#it's just hard to FIND those people in particular to bounce around with

[is-this-tf]

Okay I need to speak my truth: being into character TF for fandoms that rarely get attention from TF artists feels like this

[starsofang]

simon riley x autistic!reader requested by anon! <3 tw: none!

When a certain John Price had recruited you under his own jurisdiction, you were cautious yet excited to be joining a new task force. It was an opportunity you simply couldn’t pass up, and you’d be insane to say no. Price had promised you would fill in the gap that seemed to be missing from their team, and for the most part, he was absolutely correct.

Gaz and Johnny were the most welcoming in the beginning. Price was more the serious type with an occasional bad joke here and then, but all in all, everybody approved of you and had your back so long as you had theirs.

None of them seemed to mind when you’d have days where you’d be talkative on one, and quiet the next. They’d listen to your passionate ramblings on specific topics, or they’d allow you to sit in comfortable silence if they knew you needed it.

There was one person in particular who didn’t seem quite fond of you, and that would be Ghost – or Simon, as Johnny called him on occasion. It wasn’t that he didn’t seem to like you, no. He just seemed distant, purposefully keeping you at an arm’s length and only acknowledging you when necessary.

Johnny had told you not to worry about it, that he’d come around eventually. Simon was impartial to new people and it took him a while to open up.

You did notice, though, that Simon was someone who stared. One too many times, you’d catch those brooding eyes boring into you, as if trying to puzzle you together and figure out where the pieces fit. It would always cause a bit of anxiety to well in you when you’d find his eyes across the room, already locked in on you, and you would find yourself avoiding his stare as soon as you felt it.

It wasn’t until a particular mission had gone bad that you completely shut down. In the presence of your new task force, you had successfully masked yourself as much as possible. But now, when Johnny had nearly been killed, all due to an error in your own judgment, that mask was slipping off and you needed time to let it crumble on your own.

You thought that was all you needed – time. But time proved fruitless as you spent the next few days on lockdown, avoiding all conversation and interaction. Your eyes would stray to the ground, or you’d find yourself staring blankly at the walls of the mess hall with your nails picking at the skin around them from beneath the table.

You didn’t think anybody noticed. After all, everybody was on edge and decompressing from the failed mission, and they didn’t have the focus to see your mind eating you up.

Simon did, though.

He’d seen all the signs, from the way you picked at your nails, to the way you’d consistently tuck your hair behind your ear, even if it was already tucked, and to the way you’d tap your foot along the ground in a repetitive motion, leg bouncing wildly underneath the table during breakfast or debriefs.

At first, none of it made sense to him. He thought it was simple signs of anxiety, and for that, he truly thought that if one bad massion made you close up this much, you wouldn’t last long enough to see a second one. But when he returned to his quarters and searched up all of your stims that he’d taken mental notes of over the course of the week, things clicked.

He didn’t know much about autism. To his embarrassment, you were the first person with autism that he’d actively been around on a daily basis. Everything he’d seen made complete sense, and that last puzzle piece he was trying so hard to fit seemed to fall right into place.

Simon took it upon himself to educate himself. He, too, had his own struggles that not many people had an understanding of, and now that he knew what made sense, he didn’t want you to continue hiding yourself away for the sake of the rest of the team.

It started off small.

When Simon would notice you picking at your fingernails, he’d place a large hand over yours to stop you without sparing a glance in your direction. If he wasn’t there to stop you, he’d silently wrap your fingers up in cute bandages he purchased himself, because he noticed you liked them more than the typical brown ones.

If he noticed you zone out and lose a piece of yourself, where your eyes would find the walls and focus in on them as if they were the most interesting thing in the world, he’d gently grab your shoulder with means to snap you out of it and remind you that he was there with you.

At first, you were surprised when Simon began showing you these subtle signs of companionship. He hadn’t shown any interest in you up until this point, but as time went on, you found yourself actively seeking out that safe space that Simon was slowly building for you.

You crawled your way out of that hole you found yourself in and began returning to normalcy; except now, you didn’t feel you had to mask all the time.

When you returned to your rambling moments, your hand would subconsciously find its way to Simon’s, grasping and fiddling with his fingers while you spoke. He’d never pull his hand away, and instead, he’d sit there quietly with his full attention on you, eyes soft and affectionate from beneath his mask.

Often times, when he’d head to the mess hall to grab a snack or a drink for himself, he began to bring you something back as well – cookies, chips, you name it. If he knew you liked it, he’d snag a couple of whatever it was and place it in front of you without a word (and would absolutely ignore Johnny’s childish whines of how he never did that for him).

This back and forth between the two of you didn’t go unnoticed, and when Gaz nudged Johnny when the three of them sat in the debrief room together, claiming that Simon had a crush, he didn’t blatantly deny it.

Simon wasn’t sure what it was he felt for you. He wanted to see you happy, that he knew for sure, but when Gaz and Johnny continued to feed into their teasing remarks, he was beginning to think that, okay, yeah, maybe he had a bit of a crush.

It took him months to even proclaim this confession to you. He didn’t want to overwhelm you, or god forbid you didn’t feel the same way, didn’t want you to close up on him like you had with others before. Being your safe space was something he took pride in, and for a man who had no knowledge months ago on how to approach you in a way that showed he understood, he didn’t want to ruin that.

That wasn’t at all what happened, though. When he had the gall to tell you, you were practically bursting at the seams. Hands moving wildly, feet causing you to bounce with excitement as you eagerly confessed your own feelings for him. He was scared your lips were crack open from how widely you were smiling and babbling on about your affection.

And when he had the chance to kiss you? He did it with so much tenderness, keeping it as gentle as possible, hands only cupping your cheeks when you told him it was okay.

You had never met someone who was so passionate about you, that they’d learn everything about you. He knew your quirks, your hyperfixations, your interests, your stims. He knew more about you than he did himself at this point.

To have somebody cherish you in such a way that they’d go that far for you, even when they themselves aren’t partial to getting attached to people, it was all Simon ever hoped to make you feel, and it was all you ever wanted to feel understood and accepted.

Simon would happily assure you of that any day.

—

thank u for this idea anon!! i really hope it lived up to your standards, i tried to make it as accurate as possible while trying not to make the stims too specific and detailed since i know many people have different ones and that autism is not linear! <3 please enjoy fluffy simon because he’s my favorite

[vigilante-3073]

All Those Who Go Unnoticed

Evan Buckley x Female Reader

Summary: Evan Buckley has always been left behind and forgotten about. What happens when someone finally decides to stay?

TW: Mentions of neglect and self-deprecating thoughts, angst, friends to lovers.

Evan Buckley was born to serve a purpose that he could not fulfill. His parents only had another child in a futile attempt to save his older brother Daniel. After his brother had passed away, Buck's parents treated him like he was a waste of space. Everything he did was wrong and he couldn't seem to ever find himself in their good graces.

Buck relied on his older sister Maddie for years until she eventually left him behind to start a life of her own. Buck left home as soon as he could, but struggled to find himself for years. He bounced between jobs in search of something that could make him feel like he mattered.

Everything fell into place when he decided to become a firefighter.

Buck loved his job at the 118, he saved lives everyday with some of the most amazing people he had ever met. He found a family that valued him and treated him how he deserved to be treated. Despite having everything he had spent his life searching for, Buck still felt like nothing he did was good enough.

He could have been smarter. He could have been faster. He could have done more.

Buck had never told anyone how critical he could be of himself. It was something that he always dealt with, definitely a mindset created by his parents.

Buck always felt like he had to prove himself and show everyone that he had value. It was a never-ending quest that weighed on him heavily.

Y/N had quickly become Buck's best friend when he joined the 118 all those years ago. She was a firefighter-paramedic and she was great at her job. Y/N never doubted herself and Buck admired her tenacity, especially when people challenged her in the field.

Y/N and Buck hardly went a day without seeing each other. He felt like his day wasn't complete until he talked to her.

They were the kind of friends that could have a 4-hour long video call while doing chores around the house or spend all day just chatting about nothing in particular. They knew everything there was to know about each other and seemed to share a brain at times.

Buck had never felt seen until he met Y/N.

Y/N always brought him into conversations or found her way over to him when she could tell he was pulling back. Y/N knew about how hard Buck could be on himself, she could tell when he was overthinking and was able to pull him out of that mindset.

"You need to be kinder to yourself, Buck," Y/N had told him one night when he was alone in the locker room after a rough shift.

"I'll try," He had replied.

Buck thought about that interaction quite often, he was always beating himself up for things he had little control over and it needed to end.

It was a hard cycle to break, but he was trying, and he was trying because of her.

...

Buck watched Y/N talk animatedly to Hen and Karen about a book they had all been reading. They laughed loudly at something she said before Hen began sharing her own thoughts on the book.

Y/N looked over, locking eyes with Buck from across the yard and sending him a small wave with a smile. He waved back, watching her as she returned to her conversation.

Bobby took a seat at the patio table beside Buck, "So, when are you gonna ask her out?" He questioned.

Buck's eyebrows raised, "Oh, no, I was just-," He started, "Save the excuse, I can tell that you like her as more than a friend," Bobby said with a knowing smile.

Buck looked down at the table with a sigh, picking at the label on his beer bottle with his thumb nail, "She's way too good for me," Buck said.

"What makes you say that?" Bobby asked.

Buck shrugged, "She's amazing and I'm just me... I don't deserve her," He stated.

"Buck, you're a good guy but you need to know when to get out of your own way. Don't overthink it, just ask her out. I'm almost 100% sure she would say yes if you asked her out on a date," Bobby assured.

"Almost 100%?" Buck asked.

"99.9% sure," Bobby amended.

Buck looked over at her to find her making her way over to the cooler full of drinks. He stood up from his seat and made his way over to her.

"Hey," He greeted.

"Hey, I was wondering when you were gonna stop hiding away in the corner," Y/N teased.

"Can I ask you something?" Buck questioned, "Of course," Y/N replied.

"Um, you can totally tell me if I'm looking at this the wrong way, but is there something- I don't know... Is there something more than friendship between us?" He asked.

"Do you want there to be something more?" Y/N asked.

"I think I do," Buck answered hesitantly.

Relief washed over him when a smile broke out across her face, "I do too," She said.

"Oh my god, you have no idea how fast my heart is beating right now," Buck said, huffing out a soft laugh.

Y/N rested her hand on his chest, feeling his heart pound against her palm, "You really weren't kidding. Do you need to sit down?" She asked.

"No, I'm good. I just- Will you go out on a date with me?" He questioned, resting his hand over her's on his chest.

"Of course I'll go out with you, Buck," Y/N replied.

...

Y/N and Buck had been dating for almost a year, she had moved into his apartment and everything seemed amazing. Buck still felt like he was waiting for the day she found someone better and left him in the dust, but she chose him each and every day.

Buck had never felt like the center of attention, he always went above and beyond to be noticed, but it was effortless with Y/N. Buck felt like he was being seen after a lifetime of feeling invisible and it was the best feeling in the world. He couldn't think of a way to repay Y/N for bringing him to life again.

Until he did.

He sat at a table in the busy coffee shop, a mug of coffee sat on the table in front of him. Buck felt jittery and he had yet to take a single sip of the hot beverage, instead choosing to watch the door closely. Buck straightened up in his seat as Maddie made her way into the establishment. She walked through the tables before sitting down in the chair across from him.

"Where's Y/N? Is she not coming?" Maddie asked.

"Um, no, actually. I kinda needed some time to talk to you... Alone," Buck said hesitantly, grimacing at his own awkwardness.

Maddie gasped, "Are you going to propose to Y/N?" She asked.

Buck's face fell, "How did you know that? I didn't even say anything yet," He questioned.

"I just knew," Maddie grinned, "Aw, Buck, this is so exciting!" She said.

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it for a while now. I mean, with everything we've gone through this year, I don't want to spend anymore time not being together, y'know?" Buck questioned.

"I do," Maddie said.

"I think she's my person, Maddie," Buck admitted.

Maddie smiled, her eyes glossing over with happy tears, "She definitely is, Evan," She said.

"I was wondering if you had some time today to help me pick out a ring. I've looked around a little bit, but I'm kinda useless at this stuff," He said.

"Of course I'll help. Do you have any idea what kind of ring she may want?" Maddie asked.

"I think she likes the ones with the jewel that's shaped like an egg," Buck said slowly.

"This is going to be a very long and expensive day for you, little brother," Maddie sighed with a smile.

[rosenclaws]

Nightmares || Worst!Logan Howlett x Reader

summary: Logan has a nightmare and finds comfort his his new child.

warnings: fluff, comfort, his child is adopted

Part if the Moonlight series (coming soon lol)

a/n: So i did things a little backwards. This should have been a oneshot after the og story of them finding the baby but I got this idea in my head and I couldn’t shake it so you’re getting some things out of order. You don’t need any context other than shes a baby and adopted tbh. Her name is Diana and i did take that from league of legends

Logan shoots up, chest pounding as a nightmare lingers in his head. He doesn't remember what this one was about. Probably just like all the other ones. His dead friends, the blood on his hands. Something along those lines.

