#i know i wouldn't stand for the way he talks

[bi-writes]

hi! i was thinking if you could write an older!boyfriend simon x reader BUT reader is john price's daughter so is kinda of a forbidden and secret relationship !!!! they've been dating for a long time now until john finds out !!!!!

18+

"how is she?"

"doing well, john. but you don't have to worry about her anymore, you know that right? she's not yours to worry about."

"she is mine. i know she's not..." john huffs. "she may not be blood, but she's mine, yeah? so when i ask 'ow she is, you tell me, kate. can we agree on that?"

"sure, john. she's in georgia. her russian got very good. if you want to know my honest opinion, i think she'll be one of my best."

"well...i wouldn't stand for anythin' less."

"john?"

that voice is music to him. he turns, taking his hat off, and he laughs, genuinely, when he sees you. his whole face lights up, and you make your way to him. it's been months since you've seen him in person--even though he makes you send him constant updates about what you're doing and where you are, you find yourself missing this man and the warmth he gives off whenever you are in his proximity.

he's always looked at you so kindly. he's always taken care of you. whenever you pick up the phone, he's always answered.

"'ello, bug."

he crushes you in a warm hug. he puts a hand on the back of your neck and holds you to his chest, and the tension in his shoulders deflates now that he has you with him.

"hi, john. miss me?"

"well...you were the only one with sense in my house."

"you live alone, john."

"aye."

he pours you a hot cup of tea before he makes you tell him all about your new posting. most of it is classified, and you tell him that, but his face lights up when you talk about the new skills you're learning and all the opportunities that kate is giving you. his face scrunches a little when you talk about the more dangerous ops, but john never has the same regard for his own life.

the mess hall gets busy once dinner time rolls around. his men were not expecting you, and that much is clear when they see their captain even enjoying a meal in public and not secluded in his office. you smile at his sergeants, but when your gaze lingers a little longer on the doors, johnny just nudges you with his elbow.

"miss the big guy?"

"what? no."

"he had a long night last night," he wiggles his eyebrows at gaz, who just laughs a little. "i might need to try the whole brooding, scary look LT has got on. attracts the most bonnie things, fuckin' christ."

your plate flies when you stab at your food too hard. the cutlery clatters as it hits the floor, and you jump a little, swallowing.

"are you alright, bug?"

"huh? yeah, oh...yeah, just...fucking clumsy. i...i'm gonna...find the toilet."

the blood is rushing in your ears as you make your way out. you're vibrating, hot inside, and you feel him before you see him, even in your anger.

when he pulls you into the shadow of a nearby supply closet, you swipe the blade out of your boot and hold it up against his throat. even through the mask, the blade bites, and he hisses as you hold him up against the wall there.

"don't fucking touch me," you snarl, and ghost's eyes are bright and alive as he holds his hands up defensively.

"wot--"

"and don't what me," you snap. "actually, don't fucking talk at all, you cheating, manipulative, british piece of shit--"

"look so pretty," he murmurs, tilting his head to the side. "did you do y'r hair, baby?"

"i will kill you."

"'s olright. last thing i see'll be you."

"i'm not fucking kidding, simon!"

he bends a little, tilting his head, and you breathe out through your nose as he leans his forehead against yours.

"reckon ya spoke t'johnny."

you scoff. "told me all about your winnings last night, lieutenant."

"was no winnings, love, don't be so fuckin' naïve." simon swipes at the handle of the blade, curling his gloved fingers around your wrist and forcing it away from him. "y'r just mad cause y'r cunt missed me."

"don't flatter yourself, asshole."

"so if i pull your knickers down right now, y'won't be drippin', swee'eart?"

"that's irrelevant."

"'s not. turn around and bend over."

simon's sorry, so he eats your pussy from behind. he gets down on his knees, and the crack of them satisfies you immensely, up until you feel his mouth between your cheeks, tongue slicking up your folds. you brace yourself against the wall, palms flat against the concrete as he puts two gloved hands against your ass and spreads you wide to fit himself nicely there. he hums, groans, makes you whine as he slurps obscenely into your cunt, laving at the drip of you until the taste of you floods his mouth.

"simon..." you whimper. "tell me i-it's not true."

he presses a wet kiss to your ass, biting it firm.

"'s not true, love. promise."

"fuck your promises," you sniffle. "you're a professional liar."

"tha' 'ow it's gonna be, innit? not gonna trust me? believe me?"

you rest your forehead against the cool wall, and the shadow of him envelopes you when he stands. he grunts a little as he gets to his feet. his big hands squeeze at the curve of your waist, and you close your eyes when you feel his breath against your neck.

"i'm sorry, simon."

"for wot?"

"i just...i like you so much. so much."

"come 'ere," he murmurs in your ear. he pulls your hips back, pressing your ass against his pelvis, and you dig your nails into the wall when you hear his belt buckle and zipper. "my pretty girl. my pretty, pretty girl."

"i missed you s-so much, simon."

"i know, love. quiet now. someone'll hear."

it's not the worst place you've fucked. you've snuck quickies in the rec room. behind the mess hall. met up in filthy gas station toilets, fallen into the backseat of a car in the parking lot of numerous military bases. even once, you deigned to suck his dick in his office, and you had to hide behind his couch when john came in to ask about an op.

john had a rule. his men were off-limits. he should've thought about that before he hired a man straight out of your wet dreams for his stupid fucking task force.

you're weak. and simon is a man.

inevitable.

you're a mile into pound-town when someone interrupts. simon is cock-deep inside of you, pelvis up against your ass, one hand braced around your throat and the other squeezing your ass. your eyes are rolled back into your head, and there's drooling coming out of your mouth. it's hot, disgusting, filthy to let him have you like this, but it's been weeks since you've seen him, and the phone calls aren't enough.

you love talking to him. you love when he talks to you. he'll never be annoying to you, you'll never get tired of him, but the distances hurts. you want simon to be all around you--inside of you, against you, his voice in your ear and his mouth against yours and his warmth your only sheet, but you can't bring yourself to do more than this.

you're too afraid of disappointing people. you're too scared of simon's rejection. if your relationship is nothing but fun, nothing but sex, you can pretend it isn't real, but you're just lying to yourself now.

you babble, and it sounds like love, but then the hallway light blinds you, and familiar blue eyes nearly kill you.

"jesus christ!"

simon puts his body in front of yours to cover you, using a harsh boot to kick the door closed. you squeak, covering your face with your hands, and you groan audibly as simon pants against your back.

"fuck--" you gasp. "oh...fuck, fuck, fuck!"

simon buries his face into the crook of your neck, laughing a little.

"bloody hell," he breathes. "reckon we're fucked, huh, love?"

"it's not funny, simon! we're in so much trouble!"

"well..." he squeezes your throat gently, tilting your head back. "could still finish. no sense in pretendin' now."

"you are not going to come when he's probably waiting for us outside."

"i'm balls deep in my favorite girl," simon mutters. "could come just fine. just say the word."

"you're disgusting."

"mmm..." simon squeezes your hips. "keep talkin'. i like when y'talk t'me like tha'."

"fucking asshole."

"yeah...yeah."

"you stupid, immature, unhinged pain in my ass--"

"fuck."

well.

you're definitely never leaving this room.

[armandsfangs]

I rewatched this scene and realised I mashed together Louis and Armand's lines (oops memory is a monster after all)

"That's when you can decide if you want [the position of coven leader] back, or if you want something else."

"I want you more than anything in the world."

"You sure about that, Arun?"

"Yes, Maître."

Armand's response is way less unhinged considering they were also talking about whether Armand still wants to be coven leader. "Armand" was the name forced on him by the cult that tortured him and made him become a coven leader that he did not want to be. It is a slave name, as much as "Amadeo" is, a brand intended to assimilate him, to further remove him from his ethnic origins the way many enslaved people were.

So of course Louis, a black Creole man whose character arc was about struggling against the roles forced upon him by racial inequality, and whose whole deal in Paris was being free ("if you want me, I'm out here"), wouldn't use that slave name, a name that is specifically tied to Armand's role in the coven, in a moment where he's trying to give Armand the real choice to step away from the coven and the sub/dom dynamic if he wants and choose his own role for once in his life. So Armand's "yes maître" is responding to two questions at the same time: I don't want to be coven leader anymore, I want you to take the lead instead

It's true that Armand doesn't know if Arun was his real name, but at least there's the benefit of the doubt that maybe it was, because at least it's close to his cultural roots and there's a chance it wasn't forced on him in the brothel in comparison to Amadeo and Armand which are distinctly European and we know 100% that he was renamed by Marius and Santino. None of these names are perfect given the circumstances, but Arun is the best choice imo

I stand by my interpretation that Louis was trying his best in this moment to reach out from a place of love and to be sensitive to both his and Armand's pasts so they could go forward in a consensual relationship. I also do not think Armand understood this at all and just decided to respond how he thought Louis wanted him to respond which is why they were doomed. But it matters to me that Louis tried and that he's not an evil uncaring dom!!!

"Are you sure this is what you want, Arun?" is THE most romantic Loumand line to me because this is Louis, knowing that Armand has suffered a life of abuse, of being bent and broken and reshaped to his captors' will, knowing that he has a complicated relationship with his own sense of self from the history he has shared, taking care to ask I want to know if you actually want this as yourself, not as Amadeo, the Maestro's perfect muse, not as Armand, the fearsome coven leader, but as Arun, the real you, before you were forced into those roles against your will. Arun, who did not have a choice then, you are free to make the choice now. Are you sure that you want this?

Which makes it extra unhinged that Armand's response is basically "yes daddy"

[boybandbaby]

I Know That I Wasn't Right (Spencer Reid x Reader)

word count: 859

warnings/tags: light angst (disagreement, mean comment towards Spencer, Spencer rejecting reader's kisses), fluff, as always please let me know if i missed anything

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You and Spencer had gotten into a small disagreement this morning. It was honestly too early and your irritation stemmed from that, causing you to snap at him. What was supposed to be a fun day of running errands together, quickly became a morning of silence.

As you ate your breakfast, Spencer read a book to avoid speaking or looking at you. He was upset with you over a comment you made.

"Babe, wake up!" He shook your shoulder. "The book store opens at 6am."

"The store doesn't open until 8am, go back to bed." You grumble.

"Y/n, I already checked, it's 6am. Please get up." He whines.

"I literally checked last night, it's 8am. Just because you're a genius doesn't mean you know everything." You say, unfiltered. At the time, you said it out of annoyance not thinking how it would hurt him.

While you were irritated with his behavior, you still wanted him to get the book he wanted and you needed groceries. "Spence, I'm going to get ready. We'll leave in 20 minutes?" You offer, setting your bowl in the sink.

He doesn't respond, closing his book and going to stand. "Spencer…" You say softly, brushing his hair back and going to kiss his cheek. Spencer's body goes rigid when your lips meet his cheek. He gently turns away and pretends he's busy, picking up his cold toast.

