#everyone knows i ship them so it doesn't bother me voicing this.

[botanikos]

What are the mun’s thoughts on how the stolitz relationship has been portrayed in the show?

Alright, well, I opened this can of worms then. Eating my words.

DISCLAIMER: This is MY opinion and no one is under any obligation to feel the same way, regardless of interaction / following. My opinion is mine alone and is in no way affiliated with anything other than my own perception(s), etc.

The stolitz relationship as portrayed in the show is MESSY. It is, in my opinion, complex. By the most basic definition, it is a direct hit on the miscommunication trope. Both parties ( Blitz and Stolas ) have deep rooted trauma(s) and feelings of inadequacy of some shape or form. WE DO NOT SEE EVERY LITTLE DETAIL. And honestly, this is OKAY with me! It leaves much open to fun little gremlin writers like us to play around in. There are dots to connect for the most basic details, and the rest is a messy little sandbox you'll be emptying from your shoes for weeks. I think it could absolutely be portrayed better! But I also thoroughly enjoy the non-linear existence of it. Relationships are messy, and people's love languages and overall feelings can be vastly differing, causing a massive disconnect. These things can completely and entirely alter, shift, or crumble whole relationships - be them romantic, platonic, familial, etc. I personally enjoy the portrayal of their relationship because it isn't all fluffy happy rainbows and smooches. Neither of them is perfect and both of them are deeply flawed. Also, I've been in a relationship that has closely mirrored the absolutely steep differing of romantic/expected alignment, inferiority struggles, and self-degradation. TL;DR - Not the best, certainly delicious, could be better, I personally enjoy it, and not everyone's cup of tea and that's okay!

[vaguely-concerned]

the more I play the more I think lucanis basically knows it's illario who betrayed him right from the beginning (he's had a year in the ossuary to think. not that many people knew where he was going. when you ask him 'did Illario know you'd be on that ship' his only answer is the hardest flattest 'yes' you ever heard). so it's not so much about figuring out who the traitor is (because that's ludicrous. we all know. immediately. they didn't really bother to hide it lmao) as about methodically closing off every single avenue of denial lucanis has clung to that whole time with as much or little gentleness as you might prefer until he has no choice but to admit it. because the moment he has to admit it, he'll have to do something -- feel something -- about it. and that's such a catastrophic event in lucanis' inner landscape (he has had TWO people in this whole entire world up until now and will do anything to hold on to them with a heartbreaking child-like desperation, even at and especially through the detriment of his own self) that he'd rather just. not. what if we quite simply. didn't. what if we just stayed here in the emptiness where we can both pretend you didn't hurt me in a way I should never forgive. I have so much practice in that with caterina already it's always worked out great for everyone so far. (press x to fucking doubt but that's trauma logic for you lol)

after everything illario did, so much of the storm of lucanis' emotions around it is 'what the FUCK did you get yourself tangled up in this time and how do I get you out of this mess safely'. what's worse: the fact that your brother murdered you, or that he put himself in horrible danger doing so and thus exposed you to the risk of losing him forever. lucanis' heart certainly has an opinion here and it's fucking unhinged (affectionate)

the themes of dissociation in lucanis' character in general makes me feel nuts. allllll these contradictory messy things he needs to cut off from each other because they can't coexist or be easily reconciled inside him. but all remain stubbornly true separately anyway and will have their due one day. love and resentment. tenderness and fear and rage. terror and longing. love and freedom don't coexist. the burned out golden child anthem is playing in the background. he was always caterina's favourite and he has to keep striving to deserve that dubious honour with every breath he takes and then, presumably, mercifully, some day he will die and be excused and can rest. and until now he's suppressed all the -- natural, healthy, protective! -- negative feelings that threaten the few attachment relationships he actually has, at the cost of ever actually having his needs for connection and safety met and leaving his core self imprisoned and compromised. and spite goes 'what. no. that's dumb fuck that' (*spite voice* I do not understand that and even if I did I would not respect it) and does not allow him to fall back into that, which I think is what saves his life, ultimately. it took being possessed by a demon for lucanis to even contemplate telling anyone he loves 'no' in any way, but hey. whatever gets you there right lol

lucanis is dealing with the freeze response allll the way down baby. and he was even before the ossuary, that just turbo powered it and brought it to a breaking point way before it could happen naturally. but something was going to break eventually no matter what, and I'm just glad that in the end, through the power of friendship and also pure spite, it doesn't have to be him

[awkwardarmadildo]

to add on to the humans are space orcs/earth is the universe's australia, sensing. my therapist has recently explained that its not normal the way i know who and where someone is by their footsteps. not just the sound, but the vibrations. if someone isnt purposely walking on light feet, i can tell who and where they are, even with headphones blaring. imagine a human on a ship and the awe-filled terror itd earn from their non-human crewmates.

edit: ive realized i wasnt clear enough in my intentions. im not saying "if you can tell peoples footsteps apart, youve been ✨️ T R A U M A T I Z E D ✨️ d-(^♡^)-b ". its about the inherent panic in Not hearing the steppies and therefore Not having the time to prepare yourself for whoever might be approaching and essentially being ambushed. also, being able to tell if someone is normalTM, happy, sad, et cetera. the combined terror of not being given time to make oneself "presentable" for whoevers coming, And Also whoever has just seemingly teleported is fucking pissed, which is never good. Anyways, enjoy!!! ＼(^o^)／

Gilith enters the library, searching for Human Raven. They seem to be found most often either here or in one of the many gardens on the ship. Human Alex said he'd likely find them here today.

Gilith pokes his head through the doorway, not seeing Human Raven, but before he can move on, a voice calls out from one of the high-backed chairs decorating the library.

"Hello Lithy, what do you need?"

Gilith sputters, "Wha- Human Raven, how did you know it was me?" Gilith makes his way over to the chair that held Human Raven in a twisted knot that, when Human Raven stood up, would surely leave a horrifying crunch Human Alex had likened to a human candy that exploded in one's mouth.

"You've got some loud stompers, Lithy."

"I do not know what that means, Human Raven."

Raven stands, causing Gilith to flinch at many snaps and crackles of their bones settling into place, and smiles up at his towering form.

"What did you need?"

Gilith notices more and more Human Raven's greetings. He thought maybe they could hear him coming, but they greeted him while wearing ear speakers, the volume so loud, Gilith could hear it from a few feet away.

Humans did not have psychic skills, and the only other human who seemed capable of a preemptive greeting was Human Alex. The two seemed to share all of their off-hours, so maybe that was where he could find his answers.

Gilith scoured the many gardens, stopping just outside of the doorway. He could hear Human Alex and Human Raven chattering to each other, but neither seemed to notice his presence.

In an attempt not to disturb them, he walked with what Human Bea had described as "tip-toes". A challenging feat, considering his round flat feet, but he managed.

Both Human Raven and Human Alex had their backs to him, so he coughed in the same way Human Bea often did to get everyone's attention.

The reaction he got was unexpected when both Human Raven and Human Alex flinched so hard their shoulders seemed to lock.

"My apologies! I didn't mean to startle you," he rushed over, but stopped short when they both flinched again. He recoiled his hand.

"It's ok, Lithy," Raven says, voice slightly choked. "Just give us a sec."

"Oh. Okay." Gilith turned his eyes down.

"What-" Alex started, his voice sounding as though it was rubbed raw. He cleared his throat and tried again. "What can we do for you, Gilith?"

"I did not have anything specific to talk to you about. I wanted to..." he trails off. "I wanted to inform you of the new plants we are picking up at the next trade planet."

Gilith feels his face twist with the lie, but now didn't seem like a good time to ask.

His desire to understand, however, doesn't fade after the incident. It only makes his hunger grow.

Instead of bothering Human Alex or Human Raven, Gilith decides to ask Human Bea, who does not sense him before he greets her.

"Hello, Human Bea."

"Yes, hello, Gilith. Is everything okay?"

"I have question."

Bea tilts her head. "Ask away."

"Are you- humans- able to detect someone before you see them?"

Bea's face softens into an aching sort of frown. "Not naturally."

"What do you mean?"

She takes a breath, seemingly preparing herself. "Well, most people are able to live in a relatively safe place. But some people aren't as lucky. Some people have to memorize the falls of others' feet. It's a learned survival tactic."

"I don't understand," Gilith says, his face wrinkling in confusion.

"Some people aren't safe, so for the ones who weren't born with the good luck of a safe home, they have to know who and where someone is. They have to know if they need to hide or prepare themself. They have to know if they're in danger or not."

Gilith feels his whole body go slack as a wave of sadness washes over him at the memory of Human Raven and Human Alex's reaction to his sudden appearance.

"I have loud stompers."

Bea's face scrunches up as though she's trying not to laugh. "You do. You have safe stompers, too."

[logansobsession]

Intoxicating Desire

Pairings: Logan Howlett x fem! mutant reader

Summary: You and Logan have always been close friends, you knew everything about each other and did everything together. The only thing Logan doesn't do, is sit where your power is strongest: the greenhouse. Logan has never seen or heard about your power.

Word count: 4.8 K

Content Warnings: Explicit (18+ mdni), Smut, dirty thoughts, spitting, spicy tension, age gap, praising kink, no use of y/n, reader has ability to control plants and produce flowers from body, along with other flower related things, borderline sub!, teasing, choking.

A/N: This has been sitting in the back of my mind for the past week, I love me a weak Logan * cries out*. Something about his shell breaking and being putty in our hands makes ME turn to putty. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it.

The greenhouse. The place you go to find solace. Granted, it's the only place you can go to feel your powers fully. With being "graced" with the mutation to control plants, along with sprouting whatever you decide from your body.

The silence. The pure oxygen from the plants. It's otherworldly to you, keeping you chained there for hours, sometimes days. Most of your friends at the mansion know about your mutation. But, it's never spoken per your request. Everyone has such powerful mutations, spectacles of wonder and curiosity, then there's you. The plant girl.

You used to hate the mutation when you were shipped to the mansion at 16. Suppressing it any moment given. Charles spent hours upon hours with you, slowly teaching you to love and use the mutation in beautiful ways. Hank taught you how to control your frustrations and anger, which made it more difficult to control it. Scott... Scott didn't teach anything to you, he just enjoyed watching the show when you did use the mutation.

But Logan? He became your best friend, in the aspects of being your mentor. Taught you how to fight and defend yourself during hand to hand combat. He was there to offer a silent shoulder when you cried about boys, to hanging out with you. In fact, you guys hung out everywhere. Until Charles had the greenhouse built for you shortly after turning 18.

Logan never came to visit you when you would hole yourself up for hours. Nobody did really. The only person that visited you was Hank, but he couldn't handle the humidity as well as you did.

Today was humid, but rain pouring down as if the gods were crying. Which meant you would receive no visitors. The constant assault of rain upon the see through roof provided a lulling background noise, it was almost calming enough to let you rest there.

Logan was walking around the halls, bored out of his mind, he didn't have anything to do so he decided to try and find something or someone to cure his boredom with. He turned the corner and began to approach the greenhouse.

You stood in front of a rose bush, trimming any dead or sick leaves and stems from the bush. The rain was a constant sound, almost drowning out the sound of Logan's knocking before entering the greenhouse.

He stood at the entrance to the greenhouse, peering in at you, watching you for a moment before deciding to interrupt you.

"Hey." He said in a gruff voice.

You jumped in surprise, clutching at your heart before smiling.

"Hey! You finally visiting? Or is it too hot in here for you?"

"Too hot?" He raised a questioning eyebrow and shut the door behind him, the temperature in the room didn't seem to bother him at all.

"Seems fine in here to me."

You nod and laugh "Most of them don't enjoy being in here because it gets fairly humid. I think the rain cooled it down a significant amount today." as you gesture to the roof with the plant trimmers before resuming your task.

"Eh, I've been through worse." He shrugged, slowly drawing closer to you, looking over your shoulder to see what you were doing.

You smile again, continuing your work. "I'm cutting any sick or dead stems from the bush. Keeps the plant itself from getting sick or dying."

You look over your shoulder at him. "Would you like a stool? I usually keep one nearby incase Hank or Scott come to visit."

"Nah, I'm fine." He insisted, as he leaned against the wall, he continued to watch you as you worked, he wasn't all that interested in what you were doing with the plant; he was more interested in you to be honest, he'd just never come to check on you as he usually avoided the greenhouse.

"Alright, suit yourself." You shrug your shoulders before doing a final check on the bush, ensuring you didn't leave any behind. You take a step back and smile at your work.

"Now that's a healthy rose bush if I do say so myself." You walk back to the center of the greenhouse, a midsize willow tree surrounded by stone bricks. You sit down on the stone and pat the empty spot next to you.

He watched you as you sat down and pat next to you, beckoning him to sit with you. Logan pushed himself off the wall and stalked over to you, taking a seat next to you. Even sitting down he still dwarfed you in both size and stature, he leaned against the trunk of the tree but still turned his head to look at you, with an eyebrow raised.

You stare up at the willow, and smile. As you're looking up, you say "Isn't it beautiful? Charles picked the location of the green house for the sole purpose of this willow. It's soothing in a way. Branches drooping, almost sad in a constant melancholy state."

