#except i re-read it shh

[childofsquidward]

Books I Read In 2022 (and by read I mean actually liked)

Boy-Crazy Stacey (The Baby-Sitters Club #8) by Ann M. Martin

I'd never wear it, but I'd keep it to remind me of the first boy I ever fell in love with.

⭐⭐⭐(3 STARS)

I don’t have too many fond memories of this book since I found Stacey to be so insufferable when I first read it, but I also read this when I was like 10 years old, so my ability to empathize clearly hadn’t fully developed. Don’t get me wrong, it was still frustrating to be in Stacey’s head, but this was an important lesson for her to learn. I wish she’d also been able to see how an 18-year-old flirting with her when she’s a literal child is not okay, but this is just a thing that happens where Stacey keeps crushing on these much older guys and they flirt back and it is still just all kinds of weird to me.

I also want to add that the book never really goes beyond the message that “some boys are jerks, but not all of them” and I know that this is a middle-grade book, but I feel like not addressing Stacey’s behaviour sends out a rather harmful message. Stacey thinks that doing favours for boys is an honour and she was jealous when other girls would get to, let’s say, bring lunch to the lifeguards. The book never says that there’s anything wrong with this, it’s just something Stacey believes and we never get anywhere further than that. And also the way she treated Mary Anne; yes, Stacey apologized, but Mary Anne being all ‘yeah, I get it, you were in love’ was not needed, Mary Anne is a much better person than me because after everything Stacey did, I would not have forgiven her that quickly. (Also, if I were Mallory, I would ask for Stacey’s share of the money because let's be honest, Mallory pretty much did Stacey’s job for her.)

Details that stuck out to me:

“I was beginning to think that “mother’s helper” was a pretty funny term, since Mary Anne and I were going to be helping Mr. Pike as much as Mrs. Pike. Maybe we should be called parents’ helpers.” - LITTLE LOUDER STACE!!!

Mary Anne mentioning how she remembered the triplets taking swimming lessons when they were younger - I always love little anecdotes of their childhood and the earlier books in the series do this really well (unlike a certain prequel novel that shall not be named). 

The Pike kids trying to take care of Mary Anne after her sunburn was such a cute scene - they’re my favourite charges for a reason!

Adam being nice to Nicky for once - I was floored!

Byron being the sensitive, more serious of the triplets is something that I do remember being introduced for the first time in this book, but I feel like it’s also been consistently highlighted in other books featuring the Pike kids.

[thenasoneshots]

WolfStar Raise Harry - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Are you sure about this?”

“It’s better he grows up knowing about magic than with those muggles, Albus. Plus Sirius Black is Harry Potter’s Godfather. I know they’ll take good care of him.”

“Very well.”

At that statement, the small boy in the basket was placed on the doorstep, before the two professors left, making sure to leave the written note on top so the new carers of Harry knew what had happened. Inside 12 Grimauld Place, the two men inhabiting the house were curled up on the sofa, wrapped up in a blanket due to the abnormal cold for October. That was when they both heard the doorbell ring.

“I’ll get it, Moony. You stay here,” Sirius spoke, pecking the werewolf on the forehead before standing up and walking to the door. Upon opening it, he was surprised to see no one except for the small basket on the doorstep, the letter still on top. Sirius picked up the basket with Harry inside and re-entered the house, closing the door quickly to avoid letting more cold in than he had to, before returning to the living room, “Moony, I don’t like this. Look.”

“What are you talking about?” Remus responded, sitting up better, “Also I thought we stopped with the school nicknames?”

“Nope! You’re still my Moony and will be forever but that’s changing the subject, look,” Sirius responded, “I think something’s happened to Prongs…” he spoke, taking the letter and handing it to Remus, “You read it, I want to play with this little one.”

Remus chuckled and took the letter from his boyfriend, opening it up as Sirius took the small boy from the basket and held him gently. As he read through the letter, tears started to come to Remus’ eyes, surprising Sirius as Remus wasn’t one to normally cry, unless it was a certain ‘time of the month’.

“Moony? Moony what is it?!” he shouted, placing the 1-year-old Harry down on the sofa and ripping the paper from Remus’ hands, “Dear… It… that…James and Lily… killed… Harry survived… after him… Yours…”. Wow…” he muttered as he read through the letter, tears also coming to his eyes at the realisation that his best friend was dead. At this moment, Harry started crying, breaking the two men from their crying. Remus realised first and turned to him, picking him up and rubbing his back, trying to calm him down, “Shh… Calm.”

“How are we supposed to raise a child? We have no e-Moony, how’d you do that?” Sirius spoke, noticing that the room was now quiet, Harry had fallen asleep on Remus’s shoulder, him looking up at Sirius with a deadpanned look on his scarred face, “Really? You and James acted like children in school if you don’t remember and I felt like I was babysitting both of you.”

Sirius’ mouth made an ‘O’ shape, as he realised what Remus meant, he was a drama queen in school and still was at times, not that he’d ever admit that out loud, “Right, well, Moony. You still fell for my charm though.”

“Somehow. Now, I’m going to go and lay Harry down upstairs in our room for a bit, until he wakes up. We need to get him a proper bedroom though.”

“You’re right Moony. Good idea. How? And we need baby food… where do we get that?”

Remus chuckled at his boyfriend’s obliviousness and pecked his cheek before walking off upstairs, “We can discuss that later, I’ll be back down in a few minutes,” and with that, Remus disappeared upstairs towards their bedroom, which was Sirius’ room, but they shared it, where he placed Harry down on the bed, making sure there was pillows and cushions surrounding him so that he wouldn’t fall off the bed if he rolled around, before walking back downstairs, starting to discuss what would happen with Sirius.

[solipsistful]

director’s cut on automatisms? 👀👀

this took a while to figure out what to even say, but i think i'll go chapter by chapter and say something interesting about each of them

but i'll first say that the very first unfinished draft of Automatisms was actually a NaNo project by Serpent, which i (ace) then took over and rewrote into its current form. so i'll be making this post and seeing if he wants to chime in (not that anyone except me has been particularly talkative lately rip)

XX01: Re-entry

i love that the fic starts (after the pretentious epigraph, im sorry) with a canon line. not only does it temporally set Automatisms as essentially an alternate Acceptance, but i think highlights how it really does follow from Control's canon experiences. like, i could absolutely see an argument that Control canonically just has a dissociative disorder (Authority begins with a dissociative episode, his guides…).

funnily, it wasn't actually any of our idea to go "what if him plural". that was a friend lol.

XX02: Breaching

Finally, a conclusion. Denouement. Control let out the breath he hadn’t intended to hold.

my desire to copy canon's style means hooray narrative (and ghost) metaphors.

XX03: Returning

this chapter has the big freaking problem of being extremely important in canon but not at all changed by Control getting some Lowry commentary. i know one answer would be to just… not follow canon so closely, but shh.

what this means is that it's basically best to read this fic with a very good memory for what happens in Acceptance, which probably isn't great. (i fall into the exact same problem with Doubled)

XX04: Waking

ive mentioned this before, but isn't it fun that Lowry's first time fronting alone occurs off-screen and is never really discussed explicitly? something with Narrative there. (it's also fun how canonically that's just Control having a freeze reaction to the biologist anyway, "playing dead to keep his head")

XX05: The lighthouse

god we had the HARDEST TIME deciding what person and tense Lowry's sections should be in. there's several version of this chapter trying to figure out first vs second vs maybe just third? and present vs past. first person present eventually won out as Special enough, even if i struggle to write it (even more than second person). it also leaves second person for the voice of Area X-as-narrator later, which is probably better.

and then Absolution is just gonna be plain old third person past, boo.

XX06: Somewhere else

just some Control reckoning with wtf is Lowry even doing in his head. i mean, it's an important question, like the most important thing in the world for Control right now, but it's sorta hard coming up with scenes where he can both think/talk about that without just going in circles about how unanswerable it is.

XX07: The tower

i hope this chapter feels as Significant as i intend it to be. this is, after all, the real moment of divergence from canon: Control never goes down the tower!

there are, like chapter 5, versions of this chapter where the "beckoning" is in the first person vs second person, italicized or different fonts or right-aligned or not set apart from the rest of the text at all, etccc. i Care about this formatting stuff okay. (had to go digging into how AO3 work skins work at all in order to get the chapter numbers right, for instance, lol)

XX08: The border

it really strikes me, given what we've seen of Absolution, that Lowry should be way more over-the-top in his reactions here lol. he's not a quiet shut down type like Control; he's over the top and angry and should have, i dunno, punched a tree or something. oh well. maybe he's just relying on not being in the body to give him some distance from basically the worst thing imaginable that could happen to him in this moment.

XX09: The teeth

ok i told myself i wouldn't say this about all the chapters, but i think this chapter in particular should've been longer lol. i mean, it's a Good Chapter, but that's why it should've been longer! there's a lot of implications of things that probably should've been explored more. i'm thinking in particular of Lowry wanting to go retrieve the videos. this is the guy who retrieved the videos from the first expedition, as awful as that must have been. he's abandoning all that and the first expedition overall by leaving the SR building.

ah well.

XX10: The throat

i think im so clever for the "are you real" repeat

XX11: Humanity

after all that kerfuffle over whether Lowry would be in the first/second/third person, we actually hadn't considered what that would look like when Lowry and Control were blurring, whoops. so, good thing that we decided on the first person, because that makes blurring into "we" instead of like. "yall" lmao.

XX12: Exorcism

how do you write hypnosis (especially from the point of view of the hypnotized)

i mean the real point of this chapter is just "look at my theory/interpretation that Lowry's hypnosis is linked to Area X's narrative control and isn't that fun"

XX13: Memory

i don't know what to say about this one. character discussions!

XX14: Disposition

this is simultaneously a filler chapter and also i should've spent longer dealing with things like Lowry having food issues (which is something i had sorta drawn from Acceptance but here is influenced by all the Absolution tidbits in which he's obsessing over eating animals in Area X lol).

but mostly it's a filler chapter because by this point, i knew that the second half of the fic would use all the same chapter titles in reverse, and i have Disposition2 already written so Disposition1 has to exist.

Bonus Sneak Preview: XX15: Escape

obviously a lot of my fic-writing efforts have been spent towards WOE.BEGONE lately, but i think another reason why Automatisms has been going slowly is that this next chapter includes a large change in time and context. so, i'm sorta wanting to think through whether there's anything in the old context that I still want to do before i decide on A Change. but really i should probably just go ahead and do the Change. as hinted above, i have a lot of post-Change stuff written. :>

- ace and no Serpent as it turns out whoops

[tathrin]

13 (Favourite fic from another author) and 14 (favourite side pairings to put in) for the Cool Asks for Fic Writers <3

[from this ask meme]

13. Favourite fic from another author:

Okay I know that I answer this one pretty much any time somebody asks me anything about somebody else's work right now, but I can't help it I am just inappropriately obsessed with this story it lives in my brain gnawing on my thoughts daily like a hungry little goblin: The Harrowing by @chthonion

Also I am very very excited to finally be home properly for a full day so that I can sit down and re-re-re-read the latest chapter and finally respond to it and by "respond" I mean "go feral" ahhhhhh.

14. Favorite side pairings to put in:

Hmm I'm not sure I really have go-tos there? It depends entirely on the story. (I suppose I could say gimleaf, because I would absolutely work them into e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g except that 99% of the fics I write these days are gimleaf-centric, so that. doesn't work.)

Possibly Éowyn/Faramir because they're lovely and also live in Ithilien (and I really enjoy Éowyn getting to fuck with people shh) which puts them in a geographically convenient position to be referenced; also Aragorn/Arwen because the compare/contrast of their elf-loves-mortal relationship is very rich ground for a Legolas/Gimli shipper to poke at. I've also quite unintentionally become a Maedhros/Fingon shipper due to reading far too many lovely things lately and...

Oh, and I'm stupid. Obviously my favorite side-pairings to slide into a fic are Celebrimbor/Annatar and Celebrimbor/Narvi and, best of all, Celebrimbor/Narvi/Annatar. Duh. I'm sorry, I'm really stupid about shipping and my brain doesn't always work XD

Thank you for asking! And giving me a chance to A: shriek about Your Shadow Rising to Meet You again and B: making me think about stuff I don't usually think about!

Also I'm sorry for being a double dumbass, turns out I just put it in my queue out of habit instead of posting sigh.

[niamhs-reading-adventures]

Let's answer some questions about books!

How many books have you read so far? 41. I set a goal of 60, so this year is going very well so far. I currently have another 3 on the go.

Best books read so far? Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree Funny Story by Emily Henry Emergency Exit Only by Michelle Upton

Best sequel? The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni (book #2 of The Prison Healer trilogy)

New release you haven’t read yet? The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

Most anticipated release for 2nd half of the year? The Pairing by Casey McQuiston

Biggest disappointment? The Quarantine Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot (The Princess Diaries book #12). Felt like I was reading early books, when Mia is like 14 or 15 and really teenager-y. Except she was supposedly in her early 30s in this book...

Biggest surprise? The Guncle by Steven Rowley. Multiple moving scenes that I was not expecting. Still yet to read the sequel (shh I've been busy)

New favorite authors? Michelle Upton, Lynn Painter.

New fictional crush? Um... no one? How about re-sparked fictional crushes (I have re-read a lot of books this year....) If that's allowed, then Jesse de Silva from The Mediator series, and Jaren from The Prison Healer trilogy. Apparently I have a thing for protective men. But only when their respective love interests are in danger. None of that over-protective, coddling stuff here, thanks.

