#mollys writing

[ogatas-beloved]

We're the Same

Summary: Ogata questions Morgan about why it decided to kill its husband

Ships: Morgan x Ogata

Setting: Canon

Warnings: Abusive relationship, child death

Dividers

"Morgan."

Morgan turned at the sound of the voice to find Ogata standing in its doorway once again. He had been here quite often recently, Morgan smiled and nodded to him.

"Good morning, Mr. Ogata."

Ogata immediately began unbuttoning his uniform jacket, he peeled it off and tossed it into Morgan's hands, "I need it fixed."

"Oh, of course, sir," Morgan grinned mischievously, "I feel like I just did this for you not too long ago."

Ogata huffed, "Military's not exactly delicate work, what do you expect?"

"I expected you to throw your coat at me at least once a week," Morgan laughed, "I help the other soldiers here too, but I seem to see a whole lot of you in particular."

"Are you implying something here, Morgan?" His eyes narrowed as he watched Morgan take a seat on its bed and prepare to work.

"Oh, not at all, sir." Morgan replied with a smug smile still plastered across its features.

Ogata stood for a while longer, silently watching Morgan work. It seemed unbothered by his presence, by his eyes on it. He wasn't used to someone being so relaxed around him. He gently sat down beside Morgan on the bed, leaning in to get a closer look at its stitching.

"You're really good at that." He commented blankly.

Morgan didn't look up, simply nodded and carried on, "Yes, sir. My mother was a seamstress and she taught me everything she knew."

Ogata sighed and looked away, "You don't need to call me sir, or Mr. Just Ogata is fine."

Morgan smiled, "Oh, alright. Sorry if it bothered you, I'm just used to being formal with all the men in my life. It's a habit now, even if we're familiar."

"I'm not..." He paused, deciding not to finish that train of thought, "You were even like that with your husband?"

Moegan paused for a moment, he turned back to look at it, its hands were gripping the fabric tightly, its face was contorted in anger. And then like nothing had happened at all, it went back to sewing, expression neutral once again.

"Yes. He insisted on it."

He studied Morgan as it carried on with its work, looking for any more hints of such emotion, but he found none. His cold eyes fixated on the swift, skillful movement of its hands with the needle.

"...Can I ask you something?" He finally spoke.

"Hm. You seem to like doing that." Morgan noted.

"What?"

"Asking me questions while I fix your clothes for you. You seem to like it." Morgan explained.

Did he? He hadn't noticed. "Do I do it often?"

It nodded, "You do."

He thought for a moment before responding, "What did I ask you last time?"

"Hmm, last time... let me think..." It stopped, looking up, finger pressed to its mouth as it contemplated, "Oh, that's right. You asked if I knew anything about guns."

"I see..." He was silent again for a few moments, eyes following Morgan's movements again, "...What made you decide to kill him?"

Morgan was startled by the bluntness of the question, its eyes widened and it drew back from him, "Uh... that-... well, that certainly is, uh..."

He continued, "You said he beat you. But you tolerated the beatings for years before you did it. What made you decide he had to die instead of just running away? What was the final straw? That's what I want to know this time."

"You uh... you sure ask interesting questions, Ogata..." Morgan took a deep shaky breath in, "It wasn't... it wasn't the beatings."

"Then what was it?"

Morgan hesitated, looking at Ogata, he had the same blank expression as usual but somehow it felt so safe, it found peace in his dark, empty eyes.

"I... I was pregnant. But... I lost the baby." Morgan said, "It was how he acted after..."

"Will you tell me about it?" His hand slid over its, even if his face couldn't hold the same emotion, his touch was warm and comforting.

It nodded and closed its eyes, resting its hands on its thighs as it thought back to that day. It was so vivid in its memory, every detail. As much as it may have wanted to, it could never forget.

***

Morgan had been huddled up in bed for the past few days now, hardly able to walk. It didn't do much but curl up and sob, and when it wasn't doing that, it was sleeping, tossing and turning with nightmares. Michael had hardly looked at it in the past few days, let alone spoken to it. Morgan had instead been kept under the care of an old friend, Dr. Basil Grimoire, as well as Michael's servants.

This particular evening, Basil was sat at its bedside as it laid facing opposite the door, curled up into the fetal position, holding its stomach and sniffling. It heard the door to the bedroom creak open behind it and Basil looked up. It didn't need to ask, it could tell who it was by the look on Basil's face. But what could he want now, after ignoring its pain for the past three days?

"Will she be better in time for our trip?" His voice was cold and uncaring.

Basil scoffed, "In two days? No. Of course not."

He sighed in frustration, "Suppose I'll have to drag her along like that then."

"Excuse me?" Basil stood from his chair, teeth gritted and hands balled into fists at his side.

"You heard me," Morgan heard the floorboard creaking under his weight as he approached the side of the bed, "I will not be leaving my wife while I go to a foreign country."

"Your wife just gave birth a few days ago!" Basil snapped.

"And yet there is no child to show for it."

Morgan felt something snap inside of it when it heard that. No child to show for it? The way he said it was as if she had never existed at all. That was their daughter, no, Morgan's daughter. Only Morgan's daughter. Because it had been Morgan who had carried her tenderly in its own body all that time. Morgan who had nearly died to bring her into this world. Morgan, who had held her lifeless little body, swaddled in fabric. Morgan who had said goodbye, despite never really getting to say hello. And Morgan alone who had grieved the little life that never was.