He feels you stir next to him and freezes. You've been absolutely exhausted the last couple of weeks with the baby so the last thing he wants for you is to wake up because of him. He gently rubs your back, watching you relax under his touch until you're back to a nice deep sleep.

Loud cries start to come from the next room. His brows furrow as he pulls off the sheets.

Worry building in his chest as he hurries to the next room. Is something wrong? Is she sick? Hurt? He breathes a sigh of relief when he sees her in her bed. He places his hand on her forehead to check for a fever. No sign of sickness which is good but he's hyper aware as he checks her over.

"Hey there kid, what's with all the crying?" The crying starts to subside the moment she lays eyes on Logan.

He shushes her gently. Picking her up from her crib and holding her in his arms. He walks around in circles, gently bouncing her in his arms.

She's wearing some stupid onesie that Wade bought her. Red to match his suit. Stuffed animals sit perfectly in her crib but she clutches hard to one in particular. A damn wolverine plushie that you had searched forever for. He rolled his eyes at the idea but the moment Diana saw that stupid plush she squealed with happiness. Now it's her best friend.

"See no tears, no reason for tears. I'm here." He wipes away the stray tears from her chubby little cheeks.

He moves to put her back in bed but her faces scrunches up like she's going to cry again so he keeps her in his arms. He slowly sinks into the rocking chair sat next to her bed. Cradling her as he slowly rocks back and forth. The chair creaks beneath his weight and he makes a note to get a stronger chair.

"You hungry?" He tries to feed her the bottle you keep for emergencies but she won't budge. She doesn't need a diaper change so he has no clue why she woke up this time.

“Did you have a nightmare?" He asks softly as she grabs onto his finger. Looking up at him with big glassy eyes.

"That's okay, I get them too." She babbles nonsense in response.

Sometimes Logan wonders what she dreams about. Does she have memories of her parents? Does she ever miss them? Can she even miss them? She's just a baby. A poor, innocent child who was left for dead. The idea makes his blood boil. How could you just leave a child like that?

They're born into this world helpless and the people who were supposed to protect them left because their child happened to be born a mutant. He takes a deep breath and tries to calm himself. He was upsetting her, like she could sense his anger.

"Sorry kid, didn't mean to make you sad." She puts his finger in her mouth, sucking on it like a binky.

"Having fun there?" She gurgles and he takes that as a yes.

She shows no sign of being tired which is bad news for him and you. You just got her on a good sleep schedule and now it might get ruined.

"I know how scary nightmares can be." He brushes her little cheek and she giggles.

"But I promise they can't hurt you. I won't let anything hurt you." Her eyes start to flutter shut, the grip on his finger loosen as she listens to him talk. He moves her so that her head is resting on his chest. His hand rubbing up and down her back. She yawns and snuggles closer to him.

"Back to sleep kiddo, there we go."

"Logan?" Your sleepy voice calls from the door. You rub your eyes as you take in the view of Logan holding Diana in his arms.

"Nightmare.” He says looking at you. You walk over and gently rub his arm.

“You or her?” He doesn’t answer. You stay with them for a while. She’s fast asleep by now but she looks so comfortable in Logan’s arms that you can’t even think of separating the two.

“Do you want to talk about it?” No. He doesn’t. He’d rather focus on the good in his life than remember the past. In fact holding Diana puts him at peace. Quieting his mind in ways normally only you can.

“Maybe she’s good for more than just throwing up and making a mess.” Logan jokes and you lightly hit his arm.

“Shut up you love her.” He stares at her sleeping face.

She’s looks so peaceful. He does love her. So much. So much that it scares him. What if she grows up and thinks he’s a monster? What if he fucks up somewhere and ruins his perfect girls life? As far as he’s concerned everything he touches gets ruined. He still wakes up in disbelief that you’re by his side everyday.

“Okay Princess, we need to get you back to bed.” You try and take her our of his arms but he pulls back.

“No.” He holds her protectively to his chest. A flash of anger in his eyes fades as soon as it comes.

“I’m sorry. I. I just need a little longer.” He feels guilty for snapping but you understand.

You sit on the floor and rest your head on his lap. He doesn’t even try to tell you to go back to bed because he knows you won’t listen. So he sits back and watches his girl for a little longer.

His perfect family.

[flightfoot]

Top Ten Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2024

So here it is, my top ten list for the year. I'm gonna be adding this as a bookmark subcollection inside of the full collection. That way, people will still be able to see which fics I recommend most highly for the year, even if they can't find this particular tumblr post.

I've got a real range in popularity here. The most popular fic has over 2000 kudos, while the least popular hasn't even hit 20 yet, at the time of my writing this. Just goes to show that popularity doesn't necessarily track with quality, especially for fics that have more niche appeal to begin with.

All of these are over 40K this time. Longer fics just have more going on, so they dominate lists like this. Which is one reason I have the regular lists that are separated by wordcount, to let fics of every length have a chance to shine.

A lot of the lower entries here bounced around in placement. The top five remained pretty stable though, once entered.

Here's the subcollection I set up for them!

10.

Each Hum And Click by @echo-has-queries

Kagami thought her understandably high standards for a match in marriage would mean she could avoid being paired with a man by her mother. That she could keep perfecting her flying-machine skills and eventually take over her mother’s place in leading the Tsurugi steam engine manufacturing company without having to defer to a man. She would have thought that when her mother told her to test the Agreste boy as a marriage match she had been kidding - if her mother ever kid. But she was serious and there truly was no fault to be found with Gabriel Agreste's son - except for the small detail of course, that he was not human. So Kagami must turn to the only fine mechanic she knows in Paris to find a solution to this new dilemma. But perhaps the dilemma could turn out to be the solution itself. Written for the AU Roulette Challenge 2024 with the prompt: Steampunk AU

So this fic is entirely from Kagami's POV, and it is a treat! It's an Adrigaminette fic, which you slowly figure out from reading the fic, if you didn't check the tags - Kagami may have tried not to like Adrien, but he grew on her regardless, and then a few chapters in you find out about hers and Marinette's failed relationship. I loved slowly finding out why the two of them broke up, when there are clearly still strong feelings between them, and how it ties into Kagami's character arc and the overall themes of the story: standing up for yourself, breaking free from those who would control you, and forging your own path.

---

9.

Do You Read Me? by @19thsentry-blog

The problem with being a Couffaine was the hereditary bits. The stubbornness. The weird need to pick a fight with authority for no reason besides the principle of it. The way being a Couffaine meant falling in love, fast as a car crash, and just as deadly. It ruined you forever.

So basically, this takes place a few years after Season 5, in the post-Wish world. Luka takes over as the Ladybug Holder, battling Chrysalis in Marinette's place. It's causing him some strain, since it's hard to hold down a job when you need to vanish randomly for long periods of time while on the clock, and it doesn't help that Chrysalis is a lot sneakier than Monarch was.

That's not the core of the story though. No, the real story starts up at chapter 3, when Luka suddenly wakes up in 19th century London, supposedly having always been there, and talking to a 19th century version of Max. From there, he soon gets escorted to Felix, who is a detective around those parts and agrees to host him for awhile.

This is a Sherlock Holmes inspired story, with the setting ripped straight out of those old stories, and I think it does a great job of that! Felix feels natural as Sherlock, with his deductive abilities, and the mystery really does read a lot like a Sherlock story. Though of course, the ultimate cause is more magical in nature.

I love Luka's perspective in this story and his and Felix's dynamic, it just feels very natural and well done!

I was satisfied with how the mystery wrapped up, 19thsentry did a good job of making things make sense at the end, and it felt satisfying. If you want a story with some great characterization for Luka or Felix, or just feel like a mystery, this is the story for you!

8.

A Breach In The Brooch by @piromina

Ladybug and Chat Noir are the heroes of Paris. Hawkmoth is Chat Noir's father. Chat Noir is aware of this. Hawkmoth is not.

So this is an interesting spin on the classic "Gabriel recruits Adrien early on to help him" plotline. Mostly because Adrien is still Chat Noir in this AND still helping Ladybug as a superhero - Gabriel has no clue about his secret identity.

Plagg, unsurprisingly, isn't thrilled about Adrien refusing to tell Ladybug what he knows about Hawkmoth's identity, and that Adrien keeps following Gabriel's orders, even when he knows they're wrong. Though he figures out before Adrien does that Adrien's compulsion to follow his father's orders isn't just a psychological thing...

I really love Plagg in this especially, he's the MVP. He knows what it's like to be compelled to do or not to do certain things, so he's good at comforting Adrien over it and at finding loopholes for him.

---

7.

Phantom Pains (and other hints of you) by @buggachat

She couldn't remember anything. Not where she was going, where she'd been, why she was in this stairwell, or even her own name. But as she watched the blood pool at the base of the steps, she at least knew one thing for certain: the corpse was hers. Getting used to being dead was going to have its growing pains. — “Well, unlucky lady,” Chat Noir greeted with a bow, “Can I get your name?” “Didn’t we just talk about this? I told you, I don’t remember it.” “And I told you,” he reminded, “that you can just pick whatever fits you best.” — Ladybug and Chat Noir may not remember who they once were, but at least the two lost souls can find comfort in each other's company. But as Ladybug starts uncovering more and more memories of her life, letting the past go doesn't seem as easy as Chat Noir claims it to be.

So this is a beautiful, sweet, tragic love story of two lost souls wandering around with each other, yet with Ladybug still desperately wanting to be found, to remember who she was - and wanting to know why Chat so adamantly wanted to stay amnesiac. It's got some neat worldbuilding, and some fantastic prose. It's just a really nice little story!

---

6.

A Small but Stubborn Fire by @cardiac-agreste

What if you were the parent of a teenage superhero, but didn't know they were? All you know is the nightmares, the panic attacks, and the bruises. She's missing school, she's disappearing on you, and she's not telling you anything. So you assume the worst: Assault. Depression. A permanent rift in the family. And what do you do when you realize you weren't thinking dark enough? Because your fourteen-year old daughter is the hero who flirts with death on the nightly news. -- Come inside and read about one mother's struggles to raise her daughter in a dangerous world while avoiding the mistakes her own mother made with her.

This is a more serious take on the consequences of Hawk Moth's war on Paris, with actual bloody, painful deaths as a consequence of many akumas, and Parisians developing PTSD because of what they've gone through. Ladybug can fix all the physical scars, but not the mental ones, including her own.

I love the focus on Sabine here. She's not just presented as being a mom - though of course that IS an important role she has. But she's explored as a character in her own right, one with a lot of emotional baggage as a result of her abusive mother, and trying to not fall into her mistakes, but sometimes doing so anyway out of fear for Marinette's safety. She's a really fleshed out, humanly flawed character, sometimes admitting that she would do something selfish if it means protecting the people she cares most about, like her daughter, even if its at others expense. She grows and changes a lot throughout the course of the story, her perspective on many matters changing multiple times as a result of getting new information or seeing the consequences of her previous approaches, and adjusting as a result.

If you want a fic that more realistically explores the dark consequences of Miraculous's setting, that fleshes out Sabine, or just develops a character in a complex way, then I highly recommend you check "A Small but Stubborn Fire" out!

---

5.

Finding A Way by @uptoolateart

Collège is nearly over! And what better way to celebrate than a class trip to Costa Rica? But with only a month left to tell Adrien she loves him, Marinette is feeling the pressure. Then – an accident at sea leaves them stranded together on a tropical island…alone. Or are they? Because those footprints in the sand don’t resemble any bird they’ve seen before. And what’s that roaring sound coming from the jungle? ‘Adrien…where ARE we??’ ***** A Jurassic Park / Camp Cretaceous AU that’s been kicking around in my head for over a year

I love the sense of danger permeating this fic, it really feels like Adrien and Marinette are stranded on Jurassic Park (well it's called something else in order to integrate it better into the ML universe, but it operates like Jurassic Park). They're making the best of it though, doing their best to survive - and along the way, getting closer together.

I like that it's not JUST them though, Gabriel and Nathalie find out where they ended up pretty early on and go to rescue them, with Alya and Nino stowing away. It was cool to see that side of things as well.

Oh yeah, this fic is rated M for violence and gore. It's because dinosaurs eat people alive and leave their body parts everywhere. If you can handle the Jurassic Park movie (or presumably the book the movie was based on, but I haven't read that), then you should be just fine.

---

4.

Boulangerella by @aidanchaser

Once upon a time, magic was wild. The two princes of the kingdom have been tasked with choosing their brides by the end of their 21st birthday celebrations. Crown Prince Adrien Agreste will have to choose between a woman who can protect his kingdom, a woman offering the power to wake his sleeping mother, and the woman he has loved and admired for the past year. Then there's also the seamstress that he is suddenly falling for. By the time he realizes he doesn't have the power to choose at all, it may be too late.

I love a good fairy tale AU, and this is no exception. Aidanchaser started writing it before Season 5 came out, so it's wrong about some things. Most notably, Felix's posthumous father was a good and decent person here, and one of the twin rings is Felix's Amok while the other one is Adrien's Amok, instead of both of them being Adrien's Amok.

