#of course you can want something so much its bad for you

[agentmarvel]

center image by @/ave661

PART II

hitman!ghost x fat!reader (afab, fem) w/ arranged marriage

mdni - 18+; minors and ageless blogs will be blocked

rating: explicit

word count: 3,010

summary: in which contract killer simon "ghost" riley has to marry by a deadline, and of all the women to pick from, he chose you - without your knowledge, against your own stubborn will, and without much hesitation. your entire life, what you thought you knew, is flipped on its head while you try to navigate your new worldview and the complications therein.

cw: toxic parenting, implied fatshaming, simon begins his descent into madness, so obsessive!simon

♡

It's irksome, the way Johnny fusses over Simon's bowtie. He keeps turning and twisting it in an effort to straighten it out, but the little perfectionist is just never satisfied.

“s'fine, Soap. Leave it alone.”

“Awa’ an bile yer heid. Damn thing's more crooked than yer nose, LT. Not letting ye get hitched lookin’ like a dafty.”

Simon sighs, rolling his eyes with a sly smirk. He's partial to the nickname, though neither of them served a day in their life. Well, not in the traditional sense, at least. But the semblance is a loyalty forged in sweat and blood; Johnny's been with him for years, a parting gift from Price. 

“He's a good lad, Simon - real salt of the earth type. Bit chatty, but he works as hard as his old man did. Think he'd do well with you.”

Simon thinks he truly understated the chatty bit, but as usual, was not wrong.

“Aye, there we are.” Johnny finally steps back, admiring his work. “Yer tie looks better now; shame we can fix yer ugly mug, though.”

“Oi, fuck off.”

Kyle snickers across the small room, straightening his cuff with a grin.

“Don't be such a git, mate. Not every day the big man gets married. Frankly, with a face like that,  doubted he ever would.”

“You're both fired,” Simon mutters, shaking his head as he moves towards the door.

“Where ye think yer goin'? She's not laid eyes on ye, so I dinnae think she's bolted yet.”

“Better give ‘er the chance then, yeah?”

He slips out the door with an amused hum before wiping his palms against his slacks. Never will he admit it, but a waxing sense of anxiety gnaws at his gut. It’s been years since he’s actually felt… nervous. Not since his first solo contracted kill. Treading unfamiliar territory stirs foreign feelings, but perhaps they’re not all bad ones.

To take the edge off, Simon decides to step out for a smoke. That wasn’t his intent initially, lest Soap bitch at him for disrupting the effects of his subtle cologne, but he’s willing to face the wrath for some nicotine. He pats his jacket, feeling the creased, misshapen cardboard pack in his breast pocket and looks for the nearest exit. It’s just a bit further down the hall.

But something stops him before he steps out. An argument behind another closed door.

“Of course I think you look nice! All I’m saying is that you could’ve put a bit of effort into losing more weight. I didn’t hire a top nutritionist and personal trainer just for you to not need more alterations.”

Simon recognizes that voice. Your father has an unmistakable level of condescension that drips off every word he says.

“And would it kill you to smile? It’s your wedding day, for Christ’s sake! Pretend you’re happy.”

“You’re not in any position to ask anything of me.” The response is acrimonious, venomous, and a voice that doesn’t ring any bells. It’s you. 

“Don’t you dare take that tone with me. I am your father, and you will do as I say.” The already bellicose tone swells as his voice raises, and Simon has half a mind to step in. A sense of fury burns within his chest. He should’ve known that someone with such a flagrant disregard for you behind your back would be just as derisive to your face. It’s crass at minimum, especially in the face of your own fucking child.

The only thing stopping him is the want for things to go smoothly today; a temporary ceasefire to ensure that he can fulfill his obligation.

Still, he feels a tug at his hollow heartstrings. No one deserves to be spoken down to in that manner, let alone on their wedding day. He’s certain you look stunning, and he’ll be sure to tell you as much when he finally gets to see you.

He’ll also be sure to limit contact with your father immediately after the marriage license is filed. Keeping that twat on a short leash ought to keep his beautiful bride in high spirits, yeah?

Before he can think better of his decision, Simon sees himself outside. Getting his fix does little to quell the rage stoked by his albeit unintentional eavesdropping. Before he knows it, he’s gone through half the pack and is about to light another when he gets a text from Kyle.

>>> It's time!

He takes the unlit cigarette from his lips and begrudgingly stows it away. Making his way back inside, his stride slows as he approaches the door to the bridal suite. It's partially open, and from what he can see, your father is conspicuously absent. You remain, however. 

It's hard to fathom how a man could be so cruel to such a creature of allure. In the most fleeting glance as he passes by, Simon's struck with a gravitational pull. You're the moon, he's the tide. At that moment, he wants nothing more than to turn back. He wants to make his presence known and promise you'll never face another day of derision after today. You'll never endure another vile word. A painful, gruesome death would befall anyone who treated you so disgracefully from this moment on. In that singular frame, Simon knows he'd break John's rules for you. He’d break his own rules for you. 

And he's never even spoken to you.

♡

Johnny's waiting for him just a few doors down. As Simon approaches, he sees Johnny’s nose wrinkle.

“Och! Ye smell like the alley behind a fuckin’ pub, ye reprobate. C'mere, ye fuckin’ oaf.”

As predicted, Simon supposes.

It's a quick fix, and Johnny rushes him off to the altar. Simon adjusts his jacket, buttoning it properly before taking a deep breath and pushing ahead. The room goes silent as several dozen eyes abandon their previous gazes to watch him. His confidence doesn’t waver outwardly. There’s no room for that. He keeps his eyes forward as he approaches the pulpit. A familiar face awaits him there in a fresh-pressed three-piece.

“Didn’t know you did weddings,” he laughs, low and clipped.

“Do funerals, too, if you know anyone in need,” John Price hums back with a grin. Simon offers a hand, one Price accepts with a quick, firm shake. “Good to see you, my boy. Been too long.”

“Not long enough if your chin hasn’t caught up with your chops yet.”

“Glad to see time hasn’t dulled your sense of humor.” It’s a dry response, but the creases at the corners of his eyes give away his amusement.

Idly, they chat, waxing philosophical to pass the time. Periodically, John checks his watch and looks into the balcony, but he doesn’t miss a single word Simon utters. Simon’s seen this before; something isn’t quite right, and Price is trying to suss out precisely what it is.

The door at the back of the chapel opens, and a small woman with wiry hair rushes up the aisle as fast as her little legs could carry her without breaking into a jog. She clambers the quartet of steps, looking a bit worse for wear. Sweat prickles her brow, her sunken eyes seeming to recede with each movement. John raises an eyebrow as if to ask her if she’s okay, but she ignores the unspoken concern.

“So sorry to keep you waiting, John. Bride had a little, eh, mishap, but we’re ready to begin.”

Simon opens his mouth to demand more detail, but Price shoots him a pointed look, the aim to keep the dog from barking as he reassures her, “Perfectly fine, Doris. Is the young lady alright?”

“Quite. She's just had a bit of a rocky morning. Nerves and all.”

She shrugs with a timid smile, like that'll placate the intense look of defensiveness on Simon's usually stoic face. He knows she's not being entirely truthful, but to whose benefit? 

Price gives her a curt nod and offers his arm to usher her to her seat. Her frail fingers curl around his elbow, blue veins protruding like a web of thread unspooled. She smiles at Simon sympathetically. They descend the short few steps in stagger, and he can’t help but wonder what it is that she knows that he doesn’t.

It doesn’t matter, he decides. After today, none of this really matters. The setting is a mere formality, born of a desire for flamboyancy and extravagance, neither of which have ever been in Simon’s wheelhouse. His preference for something simple and quiet was aggressively overruled from the start.

His eyes drift over the observers that casually mill about the pews. Only one bears any familiarity, the one patting an old woman’s hand before turning back towards the pulpit, while the rest look more like faceless mannequins, nondescript in the forward echoes of memory. 

John takes his place beside Simon, asking under his breath in close proximity, “Are you ready?”

Simon nods, folding his hands together in front of him and adjusting his stance to face the doors at the back of the aisle. In his periphery, he sees Price signal the woman who sits at the piano. She begins to play something Simon doesn’t recognize. Immediately, those stark moths flood to their seats like a bright bulb.

The doors open after a few measures, a pair of well-dressed ushers securing them in position. Shortly, the two pairs of bridesmaids and groomsmen enter, timely and in sequence. The young women accompanied by Simon’s men are both bright-eyed and all smiles, but the air of wariness is not lost on anyone keen enough to notice. Circumstantially, this wedding is dubious at best, and if they’re close enough for you to ask them to join the wedding party, then they’re close enough to know the truth.

He’s under no illusion that you’re an overtly willing participant in any of this. You were blindsided. Out of the blue - no warning, no inkling - being told over dinner that your father is not the man you always believed him to be, that you’ve been promised to a stranger to improve business prospects, that you’re seen as a pawn rather than a person. Simon feels vaguely guilty for the turmoil, but seeing the lack of consideration for you truncates it. You’ll be better off by his side. That’s not the fanatical part of his brain speaking; it’s factual. 

When he hears the music change from a simple, tedious tune to a melodic version of the traditional bridal march, reality pulls him back into his body. His gaze locks on the doorway. For the first time - the first real time - he gets to see you.

You look god damn gorgeous. There’s no other way to describe it.

The dress is bright white, almost blinding. Crystalline and pearl accents around the neck and waist lines reflect sun rays from the windows, giving you an ethereal glow. Delicate charmeuse drapes some of your curves while tulle hides others (much to his dismay). Simon swears the halo above your perfectly styled hair isn’t a trick of the light. You look like a fucking angel - his angel.

His heart is racing, raging against the cage of his ribs like the bars of a prison cell. It wants to escape, break free and put itself in your hands. The pace of his breathing has quickened, palms beginning to sweat, and a foreign euphoria falls over him like mist. His lips curl into the smallest expression of joy, barely detectable, and John nudges him with his elbow.

“Congratulations, my boy. She’s a beauty.”

A sense of pride swells in his chest at that.

Halfway down the aisle, you finally look up at Simon. In the span of seconds, your expression rolls through a series of emotions; bitter, then a mite of surprise, confusion… then admiration and ire.

You take on a more timid look as you approach, though, fingers wrapped loosely around the inside of your father’s elbow. Despite the narrowness of the aisle, you’re still positioned as far away from him as you can be. The anger is palpable, rolling off you in waves. Just beneath the surface, an indeterminable despair. You don’t want to be here, don’t want to be anywhere near that bastard or Simon himself. He may not have gotten to know you in the traditional sense, but he knows human behavior all too well.

You’re hurt. Betrayed. Defiant.

The iniquity of it all gnaws at his bones as he extends a hand to you. He watches your snake of a father wrenches your wrist with a hollow smile to pull you closer before taking your fingers in his with a brutish grip.

“Do you give this woman to be married to this man?” Price asks, an obscure grit of disapproval at the display thickening his voice.

“I do,” your father answers, tugging your arm forward in an offering of your hand.

Simon takes it gently, savoring the feeling of your soft, manicured fingers sliding across his rough, calloused palm. You lift the hem of your dress with your free hand, taking each step like it’ll delay the inevitable. There’s a tremble in your touch, undoubtedly apprehensive, uncertain, scared.

When you’re settled on the top step, you glance at your father with pleading eyes. His expression is stern and hardened. He mouths an inaudible warning before turning to take his seat, and Simon swears he sees the last shreds of your stubborn will collapse. 

Quietly, you hand your bouquet to the bridesmaid just behind you before placing your other hand into Simon’s waiting one. Tears spring up in your eyes, and he gives you the softest squeeze.

“Don’t worry,” he whispers so softly that even Price almost misses it. Your eyes shoot up to his. “Let’s just get through this, yeah? We can talk about everything when we don’t have an audience.”

You nod.

♡

It all passes in a haze, like Simon’s somehow running on autopilot while still autonomous in part. Both your vows and his were written by the wedding planner with significant input from your parents. An effort to hide the clandestine nature of the nuptials, he supposes. He recites his from recall, trying to place emphasis where needed like code. Yours, however, have him rapt. While he knows the words are not your own, something about hearing you profess your love ignites a spark within him. Hell, he nearly misses his cue for the ring because he’s so focused on absorbing your presence, memorizing every detail of the way you look right now.

One thing snaps him from his infatuated stupor: “You may now kiss the bride.”

He eyes you warily, seeking any sign of discomfort. There are no sirens sounding, no postings of danger, no flashing warning lights. You’ve resigned yourself to the moment’s arrival, and Simon does not hesitate. His hands curl around the roundness of your cheeks, slotting you into his palms like you were made to fit. The tilt of his head falls opposite yours. 

Slowly, he leans forward. Leisurely so as not to alarm you. Your breathing hitches just a hair as he closes in. The tips of your fingers settle against his chest as he reels you closer. His lips barely brush yours, a hint of strawberry as your gloss transfers in brief contact, and you draw him nearer until you reconnect.

It consumes him wholly now, the spark, engulfing his entire being. Flames of desire lick up the base of his spine, rising until your fingerprints are blistering his skin. He’s melting into you, embers glittering as they rise up and away until he’s nothing more than ash, staining every inch of you he may ever touch with a permanent marking that can’t be scrubbed away. Your name is branded on his chest, now and forever. In every way, he is yours.