When he had been told the news, he had come into the room and stood over Morgan's bed as it held its daughter in its arms. He regarded her with cold indifference. We will simply have to try again. That was all he had to say. All she was to him was a failed attempt.

Basil had been there too that day, and now here he was again, by Morgan's bedside, holding back his rage. His face twisted as he breathed raggedly, trying to calm himself down enough to speak, "Morgan is in no condition to travel."

"Well, I'm telling you she's going to."

"Pardon me, sir, but who's the medical professional here-"

Morgan sat up, putting its hand up to silence Basil, "Dr. Grimoire, please. It's fine." It turned to Michael shakily, "I'll go with you."

He nodded solemnly, "That's right. I know best, dear, I'm glad you're finally starting to learn that."

Morgan gritted its teeth and nodded, slowly sliding its feet over the side of the bed, "Of course, sir."

Basil put his hands on Morgan's shoulders, gently nudging it back toward the bed, "Morgan, you can't-"

"Dr. Grimoire..." Morgan met his eyes, brows furrowed, lip quivering, "I will be okay. I will."

Michael turned and headed back toward the door, "You should begin packing. You're behind."

"Yes, sir..." Morgan nodded, "But... oh, I am still a bit weak. Do you suppose... I could trouble you to help, Dr. Grimoire?"

Basil breathed out slowly, head down, eyes closed, "I suppose so."

"Good," Michael paused in the doorway, "I'll be in my study. If you need anything else... call Helen here. I have too much to do to be bothered."

And with that, he was gone. Morgan shakily stood from the bed, making its way to its closet, Basil following not far behind. It began sorting through its clothing, Basil stood at its side, allowing it to brace itself against his arm.

"Morgan, you really aren't in any condition to travel at all, let alone internationally."

"I know, Basil, but I'm not going to appease him," Morgan turned to face him, "I'm going because this is my way out."

Basil looked confused, "What... what do you mean, way out?"

Morgan hobbled back to the bed and sat down at the foot of it, "He's been planning this trip for a while now. Ever since I heard word of it, I've been teaching myself Japanese." Morgan smiled but tears streamed down its cheeks as it continued, "He doesn't know a word of it. I can... I can leave. Basil, I can run away. How can he look for me if he can't speak to anyone?"

Basil shook his head, "You... you can't be serious..."

"I am. If everything goes well, I'll contact you and I'll tell you where I am," Morgan wiped its eyes with the back of its hand, "You can't tell anyone. Please, Basil. I can't live like this anymore."

Basil paused, he took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose where they had sat. He sighed and nodded, "Contact me as soon as you think he can't find you again. I'll come. I don't want you to be alone."

"I will. I promise."

Morgan stood and began gathering up its luggage and essentials with Basil's help. It felt bad for lying to Basil, but it couldn't tell him the truth. He'd be horrified if he knew. Morgan had tried so hard to forgive Michael for everything else, but this was too far. He was so callous about its daughter. As much as it hated him, as much as it suffered because of him, it could never hate her. She was its daughter, and it had loved her. It didn't understand how he couldn't love her. How couldn't he love her? Why wouldn't he love his daughter, if not his wife, why not his own daughter?

At first, the plan had been exactly as it had told Basil. It had prepared for life in Japan, and it was simply going to run away. Until he had told that nurse to take Morgan's baby from it, until he had told her to 'get rid of it'. Like she was nothing, less than nothing, like she was garbage. That's when it knew Michael had to die.

***

It hadn't meant to get so wrapped up. It hadn't meant to tell him that much. By the time Morgan finished speaking, it was sobbing. Ogata remained silent, gripping its hand tightly, expression unchanged. Morgan looked at him through mist clouded eyes, it could've sworn there was something else behind that emotionless face. But it could've just been projecting.

"What was her name?"

Morgan was caught off guard, he'd spoken it so quietly, so softly. It almost thought it imagined it. "Wh... what?"

He spoke louder this time, "The baby. What was her name?"

"You know something, Ogata?" Morgan smiled, wiping its eyes with its handkerchief, "Of all the people who know, you're the first person to ever ask me that."

"Maybe they don't think you named her. You loved her so much. I figured you must have."

"Yes," Morgan nodded, "Annaliese. Her name was Annaliese."

"I like that name. And I think you made the right choice."

"Thank you, Ogata... I..." Morgan slowly raised its hand, pressing it against his cheek, staring into his eyes. They were still, cold, dark pools of black. His expression was still a blank one, lips flat, no feeling behind his gaze. So why did it feel so comforted, so safe? More than it ever had by anyone else.

It started to lean toward him, heart pounding in its chest, but it froze. Suddenly realizing what it was doing, or what it was about to do, it jerked back quickly, apologizing. Ogata was quicker, grabbing it by the wrist and tugging it back toward him.

"It's okay."

He cupped Morgan's face with his other hand and leaned in, pressing a kiss against its lips. It stared at him in shock when he pulled back, he relinquished his grip on its wrist and guided Morgan gently to lay its head against his chest, petting its hair softly. Morgan stiffened, unsure what to make of it all, but eventually relaxed against him, arms wrapping around his back.

