#fifth squad beloved

[inkybyl]

The Bad Batch x Fem!Pregnant!Reader

18+, suggestive themes! Minors DNI

Part 2 is here!:

A/N: So I’ve been on nothing but a Bad Batch binge - I finally got around to watching it a couple months ago and rewatched it the other day! Since then I’ve been (shamefully) reading nothing but Bad Batch/Clone Wars Fics 🫣 I’m absolutely in love with the community and can’t help but kick myself for waiting so long to watch it.

I couldn’t help but write something to get it out of my head. I’ve already written part of a Bounty Hunter Reader x TBB and sent it to my friend 😔 🫣 This, however… I don’t think I can send to people IRL lmfao. I’ve also remembered that people can post whatever they want to their own accounts and I thought, ‘why the hell not?’ I think the last time I ever posted a fic anywhere was back in the golden days of Wattpad many, many years ago. (This’ll be the first fic I’d of ever posted on Tumblr 🫣)

Word Count: 3.7k

Content Warnings:

Wrote this on my phone with zero plot about it!! (Copy & pasted directly from Notes so the paragraph spacing might be weird)!

I lowkey just wanted to write a cute dynamic between the boys + reader… 🫣

Not Proofread, rushed ending!

Reader’s Relationship with Omega is PLATONIC!

Fem!Reader, Pregnant!Reader, POLY!BadBatch (the Reader is in an established relationship with the boys), (I didn’t write as much as I would’ve liked about the pregnancy because I got super embarrassed and self conscious with myself), Suggestive Themes - mentions/thoughts of oral! Mainly fluff, wholesome and domestic dynamics with the Batch + Omega. Slight Spoilers for TBB Ending, not really, but just in case!

(Set post-TBB ending + Tech is alive for the sake of this fic!)

“Wrecker! Can you come and help me out, pleeease~?”

You called out from your bed, snuggling into the covers further. Wrecker had heard your voice from his seat in the dining room amongst his brothers, immediately scraping it backwards and nearly toppling over. He rushed from his unsteady position towards the room, unbeknownst to him that his brothers had followed with the same urgency.

“Mesh’la! Are you alright?!” He hurried, skidding into the bedroom and kneeling by the bed, his hand capturing yours as the boys stood by the door.

With a giggle, your other hand came to his cheek, “Of course, my beloved.” He breathed a sigh of relief, as did the rest of them, leaning into your touch while placing a delicate kiss to your wrist. “Then… what-uh.. what’d you need help with, Sarad?” He asked gently, looking into your eyes.

You smiled, eyes flicking to the rest of the batch, knowing that they hoped you couldn’t see them - but you had been a member of their squad for too long, been their partner for too long to know exactly when they were looking out for you. It warmed your core as you brought your hand to your enlarged belly underneath the covers, placing a gentle kiss onto Wrecker’s nose.

“Could you get me something sweet? I’m not sure what we’ve got left in the kitchen apart from the fish you and Crosshair had caught.” You hummed, a mischievous grin playing on your face as you heard Crosshair click his tongue. Wrecker laughed loudly, “Of course, Mesh’la! But is that all ya’ wanted? I can always get you more than that!” He grinned, not realising Tech had walked into the room to kneel down next to his larger brother, eyes and fingers engrossed in his data pad, “I have to interject, cyar’ika. Too many sweet treats may affect you and, or the baby.”

“Awh, don’t worry, Tech! I haven’t had that many!”

“This will be your fifth of the day.”

Wrecker laughed at his brother’s quip, Hunter and Crosshair walking into the room this time, the Sergeant sitting by your feet whilst the Sniper sat behind your back. “Are you surprised? Our Riduur is carrying Wrecker’s baby.” Crosshair said to Tech, earning a playful scoff coming from the largest of the group. Wrecker turned to look at Hunter with you, both of you attempting your best pouts, “Pleeease?” You asked sweetly, earning a sigh from the tired leader.

You had always tried to sway Hunter to have him wrapped around your finger, usually it always worked in your favour, but since you fell pregnant he’s been able to put his foot down a lot more than before. “You heard Tech, Cyar’ika. Why don’t we get you something different this time?” He offered with a small smile, his hand rubbing up and down your calf over the covers. “We can comm Echo, he should still be at the market with Omega.”

With a soft hum, your finger patted your chin. You really wanted something sweet but you knew your boys were looking out for you, albeit they might go over the top, but it was all you could ever ask for.

You smiled softly at him, “Okay, Hunter.” You grinned, laughing at the visible tension leaving his shoulders at your agreement.

Crosshair’s bionic hand had slowly made its way to your shoulder - the skinnier brother of the group had always struggled to show his affection for you in front of anyone else, but with recent events, he found himself ignoring any teasing that he thought would come his way. “Why don’t we meet them halfway?” He murmured, “You haven’t had any fresh air today.” He told you simply, raising an eyebrow when you whined, “But I’ve had the window open all day!”

“An open window does not give you the same benefits of going outside for a walk, cyare. The benefits that would bode well for you would be the exercise, additionally the—“, “Yeah, yeah, Tech, she knows!” Wrecker interrupted with a gentle nudge to his shoulder. Wrecker turned his face back to yours, leaning his cheek on the mattress to brush his nose with yours, “C’mon, Mesh’la. Cross’s right, let’s get you outside for a li’l bit.” He spoke with his softer tone that he knew you loved and could never say no to.

Your eyebrows furrowed as you attempted to look as though you were physically fighting off your partner’s cuteness, dramatically letting out an exasperated breath, “Fine, I suppose I should.” You sighed, hiding your smile when you could see them relax slightly. “And don’t worry, Mesh’la, I’ll carry you up the hill if your feet get sore!” Wrecker grinned, his hands coming underneath your arms to gently pull you out of bed and to your feet. You hummed in appreciation as his hands drifted to your belly, his eyes softening at the bump beneath your dress.

Crosshair and Hunter stood from the bed while Tech stood from his previously knelt position next to Wrecker, his hand gingerly coming to yours. “If you require assistance walking down the steeper parts of the way, you may hold onto me. I-If you require.” Tech offered, the rim of his goggles hiding majority of his awkward blush. However, just like how Crosshair’s would, the tips of his ears were brighter than anything and had earned a chuckle from the Sniper, “Smooth, Vod.”

You placed a kiss to the tip of Tech’s nose like you had with Wrecker, gently squeezing his hand in appreciation and looking between them, “Thank you both, and you’re right Wrecker, I might need a hand coming back up. And I’ll take you up on that offer, Tech.” You smiled kindly, addressing both of their offers before stretching, walking past Hunter and towards the refresher. “But first, I need to get freshened up, are you okay to wait for me at the door?” You asked, fluttering your eyes at the group, innocently connecting your hands behind your back. With a subtle blush from each of them, they nodded, hastily leaving the room to you for you to get ready.

You were quicker than you were expecting, walking into the dining room to see Hunter on his comm talking to Echo. “Yeah, we’ll be leaving soon - are you and Omega okay to wait up for us?” You smiled as you heard Omega’s excited chatter from the small device, grabbing your bag and slipping on your sandals. Wrecker had taken notice of you when you slipped your shoes on, walking over to you and gently taking the bags from your hands, “Wrecker, don’t be silly - I can carry bags at least.”

“Don’t you worry, Mesh’la. You leave all the work to us.” He beamed, placing a kiss to your lips with a soft squeeze on your shoulder.

You both walked over to the rest of the batch, Tech walking over to your side while Hunter and Crosshair stood by the door, adjusting their bags and taking one last look around your house to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything. Tech slid his hand into yours, and with a gentle squeeze began walking with you out of the door. “Now, cyare. Is there anything else that is calling to your cravings?” He asked, “Apart from anything highly concentrated with sugar for the time being.”

You giggled, looking behind at the group, “That depends… who’s cooking tonight?” The boys looked amongst one another until Crosshair spoke up with a tone of boredom, “Echo.”

“Wait, but isn’t it—“

“Echo.”

You laughed at his adamance, “Does Echo know that? Didn’t he cook last night?”

Crosshair shrugged, placing a toothpick between his lips as you all began your descend to the market stalls. “If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll know it’s his turn to cook.”

Wrecker let out a boisterous laugh, nudging Crosshair’s shoulder, “You can admit ya like Echo’s cooking ya’ know, Cross!” Hunter gently shook his head as the Sniper grunted in protest. “As long as we’re not eating rations again, I don’t mind cooking.” The leader offered, catching up to you and Tech to talk about what you could eat, or rather, what Tech thought was best for you to eat.

It wasn’t long before you reached the bustling stalls of the island, many locals nodding and greeting you all politely, some even asking you how you were getting along. You looked along the crowd, searching for Omega and Echo until you looked up to one of the lamp posts in the distance, “Ah, there’s Omega!” You cheered, pointing and waving at the young girl.

Omega had climbed the foundation of the lamp to get a better look over the crowd, and once she had caught eyes on you with her brothers, she began to wave excitedly, looking down to probably alert Echo. She leapt down and you could only imagine she was running towards you all.

As soon as you saw a flash of her white hair in the crowd you ran ahead of the boys, all of their breaths hitching as they shouted after you to slow down. With an excited giggle you opened your arms for a hug from Omega, spinning her around and squeezed her closer to you. “Ahh, I missed you so much Omega!” You chirped, giving her cheek a gentle peck before ruffling her hair affectionately, “Hey!” She giggled, swatting your hand away, “You saw me this morning!” She said to you with a big smile as you sighed, “I know, and I’ve been stuck with your brothers since then!” You joked as they caught up to you both, Wrecker panting with a worried expression. Omega grinned at Wrecker, giggling a little at his concern before giving your belly a cute kiss and gave you another tight squeeze before running over to her brothers, hugging them all the same. Wrecker walked over to you, his expression still one of concern, “Mesh’la… you scared me, what if you tripped? What.. what if you’d fallen…?” He whispered, his hand coming down to your belly. Your eyebrow raised as you tilted your head, still smiling at him as you didn’t want to undermine his concern for you. “Oh, love… I understand that you— you’re all concerned for me, but don’t forget I was a soldier too. I can handle myself.” You told him, your hand coming to meet his on your bump.

His brows furrowed in thought, knowing that you were more than capable of protecting yourself and his little one - even before the batch had met you, but it didn’t mean he didn’t worry. The first time you had gotten intimate with the boys they had spent, what felt like, hours kissing the scars you’d received in your battles alongside the 501st. You were more than capable of handling yourself.

And that was exactly what worried them.

Your mind still lingered around the days that you were a field medic, a skilled one at that. You knew your way around a blaster and had certainly gotten familiar with the trigger of one. You could patch up a whole squad alongside Kix whilst fighting off any enemies that came your way, a protectiveness in your eyes, and actions, that Clone Force 99 got to witness firsthand when you were assigned on your first mission with them.

You knew that sometimes they would long for the battlefield, and they knew you longed for it, too. It was in their nature to long for it, they knew nothing else, they were made for it - however you chose to sign up with the republic, you had chosen to train to help the clones and Jedi with their battles across the galaxy.

They thanked the Maker that you were assigned to their squad just that one time.

You never left them.

They saw firsthand how much you cared for them, how you refused to see them as, “expendable”. They would shower you with affection alongside your markings, but you would show theirs far more delicate care, ‘A woman’s touch…’ You had told them, disguising your affections with small tales and fibs.

At the time, you hadn’t the words to convey to them how much you cared about them, how their mistreatment angered you, despite of all of their successful missions.

But having been with them for as long as you had now, you made it a daily goal to remind each of these boys how much they had meant to you, especially now you were carrying a child within you. You’d be damned if any of them died on you now.

Wrecker knocked himself back into the present when your hand graced his cheek, “Cyare?” Your voice broke through to him.

He managed a breathless chuckle, his small reminisce on the old days had brought a smile to his face, kissing your palm with a fondness he knew you’d pick up on, “… I know you can handle yourself… that’s what worries me.” He joked, earning a loud laugh from you, gaining curious glances from the rest of the squad. You hadn’t realised that Echo was behind you during Wrecker’s space-out, gently tapping his scomp into your side, “You’re not running around and causing trouble, are you, Mesh’la?” He asked.

Placing a kiss to Wrecker’s cheek, you turned your face over your shoulder to see the ARC trooper grinning at you, dressed in comfortable slacks as his arm wrapped around your waist, his forearm taking some of the weight off of your belly that let you sigh in relief, “Thank you, Echo… And of course not! Who do you think I am?!” You jested, motioning to yourself as both men stared at you unimpressed.

“Our troublesome medic.”

They answered for you, Wrecker leaning in to your right, and Echo leaning in for your left cheek, leaving their kisses on your soft skin with a shy squeal from you. “Hey, we still need to grab some things for our dinner tonight!” You protested, playfully swatting the men away, your arm resting atop your stomach as Wrecker placed his arm around your shoulder affectionately.

“Ah, I already grabbed some things, I thought we could have either this for our dinner or—“ Echo started, showing you a bag full of goodies you hadn’t noticed until now, listing the many dinner options you all could have thanks to the mother-trooper of the group.

Wrecker and you had exchanged a glance before giggling softly, not wanting to make Echo think he’d said something wrong, “What’s up with you two?”

“Nothing, Echo.” You grinned, holding his hand, “We’re laughing because on the way here, we were joking about who was going to make the dinner-“

“Crosshair wanted it to be you!”

