#is just. I get in the zone. I draw it. I move on wit my life until I get inspiration again

[16star]

how do you manage to draw so quickly and still have it look so nice. tell me your secrets oh great one

!!! Firstly thank you so much! The single biggest thing that's helped me with art is just...Caring less. It sounds a bit counter productive but instead of spending a lot of time fussing over little details, I work on just making it look "good enough" Being looser wit art an only going as far as you need to go to make summat recognizable, rather than fully polished, really goes a long way if you just want to get a project done rather than make your magnum opus. [Which in general helped me a lot, cos i'd always get frustrated when I'd spend a lot of time on a piece an not have it turn out how I wanted. if that makes sense!] And also just a general pro tip that has made drawing people really easy for me [if you're using lineart, does not work if you're rendering them in their entirety] Is i'll do one colour at a time, clip the layer so i can't draw outside what I coloured, an shade each part separately. This way I don't have to very carefully colour in the lines an can just go bam. shading done on this part an keep doing it until the whole girlie is shaded in. This sped up my process a lot. Example v

[sweetkpopmusings]

hyunjin coworker headcanons <3

a/n: i am determined!!! to finish this series of hcs asap asap asap...so hopefully that happens lol. truly obsessed with the idea of coworker!hyunjin, so i hope you are too :-) pics not mine <3

content: fluff, nonidol!au | wc: 0.9k | warnings: none really! | pairing: coworker!hyunjin x gn!reader | requests: open

office heartthrob!!!

who is a painfully huge dork <3

you learn this immediately. like so quickly that you get whiplash lol

on your first day you witness someone looking absolutely magnificent as they strut through the office

but, right before you can be properly intimidated, he trips on the carpet and acts as though he is having a heart attack even though he catches himself before he falls

who said being dramatic is unprofessional???

not hyunjin that's for sure 

you’re torn between laughing hysterically and asking whether he’s okay, and because of the first-day jitters, your brain manages to construct “you’re funny and okay?”

hyunjin just stares at you, and you’re ready to pack up your things, change your name, and move to a brand new city because why was THAT what i said?! 

then hyunjin cackles, managing to confirm that he’s okay once he wipes the tears from his eyes 

needless to say, 9:30-9:35 a.m. on your first day was quite eventful

from that very first interaction, hyunjin thinks you’re the funniest person on the planet 

the number of times he has fallen out of his chair after you made a joke has convinced the whole office of your comedic genius too :,-)

if hyunjin hears one of y’all’s coworkers repeating your joke, he’ll immediately step in and correct their delivery if it falls flat compared to yours which, in his opinion, it always does

you try to convince him to stop because people could get annoyed, but hyunjin stands firm in the fact that being the most annoying person in the office is worth it because he’s defending your honor :-(

like seriously he’s so dramatic for no reason but it’s his charm <333

it’s lowkey an office tradition for people to buy custom paintings from hyunjin around the holidays

he doesn’t mind the extra cash and he loves getting more practice, especially since people will request things outside his comfort zone

seeing as you’re special and “cooler than everyone else here, except for me, of course,” hyunjin gives you one as a surprise because he’s so thankful to have you at work and in his life <3333

hyunjin practically melts into the floor when he sees how excited you get after unwrapping it :’-)

you obviously display it proudly at your desk for everyone to see and be jealous of

and hyunjin blushes a bit and smiles really big (even if he tries to hide it) every single time he sees the artwork on your desk :,,,-) he’s simultaneously so proud and so honored

trust and believe that any gift you give him will be enshrined on his desk FOREVER

even if it’s a napkin with a drawing from a time you two went to a nearby coffee shop on your break, hyunjin cherishes it more than anything 

he gets it framed so it is protected from “the elements” whatever that means in an office lmao

sometimes he tries to correct you if you’re working on a project together and gets SOOOOO smug and then after fifteen minutes of gloating you look at him and quietly say “hyunjin…”

and he’s standing there like 🤨

when you tell him what the actual answer to the question is,  the man is CRUSHED to find out that he was wrong

almost every time he says, “there goes my dream of being the smartest person in the office”

as soon as you remind him he’s the most stylish and gorgeous person in the office, his pout disappears and he looks at you like 😁and boom! embarrassment at being a little dumb is gone forever

speaking of stylish

hyunjin loooooooooooves shopping with you for work clothes

weather’s changing?? hyunjin has sent you a calendar invite for a post-work shopping trip! work event coming up??? hyunjin has booked a conference room during the workday for you two to plan out your outfits!

he’s down to shop at any store you want, whether it’s high-end or thrifting

even if you can’t find clothes you like, there’s nothing more fun than putting together outfits for each other and cracking up during your fashion shows

any time hyunjin wears an outfit you helped him to create, he mentions it every 5-10 seconds

like so much so that people are coming up to compliment you for your fashion taste 

and you’re just sitting at your desk like ???? thank you ???

it all makes sense when you see hyunjin wearing the sweater vest with teddy bears you begged him to try on

if you’re wearing something he picked out for you, he will walk around to literally everybody and ask, “wow! doesn’t y/n look amazing today?”

he’ll also say to you “whoa! whoever told you to get that has impeccable taste”

you always tease him by saying you can’t remember who you bought it with LOL

he feels so proud to know you that he brags about you all. the. time. 

not just about your fashion–hyunjin thinks absolutely everything about you should be celebrated

there is a y/n fan club at your work and hyunjin is the founder, president, and outreach specialist <333

while he mostly expresses it by teasing you, he thinks you are incredibly smart, talented, kind, funny, beautiful, and perfect in every way

on the morning of your 1-year work anniversary, you find your favorite drink on your desk with a card next to it

in the card is a handwritten letter from hyunjin, outlining all the moments he has loved spending with you over the past year, as well as messages of encouragement and wishes for many more special, shared moments to come 

while you two met because he almost fell flat on his face, hyunjin can’t think of a better thing that has ever happened to him at work because, if he wasn’t so clumsy, he may never have bonded with his favorite person in the world (you <3333)

[willowser]

my guilty pleasure trope is like. trash reality dating show au LOL

like you and bakugou on love island ??? HELLO ???? he is 100% the show-stopper that comes in as a twist at the very end, after everyone is already coupled up. thinking they're happy in their pair. ready to move forward and get to know one another. AND THEN BAM. bakugou katsuki. huge and tan and toned. probably a firefighter or something, been single for a long time because he finds it hard to put himself out there — and coming on live, national television was the perfect way to get himself out of his comfort zone LOL

let's say. you're coupled up with denki and you love it ! he's great and funny and charming and will make someone happy — but that someone is just not you. from the get-go, your relationship feels more friendly than anything, but he doesn't try to cop a feel on you in bed and he's a good snuggler and maybe you kiss him once, just to see how it feels, and that's not so bad either. but there are no sparks, no fireworks. you'd be content to even ride out the rest of the challenge in a couple, because he's comfortable, but that's not what either of you came on the show for.

after the first week, bakugou couples up with jirou. her sharp wit and dry humor draws him in enough (and he's always kind of liked that edgy look that she has) — but he very quickly realizes that she's really not that into him POOR GUY. bakugou really isn't her type; besides finding his attitude funny every now and again, they really don't have much in common. don't do much of the same things, share hobbies or interests, so it's a little bit of a bust.

i like to think you're just friends for a week or two. another guy comes in, two new girls come in, but nothing really changes for either of you. keeping your respective couples, just because no one else has really caught your interest — and it's not until a challenge has you kissing him square on the mouth that either of you start to take a second glance across the villa.

you watch him work out in the mornings, make a second cup of tea for when he's done. somehow, you both always end up in the same section, leaning back in the lawn chairs or sitting side-by-side on the beanbags as you chat about how the challenge has been going so far for either of you.

the part of this trope that is so funny to me is that — bakugou really is not the kind of guy that should be on this show LOL he's hard to approach and intimidating and if you don't understand his attitude, then you won't like him. and what little game he has isn't played like this: approaching someone in front of everyone else, nabbing you from your couple, having to put himself out there so that he doesn't get sent home. all while on live television.

but — it's not until you admit, casually one day, that you and denki are just friends that he decides to do anything about it. the two of you have gotten along so well in your couple that bakugou didn't think he stood a chance but after talking to you, he's awkwardly telling kaminari in the kitchen, alone, that he's planning on pursuing you. and denki thinks that's great ! thinks you deserve it !

the week continues on much the same: you and bakugou chat here and there, eat breakfast together away from everyone else, he makes you laugh and you make him smile his crooked little smile at the floor, embarrassed, as he tucks his face and pulls his hat further over his eyes. it's cute and you're having fun with him, but the recoupling is surprising, still.

when he has to stand up there, in front of everyone, red-faced, and grit out that you've caught his eye, that he's enjoyed his time with you, that he'd like to get to know you better — and you're floored. ecstatic, but floored. because he is certainly intimidating, and regardless of the fact that you were with kaminari for so long, you might not have ever approached bakugou, because he's just. so huge and handsome and striking.

and then you're settling in for the night, crawling in to your shared bed for this first time. and he's not like denki, not a cuddler, but you still make a point to wiggle around to him, wait until the lights are off and even breathing sounds throughout the room — and then you tell him, quietly, grinning in the dark:

"i'm really glad you picked me."

you feel bakugou sigh, a bit heavy, and you wonder if you're going in to strong — but then his hand skates over your arm, rests carefully against your hip, and he murmurs, "'m really glad, too."

i wrote this a lil bit ago and have since been made aware of luna's love island bkg !! 🥺 it's so detailed !! there's a whole show for the two of them !!

[jayceluvsu]

Happy Creations (Bloody Painter x reader fluff!)

summary: You decide to roam around his art room for a bit and make him paint the sun

little comment: AHHH I CANT BELIEVE IM WRITING AGAIN its been forever and guess whos into creepypastas again (me). anyways i couldn't much wit my beloved bloody painter so why not make one hehe

It's been a while since you went to your beloved boyfriend's art room to look around and see what's on his mind. You wandered down the halls looking over at the bright sun shining at you through the sheer white fabrics of the window covers. It was just a random thought you had waking up to visit the messy yet mesmerizing room full of creativity and ideas from him.