Price is kind enough to wait until the kiss ends to formally announce the departure of Mr. and Mrs. Simon Riley with a reminder that a reception will occur at a later date. Simon takes your hand in his and briskly leads you back down the aisle, grateful for the guise of a honeymoon flight to stave off a night of questioning and awkwardness.

It’s not a honeymoon that awaits, but rather a lengthy flight back to Manchester. Movers cleared out your apartment this morning, carting it to the tarmac to load. Another crew will be waiting to unload it the moment you touch down.

Simon hopes you’ll be able to get some rest during the flight. You needn’t lift a finger, don’t worry; he’s just concerned for the dark circles hidden under your make-up, the torn bits of skin around your nails, the way your voice rings unsteady and uneven in the moments you’re alone with him.

It’s understandable that you don’t trust him yet. You don’t know him quite as intimately as he knows you. You’re afraid, unsure of what comes next. The life you knew is in upheaval, disrupted by years of lies and deceit. You don’t know what’s real anymore. You doubt everything. Who knew the truth and didn’t tell you? Are your friends even really your friends? Did your parents ever love you, or were you always just a puppet? The strings are too tangled to separate at this point, so you might as well accept your fate and cut them.

You sob into his chest, tears soaking through his white button down. It’s taken so much out of you, hasn’t it? And now you’re here, spilling your guts to a man you don’t know as he holds you, dutifully and steadfast.

One more hour, and you’ll be away from all of this. He won’t lie to you, he won’t hide things from you. You’ll never have to question yourself or the people around you again. You’re getting the life you deserve now.

It’s okay to trust him, sweet girl. Tell him all your secrets, let him in, let him live in your skin, burrow deep in your mind. Simon will keep you safe. At any cost.

[moonstruckme]

Hii!! I had an idea for soft!eddie x reader… I hope you like it!

So what about soft!eddie x reader that watch a horror movie before bed because Eddie wanted to and reader said yes… but then reader wakes up from a nightmare and gets a little bit paranoid? Like she wants to go get a glass of water, but she’s so scared that she’ll see a creepy face appear out of no where? Or she doesn’t want to look at the windows and that kind of stuff? (When I wake up in the middle of the night, I get so paranoid/scared, I wish Eddie was there 😭) and she finally gets up to get a glass of water and then (in between all of that Eddie woke up) Eddie says something like ‘why are you awake at 2am’ and she has a jump scare, and drops her glass, and basically the adrenaline kicks in and she starts to cry because it’s too much and she was so scared? And Eddie just hugs her and comforts her and he helps her falls back asleep?

I hope all of that made sense… if not… I’m so sorry😭😭

I’m sending lots of love!! Have a good day/night!! 💗💗🫶

- ☀️

Thanks for requesting lovely <3

Eddie Munson x fem!reader ♡ 750 words

It’s a while before you can convince yourself to set one foot on the floor, but the inside of your mouth feels like it’s made of wool and something needs to be done about this. When no clawed hand reaches out to yank you underneath the bed, you take it as a sign of good faith. 

Your footsteps are featherlight and cautious, every dark corner and unshuttered window a threat. An empty threat, you remind yourself, but even the voice in your head is shaky. 

The Munsons don’t have glasses, but they do have an array of things picked up from here and there, plastic cups from restaurants and old containers and one plain mug for Wayne’s coffee. You grab a cleaned-out jam jar from the top shelf, filling it with cold water from the tap. It does the trick, sweet and refreshing on your tongue. You feel instantly better. 

You pad back towards Eddie’s room with a clearer head. It was just a movie. There’s no creeping shadows here, no cloud so thick it blots out the moon. There’s fluorescent light from the street coming in through Eddie’s windows, and families sleeping in the trailers on either side of you. Nothing bad could happen to you here. 

You slow as you get to Eddie’s room, trying to be quiet. 

“Hey.” 

Your gasp is so sharp it hurts a little in your chest. Your body stiffens, the condensation on the glass making it slip from your hand. It shatters on the floor. 

“Shit, what the hell?” 

You turn, and it’s Eddie—of course it’s Eddie, who else would it be?—standing behind you in the dark hallway, a pillow crease imprinted on his cheek. 

“Oh my god.” Your voice comes out breathless, and you press your hands over your eyes. 

“Babe, what—shit, are you crying? Are you hurt?” You shake your head, and Eddie’s hands come around your arms, pulling you towards him. “Careful, don’t step on the glass. I scared you, huh?” 

You nod as he folds you into his chest, scrubbing up and down between your shoulder blades. 

“Yeah? Well fuck, don’t to cry about that,” he says, panic melding back into sleepiness as his voice takes on a fond bent. “I wouldn’t’a hurt ya.” 

“I thought you were the ghost,” you mumble sheepishly into his chest. 

Eddie pauses for a moment. Your face feels ten degrees hotter. 

“Me?” He sounds like he’s smiling. Then he lets go of you, taking your face between his hands, and you know he is. It’s giant and goofy, its own sort of light to combat the dark corners. “Shit, sweetheart, I’m flattered. But no dice.” Eddie shrugs like this is something he can’t help. “All flesh and blood in here, baby. The gross stuff.” 

“Yeah,” you say quietly, embarrassed. Those couple of quick tears have already mostly dried, but Eddie swipes at them with his thumbs anyway, grinning like you’re silly. “I’m sorry I broke your glass.” 

“It happens all the time,” he reassures you. “Don’t sweat it, I’ll clean it up in the morning.” He takes a big step over the glass shards, offering you a hand to help you do the same. Doesn’t let go of it even when you’re on the other side. “Should I be worried that you’re up at 2 in the morning looking for ghosts?” 

“I was getting water,” you mumble, letting him sit you down on the edge of the bed. Eddie gives you a look. “I also don’t really do well with scary movies.” 

“Yeah. I figured that one out when you wouldn’t go to sleep until I closed the blinds.” He grins. You smile back bashfully, and he makes a dramatic groaning sound, hauling you into a hug. “You should’a told me you didn’t want to watch it. I wouldn’t have picked it if I’d known you’d get all freaked.” 

“I didn’t want to be a wuss,” you say. You can practically feel Eddie rolling his eyes over the top of your head. 

“You can’t fight your true nature, babe. But it’s cool.” He flops the both of you over so you’re laying down between him and the wall. “This way, anything that wants to get you will have to go through me.” 

You turn in his arms, pouting. “I don’t want anything to have to go through you.” 

“Then let's go back to there are no ghosts, ‘kay?” He plants a kiss between your brows, snuggling you close. “Sleep tight, scaredy cat.” 

[bluewolfangel01]

How the brothers make sure you're safe in the Devildom: Older Bros edition

Lucifer

Papa Luci mode activated

He has to know where you are or where you're going if you want to go out

It doesn't matter to him that you have 7 of the most powerful demons under your command or that you're training under humanity's most power sorcerer

You are required to have someone with you when traveling anywhere in the Devildom

If he doesn't know where you are, for some reason, he while be doing everything he can just to figure out your location

Of course he isn't going to panic just yet mind you, he'll first ask his brothers if they know where you are

Ex. he makes Levi track your phone or asks Mammon to locate you via crow familiar

If none of them know, then he's going to ask the dateables and side characters

And if they don't know?

He (and the everybody else of course) are going to tear the Devildom apart to make sure that you're okay

And if you are not? May Father have mercy on whoever dared to lay a finger on you cause Lucifer won't

If he starts getting on your nerves about always having to know a general area of where you are, don't hold it against him to much

He just doesn't want you to get hurt, cause if you were you'd have a very said and pissed off Luci on your hands

Mammon

Two words: Crow familiar

Around when you made a pact with him, he gave you a crow familiar

He claimed that it was to make sure he didn't have to deal with Lucifer's punishment if you ever died or even got hurt

Don't let him fool you, that man just wants to make sure you're safe cause he cares about you so much

He has so many crows he sadly can't keep track of ALL their names, so he let's you name yours

The crow will of course love you to bits and do things for you because of his connection to Mammon and cause you treat them so nice

Pls have some seeds on you, the crow will adore you even more if you do

Whenever your out the crow will follow and watch you from a distance or maybe even close by depending on how big the crowds are

If you're ever in trouble and can't handle it (or even if you can) the crow network is put into use to alert Mammon

The second he is told he drops whatever it is that he's doing and he's rushing to get to you no matter what

He'd take out the threat so fast, you blink and it's gone and in its place is Mammon

He's smiling at you and saying how he just so happened to be in the neighborhood

Whatever the threat was seems to have disappeared and Mammon leads you away saying how he wants to show you something he wants to buy nearby

But if you listen closely, you can hear a series of loud caws coming around the area you were just at

Simp

Levithan

Although he doesn't go out of his room much, that doesn't mean that he can't protect you from the outside

Like previously mentioned, there's a tracker on your phone (all the brothers have the same on theirs, don't feel bad)

The only reason he checks it is either because Lucifer asked him or it's been a bit since he's seen or talked to you and wants to know that you're okay

The other way he protects you is checking online and keeping a lookout for any potential threats or nefarious plans against you

He won't intervene unless said people seem to be very serious or actually putting their plan into motion

If such a plan is in motion, he warns the rest of his brothers

No matter what arises if he either ends up stopping or warning the others about there's always the same result

Anything they want online, somehow they can't find it anywhere

They want to simply look about the internet? They best be prepared for all the pop up adds and bugs imaginable

Levi is making sure they never even think about hurting you ever again

This turned out longer then I originally thought it would be.... I promise to write about the other brothers!

[mouschiwrites]

I'm so sorry for not posting for so long!! Thank you all for being so patient! Requests are still closed right now, but I'm dropping this because I felt bad about leaving you lovelies for so long :(

Ninjago - How The Ninjas (+ Pixal) Would Welcome You Back (after not seeing you for a while)

Kai

His face lights up the minute he sees you

He opens his arms and charges at you, scooping you off your feet and twirling around

He's smiling hugely the entire time, and as he slows the spinning he starts to laugh

Dropping you down so he can hug you normally, he buries his head in your shirt

His laughing slows, and for a moment you swear you can feel your shirt getting a little wet

Then he pulls away, still smiling, and of course:

SMOOCH TIME

He smushes your cheeks while he kisses you, holding your face firmly against his

The kiss lasts a long time O-O

And when that one stops, he peppers you with a thousand more on your cheeks, forehead, eyelids, hands, etc.....

Once the urge to kiss you has been satisfied, he finally says something

"I missed you so much."

And you can't help but giggle:

"I could tell. I missed you, too."

Cole

Calls your name LOUDLY when he spots you

He's waving frantically until your eyes meet, and then he bursts into a huge grin

He says your name again more warmly when you're closer, still smiling

Then he pulls you into a crushing bear hug, lifting you onto the tips of your toes

He sways back and forth a little, humming calmly

Bro does not realize he's crushing you

It's only when you cough or wheeze or smth that he finally drops you, apologizing with concern

You reassure him that you're fine ofc

Then he goes back to smiling at you, but this time his face lights up as if he's remembered something

His hand disappears into his pocket, and when it comes back out he's got a gift for you!!

It's always a cute little mini statue :]

"Cole!! It's so cute!"

"Just like someone I know. Someone I missed a lot."

(you gather a collection of these over time btw)

Jay

RUNS to you like a toddler running to its mother

Arms out, screaming your name, eyes huge, the whole shabang

The hug he gives you is tight, but it barely lasts a second

He pulls away to look at you, and you see tears brimming his eyes

Then he hugs you again, rinse and repeat several times before he finally says something

He's smiling now, and he swipes the tears out of his eyes

"Aw, you don't even know how happy I am to see you again."

He cups your face, just feeling your skin and looking at you as if for the first time

(he's still smiling ofc, but if you look closely his lips are trembling)

You see tears coming into his eyes again, but before they fall he pulls you into another hug

You rub his back, feeling a couple tears dribble onto your shoulder

"Jay... I missed you."

The hug tightens when you say that, and it doesn't end for a long time :)

Zane

He waves animatedly when he sees you

He doesn't say anything, but when you're within talking distance he calls your name lovingly

His arms open to give you a very soft (and unfortunately short) hug

Then he takes your hands, rubbing your knuckles slowly as he gazes at you

He just stares for a long time, hypnotized by your eyes

If you speak he just hums

Then he pulls you closer, gently wrapping his arms around you once more

His fingers curl around your shirt as if he's trying to keep you from separating again

You chuckle softly:

"Zane, I'm not going anywhere."

"I know... I know."

He def holds your hand for the rest of the day though <3

Lloyd

You hear him before you see him

He's calling your name loudly, and when you spot each other you run into each other's arms

You hug each other tight for a moment, both humming from squeezing and being squeezed

Then you pull away, giggling at each other

Lloyd opens his mouth to say something, but shuts it with a grin that's shy now

"I planned out what I wanted to say to you... but I forgot."

