#chapter two next week :)

[regular-gnome]

6. I'm The Collector

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[dirtgrubber]

“You jumped off a building without a second thought?” He says in disbelief. His hand delicately clasps onto Lucifer’s shoulder blade, a careful touch. “Hmm. Aren’t you reckless.”

from @morningstarwrites Of Saints And Sinners

[quesocheeso]

Progress update: Part 7 has two more panels left to lineart and Part 8 just got drafted and that one specifically was very fun to script💃💃

With those two chapters left we’d conclude the first arc of TTM✌️

And in case you haven’t kept up with the masterpost, each arc of Time Traveling Monkey Au is divided into “weeks” with 7 main parts each, since I mainly have MK being in the past for a little over a month, and I do have mostly everything planned at least in a broad sense, everything should be smooth sailing from here (hopefully lol)

For now have these two dumbasses:

[cinnaminstar]

*crawling out of a google doc spitting blood* hey guys i enjoy writing

the current chapter is fighting back AND I move in less than a week, so to make sure people know I'm alive here are illustrated versions of a few of my favourite comments <3

(P.S go read my fanfic. It's about siffrin being evil but he's bad at it)

[asmodeusamaryllis]

this sequence is so special to me

[rebouks]

Previous // Next

Courtney: I thought you’d quit again? Oscar: No one likes a quitter, Cookie. [Courtney hummed in faint disapproval] Oscar: I could take up some more nefarious things instead? Courtney: Yeah, no. … Oscar: What’s on your mind? Courtney: This n’ that. Oscar: Do I gotta tickle it out of you? ‘Cause I’m still due a little payback. Courtney: [sighs] I’ve been thinking about trying to find out who my parents were. Oscar: Seriously? Courtney: Maybe, yeah. Oscar: Wha-… Courtney: I don’t wanna talk about it. Oscar: Bu-… Courtney: Nope.

[petite-phthora]

Sometimes all you need is a little trust

[DP x DC fic]

[Love at first… murder? - part 21]

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Part 1

Ao3

---

They sit there in the dark for a while, in embrace. After a moment, Danny leans back, shifting to lay his head on Jason’s shoulder. The tears on their faces slowly dry as they are ignored.

Neither knows how long they sat there in quietude before Jason breaks the silence.

“Let’s… try this again…” He takes a deep breath before speaking up next. “I told you about the Pit, how it… how when I’m under its effects, I lose control.” He runs a trembling hand through his hair.

Danny doesn’t speak, letting Jason talk.

“It’s just that, whenever I feel the Pit, it’s usually accompanied by anger and rage but… Ever since you killed the Joker, ever since we met, it’s changed.

“Instead of anger, the Pit feels calm. Instead of throwing things and beating people up, I made chocolate fudge.

“And don’t get me wrong, I don’t miss the madness. But something made it change, and I’m not sure if I can trust that change… and I think that something… has to do with you.” He ends, looking at Danny.

“Well…” Danny puts his hand to his chin as he thinks “Ghosts are beings of emotion. It’s part of how we’re formed, it’s part of our language, and it’s part of our being. While your ecto has only ever been projecting rage to you before, I think I can at least theorize the reason behind the change.” He starts.

“I think a large part of why you came back in the first place was revenge, which initially made you a revenant. But that was before you were thrown into what I can only assume is some sort of pit with corrupted ectoplasm, which is what turned you or, well, tried to turn you, from revenant to halfa.

“The ecto stitched your undead body and soul together, brought back your mind, and tried to form a core within you, but the corruption prevented it from doing so. So it was only able to give you the beginnings of a proto-core, which is what made it difficult for me to sense you until we were close enough when we kissed.

“And this is currently keeping you in a constant state of being on the verge of core formation.” Danny takes a breath before continuing to hypothesise.

“You mentioned it was the Joker that killed you, and that the change in emotions happened after he died. To me, it seems like one of the reasons, if not the reason, you crawled out of that grave in the first place was to avenge your death and kill the Joker.

“As ectoplasm is largely emotion-based, the contaminated ectoplasm you gained from that pit probably latched onto this anger and want for revenge and held on to it. The contamination is what likely increases your feelings and what makes them able to overtake your actions, as it were.

“After he died, the major driving force behind you being undead, and behind the rage, was gone. As a revenant you should have gotten peace and gone back to being fully dead, your soul finally able to move on.

“But the ectoplasm within you that was left behind must’ve fused your soul back into your body again, not letting it escape as the revenant rage left you. This, paired with the beginnings of you becoming a halfa, is probably why you stayed.

“With the revenant rage gone, the pit likely can’t hold onto that specific emotional range any longer. So instead, it latches onto any emotion you currently feel in the moment, which again, since he died, is probably more peacefulness and happiness due to being avenged. So now the corruption will amplify those feelings instead.

