#but idk... it's free returns maybe I can order one of those two as another backup option...

[tonyglowheart]

.....I forgot to update my shipping address for the light up arc reactor shirt I bought (for the arc reactor light thing) so it's stuck in the forwarding system.........

is there a chance that it'll be delivered tomorrow before I leave lmao......

[nathank77]

4/5/24

12:23 a.m

I have my HSV2 inhibitor test tomorrow, obv I'm nervous. Cause I'm pretty sure I don't have it and if I do... I got to cope with that and what it's going to do to my dating life and my self esteem.... another flaw and a big one at that. I'm like 99% sure I do not have it but if it comes back positive idk how i will cope with it...

At least my doctor sent in my xanax. I'm picking it up tomorrow after my bloodwork and grocery shopping. I'm glad I can at least depend on her.

As for my glasses, I'm just confused about money. I paid 134.48$ to afterpay. The last two payments have been canceled and I guess I am being refunded 28$ for overpayment. I'm trying to make sense of it all.

I paid eyebuy 28$ when I sent back the Oakley Airdrops to switch to my Ray-Bans.... and I spent 45$ on my two pairs of Beau frames.

There are two separate orders. The Beau frame order- I'm getting the rimless with those but now one of my Beau frames is super glued together and have paper stuck to it. Can I really wear them? I won't be getting refunded for that... I mean and if the rimless is tight I could send them back but I'm really getting tired of this.

Order 2 is the Ray-Bans, then the Oakley airdrops which I returned. And then the replacement Ray-Bans that strain my eyes. Now I'm getting Oakley Overheads. I am very concerned the 136 hinge to hinge will squeeze my head...

I could return the Oakley Overheads and the rimless but I'm out 46$ at least and for keeping the blue streaked Ray-Bans they might keep some money... so I don't think I'll get back all 134$ on order 2 or however much i spent I'm fucking confused...

For order 1 if the rimless doesn't fit I'm going to have to go with wire frames and just keep trying different frames until one fits..

I'm really disappointed. As a fulltime glasses wearer I need like 3-5 pairs a year. Why? Well I have ocd. I could contaminate them.

If that wasn't an issue if I drop a pair and break them I can't see... I should have a pair in my backpack at all times if I get my current pair dirty.

I should have a pair of prescription sunglasses too...

I want one pair of big black frames that don't touch my cheek. I want two pairs of half frames. Maybe a pair of rimless and a pair of sunglasses...

I could live without the rimless but I at least need 3 pairs of comfortable glasses that are not sunglasses. The sunglasses would be a luxury. I don't ever expect to have those. I don't want transitions. I want prescription sunglasses.

I can do without that. All I really want is two half frames and one pair of black thick frames.

I guess that's 3-5 pairs but my glasses are my eyes... that's kinda the issue. I want to have style and switch them depending on my mood although just the black frames and 2 pairs of half frames would do..

Dropping one and breaking them if I only have 2 means if I get a smear on my lenses when I'm driving i have nothing to switch to and I won't be able to see the signs.

Having 3 pairs is required. And I spent 207$ and I feel like I have one pair.

Of course 2 are coming in the mail but I truly don't think replacing the lenses of the Ray-Bans make sense next year it'll be close to 160$ for both total and they'll still touch my cheek.

Hopefully the overheads can stretch easily and the rimless can... I know they'll be a little tight. If they can't hopefully my eye doctor will apply heat for free...

If not then I mean yea I can return the Oakley and the eye straining Ray-Bans and I'm sure they'll give me the rest of my money back minus that 46$ order although if I don't give back the blue streaked Ray-Bans then I might have to pay some fraction for them.

I'm just concerned. I feel fucking annoying. I feel like an asshole. I feel like the problem is me.

My face measurements are not ideal if I could fit in 132 hinge to hinge the world is my oyster... I can't though.

My face measurements does not allow for many options... and being asymmetrical doesn't help.. but shorter lenses and nose pads will help with that....but I really want black thick frames. I know they are dorky but I do like them.

then it's like every pair my eye wear place makes they fuck up in some way. Minus my two Beau frames and I fucked up bc they were so fragile i broke one of them..

If I go to lense crafters I'll have the perfect fitting pair but- I'll have singularly one pair of glasses. They are my eyes... I need at least 3...

I'm not being dramatic even if they are all the same frame and I give up on being, "a stylish nerd."

That's 900$ at lense crafters.... no sunglasses. But yea.

It's problematic being a four eyes and living in poverty, buying cheap glasses is ideal but now I'm getting what I pay for..

Last year it was disheartening having 7 pairs of glasses that all squeezed my head and I had to warp every pair in the arms to get them to be somewhat and I mean somewhat comfortable. They still squeezed and I couldn't push them all the way up my nose.

The issue is I thought this was my year. I thought I finally found my true measurements and I'd finally be comfortable in my Eyewear and I mean it's partially true.

I have found my measurements but they are not commonly sold. Especially by online Eyewear companies.

I spent like 180$ last year on glasses that squeezed my head and my focal point was off cause my husky glasses were so poorly made... and those were even head squeezers my eye doctor did not try very hard to get an ideal fitting pair....but they were cloudly nonetheless.

So anyways, I feel depressed. I have only one pair I find TRULY comfortable. I could wear these Beau everyday all day long but if they break or get smeared when I am driving I got to go to the Ray-Bans and be uncomfortable.

I hope the Oakley Overheads and the rimless fit better than I expect but I doubt it.

Anyways, I'm truly considering returning it all. Having spent 46$ on one pair of beaus.

And deciding seeing isn't that important. I mean let's be honest.

The prescription -.25 is very low. I could do without. However I have that astigmatism. That's the bigger issue... but I mean could I technically live my life without them sure....

Should I? I mean sacrifice my ability to see lights the right way, sacrifice my ability to read signs on the road. To see my video games?

No but until I can go to lense crafters and spend 900$ on 3 pairs of glasses, I'm not ever going to be comfortable and have quality Eyewear.

I'm at a point in my vision where I can cope with a lack of clarity. Although driving at night is problematic...

However I could go without just not really at night..... but I could stop wearing them and adjust to a lack of clarity...

If I keep wearing them my vision will worsen as my focal point is bad in every single pair... no joke. You're not supposed to buy glasses online for a reason.

You go to a place they put the frames on you and put black dots where your pupils line up.... they can never do that with online glasses.

Let's say I decide to invest in these Overheads and they fit somehow. The focal point won't be right... but next year if I bring them to an optical center they will put a black dot on my pupil and that focal point will be perfect even if my pupils are not in the center of the lense.....

Anyways, I'm truly considering not wearing them anymore. I know Elise likes them but I'm not sure when I'll meet her. Tbh if I knew she would be at the southbury tango I'd wear them.

To be brutally honest if I knew she was going to be my girl, she's the only girl who matters to me. Idc if the rest of the world thinks I'm ugly or a nerd.

Her opinion is all that matters to me... truly..

Reilly seems dumb, I'm just not putting all my eggs in one basket. Idk if Elise wants to be with me romantically or if it's friendship.

All I know is that, "yikes" in response to I have spareS aka I won't be without glasses. Also I said I wear them full-time. Since I talk about glasses all the time here I want to mention that was the very first time I brought up my glasses to her. It's not like it's been a topic of conversation... either way I'm pretty sure she doesn't like glasses, 3 of my pictures I wasn't wearing them so she probably thought I wore contacts...

I'm not hopeful about the rimless or Oakley Overheads but we will see what happens. I have decided I won't invest in these Ray-Bans. I guess we will see if I end up returning the Oakley. That'll bring down the cost and I could maybe get one pair from lense crafters..... but I need to have only spent like 50$ maximum otherwise I have to wait until next year.

I'm keeping these Beau they are all I have that fit and are comfortable.

I guess to conclude this- I may stop wearing glasses being in poverty and needing glasses isn't really a thing. Clarity isn't everything.

If I go to the southbury tango I'll wear my beau frames incase the girl of my dreams go.

Anyways, I'm going to try to see if I can adjust to life without glasses, sight isn't that important I'm not blind my vision is just impaired.

[12timetraveler]

Okay this is the same anon who loves angst 😭 idk if you’re taking asks rd so feel free to ignore this but how do u think Charles would react to his wife dying? I saw a headcanon that he’d never remarry and I wanted to know your thoughts bc you’re my fav writer!

The Other Shoe Drops

Short sprint

Summary:

Once he sees the Marston's settled in, Charles heads North to find his own peace.

