#didn’t mean to ramble oops

[dreamerwriternstargazer]

This bit made me feral but also yet again a missed opportunity like Ruby plays her theme tune (I thought I recognised it! I felt my heart skip a little the way it did when I first heard it, the way Clara’s gets me) and like the Doctor is AWARE OF THE MUSIC

AND MOFFAT ALREADY ESTABLISHED THE MUSIC IS ACTUALLY MEMORIES THEY ARE HIS MEMORIES THEY ARE PART OF THE STORY SO THIS FALLS IN LINE WITH THE LORE OF HELL BENT AND CLARA

So like it made me happy but also it didn’t surprise me because?? Hasn’t every companion and their respective theme FELT like part of the story? Actually upon rewatching the Ponds era, I always think how Amy’s theme sounds like the their adventures, it SOUNDS like the Doctor’s love for her

And it is. Because Amy is telling us a story and it is the story of the Girl Who Waited and her Raggedy Doctor so of course yes the music is the story we are listening to her story in her narration and the music

So like

Yes this was fun and funny

But Moffat established this idea implicitly through the sheer stunning dichotomy of his writing and Gold’s scores throughout his show run. A part of me was amused but actually a little saddened that 1. RTD used it just for a gag (totally fine! It was fun! I liked it) but then 2. Didn’t actually go anywhere properly with the concept of music as power he just fluffed it. And in the end it’s the Beatles who save everything because they were somehow musical geniuses, because they sure as heck weren’t present enough to actually be emotionally or thematically relevant to the story.

RTD loves a big grand spectacle and an abstract conflict, unfortunately his resolution is equally abstract, whereas Moffat took the abstract, simplified it and delivered us a practical and moral resolution all in one that satisfies heart and mind.

The Maestro was definitely a massive improvement on the Toymaker but yeah… I know this is just a throwaway line but it’s representative of a slightly larger issue with RTD’s writing, I hope he comes back to this grand pantheon and really makes full use of playing with these abstract villains and conflicts

#breaking the fourth wall

[avirael]

Stuck on Repeat

He wanted to scream.

To scream and to cry and to be anywhere but here. But the best A’viloh could do was try not to tremble and instead follow Rael‘s example, who - despite the fact of being shackled and pushed around - still maintained a certain stubborn grace. He wished he knew how they did that.

What exactly was going on? A‘viloh wasn’t sure of that yet and it would take a while for him to process all of this. Everything had happened so fast. Suddenly the sultana had gasped for air, her goblet falling to the ground along with herself, soaking the expensive carpet with its dark red content. While A‘viloh had only stared in shock, Rael had immediately jumped up and was by Nanamo‘s side only split seconds after she collapsed. The next moment there had been guards everywhere and also that mean Lalafell accusing them of regicide. They had barely been able to say anything before the guards had grabbed them both, checked them for weapons and tied up their hands.

Now, as the door in front of them opened, the soldier behind A‘viloh gave him a rough push. The miqo‘te winced and stumbled forward into the room filled with people, all eyes on him. He lost his balance and with his hands tied behind his back, he landed rather ungracefully on the hard, cold stone tiles. His head started to spin, his vision began to blur, his heart was racing. It was all just too much and also too late to stop the memories that had buried their ugly dark claws deep in his mind. Miserably he gasped for air.

Rael hadn’t fallen but still knelt down and leaned towards him, wanting to make sure he was alright. „A‘vi! Please stay calm. I’m trying to find a way to get us out of this…“, the viera managed to whisper before someone pulled them away.

A’viloh still struggled to sit up and at the same time tried desperately to see where Rael had gone, when someone grabbed one of his arms and a handful of his hair and yanked him into a kneeling position. He pressed his eyes shut and tried to breathe, tried to not let the fear and the memories overwhelm him, but a small whimper still made it past his lips. He fought against his own mind, racing and about to shut itself off from all of this.

„Stop it!“, Rael hissed angrily. What else than complain could they do with their hands tied behind their back. The brass blade turned his attention to the viera instead of A’viloh. „Shut up!“, the man growled and struck Rael across the face with the back of his hand. They gasped and when they looked up again a moment later, with a mix of shock and indignation on their face, their lower lip was split and bloody.

Ashamed A’viloh stared to the ground and tried to pretend that this wasn’t his fault while the voices and turmoil around him faded to the background. Instead his mind was filled with questions and fears. Would they be executed? Thrown in jail? What had happened to Nanamo? Would their friends at least get out of this with their lifes, if Rael and him were made responsible?

Suddenly something touched his shoulder and pulled him out of his thoughts. A’viloh gave an alarmed shriek.

„Shhh!“, Rael shushed him, leaning their shoulder against his. Worried they glanced at him. „You were gone for a moment weren’t you?“ A’viloh didn’t answer but that wasn’t necessary. Rael sighed deeply. „Give me your hands. Maybe I can loosen the knots…“

Working behind their backs Rael tried their best but it was impossible. The angle was bad, they didn’t see what they were doing and the knots were simply too tight. On their own the two of them would never make it out of their ties. “Seven hells!”, Rael cursed. “I would sooner chew through these things than get that knot open!”

It was a funny imagination and under different circumstances A’viloh would maybe have laughed about it. Instead he turned to look at them and offered a sad smile. “It’s alright. At least you tried…I’m sorry about your lip.”

The viera looked surprised and then shook their head. “Don’t worry. I can fix that.”

Suddenly the turmoil around them got even worse. A’viloh only now noticed the screams and the fighting. “What’s happening?”

“Raubahn killed Adeledji. Tried to kill Lolorito too. Panic broke out and now he is fighting Ilberd. But I honestly don't think he has a chance...”

As if to confirm this, one of the giant stone pillars exploded under a heavy misaimed hit and through the cloud of dust and rubble Raubahn was hurled through the air and landed right beside them. With a swift movement of his blade he cut their ties and only then as he stood up, rubbing his wrists, A’viloh noticed that the Flame General was missing an arm.

But there was no time to question how that had happened and what else he might have missed while dissociating. Confidently as ever Raubahn spoke up saying that he never doubted them or the Scions and that they should flee. A’viloh was still to dazed to argue against that and so let Rael pull him along, to Minfilia and the others and then out of the palace.

As they hurried down the stairs of the Royal Promenade Thancred ran towards them and with a sudden peng of guilt A’viloh realised that he had been so shaken until now that he hadn’t even noticed yet that the Hyur hadn’t been with them. Thancred warned them that Lolorito’s soldiers had already taken control of all important points in the city and that it would be impossible to just walk out through the city gates. Luckily he offered another plan. Rumours about very old secret passages leading out of the city and luckily he knew how to get there.

But just as they wanted to leave the heavy steps and yells of the brass blades got closer.

“Go ahead! I’ll handle this!”, Yda exclaimed and turned towards the soldiers.

Papalymo made an incredulous face. “By yourself?! …I suppose I shall just have to join you.”

Rael offered to help them too. Papalymo and the viera could cause quite the destruction together that was certain but the thought of leaving any of them behind made A’viloh sick. There had to be a different way. One were all of them got out of here together.

“Don’t!”, he croaked and hated how his voice sounded a lot quieter and squeakier than he had intended. Had anybody heard him at all? But before he could say anything else or before Rael could join Yda and Papalymo, the Lalafell shot a fireball at the mechanism that held the palace gate open and with a roaring sound it crashed down and cut of the path between the two of them and the rest of the group. It would give them some time but neither Minfilia nor A’viloh seemed to be willing to leave without their friends. Helplessly and pleading the Miqo’te reached through the bars with one arm and stretched out a hand towards his friends. A’viloh and Yda had quickly befriended each other after meeting for the first time. They had spent a lot of time training together and Yda had soon become one of his dearest friends among the Scions. The thought that something could happen to her was unbearable for him. “Yda! Please!”

