for nonchalance but her voice was all breathy.

“Because someone touched your man. Same reason I feel like exploding things when you bat those lashes at customers.” Max admitted with grit in his voice. “I loved that racy picture by the way.”

Liz felt her thighs clench at his admission. “What racy picture?”

“The one of you dressed just like this except this,” Max slowly unbuttoned her top button. “And this” he also unbuttoned the button below it, “Were open. It gave me hours of enjoyment last night.”

Liz squeezed her thighs as his words and touch hit her. Max’s breaths left him in a heavy exhale. Liz tipped her chin up in surrender and Max’s mouth crashed down on hers. As soon as their lips connected, Liz parted hers to welcome his tongue. She also parts her thighs to welcome his leg so she could grind against it. Max’s hand ran up the outside of her thigh, playing with the hem of her skirt while Liz tried to unbuckle his pants.

Max pulled back breathing heavy and the light in the bathroom flickered. “You can’t touch my service revolver, Liz. Even if it’s to take my pants off.”

“Shh. My dad is out there and definitely has a meat cleaver.”

Max paused his unbuckling to blink at Liz. “Actually, that makes it hotter.”

Just as he finally got his belt off and in a pile on the sink, they heard Rosa nearby calling out “Liz?”

Max panicked at the thought of them being discovered and blew out the light in the bathroom. They heard Rosa pause at the sound of the glass shattering, before muttering “Those bitch ass aliens and these bitch ass powers!”

“I think she…” Max started but Liz shushed him by trying to put her hand over his mouth. But it was dark, so she ended up almost getting a finger up his nose. Max licked the palm of her hand and felt her nails tickle down his chest as she unbuttoned his shirt. Max took the hand undressing him and placed it behind her back when she went to push his shirt off. Liz wiped her wet hand on his face so he took that one too. Max clasped her hands together behind her back then tried to drop his chin on top of her head but bonks her instead.

“Dios mio, Max! Ow.” Liz whispered at him then proceeded to bite him through his shirt in protest. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, Max released her hands to start sliding her dress up her thighs.

“We have to be quick. And quiet. Okay?” Max whispered.

“Okay.” Liz readily agreed then gasped when she felt his erection between her legs. This was definitely the best time she had ever had in this bathroom. Max slid inside her heat then started pivoting his hips as he lifted her up against the wall. When Liz gasped out loud, he covered her mouth then picked up his speed. Based on the rapid panting against his hand, it wasn’t going to take long. Instead of calling out like she usually did, Liz bit Max’s hand when her orgasm rocked her. Max definitely found the bite stimulating based on the moan he has to hide in the crook of her neck.

When they are finished with their time together, they help each other get dressed from the light coming under the crack in the door. Max kissed her again- hard- then pulled open the door. Max looks left and right checking things out, half expecting to be attacked by her father. When he wasn’t, he sent Liz out ahead of him. Then he counted to 100 and nonchalantly left the bathroom to return to his table.

[verai-marcel]

i’d like to request something purely self-indulgent, as i work in a library. but an arthur x reader where the reader works in a library or bookstore and arthur is a patron and one day he corners her when she’s alone in the stacks 👀 i love your writing so much and i check constantly to see if you’ve updated ❤️ keep up the amazing work

Reading Between The Lines (RDR2 Fanfic, 18+, Arthur x Fem!Reader, DubCon)

Summary: You’re the assistant to a bookstore owner, in a used bookstore off the beaten path in St Denis. It is a store with books stacked to the ceiling, the stuffed shelves creating the many nooks and crannies in this labyrinth of a shop. It is in one of these nooks that Arthur finds you.

Author’s Notes: Oh anon, you gave me such a delicious prompt. I started this off with a softer Arthur, but in the end, he’s selfish when it comes to you. Thus, a softie low honor Arthur.

Tags: smut, seduction, low honor Arthur, dubcon, semi-public sex, D/s undertones

AO3 Link here!

--------------------

“I’ll be gone a couple of days. You going to be alright alone?”

“I’ll be fine, sir,” you said, smiling with confidence. The shop owner always asked you this before he left on his trips to buy and sell rare books, and every time, you had no problem handling business.

The old man nodded at you. He was a kind man, with no children of his own, and his wife, having passed a year ago from consumption, had left him with only his store and his love of books to keep him company. But he wasn’t depressed; he accepted life with its ups and downs, and carried on with his hobby. You expected him to keep going on these trips until he died. It was the only thing that truly brought light to his eyes these days.

Since he had hired you last year to help him mind the shop, it had grown in popularity and was actually bringing in a profit, as opposed to barely breaking even like it was before. You hoped that you’d continue this upward trend, but mostly, you hoped that more people would learn to read so that more books would be written.