A book that made me cry? I haven't read any sad books this year. I'm sure something made me cry from happiness at one point, but I don't really remember it.

A book that made me happy? Just Stab Me Now by Jill Bearup. So fun seeing one of my favourite YouTube people turn their skits into a published book.

Most beautiful addition to the shelf? Heartstopper vol #5

Books to read in the second half of 2024? The Pairing by Casey McQuiston The Heart of the World by Amie Kaufman All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Thank you so much @battyaboutbooksreviews for coming up with these questions, I had fun answering them. A great way to spend a Friday night at home when you're not interested in watching Wimbledon.

✨ MID-YEAR FREAKOUT TAG ✨

How many books have you read so far?

Best books read so far?

Best sequel?

New release you haven’t read yet?

Most anticipated release for 2nd half of the year?

Biggest disappointment?

Biggest surprise?

New favorite authors?

New fictional crush?

A book that made me cry?

A book that made me happy?

Most beautiful addition to the shelf?

Books to read in the second half of 2024?

[yanderechuu]

do any of the teachers ever notice the things happening to y/n? (i headcannon Mic and Midnight as yanderes that would give advice to 1A lol)

yandere!Class 1A x fem!reader

[2.1K]

Summary: Aizawa is the first one you approached in regards to your certain predicament.

Warning: nonconsensual recording

│

Aizawa suspected something wasn’t quite right by the moment he saw you entering the class a minute before the bell rang, all haggard and teary-eyed, though you tried your best to obscure your disposition. He always knew you to often be in a state of discomfort whenever you were compelled to socialize, especially with your classmates, but now - you looked as if you reached your limit of holding the weight of the world on your shoulders, crashing down all at once as depicted on your crestfallen expression. 

And when you showed up in front of the faculty room, timidly soliciting his presence, his suspicions were only further verified. Even with a pending question regarding subject matters in your mind, you weren’t one to approach a teacher to inquire about it, and if you did it was because the teacher was the one who would ask your attendance; never the other way around.

Present Mic was the first one to acknowledge you. He stood up from his office chair, waving at you comically. “Yo, (l/n)! Having trouble with English again?”

You never had a problem with his subject; he only insisted that you’d come to him in regards to that. “N-no, not really. May I speak to Aizawa-sensei?”

“Talk with me instead!” He enthusiastically spoke and headed over to you. “Come on, what’s the matter?”

“It isn’t your place to ask that when I’m here.” Aizawa interceded, clearly unimpressed by Mic’s antics. He failed to see the latter’s displeased countenance. “(L/n), what is it?”

You avoided eye contact with him, averting your view to the ground - that was alright. You were always like this, and he didn’t mind. Nothing out of place except for the fact that it looked as if you were about to cry any moment now.

“Can we- can we, um, talk somewhere more private?” You asked quietly.

His brows raised in wonder at your request. Nevertheless, he didn’t decline you, only nodding lackadaisically before heading towards the teacher’s lounge, where you followed him suit. He flicked the door tag to ‘occupied’ and entered the room after you, when he told you sit on the three-person sofa situated not quite on the farthest left of the space. Then, he settled himself on the chair across you.

“Well?” He asked, expectantly.

But you had once again your head above a thick cloud of anxiety. You knew that after the event with Momo in the girls’ locker room - where you had injured her against your will because she had been violating your personal space - your homeroom teacher kept a cautious eye on you in case you’d re-enact that incident. And it wasn’t just that incident that made him look at you like you were a criminal on the loose, either. Your classmates found and did a lot of ways to place you in Aizawa’s naughty list just so you wouldn’t snitch on their abusive (they’d call it affectionate) behavior on you.

That didn’t erase the fact that you were nevertheless his student; he cared for you no less than he cared for his other pupils, yet you were just too ignorant in figuring that out. All that mattered to you was that you’d voice out your current concern to him, but with your insecurities holding you down it seemed it would be more difficult than you had primarily foreseen it to be.

“I-I,” you stammered out, fiddling with something inside your pocket, “u-um, you see, t-there’s this, I mean, I can’t-”

He grew increasingly frustrated with your constant stuttering, and although he did understand your shy nature which largely affected your conversational habits, he only had so much patience to deal with it.

“I don’t have all day.” He stated, glowering at your form in mild irritation. “If you’re going to keep doing that, talk to the wall.”

You abruptly halted in speaking after that, only looking down on your lap, staring wide-eyed, grief-stricken at the revelation that perhaps he really did not want to heed any of your words because you were just that bad of a student that he had decided you were not worth much the effort to concern himself with. And maybe he was right - that your words didn’t matter because you didn’t matter; that there were more affairs he better be tending to than yours; that you were only making a big deal out of this when it truthfully wasn’t.

Oh god, you felt like vomiting. Self-deprecation was getting the better of you.

He stood up and sauntered to the exit, not bothering to spare you a glance. “Come back to me when you actually know what you want to say.”

It was a matter of seconds when you ran to him, pulling him back rather harshly by the grip you had on his sleeve. He turned around due to the force to see your head still hung low, avoiding his gaze as always - only, your shoulders were quivering sporadically, and occasional sniffs were heard from your person.

“P-please, sensei...” you voiced out, shaken and horrifyingly delicate. “I-I’m so scared. Please.”

While he looked at you with contracted irises, countenance now alert from your unexpected disposition, you pulled your trembling hand out of your skirt pocket, nervously disclosing to him from your palm a small, black device with a tiny yet prominent lens.

“M-my room,” you heaved, “I-I saw this i-in my room, m-my closet, while- while I was dressing up, and I don’t know how long it had been in there but it probably already caught me bare and-”

You broke down in a flurry misery and shame, allowing yourself to fall to the ground but you didn’t - Aizawa seized you in his arms, his gentle, fatherly arms that could only do so much to console you from the horror of your reality. And he held your head as you cried on his chest, one little thing he could do after ignoring your situation and letting you think that your significance was less than the rest of his other students. At that moment, you were just so little, so fragile, so naïve he’d keep you in his pocket if he could. Why would someone do something as debauched as illegally recording your innocent self?

“I’m sor-sorry,” you sobbed, “I’m really telling the truth, p-please-”

“Shh, it’s okay. I don’t doubt you.” He reassured. Why were you apologizing? Were you that insecure of being a nuisance? No, no, you never were. Not to him. He reached for your hand to take the cursed device. “Since when did you find out?”

“J-just this morning.” You responded.

“Alright. Do you want to rest? This must have taken a huge toll on you.”

But you still had classes ongoing. Then again, you didn’t feel like looking at the faces of the prime suspects who possibly did you dirty, even when you knew that you’d have to eventually interact with them to get notes of your missed lessons. You were so tired from summoning the lot of your courage to confront your teacher regarding your problem, so you probably wouldn’t have the energy to listen to class discussion. Aizawa finalized your decision by pulling you up and guiding you towards the office of Recovery Girl who, after being briefed of your predicament by your homeroom teacher, welcomed you with a warm smile, telling you to make yourself comfortable in one of the beds in the infirmary.

He then made his way to 1A classroom, a newfound swelling of rage and disappointment in his chest, both forwarded to his class and to himself because only now did he realize that perhaps you were often so restless and apprehensive in the presence of your classmates because they did things that made you bury yourself in the deepest parts of your shell as a last attempt to revel in a sense of safety. Your timidity was not entirely derived from your own nature; it was also due to the maltreatment you were receiving from your classmates. Halting his steps by the classroom door, he looked through the glass window, seeing the class focusing on Midnight’s lecture.

Well, not quite. He could tell that your classmates were visibly affected by the lack of your presence, glancing at your desk from time to time as quiz papers were being passed behind - so they were in the middle of a test, he guessed. But that wasn’t his concern.

In impudent manner, he walked in amid Midnight’s talking, disregarding her face’s sudden morphing into vexation as the students gave him a look of confusion.

“Eraser, what are you-” she was rudely interrupted as Aizawa took the test reference papers from her hands. Something about Modern Hero Art History, he read. He faced his class with disdain, stating,

“Until someone confesses their crime of hiding a spy camera on (l/n)’s dorm room, all of you are receiving failing marks on this test.”

Quite suddenly, the class burst into violent upheaval, gasping, perking, some allowing the dreadful news of your situation to sink in, others letting out noises of complaint before actually taking consideration to the main point of Aizawa’s statement. Midnight stared at him in disbelief, but did nothing to stop his measures.

Momo abruptly stood. “I-is (y/n) okay? We should go check on her!”

“No, you shouldn’t.” Aizawa said. “All of you are suspects. You’ve no right to see her.”

“She probably just made that up get back on us for whatever fucking reason!” Yelled Bakugou.

“Yeah?” The male pro-hero disingenuously mused. He then picked up the spy camera and held it for everyone to see, before setting it down the teacher’s podium. “This was found on her closet. Would she risk recording herself naked just to prove that point?”

Noise died down thereafter, setting their sights solemnly at the device, the class collectively having the same thought in regards to the spy camera.

(Why hadn’t they thought of that? It could have been easier to check on you that way, since you almost always confined yourself in the privacy of your own room.)

“So? No one wants to speak up?” Aizawa asked, though expected the silence.

“Aizawa, have them approach you after classes. It’s embarrassing this way.” Midnight intervened.

“Well that’s the point. Get them exposed to the entire class, so everyone could realize how much of a perverted bastard one of these to-be heroes are. Good values, my ass.” He replied, not bothering to filter rather colorful vocabulary. “Where’s your dignity?”

He let a minute or two pass for the perpetrator to reveal themselves, but soon it became apparent that whomever they were refused to admit to their crime, willing to sacrifice the grades of the class for the sake of anonymity. That would be deemed useless, anyway, because Aizawa was already set on figuring out whom they were, no matter the extent he’d go to in order for that to happen. He’d expel them at once.

But he didn’t have the power to expel someone outside of his class.

“I guess that’s it for your test.” He sighed, disgruntled, picking up the small camera and sauntering his way out of the classroom after giving Midnight a look that he was dead serious with marking all of them a failing score. She stared at him in uncertainty, nonetheless abided by his decisions, albeit hesitantly.

Upon ascertaining his absence, Midnight turned to Class 1A, amusement and humor dancing on her seductive countenance.

“Naïve, hormonal teenagers,” she mused, “the closet, really? Couldn’t you have chosen somewhere less conspicuous?”

None of them bothered to tell her that they were truthfully unaware of the incident.

===

Hagakure Toru, stealth hero, entered your room silently in the nude, the only proof of her movements being a tinier, different spy camera she’d brought along with her. No, not the closet, you might find it again. It looked so painfully obvious on the desk, too, and neither in the bathroom due to its pale white interior. 

But on the pencil holder situated atop your nightstand would do. You barely moved it, anyway, only having its purpose served as a decoration; something to fill the vacancy of the bedside table. After a few adjustments in camouflaging the device with the environment and making sure the lens displayed the area of your space, Hagakure checked its concealment one more time, before mechanically heading outside and back to her own dorm. 

Her body collided almost violently with her room’s door, snapping her out of her trance. 

“H-huh!? Weird... how’d I end up in my room?” She asked, receiving no answer from particularly anyone.

But Shinso Hitoshi could provide her one, if only he weren’t outside, staring at your terrace from five stories down your room, a gratifying smirk donned on his features. Now, the only thing he had to do was dismantle and relocate the gadgets wirelessly connected with the camera Aizawa had confiscated.

[lethargicsunlight]

Dabi X SpookyQuirk!Reader "I Want to Know You" (Part 9)

I'm still behind at work, but I got hit with the itch so I stayed up stupid late to finish it oops

(This is also not proof read, so please forgive ;n;)

You can find the other parts of this series at my directory: LINK

It it isn't evident already, I'm not following any specific timeline here. I'm going with the flow, and writing what feels.. natural. And Good.

That said,

WARNINGS: SFW (but a little spicy early on, so rated TEEN), MHA manga/anime SPOILERS, spooky vibes, PTSD THEMES (very little)

"Hey."

The voice startles you, causing the sketchbook to snap against your legs as you look up to him.

"Woah, woah." Dabi offers you a broken and amused grin, "Does something have you spooked?"

Imagine that.

"Sorry," You straighten up and relax, "Didn't get as much sleep as I wanted. Put me a little on edge."

"Mm." His grin fades and you miss it already. "Is everything alright?"

His voice is more... threatening then sweet, and the tone matches the deadly look in his eyes. You realized then, with absolute certainty, you could name something or someone; and he would probably harm them for disturbing you.

Ironic, considering he was the culprit.

"Yeah, I'm good. I think it's just.." Your eyes catch on the staples next to his mouth, and they linger there before traveling along the puckered skin of his jaw and his chin. It's like a punch to the stomach, realizing you knew where those scars might have come from--and that you were still too scared to mention it.

He, on the other hand, interpreted your staring to mean something entirely different.

"Hn." A confident noise tumbles from his throat, and his lips are turning up into a grin again. As you open your mouth to continue verbalizing the same excuse you had given Kurogiri the night before, you find a finger being pressed to the ridge of your upper lip. Instinctively your mouth slams shut.

He leans forward, his free hand supporting his weight against the couch armrest while the other traces your cheek before he places it behind you. He's bent at the hip and looming, leaning, closer.

Your heart stutters.

"Am I the reason you can't sleep..?" He asks, breath fanning over your nose while his lidded eyes flicker between yours. When his gaze drops to your lips for a second, your breath catches in your throat--it was a full system malfunction. You felt as though he was lighting you on fire--except this felt really, really nice in comparison to the flames that engulfed you in those dreams.

