#like one of them has had amnesia for 6 years

[taddymason]

It's weird to think that with Jordana being a teenager in the middle of a revenge journey and Cinder being an adult who is at most 20 years old who likes to beat up kids, that leaves Jay as the second oldest (probably the less... immature if you compare him to the other two) in the Wolf Clan after the 60-year-old tiger.

[robertreich]

10 Worst Things About The Trump Presidency

Donald Trump left office with the lowest approval rating of any president ever. But some people now seem to be suffering from amnesia.

Let me jog your memory. Here are 10 Worst Things About the Trump Presidency — in no particular order.

#1. Trump fueled division and sparked a record uptick in hate crimes.

#2. Murder went way up under Trump. He presided over the largest ever single-year increase in homicides in 2020. A number of factors might have contributed to that, but a big one is…

#3. Gun sales broke records under Trump, who has bragged about how he “did nothing” to restrict guns as president in spite of…

#4. Under Trump, America suffered more than 1,700 mass shootings.

#5. Trump said there were "very fine people" among the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville.

I’m halfway to ten. If you think I’m missing something big, leave it in the comments.

#6. Trump allied himself with the Proud Boys, a violent hate group who helped orchestrate the Jan 6 Capitol attack.

#7. Trump’s not wrong when he says…

TRUMP: I got rid of Roe v. Wade.

It is entirely because of Trump’s judicial appointments that 1 in 3 American women of childbearing age now lives in states with abortion bans.

#8. One of Trump’s Supreme Court justices was Brett Kavanaugh, a man accused of sexual assault by multiple women.

#9. Trump’s White House interfered in the FBI’s investigation of Brett Kavanaugh’s alleged sexual assaults.

And now: #10. Trump has been convicted of committing 34 felonies while in office. The criminally false business filings he got convicted for in New York? All of them were committed while he was president.

I’m sorry, did I say the 10 Worst Things About the Trump Presidency? I meant 15.

#11. Trump’s failed pandemic response is estimated to have led to hundreds of thousands of needless deaths. By the time Trump left office, roughly 3,000 Americans were dying of covid every day. That’s a 9/11-scale mass casualty event every single day. How did Trump screw up so badly?

#12. Trump’s White House discarded the pandemic response playbook that had been assembled by the Obama administration.

#13. Trump disbanded the National Security Council’s pandemic response team.

#14. Trump repeatedly lied about the danger of covid, saying it was no worse than the flu or that it would go away on its own.

But behind closed doors, Trump admitted he knew covid was deadly.

#15. Trump promoted fake covid cures like hydroxychloroquine and even injecting people with disinfectants.

After Trump’s “disinfectant” remarks, poison control centers received a spike in emergency calls.

That’s fifteen things. Should I keep going? Ok, I’ll keep going. The 20 Worst Things About the Trump Presidency.

#16. Trump presided over a net loss of 2.9 million American jobs — the worst recorded jobs numbers of any U.S. president in history.

#17. Trump profited off the presidency, making an estimated $160 million from foreign countries while he was president.

#18. Trump also billed the Secret Service over $1 million for the privilege of staying at his golf clubs and other properties while they protected him. That’s your money!

#19. Trump caused the longest government shutdown in U.S. history when he didn’t get funding for his border wall, which he said Mexico was going to pay for.  

#20. Under Trump, the national debt increased by about 40% — more than in any other four-year presidential term — largely because of his tax cuts for the rich and big corporations.

You didn’t really think I was stopping at 20, did you? We’re going to 25 —

#21. Trump separated more than 5,000 children from their parents at the border, with no plan to ever reunite them, putting babies in cages.

#22. The Muslim Ban. Yes, Trump really did try to ban Muslims from entering the country.

#23. Trump sparked international outrage by moving the American Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem while closing the U.S. mission to Palestine.

#24. Trump tasked his son-in-law Jared Kushner with drafting a potential Middle East “peace plan” with zero Palestinian input.

#25. And finally, Trump recognized Israel’s occupation of the Goh-lahn Heights, which is considered illegal under international law.

So there you have it, folks: The 25 Worst — Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Did I mention the impeachments? We’ve got to do the impeachments. Let’s go to 30.

#26. Trump broke the law by trying to withhold nearly $400 million of U.S. aid for Ukraine in an effort to extort a personal political favor from Ukraine’s Pres. Zelensky. Trump wanted Zelensky to interfere in the 2020 election by announcing an investigation into the Bidens. Delaying this aid to Ukraine weakened Ukraine and strengthened Russia.

#27. Trump personally attacked and ruined the careers of everyone who stood in the way of his illegal Ukraine scheme, including Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman.

#28. To cover up the scheme, Trump ordered the White House and State Department to defy congressional subpoenas.

#29. For these reasons, on December 18, 2019, Trump became the third U.S. president to be impeached. He was charged with Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress.

#30. Even while he was being investigated for trying to get Ukraine to interfere in the U.S. election, Trump publicly called for China to interfere in the election.

So those are the 30 Worst Things —

I’ll go to 35.

#31. Long before Election Day, Trump started making false claims that the election would be rigged.

#32. After losing, Trump falsely claimed the election was stolen, even though his own inner circle, including his campaign manager, White House lawyers, and his own Justice Department and attorney general told him it was not.

#33. Trump kept telling his Big Lie even after more than 60 legal challenges to the election were struck down in court, many by Trump-appointed judges.

#34. Trump ordered the Department of Justice to falsely claim that the election “was corrupt.”

#35. Trump and his allies used threats to pressure state leaders in Arizona and Georgia to falsify the election results.

We may go to 40.

#36. When none of the previous schemes worked, Trump and his allies produced fake electoral votes cast by fake electors in multiple swing states. His former White House chief of staff and Rudy Giuliani are among the many members of his inner circle who have been criminally indicted for this scheme.

#37. Trump tried to bully Vice President Pence into obstructing the certification of the election.

#38. Trump invited a mob to the Capitol on Jan 6 with his “be there, will be wild” tweet.

#39. Sworn testimony alleges that when Trump was warned that members of the crowd were carrying deadly weapons, he ordered security metal detectors to be taken down.

#40. Knowing the crowd had deadly weapons, he ordered them to go to the Capitol and…

TRUMP: …fight like hell.

#41 — Yes, yes, I know, bear with me.

Trump betrayed his oath to defend the nation by doing nothing to stop the Jan 6 violence. Instead, according to witness testimony, he sat and watched TV for hours.

#42. On January 13, 2021, Trump became the only president ever to be impeached twice. This time he was charged with incitement of insurrection. It was a bipartisan vote.

#43. The majority of senators — 57 out of 100 — voted to convict Trump, including 7 Republican senators.

So that’s the two impeachments and the Big Lie, but wait, we haven’t dealt with Russia, right? So we’re going to 50.

#44. In a likely obstruction of justice, Trump pressured then FBI Director James Comey to stop the FBI’s investigation into Trump’s National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn. This was documented in the Mueller report.

#45. When Comey didn’t bend to Trump’s will, Trump fired him.

#46. Trump tried to shut down the Mueller investigation by ordering White House Counsel Don McGann to fire Mueller. McGann refused because that would be criminal obstruction of justice.

#47. When news got out that Trump tried to fire Mueller, Trump repeatedly told McGann to lie — to Mueller, to press, to public — and even create a false document to conceal Trump’s attempt to fire Mueller.

#48. Trump ordered his staff not to turn over emails showing Don Jr. had set up a meeting at Trump Tower before the 2016 election with representatives of the Russian government.

#49. Trump convinced Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about Trump’s plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, and Cohen served prison time for lying to Congress.

#50. Trump was not charged for criminal obstruction of justice because it’s the Justice Department’s policy not to indict a sitting president, but more than a thousand former federal prosecutors who served under both Republicans and Democrats, signed a letter declaring there was more than enough evidence to prosecute Trump.

So those are the 50 Worst Things About the Trump Presidency. Now I could go on…

And I will! The 75 Worst Things About the Trump Presidency.

#51. Trump said he’d hire only the best people, but…

His campaign chair was convicted of multiple crimes.

So was one of his closest associates.

His deputy campaign chair pleaded guilty to crimes.

So did his personal lawyer

His National Security Adviser

The Chief Financial Officer of his business

A campaign foreign policy adviser

And one of his campaign fundraisers.

They all committed crimes, and Trump pardoned most of them.

#52. Trump said he’d drain the Washington swamp. But he appointed more billionaires, CEOs, and Wall Street moguls to his administration than any administration in history

#53. Trump intervened to get his son-in-law, Jared Kushner top-secret clearance after he was denied over concerns about foreign influence.

#54. Trump hosted a Russian Foreign Minister to the Oval Office, where Trump revealed top-secret intelligence.

Oh, and Trump’s economic policies!

#55 Trump promised that the average American family would see a $4,000 pay raise because of his tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations. How’d that work out? Did you get a $4,000 raise? Of course not! Nobody did!

#56. Trump vowed to protect American jobs, but offshoring increased and manufacturing fell.

#57. Trump said he would fix America’s infrastructure, but it never happened. He announced so many failed “infrastructure weeks” they became a running joke.

#58. Trump said he would be “the voice” of American workers, but he filled the National Labor Relations Board with anti-union flacks who made it harder for workers to unionize.

#59. Trump’s Labor Department made it easier for bosses to get out of paying workers overtime, which cheated 8 million workers of extra pay.

#60. Trump repeatedly suggested he might serve more than two terms in violation of the Constitution — and continues to do so.

#61. Trump called Haiti and African nations “shithole” countries.

#62. Trump tried to terminate DACA, which protects immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. Luckily this was struck down by the courts.

#63. Trump called climate change a “hoax.”

#64. Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement.

#65. Trump rolled back more than 100 environmental protections.

#66. Every budget Trump proposed included cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

#67. Trump tried (and failed) to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would have resulted in 20 million Americans losing insurance. And striking down the ACA’s protections for the roughly 130 million people with pre-existing conditions could have driven up their insurance premiums or led to a loss of coverage.

#68. Trump made it easier for employers to remove birth control coverage from insurance plans.

#69. By the end of Trump’s term, the number of people lacking health insurance had risen by 3 million.

#70. Trump lied. Constantly. He made 30,573 false or misleading claims while president — an average of 21 a day, according to Washington Post fact-checkers.

#71. Trump allegedly took hundreds of classified documents on his way out of the White House, reportedly including nuclear secrets, which he then left unsecured in various parts of Mar-a-Lago, including a bathroom. He was even caught on tape showing them off to people.

#72. Trump seriously discussed the idea of nuking a hurricane.

#73. When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, Trump delayed $20 billion of aid and allowed Puerto Rico to be without power for 181 days.

#74. Trump suggested withholding federal aid for California wildfire recovery and said the solution was to “clean” the “floors” of the forest.

#75. Trump pulled out of the Iran deal, placing Iran on a path to developing nuclear weapons.

Honestly, there’s so much more, from exchanging “love letters” with North Korea’s brutal dictator to publicly denigrating a Gold Star military widow and making her cry, to the way he attacked journalists, to late night tweet binges.

Look, I can understand why a lot of people want to block all of this out of their memories. But we cannot afford to forget just how terrible Trump’s time in the White House was for this nation.

And we sure as hell can’t afford to put him back there.

[dropthedemiurge]

Love for Love's Sake: Bоnus Stаge (spoilers!!)

Love For Love's Sake (Love Supremacy Zone): bonus stagе is a short spin-off story from the author of the original novel, released in June 2024 (after the drama series). It's about 19yo Tae Myungha (from Game World) being transferred into the future and him slowly realizing how 29yo Myungha has been living happy 10 years with Cha Yeowoon and friends.

I promised to keep talking about it and thank you, guys, for enabling me xD Before translating bits from chapters, here's the full summary of everything that happened in this story – for those of you who are not that patient and don't fear spoilers :] I'll put them under more anyway so those who don't want to read the summary won't read them accidentally!

Warnings: suicidal intentions

Let me know your thoughts about this spinoff *д*

Love for Love's Sake: Bonus Stage (summary)

"If your life was a book, what would you want it be about?" "How would the first chapter begin and what sentence would be the last one?" "I wish it was about love."

19yo Myungha (so before canon timeline) is playing games in PC cafe. He doesn't really have money but wants to spend time so he wouldn't have to live it

On the crossroad, he sees a child running before the signal changes, and he jumps to save them but instead of getting hit, he feels like falling. He sees sunbae who pushes him. Message [World has been changed] appears.

Myungha finds himself in the arms of a handsome man who knows him - but he doesn't know this man. Myungha runs away but the man is faster.

[Mission: Make Tae Myungha happy.] [Reward: Memory] [Clear until (0%) ♥♥♥♥♥] [Penalty: Can't return to the original timeline]

Myungha is diagnosed with amnesia. He should be 29yo now, so he just goes along. Yeowoon decides to start over again and introduces himself.

Yeowoon and Myungha have been living together for 6 years and dating for 10 years. 19-Myungha is shocked to know this.

Ahn Sia, Kyunghoon and Sangwon immediately run to check whether Myungha is okay, 19-Myungha is shocked that people worry about him and they've been friends for 10 years.

Yeowoon asked if Myungha would hypothetically date him - just to make sure - but he still wouldn't let Sangwon in before others come (he's sooo jealous)

Sangwon finds younger Myungha a lot of fun, Yeowoon wants to fight with him. Others come, so they try to figure out what's happening.

29yo Myungha is a teacher respected by kids. The girl in his class wanted to kill herself so she went to the rooftop, Myungha ran after her but ended up falling down, and Yeowoon caught him (19-Myungha)

Sia is a shopping mall CEO and a popular influencer now, Kyunghoon does photography/filming professionally, Sangwon introduces himself as 'the one who Myungha rejected when he was 18yo'.

Everyone wants to have chicken and beer but 19-Myungha is a minor so they have chicken and cola and a group sleepover at Myungha/Yeowoon's house :]

Yeowoon tried to sleep with Myungha in one bed but eventually ran away to the living room, flustered.

They all decide to do a trip down the memory lane, since Myungha is "having amnesia".

Yeowoon is a gold medalist now, and many kids go to Shinyeop school now because he made it prestigious.

They visit old Yeowoon's house, and Yeowoon quietly tells him they had kissed here for the first time (on the stairs) 19-Myungha is flustered because he feels feelings that he doesn't know the source of. But he never had his first kiss, never thought about ideal type or love so he's can't stop thinking about it. He tried to take Yeowoon's hand but ran out of time.

After this trip, in the car Myungha clears 20% of his mission and sees flashbacks from the 10 passed years: how they were grilling meat at the rooftop, how they played at the sea.

Yeowoon went to the store to get ice cream, while Myungha and Sangwon were left alone waiting. Sangwon told 19-Myungha about precious memories with him (dogs!), how he was his first love and he kept regretting what if he made a different first impression on Myungha – and now he can.

So he asks for one more chance to start over but gets rejected because Yeowoon was faster once again. Sangwon accepts that his first love is finally over and walks away.

Yeowoon says he likes Myungha more anyway, but 19-Myungha doesn't know it so Yeowoon says he'll teach him. They go to amusement park (closed again) by the sea.

Myungha insists on going to the popular cafe, Yeowoon is hesitant but doesn't reveal the truth until Myungha meets his mom there. Yeowoon takes him away in a hurry as 19-Myungha wants to talk to her in anger. Myungha cries. He thinks if he didn't have Yeowoon next to him now, his mom's reaction would be his last straw.

Mission is cleared to 40%. 19-Myungha sees 18yo Yeowoon crying and being comforted by "him".

19-Myungha thinks the person Yeowoon fell in love with is nothing like him, so he runs away. Yeowoon catches up with him.

Suddenly, they meet his fans. 19-Myungha is confused to learn he's quite popular and has 100k followers on his YT channel where he's been posting vlogs for 10 years (Yeowoon made him do it). He's used to being widely hated as a Crazy Dog, and not widely loved.

19-Myungha doesn't want to restore memories because he doesn't want to return to his original timeline. But he also feels acutely that 29-Myungha is a very different person from him. So he openly tells Yeowoon about the game mission, and Yeowoon believes him.

They return home, and 19-Myungha notices that Yeowoon still cherishes him like they were new lovers and not 10yo couple that usually feels like a family. Yeowoon was testing his reaction to skinship. Myungha calls him to sleep and teases him for having dirty thoughts.