This was a well-crafted tale, with kwamis operating as Fae: they can give power, but only if the wielder gives something up to pay for it. For temporary usage of their power, it can be something small and innocuous, such as giving Plagg cheese in exchange for his help. More expansive uses of their power requires greater sacrifices however, even sacrificing more nebulous things such as memories or hope.

The kingdom's currently being terrorized by this unknown villain, Hawk Moth, as in the show. Ladybug and Chat Noir emerge to battle him, but for some reason (*cough, cough*), King Gabriel isn't fond of the superheroes and wants them captured.

Gabriel isn't the only threat out there, Lila's skulking around, hinting that she knows how to wake up Emilie from her mysterious illness, if only Adrien marries her. And she's not about to take no for an answer.

If you've been wanting a fairy tale/fantasy Miraculous AU, I recommend giving Boulangerella a shot!

---

3.

He Couldn't Remember (Falling For Her) by @purpleautumnvision

"If I was given a choice in who Chat Noir would be, I would've chosen you." "And there's nobody else in the whole world I'd rather have as my little bug." Without secret identities in the way, Marinette and Adrien get to live out their love story and put their heads together to discover the identity of Hawk Moth... but an unforeseen twist puts the Miraculouses in Gabriel's hands. When he makes his wish for a world where his wife never became sick from using the broken Peacock Miraculous, the universe requires someone else to become sick in order to maintain balance. Who better than his greatest enemy, Ladybug herself? Adrien, with his memories rewritten by the wish, wakes up in a world without superheroes, without Hawk Moth, without Marinette, without friends, and without a clue as to why everything feels so wrong. Something's missing, but he's gonna find out what. Then he'll put his world back into place.

So this was a fascinating scenario, with Adrien waking up in a world where Marinette was dead while his mother was alive, a world that as far as he knew had always been the case... but having weird feelings he can't explain. And not just him, I love how much focus Alya gets here as well! Turns out that the memories are kind of hidden, but still present, and since Adrien and Alya never got to meet Marinette in this universe (she died just before the new school year began, at the same time that Emilie did in the normal universe) AND Adrien and Alya were her closest friends in the previous universe, their feelings towards her are closest to the surface and least impacted by the memories from this universe.

The other people in this universe... well, the class isn't taking Marinette's death well. It's fascinating to see just how much her death effects them, to see how it haunts them, and I loved seeing their reactions to Adrien's weird behavior about their dead classmate who he never got a chance to meet, it shows how strange some of this can look to the outside, and it doesn't help that these are grieving kids.

Just... this is a great fic, I highly recommend checking it out!

---

2.

Symbiotic Whiskers by B1ackout

Adrien Agreste aka Cat Noir was given the cat ring miraculous to help Ladybug in protecting Paris. But something had found him first, a silent companion that granted him strength and power he never knew existed. Bonded with a symbiote, Cat Noir faces Paris alongside Ladybug without even knowing that someone left a magical ring in his room. (Canon Divergence)

This is a phenomenal fic that deserves more attention. It's kind of funny how he just goes "hey I've got superpowers, she says that the thing we have that gives superpowers is called the Black Cat Miraculous and that the being that gives them is called a kwami, obviously that must be what I have!" though that gets stretched more and more as Adrien's experiences with the symbiote contradict what he's heard about how kwamis work, and Tikki gets increasingly worried about "Plagg's" weird behavior. It's a dark, somewhat brutal fic (people die permanently, and they're not always villains), and it's absolutely worth a read, this is an excellent crossover!

1.

Withered Wings by @11jj11

Nino wasn’t sure if anyone had ever willingly took the akuma butterfly before him, but with his mind completely open to this apparent son of Hawk Moth he knew that he couldn’t turn him away. Not someone that was so afraid, not someone who would be left at the mercy of Hawk Moth.

This fic is amazing! Just... some absolutely stellar Adrino, with some nice Alyanette on the side, AND it's one of the best Enemies AU (well, sort of. Adrien's on Hawkmoth's side, but Nino isn't, exactly), in the fandom! I love how much we get of Nino's perspective, his determination to save this boy who's been thrown into these battles, who clearly doesn't want to hurt people but is compelled to do so, while balancing it with trying to prevent damage to anyone else as well. He has to be the one to look after Adrien, because no one else will do so.

I also love the focus Alya gets here, as Marinette's partner. She does an amazing job in the role, with every Miraculous she gets, even though she isn't a perfect wielder.

That's something else, I like the bits of worldbuilding this adds in, with people who fully embody the aspect a kwami represents being able to transform more fully. That does not mean, however, that an imperfect match is a bad thing, the kwami and wielder can still be very strong together and get along well, even if they don't perfectly align.

I adore how Nino had to balance his roles in this, helping Adrien without hurting others, even fighting back against the heroes as needed, as much as he didn't want to. And how understanding people were when they found out the full story of what was going on. It's a truly fantastic story that anyone who likes Enemies AU, Adrino, or just want to read a good Miraculous fic should check out.

I do want to warn that Gabriel and Nathalie are significantly OOC in this. Gabriel's even more abusive and colder than he is in canon, and Nathalie is WAY worse. This fic started before season 5, so it wasn't known what Nathalie's red line would be. As a result, Adrien's more downtrodden than he is in canon, since the consequences of disobedience are worse than being cut off from friends, or even being made to sit in a blank white room indefinitely.

[chrattenthusiast]

Hate— Matthew sturniolo smut

(not proof read )

authors note 💌 — this is my FIRST time writing smut on this app so please forgive me for this 😔 with that being said I will be taking requests if my account actually reaches ANYONE. It’s kinda long and a little bit angsty but if you like that AND a good old enemies to lover trope (but without the love part!?) this is for you!!!

WARNINGS: nsfw, sexual content, minors dni!!!!!

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

You and matt never had a strong connection. The dynamic of your interactions with him were unclear, you couldn’t comprehend why the blue-eyed man barely acknowledged you, except during heated arguments where nick served as a mediator or the instances where you found yourself under him late at night

On this particular night, you patiently waited until the clock struck 3 a.m. before quietly slipping out of Nick's bed. It didn't seem to matter that Nick could sleep through anything, even an apocalypse.

You then made your way to Matt's bed and lightly tapped on the door three times."

the door swings open and before you could even mutter a sentence, Matt pulls you into the room, shutting the door and slamming you against it.

“you’re late” he says

“ That’s rich coming for a man that begs like a little subby bit-“

you are instantly cut off as matt smashes his lips onto yours. he deepens the kiss letting it get a little too heated, moments later you feel his tongue against yours

“open” he mumbles

you instantaneously obey even though matt was the number 1 person on the list of people you hated, you always caught yourself following his instructions

he grips your jaw, forcing your mouth to open slightly, taking the opportunity– he spits into your mouth

“swallow it like the slutty bitch you are ”

you feel yourself pool after those words leave his lips

matt decided to play it safe by moving down to your neck leaving small kisses

you don’t trust yourself to urge him to go quicker but matt gets the memo when a groan of frustration leave your mouth —he reaches inside your pants running a finger between your folds

“ interesting, you sure get wet so fast for the person you hate ”

“can we move this to the bed cause i do not have a problem getting dick from someone else ”

his hands clutch the flimsy tank top you have on and pulls it over to your head, lifting you up with ease

he walks over to his neatly made and tosses you to the bed smiling maliciously as he watches you bounce on his bed, his eyes dilating more as he watches your chest bounce

he moves onto your sweatpants tossing it somewhere across the room putting his undivided attention onto your underwear, he takes it off slowly knowing it would get under your skin.

Getting frustrated you start to groan, and in a split second he shoves your panties into your mouth

giving you a deadpan look, “ since you have a hard time keeping quiet “ he says

before further protesting, he shoves two fingers into you instantly groaning at how wet you are for him

he liked that, the idea that no one else could satisfy you, he thinks that he’d rather have you hate him knowing you’d always end up in his bed late at night and not in the comfort of another man.

His lips envelop your clit, and your head falls back involuntarily. He sucks it, and you’re greatful that the black lace in your mouth kept you from letting out the loudest moan of your life.

mixtures of whimpers, leave your mouth as your eyes start to tear up with how overwhelming it all is, “my cry baby, he whispers

you start tossing and moving around due to how stimulated you are.

matt holds you down as he circles his tongue around your clit sucking hard but pumping his fingers in and out of you roughly just how you like it. seconds later you feel yourself squirting but he doesn’t hault , you reach out to grab his arm but he stops you mid way

“i’m not done with you yet” he whispers

he takes off his sweatpants, pulling the panties out of your mouth.

he flips you over on all fours and you find yourself face to face with the mirror against his wall

you feel his tip against your folds and you find yourself unconsciously backing up towards him. he instantly slides into you filling you up, you feel your eyes shut racked with pleasure –when matt grabs your jaw.

“ no i need you to look at yourself for me yeah?, look away and i’ll stop.”

you immediately make eye contact with him and that’s when he smiles “you’re always such a good girl for me, taking me so well ”

he picks up the pace of his thrusts, fighting himself to not cum cause you felt so intoxicating — he would never admit that to you he was terrified with the thought of you pushing him away if he ever admitted that he felt anything else but hate towards you

he would rather argue with you all day than loose you. he didn’t like the thought of you with anyone else but him– sure it was selfish but he didn’t care he loved that you were always ready for him down the hallway every time you were over.

you gasp as you feel him pull you to his chest feeling him sink deeper, he wraps his arms around your torso forcing you to take every inch he gave you

in that moment you’re his, you don’t care about the insults you throw at each other, it’s almost like everything he did was perfect?

“im so close please don’t stop “ you whimper

“ i know baby” “ you wanna come for me ?” he says looking at you through the mirror hitting ever perfect spot, giving you tender kisses on along the nape of your neck

you lost the ability to form a sentence as he thrusts gets rougher all of a sudden remembering how you teased him about getting involved with another man

“answer me “

“yes please “ you say not caring how stupid you sound or the fact that he’d use this against you in the mere future

“ you still feel like getting dick from someone else?”

“no” you reply instantly

“no one can ever make you feel like thid , can they pretty?”

“no i swear please i can’t-”

“can’t what ? “ he mocks you

“you can’t take it ?”

“ i think you can ”he encouraged

“take it for me baby”

you continue to meet his hard thrusts working yourself even though all you want to do is come around the man you hate the most

“ atta girl, look at yourself, so pretty taking every inch of me”

he reaches down your folds, circling your senstive clit pushing you further towards the climax, you feel yourself coming he presses his hands against your mouth muffling your screams

whispering sweet nothings into your ear

“that’s it , let it all out for me baby

he begins to groan as he feels himself reaching his climax, not trusting himself either he grabs your neck giving you a harsh kiss. as he releases himself inside you

you collapse against him as pleasure consumes the both of you

he runs his finger against the knots of you hair

“you okay “ he whispers

nodding your head as you couldn’t mutter a single sentence.

he smiles at you, gently wiping the fallen tears from your eyes, he looks down at the both of you connected,

his eyes trained at his dick swallowed by your tight folds, cautiously pulling out — refusing to give you a break you feel his fingers at the entrance of your swollen cunt, not letting his cum slip out. you open your mouth to gasp but you are met with a gentle kiss.

he moves to grabs his boxers putting them on you feeling a sinking weight of disappointment in your chest.

you start to look for your materials he trashed around his room thinking that it was time for you to leave when hault your actions when he speaks suddenly “what are you doing ?”

“leaving ” you reply monotonously

“ sit down, i’m running you a bath ”

this was an unusual for you, you were used to men giving you the cold shoulder after a round of intimacy

you try your best to ignore the weird feeling that bubbles in your chest— secretly enjoying his civility towards you, knowing that the next day everything would go back to the way things always were — leaving a bitter taste of unresolved emotions in the air.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

@mattsd0ll @loveesiren @christinarowie332 @daddyslilchickenfingers2 @mangosrar @kenzieiskoolaid @lucvly @recklesssturniolo

[scottishaccentsareawesome]

Ice told Mav that he'd take this one, after getting the call from Penny.

So, when Ice walks into the Hard Deck, his eyes immediately start searching the room for Bradley, and find him in the back at the pool table.

He heads to the back area of the bar, catching Penny's eye on the way and giving her a wink. When Ice gets to the pool table area he sees that Bradley is not actually alone, he's there with Lieutenant "Bob" Floyd, who looks about as hopeless as Penny sounded on the phone earlier.

Bob suddenly notices Ice's presence, and he stands up a bit straighter as Ice gives him a nod of acknowledgement.

...All the while, Bradley just keeps playing pool and grumbling loudly to himself.

"Sir - " Bob begins.

" - Dismissed."

"Oh, thank you sir..." Bob replies, sounding extremely relieved as he leaves the pool table and heads to the bar.

"Bradley...?" Ice leans over the pool table and tries to get in Bradley's line of sight "...talk to me, please."

"Nothin' to talk about," Bradley replied, as he lined up his shot, then hit the ball over to the middle pocket, and it bounced off the edge of the pocket, missing the target. "You gonna play? Looks like Bob couldn't take the heat."