Which, was barely more than a distant memory right now.

"Y-yes--I MEAN, no..?" You quickly re-learn how to force your body back to function, and try to look away from him so you can ground yourself. Your hands curl into your sketchbook; afraid to touch him. "It's not--just--I uh--"

"Shh, hey.." He leans more into the armrest and blocks out your vision again, "It's okay. I'm not going to push you into anything you don't want to do.." his features are softer, and it reminds you of laughing ghost children and how he tasted like cold seawater and smoke at the cemetery.

His constant misinterpretation of your reactions was both frustrating and intoxicating. Thank goodness the rest of the League was still conveniently elsewhere, or you would also be embarrassed.

"Although.." His voice drops, quieted by the proximity. "That look on your face.. makes it a little hard to resist."

Oh god--"D-Dabi, wait a second--"

"Hm..?" He hums inquisitively, innocently, still inching closer.

"There's something I need to discuss, we need to.. discuss.."

"Mmhm?" Darker, more purposeful.

"We.. I uhm.. Dream.."

"Yeah..?"

You could've said anything really. It wouldn't have mattered.

You were out of it, sucked into his gravity as his lips brushed against yours. Unlike the kiss out at the cemetery, this one was warm and coaxing. An invitation seemed to roll from him to you as his movements quickened, and you felt the cushion dip next to your thigh as he presses his knee unto it.

It felt dangerous.

It's like adrenaline running through his veins, but deeper. It's a compulsion he can't ignore--he can't be close enough. For so long, the scarring bothered him little. He didn't care how it looked or how it felt. But now, as you find some bravery in that caring and perfect vessel of a body to reach out and touch his face; he just wishes he could feel it better.

"Ugh, I'm starving.." "I'm barely hungry at all."

Your eyes fly open as a voice comes out from the hall going upstairs. Dabi grunts a sound of displeasure against you, giving just one more pull at your lips before he drags himself away. "Always something, huh..?" He whispers quietly, letting his disappointment show on his face before giving you a wink.

You're dazed, barely more sentient than jell-o after that charming wink; and you can't stop staring at the beautiful and boyish way his eyes light up afterwards. Wait.. shit, shit, shit! He's moving too slow!

"Huh?" Twice opens the door and catches Dabi still removing himself from the couch.

"Hey Twice."

"What was that?" Suddenly he smacks both hands to his cheeks, leaning forward. "OOOOooooh!" He begins pointing from Dabi to you and back again feverishly. "It finally happened?!"

Your eyes bulge and you slink further into the depths of the couch cushions. Dabi just straightens his stance and crosses his arms, unmoved. Damn him.

"What do you mean 'finally happened'?"

"You--and them!"

Dabi just shrugs his shoulders, "Yeah, what of it?"

Twice places his hands on his hips, "Hahhah! Knew it." "I didn't think it would happen."

Sobering quickly, you mentally groan. Realizing Dabi could manipulate you so easily was a little daunting. Hot, but daunting.

Their banter fades into the background while you contemplate how the hell to come back from that. You really needed to discuss those dreams with him, even if it meant ruining his earlier assumptions referring to you... thinking about him at night.

Not that you didn't think of him, but that sort of paled in comparison to dreaming of being burned alive on three different occasions. By his particular brand of fire.

"What do you say?"

"Hm?" You look up to Dabi as his voice interrupts your thoughts for the second time that morning.

"We're thinking about a quick brunch before Crusty gets back."

"Oh, sure."

------

"Sooo.." Twice leans in awkwardly against the low-sitting picnic table, his trench coat almost dusting his brunch. "Now that you can like, make them do things.. I mean can they hurt people?"

"I've never tried it." You say quietly, "They still have minds of their own. Asking them to just.. shank someone seems a little inappropriate."

Dabi chokes on his coffee, trying to stifle a laugh.

Twice bellows aloud, flamboyantly gesturing to the metal firebrand at your side. "Wow, you made him laugh! That's a superpower in and of itself!"

"Keep it down Twice, we can't afford to attract attention." He seethes in a hiss of a whisper, all but hiding his amusement behind the lip of his paper cup.

Aggressively overexaggerating his new instruction, Twice places a hand next to the area where his mouth should be and continued speaking in a very ragged whispering voice. "You do know we're villains right? We don't have to be appropriate! Just be yourself."

His words catch you off-guard.

Just be yourself.

You lean in, playing on his behavior, and whisper back. "Well considering they're dead and all, I kinda don't want to be mean to them, ya know?"

"Fair, fair." "That's a poor excuse."

Dabi feigns a little sigh, a hand bracing his temples as though he was exhausted by your little antics.

But the two of you only continue--within reason, and when no one was around.

Short-talk about big topics, mentions of other League members, the occasional scathing input from your partner; it was more an outing with friends than with co-workers. Pleasant, if unusual. You and Dabi were experts at deciphering Twice's mind-mangled speech, and had accepted it fully without judgement. His split personality was as mundane to you now, as the buttons on your coat or the label on Dabi's cup that said: Warning! Contains Hot Liquid.

By the time the three of you began walking back to the base, you had formed a stronger bond with Twice. Like you, he had been estranged by society--an unacceptable variant. Perhaps not for his quirk, but who he was internally; and like you, he searched for acceptance. A place to freely be himself.

It wasn't spelled out directly, but you picked it up throughout. If anything, being among the League had really improved your perception of people--and at one point, you had unabashedly used your quirk at his request. You'd left it on since, and allowed it to help you conform your responses. More out of politeness than being nosy.

Though, your sneaky glances at the man beside you were definitely nosy. It always made your insides flutter to find that edging of green jealousy in his aura. You made sure, in those moments, to shift a little closer or brush your elbow with his.

He seemed reluctant to initiate any public affections, but considering the kiss--kisses now, you suppose--and lack of having really placed a name on the relationship, you didn't want to rush it. In fact, you were quite content to just.. exist. Quiet moments like that at the cemetery and this little jaunt were rare, and you were sure that whatever Shigaraki had planned ahead would leave you wistful for these sacred hours of peace.

Don't ruin a good thing while you have it.

----

"Dabi, there's something I need to tell you."

You had no idea what kind of panic the simple sentence caused him.

Things had indeed turned bleak, just as you had expected. Now, the two of you sat high up overlooking battle-beaten sky-scrapers and damaged complexes. It'd been a blur--the three of you suddenly being called into action, as the League's mettle was once again tested.

Endeavor had been there.

"Yeah, what?"

There's venom in Dabi's voice, but it's half-hearted. His voice is ragged, and you can smell the taint of burnt flesh from where you sat beside him.

You couldn't hear what they were saying. The chaos was too loud.

You ran. You didn't know what it was you were running to do--you couldn't fight a pro-hero. You could barely fight at all. It made no sense! You knew that getting involved would make it worse, yet something within begged you to move. To stop him.

Stop who?

Your mind blanched at that.

Dabi stood several feet away from a pro-hero, Endeavor--Japan's Number Two Hero. There'd never been such a threat to his life in your presence. Most days, that raven-haired man seemed invincible. Unconcerned about death, even; like the reaper wouldn't dare to touch him until his work was done.

But now, all you could fathom was how you weren't ready to lose him. How you didn't know him, but you knew you loved him.

You couldn't get close enough, however, as Dabi sent out a spiral of azure flame that encased him and his adversary. Within inches of it, you lurch to a stop--the heat wave sending your mind rushing back to the visions within your dreams.

You were vibrating again. All over. You could hear the boy's voice in your head, you could feel the anger and resentment and sadness. It was like an overwhelming bass at a club, and it threatened to explode from the chasm of your chest.

"Dabi!" You scream, but the sound is blanketed by roaring fire. "Shit.."

Just when you thought  your body might split in two from the intense vibration, you feel something intrude your mouth from the back of your throat. It's gross, but familiar--and then your vision is blackened by One for All's teleportation quirk.

Dabi's first instinct was to assume you were going to say something negative. It didn't matter what it was, really; anything could tip the scale for him at that moment. He'd been so close to his father--so close to ruining him--but also too far.

He knew it would have been a losing battle, but the disappointment still pisses him off.

Instead of seeking you, he had withdrawn. Once teleported to relative safety, he'd simply existed in your presence. You didn't know, still, who he was or what that conflict meant for him. And for once.. he almost wishes he had told you.

Then he wouldn't have to fear whatever it was you were about to say. How you regretted your decisions, or how you wanted to leave, or...

"I've... had some dreams recently." There hadn't been time for you to rehearse this, but it was happening now. You weren't going another minute without telling him, without at least some form of closure.

"Dreams?"

"Well, they're more than dreams. I think." You shift, marginally closer to him. The altitude caused a bit of wind to buffet through his and your hair. "I think they're visions. Something to do with my quirk, but I haven't been able to figure out how."

A weird thing to admit now, he thinks. His eyes dance over your face and shoulders, eyebrows slightly taught. "Why didn't you say anything before?"

"I was afraid."

"Why?"

"Because the visions are about you."

About him? "What do you mean?"

"I keep.. I go into it feeling.." You sigh, a little frustrated. "It's hard to explain. It starts with feeling as though I'm burning alive. It's all blue fire, I'm in these woods.. someone's supposed to be there, but they didn't come."

His breath catches. Hell, his whole body feels iced over.

Sure, you had a habit of surprising him with your quirk. You could see, speak, and manipulate ghosts of all things. But to see... his past? To experience his past? Did you fabricate this somehow?

You're too embarrassed to really notice his reaction, your head tilted away against your arm. "Obviously, I don't know. It could be nothing. But it's happened three times now and when you were fighting with.. It's like I was having the vision all over again."

You weren't fabricating it.

His chest heaves once, breathing out the air he'd held within. There's no use in hiding it now. Nor would questioning you or your abilities help anything--no one knew. And he didn't care. He didn't care how it worked or what it meant.

"He's my father."

"What?"

"Endeavor. Enji Todoroki." He says the name with wavering vocals, disgust tied to the way he pushes the words through his teeth. "My real name.. is Touya Todoroki."

With the fire-related quirks, that had been one of your guesses; and perhaps why mentioning Endeavor felt so weird around him.

"That fire happened when I was a kid. I wanted to show him how well I had developed my quirk." There's a flex in his face much like a snarl, his lip curling against the restraint of the staples in his cheek. "But of course, he didn't come. He had his new prodigy and I was.. obsolete."

Your hand reaches out then, touching his arm. His first instinct is to bat it away--to push off your sympathies and remind you he isn't weak. But you knew that. And your expression, he realizes upon glancing at your face, is more that of encouragement.

"Please tell me." You say, fingers tightening on that part of his sleeve.

"I want to know you."

[lyallblacklupin]

Hey. I don't know if you are still taking prompts... but if so, I may have a challenge for you. 😉

Remus has to stay in the hospital wing for longer than usual. Sirius is secretly dating Remus and can't stand being away even though Madame Pomfrey says no visitors.

Thank you for such a cute prompt. I hope I have written just like you wanted. <333 Happy Reading! Stay Magical!

Rating: Teens and Up Audience.

The night was befalling as the walls of Hospital Wing started darkening, and the torches around the room ignited flames automatically with a thud. The room is filled with utter silence of the unoccupied beds with Remus Lupin being an exception, laying exasperatedly awake with bandages wrapped around his left leg. His stomach growled but it was the least he cared about because of the aching on the tips of his fingers and toes as his chest was in a constant state of agitation. He wanted something. No, he was craving for someone. He couldn’t stop his brain from the race of unwanted thoughts.

What if he doesn’t want me anymore?

What if he has realized that I’m not worth dating?

What if he is better off with my absence?

Suddenly, his thoughts came to a halt when his senses heightened with someone’s fastidious and highly familiar presence. Remus didn’t even have to look to recognize because it was none other than Madam Pomfrey. He loved her but not momentarily—infact not from the past five days who had strictly banned any visitors since his and Sirius’ fight. Speaking of, he shut his eyes as the memory enrolled in his mind all over for the hundredth time.

“I could have killed you!”

“But you almost killed yourself!” Yelled the boy who Remus was in love with.

“That is the last thing to be worrying—“ But he was not finished when the boy lunged at him and yanked him by his fists clutching his hospital dress, bringing him eye to eye and nose to nose as he growled, “Don’t you ever fucking say that. If you don’t care a shit about yourself then at least care about me! Us! But you don’t! You don’t care about us! Fuck you, Lupin!”

Remus’ heart was hammering in his chest, the pain of his broken leg was long forgotten. The tears glistened in the boy’s hard eyes. And before he could lift him his hand to hold his jaw, to soften the clenched face, to wipe his hurt away, Madam Pomfrey burst inside with her raging thunder.

“Mr. Black! Hands off this instant! How dare you bully a patient like that!? And within the Hospital Wing!” And he loosened his grasp which left Remus with an empty feeling in his chest. Even if he was being held brutally, he didn’t care because he was held by the foremost person in his life. The person he would never wish to leave.

“He’s my—“ He tried but his voice was a whimper in comparison to Madam Pomfrey’s.

“A week’s detention Mr. Black for scaring my patient like that! None of your friends will ever visit the Hospital Wing! Now off you go before I take away the house points!”

He gave Remus one last look of misery, tears still swimming in his heaven-made silver eyes, and scurried away from the hospital.

