#fic: subtext

[fandom-related-me]

ITS FUCKING NUTS ITS CRAZY BRUTAL EVEN I MEAN that scene in which the night nurse shows Charles his most painful moments and keeps asking why would you want to stay in this place that only hurts you? Why would you stay in a place that only beats you down when you try your best? And the answer plain and simple is showed in the flashback of his death is EDWIN. There’s nothing but Edwin who made his death sweet and as comfortable as he could, who turned a nightmare into a precious memory, what would be scary into fun and awe and what would be cold and lonely into warmth and friendship.

[midnight-mourning]

Jelly Hearts

💘💘Midnight's DCA Valentine's Day 7💘💘

I FORGOT TO POST THIS AHHHHHHH, my bad all, please enjoy some self-indulgent jealousy hehe

Prompt: also I think that I'd put in a request for some really jealous dca time. maybe they see reader getting some other valentines or hears that they have plans the day of after they're off work and assume that they've got a date (rightfully or incorrectly idk) and they just can't let this happen. y/n is Theirs™️

Word Count: 1750

Read here if you prefer ao3!

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The flowers on the desk were a surprise, about a week before the middle of February, roughly. You weren't sure where they'd come from or what they were doing there, and found yourself very surprised to find it was in fact, a gift for you. The card stuck inside the bouquet had neat script, and was to the point. 

'Happy Valentine's day! From, Your Secret Admirer'

You'd asked the security guard if they knew anything about who had gifted it, but they had no clue either. It had been a common theme over the past few days, the kids had been gifting you early cards and treats, but this seemed to be a bit more than that. 

"What've you got there, Sunshine?"

You turn, confused smile on your face. "Looks like a gift! From a uh, secret admirer? You know anything about that?" You tease. 

Sun tilts his head sharply, rays and faceplate spinning from the force. 

"Hm, no. Don't think so!"

Your smile falls a bit, mainly because you'd been hoping it was him, and based on his tone he wasn't lying about it to mess with you either. "Oh, gotcha."

"But! I'll keep my eyes and ears peeled just for you, Starlight." He bends down quickly, coming eye to eye with you and booping your nose. "And if I do find out, I'll be sure to let you know."

He stands straight and walks off then, and it takes you a moment to process what just happened. You probably just imagined the edge to his tone. You shake your head, and glance back down to the vase. 

Huh. The card's missing. It must have dropped somewhere. 

But after a quick search you never did end up finding it. 

Not that it mattered much, as a day or so later you were sent another gift, this time jelly candy hearts and heart-shaped chocolates. Same message as last time, 'Happy Valentine's! Love, Your Secret Admirer'. You sat and enjoyed the sweets during nap time, just to keep from any little hands or pleading eyes from trying to snatch one for themselves. 

As you were snacking, Moon suddenly sat down beside you, hands folding into his lap and head almost snapping to look at you. 

You raise a hand to greet him. "Hey, Moon-man."

"Star."

You cock your head to the side, popping another candy in your mouth. "Need something? Or just come over to hang out?"

"Where did you get that?" He points to the half-opened box in your lap. 

You shrug, lifting the little slip of paper for him to read. "Secret admirer strikes again I guess."

"Seems so." He snarls out.

It surprises you, brows raised as you look at him again. "You alright?"

"Fine." He turns away from you and the card, facing forward to observe the Daycare. 

You don't speak again for the rest of the time. 

Similarly 'issues' arise throughout the rest of the week. Little gifts from that same person being sent your way, not to mention the growing number of cards and the likes from the Daycare kids. 

During all of this, the attendant pulled back from you, you weren't entirely sure why. They were shorter, blunter, not nearly as talkative or teasing with you. You wonder if it was because of all the attention you were getting compared to them, which made you feel awful. They deserved some appreciation too. 

