#i felt guilty for torturing him with nightmares xD

[cool-thymus]

A smol treat for Kakashi for withstanding all the Obigai horrors. Obito is yours and only yours, baby [imagine Obito snoring] <3

[cantdwellonanyofit]

Sledgefu Fic Dedicated to @stolperzunge

Hello @stolperzunge!! I decided to finally make an account. I’m the anon that has been messaging you Sledgefu asks for a couple of days XD 

I finally wrote a fic, and wanted to share it with you. Let me know what you think! It’s based on all of the meta we have been talking about recently.

Please note the warnings in the tags. There’s some mention of suicidal thoughts, dissociation, internalized homophobia, and descriptions of gore related to the war. This was meant to be a oneshot and has turned into a multi-chapter fic already. :| Creative criticism is requested and would be appreciated.

Rating: Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh R? For now?

He couldn't sleep. If it wasn't the nightmares, it was the intrusive thoughts. The thoughts were always gently sliding their hands around his throat like an enemy sneaking up on him in the dark. Trying to snuff him out before his comrades could hear. The dreams were worse. They waited until he was lulled into a false sense of calm, warm, security. Finally too tired to fight them off. Blackness opened up to screaming women holding babies. Blood rained from the ceiling of a hut while a woman reached her hands towards him. She begged in a language he couldn't understand. But blind panic was the same in every language. He could see it in her eyes, and he couldn't wipe it out. He couldn't stand to put either of them out of their misery. So he planted his feet and watched until the hut crushed her in front of him. Paralyzed by his fear and angry at his weakness. He would jolt awake, and every morning the anger and shame followed him into waking life.

He used to be a morning person before the war. He'd wake up before sunrise with a cup of coffee. He'd take Deacon on his morning walk. He enjoyed the solitude of morning, and watching the world wake up around him. It was like he and the world slept and woke together in the same rhythm. Everything felt aligned. But now the silence was like screaming. His mind would race while he tried to deal with the onslaught of thoughts and dream laden memories. He began to confuse what he really witnessed in the war with what he dreamt. But he didn't much think it mattered. The feelings that overwhelmed him were the same. He hated himself. He hated what he had brought on himself. He resented his mother for not understanding. He was angry at his father for being forgiving. Didn't his father know what he had done? Who he had become? He crawled in his own skin every waking moment.

He didn't go to Sid with his problems. Sid was busy creating his life with Mary. Gene couldn't bear to burden Sid with his troubles when Sid was just trying to forget and move on. He knew Sid also had trouble with sleep. But unlike Gene, Sid tried not to torture himself about the things he saw and did in the war. 

"You can't dwell on it. You can't dwell on any of it.” Ack Ack had said. And it seemed like everyone but Gene was able to abide by that law. The only person in the world who seemed able to pull Gene out of his moods had abandoned him. When Gene woke up on the train to a gentle shove, he expected Snafu's big blue eyes to be staring a hole in him. Like they always did. But instead, he realized another soldier had nudged him awake to ask if he was meant to be disembarking the train. They had arrived in Alabama. Gene looked around confused for a moment before the soldier repeated himself. But Gene wasn't listening. Where had Snafu gone? He couldn't have left without waking him. It wasn't possible.

But it had been possible, and now here he was. Alone. Like he deserved to be. God was punishing him, and Gene couldn't blame him. He'd killed countless people. And by the end of the war, he didn't much care about the damage he caused. He wanted to kill every Jap left with his bare hands. He wanted to make them feel as helpless as he did. He often thought back to his conversation with Leckie. 

"God created Japs too, right? Yellow slants who've tried to kill me on many occasions. Japs come from the garden of Eden too?" 

God had sent Gene on a mission to kill Japs for what they had done. But he also sent the Japs to bomb Pearl Harbor in the first place. And Gene no longer had any idea what God wanted from either side. Were they all meant to die? Had he survived by accident when God had deemed him disposable? And now God cursed him with these thoughts and dreams. To haunt him for daring to make it out. Maybe they had all been too dirty for God's love in the first place. He knew he'd never again feel the safety of that embrace. He tucked his bible away under his bed months ago after unpacking his suitcase. He couldn't bear to open it. He worried it would burn his hands if he even tried. He was no longer welcome in God's plans. He just knew it.

So, with no faith, no plans, no life, he withered away. He spent hours staring at the walls, off into the distance as he sat outside. And he tortured himself with his thoughts and his lack of purpose. He had no idea what he was going to do with the rest of his life. He wondered if God meant for him to commit suicide. If he had somehow messed up God's plan for him to die. If someone else had died in his place. If he no longer had God's love, then killing himself wouldn't matter. But he lacked any motivation to go through with it. It was as if he was meant to remain stuck between life and death. A ghost among the living. 

He knew God had more than one reason to reject him. Not only had he lived when he was meant to die, but he had been born homosexual. He was doomed from birth. He knew something was wrong when he was 6 years old and Betty Cannon had kissed him on the cheek, and he had cried. Sid would nudge him and point out the pretty girls at school, and Gene couldn't have cared less about them. He'd tease Sid for being a pervert and they'd laugh. His sinful nature was further solidified when he gazed at the nurse on Pavuvu. He demanded himself to feel something for her. She was beautiful. She had a kind voice. His mind recoiled as he tried to imagine kissing her, sliding off her clean hospital whites. He felt repulsed. "Alright, you had your looksey," the lieutenant had jeered. If Gene could've glared a hole through that lieutenants body he would've.

If he could've grabbed that asshole by the head and slammed it repeatedly into every damn cup on the table he would've. ‘I feel nothing, I see nothing, I am nothing,’ he would've screamed at him. Can't you see it written all over me? I'm a sinner, you fool. He couldn't ignore the fire in the pit of his stomach every time Snafu leaned against him. Played along with his jokes. Watched him. Snafu always watched his every move. And it drove Gene crazy. Gene thought about what Snafu's curls would feel like in his fingers. What his sweat would taste like as Gene ran his tongue along Snafu's neck. Along that fucking smirk. He went mad with lust thinking of all the things Snafu could do to him. So when he gazed at that fuckin' nurse and felt nothing another piece of him snapped off and was taken by the ocean. He was ruined, and God knew it.

All through his thoughts Gene found himself biking. As he came to, he realized he was approaching Sid's house. It had to be no later than 0500. He hesitated at the start of the driveway. This was crazy. He couldn't bother Sid. But then he felt his right foot swing over the left side of his bike to land beside his left foot on the ground. He began steering and walking towards the front door. He was like a man possessed. Before he could stop himself, he knocked three times in succession. He waited. What the hell are you doing? His mind screamed at him. He was about to knock again when the door slowly opened. Sid was holding his rifle, but quickly lowered the butt of it to the ground when he realized who was at the door.

"Eugene, you scared the daylights out of me. I heard the bike coming along the drive and just about jumped in the bushes to scout." Sid was laughing, but Gene was not. Sid's smile slowly faded. "Get in here," Sid made to grab for Gene's arm but Gene blurted out, "Can you take me to the train station?" Sid's brows came together in confusion. Or maybe it was concern. Sid's hand halted in the air, "You need me to do what now?" Sid's hand landed gently on Gene's bicep. He tugged him gently through the doorway and into the kitchen. "Have a seat." Sid moved to the stove and grabbed the kettle. "We can have coffee and talk it."

Gene was already shaking his head. "I don't need to talk about it. I need you to do this for me. I don't have a car and it'll take me days to bike there." Sid was pouring coffee anyway. "What are you going to do at the train station?" Sid asked.

"Ride the train." Gene answered, curtly. Sid laughed, and set the cup beside Gene. Sid added hot water to his own cup which had likely gotten cold while Sid had watched a stranger approaching his home from the window. Gene could tell the curtain was off-kilter, as if someone had pulled it aside in an attempt to spy without being seen. Gene felt guilty for worrying Sid. He'd have felt guiltier if he woke Sid up, but it seemed Sid had no better luck sleeping than Gene did. "Ride the train where, you smartass." Gene debated whether he should be honest about his intentions. He trusted Sid. He and Sid had been friends since Gene could remember. Sid had always been on Gene's side. But this would be asking something else entirely of Sid. It would be asking Sid to see him for all of his sins, and accept him anyway. If God couldn't manage, he doubted Sid could. "Louisiana." Gene answered. He provided no context. He planned to provide no further geographical context. Sid didn't know about Snafu. He wouldn't even have guessed what Gene's plans were even if Gene told him he was going to New Orleans. But this secret pounded loud in his ears. Matching the beat of his heart. He felt like he was shouting the word Louisiana so he could be heard over the thumping of his heart. He was laid bare in front of God and his best friend. And he planned to deceive both of them. He really was beyond saving.

"Louisiana?" Sid answered. "What's in Louisiana that has you sneaking up to my front door and demanding I drive you down to the station this instant? Did you meet someone you haven't told me about?" Sid's eyes were mischievous. They were full of hope. Hope that Gene had something or someone out there to look forward to. Would they be so full of hope if Sid knew it was a man that Gene ached for? "You could say that," Gene found himself replying. He was skirting the truth. He was living in half truths and short responses. He was a man to be hanged but he kept outrunning the law. "You sly dog!" Sid slapped his knee and scooted his chair back so fast it made an awful screech. There was a thump from where Gene assumed was the bedroom, when Mary emerged from the doorway in her silken robe. Gene would've blushed had he been his old self. Had he been anyone at all anymore.

"What in the Lord's good name is going on out here?" She didn't seem to be mad, but rather playing at it. "Eugene Sledge, is that you causing trouble in my house?" Gene caused trouble everywhere. That's what the devil did when he got inside your soul. He made you destroy yourself and those around you. His lips lifted in one corner in a true Snafu impression. "Sorry, ma'am. I didn't mean to cause such a disturbance." He stood and bowed gently to her. "Sid and I were just about to head out to the train station." Gene looked down at his untouched coffee and thought to hand it to Mary. She might as well enjoy it before it gets cold. Sid stood up and grabbed his coat. It seemed letting Sid believe this was for a woman had propelled him into action. "I won't be long," he kissed Mary on the cheek. Sid grabbed his keys from the same hook his jacket had been on. "Well, come on now lover boy we best be gettin' on." Gene couldn't move fast enough to get out of his seat. He needed to keep moving before his mind came to. Before he hopped on his bike and rode all the way back home and never came back out again. This was his only chance to act. "Lover boy?" Mary smiled, "Gene, that's wonderful. I wish you the best." Gene cringed inwardly. "Thanks." He mumbled. It was a benefit to him that everyone thought him shy. His guilt could easily be mistaken for sheepishness.

He nearly squeezed himself through the front door at the same time as Sid. He took long strides to the car, and grabbed the handle before Sid had even reached the car to unlock it. "Alright, alright, I'm comin'!" Sid had picked up the pace to unlock the door and climb in. He leaned to the right and opened Gene's door for him. Gene immediately flung himself into the seat and fastened his seatbelt before he could run away. Strapped himself in good. "I'll take your bike home later for you." Gene nearly threw up. He hadn't even told his parents he was going on a walk. And now he was planning to leave the state entirely. His mother would call the police. "Shit, Sid. I forgot to tell them I was leaving. I didn't even leave a note." Gene began attempting to unbuckle himself. He needed to get home. If the police came for him and found him with Snafu they'd be arrested. They'd be blue discharged. He didn't know which one was worse. Sid stopped his hand, "I'll tell 'em when I drop your bike off. Don't worry about it. I'll be home and back to your place before they even realize you're gone."