This piece can be read in it's entirety below or on AO3

"Life's always confused me. I don't feel I understand it very much. Other human beings seem to understand why they were born but, for me… it seems like I was born to hurt and suffer myself. That doesn't always seem like a really good reason. I wish there was another way."

~~~~~~~~~

Every time Charles thought maybe, just maybe he was past the hurt, that he finally found something good, life always seemed to wait until he was happiest before pulling the rug out from under him.

At first he'd found some semblance of happiness with Arthur. The two of them never really defined their relationship, or went very far with it. Mostly it was just moments outside of camp or behind wagons, occasional hunting trips to worship each other. But that suited them both just fine.

Then Arthur had started coughing, and within a month he was gone and Charles was alone.

After that he returned to the kind of life he’d lived before the Van der Linde gang. Living as a lone wolf, floating from place to place, doing what he had to in order to survive. Always he carried that hurt with him, added it onto the hurt of losing his parents, of being alone, all those scars.

Nearly a decade passed before he found someone again. He'd always liked both men and women, and after he'd seen the Marston's settled, he wanted to find a home of his own. Somewhere to lay down roots. Someone to lay roots with. He headed north to Canada, hoping maybe there would be someone waiting there.

Chief Rains Fall had welcomed him to stay with the tribe any time he wanted. Some days he’d take him up on that offer; put up his tent on the edge of the tribe's teepees and cabins and settle down for a day or two at most. But usually he just wandered the wilderness, hunting meat to survive and pelts to sell.

And then he'd found you. You were more than he could ever have imagined. So bright and kind, so strong and fierce. You’d caught his eye the moment he saw you in town, not too far from where the Wapiti tribe had settled. He came into town looking to sell some pelts to the local butcher, and there you were outside the general store, looking at pumpkins.

He’d been frozen in place as he looked at you, and he swore his heart started beating for the first time in nearly ten years.

The butcher followed his gaze down the road and gave Charles a knowing smile.

“She’s a perdy one, huh mister?” the butcher chuckled. “Good luck winning her over, though. She’s a local spinster. Refuses to take a husband. Just tends her little farm and gathers local mushrooms or plants to sell.”

You were in your early thirties, just a couple years younger than Charles. For a lady that certainly did make you an old maid. But you liked it just fine that way. You were friendly, kind, but had long given up on finding anyone who would simply let you be you. No if you were to marry you’d be expected to keep a house and rely on your man. And why would you want to do that, when you were a financially independent, self-sufficient woman?

You’d noticed the man around the area the last few weeks. Spotted him riding on the road by your house, even noticed his beautiful appaloosa horse out in the forest once while looking for some local mushrooms, though the rider seemed to be away tracking something on foot. You’d given the stallion a carrot and continued about your own business. Never had you had a moment to talk to the man himself.

So when you spotted the mysterious stranger staring at you down the road, you decided to take it upon yourself to make the introductions. The butcher, an old family friend, was all too happy to help with that.

“This is Charles Smith,” He said after you’d approached and said your hellos. “He’s a new trapper ‘round here,”

“It’s a pleasure,” you said, introducing yourself and shaking the man’s hand. “It’s a dying art, trapping game and using the pelts,” you remarked. “I’m glad to see someone keeping up with it,”

“Nature provides everything we could want, so long as we only take what we need,” The man said. Oooo his voice sent shivers up your spine, so deep and beautiful.

“I couldn’t agree more,” You said, reaching into your basket and pulling out a jar of honey, “Here. It’s from my beehives. Think of it as a welcoming gift,” You said, pushing the honey into the man’s hands before he could protest. “I hope I’ll see you around, Mr. Smith,” With a friendly nod and a wave to the butcher, you turned and walked back up the road to your little cart, setting your basket beside you and setting off for home.

The next time Charles saw you, you were visiting the reservation, trading some honey and preserves and late-season vegetables for some furs. Apparently you and Chief Rain’s Fall were good friends, and you would often trade with them. IT was mutually beneficial. The pelts from the tribe were often far superior than any you’d buy in town, and the items you grew on your farm or found in the areas around often helped them through the winter.

Chief Rain’s Fall was eager to make sure the two of you knew each other. Charles didn’t miss the twinkle in the old man’s eye. Who would have thought the great Chief would enjoy playing matchmaker? But he seemed determined that you two know each other. Perhaps he knew long before either of you how it would end up.

“It is getting late. You can spend the night if you wish,” Rain’s fall said as you turned to mount your horse and leave.

“I’ll be fine,” You assured him.

“At least allow Mr. Smith to see you home safe,” he said, looking over at Charles.

“I’d be happy to,” Charles said with a small nod. “Roads can get dangerous at night. No one should be traveling alone,”

Normally you’d decline such an offer but you couldn’t deny you wanted to spend more time with Charles.

“Alright. Thank you,”

It was quite a pleasant ride home, the two of you talking a little, though the conversation was never forced.

Two days later Charles showed up on your porch with a beautiful fox pelt.

“I, erm... I wanted to thank you for the honey and uh... Chief’s Rain’s Fall told me you use the furs to make things to get through the winter. So um... here,” He bashfully held out the pelt, all tanned and ready to be used. He looked almost embarrassed, but you just smiled and invited him in for supper.

Over the winter the two of you became fast friends. You’d go out together hunting and gathering. On the stormy days you’d stay indoors and craft items and swap stories. By spring you’d told him if he fixed up the old cabin on the edge of your property, he could live there.

Summer came and the whole town was watching as the two of you spent more and more time together. They all expected you two to jump at any chance to get together. It was obvious you were made for each other. But to the local gossips’ dismay, you remained fast friends and nothing more.

It wasn’t until a late summer storm that either of you acted on your feelings. The rain was beating down on your roof. Charles was sitting with you by the fire, crafting arrows while you sorted the berries you’d gathered.

They do say that it happens more often during big storms like this. You weren’t sure what kickstarted it all. But suddenly you were crossing the room, sitting yourself on Charles’ lap, and kissing him fiercely. Without missing a beat he kissed you back. Once he swept his freshly crafted arrows aside, he lay you down on the couch and the two of you made love.

You spent the next year courting, neither of you in any huge rush to make it official. You spent another winter, spring and summer by each other’s sides, more than friends now, but not yet married.

With fall came a surprise, and, well small towns are not very friendly to women who have children out of wedlock. It wouldn’t be the first thing you did to upset the town, but why deal with the stress when the father was the man you loved beyond reason, and he was ready to marry you in a moment?

You knew with Charles you wouldn’t be confined to the house. You and he would share all the load. He promised it. Even without his word, you knew he was different from the other men around. He respected you, loved you beyond anything you’d ever thought was real. And so you were married before the first snowfall.

With summer came your first child, a daughter. Charles was completely wrapped around her finger from her first breath. Many nights you found him sitting by the window just holding her, telling her all the things of the world until long after she fell asleep.

Once you were feeling up to it, you returned to your routine of gathering plants and mushrooms from the woods while Charles checked his snares. Your daughter was always strapped to one of your backs, just watching her parents work or dozing in her sling.

Two years later a son joined your little family. A small part of you feared Charles may love the son more than his daughter, as many men would. But he loved them both equally. Often he’d be wandering the house with your son swaddled and sleeping in the crook of one arm while your daughter sat on his waist, arms wrapped around her Pa’s neck. He’d try to do chores or whatnot like that, with only one hand somewhat free. But if you ever asked him to hand you one of the kids to help free up his hands he'd just hold them both closer and shake his head. He'd rather be useless than let one of his babies go.

You claimed that your two children were the best gifts he'd ever given you, but he was fairly certain it was the other way around. He'd done so little in their creation but they, along with you, were his whole world.

For years you were all happy. You and Charles watched your children grow, taught them how to get what they needed from nature. Charles told them watered down versions of his adventures with Arthur and his old friends. You laughed, played, worked, toiled, and lived, all together as a family.

When your daughter was 16 and your son 14, the unthinkable happened.

You developed a cough. A horrible cough that would shake your entire body. At first you shrugged it off as just a cold, but soon it became apparent that it was not just something you could shake off with rest.

You’d never seen Charles look more upset than when the local doctor gave you his diagnosis.

Tuberculosis.

There were treatments nowadays. Not even a year after Arthur's passing a cure for TB had been found. The moment you'd been diagnosed you started treatments. Followed every doctor's order to a T. But for one reason or another, it didn't work. You just got weaker and weaker.

You fought for a year, but never could quite shake the illness. You grew thin, almost skeleton-like. Charles was as devoted as ever, doing his best to take care of you while still going out and hunting and parenting the two children.

One night, your body seemed it couldn’t fight it anymore, and you slipped away, your children kneeling on one side of your bed, your husband on the other.

Charles knelt by your grave long after all others had left. Your neighbor, a kindly older lady who knew you since you were a teenager, took the kids home with her after the funeral, knowing Charles would come for them later, but also knowing he needed some time alone at your grave. It was obvious to anyone who looked at him that he was absolutely shattered.

He knelt in the grass near your grave in silence, just staring down at the mound of dirt trying to process it all. Why you? Why were you being punished for his misdeeds? If the universe wanted to punish him for his rough past, it should have taken him. Him. Not you, who had done nothing but love him.

He'd spent so many years waiting for the other shoe to drop. For his misdeeds to come back and bite him. But after so long he began to get comfortable and think maybe things would be fine. Maybe life was done tormenting him. But no. As he'd said all those years ago he was born to suffer.

Fingers clutching at the fresh turned dirt of your grave, Charles let out a scream unlike any sound he'd ever made. It was a horrible, wounded howl that no-doubt echoed around the valley. But if anyone in town heard it, they did nothing. They knew what that sound was. It was the sound of their neighbor’s heart being torn in two.

Charles dug his palms into his eyes, trying to contain his feelings, ease the hurt, anything. He’d known so much loss, but none had hit him like this. He had carried on as he lost everyone he cared for. But he felt like he could just dissolve into the grass and join you underground.

He'd been heartbroken when Arthur died, of course, but it wasn't quite this pain he felt now. He'd built a life with you, started a family with you. You were meant to define the rest of his life. But now you were gone and he was left to carry on. To raise your children alone. For the rest of his life to be Charles Smith the widower.

Suddenly he understood old Hosea Matthews much better. The man had often said how he thought of his dear wife every day when he woke up, and went to sleep. Charles knew he’d be mourning the loss of you for the rest of his life.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there at your grave, weeping. Long enough for his legs to go numb and his knees to dig divots into the earth below.

He sat back on his feet and wiped his eyes, looking upwards to the sky. He needed to pull it together. He wasn’t the only one who was grieving. There were two children waiting for him who’d also lost you. As deeply as he felt the loss, how hard must this be on them? To lose their mother while still teenagers.

Your poor daughter, who would have no mother to see her through all those stages in a young woman’s life. No mother to help her should she decide to become a mother herself. What advice would she miss out on from losing you?

Your sweet young boy, whose voice still cracked when he spoke, and was still shorter than his sister. He wouldn’t have his mother to fuss over him as he grew. If he found someone, he’d never get to sit at the breakfast table and tell you all about them excitedly.

The house was already so empty without you. No laughter as you took down the dry laundry that Charles had washed. No races around the house with your son. No dancing in the living room with your daughter, singing all those silly songs that were on the radio.

There were already so many horrid things happening in the world, with the Great War having just ended. You’d been paramount in keeping the children calm as all the horrors of that terrible war hit the local gossip chain. He was never quite as good at it as you were.

He’d spent so many nights imagining the two of you sitting on that front porch, old and gray, watching grandchildren play amongst the chickens. You were supposed to grow old together, grow senile and gather aches and pains until you couldn’t do much more than just sit out and watch the sunset together.

He knew some expected he'd remarry. To them a wife was just someone to look after the children, and he'd likely want to replace you quickly. But the very thought made him sick to his stomach. You were irreplaceable. He knew he'd never find someone to love the way he loved you. And to love anyone less was doing that person a disservice. He knew he'd be alone for the rest of his days.

Well not completely alone. He still had the kids. Two amalgamations of you and him. Two beings he loved very much. He knew the family would stick together. That gave him some comfort.

He took a deep, steadying breath, and pushed himself to his feet with a low groan. He could no longer just sit here and weep. Those sweet teenage terrors that reminded him so much of you were waiting for him. They needed their father on this day. He needed to get back to them, take them home and... and...

Well he wasn’t sure what he’d do when he got them home. They’d likely all end up in the living room around the fire. Maybe he’d try to lighten things with stories of the good times. Perhaps the three of them could spend the night celebrating your life instead of mourning your death. It’s what you’d want.

“I love you,” he murmured. With one last sorrowful glance at where you lay buried under the dirt, he turned for home.

[yamagucji]

some tips for writing blogs, especially those who are just starting out. these are some things that works for me and may or may not work for others.

how to add a read more link on mobile

type :readmore: on a free space, then hit the enter or return button

personally i think they’re very helpful because it lessens the space you take up in your dash, and might encourage more people to rb

+ you can also add this on a spot where it gives a sort of cliffhanger, essentially making people want to ‘read more’

headers, banners, and dividers

though not necessary, it’s good to have a title for your work. make sure it’s bold and doesn’t blend in with your notes (aka pairing, warnings, etc.). this also helps when someone wants to look up one of your works in your search bar

i don’t really make banners or covers for my works. but some good apps that i know of would be picsart and canva. if you’re looking for ideas, i definitely recommend going into canva

wondering how to make those really small, thin dividers? you can make them using picsart! to make a divider hit tools > free crop > brush > size (adjust it to your preference > then draw a line along the edge of your photo > save

using the divider you just saved, go back to picsart and edit it again > draw option > hit rainbow square at the bottom left corner > hit suction/droplet symbol right below the check mark > color in the white spots bc for some reason picsart glitches and makes dividers look white-ish

new blog? just opened an account?

this is gonna sound really frustrating. but... tumblr needs to check if you’re a bot or not. what does this mean? it’s likely that your first few posts won’t show up on the search bar. you may not even get to edit your header/pfp yet ://

this happened to me and there was no visibility on my account at ALL. what helped me get ‘verified’ is that i followed a LOT of accounts, liked a bunch of posts, made some posts here and there. now that lets tumblr know you’re not a bot

visibility

the tumblr tagging system usually only allows the first 5 tags in your post to show up. so, what can do you about this? only use FIVE or less tags in your post. wait about 15 minutes or more until you can add some more tags in your post, and they usually all show up like that

another important thing about using tags is not to generalize! especially if you’re using a popular tag. but also don’t specify it too much where barely anyone looks it up. for example, if you’re writing a gn piece about oikawa, i recommend you use the tags such as: oikawa x reader, haikyuu x reader, oikawa x gn!reader, haikyuu headcanons, etc

a good rule of thumb is to use character x reader tags first, then leave the full name or fandom tag last

FOR NSFW: tumblr doesn’t let any tags with nsfw show up. so, give your nsfw works another tag. maybe #namegetspicy idk, you figure it out

FOR WARNINGS: especially if you’re a dark content creator, i highly encourage you to add tw:xyz tags. if you already have a warning note at the top then that’s great. but even better for readers who prefer to actually block these tags that way they never get to see it

another important thing to note is that people have different timezones. it helps if you rb your work at a different time of the day, in case people missed it! (icymi) i’ve noticed that reblogging helps to make your post show up in the tags

interaction + feedback

first and foremost, you are not obligated to write for your followers, and neither are your followers obligated to interact with you. remember that everyone has their own individual lives, and they have their own things to do— so do you, too.

make friends! become mutuals with other writers, visit their ask box. i know it can be daunting having to initiate these things, but you might just turn out to have fun! you can’t expect people to interact with you if you’re not interacting (back). it’s... kind of a two way thing yk? no need to be afraid to interact with other writers. oh, and rb other writers works!

pspsps join tag games or do ask games. it’s fun and very interactive

it never hurts to ask for feedback. i usually do this in a more subtle way because i don’t really expect a full on analysis on my works. maybe a little, is this okay? or feedback appreciated. sometimes it takes a little bit of coaxing for the silent readers

formatting your posts and blog

i generally put in the title at the top in big, bold letters

then comes the header/divider. helps to make the post more... visually appealing ig?

it’s important to add warnings (if any) and the pairing. the audience is not all female, and it might be a little frustrating for male readers having to find out its an x fem reader piece like halfway through your fic

if you have multiple works posted, it’s really really helpful to have a navigation page!

you can organize the posts you make with tags! for example, if you’re shitposting, you can use a specific tag for that. if you have a nsfw related post (ESPECIALLY when your blog is open to the general audience) please make a tag for it

themes + colors

if you have a color in mind but don’t know which direction to go from there, i recommend looking up color + aesthetic

looking to use the same color? download a name color app that’ll give you a hex code for any color you want to use. then, you can type in that hex code for when you’re choosing a color for your tumblr bio

wondering how to make your header image small like mine? just choose a photo for your header and turn off the stretch image option

want to use a different text color that tumblr doesn’t offer? it’s not as complicated as you think. you’ll have to go on a desktop to do this and do some html (but trust me, it’s not very difficult). look up “HTML noob but trying my best - how to use colored text on desktop”

^^ i don’t have the link for the color text tutorial so you can try looking it up

how to make an aesthetic navi and masterlist

step 1: decide a theme! if you’re stuck, think about a character + color/season/mood or look up “[insert] aesthetic” to find some inspiration. or you can try looking at other blogs too

step 2: find a color scheme! it’s easier if you choose fewer colors. if you want to use the same color for both divider and text, download a color name app in order to get the hex code of that color.

step 3: add categories to your navi! most navigation pages include a link to masterlist, about/byi, and rules. your navi should have a title that indicates that it’s... a navigation page. you can add thin colored dividers with the same color to make it easier for followers to navigate

step 4: you can choose to create a ‘cover’ or a picture for your navigation and masterlist! again, i recommend you use the canva app as a starting point

extra: search up emoticon symbols to spice up your titles!

reminder for you as a writer

you’re not obligated to do any of these things. i’ve noticed that we tend to build pressure on ourselves when it comes to content and interaction. remember, this !! is !! for !! fun !! when you realize that it’s no longer fun, then know that it’s time to take a break. and there’s nothing wrong with a bit of self care.

^^ c/p from this post lol

at the end of the day, follower count and interaction doesn’t define you. again for the love of beings, you’re here on your own accord.

will be adding more if needed/asked.

[dodo-begone]

Now Listen Here Sad Bitches - Stop Being Sad

Pairing: Yan!Xisuma x Reader (idk if it's rlly yan tbh)

Request: If you’re up to it can I get yandere nHo hcs? Bc I’m desperate for nHo content, But if you don’t know enough about the nHo boys can you do a continuation of your yandere xisuma fic? bc it was really good👀

Word count: 5k words

Warning: Falling, Depression, Death, Yandere (?)(just a bit posessive/protective at the end), Bit of confusion/memory loss, Mention of Running Away

This is a Part 2 to Ugly Fuckling

If this EVER looks funky or glitched, here's a link to it on Ao3.

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A methodical ticking echoes around the room, the only indicator that time was passing. The room was nearly a blinding black, yet a ray of moonlight made its way into the room. From that, you were able to see Xisuma. Without his helmet covering his face, he looked much more welcoming and soft. It wasn’t like he wasn’t soft and welcoming anyways, he just looked so much softer and approachable. A real person - man what were you even thinking?

Mentally shaking off that train of thought, you let your mind wander onto a different topic. Since Xisuma stopped you from following through with your impulsive decision to leave, he hadn’t exactly let you out of his sight. A few of your activities were free from his supervision, but otherwise you were with him.

At first you felt like an absolute bother to him, but his insistence that it was all fine made things better. Minimally better, if you were to speak honestly. It didn’t alleviate your feelings at all. He was being so nice and attentive to you and your needs. And what were you doing with that? You were being the little debbie downer that you are and not getting better. Come on, this was all for you. That meant you had to get better for him since he was putting so much effort into making you get better.

He made you all of your favorite foods, cuddled you any time even a tear fell from your eyes, asked about what was worrying or saddening you and trying to talk you through it to feel better, and so much more. All around it was everything you needed, really it was. Everything was getting better, yet you weren’t.

This had been going on for days, and you were still thinking of leaving. Though technically you did. Maybe the entire server moved with you. Maybe that fact could be ignored. Maybe. Everyone gathered up and went to a new server not too long after your most recent “escape” attempt. You weren’t sure if it was the unsaid yearly move to a new season or what, but it seemed a little too convenient if you thought about it. But thinking was a laborious and bothersome task. So no thoughts - only depression. Yea, that’s how things rolled for you.

The thought of leaving was far from leaving your mind. It was always on the backburner, but became a prominent thought whenever you weren’t with anybody. Especially Xisuma. Voices whispered to feed your insecurities, giving a source for your depression to grow off of. And boy was it growing. Adding in this new move made you question a bit more.

You knew you wanted to leave the server because of how icky, disgusting and disappointing you were, but now you were truly realizing where the issue lay. Wel, you knew before, but it just became more evident. It wasn’t the server itself. The issue lay between you and the hermits. So that feeling of not belonging? Still rather prominent. Even with their fresh new start where everyone had the same resources, said “resources” were nonexistent since everyone started with nothing, it was rather evident you still didn’t belong.

Grian was the only one who didn’t build a “starter house” immediately. That made two hermits you knew who didn’t make a starter house. The two hermits being you and Grian, so that made you feel better. Until you found out the reason he didn’t make a house was because he went to defeat the Ender Dragon and get loot from end cities. Yea that really didn’t make you feel better. And these “starter” builds the others made were no joke. They weren’t even starters, in your opinion. These were whole builds in and of themselves. Like things you’d be building late game, if you even got around to making anything that could compare.