It's not until the day of Valentine's that you realize who your 'Secret Admirer' is after all. Specifically, it was your best friend, who you'd been helping out with getting set up on a date the past couple of weeks. You'd laughed about it once you'd found out, getting on to them for 'leading you on' even though regardless of who your admirer was, your heart belonged to someone else. 

Specifically the two someone's who'd been avoiding you all week long. 

You planned to talk to them about it tomorrow, tonight you had to focus on holding to your promises and make sure your friend's date actually went well. You were going to shadow with another friend of yours to see to it the date proceeded smoothly. 

You sling your jacket over your shoulders, taking one last glance around the Daycare before you head to leave. Just as you turn to head to the door, your face knocks gently against something metal. You jump, stepping back to find that Sun is standing before you. 

"Going so soon, Sunshine?" He tilts his head, eyes uplifted crescents. 

You nod, smiling. "Yup! I have a date tonight—"

"A. Date?" 

You bite your tongue. You hadn't meant to say that at all. "Oh no, I just meant that—"

"You know, I think there's some cleaning up still left to do, friend." Sun takes you by the shoulders, and leads you back into the Daycare, you lose your jacket at some point in the process. 

You try to protest. "I, Sun I really should go—"

"Stay." He states, speech a bit garbled for a moment before uplifting into his usual cheer. "I really must insist! We can't have this place looking less than perfect when the kiddos come in tomorrow now, can we?"

You scan the play area, nothing seems out of place to you, so you say as much. "No offense, Sunny, but everything seems just fine—"

There's a crash to your left, over by the arts and crafts tables. Turning you're bewildered to see Sun lying amongst a disaster of spilled craft supplies, some of which leaks quickly onto the padded floor. You don't even know how he got over there, he was just right next to you moment's before.

You're not able to question it much before Sun's speaking up. "Whoops! I don't know what got into me! Could you lend me a hand with this, pretty please, Sunshine?"

"Of course but are you okay?" You ask, slightly hurrying as you walk over to him. "Don't need to go to Parts and Services or anything?"

Sun makes a noise similar to grinding gears, next words blunt. "No. It was just a simple mistake."

"I, right, right." You offer him your hand, which he takes and uses to help get to his feet. He doesn't let go once he is standing, however. Leaving you no choice but to hold his hand, lest you make this awkward. 

You think for a moment. You should stay and help clean this up, you know how neurotic he—and moon—can be when it came to messes. You did feel bad about not being able to make it up to them regarding their lack of gifts, this could be a good chance. Especially when the opportunity presents itself to you.

"And I'll tell you what, Starshine. If we clean up quick I'll make sure to it'll be worth your while. How's that?" His hand squeezes yours just a little tighter. 

Something about the way he phrases it makes your cheeks heat up. You cough into your hand with a nod. "Yeah, that um, sounds good."

"Perfect."

The next hour or two is a blur. After you cleaned up, the attendant had one activity then the next for you to do together.

Making a last couple of Valentine's crafts before putting the supplies away for the year, making puzzles, reading stories, acting out scenes, dancing to music. From one moment to the next it was something, something, something. You would have expected this out of Sun for sure, but the fact that Moon was just as active a participant was more than surprising. 

In a brief moment of a break, while sitting down to watch a movie, do you think to check the time. 

Twenty minutes before your friend's date. Shoot, you'd lost a lot more time than you'd thought. You peek up to Moon, who's focused on the screen in front of you both. He's got his arms wrapped around you as you sit—practically—in his lap. You think if you try to move you'll get trapped further, so you attempt with words first. 

"Hey, this has been, a lot of fun, but I really need to get going now, alright?" You put your hand on his. 

Moon's faceplate snaps down, hold on you instantly tightening. Not what you wanted in the slightest. "Why? Are they that much more important?"

"I, wait. Moon-man, are you jealous?"

He freezes, then looks away, hold on you slipping as he starts to shrink in on himself. "Yes. No. We both are." His next words are muttered, a mixture of static and, maybe another voice? "It's not fair. We've loved you for so long, but someone else gets to have you instead."