Remus numbly watched Pomfrey re-bandage his wounds. He suddenly felt so despondent and lonely after rethinking everything. He had hurt his favorite person in the world. And all that person had done was the care and love him with his deepest sincerity. He also knew that his lycanthropy had always been on his mind that even led him to convince the rest of his friends to become Animagis just to protect Remus from hurting himself. And now Remus had done the very same thing by not allowing his pack to accompany him to the last full moon. His broken leg and severe wounds were the aftermaths of his isolated transformation

He didn’t want to admit that he regretted his decision because deep down inside he had been unbound from the usual fretfulness of hurting his friends. He’d been better off hurting himself than hurt them, especially Sirius Black.

Now, it had been five days and Remus had not seen him. Neither James nor Peter.

“Ma’am?” He didn’t realize he had called her before she looked at him in question while applying the salve on the half-healed wound. He hissed in pain but asked anyway, “When am I getting discharged from this bed and these walls?” The bitterness cut through his voice sharply which made Pomfrey look up in surprise.

“Well, Remus. I expect to call me Poppy instead of Ma’am after five years I’ve been treating you.” Remus suddenly felt hot with embarrassment, “And it will take few more days until your walk starts, and then you’ll be well enough to join your classes and friends.”

The way she spoke, Remus felt like he had centuries to wait. He flopped down on his bed again with disappointment, the hollowness in his chest created a bigger void. A Sirius Black void. He needed it to be filled by that very person. The longing was more than Remus expected, intense enough to cause burning in his eyes as his throat began to constrict gradually, tightening his chest. He held himself until his throat had turned thorny. He let out a shaky breath and tears spilled down his temple, founding their place in his already messy hair. He cried silently. He ached and ached until sleep drifted him away.

Even in his dreams, he saw dark hair rippling like the black sea, shiny grey eyes like silver orbs, and fair skin like snow accompanied with pink flushes on the dips of the body. And then he saw a hand reaching out to him and just as he tried to grasp it, the hand flew away with a burning brush on his arm. The sensation was warm enough to jerk him from his unconsciousness. Remus’ eyes opened up to the same ceilings of the hospital wings. The room was still inky blue. He saw his dinner tray on the nightstand in which the food had gotten cold and dry. He immediately touched his left arm where the same sensation was tingling his skin. Or maybe he just felt it in reality? But no one was there. Remus was alone and cold.

He tried closing his eyes again, feeling no appetite at all, but he sensed a faint noise of rustle. He ignored it before it came back again with a feeling of fingers brushing his arm again. He sat up abruptly, clutching his sheets to his chest. His eyes were scanning the room desperately when—

“Moony?” Remus screamed when he saw Sirius’ head appear in the mid-air. Sirius rush ahead to put his hand on his mouth, “Shh! Please! I don’t want to get more detentions, Moony!”

It was all too much to process; Sirius appearing like a genie with no body—before he pulled off the Invisibility Cloak, and Sirius’ warm and sweaty hand on Remus’ mouth, and most importantly, Sirius was here in front of him after five fucking days. He removed his hand once Remus calmed down.

“Look, Moony, I’m sorry—“ He never got to the end of it because Remus shoved Sirius in his embrace. The embrace that was yearning for Sirius only. He thought he might have thrown away anyone if they had tried hugging him before his boyfriend. Remus squeezed him impossibly closer and tighter. He was clutching him like a lifeline. He had his face nuzzled in Sirius’ chest. His fragile arms were strongly wrapped around Sirius’ torso. He was relishing the scent, the touch, the love, and everything he had missed.

“Fuck, I missed you, Pads.” He grunted in his collarbone, “I was longing for you…”

“I’m here.” Sirius cooed in his ear, pressing a kiss beneath it, “And I’m not going.”

“You’ll have to,” He chuckled, traveling his hands to find Sirius’ and intertwined them both.

“Eventually, yes but don’t ruin the moment, Moony.” Remus was torn between tightening his embrace or pulling away to gaze at Sirius’ face but then he felt the other move away. They parted from their lingering hug, and Sirius delicately held Remus’ face and bent down to kiss him. Remus felt his body was set on fire. They kissed languidly at first until their desires amplified their passion. Sirius dug his knees on the bed while Remus complied by pulling him in his lap. Suddenly, his boyfriend gasped and jerked away.

“Remus! Your leg is broken and—I’m sorry!”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. It’s just my calf area. I was not hurt okay?” Remus shushed him, peppering kisses on Sirius’ hands. The other boy nodded but frown still sitting on his face. He sat against him on the bed and Remus didn’t leave his hand. He just wanted them to be touching like an assurance of never parting again. They sat in silence. The flaming torches on the walls had already died out.

“Why did it took you so long?” Remus asked sheepishly, running circles on the outside of Sirius’ palm to make him sure that he was not mad.

“It’s not like I didn’t try,” Sirius spoke softly, “Had to sneak out from James’ hell hound eyes. And the last two days were spent in getting caught by Mrs. Norris. That fucking cat.”

“I love cats, okay? Don’t insult them.” Sirius cocked his eyebrow at him, “Yeah but she is such a pain in the arse.” They giggled. Remus couldn’t avert his eyes from Sirius who was avoiding his gaze, “Last two days, huh? It’s actually been five days. Are you mad at me?”

“Moony, how can I be mad at you?” The gentleness in his voice was powerful enough to cause Remus to feel hot behind his cheeks, “But yes, I admit that I was angry. I thought you didn’t want to see me. I thought that you’d want some space. But then I couldn’t stay away from you for so long. Life has been terrible without you.”

“Life has been terrible without you too, Sirius. I missed you so much. I felt bad the second you left this room. I felt so sorry to hurt you like that—“

“Your pain is my pain, Remus,” Sirius said sternly. His eyes are hard as steel. “You can’t isolate yourself like that. I know you fear hurting us but Moony, can’t you see? You are already hurting us like that. James has been quiet lately and Peter…well, he is just following his pursuit. What I mean is, none of us can see you wounded in hospital for like a week because of us. That we weren’t able to protect you.”

“It’s not your responsibility—“

“It is. You are mine.” Sirius squeezed their already entwined hands. The words were like a gush of affection in Remus’ heart. He was suddenly out of arguments. He smiled at the boy before him who smiled back weakly, “And yes, it’s been only two months since we started dating, but you already feel like my responsibility now.”

Remus arched an eyebrow at his flustered expression, “Wow, that’s quite patriarchal with few amendments since a man is claiming his supremacy on the other man.”

“Wha—you dominate over me all the fucking time!” They broke out in fits of laughter but then immediately clapped their hands on each other’s mouths to keep it down. Funnily, the more they forced themselves to be quiet the more laughter bubbled out of them. Remus suddenly grabbed Sirius by his collar and crashed their lips together. Their giggles were turned muffled until they were silently devouring each other’s mouths. Sirius was now moving from his jawline to his neck, and Remus turned into mush as the warmth began pooling into him. He just wanted to stay like this forever.

Suddenly, they both froze when the sounds of approaching footsteps came from the hall. Sirius lunged down to the floor to grab the invisibility cloak, and suddenly the door swung open.

“Mister Lupin?” McGonagall?

“Professor McGonagall.” Remus’ voice shook.

“I am sorry for barging into the Hospital Wing just like that, but I wanted to ask if Mr. Black might have stopped by here?” Even in the dark room, Remus was able to see the grave creases on her forehead. He gulped and eyed down the floor to found Sirius was nowhere to be seen.

“Umm…No, Professor.” He stammered.

“Well, that lad is one hurricane, isn’t he?” She sighed, “I hope you are recovering well, Remus.” Her voice softened and a hint of a smile passed her face. He nodded and then she was out of the hospital.

After he had made sure that there were no sounds of any footsteps he said, “What did you do now?”

“I came during my detention with McGonagall.” Sirius peeked through the cloak, with his entire body invisible.

“Okay, you look very creepy like that.” He stood, brushing off the dust from his trousers, “Come here, now. I want to relish you till my heart is contented. You are getting more detentions anyway.” He opened his arms for Sirius who fell into them with the goofiest smile on his face.

“You are such a masochist, Moony.”

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

(ok so I drank multiple paper cups fulls of Adult Grape Juice before posting this so like. it belongs in the draft folder and should probably be reblogged with one of those 'this is what your brain looks like on wine coolers' YouTube D.A.R.E. ads or whatever their media outreach program has evolved into...)

it just offends me ethically that more capes-and-or-cloaks are not butterfly wing shaped. that's a design flaw in the programming of my reality and I need you sleezy ass admins to get on that Sap

[lilflowerpot]

The Linguistics of “Galra”

So it’s entirely possible that literally no one cares about this aside from me, but in re-reading and making minor edits to the entirety of Little Blade thus far, I managed to really annoy myself with my own inconsistency when using “galra” or “galran” so now you’re getting a post about it.

If we go back to basics, traditional grammar is comprised of Parts of Speech (PoS), these being categories of words that have similar grammatical properties. For the sake of both simplicity and my own sanity, we’re just going to focus on those most commonly found in Indo-European languages:

Nouns: naming words for a specific object or set of objects (people, places, animals, items, or concepts)

Pronouns: substitute for nouns to function as nouns (I, you, he, she, they, we, it)

Adjectives: modifiers that describe a noun (beautiful, friendly, useful, overwhelming)

Prepositions: express space or temporal relations between nouns/pronouns (as, on, in, under, after)

Articles / Determiners: occur with a noun or noun phrase to express quantity, ownership, or specificity (an, the, this, my, your, some)

Verbs: doing words that convey an action (run, fight, sing)

Adverbs: modifiers that describe a verb (quickly, frequently, quietly)

Conjunctions: link words, phrases, and clauses, or draw comparisons (and, as, because, although, therefore)

Interjections: expresses a feeling or reaction, either alone or in a sentence (oh, wow, shh)

Looking at the above, the word “galra” falls into the categories of both a noun (the galra as a people) and an adjective (relating to or characteristic of the galra) depending on the context in which it is used. Furthermore, unlike human/humans or altean/alteans, the plural form of the noun “galra” remains the same as its singular counterpart, which begs the question: in what possible context did I start using “galran”? ...The answer to which is that I apparently had no real reason at all, and seemingly used “galran” as a substitute for “galra” as and when I felt like it which is terribly shoddy writing, so as of this moment I’m setting my new linguistic rules in stone.

The undisputed common noun form is “galra” - both singular and plural - to refer to the individual / collective species as the subject within a sentence:

And if they are, then that’s too much of a coincidence: five half-blooded galra working so closely together, when Keith isn’t sure he’s ever seen another save in the mirror? - Little Blade, chapter 01

As an adjective, it’s a little more fluid. Though “galra” remains its default form, “galran” comes into play if the following word begins with a vowel sound, unless said following word is a preposition (ie. after, inside, under) or a conjunction (ie. and, or, if).

It’s such a galra confidence, that it brings a genuine smile to the prince’s features. - Little Blade, chapter 02

When he closes his eyes against the world, he can see the sheer scale of his hand against the tiniest suit of galran armour he’s ever known, in perfect clarity. - Little Blade, chapter 04

“She was born thickly furred, like her father, however her maternal people were of a particular disposition that saw them shed their skin every twelve decaphoebs or so; suffice to say, her second flesh was not so galra as her first.” - Lotor, Little Blade, chapter 15

The single exception to this rule is Pidge’s use of “galran” when referencing the galra writing system-

“I researched it. It took a while: digging it out from the Castle’s database when I can’t read galran and wouldn’t know how to spell it besides, but I’ve been told I can be pretty stubborn.” - Pidge, Little Blade, chapter 11

-wherein “galran” functions as a noun due to Pidge not knowing the actual name of the language most commonly spoken in the Empire, and so extrapolates galra > galran in the same way an alien could theoretically say that we speak “human” (which is obviously a massive simplification, but you get my point).

[childofsquidward]

Books I Read In 2022 (and by read I mean actually liked)

Strobe Edge, Vol. 4 by Io Sakisaka

We can find the answer together. That's what being together means, right?

⭐⭐⭐⭐(4.5 STARS)

Oh WOW, I forgot how heavily this volume focused on SayurixDaiki! I genuinely adore their relationship and this was the first time they were given a chance to not only shine as a couple, but as individuals. I think their relationship is so underrated and re-reading the series has really made me see Daiki in a different light. I actually think I've only ever read this particular volume twice as opposed to some of the others that I have done multiple re-reads of, so this was kind of refreshing for me, weirdly enough. Daiki and Sayuri love each other so much and it's not the kind of high school romance that I would find myself rolling my eyes at because their relationship is one where they are open and willing to work through their issues with effective communication, which when compared to RenxMayuka is so bizarre because they're supposed to be this mature couple, but they don't how to communicate properly with one another. I also like how Daiki, who is so loud and goofy, was making the hard choices and trying to be practical whereas Sayuri, who is seen as the wisest and most sensible of them all, is all in and all she wants is to be with Daiki no matter what and wow, are SayurixDaiki my favourite couple? Damn, they just might be. (Shout out to Ninako for being the true MVP and quite literally knocking some sense into her dumb best-friend. I really wish we got more of Ninako and Daiki's friendship.) Also, I completely forgot this was the beginning of the Tsukasa/Manabu shenanigans, I love the little details that are so significant, and yet they're shown in this very 'blink and you'll miss it' sort of way. Manabu's heart is in the right place, but be a little patient and let Ren figure it out before you start plotting to get them together (I hate agreeing with Yū, but alas). Ninako and Ren are that couple that shares the exact same brain cell and you can't tell me otherwise. They're so in sync, like, Ninako's known Ren for a few months and she can tell something's wrong even if his friends can't. Also, Mayuka, sweetie, even DAIKI can see that Ren is probably one of the least mature people in this series, I don't care what the rest of you say.