“The amplified feelings might also lean more towards the happier side because of me being around. Either because I was the one to avenge you, or because your ecto could have recognised me as the same as you and been calmer because of it. Though…” Danny trails off for a bit.

“I have also heard from other ghosts, I sometimes just have that effect on people as crown prince” Danny says, rubbing the back of his neck a little sheepishly.

Jason had been vaguely following along until the last comment stunned him. “You’re a fucking prince?!”

Danny waves him off unconcerned. “That is something I’ll explain later. There is a lot of other context you’ll probably need before I’ll be able to explain any of… that…”

Jason lets out a breath and runs a hand through his hair once again. “Right, yeah, sure. We’ll come back to that.” As he’s trying to make sense of what he’s been told, Jason decides to get into some of the other concerning stuff Danny mentioned before.

“So… your parents… built an artificial Lazarus Pit?” He tries instead.

“Well, I guess? It’s more of a portal. It doesn’t exactly heal or harm anyone going inside, it just brings them into the Ghost Zone.”

“Right… Where’d they even put it that their children could easily access it?”

“Their lab in the basement of the house.”

“Their lab in the basement?!—”

“Yeah… Looking back on it, I guess the house was practically one big OSHA violation, huh…”

“There was more than just the lab basement?”

“Well, yeah, and I guess the dungeon and the Emergency Ops Center that can turn into the Fenton Blimp on top of the house are another big part of it”

Jason gives him an appalled look.

“A lab and a dungeon?! Why do your parents have a dungeon in their house? I thought parents were some kind of scientists, or like … ghost biologists?! ”

“Mhmm” Danny nods in confirmation. “Technically they’re ecto-biologists, but they also just call themselves ghost hunters.”

“And you’re a ghost?”

“Half ghost. And you are too. That’s what halfa stands for”

“Right, yes. We’ll come back to that in a bit. But first, did your parents know about… “

“About me being dead? Nah, they didn’t. Well, they do now, but not back then.”

“Have they ever hurt you?”

Danny turns his gaze to the side uncomfortably as he considers the question.

“Well…”

“Danny—”

“I guess, not really? I mean yeah, they’d chase after me with guns yelling about how they were going to rip me apart molecule by molecule—”

“They what—”

“But dad’s aim is shit and after a while I began getting better at dodging mom’s shots—”

“They shot at you?!” This seems to give Jason some kind of revelation “Don’t tell me that’s why—“

“But they’re really not that bad. They’ve never actually intentionally hurt me while knowing it was me, their son. But, they’re totally fine now! 

“Like yeah, before they knew they gave me a tough time sometimes, but to be fair they really didn’t know I wasn’t some evil ghost there to hurt and destroy.

“And at least they weren’t like the GIW, you know?”

“No, Danny. I don’t know. But please tell me you know this wasn’t okay?” Jason throws him a troubled look.

Danny frowns, shifting to sit up straighter. “They didn’t know—”

“Maybe not,” Jason cuts in, “But that doesn’t mean it was right or that it didn’t hurt you anyway. The fact that they didn’t know doesn’t make it any better.”

“They never hurt me seriously enough that I couldn’t recover—” He tries to protest.

“You shouldn’t have gotten hurt by them at all! Not physically, and not emotionally,”  Jason states, giving Danny a pointed look. “You shouldn’t have had to recover.”

Danny shifts his gaze towards the ground with a frown, picking at the grass a bit with one of his hands.

“You sound like Jazz,” He responds with a small grumble.

“This Jazz sounds like a wise individual to whom you should probably listen more often.”

“She is” Danny admits with a sigh. “And you’re right, I should…”

A beat, and then “I’m sorry for shooting you”

“It’s fine! It didn’t hurt me and it’s not like I haven’t been shot at before—” Danny tries to reassure, but Jason shakes his head.

“No, Danny. It is not fine. I shouldn’t have done it. And you shouldn’t be used to it.” He says decisively.

“But—”

“Nuh-uh, nope. It is not fine. I should not have done it. Period.”

“You likely had a good reason—”

“I did it because I wasn’t sure I could trust you,” Jason replies.

“I mean, you appeared out of nowhere, basically avenged my death, affected the Pit and made it act in ways it never has before, and then finding out you might have connections to the League?

“I just, it—It scared me” Jason confesses. “And I couldn’t deal with that fear.”

“So, I used my good old Red Hood interrogation techniques to try and get answers. You know? Shoot ‘em in the calf or thigh so it’ll be painful for them without being lethal and make it harder for them to get away.

“But while those are explanations for what I did, none of that is an excuse. There is no excuse.”

“That’s not true.” Danny tries to interject with a shake of the head.