Luckily, it was early morning and everyone else within the mansion was probably asleep from the restless weeks of missions but you knew that Helen was probably awake since he wasn't next to you in bed earlier. You gazed at the doors before you peeped through the small gap of the opened door. As expected, you see him deeply in thought with a blank canvas and a few crumpled papers laying on his side. You can basically tell he was stuck on his piece as he held his chin with his index and thumb before messing his hair groaning.

Even with the door unlocked, you still decided to softly knock the door letting your presence be known to him. His head quickly turned to face you peaking your head through the door before giving you a nod gesturing you to come inside. You widely open the door walking in as the skylight hit your bright face in your pale babydoll nightgown once again.

He looked down as you walked closer taking a seat next to him and his canvas. "What has you so stumped?" You chuckle mentioning about his short tantrum earlier. He just hums looking to the side not knowing to really say even though it was clear to both of you that he didn't know what to even paint. You placed your hands on your knees leaning to his face taking a clean paint brush from his collection to hand it to him.

"You should draw the sun while it's still out!"

"...have you not been paying attention to my drawings?"

He slouched immediately shooting down the idea. He did have a point, all the drawing you've seen him create were obviously the opposite of sunshines and rainbows. But you decided to keep recommending it.

"Oh c'mon you get to at least paint something."

"What a ridiculous reason..."

"You get to try something new though!"

He looked down at the paint brush you were shoving to him before sighing and taking the brush out of your hands. You grin as he started to sketch out something in the blank canvas. It was definitely out of his comfort zone but it was possible. You leaned back against the chair starring up at the windows of the skylight that lightened his collection of paintings and sketches. Your eyes transfixed on the white rays shining down at the room with the light blue sky covered with a few fluffy clouds while humming a melody to yourself. Light brush strokes running against the rigid canvas from him can be heard.

"Hey the sun looks so bright today."

"...it always is."

He glanced up at the sky before staring at you with the same sleep deprived face. You couldn't tell if he was staring at you or the sunlight as you looked back at him facing the canvas quickly painting as if he finally had figured out what to draw.

"You seem to finally get a hang of it." You stifle a chuckle.

"I indeed did..."

"Well I'm sure the sun won't move that much now. I'll go make breakfast and feed Smiley Dog." You stood up was quick on your feet to run back to the halls of the mansion to the kitchen.

"But- the sun has moved..."

He cracked a small smile as you left swaying his head side to side in a small smile. His canvas halfway drawn of the sun, his sun. You.

(AGGGAGGG TYSM FOR READING THE ENTIRE THING IF YOU DID AND ILL TRY TO WRITE MORE FOR NOW ON)

[chaos-grimlin]

Into:No one truly knows what happened that night in Woodsboro, California. All the public knows was that two teenage boys, Billy Loomis and Stu Macher, went crazy. That the boys killed with no motive, that it was a case of crazy and peer pressure. Sidney Prescott, the "girlfriend" of Billy Loomis,Y/n L/n, the girl both boys were deeply obsessed with, and Gale weathers, a news reporter, where 3 of 5 witnesses that were willing to talk and tell their sides of the story to the public while Dewy Riley, the deputy sheriff of woodsboro, and tennager Randy Meeks refused to talk to law enforcements at the time. All the stories told to law enforcement seem to differ from person to person, but...in this tale, we will focus on Y/n, the obsessions, side of the story...

Marked (Poly!Billy loomis and Stu macher x reader)

Word count:921

Chapter 2 -keeping her is a bad idea

^^^Y/n P.O.V^^^

Casey had told me that the Baskin-Robbins in Woodsboro was amazing and that the workers were very nice.

Me and the group walked in and as soon as we did a sweet, fruity smell hit me like a brick to the face. My mouth watered slightly at the scent.

Soon we all had our ice creams and were all seated at a table. Me, Sidney, and Tatum all sat on one side of the table while the boys sat on the other side.

“So..Y/n..are you enjoying Woodsboro so far?” Billy asked as his eyes moved up to meet mine. Billy's voice was dark and deep. He pronounced my name with sharp precision, the words strung from his lips and swirled around my head.

“Um..Yeah other than the kids swarming me I like it” I said as I ate my ice cream.

“Ugh yeah that's so annoying! No wonder you always look so miserable!” Tatum exclaimed. Tatum talked like she knew what being swarmed was like.

I looked over at Tatum and looked at her closely. 

Her shoulder length honey blond hair framed her face perfectly, her lips had a perfect fullness to them, and her golden green and brown eyes had a siren shape to them..she was pretty…very pretty..then it hit me. Tatum was a popular pretty girl..but she wasnt mean like the other pretty girls you would see around town or in every high school movie.

“Y/nnnnnnnn you okayyyyyyyyy?” Stu said in a sing-song voice, drawing me from my thoughts. “Oh! Um yeah!” I said with a chuckle. “You were totally just zoned out right now” He said with a snarky laugh before looking over at Billy, who just gave a small sided smirk.

As the night carried on, I became good friends with Stu, Randy, and Tatum. Sidney and Billy seemed to keep to each other or themselves when i'm around, yet Billy was always eyeing me, like he was observing my every move and if I messed up..it wouldn't be good.

Him doing that made me slightly paranoid but I kept pushing the feeling to the deepest darkest part of my overflowing mind.

^^^3rd person P.O.V^^^

Billy watched Y/n closely…he needed to make sure that her coming into the friend group wouldn't hurt his plans to get revenge on Sidney and her family.

Billy already knew that Randy wouldn't get in his way. Randy was always too high to do anything or at the video store working. Tatum never posed a threat, but Billy made a deal with Stu, his best friend and the person who would help him carry out his plans, that if Tatum ever got in the way, they would kill her. 

Now… Billy had you to worry about. You seemed to be a smart, clever girl, with the ability to think quickly, you seemed like someone who, if attacked, you could put up a fight and have a good chance to win…you seemed like a final girl in his eyes. You remind him of Laurie Strode from Halloween. And that ment…you might mess up his plans…

^^^3 Weeks later^^^

^^^Y/n P.O.V^^^

I rushed down the street, feeling a smile form on my face. I used to hate going to school, but now, thanks to Tatum, Stu, Sidney, Randy, and Billy, I started to love going to school, just to see them and hang out with them.

“Hi guys!” I chirped out as I walked up to the group.

“Hey Final girl,” Billy said. Everyone else said hi and Tatum even hugged me, But, what loomed in my mind was how Billy started calling me, ‘Final girl’ a week after I met him. He didn't sound like he meant it in a nice way, but more of a way to… intimidate me, to warn me away even. His tone didn't sit right with me.

“Guys! It's the start of September and I was thinking since it's a month before Halloween…why don't we start a horror movie marathon?” Randy suggested as he chewed on something.

“Oh..i'd like that” Billy muttered. “Hell yeah! You can get the movie Randy..girls you down?” Stu asked as he pointed at Sidney, then Tatum.

“Yeah I'm down” “ Me too” Sidney and Tatum said. I stayed quiet, biting the inside of my cheek. “What about you Y/n?” Randy asked, moving closer to me. 

“Oh I don't know..when will it be?” I asked. “We will start it tonight and continue it every other Monday till Halloween” Randy answered.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I'll see if I can come” I said as my eyes fluttered open only to meet Randys. I saw Randy's face break out into a smile at my answer that wasn't a direct no. 

I already knew where Randy's house was due to me and the group having gone over there on the nights when Randy's parents were not around and sometimes… I'd sneak out of my house and just go to Randys, due to his house being close to mine. I'd rather say and get high with Randy rather than stay at home.

“Well you know where my house is so stop by if you can..this time doll face, don't sneak through my window” Randy said with a chuckle and with that… Everyone looked at me with a look of confusion contorted on their faces. “I wont” I muttered....

[anubisandco]

Ghost and Rabbit. pt5

I didnt drink enough of my coffee last night so heres part five, still not proof read bc yuck anyway forgive me if soap talks funky here i wasnt abt to try and write his accent-

Soap would watch as Rabbit and Ghost show up to the briefings and then leave together afterward. His eyes followed like a hawk. 

He wanted to ask so bad it was like the words were burning his throat, anytime He saw Rabbit alone he wanted to just spit them out and get it over with. It wasn’t like it’d be an issue, well for him at least. If they were secretly dating Soap wouldn’t be the one to wreck things, Ghost was the happiest he’d ever seen the man when he was with her, wherever it might be. 

Med bay, his office, the mess hall, or in the middle of a war zone. 

Today Soap watched them during the brief, his eyes would flick back and forth. He watched as She’d trace a shape onto the back of his hand that rested on the table, Ghosts eyes wouldn’t move from their captain as she did so. He’d whisper a word to her and she’d shake her head yes or no, This wasn’t the first time Soap had witnessed this game between the two. The first time had been when they were out on a mission. 

It was late Soap had woken up in the middle of the night for no reason, His mouth was dry and his brain foggy. He looked around the dark room without sitting up, the safe house had no lights no sign of life. The cots set up around his had his fellow teammates resting on them, Movements from the two by the front door caught his eyes, he turned just enough to watch without being noticed. 

Ghost and Rabbit sat on his cot, legs folded nicely to make room for each other. She had his arm in her lap tracing lines on his forearm, she was smiling and laughing. After how the mission earlier went Soap was surprised she wasn’t still a wreck, simon had been clipped with a bullet which could have been a lot worse than it was if the team didn’t act as fast as they did. 

Soap could hear the rumble of Ghosts' reply and the laughter that followed. 

“ No try again, I’ll do it slower this time focus.” She whispered a little too loud considering. 

“It's hard to focus.” He snipped in good fun. 