Once again, your mind cemented that you were very alien to this group. Alongside the “new fodder” that you had, which was really recycled thoughts, memories, or insecurities, you started to cry. Stifling your sobs without being able to cover your mouth with your hands is a very hard task. All remaining strength you had went into calming your breath and being as silent as possible. You still allowed the tears to continue their route down your cheeks with no intent to stop them. If you only allow tears to flow with no noise, you can get your emotions out while not bothering Xisuma. A win-win.

Time was illusive, slipping through your hands like sand. One moment you were crying next to Xisuma in bed then a blink later you were waking up in an empty bed. The ever annoying sun was flaunting its energy and jovial beams into the room and blinding you with it. Man, how you envied the sun. It was able to get up every day and do its duty. And not even the duty it was exactly made for. One that it conveniently worked with. A necessity to life.

Still, you layed in bed. Too lethargic to move on your own; there was no will or energy to move. Well, there was one reason; you wanted to search for Xisuma. Where could he have gone off to? He wasn’t in the bed. Somewhere else in the house? Out on a project? Who knows. The likelihood of him being gone was high and that, along with the thoughts, kept you in the bed.

The day passed. Maybe you slept. You were still very tired and very sad, so it really made no difference in the end if you did actually sleep sometime that day since nothing changed. Snuggling into the blankets for warmth and comfort, you awaited for Xisuma’s return. Though you don’t remember him saying that he was going anywhere in particular yesterday. Did he? Memories blurred together and multiple days became one mushed memory. Many memories of him mentioning future projects to you or other things came to mind. How recent were those? Mulling over your memories, you tried to pinpoint when they happened based on some other memories. You referred to them as your “time reference memories”... They had a different name, but the name eludes you. But that was their purpose, so that name shall stay.

Soon a plethora of other memories came to mind as you quickly sorted through them. So they obviously didn’t take place in the same time area-frame thingy as when you joined the Hermitcraft server. That was months ago- clearly off the table. Then did they happen around the time you were building the trash on the server? Also a big no- that’s way too early. Oh dear- all the memories that were popping up were far too early. Crap- think. Think, think, think. Come on, more recent. What about when you tried to leave? Well it happened after that, but much closer.

A flash of memories pass behind your eyes yet you can’t decipher all of them. It was obviously some memories and you could faintly see some things, but it was all a blur of colors. You didn’t have the time for this right now. After you figure this out, you could reminisce on them. Now you had to figure out which memory out of the blob you had was most recent-

Staring at the ceiling did nothing to help. No new spark of memories came up, even with your mind scrambling for any scrap it could get its little grubby hands on. Great- now you were stuck going off of his appearance and what the house looked like during those times. Now the dilemma was “which came first”. Almost every memory took place in the house.

Wait! He didn’t have the diamond armor in all of them! Only two of them had diamond armor involved. Specifically on Xisuma. You didn’t have anything on this new server. Well, compared to him or any other hermit, anyways. To say you were behind or “lagging” was an understatement. Having iron armour isn’t really a flex. Especially when it goes missing. Like who just up and loses armor like that? You do, apparently.

That isn’t the point. Stay focused! So he had armor, what did the house look like? Or anything outside the window?

Finally a lightbulb went off in your mind. Of course! He talked about a fire last time. Yes, you were sure of you. Not sure why but you were very sure of that fact. He mentioned that some gravel on a mountain was on fire and he wasn’t sure why. Then he talked about a building in the next memory… Everything was starting to add up! Oh you felt so smart right now. So good.

So what mountain did he say he was going to? It was a villager hall, right? Or was it the future place for a build… No, villager hall because he mentioned villagers and trading. Obviously not another build. But what if it was? Now you were conflicted because you were so sure but at the same time doubt pranced around your mind obnoxiously. Your anxiety was getting ticked off more.

First the disappearance of Xisuma and now your worries are getting to you? Really, it was the opposite order. More of an Oreo, but that wasn’t important.

Taking a deep breath, you try to get your thoughts under control again. Regain you cool. Alright. If you find Xisuma then you can calm everything else down. That was your biggest worry right now. The longer you didn’t know Xisuma’s location and condition, the worse your mental state became. From there, it was obvious how everything would decline.

All you had to do was go to Xisuma. Right. Go to Xisuma. Who is outside. Out of the bed. Debating on whether or not to leave the comforting confines of the blankets or search for Xisuama was definitely something. It was hard but also wasn’t all at the same time. Because yes, staying in bed and being warm would be amazing. The preferred option. But you were worried about the lack of Xisuma’s presence. That took precedence over comfort.

Grumbling, you slowly start to drag yourself out of bed. More accurately rolling out and only turning to properly get out of bed and onto your feet. Same end result really. Slowly, as to not cause a dizzy spell, you get up and walk toward the door. Said dizzy spell still hits you like a baseball gets hit by a bat, but there was an attempt. Black overtakes your vision for a second before everything goes back to normal. Boy you didn’t miss those pounding headaches with dizzy spells. Damn vertigo.

Shaking your head, you steady yourself for the journey to the outside. It was going to be perilous. Well not really, but your mind tried to come up with the worse case scenarios. Like some Dream SMP members coming for you to drag you back. Or pillagers near or at the front door. Or some other nasty mob. Oh the possibilities were nearly endless. But you had to do this.

Hyping yourself up, you mentally prepare for what you could think of. Aka prepare for something bad like pain. To be fair, pain would be better than a Dream SMP member but pain still hurts.

A noise of annoyance leaves your lips as you once again try to get yourself back on track. You hated how easily distracted you got sometimes. Though it did help in some situations. Admitting to that wouldn’t be too helpful in any regard so back to ignoring it you go.

Soon you’re back on track and continuing your journey. The only thing standing between you and the outside world stared at you. The front door. It wouldn’t be for long. All you had to do was open it and then start the other leg of your journey and- wait.

The door greeted your face with a nice hearty slam as you walked right into it. Confusion was just written all over your face. You grabbed the knob, did you not? Taking a step back, you peer down. Low and behold, you were holding the door knob. Your brows furrowed as you twisted the knob. Nothing happened. Trying with more strength and vigor or whatever might do something? Maybe it’s just stuck. Unlikely but hey! Delusions are much sweeter and easier to swallow. Plus being more violent with an inanimate object makes it work! Usually, anyways. Beat a banana and you get mush so not always. That’s besides the point because the darn door still refused to open. Huffing, you try being a little harder with the door. Though that leads to nothing but you fearing it breaking. One creak escapes the poor door and you’re off of it like a puppy squealed rather than a door.

Anxiety started to bloom in your chest for the uptenth time or whatever. It’s happened a lot and that’s all that matters. Deep breaths. In and out. In and out. It’s just a door. If it breaks it can be replaced. Also it’s a door. It’s probably fine. Though you didn’t exactly want to test that. Who knows when the door is going to just say “nope! I’m done” and just break?

Leaning against the door, you slide to the floor as you think of another plan to leave. The door was locked, right? This is a brand new door we’re talking about. Rust couldn’t have shut it already, right? You were by the sea though so who knew what the salt and water was doing to it. That ruins doors, wood, and mentals, right? If only you were a builder or someone more fluent with stuff like this. Someone who knew how stuff like that worked. Because wow, you were beyond dumb on that subject.

You curl up in defeat. Bringing your knees to your face, you wrap your arms around them to secure them. To feel safer and smaller. Block out the world. All you wanted to do was stay there, just like that. Not that exact position, but you want to feel comforted and safe. A craving for belonging and love. Although something you craved, whenever it was just handed to you or offered, you turned it down. Nobody actually likes you. They just want to use you.

Everyone has used you in the past for something.

Tears started to form in your eyes. As you lift your head from the curl, you take a deep breath. This is annoying, tiring. Crying is useless right now. Nothing is going to be fixed this way.

As you subdued the tears, you looked around the house again. There had to be another exit, right? Maybe. Half of the houses you’ve lived in only had one entrance or exit. The other half either had a secret exit or another doorway. This wasn’t one of the latter, though. It was one of the former; you were only informed of one way to exit or enter the house. Xisuma didn’t mention any emergency escape. Well there weren’t any holes in the house besides that- OH WAIT!

Smacking your forehead, you scramble to your feet and look directly at the closest window. If it had the ability to, it’d probably be sweating out of fear or anxiety. Either or, that window wasn’t going to have a good time. Fortunately for you, though, the window couldn’t judge you. And the window is very easy to climb out of.

Walking closer for inspection, it didn’t seem like it’d be too hard to open. Just flick a latch or two and just lift the bottom. You’re home free after that. The latches weren’t an issue. Grabbing the bottom of the glass, you silently pray that it won’t be as stubborn as the door.

Some deity was feeling nice today because the window opened without much trouble. A little elbow grease but that was a small price to pay. Now started the awkward maneuvering to get outside. This was one thing you didn’t miss from your past.

First a leg, then the other, and slide later, you land ungraceful into the outside world. Either you were going to land on your face or bum and you didn’t want any of that. So instead you did a nice little dance.

Okay so dance would be the fun way of stating it. What happened was you stumbled around for a bit, waving your arms around in a desperate attempt to regain balance. But you get to stay on your feet, so the trade off of your dignity was well worth it. Plus nobody was around to see it.

Once balanced, you were in awe of the builds that were just a wall away. How much has changed since you last came out? How long were you inside? You only remember the comically tall portal and the partial build of the portal tower being around when you came. Besides the starting house and a few other small things, of course. But now there were two completed towers. The dark one was obviously the portal tower because of the color scheme. What was the other than? It was colored like a lighthouse with the red and white bands encompassing it, but you didn’t want to say anything definitely. After all, it was somewhat hard to tell.

The coloration indicated a lighthouse, along with the silhouette, but it looked a bit too artistically done. And when something is artistically done, it could be anything. So you’ll call it tower two! Tower two was rather pretty!

Xisuma wasn’t around though. Right. The mountain wasn't around here, was it? Where was it, anyways? It must’ve been pretty far away.

With the prospects of a long walk ahead of you, your shoulders slump. Dear lord, this was more work than you wanted to go through. Who knows how far it is! But it wasn’t just some walking for fun, it had a purpose.

Gathering your remaining energy and grit, you start the laborious, long, and treacherous journey through the continent for Xisuma. Hiking wasn’t your strong suit and keeping an eye out for Xisuma too? This makes everything so much harder.

You were only able to get off the island and back onto the mainland, where you started to scale the mountain before you heard a ruckus. Progressively, it got louder and more discernible. Yelling. Sounded like words. Gibberish, but it slowly grew clearer.

“Oh my gosh,” danced with the wind by your ears. “Oh no.” A cry of your name, or something really similar. Were those words? Those couldn’t be words, right? Whipping your head around, you see Xisuma running your way frantically. Okay, so those were most definitely words if the scene before you proved anything.

Excited, you start your descent back to the ground. Step by step. Is it step by step when you’re climbing? Your focus is on Xisuma. Pretty much entirely. It really shouldn’t have as you misjudge the next step. In the blink of an eye you went from viewing rock to viewing sky and a scary feeling building in your chest. The feeling grew exponentially and it didn’t take a genius to know what was going on.

A scream ripped its way from your chest as it tightened more. Said scream doesn’t last long for it ended as quickly as it came. No air could move, no noise could come out any more. Air was stuck in your throat, unable to reach your lungs. Fear paralyzed your muscles, eyes shut for there was no difference in the view. Everything was blurred and the black was more welcoming and comforting.

Too fast. Time wasn’t even a consideration. A social construct thrown out the window as soon as your fingers lose contact with the rocks.

The ground had to be near by now. It felt like hours passed now, but at the same time everything seemed to be zipping by.

Contact is made, and you expect it to be the end. You grunt as all remaining air is forced from your body. Another noise came from beneath you. Gasping for air, panic made you feel so cold. Is this what death felt like? No air was coming in and you definitely hit the ground. Were you going to die because you slipped up?

Black was encompassing your vision once again. Frantic attempts to regain air were barely rewarded for your lungs remained mostly empty. Everything still felt paralized, but now your chest felt worse. It hurt so much.

Something was moving beneath you. Pink entered your failing vision. It shifted you around, moving your head and body. More accurately, it moved. Your head was placed on a soft surface while your body was on something else.

Slowly your vision ebbed back to reality. Or you did. Everything still felt wonky. But an axolotl helmet came to greet you. That was a nice thing about your vision clearing, you guessed. Pretty pink axolotl.

“Are you okay,” the axolotl shakily asks. It’s hands were shaking and it sounded masculine.

“Yea,” your voice felt and sounded weird. Very airy, frail, and kinda delirious. You know, the “I don't feel right” type of delirious. Is that delirious? Oh wait you were talking! “Yea i’m good.”

“Are you sure,” the axolotl keeps persisting. It seemed to be looking over you for any injuries. How nice of it! “Double sure? Triple sure? No scrapes? Nothing hurts?”

“I’m absolutely sure,” you assure. Man this was a comfy place and you wanted to stay here longer, but you need to get standing. With shaky arms and legs, you unsteadily get up, stumbling or leaning a bit too much at times. The axolotl panics and helps you to your feet, never letting go afterwards. You thank it for its help and try to walk away, back to Xisuma’s house. Though it assists you, staying by your side as if it were attached with cement.

“You need to stop doing stuff like this,” it begs, leading you by the elbow. “It’s like everytime i’m gone, you purposely go get yourself into trouble, get hurt, or try to leave. I don’t get it. Why do you keep doing it?”

To say you were confused would be an understatement. What’s it even talking about?

Suddenly a thought hits you like lighting and everything starts to line up. This is literally Xisuma. How did you forget that? He changes skins with every new season. Wow you either hit your head, panicked and forgot every important detail ever, or you really needed the oxygen for those brain cells because they finally got what they needed to function.

“Sorry,” you really are sorry. For half of those things, if not almost all of them. If you were simply allowed to go back to the Dream smp in peace, you would be completely fine. Not a bother to the hermits, not a walking hazard to society, and you wouldn’t feel inadequate anymore… Actually that wouldn’t go away no matter where you went or what you did. “I didn’t mean for any of that to happen.”

Xisuma doesn’t reply to your words and you start to panic again. “You weren’t in the house and I got really anxious, okay? I didn’t remember where you said you were going and I just… I needed a hug. I know that sounds stupid or childish, but i wasn’t feeling good. And you said that if I needed something, I'd just have to go to you. Oh who am i kidding, this was the dumbest thing ever. I’m so so sorry for bothering you-” Tears started to well up in your eyes, blurring your vision entirely. You were thankful that you weren’t walking alone while like this. Who knew what else you’d get yourself hurt on.

Not only were your words stopped, but your whole body was too. Jerked back by Xisuma, your teary eyes look directly at his visor which only reflects back your pitiful face. Though you don’t see it for long as you’re pulled into a hug by Xisuma. This only causes you to cry harder.

“Hey hey hey,” Xisuma’s voice is a low murmur, a comforting rumble from his chest. “It’s okay. It’s alright. Did I not tell you where I was going before I left?”

Shaking your head, a tiny “no” escapes you between sobs. Xisuma just hugs you tighter and you snuggle closer. That’s if you can, but you still try.

“Oh i’m so sorry,” he starts to pat and rub your back in a comforting manner, repeatedly apologizing for forgetting to tell you. And other things. Though you can’t exactly tell what they are through your sobbing.

It takes ages for you to calm down. You don’t really have much to go off of, besides the sun. What was once a noon sun glaring down on you was a peaceful sunset over the ocean. When you finish crying, only shaky breaths and tear stains remain to show off the previous crying fit. That and the red eyes.

The sunset is pretty, so you focus on that. Positioning your face to not have it smooshed into Xisuma’s chestplate was a struggle since he was holding you so tightly. But you managed. Soon your face wasn’t full on smooshed into his chest plate, only the side. Your cheek was definitely doing that pancake thing which smooshes out like a flat tire.

Everything’s so peaceful and quiet. Only the waves and sea life disturb it, but it made a great background noise. Xisuma soon adds to everything with some light humming. Rumbling from the chest is so comforting. Why was it such a forgettable yet amazing thing? It felt so nice.

With the humming came some rocking. Going side to side, humming a nonsensical tune. Not long after, you join in as well. Yours was definitely less consistently though, for it was broken up but little giggles. The longer you two went on, the more you giggled.

His arms unwrap themselves and you feel disappointed and saddened by the loss. You needn’t wait for long though, as on both sides of your body, you suddenly feel a tingly sensation. Bursting out into laughter, you try to struggle away from the tickle attack Xisuma has launched on you. But he’s relentless, keeping up with your retreat. It’s only when you’re out of breath, on the ground, and playfully yelling your surrender at him, that he stops.

You two start to calm down again. Laughter slowly ebbed away to chuckles or silence. Not an uncomfortable or awkward silence by any means. A safe and comforting one.

“Come on,” Xisuma prompts, getting up from the crouched position he had to be in for his attack, giving out his hand when he was properly on his feet. “Let’s get home before mobs start to spawn.” You’re more than happy to take his hands. With a pull, you’re brought back to your feet. But you two don’t let go of each other’s hands.

Together you two finish the trek home, and rather quickly too. With the sun setting, it was just a matter of minutes before danger would appear. Luckily you two made it to safety without any issues. The beginning area Xisuma had set up was well lit, safe from the dark and the dangers it harbors.

Being back in the base area made you feel more at peace, calmer, less endangered. Whatever you wanted to say, but you felt safer. And everything looked so pretty at night! You really need to come out more with Xisuma. Staring in awe at the builds in a different light, you and Xisuma dawdle on home.

Everything was perfect again. Just like before. You were happy, Xisuma was happy, what else could you need.

Xisuma walks ahead of you to unlock the front door, to which you say a little “thank you” out of habit and slip on by him and into the house. You do mean it, but still, it’s a habit drilled into you.

After getting back into the house, with some idle chit-chat, you start to get things fixed up in the house. Some dinner was in order for the two of you. After all, you just tried to climb a mountain to find Xisuma and who knows if Xisuma actually ate today. Plus you haven't had anything to eat yet. Whoops.

Leaving Xisuma to his own devices, you continue your conversation as you prepare a meal.

You don’t notice him locking the door and windows, or the dark look he has when he sees the window open, or him putting the keys in his pocket after locking all of the other windows. When he doesn’t reply immediately, though, you turn toward the last direction you heard him from, only to reveal an empty house. Perplexed, you look around a bit, but are stopped by a tap on your shoulder.

Jumping, you whirl around to see Xisuma without his helmet on, chuckling at your reaction. Laughing along with him, you give him a nudge with your hip. He returns it, laughing harder when you’re bumped away from him. This goes on for a while as you cook dinner, with Xisuma helping you.

The night goes on like this. Full of gentle, playful antics and a loving atmosphere. The love you felt was immense. You hadn’t felt happier in months.

Xisuma hasn’t been so scared in months either.

He should’ve secured the house better. Made sure you were fine before he left. Locked the windows before he left.

Now he knows to lock windows. You’d try to use them in the future. Better a situation where you went looking for him than you leaving him. But now he knew.

And all was good again.

[duskholland]

Idea for a smut with tom that he's somewhere far off for filming, so you video chat before bed. One day you decide to tease him a bit by wearing something that shows off your boobs but tom being the gentleman he is, tries not to look, maybe you're still in the early stages of dating. But then when you hang up he admits he had to hold himself back from looking at you to which you answer that you did it on purpose. And he's like FUCK and calls you up again to show you how hard you made him and👀👀

this concept...ooft. I absolutely love it, thank you so much for sending it my way !!! 2.2k, nsfw; 18+ minors dni!!

—clearing out the askbox: smut edition—

extended warnings: cyber sex, mutual masturbation.

———

As your phone screen buffers and loads the video call, you pull at the top of your tank top, mischievously dragging it down your chest in order to expose some more skin. The moment you’d got the text from your boyfriend, Tom, asking if you’d like to call him, you’d pulled off your bra and slithered into the very tight, very form-fitting top. You’re resting over the bed now, on your front, and as you check out your reflection in the dark loading screen of your phone, you realise that your objective has been completed: your boobs look great, and you look hot.

You enjoy teasing Tom, love the way he always tries to act like such a gentleman when he’s around you. You’ve only been together a few months, and over the past two weeks that he’s been away on location shooting his new film, you’ve had fun stripping down and slipping into a different provocative outfit each night, just to see how far you can push it before he snaps. So far, you’ve gotten away with a variety of interesting garments: tight dresses, thin bra straps, no shirt... And yet Tom’s resolve has remained strong as he looks anywhere but your figure, eyes fixed firmly on your face as his cheeks dust red with arousal over the course of each call. You know you have an effect over him, but he isn’t allowing himself to show it, which is just testament to his endearing chivalry.

It’s fun, and you love teasing him like this, but you’ve grown fed up with the games. Now, the only objective you have is to push him over the edge, to the point where you’ve slipped on this tight top, applied a coat of your favourite lipstick, and greet him with a slightly seductive smirk as the call connects through.

“Hey, Tom,” you say, smiling at him.

Your boyfriend looks very handsome tonight. He’s sitting up against the headboard, wrapped up in an orange and green striped rugby shirt. He looks tired, deep bags hanging beneath his sparkling brown eyes, but as he meets your gaze through the camera, he grins. His entire face springs to life, a wide smile unfurling over his lovely pink lips.

“Hi, darling,” Tom replies, accented voice crisp and familiar. You sigh happily as you sit forward a little, your eyes following the lines of his brown curls, heart fluttering in your chest as you see him again. “How are you?”

For a while, you exchange pleasantries. Tom tells you all about his day on set, talking about the acrobatics involved with swinging around on high wires, and then the topic turns to you and your day. You keep steady eye contact with him, smirking softly every time you reposition and you watch Tom try very, very hard not to look at your bust. The way you’re laying, spread out across the mattress, means the tops of your boobs inhabit the entire lower section of the screen. After a while of watching Tom slowly getting more flustered, you start to play around with the thin strap of the top, enjoying the way he continuously clears his throat and tries, almost painfully, to keep his eyes up on your face.

You have to give it to him: his attempts at preserving your dignity are very valiant and well-mannered. It amuses you to work him up like this, to see very obviously the effect that you have over him as Tom resorts to scratching at his neck and pulling at his hair as he tries to distract himself from looking at your tits. He reaches breaking point about ten minutes in when you sit up straighter and the camera picks up the line of your pebbled nipples, straining against the shirt.