“I’m a terrible person who has done terrible things.” Jason interrupts.

“Not just to you, but others as well. I’m dangerous. I’ve hurt innocent people. I’ve hurt my family. I’ve almost killed some of them— and not all of those times were because of the Pit, either!” Tears have formed in the corners of Jason’s eyes.

“Hey, I’ve killed someone too,” Danny objects, “The Joker counts, and I don’t have a Pit.” He tries.

“Danny, you did it on accident, and if anything the Joker definitely deserv—”

“Well, then I guess I must be a terrible person too” Danny cuts in. “For liking you despite all of that”

“Danny…”

Danny ignores Jason and grabs his hands in his own before looking him back in the eye.

“Maybe you’re not good for me. Maybe I’m not good for you. Perhaps we’re not good for each other, not good together. Terrible together“ Jason opens his mouth to say something but Danny quickly continues, not letting Jason get a word in “But I’d still like to give this a try. To give us a try.”

“Maybe it’ll end in disaster. Maybe it won’t, but… I’d be willing to take that chance… together… If you’d still have me?”

“Danny, I interrogated and shot you. Not just with bullets that didn’t hurt you, but also with a ray gun that you gave me that did hurt you. If anything, I should be asking you if you’d still have me despite all of that.” Jason says, clearly distressed, a few stray tears now rolling over his cheeks.

“And I doubt you’ll pull anything like that again, will you?” Danny asks with an eyebrow raise he learnt from the countless amount of times Jazz threw it at him.

“God no—”

“Then I don’t see the problem.”

“Danny—”

“We can go to couples therapy,” Danny states resolutely.

“Danny—”

“We can each go to normal therapy as well.” He adds on.

“Danny—”

“Jason Todd.” Danny interrupts. Jason stills. “Will you be my boyfriend?”

After a beat of silence, Danny adds on “On the condition we keep up clear communication between the two of us, and perhaps look into getting some form of therapy, of course”

Jason lets out a slightly exasperated huff and wipes the tears away, before giving Danny a soft look.

“You’re too trusting.”

Danny lets out a hum.

“And you don’t trust enough. But I’ve heard opposites attract, so…” Danny pauses. “What do you say?”

Jason gives him a small smile.

“If you’d still have me?”

The response is immediate.

“I do.”

Danny places his hand on Jason’s cheek.

“May I?”

Jason nods.

They both lean in, and they kiss.

---

Jason feels the Pit stir and resolutely ignores it and whatever feeling it brings with, keeping his eyes closed and gently pulling Danny in closer.

You’re not gonna ruin this for me.

---

Taglist:

@i-always-say-yea @uraniumwizard @why-must-i-be-like-this @griffinthing @i23432i @imsotiredfanficlovertm @jaguarthecat @arkita-shadow @noideawhatshappeninghelp @jaitwin5 @apple-juice16 @mossy-bonez @harvestandhearth

[aroaceleovaldez]

Romantic in nature or not, I always just looked at that scene in MoA with the notion: Annabeth is convinced that Nico, a gay man, has a crush on her in this exact scene (or you know, a different scene in MoA, I don't remember), and since we know that Annabeth isn't the best on the emotional front, she read Luke's intentions incorrectly, and Percy did, as well, due to his jealousy of the guy.

(Now, I know that neither of these are the case, especially since I doubt Nico was thought to be gay until HoH, and this is around the time that Annabeth was starting to be characterized as Never Wrong About Anything Ever, but it's always been my go-to regarding the whole Luke-Annabeth debacle. What I mean to say is that I like your interpretation of the scenes, too)

Oh i actually believe Nico was fully intended to be gay starting around MOA at least (though I do believe Rick claiming he had figured that out about Nico earlier than that), because Rick was absolutely acknowledging queer topics in his writing at that time. Jason's arc particularly in the latter half of HoO is extremely bi-coded and there's just straight up a canonical polyamorous relationship in Serpent's Shadow, which came out several months before HoH.

Which does make Annabeth's line about that in MOA funnier, especially considering by that point Nico has held maybe one full conversation with her in the entire franchise thus far, maybe two or three if you wanna push it. I cannot emphasize enough how little they had spoken to each other - and tbh, continued to not speak to each other. Just in general. Like the most notable interactions the two of them have prior to the high-five scene in BoO are literally both in BoTL and it's one line and then one off-screen scene of Nico breaking up a fight between Rachel and Annabeth (where they were fighting over Percy) entirely for the purposes of going to save Percy. They barely interact in HoO. Nico and Annabeth have a chronic case of their plot lines being in different locations because only one of them is allowed to be active at a time due to their narrative roles. Annabeth is kidnapped for most of the TTC Nico scenes and Nico is at camp when they get to Annabeth, and then in TLO Nico's busy with all the Underworld stuff and flirting with Percy so he never interacts with Annabeth. Then Nico is off at Camp Jupiter when Annabeth's at CHB and then busy being kidnapped for the first stretch of the Argo II mission and only shows up when Annabeth is busy on her Arachne quest. And then Annabeth FALLS INTO TARTARUS when Nico gets there (and proceeds to pine at Percy) and then IMMEDIATELY after Annabeth gets out of Tartarus, Nico skips away with Reyna and Coach to drag the Athena Parthenos to camp. And then FINALLY they interact and it's not even Nico speaking directly to Annabeth really, just high-fiving her after insulting Percy to his face. He literally only says one word directly to her.

