#how about a bath?

[lulublack90]

Prompt 30 - Draw

@jegulus-microfic December 30, Word count 402

Previous part First part

Regulus woke up with a jolt, completely disorientated. He felt like it wasn't the first time that night he’d done that. He felt the strong arms wrapped tightly around him and the burning body behind him. He felt warm from his toes to his nose. He snuggled back, greedy for more. The arms tightened even more and a soft kiss was pressed into his hair. 

“Morning, love,” James murmured into his curls as he pressed a few more kisses, moving steadily down to Regulus’s neck. Regulus shuddered. He felt wonderful. He knew it was way too early for all that, but he imagined this was what it felt like to be loved. Then James’s words wiggled their way into his brain. Morning! Shit! He had to go. 

He began to wriggle in James’s arms, trying to get free, and James instantly released him as soon as he realised that’s what he was doing. Regulus felt a pang of loss in his chest when the protective arms left his body. He was sorely tempted to dive back into the comfy bed, snuggle up to James and stay there for the rest of his life. But the others would be wondering where he’d gone. 

He began separating his clothes from James’s, making sure his pile definitely had his green Slytherin tie as he’d never hear the end of it if he turned up with a Gryffindor tie around his neck. 

James shuffled in the bed so he could see Regulus better. “It’s pretty early still,” He said, breaking the silence of the room. “What if I draw us a bath, and we relax in there for a bit before breakfast?” James screwed his eyes shut, and a huge clawfoot bath appeared before the fireplace, full of steaming hot water. Regulus looked at the enticing sight and then at James’s hopeful face. He’d been about to say no, but his traitorous lips had other ideas. 

“Okay,” Stupid mouth, he thought as he watched James slowly rise from the bed, his eyes sparkling brightly as he approached Regulus, leading him by the hand to the bath and helping him in. 

They sunk into the relaxing water and both let out a little moan as the water surrounded them. Regulus postponed himself between James’s legs and laid back against James’s chest, letting out a little contented sigh when those strong, protective arms came up around him again. 

Next part

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

The math just adds up!

[polarades]

Some Falin sketches in more modern clothes <3

[zephyrchama]

It was late evening when your DDD started ringing. An unusual time for someone to call unless they were either drunk or in mortal peril. This occasion happened to be the latter.

Karasu's caller ID flashed a photo of Luke across the screen after the first ring. The angel was always early to bed and early to rise and never called without good reason, so you scrambled to answer, moving so fast that your finger slipped and you initially missed the right button.

"Hello?" you said. It took a moment for the call to connect.

"Hi... Sorry, umm, is now a good time?"

Luke sounded close to tears. He was trying to keep himself composed for your sake, but the distressed warble in his voice betrayed him. By the sound of things, he wasn't in his bedroom. He wasn't even in the living room or kitchen of Purgatory Hall. It was somewhere small, where his voice echoed off the walls.

"Luke, are you okay? Where are you?"

You recognized the sound of splashing water when he sniffled just before responding, "I'm in the bath."

It was an odd answer, but at least he was somewhere safe. So, why was he crying?

"Did Solomon feed you anything weird?"

"No, that's not it." Luke took a deep breath and winced. The sounds of agitated water accompanied his explanation. "You see... Simeon got a new shampoo that smells like cloudberries, and I really wanted to try some. Just a little bit, honest! But it came out of the bottle really fast, and it fell into my eyes." The crying began in earnest. "It really hurts and now I can't get it out of my eyes and Simeon's going to find out I used his shampoo without asking."

You felt slightly thankful that Solomon wasn't using the little angel as his food taster, but his small sobs over such a small matter made your heart ache.

"I'm going blind as punishment for stealing Simeon's shampoo," he confessed.

"Hey! Hey, no you're not! It's going to be okay!" you assured him. "You're not going to go blind. Listen. Turn on the faucet and try to splash some clean water in your eyes. Also, keep crying."

