#next fic i'm writing of them will be happier i swear

[captainsophiestark]

Unexpected Guest

Dick Grayson x Reader

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Written for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: DC

Summary: Dating a vigilante sometimes leads to a few false alarm scares, but Dick Grayson couldn't be happier with how well his partner rolls with his crazy family.

Word Count: 1,410

Category: Fluff

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

Crash!

My eyes shot open at the sound of a noise from the living room of the apartment I shared with my boyfriend, Dick Grayson. The man in question still snored peacefully next to me, annoyingly, but a quick glance at the clock told me why. It wasn't quite 5am, and Dick had been out patrolling until one in the morning. I listened carefully for any other noises in the apartment. I didn't want to wake my poor boyfriend up unless I absolutely had to.

After a few minutes of nothing, I heard another crash followed by a tense voice and what sounded like hushed swearing. This time, I didn't hesitate to roll over and whack Dick on the chest, hard.

His eyes shot open and he was half sitting up when I managed to throw a hand over his mouth to keep him from giving away that we were awake. My wide eyes must've tipped him off to something being wrong, because I immediately saw him shift from sleepy to ready for action.

Slowly, I dropped my hand from his mouth and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"There's someone in our living room. I heard two crashes and someone swearing."

Dick nodded once, then motioned with his hands while mouthing 'stay here'. He hopped off the bed, grabbing his escrima sticks from where he'd thrown them onto the dresser, then stalked towards the door with catlike grace and stealth. After a minute, I decided I couldn't just let him go alone, superhero or no, so I grabbed the bat I kept by my side of the bed and followed after him.

Dick popped out the door, and after a moment without hearing anything, I followed, bat at the ready. I found my boyfriend with one hand on his hip, weapons down, staring into the kitchen. I followed his gaze to find none other than Jason Todd in our kitchen, a mixing bowl and some eggs in front of him and a look with a significant lack of guilt on his face.

"What? I was after somebody and it dragged me all the way to Bludhaven. I needed a place to crash that was closer than Gotham."

Dick and I both shook our heads. As the oldest of a very high number of siblings, his apartment had become a second home base for every single other batkid. When we'd finally moved in together last month, he'd warned me I needed to be prepared for things like this.

"Glad you know to help yourself, Little Wing," said Dick with a sigh, waving one tired hand to Jason before turning and heading back to bed. I squeezed his shoulder and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as he passed me, then headed into the kitchen with a smile.

"My tax for you making me think I'd have to fight off an assailant with a bat at five in the morning is my own serving of whatever you're making," I said, taking a seat on one of the kitchen island stools. Jason raised an eyebrow at me.

"You're not going back to bed?"

"Nah. Unlike Dick, I got to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour last night, so the adrenaline dump isn't threatening to put me to sleep. I'd rather hang out with you, especially since you're a better cook than Dick and I combined. I'm not missing out on that."

Jason snorted, cracking an egg and resuming his cooking all the same.

"Dick contributes nothing to your combined cooking score," he said. "I'm pretty sure he's burned cereal before."

I laughed. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're right. He's gotten better though. We watch the Food Network and look up recipes to make together, and I can trust him with way more than I used to be able to."

"If you could teach him anything it'd be a miracle," said Jason with a snort. I just hummed, trying to pick up some new skills of my own as I watched Jason cook.

"To be totally fair to him, I once forgot what I was doing and strained soup because I was on autopilot for pasta."

Jason barked a laugh, unable to hold himself back, and looked at me with a grin and a raised eyebrow.

"Really?" I nodded. "That's pathetic."

I just shrugged. "Yeah. But at least there's not a lot of places to go but up, after that."

"I guess so."

Jason and I chatted as he cooked and I watched, keeping our voices low so Dick could sleep—although, after the night he'd had, he'd probably sleep through a train in our living room. After breakfast, Jason decided to go down for a nap on the couch, passing out almost as soon as we'd put the last few dishes in the sink. I just smiled, threw a blanket over him, and wandered back into the bedroom to find Dick.

It was late enough in the morning now that my boyfriend was officially up and about, stretching by the bed with his hair still a little messed up from sleeping. I grinned and flopped down against the headboard as he crossed the room to the dresser to pull out clothes.

"How's Jaybird?" he asked. "Still a good cook?"

"Still a great cook. And he's good. He seems a little wiped out from patrols and stuff, though. He's taking a nap on the couch right now."

Dick smiled and shook his head. "I get up and he goes to sleep. Typical."

"Clearly he's avoiding you."

"Clearly."

Dick and I shared a smile, and then he sighed.

"I'm going to take a shower. Hopefully Jason will be up by the time I'm out, because I actually have things to do today."

I smiled, shifting on the bed to pull the covers over myself. "I'm sure you can be quiet if he's not. Wake me up when you're out of the shower, okay? A post-breakfast nap sounds too good to resist right now."

My boyfriend laughed. "Alright, will do. I'll wake you and Jason up when I'm out."

"Mhm. Good luck with him."

"Thanks, I'm gonna need it."

I closed my eyes, getting comfortable and ready for my nap, but before I drifted off I heard Dick's shuffling footsteps crossing the room to stand by my side of the bed. A second later, he sat down next to me, the bed dipping under his weight. I cracked an eye open to squint at him.

"What do you want?"

He grinned at me and chuckled.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to interfere with your nap. I just... I wanted to say how much I appreciate you, and how good you are with my family. They mean the world to me, but I know having vigilantes dropping in at all hours of the day and night can be a little much to deal with. So thank you for being so wonderful about it, and about them."

I sighed, sitting all the way up and propping myself up on my hands to look Dick in the eye.

"Dick, I love you. And I love your family. Sure, it took a little getting used to some of the vigilante stuff, but the longer I know them the more I love them. You don't have to thank me for anything. They're my family too."

Dick absolutely beamed at me, wrapping one arm around my back and pulling me in for a kiss. I immediately reciprocated, tangling one hand in the hair at the nape of his neck. I smiled into the kiss and a moment later, Dick deepened it. We were right on the edge of escalating into something more, but both thought better of it at the last moment.

"I should take a shower," he said, still looking a little reluctant as he pulled away.

"Yeah, and you should stop interrupting my nap."

Dick snorted, rolling his eyes as he finally stood and headed for the bathroom. I grinned after him as he went, flopping back down onto my pillow only as Dick closed the bathroom door.

I took a deep breath and sighed, a smile on my face, as I closed my eyes for the second time. I heard the water start in the bathroom, and a faint smell of breakfast still hung in the air. I was surrounded by people I loved dearly, and who loved me right back. No matter the scare Jason had given me when he'd shown up, I couldn't ask for a better start to my morning than this.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989

DC Taglist: @luv-ghostie

[lamppost-t]

Hey babes !!!! If you aren’t comfortable with this that’s okay but I had an idea for a Joel miller fic.

This is in a universe with no clicker virus…. But ANYWAYS imagine being close with Joel and being a mother figure to Sarah??? And Joel is getting really comfortable with you around and he’s just so happy to see his daughter with a mother figure again :((( I wanna take her shopping and go on family outings with them and see them get their happy ending.

- Yours truly …. Harmonica

UGH YES I LOVE THIS SM

Girls day out

Pairing: Joel x reader, Sarah x Motherfigure!reader

Warnings: None just fluff and barely any usage of y/n

Summary: You take Sarah out for a girls day out for her birthday

Authors note: I had so much fun writing this btw its Fem!reader but I'll write more Gn!reader soon I swear TRUST, Thanks harmonica your literally my home girl!!

not edited, tell me if theres anything wrong it the comments (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞

The hot blaring sun hit your eyes as you held Sarahs hand navagating through the outdoor mall. you guys had been out for hours, you wanted to treat Sarah to something special since Joel was working till around 6 and thought it would be a great time for you guys to bond, so you took a day off of work. "where do you want to go next?" you asked

"Uhm can we mabye stop for a drink?" she replied flashing a smile

You guys madeo your way to a small local coffee shop, one of your personal favorite that you grew up going to. you bought Sarah and you drinks and you guys sat down looking over your mountains of shopping bags. "thank you for this, I had alot of fun" Sarah said softy

"no problem I love having exuses to spend time with you" you replied, to be honest you loved seeing Sarah happy, Sarahs mom had left both Joel and Sarah a bit after Sarah was born and Joel put his all into raising Sarah. still, growing up without a mother figure was hard on Sarah and Joel had noticed. Joel felt horrible for her but there was really nothing he could do. when you and joel started dating and as you got closer to Sarah, Joel noticed Sarah become happier. "I'm really grateful for you y'know" Sarah said taking a sip from her drink "I'm grateful for you too"

When you got home Sarah put on a fashion show for you and Joel of clothes you had bought her.

"Are you ready?" she asked from behind the door, her voice emanating excitment.

"come on out" you laughed glad to see her so happy.

she came out in a purple dress she had been the most excited when she saw it, even though it was very expensive, you didn't bat an eye, beeing able to give Sarah nice things was something you loved doing. Sarah did a small twirl before looking at the both of you

"do you love it or do you love it?" she squealed

"its absolutely gorgous!" Joel said, a smile plastered on his face

"thanks Y/n got it for me!" Sarah joked smiling at you

the rest of the night you, Joel and Sarah watched movies and ate cake until it got late. Sarah had fallen asleep on the couch and Joel picked her up and brought her to her room. you followed and you both put her to sleep. you placed a kiss on her forhead and as you pulled the covers up you stepped back to make sure she was comfortable. you felt Joels hands wrap around your waist as he placed a kiss on your shoulder

"thanks for taking her out today" he said "I don't think shes ever been that excited" "no problem" you smiled.

you enjoyed spoiling Sarah and had no plans to stop.

[coffeebanana]

WIP Reblog Game

Ooooh this one looks fun. Thanks for the tag @kasienda!

I always feel like I see the same games going around and for the most part I've played them before and I feel like I have nothing new to say, so it's exciting to find something new!

List the titles your top five priorities for WIP updates (link your fics for new readers!)

An upcoming scene, event, or detail in each fic that you're looking forward to writing

Bonus: make a poll for your followers to vote on which top 5 WIP they are most excited to see an update on!

Then tag 10 writer friends!

WIP TITLES

everything i know (brings me back to us) - post-s5, post-adrinette break up ladrien fic

This Fire Won't Sleep Through The Night - alyanette princess/knight AU

Entangled - established ladynoir, post-hawkmoth angst, chat's ghosting lb. NSFW

Probably Not The Best Idea - ladrien roommates fic

Say Something - ladrien to prpr hurt/comfort in the aftermath of a sentireveal and gabe-is-hawkmoth reveal

I know I haven't updated Ladrien Roommates in almost a year and Say Something has been nearly as long but aksfbkdsjb I swear they're still on the list. Quite frankly it might take me a while to get back to Say Something though, because I'm just...very stuck. And I keep rethinking the next few chapters.

Also, Happier--my Adrigaminette WIP--gets an honourable mention in the priority list because I SWEAR I'm going to get back to it at some point 😭

UPCOMING

Okay I'm super excited about the arc that the next chapter (which with a little luck may be posted today...) is going to set into motion. Especially because I don't think anyone quite knows where precisely I'm going with it...hehehe

Hm. I have one heart-to-heart scene I have planned for a few chapters from now where Ladybug gets to know Alya a little better and maybe starts to fall for her a little...

Looking forward to the next chapter!! Like, all of it! The thing is, I feel like I need a good chunk of time to really FOCUS on writing it. And I'm still navigating balancing writing time with my work schedule.

There's a little arc that will pop up in the chapter after next where Ladybug has trouble sleeping...and naturally there's no better way to fix that than for Adrien to invite her into his bed 👀

There is a conversation between Adrien and Kagami in the next chapter that was one of the reasons the length of this fic got out of hand 😂

Okay, I think I can find 10 new people to tag... @celestialtitania, @ck2k18, @saiikavon, @mostmagical, @monpetitchattriste, @heartfulselkie, @liiinerle, @hueynomure, @rosie-b, and @wehadabondingmoment

[I'm just now noticing--because apparently when i copied the title over i did NOT read it--this says WIP REBLOG game...which maybe means I was supposed to reblog the original post akjfbskjd. but uh. too late now I'm about to post this 😂]

[greypetrel]

Find the Word Tag Game

I was tagged by @shivunin to find in my wips risk, swing and soft and post the section where they appear.