Like. I cannot overemphasize the absolute comical degree to which these two avoid interacting. They're like magnets repelling each other. And yet Annabeth is like "I think he has a crush on me - he spoke to me once, allegedly." Like ah yes, sure, HoO. Next you're gonna tell me you retconned them into having a FOURTH conversation! Don't get too wild!

[pluck-heartstrings]

I can't be stopped from being obsessed with my own AU. My only goal is to drag you all down with me.

[aplaceforyourhearttorest]

Take Me Down To The River † James Hetfield (16+)

Part One of Two

Mentions/Warnings: smalltown!james, smalltown!reader, angst, hurt and comfort, exes to lovers, suggestive content

Cicadas croon in a repetitive notion as you slowly make your way down the seemingly never-ending road and pathway, the tattered and overworn lace on the bottom of your dress caressing itself against the tops of your boots with every step you trudge forward. The sky is gray and an offset blue, yet heat still permeates itself through the thickened clouds as music eventually begins to make itself known within the distance between you and the familiar looking, abandoned church ahead. Cars line themselves in hazardous and haphazard lines on each side of the jagged and uneven damp dirt road, and irritation starts to sear in your stomach as loud voices and engines begin to surround you.

You halt mid step and contemplate turning around and creating a false excuse as to why you were unable to show up to the party on your way back home, before you flinch back at the sound of a truck barreling its way down the pathway you're currently stood on, and as dark and browned water spatters itself against the now ruined bottom half of your dress. The muddied liquid immediately absorbs itself within the cotton of your outfit, and a grimace paints your already downtrodden features as the material latches itself onto your newly soaked skin. You look down in numbed disbelief as droplets collect themselves in the hem and then pummel downward, and you're hardly able to fully lift your head up again before a voice is yelling out and at you.

"Holy shit, I swear I didn't see you there," an oddly sounding familiar voice cries, and brakes are soon squeaked to a stop soon after, the high pitch constriction sounding the complete opposite of the slow music echoing itself down the road. Blonde and disarrayed strands of mane cover the left side of the man's face, and your heart stutters in your chest as the muddled air brushes it away to show the features underneath. James pauses in the middle of opening his door, and only comes out of his stupor when someone else in the car shoves him forward. He's barely able to catch his weight on his forearm resting in the created opening of the window's edge, and his own face twists in disgust as his left shoe makes contact with the soot textured filth he covered the bottom half of you with. "Are you alright?"

The second the question is verbalized, he's shaking his head at his own inquisition, and his lips move inward as you take a step backward and go to walk towards the small opening in between the rows of cars. "Wait!" He requests, yet you sift your fingers down the fabric and bunch it up instead, before lifting your other weighed down boot and continuing your half blind travel. The sun is now pivoting behind the earlier clouds, and you ignore the unyielding calls behind you as you attempt to find the source of running water you remember visiting only a few years ago. There's a halted moment and a pause within James calling out to you, and you suck in a deep breath of relief, just as a warm hand encircles itself around your right forearm. Your body's first instinct is to flinch away, even as the cool and familiar temperature of his rings press themselves against your bare skin and silently beckon you in.

"I didn't know you were back in town," the slight stammer in his now deeper tone softens your hardened shell, even as you tense under his hold, and as his grip loosens once he notices your demeanor. The dual sound of your guys' shoes and boots squelching as they imprint themselves in the mud is the only consistent cadence, before the cicadas round again, and as his fingers absentmindedly run their pads down your goosebump ridden flesh. Your fists clench themselves in the material of your dress as he retracts his hold from around your lower arm, and you force yourself to look forward as he clears his throat. "I'm really sorry, if I had known it was you, I would have slowed down."

Your lips raise on their own accord, despite the awkwardness and tension in the air, and you can feel James' eyes rest on you as your shoulders shake with your uncontained laughter. "And if it wasn't?" You edge, your knuckles relaxing against the wet cotton, the dress's material sliding back down to cover the rest of your legs as you catch sight of the river to your left. James allows himself to fully catch up with your own steps, and you subconsciously lean into his warmth as his clothed shoulder brushes and caresses itself on your own bare one. The smile in his voice when he answers is obvious, and if you'd allow yourself to relax any further, it'd almost feel like you two are eighteen again. Meeting up for a date by the river, or for a moment of silence, while your mutual friends raise hell not so far behind.