"You, you guys, like me?" You ask in the quiet.

Moon grips the edge of his hat, pulling it down over his eyes. You swear you almost see some of Sun's rays poking out behind his faceplate in the low light. "Not like, love. Too scared to say it until now."

"Even if I told you I cared about you both too?" You twist to face him fully, hands cupping his cheeks. 

He melts into your touch. "Even what?"

You giggle. "Would you still be scared to say it? If I said I loved you too?"

"Maybe, maybe not..." One eye peeks out from the hat. "But, you're taken." And again, that harsh tone comes back, resentment, you realize.

At this you can't take anymore and start to laugh. "No, I'm not. I've been, well not trying super hard, but I've been trying to tell you that since early."

You finally are given the chance to fully explain the situation, including the 'Secret Admirer' part of the whole deal. You watch the tension melt in the bot in front of you, quickly becoming embarrassed and flustered that they'd been jealous over nothing at all. 

Despite that, however, you end up having to text your friends that you can't help out tonight. As you've been told you have a lot of 'making up' to do for your 'awful' behavior. By both attendants, for that matter. 

You're still sitting in their lap, movie long forgotten and lights now raised just slightly. Yellow and blue hands trace patterns into your waist as they hold you tight, seeming afraid to let go despite your whispered assurances. Their rays flutter and faceplate clicks at every sound you make, intentional or not.

As you kiss and are kissed—over and over and over again—there's only one word they murmur back, consistently, without fail. 

"Ours."

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Thank you @juukai for the request! I enjoy making jealous dca a lot hehe, just feels very fitting to me >:)c

My writing Masterpost

DCA Valentine's Masterpost

Tag list (if you would like added, simply say so!):

@scarletcowboy @beemyhuneybee @fishm0ther @deviouscrackers @elsajoyagent8 @luckyyyduckyyy @zenkaiankoku @jogimote @local-shrub @milosmantis @robinette-green @everlightreader @sinister-sincerely @starredeclipse @dangerva @juukai @crystalmagpie447 @mothgutz236 @lizyxml @divinit3a @amarynthian-chronicles @crystalfay @that-one-unknown-artist @rosescarletful @buzzybee3

[starry-bi-sky]

pouring one out for luo binghe in my disciple SQQ fic, poor guy has taken a backseat here. we're nearly 30k words deep and he hasn't even shown his face once. it'll be much longer before he even actually talks to Shen Qingqiu.

(i say im pouring one out but in reality im sitting in my director's chair chewing on a cigar and wearing a beret as he tearily and unsuccessfully pleads with me for more scenes with Shen Qingqiu)

[honestlydarkprincess]

so let the words slip out of your mouth

buck & eddie || rated: g || wc: 1.7k || read on ao3

Buck wasn��t trying to hide from Eddie. Really, he wasn’t. It’s just….every time Buck tried to get the words out he clammed up. He was pretty sure that Eddie thought there was something wrong with him, he’d been giving Buck increasingly worried looks over the last couple weeks.

Eddie had overheard Hen telling him that she would add him to the queer LAFD group chat— not she had said what the group chat was for at the time— and he’d given Buck a weird look, as he knew how much Buck hated group chats. Buck was also sure that Eddie had noticed the look on Bobby’s face when he looked at Buck sometimes, like he was proud of him, happy for him. It never failed to warm Buck from head to toe but he knew it made Eddie curious. The worst was probably Chimney, who, after a few too many weird goodbyes, had stopped saying bye altogether and had taken to saying adios.

So Eddie definitely knew something was up with Buck, but Buck was pretty sure he didn’t know what.

Buck was sitting at his table, staring into space as he contemplated how to tell Eddie. Tommy had just left— they’d had a nice romantic date before Tommy had to leave due to an early shift the next morning and Buck was still giddy over their date. Things were good between him and Tommy. Solid. They’d only been dating for a few weeks but Buck was over the moon and he was really excited to see where things were going to go between them.