He also looked up at the willow, and he had to agree that it was beautiful. As he watched the branches sway, he also noticed the way that they seemed to droop, as if they were sad.

"It does have a calming presence to it." He agreed as he sat by your side, watching the willow.

You break your gaze from the willow, bringing it to Logan. "So how come you never come to the greenhouse? I'm almost always in here. Granted, no one likes the plant loving mutant and her weird fascination with plants, so I don't blame any of you."

He turned his face to look at you, he thought for a moment in whether he should be fully honest with you or not. He let out a sigh before speaking.

"It's not that I have anything against you, I just ain't a big fan in spending a whole lot of time around plants, or inside for that matter."

You nod your head, listening to him as he spoke. You pat your hands against your lap before you stood in front of him "Do you actually think I'm a mutant... like you?" you say as you place your hands on your hips.

Logan raised an eyebrow curiously as you asked the question. What a strange and out of the blue question to ask, he thought to himself as he looked up at you. He also noticed a shift in your tone. So leaned back against the willow and took a moment to think about his answer, before responding, "If I had to make a guess... I'd think you're a mutant."

You nod your head and smile. "That is correct. But my mutation isn't anything special. So I never use it." You shrug before picking up the trimmers and walk over to a patch of lilacs.

He continued to watch you as you moved over to a different plant. He stood up and followed you to the patch of lilacs. " Why don't you use it? You've been here for years, and I've never seen you do anything different?"

You get down on your knees and slowly start your work on the lilacs "Well it doesn't serve any real purpose, so I don't use it. I'm not a show off like some people in the mansion." You turn your head up at Logan and smile innocently.

He chuckled at your response, "No, you're too sweet to be that kind of person." A thought suddenly crossed his mind, he looked down at the lilacs as you worked on them.

"May I ask you something?"

You smile wider at Logan's compliment and turn your head back to the lilacs "Of course, I'm an open book. You can ask me anything."

He watched you for a moment as you continued to work. He paused for a moment, he was suddenly feeling a bit nervous but he didn't show outward signs of it. "So, what exactly is your mutation then?"

You let out a small sigh and slowly stand up. You walk back to the willow, setting the trimmers down. " I'm a little rusty, it's not something I do often, so bear with me." You say, brushing your hands off on your apron. "Come here" You hold out your hand for Logan to come near.

He watched you as you finished up and put the trimmers down. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity as you held out your hand and gestured for him to come closer. He hesitantly stepped closer towards you.

"Come closer...I need you closer for this." You wave him to come closer. You shake your arms and shoulders, growing nervous as to if you can even do it anymore. You smile and wink at Logan, " This is my favorite party trick. But I save it for special people."

He watched you as you stood in front of him with a nervous smile. He raised his eyebrow as you said it was a "party trick". Still, he was more than intrigued to know what exactly what your trick was. He stepped even closer to you, standing in front of you.

You place your hands softly on Logan's chest, over his heart. I looked up at him, " I need you to think about something or someone you care about or love. Whatever it may be. Okay?" You raise your eyebrows, waiting for an answer.

He took a sharp breath as you placed your hands on his chest. He felt his heart rate pick up as you did so. He looked down at you, noticing you had gotten closer to him. He nodded, he had someone in his mind.

"Alright. I got what I need in mind."

Logan watched in surprise as the green house began to change around the both of you, as vines and branches creeped up the glass walls, making it much darker inside than it was before. He looked up at the roof and saw it covered in vines and branches. He watched as vines slowly crept down, blooming into long tufts of wisteria. He looked back down at you, he was shocked to see you exerting this kind of power. He'd never expected it from someone of your nature. Still, he kept his mouth shut, eager to see what you'd do next.

You let out a ragged breath, searching for any more power you had. Slowly, hues of pinks and purples erupted from your hair. Tiny flowers blossomed, framing your face perfectly. You open your eyes, breathing hard and smiling. Your hands still resting on Logan's chest as you say "Like my party trick?" You look around at the vines and flowers covering the inside of the greenhouse.

He was speechless, he looked around in awe at the greenhouse. Covered in vines, with wisteria everywhere. His eyes fell back down to you as you spoke. He looked over your face, noticing all the tiny flowers framing your pretty face. He blinked a few times in shock, until he finally came back to his sense and spoke, his voice slightly shaky from the shock. "That's a pretty amazing party trick you have there."

You smile and gently remove your hands from Logan's chest. He remained in a daze, watching you pat his chest before removing your hands. You looked up at the ceiling, proud of the show you had put on for Logan, after not using your abilities in at least two years.

You reached up, grabbing a small tuft of wisteria, opening Logan's hand and placing the flower in his hand gently. He felt his heart skip a beat as you grabbed his hand, placing the flower there. He could feel butterflies in his stomach as you looked at him.

Your face grows warm before speaking up, " I do have one little more part of my mutation that I didn't tell you about."

Logan raise an eyebrow slightly at your words, listening intently as you spoke. You'd piqued his curiosity. A part of your mutation that you hadn't told him about? He found that interesting and honestly a bit annoying that you hadn't told him already.

"There's a part to your mutation that you haven't told me about? And what is that part, sweetheart?"

You smile, taking a step back so you could clearly see his face. "You know some flowers release a scent? An almost intoxicating scent that's alluring to the senses?"

He glanced after you as you stepped away from him, watching as you brought your hands to your sides. He nodded his head, already knowing where you're going with this. He was already realizing that you'd been holding something back from him. "Yeah, I know what you're talking about, why?"

You stay silent point to yourself, hoping he makes the connection. It took him a moment, but he soon caught on to what you were hinting at. And as soon as he had, he swore his knees almost buckled at the realization.

"You-your flowers do release a scent that's luring to the senses?"

You nod, "Some of them yes. As an extra boost. But Charles taught me to suppress my emotions and this because it acts as pheromone." You state. You take a few moments in silence. "Would you like to see what I mean?"

He didn't even have to think before nodding his head, he wanted to see un-suppress this little ability of yours, seeing the effects it'd have just out of pure curiosity. " Yeah, I'd like to see what you mean. Go on sweetheart go ahead and show me."

You sit down on the stone by the willow tree and close your eyes. You mentally unravel everything Charles had taught you. Slowly. But surely, a rainbow of colors blossomed within your hair and an intoxicating scent mixed with your pheromones.

Logan was absolutely mesmerized as he watched you sit down and close your eyes, watching in wonder as the normally subtle blossoms in your hair began to explode to an almost dazzling spectrum of colors. And as the intoxicating scent mixed your pheromones, he strange sort of need grow in his chest.

"Sweetheart... What are you doing to me..."

The scent grew stronger, becoming easily detected by the normal senses. It filled the green house, almost creating an invisible haze. The scent was slowly driving Logan crazy. His breathing was getting heavier in response to it, the smell being intoxicating like you had said. He felt something deep within him respond and almost beg for him to get physically closer to you.

"Fuck... darling...the smell... It's messing with me..."

You opened your eyes slowly while holding your breath and looked at Logan. You tilted your head in a way of saying "I told you so" before closing your eyes again and cutting off the scent from emanating any more. You stood up and walked back to Logan and smiled.

The moment you'd cut off the scent, he felt like he'd suddenly been doused in a bucket of cold water. He was suddenly able to actually get his bearings again, able to realize how strongly he'd been affected by you un-suppressing that part of your mutation.

"Jesus Christ... that scent was... something else.. I don't think I've ever felt that type of need for someone, sweetheart..."

You dramatically bow, and stand back up straight. " And that is why I spent four years training alone with Charles. All in the mind."

Logan chuckled softly, feeling amused at how dramatically you had bowed just to emphasize the effectiveness of the power you had just revealed. " Damn... I can't really blame Charles for spending that much time with you to make sure you'd be able to control it. If you could just let that loose, anytime, you'd have every single person in the mansion swooning over you in no time."

You look down at your hands momentarily, " That isn't it at the strongest, I know your heightened senses are probably raw from that little bit. I could show you, but if you need fresh air, I promise I won't be mad at you Logan."

As the scent of the flowers still lingered throughout the air, mixing with the subtle but still present smell of your pheromones. It was driving him insane, like a constant itch in the back of his mind, to just grab you and keep you close to him. "Darling I'm not going anywhere."

He hadn't completely regained control yet and he sure as hell wasn't going to leave you alone when he was still being affected by you. You look at him and nod, understanding. " I'll go somewhere where you can't hurt me and I can stop anytime that you want me to."

His breath hitched slightly at your question. His head was still clouded from the scent that had filled the green house and he couldn't think clearly enough to decide whether that would be a good idea or not. Something deep within him was still demanding and almost begging for him to get closer to you, to hold you in his arms. But he somehow managed to answer coherently

"You sure you want to do that sweetheart?"

"I want to show you what it's like if I went out on a field mission with you guys." You start speaking as you look at Logan. "I can't direct it yet at a single person, so if I use it against an enemy, it'll also affect the entire team."

Logan nodded as you spoke, listening intently. The strong scent still filled the air, his mind still in a haze. He was definitely tempted to get closer to you, but he managed to rein in his urges, barely..

"So that's why you can't actually go missions... it'll affect the team as well, not just the enemies.."

You nod your head "Yes. It's really the only useful and semi powerful thing in relation to my mutation..." You trail off, bringing your hand back to Logan's chest. "Are you sure you want to go through it again?"

He was tempted to just wrap his arms around you the second you put your hand on his chest, feeling it like a jolt to his system that just further made it hard to think. But he managed to answer you again,

"Yeah. Go ahead, sweetheart. Let's see what happens."

"Stay right there and don't move" you say with a serious tone coating your voice. You walk over to the willow tree and begin climbing in.

You reach the part of the tree that has a groove, perfect for sitting, a place you commonly rested at. You sat yourself in a way that Logan could still see you, but still in a way that would prevent you from falling in case you fainted.

"And you're positive that you want to do this?"

Logan watched as you went and climbed the tree. He was definitely having to exert every last ounce of willpower and strength he had to follow your instructions and just stay where he was and not follow you up that damn tree. "Sweetheart, I'm positive. Go ahead and show me what you got."

You close your eyes and open your arms from your body. Flowers blossoming from your head, painting your arms in hues of pinks and purples. You slowly begin to smell the familiar scent you spent hours holding deep down, radiate from your skin. As your eyes are closed and focusing on your body, you softly say "This isn't full power... Are you okay?"

The moment he felt the scent return to the air and begin to permeate throughout the greenhouse, all control Logan had was gone; the scent completely taking over his mind within moments. All he could think about was getting up to you, how perfect you would fit in his arms, and how much he just wanted to get close and touch you. But he tried to answer you in a coherent way. "Yeah... I'm fine... keeping going.."

You take a deep breath and let your mind and body begin to take over. You mentally go to a different place as the scent grows unbearably strong. Your body begins to sweat, beads of sickly sweet sweat rolling from your face down onto your cleavage. The sweat creates an even more pungent aroma that mingles with the scent within the greenhouse.

Logan's breathing was becoming shakier with every second that passed, feeling the scent grow even stronger and that mixed with the beads of sweat slowly making their way down your body was driving him absolutely insane. He was still having to exercise every ounce of self control to not follow you up the damn tree, desperately fighting against the overwhelming urge to just grab you and make you his.

"Oh...God... sweetheart you're making this so damn goddamn hard..."

It's been so long since you've let go like this, the release of pent up energy felt good, too good. You lean back hard, back connecting with the thick tree branch as the scent rolls off of you in thick, aggressive waves, as your self control whittles down to nothing.

He was at the very edge of his willpower by this point, the scent was so damn strong now and the sight of you lean back, sweat rolling down your body was taking every ounce of control he had away.

"Fuck...sweetheart you're going to send me over the edge... I swear to God I'm gonna completely lose it if you go anymore..."

Logan's voice sounding further away as you drift away from the control you had spent years precising. You knew deep down that you would have to go back to working with Charles, but in the very moment, it felt soothing to finally lose control.

Logan couldn't think clearly at all by this point, the scent that filled the air and the sight of your body, sweat beginning to soak your camisole, were driving him past the brink of sanity.

"God... Sweetheart... I can't hold back anymore.. I'm gonna do something...I'm warning you now"

You relish in the feeling of release, realizing that it needs to be done more than not doing it at all. Flowers and thin vines erupting from your hands, crawling and wrapping slowly around the tree; creating more open pockets to release the intoxicating aroma.

That was it.

You relishing in the release and the sight of the vines and flowers from your hands, wrapping around the tree was the last straw for Logan. He couldn't hold back anymore and as such, he gave in to the urge, not caring anymore.

"God DAMN it... I warned you." He let out a growl as he quickly ran towards the tree.

You laid there in uncontrolled bliss, too far off of the edge on control to reel it back in. Logan quickly jumped, using every ounce of his strength to scale the tree and get up to where you were, looking absolutely feral as he approached you, where you were sitting in the small groove of the tree.

"Oh sweetheart... look at you... you look like an absolute mess.. like a damn vision sitting up here... a vision that's mine to touch."