The sound of a running faucet could be heard through the phone. "Why? Will my tears prove that I'm repenting and weaken the punishment?"

"It'll... uh, yeah? Yeah, sure. It will also rinse the shampoo out of your eye so they stop stinging, but it'll do that, too."

There was a soft thud as Luke set his DDD down, followed by several minutes of loud splashing noises and weeping. He was having a tough time. You tried to be encouraging, unsure if he could hear you or not, by chiming in with the occasional "you're doing great!" and "hang in there!"

The tears came to a stop and Luke turned the faucet off. There was a beat of silence, followed by him exclaiming from afar, "it worked!"

He picked the phone back up. "It worked! I can see again! It doesn't hurt as much! Thank you! I'm so glad I called." The boy sounded like he was crying again, this time in relief. He had his usual cheery demeanor back.

"Everything OK now?"

"Yeah! I really owe you. I have to go tell Simeon what I did now, but I'll properly thank you tomorrow at school."

You wondered what sort of treats he would present. A drain popped open and you heard the water swirling away. Your muscles were still tense from concern, but the emergency had been swiftly dealt with.

"Glad I could help. Be sure to get lots of sleep, okay? You need to rest your eyes."

You could tell Luke was nodding even if you couldn't see him. "Got it!"

"Good night, Luke."

"Good night!"

[lucabyte]

So does anybody else ever think about how Loop felt the need to demonstrate that the party's deaths wouldn't have any effect on the loops. I know I do but that's besides the point. Anyway I don't think Loop actually needs to bathe, they just like to feel included.

[erros429]

sure sex is great but have you ever had someone pour their love and devotion into your bones through their blood and the use of forbidden magic to not just bring you back to life but literally recreate you entirely as you were, heart and soul and all

[dovewingkinnie]

the machine loves its technician

[eggo-tistical]

aita for boiling my boyfrenemy alive like a lobster

[lockheed-martin-unofficial]

Starscream is given a bath, Part 3:

1005 words! This is the longest piece so far. I’m really enjoying writing him, but do let me know what you think of my interpretation of Starscream. Does he read accurate to canon?

Enjoy!

Part 2: here

Part 4: here

——————————————————————————

She had her hands on her hips as she observed him, contemplating logistics.

“If you wanna lie back in the water, this’ll be easier.”

“Right.” He nodded, carefully lowering himself into the bathtub with his arms on both sides. The human poured more soap into the water, leaning over into the tub and stirring it a little with her hand, sloshing the water around to mix it together. The result was quite a few bubbles, which clung to the sides and to the seeker’s spiky knees poking out of the water. The human got to work, and neither of them made a sound for some time.

“You know, if I was a plane, I would LOVE the pressure washer.” She finally filled the silence, while scrubbing his leg.

“You can’t be serious.” Starscream tilted his head to the side, crossing his arms.

“I am serious. Especially if it’s a hot day…”

He lifted his leg slightly out of the water, giving her easier access.

“Hmph. If that’s what you’re into, I suppose.”

“What? It just seems so refreshing.”

“If you truly think so, perhaps I should blast you with it next time.”

That comment earned him a laugh from the human, which actually startled Starscream for a moment. He didn’t know what to do with this! He just smiled awkwardly, listening to her laugh. That smile lingered on Starscream’s face all the while she worked, and he actually found himself…relaxing as the human continued the spa treatment.

After a while she collected herself, speaking up.

“You know what?”

“What?”

“I never realised you were… sort of blue before.”

He chuckled for a moment, amused at her surprise. But then his expression turned more somber. It was true, his frame wasn’t truly all gray and dull. He had more blue and white on him than he let on, but he had been neglecting his finish for the past few centuries. Which he had his reasons for, but it wasn’t exactly something he was looking forward to opening up about. At least not today.

“Well- I- It’s not like I had ample opportunity to deal with it! As Second in Command to the Decepticons, I had constant duties to attend to.” He scoffed, crossing his arms.