But the girl laughed at him and locked her fingers with his for a second. “Don’t worry, A’vi! We’ll see you later!” Confidently she smiled at him before she let go of his hand and turned back around to face the soldiers that had almost caught up to them.

The others called out for them and reluctantly Minfilia and A’viloh followed. There was nothing else they could do now apart from making Yda’ and Papalymo’s efforts worth it and get out of here before more soldiers appeared.

In a haste they ran through the decorated corridors of the palace district and luckily the entrance to the secret passage was exactly were Thancred had suspected it to be. The tunnels were bigger and more complex than A’viloh would have thought and for quite a while they ran through dusty old corridors trying to find the right way that would lead them out of the city.

After a while the echoes of yells and footsteps appeared again and unlike them their pusuers seemed to know the ways down here. They tried to hurry but in no time the voices were coming closer and closer.

“I will stop them.”, Y’shtola exclaimed and abruptly stood still, making everyone else pause for a moment as well. “You go on ahead!”

“No…”, A’viloh protested, he wasn’t willing to leave any more people behind. But Thancred nodded. “Then I will stay too! It would be rude to let you fight alone…”

“No! This is all wrong!”, A’vi repeated a little more loudly. “Let me and Rael fight them, we can defeat them surely.”

Y’shtola shook her head. “Not that many of them…” and Thancred agreed, “The two of you are far too important to get captured...” He didnt say or worse but it was clearly there.

“But…” A’viloh wanted to protest but what was there to say? So he just helplessly stared from one of them to the other. Instead Rael nodded. “Alright!”

“No! Nothing’s alright!”, A’viloh exclaimed pleadingly. „There has to be another way!“

“No, there isn’t.” Thancred said and put his hands on A’viloh’s shoulders. „Listen! There is no time. You have to get out of here, do you hear me? And you have to get Minfilia to safety. Look at me A’vi!“

He slightly shook him and despite the closeness between them A’vi did as he was told.

“Can you promise me that? To get yourself and Minfilia to safety?”, the Hyur asked with a serious voice.

Pleadingly A’vi stared at Thancred’s face wondering if it would be the last time he was going to see it. He hadn’t stopped shaking since Ilberd’s soldiers had put him in chains but now it got worse again. Nonetheless he nodded slightly.

“Good.“ Thancred said and nodded too, but hesitated to let go of him.

A strange expression appeared on his face, one A’viloh never had seen on him before. A mixture of doubt and maybe fear? Thancred sighed and muttered “Just in case…“ more to himself than anybody else but A’vi was close enough to hear it anyway.

A’viloh hadn’t expected at all what happened next. Before he even realised it, Thancred had leaned down, closed the gap between them and kissed him. He was too shocked to react, too confused as well, so he just let it happen. Weirdly this made him feel better but also hopelessly sad at the same time. What was he doing here? This was crazy! Maybe he would later curse himself for allowing this or he would wish he hadn’t wasted this moment like this but before he had figured out how to feel or to react the moment was over. Thancred pulled back a little and looked like he already regretted either what he did or simply having to let him go. Or maybe that was just how A'viloh felt himself. “Consider this my lucky charm…“, the hyur whispered, barely audible, and weakly smiled at him.

Then he pushed A’vi away, as gently as the urgency of the situation allowed, and spoke up louder to all of them.

„Now, get out of here!“

„No!“, the Miqo’te whimpered, his hands tried to hold on to Thancred’s arm but he ignored him and looked at Rael instead. „Get them out of here, please. I’m counting on you.“

The viera looked annoyed, more than usually, but nodded without a word and only when A’vi felt their hands at his arms pulling him away, he realised they were all still here watching him. At any other occasion he would have felt horribly embarrassed now but all he could think of right now was that he couldn’t leave all of his friends behind here to fight, and possibly die, while he fled to safety. He didn’t want to run any longer. But Rael seemed to share Thancred’s opinion.

“Come on, A’vi. We can’t waste time now. Every single soldier in this twelves-forsaken city is after us now, we can’t fight our way out of this. There’s no way to set this right if we don’t get out of here first.”, they explained as calmly as they could in this situation, then grabbed A’vi’s hand and dragged him along as they ran. A’viloh followed on stumbling feet but only because his body had long since stopped listening to anything his brain screamed at him. Stop! Go back! Fight!

Rael’s words made sense but still… weakly he tried to look back and see what was happening behind them but then Rael and Minfilia took a turn into another tunnel and he lost sight of Y’shtola and Thancred. For another while he just numbly let the viera pull him along until they abruptly stopped at an intersection.

“There is light! The exit must be right around that corner!”, Rael announced pointing to one of the tunnels.

Minfilia nodded. “I think so too. But I have somewhere else to go. Hydaelyn speaks to me, I have to stay behind but you two, you cannot stay with me.”

Rael shook their head: “We promised to protect you and I don’t plan to break that promise.”

Minfilia smiled kindly.

“I release you from this promise. Instead promise me to flee and clear our names for us! You are the only ones who can do this. I have a different task to fulfil. Please, you must go on! You are the Warriors of Light! You are hope - for the Scions, and for all the realm! As long as your flame continues to burn, the light of the dawn may ever be relit! You must escape, and save Eorzea from those who would plunge it into darkness! This is the only way...”

Rael grimaced but nodded. “Fine…”

A’viloh on the other hand just weakly shook his head. Words had long failed him and with every minute all of this felt more and more like it was happening to someone else and not him. Like all of this couldn’t be real. Like it was a horrible, weird dream that he would wake up from every second now! How had everything escalated so fast?

Minfilia saw his expression and put her arms around him in a tight hug. “Don’t blame yourself for this, A’vi. None of this is your fault. Everything will be alright, I promise.“

Then she ran in the opposite direction and all A’viloh could do was watch her vanish in the maze of tunnels.

After a few seconds Rael took his hand again and A’vi snapped back to attention watching the Viera’s free hand point towards the light. “Let’s go, the exit is right there.”

But A’viloh refused, even if his voice was nothing but a weak whisper. “No, please go alone. I’ll follow Minfilia. Someone has to protect her.”

Rael growled. “Were you listening at all? Do you want all of this to be in vain? I know this is difficult for you, but so it is for me!“

“But-“, A’viloh tried to protest but Rael looked like they almost wanted to hit him and angrily yelled at him. “I want you to be safe too, you know?! I would gladly stay behind and fight if it meant you and the other’s were safe but the best we can do now is run!”

Before A’vi could say anything else a deafening crash sounded through the tunnels. Alarmed they both stared back the way they came. The walls and the floor seemed to tremble and a roaring sound echoed down the tunnel and came closer and closer.

“Oh no!”, Rael gasped. “The ceiling is coming down! We have to get out of here! Now!”

“The ceiling?!”, A’vi shrieked. “But what of the others? We need to — Let go of me!!”, he protested as Rael tried to drag him out of the tunnel.

“It’s too late now, A’vi. Please!”, the viera pleaded but A’vi struggled and screamed. They almost wouldn’t have made it out in time. Just as the cloud of dust and rubble hit the protective barrier Rael had summoned up to shield them they were catapulted backwards by a burst of magic the last few meters out of the ruins and into the late afternoon sun.

Both of them coughed from the dust and it took a moment until they could see anything again. The entrance to the tunnels had collapsed entirely, lots of small and bigger pieces of stones lay in a huge pile in front of what was barely recognisable as the tunnel entrance anymore.

Shocked A’vi stared at the rubble for a few seconds before he began to scream again. Quickly he jumped up and tried to get the stones out of his way, to find a way back in, but of course it was hopeless. The old broken stones were too many and too heavy for him. They wouldn't give in to his pleading. "No! Please, no..."

