#maybe just some continuity stuff here and there

[whore-ibly-hot]

Tw: Dubcon, coercion, orgasm denial, general guys being icky and manipulative.

(Its kinda ass idk)

Thinking about...

A couple of guys, not really delinquents bit certainly not 'upstanding' citizens just using you for some relief. It's probably after some event, maybe a rock show at some shithole downtown, or maybe you were just getting some snacks with guys you thought were your friends. Not thought, they are your friends, but you couldn't have imagined this.

The first fidgets with the lever of the backseats, trying to get them folded back into the trunk while number twos tugging at your skirt, your tits pressed harshly into the leather of his car. "Cmon, find the fucking lever!" He growls and number one, who raises his hands in defense. "What do you want me to do, its probably your fucking car that let this happen. This shit-bucket probably doesn't even have a lever for the seats anymore."

Number three is driving, slowly finding some small lot with minimal lights in the back of some old building, shifting into park. While the two in back continue to bicker, he makes his way to the front of you. "Are you two sure about this? Seems like going to far." He says, one hand gripping at his pants sleeve with tension.

"You're bricked up too, bro. You aren't exactly the virgin Mary here." Number two pauses, then chuckles. "But, maybe virgin does fit." One cackles too, prompting three to smack the shoulder of two. "You're not scared, are you? You want this plenty, right?" Two asks, squishing your cheeks together in a 'fishy' face with a free hand.

"Don't know." You're scared, tired from the the fun night, unsure why three guys you've always been platonic with are doing this, but you can't deny the aching in your gut, the way your thighs are rubbing a bit against the leather seams of the middle seat and the far right seat. "I'm not sure, you guys-" You yelp, a hard open-palm grazing across the sliver of exposed ass poking from under your slightly ridden up skirt.

"Fuck is wrong with you?" Three asks, suddenly the seat jolts down, making you gasp. "Easy, easy."

"Get that skirt off, I just know she's got a good ass." One's hands push up, grabbing a cheek each amd kneading them as he groans. "Fucking mint, look at this, baby!" One leans so he's over you a bit, hard clothed cock pressing against your ass as he whispers in your ear. "Why'd you hide this thing from us?" He asks.

"I wasn't hiding it-"

"Obviously." Two snarks. "We barely even had to lift this skirt up, you were practically flaunting it."

God, you're aching. Maybe it's half stress, half arousal making you run on adrenaline, but the lack of care they seem to have for how you feel about this is having a primal effect on you.

"Pussy's fat too..." One comments, yanking down the thin panties keeping your soaked lips from him.

"Careful!" You squeak, causing them all to actually pause for a moment. "Its... been a bit."

Two breaks out into a grin, realizing this should mean dwindling protests from you about the way they plan to use you.

"She's not saying yes." Three protests, hand coming to hover over your cunt, effectively blocking his eager friends wandering fingers.

"She said maybe, and look at her!" One tries to get his hands past threes hand. "She's dripping on his leather seats, she's wetter than a bitch in heat.

"Its not like we're holding her down in some alley or something!" Two adds, placing a kiss on your sweaty forehead. "This is loving compared to that. Vanilla stuff." He snips.

Three seems conflicted, eyes downcast as he reluctantly pulls a hand away, moving it to gently rub your back up and down, as if trying to soothe a cat.

"Finally. Glad you decided to knock off the cockblocking." Spreading the lips of your labia, one whistles lowly, dragging a digital from your hole to aroused bud from behind, gently circling once, then twice.

"Shit-" You whisper out, gripping the seat edges with slick hands. You can feel threes hand clench slightly, but you lay your cheek on his knee, casting a flushed and low-lidded glance up at him. This reassures him a little, but your head near his oh-so sensitive inner thigh makes this action also go right to his dick.

"Fingers, how many you want?" One whispers. You just mewl at the feeling of friction on your clit, whining when it suddenly stops. "Wait, wait, okay, two, two!" You exclaim. You jolt forward a bit at the slight intrusion, the digits working you towards a finish, but not at the pace you'd like.

"You're sucking him in like crazy, shit." Two chuckles, leaning to glance behind you. "Makes me wonder what kinda suction you'd have elsewhere." He fidgets with his belt, the sound of a zipper and belt clasp coming undone sounds out, and a snap of boxers being pulled slightly lower. Three looks disgusted as two just winks, taking his own cock in his hand and running his hand over it once, then twice before pressing it forward.

Your lips wet with the slightly sticky red tip he presses to them, prodding once or twice like he's seeking entrance. "You wanna out in? Just give it a taste, I promise I'm not gonna make you take it all the way, baby." Two chuckles as you awkwardly kiss the tip. "That's nice, but I'm not asking you to give it's first kiss." Gripping your hair, he guides it in a bit, groaning. "Yeah, there we go. Right around my cock, use your tongue." You let out a moan as one hits a spot with the tips of his fingers, curled inside. It reverberates around Two's cock, causing him to buck. He keeps his promise, you have to admit, he only bucks forward a bit before pulling his length back out. "You're taking it so fucking good, not gonna bruise your mouth though, she's taking it like a fucking champ, man." He glances at One. "You think she's close?"

"Her pussy's twitching like she's gonna pop any second." The bragging first member slows his pace, causing you to whine and pull your mouth off Two's cock. "Why'd you stop, wait- wait-" You're panting, on the verge of overstimulation and seeking that release rather than focus on all your conflicting feelings.

"Shh, calm down. You'll get your pussy rocked, calm down." Two elbows Three, nodding his head towards the man. He's been stoic since you out your head on his leg, conflicted and sickened, while simultaneously being sickening aroused. "Last chance to jump this, man. I know you want to.." Three just pushes him back, but moves to have you sit up, now facing him. His hands on your cheek. "Breathe. S' okay, you want to stop, or you want to finish this?" He asks.

"Finish it, baby. We'll stroke it over yo-" Three smacks off one, scolding him before turning back to you. "Your choice. Your decision. Don't listen to them." Three reassures you, arms on blocking you in and leaning over you slightly to keep the other two from interfering.

"Finish. I wanna cum, m' aching and-" You buck forward just a bit, and he gets the memo. "Okay, okay. Lay on your back, spread your legs, I'm gonna do the work."

You don't have to be asked twice; laying on the cool leather, this time back down, chest rising. Two hands get your feet tucked around Threes waist, and he lowers down on you. You're so hyper focused on how sensitive you are, and your 'friend'leaning over you you can barely register one and two jerking off, hoping to climax around the time you do.

Three gets himself lined up, but not before placing a few soft kisses on your neck. "I got you. Just forget about those idiots, okay? You and me, I'm taking care of you. I'll let you finish and make em' take you right back home."

You just nod, eyes squeezing tight as he enters. "Ah-" You groan. "You're big, fuck-"

He's not moving. "Too big?"

You shake your head, and he resumes several slow repitions. Eventually, he's fully sheathed, balls smacking against your ass as he thrusts. "Amazing, you feel so good, so good." He grunts. His hands brace on either side of you, but don't grip you harshly like one and two. "Is it good for you?" He asks.

"Up..." is all you can mumble. He gets the hint, angling his cock slightly. Soon, his bulbous tip is hammering that spongy place deep inside you, and you can feel your release finally hitting. "Yes, cumming, I'm finishing-" You start to yell, then gasp at a hot rush of fluids that's aren't your own.

"Holy shit!" Two cackles along with one, as three halts in his movements. "Mister 'i don't wanna, it's not right' might've just knocked you up!"

Your still riding out your orgasm, but three has immediately snapped out of ir. "I didn't mean to, sorry, I didn't-" he's pulling out, immediately smacking two who finished a bit ago. "Its your car, drive. Fucking drive, go to the pharmacy." Two puts his hands up, but obeys.

"M' so sorry." Three says as he sits you up. "I promise I'm clean and stuff, and we're gonna grab plan b, get you some water too-"

"Its okay." You blurt. "Its okay, I know you didn't mean to." Biting your lip, you think about what happened. Of any other guys did this, it'd be horrifying, and you admit it was scary. But... it also wouldn't feel nearly as hot with anyone else. "It was good."

"Hell yeah it was." Both of you were so caught up, you didn't realize One stayed in the back of the car. "Wait till you get a ride on me, baby. I promise I'll be even more of a gentleman. Shit, I'll tell you before it shoot my load in you."