"I think what Bob couldn't take was the headache you were giving him," said Ice, as he picked up the abandoned pool cue.

"What?"

"Bradley, half the bar can hear you grumbling over here," Ice told him. "You've got black storm clouds floating right over your head for God's sake. What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Bradley insisted. "Now are you gonna play or not?"

Ice shrugged. "Sure," he said.

Ice lined up his shot, and sunk two balls into the far corner pocket, like it was absolutely nothing.

Bradley rolled his eyes as Ice straightened up and tried not to look smug.

"...But I guarantee, with the way I play and the way you seem to be playing right now, it's gonna be a pretty short game," Ice told him.

Bradley sighed. "I'm just a little off tonight, no big deal," he said.

"Any particular reason why?"

"No."

Ice gave him a pointed look.

Bradley huffed. "Just having...issues with...someone," he grumbled.

"Relationship issues?"

"It's not a relationship," Bradley countered, quickly.

"Then what is it?"

"It's....he....he left for a deployment in Italy today," Bradley grumbled. "And I went over to see him just to say goodbye, y'know, and it turned into 'Oh, Rooster, I didn't know you cared?' and so of course I was like, 'I don't care, just send my apologies to all those poor Italian people who'll have to endure your presence for the next few months.' And then it turned into talking about all the Italian guys he was gonna meet over there, and how they'd probably happily 'endure' his 'presence', and then I got mad, so I just kinda left."

"So, you didn't actually get to say goodbye then?" Ice pointed out.

"No, I guess not," said Bradley. "I just...it's so easy for him to just...annoy me like that, and then...stupid Italian guys - "

"So, your problem is that you don't want Jake Seresin to hang around with hot Italian guys, is that it?" Ice asked.

Bradley froze, and stared at Ice.

"...I never said anything about Jake Seresin," he said.

"Bradley, all you ever do is talk about Jake Seresin," Ice told him. "Did the two of you really think you were being discrete?"

"We were being - !" Bradley started, then clamped his lips together for a moment. "...It's always just been a casual thing. Nothing serious or official."

"...But now he's going to Italy," said Ice "...and he might be hanging around with 'hot Italian guys', and you don't like that."

"It's not like he's never been deployed without me before," said Bradley. "It's not like I haven't had to deal with feeling like this before. And I have! I've dealt with it just fine."

"Well, maybe this time is different because you're hitting a breaking point," said Ice. "Maybe, it's time you two finally had a serious talk about this 'casual thing' of yours."

"Why do you say 'casual thing' like that?" Bradley asked. "Like you're judging?"

"I'm not judging it, Bradley. I've been down that road myself before," Ice told him. "And I'm saying 'casual thing' like that because if you're feeling so troubled at the thought of him with somebody else, then maybe it's not a very 'casual' thing at all."

Bradley blew out a long, tired breath, as he stared at the pool table, supposedly looking for another shot.

"One thing I do know for sure, though..." said ice, as he walked around the table to stand beside Bradley "...is that Jake Seresin will not be 'meeting' any hot Italian guys."

Bradley glanced over at him and smirked. "What, you really gonna try and cockblock him from here?" he asked.

"Don't doubt my powers, Bradley Bradshaw, I'm the Commander of the Pacific Fleet, I can do a lot of things," Ice told him. "...Just ask Maverick."

Bradley snorted back a laugh.

"No, I mean, he may talk a big game about what he's gonna do over there, but I guarantee you, he's not gonna do any of it," Ice told him. "He doesn't want to."

"How do you know?" Bradley asked.

"Because I've been him, Bradley," Ice told him. "First he wanted to beat you and be the best pilot, then he wanted to bed you and prove that you wanted him...and now he's trying not to fall in love with you."

Bradley didn't say anything, he actually looked a little terrified now.

"And Bradley," Ice continued. "I guarantee, he may've won those first two rounds, but that last one?" Ice leaned in now and lowered his voice so that only Bradley could hear him "...I think you'll both find that he lost it a long time ago."

Bradley still didn't say anything, so Ice just smiled and straightened up, then put his pool cue back against the wall.

"Work on your game, kid," said the older man. "I'll see you at dinner on Sunday."

Ice then gave him a wave, and walked away, out of the bar.

Bradley thought for a moment, then pulled out his phone as he sat down on a nearby stool.

Can we talk when you get back? he texted.

He only had to wait about a minute before he got a reply.

Sure. You miss me already? (with a smirking emoji, of course)

Bradley took a deep breath, then sent back his reply.

...Yeah. I do.

[shadamyheadcanons]

Thoughts on Shadouge? I used to ship it casually years ago just because I was looking at possibilities of a love interest for Shadow which I didn't consider for a long time, but it quickly lost its appeal for me. I know you said you don't think it works which I agree with and I'm curious about your reasoning.

Explanation under the cut. There’s nothing too negative, but I always feel bad when these wind up in tags and searches for the ship name.

To start, I will say that it doesn’t feel “wrong” to me like most Shadow ships do. I get where shadouge fans are coming from, and I’ve never met a shadouge shipper who was pushy or unpleasant about it. That’s rare in fandoms. I like how low-key they are. :)

As for the ship itself, I don’t buy it because they’re just so solidly best friends. I’ve never seen anything that I’d call romantic between them.

For Shadow, I see two important (living) women in his life right now:

One is a consistent, reliable rock who’s always going to support him and back him up because of who he is.

The other is a light, a beacon who guides him and inspires him to be the best version of himself he can be.

To me, one of those looks like a best friend, and the other looks like a love interest. He needs both, but in my opinion, it’s clear which one’s which. He’s level-headed around Rouge, and while he probably trusts her more than anyone, he looks at her the same way he looks at everyone else. Heck, he looks at her the same way he looks at Omega. I can’t imagine Rouge successfully convincing him to dress up for a murder mystery birthday party or getting him to go to a silly pop concert the way a certain pink hedgehog can, nor can I see her trying to in the first place; Amy’s the only one who can pull him out of his comfort zone like that. The most Rouge does is convince him to go to Sonic’s birthday party, and even then, she has to bribe him. Rouge’s flirtation just bounces off of Shadow, too. He doesn’t have a weak point for her. Looking at Shadow’s behavior, I think he has a soft spot for cute girls, and Rouge isn’t cute.

As for Rouge herself, she’ll support Shadow to hell and back, but we know what love looks like in her eyes. I’m not getting out of bed until she looks at someone else like this:

Rouge and Shadow are too similar in a particular way. They’re both Machiavellian, willing to go to questionable lengths to get the job done. The same goes for Omega. It’s what makes them such a good team, but a good teammate isn’t the same as a love interest. Knuckles won her over by doing the right thing and saving her life even though he had every reason not to.

I actually have some headcanons about Rouge’s past that feed into this concept. I believe Rouge grew up poor and didn’t have too many people she could trust. She had to steal for her own survival, and she learned to cling to whatever wealth she could find. She keeps a lot of secrets to this day because it’s safer. She learned the hard way that no one can hurt her if she won’t let them in.

In time, Rouge met one guy who was on her wavelength who she knew she could trust, and she met another who swept her off her feet, whose altruism upended her pessimistic outlook of how people are.

One of those looks like a best friend, and the other looks like a love interest. She needs both, but it’s clear to me which one’s which.

And of course there’s the matter of commitment. Rouge can’t stay grounded, so to speak, in the kind of stable relationship that would do Shadow a world of good. She’d rather flit around and tease everyone in sight, delighting in all the blushes she can bring out; in her own way, she likes cuteness, too. Amy, meanwhile, prefers to cling to one person, sharing the same steady devotion Shadow could provide in turn. She’s sunshine incarnate. He needs that.

Thanks for the ask!

[lbulldesigns]

AITAH FOR GHOSTING MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS FOR THREE YEARS, FOR MY OWN MENTAL HEALTH?

Posted 7th of January, 2024

Disclaimer: mentions of self-harm, violence, and attempted suicide.

Please bear with me. This post will be long.

I (20f) have been estranged from my family for the past three years.

I want to start off by saying that my family aren't bad people. They were never abusive, and they did care for me, but they could never understand me or the full extent of my issues.

Some background. When I was around five, my sister (26f), we'll call her V, and I witnessed our parents' death at the hands of some trigger-happy Enforcers. We don't know why they decided our parents deserved to die, but they did, and we were left orphaned when the authorities couldn't find any other family to take us in.

We bounced around in the system for a while, fearing being torn from each other at any moment, before a family friend was able to foster and then officially adopt us. Our AD (adoptive dad) was a godsend, he was and still (to my knowledge) is the most patient and gentle man I know. Despite looking like a wolf LOL.

Along with gaining a new father we also gained two brothers (twin 23m) the older twin (C) takes after our dad, Kind and patient. The younger twin (M) however is a little nasty bitch, who took upon himself to make my life in particular an ongoing hell. He was never physically abusive, but he was verbally abusive. It felt like not a day would go by when he wasn't putting me down and treating my existence like it was something insignificant. He never had a problem with V, just me.

For the first six years everyone else would defend me, put him in his place, and overall hold him accountable but at some point, they stopped holding him accountable and just expected me to grow a thicker skin. I still remember the day when I went crying to my sister and rather than comfort me, just rolled her eyes and asked if I could maybe not take him seriously because she needed to finish her group project. To her credit, she apologised for that but it was hard to rely on her after that.

Long story short, M made my home life unbearable, and I had bullies at school that made it unbearable. Especially once I was in high school and my best (and only) friend started making friends of his own. I want to say that I was cool with this, but in reality, I turned into an absolute brat and refused to get along with any of them. I wish I didn't, but I just couldn't help but feel betrayed and genuinely acted on those emotions.

And this is how I was with everyone. Constantly betrayed and acting out. It was no wonder everyone I knew got sick of me.

My Dad was constantly worrying about me.

My older brother avoided me as much as possible, to avoid my outbursts.

My sister was just constantly swinging between feeling guilty, angry, and just done with my constant outbursts. Especially when these outbursts were directed at her girlfriend, who constantly talked about how she wanted to be an Enforcer to protect others (take a wild guess why I couldn't like her). V even slapped me for something I said (I can't remember what) to her GF that made her cry.

And my best friend... hates me.

It's my own fault, obviously.

What led to the title of my post is this.

I told my (former) best friend that I loved him and wanted to be with him, and he just raged at me. Apparently, he was seeing someone and thought that I was pulling something in order to break them up. He didn't believe me when I said that I didn't know he was in a relationship (I genuinely didn't know) but he wouldn't hear it and called me an AH and said he was done with me.

I felt humiliated and heartbroken, when I got home that day I was crying and M was the first person, unfortunately, who I came across. And the first thing he does is scoff and roll his eyes, and said "fucking crybaby".

I don't fully remember what happened, I blacked out, but I remember my dad pulling me off of M and his face was a bloody mess. I'm pretty sure that I broke his nose and then some, my dad was so angry. The angriest I've ever seen him; he actually shook me by the shoulders and demanded what was wrong with me. And when I couldn't answer, they told me to get out. Which I did.

I just bolted from the house, the sound of shouting behind me, and just kept running until I got to the Bridge of Progress.

I was just so empty and lost, and the water below looked so tempting. I was about to end it all when my guardian angel showed up.

Ez (21m) was walking by when he saw me about to jump and, without hesitation, climbed up next to me and asked what we were doing.

He saved me that day, without even trying. He listened to my whining and rather than offer me empty promises of "it'll be okay" instead said "girl you messed up. Wanna go on an adventure with me?"

We've been friends ever since.

I took him on his offer and went home to collect some things, when I got there the lights were off so I climbed up to my bedroom window and let myself in. I grabbed my clothes, some saved up cash, my laptop, and my documents (in case I needed them) and left a note for my family saying "bye".

And that was three years ago. I haven't been in contact with them, I don't follow them on social media, and I left my mobile behind so they were never able to get hold of me.

I completely and utterly. Ghosted them. And I don't entirely regret it.

In the last three years I have gained close friends, experienced new things, seen interesting things, and have felt well enough to actually want to seek therapy. My mental health improved greatly, although I still have issues but still am lot better than I was before.

However, I can't help but feel like an AH. My family weren't bad, just fed up. They are genuinely good people (even M) it's just that I bring the worst out in people. But recently I've been wondering if I should reach out or not.

What if doing so disrupts their lives? What if my leaving improved their lives?

I don't know.

AITAH if I reach out to my family after ghosting them for three years?

(This is a fanfic. Please read tags)

[shamrockqueen]

Predator in the desert

Chapter 1

Pairing : Bucky X reader (Post apocalyptic AU)

Warnings : R18, Kidnapping, Fallout new Vegas vibes, Violence, imminent danger

Word count : 1332

Bucky Masterlist

Scavenging the wasteland was generally frowned upon but not enforced by any laws. Not like there was anyone left to enforce them. But, many people deemed it unsafe and often not worth leaving the limited safety of one’s small shanty town to venture out into the desert wasteland.

You’ve been very lucky thus far, as you’ve broken this rule several times in the hopes of finding useful scraps to trade for enough food to fill your belly for the night. It usually pays off, if only a little. But a little is more than nothing, and it beats starving in the night.