You helped the old man into the coach and turned back to the shop, just as a familiar face rounded the corner.

“Hello Mr. Morgan!” you greeted cheerfully as the man opened the door for you.

“Hey there, sunshine” he said, giving you a smile that you secretly loved. Pulling a couple of books from his satchel, he placed them on the counter in front of your till. “Would these be worth anything?”

You looked through them; unfortunately, they were common books, but they were in good condition. You told him as much.

“Oh well. Can I go browse a bit? Maybe I’ll get somethin’ next time.”

“Sure,” you said, watching him head off to the art section. You were always surprised by the books he took an interest in. Every week, sometimes twice a week, Mr. Morgan would come in with some used books to sell, and would buy a book when he had enough credit. 

You remember when he had first come into the shop; you were alone, like today, and felt terrified. He looked like the type of man to rob you, with the guns in his holsters and his gruff appearance. But you need not have feared; he had quietly asked you if he could browse your collection, and had placed a few books on the counter to see if he could resell them. When you told him that he’d get more for them in store credit than he would if she were to buy them off him, he gladly took the store credit.

For the past two months, he had grown into one of your favorite customers. Beneath that tough guy facade, you got to know a man who was charmingly self-deprecating, snarky, yet keenly observant. He could put together a sentence with more wit and beauty than most of the folks who stepped into the store.

Looking at the time, you knew that at this late hour, you’d be lucky if one patron showed up between now and closing time. Taking the pile of books at your counter, you wrote them all down in the new inventory list and went to place them on their proper shelves.

***

As you walked down the shelves, you remembered when he had first called you ‘Sunshine’. It was a gloomy day, and as the rain poured outside, you sat at the window in your yellow dress, smiling as you saw him shuffle into the store, stomping his feet and taking his coat and hat off to hang on the coat rack next to the door.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Morgan!” you had greeted him brightly.

“Howdy, miss.” He looked you up and down, taking in your dress and your smile. “Yer as bright as the sun. Maybe I should start callin’ you Sunshine.”

You laughed, bringing a warm smile to his face.

“Not sure if I’m that bright, but I’ll take it,” you responded happily.

He had walked closer to you then. “You always make my day brighter whenever I see ya.”

For a time-stopping heartbeat, you had stared at him in shock as he gave you a flirty smile and then wandered off to the art section.

***

You had one last book to put away, and it was almost time to close the store. At least you’d be able to lock up without having to stay late; you trusted Mr. Morgan to not steal from you while you busied yourself around the shelves. As you made your way towards the back of the shop, you looked down the aisle where the art books were.

He was still there, perusing a rather large book on wildlife in the Southwest. Looking up as you walked past, he blinked his eyes, as if he had been staring at one spot for too long. He probably had been.

“Is it time for me to go?”

He sounded a little sad and it broke your heart. “Almost, but you can stay until I have to lock up. I’ll let you know.”

He nodded at you, and went back to his book.

You found the section of the shop that had the romance novels, and realized that the only free space was up high, where you couldn’t reach without grabbing a stool or a chair. Sighing, you reached up, hoping that maybe you could slip the book in without having to go back. You shifted you grip to the very corner of the book, hoping the extra inch would be enough to let you squeeze the book between two others. You got on your tiptoes and stretched.

The book slipped from your grasp and bonked you on the head.

“Ow!” you yelped, holding your head as you bent over to pick up the book from the ground. Grumbling that you’d have to go all the way back to the front of the store to grab a chair, and then have to carry it all the way here and all the way back, you stood up, only to find Mr. Morgan standing before you with a quizzical look on his face.

“You alright?”

Your face heated up from embarrassment, and you nodded quickly. “I-I’m fine, just…” You tilted your head and had an idea. 

“Could you…” You trailed off and quickly looked away. It was a dumb idea, anyway.

He looked at the book in your hand and looked up at the shelf. He stepped closer to you, holding his hands out. “May I?”

You nodded and started to hand him the book. Instead, he took you by the waist and lifted you up, high enough that you could put the book in its rightful place. Once you got over the shock, you quickly put the book on the shelf, and he let you down slowly, almost as if he was prolonging the contact. Once your feet were firmly planted on the floor, his hands lingered on your waist. You looked up at him, confused and a little bit flustered when you saw how he was looking at you; there was a heat to his gaze, a longing for more than just this temporary touch.

“Mr. Morgan?”

He blinked, the look in his eyes returning to that gentle ocean blue that you found so refreshing as he let you go, his hands falling to his sides. “Sorry, I, uh, got lost in my own head for a moment,” he said quietly, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

You tilted your head; you did that when you had a strong thought or idea, as if the weight of the idea pulled your head to one side. 