As calm and soothing as they could Rael took his hands and spoke to him. “A’vi. Not now. There’s nothing we can do now…”

Slowly he let Rael turn him around. He looked at the viera, his eyes filled with tears, before he wordlessly threw his arms around Rael‘s neck. „I‘m so sorry…“, he whispered after a moment of just silently clinging to them.

Rael shook their head. „Not your fault…“

A’viloh didn’t answer to that. Instead he sullenly looked at Rael for a moment before he dared to ask, „Do you think they are dead?“

Rael sighed and then grimaced. „I’m not going to lie to you, A’vi. I honestly don’t know, but it really doesn’t look good…“

The Miqo’te just nodded weakly, the corner of his mouth twitching for a second. He appreciated the honesty but he had hoped for something a little more reassuring.

Rael carefully squeezed his shoulder. „But maybe they aren’t. We will figure that out, I promise. But first we have to proof that we did NOT kill Nanamo... We should really go now…“

„Thank you. I would be lost without you…“, A’viloh muttered and followed Rael along the railroads leading towards Blackbrush station, defeated and disheartened. Silently he wondered if there was a safe place now for them at all and how they possibly could manage to clear their names…

[erosology]

aksel in his verdugo skin.. ok white boy of the month!!

PLS SKSKSJDHDB

aksel needs so much more love omg all of kortac does tbh i genuinely love them all sm. like yes of course i love my 141 men and the rest of specgru, but kortac is like the cool next door neighbors who are always rowdy and loud and throwing obnoxious parties but they always try to include you as much as possible so you can’t be too mad. my own lil ragtag band of misfits. i wish to hold them all in the palm of my hand and kiss them sweetly <3

[maskyartist]

*barges into your inbox again*

Hey I'm here to be predictable again but like, gimme your Ozpin thonks. What's a headcannon for him you've never shared before, or perhaps other thoughts you'd like to share?👀

WELCOME BACK TO OZPIN HQ WHERE U GET ALL UR OZ THOUGHTS FOR THE LOW LOW PRICE OF GIVING ME

✨ATTENTION✨

anyways I am full of thoughts on this tragic ass man, but as for hcs I don’t share here…tbh the only one I can think of is his caretaker! I don’t think I talked about her before?

In my personal backstory for Oz, his parents were very rich but very inattentive towards him. His only friend at that age was Glynda, and that was mostly because their families worked together on business ventures. It was a family of convenience so it can’t really count as one.

One day the manor is overrun with Grimm during a taxing meeting between the families, leaving Ozpin without even his fake one and Glynda’s not ruined but splintered after the loss of her mother. The two became thicker then thieves after that, relying solely on each other even when Glynda went to live with her folks and Oz ended up in the foster system. The Goodwitch family wouldn’t take him. He never knew why…

It wasn’t long before the Council caught wind of Ozma’s soul and who it belonged to, and at 10 Ozpin was adopted by a retired Huntress named Olivia Flora.

She was a stubborn woman, not easy to get along with and very blunt and to the point. She didn’t beat around the bush, and tbh she might not have been a good pick to raise a child. But to raise a future Huntsman? To raise a future Headmaster? To raise a future world-saving wizard? She could do that and more.

It was meant to be another family of convenience but Olivia was only human. Is it so wrong to want a child to be a child just a bit longer? She did her best in raising Ozpin into his teen years to be kind after all the tragedy from before left him rather quiet, shy, and a bit distant from the idea of interacting with people. The first time she managed to get him to talk to her was over books, so she let him read as much as he wanted.

Ozpin found escape in fairytales and legends. He didn’t care that a king sat at the foot of his bed, able to recall memories of a time long past. He cared when he would tell him stories of brave knights on the battlefield and strong warriors of olden times, older then Ozymandias himself!

Olivia trained him early before he, himself, went to Beacon to officially become a Huntsman (also at 14 why do u think he thinks it’s just normal and cool for Ruby to become leader + young Huntress???) and eventually Headmaster, and during the downtime, what little she could find, she raised him as a kid. Not as Ozma’s next life.

She taught him to bake, to play, to relax, and while he may have forgotten some of that over the years, he still holds Ms. Olivia close to his heart as his first, genuine family.

She wasn’t perfect, but she was his mother in everything but the term. And that was special enough for him.

[friendlyspidercop]

probably unpopular opinion but i don’t mind his face in the remaster 😭 he’s such a cutie patootie but ps4 peter def gives tired broke grad student more (miles tells him he should be in the retirement home bc hes ancient. hes 25) - delulu anon

unpopular maybe, but totally valid!!! insomniac had their reasons for changing the face after all :)

for me tho, i think ps4 peter giving tired broke grad student was part of his charm and that of the game itself :’) we’re not there for an origin story, we’re being introduced to a more lived-in peter— he’s made his sacrifices in the past, and that’s evident in the bits and pieces of his past that the game gives you over time. insomniac peter has since resolved his teen struggles, and now spidey has a new challenge: adulthood. or, somewhere in between emerging adulthood and adulthood. and it’s adorable! those struggles like rent and work and a complicated love life meet a lot of spider-man fans where they’re at in their lives now, so it was comforting to see, i think. because he looks 15 to me, i personally lost that connection i had with insomniac peter’s character. a cutie patootie tho, ur so right!! 🫶 i wanna put him in my pocket and drop him off at school

that being said, i think fans should keep their opinions about the faces to each other atp. like, come have discourse about it with me on our private little corner of tumblr that will never see the light of day LOL

i went on john bubniak’s ig to see how he was doing, but people are still commenting about petergate, even on posts he makes to promote his new work :( idk how he feels about it, but i’m sure he wants fans to enjoy the next thing he’s moved on to. my hope is that this hasn’t bled over to the other guy’s socials as well.

[nymphoutofwater]

oh god I just reached 10,000 posts a few posts ago

[asherasgayagenda]

actually “should i read bsd” was a trick question bc i already read some of it. i would die for kyoka izumi

i bet my bsd rambling hit you in the past and that’s totally why

izumi jumpscare kyouka the little girl assassin ever!!! she’s so important thanks

how much have you read already?

[the-name-is-loser]

Accidentally humiliated myself🤟

[always-devon]

the dynamic between mike and darry.

i honestly really do think after a while micheal comes to see him as not exactly a father figure; but just kind of his rock to lean on a little bit. they’re both not men of many words, and he finds that the silence between them is sort of comfortable compared to the silence between him and his father.

at first he’s apprehensive. darry’s really tall, really big and pretty muscular, and looks as though he could crush mike like a soda can.

they do bond over some of the similarities between what they do: micheal’s hands are callused and scarred from whittling, darry’s from working with shingles and roofing material. there’s not too much common ground, but they both work with their hands, and they’ve both lost their parents, and they’ve got little siblings. so they get to talking.

micheal finds himself going to the curtis house more often after picking mari up from school. he’ll come in, sit on the couch if no one’s on it, and chat with darry a little bit, while mari chimes in every once in a while. darry learns that even though their apartment rent is waived, he still struggles to put food on the table and often skips meals, which explains why micheal is so underweight.

darry makes it a habit to invite the two to eat dinner with them. especially during the summers when school’s out.

during the events of windrixville, micheal goes over to the house a lot more. whenever mari asks when pony and johnny’ll be back, micheal smiles and tells her, “soon, mari. no té preocúpes.” and she leans into his side.

he’s even more silent after johnny dies. he knows anything he says could tip someone over the edge, and he doesn’t want to risk it. he just stays at home for three weeks. no visits to the curtises.

his cousin, marco, tries coming over the border. once he gets word that he drowned trying to cross the river, he falls apart. mari is watching from the doorway, scared as micheal curses himself out in spanish and throws the phone back into the holder.

after his fit of anger, he kneels down to mari’s height, his hands shaking and tears in his eyes. he tells her to go to bed, he’d come get her in the morning.

and he drives to the curtises.

and when darry opens the door, he doesn’t say anything. darry sees the torment in this boy’s eyes and opens his arms.

