#i'm tired. gonna try to sleep again. it's funny i have no sleep issues that i didn't choose (i.e. my sleep routine is shit but i chose that)

[beanarie]

@bucktommywhumpweek days 2-3 ptsd, abandonment issues, following from day 1 here

Buck dreams of Bobby, because even when it's not about Bobby, it is, and that is why he's been spending as little time in bed as possible. Eventually, he opens his eyes, and recoils at the sound of an artificial shutter.

"Sorry!" he hears. "Maddie ordered me to text her when you woke up and this seemed like the most efficient way to give her the news."

Buck drags his eyes over to the visitor's chair, and the person he still expects to be sitting there vanishes. In his place is-

"Josh? What-"

"Hey, Buck," Josh says with a regretful smile. "Bobby's running a temperature, so Maddie asked me to come. How are you feeling?"

Buck should be used to it by now. That's his nephew; he hears his name all the time. But it makes him flinch all the same. He looks down at the bright white cast on his leg. This doesn't track. He was just expecting a boot. "Did I get admitted, for a fracture in my foot?"

"Yeah." Josh gives a sympathetic frown. "I was told you helped with an unruly patient and things got hairy when they went critical. You were unconscious for a while."

"Tommy?" Buck says, breathless.

"Do you, uh." Josh wiggles his phone. "Want me to call him? I don't have his number, but I could get it from Chimney. Or-"

"He's here," Buck says.

"Oh! That's funny. I didn't see him on my way in. So he what, grabbed something at the Panera downstairs? He's been gone a wh-"

"No, he's. He's-" Buck's throat is sealing shut. Tommy stopped breathing. There's a chance that as staff loaded Buck onto another gurney, a few feet away someone else was calling the time of death.

"Wait. Oh. Buck? Are you s..." His voice trails off. "Tommy was the other patient." Josh's eyes double in size. "Okay." He pats Buck's arm. "Listen. I'll see what I can find out."

"Th-Thanks."

Halfway to the door, Josh stops and turns his head. "What was his last name again?"

"Kinard."

He waves behind him. "Right. Got it."

Buck closes his eyes, opens them again, and Josh is back.

"So the news isn't great," he says, then he raises his hand. "Buck. He's alive. Sorry, I should've led with that. He was in respiratory arrest, but they reinflated his lung and put in a chest tube. He's now in the ICU."

"Y-You're not a family member. How did you-"

Josh scoffs. "Are you kidding? I'm the guy responsible for making sure they don't get slammed. Half the people in this building owe me a favor. The other half do, too, but I let them live in ignorance."

Buck scrambles for the control to his bed and raises it to a sitting position. "Can you help me get up to see him?"

Josh sits, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "Can we talk about you for a second?"

Buck stops picking at the tape securing his IV. "W-What?"

"They told me you got a nice break in your lower tibia to go with the one in your metatarsal, so you passed out from the pain."

"Okay," Buck mutters, distantly registering that his time on the injured list just doubled. That's a problem for another day.

"You stayed out because you are exhausted and dehydrated. There are better ways to ask this, but I'll just go with a simple 'what happened'?"

Buck rubs at his forehead.

"Buck?"

"Bad dreams. I keep waking- waking up and I- I- I- have to get outta bed because if I don't, I go right back into it. So I've been working out a- a- lot, m-mostly in the middle of the night."

Josh looks like Buck just told him his puppy got cancer.

"It helps," Buck insists. "Sometimes I tire myself out enough that I go back to- back to sleep and don't dream. What else am I gonna do? It was working."

It's not like he could call anyone. Maddie and Chim have their hands full with the baby. Hen needs her rest almost as much as they do. He never bothered her if he could help it, anyway. And Eddie, Buck is trying not to ask Eddie for things. Partly to see if Eddie even notices, which he knows, he knows is not healthy. But he can't help it. Withdrawing with a smile seems to be the best of both worlds. No one has yelled at him in weeks.

Josh takes a breath, then closes his mouth and seems to rethink. "How bad have the headaches been?"

"Manageable," Buck mumbles. "I've been drinking a lot of triple-shot lattes."

"Putting your caffeine dependency on steroids is always a great way to deal with your head hurting," Josh says dryly.

Buck can't begin to address that right now. He was managing, as he said. "Am I on a hold, or c-can I go?"

Josh gives him that cancer-puppy look again. "No, Buck, you're not on a hold. I'm just concerned about you."

Which means Maddie will be concerned. Buck has no time for that. "Tommy almost died. Help me get to him, okay?"

[marys2ndson]

hunting fucking sucks: a fic rec list

I just love when their lives suck not because they’re vessels for archangels or whatever, but just because their job is the worst. thankless, dangerous, morally ambiguous, leaving them injured and dirty and bone-tired. i <3 whump

Due East by sowell (4,700 words)

Just hunts and angst and them, together. Love the characterization. 

“I think I like you injured. Less bitchy,” Dean says with a smile, and Sam blinks at him. / “What?” / “You think I haven’t noticed you sulking for two days straight?”

Hard to Come By by sevenfists (1,700 words)

Hunting, driving around, sleeping in shitty motels. Making difficult choices, dealing with hard realities. 

"You don't smoke," Sam says, and Dean says, "What's it look like I'm doing?" The cigarette tastes like ass. He smokes it anyway, tapping the ash out the open window. It's August. Sam turns up the air conditioning. Dean turns it back down.

Below Breath by kalliel (3,100 words)

Season 2, case fic. Love the complete lack of exposition. You’re just thrown into it on Dean’s terms, and everything is complicated and difficult and unknown. 

Dude, he says, and shoves you in the back with his shotgun. You resist the urge to turn around and smack him with it. Or kiss him, all teeth. See how much he’s paying attention then. 

Every Rhyme Without Reason by kalliel (44,800 words) 

Season 1, case fic, Sam POV. Fascinating and atmospheric and a tough read bc Sam’s life is very uphill at this point, but he’s so present, wrestling and grappling with it. Love him. <3

Maybe they killed that rawhead, released that reaper, slashed that bax'aan's throat. Maybe they'll kill this thing in Rime. But this is what's gonna get them: They have $127.34, four more nights, half a tank of gas, and some cold leftovers to their name. Out here, there's nowhere to go but down; and even then, they're going to have to limp.

With Gravy by kalliel (3,700 words)

Vague season 2. A hunt gone wrong. Slim chances of survival, complete darkness, pain, and heroism. 

The tunnel stretches on and on, and all Dean hears is their footsteps getting heavier, sloppier. One kid cries. The woman cries. The man's leg doesn't quite clear some jutting rocks, and he weeps.

The Real Thing by ameliacareful (14,200 words)

Jensen wakes up in a motel room in Dean’s place. So outsider POV. That thing about the third trial, about Tom and Shep… Kill me. 

“Are you doing that on purpose?” / “What?” / “Sounding like him?” / “A little. Does it work?” Jensen asked. / Sam did that funny little flicker of a smile/grimace that Jared only did as Sam. “Yeah, it does.” His gaze hardened. “Don’t do it again.” / Sam was suddenly very big. Armed. / “Gotcha,” Jensen said.

Catch Your Death by road_rhythm (22,300 words)

They work a ghost hunt while Sam’s sick. This fucks severely! All their petty fights and their biases and bickering really get the spotlight they deserve, as well as the fact that they just really love and care about each other. Feels exactly like a really good ep of s2. And takes up some of the interesting Sam issues as well.

It was this, every time. Sam lashed out and Dean came back with impenetrable patience and washcloths and medicine and touch and one day it would be his life. And there was no answering back to that.

my habit of breaking hearts as soon as i have them by acccording2thelore (6,600 words)

WARNING: major character death. 

A hunt gone wrong. Staggering grief and horror mixed with intimacy and connection. <3 

If he can just get to Garth, he can send up some of his people and help carry Sam to the base of the mountain. Dean won’t make it that far.

the blurriness of being alive by hathfrozen (3,500 words)

WARNING: major character death. 

Sam dies of an infection.

“They don’t get to grieve for him,” Dean tells Miracle when he decides he isn’t calling anybody to tell them. “They ain’t allowed. They don’t get it.” Dean’s had the worst things in the known universe leeching off of him, trying to turn him into evil, but this is the most rotten, meanest he’s ever felt. He doesn’t fucking care.

A Lifetime or Two by nigeltde (18,400 words)

They work a case with their mom; Sam gets banged up; they try something new. This fic feels so real and lived in. The familiarity between Sam and Dean, the way Sam feels left out, Sam’s quiet loneliness and enduring hope, Dean’s desperate affection. <3

Sam would say lucky it was just broken bones. Lucky nothing else cut too deep. Lucky his ear was intact. Dean gets lost, strung out, trying to calculate: if Sam had been concussed, would that still be good luck? If he’d lost the finger, should Dean be thankful? Where does it end, the tallying? Sam thrown through glass, dragged across pavement, tossed into a car, stitched up in this cramped doll’s house of a room, having to bluntly endure; this is what he’s supposed to be grateful for?

Settle Down My Shivered Bones by abitingsmile (4,800 words)

WARNING: disordered eating, food insecurity, and child neglect. 

Pre-series. John, unreliable and off hunting somewhere, and Sam and Dean, making it work with too little cash and too little food. Love this exact flavor of codependency, not sweet, but hard-earned and for survival. 

Sam still bickered with him about school and television and laundry, but not about food. Hell, he practically waited for Dean to give him permission to eat, because that way they knew there’d be enough. John or no, this was something incredibly important they could control, they could handle. John simply wasn’t in the loop anymore.

[quitealotofsodapop]

I love all the ideas and your response has given me some more to chew on for this au ty. (I might have already sent this but I'm not sure it sent but if it did i am sorry for the double ask)

[Wukong spending the Journey getting hit by all the symptoms of pregnancy during those 9-14 years.] the morning sickness is def the worst for him.

[Many foes back off just by the tired firey glare in the King's eyes.] his presence alone is usually able to get most of them to back off, but for those who were still going to risk trying a tired "I am running on 2 hours of sleep, crippling isolation and lonliness, and I haven't been able to keep any food down for three days, I am not in the mood" glare is enough to sen them running for the hills.

[Wukong never managed to tell Macaque about the Egg in that lifetime.] this fact breaks Wukong's heart, and it breaks Macaque to when he later learns that was with child the whole time because having a peacful life and a family was all he really ever wanted.

[He's convinced that the Egg's presence at the Samadhi Fire was what caused the Rings to Split and hit Ao Lie.] I was thinking that during the Samadhi fire ritual the egg suddenly started "kicking" and despite his attempts to not let it affect his performance the pain is what causes him to slip, allowing the ring to split. he absolutely blames himself for this.

[By isolating himself, he accidentally causes his body to *turn down the heat* and extend the process even longer.] he's gonna be so mad when he finds out thats one of the reasons it took so long. but maybe it was for the better, with no support group it would have been difficult to raise the egg on his own. the egg was "no troop, these are not prime baby raising conditions, i stay here longer", like giving Wukong time to find a safe and loving situation to give birth in.

[he geniunely believed that keeping MK whilst the Stone Egg was still draining life force could kill the cub. So SWK is forced to give the little toddler up to save his life.] again, as unfortunate as it is, perhaps for the better. even if not being adressed for the right reasons at the time Wukong knew he wasn't in the position to be caring for someone so young at that point, and the fact he took measures to ensure that MK still got a stable and loving home to grow up in says a lot about how even if he couldn't provide for MK he already loved him. the lack of being in the right headspace to care for an infant is also probably another reason for the egg to "turn down the heat", not able to be mentally there for child, child says in womb till he can.

[When him and MK finally reunite, its a little awkward but MK immediately understands the reason for the Monkey King's retirement.] does MK remember Monkey King, or is it a "I just met an actual god/my fav hero of legend and their pregnant" kind of awkward?

[MK, thinking its a bad breakup situation: "oh ok. I guess you're owed some long-overdue paternity leave, huh?"] this is funny if you remember the fact that this likely wouldn't have happened if it weren't for Wukong and Macaque actually having a bad break up, causing Macaque to leave and Wukong to lose the one thing keeping his body from triggering the egg making process. in a way, it is a bad break-up situation, just not exactly in the way MK thinks.

[MK only asks about the schematics on the Egg after Wukong makes a comment about being "like this longer than even Lao Tzu's mother".] Wukong def brags that he's had the longest pregnancy out of any immortal now.

[He returns to Pigsy's that evening silent with a horrifed look on his face.] the rest of the gang notice, they ask, MK explains what Wukong told him, and now everyone is silently horrified for the rest of the night.

[The Spider Queen can sense that theres a new life within the King, but she decides its an issue for after the takeover.] Wukong is kinda surprised when she doesn't instantly try and use it against him, she just responds that she still has some honor. this does not stop her from draining his power though. Wukong's far more concerned about a certain other demoness present learning about his egg...