“Oh, uh, Y/N, darling, I’m- I’m going to have to go,” he mutters. You see him swallow, eyes wide.

“Oh, really?” You coo, pouting softly. “How come?”

Tom shifts around on the bed, managing a very weak smile. “Just remembered I have some, uh, things to do,” he says. “Talk tomorrow?”

You exchange some farewells, and then your heart sinks as Tom disconnects the call and your phone screen falls black. You scowl as you throw yourself back onto the bed, wishing that Tom wasn’t so lovely, and respectful, and kind. You love those qualities, and your boyfriend is nothing but incredible towards you, but part of you wishes that you were at that stage in your relationship where you could just cut to the chase and enact your darkest desires over video call, instead of having to try and goad him into releasing his frustrations with you.

After a few moments of contemplation, your phone screen lights up and interrupts your reveries.

Tom <3: were you doing that on purpose

You raise an eyebrow as you reach for your phone, biting your lip as you continue the conversation with him.

Y/N: idk...what are you talking about?

Tom <3: your shirt Tom <3: did you wear it so low on purpose or is it just like that

Y/N: did it on purpose Y/N: cute to see you try not to look at me Y/N: very innocent

You see the message come up with the notification for read, then watch as the text bubble for Tom typing pops up, only to disappear a moment later. Just as your eyebrows start to furrow with confusion, your phone begins to vibrate again, and you smile as you see another incoming video message from Tom. You quickly press accept, then roll onto your back and lay back on your bed, head resting against your pillows as your free hand goes to rest on your lower stomach.

The call connects, and your eyes widen as you take in the sight of your boyfriend, bare-chested now, his hair slightly messier than before. His bright brown eyes are wide as he looks at you, glaring mischievously at you as he licks over his lower lip.

“You little minx,” he murmurs, narrowing his eyes into slits. “I knew it.”

You just shrug, humming softly. “You’re cute,” you reply. You waggle your eyebrows as your eyes shamelessly take in the expanse of his naked chest. “And hot.”

Tom chuckles. “So are you,” he returns. He’s a lot looser now, you realise, his face less a bright red, more a gentle pink. “I had to try so hard not to look at you, didn’t want you to think I was being weird.” Tom licks his lips. “If I’d known you were doing it on purpose…” He clucks his tongue, and as he sees the lust in your eyes, he adds, “Makes me so fucking hard to see you like this, love.”

Your eyes move over the screen, and you realise you can’t see one of Tom’s arms. With an arching eyebrow, you bite your lip.

“Show me?” You ask, softly.

Tom glances at you, seeming to contemplate it for a moment before nodding. “Will you show me?” He asks.

“What do you want to see?”

Your boyfriend groans, as if the question brings him unrestricted levels of pleasure. “Everything.”

You chuckle as you nod. “Gimme a sec.”

With excited hands, you put the phone down and stand from the bed, making quick work of your jeans as you wriggle out of them. Next to go are your panties, and then the very thin tank top. You settle back on the bed, fully naked, picking up the phone and holding it in front of you. You keep it angled towards your face, but you know he’s able to see the tops of your chest, complete bare now for him.

“So gorgeous, love,” he murmurs, voice warm and familiar. “Look at what you’ve done to me.”

Your throat runs dry as Tom flips the camera on his phone and the image changes. He’s still laying on his hotel bed, but you’re greeted with the sight of his hand, wrapped in a fist around his hard, leaking cock. The sharp camera picks up the precum leaking from his flushed tip, and you moan softly as you watch him run a thumb over his length, spreading the precum down his length as he goes back to jerking himself off, slow but deliberate, his quiet grunts coming down the line.

“Was that all me?” You reply, captivated as you watch the muscles in his forearm flex. Your cunt clenches, wetness pooling at your entrance as you reminisce on the times you’ve spent with his cock in your mouth, or your hand, or buried deep inside you. You let your hand slip down between your legs, fingertips brushing at your cunt and gathering some of your arousal before spreading it up to your clit.

“Yes,” Tom replies. His voice is louder now he’s holding the phone closer to his face, and the sound of his tone in such high quality makes you shiver. “Show me, please?”

You continue to rub your clit, teasing your bud with delicate circles as you fumble with your phone and flip the camera too, holding the device above you as you get a shot of your chest. You know he can see your hand between your legs, but the strategic position of your fingers blocks out the sight of your pussy, flushed and wet for him.

“Fuck, darling,” Tom groans. “You look incredible.”

You bite at your lip, shifting around on the bed and angling the phone so he can see your naked chest.

“Thanks, Tommy,” you reply. You pause for a moment, breath hitching when you reach down and slip two fingers into your tight heat. As you work yourself open, you look into the camera and speak directly to him. “I feel so empty without you,” you complain, lips rolling into a pout. “Wish you were here to fuck me properly.” With a mischievous smirk, you pull the phone further down your body, parting your thighs properly and letting him get a nice, long look at the sight of your fingers fucking your cunt. “I’m so wet for you.”

Your boyfriend whimpers and the sound makes your cunt throb. You keep the phone trained between your legs, but angle it so you can watch the screen, enjoying the sight of Tom stroking himself, his cock red and fully erect. There’s something so seductive about getting off together, something very intimate about exposing yourself like this to him, and in return being able to see the power that you hold over him.

“So pretty, baby,” he says. “I think about your pretty fucking pussy every day. Get off to it with my hand around my cock, just like this. I imagine being inside you, feeling you- fuck, feeling you taking me so well, so tight.” A strangled groan comes up his throat, and you whimper. You readjust your hand so the flat of your thumb hits against your clit, a high forming in the pit of your stomach. “Does that feel good?” He asks, and you know he can hear the sounds of you fucking your wetness with your fingers. “Do you like showing me your cunt like this?”

You moan, your chest heaving as you curl your fingers up to stimulate your g-spot.

“Yes, Tom,” you reply, your voice coming out weak. “Love it.”

“That’s my girl.” Tom’s tone is high and tight, stretched thin with lust. You see the way his phone shakes as he gets nearer to peaking, his hand moving quickly over his cock. “Gonna let me watch you cum, hmm? I want to see you get your fingers wet for me, lovie.”

You moan in response, nodding your head despite him being unable to see him. “Fuck,” you whimper, feeling it near. “Gonna cum.”

Tom grunts. “Go on,” he encourages, voice raspy. “I’m gonna blow, darling, let me see you. Fuck, pussy looks so sweet. Bet it’s so tight and warm, isn’t it? Are you going to let me watch you cum?”

You moan as you peak, warmth spreading out across your centre in powerful waves as you climax with a cry. Your eyes squeeze shut as the intensity of your orgasm takes you off guard, and when you’re able to open them a few moments later, you’re greeted with the sight of Tom cumming. His pretty moans and whines make you shiver, prolonging your high as you watch him peak, white cum shooting from his tip and all across his stomach. It’s so messy, and frenzied, and it’s all for you.

“Fuck, Tom,” you groan, basking in the afterglow. “You’re so hot.”

After a few moments of his ragged breathing, Tom flips the camera and you’re greeted with his face again. Once you’ve done the same, you’re able to look into his eyes, finding comfort in the warm slopes of his lips and the gentle love reflecting from his gaze. You feel closer to him - closer than ever before.

“You’re stunning,” Tom compliments, causing you to smile at him. “So beautiful, love.”

You bite at your lip, shrugging almost bashfully. “Thank you,” you mutter, using a hand to tame your hair. You wink at him as you relax, slowly recovering your breath. “That was fun.”

Tom nods, his curly brown hair a mess over his forehead. “It was,” he agrees. His teeth glint as he smiles at you, wide and proud. “How about, next time you feel like having some fun, you just come out and tell me?” He suggests.

You grin. “You mean you didn’t enjoy my teasing?”

He chuckles. “Oh, believe me, darling, I did.” Tom grins wickedly. “Just I much rather enjoy the sight of you fucking yourself for me.”

You bite your lip, feeling your cunt throb in response to his words.

“Sounds good to me.” Your hand creeps back down between your legs, and you look at him slyly. “Round two?”

[seijorhi]

Acts of Devotion

👀 i um 👉 👈 i hope this is okay...

Akaashi Keiji x Female Reader

TW blood, gore, violence, murder, dub con, nsfw

Akaashi loves you.

He’s known that for a long time now, probably from the very first moment he laid eyes on you, back when you were both just wide eyed first year uni students, wildly out of your depths.

A lot’s changed since then. For one, he now gets to call you his, and it’s his arms that you return to at the end of a long day, his house that you both live in. It’d be a lie to say that it doesn’t bother him that he wasn’t your first love, but he’s contented himself with the knowledge that he’ll be your last. Your only great love.

The only one that matters.

But it hasn’t been without its challenges. He’s learned a lot about love since those early days, about what it means to truly devote yourself to somebody, to give everything you have for them.

Love essentially boils down to two things, Akaashi’s come to realise - sacrifice, and forgiveness. 

You always look so beautiful when you’re sleeping. Of course, Akaashi thinks you’re beautiful all the time; when you’re smiling and laughing, when your face is screwed up in petulant anger, when those pretty eyes of yours well with tears and they glimmer and shine - but there’s something about the peaceful expression, so soft and unguarded when you’re asleep that inexplicably draws him in. 

There’s a part of him that wants nothing more than to stay, to reach out and brush away the hair that’s fallen across your face, pull you closer and let sleep drag him under, but he can’t. 

Not tonight.

Instead he cranes his neck to press a kiss against your lips, a small smile tugging at his lips when you let out a quiet mewl in response. He loves you so, so much… that’s why he has to do this.

He’d forgive you anything. You know that, don’t you?

Sure, it hurt him when he found the messages. Scrolling back through your text history, it was like somebody had grabbed him by the throat and plunged a knife into his gut, twisting it for good measure.

Kaito i don’t know what to do

i love him but lately it feels like idk he’s being a little controlling i guess? 

… but maybe i’m just being paranoid?

He knows it’s not entirely your fault. For all the amazing qualities you possess, you are remarkably naive and so very, very impressionable - which worked to his favour in the beginning, he’ll be the first to admit, but now…

Now it’s becoming a problem.

You haven’t realised yet that everything Akaashi’s doing - it’s all for your own good. 

Your family wanted you under their thumb. They always asked too much of you, guilt tripped you whenever you tried to stand up for yourself or set boundaries. They’d never be happy for you, not truly. It hurts, he knows that, but some people don’t deserve to be in your life, especially when they treat you like that. 

Your job was causing you stress, and your boss was an arrogant, nasty piece of work. His salary is more than enough to support you both, why put yourself through that if you don’t need to? Aren’t you happier now that you don’t have to trudge into that office every day and pretend that it isn’t making you miserable?

Your friends were bad influences. Jealous of your relationship for one, but they were also petty, self absorbed and vapid, always trying to drag you down to their level so you wouldn’t ever outshine them. You’re better off without them, why can’t you see that?

Akaashi’s the only one you’ll ever need.

And he really thought that he’d solved that little problem, but apparently not. He supposes he shouldn’t be surprised that out of all of them, Kaito’s the one who’s been the hardest to shake. An old friend of yours from high school, Akaashi had known within five minutes of meeting him that he was head over heels in love with you and had been for a long, long time. 

He can’t blame him for that. You’re beautiful. Perfect. Entirely his. It’s painfully obvious that even before he came into the picture to sweep you off your feet, you’d never so much as looked twice at the guy. So Akaashi was more or less content to let his somewhat pitiful one sided crush on you slide. Considering that he had absolutely no intentions of letting him or any of your other friends remain part of your life for much longer, it was hardly worth wasting energy thinking about.

Until, that is, he read the messages that Kaito’s been sending you.

Leave him

I’m serious. 

My sister had a friend who was with a guy like that. She had to get a restraining order because he wouldn’t let her go - it got scary… You can come stay with me. I don’t want you getting hurt :(

It’s that last one that bothers him. Not the attempts to lure you away from him under the guise of being a safe haven from your ‘dangerous’ boyfriend, painting himself as your knight in shining armour - mildly irritating if not a little amusing - but for putting the idea in your head that Akaashi would ever hurt you.

That he can’t forgive.

He won’t have you look at him with fear in your eyes. 

Akaashi’s never tried to deny that side of himself, but he’s kept it from you, locked it away and buried it deep. The things he does… you’re too pure for that. He loves you, loves the way that your eyes still soften when you catch sight of him, the warm, trusting naivety that bleeds out of your every pore. If you knew what the hands that caressed you so gently had done, would you still beg for his touch?

You wouldn’t, he knows that just as he knows that even if you were to uncover the truth, he wouldn’t let you go. He can’t, you’re his.

Is it really so selfish of him to want to preserve that innocent naivety? 

But it seems like now he’ll have to indulge once again, and Akaashi, really, truly can’t say that it bothers him. Killing other people has always thrilled him, made the blood in his veins race… Killing other people for you, oh, that’s going to be a whole other level of pleasure he can’t wait to explore. 

The pads of his fingers trace the curve of your jaw for just a moment. “Back soon,” he whispers, gracing your cheek with a feather light kiss.

You’ve never asked why the door to the basement locks from both sides, he doesn’t even think you realise that the walls are soundproofed. Tonight he’s grateful. You won’t wake up, he’s almost positive of that, but Akaashi has no desire to be gone from your side for any longer than absolutely necessary.

He usually prefers to take his time. 

His first kill was more of an accident than anything else, there was too much blood, he panicked and it was over in the blink of an eye. There wasn’t time to savour it, to really enjoy the sight of the light leaving their eyes, the weak, desperate struggles and whimpers, the tantalising fear that inevitably bleeds into the air, growing more potent by the second - even the strongest break eventually. He’s learned since then how to draw it out, how to have fun with his work.

But he doesn’t have that luxury tonight, and, as he keeps having to remind himself, this isn’t about his pleasure.

Guns are quick. Messy. Akaashi’s never really taken a liking to the crude, graceless weapon. He prefers his knives. 

Waving a gun in somebody’s face gives them the idea that they’re going to die, and there are only so many times that you can shoot somebody before they just… bleed out. It’s not nearly as satisfying a death. A knife, on the other hand, brings with it more opportunities. It isn’t death that his victim becomes worried about, at least not initially, but pain. And as his hand glides over his collection, Akaashi decides that Kaito is due for a little pain.

I love him, you’d texted. I love him. I love him. I love him.

That’s what he’s trying to protect. 

Long, pale fingers wrap around the handle of his chef’s knife, (eight inches, sharp - a familiar, comforting weight in his hand) and he takes a deep, steadying breath.

Kaito’s mouth is taped shut. Akaashi doesn’t want to hear a filthy word out of those lips. His hands are bound behind his back, his ankles tied to the old, wooden chair. He’s good with his knots, the more Kaito struggles, the tighter they pull. And judging from the ugly, purpling shade of his hands and the tears leaking from bloodshot eyes, he’s been struggling for a while.

Good.

Akaashi smiles as he strolls towards his captive audience, fingering the straight edge of the knife. Kaito doesn’t try to speak, but the muffled whines and sobs grow louder with every step closed between them. The fear and tension in the air is palpable. 

His breath is little more than a frantic wheezing by the time Akaashi stops in front of him and drops into a crouch. Cool, gunmetal blue eyes meet Kaito’s deep brown ones, blown wide with terror.

“I’m not the monster you think I am,” he admits quietly. 

Looking up at him from beneath long, dark lashes, a faint smile on his lips, Akaashi could almost pass for an angel if not for the gleaming kitchen knife in his hand. Kaito pales, his entire body going taut as his gaze slides from Akaashi’s face to the gleaming blade in his hand. He shakes his head in desperation, another muffled scream escaping his gag-

Akaashi strikes fast, like a viper. The blade plunges into the meat of Kaito’s thigh and without an ounce of mercy, Akaashi yanks it back towards his knee.

The scream that rips through the air sends a pleasurable shiver of warmth down his spine, and his tongue darts out to wet his lips as he feels the muscles beneath him convulse. The gash isn’t too long, maybe a few inches, but it’s deep and Akaashi’s smirk only grows as warm blood gushes from the wound, coating his hand in slick vermilion. 

He tugs the knife free, rewarded with another choked howl from his captive as more blood sprays. Bound to the chair, there’s not a whole lot of room for Kaito to move, but it’s somewhat amusing to watch him try to thrash, escape the white hot agony radiating from his thigh through his entire body. It’s hard for the human body to comprehend that level of pain, and from experience, Akaashi’s well aware that it won’t take long for his body to go into shock and simply shut down from the blood loss, and once that happens, he won’t be of much use to anyone. 

Kaito’s trembling, face pale, his skin clammy. Impossibly black pupils swallow his irises whole, erratically tracking his captor’s every movement as Akaashi pushes himself to his feet and takes a moment to study him. Tears and bubbles of snot leak in a disgusting mix down his jaw, dripping onto his lap as he sobs against his bindings. It’s pitiful, seeing a man reduced to a whimpering, terrified wreck, but as the hand still holding his knife grips at his chin and yanks his face closer, Akaashi can’t help but gleefully drink it all in. 

Your would be knight in shining armour doesn’t look quite so strong and capable now, does he?

Akaashi doesn’t have much time left to make him suffer, but he can’t seem to resist trailing his fingers along Kaito’s injured leg, digging them deep into the ruined muscle - grinning wildly when he convulses and screams, arching up off the chair. 

There’s still so much that he’d like to do. He toys with the idea of taking his tongue, of carving his knife deep into his skin just to watch him whimper and bleed… but no. This isn’t about indulgence. This is about you. He has to have more discipline than that.

Dangling on the edge of consciousness, Kaito meets his gaze one last time. Maybe he senses that his death is close, or maybe he’s just searching for a last minute reprieve, mercy from the cold blooded killer before him. Terrified, agonised, delirious from the blood loss, he tries to speak - a plea, he thinks, or maybe just incomprehensible babbling, but his eyes burn into Akaashi’s, desperate and hollow.

Akaashi’s never been one for theatrics. He won’t waste more time monologuing while your friend clings to the last vestiges of life. If Kaito hasn’t guessed by now the reasons he’s ended up here, at Akaashi’s mercy, he’s far less intelligent than he gave him credit for, but he supposes that he owes him something, at least. 

“I love her,” he says with a small shrug, as if it explains everything.

And maybe it does. 

It hardly matters though, as Akaashi decides to finally end it with a vicious slice across his throat. Blood sprays like a fountain, splattering across the room and drenching him, Kaito’s body slumps in his seat, the last flicker of life slowly snuffing out, and Akaashi revels in the pure, sweet euphoria that floods his system.

He’s never killed anybody while you were home with him before. Normally he’s methodical, quick to clean up whatever mess is left behind. Tonight though, Akaashi doesn’t have the patience for all that.

He should at least take a shower, rid himself of the blood that soaked him to the skin, but the call of your arms, the sweet, soft floral scent he longs to drown himself in beckoning is too hard to resist. He sheds his clothes, casting them aside haphazardly along with the bloody knife as he stalks down the hallway to the bedroom. His heart is still racing, excitement drumming through his veins as he crawls onto the bed and slides the covers off of you.

Dimly, he registers that this is a monumentally bad idea, but all he can think about is the vivid memory of the light leaving Kaito’s eyes and you. Tonight, he killed for you, and it was exhilarating.

He doesn’t think he could stop himself even if he wanted to, and why would he want to?

You’re perfect, beautiful - his. Nothing and nobody will ever be able to separate the two of you, he’ll kill anybody who tries. 

You stir a little as Akaashi’s lips graze along your skin, his fingers sliding the silk of your nightgown up over your hips.

“‘Kaashi?” you sleepily murmur, trying to blink heavy eyelids open.

He wonders if you can feel the way his bloodstained hands are trembling as they ease your supple thighs apart. “Shh, baby,” he presses a kiss against your leg as he manoeuvres himself between them, “It’s okay, go back to sleep.”

Let me take care of you. 

He needs this.

[cheelduh]

A Liar’s Bait

Pairing: Kaeya x fem!reader

Warnings: Idk fatui abuse? Also Aether gets his braid pulled don’t hate me. Also unedited asf.

Synopsis: There’s a hiccup in the elaborate plan you’ve concocted to rescue your friends, and said hiccup comes in the form of a handsome Cavalry Captain that doesn’t have the foggiest of clues as to what personal space is.

"Ah darling, I didn't know you'd be wondering about this late in the night." The charming cavalry captain, Kaeya, sang from behind you.

For a brief second, you froze in place, but not long enough for him to see through your motives. "Kaeya," You turned to him naturally, and spoke your next words like an actor revising a memorized script. "Have to return a book. You know how Lisa gets."

"At these ungodly hours?" He raised a brow, and you blinked away any remnants of sleep in your eyes at the mention of time.

Barely skipping a beat, you gave him an acknowledging smile. "I have some tasks to do tomorrow. It's better if I return it now." The book that is supposedly due tomorrow is waved hurriedly in the air, as if to exaggerate your point.

"Though it seems like Lisa has went home." He pointed out, cornering you against the brick wall, a knowing look in the deep pools of his eyes.

Of course you knew Lisa wasn't in. That was the entire base of your plan. There were a total of four knights on rotation at the headquarters. It was simple really, sneak into the library with your authority as trusted aide, and if push came to shove, an easy knockout would do.

However, Kaeya's sudden appearance put a hiccup through your plans. It would take more than a sock to the face to put him out of commission.

"Oh really?" You tilted your head in confusion, eyes widening, as you eyed him. "I probably should have came by earlier. Well then, I'll just have to put it on her desk with a note."

"You could trust it with me, and I'll return it tomorrow. Captain's word." He replied innocently, snatching the book from your fingers.

Archons, you absolutely did not have the time for this.

Aether and Paimon were waiting after all.

You decided not to shove a stick up his ass, and instead let your anger blow over silently.

"Your hands are clammy darling," Kaeya went on, flipping through the text just for show. "I can feel it on the book."

'Ew that's gross' You wanted to say, but decided to play his game instead.

"Guess I'm nervous." A forced a blush made its way onto your face. Okay maybe it wasn't forced, but you couldn't blame yourself for letting his subtle teasing get to you.

"Oh?" He feigned curiosity, letting the book close with a soft thud. "My presence often does that to people." The cocky undertone in his voice made you fantasize smacking his face a hundred times over.

"Of course," It was a struggle to not speak in a dry tone. "You are truly..." A small cough escaped your lips, and you tried to stumble upon the words, wishing upon barbatos that the flattering would work. "charming."

Kaeya's grin widened, all cat like, and for a brief moment you felt your heart stutter. He swooped in to cage you against the wall. "I didn't know you were so bold dear."

Before he could utter another flirtatious remark, you pushed yourself close to him, distracting him for a mere moment just to strategically slip the book into the safety of your arms. "Thanks but no thanks. I'll return the book myself."

With a swift duck under his arm, you made your way to HQ before a cold hand grabbed your shoulder. You ceased any movement and glanced over your shoulder, a frown made clear.

Kaeya narrowed his eyes at you, clearly not liking how you weren't becoming a bumbling idiot at his flirty behaviour like you usually did. You'd love to—but you just didn't have the time to deal with him, not when the fatui were breathing down your neck.

"I'll go with you." He said slowly, testing you for any reactions. Shit. He's on to you. "I can't let a pretty lady wander all alone. You might get lost."

Like hell you would. You knew everything about the damn base as if it were the back of your hand. Kaeya understood this as well, but instead, he opted to wake up every morning and choose to be a dickwad.

You swallowed the lump in your throat. "Lead the way."

Kaeya seemed satisfied at your reply, and slid his grip down from your shoulder, straight to your free hand. He walked in front of you, pulling you behind him like you were a clumsy toddler.