Meheheheheh thank you, it's been fun and for once I have everything! (Or well, I had to quickly add a swing, but it was there so it's fiiiine).

I tag in my turn to find the words warm, fingers and water in your wips: @deerna @theluckywizard @rowanisawriter @melisusthewee and YOU!

risk

This is DadWolf material from a prompt. I'm not sure whether I'll keep this prompt, but it'll stay in the fic. Aisling is in Kirkwall to research red lyrium, fun times.

“If you knew how to do my work better than me, I wouldn’t be here.” She snapped back before Varric could stop her. She stood up -even with the thick soles of her combat boots, he’s still that much taller. She forgot just how tall Cullen was. “I know what I’m doing, I know the risks as I know my job, I have qualifications for doing it or I wouldn’t be here. If you intend on preventing me from doing it, just say the word and I’ll be on the next plane to Minrathous and that much happier, before you can silence me again.”

swing:

I wanted to write something winter-fest themed. But then someone spoke of a Moby Dick/Dragon Age crossover and well. I'm at 3000 words and ongoing, we have only one bed but I'm building towards them actually sharing it.

He should find a house of his own. Something small, with the pay he now got, he could certainly afford it. Somehow, tho, he only remembered when the day was over, she was curling in her hammock and giggling as she said something particularly silly and he retaliated by pushing at it with a foot, making her swing to and fro. It was late, he would smile at her giggling, and blow off the candles so they could get to sleep. He woke up from nightmares, and the idea of being alone in a room, without her silhouette still visible in the dim light of the embers in the fireplace, the quiet noise of her gentle breath, and if he was lucky, her face peeking from the canvas, the blankets and the pillow she was curled between, mouth open and drooling from one corner, was as unbearable to him as the idea of getting back on a boat.

soft:

Going finally on with the Dark Lady fic. It's a crossover heavy time.

They rose together, Cullen helped her, and went on walking amongst trees enclosed and carefully cared for, flowers waiting for Spring to finally arrive to bloom, and perfectly trimmed lawns that she walked upon, spreading her bare toes in the soft grass. She kept refusing shoes and socks alike. She spun tales for him and asked for his opinion, in a practiced game.

Is this too much cullavellan? I swear I looked in the Origins wip but nothing was found. Unsurprisingly, Alyra doesn't have "soft" in her fic. I wonder why xD

[theclaravoyant]

AN ~ Izzy "Something LGBT+ Just Happened To Me" Hands has been haunting me all my life week so I just had to write something, based on the promos for next week. Spoilers, obviously.

For @fictober-event’s Fictober 2023 prompt: “I'm not saying I didn't like it."

Masterpost of my Fictober OFMD fics

Fandom: Our Flag Means Death Characters/Relationships: Izzy Hands, Lucius Spriggs, with a healthy dose of whoops I tripped and fell into Izzy x Lucius and I actually kinda like it down here (weird but platonic is fine too if you'd prefer) Tags: Canon Typical Homophobia/Internalised Homophobia, brief mention of a suicide attempt. But the story is really soppy and fluffy I swear.

Panto

Stede Fucking Bonnet. If there’s one thing he has to credit the man with, Izzy thinks, it’s that he has a natural knack for beauty the likes of which is not often seen on these seven seas. He looks around at the strings and strings of lanterns which light up the deck like stars and feels … something. Something warm and healing and dangerous and terrifying. It’s in Jim’s smile as Frenchie and Oluwande help adjust one of Bonnet’s jackets for their more slender frame. Archie is arm wrestling with Black Pete and she has a nautical star on her wrist he’s never noticed before. Even their Captain is here, helping Wee John pin some accessories to a dress more bold and glittering and blue than all the treasure in the world and Izzy feels- Izzy… feels…

“Like what you see?”

He jumps near out of his skin, hand flying to the hilt of his sword out of sheer instinct. But it’s just Lucius. He sneers as threateningly as he can muster, but he’s already lost this one. He just can’t get under the kid’s skin these days. And the little fucker knows it. Lucius smiles, sidling up to adjust his already, always, perfect tie.

“Looks like I gave you a bit of a fright. Getting soft, old man?”

“Don’t you dare.”

“Woah, alright then.” He raises a cocky little eyebrow. “Getting hard. Have it your way.”

Izzy grits his teeth. “Twat.”

“Takes one to know one.”

He makes a sound, and that sound is pretty pathetic. He’d really done a number on himself with that bullet. He’d been much better at pushing it all down before. He’d have probably called them all something awful and stormed off to make himself useful, or sulk, or both. But for some reason, he’s still here, and he’s still here, and Lucius is still here looking irritatingly fine about everything. He has a little black stick of make-up between his fingers like a cigarette and something, some godforsaken thing compels Izzy to ask,

“What’s that?”

“Eyeliner.”

“I know it’s fucking eyeliner, I mean what’s-”

Lucius takes a chance, diving for Izzy’s face with the liner and doodling a quick little line and a curl and then he darts back to arms length with a grimace. Izzy’s hand was really far too close to his blade for that and his newly redrawn boundaries were maybe a bit too new for that and Lucius looked like he might finally be worried enough to be scared. When Izzy still hasn’t run him through or run off after a few seconds, he raises up a little cosmetic mirror like it’s part shield, part offering.

“It’s just- you know-” he stammers, “It’s just for fun.”

Izzy examines his reflection. He already has a moustache, but Lucius has taken it upon himself to draw him another one. A bigger one? A pantomime of one over his face. Christ, panto, that takes him back. He’d been a different person back then. A more fun one, for sure. A happier one, a safer one. He looks at himself in the mirror and raises an eyebrow, and imagines? - remembers? - both? - what it would look like to have another one drawn over the top so that someone could see it from up in the nosebleeds. He really fucking misses being seen.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Lucius blusters. “I’ll clean it off. It’s stupid.”

“I’m not saying I didn’t like it.”

Lucius stares.

Izzy stares back.

“Wait, really?”

Izzy swallows hard. He swallows down a lot of things. He pries his hand off the hilt of his sword and lifts both hands away from his body. An invitation. And if his hands shake while he does it, well, they all know better than to fucking say a thing about it.

Lucius moves more slowly this time. A little wary, a little gentle, like he knows what he’s being offered. Izzy focuses on not letting his stupid heart pound so hard it makes him dizzy as he feels the pencil drag down his cheeks and lips and forehead. A long stretch of fragile silence passes between them. He’s not sure exactly when he closed his eyes. Jesus. He almost doesn’t dare open them again.

“How do I look?” he asks at last.

“I think you look fabulous, darling.”

[cellythefloshie]

– ao3 – ask & i’ll answer –  for recs check out my bookshelf! –  join my taglist! – 

So this, this snuck up on me a lot faster than I had anticipated. 500 of you? Following me? Crazy. It seems I have blinked and it happened so I'm going to be doing something a little different for the celebration this time - because I swear I just posted the last of my 300 follower appreciation.

Inspired by @senditcolton 's Hozier prompt list (she did such an amazing job with it and her blurbs so go check them out), I have made a prompt list of my favorite songs from a variety of artists. There are 10 songs, which means only 10 blurbs (which will probably be more along the lines of tiny fics compared to the blurbs I did for the 300-follower celebration). Headlining are my favorite lyrics, here is the Spotify playlist with all of the songs for you to enjoy.

Submit your claim for a specific lyric paired with a player (make sure to read my rules regarding who I write for before you submit). It is on. first come first serve basis for the sake of my own sanity because I know if I do more than 10 I'll still be writing them when I hit my next milestone. The list will be updated as the requests are received. *Prior to posting I shared my prompt list with some friends who wanted to assure Vince Dunn got his prompt. Therefore he will not be eligible for any prompt except for the one that has already been decided for him: Prompt 3, Can't Fight the Moonlight.

;; 500 Follower Celebration

The Night We Met - Nico Hischier I had all and then most of you, some and now none of you.

Delicate - Freddie Andersen Phone lights up my nightstand in the black, come here; you can meet me in the back.

Can't Fight the Moonlight - Vince Dunn If you think that you won't fall, well just wait until the sun goes down.

Tainted Love - Ross ColtonI've got to get away from the pain you drive into the heart of me.

So Good - Adam Lowry Do I think about the one that got away? I know his name, I think about him every day.

Boyfriend - Mat Barzal What are the chances? Everyone's dancing, and he's not with you.

I Wanna Be Yours - Brandon HagelSecrets I have held in my heart are harder to hide than I thought.

I Ain't Worried - Anthony Beauvillier I don't know what you've been told, but time is running out, no need to take it slow.

Everybody Talks - Gabe Landeskog It started with a whisper, and that was when I kissed her.

Drops of Jupiter - Dallas Star of My Choice 👀 Jake Oettinger Was it everything you wanted to find, and did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?

And as always I'm going to wrap up this appreciation to shout out all of the lovely writers and readers who are such an important part of my little community! Every single one of them is talented and is just the sweetest of people so if you for some reason do not follow them already please do so.

@hagelpoint-3821 @starshine-hockey-girl @callsign-denmark @hischierdevils @wyattjohnston @laurenairay @luvmmarner @swissboyhisch @behoright @claireelle18 @midnightsnyx @snugglyducklingbrewhouse @manrocket-mo @txstars @senditcolton @equallyshaw @mp0625 @comphy-and-cozy @hoesforthecanes @puckmaidens @hockeyboysimagines @stlbluesbrat21 @iamveryborrrreddd

And I know I probably missed A LOT of people, so please be sure to check out @cellysbookshelf because I do my best to reblog all of the wonderful fics I read from this community that I couldn't be happier to be a part of.

[incorrectvld-quotes]

50, 62, 65 (SUE ME IM CURIOUS anyways im done now)

I will never sue you over curiosity! The legal fees in this day and age are beyond my paygrade.

50. How long is your longest fic? Ah. That would be Logan's Log Entries coming in at 26,845 words. I love that fic so much but I need to go back and do so much editing to tidy things up and then maybe just maybe I can come back to it like a sailor returning to his lover after a long voyage at sea.

62. Thoughts on cliffhangers? If I'm the one writing them? No. Terrible idea, it will throw me into a rut unless I've written everything out already and am posting by schedule.

If I'm the one reading them? GIMME! I LOVE the suspense and the drama, especially if the updates are regular (on a weekly/monthly schedule) because then I can truly freak out and lose my mind until the next update.

65. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project. This is a Voltron blog but I'm going to talk about the Batfam.

I'm writing this one that I swear I'm almost ready to send to my beta reader, where Jason upon coming back to Gotham is cornered by Bruce who promises him anything he wants so long as he comes home.

What I'm looking forward to the most is the desperation both men have toward getting what they want. For Bruce it's a chance to have his son--his little boy--home again even if he's changed as a person. For Jason it's to get vindication that his death had an impact and his life wasn't swept under the rug as a cautionary tale or something to live up to.

In addition to that is the horror they both feel when they see just what the other has become, and the acceptance that this is what there is and there's no rewinding the clock.

...yeah I have a lot of feelings about this one. They also get to torture the Joker, but that's more of a fun bonus. Very different from my VLD content which I like to keep on the happier side.