"I'd speed up and get even closer," he instigates, his smile turning into a smug grin when you look over at him in amused shock, your features brighter and livelier than a few minutes prior. "It's common sense and knowledge around here to walk in the grass anyway, most locals know that," his left elbow bends and purposefully collides with yours, both of your guys' smiles mellowing after he finishes his sentence. "Even if they've been gone for a while."

You're saved from answering as you pivot and carefully inch yourself towards the edge of the side of the river, the mud covering the bottom of your boots aiding you as you squat down to level yourself with the flowing water. James keeps himself a step behind you, and without even having to look back, you already know that he's got both of his hands positioned to catch you in case you fall. You place your dampened palms on the rocks and rest your backside against the cool surface, a shiver wracking up your spine as you place your lower limbs into the current. Hurried waves of excited and once still water wash ashore on the worn leather of your boots and stained dress, and you watch as both of your reflections look back at each other in the darkened liquid.

"It's been two years," you remind him, your breath leaving you in a shuttered exhale, and you wet your lips as you watch his features withdraw and close up. "You chose what you wanted to do, and I chose as well, I suppose. I'm not upset about it anymore." The tightness in your chest constricts as renewed guilt reawakens on his face, and you situate your eyes on the other side of the river, instead of having to see him relive the last day you two spoke to each other.

"You didn't abandon me, regardless of all of the fucked up things I said back then," James iterates, finally fully meeting you at the edge, and the large rock beneath you two shifts, before it recenters and seeps back into the soil. His left hand rests right next to your right, and you coerce and stop your fingers from spreading in a blind search of his own. "You did the right thing for yourself back then, and I did too." You twist around to try and look back for the truck he had driven in with, but it was too far back and blanketed within the others.

"Found the rest of your band members, huh?" You search gently, and hum around a renewed smile as you see him nod in your peripheral. The coil unravels in your chest, and for the first time since you've seen him again, it nearly feels easy to breathe. A ripple of cool water lifts the bottom of your dress from the tops of your boots, and you peer down as it naturally folds and rests on the middle of your shins. You brave yourself enough to look over at him, and the breath halfway exited from your chest halts, as your irises immediately find and latch onto his. "I knew you would." You breathe, you voice barely audible over the rush of water, the background music and cicadas, and the erratic beating of your own heart. It's pathetic how something as simple as a reciprocated look from your first love can have the last few years apart, feel like only seconds.

You swallow thickly and press your tongue to the roof of your mouth as his blue eyes track the movement, your fingertips pulsing against the cold stone beneath the two of you, as you cautiously wait for his next move. Expecting him to be as impulsive as much as he is shy has you tensing, and your spine relaxes as he instead looks away and inches forward. Reddened and calloused hands reach forward to gather the material of your dress, and you raise your legs in front of you for better access. The residual water he wrings out the cotton sounds like temporary pouring rain, and you can't help but shudder as he curves a roughened palm around your right calf to tug you in closer. His fingertips coalesce to scrub out some of the mud spatter and browned water, and you purse your lips together in an attempt to hold back a titter of laughter as it just makes it worse, the river's water doing nothing but softening whatever had hardened on the travel over.

"It's alright," you try to placate, your voice sounding tight as you try to swallow down your own mirth at the situation, it becoming harder to do so as he rubs the material back and forth together with annoyed vigor. You see his hands beginning to turn a light hue of purple, and you hastily bend forward to take his own in yours. "It's okay, James, it's only a dress." Your words are ignored as he continues under your hold, and you're only able to gather his full attention once you grab ahold of both of his wrists. You bend your knees and rest your now completely soaked boots on top of the rock beneath you two, and James follows as you beckon him to fully sit back down next to you.

"I can buy you a new one, or I can take it to the dry cleaners. I promise you; I'll figure something out this time." His words seem hushed and hurried, and you absentmindedly rub your thumbs against his pulse points, feeling his blood pumping anxiously underneath your digits. You tug on his unsteady hands and lay them on your right thigh, and send him a gentle look when he rests his unfocused gaze onto you.

"There's nothing to figure out, because everything is fine. See," you purposefully trail your eyes down the expanse of your body, and you make sure that he follows suit. His eyebrows furrow when you two get down to your boots, but he's already quickly relaxing into your hold. "I'm right here, we're both in one piece. We're all good to go."