“But Hunter’s offered to make it, if you don’t want to.” You explained, smiling softly at your massive partner interrupting you from excitement, grinning at Echo’s stunned face.

He glanced at his shopping bag before looking over at the leader of the group, “Oi, Hunter,” he called, gaining his attention, “Catch.” He said simply, skilfully throwing the bag in his Vod’s direction and smiling once Hunter had caught it, “Figure out what you can make with that.” He teased, his arm wrapping around your back alongside Wrecker’s, “I haven’t been able to spend any time with our lovely Cyar’ika since this morning.” Echo explained, staring down at you with an expression full of endearment.

Leaning into the men’s warmth, your little group continued to walk around the stalls, Hunter looking rather pensive as he began to take his duty as cook seriously, looking for herbs and spices to go with whatever he had planned. Omega would chip in with throwing in random ingredients, charming Hunter with her innocent smile as he would look to Tech to fact check what she had thrown in.

Crosshair, trying his best to remain as enigmatic as he could, kept a close eye on what was going to be involved in your dinner, whispering to Tech and double checking if you would be okay eating certain things. The thought behind his actions warmed your heart, but you knew that you wanted to relax - and you wanted the boys to feel the same. “Cross, we’re not going to get poisoned any time soon.” You joked, looking at him with a raised brow as your arms were still interlocked with Echo and Wrecker, enjoying the time you were able to spend with them on this walk.

Crosshair scoffed, acting as though he wasn’t looking out for you, “Who knows what Hunter’s grabbing? Might make the dinner taste like osik.” He huffed, his ears tinging with a soft blush much like Tech’s would. Hunter whipped around to glare at his brother with a growl, deciding against arguing with his youngest in public before rolling his eyes. You giggled, softly sliding out of Echo and Wrecker’s arms with a soft kiss to each of their cheeks, walking over to the leader of the squad, your hand gracing his shoulder comfortingly, “Don’t worry, Sergeant. The dinners you make are always lovely,” you complimented, sending a playful glare towards Crosshair.

The meals that Hunter would make would always end up being on the blander side, none of you the heart to break it to him that his portioning of herbs and spices did nothing for your own tastes. He could pick up on the faintest of seasonings and at times he’d forgotten it wasn’t the same for you all. It wasn’t until Crosshair used it against him in one of their arguments that Hunter’s world dawned on him.

“For the last time, you need to stop antagonising anyone who comes near us! It nearly cost us missions in the past, and now you’re pissing off the neighbours! Guess who has to apologise, because it’s sure as hell never you?!”

“Yeah, well maybe I wouldn’t be so pissed off all time if it wasn’t for your shit cooking. Your cooking tastes like shit, Hunter. It’s shit.”

When Crosshair had said to Hunter what you’d all essentially been thinking for months, the Sergeant’s posture stiffened and his cheeks had dusted with embarrassment, the only one able to stick up for him without stuttering being Omega. You all lectured Crosshair until he apologised to the eldest brother in his signature fashion - thankfully now it was a joke that was shared between them both.

Now every time he would create a meal he would ask for someone to be there to taste along the way, knowing that just because his enhanced senses lead him towards picking up on every grain of flavour he would add, he didn’t want that to stop everyone else from having a decent meal.

His intentions were met with praise, knowing it wasn’t his intention to feed you all the bare minimum, so he would over compensate with portion sizes, you were a massive family as it was, he didn’t have to feel like he had to feed you all three times over. Wrecker wouldn’t complain, the more he could eat, the happier he was.

Hunter had blushed at your compliment, your use of his rank always making his hairs stand on end, it would always remind him of the intimate moments you would spend with him. Whether it were moments spent with his brothers or just himself, his rank slipping from your lips always excited him in ways he knew he should never have indulged - but with the war for them over, he found himself leaning into his enjoyments a lot more than usual.

But with you all in public, with Omega of all people, he had to bring himself almost to attention, his eyes looking away from yours, “… Thank you, Cyar’ika…” He mumbled, his blush darkening when you had kissed his cheek, grinning at him with adoration. He smiled at your soft giggle, placing a kiss on your temple before turning back to the stalls, Echo deciding to join him and Tech in looking for ingredients.

Crosshair snuck up behind you, his hand lightly tracing your waist as he looked down at your form, “You don’t need to lie to him.” He joked with a straight face, earning a laugh from you. “You can always tell me if you’re sad Cross, I know Echo’s not making the dinner tonight but-“

Your arms came around to hold his jaw, loving the feeling of his chuckle against your back, “Never, ram’ser.” You smiled, leaning up to place a kiss on his chin.

Your attentions turned towards the group, Wrecker now holding Omega on his shoulder, snacking on some of the crackers Echo had bought before you got here whilst getting scolded that they might fill themselves up.

“Y’know… we could sneak back to house without anyone noticing,” Crosshair whispered in your ear, his arms coming underneath your stomach and alleviating some weight, “I could rub your legs… your back,” he began to list, lips coming to kiss the shell of your ear. His voice sent tingles through your thighs and to your core, a pleasant shiver rolling down your back, “And after I’ve given you a massage I could help you relax…” he purred, his fingers comfortably rubbing circles along your belly.

You wanted nothing more than to see Crosshair looking up at you from between your legs, to feel his hands over your body once again.

Since becoming pregnant, all your boys made sure to treat you like the most delicate gems, looking out for your every need no matter what the situation. In the fleeting moments of intimacy you shared with them, they were all incredibly gentle and soft, showering you with constant compliments and praises, paying close attention to your changing body - especially Wrecker.

The thoughts enveloped your thinking entirely, biting your lip with a cheeky smirk, looking at Crosshair from your peripheral. “We’ve probably got… 2 minutes before they realise I’m missing.” You grinned, the sniper matching your mischievous glint, “Well then we better not waste them.” You covered your mouth when a giggle fell from your lips, Crosshair kissing at your neck as he began to direct you back in the direction of your shared house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading!

Sorry for the incredibly rushed ending - like mentioned at the top, this had zero plot when going into it, it was very much writing as the ideas come into fruition 🤣

I’ve never posted a fic to Tumblr before so if you enjoyed, woohoo! 💕

[cawsceries]

your ocs 🔫 tell me everything and anything you wanna share

HI CRYPT i have a lot :]

so i have four main guys with an actual storyline (avry arlo rass rocks). technically five but the fifth doesn't have a name yet so we're not talking about her. and then i have funky little guys (moth, some other clones who i havent posted, and my newest guys cobra and lio!!)

avry is in her early twenties! she was knighted roughly a month before the clone wars began and wasn't supposed to lead a battalion at first. the jedi master who was going to lead the 409th battalion was several weeks away from kamino as the clone wars started, though, and avry was temporarily assigned to the 409th because she's closer and there isn't time to wait.

this temporary assignment is when she first met arlo, who at the time was a captain. in their third or fourth battle, the LAAT/i that was carrying arlo was shot down and his helmet was knocked off in the crash. avry lifted the rubble of the LAAT/i off of the survivors of the crash using the force-- if she hadn't been there, arlo probably would've bled out from his head injury before anyone managed to get to him.

shortly after this, the jedi master in charge of the 409th finally arrives! she's an older rodian training her second padawan, rass. she and avry's master are padawan siblings. avry leaves the 409th in the jedi master's capable hands and is assigned on several small relief missions.

of course, a few months later the 409th has an encounter with general grievous. the jedi master does not survive, but she does make sure rass will make it out alive.

avry is in the area, so she returns to the 409th. rass is supposed to go back to the jedi temple but they can't fathom leaving all of the clones they've befriended and fought beside-- they've already lost their master. so avry (impulsively) offers to take rass on as her own padawan.

and. well. this solves some problems. this also creates more problems. avry is already absolutely terrified about being responsible for a battalion. now she's also responsible for rass as well, who's basically her little sibling. she's not prepared for either of these things, but she's good enough at faking it so she's not going to think about it too much because she might break down and there isn't time for that. she can process everything when the war is over and everything goes back to normal.

she's very good at convincing herself that things will go back to normal.

arlo is doing better overall-- he's been promoted to commander (the original commander died a few weeks after avry left). he has a lot of confidence in avry. between avry saving his life early on, and the jedi master's competence and poise, he's a little ridiculously loyal to the jedi.

he's also a little bit blind to avry's flaws.

hold on. about arlo's pronouns: she is not thinking about her gender in universe until pretty late in the clone wars. i swap between she and he because she will end up using she/he pronouns.

rass meets rocks when their first master is still alive, while scouting out a droid factory. rass is leading rocks' squad and there are droids coming their direction. rass asks the clones if any of them have something that rass can throw to distract the droids. rocks hands over a rock. a few minutes later rass asks for another object. rocks hands over another rock. he has at least ten more.

rass nearly compromises the mission by laughing at the fifth rock produced. after this rass and rocks are inseparable. rocks, who is about an inch and a half shorter than the average clone, is delighted that he's no longer the shortest person he knows.

rass and rocks are my beloveds i love them dearly.

i also have a fair amount of info about avry here and some assorted info about all of these guys here

beyond my "main" four, i have moth (can be summed up by this and this) and cobra (very new guy. hes living his best life. having an affair with lio.) and lio (full name lio veniid. senator. a bit pretentious. not very significant politically. extremely disappointed by cobra's lack of appreciation for wine, has made it his goal in life to change this. its not working very well so far but they're both having a great time)

also fun fact: i have a curse in which i am incapable of drawing arlo's scar correct on any full piece. it's on the left side of her head. (forgot it) (flipped the canvas too many times)

[cantdothis-nomore]

Inosuke Hashibira x Soulmate!Fem!Reader

Basis is that reader gets injured on brink of death and Inosuke is distraught and it ends with fluffiness.

Thank you to @myu3ki for the request and pls request more for demon slayer guys I need more lol 🫶

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

You and the kamboko squad are in this massive fight with multiple demons right

And you are fighting two whilst the others are fighting an upper rank one. As you guys fight you get near deathly injured by one of the demons but continue to fight anyways whilst blood pours down from your stomach along with many other deep gashes.

Eventually thr sun comes up and the demons run away without killing you guys thankfully and you collapse on the ground coughing up blood and wheezing. Through the ability of your soul bond Inosuke could tell something was wrong and alerted everyone

Everyone rushes over to you and inosuke goes with his first instinct and pushes down on your stomach wound to stop the bleeding

You kick and scream for him to stop because it hurts so bad and he has hot tears running down his cheeks behind his masks hearing your screamed cries for help.

Soon enough some hashiras arrive including Shinobu and at that point your screams stop and your body goes limp

Inosuke wrenches off his mask and his heart nearly stops at the sight of you unconscious and on the brink of death

As tanjiro rushes off to get shinobu Inosuke clenches your body to his chest rocking back and forth whilst he sobs

Eventually your body is taken by Shinobu and everyone gets taken to the butterfly estate and cleaned up.

Apart from you.

You got put in a separate room away from everyone else with no visit permissions for anybody

Shinobu told the kamboko squad that it was likely you'd never wake up.

After that news nobody really bothered to talk anymore and Inosuke wasn't his usual self

Tanjiro tried to keep everyone happy but it was clear that he was on the brink of breaking down too

But what they hadn't told the kamboko squad was that you had woken up about 2 months later and your condition was improving amazingly

After the fifth month of waking up you were finally allowed to go outside and wait for everyone to come back from their mission

Even with everything going on they still had to go on missions. Their rage towards the demons thst did this to you made their missions end fast and today they were coming back

As you waited at the gate yoy saw three figures approaching and not being able to control your excitement any longer you screamed their names

In a blink of an eye they were all sprinting towards you

Inosuke was their first and literally crashed into you holding yoy tighter then he ever had before. You hugged him back with equal ferocity and started crying as yoy heard the muffled sobs from his boar head

Tanjiro and Zenitsu came running and jumped on you two and eventually everyone was crying

You guys looked like an absolute shit show lol

Inosuke didn't let you for the rest of the day and when you eventually got to bed he stayed tucked into you, just glad to have his beloved soulmate back once again <3

[risingshards]

Progress update on my big writing fall season extravaganza!

Rising Shards (includes Evy & Stella):

Chapters: 37 / 51 - 72.5%

Reborn in a Fantasy Game with My Rival:

Chapters: 20 / 30 - 66%

Word count goal: 34,578 / 45,000 - 76%

(RS word count not included because the Tapas contest has a specific word count in mind and my current RS document has a bunch of episodes in it so word count calculation is a bit tough)

I got a comment from one of my dear readers that expressed concern about me taking on a ton of writing and possibly burning out and that did make me pause and realize I can't push too hard even with the tight goal of Reborn/the Tapas contest. I have a big push over the next few weeks as the climax of this extra writing for the fall, and have two vacations from writing planned at the end of this month and the end of the year so that will hopefully help with any potential burnout.

It's kind of exciting to be in the home stretch of this; it was very recent I didn't think I'd be having any kind of new series out there, and now I'm about 2/3rds to 3/4ths of the way through depending on the metric. I was thinking I'd rewrite some fanfics but I've ended up mostly writing something totally new (some chapters were from prototypes of the project, it ended up taking more from my troubled Project ZERO than anything in a fanfics). Also shoutouts to my beloved bestie for letting me bounce ideas off of them and letting me know the fanfic idea was boring, it helped this project out greatly!!