You should go out for late night drives more.

[akawifeyy]

LEMONADE | fic (DR3)

description: as much as he would miss the high-stakes lifestyle of formula 1, daniel ricciardo is ready to start fresh. and the perfect start seems to be in his hometown, where a little girl is running a lemonade stand.

tropes: meet-cute, happy ending, lemonade stand au!, single mum!reader

face claim: none

trigger warnings: mature content (!!), swearing

| note: i love dr3 soooo much y'all, i hope i did him justice 🫶

It all started with the lemonade stand.

A young girl, probably five or six years old, with curly brown braids tied up in pink ribbons, was standing by its side. She stood at attention like a miniature soldier, her eyes watching the street for potential customers.

The hand-painted sign swinging from the top read "Leia's Lemonade Stand" in blocky yellow writing, and a giant beaker of the refreshment was perched on the counter.

Daniel was intrigued. He patted his pockets, looking for any spare change, and found a wad of bills. "Hey," he greeted the little girl, who looked up at him with owlishly large eyes. "I'd like to buy some lemonade? One glass, please."

She beamed, dashing behind the counter to hand him a cool glass filled with sugary yellow liquid. "That'll be two dollars!"

"Here you go," Daniel said, counting out the money and leaving her some extra change, handing it to her. "Thank you for your service."

As Daniel was turning to leave, you walked up to the girl, who was your carbon copy, just a decade or two younger. You were her mother, Daniel assumed. "What do we say, Leia?" you asked, a proud smile evident on your face.

"Thank you and you're welcome!" Leia chirped.

Daniel took a sip of the cool refreshment, sighing in contentment. "This is delicious stuff. Did she make it herself?" he asked you.

"I helped out a bit, but most of this was done herself."

He outstretched his hand. "I'm Daniel."

"Y/N," you replied, taking it. "I haven't seen you around before. Did you just move here?"

Daniel shook his head, trying to formulate an answer. "I just moved back from, uh...out of the country."

"Oh?" you inquired. "I'm jealous, I've never lived outside of Perth. My parents were born here, I was born here, and now Leia was born here. It's tradition, I guess."

He laughed. "Perth is a nice place. The rest of the world is overrated."

"At least you've experienced it," you griped.

Daniel huffed out a breath, reminiscing on his years of fast-paced travel. City after city, country after country. He never stayed in one place for long. "Yeah, I suppose so. Have you really never been outside of Perth?"

You lowered your head, self-conscious. "I mean, I've visited Melbourne for a weekend girl's trip, but my life has been pretty busy ever since I had Leia. And her father...doesn't help out."

Daniel's attention sparked at the mention of Leia's father. "Is he around?"

You twisted your lips in consternation. "He's alive, but he skipped town shortly after Leia was born. Said he was destined for greater things, or some shitty statement like that. I don't remember, and frankly, I do not care. Leia and I get on just fine."

Daniel grinned. "I can tell." He set the glass back down on the counter, and Leia picked it up, putting it under the stand to be washed and cleaned later. "Thanks for the lemonade. Keep up the good work, hm?" he said to her, and she gave him two enthusiastic thumbs-up.

"I'll see you around?" you asked, hopefully in a casual tone.

Daniel nodded, giving you a cheesy wink. "Of course."

Two days later

The doorbell rung half past noon, and you checked the peephole to see who was there. Daniel. He was shifting nervously, wringing his hands out. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" you greeted him, stepping aside so he could enter the house.

"I was wondering if I could get another glass of the lemonade? Leia's done an amazing job with it."

You sighed sorrowfully. "We're all out, sorry. Leia has just started school again, so we haven't continued the business. Maybe we'll make some more during the weekend?"

Daniel pouted. "That blows. I've been looking for a way to talk to you again."

"Sorry." You shrugged one shoulder, and then you realized what Daniel had said. "Pardon me, what did you say?"

Daniel's eyes widened, his face reddening with embarrassment. "Uh, I was hoping to chat with you a bit? If that's alright? I don't want to intrude."

You shook your head, leading him into the living room. A variety of Leia's toys were scattered about, and you bent down to pick them up and move them out of the way. "It's OK, don't worry. My job's remote, so I don't have to leave or anything. Not until two, when Leia comes home from school."

"Great," Daniel said, sitting down on the couch beside you. "I've been bored out of my mind since I've come back to Perth."

You swallowed, not exactly sure of how to respond. "Yeah? Is your past haunting you or something?"

Daniel chuckled. "Not exactly. I'm just used to a lot of hustle-and-bustle, and Perth...isn't really delivering on that."

"Where did you work?" you asked.

He fidgeted with his hands. "Er...I used to be a Formula One driver. I know, wild, but yeah. DR3." He laughed again, but this time it was dry and full of resentment.

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Formula One? My sister's obsessed with it. Wow, that's really cool."

"Yeah, it is. But they moved on to better talent, and now I'm back here." He slouched down, avoiding your gaze.

You gently nudged his shoulder. "Well, I'm glad you've returned and that we've met."

He gave you a wan half-smile.

For another hour, you two chatted away, talking about your past, about Leia, and about your hobbies. You told him about your Star Wars obsession (aka the reason why you'd chosen the name Leia for your daughter), showing him the vintage R2D2 toy you kept on your bookshelf. In return, he told you about how he used to go fishing with his parents in Lake Monger and about some of his F1 exploits.

Eventually, the alarm you set to keep track of when to pick Leia up went off, marking the end of your conversation. "I've got to go," you apologized.

"It's no problem." Daniel waved a hand, brushing you off. "Here's my number in case you want to keep in touch?" He wrote it down on a piece of paper and handed it to you.

"Thanks," you said, flustered.

"See you around, Y/N," he said as he stepped out the front door.

Text messages between Daniel and Y/N (Takes place a week to two months after their first meeting)

Sydney, Australia (Two months later)

"Come on, Leia," you urged your daughter as you led her through a thick crowd of people in the airport. "Don't let go of my hand."

Daniel was in front, leading you towards the exit, where a glossy crimson Ferrari was parked. "Here we go." He opened the door for you, sliding beside you and helping to buckle Leia in.

You smiled at him. "Thanks so much for inviting us."

"No problem, darling."

The pet name sent a curl of heat through your core, and you looked out the window so you wouldn't have to respond. The view was stunning: metallic skyscrapers, a bustling city center. You couldn't believe that this was what you were missing out on your whole life.

About twenty minutes later, the car stopped in front of a sleek modern hotel. You saw Daniel's mum wave at you, and swallowed roughly. You prayed that she would like you.

"Leia, be nice," you chastised her before you disembarked from the car. "Use your manners."

Leia bobbed her head up and down. "I know, Mum."

When you walked over, Daniel's mum immediately struck up a conversation with you, pulling you into a tight embrace. "I'm Grace!" she introduced herself. "And this must be little Leia." She bent down to shake Leia's hand. "You look just like her."

"Thanks," you replied. "It's nice to meet you."

Grace put her hand on her heart. "Danny's told me all about you. I'm happy to see that you're exactly as I hoped."

Your gaze whipped to Daniel, who turned even redder. One more shade, and he could pass for a bearded tomato. "Really?"

"Yep!" Grace clapped Daniel on the back. "He loves you."

You blinked, but didn't blurt anything out. "We should probably head inside."

Daniel nodded fervently. "I agree."

That night

"You want to explain to me what your mum told me?" you probed Daniel, crossing your arms over your chest.

Daniel covered his face with his hands. "Fuck, Y/N, I'm sorry. She's not a good secret keeper."

"Are you saying that she was lying?"

His eyes peeked out from behind his palms. "Do you want me to say no?"

"Tell me the truth," you scolded.

Daniel sighed and took a step closer to you. "She wasn't. Ever since I saw you at that lemonade stand, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. You're funny, and strong, and independent. I want to prove to you that I won't be like the other one. I'm here to stay."

Without a second's worth of hesitation, you tugged on his shirt collar, pulling him down to your height, and kissed him. He moaned softly, his arms snaking around your waist and caging you against the wall. "Fuck, Y/N."

The kiss became more passionate as you tangled your fingers in Daniel's brown curls, and his own found the swell of your breasts underneath your shirt. "You're so perfect," he murmured softly. "Can I?"

