#i DID get an answer to something i've been puzzling over though

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

Foul Legacy peeking over your shoulder and watching you work for hours, never once faltering. he knows how you toil- he's seen it firsthand, most days of the week- and he knows that there's really no changing it. so when you're home, he keeps you company, curling up beside your desk in a pile of soft blankets and cushions you arranged specifically for him. sometimes Legacy naps, snoozing and snoring peacefully. other times he reads one of your books, claws delicately turning each page with care and precision. his preferred position, though, is to have his head on your lap, leaning against your legs as your hand runs through his thick, soft hair. your Abyssal monster purrs and rumbles in satisfaction, pressing his head into your hands and tilting and turning so you can scritch just the right spots, his wings fluttering in bliss. it grounds you, too. helps loosen the tense muscles in your head and shoulders, fingers buried in his copper locks, the ones you take so much care in washing and brushing just to hear him happily trill.

when Legacy thinks you've been working too hard for far too long, he sits up and nudges your back with his head, urging you out of the chair. if you don't comply, he simply shrugs and scoops you into his arms, marching away and settling you on the couch. breaks are important too- even the mightiest Harbinger, the most powerful Archon- they all take breaks from time to time, seeking a moment of respite from their duties. it's the same for you, Legacy chittering as he brings you water and some fruit, curling up around your body and bumping against your hands. he doesn't let you go until you eat, nodding approvingly and nuzzling against you with quiet chirps, and if you're in any sort of pain, well! work will just have to wait, because he's snuggling down against you and using all of his weight to make sure you can't get up.

you deserve a good night's sleep- besides, he missed you all the other days when you were out, and Legacy wants cuddles.

[makeyoumine69]

Possessive hurt-comfort sex with Patrick, please? HEAR ME OUT!😥🤤🤤💖💖

Heal Me

Pairing: Patrick Bateman x fem!Reader; CW: SMUT, unprotected sex, fingering, soft dirty talky, hurt/comfort, angst, sensual foreplay and something more, hehe. Links: [MASTERLIST]; Song Rec: Lady Gaga—Heal Me; A/N: It's been a while since I've written any prompts, I'll try to catch up with them since I have a lot of requests to finish. I hope you like this one and thank you so much for sending it in, I love possessive Patty!

It wasn't uncommon for you to be overwhelmed by life's problems because living in a busy city like New York wasn't easy, especially if you weren't from a rich family. But even in the darkest of days, you never gave up, even though it was hard not to when everything around you was pressing down on you. You struggled until one day you met a man who changed your life and even though there was something strange about him, he became your salvation and in some twisted way you hoped to repay him. However, you never really knew what he really needed. He was a total mess, but maybe you were too? But did you ever think that you would find comfort in the arms of a man who probably broke a million hearts and ruined just as many lives?

You asked yourself this question every time you crossed the threshold of the luxury apartment on the 11th floor of the American Gardens Building. But the answer to that question always got lost in the spiral of emotions that overtook you the moment Patrick touched you. The same scenario, the same place, but the specter of sensation he made you feel was limitless, you got addicted to it—you got addicted to him.

The softness of the perfectly white sheets met your naked skin with a familiar feeling, the silky touch of his hands sliding down your body was heavenly, leaving you craving for more, burning with anticipation. This man, he knew everything about you, while you seemed to know nothing about him. It was confusing, perplexing, but intriguing. Patrick Bateman was an enigma, a puzzle you desperately wanted to unravel.

"What's on your mind?" Patrick suddenly murmured above your ear, noticing your thoughtfulness. "You seem to be somewhere else, but not here..."

You huffed and pressed your palm against his soft cheek. "Nothing... nothing serious," you replied, leaning up to kiss him, but he stopped you, holding you down with both hands. "Hey! It's really nothing...I just had a fight with my family."

"Your family?"

"Yeah," you gave him a serious look, considering how cheeky he was grinning. "Sometimes people have fights with their family members. Can you believe that?"

Still smiling, Patrick straightened up a bit to unbutton his blue shirt with the white collar. "Honestly... no," he said nonchalantly. "Such things are too mundane for me. But I'll tell you this," the man unbuckled his belt and then pulled down his Armani pants. "When you're with me... I don't want you to think about anything or anyone else. Do you understand?"

Without waiting for your answer, which wouldn't really change anything, Bateman moved closer to your face to peck at your temple, his hands working to get rid of your remaining clothes. Slightly embarrassed, you let him position himself between your legs, his warm lips locking with yours in a searing kiss that left you breathless. Patrick savored your every reaction, from your shaky gasps to the way you writhed beneath him. His possession over you was bordering on obsession and he could never get enough of you. If he had to fuck you senseless to make your mind go blank, he would do it—neither of you had any doubts.

"Patrick... I need you..." you murmured against his swollen lips. "I need you s-so much."

Wrapping his hand around your neck, he pulled you closer. "You won't think about it anymore," he whispered, trailing his hand down your stomach right under the lace of your panties, playing with it to tease you. "Promise?" Bateman's thumb pressed against your clit, making you whimper. "Talk to me, doll."

You wanted to answer, you really did, but this man was nothing more than a torturer, reveling in the power he had over you—your desperation was like water to a thirsty man.

"I...I promise," you finally managed to answer, shaking from the friction Bateman caused as he pulled on your underwear, letting it rub agonizingly against your swollen pussy. "You're the only one...I can think about...a-ah!"

You arched your back as his long fingers pushed inside you effortlessly, your slick juices making a wet, lewd noise every time Patrick moved his digits, stimulating you right where you needed it.

"Fuck, you sound so sweet like that," he curled his fingers, scissoring your soaking cunt with masterful precision. "Life is too short to waste it on unnecessary emotions," Patrick crooned, sliding his free hand along your soft breast, playing with its hard peak. "But this..." he grinned when he heard your high-pitched moan. "This is worth living for."

This man was blessed with the ability to sweet talk, you could bet on that. "You...you devil," your voice wavered from the pleasure his fingers were giving you, each thrust inside you and pull on your nipple bringing you closer to the brink of ecstasy. "God...I have so many problems..."

Suddenly, your eyes shimmered with unwanted tears—such an abrupt change in your mood forced him to stop. Slightly confused, Bateman looked at you from under the brown, messy curls. For a moment, the two of you just stared into each other's eyes, as if trying to imprint this moment into your memories. Things wouldn't be the same for you, not anymore.

"Listen to me," his velvety baritone broke the silence, his fingers remaining deep inside you while his other hand found yours to intertwine your fingers. "Right now you just need to focus on me...on us," Patrick cooed to you before kissing away a single tear that ran down your cheek. "Forget the problems, I will take care of them."

"You don't have to."

"Shhh, sweetheart," he leaned closer to you, letting your noses brush against each other. "Remember your promise, leave the other things to me." 

For once in your life, you decided to do what he asked and just follow your instincts and let them take over. 

The air around you was so hot, electric with sexual tension and desire. When Patrick withdrew his fingers, leaving you empty, you couldn't help but wail in frustration, but it was only an introduction to the real act. Flustered and utterly aroused, Bateman sat on his knees before taking you with him, making you circle your legs around his waist as he whispered sweet praises in your ear. It was only when you felt his hard cock slip between your pussy lips that you realized you were completely lost in the blaze of passion and the uncontrollable willingness to give him all of you. With a slow but determined move, Patrick sheathed himself inside of you, hugging you tighter as he stood on his knees and pounded into you in deep and calculated strokes.

"A-awww," you mewled, clinging to his broad shoulders and hiding your face in the crook of his neck—the mixture of his expensive cologne and his natural scent making you nearly explode with overwhelming emotions. "Feels s-so good...you make me feel so good," you couldn't help but nip at his neck, leaving a red mark and causing him to fuck you harder. "Deeper...mmhm-please!"

Bateman made a guttural sound in response. "You think you can handle it?" You nodded your head so eagerly that you could see stars in front of your eyes. "God, you are such an insatiable little slut."

Without further ado, he changed your position so that you were now standing on your knees facing the white wall above his bed, where a statue stood in the ledge. That thing probably cost a fortune, it would be such a shame if it got broken in the middle of your ravenous lust, but Patrick seemed indifferent to that as he moved it a bit to the side and placed your hands on the edge of the ledge so you had something to grab onto.

"Hold on tight, baby." He sneered devilishly as he snuggled up to you from behind, showering your neck with little kisses. "No safe words since you asked for it."

Your breath hitched at the tight grip on your throat, the thrill of danger mixing with excitement in a wicked cocktail of pure madness. Being so strong, Bateman was able to wreck you like a doll, drawing you onto his thick cock with ease, forcing you to arch your back even more so that its tip could reach your most sensitive spot. You felt so helpless and small in his hands, the way his firm hips slammed into yours, practically fucking you into the wall, left you no choice but to surrender to this raw pleasure.

P.S. Thank you for reading until the end! I don’t have a taglist. You can follow my side blog @makeyoumineagain��and turn on notifications to know when I update!

[mcflymemes]

DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD PROMPTS PT 2 *  assorted dialogue from the second hour of the video game

that suit of armor is moving.

where'd you come from?

i've only been gone three days!

the situation's changed - for the worse, unfortunately.

i've had a couple of days, and i'm still trying to wrap my head around it.

it does sort of explain a few things though.

there's something kind of exciting about it. and dangerous. really dangerous.

hope that means you've got an idea.

a few dozen demons shouldn't be a problem.

do you know what this place was?

it's probably something important.

well, isn't this a sight?

the artifact we're looking for must be inside.

think we can make that jump?

i plan to find out.

we're getting closer.

it's a lot trickier than that.

i've never seen this before.

it's almost like it's... breathing.

wasn't expecting to fight an ogre today.

just one of those days.

what does that crystal do?

i have questions.

it's kind of my thing. fixing magical stuff.

let me know when you're ready to head to the camp.

some of our most experienced fighters are still missing.

whatever's going on out there, it's scary.

sounds like things have gotten a lot worse since we left.

it's only a matter of time until our luck runs out.

if we could predict where they'd strike next, we might get ahead of them.

i don't know what you're going to find there. likely nothing good.

you sure you're up for this?

i've never seen fog this thick.

something happened here.

stay sharp.

it's so quiet.

where is everybody?

everything's just abandoned.

keep them inside.

everyone has to stay.

we need to search for survivors.

ever seen anything like it?

we're going to help you! we'll get you down!

i know you.

they made me do it.

i was tricked! manipulated!

i never meant for that! i swear! you must believe me!

what if the dragon comes back?

let's get him out of there.

we don't kill people. not like this.

try harder next time.

don't let me regret saving you.

what a pleasure to see you again.

so who are you exactly?

this dark turn of events shall only become worse.

what can you tell us about... all this?

how do we stop them?

how do we stand up against that?

none of us can do this alone, but we can stop them together.

these are the times in which legends are born... or slain.

i should've taken the shot.

we all did what we thought was best in the moment.

look where it got us.

we're still standing. the fight's not over.

i like that about you. you don't stop fighting. you push for answers and action.

we need someone who can put the pieces of the puzzle together.

we're fighting the unknown.

everyone has a part to play.

i think i can manage that.

i can feel lingering magic. powerful magic.

i can hear it.

i don't know how to control it!

you said something "took you over?"

i'm sorry. i wish i had answers.

talking has helped.

i guess we don't have any real answers.

we're friends, so i'm going to be honest.

it feels wrong.

i trust you have all this handled.

at least people are free because of what i did.

it must have been worse than i had thought.

so... you're going to be insufferable about it.

see, this is the reason nobody likes you.