"You're safe here with me. Because we're the same, you and I."

[strawberryyyenthusiast]

Steddie are the type of couple to go viral on TikTok bc someone recorded them at a bar. They’re stupidly in love, holding onto each other, sitting in each other’s laps, kissing, holding hands, dancing, etc.

The person who posts them captions the video with: “I want a love like theirs omg”

Everyone is going crazy, the video gets 3 million likes overnight because everyone is either obsessed with them as a couple or want to have a threesome with them.

No one really knows who they are but then Gareth on the corroded coffin account comments “Eddie what are you doing here???”

Robin stitches the original video and it shows her deadpan face before she flips the camera and pans over to the two of them laying on the couch together— Eddie is hand feeding Steve grapes while Steve is knitting a blanket for their bed.

[ofgeography]

SURPRISE!!! I WROTE A BOOK & IT'S COMING OUT VERY SOON!

isn't that crazy??? isn't that nuts??? lol. i wrote something and they paid me for it, that's coco bananas, honestly.

that being said, you can now preorder WE HEXED THE MOON, which is a book about four best friends who fuck around with The Moon and then very quickly Find Out about The Moon. it is also about:

how we cope with living at what feels like the end of the world

how our families are all so Messy

how being a girl is impossible no matter what Way you are a girl - and the myriad Ways there are

how ferociously you can love your friends

how badly you can fuck up with them anyway

how you probably shouldn't fuck with The Moon because, lowkey? she's kind of a bitch.

so how do you get this book??? WELL.

it's a little funny because the novella version is coming out in the UK first (it was shortlisted! for a prize can u believe?) and is available for preorder there now. an expanded, full-novel version is coming out in the US in early 2026. you can pre-order the novella here. you can register your interest in the 2026 expanded U.S. edition here.

i don't actually have a real official release date for the U.S. edition so you'll just have to be patient. but i promise not to email you about anything else til there's a (pre-)order link!

ok that's it. i really can't wait for you guys to read it. i think it's good! i do actually think it's really good.

[stay-close]

It’s kinda pointless to fight for what you want when what you want continues to break your heart.

Molly McAdams

[ubeb0nes]

Councilor Sevika trying to balance between staying true to her people with her heels dug into the ground, and also assimilating just enough with the enemy (Piltover, as a whole, really) to get them to let their guard down- or really, to just listen.

Councilor Sevika hanging up the Jackpot Arm in exchange for a more everyday-functional setup, or often just no arm at all.

Councilor Sevika who does this pointedly to show the rest of the Council that she doesn't need a metal arm to impose her presence or to feel secure

Councilor Sevika who hates getting all gussied up, but Shoola insists that the other Councilors will be a little more amiable if she does. Sevika despises that she has to compromise in the first place, but if Zaun becomes freer the more she takes herself apart, then so be it.

Councilor Sevika who sees Isha in all the children of Zaun who look at her in awe.

Councilor Sevika who bites back her rage whenever another councilor says they're impressed by how well-read or well-spoken she is, or smiles and nods as they listen to her proposals with a vacant look in their eyes.

Councilor Sevika who is the angriest she's ever been in this era of "peace".

Councilor Sevika who pulls a grieving Ekko aside and tells him that the future is in his hands, but she'll sharpen the mantle as best as she can before she hands it to him

Ekko who has a statue put up of Councilor Sevika in the same square as Vander's. The plaque reads 'The Lanes' Most Loyal, Zaun's Iron Hand'

Councilor Sevika thinks that's corny, but hugs the kid anyway.

Councilor Sevika who never lets herself be truly happy, because she's scared she'll forget everything she and her people have been through.

[imissmybbgtrpangi]

makes sense

[asoftepiloguemylove]

THERE'S ALWAYS MORE // ON HEALING

Mandy Hale // 小年的你 Better Days (2019) dir. Derek Tsang // Molly McCully Brown "Poetry, Patience, and Prayer" from Places I've Taken My Body // B.N Pressman Stories of My Childhood // Karin Hadadan Little Moments of Joy That are Actually Big Things // Aftersun (2022) dir. Charlotte Wells // unknown // Patrick Ness More Than This // unknown // Honey Boy (2019) dir. Alma Har'el

[a-most-beloved-fool]

Kira has a nightmare, one night when she's staying at the O'Brien's. Miles and Keiko, sleeping in the other room, don't hear her get up - but Molly does.

And Molly, being clever and kind, knows exactly what to do when someone has a nightmare. (Or, at least, she knows what her parents always do for her.) So she sits Kira down and brings her a glass of warm milk, and sits by her side as she drinks it.

Then, she takes Kira by the hand and leads her - to her parents bedroom. "I always sleep with mommy and daddy after a nightmare," she explains, when Kira stops outside the door. "It helps! Mommy chases the scary things away. And Daddy is warm."

"Molly," Kira says quietly, a little embarrassed, "I don't think your parents want me in their bed. Even if I did have a nightmare."

"No, they won't mind!" Molly assures.

Then, of course, Miles wakes up.