I was worried RS would be difficult to keep up with, what with a sudden extra 45k words to deal with, but having a more work-y project makes RS feel super comforting. I've written some nice and soft chapters and any time I get to get back to the RS squad it's really healing for me. So I think taking on this challenge has been really good for me; I was having trouble with writing discipline and burnout for various reasons (mostly the huge depressive episode this year has been I think), but having something new like activated a lot in my brain and I feel like my creative juices are flowing.

For an example of that, last weekend I was having some break days (my like "omg i love my RS characters sm" posting and "WOW LET'S MAKE A NEW COVER FOR REBORN" cover-making were a result of me taking days off) and had some ideas for one of my other WIPs, Wolves of Hope and Stardust, which is me trying to repurpose the old drafts of Rising Shards when it was a fantasy adventure story, so different that I don't consider it a RS thing. With some elements (characters, chapters, concepts) I was gonna put in WOHAS ending up in Reborn, I was thinking about what to do with this thing now. I thought about making it about the generation before Zeta and be in the RS verse again, but there are some big issues there as the generation before Zeta are major villains in RS and not the like "Fun, wanna see them as protags," kind. The kind where I don't know if people would want more of them. I also don't know if a project I want to try to shop around for tradpub should have any ties to my other stuff; I feel like a publisher wouldn't want that (would they???) due to the complicated ownership of things. So I think it may be best to have that as its own universe not connected to anything. Reborn's in its own universe too, so it's kind of fun to write things that aren't part of a big crossover universe. Next steps for this one are to confirm some new names (for like the fifth time), and to do some world building. I'm reading a lot of fantasy books as of late for my book club and for friends that really want me to read some series, so I might look to those for inspiration for where to take this project next.

—Chiral

[squideo]

Behind the Scenes: The Top Animated Video Production Fails and Bloopers

Everyone makes mistakes, and for our small Squideo squad it’s reassuring to know they even happen at the largest animation companies. From DreamWorks to Disney, we’re breaking down the ten most obvious on-screen fails and bloopers in animated films.

Read on to find out who made the cut and let us know if we’ve missed something!

01. The Lion King

The protagonist of this 1994 Walt Disney Studios classic, Simba, grows from a cub to an adult during the course of The Lion King. Changes to his appearance were expected, but there were some minor details that clearly slipped by the producers. Sometimes Simba has three whiskers on either side, sometimes four, occasionally five, and one time six.

The film has some other continuity errors, but this one is definitely the cutest to look at.

02. Shrek

The first film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Film, the Shrek franchise started in 2001 and helped DreamWorks Animation became a serious rival to Pixar and the Walt Disney Animation Studio. Spawning three sequels and two spin-off films, the most recent of which came out in 2022, there’s no sign of the Shrek franchise slowing down either.

Like all studios who have a vast body of work behind them, there’s bound to be the odd blooper and Shrek is no exception. In one scene, Shrek creates a warning sign on a piece of wood which the animators failed to flip when looking at it from behind.

03. Toy Story 2

The sequel to the wildly popular Toy Story came out in 1999 and created more heartbreak when it separated Woody from his beloved owner Andy. Taken in by a toy repairer who sees value in Woody, the name of his owner is erased from existence in a massively satisfying montage which has since been adopted by the ASMR community.

With a sweep of a brush, Andy’s name is painted over. Woody soon rubs away the paint, however the name is suddenly upside down with the A next to the heel instead of at the toe.

04. Beauty and the Beast

No one fights like Gaston, douses light like Gaston, or moves furniture as fast as Gaston. During this musical number in 1991’s Beauty and the Beast, a number of hunting trophies are littered about to show Gaston’s skill – and cruelty. The most prominent is a vast bear rug, which teleports from a cosy spot by the fire to the feet of Gaston’s throne in a matter of moments.

It's a pity Gaston fell to his death (in classic Disney villain fashion), the Prince could have hired him as a decorator.

05. Spirited Away

Studio Ghibli’s 2001 classic Spirited Away became the first hand-drawn and non-English speaking animated film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. This is a technically beautiful film and a Japanese classic, despite the occasional continuity error. When meeting No-Face, Chihiro is surrounded by ropes and brooms – some of which disappear only to reappear in a different frame.

It's such a beautiful sequence, however, that viewers are unlikely to catch that, or the colour-changing cushions, until they’re on their fifth or so rewatch.

06. Cinderella

While Disney’s second princess is most recognised in her ballgown, this 1950 adaptation of the fairy tale also includes a beautiful wedding dress. A beautiful wedding dress with long sleeves. A beautiful wedding dress without a choker necklace. The happy couple leave the chapel, with Cinderella losing one of her shoes in the process (typical).

A quick change must have happened, because only seconds after they board the carriage Cinderella is back in her ballgown – capped sleeves and choker necklace included – with only the veil and tiara remaining in place.

07. Sleeping Beauty

While we’re on Disney Princesses, Cinderella’s successor was Sleeping Beauty which came out in 1959. Influenced by European pre-Renaissance art, Disney wanted their newest fairy tale to look visually different from Cinderella. A lot of detail went into creating this film, which went into development in 1950.

Unfortunately the detail on Aurora’s tiara varies, typically appearing as a plain gold band except in the moments after her collapse from the curse when it is suddenly adorned with gemstones.

08. Monsters, Inc.

If you don’t know what a Code 2319 is, you’ve clearly never seen Pixar’s 2001 masterpiece Monsters, Inc.. Professional scarer, George Sanderson visits an assignment and comes back with more than memories. Coming into contact with a child’s sock triggers a massive alert and protagonists Sulley and Mike Wazowki watch as he is decontaminated – and de-furred.

Considering their aversion to humans, it seems unlikely George would have touched the sock so it must have been an animating error that led to it pointing in opposite directions between shots.

09. The Lego Batman Movie

Running Wayne Manor must keep Alfred busy, but it seems unlikely he’s moving around the portraits every other second. Unless the culprit is the ghost of Batman’s parents, it seems likely then that this blink-and-you’ll-miss-it error was the fault of the animators working on The Lego Batman Movie. When talking to a portrait of his dead parents, the pictures surrounding it change.

It was still a touching scene, and the 2017 film has an impressive 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

10. Aladdin

The animated version of the classic tale Aladdin features Rajah, the devoted and protective pet tiger of Princess Jasmine. Jasmine rebuffs her father, the Sultan’s, attempts to arrange her marriage and it seems that Rajah is on her side. He attacks Prince Achmed, presenting Jasmine with a shred from his underwear as a well-received gift.

When Prince Achmed storms out of the palace however, his trousers are ripped but not his underwear. A funny scene, nevertheless, and suitable for a PG-rated film.

Work With Us

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[umichenginabroad]

Week 4: A Tourists Guide to Life in Aachen

Today marks the very official, very momentous occasion of my one-month anniversary of life here in Aachen. It’s crazy how fast the time has been flying by... Rather than thinking about a looming research deadline or my return to the somewhat less adventure-filled, less “cobble-stoned streets and storybook buildings” state of home sweet home New Jersey, I’ve instead been trying to make the most of the time I have here in this wonderful country. 

Thankfully, the UROP Program and students within it have been giving me plenty to stay busy with. Over the past few weeks here, I have gotten the chance to experience a lot of what Aachen has to offer, from its daytime activities to its nightlife to its food (a personal priority of mine).

After a long day of work and/or classes, a nice daytime outing is exactly what you need and, thankfully, Aachen offers some perfect options. For example, last week we visited the Aachener Tierpark and got to decompress by petting some adorable (highly food-motivated) goats and seeing other amazing animals (including my beloved Red Pandas <3). 

Some goat petting, a serval, and an adorable red panda from Aachener Tierpark

If being surrounded by 30-something very goat-smelling goats isn’t quite the relaxation you had in mind, Carolus Thermen- Aachen's very own thermal bath/sauna/spa- may potentially be more up your alley. Fit with indoor and outdoor heated pools, a lazy river, hot tubs, and even a freezing cold tub if that’s something you’re into??, this spa has everything you need for the ultimate relaxation.

The heated pools at Carolus Thermen

On the other hand, if for some reason relaxing isn’t your thing, UROP offers many hiking trips at scenic locations like Dreiländereck and Höhes Venn (though if I’m completely honest, I must admit that relaxing is my thing, and I did guiltily skip the hiking…) 

If after all that you still have energy to spare, Aachen has all the nighttime buzz of any good university city. Pontstraße is lined with lively bars and any day of the week you can find an open dorm bar at one of the student apartments boasting good deals, good music (partially thanks to our song requests in my humble opinion), and all-around good vibes. I've also learned that local music festivals are also a common weekend event here. Last weekend I attended Schau am Bau with some friends from the program and enjoyed an unsual but nevertheless epic mix of German songs, some combination of metal/pop/rap music, and even Mr. Brightside (shoutout Michigan).

Grand entrance to Pontstraße - the main student street and the stage at Schau am Bau

A good night out always warrants some good food. and if you’re anything like me, then you may find the following information particularly important. The food here can more or less be described in one word: Döner. Everywhere you look, every street you turn onto, you are bound to stumble across the unavoidable, glistening advertisement of Döner Kebab. 6 euros, and a beautiful sandwich filled with a variety of fresh salads, thinly sliced meat, and savory sauces are all yours (for the small small price of accepting that this may very well be your fifth kebab of the week and there's nothing you can do about it). 

Two of many Döner Kebabs that has been had on this trip...

Though very delicious, I’m coming to realize that week 4 may mark the time for me to branch out and try some new options here. Recently, I made the bold choice to try an Asian restaurant here (Lemongrass) and was pleasantly surprised by the crispy chicken fried rice. Naturally, the Wiener Schnitzel is a can’t miss classic, however Aachen is in the wrong region for the most authentic of this cuisine. Though I was initially a bit heartbroken by this information, I have come to the very professional conclusion that the Schnitzel is still delicious regardless. 

Wiener Schnitzel, Crispy Chicken Fried Rice, and the squad at Lemongrass

I definitely hope to keep trying new restaurants, activities, and mini-adventures around Aachen with the remainder of my time here and look forward to continuing taking you all along for the ride with me!

'Til next time!

Sarah Bargfrede

Computer Science

UROP Program in Aachen

[alitheakorogane]

Freedom's Protection: The Eye of the Anemo Archon's Anguish

Summary: Venti had accidentally raised a wind barrier to defend you, your friends, and himself... but it caused some people to suffer the brunt of the Swirl reaction and activated his underlying trauma, causing him to lose control of his emotions and his power. As he was getting close to a nervous breakdown, the people noticed that the skies above the city of Mondstadt are starting to change.

This is the fifth part of Mondstadt's storyline for the Reader Protection Squad SAGAU series.

Note: There are instances of grammatical errors, please bear with me. Also, the entire layout was now changed and I placed a title on them so I could not be confused while I write the next chapters. It's still the same story though.

Warning: Injury, blood, slight PTSD, nervous breakdown, and some OOC moments (I think)

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (current), 6, 7

Aghast by the scene in front of him, Venti lowered the wind barrier and look at his hands in fear, remembering what Lord Decarabian did thousands of years ago. As people were whispering and screaming with each other, Venti then reached for his fake Anemo Vision attached to his hip and stared at it, his young face reflected in the teal glass of the fake Vision.

He had seen his friend's face on it, but the colors are all wrong. His friend doesn't have aqua-blue eyes, they were bright blue. The braids don't have Venti's teal highlights which glow whenever he uses his Anemo powers.

He had started to doubt himself, as a voice keeps repeating in Venti's head, "My friend would never do what I had done with our people, I had hurt them with my powers using his face! I had desecrated his image... I don't deserve to be an Archon..."

As he was getting close to a nervous breakdown, you noticed that the skies above are starting to change, it was a bright sunny day a while ago but it was starting to darken, with dark clouds starting to block the sun's rays. The wind suddenly picked up speed, as leaves and other light stuff started to blow around the area.

"That's strange," you pondered silently, but as you stared at Venti again, you noticed that his teal braids were starting to glow brighter than usual. You then realized why the weather suddenly changed in an instant, as you remembered Vind's words on one of Mondstadt's daily commissions, entitled 'A New Storm Is Brewing'.

"Since Lord Barbatos began protecting Mondstadt, we have not seen a single storm, and the watchtowers have slowly fallen into disrepair."

"Oh, crap."

You facepalmed mentally as you realized that since Venti is the Lord of Anemo and the Archon of Mondstadt, he may have the ability to manipulate the weather, especially in his domain, and it will be affected his current mood. Unfortunately, he was feeling distressed due to the events earlier, and the weather here in Mondstadt is currently sensing his distress and slowly forming into a storm.

You had to do something or this incoming storm would grow and will affect Mondstadt for the worse. And if the city will be destroyed by his winds, who knows what will happen, especially with Venti's implied trauma regarding the first Mondstadt rebellion where two of his beloved friends had died in the middle of the battle. He would be inconsolable.

Bennett, Razor, and Fischl also noticed the change in weather and looked at each other in worry, but it seems like there are some people who are too engrossed with recent events that they never noticed the change in weather. Amber lowered her bow, her right hand pointed at Venti's fake Vision on his hand, and exclaimed, "He uses his Anemo Vision to injure people!"

You then glared at the young Outrider, while Bennett and Fischl just stared at Amber with a deadpanned look. Wasn't her flaming arrows ignited Venti's wind barrier a while ago? Why would she blame Venti, her very own Archon, for something she did?