You barely feel Logan's body heat as your senses are far more defined than before. But all control of this has been lost and you lay there deep within your mind.

He quickly crowded towards you, leaning over you slightly as you sat there in a sort of half dazed state in the tree. He was feeling very, very possessive of you in this moment, seeing you with sweat coating your body; flowers and vines from your hands wrapping around the tree, and that scent of yours filling the air.

"God you're so damn perfect like this, so damn gorgeous.. so damn mine to touch..."

The lull of release temporarily becomes bearable and you slowly come back to your mind, scent still radiating from your body. You open your eyes and see Logan leaning over you, eyes dark and filled with desire.

He was looming over you, body almost fully caging you to the trunk of the tree. Eyes dark, nothing but lust and wild with possessiveness as he looked down on you, seeing you slowly start to come back to your senses. He couldn't help but take in the sight of you, practically drenched in sweat and flowers, sitting there in a half-dazed state of release at his touch. "There you are... look at you doll... a complete mess..."

You hazily smiled, closing your eyes once again, more vines erupting from your hands, slowly slinking around Logan, tying him in place all while pulling him closer. You whisper to him gently "I told you it's a lot."

Logan tried to bite back a moan as he was suddenly enveloped by the vines from your hands, feeling them wrap around his arms and legs, pulling him even closer until he was fully pressed against you, completely at your mercy.

"Doll... you're killing me here.. you feel so damn good..."

You look at him through half-lidded eyes, whispering "You doing okay?"

He nodded quickly at your question, feeling like his body had never been more alive and on fire than right then. Being all tied up by the vines from your hands, being held so close against you, the aroma of flowers and the sweat from your body being absolutely overpowering...

"Yeah... I'm doing more than okay sweetheart.."

A vine slowly snaked up Logan's back and around his neck, wrapping itself firmly around his neck as more flowers blossomed, releasing the aroma right underneath his nose.

He practically saw stars as the vine began to wrap around his neck, flowers releasing more of the damn intoxicating scent and completely scrambling his mind even more. He let out an almost guttural sounding moan at the intense feeling, the vines and scent making it increasingly difficult to think.

"God... sweetheart.. that feels so goooood...."

You close your eyes once more, controlling the vines wrapping Logan, pulling him face to face with me. The vine grips at Logan's neck again, you open your eyes again and smile. " Told you it's powerful.." You whisper against his lips.

Logan looked completely feral with how he practically on the verge of losing it as you pulled his face even closer, the vine around his neck tugging again, making the sensation even more intense. He let out a guttural moan again at how good it felt being wrapped up and completely within your power, being so close to your face with your lips just barely touching his.

" God sweetheart... you're insane."

You open your mouth just barely, dragging your tongue against Logan's bottom lip before bringing it into your mouth, biting and tugging at it before releasing it. "Tell me what you want to do to me Logan...please."

Logan practically whimpered at that, the feeling of your tongue against his bottom lip and you biting and tugging was more intense than he really expected it to be, driving him insane. He let out another guttural moan as you released his lip, feeling completely under your control as he managed to answer

"I want.. want to touch you.. kiss you.. feel your bare skin against mine.. just have you completely."

A low hum radiates from your throat as you bite Logan's bottom lip again, harder and drawing blood from his lip. "Tell me what you want to do to my body Logan."

He let out another moan as you bite his lip again, drawing blood. It hurt, but he couldn't focus on the pain as the feeling being tangled and held by the vines and being held so damn close you was overwhelming.

"God..I'm..I'm gonna kiss your body all over.. gonna feel your skin.. gonna devour every damn inch of you and make you mine..."

You hum again, "Tell me you're mine... tell me you'll be mine to use and play with whenever my little heart desires Logan.."

He let out a moan at the hum you gave him, feeling more and more like he was yours to use and play with. His primal side was fully taking over at this point as he answered.

" God yes... I'm yours sweetheart, I'm all yours.. I'll be yours to use and play with whenever your damn little heart pleases..."

You close your eyes, tightening the vine around Logan's neck even more "Good boy..." You whisper, praising him.

Logan let out another moan as the vine around his neck was tightened even more, his breathing becoming even more labored as it took him everything he had to answer you. His mind completely fogged over by how this felt, being so completely captured by you, completely at your mercy.

"God... yes... I'm your good boy.. please sweetheart... don't stop... keep going.. I'm all yours..."

[aethelwyneleigh27]

More Dad!Simon "Ghost" Riley and Taskforce Moments With Little Ghost

+ Featuring Los Vaqueros Uncles, Meemaw Laswell (and her wife?), Peepaw Nikolai, Aunty Farah and Uncle Alex

Did I use the same pictures as I did with the last posts? Yes, because these pictures are so Ghostie coded. Also there's like a slight ✨sprinkle✨ of Angst in there, good luck <3

Tag list: @puff0o0 @simp4konig @blingblong55 @azereus @rustic-guitar-notes @shadofireshinobi @anonymuslydumb @skeletalgoats @icarustypicalfall @ghosts-cyphera @cutenote @connorsui HAS THE BEST FREAKING COMMENTARY AND IS SO SWEET, SHE MAKES ME SOUND LIKE I'M SOME AUTHOR WHO WROTE A FAMOUS BOOK, ILY CONNORSUI <3 (ngl, I go back to read her commentary over and over again because if how nice they make me feel 😭)

Pairings: Ghost x Wife!Reader

This is my personal AU, I don't think anyone has written on little Ghostie before I did. Not to say that there aren't any works on Dad!Ghost and his kids however Ghostie is a character of mine who holds such a special place in my heart, especially after I started writing more about her and how she acts around everyone.

Possible ships: Farah x Alex (Faralex)?? Alejandro x Rudy (Alerudy)?? Price x Nikolai (Nikprice)??

I know Halloween season is over but y'all can't do anything about this, it's been cooking in my brain for a while now. (Some of these are just regular scenarios though) Ghostie is back y'all!!!

❥ Ghostie who simultaneously made her way into convincing the Taskforce to go with her trick or treating, having her little army uniform that was commissioned for her, a bit visible underneath her pink puffy jacket. Yeah I don't think she's going to stop wearing it unless she's outgrown it, in which case, that would just break her big heart :((

❥ Simon holding little Ghostie's hand while she toddles, she would NOT go anywhere without either her dad's, her mum's or her uncle Gaz's hand. Having her tiny chubby fingers gripping onto two of her dad's fingers as he guides her up big steps. Catching her when she accidentally slips on the slippery steps.

❥ The rest of the Taskforce being behind her like a bunch of guard dogs, ain't nobody is gonna try and scare her because of the big burly men next to her. Photo was provided by my favorite artist last Halloween, @puff0o0:

❥ Ghostie having the sweetest voice ever, she so polite, so much so that she makes the her dad and uncles chuckle at her. (This is how I imagined her voice to sound like)

"Say trick or treat.." Gaz whispers, coaching her from behind as someone from the house opens the door. Two women in costumes, holding a big candy bowl.

"trwick or trweat.." Little Ghostie mumbles, far too shy and almost hiding behind her uncle.

"What a cute costume you have there, here, take these ones" one of the women said, adding the candy to Ghostie's little basket.

"Thank you!" Ghostie exclaims, making the two girls awe at her politeness and eagerness.

❥ Yeah Ghostie definitely pronounces Halloween as "Ha-Hoween".

❥ I can't help but think that they came across that one house with a sign that said "leave your single dad's number if he's attractive" and as a joke, uncle Gaz threw in a piece of paper with peepaw Price's number on it, only to have peepaw Nikolai fish it out of the candy bowl when he thought no one could see him.. but Ghostie did.

Not Halloween related:

❥ Safe to say that when uncle Gaz doesn't like someone, neither does Ghostie, if you all can recall that cutscene from mw3, Gaz did NOT even bother to acknowledge Philip's existence. That being said, Ghostie gives the nastiest side-eyes to him the moment he even opens his mouth. (Yeah she got from her dad)

❥ Ghostie absolutely loves getting head pats and giving them, to her, it's one of the best forms of praise. Anyone gives her head pats gets to witness her absolutely adorable reaction, the way her eyes light up, those little lips curling into a smile causing her chubby cheeks to be prominent and her eyes squinting. Mostly loves doing it to uncle Soap, because the mohawk is fluffy.

❥ Maybe at some point, when Philip decides to behave then he can earn the head pats from Ghostie.

❥ Meals with the Taskforce and Ghostie are a certified hit, she has quite the appetite and she shows it. Simon takes it upon himself to always does what his wife does at home when he's out with Ghostie, bringing her silicone bib and baby utensils. (Even the bulky ass highchair attachment that he keeps in that back of his car/truck)

"More please..." Ghostie says, making grabby hands, in the middle of chewing after observing that her plate is yet again empty.

Price chuckles, looking at Simon who was now careful about the amount of food to add on Ghostie's plate because the toddler is on her third round of food.

❥ Ghostie enjoys clapping her hands and anything as well, especially after eating and being satisfied.

❥ Ghostie is into tea, her dad got her hooked on it.

"Aye, what about you Ghostie? What'd you like?" Soap asks the little one who's currently keeping herself busy with her custom coloring book.

"Tea!" She says, looking up for a bit to Soap before focusing back on her coloring.

"You heard her Johnny, make that two.." Simon says with a pretty firm pat on the back for Soap.

"Fuckin' Brits..."

❥ Auntie Farah and uncle Alex are the babysitters when uncle Gaz, uncle Soap and peepaw Price ain't around. Farah loves that kid to death, if she was being honest, she saw a lot of resemblance between Simon and Ghostie. Of course there are looks were, she's basically a carbon copy of him but also mannerisms;

❥ Ghostie who copies her dad, being adamant about being cleanly and tidy, oftentimes catching people surprised that she tidies up after herself immediately after playing before moving onto another set of toys, coloring books and coloring materials. She notices and mirrors how Simon is consistent in keeping things tidy and out the way.

❥ Whenever Ghostie is at home with her momma (you) and Simon had to run errands, she always wakes up first, seeing how her dad gets up early too.

Ghostie rises up with a soft yawn, rubbing her tiny eyes with her hands, she looked around at the still dimly lit room. She turned her head from side to side looking for her dad.

She was met by him standing and dressing himself up in a black hoodie to go out and buy something. She gives him that cheek to cheek smile before leaning her cheek and closing her eyes, mandatory kiss from dad before he left.

"Alright pumpkin, dada's leaving now. I'll be back later, be good and don't give momma a hard time.." Simon reminded her after giving her cheek a kiss.

"Okay dada- promise.." Ghostie yawns mid sentence.

❥ Ghostie who, ever since she way younger, loved to cup her dad's face and nuzzle her nose into his. A tradition that Simon doesn't know if he's ready to see it go when she grows up. Neither is he ready for her to start correcting the words she's been pronouncing wrong;

❥ Dad!Simon whose heart broke once he realizes that the "I love you"s will slowly start to be less and less when she becomes a teen, he's silently wishing to himself that it won't be reduced to not being said at all. You had to reassure him that it won't happen, not when Ghostie's the sweetest little girl anyone could ask for and Simon is the best dad anyone could as for.

❥ Uncle Alejandro and uncle Rudy being the seasoned uncles who happened to be absolutely adored by Ghostie, not as much as uncle Gaz but let's be real here, no one is on uncle Gaz's level.

❥ Uncle Alejandro and uncle Soap having bets and arguments on who gets to reach their language to Ghostie while she just sits there on uncle Rudy's lap, sipping on her apple juice, quite entertained.

❥ YOU CANNOT TELL ME THAT RUDY ISN'T RESPONSIBLE FOR GETTING HER TO SLEEP OR NAP, that man is a walking heater. I can just see him standing there while holding her in his arms while she's trying her hardest not to fall asleep, yawning "Uncle Rudy.." before immediately snoring, snuggling her face into his soft blue hoodie shirt. (@icarustypicalfall is living for this, I just know it)

❥ Alejandro who gets smacked in the back of the head by (his husband) Rudy for being too loud and almost waking Ghostie up. (Alerudy when? This is a joke to y'all Alerudy haters, I like the ship, it's cute. Not sure if it's canon here in my AU, up to you guys to decide)

❥ Laswell and her wife absolutely fucking adore Ghostie, shit she makes them want to have kids, she has almost the same effect on almost everyone. Silently making her uncle Gaz wish that he isn't single.

❥ Let's be real here, peepaw Nikolai was the one who Ghostie jammed with while listening to heavy metal. He also got her this mini leather jacket that matched his, with her nationality country/countries flag/s embroidered patch on the side. I can just imagine her little head bangs that peepaw nik taught her 🥺😭.

❥ Also Ghostie has access to almost everyone's prized stuff, uncle Gaz's and peepaw Price's hats, uncle Soap's medals and even peepaw Nik's jacket which looks like she's swimming in it when she's wearing it.

❥ This pic is so Dad!Simon and Ghostie coded:

❥ Something tells me that Simon would send you this pic and you'd probably have a heart attack, your husband isn't the best driver after all but you trust him since he won't put your daughter in imminent danger.

❥ I think most of the time, Ghostie is in her uncle Gaz's arms and/or lap while he sits on the passenger seat, doesn't really matter who's driving.