You nodded, at a loss for words. Daniel lifted your shirt over your head, revealing the lacy pink bra you were wearing. "Fuck, I'm going to come in my pants like a schoolboy right now. My God, you're a fucking work of art."

You unbuttoned his shirt and loosened the waistband of his pants, letting them fall to the floor. Daniel picked you up, placing you on the bed. "The door's locked," he assured you when you opened your mouth. "If we're quiet, Leia won't know anything."

"Good," you whispered. "I don't want to traumatize her."

He laughed, and kissed you again on the collarbone. Carefully, he placed your hands above your head and said, "I want to have sex with you. Is that OK?"

"You don't have to ask, Daniel," you rasped.

Daniel shook his head. "Yes, I do. Consent is not a laughing matter, darling."

You expelled a breath in faux-annoyance, and he continued his mission. One slow thrust, and he was in you, filling your pussy and making you groan with pleasure. "Daniel..."

"Does it hurt?" he asked worriedly. "I'll go slower."

You twisted your head to look at him. "No, it's fine. Just...not used to this. It's been a while."

He pecked you on the forehead, his arms caressing the curves of your skin. "I won't hurt you, I promise."

He drove into you, the movements firm and sure. Soon, you felt the tidal wave of pleasure build up in you like an insistent hum. "Daniel, I'm going to..." you trailed off, the sentence ending with another moan.

Daniel kissed you on the temple, the touch exactly what you needed to tumble over the edge. "Let go for me, darling."

And so you did, the orgasm rippling over you and making you shudder with satisfaction.

He pulled out a moment later, his own orgasm succeeding yours, and he flopped down beside you, one arm wresting you closer to him. "You're stunning."

"When I'm all fucked out?" you teased.

Daniel played with a loose strand of your hair, his eyes bright with happiness. "Yep."

"You're so silly, Daniel," you poked fun at him, tapping his nose twice.

He flicked your nose, and stated the very obvious fact, "But you adore me."

Three weeks later

Daniel clutched the bouquet of tulips in his hand, suddenly nervous. It wasn't the first time he had taken you out on a date. Hell, it wasn't even the second time. Yet each and every time, he was terrified.

You were perfect.

And he was...he was Daniel, the former F1 driver for four teams.

"Thanks for picking me up," you told him as he ushered you to his car. "I really appreciate it."

He gave you a quick kiss on the forehead. "No problem, darling."

You sat down, and then readjusted your position, feeling something poking your back. It was a box.

"Not a ring," he promised when he saw your expression. "I wouldn't have you accidentally sit on your engagement ring, darling."

You scowled at him, but popped open the top. A beautiful ruby necklace gleamed up at you, and you let out a gasp.

"It's my mother's. She wanted you to have it," Daniel told you.

"Wow, Daniel. This is...breath-taking." You hugged him.

"Just like you," he flirted, and you rolled your eyes. "It's the truth."

You extricated the necklace from the box and clipped it around your neck. "How does it look?"

"Perfect." He kissed you on the lips, one hand nestled on the crook of your jaw. "And all mine."

─── ୨୧ ─── THE END ─── ୨୧ ───

[mamawasatesttube]

6 or 17 for TimKon? :)

6. "Don't move, you're still hurt." 17. "Can you hear me?"

Consciousness slams into Tim like a breaking wave. It knocks the breath from his lungs and leaves him spluttering, gasping for breath—an instant mistake, because painpainpain explodes in his chest so hard he nearly passes out again.

"Whoa, Rob, chill out! Don't you dare move. You're still hurt!"

Kon, Tim thinks woozily, trying his hardest to blink the stars from his vision. He can't breathe from the agony. But he... he needs to protect Kon. A vague sense of impending doom floats through his mind, something green, something...

A tower. Why is he thinking of a tower? And blood. So much blood.

He has to protect Kon—

He can't move. He tries to sit up again and he can't move. A gentle but immovable pressure surrounds his whole body, keeping him in place, and he can't move. Panic floods him. He needs to protect Kon and he can't move and—

"Dammit, Rob, I said keep still! Can you hear me?"

...Oh. For the first time, Tim realizes that there's a reason that "blinking the stars out of his vision" didn't work. He never actually opened his eyes.

With effort, he forces his eyelids up, squinting against the dust in the air. He coughs. Pain lances through his chest.

Kon swears under his breath. He's—he's here? He's not hurt? He's... crouching in the rubble, bodily shielding Tim, and... and he's okay. He isn't bleeding, his body is whole and not twisted and broken and bloodied, and... and...

Emotion wells up in Tim's chest, underneath all the pain. He clears his throat and rasps, "Kon?"

"Hey, hot stuff." Kon flashes him a quick smile. "Hold still. You've got four broken ribs. Maybe a concussion too. Hard to say this soon, but..."

Oh. That would explain why breathing hurts. Tim squints up at Kon, then around him, trying to figure out where everyone else went. Weren't they fighting some... guy? Guys? Some Intergang guys... Right, and they were armed with Apokoliptian, um... thingies. And...

Now Tim remembers the reason for "green". Someone had a Kryptonite-tipped rifle round. Musta paid a fortune to Luthor to get that, or else they were doing the bastard a favor. Ugh...

"Your spine isn't damaged, thankfully," Kon continues. He tilts his head and narrows his eyes off into the distance, listening to something Tim can't hear, watching something Tim can't watch, and then looks back down to Tim. "Okay. Coast is clear. I'm gonna get you to the hospital."

Hospital? Eh. Everyone knows broken ribs just need a few weeks of rest. Tim grunts. "Hn. 'M fine."

Kon gives him the flattest look known to mankind. "You need a CT scan to check if you have a concussion. Also, need I remind you, four broken ribs?"

He exhales shortly, raking a hand through his hair; he only does that when he's stressed. He rests his hand on Tim's hip, and suddenly they're both floating into the air. It's odd, because Tim is still laid out flat and can't actually move, but he's used to Kon by now.

Still, though. "S'only flesh wounds." He just needs to sleep it all off. It's fine. They can watch Monty Python while he rests.

Kon, though, doesn't seem to appreciate the humor. The sky is a brilliant blue around him; the wind whips his ponytail around his face. He looks unimpressed. "Tim, your suit might be made of kevlar 'n' stuff, but it's not made to stop rifle rounds! Seriously, what were you thinking?"

Tim frowns. Isn't it obvious what he was thinking? "Had to protect you."

Kon stares at him for a long moment, flying effortlessly towards Metropolis General Hospital without even having to look. Several emotions flicker through his eyes too fast for Tim's dazed mind to follow, until finally he sighs, rakes his free hand through his hair again, and mutters, "What am I gonna do with you?"

That's another question with an obvious answer. Tim grunts again. "Mmph. Cherish and love me forever. Duh."

This time, he wins—Kon smiles despite himself, shaking his head as he starts descending towards the hospital rooftop. "Yeah, okay," he says, and leans down to brush his lips to Tim's dusty cheek. "Guess I'm okay with that."

Tim smiles.

[bellysoupset]

Oooh maybe some house moving planning with Bella and Luke where she thinks she's nervous about the move but actually she's sick from something she ate?

this was supposed to be a mini fic 😭

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

"Come here," Lucas grabbed Bella's wrist, pulling her close and throwing his trench coat around her shoulders, forcing her arms into the arm holes, "there you go..."

"Happy?" Bella pouted, as he tied the belt by her waist, synching it in, "have you sufficiently babied me for the day?"

"Just barely," Luke opened a smile at her frustrated question, grabbing the belt loops of his trench-coat and pulling her closer, pressing a kiss to his wife's curls, "this is me being measured."

The ginger let out a scoff, rolling her eyes, but wrapped an arm around Lucas' waist and waddled with him on the side walk of Welton street. After yesterday... They had barely talked about it, it was too fresh and Bella wasn't any good with the big emotions. All they had done after coming back from the hospital was cuddle in bed, Luke petting her hair as she intermittently cried, shedding a couple tears himself, then they had pushed the matters aside and focused on the house.

Their offer had gone through, the news came during lunch, much to their chagrin. Such weird timing. By dinner Lucas had hoovered uneasily at the bathroom doorway, clearly filled with questions, until Bella had angrily waved him off.

There wasn't much to be talked about, she had decided. They were on the same page, about starting a family, about not wanting a pregnancy now, but one in the future. It was tragic and she was sad and that was it, end of story.