(Can I just say that the pages of their "kiss" were absolutely gorgeous?! The hands? The leaves? The eyes??? Sheer perfection!)

Certain details that I wanted to point out...

I love how Ninako just lost it and straight-up demanded that Ren stay in bed. Him mentioning his shift was literally the angriest I've seen her!

These girls have no chill, Tsukasa did not hesitate to say that she would never be into Daiki and Sayuri took that personally. Ugh, just let us have an anime for more friendship scenes, that's all I want.

Wow, I'm old, I thought the scarf scene was in volume 5 or 6, my bad.

Kyo looking at their school work was so funny to me, like, same dude, SAME.

[make-me-imagine]

Grief

Sensory Prompts: ‘Hollow feeling in your chest when you feel sad’ + ‘Fingertips brushing hair from your face’ 

Requested by: Anon (2 years ago; BIG YIKES lol)

Pairing: Spock x reader

Gender: Neutral        Words: 1,557

Triggers: Angst. Mentions of fighting, and fake character death.

Star Trek Taglist: @starfleetimagines​

Sensory Prompts From here (written by me) 

Note: I haven’t written angst in a while, so I hope this came out good. 

As the water from the shower washed over you, you tried to relax, letting the warm water relax your body, the water stung as it ran over your cuts, but you didn’t care. Your eyes closed, but flashes of what happened on the planet kept bugging you. 

Bringing your hands to your face you breathed out, trying to stop the memories from rushing taking over. Staring down at the drain, you see the dirt, grime and dried blood wash away, but the pain and guilt didn’t, as much as you wanted it to.

Stepping out of the shower, your chest seemed hollow, the empty weight of sadness filing you body, shoulders heavy, body sore. Your movements slow as you got dressed, and made your way to your bed, sitting down on the floor, back pressed against your bed as you stared at the walls around you. Finally letting the memories of what passed that day flood back. 

*Flashbacks* 

“This planet is amazing” you wondered out-loud, the rest of your away team gazing at the surroundings “Lets get some samples of these herbs, Dr. McCoy said they might prove useful” 

“I wouldn’t mind living here” your friend Zamara said as they stood next to you, meeting your eyes as you shared a smile. 

It seemed like such a peaceful planet; there were no signs of any life except small land creatures. The planet was covered in foliage and minerals. The mission was supposed to be simple, collect and study. Nothing was supposed to go wrong.

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

“Y/n come in” Zamara’s voice was patchy, interference making it hard to understand them. 

“What’s up?” 

“I’m finding un..al readings coming from a cave to the south of yo- ..osition; I think it might be-  rare ore interf-ng with the equ-ent, permission to inv-igate” 

A strong feeling in the gut told you it wasn’t that, don’t let them go in alone “Wait for me, I’ll be there in a few minutes” 

“Alright” 

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

“Leit- t- we’r under-...-mara....hurt-....help-”  

You could hear distress in the ensigns voice as they tried to contact you. The sound of phaser fire coming through the coms, as well as from their location. Running to meet them, you rounded the corner, when you did you weren’t prepared for what you would see. 

Two members of your away team were crouched behind a large rock, including the ensign who tried to talk to you.Your eyes landing on Zamara, on the ground, injured, but hopefully alive. 

Next your gaze moved to the hostile aliens in the entrance to the cave, firing advanced weapons at your team. 

You yelled at them, gaining their attention “Stand down! You are attacking a starfleet team, stand down!’ 

The aliens responded with more weapons fire at you. Tapping your com’s you called out “Away team to Enterprise, I repeat away team to enterprise!” 

“This is Captain Kirk to away team, what’s going on down their y/n?”

“We are under attack Captain! Hostile aliens were in a cave that could not be scanned, one officer down, requesting back-up!”

“We’re coming Y/n, hold tight!” 

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

More weapons fire, yelling, an explosion. How did these aliens get such powerful weapons, and why are they here, why are they attacking? 

Your train of thought was distracted as you were knocked to the ground from another blast the the cliff-side. Taking the chance as the aliens retreated a little further into the cave, re-charging their weapons. You ran to Zamara’s side, quickly grabbing them and dragging them behind a large boulder. 

Checking their pulse you contacted starfleet again “Where’s my backup!?” 

“We’re almost there Y/n, hold on” the voice was that of Spock’s, he was coming too. He was almost here, just hang on. 

Your gaze landed on a nearby ensign, clearly dead. Your heart clenched as you felt a wave of grief and guilt. They were here because of you. 

Peaking over the rock, you fired more at the aliens as they tried to advance. 

“Y/n” the voice was quiet, staggered. 

Looking down you see Zamara gaining consciousness as they stared up at you. “Hey, good you’re awake, just hold on”

“It was so sudden. They came..out of the cave....all at once-” 

“Shh, shh, it’s okay, you can tell me later, just hold on, ach!”

You crouched down as a blast hit the stone in front of you, sending sharp stones blasting through the air. You grunted, anger and fear rising in your chest. 

Hearing the explosive weapon charging again, you felt fear grip you. Grabbing a hold of your friends shoulder, you pulled them back before shielding them with your body. 

The explosion was quick and loud, sending both you and your friend tumbling. As the debris from the stone fell down on top of you. You grunted as you struggled to see around you. Looking down at your friend you turned them over “Hey, Zamara are you-”

Your breath hitched in your throat as you saw them. Eyes open, but no life left in them. You checked their pulse, only to find nothing. Your heart seemed to crumble in your chest as your friends non-gazing eyes met your own.

Hearing something behind you, you look up, seeing a weapon pointed directly into your face. The aggressive stare of one of the aliens peering into your eyes. 

Just as you thought you were about to die, the alien was shot down, your gaze landing on Spock running towards you, the Captain himself and other officers behind him, firing and protecting the rest of your team. 

Spock kneeling down next to you, checked the pulse of your friend. Feeling nothing, and realizing they were dead, his eyes met your own, seeing the repressing grief deep in you eyes. 

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

The scanner was being waved over your body by Dr McCoy as Spock and Captain Kirk watched from nearby. Another medical officer patching the cuts you had acquired during the attack. The rest of your team being treated by others. Your away team consisted originally of 7, now consisted of 4. 

You had experienced death before. Seen innocent starfleet officer’s lives taken. But this was the first time you knew them, this was the first time it was your team. This was the first time you lost a friend. A very good friend. 

This was the first time you tried to save a friend, and failed. 

*Now*

A tear rolled down your cheek as you came back to the present, your eyes burning from the sadness that was finally taking over. Memories of Zamara’s death plaguing you. 

You almost didn’t hear the signal at your door, the persistent knocking, not until you heard a familiar muffled voice from the other side. 

“Y/n, are you in there?” You could hear the concern in Spock’s voice. An emotion he only ever shows for a few. 

You didn’t rise from the floor, but instead called out “Come in”, unsure if he really heard you. 

The doors sliding open almost immediately told you he did. As he stepped inside, the door sliding closed behind him. His gaze roamed over the room before landing on your form on the floor.

Hair still wet, eyes red, tear presently rolling down your cheek. A deep feeling of regret and pain moved through Spock’s body as he slowly approached you. You looked so fragile, and tired. 

Kneeling down in front of you, he met your eyes for a long moment before his hand slowly rose, as he brushed aside a piece of hair from your face, his fingertips gently gliding across your skin before he tucked the hair behind your ear. 

Next, he brought his hand to your face, gently wiping way the tears still present on your face. His voice came out quietly, gentle “I’m sorry. I...know, you must be hurting, and grieving for Zamara, but. I need to make sure you know that this wasn’t your fault.” his eyes stared deeply and softly into your own “There was no way for you or your team to know of the aliens presence. No matter what guilt you might be feeling, it is false. This was not your fault, and no one involved believes it to be.”

Another tear fell down your cheek, immediately stopped by Spock’s hand as he wiped it away. He wished he could take the pain away, teach you to push it down until it fades, but he knew you were too...human, to do that. He knew that you needed to grieve, and he insisted he be there to help you through it. 

Though it took him a while after the two of you entered into a relationship, to admit he loved you. He really did. And he would be there for you through whatever happens, just as you were there for him. 

He felt a pang of relief as you moved forward, wrapping your arms around him as you pulled him closer. Spock wrapped his arms around you as well as he now sat fully on the floor, pulling you closer as he let you cling to him. He was relieved when you started to cry, relieved that you trusted him enough to show him this part of you.

And you felt the weight of grief and guilt lift, not all the way, but slowly beginning to fade as Spock wrapped his arms around you and continued to quietly comfort you. Reminding you again and again that it wasn’t your fault, and that he was there, and he wouldn’t leave you alone, ever. 

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Hope you guys liked it, not sure if it was super angsty, but I tried lol. 

If you’d like to be added to a taglist for any character or fandom let me know. 

Also, please consider reblogging, as that is one of the best ways to help share creators work past their followers!~ Comments and likes are appreciated as well :) <3

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Nightmare

Prompts: nonny: i just wanna say i LOVE your writing!!! if you’re still taking prompts, is there any way you could do something for (un)wanted? like maybe virgil having a nightmare and coming to janus for comfort? if not, that’s just fine!! 

Crazedcartoonaddict: I keep re-reading (Un)Wanted, it’s so good and is now one of my all-time favorite fics EVER. I was wondering if you would ever be interested in writing the scene where V gets his first Oliver hug, I just reread Remus’s chapter and it popped into my head.

Thank you for the prompts, babes! Oh, it’s been fun to get back into this universe...

Read on Ao3 

Find the first chapter of (Un)Wanted here! And the masterlist!

Pairings: LAMP, DLAMP, DLAMPR, can be platonic or romantic you decide, only janus, remus, and virgil are in this section tho

Warnings: Implied/Referenced torture, child abuse, and self-harm, nothing super explicit. Sympathetic Deceit and Remus. Panic attacks, anxiety attacks.  

Word Count: 4811

V has a nightmare. A horrible, horrible nightmare. So horrible it tugs at the threads of reality until a snake is summoned into the garden.

Set between chapters 3 and 4 of (Un)Wanted.

Janus blinks. There’s something wrong.

 Instantly he flits right to the garden, searching, scanning, a quiet force in the dark that no mortal's eyes could see. He shifts, stretching, reaching…

 It’s nothing. Not here. There’s nothing here.

 The gateway is closed. Patton is elsewhere. The borders to their forest are secure.

 Janus takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. Focus.

  V.

 His eyes flare gold and he appears at the side of V’s room, out of harm’s way, out of the sight from the windows, but close enough to hear the quiet murmurs from inside. He closes his eyes and listens, reaching…

  “N-no, leave—leave me alone let me go—pl-please let me go—“

 Unbidden, a pulse of magic springs to his fingertips and he bites it back, taking another deep breath and carefully walking closer, willing his aura to brighten.

 The gasps inside come to an abrupt halt.

 V’s awake. He can feel it. His fear rolls across the clearing in waves, buffeted back by the thin gold lines connecting them. The clearing grows silent, save for the rustling of leaves and the far away steps of the deer in the night. Janus reaches out and gently tests one of the gold lines, sending a quick spark along it.

 A second later, there’s another hitched breath.

 “V,” he calls softly, just loud enough to carry along the strands, “can you hear me?”

 He waits, hearing nothing save for a little shift inside.

 “I’m not angry with you, little mouse,” he murmurs, sending a few more little pulses along the strands, “I’m just worried.”

 A little longer. He glances around, checking to see if the others have sensed it. Probably not. He’s taken those precautions. Never hurts to be too safe.

 “I felt you were scared,” he continues, looking back at the room, “I’m outside. You don’t have to come out if you don’t want, nor do you have to do anything. But I’m here, right here, if you’d like me to be.”

 Something inside the room shifts again. Then he hears V’s voice.

 “…how do I know you’re real?”

  Hallucinations. Gaslighting? Trauma response?

 “Do you remember when I showed you your aura, little mouse,” Janus asks instead, waiting for the quiet affirmative from inside, “if I show it to you again, will you believe me?”

 “…yeah.”

 He closes his eyes and wills the strands to brighten, just a little. “Open your hand, V. And look.”

 V’s little gasp brings a smile to his face, looking to see the strands thrum with energy. He wiggles his fingers, making the glow shine a little brighter.

 “I’m right here, little mouse, right here.”

 “…J?”

 “Yes, V, it’s me. I’m just outside,” he says softly, turning his hand a little to let the light glow, “I’m here if you want me.”

 There’s a shift from inside. The strands shudder a little. Another spike of fear.

 “I can’t—I can’t see you.”

 Janus looks. “I’m not in line with the window, would you like me to move so you can see me?”

 “…please?”

 How polite, little mouse. Janus smiles and takes a few steps to the side, coming into view. Because of the glare from his hand, he can’t see V very clearly—well, he could if he used a little more power, but he needn’t do that—except for the matching glow on V’s hand. He lifts his own glow and waves.

 “Hello. Can you see me now?”

 “Yeah. Yeah, I can see you.”

 “Good.” They stand there for a little longer, Janus shifting his hand ever so slightly to keep the glow alive. Then he feels another pulse coming from V. “Little mouse, what’s the matter?”

 “What?”

 “I could feel you afraid,” he says softly, “that’s why I came. You’re still afraid, little mouse, what’s troubling you?”

 “…’s stupid.”

 “Nothing that troubles you is stupid, little mouse,” he insists, sending another warm pulse along the strand, “and especially not to me.”

 V’s glow in the window twitches. “…nightmare.”