Gene steadied his hand under the pressure of Sid's. Sid would probably never touch his hand again if he knew. He'd never jokingly wrestle with him. He'd be too afraid he'd catch what Gene had. That Gene would be attracted to him. That Gene would ruin everything like he always did. This was just another secret he would have to take to God before he was banished to hell. Why couldn't he get the devil out of him? But despite his inner chastising, Gene let his body rest in his seat. Sinking into the leather and willing himself to calm down. No one knew. No one would know. Sid would take care of him like he always did. Sid, who trusted him, while Gene wore a liar's face. Gene had no idea if Snafu was even still in New Orleans. Gene had no idea if Snafu even wanted to see him. Snafu had left him on the train after all. Gene had probably read into ever stare, every gentle touch, every time Snafu seemed to cut in the shower line until suddenly Gene and Snafu were undressed and standing close. Every time they searched desperately for each other on the battlefield, or in the line of fire, until they knew the other was still breathing. Both sneaking glances, but doing well to hide it. He had imagined all of it in his sick homosexual mind.

"You alright?" Sid asked, glancing sideways at Gene. Unbeknownst to Gene, he had been wearing a pained expression and holding his breath. "I'm sure she'll be delighted to see you. You don't need to be so nervous." Gene almost laughed. Sid had no idea what he was saying. He had no idea at all. "I'm just tired. I haven't slept well in ages." Gene responded, changing the subject. He couldn't stand telling Sid anymore lies than he had to. And there was no way to explain the worry without explaining the truth. "Yeah, I hear you there. Some nights I get a couple hours. Some nights it feels I get a solid couple minutes. Mary's understanding about it." Gene's mind wandered to whether he and Snafu would keep each other up at night with their nightmares. With their stirring. Maybe they'd both stay up together knowing what it was like in each other's brains. Maybe they'd get real good at distracting each other instead. Gene would give anything to let Snafu use him as a distraction. Gene could wrap his legs around Snafu. He could let Snafu move inside of him until they both forgot about everything but each other.

"I'm happy you two have each other," Gene shouted over his thoughts. Sid laughed at him. "Well, I'm overjoyed you want the whole world to know how happy you are for us, Eugene." He was ripping apart at the seams and it was only a matter of time before he lost the ability to pull himself to reality. He had to get away from Sid. From this town. From these burdens. Luckily, the rest of the drive remained uneventful as Sid let Gene get lost in his thoughts, and Gene willed his thoughts to stay in his head. He worried every thought was writing itself out on his face. On every inch of exposed skin. And when he stepped out of the car to say goodbye to Sid, the truth would be there staring back at him. And Sid would stare on, horrified. Until he called out for the police, and Gene was taken away. All his rights stripped, as if he had never existed at all. Just as God had intended.

They pulled into the station, when Sid slammed on the breaks and the car jolted. "Eugene, you don't have any bags with you! How did I not notice? What the hell are you going to do? You can't show up to your lady looking like that." Gene's head snapped to look at Sid. "How dare you? I've never looked so good?" He left his mouth slightly agape in mock horror at what Sid had insinuated. Sid laughed in return. "You haven't shaved, and I think you slept in those clothes." Gene hadn't even thought about clothes. About belongings. He guessed he'd have to start over when he got to Louisiana. "I bet they dress differently down there anyway. I'll consult the best shopkeepers around when I arrive." Gene wanted to get on that train before he changed his mind. If they left to go to his house to grab clothes he'd never come back.

"Do you even have any money?" Gene could've kicked himself. He really brought nothing. He wouldn't even be able to leave if he wanted to. Sid leaned slightly and dug in his coat pocket until he pulled out a wad of bills with a rubber band around them. Sid had a lot of distrust for banks, and often kept cash on him or hidden in his home. "No," Gene was already protesting. He would go home. He would forget this foolishness. "Yes, take it." Sid was pushing the money into Gene's coat pocket. "Absolutely not, stop it. I won't take money from yo-" Sid unfastened Gene's seatbelt and then pushed open his own car door and stepped out. "Sid!" Gene threw his door open and their eyes met over the roof of the car. "I can't take this." Gene couldn't lie to his friend and then rob him of his money too. "Eugene. If you don't take the money and get the hell out of this town I will take it personally. You can't stay here and keep doing this. Look at you. This is your chance to start over. Don't you want that? I'd do anything to get you back. This is the least I can do for you. Now get your ass up to that counter, get your tickets, and get out of my hair before I drag your scrawny ass up there and embarrass you in front of all of these decent folk."

"Sid--"

"I mean it!" Gene snapped his mouth shut. "I won't take no for an answer. Now get."

Gene came around to Sid's side of the car. "I'll never be able to repay you." Sid wrapped an arm around him in a gentle hug. This may be the last time Sid would ever touch him without disgust. Without questioning what dirty thoughts Gene took away from these interactions. Gene loved Sid, but never in that way. He was his brother. But Sid would never understand that distinction. Sid would be horrified by every time Gene had ever touched him. Gene hugged Sid, hard. He loved him like family. The thought of losing Sid crushed him. He tried to pour every ounce of his love into Sid with one hug. 'Please,' he mentally begged, 'Please know that I'll never be able to repay you for all the love you've given me. I've lied to you. I've deceived you. You're pure, and I'm rotten, and I deserve none of this.' Sid hugged him back with a similar strength before pushing Gene gently to arms length and putting a hand on each bicep. "You write to me, Eugene. You tell me everything." Gene nearly crumbled under the weight of his lies. He'd never be able to tell Sid everything. Even if he died to.

"I will," he lied. He was becoming a pro at this.

Sid stepped to the left and turned around to rest against the drivers side of the car. Giving Gene the room to leave and head towards the counter. Gene took the opportunity before he could stop himself. He approached the long line to wait for his turn. He stole a glance at Sid who waved goodbye at him, and got in the drivers seat. Sid must've wanted to keep his promise to return to his house for Gene's bike, and notify Gene's parents before they worried. Gene again mentally thanked Sid for every single thing he ever did for him, and moved one step closer towards his future.

[ryttu3k]

First Bloodlines run - here’s how it worked out!

Didn’t get to actually finish - thanks, cutscene glitch - but I got to the last scene and I at least watched the Anarch ending on Youtube XD;; While I really do want to do at least two more runs, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to; either way, I mostly enjoyed my first run a ton!

More detail below the cut - how Sierra turned out as protag, and her views on other characters. I’ll write a separate ‘thoughts on Bloodlines as a game and its characters’ later on, this is just for Sierra’s run specifically.

So, Sierra as a character! Usually super high humanity - most drops were due to glitches or completely accidental (glitch - had to kill Hospital Guy because it flat-out wouldn’t let him escape, danced it back. Accidental - shot one of the hostages at Hollowbrook, felt horrible for it). One non-accidental one was convincing Ash to switch clothes with a guy at the club; she hadn’t expected the hunters to kill first and ask questions later. Yeah, also felt guilty about it. Otherwise, I’m pretty happy to put her at 9 for Humanity - she tried to help everyone she could, aside from those actively trying to kill her.

Ended up a much brainier character than I was expecting, which, uh, is usually what happens with my characters tbh. Still fits her character! She’s not scholarly (was a college drop-out) and prefers actually doing things than sitting still, but she’s clever and curious. Combat was usually almost always melee, because vampires with katanas are cool. High persuasion, she’s good at defusing a situation when fighting isn’t warranted.

Most-used discipline ended up being Animalism. Never did max out Protean :( Did use it a ton in dark areas, but mostly for night vision.

Sidequests - got a lot done. Failed three - Spiritual Release (sorry, ghosts :( ), You Only Die Once A Night (actually, I started this then died with 30 seconds to go, reset, and refused to start it again XD), and Dirty Dishes.

Missed or outright avoided Drug Trip, Trick or Treatment (Heather - the whole storyline with her bugs me), Daydream Believer (Copper is sweet, dammit, don't be mean!!), Replanting a Lily (never went back to the clinic after saving Lily), Traffik, And Her Name Was Venus/Venucide, Pimpin' for Romero, A Dish Best Served Cold (alas, you can’t convince the reviewer to give it a ragingly good review just to piss off SparklingWater XD), Model Citizen/Cover Girl, Poster Session, and all the Chinatown ones (I would have done Gone Fishin' if I had found it, refused Eye Gouge Hell, didn't encounter the others).

Character interactions - ended up ride-or-die Anarch. Part of that was that her literal first impressions were of Nines saving her life and Jack guiding her through how to survive a terrifying, bewildering situation, a lot of it was that she did start out as an activist in the first place, so falling in with the Anarchs was a natural continuation of that. Adores and looks up to Nines, felt horrifically guilty at the blood hunt, and was devastated when she thought he had died at Griffith Park. She was a mess after that (also a good part to do with rotschreck and spending a good five minutes or so trying really hard not to frenzy in terror), and it was only because of Jack that she didn’t fall apart completely. Jack is like the favourite weird uncle - she doesn’t know his involvement in the whole plot and I think wouldn’t quite understand why he set it in motion, but she really likes the impression he shows. Adores Damsel, and she’s not sure what to do with Skelter’s belief in the more religious aspects of stuff but likes him a lot too.

Aside from Nines, the other character she adores the most is Beckett! Her first words to him were literally, “Holy shit how did you do that that’s so cool can you teach me to do that?!”, she finds his adventures and knowledge absolutely fascinating, and she definitely started looking up archeological and anthropological stuff both for her own curiosity and to impress him XD

Other positive relationships - Jeanette is a bit complicated because of the whole Slashterpiece and pendant thing, but damn, at least she didn’t try to kill her like Therese did; while she wanted to reconcile the sisters, she was kind of relieved when Jeanette was the one who survived. Just found her more approachable and welcoming. Also definitely got drawn in by VV. She’s weak for pretty girls XD Got on great with Merc (despite the whole... Cammy thing), Knox, the Thinblood kids (who she hung out with a bunch while still in Santa Monica), Trip, Mitnick, and Ash (who she will fight people to protect). Chunk is a precious being who must be protected at all costs; at the Tower, she advised him that LaCroix was no good and he deserved better.

Complicated situations - initially did think Strauss was okay but her views on him soured fast when she learned about gargoyles. Isaac is mostly fine but they don’t have a lot of common ground, given her preferred genre is ‘loud action movies’ XD She can see why VV looks up to him, though, and felt quite sad about everything with Ash in general. Pisha scared her but she tried really hard not to judge, basically? I mean, predators gotta eat too... The cab driver bothers her for reasons she can’t articulate. Very odd man, that one. When she learned why the Southland Slasher was doing what he was doing, she felt sorry for him, and encouraged him to join the Anarchs for direction and a more positive outlet for his emotions.