[dangerous-advantage]

Number 16? 💜

[link to ask prompts]

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

oh man... calling me out, huh? /lh

off the top of my head, including everything from vague ideas to the fully fleshed out ones, to the ones i've actually written stuff for? nine (at least). which may not seem like a lot, but as i am incapable of writing anything short and/or sweet, that is way more than i am capable of handling at the moment, haha.

as for the au, i've talked about this before on here, but i've fleshed it out a little more to a place where i'm happier with it! so, here's my origami ghost au!

credit where credit is due, i got the og idea/sick-ass name from @noodlenoodlenoodlenoodle. (thanks for letting me adopt this au, and play around with it! i swear i'll write that seratello follow-up fic one of these days <3)

the basic premise is this: leo gets put in a coma, and nobody knows why or how. mikey, who was with him when it happened, was found in a similar state, but woke up the next morning with no memories of what happened. everybody keeps hoping that he'll wake up, writing notes and folding them into little origami shapes for him to read through when he recovers. but time progresses, and they begin to lose hope.

when strangely folded origami notes start appearing around the lair, often scrawled with incomprehensible writing, the mad dogz begin to wonder. raph, not wanting to inspire false hope, dismisses the occurrences, encouraging the others to do the same. however, raph has a few suspicions of his own. enlisting the help of cassandra in order to avoid the suspicion of his brothers, they begin following the trail of strange, mangled origami animals and their often nonsense notes. following a series of clues to the gutters and back alleys of new york and the hidden city, they begin to uncover the truth behind what is happening. old grudges start to come to light, and with each secret uncovered, they find themselves beginning to question the very nature of what's been happening, leading them to ask the larger question behind it all: why?

meanwhile, donnie doesn't buy it. things just aren't adding up, and he's frustrated that raph seems so willing to just let something like this go. leo and him have always been close, and he doesn't believe for a second that his brother is beyond hope. he confesses his feelings on the matter to april, who has been having similar thoughts. the two of them decide to start doing a little research of their own on the side, without the knowledge of the others. on a hunch, they head to the mystic library (which they are banned from) and are able to "convince" (blackmail) a newer employee-- the long-suffering usagi yuichi-- to aid them on their quest. thrown into a world of ancient rituals, cursed items, and other "mystic bullshit" (donnie's words), the b team soon finds there's much more to this than they had thought. not to mention, things get dicey when their meddling goes just a bit too far, and somebody gets paranoid. (thank god they have a rabbit bodyguard...)

finally, mikey. mikey, whose been taking this all the hardest, whose brothers have been disappearing more and more often. who can't seem to remember what happened that night, and blames himself more with each passing day. not to mention, due to the effects of the invasion, his hands are too shaky to fold origami "right" (his words.) mikey begins to withdraw, acting like he's fine, while internally, he begins to obsess over what happened that night. his family doesn't seem to notice, being so busy with things they won't tell him about. it seems like it should be easy to slip out, leaving the others unaware, but he didn't count on thing: casey jr, leo's shadow and unspoken "second-in-command." in the spirirt of looking out for him, casey demands he be let in on whatever mikey is planning. mikey isn't happy, but he relents, letting casey in on a secret: he does remember something from that patrol. something that's been keeping him up at night. something that he isn't quite sure he can trust. together, the two of them start looking for the truth behind exactly what happened that night, and more importantly: who is to blame. driven by his growing anger, with casey keeping an eye out for him, he dons the moniker of the 'origami ghost,' venturing into the darkest parts of the city in search of a killer. but to catch a killer, mikey might just have to become one.

(featuring: my raph & cass qp agenda, donnie's horrible realization that feelings are a thing that exists (ew!), and some good old fashioned villan!mikey <3)

[taegularities]

Hello, Rid 💕💕

You dropped so many bombs that there's no way for me not to come and ramble in your inbox again.

First of all, it's honestly a big turn off for me when I see unhealthy jealousy and possessiveness in a story too. I understand that jealousy is a human emotion that you can't help but feel sometimes, but when characters (or real life people for that matter) use that as an excuse to either be unhealthily possessive or a downright asshole, that's when it really becomes too much for me. And this goes for over the top protectivenese as well. I just think there's a right time and place for that and not every problem has to be solved with violence.

That's actually one of the many things I think you do so well in cmi. Like for example in that scene at the club where Seokjin's friend is bothering OC and instead of letting his anger get the best of him, Jungkook considers what would be best for OC 🥺🥺🥺 I think that's so much more admirable than lashing out with no thought. And the way they protect each other by looking out for each other and caring in subtle ways as well. Every time OC defends Jungkook in front of her parents and stands by him too 🥺🥺🥺 That being said, people do need their ass beat sometimes and that's probably when JK's muscles and OC's fierceness come in handy lmao.

Also a Valentines day drabble for my favourite couple??? That sounds so lovely I'm literally 🥺🥺🥺 irl at the thought of that. I have no ideas about what they would get for each other though, I am very much not creative and romantic when it comes to these kinds of things. As you can tell, I share my love through slightly incoherent rants lmao. All I know is that I would love to see them before the angst. And you say cmi7 next week??? I'm even happier that I have free time now. I'll be ready with tissues whenever you're ready to post it, Rid.

And lastly, I don't even know what to say about you mentioning that you're writing another cocky Jungkook. Your Jungkook stories will one day be the death of me, I swear. Looking forward to screaming about that one too one day.

I usually don't really ramble this much irl, but you make me so comfortable and there's so much to say about your stories that I can't help it. Thank you for always listening 💞💞💞

ivi !! lmfao yes, i apologise for the 💣💣💣 they were super random today 🤣

i agreeee. in all honesty, i used to like the drama around jealousy, too, and smut based on it is something i still enjoy if done right hahaha but i've learned, through fics and personal experience, that it's genuinely a nasty feeling. i think it's lovelier when person A comforts person B rather than provoking them (unless they're being playful or have a reason, which we'll see in c&f i guess :')). so i get where you're coming from.

and AHHH yes! that's something i really love about the cmi couple, too... like, jk isn't a very jealous person in general; he prioritises other emotions. and as for oc, we already know how she deals with all that (e.g. through nara), so... ugh yeah i miss them so much <3 (and yes... yes, one day, they will need their muscles/fierceness hehehe)

omg yeeeee, i'm gonna try and write this drabble! it's gonna be a smol thing, but yesh, just another potential day in their lives 💕 and hopefully a sweet treat before the angst.. :') i'm super excited.. happy you are, too 🥺 the cocky jk.... no comment 🤣

ahhh omg ofc !! i'm glad you think of this blog as a safe space to ramble, i always enjoy your messages 💕 thank you for always talking to me as well, ivi 🤍

[comfortlesshurt]

Wrapping up July a day early because nothing else on this list is getting done before August!

The two un-highlighted general goals are iffy. Definitely didn't show being comfortable with not going for longer fics since I published *reads note on hand* two new fics, which ranked #3 and #7 of my 61 currently published AO3 fics when ranked descending by total word count. I resisted the urge to end yet another chapter with someone passing out a few times, so I think that's enough of a win. (It's a crutch and I swear I'm trying to minimize it.) Met the rest of my general goals, and I'm especially proud of going over my word count goal even though I purposely set it higher than I thought I'd hit.

Whumperless Whump Event was a success as far as I'm concerned! I originally hoped to cover more of the prompts, but I was expecting to do much shorter fills if I did that, and I'm much happier coming out of the event with two new chapter fics even if I only used six prompts.

I'm running behind on the bingo prompts, but they'll stay on the backburner. There's nothing screaming to me from them just yet, and I don't want to write something mediocre for the sake of filling a prompt. Pretty sure my brain just needs some time to rotate them in the background and come up with something I like.

I overachieved on Augusnippets because I'm weak to dares, and a little Excel program I made dared me to finish the damn thing in one sitting after I'd done the rough drafts. Those are all queued up for August now. On the personal side, I got a promotion and a pay raise (and my department is restructuring, so I suspect another promotion is coming by the end of the year), so I'm talking to someone about making some art for the Augusnippets fic! It won't be ready by the initial post dates, but it'll be exciting to come back later and get to add it.

With Augusnippets done, my new focus for August is the series I've been working on. I'm still aiming for the original time estimate and just taking this surprise extra month as time to 1) slow down a little bit and 2) prep ahead for unexpected delays later. I am hoping to publish about 5k words more than my Augusnippets prompts covered next month, so you'll probably see either a random oneshot or a third chapter for Chemicals, chemicals in my brain if I get the inspiration for that. I've found in the past that counting drafted word count doesn't hold me accountable the way having a goal for published word count does, so that's what I'm sticking with for now.

I also added a new personal goal to have my total published word count for VLD surpass my published WC for Spider-Man by the end of 2025 because man... I think people see that and think I still focus on Peter when I don't. I had 100k of love for him once and it's unfortunately faded away since!

July's AO3/FFN stats will get their own post tomorrow because given the chance, I would nerd out and make this post way too long by bundling them in here. I might be a litttttttle vague about my methods because the exact tools I use are publicly associated with my real identity at this point, but if there are any other stats nerds out there, you are welcome to PM and discuss it privately! Every tool I used was free except Excel. You can block the tag #stats update if seeing that kind of thing will bother you! (It's currently just me celebrating my little baby wins since I'm not in a huge fandom anymore lmao)

July 2024 Plans!

I'm trying something new to see if it works for keeping me more consistent, so don't mind me.

Still insanely obsessed with Keith Kogane so uhh... sorry, that's all you're probably going to see from me this month if you read my stuff.

General Goals:

Get more comfortable with writing shorter fics instead of pushing for record word counts

Work on finding better end scenes for fics

Brainstorm for some longer multi-chapter fics for the future

Newly published word count: 19,920/15,000

Come up with a consistent writing schedule before August

Drafting priority - aim for the minimum viable amount of initial editing (then go back and refine everything in September)

Whumperless Whump Month:

7/1 (emergency first aid) - published

7/3 (like a record, baby) - published

7/10 (your work is never finished) - published

7/16 (say goodbye to filters) - published

7/19 (the whump morning after) - published

7/30 (I don't mean to get emotional) - published

Looking into 1 or 2 more days between the 19th and the 30th, but I haven't picked any yet! (Got sucked into another project and moved on to that!)

Really pushing to finish the days on time for this and move on no matter what at the end of the month. No completionist attempt here!

Bingo Prompts from @builder051:

Addiction/withdrawal - published along with whumperless whump fill

Self-surgery - published along with Whumperless Whump fill

Outlines for 3 other TBD squares, but unlikely to finish those fics in July (I'm short on my projected word count goal for August, so I'm expecting to get these finished and posted then)

Apologize profusely for taking 6 years to get to this

Augusnippets:

By mid-July, decide between path of hurt and path of whumperless whump

Resist urge to say I can do both because I simply cannot

Complete all outlines for chosen path by end of July (did I say outlines? because I accidentally made rough drafts for all of these instead)

Draft the first week by the end of July (I suspect work will be busy in August, so we're getting a buffer ready)

July and August are both planned writing months, but I'm expecting to take September to publish less and focus more on editing some stuff I've posted in the past without polishing as well as I could have. I also think I'll burn myself out if I try to write a ton three months in a row, so this just works out well.

Quick overview of the rest of 2024:

July - Whumperless Whump Event focus

August - Augusnippets focus

September - 1 or 2 short fics and a big round of editing my backlog; start to get a detailed outline on my Klance series

October - Whumptober focus

November - NaNoWriMo (either original fiction or a longfic I've been outlining, depends how I feel by October)

December - probably a heavy editing month (I want to get that NaNoWriMo fic edited so it can start to be published as we ring in 2025, but that probably means I won't publish anything new in November or December)

[crowned-ladybug]

Follow My Voice

Hoo boy was this a monster to write. Sorry for the quality, I’m...I’m not sure how happy I am with this, actually

Tagging @magic-marvin-protection-patrol and @the-septic-theory-squad since they asked nicely, @markired ofc since I promised her I’d write this and @sunkistjello bc I know they’ve been looking forward to reading this monstrosity

Characters: Jackie, Marvin

Word count: 4.8k

Warnings: violence, blood, torture, kidnapping, a bit of gun violence, possible character death, this is like 90% angst and 10% comfort tbh. Jackie and Marvin are dating.

It's not usual that Jackie lays off his superhero duties for an afternoon, let alone a whole day, but if there's ever a valid reason for him to do so then it's Marvin. Hanging out with Marvin, in this case.

He makes his way to the park with a spring in his step, excited as ever to spend time with his boyfriend. They have nothing particular planned, just the meeting point in the park, same bench as always, and they'll just go from there. Maybe they will spend half the day just wandering in the park, talking and joking around, or maybe they will walk around the city exploring, maybe they will find a nice little café to sit outside and argue whether white or dark chocolate is better. Whichever it shall be, Jackie is looking forward to it. As long as he can spend a peaceful day with Marvin, he's happy.

When he finds the bench, he expects Marvin to already be waiting there. It could technically happen that he got here first, but it's not likely. As scatter-brained as Marvin can be, he's never been anything but punctual when it came to this kind of thing.

What he definitely doesn't expect is a walkie-talkie sitting on the bench with a note of his name attached to it. His mind immediately kicks into overdrive and it's no wonder he's a hero – he's ready to fight goddamn anything if Marvin got hurt. It might just be a simple walkie-talkie, but it's too suspicious to call harmless. His instincts tell him something is very wrong.

He cannot fight a disembodied voice on the other end of the speakers.

When he picks up the walkie-talkie, presses the button on the side and says a stone cold "Hello" into the mic, the response is immediate. The voice that answers him screams evil and it doesn't help calm the alarms in his mind one bit.