19-Myungha is scared to sleep because he fears to wake up from a good dream. Yeowoon comforts him, while Myungha teases again and asks whether he's going to kiss. Yeowoon responds he'll wait until Myungha does it himself, like the first time (I guess, it's a bit different from drama?)

In the morning, Myungha learns that his grandma is still alive in this timeline and is in the hospital with injured leg. He rushes there and cries a little seeing her alive. He pleads her to come live with them but the grandma is like 'wtf this kid gone insane'.

His memories are cleared until 60% and he remembers time spent with his grandma.

19-Myungha watches videos on "his" Youtube channel and he sees what kind of life 29-Myungha lived and what kind of person he was. He finds they weren't actually that different and he could become him. He sees how liked he was and what kind of person younger Yeowoon was too.

They go to get groceries, and suddenly 19-Myungha is surrounded by kids that claim he's their homeroom teacher. Yeowoon saves him from awkwardness, it seems like they don't know Yeowoon and Myungha are dating. The kids say that their entire class will always love their teacher Myungha, and 19-Myungha understands why he chose this job.

Mission is cleared until 80%. He sees flashbacks from teaching kids, he still keeps in touch with the ones that left. 19-Myungha starts to smile.

But he still doesn't want to go home, he's also scared that original Myungha comes back and he will disappear. He doesn't want to leave.

Yeowoon tells him he'll be waiting for him even if he goes back to his time. He tells him to return and find 18yo Yeowoon, because he exists there and he will definitely like and choose Myungha.

Myungha is overwhelmed with feelings and goes to kiss Yeowoon. This time he's the inexperienced one.

The timeline written down by Myungha: "First meeting at 19, first fight at 20, living together at 23, passing teacher's exam, Yeowoon breaking the world record, Myungha becoming homeroom teacher, having 5 anniversary trip".

Last 20% are still missing. He's waiting for Yeowoon to come home, he returns with the cake and flowers. It's their 10th anniversary today, so Yeowoon insists he still has to celebrate, despite the situation. Myungha feels bad that he always forgets about anniversaries.

Yeowoon proposes to Myungha. He gives him his wedding plan and prepared funds.

Myungha laughs (while Yeowoon is annoyed :D) and gets positive buff, as he falls in love. [Mission is cleared until 99.9%]. He witnesses more happy flashbacks.

Because it's legally difficult, Yeowoon still wants to get married. Myungha tells him if he proposes again in 10 years, he'll accept. And teases him for being in such a rush to speedrun the relationship.

He remembers all memories from 10 years of their life and love together, he tells Yeowoon 'of course' and finally decides to return home and meet Yeowoon in his own timeline.

But Myungha is scared because there's still 0.1% to fail. He remembers the sunbae who pushed him before the world has changed. He wonders who that was.

He sees himself talking with sunbae, who asks him what is happy life to Myungha and if his life was a book, what would it be about.

"If your life was a book, what would you want it be about?" Someone is asking next to me. "...love. I wish it was about love." I wished that this thing, which was so common that I could hear about it everywhere but have never really felt it, could exist in my life too. The sunbae smiled quietly. "I just decided on a title".

Sunbae tells Myungha that humans are made of stars and apologizes that he was so late. He asks him to live the way he wants to.

He pushes him again. Message [The world has been changed] appears.

29yo Myungha wakes up next to Yeowoon and immediately goes to hug him. He finally feels like his soul and body are perfectly aligned, and he remembers how lonely he was when he was 19.

He tells Yeowoon they'll go see stars on their honeymoon trip. But first, they want to take a trip to Taiwan and the grandma is bitter they're not taking her with them because she's convinced they're gonna secretly get married there. But Myungha and Yeowoon want to get married in Korea.

[Mission: Make Tae Myungha happy is completed with 100%]

29-Myungha goes to meet the girl in his class who he saved on the rooftop. They both talk about how they don't want to die anymore and they should never give up. The girl also says Yeowoon suits him well, and Myungha promises to invite her to their wedding.

[END OF THE GAME.]

[LOADING]

19yo Myungha gets back to his conscience on the street, as someone asks him if he's okay. He is surprised to see Yeowoon, while Yeowoon is displeased that Myungha knows his name since they never met before.

Yeowoon walks away, but Myungha starts running after him.

[ENTERING THE LOVE SUPREMACY ZONE]

That's it 🥺 Of course, there are many amazing and touching moments in the story itself but I wrote down the main points. Aren't they precious?!

Tag list: @pickletrip @bunni-bun @illuminutiae @kaleidoskuls @delesaria-blog @maybe-boys-do-love

[tgmsunmontue]

To wake, perchance to dream 6/6

Hangster - Jake wakes up ~13 years in the future and thinks he has amnesia. Instead it's a glimpse of what his life could be. When he wakes up right before being called back to Top Gun for the special detachment he's going to try his damndest to make that future come true...

Edited to add: One of the first piece of TGM I saw was this amazing piece by @beezelarts as well as this follow on one (both of which I have printed and up on my wall). They both deserve ALL THE LOVE. I stared at them both a lot while drawing this last chapter.

ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

                “Why do you put up with me?”

                “Well that’s a stupid question.”

                “Jake. I’m serious.”

                “So am I. Why do you put up with me? When I’m angry and I say hurtful things or piss you off… Why do you put up with me?”

                “Because I love you.”

                Jake looks at him and tries to convey just how much of an idiot he thinks Bradley is being. He remembers future Bradley, how alarmed he’d been at Jake having to deal with all his shit. He wonders if getting those two days of his future were offered as an incentive to not give up. Wonders what he did to deserve it. Or whether it’s somehow Bradley that deserves him.

                “Do you think I love you any less than you love me?”

                “It’s not a competition.”

                “Good thing, because if it was I’d win. I put up with you because I love you. All of you,” Jake says, flicking him on the forehead to drive his point home, and it makes him feel more settled as well when Bradley startles at the sharp pain but then laughs, captures his hand and kisses over the knuckles.

                “Oh.”

                “Oh he says. Oh. Did you think I was lying all those times I said it?”

                “No. No. I just…”

                “You thought I only loved certain parts of you?”

                Bradley shrugs, unable to meet his eyes and Jake shakes his head. They’ve come a fucking long way in sixteen months however he expects they’ve still got a chunk of work ahead of them. However Bradley is working with him now, rather than against him or trying to break up, so it’s so much better. It helps that Bradley is back in the air, flying again and while Jake is proud of him he’s also waiting for the day when Bradley decides he’s had enough. Knows it has to be soon if the rough timeline he sketched out is accurate.

                “I’m… I’m going to make myself some tea. You want any?”

                “Of course…”

                Tea making is almost a ritual now between them, and he’s always dropped everything when Bradley has said he’s making tea. It’s for moments of quiet, but also deep conversation, reassurance and also the simple act of making it now grounds Jake in a way nothing else does. He knows it’s similar for Bradley, that if he wants to talk something out, he’ll make an entire pot of tea. Jake watches as he reaches for the stupid pot that is painted like a rooster and wonders if this is the moment. Watches Bradley turn over the little three-minute timer he’d bought and watches him watch the sand fall through the hourglass silently. He knows from experience to not interrupt the silence now. Bradley is gathering and organizing his thoughts.

                “I… I think I’m going to retire.”

                And there it is. All of the sand hasn’t even fallen through.

                Another piece falling into place.

                “Okay.”

                “Okay? Just okay?”

                “You want me to talk you out of it?”

                “I… no? I… fuck. I don’t know. I don’t know. What am I going to do if I’m not flying planes anymore?”

                Jake knows exactly what he’s going to do, but he can’t, won’t, just blurt it out. He wants Bradley to figure it out for himself. Reaches a hand across the counter and wiggles his fingers and waits impatiently for Bradley to hold his hand. Grips it tight and jiggles it to give his next words more weight.

                “How about, how about you find a dream you actually want huh, rather than chasing what you think someone else would want for you? You have time…”

                “Yeah. I guess.” Jake hums. “I think I’ll talk to my therapist about it…”

                “I think that’s an excellent idea,” Jake says, and he wonders if it’s them that places the seed in Bradley’s mind.

                “When did you get so smart?” Bradley asks and Jake snorts.

                “I’ve always been smart. You were just too busy to notice.”

                “Oh no, I always noticed you. I meant… you’ve gotten smart about me. It’s like… you sometimes know what I need even before I do.”

                “Just been paying attention Bradshaw…”

                “Bradshaw is it?” Bradley asks, eyebrow quirking up and Jake raises both his eyebrows in response, because he’s never going to get sick of flirting with him.

                He knows it to his core.

…            …            …

                “What do you think about me becoming a therapist?”

                “I think you’d kill it.”

                “Jake. Be serious.”

                “I am being serious! You would make a great therapist…”

                “I… you really think so?”

                “Babe. Bradley… why’d you join the Navy?”

                “To fly.”

                “If you hadn’t made it into aviation, what would you have done? Stayed?”

                “Yeah. Probably.”

                “Why?”

                “What do you mean why?”

                “Deeper than flying… why did you join?”

                “To…” Jake waits. He’s pretty sure he knows why, suspects Bradley’s therapist also knows why but Bradley hasn’t maybe put it together yet. “To serve… well. To help people I guess.”

                “Hmm. Like I said. I think you’d be pretty good at it.”

…            …            …

                So their lives shift a little again, and Bradley goes back to study, and he’s going to the same University as Amelia and suddenly he gets why and how Amelia becomes so entrenched in their lives. She spends the first year in the dorms, and Bradley rattles around in a two-bedroom apartment. Bradley has never lived alone and while he’s away Jake worries, so when he suggests Amelia maybe move in and they live together everyone treats him like it’s a genius solution. Which finds him, the summer before her second year helping her move in. While she’ll keep Bradley company while Jake’s deployed, her living with Bradley has made both Penny and Mav feel an infinite sense of relief about her living off-campus.

                “I feel much better about her living with you than in a sorority house or… well. I know you’ll keep an eye on her,” Maverick is saying and Jake catches Bradley’s eyeroll from across the room. Penny is busy cleaning the kitchen and doing a deep clean, which he knows Bradley is going to appreciate. Eventually. Once everything is back where Bradley wants it.

                “Yeah, because she’s totally going to want to hang out with me…” Bradley says with a grin towards Amelia and she grins back.

                “Don’t sell yourself short. You’re okay looking for an older guy, might make me look a little more interesting if I’m seen talking to you…”

                “You hear this Jake? I’m okay looking!”

                “For an older guy. I mean… I’d fuck you,” Jake calls back with a grin and Amelia pretends to vomit. Penny calls out a reprimand and all three of them roll their eyes, because they’ve all heard Penny swear a blue-streak.

                “Can you two ever not be gross?”

                “Nope.”

                He likes Amelia living with Bradley, it means he doesn’t worry so much when he’s deployed. That Bradley will make sure Amelia eats, and therefor taking care of his own needs. Plus he starts messaging Amelia for behind the scene updates and she doesn’t disappoint and Jake gets daily candid photos of Bradley doing domestic shit, or passed out cold on the sofa, or on campus meeting with his study group. When he comes back she makes herself scarce for twenty-four hours and then he takes her out for an expensive meal, which is apparently an acceptable trade.

…            …            …

                “This weekend! We’ve got forty-eight hours man. You said you wanted to be my best man, well, time to be the best…”

                “What?”

                “We’re getting married this weekend! Sunday!”

                Jake freezes, because they hadn’t set a date and he’d sort of been drifting, knowing that it was going to be ten-years from whenever they got married. And now he has a date. One only two days away.

                “Why are we in such a rush?”

                “You’re here, I’m here, Nix is here… Bradshaw can get here. She wants it in the small chapel on base, the one with those big pale wood arches. Plus we don’t want to wait anymore.”

                “Holy shit. Yeah. Okay. Fucking… tell me what you need me to do.”

                He rings Bradley, tells him he needs to get on a plane if he wants to stand up as witness for Nix. Of course Bradley drops everything, Amelia insisting on coming and Jake knows that that’s how it’s going to work, she’s going to be as big a part of Javy and Nix’s kids’ live as he and Bradley will be, so her being at the wedding feels right. Then Jake finds himself organizing a cake and a simple flower bouquet. Javy and Nix both have given him very strict instructions to not even think the word wedding when talking to anyone.

                The service is going to be small and private, set for the afternoon after the standard Sunday morning service. They have a week before they both get deployed again, so Jake searches for a resort within an hour drive which also has a honeymoon suite available, books it for them for five nights and lets them know he’s sorted his and Bradley’s wedding present to them.

                He’s pretty proud of what he and Javy have managed to achieve. The chapel didn’t need any decorating, but the Hard Deck, where they’re having the reception of sorts tomorrow evening, well, he supposes he has Penny and Amelia to thank for that, along with Maverick and Bradley. They’ve found soft fairy lights and large white paper lanterns and the whole place is unrecognizable as their usual watering hole. Except he recognizes it. It’s exactly like it is (was?) in the photos he can still remember looking at. As they shut up for the night everything is set for tomorrow and Jake doesn’t know why he’s so nervous.

                It’s not his wedding.

…            …            …

                Bradley has the confidence to look good in a hessian sack, and the legs to pull it off. In a tailored suit he looks mouthwatering. Jake knows he isn’t too shabby looking himself, glad he has an excuse to wear his suit rather than his dress uniform.

                “You look good…” Bradley says, giving him a slow sweep with his eyes and Jake laughs.

                “I am good…”

                “Fuck yeah you are…”

                “Not how it’s meant to go, but I’ll take it…” Jake says with a smirk, because he gets it now, why Bradley had looked at him so weirdly when he’d told Jake he looked good and he’d replied with a simple good morning. Fuck, no wonder Bradley believed him. That and Jake told him. At the wedding that they’re both at right now. Javy and Nix have disappeared somewhere for some photos, but Jake knows that they’re going to come through the doors, with Nix wearing a different dress from the one she got married in but looking no less gorgeous or happy.

                “Want to hear something really crazy?” Jake asks, leaning against Bradley for the reassurance of his presence, hopes he manages to come across as… sincere rather than insane.

                “Crazier than deciding to get married within two days?”

                “Yeah. Much crazier…” Jake says, and he’s still hold the half-filled champagne glass they’d used to toast Javy and Nix earlier. “I’ve seen photos of this… of this moment right here that we are in right now.”

                “How much have you had to drink?” Bradley asks with a laugh, taking the glass from his fingers.

                “Four sips of that champagne.”

                “So… what? You’ve got a sense of déjà vu?”

                “No. More than that… Just… imagine this with me. One day, actually, exactly ten years in the future, we’re happily married; I wake up and your arms are around me. Javy and Nat are off celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary and we’re looking after their three kids. They love and trust us enough to look after these three precious little humans. So I wake up and I don’t remember any of that. All I remember is being on a carrier stationed near Japan and suddenly I’m not anymore.”

                “What are you…”

                “Just… listen. So in ten years if I act a little weird for a couple of days, well, you made me fall in love with you over the space of a weekend… showed me how well we work together. I’m looking forward to filling in all the blanks.”

                “You’re… Jake. Are you being serious right now…”

                He shrugs.

                “Maybe it was just a dream. But it was a very fucking vivid dream. And I’d put money on Natasha and Javy coming through that door, she’s changed to a salsa dress and Javy’s going to be wearing suspenders and looking ridiculous, but they’re going to do a surprise dance number for us… we have a photo of it on the wall.”

                “Oh my god, you’re serious. Jake.”

                “I fell in love with you in this dream, and it made me want that with you so much… and I kind of figured if I could make you fall in love with me then we might get a chance at this happily ever after dream of mine.”

                “You’re a secret romantic… I mean, I knew that already. But just getting it confirmed again. I love you, you weird strange man.”

                “Mmm. Yeah. Love you too.”

…            …            …

                With the wedding photos now available he starts building the photo albums for his future-past self, and even if it’s all crazy and it never happens he doesn’t want to take the chance. Also he finds going through all their photos and picking the ones for including in a book to be an activity that brings him a lot of joy, seeing all their happiest moments and proudest achievements frozen in time.

…            …            …

                When they’re on vacation in the Rockies and Jake recognizes the view, stands there and takes it in with a deep breath, turns back to see what the hell is keeping Bradley only to find him on bended knee holding a ring box and even though he knew he would end up marrying him, having someone declare they love you so much they want to spend the rest of their live with you makes him burst into tears. He takes so many photos through blurry eyes, knowing that at least one is going to turn out so he can include the view in the photo album.