[uusira]

me thinking about drunk buck again? shocker

"You know my boyf—mm, no, my ex b’yfrienddd," Buck slurred, pointing vaguely at the man sitting beside him. The guy— some guy named Jake, or maybe Jade... something like that—just nodded like this was the most riveting conversation of his life. "Mmm yes, he is my ex now. Anyway, he was great! No, no, wait, he’s my ex, he’s awful, you see."

The dude hummed in agreement, his lips twitching upward as if he were trying not to laugh. "Seems like it," he said mildly.

Buck squinted not looking at him. "You—you don’t even know him. He’s... complicated. Like, the most annoying person on the planet but also... amazing." He let out a deep, melodramatic sigh and took another sip from his glass. "He does this thing, this... smirk thing, and it’s like—like he knows everything about me, and it drives me insane. Ugh."

"That does sound annoying," the man—Jake said, tilting his head in mock sympathy.

"Right?!" Buck exclaimed, slamming his glass down on the counter. "But then he’d do something stupidly nice like, I don’t know, make me breakfast when I didn’t even ask or fix my stupid shelf that broke because I’m bad at, uh, shelves. And suddenly, I’m like, 'Wow, maybe I’ll just marry this guy.' But noooooo. He had to go and—ugh—be right. About everything."

Jake didn’t say anything, just quirked an eyebrow as Buck kept rambling.

"And now he’s my ex. You heard that part, right? My ex!” Buck hiccuped, slapping his hand over his mouth. "Oops. Sorry. Excuse me."

"Forgiven," Jake said, his tone unreadable. He sipped his drink like this was just another Tuesday.

Buck frowned at him, his drunk brain scrambling for something clever to say. He failed. "You’re very chill, you know that? Like... annoyingly chill. You remind me of him. My ex. I don’t like it. Or maybe I do. I don’t know. Ughhh."

“Must’ve been quite the guy."

Buck sighed, the weight of the world settling onto his shoulders. "He was. He... he really was."

For a moment, neither of them said anything. The silence felt heavy, like it was trying to tell Buck something he couldn’t quite hear. Then he hiccuped again, breaking the spell.

"You’re cool, though," Buck muttered, waving his glass at the guy before tipping it back. "Not like him. But also... kinda like him. Weird."

Jake just smiled faintly, not saying a word.

Buck leaned heavily on the counter, staring at his empty glass like it was the source of all his problems. "You don’t get it. He’s the worst. Like... so smug. Always thinking he knows everything. And you know what? He doesn’t! He doesn’t know me! He doesn’t—hiccup—know what I want. No one does!" He jabbed his finger at the man beside him for emphasis.

Jake, still calm as ever, took a sip of his drink and nodded. "Sounds like a real piece of work."

Buck whipped his head around so fast he nearly fell off the stool. "Whoa, hey! You don’t get to say that," he snapped, his words slurring but his glare surprisingly sharp.

Jake raised an eyebrow, clearly unfazed. "Why not? You just said it."

"Yeah, but—" Buck flailed his hands dramatically, nearly knocking his glass off the counter. "I can say it. I dated him. You? You don’t even know him! You’re just some... some random guy!"

"Fair point," Jake said with a shrug, but there was the faintest twitch of amusement at the corner of his mouth.

Buck narrowed his eyes, his very drunk brain working overtime to keep up. "He’s not that bad, okay? I mean, yeah, he’s annoying and bossy and—" He paused, gesturing vaguely as if the words were just out of reach. "And stubborn. But he’s also, like... thoughtful and—" His voice softened, almost wistful. "Kind. He cared. About me. About everyone. Even when he didn’t say it out loud."

Jake hummed, his tone unreadable. "Doesn’t sound so awful."

"Exactly!" Buck said, throwing his hands up. "That’s what I’m saying! He’s... ugh, he’s the worst best person I’ve ever met. And now he’s gone. And it’s my fault." His voice cracked at the end, and he quickly ducked his head, pretending to study the wood grain of the bar.

"Maybe it’s not your fault," Jake offered, his voice quieter now.

Buck laughed bitterly. "Oh, it is. I mean, I wanted him to stay. I asked him to stay. But he was all, like, 'You’re still figuring yourself out,' and 'I’m your first, not your last.' Like, what does that even mean?!"

Jake’s expression flickered—something Buck couldn’t quite name, not in his current state. "Maybe he thought he was doing the right thing."

"Yeah, well, it wasn’t!" Buck snapped, slamming his hand down on the counter. "It wasn’t the right thing for me. I didn’t want right, I wanted him. And now I’m here, talking to you, and he’s... I don’t even know where he is."

Jake didn’t respond right away, just sat there, his drink untouched. After a moment, he said, "Maybe he’s closer than you think."

Buck frowned, squinting like the words were a puzzle he couldn’t solve. But before he could ask what that was supposed to mean, another hiccup cut him off, and he groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"You’re weird," he mumbled through his fingers. "Why are you even listening to me?"

Jake chuckled softly, the sound warm and familiar in a way that tugged at something deep in Buck’s chest. "I guess I’m just a sucker for a good story."

"He is!" Buck said, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "He’s—ugh. He’s just this guy, you know? But not just a guy. He’s... he’s smart, and thoughtful, and really good at all the boring, practical stuff I suck at. Like, he can fix anything. He once rebuilt an engine in his garage for fun! Who does that?!" Buck paused, hiccupping before continuing. "And he has this way of looking at you like you’re the most important thing in the world, even when you’re being a complete idiot. Especially when you’re being a complete idiot. And then, just when you think you’ve got him figured out, he’ll say something so... so him—and it’s exactly what you needed to hear, even if you didn’t want to."

His voice cracked, and he dropped his gaze to his empty glass. "He made me feel like... like maybe I was worth sticking around for, you know? But then he left anyway. So what does that say about me?"

Buck groaned, dragging his hands down his face. "I don’t even know why I’m talking about him. He’s gone, and he probably doesn’t think about me at all anymore."

"Maybe he does," Jake said, his voice calm but carrying a weight Buck couldn’t quite process in his state.

Buck snorted, his head wobbling as he tried to look at Jake. "Nah. He’s too busy being perfect somewhere else. Fixing things, smirking at someone else, probably making them breakfast now." His voice cracked again, and he slumped forward, leaning heavily on the counter. "It’s not fair. I don’t want to miss him, but I do. All the time. Every damn day."

Jake stayed quiet for a moment, swirling the remnants of his drink. "Sounds like you really loved him."

Buck blinked blearily at Jake. "Yeah. Yeah, I did. Still do. But it doesn’t matter. He left."

"Maybe he thought you deserved better," Jake murmured, his tone so soft Buck almost missed it.

"Better?" Buck slurred, laughing bitterly. "There’s no better. He was better. He was it. And I messed it up."

Jake leaned back, his eyes studying Buck for a long moment. "Maybe he thought he was the one who messed it up."

Buck frowned at that, the words bouncing around in his drunken mind without fully landing. He opened his mouth to respond, but a yawn caught him off guard, and his head lolled forward slightly.

"Okay," Jake said, standing up and patting Buck’s shoulder. "Let’s get you home before you pass out here."

"I’m not—" Buck started to protest, but his words dissolved into another yawn. "Fine. Whatever. But only ’cause you’re so... so good at listening, Jake."

Jake chuckled, sliding Buck’s arm around his shoulders as he helped him off the stool. "Sure, that’s why."

The trip to the loft was a blur for Buck, his head bobbing as he mumbled fragments of sentences. "He used to—hiccup—used to cook pancakes on Sundays," he muttered as they walked. "Never liked syrup, though. Just butter. Who doesn’t like syrup?"

Jake made a noncommittal noise, holding Buck steady as they reached the loft.

When they reached the loft, Buck fumbled with his keys before Jake gently took them from him and unlocked the door. Inside, Buck stumbled forward, nearly tripping over his own feet.