You both laugh again, settling on a hug to say what words couldn't

Pressed against your shoulder, he murmurs that he missed you a lot

His hands wander up to your head, and he runs his hands through your hair (or against your scalp if you have rlly short/no hair :3)

He will MELT if you do the same btw

You guys just hug for an eternity

You only stop to prevent yourselves from falling asleep standing up

Nya

Much like her brother, Nya is definitely going to pick you up when she sees you again

Strong arm woman <3

She holds you high in the air, her arms pressing your knees against her torso

She looks up at you with the most loving gaze, her lips curved into a soft smile

After a while he drops you down, but not all the way to the ground

Your feet are still dangling, but your faces are closer now

She sighs, finally putting you back on your feet

Planting a kiss on your cheek, and then the other one, she skips the mushy words

Instead she asks you how you've been :)

She's been dying to talk to you again; she wants to hear every little detail!!

And ofc she'll return the favor with her own stories

Late night talking w Nya... AAH <3

Pixal

She's the calmest of the bunch when it comes to reuniting

She'll smile when she sees you ofc, but she won't act all excited or anything when you approach

She will greet you very warmly though, dw

"Y/n! It's been so long! You look... well."

You can tell she means way more than "well," but she was obviously too awkward to say it

(This is also when she'll point out the smallest of differences in your appearance,, like "your hair is longer/shorter now")

She'll accept any warmth you return gladly, no matter how mushy you wanna get

Actually she appreciates if you can be more affectionate than she was

It shows her that you're happy to see her again :)

She'll want to spend at least the rest of the day with you, even if she's just standing silently in the background while you do your thing

More (much more) if circumstances permit ;3

AAAHHH TYSM FOR YOUR PATIENCE!! I'm glad to be back, and I hope I can post more!! Thank you so much for reading, I love you all! Take care my duckies <3

Also... probably gonna make this a series for my other fandoms I write for if you guys want!

(divider by saradika)

[hoshinakills]

( ✸ ) WHAT ROMANCE TROUPE WOULD FIT THEM ?!

( ✸ ) featuring 𓈒 mithrun / thistle x gender neutral-ish reader(?) ( SEPERATE )

( ✸ ) warnings 𓈒 thistle angst. VERY self indulgent. SPOILERS. you/your and they/them pronouns is used.

notes. I TRIED MY BEST ON THEIR CHARACTER OKAY T-T

( ✸ ) mithrun. — rich x poor.

— Now this may sound crazy but mithrun, in a way, is dumb. He looks like a capable man that knows what he is doing, well in the dungeon, most of the time. Though alas he is dumb, born with a silver platter presented to him ever since he is a child. Did he grow spoiled? nope he did not, he grew to have humility of course. Though its just bazare to him how you, poor common folk live your well… life. Does he know common sense? what's that? is that some sort of food?

— This troupe fits him in a way, for example, like way before the whole demon eating his desire thing. Let's say you are one of his previous team mates back then, you were always so logical and thoughtful to any kinds of scenario he admired you cause of that. He thought, you must be from a noble lineage too from the way you carry yourself. Dead wrong by the way, you were just a poor common folk. Which made him confused. Though it made him more curious to you and your overall behaviors.

— This also fits present mithrun by the way, I do like to think he is spoiled somehow. Yes he has seen the dangers of the dungeon it just makes him awe at how much of a cheapskate you are because of your poor background. How he would always see your eyes light up when theres a 50% off sale on the market, how you would recycle an old broom because it's fixable when you can always buy another, how you would use random appliances in much more greater ways than their supposed use. It made him surprised to the point he kinda felt a small bit of sadness to the point he asked if you wanted a raise on a random sunny day, you were confused but agreed. From that day on your salary was increased by at least 10%.

— He has grown to see how attentive you are on everyone, acting as if you are the mother of the group. Meanwhile he is the irrisponsible father, well that's what would fleki says. You two were always the canaries some sort of parents in a way, the resourceful mother/father(you) and the irrisponsible father(mithrun). He's like tamaki souh but make it less overbearing, less energetic, literally less everything.

— How he fell inlove with you? God knows how and when because he, himself doesn't remember. He just grew to love how you seem to be attentive through everything, wether it be safety, money, and many more. He didnt even knew it himself, he is just like, ‘oh I love you,’ he cassauly just drops as if its a normal raindrop not a wholeass thunderstorm of a sentence. You shrug it off and say, ‘I love you too,’ then ta-da! you two are dating. It amazed the canaries how you two are just so… cool headed like… is that really how you two confess your love to eachother? wow.

— Though it does fit him, he who barely has common sense and you who has common sense. You always make sure he doesn't do anything that is stupid that he didn't even know was stupid. You two fit each other perfectly and the canaries are just happy they saw their captain smile whenever you scold him for doing something that's bad and he's always like, “it's not that bad,” cue you explaining how bad it is. (He also spoils you with his money by the way.) (Yes he blows his money on you accidentally and you are always like 'what did you do' as if he committed a crime.)

( ✸ ) thistle. — childhood friend to lovers.

— In every shape and form, this is the best troupe for him, well in my opinion. You were a long timed friend turned lover. Way before he became a dungeon lord you two were always seen playing instruments together, reading books in the garden, playing in the sun, and many more. You were precious to him, just like delgal but at the same time not so much like him. He cherished the many memories you two made when you both were nothing but childrens who does stupid stuff and to the present.

— He will do anything for you, for your safety, for your happiness, only for you just say the words he'll do it. Though dungeon lord thistle would be a little thoughtful on whatever you wish to him. He's a man with one goal in mind and that is to protect everyone as delgal wished it to be and most importantly protect you too. He's scared to lose you like delgal did so he always make sure he knows where you are, one of his eyes silently watching you in the golden kingdom.

— Making sure you are helped by the monster he creates and guard you at all cost. He loves way too much, he cant risk losing someone he loved so dearly. Its for your own good, he doesnt care if it hurts you emotionally, all he wants for you is to be safe by his side. You must understand him. Whenever he lose his temper, feel panicked, he always comes to you to find some sort of solace because being near your side already feels heaven already. It calms his jumbling mind as he go fix whatever that bothered him.

— He doesn't tell anything about what is happening all that matter is that your safe that's all. He finds it that there is no need for you to know. Once he's done being a dungeon lord though and got his desire eaten all he felt is hollow emptiness nothing as he laid down. His desires are all eaten up by the wretched demon making him to be only a empty husk of himself.

— Once you see his state you worry over him, being there for him, to make sure he eats, sleeps, does daily exercise, and many more things to keep him alive. Making sure he's alright was your job as he slowly began to go into his former hobbies back then which was music. Learning the ways of the many instrument he learned back then but forgotten. He still remembers how he loves you, it pains him to see how much you're struggling to be his current self. How he barely speaks as he used to, no actions, no emotions, just a void. Though he tries, he tries to learn, seeing you get hurt by him makes him have a small spark.

— A spark that he wants to do for you, to be better even a little bit with you by his side. Even if there is guilt in his heart from what he has done in the past he'll use every emotion he has to be better for you so that you two can be the happy lovers you two once were.

[wonnieeluvvr]

enhypens reaction to your date

WARNINGS, SEXUAL THEMES MDNI, CURSING, ALL MEMBERS ARE LEGAL, (my first OG post), not proofread

heeseung

Heeseungs eyes discretely trace over your body as you talk. He's been listening intently the whole time. Hell, he even asked you for more details. You ramble on and on about how the night started, what you wore who paid and how good the sex was until...

"...and then he lifted my legs over his shoulders and- Hee? Are you listening?" Your legs subconsiouly cross and you press your thighs together as you notice his gaze has wandered and so has him mind.

He nods eagerly. "Course i am keep going."

"Right...so...then he lifted my legs over his shoulders and told me how pretty i was. And i wanted to reply but he was just in so deep, hitting my sweet spots and-"

"Fuck, i cant take this." He interupts. "I could fuck you so much better than him."

"What?" Your eyes widen and your breath hitches. You can feel the heat pooling in your panties as he runs his tongue over his bottom lip and eye fucks you.

"C'mon y/n, we both know im so much better in bed. Hes just some stupid one time date. We've practically been dating our whole friendship."

That stupid grin makes you cave in.

Jay

"...and then we kissed and split the bill so we could go-"

"You split the bill?" Jay interupts your rant.

"Yeah. Anyways, then we-"

"Dont go on a second date." He instructs. Your face contorts with confusion.

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because if you were with someone who deserved you, you wouldnt pay a penny. Dont ever meet him again or ill personally drag you out by your panties."

The words get caught in your throat. How can you argue with him? He was always the smarter one since the two of you had met, always protecting you. You owed him this at the least but you also felt bad.

"Jay thats sexist. Just because hes a man doesnt mean i should expect him to pay it all or provide for me..." His eyes roll to the back of his head.

"Its not about whos a man or woman. Date a girl and id say the same. Its about the treatment you deserve." He doesnt look up from his phone as the kind words come out naturally as always. Little does he know the butterflies you get.

Jake

Jake makes you describe the date over the phone. He was busy the last two days and you couldnt keep the information to yourself any longer. So you called him around 4pm, and rambled in the bathtub, careful not to drop your phone.

"He was so sweet to me, and he speaks Italian. Not that I understood any of it but-" A grunt on the other line interupts you. You head wet sounds but you havent even moved your bathwater..?

Your eyes widen as a possibility dawns on you. "Jake...didnt you say you were out? Are you at home now?"

His breathing is laboured. "I lied princess. Im home ye-yeah..."

Another groan. You take a breath. "Why did you lie? You couldve just came over and let me tell you the story in person. We could watch a movie or something and-"

Your offer is interupted again. "You want me over so bad huh? I cant...i wouldnt be able to control my jealousy and id fuck you stupid."

Suddenly the sounds on the other end and his breathing make sense. You laugh. "So you dont want me going on that second date?"

"Oh princess..."

Sunghoon

He didnt want to hear any of it but he listened nonetheless. His hands fidgeted with the bottom of his sweatshirt and everytime you mentions something vulgur he would nervously look away.

"Y/n..." Sunghoon wasnt shy. He could speak up for himself if he wanted. If he wanted to tell you to shut up he could, as hed done many times before. But you were so excited to describe your newly declared "love" that he just couldnt break your heart.

"Yeah Hoonie?"

"I know this is all really exciting but...can we skip over the sex please?" His words were soft and polite. You couldnt deny the gokn so you nod and descrube the other, more PG, parts of the night.

When you finish he smiles at you softly. His eyes move back and forth between yours.

"Im glad you had a great time. At least one of us is making any progress..."

Sunoo

Sunoo was all ears the second you walked through the door. Not only was he encouraging you, this man had outright WAITED for you in your apartment to hear the story. He had earlier pep talked you about how to secude a man, and helped you with your hair as you struggled hopelessly.

"Sunny im tired...please. Let me tell you the story tomorrow." You plead as he gently slips your heels off and massages the soles of your feet.

"Oh WOWWW...so thats how it is huh?" He clutches his shirt over his heart dramatically. "I tell you every juicy story i get and you can even tell me one story about your whole damn love life."

You take one look at his longing pout and have to bite back a smile. "I said im tired"

"And i said grab a fucking tea bag while i get the face masks because this story will happen." He grins and gets up to get the clay masks. Shaking your head you lazily get the chai tea bags. This was gonna be fun.

Jungwon

Jungwon was intrigued. Course he had a sex life but hearing about others was a rare occassion. So while he was all ears, he constantly insisted you shut up about it.

"...his condom almost broke, but i didnt want him to pull out because- wonnie? You listening?" You ask gently with a frown.

"Yesh but i wish i wasnt. Someone needs to ducktape your mouth." He rolls his eyes. Hes been saying this for the past hour and you were fed up.

"God, i GET IT okay? You dont wanna hear about my terrible first time and im a ficking bother. Geez. Ill go tell Sunoo or something."

You flipped because you were really passionate about this and it was a sensative topic but he kept disreguarding it like what mattered you youw as nothing.

Guilt eats away and him so he eats away at his inner cheek. "Listen, im sorry y/n. Im just...i dunno, not used to hearing about this stuff? I swear i didnt mean it that way."

He carefully places a hand on your shoulder and you shove him away harshly.

"I dont wanna hear it. You dont care anyways."

"But i wanna hear it." You feel a smile tug at your lips as he assures you. "Keep talking about...who was it, Caden? Tell me all about him y/n."

To reinforce his point he sits on your bed and gets comfh, nodding you to continue. God this dick.

Niki

You were telling niki about your...um...PG, lets call it, date. It wasnt PG at all but if you dont tell him that he wont listen at all.

When you get to the part about the sex he groans. Niki rolls his eyes, a disgusted look on his face as he loads a new fornite round. He whined softly as he spoke. "Y/n, you said it was child friendly."

"Niki youre not a child. Shut up and listen. And it is PG...perfectly good."

"Yea sure...a real "PG" alright...and for the record im a kid in spirit unlike some of us."

You groan. This stubborn ass. He never listens to anything remotely close to sexual after Sunghoon accused him of releaving in the dorms bathroom at night. (He denies it to this day, but only when youre around.) "Niki please...this is important to me."

He looks at you with wide eyes, a face of shock and sarcasm. "Oh really? So why the fuck do i have to be the one listening. Jungwon's home too."

"You know he wont let me yap-"

"And neither will i so kindly shut the fuck up." He advises starts a new round of fortnite.