A soft knock sounded at his door, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Buck went to answer it, figuring it was Tommy. “You forget something?” He asked as he opened the door.

Only it wasn’t Tommy, it was Eddie. “Hey, Buck. Can we talk?”

“Y-yeah, of course,” Buck stumbled over his words, moving to the side so Eddie could come in. Buck swallowed roughly as he shut the door behind him. Looks like they’d be having this conversation whether he was ready or not. “What do you want to talk about?”

Eddie just gave him a look. “You know what.”

Buck sighed. “I wasn’t trying to hide it from you, Eds. I just didn’t know how to tell you.”

“Tell me what?” Eddie pressed, shoving his hands in his pockets. “If I’m being honest, Buck, I don’t really know what’s going on. I just know that everyone at work is acting weird, like they’re in on this secret and I’m not, and I’ve tried to figure it out, trust me. But I can’t. What could be so bad that you can’t tell me?”

“It’s not bad, I promise,” Buck said earnestly. “There’s nothing wrong, I’ve just…figured some things out.”

“Okay…” Eddie trailed off, looking at Buck when he didn’t elaborate. “What things?”

“It’s that— I’m—” Buck tried, swallowing against the lump in his throat. His heart was beating so fast, just like it had the first time he came out. You’d think all the practice he’d had would have made it easier but something about coming out to Eddie made everything feel so much more.

“Is it that you’re hanging out with Tommy? I saw him leave. You guys don’t have to hide it,” Eddie said, his brow furrowed. “It’s not like I’d be upset. A little bummed that I’m not invited but not upset,” Eddie chuckled, although his laughter trailed off when Buck just stood there.

“Tommy and I…” Buck started, clearing his throat. “We are hanging out but we’re not friends.”

“How does that work?” Eddie looked adorably confused.

“Eds, we’re dating.”

“Oh,” Eddie said, his eyebrows raising in surprise. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Buck said, rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. “So I’m…the news is that I’m bisexual. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

Eddie was quiet for a moment, digesting the new information while Buck fidgeted in front of him. “So…when we ran into you at the pizza place…you guys were on a date, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, it was our first,” Buck mumbled, unable to keep a small smile from gracing his lips. The date had been a little tense and a whole lot awkward when Eddie and Marisol interrupted but then Tommy had walked him back to his door and kissed him and Buck had melted, throwing himself into the kiss. They’d found their footing and it hadn’t been awkward since.

“Shit, Buck, I’m so sorry, we totally interrupted,” Eddie looked dismayed.

“It’s okay, you didn’t know,” Buck reassured.

“I’m still sorry,” Eddie said quietly. “And I’m sorry for storming over here and basically forcing you to tell me. You clearly didn’t want to and I made you and I’m just, I’m sorry.”

“Hey, hey, no,” Buck said, his brow furrowing as he took a step closer to Eddie. “You didn’t make me do anything, I was always going to tell you, I was just having a hard time finding the words.”

Eddie let out a sigh of relief and closed the distance between them, pulling Buck into a bear hug. Buck hugged back just as tightly, letting out a shuddering breath when Eddie whispered, “I’m proud of you, Buck. Thanks for telling me.”

“You’re welcome,” Buck mumbled back. A quick fleeting thought dashed across his mind that Eddie’s arms felt so good around him, something he’d always known but now it was at the forefront of his mind. It felt different now and Buck felt a tendril of confusion. Why did hugging his best friend feel different now? Why did it feel better? Like something was slotting together? Buck shook his head as he pulled away from the hug, trying to physically shake away the thoughts. He wasn’t ready to think about that. “I’m surprised you’re here so late, where’s Chris?”

“Ah,” Eddie looked sheepish. “We had a bit of a fight and he wanted space so Tia Pepa said she’d take him for the night.”

“Oh? About what?” Buck was confused, the amount of times Eddie and Christopher had fought was a very small number.