[bueckerrss]

I’LL CALL YOU MINE - KK ARNOLD

summary𞠬: you have a plan to ask kk out.

warnings: fluff,kissing. probably some spelling errors

tags: @patscorner @wintersstan @pbueckerslover @h34rtsformilli

a/n: so sorry if this is so bad it was kinda rushed but i hope yall enjoy this

𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷𖧷

“IS EVERYTHING PACKED?” you shouted from the house looking for kk “yup!” she shouted back closing the trunk of the car.

“okay let’s get going!” you said making your way to the driver’s seat. you and kk had planned a little trip to the beach, enjoying a little summer vacation before kk had to go to summer training.

the windows were down letting in the hot summer breeze “so what are we doing at the beach?” kk asked as she rearranged her sitting position “you’ll see” you replied smirking little did your best friend know you were planning something special.

-

arriving at the beach you guys grabbed everything and headed to a spot, “can you tell me what we’re doing now?” kk asked placing the blanket down carefully “kamorea give it a minute” you said in a serious tone.

all you needed was a confirmation before you could do anything as if on cue you got a text message.

paigeyy

everything is ready you can bring her over now!

“okay follow me,” you said putting your phone in your back pocket and grabbing kk’s hand to lead her “wait before i need you to put this on,” you said giving her a bandana to cover her eyes.

“okay…?” she said puzzled by the sudden surreptitiousness. you lead her through the beach heading towards the area where her surprise was waiting.

“Are we there yet?” asked kk as she dragged her feet against the sand, seeming too tired to pick them up “almost just a few more steps and we’ll be there,” you said as you led her through the beach. Once you had arrived you made a signal to Paige so she could bring out the bouquet and hand it to you.

“Are you ready?” you asked getting into your position in front of her “ready for what?” she said trying to look around even though her eyes were covered. you didn’t reply instead you removed the bandana, letting her eyes adjust to the light you took a few steps back so her eyes could land on your figure.

Once her eyes landed on you a smiled formed on her lips, she opens her mouth to say something but closes it again not seeming to know what to say before she could seem to find the words you take advantage and say what you wanted “I know we've been best friends for a few years, but I just wanted to say kk I love you and not just as a friend I've had a crush on you for a while now. What I wanted to ask is would you be my girlfriend?” you said handing her the bouquet with a hopeful smile.

kk didn't say anything but instead pulled you in for a kiss, “does that answer your question?” she asked with a smile on her face.

[karasuno-planet]

Hii! I'm not sure what your requests rules are or what ur comfterable with, but I'd really like to see a tsukishima x reader where he confesses to the reader! I'd love to see your interpretation of it >-<

After Class- Tsukishima Kei

a/n: HIIII of course I'll give you some tsukki x reader, hope I did him justice <333 as for requests I'll write for any haikyuu boy as long as it's sfw! requests open xx

wc: 0.8k

(gif not mine)

You had loosely known Tsukishima all year now, as you shared the same class and often found yourselves sitting by each other and pairing up for assignments. It was no secret that he was intelligent, but you could hold your own despite how intimidating he could sometimes be.

Recently, you had been making quite the effort to see him outside of class, though you weren't quite sure he had gotten the hint. You had been coming to his games, talking to him more in class, and you even altered your route to school to intersect with his. He hadn't been receptive, though, and if anything could be considered your enemy, it might be those damn headphones.

You had one last idea, though. Sitting next to him in your last class of the day, you tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hm?"

"Hey, um, you mind staying after class for a few to help me out with this problem on my math homework? I'm so lost..."

"Oh, yeah. Sure. I have some time before practice."

"Thank you," You returned to your work, now unable to focus. You know you were the one who asked him to stay, but the idea of being alone with him after class made your stomach turn.

Soon enough, the bell had rung, and you had gotten absolutely nowhere on your work. The class cleared out until it was just you and Tsukishima. He pulled his chair closer to share your desk as you got out your math homework. You handed it to him and he skimmed it over, the silence between you almost deafening.

"Mm, wait, what is it that you don't get?" He asked, puzzled.

"Uh, the last one."

"But you did the whole sheet correctly. You just wrote out the equation and didn't solve it on the last one."

Oh God, I guess you didn't think this far. How could you be so dumb? A perfect sheet of homework didn't exactly scream that you needed help. You made up the best excuse you could, "Yeah, but I looked back at it after the lesson and I just don't even remember how to do it...can you show me?"

"Sure.." he picked up a pencil and took the problem step by step, mumbling an explanation under his breath. At one point, he looked up and saw your eyes fixed on him. You could've sworn there was a peak of blush, but he looked back down at the sheet before you could get a good look. "There, uh, does that make more sense?"

"Yes, it's perfect. Thank you..."

"No problem," He hesitated, as if he was about to say something else but was held back, "You've been coming to my games, right?"

"Oh, yes! I've kinda been getting into the sport..."

"Are you coming tomorrow, too?"

"Do you want me to?"

That caught him off guard, a flash of fear in his eyes, "Uh- well, sure." He looked at his phone quickly for the time and began to frantically pack up, "Shoot, I'm about to be late. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sorry to keep you!" You were upset with yourself for having kept him so long, "Good luck at practice!"

And at that moment your heart nearly skipped a beat when you saw him swallow before answering, "thanks."

He walked out the door and you were left practically with your jaw dropped. You packed up quickly and went to your locker to put your homework away.

You were once again filled with anxiety upon hearing familiar voices down the hall.

"She WHAT? And you don't think she really needed help-" Yamaguchi's voice squeaked through the hall, having not noticed you yet. You glance down the hallway and see Tsushima talking to him, Tsukki's back facing you. Was he really talking about you?

Yamaguchi continued, "Dude you need to go back before she-" he clasped his hands over his mouth, finally noticing your presence down the hall.

Tsukishima turned around to see you standing there, his face completely flushed. Yamaguchi pushed him towards you quickly before running off to avoid whatever Tsukishima might do to him when he catches him.

There you were, standing alone facing your nearly-190-centimeter crush. He turned around to watch Yamaguchi dart off. He sighed, and turned back to face you, walking towards you.

"Y/n?"

You turned to him, closing your locker. "Yes?"

"You're not dumb. Obviously. You didn't need my help back there. And so I won't pretend you didn't just hear that."

You were absolutely speechless.

"Do you like me, y/n?"

"I- uh..."

"Because I like you." He grew more anxious as you delayed to respond, "is that okay?"

"Yes!" The word burst out of you, "More than okay."

[masterlist]

[themattress]

Untitled Kairi Post

Y'know what? In a way, Kairi was tragically doomed as a character from the very beginning.

"Oh, because she was a love interest and damsel in distress!"

No. Myths, fairy tales and, well, Disney movies have used those tropes for ages, and if you're doing a story where a huge point is the influence of those things, it's kind of a given that the leading lady be a love interest and damsel in distress. And the writing is smart enough to put a twist on the trope given that Kairi's distress is much less than it appeared to be because she's Sora's love interest and he's her's, and after Sora saves her she saves him right back.

"Oh, because she wasn't a playable character or party member!"

No. It would have been nice to have the playable puzzle solving-based Kairi sequence they initially planned at Hollow Bastion, but I can understand why it was removed given how it would slow down the pace following what is perhaps the signature sequence of the game. And in any case it doesn't have any bearing on how things went for the rest of the series, given that Riku also was not a playable character or party member (he just had a crappy AI when pretending to help you fight Parasite Cage all so that he could kidnap Pinocchio).

"Oh, because she was stuck in a coma the whole game!"

NO! God damn it, how much must the game beat the point into your stupid head!?

And who could forget?

Stop laughing right now.

Kairi. Not just "her heart". KAIRI. Since the heart = the person.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, it exposes some serious sexism if one goes with the "Kairi was in a coma" line for KH1 and yet says "Ventus was inside of Sora" post BBS, since it's literally the exact same situation except that Kairi was always awake within Sora's heart as opposed to Ventus only waking up at the end of 3D. It's why Sora felt things regarding Hollow Bastion, why he experienced the memory of Kairi and her grandfather, and why he saw and heard Kairi multiple times. He wasn't hallucinating; that was always really her.

So, enough beating around the bush. What did I actually mean, then?

Well....let's start at the beginning.

Kairi's arc in the original Kingdom Hearts is not just told through the writing. Utilizing a video game as a visual/audible medium, it is also told through animation, voicework and music. During her introductory cutscene, we see Kairi asked by Sora if she remembers the world she was born in before being sent to Destiny Islands. "I told you before. I don't remember." She answers this sincerely. "Nothing at all?" Sora responds. That's when we see this detail.

"Nothing." Kairi is lying. She doesn't remember everything given the trauma caused by being forced out of her old home, but she does remember just enough to understand why it was traumatic. She had a comfortable life there, and a family. She was happy. And then it was all gone in an instant. Now, on Destiny Islands, she is similarly content ("Well, I'm happy here.") and fears risking that same loss. And yet a small part of her still yearns for the past. She loved what she can recall of her past, as she loves her present. She fears only the future.

Riku's fixation on his existential woes and the mysteries of the universe, while also putting her up on some sort of pedestal like she's something special, is not helping at all. Something about it feels wrong to Kairi...wrong and uncomfortably familiar. It's making her very anxious.