"Listen DICKFACE. Dont act like you didnt make me listen to you talk about (friends name) for a whole ass week."

He groaned, slightly annoyed by your words as he spoke again. "Hey, it's different, we we're dating, unlike you"

"Were, niki. Maybe take advice from me on how to actually KEEP a lover." You scold him teasingly. "Anyways, he bent me over the bed because its easier to fuck-"

Niki looked at you with widened eyes, slightly shocked by your words, he paused for a moment, his mind processing your words before speaking again and his fingers ram at the controll. "Oh my fucking god... i so did not need to know that"

"Niki shut up.." You ignore the boy and continue the story. "Anyways his dick wa like this big..."

As you put up fingers the boy covers his ears. "LALALALA, I CANNOT HEAR YOU, PLEASE STOP TALKING"

You throw a pillow at him knocking his headset off and he chuckles pleased with how you finally shut up. You groan and sigh. "I need a new bestfriend."

Niki dropped his hands down from his ears, a look of annoyance on his face as he spoke. "No, what you need is therapy"

[darcylindbergh]

I want all you vote blue no matter who folks to suffer just as much as all the disabled ppl you left on the wayside as soon as biden said the pandemic was over. All of you talk about solidarity but as someone disabled by covid its all so shallow. You are all so happy to stop masking and let covid keep killing. You cant even pretend its not true. 95% of dems stopped giving a fuck as soon as their guy said it was fine to. And every time i bring this up i get told i just gotta vote biden or other people will be in danger. Like me and those like me havent already been sacraficed by all of you. You all will have to live with that because i wont be alive much longer. Vote Blue! Vote Blue! Close your ears and vote blue because now YOU are afraid.

sure, we can deconstruct this one too.

this one's cleverer than ms terf because frankly a lot of disabled people DO feel abandoned vis a vis the pandemic and masking, and that's definitely something that needs to be addressed. but this anon is not addressing THAT - they want to address how i shouldn't vote blue.

here's a couple things we can pick out:

i've recently responded to posts about gaza and terfs, so this anon has simply picked a topic i haven't addressed yet like they're playing whack a mole

blames biden specifically for their topic of choice

pitches a you versus them division while explicitly attacking the idea that the left can express sufficient solidarity (implying it doesn't matter whether you vote)

specifically disparages voting for biden while scoffing at the idea that failing to do so will place other people in danger

make it personal while using inflammatory language: "i've already been sacrificed" "i wont be alive much longer"

mocks voting blue out of fear or out of the idea that failing to vote or failing to vote blue will result in a negative outcome

of course, not voting blue (either by splitting the vote, as in 2016, or not voting at all) will certainly not result in an improved outcome for disabled people. anon doesn't even pretend like there's a viable alternative that will improve life for disabled folks in the us.

failing to vote blue will just result in republicans in power - who are as a national platform anti-masking, anti-vaccinations, anti-obamacare, and anti-healthcare reform. so what we have here is someone who is using the disabled community as a cudgel to divide the left and discourage voting - because don't you know you specifically are a bad person for being against disabled people?

anyway here's a short list of things the biden administration has done over the last 4 years to improve the situation of millions of disabled folks in the us:

Biden's first 100 days re: disability reform

Biden admin recognizes long covid as disabling

Biden admin directs $200 million to programs supporting aging Americans and their caregivers (5 days ago)

HHS strengthened rule banning discrimination based on disability (May 1, 2024)

Dept of Education cancels student loan debt for over 300,000 disabled borrowers who cannot work (Aug 2021)

Biden admin seeks to end subminimum wage for disabled (and tipped) workers (2021) - Biden's DOL has been actively working on new regulations regarding disabled worker protections, although the recent decision ending Chevron deference by SCOTUS's conservative bloc will make it much more difficult.

there's definitely still more work to do - passing the marriage equality for disabled adults act, for example, and seeing through the end of subminimum wages - but republicans aren't gonna do it. these bills died in the republican-controlled house. voting blue down-ticket is the only way folks are gonna see any progress.

[sugawarassoccerlover]

Remedial Meals

A/n: been very fed up with my body today, it refuses to cooperate with me & I was playing book 4 so I got the idea for this. Self indulgent shit. It’s probably OOC bc I don’t know the characters too well but I love them

Warnings: health issues, childhood neglect, starvation, reader gets a little sick

Pairings: (ALL PLATONIC!) Riddle & reader, Kalim & reader

Description: reader has health issues because of their trauma, and has tried their best to keep it from their new friends at NRC. Unfortunately, something that ails you every time you eat isn’t so easily hidden

Riddle

Admittedly, he had been pretty preoccupied with house warden matters so it took him a bit to notice that your behavior was off. But… every tea party, every meal, the way you scurried off each time made him worry. He thought it was nothing at first, as he didn’t notice it every time

But things added up. He began to realize this wasn’t just an occasional thing. Now, when you, Riddle, and the third years were sharing a meal together, you began to feel the consequences. Ah shit, you were going to be sick. You didn’t want them to notice, didn’t want them to worry, so you sat up and excused yourself.

Riddle, Trey, and Cater exchanged a look before nodding at you.

You went to the bathroom, but the pain got so strong you had to sit on the floor. It was throbbing and you couldn’t make it stop. You tried shifting the way you were sitting multiple times, it didn’t work. You clutched your stomach, leaning against the cupboards below the sink, and sighed. This sucked.

“Yuu?” Riddle knocked on the door. “Are you okay?”

Shit. How long had you been in there? Had you been too obvious?

“Yuu?”

“Oh yeah, I’m fine!”

“Are you sure? You… do this a lot.”

“What do you mean?” You tried to feign ignorance.

“Run off after eating, I mean,” Riddle replies. “Are you….?”

You hadn’t normally ever heard Riddle be like this before, at a loss for what to do. You must have had him pretty concerned.

You sighed. Might as well tell him. You figured you wouldn’t be able to keep this hidden forever. It wouldn’t have been long before you ended up burdening your friends

Grimacing at the way it made your stomach hurt, you forced yourself to stand up and go to the door, unlocking it. You hated the way you couldn’t move without upsetting your body, but you had to

When you opened the door, you were met with Riddle’s concerned face. You smiled awkwardly at him before sitting down once again, on the floor of the hallway. Riddle looked at you in confusion.

You pat the floor next to you “sit down and I’ll tell you a story” you tried to be dramatic

“We can sit at the table, or in the lounge, I believe that would be more appropr-“

“As much as I’d love to, I’d rather not anger my body any more by moving,” you said with a playful tone.

“What?”

“My intestines are revolting against me and I fear if I move I will make them worse.”

“We should get you to the nurse’s office if it’s that bad,” Riddle spoke with concern.

“Nah, nah, it’s normal don’t worry.” You waved your hand dismissively.

“Don’t worry? Yuu, that is very worrisome. Such conditions should not be normal.”

“I guess I should say it’s normal for me. I’m used to it by now.”

Riddle furrowed his brows. “But being used to something doesn’t make it healthy or normal, Yuu. Pain in the intestines can be a sign of several underlying medical conditions.”

You laughed. “I should have expected you to take this more seriously than even me.”

“Of course I take it seriously. Health is an important matter that shouldn’t be ignored,” Riddle spoke firmly, but the concern was obvious in his tone.

“No its-“ You sigh. “I appreciate the concern, Riddle, it’s very sweet of you but I mean it when I say don’t worry. This is just how my body is. This just happens. It’s inconvenient at most, I promise.”

“Even so it’s.. alarming that that’s how your body is. Is there nothing I can do to help? Or make it better?”Riddle asked earnestly.

“Well, medicine helps it not be so bad,” you shrug.

“Why haven’t you asked for it before?” Riddle frowns. “If I knew about this sooner, I would’ve ensured you got the proper medicine whenever this happens.”

“I didn’t want to be a bother, I guess,” you look at the floor.

“It’s not a bother if it pertains to your wellbeing. This should be a basic necessity.”

From then on Riddle was extra aware of you anytime you had parties with snacks, or meals with the Heartslabyul students. He made sure you got medicine with your food during each meal, and even sent one of the third years to bring you some when you would eat at the cafeteria instead of with them.

Once they were made aware, Trey and Cater made sure to take note of what foods upset your body less. Mysteriously, you noticed those foods served more frequently when you ate with them. And even in the cafeteria, Ace and Deuce would insist they trade meals with you when yours included worse irritants.

“If I can help it, you’re not going to struggle any more than you need to. If it gets worse, let me know so I can arrange something.”

Kalim Al Asim

You could never turn down Kalim whenever he invited you to the Scarabia dorm to eat. He was always so generous to you, and it would have felt wrong to not accept. However… Kalim could be a bit much.

His enthusiasm was never for no reason, after all, he was right, the food was good. You had already eaten, definitely not enough to get your fill, but enough so you wouldn’t be too hungry, and it was a safe amount that probably wouldn’t make you sick.

You knew you over calculated the second Kalim sat you down to have you try a bit of every dish Jamil had prepared. Just looking at the amount of food already made your stomach churn. You frowned, unsure of what to do. It would be rude of you to turn him down, but you know your body would get even more upset if you ate anything more.

Unfortunately for you, your body decided you wouldn’t get the time to think about it, and the familiar ache came to you. You bit your lip, hoping Kalim wouldn’t notice.

“Hey, Yuu? Are you okay? Are you really that hungry, here you should eat this one first, it-“

You shook your head, putting a hand on your abdomen when the sickness worsened. “No, no I already ate, this is just..”

There was a look of confusion on Kalim’s face for a moment, only a moment, until it morphed into worry. “Yuu? What did you eat? What are you feeling? Are you lightheaded, or just sick to your stomach?”

His concern was almost sweet, but he seemed panicked. “Kalim-“

“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine, just- uh, JAMIL!”

“Yes, Kalim?” Jamil snapped to attention.

“I think Yuu was poisoned, we need to get them help right now,” Kalim spoke with urgency.

“Kalim-“

“Are you feeling worse?” You were convinced now that Kalim felt worse than you. You had gotten used to this by now but… yeah, it was probably the smart decision to hide your condition, if he was going to react like this

Jamil sighed, crouching in front of you. “Was there anything off about the food you ate last?”

You shook your head. “No. I’ve been meaning to tell Kalim, I wasn’t poisoned.”

“You can’t be sure, you never kn-“

You grab the white haired boy by the shoulders, making eye contact with him. “Kalim. I wasn’t poisoned. Though, it wouldn’t exactly be wrong to say that all food is basically poison to me…” you trail off, your tone getting bitter. “But that’s not the point. I know I wasn’t poisoned.”

Kalim frowned. “All food is basically poison to you? What do you mean? Are you allergic?”

You sigh. Woud you really have to explain the full thing to him? He seemed very worried for you, and probably wouldn’t stop worrying until you explained. “No, I’m not allergic. Ironically, I’m not allergic to anything. I just… because of stuff, my body… doesn’t handle food well.”

“Stuff?”

“…Alright. I uh. Was starved, for awhile.”

“STARVED?!”

You fiddled with the hem of your shirt. “Yeah. Didn’t have much to eat for awhile. Almost… 2 years, I’d say.”

Kalim frowned. “That’s awful! I knew some people struggled financially but not even being able to afford food is horrible!”

You scoff. “It’s not that we couldn’t afford it. My dad just. Didn’t buy any, very often. For me at least. He got enough to eat, but I guess I’m not worth food or whatever.” You chuckled dryly, trying to force humor

“What? No! Everyone is worth food, especially you! That’s a terrible thing to think,” Kalim huffed passionately. “Man that makes me so sad.”

“Why does it make you sad? It’s my life. It’s not like it affects you,” you frown in confusion.

“I wish I had met you much sooner, than you wouldn’t have starved! I would have given you food every day so you would be fine!”

You smiled. “That’s very thoughtful of you. But it is what it is. I’m just mildly inconvenienced by this body of mine now.”

“Is there something I can do now? Like is there anything you need? Something I can get you? There has to be a way I can help,” he insisted.

“Mmm, not really. I usually just wait around until I feel normal again.”

“That’s not a very good way to live! Getting sick from food and not doing anything about it,” Kalim seemed genuinely upset for you.

“Well, back home I took medicine that helped lessen it a little,” you shrugged.

Jamil interrupted, “I believe I know a medicine that may work. Is it nausea and pain?”

You nodded. “Yeah, but you don’t have to. I’m fine.”

“No way, you’re my friend, we’re going to help you!” Kalim immediately insisted.

You smile and roll your eyes sarcastically. “Of course. Well… thank you.”

“It’s no problem! Are you completely sure there’s nothing else we can do?”

“Well, I guess there’s some foods that irritate my body a little less than others. But I couldn’t ask you to go out of your way to get me them or anything,” you picked at your shirt.

“No, you can! If it helps make things better for you, of course I’d get them for you. Jamil would definitely be willing to cook them!”

As you listed off the foods that were less irritant, Kalim listened intently, but Jamil on the side made a mental note of each one you mentioned. You noticed that the next times you visited, all the food served to you included only the things you mentioned.

Kalim made sure to invite you over to the Scarabia dorm often, claiming “that cafeteria is making you sick so you should eat with us every day instead!” He would eat some of the things made for you as well, not out of greed, but rather because he didn’t want to eat what you “couldn’t”.