His gaze wasn't on you, so you took the chance to examine your surroundings, trying to find the presence that was tailing you.

Kaeya being this close to you wasn't looking good for you at all. The walls had eyes and ears, and the only way to apprehend the risk was by doing as they said. Only then would you get your opening.

Paimon...Aether...hold on a bit longer.

With a nod to the guards, Kaeya and you made your way in, stopping right in front of the library. With a puzzled expression on your face, you were about to question his intentions, until he readjusted his grip so that your fingers were intertwined.

You were sure your face was flushed in all kinds of colours by now.

"Shall we enter?" He asked you, mirth clear in his eyes.

The only signal you managed to give him was a quick nod.

The library smelled of dark oak and silk flowers. You briefly remembered Aether giving her the plant from his adventures back in Liyue. The bookshelves were decorated with intricate designs, filled with countless of books that had all earned their rightful place.

And you were about to steal one, summoning chaos into Lisa's beloved library. It would be you who might deliver an archived book straight into the hands of the very people who sought out violence in order to achieve power.

"I'll check it in for you," Kaeya let go of your hand after dragging you all the way to the front desk, only to outstretch it for the text you were gripping too hard.

"Oh yeah," You handed it to him—willingly this time. "thank you. I'll be looking around."

It was understood what you had to do. Easily finding the locked case from which you would slip the book into your clothes only to make a run for it wouldn't cut it.

The captain would make too much noise and track you down himself before you could get the chance to shove the book up the Fatui's ass, get Aether and Paimon their freedom back. Then once you'd ensure their safety, you'd beat the living shit out of the Fatui agents right after. It's not like you'd have a choice.

The whole reason you were in this whole mess was because you decided to help Aether out with his latest commission, which happened to be clearing out a hilichurl camp smack dab in the middle of a road. The camp blocked all imports and exports, proving to be a stick in the butt for the merchants of Monstadt.

You, oh helpful and kind you, assisted him with the task, seeing as you were walking back from a fishing trip.

Turned out that the hilichurl camp was a cover for a bunch of Knights of Favonious hungry Fatui agents who were hellbent on getting the one and only copy of a book Lisa had tucked away in the library.

While you two could've easily ended every single one of those shady bastards, enemy reinforcements came out of nowhere and dug their claws right into Aether.

At least that was the cover story.

Violà, a hostage situation was born.

They promised to let Aether go on one condition. If you obtained a book they had their eyes on for quite some time. But their promise had as much worth as Venti's word did when he told you that the drinks were on him.

They couldn't risk the Knights finding out. You were just another loose string that would be cut off along your two friends.

Locating the book and hiding it in your outfit undetected was as effortless as it could get. What was coming would not be.

"Darling," Kaeya called out to you, but his voice is different. More darker than usual. You didn't summon your spear just yet.

"I've finished up. Let's get going yeah?" His footsteps are light on the wooden planks of the floor, but his words are solid. Frozen even.

You breathed out, but refused to turn around.

"You know," He continued, halting next to your shoulder, leaning his sweet mouth down to your ear. His hot breath fanned against your neck, but you paid no heed. "A liar is no stranger to a liar."

You lunged to the side, spinning on your heel as your back hit the railing in the middle of the library. The captain reacted quickly by swiping the air, but ultimately failed to grab you as you gracefully tipped yourself over, landing right on your feet.

There was now a floor that separated the two of you. Just as you had intended.

The reflexes you showcased earned you a smooth-voiced chuckle, an amused smirk gracing his lips. He leaned against the ledge with both hands, bending down his upper body.

"Oh my. We've got ourselves a thief. You didn't think I wouldn't notice, right?" He contemplated, weapon materializing right then and there, ready to put on a good show. You could read him like a book just as he could you. "Can't believe you're such a naughty girl."

Despite his teasing tone, his eyes remained cold and calculating.

"Don't flatter yourself." You spoke monotonously, brushing a hand in the air. "The date stamp didn't match up right? Tight time frame, couldn't really think about the logistics."

Kaeya narrowed his eye shrewdly, offended. "I can't let you go you know."

"I don't need you to." You quipped, but then placed a finger on your chin. "On second thought I kind of do. How about a friendly transaction? I really don't want to fight you."

"And I do not wish to fight you, darling." Kaeya's face split into a viscous smile, a far less forgiving gaze meeting you halfway. This was your chance to tell him, he was giving you a generous opening to explain yourself.

You bit your lip, feeling the unknown presence yet again. The walls had eyes and ears. The walls had vengeful teeth that would dig into you the minute you'd let it slip.

"I need you to let me go." You clutched the leather of your gloves desperately, your prior confidence flickering. Begging was the only card you had left.

His hardened gaze on your form softened slightly, but disappeared almost instantly.

You didn't have to wait for him to voice his answer. It was as clear as day.

The captain didn't waste any more time when jumping over the ledge.

By the time Kaeya's feet made impact, your pole arm was already aimed and ready to strike.

"Let's dance."

-

After a tactical withdrawal, you found yourself taking tentative steps on the outskirts of Springvale. It wouldn't have been possible if Kaeya didn't let his guard down momentarily.

The cuts on your shoulder still stung, but it was difficult to spare any time towards the throbbing.

Why were you walking so slow? Did your plan not work? No, it should have. You calculated every risk. But why the hell were you prolonging the inevitable end?

It didn't matter. Either way, you'd get to sink your teeth into some unfortunate fatui agents, injecting them with centuries worth of pain.

The opening was nearby, you noted, the pathway familiar. You always were good with maps, oftentimes lending a hand to the certain young outrider with a bright smile and kind heart.

You allowed yourself to calm your erratic heartbeat, and slow your breathing as to get a clearer sense around you. There were two, but before there had been three. The third one revealed himself when you deployed your "return the book" scheme, flipping through the guidebook carefully to see if you left potential breadcrumbs.

Gnawing at your lip, you followed the trail, the world behind you quieting down to a silent whisper.

It seemed like forever when you reached the destination, halting your movements.

Your ears perked up at their footsteps before you could catch a glimpse of them, but made no sudden movements except for dropping the book on the ground as they had instructed.

It was odd that you felt as calm as you did. It could've been because of your confidence in your abilities, or perhaps, something else entirely.

The pyro agent appeared from one of the bushes, right after shoving a bruised and gagged Aether. Paimon came next, in a cage controlled by a fatui cicin mage who wore a wicked smile on her stupid face.

They managed to shut Paimon up real quick. You wondered what it took, but not for too long.

"Hey now," You grinned, but your fingernails were digging crescents in your palm. "I thought we agreed that no one gets hurt?"

"The traveller here is a real handful." The fatui agent hissed from under his mask, harshly yanking Aether by his braid.

Aether, immobile, scowled in discomfort and continued to struggle through his bounds.

You didn't acknowledge the blond nor the agent's words, alternatively choosing to nod your head to the book instead. "Here as promised."

The agent motioned to the Cicin mage, who walked forward in order to obtain the book safely. She handed it back to him, and he briefly flipped through it, seemingly satisfied.

Just like that, Aether was knocked down on his knees next to your feet, Paimon thrown like a sack of potatoes atop him. They were out of the red. Your signal to strike.

"Unfortunately, promises are beneath our pay grade." The agent placed a finger on his chin, as if in thought. "However, you prove to be a valuable asset."

"Oh really?" You piped, eyes crinkling in mock excitement. "I'm really glad a lowly fatui scum thinks so highly of me. It's truly an honour."

Said fatui agent glared knives straight through his mask.

"Kill them." He ordered, and the Cicin mage hummed a sound of delight, summoning her electro-flies or whatever the hell those things were called.

Your polearm took shape in the clutches of your left hand, a twisted grin plastered on your face.

"I'm gonna have so much fun tearing you apart." The bloodlust you emanated was enough to choke the air out of both the mage and agent.

Pouncing on your prey, you didn't give the mage a chance to scream before you landed a roundhouse kick straight to her ribs. She made a guttural choking sound, moving to clutch herself. You ended the move by twisting your weapon into the air to send a shattering hit straight to her temple.

Your blow successfully knocked her out, the kick back proving to be enough to send the pyro agent flying into a nearby tree.

"I really expected something more challenging." A pout formed on your lips, eyebrows furrowed. "Hopefully you can make up for what your mage lacked. If not, I'll be disappointed."

The agent chuckled painfully. "You won't get the chance. You can't take on all of us."

"All of you?" You questioned, tilting your head, eyes widening innocently. "Oh you mean those pesks that were tailing me? So sorry, but they're gone now."

"W-what?!" He sputtered, quick on his feet as he pulled out his knife, charging it with elemental energy. "How could you have—"

"How unfair," A low tone whistled, and Kaeya finally made an appearance, smiles and everything. "Don't give her all the credit. You're making me feel left out."

The pyro agent scattered around his flames, preparing to shake up the battle—

You lost your patience and picked up a decent sized rock, aimed for his nose, and sent a plunging attack.

The agent lost consciousness before he hit the ground.

"Oh come on!" Kaeya's dejected groan rang in your ears. "Could've let me have a turn."

"You already had your turn." You sent a pointed stare at him, bending down near the mage to wipe the blood of your pole arm with her clothes. "Two times if I recall."

He rolled his eyes playfully, forgetting the banter to go and free the traveller of his bounds.

—

"Let's me get this straight." Jean said with fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. "You two roughed up some fatui agents without informing the knights, and put the traveller at risk." There's this look of disappointment in her face, but you're used to it by now.

Hanging around Kaeya sure had its ups and downs.

"Precisely. The folder on your desk has all the details. Enough proof to have them in our custody.” The cavalry captain nodded along, and it somehow made you feel like you were a kid being scolded after getting caught stealing cookies from the jar.

"It was an operation that the traveller agreed to," You declared so her brewing anger didn't overflow. "The perfect plan to catch them in the act. It was my idea. The captain didn’t really know until later.”

"Although I’m quite hurt you didn’t fill me in any sooner, I must say, watching those ignorant fatui diplomats scramble to try and find an explanation is going to be worth the wait.” He spoke with a hint of a smile.

The both of you fist bumped. Jean wasn't amused.

The acting grand master produced a stern glare. "Y/N, assist Lisa with anything she needs for the rest of the week. And the Cavalry Captain here won't be going out on patrols any time soon."

That was a clear lie, but Jean had to keep up appearances after all. What kind of acting grand master would she be if she didn't at least pretend to have some sort of authority over her two trouble-making subordinates.

With a dramatic sigh, you spun on your heel to leave.

“Hey Y/N,” Jean called out, and you tilted your head, wanting to know if she changed her mind and decided to make your punishment worse. “Good work today. That will be all.” She avoided eye contact, feigning deeper interest in the pileup on her desk.

After the "briefing”, as Kaeya liked to call it, you found yourself outside of HQ with him right on your tail.

"Not too shabby for a day's work." He winked, smoothing out his words. "I must say, I'm quite impressed with how this went. Didn't expect you to put so much faith in me.”

"How did you get my signal anyways?" You snorted. "The entire scheme was off the bat. I had to wink at the traveller like five times to get him to showcase a crappy fight stance and become my fake hostage. Dense little guy.”

There was a momentary pause before Kaeya enlightened you with an answer.

"You hate reading, and you're irresponsible." He pointed out cheekily, poking at your nose. You scrunched your nose and turned away, cheeks warming. "The abyss would freeze over before you ever read a book, let alone steal one. That’s several red flags for me.”

He kept going, finding the topic of this to be quite interesting. “Not to mention returning the “Code of Conduct” handbook.” The relentless teasing was one of the reasons why you dreaded work,

"Gee thanks." You remarked unceremoniously. “I didn’t need your help at all. You just love sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

"Aww don't be so low spirited." He suspended your movements by curling an arm around your waist. "Let me treat you for a job well done darling." His hot breath fanned your ear, lips teasingly close.

Dammit dammit...why does he have to be so close!

"That's unfair." Paimon screeched from thin air, scaring the living daylights out of you. "After all the traveller and I have been through, don't we deserve a treat as well?!"

Kaeya laughed apologetically, cold hand never leaving your hips. "Of course. The honorary knight has been quite the help. Now let’s get moving, we're not frozen in place, after—"

A smack on the arm shut him up real quick.

[zaptap]

ive made a few of these bingo sheets and theyre fun so i decided to make one not just for e3 but also JUST for splatoon 3 (not just for e3 but for like the whole lifetime of the game). also heres my updated list of characters id like to see in smash, ordered generally by which id like more and/or think are the most realistic

since min min got in i took out helix, and since i couldnt decide whether to add in waluigi or madeline i added another row (realistically i dont think any indies are getting in but i threw some in anyway). also i was like “oh yeah maybe theyd put in a gen viii pokemon” so i threw in hatterene since thats one of my favorites.

also as for waluigi (and shovel knight for that matter) i think it would be nice to see an assist trophy get in just to break that rule. also i remember being super surprised he wasnt in brawl (back then i thought he and wario were equally important) and even though that was based on a wrong impression ive still felt like he should be in there ever since

notes about the bingos under the cut

really is about time for those n64 games, especially now that mario is dead so theyre free to release sm64 on it. game boy games would be nice sometime too

would also make sense to include banjo-kazooie in that, nintendos had a good relationship with microsoft lately and the total absence of anything banjo-kazooie on the switch is odd since it’s a dlc character (every other one has a game on switch they can use for cross-marketing, even if joker’s took a while) and i think the best explanation for that would be that theyre holding off for the nso n64 app (this is easiest from a technical standpoint because all they have to do is make a deal to use the roms)

when are they putting octolings in mk8d

xenoblade chronicles x is one of the only wii u games left that they could port (aside from ones that wouldnt make much sense like splatoon and ssb4) so i guess that might as well happen sometime. also monolith soft might be doing something else besides helping with splatoon 3

im not ready for metroid prime 4 (im over halfway through mp2 and therefore the trilogy as a whole) but it’s been a while, they might show it and it could even come out this year

hal apparently recently hinted at a new kirby game or something

the upgraded switch is obviously going to be called the Nintendo Switch ͥ  since they already did the ds lite so theyre clearly naming everything in the family after the ds family, theres absolutely no flaw in this logic. idk if theyre showing it, but unlike 2019 they didnt say they werent showing new hardware (just that they were showing software, which could be taken as denying rumors, but they sometimes specify when certain things arent being shown)

metroid prime trilogy also might come this year. would make sense to release it before mp4 since not everyone is going to buy a wii u to get it (and at this point that doesnt get nintendo any money since they stopped making them)

where is detective pikachu 2. i hope it has the blue pikachu from that first tease they gave us in like 2014 (2013? that was a loooong time ago idk)

they said this was MOSTLY 2021 so i am absolutely getting my hopes up for splatoon 2

the two sinnoh games could likely be there

would be super cool if oddity came to switch. and almost as ironic as megalovania getting into smash

we havent seen the botw sequel for a couple years so we’re kind of due for an update on that

it’s ace attorney’s 20th anniversary this year so maybe theyre doing something. theyre already porting those games though so idk. maybe he’s getting in smash

whats with that watermelon mario render

i held off on watching a playthrough for ndrv3 on the off chance it came to switch and i could play a dangan ronpa game for real for once but it’s now been 4 years and we just passed the 10th anniversary of the series (albeit during a pandemic when i wouldnt expect them to have done anything) so it would be cool to see the series come to switch. i think if it still doesnt after this though i’ll just watch the playthrough, 4 years is long enough. amazed ive avoided spoilers this long, i still know next to nothing about the game

im about done with acnh but im still waiting on those splatoon items. and i ran out of storage in february so i need more of that too

nintendo did stuff for zelda’s 30th anniversary so i doubt theyre forgetting the 35th. maybe wwhd/tphd ports, idk

been a couple years since fire emblem, intelligent systems is probably up to something besides planning yet another paper mario spinoff

miyamoto forgot pikmin 4 in the oven 6 years ago and it got burnt to a crisp and thats why it hasnt come out yet because he had to start over

and splatoon

the inklings scared daft punk into quitting so now that theres no competition in the robot musician scene they should have a daft punk style group

i waited and waited and neither of my top two splatoon stages (flounder and d’alfonsino) came back in splatoon 2 so i hope just because splatoon 3 isnt in inkopolis doesnt mean they still wont return

would be sick as hell if there was a real hide and seek mode instead of just sticking to your own rules in private battles. havent played that since 2015 but it was super fun

show us the effects of the chaos world

i wanted mc craig to have a song in octo expansion and they didnt deliver. heres another chance

splatnet 3 baby

cant wait for nogami to do a funny 3 pose

abxy came back for splatoon 2.... am i gonna be that lucky again...?

salmon run doesnt make sense if youre friends with a smallfry but they could either change the story context (you just fight “evil” salmonids?) or replace it with an equally fun co-op mode

amiibo!!! i think i said this before but they should label them by weapons if these cephalopods dont have genders, would make more sense (the gendered ones had different weapons anyway)

returning characters!!!! would like to see everyone have a role of some kind

maybe #GearForAll wasnt successful in getting the emperor/spy/mecha gear, but perhaps theyll at least consider not making that stuff exclusive this time around

squid girl gear should be back. and they should call it a dress instead of a tunic because its a dress. and theres no gender now anyway

as ive said before... TRIPLIES!! you hold one in each hand and another in your mouth. and you can spin around like the tasmanian devil

remove splatfest tee annoyances: you should have a prompt at the end of a splatfest to pay to scrub your tee (to make sure you get the chunks) also it should be on a neutral brand so you dont end up with an overabundance of ink resistance up (or whatever else)

better online and cloud saves would certainly justify having a second splatoon game on the same console, as much as im loving that it exists

hopefully theres a global testfire again

sooner or later the workers will rise up and kill mr grizz

remember in splatoon 1 where if you had squid beatz (via the amiibo) you could “play” it in the lobby and change the music? then you were stuck listening to only bubble bath in splatoon 2? why did they take that option away they should bring it back

looking at those apartment buildings in the trailer i think it would be cool if you had your own room and could decorate it

an octavio redemption arc would be fun to see. in the manga he stole the zapfish because the octarians had an energy crisis, and in the end they worked out a deal to share the electricity

[lokicat5]

Adventures in Jedi-Sitting

Okay guys, look, I’m sorry about this.

This is my first original post, so I hope you like it! This was supposed to be a response to a star wars post about a slice-of-life show (that I know I’ve reblogged before), but Tumblr just wouldn’t reblog it. And besides, it was long enough anyway, so, I made it into my own post! This is like the first thing I’ve properly, actually, physically written, so I’m sorry (and I’d really appreciate some feedback on it)! I just got into a flow, and I really think an “Adventures in Babysitting” episode would be awesome, because, who doesn’t need to see Cody and Rex dying inside over watching a bunch of little Jedi kids? It’s not very refined, and I haven’t worked out EVERY detail yet, so if you have any ideas for one of the things I’ve left vague or not really explained, feel free to comment or reblog (or message me, I don’t know how Tumblr works lol). Anyway, I hope you like it, this took me like 3-4 hours to write :) 

 Warning: It’s kinda long-ish. That’s it. Enjoy! :D

Okay, so it starts like this...

Anakin or Obi-wan have been assigned to look after younglings for a day, and are taking them on a “field trip” of some kind, possibly an educational one. I’m kinda thinking they’ll stay near/on Coruscant maybe? Idk. And like for some reason they bring Cody and Rex, maybe just as a safeguard or something, or as an extra pair of adults so that the two MatureTM Jedi aren’t outnumbered vastly by smol Jedi.

But then something comes up, and Anakin and Obi-wan are needed somewhere because of an emergency. They don’t want to leave the kids, but they don’t have enough time to bring the kids back to the temple. Then Cody proposes, “We could watch them, sirs.” and Obi-wan looks skeptical, as does Anakin, but Rex agrees with Cody and says, “oh go on sirs, we’ll be fine, they’re just a bunch of kids.” And Obi-wan and Anakin share a dubious look because “just a bunch of kids” with Force powers could be more of an issue than even the two most capable clones people they know can handle. And these kids are pretty young, too, but still really powerful, and there’s no back up, just the two of them. But they reassure the Jedi that they’ll be fine and it’ll be a good experience. At one point Rex is like, “Really, we’ve got this. I mean, we’ve had enough experience looking after the two of you,” and they finally get the two to give in (it was an emergency after all, so time is of the essence).

And once the Jedi are gone, the chaos fun begins.

It starts of smoothly enough, but then they can’t find one of the kids when they go to give them healthy snacks (provided by the Temple), and it all goes downhill from there. Chaos ensues, and one of the kids lifts Rex and Cody into the air, who watch helplessly as the kids start grabbing all the sugary snacks they can find and escape. Cody’s like “We... should probably call the Generals” but Rex is like “No! We can do this, besides, they’re busy.” They eventually get dropped once the kids are far enough away, and now they’re frantically looking for a little group of extremely small, Force-sensitive children, and Cody’s just like “can we call them NOW!?” and Rex is like “No! And see, there they are!” and they have to get the kids out of some tight spot, but while defending the kids they run off again and steal a speeder, and they’re all working together to drive it. They nearly get away, but Rex and Cody realize they’re gone - “Hey, where’d they go NOW?” - and manage to catch them, almost getting run over then dropped off the speeder in the process.

*cut to a battle scene with Obi-wan and Anakin fighting some droids side by side* 

O: Do you think Rex and Cody are doing all right with the kids?

A: I’m sure they’re fine.

*cut back to Rex and Cody, screaming and holding onto the back of the speeder for dear life, trying not to fall off, while the kids are driving too fast the wrong way, head on into rush-hour traffic*

Cody’s like “WE SHOULD HAVE CALLED THE GENERALS!!!” and Rex is like “THIS WAS YOUR IDEA CODY! AND BESIDES, WE’RE FINE! THE GENERALS TRUSTED US SO WE HAVE TO DO THIS OURSELVES!” and Cody’s all like “THIS IS SOOO NOT FINE” but they manage to get back into the speeder. Unfortunately, Anakin picks this perfect moment to check in on Rex to see how they’re doing. Rex and Cody are panicking because “We can’t answer that NOW!” but they also can’t not answer it either, so Rex just kinda motions for Cody to take the steering away from the kids and he answers the comm.