 “A nightmare? I’m sorry to hear that,” he says softly.

  The Duke, the Prince, the Heart…they would undoubtedly want to…interfere. But mortals need to be allowed to deal with things for themselves, at their own pace. That’s how you did it, isn’t it?

 Go away. You’re gone.

  I am not, little thing. As long as you are here, so am I.

 Janus pushes the voice away and sends another pulse of warmth.

 “Darling,” he calls softly, “may I help?”

 “…help?”

 “Yes,” he repeats, “help. If you wish to talk about it, if you do not wish to talk about it, or even if you just want someone to be here…I’m happy to do that too.”

 There’s a pause as V thinks, the glow tingling every so slightly. Then a small breath.

 “…can I come out?”

 “Of course, little mouse, would you like me to wait here?”

 “Yeah, but—“

 “But,” he prompts gently when V doesn’t finish.

 “…how will I know you’ll still be there?”

 Janus bites back a growl and wiggles his fingers again. More of the strands become visible, coming together slowly to form one line, winding from Janus’s hand through the clearing, to the door, through the door, connecting to V’s hand.

 “Follow the line, little mouse,” he coaxes, “I’ll be right here.”

 “Okay,” he hears V mutter, “okay.”

 A moment later comes the soft creak of the floorboards, then the glow moves from the window. Janus tugs gently on the string, encouraging V to move freely through the room, to the door, out into the warm night.

 The glow of V’s hand appears accompanied by the slightly shaking silhouette against the outline of the house. Janus waves again, the line gleaming brighter. He holds still, a small smile on his face until V edges close enough that their glows meet. He wiggles his fingers again, letting the glow spread until it covers V entirely, bathing the clearing in golden light.

 “Whoa…”

 “Pretty, isn’t it?” V turns his head back and forth, looking at his glowing limbs. “It’s always there, little mouse, even when you can’t see it.”

 Something shifts in V’s expression and he lowers his arms back to his sides. Now that he’s here, he looks a little better.

 “Hello, little mouse,” Janus says softly, “thank you for coming to see me.”

 “Hi.” He shuffles. “Sorry.”

 “There’s no need to apologize, you’ve done nothing wrong.”

 “I—“ V shakes his head. “Never mind.”

 “…are you sure?”

 He nods. He looks back down at his hands, turning them over. “Can I ask you a question?”

 “Of course.”

 “You said—in the garden, you said you were the Gatekeeper.”

 “That’s right.”

 “How does…” V looks up at him. “How does this tie in to being the Gatekeeper?”

 “This—“ Janus indicates the glow—“is something all of us can do. We—our magic interacts with you this way, just not in a way that’s always visible.”

 V’s eyes widen. “Wh-what?”

 “Easy, little mouse,” Janus soothes, his brow furrowing as V takes a little step back, “shh, it’s alright…what did I say?”

 “I—you—your magic can do things to me without me seeing?”

 Oh. “Yes,” Janus says softly, quickly shushing him again when he inhales so sharply it’s almost a whine, “but only in very, very small ways. None of which are happening right now.”

 “What do you mean, ‘right now?’”

 “This glow,” Janus says, letting it disperse a little, “is just a visual way of showing the Claim, that’s all. There’s nothing being done to you right now. That’s all the magic can do without being visible. Make the Claim known.”

 A tiny bit of tension bleeds out of V’s shoulders. “So…”

 “All that you cannot see is a powerful magical warning sign to anything that would try to hurt you.” Janus lets the magic pulse through his fingers, wrapping protectively around V. “That’s all.”

 “O-oh.”  V looks at his hands again. “And you—you can all do that?”

 “Yes.”

 “That might…that might not be so bad.”

 Oh, this little mortal is lovely. Janus smiles, letting the glow flare up a little more. It brings a soft wonder to V’s face.

 “So…” V lets his hands fall to his sides. “What about the other stuff?”

 “The other stuff?”

 “The…the lines and the strings and those things.”

 “Ah, I see. Those are things that only I can do.”

 “Is that how…you were able to tell that I was…?”

 “Afraid?” V nods. “Partly. Because I was the one to claim you first, you are…I am the one who connects you to the others. I feel it first, then they do.”

 V glances behind him. “So why aren’t they here?”

 “Because overwhelming you with more of us may not be the best idea right now,” Janus says, then smirks and reaches out to trail a finger lightly along the edge of the glow, “and I may be a little…possessive.”

 “Possessive?”

 “Over you, little mouse.” He chuckles as V blushes. “There’s that pretty little face.”

 “No…”

 “Alright, alright…I won’t.” He reaches out to offer V his hand. “I’m done, little mouse, I’m done.”

 V rubs his eyes a few times and scrubs his hands over his face. Janus frowns, looking at him, seeing his bare feet, thin clothes. Even in the warm night, it’s not that warm.

 “Are you cold, little mouse?”

 “…little.”

 He opens his arms, letting the glow warm his chest. “Would you like a hug, then?”

 V steps forward, timidly wrapping his arms around his waist. Janus cuddles him gently, one hand coming up to cup his head, gloved fingers easily reaching through the soft hair. The poor little mouse is shivering now, pressed up as he is against Janus.

 “Shh, shh,” he soothes, holding him a little tighter, “I have you. Nothing will harm you here.”

 “How are you this warm?”

 “Magic, little mouse, that’s all it is.”

 “…can you all do this?”

 “If we try, yes.” Janus lets his chin rest on top of V’s head. “But I believe the Duke and the Prince run the warmest of us all.”

 V hums sleepily from inside his grasp, his head resting against the crook of his neck. Janus chuckles, stroking up and down his back.

 “Are you falling asleep, little mouse?”

 As soon as he asks, V tenses. Another spike of fear courses through him, leaving him awake even as Janus is quick to gentle it away.

 “C-can you tell me about the other stuff now?”

 Lamenting the loss of sleepy V, Janus nods. “I am not just the Gatekeeper, little mouse, the other aspects of my abilities aren’t related to maintaining the separation of our world from the outside world. Not directly.”

 “…so…” V shifts in his grasp. “What…is it?”

 Janus takes a deep breath. “…may we sit, little mouse? This may take a little while and I…you’re already trembling a little, my darling.”

 V nods, going to pull away when Janus simply sits where they are. He holds on tightly once he realizes what’s happening and nestles comfortably in Janus’s lap.

 “…it also might take a while to…figure out how to say this.”

 “’S fine.”

 “Thank you, little mouse.”

  You shouldn’t tell him, should you? You remember what mortals do, don’t you?

 Go away.

  Now, now, little thing, that’s not very polite.

 I see no reason to be polite. And don’t call me that.

  Come, come, there’s no need to be so guarded. Not with me. I know you, remember?

 Not anymore.

  Now we both know you haven’t changed all that much, little thing.

 I am no longer what you made me. I am something else.

  And yet with every word you speak, little thing, you only become more and more of what I gave you. Why must you be so stubborn? Certainly you realize that I’m only trying to help you, help you with this new little one.

 He’s not yours.

  Isn’t he? Is he not yours in the same way you are mine?

 I am yours no longer. You are not here anymore. You left.

  Come now, are you still so hurt?

 You made me this way. You had your chance. You had your say. I was good to you. For you. And still, you left.

  Things change, little thing. Nothing lasts forever.

 That’s no excuse. Not for you.

  I am still here in many ways, little thing. I am here in the five of you. That was the purpose, was it not?

 You left us. Left them.

  And I left you with the power to protect them, did I not?

 Janus swallows. “Reality.”

 “What?”

 “Reality,” he says softly, “that’s…that’s my job. Controlling the gray areas between worlds, the soft shadows where things are and remain uncertain.”

 “…control them how?”

 “I can shield the garden from those I do not wish to see it. I can sense the connections and ties that hold things together.” He gives V a little squeeze. “And I can protect those I want to be protected.”

 “...me?”

 “You, little mouse.”

 The glow brightens around them again, pulling in more and more light from the golden strings wrapping tightly around them. As he holds V close, the—the voice in the back of his head starts to fade.

  Careful now, little thing…mortals can be fun to play with but they are very, very breakable.

 I’m not playing. I’m not going to hurt him. He’s not my pet, not my slave, not mine. Not like I was yours.

  You were simply mine, little thing. Seems there are still a few things you won’t let go of. And as much as you deny it, he is yours. And you want him to be.

 Not like that.

  Are you sure you know the difference?

 I know enough.

 Janus lowers his head and gently presses a kiss to V’s temple. “Does that answer your question, little mouse?”

V nods. “I think so.”

 “Anytime,” Janus promises, “anytime you need to reach for something, for me, find the little golden thread and give it a tug. I’ll come.”

 “…always?”

 “For as long as you’d like me to be here.”

 V’s quiet. A low rumble starts in Janus’s chest, working to warm the little mouse from the inside as well as the outside, gently stroking his free hands up and down V’s sides. Something worries in the pit of his stomach, perhaps a tiny bit of residual tension from his…musings. Whatever it is, it keeps snapping V awake every time his eyes might close.

 “Would you like to talk about it, V?”

 V shakes his head, his hands clutched tightly at Janus’s cloak. Janus holds him tighter, letting the poor thing bury his head in the crook of his neck. He closes his eyes and gently tugs this way and that at the golden strings, trying to make sure he’s warm and safe and sure that Janus isn’t going anywhere.

 “You’re safe now, my darling,” he murmurs, “nothing can hurt you here.”

 It’s not working. Janus’s gut clenches when V keeps snapping himself awake, over and over, the tremors growing more noticeable.

 “…J?”

 “Yes, little mouse, I’m right here.” Janus runs his hands along V’s arms again. “There’s no need for you to worry.”

 “I—I can’t sleep.”

 Something dark pools in the pit of his stomach as V admits that.

 “I’m sorry.”

 “There’s no need to apologize,” he assures quickly, “I know it’s only been a little while since you felt comfortable enough to sleep at all.”

 V shifts. He relaxes his grip a little more to let him pull back, scrubbing his hands over his face again. His hands hook into claws. Janus’s breath catches.

 “Don’t, my darling,” he says quickly, catching V’s hands in his own, “don’t scratch, little mouse…you’ll hurt yourself.”

 “They won’t go away,” V says in a strangled whisper, “they won’t—they won’t stop.”

 “What won’t stop, darling?”

 “The—the voices.” Janus’s heart clenches. “I can’t—they won’t leave me alone.”

 Janus knows the feeling.

 “Oh, my darling,” he murmurs, reaching out to gently stroke V’s face, “is that why you can’t sleep?”

 V nods miserably. “I can’t—I don’t—“

 “Take your time, little mouse, it’s alright,” he soothes, cupping V’s cheeks, “don’t push yourself so hard, my darling, there’s no rush.”

 He can’t stop another soothing noise when V whines, be it voluntarily or involuntarily, curling the rest of his arms around the poor thing and rocking him gently back and forth. He shushes another cry, putting his mouth to V’s ear.

 “I know, my darling, I know, you’re alright, my sweet one.” He trails kisses down the side of his jaw. “I’ve got you, little mouse, I’ve got you.”

 “P-Pat said I could—I could sleep anywhere—anywhere I felt—felt safe,” V manages against the hollow of Janus’s throat, “but I—I—“

 The knowledge that V doesn’t feel safe anywhere isn’t a realization, but it rushes over Janus in such a wave that it presses his mouth to V’s cheek again.

 “I understand, my darling, and that’s alright. No, no—hush, little one, come here, it is, you’ve not felt safe for a while now, it’s not going to happen overnight.”

 “B-but it’s been many nights.”

 Janus smiles sadly. “I know, my darling.”

 He cuddles him close, holding him tightly as the tremors continue to shake the poor thing. Hushing and gentle reassurances begin to fill the golden area. Every so often V will grumble to himself—either out of frustration or exhaustion—but he never raises a hand to himself again.

 “You’re tired, little mouse, even if you can’t sleep, aren’t you?” Janus asks after a while, running his hands through V’s hair. “I can feel it…”

 “I can’t sleep.”

 “Do you want to try and do something else to get your mind off of…everything?”

 “Like what?”

 Janus glances around. The doors are still closed. The stars overhead have not moved enough for them to worry about it getting light anytime soon.

 “Shall we go for a little walk, my darling?”

 “…where?”

 “How about to the lake,” he suggests, pulling back to look at V’s face, “to see who else might be awake?”

 “What?”

 “Have the prince and the duke told you about the creatures that sleep during the day and are awake during the night?”

 V nods.

 “Would you like to go see them?”

 “…can we?”

 Janus smiles. “Of course, little mouse. Come on…let’s stand you up, hmm?”

 V clambers shakily to his feet before Janus can help him, putting at least a foot of distance between them. Janus frowns, letting the glow settle around them still, adjusting the strands to hold it in place. He nods toward the path that will take them there.

 “Shall we?”

 V nods, walking alongside him. He tries to keep looking forward, to avoid fretting about whether or not he’ll be able to get to V quick enough if he has another attack, but after a few steps he breaks and wordlessly holds out his hand.

 V’s cold fingers wrap around his and he hides a smile, gently tugging him closer.

 “I’d hate for you to trip, he says, pushing a little more warmth through the strings,  “and I’d hate for us to get lost.”

 “Can I—“

 They’ll have to work on getting V to stop cutting himself off.

 “Yes,” Janus says softly, “you can do what you’d like, my darling.”

 After a few more steps, V presses himself up against Janus’s side.

 “…thank you.”

 “Of course, you’re always welcome.”

 Out of the corner of his eye, he sees V glance up at him.