He tsks and shakes his head to himself, before following your earlier movements by looking behind you both, seemingly trying to find his truck throughout the others. "I've got a spare outfit or two in the truck's backseat," he offers, and he's up onto his feet before you can fully digest his words, gently twisting his wrists out of your hold, only to mold his own hands against yours and squat down in front of you. "I said I'll figure something out this time, and I meant it. I may have broken both of our hearts and nearly drowned you in mud, but I can at least offer you a shirt that hasn't been cleaned in the past three days." He's got a familiar looking playful and hopeful gleam in his eyes in response to your own wry look, and you know it's best to follow him instead of trying to fight back and disagree, so you place the heels of your feet underneath you and allow him to bear the rest of your weight.

You hold back any reaction to the wet gush of water that covers your toes once you're fully stood back up, and you give yourself permission to hold onto the hands you've tried to convince yourself you haven't missed. You walk behind him through the tight rows of cluttered cars and trucks, and try not to reminisce on the times you two were in a similar position. Just having gotten out of the swimming pool back in senior year, with a wide smile on your face, and you lifting yourself up onto the tips of your toes to press the physical representation of your happiness into the middle of his shoulder blades.

The only sources of light down the long road and pathway are from headlights that were left on, and from taper candles that were brought earlier on from the actual party throwers. The tinged and artificial yellow light gives off a warmer atmosphere as you two shuffle yourself free from the onslaught of vehicles and back onto the slab of dirt, and you feel James let out a hefty sigh once you two do. You carefully untangle a hand from his and move forward to stand beside him, your relief becoming palpable as the red truck that must be his comes into immediate view. He's reaching forward into the truck with its window still down and pushing it open from the inside, before twisting the high beams off and motioning you to head inside first. You pause once you're able to stabilize yourself on your knees on the large front seat, and kick off your boots before you fully get into the truck. James is repeating the motion and barely has his door fully closed, before he's got a forearm and bicep disappearing in the direction of the backseat.

Your lips nearly split with the size of your disbelief ladened smile, as a shirt you once gifted him is tugged free from a messy pile. Red and black overworn and stretched out cotton is strewn onto and over your lap, and you clutch onto it as you try to figure out his expression. James stares forward as you slowly and carefully lift your hips up to tug the sticking material from your still dampened skin, and you hold back a shiver as you free your bottom half. You can see in the yellowed light from the other cars multiple feet away from his that his hands are gripping the steering wheel, and his teeth are pressing themselves into his bottom lip, worrying the natural swell. You tug the remainder of the dress off of you and drag the shirt and his scent over your mussed hair and head, and slowly lower yourself to lay back against the tinted leather.

By the time you've got your dress half folded up and resting near your bare feet, James is loosening the hold he has on the steering wheel and turning his head to look in your direction. You tug at the collar of the obviously worn and stressed shirt. "You kept this," you unhelpfully point out, and your breath hitches as you catch the familiar glint of metal on the keychain attached to the keys that were left in the ignition. "And you also kept the gift that I got you for our one-year anniversary."

"What about it?" He grates, his tone aggressive, yet saddened. James' hand lowers to almost protectively touch the keychain, as if he's reminding himself that it's still there. You push yourself up into a fully sitting position, uncaring as the material of the shirt lifts to rest on your upper thighs, as you begin to feel frustrated as well.

"The night I came and told you about me getting accepted into a college out of state, the first words out of your mouth were just take it and go, leave me already. That our relationship was essentially bullshit, and that neither one of us should hold each other back," you're unable to hold your emotions at bay, your tone becoming weaker. Tears burn and make themselves known at the precipice of your waterlines, and James stares at you helplessly as they begin to make their way down your reddened cheeks. "You broke up with me the week after you thanked me for always being by your side, and right after you got news of Cliff wanting to join the band. We celebrated the night before, and we made plans. To travel together and figure our shit out on our own time. That the timeline of things didn't matter, as long as we have each other."

James reaches out to take ahold of your hand, and you edge them further back, averting your eyes to not have to see his reaction to your rejection. You hear a broken exhale, and then the faint sound of something dripping onto leather. The hand James originally reached out to you with is raised temporarily, and then brought back down, now wet with tears. "You don't understand," he begins, the earlier strength and sureness behind his tone now nonexistent. "You were the only person there for me for years, and then an opportunity of a lifetime was offered to you, and I couldn't have let you miss out on that. I know you, and I know that if I had asked you to stay closer or wait another year on your dreams for me, you would have," you look up at him to intercept and disagree, but you hold yourself back when you see the expression on his face. "You gave up so much for me within the years we were together, and even before then. The least I could've done then, was give up the fear of holding you back."