"Hmm, Jackieboy," the voice says lazily. "Finally. I've been growing tired of waiting."

"Who are you?" Jackie growls curtly. It's a typical supervillain voice right out of a cheesy movie, but he's not here to play make believe with a potential maniac.

"That is not important. Neither are my motives or sob story, mind you. I don't feel like going into detail right now," they take a short break from talking, and from the quiet groan Jackie guesses they're stretching. What a bastard, being comfortable during a conversation like this. "What is important, however, is that you have one hour to find me and surrender yourself. Am I clear?"

"And why the fuck exactly would I do that?"

"Now, now, Jackieboy," damn, this tone is irritating and Jackie wishes he could slap whoever is talking. "A swearing superhero? Not exactly fitting, is it now? But, to answer your question – I have something I know you would certainly like to get back."

He's about to ask what they mean when the puzzle completes itself in his mind. Marvin...That bastard has Marvin.

When he presses down the button again he's trembling with anger. "Don't you dare hurt him!"

The bastard on the other end of the line laughs. They laugh.

"I'm afraid you're already a little too late for that," another short pause, and it makes Jackie's blood boil. "Your sweet boyfriend here is...quite powerful, actually, so I'm afraid we had to take some...rather drastic actions to, uhm, subdue him."

"Marvin!" Jackie screams into the mic as soon as the other end of the line goes silent. He feels like he's about to break down. They took Marvin, they hurt him, God, what if they...what if...

"Oh, he's alive, don't you worry," the voice chuckles once they finally respond. "But if you would like him to stay that way, you come find me within an hour and surrender yourself. Best of luck, Jackieboy," they finish in a sickly sweet tone and then the line goes mute.

Jackie's knees buckle and he has to sit down for a moment to compose himself. They took Marvin, they hurt him, he doesn't even know how bad, and now they want him to find them within a mere hour without giving any clues. That's impossible. He's not a superhero, he doesn't have x-ray vision or teleportation or whatever that could help him in this. He's just utterly lost and alone and scared. Gosh, he's so scared.

But he can't just sit on a bench for a whole hour crying over his misfortune. Crying won't save Marvin. He doesn't know a way to succeed, but he has to try. He'd do anything to protect Marvin.

It's a wild goose chase, and deep down Jackie knows it's hopeless, but he refuses to give up. He asks everyone around the park, but no one has seen anything suspicious. After that all he knows to do is run from rooftop to rooftop, hoping to find something to help him. Just looking for a sign, anything at all.

In about ten minutes the walkie-talkie he's still clutching in his hand sizzles, then he hears the voice again.

It hurts even more this time.

"Jackieboy, are you there?" there's that sick chuckle again. "I have someone here who would is dying to talk to you."

Before he could respond there's another voice at the end of the line and Jackie can swear his heart shatters.

"J-Jackie..." it's Marvin. Gosh, it's Marvin, and he sounds so hoarse and weak Jackie wants to cry. "Don't...don't listen to them."

Jackie stops and sits down against the nearest chimney, clutching the walkie-talkie in his hand. The button on the other end remains pressed so he can't even respond to Marvin.

"Don't come here, p-please...it's not worth it," he coughs and Jackie flinches at the sound. "Don't give yourself up for me, it's not...not worth it, okay?"

The absence of white noise tells Jackie that he can talk now. And fuck, does he have things to say. "Don't say that, you hear me? Don't you fucking...no, I'm going there and saving you whether you like it or not."

"I'm not...worth that much."

"You're worth the whole goddamn world to me, okay?" he doesn't care that he's only empowering that sick fuck that's got Marvin, he needs to say this. He needs Marvin to know. "You're worth everything. If this asshole wants me to give myself up then so be it, if it means you'll be safe."

"Oh, how sweet," it's that bastard again and Jackie wants to punch a wall. He can hear Marvin's muffled screams in the background and it makes him feel sick. "You better hurry then, huh?" they laugh, and the line goes dead again.

Jackie picks himself up off the ground and gets back on his search. He needs to save Marvin, no matter the cost.

When the next call comes in he wants to throw the walkie-talkie to the ground and leave it, but it’s his only connection to Marvin and so he doesn’t.

“He’s quite the tough one, isn’t he?” the voice on the other end muses lazily. “He put up quite a fight when we caught him...he’s still fighting, actually,” the almost bored to tone turns into one of sadistic interest. “But he’s ought to break sometime.”

There’s noises – footsteps, shuffling, a few words Jackie can’t make out...then something that sounds like a punch, then a groan. Then…

“No...” it’s incredibly quiet and the next moment Jackie can hear more punches and groans, but he recognises it as Marvin. His hand tightens around the railing he’s using to hold himself upright.

All noise dies from the speakers and Jackie tentatively presses down on the button on his own walkie-talkie. “Marvin? Is that you? Are you there?” he lets go again, waiting for a response.

“Jackie...” he sounds even weaker than before and Jackie can hear his every breath. But then there’s faint chuckling and Jackie’s worry explodes into anger. He has to get Marvin out of there, now.

“I’m here, it’s okay. I’m coming. I’m going to save you, just,” he sucks in a breath and tries to keep down the panic rising in his chest. He can’t break down, not now. “Just hold on. Please.”

The villain doesn’t talk to him again this time. There’s only a faint click from the other end, then the lines goes silent.

Jackie searches in ever-expanding circles starting from the park. He knows Marvin’s kidnapper could have easily loaded him into a car and drove off to a much farther-off location in little time, but he cannot know for sure. He literally doesn’t know anything, he doesn’t know what he’s looking for nor if he’ll know it when he finds it. It’s hopeless.

He almost tumbles off the ledge he’s perched on when the next call comes in.

“You know,” the voice on the other side says as if they were just discussing neighbourhood gossip over a cup of tea. “I wonder if he will bleed out before you get here, actually.”

Jackie bites down on his lower lip and tries to hold back his tears. God knows what’s happening to Marvin right now and he’s not there to protect him. He feels like he’s being torn into a thousand pieces and he feels so lost. He’s scared.

“He took the punches and kicks pretty well, he’s definitely a tough one,” they continue like they aren’t talking about literal torture. Jackie listens carefully, tries to hear past their voice for any sign of Marvin, but there isn’t any background noise for him to decipher. “The knife, however...you know, that’s a bit harder to soldier through.”

Jackie wants to scream. He’s crying, the tears blurring his vision no matter how much he wipes at his eyes, and he wants to scream. Leave him alone, give him back, what has he ever done to you, stop hurting him, stop...but there’s no way he could make them listen.

“I think we’ll bandage him up, just a little. Playing with someone unconscious is only half the fun, after all,” Jackie can hear that sickening grin again. He feels like he’s going to throw up.

Finally there’s the little click and Jackie can talk.

“Stop...” he croaks and he doesn’t know where his voice is gone. “Stop, there’s no need for this. There’s no need to keep hurting him, I’m coming to you anyway.”

“That’s the thing Jackieboy. It’s not necessary – but fun things never are,” they chuckle. “We’re just past half time, little hero. Better hurry up!”

The line goes dead once more and Jackie takes off running. Half the time, half an hour more to do this and save Marvin.

Jackie almost misses a jump when the walkie-talkie sizzles to life again. He steadies himself, crouches on the roof he just landed on and listens. He’s not sure if his heart will be able to take yet another one of these.

“So, I’ve been wondering...what’s under the magician’s mask?”

Jackie swears his heart misses a beat hearing that. No…

He knows what’s behind Marvin’s mask. Scars, dozens of them, jagged and pale, criss-crossing his face as remnants of an accident that should have taken his sight and maybe his life as well had it not been for his magic. Marvin hates them. Jackie thinks he’s still beautiful.

The scars are the reason Marvin always wears a mask, even Jackie has only seen him without it a handful of times. He’s ashamed of his scars, he hates them, he hates seeing them or letting anyone else see them. If someone were to try to take off his mask Marvin would give them hell, except...now he’s most likely helpless. And Jackie cannot fight for him this time.

“Be dear and hold him still for me. It will ruin the dramatic effect if he keeps squirming around.”

Jackie feels like he’s about to faint. Stop, he wants to scream, stop, don’t do this to him, but the button is still pressed on the other end. He can still hear Marvin’s muffled screaming. He knows they must have tied something around his mouth to keep him quiet. It hurts so damn much to even think about Marvin being so helpless and at this bastard’s mercy.

Punches and kicks and even stabs are one thing, but this? Jackie knows that this would hurt Marvin more than anything before.

The speaker finally goes silent.

“Stop! Don’t do this!” Jackie sobs. He doesn’t have any good reasons to try and persuade that asshole with to stop torturing Marvin. “Please!”

“I’m sorry, am I upsetting you, Jackieboy?” there’s that sick smirk again. “I just can’t help my curiosity!”

The line remains occupied, Jackie can still hear Marvin screaming. He knows he’ll hear it again in his nightmares. Helpless, he can only mumble his pleas to himself. “Don’t...please, don’t...”

Marvin’s screaming gets even louder and Jackie’s blood runs cold. And over it all come the words that make his stomach churn. “My, my...what a pretty sight,” the voice coos, sickeningly sweet. “Certainly more than what I was expecting.”

Why...why would they do this? Jackie is shaking, but he doesn’t notice. He isn’t even sure what he’s feeling anymore, it’s such a confusing mixture of fear and anger and pain, and he only knows that it’s making him sick. Being apart from Marvin is making him sick.

He can’t even hear his screams anymore.

“You chose yourself a pretty one, didn’t you, Jackieboy?”

Jackie barely hears the line go silent over the ringing in his ears. “Marvin...”

“I’m sure he’s going to be fine,” drawls the voice on the other side. “Though for now he doesn’t seem to be in the best of moods.”

“Why...” Jackie’s voice is barely above a whisper.

“No, the question is – why not?” they laugh again. Bastard. “Time’s running out, Jackieboy. Tick tock, tick tock. Your dear Marvin doesn’t have much longer left...I’d hurry if I were you.”

The line is cut off once again.

The final time the walkie-talkie comes to life Jackie has to brace himself against a wall.

“I regret to inform you, but,” there’s a short pause, a couple seconds at best. “time is up.”

All strength drains from Jackie’s arm as he falls against the wall. “No...”

“It’s been a pleasure, Jackieboy. A real shame we never got to meet,” they let out a small chuckle. “Maybe next time?”

“No! Wait!” Jackie screams without checking if the line is free for him to talk. It isn’t. “Don’t!”

There’s footsteps, random noises Jackie can’t place, some voices he cannot make out. He’s trembling and crying, slumping against the wall as he crumbles to the ground. This can’t be happening...there has to be another way, he can’t let this happen, he can’t lose Marvin…

“Your darling Marvin will die knowing that you have failed him.” These are the last words Jackie can hear from the speaker and he can tell whoever is saying them is enjoying themselves.

There’s an agonised scream that Jackie recognises as Marvin, and he flinches violently at the sound, sobbing loudly. “Stop...don’t do this...stop...”

He screams when he hears the gunshot and then the thud of a body hitting the ground. This can’t be...it can’t be…

And the line goes dead for the last time.

Jackie picks himself up again, keeps going. He repeats to himself like a mantra – he could have survived the shot, he could have survived the shot, he could have survived…

He searches until he’s utterly lost. The neighbourhood he’s in is unfamiliar and quiet, somewhere in the outskirts. He doesn’t care, he just keeps going and hoping against hope, and honestly he’s not sure how much of his sanity he still has left.

The pain has left him feeling numb and lifeless. They took Marvin. He can’t accept it, it can’t be real, but deep down, beneath the pain and denial he knows it is. In just an hour his life had gone from joyful and bright to a broken one, a disaster, a life not worth living.

He doesn’t know why he’s still searching.

He’s yanked from his thoughts by a tiny flash of light on the other side of the silent street. The sun is setting, he just realises, and he feels dizzy.

Across from him, on the edge of the sidewalk he sees a cat. It’s cute, but then again which cat isn’t. Jackie wants to fall to his knees and cry because cats remind him of Marvin’s mask and by extension Marvin himself, but he remains standing.

The cat doesn’t move for another moment save for the tip of its tale nodding from side to side as it stands, staring at Jackie. It’s a tabby, wearing thick black stripes over a warm brown coat, and just from looking at it Jackie can tell its fur must feel really soft. The green eyes that first caught Jackie’s attention are framed by a round face, and when the cat adjusts its posture Jackie notices a yellow collar around its neck. At least he knows it’s not a stray.