“You need to eat, your health is important so Jamil will make whatever is best for your health! No arguments!”

[verosikastrikerstellaexcuser]

Gonna jsut put this put here....I think that Stolitz COULD have worked...if they had looked ahead and had a timeline

But no, instead they made Stolas....well, all that and are now desperately trying to retcon/undo his character to make Stolitz happen by the end of the show (instead of just planning ahead, or having, you know, actual character growth)

Like, you don't have to have a 100% complete timeline but you need to have at least an outline, if you wanted Blitz and Stolas to end up together you shouldn't have set Stolas up as someone who is using Blitz purely for sex and Blitz being uncomfortable with it :/

And honestly? this applies to literally every writing mistake in not only helluva boss but hazbin hotel as well

Oh 100% it could have worked and thats the saddest thing. If St*las was portrayed like his Instagram self he could have been. They wanted to make St*litz a cute fun ship with just some drama and issues they have to work past first but by the time they decided that, it was too late, they'd already written several fucking episodes and Murder Family had already happened.

The biggest problem is that damn deal. The deal turned St*litz into sexual extortion. I think if they wanted messy and imperfect and miscommunication, what should have been done instead is this:

They never knew each other as friends, that trope is fucking stupid and its unnecessary to their story, not to mention creepy with Blitz being purchased for a day as entertainment for St*las. Blitz seduces St*las to steal his grimoire. But then St*las has such a good time he tells Blitz after "Lol of course I know you're the reason its missing. Why do you want it?" and when Blitz explains his situation St*las is sympathetic to him not being able to obtain a crystal and allows him to keep it outside the full moon. Naturally from there because they see each other every full moon, they begin to hit it off and develop a flirty friendship. They both act like they did in the old instagram, going shopping and watching horse movies etc. They both get to actually have interests in common, just fucking something man. I like the idea of St*las finding Blitz's humor funny, especially since Blitz never had that with others when trying to perform in the circus etc. It would mean a lot to him I bet.

With this version of events you could still have had Blitz's fears about just being entertainment for rich ruling class St*las, and he could be "up and down" for lack of a better term with St*las, depending on whats going on. For example, after seeing Verosika again, you could make Blitz become cagey and irritable with St*las and push him away because it makes his fears of ruining yet another relationship if he had one bubble to the surface. But then other times, he reaches out to St*las when hes frightened of dying alone etc. While St*las is madly in love with Blitz but sees how cagey Blitz can get and how he often seems to need to pull away. Able to tell that Blitz has a lot of issues hes working through, St*las so doesn't dare push things too hard and tries to keep things non serious. This in turn would feed Blitz's idea of just being entertainment even more, even though of course its unintentional and has good motivations on the part of St*las as he'd try to not be putting too much on Blitz.

And there you go. You've written a flawed repressed gay dad that caused discord in the family home by going with the fling that was sprung on him without splitting from Stella first, humiliating her. He could also maybe sometimes get too distracted chasing Blitz that he forgets to prioritize his daughter. This would have made him a flawed dad thats trying and bad at communicating without making him a sexually exploiting piece of shit. If they wanted soft more wholesome St*las, this was how to do it, imo. Let them have actual chemistry and build up via meeting over and over on the full moon. Let St*las be a tease sometimes without it being too far and sexual harassment that is against Blitz's will. But nah. They made him a glorified SAer instead.

Given how St*las has resonated with a lot of gay men with the themes of repression etc, it fucking sucks. They could have had something great, I like the idea of either a villain or a genuinely nicer St*las honestly. The problem is that they needed to fucking pick one before being 1 season into the whole show. But they didn't. This is why you plan your shows.

[sadiecoocoo]

It's Growing On Me - The Bad Batch fic

trying something new with how I format these posts, lmk what you guys think :)

Also I thought abt it and this fic could count for the Summerofbadbatch prompt, “it’s not what you think” so yeah ig this is a summer of bad batch thing :) @summer-of-bad-batch

Relationships - Crosshair & Echo

Tags - Bonding, Fluff, Minor Injuries, Hurt/Comfort, Misunderstandings, Fluff and Humor, CT-9904 | Crosshair is Bad at Feelings, Protective CT-9904 | Crosshair, CT-9904 | Crosshair is a Little Shit, CT-9904 | Crosshair-centric, CT-21-0408 | CT-1409 | Echo-centric, Soft CT-9904 | Crosshair, Hurt CT-21-0408 | CT-1409 | Echo, Clone Trooper Tech is a Little Shit (Star Wars), Hunter is So Done (Star Wars: The Bad Batch), Mission Fic, Brotherly Bonding, Platonic Cuddling

Summary - Crosshair has a moment of realization after Echo humbles a reg that picked on the Batch. He tries his best to make up for the time he had been mean to Echo, and tries to treat him like a brother.

Or, Crosshair trying desperately to get mama Echo's approval.

Word Count - 10,647

Read on A03

The alleys of Coruscant never really got dark. There were neon signs everywhere that reflected off of puddles and windows. Most places were open all night and kept their lights on. Coruscant was a planet that never slept unless all its residents were hungover.

Sometimes Crosshair had trouble believing that Coruscant was the head of the Republic and Jedi. Spending time in the lower levels can make it suffocating to spend time above. All the senate buildings seemed bland after seeing all the shops and bars with their bright colors and lights that never dimmed.

Clone Force ninety-nine had only been to Coruscant so many times. They were always on some mission or would rather just stay on the Marauder. Crosshair never complained about that. The Marauder was quiet (most of the time), and Coruscant was noisy and obnoxious. Anyone could guess which he preferred a majority of the time.

However, He did enjoy this certain outing to sample a few of Coruscant’s bars. Echo seemed well versed in the area, being a reg and having the chance to spend time on leave. He gave them a multitude of good bar recommendations, though his favorite seemed to be 79’s. Crosshair couldn’t agree, there were too many regs there. He was surprised that a fight didn’t break out while they were there.

Of course, a fight did break out. It was just at a different bar, a very rugged one that looked out of place on Coruscant. For once, Crosshair hadn’t even been the one to start the fight. Instead, their newest member was the guilty suspect.

They were about to leave, Hunter and Tech barely being able to stand; they were so drunk. Crosshair was a little disappointed, having enjoyed the drinks he got at this particular bar. He and Wrecker both held their liquor better than The former two. Echo, unsurprisingly, didn’t drink that much. The reason being something about Tech not wanting the alcohol to possibly give him a setback in his recovery, that he was still too underweight to handle it all well. Of course, Tech didn’t stay coherent long enough to make sure Echo did as he was told, so that duty fell upon Hunter, then Crosshair once the sergeant succumbed to the drowsiness of the alcohol.

He had begrudgingly patted Echo on the shoulder, mumbling “that’s enough reg, Tech’ll kill you in the morning if you have anymore.” and the ARC trooper frowned and placed his glass on the table, sliding it instead to Wrecker, who gladly took it. It wasn’t long before the group decided to call it quits after that.

Wrecker was practically carrying Tech, with how much the splicer leaned on him, as they stumbled out of the bar. Hunter looked like he already had a headache forming, and Wrecker decided to take up the job of guiding their sergeant as well. Crosshair rolled his eyes as he shared a glance with Echo.

Both of them had started to get along better, but the ARC was still a reg. Crosshair would tolerate occasional glances and fighting beside him, but he doubted they’d be friends anytime soon. They certainly had been in a few arguments that turned physical soon enough.

Wrecker, with the added weight of his brothers and clumsiness from the several beers he had had, stumbled to the side and just barely caught himself from falling. He did, however, cause someone else to fall. Crosshair groaned as he noticed it was a reg. Because of course they would piss off a reg.

“Hey! Defect, watch it!” The clone snarled. He didn’t have any paint on his armor, neither did a majority of the group with him. Wrecker held up his hands placatingly, still trying to hold up Tech, who was practically dead to the world. Hunter seemed to compose himself slightly and listened in. Crosshair doubted the sergeant would be much help if a fight broke out, though.

“I-I didn’t mean to- ‘m sorry,” Wrecker mumbled in response. Crosshair let out a huff. He didn’t need to apologize to the jackass.

“Oh yeah- sure! It was an accident?” the clone drunkenly antagonized.

“It was!” Wrecker tried again. The bar had fallen fairly quiet around them, waiting to see if a real fight would break out. Crosshair looked at Echo again and saw an expression that looked angrier than any he had seen before. He quickly wondered who it was pointed at.

“Oh kark you!” The reg said, then threw a punch at Wrecker. The crowd cheered at the potential chance to start a fight and get some entertainment. Crosshair clenched his fists and readied himself to join in to defend his brother, who honestly hadn’t budged from the blow. Maybe Crosshair wanted to join more so to put the reg in his place than to actually keep Wrecker from getting hurt, as if he could get hurt by this guy.

Echo placed his scomp on Crosshair’s shoulder, holding him back slightly. The sharpshooter glared at the reg. Of course he would stop Cross from joining the fight, giving his old buddies an advantage.

Contrary to what Crosshair had expected, Echo went forward himself. Crosshair blinked as the ARC grabbed the reg by the back of his armor and pulled him away from Wrecker. The reg complained and yelled, but it did little to deter Echo.

“Damned shiny.” Echo muttered as he pulled to reg far enough away to… scold him? “He did nothing to personally offend you and you karking punch him?” Echo’s tone sounded dangerous, and even Crosshair felt a little sheepish. It reminded him of all the times he had heard Cody scold a younger looking reg for something.

“Yeah! I’ll punch him,” He raised his fist and reared back. “And I’ll punch you too-” He didn’t get a chance to finish his threat before he was sprawled out on the floor. Echo held one arm up, and his foot was on the reg’s back, successfully pinning him down. The crowd cheered again, some cringing at the blow. This time Wrecker and Hunter joined in on the cheering as well.

“Listen, kid.” Echo said, sounding very much like an order, “If you wanna prove you’re tough, go scrap some clankers. Leave my brothers alone. We’re all clones, we’re all fighting on the same side in the same war.” He reprimanded sternly. Crosshair felt almost in awe.

“Get your osik together.” He finished as he let go of the reg’s arm and stepped off of him. The reg sat up, but all the fight he had earlier seemed muted.

“Sir, yessir.” He mumbled. Crosshair heard a few chuckles in the background. Echo walked back to the Batch, patting Wrecker on his arm and deciding to shoulder some of Tech’s weight as well. Crosshair blinked at the ARC. That was not all what he had been expecting.

“Shiny?” Hunter asked. Echo let out a huff.

“Clones with unpainted armor, barely out of being cadets.” He explained, elbowing Hunter lightly with a grin. Crosshair listened quietly. He still felt as though he were in shock.

“I could have handled it…” Wrecker mumbled, though there wasn’t much anger to it. He sounded a little sad that he didn’t get to fight anyone. Crosshair couldn’t blame him, he did kind of wish that Echo hadn’t stepped in, only so he could have stepped in. Even so, he was still a bit amazed at Echo for standing up for them. He hadn’t expected it at all.

“Of course, big guy!” Echo responded, “I just didn’t want a fight to break out. We’re tired and drunk.” He explained with an understanding smile. Wrecker laughed, patting Echo on the back, making the ARC trooper stumble.

Crosshair trailed behind as they continued towards the hotel they had been provided for their leave (They would have just had to stay in the barracks, but Crosshair may or may not have gotten into a small scuffle with a few of the regs on their first night). He either kept his eyes trained to the ground or on his brothers’ backs. He worried his bottom lip, wishing he had brought a few toothpicks with him. The sharpshooter almost didn’t notice Echo start to slow to match his pace.

“You alright?” He asked quietly, trying not to let the others hear. Crosshair, seeing Hunter turn his head slightly back towards the two, knew that it only partially worked.

“Yeah.” He replied curtly. Crosshair looked back towards the ground to avoid Echo’s worried gaze. “Don’t worry ‘bout me.” He drawled. Echo let out a good spirited huff.

“‘Course not.” He said mirthfully. They fell into silence. Crosshair expected the ARC to catch back up with the others. It became apparent that he had no plans to do so once the hotel was in view and Echo was still walking next to him.

When they made it back up to their room, the majority of them collapsed on their beds. Echo went to the ‘fresher immediately, and the water started to run soon after. Crosshair sat heavily on his own bed, Tech having already been laid out next to him so he could sleep.

He ran a hand down his face and let out a sigh. He wasn’t entirely sure why, but he felt a strong guilt. He had treated Echo poorly compared to how he treated the others, having expected him to be like any other reg. The ARC had made it apparent that he really was different.

He knew Wrecker had practically forgotten that Echo was a reg, having grown attached only hours after Echo had joined their squad. Hunter’s heart bled for any stray, and he was clearly protective of the new addition to the Batch. Tech found in Echo a new pair of ears to listen to his ramblings, and even sometimes understand what he said. Crosshair… Crosshair had tolerated his presence.

Crosshair had certainly indulged in sharing teasing glances as the two found humor in something one of the others did. He had listened to some of Echo’s vents, though they had been spoken to Hunter in the middle of the night and not him. But he also held low expectations of Echo. He had honest to Maker expected him to join on any regs’ sides if there was a fight. He had been ready to hear some complaints about them being defective. He had expected him to not care as much about them while on the field.