…            …            …

                Their bands are simple gold, although they’re made from gold melted down from Bradley’s parents wedding rings and a bangle that used to belong to his mom. Maverick had insisted on him keeping it all, and when Bradley gets a little emotional slipping the ring onto Jake’s finger he knows the moment is bittersweet, the fact that his parents aren’t here sad but the joy of the day will be everlasting. A photo of their joined hands, both showing off their rings, means more than just the start of their marriage. It encompasses their pasts too and he goes through the process of changing his name to Bradshaw.

…            …            …

                They have their honeymoon on a small island in the Pacific Ocean, and despite Jake’s insistence that Bradley didn’t use high enough SPF sunscreen and reapply it often enough after swimming Bradley gets terribly sunburnt on their third day. Fortunately the air conditioning in their private cabin is good, and they’re more than happy to spend the time together in bed. When the worst of it is over though Bradley starts peeling, making it somehow look worse and when they venture out to the night markets to find food Bradley gives him such a stink eye after he snaps a quick picture and sends it to the group chat.

…            …            …

                There are moments which he doesn’t capture. Natasha and Javy inviting him and Bradley over for dinner and telling them that they’re expecting a baby. That they’d like Jake and Bradley to be the godparents, and legal guardians, and that they want them both involved in the family care plan, seeing as they both still serve. Bradley’s jaw drops but Jake knew, hoped, and he wonders when he starts looking for their house. Their home. Of course both he and Javy are deployed when Nix gives birth to Alleisha, but Bradley is there for the birth, sounds fairly awed and disgusted by the whole process. Amelia makes herself invaluable and he knows now that she’s a speech and play therapist. Her and Bradley talk about things that overlap, but Bradley doesn’t ever work with kids, but he is good with them. One of Jake’s new favorite pastimes is watching Bradley hold Alleisha.

…            …            …

                He sees the notice and does a double take, because there’s a photo and he finds himself paying more attention to those these days than he ever has before. The dog looks like Thea. Bradley’s Thea. He wonders if he’s the one that gets Bradley a puppy. He snaps a picture of the flyer to show Bradley. When he raises it later, whether Bradley has ever thought of getting a dog, he gets a shake of the head and a weird look. Apparently Carole was allergic. Huh. Okay. Maybe things will be different.

                Of course he comes home two days later and finds a book about therapy dogs on the counter and he grins at it, raps his knuckles against it and then turns to find Bradley watching him from the doorway.

                “Am I getting a dog?” Bradley asks, and it’s like this sometimes, like he thinks Jake is somehow psychic and he guesses he does have quite a few insights about their future, but they’re more like markers laid out on a trail and he has to find all the paths between the points. He tries to keep them to himself for the most part, not wanting to enjoy the moments and time he has.

                “I don’t know. Do you want a dog?”

                “I didn’t think so. But I had my therapy appointment today.”

                “Yeah?”

                “And my therapist had a friend visiting who breeds therapy dogs. And that picture you showed me? That was her.”

                “Oh shit…”

                “Hmm. Her current litter is all spoken for, but Ali asked me if I would be interested in one from the next litter.”

                “That’s a hell of a coincidence…” Jake says.

                “Yeah well, I said I was. So I guess I’m getting a dog.”

…            …            …

                He’s deployed when Bradley sends him the link to several house listings, and then he sees it. Pictures of their house and his heart swells. There it is. He sends back this one. Bradley asks him if he’s sure, says it needs a lot of work. Jake replies that he’s as certain about the house as he is about loving him and that’s all that Bradley needs to make an offer. When he steps inside the first time his eyes widen, because it is nothing like he remembers but also Bradley had said it needed a lot of work. He wasn’t fucking joking.

                “I hope you like DIY…” Bradley murmurs, coming up behind him and pressing against him and Jake looks around, remembers photos of them painting and grins to himself.

                “Yeah, I think I’ll like it fine…”

…            …            …

                They have a trip to the beach, Nix and Alleisha firmly planted under a sun umbrella when Javy pulls out a soccer ball. He remembers the pain in his knee and he wonders if he should maybe avoid playing if it means he doesn’t get hurt. Except he can’t. He can’t not take part and he tries to be careful but when he feels his foot shift on the sand and his body weight goes the wrong direction over his knee he knows. He doesn’t try any heroics like walking on it. Tells Javy and Bradley both that they’re going to have to carry him and take him to the hospital immediately; asks for icepacks to assist with the swelling. Javy looks at him like he’s crazy but Bradley looks at him with wild eyes.

                “It’s my ACL and LCL. I’ll need surgery but I will fly again. Going to have to get used to having me around for a bit though…”

                Of course Bradley rolls his eyes, has words with Jake later about why he didn’t avoid the injury and he shrugs, says he doesn’t have it in him not to be competitive and kick a ball around with Javy. The benefit of being on light duty while he recovers and rehabs his knee means he’s there for James’ birth and holy shit. He gets why Bradley didn’t want to do it again.

…            …            …

                He smears the paint down Bradley’s naked chest, and the dark blue looks really nice against his skin. He says as much and Bradley twists against him, laughs and tries to buck him off where Jake’s got him pinned.

                “Uh uh Bradshaw… going to take you apart…”

                “Jake… the paint… it’ll dry and make a mess…”

                “Don’t care. We can buy more paint. We can clean up the mess… want to make another sort of mess right now.”

                With that declaration Bradley stops fighting and instead reaches to bring him down for a kiss and Jake grins into it, because he likes getting his way.

                Later, when Amelia and Bradley are both laughing at him over glasses of wine as he clips chunks of dried paint out of his hair he is less happy, but he still wouldn’t change anything.

…            …            …

                “Bradshaw… any relation to Nick Bradshaw?”

                “My late father-in-law,” Jake provides, and the eyebrows of the Admiral in front of him shoot up.

                “You married…”

                “Lieutenant Commander Bradley Bradshaw. Retired. Nick Bradshaw’s son.”

                “Huh. Means you must know Maverick as well then. I’m sorry Captain, what was your name previously?”

                “Seresin sir. Much prefer keeping the Bradshaw name and legacy alive and well instead.”

                There is a flash of recognition at his old name, because he’s just as legendary as Maverick now, if not better because he’s also known as someone who has saved Maverick’s life in the top-secret mission that of course everyone has heard rumors about. It’s years ago now though, and he doesn’t need to think anymore about his signature when he signs paperwork.

                “Fair enough.”

…            …            …

                Bradley buys him a camera for his obsession with taking photos and he enjoys it, becomes the unofficial photographer of their wider group of friends even though he’s got his own reasons for taking the photos. However he continues documenting all their vacations and gatherings, takes family photos and candid shots of them just hanging out. He doesn’t take any of it for granted, still occasionally blinks awake from sleep with his heart pounding and the knowledge that his life would be very different if he’d been a second later.

…            …            …

                When Brandy is born Javy is not deployed and both he and Bradley tell him he’s on his own. Instead they look after Alleisha and James, their bedroom is the biggest one in their house and there’s already a crib ready and waiting for when Brandy is old enough to start staying over. He startles then, realizing that it’s getting closer. The ten-year anniversary of Javy and Nat’s wedding. He pulls out a phone and looks at the calendar for 2035. Their anniversary is on a Friday next year. He has about nine months to prepare and he submit his leave request immediately.

…            …            …

                Of course he doesn’t get nine months. He’s deployed for a long six-month stint and he knows he’s missing some key moments in Brandy’s life, having seen so many of James’ while he was rehabbing his knee. However he’ll be home two weeks before the wedding anniversary and that’ll give him plenty of time to reacquaint himself with his husband before he… well. He’s not sure where he might go while his younger self is going to be hanging out in his body. He wonders if he’ll be back on the carrier in Japan and suddenly scrambles for memories that he might have to recall. Maybe he’ll just fake a stomach bug and get quarantined for the duration.

                “I can’t believe it’s been almost ten years…”

                “Best ten years of my life… and then some,” Jake murmurs, pressing a kiss onto the naked skin of Bradley’s shoulder. “Ten years…” Jake repeats and Bradley startles a little.

                “Yeah. Tenth anniversary. You uh…”

                “I remember what I told you… I still have no idea what the hell happened, or if it is even real but I guess we’ll know soon enough.”

                “Yeah, I guess we will.”

…            …            …

                He wakes under the weight of Bradley’s arm, his entire body pressed up tight against the line of Jake’s back, including a semi-hard erection and he knows without even opening his eyes that he’s back home, right time and right place, right name and also that while he can’t explain it he’s also not been fucking imagining what happened. He rocks back against Bradley’s cock and feels joy bubbling away through his entire body.

                “Mmm… Jake.”

                “Morning.”

                “Mmm,” Bradley mumbles, snuffling into the back of Jake’s hair and he keeps rocking, can feel the effect it’s having, can feel Bradley beginning to rock back into the friction, seeking it out. Then he’s gone, sharply pulling away, snapping on the bedside light and Jake winces and shades his eyes.

                “What the fuck Bradley…”

                “Are you…”

                “One hundred percent me, back to normal.”

                “You’ve never been fucking normal a day in your life…”

                Jake laughs.

                “Glad to have me back?”

                “Yes! Oh my god. So glad. I completely forgot… you let me sleep in! You… how the fuck did you just wake up and not freak the fuck out? I stress cleaned Jake. Our house is fucking spotless.”

                “Oh yeah… I remember that. I thought you were putting off having sex with me…”

                “That’s what I was stressing out about! You didn’t seem any different!”

                “You can have sex with me now. Again… also I was plenty freaked out but I also remember feeling pretty pleased that I had somehow gotten married to you.”

                “Oh my god… how… what even...”

                “I don’t know. Some things just can’t be explained I guess. Now going to give me my standard welcome home?”

                “Jake…”

                “Mmm… I fell in love with you over this weekend and then made you fall in love with me.”

                “You… so you don’t know what’s going to happen from now?”

                “I mean, I have some hopes for the short term…” Jake says, reaching a hand to stroke Bradley’s cock which makes him laugh and settle back against Jake, facing him and circling his hand around both their cocks. “And it’ll be our anniversary soon. Want to go to Hawaii?”

                “I guess the future is all ours…”

                “Baby, it’s always been ours.”

THE END

[pennysperfectpolls]

Adoption poll bracket 3 final

Rob (the amazing world of Gumball)

Nona (The Locked Tomb)

Propaganda under the cut

Rob (the amazing world of Gumball) Propaganda

To put it simply, god doesn’t like Rob. Bro really said “mmmyeaa this one is kinda boring” and sent him into the void (literally). Miraculously he got out, but his home, familly and basically everything he cared for is gone. Not to mention he became physically deformed in the process. This 13 year old little boy is now homeless without a purpose. And no one seems to be concerned for him. Please give this boy a home, he needs some good parents to take care of him and a nice cup of hot chocolate.

Nona (The Locked Tomb) Propaganda

She is 19 years old but also 4.5 billion years old and also 6 months old. She has escaped from barbie jail on Pluto (long story) and has amnesia. She loves all dogs, but especially loves Noodle who has six legs and is king of dogs in secret. She likes eating sand, marker lids and luscious green vegetation and she does NOT like scrambled eggs because she has sensory issues and they are gross. She is not allowed to eat sand, marker lids or luscious green vegetation and she HAS to finish her scrambled eggs because she needs the protein. She cannot read but she is fluent in every single language that exists including body language. She is part of a gang with her friends from school. Her friends are called Hot Sauce, Born in the Morning, beautiful Ruby, honesty and Kevin. She thinks flowers are sexy and likes having agony aunt columns read to her. She’s only had two tantrums in her life and she can’t even remember them so you can’t hold that against her. Just about everyone who meets her wants to adopt her, and she was adopted by three people in two bodies but we can adopt her too because she has plenty of love to go round and honestly she kinda needs the supervision. Or she’ll eat sand.

——————

Nona is getting ready to celebrate her birthday and she wants to invite every dog she's seen in the city. She knows every language. She likes to swim and touch the jellyfish that nobody else can touch because they kill you. She's in a gang with some of the other kids at school. Her family's not sure who she is. The rebellion wants to use her. So does the empire. She's got a crush on one of the rebels. She kisses the emperor's daughter. She's dying. All she wants is a birthday present. Nona loves you.

[anakinskywalkerisfave]

Hello! I want to ask you something about Star Wars. What's your opinion on "love isn't attachment" interpretation of the Jedi Code that has been going around?

I think it’s a misrepresentation born out of an effort to make the Jedi Order seem perfect, instead of the noble but flawed institution that we see in both Disney canon and the Star Wars EU. It is a blatant disregard of both the general canonical and legends continuity that the Jedi Order did not allow love. Love is a type of attachment, at least in the Jedi's eyes, otherwise they would not be separating young children from their families.

And no, if the chosen one is doing just fine with his latent force powers, I don't think they're recuiting toddlers because they would otherwise "have no control" and be "a danger to others." Take that crap somewhere else, because I'm not buying it.

If they don’t care about loving people (ie your birth family), then why do we never see Jedi (aside from obvious exceptions like Anakin or Ki-Adi-Mundi) mention their family or keep in any form of touch with them? Why would they accept only very young children? Notably children whose memories of their time with their family would largely or wholly be lost due to childhood amnesia*, and therefore would not remember their attachment to their families and the love of their family. Regardless of whatever media tries to retcon the no love thing as love being acceptable and that attachment was a different thing, the most important canon (the movies) does not support this at all.

(*Childhood amnesia refers to the inability of most adults to recall memories from before the age of 3-4 years. It also refers to the fragmentation of memories from early childhood, especially from the ages of 3-6. This is paraphrased from the Wikipedia article on the subject.)

Also, if love (platonic or romantic) actually is allowed, then why would this official movie poster for Attack of the Clones exist? (Someone on youtube literally tried to argue with me that despite it being an official poster, it “didn’t mean anything." 🤨 By that logic, a movie advertised as R-rated can be assumed to be appropriate for children. Jedi apologists are truly dedicated to spiting their English teachers and anyone who tried to teach them about critical thinking or analysis.)

Bonus Round: Star Wars EU Edition

(read the paragraph on the right, starting at "Love is also a strong passion," and I also suggest reading the character's annotations on the side.)

They literally explain love is forbidden. While they say "those who obsess," in practice, it applies to any love, not just obsessive. (Also, it is a parent's job to prioritize the needs of their child. It's not "obsession" to put the child first, that's what you're supposed to do.) They are literally being told that wanting to contact their birth families is a cause of concern and that any attachment will cause you to "lose sight of your path" and are a cause for expulsion from the Order.

Once again, they are not allowed to connect with their birth families. The HoloNet calls it monstrous because it is. Separating a child from their parents is incredibly damaging, especially in early childhood*, (the age of recruitment into the Jedi Order) which is obvious, but this is the same fandom where I see people try (and fail) to justify child soldiers and using a slave army.

Sources about the detrimental effects of separating children from their parents:

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/psychological-damage-inflicted-by-parent-child-separation-is-deep-long-lasting/

https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2018/06/psychological-impact-early-life-stress-parental-separation

This excert is from a section called "Misperceptions of the Jedi" from The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force.

"This charge springs from the pain of emotional attachment. It's also technically false." If I had my child taken from me and had no way to get them back, I don't give a shit if you have legal authority. You are effectively a kidnapper. The child isn't being removed from their parent's care because of abuse or any other legitimate reason. It's because they want to indoctrinate them and it's far easier when they don't remember anything before being taken to the temple. So they don't have a pesky attachment or concern for their mom left in slavery, for example!

Anyway, Luke's Jedi Order from the EU >>>>>> the old Jedi Order

[inevitably-johnlocked]

A-Z Sherlock Fan Fiction Tropes Bingo

Ahhh, so I saw this Fanfiction Bingo Card by @swissmissing going around, and even though I wasn't ever tagged, I wanted to do some recs of my own because, like, that's my whole brand LOL. I hope no one minds...🙃 I needed to have a list ready for this Sunday, and this was perfect, LOL.

And because I'm always trying to overachieve on these challenges, I'm going to do full black out, BOTH tropes in each square.