My past works on Ghostie, in case you haven't seen the posts before this one on my most favorite mini Ghost:

Little Ghost (Drabble)

TF141 Interacting with Little Ghost Hcs

This was far longer than I expected, I just love Ghostie so much and I just have a lot to say regarding her.

A/n: This is now an official taglist for most of my generic CoD works, none of these people asked to be tagged on my mediocre content and I understand that, if y'all wanna be removed from the taglist then y'all could tell me privately or on the replies if you guys prefer it :))

Sidenote: Is it normal to be so excited over something you bought? I literally bought my first ever concealer today, a mascara that I've been looking for and lip oil. I was so excited that I squealed when I got home and immediately used them. Any makeup tips that you guys have? Sort of a beginner at this stuff.. Also does anyone whose had viral posts ever feel like their popular strike is over because none of their works get as much attention? Looking at all my recent posts and hyperventilating because the numbers are lower by so much.

[nethhiri]

Chapter 62: The Most Dangerous Game

Warnings: Violence, Sexual themes

Land came into view as you stood at the helm with Wire. It was late morning and mist still clung to the water's surface, not yet burned away by the sun. Wire yawned and stretched, lazily steering the ship towards shore. He had bags under his eyes. 

"Not sleeping?"

Wire looked at you with contempt. "You're kidding right?"

"What?"

"You three have been keeping everyone awake for the past several nights. And days." Wire made a disgusted face.

You snorted. "With fucking? Grow up. Ignore it." 

Wire grumbled, "Pretty hard to ignore." 

"Use earplugs then."

"I hope Kid pisses you off again soon," Wire said under his breath.

"Doesn't bother me." Heat piped up from behind you. 

"That's because you're a pervert." You and Wire said simultaneously. 

"Ouch." Heat feigned being hurt, but he didn't really care. You weren't exactly wrong.

You turned to him and pinched Heat's cheek playfully. "It's okay. We love our little pervert. Right, Wire?"

"Do not get him riled up. He'll be whining all day," Wire groaned.

"Who you calling little, short stuff?" Heat laughed and mussed your hair.

"Why don't you go tell your two lovers that we'll be making landfall."

You curled your lip. "I'll go tell my very good acquaintances and bosses, Kid and Killer, that we're almost there." 

"Whatever you say." You could hear the eye roll in Wire's voice.

Wire and Heat snickered as you did what Wire suggested and went to find Kid. He wasn't in his workshop, but Mini was there, licking crumbs off the floor. You checked the kitchen for Killer and he wasn't there either. It didn't take you long to put two and two together, and the closer you got to Kid's cabin, you knew you were right. You went ahead and let yourself in. There was no point in knocking. They wouldn't hear you over the chorus of grunts and groans that emanated from Kid's bedroom. Killer at least paused to look at you when he heard the door shut. Kid noticed and glanced quickly before returning to the task at hand. 

"Want me to come back?" You asked. "When you're not balls deep in each other?"

"Gimme- ngh- a minute."

You rocked on your feet with your hands behind your back, trying not to look directly at Kid's pasty white ass clenching as he fucked Killer, fearing the reflection might blind you. The sound of skin slapping skin filled the room while you stared intently at the cuticles of your nails. While you might have joined them in a different instance, you could tell earlier in the morning that they wanted to have time together, so you let them be. Not everything had to be all three of you all the time. Several pornographic sounds later, Kid slapped Killer's ass and rolled onto his back.

"You're insatiable. Last night wasn't enough?"

"IT WASN'T ME. IT WAS KILLER'S IDEA," Kid shouted defensively. 

Killer had a sheepish grin. "Guilty." He sighed and let himself relax into the sheets.

"Why did ya come in here again?" Kid yawned. 

"I was letting you know that we'll be reaching the island today."

"Oh shit. Already?" Kid mused. 

"So wash your dicks or whatever and come up top." 

"Well I already came down below." Kid's bellowing laugh rang out.

You muttered under your breath. "I cannot believe we both fuck this dude." 

Kid and Killer joined you, Heat, and Wire on deck a short while later. The three of you were playing cards to pass the time until the ship made it to shore. All the preparations had been made for landing already so there was nothing to do except pass time. Wire had won both yours and Heat's pants in a matter of a few games. Heat had forgotten to mention that Wire was an excellent gambler. By the skin of your teeth, you had won your pants back, just as your superiors arrived. Heat wasn't as lucky, and was about to lose his shirt, too. The three of you threw your cards in, much to Heat's relief, in favor of standing at the rail with Kid and Killer. The fog cleared enough for you to see a dilapidated castle sitting on a mountainside.

That must be the hideout.

A castle was unexpected, though the questionable condition had been somewhat assumed. They most likely didn't use this hideout often. They were only using it now as a meeting place for this alliance. You didn't know much about Apoo or Hawkins, only that they rose to infamy around the same time as the Kid Pirates. They seemed lame and annoying, a magician and a bard. Just what they needed, shitty cards tricks and dull ballads. Surely those special abilities would come in handy, if the enemy could be defeated by irritation alone.

Kid announced his intent to feast tonight, as a pre-alliance treat, and to recognize your new position, which you assured him was not necessary. As he did with most things, he insisted. He was simply excited to show you off. Kid took pride in his crew and he was proud of you for how far you had come. When he thought back to the time you first came aboard, it made him frown. You were so scrawny and feral-appearing back then. Then he thought about how they treated you, which he did feel slightly bad about. More than that, he sweated, thinking about how you had so little control or knowledge of your devil fruit. If you had been at the level you were today... his thoughts flashed to your prowess in torture. That could have been him splattered across the floor.

The truth was, as much as they had helped you grow, you had helped them grow, too. Kid had become ever so slightly more in touch with his feelings. You had encouraged him to try new things, with his fruit, with his cock, and his emotions. Killer learned to love himself a little more and that sometimes it was worth it to take a risk and let his guard down with people. They both learned that they had room between them for another person again. Or maybe it had always been there after Victoria, and they were too afraid to fill the gap.

Minerva bowled over several of the crew, causing them to drop whatever they were carrying, in her rush to get onto dry land. She hated being cooped up on the ship for too long and you didn't blame her. She needed space to run and forage. There were a lot of pig activities she needed to catch up on. The boar didn't even wait for the gangplank and jumped right into the shallow water before jetting off into the trees. 

Over the course of the day, the crew unloaded the necessary items for the party, mostly food, and took them into the castle. Killer went straight to the kitchens of the castle to sort everything out. He probably had to do a good bit of cleaning before he could cook there, but it was a much bigger space than the kitchen on the ship, and the cost of cleaning was worth it. Kid was curiously absent from his workshop, which is where you were, cleaning your gunblade. This stupid alliance had you on edge. You also used the time to mend your jacket, which you hadn't been wearing as of late. It felt off to wear it now. You were less The Sea Snake and more a Kid Pirate. However, it did make you look more distinguished and you thought it would fit your promotion. When you were done, you went through some of the piles of junk. You had never gotten your bracer back and you wanted it. Not because Kid had made it for you or anything like that, just because it was handy. While you were at it, you snooped around, out of curiosity. There were various unfinished plans and silly doodles on Kid's workbench, including one that very suspiciously looked like you and Killer kissing, each of you with cartoonishly huge boobs.

You sat down at it, fiddling with some of the metal bits scattered over the top. With your powers, you could easily turn them into whatever you wanted, yet you wanted to try making something from your own two hands. Kid made it look so easy when you watched him, even when he didn't use his devil fruit. With a hammer, you flattened one of the pieces. It was surprisingly malleable even though it was firm to the touch, sort of like a semi-hard dick. Turning it, you continued to hammer until you ended up with a long, skinny cylinder. It was about the length of a finger, a classic first sculpture: worm. You decided to make it more of a snake, giving it a tapered tail and using a chisel to make eyes and some rudimentary scales. 

"Are ya having fun, fucking around with my shit?"

You jumped, and dropped the hammer and chisel. "No."

"Lemme see whatcha made."

"NO." You covered it with your hand. 

Kid easily slipped it away from you with his devil fruit, smirking at your clear embarrassment of being caught. He rolled it over in his hand.

"What is it? A turd?"

"IT'S A SNAKE, JACKASS." You muttered, "Turds don't stare back."

"Maybe yers don't." 

"You're disgusting."

Kid cackled and put your creation into his pocket. "What are ya doing in here? I see ya found yer bracer."

"Nothing. Was lookin for you... I guess." You grumbled, unhappy at the admission.

Kid was smug. "Ya want what Killer had this mornin, aye?" 

You looked him up and down, not completely against it. "Hm. Actually I wanted to test your newest creation." You pointed to your eye.

"What did ya have in mind, doll? I see that evil glint in yer eye."

The remaining prisoners that could function were brought to stand on the beach, ankles shackled together. The ones that were too far mutilated or transformed were inhumanely put down by your benevolent gun barrel. That left three, including Warthin. You had restored them enough so that they could survive, but they were still starving and dead inside. You walked down the line, resting your eye on the pulse point in their necks to watch their heart rates. It pleased you that it would skyrocket when you walked past them. You could almost smell the fear. 

"Out of the goodness of my heart, I've decided to let you all go. You bore me."

Kid's face was puzzled. You didn't tell him exactly what you were doing. 

"Captain Kid will release your shackles. If you can make it off this island, congratulations, you've earned your freedom." You added, "Oh yeah, there's a rage-prone boar loose somewhere in the forest. So run fast."

If you had told them you were going to use them for target practice, they may not have bothered trying to run. This way, you gave them a smidge of false hope. They thought maybe there was a chance they could survive this. You nodded to Kid, who used his devil fruit to release the shackles. The prisoners warily eyed you, expecting a trick, before one by one taking off into the trees.

"Care to enlighten me?" Kid said.

"I'll give them a head start and then I'm going to hunt them." You grinned. "I was never going to let them live."

Kid put his arm around your shoulders. "That's my girl."

You begrudgingly let him do it. There weren't that many people around. You could makeout in public, and you could fuck in public, but you drew the line at small gestures of affection. This was like walking on burning coals for you.

"If I need some adjustments, do I need to take the whole eye out?"

"No. Something wrong with it?"

"I think it would be useful to see heat signatures."

"Infrared? Piece of cake." Kid put his hands on either side of your head, facing you. "Ya gotta look at me so I can see what I'm doing."

Forget walking on coals. Staring directly into Kid's eyes made your entire face turn red. You would rather bounce across coals with your bare cunt than be forced to make full, longing eye-contact with your captain's deep, golden, beautiful eyes. Thankfully, your vision flickered off in your right eye while he fixed it, so you were only halfway subjected to this torment. In a matter of minutes, he was done. He seemed to be too engrossed in the actual task to notice your face, which was all the better.

"How do I turn it on?"

"Ya gotta do exactly as I do. Watch closely."

Kid proceeded to put one hand behind his head, which you repeated. Then he put one hand on his hip, which seemed odd but you did it anyway. Then he dropped his hip and did a shimmy whilst making a kissy face. Oh. You were a little mad about falling for the first half. 

"Ha ha. You're very funny."

"Don't forget handsome."

You scoffed, but couldn't stop a smile from forming on your face. "You're alright." 

"Don't make me take that eye back outta yer pretty head."

"I'll break both your arms before you could even try." You stepped to him. 

A third voice entered the conversation, "Are you guys flirting without me?" 

"Wouldn't dream of it, Killer." You fluttered your lashes at him. 

Kid saw what you did and copied it. 

"Don't do that. She's cute. You look like you're having a stroke," Killer quipped at Kid.

"Both of ya are so mean! Yer gonna break my dainty heart." 

"There's not a single thing about you that I would describe as dainty." You said.

"Damn straight, sweetheart." Kid puffed his chest. How quickly his mood could be changed with compliments. 

Killer took notice of the empty shackles. "What's going on here?"

"I was just about to try my hand at hunting."

Killer perked up. "Ooo!" He pulled a list out of his pocket. "Will you see if you could get a rabbit or some game fowl while you're out? I didn't realize how low we were on proteins."

"Of course." You loved how casually he asked, as if he was asking you to grab milk while you were at the store instead of picking up some extra ingredients while you were hunting people.

"How come yer so accomodating for Killer and not for me?"

"She likes me more," Killer egged Kid on.

They bickered with each other and got into a playful shoving match. You watched them and grinned. It made you warm inside to see them like this. They were carefree and happy. Killer had gotten Kid in a headlock and was pulling his goggles out from his face and letting them snap back. You were staring intently when the vision in your right eye abruptly changed to show brightly colored blobs, heat signatures. It was great that it worked. What was less than pleasing, was that it was extremely disorienting since it was only in one eye. You put your hands in front of you to catch yourself if you fell. It was instantly nausea inducing and started a dull ache in your head. You covered your regular eye. That helped but you could still only see blobs and you had no depth perception. Lucky for you, Killer noticed you and caught you right before you fell over.

"You get into the booze early, darlin?"

You squeezed your eyes shut and tried blinking it off. "I wish." 