"We could have made it work; we could have figured something out." You try to reason, but let go of trying to rationalize it all when you finally have him in front of you to explain. You reach out this time, and instead of being rejected like you did with him earlier, he meets you halfway. The air pillowing in from the rolled down window smells like moss and post rain shower, the light is artificial and it's getting darker as each minute passes by, but you're here together. And with the first swipe of his thumb across the second knuckle of your left forefinger, you're moving in closer. Your bare knees make brushing contact with his right thigh, and his free hand intertwines itself with the material of his shirt.

"As soon as you left, I ran headfirst into finding the rest of the members of the band. Lars and I almost lost our minds with it, and I needed the distraction. We went days without telephones and nearly without food. Even if we could've tried to make it work, we wouldn't have been how we were," he traces the faded and ripped lettering and guides his fingertips up to the collar, before using it as leverage to usher you forward until you're both only centimeters apart. His exhale becomes your inhale, and as you blink, you can feel as your eyelashes skim and make brief contact with his cheekbone. "I think I needed to lose you, to figure out what shit really matters."

Hope blooms in your chest. And despite being partially freezing cold, terrified of making the wrong move, overstepping and then getting out of the truck alone, being in such a close proximity to him brings you so much comfort and warmth. "And what shit really matters?" You ask, tilting your head up with a nod, and fighting back the urge to close your eyes as your lips brush against his. You can sense and feel his answering grin without even having to glance down. And for the first time in two years, and instead of being kissed goodbye, you're being welcomed back in.

"You matter." Is murmured within a gasp, and you're unable to process anything but the touch of him again. Each brush of lips and the teasing swipe of tongue has you letting go of his hand and instead freeing your own to grip onto the handle of the driver's side door, only to use it as leverage to climb onto his lap. His hands are on you instantly, easily finding their way underneath his gifted shirt to dig his fingertips into your heated up flesh, his palm making direct and firm contact with your spine to push you even closer up against him.

You have to lean back and disconnect your guys' lips to suck in a much needed inhalation of breath, and James takes advantage of your newly exposed skin once you do. His tongue lengthens itself down and leaves trails of saliva and marks in its wake, and by the time he's got you littered in marks and nearly rutting against his lap, he's pleading with you. "Tell me you're going to stay."

You raise your hand to reach up and grasp onto his long, blonde locks, your lips swollen and bruised red, and your breath still lost. With a gentle tug and an answering groan, you whisper.

"Give me a reason to."

[skania]

I love, love, love what the anime did with that final shot. Kana's acting as a child was like "the dazzling and shining sun". In the manga, I always thought the the title, "Sun", was simply meant to be a reference to that.

But the anime takes it a step further and suggests it's meant to be about both, because in that final shot we see sparkles shining off Akane's eyes... the same sparkles that were shown in that initial shot where Kana's acting is called sun-like.

I also adored the way they elevated those last Aqua/Akane pages.

The anime clearly parallels Sayahime's pain at the war with Akane's pain at accidentally making Kana retreat into herself. She silently apologizes to Kana, just like Sayahime must be silently apologizing to those being hurt due to the fights.

Thanks to the manga drawn by the OnK Anime staff, we know those are Saya's quarters. So who would likely be the one to comfort her in those times of need?

Touki, her fiancé. And who comes to comfort Akane?

Aqua, Akane's very own Touki 😭

The anime didn't have to go that hard, but they deliberately set up this parallel. It isn't only that Akane and Aqua are dressed as Saya and Touki, they are behaving the part, too. Aqua is there to reassure her that she did nothing wrong, and to have her back so she can have the result she wishes for. Just like Touki with Saya.

[regular-gnome]

3. A Collection Run

First | Previous | Next

What happens - Context

[iamumbra195]

!!!SBG SPOILERS CHAPTER 77!!!!

THIS CHAPTER WAS EVERYTHING HOLY FUCKING SHIT!

The dynamics between the kids and how comfortable they've gotten around each other, especially with how Ashlyn was totally okay with Taylor and Aiden messing with her hair-- which is something I absolutely adore in this chapter she looks amazing and badass. The fact that Logan felt comfortable enough being snarky like that is also everything. Like this kid has been bullied relentlessly and the fact that he knows he can be snarky and mess with Tyler like that without getting hurt because of it shows so much growth. And the little moment of childish delight between Taylor and Aiden at the idea of racing around and the fact that Ashlyn doesn't tell them to focus or be serious but instead tells them they can do it later?? Early Ashlyn would get so annoyed and now she's just chill with it because she knows they all have their own ways to cope and deal with the stress and that's honestly so sweet.

Also, Ben using sign language and being understood and the others trying to find solutions so he can warn them of danger or something he is about to do is so sweet. They're so accommodating and caring to one another without even having to think twice, it's honestly so sweet.

Alex helping them with the card without question is really sweet but I have bad feeling it's gonna backfire on him and I don't like it.