"Hey," Luke nibbled at her ear, "we should shop for our dining room," he gestured to the furniture store and Bella let out a huff, hiding a smile against his shoulder.

"Because we throw so many dinner parties," she said sardonically, "and I cook so well."

"Can you think of a better place to learn than in our ugly yellow kitchen?" Lucas grinned back at her, taking her hand and pulling her inside, "we'll do cooking classes together, baby."

Bella let out an offended noise, "the kitchen isn't ugly!"

"It's hideous," he pulled her further in, "a relic from the fifities."

"It's charming," she smiled as Luke wrapped her up in his arms and they continued to walk around the store. About halfway through of them walking, an attendant stepped forward to ask if they needed help.

She was in her mid thirties and all bright smiles, spine all straight as she looked over Bella's head at Lucas, since he called so much attention with his height.

Bell rolled her eyes as Luke mentioned them looking at dinner tables and got them roped into a full tour of the store. As they passed by the kitchen, though, she spotted cookies and her stomach growled loud enough that both Luke and the attendant heard.

"I'm sorry, how rude of me... Would you like some cookies?" The lady held up her tray and Bella took two for herself, then pushed two in Luke's hand, checking the woman's name tag. Sheila.

Sheila kept dragging them around for twenty more minutes and Bell was amazed on the woman's relentless attitude. Bravo for spotting the most gullible of all her clients, because if it was up to Lucas alone, they'd have taken half the store by now.

"No, I don't like that," Bella took Luke's cookie from his hand, before he could bring it up to his mouth and took a bite herself, "it's too... modern."

"She likes antiques, Victorian stuff," Lucas explained, passing Bella his last cookie and pressing a kiss to the top of her head, "think vampire."

Bella rolled her eyes, but she was smiling, more busy devouring her snack than paying any attention to the employee trying to extort her husband. Luke had enough money to burn, if he wanted to buy those dumb armchairs, then so be it.

It was their house, after all, right?

"You didn't like a single thing?" Luke whined as they stepped out of the store, him now holding several papers that made him the proud owner of an ugly as hell armchair, a king sized bed that apparently was non-negotiable no matter what Bella thought about the size and a vintage inspired fridge that she had to admit was quite adorable.

"i liked the fridge," Bell shrugged, intertwining their fingers and guiding him away from the store, "and not that she was flirting with you, Mr. Atwood."

Lucas' opened a huge, smug smile, "she was not!"

"Uh-hum, whatever you say, Mr. Atwood," Bella mocked Sheila's drawl once again, giggling and leaning against his arm, "we gotta buy bubble wrap and boxes before going home. Tape too."

"Whatever you want, Mrs. Atwood," Luke mocked her right back, moving his arm so it was wrapped around her shoulders.

Three hours later they were sitting in the living room of their cramped little rental, boxes all around and trying to sort through the mess. For such a small place, it was surprising how much stuff they could fit in it.

"Here," Luke took the glasses from her hands, "let me bubble wrap it before you break it."

"I'm not an ogre, you know?" Bella pouted, but she didn't really fight him. There was a weird ache in the middle of her stomach and she wasn't sure if it was nerves, now that it all felt real, or something else.

Lucas seemed unbothered and that bothered her.

"Didn't you like this place at all?" Bella asked, fiddling with her pants. She hadn't changed out of her destroyed jeans and was now regretting it, wishing she was in sweatpants, "you seem so happy about moving out."

"I liked this place alright," he shrugged, confused, "I'm just excited about the new house, aren't you?"

Luke one, Bella zero, she thought bitterly. She squinted at him, undoing the buttons of her jeans and kicking them off with a frustrated groan. When he raised a quizzical eyebrow, Bell simply shrugged, "it was squeezing me... Of course I'm excited about the new place, I picked it, you're the one who hurled all over it."

He let out a chuckle at that, rolling his eyes, "just marking the territory, Bells," Lucas placed the glasses inside the box between his legs, "why are you pouting, baby?"

"I don't know," Bella winced, getting up from the ground and pacing the small space, crossing her arms, "I guess I- I'm just worried...?" her stomach squeezed at that and Bell took it as a sign. Yeah, worried was the right word.

"About the house deed?" Lucas frowned now, "if you don't want it to be in both our names, we can put it in just yours... Would it help...?" he sounded wounded and Bella flinched at the idea she was hurting him mere twenty hours after they had just gone through hell together.

"No, it's not that-" she felt clammy and claustrophobic, "it's not that, Luke, I just- I guess it's packing everything and moving and then there's- There's this whole situation-" she gestured at herself, causing Lucas to glare at her.

"Bella-"

"No, stop, before you go on with the it's not your fault speech, I'm not saying that, I just-" Bella fanned herself, feeling nauseous, "I think it's just so much and I don't feel prepared for this at all..."

"Hey," Luke got on his knees, crawling closer and grabbing her hands, "Bell, I know it's a lot, but we've been through worse before, right? We might not be the best adults out there, the smartest and most prepared, but we do alright."

Bella let out a watery chuckle, wrapping an arm around her stomach as a whole new wave of nausea caused her to get covered with cold sweat, "we do alright..." she agreed, planting her hands on her knees and breathing out slowly, until her heart calmed down and her racing thoughts stopped.

Luke was still watching her and he opened a bright smile as she raised her thumbs up and kissed the top of his head, "we're good enough at this, right?"

"Yep," he tilted his head back so she could kiss him upside down, "sit down, you look ready to topple over, Bell."

Instead of helping, at all, with the wrapping of the glasses, Bella sat on the couch for another ten minutes, before deciding she what she really needed was a shower.

immediately Luke's head snapped up and she couldn't help but think of those puppies who cried when separated by a door, "I'm fine," she stressed, although that wasn't exactly true. Her panic had lessened considerably, but the clammy sensation had fully morphed into nausea, "I'm going to take a shower and head to bed, I'm tired."

"I'm just gonna finish up here," he reached up without moving from the ground, squeezing her hand, "don't lock the bathroom door."

"Aye, captain," she rolled her eyes, squeezing his hand back and walking the short distance to the bathroom. Once inside, Bella braced against the sink, pointedly avoiding looking at the toilet.

At least one good thing about everything happening at once, they'd be out of this place soon and she would have no bad memories to avoid in the new house.

Her stomach gurgled, unhappily, and Bella splashed some cold water on her face and her nape, grabbing her long hair and wrapping it around itself on a knot on the base of her neck. A soft burp rolled up, followed by another and another... She spat some acid in the sink and let out a groan, tasting the cookies all over again.

Bella lowered her forehead to the granite of the sink, wrapping an arm around her stomach and taking slow, measured breaths. There was no way she had gotten food poisoning from four measly cookies...

"We need wine glass- Bell!?" Luke had entered the bathroom without knocking and she could hear his panic loud and clear at finding her folded in the middle like that, "baby, baby, baby, what is it?!"

"Shhhh-" Bella groaned, wincing as he touched her face and forced her to straighten up, "I'm fine-"

"You're pale as hell. What's wrong?" Luke was the one to talk, considered he had gone from his normal creamy color straight into bunny-white, "sit down, baby-" he pushed her on the closed toilet and Bella rolled her eyes, pushing his hands off her arm.

"I think the cookies didn't sit well, that's all," she groaned, glaring at him as Luke crouched down between her legs, extremely worried, "stop looking at me like that, Lucas."

"Sorry, I- Cookies? What cookies-"

"From the store?" she grimaced and pressed a fist to her mouth, muffling another wet belch, "they're not sitting well..."

"Jesus Christ, Isabella," he let out a relieved sigh, lowering his head all the way to her lap, "you nearly gave me a heart attack."

Her stomach churned, sending up a splash of acidic sludge and Bella swallowed it, shuddering, "and I'm gonna puke on your hair if you don't move," she warned, her words sticking together and tugging lightly on Luke's hair.

He let out a little hysterical chuckle, pulling back and then jumping as he realized how serious she was when Bella gagged and squeezed her hand over her lips, whole body convulsing.

"Oh shit, okay-" he moved out of the way so Bell could kneel before the toilet and threw the lid up, grabbing her hair just in time as she heaved again and a sludge of chunky brown vomit hit the water.