Most of the things to be found were abandoned vehicles and the occasional junk pile that can be taken apart for scrap. Some hauls are better than others, and then there are some days where you don’t find anything. This was one of those days, as nothing popped up on the horizon while you wandered the dusty landscape. You’d hate to waste this trip on nothing, but you couldn’t go much further under this blazing sun.

At some point, you’d just have to call it quits and turn back toward town. You kicked the dust in frustration from the knowledge that you didn’t have a single scrap of food waiting for you back home and not a dime to buy some. You had a bit of water left in your bag that would have to last you the trek back, but you hadn’t the energy to turn around just yet.

You chose instead to hunker down in the shade of a large rock to sip from the near-empty canteen before making the journey back. The feeling of the last drop hitting your tongue was almost as heartbreaking as the lingering metallic taste it left in your mouth.

There wasn’t any time to dwell on it now; instead, you packed your bottle away and got back up.

At the time, it seemed no different than the same old shit life had dealt you every day, but you’d look back on this as a low moment. From here, there would be lower moments, but this one in particular would be the beginning of the end.

You didn’t see him following you from that high ledge; you didn’t see him climb his way down, stalking you along the rocks, but you did hear something. The light crunch of dirt under boots that weren’t yours rang right through your ears, making you stop in your tracks.

The footsteps stopped too as you stood idle, waiting out the dribble of sweat that ran along your back before whipping your head around to see…nothing.

A bit of weeds and dust blew through the barren tundra, but there was no living soul amongst it. Maybe you were hearing things, or maybe you were just an easier target than you’d thought.

Something was following you that day, something that easily evaded your line of sight just in time to take you out. When you turn back towards your path, your head is immediately knocked in the other direction with a burst of pain at the back of your cranium.

Your lights go out with a grunt before your now-loose limbs collide with the hard, dusty ground. You hit it like a heavy bag of rocks, leaving you aching and yet numb.

He watched you for a second, noticing the shallow breaths you still took and wondering whether he dealt too heavy of a blow.

Small rocks were crunched under his heavy boots as he got closer to kneel down by your side. He slipped two of his bare fingers along your neck before applying pressure near your jugular to feel the soft pulse of your heart still healthily beating.

The light bounced off of his dark goggles, only to be dulled by the rough plastic from the rest of his face mask. He stared back out towards the vast wasteland, watching as the sun still hung high above the dry landscape and burned down on the both of you. When he turned his attention back to you, he slipped his arms under your body to better carry you away.

Strings of light filter through your shaking eyelids every now and again as the world around you swayed back and forth. Few images can come through as you fight the black fog threatening to take over your consciousness. There was this tough gray-brown mass moving in and out of your limited field of vision, back and forth in time with the crunching of the rocky sand.

The blood starts to rush to your already-aching head, making it more and more difficult to force your eyes open. You can’t fight it anymore, and your sight is finally stolen from you. The light will only return when your position shifts and you're laid out on some oddly comforting yet lumpy bedding.

Your mind is cloudy, but you could still feel something wide and warm handling the back of your hair as the spout of a cool bottle is pressed to your lips. The second that the wonderful water hits your tongue, your body is moving upright to follow it and gulp it all up.

When the bottle is pulled away, the air in the room is no longer thin, allowing you to take a deep breath and open your eyes to your new surroundings.

Grayed wood and rusted metal made up a pretty rough but well-put-together room. Your eyes circled the area until they landed on the only moving mass within it. Him.

He was still holding the glass bottle when he came into view. His skin was tanned, save for the slashes of scar tissue that ran along his skin in thin white lines.

His dark hair was thick with sweat as it hung at just his shoulders, and his face still had a slight smear of black camo paint, making his face only half visible in your still blurry vision. You had to blink a few times to get the full picture, only to be left a bit speechless by the full image before you.

His muscles were tight and well defined, like they could snap forward and stop a punch within a split second, and they were on full display even through his dirty tank top. Yet, the sight that you linger on the most was his sharp gaze as it stabbed right through your skin. His eyes were a cutting and inescapable blue that made the blood freeze in your veins and the hair on your arms stand on end.

You’d never seen anyone like this in your life. No one could ever dream to look so healthy, let alone so strong. No, the only people left in the wastelands had hollow eyes that sank deep into their skulls, signifying their early demise. The set staring you down had far too much life inside of them, burning like a blue flame.

The only thing that stole your eyes away from his was the gleam of light that bounced off of the interlocking metal muscles that made up his left arm and hand. If you had the strength to do so, you would have kicked yourself for not noticing it immediately. There were few people left in this world with advanced implements such as that, and even fewer that still carried their emblems of war.

Your body felt numb as you stared into the dulled red star at the arm’s shoulder.

They were old stories told to you by the family you used to have; you never truly believed them, as you’d never seen such a symbol not once in your life...not until now.

All the stories that spoke of the red star ended in genocide and destruction. But, you were still alive.

You adjusted your gaze back to his still-stern face, unable to read much from him as his expression lacked obvious emotion. He’d kept you in one piece this far, but what would happen next?

Chapter 2

More Post apocalyptic AU

[whumpbug]

no one asked nor requested this but. i had to. i promised a sickfic and i had to deliver because i am finally feeling vaguely ok enough (-｡-;)

please enjoy this little fluffy moment between my boys that are definitely totally just friends and nothing else

whumpee: Simon

caretaker: Archie

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•

The catalyst had been Simon’s shift in the pediatric unit.

Contrary to what most people might think, Simon actually really loved kids. He found working with them to be very entertaining, and they tended to bring out a softer side of Simon.

It’s just that, well, he was assigned to the pediatric unit in January, the height of flu season.

Now, Simon prided himself on being a very healthy man despite some of his unhealthier habits. He may not sleep as often as he should, but he drank lots of water and ate well and got his flu shot every year.

So when he came home from his shift feeling a little more run-down than usual, he chalked it up to skipping a cup of coffee in the morning and moved on.

He made himself a hasty dinner (a leftover bowl of microwave mac ‘n cheese from the night before) and settled into the couch, content to nap the rest of the day away in preparation for his shift tomorrow, when suddenly his phone chimed.

It was a text from Archie.

[Hey Simon! Just checking to make sure we’re still on to go see that movie tonight? I just emailed you your ticket!]

Fuck.

Simon had completely forgotten about his plans with Archie. Plans that had been in place for nearly two weeks now. Plans that took place in thirty minutes. Flaking was out of the question. No, Simon couldn’t do that to Archie, not after he finally agreed to take a day off of patrol to do this with him.

Simon dragged a hand across his face and groaned lowly. He shot Archie a quick reply of confirmation and let his phone slip from his hand.

He could sleep when he was dead. He could power through a few more hours, surely.

He got up and reluctantly made his way to his bathroom to get ready. The reflection in the mirror looked.. off. His hair was mussed and his entire face was paler than he’d seen in a while, save for the red splotches high on his cheeks. The dark circles that were ever-present were somehow even darker and more pronounced. He looked terrible.

Simon blinked dazedly at the mirror before spurring into action. He doused his hair with water and combed out all the tangles. The wet hair on his neck made him shudder. Then, he quickly splashed his face with cold water to eke more color into it and changed out of his scrubs and into his shirt. 

Once he deemed his appearance acceptable, he texted Archie that he was on his way and locked his door behind him.

••••

Simon arrived at the theater feeling even worse than he had before.

It was with great shame that he silently admitted to himself that he may have picked something up from work.

Now, to go along with the exhaustion, was a vicious chill that clamped around his body and had him pulling his knit sweater even tighter around himself. He also had a splitting headache that made it hard to think and he felt vaguely nauseous, but he elected to ignore that particular symptom.

Just a few more hours, Guevara. You can do this.

He straightened and put on a brave face before finding Archie standing outside the theater and walked right up to him.

“Simon! You made it!” Archie chirped, practically bouncing over to him. “God, I’m so excited. I’ve been wanting to see this movie for months!”

Simon smiled, and despite everything, it wasn’t forced. They were going to watch some new murder mystery movie-- not necessarily a movie Simon would have picked out himself, but seeing Archie so riled up made it worth it.

“Well what are we waiting for? Wouldn’t want to miss those trailers, would we?” Simon managed, leading the way for Archie. He walked in front, mostly so he could hide his sickly appearance from Archie until they were in the dimly lit theater.

Soon, they were situated in the fold-up seats with a big bucket of popcorn. Archie was practically vibrating with excitement, and as much as Simon wanted to match the energy, he could feel himself deteriorating.

He was regretting not washing his hands more often with those kids.

His entire body was hurting now. His headache was raging on, even when the lights shut off for the beginning of the movie. His eyelashes felt like they had weights on them.

Simon tried to stay awake, he really did. Archie had been looking forward to this little outing for so long, and the last thing Simon wanted to do was make his illness known and ruin the evening.

He tried various methods-- biting his tongue, digging nails into his palm, adjusting his position every five seconds-- but he found that his efforts were in vain.

Soon enough, his eyes drooped shut and his head lolled forward.

He hoped Archie would be too enthralled in the movie to notice.

••••

The first thing Simon registered when he woke up was someone shaking his shoulder, and the blurry silhouette of credits rolling on the movie screen in front of him.

“Simon? Hey, wake up. Are you okay?” Archie’s voice filtered in.

Simon groaned softly and scrunched his eyebrows together at the disturbance. He felt a hand settle on his forehead, then slide down to his cheek, and finally his neck. He couldn’t help but lean into the cool touch.

“Oh Simon.. You’re burning up,” Archie cooed, smoothing some hair away from Simon’s sweaty brow. “Why didn’t you say anything..?”

Simon’s head slumped forward as he groaned again. He was having trouble focusing on Archie’s voice, let alone what he was saying. He felt so groggy. Usually he could bounce back from a nap with no problem, but presently, every muscle in his body was screaming at him to curl up and go back to sleep.

He whined lowly. Not only did he feel so miserable, but he had knocked out for the entirety of the movie Archie waited months to see. He had to be the worst friend ever. He hoped Archie would forgive him.

“Hey, it's okay! We can rewatch it another day! Lets just get you home, okay? I’m going to carry you,” Archie declared, adjusting himself a bit.

Something about this didn’t compute. Simon knew he was taller than Archie. There was no way he would be able to carry him all the way to the parking structure where he parked. It couldn’t be possible.

“I have super-strength, silly,” Archie whispered with a soft laugh. “Carrying you feels like carrying a carton of milk to me.”

Oh right. Super-strength. Made sense.

Simon didn’t have too much time to dwell on it before his center of gravity suddenly tilted and he was pressed close to a warm body.

Instinctively, he curled up against it. He let his head fall on Archie’s shoulder and draped his arm around his neck. Archie was so warm and he felt so cold. It was heavenly to be so close to him.

“Someone’s clingy,” Archie mused, beginning the gentle walk to the car.

The process of getting to the car went by in a blur, but Simon was eventually settled in the passenger seat, his own sweater draped across his legs and Archie’s pulled up to his chin.

“Get some sleep. I’ll carry you into the apartment when we get there.”

Simon slept.

••••

The next time Simon woke up, he was laying on Archie’s couch with a thick Darth Vader print blanket. Despite this, he was somehow still shivering. 

“Oh, you’re awake!” Archie smiled as he crouched next to Simon and brushed a knuckle over his brow. “Still warm. I wanted to wait until you woke up to give you medicine.”

Simon blinked. Something felt wrong. Archie shouldn’t be the one doing this. This was one of his rare days off where he let himself just be a person. He shouldn’t be stuck looking after a med student who failed to take the proper precautions during his residency.

Simon couldn’t allow it.

He sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. His arms shook as he pushed himself up.

“No. I’m fine.. Archie.. you should be relaxing.. it’s.. your day off,” Simon managed, yanking the blanket off his legs, only to be met with a ferocious shiver that overtook his entire body.

Archie didn’t react. He only calmly guided Simon back to the couch and covered him with the blanket yet again. Simon couldn’t help but be grateful.

By the look on Archie’s face, Simon had a vague idea that in his previous feverish hazes, he had tried to escape as well.

“Respectfully, if anyone needs to relax here, it’s you. You can hardly even stand,” Archie said firmly, running a hand through Simon’s sweaty hair.

Simon shuddered at the touch and melted, letting his eyes fall closed once again to avoid eye contact. Damn it Archie. Stop making this harder than it needs to be.

“Simon.”

Archie’s voice was more intense than Simon had heard it in a long time, and he forced himself to meet his gaze.

“I truly can’t think of a better way to spend my day off. Let me take care of you. Please? You always do it for me,” He half-whispered, the intensity replaced with a quiet plea.

Simon didn’t respond. Instead, he pulled the blanket tighter and leaned into Archie's hand as it combed through his locks. 

Fine. If that was how it was going to be, oh well.

Archie smiled at Simon’s silent acceptance, and leaned over to kiss the top of his head.

“Get some rest. I’m going to go warm up some soup and get you some ibuprofen.”