“What were you thinking about?” you asked, naively. You thought perhaps he had problems in his day to day life, and came here to the bookstore to recuperate, calm his mind. Perhaps he even used books to escape from whatever he had to deal with when he wasn’t here. You ignored the look from before; that couldn’t have been directed at you. Maybe he was thinking of a lost love.

But then that heat returned full force and aimed straight at you. There was no ignoring it this time as he took a step closer. “Sunshine, you can’t ask a question like that and expect me to answer.”

“I…” You swallowed and tried again. “I didn’t mean anything by it, I was just… curious.”

Ever so slowly, he reached for you. You didn’t move, didn’t even breathe. But once he touched you, you let out a breath, as if you had been waiting your whole life for his touch. Cradling your cheek in his big palm, you leaned into his warmth and closed your eyes, almost moaning as his calloused fingers massaged behind your ear.

“Like a sweet lil’ puppy, ain’tcha?”

You absentmindedly nodded into his hand.

You heard the sound of his boots as he stepped closer. The heat emanating from him felt like sitting in front of a warm fire, and you leaned towards him. His other hand rested on your hip, and he almost imperceptibly pulled you ever closer. Sliding his hand up your back, he trapped you in his embrace, leaning down to run his lips over yours.

“You shouldn't let yer guard down,” he whispered.

You blinked. “Wait, what—”

Too late. He kissed you, devoured you, consumed you like candy. Taking two steps forward, forcing you against the wall, he crushed you with his whole body. You pushed back at him, but it was like trying to move a mountain. 

"No one's here, pet. Just you," he kissed your cheek, "and me." He kissed your other cheek. "All alone." He ran his hand down your neck, your shoulder, to your breast, cupping it gently as he kissed your lips once more. His other hand took your wrist and held it against the wall. 

He pulled back to look at you, your lips parted, your chest heaving as you took a much needed deep breath, and your pupils dilated with desire. 

"What a good lil' puppy," he crooned as he ran his fingers through your hair. He marveled at the feel of it. "So cute and happy to see me."

"W-wait, Mr. Morgan, I-" 

He placed a finger on your lips. "Shush. Call me Arthur."

And then he kissed you again as he let go of your wrist and grabbed your hip. His other hand moved up and lovingly caressed your neck. You let out a soft whine, unable to stop yourself from responding to his touch. 

"Want more, sweet?" 

You weren't sure what to say. 

He started to unbutton your blouse. 

Reaching up to grab his hands, you found your voice. "We can't."

He stopped moving. "Why not?" 

"We barely know each other!" 

Arthur smiled. "Then let's git to know each other." He leaned in close. "In the biblical sense." Then he continued to unbutton your blouse. 

You tried pushing him back, but ended up just grabbing at his shirt as he leaned in and kissed your neck, then your collarbone. His hands moved down, revealing your skin to the light of the oil lamps around the store. Arthur became greedy with need, yanking your blouse and chemise off your shoulders, exposing your beasts to his gaze. 

"Beautiful," he muttered as he palmed your breasts and leaned down to lick a sensitive nipple. Plucking at the other one with his calloused fingers, he smiled as you whimpered with need, leaning into his touch as desire swelled in you. He kissed you again as he teased your willing body, undoing your skirt and drawers as he kept you distracted with his skillful lips. 

You were soon nude, your clothes in a pile at your feet, and you didn't even care as Arthur continued to touch you. He wrapped his hand around your throat and held you against the wall. Making sure he had your attention, he reached down and took off his belt, then unbuttoned his fly. 

"You ever been with a man, pet?" 

You nodded as you looked away. You had, but they had been temporary paramours when you were younger, fooling around when you had been barely out of school. Now that you were older, you didn't sleep around; you thought you didn't have that fire in you anymore. But then Arthur came into your life. That lust that you thought had been extinguished came back to life whenever he touched you. But you hardly knew him. Was this really okay? 

Arthur grasped your chin and forced you to look at him. "Don'tchu worry about nothin' else. Right now, I'm havin' you, and ain't nothin' gonna stop me." 

He took your lips once more as his hands wandered down your body. You felt his knee pushing your legs open, then his fingers finding you wet and eager, even if your mind hadn't caught up to your body. You wanted this, but it was going so fast, and Arthur was just so intense in his desire for you, it was overwhelming. 

"Yer almost ready for me, darlin'," he mumbled as he pulsed his fingers in and out of your wet channel, his thumb flicking your clit, shooting sparks of pleasure through you. "Get me ready for you."

You tentatively reached inside of his fly and grasped the velvet steel of his cock. Freeing his member from his pants, he groaned as you wrapped your fingers around him, stroking his sensitive skin. 