Antagonists - mostly didn’t take pleasure in killing them, but she definitely felt pretty satisfied stabbing LaCroix >.> Will have nightmares for the rest of her unlife about Andrei’s house and the sanctum at Hollowbrook, the Mandarin’s tests, and the expression on Ash’s face when he talked about how much the Society of Leopold enjoyed torturing him. Gimble freaked her the hell out. And if she ever catches Vandal Cleaver alone, she’s going to flat-out kill him if she gets the opportunity.

For the future, I’ve been trying to work out how she and Lettow supposedly know each other (he mentions the fledgling as ‘a friend of mine’), given their opposing political views. I’m thinking their common ground would be that they’re both Gangrel; I can see them meeting by chance at some point, and Sierra requesting tutoring in Protean forms, which Lettow is pretty damn good at (she might be higher generation, 8th to his 9th, but he’s a lot older and more experienced).

Beyond that, info on her and her coterie can be found here! Yes, she fully appreciates the irony of dating a Garou, haha.

[flamingo-writes]

For fluffvember: Law w/a crewmember that has mutual feelings for him, but they both repress it- until one night when she has a nightmare and she asks to cuddle? And he just can’t help but be sweet and affectionate bc it upsets him to see her like that- and maybe a breakthrough happens, like a confession or a kiss?

A/N: not quite as requested, and this turned out a little bit more angstier than I intended XD Also, I was listening to Something About Us by Daft Punk when I started to write this, and I love that song very much, so I decided to title this after the song tht basically gave me that inspirational push to start writing. 

Fluffvember Post 

Wordcount: 994

Warnings: mentions of smut at the end, a few swear words.

Something About Us — Law x Reader

It was some sort of painful silent burden Law insisted on carrying upon his shoulders. As much as he tried to treat your PTSD, it was impossible. As if you were immune to every medication he prescribed you, nothing ever ceased your nightmares. Nothing could prevent them, but Law´s presence sure helped you soothe your stress away and help you go back to sleep. 

Law had always been there. As long as you could remember. He has always been there whenever a nightmare chased you. Reason why you room was next to his, the thinnest wall standing between you so he could easily hear when you were having a rough time and quickly get to your room and comfort you. 

All those years of fighting back to back, watching over each other, had taken their toll. It was a unique kind of bond that connected the both of you. Something far stronger than just care, a blind faith and immeasurable trust. An unspoken attraction pulling you towards one another, masked under a shade of guilt. Why would you fall in love with your best friend? It was just wrong. 

It was hard to predict when your nightmares would show up. They came without a warning, and you could spend weeks without having a single one, or spend three or fours sleepless nights because the moment you closed your eyes it all went to hell. Whatever triggered your nightmares was unknown. 

However, this night, unlike any other, was the worst. 

Usually you’d start whimpering, sometimes crying. This night however, was bad. Very, very bad. Screaming at the top of your lungs, cries for help, your voice scarring as if you were being tortured. Not only Law was awaken, but the entire crew. 

Penguin kicked your door open, ready to attack whoever was harming you. However, he found Law kneeling next to your bed, holding your head in his hands, his forehead pressed against yours as you cried your heart out, uncontrollably, apologising. 

“God, Law...it was awful, I-I thought I-I-I….Fuck, I’m sorry for waking you up, I-I didn’t me-mean to…” 

“Hey, there’s nothing to apologise for…” Law whispered. 

From the corner of his eye, he saw the crew poking inside, the same worried eyes reflected, echoing silently in the room, Law could sense everyone’s worry. He locked eyes with Bepo and silently jerked his head as if saying: it’s alright, I got this. 

The mink nodded and told the crew to leave the two of you alone. Once your door closed, Law sat on your bed and hugged you tightly. Clinging to his hoodie, you buried your face in his chest and cried painfully. His arms tightening around you, trying to keep you from breaking into a million pieces, as if he was holding you all together. And he waited. The sound of your cries hurting in his chest, as the clock slowly moved around. After a few minutes, your cries had lowered into low sobs. 

“[Name]-ya” Law purred. “Do you want me to stay here tonight?” 

Slightly embarrassed by his question, you nodded shamefully. It had been years since the last time Law had stayed with you overnight because of one of your nightmares. Usually he’d stay there and distract you until you felt sleepy once more and went back to sleep. Rarely, very rarely, your nightmares were bad enough for him to stay with you for the rest of the night. 

Lying on the bed next to you, he held you close, as you snuggled next to him, burying your face in his chest. Law massaged your scalp, well aware that you were still crying despite sobbing in completely silence. He kissed the top of your head, hoping to comfort you. 

Your heart was still racing, however, it wasn’t because of the nightmare. The sudden closeness with Law was what had your heart beating against your ribcage as if it was about to break your chest. 

"Thank you, Law" you purred. 

"It's nothing, I promised you I'd always be here for you" 

The way his gentle voice warmed you made you cling even tighter to him. His words still echoing to your heartbeat's rhythm, you looked up from his chest and locked your stare with his. 

"What's wrong, [Name]-ya?"

"Thank you, Law" You buried your face back into the base of his neck before he could notice the blush painting your face. 

Still, Law could notice a faint trace pink beginning to color your cheeks before you snuggled back. He smiled pleased. 

However, his smile soon faded away to the feeling of your lips innocently brushing his neck. Instead, his heart rushed, a shiver running up and down his body as images of his fantasies flashed in his mind. Fantasies in which he is hungrily claiming you, his best friend, as his. Guilty, he didn't try to stop those images from playing behind his closed eyes. He opened his mouth, your name escaping from his lips before he could even realise it.  

"Hmmm?" You hummed looking back up at him. 

His heart racing at a dangerous speed, and his gut twisted with a very peculiar anxiety he always tried to suppress. However the way your eyes were shining even in the dark of your room fueled that anxiety fluttering in his stomach. 

Still flustered by the warmth of the lips he very much craved, he didn't think twice and simply leaned closer. Thirsty, he tasted your lips for the first time. His heart on his throat, and his primitive mind taking over. And yet, surprised that you responded to his kiss immediately. 

Kissing him back, speechless, breathless, your hand moved to the back of his head, deepening the kiss you craved as much. 

Swallowed by the darkness, the both of you released the unspoken frustration the both of you had been keeping to yourselves for years. Letting your bodies do the talk, you melted into each other for the night. 

[bookworm555]

*Reuploaded FOR THE THIRD TIME because I realized that this never showed up in any of this fandom’s tags the first two times I posted it :/ Now I am trying this as a text post with images instead of a typical art post because nothing is freaking working and I am so frustrated.

Because read-mores apparently make my post glitchy, I apologize in advance for the length of this post, and hopefully, it doesn’t clog your dashes/the tags too badly.*

Another CatCF/WWatCF sketchdump~

The top drawing is the characters from the 1971 adaptation ten years later (which was an excuse to draw 80′s fashion, haha).

Ten years later doodles (from left to right) Top row: Violet and Veruca Second row: Mike, Charlie, and Augustus

(I think Violet turned out to be the best of these doodles!)

Some headcanons for the ten years later drawings (this would have been the section under the read-more, if it worked :/ ):

I always headcanoned the characters in the ‘71 version to be thirteen, minus Mike, who I saw as eleven. So basically everyone in the drawing is twenty-three except for Mike, who is twenty-one.

Violet: For years after the nightmare that was the factory tour, Violet struggled with major body image issues, especially about her blue skin. (And is homeschooled because of this.) However, eventually, her mindset basically became ‘Wonka thought this was a punishment? Fuck that; I’m going to embrace it’, so she became more confident.

Once this confidence hits during her late teens, she uses her unusual appearance to her advantage (especially when it comes to attracting visitors/potential buyers to her dad’s car dealership).

She doesn’t go to college; instead, she works at her dad’s place, and basically learns how to be a mechanic.

She hasn’t chewed gum since the factory tour.

When Charlie contacts her and the others, she is hesitant to respond back, but ultimately does (to sass him, at the very least). During the group’s future meetups, she’s basically the glue that keeps them together.

Veruca: Unlike Violet, Veruca carries a lot of guilt about what happened during the factory tour, since her father was punished along with her. He fell wrong, and as a result, was paralyzed from the waist down, and is now in a wheelchair. Veruca was lucky; aside from a broken ankle, she did not suffer any worse injuries.

Because of this, Veruca becomes mute (her mouthing off and constantly asking for things is what led to her–pun not intended–downfall, so she decides that it would be for the best if she stops talking altogether.)

Despite the Salts being wealthy, Wonka paid all of their medical bills. Even though it would have made sense for them to take him to trial, they decided not to (Henry did not want anyone to see him in his new state, and Veruca’s anxiety spiked even thinking about the factory).

When Charlie contacts the four ‘rejects’ ten years after the tour, Violet starts to bring Veruca out of her shell. Though it is ultimately Augustus who helps her feel comfortable speaking again, due to his soft-spoken personality.)

Mike: Like the others, Mike was very traumatized by what happened to him during the tour. (Especially since he was younger than the rest of them.)

While Violet embraced her altered state, and Veruca withdrew from the world, Mike became bitter. Very bitter. Because, while sure, Wonka and co. were able to get him back to about normal size [after stretching him waaaay too tall and thin the first time; his mother fainted, then had plenty of choice words for everyone involved when she came to], the process was incredibly painful, and involved basically rubber-fying his bones and muscles temporarily (yeah, he still had no idea why Wonka would even create a candy that did that).

Because of that, he has scars all over his body–the most on his arms, legs, and torso–so he always wears long-sleeved shirts or jackets, and long pants.

He is pissed that his life was ruined at age eleven; sure, he was obnoxious, but he was a KID. Now he’s stuck with chronic pain, not to mention the occasional breakdown because he has no idea if he’s actually HIM, or just a copy that was beamed through Wonka’s television room that managed to keep his soul. (Yeah, he doesn’t like to dwell on that; he prefers to think that that would be impossible.) [A/N: That part comes from the fact that Wonka stated that the chocolate that appeared in the TV screen was a copy of the much larger chocolate bar that was beamed through the air, and not the original bar itself]

When Charlie contacts him, he almost sends a nasty letter back, but something in him pauses, and he ends up sending a civilized response. It wasn’t Charlie’s fault all this happened to him; Charlie was the nice one, and, though he would never admit it to anyone, on the tour, he thought Charlie was cool. Goody-two-shoes, but in the ‘Lovable TV Protagonist’ sort of way.

As the five of them start meeting/corresponding through letters, he lets Charlie past all the walls he put up, and is definitely the closest to him in the group.

Charlie: Happily becomes Wonka’s protege after the tour. He is ecstatic that he not only gets to live and learn to work in this magical place, but he and his family are finally out of poverty!

He goes to school during the day, then learns the tricks of the candy trade in the afternoons and evenings.

However, about ten years after winning the tour, Wonka just…vanishes. And that’s when Charlie finds the videos showcasing what happened to the other four Golden Ticket winners after their mishaps.

Charlie is appalled; looking back, they were all so young. Of course, they were bratty; that’s how kids ARE. (Sure, some of them were worse than others, but they didn’t deserve their fates! Essentially, the four ‘losers’, plus Mr. Salt, were toyed with and tortured, and their parents could not help them.) Mike’s was especially horrible, to him; it was the only tape he couldn’t finish.