Eddie sighed. “It’s dumb, you probably don’t want to hear it,” He tried to brush it off. “Let’s talk about more important things: so, you and Tommy?”

Buck ducked his head, blushing. “Yeah, me and Tommy.”

“That’s great, Buck, I’m really happy for you,” Eddie said. A quick expression flitted across his face, too quick for Buck to decipher it, before Eddie gave him a genuine smile.

“Thanks, Eds,” Buck murmured, a pleased glow lighting up his face. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know but first, talk to me about Chris. What did you fight about, is he okay?” Buck was concerned for his favourite Diaz.

“He’s not Marisol’s biggest fan,” Eddie sighed, scrubbing his jaw. “He doesn’t like that she’s been babysitting him so much— which is on me, I’ve been going out a lot with Tommy, especially that first couple of weeks and now, I just— I guess I have to figure that out.”

“Shit, Eddie, I’m sorry,” Buck said, his voice soft with sympathy. “You want a beer?”

“God, yes please,” Eddie blew out a breath, coming to sit down at the island in Buck’s kitchen. Buck placed an opened beer in front of him and then opened one for himself. “Thanks, Buck.” Eddie said gratefully, taking a hearty sip.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t even know,” Eddie said, picking at the beer bottle label. “If I’m being honest, I’m not…really feeling it? Like, it was exciting at first and she’s nice but that’s…that’s it. I don’t feel a spark with her, y’know? I don’t really feel anything for her. I guess that’s why I kind of blew up at Chris, because I felt guilty that I wasn’t actually upset that he didn’t like her.”

“If you want me to talk to him, just let me know,” Buck offered.

“That would be great, I’d really appreciate that.”

“No problem,” Buck smiled before he took a deep breath, steeling himself for his next question. “Speaking of Christopher, Eddie can I….can I tell him? About me?”

Eddie looked at him in surprise. “Buck, of course. You don’t even have to ask. Besides, he’s…” Eddie trailed off, looking at Buck with soft eyes. “He’s your kid too.”

Buck swallowed against the sudden lump in his throat, feeling tears sting his eyes. “Y-yeah?”

“Yeah, Buck,” Eddie grinned.

“You’ve never said that before,” Buck said shyly.

“To be honest I thought you knew,” Eddie’s voice was gentle. “You’re his guardian if anything happens to me.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s mine,” Buck countered, looking down at his hands.

“It does to me,” Eddie replied firmly, so there was so ifs, ands, or buts. “He’s ours.”

“Ours,” Buck tested the word out, liking the way it sounded. “Okay. Ours.”

Eddie’s smile could outshine the sun and Buck felt his heart skip a beat, just like it always did when Eddie smiled at him.

The two of them were quiet for a minute, basking in the comfortable silence while they sipped their beer, before Buck eventually spoke up. “How do you think I should tell him?”

“That you’re bi?” Eddie asked and Buck nodded. “I’d just say it straight.”

Buck laughed. “Well, I don’t know if I can say it straight.”

Eddie chuckled. “You’re going to be making all the puns now, aren’t you?” His voice was unbearably fond and Buck wanted to wrap himself around the glow it lit inside him. “You know what I meant. Just say it outright, you know he’ll support you. You may have to explain what bisexual means but honestly I think he’s going to be very casual about it. Plus, he likes Tommy so you know he’s going to be excited that you’re dating.”

“Okay, great,” Buck’s shoulders relaxed and he let out a huge sigh of relief. “Thank you, Eddie.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Buck,” Eddie said. “Now come on, let’s finish these while we watch a shitty movie.”

“Sounds good,” Buck said warmly, following Eddie to the couch. And it did— sound good. He felt better than he had in weeks now that Eddie knew and was okay with it— just like Buck had always known he would be, but that small part of him that worried was loud. As Buck leaned back against the couch while they flicked through the movie options, he felt complete. And very, very free.