Acting Grand Master Jean, who was helping her comrades by using her own healing powers, just sighed and shook her head in resignation, as she knew fighting one of the Original Seven Archons was pointless, while Diluc grudgingly muttered how the Knights are inefficient in any way. Deaconess Barbara suddenly rushed down to help the injured, healing them with her Hydro Vision, with some of the nuns assisting her.

Kaeya and Lisa, on the other hand, noticed how the weather changed and noted that the bard must have done something regarding the weather. It seems that there will be an impending storm, with the skies above suddenly turning for the worse than they had ever seen in their entire life living in Mondstadt. They had to do something, or Mondstadt will be in danger if this keeps up.

"He does not only say blasphemy against our Lord, but he also abuses the blessings the bard got from Him!"

The citizens exclaimed as the uninjured Knights started to calm the people down under the orders of the Acting Grand Master, while Mother Maria and some of the nuns scrutinized the bard from head to toe then she compared the bard with the Anemo Archon statue in front of the Cathedral.

Venti was feminine-looking that you could mistake him for a girl, standing confidently with his fancy green and gold ensemble. A lone Cecilia adorned in his green beret, its petals were still as fresh as if it was plucked recently. His green cape was flowing in the breeze, and it seems to resemble wings with how the cape was designed.

In terms of appearance, Venti seems to have a resemblance with the Lord Barbatos statue, the young feminine-looking face, and the short raven hair with teal highlights on his twin braids... He really looks like the Archon. The old nuns started to have doubts about it, along with the others.

Then you noticed the young bard standing up and he had raised his fake Vision with his right hand clutching tightly to it, with tears in his eyes, making the people stop what they were currently squabbling about, and stare at the Vision he was holding. You gasped, as you had seen his tearful eyes narrow in determination and you finally realized what he was going to do.

"Venti, don't do it!" you exclaimed as you now gained the courage to run to him and reach him. You had extended your hand as you ran, wanting to hug and quell his sadness.

He then closed his eyes, breathing deeply, and do something unexpected: he broke the fake Vision with the Anemo powers he had summoned on his fist. As he did so, he unwittingly created a blast of wind that caught you and other people unaware. Those who are closest to him were knocked back to the ground, including you who was just getting closer to him. You gasped in pain, as you gained scratches and bruises over your body because you had hit the floor harder than it should.

"Your Grace!" Bennett screamed as he recovered and he rushed unto you. You stood up, with Bennett and now recovered Razor holding you up for support.

"I'm fine, but I need to get to Venti!" You told them as you started to approach Venti but Bennett had stopped you, his face full of worry.

"This is dangerous, Venti is not on his right mind right now!" He stressed out as you yelled with tears in your eyes, "If this keeps up, everyone will get hurt! The Venti I know wouldn't do that for his people!"

"We know, but hurting yourself isn't the answer!" the young adventurer replied as he held your hand to support you in standing. You winced over your bruises and cuts, and you see your golden blood on them, shining over the light of the day despite the weather.

Wait, golden blood?

Meanwhile, Venti winced over the pain he had felt due to the broken shards, remembering how he made his fake Vision transform into his current lyre, Der Frühling, but he had assured himself that he could make another lyre next time. He had never heard the commotion around him, as he was too busy with his self-pity to see what was happening.

He teared up, not because of the wounds he got from breaking his fake Vision, for the pain in his hand was incomparable to the pain in his heart.

"I'm a monster..."

Everyone, who was still on the ground because of the blast they had experienced earlier, was flabbergasted and confused, including you. They just saw him break his fake Vision, the important part of his disguise.

"He had broken his Vision!"

"Wait a moment, didn't Visions break easily? You had tried that one time when you received yours, Sucrose?" Noelle had asked the young alchemist who just arrived recently. Sucrose nodded as she answered, "It can't, not that I know of. I tried burning it out of curiosity but it was like it wasn't burned at all. It just made a dangerous Swirl reaction instead, kinda injured me that time."

The people were horrified at the harmless sweetie's remarks, causing the said person to shrink back in shyness. How would this girl still be alive with her dangerous experiments with that elusive Chief Alchemist?

"He may have a Delusion in his possession!" Someone screamed in the background, and you assumed that it was one of the Fatui members assigned in Mondstadt. You forgot about them, you facepalmed mentally.

"He does not have a Delusion on him," Jean spoke up as the eyes of every single person were looking at the woman with shock, gossiping around themselves.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, ACTING GRAND MASTER?!"

Jean just said nothing as she continued healing some people with her Anemo power, helping her sister and the nuns in healing the injured.

As people were whispering among themselves, the harsh wind picked up again and swirled in Venti's direction, slowly forming into a small tornado. Your hair was starting to block your eyesight because of the wind, so you held your hair back and then gasped in horror as the sight of Venti's wind surrounded him like he was an eye of an upcoming hurricane.

You and the whole city of Mondstadt then saw the young bard float up from the ground and you could hear his laugh. But it was not his usual "ehe" or his happy-go-lucky laugh, it was a crazed laugh, and the laugh he had right now had chilled the spines of everyone.

He had appeared on a burst of insanity, the distress he had been building for more than two thousand years has starting to overflow like magma on a volcano and started to show signs of eruption.

You could hear the worried chants of the citizens who had seen Venti's outburst. They were now fearing for their lives. You understood that this one is not good for the people of Mondstadt, and you had to do something useful for once.

"How does he still manipulate the wind if we had seen his Vision break in front of us?!"

"The wind... it's not like the usual winds we had in Mondstadt..."

"Barbatos have mercy on us..."

"It can't be..."

"He's..."

"Jean, Diluc!" You shouted at the Acting Grand Master, who was shocked beyond words, "I know that you are distrustful of me and my friends right now, but please evacuate the citizens of Mondstadt that are currently here today! You know who and how powerful he is!"

Diluc and Jean nodded as they acted quickly, Jean commanded her comrades to evacuate anyone who are nearby, and everyone, except a few people, followed her orders.

"How about you?" she replied with a worried look, as you were surprised that she was still concerned about your well-being after what she and her Knights had done to you and your friends.

You responded with a smile, "I'll be fine! Now go protect Mondstadt, I'll be handling your beloved Archon!"

"You will be in danger too if you try to help him in that state," Diluc spoke up, his red eyes narrowed. You just smiled as you could see the concern in the redhead's crimson eyes, even though his expression was unchanged. Typical Diluc...

"I'll catch up with you after, don't worry," you reassured him as you raised a thumbs up at the man. The two looked at each other before they eventually nodded, and ran away with some of the crying children and injured people they could carry with them, but before they did, you saw Jean silently mouth the words of apology to you.

You smiled sadly, hoping that at least all people of Mondstadt would be safe somewhere, but you then noticed the other three people who remained at your side. You widened your (eye color) eyes, still worried about the three people who were still determined to be with you.

"What are you all doing? You should be evacuating!" You stressed out as your gaze shifted from the three youngsters to the tornado-like wind above you.

"We can't leave you here! If you don't go, then we won't either!" Bennett shouted with determination as he raised his fist up. Razor nodded to his friend's statement, his claymore appearing on his hands, as he also added, "We are Lupical, we don't leave Lupical behind."

Fischl spoke in her usual fancy words, her trusted companion flying beside her, "For with my left eye, the Auge der Verurteilung, which sees the threads of fate, I will surely keep you from harm, dearest Grace from the Heavens. Even at the last, when I bring the lightning of retribution upon this world, you shall come to no harm, for thou art blessed by the Prinzessin."

Her bird companion, Oz, just translated his master's words, "Mein Fräulein just wanted to protect you because that's what friends are for."

You were touched by their dedication, making you look at them with a grateful gaze. You wanted them to stay away from here to protect them but you know that they could be stubborn as they wanted to be if their minds are set on a goal in mind.

But before you could reply to their words, a sudden blast of wind shook the entire city like a nuclear bomb, shattering the windows of some houses nearby, and those who are closest to him were knocked back to the ground once again.

Unfortunately for you and your friends, you were also knocked out of your place due to your distance from him. You groaned in pain as you hit your head on the pavement, your blood from the cut on the head suddenly gushing on the ground below. You are pretty sure that you will get a concussion or a serious head injury later on due to the impact.

You were worried by your three friends since they were also with you when the blast hits. You were hoping that they would be okay compared to yourself.

The last thing you had seen before your world fades out into darkness is an image of an angel-like boy floating in the air and looking at you in absolute horror, his teal-colored braids glowing brightly while huge snow-colored wings flapping in his back.

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

I'm back with Part 5. Yes, a new update for Reader Protection Squad.

I apologize if this takes me ages, I had been busy with my schoolwork and tons of fan art to finish in between. I also lost some motivation to write this part, but I managed to get my shit up due to your compliments.

Thank you for the compliments though. To be honest, I'm not a good writer, some people could notice how my old fanfic works are usually unfinished or abandoned over time. This series though was a nice change of pace.

So another cliffhanger, I suppose? It was never intended that way, but as I said, I'm not good at planning, I tend to write on a whim, whenever my imagination takes me. So if you see some...incomplete parts, let me know.

Spoiler alert, the Archon form of Venti is on the way... or the first official appearance of Lord Barbatos, I think?

Yes, @elixirthe3rd, I also wrote for Assassination Classroom, in fact, I made some little one-shot series and an OC-centric fic on that fandom.

-------

Taglist: @mmajoko, @leafanonsforest, @angstylittleb1tch, @sunflowers1970, @haru-tofuu, @kiraisastay, @valeriele3, @ladyorchidia, @peter-the-pan, @i-have-a-lot-of-ocs, @yuyuzi-ling, @aludicpoet, @milly-nila, @yaesflorist, @asoulsreverie, @loafilw, @genshin-impacts-me

[ashiemochi]

ASHIE ASHIE ASHIE

MY BEST FRIEND, MY BELOVED CAN I PLEASE, PLEASE REQUEST AN ANGRY! LEON SMUT FROM YOU WHERE READER DOES SMTH STUPID DURING A MISSION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT?

JUST SOMETHING UNTIL THE NEW FIC COMES OUT

<3 i keep getting carried away with this guy, whoops-

you knew better than to go against your orders - direct orders.

Leon Scott Kennedy was the captain of your squad of five. Each one of your teammates had a specific job to do; one was in charge of scooping out the area. Two had his hands on the strongest of weapons, and mostly explosions. The third and fourth were on Leon's side, guns drawn with attentive eyes - leaving you the fifth; in charge of keeping watch on any oncoming enemy.

"Do not engage. You alert us and we can handle it from there - you understand?"

And you did - but why not engage?

You six were sent to a rural city in Russia, Dargavs Village - balls deep in the winter season. The weather was freezing your tits off but you had to stay put for the sake of the mission. You had gotten a tip that a possible virus was in the making, early stages and whatnot, right underground.

Leon and the rest of your squad went inside the building, leaving you alone with nothing but a flaregun. Your captain could've provided something to keep you warm but no, all you had was a hot pack - that had long gone cold - and your lukewarm coffee in your hydro flask.

It happened all too fast. One second you were keeping an eye out when you noticed numerous snowmobiles stop by the little house, and the next was you alerting your captain frantically. He was alarmed by your tone and told you they were moving out - and judging by his tone, you knew he needed more time to find the research files.

You wished you were the one with heavy ammunition. Your flaregun was for emergencies and you only had three bullets. You picked up the giant duffle bag next to you; it was for your partner - the one with the firearms. When you zipped it open, your eyes widened in glee at the rocket launcher.

You barely voiced your plan to Leon who was instantly against it.

"You keep gathering information - I got this."

"No, Y/N! Do not engage!"

"This is our only shot, Leon! They're too many, they'd wipe you all out!"

"And you can take them out?! This is a direct order - you will get yourself killed!"

"Tell Johnny I'll pay him back for the RPG."

That was the last thing Leon heard before loud rumblings shook the ground. The speed at which he ran out left his squad panting when he reached the open air only to see a massive wave of snow toppling down the mountain. The houses were sturdy enough, made of bricks and cement so he was safe.

How in the fuck did you cause an avalanche?

In the distance, he saw snowmobiles speeding after a white specific mobile - it was you. He ordered your squad to stay inside one of the tallest buildings before sprinting down to hide behind a wall and take down the three masked men, stealing one of the snowmobiles and going after you.

It was one of the most horrible moments with it happening in less than five minutes but seemingly lasting an eternity. When the avalanche had settled down, having taken out most of those minions, Leon was growing concerned by the second, yelling out your name as his eyes scanned the aftermath. Several snowmobiles were poking through the heavy rug of white and something churned in his stomach.

Then there it was; a red bullet flying into the air.

Leon found you hiding behind one of the many trees in the forest, breathing heavily at the adrenaline. You were unscathed. At first, Leon was utterly relieved to see you were okay, the next though...

Well, it led you to this very moment in the confines of the warm hotel room.

To say you were overstimulated was an understatement. Your lips were swollen from your attempts to not be too loud at the merciless rutting of his hips. Your hands were gripping the sheets of your bed, mewling helplessly.

Leon was behind you, having you in a standing doggy position, as he fucked you harshly. You really should've known better than to piss your own captain off - your husband. One of his hands was wrapped around your throat and the other was pressed flat to your back to keep you arched, making you feel every inch of his cock.