 “Yes?”

 “Sorry, it’s just…” V swallows. “Can I…the others said…”

 He rolls his eyes fondly. “Let me guess, they warned you that I don’t like to be touched?”

 “…how’d you know?”

 “Because it’s true.” Before V can yank himself away, Janus wraps two more arms around him, one around his shoulders, one around his waist. “But you are exempt from that rule.”

 “I—uh—“ V glances at the arms suddenly around him— “why?”

 He pauses, leaning over to kiss V’s forehead. “Because you’re special to me, my darling,” he murmurs, “and I will never mind being touched by you.”

 In the soft golden glow, V’s blush still looks as adorable as ever.

 “Come on,” he murmurs, “the lake isn’t far.”

 V keeps a tight hold of his hand as they walk, only relaxing his grip once they make it to the lake. The water is flat, gleaming with the light of the moon, the trees around them sparkled silver in the light.

 “Pretty,” Janus muses, “isn’t it?”

 “Mhmm.”

 “What the fuck are you two doing awake?”

 Janus turns, spotting Remus rising out from the depths of the foliage. His tentacles writhe as he shakes off the water. Next to him, he feels V flinch for a moment from the sudden appearance and step behind him.

 “Good night, Duke,” Janus remarks, giving V’s hand a gentle squeeze, “and I could ask you the same question.”

 “I don’t need sleep the same way you do,” Remus says easily, frowning at Janus.

 “Then perhaps,” Janus says pointedly, fixing Remus with a look, “you wouldn’t mind us being here.”

 Remus makes an ‘ah’ sound, finally looking at V and plonking himself down on the ground, crossing his legs.

 “Hey, little monster,” he says, opening his arms, “you wanna come here?”

 “…can I?”

 “Sure can.”

 V glances up at Janus, who gives his hand another squeeze and lets go. Remus thrums contentedly as V edges closer, letting him pull him down into his lap and cuddle him.

 “Mm,” Remus hums, nuzzling his head into V’s shoulder, “much better.”

 “You’re warm,” V murmurs, “really warm.”

 Janus smiles privately as Remus wraps his arms more tightly around the poor thing. The lake is often colder than the other parts of the forest, which is perfectly nice during the day, but not necessarily at night. Judging by the way V turns his own cold nose into Remus, he’s realized that too.

 “What brings you here, little monster,” Remus asks quietly, “just wanted a walk?”

 “…nightmare,” V mumbles, “couldn’t get back to sleep.”

 Over V’s shoulder, Remus glances up at Janus. Janus shakes his head minutely. Remus nods.

 “You’re shaking, little monster,” he says, turning his attention back to V, “I gotcha. You’re safe, safe, safe…”

 Remus’s litany of ‘safe’ melts a little more of the tension out of V’s shoulders as he grips tightly. Janus glances around, wondering if that means the rest of them are awake as well.

 “Snakey,” Remus calls after a moment. Janus looks back to see Remus jerk his head to beckon him over. He comes, kneeling down in the soft grass and resting a hand on V’s shoulder. “You wanna tell me a little bit?”

 “…I felt something spike,” Janus says after a moment, “traced it to the clearing. V was afraid of something.”

 “And he told you it was a nightmare?”

 “He did.”

 Remus nods, curling his arms tightly around the poor thing. Something in his expression makes a little darkness settle in Janus’s stomach. Something he’s not saying.

 Not now. Not with V here.

 The water stirs. Janus looks over to see ripples spreading out, disrupting the serene reflection. They grow larger and larger as a dark shape begins to rise from the depths.

 “Ollie,” Remus calls as the kraken’s head appears, “what’re you doing awake?”

 V lets out a small huff against Remus’s shoulder. “When does he sleep?”

 “I don’t really know,” Remus confesses as the kraken begins to swim closer, “but I do know that I often end up waking him in the morning.”

 Oliver, oblivious to the contribution he’s making to the people-who-aren’t-asleep-when-they-should-be group, swims closer, water pouring off of his tentacles as he moves through the lake.

 “Be careful,” Remus chides as he gets closer, “now is not the time to beach yourself.”

 Oliver clicks softly, hovering just out of the shallows, until he spots V curled up in Remus’s arms. The kraken trills, lifting a tentacle out of the water and laying it on the grass.

 “Hi, Oliver,” V mumbles, reaching out his hand to pat the tentacle. The kraken taps him back with a gentleness that almost takes Janus by surprise.

 “You should be asleep,” Remus scolds when Oliver reaches for him too, “you have things to do tomorrow.”

 The kraken burbles.

 “Wait, what does he have to do?”

 “We’re cleaning out the dead kelp tomorrow,” Remus explains, “which means he should be resting.”

 Oliver harrumphs, the water around him fizzing and bubbling with the force of the vibrations. Janus hides a smile. Then the kraken rumbles again, reaching out.

 “We can’t play right now, Ollie. You know that.”

 The kraken rumbles insistently, still reaching. V looks back and forth between Remus and Oliver, trying to figure out what’s going on. Janus does the same. Oliver is rarely one to misbehave, especially by Remus’s standards.

 Remus stares hard at the kraken for a moment, before looking down at V in his arms. Realization dawns on his face and he shakes his head fondly at Oliver.

 “What,” V says quickly, “what is it? Did I do something?”

 “No, little monster, you didn’t do anything.” Remus shifts his grip. “Ollie wants to hug you.”

 V draws back a little.

 “Because he’s one of mine, he’s kinda tied to the same stuff I am,” Remus explains, “so he can…he can probably tell you’re not real happy right now.”

 “Am I…hurting him?”

 “No, little monster, like I said earlier, I don’t think you could hurt him if you tried.” Remus nuzzles into the crook of V’s neck as V holds onto him tighter. “He’s just worried.”

 “…I don’t want him to be worried.”

 “He’ll calm down.” Indeed, as Oliver lies in the shallows, one of his tentacles still on the grass beside them, the kraken burbles again, his massive eyes blinking lazily. “See?”

 V doesn’t look away from the kraken, his hand still resting on Oliver’s tentacle. His other arm, still around Remus, begins to loosen his grip as he leans to the side. Remus glances back and forth between them.

 “…V, do you want Ollie to give you a hug?”

 “Can I?”

 Remus chuckles, opening his arms. “For sure, little monster, just make sure you tell him when you’re done. Otherwise, he’ll just keep hold of you.”

 “I will.”

 Janus watches as V crawls carefully out of Remus’s lap towards Oliver. Oliver clicks excitedly and holds still, before carefully wrapping his arm around V.

 “Be gentle,” Remus says before they get too far away. Oliver rumbles, still curling his arm around V.

 “You’re certain he knows what he’s doing,” Janus mutters to Remus as Oliver starts to lift V off the ground.

 “He won’t hurt him.”

 Indeed, Oliver gently brings V close to his head, holding him firmly in his arm. V reaches out to rest himself against the kraken’s broad forehead, his cheek resting against the warm skin. The kraken rumbles again, warm and soothing, cradling V amidst the mass of arms. Janus feels little echoes of warmth running along the strings connecting them.

 “Aww,” Remus chuckles next to him, “that’s real cute.”

 “Quite.”

 Oliver keeps humming, letting V rest against his head. After a moment, Remus presses himself against Janus’s side and turns to mutter in his ear.

 “He said nightmare?”

 Janus turns his head. “He did.”

 “Was he lying?”

 The darkness in Janus’s gut twinges. “I didn’t sense one.”

 “Neither did I, but that’s your business.”

 Janus risks a glance at V. He’s still resting against Oliver’s forehead. “Why do you ask?”

 “Because I can tell when he has nightmares. That’s my business,” Remus mutters, “and he didn’t have one tonight.”

 Janus tenses. But that—so that means…

 “…so…”

 “I dunno,” Remus says, sitting back, “but whatever it is, it isn’t his.”

  Something is coming for him. Something still has its hooks in him. Something is still trying to hurt him.

 V is safe on this side of the portal.

  Can you be so sure?

 “Yes,” Janus murmurs, watching Oliver set V gently back on the ground, burbling happily as Remus sweeps him into another protective cuddle, “he’s safe here.”

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[sushigal007]

Over to the Greenmans!

Rose and Jason have not had sex for eight years and they are very eager to make up for lost time.

And there they go.

I’m so glad you have children to entertain me while you do this for six straight hours in a row.

So here’s Daisy, trapped in the reading nook by all the abandoned books.

Meanwhile, Rose teaches Saffron to speak.

Correction, Rose does not teach Saffron how to speak.

Jason: My wife is so hot. Yeah, sure, whatever, focus on the toddler for a sec now, would ya?

Basil: Dada. Jason: Genius! Perfection! Child prodigy!

And the icon hasn’t even disappeared from above his head before we move on to walking.

Nature Leader: Hi, I just wanted to invite- Rose: Shh, wait and gaze upon my amazing child. Daisy: GATHER ROUND FOR FEATS OF WONDER! Nature Leader: I’ll just leave this on the table on my way out.

Saffron learns walking.

Thanks Gabe!

Oh, it’s time for this again.

Rose and Jason: Sure is!

Rose: Ahh, sexy husband.

Good thing he’s a heavy sleeper, because Rose and Basil sat there singing nursery rhymes all night long.

Jason has the day off the next day, so as the toddlers are all trained and the nanny is on Rose’s schedule, I send him down the pub to make friends.

Jason: CARRY ON MY WAYWARD SON.

Mrs C: Please, do carry on.

After that and totally by coincidence, Jason decided he wanted to see a ghost, so I sent him over to Gothier Green Lawns, where he ran into his niece, Jules. Jason: And after I see a ghost, I wanna see a wizard.

Ghost: BOO! Wrong sim, but thanks.

For most sims, I would say call the professionals. But Rose is a plant. She is the professional!

Way to make me a liar, Rose.

Rose: Here’s a re-enactment of how my afternoon went.

Rose: :(

Well at least you’ve still got plenty of this to cheer you up.

And now we take a break for those two horny bastards to watch Daisy grow up. Daisy: I wish I only had three motives again. What, and miss puberty?

Daisy: OK this is actually a pretty sweet deal.

And it’s also time for Basil and Saffron to grow up.

Rose: Hurry up, it’s 5.30PM, they’re gonna be out of sync!

Child Saffron! She seems to be growing into her face better now.

And child Basil! Also looking good. Basil: Thanks.

And then Jason rolled a want for Daisy to get a scholarship, so I had her apply and this showed up!? I’d never seen it before, so I had a google and the Sims Wiki said it was a rare scholarship given to a sim who has a parent in the Education career path. Except Daisy doesn’t. Although her Uncle Gabe is Education Minister. But Jules didn’t get the scholarship?

Then I remembered I have a mod that gives scholarships for badges, so I checked and yup, this is because as an ex-plantsim, Daisy has a gold gardening badge, and the Sims Wiki is a liar.

Moving on! Here’s Basil floating under the slide. Hopefully nobody comes down it and flattens him.

Really? Again? Rose: Lol ask a stupid question.

Even though they have plenty of greenhouse lights in the house, her sunlight got pretty low, so as soon as the sun came up, she sprinted outside to sunbathe. Rose: Perfect weather for it.

Then I remembered spores of happiness are a thing and decided to give it a try. Rose: Can’t say it’s really doing much for me. Jason: Well I certainly appreciate it.

Here’s madeover Daisy. She wanted an mp3 player, so I sent her out to Hans Trapdoor Company, where she immediately decided she no longer wanted an mp3 player. Daisy: I could eat though.

She also wanted a friend, so I had her introduce herself to Desdemona. Daisy: Us sort of supernaturals need to stick together.

She also brought Ripp Grunt home from school and challenged him to a snowball match. Ripp: Finally, a point to all those years of military training! Daisy: Wait I am having second thought- *SPLAT*

The final result was a draw. Daisy: And a friend.

The twins both wanted to do their homework, so I had Rose and Jason deal with that.

Townie: It’s so nice to see such a loving father and husband. Wanna throw all that away for my random friend? Jason:

Not pictured is Basil beating the shit out of poor teddy ten seconds later.

Me making winter two seasons long in Riverblossom Hills turned out to be a horrible decision for the garden, so I make Rose and Daisy talk to the plants all night long.

And then I sent them on holiday.

I also sent Gabe along for some family bonding! I wanted to send Jules but she didn’t show up as an option. Gabe: It’s Freshers week. She’s busy.

Saffron: RAWR! Basil: I hate you.

Bitch it’s been an hour.

BITCH IT’S BEEN AN HOUR HOW ARE YOU ALREADY SUNBURNED!? Saffron: You sent me to Twikki Island in my damn outerwear!

You too Daisy? Daisy: I forgot I don’t have magic plant sunlight powers any more.

Ah well, here comes Rose to rescue- Rose: Um, I wanna get to the beach and something is blocking my way.

Oh for fucks sake FINE I AM GOING TO FIX THIS.

Goodbye autonomous sea portal, it was nice knowing you.

How did you get sunstroke inside?

Rose: Is he gonna...? Jason: Let’s see how long it takes.

Gabe: This show is pretty good! Rose: Thanks!

Jason: OK this is getting awkward now, please leave so I can bang my wife. Gabe: Sheesh, OK, fine, I can take a hint. I mean, as the previous pictures show, clearly you cannot.

Rose and Jason: Finally!

Next morning sees Daisy and Rose hanging out on the beach.

Rose: I’m never leaving. Not your choice, sorry! Rose: Download a subhood version. ...I’ll think about it.

Hanging out at the ruins.

Some more beachy fun.