You sigh and head to the bathroom. You're ready in 20 minutes, as promised. Spencer takes longer as he's decided not to get ready beside you like normal. While you're scrolling through your phone, slouched on the couch, he appears in a turtleneck.

"Spencer, why are you wearing a turtleneck? It's supposed to be hot today." You point out.

He continues to ignore you as he slips on his shoes. "Baby, please talk to me." You pout, hoping he'll give in if you give him puppy eyes. You jog the short distance over to him and wrap your arms around his waist. "Spencer, I'm sorry I was rude to you this morning." You lean up to kiss his jaw. Spencer stands on his tippy toes to try and get away from you.

You sigh and take a step back. This is the second time he's attempted to reject a kiss from you and you're starting to get upset. "You know what? I think I'll stay home, have fun at the book store." You kick off your shoes and make your way to the room.

Spencer stands by the door, shoulders slumped. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt you. Even if your earlier comment hurt him, he really wasn't trying to get back at you for it. Plus, he loves running errands with you. He has a debate on whether or not he should seek you out or go to the store by himself. He thinks that would hurt you a little bit more and he doesn't want to be cruel.

He unties his laces and places the shoes neatly against the wall, fixing your previously kicked off shoes to line up with his. "Baby, I'm sorry."

He sees that you've already changed back into your pajamas and you're curled into the bed. He walks over to your side of the bed and scoots himself onto the edge. His hand rubs your hip. "Look, the reason I rejected your kisses and why I'm wearing a turtleneck is because whenever we have a fight and it's your fault, you always kiss my neck and I give in instantly."

He hears you laugh, "it's never my fault."

"Okay, sure, you're right." He agrees, even though you both know it's not the truth. "I was really hurt by your comment this morning and I wanted to make you sweat a little bit."

"So, you wore a turtleneck so I wouldn't have access to your neck?"

"Yes! But then you find another body part to kiss and I start to melt." He smiles as you sit up, his hand sliding from your hip to your ankle. He gives your ankle a squeeze. "I'm sorry I was being mean."

"No, no." You reach out to him, grabbing his empty hand. "You're right to be mad and upset with me. What I said was really mean. You're a genius and I love that about you."

"But you're right too and as much as I hate to admit it, I'm not always right. I am most of the time though." He grins.

"Okay, brag." You roll your eyes. "Will you please take that stupid turtleneck off so I can give you apology neck kisses?"

"Fine, but only because it's itchy." He smiles. You spend the next few minutes peppering his neck and face with kisses. He's giggling and squirming as you trap him under you.

Shortly after, you get redressed and head out for the day. You're walking hand in hand towards the book store when he pulls the handle. The door doesn't budge. You both look at each other and search the store front for the hours of operation. Saturday: 10am to 8pm.

"Huh, apparently we were both wrong." You shrug.

─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ───

[tiki-was-here]

Billy Butcher x Male Reader [Part Two]

Word count: 1.4k

Somebody sedate me ofmggg. Decided i don't want to hear billy talk rn so i simply gagged him. Lowkey wanna throw rocks at his house and make him cry (our relationship is complicated rn).

Idk how this turned into a male reader when it was supposed to be gender neutral. Oh well. Also he drools a lot in this idk why I did that.

[Part One]

You didn’t think, you just acted. You grabbed him by the collar, yanking him towards you, and kissed him hard. It was angry and messy, a collision of teeth and tongue that left you both breathless.

His hands found your waist, pulling you closer as he kissed you back with equal intensity. It was like all the anger and frustration had boiled over, spilling out into something raw and electric.

Your hand found its way to his throat, squeezing down hard enough that you knew there would be an ugly mark in a few hours. Your knuckles turned white with effort but that didn’t stop Butcher from leaning into your grip. Your kiss long forgotten as he chose to pant harshly in your neck. What a slut. Still, you wouldn’t get distracted so easily.

“Open up” you muttered, before unceremoniously shoving two of your fingers down his throat. You didn’t even have to tell him what to do, the brit immediately sucking like his life depended on it. Eyes rolling back and drool already rolling down his chin. It was always messy when you were with him but you weren’t complaining.

While he was making himself useful sucking on your fingers like they were the best cock he’d had in years, your other hand snaked its way down his front.

A wet patch had already started to form and he was unbelievably hard. You palmed him lightly, eliciting a muffled moan from his lips before eventually making your way to his hole.

Your fingers tentatively prodded his entrance, and to your surprise, he was wet.

“Such a slut for me aren’t you Billy” you cooed at him, thrusting your fingers in and out of his mouth softly. His entire shirt was now soaked with spit. “You couldn’t wait for me to come take care of you?”

The only response you got was a muffled “fuck you”

You chuckled “ I guess it’s only fair for me to have my turn now isn’t it?”

You grabbed his hair roughly and threw him to the ground, not giving a chance to breathe before pouncing on him, pin his thighs beneath yours, effectively trapping him against the ground.Butcher struggled against you, teeth bared in faux disgust.

You knew if he really wanted him off you he could easily do so, no one who's really struggling would arch up into your shallow grinds with such poorly hidden desperation. He wouldn't be propping himself up on his knees to better help you pull his boxers over the swell of his ass.

Shoving them in his mouth to keep him quiet, you decided to begin what you came here to do.

Because you felt like being a little bit nice today since Billy was being surprisingly quiet (and because you didn't want to hear him complaining about it the next day) you decided to finally remove your fingers from his mouth and got to work prepping him.

Your fingers entered him with little resistance. Starting with two you slowly worked your way deeper, purposely avoiding that bundle of nerves you knew Butcher was eager for you to find.

Just a few seconds of teasing got you frustrated whines from the man beneath you, squirming in his place underneath you.

He was so cute like this, face flushed red and tears gathering on his eyelids.

“You know Billy, sometimes I wonder how the rest of the team would look at you if they knew how much a whore their ‘beloved leader’ is”. You pulled your fingers out of him, instead replacing it with the tip of your cock, which was now red and weeping from the lack of attention.

“Could you imagine it?” you teased pushing into him slowly,”Standing in front of Homelander knowing that I had my dick inside you just moments earlier?” You felt him clench at that…what a whore.Your thrusts got faster, deeper, as all the frustration you've felt bubbling up inside you came (lol) up to the surface.

“You’d like that wouldn't you? Fighting him with my cum still dripping out of you?”. He frantically shook his head no as he ‘screamed’ what were surely muffled expletives from behind his makeshift gag. But you didn't need to listen to his answer to feel the way he clenched pathetically around your cock. You stored that info away for later, teasing him about Homelander was fun, but today was about him taking what you gave him, and you getting what you needed.

Your thrust reached a brutal pace, muffled moans and whines bouncing off of the thin walls of the motel. You could feel the pleasure building up in the pit of your stomach, and you knew that you were close. Reaching your hand under Billy’s hips, you stroked his cock at an unrelenting pace, desperate to make him come before you.

You wanted to record this moment, tears flowing freely down his face, the wet smack of your balls hitting his ass the only thing coming close to being louder than his wails. It was a wonder as to how he still had his boxers in his mouth, the poor material now darkened with drool. Still, as Billy reached his peak, you silently thanked it as it was surely the only thing keeping you from being interrupted with a noise complaint.

The brunette seemed to be in his own world, his tough guy persona long gone as he shook silently beneath you, his softening cock trapped between the floor and his cum stained stomach. You followed close behind, soft grunts escaping your lips as you emptied your load into him, before promptly collapsing next to him, chests heaving in unison.

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

You knelt beside the tub, running your fingers through the warm water, testing the temperature.

Billy sat on the closed toilet lid, arms crossed over his chest, watching you with a tired sort of curiosity. His usual sharp, biting demeanor was dulled,

“You gonna sit there all night or actually get in?” you asked, glancing over your shoulder.

He huffed, shaking his head. “Bossy little thing, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, well, someone’s got to take care of you since you clearly won’t.”

He gave you a look but didn’t argue. With a sigh, he stood, peeling off his shirt and stepping into the bath. The water sloshed as he settled in, leaning back against the porcelain with a long exhale. His eyes fluttered shut for a moment, and for once, he looked peaceful.

You sat on the edge of the tub, trailing your fingers through the water. “You can’t keep doing this, Billy.”

His eyes cracked open. “Doing what?”

“Losing it like that,” you said, voice soft but firm. “Tearing people apart just because you’re angry. Lashing out at me when you don’t know what else to do with yourself.”

His jaw tightened, but he didn’t look away.

“You want me on your side?” you continued. “Then you have to trust me. And you have to keep yourself in check.”

A muscle in his cheek twitched. He looked like he wanted to argue, wanted to push back just for the sake of it. But instead, he let out a long breath, staring at the water. “Not exactly my strong suit, love.”

You dipped your hand in the bath, letting the warm water slip between your fingers. “I know. But I also know you’re not as heartless as you pretend to be.”

Billy scoffed, but there was no real bite to it. “That so?”

“Yeah,” you said simply. “Because if you were, I wouldn’t be sitting here.”

A beat of silence passed between you, thick with unspoken things. He swallowed, shifting slightly, like the conversation was making him physically uncomfortable. You could see it—he wanted to apologize, admit that he’d gone too far. But Billy Butcher wasn’t the kind of man who could just say sorry. It wasn’t in his nature.

Instead, he reached out, grabbing your wrist and pulling you closer. His thumb brushed over the back of your hand, a small, unspoken gesture of remorse.

You sighed, shaking your head with a soft smile. “That your way of saying you feel bad?”

“Maybe,” he muttered.

“Wow. Huge moment for you,” you teased. “Almost like an actual human emotion.”

He gave you a flat look but didn’t let go of your hand. “Don’t push your luck.”

You squeezed his fingers gently. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Billy grunted, leaning back again, eyes slipping shut. But he didn’t let go of your hand—not even when the water started to cool.

[dollyxd]

Shivers in the precense of your aura...gojo x reader angst/comfort wher user is sprialling perchance.....or where reader has a nightmare....just any gojo x reader fic where reader gets comfort....i need it....

·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　I'm here for you　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙

Satoru Gojo x GN!Reader

Summary: You have a terrible nightmare, oh no! The nightmare felt so real you went to go seek Satoru Gojo's comfort.

Warnings: Angst to fluff, comfort at the end, very angsty, negative thoughts, overwhelmed reader, gender neutral reader, a bit ooc(?), established relationship, mentions of blood and death.

Authors Note: Haha, no need to shiver of my presence, I'm not scary! I'm glad to take this request, I decided ill merge the ideas together! Nightmare to spiraling to comfort! Ah, I apologize if I got the definition of spiraling wrong by the way. I kind of wrote this on what happens with me when I wake up from nightmares... Anyways enjoy! (My back hurts Sos)

It wasn't rare for you to stay at your boyfriend's house, hell it was almost every day you would stay over. You guys would have sleepovers often but today was just awful for you... some of your coworkers kept snickering at you, telling you to do so much stuff. You weren't even supposed to be doing those stuff for crying out loud! And then you spilled your drink on your favorite white shirt, then you hurt your ankle... today was just terrible for you.