"Guide me in," he ordered as he grabbed one of your legs and lifted it, pressing it against his hip. You helped him slide inside of you, both of you letting out sounds of pleasure as he connected with you, his cock thick and hot as it stretched you, making you his. 

"You feel better than I dreamed," he gritted out as he pushed the last inch into you. "Gonna fuck you real good."

"Arthur!" you exclaimed, both turned on and surprised by his filthy words. 

He chuckled as he began to move inside of you. "You knew I weren't a learned man," he grunted. "I'm a bad man, a selfish man." 

As he told you this, he lifted you up easily and started pounding into you, forcing you to wrap your arms and legs around him for support as he took you aggressively. All you could do was cry out as the intensity of his craving for you overwhelmed your senses; his moans, his panting, his huge body shielding you from anyone that may come in and find you. All anyone would see are your legs and arms, wrapped around this big man as he thrust into you.

“Good girl,” he said softly into your ear as he sped up, barrelling towards his peak. “So close, sunshine.”

He pulled out of you and dragged you onto the ground, laying you on top of your clothes. Then he spread your legs and entered you once more, burying himself inside of you with a voracious need, almost as if he were possessed.

Then he lifted himself up and sat back, keeping himself inside of you as he continued to thrust, slowing his hips to a lazy roll. Grabbing your wrist and putting your hand at your folds, he made you touch yourself, made you feel him entering you. 

“Feel that, darlin’? I want to feel you let go around me.”

You did as he asked, touching yourself as he watched, his hands gripping your hips. You bucked your hips as your pleasure came crashing through you, your muscles clenching around him as you came, whining and moaning. 

He moaned wordlessly with lust before falling upon you, rutting into you like an animal as he completely lost control. He ignored your whimpers, his covetous thrusts filling you too hard as you thrashed under him, your body overstimulated beyond sanity, tears filling your eyes. It only seemed to turn him on more as he grabbed your wrists and pounded harder into you, until finally he pulled out at the last moment, rubbing himself up and down your wet slit as he came, spilling his spend all over your belly.

Arthur let out a shuddering breath as he let go of your wrists and lay down next to you. He dipped a finger into his spend on your skin and drew idle circles.

“That was a close one,” he said, laughing softly. “Was pretty tempted to finish inside of ya.”

You let out a breath. “Thank you for sparing me,” you mumbled, too wrecked to do anything but lay there and breathe.

He held himself up on an elbow and looked down at you. “Only for now, sunshine.” He leaned down and kissed you; this time it was gentle, soft. “Next time, we’re doin’ this in a proper bed.”

He leaned in to speak low in your ear.

“And next time, I’m takin’ you completely.”

You shivered. Whether it was in anticipation or apprehension, you weren’t sure.

--------------------

End Notes: Look up DG Wills Books in La Jolla. That was my inspiration for this bookstore. If you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend visiting. Hope this fulfilled your request, dear anon! This was a pleasure.

[vnderoos]

because ❁ peter parker

(gif is not mine, credit to the owner) warnings / language, burns/injuries, an argument. word count / 4.5k

masterlist in bio. ↴

⠀⠀⠀⠀Y/N DRUMMED THE bright blue eraser cap on the end of her pencil against her bottom lip as her eyes scanned lazily over the words of her history textbook. Her free hand was tucked beneath her elbow, supporting her weight as she laid stomach-down on the bottom of Peter's bunk bed. She kicked her feet behind her absentmindedly, her sock-clad feet brushing against each other from time to time, and she reread the same page in her textbook for what felt like the millionth time that night. She was bored out of her mind—which just so happened to be wide awake, buzzing with irrelevant details about Peter's room or thinking about what she wanted for breakfast the next morning.

Usually, Peter held the responsible role in their friendship, which shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody. He always found a way to keep her on topic and keep her interested when they had their little study sessions together. At the moment, Y/N and Peter were supposed to be filling out a chart on the effect that reservations and relocation had on Native Americans in the nineteenth century, but duty had called.

And Peter had answered that call by jumping out of the window in a blue and red suit.

Y/N looked up from the textbook and sighed, rubbing her eyes, which were stinging with exhaustion, tiredly with her index fingers. She took a glance at the half-finished diagram, skimming over the messy scrawls of information and the mediocre drawings of main ideas, and rolled her eyes to herself.

She was getting tired and frankly quite bored without Peter there to keep her company.

Sitting alone and working nonstop for the worst class of all time sucked—big time—and at this point, she really didn't want to keep working on that stupid chart, but with Peter running around as Spider-Man and delivering swift kicks in the ass to whatever bad guy he'd heard about on his police scanner, she felt like doing this one assignment without him was necessary. She felt like she owed him as much.