"Molly?" he asks, voice rough with sleep. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"No, but Miss Kira did!"

And now Keiko's awake, too, sitting up and saying, "Nerys? Are you alright?"

Mortified, Kira says, "Yes, I'm fine, I was just - on my way back to bed. Molly brought me here. I'm - sorry for waking you. I'll just be-"

"You can stay, if you want," Miles offers.

Kira doesn't quite think she heard him right. "What?"

"You can sleep here, if you think it might help," Keiko says.

"Or even if you don't!" Miles adds.

Kira opens her mouth, then closes it again. "I, uh-"

Keiko gets up, and takes Kira, gently, by the hand. Her palm is soft, Kira can't help but notice.

"Brr, it's freezing out here!" Keiko says, tugging Kira along. "You'd better get in before you catch your death of cold. Miles is practically a furnace, so you'll be nice and warm with us."

"And, Molly, you'd best go back to bed, too. You've got school in the morning," Miles says, as Keiko bundles Kira into the bed between them.

As Molly makes her way out, Keiko swings a lazy arm over Kira's back. "Sleep," she hums. "We'll be here in the morning."

Kira, feeling warm and cared for and more than a little overwhelmed, does.

[nellasbookplanet]

I've been thinking about Mollymauk, as I'm periodically wont to do, and the fandom discussion about him as a moral compass. Because the interesting thing here is, Molly wasn’t a very moral character. He was an unrepentant scammer. He had no respect for interpersonal boundaries and would deliberately push and break them. Generally, he was an asshole. As far as actually having a strong moral stance I would say Fjord was the standout of early m9, and to some extent Beau.

But here’s the thing: almost all of early m9 thought of themselves as horrible people. Fjord had been bullied so bad growing up that he still dealt with self-hate from it, and now suffered from survivor's guilt to boot. Caleb had killed his own parents. Beau, while she hated her dad, also had internalized self-hate and on some level thought she’d been such a shitty daughter she deserved his treatment. Nott was stuck in a body she considered monstrous. Yasha had survivor's guilt and knew she’d done bad things in her blank spots. Even when they did good, they didn’t think of themselves as good. Most of them were suspicious and asocial and faced the world with the same kind of distrust they expected to be (and were experienced in being) met with. (Jester was an exception, an agent of neither good nor bad but of amoral chaos)

But Molly was different. He was outspoken about loving life and people. He wanted to spread joy, even to people he didnt know or had even met: he slipped coin into people's pockets, hid a silver in a tree just so some stranger would one day be happy to find it. He openly cared for the party early on; was one of the first to step in and help Caleb when he went catatonic in battle. Above all, Molly had rules: where everyone else would agonize over what was the right or wrong or smart thing to do, Molly loudly proclaimed we don't leave people behind, and we leave every place better than we found it.

But the thing about Molly’s rules was, they were largely a cover. While the rest of the m9 thought they were bad even as they did good, Molly thought of himself as good even as he did bad. He scammed people, but made it a good and memorable experience, therefore thinking he gave more than he took. He charmed Nott and Fjord without consent, and when confronted would claim it was to help them. Out of the group, Beau saw through this, not because she was a better person but because she was a cynic. She saw that he caused harm, just as she did, and was personally affronted that he still thought of himself as good and tried to leave people happy, whereas she deliberately left every place worse than she found it.

I see Molly as a moral compass of the group not because he was actually any more moral than them, but because they made him their template. He was joy and brightness and he died trying to save them because it was the right thing to do, and they all chose to honor him by emulating his rules more than Molly himself ever did, because to them it was more than just a cover, backed up by genuine moral thought and discussion rather than small gestures. He taught them that it was possible to be kind of a shit person and still be good, to still love yourself and others. The idealized Molly they created never existed, and finally died for good when they resurrected him in the end and were met with a stranger, who they welcomed with the same love and care they would've expected Molly to show them.

[bigfootsmom]

they all fall down

bucktommy • hurt/comfort • 13.5k

for BTHB: broken ribs

—Kinard, firefighter Buckley, come in!” Even with the hiss of static over the line, Tommy can hear the barely concealed worry in Nash’s voice. “Kinard, Buckley! Respond—” Relief floods through him, a laugh of disbelief tumbling from his mouth as he grabs at the headset. “Go for Kinard,” he answers breathlessly. — An obligatory helicopter crash story.

read on ao3

[ogatas-beloved]

Knock Knock

Description: A rash of suspicious disembodied knocking has spread throughout the school and Tsukishima is trying to find who's behind it. Written for JanAUary Prompt #8 - College Setting: College AU Ships: Morgan x Tsukishima Warnings: Slightly suggestive, Usami Dividers

This whole thing had started about a week ago. Morgan had been invited over to Usami's dorm on a Friday night for one of their fairly regular meet ups. When it got there, it had let itself in, as it usually did, and made itself comfortable on the couch. It could hear Usami messing around with something in his bedroom, things clattering to the floor and bumps against the wall. He emerged shortly after from the bedroom, carrying a stack of DVDs and grinning like a mad man.

"Every time I come over for girl's night, you tell me 'oooh this movie's supposed to be soooooo scary'-" Morgan poorly mocked Usami's voice, "If one of these stupid movies doesn't make me piss my pants tonight, I'm actually killing you this time."