This will be a Combination of my read fics and "to read" fics [to fill in spaces I don't have tags for], which I will append the latter with (MFL) just like so, for those of you who only want fics I've personally read. And apologies, I had to remove some of my standard links to fit them all within Tumblr's link limits, so author names aren't clickable AND I've removed all series' links, so be sure to check out other stories by the authors!!

AND FINALLY, this is a rare list that I DON'T have in word-count order, just so y'all know! I hope you guys like the fics I've pick for y'all. Literally random picks from my lists, based on tag searches, LOL.

AU: A Further Sea by i_ship_an_armada & ShinySherlock (E, 125,492 w., 23 Ch. || Historical Pirates AU || Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Doctor John / Pirate Captain Sherlock, Sailing, UST / RST, Masturbation, Action / Adventure, Mild Angst & Peril, Romance, Shaving, Molly/Janine, Bottomlock, Hand / Blow Jobs, Past Drug Use, Slow Burn, Mild Violence, Facial Shaving, Happy Ending) – Here be a tale of adventure for both body and soul, but beware if ye be not of stout heart, for this be piratelock, ya savvy? Luckless ship's surgeon John Watson takes a chance, and finds himself eye to eye with The Ghost, the scourge of the seven seas and a definite thorn in the side of the blaggard, James Moriarty. But when John finds there's more to this most cunning pirate than be meetin' the eye, he has to choose... is it a pirate's life for him?

Amnesia: I Need You To See Me by Mssmithlove (E, 12,625 w., 1 Ch. || Angst, Amnesia, Soldier!John) – After going back to war, John is yet again invalided home, this time with a broken ankle and a chunk of his memory missing, unable to recall the last five years he's spent being Sherlock Holmes' partner and husband. Part 9 of Happiness Awaits

BDSM: Lock and Key Series by 221b_hound (E, 59,509+ w. across 14 works || Series WiP || Post-HLV, Tattoos, First Kiss/Time, Anal, Hand Jobs, Captain John, Cuddling, Sherlock's Scars, Possessive Johnlock, Exhibitionism / Voyeurism, Frottage, Blow Jobs, Masturbation, Sherlock in Panties, PWP, Dirty Talk, Sexual Fantasies, Restraints, Photographs, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Light BDSM, Assorted Kinks, Sherlock in a Sheet, Sex on Furniture, Domestic Fluff) – John has been back at Baker Street for a year, following the debacle that ended in Mary's death. Things are good. Back almost to what they used to be. Sherlock might wish they were something else, now, but he only has himself to blame, he thinks. It's too late, now, for the things he first denied before he'd ruined any chances he might have had. Sherlock also thinks that people who get tattoos are idiots. But perhaps he's about to learn a thing or two, not least of which might be it's not as late as he thinks it is.

Bodyswap: Inexplicable by emmagrant01 (E, 34,664 w., 6 Ch. || Body Swap, TSo3, Magical Realism / Artifacts, Infidelity, Angst) – So what was in that matchbox, anyway? John and Sherlock find out, the hard way.

Crossover: Perdition's Flames by i_ship_an_armada (E, 63,435 w., 21 Ch. || Star Trek Fusion || Established Relationship, Genetic Engineering, Angst & Fluff, BAMF!John) – Sherlock would do anything to save him. Risk anything. Give anything. His money, his life. His soul. What he does, though, is change both of their destinies forever. Genetic re-engineering is the only option left. It turns out researchers underestimated the life expectancy and potential abilities of genetically re-engineered subjects. The British government and what would eventually become the United Federation of Planets, however, had not. Part 1 of PF Universe

Crack: Fucking Cake by Random_Nexus (E, 12,965 w., 1 Ch. || Pre-Slash, Humour/Crack, Inanimate Object Smut, Frottage, “For a Case” / “Experiment”, PWP / Kinky, Mutual Pining, Fluff) – Sherlock brings home a chocolate cake, John finds him about to have sex with said cake, then exceedingly weird hijinx ensue. Part 1 of "Fucking Baked Goods" - Sherlock BBC

Domestic: Back to the Start by slashscribe (M, 14,088 w., 1 Ch. || Sherlock’s Violin, Pining Idiots, Fluff, Domestics) – Sherlock hasn't played the violin since John's wedding (which is long since over), and when John returns to 221B, Sherlock relearns the violin as he and John relearn each other. Post S3 fic with an obscene amount of pining, idiocy, and attempts to pawn off tea duties.

Disability: Breakable by MissDavis (E, 117,627 w., 34 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Established Relationship, Major Character Injury, Fluff/Angst, Depression, Paralysis/Disabilities, Hurt/Comfort, POV Sherlock, Mental Health Issues, Drug Use, Happy-ish Ending) – After John is seriously injured, Sherlock struggles to figure out how to help him, keep himself sane, and maybe, just maybe, get their life back to the way it's supposed to be. Part 1 of Breakable Not Broken

Established Relationship: Caught In The Act Series by ShirleyCarlton (E, 9,217 w. across 7 works || Established Relationship, Unintentional Voyeurism, Alternate POVs, Humour, Blow Jobs, Walking in on Someone, Switching, Public Sex) – This is a series of six scenarios written from the points of view of six different people as they accidentally walk in on Sherlock and John having sex.

Enemies to Lovers: Synchronicity by Calais_Reno (T, 46,424 w., 10 Ch. || Alternate First Meeting || Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Case Fic, POV John, Bullying, Coming Out, Forgiveness, Drinking/Bars, Boarding School, Drunk John) – John and Sherlock meet again, years after they were school boys together. John hasn't forgotten why he still hates Sherlock Holmes. (MFL)

Future: Uncharted Territory by J_Baillier (T, 19,603 w., 4 Ch. || Dystopian Future / Black Mirror AU || Alternate First Meeting, Angst, Drama, Homophobia, Bisexuality, Technology, Humour, Romance, Near Future, Happy Ending) – The System puts people through a series of assigned relationships in order to determine who their Perfect Match is. John believes that it works; Sherlock really, really doesn't. One of them is probably going to be wrong.

Fluff: A Lifetime Together by LondonGypsy (M, 8,886 w., 1 Ch. || Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Falling in Love, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Pining Idiots, Alternating POVs, Domestics, Retirement) – John and Sherlock falling in love.

Gen: Octopus by glass_rose_paperweight (G, 705 w., 1 Ch. || Established Relationship, Fluff, Bed Sharing, Limpet Sherlock) – A week after Sherlock and John finally get together, and John is finding sharing a bed with Sherlock Holmes to be ... difficult, sometimes. If not downright suffocating.

Genderswap: Cockscomb by birdie7272 (E, 115,302 w., 32 Ch. || Femlock / Gender Swap || Light Dom / Sub, Sensual Play, Cocks, Lace, Safe Words, Pining Sherlock, Case Fic, Truth or Dare, Slow Burn, Feminism, Relationships, Sexuality Crisis, Cheating, Power Play, Manipulation, Control) – Lace, whiskey, and a case full of cocks leads to a brand new kind of adventure. AKA The One With All The Cocks… When There Are No Cocks (MFL)

Historical: Enigma by khorazir (M, 289,667 w., 23 Ch. || Codebreaker / WWII / Imitation Game-Inspired AU || Case Fic, Espionage, Period-Typical Homophobia / Sexism, Pining Sherlock, Inexperienced / Virgin Sherlock, Implied / Referenced Drug Use, Non-Graphic Violence) – It’s the autumn of 1941, war is raging in Europe, German U-boats are raiding Allied convoys in the Atlantic, the Luftwaffe is bombing English cities, and the cryptographers at Bletchley Park are working feverishly to decode their enemies' encrypted communications. One should consider this challenge and distraction enough for capricious codebreaker Sherlock Holmes. But the true enigmas are yet waiting to be deciphered: an unbreakable code, a strange murder, and the arrival of Surgeon Captain John H. Watson of the Royal Navy. (MFL)

Humour: Equine Arse Anonymity by Kayjaykayme (E, 3,834 w., 1 Ch. || Established Relationship, Public Sex, Coming in Pants, Humour, Halloween, Hand Jobs) – Sherlock needs to speak with suspects at a fancy dress ball. He chooses a couple's costume for himself and John. It is logical, practical and well thought out. John doesn't agree and exacts sweet revenge.

Illness: Only To Be With You by SinceWhenDoYouCallMe_John (M, 40,768 w., 4 Ch. || Black Mirror / Future AU || Character Death, Future Technology, Sickness/Cancer/Illness, Heavy Angst with Happy Ending, First Person POV John, Pining John, Heart-Wrenching Angst, Promise of Forever) – I tell myself that next time I’ll come near this same place again. Wait around for the mysterious stranger in his coat to dash past me, hot on the heels of a new criminal in black. I think this all the way back to my Exit, planning where I’ll wait and what I’ll say when I see him. Scheming on how to get his name. It’s only once I reach the Exit Point door that I realize two hours and forty-five minutes have passed, and I realize that this won’t be the last time I Visit. It won’t be the last time at all.

Imprisonment: THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE OF JOHN WATSON by skyefullofstars (T, 110,758 w., 24 Ch. || Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Angst, Violence, Whump, Nightmares, Murder, Drug Addiction, Torture) – While Sherlock grapples with his new-found feelings for John Watson, he faces a very real threat: John's kidnapping and shooting at the hands of James Moriarty. And the knowledge that the love of his life is being used to test an addictive drug - at the risk of John's sanity and life. Prequel to THE BOYS OF BAKER STREET. Part 1 of THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE OF JOHN WATSON

Jealousy: The High Tide Series by stardust_made (E, 15,269 w. across 3 works || OMC, Angst, Jealousy, Developing Relationship, First Time, Romance) – A little favour Sherlock stupidly agrees to do for Mycroft leads to John meeting a handsome, afluent man, who is going out of his way to woo him. Sherlock struggles with the situation and with his own reactions to it.

Jilted: Love Is Series by SilentAuror (E, 36,903 w. across 2 works || Post S3, Alternating POV Each Story, Angst, Unrequited Love, Rejection then Reconciliation, Romance, Mary Divorce, Eventual Happy Ending) – At Mrs Hudson's urging, Sherlock finally decides to tell John how he feels about him.

Kids: The Baker Street Nativity by SwissMiss (E, 99,662 w., 23 Ch. || Nativity! AU || Teacher Sherlock / TA John, Pining, Sherlock POV, UST, Angst, Christmas, Music/Song Fic, Anal / BJ’s, First Kiss / Time) –Fusion between Sherlock (BBC) and Nativity! (2009 movie starring Martin Freeman). Sherlock is a primary school teacher and John is assigned to be his classroom assistant. Together, they are charged with putting on the school's Nativity play. What could possibly go wrong? Part 1 of The Baker Street Nativity Verse

Kink: John and Sherlock's Kinky First Times Series by wendymarlowe (E, 247,051+ w. across 45 works || Series WiP || Short Stories, Assorted Tags with Assorted Genres, PWP) – A collection of short imaginings of how Sherlock and John might finally allow their relationship to become physical. Don't be afraid of the giant cloud of tags - each fic stands alone and you can read them in any order.

Long: Free Falling by twistedthicket1 (M, 203,574 w., 38 Ch. || Guardian Angels AU || Guardian Angel John, Fluff and Angst, Humour, Kidlock / Teenlock, Light Mystrade, Passage of Time, Possessive John, Drug Use / Overdose, Victor Trevor, Graphic Bullying, Big Brother Mycroft, Hard Drug Use, Depression, Possessive Sherlock, Possessive John, Panic Attacks, Nightmares/PTSD, Pining, Healing Abilities, Kidnapping, Violence, Torture, Blow Jobs, Virgin John, Emotional Development / Attachment, Mortality, Happy Ending) – All Guardian angels are born with a Chosen human. When this child is born, the angel comes into being to protect and care for them during their life on Earth. For John Watson, all he cares about in the world revolves around his Chosen, Sherlock Holmes. Watching him grow up though, the angel soon learns that God must have had a sense of humour the day he decided to make Sherlock, as trouble seems to follow him like a magnet wherever he goes. John can't decide what's worse, the idea of losing his Chosen one, or the fact that he may be breaking the most taboo law of heaven as he disguises himself as a human to better protect and befriend the beloved detective he's always watched from afar. He was meant to care for him. But what happens when caring evolves into something more? What happens when an emotion an angel is supposed to be incapable of possessing comes to life suddenly and viciously inside John's chest? 

Love Triangle: Isosceles by SilentAuror (E, 56,609 w., 7 Ch. || Post-S4, POV John, Original Male Character / Sherlock Dates Another Man, Love Triangle, Jealous John, Virgin Sherlock, Sexual Coaching, Angst, Romance, Domesticity, Unrequited Feelings, Miscommunication, First Kiss/Time, For a Case, Friends With Benefits, Bottomlock, Love Confessions, Spooning) – After solving a case for a major celebrity, Sherlock gets himself asked out. When John asks, he discovers that Sherlock has no intention of going, at least not until John agrees to coach him through whatever he might need to know for his date...

Magical Realism: The Frost Child by twistedthicket1 (M, 9,994 w., 2 Ch. || Frozen-ish AU || Magical Realism, Christmas, Angst, Fluff, Powerful John) – In a world where people are born with a Gift of varying levels, simple John Watson is the last person one might look at when thinking of any strong Magick capabilities. Hiding comfortably in the shadow of Sherlock's brilliant deducing abilities, John is content to keep it that way...

Major Character Death: I Think I've Come A Long Long Way To Sit Before You Here Today by ArwenKenobi (T, 18,251 w., 3 Ch. || Grief/Mourning, Passage of Time, Major Character Death, Alternating POV, Sherlock Whump, Pining Sherlock, Hospitalization, Coma, Revenge Murders, Hallucinations, Love Confessions, Brutal Accident, Mystrade, Ghost John) – One year after John is killed Sherlock starts to wonder whether John has actually gone anywhere.

NSFW: Caves in the Mountains Are Seldom Unoccupied by starrysummernights & TheMadKatter13 (E, 7,925 w., 1 Ch. || Were-Creatures ||  Werebear John, Pseudo Bestiality, Rimming, Dub Con, Rough Sex, Come Inflation / Eating, Size Kink, PWP, Bratty Sherlock, Rutting) – “This isn’t something to play at, Sherlock,” he snapped. “If it doesn’t work out- what you’re asking of me- we can’t shrug and say 'oh well, at least we tried'. If we do this… I could seriously hurt you. Do you understand? I could lose control. I could… I could kill you.” 

Next Gen.: If Equal Affection Cannot Be by blueink3 (E, 31,156 w., 3 Ch. || Post S4, Family, Retirement, Grown Up Rosie, Angst, Reunion, Loneliness, Sussex, Fluff, Sexy Times, Happy Ending) – Sherlock fled London a couple of years after John left him in hospital with nothing but an old walking stick and a half-hearted goodbye. Rosie grew up thinking that Sherlock died when he committed suicide in front of her father by jumping from Barts' roof. So it's somewhat awkward when they run into each other in a Sussex general store between the loaves of bread and the Mars bars... (MFL)

Omegaverse: A Fold in the Universe by darkest_bird (E, 152,869 w., 26 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Omegaverse / Prime Universe Crossover || OmegaJohn / AlphaSherlock, First Kiss / Time, Friends to Lovers, Established Relationship, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Dubious Consent, Humour) – Alpha Sherlock and Omega John are in a relationship. Prime Sherlock and Prime John are not. So what happens when a freak fold in the universe switches one John for the other?

Only One Bed: The Cure for Snoring by Goddess_of_the_Night (G, 1,278 w., 1 Ch. || Sleepy Conversations, Bed Sharing, Cuddling, Fluff, Domestic, Platonic / Sleepy Cuddles) – Sherlock and John spend the night in Scotland after finishing a case. The sole Inn in town only has one room left...one bed. This would be fine - if not a bit awkward - if Sherlock hadn't developed a habit of snoring loudly. John suffers through many hours of sleeplessness before he discovers that skin-to-skin contact stops the noise. Part 1 of Dreamscapes

Parenthood: Iris by slashscribe (E, 11,948 w., 1 Ch. || Parentlock, Pining Sherlock, Post-S3) – Sherlock does his best to make John happy when John comes back to 221B with his new baby after the events of Season 3, but Sherlock has a track record of getting things wrong in this area. This story is an exploration of their gradual shift from friends to lovers, told from Sherlock's perspective, full of a lot of pining and lack of emotional awareness.