She let her forehead fall against the sleek pages of the book with a thud and she sighed dramatically, but before she could even think about sitting back up and continuing to work, the fire escape rattled from outside of Peter's window.

Her head shot up in an instant and she rolled off of her stomach and into a sitting position, training her eyes on the glass. She was confused, at first, but it faded when Peter—well, Spider-Man—came into her view, tapping his red, gloved fingers against the glass so she'd unlock the window and let him inside.

She furrowed her eyebrows at him and slid off of the end of his bunk bed, standing in the space between his bed and the wall. She flipped the latches on the window and helped him slide it open. "Hey, Y/N, look— oh, fuck," he cursed, something that wasn't as rare as people liked to think, as he tripped over the windowsill on his way inside, stumbling forward in a motion that was almost cartoony.

He would've smacked into Y/N if she didn't step out of the way and let him bonk against his metal bed frame instead. "Easy, tiger," she teased and laughed softly to herself, knowing he was unfazed by the little collision. Her eyes mulled over his head and she half-expected a pulsing lump to sprout beneath his mask and poke out from his forehead, but it didn't.

Peter shook his head, shaking off her comment and any other trace of his fumble. "Y/N/N, I feel horrible," he told her, his chest brushing against hers in a fleeting motion as he slid past her. He now stood in the center of his bedroom, his body turned towards her, where he dug the palms of his hands into his eyes through the material of his mask. She didn't need to see his face to know that his eyes were screwed shut and his nose was scrunched up beyond belief. He tended to do that whenever he felt guilty about something. "I know what you're thinking, right now, and I'm so sorry. I know told you I'd be back sooner, believe me, but there was this guy, right? I thought it was gonna be just another mugging or robbery or something, but this dude was literally on fire and I just— God, I'm so sorry, Y/N. Just let me do the rest of it, okay?" He rambled, pulling on the hem of his mask uncomfortably.

For the first time since he'd crawled through his window, Peter turned his back to Y/N. His arms were raised and his fingers fumbled with the edge of his mask, leaving his sides completely exposed, and Y/N gasped.

The fabric of the Spidey suit had been seared away from the subcostal area of the left side of his body up to the center of his shoulder blades and patches of raw, bloody, knotted skin were on display in its place. There was a long cut near the small of his back, slanting downwards and even ripping a centimeter or so into the waistband of Peter's boxer shorts. "Oh, my God," she mumbled, her eyes flitting over his form as she tried to gauge how bad the damage was.

"What?" Peter hummed in a way-too-cheery tone, playing clueless. She noticed the difficulty in his movements as he finally decided to pull his mask off, a mess of sweaty, chocolatey curls spilling out over the top of his head. She would've swooned if he hadn't been absolutely mangled, but he was, so she watched as he tossed the mask onto the top of his dresser instead.

Peter peeked back at her over his shoulder.

Y/N knew that the look was meant to be comforting and nonchalant, to show her that he was completely fine, and maybe it would've worked if it weren't for the cloud of blue-blacks and deep purples swirling on his cheekbones or the swollen split on the right side of his bottom lip. "Oh, my God, Peter," she repeated, her voice rising in surprise, and her heart clenched up inside of her chest. "What the hell happened?" She asked, her heart suddenly whirring in her chest as she studied him.

The sheepish quirk of his lips as he turned away nearly went unnoticed as he turned his head away from her once more. He stepped towards his dresser, fishing around for a pair of clean clothes. She could tell that Peter was nervous because instead of tossing an outfit out, his fingers thumbed over the knobs and he opened and closed his drawers repeatedly. "He just caught me off guard," he mumbled, finally reaching in and grabbing a pair of black joggers and a gray t-shirt.

Y/N crossed her arms over her chest, fighting every urge inside of her that told her to run to Peter and wrap her arms around him. "He caught you off guard? Peter, he really hurt you," she countered, her chest tightening as the burn on his back stretched as he moved to put his clothes down and stand.

"It looks worse than it is," Peter said casually, brushing off the subject. "It's late, though, so I think you should— um, I think you need to go home. I'm gonna rest tonight, but I'll finish the assignment tomorrow, okay?" He told her, his hands coming to curl around her biceps. He turned her around in his hands and he began to lead her towards his bedroom door, but she resisted, shaking her head profusely.

Of course, this would be the moment he tried to shoo her away. Every time he got hurt like this and she was around and she got worried, he seemed to just freak. He'd flip some invisible switch and suddenly, he wouldn't want her there anymore.

But she wasn't leaving.

Not this time.

Y/N shimmied out of his grasp and spun around to look at him, disbelief splattering across her features. "Are you kidding me? No, Pete," she protested, holding her arms up to keep him from trying to kick her out again. "I don't care about the stupid assignment, but I am not leaving you right now." She pressed a hand to his chest, extremely gently, so she wouldn't hurt him if he was bruised in places she couldn't see, and she guided him back over to his dresser. "Let me help," she said in a voice barely louder than a whisper and she looked up into his warm eyes.