[frankiebirds]

genuinely struggling to read emily's expression here as anything other than jealousy

[mishaesque]

I don’t even ship Destiel and even I know Cas should have possessed Dean at some point

[justaz]

I think Morgana should’ve had a Circe arc,, I think the powerless status of women in Camelot/Albion should’ve been a bigger factor in Morgana going down the path she went down. Countless women with little to no power, even noblewomen, and then all of a sudden having magic which grants power and the ability to be feared. Fuck yeah no wonder so many women were “evil” sorcerers. I’d be one too. Anyways, I think Morgana should’ve been an even bigger man-hater and lesbian. She should’ve had her little coven of fellow witches that hated men and killed them but hey what do I know

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

the need to write gn!readers vs the desire to have gojo satoru call u ”my sweet girl” ://////

[teh-nos]

stopped reading a fic just there because it was insisting that thor & co went on many violent adventures pre-movies but of course left poor feeble loki behind cos he's a) feeble and b) blessed with a better understanding of imperialism than the rest, and there are a thousand other fics that also think this is obviously what happened but i think i may just have hit my limit on this one :\

[summonthebats]

Snip of an unwritten Arcane Au

“Viktor. Stay a moment.”

He had only just finished getting his papers in proper order, but Viktor handed them off to Adj and gestured her towards the door.

“Get them safe before the rain comes.” He didn’t trust the ink now to run, or the paper not to dissolve if truth be told.

Her lazy eye continued its drift towards him, but the other flicked to Silco in silent question. Another token of a loyalty he had certainly never earned.

“And then get to bed, you are not recovered.” And if this was a trap he had long since sprung it, Adj need not stay to face its teeth with him.  

Sevika held the door for his companion, her shoulders low and easy. Her weapons had been on cheerful display for the entire meeting and remained so now. Adj at least ought be safe. Viktor, perhaps. Not even Sevika was always aware of her leaders plans.

Viktor slid back into his chair, rearranged his leg into the cushion. Looked up into the weight of Silco’s full attention and waited to be addressed. And then kept waiting.

Perhaps it was his own bias that shaded amusement over the chem baron’s slow blink. Or perhaps it was not.

“I find myself in need of a second opinion on the inner workings of, good men.”

The tone did not warrant comment, but Viktor let himself raise an eyebrow before he loosened the straps on his legs once more. The cushion could only do so much and this may take quite some time.

“I have received a letter from Vander. You know of Vander.”

“Most know of Vander.” Few actually knew Vander however, which Silco no doubt banked upon. “What does he want from you?”

“Forgiveness.”

The footsteps were a courtesy, the rug far to plush for Silco to make any noise he didn’t mean to. Combined with the distance at which the man stopped and offered the paper this was all alarmingly polite. Silco might just actually want advice. Or maybe was engaged in a particularly intricate bid for loyalty. Most likely both.

It was, likely Vander’s writing. Very likely Vander’s words. A genuine request then, no matter what other plays were at work. Silco had, after all, no notion of quite how well Viktor knew Vander. Vander had no notion of quite how well Viktor knew Vander.

“What did he do?”

Warwick's guilt had not troubled him at the time, so little could then. But the half recollection of it was unsettling now. That first image of Silco, then young and hopeful, had carried so very much.

“He tried to drown me, in the river.”

It was only long practiced freeze reflexes that kept him still, but it was a effort to not glance at Silco’s ruined eye. A long standing injury, all knew, an established trade mark. But the paper may well be old. Zaun had many places that life fled, and the mines were certainly dry. Still…

Viktor breathed slowly. Refolded the note along its old creases, watched the dust on his fingertips.

“This is a pathetic attempt at an apology, and to consider it at all you must wish to forgive enough to raise many questions I hope never to have answered.” He did not particularly care to have those suspicions confirmed. “At the very least he must do better than this. And to trust him again after such a thing is, well. It would require far better evidence.”

The hand had not, it seemed, reached for the proffered note. No, it settled, moving slowly, still some shade of polite, on Viktors jaw.