Platonic: The Green Blade by verityburns (T, 72,929 w., 15 Ch. || Case Fic, Bromance) – As a serial killer hits the headlines, the police are out of their depth and the next victim is out of time. With faith in Sherlock Holmes at an all time low, this is a case which will push loyalties to the limit...

Queer: Rupert Street by WritingOutLoud (M, 27,262 w., 9 Ch. || Alternate First Meeting || Case Fic, Sexuality, Demisexual Sherlock, Drugging, Smart John, Sherlock Has Internalized Biphobia, Fluff, Angst with Happy Ending, Gay Bar, Flirting, John Manipulates Sherlock to Eat, John Deduces, Arguments, Kidnapping/Torture, Hospitalization, John Whump) – Discharged from the war with nothing but the clothes on his back and a realisation of his bisexuality, John Watson has to learn who he’s become. He can’t afford London on an army pension, but the city is the only friend he has. In an effort to understand his newfound queer identity, he heads to a bar one night, where he stumbles across a mysterious stranger who turns his life upside down. ‘I dug around inside myself, and I'm not quite sure what I found, but it was beautiful and terrifying all at the same time.’

Quest: Licence to Kiss by fellshish (T, 13,739 w., 4 Ch. || Post-ASIB, Sort-Of Bondlock, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Mutual Pining, Angst and Humour, Bed Sharing) – Sherlock loves John, and John loves... James Bond. He only made Sherlock watch every single film. Tedious. And now John's birthday is coming up. Sherlock can't tell him how he feels, but he can organise an amazing gift: John's very own spy adventure. Sherlock begs Mycroft for a real case with some extra gadgets. And perhaps some actors pretending to be criminals. What could possibly go wrong?

Retirement: Through the Clouds by Mazarin221b (E, 20,004 w., 6 Ch. || Retirement, Sussex, Bees, Home Improvement, First Time, Romance) – Sherlock takes a remarkably early retirement at 47, and convinces John that a change of pace would do them both good. They buy an old cottage on the South Downs, and exchange their nonstop life in Baker Street for quiet contemplation, bee studies, and book writing. They might go completely insane, but sometimes it takes stepping outside of the life you're living to find the life you want. Part 1 of Through The Clouds

Road Trip: Hitting the Water at Sixty Miles an Hour by what_alchemy (E, 30,568 w., 5 Ch. || Fake Rel., Road Trips, Slow Burn, Mummy Holmes) – “You love your mother, Sherlock?” John watched the muscles in Sherlock’s jaw jump. He nodded in one sharp jerk. “Then we’re going to her party and making her happy.” John let out a resigned sigh. “As a ruddy couple, you bastard.”

Soulmates: The Heart On Your Sleeve by flawedamythyst (T, 5,441 w., 1 Ch. || Soulmate AU || Sherlock POV, Heartmarks, Pining, Fluff and Angst, Semi-S1 / S2 Canon Compliant, Reunion) – Sherlock stared at the imperfect circle on his left wrist in horror, then sat down on his bed with a bit of a thump. After over thirty years, his heartmark was finally showing activity. This was not good.

Slow Burn: Tomorrow's Song by agirlsname (M, 24,645 w., 5 Ch. || Post-TRF, POV Sherlock, Angst with a Happy Ending, Virgin / Repressed Sherlock, Love Confessions, Slow Burn, Pining, Jealous Sherlock) – How can he think a relationship with me would be a good idea? I am the sort of person to take a break from my life and when I come back after two years, I expect to find it exactly as I left it. In reality I find it shattered to pieces. (I actually equate you with my life. When did I start doing that?)

Teen AU: The Sky is Full of Fiddles by agirlsname (T, 25,659 w., 6 Ch. || 1895 Teenlock || Romantic Fluff, Bed Sharing, Swedish Folk Music, Dancing, Sherlock’s Violin, Poetry, Skinny Dipping, Summer Love, First Kiss, Proposals, POV John, Gay Surprise) – It's 1895 in the heart of Swedish folk music and dance. During certain weekends, boys are allowed to visit girls at night, wooing them with fantastical poems. If a girl lets a boy into her room they can share a bed all night, fully clothed, to talk and eat caramels together. John is seventeen and looking for a girl to marry like everyone else. He's very surprised when another boy suddenly stands outside his door, wanting to share his bed… (MFL)

Time Travel: The Engine by stitchy (T, 8,294 w., 1 Ch. || First Kiss, Post-HLV, ASiP Do-Over, Sci-Fi, Time Travel) – Shortly after the events of His Last Vow, Sherlock has an opportunity to revisit the night of A Study in Pink and get some perspective on the destiny of he and John's relationship.

Undercover: The Skin Over My Heart by standbygo (E, 8,849 w., 1 Ch. || Post-Hiatus, Fake Relationship, Case Fic, Dog Tags, Military, Homophobia, Gay Bashing, POV First Person Sherlock, Friends to Lovers, First Kiss / Time, Declarations of Love, Undercover, Haircuts, Flashbacks, Touching, Pining Sherlock, Hospitalization, Metaphors, Introspection, Hand Jobs, On the Couch, John’s Past, Angst with Happy Ending) – Sherlock and John are still trying to adjust to Sherlock's return from his hiatus when John's friend Bill Murray brings them a case. Someone is targeting the LGBTQA+ members of Bill's unit. John and Sherlock go undercover at the unit, but when they end up having to flirt to flush out the suspect, Sherlock realizes he's in over his head.

Unrequited: Love Is Series by SilentAuror (E, 36,903 w. across 2 works || Post S3, Alternating POV Each Story, Angst, Unrequited Love, Rejection then Reconciliation, Romance, Mary Divorce, Eventual Happy Ending) – At Mrs Hudson's urging, Sherlock finally decides to tell John how he feels about him.

Vampires: Bleed Me Out by antietamfalls (E, 87,987 w., 14 Ch. || Vampire AU || Bonding, Vampire Sherlock, Fluff & Angst, Hurt/Comfort, John Whump, Magical Realism) – John isn’t exactly surprised to discover that Sherlock isn't human. His vampirism doesn't pose a problem, even when their relationship gradually grows into something more. That is, until a deadly revelation about John’s blood sends their lives spinning dangerously out of control.

Villain POV: Genesis by pasiphile (M, 19,521 w., 1 Ch. || Graphic Violence, Moriarty’s Past) – Before he was Jim Moriarty, he was just Jimmy, a street kid with more pain in his past and more ambition in his head than he could handle, and only one other person he could bring himself to trust. Part 6 of This Life Is A Trip (When You're Psycho In Love) (MFL)

Whump: Trapped and Upside Down on the M6 by BootsnBlossoms (E, 4,256 w., 1 Ch. || Whump, Car Accident, Hurt / Comfort) – Everything felt wrong. His hair was going the wrong way. His arms were bent in ways he wouldn’t choose to bend them. His neck hurt and he couldn’t really feel his toes. Something was dripping on his face – and rolling up. A car crash. He had been in a car crash.

Werewolves: John Watson’s Moon by patternofdefiance (E, 11,314 w., 1 Ch. || Supernatural Creatures || Werewolf John, First Time, BAMF John, First Time, Anal, Fleeting Depictions of Violence) – Sherlock finds out John is a werewolf and wants to see the transformation. It, uh, gets really kinky.

Xenomorphism: Forest King by Elphen (E, 141,856 w., 27 Ch. || Magical Realism / Omegaverse AU || Mythical Creatures, Group Sex, Body Worship, Drinking / Impairment, Dubious Consent, Anal Fingering/Sex, Transformations / Shapeshifting, Mpreg, BAMF John, Possessive Sherlock, Celtic Mythology, Paganism, Sherlock’s Violin, Frottage, Illnesses, Caring Sherlock, Netherworld/Underworld, Coping Mechanisms, Paternal Lestrade, Defensive John, Big Brother Mycroft, Insecurity, Self-Esteem Issues, Misunderstandings, Mild Jealousy, Pregnant Sex, Male Lactation, Birthing, Emotional Support, Parenthood, Family History) – After falling out with his sister, John ends up in a Cornwall Midsummer’s Eve celebration in the middle of a forest that’s rather…different. After the hazy night of magic and passion with a pale-eyed man, he goes home to London. He’s in for a surprise when his stomach starts growing and buds appears on his head. Not one to just accept things, he returns to Cornwall to demand an explanation. When he meets the forest king, Sherlock, again, he has to come to terms with not only what’s happened to him but what kind of magical world he’s been thrust into. Plus, there’s the questions of whether he trusts the antlered man and how he'll survive being apparently pregnant. Sherlock isn’t much help. That doesn’t mean he isn’t trying to somehow make John understand his feelings, however, even if he’s greatly hampered by being Sherlock. They slowly move forward but problems beyond their control may arise from an act done with the best of intentions. How will they cope, separately and together? (MFL)

Xmas: Our Enthusiasms Which Cannot Always Be Explained by withoutawish (M, 32,961 w., 1 Ch. || Christmas, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Post-TRF, Case Fic, Mild Gore, Sherlock Whump) – The list that is tacked haphazardly on the refrigerator of 221B reads, ‘Kidney(s), and/or a full cadaver (preferably male, late 30s, under six feet tall), bag of fresh toes, sixteen cow’s eyes (corneas retained), dual exhaust hand –held flame thrower, an unopened first edition copy of Joseph Conrad’s 'Heart of Darkness', and no less than ten abhorrently gruesome murders in the upcoming month.” The one neatly hanging next to it simply reads, “Sex.” One of these lists is not John Watson’s. If John Watson were to put what he really wanted in list form, to live in a land somewhere beyond ‘almosts' now that Sherlock Holmes has indeed returned to him, he would never be able to look his flatmate in the eye ever again.

Zombies: The Hollow Ones by antietamfalls (M, 100,244 w., 23 Ch. || Walking Dead Fusion || Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Slow Build, Emotional Constipation, Protective John, Hurt/Comfort) – The dead walk. Mangled corpses of the deceased rise and mindlessly feast upon the flesh of the living. John wakes up, alone and confused, into the remnants of a city gone mad. He will search for answers. He will find Sherlock at any cost. And he will learn that the living are far more dangerous than the dead. (MFL)

Zoomorphism: How to Build a Heart out of Ashes by Teumessian (E, 144,931 w., 31 Ch. || Changeling AU || Slow Burn, Drug Use, Mentions of Child Abuse / Bullying, Mentions of Student/Teacher Relations, Uni-Age) – In an AU where a small number of the population become Changelings at a young age, at 17 John Watson believes he's destined for Normal life but then the Change takes him and he is sent to the Baker Institute. There he meets Sherlock Holmes.

[delulu247baby]

Uhh so this was supposed to be just a short post about how Basil is kind of the start to everything that happens pregame, and Kel is the one that starts everything during the game and also post-game to if you thing about it. Anyway, it kind of derailed into a short cactiflower analysis. So uh. Enjoy cactiflower shippers??? As someone who has never really been interested in them at all/had at the bottom of my ship list until this moment???

No, because why is no one talking about how kel & Basil are literally the cause and effect to everything.

Basil is the one that staged Mari's dead.

Which led to hero having MDD/Clinical depression and staying in bed for an entire year.

Which led to Sunny staying inside for 4 years and having Dissociative amnesia.

Which led to Aubrey lashing out and and becoming a delinquent

Which led to Basil eating literally himself alive with guilt & regret.

Which led to Mari being six feet under.

Which led Kel to be the one to pick up the pieces.

Which led to Kel being the one to get hero out of bed

Which led to Kel with his persistence, getting Sunny out of his house.

Which led to kel to understand Aubrey better. And understand his mistakes.

Which led to Kel probably being the one to save Basil from not only killing himself but possibly from killing Sunny to.

Which led to Sunny finally, being able to tell the truth. Which just couldn't have happened and probably never would have if it weren't for Kel. The others would have never found out that it was never Mari who chose to do it. That it was never Hero's fault it happened. That it was never Aubrey's fault it happened. That it was never KEL'S fault it happened. But a horrible, horrible accident that could've been prevented so much hurt, and so much pain, if the person that was there to witness it, the person that despite being a nervous wreck, was so full of love and care that it was overwhelming. Decided to call for help instead of giving in to the possessive need to protect his best friend, from any sort of discipline or anger and hate from others.

The cause and the effect.

The problem and the solution.

The anti-villain(did a bad, horrible & horrific thing to someone they loved, in the want to protect the person they love most.) & the anti-hero(did so many good, positive & amazing things, in the face of toxic positivity and accidental ignorance to the problems of others).

The flower(something so soft, fragile, beautiful and caring, something so full of love and yet something that can be so incredibly toxic and harmful and deadly.) And the cactus, (something sturdy, stubborn and resilient, something that helps not only you but itself survive in the worst of places & circumstances. And yet it's something you have to hurt yourself and the cactus just to get.)

Foil characters to each other, and yet, at the same time, Mirror characters to each other.

Basil and Kel. What a character to a character.

For a long time, they used to be my least favorite dynamic out of all of the Omori out of all the other dynamics the main 6 had, mainly because there just wasn't enough content of them interacting one on one, like, them having similar interests, having deep conversations, having moments where it was just the 2 of them, unlike the rest of the main characters. so there just wasn't enough for me to get interested in them in terms of a romanticship, QPR, or a friendship in general. And don't get me wrong, I was trying to look for other people that have analyzed them, or that ship them and their reasons why, but I just haven't really found anything so it just kind of left me to my own thoughts. And then boom. They're not only foils character to each other, but also mirror characters to each other. Character is so incredibly similar and yet so incredibly different

Confidence vs Anxiousness.

Extroverted vs Introverted.

Loud and outgoing Vs Quiet and softspoken.

And yet at the same time they're both

Kind. Compassionate. Understanding. Prone to worry. They both have a love of nature. Bugs and plans respectively. With a shared love of trees. A shared love of nostalgia. A shared love for memory. And a shared sense of justice. The only difference with that last one is that one view is more screwed and warped then the other.

Like oh my God. Why isn't there more content of them in canon. There should be more content of them. The idea around these 2 being the literal reason, the game even exists. The game wouldn't exist without Basil's interference. The game also wouldn't exist without Kel being the one to knock on your door. They are literally foil characters and mirror characters at the same time.

[alanshee-keeper-of-realms]

Okay Ninjago hell(affectionate) has dragged me back by my ankles because I had a really sad but cute idea for Pixal and Zane post Merge

Pixal is in a similar situation to Jay meaning that she has amnesia she didn't have amnesia to begin with but due to an accident in which she fell and hit her head when she was journeying back she woke up with absolutely no memory,

Wandering for a bit more before she came across Akitas Village, the woman thought it was weird and that she looked familiar but remember Akita has never met Pixal before, this was only two three years into the post-merge

Akita eventually decides to venture out with word of the Ninjas return when they are home at one point at the monastery she manages to catch Lloyd reunite Etc however she spots a photo taped onto the broom and stops dead in her tracks

Because that's the woman they rescued years ago with no memory Zane almost can't believe it when Akita says I know who that is We rescued her from a forest 5 or 6 years ago now, she had no memory and we do not know why only that she was lost afraid and alone we thought she was one of the merged Realms people.

So they immediately of course go to the Village and there she is but it's soon found out that she will never recall her memories the damage to the memory Center was so great that it's basically like starting from the ground up,

However Zane being Zane and still loving her with everything takes this in stride, choosing to stay in the Village so he can build up their relationship again,

And over time it's just this cute fluffy there's something familiar about you and I'm interested playfulness between them as slowly they fall for each other again,

[loveyou3000mylove]

Prompts, Tropes and Ideas series

thy should see

the reader/protagonist doesnt  relise they are falling in love with s/o\other character

Works best for fics where they have powers or something....

IDEA

Example:

1.Y/n subconsciously smiled when Damian pinned Beast boy, effortlessly winning the sparring battle. Rolling her eyes when Damian moved toward her in a 'cocky' scowl "'Didn't take you for a smiler Miss. L/n" Damian spoke, with a raised brow  ''I'm not, obviously? l was just thinking of how easily l could pin you.'' She replied with a smirk, a hint of challenge in her voice.