“I couldn’t be wasting my precious time on such frivolous things as continuously fussing over my finish. Unlike some…” Starscream’s tone had a certain defensiveness to it, something which the human decided not to push when it was obviously something he didn’t want to talk about.

“Hmm. Well, it’s a shame. Your colors are really pretty.”

The seeker pulled himself back upon hearing those words, doing his very best to avoid eye contact with the human.

“What? It’s true!”

“Shut up and keep scrubbing.” He replied with a dismissive wave of his servo, still averting his gaze. Another sudden laugh from the human startled him and he finally looked at her, a smile he tried to hide tugging on the corner of his mouth.

“What are you laughing about, you tiny thing?”

“You like being called pretty.” She replied. “Hold out your arm for me?”

If he was startled, he hid it well and quickly recovered.

“Of course. While it is not the word I would’ve used, I suppose I cannot blame you. After all, it’s only natural you would recognise my exceptional frame.” He replied, trying to act as casual as possible as he brought his arm forward for her to clean. But it was no use, he looked almost shy as he tried to fill the silence, and his wings were clearly fluttering.

“Why, I happen to be the representation of anything a seeker could hope to become, if I do say so myself.”

She moved the soapy sponge up and down and listened to him preen, noting every little little flutter of wings that accompanied his words. Turning his arm around gently, she sprayed a bit of water right into the joint.

“Not only due to my impressive frame-”

Starscream was not used to being touched like this.

“-but also my unmatched skill in the air.”

Being handled like this.

“I was- I am a force to be reckoned with.”

It was still uncomfortable, but simultaneously very not bad. Very not bad at all. She had gradually worked her way down from his shoulder to his wrist joint, stopping at the servo. She held it in between her own hands, sitting over the side of the tub and laying out his talons over her upper leg.

“Are you even listening?”

“Do you want me to file these sharper?”

They spoke at the same time.

He looked down at her, dumbfounded, unable to resist the urge to just squeeze the squishy limb ever so slightly. So warm and pliant, even a little icky in how it simply gave way under his servos. The irony was not lost on him, and this time he didn’t try to hide a grin. This small creature, one who could be so easily wounded by the cut of those very talons, was offering to sharpen them even more. It’s as if she didn’t even know who she was talking to. He had the sudden urge to remind her, to squeeze even more until this human knew to be wary of him, but he pushed it aside. Why was he even thinking that? Besides, she had just worked so hard cleaning him. It would be rude to mar his newfound shine with her blood. Not to mention difficult to wipe off.

“You might as well.” He replied, trying to appear disinterested. But as her fingers glided delicately over his digits, the file in her hand scraping against the tips, he could almost fall into a recharge right then and there. In fact, he did close his optics. Any arrogance that might’ve been preventing him from making a fool of himself was immediately thrown out the window. And if the human noticed she didn’t say a word, just silently repeating the process with his other arm.

[theloveinc]

Being the princess betrothed to barbarian!Bakugo.

You don't mind so much as you've always known this was to be your destiny, born merely to smooth over tensions between the kingdom and the country.

But your first meeting is hardly from ideal. The man shoves himself into your dressing room in trying to avoid the grooming his own mother is trying to give him, desperate to get away from the egregious, stifling rules the castle enforces regarding presentation, mainly putting on a shirt.

(He was born of his own parent's desire, but volunteered himself to save the country from annihilation via. industrialization, NOT realizing it would involve marriage. He's much less thrilled than anyone.)

And there you are, being (forcibly) sewed up into a corset that you're absolutely spilling over, your face matted from a layer of unnatural-colored powder, your lips stained the color of fruit that doesn't blossom for months as you turn to look at him in surprise (and then fear, and then confusion and question, your maids squealing before running off to get a guard)...

And Bakugo is suddenly made aware of this itching desire to save you, too.