Kid put his finger on your temple and turned off the infrared for you. He had a sheepish look on his face. At least he had the decency to feel some guilt. 

"My bad," Kid said. "I'll fix it."

"Stop experimenting on our precious angel," Killer scolded Kid. 

"Ew, Killer," you said flatly. Somehow you could sense Killer being smug behind the mask. Great. Was he gonna get off on taunting you with affection, too?

"She asked me to! And she's the one stealing my dick and shit!"

"Mhm. Have fun and be careful, you two."

You quickly replied, "Oh. He's not going with me." 

"I think I should in case of a malfunction." Kid folded his arms. He actually seemed serious and not like he was just trying to irritate you. 

You pondered it for a minute. "Fine."

"Don't be late for dinner or..." Killer paused. "I can't even threaten either of you properly because you'll just get turned on."

You and Kid both nodded. Killer was correct.

Kid showed you, for real this time, how to operate your eye's new function. Then you set out into the forest, with him right behind you. It became apparent that the element of surprise would not be on your side. Kid's large frame was snapping branches off left and right and his footsteps were heavy. He also wouldn't shut up about the intricacies of fine metalwork and how exactly, in painful detail, your eye worked.

"Kid, captain, do you think you could be a touch lighter on your feet, and maybe shut up a tiny bit."

"HAH?"

"You're too fucking loud!"

"Ya shouldn't yell. Yer gonna give away our position."

You turned on him and held up your hands in a choking gesture before bringing your finger to your lips. "Shh."

To your astonishment, Kid actually did shut up, and even though you could tell he was trying, he still lacked the grace to make his footsteps light. This wasn't going to work. You didn't want to dismiss him though, since he had a good point. If your eye malfunctioned out here and rendered you into that dizzy, disorienting state, it would be difficult to recover on your own without breaking the machinery.

You had an idea. Climbing up one of the trees, you reached the top and looked around for somewhere high. There, you could see a rock outcropping that would serve excellently as a vantage point. You climbed back down, hanging from one of the thicker branches. It was a short distance to drop. Before you did, Kid came from behind you and grabbed your legs, sitting them on his shoulders and plucking you from the branch. You wrapped your arms around his head to keep from falling backwards.

"What the fuck are you doing?!"

"Helpin ya down." 

"Yeah? Then put me the rest of the way down."

"Nah, my ears were getting cold. I need yer thighs to keep em warm."

"It's not worth arguing with you, is it?"

"Nope."

An aggravated sigh left you and Kid cackled. 

With your direction, you led Kid towards the outcropping you had seen from the treetop. You heard some rustling in the brush ahead and motioned for Kid to stop. There was a silence that followed. Listening carefully, the sound of a small branch breaking in the distance caught your attention. You turned on the infrared. Kid had adjusted it so that it was overlayed with the background. It helped you distinguish what you were seeing. Along with that, it helped greatly to close your other eye. Sure enough, the form of a human heat signature was crouched some distance ahead. You removed the gunblade from its holster and pointed at your target. Numbers appeared in your vision: 34m. You leaned on Kid's head, resting the forearm that stabilized your shooting arm against it. 

You whispered, "Don't move." You lined him up in your sights. "Hold your breath for a 5 count." 

When you were sure your shot would be true to its mark, you pulled the trigger. A loud crack rang out and the figure in your sight flopped to the ground. 

"Did ya get him?" 

"Of course I did." 

Sure enough, when you came upon the marine, the entry wound was right through the temple. You left him to rot into the earth, continuing on your way to the outcropping. Kid only got you stuck in branches a few times on the way. Kid finally let you down once you got there. You perched on the very edge, making sure you could see a good portion of the island. Lying flat on your stomach, you got comfortable. It was possible you would be here for a while. Sniping would take longer than actively hunting.

Your gun was also not made for sniping. The barrel was too short. A longer barrel would make your shot more accurate so you extended the barrel with your fruit. It was tugged out of your hands briefly. Kid inspected it and tweaked it before giving it back. Apparently your metalworking skills weren't up to snuff. Kid didn't even say anything snarky, which shocked you. Holding back was not in his nature. 

Turning back to the forest below, you scoured it for movement. You heard Kid behind you plop down onto the dirt. A few seconds later you felt large hands clap down on the sides of your ass and a face plant itself in the middle. Kid placed his body between your legs and turned his head to rest on your cheeks. 

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"M'gonna take a nap." Kid patted your butt. "Ya got a nice set of pillows."

"Whatever just try to stay still and don't fuck around back there." 

"Wouldn't dream of it, princess." There was a sarcastic lilt to his tone. 

For the next hour or so, your eyes were hyper-focused on combing through trees. Kid's soft snoring was background noise, though not as nice to listen to as the island birds. The infrared picked up animals moving through the forest, even Mini at one point. She seemed to be having a grand time digging up roots and bugs. Movement caught your eye. Something was darting from tree to tree. It wasn't moving like an animal. You watched it closely. It was definitely a human. Your finger tensed on the trigger and then relaxed. What if it was a crew member and not a prisoner? You observed a while longer. The figure appeared skinny and weak. They were coming closer. You pressed yourself flat against the ground. They got close enough that you could recognize them as one of the prisoners and didn't hesitate to shoot. You didn't shoot to kill, however. You toyed with him, shooting the ground around him, watching him dance. Then you moved inward, shooting him in the arms and legs. You couldn't honestly help yourself. You loved torturing these scumbags. You eventually ended him with a shot through the head when he had fallen to the ground in a pool of his own blood, unable to move. Kid didn't so much as stir, deep in sleep. 

After that excitement, it was dull for another long drag of time. You looked back at Kid, still sound asleep and snoring. Slowly and gently, you pulled yourself out from under him, replacing his "pillow" with your newly mended jacket. He was such a deep sleeper, he probably wouldn't have woken up anyway. You were impatient. Your eye was doing fine. You decided to do what you originally planned. With a glance at Kid, you hiked down, back into the forest. He would be fine by himself. There was only one more victim to go and you hoped it was Warthin so you could kill him one last time. 

It didn't take long to come upon footprints. You followed them and came upon the most recently deceased prisoners. It wasn't Warthin. He was the one still out there, as you hoped. The bushes rustled near you and you tensed for a moment before you saw familiar red-brown ears poke through. Minerva trotted over to you, stepping on the deceased. The boar's snout was dyed blue, no doubt the carnage of a berry bush assault. You scratched her head. 

"Let's go find this fucker."

Minerva pawed at the ground and dipped her body so you could mount her. For her size, the boar was agile as she tore through the trees. It was like she lived her whole life here, the way she avoided upturned trees, roots, and low branches. Mini had never forgotten Warthin's scent. Not once did she need to pause to sniff the air. She was locked on instantly with how much she hated this smell. Mini was a lot like yourself in many ways. 

She slowed with her ears flicked forward. Something, a man, burst from the underbrush in front of you, running in the opposite direction. You flung yourself from Mini's back and chased after him. Dodging branches and jumping over roots, you were on Warthin's heels. He was screaming and begging for his life. You were sick of this song. Reaching in front of you, you grabbed Warthin by the hair and threw him down. In one fluid move, you turned, manipulated your bracer into a long, slender blade, and effortlessly plunged it through his eye and into his brain. When you withdrew your blade, his eye came with it. You shook it off, watching him twitch on the ground. He would suffer yet. You stood over Warthin, watching the twitches slowly dwindle. You stepped back and nodded to Mini, who reared up on her back legs and plunged her front hooves into Warthin's skull. It cracked in much the same way a watermelon would, juice spilling out and all.

When you got back to where you left Kid, he was awake and he didn't look happy. He didn't quite look angry either. 

"Where were ya?" 

"Peeing."

"Is it usually a bloody occasion?"

You wiped your face with your hand, seeing red smears come off. You grinned at him. 

"Ya little shit." Kid grabbed you and threw you over his shoulder. "I'll teach ya not to lie to yer captain."

"Yeah?" 

Kid spanked you in response, carrying you back towards the castle. He took you straight to his quarters. You caught glimpses of the inside of the castle. You hadn't been inside yet. Kid threw you onto his bed. It was enormous and had a canopy top. This must have been the room of the king that once resided here. Kid got on the bed with you and you were expecting him to be all over you. Instead, he sat cross-legged and pulled you up to rest your head in his lap. 

"How did yer eye fair?" 

"It was fine. If it's alright, I'd like to make some requests, though."

Kid listened to what you wanted and tilted your head up so that he could see your eye. He went straight into it, tweaking the inner workings to your liking. 

"Ya shouldn't go off on yer own ya know."

You rolled your eyes and Kid swatted you.

"Don't move yer eyes while I'm workin, dumbass."

"I was on my own a long while before you came around. Don't forget."

"Aye, but now ya don't have to be." Kid went on, "Ya know Killer would kick my ass if anything happened to ya."

"As he should."

"And ya know it would upset me if ya got hurt on my watch."

If he wasn't holding you hostage with your eye, you would have tried to escape this conversation. "You weren't really that worried, were you?"

Kid's tone changed. "Nah, course not. I know our girl can fight." He pushed your hair out of the way. "Yer somethin else when ya have that murderous intent about ya."

"Wish you weren't sleeping that whole time. You missed some good action."

Kid shrugged. "Nappin on that sweet, bouncy ass of yers was worth it. Even though I do like watching ya be merciless. It's yer best quality." 

"Oh stop. You'll make me blush," you joked.

"Like how ya were when I was fixing yer eye the first time?"

"Shut up. No I wasn't." 

Kid cackled. "Admit that ya love me."

"Fine." There was a meaningful pause. "I love you."

Kid blinked, dumbfounded. "Oh shit. Ya actually said it."

You smirked. "Only because we're alone and no one will ever believe you if you tell them I did." 

Kid's face fell. "Damn... ya really are Rotten." 

"To the core." You winked at him.

He tried to look grumpy, but you could tell he was beaming on the inside. You had to admit, it felt good to say out loud. Kid permitted you to close your eyes while he finished up with the upgrades. When he was done, he let you know you could get up, but you had fallen asleep. He didn't know what to do. Before, he wouldn't hesitate to disturb you. The more he stared at the sleeping face he loved so much, the more he couldn't bring himself to move you. He was also a little hesitant to incur your wrath by waking you. You were so beautiful to him, even more so now, when you couldn't talk back. Who was he kidding? He loved when you played at being difficult. Kid sighed, resigning himself to his fate of being trapped under your sleeping form. 

"I thought I told you guys not to be late for dinner!" Killer burst into the room with his arms folded, ready to scold you. 

"Oh thank fuck, Killer. I have to pee so bad. What do I do?" Kid was still crosslegged with your head in his lap and you were still sound asleep. 

Killer stared incredulously. "The fuck do you mean? Wake her ass up!" 

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?"

"Look at her! She's so peaceful." Kid added, "And I'm afraid of her." He was joking, sort of. 

Next

Tag list: @bbnbhm @nocturnalrorobin @wgwingguns

[adobe-outdesign]

Kung Fu Panda 4 Thoughts/Liveblog Thing

Just caught this at the theater for a grand total of five whole dollars, so I thought I'd do some quick opinions while it's fresh.

Non-spoiler opinion: It was Okay(TM), but the movies were considerably stronger as a trilogy. It's worth seeing one (1) time if you're a KFP fan (and really, who isn't), but I wouldn't bother paying full price for it or anything

SPOILERS FOR ALL 4 MOVIES UNDER THE CUT:

A list of things that slap:

The animation is stunning and fast-paced. Really loved the use of Chinese-style paint brush strokes to accentuate the action

Also I'll talk about the 5 later but I also really liked the animation change when describing where they are—all KFP movies have at least one animation shift and I'm glad this one kept up with it

Some of the fight scenes were super good, I liked the one that uses the tilting bar on a cliff in particular

(side note: the Missing Link did something similar, just on a ship. Go watch the Missing Link)

The Chameleon served straight cunt the entire time she was on screen and I kind of loved (almost) everything about her. Character design was incredible, voice was perfect, palace design was amazing, abilities were sick

Also the way she rides up chilling in a golden tree branch of all things? Fellas, we have no choice but to stan

Also I just appreciate the choice to both do a female villain for a change and to get a reptile in here after having only mammals and one (1) bird as villains previously

Speaking of character design there were a few really good ones in there, like a pangolin that moves Sonic the Hedgehog-style, a cool looking female boar, and a bunch of Komodo dragon henchmen. Good stuff

The jokes were a very mixed bag for me, some hit and some didn't. I will say that Zhen just going "that's great for you" in response to Shifu stating he's a red panda got me for some reason

If anyone hurts Po's gay dads I'm killing everyone in this room and then myself

Jack Black's cover of Baby One (1) More Time is unironically better than the original

A list of things that Do Not Slap:

Pacing/Plot:

This movie lacked a color scheme? KFP 1 was blue (also some gold), KFP 2 was red, KFP 3 was green. These colors weren't subtle either, there are entire scenes in each movie drenched in these colors and it was really obviously missing here

The whole first half the movie feels really breathless and too fast-paced. Apparently it was a studio mandate to have it not go over an hour and a half which is A) stupid and B) hurts the pacing

As much as I love Po's two gay dads we REALLY should not have been wasting time on their journey when the runtime is so tight

Also them tagging along felt off? Mr. Ping was worried sick about Po in KFP 2 but he doesn't tag alone because obviously he needs to let his son have his space. It's more in-character with Li Shan but it doesn't come across like he's talking Mr. Ping into it or something

In general there are so many plot points in this movie that feel under-developed. You could've made an entire movie out of the previous villains returning, Zhen and the Chameleon's relationship (see below), etc.