Jackie feels mesmerized, but apparently the cat doesn’t as the next moment it flicks its ear and starts walking down the street at a leisurely pace. Deciding that he has no better lead to follow, Jackie decides to go after it.

The cat doesn’t seem to mind being followed. It quickens its pace every time Jackie gets too close, but it doesn’t run away. Not until they have passed two streets, at least.

The cat rounds the corner into the third one and Jackie follows. There the little creature stops and watches for a moment as the hero catches up. They’re standing outside an abandoned-looking garage, weeds poking out through the cracks in the asphalt and not a single soul in sight. Before Jackie could get closer, the cat jumps on a nearby trashcan and then to the roof, and with one last flick of its tail it disappears from sight.

So much for that hopeless lead, Jackie thinks. At least following a random cat made him forget about his pain for a little while.

It takes him a moment to realise that there’s a strange smell lingering in the air. He tiredly notes that it seems almost metallic, but the next second his instincts kick in and scream “Run!”

It’s blood. And it’s coming from the garage.

He refuses to listen to his instincts. He’s still a hero, even if a broken and useless one, and blood means someone might need his help. He takes a deep breath, then another one and forces his mind to focus before he pushes the half-open garage door up fully. His eyes need a moment to adjust to the shade inside.

His heart almost stops right there when he can finally make out a bloodied figure lying on their back on the floor, unmoving. Just a step’s distance from them there’s something on the ground, carelessly discarded...Jackie’s knees buckle and he has to hold onto the doorframe for balance when he realises that it’s a white mask, shaped like a cat’s head…

Marvin.

He stumbles over to him, scooping up the mask with one hand on his way, and collapses onto his knees next to his body. There’s no way he can hold his tears back now.

Marvin is alive. He doesn’t look it at first glance, but he is. His chest rises and falls heavily with every breath, and a small smile tugs at his lips when he recognises Jackie.

“Hey, Jackie...” his voice is hoarse and weak, but he’s alive and strong enough to talk, and that’s all Jackie cares about right now.

“I love you,” Jackie sobs in response because he knows that amongst all the screaming and crying and the race against time he never once got to say it and he’s regretted it a thousand times over while scouring the city.

“I love you, too,” Marvin sighs and closes his eyes for a moment. No matter how happy he is that Jackie is there, he’s still in a lot of pain.

Jackie wipes his eyes clumsily with the back of his hand. His gaze traces the dozens of scars around Marvin’s eyes, shiny, pale lines running across his skin. He’s not repulsed by them but seeing them now breaks his heart knowing how they have been revealed. His hands fumble with the mask he picked up.

“Here, I’ve got your mask,” he reaches to place it on Marvin’s face as if it was the most important thing to do right now (maybe in a way it is), but Marvin turns his head away with a small smile.

“It’s okay. It’s only you and me now, it can stay off.”

“Okay...okay,” Jackie mumbles. He feels disoriented and he wants to do something, he needs to, but his mind draws a blank. He takes a deep breath and shudders as he lets it out, and Marvin just watches him in silence.

There’s a lot of blood, on the ground and staining Marvin’s clothes, but it’s less than what Jackie had expected. As he looks Marvin over he loses count of all the cuts and the bruises that have just started appearing. But he also notices that most of the cuts have started to scab over and close up on their own – though they’re still bleeding they have started healing unnaturally fast even without being treated. Lastly he notes with relief that he cannot see any wounds caused by a bullet.

“What happened?” Jackie breathes, a tamer version of “How are you alive?”

Marvin hears it anyway. He knows Jackie too well, maybe better than himself. “’S magic, bro,” he chuckles at his own bad humour. “’Nd I didn’t even have my cape.”

Jackie gives a little laugh as he wipes at his face again. That’s the best he can do for now. He knows Marvin has quite the unique sense of humour, but Jackie can’t find it in himself to laugh when he’s still bleeding out in front of him.

“No, seriously...”

“It is magic though,” Marvin says, calmer. He notices that Jackie is shaking and wants to reach for his hand but his arm won’t obey him. Wow, that’s frustrating.

“You know what, uh...” Jackie cuts in with an apologetic look. “You can tell me on the way back home, okay? I don’t wanna stay here any longer.”

“Understandable.”

Jackie curses Marvin’s ability to be nonchalant even while severely wounded and bleeding to death.

He hands Marvin his mask before gathering him up into his arms. Marvin hisses with pain a dozen times in the process, and Jackie keeps mumbling apologies and words of comfort whenever he does. In the end Jackie still stands, a bit wobbly with exhaustion but still holding Marvin securely against his chest. Marvin looks much closer to passing out than he did before and Jackie’s worry for him flares.

“I changed my mind, you can just tell me everything later,” Jackie offers as he starts towards the garage door.

“Nah, I’m...good...” but he sounds so weak and out of breath that he knows he’s not fooling Jackie.

“You certainly don’t look like you are.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Jackie tightens his hold on him and presses a kiss into his hair. “Shush.”

He isn’t sure what he’s going to do. It’s almost completely dark, they’re far away from home and he can’t take Marvin to a hospital, not with magically healing wounds and cradled by a superhero. He’s about to ask Marvin for ideas when he beats him to it.

“Just...gimme a second...” he closes his eyes and rests his head against Jackie’s chest. “I gotta gather my strength but...I can teleport us home.”

“There’s absolutely no way I’m letting you do that.”

“It’s either that, Jackieboy,” Marvin breathes, and Jackie knows he’s serious when he calls him “Jackieboy”. “...or you’re carrying me...across the city...at night, on your own.”

Jackie doesn’t answer for a bit. He wishes there was another way, one that wouldn’t sap Marvin’s energy even further but Marvin is right – there’s no other way. “Just be careful.”

“I’ll be fine...just don’t...let go of me and I’ll...be fine...”

“I won’t,” he kisses the top of Marvin’s head again. “Not in a thousand years.”

“Wow, cheesy,” Marvin huffs weakly and Jackie curses his everlasting sense of humour.

“I spent my day trying to rescue you from a supervillain and now I’m carrying you home bridal style, Marvin, I think I’m allowed to be cheesy.”

“Fine, fine,” he gives in. He closes his eyes again and his body grows tense in Jackie’s arms as he braces himself to use his magic. Before Jackie could ask him if he’s okay it’s already over and he’s standing in the middle of their living room, an unconscious Marvin in his arms.

It takes most of Jackie’s knowledge of first aid and all of their bandages to patch Marvin up. It’s messy and exhausting and there’s a lot of blood, but Jackie knows there’s no one else to do it and so he does. By the end of it he’s shaking and crying, and he feels like he’s going to fall over any minute, and Marvin doesn’t wake up for a second. Jackie curses him, lovingly and without ill intentions of course.

Now Jackie is sitting on the floor next to the bed Marvin is lying on. He’s taken a quick shower and changed into regular clothes and almost had a breakdown over accidentally grabbing the flannel shirt Marvin would steal from him the most. He’s wearing it now. Apparently Marvin had been the last one to wear it, because it smells like him.

“Hey.”

It doesn’t even startle Jackie when Marvin wakes and first speaks to him. Maybe he’s just too tired. He’s leaning against the edge of the bed now, head on his arms and drying tears on his cheeks, blinking slowly up at Marvin. He reaches his hand out towards him, absently thumbing at the darkening lines under his eyes. Marvin leans into his touch.

“Hey. Feeling better?”

“A bit, yeah,” he sighs and closes his eyes for a moment. Damn, he’s tired. “I didn’t lie though, it was magic.”

Jackie sits up straighter to listen, propping his head up on his hand that isn’t busy stroking Marvin’s face. He’s waiting for the moment Marvin tells him off for being cheesy again.

“They beat me up enough...so that I couldn’t use magic...on my own,” his breathing is heavy and it’s hard to talk, but he won’t give up trying. “But magic...it’s instinct. It happens on instinct. The bullet, it...never reached me. I had just enough magic...the very last moment...to make it disappear to save...myself.”

His head rolls to the side tiredly. He closes his eyes, concentrates on his breathing for a moment and tries to gather his strength to keep on talking. Jackie watches him silently, not wanting to interrupt.

“I...pretended it hit but...I passed out...don’t know how I got to where...you found...me,” Marvin coughs weakly. “I guess I still had...enough magic left...in me to start h-healing me...so I wouldn’t bleed out...I guess...”

“You should rest,” Jackie decides to end it there. “Please rest.”

“Fine,” the corners of his lips still quirk upward. Jackie just gives him a scolding look he’s not sure Marvin can really understand right now.

“I’ll stay, okay?”

“You’d better,” Marvin tries for a laugh but fails. He knows he must be driving Jackie insane at this point.

“Shut up and sleep,” Jackie groans as he pushes himself up and Marvin can swear he can hear him muttering “ass” under his breath. He squeezes himself into the thin space between Marvin’s body and the wall, and drapes an arm across his stomach, careful to avoid his wounds. He then presses a kiss to Marvin’s forehead, then another onto the bridge of his nose and the scars running across there. “You’ll feel better in the morning.”

Marvin doesn’t respond. He can’t move around much, but he turns his head towards Jackie and one of his hands finds grip on his arm as he drifts off to sleep. Jackie watches with gentle eyes as his body finally relaxes.

“Goodnight,” Jackie murmurs, curling as close to him as he can without touching. “I love you.”

He wishes he had the energy to sit vigil by his bedside, but he just doesn’t. He knows there will probably be nightmares for both of them, maybe not tonight but in the coming days and weeks. He knows in the morning he will feel like absolute shit. He knows he will cry his eyes out, tear himself apart for being such a horrible hero and boyfriend, for letting Marvin get hurt. He knows there’s a long path of (hopefully) healing ahead the both of them.

But he will cross that bridge when he gets there.

[epickiya722]

Kiya infodump to me about Miruko/Burnin

Where do I even begin?!

I just know I love them together (and separately) enough to make my new theme permanently!

(And this is where it gets long I had no idea it would be! I really thought I had little to say, I'm so sorry! I just ramble! 😭)

First off, they have no right being that gorgeous! No right!

Second, no right being that badass! (I swear if I see one more person hate on a female character for the same thing they love a male character for, kneecaps gone.) I mentioned it in a post way back about Miruko, but the fact that she just has rabbit features and made it to be #5 WITH NO AGENCY is just insane to me in a good way. Rabbits are fast and I don't doubt are strong, but how strong Miruko is?! WHAT?! She's insanely strong and we only got a glimpse of that at the end of season 4 (if you're an anime only). This next season is going to showcase more of her badassery and I hope they do my girl justice. And Burnin?! Okay, first off I love her design. The sharp teeth and finger(nails?) is something I didn't think I'd see on a fire user in their series. And her hair? I want my hair that color. I really love that she can actually throw chunks of her hair like fireballs. That pleases me very much. I know people like Dabi's fire, I like it too it's blue, but Burnin with flaming yellow-green hair that she can fly with and pull pieces of it to throw at people is just a little more cooler to me. Overall, I want to see them fighting together. I want to see Miruko and Burnin taking down bad guys together. Throwing fireballs and kicking.

Third, their personalities???!!! They're both passionate at what they do what they do with "I don't take no shit" attitudes and I just adore them for that. Yes, they are definitely like Katsuki in personality and damn it it's glorious! It's funny both Miruko and Burnin have their moments where they had some sort of clash with Katsuki. I love that. Because even with similar personalities they still don't let that get in the way of their end goal which is taking down the bad guy. Honestly, I feel like if Burnin and Miruko got to actually have a face to face, their personalities would clash but they would definitely see eye to eye so quickly and go "I like her!"

I swear that whole writing challenge made me realize I am a definite mess for these women. I gotta write more Miruko/Burnin content like now before I lose my mind. Might even add them in my "There's Miruko, There's Rumi" story because Miruko deserves to have a girlfriend who would kick ass with her, also spend nights cuddling with her and give her embarrassing nicknames and banter with for laughs. I just... I have no regrets with that series of fics of them just being together. Oh my gosh, every time I got to writing a story I had to pause and go "WHY?! WHY IS THIS SO 😭😭😭" I just adore both characters and writing content for them just makes me even happier. I need to write more soft content for them. More content of them teaming up, more content of them bantering, more content of them being soft girlfriends/wives (one of the stories they're married), JUST MORE CONTENT!