He snickered and sat the DVDs down on the wooden coffee table in front of Morgan, "Ohhh, trust me, Morgan. These ones are something special. I had to go through a lot of trouble to even get my hands on them."

Morgan grimaced, "This better not be red room footage or some freak shit like that."

"Ooooh that would be something-" He sighed dejectedly as if disappointed that he hadn't managed to get his hands on real footage of murder, "But no. Just banned horror movies."

Morgan crossed it's arms over its chest and leaned into the plush back of the couch, "Well, maybe one of them will be worth while."

Usami took one of the DVDs out of the case and slid it into the player, but before he could even make it back to the couch, there was a loud pounding at his door. He stopped and cut his eyes at it angrily, stomping over to the door and yanking it open, ready to yell at whoever was there for interrupting their movie night.

When it didn't hear any screaming from Usami, Morgan turned around to see what was going on. He was half leaned out the door, craning his neck down the hallway, looking side to side at rapid speeds.

"What the hell are you doing?" It questioned.

"There's no one here!" He pulled his head back in and slammed the door, "The bastard ding-dong-ditched me!"

"Ugh, that's one of the dumb ass pranks in the book," Morgan rolled its eyes, "Whatever, man, let's just get back to the movies."

Usami huffed and pouted but agreed, he returned to the couch and the two began watching the first movie- but not more than a few minutes into it- the same thing happened again. A furious, aggressive knocking at the door, so hard it was rattling the entire door.

"OH, YOU'RE BACK, HUH?!" Usami shot up and investigated the sound again only to be met with an empty hallway once again.

Morgan quirked an eyebrow as it leaned over the back of the couch to watch him, "Damn, how are they getting away so fast?"

"I don't know, but I'm gonna catch 'em if they do it again!" He turned back to Morgan, he was grinning but a vein was also popping out on his forehead. He was pissed off, no doubt, but he also seemed excited about the prospect of confronting the prankster.

Unfortunately for Usami, he never did get the chance to do that. Throughout the night it happened several more times, each time he would be at the door within seconds- by the end of it he was even waiting by the door for them each time- and yet he still found no one. Usami was getting more and more angry, but Morgan was feeling a bit more anxious about the situation. It couldn't understand how someone was doing this and managing to get away so quickly. Usami's dorm was all the way down at the end of the hall and there weren't any other occupied rooms close by enough that someone should be able to slip off into one.

That night had only been the start. This mysterious, disembodied knocking spread like a plague throughout the campus. Each night multiple different people would report the knocking at their door. It hit all over, dorms in completely opposite sides of the campus reported hearing the knocking at the same time- and no one ever found a culprit when they opened the door.

Which brought them to today, Morgan, Sugimoto, Koito, and Usami were sat together at a table near one of the on campus restaurants, eating their lunch and discussing the rumors that were floating around the college.

"I heard it's a big group of people who coordinated this thing," Sugimoto said, crumbs falling out of his mouth from the sandwich he was currently chewing.

"A bunch of little fucks and when I get my hands on them, I swear," Usami's eye was twitching and he was gripping the table like he wanted to break it in half, "I'm gonna have fun bashing their heads in for this."

"You mean you guys believe its people? You don't think its… a ghost?" Morgan asked.

"No, because that's ridiculous," Morgan looked up when it heard the exhausted sounding voice at its side, Tsukishima was now standing at the end of the table looking somehow more tired than he usually did, "It's just a bunch of punks messing with people."

Morgan pouted and crossed it's arms, "Oh, yeah? How come nobody's seen anything then, huh?"

Tsukishima rolled his eyes, "There's plenty of places they could slip off to after knocking."

"Not by Usami's dorm!" Morgan defended, "His is the only one in use down that hallway, the rest are locked up!"

Tsukishima exhaled through his nose and groaned, "So, they might've broken into one, Morgan."

"Why would they do all that just for some stupid prank?" Koito piped up.

"We're working under an assumption the 'prank' is a distraction from something, maybe theft." Tsukishima offered, "Look, if you guys notice anything out of the ordinary- and I DON'T mean ghostly, report it to me immediately."

"Hmm… Hey, has there been any sort of pattern to the knocking?" Sugimoto asked.

"Pattern? Hmm… No, as far as I know it's been random."

"You have a list of the dorms that have reported it, don't you?" Koito asked, "Can we take a look?"

Tsukishima groaned and rubbed his temples, "Can you all stay out of this? I'm the RA, I'LL handle it. I don't want you three pulling some stupid crap on me."

"You're not handling it quick enough!" Usami cried, "You should let us take over for you, I bet we could find the criminal."

"I don't want YOU doing any investigative work," A look of utter disgust crossed Tsukishima's features, "Not after last time…"

"Awww, but Tsukishima, we just wanna help…" Morgan pouted and looked up at him with the biggest, saddest eyes it could manage.

He sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out a folded up piece of paper and throwing it onto the table, "Fine. Here's a list of reports including times and dorm numbers. Maybe you can figure out if there's a pattern or not."