"Whoa, easy there," Jake said, catching him with an arm around his waist. "We’re not done yet. Bed’s upstairs, right?"

Buck blinked at him, bleary-eyed, before nodding vaguely in the direction of the stairs. "Yeah... stairs. Stupid stairs. Who needs stairs anyway? I should just sleep right here." He sagged slightly, leaning heavily into Jake.

Jake sighed, adjusting Buck’s arm over his shoulders. "Come on, you’re almost there."

They moved toward the stairs, Buck dragging his feet and muttering incomprehensibly. Jake tightened his hold, practically lifting him as they climbed. "You’re heavier than you look, you know that?" Jake muttered under his breath.

"’M not heavy," Buck slurred, his head lolling against Jake’s shoulder. "You’re just... weak. Bet you’ve never carried someone out of a fire or... or something heroic like that."

Jake smirked faintly, his voice low and even. "You’d be surprised."

By the time they reached the top, Buck was practically draped over Jake, who maneuvered him carefully toward the bed. He eased Buck down onto the mattress, keeping a hand on his shoulder to steady him as Buck flopped back with a groan.

"Finally," Buck mumbled, eyes half-closed. "Hate those stairs. Hate... everything."

Jake crouched down to untie Buck’s shoes, his movements steady and practiced, as though this wasn’t the first time he’d done this. "Don’t worry, I’ve got it from here," he said softly.

Buck blinked down at him, his vision swimming. "You’re... nice," he mumbled. "Too nice. You don’t even... you don’t even know me." He hiccupped, his head lolling to one side. "I mean, you’re here, so you’re not that bad. But… you’re not him."

Jake’s hand stilled for a fraction of a second before he resumed tugging off Buck’s shoes.

"He’d probably—hiccup—he’d probably say I’m too much. Like I push too hard, or I don’t stop to think. But I just… I just try, you know? Maybe I try too much..." Buck’s voice cracked, and he let out a breathy laugh. "And now look. No one’s here."

Jake paused, his jaw tightening as he set the shoes neatly by the bed. He glanced up briefly, something flickering across his face, but Buck didn’t notice.

Jake’s hands moved to unbutton Buck’s jeans, and Buck let out a tired laugh. "I’m not... I’m not that kinda guy, Jake."

Jake snorted softly. "Relax. You’re safe."

He eased the jeans off and set them aside, then reached for Buck’s shirt. Buck swatted weakly at him but barely had the energy to protest. "You’re... too good at this. Bet you’re a pro at babysitting drunk idiots."

"Something like that," Jake murmured, pulling the blanket up and tucking it snugly around Buck’s shoulders. For a moment, his hand lingered on the edge of the blanket, his eyes scanning Buck’s face as if committing him to memory.

Buck stirred, his eyes fluttering half-open. "I miss him," he mumbled, his voice barely audible. His hand flailed clumsily for a second before it landed on Jake’s arm. "Tell him... I miss him."

Jake froze, his jaw tightening as he looked down at Buck. Then he covered Buck’s hand with his own, his thumb brushing against his knuckles for a brief moment. "I’ll tell him," he said softly, even though Buck was already slipping into sleep.

Jake placed a water bottle and some pills on the bedside table, his movements quiet and deliberate. He lingered there for a beat, his gaze heavy with something unspoken.

Leaning down, Jake brushed his fingers lightly through Buck’s curls, his voice low and warm as he whispered, "I don’t even look like a Jake, Evan."

Buck stirred slightly, a faint furrow in his brow, but his eyes stayed closed. Jake Tommy pulled back, hesitating for just a moment before slipping out, leaving the loft in silence.

Part2

[6gumi]

breathless.

synopsis ﹒jjk men giving you surprise kisses gone wrong (GONE SEXUAL!) that’s it. that’s the fic

pairings ﹒toji fushiguro, yuuta okkotsu, yuuji itadori, satoru gojo x f!reader

cw ﹒a little suggestive. not proofread (oops), makeout sessions kinda?, yuuji + yuuta aged up! slight vaginal fingering involved, dirty talk, petnames used ! (princess, baby, etc etc) you guys literally just make out n it goes wrong . . . do i need to say more ? <3

note ﹒sm thoughts sm thoughts sm thoughts !!! yuuji’s is the only fluff n innocent one LMFAO feel free 2 interact w me by sending an ask ! i’m still trying 2 finish up my requests so please be patient and know that only thirsts r open for now <3 — millie ! ♡

୨୧ 𝐓𝐎𝐉𝐈 𝐅𝐔𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐔𝐑𝐎

toji always loved teasing you, especially during makeout sessions you both would have occasionally. he does a lot and i mean a lot of things to tease you during them too, it’s unfair! he loved it whenever you had your arms crossed infront of him, eyebrows furrowed while you lectured him for his laziness. he merely just chuckled at your attempts to tell him off for being such a lazy jerk, slowly closing the distance between both of you. you can’t blame him, can you? it’s not like you wanted him to stop either.. it’s crazy how your voice and that irritated look in your eyes left him feeling light-headed. before he knew it, toji you in his arms, holding you just a little too tight. “hey! let go of me, toji. ‘m not finished saying what i wanna say—“ and.. there he goes again. a deep groan left him as his lips traced each inch of your neck, his entire body clenched as he grabbed your wrist. toji’s other hand buried itself in your hair, caressing and pulling at it from the back, interlocking his lips with yours..

god.. your makeout sessions always begin this way, but honestly you didn’t really complain. toji ran his hand up your body, wrapping it around your neck as she squeezed it lightly.. careful not to hurt you too much. his lips on yours was the sweetest torture you had ever felt in your whole life, your heart pounding against your chest at a furious pace as he held you closer to him, not letting go of you anytime soon. “sorry, doll. what’d ya say earlier? too busy kissin’ these pretty lips of yours.” “oh great, and you weren’t even listening too?” the raven just shrugged, a smug expression painted on his face. “dunno, just wanted t’kiss your lips, you talk too much princess.. needed to shut you up.” gosh, you could’ve sworn you felt a vein popping out of your forehead out of frustration, is this guy for real? “mm.. can i continue kissing your lips?” was all he said, a low sigh leaving your lips before you waited for him to kiss you again. “oh no baby, not these lips. i mean the other ones.” oh yeah, expect yourself to be breathless after this.. kisses or not!

୨୧ 𝐘𝐔𝐔𝐓𝐀 𝐎𝐊𝐊𝐎𝐓𝐒𝐔

yuuta can’t help it! he couldn’t help but admire you the whole time you rambled about a weird first interaction you had with his companion toge inumaki and how hard it was to understand him! thank the lord you didn’t even notice just how intensely his eyes stared at you, as if they were digging daggers into your soul. this is probably a constant thing for him, i feel like yuuta likes giving you shy surprise kisses out of nowhere! and sometimes, he can’t even control his body and they just smooooch your lips, atleast.. that’s what he says! he can’t help but grin every single time he sees that flustered expression on your face after he catches you off guard with his surprise kisses, he’s just trying to have after all. though sometimes he’s aware that, these “small yet shy surprise kisses” will turn into much more than what they seem. and you wanna know what they turn into? heated makeout sessions of course!

yuuta’s large hands rest on the nape of your neck, the other on your waist as he pushes you down the mattress with his weight, trying his best not to crush you completely with his body as his kisses were slow.. slow and passionate yet you knew that was gonna change in a few minutes or so, and you were right! in the blink of an eye, yuuta wraps his two hands beneath your thighs, lifting you up slightly so your legs wrapped around his waist, pulling the both of you closer and into a more passionate yet lustful embrace and kiss. the special grade sorcerer pulled away, chuckling when you puckered your lips a tiiny bit to taste his sweet lips on yours again, yuuta gave your jaw a small peck. “may i?..” the raven muttered under his breath.. lifting your skirt and tugging at the hem of your panties. just know that.. if you nod and say yes, oh boy. be prepared to stay up all night! those surprise kisses were a trap to kiss you until you were breathless!