"Eww..." Bell whined, sniffling and clumsily reaching for the flush, the movement pushing up another wet burp and causing her to freeze, panting over the water. Luke cringed, planting a hand on her forehead to support her head and the next minute her whole body went forward with yet another productive gag.

Bella coughed several times, spitting in the water, "flush..."

He obeyed with an amused huff at the demanding tone, "all out?"

"noOURp-" a sick burp came from the depth of her stomach, but didn't bring anything with it. Bella white knuckled the porcelain, mouth open and drooling over the water.

Lucas bit down on his lip, "Bell?"

She removed a clammy hand from the toilet, pressing it on her stomach and massaging up another heave, this one productive and much more watery, "I-I-...." Bella panted, before she projectile vomited another watery stream and then collapsed to the side, against Luke's chest.

"All done?" he reached in blindly, grabbing a wide of toilet paper and wiping her mouth and chin, "baby?"

"So gross," Bella's voice was several notes too deep, "your little flirt poisoned me."

Luke let out a startled chuckle, pressing a kiss to her clammy forehead and rubbing her arm, throwing the dirty toilet paper inside the bowl and pressing the flush, "don't be silly, with the cookies she offered both of us?"

Bella groaned at the movement, wrapping an arm around her stomach and curling up against Luke, "yeah, an elaborate plan to get rid of me..." she slid down on the bathroom floor in order to press her face to his thigh and Luke let out a groan.

"Bellaaaa, the tiles are cold- C'mon, baby, the bed is not even that far-"

"Do you have no love for your wife?" She groaned, pinching his thigh, "you want me to get up? When I just got sick? When my belly hurts? Lucas?!"

He let out a snort at her tone, "you're such a huge baby," he rolled his eyes, grabbing her arms and forcing her up, picking her up like a toddler, "there we go-"

"No romance. At. All," Bella scoffed, hiding a smile against his shoulder and locking her legs behind his back as he tried to lie her down on the bed, "cuddle me."

"Don't you want me to get you a bin?" Luke asked, falling on top of her and chuckling when the bed jostle caused her to gag and groan, "yeah, that's what I thought, babe."

"Alright, fine..." she unlocked her legs, letting him go, "but hurry back!"

[chibifox2002]

The Bird's Broken Nest

After arriving at the Safe Haven, Janet finally shares some things about herself to her comrades.

Warning: This fic contains conversation on topics of stillbirth/premature death. If you are sensitive to those types of topics, please do not read!

Janet was exhausted.

Wait… actually no, exhausted wasn't a strong enough word to describe how out of it she was. Her entire body felt like it was practically lit on fire after having an elephant stomp on her several times over. Enduring everything that this cursed factory had thrown at her so far was finally starting to catch up to her, and considering her old age, she's honestly surprised that she didn't just die right then and there after all her adrenaline had worn off.

But here she was, still kicking and walking shakily back to Poppy, Dog Day, Baby Long Legs and Kissy in the Safe Haven to rest after talking with Doey.

Janet had grabbed a few pillows and placed them next to her toys and slowly (and painfully) sat down next to them, setting her grab pack to the side. By the God's above her shoulders needed this break right now. She sat in silence for a few moments before speaking.

“So, how are you four holding up? D’ya need anything?” She asked, a look of strong concern on her face as she turned to speak to the four toys. One of them, Baby, fast asleep against Kissy Missy.

“No thanks Janet, we're fine right now. Thank you though!” Poppy said, the exhaustion clear in her voice.

“Alright then, just let me know if you need anything honey…” Janet said, turning her gaze to the other toys within the Haven. They were all going about their business, yet Janet could tell that they were wary of her. She couldn't blame them though, if she were in their position she'd feel that way too.

Some of the toys were chatting amongst themselves, some were playing with the kickballs just a bit in front of her, but most of them were resting their own injuries just as Dog Day and Kissy were. Janet closed her eyes, wanting to rest her eyes and maybe even get some sleep before heading back out.

She was starting to doze off when she felt eyes on her, she glanced to her left, Dog Day was staring at her, he quickly snapped his head away when he noticed that Janet had noticed him.

“Dog Day?” Janet started, “Do you need something, hun?” She asked, he probably wanted some food or something.

“O-Oh! Um- Well…” Dog Day stuttered, clearly unsure if to ask his question or not. “Well… I don't need anything, but I wanted to ask you something.”

“Go for it buddy.” Janet gave him the okay.

“Forgive me if I'm looking too much into this, but I noticed that you always seem to end up in a daze whenever we stumbled upon some of the infant beds when we were in the upper levels… Is that the area you used to work at..?” Dog Day finished, uncertainty in his voice.

Oh.

She'd figured the question about her place in the factory would pop up soon. She just still wasn't sure how to answer it, but considering what her comrades have shared with her so far, she decided that it was only fair to at least try to tell them.

“Oh no sweetpea, I didn't work in Playcare… to be honest with you, I didn't even work with the toys like you and Kissy. I worked in the section of the factory that made the normal toys… the ones that made it to the toy stores and stuff.” Janet adjusted herself upward and continued. “But I did go there often to visit the children, especially during my pregnancy when I wasn't able to do factory work.”

“Pregnancy?” Poppy chimed in. “You have kids? Huh… I guess that explains your motherly nature then!” She said with a small giggle. Sharing a happy glance with Kissy before looking back to the older woman.

Janet’s face had gone cold… as if she had seen a ghost…

“Janet? You okay? I didn't say anything that upset you… did I?” Poppy asked, nervously.

“Oh- uh… no Pop, you're alright… I just…” her words drifted off, as if contemplating something.

“I don't have a child…”

Kissy leaned over, sharing the same confused look as her two friends. Even a few other toys began glancing over from their respective areas at the comment. Dog Day then spoke up, “But, you just said that you were pregnant? How could you not have a child if you were pregnant at some point?”

Janet sighed, once again adjusting herself so she'd be facing the three confused toys.

“How much do you all know about human biology? Specifically for human reproduction?”

Dog Day paused and thought for a bit, “... Well probably just the basics really. Two adults get together and make a child together. Why?”

Janet nodded as she cleared her throat, considering how to go about this.

“Well, are you aware of something called infertility?” Janet asked, the toys shook their heads. Figures, the adults probably didn't think about teaching that.

“Well, infertility means that someone doesn't have the ability to have a child of their own, and for a while I had actually struggled with that. But there's always a slight chance that, with medical aid, that person is able to have a pregnancy, and I was able to.” Janet paused. Thinking about those times, the happiness her and her husband felt when they had gotten the news.

“I still remember that day well… When my late husband and I had gotten the news that we were gonna be parents to a baby boy, we were practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. We had been trying for over three years at that point and we were thrilled!”

Janet chuckled softly, “We actually started preparing a room for the baby that day. We had gotten everything, a cradle with the softest blankets and pillows we could find, plenty of baby clothes, we even made a list of the best baby food for when they were born. We had little fluffy sheep painted all across the walls and put glow in the dark stars on them too!”

Janet paused for a second to glance at the toys, their eyes glued to her, all of them did. Even Doey had his head peeking out of the doorframe of the generator room.

“But…” Janet sighed, her expression changing to a more somber one.

“One night, I was at the hospital for a checkup for the baby. I ended up having to reschedule for later in the night due to something else popping up, so I had to take care of that first.” Janet's heart began to ache.

“Well, after the tests the doctor finally came back with the results and… She told me that the baby hadn't survived… and that we had to prepare to remove the body from me immediately…”

Silence flooded the Safe Haven while Janet took a shaky breath, tears starting to form in her eyes.

“I… was… heartbroken, to put it gently.” She choked on her tears. “One moment, I thought I was finally going to have the family I always wanted, and then the next second, the doctors are inducing labor so I could push a dead body out of me…”

Tears were falling down her face now, blurring her vision of the shocked expressions of the toys around her.

“Heh, but you wanna know the funny part?...”

Janet choked out, a bitter smile on her face.

“After I had healed and gotten out of the hospital, I had tried to go back to work but they didn't let me in... Playtime Co. had laid me off while I was in the hospital and refused to explain why. I couldn't even contact my husband no matter what I did. So I had to look for a new job and deal with all the bills all at the same time with no help… And that's not even considering the therapy bills I had as well.”