There remained no part of Silco that was not a weapon, but his compassion was honed sharpest of all.

“Who betrayed you Vitkor?”

Sometimes a different viewpoint would reveal new parts of a problem, and Viktor was about as different as Silco was ever going to find. All those years in Piltover, a scientist, altruistic even. Thank fuck for the Zaun born suspicion and practicality or even his results couldn’t make him bearable. Surely guaranteed to provide an all new perspective.

Only his perpetual wariness had shifted to that eerie control, the constant tremor gone from his hands, and he hadn’t looked to the ruin of Silco’s face. And Viktor, well, he knew what could have caused it, he didn’t have the opportunity to not know.

“This is a pathetic attempt at an apology, and to consider it at all you must wish to forgive enough to raise many questions I hope never to have answered. At the very least he must do better than this. And to trust him again after such a thing is, well. It would require far better evidence.”

A dozen observations came together at long last, and he was going to need a very good explanation for Sevika even if this all went just right. But he knew now didn’t he? He knew.

 “Who betrayed you Vitkor?”

Who had dared?

Gold eyes, as gold as his heart according to the sickly, cringing gossips, finally met his. Perfect prey stillness, save for everyway that he was anything but. That jaw was a terrible thing, the way the skin sat so tight he didn’t even need to try and find Viktors pulse.

“You asked for advice.”

“Stories are so often the best kind.”

Gold eyes and gold heart and Silco wanted to find every crack and dent in it. To find every careful repair and trace them back whatever lay beneath, a mystery still but surely a far stronger thing than gold. Nothing so malleable was at the core of this man.

“…It is of no bearing on your situation.”

“Allow me to disagree.” He could see the edges of it now. “It will have been a Piltie, why you came home? Not open violence, not for you science types. A research partner? Your boss? Stole your work, claimed your rights. Give me a name.”

Those exceptional walls could only do so much against a hand on skin, he could feel every hit land.

“No.”

“No? Come on Viktor, aren’t you Zaun’s golden boy? We would so enjoy avenging you.”

“That’s- It is not like that! Without a Piltie name attached they won’t even pretend to read it!” The backs of those cool fingers snapped against his wrist, and Silco let himself be warded off. Mustn’t push so far, not now, not like this. “You are being ridiculous.”

The wise thing to do here would be to move back, or sit down even. Show Viktor that he wasn’t trapped. That his status here, allied however strangely and an irreplaceable asset beside, still ensured consideration and respect. But the best Silco could do was keep his hands off while Zaun’s best scientist got his leg ready to carry him again and even that was a trial.

Viktor was betrayed. Viktor understood. Viktor came home and did good and settled in to advise an uneasy ally despite it all.

Silco wanted to find all the edges, trace every scar and bite them bright again. Wanted to find the hands that made them and cut them off. There were so many salacious whispers about his pet, couldn’t he make some of them true?

“Perhaps, but less so than them.” No, no hands. Control, do not try to touch the scientist, none of that gorgeous sorrow was meant for him. “Broken promises then?” For Viktor was also so very careful, to never offer more than he could must assuredly deliver. “Yet the consequences fell on you regardless.”

A full flinch this time. Final strap in place and lovely hands still and gold eyes closed as a shuddering breath pulled its way past desperate self-restraint. The little air filter whirling on the table the only movement. Then, Viktor, chin raised and throat bared, gold eyes almost slits, every line of him a surrender and the lazer focus of his attention making it all a lie to blatant to tell.

“You will forgive him. No matter your better judgement, your reasons or your plans. It will catch you up and swallow you whole. Because you want, so very much, for the one you loved to have been the one who loved you.”

The knifes handle was cool, steadying his fingers. Viktor stood, stepped in and never spared it a glance. Not a large man, never that, but not such a small one when he stood straight, when he looked at you like that.

“So what do you want of it? And what are you willing to risk for that gain?”