This makes Charlie feel a little guilty; he got off easy, even though he also disobeyed the rules.

He is also torn; on the one hand, Wonka was a great mentor, and he was fond of the man–he made a good father-figure, for him. But on the other hand, this was a man who thought the way to get rid of a kid’s bad habits was to torture them.

Before he could think otherwise, Charlie writes letters to the other Golden Ticket winners. He doesn’t expect anything nice back, but is surprised to find that they are all willing to talk to him.

He is relieved; he wants to right the wrongs done to them.

Augustus: The poor guy falls into a deep depression after the tour. Sure, he was thinner, but he had no problem with how he looked before. Not to mention, even the smell of chocolate and other sugary sweets makes him very nauseous. Oh, and there’s the not-so-small fear of drowning that he picked up, as well as severe claustrophobia.

He felt like a part of him was lost, since he could no longer enjoy his favorite foods. Or food in general. He ate to not starve, but that was it.

He was already quiet, but after the tour, he withdrew into himself even more, preferring to spend time with the neighborhood cats rather than people. (Yes, he is definitely a cat person.)

But he still has his kind heart, so when Charlie Bucket sends him a letter, he responds right away (and is the first one to do so).

When they start writing more letters to each other, and eventually meeting, he helps the others through their trauma, while ignoring his own. He thinks he’ll always be stuck this way.

Veruca disagrees.

And in terms of schooling, only Augustus went to college. As for high school, Violet and Mike were homeschooled, Veruca went to an exclusive, posh academy, Charlie stuck with public school, and Augustus went to a private school.

-

Now, if anyone was interested, these are the outfits that inspired the ones I drew (though, obviously, I took artistic liberties with some of them). I wanted to give them each a different style: Violet’s is the outlandish fashion the 80s are famous for, Veruca’s is demure and preppy, Mike’s is pretty unassuming, but with a slight edge, Charlie’s is comfortable/casual, and Augustus’s is comfortable/slightly formal.

Left to right: Violet, Veruca, Mike, Charlie, Augustus

(And I imagine the back of Mike’s jacket looking like this, aka with a vent, which is why the back of the jacket isn’t visible in the gap of his legs):

WOW, that got so long (oops…), but those were just my ideas for how these characters would interact and act ten years later. Hopefully someone enjoys this, XD

[thejoeisthejoe]

Death Surf - AU

Figured I’d post some good Joe mental torture fic... runs with my canon of sole survivor. If you read it could you leave a comment on what you liked? :) It helps me write more! 

(This runs more with my sole survivor universe than the actual canon. I’m also not saying that Frank deserves to feel guilt over his brother AND Maryanne. I’m just saying XD It’d be interesting if he did….also running with the idea that Joe wasn’t ok after Sole Survivor and he’s done a lot of healing but even the best healing efforts can go awry when a big event happens.)

Their fight had left him feeling off… he couldn’t explain it and wasn’t sure he wanted to. If he did, he’d have to admit that he wasn’t as ok as he pretended to be after all that happened in Hong Kong. That had been six months ago and he sometimes still had nightmares.

If he did bring it up to himself or someone else he knew the answer he’d receive.. “Well siblings fight sometimes.” That was true for most siblings but he and Frank never really fought. His brother wasn’t easy to piss off and so much to his (extended efforts) despair he couldn’t get a rise out of Frank even when he tried.

This was the first time they’d ever really gotten into a fight with each other and he’d even started it. After all those years of trying to get a rise out of Frank, he finally did and regretted it. He didn’t feel accomplished or proud….he felt sick to his stomach.

 He entered the hotel and went to the elevator to the fourth floor. He sighed frustrated as he tried to put the key into the door, his hands were shaking so bad he kept missing the key hole.

His mind kept bringing back the memories of Hong Kong and how he’d nearly lost his brother and father…. Had he lost Frank with the fight? He shook his head trying the key again, no that was ridiculous.

He took a deep breathing closing his eyes trying to calm down. He wasn’t going to lose his brother. It was just a silly fight over a dead girl…. That Frank really seemed to love and connect with. And there was nothing Joe could do to help or make him feel better. He leaned forward pressing his forehead against the door taking a shakey deep breath, he kicked the door frustrated.

 “Your brother and father are dead.”

Her voice started to echo in his mind over and over again as his heart started to race. He needed to get into the hotel room and calm down. He didn’t want to experience another flash back. He couldn’t. Right now the thought of reliving that with what he was feeling now, he was scared of what would happen. 

Joe finally managed to open the door and hurried in and over to his suitcase. He started to dig frantically looking for the medicine he knew he brought. He hated taking it but preferred it over a flashback. It would knock him out for a few hours but he could handle that.

The phone started to ring in between the beds and he sighed hurrying over to answer it. “Hello…?” He tried to sound stronger than he felt right now. “Y-Yes Mr. Weston. I’ll bring the papers down in a few minutes.”

He hung up and hung his head defeated for a few seconds. He couldn’t think properly and couldn’t think rationally. He hated this part of having anxiety. He was usually not …crazy like this.

“I’m sorry you had a fight with your brother before it happened. That’s just horrible you never got to make up.”

Why wouldn’t she shut up!? Why was she still in his head?! Tears blurred his eyes as he got up and went back over to the suitcase. He finally found the pill bottle and opened it, he shook out two not even thinking the general dose was one.

He took two at the beginning of all of this where the thought of his brother not being beside him shook him to the core of his being. He hurried into the bathroom, his hands shook as he filled up a glass of water.

His hands trembled as he took the pills and drank the water. He leaned on the sink coughing as he choked on a bit of it. “STOP! Leave me alone! F-Frank’s coming back!” He shouted hoping to stop the voice.

“You’re brother is never coming back, Joe. We’ve gone over this. Your father and your brother have been dead for almost a year.”

 Joe backed away from the sink, his hands scrubbing at his eyes. He was sick of crying over things. He was sick of the anxiety. He hated all of it. “P-Please,” He begged. “Stop this…I can’t t-take anymore…”

His vision was already blurring as he stumbled out of the bathroom trying to get to the bed before it hit. His legs felt heavy, the room was swirling around him. He staggered to the bed he’d been sleeping in and tried to fall on it. He missed and fell to the floor curling up, he gave in and finally started to cry it all out. It didn’t last long as he fell into a drugged sleep.

*~* 

Frank walked down the hallway towards their hotel room already feeling a bit guilty for yelling at his brother. He wasn’t too worried though, Joe usually bounced back quickly. It had been six months since Hong Kong and he seemed to be doing a lot better. Still, his gut was telling him wasn’t right.

He unlocked the door and was surprised not to see Joe. “Joe?” He called out looking behind the door. His brother had looked exhausted before they’d parted ways and he had hoped his brother had come in to take a nap.

His eyes widened as he saw Joe’s suitcase on the ground and torn up. Frank hurried over to it, bending down to pick up the pill bottle. Joe hadn’t taken one of these in 6 months. “Joe?” He called again now worried. This medication literally knocked you off your feet. If Joe took one of these he’d be nearly unconscious within minutes. It’s why his brother hated taking them.

He walked into the bathroom but saw nothing but a half empty water glass. He turned around and then saw him. Joe was crumpled on the floor near his bed. “JOE?!” He ran over and kneeled down, out of habit he reached out to check his brother’s pulse. It was there but a bit slow. “Joe, talk to me…” He rolled his brother over onto his back and he gently lifted one of his brother’s eye lids. His brother was out.

Frank looks around the room unsure what to do. He needed Joe awake if only slightly so he could figure out what happened. He got up and ran into the bathroom coming back with a wet washcloth. He kneels back down and starts to wipe his brother’s face down. If nothing else it would wake his brother slightly. Joe hated the cold. “Come on, Joe. It’s Frank.”

Joe groaned a bit and Frank stood up and lifted his brother by his chest and pulled him to the bed. After a few seconds, Joe was on the bed on his back. Frank grabbed the pillows off of his own bed and stacked them behind his brother’s head. “Joe? Open your eyes…”

Frank waited before shaking his shoulder again. To his relief his brother opened his eyes slightly. “Joe, did you take the anxiety medicine?”

“D-Didn’t …w-want…flashback…” Joe replied his head rolling to the side.

Flash back? Frank sat on the edge of the bed nestling the covers around his brother. “You were having a flashback!? Why didn’t you tell me? We could have gotten back to the hotel faster or something.”

“Y-You were t-too busy…” Joe responded after a few seconds. His voice was slurred, the drug was working hard. He tried to smile at his brother but wasn’t able to. “G-Glad y-you came b-back…”

“Of course I came back?” Frank sighed, “What made you think I wouldn’t?” He didn’t know if it was flashback talking or what, but his brother sounded upset and relieved at the same time. However, he was more concerned that Joe had felt he couldn’t talk to him about what was going on …that he was too busy. Then he remembered their fight on the docks. If Joe was already having a bad day mentally then he was fighting a lot of bad thoughts running through his head. Their fight probably only made it worse.

[mags-duranb]

Laxus /Freed

This monster is for @sassyhazelowl who asked for headcanons for her pride promts and me as the crazy bitch with zero chill I am, gave her this mountain of incoherence so she can find something useful :_D 

Yup. It became a novel made of headcanons (and not headcanons, let’s b real), don’t ask me how, I stopped writing coherent fics a decade ago (because my brain is shit) in favor of improving my artwork. 

So to her for asking and taking one for the team, LOL. 

*Hands her a shovel*

To begin with, the one who notices he has feelings that go beyond friendship is Freed, he noticed, he worried, he felt conflicted and of course keep silent because he is not gonna burden Laxus with it and of course Laxus just like girls (right?).

Fantasia arc was a mess, a nightmare, Freed got the worst deal out of it. It hurt him so bad in so many ways, because carelessly and without knowing, Laxus abused Freed's love for him.  Which you can see after his fight against Mira, Freed did not want things to go that bad, but he did them out of love. He was supposed to be the voice of reason to stop Laxus when shit got out of their hands, but he could not and it took a toll on him.

Laxus after his time in solitude to reflect over all the shit he caused also started noticing in how many ways he screw his friends and how much Freed took in;  Ever and Bickslow got hurt in it too, but none of them as much as Freed.

And the both of them noticed how badly went for Freed when he cut his hair, for the guild members outside of the Thunder Tribe it was a sign of penitence, but Ever knew better. It was about how deep it hurt Freed.

Time passed, Tenrou Island happened and Laxus comes back with the rest after the seven years. A better person, head finally clear, still his rash self but wiser.

And It’s akward at first but the Thunder Tribe welcomes him back. In the surface it looks like things went back to normal.

While Bickslow is the first to fall back into the old ways and the old friendship and adapt to the changes in Laxus, Ever is more emotionally atuned to the changes. 

With Freed, things are more akward, there is lots of baggage here, both have all their faults between them, even if they get along with their normal antics, Laxus knows is for show, a mask. And Ever tells him some stuff, not all because not everything is for her to say, he has to talk to Freed himself, to own for his mistakes because Freed got the worst part and he was the most hurt.