And the rules of the phantom dimension are literally so weird. So technically they don't need to sleep or eat but they should because it helps them feel better when they're awake? I knew I was onto something when I made that post about how the fact they're technically living 31 hours a day should effect them more physically.

Also, The fact that the facility has a fucking armory is insane but also works so perfectly for the Mike-centric AU I've been trying to cook up and speaking of Mike, OH MY GOD HE'S IN THE PHANTOM DIMENSION, I REPEAT, HE'S IN THE PHANTOM DIMENSION!!

Does that mean the other parents are there too? Is it just him? Is Emma with him?

Also, both dad and daughter being certified badasses and having the same instincts??

We also got Mike with facial hair again lol but I'm kinda worried about what the means. Like they probably gave them stuff for basic hygiene right? Did something happen? Is he spiralling? Who was the one that screamed in this moment?

Also-- THE WAY ASH STARTED CRYING WHEN SHE RECOGNIZED HIM??

Oh my god, idk if we're gonna have another hug moment where he's comforting her again or if we're gonna have all the kids hugging their parents but either imma start crying.

Also, if she's crying but she thinks she's the one who dragged her dad into the phantom realm and feels horribly guilty about it again I'm gonna fucking cry.

My thought process is all over the place but if you stayed thanks and here are some of my other favourite panels in this chapter.

the second one and aiden shooting the guns has some good pfp potential lol

Anyway, the new outfits and Ash's new hair is everything (she looks adorable I wanna squish her cheeks she looks like a chipmunk oml) and I can't wait until next week holy shit.

[cinnaminstar]

I finally have some actual free time again! To celebrate, here are some very quick villain Sif doddles as I try to get back into both the writing and drawing groove lol

[shirozora-draws]

I am so late but I am finally done with the first round of merch that I am satisfied with. I am satisfied and we are rolling forward with this set. Now to send off all of my final sample orders so that I know these are absolutely working and are worth posting to a shop site as pre-orders.

Clan of Three lanyards. I recognize that I could easily turn these into washi tapes if I wanted to. We'll see.

Grogu Baby Crimes. Sticker & acrylic shaker charm. Completely revamped after carrying around the old version as an acrylic shaker charm and deciding it was too unwieldy and, more importantly, not cute enough. This will be a sticker option and an acrylic shaker charm option.

Keldabe kiss - Interstellar version. Matte & holographic sticker.

Keldabe kiss - Tatooine version. Matte & holographic sticker.

Live Cheen Reaction. Sticker. For all the fans of Cheen Yofree, the unluckiest third-wheeling Rodian OC.

Need A Hero. Sticker & acrylic charm. The only thing I'm putting forward with Din's face for now. I wanted something cute.

Clan of Two. Sticker. A straightforward general sticker.

The Battle Couple. Sticker (for now). This was actually designed to be an embroidered patch, but I'm not really there yet. The sticker shape is odd so I might present this as a kiss cut sticker.

Luke on Ossus - no scars. Sticker. For people who don't want scars?

Luke on Ossus - scars. Sticker. I just wanted to doodle a thirst trap, thassit.

The Storm. Sticker (for now). I wanted to make more merch for my fics and might use this template for the other fics in the Dangerous Dreams series.

The Clan of Three. Sticker. This motherfucker held me up for MONTHS. I didn't like the previous full-body version especially after getting several sample stickers so I started over... and then got stuck. For months. But here we are. The final piece of the puzzle.

Limited - Tron. Sticker & acrylic charm. I wanted to make a little Tron merch. The acrylic charm will be double-sided with Tron on one side and Rinzler on the other. Thank god this guy is more or less symmetrical.

Limited - Rinzler. Sticker & acrylic charm. For people who like Rinzler. This will be double-sided with Rinzler on one side and Tron on the other side.

I'm sending off a final round of sample sticker and charm orders so that I can get a feel for the revamped and new designs, and once I'm happy I'll get the pop-up shop up and running.

Round 2, I'm looking at small prints, possibly the embroidered patch, and maybe a Tron|Rinzler standee. Also a sticker for The Suns maybe, possibly also The Stars. What if I did a WarGreymon|BlackWarGreymon charm?????

And now.... we write.

[chaosduckies]

Surprise Sketches of some OC’s I was working on for a fic I was writing. Again, not an artist but I think they turned out okay! :D (I think the tiny is going to be smaller but I’m physically incapable of drawing that small on my current canvas size)

Don’t worry, the big guy is gentle… even if sometimes he doesn’t realize things until after he’s done them. But aghhh. Tiny with a broken wing, forced to stay with someone hundreds of times bigger than himself until he’s healed up which could take months? Amazing. Chef’s kiss

I won’t reveal the names yet, but this one is an extreme size difference because I love it so much 🫶