Sugimoto took the paper and unfurled it, laying it out on the table between them. The three of them all hunched over the paper, inspecting each report carefully. Morgan gasped as it noticed something about the room numbers, Koito seemed to have picked up on it too, but Sugimoto and Usami still seemed lost.

"Did you see something?" Usami asked.

"Yeah! Tsukishima, look there is a pattern!" Morgan cried.

"It's right. Look, they're hitting corresponding numbers on each sides of the building, skipping a number for the next day, and then going back to that number the following day." Koito pointed.

Tsukishima investigated the numbers himself, he squinted at the paper, "Oh… wow, you're right. That is what they're doing."

"Right! So, if we follow this pattern the next dorm numbers to be hit should be…" Morgan calculated in its head which number would be targetted on each side and then frowned, "Oh… my dorm and Sugimoto's dorm."

Tsukishima nodded, "That's good then, now we have an angle to try to attack it from. I'll need both of you to keep an eye out tonight."

Sugimoto saluted, but Morgan whined pathetically and wrapped itself around Tsukishima's arm, "You can't be seriouuuusss!! By myself??"

"Wh- Yes, why not?!" He tried to wiggle out of Morgan's grasp but its grip was just too tight.

"Tsukishimaaaaaaa, you gotta help meeeee!! Can't you come over tonight?! What if it really is a ghost, I'm scared!!" Morgan sobbed, nuzzling its face into his side.

"I- f-fine! Fine, I'll be there!" Tsukishima agreed, "Now… let go."

"Oop! Sorry!" Morgan released his arm and smiled at him, his face was beat red and he refused to make eye contact, looking off elsewhere in the cafeteria, "Thank you, Tsukishima, you're so sweet."

"Yeah, yeah." He waved Morgan off and grabbed the paper up from the table, "I've… gotta go now. I've got other things to take care of. I'll see you tonight, Morgan."

He gave a quick wave and made his way out, the moment he was gone, Usami was immediately pouncing on his opportunity to get involved too. He grabbed Sugimoto by the shoulders and shook him roughly.

"Well, if Morgan's got Tsukishima, you need a partner too, don't you?! Don't you, Sugimoto?!"

Sugimoto pushed back away from the table and grimaced, "Uh- I don't know about that-"

"Of course you do! I'll be there at 7!"

Morgan sighed and shook its head, "Well, I've got to get to my next class, I'll see you guys later."

"Oh, goodbye, Morgan!"

"Don't leave me here with him-"

Sugimoto's protests fell on deaf ears as Morgan stood up from the table and waved, Usami continued pushing in his direction and insisting on 'helping him' when the pranker came to his door. Morgan frowned as it stepped out of the cafeteria and head toward its class. It was NOT ready for tonight.

At around 7:30 that night, as Morgan was in the kitchen making itself a sandwich, it heard a knock at the door. It panicked and froze up- until it heard the voice on the other side.

"Hey, Morgan, you in there?"

Tsukishima. Morgan had forgotten he was coming tonight. It breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door for him. Immediately it threw its arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug, smashing his clipboard into his chest as it did.

"Thank you sooooo much, Tsukishima, I would be so scared staying here by myself tonight!"

Tsukishima awkwardly patted Morgan's back and maneuvered himself out of the hug, "It's… no problem."

"Well, make yourself at home!" Morgan stepped aside and gestured into the room.

Tsukishima nodded and slid past Morgan into the living room and took a seat on the couch, Morgan shut the door and joined him, standing behind the couch and peering over at what he was doing. He was intently focused on a page on his clipboard.

"What's that?" Morgan asked.

"Just reviewing the information about the prankster."

"Or possible ghost."

Tsukishima sighed, but smiled softly, "Or possible ghost."

Morgan grinned and leaned further down, practically laying on Tsukishima's shoulder at this point, "So, when I was at Usami's the knock happened around 8 and then it kept happening for about an hour."

"Yeah, I'm seeing a lot of reports of it happening at those times around the school too." Tsukishima confirmed.

Morgan leaned in further, its cheek brushed against Tsukishima's, its breasts pressed against his shoulder, "Uh… Morgan…"

"Hmm?" It looked over at him, immediately noticing how close it was now, "Oh! I'm sorry!" It shot up and walked around the couch, sitting comfortably beside him instead.

Tsukishima's face was bright red, he didn't make eye contact, just continued to look at his clipboard, "It's… okay." He coughed and decided to change the subject, hoping to aleviate some of the tension in the room, "So, Morgan, do you… really think it's a ghost?"

Morgan smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of its neck, "Uh, well I dunno. I mean, I don't think I… fully believe in that stuff. But… sometimes my paranoia gets to me, ya know?"

"Oh, I… I'm sorry. That must be tough. I'm sorry if I… was rude about it." Well, looks like his attempt to clear some of the tension had backfired.

Morgan shook its head, "No, it's okay. I get it. It is… silly. I just… you know, my brain was having a hard time grasping how quickly they got away from Usami's door the other night."

"Well, that is odd," Tsukishima agreed, "I… don't know if it'll help to hear this, but we did find evidence this morning that someone had broken into the empty dorm across from him."

Morgan sighed, "It does help, a bit… and you agreeing to come here and sit with me even though you thought it was silly helps too, Tsukishima."