Simon sleepily watched him disappear into the kitchen, looking nearly as excited as he did at the start of the movie.

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•

[l-yourlocalgay-l]

can i request an atypical oneshot of casey x reader or one day at a time elena x reader? maybe you’re sick or injured and she helps you?

All I Need Is You

A/N: I wrote more about how you got the injury than actual Casey content but uh, enjoy?

Word Count: 1.1k

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The whistle blew and before you knew it, the ball was hurtling towards you from the other side of the court.  You were the setter on the volleyball team and you were currently playing the game that would determine whether or not your team would make it to nationals.  In the last 5 years at Clayton the girls volleyball team had not even made it as far as yours had, but you were sure that this was the year you would make it.  

The girls at Greenwich Academy were proving to be  great opponents.  The last 4 sets had been a constant back and forth between the two of your teams with especially long rallies.  The current score was 18-17.  All that your team needed was this one point to win and you would make it.

“I GOT IT I GOT IT!”  you heard the words coming from your mouth before you even had time to register the speed that the ball was coming at.  

As the ball bounced off your arms and towards the libero behind you, the screaming of one particular girl in the crowd could be heard.

“Go Y/N! You got this just one more point!”  Your girlfriend Casey was screaming at the top of her lungs.

You didn’t have to even look at her (not like you hadn’t been looking over at her any chance you got) to know that she and her mom were there sporting matching shirts that Elsa had made just for you.  The shirts were quite obnoxious looking, with them being bright pink with orange letters spelling out your name, but the thought that went behind those shirts had moved you to tears.

You ran off the net and yelled at the libero to send the ball back to you.  The timing on this hit had to be absolutely perfect.  Your steps were exactly where they should be placed, your arm drawing up to hit the ball in the best spot possible.  The rest of the world was tuned out for the 5 seconds you were in the air and all you could see was your hand hitting the ball as hard as you could.  You saw the ball hit the court right in the middle with everyone diving to try and get it, even though they were ultimately too late.  The crowd went wild and so did your teammates and coaches, so excited that the team was finally going to nationals.

The glory of being the last and final point was short lived, however, your happiness faded as soon as you landed. You felt a sharp pain in your ankle and fell to the ground.

While you were falling, you briefly saw Casey booking it down the bleachers before your view was covered up by your teammates and coaches trying to see if you were alright.

“Give her some space!  And someone get Lauren!”  Coach Sampson yelled to the girls around you and the crowd slowly dispersed to allow the athletic trainer to get to you.

You looked around trying to find Casey but it was no luck, there were too many people around and the pain in your foot was making it incredibly hard to focus.  The amount of people in your personal space was enough to make you panic and you were about to until you saw the trackstar literally running to get to you.  The look of worry on her face was adorable and you would’ve told her so, but as your girlfriend knelt by your side the trainer bent your ankle in a way that caused you to cry out in pain and grip onto Casey’s hand, holding on as if your life depended on it.

“Are you okay?”  She asked, her eyebrows furrowing as she tried to figure out what she could do to help you.

You shook your head as tears slipped out and rolled down your cheeks.  Casey wiped the tears off with her free hand and left it to rest on your cheek, whispering to you over and over again about how you would be okay.

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

The sound of someone knocking on your bedroom door woke you up, even though all you wanted to do was sleep.

“Mom, it's too early, just let me sleep.”  You grumbled out, upset at having been woken up.

As the door swung open you were surprised to see your girlfriend of 7 months walk in the door holding a grocery bag from a drug store.

“Dude it’s like 2pm, that is not too early.”  Casey said as she walked over to your bed with a huge smile on her face.

Casey had been over at your house every single day since you got the news about your ankle.  You had broken a rather common bone to break and had to stay off of it for the next 4-8 weeks, meaning that with nationals in 2 weeks, you definitely were not allowed to play.

It hurt and tears were shed, but Casey was at your house and with you all the time, so she was making the pain a little more bearable.

“I got your favorite.”  She said in a sing-song voice, pulling a soda and a chocolate bar out of the CVS bag she had.

Your eyes lit up as you pulled the covers down a little bit to reach for the snacks.  Just as you were about to grab them she pulled them back, still with a smile on her face.

“Uh-uh, what’s the magic word?”  Her eyes sparkled as she let out the slightly childish statement.

“Please?”

“Nope! But I guess I could give you these…as long as you do something in exchange.”

“And what would that be?”  You questioned the girl standing in front of you as your eyebrow instinctively raised.

She leaned in a little closer to you, her smirk somehow getting wider, “I want a kiss.”

You giggle at her antics and pull her down by the back of her neck into a sweet kiss.  Somehow it felt like kissing her got better and better each time that you did.  You pulled away for a second but she brought you back in with slightly more force than you were expecting.

When the two of you finally did pull away, the smirk on her face had changed into a small smile and she was looking at you with what could only be described as heart-eyes.

You matched her smile and pulled back the blanket for her to join you in your bed.  She wasted no time as she crawled in with you, putting the snacks on the side table next to your bed.  You rested your head on her chest and listened to her heartbeat speed up a bit because of that.

At some point in your cuddle session, you had fallen back to sleep.  Casey looked at you resting so peacefully and then joined you in your nap.  

The two of you ended up sleeping the day away, seeing as you didn’t wake up until 8pm when your mom knocked on your door and asked if you were going to eat dinner.  You would be tired tomorrow, but Casey was with you, so did it really matter?

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A/N: this ask is from like 2 years ago I'm sorry I haven't been that active since I posted that I wrote fanfic 😭 I'm trying to be in my active Era. Sorry if there are spelling mistakes, I wrote this right now instead of doing my homework.

[bomberqueen17]

WWII museum

So, New Orleans-ing proceeds apace. Tried to go to the Southern Food museum, the website said it was open, the door said it was closed. This was a rather crushing blow as I'd walked about as far as I could walk to get there, and then had to turn around and come back. Don't think I'll be able to try again.

My sciatic nerve has had it with me, and I'm able to get around during the days but it's just hurting so badly at night I sleep in five-minute increments, then have to wake and roll over, and if I'm lucky I can fall back asleep before it hurts too much for me to sleep through it, and if I'm unlucky I lie there until i can't stand it and get up and stretch and try a new position. So that's not great. Stretching stops it from hurting while I am actively stretching, but does not particularly help if i assume literally any other position. No, I cannot sleep in the stretching position. I've tried. I can't even sit in that position, so it's not a very useful method of relief.

Ibuprofen doesn't touch it and neither does Aleve. Those are the only options I have with me, so.

Anyway. I'm getting around fine but really not getting a lot of rest.

Last night we went to a show at Preservation Hall, and they charge literally double for your ticket if you want to sit on the hard wooden benches, and I weighed the odds and the bench was likely to give me sciatica anyway, so I stood and saved myself $25, but it was agony and I paid the price. So today we went to the National WWII Museum, and I asked at the admission desk if they had loaner wheelchairs, and they do.

I have learned that nobody cares why you're in the wheelchair. They have many, you are not snatching it away from someone who needs it more.

It is its own punishment, however. The pathways are marked at the stairs; if you go find the elevator, you then have to wander around trying to find where you're meant to go next. People don't get out of your way and you spend a lot of time staring at the asses of people who don't care that you're there and can't get through and can't see anything. One woman, we asked politely if we could get through, and she made no attempt to move, so we squeezed by, and clipped her foot with our wheel, and she got very angry with us. There was no one close to her, she easily could have shifted her foot, she could both see and hear us. We could not have gone any other route, she just didn't think we had a right to pass.

And some sections of the museum have artfully-designed floors that are rough, with chunks of fake-broken concrete. These are really punishing to try and roll over, and are wildly uncomfortable to bounce along over. Especially in a crowd of people. I understand the aesthetic choice but with the number of visitors with mobility impairments for whom that provides a tripping hazard, I super super wonder what the fuck they were thinking. I saw several elderly folks with rollators and I don't know how they got through those rooms. It was several of them.

One whole section, we could not get to unless we went back through the crowded exhibit to the halfway point to find the elevator again.

As far as the content.... I studied that era extensively in my youth, Dad was obsessed with military history and had a lot of books in the house, and I read several of them cover to cover and back and forwards. One in particular-- my sixth grade social studies teacher was obsessed with the Pacific war in specific, and during the year I was there, he was engaged in hand-painting a huge mural of the Pacific battles on a map on the classroom wall. I was allowed to help stencil on some of the letters. So I found that I knew most of the general conduct of that war, and the book I had obsessed over in specific was a compilation of primary sources, news articles, contemporary firsthand accounts, of many of the major actions of that war. I was astonished at how much I remembered. I also had read a very detailed account of D-Day, similarly, so I was able to rattle off an overview of the thing to Dude while we were staring at a line of people's asses who wouldn't let us through.

As we went through the Pacific wing, in the background there was this weird repeating bit of ambient music that I actually recognized as Brian Eno's An Ending (Ascent), and I was like fuck, I bet I know what that is, and I was horrifyingly correct: that's the room where there's a huge wall-sized enlargement of the devastation at ground zero of Nagasaki, a couple of little things along one wall explaining what happened, and nothing else, it's just this big huge space and the music.

I guess it's tasteful, I guess going into more detail wouldn't help, I guess that's not the place for it; leaving it a big bleak horror serves the purpose and tone. The museum was generally pretty good-- very, very American-centric, but acknowledging various issues of racism and misconduct and propaganda and such in sort of minimal but very present ways. There were repeated mentions of the segregated US armed forces, repeated discussions of what the Black soldiers still managed to achieve, and it especially hit because the group that was the most polite and considerate of my wheelchair was a school group of almost entirely Black high school kids from, clearly, a local-ish school, who were impeccably-behaved despite being kids and horsing around and such-- I timidly said "excuse me" to one and she leapt out of my way and tapped her friend's shoulder, who instantly stopped horsing around and said "oh excuse me!" and also got out of my way and told her friend and the children just all melted out of my path and reformed after me, unbothered, resuming their horseplay, poking at the interactive exhibits, paying surprisingly good attention and also roasting one another, as young teens do. And I thought, as I went on to read about Executive Order 8802, of these kids reading that placard, looking at that exhibit, thinking about what has changed and what, horribly, has not.

(Link is to the museum's website. There are a lot of resources there. There was meant to be a cool feature where you follow a specific veteran's story, but i was assigned Bob Hope and don't care about him so I didn't use that feature. Dude got Robert Capa, though, and I immediately was like "i know all about him" and from across the room was like "that photo on that wall is from your dude" and he was like "what" LOL. I know photographers ok.)

We lasted about five hours. We did not see as much of the museum as I would have on foot. But I also know even just the line to get in would have utterly destroyed me on foot. So we made it through to V-E day and then to V-J day and I sat in that room with the Brian Eno loop and was like You know what, I'm good. I'm good. I can't do any more.

So we went and got frozen margaritas at a fast food joint down the street and now I am recuperating. My sciatic nerve is not great, it won't let me nap either, but I will be able to walk and get dinner, which I wouldn't be if I'd done that museum on foot.

I highly recommend, even if you're mostly in good shape, if you have trouble making it through a museum and get footsore, just borrow a wheelchair, and then switch who's pushing halfway thru the museum. If it's that or cut the visit short.... We did not switch pushers, but Dude found a great deal of relief by leaning on the back of it, and I was able to carry the water bottles without much trouble.

Most museums don't have decoratively-uneven concrete floors.

I did realize, despite my obsessive reading on the topic as a kid, while I know the names of most of the German high command, i could not tell you the names of really any of the Japanese officers of similar rank. I recognized a few, from the placards, but generally I don't have the same level of knowledge there. On the one hand, I feel i should read more Japanese history of the war. On the other hand.... I think my days of being able to absorb that sort of thing might be over. Fourteen-year-old me would have loved this museum and read every placard, and would have been on foot to do it. Forty-whatever I am year old me was interested but horrified, even though I generally knew most of it already. But hearing about the estimated 100,000 Filipino civilians massacred in Manila during the battle for that city meant one thing when I was 14, and now means... well, rather a lot more, I have more context and I can really understand, now, what that means. It wasn't that i didn't understand as a kid. But I had no context.

Well, we'll see if I manage to scrape together enough brainpower to look into it any further. At any rate, the museum is worth a visit but is A Lot. Very American-Centric, but not as Patriotic as I was worrying. Not as obsessed with Big Machine Phallic Symbol as I was worried, either; it's not that there's none of that but it's largely in the context of discussing how US industrial capacity rapidly switched over to manufacturing war materiel. (Frank admissions in several cases that our stuff was inferior quality/design to both German and Japanese items, but was infinitely more numerous and in several cases it was simply that intelligent users worked out ways to use the items' defects to advantage, or to minimize their disadvantages anyway.)

And the website, linked to above, is pretty informative, with a wealth of images and citations. So there's that.

IDK, I have no like overarching message here, the bit of my sciatic nerve just inside my knee is fucking killing me and i can't think clearly about anything else for a bit, so. There's that, lol.