So, once you got (To Gojo's) home, you were drained, mentally, emotionally, and all of the above. All you wanted to do was just lay down and sleep for eternity. You set your bag down, and take off your shoes, and just plopped down on the couch with an "oof."

You felt your eyes grow heavy, but before you could fall asleep you heard the door open and your boyfriends voice echo through the house. "I'm home!" Satoru sang song. You let out an exhausted sigh before saying "Hi, baby." You sat up on the couch to look at him.

He looked over at you, he almost immediately knew something was up, it's almost kind of scary on how much he knows when something is up. "Hey, what's wrong, sweets?" Satoru asked, walking towards you.

If you're being honest with yourself, you didn't want to talk about it to him. You didn't want him to worry so much about you, and you would most definitely start breaking down when you start explaining. You swallowed to hold back the lump in your throat and just give Gojo a smile.

"I'm fine! Just a little tired, didn't get much sleep last night." You rub the back of your neck giving a sheepish smile to him. But Satoru knew better than that, he knows you. Though he lets you off the hook for now and just sighs and rubs your head.

"If you say so, you know I'm here for you right?" He said with a twinge of concern in his voice. You lean into Gojo's touch, you felt a slight relief knowing the comfort of Gojo still being there. You look back at him before nodding, "Yes, dear, I know." You confirm to him. Giving him a comforting smile.

He smiles back at you and kisses your temple. The feeling of it lingered for a bit. After a few minutes you decided to tell Gojo that you're going to go to bed a bit early. You went to go do your nightly routine and change into your pajamas, and FINALLY lay down and sleep. You felt sleep overtake you, and soon enough you were out like a light.

You were in the snow... wait, why are you in the snow!? You looked down at yourself only to see you had clothing that were not fit for winter! You grab your arms with your ice-cold hands and finally found the strength to stand up.

You looked around wondering how you got here and most importantly HOW you got here! You start walking through the cold air, if you had to guess the temperature it was most likely in the negatives.

The more you kept walking the weaker you got; it got to the point where you couldn't walk anymore, and you fell to your knees. You were cold, shivering, tired. You wouldn't be surprised if you were somehow bleeding out. You just wanted for death to take you at this point. there was no hope for you. But before you could even die peacefully you felt something sharp in your rib cage.

GASP. You grab your chest, as you breath heavily. You felt tears prickle at the corner of your eyes. You look around your room to see that you were just in your room the whole time. You felt a twinge of relief knowing you're still home. You grabbed your phone to check the time 3:04am.

You let out a sigh, your heart still beating heavy. As much as you didn't want to make Gojo worried, you needed the comfort from him. After staring off in space for a few, you get up from your bed, with heavy and tired feet and start heading towards Gojo's room.

Once you knock on the door you started to rethink; was what you're doing being to childish and petty? Would Satoru get annoyed at you for waking him up hours? Before you could walk away the door opens, and you see a sleepy gojo.

"Eh? What's wrong, babe?" Gojo, yawned and rubbed his eye. You looked down at the ground clenching your fist before folding your arms. Those tears that were once threatening finally were released.

Gojo was taken aback and started to worry "Woah, woah, what's wrong?" Gojo asked, grabbing your hand in a gentle manner. You sniffle a bit trying to find your voice, "I-... Ugh! Today was just awful! And now I had a nightmare, and-" Gojo cut you off pulling you in a tight embrace, petting your head to soothe you.

"It's alright, take a moment to breath." Gojo then slowly led you to the bed and sat down beside you. He was always patient with you, he may be annoying, but, oh, how he was so gentle and kind to you. You wouldn't really know how you got so lucky, but you were so happy lucky was on your side to get someone like him.

You take a deep breath in, tears finally stopped streaming down your face. Gojo took notice in your calmer state and said, "Do, you want to talk about it?" He slowly asked. You hum softly, thinking about what Gojo asked. You took a deep breath, "Can-... Can I talk about it later?" Gojo smiles softly at you

"Of course, whatever makes you feel better." Gojo confirms to you. Before you could even say another word, it was as if he read your mind and opened his arms just enough for you to snuggle up to.

You hide your face in his chest and feel your body finally relax after what felt like forever. Gojo snakes his arms around your waist and drags you down on the bed to lay down with him. He let put a content sigh.

You felt your eyes grow heavy again, though this time, you felt safe, as if everything evil was gone and non-existent. Before you let sleep take you, you mumbled out a soft and quiet, "I love you, Toru." That was the last thing you said before letting sleep take you to dreamland.

Gojo smiles sweetly and chuckles to himself. He moved hair away from your face, kissing your forehead softly and staying, "I'm always here for you, I love you too, baby."

[pushspacetocontinue]

Russell wanted to refute that it took Five hadn't realised that until he was in his clutches. But he resisted the urge for the time being. He had a mask to keep on.

"Good, good to know," Russell said, writing down that Crosshair most likely would shoot at him on sight. They would need to find a way to withstand the bullets.

Bill chuckled a little.

"I heard about that. It seemed like a great way to get back at him. I'm just a bit ashamed that I missed it," Bill said.

And it was impressive, given that Antonio pulled it off while he only had seconds of consciousness left.

"We're going to have to take your word for that," Simon said, "But I suppose you wouldn't be the type of idiots to turn down a better offer right after it was given."

Travis then shook his head.

"I don't give a shit if you two have a sister. Lots of people do. Even if you two didn't have a sister, you still shouldn't be standing for his behaviour," Travis said, gesturing his head towards the direction of where Ratchet was being kept and questioned, "The reason he ain't pissing through a tube right now is because we need info. Even if you're mercs working for pay, have some integrity. Rook is someone's sister too. But I do like that idea, pinata style."

"I could hang him up with my shadow tentacles," Bill offered, "And then everyone can get a turn while he's not going anywhere."

"Even, even a kid has, has a price," Russell said with a shrug, "Even if he, he believes in, in the cause, we, we can still find, find a way to make leaving, leaving Five more app-appealing."

Emotional manipulation could probably work. Maybe highlight the fact that Five had essentially tortured an animal. The Twins talking of the ghost dog reminded him of that.

Meanwhile, Antonio had come back into the room without a single sound, wearing a rather intimidating green glare on his face. He was going to let the Twins and see it for themselves; make them wonder how long he had been standing there.

"If we get rid of him, then others will definitely be safe again too," Bill added.

Leofric was quiet for a moment. Perhaps this could send an additional message.

"Of course I can't die. I was never alive in the first place," Leofric only said then. With that, he took that moment to change into his true form. Once the horse-sized black dog stood in front of them, he loomed over them, staring them down with that crimson gaze.

"An-another reason you, you should res-respect our, our healer," Russell only said.

The Twins shrugged again.

"What we all learned is that Five sees cryptids everywhere. It doesn't take a genius to figure out who's just some guy."

"But she won't hesitate next time. Five keeps her updated on everybody he pissed off."

Then again, they were assuming Crosshair was still carrying on with her usual tasks now that the team was down three members. There was a very good chance she was going to leave, if she hadn't already.

"You should have seen him that week he couldn't stop punching himself."

"It's good that he barely left his room."

Of course, it was mostly Five avoiding the additional shame their teasing would inevitably cause, but it had been good for their own safety as well as for morale.

"We're not going back. The pay is better and we like ourselves sane."

"And we can make sure Ratchet doesn't lay his filthy hands on anyone else."

The brothers turned once again to Rook, who stared back. The urge to point back to Russell and keep up with the boss thing was strong. She didn't feel like talking to the two who had run her over and had a good laugh about it.

"It was our job to watch you, not his-"

"-Five let Ratchet in while we were busy."

"If that's some attempt to gain points, I don't really care." Rook replied.

"We're not looking for sympathy. We're mercenaries, the least we should do is own up to it-"

"-But we have a sister and the only reason that freak still has his hands attached to the rest of him is that he earned more points with Five than us."

"There's always time to fix that." Erica said, "But he only has two hands while we can beat him indefinitely. We just need some sticks and a place to hang him up."

"I like that idea." Lucien agreed.

"Fine with us. But Frosty's just a kid. His only mistake is not knowing how to pick his battles."

"He thinks he's hot shit. But really, what kinda wimp would die to a bunch of snowballs?"

The way both Rook and Erica were staring at them suggested something about their strategic assessment wasn't appreciated.

"…Well, anyways, Ratchet was building a bunch of stuff for Five. It isn't like he tells us the details, but maybe there was a point to it."

"You guys aren't the only ones he's been bothering. The others were easier to kill, except maybe for that ghost dog he was going on about."

They had no way to make the connection with Leofric and even if they could, Five had picked fights with so many people so far that it didn't really make a difference.

[tetsunabouquet]

Jinx as an Artist- Headcanons

A/N: Given how Jinx is amongst the most divisive S2 characters and I already had a debate about her in my comment section for my Isha headcanons, I wanted to write something light-hearted about Jinx. Heavily features Silco and the way she bonded with him specifically over her likes.

-For one, let's talk about her love for neon paint. As an artist who loves using neon paint (as you can see in my archive when looking at my paintings), I do need to point out that Jinx must own a LOT. For one, she uses it often and secondly, neon paint has a less stronger coverage then your average type of paint and often requires a few layers. -Which brings me to the production of that very paint. Because just what is the origin of neon paint within the world of Arcane? Because of the properties, I am betting my ass Silco has been using Shimmer variations for the luminous properties to make a huge painting supply for Jinx as he thought a little bit of painting would do wonders for her mental health. Plus, tell me Silco wouldn't produce a huge drug-based painting supply in the face of a pouting Jinx. It's so in line for him being a soft daddy druglord. -When Jinx took some interest into the production, she learnt about pigment in detail and started applying that to different things, like colored smoke to improve on her techniques. -Jinx also knows how to sew. I mean, who'd make Claggor and Milo plushies for her and make them feel accurate to her memories of them? She totally made them herself. -Her pants are also one of her own creations. I mean, she could feel insulted over the Enforcer mocking her image, but knowing Jinx' creativity and the fact she must know how to sew, it's easy to deduce she made her pants and felt upset someone was insulting her creations. I get the feeling girl. -Given Silco low-key being a fashionista, I have a feeling whoever made his clothes (if it's not Silco himself) was the one to teach Jinx how to sew, something that is further supported by AU Powder having a leather jacket similar to a younger Silco and even AU Milo looking like Silco taught him a thing or two about fashion. It's clear Silco cares more about how his children dress up like then Vander does. -Speaking off AU Powder's leather jacket, I can totally imagine that if glitter existed in the Arcane universe, those totally would have been decorated with glitter considering she likes to stand out. Can you imagine Jinx's tattoos being a glittery blue pattern on her jacket sleeves? Because I can. I also can imagine some glitter added to her pink eyeliner when she goes out too. -I can totally imagine mornings with Jinx just sewing some kind of clothing item next to Silco who's reading Piltover's newspaper and Sevika bursting in with some kind of emergency and promptly needing to recover from walking into the almost Victorian era domestic scene and having total whiplash as how can they look so fucking peaceful?