A dry laugh left her throat. “I guess… this-” Janet gestured around her. “-is why… They knew I'd be pissed knowing what they were doing down here…”

Janet sniffled, the silence within the Safe Haven was loud. She shifted as she wiped at her tear covered face.

“I-I’m sorry… that was probably a lot huh… I didn't mean for all of that to spill out.”

Kissy was then next to her, wrapping an arm around the broken human woman in an attempt to comfort her.

Poppy spoke. “I'm… so sorry for your loss Janet… That must have been terrible for you to go through alone.”

“Not as bad as what you all have gone through…” Janet said softly, leaning into Kissy.

Soon all the toys were surrounding the small group, Doey now being completely out of the generator room and sharing the same saddened expression on his face as the others.

“U-um.” A new, tiny voice stuttered.

Janet and the others looked up towards the source of the voice, meeting eyes with a Hoppy Hopscotch toy, who was slowly approaching them while they spoke.

“What was his name? Y-Your baby I mean. Didja have a name for him?”

Janet paused, and after a moment cleared her throat and spoke.

“...Milo… I had wanted to name him Milo… After the main character from my favorite movie… I had always thought it was a lovely name for a little boy…”

Janet looked down at her hands which were instinctively holding her stomach, like she had done when she was still pregnant, when she would talk to her precious baby.

“Milo… my sweet little Milo.”

Then at that moment, a small blue hand placed itself onto Janet’s. She looked up to see Baby looking at her, cooing. Janet took him from Kissy and cradled him, letting him wrap his stretchy arms around her as he got settled in her arms.

As Baby began to doze off, Janet let out a yawn, her exhaustion now stronger than ever as her body screamed at her to sleep.

“You should sleep now pal… You need it.” Doey said as he grabbed some blankets and draped it around her and Kissy.

A few of the other toys placed more pillows around them as Dog Day laid down behind them, acting as another pillow for them, and began to fall asleep too.

As Janet began to drift to sleep, her mind began to wander. Conjuring up a mental image of her laying in bed in her husband's arms, wrapped in warm blankets and fluffy pillows, as she held her baby, her little Milo, in her arms…

[satyricplotter]

time lapse (you're always at the same place, looking the same)

pairing: tim drake x reader (kept gn, one use of they pronoun) word count: 2,804 words lol rating: gen notes: i finished writing this five minutes ago and im not gonna edit it :p i also wanted to make this WAY angstier which... i might stlll do... if i ever continue this... anyway, title from this song by miss never married but divorced three times kim taeyeon. used this map for the metro, and this map for the districts.

while working a case, tim runs into an old ex. not that he notices.

.

tim can sense the approach before the hand wraps around the back of the only other chair available. he doesn't look up —vainly hopes you're only here to grab the chair and pull it toward one of the very empty tables. who knows? maybe you just need an odd number of chairs to feel comfortable.

of course, he is not so lucky. you clear your throat, call his attention.

"hello, stranger," you say, voice wavering at the end.

he looks up, resigned to lose a few more minutes of his precious time. it's not your fault that tim's feeling so irritated right now. sleepless night after sleepless night pouring over this case have dragged him out to this café at a monstrous hour of the morning because he couldn't stand staring at the four walls of his bedroom knowing he's been getting nowhere. he's not getting anywhere here either, but at least the brew's better.

really, any other time, tim might've entertained it. straightened and smiled charmingly, gestured for you to sit, paid for a treat on top of the coffee you're carrying. you look very sweet and nervous—white-knuckling the back of the chair, smile straining but firm—which he likes. easy to unnerve, but with a spine. just his type.

not today, though.

"what is it?" he says, eyes flickering back to his computer screen. just polite enough not to get a scalding latte thrown on him. he does not need third degree burns right now. he's close enough to calling it quits and committing some murder as is.

even as the silence stretches, you don't leave. tim is not feigning disinterest—he is disinterested, he just wants you to leave, so he looks up again, eyebrow raised. you're staring at him, unreadable expression in your face. and the longer you look at him, the more something pricks at the back of his neck. an uneasy feeling washes over him.

then you grin. broad and amused. tim blinks, dumbfounded. what? he was just gearing up for those burns and now you're grinning?

"hey," you say, voice way lighter than before. maybe you take rejection super well? "can i sit here?"

of course not. tim sighs, rubs the bridge of his nose.

well, whatever. he can commend perseverance. maybe a little distraction won't hurt. he can always leave.

"sure," he says, gesturing to the chair. "just be quiet."

"you got it."

you make true with your promise. the table's big enough that you can sit across him, pull out your own laptop, and work in silence without bothering him, and as soon as you get in the groove of things, it's as though you're all alone in this café. tim's not so lucky. if you had cast a spell on him, it would not be quite as effective as your silent, unbothered presence is at distracting him. the fact that the case's not moving at all—no matter where he prowls, searches, spies—is not helping. after an hour of fruitless pondering and texting steph and duke (monitoring the switch in the patrols, more like), he gets up to grab another americano. whatever. it's cold outside.

you pay him no mind, only nodding when he asks you to watch over his stuff.

it's a little annoying, actually.

he studies you as he waits at the counter for his name to be called. that same sense of unease pokes at him, a thread waiting to be pulled to unravel… what, exactly? certainly what he is feeling now is a sense of recognition, but where has he seen you exactly? he tries to picture you in the places he frequents and fails miserably. then maybe he hasn't seen you in the flesh, but elsewhere… photos? just now he was going through the victim's family archive. again he fails to place you.

the victim is a 26 year old, white male doing a masters in arboriculture and urban forestry. he'd been working on mercey island to study the degradation of a specific type of tree around the sewage treatment plant. had taken line 1 on angelo and mysteriously wasn't on the train when it got to arena. police had determined the subject had gotten off in bolland to catch the ferry and slipped in the banks. (why would he even take the ferry? the connection with line 5 was two stations away and it would've taken him straight into newtown, a few blocks away from his apartment instead of going all the way round to rogers basin and then what? catching a cab? paying triple fare? c'mon. some of us aren't stupid.)

so the common sense explanation was they'd killed this guy to shut him up about something. the issue was what he'd found out and who had killed him for it. almost everybody in the family agreed with this. steph was of the opinion the guy had not really found anything, but he'd gotten close enough. he and barbara thought he'd managed to hide something given the general paranoia he'd exhibited in the cctv vids from his last few hours alive, but where he'd put it was far beyond him. even if he hadn't, the people who'd killed him certainly believed he had and it was a grave enough offense to warrant a rush job on this guy's murder. a visit to ivy was par for the course in flora related cases, but she'd refused to lend them a hand and so tim was drawing blanks on the hows, the whys and the where.

until you. a possible connection.

he looks at you again. his parents had been pretty important wall street brokers. your coat is tailored. your phone's seems like a recent acquisition.

maybe.

he settles down in his seat with his steaming cup and slides a raspberry croissant over to you with a smile. you stop typing, arch an eyebrow at him.

"a sorry for being rude earlier," he says, charmingly. raises his cup with a little laugh. "not a morning bird!"

you rest your chin on the palm of your hand, eyes twinkling in amusement. "is that so?"

tim nudges the pastry closer to you. "will you forgive me?"

your smile unfurls lazily and a little bit cocky as you take the croissant quite deliberately without touching him. "we shall see."

(kinda hot, honestly.

okay, focus.)

"are you an early bird?" he asks.

"mm, not quite," you say, peeling off the wrapper. tim knows it's still warm from having carried it over, but by the way it flops a little under your fingers, it must be from the last batch of yesterday's pastries. well, he would've bought you a new one if they had any.

he tries again. "so you've stayed up all night? you don't look it."

"you do," you say, popping a bite of the pastry in your mouth. a little bit of the raspberry jam sticks to your cheek. tim grabs his mug so his fingers he can't reach out to wipe it. what can he say. big fan of hygiene, him.

"big nights at work," he says, hiding a yawn behind his hand. "are you working overtime at your… job?" an embarrassed smile, well-practiced. "sorry, i don't actually know what you do."

"of course you don't," you say, simply. "i haven't told you."

tim's fingers tighten on the mug. "well, i am asking. in case it wasn't obvious."

you munch on another piece. the jam is still there. "why do you wanna know?"

right. why does he want to know? it wouldn't take that long to track you down and doxx you if he wanted to. would probably be easier. he could do it in his sleep, if that time were ever to come.

a man is dead, tim, he reminds himself. play nice.