And Anakin’s like “Hey Rex, how’s it going with the kids?” And Rex is watching Cody trying to wrestle with the steering as one of the more stubborn kids uses the Force to keep driving, and he’s like “Everything’s going great, sir.” Anakin’s like “They aren’t giving you too much trouble are they? Those ones were supposed to be a particularly rowdy bunch.” Rex nearly drops the comm while lunging to grab a kid who, now bored, is trying to climb out the sides of the speeder, and he’s like “No sir, no trouble. They’re practically perfect little angels.” Personally, Rex decides this is more stressful than some battles he’s been in, though Cody swerving the vehicle while trying to get back to the right side of traffic feels familiar enough. Anakin’s voice comes back over the comm. “Well, Obi-wan and I are just about finished here, so we’ll be on our way back as soon as we notify the locals that their Separatist problem has been dealt with.” Rex has a fresh wave of panic wash over him, but he manages a “Very good sir, can’t wait to see you.” That’s partly true, as he’s very ready to return custody of the kids to Anakin. But just as he’s responding, Cody swerves to avoid another vehicle, which honks loudly, and the kids all laugh and cheer. Anakin sounds suspicious when he asks “Rex... what was that?” And Rex just dies. “U-uh, nothing sir. Just playing a game with them sir. Uh, got another call coming in sir, sorry sir, glad the mission went, well, can’t wait to see you!” Anakin’s like “Rex-” but Rex keys off the comm and turns to Cody, who’s gotten them back in the right lane at last. “Cody, the Generals are coming back and we have NO IDEA WHAT WE”RE DOING!” Cody’s like “I TOLD you we should’ve called someone!” And Rex gets an idea. He swoops to grab another kid, then keys back on the comm and makes the call.

When they get the speeder back to wherever their starting place had been, Ahsoka’s already there, waiting by her speeder-bike. She may not be part of the Order anymore, but Rex still calls her for advice every once in a while, and even just to say hi. They park the speeder and she walks over, shaking her head. Cody’s like, “Thank you for coming to help, General,” and she can see he really means it. The kids are still in the speeder, mostly piled on Rex, who looks at her and mouths “HELP”. She grins and says, “Rex sounded desperate, and by the looks of it, you definitely needed some help. How did you two even get in this mess?” She picks up two of the kids, and Cody picks up two more, unburying Rex enough to get out to help the last three. Rex sighs and says “It’s a long story...”

So they explain to Ahsoka what they did while she shakes her head at some parts, and she helps them set the kids back in the main area of the compound where they started. “You really let them eat (insert alternative to candy here)? That’s your first mistake.” and Rex (indignantly) says “We didn’t LET them do anything! They picked us up and floated us to the ceiling and then took the stuff themselves!” and Ahsoka’s laughing, but so are Rex and Cody and they’re watching the kids playing together and they realize they seriously like these kids.

By the time they’ve finished their tale (”...then we were back here, and, well, you know the rest.”), the kids are all tired out, and Ahsoka helps tuck them into their little rest nooks in the compound’s wall. Rex is just like, “how do you do this?” and she’s like “First: I’ve dealt with younglings before, and second: they’re just kids. There IS more to life than the war. When it’s over, life’ll go back to normal.” She grins at him, and says “It’ll be fine Rex. Besides, it’ll get easier as they get older. They lose most of this chaotic energy eventually.” Rex grins back and says, “What, like you?” and they’re laughing again, but quietly because the kids are still sleeping. Rex thinks of Cut’s family, and finds himself wondering about after the war, and if he could babysit Cut’s kids... Ahsoka walks to the door and stops, looking back as Cody and Rex follow her. “I should probably get out of here before Anakin and Obi-wan get back, and besides, the owner of this speeder will probably be wanting it back. We don’t want you two getting arrested, after all.” They both thank her as she takes the speeder back to its owner, her bike attached to the side, and they both wave as she disappears from sight.

About a minute later, they hear the sounds of a small ship landing outside, and are greeted momentarily by Obi-wan and Anakin. Obi-wan looks skeptical as he enters, glancing around the main room suspiciously. “The two of you survived!” Anakin says, grinning. “We did sir,” Rex says tiredly. It’s been a very long day. “The children weren’t too much trouble, I hope?” Obi-wan asks. “Oh no sir, they were fine,” Cody replies. “They were downright peaceful, for kids. Or Jedi for that matter. Easier than taking out a row of clankers.” Obi-wan and Anakin trade a dubious look, but they thankfully don’t mention the sounds they heard over Rex’s comm. “Well, I’m glad to hear that Cody. But, um...” he trails off, and the two clones feel their hopes sinking. Here it comes, they both think. “It’s very quiet in here, and I daresay a little too quiet. Where are the children?” Obi-wan asks. He sounds a little worried, and Anakin’s grin slips a little as he realizes the same thing. Rex and Cody both relax though. Relieved, Cody replies .“They’re sleeping sir.” Obi-wan’s eyebrows go up. “Sleeping?” Cody points down the hall behind them to the room with the sleeping nooks, and the two Jedi go and poke their heads in to find 7 little Jedi, tucked in and fast asleep. Obi-wan’s smiling as he walks back to them, and he says “I don’t know how you did it, but I’m very impressed, you two.” Both Rex and Cody practically glow with that, and they both say “Thank you sir” in unison, then smile at each other. “Wow,” Anakin remarks, “you both look really worn out though.” Cody can only nod, while Rex manages a “Yes sir.” Obi-wan and Anakin look at each other, then come to a silent agreement. “Sleepover!” Anakin yells, pumping his fist. They all shush him, and he looks apologetic as he whisper-shouts “Sleepover!” Both clones fall asleep where they’re sitting within two minutes, a small “Thank you sirs” coming from both of them. They look like they’re guarding the children, and Obi-wan and Anakin think it’s a very heartwarming sight. The two Jedi bring in extra blankets and pillows from the ship, and they make their friends comfortable before falling asleep themselves, the kids still snoring in the other room.

As they disembark from the ship the next morning, tiny Jedi troublemakers swarming around their legs, Cody and Rex feel a mix of relief and regret. Relief, because they won’t have to chase them all over Coruscant anymore, having panic attacks of every kind while trying to cause as little damage as possible and protect their tiny fragile lives. Regret, because they’ll miss the little troublemakers (no matter how hard they try to convince themselves they won’t). While their Generals are speaking to the Jedi usually in charge of the children, Rex thinks about how the last 24 hours compares to following Anakin with the rest of the 501st. He was struck by how similar their adventure was to an average day with the older Jedi, following them into dangerous situations, protecting them and doing as little damage as possible, as well as cleaning up the mess afterwards. Even calling in reinforcements was a familiar move, and he found himself smiling at the thought of these tiny Jedi leading a group of clones into battle. He also found himself fervently hoping that the war was over before they had to face that, but he swore that he’d follow them into battle himself if it meant he could protect them. They all swarmed him and Cody for hugs, and they once again found themselves buried in a pile of kids, before they ran off back to the adults, calling out “Bye! Bye!” as they ran. Obi-wan and Anakin walked back towards them and boarded the ship, having finished their conversation, and Rex and Cody followed them. Rex paused at the top of the ramp though, and turned to look back. The kids were still calling out their goodbyes as they disappeared into the temple, and they waved to him. He waved back to them, and heard Anakin call “Rex!” 

And as the ramp closed behind him, he knew that they would turn out to be amazing Jedi indeed.

[alethiometry]

Edward Kenway for character asks!

ooooooo okay i should open this with a disclaimer: i have not finished black flag yet (about 2/3 of the way through i think? i need to level up my ship so i can beat the next story mission lol) so everything i'm saying here is based on the game up to thatch's death, and everything we know about edward in ac 3: forsaken and the comics that came out a couple years ago.

First impression

oh boy... to be honest, one of the reasons it took me such a long time to get around to playing black flag (it was one of the first ps4 games i bought when i got my console in 2016, and i didn't start until about a month ago) was because i didn't really feel particularly strongly about edward's character design. i was vaguely interested in That One Pirate Assassin Game after having watched (and loved) black sails, but was afraid i would be let down; to me edward just looked like Some Dude, and i was still hung up on the black sails gang. to me, black sails and its characters were so genre/time period-defining that any other piece of pirate media just seemed lackluster in comparison.

i'd also heard a lot of praise for edward and for ac4 in general so i was aware that it was a very popular and well-received game. but since i mostly heard that from reddit (didn't join tumblr ac fandom until odyssey in 2018) i kind of discounted it, bc gamer reddit tastes are... questionable at best.

Impression now

I LOVE HIM!!! i always think i want stories about virtuous characters who believe in goodness and kindness and aren't motivated by gold or glory but aren't afraid to do what needs to be done to help others who can't help themselves. and sometimes that's true (coughratonhnhake:toncough). other times i end up clowning on myself because i realize that it's so much fun when said good/kind character has a rough and rugged exterior, and is motivated by personal gain (i think edward and kassandra are kinda kindred spirits across time and space in that regard, but maybe that's another rant for another time). sometimes you just want someone to be a little bit of an opportunistic bastard, and boy does edward fit that to a T. he's an incredibly complex man, and i think what really got me was that even as he was impersonating assassins and then templars and then assassins again, all for personal gain (pickpocketing the templars in havana while he gains their trust and agrees to do their dirty work lmfao my beloved <3), his primary motivation for doing so was to prove to caroline and her family that he is someone worth a damn, that he is capable of great things and that he is worthy of their love and acceptance. and i know from ac forsaken that the marriage with caroline doesn't last (though i haven't played ac4 far enough to see if that happens on screen, or if it occurs between the game and the novel) which makes his backstory in the game all the more heartbreaking. but his optimism and perseverance and determination to prove himself are all what make me love him.

so that's edward the romantic. now let's talk about the way edward is with adewale, his crew, and his friends. and let's also put the rest of this behind a readmore bc girl i am RANTINGGGGGG

he has several lines that he says to adewale that make me physically cringe (namely: "many of [these men] wouldn't accept you as captain" or "what was it like being enslaved?" like i get that someone like edward would be asking that question in good faith and genuine curiosity but also JESUS CHRIST UBISOFT). but on the flip side - cringey as those questions are, he also takes the time to actually listen and learn, and i think he genuinely values the perspective that he gets from adewale allowing him to open these lines of trust and communication. there's a patience and mutual respect there that i adore.

i also love how much edward loves his crew and his other pirate friends. those scenes of him + kidd + thatch + adewale + hornigold (lol) drinking on the beach and having a grand old time and talking about establishing - to borrow one of my favorite chills-down-my-spine phrases from black sails - a nation of thieves, for people like them to live and prosper, free from the chokehold of civilization. and i know he's not as outwardly invested in counterculture/independence/anticolonialism as thatch and vane and kidd are, but the fact that he so wholeheartedly supports his friends' goals, lofty and impossible as they are, speaks volumes about his love for his friends.

Favorite moment

every scene he has with kidd when kidd casually and softly reminds him that they see that he is a good person beneath his opportunistic and rambunctious exterior. i especially love when they discover julien du casse's mansion containing orders for templars to go out and hunt down assassins: the way kidd immediately knows that edward wants to help the assassins as a way to make up for the damage he did while masquerading as a templar, even if he hasn't voiced it aloud himself. the way that they don't force edward to admit anything about himself before he is ready, but still constantly remind him that he has a good heart. they give him space to come to terms with his compassionate side in a world/environment that more often than sees compassion as something to be stamped out or cast aside. i don’t love when characters are forced to be the Moral Compass for a main dude character, but i think it works for edward and kidd.

Idea for a story

not an edward story per se, but there are 2 povs into edward's life that i would cut off (someone else's) limbs for:

jenny's pov growing up in the kenway household. from haytham's pov it seems that she knows way more about his past than haytham ever did (it was hinted at that there are rumors about edward’s past as haytham was growing up that he wasn’t privy to, but i don’t think at any point in the novel does haytham ever find out definitively that his father was a pirate) and i want to know how she knew so much, and more into what her life was like - through her eyes rather than haytham, who is like 10 years younger and by his own admission barely understands her and barely has a functional relationship with her. i'll expand further on edward and jenny in the next question/prompt/bullet point, actually, bc i have a LOT more to say.

connor's pov learning about his grandfather from... idk? who's around to tell him? what's so goddamn sad is that by the time connor rebuilds the colonial brotherhood he's kinda the only one left. sure there's aveline down in louisiana, but as far as we know everyone who was around in edward's generation is dead now, and i'm not sure how much of the kenway saga is preserved for connor to discover, or if all this information about their family line was discovered in the modern-day, by your abstergo employee character, and later by osto berg in the comics. which is why i so badly want a revelations-style game where connor traces his assassin heritage back to the caribbean, relives some of edward's memories, and then makes the trip to london to see his aunt jenny. it would have been such a cool way to round out the kenway saga.

Unpopular opinion

idk how popular or unpopular this is bc i rarely see other in-depth posts about it on my dash, but edward was a terrible father to jenny. he was every bit the wonderful and loving father to haytham for the 10 years that haytham had a father, but i wish we'd seen more of jenny's perspective than just a few lines of dialogue in haytham's diary: i hate the way edward sidelined her and raised her in the same manner that any other wealthy person of the time would have raised their daughter - that is, for the sole purpose of sitting pretty and marrying her off in an arrangement that would benefit the family. it's especially hard to reconcile because in ac4 there are female assassins in the americas, and there are female pirates in the caribbean, so it's not like edward isn't aware that women have as much right as any man to live life on their own terms. it just seems like by the time he returns to england and settles down with his family, he's reverted back to the societal norms and gender roles that the pirates fought (and lost) against, and it's hard not to be deeply disappointed by that.

to be clear, i don't begrudge edward settling down and becoming a Rich Society Man. dude deserves to live comfortably with his loving family. he has every right to dote on his wife and children, and leave behind the hardships of being a pirate. but i think "fightning against deeply-ingrained cultural norms/expectations is a long and bloody struggle, and after losing so many people he cared so deeply about, i think it's understandable that edward wouldn't want to continue that fight alone (and also adewale is still fighting the good fight) (do NOT @ me about ac rogue I Pretend I Do Not See It)" and "i don't love the way edward sidelined his daughter into societally-expected gender roles she did not want; it makes me think that he did not continue drinking his Respect Women Juice as much as i thought he did/wanted him to" are two opinions that can coexist.

Favorite relationship

i don't know that i ship edward romantically with anyone, actually. i thought he and caroline were cute in the beginning, but it's hard to want to ship them knowing that she leaves him eventually. and ofc there'd edward/tessa in ac forsaken, and we know they were very happy together and that he loved her so so much. but we don't see that relationship except through haytham's eyes.

as for non-romantic relationships, i already talked at length above about his relationships with adewale and the other pirates and kidd, and i'll just leave it at that. i'm also vaguely aware that edward's got some upcoming scenes with anne bonny, but i'm not at that point in the game yet so i don't have much to say about the two of them. so far i've only seen them say a few lines to each other at the nassau tavern.

Favorite headcanon

kassandra absolutely rubbed shoulders with edward at some point during his time in the caribbean; i like to think that she needed to lie low for some reason (maybe she was with the assassins idk) and joined his crew. i just need my best stabby gal and my second-favorite stabby dude to be pals!

finally, this isn't a headcanon per se but it is obligatory that any time i talk about kenways i yell for a bit about the fact that EDWARD WOULD HAVE LOVED CONNOR SO SO SO MUCH AND I'M FOREVER DEVASTATED THAT HE NEVER GOT TO MEET HIM. at the same time, if edward hadn't been murdered and haytham not been indoctrinated into the templars the way he had, i'm not sure connor would even have existed. and in a way i'm glad that edward wasn't around to see how broken and cynical and depressed haytham became, because i think that would have absolutely broken his heart.

send me a character!

[willwriteforhugs]

the boy in the bookstore (part three)

in which you meet a suspiciously handsome boy in your favorite bookstore- but are not cultured enough to know his true identity.

part one

part two

ateez scenario

yeosang x (fem) reader

word count: 1.6k

g: fluff, angst if you’re a sensitive bitch

warnings: intrusive thoughts, alcohol, & heavy drinking (please drink responsibly lol)

a/n: parts one and two of this fic are linked at the top of this post. when the whole fic is completed, i plan on posting it in it’s entirety. happy reading!

- allison

part three

over the next few weeks, you and yeosang continue to talk. nothing too serious- just occasional texting and one (1) trip to the bookshop. you can tell he's much busier than he lets on, because he takes ages to answer your messages. at first this stressed you out, but now you suspect it's just his day job keeping him occupied. today, you shoot him a quick text before you leave for class. (7 am lecture. what the hell.)

you: hey, wanna get together this week? it's occurred to me that you're basically my only friend in this fucking city lol

you: and i should probably get out

you: i heard it's good for the soul

you cringe internally. why would you let yourself ramble like that? besides, you don't even like him romantically, don't make him think you do. ugh. maybe stop overthinking, y/n.

you force the embarrassing text messages out of your mind, leaving your small apartment before you can consider just skipping the lecture.

- - - 

as you walk along campus, (post-lecture, thank god) you feel your cell phone buzz in your pocket. you pull it out to check your messages. when you see yeosang's name, your heart skips a beat.

yeosang: good for the soul, huh? where the hell did you hear that

you: idk can't u just let me rant

you hesitate sending that message. you find it odd that you can have such a casual conversation with someone like yeosang. besides, you'd only known him less than a month. how was he so easy for you to talk to?

yeosang: lol okay

yeosang: but yes i'd like to go out but i'm only free tomorrow, does that work?

you: that works fine yea

yeosang: what were you wanting to do..?

you falter again. you had no idea... you hadn't really gotten that far in planning.

you: honestly idrk??

yeosang: well

yeosang: how about we just go get a drink or something

you: like alcohol?

yeosang: yes????

you can't help but giggle. how did he send so much attitude through a text? you let the conversation taper off naturally, and the two of you agree to go get drinks tomorrow evening. yeosang knows a place, apparently.

you set down your phone and sigh.

a beat passes, and suddenly it hits you. was this a date? had you just accidentally asked yeosang on a date??? you curse out loud. does he think it's a date? but he said yes, so he couldn't possibly-

you force yourself to stop thinking. you know that if you don't snuff those thoughts now, you probably wouldn't be able to go tomorrow. dammit, y/n.

deep breath in.

deep breath out.

he's just a friend.

- - - 

you narrow your eyes as you glare at your reflection in the mirror. nope, this top does not look cute on you. why did you ever think it had? you walk back to your closet and dig through the mess of clothes you've created. you've spent the last 30 minutes trying on outfits, unsure on what to wear. you desperately wish you had some girlfriends to help you out- but the closest you have are your coworkers, and you aren't really friends with any of them.

10 more minutes pass, and when you glance at the clock, your heart almost stops. shit. you're gonna be late. you turn in a desperate circle, and finally just shove on a dark green sweater, leftover from last christmas. on top of your loose jeans, you look slightly ragged, but you don't have time to think. you grab your bag and leave the apartment in a rush.

the heels of your boots click as you walk along the road. it's only seven, but the sun has already set, and the streets are relatively quiet.

it only takes you a few minutes to arrive at the address yeosang had sent you. you come to a halt, staring up at the building in front of you. it looks busy, and you can hear the sound of many conversations happening inside.

"y/n-ssi!"

you turn at the sound of your name. yeosang is standing under the awning of the building, wearing ripped jeans and a lazy button up shirt. your heart flutters at the sight of him.

"oh, hey," you manage, walking over to meet him. he nods at you and opens his mouth, about to say something, but he hesitates. after a moment, he says: "you look nice."

heat crawls up your neck, and you look at the ground. "oh. thank you." you glance back up, your eyes flickering to the exposed skin of his collarbone. "you look good too."

you hear his breath catch. another moment passes, and he looks up again. "let's go inside?" he asks.

the two of you make your way into the bar, searching for a table. you manage to spot one at the back of the room. it's a two person table, and it's perfect. you sit down awkwardly, face still flushed. you feel so stupid. this is practically a date. why would he agree to it? you wish you were already drunk.

yeosang sits across from you, and asks what you want to drink. you tell him soju is fine, and he stands up, beginning to walk away.

"wait, hold on! take my card." you say, holding it out to him.

he shakes his head. "no, it's fine. this one's on me."

you begin to protest, but he reaches out and grabs your hand, placing it back on the table. before you can say anything, he walks away, pulling out his own wallet.

you feel like stone. on the table, your hand burns as a result of his touch. you shove your face into your hands.

you don't like him. you don't like him. you don't like him. you don't like-

yeosang's return rips you from your thoughts. he sets three beers on the table, and takes his seat. you look up at him, not sure if you'll be able to survive the night.

"are you okay?" he asks, sounding genuinely concerned. "you seem kind of upset."

you let out a high-pitched giggle, and reach for one of the beers. "oh, i'm fine. totally fine." you grunt, trying to open the bottle. the cap wouldn't budge. you try again, and when that doesn't work, you bring the bottle to your teeth.

yeosang reaches over and snatches the bottle from you. "you're so weird," he mumbles, opening the bottle on the first try. you make a face, and take the drink back, taking a long sip. he cocks an eyebrow, and reaches to open his own.

you guzzle your drink, grateful for the distraction. maybe too grateful, though, because after a moment, you choke on your drink. sputtering, you laugh a little. you glance up at yeosang, and he’s smiling, too. you imagine you probably look stupid as hell, but his eyes sparkle. suddenly, he moves his hand up to your face, brushing his thumb across your bottom lip. 

“got a bit of soju there,” he mumbles, but his hand hovers. 

your face burns, and his does too. but neither of you look away. 

you lean forward slightly, suddenly yearning to close the gap between your open mouths. 

he looks down, leaning back in his chair. the connection breaks.

what the hell? you think. had you just wanted to kiss yeosang? you must be tipsier than you’d thought...

as the night continues, the two of you manage to keep a light conversation going, in between the drinks. twenty minutes pass, and you've already finished two beers. you stand up, ready to order more, but yeosang grabs your wrist. "hey, maybe you should slow down."

you shake your head. all you want is to be drunk right now. your random almost-kiss had your brain in overdrive. everything is stressing you out, and if you don't get drunk soon, you might lose your mind. being around yeosang was too much. you wanted to leave, but you wanted to be with him. you wanted for him to go, but you wanted to see him. you wanted him to stay away, but you wanted to touch him. what was going on? what were these feelings?

your counterpart sighs and raises his hand at the bartender, gesturing for another round.

 - - - 

thirty more minutes pass, and you're now three and a half sojus in, officially drunk. your thoughts spin and the ground tilts, but at least your breathing has evened out. you look up from the grain of the table, and find yeosang staring at you, a crease between his eyebrows.

"what?" you ask.

his gaze just hardens.

you like him you like him, no you DON'T you like him you like him you like him

"i didn't think you were gonna get plastered."

you plop your face onto the table, and he cringes. "well, i am. plastered, that is." you mumble against the wood. 

"mm-hmm. maybe we should go home."

you begin to argue, but yeosang has already gotten up, and is lifting you out of your seat. your whole body flushes with heat.

don't touch me. touch me. kiss me. go away.

he slings your arm around his shoulder and begins to lead you out. you can't help but notice how nice his body feels against yours. you can feel his toned muscles beneath his thin shirt.

on the street, yeosang turns to look at you. "i don't know where you live." he says, more to himself than to you.

you hum, not quite understanding his predicament. you want to sleep. suddenly, a thought occurred to you. "oh, yeosang-yah!"