[blubunz]

A DRIVE TO WORK

— older! leon s. kennedy x m! older! reader

Tags: fluff, awkward reader, flirting (mainly just Leon), reader isn't the healthiest man, um- omg happy Leon? Well, he's trying to be optimistic. This is a bit cliché.

A/N: old men yaoi.

Settling back into a normal life is hard for someone like Leon, having his whole life standing before danger to save the innocence. Well, he can't complain, really, he dragged himself into that in the first place the moment he signed up to be a cop, giving up his love life and basically his ability to experience a normal life.

But, all that doesn't matter now, he's okay, the world is okay, well, actually it's not, but they're not his business! There aren't any dangerous virus or disgusting mutant creatures that brainwash or kill people anymore!

Leon settles for a café, heading for the one near his home. It's been there for awhile, but only now could Leon get to have a chance of trying it.

Stepping through the door rings a bell on the top, the waitress greets him automatically as she's trained, he orders a simple black coffee to go, wanting to enjoy the park while sipping the bitter drink.

The coffee place is certainly bustling, usually Leon doesn't pay any mind to it, until he hears someone rushing in and falling on him.

“Oh god, I'm sorry!” You frantically said, adjusting your clothes. Leon's thankful his order isn't ready yet, or else he'd be walking around with a dark stain on his chest.

“It's alright.” Leon reassures and helps you up, he pats and dusts on your shoulder. “Are you okay?”

You nod, mumbling a few more apologies before explaining your situation to a stranger. Hell, you don't even know Leon and yet you're babbling to him.

“Uh, yes, sorry, yes—” You stammer, breathing deep a few times, old age has been catching up to you lately, you can't believe you're breathing so hard like this just from a few minutes of running. “Agh, I forgot to get my drink before heading to work, now I'm gonna be late! But, I can't risk sleeping on the job, so I have to hurry here—”

You're talking quick, and also ordering your drinks when Leon steps aside.

“You walk to work, sir?” He asks, taking his coffee in hand and sipping it, might as well try to ease you off. He wouldn't want to see anyone having a heart attack on his normal day.

“Yes, heard walking is good for your health, so i wiuldnt have to be like a tree when I hit my retirement age.” You quickly explain, foot tapping impatiently.

“Well, I can give you a ride there.” Leon offers, and you gasp in disbelief.

“What? I wouldn't want to bother you, kind sir.” You say, taking your drinks and sipping it.

“Oh, I insist.” He smiles, grabbing your shoulder and leading you out of the café. “I want to help. Besides, it's rare for me to meet a guy as cute as you.” He's flirting lightheartedly, he doesn't want to pursue actually, he's scared you'd be disgusted and he's just saying that in a joking way, he swears!

Leon sees your face flushes and his smile drops, finding your nervousness adorable for once. Maybe he should meet more new people, he's forgotten how humans could be so cute sometimes, not like the ones he used to shoot when he was still on those missions. And, your reaction just proves that he still has charms after all these years! Okay, maybe those girls didn't want him because he's appealed to boys?

“You're too kind.” You say, and finally accept his offer for a ride. You assume it's faster that way too, and you know how the saying goes: "stranger danger", they said. But this stranger is attractive, and he has the best smile.

Leon guides you to his motorcycle, helping you getting to and putting a helmet over you. He doesn't use it himself personally, he likes the breeze rushing through his skin, he puts it on you for safety, however.

“Give me the address, and hold tight, alright?”

You tell him where you work and he starts the engine, the bike roaring to life and you jolt, hugging him tight as he speeds down the streets, basically almost flying off.

“This is— too fa—Aaah!!”

Your heart beats loudly, and you're starring to believe you might die from a heart attack from the way Leon revs the bike, eyes focusing on the street and dodging cars skillfully.

You gasp each time the bike turns, making your body leans to the side and it makes you hug his waist tighter.

Leon gets you to your workplace in no time, just a few minutes left to spare. Your body is shaking and your legs are like jelly, you have to lean on the bike once Leon has set you down.

“Sorry 'bout that.” He laughs, stroking your shoulder soothingly. “I hope I didn't give you any trauma.”

You blink, taking deep breaths and shaking your head slowly. “Um, no, it's uh— it's okay. I quite like it actually.”

Leon isn't sure if you're being nice or genuine.

“I like the thrill, makes me feel young again.” You say, and he smiles.

“Well, glad you like it. Cause I'm looking forward to giving you another ride next time.” He grins, showing his pearly whites that are getting slightly yellow. “If you'd let me, that is.”

“Uh...” You look away. “I need a ride home this afternoon, and well...”

“Say no more, I'll be here. At five?”

You nod. “At five.”

He nods and waves you off, watching you enter the building before he gets back on his bike and drives off, looking forward to seeing you again. You,...

...

Wait, fuck. He didn't even get your name.

[awriterinthenight]

"Well I Missed You Too."-Megumi Fushiguro

words: 946

warnings: kissing, megumi makes reader sad, that's it also i'm trying writing for a new fandom so enjoy

summary: How Megumi changes how he shows affection to you

Whether it was kissing, hugging, or even just holding your hand, Megumi was always too shy to show you affection in public. He'd do small acts like buying your favorite snack from the vending machines, or grabbing something out of your reach. But never did he do anything that involved touching you in any way, since it made him blush, and he didn't want people, especially Gojo, teasing him about how red his face got.

You'd first learned about his aversion to PDA when you first started dating. You were training with the 2nd years, when Itadori had taken a nasty hit from Maki. While you knew he was fine, it still worried you, so your hand instinctively grabbed Megumi's without thinking. When you were in private he always held you in some way, so you thought he'd be ok with this.

Instead of him grabbing your hand back or squeezing it comfortably. He immediately froze and stiffened at the contact, his face turning bright red. He dropped your hand, turning away so you couldn't see his face. You were left confuse as to what you did wrong. Maybe he just didn't expect it, or maybe he didn't think you needed to grab his hand. Either way it brought down your mood for the day.

Megumi knew you weren't ok, no matter how many times you said you were fine. He knew that wasn't a good sign. So there Megumi was after school standing in front of your door knocking. After a minute or two you swung your door open, Megumi speaking before you could.

"Did I do something?" he asked, his head hung low, surprising for someone usually so stoic.

You were shocked for a moment before regaining your composure, letting Megumi into your room, and closing the door behind you.

"Yes, well no," you stumbled, unable to find your words, "It's just, when you dropped my hand I-I felt bad. I thought I did something wrong," you admitted.

Megumi let out a breath, taking a step closer to you, "I didn't mean to make you feel like that. I like holding your hand, I swear. I just don't like being like that in front of people."

"I understand that," you said, nodding your head, "I just wish you'd told me, so I wouldn't have felt so embarrassed."

Megumi placed a kiss on the top of your head before he spoke, "I'm sorry, and I promise I will from now on."

Affection from Megumi shifted a bit the more you knew each other. Of course really all the kissing took place in private, or anything really affectionate. But slowly Megumi didn't mind holding your hand in front of your guy's friends, or placing a small kiss on the top of your head.

Megumi started to grow into the habit of either placing his arm around the back of your chair, or keeping his hand on your thigh. The more he was with you, the more he liked knowing that you were with him.

Recently he seemed to grow out of his shy shell. Before training started he would sometimes come up behind you, placing his hands on your waist, then planting a kiss on the top of your head. Sometimes he'd casually walk up behind you when you were talking to someone, and he would snake his arm around your waist.

Today he'd come back from a mission with Itadori and Kugasaki. You'd been forced to stay behind, recovering from an injury of a past mission. The second he saw you, he pulled you into his arms, burying your head into his chest. He'd missed you so much on the mission all he thought about was going back to you. His hand slid through your hair, the other holding you tightly against him.

"Is everything okay? Did something happen?" you asked, concerned since he never showed this much affection in front of people. Gojo was only a few feet away, and usually Megumi hated showing affection to you in front of Gojo, since he always got teased for it.

Megumi shook his head, tilting your chin forward, "No, nothing happened. I just missed you," he confessed.

"Oh," you exclaimed, surprised he was like this from just missing you, "Well I missed you too."

Unfortunately Gojo's loud voice ruined the moment when he shouted, "Get a room," before practically skipping over to the two of you. Megumi scowled, while you shook your head, finding his antics funny.

"So, I was thinking," Gojo said, swinging an arm around you two, and walking with you, "Why don't I treat you guys to dinner. By that I mean you two can go out and I'll pay," he offered, chuckling a bit for some reason no one understood.

Megumi rolled his eyes, "I don't need you to pay. I'm staying in tonight, I'm too tired to go out."

"I try to do something nice and I get denied. If you don't want me and my money I'll just leave," Gojo muttered, walking away from you too.

Megumi slid his arm around your waist, leaning on you a bit. He was tired and just wanted to sleep and rest. Eventually you and him got to his dorm, lying down on his bed.

It was quiet till Megumi broke the silence, "I'm too tired to take you out tonight, but I'll take you on a date tomorrow," he said, his voice barely a whisper, "I really did miss you."

You snuggled closer to him, wrapped up in his arms, "I missed you too, and I can't wait." You gave him a small kiss before falling asleep to the sound of his breathing

Ask to be added to taglist, I'm keeping this one separate from my other one

[gurlwhaaa]

"and I still talk to you, when I'm screaming at the sky". pt.2 Geto Suguru x reader

yoooo read the first part b4 this ______________________________________________________________

you strode out of the café. leaving behind Satoru, Shoko and Suguru watching you. you might have even caught the attention of a few other tables but, who cared anyways?

as soon as you got out, your eyes gave in, with tears spilling out. before then, every time you thought about him, it would tear you up. now that you had seen him face to face, you hadn't thought it would affect you this much. but it did. you were out of control of yourself.

but no. you wouldn't let a person have power over you. over your emotions.

you came to a sense of your surroundings. you called a cab to take you home. as soon as you came home, you changed. you didn't want to give yourself an opening to think about what happened. you didn't want to think about anything.

you plopped onto your bed with last night's leftovers as you hadn't eaten a bite of food at the café.