But Kairi has someone to lean on and help her keep up an optimistic, cheerful front, perhaps enough to talk herself into believing it: Sora. And during this scene, we hear the track "Kairi I":

This track reflects Kairi's character in this moment. While there is a subtle undercurrent of worry, her heart is strong enough to not let it get to her and look on the bright side as she looks out to the sun setting over the ocean. With Sora's reassurance, she is able to feel as though her home and friends won't change or go away no matter what happens on her, Sora and Riku's planned voyage, which allows her to feel anticipation for it. All finally feels right.

Of course, things were not right, and Kairi ended up in heart form as her body and soul were lost to darkness along with Destiny Islands. From Kairi's POV, she is now in the Station of Awakening (aka Dive to the Heart) and can do little but watch Sora's adventures as she can see them through his eyes, not fully putting it together why she can and where she truly is.

In the scene at Merlin's House, we get to hear "Kairi II".

While it's similar to "Kairi I", there is now a more somber and mysterious feel to it given the present circumstances. While she doesn't know if Sora can hear her, Kairi wistfully waxes nostalgic over how Merlin's House reminds her of the Secret Place on Destiny Islands. And while Kairi feels sad over missing that place, she's also happy that there are places like it elsewhere in the universe. She's clearly learning as much from Sora's journey as Sora is.

Finally, we hear "Kairi III" in the flashback with little Kairi and her grandmother.

And while it starts out reflecting Kairi's childhood innocence, it ends up turning...almost sad. The reason why being one of the most overlooked details of the scene: at the end of the grandmother's story, she disappears, and little Kairi is shown moving her head all around looking for her. This isn't actually part of the memory, but a reflection of Kairi's heart. She knows that she had a grandmother and that her grandmother isn't here anymore, but she can't remember how her grandmother "left". But she at least still exists...within her heart.

Speaking of which, once Kairi's heart returns to her body and Sora loses his heart in the process, Kairi puts her foot down. She may have learned how to better deal with and accept change and loss, but a line still has to be drawn somewhere and Sora is that line for her.

Thus is she able to save him. Later, we see her worry about the future and things changing again when she questions whether anything can be the same between her, Sora and Riku again after the corruption Riku had underwent. Once again, Sora boosts her optimism.

More importantly, he helps her learn, as he does, that even when separated you can take strength in keeping your loved ones (metaphorically) in your heart, and that even if things change and Kairi is cut off from the people and things she loves, they will always exist within her heart, just as with her grandmother and the story she told her about light and darkness.

This is why, in the end, Kairi is able to let Sora go and yet still feel content.

From "Hikari" (JP):

I'll stop doing pointless things like thinking about the future. Today I'll eat delicious things. The future is always before us, Even if I don't know it.

From "Simple and Clean" (EN):

 Regardless of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at all.  Nothing's like before.

This is a really good, really well done character arc.

It's also a very human character arc.

Yes, there are a lot of fantastical things going on, but when you put all of that aside, what are you left with? A young girl moves away from her old home and everything that she ever knew and loved, which gives her anxiety about the same thing happening with the new home and everything that she's come to know and love from it, which now includes a certain boy. She fears the future; she fears change. In the end, she ends up staying in her new home - but the boy moves away! However, through her time spent with him she's learned to accept this because he'll always be a part of her heart, which is something that won't ever change.

When put that way, it sounds positively mundane, and by and large the KH fandom - and Tetsuya Nomura himself for that matter - don't want or like mundane stuff like that. They want the crazy, the overdramatic, the angsty, the flashy, the anime tropeyness they're familiar with. This is why they were unreceptive to Kairi's arc to the fullest degree, as in many of them are literally unaware it even happened because they were too busy fixating on the archetypal Japanese media-style dick measuring contest between Sora and Riku (which is also far deeper than they tend to give it credit for, btw, but I digress). And if that's the case, then the question gets raised: why bother focusing on or expanding Kairi at all? She doesn't "sell".

THIS is why Kairi was doomed from the start. It's not her fault. But it's sadly the truth.

[rosanna-writer]

Karma Is My Boyfriend (1/?)

Summary: Elain Archeron saved countless lives by vanquishing Graysen Nolan, her literal demon of a fiancé. She's a hero, but it's just not fair that being a good witch destined to rid the world of evil has left her tragically, painfully single. Enter Lucien Vanserra, the best cupid in the business, who's been sent by the universe to balance the karmic scales and find Elain the perfect new partner…

Happy Elucien Week! A huge thank you to @popjunkie42 for beta-reading, and my playlist for this fic can be found here. I'm so excited to participate in @elucienweekofficial; we're so lucky to have such a dedicated team of event runners!

Read on AO3 or under the cut!

The new energy in Elain's shop was too sweet to be demonic. It set her teeth on edge—artificial strawberry, discount chocolate, cards fashioned out of glitter glue and construction paper. Nothing at all like the gentle, soothing aura created by the plants lining the aisles of Roots 'n Shoots. Elain felt it following her like a bad smell as she repotted new shipments, packaged online orders, and upsold premium fertilizer to customers who'd wandered in.

By lunchtime, she'd resolved to get rid of it.

Whatever magic was hanging around didn't seem to be a threat, but she hadn't survived three years of fighting evil by taking chances.

She had half a mind to call her sisters for backup; even though Elain was a powerful witch, her premonitions of the future weren't nearly as effective for self-defense as Nesta's telekinesis or Feyre's ability to cause explosions with her mind. But whatever was hanging around didn't seem malicious. Just…cloying.

Elain let her intuition guide her and followed the strange feeling to its source. She walked slowly down an aisle of tall, leafy ferns and kept her eyes peeled.

There—through the leaves, a flash of red. Every molecule in her body seemed drawn right to it, like a compass and a magnetic pole. She hurried towards it.

The flash of red turned out to be long auburn hair pulled into a messy bun. Elain couldn't help but notice the way it gleamed in the sun as she gently pushed a fern leaf to the side to get a better look at the culprit…

And found a mechanical eye staring back.

She squeaked in surprise and jumped backward. The leaf rustled gently as it fell back into place. On instinct, Elain reached deep into her well of power, the same way she did just before vanquishing a demon.

"Well, hello there," the man purred from the other side of the fern.

"Can I help you find something?" Elain said.

He smiled at her in a way that could only be described as radiant. He was gorgeous, and the jagged scar running down the side of his face only seemed to enhance his beauty. Before Graysen, Elain would already have been fluttering her lashes at him.

Now, she just glared in suspicion.

"I think I've found exactly what I'm looking for," he said, which did nothing to set her at ease, even though his expression had gone heartbreakingly soft.

Before Elain could demand answers, he winnowed over to the aisle where she was standing. A risky move—he was lucky there were no mortal customers while the store was closed for her lunch hour.

"Not a single butterfly in that stomach of yours. This is going to be a tough case," he said thoughtfully. He cocked his head, staring at Elain like she was a particularly difficult puzzle he was trying to solve.

"I beg your pardon?" Elain said tightly.

He began circling her like a predator, mechanical eye clicking and whirring. Elain huffed in frustration as her hands settled on her hips. Her strange visitor might not have been a demon, but she didn't have time for anything supernatural with so many orders to fill by the afternoon.

"The meet-cute I engineered just now was some of my best work, but it didn't get your heart fluttering at all. That ex-fiancé left you with quite the wound, didn't he?"

For the last year, Elain walked around with a ragged hole in her heart that refused to close, and to add insult to injury, the entire magical world knew everything about her literal ex from hell. "If you're here to discuss Graysen Nolan, get out of my shop," she said with all the venom she could muster.

"I'm here for you, Elain."

"If you're not an innocent in need of protection, it has to wait."

"Put me to work while we talk, then. I can multitask," he said with an elegant shrug.

She hesitated. The smartest course of action still seemed to be ordering this stranger out of her store, but...she could use the help. And at least he wasn't evil.

Gods, had her standards really sunk that low?

"At least tell me your name." It was irritating that he already seemed to know hers.

He sketched a bow. "Lucien Vanserra, at your service."

"The only service I require at the moment is someone to water my pothos," Elain said with a meaningful nod towards a watering can and row of plants towards the back of the room.

To her surprise, Lucien began filling the watering can without a single complaint. For a moment, Elain watched, telling herself it was to make sure he was doing it correctly—and not at all because he was absurdly beautiful.

She forced herself to turn her attention back to organizing the cards with handwritten care instructions that Roots 'n Shoots included with every houseplant they sold. She could have saved herself time and printed them, but the personal touch was exactly the sort of thing that kept customers coming back to her instead of the big box garden supply store down the road. As she worked, they lapsed into a silence that was almost companionable.

But just as Elain started to relax, Lucien went and opened his mouth again."I thought there might have been an error when the file they gave me said you hadn't had any new partners since Graysen, but now I can see why."

She stilled. "What file?"

"The file that every cupid gets when they're assigned a new charge."

A cupid. Well, that certainly explained why his aura didn't feel demonic, just sickly sweet. Elain had never crossed paths with a cupid before, and she'd been under the impression they were supposed to be a bit more…cute .

"I'm one of your charges?" Technically, Elain was already someone's charge—even after Cassian had broken the rules and married Nesta, he'd remained the guardian angel assigned to protect the Archeron sisters after they'd learned they were witches tasked with ridding the world of evil.

"My only charge, actually. The elders insisted I focus on you and only you, Elain."

"And to what do I owe that honor?"

"You saved the world, and what goes around comes around, sweetie. Offing your demonic fiancé earned you the best and brightest cupid's help with finding a doting new partner."

Lucien said it as if she were supposed to fall over herself in gratitude. But she had half a mind to slap him for the audacity to think he could just waltz into her place of business and treat her like a charity case he'd magnanimously offered to take on.

"A partner is the last thing I need." Elain and her sisters had spent the last several nights rounding up a rogue band of crossroads demons that had been plaguing Velaris's intersections. Casting the vanquishing spells on each street had taken hours, leaving her with precious little time to eat, sleep, and run her store.

It had been the same with the succubi last week, the rabid werewolves the week before, and the banshees they'd spent a whole month rooting out. These days, going on a date was unthinkable.

Lucien rolled his eyes. "You're certainly not going to attract one with that attitude."

That, Elain decided, would be the end of the conversation. She was an Archeron, one of the three most powerful witches ever to walk the earth—not someone who'd allow herself to be condescended to.

All it took was one half-hearted wave of her hand, as if she were brushing away a fly, to activate the wards she'd placed around the shop. Twin vines of pure magic grew from the ceiling, hoisted Lucien up by the armpits, yanked him across the room, and dropped him unceremoniously onto the sidewalk outside. The spell wouldn't let him back in until she changed her mind.

Hopefully, that would be the last she'd hear from Lucien Vanserra.