Gold eyes, so very close. One hand on his stick and the other holding the note. No threat.

“Tactical questions, Viktor?”

“Eh. Play to your strengths.”

The snort escaped him. The half step in and too swiftly bent neck wasn’t much intended either. Tactics, sure, why not? Only sensible. Surely this skinny thing ought flinch from him? Surely such a busy brain should give off more heat? Surely Silco knew better than this?

The little filter whirled on. The bar rumbled away below their feet.

“Fuck.”

A soft nod.

“Is yours sorry? Did he love you?”

“More than life itself. Yet still he does not see what it is he ought be sorry for.”

To much, to close, to much truth in it. And for what? Viktor didn’t owe him this. Nothing in it, save for to much compassion, a too generous exchange of vulnerabilities.

A cool hand on his bad cheek, but no retreat. Viktor didn’t pull away.

“You have all the time, to choose or not. You owe him no forgiveness, nor ought else.”

“No, but I want.” The truth at last, tossed out in the only fair exchange, empathy hauled out of him by his own nightmares behind another mans eyes.

A deep sigh, and Viktor finally leaned back, pressed into where their foreheads touched. An old steam of ‘can I’ and ‘should I’ and ‘dare I’ already boiled away with no answer left behind.

“Mm. That is where they get us, yes.”

[neixins]

[ID: a panel from chapter 225 of “yona of the dawn” depicting gija and jaeha asleep next to each other; gija is sleeping soundly and reaching towards jaeha with his dragon hand, poking the side of his face, and jaeha is frowning. end ID.]

feeling so normal about this panel again. like yeah it’s very silly and cute but also!!! gija reaching out towards jaeha not long after taking an arrow for him (ch 220) and jaeha not waking up, implying that this is a pretty regular occurrence, and the gradual progression from not sleeping near each other to sharing a futon and just. waaaahhhh i love them so much !!!!!

[jtownraindancer]

totally normal conversations to have with your best friend part ii

[lenabobina]

Like a swallow or a crane I chirp; I moan like a dove. My eyes are weary with looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed.

Something something Lovino something something religious trauma something catholic guilt. I just really like stained glass.

[fic link here <3]

[kithmet]

i respect people trying to spread their own personal headcanon agendas via real, sincere ao3 creativity approximately 89% more than anyone trying to do it via excessive holier than thou “i understand these characters better than you” condescension on social media platforms and that’s my god honest truth

[walkingstackofbooks]

5 times Julian watched Miles die (and one time he didn't)

When a bar fight goes horribly wrong, Julian does everything he can to save Miles. It's not enough. Miles dies, and Julian is left bereft and distraught. But this is a time loop fic, so when he wakes up the next day, Julian finds the universe has given him another chance to save his friend... And another... And another. There are many ways for Miles to die on a space station, and however much Julian tries -- furiously repressing his ever-increasing grief and dread to focus on this so-important task -- he just can't seem to stop the endless cycle. It doesn't help that, although his feelings are really too much to deal with, his friends keep pressing him to open up to them. He's fine, he insists, until he really isn't, and discovers that he does need a shoulder to cry on after all. Grief, hope, rage, hurt, comfort, despair, joy... A roller-coaster of emotions accompanies Julian through the most challenging six days of his life, and he is so, so tired.

Sound like your kind of story? Within the next few weeks, my fic 'Vision Awry' - a remix of the DS9 episode 'Visionary' - is going to start updating again, so now's the perfect time to go and read the first half! 😉 (while it's still a manageable 50k... :P )

From the end of September, I'll be resuming my regular posting schedule every week until the story reaches its conclusion - so if you're looking for a feels-y Julian WIP to subscribe to that will have both •definite updates, and •a definite end, may I shamelessly recommend that you give my fic a whirl? I am incredibly proud of it, and am so excited to be on the verge of sharing the rest of it with you all 🥰

[shadow-djinni]

evil old men, anyone?