[DBK frees himself, not only from the fear of losing his wife and his son, but also out of fury that Wukong had been hiding his condition for so long!!] he is not happy to learn that Wukong put his egg at risk with Samadhi fire situation and by fighting him, or that Wukong had hidden it at all from him as his sworn brother. and also with the webs draining Wukong's power it was putting the little one at risk, can't let that happen either, not if he has something to say about. DBK def learns about it because he overhears the deeply concerning conversation between SWK and LBD while their tied up, him being tied up close to Wukong and all.

[PIF demands a proper baby shower when she hears about it from her excited husband later.] PIF sitting at the dinner table, reading a book and eating while she waits for her husband and son to come home: why do I hear loud footsteps getting rapidly closer? DBK busting open the dining room door with Red Son tucked under his arm: DARLING WE'RE GONNA BE GODPARENTS!!!! PIF & Red Son: WHAT? cue a very excited bull king explaining everything to them

[but becomes concerned when his Sun refuses to fight in any way that leaves his stomach exposed.] protecting a specific part of the body usually means there's a vulnerability there, but Wukong didn't fight like he was injured, Macaque knows what that looks like and that wasn't it so now he's confused. the only other kind of vulnrability he could think of invovling one's stomach that would make them seem bloated as well as make them want to get away from the fight as fast as possible is if he was pregnant, but that can't be the case here can it?

["The Shadow Play" becomes more a plan to trap the Monkie Kid gang for answers. MK spills the beans. Macaque stares blankly for a minute before yelling in frustration. It's too much emotional baggage to process right now!] he lays awake for nights on end trying to figure out if its really what he thinks it is with the little evidence he has, and then he just can't take it anymore and sets up the play. trapping the gang in his lantern and threatening MK until he spills, MK does and even though an answer is what he wanted it takes a moment to process that he had been right, then he lashes out when more questions came to mind. how? when? for how long? who's the other parent? MK frees his friends while Macaque is lashing out and they make a break for it, they escape before Macaque can threaten more answers out of them.

[now with the additional threat that she will harm the Stone Egg if Macaque fails her again...] Macaque might not have answers about the egg, but it's still Wukong's egg at the end of the day. sure just the other day he'd been totally fine with the idea of killing the guy but now... was there still hope he could have the life he wanted with his Sun? even if he couldn't he could never bring himself to knowingly harm his former lover's unborn infant. Wukong ofc doesn't know this at first, and gets really worried about Mac getting involved. he doesn't want to have to choose between him and his egg ever again, but he will if he has to. the problem is avoided entirely when (much to SWK's surprise/confusion) Macaque straight up acts like doesn't exist while hunting the gang in s3. for this subtle blessing SWK is relieved and grateful.

[Macaque breaks the King from his possession by casually placing a curious hand on his swollen stomach, smiling in a way Wukong hadn't seen in centuries. "I know," is all that is said as the two monkeys allow their foreheads to touch.] it's such a simple thing, but it's a certain type of soft kindness he hasn't felt in years, that he missed very deeply, the domesticity of it, makes him feel like his moon really is his again. he bursts out crying and almost sends them both to the ground when he collapses into Macaque for a hug.

[LBD is unexpectedly destroyed by the Stone Egg itself. She did not count upon the Egg recognising her as a yummy source of spirtual energy as she was possessing it's parent.] egg was hungry, and SWK was feeling drained after being possessed, LBD was right their and strong and had hurt the egg's parent. so LBD gets nommed on. naturally.

[MK is a little disturbed, but glad that the demoness is gone-gone.] the can't see it happen, but they all feel an absurdly powerful force emanating from SWK suddenly tearing apart and absorbing LBD's soul. everyone's a little shook up by that one. Macaque: did- did the egg just- SWK frozen on spot, with a nervous and tight expression: *exasperated inhale* yeah... everyone else: oh gods there was also a little concern that eating LBD whole soul would have consequences.

[Until the newly unpossessed Monkey King doubles over in pain and cries for the Bodhisattva to help him. Guanyin is on the scene in seconds, glaring at her little brother angrily. Half the gang stare jaws dropped at what is happening while the rest are panicking.] everyone was chilling, settling down and gtting some food after everything, SWK was feeling the most content and happy he had in ages as he refused to anywhere other then glued to Macaque's side, and the egg was like, "I just got a massive meal, and the whole troop is here now, guess it's time to come out now". Wukong surprisingly casually sits up and tells Ne Zha to go get Guanyin, NOW, being the patron god of infants, he quickly realizes whats going on and bolts for the south sea, the others clue in and start freaking out at this point too. Gaunyin is not happy at SWK for putting himself and the egg at risk with both the Samadhi fire (again, they also tried to warn him off it the first time) and with fighting LBD alone, but thats a conversation for after the egg is born, hatched, and healthy. Tang's fanboying over meeting the Guanyin is stifled only by the painc of egg on the way.

[After many hours of painful labor with Macaque clutching his hand for support, Wukong *finally* greets his baby for the first time.] Wukong is def squeezing so hard at one point that Macaque thinks his hand is either gonna break or pop off, it doesn't do either, but it is numb by the end of it. Macaque gladly would do it again if it meant getting to be there when the egg was born and hatched. Wukong def jokingly tells his newborn that she "sure kept them all waiting".

[Her dark fur is hard to ignore. As well as the ice-blue eyes that stare between the two monkeys with wonder. And the little excited chirps she makes that sing the tune of Wukong's favorite songs.] the ice blue eyes are from the last minute bone demon meal ofc, but what if the dark fur actually comes from Wukong's longing to be with macaque as a family again, and those feelings during early pregnancy were so strong it changed the infant's appearence in order to fit not just Wukong but his desires/emotional needs (that being having the family Macaque always wanted with him). Macaque def cries when she has dark fur like him, makes him feel more like he's possibly a bio parent. Wukong is def in love with everything about his little one, down to every little sound she makes. I like to think he would talk to the egg whenever he was alone while pregnant, and was also always humming to them, maybe the infant somehow knows some of those tunes he was humming and tries to mimic them fresh out of the egg.

[Yuebei Xing is celebrated across the many Realms as the first Stone Monkey to be born from a Stone Egg in milennia. Gold Star comes down from Heaven in person to bless her arrival.] they jokingly thank Gold Star for being too busy to oversee Wukong's punishment, because if he had Wukong likely wouldn't be holding the most precious ball of fur in his arms right now.

[singeing Azure Lion's fur as he goes to take the Jade Emperor's throne. All present, including members of the Brotherhood, laugh at the coincidence.] it's hard not to laugh, given the coincidence. the only one not laughing is Azure, who just saw his life flash before his eyes.

[Yuebei's whole family are willing to *destroy* the divine animals if even dare touch a single hair on her little head.] knowing Azure, he's either fantasizing about Yuebei being Wukong and his infant, or plotting how to use her for blackmail. or both. either way Wukong's none too happy to learn who's got their hands on his little one.

[The retrieve Yuebei after they enter the palace and see the three usurpers beaten to a pulp. The infant monkey rolling around on her butt as she giggles. Azure begs the crew to "please take her back".] Azure was perhaps a little too lost in his triumph and day-dreaming to notice the ultra powerful infant he was holding beginning to grow restless and playful, one of his many mistakes. especially seeing as she had little to no strength control at such a young age.

All in reference to the core "slow boiled stone egg au" post.

You did send a less detailed version of this ask a few days ago, I just hadn't gone through my inbox enough XD

I love the detailed responses though! It's nice to see so much interest in my silly aus!

[the morning sickness is def the worst for him.]

Based on my previous ironic pregnancy headcanons, Wukong occasionally gains a food adversion to his fave fruit ever; Peaches. Some days his brain/body just decides "Eww no. bleh. Spit it out right now" and the nausea hits him hard. Wukong is dismayed whenever it happens.

["I am running on 2 hours of sleep, crippling isolation and lonliness, and I haven't been able to keep any food down for three days, I am not in the mood" glare is enough to sen them running for the hills.]

[-this fact breaks Wukong's heart, and it breaks Macaque to when he later learns that was with child the whole time because having a peacful life and a family was all he really ever wanted.]

[the egg was "no troop, these are not prime baby raising conditions, i stay here longer"] + [the lack of being in the right headspace to care for an infant is also probably another reason for the egg to "turn down the heat", not able to be mentally there for child, child says in womb till he can.]

Pretty much yeah!

Stone Monkeys only have this backup for the absolute last resort when things are at their worst enviroment-wise. No mate, no troop, no support system, no mental health = Egg ain't moving. Think of it like the formation of a geode - it can do it either over a natural couple of centuries, or in a few months with intervention.

"Asleep" Stone Monkeys who are still buried know that they're unlikely to ever be recovered, but their egg can still be found by other troops and hatch in response to socialization even thousands of years on.

However, "Awake" Stone Monkeys with an Egg cooking need to have an active support system in place for the baby's development to progress faster/less riskily. By shuting out the outside world, all Wukong did was accidentally set the Egg to "sleep mode".

Sadly, even if Wukong was wrong and his body identified baby!MK harmlessly as a troop member - SWK simply wasn't in the mental headroom to raise a whole baby without someone to help him.

[does MK remember Monkey King, or is it a "I just met an actual god/my fav hero of legend and their pregnant" kind of awkward?]

The second one mostly. MK honestly can't remember his earliest memories beyond the sight of SWK's egg fragment + possibly Nuwa, and thats with supernatural help.

In a slightly sad note, it's possible MK *remembers* being held by someone soft with a round belly + gold eyes. He assumes throughout his life that this person was his birth mother before he was given up/orphaned.

[this likely wouldn't have happened if it weren't for Wukong and Macaque actually having a bad break up]

MK is right in his own way XD

[Wukong def brags that he's had the longest pregnancy out of any immortal now.]

Wukong's been carrying the egg since the Journey days, about the Tang Dynasty (690-907 AD)/irl Xuanzang's departure in 629. So that Stone Egg been slow boiling from anywhere between 1394 to 1116 years. 0_o

Either way SWK has beaten Lao Tzu/Zi's mom (pregnant for 62-80 years), and def brags about that fact to whatever immortal will hear.

[DBK def learns about it because he overhears the deeply concerning conversation between SWK and LBD while their tied up, him being tied up close to Wukong and all.]

DBK overhears LBD making threatening references to Wukong's conditon and immediately interrupts her villainy bs to yell at his sworn brother.

(inside the giant Spider Mech) LBD: "All will fall into place soon. Even with the unexpected additon of your... future heir." *guestures hand around SWK's stomach* DBK, furious ans still wrapped in web: "WHAT!?!? HEIR?! SUN WUKONG!! Are you so reckless that you'd fight even when your unborn child could have been harmed!?" Wukong, wrapped in less-tight web: "Not the best time DBK. I can handle it." LBD: "Quite. Then again it is all in char-" DBKm interrupting: "REALLY BROTHER?! YOU DIDN'T TRUST ME TO KNOW!? If I was aware of your condition - I would have never dared to invoke your anger! Even my beautifully ruthless wife would agree with me!" LBD: *glares at DBK in annoyance* "Ahem." Wukong, ignoring her: "I couldn't let you guys know! Look, I've been fine on own for centuries now!" LBD: "Exc-" DBK, super-concerned: "CENTURIES!?! WERE YOU WITH CHILD DURING THE RITUAL!?!" *DBK busts out of his bindings and gently grabs SWK* DBK: "LADY GUANYIN WILL TAN BOTH OUR HIDES WHEN SHE HEARS ABOUT THIS!" LBD: *gives up and leaves*

[DBK busting open the dining room door with Red Son tucked under his arm: DARLING WE'RE GONNA BE GODPARENTS!!!!]

After the initial shock wears off, PIF immediately summons a catalog to look for baby shower supplies. This is a monumentous occassion! She ofc assumes it's Macaque's fault (she's not wrong XD) and that this might be her future sworn niece/nephew! She simply must organise everything for her idiot sworn brother and his mate!

Red blinks in confusion before confronting the Monkie Kid gang about it later. Mei demands PIF's contact details right that second so that they can swap party ideas.

[even though an answer is what he wanted it takes a moment to process that he had been right, then he lashes out when more questions came to mind. how? when? for how long? who's the other parent?]

Even with knowing how Stone Eggs works, Macaque has such a mental 404 error at the news that he's reduced to yelling garbbled questions at the gang until they leave awkwardly.

[...was there still hope he could have the life he wanted with his Sun?]

Macaque spends most of S3 trying to bat away any thoughts/predictive sounds of a happy domestic life him and Wukong cna have together.

[it's such a simple thing, but it's a certain type of soft kindness he hasn't felt in years, that he missed very deeply, the domesticity of it, makes him feel like his moon really is his again. he bursts out crying and almost sends them both to the ground when he collapses into Macaque for a hug.]

I just love this image. The possession being broken by Macaque expressing softness, his vunerability, to Wukong. And the possessed King snapping out of it since he's so conflcitingly overwhelmed by the joy of having his Moon back again + the weakness he feels.