-

(You're standing there, both breathless and bare; him voluntarily, you because of timing. And it's so oddly intimate for separate reasons; Bakugo's never associated nudity with sexuality and you've never been naked in front of a man before.

And despite the betrothal, neither of you know what to say, stuck in the midst of an "is this it?" moment, at least until Bakugo is grabbing your hand to whisk you away and marry you where he was born rather than in between castle walls.)

[notbecauseofvictories]

so my aunt is turning 70 in a couple weeks, and I've planned a blowout birthday for her---rented a lake house, invited every member of our family and also some of her friends; I have delightfully kitschy decorations (including a glittery BIRTHDAY QUEEN sash and paste-jewel crown, thanks for asking); my freezer is full of cakes, frosting, and cookies, so all I have to do is defrost, assemble and serve. I have been working on this since February, and I plan parties like a quartermaster just before the army decamps---there are a lot of lists involved.

My most recent task is assembling a guest book, filled with both blank space (so people can write nice messages) as well as all the photos I could get from family members. There's something almost meditative about assembling these pictures---here is my aunt as a teen, standing awkwardly next to her grandmother; here is my aunt as a grown woman, admiring a niece or nephew's sloppy Christmas present; here she is on vacation, or with a friend, or at the interminable succession of Sunday dinners, birthdays, and graduation parties that are the fabric of our family life. Despite having no biological children, she's so involved, she's so present---and this is just what we could grab from phones, my personal photos, facebook!

(She maintains the family archive, so I can't ask her directly.)

I don't know if I have a firm conclusion here. Just that---well, may we all be blessed with more photographs of ourselves than will fill a scrapbook, and a niece who will spend 6 months thinking about how to gently bully you into celebrating your birthday.

[fumifooms]

What if we were both magic prodigies and it otherized us in different ways and we devoted ourselves to protecting a family member who has general other goals & priorities. What if we both did self-sacrifical devotion in opposite ways.

What if we were dark mirrors of each other and where I've grown overcontrolling you've grown complacent. What if, bought as a servant into a pretty loving home, ownership and control is what love looks like to me, and to you neglected and lonely growing up, love is gratefully taking any scraps of it you’re lent.

By belonging to someone, even if she comes back injured or fails at finding Delgal, she feels like she belongs and is cherished, by owning someone he feels safe in them not leaving him.

She’s what’s tethering him do you see… And he’s the only thing giving her direction and purpose in her state. She needs a compass and he needs a support.

They’re both so out of it 😭 It’s the weirdly intense and unearned mutual trust and reliance on each other?? They’re each other’s weird little comfort codependent teddy bear. Or at least they were headed towards that before SHE DIED THEN HE DIED THEN THEY BOTH FORGOT ABOUT EACH OTHER AND NEVER MET EVER AGAIN. Though she’s also the guard attack hound keeping him safe… And vice versa he heals her and can rewrite her very being with just one wave of his hand. They’re both so so mentally and physically vulnerable both but they cling onto each other. They can’t perceive things accurately but despite it all someway somehow they stumble into something closer to resembling companionship just before they both die. Falin is just that kind and Thistle is just that lonely. Overworked.

We both haven’t lived for ourselves in a very long time, haven’t we.

They both have a similar devotion to the people they love but again the difference is that Thistle starts overtsepping while Falin is self-effacing. The other difference between them is that people care about Falin <3 People have given up on Thistle long ago, and he has given people reasons to, while people refuse to give up on Falin. Yaad has a mini arc about it dw about it it’s ok he’s not all alone in the end 😭😭 He reached out for Marcille’s hand but they already all wanted to help him, they just had to be given the chance to, Yaad just had to be given the chance to, it’s okay I’m okay

Hey what if we learned to get in touch with our own identity and the world around us and living in the present again through being in the worst codependent situationship ever.