[waitineedaname]

masterpost for my aro4aro chengqing fake marriage fix-it

Part 1: find a place between fact and fiction

Jiang Cheng was embarrassed to admit that this particular solution had occurred to him frequently after their last parting, when he was kept awake wondering about her safety. It wasn’t the most elegant solution, and definitely not his preferred solution, and it would easily create more problems than it solved, but��� “What if we were engaged?” “Jiang Cheng, have you gone insane?” Wei Wuxian said, which was really rich coming from him of all people. Wen Qing looked like she agreed with him and this pained her.

Part 2: the less we say about it, the better

“Jiang-zongzhu, I appreciate everything you are doing for me and my family,” Wen Qing folded her hands on her lap and stared him down imperiously, “But I have no intention of having sex with you.” Jiang Cheng wondered if the stress of the last week had finally pushed him over the edge and this was a hallucination caused by qi deviation. “I didn’t expect you to!”

Part 3: the magpie will have his way

Jiang Cheng had a lot on his plate. Political shitshow, balancing the needs of his sect with the needs of newcomers, navigating a new fake-but-also-kind-of-real relationship. He had those problems handled, more or less. The problem he was avoiding, then, was that of Wei Wuxian.

Part 4: the things you do for love are gonna come back to you one by one

She would’ve expected the softness to have been beaten out of him by everything that had happened. She knew it would have been beaten out of her, if she were in his shoes. In some ways, he had hardened up. He was harsher, colder, more pragmatic. It fit him, made him seem more mature as a sect leader. And yet, by some strange miracle, she was allowed to see beyond the facade of Jiang Wanyin, sect leader. Hidden beneath those hard layers was a boy that still cared with such an intensity it would someday tear him apart.  For reasons she could not fathom, he shed that shell around her, and trusted her with the soft interior. She did not feel like she should be trusted with this vulnerable core of his person, but to explain why would be to change everything, so she took the vulnerability he handed her and did her best not to shake.

Bonus: it's gonna be a long climb out

He realized too late that Jiang Cheng wasn’t going for the wine. His reflexes were off; another thing to blame on his weakened tolerance. Just as he realized Jiang Cheng’s real intent, a hand snatched his wrist with a bruising grip. He attempted to yank his arm away, but Jiang Cheng held firm, fingers pressed to his pulse point. “Jiang Cheng, dammit, let go!” Wei Wuxian snapped. But the damage was already done. He felt the buzz of Jiang Cheng’s qi as it probed through his meridians – and found them empty.

Bonus: Jiang Cheng is still Jin Ling's favorite uncle

“I’m just saying, if anyone is going to be the fun uncle, it’s obviously me,” Wei Wuxian said, shaking a rattle over Jin Ling’s head. “He’s two,” Jiang Cheng snapped, bouncing Jin Ling on his knee. “Anything that moves and makes noise is fun to him.” “Well, I move and make the most noise, so.” Wei Wuxian leaned in and started making faces at his nephew. “Right, A-Ling? Right?” Jin Ling gurgled happily and clapped his hands.

[lyriumrain]

kinda makes me sad that so many people are bouncing off of dragon's dogma 2's travel system so hard

Do i get annoyed and frustrated with the game sometimes? Yes, I think there's some QoL improvements from Dark Arisen that should have been implemented in this game. But overall that annoyance is outweighed by how much I enjoy it.

I love going on hikes and walks out in the country, but because I don't have a car it's not something I get to do very often. Sorry to be corny, but I like looking at trees, the sea, the mountains in the distance, the grass - all of those things look great in DD2, even on the low/medium settings I have to run the game on.

Yesterday I was able to get up onto a hill top (in-game) that I don't think we're supposed to be able to go - mainly because there was nothing up there except grass. I was convinced there would be a collectible but no - it was just.... a large hill that separated the roads with no gameplay importance. And walking around up there felt exactly like some real life hikes I've been on. It was so quiet and serene.

There are very few games out there that have this specific walkabout-wanderlust feel (I can think of a few off the top of my head - firewatch, death stranding, eastshade, skyrim (if you impose a no-fast-travel challenge on yourself)) but dragon's dogma 1 & 2 are very, very good at representing it. I love how it feels to walk and run around in these worlds, and as a person with adhd/autism i never expected to like it this much.

Sometimes I find myself getting annoyed at enemy encounters because I just want to travel, but I realise i might be in the minority on this particular point lol

[midnightshard06]

The Bound By Fate au brain rot continues. I bring you something written this time. An expanded version of one of my flufftober prompts from the au. This one in particular, so that whole fic is within this one just some things mildly changed with the new context. There's still plenty of new stuff here though lol. I will likely eventually put this up on ao3 but it's just gonna be here for now.

Summary: Sonic meets Tails for the first time after the fox saves his life. Upon Sonic's return after their initial meeting to where Tails lives he realizes that the town has been taken over by a group of thugs and decides to do something about it.

Warnings: Mild blood and injury (not described in detail)

Word Count: 4747 words

Sonic moved as slowly and quietly through the maze like canyons as he could. He knew there were people on his trail and any wrong move could give away his location. It was dark, so at the very least he’d be able to see any lights approaching. His ears perked up as he heard the crunching of rock from not too far away. Pausing he scanned the area; entire body tensing in preparation to run. Honestly he really should have been more careful, something like this hadn't happened in a long time. Though he should have known that when he saw that group of hunters during the day that he should have just skipped town. Tired or not.

Once he was satisfied that there was nothing immediately near him he kept moving. If he was lucky they’d lose interest. Though he’d also just take keeping away from them all night at this point. Even if he’d be exhausted come morning he’d still be able to get away. Though keeping away from them was easier said than done. This was a decently large group and well organized he’d give it that. Their leader, an overzealous jackal who called himself Infinite, had proven to be pretty skilled. Sonic had managed to convince the jackal to spar with him during the day so he could get a feel for Infinite’s skill level. It had been closer than Sonic was expecting, but he hadn’t been in danger of losing. The massive downside to that fight though had been Infinite trying to recruit him all day until he’d left to prepare for a hunt with the rest of his group.

What was a group like that doing in a more populated place like this anyway? As far as he’d learned those that believed in “monsters” and actively seeked them out tended to stick to small towns. They always thought they’d have a better chance at finding something that way. Not that Sonic even really knew what these people were going after in the first place. They’d been established long before he was born and he’d never seen anything else like him.

Another nearby sound had him freezing. His ears swiveled around to try and figure out the source of the noise. It was hard to tell because of how the sound bounced off the canyon walls. As he concentrated though he realized that there was sound coming from multiple directions. His heart sank. They’d caught up. 

“You’re quite slippery, but we won’t let you get away that easily.” Infinite emerged from the darkness. He was hard to see due to his black fur, but the glint of a metal sword by his side was unmistakable. “Now you stand no chance of escape and we’ll finally be able to prove to the world our worth.” Sonic’s eyes darted around as the other jackals that made up the group made themselves known. He was surrounded. It was starting to look like his only way out of this would be to fight them. While he didn’t really want to hurt them he also wasn’t just going to lay down and die. “Now!” Infinite shouted before the whole group jumped forward to attack Sonic.

At first he did his best to avoid their strikes and keep an eye out for an opening to escape, but it quickly became clear that the strategy wasn’t going to cut it. By the time he first struck one of the jackals away from him, doing his best to avoid digging his claws into them, he already had a collection of cuts across his body. From there instincts kicked in and everything became a blur. For those moments, however long they were, his world became fight or be killed. By the time all but their leader were knocked out on the ground Sonic was panting heavily. Blood sluggishly dripped from the many cuts and gashes the hunter group had managed to inflict on him. As he stared down Infinite he could barely keep himself from toppling over. Although it was hard to tell in the darkness he’d be willing to bet he’d lost a lot of blood.

Infinite narrowed mismatched eyes at him. “You’ll pay for doing this to them.” He bared his teeth. Sonic couldn’t help but mentally quip back that the jackal had started this but he felt far too tired to say anything out loud. All he could do as the jackal charged him was raise his arms in a lackluster defense. Though much to his surprise Infinite suddenly stopped, pain twisting his face before he collapsed right in front of Sonic. Sonic blinked slowly in confusion before trying to look in the direction Infinite had been coming from. He could only make out a vague silhouette of what he thought was a fox before he felt himself collapsing.

Sonic slowly peeled his eyes open. He felt tired and sort of sore. Where was he? He carefully pushed the blanket that had been draped over him aside. Clearly it was daytime due to him currently not being a werehog. Now his biggest question was, where was he? The room he was in didn't look lived in really. There wasn't much in the way of personal items but he could tell that someone did in fact live here. The scent of someone else was all the proof he needed for that. There were some bandages wrapped around most of his body so he’d be willing to bet that whoever did live here didn’t want him dead. Why waste the time to patch someone up if you were just going to kill them? Of course he felt like he was already mostly healed up, but he’d leave the bandages on for now. Might be weird if he didn’t. Deciding he wasn’t going to figure out anything by staying in the room he opened the door and poked his head out. His ears swiveled around trying to pick up any noise but he couldn’t hear anything. He frowned. Was whoever lived here out? That seemed irresponsable. He decided to slowly walk through the house. Maybe they were just somewhere he couldn’t hear them. He paused. Wait, why was he even here? He couldn’t really remember much from last night but surely something must have happened. Did whoever this was see him in his werehog form? Shaking his head he decided to worry about that later. If this was going to become a problem he could easily run off. They probably wouldn’t be expecting him to be able to move around so soon. It was a nice little house he had to admit, and pretty neat too. If he had some permanent place he stayed he doubted it would stay this clean. Suddenly he heard a noise and he spun around to where it came from. A young looking fox stared back at him, clearly surprised to see him. “You’re up already?” The fox asked. “Uuuuh yeah?” Sonic answered. The two stared at each other in awkward silence for a bit. Sonic knew if he started talking it would just be a flood of questions. “Do you… need anything? Water maybe?” The fox nervously messed with his gloves. Sonic just nodded and gave the kid a shaky smile. Where were his parents? Why would anyone leave their kid alone, especially with a stranger? “Sooo I have to ask, where am I?” Sonic asked after the fox came back with a glass of water. “My house. I brought you back here after I knocked out that guy who was after you last night.” The fox looked down.

Sonic briefly choked on the water he was sipping. “U-uh last night? Like actually at night?” He gripped the cup tightly and had to mentally make sure to not use enough pressure to break it.

“Yeah?” The fox seemed confused for a moment before understanding passed over his face. “Oh! I uh did see your other form, but don’t worry!” He waved his hands in front of him. “I don’t mind, and I’m not going to tell anyone!”

Sonic supposed that was probably the truth. If he was scared of Sonic he wouldn’t be here right now. He relaxed his grip and nodded. “Right, ok. Cool.” He sighed and tried to remember what had happened. It started to come back slowly. Being chased by that monster hunting group that had shown up not long after he’d transformed. Getting cornered in the unfamiliar landscape. Not wanting to hurt them even as they attacked him. Then the same fox that was standing in front of him now somehow knocking out Infinite before he could finish Sonic off. “Thank you.” Sonic supposed that was the bare minimum he owed the fox for saving him. He held out a hand. “Name’s Sonic by the way. How did you even know I was in trouble?”

The fox took the offered hand. “Miles Prower, and I may have been following you.” Miles rubbed the back of his head guiltily.

“So you… saw me transform?” Sonic wasn’t really mad he found, just curious.

“I did.” Miles nodded. “I saw you earlier when you came into town and you seemed so nice and cool. I don’t know…” He kicked the ground. “I just wanted to know what you were doing I guess.”

“Fair enough.” Sonic shrugged. “I feel like if I was in your shoes I’d do the same.”

“You’re not mad?” Miles looked up in surprise.

“Why would I be? You saved me dude! How could I be mad at the guy who saved me?” Sonic grinned. Shyly, Miles returned the grin. Before Sonic could ask something else he noticed something about Miles he hadn’t before. The fox had an extra tail. “Oh you have an extra tail?” Admittedly it was pretty hard to tell because of the way Miles was trying to curl the two tails together.

Sonic did not expect Miles to jump and suddenly look very, very afraid. He stood there dumbfounded for a moment, even looking behind him to see if someone or something else was there. There was nothing. He turned back to look at Miles. The fox’s eyes were still blown wide and he’d started shaking, his two tails were curled up even tighter around one another. Sonic frowned and suddenly it clicked. He immediately felt awful. Ok this was fine. He could fix this.

Slowly he put a hand on Miles’ shoulder. Predictably the fox flinched. “Hey it’s ok. I think it’s cool. The extra tail. Makes you unique.” Sonic gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

Miles looked down and grabbed both his tails. “It makes me a target…”

Sonic hummed. “Well whoever’s been messing with you are just a bunch of jerks who don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Miles looked at him in shock. “B-but I’m different a freak I-” He paused as it sunk in who he was talking to.

“I know a thing or two about that Miles.” Sonic tapped him on the nose. “Take it from an expert, you're no freak. Those jerks have no idea what they’re talking about.”