Saffron: Is that safe? Aren’t grass-types weak against fire? Daisy: First of all, I’m a Plantsim, not a Pokemon. Second, I’m not a Plantsim any more.

Hula party!

Gabe: Ow ow pain ow.

The only mildly annoying thing is that there’s not a lot of stuff to do in the hotel, so Gabe and Rose keep trying to watch TV while everyone was asleep, so in the end I gifted Gabe a shovel and told him to hunt for treasure while Rose did yoga for hours. Rose: The tree pose is my favourite.

Saffron: This place is too damn hot.

On the last night, I let Uncle Gabe babysit while Rose and Jason go out on a date. Rose: Mmm, is it hot here or is it just my husband? Tour Guide: Oh my God SHUT UP.

I’m quite sure I don’t need to explain what’s going on here.

Saffron: Hey, so can I have a little brother or sister? Ahaha! No! Let’s get that skill one instead.

Synchronised skilling!

Daisy loves to swim, so as she spends all her free time in the pool, I gave her a snorkle and flippers.

Then I remembered I have a mod that gives plantsims a few magical spells, most notably one to make all plants perfect, so now the eggplants are delicious and ready to harvest!

Weekend! Time for a family trip to the park. Daisy: No bathroom for you until I get a tip! Rose: I’m so proud.

Friend-making.

Go for the obviously rich people, of course!

Idiot crew.

Then he had to run back out to work again about an hour later, leaving Rose to talk about birds with Morty Roth. Rose: Yeah, we have a bird cage and no parrot, what about it.

Turns out Jason had a cold, oops. Jason: Nooo I can die yet, Rose and I are only on page 57 of the Kama Sutra!

Rose: Please don’t take my husband, I’ll be all alone in this strange, cruel world! Grim: Don’t you have three children? Rose: YES AND THEY NEED THEIR FATHER!

Hooray!

Rose: Jason! Darling! Never do that again! Jason: I’ll try not to!

Hobby Leader: Hey, now you’re back, I just wanna give you somethng. Jason: Uh, really not the best time.

And the week ends with Rose and Jason doing what they do best. Probably because they know it’s gonna be another eight years before they can do it again.

UBERHOOD INDEX

[gureishi]

for the vignettes, Seven + cautious fingers? nsfw and 🍆

Starting today off with something ~spicy~ ;)

I took your eggplant emoji to mean that you wanted an MC with a 🍆, so that’s what I’ve written <3

Valentine’s Vignettes requests are open! Guidelines are here.

cautious fingers (Saeyoung)

・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・

Smut below the cut, friends~

His knee is warm against yours and it’s hard to pay attention to the book in your hand.

He’s focused, so focused, golden eyes fixed on his laptop screen; he types faster than you can follow—not that you’d understand the series of letters and numbers on his screen, anyway.

You shake your head; how is it that you’ve been re-reading the same sentence for what feels like forever? Your eyes glaze over. He’s perfectly still except for his hands, flashing over the keys, but—and you can’t explain quite what it is—there is a certain energy that radiates off his body and makes your head feel fuzzy.

You fix your eyes downward. If he can focus beside you like this, so close to you on the couch, bodies just touching—then so can you.

You read a sentence. You absorb it—sort of. Good.

An unexpected sensation on your leg makes you jump, and you lose your place entirely. You whip around to look at him, incredulous. His expression hasn’t changed; his eyes are forward, quiet, sober. But he is typing with one hand.

You inhale sharply. His right hand inches up your thigh. Slowly, hesitantly. As if looking for permission.

Oh, but he doesn’t break his concentration, and how to give your permission without disturbing this delightful deception?

You peer down at your book, seeing nothing. You bite your lip; without looking at him, slowly, almost imperceptibly, you nod.

He sees—of course he does.

He moves quicker then, and you think for a moment you see a ghost of a grin pass over his face. It’s gone instantly; his hand, though, has made its way up your thigh. Your hips tremble.

In one swift motion, he’s unbuttoned your jeans. You let your breath out in a hiss as he unzips your zipper, one-handed. You’re almost ashamed to admit how quickly your body has reacted to him, desperately anticipating his touch.

You sneak a peak at him; he knows, of course, and there’s a sort of cocky half-smile on his face. He palms you, through your underwear, and your cock jumps of its own accord. You hiss; he still doesn’t look at you, but his eyes—trained on his screen—are sparkling.

You help him then; with one trembling hand still clutching your book, you pull your underwear up and over. Finally, finally, his nimble, rough fingers graze your tip. Your can’t repress a low groan.

You look at him full-on, expecting to finally see those hungry, longing eyes gazing back at you. But—this boy, you think in exasperation—he’s still typing.

“Saeyoung,” you whisper sharply as his hand curls around you. It’s warm and tight and it sends a shock through your body.

“Shh,” he says. His typing pauses; he holds a finger to his lips. And then his hand is on the keys again, moving faster than you can follow. His other hand slides up you: your hips shudder, desperate to rock back up into his hand. You grit your teeth.

His long, agile fingers wrap all the way around your cock, and he moves slowly at first, up and down—occasionally, he swipes one calloused fingertip over your tip, and you can barely hold yourself in place. Your book is shaking in your hand, the pages fluttering desperately; your heart, too, stutters impatiently. It’s all you can do to sit still, but you try—wanting to be good for him.

He’s typing faster, faster, and as you sneak another look at him you see it—in spite of his apparent focus, his jaw is set, and his pupils are huge. Oh, he’s just barely keeping it together, huh? you think. And then his hand moves faster, too, matching the rhythm of his typing, and you think nothing at all.

Your vision whites out as he moves faster, faster, and your knees are shaking uncontrollably; and there’s his quick fingers on the keys and his impossibly dexterous hand gripping you, fucking you, and he’s panting, now, longing for you—but still he’s typing, typing, eyes on the screen, and you lose track of time, of the couch beneath you, of your own mind as the sensations build to a peak.

Shaking, shaking, shaking—

And you come suddenly, unexpectedly, faster than you’re used to—and his hand is still holding you, pumping you, and you scrunch your eyes shut and gasp as you’re swept away by a whirlwind of impossible, inexplicable pleasure.

His hand slows. Your mind slows.

Your eyes fly open.

“Saeyoung!” you gasp. Your breath comes hard and fast; you seem to have thrown your book to the side.

Finally, finally, he’s looking at you. He’s got a big, proud grin on his face; his eyes dance.

You stand, legs shaky. Oh, but the couch is a mess—later, you think. Priorities.

With a trembling finger, you point down the hall; his hungry eyes follow your hand.

“Bedroom,” you tell him. Your voice is stern. You hear his breath catch in his throat; he stands, obedient. “Now,” you say.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

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[uh-drarry]

Day 8 - Pine Tree

Eighth Day! This is from the wonderful list posted by @remus-john-lupin ! Thank you so much to @bisexualronaldweasley for beta-ing despite a headache, I love you!

These are within the universe of my other content, but you do not have to read those to understand these. I won’t be making them all within the same time period but they’ll take place in different years of the same au. This one takes place a few years after Wolfstar starts dating, and this is part two to day 7. Happy December and Happy Holidays!

Part 1 here.

“We’re lost,” Sirius complained. 

“No, we’re not.” 

“I’ve seen that pine tree before.”

Remus stared at his boyfriend in confusion. “Babe, they’re all pine trees.”

“Yeah, I see that, but I recognize that one.” Sirius pointed to a tree that, to Remus, looked like all the others.

“They’re identical!”

“All of them except that one.” Sirius shrugged.

Remus threw his hands in the air. “Oh my god!”

“We’re going to freeze to death out here.”

“We won’t, because we’re not lost, Sirius!” Remus stated firmly before marching off in the right direction. 

Remus just wanted to get to the end of their hike so he could finally pop the question he’d been dying to ask. The excitement was killing him. If only Sirius could stop complaining that they were lost. 

Remus had to admit, it might have looked like they were lost to someone else. They were walking through tall, beautiful pine trees, branches weighed down with snow. There were a few other boot tracks that he knew to follow, but apparently Sirius didn’t trust them.

He checked his phone; they would hopefully arrive in about half an hour. 

“Babe,” Remus said, looking back and holding out his hand for Sirius to hold. Sirius took it in his with a small smile, leaning in to kiss Remus’s cold cheek. 

“Love you, Moony.”

Butterflies erupted in Remus’s stomach at those words. All he could think about was the ring in his pocket. “I love you, too. Now let’s finish up this hike. Please?” Remus pouted his lips, just needing Sirius’s cooperation for a little while longer. 

“How could I resist that face? Alright, alright let’s go. Lead the way, oh great navigator.”

They started walking again. 

“I’m so happy you’re back from Wales, babe. You were gone for too long.” Sirius said, squeezing Remus’s hand.

“Yeah, I’m sorry I had to extend my time there. I missed you too.”

“Don’t worry about it, Re. You had to help your mum and you’re here now so I’m happy.”

Remus hadn’t had to help his mum. But he wasn’t about to tell Sirius that. Really, he’d been waiting for the ring to be finished so it wouldn’t have to be mailed. Definitely worth it. 

Twenty minutes later, Sirius had grown very quiet. Remus turned his head to look and saw Sirius staring back.

“What?” Remus asked.

Sirius sighed, a pained look on his face. “Just thinking about how we’re going to die out here.”

He stopped walking and Remus let go of his hand, continuing along the path. 

“Sirius, I promise we won’t die out here.” 

“I don’t want to die!” Sirius yelled out into the forest, causing a few birds to scatter.

Remus turned around to face his dramatic boyfriend. “Sirius–!” He froze, eyes wide, breath caught in his throat. There Sirius was, ten steps behind him on one knee, a small black box held in one hand, and a shy smile on his face.

Sirius took a deep breath. “Remus John Lupin, you are the love of my life. I don’t know where I’d be today without you, and I don’t want to even think about it because a life without you is a life I don’t want. You make me smile everyday, you make me laugh, and cry, and you teach me so many things. You get us lost in the woods and won’t admit it because you’re stubborn–”

“We are not lost!” Remus laughed.

“Shh, I’m talking.” Sirius teased. “As I was saying. I will accept that you love chocolate and oversized sweaters more than me. I want a family with you. I want to call you my fiancé and then I want to call you my husband. Will you marry me, Moony?” He opened the box to show a beautiful gold ring.

“Oh, Sirius.” Remus whispered.

They were both crying when Remus hauled Sirius to his feet so he could kiss him, arms wrapped tight around each other, giggling happily. 

Remus pulled back just enough to speak, “Yes Sirius, I will marry you. Happily. Ecstatically!”

Pulling back quickly, Remus punched Sirius on the shoulder.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“You couldn’t have waited for another half kilometer?” Remus said, exasperated.

“What on earth are you talking about, Re? I think I timed it perfectly. Look, it’s even starting to snow!”

Remus grabbed Sirius’s hand once again and pulled him along for the last bit of their hike. They finally came upon a small, snow-covered cabin in a clearing.

“Oh, it’s so pretty! Though I still think where I picked was better, no?”

“Hmm, I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know! I proposed to you and this is the thanks I get?” Sirius asked Remus, who shushed him, and then went down onto one knee.

“Oh.” Sirius said, then burst into laughter, Remus quickly following.

“Yeah. Do you get it now?”

Wiping tears from his eyes, Sirius nodded. “Yeah.”

“I had this all planned so I’m going to do it anyway,” Remus said. “Sirius, Padfoot, lover, fy nghariad. I love you so much, despite you hijacking my proposal. Not that I would change this if I could. You are my favorite person, I can turn to you no matter what, and I love how dramatic you are, Mr. We’re Going to Die Out Here. I love your laugh. I love our adventures. I love that we were both ready to propose. You’ve taken all my words out of my head with your own proposal so I’ll cut to the chase. Will you marry me, Sirius?”

“Yes!” Sirius shouted, tackling Remus into the snow and kissing him again.

When they were soaking wet and shivering, they finally rose and made it into the warm cabin. Remus finally was able to put the ring onto Sirius’s finger after showing it off. 

“It has an engraving,” Remus said.

Sirius took it off to look inside, reading it out loud, “For Padfoot. Love, Moony.” Tears started making their way down Sirius’s cheeks as he put the ring back where it belonged. “It’s perfect, babe. How’d you pick so well?”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Pads. The ring you got for me is gorgeous,” Remus replied, staring at his ring. “Anyway, I picked it myself but I had James and Lily’s help while I was in Wales. The engraving and sizing is why I stayed a few extra days, actually.”

“Oh my god,” Sirius said. “When did you call them?”

“Huh? Oh the almost Potters? I believe it was the Thursday before I came home, why?”

“Those little shits. I called them the same day! For the same reason! I bet they’re laughing their arses off about it.”

Remus whipped out his phone to call Lily.

“Hello, Remus,” she answered sweetly.

“Hi!” They heard James yell.

“I can’t believe you guys,” Sirius answered.

All that could be heard on the other end was cackling laughter.

“Did you both say yes?” James finally got out.

“Of course!” Remus replied, offended.

“Wait! Who asked first? Or was it at the same time?” Lily asked, urgently.

“Sirius, the fucker who’s now my fiancé, beat me to the punch by about three minutes.”

“I win! Lily owes me a massage!” They could hear James whooping in the background, probably running around the room.

“Thanks guys, I could’ve won that massage.” Lily pouted. “James!” She yelled. They murmured for a second before both of them yelled, “Congratulations!”

“Thanks, guys.” Remus replied, turning to smile at Sirius who leaned it for another kiss.

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