***

As soon as she got home, Elain marched straight up the stairs of the Archeron manor. She and her sisters had inherited the house—along with their powers and mandate to protect the innocent—three years prior, and the Book of Shadows that never left the attic had guided them through all of it. Instructions for spell casting, potion recipes, taxonomies of every magical creature they might possibly come across…the Book contained it all.

The worn leather bindings creaked as Elain opened it and began searching for the entry on cupids. There wasn't an index; the ancient book was a work in progress by generations of Archeron witches, which meant it was a disorganized mess on a good day. Sometimes, wind would gust from nowhere and just so happen to flip the book to the correct page, but today, she had no such luck.

Hello, Elain.

She jumped, nearly dropping the Book. In her rush to find the entry on cupids, she hadn't noticed the bat hanging upside down from a rafter.

Rhysand—her other, non-angelic brother-in-law. He was a bat shifter that roosted in the attic while the manor had been empty, and though Nesta had been fully prepared to call animal control the night they'd discovered him, Elain had felt horrible throwing him out of his home. But since their family had lost their fortune, the manor was badly in need of expensive repairs, so Feyre struck a bargain: Rhys could stay as long as he paid rent and kept quiet.

He'd married the youngest Archeron sister within a year.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," Elain said aloud. Even after years of wielding magic of her own, she'd never gotten used to Rhys's way of speaking mind-to-mind, a power that allowed him to communicate even when he wasn't in a form with proper vocal cords.

He shifted, wings and fur disappearing as he turned back into a man. The claws stayed in place so Rhys could remain inverted—he claimed it did wonders for his back pain.

"You didn't," he said, "and if there's something urgent, I can call Feyre for you."

"It's nothing demonic. At least, I don't think. Do you know anything about cupids?"

Rhys cocked his head, violet eyes sparking with interest. "I've crossed paths with a few over the centuries. They're harmless."

"Are they all that arrogant?"

"Not in my experience."

Elain bit back a frustrated sigh and turned the Book's pages a little more forcefully than necessary. It was bad enough that the Powers That Be had decided that after Graysen, she was so tragically, painfully single that it required divine intervention, but they'd gone the extra mile and sent their biggest asshole of a cupid to "fix" her, too.

"Hopefully there's still a spell I can cast to keep him away."

"Did someone bother you?" Rhys's voice went cold, and suddenly he sounded less like the brother-in-law she badgered about remembering to recycle and more like the terrifying Lord of Nightmares he also was. Elain smiled; it was sweet, in a way—Rhys was fiercely protective of the people he loved.

"Yes, but not like that. Don't go crushing minds on my account."

"What happened?"

"A cupid named Lucien came to my shop today and said he'd been sent to help me find a new partner."

"And I assume you didn't take him up on the offer?"

Elain shook her head. She'd finally found the entry on cupids, which was barely a paragraph long: Benevolent. Responsible for connecting the worthy with their true love.

The worthy. Elain certainly didn't feel worthy, not after her love for Graysen had deluded her into thinking a demon could change. In the end, she'd done the right thing and vanquished him, but…making that choice had nearly torn her apart. She'd come so close to letting him live.

It had been nearly a year, and the sight of Graysen pleading for his life still haunted in her dreams.

"If you hated him that much, I'm sure the cupid elders could always send you another," Rhys said with a wry smile.

"I don't need a cupid. Business is booming at Roots 'n Shoots, and I have my hands full with protecting innocents and corralling you, Feyre, Cassian, and Nesta. That's more than enough for me."

"Being busy is all the more reason to accept expert help."

Elain closed the Book of Shadows and glowered at her meddling bastard of a brother-in-law. Rhys smirked back.

She started to go, but a pair of massive, membranous wings erupted from Rhys's back, allowing him to release his talons from the rafter, glide upwards, then land on his feet in one smooth movement. Elain crossed her arms, waiting for him to get out of her way once he'd shifted completely back into his human form.

Despite the irritation that was probably rippling off her in waves, Rhys's expression softened. "More than anyone else I know, you deserve to be happy, Elain. Even if you don't feel like you do."

A lump formed in Elain's throat. That meant a lot, coming from Rhys, who was always staring at Feyre like he couldn't believe his luck. "Love you," she said.

"Love you, too."

Despite all that love, he still didn't move, continuing to block her path to the attic's only exit. "I'm sensing a 'but,' though," Elain said.

"I should warn you that if you don't give things with that cupid a shot, Feyre might try matchmaking you herself. And if Feyre does, then so will Nesta…" He trailed off, letting the implications of her sisters teaming up hang in the air.

"Blackmail is immoral." She felt obligated to point it out, though pesky little things like ethics rarely stopped Rhys.

"Immoral and effective," he said, flashing her one last grin before disappearing into the shadows with a gentle gust of night-kissed wind.

[otomehoneyybearr]

The Day I Made a Friend

Book of memories Chapter 3

Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch4 | My First Dorayaki

Kagari: "You're weird."

Keith: "Huh?"

After the training—Keith, who had been rubbing his red eyes, tilted his head at Kagari's words.

Kagari: "You cry every day from the training. It's me who's making you cry."

Kagari: "So why do you keep talking to me?"

Kagari: "Most people would hate someone who puts them through unpleasant things, right?"

Keith: "Do you think you're doing something unpleasant to me?"

Kagari: "No."

Kagari: "But… crying means you're either in pain, sad, or scared."

Kagari: "I'm the one making you feel that way, right?"

Keith: "That's not it. I'm crying because of my own inadequacies."

Keith: "When I think about how I could have done better or how I made the same mistake again,"

Keith: "it feels like my chest is being squeezed, and the tears just come out."

Keith: "So I don't think you're the one making me cry. Actually, I'm really grateful to you."

Kagari: "Grateful?"

Keith: "You've put a lot of thought into these training regimens for someone like me."

Keith: "When I don't get it right, you teach me over and over again, staying with me until sunset."

Keith: "…You're the first teacher who's ever paid this much attention to me. There's no way I could hate you."

Keith: "If anything, I'm the one who should be disliked, for being so hopeless and crying all the time."

Kagari: "I don't dislike you. So don't cry."

Keith: "Oh, sorry… thank you."

Kagari wiped Keith’s tears vigorously with his sleeve, as if cleaning a window. Though it made Keith's eyes even redder, he smiled a little shyly.

Keith: "…Did it bother you when I talked to you?"

Kagari: "…"

Kagari: "I don't know."

Kagari: "…But it wasn’t unpleasant."

Keith: "...! Then, can I keep talking to you until you go back to Kogyoku?"

Kagari: "…Sure, I don't mind."

Keith: "R-really!?"

Keith smiled brightly, like a flower blooming, making Kagari take a step back. He unconsciously shook his fluffy olive-colored hair, expressing his joy with his whole body.

Keith: "I don’t often get the chance to talk to someone my age, so I'm really happy. Thank you, Sir!"

Kagari: "…Yeah."

Keith: "Hey, Sir. Can we talk for 10 minutes, or even just 1 minute? Is that okay?"

Kagari: "…Talk as much as you want."

Keith: "R-really? What should I start with?"

Keith: "I want to know about your favorite things, your brother, the types of cherry blossoms, what you usually do, and…"

Kagari: "I'll answer your questions… But drop the Sir.'"

Kagari: "We’re not training right now."

Keith: "Prince Kagari."

Kagari: "No ‘Prince’ either."

Keith: "Then… Kagari?"

Kagari nodded, causing Keith’s smile to become even brighter for some reason.

Kagari, having never experienced such a genuine smile directed at him, took another step back, looking at Keith with a puzzled expression.

Keith: "It feels like I've made a friend."

Kagari: "A friend?"

Keith: "Yeah. Just changing how I call you makes it feel like we've gotten a lot closer..."

Keith: "Oh, but when I say closer, I mean like the relationship between Kogyoku and Jade has increased a bit..."

Keith: "No, I know it’s presumptuous of me to think I could be friends with you!"

Keith: "I just thought that if we could be friends, it would make me really happy, so I kind of wished for it..."

Kagari: "...A friend."

While Keith nervously waved his hands around, Kagari murmured the word as if trying to get used to it, like he was hearing it for the first time.

Kagari: "...Being friends is fine."

Keith: "......"

Keith: "R-really? You'll be friends with someone like me?"

Kagari: "I don’t go back on my word."

Keith: "W-wow...!"

Kagari: "!"

Keith grabbed Kagari's hands with a speed rarely seen even during training, shaking them vigorously.

The unexpected strength made Kagari's body sway.

Keith: "Thank you, it feels like a dream."

Keith: "Can I still think of you as a friend tomorrow?"

Kagari: "...? Of course."

Keith let out a small sigh of relief and, as if he had remembered something, took Kagari's hand and led him somewhere.

Keith: "Kagari, there's a place I'd like to take you to."

They arrived at the kitchen.

Keith reached into a shelf and pulled out an item he had hidden, presenting it to Kagari.

Kagari: "This is…"

Keith: "It's called dorayaki, right?"

Keith: "I found it while I was out in town today and bought it."

Keith: "I thought it would be nice to celebrate becoming friends by eating them together."

Keith: "There's smooth red bean paste and chunky red bean paste, even though the taste is the same. Which one would you like, Kagari?"

Kagari: "..."

Keith: "Kagari?"

Though Keith called his name, Kagari didn’t move a muscle and just stared at the dorayaki being offered to him.

His gaze didn't seem to be one of indecision between the two types of bean paste, but it was enough to make Keith anxious.

Keith: "Maybe you don’t like these… I’m sorry, I should’ve asked before buying it."

Keith: "I got excited about trying Kogyoku’s sweets and forgot something important… I’m such an idiot."

Keith: "Wait, I have other things I bought, so you can choose from those—"

Kagari: "No."

Prev | Next

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[mustainegf]

I think Drunk In Love could have multiple parts it would be so good

Mmmm this is getting good, part 3? ;)

𝐃𝐑𝐔𝐍𝐊 ’𝐍’ 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 — 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝟐 ¹⁹⁸⁵

— 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏 — part 3

The sound of metal clinking and the scent of something burning startled me up. Rubbing my eyes to get rid of the last bits of sleep, I grew aware that I was in the living room, laying on the couch. The previous night's events came with force. James.

I pulled myself off the couch and strained my back's tightness. The sunlight was just rising, casting the thin curtains with a gentle shine.

With his back to me, he was standing in front of the toaster in only his boxers as I followed the sounds to the kitchen. His hair was a tangle, and he was grumbling to himself while he played around with the toaster, attempting to use a fork to retrieve a burnt piece of toast.