"Y/N—" Peter started to argue, rolling his eyes at her stubbornness, but she cut him off.

"You don't have to do this alone, just let me help you," she pleaded and she could see the crumbling of his resolve in his facial features.

Finally, he nodded and his shoulders sank like the tension in them seemed to just dissolve into thin air. "I'll heal soon, anyways, so it's pointless, but fine," he muttered.

"It's not pointless. You're hurt now, so you should be taken care of now," she argued. Her eyes fluttered from his eyes to his chest, skimming over the black emblem in the center. Her eyes traced the legs of the spider logo before her gaze slowly crawled back up to his. "What kind of underwear are you wearing?" She asked randomly, her voice a bit quiet as the question was a little odd.

She couldn't fight the small smile that slipped onto her lips as Peter's cheeks flushed an instant red. "I..." He trailed off when he noticed that his voice was abnormally high and he played it off with a nervous laugh, his shoulders shaking slightly. He took a step away from her and averted his gaze, focusing it on his lamp. "I'm not telling you that." There was still an uncomfortable curve to the smile that graced his pink lips and his voice decently quieter than it should've been.

Y/N rolled her eyes and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Just answer the question, Parker," she urged, cocking her head to the side as she waited for his answer.

Peter made a fist with one of his hands, bringing it up to his mouth. He coughed into it and cleared his throat, glancing down at her with his honeyed gaze, and she lifted an eyebrow at him. "Boxers, but I—"

Without another word, she moved to stand directly in front of him, so close that his breath fanned over the hair on the top of her head, and she pressed her fingers against the spider in the center of his chest, effectively cutting him off. "That's good, Pete. I was just wanted to be prepared in case I had to look at your ass when I took your suit off," she explained, teasing him slightly.

Though his cheeks were still as red as a tomato, he feigned a look of hurt and she could see the twinges of a smile at the corners of his mouth. "I'm kind of offended," he mock-admitted and her cool fingertips brushed against the skin of his collarbone as she began to gently strip his suit off of his shoulders. He tried to hide the way his breath caught in his throat by turning his head away from her. "I'd like to think my ass is pretty nice, actually," he joked.

Y/N touched her hands to his hips and he jumped slightly at the feeling, earning a small laugh from her before she coaxed him to turn his back to her. "Oh, nice is such an understatement," she retaliated, continuing to carry on with the half-serious banter as she slowly pulled his suit down his back. The fabric around his burns seemed melted to his skin, so she was trying to be extra gentle around that area. "It could win awards, honestly, but I don't need any distractions," she hummed playfully and Peter inhaled sharply when she attempted to peel away a strip of blue that seemed like it'd seared itself to his skin. "I'm sorry," she whispered quickly and she pulled her hand away, looking up at the back of his head. Her heart sank with guilt that she'd put him in more pain, even though she hadn't intended to.

"Don't be, just... keep me distracted, please?" He asked her, peeking at her over his shoulder and she nodded.

"Yeah, of course," she agreed quietly and she went back to slowly separating his suit from his blood-coated skin. She tried to do it with as much care as she could find inside of herself, but Peter still squirmed slightly beneath her touch. "It's, uh, it's so weird that you're Spider-Man."

Usually, Y/N had no problem thinking of topics to talk about with Peter, but now, instead of having the conversation flow naturally, she struggled to think of something that would distract him.

Hence the subject of his alternate identity.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, it's totally cool, it's just," she paused, shrugging her shoulders, "weird, I guess."

"How so?" Peter asked before Y/N wedged her finger beneath a flap of fabric and tugged it from his skin in one quick motion. She could almost feel his discomfort as his body jerked forward, his shoulders pushing back and his head tilting upwards as he hissed through the pain. "Jesus," he spat through gritted teeth and he balled his hands up into fists.

Y/N muttered a quiet apology, before getting back to work. To keep him distracted, she shrugged her shoulders at his question. "I don't know. It just seems so unlikely, but it makes a lot of sense at the same time. I mean, there's a part of you that's so shy around new people and you fumble a lot—which I think is adorable, don't get me wrong," she said, glancing up at the back of his head for a split second. "But there's another part of you that has this kind of fire, this passion, about helping people that makes it so much more believable," she elaborated slightly. "Honestly, I get blown away when I think of you as Spider-Man, though. It's strange to think of my sweet, science-loving best friend swinging around the city and beating up bad guys in his spare time."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Peter said, staying as still as he could while she pried his suit off of his back. "I never thought that I'd go from working on models of the solar system to fighting crime, but now that I have these powers and now that I'm helping people," he stopped, fixing his gaze on his feet, "I never want to go back to knowing what it's like to not be saving people."