IDEA

2. Soulmate AU (where the soulbond is when ever the other touchs the other it leaves an imprint)

Prompt list

Angst⁂ 

Fluff⌂

 Hurt/Comfort⌁ 

(^^THESE ARE JUST SUGGESTIONS^^)

001: "I hate you so much, but I can't love anyone more." ⌁

002: "How could Cupid be so cruel."⁂

003: You love them, but they don't notice you.⌁

004: I got love to spend but I can't get the chance, I hope they don't mean what they say but I keep seeing them sticking around like they can't get enough so I stay.⌂

005: Reader has closed walls but can't help but blush and stutter at they're advances.⌂

006: "We are not the same, yet we aren't opposites either."⌁

007: "I guess am a bit lonely?"⌂

008: "The curse of the third date, relationships don't last long, so good luck."⌁

009: "I long for you, you complete me."⁂

010: "Pizza after? My treat." "Yea, would love too."⌂

011: "What would I do without your smartass"⌂

012: "Your fine, am fine, we're fine"⁂

013: "You don't deserve her/him, no one does."⌁

014: "Stop tormenting me, I can't get you out of my mind."⌁

015: "You're a distraction I can't ignore."⌁

016: "No one is ever taking you, away from me"⌁

017: "You should've left" "Why" "Everyone else did"

018: "I think I love them" "Took you awhile"

019: "Am not her! Okay, so stop acting like it, stop calling me the wrong name....just be with me, your (y/n)...me"

020: "I had a friend once" "Wht happened?"

021: "I was inlove with you....I am inlove with you"

022: "Can't remember the last time you looked at me like that...why do you do this to me"

Tropes

001: Enemy to Lovers

002: Strangers to Friends

003: Best friends to lovers

004: Couple to Enemies to Lovers

005: Online Friends to Lovers

006: Forbidden Love

007: Unrealistic crush to Lovers (limerence)

008: Boss x Newbie

009: Rival Bands

010: Pen Pals to lovers

011: Platonic Soulmates to Romantic Soulmates

012: Older x Younger (very large gap- 6+ years)

013: Amnesia sufferer x hopelessly in love

014: Side character x side character

015: MC x bestfriend side character

[jadoue1999]

Kaleidoscope

Next parts: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, Chapter 22

Summary: Grief is a fickle thing. How do you cope with the reality that your child isn't your child? What happens when the mask is lifted and you see him for who he is? The Kaplans try to deal with that exact scenario.

Chapter 10: El Maleh Rachamim

There is a boy in front of her, a boy that isn’t hers.

He was William moments ago but now he looks completely different.

He is a different boy who appeared in a made up trial constructed on a Road made up by that very same boy.

Rebecca has spent years fighting down the quiet voice inside of her telling her that her boy hadn’t survived the accident. That somehow, the boy living with them wasn’t William. It makes sense now, it wasn’t just amnesia that completely changed their son, it was a different person altogether. She had noticed that her son was different, certain times it felt like he could read her mind; he always knew what to say whenever she lost herself in reminiscing about times he didn’t remember. William had forgotten absolutely everything, but he had relearned certain things quickly too. Namely, his schoolwork and their religion. He had relearned so quickly in fact, she had truly believed that it was because his faith had prevailed the amnesia, that or his desire to connect with their community. She still isn’t sure if it wasn’t what had happened, she doesn’t know what to believe about this boy she just learned so much about in the last 24 hours. He had kept his enthusiasm for anything magical and William had fallen back into the rhythm of their little community, even recognizing a few people along the way. She wonders now if that information had been plucked directly from their minds. How often had he relied on it like a crutch to sail through life relatively smoothly?

Rebecca can see how panicked the boy is and she wants to help him, but it feels like her feet are cemented to the ground. She watches Agatha calm down the boy, keeping his magic from exploding, and she remembers the way the woman had confessed that he had reminded her of her son. Agatha is a monster, there is no doubt about it, but it seems that she does have some compassion. Once the boy has calmed down, Rebecca watches him read the riddle and she knows she should get involved; they have to get through this test and he can’t do it alone.

But she is so very scared.

She hadn’t wanted to face that her William was gone, and she still doesn’t want to face the truth. She walks over to him and it pains her to get too close, so she stays behind. Jeff and Eddie surprisingly do the same, it seems as though they’re all having a hard time with seeing what William actually looks like. The boy’s body is tense and she knows him enough to see that he’s hiding how hurt he feels.

That gives her the boost she needs to push through her feelings. She clears her throat as he starts to walk away. He looks both terrified and resigned, what is going through his mind?

She takes a deep breath. “Would you prefer to be called Billy?”

Agatha had been calling him Billy since the beginning, his true name according to how he came to be. She sees him hesitating, and nervously chewing on his lips. Despite the different body, she recognizes this habit from the boy she’s been raising for 3 years. 

“... I don’t know,” he answers, struggling to look at her in the eyes. 

They’re interrupted by Agatha loudly clapping. “I get how awkward this is, but we have a trial to solve. How about we talk after we’re safely back on the Road?”

Everyone agrees and they start looking around for clues. Rebecca notices how they’ve unconsciously split into two groups, she, Jeff and Eddie are on one side of the room while Agatha and William (Billy?) are on the other. The room is surprisingly bare, even more than the parking lot. Other than the few candelabra, candles and covered mirrors, she has no idea what they’re supposed to find. She’s about to give up when Agatha speaks up.

“There’s a summoning circle on the floor.”

She doesn’t know what a real summoning circle is supposed to look like, but there is a large circle encasing a pentagram in the pattern of the linoleum floor. She’s fairly sure it wasn’t there before. 

“And we have a bunch of candles already,” says Agatha, pointing at the table. “Billy, you think you can handle this part?”

The teenager shrugs. “I guess.”

“Oh come on, Teen!” Groans the woman. “We have to survive this, now’s not the time to be down.”

“Fine,” he sighs. “What do I have to do?”

“Everyone on one point of the star, we’re going to do some witchcraft!” Agatha looks way too enthused for the current energy of the room.

She shares a look with her husband, who seems just as hesitant as she is. Eddie has his hands on his hips, clearly unsure about what they’re about to do. They nonetheless have no choice, so she goes to stand by the point closest to the door while Jeff goes to her left and William goes to her right. After placing the candles around the edges of the circle, Agatha stands next to Billy and Eddie is on her right. 

“Okay kid, think you have a good summoning spell in your book?”

The teenager fishes out his notebook, flipping through the pages before sighing. “What kind of summoning spell am I even looking for?”

“Stop complicating everything, just let your magick do the job,” explains the woman. “You created all this, you know how to get us out.”

Rebecca is lost, she has learned that magic was real only a day ago, and that William was the son of a crazy powerful witch that can bend reality. She’s also learned that Agatha planned to keep him indefinitely because she… fed on magic? She still wasn’t sure about that. She knows about summoning spells from movies they’ve watched. William was a big fan of the Craft and Buffy the Vampire Slayer; she knows about fictional magic. But she has no idea what the real deal is supposed to be. The teen is trying to flip through the pages of his book without letting go of their hands, but it quickly becomes apparent that he can’t do it without his hands.

That seems to annoy Agatha. “Can’t you just levitate it? We can’t let go of our hands.”

With a sigh, he closes his eyes and a soft blue glow surrounds his book and floats in front of him. He opens his eyes and his eyes briefly shine with pride before he turns to the woman. “What now?”

“Think of the riddle in the book, summon whatever is missing.”

He closes his eyes again and Rebecca watches as the pages start flipping. This is crazy. Sure, the world had been going off the rails for a few years, but this is the craziest thing she’s seen so far. Finally, the pages stop turning and William opens his eyes.

“Vocare quod absentis,” he recites, brow furrowing in concentration. “Vocare quod absentis.”

The previously still air starts to vibrate around them as he continues reciting; the fluorescent lights start flickering at the same moment that the candles do. The energy around them is electric and she has to look at her husband to make sure she’s not hallucinating it. Jeff looks just as stunned as she is. The tension in the air climbs until the lights go out for a second. The darkness only lasts for a moment, but when the room is lit again, nothing seems different. That is until her eyes are drawn to the floor. 

There, in the middle of the circle, is a body.

It’s wrapped in a white shawl from head to toe, but the size tells her that it’s not an adult. The group stare at the body in stunned silence, she doesn’t know what they’re supposed to do with that, how is it supposed to help them? The teenager puts away his book and gulps nervously. 

“What now?” He asks quietly. 

Agatha looks back at the book and then at the figure on the ground. “‘Uncover the past’,” she murmurs. “We have to unwrap the body.”

“No!” She and Jeff yells in unison. “This is sacrilegious, we can’t— we can’t do that!”

“Do you want to pass this trial?”

This is a ridiculous question. “Of course but—”

“Then we have to do this.” 

The woman is serious, there is no hesitation in her voice. Rebecca glances at her husband, who looks just as unsure as she feels. Something in her guts tells her that she won’t like what she finds, but the alternative is death. She’s snapped out of her thoughts by a gasp. She glances down at the ground and her breath hitches.

The body is bleeding.

Without thinking, she kneels down and begin unwrapping the fabric. Rebecca’s heart sinks when she sees black curls and she fully recoils at the sight of her little boy, 13 years old and covered in blood. William looks identical to what he looked like when they had the accident. Jeff is immediately at her side, a hand muffling his sob while his other one is wrapped around her shoulders. With trembling fingers, she cups her baby’s face, it’s cold and wet with blood and it’s at that very same moment that she bursts into tears. She can’t control herself, it’s like all the grief she’s accumulated over the years paired with the reality that her son is well and truly gone finally breaks the dam. Loud ugly sobs rips from her throat and she doesn’t care how pathetic she looks or sounds. Jeff holds her through her breakdown and she can feel the way his shoulders also shake with silent sobs. 

When her sobbing finally dies down to silent tears, she turns to the group. Eddie is crouched down, lips pressed tightly together and his hands are balled into a fist under his chin. He looks sad and conflicted. Agatha for her part looks sympathetic, if Rebecca hadn’t known that she was once a mother she would definitely know now. The woman has moved the veil from her head to act like a shawl, and she wraps it tight around herself. Her eyes flicker between the body on the ground and well… Billy. Rebecca can’t bring herself to look at him at first, not with William right in front of her. Eventually though, concerns for the boy she nonetheless raised for 3 years makes her able to check on him. He’s worryingly still, she barely sees him breathe. He’s not looking at her, or at anyone else, his eyes are fixed on the floor. The only sign of how much this is affecting him is how tightly clenched his fists are. 

Rebecca looks at her little boy on the floor and at the teenager who doesn’t look anything like him. She looks at her husband, whose bright eyes are uncharastically dull. She moves away from the body on the floor to let him go see their son. Jeff gently cradles William’s pale face, uncaring of the blood staining his fingers. He talks to the boy, whispering apologies about not being able to save him. Rebecca can’t stop the tears streaking down her cheeks and she can’t tear her eyes away from her son. She’s haunted by the sight of her son now that she knows that he died that day. She thinks of how lost he was, how they had tried so hard to help him remember memories he never would because William was dead.

Because their son never made it home.

Her thoughts are interrupted by a whimper, and she turns to the teenager, whose face is twisted in pain. At first she’s confused but then it hits her… He’d heard her thoughts hadn’t he? 

“I’m sorry,” he sobs.

Even though he’s not William, her heart breaks all the same, she recognizes the way his shoulders hunch and the way his fingers are trying to fidget rings that aren’t there at the moment. She feels her husband straighten up, his body tense with the exact dilemma she’s also going through. William is gone, has been gone for years, and they now have to decide if they accept the boy that remains as theirs.

In the end, there’s no real decision to make.

“Come here, buddy,” says Jeff, extending an arm towards him.

Billy practically launches himself in their open and awaiting arms and sobs loudly in their shoulders. When he’s this hysterical, she knows they just have to let him cry it out until he can form words again. In the meantime, Rebecca rubs his back and she and Jeff try their best to soothe him. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he keeps apologizing. “I didn’t want to take your son’s place, I didn’t want to kill him.”

“You didn’t kill him,” quickly retorts Jeff. “I promise you didn’t.”

“You couldn’t grieve him for 3 years and I know how much effort it took you to go back to normal after the accident.” He inhales sharply. “If I hadn’t hijacked his body, if I had just died the way I was meant to—”

“Then we wouldn’t have gotten to know you,” Rebecca replies softly in his ear. “And we would have missed out on raising the nice young man that you are.” 

The teen buries himself further in the embrace and she and Jeff hold him tightly. She is vaguely aware of a door opening in the wall, signaling the end of the trial. They succeeded, they passed it, they faced the truth. Rebecca knows that they should get going, but Billy is still crying and she has a feeling that they'll be safe until he feels better. 

For now though, she hugs the boy that isn’t William but is their son all the same.

***

Note: This chapter is very special to me. This was the first trial I wrote and I can say that I'm very satisfied with the final result. I've been obsessed with the Kaplans and the fact that their son died and they will never know nor will they be able to grieve him ever since the show came out. I do believe that they would accept Billy as their son, but I wanted to focus on their grief. So far, they had the option to deny that William really was gone, but with Billy looking like WV Billy, they truly didn't have a choice but to face the truth. I hope I portrayed them well!

Taglist: @trampledore @hannah-0730 @fyregrl @lanfear-is-my-darkmistress @lover12345abcde @astronglywordeddm @tiredwitchmachine @lesbiifem @agathaallalongg @instantnoooodles

Comment if you want to be added!

Next time: Billy feels the aftermath of the Earth trial, mental and physical; so does his magic.

[bestfictionalplant]

Round 2 Group 6

Propaganda and spoilers under cut

Jumpkin:

It's a little guy :D More seriously, it's a monster. All monsters in Cassette Beasts can be "recorded" so you can turn into them! "A Jumpkin is a special monster created by smearing the goo from another monster, Jellyton, on a normal pumpkin. It's pretty much the only monster with this kind of capture method. Jumpkins are just funny little guys that, as their name implies, jump around! They have such zest for life. A jumpkin tape can be ""remastered"" into two other monsters, Beanstalker and Draculeaf."

Karzahni:

in the time before time, when the evil mayor impersonator makuta was planning his plan to get the little robot meat guys in their little memory-erasing containers and before he'd impersonated the mayor (i think; don't quote me; i am Not Good at the timeline) he was like "hey i should make a plant that will force these four-foot fuckers towards the big sports and politics stadium under threat of murder so i can easily get my bastard robot cops to force them into the amnesia balls" and then he made karzahni. who was too smart and cool and powerful. so he did not get deployed. he is named after the legendary Lego Hell and Lego Satan where Bad And Naughty Disabled Robots Go For "Repairs" And Never Return. it's expensive to copyright names. they had to double up on occasion. or triple up. or quadruple up. anyway so evil mayor impersonator who is also ANOTHER Lego Satan but that's besides the point, creates this plant. but the plant is too smart. so he puts it somewhere and forgets about it and makes the morbuzakh NEW PARAGRAPH anyway so basically most creatures in this universe are immortal bar murder and fucked-up circumstances. no old age, basically. but this plant has one, because Bionicle Satan (Not Karzahni) makes his shit with limited lifespans so they can't wait for ten thousand years gathering their power and then kill-murder him to death. six big robot meat superheroes fight a fucking big monster in a tunnel. the cool smart one who used to be a teacher gets poisoned. but because karzahni (plant) is so fucking cool it can make an antidote. and it holds the antidote hostage in exchange for Cool Oil, which is oil from the apocalypse planet where the robot meat guys' creators are from, but they fracked too hard and split the planet into three pieces so that's a bit fucked-up and yet besides the point. anyway they get the magic juice and give it to karzahni (plant). previously in the story (but later in the timeline; this is a TWO-YEAR FLASHBACK EPISODE BABY) some other robot meat superheroes took a dunk in this cool fucking water and got mega-boosted powers. super-superheroes. but that's because god exists and has predetermined what can happen in each individual's life. those guys got Good Results From Applied Goo. karzahni (plant) does not. it just fucking. dies. it is then chopped up to make some lorries float so they can take the amnesiac sphere guys up to a cool new island they found, because their old island got FUCKING WRECKED NEW PARAGRAPH anyway a cutting of karzahni survived (known as karzahni ii) with all the memories and shit of the real one and just sort of goes. FINE. i will join you, Lego Satan (not karzahni but the evil mayor impersonator) in gaslighting this mentally ill man into thinking he's short and his life is a lie in order to get the time travel device he made out of some magic fucking frisbees. karzahni took on the role of the morbuzakh. then the guy's like "this is bullshit" and gets thrown off a cliff but Karzahni II catches him and goes "hey. everything's alright. i tortured and killed a guy and he said you're doing good and everything is gonna be okay" and then the evil mayor impersonator (who by this point has not been impersonating the mayor for like. at least a week?) kills it. again. for real this time

[pendragon-of-chaos]

Hi do you still take requests if so I have one in mind.(basically angst with the happy ending)

So what if aruthur and y/n were like meliodas and Elizabeth except it was only y/n that got cursed and once he got his power of chaos he was able to lift the curse the only consequences is that she forgets her romantic feelings with him, until he finds something special in their memories that would help her remember and then they get married (the special thing would be maybe something like a necklace he gave her when they were kids)

Lol I have alot of ideas for aruthur but sometimes I just can't put it out right😅

I did these as headcanons since I thought I wouldn't be able to flesh out the idea well, but I'm now very proud of it! I think these headcanons can be a very good start if I ever want to make a xReader out of this (or anyone). I tried to do them in the most canon way to the series timeline and without altering the characters we know. Hope you like them!