I paused in the doorway, amused and uneasy at the same time. He at first was too preoccupied with his challenge to see me. FI cleared my throat, and he turned around, his eyes growing in a surprise.

"Good morning," I said with a slight grin.

"Hey," he said, seeming sheepish. "I’m sorry about this. I tried to make breakfast, but..."

"It's okay," I said as I went into the kitchen. "Need some help?"

He gave up on the toast after glancing at the toaster and then back at me. "Probably. I think I've already ruined it."

I chuckled quietly. "Let me see." Taking the fork from him, I was able to lift the burnt toast. "There you go."

He sounded relieved as he grinned. "Thanks. This is not my specialty."

"Don't worry. I tried to keep the talk light-hearted despite the uneasy air that persisted. "Everyone has their talents," I added. I was thinking about last night all during that moment, and I was wondering if he knew anything.

"Do you remember anything from last night?" I couldn't help but ask as we worked to prepare another plate of toast.

He scowled, looking contemplative. "Tiny bits. mostly fuzzy. Why?"

My heart sank a little bit. "No reason," I pretended to smile. "You were just pretty out of it."

Rubbing the back of his neck, he laughed. Yeah, that's what I thought. Sorry if I started any shit."

"Not at all," I blurted out. "Just glad you made it to bed in one piece."

A quiet crept over us, thicker than it ought to have been. I couldn't help but overthink everything. Did he see any meaning in that kiss? Probably not, since he couldn't even recall doing it. It was merely a drunken mistake, in his opinion. Even though it was only a brief, drunken moment, it was something I had secretly been wishing for.

I was making an effort to ignore those thoughts as we sat down to eat our toast. Sitting opposite him while feeling both incredibly close and yet completely separate was unpleasant. I thought what it would be like if things were different as I watched him sip his water with his eyes half closed. If my feelings for him were the same as his feelings for me.

For now, though, I had to make do with what I had. I hoped it made it to my eyes as I smiled at him. "Thanks for breakfast," I whispered.

His expression softened as he turned to gaze at me. "Thanks for lastnight.”

"Anytime," I answered, more suggesting than he probably realized.

I couldn't resist glancing at him as my thoughts kept going back to what had happened the previous night.

Raising an eyebrow in that playful manner he had, he noticed me gazing. "What's up?"

I wasn't sure if I should bring it up, so I hesitated. However, before I could stop them, the words began to come out. "Do you remember throwing up last night? And me bringing you to bed?"

He shook his head slowly after looking puzzled for a moment. "Not really. I remember getting way too fuckin’ drunk and everything getting pretty fuzzy after that." He smiled sheepishly. "Guess that explains how I ended up in bed instead of on the bathroom floor.

I faked a grin despite an ache of disappointment. "Yeah, no problem. You were really out of it."

He chuckled, obviously embarrassed. "Sorry you had to deal with me."

We sank back into silence, but my thoughts were anything but peaceful. I kept wanting to ask him if he had any other memories, but I just couldn't bring myself to. It seemed too delicate to bring into the harsh light of day the memory of his lips brushing against mine, the way he looked at me right before he passed out.

But even as James talked about the band's plans and the songs they still needed to practice, I was unable to avoid feeling a little frustrated.

I wanted to scream at him, to remind him of that kiss and convey to him the value of it for me. I knew it wasn't fair, though. I doubt he even realized he was kissing me; it hadn't been his intention.

My mind kept wandering. The memory of his kiss was persistent, the way he’d so effortlessly called me pretty. Drunk words are sober thoughts, Right?

"Hey," James's voice snapped me back into reality. "Are you listening?"

I blinked and gazed up, feeling my cheeks go hot. "Sorry, what did you say?"

He set his guitar down, looking at me with knitted brows. "You've been spaced out all morning. What's up with you?"

Shit, I knew he could tell. As much as I wanted to refrain, I simply couldn’t.

I took a deep breath before speaking. "Actually, there's something. It’s about last night."

[bebravedearheart]

😂 tickling for merthur!

I don't know why, I had a feeling I'd get this one😂

***

Merlin threw open the heavy curtains blocking the dawn from Arthur's chambers, eliciting a groan from the prince who for all he said Merlin puzzled him was a mystery himself. How could a man with the honed reflexes of a knight training since childhood, who woke at the slightest twitch or rustle while on patrol or on a hunt, be so difficult to wake in the mornings he spent in his lavish bed in the castle.

Though, on reflection, Merlin didn't think he'd wake up so easily if he too was enveloped in soft linen sheets and a feather mattress.

Arthur had done no more than press his face further into his pillow.

"Come on then," Merlin said brightly, just a fraction louder than he needed to. "Let's have you lazy daisy," He knew Arthur hated that phrase and it might at least get something thrown at his head--which meant Arthur would have to move to do so.

The prince, clearly intending to be particularly difficult today, just groaned again, one hand dragged from the warmth of the deep red coverlet to make a shooing motion at Merlin.

"Breakfast will get cold," Merlin tried, deciding not to mention the fact he had once again been late to pick it up and it was already no more than lukewarm.

"S'always cold," Arthur muttered, muffled in his decadence.

"Do I have to drag you out, my lord?" Merlin asked, both of them well aware he only titled Arthur when he was being particularly sardonic. "I've done it before and I will do it again," he continued, trying his best to channel his mother's particular brand of ferocity.

"Are you threatening me, Merlin?" came the still-muffled, still-pompous tone. Arthur was feeling a little more awake, then.

"If that's what it needs to be to get your lazy arse out of bed, royal or not." Merlin answered loftily, with a long-suffering sigh for good measure. He still couldn't see the prince's face, but Arthur's hand was idly twisting in his coverlet; those broad, calloused fingers wrinkling then smoothing the linen.

"You can't talk to me like that," Arthur raised his head, the effect of his commanding, self-important tone somewhat lessened by the yawn that broke his words and the way his hair stuck up in all directions.

Something warm settled itself beneath Merlin's ribs, as it so often did in unguarded moments like these, the glimpses of the man beneath the crown, the infuriating, stubborn, childish man.

"Well, are you getting out of bed?"

"Nope."

"Then I shall continue."

"Merlin?"

"Yes?"

"Sod off."

"Right." Merlin had a note of finality to his tone. "If you're not getting out of bed, I'm getting in."

"Excuse me?" Arthur demanded, though the words had not even left his mouth before Merlin was sat on his hips, knees either side of him.

"Get up," Merlin singsonged, prodding Arthur's bare chest with one long finger.

"Get off," Arthur grumbled, with far less heat than he knew he should at such familiarity.

"Get up," Merlin sang again, prodding Arthur in the ribs this time. The prince could not suppress the slight twitch and shiver when Merlin's finger brushed the sensitive, ticklish spot on his ribs. Merlin did not fail to notice and he grinned wickedly.

"Right." He said again, drawing all of his fingers, feather-light across Arthur's ribs.

***

"Merlin!" the prince squeaked--with dignity, of course--thinking wildly for a moment about how soft Merlin's palms were where they rested on his sides, how warm.

"Are you getting up, my lord?" Merlin said again, his other hand skating over Arthur's chest as the laughter he could not help broke free.

"Merlin! Give up! Merlin!" He bellowed between giggles, had no idea what anyone passing in the corridor might think. His manservant had never listened to him, however, and it did not look like he was about to start now.

Truly awake now, Arthur drew on those perfectly honed reflexes and grabbed Merlin's wrist, knowing Merlin wasn't expecting it. "Ha!" his voice was triumphant as he sat up, still holding Merlin's wrist. They had wrestled like children before, gone far beyond any boundary of lord and servant many times but this felt different. The air felt charged with something Arthur could not name and tried hard not to think about.

His hand seemed so large, clumsy against Merlin's. His blunt, calloused fingertips looked like they would sully Merlin's perfectly pale skin. Arthur swallowed thickly, knowing he should let go but unable to make himself just yet.

Merlin flexed his fingers and Arthur watched the movement intently, didn't think of rules or propriety as he brought Merlin's hand closer to his face, pressed a kiss to his warm palm. Merlin's breath caught in his throat and Arthur moved to kiss the pads of each of Merlin's finger. He tasted the salt-sweat of Merlin's skin, the barest hint of whichever herbs he had picked for Gaius before coming to wake him and the honey from the rolls he always brought Arthur for breakfast. "Stealing my sweetmeats before you've even served me, Merlin?"

The tips of Merlin's ears flushed a delicate pink and Arthur knew he was right. He let go of Merlin's wrist, reluctantly. "We should--"

Merlin's hand had already found its way back to Arthur's chest, pressed flat against his sternum, pushing Arthur to lie back down. Those elegant fingers ran across his chest, down his ribs again; over all the ticklish spots that made Arthur shiver, brushing a nipple oh-so-lightly--which made Arthur actually gasp.

Merlin's smile turned wicked as he tickled Arthur's ribs again just to watch him twitch.

"I think you can stay in bed just a little longer."

[exielimon]

Something wormed it's way into my head like a month ago and guess what? I can't get it out. I now have a modern AU and you have to deal with me giving the boys silly highschool nicknames. For example:

Four, aka The Ant

(613 words ahead)

"wait- you went to Central Hyrule High School too??"

Legend asked from the desk, his station a mess of tools and trinkets and oil he'd clean later.

"Why you surprised? It's a public school" Four answered the question with another question.

"Well, I don't know, you're my superior in mechanics but you were probably my classmate" Legend murmured, nose touching a tiny piece of the car radio he was trying to repair.

"Nah, I'd remember another Link." Four quipped, still under the car he was working with, not even turning his head to speak. "You were there too?"

"Well I was always on competitions and went traveling very often because of that. I thought I was published in the school news?" Leg and murmured, a bit self consciously.

"Oh, sorry, I never actually read those things" Four finally popped his head out from under the car.

"Oh, don't worry, I'd rather you never know" Legend reasured, embarrassment creeping into his cheeks.

Four went back to his work and stayed silent for a couple minutes, then he got out from under the car and opened the hood.

"Can you pass me my backpack? I brought a piece from the store yesterday..." He didn't trail off, he started muttering under his breath while analyzing the insides of the engine like a puzzle to be solved.

Legend saw the backpack at the side of the desk, that wasn't really the safest place, where oil could spill over and stain it, but Legend tried to not do that, so he guessed it was like Four was trusting him. There wasn't much space for keeping things away in a little house workshop either, so it was understandable anyway.

He made to lift the backpack and was immediately surprised by the thing refusing to separate from the ground. However, Legend was strong enough and with a bit more of effort he usually makes, he grabbed the thing and carried it over to Four.