[egg was hungry, and SWK was feeling drained after being possessed, LBD was right their and strong and had hurt the egg's parent. so LBD gets nommed on. naturally.] + [the can't see it happen, but they all feel an absurdly powerful force emanating from SWK suddenly tearing apart and absorbing LBD's soul. everyone's a little shook up by that one.]

Yuebei's first immortal kill is in fact LBD, preformed before she was even born. Once the switch "flipped" on the possesed SWK, the Egg recognised LBD as both a threat to her parent and a tasty source of Dao, hence; nom-nom-nom.

All thats left behind of the ancient bone demon is a picked-clean skull. The Ten Kings and Yama feel this hungry act from beyond the Realms and wonder *what* creature could have created such a great power vacuum.

[the egg was like, "I just got a massive meal, and the whole troop is here now, guess it's time to come out now".]

Ah, a fellow party crasher, just like her baba. Wukong and Macaque can barely enjoy the bowl of noodles they've stolen (in good humor) from MK when Wukong's face just drops from a shift in his body.

[Tang's fanboying over meeting the Guanyin is stifled only by the painc of egg on the way.]

Tang: "Oh gracious Buddha! The bodhisattva Guanyi herse-- oh gosh this is a lot grosser than I was expecting..." *gets woozy and hides face in Pigsy's chest*

[but what if the dark fur actually comes from Wukong's longing to be with macaque as a family again] + [Macaque def cries when she has dark fur like him, makes him feel more like he's possibly a bio parent]

Oooo! Wukong's emotional need to be reunited with his mate was so great that it impressed upon the Stone Egg itself.

Imagine how much crying would be involved if little Yuebei just so happened to be born six-eared as well? Macaque and Wukong would never stop sobbing over how cute their baby is!!

Macaque is still very much assumed by the demonic/celestial/mortal public not in the know of Stone Eggs, to be Yuebei's other bio parent. Hard to refute their claims when the little Monkey Princess has such lovely midnight-dark fur and glowing ears.

[I like to think he would talk to the egg whenever he was alone while pregnant, and was also always humming to them, maybe the infant somehow knows some of those tunes he was humming and tries to mimic them fresh out of the egg.]

Thats so super adorable I love it! <3

Wukong loved talking to the Egg when he was on his own on the island. He'd talk to it about what his old Pilgrim brothers were like, what happened in Heaven, his early days on the mountain, and how much he wishes to be there to see all the little havoc's she'll cause in the future. He def recorded a tape + wrote letters to Yuebei before she was born ala "For Steven" in Steven Universe... just in case his immortality didn't work in the end.

Babies can hear things going on on the outside irl as early as 14 weeks along - it's how they become acclimated to the voices of their family. Little Yuebei spent so much time in the "final run" hearing show tunes, action movies, and the voices of Wukong's new found family/troop that she thinks theses are all "good noises"!

As Yuebei looks around at her "troop" she tries matching a "good sound" to them. Everyone is just aww-ing at her tiny chirping mimicry, and burst out laughing when she gets to Pigsy and makes a deep sound they swear sounds like "freeloader!".

Her pre-natal eavessdropping does however, lead her to fall asleep to the heavy metal soundtrack of the Monkey Cop series. XD

[Azure was perhaps a little too lost in his triumph and day-dreaming to notice the ultra powerful infant he was holding beginning to grow restless and playful, one of his many mistakes. especially seeing as she had little to no strength control at such a young age.]

Yuebei decided that "Kitty" wasn't playing with her, wasn't holding her right, and wasn't even singing to her! And she wanted to make her frustrations known.

I love these mass responses, even if it takes some time for me to reply. Ty so much for your interest!

[ravennasgf]

The Hideous Pink-Clad Toad

Prompt: 71, 72 & 60

After another restless night with Umbridge as headmistress and my second job being a detective after hours on behalf of Dolores to investigate whatever has ailed her at that moment, as I am the teacher closest to her rooms, I am always called upon.

Last night, it was to find out who had locked her out of her quarters with a complex spell she couldn't counter.

After getting an hour of sleep, I get dressed and head to breakfast. On the way, I run into Minerva.

"Did you sleep last night?" She asks, knowing I didn't. No amount of makeup charms could cover the bags under my eyes.

"I'll sleep when I'm dead," I say, exhausted but with a light chuckle.

"y/n..."

"Fine, when the hideous pink toad is gone, so I'm not investigating who locked her out of her quarters and unlocking said quarters," I explain.

"She did not!" She exclaims in shock

"She did, and I'm beyond infuriated. I already have to stay up late to mark homework, but I'm so tired I don't think I can."

"The pranks are ingenious, but keeping you up is not."

"I agree the pranks are fantastic, the whole school is against her." I whisper as there are students around.

"We have a common enemy, whom we are desperately trying to get rid of, but she won't leave."

"There has to be something we can do."

"If we do anything, we'll be fired, leaving no one to protect the students."

"Keeping them safe is a top priority. Getting rid of Umbridge second."

~~~

We arrive at breakfast and I eat quickly to leave and go and get a head start on marking homework.

~~~ a week later

Well, she hasn't left yet, but we've been pushing her to her wits end, which has been very fun to watch. By we I mean the students, though we have given some helpful advice to the students. That doesn't mean that I'm not about to have a mental breakdown right now because of that horrid toad pushing every button.

Tears of frustration appear as a knock sounds on my door. I open the door, and there stands Minerva. I let her in.

"I heard about the toad." She says before hugging me.

"She needs to go before I end up in Azkaban for killing the hideous pink-clad toad."

"Soon. She'll be gone soon. We just have to hold out. We can do it, we've gotten this far."

"I know, I'm doing my best."

"I know, but promise me you won't do something stupid."

"I promise I'll try not to."

"That works too, I suppose," She says with a smile which I return.

~~~

Umbridge has been here for far too long, and we've all had enough.

Another bloody decree has been issued and I'm so close to saying "Fuck it" and just going to Azkaban for murdering the horrid cow.

"y/n no! we've been through this. We need you here." Minerva reminds me once again.

"I know, I know but I'm so close to killing her, it's not even funny anymore. She's made all our lives miserable. I already know I'm gonna need therapy after this is over."

"I think we all will. She's done so much damage to all of us."

"Group therapy sessions it is. But in all seriousness, this can't go on for much longer. She's using a blood quill, Minnie. She's quite literally scaring the kids for life."

"There's nothing we can do about it. If we do, we'll end up fired and in Azkaban for breaking at least one of her decrees. We can only make her life hell."

"Oh, that we've been trying."

"We need to try harder. All of us. The only people who are on the right path are the Weasley twins."

"Agreed, we need to help them more."

"Absolutely. The whole school needs to."

"We'll get her out of here one day, hopefully soon."

~~~~~

Well, Dolores, the ugly pink-clad toad is gone. Finally.

Sitting with Minnie in my quarters with a cup of tea after another day of teaching.

"Thank you, Minnie, for continuously stopping me from killing her and ending up in Azkaban."

"Oh, of course, dear, I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't lose my best friend."

"I couldn't lose you either Minnie." I reply with a small smile. We settle into a comfortable silence.

"Can you hear that?" She asks, breaking the silence.

"Peace and quiet and the sound of children talking happily again," I say.

"We did it, y/n, we held out. She's finally gone, and everything is back to normal."

"That it is. Though I do think group therapy is needed." I say with a small chuckle

"You may be right on that account." She agrees with a soft laugh. 

[courtney-deserved-better]

okay ive got fantasy high on the brain so here's a little fantasy high td au that i will never write. spoilers for like. all of it that's been released so far.

the bad kids:

right off the bat, sammy and amy as adaine and aelwyn. don't have much to say on this besides i think they fit pretty well. amy would have to be a bit smarter for aelwyn's place in the story but other than that i think they fit pretty well. sammy as a wizard with anxiety but who also desperately wants to fuck up the ppl who wrong her once she gets treatment for that anxiety. also i like to think in this au that amy would have a redemption arc and she and sammy could learn how to be somewhat functional sisters.

lightning as fabian. they are both egotistical athletes with a ridiculous amount of pressure from their shitty parents and i would love lightning to have an arc where he makes friends and learns to overcome toxic masculinity

dj as gorgug! he has the capacity to rage but he doesn't want to unless its necessary which disappoints people who expect someone as big as him to be a fighter. but he just wants to give tin flowers to his friends! maybe his love for cooking turns into a love for creating and that's how he becomes an artificer. he would definitely make little mechanical animal friends. also that makes his moms wilma and digby

hear me out. priya as kristen. big worshipper of helio thanks to her parents/being his chosen one but as she goes through the world without that strong of an influence she realizes how wrong they are and breaks away from that mentality. a bit of a chaotic being as she goes through life trying to find structure again but dedicated to her friends and whatever deity she's worshiping at the time

kitty as fig. she loves her friends so so much. she wants to try so many different things. she has issues with an authoritative female figure in her life (emma/sandra lynn). i think she could rock the punk/devil aesthetic while still being so friendly and silly.

i had such a hard time figuring out who would be riz but i'm gonna say shawn. they're both conspiracy theorists who probably drink way too much coffee and get way too little sleep. i can see shawn's obsession to surviving the zombie apocalypse be turned into an obsession with solving mysteries in this world. i think it'd be funny if that made sanders sklonda because she already sorta has tired single mom trying her best energy and is (unfortunately) a cop

others:

chris as aguefort. truly a facilitator, manifester, and being of chaos. alternatively i could see him being the jace to chef's porter

millie as ayda!! she would sooo be a librarian who doesn't understand friendship and the chaos that comes with it but wants to be loved so bad but doesn't understand how to get that love and is generally insecure while coming off as knowledgeable and somewhat aloof

if kitty is fig then i can see emma as sandra lynn in an "older sister who's been raising her younger sister and who knows who her real dad is but won't say" i think there's some delicious sister angst there especially with kitty pulling away once she realizes they're actually half sisters and emma knows who kitty's dad is because she's older but won't tell her. not sure how gilear factors into the situation

dave as biz. has his nice guy thing with sammy instead of sky.

zee as zaphriel/the hangvan. just chill vibes dude.

scary girl as baron!! she's already lowkey got the aesthetic in different colors all she needs is the puppet/mask/mirrors stuff. she would haunt the shit out of shawn

raj as ragh!! starts out as a bit of a bully jock but once he gets over his toxic crush, is rescued by the bad kids, and comes out he's so much happier and nicer while still being a total jock. not sure how wayne would fit into the equation but maybe he could just be raj's friend on the bloodrush team

duncan as jawbone is really funny to me because yeah he has this crazy past as a drug dealer but now he's a high school guidance counselor who's super dedicated to helping kids and has embraced the domestic life?? kinda have a hard time seeing it for duncan but i do think it would be really funny

alejandro as garthy. don't have much to say on this just the vibes if alejandro wasn't evil and wanted to chill on a pirate ship he would be garthy.

leonard as sprak they're both so silly

i think putting trent as gilear would be so funny. local normal guy is just cursed to have the worst day every day. make that man the lunch lad

ennui as zayn purely bc of the tall goth aesthetic

beth as cathilda. i like to think she's generally small and helpful but could kick so much ass if needed

the rat grinders:

courtney as kipperlilly there's truly no other choice.

scarlett as oisin bc she seems like the nicest, most reasonable rat grinder and then bam she's been scheming with their most evil plot

crimson as mary ann bc she is so expressionless 24/7 but can fuck you up without blinking

julia as ivy. mean girl time!!

mal as ruben. he thinks he's so edgy and cool when he's just a high schooler who sings in an emo band. kitty would enjoy psychologically tormenting his as wanda chillda

bridgette as lucy!! she and courtney were once best friends until she was the one rat grinder who chose to die rather than be overtaken by rage and courtney is left alive and grieving and betrayed by her best friend

emma (td) as buddy, actually a pretty nice person who is being influenced by a toxic mindset and suffers greatly at the hands of people using her as a pawn

gotta go be a functioning human being in society so that's all i got for now

[lmelodie]

TSCS Season 2 Episode 5

This episode...threw A LOT at me hard and fast, and me specifically. If you are also a fellow Council stan, you probably won't like this episode.

First, not too impressed that Cal is taking after his father and needlessly lying to Sandra to go fight Mad Santa. I love Cal, he brain really is empty, but come on dude. At least try rubbing your two braincells together.

I also keep forgetting that the way the lore is set up, Scott is the first and only human Santa. So, when it's said that Magus was Santa for centuries, I had to do a double take lol. Keeps throwing me for a loop!

Can't believe they got rid of Bernard YET AGAIN. IN A FUCKING FLASHBACK. It's almost funny how they've just given up on giving good excuses as to why Bernard can't be there. They just give him a mention and be like, "Yeah he's not here right now/anymore, ANYWAY."

And I wanna know why Bernard is at the very top of the maim list? What did he do that's worse than leading an actual coop? Good for him though, slay.

SO UGH!! My main beef with this episode is the fucking council! Because its utter BULLSHIT and completely out of character that they wouldn't help! I'm actually with Scott on this one surprisingly, you're telling me they can send Cupid to spy on him in his own home but not help the elves to rebel against a very clearly evil Santa???