And that's when things start to take an interesting turn because Laxus who prides himself to face his problems head on, is unable to close the gap with Freed, because he is suddenly conscious of how much he abused him. And how much of a coward he is (which was the reason all of the Fantasia fiasco happened, for his inability to accept his own weaknesses).

It upsets him with an unexpected intensity. Coming back to the guild brings memories of all the hurt he caused, and among his biggest regrets is what he asked the Thunder Tribe to do.

And most of all, what he forced Freed to do: to be cruel, to torture, to send a person to madness (Mira). He twisted his friends heart for his own benefit. And Laxus realizes how unforgivable that is.

Lots of dancing around the subject, trying to get close and both backing out because both feel guilty: Freed for being unable to stop Laxus and Laxus for dirtying Freed’s hands and abusing him. 

They get help through Makarov, Mira, Ever and Bickslow, who are closest to them. Mira because she was a direct victim and she cares for Freed a whole lot and has been worried for him since then. Makarov because he knows his grandchild pretty well to know how lost he is. And Ever and Bickslow because they are closest friends for both of them.

They start trying to talk with the help and something being forced, because they are idiots and well, it almost backfires because Freed who is more emotional, blurts out he has been in love with him since forever and ...uh...  Freed tries to backpedal, Laxus is too stunned to react and yeah, Freed got impressed by the looks but his heart got caught by Laxus stubbornes, and that relentless need to get stronger.

So Freed flees.

Laxus just feels like a lightning bold hit him and shit... man... love.  Freed is in love with him, his friend, his best friend.             

Laxus discovers that he is not as heterosexual as he thought.

Because he then starts like thinking, with a bit of help from Ever and some input from Mira and discovering that part of his reason to feel so upset for the way he hurt Freed is because he fucking cares a lot for him. Freed is more than his best friend. He trust Freed the most, aside from his grandpa, Freed is the person he would go and ask for advice, to trust him with things he wouldn't or can't trust his other friends.

Laxus has to ask for a moment because is too much.  Cue the second time Laxus ends crying alone in some damn forest because he can’t stop remebering Freed’s face during Fantasia.  Remebering what Mira told him in a moment of fury, of Freed crying after being beaten by her, for what he did. And Freed telling him what he did to Elfman.  

He feels like the worst piece of shit. He remembers Freed face when he confessed he was in love with him, the desperation to not be hated for it, the backpedaling and the fleeing. He hurt the person who loved him the most and Laxus, of course gets crushed and ends crying so hard because he almost destroyed Freed. 

So cue more intervention, sudden help from unexpected places, like Lucy not knowing about the whole drama and sitting next to Laxus because the guild is packed and being nice to him despite how bad he treated her, and Laxus feeling like at the end of his rope and grumbling why she is not holding that much of a grudge over him. Lucy just tells him that he is not the same, people make mistakes but he is making amends, that counts for something, right? “You are doing better, you are serious but you are not cruel anymore, you have changed and holding a grudge over it is not gonna help anyone, so why not forgive you for it?” Classic, beautiful Lucy.

And something resonates within him. Making amends, doing better, he can’t change the past but he can do better, for the guild and for Freed. 

Makarov tells him not to run away, true strenght is facing your mistakes even if you are scared. Did you hurt Freed?, did you left scars in his heart? Go and do something about it. Be what Freed deserves. 

From Ever, "I love you Laxus but stop being an idiot""Face things head on, that's your way". And he does.          

Meanwhile poor Freed is having a mental breakdown. He thinks he is just ruining everything. He doesn't know what to do, total failure from him to Laxus.

Mira and Ever almost have to tied him from fleeing the guild. Cue cute, soft moments, between Mira calling Elfman to help her prepare some comfort food in Freed's house, to Ever talking down Freed over tea and a talk between Elfman and Freed, with Freed apologizing for what he did to him to rile up Mira and to Mira. Making amends again. Elfman for all his macho stuff, is a damn kind soul first and foremost and a great cook on par with Mira (fight me!). And if Laxus can't accept who he is he can go fuck himself (Mira's words).

So they finally talk, it is difficult trying to keep emotions in check but is a first step in the right direction.

They have lots of issues to work with even some part of Freed who is disappointed in Laxus (which is what upsets Freed the most, he does not want to be mad at Laxus, it hurts him but yeah, part of him is pretty mad) and Laxus does not want Freed to sugarcoat things for him and hurt himself in the process, is the least he can do for him, take it and make amends and that is.

Manly tears all the way!!!

The end!

Kudos to all the brave souls who got to the end. And well dearie, if u find something useful in this pile of crazy, go for it. I would be honored. Anyways to whoever wants to adopt this mess, go for it too.

I doubt my inconsistent ass can pull out a 75k novel lenght fic from this xD So there.

[pierrotguru]

A/N: Happy Valentine's Day, @amiiera!  💟💙💘 This was fun to write. Yes, the ship name is in this fic-blue ghost. XD I think the song "Colors" by Halsey fits this fic, but that's just me.

Aoi Zaizen was a pathetic nonentity who couldn't even form a crush properly let alone a relationship. It seemed that for whatever reason that she still couldn't restrain herself from being a loser.

It was still a mystery why she had fallen for the boy named for a ghost. Maybe because he was so controlled and confident. His ego was as tall as a tree, and Aoi admired him from afar in his shadow. Safely in his shadow.

He had yet to acknowledge it or her. Of course, this had to change, or there would be no love story. Not even a hope of one.

Yet, Aoi knew that she had her opportunity when the calendar changed to February.

Days before Valentine's Day, she went to school early just to hand deliver her declaration: a periwinkle blue valentine placed right on his desk. There. Based on his reaction, she would be able to reveal herself. Wouldn't that be just...romantic?

Though, it was a rather generic piece, she had to admit. The valentine was made out of thick construction paper. "Be mine" had been scrawled in what she hoped a fancy silver script with a rather shaky hand.

She took her seat. Soon, other students began to fill the spaces among her. Any moment now...

Spectre silently rushed past her. Her seat was two desks behind his. She watched him study his desk, pick up the blue valentine...

"Who sent this?" Indignation was already in his voice.

Uh-oh. This was already off to a bad beginning.

Her eyes studied the wood grain of her desk as she felt her spirit leave her body. Aoi always felt like a ghost around him. A blue ghost...

"Anyone?" Spectre looked around the room for guilty faces. "Who sent this?"

To her absolute bewilderment, he marched across the room to her desk. He was so upset that his eyebrows were twitching.

"What about you, Aoi?"

"It wasn't me," she whispered to the wood grain below her.

"Blue is your favorite color. Everyone in class knows. Hell, it's in your name. Do you think I'm stupid?"

"It wasn't me!" she protested louder as she met his eyes.

Still, it was a terribly good guess. In Link VRAINS, she was know as Blue Angel, but no one really knew about that. Still, there was a clue in the notebooks she wrote in because they were cobalt. Her book bag was aqua. She wrote in blue pen. Even her pencils had turquoise erasers. All items were on her desk right now in plain view. Little wonder why Spectre was blaming the blue girl.

"It was you, wasn't it, Aoi?" Spectre hit the paper valentine against his thigh. "Just admit it. I know it. You know it."

It was all said in the tone of intimacy, but it was the wrong kind. It was in the same tone an adult might use to scold a child.

Aoi said nothing, and class began. Spectre didn't talk to her all day, not that he ever did.

She assumed that she had failed and decided just to forget about it-everything-and cry in the cozy sapphire blankets on her blue bed.

However, the next morning, the blue nightmare continued with a blue rose on her desk. How...suspicious. And flamboyant. She suspected that this was a prompt revenge for yesterday.

Blue. Blue as his eyes...

It was a hint. A message only for her. And a true torture, but Spectre didn't know that. Or, maybe he did.

Spectre. Did he? Would he?

Well, who else could it?

She instantly seized it and sniffed the blossom. The petals tickled her nose but there was no scent. Well, duh, what had she been expecting? It was faux.

"I didn't know we studied botany, Aoi."

Already, he had found her. He now hovered over her desk with an annoying smirk on his lips.

Without warning, she burst in anger. "You left this on my desk!" she accused.

She could feel the plastic thorns gouge against the veins in her fingers. Why was he was so damned casual about everything? Especially in matters regarding to her?

"Who? Moi?" Spectre started laughing to himself.

Aoi was flushing to the roots of her hair. Her favorite color might be blue, but right now, she was red. He was mocking her. So, he did consider her a joke. Deep down, Aoi had always known.

"I know it was you who sent this!" She pointed a shaking finger of accusation

He scoffed. Spectre wasn't even looking at her.

"There is no proof. Maybe you sent it to yourself. Why would you tell such a lie to someone you love?

Did...he really consider her that pathetic?

She was no longer sad. No. She was angry. She wasn't a little kid, so why was he treating her that way?

As soon as she slammed through the front door, she yanked open the desk drawer and plucked out another sheet of periwinkle blue paper. She cut out another heart and wrote "Be Mine" black felt marker this time. Jerks didn't get silver. It got the point across. Another valentine. A better valentine. She even pasted white lace around it. There. It was ready. As ready as it would ever be.

Aoi wasn't going to back down now.

The next morning, just like before, she dropped it on his desk. But, something else was blue too. Spectre would have to find out what for himself.

Again, Spectre eyed the blue valentine when he approached his desk. He groaned.

"Let me guess, you know nothing about it," he said to her. "Same as before. "

Aoi said nothing.

"Really, Aoi? How immature. Grow up." His eyes found her.

Conviction surged through her as deep as the ocean.

She found her voice. "And, what would be mature? Me telling the truth?"

Spectre seized the valentine as if intending to crumple it like the trash he obviously thought it was.

"It was me," she confirmed.

He stopped and stared at her open-mouthed. Yes. She then lowered her book she had been pretending to read to reveal her blue lipstick. Spectre's eyes widened.

Aoi rose from her seat as Spectre still stood there rigidly. It was the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack.

And so, right then and there, she kissed him right in the front of the classroom.

It was how she felt. The sheer of her emotions. In that moment, she was a warrior queen, and she took what she wanted. The treasure she wanted to unearth was Spectre's heart.

When she pulled away, Spectre's mouth was agape with shock.

"There. That's my electric blue lip gloss. Wasn't that shocking?"

The product had been rather expensive. But, at least she could say, she had finally used it in the best possible way.

Spectre wasn't saying anything now. He seemed to be staring at the ceiling almost dumbfounded. Well, it appeared that she had finally rendered him speechless. Not the easiest thing to accomplish.

Also, the classroom was utterly silent. It had just occurred to her that everyone else had been watching. Again, her cheeks flamed.

"Woah," was Naoki's only reply.

Ema whistled. "Nice, Aoi."

Ryoken smirked. He was obviously amused. To him, the classroom was now a stage play.

Yusaku and Takeru just stared. No one ever could guess what they were thinking, but in this moment, one could guess. It was like two vengeful ghosts finally wailing at each other after they had just recognized each other's existence.

"Now, would you go out with me?" she asked rather innocently.

Spectre didn't refuse. At the moment, he seemed rather intimidated by her.