Arthur and his S/O if they were cursed similar to Meliodas and Elizabeth

Since only Y/N is being cursed with Elizabeth's curse, and assuming Arthur is a human (and so he has the lifespan of one and can't resurrect, at least until having Chaos), I'm guessing Y/N had to be cursed after they met while being kids, but without passing too much time in between both events. If not, the timeline would be a little strange. (Arthur gets Chaos canonically very fast if you think about it, just 16 years in comparison to the 3000+ years Meliodas had to endure with both curses)

Also, Y/N should have been cursed by someone who isn't the Demon King or the Supreme Deity, because it wouldn't make sense for them to be the ones. And the best next contender for that has to be Merlin.

Why is she being cursed? Maybe Merlin didn't want Arthur to be distracted from her goal, and so she took advantage of their relationship and forced Arthur to unlock his full potential, knowing well he would do everything to save his S/O from the curse. Neither Arthur nor Y/O knows that Merlin is responsible. Arthur asks Merlin for help, so of course everything goes according to her plan

Y/N has to be very unlucky to die several times, taking into account Arthur is still young and a human (Elizabeth dies at 28 y.o. on average, and Arthur will be able to solve everything in less than 16 years). So maybe she died like 2 or 3 times, max. 4 - 5 (if she was cursed let's say at 6 y.o, that would mean she dies every 2 years)

And if she dies, she can't reencarnate as a baby or Arthur would outlive her easily (and would be very creepy). So I'm guesing she reencarnates in someone close in age to Arthur.

To sum it up until now: Y/N is cursed by Merlin with Elizabeth's curse in an attempt to unlock Arthur's full potential faster. She dies a few times, every 2 years aprox. Like Elizabeth, Y/N always finds Arthur and falls in love with him, only to remember everything and die in 3 days.

This is assuming his canon information. If you wanted to think of it as them being demon/goddess then I don't think the story would be any different since you are just changing the protagonists but keeping the same formula

Back to the present: Arthur gets Chaos and is able to lift the curse, Merlin is also satisfied with the result (at least for now). However Arthur notices something strange, as if her S/O had some kind of amnesia, since she doesn't reciprocate his feelings (which were reciprocated until lifting the curse a few minutes ago)

Arthur worries a lot and explains her the situation, which is useless since Y/N doesn't remember anything of them being in a relationship. He makes his next objective being able to make Y/N fall in love with him, alongside making a country were no one suffers (he is a King after all)

With the passing of time he noticed that nothing he did made Y/N fall in love with him, which made him spiral into darkness and despair for some time, making him closer the 4kota Arthur we know

That was until one day he found in one well stored box a beautifully crafted necklace, which he inmediately recognized as the one he had gifted Y/N years ago when vowing to save her and marry her one day, and that was also discovered in the corpse of that same Y/N after the curse had made its appearence

It was more and more painful to make the same promise to every reencarnation only to end in death, that's why he stored it and put it away.

But now that problem had disappeared. Arthur took the necklace and went back to were Y/N was, just to gift it to her once and for all. To his surprise Y/N's eyes widened after seeing it in her hands - "I remember now..."

Both looked at each other with surprised looks on their faces. After so many years, war was over.

[hanafubukki]

In the Crowley is Levan theory I actually have two theory (where I don't murder this guy for going buy milk, letting is wife die, leaving his unborn son alone for 200 years when the boy NEEDED a parent to hatch, abandoning his parental responsability to his traumatized best friend ect...Crowley, if you are Levan, you will need a good excuse man because else I might burn you with the Senate)

- The memory lost (either after a battle, or after some kind of curse), it can explain the differences of feeling between Crowley and Levan. Levan is a duke, Lilia respect him. He is responsible enough to be sent as a diplomatic envoy...while Crowley...well. Crowley 😂 I love him, he's fun and everything. But I wouldn't trust him for anything.

- The tragic future. Lilia gives some hints about Levan being able to "see the future". It may be just a thing to insist he was smart enough to predict the course of event. But if he really have some kind of prophetic power, he could have see something really awful (like, I don't know, Malleus overblot where he dies all alone, Lilia dying in the war, world war for centuries, unknown disasters (like how our favorite furball awakening with his strange curse/blessing casted upon him breaking (like a seal to "protect everyone" and "making the beast weak", but it's another theory 😂 I'm linking all my theory my brain is a mess- )

SO. Anyway, here Levan would have saw something so horrible he needed to sacrifice everything he loved for that. He needed to vanish. Meleanor needed to die. Malleus needed to be born 200 later. Lilia needed the journey he did to make him hatch. He had to lose his lifespan. Malleus had to be lonely. Lilia had to find and love Silver...

And they all were fated to go to NRC at the same time, where Levan would await as Crowley, act like an irresponsible fool, find a human from another world, letting them deal with overblot matter...

All for a "Good future". To avoid the tragedy he saw hundred of years ago.

- 🦋 Anon

Hello 🦋 Anon,

I feel that Crowley being Levan theory will have to explain why Lilia didn’t recognize Levan and what has Levan been doing this entire time.

Levan having amnesia and/or being able to see the future and hence planned everything are the most popular reasons right now.

At the end of the day, if Crowley is Levan is true, I want to know why and what happened.

But I do not think that Crowley is a fool, I think he hides under a mask so people mistake him for one.

Easier to play the fool and hide your hand than not right?

As we have seen, Crowley knows exactly what he’s doing if the hints from book 6 says anything.

[tgmsunmontue]

To wake, perchance to dream 3/6

Hangster - Jake wakes up ~13 years in the future and thinks he has amnesia. Instead it's a glimpse of what his life could be. When he wakes up right before being called back to Top Gun for the special detachment he's going to try his damndest to make that future come true...

CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

                He’s never seen the wheels of the Navy work so fast, which makes him equal parts excited and apprehensive about what he’s going into. It’s obviously big, and difficult. And incredibly time sensitive. Also it’s a fucking ego boost to know that he’s been picked to assist in whatever is happening. He wracking his brain and trying to remember if there was anything that had maybe been mentioned or left as a clue by his other self… There’s nothing that jumps out though so he’s going in blind and just has to hope that being himself and repeating Bradley’s words, about being patient with him, are going to be enough.

                When he sees Javy, younger, much less grey, he just grins and holds him tight. If he’s here then everything feels like it’ll be alright. He’s been a part of Jake’s life forever and there for every major milestone. If he’s here then he knows he can deal with anything and everything thrown his way. They enter the Hard Deck and Jake grabs them a couple of beers, jerks his head towards the dart board.

                “Come on, I need to beat you at darts.”

                “Twenty bucks you can’t get three in a row.”

                He lands the three darts effortlessly, and god it feels good to not have a single care in the world right now, even if he’s wondering where Bradley might be. How he can maybe get his number and start up… something. Anything. Javy insists they move to pool, which is fine, he has even less of a chance of beating Jake at pool but he’ll let him keep dreaming. The bell rings indicating there’s a round on some poor sucker who has either insulted the Navy or a lady, or a complete greenhorn who has placed their phone on the bar. He sinks two balls simultaneously, impressing even himself and Javy makes an annoyed exclamation and he grins, looks up and…

                “What do we have here? If it ain’t Phoenix! And here I thought we were special, Coyote. Turns out the invite went to anyone,” Jake teases, because the woman in front of him is going to become one of his best friends and she needs to know he’s not going to stop being his normal slightly irritating self. And she’s going to make Javy so happy, and he already loves her for that.

                “Fellas, this here’s Bagman.”

                “Hangman,” Jake corrects. Damn. He’d forgotten she could give as good as she could take but that Bagman feels like an insult now but it was a teasing endearment what only feels like a few days ago.

                “Whatever. You’re looking at the only naval aviator on active duty with a confirmed air-to-air kill.”

                “Stop,” Jake says, pretending to be flustered, because that’s better than spiraling again, thinking too much about actually killing someone.

                “Mind you, the other guy was in a museum piece from the Korean war.”

                “Cold war.”

                “Different wars, same century.”

                “Not this one.”

                “Who are your friends?”

                “Payback.”

                “Fanboy.”

                Jake feels a swoop of recognition because those callsigns were in his phone, these people are going to become important enough to him for him to have them in his phone in the future. And they’ll have the same callsigns.

                “Hey Coyote.”

                “Hey.”

                Jake’s eyebrows shoot up, because that tone of voice tells him a story he hasn’t heard before. These two have a history, and it’s one that isn’t that far in the past and he shoots Javy a look, because he is dragging that story out of him kicking and screaming.

                “Who’s he?” Phoenix asks, and his attention is drawn away from his best friend and there’s another aviator sitting to the side eating peanuts and Jake blinks, doesn’t recognize him at all.

                “Who’s who?” Javy asks, Jake can tell he’s a little peeved Phoenix is no longer paying him attention, but Jake can direct this.

                “When did you get in?”

                “Oh, I’ve been here the whole time.”

                “The man’s a stealth pilot.”

                “Literally.”

                “Weapons systems officer, actually.”

                “With no sense of humor,” Jake adds, rolling his eyes.

                He leaves Phoenix setting up the table with Bob, indicates he’s going to leave them to their small talk and collect the free drinks and… Penny. He had dinner with her, and she’s Amelia’s mom, and he’s not met Amelia yet, but that witty, intelligent woman he knows he considers family, who he knows put herself in his phone as Best Person Ever…

                “Penny, my dear.”

                “Yeah.”

                “I’ll have four more on the old-timer,” Jake says, and as he studies the other guy more closely he would swear it’s Maverick. Bradley’s father-figure who he feels like he just had Sunday dinner with, along with Penny. Except this guy looks considerably younger, which he guesses makes sense and then he does a double take and looks at Penny. She’s looking at the guy, the maybe-Maverick like she’s not sure what to do about him and…

                Holy shit.

                If it is Maverick they aren’t together. Yet.

                He hears Phoenix yell out Bradshaw and he can’t stop his head whipping around to look. There’s Bradley, looking younger and just as gorgeous, wearing one of his shirts and his hair just short enough to be regulation still, watches with amusement as Phoenix proceeds to use the pool cue to hit Bradley in the balls, and he’s glad he’s not the only one she’s acerbic with. Well, she’s not with Coyote and that’s interesting. He glances at the guy he thinks is Maverick from the corner of his eye, he’s not making any move to go and talk to Bradley, so maybe it’s just another guy who looks a lot like him.

                “Here you go.”

                “Thank you. Much appreciated, pops,” Jake says, because it pays to be polite and he’s not totally convinced, can’t quite read the name, but can see the wings. He heads back to the others, stopping by the jukebox on the way, finds a song that he likes and then passes the beers around before steeling himself to see his… husband?

                “Bradshaw. As I live and breathe.”

                “Hangman. You look… good.”

                Amusement and arousal swoops through him, the beginning of this playful back-and-forth seeming familiar from his weird dream, and he grins.

                “Well, I am good, Rooster. I’m very good. In fact, I am too good to be true.”

                Part of him is thrilling inside, because this exchange feels familiar, like it’s right and the beginning of something, except instead of getting a grin Bradley is rolling his eyes and Jake’s gut clenches. Of course it’s not going to be that easy and his good mood immediately dissolves.

                “So…” Javy says, and Jake can almost hear the eye roll. “Anybody know what this special detachment is all about?”

                “No, mission’s a mission. They don’t confront me. What I want to know: Who’s gonna be team leader? And which one of y’all has what it takes to follow me?”

                “Hangman, the only place you’ll lead anyone is an early grave.”

                What the fuck? Jake stands up from where he’d been about to take a shot, anger flashing through him and

                “Ooooh.”

                “Well, anyone who follows you is just gonna run out of fuel. But that’s just you, ain’t it, Rooster? You’re snug on that perch, waiting for just the right moment… That never comes.”

                The moment between them stretches and the entire exchange leaves a bitter taste in his mouth, eyes stinging a little. He can’t believe he just said all that, just slipped back so easily into stripping pieces off the people around him. Of course, he’s not alone. He’d also forgotten what an asshole Bradshaw was.

                Being patient is going to be harder than he thought.

                He can’t tell Bradley he loves him, but god he wants to.

                “I love this song!” Jake says instead, stepping back and away and putting some much needed distance between them, well aware of the others all feeling the tension in the air which he just created.

                “Check it out,” Fanboy says, head jerking in the direction of the door and Jake watches as more naval aviators walk in.

                “More patches.”

                “That’s Harvard, Yale, Omaha. Shit, that’s Fritz.”

                “What the hell kind of mission is this?”

                “That’s not the question we should be asking,” Phoenix says, and her voice is tight. “Everyone here is the best there is. Who the hell are they gonna get to teach us?”

                His song stops mid-lyric and he glances up from his game, see Bradley heading towards the piano and then he looks across the bar at the person he thinks is maybe Maverick Mitchell, but Penny is calling him over and giving him and Javy the signal to throw him out, surely Penny wouldn’t throw her future husband out of her own bar?

                “Great to see you, Pete! Overboard!”

                Fuck. Definitely Pete Mitchell then.

                “Overboard! Overboard!”

                “Overboard! Overboard!”

                He’s committed to the act now, but his heart is pounding. This is definitely Bradley’s father figure. Not that they’ve even looked at each other in the Hard Deck just now. Penny had though, looked between them, and he has no idea what’s gone down between them all, but he’s wishing he asked more questions.

                “Thanks for the beers! Come back anytime!”

                Fuck.

                He just threw Pete Mitchell into the sand outside the Hard Deck.

…            …            …

                “Would you calm the fuck down?”

                “No. We just threw Captain Pete Maverick Mitchell out of the Hard Deck!”

                “Bullshit.”

                “Did you not see his patch? We are going to regret that.”

                “Yeah, sure. Okay. When it comes time to regret it you can tell me you told me so and rub my nose in it okay? But you still need to calm down.”

                Jake sucks in a deep breath and lets it out slowly, because it’s not like he can actually un-do throwing Maverick out of the Hard Deck. The person he’s pretty sure is somehow going to be very important to his future.

…            …            …

                The next morning Jake is nervous, chews through three toothpicks before he’s even left base housing, Javy sick of his leg jiggling so much he refuses to sit next to him when they get to the weirdly laid out desks and chairs.

                “Attention on deck!”

                As Admiral Bates talks Jake chances a quick look back, grinning to himself as Phoenix takes the opportunity to flip him a subtle finger.

                “Half of you will make the cut. One of you will be named mission leader. The other half will remain in reserve.”

                He looks to Bradley and his gaze is met evenly and Jake so badly wants to just go over and kiss him or hold his hand or… anything other than sit here feeling the animosity coming off him in waves.

                “Your instructor is a Top Gun graduate with real-world experience in every mission aspect you will be expected to master. His exploits are legendary. He’s considered to be one of the finest pilots this program has ever produced. What he has to teach you may very well mean the difference between life and death. I give you Captain Pete Mitchell. Call sign: Maverick.”

                He turns back around quickly to Javy, mouths I told you so and then turns back to the front of the class.

…            …            …

                The way that Maverick talks makes him feel like his blood has bubbles in it. He’s never felt more alive than pushing his limits and he feels like even with their less than auspicious beginning he’s going to learn a lot. There’s no book learning involved, not for this mission, it’s all about flying a simulated course and dog fighting and learning to be one team. Well. He’s got all of that down, even if he’s not so great at showing the last one in practice.