"What do you have in this, rocks? Gods it's heavy"

"A motor actually" Four accepted the pack and, to Legend's secret surprise, lifted it easily with his non dominant hand to open it with the dominant one. "And my tools"

Sure enough, there was a goddess be damned motor in the bag.

"How do you have so much strength and so little height?" Legend blurted out, not really catching himself.

Four burst out laughing and Legend tried to think of that to lessen the warmth at the tips of his ears.

"Well, I've been in this since I have memory. My grandpa taught me, this is his workshop. Actually, people in highschool said I was so little I worked like an ant. It kind of stuck though a couple years."

"Wait really?? I remember hearing that name in the hallways! I laughed a lot, secretly obviously" Legend exclaimed that one shut up you ant! he heard a lot on the hallways was hilarious.

"Oh, yeah it was really funny, friends held it over my head for a while" Four chuckled as he connected the motor. Legend went back to his work with the radio.

After a few more minutes, Legend started laughing.

"You ok?" Four asked, chuckling too because Legend's laugh was a bit contagious.

It took a bit for Legend's giggling to calm down enough to apologize "sorry, sorry, it's just... ant" and he kept giggling.

Four was smiling too, it had been a while since he heard the nickname and he never let anyone but two specific people call him that, but Legend was a good guy, it was fine.

Wow did he really just make a new friend over mechanics and old nicknames?

Thx for reading!

[midnight1nk]

...Oh hey, my dear fellows! I was just vibing here in my pillow fort. Please come in! So, uh, how are we feeling?

[*panic noises*]

Hmm, understandable. We got that episode... then that render... then the website changed... Well, the point is: a lot has happened and things are about to escalate even more than what we have right now. Oh, yeah, things are about to get even crazier and we wouldn't even know. I don't really have many theories on my end since I already launched my "WOTFI 2024 Predictions" post, both the OG and the revisited version, before these episodes came in. What more can I really say?

Actually, there is one thing I could go over...

The Ticket

⚠️ DISCLAIMER IN INTRO POST ⚠️

"Nothing lasts forever..."

Unlike the usual stuff, this will be more of an analysis/prediction. Somewhat of a "mini-theory", if you will. Before I continue, I do want to give a heads-up that Tumblr is giving me a hard time uploading images so for all my sources, I would link them so you can see them for yourselves. At least, until the issue gets resolved.

Now, without further ado, let's-a go :

TRADITIONS

We are all familiar with how WOTFI works. The challenges, the points, the end goal. And, of course, the channel drops hints for the audience to pick up on, usually related to the plot. This is nothing new. Let's look back to the previous one, the 2023 Heist (aka the Notebook Arc):

After Mario stole SMG3's notebook, we ended on the cliffhanger of Three standing outside the Castle, furious at Mario, in the episode 'SMG4: Trust No One'. Since then, we have been given hints here and there, with Three missing his notebook to plotting something to get it back, before we got the trailer for WOTFI and the Heist-Planning stream. This year, though, the hints we received so far all revolved around a ticket.

The first one [link] is SMG4 getting his in an envelope.

The second one [link] was of the crew holding out each of their tickets to the sky. The picture features Bob, Luigi, Three, Four, Mario, Tari, and Karen. We can assume these are the characters we will side with for this year's WOTFI.

And now, the third [link] is the most mysterious of them all so far: A ticket was ripped up and left abandoned on the wet ground.

WHO DOES THIS BELONG TO?

So, what's so mysterious about it?

The ticket being left abandoned is one thing, but the fact that whoever had this ticket ripped it. To start with the first question:

Who does this belong to?

Now, the obvious answer would be Meggy. After all, the last (and shocking) episode just showed us that Mr Puzzles forced Meggy to turn back into Leggy. Meggy won't be with the main crew for WOFTI, it just makes sense.

Well, that's if we assume the episodes and the posts are happening at the same time.

I've been following the people behind the SMG4 channel to see if they have anything to comment on. About the recent episodes, about the renders. And oh boy, did they have things to say:

When the first one dropped, a few people, including myself, made the connection that Mr Puzzles was the one who sent the envelope to Four, similar to how he sent a letter to Wren back in Western Spaghetti. It wasn't until now that the crew alluded that we were right. It's not to say that it's an absolute confirmation. But we are on the right track.

When the second one dropped, many people suspected and joked that the reason why Meggy was in the picture was because she was too short or the one taking the picture. It wasn't until now, after we saw that Meggy was going to become Leggy, the crew was like "I guess that's why Meggy wasn't in the picture" with such a mischievous smile. (they are so silly.)

Seeing how they worded their responses, I believe that, timeline-wise, the episodes took place before these posts were made. Think about it this way:

Two plots were happening at the same time, one with the usual adventures with the crew and the other following Mr Puzzles. But, from our point of view, we only saw one of the plots.

Until the show took a turn and was like "Hey, have you ever wondered what the hell Mr Puzzles is up to while this was happening?" before we transitioned to this plot of Mr Puzzles slowly going insane.

Viewing this exact timeline, it would make sense for Mr Puzzles to already have a carnival in his hands, and send invites to all the people who wronged him (in this case the SMG4 crew) as part of his revenge plan. Leggy would already be with Mr Puzzles at this point, so there isn't any reason why she would own one. The ticket can't be hers.

Then, whose is it?

Well, it's a bit...tricky.

The first thing that comes to mind is the SMG4 crew. There's literally a picture of them holding their tickets. The thing is, they can't be the only ones. Take WOTFI 2023 for example. Sure, Three and Four were the main duo we sided with but other side characters were in the casino as well. Not only that but they were involved in the results for the ending.

Mr Puzzles wants to have a successful carnival to "prove" to his father that he has creative vision. And to do that, he would have to have the park filled with satisfied visitors. More people. and therefore, these side characters would have a ticket as well.

Our pool of "suspects" just went from the main crew to a hundred possible visitors. That is the tricky part. Fortunately, for us, there is still a way. Instead of picking a needle in a haystack, we could use the process of elimination to check off anyone who doesn't fit the criteria.

THE RENDER

Let's look over the recent third post once more. BenJoJoGV, the thumbnail artist for the channel, worked really hard on this render. You can tell how realistically detailed this looks, with the mud and puddles of rain. BenJoJoGV really cooked fr fr.

A few people pointed something out: if you look closely at the mud, you can see a shoeprint. Likely to come from a (work) boot due to the heel and the grooves being emphasized by the mud.

If this wasn't done on purpose and was simply part of the textured pattern, then this means nothing.

However, if this was done on purpose, then it means our suspect wears boots. The soles of the shoes are probably not as detailed as the ones in the render, but they're still boots. Everyone who doesn't wear boots as part of their model is automatically eliminated. From the main crew, it would be Bob and Tari.

What about Karen?

Her model does have shoes with a pronounced heel on them. However, she has no motive as to why she would rip the ticket. Just like the rest of the crew, she doesn't know who sent the ticket, let alone know who Mr Puzzles is.

As a mom, she would likely take her kids to the carnival to have some fun.

If I was right about Marty being part of WOTFI, Karen would've had to get some intel that Marty may be in the carnival. Better yet, she could've used the ticket as an opportunity to finish him off.

Either way, there is no reason to waste it.

As for the rest of the crew that do wear boots, there is yet to be a motive for any of them to rip their ticket. They don't know that Mr Puzzles is the mastermind behind all of this. To them, this is a free pass to a carnival.

This leads to my next question:

Why rip the ticket?

Other than the Didney workers, no one knows that Mr Puzzles killed Mickey and took over Didney Worl to create his own idea of a carnival. The rest of the world, whoever received a ticket, would simply think this is a fun carnival. And a free pass, too? Don't mind if I do!

Who wouldn't want a free ticket?

One person didn't. Our suspect.

They could've handed the ticket to someone else, or simply not go. Why go through the effort of ripping it?

Because, my dear fellows, they know the truth.

They would know what's the deal with the new carnival, who Mr Puzzles is. And perhaps, what Mr Puzzles has done. They would learn the truth and not respond so positively to it.

From the render, we can piece together that:

our suspect was standing in the rain

they ripped the ticket and dropped the pieces

and walked away, leaving the print on the mud, without looking back.

By the time this photo was taken, it would've happened recently since there isn't any mud or rain covered. It just landed on the ground.

Would they confront Mr Puzzles themselves? Would they warn the crew about this? Or simply not take part in WOTFI?

Hmm, lots to think about...

Right now, someone knows the truth about WOTFI and they will definitely take a big role. Remember when Three was standing outside of the castle for last year's WOTFI? It was raining. Things are about to get serious, my friends.

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

The question, the one that still remains after all of this... who is our suspect? Who is this person?

We don't know, I don't. But at least we are a bit closer to learning their identity. We just have to wait and see what they have in store for us.

"I got a golden ticket. I got a golden glimmer in my eye..."

But hey, that’s just a theory…

AN SMG4 (MINI) THEORY

🎶Thanks for dropping by🎶

...now if you excuse me, I got a bingo card to prepare!

[howlingday]

Last human au) jaune has been stuck in a cell since he was woken up and he's gonna be honest not the worst day he's ever had but not the best either although he might have just made a new friend. A robot friend at that!

Penny is sure she's managed to ingratiate herself with her new primitive charge. Poor thing probably doesn't even realize that she's not even a real human! She'll have to keep that a secret though even when he falls in love with her. For science of course. Now to learn more about the human and move him to the study area where friend ruby is waiting.

Basically jaune might be more modern but everyone around him doesn't know that yet. In order to keep him comfortable and not be cruel to the poor primitive thing they commissioned a robot companion to befriend him and guide him back to the testing area. Surely they'll be able to account for everything on the simulated escape and jaune won't outsmart them all before wandering off to the city

Tldr: jaune out smarts everyone and now they're panicking because what they think is a caveman is wandering around the city. On the plus side ruby feels validated in her idea that just because jaune is less educated than modern faunas doesn't mean he's less intelligent. And penny is getting all sorts of interesting data

Bedrock Bottom

First/Previous

Jaune had never been to jail before. He was raised to be polite and respectful to everyone around him, or else the police would take him away from his family. However, looking back on it, the stories he'd heard about prison were distinctly different from where he was now. These tales of horror and warning scared Jaune to know end, his father terrifying him with tales of endless gang wars, violent guards, and other inmates who would view him as a plaything to do what they would with him.