Po's Character:

People not knowing Po is the dragon warrior is weird, I'm pretty sure he would've been more well known than that

The entire thing with Po needing to give up his role as the Dragon Warrior doesn't really make sense? The Dragon Warrior is literally a made-up title. There's no need to have a Dragon Warrior because there is no such thing technically, it's why Oogway denied Tai Lung the title and then waited years and years to give it to Po. Like it's not a role that needs to be passed down, that's missing the entire point of the Everything

Also Po's only been like Dragon Warrior for a few years? I don't think we're ever given a time scale but it wasn't that long

The jokes about Shifu and Po having trouble with inner peace/mediating feels off given that was the entire plot of the second movie

It felt like Po regressed a bit character wise. He acts like he has no idea how to be a teacher in this movie but he already was a teacher by the end of the third, that was the entire point??

Also he seemed like he was more gullible in this movie but I could be wrong

Why is Po so impressed with Juniper city. He literally spent most of KFP 2 in Gongmen hello?? I think(?) Juniper is bigger but he shouldn't be acting like he has no idea what a city is

Zhen/Chameleon:

Zhen's character design doesn't match anything else, which is weird because most of the new characters in this film keep the distinct style in some form or another

Her wanted poster shows her with the bold markings KFP is known for and it looks SO much better

The plot twist with Zhen working for the villain was so obvious I did not realize it was supposed to be a twist at first

Also, the entire thing with Zhen was entirely unneeded? The Chameleon could've just just stood up and announced her plan to take over and Po would've shown up on her doorstep with the staff

I guess the idea is that Po needed to hand over the staff willingly for it to work? But if that's the case the Chameleon could've just impersonated Tigress or something and gotten it that way in like 1/3 of the time

Originally she was supposed to have kidnapped Shifu which would've been a much better plot point as it would've given Po extra motivation

The other problem with treating Zhen as a plot twist is that it hampers the relationship she has with the Chameleon effectively being her mom, which is FASCINATING. They had some really interesting chemistry together (the whole "stand up straight" thing as one example) and I could've seen it as a Mother Gospel from Tangled kind of deal, but we barely get any interaction between the two and it's like AAAAAAA

Fanfic writers fix this shit. I believe in you

I'll have to chew on it more but my pacing thought would actually be to start with Po finding out about the Chameleon's "take over everything" plan very early due to Shifu's kidnapping. He breaks into the lair like at the 1/3 mark or earlier and he meets Zhen inside which then leads into why she's doing what she's doing and the mother angle, etc etc blah blah

The Chameleon needed to just straight-up murder someone, comically shoving them down the stairs isn't good enough. I know stairs are Po's greatest enemy but I don't think that applies to everyone

Shen was allowed to stab someone on-screen so I think the Chameleon should be a allowed to strangle someone or something. as a treat

If violence was the concern just keep it off-screen like Master Rhino's death in KFP 2

The shapeshifter turning into a giant monster trope is overrated and I'm glad it was just used briefly here and not even for her defeat

Also the Chameleon's thing with her being rejected from Kung Fu because she's too small makes no sense b/c Mantis, which I'm pretty sure everyone's pointed out already. She does say "lowly" I think but was she ever poor? Could make a very interested parallel to Zhen if that was the case but it was never brought up again

I've heard some argue body image parallels w/ Po in KFP 1 but if that was the intent it's not explored, like, at all, which is a shame because it could've been an interesting angle

Also If they wanted a better excuse related to body image just say she was too frail instead of too small. I haven't owned chameleons but I've heard from people who have that they are very frail and very hard to keep alive, which would be a much better reason to turn her away

Cameos:

Yes I'm devoting an entire section to five second cameos don't judge me

I have mixed feelings on the Five not being present (save for the end cameos). On the one hand they are sorely missed but on the other hand they would've just made the plot bloat even worse

Lack of speaking was also bothersome. Part of me is glad they weren't recast with cheaper VAs because it's disrespectful to interchange them, but on the other hand that might've been better than just not having them speak and not paying anyone anyway

Tai Lung had all the best lines and was also the best used out of all the cameos, even if it would've been nice to have him on screen for longer. Also if they stuck with Shifu being kidnapped those two could've had some much-needed dialogue

Side note, while I don't think it contradicts anything from KFP 3 the spirit world having only kung fu masters in it feels off? It makes it seem so small and limited

Kai being there is weird. He's like. dead dead. Deader than dead. I guess you could argue that you can't kill something that's already dead but there's nothing even acknowledging this

Trying to take Shen's kung fu is really weird because the entire point of the fight with Master Rhino in KFP 2 is that he is not? a master?? like he's GOOD but he's not amazing, like if a master is like a 10/10 he's like an 8/10.

"The Chameleon has the powers of all my old nemesises!" WHAT'S SHEN'S POWER EXACTLY. HIS ONLY POWERS ARE GUN AND MOMMY/DADDY ISSUES

She does summon him way later than Tai Lung and Kai so maybe she was just camp spawning every single person she could think of regardless of skill level? she also uses his wings at one point so maybe she just wanted those, I don't think(?) there were other birds summoned

Though speaking of which she claimed she was using his wings but very clearly wasn't? not only were they black but they were raggedy and lacked the five longer feathers on the tips

Also Shen's model was super off, it looked way too fluffy and like an entire row of eyespots were missing from the edge of the train (which might have been a clipping error? unsure) it's been said the new models were made out of glue and popsical sticks and I believe it

Tai Lung has a habit of just like Grabbing anyone that's smaller than him and it amuses me

It's honestly really weird that everyone would just agree to go back into the spirit world willingly?

Like I think it works for Tai Lung because he's a noble person who just goes into a disassociative state and commits atrocities. Like I think he'd be willing to accept his death

Also it checks out for Shen because he killed himself and given his "dead belong in the past" mentality I can't imagine him wanting to stick around, he'd probably think it was unnatural

But Kai?? Kai was FURIOUS at being dragged back into the spirit world at the end of 3, like hell he'd just go quietly

Also I can see Tai Lung maybe respecting Po enough to bow to him but everyone else is pushing it unless they have therapists in the spirit world. Po offered Shen some nice advice at the end of KFP 2 and his response was to kill himself on the spot, I don't think him or Kai would be bowing

All of them were definitely in the middle of a mahjong match and were experiencing the equivalent of being woken up in the middle of a nap so they were just going along with things

Chameleon: I'm going to steal your kung fu

Everyone:

Misc:

I did like some of the more subtle callbacks. Stuff like Po seeing his reflection in the blade the way Shifu did or the "I can't even beat you to the stairs" scene were nice and not overly overt or in-your-face

If Po actively refers to himself as the "Kung Fu Panda" one more time I'm going to end it all

anyway that was not supposed to be a 12 page essay but it's too late now, goodbye

[broodwolf221]

my message to new/returning fans

as da4 approaches and the fandom changes, gaining both new and returning users, i want to state very clearly:

share your thoughts! it doesn't have to be "original" to be valuable! no more than it needs to conform to current fanon! you don't need to read everyone else's theories in order to state your own

I'm familiar with that pressure and how much it can dampen the urge to share, to actually engage with the broader fandom. even though i was there at the start of dai's fandom, i fell out of it for years and came back recently, and there was a definite undercurrent of pressure to a) conform to the theories already stated, especially by big name fans, and b) to only ever post a truly original theory

the former inherently limits fandom and treats it more like an academic field that one needs to be familiar with before stating anything; the latter is fundamentally ridiculous, since we're all engaging with the same source material and have the ability to perceive foreshadowing and explore what it means. the first person to perceive and write about a bit of foreshadowing has no more fundamental "right" to that perspective than the hundredth

it can also be hard to wade through the tags of a fandom that's been out for a decade+, especially if you like a character or ship that gets a lot of hate. that's exhausting and no one is obligated to do that research

you're not too late to the fandom to have theories, to post meta, or to express your feelings. those of us currently in the fandom would do well to remember that new people will be joining us and they likely won't even know the bloggers who have already posted meta, so seeing someone ask if xyz has ever been considered should be treated as a valid question. seeing someone say they've never seen ppl talking about xyz should be viewed as an invitation to (gently!) point to some people who have talked about it. "oh, if you're into this idea, you might like [username's] meta"

i think it's valuable to draw attention to the fact that a long-established fandom has been getting new blood throughout the whole time it's been here, and will be getting considerably more new blood soon, and that it might be worth adapting to that early. because regardless of any established fan's preferences, we are going to be getting new fans unfamiliar with established theories/fanon. and no one should be beholden to fanon anyway

but all this is to also say - new fandom members? i see you. I'm here for you. if you want to know what's been said, you can ask me and i will direct you as best i can; if you want to come up with stuff on your own, i support that. i will never come onto your posts to "disprove" your theory or to claim it's unoriginal

also, know that when you see vent posts where people are feeling annoyed about fans or complaining about them, they are almost certainly talking about fans who are engaging in discourse, are argumentative, or are otherwise being kinda shitty. i know - from personal experience! - how easy it is to take a vague vent post personally, especially when the kind of behavior they're actually annoyed by isn't clarified, but it's unlikely to be directed at fans who are engaging with curiosity and excitement. being new to a fandom is intimidating and as someone who's trying to be respectful, it can be so easy to internalize messages from people's venting, but fr, it's rarely about new fans and their conclusions. that said, if those posts bother you… unfollow! or block! blocking is not a mean or cruel action

find your niche, curate your experience, and you will definitely find people who support you. I've really enjoyed my time here and met many people i care about and respect, but it was a bit of an uphill struggle early on and i know a message like this from an established voice in fandom would have helped ease my own concerns coming into this space

[sparkles-rule-4eva]

"The Darkness Within" PART 1 (Sonic X - Dark Sonic)

(Sonic's POV)

The faint sound of his friends' laughter and voices echoed in Sonic's ears even as he stood at the very edge of the Typhoon, a frown twisted across his face as he stared unseeing at the stars.

He hadn't felt such shame in a long time.

Normally, he did whatever he pleased without a care of what anyone thought. He did what he believed was right whether it was perceived that way or not.

So it was safe to say that the events of the attempted rescue of Chris and Cosmo had left him a little . . . shaken.

He couldn't believe the way he'd lost control.

Never before had he felt so intensely angry. Sure, he'd had a right to, his friends were hurt and the Metarex creep was threatening to experiment on them if he refused to let them do the same to him. Sure, he'd felt a little off since he'd discovered the hoards upon hoards of fake chaos emeralds.

And then— what?! He hadn't been able to think straight. His vision had nearly turned red with how furious he'd been. All he could feel was white-hot anger. He remembered hearing himself laugh like some kind of psychopath. He remembered tearing into the Silver and Gold Metarex that were meant to test him, he remembered slicing them to bits at lightspeed and feeling not an ounce of remorse as their armor exploded and they were killed.

And the next thing he'd known, Eggman of all people was scolding him and telling him to calm down.

It had taken him a hot minute to relax. Hearing that Shadow had rescued his friends while he'd been . . . like that, had startled him in the worst way.

Now they were all back, safe and sound. Cosmo and Chris were alright. Everyone on the other side of the ship was celebrating, believing the day was a victory.

In a way, he supposed, they were right.

But Sonic could not relax. He couldn't bring himself to join them, he couldn't even bring himself to smile as he stood alone on the opposite side of the ship, staring at nothing and thinking of everything.

His mind wouldn't shut up, and he didn't have enough space to run on the Typhoon. He was stuck.

What if it happens again?

It won't. I won't let it.

I don't know that, I had no idea this morning that it would happen today.

Now that I know, I'll make sure it never happens again.

Today was just proof that I don't have it as together as I thought I did.

They don't know. No one else here knows. No one knows but Eggman.

Would they be scared if they knew? If they SAW me like that?

Don't worry about it. Just keep going. Don't look back. I never look back.

But usually that doesn't have anything to do with something I did wrong.

Do I apologize somehow? Should I leave? Take some time to myself? How much time? They need me to help them fight the Metarex.

I can't leave, but I sure want to.

I just wish—

"Hey, Sonic! You doing okay?"

He jerked his head around to see Tails slowly approaching his perch, blue eyes wide and curious. Glimmering with just a hint of concern.

Sonic sat down in place and nodded curtly, his voice stuck in his throat. He'd been talking a lot more nowadays than he used to, trying to get better at communicating with people and making friends, but some days it was still hard.

Apparently today was one of those days.

And Tails could see right through him.

His face fell. "Something happened, didn't it?"

Sonic avoided his eyes, choosing instead to stare intensely at the floor in front of him as if it was a work of art.