Aoi didn't miss that he was blushing too. Was Spectre the type of guy that liked aggressive girls? Aoi knew that she would have to ask him later.

And, to her amusement, she noted that his lips were blue too. She had inadvertently marked her territory for all to see.

"Umm..."

She held her breath.

"All right." He smiled. Actually smiled.

On the date, he was a perfect gentleman to her surprise. It was a sundae date, and they both ordered two with vanilla ice cream and blueberry syrup. It seemed only appropriate.

She was pleased when he walked her home under the sparkling stars. The night sky was a deep navy.

"I had a wonderful time, Spectre."

"It wasn't bad," he agreed.

"Well..." her foot started tapping the ground.

Spectre was actually blushing in the moonlight. He had an inkling of what she desired now: the good night kiss.

"Try again with your natural lips. I don't like the taste of soap." Spectre winced.

Her lips were actually a barely noticeable a frosted pink, but she didn't tell him that. Yet, her eyelids were a blue. As blue as a dream. As blue as their love.

She was smiling when their lips touched again.

[randomnessunicorn-imagine]

May I request headcanons for the Riker, Worf, Tasha and Picard realizing that the reader a fellow younger officer was realated to them all along? Perhaps Picard as a father, Riker, Worf and Tasha as older siblings. Adopted in Worfs case.

{ Oh, such a shock for the crew xD

Oh, god, I want to cuddle Picard, poor baby!

Yes, Picard’s scenario is a little angst even if I adore Picard.

Thanks for the ask-! }

⭄  JEAN-LUC PICARD ⥺

This is a big deal.

A Fucking big deal.

What the hell? Really? A son? Something is wrong here!

Are we sure this is not another dimension? Can this person bean alien who wants to make fun on him? It won’t be the first time an alien triesto make an attempt on his life since everyone in this universe loves totorture, humiliate or scare the poor Picard and there is no better way to freakhim out than using children! Yes, it’s his nightmare!

Or maybe it’s another trap of those infamous Rumulans? He hopes it’stheir fault because he can’t have a son. No way!

It is so hard for him to accept something like this!

Actually, we may assume something like this happened (I mean the alien threat)because Picard has never dreamt to have a child, he does not like children. Hehas an odd relationship with them since they make him very uncomfortable.

Of course, he won’t scream or make a scene in front of them, Picard isalways very calm and austere and he will try to understand the situation andresolve this mystery.

He talks to the young boy/girl with the purpose of knowing more aboutthem and then he will ask to Beverly to do an DNA testing to prove that theyare truly his child. Well, the test is positive and Picard is truly fucked up buthe does not give up because he does not remember the mother of this child…

Yes,he has got some relationships but he has always used precautions and the contraceptivemethods have improved a lot these last centuries. Picard is sure there issomething more than a broken condom.

This child seems very sure about his role and they just want to beaccepted by him or, at least, they want Picard to be a little more friendly andnicer with them. Picard does not want to be rude but he is shocked andunprepared. He can’t face this problem alone. 

A fight with the Borgs would beeasier than this…

With time, Picard starts to remember something about this child but anythingabout the mother… Well, he has weird nightmares about a mission he forgot… Amission that happened some years ago and he has never recalled until now.

The memories are so clear and painful; Picard screams and moves in hissleep until he wakes up covered in his own sweat. It was not only a nightmare butsomething else. The answer he was searching for revealed itself in hisdreams.

Yes, that child was his but this thing happened without his consent and awareness.

The mysterious child has not revealed anything about their mother andnot even about the place they come from. They keep saying to be Picard’s child but this answer makes the Captain sick and tired.

Picard keeps dreaming those episodes and he sees himself tied up in alab surrounded by enigmatic aliens. They are making experiments on him, usinghim as a sort of guinea pig and he assumes they have stolen his seminal fluid.

For some odd reason, those aliens were interested in his DNA and now hehas to deal with the result of this experiment: his mysterious son.

At the end, the alien child explains to Picard that it was the only way tosave their species because they were all sick and they were going to die. Thesekinds of aliens did not consider their action as a “violence” since they did not see it as a wrong action and they did not know the concepts of good and bad  but they have seen that some human beings possessed the gene theyneeded. Picard was one of those people who possessed this gene and so he has beenabducted, then we already know the rest of the story.

This child keeps feeling guilty for Picard since they are half human andthe aliens have not considered human emotions. That child grew up without a guideand nobody who could explain to him why he felt so sad, confused, oppressed andalone.

Picard –being the understanding and wise man he is- understands them andhe does not blame his son because they have not chosen to be here, they havenot hurt Picard and so Picard has no reason to hate them. They are just avictim like him.

The Captain is not going to abandon him but he does not feel ready for achild. They can still remain on the Enterprise and frequent the school. Picardneeds time before he can be used to it and the support of Deanna has never beenso useful.

Of course, he will also ask for some advice to Worf since he foundhimself in a similar situation, well, less traumatic but Worf  became dad from dayto night.

⭄  WILLIAM RIKER ⥺

We can say he’s the one who takes this thing with more enthusiasm.

He has always dreamt to be the big brother, he would be the perfectbrother and he is unable to contain his joy.

His mother died when he was a little kid, his dad could not be definedas the best dad of the year, and so William felt very sad and alone when he wasa child and he needed a little company. He has always hidden the desire ofhaving a little brother and maybe it’s not too late.

Yes, at first he was confused and sceptical about it, everyone wouldfeel shocked but then he has thought that it was not so bad and there are somany things he can still teach to this new officer.

Destiny is strange and the universe is so small because his brother hasbeen employed in the Enterprise, the starship where William works. He haseven chosen a career so similar to William’s. It’s so weird and fascinating.

William wants to know his brother better, it seems he knows a lot aboutWilliam but William does not know a thing about him and so he feels a littleuncomfortable but flattered, too.

This feeds his big ego because he’s still the first officer of the greatCaptain Picard and everyone knows his heroic quests. He should not wonder whyhis brother knows everything about him but maybe he does not know him that muchand there are so many things he has to discover about William (sometimes he’sreally egocentric, but he’s an adorable and friendly egocentric).

The two of them can do so many things together and William needs to knowhis brother better and to recuperate the time they have lost.

The first thing William shows to him is the Holodeck because it’s themost amazing thing and they can also visit their home on earth. William wantsto show him his favourite places and jazz locals.

Of course, William will also play for his brother because he’s still amusician and he hopes the brother is a music lover, too. They can do a duettogether, they will make a fantastic team. If his brother can’t play any musicalinstrument, William can teach him how to play the sax or how to sing. It willfill his heart with pride and satisfaction.

How can we forget about Poker? We know how Riker loves this game and hewill invite his brother to play it with his friends. Who knows, maybe hisbrother is good at this game, too. Their talent runs through their veins. Ofcourse, when William plays, he won’t be gentler only because he’s his brother.When William plays, he does not lose his cool and feelings are not taken intoconsideration.

William will have a lot of fun playing poker with his brother, theyshould do it more often, and he’s glad his brother feels comfortable with theother colleagues and friends.

Then William is a very protective big brother –sometimes he acts morelike a worried dad than a brother- but he does not want to see his brother’sheart broken. He often tells him to talk with him if something is not right, toconfide to him his fears and apprehensions. William will be always here tolisten to him. It is what good brothers do after all.

William does not want his brother to feel alone, the Enterprise is thefamily he has never had since his father was not very gentle and understandingwith him, and so William wants to be a role model for his brother. He won’t dothe same mistakes of his father because he does not want his brother to feelalone or rejected.

Well, it’s something William already does with the Captain since he actslike a mama bear with Picard sometimes and he would take a sword to save theCaptain’s life. When William cares about someone, he would sacrifice his life and he’sready to take the risk. I imagine he would act like this with his brother.

Now the poor William has more people to protect because he won’t stop taking care of the Captain and Deanna, but William lovesdoing it. 

He likes being the hero of the situation and it does not matter how many bones he will break, if the people he loves are fine then he is fine aswell.

⭄  WORF ⥺

He has a brother as we already know but he did not expect a new brothercame out of the blue. No, this is totally unexpected

His human parents are so old for having a child and his real parents aredead, and so Worf wonders how something like this is possible.

His reaction would change if his brother is a human or a Klingon. You know,he is very proud of being a Klingon but he knows humans enough and he liveswith them but he would never know how to behave with a human brother.

In this case, the human brother can be adopted or he can be the real sonof Worf’s parents, maybe a lost son or something. He and Worf would be half-brothersbut he accepts Worf as his real big brother.

Here, his brother is not a child but he is a young man and so hecan take care of himself alone.

It’s luck because Worf has a son, Alexander is a child and it’s so hardtaking care of him sometimes. Being a father is not easy and he can’t have anotherchild to look after besides Alexander.  

For Worf, it’s a sort of trauma, he does not know how to behave, and hehas so many questions about his new brother’s origin. He wants to knoweverything about him, maybe Worf is a little wary and he hopes it’s not a trapor some crazy plan but it makes no sense. Who would pretend to be his brother?

Even this time, Worf will ask to Beverly for the DNA testing becauseWorf is a sceptical Klingon and he still hopes it’s a mistake since his familyis already messed up; he has fought and lost his honour because of hisfather. His family has already been dishonoured and he is not ready for anotherhorrible revelation, he does not have all that patience.

His brother seems to be a diligent and serious person and he wants towork with Worf and help him. He wants him to be his mentor, guide him throughthe route of the warrior, and become a strong and brave warrior like Worf.

Of course, Worf is very honoured and he is his brother because Worf canhave only a warrior as a brother. He is impressed but he won’t be nicer with himfor it. Worf will be more severe and colder with him and he expects a lot fromhis brother.

What if his sibling is a sister/half-sister, instead. Even in thiscase, it can be the daughter of his adoptive parents or a girl they haveadopted. Or she is a Klingon like him.

It’s a chaos –especially if it’s a human female-. He knows femaleKlingons but he would totally freak out with a human sister especially if sheis younger than he is.

Worf becomes the most protective brother of the universe and he growlsto every man in the Enterprise. He’s fucking scary!

He would be protective even with a Klingon sister even if Klingon womenare stronger and more dangerous than human women and they can take care ofthemselves because Klingon’s women fight and bite. Never mess with them!

With time, he will get used to his new sibling and maybe they can evenhelp him with Alexander and even Alexander will have a new friend and uncle. It’sgreat!

⭄  TASHA YAR ⥺

Even Tasha has a sister but she has never talked about her.

Well, she is quite shocked and she does not believe it’s true, it’s toostrange and inexplicable.

Tasha will be very cold and a little aggressive with her new sibling andshe does not want to accept it. How can something like this be possible?

No, it takes time before she can digest the information because it’s tooabsurd.

Of course, Beverly is going to do the DNA testing because it’s the onlyway Tasha has to clear all her doubts.

In these scenarios, Beverly works a lot, lol!

The DNA testing says they are her sibling and she can’t escape from thereality and she has to face her demons (as she has always done!).