"Every goddamn mission," Leon snarled, throttling himself deeper, "You always gotta go against orders, don't you?"

He was mad, you knew that. You fully believed it was valid but then again, you managed to save your team and get the information needed for the assignment. You gave yourself a pat on the back for this and Leon chose to teach you a lesson instead. You weren't entirely refusing it, though.

"Leo- oh, fuck!" You moaned, your arms beginning to shake at the intense pounding. Your poor cunt was quivering at this point, having edged to hit cloud nine god knows how many times. You were never the type to keep count.

"Mmh," Leon muffled his groan, hungry eyes trailing down to the way your pussy swallowed him whole, "Your body listens to me more than you - look at you taking all of me, fuck..."

"I don't think you even deserve to cum," A dark chuckle, "At least not with my cock."

"Please!" You pleaded, eyes snapping wide open with a gasp when a slap left your ass cheek stinging.

Leon sent another smack, the sound echoing in the room, as his thrusts did not relent nor falter. You were up in the clouds, biting your tongue to hold back your shrieks. The action sent you gushing more around him, and he hissed when your walls clenched and contracted his dick.

"So fucking messy..." He chastised, squeezing a handful of your cheek to soothe the burn and he looked up at you, releasing your neck to tug on your hair.

Your moan died up in your throat when he towered over you, sinking himself to the hilt. His eyes bore into yours intently.

"You sure know how to keep me on edge, huh?" He snapped lowly, "How do you think I'd feel if my own wife was along those bastards that died in the snow?"

"It was to, ah, keep you," You whimpered, closing your eyes for a moment, "To keep you safe. I led them away, to save you."

"Isn't that what you taught me and the rest of the team?"

A whisper.

Leon's eyes softened but remained in their sharp icy nature, voice heavy with concern masked with frustration.

"You shouldn't have done that, either way. I'm your captain, you listen to direct orders."

"Yeah," You managed to nod, looking up at him, "But you're also my goddamn husband."

The DSO agent's rage shook, tipping over like a volcano. You were always so stubborn - and he loved that about you. It saved him and deemed the mission a success. He could've lost you that day, making him grow anxious at the mere thought of ever not having you by his side anymore.

You may not have known as you were in the shower, but he was seriously about to tear up. When you had gotten out and only joked about how you almost became like the Winter Soldier from the Marvel comics, that thread of restraint snapped.

"Damn it," Leon's cock resumed pulsing into your starving cunt and letting go of your hair to grip your hips with both hands, "You're a fucking menace."

Your body shook with each thrust, moaning into the air with little to no care about any other hotel room. Warmth was starting to bubble within you, alerting you of your upcoming orgasm. Your legs shook to keep you standing.

Leon grunted through gritted teeth, feeling your walls tightening around him and he quickly slipped himself out right before you came.

"No! Please, let me cu-" You cried out, believing he was denying you yet another high but his lith middle and ring fingers replaced his cock.

"Oh shit! Leon~!" You squeaked as he finger fucked you noisily. His other hand stayed on your lower back to keep you still, pumping in and out purposefully that sent stars flashing in front of your eyes.

The pleasure that hit you was massive - exactly like that avalanche. Except it was searingly hot and shook you to the core. You gushed and gushed, cum dripping to the floor as the clear texture splashed and coated his hand and your inner thighs.

Your arms gave out and your legs nearly followed if it weren't for Leon to pull out and push the back of your thighs so you were on your chest and knees on the mattress.

You breathed heavily, audibly whining at the lingering climax. All that edging might as well blinded you but you soon found out your eyes were only closed.

"Happy?" Leon hummed, a smirk on his lips as he lathered his dripping hand over his rock-hard cock, pumping himself a couple of times.

Your gasp hitched in your throat when you felt that delicious stretch of his giant cock slid right back inside with long and deep strokes. His chest pressed down on your back, his dry hand finding its place around your neck right under your jaw, as he hovered over you.

Leon tilted your head up, diving himself deeper till his heavy sack brushed the inside of your thighs. Your hooded eyes were hazy, faint moans escaping through your lips.

"Did you learn your lesson, baby?" Leon's voice sent shivers down your spine and that loving glint in his eyes was more apparent than ever.

A smile itched the corner of your lips, giggling breathlessly, "I don't know - I wasn't listening."

"Oh, you cheeky..." His chuckles rumbled through his chest, shaking his head as he dropped his head into the crook of your neck, "Guess I have to go from the top, huh?"

"Guess you have to."

You shouldn't have gone against direct orders - but for nights like this, you'd go against the President himself.

[sebsxphia]

Teasing poly!squad out in public!!! Either at the bar or a Navy Ball or something.

How do we think they would deal??

Love you to the moon and back, beloved! Hope you have an amazing day - Teddy 🧸💖

heheheheh this teddy!!!!! this is deadly!!!!!!

the true answer is that i think bob and nat are scarily well with it while jake and bradley are at near breaking point, desperate to put you back in your place.

the navy ball scenario is deadly as well. the hard deck is fine, that’s a causal place. they can drag you away back home or to the toilets as soon as they notice, but at the navy ball there are standards to uphold. surrounded by captains and generals, they have to continue on with the polite conversation while you paw at nat’s ass, giving it a squeeze that’s so tight it nearly makes her choke on her drink.

they warned you before you left too, knowing that you were practically drooling over them in their navy whites. “please, let me have you all now. i promise we’ll still be on time.” you grip at jake’s collar while you wait for the others by the front door. “absolutely not, bunny. and anyway, you think this isn’t hard for us either, when you look that fucking good?” he states and smacks your ass with a yelp. bob comes up from behind you and kisses your neck. “be good, bunny. you know the consequences.”

but you’re not good and they should know better. dragging your fingers over bradley’s crotch for the fifth time while he recalls a story to a general, he politely excuses you both and drags you over to the side. “if you do that one more time, i’ll bend you over this table and fuck you with everyone watching.”

nat catches the conversation and tells bradley she’s more than happy to sort the attitude. she takes you to the bathroom that are made with marble floors and plush seats to powder your nose on. she pushes you against the counter and hikes up your dress. you cry out in protest. “nat! anyone could come in.”

“that’s the point. now count.” you feel the harsh sting of her hand on each cheek. there’s tears pricking in the corner of your eyes and you’re still counting until she lets up. she can’t have you looking too wrecked at a navy gala.

you curl up into bradley’s side when you both come back out and look up at him with a pout. he chuckles while sipping on his expensive whiskey. “don’t look at me like that, bunny. you know the consequences.”

bob snorts at your pleading gaze at bradley, trying to earn some sympathy. “we’ll let you ride our thighs in our dress whites bunny, but you’re not fucking coming.” bob’s cold and calculated words come out so naturally when surrounded by such high ranking officers that you feel a chill creep up your spine.

tee hee!!

thank you so so much for this incredible thot my beloved teddy!! you know i just adore poly!squad and i’m never getting enough of them!!! i love you to the moon and back darlin’ and i hope you’ve had a wonderful day yourself!! mwah!! 💌💖🫶🏼

[feuerspirit]

out of time-au, pt.1

Post-war Europe is stingy and cruel, cold and ruthless equally to the winners and losers in the great war. Sebasian and Michael are the perfect children of their country, mired in the Great Depression, a textbook example of the European lost generation. They carry in the pockets of heavy tweed suits small cigarette cases with bullet chips received at the front, and in the evenings squeeze cheap iron brass knuckles in their palms, from which dark traces of oxidized metal remain on their fingers and bruises on their knuckles, but they won't be able to protect themselves in any other way. Michael is one of the first conquerors of the "fifth ocean", beloved by newspaper readers pilots, who returned to peacetime and failed to find his new place. He fell in love with the feeling of flying, barely lifting an elegantly bulky hang glider into the air, he misses the speed, adrenaline and the feeling of flying, the cars of the post-war era aren't fast enough, and Michael is looking for himself in this world, trying to find something that will give him a similar feeling. Sebastian has returned from the eastern front, and he refuses to talk about what he saw there, even to his closest people. Sebastian has kept the sunshine in himself and the love of life, even after going through the ruthless slaughter of war, and each of them is delighted with his desire for life and determined will, but even he sometimes finds it difficult to hide all these scars left on him by the war. Kimi and Mika are Finnish soldiers who survived, in addition to the Great war, the revolution and the fire of the civil war in their native country, the bloody battles of the Russian-Finnish war. Kimi hides his eyes behind soft peaked caps pulled low on his forehead, and hides bad army tattoos and some scars, under rough closed clothes. Mika has been through two wars, he is a squad commander – an overbearing, charismatic and confident man, he has several thin scars on his nose and neck, each of which could be fatal for him. Mika keeps a close eye on Kimi, Michael and Seb, because he knows that danger can arise at any moment, but he trusts them and thinks only about how to protect them all.

[writefightandflightclub]

Promises (Frankie Morales x GN!reader)

Summary: you’ve been married to Frankie for a decade and he is your dream come true. However, you can’t help but feel that he is a dream you will one day wake from. In your experience, love ends. Can your sweet Frankie convince you he wants you forever, and then some?

Genre: some angst and then teeth-rotting fluff. Soft! Husband! Frankie - established LTR.

A/n: DON’T LOOK AT ME. Not my best characterisation of Frankie at all, but I was in some feels and I needed to see this scenario play out. Blast me. I think it turned out cute.

Rating: Teen, I think, but my blog is 18+, thank you.

Warnings: married couple; quite intense relationship insecurities (unfounded but feelings are valid); abandonment themes (past implied, fear of in future); casual alcohol consumption; language. TYPOS and mistakes. Very subtly implied sexual activity (off-screen, non-explicit); kissing.

GIF: @uuuhshiny

Tagging: @pedrostories

“Ten years of marriage. Fuck me, Cat,” Santi breezes, accompanied by a loose, throaty laugh. “Hell. I knew from the first time you met this one” -he gestures to you with the mouth of his beer bottle and a smile creasing his eyes- “that you were in some deep shit. But who the fuck knew we’d be sitting here toasting you a decade later, hermano?”

“I coulda guessed,” Will beams and you return his easy smile. “These two got it made.”

The group all clink beer bottles and exchange goofy, beer-addled smiles. Happily, you link your closest arm into the crook of Frankie’s where he idles next to you in the booth, smoothing your other palm up and down over his soft, worn flannel and basking in the jovial atmosphere, your dearest friends and the love of your life surrounding you.

“Well. Congrats, to the Morales family,” Benny pipes up with a beaming flash of teeth as your bottles touch. “Ten fucking years, boys,” Benny adds with jumped up eyebrows and a little shake of his head with respect and disbelief at your milestone. “Power to ya, man. It’s beautiful.”

At that, Frankie twists to plant a little kiss on your head where it’s resting on top of his shoulder, his grizzled, patchy beard tickling against you. You can hear the smile in his voice as he speaks, and it makes your own cheeks hurt in turn. “Ten years with my soulmate,” Frankie purrs, his voice logged with such wet, sappy sentiment that it gains good-natured groans from the group.

Santi’s expression becomes wistful, and he swigs on his beer pensively. “Shit. I couldn’t do what you guys do. Sticking with one person? I gotta play the field a bit longer, man.”

Santi’s comment is light-hearted, you realise. You know that deep down he longs to settle, to be loved, but you indulge him in his bravado with a polite chuckle. Benny, meanwhile, almost spurts out his beer at the prospect that Santi is still trying to sell himself as a bit of player, even as the wash of grey has crept entirely over his once raven curls.

“What?” Santi says, his defensiveness spiking, even as his words are paired with a lopsided grin. “My knees have some life in them yet.”

“It’s not your knees I’m worried about,” Benny sniggers, and the two fall straightforwardly into characteristic bickering. Your eyes crease with fondness. You don’t think the two of them will ever truly grow up, even if Benny does have his partner and four kids - a fifth soon to join the family. That man wants a whole damn squad.

You let the boys’ banter wash over you, a pleasant background noise. You enjoy the slight buzz from the beer, and the sturdy warmth of your beloved Frankie at your side.

You’re happy.

You really are. Here with your husband and your best friends, in celebration.

But… there is a niggle you have been wrestling with. A whisper under the surface. A worry that you’ve had ever since you found Frankie.

How much longer can this last?

Frankie is too good to be true, and sometimes, you feel like he’s a dream you’re about to wake from.

“What’s your secret then, guys?” Will asks, politely shifting the focus back to you and Frankie, and you quickly counteract the frown that has unwittingly settled itself on your brow. “Got any sage wisdom for the rest of us?”

Yeah. Sure you do. You’d have plenty if you thought about it. Your relationship is stronger than ever. It’s a true partnership, and you take care of each other. Adore each other. But there’s something about this milestone which has your age-old insecurities flaring up.

Maybe he’s bored of me.

Maybe he’ll want someone else. Maybe he does already.

Maybe he’s unhappy.

Maybe he doesn’t love me anymore.

Maybe he regrets marrying me at all.

Maybe he’ll leave me.

How much longer can this last?

A hard, involuntary gulp trails down your throat, and you attempt to plaster over your niggles with a soft, unconvincing laugh. “Well… ten years and Frankie hasn’t left me just yet. Think we’re doing okay - I’ll take whatever I can get.”

Your comment could have been passed off as a light-hearted one, if it wasn’t for the fissures in your voice. The slight wetness in your eyes, causing the boys to exchange surreptitious glances of concern and awkwardness with each other.