Morgan gently rested its hand over his and smiled at him sweetly. His face flushed and without even realizing it, he began leaning it toward Morgan. It matched his movements, their faces inching closer. Tsukishima pressed his lips chastly against Morgan's, it quickly threw its arms around his shoulders and deepened the kiss. Morgan laid back onto the couch, pulling Tsukishima along with it. His hands traveled up its side, pushing underneath its shirt.

He broke away from the kiss and looked down at Morgan, "Is this okay?"

Before it could answer, a loud banging sounded from across the room- the door. Morgan yelped and clung to Tsukishima in fear. He sat up, Morgan coming along with him- he gently rubbed Morgan's back and eased its arms off of him.

"It's okay, it's fine. I'll go check it out."

Tsukishima stood from the couch and slipped over to the door, he peered through the peephole but saw nothing. Morgan followed, huddling up against his side for protection.

"There's no one out there. They must have run already."

Morgan nodded, "They do it fast. But they'll be back, they did it a lot the other night."

Tsukishima and Morgan waited by the door in silence for the second round of knocking, and when it came, Tsukishima was quick to throw the door open, hoping to confront the pranker. But… once again there was no one. He stepped out into the hallway, looking both ways. The nearest dorm was much too far for them to have gotten inside already- but there was a maintenance closet on the other wall adjacent to Morgan's door. They'd have to be very quick, but it was possible they had slipped into the closet.

Tsukishima approached the closet, Morgan peaking its head out of its own door and watching him. He grabbed the door knob- it was unlocked, that was definitely suspicious. He yanked the door open and found- no one. He stood there in shock and confusion, how was it possible? Where had they gone?

"Well?" Morgan called.

He turned to it and shook its head, "There's… no one in there…"

Morgan slid out of their dorm, and over to Tsukishima's side. They both whipped around at the sound of footsteps speeding down the other side of the hallway- Sugimoto and Usami, with two other boys they didn't recognize in tow. One of the boys was bruised and bloody with a swollen eyes, the other was trembling in fear as Sugimoto dragged him along.

"We caught them!!" Usami was grinned madly as he skidded to a stop in front of Morgan and Tsukishima, presenting the pranksters.

Tsukishima stepped in front of Morgan, glaring at the boys, "Names. Now."

The two boys shakily told Tsukishima their names, he took them down on a notepad and nodded. "Who else is working with you?"

The boys looked confused, the one beside Sugimoto spoke up, "What do you mean who else? It's just us two."

Usami whipped around and grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back, "Don't lie to us!!"

"Ah!! I- I swear I'm not lying! It's only us!" He cried.

"Let him go, Usami." Tsukishima ordered, "If there is someone else, we'll find out later. I've got to talk to administration about this anyway."

Tsukishima turned back to Morgan to find it trembling like an Italian greyhound and tears welling in its eyes, it grabbed his arm and hugged it tightly.

"It really was a ghost, Tsukishima!!"

Tsukishima patted Morgan's head gently and instructed Sugimoto and Usami on what to do with the two pranksters they'd caught. After the four of them were gone, he carefully guided Morgan back into its dorm and sat it down on its couch.

"Tsukishima…"

"Yeah, I… don't know what to tell you about that."

He thought about the knocking, the empty hallway, and the closet. The two boys had been caught at Sugimoto's dorm, which meant they were on the other side of the campus. It was still possible they were lying about there being another prankster, trying to protect their friend, but...

"Will you… stay here tonight?" Morgan asked, "I- I don't wanna be alone…"

Tsukishima nodded and made himself comfortable beside Morgan on the couch. It cuddled into his side and hid its face in his coat. Well, they might be haunted, but that wasn't so bad if it meant he could spend more time here with Morgan. And if anything else were to happen tonight, he'd be here to make sure Morgan felt safe and protected.

[thoughtkick]

It’s kinda pointless to fight for what you want when what you want continues to break your heart.

Molly McAdams

[dream-with-a-fever]

every few lifetimes by societysgot on ao3

part i: The thing was, that Ginny Weasley had always been — pretty. This was an undisputed fact, in Harry’s eyes. A known truth. But seeing her like this; ripples of laughter falling from her lips, fair yet sunkissed skin, collecting more freckles by the day, all curves and long legs — was different, was staggering.

(Or, the one where Harry and Ginny become more than friends).

CanonCompliant, Set in and around HBP, Missing Scenes, Harry/Ginny

[ofgeography]

i cannot tell you anything yet but i've been sitting on something for AGES and it's VERY exciting and i'm DYING because all i've wanted to do is gossip about it with you, my closest & best friends that i only sometimes throw a reblog at and then come in hot with a story about meeting BTS so everyone is like "wait, that bitch is STILL ALIVE?" well i am, and something very cool is happening, and i'm excited to tell you all about it in [checks notes] TWO DAYS AND SIXTEEN HOURS

[tornadeoqueen]

you make my motor run, a hangster car show rivals au

“Jake come over to you, yet?”

“Yep.”

“Did he call the Bronco a ‘grocery getter’?”

“Uh huh.”

“And did you call the Mustang a ‘show pony’?”

“Sure did.”

Nat stares at Bradley with a you can’t be serious expression.

“I’ll never understand you two.”