Well, she has lived so many horrible situations and terrible traumas inher life and this one is not as brutal as those are and she can handle it. Shewon so many battles after all. This one is not a battle because nobody wants tohurt her… Ah, family relationships have always been so difficult for her. Shehas always been a lone wolf and now she has to share her life with a sibling,it’s a stranger for her but well, their blood is the same. Maybe Tasha is justscared, everything happened so fast.

It’s time for her to behave like a mature person and have a conversationwith her sibling (Tasha has already spoken with Worf, Picard and Deanna forsome advice) but it’s time to speak with the only person who can give her someanswer: her sibling.

Actually, her sibling is very glad she has given to them a chance andthey want to be accepted by Tasha. They have always dreamt to meet her and whenthey heard she works in the Starfleet, they have decided to follow the samepath, hoping to meet her again someday and this day is finally came.

They have worked so hard and even their life has been difficult becausethey have lived traumas, too. And at that moment, Tasha realizes she has beenrude and they are still her sibling, they won’t let her down and they won’thurt her and so she has no reason to build walls between them.

Tasha understands it’s a chance to have a family and she won’t be alone.Yes, this starship is her home but having a sibling is different. They havespent their life searching for her and she has no reason to be mad.

At the end, she accepts them and she won’t feel so alone anymore. She’shappy and glad they have not given up on her and she won’t give up on themneither.  

[dreams-of-headcanons]

Love this blog! But say ut + uf sans and us +sf pap wake up to see their knocked out bro and their awake and long time s/o hooked to a Saw style killing machine that has a giant circular saw that will cut one of them in half. They're told that they have to choose who lives and dies. And they can't mess with the machine with magic or both bro and s/o die. And the machine is automatically triggered if they teleport into the room. So any type of 'cheating' and it ends in double death. (1/2)

Hello! :) I remember seeing you around Ducky’s blog.

Oh man, it’s been forever since I watched any of the Saw movies. I wanna know how the hell these guys managed to catch Edge and Blackberry though. Was it worth it to lose a few limbs trying to get through their traps. I imagine Blackberry clawing and struggling like an angry cat before he’s knocked out xD

TW: Brief mentions of blood, gore, torture, and suicide. I didn’t go into major detail but felt like I should put a warning here, just in case.

Classic

He can feel his soul breaking(figuratively). Of course he’s gonna pick his brother but he loves you and can already feel the guilt clenches in his rib cage. When you tell him to pick Papyrus and that you understand he starts crying. He loves you so much and the fact that you would so willingly give up your life for his little brother makes him love you even more. He loves you so much in this moment that it hurts. He tells you how much he loves you before he hits the button. But he wasn’t ready when it happened. He wanted to close his eye sockets but it happened so fast. He inwardly thanks the stars that Papyrus wasn’t awake to see it happen. He’s fighting flashbacks of goring the human during the genocide route and your scream of agony echos in his skull. He grabs Papyrus as soon as it’s safe and teleports straight home. He washes any blood splatter off of Pap’s bones before he wakes up and lies him down in his race car bed. He won’t tell anyone what happened besides the police and Papyrus doesn’t even remember being captured but he knows something’s up. He doesn’t want Pap to feel guilty about it. Sans is having bad nightmares again but this time it’s not about the genocide route. That scream. It haunts him. From now on he’s keeping a much closer eye on the ones he loves.

Stretch

He’s angry and upset and it’s not often that he’s in such a state. How did he let this happen!? He punches the wall, angry tears gathering at his eye sockets. When you tell him it’s okay and to save Berry he breaks. Those tears come pouring out when he realizes you love his brother just as much as he does and he realizes just how perfect you are. He tells you how much he loves you and how perfect you are, adding some cute hand gesture that had become a thing for the two of you during your time together. He hesitates really hard for a moment before closing his eye sockets tight as he slams the button. But his sockets are forced back open at the worst moment when your scream startles him. He feels numb as he grabs Berry and teleports home, cleaning him off and putting him to bed. He calls the police and tells them how to get to the building. He’ll meet them there after asking Scales(US Alphys) to come watch over Blueberry. After the police are done questioning him, collecting evidence, and have collected your body he takes his anger out on the machine. He demolishes it to a point that it’ll never work again and hurts himself in the process. There are cuts all over his arm and leg bones from catching himself on the metal as he destroyed it. He could’ve just used his magic but using physical attacks felt more fulfilling at the time. He continues to tear the machine up until he’s crumpled on the ground, sobbing. From then on he’s a lot more protective of Blueberry.

Red

He’s yelling. Whether than they can hear him or not he’s yelling at whoever the bastard is that set this shit up. There’s a lot of cussing, especially f-bombs. You have to yell to get his attention. When tell him to choose Edge he won’t accept it. NO! There has to be another way. He can’t lose either of you! It’s not fair! Why does he have to lose someone so important to him when life was finally getting good for him? IT’S NOT FAIR, YOU BASTARDS!!! He punches the wall so hard he cracks some of the bones, almost to a point of breaking. You have to scream at him again. “GOD DAMNIT, RED!! JUST PRESS THE BUTTON! PLEASE!… please.. please just press the button.” Tears are pouring from your eyes. He finally snaps out of it, telling you he loves you and hesitating before he slams the button and forces himself to watch because he thinks he deserves to be punished. After he removes both of your bodies from the machine he destroys it then and there, angry tears pouring from his eye sockets as he screams in agony. Edge wakes up in the middle of this and wants to know what the hell is going on. Red isn’t capable of answering him at the moment so he pieces it together himself. He’s smart. Red is hurting himself and Edge has to restrain him before he ends up dusting himself. He knocks Red out and calls an ambulance to come get your body and explains what happened to the police. He takes his brother home and cleans them both up. At this point Red is just eerily quiet and Edge is pissed. How did they manage to capture him? How could he let this happen. He’s blaming himself but Red doesn’t know about it because Edge won’t tell him. He cared about you too, even if he didn’t show it. You made his brother happier than he’d ever seen him. Red was acting so much better, happier, and healthier and now everything is ruined. Edge hunts down whoever did this on his own and presents them to Red like a gift to be unwrapped. Together they make sure the bastard suffers 10 times as bad.

Rus

He’s panicking. He’s trying to remember what he was doing before he got knocked out. How could he let this happen? How did they get past both him AND his little brother? They’re both usually so alert and Blackberry’s traps never fail. His anxiety is getting to him and you have to snap him out of it. When you tell him it’s okay, to choose his brother, his love and respect for you swells. He tells you how good of a person you and how much he loves you, tears running down his cheek bones. He presses the button on your command without hesitation, but he’s visibly shaking. You tell him to close his eye sockets and he does. You try your best not to scream but the pain is unbearable. As soon as it’s over he grabs Black and teleports him to Alphys’ house, effectively startling the shit out of her. He lives Black there without a word and goes straight back to the crime scene. His eye lights are different now. They’re sharp and cold, like a snake’s eyes, when they used to be calm and warm. He’s basically gone into a kind of yandere mode. He mainly calls the police because he wants your body properly taken care of. He answers their questions appropriately and makes sure your body is handled as properly as possible. When they leave he starts investigating on his own. He’s not gonna wait for those fucks to do a half ass search and end up coming to a dead end. If you want something done right you have to do it yourself and his dedication to you is unrelenting, even after death. He finds the bastard even faster than Edge did and traps them, approaching them with that dead cold stare. He’s twice as intimidating as he already was and the culprit is scrambling desperately to find a way out. They’re so cowardly that they reach for a gun to just commit suicide before he can get them. A bone attack knocks the weapon out of their hand. More bone attacks impale them through their limbs, pinning them to the ground. They made a mistake trying to hide out in such a desolate area. Their screams won’t be heard for miles. Rus will relish in the sounds they’ll make in the days to come. Days.

[ellanainthetardis]

I have a prompt. What if instead of actually killing Haymitchs mother and brother snow took them captive just in case in his mansion(not tortured though bc that'd be pointless if Haymitchs didn't know they were alive) and post mj they are found and how they reacted to Effie and stuff.

I know @allonsysilvertonguedid one like that, hopefully this one is very different, mostly because we havevery different OCs. Mostly I say thisbecause I really like her one shot about it so it was anopportunity to advertize it, so go check it out XD [X]

Family Doesn’t End With Blood

“Mama…” he whispered when his mother suddenlygrabbed him as he walked past her, just like she had been doing ever since theyhad been reunited. She was overwhelmed by the suite they had been allotted atthe Presidential Mansion, he figured. It was too much after spending years in acell.

He melted into her embrace, still unable to believeit was real. It was too huge.

He had just been settling Effie in his room atthe Mansion, having finally secured her release from Coin – and it wasn’t a pardon but at least it was progress – when Plutarch had showed upwith the news that a new underground prison where the Capitol had been keepingvery special people had been found. He wasn’t the only one who had seen peoplehe had believed to be dead for decades walk out into the light.

It was still an adjustment.

The theory was that Snow had been keeping themin case he needed pressure points. Why he hadn’t used the trump card during thewar was anyone’s guess. Haymitch had deduced it was because Snow had known hewouldn’t believe him.

He could barely believe it right now.

He met his brother’s eyes over their mother’sshoulder. Hayden had been keeping his distance, staying close to Mabel. The twoof them had been sharing loaded looks that Haymitch had been trying not tointerpret. His reunion with his old girlfriend hadn’t been what he would haveexpected – not that he knew what he would have expected. Suddenly, she had beenthere, flesh and blood again instead of the ghost who had haunted his nightsfor so long, and he had been struck by the realization they weren’t sixteenanymore.

There had been no tearful hugs with her, barelyan awkward shuffling of feet and an apology on his part.

He had been apologizing a lot.

They were skittish, the lot of them. Not thathe could blame them. Twenty-five years in a prison, in a closed world where theonly constant was each other, would do that to anybody. He couldn’t imagine howit had been, how they felt now that they were free…

Hayden seemed angry with him and Haymitchcouldn’t blame him. He had only been eleven when they had been taken, it wasmore than half his life stole away. Because of him.

Truthfully, his mother was the only one of thethree who looked pleased to have found him again. He hadn’t left her side inthe last twenty-four hours and he had answered her questions to the best of hisabilities, trying not to take too much to heart her obvious disappointment andsadness at finding him single and without children. His life had come to apause on the day he had won the Hunger Games.

The knocking on the door was a welcomeddistraction and he broke the embrace, keeping a hand on his mother’s shoulder,unwilling to let her go too far from him. She was so frail, so old…

“Come in!” he called out, in the authoritativevoice he usually reserved for Thirteen’s soldiers. If he had hated every secondof his stay in that District, his dislike for Coin and her men had onlyincreased since Snow’s official surrender.

Effie’s head popped in the suite, soon followedby the rest of her body. The blue dress hung loose on her underweight figure,she hadn’t bothered with a wig – probably because it was more than she couldmanage with her right arm strapped in a sling – and her blond hair lookedtousled. She flashed him a guilty look that soon morphed into a cheerful fakesmile.

“My apologies.” she offered brightly. “I didnot mean to intrude.” She briefly met his eyes before looking at everyone elsein turn. “You will find me silly, ofcourse, but I had the most horriblenightmare and I could not settle down. All those soldiers stomping in thecorridors…” A fake laugh and shifting eyes. “Quite childish of me, of course.”