They don't even give a good reason for it either! It's just a non-answer of "Legends can't interfere" which they most DEFINITLY CAN! Its bullshit! And I refuse to believe that the council would do this.

Like, you're telling me that this is the same council that seemed so sincerely supportive of Scott and his issues for the last two movies? The same council that came down to the pole to personally help pick up the slack in the third movie??? No, simply put I refuse to acknowledge that bullshit their trying to feed us, the council is nice and cares about the other members okay!

Also, I don't know how to feel about Befana being an ex-council member. I kinda liked her better as a cool forest dwelling Christmas witch that does her own thing and doesn't listen to a higher authority.

And maybe this could've worked better if there were any hints AT ALL to this being a thing, but it was never once implied up until this point that there has been any other council member's period. But of course, there wasn't! So, this development falls a little flat for me, not very impactful and a little jarring if anything.

He's a lemon...they turned him into a lemon. I can feel the years being taken off my lifespan...

And stealing the legendries powerful artifacts? NOT NECCESARY IN THE SLIGHTEST. Especially stealing cupid's arrows when normal arrows would've worked just fine! Are these arrows benign?? Are these gnomes gonna start falling in love when they wake up? Does the council currently know about all the stolen shit and have forgiven the elves and Befana? Do they STILL not know that this happened??

Also, really didn't need to use the arrows and sleep dust if you had Mother Nature's WIND AND LIGHTNING. LIGHTNING!! You couldn't win a battle with the actual (ill gotten) forces of nature???

This might be what I need to start drafting that hate fic. The spite fueled one shot. Because god damn there is so much petty CRIME happening here committed BY THE GOOD GUYS.

I don't even know how they're gonna possibly wrap all of this up, I am so tired.

[kheprriverse]

You have to stop making such amazing art. Tumblr is so restricting I can’t possibly reblog it enough /lh But alas. Words also have meaning, right?

Be warned: I may not make any sense because I’m tired <3

Your art is literally so. Inspiring though. Your style is so beautiful and pretty and it’s just somehow— It makes me want to create? Honestly. I’d love to have a style like yours, but also I’m happy with mine! So instead, the inly valid thing to do is EAT YOUR ART AND REBLOG SO MANY TIMES!!! I’m keeping my own style, and building off it: While you and other artists do the same with what you do!

That being said. Your art just makes my day sometimes. Seeing you post gives me such joy and anytime I see the stupid silly (Cedar /Affec) it’s an instant giggling and kicking my feet like a feral child. So much stimming happens, and I literally love every design and thing you come up with. It’s just. Woah <3

My want to eat art is always at a 10/10: Let me consume the heckin heckles out of everything. Like. shredding the entire walls up. Such zoomies from art. Everything about your art most times just feels. Soft and cozy. Makes it feel like home sometimes and probably tastes like. Fluff. (That’s not a taste but whatever. It counts in my brain?) Maybe even like some sweet candy or dish, idek. Tastes aren’t tasting but damn art does arting?

Not only are you a cool and amazing talented artist, you’re also such a cool person beyond that and just so sweet I would just like to hug, yknow? Strangely I feel like I should be like. Somewhat intimidated because COOL PERSON ARTIST WOAH YOU INTERACT WITH ME??!? But also, I’m not… Really that intimidated? I don’t know, feel welcoming, just like the feeling yoir art brings and its just. Comforting?

You and your silly goody personality is so amazing and you’re so talented, I’m gonna flee now back into the ground: Hopefully this made somewhat sense— And that you have a lovely week/day/month— Just time in general!

*descends away*

~ Z

No I won't stop! Only pretty designs and silly guys ✨! (I am also very tired so its all okay. Also apologies if you wanted this answered privately.)

Also I'm gonna cry abkvjadbvjkkdvbad /pos This means so much! I'm very bad with explaining how I feel but I'm gonna try my bets lmao. It makes me so happy to hear that people really like my stuff, AND think I'm a cool person! I want my space to be kinda chill, friendly, etc and I'm very glad that so far I've been doing a pretty good job :'D

tysm again! I'm very glad u like my stuff (and think I'm cool). I woke up a few hours ago with a headache, dizziness, and was just generally feeling kinda bad and couldn't go back to sleep. But seeing this ask has so far made my day 100 times better! I hope the space I provide continues to bring joy (or just general silliness) to you and others <3

(also I'm glad you like my art too. Ive been having weird issues looking @ my own art since December, which I've never had before, so it makes me become a little silly whenever I get a comment on it. Really improves my motivation and lot and helps me continue what I love most: drawing funny guys and beasties :>)

[drac-onion]

Back at it again. A year since I posted Beneath Her Mask. Same thing as last time. Fun facts or just looking back at something I done did write once upon a time exactly a year ago.

This is going to be very "stream of consciousness" and probably hard to read, but here goes.

First off, wow that title sucks. I came up with it like right before posting and then rolled with it. Nowadays I would put off uploading something for MONTHS if I couldn't figure out an original and interesting title. Oops.

Anyway, this one is a lot better than the last one. Promise. The whole thing is a little bit iffy still, but I was very new. The formatting is the main issue I have with. The concept is...fine, although I think I could have gone a little bit further with and then lead into where this one starts. Ya know, inform the reader as to the situation that lead to Makoto's desire to keep everything to herself? But I kinda made it ambiguous on purpose. Good thing I didn't have to follow up on this a few months later... Oh wait. The stakes were just: awkward. No gay panic (like the tags say, oops), no internalized anything, no worries over team cohesion with members of the PTs dating, none of that. If I would ever go back and rewrite this (don't fucking tempt me) I would definitely expand on things a lot more. But hey, I probably shouldn't try and go back and fix all my old stuff. I'd never get anything done otherwise.

Oh yeah, Makoto's "113 decibel alarm clock" is a real thing. I actually have one. I sleep through every other alarm clock out there. The thing is so good, it will actually scare you awake. Pretty nice. (If probably a little too loud for apartment living in Japan where the walls are very thin.)

Oh yeah, and the tense a few times. Annoying.

I dunno why I made it three chapters. It's just over 3.5k words. That would have been fine to keep as a single chapter one-shot, but I think I just had a hard time with having scenes switch mid-chapter. Chapters are a good way to signal a scene switch, but nowadays I'll just use a line break and go with it. I've just improved as a writer, I think, and so now my old mistakes bug the shit out of me.

If I named all the issues I had, I'd be here all day. So, what did I get right with this? I think the concept is alright. The dialogue is good at points. The scene in Leblanc is pretty good. Good guy Sojiro being cool with lesbians (very cool of him). And the text convos at the end are also pretty okay. The "out of your league" comment still gets me for some reason. It's kinda funny.

Also I made a custom dialogue option for Akira, referencing the very first thing he says at the beginning of the story. I think it turned out okay. (I'd like to do more art/edits relevant to my writing. I've thought about making cover/chapter art for my current project. I guess we'll see how I'm feeling. A little wattpad-y of me, but it'd be interesting.)

I'm just now realizing that I should've made the "third option" a little cheeky. Maybe something like "Come here often?" or whatever. Ah well. Next time.

So, overall? It's an improvement. It's not perfect, but it was the second thing I'd ever written. (Once again, I don't count the RE one. I should probably anon it tbh.)

Anyway, that was something. The next "retrospective" (I guess that's what these are now) will be on Beneath Their Masks.

That one is a doozy, and I think I'm going to have a decent amount to say about it. It's also really long, so that's also a thing I'm gonna have to worry about. I'll probably do that on 10/1 because that's when I posted the first chapter. Maybe I'll have enough time to write up mini retrospectives for each chapter? And then post those throughout October? That could be interesting. And tiring. But still, interesting. I could pull the original upload dates since I made a tumblr in between ACIFT and BHM. Although those are going to be VERY spaced out, especially near the end. So much for doing a month's worth of prompts WITHIN the month. But I'll save all my whining for when those go up.

Also, shoutouts again to my beta at the time, @makomaki5. I hope you're doing well.

Anyway, I think that's about it. See ya.

[hospitalterrorizer]

diary160

2/21-22/2024

wednesday - thursday

sooo tired rn.

so i will keep it short. i guess. although today was exciting since the only game i'm particularly like, into, in recent memory/that's still being worked on, got the trailer for its expansion put out, w/ elden ring. that's fun for me, now i can be like, overly eager for something, i guess. i'm making myself sound less excited but it's really palpable, i really like that game and think a lot of people act like it's less weird than the other souls games or something, when it feels pretty bizarre, and the way you traverse the world lets things get pretty atmospheric, it feels unique in open world games.

anyway, it makes me feel funny to be excited about games, it reminds me of being younger but it's not like i'm old... really, i think, but i dunno. is 25 supposed to be old now?

anyways, today was busy in other ways, 4 songs done today, or done-ish, there's some problems with this last one and i've decided to mess around w/ the guitar tone, to try and get it right. i'm hopeful that this first pass will make sense when i listen back to it shortly.

i also wrote lyrics for this last song here, so maybe that's something i can record tomorrow? or idk, i think i should focus on the song that was giving me trouble the other day, and then try and get to something else tomorrow as well. i am gonna be hanging out w/ my friend tomorrow so maybe i should talk to him about going over to record screams and stuff at some point, as well. i might want to prep for that tomorrow if i can, or feel like it, or whatever. but it'd suck to spring that on him, suck of me, i think, it's like, idk, it'd be fun to just do whatever w/ him, it's been a while since it's just been him and i in a room together.

the song sounds almost there, i think i removed too many mids so i'm going to try bringing some back in, so the riff is more audible and not just a kind of like, noise wall.

and that's working so well i feel like i should do it again.

i also did more pixel art stuff today, which is fun.

okay, one last bit of messing w/ this song and i need to sleep, if i stay up doing this i risk messing up a sound i basically like but something feels off w/, my guess is that there's too much white noise and so i have to cut some out, which can actually sharpen the sound, when there's less noise over 10k, another thing might be split eq but i can figure that out tomorrow, maybe.

alright, the song definitely just needs some more minor messing around, but the big issues w/ tone have been alleviated i think, i just hope they don't come back when i bring the volume down on the big guitars. i also wonder if maybe the feedback setup i put in the fx chain is making it flubby or something, that could also be what's making the tone seem to not really sit in the high end at all. i'll mess w/ that tomorrow too.

anyways, i really do need to sleep now

so

byebye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gaozorous-rex-blog]

Oooooh, that'd be so fun! But also, this little scene popped up in my head as soon as I read, "Jazz as Oracle":

Just as Tim was about to leave the Cave after delivering the latest samples from a Rogue attack, the Bat computer's screen lit up with a picture of Oracle on it.

She... Looked so much like Jazz it hurt. Well. A very, very overworked and underpaid Jazz. Which, was exactly what one Barbara Gordon WAS. To be honest, most superheroes were. At least in this life he got a great paycheck and an actual future to go with all the shitty trauma. Hurray for trust fund babies, I guess. Even when dropping out of highschool, you can get an amazing job.

"..im?! TIM!?!"

..Ah. He spaced out while staring at her. Awkward.

"Hey Babs. Sorry about that. What do you need?"

"Are you okay, Tim?? I called you like 10 times..."

"Yeah, just a bit tired. I'm going to sleep for like a week after this case," he jokes. Like they ever had time for that much sleep, but he's incredibly tempted to go on a damn vacation from his day job just to get over himself enough to get work done as efficiently as possible again. These memories were incredibly inconvenient, especially when it involved regaining past powers when one worked on a team of POWERLESS individuals. Yeah... Life hates him.

"Living the dream right there," she jokes right back, but he can tell through her eyes that she's still worried about him. "Anyway, I'm just doing another info drop on the case, and just wanted to check in on you, what with that fight with Scarecrow a week ago... You know you can rely on the girls and I to cover for your patrol or talk to any of us about what happened if you want, right? You aren't alone, Tim. We're here for you if you need us."

Sigh. Of course. Ever since that night and after recovering enough to function, then basically telling them to fuck off in more polite words (and then later in less polite words when they kept bothering him), they've all been hounding him with all of this feel good shit they don't even actually believe in when it comes to him. He was so over it it's not even funny. He couldn't repress his bitter chuckle.

"Are you kidding me? I'm definitely not useful enough to you to ask for that sort of thing. See ya, O. I got shit to do."

And with that, he turned around, marched to his bike, and revved out of the Cave like the hounds of hell were after him. He didn't notice nor care to notice the absolutely stunned face of one Barbara Gordon as she watched him leave.

This... Definitely complicated things. Bruce was going to have a conniption. Dick... Oh, DICK... Barbara was already getting a headache over the wailing he'll no doubt be doing once he finds out what Tim thinks of them all. If she could get them all to stay alone in a room with a therapist, she'd literally beg Harley to help them with as much of their issues as possible. But it was like trying to herd CATS with these idiots. Tim especially. He was the wiliest cat of all of them. Sigh. Well there goes her already booked evening. She's so glad her couch is the comfiest cloud to rest on. She's gonna need it after this shit show of a debrief. (But if it could somehow help Tim, then she would consider it worth it.)