If you ever get a chance to read the fic, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it. It was by far the hardest thing I wrote this year because there was so little to work with, but other than "BotB", it has became a top favorite.

[yesttoheaven]

AMOR FATI

pairing – neil x female!reader

wc – 3.8k

warnings – mention of death, self-blame, anxious/intrusive thoughts, questioning reality, refusal of help, guns, stalking, but I swear there's a light at the end of the tunnel haha

a/n – The last time I suffered so hard for the death of a character, was when Newt died (Maze Runner) and now Neil has captured all my attention and his death has hit me in the same way 😩 I needed a happy ending so I decided to write this!

The Eternal Return and Amor Fati mentioned in this fic are one of the main ideas of Nietzsche's philosophy.

English is not my first language. I am getting help from google translator and he is not always a good ally, so I apologize for any typos or grammar errors.

Y/N – your name

She approached the painting hanging on the wall, watching the details closely. Ouroboros. A serpent eating its own tail. Months ago, when Y/N was visiting an antique store in Mumbai, she saw that same symbol. The owner of the establishment approached when she realized her interest in the piece and explained that Ouroboros represents the ideas of movement, continuity and, in consequence, Eternal Return. A concept that the universe and all existence and energy has been recurring, and will continue to recur, in a self-similar form an infinite number of times across infinite time or space.

"Max finally fell asleep." Kat returned to the living room, attracting Y/N's attention.

She walked away from the painting, taking back her seat on the sofa and asked:

"How is he after everything that happened?"

For a moment, Kat looked at the painting on the wall and then at the friend she won in the midst of confusion over the Algorithm. At that time, despite being fighting on the front lines to prevent a possible Third World War, Y/N seems complete. Happy. Today that happiness no longer exists in her eyes.

Letting out a sigh, the woman sat next to her, answering:

"Sator was never a present father. He was always busy... now i can see the kind of work he was involved in. Anyway, Max just got used to his absence."

"It's notable that he's happier at your side. When we first met Max was a bit of an introvert, but today he is radiant." Y/N confessed, showing a small smile and the blonde shook her head, agreeing with her words. "How's everything?"

"Perfectly well. It's weird sometimes... After years of being stuck in a failed relationship, freedom is good."

"It seems like life is good for one of us." The woman let out a bitter laugh, putting the latest events on a scale, but she didn’t want her friend to think she wasn’t happy for her. She really was. "I'm sorry, I just..." The words remain stuck in her throat, while she covers her face with her hands. In addition to physical and mental fatigue, Y/N tried to hide her grief.

Kat touched her shoulder, showing that she was here.

"I know you're hurt, but it's been three months and you never talked about what happened that day... This is not good for you."

"What do I have to say, Kat? The guy I fell in love with was a fucking time traveler! And now he's dead and I don't know what to do. My life just... stopped without him."

"I can imagine how difficult it's for you to cross that line without Neil at your side, but giving up is not an option. Grief is consuming you little by little and you are just accepting it..."

"We are trained to contain our emotions and deal with death in the best possible way. It used to be easy for me, but then he came and turned my life upside down." Y/N put her hands on her knees and stood up, walking without an exact destination. "Neil was always one step ahead of us all..." She stepped forward too and found the painting again, but her mind was lost in thoughts about him. Neil knew her so well. And he had a charming smile, but completely arrogant at the same time. "I was sent to Mumbai to help two agents and when I arrived at Priya's penthouse that night, there he was. When he saw me, that was the first and only time that he let his guard down. I'll never forget how he looked at me, it was one of those breathtaking moments... Completely cliché, I know."

On the sofa, Kat was impressed. When Y/N turned towards her, there was a bright smile on her face. The simple memory brought her a breath of happiness and Kat enjoyed seeing her friend like that, but unfortunately that moment did not last long. Memories aren't enough. Neil is dead and nothing can change that.

"I miss him so much, Kat." The smile disappeared as soon as tears appeared in her eyes, cascading down her cheeks.

"My dear..." Worried about her, the woman got up quickly and approached Y/N, wrapping her in a tight hug. "I'm really sorry."

"I spent the last three months locked up in my a-apartment because I thought I could handle this situation on my own. At times I b-believed it was just a fever dream... Maybe I was losing my mind, but this is proof that everything was real." Through tears blurring her vision, she looked at the watch on her wrist, remembering that night.

Y/N was in a private cabin on the ship. The others were with Ives and Wheeler, going over the mission in search of any loose ends. A standard procedure. Y/N knew she should be with them, but she needed a moment alone to organize her thoughts. And that moment is now. The past few weeks had been a real mess. The inversion was difficult to explain and mainly to understand. She was used to field missions, but being an inverted soldier on the battlefield was not in her plans. Either way, she agreed to be a part of it and running away with biased assumptions was not going to help. Humanity depends on them.

Three knocking on the door caught Y/N's attention, but she remained silent, waiting for the person to give up and leave, but when it didn't, she just murmured 'Come in'.

"So, here you are." The man used a surprised tone of voice and closed the door behind him. "What will our superior think when he learns that you are running away from the briefing?"

She let out a laugh before answering in the same mood:

"Don't worry, I know this mission like the back of my hand. I just needed a moment."

"There's something wrong? Are you ok?" Neil spilled the questions quickly, visibly concerned for her.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Neil." Y/N smiled at him, but looked away just seconds later, confessing: "Maybe I'm a little surprised by the situation. I have spent years dealing with terrorists, but the inversion is really not my point."

"I'm not good with advice, but someone once said to me: Don't try to understand. Certain things in the world do not need an explanation."

"It's wise advice, but I'm a methodical person. Logic has always been my ally in missions."

"A methodical person, huh?" He asked with an arrogant smile playing on his lips and she just rolled her eyes. "I know how worried you were when Sator shot Kat, but we are using the inversion to save the world and you're one of the most brilliant agents I have ever seen. Everything will be fine."

"Are you praising me?"

"What's that? Can't I praise my partner's talent?" Neil pulled up a chair to sit across from her, crossing his arms.

"In that case, thank you. Remind me to put this on my resume." Those words made him laugh and that sound could easily be compared to music in her ears.

Touching her knee, Neil added:

"We are very confident with the mission. You don't need to worry."

"Are you sure?"

"I cannot say that unforeseen events do not happen, but we are prepared for that." Y/N knew he was right, but this mission is the biggest one so far. It's not about saving a country. It's about saving the entire world. This was arousing insecurities in her and it was like walking in a minefield. Ironically, she was familiar with this, but not in such catastrophic proportions. "I want you to have this." The man took his watch off his wrist and handed it to her.

"What’s that supposed to mean?" The question came out as a whisper from between her lips.

It didn't make sense. Why does everything in this conversation look like a farewell?

"We will be on opposite sides tomorrow, but i want you to know... I will always be with you, Y/N."

"I saw the way he looked at you... That's how I used to look at Sator before he became a monster in my life." Kat started, running a hand through Y/N's hair. "When I was lying on that stretcher and partially drugged with the medicines, I saw him beside you... watching you sleep. There was so much love in his eyes. Love for a lifetime, Y/N. So don't do this to yourself. The way he left hurt us all, but there was nothing you or any other agent could do to change what happened at Stalask-12. Neil saved the world. This gave us a second chance. You cannot give up now. This organization needs you. And keeping your mind busy at that moment is the first step towards a fresh start."

"N-No, I can't..." She broke the hug, shaking her head in denial. "I left the organization."

"What? Don't you work for Tenet anymore? But when we first met you told me that you can't imagine working in another area... And that this is your life's work."

"Being an agent is my life's work. I was in Yemen when Tenet found me and assigned me to this mission. My only job is to make this world a less hostile place, but the motto of this organization is not what I believe, Kat. What's happened's happened. Really? It doesn't work for me." Y/N ended the sentence with drops of anger in her voice and Kat did not say a single word.

Through the newspapers, Max's mother followed what was happening in Yemen over the years – a real endless war – and knowing that Y/N was in the middle of it, makes the situation unquestionable. People died in front of her eyes. Friends of the corporation. And then some time later, Tenet arrived with a fresh start, but in the end everything remained the same. She lost Neil. It is as if her life's work never had a happy ending because the world will never stop being a hostile place.

"He knows?" It was easy for Y/N to identify who she was talking about. The Protagonist. Or just TP.

"Here's another problem. I worked with him and indirectly worked for him at the same time! God, that man created this organization! And his name remains a mystery to us all!" She pinched the tip of her nose, feeling frustrated with all the secrets that haunt this organization. "And answering your question, yes, he knows, but he did not argue about it. I was a complete mess and he was not doing very well either... He stayed in my apartment for the first month, probably to make sure I didn't do anything stupid." And Y/N would be forever grateful for that. She likes him. Just as friends, of course. TP was a reserved man, but it was he who held her when everything was falling apart. "But we've had a fight. I blamed him for what happened at Stalask-12 and since then we haven't spoken anymore."

It was easy to see that they carried more pain than they could actually bear. Y/N lost her great love and the man lost his best friend. The situation just turned into a conflict between them and that was the result.

Realizing the sadness reflected in Y/N's eyes, Kat decided to change the subject of the conversation. Keeping that thought, she smiled and pointed to the painting on the wall. Maybe that could help.

"You seemed interested in this one."

"Oh yes, in my spare time I am a lover of art and its meanings. It is really attractive the way Ouroboros is connected to the Eternal Return..."

"And Amor Fati too." Kat completed, piquing Y/N's curiosity. This part was new to her. "It's impossible to affirm the Eternal Return without loving life. We need to learn that things happen as they do. Sometimes seemingly good. Sometimes seemingly bad. We don’t always get it our way... Unless we choose that whatever way it is, is our way. When we choose to Amor Fati, to love everything that happens, to love our fate, then we will always get it our way. Because the way it is, is the way it is. Unchangable. And therefore it must be good, even if it sucks."

These words touched Y/N's heart. This was a contradiction to what she is experiencing right now. Love your fate. She would like to understand and accept what happened, she really wanted, but why is it so difficult to move on?

Because Neil is dead.

That was the only explanation for her. The end of a relationship would be more acceptable. If he were alive, things would be completely different now. However, grief is overwhelming. How could she just accept what happened?

"I... I gotta go." That was all she managed to say before picking up her bag and leave the penthouse, ignoring Kat's protests.

When the elevator doors closed, an exhausted sigh left her mouth and the instant she saw her reflection in the mirror, Y/N wanted to cry again. After three months alone, she thought visiting her friend would be a good idea. Kat was willing to help, but the problem was that Y/N is not allowing herself to be helped. As soon as the doors opened, she left the metal box and found the hotel lobby partially empty. Her watch showed it was 3:13 AM, this explains the absence of people on the street as well. In front of her car, she searched the bag for the key and coincidentally her cell phone started to vibrate. Probably the text messages were from Kat, but confusion hit Y/N the instant she looked at the identifier and saw that the messages did not belong to any of her contacts.

Stay away from the car

They put a bomb

I'm on my way

Her first reaction was to take a few steps back and look around, trying to understand what’s going on and find the person responsible for these texts, but Y/N was alone in the dark street. When she thought it might be an unnecessary prank, a black SUV approached at high speed. The car stopped just a few meters away from where she was, but that was enough to make her body freeze.

"Y/N, come on!" The man exclaimed, the urgency in his voice would have made her run immediately, but she didn't move. Her feet had frozen on the floor. This cannot be real. "Come on, get in the car! We don't have much time!" He tried again, it was possible to hear the sound of the other cars approaching.

Y/N watched in slow motion the moment he left the car and ran towards her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"How is this possible?" She asked in a whisper, completely lost in his blue eyes.

"It's good to see you too." Neil admitted, feeling his heart race. She looked so fragile in his arms. Very different from the last time he saw her. "We have to go." He accompanied her to the car and as soon as Y/N took the passenger seat, he returned to his seat.

For her this moment was like a fever dream, so she just looked down and started counting her fingers. One, two, three, four, five... Neil noticed, but said nothing, just kept driving. The cars were fast approaching, but he would do everything possible and impossible to get Y/N away from these people.

"Give me your cell phone." He looked at her for a brief moment, but when Y/N didn’t react, he wasn't sure if she heard it, so he just took the phone from her hand and threw it out the window. That was enough to get her out of the numbness:

"What the fuck, Neil?!"

Despite the adrenaline rushing through his body, the man laughed.