______________________________________________________________

it was evening by the time you came back to your senses. it seemed like you had fallen asleep after eating. you could hear laughter coming from next door. Satoru lived next door along with Suguru as he was still under supervision. you were neighbors.

you'd usually go to his house or vice versa in the evenings followed by dinner. YOU were the only family he knew. but, it seemed like Suguru was over. you were going to have to eat dinner at your house, alone.

you thought of picking some things up from the store for dinner. you forced yourself out of bed, and headed out the door. the store wasn't far enough for you to need to take your car so, you walked the way.

by the time you had reached and picked out your items, it had started raining. how lucky, you thought. you checked out and waited in the shade outside the store. how were you going to get home now?

indulged in your thoughts, you hadn't noticed a black haired man coming to stand beside you. of course the timing was just perfect. "hey." his words snapped you out of your trance. "Suguru?" the words felt foreign.

"do you have an umbrella with you? how're you going to get home?" asked Suguru with tone of concern. "I'll live" you replied. you felt the tears rolling. luckily, the splashes of rainwater would make them blend in and no one would know.

"we can share mine if you want? I'll walk you." he offered. god, was he being decent or does he still love you? "I'd rather be dripping with water", you declined and took off to prove your point.

you could have given in. were you testing your own character? your own dignity? how long could you stay this cold?

there was water dripping, mixed with tears of your own. you couldn't help but wonder, had he ever missed you the same?

[catboygirljoker]

in a recent ask game i got a question about something xigbar has done that i cant get over. well. this is my answer.

[Video ID: A cutscene from 358/2 Days for DS, with high-resolution models. Roxas unsummons his keyblade and says, "Mission accomplished. Xigbar looks up and says, "Or is it?" Roxas says "Huh? Oh, come on, quit playing ar—" Xigbar shoves Roxas away, then jumps out of frame to avoid an attack by an off-screen Heartless. Roxas says, "Whoa!" end ID.]

this one moment is so important to how i think about Xigbar's characterization, in this game, in every game, that i feel the need to. write an entire essay about it lmao

The context here is that Roxas is sent to rendezvous with Xigbar in Halloweentown to destroy a giant Heartless. Just before a fight with a distinctly medium-sized Heartless, Roxas says, "Looks giant enough to me!" and Xigbar laughs and says, "Right. Just keep your head on straight." This cutscene immediately follows that.

After the actual boss fight, Roxas is mad that Xigbar let him think the other Heartless was their target, and Xigbar's like "well you learned a valuable lesson, and I did tell you to keep your head on straight." So there's the moral of the story. Roxas nearly got hurt because he jumped to conclusions and let his guard down.

But if that was the point...why did Xigbar shove Roxas out of the way of the attack, evidently narrowly avoiding getting hit himself? If the story of the mission was Roxas learning this lesson, wouldn't it be scarier and more dramatic if he'd gotten hurt? If Xigbar wanted to show Roxas some tough love, wouldnt he have let Roxas get hurt? What is the game trying to communicate about Xigbar in this scene?

It's not that it'd be tonally inappropriate; the game is absolutely willing to have other characters directly hurt Roxas in order to teach him things. In Lexaeus's mission, when he teaches Roxas about Limit Breaks, he seriously hurts Roxas to get his health low enough to use a Limit Break. At the end of that mission, Lexaeus tells Roxas that the only person he can trust is himself—I think implying that this was another thing he was trying to teach Roxas when he hurt him. Not to mention the several characters who arguably treat Roxas worse. The game doesn't pull its punches when it comes to characters being cruel to him.

It's not like it'd be out of character for Xigbar to stand by and watch, either! Obviously in the broad scope of his character throughout the series, and also in this game specifically. Earlier in the story, he absolutely knows that Axel is going to survive his mission at Castle Oblivion—both from how he talks about it and from his secret reports. When Roxas assumes Axel is dead, Xigbar reminds him once or twice not to jump to conclusions, but after that, not only does he let Roxas believe that Axel is dead, he makes fun of Roxas for it—he tells him it doesn't matter if people died, says things are quieter with fewer people around. He's certainly willing to let Roxas get hurt.

I guess you could argue that maybe Xigbar needs Roxas alive for The Plan, either Xehanort's or the MoM's, but...this mission occurs less than a month before Xemnas says that it doesn't matter whether Roxas or Xion lives. Roxas isn't Ventus; he isn't himself a necessary part of the MoM's plan. He's also not Sora, and in fact him dying would probably just wake up Sora sooner. It doesn't seem like there'd be a pragmatic reason for Xigbar to risk his hide to save Roxas's.

So we're just left with this...thing. This one moment where Xigbar puts himself in direct danger to keep Roxas from getting hurt by his own dumbassery, for seemingly no reason. There are other little moments in this game that can be read as sincere attempts at support or encouragement of Roxas or Xion, but a lot of the time he comes across as, like, condescendingly overfamiliar, more annoying than genuinely supportive. There is no other moment that reads this much like an act of altruism and just an act of altruism.

The people who made this game made an intentional choice here. And I think a lot about what the scene might be meant to communicate.

...And then in BbS and 3 he goes back to seeming like a complete fucking jackass. But considering what we learn about Luxu later in the series—about his motivations, what he used to be like, what he's been through—I don't think this is an isolated out-of-character incident. It's just like...this one short glimpse through a crack in the facade, a hint that there is a lot more depth to him than we realize. What's in there, old man!!

ugghghgh his characterization in this game is so fascinating to me. getting to see him in a completely different context. the only time we see him interact with a teenager who he's allied with outside of Days is in 3. and that also occupies my brain day and night.

another very specific, intentional moment. the camera brings attention to it. what does it mean what does it all mean.....................

anyway. evil little league coach. my mind it swirls and spins.

[supersecretventureblog]

The Invisible Hand of Fate - Pete and Billy (and later Hunter and Brock)

(i'll do the full episode later, right now I'm after these four specifically, i'll also have to do a part two cuz I reached the image limit super fast)

Weird thing to note at the start, I wished they had these diagonal(?) sink options in the sims 4. Sure you can make a free standing sink diagonal, but that's attached to a counter top? Forget about it man...

Billy is reading a magazine titled "Super Scientific American" or maybe that's like, the article title. Either way, it's about J.J. and the back cover has a dinosaur on it. (also, they should store TP literally anywhere else, why the hell would you guys put it up so high? I know white is tall, but like, who wants to be reaching UP for toilet paper? Just store it on that open counter space, it's not like anything else is there but a mysterious wet substance.)

god they should lock her up, no chance of parole. look at that. they let this dude be on tv

????????? clip slowed down so you can see the frame by frame.

so unbelievably strange looking to me. Also cute billy face. Also also, i'm trying to format these posts a little differently, lemme know what you think. more commentary? less commentary? should the screenshots just be grouped together for a faster viewing experience? Idk. idk.

what exactly is their relationship here? I can't remember, Rose has to know where her kid is atm, he's on TV and was just involved in a scandal. He says later he talked to the other quizboys, managers get 15 percent. So, was White always his manager, or just later when he's taking him to the underground quizzes? Because Rose also mentions later that she hasn't seen Billy in years, and says something to the affect of "Worried I wouldn't approve of his lifestyle choices" because he moved in with White. She doesn't seem to know/recognize White, not from being on TV or being Billy's "manager", she only seems to know him as "that weird pale guy my son lives with and is possibly dating".

:/ his whole ass dressing room is painted pink. IDK why he lets shorleave get under his skin about it later, he's clearly always liked pink, why doesn't he just own that???? pisses me off some times.

way better look, just do tv with a little bit of like, idk, bronzer on or something,

OH it happened again!!

this is gonna sound crazy, because he doesn't really, but doesn't white kinda look like an MLP FIM princess here? Like he looks like celestia to me somehow, maybe it's the face?

what the shit, thirty pictures already??? tumblr, make it 50 at least, I need to be able to spam upload screenshots.

[uniquethingtastemaker]

I clapped my hands and squealed when I saw this! I love it whenever people talk about my ideas and characters. It's always so rewarding, so I have to give back to something that makes me so happy.

You're so right about him apologizing for his rambles. I just wrote the first part of the fanfic (again, it's subject to change. It's 3 a.m., but I feel pretty good about this one). I'm jumping off the scene where you first meet Rook. Even then, he apologizes for getting off track.

It's sad because he's so genuine. However, I do know that when he rambles. He goes ooooooon. I remember Vil saying in Chapter 6 that he went on for 5 hrs about how he would've acted in one of Vil's scenes. I relate to the feeling so hard. I do this, but I have less shame about it. Plus, I have someone willing to listen to my rambles because they love me and think my enthusiasm is cute. It's my boyfriend. I love him. He's a cutie. Therefore, I wanna give that experience to Rook. Thinking about it, my rambles have gotten shorter, lasting around 15-30 mins rather than a whole 5 hrs. The reason is because I have a steady stream of attention. Bottling it up will give you 5 hrs, but if you do it consistently, it'll be shorter. Big brain. I came up with that on the fly. Proud of myself. Congratulations, you got one of my signature rambles lol.

Wait, wait, wait, I have thoughts about Vil and Rook! I've never gotten to speak about this before, so I'm enthusiastic, like our favorite hunter.

They're interesting because Rook and Vil are equals. Rook treats Vil like an equal. Vil doesn't get that a lot. He either looks down on people (or perhaps gives the illusion that he looks down on them (unclear)), or others put him on a pedestal due to celebrity status. There aren't many people close to him that can say they're equal to Vil. Or maybe it's more accurate to say stand up to Vil, and he listens. Rook tells truths to Vil straight. Now, there's a reason for blunt delivery. He might be a little "mean" or "insensitive," but my god, Vil is thickheaded. He's so pompous that most criticism gets thrown away because he doesn't think they're credible. Rook has to be callous to get to Vil.

Now, this isn't Rook's normal behavior. I remember when our favorite hunter reassured and helped Deuce after he ran out of practice in the 5th chapter. He was helpful and kind then. Therefore, I'm under the assumption that with Vil, he has to be mean. He has to be rough for the blonde to even consider the criticism.

Now, a few other things are interesting about their relationship. First is how Rook approached Vil without reserve... You know... now thinking about it... He might have gone to him because he would be the only one to listen or discuss his interests. Hahahaha, I'm laughing because that's both sad and hilarious. I can totally see Rook approaching Vil specifically with the thought, "People love talking about themselves." Perhaps that's why Rook got close to Vil. Vil's self-absorbed, so the topic of the hunter wouldn't come up that often. It's a surefire way to have him talk about his interests without reservation. It also showed Vil that Rook was credible and his thoughts were good because he showcased value in their talks. Not only did he talk about the good aspects but also the bad. That's something a true fan does. I love that.

I also feel like he's less intimidated by Vil than Neige, because Rook looks up to the RSA student. I'll be a little mean here. Vil has been the villain in basically all his works with Neige. It's probably easier for Rook to separate Vil from his villain role. The hunter knows that just because he plays the antagonist doesn't mean they're bad. So because he wasn't a hardcore fan of Vil, it was easier for him to befriend him. As his friend, he supports and loves Vil, but the blonde isn't his ultimate idol.