Screaming into the night

Danny is reborn as tim.

Tim gets his memories back near the beginning of his robin run when he still has a rocky relationship with Bruce. He’s scared and keeps his mouth shut. This goes on for years never getting the right time to be revealed.

It isn't until the scarecrow uses a new fear gas that it comes up. Tim is hit and has to relive the portal incident. He is screaming with no brakes and does not respond to anyone.

The bat family has idea what he is seeing but they do find out from scarecrows taunting that the gas makes you relive your most painful memories. The entire family is wondering when this happened and when Tim wakes up he is not going to be very forthcoming.

[the-possum-writes]

Hi, could I ask for a 'there's only one bed' trope with finn the human? Thanks!

There's Only One Bed!

❥Ship: Finn Mertens/Reader

❥Tags: Oneshot, Fluff, humor, fanfic tropes, gender neutral!reader

❥Synopsis: A terrible storm has lead you and Finn to stay at an inn, confesiones are made and tropes are expected.

❥Taglist: @watchingfromthefloorboards

You wish you could call this an ordinary storm but after witnessing a metallic billboard get blown off its hinges and crash land on a car, it's understandable why you don't want to risk traveling in this weather. The safest idea was to cut this expedition short and seek refuge in a nearby town, preferably the cheapest inn you two could find.

"Yeah we're alright, just gonna wait out the storm at an inn," you hear Finn talking to Jake through the phone line. It isn't like you're actively eavesdropping on him, it's just that you happen to be within hearing distance. What a coincidence. "Chill man, we're gonna get separate rooms-" Finn gives you a side glance before placing a hand over the receiver end and purposely turn his back, but you can still manage to distinguish a few lines. "No, no, I don't need you to lecture me on tier 15 again... Cause I'm not a preteen anymore geez! I'll see you in the morning." he eventually hanged up in a furious whisper, looking rather agitated.

"Something wrong?" you ask him, going so far as to fan him with a pamphlet.

Finn scratches the back of his head with a brief laugh. "Nothing, just Jake being Jake." he changes the topic by pointing to the reservation desk. "Did you get our room keys?"

You lower your sight to the ground, scratching the back of your ear. "Yes and no. They told me all the rooms were taken except for one..." to demonstrate your point you raise the single key hanging from your index finger.

Finn exhales from his nose in a tiny laugh. "Really? Uh, that doesn't sound too bad. We've camped together before, you'll just take one bed and I'll take the other."

You nod with uncertainty, too embarrassed to explain the situation until he sees it for himself.

Finn didn't see an issue until you two reached said room in question, opening it to reveal the only thing you've been dreading after watching countless cheesy room coms with Pb and Marcy. A single king sized bed in an otherwise spacious room, not only that but it's decorated with hearts, shades of pink and typical lovely dovely imagery usually reserved for valentines day. "Reception said the honeymoon suite was the only one available," you shift awkwardly as you take a step inside the room, it reeks of lotion and flowery scented candles. "The decoration is awful, but look at the bright side! it had a 2x1 discount price." Finn can tell you're trying to make light of the inconvenience but it's pretty hard when everything in the room screams romance while the two of you are just friends. Right?

Okay that's a partial lie, there's been some growing tension between the two of you for a while now but for the sake of the friendship neither of you took the initiative.

"No biggie! You're probably more tired than I am. You can take the bed." Finn reassures you, funny enough he turns around to avoid meeting your gaze. You lower you back pack beside the bed and it's overly exaggerated amount of pillows. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll just sleep on this weird curved sofa."

"... Uh Finn, that's not a sofa." you pause momentarily, realizing you'd rather not explain what that piece of furniture is. Or even less, explain why you know what that piece of furniture is for. "You've done a lot of heavy lifting all the way here, maybe you should have it." you raise a hand to his shoulder but the boy flinched to your touch.

"No, no its alright. Honest!" his tone is slightly raised, proving the opposite.

His conversation with Jake started making sense now. You firmly press your hands on Finn's shoulders and force him to turn him around, that's when you're met with what he was trying to hide, the tomato red blush spread over his boyish face. "Finn, we're both equally tired after that trip, we both deserve a good night sleep. Besides, we've known each other for a long time and I trust you won't do anything inappropriate, so I don't see an issue with sharing a bed for today."

"But..."

"Do you trust me?" you interrupt him, keeping eye contact.

"I uh, I do." he nods.

"Good," you end the conversation with a stern nod. "Now I'll go take a hot shower and get out of these wet clothes."

Finn watches you grab a change of dry clothes and make your way to the bathroom, he admires how mature you handled the situation while he's standing here with his face hot enough to fry an egg. Normally he has no issues sharing beds, but the obvious embarrassment reveals his true feelings about you. Despite how you handled the situation in front of Finn, the second you hide behind the bathroom door you find yourself blushing madly as you squeal under your breath.

After the two of you warm up, tuck into bed and turn off the light, you feel your roommate turn his back to you on his side of the bed. If anyone walked in on the two of you they would think you and Finn are a couple who had an argument. You don't know why but you feel at peace, maybe it's the tranquility of sleeping in a bed after camping in the wilderness, the blankets warmth compared to walking in the rain, or the water droplets smacking against the windows in an almost rhythmic melody. Truthfully, you think it's because of Finn's presence next to you, something about it makes you feel safe and comfortable. Like when he watches over you when you sleep during stake outs.

"Hey Finn, are you asleep yet?" you fear he’s already long asleep, but he responds with a raspy voice, as if he was on the brink of sleeping.

"Not anymore," he chuckles. "What's up? Can't get some shut eye?" he asks.

"Kind of, sorry about your own sleep though. I'm probably a terrible roommate." you lament, hiding deeper in the covers.

"You're not that bad, at least you don't snore like Jake after a house party." you appreciate his comforting words with a brief laugh, but there's still something bothering you. "Then why were you so adamant about sharing with me?"

Finn didn't respond immediately but you feel the bed shift lightly. "Cause the thought of being so close to you made me feel funny." The response wasn't exactly what you were expecting. "A good funny or a bad funny?" you indulge yourself in his explanation. "Well, it makes me happy and warm inside so it's probably a good funny." he's no fool and neither are you, but Finn is being careful about this in case you don't feel the same, almost like he's treading on thin ice. Which is dumb, because you share the same feelings.

You lift the top portion of your body so you could turn around and face Finn, where he still has his back to you. "You also make me feel happy and warm." Finn finally turned around, his shocked face turning into a pleasing smile. "And here I thought I would make for a terrible roommate." you laugh one last time before breaking into a long yawn.

"Let's talk about this tomorrow."

If it wasn't for last night's confessions it would've made the next morning much more awkward, you woke up wrapped around in Finn’s arms with your legs tangled within his in a domestic display you've only seen in romance movies. Looks like overused tropes aren't so bad after all.

[sisitrip]

Snippet of a WIP for Wednesday (Thursday)

I was tagged by @annatrow to share a snippet of a WIP. Thank you! I chose this one because I am fighting for my life in the editing process (pacing issues CANNOT have me goddamnit lol). Thank you Anna for helping me unfreeze a little on this work.

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

Ian’s soft laughter finally reached him. “The fuck’s so funny?” Mickey murmured, boneless and smiling.

“Nothing, I just … it’s fucking stupid,” Ian chuckled out.

“Would you just spit it the fuck out,” he pressed, reaching for his abandoned towel and cleaning himself up.

“Before we even got started, I kept trying to find a way to get you to say something sexy so we could do that,” Ian confessed shyly. “Turns out, all I had to do was ask why you sounded so muffled and boom … phone sex.”

They both laughed, sated and a little sex drunk.

“Yeah, well don’t think that’s gonna work the next time.”

“Oh, so there’s a next time in our future?” Ian asked lecherously.

“Fall back ya thirsty bitch,” he giggled out. “And, yes, there will be a next time.”

Mickey stretched happily, flexing his toes. This may not be what he wanted, this distance between them that’s only connected by an open phone line, but he’d take it. What wouldn't he take from Ian?

“Hey, you wanna know something?” Ian hesitantly whispered after a beat of silence.

“Still the most talkative fucker after sex.” He got up and pulled on a pair of boxers and a tank top. "Most guys fall asleep and shit. But you? No, your ass turns into Cathy Chatty.”

“It’s Chatty Cathy you dope.”

“Whatever. You still run your mouth like fuck after sex.”

Grinning, Mickey dropped onto the bed, grabbing and lighting a cigarette.

“I do not, asshole,” Ian whined, sounding sleepy.

He inhaled and blew out smoke in affectionate exasperation.

“Just tell me, Cathy. You gotta be at work in a few hours. You need a nap before then.” Mickey turned off the lamp and the lights of Patsy’s Pies bathed the room in a soft yellow glow.

“It’s just, don’t wig out, but, I swore I saw you everywhere today. Fucking everywhere. If that’s the worst part of this bipolar shit, I ain’t complaining.”

Alarmed, Mickey spoke quietly. “Tell me you’re still taking them.”

“Please don’t start Mick. I’m taking them. There’s an adjustment period, remember?”

Mickey’s hammering heart slowed with relief. He would always be rattled whenever Ian confessed a symptom. He couldn’t help it.

“I can hear you thinking, Mickey. Sounds like rusty wheels grinding,” Ian murmured sleepily then laughed through his nose. Mickey couldn’t help his answering grin.

“You can choke on it Cathy.”

“Promise?”

Their tired laughter unwound the remaining tension Mickey held in his body and he relaxed with it.

“Want me to keep the line open again?” he asked softly, wanting to take care of Ian, even in this small way.

Ian hummed tiredly. “Yeah. Kind of need it.”

Mickey melted to his core. He kind of needed it too.

“Okay Cathy, you got it,” he whispered. Ian made a happy, snuffling sound.

“Thanks Mickey,” Ian murmured. He sounded so inviting, soft and safe. Mickey just wanted to drop everything, race to the Gallagher house and crawl in next to him.

He put the phone on speaker and settled down, waiting for Ian’s soft breathing to usher him into sleep.

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

I'm tagging @energievie @whaticameherefor @notherenewjersey @ianrightsonly @shameless-notashamed for this one too. If you've done it or would rather not, take this tag as a hello from me to you. :)

[butwhatifidothis]

Tumblr is starting to VERY MUCH dislike how long the other reblog chain is getting, so this will be Reblog Chain 2 of my jotting down notes of this fic. Here is the first reblog chain for Chapters 1-20

But it appears as though I was correct in sleeping off Chapter 20, because Chapter 21 is. Hm. bad. Very. Not good.

Chapter 21:

Transcript under the cut:

Chapter 21: It's Called Scars so it Gonna Be Ass

- To be blunt, the constant need to reaffirm that yes, Edelgard went through terrible experimentation and that yes, they were very horrific, is tiring. This is chapter 21. The experiments occurred in chapter 2. Every single chapter between now and then have, at some point, mentioned that INDEED, Edelgard DID in fact go through horrific trauma. It is tiring to the reader to constantly have to reread the same thing - we know it happened. We know it was terrible. There's no need to constantly say so; we already understand as readers.

- "Every time the spark of life broke through Byleth’s blank face, it brought a flickering hope to the Flame Emperor’s heart." ->

- Firstly: Awkward use of the Flame Emperor epithet (its usage is on and off with how appropriate its been - this is off).

- Secondly: Once again, Byleth's face was rarely if ever blank. She was never the Ashen Demon, as even the last chapter showcased. The author is mistaking reservation with emotionlessness, which is simply wrong

- "There had been so many empty days and nights, without friendship, love or joy. With nothing to hope for, except someday, the peace of the grave." -> Suicidal tendencies: another trait that Edelgard doesn't have... (strikes against canon: 89)

- ...but Dimitri does. Counter: 12

- "Dimitri, too, was troubled by the thought, grasping the side of his head and frowning. As the spasm passed, he turned to Edelgard and smiled warmly." -> It seems a little callous to so casually toss Dimitri's symptoms into his interactions with others when such things simply don't occur in the canon interactions. It's not impossible, or strictly against canon, but it does not feel natural; it's more as though the author is shining bright neon signs that say DIMITRI HAS MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES than a genuine attempt at writing Dimitri's mental health issues. This is not the first time this sort of seemingly thoughtless showcasing of symptoms has happened (Noted separately: Dimitri having drastic mood swings)

- "No, this world must be ruled by humans…not cruel gods who ignored the prayers of little girls." -> This statement follows Edelgard internally chastising the actions of not gods, but the Children of the Goddess. This is a weaselly attempt at dodging Edelgard's racist beliefs that Nabateans should not be allowed positions of power by shifting the belief to apply to miscellaneous gods instead. While not inaccurate per se - she does also canonically believe that gods should have no power in human affairs - it is not honest

- "Byleth nodded with childlike simplicity. “We should all try to get along.”" -> Again describing Byleth as childlike and/or innocent. Counter: 3

- For those curious: yes, the rat scene is implemented, yes it is sloppy, yes it is out of character for Claude - so much so that it is being noted separately - and yes it is forced to all hell

- What will be noted here, however, is that this is yet another instance of a man being demeaned/humiliated for the honor of a woman. See quote: "Byleth was on him in an instant, a tempest forming in the sea of her blue eyes. “That isn’t funny.” She crossed her arms sternly. “Jokes are about bringing people together...about making them smile. Right now, the only person laughing is you.”" with Claude reacting awkwardly. Once again, Man Bad Woman Good

- In a showcasing of a complete lack of self-awareness within the fic: "“Maybe if you’d have taught the Deer instead…but since you seem to have no ambitions outside of cleaning up Edelgard’s messes…”" -> This is Claude being portrayed as the bad guy, not the one being completely and utterly right

- " She slapped Edelgard on the back, and smiled heartily. “I agree, Dimitri!” Edelgard grimaced, trying to hide the fact her teacher had just struck the wound she had received during the mock battle." -> As well as where undoubtedly countless scars would be, yes? Scars that still cause Edelgard pain? In fact, Edelgard has been slapped on the back by Byleth and Jeralt numerous times before, and yet expresses no pain or discomfort.