“ C’mon Simon, just focus on the feeling, the lines I’m drawing.” She insisted, “ No don’t look at me close your eyes!” 

“ It’s too dark to see you proper anyway, it doesn’t matter.” 

Soap knew that was a lie, if he could see them, Ghost could see her perfectly fine from where he was sitting in front of her. Soap looked around the small cabin room at the others asleep, no one else stirred. He turned his back to them and shut his eyes. 

Now as he watched them in the daylight play this same game, it was almost more interesting. 

The way they would touch each other without hesitation, it has a fact that Ghost hated being touched, even if it was a friendly handshake he’d simply refuse. Rabbit was one of the most open to touch, anytime Soap saw her in the halls she’d insist on hugging him. After a fight, even if he was covered in blood and guts Rabbit would hug him. 

When Price dismissed them all he watched as they said their goodbyes, He was off to his office she was off to the med bay. Some loose ends to tie up before they all left that evening. Soap sat there for just a moment longer than usual debating, mulling it over in his head. He let the words burn his throat for just a second longer before he made up his mind, He stood and followed her down the brightly lit halls. 

“ Rabbit!” He called and she stopped, turning to him with that familiar warm smile. 

“ Soapy.” She greeted him “ What can I do for you?” 

“ I-” Soap hesitated, before continuing to walk, she followed now. Saying nothing the entire way down, she didn’t press and he couldn’t make himself ask quite yet. He wasn’t sure if he was prepared for what the answer would be. 

He held the heavy door open for her and they made their way inside the empty bay, all the sterile beds were clean and waiting for anything. Her desk sat in the corner of the room, piled high with files and medical supplies waiting to be put away, her kit for the field was sitting out and open full to the brim of anything she could stuff in there. Sure it might have been over the top to some, but she knew better. 

“ Lass, can I ask something of ya?” He speaks more to the ground than to her. She zips up her kit and nods. 

“ Of course, anything Soap.”

“ I’ve wondered for a while now s’all.” He was muttering “ About you an’ the Lt?” 

She stopped moving, her hands were still as they held onto a stack of papers she had left out for her medics to put away. She didn’t turn to face him, but he knew she heard him. 

“ What about Simon and I?” 

“ Y’know whats the deal there.” 

“ Soap, I-” She hesitated, “ That’s a longer story than we have time for right now, it’s complicated.” 

He sat on the edge of a metal chair, his arms crossed over his chest. 

“ Are you a thing, y’know?” 

She turned to look at him now her face some shade of pink. 

“ You have to go now.” 

Soap smiled and she could only shake her head at him, He’d get the story some day. She couldn’t say no to him forever, it’d only be a matter of time before she spilled the history of them. Waiting a little longer was something Soap could handle, he’d watch the two for now.

[annaraebananawriter]

For the angst drabbles (idk if you're still doing them) maybe Passive Nighty's ghost following Dream around? Sorry I don't really have any cool ideas...

Hey! Don't say that! I love this idea, and I know you have many other cool ideas. This idea is definitely one I've thought of before, and I even have a couple fanfic plot ideas lying down somewhere using it.

One involved Palette and him being the only one to see Passive Nightmare's spirit, and he decides to somehow give his uncle his body back and reunite him with his papa (Dream).

The other is similar, but involves the Bad Sanses and then finding Nightmare's crown, and Passive's ghost is attached to the crown, and so they have to catch this ghost up on things and keep it a secret from their boss and figure out how to take Passive to Dream without being killed along the way.

But that's enough about me (though if you want to hear more about these ideas, feel free to ask!). I did this prompt a little bit differently, but still the same type of deal. Also, Nightmare tells Dream a story in this one, which is The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde, just so you know ahead of time.

Happy reading!!

~oOo~

It was raining again. It came down in sheets, the sky rumbling angrily and streaks of white light glowed for a second before fading back to black. Wind made the few trees left bend, a few of the weaker ones snapping in half and flying away to a better place.

Nightmare shifted away from the drops, more of a habit than anything else. In his transparent state, everything around him treated him like he was dead and buried, slipping straight through him.

He wasn't sure how long it had been since the incident. No matter how many times it snowed or rained or the sun shone, nothing changed. Nothing new grew. The land Mother was on was dead, frozen in time. The village was no better. He preferred to look the other way, however; you could only look at corpses and rubble for so long before you felt sick. Physically, he couldn't move very far, so the most he could do was stare at Mother's remains and mourn what could've been.

He looked away. Dream's pained expression, gray stone weathered overtop, bore into him, accusingly. Well, probably not accusing him, his brother was too kind for that, but he knew when he was at fault for something and since no one else was around, it was up to him to hold himself accountable.

It wasn't your fault, Dream would insist if he wasn't a statue. Stop blaming yourself, Nighty.

Nightmare shook his head. "It is my fault, though, Dream," he said, responding like his brother could hear him. "If I hadn't eaten that apple, none of this would've happened. The villagers would still be alive. You wouldn't be petrified. That...monster in my body wouldn't be doing who knows what to people."

If you hadn't, how long would it have been until you broke completely? Imaginary Dream murmured. Things might've been worse.

Nightmare frowned, drawing his knees close to his chest. No, that was too harsh. Too fast. Dream would've made sure he knew it wasn't his fault before suggesting alternative ways things could've happened. Wouldn't he?

If he's honest with himself, he'll admit that he didn't really know what Dream was thinking anymore, not recently, and that's including before the incident. He stopped being able to read his brother the longer he kept his secret of abuse. It's hard to pinpoint when exactly, but he remembered when he realized it, a horrid moment of clarity as he watched Dream talk about his day before going to bed.

He had watched his brother's smile and couldn't tell anymore whether it was real or not, if his tone was genuine. Zoning out, a voice whispered at the back of his head, furthering his distress.

When had Dream gotten so good at lying?

Another round of thunder shook things. Nightmare flinched, glancing up, feeling guilty as he looked back to Dream, remembering the first night they witnessed the sky get angry. Scared at first, he had quickly gotten used to it, curiosity over something new taking over, being replaced soon by worry as he looked over and saw how his brother cowered in fright, eyes wide.

Helpless, he tried to comfort him, but Dream stayed that way, fear coating him more than their blanket did. He had started telling a story to fill the silence as he thought, just a silly story of something that happened to him a couple days ago--exploring the forest and encountering a frog, examing it and noting his observations, only to eventually startle as the frog jumped on his skull, making him tip backward and fall in the river. He had been pulled out of his thoughts by a giggle, abruptly realizing his story had helped Dream forget about the storm for a bit.

The thunder had sounded again and Dream jumped, quieting. Nightmare had smiled, tugging him close. "Don't worry," he had said. "I'm right here. Nothing will happen as long as I'm here. Want to hear some more stories? I have lots of embarrassing moments I never told you about."

Dream had nodded, but quickly spoke before Nightmare could start another story. "And you'll be here forever?"

Nightmare blinked. "Of course! What brother would I be if I wasn't?"

"Promise?"

"I swear it." Nightmare had held up a pinky finger and hooked it around his brother's. "Now, as for a story...well, another time I was exploring the forest and..."

Since then, whenever there was a storm, Nightmare would cuddle Dream and tell him story after story until they both fell asleep. In the morning, the rain would be gone, dew lingering in the air, and they would splash in the puddles together and laugh. It was fun.

This should be no different.

But Dream was a statue right now. Nightmare had no physical form. He wasn't even sure if his brother would be able to see him. There's no way a silly story could help things. Still, he couldn't help imaging his brother cowering again, this time unable to move an inch, eyes trained on the sky. He couldn't even cover his ears to block out the sound.

Nightmare had to do something about that. He couldn't let his brother, imaginary or not, be scared like that.

He shifted until he was leaning against his brother's legs. "It's okay," he said, patting Dream's statue, hovering uncertainly over the hairline cracks around his waist. "I'm right here. I told you I wouldn't ever leave you and I intend to keep that promise. Tonight's story is a bit different than usual. I only read it recently myself. I thought it fit, though."

He might just be talking to himself. Maybe this was the first sign that he was cracking from being alone for so long. Maybe this was a bad idea, a waste of time. His brother was a statue, after all, and statues can't hear or talk or react in any way.

And yet, didn't the statue in the story had a conscious? Wasn't he alive?

"Our story starts in a kingdom. In this kingdom, a beautiful statue of a prince stands on a pedestal, gazing over his subjects. He's made of gold plating, shining jewels for eyes, and his sword. Everyone admires him. One day, the birds are meant to be migrating, winter fast approaching. One sparrow, however, seeks shelter at the prince's feet. He notices the prince is crying. He asks why and the prince explains that he is sad because of the suffering his poor subjects face."

If the Prince in the story was alive even though he was a statue, then why couldn't Dream be alive? Or, well, conscious, anyway. He knew his brother was alive. He wouldn't be here if he was dead.

If that was true, though, then he could imagine his brother relaxing as the story unfolded, calming down. He could imagine him closing his eyes and trying to sleep, focusing on his voice and letting the images free in his mind for his dreams to shape as they please.

"The prince asks the sparrow for a favor. He asks the bird to take the ruby from his statue and give it to a poor mother and child. And although the bird needs to fly south, already late, he agrees to help. The next night, the prince asks another favor. One of his sapphire eyes needs delivering to a poor writer. The sparrow is upset, not wanting to blind his new friend, but he agrees after the prince insists. The next night, the prince asks for his other eye to be delivered as well, this time to a poor girl."

He made a promise, after all. Nightmare will keep it, invisible or not. And if he can only provide stories for his brother to sleep to during thunderstorms, then...that's what he will do.

"The prince asks for the sparrow to take his gold plating and give it to the poor as well. Feeling sorrow for his prince, the sparrow cancels his plans to fly away and stays with his friend, being his eyes for him, and delivering his gold as instructed. The prince is blind. Seeing his riches are gone, the people of the kingdom call the prince ugly. Only the sparrow knows otherwise, that the prince's heart is pure. Unfortunately, not being meant for the cold, the sparrow dies from the cold, and shortly after the prince dies as well from a broken heart."