“Baby,” Frankie says into your hairline, voice rich with love. “Never. I’ll never leave you.”

You want to believe him. You do. You have tried.

Frankie makes it easy to trust his love for you; but your insecurities make it hard, and it’s a constant battle. You wish you could be certain, but in your experience, the only certainty is that eventually, love ends.

Love is routinely talked about as if it’s forever, but it’s more often fleeting. Only ever temporary. No-one loves you your whole life, after all, do they? Even if you feel that you love Frankie so much that it hurts - that an eternal flame burns in the pit of you which could light the vastness of the universe and the rest of time… in your experience, love ends.

This love will end. His love for me will end.

He had promised you he would be with you until death, but you’d never had it in you to believe Frankie’s promise completely. Even as that made you feel guilty, as though you were doubting him.

You’re along for the ride, for sure, as long as it lasts. You’re invested and you’re damn grateful; but… somewhere deep down, you just keep waiting for it to run its course. To… stop. For the wheels to fall off. For it to languish into nothing. To be torn apart abruptly, intricately stitched together souls ripped painfully from the joining seams. There seem to be a million ways it could end and only one way it could last, and a part of you has been waiting for it to end since it began.

People leave you.

People have left you over and over, one way or another.

Why would Frankie be any different? Frankie is a dream come true; and dreams always end, don’t they?

In your experience, love always ends.

Frankie makes it easy; so easy. But other things make it hard.

You smooth the worry lines from your face, glossing over them with a closed-lipped smile.

“I know. I know, Francisco,” you say with as much lightness as you can muster, covering over the fissures with an attempt at humour. “But if you ever change your mind you let me know, mmmkay?”

And, you stand from the table, under the guise of buying a fresh round of drinks, that single blaring thought is loud in your head.

How much longer can this last?

He was younger when he married you.

You were younger too.

You were different.

He couldn’t know how it would turn out.

How you would turn out.

What you would become together.

Who else he would meet. Who else he might want.

A tangle of emotion burns in your gut. You wish more than anything that you could feel safe and secure in this love -it’s what Frankie deserves for the way he so diligently loves you - but some things, quite simply, make it hard.

You hasten over to the bar and join the queue, grateful that you are distanced and facing away from the group as tears shimmer in your eyes, which you try hard to bite back.

Maybe he regrets it.

Maybe you’re runing his night by getting all upset.

Maybe you’re ruining his life.

Maybe he’d be better off without you.

Maybe he’d be happier with someone else. Happier alone.

People always leave you.

You’re not good enough to be loved forever.

Love always ends.

“Never. You hear me?” Frankie asks, drawing up to your side in the queue, his warm hand appearing at your waist and smoothing the faintest and gentlest of circles there.

You close your eyes tight and maintain your position, hands folded in front of you.

Frankie knows you. He knows you in a way no-one else ever has. He is familiar then, with the weight of your insecurities. He has held you while you cried over them. He has kissed them from your bare skin. He has driven as many of them away as he could, with his love alone.

But he knows. He knows that a certain, ever present shadow lingers. That sometimes, it rears its ugly head. That sometimes, loving him hurts.

He knows you so well, in every aspect, and he shows it in everything he does. To him it is effortless to love you. Painless. Healing.

Even the weight of his hand at your back is perfectly judged. The tone of his voice. The careful balance between the amount of reassurance he knows you need and the amount of softness he figures you can bear before buckling under your emotions. He knows you won’t wish to get upset in front of the group. He knows what you need.

He is here by your side. He always is. You wish you could believe he always will be.

He’s here with you now, and you are endlessly grateful as he kisses the top of your head and reiterates his promises.

He’s a dream come true, this man.

You love Frankie Morales so much it hurts.

But there it is, all the same. That niggle. That shadow.

How much longer can this last?

One week later

“It’s been ten years, baby,” Frankie begins, his voice all choked up.

He has whisked you away on a surprise weekend to the cabin, the two of you enjoying quality time - relaxing days and cosy nights, and celebrating your milestone in the way which suits you both; together. No distractions. A “dumbass free weekend”, you call it, finally getting some time away from the squad as well as the stresses and strains of daily responsibilities.

Your insecurities have waned since that day in the bar, though they aren’t all the way gone - might never be, but they are far enough from your thoughts right now for you to be present in the moment, enjoying your husband in all respects - his company, his conversation, and his body, whether looped in his arms with your head against his chest as the fire crackles before you, or writhing, smooth and warm and tangled under the itchy wool blankets as you stave off the chill in other ways too. You are in heaven, spending slow days and nights tasting wine on his tongue and cologne on his neck and salt on his skin. Basking in him. It’s a rare and perfect treat.

This evening, you are standing out on the wraparound porch, where Frankie had hung strings of fairy lights upon your arrival, giving the place an ethereal glow.

You nod and smile through shined eyes as Frankie speaks, your husband gathering your hands up in his and bringing them to his lips. He plants trembling kisses over your knuckles, your whole middle aching with the tenderness of it.

Aching because of loving, and because of being loved in equal measure.

He drops a kiss on your wedding ring with a smile - as though he’s still happy about the promise he made you all those years ago. As though it continues to bring him joy; the fact that you are his. That you promised to love him.

Frankie has been doting on you all weekend, of course - always does- but his statement smacks of a new intensity. A depth of feeling and intent that makes you straighten up and listen.

“Ten years, baby,” he purrs in his revving, rich voice. “And I love you more every goddamn day.”

A half laugh half sob escapes your lips as Frankie’s deep eyes shine with an adoration more sublime than the starlight, creases radiating out across his cheeks and deepening that single dimple on his cheek.

You’re so happy.

So happy it hurts.

“Ten years,” he continues, his voice cracking, as though he needs to find more room in the thrum of his voice to let all the love in. Imbuing it with even more warmth than usual. The sound of it, thick with emotion, makes a lump ball in your throat. “A lot has changed along the way, cariño. We’ve changed. You’ve changed. But I love who you’ve grown into. I love who we are together.” Your eyes search his, with a rare trepidation, and you find nothing but sincerity living there. “I love the life we’ve built, together. I have roots now, baby. Something I didn’t have for a long time. I have that thanks to you.”

Your lower lip trembles as Frankie continues his praises and his professions.

Frankie is a quiet, thoughtful soul. An observer. A perceiver. A man of few words; and, when he does elect to speak, to share, his words are chosen carefully. That means when he speaks now, his sentiments are all the more profound; you know he does not say things he does not mean.

Frankie inhales a breath, a punctuating moment before gently dropping your hands and reaching inside his jacket, face cloaked with a soft, watery smile.

“I say it, that I’ll never leave you. That I don’t want anyone else but you. But I want you to know it. To believe it. And I figure, if asking you to be mine, and promising to be yours -that one time all those years back isn’t enough, I’ll ask you again. To show you I don’t regret this. That I would make that same decision -from ten years ago- a thousand times over, baby.”

Frankie pulls out a small blue velvet box, and your palms travel up to your face, covering your mouth in shock.

“I would marry you again today,” Frankie chokes, tears beading in his eyes. “In a heartbeat. I would marry you again tomorrow. And the day after that.” He gets down on one knee, wooden boards creaking beneath him as he settles in place at your feet. “I would choose you then, baby, and I choose you now. I’ll choose you every damn day of my life. I promise you.”

Frankie ceremoniously flips open the lid of the blue velvety box, and to your surprise, there is a pendant and chain pooled inside, coordinated perfectly with your wedding ring, sparkling up at you and glinting in the fairy lights.

You look down at your husband, misty eyed and entirely taken aback for a moment, causing Frankie’s face to split into a grin.

“You already have a ring. You’re wearing my promise on your finger. I’ll hang it ‘round your neck too. I’ll put my promise on every inch of you,” Frankie’s voice cracks and with it tears ball in his shined eyes. “I’ll get up in front of you and everyone all over again and show them how much I love you. Will keep loving you. So, will you marry me, baby…” - his mouth tips into a cautious smile- “…again?”

“Frankie….” you breathe, your fingers still clasped over your mouth, shaking against your lips as your husband sets the box aside, in favour of smoothing his palms up and down your thighs and hips, needing to touch you. Smoothing his promise into you with his palms like you are a blessing cupped in his hands.

Tears spill over your cheeks, confused noises of surprise and elation and emotion passing your lips.

“Frankie,” you repeat, looking down at him on one knee for you, asking you to be his.

Just like last time. A little older; sure. A little greyer. But every bit as sincere.

Ludicrously, Frankie almost looks just as nervous as he did the first time, and it causes a sweet, musical laugh to escape you as you reach down to clasp his warm hands in yours.

“So… will you?” he asks, his soft brown eyes swimming with apprehension. “I chose who you were then, and I choose who you are now. Do you choose me, to be with you?”

You choose him. Of course you do.

You choose him everyday.

You know that this is a gesture. You know that this may have been spurred on by a desire to calm your insecurities. But Frankie doesn’t say things he doesn’t mean. Looking at him now, you know he means it just as much as he did ten years ago, and, here’s the kicker; maybe even more so. Maybe even more so because your love has only depeened since then. Because you have become more solid and more intertwined and know each other better. You are better able to promise. Better able to love, with all these new parts of yourselves uncovered.

“Fuck. Please say yes,” Frankie says, reaching up to scratch his mop of hair, and a small quiver in his voice - hovering somewhere between nerves and humour.

Your face splits into a grin of unadulterated happiness, adoration spilling out of you. “Yes, Frankie. Yes. I’ll marry you again.”

With a gasp of air, Frankie surges up to kiss you, sudden and tender, then his arms drawing you more deeply into his sturdy embrace.

“I love you,” he revs softly into your hair as he kisses your hairline. “You make me the happiest man alive.”

A fresh batch of tears -happy tears- wet your cheek. “I love you so much it hurts, Frankie.”

He pulls back from you then, a dull, concerned spark in his eyes, his firm hands planted on your shoulders so he can examine you. With the crook of his forefinger, he swipes away a stray tear, his eyes shining with intensity. You see Frankie select his words carefully, turning them over in his head before he settles on them. “It shouldn’t hurt to love me, baby.” A lump swells in your throat as his finger traces along your jaw - hooks under your chin. It shouldn’t. Frankie makes it so easy, but other things make it hard.

“Sometimes… sometimes it does,” you admit, the bitter pain of your insecurities flaring subtly in your eyes.

Frankie nods slowly in understanding, drawing you closer, and a tentative smile passes over his sweet face.

“I know, baby.” He does. He does know. He knows you, and he loves you. “I know I can’t take your pain away,” he admits, winding his hands around your waist, a gentle heat brewing in his eyes. “But… if it hurts… will you let me kiss it better?”

You beam at him, brimming over with love, and a longing to hold Frankie closer - skin-to-skin - spreads warmly through your middle.

How much longer can this last?

You hope it can last forever, and, as Frankie gently draws your lips to his, for once you let yourself believe it. As he adorns your whole body with his promises, kiss by kiss falling over your skin like jewels, it finally doesn’t hurt to love him.

It finally doesn’t hurt to be loved.

There is a different voice you take note of. A faint one, but one you hope to stoke.

One whispering:

This can last.

[yurimother]

How 'She-Ra' Delivered on Queer Promises and Helped Revolutionized LGBTQ Representation

DreamWorks's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power has already cemented its place among the short but rapidly growing list of children’s animated shows with impactful LGBTQ representation. Showrunner Noelle Stevenson made it a point to push and fight for more diverse characters in every aspect from race, to personality, to sexual and gender identity. However, the finale of the GLADD Award-nominated program delivered on a revolutionary promise built up throughout all five seasons and completed one of the greatest queer narratives ever seen in children’s media.

As She-Ra progressed, Stevenson became more encouraged and inspired to pressure executives to allow more and more explicit LGBTQ characters and relationships. While ever-present in the series, season one only featured a background couple, Spinnerella (Noelle Stevenson) and Netossa (Krystal Joy Brown), and of course, the famous dance sequence between Catra (AJ Michalka) and Adora (Aimee Carrero). While this amount of representation is comfortably leagues ahead of the vast majority of cartoons, the show only upped the ante and the amount of representation from there. Season 2 introduced viewers to George (Chris Jai Alex) and Lance (Regi Davis), Bow's fathers. The series presents them in a normalized fashion as a happy gay couple in love that built a family together. Jacob Tobia's non-binary Double Trouble featured heavily in season four, making them one of the first non-binary characters in children's animation and one of the first to holding an integral role in the show, a major step in representing such identities.

The many achievements and strides She-Ra in LGBTQ representation featured in She-Ra will doubtlessly affect other projects in the industry and help further programs walk a similar path. However, the greatest queer story inShe-Ra is the spectacular series-long arc exploring the relationship and dynamics between de facto antagonist Catra and protagonist Adora. The former friends, who grew up together in the ranks of the Horde, turn enemies at the start of the series after Adora gains the power of She-Ra and betrays Catra, joining the Rebellion.

Fans quickly began speculating on the nature of Adora and Catra's relationship during season one, mainly because of the Princess Prom dance scene. After the young women shared a charged and sinister dance, fans quickly began supporting and analyzing "Catradora." The next three seasons would gradually and gracefully define both characters' complicated feelings for each other. Initially, Catra attempts to rationalize Adora's leaving as a relief or else forces herself to appear apathetic towards it. She continuously uses the excuse that she is no longer living under Adora's shadow to gradually build up more power, rising through the ranks of the Horde while stepping on those who helped her.