୨୧ 𝐘𝐔𝐔𝐉𝐈 𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐑𝐈

let’s see here.. to sum things up, yuuji loves giving you surprises kisses! and i mean loves it! he likes catching you off guard whenever he presses a kiss against you, your boyfriend gives you small little surprise kisses literally anywhere and everywhere, so much that you even have to tell him to tone down a bit because of how flustered you were! “but why, babe? i like kissing you..” he knew you liked it whenever he was affectionate so he would plant many many love kisses all over you nonstop! usually sometimes he even just gives you one when it’s unnecessary or so, kissing you on the cheek while you scroll on your phone.. kissing the nape of your neck from behind whenever you were in the kitchen, sneakily kissing your inner thigh from beneath the bedsheets, you name it! yuuji yawned as he wrapped an arm around your waist, scooting you even closer against him. “babe, can i kiss you?” no answer, you were too focused on that stupid movie you wanted to watch, he didn’t think you’d get this invested. the male gently put a hand on your thigh, surprise-kissing the blade of your shoulder with much desire and love.

anndd.. here you both go again.. on the couch as the room was filled with sharp heavy panting and lewd noises. yuuji’s hands grabbed onto your waist and moved you back and forth on his gap, feeling a bulge press against you as your cunt pulsed around nothing.. you prayed he didn’t feel anything. you always wondered how he’s so sweet and delicate with your kisses as if you were some kind of gentle flower you needed to protect, his touches were so soft.. so gentle and yet a little hesitant.. not wanting to hurt you in anyway. his mouth moved towards your jaw and then your hands. “you should kiss me more babe, i like how soft your lips feel on mine.” “i already allow you to give me surprises kisses in private and public, what more do you need, hm?” “.. another kiss, maybe? or maybe.. more kisses? more than the amount i give you in one day?” ahh.. you know you can’t say no to him, you knew just how much he wanted to kiss you breathless.

୨୧ 𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐔 𝐆𝐎𝐉𝐎

surprise kisses with him are a must (atleast 2 him!) he loves sneaking small little pecks on your cheek and lips, though.. his surprise kisses are rather bold and lead to more intimate moments between the both of you. heated and long messy makeout sessions to more.. bolder ones, though you aren’t complaining really, he isn’t either.. in-fact he loves the faces you make whenever he plunges his tongue inside your mouth with no warning at all, grabbing at your ass.. your waist, you name it! scolding him about his “surprise” kisses won’t help either, he just knows how to rile you up in no time! the special grade groaned into the kiss as he pulled you onto his lap, grabbing your hips and squeezing at it with his hands. satoru sighs lowly, struggling against the heat and lust that was now flowing through his body like hot lava, he wanted more and he craved more.. he didn’t even care that it was supposed to be a “small” surprise kiss, he wanted you and he wanted you now. you sure do have that effect on him.

“you’re such a cute little angel for me, mhm? stay still for me a bit, yeah?” oh you knew what he was gonna do. you hear him spit on the top of his fingers for a second, body jolting as you felt his fingers rubbing your clit. “i’m sorry. i can’t get enough of you. look at this, you’re so wet already, angel. all this for me? all because of the kissing, hm?” he rubbed the slit of your pussy with two fingers at a harsher pace.. feeling your wetness on his fingers. “c’mon, keep kissing me pretty. don’t let these fingers distract you, yeah?” was all he said before the sweetness of his lips returned on your own, his kisses were sloppy and messy but yet he didn’t show any signs of stopping anytime soon.. his digits curling in your cunt, forcing a muffled moan from your lips. adding another finger in, he could feel how tight his pants felt.. getting all hard just from fingering you and kissing you alone was crazy enough, he wasn’t playing around.. he wanted more.. and he’ll get more. satoru will do this over and over again until you’re absolutely breathless.

[theladyismyshepard]

“Do it,” It was a breathless command that would haunt the Drow for the rest of her days, and the inaudible repeat had her eyes subconsciously fluttering shut before snapping them open.

Minthara swallowed thickly before she set her jaw. Her eyes briefly stared at a spot overhead in a futile attempt to disperse of the tears welling in her bottom eyelids. The… monster that squirmed at her feet was alternating between pitiful pleas and predatory snarls, all while staring the Nightwarden right in the eye. Minthara could remember a time when those same lips had been pulled into a shy smile as Durge had bashfully looked to their feet. It seemed as if it were a lifetime ago.

“You said-” Durge had spat hatefully, but appeared to collect themselves with a look of horror, “Y-You promised!”

“Darling,” Minthara started slowly, approaching Durge cautiously as if speaking to a wild animal rather than her lover, but the antihero was having none of it.

“No!” The growl seemed to shock even Durge, but it wasn’t long before they were struggling against their binds once more. “Kill me! Kill me now or I’ll fucking kill you!”

Minthara blinked, prompting the tears to slip down her cheeks. The promise she had made to both Durge and herself always weighed in the back of her mind. She was all too aware that one should never judge a book by its cover, but Durge had the capability of being so unassuming. They had been so capable of the sweetest love that Minthara had ever experienced. When they had explained the dark urges lingering just beneath their fingertips, Minthara initially felt a bit incredulous, but as the fear and insecurity shrouding Durge nearly drove them into a full-blown panic attack, the drow was quick with the assurance to step in however needed.

A part of her never believed she would have to keep her end of the bargain, that they were pulling an elaborate joke… then she thought there could be a cure, maybe even a lobotomy from that joke of a man Volo if things got real desperate… and as she watched Durge flex against the restraints with a murderous gleam in their eye and nearly foaming at the mouth, well… she wasn’t too sure what else to think other than the promise she had made.

“You lying bitch!” Durge seethed before visibly shaking themselves back to reality. “I love you! I fucking love you, and if you loved me too, you’d do us all a favor and kill yourself,”

Minthara did nothing to hide the tears. Their words stung. Not because of the resentful claim, but because at one point she believed them to be incapable of harboring such spite towards her. It wasn’t them… but it was. It morphed their face in expressions unseen before. It lowered their voice in harsh tones unheard of before. Durge’s words stung because now Minthara believed her lover truly to be gone.

“I loved you, I want you to know that.” Minthara croaked as she finally found her voice.

She stood before Durge, close enough that if the binds had finally given way, they wouldn’t have to reach out far to touch her foot. The monster might spit words of acid, but it still wore her lover’s face. The tears were streaming now as Minthara’s chest heaved with the force of her heart splintering. The dagger was burning in its sheath, a heavy reminder of its presence and just what she needed to do with it. So why wasn’t she reaching for it? As she dropped to her knees at Durge’s side and watched as their fingers grabbed fruitlessly at the empty air, she felt shame. Shame at her hesitation, shame at allowing a feeling such as love to flourish in her heart, shame at being unable to help them…

“I’ll cut your heart from your chest and only then will it really belong to me.” Durge threatened gleefully, and their lips twisted back into a feral grin when one of the restraints began to loosen enough to move an extra inch forward.

“It only ever belonged to me,” said Minthara monotonously, her eyes glazed as she withdrew the dagger and positioned it over your chest, one hand around the handle and the other flat against the pommel, “Until I shared it with you,”

Durge sneered at Minthara, showing no fear in the face of death. A glint from the dagger twinkled in their eye, and Minthara could find no traces of the one she loved. This was a hollowed out shell feeding off of the carnage and chaos that they had fought so hard against when they had first been infected. Minthara sighed as the grim reminder slapped her right in the face. The lover she had come to know had been the false copy all along, and despite a lifetime of experience and wisdom, she had still come out the fool.