"well, how am i supposed to pick you up after work if i don't know if you're working overtime?" he says, faux smoothly.

that shocks a laugh at out of you, and tim drinks only to hide the satisfaction of getting a hit.

"cute," you say, giving him a once over. "but i've got a boyfriend."

that's news. tim doesn't feel disappointed. not really. it's just another door shut in his face. he'll have to find another way in.

he shrugs. "that's a shame."

"well, don't play demure now," you laugh. "what are you working on? you've been staring the hell out of that screen."

tim smiles sheepishly. "do i look as stuck as i am?"

"little bit," you admit. "anything i can do to help?"

bingo.

"i can't say much," he says, "because the case is technically still ongoing, but i'm helping out the mayor's office trying to draft a proposal to improve the city's urban safety measures. coming up blank because i want people to be safe, but still be able to enjoy the city without everything being gated, you know? there's only a few pleasures in gotham, after all."

you nod, thoughtfully. "that's laudable. what are you thinking?"

"thanks. the most straightforward way—and cheapest, probably—would be to install railings, hire guards around the parks—"

"they're gonna be bought off immediately, dude."

"well, yeah. and the railings are not gonna deter anyone who's willing to gamble their life on line 1 being late. or jumping over to the beach and slipping down the bank, like that guy last week."

"slipping down… oh! you mean tony!"

tim blinks, affecting surprise. "you knew the guy?"

"yeah," you say, slipping into sorrow. tim shifts in his seat. well, of course if you knew him, you'd care. dude was dead. "we went to gcu together, got in the same study group for organic chem. he used to take the train with me every thursday, got off at the same stop and he'd walk me home. didn't talk to him much after college, but it's a shame he passed."

"must've been. he seemed young," tim says.

"he was! last i heard he was doing his masters. his poor mom's devastated."

his surprise this time is genuine. "you know his mother?"

"we didn't date, if that's what you're thinking," you rush to explain. "i used to live in chinatown back then, not so far from the banks, actually—the flooding was awful back in 2016, by the way, you should do something about that—and tony loves the sea, so he'd always take the ferry back home even though it was the long way around. i think he lived in the east end back then? but the ferry station was only like three blocks away from my apartment, and sometimes i'd make the journey over to his mom's house with him—just to see what it was like, you know? see the world through his eyes. tony loved nature. he loved it despite everything steel and concrete eating it up more and more. didn't even mind that the ferry had to pass blackgate if he got to stare at the open sea, even though i damn nearly pissed my pants every time we heard the noises—sorry, i'm talking too much, aren't i?"

"no," he croaks. clears his throat. "it's not too much."

"really? you look a little pale."

tim shakes his head. "it's fine," he says. "go on."

it is fine. he'd just forgotten. forgotten this guy was human. had friends. had family. people who missed him. who would continue to miss him even after the case was closed. forgotten what he was doing this for. not to solve a puzzle, but to give the people that he'd left behind the closure they needed. and the truth. always the truth.

"anyway, so we went a few times. we'd get off by loeb bridge and stay a few hours at his mom's house, and when it was about to get dark, he'd walk me over to grayson station and i'd take the green line back home. i sent his mom a message right after i found out—she really was distraught. the insurance company is making a right mess out of things. i hear they went to check over his apartment and apparently they left no stone unturned looking for the suicide note that was never gonna be there because when they left, it looked like they'd ransacked the place. it's disrespectful, is what it is, and just so his mum can't cash in the life insurance."

"the insurance company did that?" he asks. "are you sure someone didn't just… actually ransack the place?"

"who knows." you shrug. "but his mom said she'd left the place spotless before they came in, and i trust her. maybe you should tell the mayor about that. it can't be the first stunt those guys pull."

"no, probably not," tim says absently, tapping his fingers on the table. in fact, you've probably hit the nail on the head. it cannot be the first time they do this. he checks his watch. 07:34 AM. he can squeeze in a morning visit, why not? "listen, i gotta get going. i've got a meeting across town."

"oh, yeah, no worries." you wave him away. as he shrugs on his coat and stashes his laptop in his bag, you steal one of his pens to jot down something on a napkin. you slide it over to him. "don't be a stranger."

tim grabs it and turns it over. written on it is tony's mother's name and phone number. he knows this, because he already has them on file. he looks at you askance.

you wink at him. "help her make her case."

tim blinks, then grins. "will do!"

"it was nice to catch up with you!" you yell after him as he goes, waving. tim waves back, still grinning when he hits the asphalt.

two blocks away, stephanie pulls him into an alley. "you have the devil's luck, tim, you really do."

tim grins. "you got all that?"

"yep," she says, tapping on the comms device oracle gave her to upload the recording of the conversation to her server. "can't believe you had the comms on you."

he shrugs. "was listening on your patrol, that's all."

"ha! no one's paying you to babysit, control freak." she shakes her head. "can't believe you randomly walked into a lead when we've had no luck for days—"

"heh. what can i say? it's the—"

"—and coming from your ex of all people? dude."

"—talent of the master—what?"

"what?"

"what do you mean?"

"what do i mean by what? the lead? it's obviously the insurance company—"

"no, fuck that," he says. stephanie scowls, incensed at the nonsense and the interruption. tim doesn't care, he can't care, what does she mean? "my ex?"

"yeah? back in school—oh my god, you did not notice?" stephanie scrambles to get out her phone, furiously scrolling through her gallery, and then shoves a picture underneath tim's nose. "oh, you idiot—see?"

he sees. he sure fucking sees. right there, grinning up at him is.. you. the picture is one of an outing back in… what? junior year? it's you, and tim, and steph amidst a group of other high schoolers, absolutely demolishing the manbat special at batburger. he has his arm around you. fuck.

fuck.

"tim, tim, look at me, don't hide your face in your hands—you didn't notice you were talking to your ex?"

tim groans into his palms, slides down the grimy, disgusting wall onto the grimy, disgusting floor.

that's why you were familiar. that's why the sense of unease. that's why you were nervous—

oh, no, he'd been so rude. he'd broken up with you and then you'd tried being nice when you saw him again after all these years and he had forgotten about you.

"ha, ha!" stephanie laughs. is she recording? fuck, she's recording. tim tries to push the phone away, but she's quicker. "cass, can you believe this doofus?"

"badly done," cass says. oh, they're facetiming.

tim groans again, stands up to walk away. "i gotta—i gotta apologize— i have to—"

stephanie holds him back by the scruff of the neck, which is to say, the hood of his sweatshirt. "no can't do, mister. we've got to pay a morning call to that lovely insurance company playing whack-a-mole in our crime scenes. that's why you got the mother's number right?"

"oh, no," tim says, freezing. "was it… was it obvious i didn't know? is that— do you think — do you think that's why i got—"

"do i think the fact that you did not recognize your ex in the flesh directly influence the fact that you got the victim' mom's number instead of, you know, theirs? uh, yeah. man, you're hopeless."

"yep," cass echoes.

tim slumps back down to the floor in despair.

"man," steph cackles. "i can't wait to text jay about this."

[flowerchildshawn]

Oh Scar...

The doors opened in the middle of the meeting, and Skizz smiled brightly as a familiar face was revealed.

"Scarface! Good to see you buddy, where have you been?"

Scar seemed to bite his lips from the inside, pulling his mouth into a tight line. He looked away, then focused on the ground as he walked, his cane clicking on the ground and echoing around the silent room. Skizz almost called out after the man, but Impulse put a hand on his arm. He looked over and saw his friend shake his head solemnly before watching Scar with sad eyes. The other had sat down in his seat, False scooting her chair closer to him to pull him into a half hug. Wels on Scar's other side took off his gauntlets and took Scar's hand in one of his, patting it with the other.

Xisuma continued the meeting after greeting Scar with a sad and knowing look, keeping things soft and light. He didn't speak as loud as usual, but Skizz had no trouble hearing him due to everyone else falling completely silent. It ended shortly after, and it seemed like everyone gave Scar a hug before they left. Skizz wanted to ask what had happened, but followed Impulse out and away as Mumbo, Grian, and Bdubs seemed to huddle around Scar instead.

"Is he okay?" Skizz asked worriedly, wringing his hands. "Did I say the wrong thing?"