While Catra's motivations are appropriately layered and complex, it becomes clear that she is attempting to win approval, to be less alone than she has felt since Adora abandoned her. She seeks others' approval, including her abusive maternal figure, Shadow Weaver (Lorraine Toussaint), and the cruel Hordak (Keston John). However, Catra does not realize until confronted by Double Trouble's gut-wrenching and emotionally resonating analysis of her psyche. They inform Catra that the reason she is alone and abandoned, she pushes others away. The realization that her problems and loneliness are by her own doing combine with her guilt for betraying her allies Scorpia (Lauren Ash) and Entrapta (Christine Woods), leads Catra to an emotional breakdown.

Thee fifth and final season of She-Ra opens with Catra still plagued by loneliness and self-doubt. She starts to form a bond with Prime's captor Glimmer (Karen Fukuhara), seeing her guilt reflected by Glimmer's regret for trying to use the Heart of Etheria's power. Eventually, Catra learns about Adora's impending rescue attempt and the villainous Prime's plants to capture her once she arrives. Ultimately, all the feelings and circumstances surrounding Catra clash together as she remembers a childhood promise that she and Adora would always be friends. The revelation that she loves Adora finally causes Catra to turn and do "one good thing," protect Adora. She frees Glimmer to prevent Adora from walking into Prime's trap; thus, Catra becomes the Horde's prisoner.

Adora's character arch is much less tragic than Catra. The "frenemies" clash multiple times throughout the early seasons with an ever-shifting dynamic that hints at their intricate relationship and confused romantic feelings. But, at the end of season three, Catra's reckless plan against Adora almost leads to Eternia's destruction. As Catra taunts and blames Adora for her suffering, Adora seemingly ends their conflicted relationship, noting that Catra's misdeeds are all her own, "You made your choice, now live with it."

In the final season, Adora has lost the powers of She-Ra. But, she continues to charge into battle headfirst, exposing herself and her tendencies to put other's wellbeing before her own. This tactic mirrors why Adora left Catra's side in the first place all the way back in the first season. She places more importance on duty and service to others than herself and her friend. Later, while Adora, Bow (Marcus Scribner), and Entrapta are traveling towards Horde Prime, Catra sends a signal to their ship, apologizing for everything she has done while teleporting Glimmer to them. Adora decides that she cannot leave Catra behind, and the Best-Friend Squad hurries to rescue Catra from the Horde. Adora saves Catra not only from Prime's vile clutches but her loneliness too. Adora's exclamation "You matter to me" is a powerful and victorious moment, as the two friends turned enemies unite, and acknowledge their connection.

Unfortunately, even after the Adora and Catra are together again, conflict continues to rise between them and with themselves. Catra feels unlovable because of her past and so convinces herself that Adora will not accept her feelings. She continues to struggle with abandonment, especially when Adora willingly takes the responsibility of a suicide mission to destroy the Heart of Etheria, yelling, "It doesn't always have to be you." Sadly, Adora again abandons her, putting the good of everyone else above herself and Catra. Acknowledging that Adora, "Always sacrifices everything for everyone else," Catra runs away. However, upon realizing that Prime is moments away from taking control of the Heart and killing Adora, Shadow Weaver and her run to rescue the girl she loves.

As Adora journeys to the Heart, she sees and an illusion of Catra, envisioning that her friend meets her to approach the suicide mission together. Soon, Adora faces a vision of Mara (Zehra Fazal), the previous She-Ra, who tells her that she does not always need to sacrifice herself and is deserving of love too. She becomes trapped without her powers by a first-ones' guardian until Catra and Shadow Weaver save her. Telling Adora to go on, Catra stays to fight the beast in vain. Moments before destroying the Heart and herself, Adora finally chooses to return to Catra, to put Catra and her own happiness over her sense of duty.

As Adora and Catra approach the Heart, the former almost succumbs to Prime's power and has one final vision. Adora dreams of living a life in peace in Brightmoon alongside her friends, Glimmer and Bow, and with her loving, playful partner Catra by her side. In the apparent final moments before her death, Catra reaches out to Adora. At last, the two confess their love for each other and embrace in a momentous kiss, restoring She-Ra's power to Adora. Renewed in strength and standing beside her beloved, Adora finally destroys Horde Prime. The series ends as Adora and Catra plan to travel together and restore magic to the universe and fades to black as the couple prepares to take their next journey together.

as Adora and Catra plan to travel together and restore magic to the universe and fades to black as the couple prepares to take their next journey together.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power has always been a powerhouse of LGBTQ representation, especially the final season. For example, it heavily features former background characters and married couple Spinnerella and Netossa in leading roles, as Netossa attempts to recover her wife’s mind from Prime. However, the relationship between Catra and Adora is not only the series highlight but a revolutionary in LGBTQ representation in children's television.

LGBTQ history in children's media and cartoons is disappointingly brief and, at times, unpleasant. Early examples mostly featured coded queer characters with harmful and stereotypical traits, such as the Silver Spooner from Dexter's Laboratory. Some works were able to include less harmful depictions. Networks allowed characters like Richie from Static Shock, who is gay, to exist as long as their identity was kept extremely subtextual.

Slowly some more limited progress was made, and a few less offensive or hidden characters were permitted to appear in one-off and minor roles. Nelvana's Canadian animated sitcom, 6teen included many vague but most neutral references to homosexuality and eventually a one-off character Jean, who says that she is "gay" and has a girlfriend. Notably, this 2009-episode marks not only one of the first moments of a character confirming their sexuality but also using the word "gay." This feat is so rarely replicated even in LGBTQ family media that even giants like Steven Universe do not include it. Outside of pedantic educational programs on minor networks, it may be the only time someone said "the-G-word" in such media until 2019's Kippo and the Age of Wonderbeasts  (live-action sitcom Andi Mack on Disney Channel also used the term that year). Sadly, American showings cut 6Teen's references to homosexuality, and the episode featuring Jean never aired at all outside Canada.

When most people look back to the beginning of the recent small boom in cartoon LGBTQ representation, they point to The Legend of Korra. In 2014, the series finally ended with female leads Korra and Asami taking hands and going on a private vacation in the spirit world. The Korra moment set the LGBTQ fandom on fire. Even so, the show faced incredible resistance and backlash. After the final episode aired, creator Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino had to go online to confirm that the somewhat ambiguous finale indeed depicted a same-sex romance. They then began to face backlash from a section of the fandom who believed bringing this badass bisexual moment to television was only for fanservice or to forward an agenda.

The Legend of Korra was a revolution in modern children's television, putting cracks in the oppressive dam that kept such dynamics out of the limelight and slowly pushed back against the status quo, allowing for more LGBTQ representation. Now, over five years after Korra, numerous children's programs feature queer characters in minor and supporting roles, often more explicitly than Korra was able to do. The Loud House includes a main bisexual character, and there are queer characters and couples in multiple works, including but not limited to Gravity Falls, Adventure Time, and Craig of the Creek.

The most notable LGBTQ representation in a children's cartoon comes from Rebeca Sugar's incredible creation, Steven Universe. As with She-Ra, LGBTQ characters make up a large portion of the cast and it features several groundbreaking LGBTQ scenes, including the iconic wedding of Ruby and Sapphire.

Sadly, many of these works had to fight tooth and nail or suffer through horrific backlash because of their dedication to diversity. Alabama banned an episode of Arthur that featured a gay wedding, and the depiction of lesbian mothers in Clifford the Bid Red Dog caused some parents and organizations to speak out against it. Perhaps most famous of all, Rebecca Sugar had to struggle to put LGBTQ representation on the small screen. Ultimately, to make the wedding scene happen, Sugar had to lay everything on the table and was willing to see themselves separated from the show and have it end to bring their vision to life. Unfortunately, many other countries censor the show to remove LGBTQ content. Still, Sugar's tireless work has pushed the boundaries of LGBTQ representation in children's media so incredibly far, allowing shows like She-Ra to exist.

The recent rapid progress of LGBTQ representation becomes apparent when comparing She-Ra to the "originator," Korra. The series share similar themes and mutually place importance on diversity in its main cast. At the climax of both programs, two female main characters became romantic partners for the other. However, the differences are what truly sets them apart and highlights the progress representation has made. Back in 2014, holding hands and staring into each other's eyes was the most action Korra could feature.

However, a myriad of queer characters and identities perforate She-Ra, all of which are more apparent and obvious thanks to actions including kisses, confessions, and other actions. This difference is especially true in season five, where even the title cards feature Netossa and Spinnerella engaged in a passionate kiss. Of course, the main couple was permitted a full on-screen confession and kiss, as Catra and Adora locked lips in the final episode. Finally, many "critics" complained that Korra and Asami's relationship came out of nowhere, despite it progressing the show’s last two seasons. If one were to assert the same claim about She-Ra, they need to completely ignore how Stevenson built Adora and Catra's romantic relationship as a fundamental aspect of the show from the very start.

She-Ra's depiction of queer characters was deliberate, explicit, and incredible. Not only did LGBTQ side characters express their identities in a variety of ways, but the main couple also got to show their love with both words and a kiss. Furthermore, and perhaps even more importantly, the main couple in She-Ra got a happen ending and a future for them and the viewers to imagine and look towards with excitement. Sadly, many LGBTQ characters and couples do not get to experience such conclusions. For decades, queer relationships ended in tragedy, often with the death of one or more queer characters killed off as part of the "bury your gays" trope. Even if the characters live, narratives rarely provided a happy future for those with queer identities. Sadly, this trend is alive and well. Recent examples include Adam from Voltron: Legendary Defender and Annika and Neha from The Dragon Prince.

Stevenson actively set out to avoid this trope in She-Ra, telling the Los Angeles Times, "I can't see another gay character die on TV for the moment." Not only did she not kill Adora and Catra, or any of the show's other queer characters, she gave Adora and Catra, the two lesbian leads in love, a happy ending. The show even offers viewers and Adora a glimpse of one possible future for the couple in the final vision of domestic bliss in Brightmoon. Both Adora and Catra struggle and suffered greatly, but they were allowed a happy ending and the opportunity to look forward to a life together. For the two main characters of a children's cartoon to achieve such a fantastic ending in such an explicit way is a genuinely revolutionary moment of representation, proudly standing alongside defining scenes like and Ruby and Sapphire’s wedding in Steven Universe. Importantly, both shows are made by queer creators, showing young viewers that people like them can achieve and create great things and that there are those out there fighting for them. For these reasons, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is one of the single most significant works of LGBTQ representation in children's media.

Queer representation in children's media matters so much, likely more than it does in any other medium. It normalizes LGBTQ identities for families and sends a powerful message to all LGBTQ children who may be feeling sad or alone or sacred: 'You are not alone, you matter, and you are accepted.' These words, implied with every positive depiction of queer identities, save so many children and young adults from unnecessary suffering and sometimes even saves lives. Noelle Stevenson and She-Ra will likely create giant waves in the medium just as Steven Universe did before it, and generations of queer people, myself included, wait with bated breath to see what results from it.

[recurring-polynya]

Rukia's drawings are known to consistently resemble bunnies, Byakuya is known to draw the seaweed ambassador, which other characters are known to have distinctive art styles and what do they look like that make them so distinctive?

I strongly encourage you to obtain a copy of Color Bleach, a publication which is tremendous for any number of reasons, including the fact that it contains the worst recruitment brochure you’ve ever seen, featuring art by many of our assorted regulars. You can also see these drawings on the Bleach wiki, under the entries for the individual squads. I don’t usually mind posting some manga panels to make a particular point, but I didn’t want to wholesale repost a big section of a book, and it’s really worth every penny, but I will give my  impressions of the art that appears there.

I would not have pegged Yamamoto as that dude in your fifth grade class who loves to draw big muscle-y guys, and yet what is it I see here?

Omaeda actually has some decent art skills?? My man even has what approaches some style. Probably part of his noble upbringing included art lessons, and I feel like he was into making his own comics at some point. 

Soi Fon’s art is very stylized, but I kinda dig it. Does she draw things that are not black cats? Doubtful, but there’s something to be said for doing one thing and doing it well. 

Unohana appears to be skilled in the classical sumi-e style, which tracks. 

Momo is a very talented artist, and “drawing” is listed as her special skill elsewhere in the databook. The picture she has here is, um, a very shoujo version of Aizen. I like to think that in addition to drawing at a level where she could conceivably draw her own manga if she had the time and inclination, but I think she’s probably talented in a more realistic style, as well, and probably also does some painting, etc. 

Oh Renji, my Renji. He doesn’t have a lot of skill, but he’s got both style and enthusiasm. I think he’s a decently talented doodler who specializes primarily in Zabimarus. Imagine being a Squad Sixer and getting some paper returned to you with a little Zabimaru at the top screaming “GREAT JOB!!!” I would simply die.

Komamura. Komamura, my beloved. Okay, I can’t help it, this thing just has to be seen to be believed:

(the top one is Komamura’s, the bottom is Iba’s). I mean. He’s a dog. What do you expect? 

Iba, on the other hand has some real style going there. It reminds me a little of, like, WWII nosecone art. I’ve made a lot of jokes about Iba’s mom being into painting (namely big, Georgia O’Keefe style flowers) so she probably made him take art classes as a kid. He’s probably super-embarrassed about how good he is, but I bet the hit rate on his Squad 11 Recruitment Brawl posters was a lot better than Yachiru’s. 