“Wait!” Durge exclaimed, their face twisting into one of pure terror, and Minthara would be lying if she said she didn’t feel a quiver. “Please! D-Don’t you love me? Don’t you want me?!”

“I-”

“I’ll be good! I swear!” Durge screamed at the top of their lungs. “I swear! I swear! I swear I’ll fucking rip you all apart and feed on your-”

The shouts were cut into rough gurgling as Minthara drove the blade into Durge’s chest. Their eyes widened as they stared up at the ceiling in near disbelief. Their lips were parting as if mumbling to themselves, but the only thing pouring from their mouth was thick, red, almost black blood as it oozed a filthy path from the corner of their mouth to their ear. Durge was swallowing repeatedly past the blood, attempting to get air into their lungs, but all they accomplished was a gag.

“I’m sorry,” Minthara urged, finally moving close enough to pull their head into her lap, and ran her fingers through their hair to push it back from their forehead.

“Do-” Durge gurgled, their voice thick with blood, “Sa-”

“Shh,” Minthara shushed them gently, both needing them to conserve their energy and to also not ruin the last moment.

“Love,”

Minthara hoped and prayed that it wasn’t a figment of her imagination. She couldn’t afford to have her mind playing games with her, not when her heart was broken beyond repair. She needed her lover fully coherent in their final goodbye, and as Durge finally fell still after their last stuttered gasp of love had left them, she reached forward to close their eyes for the last time. Minthara bowed forward to placing adoring kisses atop each of their closed eyelids before claiming their bloody lips in a kiss that would claim Durge even in death.

Bhaal would have to fight like hell if he really wanted them back.

I’m just having angsty Minthara X Durge thoughts if we ever got her “I’m going to kill the person I care about the most” scene. (TW: Dark Content under cut)

When you first tell her of your urges she says, if they ever overtake you, she will be there to kill you.

So just imagine that night, Durge, bound, lying on their side, in between mindless fits of rage, begging her to make good on her word. The hurt and fear in their eyes as they beg. “Please, you promised.”

And Minthara, standing above them, holding a dagger, horrified by the creature before her. The one who saved her, the one who showed her kindness, nearly unrecognizable in their fury. Yet, she can’t quite bring herself to bring down her blade.

[yara0546]

Nct dream reaction accidentally confessing to their crush

୨୧ Pairing : nct dream x reader

୨୧ Genre : fluff, romantic, comedy, lighthearted, embarrassment

୨୧ Word Count : 750 words

୨୧ Disclaimer : This is a work of fiction from our imagination. It is not intended that the plot, theme, original characters, idols, etc. portray any real-life events/people. Plagiarism is NOT tolerated on this blog. If you believe we have copied an existing authors’ work, please message us privately. thank you and enjoy :)

Masterlist

Mark

Mark never meant to say it he really didn’t. He was just rambling about how cool you looked while concentrating, and suddenly…

"I like you... wait, what?"

He freezes, eyes wide as his brain catches up to his mouth. You blink at him, lips slightly parted, and now he’s panicking.

"Uh... I mean, I like... like talking to you! Yeah! Haha… talking is great, right? We talk a lot… or maybe not enough, but um... "

He’s full-on sweating now, face turning redder by the second. You tilt your head, amusement flickering in your eyes.

"Mark, did you just confess?"

Mark lets out a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh… yeah. Accidentally. But I guess I meant it…?"

Renjun

Renjun was mid lecture, scolding you playfully for being reckless.

"Seriously, you should be more careful. What if you got hurt? I’d be worried because... because I like you, you know?"

A beat of silence. His own words echo in his head. Your eyes widen. His own jaw drops.

"Wait... no, I didn’t mean... okay, I meant it, but not like that! I mean, I do like you, but... ugh, forget I said anything!"

He buries his face in his hands, groaning in frustration. You, meanwhile, can’t help but grin at his flustered state.

"Renjun… you like me?"

He peeks at you through his fingers before muttering, "If I say no, will you pretend this never happened?"

Jeno

Jeno was helping you carry something heavy when you thanked him with a bright smile. And before he could stop himself—

"It’s nothing. I like you, so…"

He trails off. Realization hits him like a truck. His hands tighten around the object he’s holding. His brain? Empty. His soul? Leaving his body.

You’re staring at him, waiting. He just… doesn’t move. Doesn’t breathe. Doesn’t blink.

"Jeno?"

Still nothing. You wave a hand in front of his face, and only then does he finally react.

"I... I meant… I like helping! Yeah, helping is great! Ha…ha…"

Jeno.exe has officially crashed.

Haechan

Haechan was teasing you, as always, when the words just slipped out.

"Why are you so cute when you're mad? Ugh, I like you too much."

The second he hears himself, his eyes widen slightly. But unlike the others, he recovers instantly.

"Wait... did I say that out loud? Oops. Well, guess the secret’s out!"

You’re still processing, but Haechan grins and leans in.

"Sooo… what do you think? You like me back or should I start my heartbreak arc?"

Jaemin

Jaemin was handing you a snack when he casually dropped, "Here, I got this for you. I like you, after all."

You freeze. He doesn’t.

"Wait... what?"

Jaemin blinks at you, confused. "What? Oh. Ohhh."

It finally clicks. He pauses for a second, then shrugs with a smile.

"Well… yeah. I like you. Were you really that surprised?"

Chenle

You and Chenle were playfully bickering when he got a little too passionate.

"Ugh, you drive me crazy! I like you so much, it’s annoying!"

The room goes silent. You stare. He stares. His best friend, who overheard, gasps dramatically in the background.

"Wait... " He blinks rapidly. "Did I just... "

You nod slowly. "You did."

Instead of panicking, Chenle just bursts into laughter.

"Welp. No going back now. So, what do you say? You wanna date this genius or what?"

Jisung

Jisung was mumbling under his breath, not realizing you could hear him.

"Ah… they’re so pretty. I like them so much…"

You turn to him. "What did you just say?"

Jisung chokes. His eyes go wide. His ears turn bright red.

"N-Nothing! You misheard! I was talking about... uh... my… my shoes! Yeah, I like my shoes!"

You raise an eyebrow. "You like your shoes?"

He nods aggressively. "Yes. Very much. Best shoes ever. So comfortable. Wow."

Nice try, Jisung. Nice try.

[revelboo]

Circuits and Wires

Wheeljack x reader- lab accident

Warnings: 18+ storyline 🌶️

• Honestly, you’re not even sure how you became Wheeljack’s ‘lab partner.’ It wasn’t exactly by choice. The halls of the Autobot base aren’t exactly the safest or human friendliest. It’s not like any of them are openly hostile, but you’re tiny and they sometimes just don’t notice you.

• And for soldiers millions of years old, some of them act amazingly like a bunch of wound up frat boys. Alt mode races in the halls? That’s a thing. You heard the engines and flattened yourself against a closed door, praying. What you weren’t expecting was Wheeljack’s lab door to open and for you to fall backwards in. Those vocal indicator fins on the sides of his head had always been a bit funny to you and you offer him an upside down, slightly embarrassed smile as those panels flicker a dull yellow. As soon as he noticed the roar of approaching engines, he’d huffed out a sound remarkably like a sigh, picked you up and carried you to his workbench. You’d sat down crosslegged and watched him work. When he’d realized you were watching, he’d started explaining what he was doing.

• With nothing better to do, you showed up the next day and the day after. In truth, you’re more of a sounding board for the engineer to talk his way around and through ideas. And your dutiful job is to bob your head like you have any clue what he’s rambling about and ask questions occasionally.

• Wheeljack isn’t sure what to make of you, but appreciates the company. You seem interested in his theories and, most importantly, don’t avoid him. It’s not like his reputation isn’t unearned, but all of his inventions don’t blow up in his face. Some of them do.

• A lot of them.