                He can’t tell what Bradley and Maverick are saying to each other, but he can read enough of their body language to know that none of it is good. He doesn’t know what their history is, wishes he’d thought to ask, not that he thought he’d need to know it. Maybe he doesn’t need to know what it is, can just be there and… help? Fucked if he knows.

                He needs to be patient.

                That’s what Bradley had said to him, but Jake is feeling like he needs more information. Patient with time? Or patient with Bradley? Well, obviously with Bradley because he’s currently auditioning for world’s biggest asshole, but Jake needs to know if he can just… say something. Or maybe doing something is better. He’s always been a man of action.

                Then he’s listening to Maverick over the radio and he knows Maverick is good, but Jesus the man is cocky with it. He makes a comment about giving him an ego check and he hears someone mutter well you’d know and he ignores them. Then he’s up in the air and he abandons Phoenix and Bob only to get shot down himself and he hates losing like that, hates that it hadn’t panned out how he’d hoped and thought it would. The only solace he can take from the exercise so far is that he’d heard Maverick say he was good. He’ll take it.

                He’s back up in the air, this time with Bradley and he looks across at him, knows everyone can hear them on the radio, but he needs to know and everyone thinks he’s an asshole anyway, so he can’t dig himself any deeper.

                “So, Rooster, mind if I ask you a personal question?”

                “Would it matter if I did?”

                “What’s the story with you and Maverick?” Jake asks, glad to finally get the words out, even though he expects he won’t get any type of useful answer right now. “It seems like he’s got you rattled.”

                “That’s none of your business. Now where the hell is he?”

                “Been here the whole time.”

                “Holy shit,” Jake says, watching as Maverick manoeuvres his plane smoothly around Bradley’s, like he’s mocking him and god he wants to fly like that.

                Then, as he watches someone he would normally consider calm and level headed turn completely feral he really needs to figure out what the fuck is going on. Their planes are spiralling together downwards and his heart is in his throat, cannot believe that either of them are being so damn stupid, doesn’t know if he’s even breathing as he watches, has a front row seat to what he is terrified might be carnage. Then Bradley is pulling up and away, playing it safe and the relief he feels is palpable. They’re both still alive. Then Maverick theoretically kills him and Bradley has to do another two hundred push ups and Jake doesn’t know what the fuck he should do.

                He can’t figure out what it could be, because the Bradley and Maverick he knows clearly loved each other, and these two can barely say hello without wanting to seemingly throw a punch. Hell. He thought Rooster had a problem with him, but it’s got nothing on whatever his issues with Maverick are. Be patient with me. God he wishes he’d asked more questions, knew more what to expect right now rather than just know he somehow gets a fairytale ending.

                If he in fact does get that ending and it wasn’t just some weird fever dream that somehow happened without the fever. Crazier things have happened. Probably.

…            …            …

                “Jake man, you can’t drink like this. Not with the mission as delicate as it is.”

                “I had one drink. One drink I really really needed. You ever think about alternate timelines?”

                “No. What’s got you asking me that?”

                “Just… I had a weird dream.”

                “Dream?”

                “Yeah. Maybe. I don’t even know if I want it to be a dream or not anymore.”

                “Uh… you sure you’ve only just had the one drink?”    

…            …            …

                He sees the photo, Maverick alongside a man who looks like the spitting image of Bradley. Same last name. Holy shit. It has to be his father. Some things start to fall into place and it gives him a starting point and he does a little digging. Rooster’s dad died and he was in a plane piloted by Maverick. Fuck. Okay. That explains the anger and animosity. Except… how do they become friends or the family that he remembers them as? God he’s confused.

                He listens as Maverick talks them through the mission parameters, then they fly the simulated valley. He needs to be the fastest, the best, needs to go on this mission because Bradley is distracted and upset and in no fit state to give all his focus on completing the task ahead and surviving it. When Maverick drives it home that their choices and actions will kill their team members he doesn’t think much before he speaks and well… he knows he’s fucking it up as he talks, but if Bradley lives then he’ll live with his decisions to apparently blow up his entire fairytale ending.

                He doesn’t expect Bradley to come at him, feels his own fear and anger bubbling too close to the surface and he doesn’t know how to make it right.

                God he wants to make it right.

…            …            …

                He didn’t think his life could somehow take such a sharp nosedive in such a short period of time but apparently, he has angered several deities. He almost vomits when Javy goes into g-LOC, the only reason he doesn’t is because it’s all over too quickly, Maverick once again somehow pulling off the near-impossible and returning his best friend to him. He’ll need to find him and thank him, because there are currently very few people in his life who he feels know him, and Javy is pretty much it. Then the bird strike happens, he doesn’t say anything, just reaches over and grasps Bradley’s shoulder with his hand and tries not to feel the sting of rejection when it’s shrugged off.

…            …            …

                He’s left Javy at the hospital. Not because Javy needs the hospital, but he’s staying with Phoenix, his fingers laced with hers while she’d laid in the bed looking at Javy with fucking cartoon heart eyes. He and Bob had exchanged commiserating looks, clearly feeling like the third and fourth wheels respectively. At least he could escape, seeking out Maverick to thank him for helping Javy. That’s why he overhears what Bradley says to Maverick. Fucking hell. He knew Bradshaw had issues, but the way he’s lashing out makes Jake wince. It makes what Bradshaw said to him at the Hard Deck seem like mild-teasing in comparison.

                This is meant to cut deep.

                Then there’s yelling and okay, maybe now is not a good time to thank Maverick for his actions, or to even try and talk with Bradley. At least he now knows why Bradley is so upset with Maverick, he suspects everyone in the building probably now knows. This seems all sorts of fucked up, and he thought his own family were bad. Then Warlock is standing behind him and he startles.

                “Lieutenant.”

                “Admiral Bates sir. I was just, uh, waiting for Bradshaw sir.”

                An eyebrow goes up and Jake shrugs helplessly, then Warlock is interrupting them and Jake can’t really parse what is happening, watches as Maverick suddenly seems to deflate, Bradley looks devastated and Jake missed what it was Warlock said exactly, too busy watching and trying to figure out if they were about to start swinging. Maverick leaves with Warlock, and he doesn’t understand why he’d leave Bradley behind, looking like his world has just fallen apart.

                “How much did you hear?” Bradley asks, his voice tight and clipped.

                “Uh… all of it? I think?”

                “Fuck.”

                “Yeah. Sorry. You need therapy man…”

                “Yeah. Probably,” Rooster says, the words coming out on a long exhale and Jake’s eyebrows shoot up at the easy acceptance, because he’d expected a punch, some verbal sparring at the very least, not this easy self-depreciating acceptance. Upon closer inspection it looks like Bradley is close to tears and god he feels like an asshole all over again.

                “I’m sorry by the way, for being an ass and bringing up your dad.”

                “Well, at least we can both agree on you being an ass.”

                “Well. I think you like my ass.”

                It slips out, the little flirty comment, and he has no excuse for it, not really. Fully expects Bradley to get angry again, to stand up and walk out, push past him and pretend he doesn’t exist all over again. Instead he hears a soft huff of amusement and when he chances a look, Bradley makes a face like he’s conceding that Jake may have a point.

                Holy shit.

                They sort of stand there just staring at each other and Jake’s starting to get turned on, the memory of Bradley looking at him like this, before taking him apart. Bradley doesn’t have those memories or visions or fantasies though, well, Jake doesn’t know what Bradley might fantasize about but he lives in ever increasing hope; the hope increasing by the second as the moment between them continues to stretch.

                “Do you ever feel like you can never live up to something, because it’s impossible. That you’re chasing a ghost?”

                “What?” Jake blinks, the sudden and abrupt change somewhat of a shock; he repeats Bradley’s words in his head. Okay. “Man, I had so many expectations on me. I ran in the opposite direction and took to the skies. No one was tying me to the ground…”

                “Yeah. No one tied me down either…”

                “Rooster...” Jake starts, because it’s obvious Bradley’s getting lost in his own mind. “Bradshaw...” Still no response. “Bradley...”

                That gets him eyes locked on him again and it’s still fucking intense and sad and he doesn’t know what’s got Bradley twisting up in on himself, but he can make a stab in the dark at least.

                “You almost lost Phoenix today. You're allowed to feel a little rattled.”

                Bradley pulls a face then, like he’s struggling with Jake being nice. And sure, Jake doesn’t usually leave his defenses down and wide-open like this, but he feels, no, knows, it could be worth it.

                “I'm sorry about making a joke about you leading people to an early grave...”

                Jake grimaces, because the comment had smarted. Not untrue given his younger and dumber days, but definitely untrue now. He’s also pretty sure Bradley owes Maverick an apology too, but he for sure as hell isn’t going to push that any time soon.

                “The world is not against you. I am not against you…” he adds quietly, because it’s true. Bradley is definitely studying him much more closely now, like he’s trying to figure out the angle Jake’s taking to cut him down and he can’t take back every bad word he’s said, but he can try not to say any more going forward. Patience. Right. Cause that’s always been one of his attributes people have listed when describing him. Fuck.

                “Yeah. I know it’s not. Just. Some days it’s really hard to believe that that’s not the case.”

                “You want to get out of here? Get some food?”

                Bradley blinks at him, but then nods once and then they’re walking toward the parking lot; Jake heeding toward the loaners but then Bradley is jerking his head toward his Bronco and Jake just goes with it. Doesn’t have any reason not to. They get food via drive-thru, Bradley relaying his order and then about fifteen minutes later Bradshaw’s pulling up in front of a little bungalow that seems trapped in time. He’s about to make a quip but snaps his mouth shut as he takes in the tight clench of Bradley’s jaw. Oh shit. This might be his parents’ place. That is… maybe not the healthiest thing to have held on for years but he’s not going to say anything, not when the civil moments between them are being counted in minutes rather than hours or days.

                He follows quietly and when he steps inside he can see why they got take-out, the kitchen is a demolition site, although a coffee maker and microwave have been set up on the small table in the dining room. Then he’s in the living room and there are photos of a much younger Bradley, Nick Bradshaw and someone who can only be Bradley’s mom. Bradley doesn’t seem older than thirteen or fourteen in any of the photos but there are also gaps on the shelves where he suspects there used to be photos. So definitely his parents’ place, but the fact he seems to be remodeling the kitchen make Jake feel slightly better about where Bradley’s headspace might be.

                Bradley gestures to the sofa and Jake grabs his takeout bag and lowers himself, knowing fully the only reason they’ve not argued with each other for the last forty-five minutes is because they haven’t said anything to each other. They eat in silence and he wonders why Bradley seems okay with him there, because it’s not like a simple apology has got him this far before. He pauses. Tries to remember if he’s actually ever apologized to Bradshaw before and oh… yeah. Fuck. That might do it.

                “So, uh, you want to share your world is against you story?”

                Bradley looks at him, lips twisted in distaste but Jake is pretty sure it’s about the potential topic of conversation rather than the fact that Jake just raised the potential of baring his soul to him.

                “You figured out my dad died. Well, then my mom died when I was twelve.”

                He’s figured as much, just from looking around at the photos.

                “I’m sorry.”

                “Yeah well. It is what it is right? Maverick is, was, my legal guardian. My godfather.”

                “Okay.” He hadn’t expected that.

                “And you heard me yelling at him before. He pulled my papers to USNA. I was legacy. My dad went.”

                Jake bites his lip, doesn’t know what to say, doesn’t want Bradley to stop talking.

                “Phoenix is my family,” Bradley offers, voice quiet, and the bird strike today hits different hearing that. Squadrons are close, like family, but aren’t family. If Bradley is saying she’s family, then she means more to him, like she’s a sister. “You’re right. Today rattled me. Then I found out that someone died, so feeling a little, uh, raw.”

                “Someone close?”

                The look Bradley gives him is inscrutable and Jake wonders when exactly he heard the news given that todays just seemed like one thing after another and he’s either been within spitting distance or on the radios. Bradley is taking his trash, scrunching it up and heading toward the kitchen. Jake would think he was being ignored or dismissed if it weren’t for the head jerk he gets, an indication he wants Jake to follow him.

                “Well, yeah. We were close I guess. I lived with him and his family when Mav was deployed. But he didn’t stop Mav from pulling my papers so I stopped talking to him too.”

                “Right. So. Regrets huh? Unfinished business?”

                “Yeah. Yeah you could say that,” Bradley says, and obviously unfinished business with a dead person is never going to get finished. But there’s still Maverick. If he’s made that connection, then Bradley sure as hell has. He doesn’t look happy about it though and he knows what he wants to do.

                “Come here man, you look like you need a hug.”

                The look Bradley gives him is incredulous, like he expects Jake to start laughing, but he reaches out with both arms and gestures with his hands for Bradley to step into the embrace. Just like that Bradley crumples, making himself small like the trash he just balled up and Jake wraps himself around him. For all he’s picking at Bradley issues right now, he's also feeling a little raw, hearing Coyote be in g-LOC was terrible, and the idea of holding someone tight, even if it isn’t his best friend, soothes something inside him.

                He doesn’t quite bully Bradley into bed, but he doesn’t give him very much choice. It also means Bradley doesn’t need to ask for what he might want or need right now, and Jake is pretty confident that what that is, is to not be alone. He can help with that. He borrows clothes and gets changed, insists on Bradley changing. Ignores the little sniping comments about he usually wears less clothes when he’s taking a guy to bed and Jake just smirks, tells him there’s always next time. As Bradley falls asleep in his arms he hopes like hell there is a next time, the feeling of sharing his space coming back to him as easy and automatically as breathing.

…            …            …

                The next morning, Bradley looks embarrassed. Jake tries to joke and shrug it off, make light of it despite the fact that his entire body and mind are finally felling like they’ve caught up and are synchronized together again. Bradley isn't letting him joke about it though, is looking at him with the same intense gaze he remembers from his weird dream.

                “Rooster? You okay?”

                “I like it when you call me Bradley...

                Then he's being crowded against the dining table, not in any way where he couldn't just step away, but he stays where he is, heart rabbiting away in his chest as Bradley closes the space between them, one hand reaching up to cup Jake's face.

                “Thank you for last night.”

                “I... Anytime. Think we both needed to... Not be alone.”

                The slow smile Bradley gives him is cut off when he moves even closer, too close for Jake to see his lips or face because he's being kissed, super softly and his lips tingle and itch as the pressure is removed and a simple press of lips shouldn't uproot his life like this, but he's wondering now, what he might need to do to get more kisses, to somehow make his dream a reality.

CHAPTER FOUR

[pennysperfectpolls]

Adoption poll round 1 match 24

Nona (The Locked Tomb)

Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Propaganda under the cut

Nona (The Locked Tomb) Propaganda

She is 19 years old but also 4.5 billion years old and also 6 months old. She has escaped from barbie jail on Pluto (long story) and has amnesia. She loves all dogs, but especially loves Noodle who has six legs and is king of dogs in secret. She likes eating sand, marker lids and luscious green vegetation and she does NOT like scrambled eggs because she has sensory issues and they are gross. She is not allowed to eat sand, marker lids or luscious green vegetation and she HAS to finish her scrambled eggs because she needs the protein. She cannot read but she is fluent in every single language that exists including body language. She is part of a gang with her friends from school. Her friends are called Hot Sauce, Born in the Morning, beautiful Ruby, honesty and Kevin. She thinks flowers are sexy and likes having agony aunt columns read to her. She’s only had two tantrums in her life and she can’t even remember them so you can’t hold that against her. Just about everyone who meets her wants to adopt her, and she was adopted by three people in two bodies but we can adopt her too because she has plenty of love to go round and honestly she kinda needs the supervision. Or she’ll eat sand.

—

Nona is getting ready to celebrate her birthday and she wants to invite every dog she's seen in the city. She knows every language. She likes to swim and touch the jellyfish that nobody else can touch because they kill you. She's in a gang with some of the other kids at school. Her family's not sure who she is. The rebellion wants to use her. So does the empire. She's got a crush on one of the rebels. She kisses the emperor's daughter. She's dying. All she wants is a birthday present. Nona loves you.

Pollrunner note: whoever wrote these propaganda deserves a medal 🏅 🏅

Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist) Propaganda

Feral child left to take care of himself and his brother at a young age. Cannot stop uncovering government corruption