- Another thing, that I had not noted though ought to have: Edelgard, a victim of sexual assault (in this fic), rarely seems to mind people touching her. She gets a little surprised if someone tries to get her attention with touch, yes, but Byleth's constant unprompted and random touching of Edelgard is never said to do anything but bring warmth and joy and comfort to Edelgard. It seems as though Edelgard suffering through sexual assault is just another source of trauma for the author to dump onto her for nothing more than pity points

- This is incredibly harsh to say, yes, and I would usually refrain from attributing such harshness onto a piece of text, but remember that Edelgard's scars only cause her pain when it's convenient, that she only experiences headaches when it's convenient, that she experiences PTSD episodes (when Claude mentions the rat) when it's convenient (note that in this fic he does it outside of battle, where her getting triggered wouldn't compromise her chances at victory). Edelgard not being touch averse and being a victim of sexual assault are not inherently something bad - survivors react to trauma differently, after all - but it is another in a steadily longer line of instances where Edelgard is simply given trauma for the sake of making her pitiable to the reader and the love interest, not something that Edelgard genuinely has to struggle with.

- "As Claude and Dimitri looked at their classmate expectantly, Edelgard was wracked with another bout of guilt. Deep in her soul, the princess knew these peaceful days would end soon. When that happened, no feast or vows of friendship could make up for the chaos and horror she would unleash. It would be better to pull away, close off her heart, rather than fuel the flames of her inevitable betrayal." -> Aka, "Feel bad for me, I feel guilty for planning to cause the death and ruination of countless innocents' lives all because I convinced myself that my way is the only way to get things done my way without ever actually trying to see if more peaceful ways could have worked. I'm going to orphan children, force families to fight each other, have the land be rampaged by banditry, and overall bring chaos onto these days that I ADMIT ARE PEACEFUL all because I feel that my way would be better. Wah wah pity me but I don't wanna be pitied I promise wah wah."

- "Byleth shrugged with a characteristic blend of innocence and spirit. “I guess I just like winning.” She began to blush and grabbed Edelgard’s hand. "It's so exciting! I’ve never had anyone other than Papa to celebrate with before!”" -> Byleth = innocent/childlike. Counter: 4

- The fic likes to reaffirm again and again that Byleth is "now" only acting like this due to Edelgard's presence in her life. Note also these statements written previously: "Every day, [Edelgard] was watching the person she loved grow and change. Become who she always was supposed to be." This, perhaps unintentionally, again enforces the "Lesbian Love is Pure and Innocent" trope; these wlw are only allowed to be their good girl, innocent selves - who they were always supposed to be - due to the pure lesbian love they have found with one another

- Count Bergliez didn't know of the experiments initially, but he eventually found out and did nothing to stop them, fleeing from a young and tortured El who was pleading for him to save her - Unnecessarily painting Count Bergliez as a spineless coward too afraid of Duke Aegir to save a child in pain

- Once again, a man fails to save a woman and further traumatizes her

- It should be noted that Bergliez is fearful not for his own life, but for that of his children, who were the ones Duke Aegir threatened. He, very similar to Ionius, cannot save Edelgard, except Bergliez (unlike Ionius) has a tangible, physical, explainable reason as to why he couldn't, and yet it is him who is painted as the bad guy, not Ionius. He is worthy of Edelgard's scorn and hatred, but Ionius only receives a begrudging feeling of betrayal from Edelgard that she feels guilty for harboring, even though he failed her far more than Bergliez failed her.

- "Daughters must always be loyal to their fathers" trope

- "No decent person thought the things Edelgard did. Just as her body had been twisted and shattered by the experiments, her mind bore terrible scars. Scars that the monster kept hidden, so she could walk in the world of men." -> Dehumanizing oneself as a monster as well as having violent thoughts (that specifically stem from trauma) one feels guilty for harboring are not traits Edelgard shows in canon... (strikes against canon, 90, 91)

- ...but Dimitri does. Counter: 13, 14

- "world of men?" Did the author perhaps mean "world of man," as in mankind? Keep note of

- The reason as to why Bergliez is said to have witnessed young El's tortured state and did nothing to help her is revealed: in canon, he dislikes her. It is blatantly and objectively said that he and Edelgard share a mutual displeasure in the other's company. What this fic had him do will be used as an excuse as to why he doesn't hate her, since no one is allowed to dislike Edelgard on the "good" side

- Edelgard, upon being asked if revenge is the reason she is doing what she's doing (reuniting Fodlan): "“No.” Edelgard put her hand to her chin thoughtfully. “I think for a long time, it was…but after a while, I realized that revenge wouldn’t satisfy me.” She looked at the blue sky above. “After you go through that much suffering…when you beg for help, day after day, and no one cares...you realize that nothing will ever truly make you feel safe again. The only thing I want is for this madness to end.”" -> This is internally inconsistent. See chapter 15 note: ""You know why they created me in the first place.” / “To reunite Fódlan,” spat Hubert. “It was all my father talked about.” / “And I will give it to them. "" This directly connects Edelgard's want to reunite Fodlan to the wants of her tormenters (as this states she is doing it out of spite). Note how Hubert spits at the idea of reuniting Fodlan, and how it was all his father - portrayed as a villain - talked about. This is not what this Edelgard wants, at least not of her own independent want. Earlier in this very chapter, Edelgard internally states a want to hurt Bergliez for leaving her behind. To say that she now no longer thinks vengeance would satisfy her, or that none of the reason that she is doing everything she does is out of a want for revenge, is ridiculous

- Edelgard to Bergliez, upon being asked what will happen to him and his family should Edelgard rise to power: "“All those who distinguish themselves will be rewarded. Given your history, I have little doubt you will be among them.” She nervously played with her white gloves. “All I ask is that when I seize back control of the throne, I can count on the military’s support.”" -> Yes, all who distinguish themselves to Edelgard, for Edelgard's cause, that Edelgard can see and/or know of. How likely is it that a poor farmer who is exceptional at fighting will actually be noticed by Edelgard and be given the credit he deserves, when others who may not be as meritable but do have some merit have the connections to show themselves directly in front of Edelgard? What means will Edelgard give the poor soldiers (that she or Byleth aren't already friends with, notably Dorothea and Leonie) that will allow them to be able to be seen by her and have their merits recognized? Edelgard is the one who says who gains power after all, so it is her they must prove themselves to, but how can they realistically do that?

- What about professions that are not immediately beneficial to Edelgard's cause, such as the arts? How will they fare in Edelgard's society, when their works and talents yield no tangible, objective results (such as, say, farming)?

- Something the fic will address?

- Edelgard does not nervously do anything in front of those she is trying to negotiate with in canon, not even Thales. Strikes against canon: 92

- "[Bergliez] could only laugh in response. “I think we’re going to get along rather well, my lady…and the other?”" -> Except Bergliez and Edelgard don't get along well, ever. Pre ts they are stated to dislike each other, which continues even onto post ts with Bergliez being the only noble Edelgard couldn't bring to heel. Strikes against canon: 93

- As predicted: No one is allowed to dislike Edelgard on the "good" side

- Literally forgot Hubert was with Edelgard and Bergliez lmao

- Ionius tried to consolidate power to be rid of the consort system due to his unending love for Anselma -> A ridiculous idea, plain and simple. Ionius was Emperor. If he wished to be rid of the consort system there was no need for him to try and take away all power from the other Imperial houses.

- If Ionius truly loved Anselma, why did he allow her to be exiled from the Empire? Why didn't he step in and use his influence as Emperor to help her?

- Edelgard, when she is Emperor - passed down a supposedly empty crown, at that - showcases the all-encompassing power the title of Emperor truly holds to one willing to use that power. That Ionius supposedly wanted to do all of these reforms and yet nothing at all was done, ever (save for ruining Houses Hrym and Ordelia, something even this fic has as canon), if Ionius did want to make these reforms, means that he was too spineless and cowardly to truly go through with trying to pass them. This again unintentionally showcases how awful a ruler and weak-willed a person Ionius was when he had power when trying to paint him in this righteous light.

- Lambert was stated to be trying to pass reforms before he died in canon, not Ionius. From parents to the children, the author is attributing traits from Lambert onto Ionius just as he (author's confirmed gender is male) attributes traits from Dimitri onto Edelgard

- " Her father and mother…she had thought their romance a fairy tale-a story from her father to make a motherless child feel valued. But…they truly had loved each other." -> Edelgard does believe Ionius when he told her of the story of when he and Anselma (supposedly) met each other. There is nothing to indicate that Edelgard thought it to be a lie: in fact, in canon: "But I choose to believe there was genuine love between them." Strikes against canon: 94

- It seems as though finally, after around 18 chapters, Edelgard's scars will finally cause her genuine inconvenience due to her complex about them as well as her trust issues. She has a gash on her back from the Battle of Eagle and Lion, but will not have it treated if Manuela isn't the healer, and yet the woman is occupied dealing with the rest of the students who were injured. How will this fic deal with this?

- Ingrid, referring to her and Sylvain: ""We just switched from Felix lecturing us all day to listening to Edelgard moralizing, didn’t we?"" -> The author is trying to compare a childhood friend whose friends have had years to get used to their barbed tongue to a stranger that directly insults the dreams of one of them. Something which Ingrid canonically hates having be done to her, even from Felix, a childhood friend. Once again, Ingrid being so casual about Edelgard being so disrespectful of her dreams is out of character. Strikes against canon: 95

- "Sylvain shook his head knowingly, ignoring Felix’s truly alarming scowl. “You should have seen his face, Edelgard. Dimitri would go on and on about this girl he met when he was a kid…and Felix would complain about her for hours!” He looked at Felix and smiled. “For all his whining about the “Boar,” nobody loves Dimitri more than him.”" -> Oh? A romantic gay male relationship presenting itself within the fic?

- Another vision of SS experienced by Edelgard. Word from a nameless guard: "The woman, Byleth, leading their forces... She’s not human! She killed half my battalion with one swing of that sword of hers. She didn’t speak, she didn’t shout, she didn’t even change her expression!” The panicked man was teetering on the edge of hysteria. “All those people rallying around her, and it’s like she doesn’t care at all. Like she's a walking corpse!"" -> Obviously saying that Byleth becomes the Ashen Demon if not allowed to be with Edelgard.

- Unintentional statement: Byleth can't be the pure innocent (lesbian) woman without Edelgard's (lesbian) love granting her purity, reverting her to a monstrous, corrupt demon incapable of humanity

- See chapter 20 note: "Implying that choosing SS - aka, choosing the Nabateans - makes Byleth less human. Intentional?" Confirmed to be intentional. Also false: in canon, even when accounting for CF's lesser chapter count, Byleth emotes far more on SS than on CF, which matches with CF having Edelgard call Byleth detached in their A support. Strikes against canon: 96

- The same nameless soldier, same context: "And those Faerghus kids…” / Edelgard leaned forward in her chair. “Ingrid…Sylvain…what of them?” / “They…they were animals. Screaming and ranting about revenge for the King.” -> Is the author really demonizing Sylvain and Ingrid for (potentially!) being mad at Edelgard for murdering one of their childhood friends? Is that really the depths the Edelgard worship will sink to, that friends becoming enraged at a friend's unjust murder from a warlord is being portrayed as something sad for the warlord? Just what else should Edelgard be pitied for?

- "The scared girl desperately tried to drown out the thoughts that reverberated incessantly. / They’re going to despise us…it’s destiny. And how could they not? If we were truly good, the Goddess would have saved us…protected us. But She didn’t. The Goddess took Mother. She took our family. And soon, She’ll take everything else we love. She hates us. / It’s what we deserve." - Now confirmed that Edelgard hears multiple voices in her head tormenting her. That trait that, once again, Edelgard does not have... (Strikes against canon: 97)

- ...but Dimitri does. This is the third time this chapter that this has happened, and far from the only chapter to display such baffling characterization of Edelgard via Dimitri's traits. It is nonsensical.