• And apparently some of the Autobots, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, had taken to calling you ‘hazard pay.’ And learning that there was a running bet on how long until Wheeljack accidentally had something fail so catastrophically that you’re blown to kingdom come hadn’t been exactly comforting to you or Wheeljack.

• But sitting on the workbench with the friendly mech is surprisingly soothing. You didn’t really have any delusions of learning engineering from him, that was so far outside your skill set it was hilarious. But you do like listening to him talk with that faint accent and soft, almost raspy voice. He’s an awkward sort and his humor never quite lands, but you smile for him anyway because then those panel flicker pink or orange.

• You’re almost asleep, lulled by his low muttering. He’s been fiddling with whatever it was he was making since you’d arrived that morning and eventually you’d need to remind him to go refuel, because he would forget and regularly did. But he’d take you to find food and refuel if nudged. You’d long gotten over the mild embarrassment of being carried around like a kitten by him. Some of the Autobots would let you hitch a ride on their shoulders and that was better than walking. Wheeljack carried you cupped between his palms like he thought you might decide to launch yourself out of his hands in a mad bid for freedom just to go splat. You tried not to be offended about it.

• “Oops.” Head lifting, you stare at him as his vocal indicators flicker a sickly green. An oops from him could mean anything from ‘I broke it and need to start over’ to ‘run for the hills.’ Given how still he is, your heart begins to hammer in your chest. This is the latter and dread spirals through you. Know it even before his blue optics slide your way.

• Time seems to go funny as he lunges, hand swiping at you and connecting hard enough to knock the air from your lungs. Hard enough to hurt. And then he’s running, his servos painfully tight around you and there’s a very real worry he’ll break your ribs by accident.

• Behind you, his mystery invention that you really wish you’d paid more attention to blows up. Spectacularly. And then he’s falling forward and you know you’re about to be crushed and worst of all? Sunstreaker is going to win his stupid bet.

• Instead, Wheeljack catches himself on his other hand, huge frame curled forward to shield you as he cradles you in that too-tight grip against his chassis. A dull roar fills your head, everything muffled as you hear his frantic voice.

• He took the brunt of the explosion and had to be hurt, but he’s asking if you’re okay. He’s scared for you and it takes your stunned brain a minute before you can reassure him without bawling, because of this sweet, accident-prone mech that must be protected at all costs even if he is still gripping you so tight you can’t hardly breathe.

Next

[ace-disgrace-on-the-case]

Listen, @ips-n-caliban, there is another way of seeing…

First thing that you need to accept is that you aren’t here for DPS. Second thing you need to accept is that isn’t a problem—if you’d like to do something to the enemy you very much can.

Setting up shields will probably take up somewhere between a quick action and a full action each of your turns. That does leave you with time to do what you like…So what to do with it?

A big thing in Sal’s favor is that big ol’ Sensor range. Seriously; it’s not the absolute biggest but range 10 (especially considering you’re size 2) covers a lot of ground. You can do 5 real big things with this: drones, tech attacks, bolstering, locking on, and scanning. I’ll go over each of them:

Drones: you’ll have points in engineering anyways so limited systems are nicer looking for you. Drones do a lot, but at only LL3 you’re limited to Turret Drones, Restock Drones, and Lotus Projectors, with the last 2 requiring 1LL dips into other licenses. Restock drones aren’t bad support! They clear heat and conditions from an ally; if that’s your thing it could be worth a look. Only problem is they take up both your quick action and one of theirs. Lotus Projectors can be situationally really powerful; in their radius no enemy can hide or be invisible, and it tells you all of their numerical values (evasion, e-defense, heat, and HP). Turret drones? Don’t overlook them! They’re 3 free damage whenever another ally attacks and you setting them up means they don’t have to.

Tech Attacks: you might be hurt here by Sal’s lack of a tech attack bonus, but even without it (or talent/HASE/system investment) you still have access to fragment signal! Slowing and Impairing an enemy is always useful, and sometimes (especially if you think/know the enemy has low E-def) it can be critical. I don’t know if I recommend building around this though.

Bolster: At base it’s really situational/meh. If you want to invest into the SysOp talent tree, though, it becomes a fairly potent anti-tech-attack measure—just one more way for Sal to defend, and a hole you really had in your defensive arsenal otherwise.

Lock on: immediately out of the box this action is useful as hell. +1 accuracy for any ally’s attacks against a target is good. Really good. With the Spotter talent tree, though, it becomes terrifying. In exchange for not moving and having a beneficiary be adjacent to you (things Saladin will want you to do anyways!) you get to lock on to two targets instead of one for the price of one quick action, D&D-style advantage for the consumer of your lock on, and, if you don’t need to use a shield this turn (or you can always overcharge!), Bentham/Foucault Elimination, one of the best action economy tricks in the game, allowing someone you nominate to consume your lock on to perform any quick action as a reaction. Really potent stuff here. You might not be a swallowtail but Sal can definitely hack it in a spotting role. (Especially if you’re playing near your Arty like you say)

Scan: it’s situationally useful to figure out what that scary enemy over there is, but it more shines when paired with the Orator skill tree. This lets you Impair enemies just by scanning them, and if you’re not attacking lets you give great speeches into the open comms to buff allies and debuff enemies. It can genuinely be a pretty great option for a defender like Sal, and the later parts of the talent tree don’t even really require actions so you can do something else while spitting bars on the mic.

In short: talents and drones are your friend here. Yes, Big Sal wants you to shield your allies (which you should!) and yes, you aren’t going to turn into a DPS monster, but there’s plenty of interesting stuff you can do while playing as a Saladin.

What do I even do with a Saladin at LL3? I don't mind posting up next to the artillery and buffing them every turn but I feel like there's other options that I'm just not seeing??

Yeah the Saladin is assuredly an inspiring mech to see on the battlefield but it's not a particularly inspiring mech to play

[911-ls-whats-your-emergency]

Has anyone written this season from Tommy’s POV yet?? Because if so please tag me, but in the meantime I just had to outline the crazy sequence of events from his POV:

- Haven’t heard from the 118 in years and suddenly Howie is asking me to fly them into a hurricane

- But also we gotta wait for Hen but you’re gonna need to go get her so we can dramatically surprise her from inside the helicopter

- Can’t believe these losers were actually right and we just found an overturned cruise ship

- Start talking to Eddie in the aftermath and have so much in common, exchange numbers so we can hang out

- A day later Evan Buckley calls the station and asks if he can come by for a tour whenever I’ve got some free time and he seems cool too so why not

- My buddy in Vegas gets awesome tickets to the fight and convinces me to fly out and hey Eddie mentioned he’s into MMA right?

- Evan is super excited about everything but also doesn’t really seem like he’d actually want to switch stations so that’s odd - but hey flying is awesome and I can’t resist a little eye candy so I’ll offer to teach him

- Fight is awesome. Eddie is awesome. New friends are awesome and it’s rare that you have so much in common with someone so we are BFFs now

- Vibes at basketball were strange?? Apparently Evan doesn’t usually play but he shows up and gets really intense and I end up having to take Eddie to get his ankle patched up

- Painkiller!Eddie starts mumbling about how this is all his fault and he knows how Buck gets jealous and….oh now I feel bad

- Let me go to Evan’s place and clear the air - didn’t mean to cause all this drama I just wanted all the new friends

- I might be reading this wrong but Evan is flirting with me…? While also talking about Eddie way too much??

- Okay he is definitely flirting with me but also I am still not convinced he was jealous over me

- But also how can you not kiss a guy like that when he’s flirting with you and then rambling??

- Damn I really hope that was okay because I did not give him a lot of warning

- 😁😁 it was okay

- Gotta get out of here before I get distracted by kissing this man and miss my shift

- But can’t let Evan overthink it too much so make sure I secure a date before I go

- Oops almost forgot I came here to fix what I broke between him and Eddie - one last reminder and we’re good!

- Can’t wait for Saturday…