"From what I can tell no, and you didn't say the wrong thing." Impulse explains softly, the two walking in the direction of the nether portal. "Scar loses his grip on his world hopping sometimes, I'm sure you've heard him tell stories about it before."

Skizz nods and Impulse sighs sadly as the two step into the nether. "Sometimes he comes back, and starts chattering about his adventure, really happy to share. Others, he comes back silent."

"Like now."

"Like now." Impulse echoes, shaking out his hands. "We never find out what happened on those hops, all we can do is try to be there for him. It's been a while since he'd had a bad hop, I really hope it wasn't as bad as season nine."

"What.. what happened then?"

"The whole "Buttercups" vs "The Perimeter" thing was started because Scar was having frequent nightmares and needed someone staying with him to make sure he didn't hurt himself. We speak about it like a giant silly thing because that helps Scar too. It helps him focus on the silly things we all do as friends and not whatever had happened to him."

Skizz quietly follows Impulse along the rest of the nether walk, then out through his own portal. Skizz gently grabs Impulse's arm to stop him from walking ahead as he comes to a conclusion. "Has he ever gone to therapy?"

"He did before, but at some point he stopped and never told anyone but Xisuma why. As far as we're aware, it wasn't Scar's choice to stop going."

"Do you think if I ask him, he'll let me be his therapist?"

Impulse thought for a moment. "Maybe, but if you ask him, and he says no, don't press."

"I'll still be there for him, no shoving." Skizz says with a silly salute and Impulse huffs a laugh.

"Alright alright."

It's a few days later when Skizz finally spots Scar alone. He wanted to give the man time before he asked, and he had a feeling that if Scar wasn't being followed by someone, that would be his time to step forward.

"Hey Scarface!"

"Skizzly!" Scar called back with a smile, he's not as energetic as usual, but he at least was talking. "What can I do for you on this fine afternoon?"

"I wanted to ask you something, and you don't gotta agree or anything, but I just wanted to run something past you." He knows his serious tone wasn't putting Scar at ease, especially given the worried furrow in his brow, but he needed his friend to know he would mean what he was about to say. "It's none of my business, but if you need or want someone to talk to about stuff, I want you to know you can talk to me. I used to do this therapy thing a while ago, got an expensive piece of paper to show for it in school and everything, but I just wanted to tell you I'd be here if you needed to talk."

"You don't gotta, or ever mention this again, but I wanted to make sure you knew I'd be here for you if you wanted to." Skizz finishes, and he's shaken with the force of the hug Scar gives him. He hugs him back tightly as Scar's breath is clearly shaking with near sobs. "I've got you bud, don't even worry about it."

Scar loses control of his universe/world hopping sometimes. When this happens the Hermits will hear about it, Scar loves telling stories after all. But sometimes, even if he's gone for a while, he'll come back silent. Dead silent. No one knows what he encountered, they just help cheer him up.

.

[northern-passage]

some of you may have seen over on my kithj blog but i'm currently in the process of editing/rewriting the current chapters of tnp (mainly the prologue & ch1) i'm only on the prologue right now but making steady progress. i'm getting to a lot of edits i've been putting off (like the wraith fight) and updating/revising some of the lore and worldbuilding. i'm hopeful this will improve what's already there and also motivate me to keep going and finally get back in the saddle completely.

i've made the decision to cut out certain choices, the biggest ones being that you can no longer turn Clementine away on the road (it was always a bit of an empty choice and just resulted in the player losing interactions with a main character who is ultimately unavoidable) as well as genderlocking the sibling. congrats, you now have a little sister!

otherwise the only other major changes i'm planning on at the moment is the aforementioned wraith fight, though i don't imagine the fight itself changing too much, mainly the structure and choices, and then i also plan to rewrite Noel's route in ch1. Noel's route has been something that has bothered me since the start, and i'm going to essentially swap xir path in ch1-- rather than going to the isolation district (which ultimately doesn't do much, since you go with him either way the following day in ch2) you'll be going along with him on his house calls. there are a lot of other minor things i'll be editing as well, but those are the only big content changes i'm looking at currently.

the wraith fight will probably take some time, and i want to update with both chapter overhauls completed, so don't expect that any time soon, but i figured i'd share what i'm up to at the moment :-) thank you as always for your patience and support!

[vynnyal]

It's super late, but I wanted to do a quick "art vs artist" / summary of 2024 :] mostly long form animation and slugcat sketches this year, but I snuck in a few good ones.

[34saveme34]

okay, kind of real reason I said this, might delete later though if I feel I regret saying it but

this is about how 4 interacts with 3

it feels like in certain fanworks, 4's doubts and feelings are completely disregarded

he's just there to be teasing 3 about how he's gay and to fluster 3, even when he doesn't say anything which is even more odd to me

when, based on how 4 seems to work as a character when it comes to 3 it's always to for one, get back at him, and also, I think he has a hard time being genuine with 3 and gets stupid flustered about it so he pushes it into being a mean little bitch

channeling his energy into making 3 feel worse instead of letting himself feel what he would feel

and when he lets himself feel those things they don't last long AND it's in like. dire circumstances or at least sad ones, being Trash Friends and Perfect

especially Perfect where first he's like "I didn't know you felt that way" to 3 I DO think he's like a little flustered like cmon so of course after that he has to put out that energy in teasing 3

and it's NEVER randomly or just cuz

each time he would tease 3 it's during character development times

yes, when he called him a tsundere was also one

I think he accidentally established himself being like that with 3 when it comes to feelings and stuff because of their past

and I also DO think he absolutely has self esteem problems that make it hard to admit to it, possibly some internalised homophobia where he's like, it's not fully specifically about being gay but about who he is gay for, so maybe my word choice here wasn't entirely right oops

but yea like, especially with recent stuff, I do genuinely think he's scared to admit to shit too

like I know I know it's a meme show but like if they SOMEHOW are genuine both at the same time, they'd be LITERALLY unstoppable I'm telling you

and also filled with so much gayness but that's a given

maaaaaaaaaybe this was spawned by me seeing way too much fanon stuff where he is overly confident and I keep saying when I see them that "he wouldn't say that" "he wouldn't do that" but I DIGRESS HDLFKJDKL

btw, nsfw/suggestive part of fandom, before some of you come at me, it doesn't mean I can't see him as dominant, that's a whole another thing, him being a loser has NOTHING to do with fucking, okay okay, anyways enough of that

but yeah man, if 3 was just a smidge smarter and less scared of the idea that 4 could make fun of him, maybe in a very specific situation he could easily tease 4 and 4 would be very VERY caught off guard, like 3 would "accidentally" imply feelings for 4 and first 4 is like :O like visibly stupid shocked then going with "the Bit" and making it look like he didn't just think that 3 wanted him so badly and then 3 would continue the bit because he also doesn't want to be awkward- cmoonnnnn

now on that I also don't like genuine confident 3 either, he's overconfident to a comical degree to make up for his fragile ego and also scared of being vulnerable but he's also not a baby and I'm tired of pretending that I'm not seeing that. he's grown, he's stronger now, maybe not quite fully but man, am I proud of how far he came despite it all

[taps mic] is this thing on?

may I share an idea?

internalised homophobia 4- [I'm booed off the stage and escorted off the premises for my take]

[piningpercussionist]

(ooc)

*clawing my way out of my grave*

I finally restocked the queue! Sorry for my continual Corpse behavior,, but you should have regularly scheduled content again for a bit!

[luna-loveboop]

I made a side blog! @luna-love-reboops is the current url. It's for reblogging stuff. Mainly Loz and Lu content :)

[daemon-in-my-head]

WIP Whenever

Thank you for the tag @jashonja

Finally got smth that isn't just stick figures, ik the hair nd sht is weird, trust the process skdhsksksms (knowing me, this is by no means an indication of the final product)

Dunno if I'll keep the flower or if I'll just throw gore in there or not... I kinda wanna but also kinda hmmmmm subtlety is fun.

Tagging @aleksxo @defira85 @beecreeper @quacaserous nd anyone else who wants to

Somebody remind me to do the accessories I forgot em... Earings nd rings my beloved

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[verflares]

lying face down on the floor. there are so many things to draw always. that is so crazy

[2-kamikou-1]

ok but no guys seriously how do you ask for reassurance in a way that doesn't make you look like a stupid yandere stereotype