He had been cruel in that. Crosshair fumbled for one of his toothpicks and stuck it in between his teeth, chewing on the wood as he thought. It wasn’t something he felt he needed to be redeemed for. It was just something he wanted to do a bit better on.

He stripped off his armor to get comfy in his blacks. Crosshair laid back against the pillow, opting to shower in the morning. Tech had already snuggled up to him seconds after he got under the covers.

The door to the ‘fresher opened and an arc of light flooded the room. Echo left the door cracked, giving the Batch a small night-light as they slept. Crosshair watched silently as Echo’s figure walked over to his and Hunter’s bed and plopped down next to the sergeant.

Hunter had an arm covering his eyes and he peeked out to look at the ARC as the bed creaked. Echo handed something to Hunter, probably medicine for the approaching headache, and the tracker mumbled a sleepy “thanks.”

There was a pop and a hiss as Echo removed his headpiece, the familiar sound indicating that Echo was about to sleep like the rest of them. He put in his hearing aids so he could actually hear in case anyone needed anything. Crosshair heard the ruffling of covers before it settled.

He let out another soft sigh. He would do better for the reg. Nothing too crazy, just better.

Echo groaned when he woke up. His head throbbed. He really wished he hadn’t drinken that much. At least he felt somewhat clean, though sleeping ruined that. He turned in the bed to try and get comfy again, hoping that he could sleep just a little longer.

“Echo,” There went that plan. “We’ve gotta leave in two hours.” Hunter informed him. He cursed the Batch’s need on the field. If they worked so well, why not make more special ops teams like them? It’d be nice to have a break that lasted more than three days for once.

“Well that leaves me ‘n hour to sleep.” He mumbled, face pushed against the pillow. His eyes felt heavy and all he wanted was an actual good night’s sleep. He had tossed and turned all night, finding it impossible to get comfy enough to lay still. Hunter had elbowed him multiple times for it. He couldn’t help that all his prosthetics were uncomfortable as shit when he was trying to sleep. And there was no way he’d sleep without them unless he was on the Marauder, he’d be too vulnerable.

“That is incorrect.” Tech stated, “It usually takes you an hour and a half to get ready after we’ve been on leave, since you spend more time than needed drinking caf.” He explained. Echo let out a rough sigh.

“Why d’you know that?” He grumbled loudly.

“I thought it might be useful.” Tech stated simply. Echo knew he was doing one of his annoying, yet somewhat cute, shrugs when he thought something was obvious when to literally anyone else it wasn’t.

He groaned again when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He blinked his eyes open to see Crosshair standing above him. His gaze turned to the mug in his hands.

“Made you some caf.” He said, almost sheepishly, if Echo didn’t know any better.

With a sigh of defeat he sat up and took the mug. He nodded and smiled at Crosshair. Being woken up sucked, but getting some decent caf out of it was somewhat worth it. Crosshair nodded back, clearing his throat, then went in the refresher to get ready to leave.

Echo let the warmth of the mug warm his hand before drinking any of it. Eyes still half-lidded, he took a meager sip and smiled a bit brighter at the taste. It was sweet enough for him to enjoy it.

“Well that was strange.” Tech pointed out. Echo looked up to see Hunter and Wrecker both nodding in agreement. He let out a confused hum.

Tech opened his mouth to give a long-winded explanation, but Hunter cut him off. “It’s nothing.” He dismissed with a wave of his hand. Tech frowned and shared a glance with Wrecker. Echo shrugged and continued enjoying his caf.

His headache had started to ebb by the time Crosshair left the ‘fresher. He rubbed his neck to work out a crick, hearing a satisfying pop. It got rid of a bit of the soreness, helping more with his headache.

Echo covered his mouth as he yawned, then finally got out of his bed. He placed the now empty mug on the bedside table, then placed his hearing aids beside them. The world quieted before he had the chance to put on his headset. Any movement could no longer be heard; though he saw Hunter rummaging through his pack, the shuffling was muted.

He replaced the hearing aids with his headset and released a breath. He hated how vulnerable he could be without even one of his cybernetics. There wasn’t much he could do about it, he was lucky enough for Tech to have upgraded them so he could feel fairly normal with them on.

“Feeling alright, Echo?” Hunter asked. The ARC turned to the sergeant, meeting his worried gaze with his own tired one.

“Yeah. Just a headache, it’ll pass.” He waved it off. He smiled at Hunter, who seemed pleased with his answer. He yawned again and stretched before getting up. He started packing up his stuff, a task that wouldn’t take longer than a few minutes.

His shoulders slumped as he checked and realized, unsurprisingly, Tech was right about his morning routine. He looked over his shoulder to see Tech’s smug expression. Echo fixed the splicer with an unimpressed glare, then stuck his tongue out playfully.

He shouldered his bag, stubbornly refusing to let Wrecker carry it, then waited at the door for the others to get finished up. Crosshair approached and stood beside him quietly. He looked like he had something on his mind, but Echo knew the sniper wouldn’t utter a word about it until he wanted to.

“I can carry that,” Crosshair pointed to his bag. Echo blinked, looking from the bag on his shoulder to Crosshair. He let out a light chuckle before answering.

“I got it, thank you though.” He insisted, similarly to how he always answered Wrecker’s offering. He hated how much they all coddled him sometimes. Though, it came in pretty handy often enough for him to never bother saying anything. He knew that if he needed help with something, a break, or a bit of quiet, any of them would help him to their best abilities.

Crosshair nodded wordlessly, then leaned against the wall. He had a toothpick in his mouth, as usual, and was moving it from one side to the other. It was something he usually did when he was nervous or worried. Echo rolled his eyes subtly.

“You doing okay?” He asked carefully. The sharpshooter glanced at him, then to the ground.

“Fine.” He muttered quietly. Maybe Tech had been on to something when he commented on how weird Cross was acting. Echo shook the thought away, everyone has their days.

“All right, let’s head out boys.” Hunter said once had finished packing their stuff (there wasn’t much to pack, but still). They all followed the sergeant out of the room and towards the lobby. Echo waved politely to the lady working the front desk as they all passed.

“Can we get something to eat?” Wrecker asked hopefully. Hunter let out an obvious sigh.

“We have to be on Ryloth in a few days, it’s a long trip.” He said, trying to reasonably turn it down. Echo pursed his lips. Wrecker released a loud ‘awwww!’

“I can head into town and get some snacks while you all prep the ship.” Echo offered, pointing down the crowded street. Wrecker’s face brightened and Hunter mulled it over.

“Alright, but be quick.” He relented. Echo and Wrecker both smiled brightly.

“Sweet or salty, big guy?”

“Both!” he replied excitedly.

“On it.” Echo saluted with his scomp arm, then hoisted the bag off his shoulders for Wrecker to carry. He went down the street in a rushed gait, not exactly running, but he looked like he had places to be.

He turned a corner and continued down the street until he came upon a familiar store. A small smile spread across his lips as he pushed the door open. The smell of chocolate and salt made his nose sting, but he ignored it. He started down to the corner of the store, waving a small greeting to the familiar cashier.

Hardcase had shown this place to him and Fives when they were on their first leave. Fives had practically bought out the store with all the credits Rex gave them while they were on leave. They had taken several bags of sweets aboard the Resolute and stashed it for later… until Rex found it and got onto them for having contraband, or rather, for not sharing it.

It became a small tradition for Echo, Fives, and anyone else they could convince to visit this place. The store owner had gotten to the point where he could recognize the two in a crowd of clones. Echo grabbed a small wrapped bag of salted caramel filled truffles.

He remembered the place fondly, but it got difficult to not tear up being in here. He had always had a brother beside him when he walked through those doors. He swallowed the lump in his throat and focused on his mission.

Echo picked up a few other things, something that each of them would like, plus a few extra things for himself (that Wrecker would most likely steal). Then, he walked up to the counter and paid for the treats.

“Echo,” The shop owner, an older Togruta, greeted solemnly. Echo tried to smile while he looked over his pale and skinny form. His eyes lingered on the scomp arm and headset. “It’s been a long time.”

“Yeah,” Echo said with a laugh, “A lot happened.” He placed everything on the counter and talked while Umata rung everything up.

“I was sorry to hear about Fives, and to hear about you, so long ago.” a bit of grief flooded his tone. Echo smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Sorry you lost a bit of business without us!” He joked lightheartedly, not feeling up for heart-to-hearts.

“Oh, I’ve always got someone around.” Echo was grateful that he understood. The war had made it so just about everyone lost someone. Umata had lost many people before he made it to Coruscant, Echo and Fives had been given all the stories of his travels when they had time to talk.

“Glad to hear it, I don't know what I’d do if I’d come back and this place wasn’t here.” Umata handed him the bag, and Echo tried to hand him the credits. Umata held up his hand in refusal.

“Please, on the house.” Echo opened his mouth to protest, “as a welcome home gift.” Umata insisted. Echo shook his head with a sigh. He pocketed the credits and instead shook Umata’s hand.

“It’s good to have you back, Echo.” Umata said as Echo started to turn to leave.

“Good to be back.” Echo replied with a smile, this time more genuine. He left without another word, feeling Umata’s worried gaze on his back.

When he turned to head back towards the Marauder, he nearly lept out of his skin. Crosshair stood leaned against the wall, very close to the door. Echo released a breath and blinked at the sharpshooter.

“Hey?” He said awkwardly. Crosshair looked up at him, having rested his eyes for a moment.

“Hunter wanted me to tell you to hurry.” Crosshair muttered. Echo let out a huff. Hunter had certainly sugar coated it more than that. He patted Crosshair on the shoulder with his scomp and headed back towards the Marauder. Crosshair was hot on his heels.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, passing several groups of people. Crosshair stopped dead in his tracks at some point. Echo turned curiously to the sharpshooter.

“What did you just say?” Crosshair grabbed the arm of a civvie to stop them from leaving. Echo blinked at the strange exchange and his brow furrowed.

“What does it matter to you, clone?” the civvie snarled. He was a weequay, probably a bounty hunter or pirate, by how scuffed up he already looked.

“Answer the damn question.” Crosshair ordered threateningly.

“Cross-” Echo tried.

“I called him a damned meat-droid! That’s what he is, can’t be pissed ‘bout that.” The weequay defended. Echo’s shoulders slumped and he breathed heavily through his nose. Crosshair’s nose scrunched in anger and disgust.

“You sleemo!” Before Echo got the chance to step in, Crosshair had grabbed the man by his shirt and pinned him against the wall. He didn’t seem very confident anymore, his hands raised in surrender. Crosshair reared back to punch the man.

“Crosshair!” Echo hissed, grabbing his elbow to stop him from attacking the guy. “Drop it.” he ordered once the sharpshooter looked at him. Crosshair studied him silently, then, literally, dropped it. The man fell to the ground with a grunt.

Crosshair glared at Echo for a moment, then shouldered past him. Echo regained a bit of his composure and glanced down at the man. He didn’t bother apologizing, he knew the guy didn’t deserve it.

He followed Crosshair with a similar scowl on his face.

Hunter didn’t know when it started, or why, but he knew it was weird. Crosshair, the person who, up until now, liked Echo the least, was acting like he couldn’t stand two minutes away from him. Everyone else, except somehow Echo, noticed it too.

Tech was the first to comment on it, and they all seemed to have the epiphany then. Echo was still too tired to even notice it. Crosshair had made Echo caf. He never made anyone caf unless he lost a bet. Hunter would know, he tried several times to convince him to make him some when he had a migraine.

Then, he started to hover around Echo. Right before they left the hotel, he seemed oddly close to the ARC trooper. It wasn’t really a big deal, it was just different from his usual behavior. Sometimes Crosshair acted like he couldn’t stand Echo’s presence, and sometimes they got along okay, but the sharpshooter never actively looked for Echo.

He even offered to go get Echo when they were about to leave. Hunter was more worried about the two looking pissed when they got back than the action alone. He wondered if maybe Crosshair was starting to get on Echo’s nerves, and the ARC had snapped.

Even so, they were all greatly distracted from the sweets Echo had brought back. Wrecker made a ruckus as he cheered, almost knocking over Gonky as the droid passed. Tech and Hunter were both pleased with the treats, but weren’t quite as excited.

Once the group was in hyperspace, Hunter left the cockpit to go mitigate things. If Echo and Crosshair were having issues, he didn’t want them to get in the way of the mission. Apparently some karked up shit was happening on Ryloth, the seppies were adamant about taking the planet. That only meant bad news and he didn’t need his squad shooting at each other more than the droids.

Echo was on his bunk (technically it was Wrecker’s, but they cycled out since they had a new addition to the squad), leaning back with his arms crossed and eyes closed. Hunter was sometimes worried with how often he slept, but Tech assured him that it was just because of his recovery and it wasn’t anything to worry about. Crosshair was sitting on the chair near the console, cleaning a part of his firepuncher. The other parts were strewn about the small counter in front of the screen.

Hunter sat down next to Echo, shaking the bed as he did so. The ARC trooper peeked an eye open, then sighed as he met Hunter’s eyes. He adjusted his position and sat up, rubbing his eyes.