- " Why had [Edelgard] even been born at all? Nonexistence would have been preferable to watching every faint dream be dashed, to suffering alone over and over. She was just…so tired of being alive." -> Once. Again. Suicidal tendencies/thoughts is not a trait Edelgard shows in canon... (Strikes against canon: 98)

- ...but Dimitri does. The fourth! The fourth time in one chapter the author desperately wanted to just write Dimitri!

- If the fic wanted to take Edelgard in a different direction than canon does and has her display some of these traits, it would be more passable, but this fic is under the delusion that it is in any way following canon closely, especially in regards to Edelgard, and so this can only be seen as a desperate attempt from the author to have Edelgard be sympathetic by donning the skin of an actually sympathetic character such as Dimitri

- "Edelgard looked at herself in the mirror. The back of her academy uniform was stained red, the rhythmic, soft dripping of blood assaulting the princess’ ears." -> And no one commented on this? No one was worried? Not Ingrid, Sylvain, and Felix, who were sitting right by her? Not Lysithea, who saw her take the blow to her back and never get it healed? Not Dimitri, who delivered the blow? It just so happened that literally no one at all noticed this?

- Byleth literally slapped Edelgard on the back earlier? Wouldn't her hand come back red with blood if it were seeping through the uniform?

** The scene that follows the previous note is too long to quote, despite how truly terrible it is. Long quotes, even extremely long quotes, have been presented in these notes before, but the length this quotation would be if the full extent of it were written here would be a mess, and quite frankly, at that point it would do one better to simply go to the fanfiction itself and read the text from there. With the context received from these notes, if one wishes to see the words for themselves, go to chapter 21 of The Emperor and the Goddess, enter Ctrl + F (or Find in Page on mobile devices), and enter the phrase "Byleth crossed her arms, clearly frustrated" verbatim. The following note will not be quoting the entire scene from the fic (merely summarizing it), though context is needed to understand how truly bad the scene is. **

- To have hope in this fic performing anything correctly is proving to be a fool's dream, for it has yet to do anything right; that includes the aforementioned gash upon Edelgard's back. As stated, it did not draw the attention of those who were sitting around her nor did it draw the attention of the one who witnessed the injury itself, nor of the one who delivered the injury itself, so no one commented on the gaping, bleeding wound Edelgard was "hiding" from everyone as she turned her (bleeding) back to them and left for the baths to clean up (it must be heavily stressed: immediately after leaving it is revealed that the blood is seeping through her uniform). As she was washing - naked, of course - Byleth just so happened to step into the baths with only a towel wrapped around her "for modesty," much to the horror of Edelgard, for she does not want Byleth seeing her scarred body. A slight argument arises between the two over Edelgard getting her injuries checked, before Byleth warns Edelgard that she will go to Rhea and force her to go to the infirmary should Edelgard continue to refuse treatment, which drives Edelgard past the brink. She raises her arms from the bathwater and presents her scars (""Fine!... If you want to see so badly, here!""), to the horror of Byleth ("Byleth Eisner was not a woman given to strong emotional reactions, but she staggered back, hands over her mouth."). Edelgard cries in hysteria, fear of her beloved teacher running away in disgust over her ugly, mutilated body overwhelming her. But Byleth, childlike in her innocence, shared that she too is scarred in strange ways, and that she too is scared of failing those around her - that she has no ambitions save to help and protect those around her. Byleth reveals that it is Edelgard whom Byleth looks up to for always being so strong and always moving forward, and shows that without Edelgard Byleth wouldn't know how to handle the pressure everyone else puts on her. The exchange ends with Byleth reassuring Edelgard that she is beautiful and not the monster she thinks she is.

- There is no nice way of putting this: this is a classic example of how not to write someone opening up to another about something. Edelgard views herself as weak, ugly, repulsive, a monster, shameful, but it is Byleth's love and affection that gives her comfort and warmth, that gives her hope of something more. It forces Byleth to behave wildly out of character (the author can try to excuse this with "well she wouldn't normally behave like this!" all he wants, it doesn't matter when it goes against the base, canonical Byleth. Strikes against canon: 99) in order for Edelgard's scarred body to be seen as something that is repulsive, that is ugly, that is stained, so much so that the pure, childlike, innocent Byleth couldn't stand to see something so tainted. And yet it is that same pure, childlike, innocent Byleth's pure, innocent, childlike love that pushes away the pain of Edelgard's scars for just that moment. Other characters become suddenly blind and/or forgetful of Edelgard's obvious, bleeding wound so that it is Byleth who can be the one to save Edelgard with her pure, innocent, childlike presence and her pure, innocent, childlike uncertainty about her own insecurities (but only when it is convenient for Edelgard, as even Byleth didn't noticed the gaping, bleeding wound until she was alone with Edelgard where no one could interrupt their bonding moment). This scene is inorganic and forced, ham-fisting Edelgard and Byleth in the same room - the wash room, where both are either naked or nearly naked - so that Byleth is the one to find Edelgard, no one else. No one was worried enough about the sudden exit Edelgard took from the conversation she was having to follow her and make sure she was alright, and Byleth just so happened to enter the baths right after Edelgard. The scene is, to be frank, insulting.

- There have been a couple of joking references to a book titled Stones to Abigail in these notes, but in all seriousness, this scene plays unsettlingly similar to a scene in said book, where a scarred girl who is naked reveals her "ugly" and "revolting" scarred body to the love interest, who goes on to soothe and comfort the naked girl as best they can. The resemblance is uncanny

- Byleth described as childlike/innocent. Counter: 5

- Edelgard, in canon, never expresses feeling herself to be ugly, or repulsive, or a monster. Strikes against canon: 100

- Again, Edelgard's scars are only important when they are convenient - this time, in helping develop the romantic relationship between her and Byleth

- There are ways in which scars can be utilized without being problematic, but certainly not when this much focus is placed on them and yet they are only truly present when they cannot hinder Edelgard.

- Perhaps particularly insulting is this phrase from Edelgard: "Did she actually love Byleth at all, or just being saved by her?" Yes, Edelgard, you do simply want to be saved by Byleth, because that is precisely what the narrative has been drilling into the reader's heads ever since Byleth showed herself. Byleth is Edelgard's light, Byleth is Edelgard's hope, Byleth gives Edelgard back her humanity, Byleth is Edelgard's one source of joy, Byleth is Edelgard's entire life, and nothing, absolutely nothing in this fic has shown this to ever be a bad thing. This dependence on Byleth to bring Edelgard joy at the near complete expense of everyone else has been propped up as something romantic, and yet it's now, 21 chapters and over 85K+ words in, that we're supposed to believe that this was actually Edelgard being unhealthy? Even though the author himself said that this was what he enjoyed about their relationship, how much they found each other in each other? Even though we see what the author thinks would happen to the two of them should they separate - Edelgard, lonely and afraid without her beloved teach, and Byleth, the Ashen Demon who cares for nothing without her beloved student - in her visions of SS? This is a joke

- It cannot be overstated that Byleth came to the bathhouses completely independently of Edelgard. She did not come to specifically see her because she followed her out of worry for Edelgard due to her injury - she only knows that Edelgard's injured in the first place due to seeing bloody bandages that Edelgard removed in the bathhouse, before Byleth arrived.

- Author's notes: "On Bergliez, we find out very little in-game, but he 1) offers himself for execution so his men can go free in SS and 2) seems to be actually competent at his job. I thought a nuanced portrayal was more interesting, since I've been writing Aegir as the absolute worst person in the world." -> Note: this is what the author believes to be a nuanced take on someone. Someone who likes Edelgard entirely and does nearly whatever they can to help her, but they did one thing that's morally gray (leaving a child behind to save his own children from the same fate) that is portrayed as objectively bad, so now they are nuanced. While perhaps this sort of character would be truly nuanced in better hands, as it is with his actions being portrayed as something that is obviously so completely and utterly wrong and him someone who deserves complete and utter condemnation - and yet Ionius, who does far worse for far less understandable reasons, gets a comparative slap on the wrist - it causes confusion as to Edelgard's lines. Bergliez seeing her the one time and never helping her is enough for her to want to hurt him as she was hurt, but her father repeatedly coming to and "being forced" to watch her actively be tortured and doing nothing does little to invoke similar depths of resentment? Even granting the idea that "she gives more slack to her father," Ionius is objectively and far worse than Bergliez, down to doing hard things to protect their children, and yet it is only Bergliez who is shined in this unpleasant a light

- To be clear, Bergliez's decision was not a good one, but understandable. It is a gray decision to make. But notice how he is called "gray" and "nuanced" and yet Ionius is nearly completely innocent, as described by the author himself, despite their being no given explaination as to why "he was a figurehead" should be a good enough reason to wash him literally standing there and watching as his children - some of whom aren't even teens yet - get slowly tortured and killed.

- "There are many localization changes I understand (Byleth wanting to get drunk after the battle is one of them), but Treehouse's decision to remove Ionius' entire reason for power centralization (eliminating the consorts) was a big, big mistake." -> Given the history of this author's grasp on the Japanese language, this needs to be checked, as he cannot be trusted as a source as to whether this is true

******* Notes of Claude mischaracterization: Chapter 21, section 1, paragraphs 1, 21 & 23, 27 *******

[mintelepathy]

"Now is when you kiss me"

neighbor!hoseok x reader/oc

word count: +1.5k

genre: fluff

warnings: none

summary: oc never imagined that her neighbor would confess his feelings for her after waking him up in the middle of the night to ask him for help to kill a spider.

mlist

Why did bugs and all that kind of small living beings had to scare you so much? It's been more than an hour since you spotted a huge spider on the ceiling of your bedroom, and now that you knew that the creature was there, you wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully in its presence. You tried to be brave and don't give it too much attention, it wasn't like it was going to suddenly appear on your bed or something like that, was it?

Still staring at it, you thought that maybe if you tried to think positive about spiders it would be easier to let the scariness go away, or maybe if you named it you could actually become close friends and have it as your roommate from now on.

Ok, that was ridiculous. You really needed to find a way to kill it, because otherwise you would spent the rest of the night with your eyes fully focused on your little new pet.

After debating with yourself, you decided to get up and make your way to your neighbor's front door, you'd ask him to kill it, he'd do it fastly, and then you'd be able to sleep at peace.

You met him the same day you moved to your apartment, coincidentally he was moving to his apartment the same day as you, so both of you ended up helping each other out. Since then you've been good friends, you didn't spend a lot time together because he was occupied most of the time when you were off work, but every so often you'd end up having dinner with him and talking for the rest of the night at his place and vice versa.

You knew quite lot of personal issues about him, and he knew almost everything about you, even though you didn't spend a lot of time together like you'd want to, you could definitely say that he was one of your closest friend, you just knew you could trust him everything no matter what.

"Hey there, is everything ok?" he really took his time to opened the door, and you noticed right away that it was because you just had woken him up.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't think you were sleeping, you can go back to sleep if I'm bothering you" you really felt bad for interrupting his sleep.

"Don't worry, do you want to come in?" he said as he make you space to let you in.

"Actually, would you mind helping me with something?" there it was when you realized how dumb you'd look once you tell him the specific reason why you were there.

"Anything you need" You gave him a smile and he followed you to your apartment, more specifically your bedroom.

"This may sound ridiculous but there is spider right there and I'm too coward to kill it myself, can you help me?" you said as you pointed at the place where the arachnid was, luckily it hasn't moved a bit all this time.

"Oh" that was all he said when he spotted it. "I've never told you this, but I really hate spiders"

Oh god.

"Then there is no way you can kill it right? I mean I completely understand if you can't, I should be the one dealing with this"

You felt so bad, first you woke him up and then you ask him to kill a spider for you when he hates them just as much as you. Maybe other person would cursed at you for doing all of that, but thanks god your neighbor was hoseok, there was no way he would get pissed at you for this.

"Look, what if we both try to kill it together? it could be less scary, don't you think?" he was no longer looking at the spider but you now.

"I think that's a great idea" you said as you nodded. "How do we do it then?"

He meditated for a moment and then said "Listen, I have a plan and I think it'll work, we need two mops, tape and a shoe. wait here, I'll bring a mop from my apartment" he made his way out of the bedroom and you stayed there just like he said.

You really wanted to know his plan because you couldn't really tell what he had in mind.

"I got it" he came back a minute later holding the mop with his right hand and a roll of tape in the other. "I brought tape too just in case you didn't have" he sat on your bed and took one of his shoes off.

"I'll go to the kitchen to find mine" you had used it to mop the floor today so you knew exactly where you left it.

Once you got it, you return to your bedroom and you found hoseok fully submerged in his creation, he was taping his shoe to the end of the mop stick.

"I'm really curious about this, would you mind telling me what are youdoing?" you chuckled at the sight, the scene was somehow funny to you.