Because what else are brothers for?

[coltrainbat]

soulmate au where when your soulmate draws something on their body it also appears on yours. please do andy barber x reader

Sparks Fly

A/N: Short but cute. I'm not super good at fantasy AU (first time) but I hope this is sort of what you wanted. It was fun to write but definitely a good challenge. Thanks for breaking me out of my comfort zone! I want go back! 🤠💕

Andy fiddled with his pen during witness interviews, half listening to the third person account and half letting Neal have a moment to feel like he was the big man; asking and responding to the witness. Andy was supposed to be taking notes, but he found himself doodling, on the notepad in front of him. What started off with random squiggles and unreadable shorthand, slowly turned into more intricate patterns as he realised the pressure he applied allowed for contrast in the strokes.

  After filling in most of the page, he needed a new canvas, eyeing up his hand he moved the pen ever so slightly to the skin between his thumb and his pointer, enjoying the feeling of the pen tip of his skin as he drew a small heart. Smiling down at his creation, small enough you wouldn’t be able to notice it as he went about his day to day, but big enough that he could enjoy the small joy he got from it. He admired his work, thinking about how good it would look like a tattoo on a more feminine hand. 

  You woke up, late as per usual and with 20 minutes before you had to leave to your job at the coffee shop you instantly sprinted out of bed, gathering your clothes from off the floor. 

  Reaching down to grab a clean pair of panties from the basket with your left hand you noticed the small, hand drawn heart that had appeared while you slept.

  The heart sat like ink on your skin, brushing it off as a mindless action from yesterday or a weirdly sweet prank by your roommate while you slept you made your way to the bathroom.

  Lathering your hands with soap you went to scrub away the scribble yet after 5 minutes of mindless palming frothy soap in your hands and attempting to scratch away the heart with your fingernails to no avail you were starting to get frustrated. Permanent marker you thought or maybe some weird temporary tattoo pen. 

  You quickly googled ways to remove a permanent drawing on your hand but all you got was tattoo removal in your area. But it wasn’t a tattoo, you’d never stepped foot in a shop and were petrified on needles. It sat on your skin so well, like it came up from your bloodstream and sat below the skin rather a minor attack from the outside. It wasn’t itchy or scabbing or bruised like most fresh tattoos. It just… was. Like a freckle or an inconspicuous mole. 

  Deciding that were already late and since the doodle wasn’t offensive, on your face or overtly obvious you went about getting yourself ready for work. Making your way out the door, keys in mouth while mid ponytail with minutes to spare. 

  Your day went on as usual, serving coffee to the local businessmen and women during their pursuit of caffeine. Ever so often you’d glance down at the minimalist “tattoo” while counting cash or handing over coffees. While you were still keen to get whatever toxic formula was used to create the inerasable mark you appreciated the joy that ignited in you whenever you looked at it. It released an intoxicating feeling, a strange mix of happy nostalgia and content. But it was just a little heart, right? By afternoon, you had settled that if you couldn’t get rid of it you wouldn’t mind the hand drawn ode to love on your hand. 

  But you would still have a go at your roommate about drawing on you while you slept. 

  “Hi gorgeous.” You internally groaned at the tall, cocky man who had appeared in front of you. Forcing a smile for the man.

  “What can I get you?” 

  “I’ll have a black coffee and um…” He turned around to meet the man who entered in closely behind him. 

  “Andy what do you want?”

  “Just a coffee please.” His acquaintance’s smile at you was softer and less creepily threatening. He was clearly tired but that couldn’t overshadow his handsomeness. His button up shirt fitted snugly against his arms and chest. His slight scruff on his chin was well kept. The man clearly took care of himself, and you couldn’t help but notice the intoxicating smell of his cologne as he approached the counter. 

  “Great two coffees, one black coming up.” You smiled back.

  “Your coffee.” You gestured to the handsome lawyer. 

  “Thank you so much.” He walked over to you holding out his hand as you held out his takeaway cup and there it was.

  An identical heart on the very same hand as yours. In the very same position. And in the very same style.

  You both paused when you noticed each other’s relative markings. 

  “Is that a tattoo?” He gestured to yours, breaking the silence first.

  “Umm no I woke up with it this morning, it’s weird it won’t come off. Is yours?”

  “No, I just drew mine on me this morning while I was distracted.” His nervousness present in his voice as he ran his hand through his hair.

  “That’s… odd.” Your head running with plausible reasoning, confusion present on your face.

  “Really odd.” His eyes honed into your hand. 

  “I’m Andy by the way.” He held out his decorated hand. 

  “Y/N.” You shook his hand back, with your decorated hand. 

  A sudden zap between the contact caused you both to startle. You made eye contact, both breathing out a laugh.

[lunapwrites]

Favorite Lines, Snippet Smonday, etc...

Okay, I was tagged in MANY things recently, and I'm going to probably kill many birds with a single post. Thank you to @femme--de--lettres, @spindrifters, @greenvlvetcouch, @bluestringpudding, and @bluesundaycake for the tags over the last week or two (and others who I am probably forgetting but appreciate just as much!)

This whole section absolutely tickles me. Just... Remus being 100% in the zone and only vaguely aware of Problems occurring around him while he's doing nerd boy shit. XD

Downstairs, the front door slammed open. (“FILTH! BEAST! MUGGLE-LOVING WHORE—” “INCENDIO — oh, bugger all!”) “Can you check that?” Remus muttered, prodding a bind rune to shift it ever so slightly to the left.  Seven degrees, maybe? No, too much —  five should suffice. Sirius huffed, his footsteps carrying him out of the drawing room and into the hall. “Hullo Annie, nice to see you Annie, thank you for setting fire to the drapery again Annie—” “Not now — is Nymphadora here?” Sod it. Quicker to just rebuild the whole bloody thing from the ground up at this point. And if he took it piece by piece, it shouldn’t come crashing down on him — that was the tricky bit. One wrong move and he could wind up blowing them all to kingdom come. Or he could wind up giving someone a duckbill or something. Magic was funny like that. “No? We haven’t seen her since she left for work. I thought she was having dinner with you tonight.” But he could use Orion and Sirius’ work as a foundation and just… make something that made a little more sense based on that. Wards for detection, protection, alarms, maybe even slipping in an apotropaic talisman because, quite frankly, Remus was at his wit's end, so he might as well get creative with it. “She was supposed to, yes, but she never came home.” If he worked from the outside in and just… replaced wards as he went, that would be the most sensible approach. But then he’d probably need to go back and adjust them again after he’d replaced the central bind rune, and he really didn’t want to keep fucking around with it. That was just asking for trouble, it was. “Well, she’s probably just been kept late at the office—” “That was my first thought, but we already asked Kingsley, and he said she left at her usual time. She’s not there.” If he was quick and careful about it — and he typically was — he could hot-swap a new core in and then build the rest out before it all backfired. Take a little planning, but he could get there. Probably.

Remus. Remus, no.

Anyway, this is extremely rough draft but I do like how it's turning out as of right now.

I'd tag someone else but honestly idk what I'm even tagging for at this point hahaha.

[acaciasmith8]

BLOSC Acacia's Adventures The First Chapter: Chapter 4

(Flashback)

On the day on Elementary School, Amber Smith (AKA Acacia's Mom) quickly go speed walking in the hallway and saw a random kid got blood on the head in the nurse's office passing by. When she pass by the nurse's office she went to the principal's office.

Principal: oh good your here.

Amber saw Acacia with her hair messed up, crying, and hugging her sketchbook tightly.

Amber: has Acacia done something wrong?

Principal: your daughter has hit one of the students with her lunch box.

Amber: she did what?

She looked at Acacia and she didn't say a word or looked at her mother.

Amber: is there a reason why she did it?

Principal: well we talk to some other kids who's the witness of this mess. And they said that this kid who's been snatching her sketchbook that she's been drawing in the middle of lunch.

Amber looks at Acacia again, and still notice she's hugging her sketchbook very tightly.

Principal: I think it's best if your daughter will be suspended for the week. You and your daughter can go now Mrs Smith, I hope you'll help her for the week.

Amber went to Acacia reached in to Acacia hand and slowly hold on to it. When they walked through the hallway Acacia saw the the injured student 's parents yelling at the nurse and saying horrible things to Acacia. Her eyes wided and Burst into tears when her eyes turn red and fade to hazel.

(Flashback ended)

Star command

Acacia got zoned out and think of memories that she remembered. She blinked a few times and look around, she didn't remember how she got in star command. But she did remember that she was saved by Buzz Lightyear and his Space Ranger team. She looked around and noticed she's rapped around a blanket, sitting down. She saw Buzz Lightyear talking to his Commander, she looked down for a minute thinking, closing her hazel eyes, and open to red eyes! Acacia got up, still had the blanket wrapped around her, and walk towards Buzz and the Commander.

Acacia: Mr Lightyear? I wanted you to thank you for saving me from Zurg, but........ I want you to take me back.........

Buzz got shocked of what she says and look at the Commander silent.

After several minutes Acacia's in the Star Command medical bay sitting on a examining table. She waited for a minute and notice a doctor shows up.

Dr Mercury: hello miss Smith I am Dr Mercury and I'll be your doctor in star command for a while.

Acacia: I didn't ask Mr Lightyear to take me to a doctor! I ask him to take me back to Zurg.

Dr Mercury: I know, Mr Lightyear just told me about it before I came in. He just wanted to make sure your ok first.

Acacia got silent, and confused.

Dr Mercury: now, let start with your systems.

She use the ear temperature to put in Acacia's ear. When it got beeped she checked the number temperature.

Dr Mercury: hmmm, no fever, that's good.