Suddenly he had an armful of fox and he happily returned the sudden hug. It was an odd feeling, to not be slightly on edge around someone. It was a feeling he’d happily embrace though. No one before Miles knew about his werehog form, and the kid was fine with it. Maybe others could be too… He quickly shook that thought from his mind. He’d been gone after far too many times to entertain that for very long. “Thank you…” It was muffled but Sonic could still hear it.

“You’re welcome. I’m sorry that you don’t hear enough people say that.” Sonic rubbed Miles’ back. Eventually Miles let go and gave Sonic a shaky smile. “Hey how bout this. What if I give you a nickname?” Sonic gave Miles a wide grin.

“A nickname?” Miles tilted his head.

“Yeah! I have a feeling I’ll be sticking around a lot and while Miles iiiis a pretty cool name I have an idea for something I think would fit you.” Sonic winked. Miles nodded excitedly. “How about I call you Tails? Cause of how cool yours are.”

Tails gave him a big smile. “I love it.” “So…” Tails glanced over at Sonic who was carefully undoing the unneeded bandages. He’d stuck around for about a day, dealing with a restless night inside to avoid Infinite and his group, but he was eager to get away from here even if he was hesitant to leave Tails alone. Sure he’d just met the kid but Sonic hadn’t met anyone else who he felt completely at ease with before. It wasn’t something he was keen to give up too quick. “How long are you going to be here for?”

Sonic hummed. “Not too sure. I should probably stick around at least one more day to make sure everything’s healed up ok.” He inspected his arm after successfully removing the bloody bandages. He tried to not think about just how close things had been as he ran his other hand along the fur of his arm. Good news was his arm seemed more or less fine. Not even scars to indicate where one of the jackals’ swords had sliced him.

“O-oh right.” Tails grabbed his arm and looked away. “Guess it makes sense that you want to get out of here as soon as you can.”

Sonic put his arm down and frowned as he took in the sad look on the fox’s face. “Hey, buddy. Look at me.” Sonic said gently. Hesitantly Tails looked over at him, hunching in on himself. Sonic’s heart twisted painfully at the sight of the distressed fox. There was no way he could leave the kid feeling like this. He knew all too well what it was like to be alone. How could he in good conscience leave Tails feeling the same way? He opened his arms in silent invitation and it was quickly accepted. It was odd that even after only really knowing the fox for a day he felt protective of him. It felt like they’d known each other much longer. “I’ll come back ok? I promise.” Here he was breaking one of his personal rules for the fox. Never come back to somewhere that people had seen the werehog.

“Really?” Tails’ voice was muffled and soft, but Sonic managed to barely hear it.

“Yeah.” Sonic ruffled the fur on the top of Tails’ head. Tails laughed weakly and pulled himself away from Sonic. 

Tails seemed to search his face for a moment before nodding. “Alright. I believe you.” He wrung his hands. “Don’t be gone too long ok?”

Sonic gave him a soft smile. “I’ll be back before you know it buddy.” Sonic grinned as he caught sight of Tails’ town in the distance. It had been a couple months since he’d first met the fox and in that time he’d finally managed to shake off the apprehension he felt coming back here. It would be good to see him again; see what the fox had been up to. As he sped towards the town he did subconsciously avoid the canyon he’d been caught in before. He also happened to notice something was wrong. As he slowed down and started to walk into town he noticed that everyone seemed to be off the streets. The town looked practically abandoned. He would have thought that too if he couldn’t pick up the occasional noise of someone moving in one of the buildings. 

Suddenly a pang of panic shot through him. Was Tails ok? With no more hesitation he made his way towards the fox’s house. As he expected, the door was locked. Thankfully Tails had been insistent on giving him a key before he left the first time. Sonic felt that the move was maybe a bit irresponsible on the fox’s part, him and Sonic had only known each other for a few days after all, but it would come in handy now. After fishing the key out of one of the bags around his belt he quickly unlocked the door and opened it. Before he could turn around to close and relock it he heard the sound of some sort of mechanism releasing and felt something wrap tightly around his legs. Unable to keep his balance he fell to the floor in a daze.

“Take that you…” Tails popped out from behind some sort of barrier Sonic hadn’t noticed before. His slightly defiant expression faded as soon as he realized it was Sonic. “Sonic!” He scrambled over the makeshift barrier before hastily untying Sonic’s legs. Tails glanced around before closing the door and relocking it. “What are you doing here?” Tails asked as he helped Sonic up. “Not that I'm not happy to see you!” Tails hastily added. “I uh, sort of thought you weren’t going to come back… but you’re here now!” He grinned.

“I was coming back to visit you. Like I promised.” Sonic shook himself out. He’d file away the information that Tails didn’t think he was coming back to address later. For now he needed to figure out what was going on. “What happened here?”

“A couple of skunks came here a few days ago and started acting like they owned the place. They started taking anything they wanted and were forcing people to do things for them.” Tails gently guided Sonic around to the back of his barrier. “Most of us just blocked ourselves in to hopefully avoid them though sometimes them or some of the others they brought with them have been breaking into people’s houses.”

Sonic hummed. “No one here to stop them? Not even… Infinite and his group?” He cringed as he suggested the very group that had hunted him down and nearly killed him the last time he was here. Surely though they’d have been able to handle some rouge group of petty thieves that had rolled into town. Something told Sonic that Infinite wouldn’t like some other group encroaching on his turf, even if they weren’t another hunter group.

“They’ve been gone for a while now, looking for you I think.” Tails frowned. 

Well that was… not great news. He’d have to be extra careful to avoid the group when he came back to visit Tails. “Alright.” Sonic nodded as he started to quickly stretch. “Guess I’ll just have to take care of them myself.”

Tails’ eyes widened in panic. “You can’t fight them on your own! There’s way too many of them.”

Sonic shot him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about me. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to deal with guys like them. Probably won’t be the last either. Just point me in the right direction and this’ll all be over in no time.”

Tails frowned and looked down. Sonic thought for a moment that maybe the fox wasn’t going to tell him before Tails sighed and gave him a determined look. “I’m going with you.” There wasn’t any room for argument in his tone.

Well it could be helpful to have someone watching his back… even if he didn’t love the idea of putting the fox in harm’s way. Though he was pretty sure there was no way he could convince Tails to stay here. Instead he grinned and nodded. “Alright. Just do your best to keep up.” “Is this all you’ve got?” Sonic smirked triumphantly as he quickly spin dashed into the last of what he was calling the lower level thugs. “Geez you guys are really all talk huh?” He crossed his arms.

Tails crawled out from behind the crate he’d been hiding behind and looked around in awe. “That was amazing!” He looked at Sonic with pure admiration and he almost couldn’t handle a look like that being aimed at him. It was so different to what he was used to.

Instead of letting the fox pick up on that though Sonic just chuckled. “Well of course. I just so happen to be the coolest guy around. Now then. Let’s go have a chat with the people on top shall we?” Sonic cracked his knuckles as he turned to the door.

Tails hummed as he looked at the door. “I have an idea actually.” He pulled the backpack he’d grabbed before they left off his back and started looking through it. “If you can lead those two out here… then the fight should be over before it can really start.” Tails pulled… something out of his bag that Sonic had no idea what it was. He trusted his friend though.

“You got it. How long do you need to do whatever you’re doing?” Sonic gave him a thumbs up and decided not to comment on the way Tails relaxed as he agreed.

The fox glanced around the room they were in, picking up a nearby piece of rope. “Five minutes.” He said after a moment.

“Heh. Easy.” Sonic nodded before kicking down the door that led to the two that started all this. The two skunks that were in the room looked surprised for a moment before both looking annoyed.

“Just who the heck do you think you are!?” The smaller one yelled.

“Who me?” Sonic rose a brow and put a hand on his chest. “Oh you know just someone who’s passing through.

“Then you can keep passin through right back out that door before we make you.” The larger skunk threatened.

Sonic gave the duo an assessing look. They looked capable enough but he was pretty confident that even if Tails didn’t have a plan he could take down these two. Plus they were making it real easy to stall for those five minutes Tails needed. “No, I don’t think I’ll be the one going anywhere.” Sonic grinned and crossed his arms. “I’ll give you two one chance to pack up and leave on your own though.”

“Alright that’s it.” The smaller skunk growled. “Get ready for a beatdown.”

“You better be humble.” The other chimed in.

“There’s no way you’re gonna beat-” The first chimed in again. What was happening?

“Rough and Tumble!” The two finished together.

The two struck a pose and Sonic stared in stunned silence for a moment. Then he couldn’t hold back his laughter at the whole scene. As he held up a hand while he tried to get himself under control the two looked offended. “Sorry sorry.” Sonic chuckled as his laughter died down. “I have to know. How often do you two do that?”

Instead of answering him the two rushed at him. Well if Sonic had been keeping track of time well enough then Tails should be good to go. As the two recklessly charged at him he quickly sidestepped out of the way and watched as the two crashed into the other room. The moment they were in there multiple ropes and nets shot from various parts of the room and practically cocooned the duo of skunks. Sonic poked his head in to make sure everything was good and smiled as Tails emerged and gave him a thumbs up. “Got them.”

“Sure did buddy.” Sonic walked over to Tails and held his hand out for a fist bump. Tails happily returned the gesture. “Great work.” He looked over at Rough and Tumble. The two were trying in vain to escape. “Now we just have to deal with these two…” Tails stuck close to his side as local law enforcement led the defeated thugs away. Sonic knew that the two of them were attracting a lot of attention from the townsfolk who had slowly been wandering out of their houses to see what was going on. He really didn’t like the looks some of them were giving Tails, and the fact that the bit of confidence that the fox had been showing while helping was completely gone had Sonic about ready to snap. 

“I would like to sincerely thank you for your help sir.” One of the officers, a cat, came over and gave Sonic a thankful nod. His eyes lingered on Tails far too long for Sonic’s liking.

He frowned as he placed a gentle hand on Tails’ head. “Miles here helped too. I couldn’t have done it without him or his inventions.” He could feel Tails’ head turn to look up at him, probably in disbelief.

The cat blinked in surprise. “You don’t need to lie-”

Sonic held up his free hand, frown deepening. “I’m not. His help was invaluable and I want to make sure everyone here knows he’s just as responsible for saving the town as I am.” There were a lot of murmurs as the townsfolk all started to talk to each other in hushed voices. What things Sonic could make out he didn’t like.

The cat tried to regain his composure. “I’m sure you would have been fine without the mons-”

Sonic swiftly laid a hand on the officer’s shoulder. It was light, but he knew his look was intimidating regardless. He didn’t get mad often, but people had described it as pretty scary when he did. “Don’t you dare finish that.” Sonic narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth. The officer shakily nodded before Sonic let him go. He turned to scan the crowd that had formed; careful to keep his angry gaze off of Tails. “I need all of you to understand something really basic. Take it from the guy who just helped save your town. Just because someone is different doesn't mean they’re a mon-” He took a deep breath. “Doesn’t mean they’re a monster.” He clenched his fists. “Miles is my friend and what he can do is amazing. He’s amazing. So all of you need to stop treating him differently for something he had no choice in. People don’t ask to be born differently but they are anyway.” He pinned his ears down and let his expression soften as he walked back over to Tails. “You ok bud?” He asked quietly, ignoring the murmuring which had started back up again.

Tails gave him a shaky smile as tears gathered in his eyes. “Yeah.” He sniffled. “No one has ever stood up for me like that before.

“Well as long as I’m around there’ll be at least one.” Sonic smiled.

“Thank you Sonic.” Tails wiped away the tears before they could fall.

“No, thank you Tails.” Sonic ruffled his head. “You helped me and I’m happy to help you.”

Tails gently pulled Sonic into a hug. Once again something Sonic happily accepted. “I don’t think you’re a monster.” Tails said quietly, so quiet that if he hadn’t been so close Sonic would have never heard it. “No one that’s as nice as you can be one.” 

Sonic smiled into Tails’ fur. He felt warm. The fox couldn’t know how much that simple sentence meant for Sonic to hear. Well, maybe he could. “Thank you.” He said just as quietly as Tails’ statement. “Now let’s get out of here.”

“Yeah.” Tails’ reluctantly pulled away. His smile was stronger now. “Let’s go.” Sonic perked up as he heard the door open and shut. “You back Tails?” It had been a few days since the whole Rough and Tumble thing and Sonic had been staying with Tails. With Infinite and his group not here at the moment he felt way more comfortable staying around for longer. Plus he wanted to make sure he’d actually gotten through to the townsfolk with his little speech.

“Yep!” Tails happily called out before poking his head around the corner.

“Everyone nice to you?” Sonic stood up to go meet him.

“Well, not mean at least. It’s better though.” Tails rubbed the back of his head. “It’s probably going to take a bit of time for things to improve even more.”

Sonic hummed but nodded in satisfaction. “Good enough for now. You just let me know if I need to set them straight ok bud?”

“I will Sonic.” Tails nodded although Sonic was fairly convinced that Tails probably wouldn’t say anything to him. He’d have to work on that. For now he wanted to enjoy some peace with his friend.

“Good. Now wanna play some games?” Sonic smiled and the way Tails’ face lit up was all the answer he needed. Oh yeah, he was so glad Tails had found him that night.