he starts and turns back to you. "what?"

you force yourself off of him, stumbling towards a bench. he lurches for you, catching you around the waist. "what on earth are you doing?"

"i forgot to tell you." you mumble, lazily trying to push his hands off of you. "i can't handle my alcohol." and that's the last thing you manage before the world goes completely dark.

edit: part four is up now. thank you for reading!

[megan0013]

Chuckin’ a ⭐️ your way.

Sorry this took so long to answer! I wasn’t sure if I wanted to share or not, but then I realized VARIABLES is never going to get to this point anyway (though I’m halfway done with chapter six) so I might as well write out my thoughts and send them off into the universe.

That being said - this is more of a 1,350 word abridged and super self-indulgent ending than a “Director’s Cut”.

Jim goes into the Darklands months after he does in canon; thus, Gunmar doesn’t take over Trollmarket until Barbara is near the end of her pregnancy. And, unfortunately, she happens to be in the middle of an appointment with Vendel (who does not die) when the coup takes place. She’s recognized immediately as the Trollhunter’s mother and is taken captive after Otto tells Gunmar that Morgana would be most interested in a human/changeling hybrid. Gunmar considers it for a moment, and then appoints the poor polymorph as Barbara’s keeper. Which is how she’s able to stay healthy(-ish) throughout her imprisonment.

Fast forward a couple weeks, and Morgana is finally freed. One of her first orders of business is to go goad the Trollhunter’s incarcerated mother. She walks into the medical dwelling (where Barbara has been kept), monologuing, and then freezes.

“Gwen?”

“Uhhh… No. My name is Barbara Lake.”

But Morgana is convinced Barbara is the reincarnation of her long-lost love (I think they used the same character model, so that’s what this is based on) and decides that, as the mother of all changelings and Gwen’s lover, she’s entitled to keep/raise this baby.

Meanwhile…

Team Trollhunter is freaking the fuck out.

Especially when they’re in the middle of planning a rescue and Strickler’s face suddenly scrunches, and - oh, holy shit - the baby’s coming. There’s a fun scene in which Strickler is in absolute agony and, somehow, Toby winds up holding his hand.

“Omigosh! Breathe, Strickler! Breathe! You’re having a baby!”

“Do I look like I have the equipment to give birth, Domzalski? Fuck off!”

“I’m hurt, Strickler. Wounded.”

Abruptly, all the pain stops.

But then a feeling of fear, and exhaustion, and unparalleled love overwhelms him as the bond moves from a physical connection to an emotional one.

“It’s too late,” he says. “We’re too late.”

They’re not too late, and within twenty-four hours they (Strickler, Claire, and Aaarrrgghh) manage to infiltrate Trollmarket. Strickler finds Barbara. They have a very panicked reunion - “Oh my. That’s  my daughter, and I’m so happy but we must get you out of here right fucking now.” - before Claire portals them to the hospital, where Nik and a very specifically picked team are not-so-patiently waiting.

Morgana is pissed.

Anyway. There are a few complications but, ultimately, both mom and baby are okay. Barbara is sedated to help her heal (which is probably not something that happens irl, but let’s pretend - ok?), so Strickler is able to get some good bonding time in with his daughter while trying to keep up with Jim’s persistent, panicked texts.

At one point, Nik tells Strickler to go home for a few hours. He does, but only stays long enough to shower and pack a bag before heading back to the hospital - with Jim in tow. There’s a lovely brother/sister moment, and then Barbara wakes up and there’s an even lovelier brother/sister/mom/dad moment.

Jim goes home and instantly agrees to Merlin’s terms, while Strickler tries to talk Barbara into leaving town with the baby. She’s not having it. At all.

“Have you forgotten I’m the one person Morgana wants alive?”

Toby texts later that evening to see if they’ve heard from Jim. Barbara freaks and Strickler goes to join in the search for him. It’s a very tense day, followed by a very tense evening and a super awkward conversation in Barbara’s hospital room at 3 am wherein Jim starts gnawing absently on a stethoscope.

All this happens while Morgana is plotting out how best to bring forth the Eternal Night, betray Gunmar, and get her little ‘family’ back. She summons Otto (the changelings aren’t slaughtered, btw, and some of them are pretty sympathetic toward Strickler after seeing him around town actually living what they thought was only a fantasy life) and instructs him to kidnap the baby.

“You want me to… to steal Stricklander’s daughter?”

“Were you not listening? No, I want you to bring me the child that is rightfully mine. Her mother will surely follow.”

He’s hesitant but goes to do as he’s told.

Only, he doesn’t get a very good look at Nik when they pass in the hallway and winds up getting a few of his features wrong. Which probably wouldn’t matter if he were trying to trick anyone else, but Barbara and Nik have known each other since 8th grade and she calls him out almost immediately.

“You’re the polymorph. Otto, right? Walt’s told me so much about you.”

“He has?”

“Of course. He said you two used to be close - like brothers. In my book, that makes you family. Would you like to meet your niece?”

And, just like that, the Lake’s adopt another changeling.

Something Strickler is most skeptical of when he returns to the hospital a few hours later to find them chatting about some dumb stunt he’d pulled back in the early 1600’s. Nomura meets up with them, too, and the four manage to hash out a stupid, harebrained scheme to keep Morgana distracted up to, and during, the final showdown with Jim.

(I haven’t quite thought out all the specifics yet, but the plan includes Nomura in a glamour mask and Otto squeezing into a teeny, tiny little shape - so, you can guess where that’s going)

Anyway.

Barbara and baby are released from the hospital after three nights (might be two, idk, we’re playing fast and loose with the timeline here). They get home, entertain a few unexpected guests, host some impromptu strategy sessions, and then settle in for a small family meal that Strickler prepares in the hopes of bridging the gap from Jim’s old human palette to his new troll one. It goes over way better than canon, that’s for sure.

Later, after Jim has left to prepare for battle and the baby is finally down, a teary-eyed Barbara asks Strickler if he’s willing to stay with her that night. He jumps at the chance, because…

They still aren’t together.

They’ve ‘shared a bed’ once or twice since he moved in, but those were moments of passion and need that had only ever manifested into miscommunication and more. mcfreaking. yearning.

(They were roommates, anyone?)

And now? Well, this is definitely one of those moments. But with sex off the table, and a newborn two feet away, and the end of the world looming - maybe he should just tell Barbara how he feels about her?

“If something happens and I don’t come home tomorrow, I need you to know… My feelings for you haven’t changed. I’m still hopelessly in love with you.”

Of course, she feels the same.

Vows are made, kisses are exchanged, and they manage to get a few hours of rest before their daughter starts grumbling in her sleep.

The next day dawns bright and beautiful, and before Strickler leaves for battle Barbara wishes him good luck. He kisses her, then the baby, and says:

“This is all the luck I need.”

Or something like that.

(Because I think this kid’s name is Felicity [meaning ‘happiness’, and derived from felicitas meaning ‘luck, good fortune’]? Though, I might have just left it as Rory for consistency’s sake. Fun Fact: Rory is short for Aurora [Goddess of the Dawn], which I thought was a fitting name for a changeling to give their daughter.)

Ok, back to the story.

Everything, surprisingly, goes according to plan. Morgana is sufficiently distracted by Merlin and Aaarrrgghh, then by Otto and Nomura long enough for Jim to vanquish the Skullcrusher once and for all. But then she catches a whiff of the changeling magic surrounding Otto and Nomura. Everything sorta goes to hell after that.

True to canon, however, Team Trollhunter wins in the end by trapping Morgana in the Shadow Realm.

But only after Strickler sacrifices himself to save Jim’s life.

…

Joking.

They all live happily ever after.

(Until, ignoring Wizards altogether, Morgana breaks free a few years later and kidnaps the one changeling who isn’t a product of her magic, and is thus impervious to her mind control. Hijinks ensue. Morgana is rather pleased when the kid’s parents show up to rescue her.)

[milktyama]

karasuno boys on first dates pt.2

part 1

a/n: idk about yall but this pandemic making me feel extra lonely </3 LIKE I CAN’T EVEN HUG MY OWN FRIENDS FFFFFF. sucks being a physical person during this time. i’m also procrastinating from math homework, words make more sense than numbers

genre: fluff, lighthearted, g!n s/o, kinda?? cliche??

includes: tanaka, sugawara, asahi, daichi

wc: 1489

tanaka ryunosuke

he is the type to bring you to a movie date

classic and simple

he wants to recreate that oh so romantic moment of casually laying his arm over your shoulder and bring you slightly closer together

maybe if he wants to get a little spicy have you lay your head on his shoulder

but let’s move a few steps back to the asking out part

oh dear god

this man, although he is a mad gentleman, cannot handle feelings for the life of him

and in all honesty, probably took him a little far too long to ask you out

he had this whole scenario out of a movie in his head, all the vibes of a protagonist; boy meets girls moment

and the second he musters his courage and walk up to you during the end of the day, he freezes up

needed ennoshita to give you that sweet insight so you made the first move yourself or it would’ve taken a solid month or two before he could manage to greet you and start some small talk

he does not deal with feelings too well

fast forward to the date

he suggests a a rather romantic movie since he is kinda that type of guy

but you were feeling rather active today and suggests an action movie

and honestly he couldn’t thank you more because although he’s a hopeless romantic, probably could not stand a 2 hour romance movie

he doesn’t like to be called out by a movie </3

anyways, remember that movie scenario in his head? yea that’s out of the question

for one, you two were too hype during the movie; something about superheroes kicking ass is just oh so exciting

secondly, he was wimping out a little

at the end of the movie, you just, shine the brightest smile he has ever seen on you

and oh baby does he feel so HONOURED to be the cause of that smile

but the next thing you do absolutely makes his heart swell

you ask him for a second date

we did it gamers

quite ironically you guys go on a arcade game for your second date, and this mans does not give you an easy time, but you just love that competitiveness in him

sugawara koushi

starting at the beginning, he asks you out

he keeps it simple and straightforward

calls you out right before you exit school buildings, and asks you if you wanna watch practice because he’s obviously trying to woo you a little before his nerve wrecking question

and you gladly agree

i mean who can say no to mr. refreshing sugawara koushi

when he walks through the gym doors and the members seeing you walk right behind him, they would totally kinda misread the situation

i mean no questions asked when it comes to the boys having some insight to the setter’s feelings, however they were just a few steps too forward

saddest part it was DAICHI himself who went “woahh suga you already asked her out? good job man!”

his soul never left his body as fast as that time

like his boys really ruined that one time he wanted to go perfect

but it’s fine

because although you two were in a little of a blushing mess, you lightly grip his sleeve and murmured the cutest “i’m free on saturday afternoon”

saying that he short circuited is honestly an understatement

saturday rolls around and you two unanimously agreed to baking class date

it’s just a really fun and interactive date idea and suga is so in for activity dates

even though you two knew it was gonna get a little messy, yall SIMPS still put on some of your fav outfits

it was so worth it though ‘cause suga’s reaction to your outfit was just all you needed in the world

the date is really fun and playful

totally not at you two flouring each other haha nooo....

he walks you home just before you two part ways, his bold little butt places his hand on top of your head, pecks your forehead and gives you the widest smile

“pottery painting next?”

azumane asahi

asahi is a simple and shy man

i’m pretty sure that’s the obvious

and he would def opt for a simple, at home date

of course only if the other party is comfortable enough for that

don’t get me started at how he asked you

asahi is such a baby and probably has so much trouble with expressing his emotions on the whim/real time

he’ll probably go for a love letter (damn cheesey) just in case he messes up his wording and turns into a blabbering mess trying to make up for the previous mistake

i can imagine his love lever being just the most aesthetically pleasing

like homeboy pulled one of those scrapbooking, journaling people on instagram

plus points he did a wax seal thing (so fancy oml)

most likely put in your locker and then just RAN out of the place like usain bolt

and for the cherry on top, you would return a letter with the same amount of effort (probably not as pretty as his tho LMFAO) accepting his little date uwu

when the date comes, he would set up and clean his house to the tip top utmost cleanliness it could be

at his house, you two would probably watch some movies, play some board games, bake a little and so on

but the highlight of the date is when while watching your like 3rd movie, you doze off into asahi’s shoulder and boy you should’ve seen his FACE

so read and so cute

*insert pleading eyes emoji x2000*

he would gently stroke your hair, careful trying not to wake you up

but unfortunately for him you are a light sleeper

so you would wake up but allow him to run his fingers through your hair

and then when you decide to wake wake up, you tell him that when he strokes your head feels so nice and makes you feel safe AIJFSOLDKRG

and you ask him if you can do the same to him or try styling his hair

and how could he say no to you?

you two spend hours playing with each other’s hair (or only his if you have short hair)

oh and you took so any adorable pictures of him

he got so flustered but it was fine if it was you

sawamura daichi

as a man with the biggest appetite in the series, no surprise that daichi would bring you to a local restaurant for a little date

daichi is also a confident man

so he would puff his chest and put the effort to approach you

though as confident as i make him out to be, there’s still light pink dusted on the apples of his cheeks and hand awkwardly scratching the back of his neck as he makes eye contact with you

he’ll have you watch their practice and right after you two would make your to his favorite local restaurant for dinner

also during practice the third and second years would NOT give their captain a break while the first years are probably either too confused or don’t care (COUGH COUGH TSUKISHIMA)

anyways after practice and walking to the place is literally so perfect because sun in setting and the atmosphere is so romantic

you two probably walk right beside each other and making small talk when daichi is hinting that he wants to hold you hand by brushes that back of your hands together often

BUT YOU’RE PROBABLY SO SHY THAT EVERYTIME IS HAPPENS YOU JUST BLUSH AND APOLOGIZE AND EVENTUALLY U PUT YOUR HAND INSIDE YOUR BLAZER POCKET?????

HONEY YOU CAN ONLY BE SO  D E N S E

n e ways

knowing daichi, he probably goes to this restaurant very often and knows the menu like the back of his hand

so he would ask you for your preferences and then give you his recommendations based on that

he just wants to make sure you will enjoy your meal to the fullest

as a regular, he is also well acquainted with the restaurant owner

so like when mr. restaurant owner sees daichi walk in with another person while sporting a very clear blush on his face, he KNOWS something is up

while serving your orders, he was being sNEAKY by giving yall a freebie

and it turns out to be like the couple special

like those very pretty sparkly milkshakes with one of those straws that has two sides to it branching out

and like he refuse to serve yall other drinks FAGKFHJADH so you two had to with the milkshake and like oopsie moment when you two decide to go for it at the same time

the restaurant owner DEF took a pick of that exact moment and gave it to daichi as a gift AHAHAH

[thedinanshiral]

My personal DA4 wishlist + thoughts

I’ve been teasing this post for a couple of weeks over at Twitter, i’m the worst! But anyway, since game journalism has decided to confirm, once again, that the next Dragon Age game will be set in Tevinter like that’s breaking news, now’s as good a time as ever to write all this down.

Locations: Tevinter, clearly. It’s been pretty much a given since the end of Trespasser in 2015, with that scene where the Inquisitor stabs a map on a table directly on Tevinter as they promise to go after Solas to stop him. But also concept art and several stories from Tevinter Nights heavily imply Antiva, Nevarra, the Anderfells, and maybe Rivain. For those of you who don’t know your Thedosian Geography 101, that’s basically Northern Thedas. And it makes sense, since so far for three games straight we’ve been first stuck in Ferelden, then the coast of the Free Marches, and later the rest of Southern Thedas. We’ve never been North, only heard of it. So in DA4 i’m sure we will finally be able to visit.

Characters: If we’re going to Tevinter, we must meet Dorian again, maybe meet Maevaris Tilani as well (previously only seen in comics), judging from the latest comics series, i’m hoping for Fenris too. And going by the latest teaser trailer, we might see Varric again. As for characters that so far we have no news of, i’d like to see Cole, the Iron Bull, and if by any chance BioWare feels like blessing us with a Hawke/Fenris reunion i might just die happy.  I’d also very much like to see the Inquisitor, but more on that later.

Companions: considering concept art and the latest teaser trailer, plus Tevinter Nights stories and new characters, we have an interesting repertoire of new potential companions. A Tevinter mage, an ancient elf (like a temple guardian) or a dalish elf (like Strife), a Nevarran mortalitasi or spirit, Antivan Crows, Lords of Fortune (new faction, kind of like treasure hunters), Qunari lady, maybe an alchemist or shapeshifter, Grey Wardens (possibly a dwarf), a liberated or escaped slave, a Siccari (Tevinter spies/assassins)..even past agents of the Inquisition could return. 

Plot: We know Solas wants to take down the Veil. We know there’s two archdemons left, and Grey Wardens are regaining some spotlight in concept art lately. We might have to fight on multiple fronts simultaneously and be strategic about it. Solas might even unleash a double Blight just to keep us distracted while he focus on his own goal, who knows. But many other things are happenig in the margins and all over the place. The Qunari Antaam is having a crisis with some of its members supposedly going rogue, the order they’re so proud of is breaking up, and the whole of Northern Thedas is facing an imminent threat of invasion. Tevinter is still dealing with remnants of the Venatori and might soon be dealing with a slaves rebellion and/or a political and social reform (Magisters Dorian and Maeveris have been working wirh the Lucerni, a group aiming to restore and redeem Tevinter). The Antivan Crows -the de facto rulers of Antiva - may be dealing with a succession crisis, as their First Talon, a powerful feared and respected but old lady, might not be around for much longer and seems her chosen heir has died before his time. Meanwhile in the Anderfells nobody’s heard anything from the Grey Wardens’ HQ at Weisshaupt since the end of Inquisition, and as told in the novel Last Flight, the sudden reappearance of griffons may have had something to do with that radio silence. So you see, get ready for another +100 hours long game because BW has plenty of stuff to keep us busy with. But in short, DA4 seems will be about primarily searching, finding, and dealing with Solas. Regardless of what you decided at the Exalted Council in Trespasser, the Inquisition or what’s left of it is most likely the group orchestrating that mission. As it was so clearly stated then, they need new people Solas doesn’t know so he can’t foresee their actions, so it’s possible the DA4 protagonist is a new agent or a third party hired to do what the Inner circle can’t due to their familiarity with Solas in the past. But at the same time -and this is assuming we get to find Solas in this game - i definitely think the Inquisitor could easily show up again. No, losing an arm doens’t mean they’ve retired forever, prosthetics do exist in Thedas, a world where you can combine dwarven craftmanship with enchantments, seriously, i don’t ever want to hear “but they lost an arm” ever again as an excuse to write them out. And no, marrying Cullen or joining the Red Jennys is no impediment to join the “Stop Solas” Squad; the end of Trespasser means something, mainly that this is personal. Be it they loved them as lovers, as friends or ended up hating his guts for using and betraying them, the Inquisitor’s relationship with Solas makes this very personal, and so having any other character do that face off would cheapen all of it, all that bittersweet angsty development and expectations of either revenge or closure. That moment should happen between those two. It adds a ton of motivation due to their past historyas well, something a new protagonist would lack entirely.  My personal best hope is for a sort of dual protagonist thing, say we play new protagonist for most of the game but a selected missions or scenes where we play as the Inquisitor once again and take over for key and heart-wrenching dialogue options. My second best hope is for the Inquisitor to show up as playable for the moment we catch up with Solas. My third and final best hope is for the inquisitor to be a sort of advisor but more like new protagonist’s boss/employer to whom they report back to and get new missions from. The Inquisitor can be stuck in meetings for the most part of it, i just want to know they’re there, behind a door, super busy but there. A cameo like Hawke’s in Inquisition is the bare miminum i can take, anyhting less than that like a mention in a sidequest description or a footnote in a codex entry would be a total  injustice. 

Romances: I’m open for pretty much anything, as any good BW fan would be. But i’d like romances to feel more alive in the sense that they don’t abruptly get stuck once you exhaust all related quests and dialogue options. As much as my Adaar liked that spank from the Iron Bull, that it was the only thing they could share after their romance was locked was a bit..meh. I liked Dorian’s tho, because his gave one the option to talk a bit, go for a walk, gossip, and sure, it all happened off-screen, and there were limited possibilities, but it was nice and made their relationship feel a bit more real, like they had more to it than kissing and stuff. It happens in most games, once you secure a romanceable companion suddenly you run out of things to do and share with them, and you get stuck with the same 3 lines of dialogue over and over again. There should be a way of solving that.

Side quests: i’m ok with fetch quests initially as it is a good way of forcing the player to go out and explore huge maps, but i’d also like the fetching to have some meaning other than checking things off a list. I want to explore many ruins, and -can’t believe i’m actually saying this- i want a Fade quest. Wait! I know what you’re thinking but don’t kill me just yet, here’s my idea: what if we could visit the Fade at certain locations to witness memories or meet with spirits and recollect information on Solas, his past, his present? Both to understand him better (keep in mind we’ll most likely get a new protagonist who isn’t familiar with him like we are as players) and try to locate him or predict his next move. It would be i think i great way of having visions of Arlathan in its golden age, maybe seeing some of the other Evanuris, how they interacted with each other and with the elves in their service, what really happened ...i just want that sweet, sweet lore, i need it.

Technical stuff: ok, graphics will be amazing for sure, but i also would really really like: better, more varied and longer hairstyles, PLEASE. Body sliders, it’s damn time we get them. Mounts that actually make a difference! Let staves blades make damage in combat, I’M BEGGING HERE. Combined classes, MAGICAL ROGUES! A homebase we can fix up/build on/redecorate as fully as possible (Skyhold was great and i love it to pieces but why were those walls NEVER repaired????) . More casual outfit options, idk i love to dress up my characters, maybe some transmog? A day/night cycle and please i would love to see Thedas’ second moon, also weather variations depending on the region. Yes, i’m ambitious.

Gameplay: i’d like more AI options for companions, but not quite like in DAO, that was too much and i rarely used it. I’m curious how they’ll do combat this time but i know for sure i don’t want the kind of combat that has me going almost frame by frame pausing at every second, it’s annoying for me. I want large areas like in DAI but with a bit more stuff to see and do although one of my favourite maps is the Hissing Wastes so i won’t complain if we get a literal desert but i’d also like it to have secrets hidden around, make me work to find and solve them, i love exploring, i jump and click on EVERYTHING like i’m still a kid playing Monkey Island. A companion in concept art seems to be holding what looks like some form of rifle, so i’m curious how they’d incorporate that in the game. I know Tevinter has the magics and dwarves have the skill, a firearm is totally within the possibilities in-game without breaking any lore; also super curious what sort of skill trees Crows or Lords of Fortune could have, are they rogues, or warriors, or both??

So far, that’s what i got in my head.Well, most of it anyways, i may have missed something but this post has to end somewhere lol

What’s in your head? Feel free to share! Have you been thinking on how you’ll create your next protagonist? All i can think of is magical rogues and that  glowing bow was all the hype i needed.

[hockeylvr59]

Crush || Matthew Tkachuk

Requested: [ ] yes [x] no

Authors Note: So I’m not sure how I feel about this because Matthew’s personality is difficult for me. I know he’s normally sarcastic and confident but I feel like if he’s hiding a crush he’d be a little different. And throw in a kid and that brings out even more softness so I don’t know if this feels like him at all….but let me know what you think. I was watching his NBCSports interview from the all-star game and tried to base his temperament on that but idk how accurate I got. 

Warnings: none

Word Count: 2,262