She use the stethoscope to check her heartbeat. When she listens, her heart rate is normal. She puts the stethoscope away and get the blood pressure monitor. She put it on Acacia's arm, and pushed the thing to make it squeeze her arm. When she stops, she removes it.

Dr Mercury: blood pressure, normal, that's good as well. But there is a question, has your eyes always red?

Acacia: what? No! My eyes are hazel, it's always been.

Dr Mercury: hmm, I don't think you look carefully in the mirror.

She pulls her makeup mirror out of her pocket, opened it, and shows it to her. Acacia got surprised!

Acacia: I don't get it? I never had red eyes in my entire life!

Dr Mercury: I believe you, but I'm afraid I should check the X-ray. Now take your suit off and wear this gown.

Acacia listen to her and takes off the uniform. And Dr Mercury notice the claw marks on her arms and the handprint bruise on her wrist! Her eyes wided with horror and took a deep breath.

Dr Mercury: alright! Let's go.

They Went to the X-ray, Acacia lay down, and Dr Mercury uses the controls of the X-ray. When she uses it, the machine moves, and scan her whole body. When they're finished, Dr Mercury told Acacia to get in bed to have some rest, so she did.

Dr Mercury got out the medical bay and found Buzz Lightyear and his team waiting.

Buzz Lightyear: how is she? Is she anything controlling?

Dr Mercury: don't worry! Miss Smith is looks healthy and there is not trackers or control chips inside, but...........

Booster: what? What's wrong with Acacia.

Dr Mercury: I'm afraid that Miss Smith has what we call, Stockholm Syndrome.

Buzz, Booster, and Mira got shocked!

XR: Stockholm Syndrome?

Mira: It means she's falling in love with someone who is her kidnapper.

Booster: but I don't get it? Why would she have that?

Dr Mercury: it just happens whenever someone like her gets kidnapped. It's an unhealthy thing.

Buzz Lightyear: is there a way to get her Stockholm Syndrome out of here?

Dr Mercury: there is! I have an old friend who had Stockholm Syndrome, but she didn't have that until at the age of 15.

Dr Mercury pulls the card out of her pocket, and hand it to Buzz.

Dr Mercury: here's her card. Give it to Miss Smith until we figure out what to do. And there is something else I haven't showed Miss Smith yet. I need Buzz Lightyear and Commander Nebula to the briefing room immediately.

Buzz Lightyear: alright! You three keep and eye on Acacia. Make sure she hasn't done anything, and try cheering her up.

As Buzz and Dr Mercury left, the three rookies went in the bay and say Acacia laying in bed. Acacia notice them here and sat up.

Acacia: Booster?

Booster: I see you remember me.

Acacia: I've seen you come to my job every month.

Booster: I know, I just wanted to be sure. You remember my friends, Mira and XR right?

Acacia: XR maybe, Mira yes. Didn't you accidentally hit through the door when you got distracted by something?

Mira turned red or embarrassment!

Mira: I tried not too.

Booster: Buzz just wanted us to keep an eye on you so you wouldn't do anything bad.

Acacia: why would he think that?

XR: because this Dr Mercury told us you have Stockholm Syndrome.

Mira: XR SHUT UP!!!

Acacia: Stockholm Syndrome?

XR: yeah! Stockholm Syndrome. It means you have fa-

Booster tries to cover XR so he wouldn't say anything!

Booster: I'm sorry. What XR is saying is--

Acacia: oh no. I know what Stockholm Syndrome is, and I shouldn't be surprised..... The way I ask Buzz Lightyear like that, is a type of sign.

Booster: hey, don't worry about it. Buzz will figure out what to do and stop Zurg once and for all.

Briefing Room

Dr Mercury: so this, is a typical human skeleton I had scanned a few months back. And this is her chart, definitely a human skeleton but her bones has something on that looks like red roots rapped around her entire skull and bones. And it looks like it's been growing very slowly, maybe that could be the reason her eyes have been red right now.

The Commander try not to say anything but got himself sweating, shaking and his hands turned to a fist.

Buzz Lightyear: that's bad? Right?

Dr Mercury: well, it doesn't look like this Zurg is responsible for this. It seems to me that she gets that to one of her family that she's probably born with it like they have. Mr Lightyear, have you told someone at her work that she has a parent or a legal guardian?

Buzz Lightyear: yes I do! She has parents name Amber and Eliot Smith. Do you want to call them for questions?

Dr Mercury: yes, but not yet you should find a hiding place for Miss Smith so Zurg might not find her.

Medical Bay

Acacia and Team Lightyear have been hanging out for a while. But then Buzz Lightyear showed up.

Mira: Buzz! What did Dr Mercury say?

Buzz Lightyear: no time for that Mira, we need to Acacia out of here, Star Command is to risky to stay here.

Booster: what do you mean? I thought this'll be safe for her.

Buzz Lightyear: you may think that, but Zurg thinks this'll be the first place he'll look. We need to find a place where he would not expect.

Mira: well I can't take her to Tangea, my father would not like that. 

XR: Rhizome would be fitting for her, but Zurg would know there's no weapons in this planet.

Mira: what about Tradeworld?

Buzz Lightyear: no, there could be backstabbers somewhere.

Buzz and his team kept thinking, and booster thought of an idea.

Booster: I know a place where she can stay for a while!

Acacia looked at booster confused.

Jo-Ad 

Booster uses the Star Command shuttle to bring Acacia with him to his home planet called Jo-Ad. Before they went for a landing Acacia looked at the side window and looked at this land that looks like a farm, a village, and a big field. The Star Command shuttle has finally landed.

Booster: wait here Acacia, I'll be right back.

Booster got out of the shuttle, rush to his old house, and knock on the door. Acacia lean back to the chair waited patiently, until she notice another Jo-Adian is using a tractor on the field. He looks almost like Booster but he's orange, not red. 

When the orange Jo-Adian is busy driving the tractor, he caught his eye on Acacia. But little did he not know, there's a rock in a middle of the field! The tractor got tripped by the big rock and the orange Jo-Adian falls off the tractor! Acacia got shocked and got out of the shuttle and run to him.

Acacia: oh my gosh are you ok?

Orange Jo-Adian: yeah it's my fault, I didn't even see it there.

Acacia: no it's my fault! I got you distracted.

Acacia helps the orange Jo-Adian, and Booster and his parents notice them and ran to them.

Booster: Buster! Are you okay?

Buster: yeah! Don't worry about me. I notice you brought a new friend with you?

Booster: Acacia this is my oldest friend Buster, and these two are my parents. Everyone, this is Acacia Smith.

Mrs Munchapper: well it's nice to meet ya Miss Acacia, Boosty has told us about you. And you look prettier then I imagine.

Acacia: ummm thanks

Mr Munchapper: so, Booster? What was it that you were gonna say?

Booster: oh yeah! Maybe we should talk inside.

While they were inside of Booster's old house. Acacia's sitting on a big couch and eating some Bunzel Dumplings, and Booster, his old friend, and his parents are in a middle of a conversation on the other room.

Mrs Munchapper: oh my! That is awful! No wonder I notice a bruise on her wrist. 

Mr Munchapper: and I can't believe a monster like Zurg would do something terrible to an innocent person like Acacia.

Buster: is that you you bring her here?

Booster: yeah, this is all I can think of. I mean I could take her to Roswell, but I don't think Acacia's ready to know about those guys yet, even Becky.

Mrs Munchapper: oh we understand Boosty. We have the best hiding place for her in this house, and she is welcome to stay at our home.

Buster looks at Acacia, and notice she had a sad look.

Booster: thanks you guys! I better get back to Star Command, I gotta let Buzz know. And I'll call you tomorrow to check on ya to see how's she's doing.

Later that night

Buster left to go to his home. And Mrs Munchapper setting up the big couch as a bed for her.

Mrs Munchapper: it's not much, but I hope you'll be comfortable.

Acacia smiled

Acacia: I will ma'am! And thank you for letting me stay here.

Mrs Munchapper: oh sure, it's not a problem. I will see ya in the morning.

As Mrs Munchapper shut the lights out, and left. Acacia's smiles faded out, and lay down with a sigh. She looked at the ceiling and thinking about the red sky. She hates to think that she misses it.

And she misses him too.......

[thatonesakudere]

"What did I do that filled you with so much hate?" // mac for mayu

@badtrigger

The light flickers, letting the deep shadows of the night consume it all, her face, the desk, the walls; like a hungry beast that can never be sated. Then, it is cast back into the very corners of the room, squeezed between and under the furniture, banished from this temporary kingdom of hers — an office, larger than most, without a spec of dust and little warmth to it — and everything is harshly bright once more. Mayu's eyes squint at the change, slender fingers reflexively brought up to her face and under the red-rimmed glasses to rub out the black spots dotting her vision. Whether it's the lightbulb or the wiring, she'll have to bring someone to look at it-- Preferably sooner than later, lest the electronics give out on her during one of these work-filled nights. Lately, it feels there's been too many of them to count...

She doesn't bother to anymore.

His presence is hard to miss; a lumbering mass so out of place, drawing her eyes like a lamppost does a swarm of moths. He barely fits through the door, and only because the admin zone has been built with avatars and recoms in mind, soaring ceilings and wide corridors. The tiny flicker of hope that he's here on official business (regardless of the late hour) gets snuffed out as soon as Mays opens his mouth.

"What did I do that filled you with so much hate?"

"What didn't you do?" A humorless laugh slips from her lips, a mix of bile and venom coating her tongue. "You left me. You went out there and died, and I had to live with it. Grieve the death of a man I knew and learn to move on, only to find you here sixteen-fucking-years later. Truly, I cannot comprehend why do you find this simple concept so hard to understand--? Have you lost your wits along with your life?" Mayu's expression could almost be mistaken for one of coy amusement, had her eyes not been cold and hard, akin to shards of black ice. "The thing about my hate, boy, is that until you've walked a mile in my shoes, you won't know anything about it." About the pain it's been born from. For how can she not hate him, when feeling anything else other than contempt will only serve to bring more of it?