Falin and Thistle sitting in a tree, sucking on flowers together because they’re h-u-n-g-r-y 💕💕💕

I bet he’s only ever thought of flowers as useless ornaments. Weak weeds. But she shows him they’re tasty and useful and good and pretty in their own right too and deserve existing without proving their worth and waaa <33 Thistles…... Did you know thistles taste sweet if you remove the thorns and eat them?

"Even as a chimera, her kind nature remains" you can’t suppress her in the way that matters. You can’t soothe him in the way that matters. It’s doomed. You’re doomed. It’s all doomed. Save me.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Wardrobe Woes

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[on-a-lucky-tide]

fun things to inflict on a pilot who bases his value on how useful he is to others:

temporary blindness >:3c

141 accidentally pierce an old mustard gas canister during an operation. Nik takes the brunt.

cw: injury, temporary blindness, distressed character.

Price paced up and down the base hospital ward wringing his hands as he waited for news, his heart in his throat. The mission had gone south so bloody quickly, and no matter how many times he retraced their steps, Price couldn't pinpoint the exact action that had caused such a monumental fuck up.

Old world war one bunker. Old old. The perfect place for a terrorist cell to store chemical weapons, or at least a lead to them. They had jumped early that morning with Nik because it was in east Germany and he had the knowledge they needed to break through the security systems. The USSR had used it as a base of operations during the Cold War, so without Nik, getting in would have been like chipping away at granite with a toothpick.

They got in. They secured the intelligence - no bloody weapons though - and were on their way out. A small detachment of enemy combatants had infiltrated through a different entrance that hadn't been recorded on the schematics they were working from. There had been an exchange of fire. A stray bullet caught a canister and...

Nik ignored the most fundamental rule of chemical warfare. You sort your own fucking mask first. But no, the stupid wanker grabbed for Gaz's first, because he was closest to the explosion and had only a split second to react.

Nik had been too slow with his own as a result.

Holding Nik in the casevac had been one of the most difficult experiences of Price's life. The skin lesions across his face had been like second degree burns, his eyes swollen shut, streaming. Anywhere there was moisture, the old gas had attacked. Despite the wounds, Price had seen the terror on his face as he tried to wrench the damp gauze off. He couldn't see.

"John, ya nye mogu videt! John... gdye ty? Gdye ty!" His usually calm, sombre voice, with its laid back drawl, broken and cracked in desperation.

In the end, Price had taken the decision to sedate him in the heli, one of those big hands clenched in his to keep him anchored as the drugs brought his heart rate under control and soothed his panic. He had lashed out at Gaz blindly - "otyebis ot menya!" - but between them they had managed to get the sedative into his thigh.

There were other wounds; bumps, scrapes, but none as serious.

"Sir, I'm sorry," Gaz had rasped, chucking the needle back into the bag. "This is my fault."

"No," Price had shaken his head. "Not your burden to carry. G'won, go eat somethin'."

The door at the end of the hall opened and the doctor summoned him with a flick of the head. "Well?" Price demanded, ignoring the pursed lipped irritation he got in return.

"It's temporary," the doctor said, his arms folding. "The gas was old, degraded. Still potent enough to cause damage, but with the right treatment, he'll get his eyesight back."

"How long?"

"Difficult to say. Four to six weeks for the skin lesions to heal. His body will decide on the rest... uh, captain," the doctor reached out a hand as Price tried to walk past, "there is a risk of long-term dyspnea, respiratory problems, awful stuff mustard gas, it attacks the central nervous system too, it can cause changes in mentation, and I understand from his file that he has a medical history of--"

"--I know what's in the file."

"We may be looking at more damage here than just his eyes. But only time will tell."

When Price stepped through the door, Nik startled, looking in his direction even though the heavy bandages over his eyes prevented him from seeing. Price spoke softly as he closed the door at his back. "S'just me, Nik. Easy."

Price nodded tightly, walked by and shouldered his way into the next ward. He found Nik's room but hesitated outside. Nik was awake. He was trying to grope around the table in front of him, searching.