"If I found you because of your cell phone, they can too." After that, he crossed the red light and made a risky turn, trying to end this chase. "Before you ask, no, this is not a dream. Unfortunately this is very real..." Neil didn't like what he saw when he adjusted the rearview mirror. "And now they are getting ready to shoot us."

That observation put Y/N on alert and she looked back, seeing a man with an AKS-74U and another with a Beretta M12.

"If you knew it wasn't a dream, why didn't you bring an armored car?" She ran her tongue between her lips, smiling at the man beside her. Neil tried to argue, but she just took off her seat belt and picked up the Glock 19 stuck in the vest he was wearing.

Y/N crawled out of the car and sat at the window opening. This encouraged the men in the two cars to start shooting, trying desperately to hit her. Neil shouted something that she couldn't understand and then she felt one of his hands on her thigh, giving her stability to continue with the plan. With her arm resting on the roof of the vehicle, Y/N aimed the gun at the car that was closest to them. Her intention was not to start a firefight in the middle of one of the main avenues in the city, but she had no other option. Holding her breath, she fired the first shot and the bullet hit the tire, taking the car out of circulation. Y/N celebrated while preparing for the second car, but dealing with this one was not an easy task. Now they were in a tunnel and, consequently, losing speed because of the other cars that came along the way. Neil left two pats on her leg, indicating that she had better get back in the car and that is what she did. Screams, honks and gunshots echoed through the tunnel, turning the place into a war zone. Whoever these men were, Y/N knew they weren't going to give up.

Tired of playing cat and mouse, she went to the back seat, getting on her knees. Through the broken glass above the trunk, Y/N adjusted the aim of her gun, ignoring the sniper and focusing on the driver. With another accurate shot, the bullet hit the man's chest and he lost control of the vehicle. The car overturned for a while, streaking the asphalt, but no other car was involved in the accident. Y/N sighed in relief and looked for another possible threat, just checking, but when she realized that the area was clean, she returned to the passenger seat, leaving the gun on the dashboard in front of her.

"Next time I'm going to get an armored car." Neil comments, stepping on the gas. "Nice shot, by the way."

"Anytime." Y/N smiled, trying to control her breathing.

With the adrenaline disappearing from her body, it was hard for her to believe that this was really happening. For many nights she cried, wondering what it would be like if Neil just came back to her, but now she was afraid to wake up and realize that it was just another vivid dream.

The sun was rising when they arrived in a shed away from the city. Seen from the outside, the place was a little scary, but the interior wasn't that bad. There was some equipment like trackers, walkie-talkie, bulletproof vests, weapons, ammunition; a table with a mess of papers and on the other side two beds and something that Y/N supposed to be a private bathroom.

"Where we are?"

We. That simple word echoed in her mind. Y/N thought that "we" didn't exist anymore.

"For now in a safe place. It's dangerous for you out there." He answered the question and took a bottle of water, handing it to her after taking a generous sip.

"Who are these people, Neil?" She wanted answers, lots of answers, and that frustrated the british spy because for the first time he didn't know what could happen.

Neil had a mission and that mission ended with him dying in Stalask-12, but after what TP did, everything changed.

"We have a name..." He wanted to say more, he wanted to reassure her, but that was all he had at the moment.

Y/N drank some water and left the bottle on the table, looking at some reports and photos. All photos were of the same man.

Lenard Vaher

"But apparently they don't just want you..."

It took a few seconds and when the realization hit Y/N, concern appeared on her face.

No, not him.

"Where's TP? He's safe, right?"

"He was going to see you when Lenard's men kidnapped him. This happened three weeks ago." And considering the anger in Neil's voice, finding TP was proving an almost impossible task, but in the midst of so much concern, one point attracted Y/N's attention.

"You said he was going to see me..."

"There was something he needed to tell you." Neil sighed, resting his hands on the table. A few strands of blond hair fell over his forehead, but he quickly shook his head back, as he always did. "He returned to Stalask-12, Y/N."

After that statement, the only sound that could be heard was Neil's footsteps closing the distance between them and the first thing she did was put her hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. Neil smiled. And that was not one of his famous smiles. That was a shy smile. His heart was beating like a drum and it was all because of her. Loving Y/N was something so special and pure, that Neil accepted his fate without a second thought. Saving the world, he was giving her a second chance to live, but now he is the one who received a second chance.

"I missed you every day." Before she could begin to consider the meaning behind his words, he settled his mouth upon hers, robbing her of thought.

She closed her eyes and melted against him, flattening her hands on his arms. Neil caught her bottom lip in his teeth, nibbling and licking at it until she thought she might perish from the intensity of the feeling. She whimpered at the sensation, and he rewarded the sound by deepening the kiss, giving her everything she desired. His tongue stroked hers, slow and insistent. A lush, decadent pleasure unfolded within them, snaking through their veins as though it had lain coiled in anticipation for years.

Just waiting for this moment.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

a/n – really hope you enjoy it and thank you soooo much for reading ;)

[ewwhothefuckiski]

Emotional Bruises- Charlie Gillespie

DISCLAIMER: This fic is for entertainment purposes only and I am not claiming Charlie is like this in any way, shape, or form. He is his own person with his own personal life. This is purely fiction.

Requested: No

TW: Swearing, angst, emotional trauma

Taglist: @im-not-fine @i-thought-i-knew-what-love-was @winterberrysys @thedepths @headheartbellarke @bonobos-candy-bar @lmaohuh @theluketomypatterson @sapphireamethystpatch @lavanderjatp (request to be added)

A/N: This is extremely self indulgent, unedited, and rushed bc its midnight and I'm exhausted.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

How do I word this?

Charlie was usually one to have me at a loss for words- in a good way. This time, however, he's hurt me to the point I don't know how to express my emotions anymore. I'm numb.

Was about to write you this letter but it was just curses and cursive. You probably deserve it

I was going to wait until he left for filming, and then write him a letter about how much he hurt me, before packing up and leaving him. But I couldn't bring myself to hurt him like that. No matter how much he's hurt me.

But that's so impersonal, should tell you in person. I hope it don't hurt you but then I've been hurt too, by you.

I decided this with something that needed to be said to him face to face, even if it hurt him. After all, he's the one who caused me this much pain.

The truth is, all you do is, leave me emotional bruises.

Being with Charlie has been an emotional rollercoaster. He could have me feeling happier than I've ever been, and then next thing I know we spend the car ride home arguing, saying things neither of us could take back. Leaving me with the insecurities he's caused.

You're calling me up, to link up and figure shit out

Every time I've attempted to leave him, he's called me, begging me to meet him at our spot, so we could talk things out, and I fall for it each and every time.

No doubt times out, we never figure shit out

We've tried, and tried, and tried, but we always end back up at square one. Fighting, screaming at each other, making up, and then back to fighting.

I can't do this no more, you've got me on life support

I physically and emotionally can't take the rollercoaster of his love anymore. It's become toxic, an addiction. If I don't cut myself off now, I'll end up in the hospital.

'Cause this is the 5th time, I've taken you back

Charlie and I have taken multiple breaks. I've tried leaving him before, but it's never worked. It always ends up with him at my doorstep with flowers and tears in his eyes as he begs for me to forgive him. And I do. Every. Single. Time.

Its the 4th time, that we've relapsed

After every break, we end up back where we started. In the constant cycle of battling each other.

Its the 3rd second chance that I've given you

I give him chance and chance again, and he never takes them seriously. He thinks I'll just take him back again. But I can't, not anymore.

For the first time, let this be the last

I have to leave him, for good this time.

This bitch is psycho, its driving me psyco

He says I'm psycho, that I'm insane. When really, he's what's making me insane. He makes me scream at him until my throat is raw, until I am red in the face, and he just walks away from me. It's like I don't mean anything to him. Its like my feelings don't matter to him.

Im anxious need someone to come check my vitals

I never was an anxious person. Now, I'm always on edge. Always worried I was going to do something to upset him again. That I would somehow cause another fight and he would leave me again.

One minute I'm leaving the next I forgive you

Before I'm able to walk out of the front door, bags in hand, Charlie stands there with tears in his eyes, begging me to stay. He'll change for me, he promises. And I believe him.

[hughiecampbelle]

Vanish (Steve Rogers Oneshot)

Character/s: Steve

Word Count: 1,148

Tag List: @dontdowhatisayandnobodygetshurt @myriadimagines @lilyswritings @encounterthepast @writerdream22 @brithedemonspawn @lotsoffandomrecs @locke-writes @thedarkqueenofavalon @fangirlsarah16 @randomfandomimagine @amirahiddleston @diana-westmoon

A/N: 1.) I love him 2.) He looks very smexy in that gif 3.) I'm just writing for therapy I guess. It's not my best, but it's as good as its gonna get for the time being. School is killing me and idk, things have been lonely. It's frustrating and I feel stupid for both feeling all this and letting it get to me, y'know? Anyways, I quite like the storyline. I hope you like it too, and if you're feeling the same way, know that I'm always here if you wanna talk or vent or whatever you need :) Feedback is always appreciated 💜💖💜

Summary: No one understands why you did what you did except Steve

Gif Credit: @theavengers :)

FIC MASTERLIST PART ONE. / PART TWO. / PART THREE.

WANNA BE ADDED TO THE TAG LIST?

The job, the life, the take with little give, it tore you apart. Limb by limb, piece by piece, until there was nothing left to hold, to stand, to be. Nothing left. The cemeteries of others left for you to hold, to keep, to care. Flowers and rocks atop headstones. Never enough. Always demanding more. The city, the world, a cat stuck in a tree. Watching others wear their uniform with pride, with the ease and awe you could only dream of. A sense of grace, a caution with their words, an effortless way of existing. Why was it so hard for you? When had the Cape become so heavy? The flashing lights so blinding? The right thing so wrong? Slandered, overlooked, dragged through the mud. Your steps too quick, too slow, your decisions that not of a real hero, your motives questioned, your intelligence questioned, your entire fucking existence questioned.

No one could ever be proud. No one could ever say a goddamn thank you.

No wonder you turned out the way you did. Your name a joke in the media, the headlines, between the ones you called family. Up and left. Disappeared. Nothing, not even a note. As if you were never there in the first place. It was better this way. You wouldn't have to drag out your apologies, burden everyone by calling them in, or telling each of them the same story over and over again. You wouldn't be questioned, or guilted, or face any anger. Sometimes it was better to go into shock. Let the adrenaline take over. Numb their wounds, their hurt, their pain. Let them think and say what they wanted, you wouldn't be around to hear it. Abandoning your duties, your teammates, the entire world. You were at your breaking point, drowning demands, in expectations you did your best to live up to. But your best wasn't good enough. It never was. Sometimes it was better to live in ignorance, in bliss. They'd get to you eventually. Word would spread. You'd be turned into a villain. There'd be interviews, and press conferences, and a global search for the one who abandoned their post.

Let them waste their time, their breath, their effort, the same way you did.

He knew. He knew before it happened. The faraway look in your glazed eyes. The hesitation. The second thought. The flinching. He didn't know what it was, though. The tone in your voice unrecognizable, your words of someone else. You hadn't just lost those pieces of yourself, they'd been crushed, absolutely destroyed. You were giving up, caving in, believing what it was everyone was saying. And then, you were gone. A ghost. Expecting to see you as he turned a corner, catching himself wanting to call your name, ask you for advice, for help, for everything. Glancing at an empty doorway, swearing you were standing there, saying something that'd surely make him laugh. Instead there was nothing. The absence of something. The regret, the grief, the frustration at himself for not putting the pieces together. You spoke without words. Always had. A language he was still learning. Complicated, and delicate, the art of saying so much in silences, in unease and avoidance. He tried, he really did.

But he couldn't stop you. And he couldn't stop them.

Civilians like vultures, tearing your image apart. Media stars slandering you because there was no one else to stand up for you. Your good name shattered, bursting at the seams. Inside, and outside. You'd expected the push back. He hadn't. The rage, the annoyance, the name calling. Rash. Impulsive. Stupid. That's when they were being nice. Horrified you'd turn your back on them, never questioning why. This wasn't the easiest way to live, to exist. He'd thought about it a lot, but what else was there for him? Who else could he be if not a super soldier? You, though, you had options, you had wants and needs outside of a catchy alias and a photo opportunity. You were young, you had your life ahead of you. It'd be a damn shame if you let it go to waste. He fought with them as best he dould, hush their disgust, the disgrace, reminding them not too long ago they turned to you, called you one of their own, saved them more times than they were allowed to forget. Bitterness and blood on his tongue, he was tired of biting it all back. Couldn't they see they were part of the problem? They were falling into the same habits that made you want to scream?