And yet, there still seems to be a place in her twice-rotten heart carved out just for him; pity floods it, a cruel sibling of 'compassion', and all that Mayu is capable of feeling at the moment... Nevertheless, it's more than most would have gotten from her; she must have gone soft after Masa's birth. "Go back to your duties, Mac. Or to bed. It's late," she chides him, suddenly drained, and gets up from the desk herself. It's comical, their height (size?) difference, further emphasized by most everything else in the room being human-sized. Perfect for her. Too small for him.

It makes her want to cry.

She doesn't — instead, she makes herself a cup of coffee.

[talenlee]

Game Pile: Marvel United (Core)

CMON raised two million dollars to make a cooperative Marvel game that absolutely did not need miniatures, but got them anyway, and made them really kickass looking big-headed chibi miniatures. The game is fine. The game is perfectly tolerable. You can make a better game looking at it. Let’s look at it.

Stripped to the studs, I cannot help but like Marvel United. If I’m going to talk about it in a purely mechanical system, it’s a clock and line builder, which I mean, that feels like a different joke I’m too classy to make at the moment. Locationally, the players are moving around a clock, with six points that represent locations where things can go wrong, each having a thing that is going wrong on it, and once it’s done going wrong, you get a special ability from that place. There can be civilians needing rescues or thugs needing unrescuing on either of these, and sometimes special abilities, and then the villains’ plans make this location trickier to clean up as well, like they may have a subordinate villain or a special plot in action here. The players are playing cards into a line, which means over time your cards leave your deck and you don’t get to recycle them (per se). You get to use abilities on your cards, and the symbols on your cards, but also the symbols on the previous cards, so you can coordinate for big turns with other players, allowing for big, dramatic shifts in the flow of the game play.

Each player has their own deck of cards, those cards have the character on them, and you can play open or closed handed, depending on how much alpha gaming you’re concerned about going on at your tabletop. The villain has a little deck of their own and is doing things on their turn between your turns. The game starts with a bunch of things on fire, then gives you too few buckets, and leaves an arsonist running loose. Good stuff, it’s engaging out of the gate and you can get started and have fun once you’re done with the setup.

Which is fiddly.

The setup is full of little tokens and pieces that are meant to be for memory, and everyone has a unique deck and the player zones need to orient around a radial point and then the villain needs a deck and then you need a space for the ‘storyline’ that represents the totality of all the actions taken in the game and a villain board, and it all sits together on the table with the low key lurking mention of you’re going to have sort a lot of these when you want to put it back in the box. Not a deal breaker by any means but gosh it makes setting it up for the first time feel tricky. Like, did I miss a step? What are these little doohickeys for?

My defining feeling about Marvel United is not that it is, in any way, a bad game. It’s a pretty good game, honestly one I’d want in my collection if I didn’t have games that filled the same role and offered me more. The Marvel branding and the iconic miniatures are definitely draws with their own currency to them. The fact that the miniatures are miniatures is a big deal too, since it means you’re looking at objects you can handle and paint and engage with. If you like what this game is offering there is a truly staggering amount of it to go collect — from just twenty-dollar pickups of a new handful of heroes and villains to the eyewatering kickstarter promo set that runs up to three hundred dollars before shipping jammed full of licensed figures.

In every way this game is rolled out conveniently as a product with an accessible price, convenient store locations, online support and familiar branding. It’s a little frustrating then that this game is not as convenient, not as accessible as a game experience.

The game recommends you start with The Red Skull as your villain for your first game. So far so good, and it’s a pretty good place to start. It then tells players to ‘pick heroes,’ which is good but doesn’t quite prepare players for realising that the heroes’ special abilities can be extremely useful in concert with one another or fail to overlap at all. Another thing is that, due to the game being built around random card draw, it’s entirely possible for the villain to have a runaway opening to the game that new players should address immediately, but not recognise as such and then have no idea how to develop tools to dig themselves out of problems.

If you can’t tell, this happened to me.

It isn’t even like I don’t think games like this should be hard – but I do think losing a cooperative game on the third or fourth turn of playing directly asks how hard the game is to set up. For a game with a fast setup, yeah I guess that’s okay, just shove everything back into place and go go go again. In Marvel United’s case, though, the reset is cumbersome enough with the little pieces and the shuffling of all the decks that I feel like maybe, at least for the first player experience, there should be a little extra. Knowing more about the game meant in hindsight I could see what we were doing wrong. In our first turns, we were learning how cards worked and what they could do – we weren’t setting each other up in the same way. Plus, the idea of clearing civilians off a square with the Hulk’s attack felt like a ‘bad’ thing? We ‘shouldn’t’ do that? But then learning through the play experience that that was a thing our Hulk should be doing regularly to keep that space from getting overcrowded by the Red Skull’s sleeper agents, that didn’t come to our attention until after the whole thing was over and I was piecing together our failures.

There’s a mastery challenge here, one of those problems where playing the game makes you better at the game, and I feel like there’s a failure in this game of motivation, where the first time experience of the game wants you to just, you know, work it out and the way to do that is by failing. But I also think that I’m a big nerd for this kind of thing and that if the child and grandparent who played this game lost the game, they’d probably both shrug and either say ‘this game sucks’ or worse ‘I suck at this game.’ There’s no responsive feedback to it, there’s no clear indication of what they misidentified as important, because all the things that got swept into this happened early on.

I’ve talked about this when I talked about playing with your food or when scrabble ends, where sometimes a game can end before the game ends. If you lost the game on turn three, but the game doesn’t end until turn seven, you’re presented with a difficulty just tracking that. That’s the biggest weakness, I think, of Marvel United.

I am really glad I got this game for who I got it for. I wish for their sake that the game had built itself a little better for players who were going to be playing it the first time. This game raised two point six million dollars on kickstarter which says to me that it was made for the invested purchaser first and foremost.

Coulda just done more for the people who weren’t already fans though.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[rubywithin]

Zone Gate Part 4

-Noella went to a festival to take her mind of her recent battle- I walked around a bunch of different stall's and performer's but nothing seemed to cheer me up. Why did I let my pride get to me like that, I..I wish I could of done things differently. UGH I threw my deck on the ground....and stormed off, I tried a few more activities to try and forget about Zonelle for good. But all I saw was people having Zonelle battles....then a memory kicked in (???) "I attack with Spirit of Bird" (Noella) "I block that one with Bush Tiger". -Sigh- I remember when I used to battle with my best friend....why did she have to leave? (???) "Um excuse me mam I think you dropped these!" suddenly a guy walked up to me and gave me back my cards. (???) "Are you sure you should give them back? she betrayed her cards when she threw them down!" Ugh who was this guy? before I knew it the one giving me the deck back had retracted them.

(???) "If you beat me in a battle you can have them back full time, do you accept Eugene's challenge?". Ugh....I guess that's the guy's name his outfit was um very unique, (Noella) "I accep...." (??? "I will fight on her behalf, my name is Ziro!" (Noella) "What the heck I can fight my own battle....plus you were against him giving me my deck back!". (Ziro) "Do you think you are in the right frame of mind to battle after throwing away your cards so easily?" Ugh....I guess he was right the two then stood opposite each other. (Eugene) "I will start, I draw then summon a monster in the defence line and place 2 effect cards." (Ziro) "I see hiding your deck type smart move, I draw then summon Fire-Ball Mage!" -gulp- a fire deck. "I then activate Burning Passion which double my monsters strength and he attacks your defender!" Hmm I guess good move but that boost only lasts one turn, "I then place an effect card and call it a turn!". (Enrique) "I summon Moss Golem and he will attack your Mage" (Ziro) "I activate Ranged FIre-Ball and destroy an effect card. I then evolve my Mage into Magician of Flames"

(Eugene) "Smart move but I will activate Revival Leaf to bring back my Golem!". He got to keep his monster....but Ziro pulling off an evolution on his opponents turn was an amazing counter though. (Ziro) "Is that a bit of enjoyment I see?" I just nodded. "I summon a second Magician of Flames and both of my monsters attack you directly and I place an effect card!" (Eugene) "I activate Temple Guarding to bring out 2 more golem's in the defence line. I then activate All out Assault to push them into the offense line and all 3 monsters attack you. All out Assault destroys all attacking monsters but I didn't use my summon so I summon a new defence monster!" Wow so if he can pull off that combo again he could potentially win....(Ziro) "I draw, then I summon Sorcerer of Dark Flames! His ability destroys my other monster's" (Noella) "WHAT....that's limiting your own attack power" then it hit me....he had two monsters. (Ziro) "This is my special combo where I evolve my Sorcerer into Eternal-Flame Sage. His ability gives him a bonus attack for each of magician card I discarded this turn!"

(Eugene) "And that just happens to be enough too take out my defence monster and my remaining lives. -Gulp- guess I bit off more than I could chew" (Ziro) "Eternal-Flame Sage hit him with the grand finale spell!" and with that attack he won the battle! The two then shook hands, (Eugene) "It was an honour to witness such an incredible combo but next time I will have one of my own. Let's just say I'm in the developmental stage" (Ziro) "Haha yeah it took me a while to figure out my end game combo". Eugene then handed Ziro the deck...um (Noella) "Can I have my cards back now?". He handed them to me....(Ziro) "Now face me in a battle!" (Noella) "But why....I promise I won't toss away my cards away again". (Ziro) "I believe you but you need to remember why Zonelle is important to you and an all out battle is the key to that!" I guess he was right but I don't stand a chance against him....especially without my gate card.

[jassrain]

Eviction

The planet subjugation was a failure most of the nonmilitary personnel had been evacuated the last group was being taken out to the new landing zone since natives have moved anti-air weapons into the city.

“Sarge, there’s still an army between us and the landing zone, how do you plan to get past it?” The latest addition to the squad asked.

“A plan is in the works” I answer coaxing more speed out of the swoop, “we should have kept an APC for this extraction.”