~~~~~~~~

The cool air of the rink was the same. The feeling of his skates cutting through the ice was the same. The sound of sticks on pucks and his teammates chirping was the same. Everything about today’s practice was the same except for one thing...

Practice had started five minutes ago and his favorite team photographer wasn’t in her normal spot on the bench. 

Matthew couldn’t recall the last time that y/n had missed a practice. Her presence was such a part of the routine by now that for some reason her absence left him feeling bothered. Standing at the blue line, Matthew tried to pay attention to his coach’s instructions, determined to push past this unsettled feeling. Skating hard toward the net, he buried a puck past Rittich, a flash of movement from the bench catching his eye as he returned to his previous spot. Before he could assure himself that it was her, that everything was back to normal, Gelinas had pulled him aside wanting to chat about his shot and how to improve his game when breakout chances occurred. 

By the time Coach had finished with him, the next drill had already started. Taking a moment to figure out what was going on, Matthew settled himself at the back of the line before finally taking the chance to glance over at the bench. His heart settled back into place at the realization that the movement had been just who he was hoping it was. In the same millisecond, his jaw dropped as he realized that while she held her camera in one hand, snapping away like usual, things weren’t exactly normal. No...normally y/n didn’t have a baby resting on her hip. 

Lost in thought, Matt didn’t even realize that he was next in line for the drill until Johnny was shoving him from behind. And although Matt attempted to focus and participate in practice, there was one question that wouldn’t leave his mind.

She has a kid?  

You see, while Y/N was a staple at Flames practices, Matt had never actually really talked to her before. Of course, he’d occasionally hover over her shoulder to comment on the photos of him she’d taken, but he really didn’t know anything about her personal life. Admittedly, he had made a point to observe a lack of any rings on her left hand but now...seeing her with a baby made him realize that that observation really meant little to nothing at all. 

Partway through practice, Matthew had watched TJ Brodie skate over to her during a forward-only drill and he watched as she chatted with him, a smile on her face as she adjusted the kid against her side who appeared to cling tighter to her. From the other side of the rink, Gio watched as his young assistant captain eyed their photographer, his obvious crush ever more apparent. No one had said anything to him about the crush yet, but maybe it was finally time to give him a little shove in the right direction. 

A modified scrimmage was set up to conclude the on-ice practice and for a while, Matthew lost himself in the game, forgetting about y/n and the baby on the bench. It wasn’t until the puck deflected oddly off of someone’s stick and he heard a feminine screech of pain that it all came flooding back. Over on the bench, y/n was shaking out her right arm frantically, her fingers clenching into a fist and releasing repeatedly. With play stopped and Ward checking to make sure she was okay, Matthew couldn’t help but listen as she assured his coach that she was fine, that she was more worried about the baby and the camera than taking a bouncing puck to the arm. Still, he noticed the grimace on her face and a rush of anger filled him at the thought of her being hurt. It was a stupid feeling because it was a fluky play and while he cursed himself for it, it was an emotion he was finding hard to control. 

By the time he looked over at the bench again, she was gone, clearly not willing to risk another stray puck flying her way when she really wasn’t able to protect herself. 

The nagging feeling that he should go check on her followed him into the locker room as Matthew stripped out of his gear. He’d have a few minutes between grabbing a shower and the team film session if he was quick. But as he stood in the shower he told himself that it would be ridiculous and weird if he tracked her down. After all, they weren’t friends and the last thing he needed was for his teammates to give him hell over it. 

Still, after throwing on some sweats and a t-shirt, Matt found himself standing in the middle of the hallway, his brain telling him to head to film, while his heart pulled the other way. Caught in a mental debate, he missed Gio walking down the hall from the training room until he was hit in the chest with something thrown by his captain. Catching it, he looked up confused as to why he had an ice pack and a roll of elastic bandage wrap now in his hands. 

“She’s down the hall. Go help her wrap the ice pack around her arm.” Gio directed. 

“Wait. What?” Matt found slipping from his lips. 

“Chuck...she has a kid, not the plague.” Gio declared. “Now go before I have to watch you debate whether you should for a minute longer.” 

“I wasn’t…” Matt attempted to defend himself but Gio just walked away shaking his head before Matt could finish his sentence. Sighing to himself, Matt adjusted the items in his grip before turning down the hall where Gio had pointed, finding y/n sitting on the ground just around the corner with her back against the wall, computer propped up on a box and baby sleeping on her chest. 

Running his fingers through his hair, Matt sighed before approaching, the sound of his footsteps causing y/n to look in his direction. 

“So uh...Gio sent me with an ice pack for your arm.” Matt stated, his voice cracking, driving him completely nuts. 

“Thank you.” She whispered back softly, her lips dropping down to press against the baby’s head in an effort to ensure that it didn’t wake up. Now that he was closer Matthew noticed the pink clothes and though it was gender-biased, he took that to mean that this was a little girl. Unmoving for a moment, Matthew just Y/N with her daughter until she reached up for the ice pack. 

“Oh uh...can I help you? Gio sent a bandage wrap to keep it in place so you didn’t have to hold it.” Matt found himself rambling, something else that was so unlike his normal behavior. When she nodded, he found himself smiling, dropping into a squat beside her and taking the offered arm. “Did you get hit on the front of the arm...or the side?” He questioned, unable to see any signs of bruising as she wore long sleeves. 

“It hit here.” She pointed out, grazing her hand along her daughter’s head as she returned her free hand to the baby’s back. With appropriate direction, it only took a minute or two for Matt to secure the ice pack, and once he was done, he stood back up, his fingers tangling in his hair again. 

“Well...you should be all set.” He stated. “And I should head to film.” Shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweats he turned to walk away, only pausing when he heard her melodic voice say his name. 

“Thanks Matt.” She murmured and it was sad that those two words alone caused his chest to swell. 

As he settled into film he had so many new questions. He had to remind himself that they weren’t any of his business and that his business was to focus on the screen in front of him and not on how gentle she was with her daughter or how wonderful her voice sounded speaking his name. He’d be chirped for weeks if the guys knew where his head was at and he had a reputation to uphold. 

___

By the time they finished watching film, Matt was ready to go grab something to eat before hitting the gym for some weights. Detouring back to the locker room for his forgotten phone, Matt had to walk down by where y/n had situated herself in order to get to the player’s lounge. As he passed the side hallway where he’d see her just an hour or so before he once again heard his name, this time being called out with more volume and energy. 

Though his stomach was growling, Matt was unable to keep walking and so he stopped and turned down the hallway finding Y/N standing over a now awake child. 

“Oh Matt...thank god.” She declared. “Can you do me a massive favor and watch Lottie for a minute while I use the bathroom?” Her words came out in such a rush that by the time his brain processed them she was looking at him expectantly, bouncing on her toes. 

“I don’t…” He started and for the second time today, his protests were being cut off.

“Please?? Just make sure she doesn’t go walking away.” Apparently his body language signaled his agreement because immediately she smiled and kneeled down next to the little girl. 

“Mommy will be right back. Stay here with Mr. Tkachuk and behave. I’m coming right back after using the bathroom.” Though the little girl whined for a moment she eventually nodded at Y/N and with that the woman who was driving him crazy disappeared down the hall leaving him with her daughter. 

If Matt were honest, he didn’t know the first thing about kids and so he stood just watching ‘Lottie’ as she stared back up at him with big brown eyes. Feeling awkward he eventually slid himself to the floor, leaning against the wall, his gaze remaining on the baby as if she would magically vanish if he so much as blinked. 

Y/N had been gone far longer than a minute and Matt found himself glancing down the hallway to see if she was on her way back when he felt two tiny hands pressing down on his thigh as the little girl plopped herself down right next to him, a book lying beside her. As she settled herself, she reached for the book before attempting to hand it to him. 

“M. Chuck...ook peas.” She requested, those big brown eyes staring into his once more. Gently taking the book from her, Matthew opened it and just stared at the page until it clicked that she wanted him to read to her. It was a children’s book, one which had maybe five words a page and so he complied, telling her about the cat and the rat and the bat and the hat. As he turned each page he couldn’t help but marvel at the look that crossed Lottie’s face and as he finished, he nearly jumped hearing Y/N’s voice above him. 

“Tell Mr. Tkachuk thank you Lottie.” With a giggle, the little girl nodded and Matt watched as she brought her fingertips to her chin before moving it away, palm up. 

“Tank u” She babbled before pulling herself up and throwing herself at her mom’s legs. 

“Yes. Thank you.” Y/N echoed, as Matt set the book down and pulled himself to his feet. 

“Was that sign language?” He asked, not even realizing how random of a question that was until it had been asked. 

“It was. She started learning sign language as a way to communicate before she could talk.” Y/N explained. “She doesn’t really need it now, but I think she enjoys it because she pairs it with her words still.” Matt merely nodded in response, his hands finding their way back to his pockets once more. 

“Seriously thank you for watching her. My bladder was about to burst.” Y/N explained. “She’s been so clingy today because she’s teething again and with hand, foot, and mouth disease going around her daycare I had no choice but to bring her with me today and I did not realize how hard it would be to have a clingy sixteen-month-old attached to my hip as I tried to work.” 

“It’s no problem,” Matt assured her, though his brain was now spinning with all of the information she had just thrown at him. She had answered some of his questions, but there were still many more lingering. 

As he lifted weights an hour later, Matthew missed the looks his teammates were giving him as he watched Y/N between reps as she flowed easily between taking pictures of the Flames in the gym and capturing snapshots of her daughter who was trapped into a corner with plyo boxes working on a puzzle. No one commented on the smile that appeared on his face as he watched Lottie bounce on her toes as she called out for her mom to show off her finished foam puzzle, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t storing up ammunition to chirp him later. 

If things went the way the vets had a feeling they would, there would be plenty of time to do just that in the future.