She cracked a tiny smile at his answer because she hadn't expected any less from him. It was cute how heroic he was. "No surprise there," she told him, peeling off the last strip of his suit and helping him slide it down his arms. "What about when stuff like this happens, though?" She asked, referring to his injuries. "Don't you start to feel like the cons are greater than the pros?"

Peter shook his head. "No, never. This is what I'm here for," he confessed. "I don't just have powers just to have them. They were given to me for a reason and this is it," he answered. "This is that reason," he emphasized.

Y/N furrowed her eyebrows slightly and took a step away from him, giving him the room he needed to hop out of his suit and slide on a pair of joggers. "You were given your powers because you thought it would be fun to play with a radioactive spider on a field trip," she told him sternly, unable to mask the sudden annoyance that prickled underneath her skin. Maybe she was being overprotective or maybe she was right to get upset about his blatant disregard for his own safety, but she didn't dwell on justifying her concern as she moved to grab the first aid kit that he kept underneath his bed.

He looked over his shoulder, a playful smile on his lips like he didn't quite grasp the fact that the mood in the atmosphere had shifted. Y/N sat down on top of his mattress with the green supply box settled on her lap. "I didn't know it was radioactive at the time," he protested gently and he sat down beside her.

"Either way, you weren't gifted these powers, Peter," she responded harsher than she meant to and she could see the lighthearted expression in his face falter. "You tripped into this responsibility on accident and now, you're stuck risking your life every time there's a threat in the city." Y/N jerked open the first aid kit with more force than she anticipated and the top flew open with a noisy click, tossing a few bandaids out onto her lap.

"Like I said earlier, that's what—" He started, but Y/N cut him off. She grabbed the bandaids angrily and slammed them back into the box.

"That's not what you're here for, Peter," She blurted, her voice rising slightly. "You're here to live your life, not get yourself killed because you can't stay out of everyone else's business," she argued, meeting his gaze for a solid few seconds in order to get her point across. When Peter shook his head softly, when his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and when he finally seemed to get that she was upset, that was when she decided to thumb through the medical supplies for some hydrogen peroxide and cotton balls.

"So, what? Are you trying to say that you wish I wasn't Spider-Man?" Peter asked, his easy tone of voice growing prickly and defensive.

"No, I'm trying to say that you could've died tonight. I'm saying be careful. Learn when to walk away," she chastised, pulling a dark bottle and a few cotton wads out of the bin and moving to sit behind him. There was a brief lull of silence as she opened the bottle of hydrogen peroxide and started to dab it on his wounds.

Y/N had made it perfectly clear that she'd been growing more and more irritated with him as they spoke, but she wasn't going to let her negativity get in the way of her taking care of her best friend.

She swallowed thickly and dropped her hand for a moment. "I mean, Peter, you fought someone who was on fire, for crying out loud. What made you think that was even a remotely good idea?"

At that Peter stood up off of his bed and stepped forward, out of the reach of her helping hands, and he turned to face her. "I don't know, alright? In the moment I wasn't thinking. All I wanted to do was to save somebody. All I ever want to do is save people, Y/N/N, and if that means risking it all, if that means that I have to—"

It was like a switch flipped somewhere inside of her.

"Shut up," she snapped at him with a harshness she'd never shown him before—that she'd rarely shown anyone before—and it stopped him cold in his sentence.

His eyebrows perked up in surprise and his lips parted slightly. "What?" He nearly-whispered, a mixture of hurt and confusion seeping onto his facial features.

Y/N moved the first aid kit to the side and stood up slowly. "Shut up, Parker," she said and, this time, the volume of her voice had dropped. Her voice was so quiet that it barely beat a whisper, but somehow the emotions behind her words still dug into his skin like talons. "I know what you're gonna say and I don't even want to hear the words come out of your mouth." She could feel her body temperature rising, the heat bubbling up in her blood. She clenched her fists at her sides so hard that they began to tremble. "If you end up dead, we don't know what this city will come to, so you don't get to be stupid, Peter. You can't just go after the damn Fire-Boy, okay? Not when shooting webs is your power," she told him, her voice gradually rising as she spoke to him. "You could've died, Pete, do you even understand that?" She was practically shouting at this point. "He could've killed you!"

Peter shook his head and tugged a hand through his mess of sweaty curls. "I know, okay?" Peter said abruptly, straightening himself up and throwing his head back for a moment. "I get it. I screwed up, alright? Can we just stop talking about this, Y/N?" He continued in an attempt to end the argument, obviously not interested in fighting with her.