Slowly, cautiously, Tails moved closer and sat a couple feet away. Sonic could still feel his little brother's eyes on him, but he refused to make eye contact. He wasn't sure he'd be able to handle it.

"Did you get hurt . . . ?" Tails sounded doubtful yet worried.

Sonic shook his head.

"Did the Metarex say something that bothered you?"

Another wordless head shake.

Tails didn't ask anything else for about a minute, choosing instead to let them both sit in thoughtful silence and allow Sonic to try and pull himself together.

I can't tell him. There's no way.

I can't tell him . . . all of it.

Sonic swallowed, lifting his chin and finally daring to meet Tails's questioning eyes. He opened his mouth, but could not bring himself to make a sound.

Tails bit his lip, then lifted his hands and signed, "I'm here."

Sonic nodded with a small, grateful smile, then, after a hesitation, signed back, "Something happened. I did something."

Tails tilted his head slightly, and even though he could've just spoken his response, he continued signing. "What did you do?"

There was no fear or aggression in his hand movements or expression. Just genuine, gentle curiosity.

Sonic closed his eyes for a moment, that awful feeling of shame washing over him all over again. "Something bad. I caused harm. I didn't mean to."

Tails smiled gently. "You didn't mean to. You didn't harm our friends, right?"

Sonic exhaled silently through his nose. "No. I hurt the bad guys." He didn't think there was a sign for "Metarex," but if there was, he didn't know it.

A flicker of confusion appeared in his little brother's eyes. "You stop the bad guys all the time."

He fidgeted uncomfortably, then signed, "It was different. Can't explain. I was wrong."

Tails paused for a long moment after those shaky signs from Sonic, looking thoughtfully at the sky.

"It's okay," he signed back eventually. "I know your heart is in the right place. Whatever you did, you wouldn't be feeling so bad if it wasn't in the right place."

Sonic blinked. He fidgeted a little more, then quickly signed, "Thank you."

The fox kit smiled and nodded. "You're welcome. I'm here for you." Then, without waiting for a response, he stood up and extended a hand out to Sonic.

Sonic initially thought Tails was going to bring him back to the group, but then remembered that his brother knew him better than that. So he accepted the little hand reaching for him and stood as well, then followed the fox kit downstairs inside the ship.

Tails brought him to his bedroom on the ship, gestured for him to wait there, then left. For a few minutes, Sonic sat alone, fingering the cool sheets and looking around the room, anything to avoid thinking too much again.

After those few minutes, Tails returned with a steaming mug of tea, which he carefully handed to Sonic. "Take your time," he signed, smiling sweetly. "This will help you sleep."

Sonic managed a small, regretful smile. "Thank you," he signed again.

Tails nodded, patted his hands in reassurance, and left the room.

Sonic paused for a long moment, then sat back on his bed and sipped his tea. He recognized the flavor as the same kind Tails himself used on bad nights, the ones with nightmares and thunderstorms.

He took a deep breath. Over the course of the next hour, he finished his tea over a good book. He listened to his friends' voices wind down outside on the deck.

And eventually, he slept.

AO3 version

[sealeneee]

what's this. this bitch writes sometimes.

fandom: swtor

«failures», 762 words, pg-13, gen

warnings: swearing, suicidal themes, possible ooc

characters: theron shan & katona nardanna (oc); don't tag as ship

if you notice any typos/mistakes please let me know

Night has long fallen on Odessen as the Commander effortlessly steps over the railing of the base's roof. Carefully keeping her balance at the very edge, she grabs the banisters behind her, flinching at the coolness of the metal. Someone with a less grim mood would probably admire the starry void above.

"Going somewhere?"

The man's voice is rather casual for the situation he's facing. Katona smirks. At least he knows better than to get all teary-eyed at her.

"Yeah, wanted to go grab some bantha milk."

"What, you'd leave your kids all alone? I knew you were capable of cruelty, but that seems excessive even for you."

"«Kids», hah. Half the base's older than me, Theron."

"Aww, we're all still your little ducklings. Don't be silly."

The half-sincere, half-sarcastic tone of the conversation doesn't change. It has always been like that for them — masks of fake cheer not strong enough to cover the bleak nature of the conversation, but enough to chase away the heartrending unease of talking about your feelings.

"Seriously, though. What's bothering you? No promises on a resolution, of course, but I can offer things like getting blackout drunk or wreaking havoc."

"I already do the latter almost on a daily basis, Shan."

"True. So?"

"So."

The silence stretches for a couple minutes. It's never truly quiet — the soft hum of the electricity and the distant sounds of the local wildlife fill the void.

"I just feel like... like I'm running in circles. Powerless. Chasing shadows. Grasping at the faintest leads, and feeling them slip away from my fingers. I've accomplished nothing so far."

"Tona. You have an entire military base under your command."

"That was all Lana. I didn't even know it existed", she gestures at the buildings below them. "I didn't even want to lead this! But as usual, nobody else can, blah blah, it falls to me." The dramatic offense in her voice is insincere, playful.

"Right. And the killing of the Emperor was Lana too?"

"No, but if you didn't notice," she taps her temple, "that wasn't very successful either."

"Jeez. You really find a way to undermine all of your achievements."

"I'm just stating the obvious. I've failed spectacularly in many aspects of my life." Katona chuckles and shifts her weight, still balancing on the edge of the building. "Yet somehow that hasn't stopped people from assigning more shit to me."

"I don't see how most things in your life can be categorized as «failures»."

"Let's go through the list, then. Getting rid of the Emperor? Certainly didn't work out. Stopping his kids? Work in progress. Makeb? Not sure, but I was chewed out by Saresh anyway–"

"Hey, as if she doesn't chew everyone out for everything."

"Not the point. Still wasn't a good result. You know what else wasn't a good result? Fucking Ziost."

Theron's face darkens at the mention of the Imperial world. The failure of that operation can't be attributed to a single person, but he always seemed more affected by it than the rest.

"Anyway", Katona continues, not pausing to take a breath, "you get the point. I've failed many times. Guess the biggest failure is at being a Jedi — don't think I need to elaborate that one to you."

"No, you don't. But you know what?", he steps closer to the rails, "you're not the only one who failed at being Jedi here, Tona."

Katona turns to look at him, her expression skeptical. What he said is somewhat true, but the circumstances couldn't be more different. Theron doesn't stop at that.

"From one failed Jedi to another, let me tell you this. It gets better. Not quickly, that's for sure. But it does. And for days when it doesn't, I'll be here for you. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who shares the sentiment."

She doesn't answer him for a bit. When she finally does, her voice is softer, almost a whisper.

"Thanks." She smiles gently, turning her head to look at him. "So that's what we are, huh?"

"Yeah. Two nocturnal fuck-ups standing on a roof in the middle of the night."

Katona snorts.

"You came here of your own volition."

"Yeah, and now my volition says we're both leaving. You need at least a few hours of sleep."

Theron outstretches a hand, and Katona takes it, hopping back over the metal fence. The stars above them are just as uncaring, and the night air is just as cold, but something about the atmosphere doesn't feel as hostile and unwelcoming anymore.

[possessionisamyth]

Okay, so I figured out my issue with the latest surge of ship fics with Leon in it, most specifically when it involves Chris or another man (as Luis fics have made a huge jump to challenge Chreon numbers).

Often times for the sake of creating drama, angst, hurt/comfort, whatever you decide to label it, there is a blatant removal of Leon's agency. By this I mean, suddenly he can't defend himself from physical threats. The reason for this being the author decides to give him a trauma flashback or some kind of sudden crippling anxiety so that Chris or Luis or whoever can play hero.

Now why this bothers me in particular, on top of the follow up babying he receives in order to be stable again, is that this narrative decision almost always comes off as condescending at best. Or an egregious misunderstanding of his character at worst.

This isn't to say Leon can't have trauma that reflects in a way where he is struggling mentally. He does have this. He has his vices in which he handles them too which we've seen like lashing out or drinking. It just this specific scenario being set up doesn't work in fanfic for me, because at some point the shift turns into making Leon the author's voice box and not a character examination. I want to know what part of Leon's years of training and fighting bioweapons, trauma included, would suddenly make him incapable of physically fighting back. His response post RC has never been freeze or flight, it has always been fight, so why are people giving him the freeze reaction?

I think the only time I've seen this executed in a way that made sense is when there was a distinct power imbalance between him and the assailant. Meaning Leon's method of fighting back is quite literally removed from him due to bureaucracy. Even then, that only works with people in the government who hold jurisdiction over him. More often than not, this is not the case with fanfic that make this narrative choice.

Now, I know we are all piggy backing off of each other when it comes to fanfic ideas. We inspire each other and get plot bunnies from even just a line or two from a fic we're reading that makes us want to write fic of our own. What I don't understand is why this particular facet of writing Leon is such a phenomenon.

Is it because they don't want to write a fight scene? Is it because they have a misunderstanding of Chris' character where he always has to step in and "kiss Leon's booboos cause Leon can't do anything without a man." Is it because they're just projecting their own emotions on a character who has shown some pretty bad depression tendencies and isn't a woman? Is it because they're relying on old yaoi tropes that have become so ingrained in shipping rhetoric that they don't even realize they're doing it? I could think of a dozen reasons and not have a real answer.

All I know is that, it's not great to read 1 morbillion times. I'm not saying there can't be a breakdown. I am saying Leon holds onto his emotions too tightly to let it inhibit him from getting out of the situation first. Because there's a lot more to play with of Leon fighting a panic attack, or a break down while in a physical altercation where he holds his own. I just barely see anyone do that ever and everyone wants to be boring about this. And before anyone says "write what you want to see", let it be known my first venture into this fandom was doing exactly this. I just don't know why no one else is. I'm baffled by it!

[nomoreusername]

Puppy

Ship: Platonic Ivy Trio x female reader

Summary:After finding a puppy in the Scorch Thomas, Minho, and Newt try to convince you to keep it.

The Scorch was excruciating for everyone. There seemed to be no good in the world. After Winston died that feeling has only intensified. All the death and destruction was bringing hopelessness amongst the group.

That's why when Minho and Thomas found a dog in the Scorch they got the same idea.

"Hey buddy. You wanna come on a mission with us?"Thomas asked, patting the ground. The scrawny thing just glanced at them before lazily laying on the ground.

"Come on. Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?"He repeated, waiting for it to come to him. It just stared blankly.

"Let me try. Here buddy,"Minho called, letting out a whistle. The dog still didn't bother to move. It wasn't that it didn't have the strength. Despite being so scruffy it was a fairly good size with patchy, golden fur and dark, brown eyes. It was a beautiful creature, and it was also rather stubborn as I refused to come to either of them.

"Yeah. That's working really well,"Thomas sighed as kept glancing at the puppy. The roles were reversed as he made puppy eyes at the actual dog. Only Thomas would think that something like that would work.

"What are you two doing?"Newt asked, appearing behind his friends after getting a feeling there were up to no good. When he saw the adorable puppy sunbathing his heart shrieked with a childlike joy. However, his logical mind reminded him that it was a terrible idea.

For once, he decided not to listen to that. A little bit of happiness couldn't hurt them.

"Here buddy. Here boy,"He called, joining his friends in their attempt to get the animal to just give them a chance.

"Come on. Why won't he just be our friend already?"Minho groaned.

"Who are you three trying to make friends with?"You ask, just having a suspicion that all three of them disappearing meant something idiotic or dangerous was happening. Then, you spotted the creature and realized what they were trying to do.

"No,"You said firmly.

"It's fine. Who's a good dog? Who's a good boy?"Thomas repeated as if it were a magical spell.

"It is not fine. A dog means less supplies for us. If it's been out here for this long it'll be fine anyways,"You shrugged, not fully believing the last part but wanting your friends to stop messing with the animal. Especially, since you have no clue of its personality. If it's loud and energetic it could very well get one of you severely hurt. That was not a chance you could risk taking.

"But Y/N. It's so cute,"Thomas pointed out, not understanding the point of why you couldn't just take a random dog with you.

"Doesn't matter,"You argued, staring right at him.

"Look at the puppy. I know you'll want to keep it if you look at you,"Minho taunts.

"I am not looking at the dog,"You repeat.

"But it'll bring us some happiness out here,"Newt points out. You figured he'd at least see reason, but the adorable animal had him under its spell.

"We are leaving right now,"You sigh. The boys all look at each other and accept their bitter defeat.

As they stand up and you are already making your way to the ground the animal jumps up and sprints past the boys and towards you. You try to pretend it's not even there until it lets out a playful bark. You give in and look to see it wagging its tail and bouncing on its hind legs.

"Aww. You're so cute,"You exclaim, kneeling down to pet it. It flops on its back as you rub its belly.

"So we can keep him?"Thomas begs.

"No. It's a girl actually,"You state as you pat her head. "And she's mine. Isn't that right? Who's a good girl?"You asked in your best baby voice.

"But-"

"You're lucky she's going with us at all. Come on girl. You want to meet the others? Yes you do. Of course you do,"You coo, scratching her ears. As you stand up and walk away she follows you with no hesitation.

"I think it worked,"Minho questions.

"I mean kind of,"Thomas agrees.

"Yeah. Besides, she won't say it's her dog forever,"Newt tries to convince them and himself.