Even as the words were coming out of my mouth the speeder was sent tumbling from an explosion. After several moments the squad sounded off, only two squad members didn’t answer and one of the evacuees was muttering incoherently as blood ran down her face. The long range comm is listed as a lost cause after a few tries from the squad’s resident technician.

“See to the wounded, I’ll see if I can get this thing running” kicks off the door of the speeder to open it and get out just in time to see an incoming RPG “KARK!” Instinctively, with the force, flicks the door up into the path of the explosive. “Get everybody out, NOW!” Again the words are barely out of my mouth when the shockwave hits sending me against the side of the speeder. Even as I am dumped on my rear and the world threatens to turn black. One of the other troopers pats my shoulder and offers a hand to help. With a quick, and dizzying, nod I accept and get to my feet.

“We’re not going to survive this are we?” The trooper asks once we take cover behind the wrecked speeder.

“It’ll be close, see to it they make the transport” points to the people we are evacuating.

“Will do sarge” the squad answers in unison over the comm.

“Now I need your E-11” holds my hand out to the other trooper.

“What’s the plan sarge?” He asks handing me his weapon.

“I draw their fire, maybe clear away some of them and you get them to the LZ” I answer checking the charge in both blaster rifles and the fuel level in my jump pack.

“How long do we wait?” He asks signaling the rest of the squad to get ready to move.

I press a drive in his hand “it’s preprogramed to play two songs, when they end you move, that’s an order.”

“Yes sarge” the trooper responds taing the drive and plugging it in.

As soon as the music starts I activate my jump pack to take me over the army and once at the zenith of my arch I start raining deadly energy from the E-11s, mostly to get them to scramble and out of the way. On landing I switch both blasters to arc-casters and fire the deadly lightning at anyone who tries to get close. Their weapons are not to be underestimated though the locals still use projectile based weapons with soft alloy ammunition, it pings and scratches at the durasteel alloy of the phase zero armor but fails to find any of the soft or weak spots, not that I give them a clean shot. I keep moving and dodge what I can.

“3…2…1” I count down firing lightning blast after lightning blast taking out up to eight locals at once with each shot, the countdown confirms the recharge of the jump pack and I take to the air again firing deadly light energy down on the local troops again.

My HUD picks up a tank moving in and taking aim as I come to land, “perfect” I mutter as I roll on landing and load fresh power clips into both blast rifles and come up firing deadly lightning while running to not be an easy target for the tank.

The tank gunner is smart and attempts to predict where I’ll be instead of tracking me, which is fine by me as I’m small mobile and there’s more of his compatriots to hit instead of me. Still the one good blast from the tank sends me flying backwards covered in dirt and mud, more of which rains down around me including several good sized stones.

“That has to go” I mutter getting my wits back and rolling backwards to a standing position, the servos in the armor complain slightly at the movement. The counter for the jump pack indicates another ten seconds before full charge. “Right, hard way it is” fires the arc-casters again while charging the tank, flips one into the holster next to the jump pack and starts tossing grenades at the tank and into the crowd. The jump pack counter indicates ready again, jumps again this time raining grenades and blaster fire around the tank. I can’t help but grin behind my helmet as the gunner and driver abandon the tank.

A secondary countdown indicates that it’s almost time for the squad to get moving with the Imperial evacuees. “Not much time” I mutter as I quickly take control of the tank turret and begin firing to clear the rest of the way. With the tank it is easy to scatter the opposing force until an incoming RPG gets my attention. “OH KARK” I jump from the turret as the tank becomes scrap. Once again airborne rains deadly laser energy on the remaining forces, also I spot my squad and the evacuees making their way across the battle field, my squad mates were picking off local forces who were posing an eminent threat.

“We’re good sarge, see you at the LZ” I hear over my squad frequency as I land.

Looking around I see that the battle is over and start for the LZ and the transport off this rock.

They may have kicked the Empire off their planet, too bad for them, the Empire is a sore loser and is going to throw a tantrum by razing the planet from orbit.

[landinoandco]

An Unlikely Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo x reader

Warnings: flufffff

Word count: 2.1k

Requests are open :)

The Belgium Grand Prix was one that was highly anticipated - not only did it mark the end of the summer break and start to the second part of the season but it also promised some quality racing with its high speed corners.

You and Daniel were sitting in your hotel room on Sunday morning, a drink of coffee in your hand and a vitamin smoothie in his, your laptop open in front of you as you made some edits to the latest version of your book. You were an author and about to finish the final edit of your new novel.

“Have you seen the weather forecast for today?” He asked, leaning onto his forearms. You looked over your laptop lid and nodded, taking off your glasses.

“I have, you better be careful. It was bad enough in qualifying yesterday - “ You paused, saving your work and closing your laptop down. “I don’t care what people say - wet races always make me nervous. They shouldn’t have sent you out in Q3, it was hard to watch.”

A silence fell between the both of you, Daniel watched with a softness in his eyes. He knew exactly how you felt and he loved how supportive you were of him. You were his biggest fan and he could not be more thankful for it - you were there for him every weekend through rain and sunshine and through good races and bad races. You knew him better than anyone.

“I will be as careful as I can -” He reached across the table and took your hand in his. “I really feel like I’m getting somewhere though - P4.” He exclaimed, a smile flashing across his handsome features. You brushed your thumb over his hand.

“It was a really good lap - especially given the weather.” You agreed.

You moved your gaze to the window - the steady sound of rain hitting the hotel window filled the room.

“It’s definitely going to be a tense one.” Daniel muttered, pushing his chair back and getting up. You followed and made your way to the door, shrugging on your coat as you went.

The rain was pouring down as though the heavens above had opened - Daniel held an umbrella above both of you, sheltering you from the downpour. Members from different teams raced around the paddock to dry shelter - the buzz of conversation could already be heard from the grandstand in front of the pitlane. You admired the dedication of the fans; it was far from just a shower and for those exposed without even the slightest of cover would be drenched to the bone even by now and the grand prix was far from starting.

You looked over to Dan, his eyes twinkling and a spring in his step told you that he was looking forward to today’s race. His eyes flickered down to meet your gaze, bumping his shoulder into yours causing you to chuckle.

It was incredible to think about all of the things you two had managed to fit into 3 (going on 4) years. You met each other on the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, you were there plotting for your next novel and Daniel was there hiking with his friends…

You were sat on a rock, looking out to the city of Cape Town tucked away under the mountain range - you were out in South Africa on an escape from the cramped conditions of London. You had a deadline quickly approaching to come up with a plot for your next book and as of that moment you still weren’t any closer to coming up with the next bestseller. Sure, you had ideas but they were yet to set a light a fire of motivation in you.

You had zoned out, your gaze attached to a bird soaring across the landscape ahead of you when a sudden voice pulled you swiftly out.

“Whatchu’ writing about?” The man asked, his tone was bright and as you looked over at him you saw the beaming smile stretched across his features. His eyes showed a confident but kind manner, brown curls stuck to his forehead and the beginnings of a beard covered the bottom half of his face.

“If I knew, I would tell you.” You quipped back, turning to face the man in order to see him properly. He had a muscular physique, no doubt a sportsman - you had thought at the time - an explosion of colour seeping out from his shorts caught your eye as you clocked the tattoos; they weren’t the only ones either as little drawings were littered over his hands and arms.

“Nice tattoos.” You complimented, nodding over to him. If it was at all possible, his smile grew larger and he put his fist out.

“I’m Daniel, by the way, Daniel Ricciardo.”

The rest was history - an adventure packed history. One filled with enough adrenaline to last you for the rest of your existence. The introductions had also prompted your next plot idea so the following week when you had returned to London you turned it into your agent - who had immediately loved the outline you had presented.

A few hours later and the start of the Belgium grand prix was approaching but still the track was resembling more of a spa - ironically - than a safe and functional track. Dan walked in from the drivers parade and shivered - his coat having provided no cover.

Frowning, you got up and handed him a towel, “What are the conditions like?” Nerves laced your tone. Dan sat down, shrugging, “They’re what we expected them to be like but it’s really rough. If we can even see 6 feet ahead it would be a miracle.”

A miracle was something they were all desperate for and before they knew it the race had been red flagged - deemed too dangerous to race so all of the teams were in their garages coming up with ways to entertain themselves.

You had made your way out of the McLaren garage to join Daniel who was wandering up and down the pitlane looking for a way to cause havoc.

You crept up to him and grabbed his shoulders and shouted: “boo,” in his ear causing him to jump up in shock and scream. You and many witnesses were doubled over in laughter as the Australian held his hand to his chest.

“I just came to say -” You started, “That you looked like you were about to do something mischievous and I wanted in on whatever your plan was.”

Dan looked at you with complete adoration in his eyes, a lopsided grin formed on his face. At that moment, he had never loved you more. It was a strange feeling that he couldn’t quite describe - it was just one he felt warming up his entire body. One thing he had always adored about you was the way you understood him - at the beginning of the relationship he knew you had found it hard to deal with his childish, devil may care attitude. As soon as you relaxed more around him, you two became more comfortable with one another - you decided to try his way of living. Letting fate take you to your next adventure and enjoying the unpredictability of it all. From your first adrenaline seeking adventure Dan had managed to persuade you to join him in - he knew he had found his partner in crime. Most importantly, Dan had taught you a way of living that was more enjoyable, a way of living that allowed you to get more out of life and push your comfort zone right to the limit.

“I have a few ideas.” He smirked, then grabbed your hand twirling you around as though you were ballroom dancing.

“What are you doing?” You giggled, the corners of your eyes crinkled as he pulled you into his chest, guiding one of your hands to rest on his shoulder as he grasped the other in his and held them up as though you were dancing the waltz; finally placing his hand on your waist.

“I don’t suppose you would have seen it but in 2015, the American qualifying was cancelled due to rain and to pass the time I danced with my teammate. I figured I would make a tradition of it.” He explained, twirling you around again.