"No, Peter," Y/N answered, shooting him an incredulous look as she tried her hardest to understand why he didn't seem to care about what could happen to him. "If we don't talk about this now, then you're just gonna go and hurt yourself again. What if you don't make it through the next fight, Pete? What if you don't make it home?" She asked him, her eyes searing into his own, and she took a small step forward.

Peter scoffed. "So what if I don't make it home, Y/N/N?" He retaliated bitterly. "Why do you even care, anyways?" He shouted, throwing one of his arms out for emphasis.

That pushed Y/N over the edge.

"Why do I— Peter, are you fucking stupid?" She yelled, knowing she was crossing so many lines, but at this rate, the lines were so far behind her that it didn't even matter anymore. "We've been friends since we were toddlers. I've known you my entire goddamn life. I literally can't imagine a time where I didn't have you. I've always had you, Peter," Y/N cried out. "We've always had each other."

"Why does that matter?" He called, completely disregarding the fact that he knew it would hurt her. And it did. It was like taking a baseball bat to a windshield; she shattered into a thousand different pieces. "If I died, it would be to save people and I think that's worth it. That's why I'm doing this in the first place!"

Y/N clenched and unclenched her fists, a tight knot forming in the back of her throat. "Well, I don't think it's worth it!" She shouted, pointing one of her fingers at her chest. "If you died, my life would fall apart. I can't—" she stopped talking, her voice cracking over a wave of tears, and she shook her head. "I can't lose you, Peter," she confessed, her voice practically a whimper.

He shifted his weight and an uncomfortable expression flashed across his face, but it was gone as soon as she blinked. "And why not, Y/N?" He mumbled, his eyes flickering over her own and his words quiet.

She shook her head softly, droplets of salty tears trickling down her cheeks. "Because you're my best friend. Because I care about you," she paused, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Because I love you, okay?" She blurted and Peter's eyebrows lifted as soon as the words left her lips. He opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it just as quickly.

Y/N's eyes went wide with the realization at what she'd just said and she brought her hands to cover her mouth. Oh, God. She'd fucked everything up, hadn't she? "Shit," she whispered, her palms sliding up to hide her burning cheeks, and she shook her head to herself. "I didn't mean to say that, it just kind of slipped out, I swear," she protested, drover hands falling back down to her sides and her thumbs starting to play with the back pockets of her jeans.

Peter staggered back towards his dresser slowly, bracing himself against the edge, and he looked at her, absolutely dumbfounded. He shook his head softly, still opening and closing his mouth as he tried to find something to say, but nothing came out. He wasn't saying anything and Y/N wanted nothing more than to not be there. The shocked expression on his face, the deep confusion, and the terrifying silence gave her the overwhelming urge to grab her things and take off running right then and there.

But she didn't.

She couldn't leave now that she'd said that. Not until she knew how he felt, too.

"Say something," she whispered. "Please," she begged, wanting to take a step closer to him but deciding against it. She opted for giving him a pleading look. She could see the movement of his throat as he swallowed thickly, before dragging his gloved hands over his face and through his hair. "Peter, this is killing me," she managed.

Peter shook his head and he pushed himself off of his dresser. He took the few steps until he was standing in front of her, his eyes meeting hers, and he brought his hands to cup her cheeks. "I love you, too, Y/N/N," he whispered, sending ripples of relief through her body, and before she had the chance to say anything else, he dipped his head down and gently fitted his lips to hers.

Y/N went rigid at first, too shocked to move, but as his soft lips sent rays of warmth through her body, she melted into the kiss, into him. Her eyelids fluttered shut and her hands moved to cup his jawline gently, her fingers brushing softly at the roots of the hair on the nape of his neck.

After a while, Peter pulled away from her, his thumbs sliding back and forth over her cheekbones affectionately and his cheeks burning a soft pink. She smiled nervously up at him, her lips puffy and red, and he wiped away what remained of the few tears she'd shed. "I'm sorry," he whispered quietly.

"For what?" She asked, letting her hands fall from his jaw and press cautiously against his chest instead.

He shrugged, his muscles moving beneath her fingertips. "For scaring you, for hurting you," he paused. "For everything, I guess," he confessed and he pushed a sigh through his lips.

"It's okay," she assured him, sliding her arms around his torso and pulling him into a hug. "Just be careful next time."

Peter nodded, accepting her into his arms and holding her against his chest. She placed her chin on top of his shoulder, leaning her head into the crook of his neck, and he squished his cheek against her hair. "I will," he agreed. "I promise," he added, before pecking the side of her head.

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author's note / i seriously had some issues writing this but i'm proud that i pulled through and finished it. i think it's decent, so i hope you enjoy it!

tag list / @umchrisevans @theofriendly