How wrong that was. You don't choose puppies. Puppies choose you, and this one made it quite clear who her favorite person is.

But they did have a dog with them so that's kind of a happy ending. Maybe not the one they planned for, but hey. Life works in mysterious ways, and so do adorable animals.

[arcadiabaytornado]

Yes <3 about reading Pricefield as romantic even if they don't kiss in episode 3. It upsets me how often people claim Bae can end platonic (just read an article that says this too) because with Max's feelings for Chloe existing regardless of your choice that is not gonna end platonic. "I'll always be with you" "Forever" was very romantically said you can hear it in their voices. Even if somehow they didn't know how they felt they would not spend their forever as platonic friends with feelings between them existing as we see in the game. I guess it bothers me so much because it feels... it feels like it's only because they're two girls. And that makes it harder for people to see and understand. If they were a man and a woman I don't think anyone would suggest it could end platonic but because they're two girls a lot of people along with not reading the journal don't pick up on what's right in front of them

I can accept that some people just don't ship Max and Chloe. Shipping is very much a matter of opinion, and if a ship doesn't click then it just doesn't click. HOWEVER, it does drive me crazy when people insist that Max and Chloe are purely platonic and everyone is reading to much into it.

Let's pretend for a minute that Max is a man and Chloe is a women. The first time Male Max saved Chloe from being shot in the bathroom, everyone would be going "Oh! OTP!!! End game! It's all going to led up to them kissing! It's inevitable!!" Like...Male Max wouldn't even need to keep saving Chloe after that for people to be like "His devotion to her is insane!" All it would take to prove his love would be that one act.

More Undercut

Male Max wouldn't have to keep proving his love because his love is assumed. Female Max breaks time itself and lets a tornado wipe out a town for Chloe, and that's still not deemed to be enough.

There are some people in the world can see two women have a canon kiss and love confession and they'll say "WELL. That doesn't mean they aren't straight. They just love their bestie a lot." Yet, a man and women can make eye contact for two seconds and that will validate them becoming canon.

It doesn't matter if they have chemistry, or love, or if they treat each other poorly, as long as they're man and women love will always be assumed to be there. Meanwhile, it doesn't matter if two women have chemistry, or a scene where they longingly kiss in the rain, or end the world in each other's names, their love will always be called to be proven, despite the fact that the people who call have every intention of deeming every piece of evidence inadmissible. For they can accept that a women wouldn't love at all, but they can never accept that a women wouldn't love a man.

So, yeah, I do agree with you that the denial of the bay ending feels like it's mostly because they're two girls. I think if Max were a man and Chloe was a women or vice versa, the bae ending would be universally regarded as romantic. Which...makes me sad on multiple levels. (Side Note: The people who didn't read the journal and then try to police the people who did also drive me nuts. But I went on a tangent about male/female vs WLW relationships so I forgot to address that. Oops. But yeah it is partially because they haven't read the journals. But then again if Max were a man I don't think they'd need to.)

[sol-consort]

I don't know if you listen to Chapelle Roan or not but Ashley and Femshep are so "Good luck, babe." Like that's literally them like "I don't wanna call it off. But you don't wanna call it love" like Ashley says she would have followed Shepard anywhere in what is basically their break-up scene on horizon like you can say that but you can't say you love me? Their relationship also gives 'I wish you were a boy vibes' because what fo you mean I can only date her if I'm a man when her and femshep have more chemistry???? It's like high school all over again when I would fall in love with "straight" girls.

I do listen to Chapelle Roan, I adore all of her music omfg and her makeup is so cool aaa!

Repressed feelings Ashley, who's too deep in the closet. She can, and will, follow Shepard to the end of the universe, but she can't even tell her how much she loves her.

It feels blasphemous to even think about, the love twisting in her chest into something bitter as the guilt seeps into her guts. The word love burns her throat whenever she attempts to spout it out.

tw: Internalised homophobia

Ashley, who's been in denial about her crush ever since you saved her on Eden Prime. When she first glimpsed you in the distance, watched you shoot down those enemies with deadly precision before walking towards her, authority clear in your every step, the poise of a hero, a fighter.

Her heart hammering against her chest, for some reason, she was expecting a man under that helmet as you removed it, even as she heard your voice, a part of her was still in denial.

Blood freezing in her veins as she realised The Commander Shepard is a woman, just like her. Even worse, the way her stomach churned at how attractive you are, before feeling sick by her own desires.

For the first time in her life, Ashley Williams found another woman hot, and she wasn't handing it well. Lust pooling in her core as you inquired for her rank and name, the tough soldier act melting into softness as you stepped closer, reassuring her that she will be fine, you'll protect her, it wasn't her fault...what happened to her unit.

Ashley wanted to scream, tear her heart out, and crush it under her own boots. But like always, she forced herself to remain composed and acknowledged your authority.

Her disgust with herself...her sinful desires only increased by the thought that she's the only one in here with these kind of problems. No way the great woman standing in front of her could ever have these urges, right? Yes, you'd never go for another woman. You must be straight.

You have to be.

As the days went by, she joined your crew and served on your ship. Ashley noticing how you get out of your way to visit her on the bottom floor each time, the little extra effort you put in each time after an exhausting mission just to come and talk to her.

She's praying more often, recounting verses in her mind as a way to discipline her wandering gaze. Hungry eyes filled with shame running over your body clad in those tight armours. Why did you have to wear something so tantalising? And why the fuck does the idea of Kaidan getting to gawk at the same view piss her off even more?

God you even pay attention when she talks about her family. Your air of charm, the breezy seamlessly way you weave yourself into every conversation, steal the lightspots only to departure just as quickly, leaving everyone around wanting more.

This is a universal experience, of course. It can't be only Ashley experiencing this... right?

The way you carry yourself with pride, how deadly even a cheap pistol can be in your hands. The fact it is Ashley who you entrusted with your weapons after each mission, letting her tone your snipers, clean the barrage of your shotguns, and dismantle your pistols before putting them back together.

Yes, she knows it is part of her offical job. So why does she get this tingly feeling whenever your fingers brush against hers as she hands you the weapon back?

Why doesn't she get bothered by having you hover over her shoulder while she works? Why does she enjoy feeling your warm body pressed against hers. Something she would've broke the arm of anyone else who tried to even be in that close of approximately to her.

She shares her faith, tells you of her believes, expecting ridicule. It never arrives.

You treat her with respect, never undermining her values as you admit while you're not religious, you do understand where she's coming from. That you'll personally ensure that no one else gives her any troubles for her faith on this ship.

While your speech was heartfelt and all, what really stuck out to Ashley the most–an earworm of a sentence that kept looping in her brain akin to a broken record.

You're not religious.

Which means she might have a chanc—

No. Absolutely not. Ashley does not swing that way. Even if she does, that's just... not right. It's not natural. She wouldn't even know how to do it with another woman, not that she thought about it...definitely.

But you must have...right? You must have experimented with women before. Did you let them fuck you? surrender to them in bed like you would to men? Did they use their fingers or a strap? Did they just eat you out? How did your thighs feel wrapped around their head–

Jealousy bubbling into envy. Both of the women you've been with and the fact they can live out their sinful lifestyle without consequences.

The fact she can't. Her mind keeping her hostage within this cage.

Why couldn't you be a man?

Ashley often thinks about that before she falls asleep in her pod, dreaming of the life you could've shared. The doting wife she would've been to you. The wedding day and how gorgeous you'd be in front of the altar, stealing her breath away.

[iamvegorott]

A Rare Calm Morning

Decided to write a little thing for Marvin's birthday where he is finally granted just a bit of peace

A Rare Calm Morning

Marvin was used to being woken up at a consistent time due to the chaos the Septiceye House broke into as everyone got out of bed, but this morning was different. Things sounded peaceful, and Marvin was able to sleep in. He figured that since everything seemed to be going smoothly so far, he'd take his time with his morning shower.

When Marvin finally dressed and entered the kitchen, he had a strong need for a cup of tea and some food. 

"Happy birthday!" Jackie greeted with the biggest smile while Chase handed Marvin a steaming mug. 

"JJ made the tea before he, Henrik, and Robbie went to the store," Chase answered before Marvin could ask. 

"Thank you, and why are they at the store?" Marvin took a quick sip and softly hummed in approval. JJ knew how to make tea the perfect way every time. 

"Last minute stuff before the party tonight," Chase explained as Jackie tugged on Marvin's arm to get him to walk with him. Marvin allowed Jackie to guide him through the home as he continued talking with Chase. 

"Do you know what time the others are due to arrive?" 

"Not till about six tonight. We're thinking of having dinner, giving gifts, and then the others will head off." Chase listed off the plan. 

"I guess I could handle that." Marvin chuckled, finding that Jackie had led them to the backyard patio. "The weather is lovely today." He commented as he sat in one of the lounging chairs. 

"You've wanted a relaxing birthday for, like, ever, it's the least we could do." Chase shrugged with a smile. 

"And you brought out a book for me?" Marvin sat his mug on the stool-like table and picked up the book, discovering it was the one he'd wanted to read for a while. 

"Oh!" Jackie perked up and grabbed the small towel off the table as well. He laid it across his arm and straightened up. "What would you like for breakfast?" 

"Toast and eggs, please." Marvin softly laughed as Jackie saluted and then took off for the House. 

"So shocking you asked for the two of the three things he can cook." Chase teased a bit. 

"Boxed macaroni and cheese isn't the best breakfast food." Marvin clicked his tongue with another soft laugh. "Where's Anti?"

"Shipped him off to the Ipliers to entertain himself until dinner. I also texted Mad to hang out with him since he can only bother Dark for so long on his own." Chase explained. "Won't have to worry about him till tonight." 

"This birthday is beyond perfect." Marvin leaned back and got the chair to stretch out more. 

"Hey, Chase?" Jackie called from the door.

"Yeah?"

"I...uh...I broke the toaster." 

"How did you break the toaster?" 

"I turned the dial too hard." 

"You turned the-" Chase stopped and sighed. "You enjoy your book. I'll go make sure Jackie doesn't yank the oven out of the wall."

"That happened one time!" Jackie protested.

"Once is enough!" Chase called and stepped away to go into the House.

Marvin just chucked as he could hear Chase and Jackie's voices fade the further away they got. He took in a deep breath of fresh air before opening the book, letting himself relax and enjoy the calm of the beginning of his birthday. 

----------

@bookwormscififan

[not-goldy]

Hey Goldy! How are you? This is just super random, but someone shared a clip of Rosebowl Jikook, and can I just say how surreal it still feels that it actually happened? People were scrambling to explain that it was completely platonic, that it was an edit, that JK didn't suck JM's ear, that it was completely normal 🙄

I've heard about a certain clip where you could see a string of saliva, and yes, I saw it. Apparently, the big screen during the concert show you front and center when that happened and how you could literally see the string of saliva from JK's mouth to JM's ear. You could even see the sucking movement.

Imagine if Jikook have partners? Imagine seeing that and being okay w/ it?? And mind you, he did after towards the end of the concert, when they're sweaty and all.

People left and right, 24/7 camping on Jikook accounts writing long-ass essays and novels to say Jikook hate each other or whatever. You don't see us camping out on say tkk/yoonmin accounts to prove they're not real, don't you? I mean, sure, we correct misinformation when you're posting lies or manipulated clips for your non-existent ships (tkk/yoonmin/etc).

Even the companion system in the military still haunts these people until now. Suddenly, everyone is a fucking expert on Korean military?? If it was any other ship, I'm pretty sure we won't be hearing a thesis on why they're not together right now, how they're doing their things away from each other? Like, what happened to critical thinking and common sense? You'd think if Jimin and Jungkook didn't want to do their enlistment together, they wouldn't go through those damn hoops, including selecting the harshest division. They'd just do what everyone else did 😩

Do you think these uncultured and unloved people (haters/antis/toxic solos/tkkrs etc) would lose their mind even more once the Jikook travel show drops? Hope it drops this June 😭

If Jikook have partners they are the most non territorial non concerned non bothered group of people on the planet cos of if Jimin or Jungkook were mine I would have them quit their careers 😩

Like you can't be stressing me out with the constant dating rumors talking bout we just friends but you coming home every night with a hickey embarrassing me on the internet begging for a man's attention a man who looks like this by the way

Like where do I even begin to compete his ass is fatter than mine😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩

You just friends but you out here having panick attacks when he puts you on voice mail

Boy didn't even eat the dinner I made him cos he's out there cooking for another man

He doesn't laugh at my jokes the way he does his and his jokes are not even funny 😤

In his spare time he's watching vlives of him with his fans and I swear I heard him call me Jimin one time when we were making love

I need a divorce. This is not working out

It's either me or him 😩

Mother fucker chose him 😩

I don't want to over sell the travel blog I'm very very curious about it but I know it won't disappoint.

And the way Jungkook had to come out here and tell us about the one moment makes it feel all the more sus to me

Feels like a preemptive strive so fans don't make a big deal out of them sharing a bed but baby boy WE WILL

It's jikook they send antis with into a frenzy with the barest minimum 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

I won't expect anything less from those numbnuts