“Did Lando not want to dance with you?” You questioned, the corners of your lips quirked up. Daniel stopped and took a step back. For a moment you thought you had said something wrong but then a spray of water splashed up the front of your coat. Gasping, you wiped the water from your face and Daniel’s smug smile came into focus. You looked down to where he was standing and saw a gaping hole that had now filled up with water.

“You little-” You had begun, a smile betraying you entirely as it crept upon your features. You wanted to pretend to be angry but he had caught you off guard.

“I thought that you would be a nicer dance partner - but apparently not.” He retorted, biting down on his lip in an attempt to stifle his laughter at your facial expressions. You looked at him and then down at the puddle, back at Daniel and then decided what your next move would be; before you could however he had picked you up over his shoulder, spinning around happily.

“Daniel-” You protested, having to close your eyes to avoid feeling motion sick. You heard him chortle then give in as you felt your two feet touch the ground once again. You pouted at him, strands of hair now stuck to your forehead - it was a sight to behold. Daniel’s heart skipped a beat, his breath becoming shallower as he brushed the loose strands of hair from your face. He had decided at that moment that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you, he was ready to start the next chapter of his life with you. It would be a brand new adventure and probably the scariest yet.

“Marry me.” He mumbled, brushing his thumb over your cheek. He froze, an idea sparked, turning on his heel he fled in the direction of the McLaren garage.

Your eyebrows drew together in confusion, your heart thumping against your ribs. Drawing your lower lip between your teeth, you glanced around you only to realise the whole of the pitlane and grandstand of fans had fallen silent - watching on in anticipation. Had they heard what he had said? How could they have, Daniel had muttered so quietly even you had struggled to hear the words that tumbled from his lips. Little did you know, a camera had caught every moment and you were now the sole focus as you waited for Daniel to come back.

Moments later and he was running out of the McLaren garage, something in his left hand. You squinted to get a better look, from where you were standing all you could see was a flash of blue - but as he came closer you realised what he was holding was in fact a Haribo packet.

Your hands flew to cover your mouth, you knew exactly what he was about to do. You were fighting back tears of joy as he opened the haribo packet and pulled out a gummy ring, got down on one knee and said: “Marry me. Our new adventure, just you and me. My partner in crime.”

Tears ran down your cheeks as you nodded fervently, words appearing to fail you. You flung your arms around his neck. There was an eruption of cheer from around you, as fans whistled and clapped and fellow teams called out in congratulations.

You placed a hand either side of Daniel’s face, tears shone in his eyes. To most a gummy ring would seem immature - laughable even but to you, it confirmed to you how much you loved the man standing in front of you. The gummy ring he had presented to you meant so much more than being a Haribo. It represented you both as a couple. A love that was unconditional and would never get old and yet whilst you both would age - the love you had for one another would stay youthful, unpredictable and exciting.

You were more than ready to start the next chapter of your adventure with the man you loved most.

[saturnsstufff]

Epolouge: The Empress

Warnings: slight NSFW

"Thena, sweetie, you can't play with that-" Techno warned to his child, moving the wrapped sword away from her tiny hands.

"But Daddy- you said you'd teach me!"

As Athena got older it was obvious she shown sides of taking after her father. Her curiosity in weaponry, speech, and body language told you that much. But, to be honest, you didn't mind.

You would admit, after being away from the toxicity of the empire, and the people it entailed, life was much simpler, and way more humble. It was homey, something far more than the large palace was. Instead of large marble floors, tall lengthy walls, and perfect matching fabrics, the cozy cottage home Techno and you built was made of warm, strong logs, wooden floors that gave off a warm glow, mismatched blankets and curtains that hung with care, showing they were frequently opened and closed. It was perfect for your small family. You adored it.

After the fall of your kingdom and the near escape you all had, life was hard to adjust to. Techno was distant, scared he would lash out at you again like he did in the library. You wanted to tell him it was ok, that it was a terrible misunderstanding between the communication, and the people holding the letters. Yet, the way he grabbed you still had you hesitant. You could still remember the first few months within the tundra.

Your eyes watched the brute cut more logs. The way he moved the axe, you wouldn't have expected him to be a once prestigious emperor. Instead he looked like a boy far past his years- someone overly exhausted.

The baby in your arms was easily fast asleep. Warm and cozy from the near fireplace, and if that wasn't enough, her mothers arms and chest opted as a warm cushioned resting place.

The past month was hard, both mentally and physically. Between the tension techno and you had, and the fear of Athena getting too cold from no true shelter, you both were at your wit's end. Thankfully Techno and Phil worked to built a small shelter. Something you could rest Thena in, well the three of you worked to build a more suitable home for a family.

The rocking chair you were seated in offered a soothing place to think back on it, of course your thought's were disrupted when Tech walked back inside the home. Logs over his shoulder for the fire, not wanting it to die out and bring the tundra chill into the home.

"Did she fall asleep finally?..." he asked softly, setting the logs down. Although he walked over to the two of you, he didn't rub his finger on her cheek like he normally would, he probably had sap on his hands from the wood. Something that was now normal.

Your smile came easy to his tone "yeah, she zoned out pretty quickly after she ate. You were right about rice cereal, she's not as hungry anymore" your eyes went up to meet with his. His smile was just as gentle as yours. "Where did you even hear about it?"

"I was curious if it would... I was trading in the village and I herd it from a elderly woman" he explained, moving to the sink to wash his hands off.

Your curiosity perked at this.

"You did?"

He hummed and wondered back, sitting on the couch, still respecting the space you wished. Just because you two were married didn't mean it was all sunshine and rainbows. Things were still healing, you still got weary around his touch after the library incident, and he was still blaming himself for the years you were alone. He didn't feel like you could forgive him so easily- he knew you shouldn't.

"Mhm. She saw me looking at a small plush and rattle. She asked if I had any children or if they were for a friend... I explained I had a fussy infant... she kind of laughed and told me a few ways to avoid it..." his cheeks went pink as he glanced away.

It was easy to believe Sarah tampered with the letters, the tech in the letters was cold and distant about children. Where the one you laid with every night cooed, and played with his daughter, eager to show her the world. One thing he did for her almost made you break down in tears.

Due to fleeing for your lives, Athena no longer had toys, blankets, or anything she needed. She even lost her plush, the one she slept with every night. When she was particularly fussy one night, you explained to techno why. Of course he was saddened too, he didn't wanna hear his little girl cry, no parent did. So the next day he found some scrap fabric and sewed together a small Pig for her. You would always remember how eagerly she pulled it into her arms.

In the end. It was easy to see Technoblade was a family man.

When night time rolled around, you were thinking back on all the nights techno held you close. After his return you both slept with a bit of distance between you. The first night you both were tightly within each other's arms, too scared to loose each other again. But after that something about laying tightly like everything was ok didn't feel right. So the two of you kept a bit of distance, easily a hands reach away if needed.

Tonight however, you wanted tech to hold you. You wanted old times back, the endless giggles, the warm arms, slight smirks, his nose in your neck content with life. You missed it so much.

So when Techno crawled into bed, you fallowed in suit, but instead of crossing over him for your place by the wall, you sat atop straddling his waist. The action alone was enough to make him pink, and curious. His hands didn't rest on your hips, rather you guided them to rest there yourself, showing it was ok for him to touch you.

You could feel how hesitant he was. He didn't want to scare you, drive you away farther than you already were.

"Princess... what are you doing?" He asked softly, admiring your form above him, dearly missing the sight deep down.

"Tech I miss you... I miss you holding me, making love to me, whispering how much you love me... I miss how close we were..." you said slightly pained.

He drew a slight breath, the air coming out shaky. "Darlin'- Princess... look... I miss it too... But I hurt you... I accused you of sleeping with Orion, i also assumed you hated me... It made me draw my sword to you... it made me Grab you-" he was cut off by you.

"And I forgive you... it's in the past... we can move forward... I mean... I'm assuming you wouldn't do it again..." you said slowly, watching him discard your hips for your hands.

"Ill never raise a hand, or blade to you again... never again... God's I love you too much to even think of hurting you like I could have... Your all I have..." he said softly, tearing up slowly. Thinking back on it, he hated how he acted, he was hurt and took it out in rage, he took it out on the one person who endlessly loved him.

After talking out how you two truly felt, you tried to make love again, the action felt odd, yet long awaited, Both of you desperate to feel one another after so long without each other, but sadly when Tech moved you under him, you watched his eyes well with tears before he fully broke down in tears.

Their may have not been physical intimacy shared, yet the wounds of words, and actions began to slowly heal, and it all started with techno burring his face into your chest, his sobs drowned out by the wild wind outside the cabin.

Your thoughts were shaken from your mind as you watched your daughter try to charm tech into teaching her sword play.

"You promised!" She said, hoping it would budge the stubborn Brute.

"Yeah, well I promised your mother a new ring too and all she got was another one of you-" he said scooping Thena up into his arms, holding her upside down to get her to laugh.

"Yeah well she can take Ares back! I don't want a brother!" Thena said, sounding like she meant it. "He’s annoying and he always cries at night" she explained, finding her reasoning good enough.

"It sounds like you when you were his size" you said with a smile, stepping up beside your husband, almost eye level with your child. "Ares is young, he'll grow up and get quite darling. Crying is his only way of communicating he needs something" you explained, moving your head so you were somewhat looking her in the eyes.

When tech started to tickle her, it brought smiles to you both. Over the years her giggle, and laugh had become your shared favorite sound. Athena was so innocent and pure, she was the only hope that had survived the darkness of the empire. Luckily out of that darkness came a stronger relationship between you and Tech, even if it took time to develop again.

Without the empire down his throat, he had become much more relaxed. Even his voices seemed to dull down quite a bit. Not only that, but with his son born he felt more at home than he ever had.

This was, and always will be better than what you suffered. This was the life you and Technoblade deserved, after every tooth and nail fought for normality, this was rewarding. This was home.