Hunter looked over to Crosshair, whose attention was now on the two. Hunter lifted a brow, and Cross scoffed. He placed the part he had been cleaning next to the rest. He rested his head in his palm and leaned his elbow on the counter.

“Okay, what’s going on between you two?” Hunter asked, getting to the point. Echo looked at Hunter with an unreadable expression, and Crosshair rolled his eyes in an exasperated manner.

“Nothing?” Echo replied confusedly. He looked over to Crosshair, who only shrugged. “We’re acting… normal?” Hunter sighed.

“No, you’re acting normal,” He pointed to the ARC’s chest, “he’s acting weird.” he jammed his thumb in Crosshair’s direction. Echo looked at the sharpshooter, blinked for a moment, then shrugged.

“We just got into a small fight with a civvie.” Crosshair muttered.

“You got into a small fight with a civvie.” Echo corrected with a scoff. Crosshair glared at him, but Hunter didn’t see any real anger behind it, at least none directed towards Echo.

“He called you a meat-droid?!” Crosshair retaliated. Hunter’s eyes widened and he turned to Echo. The ARC looked unimpressed.

“Crosshair,” He replied, a bit of humor in his tone, “I appreciate you defending me, I really do, but just about every clone gets called a meat-droid, I’m just a bit more droid than others.” Echo played it off with a shrug.

“I don’t put up with people calling any of them names, I’m not gonna put up with anyone calling you names.” Crosshair continued, unwilling to let the matter drop.

“And I appreciate that, but it’s really okay.”

“Okay?! Are you serious-”

“Okay that’s enough!” Hunter interrupted sternly. The two looked guiltily over to him. He released a rough sigh and shook his head. “Just, both of you, please don’t get distracted on the mission.” He urged. Echo nodded and Crosshair scoffed.

“‘Course, Sarge.” Echo said, almost spitefully. The ARC had always seemed to get offended at the notion that he could be the one screwing up a mission. Hunter couldn’t blame him for it, he had a lot going on in his head and a desperate need to prove himself useful.

“We’ll be at Ryloth in about a day,” He informed them, changing the subject. The two clones nodded silently, content with ending the discussion. Hunter got up, leaving the two to sort out things on their own, and headed back to the cockpit. He plopped down in the copilot’s seat, usually Echo’s spot whenever he was in the cockpit, and released a heavy sigh.

“That went well.” Tech announced sarcastically. Hunter dragged a hand down his face as he groaned. There was always something.

“About as well as a bantha in a pod race.” Hunter mumbled back. Tech let out a humored hum in response.

“Perhaps Crosshair is finally warming up to Echo.” Tech suggested, trying to grasp an answer. Hunter shrugged, slouching further in the seat.

“Maybe, but why so suddenly?” He responded. “Last night He looked just about ready to punch Echo when the fight broke out.” Tech hummed again at that. The room was filled with silence, aside from the beeping of the navi computer as Tech keyed in the coordinates to Ryloth, as the two thought.

“I suppose it doesn’t really matter,” Tech concluded with a shrug. Hunter arched a brow, “ As long as they’re getting along and no one is getting distracted on missions, like your previous worry, then nothing bad can come of it.” He explained. Hunter blinked at him for a moment.

“Yeah, I guess so.” He agreed. He crossed his arms and propped his feet on the console. Tech swatted them off immediately and Hunter rolled his eyes playfully.

The mission went terribly. There was always something that went wrong, Echo had learned that quickly. Usually, though, the Batch could easily remedy it and come up with a new plan. Sadly, he wasn’t very conscious for that to happen.

The mission was meant to be a simple infiltration and data retrieval. There was a new separatist base found that was suspected to hold vital information for the Rylothian rebellion. Commander Ponds’ battalion was still being stationed on Ryloth, despite General Windu going back to Coruscant. Echo had been hoping to see Cody again, but the 212th were sent elsewhere.

The mission consisted of most of Clone Force 99 sneaking into the base through the vent system, while Wrecker snuck around outside and planted a chain of detonators set on a timer. Echo and Tech would take charge of the data retrieval, though Echo would be doing most of the searching while Tech would do his best to annoy the shit out of the separatists and screw with all their systems. Hunter and Crosshair would stand guard and cover them if any patrols passed by.

Echo was currently crouched in front of a terminal, his scomp inserted into the port and whirring quietly as his mind processed the code and files being given to him. His eyes held the familiar glassy look as his vision darkened.

He could hear Hunter asking Tech for an update on their progress, though it sounded very muffled. The splicer placed a hand on Echo’s shoulder to rouse him slightly. He blinked away the code for a moment and glanced at the Sergeant.

“Few more minutes,” He mumbled before focusing back on finding the data. There were so many useless files, Echo wasn’t sure how even the separatist generals found what they were looking for. He supposed it was somewhat smart, making it far more difficult for anyone to steal the files without being caught.

“Hurry it up.” Hunter urged stressfully. He must have heard a patrol of clankers approaching. Echo started skimming through the files faster, looking for anything that might jump out at him.

He felt the edges of another headache approaching as his eyes started to water from the strain. He tended to forget to blink when sifting through code. It was another habit Tech had been trying to help him break.

A lot of unhealthy things tended to happen when he was scomped in. If he was connected for too long he might think in code for the next few hours, he wasn’t even sure how it was possible, he just knew it gave him a miserable headache. Sometimes he would get a nosebleed, Tech had explained that mental strain can do that sometimes. Most of the time he had a dizzy spell, though he could work through those in the heat of battle, it was when the adrenaline wore off that he felt the urge to collapse. Almost every time he was connected for more than half an hour, the next day would be spent sleeping or suffering through a headache.

Despite all of the downsides, he was grateful for having the unique ability. It made him feel useful. It made him feel needed. It was probably the only thing keeping him from decommissioning.

A file finally stood out to him, “found something!” He informed them. He started the download, feeling a spike in his headache as the information rushed in. He read it as it loaded, looking over the battle plans and schematics. This would be very useful, and made the after effects of scomping in more than worth it.

Echo flinched as he heard blaster fire in the background. He looked up towards the door to see Cross and Hunter firing into the hallway. He blinked some of the code away and took in the sight of a large patrol of droids quickly approaching.

“Go help, I’ve got things covered here.” He told Tech. he only hesitated a moment before nodding quickly and unholstering his blaster. Tech ran over to the door and joined in the fray.

Echo focused back on the download, ninety-eight percent completed. He released a breath knowing that his headache really would be worth it. He felt a triumphant ping in his brain, as if his circuitry was celebrating the completed download, as the entirety of the file was finally downloaded. He started the process to disconnect his scomp.

“Echo! Disconnect now!” Crosshair yelled urgently. Echo started to ask what had happened, and say that he was already working on it, but a loud blaring sounded in his head. He yelled as error warnings filled his vision and he moved his other hand to press into his skull tightly, as if the pressure would relieve some of the pain.

“Echo!” the sharpshooter yelled again as Echo fell limp after his body seized. An electronic pulse, like on Anaxes, his mind supplied him before it fell dark.

“Echo!” Crosshair yelled as the ARC trooper fell limp. He broke off from the attack, rushing to the fallen trooper. He crouched down and propped Echo up, lifting his head to press his fingers to his pulse point.

“Wrecker get in here! We need backup!” Hunter ordered over the comms. Crosshair’s shoulders sagged as he felt the steady pulse under his fingers. He settled Echo’s head down, then turned his attention to the ARC’s scomp arm, still inserted in the port. Crosshair extracted it carefully, thankfully it gave way easily.

“I’ve got the reg,” Crosshair announced, “he’s unconscious but otherwise okay.” He reassured them all. Crosshair turned back towards the hallway, firing above his brothers at the droids. He didn’t leave where he was guarding Echo’s unconscious form.

He wished he had caught it sooner, the way that one droid seemed to peek around them and turn to its comm afterwards. He had still quickly picked up on what was about to happen, but he wasn’t quick enough. And now the reg was going to be deadweight.

It wasn’t long before the tell tale sound of droids screaming and metal smashing came down the hall. Soon, Wrecker had broken through and made it to the others. Crosshair kept an eye on the hallway as the bruiser quickly scooped Echo up in his arms

“Thanks, Wreck.” Hunter said, patting him on the arm. “Let’s get moving.” He announced, throwing his hand forward to motion for the group to get going. They all fell in line and they rushed down the hallway that was previously filled with battle droids. Crosshair kept his eyes on Echo while also watching the group’s back.

Several more patrols met the group as they went, though they were taken out quickly. Crosshair threw mirrors on the walls in preparation for the patrol that would likely follow them from behind. He almost felt a twinge of guilt for inevitably beating Wrecker again.

“What happened to Echo?” Wrecker asked after a long time without meeting another patrol. Hunter was at the front and peeking around a corner. Even if the mission had turned sour, they could still try to sneak past some of the droids.

“An electronic pulse was triggered while he was still connected to the systems.” Tech supplied. At Wrecker’s worried gaze he corrected, “It only did as much damage as a stun would, he will be fine.”

Crosshair would never openly admit it, but he was glad for the clear up as well. Wrecker sagged in relief and adjusted Echo to support his head better. Crosshair frowned as Echo’s arm fell and hung limply. He silently moved to adjust the limb, placing it on Echo’s chest.

“What?” He asked indignantly after Wrecker stared at him. The brute shrugged in response, then seemed to share a glance with Tech. The splicer also shrugged with a shake of his head. Crosshair felt like they were having a conversation he wasn’t supposed to be a part of. He scowled behind his helmet.

“Come on.” Hunter said after he had decided the area was clear. The group rushed out from the corner and continued through the base. They were getting closer to the exit, and it wouldn’t be long before they made it to the Marauder. He would be happy to get off of this planet.

Soon enough, they had made it out of the base and were in the forest. Hunter signaled for Wrecker to detonate the charges, and the base went up in flames seconds later. The ground shook as the base blew, and Crosshair resisted the urge to look back and admire the carnage.

They piled into the Marauder, Tech and Hunter heading to the cockpit while Wrecker and Crosshair got Echo settled in a bunk. Crosshair cleared off the mess of pillows and blankets on Wrecker’s bunk, much to the brute’s complaint. Crosshair doubted Echo needed a nest right now, he might feel pinned when he woke up.

Wrecker set the ARC down gently, propping his head up against a pillow. Crosshair frowned as the reg still didn’t stir. That must have been one hell of a stun. Maybe Tech did need to make sure Echo’s metal bits were working right.

The ship jostled as it left the atmosphere. Crosshair released a long breath through his nose as he allowed himself to relax. He plopped down on Hunter’s bunk, across from Wrecker’s, and currently Echo’s.

Soon, he felt the ship make the jump into hyperspace. Tech and Hunter both came out of the cockpit and gathered around the other two conscious troopers. Crosshair didn’t make eye contact, instead opting to watch as the reg’s chest rose and fell silently with every breath. At least he didn’t look like he was hurt.

“How long d’you think he’ll be asleep?” Wrecker asked, trying to whisper. Hunter leaned against the ladder to the bunk above Crosshair as he looked at Tech for an answer. The splicer already had his face buried in a datapad and held a medical scanner in his other hand.

“Hopefully not long.” He replied, “On Anaxes it took him about a half hour to regain consciousness, though it might take longer depending on how big of a pulse he was hit with.” he explained. Tech waved the medical scanner up and down Echo’s form. It made a small beep as it picked up something, Tech let out a small hum.

“What?” Hunter asked.

“A few of his systems were damaged.” Tech stated. All the others tensed and looked at Tech sharply for a better explanation. “Just his headpiece, which functioned as a databank, pain reliever for headaches, and a more advanced hearing aid than the ones he used before.”

“So he’s going to feel like shit when he wakes up.” Crosshair surmises. He slouched, once again feeling a small wave of guilt for not being fast enough. At least he knew Echo wasn’t the type to hold a grudge. That was a small comfort.

Either way, he would just have to make it up to him.

Several hours later, Echo woke up with a groan and a splitting headache. The weight of his headpiece was missing, and he couldn’t feel his hearing aids either. The absence of noise was overwhelming, and he had to fill his senses with sight to block out his panic. He blearily opened his eyes to look around the Marauder’s cabin.

The cabin was dark, and the small digital clock on one of their supply crates (they still hadn’t figured out the best spot to put it) showed that it was well into the night cycle. The green aurebesh numbers blinked on the small device before changing to the next minute.

His headpiece was on the workbench, with cables and wires connected. Tech sat there, his face buried in his arms and resting on the small desk. He still had a small tool in his hand that was pressed against one of the screws on Echo’s headpiece.

Echo shifted slightly, trying to ignore the ringing that was starting to grow in his ears. Something tapped his knee, and he jumped. His eyes darted towards the person sitting on the end of his bunk, their face shadowed by the bunk above.

He blinked at the scowling sniper. His arms were crossed and he leaned against the wall, he was sitting on Echo’s legs. His legs were propped up against another supply crate. His lips moved as he said something, though Echo couldn’t hear it.

“What?” he rasped out, his throat sore. He felt the reverberations in his throat and could only hope that he had made himself audible to the sniper. Crosshair pressed his lips into a thin line and looked towards Tech’s sleeping form.