Hisagi is also a pretty good artist?? I’ve said before that I think Hisagi picks up a lot of hobbies and never gets terribly serious about any of them, but since drawing is sort of a foundational skill for a lot of other stuff and he’s had, like a hundred years to get good at it, he’s, well, pretty good. I bet he draws a lot of the ads for the Seireitei Bulletin himself, like the J. Peterman catalog.

The Squad 11 offering is allegedly by Yachiru, but it’s weirdly good. It looks like one of those continuous line drawings that are way harder than they look. 

That’s it for people we actually have evidence for. Here are a couple of additional headcanons:

Ikkaku is a real connoisseur of drawing dicks on things.

Yumichika draws beautifully. He uses this mostly to do fashion-design type stuff, but he also likes to do general designs. He especially likes to incorporate feathers and swirling colors.

Nemu is a highly skilled scientific illustrator. Mayuri is pretty good at drawing diagrams-- he’s very good at conveying ideas thru images, but he tends to hand things over to Nemu if he wants something for publishing and archival purposes. Akon is also a pretty decent hand at drawing. He’s one of those guys who can draw straight lines and perfect circles without tools. Akon also occasionally enjoys doing some creative art. Is “Tool album covers” a genre? Anyway, that’s what he does.

Toushiro likes building things out of ice, and he’s quite good at making detailed construction plans. He’s real into using rulers and French curves and crap like that. These plans are legitimately gorgeous, even though they are basically technical work. Every so often (usually for Momo’s sake), he’ll try to draw a person or a cute animal and it’s real bad and Momo and Rangiku both make fun of him for being a terrible drawer, because they know he isn’t. He puts up with it, as is his way.

Kyouraku likes to draw “sensual” art, which is nearly as bad as his terrible romance novel. Juushirou likes it though, it always makes him giggle.

[willows-rambles]

gyro man...... the spinny propeller boy himself

GYRO............. MY BELOVED

Absolute favorite of the Fifths for me <3 I imagine that he shares the responsibilities of leading with Crystal since they're the two more sensible Robot Masters in the group. Some might look at Star as the leader, but he strikes me more as the face of the group, rather than a leader.

You can really see this in Gigamix 2 as well, when he and the other Fifths rescued Rock, Elec, and Cut. Honestly??? Gyro's canon Classic personality of being disdainful and contemptuous doesn't really appeal to me much; I like Ariga's version much more. He seems to me to be someone who, while (more) sensible, is also enthusiastically free of cringe alkfdsjhalskdjfhsalkjfha. The whole "Hourly Pay Squad: Part-Timers" thing strikes me as something that wasn't his idea, nor Crystal's, but because they love their brothers so much they whole-heartedly went along with it.

While I like to associate the Thirds with a pack of wolves, the Fifths are like a proper family and have the closest links of any Wilybots.

But also!! Despite the Fifths' general silliness, just??? Gyro is so responsible??? He's so quick to jump to action!!! Look at Gigamix 2!!!!!!!!!

The look and nod of acknowledgment between the two leaders!!

The way he jumps into action!!!

THIS FUCKING PANEL

HE'S MY FAVORITE OF THE FIFTHS OK I'M GOING FERAL I'M GOIN CRAZY

RESPONSIBLE AND LOYAL!!! Even if his line is seen as the joke of the Wilybots, he doesn't care!!! He does what he has to and supports his brothers and does his best for Wily, even when things don't work out!!!!!!!!

o|< i'm sorry i'm not normal about Gyro at all i love him

[roberttchase]

Manner minded or double trouble? Both SO matty? Maybe Christie looking after him?

double trouble: [character] is sick and injured.

I will be writing the manner minded one separately :) I hope you enjoy this (somewhat more detailed than I'd originally planned) ficlet.

Send prompts to my inbox.

+ + +

If you were to ask Matt Casey if he thought he was lucky, for the most part he would answer with 'no'. Yes, he's lucky enough to have Sylvie Brett as a girlfriend, lucky to have gone to the fire academy, lucky to have been promoted to a lieutenant and then captain. But he also had an emotionally abusive father as a teenager, a murderer for a mother, his girlfriend of eight years was killed, his wife left him. For every good thing, it feels like there are three bad things in his life.

So he can't even really say it's a surprise when, while on scene helping squad rescue two victims in a car that's balancing precariously close to the frozen Chicago River, Matt loses his balance, slips from the hood of the car, and falls almost twelve feet onto the ice that then suddenly cracks underneath him, submerging him in below forty degree water. Nothing in his life is ever easy. Intense pain radiates from his chest, his body feels like it's on fire, and then nothing.

From there, the scene is absolute chaos. Sylvie and Violet are both off shift, spending the entire week in Joliet helping teach at a conference. The two paramedics that are on scene are instantly calling for backup, while both Severide and Tony frantically suit up in scuba gear for precaution. Boden's yelling orders, but the three other members of truck are all frozen, staring at the large hole in the ice, from which their Captain is currently very much not getting out of.

+ + +

"Christie, you really don't have to do this, Severi-"

"I know what Severide said, but I'd feel more comfortable if you stayed with me." Christie Casey frowns, looking at her younger brother. He's at least four shades paler than he should be, cheeks flushed and eyes dull. Stubble consumes the lower half of his face, and the firefighter looks exhausted. She can't say that she blames him, not with the hell that he's gone through the past thirty six hours.

She'd gotten the call from Stella Kidd yesterday, a kind but shaky voice telling her that Casey, Matt, had fallen into an icy river, and was at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center being treated for two broken ribs and mild hypothermia. Arriving half an hour later, she'd been taken into Matt's room, where they had him on enough pain medication he was basically incoherent. One of the doctors had explained to her that the next few hours were important for any person who'd almost drowned- inhalation of the river water had occurred, and aspiration pneumonia was a large possibility. For a naive moment, Christie was certain that Matt would be fine.

Matt's never that lucky.

It's how she finds herself now, half glaring at her brother, who's been given instructions to stay with someone for the next forty eight hours, while his body wars with itself. The red haired doctor had explained that unless the mans fever reaches over 102, or his breathing deteriorates, he's allowed to stay out of the hospital. Severide's offered to let him stay at the loft, to take next shift off and watch over his best friend, but she tells her brothers best friend no. She needs to be able to watch over her little brother, if his paramedic girlfriend can't.

She's already talked to Sylvie, had called her only an hour after getting the call herself. They'd come to the conclusion that as long as someone was there to watch Matt, she needed to finish up the week for the CFD and CEMS.

"You ready to leave? I'm bringing you back to my place. Violet's got the guest room all ready for you."

Matt blinks and then nods, shoulders curved in slightly, one arm wrapped around his side. He looks a little woozy, though that could be from the pain pills being pumped through his body. That, or the fever he's sporting. April wheels him to the front of the hospital while Christie grabs her car and pulls it up to the curb.

Half an hour later, Matt's being helped into the guest room, where, sure enough, the bed has fresh sheets and a few extra pillows have been added for the man who isn't supposed to lay flat on his back. She gets him under the covers, thankful he's cooperating, and by the time she's back with the meds in a little plastic cup, as well as a glass of water, Matt's asleep.

"Matt, hey, you have to wake up and take your medicine, then you can go back to sleep, okay?" She shakes him as gently as possible, not wanting to hurt his ribs any more than they already are. She must knock something loose though, because not a second later he starts coughing, low and harsh, and his eyes flutter open. Gasping for air, they wait for his chest to stop spasming. His arm is cradling his side and she feels terrible, wishing she could help.

"I just need you to take this medicine, then you can sleep again," she promises, holding the cup out for him. When he nods, the woman lets the small pills tumble onto his open palm, and soon he's swallowing them tiredly.

"C-Can you stay?" The words are quiet and hang in the air as she turns to leave. Pausing, Christie turns back and is struck by just how young Matt looks, laying there with fever flushed cheeks and sallow skin.

Moving slowly, the woman gets into the other side of the bed, carefully shifting to get comfortable.

"Just like old times huh?"

She knows he's referring to their childhood. Christie can't help but smirk a little at the memories.

"Are you talking about when you would come crying to me because you were afraid of the dark?" Her tone is teasing, and instinctively she lets her fingers find his hair, running them through it just like she did when they were young teens and their father had been yelling at them.

A laugh bubbles out of Matt's throat, but it quickly changes to coughing, and it takes a moment for Matt to calm down, sipping water before replying.

"I was actually talking about when I was eight and caught whatever that punk across the street had after he coughed on me. I remember I was out of school for a week, and you stayed with me as much as you could."

She remembers it well.

+ + +

Matt never gets sick, not when he was a baby, and not now. She's always been the one to come down with colds or strep throat, and Matt always manages to avoid germs. He had been sick once when he was a toddler, once, but other than that, she can't remember him ever even getting a runny nose. And then Michael Jeffries goes and coughs all over him on the bus when she's in fifth grade and he's in third, and Matt's record of not getting sick goes down the drain.

It had been on a Monday. That following Thursday afternoon, Christie's waiting for Matt to get on the bus when their bus driver tells her that her brother has apparently gone home early. The whole ride home, the eleven year old is upset, not for her brother, but at the fact she wasn't taken out early either. Why did Matt get to go home and play when she didn't? By the time she's walking into their small home, the blonde is stomping her feet and slamming the door behind her, ready to ask why her stupid brother gets such special treatment.

Instantly though, she realizes something is wrong. Mommy isn't downstairs like she normally is, but instead of being worried, the girl let sher anger build. Running up the stairs, her ponytail swaying behind her, Christie's ready to yell and throw a tantrum, but she freezes when she sees her mom sitting on Matt's small twin bed. She's holding their big blue bowl that she always gets out when Christie's stomach is sick, and Matt is throwing up, coughing and spluttering after, while she rubs his back. Cautiously, Christie walks into the doorway.

"Mommy...what wrong with Matt?"

Nancy and Matt look up, the older woman rubbing her sons back.

"Matt's just not feeling well honey, he'll be alright."

Christie frowns and looks at her brother, whose cheeks are a startling bright pink, his skin pale.

"He looks really sick..." Suddenly she's not mad at all anymore, instead she's worried, no, scared. Matt doesn't get sick. That's his superpower, just like hers is liking vegetables.

Before any more words are spoken, Matt coughs and lets out a strangled little whine. "M-Mommy..."

Christie turns her face away as Matt gets sick this time, not wanting to watch anyone throw up. Instead, she goes and busies herself with finding paper and her crayons. Sitting down on her bedroom floor, the eleven year old goes to town with making her brother a get well soon card, the only thing she knows she can do in this moment.

That night, while she and mommy eat downstairs, Christie can hear Matt crying with Daddy. The second she finishes her food and washes her plate off, the blonde runs upstairs, wanting to make sure the younger boy is okay. She stops in front of his room, but no one's there, the twin sized bed with dark green sheets is empty, even his beloved stuffed bear is gone. Walking further down the hall, she sees the two she's been looking for in her parents king sized bed.

Matt's laying against Daddy, Bear clutched in his hand, his ear against the boys lip. Daddy smiles at her and puts a finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet. Nodding, Christie tiptoes in and peers at them both, before climbing in putting a delicate hand on Matt's shoulder, hoping he'll be ok.

+ + +

Brought back to the present, Christie feels Matt's forehead and sighs. "just try and sleep okay? I'll be here if you need me, okay? I won't let anything bad happen to you Matt."

It's as if it's all he's been waiting to hear. It takes him all of two minutes to fall back asleep, head resting against his sisters shoulder. She supposes that this can be the start of all the years she'd missed taking care of him after she'd left for college. He deserves it.

[highkey-lowkey-as-hell]

Might I make a request for some Annleigh and Clark headcanons? I feel like we don’t talk about them enough :)

oh my god absolute beloveds

- okay so in canon they've been together six years

- so we'll say they started dating valentine's day when annleigh was in fifth grade and clark was in sixth

- clark made annleigh a valentine asking her to be his girlfriend

- they grew up together tho

- they've been neighbors forever and just being close to each other meant they hung out all the time

- clark taught annleigh to ride a bike

- their first kiss was sometime in middle school, it was really sweet and probably under mistletoe or some sweet cliché shit like that

- every summer, clark's family goes to visit family who lives a couple hours away, so they drive, and once or twice annleigh has tagged along

- clark brings annleigh flowers all the time, she literally always has a bouquet on her desk from him

- they totally do couples costumes every halloween and they're always adorable

- in middle school for halloween, clark was a football player and annleigh was a cheerleader, because they figured that was the most stereotypical teenage couple and it would be funny

- and then clark actually joined the football team and annleigh joined the cheer squad and they were like "oops"

- they have matching teddy bears!!!! they're holding little hearts

- clark is so scared of horses but he still comes to all of annleigh's dressage competitions and watches her lessons pretty often

- she's tried to get him to ride double with her but he refuses

- they play a lot of card games together, their personal favorite is james bond

- they went to clark's junior prom together and annleigh was so scared it would be awkward and weird because clark's friends were all juniors and she was just a sophomore but it wasn't, she had a blast with clark

- they volunteer at an animal shelter together

- clark has a dog and annleigh has a cat, clark loves annleigh's cat and annleigh loves clark's dog