He hoped you were happier there than you were here.

And you were. You were at ease now, at peace, choosing a path for yourself instead of following one that'd been laid out. No more secrets, no more lies, no more lives in your hands. You had one life to live, you weren't going to waste it being miserable. Going where you wanted, being who you wanted, nothing to hold you back. The urge to reach out never quite dulled, not even after all these years. You missed them more and more every day that passed. A call, a text, showing up out of nowhere. With ehat, though? An explination, an apology,ban awkward hug? Maybe too much time had passed, maybe you weren't allowed to call them your family anymore. To them, you were a stranger, but you never stopped thinking about them, keeping up with all their triumphs. Across each screen there'd be another report of the man with his shield or an iron suit saving the day. There seemed to be a new member with every report. Eventually, they forgotten all about you. The media, then, you assumed, the team, your name nothing more than a reminder that even if you played the part well, it didn't mean you were a real superhero. Let them think what they want, there was no use in changing their minds.

As far as you were concerned, you were the best of the best.

Sometimes he caught you in the faces of strangers, the acts of others, the smallest of details. He still looked for you, wondering where you were, where you'd gone, who you were now. You'd look different, of course, but maybe nothing had changed after all. Maybe he'd catch you there, like he hoped he would every time, in the doorway looking in, saying something that'd make him laugh. He still expected you next to him, across from him, in his life. If there was a way to contact you, he never pushed it. Let you come back your own way, on your own time, if you decided to ay all. That wasn't his choice to make. He'd never push you the way they did. He couldn't. You'd finally done something for yourself, he'd never do anything to ruin that freedom.

[agustdiv1ne]

thank you + milestone!!

damn, never thought we'd get here, did we?

in all honesty, it's been a pretty shit year. march 'til now has felt like the same month on repeat with tiny tweaks to make it all so much worse. but i'm not here to complain about the worst parts of this year, i'm here to celebrate the best ones.

this was the year that i finally started writing, that i was finally spurred to open a google doc and just type away until a tiny work of fiction stared back at me. my first one was 1k words, a rant to get all of my emotions off of my chest with an idol as my muse. it felt...great, though it also felt a bit odd writing after being an avid reader for years. i always did prefer essays to creative writing, but this year definitely changed that perspective.

i wrote that first blurb along with another fic in late july, and in early august, i asked my friends if i should post them. om august 3rd, i changed this blog from a fic rec to a fic writing blog just like that. i regret none of it.

it's been nearly five months since i revamped this blog and i couldn't be more grateful for the support i have gotten from all of you, whether it be a kind comment, a like, a reblog, all of it. i never thought anyone would like my content, but i've been proven severely wrong by this community. from my irls that are on here, to my lovely mutuals and followers, to those i've talked to a lil bit on this hellsite, to the writers whose fics i absolutely adore, to those who have left a like or a comment on one of my fics, i want to say thank you from the very bottom of my heart ♡

have a happy and healthy new year! i love and appreciate every single one of you!!

though i'm painfully bad at writing letters and getting all sappy, i wanted to write them anyways hahaha let's goooo

to @hwaddict:

my irl best friend!! my partner in crime!!!! i love you sm carly, and there are not enough words in this world for me to describe the extent of my love. you have been there for me during my lowest moments, you've seen me cry, and i don't cry in front of many ppl. i trust you with my life and i'm so glad that we became friends back in middle school bc you are one reasons that spur me to keep going. i can't wait to see where life takes us and know that while i might not always be able to be there physically (especially with college right around the corner), i will always be there for you in any way i can be. again i love you and i can't wait to conquer next year with you ♡♡

to @hopejanaee:

hope!! hobi!!! one of my irls! though we just became friends earlier this year, it feels like we've been friends for ages. it's crazy how close we grew so quickly but i am so grateful to have you in my life. you never fail to make me laugh whenever we're together and you're so chaotic but in such a good way hahaha. you were the one who got me into writing with your own wonderful fics so thank yoi for that. i'm so happy that we became friends because you're so kind and caring and ahhhhhh i love u sm ♡

to @oikawasmilkbread:

we talked for like 0.2 seconds but you are so kind and hella cool!! it was nice having random conversations with you and i'm so glad you randomly dmed me bc i am shy and i have 0 idea how to start conversations with anyone lmao. i always smile when i see you in my notifs! i hope you have a happy new year!!! ♡

to @luthenia:

i know you're on hiatus but seeing you in my notifs always excites me hahaha. we never talk but you are so supportive of everyone in this community and i just wanted to shout you out for that! your memes are top tier LMAO and i can't wait for when you come back, happy new year ♡

to @starsforten:

we also talked for approximately 1 second but it was so fun talking to you about astrology stuff (virgo sun libra rising gang hahahaha) and those teuta matoshi dresses! you are so nice and easy to talk to and i hope your new year is happy and fruitful! ♡

i recommend every single one of these blogs for their amazing content!! i added some of my favorite fics as i'm a whore for great writing hahaaaa

@kinktae

waterloo — a masterpiece! taehyung is so bitter at the beginning and it's adorable seeing how y/n breaks his tough shell. loved this from beginning to the end ♡

hot rod — the 50s slang, the dynamic between hoseok and y/n...*chef's kiss*

@untaemedqueen

welcome to seoul land — werewolf!namjoon really got me going, 100/10 would recommend

graceful gods — this is one of my all-time favorites, greek god!jungkook has my brain going brrrr

@shadowsremedy + @therealmintedmango

support system — adorable!! this is a hybrid!yoongi fic i really enjoy, and the series isn't over yet! check it out~

@bratkook

tear you apart — demon!taehyung...holy shit. i was speechless

@tatertotthethot

the doms next door — THIS SERIES OMG, i've read each part at least five times already. taekook got me acting UP

scream (posted to @yandere-society) — a really cool take on the movie scream with jungkook, yandere fics don't always appeal to me but this one absolutely did

@ateezmakemeweep

broken — the immense ache i felt in my chest while reading this, but i loved both parts with a burning passion. san is so sweet in this :')

@atinybrew

dirty free for all — the ULTIMATE demon!san fic. the writing is absolutely immaculate and this is the first fic that had me blushing down my mf ARMS

rice milk lattes and bryophytes roads — another san fic admittedly because i'm whipped for san lol. anyways, this was cute and hot at the same time and best friend!yunho made my double biasing ass that much happier

@seacottons

pan — an adorable peter pan!hongjoong fic, it had my heart going achhfhsjfjsjf

sir kiss me — circus au with san holy hell i loved every twist and turn of this

@actuallythatwaspromise

bad romance — one of my favorite yunho fics ever, punk rock!yunho x nerd!reader has my entire heart

aurora garden center and desire ink — florist!mingi had me uwuing for the entire fic, this was adorable and i loved it sm

@yeonjuncore

every single fic on this blog is an absolute masterpiece, i swear

the devil's little angel — THIS IS ONE OF MY ULTIMATE FAVORITES, demon!yeonjun had me screaming and it was just so fun to read and i loved every single second of it so much that i've read it nearly ten times now. so go read it, you won't regret it!

the boy with the horns — another of my ultimate favorites (i told you, their writing is just that amazing), woodland fey!soobin just had me going so soft :(( i literally sobbed at one point, that's how invested i was

bleeding heart — the tension between vampire!yeonjun and vampire slayer!reader had me screeching

curtain call — i have a sad crush vampire!soobin

i love you, always — this felt so..bittersweet? taehyun loves y/n so much, i lowkey cried while reading this

@angelfic

the art of (mis)communication — i am a whore for both reconciliation and yeonjun, 100000/10 pls read this i beg of you

@angelictaehyun

growing pains — ahhh once again a yeonjun fic, my chest hurt a lil bit at some points but it was so sweet!!

@neovisioned

bed of spiderwebs — spiderman!mark has my heart screeching, i loved every second of it ♡

eddie ate dynamite — johnny suh coming for my throat yet again

cupid victorious — cupid!jaehyun :'))) definitely one of my favorites!!

@domjaehyun

quarantine chronicles — ok if you haven't read this or the part two yet then you're missing out big time!! the tension, the buildup, every single part of this fic was just *chef's kiss* but multiply thay by a million

all these years — every single moment of this felt so nostalgic and the ending was so sweet :')

@caiuscassiuss

muse — i keep going back to this one constantly, the angst in this phenomenal and i love artist!taeyong sm here

@neoct-zen

loverboy — HOT, AMAZING, I SCREAMED. the blurbs that accompany this are also top-tier i recommend reading each and every one!!

@moondustis

pink + white — i'm so soft for mark i stg, this was the cutest thing ever

@loviejaehyun

can't avoid this feeling — hockey player!mark is the best thing ever

all tied up — i just- screamed as i read this bc professor!jaehyun is too hot goodbye

@hopejanaee

incapable — this is one of the best yoongi fics i've ever read ngl, it's not completed quite yet but the parts that have been posted are top tier!!

breathless — THIS. I LOVED THIS. yuta is just so hfjshhfhshfnsn and i love this sm

@hwaddict

melting point — big boy mingiiii, 100/10 would recommend

@okayau

house next to mine — frat boy!yeonjun rly got me going, cute and hot at the same time ahhhhbfnsnnf

youth — ADORABLE, yeonjun's confession is peak i love it here

run away — how many yeonjun fics can i fit in this post? (answer: a lot) definitely one of my favorite harry potter aus!! it was awesome seeing how their relationship changed throughout the years and perhaps i teared up a little at the end :'))

@starrychannies

baby steps — ONE OF ALL-TIME MY FAVORITE FICS ON THIS SITE, every single part is so well-written and ahhhhhfhdhhf chan makes me feel some type of way

my stupid — another yeonjun fic! angsty but v cute at the end :')

@baekhvuns

this youth of craziness — 40k words of pure gold, this fic is absolutely one of my favorite san fics ever!!

replacement — prince!ten makes my brain go brrrr, i love how the y/n just speaks her mind here

@masterninjacow

untitled project — i saw soulmate au with mark and i knew would already love it, and i did! pizza boy!mark at that, amazing and i adored it

more amazing blogs!!: @galaxteez, @poutybinz, @lustjoong, @bloominghigh

these are just a few of the fics and blogs i found this year, find more on my fic rec blog @agustdiv1ne-recs!! (my thumbs are starting to hurt i'm so sorry bfjshfhsh)

wrapping up each month since august since that's when i actually started posting LMAO

☆ august

03: good enough — chan

03: bloodsucker — seonghwa

04: cutie — san

09: veloxrotaphobia — mingi

19: want — changbin

21: numb — yunho

100 follower special — i reached 100 followers towards the end of august, my first ever milestone :') also my first ever time taking requests, 'twas very fun ♡

☆ september

03: on camera — jungkook

☆ october

27: oh, worm? — namjoon

31: demon days — san

☆ november

10: a letter to my love — xiaojun

23: bad for u — jaehyun

27: home sweet home — yeonjun

☆ december

christmas bash 2020 — my brain went hey what if you did this- and i listened so here's 17 holiday fics hahahaa (not all of them are out yet but i'm working on it!!)

things i plan to release in 2021!!

☆ sunflower — jimin

☆ cross — yeonjun

☆ landslide — seonghwa

☆ nice save — san

☆ red — hyunjin

☆ a secret series (that will be revealed once i plan everything) — ateez

☆ 4 unrelated secret fics oOoOoo — will i reveal them? you'll just have to wait and see ;)

there will definitely be more posted! these are the ones that are going to be my priority at first, but my imagination is always churning so expect a lot more :)) check out all of non-secret wips here!

i hit 500 followers a couple days ago! i nearly screamed when i saw that LMAO. thank you so much for liking my content because i work hella hard on it :') sometimes i feel like i don't deserve y'all really, but @hwaddict will yell at me if i say that so ig i take it back hfhshhdhg

a post for celebrating this milestone will come as soon as i finish up the rest of my christmas fics!! sorry that i'm so slow :( (hint: my requests will be open, so look out for it!)

so yeah!! that's it, sorry for the painfully long post (i'm sorry to my thumbs for typing this whole thing out </3). thank you to everyone who read this far!! i hope everyone has a happy and healthy new year, and in the words of txt's cover, fuck 2020. may 2021 be a much better year for all of us!!!

much love,

ashlee ♡