She did her best to keep up a front butHaymitch saw what she wasn’t quite saying. She was still shaking a little andshe looked just as disturbed as every time he had been forced to hold her aftera nightmare.

Ever since her rescue, he had stayed with heras much as he could, only leaving her to go sit with one of the kids. She hadspent the last twenty-four hours on her own and he wasn’t surprised she hadn’tbeen faring so well.

“I amsorry for intruding.” she added with obvious apprehension.

He didn’t miss the way she seized Mabel up. Hisformer girlfriend was standing next to the window with Hayden, apparently moreinterested by what was happening outside than in the room. After twenty-five yearsspent underground, he could understand. Effie didn’t appear to be certain ofher welcome and he wondered if she truly thought he would forsake her for Mabelafter everything they had been through together.

Once upon a time, maybe…

Now?

His mother was looking at him curiously andHaymitch cleared his throat, outstretching his hand without really thinkingabout it.

“Come meet my family, sweetheart.” he offered.“That’s my mother. My brother Hayden. And… Mabel.” Effie nodded to all of themin turn, grabbing his hand without needing to be offered twice, standing closerto him than propriety dictated. She had lost her obsession for manners andappearances somewhere in the Capitol’s cells. His mother visibly brightened,she was studying Effie and their linked hands with rapt attention. He clearedhis throat again. “Mama, this is Effie. She’s my…”

And he faltered, his eyes darting to Mabel, whowas still ignoring them.

“Colleague.” Effie supplied easily, withoutmissing a beat. “I am delighted to meet you, Mrs Abernathy.”

His mother, he saw, was already taken. And whynot? She was a charmer. Even with the bags under her eyes, the absence ofmake-up and the unhealthy pallor of her skin.

“She’s Capitol.” Hayden growled with openhatred, glaring at Effie.

She flinched and stepped closer to him beforeremembering herself and looking embarrassed. He squeezed her hand, his thumbrunning soothing circles on her skin.

“Yeah, she is.” he replied. “She’s also my friend. You’ve got a problem with that?”

“Boys.” their mother chided them, soundingdistraught.

“Just think it’s odd you would make friends with the people who locked us up.”his brother retorted.

“He thought we were dead.” Mabel cut in,turning her head to look at Hayden. Their eyes met and the stare they sharedwas meaningful enough that he felt Effie relax a little next to him.

“Which makes it worse.” Hayden argued.

“She’s not like them.” Haymitch snapped. “Don’tjudge when you don’t know shit.”

“Sorry I didn’t keep up with your life, therewere no newspapers where they kept us.” his brother scowled.

“I shouldn’t have come.” Effie cut in before hecould answer, untangling her fingers from his. “Please, do not fight on myaccount. I am sorry, Haymitch, it was selfish of me.”

She was halfway to the door when he caught herarm – and ignored her instinctive flinching. “Wait.” He was almost defiant whenhe turned back to his family. “Effie’s not justmy friend, either.”

“You don’t say.” Mabel snorted, rolling hereyes at him. A small smile played on her lips though. “You’re still an idiot.Nice to know some things don’t change.” She nudged Hayden’s shoulder, her voicewas teasing. “Okay, she’s a Capitol. He still has bad taste in girls. So what?It’s not like she’s an escort…”

Effie made a face and it was apparently enoughthat his brother’s scowl deepened. “Oh, you’re fucking kidding me!”

“Haymitch?” his mother asked, uncertain.

“I am Twelve’s escort.” Effie announced, loudand clear. “And I am sorry for what happened to you but I am not your enemy.Trust me, I have enough of those.” She escaped his grip, lowering her voice. “Idid not mean to embarrass you, I am sorry, I just couldn’t be alone anymore. Iwill go back to our room. Your room.”

“Our’sfine.” he grumbled. “Won’t be long, sweetheart.”

She hesitated and then pressed a kiss on hischeek before leaving.

“An escort,Haymitch?” his mother said as soon as she was out.

“Myescort.” he corrected. “And one of the bravest women I know. She’s been throughhell…”

“And wehaven’t?” Hayden sneered.

“It’s not a competition.” Mabel cut in.“Everyone in this room has been through bad things.” Her Seam grey eyes found Haymitch’s.“But did it have to be an escort?”

“She’s been my family for a long time now.” hedeclared, a note of warning in his voice.

“Then I’m sure she’s a nice girl.” his motherinterrupted firmly. “And I can’t wait to get to know her better.”

He relaxed. “Thank you, Mama.”

“Without me.” Hayden spat, storming off to hisbedroom.

“I’ll talk to him.” Mabel declared, going afterhim.

Alone with his mother, Haymitch made a face.The whole encounter had made him desperate for a drink. He understood hisbrother’s resentment and anger. He understood.That was the worst part.

“You love her, don’t you?” his mother hummedand she didn’t wait for an answer. “That’s enough for me. If you love her, Iwill love her too.”

He wrapped his arms around her just because hecould.

“She’s impossible but you’ll like her.” hepromised. “She’s in my life to stay.”

He wouldn’t toss her aside just because anyonedisapproved.

She deserved much better than that.

[bookworm555]

Another CatCF/WWatCF sketchdump~

The top drawing is the characters from the 1971 adaptation ten years later (which was an excuse to draw 80′s fashion, haha), while underneath it are cartoony/chibi-esque portraits of the 2005 characters.

Ten years later doodles (from left to right) Top row: Violet and Veruca Second row: Mike, Charlie, and Augustus

Bonus ten years later Violet (if she wasn’t blue)–A request from @ironbiohazard03​:

Some headcanons for the ten years later drawings under the cut:

I always headcanoned the characters in the ‘71 version to be thirteen, minus Mike, who I saw as eleven. So basically everyone in the drawing is twenty-three except for Mike, who is twenty-one.

Violet: For years after the nightmare that was the factory tour, Violet struggled with major body image issues, especially about her blue skin. (And is homeschooled because of this.) However, eventually, her mindset basically became ‘Wonka thought this was a punishment? Fuck that; I’m going to embrace it’, so she became more confident. 

Once this confidence hits during her late teens, she uses her unusual appearance to her advantage (especially when it comes to attracting visitors/potential buyers to her dad’s car dealership). 

She doesn’t go to college; instead, she works at her dad’s place, and basically learns how to be a mechanic. 

She hasn’t chewed gum since the factory tour.

When Charlie contacts her and the others, she is hesitant to respond back, but ultimately does (to sass him, at the very least). During the group’s future meetups, she’s basically the glue that keeps them together.

Veruca: Unlike Violet, Veruca carries a lot of guilt about what happened during the factory tour, since her father was punished along with her. He fell wrong, and as a result, was paralyzed from the waist down, and is now in a wheelchair. Veruca was lucky; aside from a broken ankle, she did not suffer any worse injuries.

Because of this, Veruca becomes mute (her mouthing off and constantly asking for things is what led to her–pun not intended–downfall, so she decides that it would be for the best if she stops talking altogether.)

Despite being wealthy, Wonka paid all of the Salts’ medical bills. Even though it would have made sense for them to take him to trial, they decided not to (Henry did not want anyone to see him in his new state, and Veruca’s anxiety spiked even thinking about the factory).

When Charlie contacts the four ‘rejects’ ten years after the tour, Violet starts to bring Veruca out of her shell. Though it is ultimately Augustus who helps her feel comfortable speaking again, due to his soft-spoken personality.)

Mike: Like the others, Mike was very traumatized by what happened to him during the tour. (Especially since he was younger than the rest of them.) 

While Violet embraced her altered state, and Veruca withdrew from the world, Mike became bitter. Very bitter. Because, while sure, Wonka and co. were able to get him back to about normal size [after stretching him waaaay too tall and thin the first time; his mother fainted, then had plenty of choice words for everyone involved when she came to], the process was incredibly painful, and involved basically rubber-fying his bones and muscles temporarily (yeah, he still had no idea why Wonka would even create a candy that did that).

Because of that, he has scars all over his body–the most on his arms, legs, and torso–so he always wears long-sleeved shirts or jackets, and long pants.

He is pissed that his life was ruined at age eleven; sure, he was obnoxious, but he was a KID. Now he’s stuck with chronic pain, not to mention the occasional breakdown because he has no idea if he’s actually HIM, or just a copy that was beamed through Wonka’s television room that managed to keep his soul. (Yeah, he doesn’t like to dwell on that; he prefers to think that that would be impossible.)

When Charlie contacts him, he almost sends a nasty letter back, but something in him pauses, and he ends up sending a civilized response. It wasn’t Charlie’s fault all this happened to him; Charlie was the nice one, and, though he would never admit it to anyone, on the tour, he thought Charlie was cool. Goody-two-shoes, but in the ‘Lovable TV Protagonist’ sort of way.

As the five of them start meeting/corresponding through letters, he lets Charlie past all the walls he put up, and is definitely the closest to him in the group.

Charlie: Happily becomes Wonka’s protege after the tour. He is ecstatic that he not only gets to live and learn to work in this magical place, but he and his family are finally out of poverty!

He goes to school during the day, then learns the tricks of the candy trade in the afternoons and evenings.

However, about ten years after winning the tour, Wonka just…vanishes. And that’s when Charlie finds the videos showcasing what happened to the other four Golden Ticket winners after their mishaps.

Charlie is appalled; looking back, they were all so young. Of course, they were bratty; that’s how kids ARE. (Sure, some of them were worse than others, but they didn’t deserve their fates! Essentially, the four ‘losers’, plus Mr. Salt, were toyed with and tortured, and their parents could not help them.) Mike’s was especially horrible, to him; it was the only tape he couldn’t finish.

This makes Charlie feel a little guilty; he got off easy, even though he also disobeyed the rules. 

He is also torn; on the one hand, Wonka was a great mentor, and he was fond of the man–he made a good father-figure, for him. But on the other hand, this was a man who thought the way to get rid of a kid’s bad habits was to torture them.

Before he could think otherwise, Charlie writes letters to the other Golden Ticket winners. He doesn’t expect anything nice back, but is surprised to find that they are all willing to talk to him.

He is relieved; he wants to right the wrongs done to them.

Augustus: The poor guy falls into a deep depression after the tour. Sure, he was thinner, but he had no problem with how he looked before. Not to mention, even the smell of chocolate and other sugary sweets makes him very nauseous. Oh, and there’s the not-so-small fear of drowning that he picked up, as well as severe claustrophobia. 

He felt like a part of him was lost, since he could no longer enjoy his favorite foods. Or food in general. He ate to not starve, but that was it.

He was already quiet, but after the tour, he withdrew into himself even more, preferring to spend time with the neighborhood cats rather than people. (Yes, he is definitely a cat person.)

But he still has his kind heart, so when Charlie Bucket sends him a letter, he responds right away (and is the first one to do so).

When they start writing more letters to each other, and eventually meeting, he helps the others through their trauma, while ignoring his own. He thinks he’ll always be stuck this way. 

Veruca disagrees.

WOW, that got so long, but those were just my ideas for how these characters would interact and act ten years later. Hopefully someone enjoys this, XD