Now, I take the whole butting heads thing to be Rook just doing his own thing, and Vil being annoyed that he can't control Rook's actions. Everyone knows Vil likes being in charge and in control. So Rook is different and the reason why Vil doesn't force his control is two reasons. 1) He respects Rook. It's obvious by the way Vil doesn't pry into his suitcase during chapter 5. During that scene, it also implies that Vil knows how much Rook values his privacy. So Vil respects Rook. 2) He knows if he ever did force him, Rook would stand up to him. If Vil didn't get his act together, Rook would leave. Rook does his own thing. He has a moral code and will that isn't swayed by outside factors.

I think Vil is also more often annoyed by Rook in an "official" capacity. Rook isn't bound by duty like Vil is. The hunter tends to go wherever his heart leads him. It's why he goes after Vil in Chapter 6 instead of doing his duty as the vice leader. Therefore, it makes him a little more incompetent in an official capacity. Again, look at Chapter 6. Vil scolds him as the prefect and then as himself, saying he loves the whole crew for coming to get him. I do think Vil can become genuinely annoyed and irritated in that aspect. However, as a friend, they love each other.

Another aspect is that they work well together. Vil tends to be overly harsh, causing a lot of conflict, but Rook defuses it. They work together in that aspect, and I think Vil knows this. He might be semi-annoyed, but I don't think he's super annoyed. He's probably just judgmental, which is Vil's baseline lol

Anyway those are my unfiltered thoughts. I'm sure I repeated myself multiple times, but it's 4 am, so... here you go lol

As everyone knows, I bounce between fics based on my creative inspiration and rn I’m writing a Rook x Reader fanfic.

Now, this one is interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this concept before…

The closest thing I’ve read is probably @solxamber’s Ruler of My Heart. It’s one of my favorite Rook x Reader fanfic of all time. She peels back the layers to Rook’s character, portraying something more honest and vulnerable. It’s fantastic. If you haven’t read it, do it now.

I read that fanfic and thought I could never even touch that level of artistry. However, I feel like I’ve come up with a solid base for something good.

I haven’t seen a lot of full fanfics where Rook feels threatened. I’ve seen some drabbles where he’s felt scared and is able to deal with the threat swiftly. However, those tend to be about MC being threatened. Even in the canon story, Rook is more concerned with the safety of others rather than himself. It makes sense considering his fantastic skills.

Therefore, the man tends to be unflappable. Even if he does feel unnerved, he covers it up expertly. He can manually adjust his heart rate and breathing. However, some people can see past the facade, like Trey. Look at the Halloween event for instance.

Rook has a weakness though. He’s a private person. He doesn’t like people knowing about his past too much. Other than what he portrays to the world, which is his more of his upbeat and over the top self, he doesn’t want people to know about him. That’s his weakness.

My fanfic idea is an observant reader. Someone that makes Rook feel uncomfortable and borderline threatened because they just guessed almost everything about him upon their first meeting. That is objectively terrifying. There’s someone who matches his level of observation. Unlike Trey, who’s low key about it, MC doesn’t know that, especially at first. They almost give away too much information. Rook deals with the situation but they both know what he’s done to intervene.

So, I plan to have the main inner conflict be Rook hesitating to trust the Reader. The external conflict will obviously be Vil. Once again, I have a strange obsession with Chapter 5. I think it’s because it’s the perfect set up. There’s so many different possible conflicts and resolutions. I also don’t have to think much in terms of coming up with my own situation and set up. It’s built in there. Work smarter not harder lol

Anyway, that’s my idea for now. Let me know your thoughts. Always love interacting with people about my works and ideas

I also have thoughts regarding Rook general behavior that might be interesting. However, I’m tired, so that’ll probably be a separate post. Let me know if you’re interested.

Tagging @es-sharezone because u love Rook lol

[ateez-himari]

Hi bb!!! I've missed you so so much but we're both busy with life and I've been really tired lately since I'm making up my missed fasts from last ramadan but anywayss.... How have you been?I hope you're doing well and that you're not too stressed😙I had some questionssss as usual

1-you know how parents(typically asian parents) always rush their kids to get married? I wonder if minari's parents are the same. Cause even yoongi said his parents always ask him when he's getting married

2-you've probably seen the videos of seonghwa wilding on stage during the europe tours, soooo hima probably would've been doing the same if not worse so is it possible to get some iconic moments from this tour?

3-you mentioned in your reply to my comment that hima held hongjoong's hand during the show so did hongjoong first find this weird? And how did he get used to it?

4-I wnated to ask this but when all the members had solos/duos (since only jongho had an official solo) who did hima have a song with on the album? Or did she have a solo?also during the iconic chorus part of 'WORK' Choreo who was hima partnered up with?

5-some chaotic moments between hima, yeo, and yunho? Since they share a dorm. Also who did hima share a dorm with first or a room with

Ily so muchh bb please take care of yourself and stay hydrated!!!! Feel free to reply to this ask when you feel like it i don't want to overwork you💓💓

(Also take this photo of baby jjong that is so cute but unintentionally funny since it looks like the pose 28 from dress to impress)

Omg Mina, hi! I missed you too!!🥹🩷 I wanted to answer this sooner but I have so many things due this week that I haven't had the opportunity to get to it. I'm kind of stressed but you know what, without math this semester is a little more calm so I'm doing okay!

• Himari is the only daughter of the Min family, so they originally wanted to protect their precious treasure against the pain of heartbreak, and were in no rush to see her grow to be an adult old enough to stand at the altar with a man. When they met Mingi, they saw how the two acted around one another, always gravitating towards their counterpart, and suddenly could not wait to see them with wedding rings on their fingers. Now when they see him, the very first question is 'have you proposed yet' and said they wanted grandchildren (though it's a sensitive topic for their daughter, so that talk soon ended)

Mingi's parents fell in love with their son's girlfriend the moment they officially met her under this label and they can see how badly he wants to propose - though both have agreed that in the midst of their ever increasing popularity it isn't the right time - so they definitely bring it up quite a bit. They both have her saved in their contacts under the name 'Daughter In Law' and often call her that when the couple comes over, sort of throwing winks their way

• Why do you always know what's in my drafts...I've been continuously re-working the concert moments compilation every concert-. Since you brought him up though I can give one of them away; they occasionally insert an acting stage between the two - which directly follows/transitions from the HongYunHwa act - and during one of them his fingers found their way inside her mouth while he was holding her throat from behind. (Not to throw anyone under the bus, but some members face troubles with the amount of adrenaline that comes with concerts). Here's a few solo moments;

Now I wouldn't say that the maknae was pole dancing when performing 'Addict' during the second day in London...but there was definitely a pole there, and a blindfold, and the male dancer was Mingi...and 'Wake Up' didn't stand a chance

When performing 'Shadow' right after the theft allegations against Hybe came out, instead of falling backward onto the bed like the usual performances, she dropped the (prop) mic and stuck two middle fingers up (like brother like sister)

During 'Work', instead of doing the normal choreography she did the ass shaking version (the one Kiss of Life did) right in front of an atiny that had the banner 'Himari Marry Me' and took off her jacket to give attendees a good view of her hips yk 🤭

• Hima has been doing this since the very beginning of their career, which he used to find somewhat odd because no one was aware yet that she was still in some kind of childish mindset. When she realized he was uncomfortable with skinship she began holding on to his sleeve, until their relationship grew closer and he let her hold his hand, even voluntarily seeking it out sometimes (in great part because he realized it comforted her - though he would never admit that). It's also a way for the maknae to ground herself amongst the overwhelming background noise, helping them communicate through things like the tightness of their hold

• 'Shadow' was actually the track that was used in 'The World EP. Fin: Will'! There were many more contenders, such as the draft version of 'Blinded Red' but when the other members were consulted about it, everyone agreed that if this was the one she wanted to use they had no problem with how dark the lyrics are. For the chorus she was partnered with San, and Mingi was placed in the middle since it's his verse (why is San lowkey always at the scene of the crime with these two...)

• Hima was rooming with Matz in their first dorm, sleeping on a futon bed next to the window despite their protests for her to take one of the bunks! Here's some chaotic occurrences in the new dorm;

Hima came home from the studio (during Golden Hour Part.2 production) and found the two men holding fire extinguishers while their smoke detector beeped incessantly - they tried to make dinner since she was definitely going to be tired yet failed miserably and set the fried rice on fire...in the pan

The first time either of the boys did laundry they had to go ask their maknae if it was okay for them to touch her 'you know what', which obviously confused her, and when she finally got the word out of them she realized that grown men were asking if it was okay to touch her underwear-

The members can be very forgetful when it comes to her hearing loss and one night Yunho decided to go to the kitchen to get an energy drink (at 11PM...) while she was doing the dishes, but when he slipped past her he put a hand on her hip to make sure she didn't move and hit her head on the open cabinet door, which resulted in her getting scared (because she didn't notice him) and punching him in the family jewels out of pure instinct

Ily so much more sweet! Once this week is over I'll rest a lot and take care of myself don't worry! 🥰🩷 You take care too and get plenty of rest! Also OMG I don't think I've ever seen this one he's so cute ksehfwen 🥹 (he really does look like that pose though)

[mask-of-prime]

VG: Mystery of the Outlands - PART 1

Previous | Next (Next Month)

________________________________

Years Ago…

“You… You wouldn’t! We’re lions!”

An enraged roar reverberated throughout the land. The winds and ground acted with it, as if the heavens and its residents were helping it.

Terrified screeches filled the sky. Pretty soon, the miraculously-airborne lions plummeted to the ground, each with a loud thud and pained groan.

"Uhhh..." Nuka moaned groggily as he shakily got onto his feet. His whole body ached from the near-fatal fall. 

"Where are we...?" he asked, glancing side to side at the wasteland.

Zira sighed irritably as she shot up from the ground. Nuka was either dazed from the fall, or just being his typical, clueless self.

"Our new home." she sarcastically replied.

She glanced toward the horizon, her face clenching hard with rage.

Back to square one…

Later that day…

Night fell across the Outlands. The buzzing of termite wings was soon replaced with the sparse population of crickets, whose chirps were still enough to break the deafening silence of the barren wasteland.

Atop a prominent rock amidst the flat land was a lioness that sat sternly, looking out into the rather empty and drab escape. She may have been looking, but she wasn't seeing, as she was too deep in thought.

'That miserable brat...' she thought, 'All hyenas know is deception and lies. The hyena only got her way because she knew royalty. If she were alone, she and her kind wouldn't stand a chance...'

A small, adolescent cub timidly approached. She tried not to make a sound, as she debated even bringing up what was on her mind at all.

Mother told her to go to bed with her brothers, as she did every day once it was dusk. She wanted to obey her mother, but countless questions buzzed through her head following what had happened earlier that day.

What was a 'Lion Guard'? What was this 'Roar of the Elders'? How did it work? Were they really just going to experience first-hand what might've been the craziest, supernatural event ever, only to just get up and never speak a word of it again?