"This is what we're gonna do, one of us will use the mop you have there to touch the spider, then it'll fall to the ground, once we have it on the ground the other will kill it with the shoe, thanks to my great invention we won't need to get close to it to kill it" it was actually such a good plan.

"Your mind amazes me, I think you can make great money with that invention of yours, I'd buy it" he smiled proudly.

"Who's going to do the dirty work then?" he asked but you didn't answer because something was wrong.

"Hobi, the spider is gone" you both were now staring at the ceiling with your mouths slightly opened. "I think the spider felt we were going to do something, you know?" he turned his attention back to you.

"It was a great idea though" he said disappointed.

You couldn't kill the spider but at least you got to spend some time with him. No one knew it, but you like him, and a lot.

You just can't believe how someone could be such a good person. For you, there wasn't anything bad about him, he is so kind to everyone, always offering help to other people, even if he didn't try it he just made everyone's day better, and you could keep on going with the list all day.

"Oh shit" he said as he touched the back of his pants as if he was looking for something.

"What happened?" you said getting a bit closer to him.

"I left my keys inside of the apartment when I went to look for the things" he had both of his hands grabbing the sides of his head.

"You can stay here tonight if you want" you said shyly. The thought of him staying at your place for the night made your cheeks turn red, even if you were going to sleep in separate room.

"Are you sure? Yoongi has a copy of my keys, I can ask him to come and bring them, you don't have to worry" you know he said that because he didn't want to make you uncomfortable or something like that, but something he didn't know was that you actually wanted him there.

"I insist, stay here" you said as you grabbed one of his hands without thinking twice, it was the first time you did something like that with him, and you could feel the butterflies in the stomach, you felt like you were fifteen again.

He didn't respond right away so you realized that maybe he was the one feeling uncomfortable right now. You let go of his hand and took a step back "If you don't want to stay here I can wait with you until Yoongi arrives with the keys" maybe it was too soon to ask him to stay for the rest of the night.

"I'll stay, I want to stay here with you tonight" you didn't expect him to grab your hand but he did, look how the tables had turned. "Can I tell you something?" he asked almost whispering and you nodded. "I like you" he said all of a sudden.

Ok, you were definitely not expecting that at all. You were perplexed, you didn't know how to react to his confession, it actually felt like you were dreaming.

"Am I dreaming right now? Are you real?" you gently touched his cheek with one finger.

"You are not dreaming at all, and the real me just told you that he likes you" he was looking at you so adorably.

"So if this is real, I'd love to tell you that I like you too" you could feel your cheeks turning red again.

"My hands feel cold, excuse me" he said that just as an excuse to hold your face with his hands and you couldn't help but smile.

"My lips feel cold" you seriously didn't know where was that confidence coming from.

"I think I can help you with that if you let me" he knew what you wanted but he just wanted to make sure that he had your permission.

"Now is when you kiss me" you slowly placed your arms around his neck and before you noticed he was already pressing his lips against yours.

You've always wanted to know how his kisses would feel, and now you can totally say that you won't ever get tired of them.

♡

I hope you liked this, I really want to make a part two of this and I'd like to know if you want it too.

A like or reblog is always appreciated :)

buy me a kofi?

[ahelicoprion]

Reflexes

A quick fic inspired by this gif set

Over the last three years of being Ladybug, Marinette had changed in several ways. The two most notable to those around her were both physical. One, she was buff. Like, she could beat Kim at wrestling kind of buff. When she wore bikinis to the beach with her friends, they'd all stare at her abs for a moment. Alya constantly asked her how she had gotten so ripped but never got a straight answer. It's not like Marinette could exactly say that she had gotten strong by fighting villains all day.

The other thing that had become most noticeable was her fighting skills. Few of her friends ever witnessed anything as fighting wasn't a super common civilian issue, but Alya saw her take down a mugger with one hand. Nobody really believed her when she told people about it - "Oh, sweet little Marinette couldn't hurt a fly," they often said - but she still made a note not to startle her or get on her bad side.

One of the most problematic changes that she'd made, though, was her fighting instincts. While it came in handy during fights with akumas, she often found herself judo-flipping her partner, Chat Noir, when he snuck up on her. The worst part was that he never learned to give her some warning, so it wasn't an uncommon occurrence to accidentally throw her best friend off of roofs. Of course, he was always okay. Not only did he have his staff and super-agility, but he'd learned to expect it. That only made her feel more guilty.

~ o n e  d a y ~

Ladybug leaned against the chimney of one of the several rooftops of Paris. She was looking down at her yoyo's screen, catching up on some fan emails, while she waited for her partner. Suddenly, she felt the sudden presence of someone behind her, a hand reaching toward her. Instinctively, she grabbed the wrist and slammed the attacker down on the ground in front of her. She kept the arm in her grasp and put a foot on the person's chest to hold them down. The laughter that followed registered before the face did. She immediately let go and took her foot off of the blonde and held down a hand to help him up. Once he was standing again, he worked to control his laughter.

"Stupid cat, I've told you over and over again not to sneak up on me like that! You know that I react like that to being startled," she grumbled, closing up her yoyo and attaching it to her hip.

"I know, I know. But it's kinda funny," he wiped a tear from his eye.

"It won't be so funny when you dull my reflexes and I get my miraculous stolen by a villain," she retorted, pushing him playfully but sternly on the shoulder.

"My lady, you could never be dull, not even your reflexes." His eyes shone with adoration and she rolled her eyes. She had to admit that his flirtiness had gotten a lot sweeter in the past few months as they got to know each other deeper and deeper.

"Yeah, whatever, kitty. Are you ready to go on patrol?"

"With you? Always."

The two leaped from the rooftop and began scanning the streets of Paris for any akumas or citizens in need of help. They helped an elderly woman gather the groceries that had fallen through a hole in her bag and helped prevent a traffic collision. As always, they stopped by the bench where Mr. Ramier sat with his pigeons and chatted with him, bringing him comfort. The man had gone through a lot of trauma, having been akumatized over 50 times. Finally, the sun began to set and they decided to call it a night.

~

Marinette stretched and yawned, extremely tired. As soon as they'd gotten home from patrol, they got an akuma alert and had stayed up until nearly 5 am fighting.

"I don't know how I'm gonna make it through the day on only two hours of sleep," Marinette commented as she messily pulled her hair into her signature pigtails.

"You've got this, Marinette! I know you can do it!" Her kwami pressed against her cheek in a hug and the girl felt energized just from the affection from the small creature.

"Thanks, Tikki," she smiled. Then she opened her bag for her to fly into and headed for school.

"Hey, girl!" Alya called from across the courtyard. She was standing near the stairs talking to Nino. Marinette managed to jog over there and greeted her friends.

"Oh man, you look terrible," Nino commented. Alya jabbed him in the side. "I mean, you seem tired. You okay, dude?"

Marinette nodded. "Yeah, the noise from the akuma last night kept me up," she fibbed.

"Oh that's right, it was right over by the bakery, wasn't it? Did you see that villain though? Hawkmoth is really stepping up his game!" Alya continued to talk about the night's battle, giving Marinette a chance to zone out for a moment since she didn't need a rundown of the battle she'd fought. Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her shoulder. She jumped and her instincts took over. She grabbed the wrist of the person behind her before they could even tighten their grip and threw them with a slam onto the ground a few feet in front of her. Then, she processed what had just happened and who she had just thrown. She rushed over to him and offered a hand to help him up.

"Oh my god! ARE YOU SORRY? I mean- I'm okay! I mean... uh, I'm so sorry! Are you okay, Adrien?" He stood up and stared at her in shock.

"I told you! I told you she was a damn ninja! Mylene owes me $10," Alya celebrated. But neither of the pair was paying any attention to her. Marinette was too lost trying to decipher Adrien's gaze and why he had yet to let go of her hand. The bell rang and students filtered out of the courtyard and into classrooms and eventually, the two were alone.

"I- ah, Adrien?" Marinette stammered, her face still a bright red but her thoughts more clouded by confusion than romance.

"I guess your reflexes haven't dulled yet," he whispered, his eyes never leaving hers. Marinette paused for a second, trying to figure out why the phrase sounded so familiar before it hit her.

"It won't be so funny when you dull my reflexes and I get my miraculous stolen by a villain."

"My lady, you could never be dull, not even your reflexes."

She felt her knees give out and she fell to the ground. Adrien quickly moved to kneel down beside her. She just stared at the blonde for a while, her eyes wide and brain moving at a thousand miles per minute.

"Chat... Chat Noir?" She finally pushed the words out of her lips, though they were a struggle. It felt impossible. Adrien was so different from Chat Noir. But, when she thought about it, it all made sense. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug.

"It's really you, buganette," he whispered into her hair, returning the embrace.

"My kitty."

[gaycaffeinebee]

Worship the French Fry (Part Two)

WRITER’S NOTE: Typically, I do not mind when people don’t tag me when they use my prompts. But for anything over 200 words and any of my series (especially if you copy word for word) please tag me! I’d love to see what OCs and characters y'all would put with these two (A and B).

This series can be read/written separately (individual chapters), but I picture the surroundings, characters, and references to be from the same story.

(Part one)

Warnings (for this chapter): Emotional half asleep "reason why I love you" speech, mention of hyperventilation, mushy fluff

History/Pre-knowledge (for this chapter):

B typically has short hair but they haven't gotten it cut in a while

C and D are family members or close friends of B

A has a thing with books and reading - stereotypically book nerd

*A’s no longer sitting "next to” B - A’s more like lounging on top of them now - A kind of senses B falling asleep under them - A looks up to see B resting their head on the back of the couch (this looks very uncomfortable from A’s angle) – B’s eyes lingering closed every few seconds - A moves off of them and B shoots up in panic with tired puppy eyes because A moved*

A- "I'm not going anywhere- come here sweetheart," *A sits up and gesture to their lap - B takes the hint and lays down on them - wrapping their arms around A’s waist - closing their eyes - their hair had gotten kind of shaggy so A can run their hands through it a bit - moving the bit that had gotten in B’s face- they look up at A and sleepily smiles- they’re just so pretty*

A- *A ponders for a moment* "Hey, can I ask you a question, Love?"

*B closes their eyes as A continues to run their fingers through their hair*

B- *sleepy voice* "Of course,"

A- "Why me?"

*They open their eyes concerned but still sleepy* "Why you?"

A- "You looked at me, a deranged human, and said 'I pick that one' - why?"

B- "Babe you're perfect why wouldn't I?" *B's still really really sleepy but genuinely concerned - they squeeze A’s waist tighter waiting for a response*

A- "No no no not perfect but this isn't a self-analyzing or self-esteem thing - I'm genuinely curious,"

*B looks satisfied with A’s answer and closes their eyes again*

B- "You're sweet, you're genuine, you're honest,” *B pauses deciding whether they want to elaborate or not* “I appreciate the work you put into living A- you aren't just living to die like a movie extra - you care and it shows – you’re not just one of the pretty faces that looks at life like a 9 to 5 job, you have fun and you get into it and get attached – your love for reading is incredible - I've watched you read through books before and seen you physically react to the smallest plot twist - you laugh, you've almost cried, you've rolled paper backs up and smacked me in the head," *B giggles sleepily* "You care about the people around you - you with me and C and D - you don't treat them like stranger’s – you treat them like family- the way you talk to D is almost like they’re your sibling - When I first met your best friend of 6 months and listened to you talk about them previously, I would've thought y’all grew up together- the way you focus on the things you love doing - your 'undying focus face' with your books, again – it’s like you’re memorizing every last line and it’s fucking adorable- you have a positive attitude about everything- even if you hate what you're doing, you don't bring others down with you because of it- your sarcasm and humor is absolute perfection- your jokes are actually funny and baby you don't light up a room - you're the power source of the entire building- Your smile is actually the goddamn sun *B yawns and A giggles* and you treat me like a human - I feel like I’m close to you and not just a passerby,” *B’s arms are kind of loosening as they’re relaxing into almost-sleep* “You know how to push buttons but you respect my boundaries- You make me genuinely happy and I feel like I'm home,"

*B's pretty much completely unconscious within a few seconds- A just holds them trying not to get too emotional or potentially hyperventilate- A eventually lets out a breath they didn't know they were holding- B knows - B cares - B feels loved- that's all A wants now*

*A sits there watching them sleep on their lap – B’s smiling in their sleep and it's adorable -A knows if they don't go to bed B's gonna wake up with a backache from the couch - A slowly flips B around and picks them up bridal style – B’s head resting on their shoulder - their height makes B look heavier than they are - A has no issues getting them to the bedroom- they set B on the side of the bed- B rolls onto their side facing away from the center of the bed - A can't get the covers out from under B so they grab a thick blanket - A covers them completely- B stirs a bit - this kid sleeps like a goddamn rock*

B- *with a groggy voice, not opening their eyes* "do- did you just-"

A- "Yes -hush - sleep" *A gets under the blanket on the other side of the bed and comes up behind B – grabbing B's middle and getting themself closer - B easily relaxes into them and A can tell immediately - A falls asleep with B in their arms and with a smile on their face*