"Captain, it is... well, I would say good to see you but..." He gestured vaguely at his head, his wry smirk shaky, and then that hand returned to patting around the table.

"Did they explain everything? Did you..." ...understand. Fuck, Price didn't understand half of the medical jargon, so he wouldn't be surprised if Nik struggled in his fourth language to parse what they were saying. Fourth out of eight. Asking felt like an insult to Nik's intelligence. The doctor's comment about mentation lodged in Price's throat like a shard of glass.

"Da. It will heal but there may be some future complications, I..." Nik suddenly slammed his fist against the table, anger twisting his mouth into a snarl, "..blyat, where is my phone? I need.." Nik's voice cracked and his chin tilted down with the shame of it, trailing off into miserable silence.

Price reached for him and tried not to let the resulting flinch shred his heart. Once Nik realised it was Price's hands and not whatever phantom his mind has conjured, he relaxed. Price sat down on the edge of the bed. "You don't need t' do anythin' but heal. We've got yer covered."

The way Nik's jaw twitched, teeth clenching at the back, his shoulders rising a little towards his ears; Price could see the clawing discomfort without needing to see his expression.

"You're gonna have to trust us, Nik. I need yer to trust me."

"I do," Nik croaked. "It is... This is not your burden to carry."

"Even if you weren't who you are, you still got injured in one of my operations."

"I let you down. And now I am useless." Nik's other hand clenched into a fist at his side, making the finger monitor creak under the strain.

"Temporarily out of commission. Not useless."

Nik turned his head away, refusing to hear it. They sat in silence, Price's thumb stroking back and forth over Nik's knuckles, giving him a point to focus on that wasn't his burning skin or the darkness of his vision.

"Nik, short of turnin' me over to Al Qatala, you could never let me down," Price said, finally.

Now was the time. Now Nik needed to hear it more than ever.

"You... mean the world to me. I..." he rubbed at his face, tugging at his whiskers, "...I love you. And when I saw you go down, my heart stopped for a second. The world stopped. Believe it or not, I was glad you were screamin' bloody murder in that chopper, cause that meant you were still here."

Nik drew a stuttering breath, but he didn't say anything. The man who had a one-liner or a bit of sass for every occasion sat in mute silence. It made Price ache in a way he never had before.

"'M not gonna abandon you, Nik. Wouldn't have even if this had been permanent. An' I know you don't believe me. I know. But... 'm gonna show ya. And you can grumble and cuss at me 'til the cows come home."

Nik's head fell back against the pillow and he sniffed, scowling with a muttered curse.

"You olrigh'?" Price squeezed his hand.

"Da. I am crying like little girl and it is stinging my eyes."

Price chuckled, patting their joined hands against his own thigh. "Soppy git."

That had to be a good sign. Tear ducts were what the eyes used to heal and maintain themselves, right? And he could feel the tears. Positive. This was positive. Price lifted Nik's hand to his mouth and kissed his knuckles, lingering there to feel the warmth of his skin.

Nik swallowed, his fingers tightening in Price's grip. "If I had known that losing my eyes would have earned me John Price, I would have cut them out years ago."

"Fuckin' 'ell, Nik," Price said incredulously, always somewhat taken aback by the intensity with which Nik expressed himself when it was just them. He sighed. "Yer've had me all this time. I just... I'm just not as brave as you are."

Nik huffed. "Bravo Six is the bravest man I know."

"Only for some things. Not feelin' particularly brave right now, and you're the one in the gurney."

Nik tilted his head towards Price, so desperate to see his face. Price was glad he couldn't. His damn eyes were watering. "Then, I will be brave for you. This, I can do without my eyes."

Price smiled and made sure Nik could feel it against his palm, promising him silently in that moment that he wouldn't waste a single second more of their time together on this bloody earth. "Sounds like a plan."

[ryllen]

i always think jade in his formal pajama is so cute ♡

he insists to exchange

[macni-art]

Trhee bros chilling in a bathtub…