"I can hear your footsteps, Vitani."

The cub's heart nearly leapt from her chest. The jig was up.

"Oh..." she mumbled, coming out of hiding.

"You need to work on your stealth. We'll go over that starting tomorrow morning." Zira dryly said.

No going back, now. If Vitani had a question, she'd better ask it now before it gets ignored in favor of endless training. She ascended the rock, gulping.

"Mother...?"

"Do speak up, dear. A soldier doesn't mumble."

"Um..." Vitani quickly cleared her throat to talk louder, minding her mother's comment, "Mother, how do you know so much about the Lion Guard?"

Zira stared off for a moment, images of her budding friendship with her beloved Scar raced in her mind. He was without his shoulder mark, a fresh, bleeding wound over his eye. He looked like he had been struggling internally.

“Well, it’s like I’d said earlier.” Zira began, “Scar told me all about what the Roar could do, and what he’d done to lose it. Oh, had his pompous brother not ticked him off, he wouldn’t have wasted it on his fellow lions…”

The preteen tilted her head. She didn’t remember this part at all. Zira saw her cub’s confusion, and continued.

“Yes… it had been the final straw. His father swiped Scar over the face, and Mufasa gave him a cruel nickname to top things off. And what for? Scar had done nothing!” she huffed, “And that mother of his. She was no help, I could tell. She was my hunting teacher. She never gave me so much as one glance. Always had her eyes on that Sarabi. That goody-goody little nerd saw herself as a miniature version of the Queen! I –”

She glanced down at her daughter. Realizing she’d gotten off-track, she quickly regained her composure.

“You’re a very astute listener, Vitani. That will serve you well as you grow.” her mother grinned, “You get it from me, of course. If only the Queen hadn’t picked favorites, she would’ve seen the greatness in me as I see in you. I care about you, all of you, when no one else in this world will.”

Vitani smiled softly, despite still reeling from her mother’s sharp mood shifts. Compliments like that didn’t come often, she cherished what she could of it.

“Anyway,” Zira cleared her throat, “Scar would always turn to me for comfort, and trusted me with the secrets of the Roar. He would tell me about the way it had controlled the wind, the ground, the sky… and animals…”

Vitani gasped. That last part reminded her of her other question. 

“What did the Guard do that made Scar kill them?” the cub asked.

“They refused to help overthrow Scar’s tyrannical family.” Zira scowled, “I wish Scar had reserved it for his family, but he’d instead lost control, and used it on his unruly Guard. The little sycophants favored Mufasa over their own leader… It didn’t stop there, either. Scar’s newfound hyena friends he made had replaced his Guard – and me. Those slobs almost made Scar’s reign unenjoyable, what with their insufferable complaints and endless appetites.”

Vitani’s face fell as her mother continued to vent at her. Quality talks with her had never lasted long.

“They’d always steal his attention from me up until Simba came along.” Zira spat, “Had he not come back to steal the throne, those ravenous heathens wouldn’t have torn my beloved Scar to shreds!”

Zira teared up as her claws gripped the rock she had lain on. The edge now sported eight streaks that briefly sparked upon contact.

“If only I’d been there to protect him…” she turned to her daughter, “Just as you protected your brother back there.”

Vitani opened her mouth. She didn’t know what to say.

“Yes. I saw you stand up against that hyena. Excellent work. That’ll come in handy once you become an enforcer of Kovu’s, one day.”

“R-Really?” Vitani smiled again.

“I can see it now! You, with your very own Lion Guard protecting Kovu’s place as King. You’ll be far better enforcers than Scar’s hyenas, my pet. You won’t even need the Roar! Why, I see a great reign in our future atop Pride Rock…”

Vitani followed suit and gazed at the faraway Pridelands as her mother had. To be a strong leader, just like her mother. She didn’t think herself to be the type, but Mother saw it in her. She wondered what lions she would someday lead.

"Now, off to bed with you." Zira said softly, but still with command, “You need to be well-rested for what lies ahead…”

Vitani understood, and trotted to the main termite mound fortress where her brothers had already been fast asleep. 

Inside the den was a sight Vitani distinctly remembered, and one her older brother would to this day refuse to acknowledge ever happened. The brothers had embraced each other in their sleep, Nuka had a long arm draped around Kovu, and Kovu hugged said arm. Both snored in their own ways, Nuka with his obnoxious, nasally snorts, and Kovu, a soft buzz. 

For a moment, the preteen stole one last glance outside, her eyes reflecting the deep red sunset at Pride Rock, the peculiar lighting making her look not so different from her cunning, ruthless mother, whom she'd been shaping up to be more and more like for years to come...

________________________________

Present Day...

The fully-grown lioness stared off towards the Outlands. Her eyes were her usual electric blue color, as she'd faced away from the sun.

She looked deathly drowsy from a night of no rest due to her intense fixation on her cave paintings. Everything made her drowsy. Everything that had ever happened. Her mother had conditioned her into quite the restless and fidgety lioness, and it showed as she had looked twice her actual age.

Still, she had a territory to patrol. The one she'd inevitably end up guarding like Mother said she someday would, just not like how she'd imagined. 

A familiar sight had grabbed her attention mid-patrol – the termite mounds that she and her family once begrudgingly called home.

But before she knew it, her eyes wandered West, towards a prominent structure that towered over many locations of the Outlands – besides the volcano, of course – the cave that took on the shape of a lion's head. A cave that stood just beside a luscious watering hole, possibly the best one that could be found in the Outlands. One that had been protected for years... by hyenas.

Glancing back at the lion-shaped cave, she saw a leonine shape that stood in front of the mouth. Sporting a dark bluish tint, it had a large, red mane, a head stripe like her mother's, and a bulbous snout like her older brother's. 

"Who goes there?!" Vitani barked.

It walked back to the mouth, and faded away as if it weren't solid.

"Hey!" the Fiercest charged, the rest of the Guard far enough along the patrol route to even notice her leaving her post.

As she bounded, her ears rang from overwhelming glimpses of voices of the past she'd recently heard.

"Get up before I give you a real reason to cry!"

"Lions Over All!"

"What's wrong, my little Moonlight?"

Vitani stopped in her tracks from the sudden migraine that had taken place, but not before crashing into something: An animal that yelled for her to stop, just before impact.

In shock, the lioness quickly shifted to combat mode. She charged as fast as she could, and body slammed the animal with full force before climbing atop of it and pinning its forelegs down to not let it escape. Her snarl lessened as the animal's form came into picture.

"It's... You." was all the lioness could make out.

"I have a name, you know..." the long-haired hyena playfully scoffed.

Before Vitani could think, she was flipped on her back, with far less force than what she, herself, had used. 

"..and a few moves up my sleeve." the hyena giggled.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember you... Prime Minister."

Vitani rolled, and the hyena responded mercifully by gently releasing the lion.

"It's Jasiri, or something, right?" Vitani groaned, "Never bothered to really get to know you."

"I can see that." Jasiri deadpanned.

"I GOT YOU, JASIRI!" a male voice yelled.

"Janja!” Jasiri hopped in front of him, “There's no need."

“B-But that’s –” “I know. She’s welcome here.”

“Alright.” he grumbled, “It… It’s time for my shift at the cell, anyway.”

“Good boy.”

“Cell?” Vitani’s brow arched.

“He’s one of my trusted enforcers. Head warden of the Kizimba Caverns.” “‘Trusted’...” Vitani balked.

"He'll get the hang of it, eventually." the matriarch rolled her eyes, "So... what brings you to the Outlands?"

Vitani rubbed the back of her neck, "Ah, thought I saw something. L-Like, something I recently saw in a dream. Had to chase it. But... I can't explain it, it's too ridiculous."

"You look like you haven't gotten a wink of sleep. Animals' minds tend to go wild without rest."

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Vitani trailed off, staring onward as her eyesight no longer had a trace of blue. How much of that Zamani stuff did she take?

Realizing she had found herself near the entrance of Jasiri's Watering Hole, she looked to the left, then upward at the lion head monument towering over the region.

"Jasiri...?" she broke the silence, "Do you ever wonder what that thing is? My mother wanted to live nearby it so badly. She said she knew of it like the back of her paw, but, never went into how..."

"I’ve peeked at it a bit on my patrols. I haven’t really been wanting to go in, since, well, what happened when we were younger…” Jasiri said, “It seems like an abandoned arena of some sort, by the looks of it. Could’ve sworn I saw paintings in it."

"You're kidding?" Vitani's eyebrows flew upward.

Jasiri smiled. Beyond the paintings, she had a lot of things she wanted the former Outlands resident to see on the way.

"Why don't we find out?"

This had better not been a trap. Vitani had only ever known deceptive, fickle hyenas in life. But, only because of everything Mother had talked her ear off about. She jotted that down as one of the many questionable things Zira had believed, given what she’s recently seen of Jasiri and Janja. Not only had they claimed to be Prime Minister and head warden of the Outlands, respectively, but she’d remembered their collaboration to fight beside Kion. Perhaps Mother was wrong about all hyenas…

But, she had to know about these paintings, if there were any. What could they tell her? 

Semi-reluctant, the lioness followed the Prime Minister of the Outlands.

The two passed the Watering Hole. The older hyenas looked welcoming enough, but the younger ones found the lioness' presence odd. 

The girl had long hair and purple eyes, like Jasiri. The boy with only a few strands of hair and blue eyes. Both sported a wary look at her.

Vitani subconsciously returned the gesture with a puzzled look of her own. What was their problem…?

Vitani digressed. Meanwhile, she noticed something different about the Outlands. She felt something soft under her paws. Grass.

Throughout her trek across the Outlands was an overall pop of color and biodiversity. The Lioness could smell flowers she didn't know had grown in the area, and she observed more potable water sources outside of the notable one in Jasiri's territory.

"Here we are!" exclaimed Jasiri.

Vitani looked up, and saw the lion-shaped cave. It had been overgrown with moss, and even more flowers, funnily giving the cave a mane, somewhat, like it must've been meant to have. A dense, flourishing colony of bats flew from the cave, almost making the lion head look like it breathed fire.

Jasiri smiled warmly at the sheer surprise in Vitani's face.

"A lot has changed since you left the Outlands." the hyena began, "I heard about the monsoon at the Pridelands. The Outlands were in just enough reach to get some of it. We needed it for decades. The lands were so thirsty, that I had to help evacuate the animals from floods. But... It worked itself out, eventually."

Vitani was nearly moved to tears at the potential beauty that finally showed throughout the Outlands. Why couldn't she live in something like this all along? She had to wonder what became of the particular home she survived through every day. Had the Termite Mounds turned many colors, too?

Jasiri tilted her head towards the prominence, “Shall we?”

Vitani gave a quick nod, and soon enough, they walked towards the unexplored section of the Outlands.