——

Hello I am back with another fic! Featuring a lot of vintage Fords, car jargon, and Jake being a little shit, this one means a lot to me and is also very self-indulgent. Love IS stored in the Bronco!

Title from You Win My Love by Shania Twain. Dedicated to the one and only @urmomsonfire, a fellow rev head ❤️

Read it now on ao3.

[walkingstackofbooks]

IPS/BIL AU where Tain dies before he can send the message. Garak and Worf never go to the gamma quadrant. Julian and Martok don't get rescued.

Back on DS9 the changeling is stopped pretty much just as it was in canon, with Kira and Dax managing to stop the Yukon from reaching the sun, just as it explodes. (Maybe since Garak is still on the station, he notifies Sisko that Bashir has taken the Yukon out?) This time, however, no-one knows it was a changeling, and among all the shock and grief, there's tense speculation about what the hell Julian was doing out there in a runabout with a bomb.

The changeling had planned to never be identified, believing it would sow more confusion and fear in the Federation if they believe one of their own had been secretly allied with the Dominion. And so the changeling had left behind a trail of "Julian" interacting with highly questionable locked-down message-boards such as "Would enhanced individuals be better off under the Dominion?", which would never have been tracked back to him apart from under such scrutiny he's now post-humously receiving. (The changeling knew about Julian's enhancements - to become something is to understand that thing, after all.)

Of course, it is considered whether Julian may have been impersonated by a changeling, but once the link to his enhancements has been revealed - and his parents can't hide it, they confess, and are sentenced to time in a penal colony - it seems very much decided that Doctor Bashir had become an augment extremist, biding his time on DS9 until he could play out his part in the Dominion plot. There's varying levels of acceptance of this among Julian's friends - even if it seems that they have to admit it, it's still almost impossible to believe that Julian could have tried to do that. But it doesn't really matter what they think - life has to go on, and the war's continuing whether they like it or not, and little by little they move on with their now-Julian-less lives.

Time passes. they get a new CMO. The Cardassians re-occupy the station, and Sisko leads the campaign to get it back. Worf and Jadzia get married. Garak gets a message.

A.L.I.V.E. J.S.B.

And no-one knows what to think. JSB can't be... can it? But how...

Garak argues that Doctor Bashir's death is so well-known that no-one would use his name as the basis for some sort of trap. Miles agrees. Everyone else wants to agree. (For a certain definition of 'want'. Julian being alive, not a traitor... that also means he's been doing somewhere in the past ten months, and it's difficult to think about what sort of awful place that might have been.)

Garak and Worf are sent out to chase this signal - in theory, it's recon, but naturally it quickly devolves. They get captured themsleves, finding Camp 371 and Julian, looking ten months worse for wear. Garak learns about Tain's death, and the subspace transmitter he'd began working on and that they'd only just been able to finish, having managed to recruit a recently-abducted Starfleet engineer. An engineer who's currently in solitary, leaving them with a plan to escape now there's a runabout in orbit, but no way to effect it. Unless there's something Garak can do...

And Worf, of course, meets Martok, and is impressed by the Klingon's tale of daily fights for nearly three years. "Almost every day," Martok corrects him. "There have been times when I've woken up with a sore head to find that the doctor has taken my place."

Worf looks to Julian, nodding. "So you are the man we remember," he says. "Your enhancements may have helped you fight, but it was an honourable thing to volunteer."

"My... my enhancements?" asks Julian faintly. "What- what do you mean?"

"Commander, is now really the time—" Garak tries to interrupt but Julian speaks over him.

"No, Garak, I want to know— I-I need to know. What do you mean, Worf?"

And Worf, in his short, succinct way tells Julian how they had believed he had died, and what they had discovered thereafter, and while they know now that he is not an augment extremist, his parents' confession made it clear that he is an augment.

Julian doesn't say very much after that, apart from what is needed to help with the rescue - he calms Garak down, he volunteers to try and figure out what needs doing in the crawl space ("I've learnt at least a few things from tinkering with it over those seven months...") - but otherwise, he's withdrawn and spacey. Garak perserveres - he must get Julian back to DS9, has to hope there's still time to rekindle that light in his doctor's eyes - and manages to get them out, and even locking onto the engineer's life sign in solitary. They make it to the runabout, and escape.

It's a very different sort of homecoming. This time, rather than having only a few hours to get used to the idea that Julian had been missing for a month, they've been mourning him for almost a year, angry and confused and left with so many questions. And they've had almost a week of wondering what's become of Worf and Garak, and to tie themselves in circles wondering if J.S.B really could be Julian Subatoi Bashir.

Garak gets them all beamed directly to sickbay, and it's obvious that Julian's overwhelmed enough by that without having hordes of emotional friends come to greet him. So they're allowed in, one at a time. Miles petitions to be first, and wraps Julian up in what would have been the firmest of hugs - apart from Julian's so gaunt, so... fragile, that Miles find he dare not squeeze too hard. Words gush out - ones that he'd never have thought he'd admit out loud - about how much he missed Julian and how glad he is none of what they said was true, and it takes him some time to realise that he's been blabbering on and Julian's not been saying a word.

Julian has been clinging onto him tightly, though, and that... that's got to be enough, for now.