Except none of this was true from his perspective. Right now, it felt more like he was a pet rat kept in a shoebox. Food was brought to him three times a day, as well as books, puzzles, and the occasional "letter from home," which was just some girl pretending to be his mom and warning him to not stay out too late or else the "dire rats would gobble him up".

Speaking of strange girls, he wasn't alone in his room, either. Delivering these items was Penny, a cute girl with red hair that curled just above her shoulders. She would ask him questions about himself, then respond with "Oh, I know about that! That's what all humans do, right?" There was usually a hiccup between these statements.

It had been a week since he'd been tossed into his cell, and six days since Penny came into his life. He would spend most of the day sitting on his bed, reading between meals, though at some points, he would forgo the reading and do some exercises instead. Penny would sit on the bed regardless and ask him questions. Questions like...

"Why are you doing pushups the wrong way?"

"It's not the wrong way." Jaune answered. "I'm just exercising different muscles."

"Oh! I know about that!" She hiccupped. "That's what all humans do, right?"

"Not all of them." Jaune lifted himself to his knees. "Can I ask you something, Penny? Human to human?"

"Sensational!" Penny's eyes widened as much as her smile. She jumped from the bed, hopping from one foot to the other in a little dance. "I've successfully integrated with the human specimen~!"

"But aren't you human?" Penny stopped. "I mean, you are human, right?"

"Affirmative!" Penny said, then hiccupped. "I am a human meat person, just like you!" She hiccupped again.

"Uh-huh." He let the issue go for now. "Anyways, I was wondering what you did to get locked up in here."

"What I did?" Penny repeated.

"Yeah, this is a jail, isn't it?"

"...Yes!" She hiccupped.

"And prisoners are locked up in prison for doing bad things, right?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"I, er, broke out of a hospital and pushed a girl over, so I guess I got in trouble for some kind of hospital rule."

"...Oh! I know about that!" She didn't hiccup. "That's what all humans do, right?"

"No, it isn't, Penny."

"It... isn't?"

"Penny, you're my friend, right?"

"I... Am I?" She asked. She then got really close. Almost uncomfortably close. "Do you see me as a friend?!"

"I... Yes?" Penny was quiet for a moment. Then she was quiet for a moment longer. Suddenly, she beamed with the biggest smile he'd ever seen. "Uh, Pen-"

"SENSATIONAL!" She hugged him, and she was squeezing him REAL tight. "I cannot believe I have two friends, and one of them is the human!"

"Wait, wait." Jaune groaned from his strained lungs. "Who's... Who's your other friend?"

Penny gasped, then shut and covered her mouth with her hand. She quickly ran to the door, not looking back as she pounded on the cell entrance/exit. The door hissed and slid open, and a team of four, burly guards rushed in, knocking Jaune to the ground. Looking up, he saw Penny looking back. Her eyes were the saddest he'd ever seen. And then she ran away, and he was left pinned to the floor.

As she ran, he couldn't help but notice the twin antennae extending from her hair.

[minas-linkverse]

Ngl I was going to ask about Breath of the Wild but I’d thought you’d get a million of those asks lol. I was also torn between asking about Wind Waker, so whichever one you want to answer more is chill!!

haha yea I thought I'd get a million asks too! Somehow even now this remains the only botw ask, I guess people just figured it must've been sent already 😅

Now to actually share my thoughts on botw... Man I hope people don't get mad at me.

I did not like it!. The first play through I had was mildly exciting simply due to there being a whole unknown world to see, but after a while that gimmick wore off. I knew that if I made my way to the cool looking mountain or interesting abandoned building I'd just find a bokoblin and/or a chest with a gem. Whats the point of a gorgeous expansive world when all I find is the same...! 😫

Oh wow! A town with a whole new atmosphere and culture I sure wonder what I'll get up to h- Ok they have the same shops with slightly different items. Ok cool. There's like a few small quests for more inventory filler I don't really need. Cool cool.

I understand that the game is really fun for some people, they'll do quests just to get to play more of the game. They want all that extra stuff to upgrade armour and really get into the nitty gritty mechanics of the game... But I did not. It was not for me.

Also ouugh the puzzles...! My favourite part of Zelda games is the puzzle solving, but these were in no way satisfying and often more fun to just break. Why would I bother even trying to get into the devs heads when A) I could just break it and B) I have too many options to consider! I can't possibly get a clean eureka moment when everything from monster guts to just climbing could be the solution...! Where's the engaging simplicity of knowing exactly what you have and following the devs' clues to reach the solution!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaa--

I also disliked the story, all the interesting bits in it happened a 100 years ago and I feel like I arrived late with a starbucks. I also will not get over the weird ending cutscene!! After countless fascinating memories of Zelda having very complex emotions at Link... What do you mean you're just going to have a vaguely romantic "Do you still remember me?" YEAH I DO, I thought u disliked me! Which is a fascinating story direction I would've loved continued but OK! I guess we're ignoring that! Women cant be angry that makes them less cute and marketable, I guess!!!!

I... Sorry this is so ranty, I've been holding it in a long time. I think there's a lot to love in botw and I wish I wasn't so sour about it. Other people's love and excitement for it is wonderful and I hope they keep making the art they love. If its your first game in the series and got you into it, that's nothing to be ashamed about. I'm just a grumpy old man waving at cloud /ref.

Honestly I think botw could've been wonderful if it was a new IP. It feels all the Zelda stuff was sort of glued onto a concept that wasn't prepared to carry that mantle. It would've been better off with a new exciting world and cast of characters. It still wouldn't be a game I much care for, but the freedom that could've granted the developers would've been a treat to see.

It's worth adding that even though I dislike botw, I want to treat the characters of that game with respect and care in my comic. I may not love them in game but I can see the passion others have and I am committed to make something worth their time. Your special guys are safe with me. I have 0 desire to dunk on them, and instead wish to honour the love you all have. In a way I'm learning to love them myself through that.

[docholligay]

Choose Your Own Adventure: August

I basically had to just, cut this in half and call it a month. No voting this month, as your answers are still carrying me through to next month. Thank you all so much for backing my play on this, it means so much to me to read your comments. I know this is not god's most exciting thing, but it's the most writing I've done in a long time and that in itself is meaningful to me.

In the aftermath of a bombing, there is silence. No birds sing. No people chat to each other in the streets. No glasses full of drink with a dull thus against the wood of the table. There is only the still, dark quiet, underlaid by the one sole sound of fires burning. 

So it was in the room, after Fareeha left. As Mina sat. As the fire burned. 

Mina sat with her hands in her lap, not quite staring at the fire. Staring through it. Silence stretches on so long--it could not have been more than a minute since Fareeha stormed out of the room, and if one listened, her steps, firm and consistent, could still be heard echoing back into the low, glowing light of that chamber. 

The firelight provided little more than the heat and dim glow promised. Rei could see things in the fire, certainly, but Mina seemed to be simply turning something over it, like a chicken, dripping from the spit. 

Haruka gave a short sigh, punctuating the air, breaking the spell. Doc put her drink back to her lips, Angela let out a little sob back in her chair, and the world began to move again. 

She leaned toward Mina, paused at her ear for a moment before continuing, Mina keeping her eyes on the fire all the while. A whisper.

“Why’d you do that?” 

Mina looked at her, but said nothing. She simply shook her head as her wide eyes cast around the room. Trying to find a reason for herself, on the shelves, in the flames, anywhere. 

But the house returned only silence. 

Haruka puzzled. Of course Mina sometimes hid things, even from her, that was part of what she was supposed to do, was make judgment calls. Haruka didn’t want that job. But Lena hadn’t done anything, as far as Haruka could tell. But she didn’t always know. She wasn’t very smart, not like Minako. 

Haruka touched Mina’s knee, drew back her attention. “Is Lena…you know, bad?” 

Mina shook her head again, but moved away from Haruka, to the end of the couch. A pang hit Haruka’s chest, her hand still hovering where Mina’s leg should be. She lowered it, and leaned back against the seat of the couch. 

It had been her, somehow. The little spark of unhappiness she had set fire to everyone else. Just because she was…Haruka would have liked to find a word other than ‘jealous’ to apply to her feelings about Fareeha, but she couldn’t come up with a better one. The whole idea of this had been to get some kind of vacation out of Overwatch courting Michiru’s family, and Mina’d wanted to see how other paramilitary groups handled things. Or so she said. Hard to say, with Mina. 

Haruka flushed a little, thinking about how Fareeha, well, didn’t intimidate her, exactly, but she was a wall of a person, both in her body and in her personality. She was so exact, and so polite, but she didn’t seem to like Haruka. Not really. She was polite in the way a police dog was polite. But it didn’t come off awkward, it came off so strong, and the broad shoulders only supported the idea. Haruka found herself wanting to salute, and that anger churned up in her, that someone could be all of that, and Haruka was just, well--

You’re just a weedy and bad-tempered mutt. Never a police dog. 

Haruka shook her head, though it echoed in her own voice. So why didn’t Mina go after Fareeha? Fareeha had actually been the bossy one, mostly. Even to Lena. Lena just didn’t seem to care all that much--Haruka did envy her ability to ignore a commander--and had carried on with whatever she was doing. Lena hadn’t been the one with the detailed schedule. Lena’d taken them to a pub with chicken katsu. She was, Haruka thought, nice. Fareeha seemed to like her, even, and Haruka wasn’t sure Fareeha liked anybody. Except her wife. 

Why had Mina attacked her? Even for Mina, it had been a mean thing to say, especially over such a stupid argument. She was smarter than that. And now she didn’t want to even tell Haruka why. It was confusing, and she hated it. And she hated that it confused her. 

It descended on her again, the difficulty of being the stupid one in a group full of smart people. The fire crackled, and she stared into the flame. No, not the stupid one.

“And if me math’s wrong, it’s because I’m not a very clever woman.”  But Lena smiled wide. She was always smiling, and it never seemed like a choice she was making. 

They were standing at the edge of the road, guessing about how long it might take Lena to get to a nearby town while Fareeha groused at yet another cell phone, trying to find a connection. Haruka took a pull off her cigarette--MIna was probably right and she should cool it on the pack a day she seemed to have developed as a twitch here--and shrugged. 

“Whatever that means. You probably went to fuckin…you know, Cambridge or something.” 

“Sure, right,” she clapped Haruka playfully on the shoulder, “in that I ‘ave been to the English city of Cambridge.”

Lena looked at Haruka a moment, studying, and shook her head. “Love, I never went to university. I completed exactly the two A-levels the RAF needed in order to let me fly very expensive planes, very fast, and took an exam name of, ‘’aving a bloke ask me name, rank, and service number as I stood with me gas mask off, eyeballs melting out me ‘ead.’ Very exclusive program.” 