________________________________

At the Northern Pridelands Outskirts…

“Would you believe the nerve of some of these animals around here? You’d think the herds would be over this whole separation thing after that old rhino keeled over.”

“Guess he set the blueprint.” Imara shrugged, “All he had to do was set an example for the next animal. There will always be a bigger, scarier successor.”

“Maybe,” Kasi huffed, But, wouldn’t they just leave the Pridelands instead of trying to change – OOF!”

Before she knew it, Kasi found herself briefly sandwiched between the heavy Imara, and another lioness who had stopped dead in her tracks long before her own group partner did.

“Tazama?! What’s going on?”

The Keenest of Sight stared off toward the Outlands, “Vitani’s not with you. I’d like to think –”

Kasi gasped as she looked where Tazama was looking, “Oh, no… She didn’t…”

“I’m afraid so…” the aqua-eyed lioness frowned slightly.

Pretty soon, Shabaha could be seen bounding from the distance, on her way to catch up with the group.

“Taz, why’d you stop?” the Bravest panted, “I know you’re quiet, but I didn’t think I was actually talking to nobody, this time – What’s everybody staring at…?”

“Tazama saw Vitani wander off to the Outlands.” Imara said.

“Was she snatched up, or something?”

“I didn’t see anything from here,” Tazama answered, “but within the Outlands, she could’ve been…”

“We’d better hurry,” Imara stepped forward, “c’mon…”

The Lion Guard headed Northeast, crossing the river that bordered the two territories. Pretty soon they ended up in an escape that was fogged and illuminated by geothermal gases and their periodic explosions.

“Hey! Who goes there?!” a voice barked, “No animal is allowed beyond this point!”

The fog cleared a bit, revealing a clan led by Janja, old enemies who once had their share of territorial disputes with the Outsider pride.

“Really? No animals allowed?” Cheezi tilted his head.

“Guess this means we gotta go, then.” Chungu muttered.

“Not us, furbrains!” the leader groaned.

“Hyenas!” Imara bellowed, “We know you have Vitani!”

“What? No we don’t!” Janja cried. Irritably, he whipped his head toward his fellow clan, “Alright, which one of you’s talked?”

“Enough talk!” Kasi snapped, “Get them!”

Shabaha loved that part of every fight. She couldn’t contain her eager cackle as she went to execute the order.

Janja remembered that laugh. Horrified, he glanced around at the lionesses that had surrounded him and his dimwitted squad of enforcers.

“Uh-oh…” he groaned, not liking their chances.

WHAM! Imara tackled Chungu.

SLASH! Kasi’s paw swiped Cheezi.

WHOOP! Tazama tripped Nne.

Janja’s hackles raised in defense as Shabaha slowly made her way towards him.

PUNCH! BEAT! POW!

Before the hyenas knew it, they were knocked to the ground. The hyenas that remained conscious moaned, saddened and confused as to what came over these lionesses.

What did they do wrong…?

Without a word, Imara took the lead towards the fog. The rest followed.

“Yeesh, we’re in the Elephant Graveyard.” Tazama shivered a bit.

Kasi looked around, “Is it me, or does this place look a little more organized than I remember?”

GROWL!

The Guard paused, hearts nearly leaping from their chests. They looked towards the location of the noise. It had come from one of the ribcages from a pile of elephant carcasses.

"Vitani..." Kasi slowly turned, "Is that you?"

“What are you guys doing, here?” said a gravelly voice.

Squinting to see past the large, petrified elephant ribs, Imara recognized the lion pacing back and forth in his enclosure. He had a scruffy, dark brown beard, a well-muscled body, furious auburn eyes, and a lack of a mane due to it once being burned off by Vitani’s Fire Roar.

“...Kiume?” she finally guessed aloud, taking a step closer to be sure.

“Watch your step.” Kiume smiled.

Imara glanced down and noticed the molten liquid that formed a moat around the maneless lion’s prison cell. Gasping, she placed a large arm in front of the rest of the Guard to keep them from inching any closer and getting badly hurt.

“Molten metal.” the lion clarified, “Keeps me from escaping with my life. A good backup when the hyenas aren’t awake to watch my every move…”

“The hyenas were…? –” Shabaha cringed hard, “Ooof…”

Imara's heart dropped, body going numb. There was no undoing the damage they'd inflicted.

She leaned against the cage bars for a moment and breathed deeply. They hurt animals who were doing good. The Prime Minister would banish them, and rightfully so.

“So that was the commotion outside? Thought the hyenas were up to no good, just because they’re hyenas? Looks like you guys got some prejudices to work out…” Kiume chuckled.

Kasi balked, “Oh, you would know –”

Imara waved a paw to quiet her down, “Look, Kiume. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… We were hoping you could help us find Vitani…”

“Why would I wanna help you, and how?” Kiume continued to pace.

“Well, we figured that since you’re the only one available, right now.”

“No thanks to us… Shabaha muttered in regret. 

“We just wanna know if you might know where she might’ve gone, and who with.” Imara continued.

“Well, I can’t exactly just give you pointers.”

“Why not?”

“You don’t know this part of the Outlands like I do, I’d have to walk you through it. You’re not gonna understand if I just tell you.”

“How do we know you’re not lying?” Kasi glared.

“Girls, trust me, I know the Outlands. I spent a good while here with my boys. We studied up on paintings we saw around here.”

“Paintings?” the Strongest raised her brows.

“Sure. Some paintings you lionesses ought to take notes from. It’ll show you the way a lion’s pride is meant to be. I’m telling you, it’s always been males that have led prides.”

“Whatever.” Imara glanced sideways, “Well, haven’t you tried busting out now that the hyenas aren’t watching?”

“You’re stronger than me – Well, I mean, I’m not saying you’re any stronger than a man, of course.” he said with a passive-aggressive whine that grated the lioness’ ears, “I’m a little out-of-shape since, you guys, you know, imprisoned me here. The hyenas starve me and hardly give me any water to live.”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it.” Imara cut him off.

“Not to mention, these bones?” he knocked them, “Solid. Gonna need something hard and heavy, like that plank the hyenas use to give me water, over there.”

They all looked. It was a heat-resistant slab of rock that must’ve been occasionally slid across the ground by the hyenas. They looked back towards the maneless lion.

“How about this, you get me out, and I'll help you straighten this whole hyena mess out. Have we got ourselves a deal, girls?” he grinned, offering a paw for Imara to shake.

Imara scowled at Kiume for a long time before looking at the rest of the Lion Guard, who were seen exchanging uncertain looks.

The Strongest looked back towards him, glancing rapidly as her mind raced.

She continued to hesitate.

________________________________

Pride Rock...

The Future Queen tried hard to think her own thoughts, but a force kept her from it. Something, or someone, with their own memories had taken over her very mind and movement.

The Lion Guard vanished from Pride Rock, and the possessed lioness did not know where they could be, she sniffed around for the scent of any Lion Guard member. The trail led her to the Lion Guard Lair. 

Empty. Of Course…

The Water Spirit within Kiara remembered this place, however. She would often lounge in the once abandoned underground lair, discussing her points of view with her fellow lionesses – her original followers. They didn’t seem to live in the Pridelands, despite earning their right to live here.

Suddenly, her focus was broken by the sound of a young mandrill rushing to another section of the Lair. She watched the mandrill from the other side of the wall, well-hidden behind a dense patch of vines.

“Okay, okay, okay…” Makini breathed, “If I were paint restoration materials, where would I be…?”

She brushed small vines out of the way to reveal a shelf holding orange powder.

“Oh, hello, Baadaye powder! Right where I left you. Good thing Rafiki told me to keep this stuff out of the wrong hands. I’m definitely the ‘wrong hands!’”

Something to be kept out of the wrong hands sounded exactly like something Zira’s spirit probably needed. Ever so silently, the golden lioness inched closer to inspect the powder.

“Oh, there’s the restoration stuff!” the mandrill beamed, still not noticing the lioness.

In her excitement, her hand accidentally brushed by the powder on the shelf. Like another lioness, recently, the powder shot into Zira’s eyes. She grunted, but pretty soon, her world took on an orange hue.

Opening her eyes, she could see her perspective change to the top of Pride Rock. She looked down on various animals who leaped and cheered. 

The Pridelands looked drenched. Grass was saturated, mud was everywhere, everyone looked heavily rained on, and yet, they looked elated.

“Our Queen! Our Queen! Our Queen!” the swarm of animals chanted.

Could this be…? Was this Zira’s destiny? 

Will she have won whatever war was coming?

To Be Continued...

________________________________

Author's Notes:

In order to make sense of that chronological mix-up that happened at the end of Lions of the Outlands, I decided to make the exchange Zira and Nuka have be out of confusion and frustration that they were sent back to the Termite Mounds, rather than Disney implying that this is how they discover the Termite Mounds.

Kizimba (Zulu for "cage") is what I call this makeshift wild animal equivalent of a prison. It's comprised of centuries-old, petrified elephant ribs, a pool of molten iron/nickel, and would usually by guarded day-and-night by Janja's hyenas, who volunteered to be Jasiri's enforcers, and had constructed the prison cell (I figured they'd mastered that since they did something like that in the Morning Report episode).

I know Vitani and Jasiri (and the Guard and hyena clan by extension) should be on good terms by the finale of TLG, but something made me feel they weren't quite: Vitani didn't recognize Jasiri and she saw her as a threat first thing in S3E19, which gave me the vibes that she never bothered to befriend her, so I felt that she and the Guard have some more teachings of Zira's to unlearn.

Kiume's passive-aggressive remarks are based a little on how Butterscotch Horseman always laments every minor inconvenience. I can see Kiume being a lot like Butterscotch in a lot of ways: The constant complaining, generalizing women and just about any vulnerable group, etc.

Where would the hypothetical musical number be? I was kinda thinking, since I was going for an evil We Are One type of scene in the first image, perhaps Zira and Vitani would have a sweet yet sinister mother-daughter duet of some kind.

Artist Notes:

This subconsciously came to me as I was drawing it, but I found the first panel slowly looking like something out of the We Are One scene. Fitting considering that this is about unifying, but for sinister and rather eugenicist reasons instead.

The whole idea for the shot in Image 2 may look like something out of a certain other movie. When I very first saw the mouth of the Outlands cave in TLG, I instantly thought of the serpent-shaped cave formation from Road to El Dorado, but instead of butterflies, we have bats, since they're shown to reside in the Outlands.

Did Kiume get some design tweaks to his face and colors along with that noticeably absent mane? Yes, because it has to do with a big lore drop I plan to write/post art of sometime, something I think would bulk up the story retroactively once I start writing the Ao3 Novelization of VG.

Panel 5 was super easy and cathartic to draw, all it took was scratchy, warped cloud patterns and a mostly monochromatic color scheme. It's very much based on the future hallucination sequence in the Disney Villains: Scar comic.

[catfishofoldin99colours]

no one kills my desert duo love faster than grian himself lmao