“Really?” 

Lena’s eyes glittered, the edges of them crunching up with a giggle.

“Clown asked for me name four times because every time he asked "Name?!?" I gave him me rank. Was a bit ‘ard to think, just then. Any’ow.  University, hah.”

“And you’re,” she tapped the ash off the end of her cigarette, “like, an officer.” 

Lena took off her hat, shook the rain off it, and put it back on her head.  “Top as it gets, love, don’t let Fareeha fool you. She doesn’t outrank me, ‘owever much she likes to act as if the world rests on ‘er entirely. I let ‘er, as she isn’t ‘appy if she isn’t miserable, but they report to me same as ‘er.” 

Haruka went to take another puff, and then willed herself to stop. This was an elite organization, the best people in the world, and Haruka hadn’t thought, even for a moment, that one of the leaders might have skipped the whole college experience. Haruka was never going to college, she knew that. She wasn’t smart enough. 

“I know I said I’m not a very clever woman,” Lena was looking at her now, in a serious way, “But--”

“No, I mean, don’t--don’t think you’re stupid or anything--” 

“I don’t, and I’m not.” Lena gave another chuckle. “Haruka. Not a person alive, asks me about university, once they see me fly. I am not being asked to be a bloody physicist when I rally people to the cause. Meantime, Ang don’t know what a sandwich is, and Fareeha acts like ‘uman interaction is a new concept she’s only now learning. What I was going to say is, I know I said I’m not a very clever woman, but I just like to take the piss out of meself now and again. I am perfectly clever, in the ways I need to be, because--” and with this she took Haruka’s elbow, and looked intensely at her. “There is more than one way to be clever, and a good operation, a good group, ‘as many as it can manage.” 

She flushed. How had Lena known? She’d known Haruka felt stupid, and she’d corrected it, and Haruka felt grateful, if grateful came in an ashamed flavor. Limited edition. She was smart in some ways, too, wasn’t she? She was just as good as Ami, or Rei, or any of them. Just different. 

“Yeah. I’m gonna go fix the van.” 

So, she hadn’t been able to fix the van, but that didn’t mean the she didn’t have other things she could do. She could go after Lena. She could try to comfort her, the way she had Haruka. She wasn’t always as good with people as MIna, but she and Lena were alike, right? They were smart in different ways. 

Haruka stood up, determined, and the three women left in the room stared at her. 

“I’m going to find her.” She put back on her jacket. “I can fix it.” 

----

Lena’s back was to the wall, her head tilted back against a toile of small songbirds, legs encircled by flowering green vines. A sliver of moonlight crept through a door and worked up her leg, her arm, her cheek, illuminating that small slice of corduroy and wool and freckle against the long, dark hallway behind her. 

“You should have died that day, and everyone knows it! Everyone!!” 

Dozens of voices rushed in, telling her dozens of other things.  It wasn’t a choice you made, Raj reassured, what else were you meant to do?. Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of chances to die in the line of duty, Parvati added. Oh, Christmas would be so hollow without you, Florrie pressed, misty-eyed, it would feel wrong. And who’s Mondatta to me, said Aunt Lily with a shrug. 

“He was…” Lena breathed in, deep, “he was a hope for something better, and--I--” 

Lena, I don’t know what I would do. 

She opened her eyes and almost saw him, shining tremulously in that pale silver shimmer, the grey of his fur glinting against the darkness. 

It was a nasty thing to say, but that didn’t make it true. All it ever had been was an accident, a wrong step. Sometimes, in life, you lose, love. Doesn’t matter how much you tried. Doesn’t make you a villain. We’ve been over this, Lena. It’s done and dusted. Chin up. Carry on. Sun still rises in the morning.

She pinched her temples and drew her hand forward, wiping her eyes, and nodded. 

Besides, said something inside of her, you have other things to do here, in this life. It was her voice, but tin around the edges, as if someone had stuffed her into an old radio. Not quite right. Not quite her. 

Her back slid up the wall as she stood, brushing the birds and their floral shackles. Lena’s eyes drifted into the darkness. 

There was a light there, a warm orange glow at the end of the hallway. Lena was sure--at least she thought she was sure--that there had only even been a window at the end of that hallway. She must have gotten turned around, it was true that she hadn’t been paying too much attention as she’d stormed away to find a quiet place. 

One foot moved toward the light. The birds behind her let out a shrill call, but were silenced as the vines crossed over them.

A rich aroma came down the hallway, cinnamon and vanilla caressing Lena’s face. She could nearly taste it. But there’d been hardly anything in the kitchen, so far as she had seen. This place had been shut up. 

But she followed, the smell getting stronger, raisins and brandy joining the parade as she became swept in the current, moving inexorably toward that golden glow. It began to feel warmer, as she drew close. There were the giggles of children. A song, playing on a faraway radio. 

You’ve always been needed here. No one here wishes you died. Everything would be so much worse if you had. 

There was a shout, in the back of her mind, the way her dad used to do when she climbed too high into a tree, but it was swallowed and sweetened in the warm syrup of that brandied golden door. She touched her fingertips to it, and it swung open, a zephyr of light and comfort embracing her. 

The fire was blazing in the hearth, reflected in the polished tile of the mantle surrounding it. A giant tree stood in the corner of the room, covered in ribbons and bright glass balls. The table near the window was wobbling with the weight of puddings and pigs in blankets and roast potatoes, all clustered about a giant turkey. 

Giggles, and then passel of children running around the room. As Lena watched them, they began to come into focus, and Lena realized she recognized them. The room was too big and too fine to have belonged to any of them, and yet, here they were. Her family. Christmas. 

She put her hand on the doorknob, steeled herself to leave. This is what you want. She opened the door behind her, and then a chipper voice came from a plush velvet chair by the fireside. 

“Lena?” A man with green eyes and reddish blonde hair turned to face her, “Oh love, we’ve been waiting so long! Tell me everything.” He put his hand out. “I’ve missed you, Bean.” 

Lena shook her head, her back to the door, but it crawled out. 

“Dad?”

[fastcardotmp3]

Jonathan & El cw: implied past child abuse

The first time he hears her call herself bad it strikes him so hard in his sternum that he can't buck up and do something about it.

Jonathan looks at this girl, his sister, who has saved the world time and again, who had saved his brother from a slow death in a terrible place, and she lays claim to a badness that makes him feel kind of sick, actually.

It's the same feeling he got when Will started calling himself a freak, the same feeling he got when Jonathan himself first started learning to play music loud enough he couldn't hear his parents fighting in the other room, even years before he taught that trick to Will.

It's a feeling, ultimately, that swallows stability whole and leaves you to stumble across uneven ground until you find your footing again.

Jonathan just has to-- find his footing again. And that means someone needs to talk to El.

"Because I am," she says when he asks why she calls herself that, sitting at the kitchen table with two mugs of her latest culinary obsession between them-- hot chocolate.

"But what makes you think you're bad?" Jonathan asks, genuinely curious, genuinely getting thrown to the ground by the shake in the earth. "I don't think you're bad."

El presses her lips together, eyebrows low over her downturned gaze as she looks intensely at the little marshmallows sitting on top of her drink like she's trying to solve the puzzle of the world.

Jonathan supposes she kind of is, in a way, contemplating human nature after spending so many years being told what to be, how to fit within a certain set of parameters, how to behave the way Papa wanted her to.

That's another thing that gives him big feelings. Those feelings could probably be solved by caving Brenner's face in, though.

"I have hurt people," is what she lands on, still not looking up but the scowl line between her brows deepening.

And there's no denying it, she has hurt people; she's killed people, as a matter of fact, and she's watched them die, so there's no point in dodging the reality of that here, in trying to say you didn't mean to when he knows she did.

Jonathan opens his mouth and then shuts it again, though, catches himself in the act of trying to tell her that the good she's done outweighs the bad because, for one, he doesn't know if that's true, and for two, maybe it doesn't matter.

"You know," he clears his throat, elbows digging into the table and shoulders hunching up around his ears, "stories-- like Will's books and Hop's TV?-- have really obvious villains most of the time. Bad guys, right?"

El looks up at him, thinks about it, nods.

"Right."

"Okay," Jonathan keeps going, "well, that's because people have always been trying to find-- easy answers for hard things. Things like good and bad. So they created monsters who only ever hurt and heroes who only ever help.

"But, just because it helps us understand why people do bad things, it doesn't mean that-- none of it is really that-- black and white?"

"Black and white?" El questions, but she's not pushing back against him so Jonathan has hope that this is working in some way or another.

"Like, clear and obvious. Like everything has just one answer, but that's not really the case, is it?"

"No," she says with zero hesitation. "Some things are-- confusing."

"Yeah, they are. People are," he pulls his mug closer to himself and taps his fingers along the ceramic.

"So there aren't... bad people?" she looks confused, like she doesn't believe it, like she's actively losing faith in his judgement, so Jonathan shakes his head quickly.

"It's-- It's more like there are just people," he flounders. "And I really-- I don't think I've ever met a person that's only ever been good or only ever been bad."

El looks down at her hot chocolate. Grabs the can of whipped cream and sprays more on top of her cooling drink.

Doesn't take a sip.

"You've only ever been good," she says it slowly, obvious confusion still touching her tone in ways that don't even overpower the rush of emotion Jonathan gets and knowing she really feels that way about him of all people.

He breathes sharply through his nose, opens his mouth and shuts it twice before he manages to say, "I've hurt people too, El."

It's not going to be an easy thing, Jonathan thinks, making sure she understands that people are largely just the choices they make and that people are allowed to choose to change, to get better, and that the people who hurt her, the people she hurt in return, won't be missed by anyone who loves El but might be missed by someone and that no matter how complicated it is and no matter how messy and no matter how surface level wrong it may be she is still not bad.

It's not going to be an easy thing, made clear by the way she looks at him now and visibly tries to make sense of the fact that someone she had deemed as good could possibly have ever done wrong, because those people in that fucking lab drilled absolutism into her head from birth, but fuck. Fuck.

"You're just a person, is all I'm saying," he implores, because it's going to take longer than one conversation over hot chocolate to make any of it make a modicum of sense, even to him. "You're a person and we love you."

Something shakes loose in her gaze at that, a tension releasing from her shoulders, because if there's one thing Hopper and Joyce and those damn kids have done right it's making this make sense to her.

"I love you too," she tells him, and Jonathan has the self control of a saint to not start crying.

When she adds more whipped cream to her drink, he just follows her lead.