Echo blinked at him expectantly when Crosshair looked back towards the ARC. He saw Crosshair’s shoulders sag with a sigh as he held his hands up to sign something. The Batch used a modified version of ARC signals that took Echo some time to adjust to, but with his hearing less than reliable in moments like these, it was well worth the frustration.

Sorry. Was all the sniper signed before he let his hands drop into his lap. Echo’s brow furrowed as he waited for some kind of clarification. When he was given nothing of the sort, he let his head plop back down onto the pillow.

“My hearing aids?” he asked, looking at Crosshair out of the corner of his eye. The sniper blinked at him, before signing a quick where? Echo pursed his lips as he thought of the last place he put them.

“Never unpacked them.” He concluded with a shrug. He nodded towards his pack, still sitting abandoned on the floor, that he had used on their shore leave.

The weight on his legs lifted as Crosshair got up and started rummaging through the pack. He pulled out a bag of the sweets Echo had gotten before and fixed him with a smug look and arched brow. Echo rolled his eyes as he watched Crosshair pocket the bag. As long as he still got his cut, he wouldn’t mind sharing with the sniper.

Soon enough, after practically taking everything else out of his pack, Crosshair found his hearing aids. He placed them in Echo’s hand, who then set them in his ears. He pressed a small button on the sides that made a small beeping reverberate through his ears. Then, he could finally hear the whirring of the Marauder’s engine and every other background sound there was.

“That’s better,” He said with a relieved sigh. Crosshair let out a scoff as he plopped back down on Echo’s bunk. This time the ARC was given enough time to move his legs out of the way.

“What happened?” He asked.

“There was a power surge while you were still scomped in, Tech said it damaged your headpiece.” he explained unenthusiastically. Echo buried his face further into the pillow as he let out a groan. He remembered that unpleasant feeling all too well.

“It always happens whenever I’m about to unplug.” He groaned. Crosshair let out a huff and patted Echo’s knee again.

“Happens to the best of us, ARC trooper.” Crosshair comforted, at least Echo thought it was supposed to be comforting. Either way, he flipped off the sniper without looking up. He knew it was reciprocated after Cross’ hand fell off his knee.

“Thanks for the save, Cross.” he mumbled. Echo felt his eyes closing again as his headache begged him for another few hours of rest. Echo squinted open one eye as he felt Crosshair tense next to him.

The sniper was looking bashfully away, chewing on a newly acquired toothpick. Sometimes Echo wondered if he kept a pack of them on his person at all times. Crosshair glanced back at Echo and his hand returned to his knee. 

Crosshair was being a lot more touchy than usual, but Echo couldn’t complain about that. He welcomed any kind of comforting touch from his brothers, and getting one from Crosshair felt like a golden medal.

“Get some rest, reg.” Crosshair squeezed his knee as he said it. He didn’t have that ever present hiss that he usually held. Even though Echo didn’t have much feeling in his legs, it still felt nice. He let out a quiet hum as he drifted to sleep again.

What the hell? Tech thought incredulously as he watched Echo and Crosshair’s exchange. He knew the two were being more friendly towards each other, but what the hell?

This just didn’t feel like Crosshair. He was almost acting like Wrecker, though he still seemed to have some modesty in his actions. At least hadn’t pulled Echo into a full on bear hug. Honestly, if the others hadn’t been commenting on Crosshair’s unusual behavior, he might worry that he’d been going insane.

He rubbed his eyes as he finally decided to sit back up and work on fixing Echo’s headpiece. Crosshair eyed him quietly, likely guessing that Tech had been awake for far longer than he had been acting.

Tech adjusted his goggles as he rolled his eyes and shook his head. He turned his focus back onto Echo’s headpiece and fell into his usual, quiet routine.

“Oh, shut up.” Crosshair mumbled, somehow guessing what Tech had been thinking earlier, like he always did.

“I did not say anything.” Tech responded as he plugged another cable into the metal. He heard Crosshair huff behind him.

“I am not going soft on the reg.” he insisted.

“I never said you were.”

“Shut up.” He repeated. Tech rolled his eyes again.

“If you are truly worried about how we would all react to you and Echo getting along better, worry more about Wrecker’s reaction than mine.” he suggested, not looking up from his work. He had already done bad enough falling asleep, he had missed half of Echo and Crosshair’s conversation because of it too.

“Kark.” Crosshair muttered, dragging a hand down his face. Tech released a soft chuckle at Crosshair’s dread. Maybe he would tell Wrecker in great detail the conversation Cross and Echo had been having, or maybe…

“I will not tell, if you share some of the chocolates you snagged from Echo’s pack.” he bargained, though it would be better described as blackmail. He suppressed a laugh at Crosshair’s loud groan of defeat.

“I hate you.” Crosshair muttered. Tech heard the plastic ruffling of a bag as Crosshair relented. Soon enough, three chocolate truffles were placed on the workbench beside the headpiece. Tech smiled smugly as he popped one into his mouth.

“That is only because I actually know how to annoy you and win.” Tech said teasingly.

“Kark you.”

Echo would never undermine Crosshair’s kindness. After he had truly started to become friends with the sniper, he felt like he was really a part of Clone Force 99. He felt like he was really their brother, that there was no question about it.

Echo would always value Crosshair’s company, but sometimes it became too much. Sometimes he felt coddled by the sniper. Sometimes he felt like he wasn’t as valued as a soldier as he was a brother. But all he’s ever known was how to be a soldier.

He would admit it, sometimes Crosshair annoyed him. He felt horrible for thinking it, but he thought it nonetheless. Crosshair was his little brother, but he’d never met a sibling, clone or natborn, that never got annoyed by their vod’ika.

Echo let his head fall back against the wall, making a thud when his headpiece connected with it. He dragged his hand down his face, then rubbed his eyes. Today was just one of those days where he felt miserable where no amount of sleep could help.

Not like he had the option to sleep anyway. They were about to be on a mission to take out a smuggler's ring in less than an hour. He just knew it would be one of those missions where one thing after another would go wrong.

A weight landed next to him on his bunk, making the shitty mattress creak. A bony shoulder bumped into his own and he lazily opened his eyes to meet Crosshair’s. He tried his best to smile at the sniper, though he only managed a grimace.

“One of those days?” Crosshair asked quietly. Echo scanned the rest of the cabin, it was empty save for them. The others were in the cockpit getting ready for landing. Echo should have been in the copilot’s seat, but a certain sniper had insisted he go to the cabin and rest his eyes.

“Yep.” He said, popping the “p,”  trying to lace it with as much spite as possible. Crosshair raised a brow, but Echo only looked away. He didn’t feel up for any of Crosshair’s snark, or any of his kind gestures, surprisingly.

“Would caf help?” Crosshair tried. Something about it made him clench his jaw, his bottom teeth pressing against the tops painfully. Crosshair must have seen the minute change, and he moved away slightly.

His scomp started to whir quietly. He didn’t think about it, it just did. Sometimes, when he did something with his real hand, his scomp would spin. When he clenched his fists, it would spin. When he grabbed onto something, it would spin.

It worked for the opposite too. Sometimes when he was connected to a computer, pushing code in front of his real senses and blocking out the world, his hand would clench into a fist. Sometimes his fingernails would dig into his skin to the point that he bled. 

One time, Tech had caught him doing it. He must have realized he wasn’t doing it consciously, because he never brought it up. Instead, he moved Echo’s hand so it was pressed flat against the console, and his fingers would dig into the metal instead of himself.

Crosshair must have noticed it too, because when he saw Echo’s scomp spin slowly, he backed away further. Echo shut his eyes tightly. He didn’t want to deal with any of this right now. His head hurt, his muscles ached, and the legs that he didn’t have anymore burned with phantom pains.

“Do you want-”

“Go away.” He said sharply, cutting off the sniper in his troubleshooting. He raised his head slightly and let it thud against the wall again. The edges of his headpiece pressed into his skin like the pressure of a dull knife.

“But,” and really that was the final straw. Echo sat up quickly, his annoyed, glowering gaze looking down on Crosshair. He seemed incredibly small in that moment, his back hunched and eyes looking up at Echo like a kicked puppy would.

“Crosshair.” He hissed, that alone enough warning to get the message across. Crosshair got up stiffly and headed towards the cockpit. Echo released the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding as he visibly deflated.

Within seconds, he regretted his outburst. His shoulder suddenly felt very cold now that Crosshair wasn’t leaned against it. He dug his fingernails into the scratchy sheets of his bunk, the fabric scrunching up under his hands.

He pressed his lips into a thin line, biting his lower lip. Kark, he didn’t mean to do that. He didn’t want to get mad at Crosshair. The sniper was only trying to help. He ran his hand over his head.

He waited several minutes before he felt calm. He still felt like shit, but sociable enough to try to apologize to Crosshair. He got up, placing a hand against the top bunk as he felt dizzy for a moment, then he headed towards the cockpit.

Right as he opened the door, the ship jostled as it landed. Echo blinked several times as Wrecker passed him, carrying a pack of explosives, then was followed by the others.

“Ready to go, Echo?” Hunter asked, a soft smile on his face. His eyes were crinkled at the edges, and Echo frowned. He had definitely heard Echo’s outburst, and now he was acting like he was treading on glass.

“Yeah,” He said quickly, then tried to catch Crosshair’s attention. The sniper shouldered past him without a word, his head down. He left the ship after the others and left Echo standing there alone. He released a sigh, then followed the group. He would just have to apologize later.

A sharp explosion made the ground tremble. Crosshair lost his footing for a moment, but planted his feet firmly to stop himself from falling off his perch. He pulled his firepuncher up, balancing it on his forearm, then blasted the droid responsible for the grenade.

He watched as Tech and Hunter ran down one tunnel of the cavern, their lights getting dimmer the further they went. A squad of droids followed them, effectively taking the bait. Wrecker ran down another, blasting any droids that followed him so he could clear the exit.

He whirled around towards Echo’s position. The reg had been silent since his outburst, and Crosshair was happy to give him space. He knew there was always something bothering him, be it headaches or phantom pain. He just wished he was better at voicing it.

Crosshair blasted a droid coming up on Echo’s six, it crumpled to the ground from the burning hole in its head. He got a small thanks from Echo, though it was barely audible. He sounded strained. Definitely a headache.

It was kind of annoying, being to tell exactly what was wrong with someone, but still not being able to help. He knew Echo was in pain, but the reg refused to admit it or accept any help. He wondered if it was just a reg thing, being too proud to admit that he needed a rest.

He turned towards Hunter and Tech’s tunnel as Echo entered his, another group of droids following him. The charges Hunter and Tech had left were blinking swiftly, and would go off in seconds.

“Hunter, hurry it up.” Crosshair hissed into the comms, a hand pressed to the side of his helmet. It wasn’t long after Hunter’s affirmation that the two rounded the corner and fled to the middle of the large cavern. Crosshair made sure they were in the clear before he went ahead and fired at the charges, setting them off early.

“Wrecker, how’s it looking?” Hunter asked, his voice staticky through the comms.

“Exit’s cleared!” Wrecker responded cheerfully. Crosshair could imagine him pumping a fist in the air as he said it.

The sniper turned back towards Echo’s tunnel. The charges were about to detonate, he should be coming out about now. Crosshair watched the tunnel for any movement.

“Echo, sit-rep.” Hunter asked warily. There was static for a moment, then a choppy voice came through. Crosshair couldn’t make out a word Echo said. The cavern he took must have some kind of dampener.

“Echo, get back here.” Crosshair hissed. The static came through again and Crosshair muttered a curse. “I’m going after him.” He said as he jumped down from his perch to a lower ledge. He was closest to Echo’s tunnel, and he could make it in time before the charges went off.

“Negative, we can't risk-” Crosshair turned off his comms before Hunter could finish. He jumped down the final ledge and ran for the tunnel. The sniper set his firepuncher on his back and sprinted down the corridors.

As he ran, he tried comming Echo several times. Each was met with static. The charges on the walls only served to make him more and more nervous. He checked his vambrace, ignoring the several pings from Hunter and the others, and watched the detonation time slowly lower.

He turned a corner sharply, almost getting shot by a stray blaster bolt before jumping back. He got out his DC-17 and peeked around the corner. Echo was being ambushed by a larger squad of droids than the ones that followed.

Crosshair jumped out and started firing. Several droids fell and he made his push towards his brother. He got out his viroblade and slashed at several as well. Soon enough, he was back to back with Echo, both of them firing wildly at the crowd of droids.

“What the kark happened?” he demanded as he kicked at a droid that got a little too close. Echo pushed them both down as a blaster bolt whirred over their heads.

“Ran into another patrol when I was leading the first away.” he replied gruffly, focusing more on blasting droids. Crosshair scoffed.

“And you didn’t think to call in back-up?” He teased. Echo elbowed him lightly.

“My comms were being jammed.” He replied indignantly.

“Yeah,” Crosshair said with a huff, “we noticed.” they fell silent for a moment, simply blasting droids and focusing on staying alive. Crosshair glanced at Echo several times, glad that he at least seemed to be in a bit of a better mood now.

“Sorry about earlier.” Echo said after a while. Crosshair blasted three more droids, then spun around to Echo’s side and blasted two. Echo handled the few that had started going for Crosshair while his back was turned.

“It’s fine, you felt like shit, and I pushed you to find a solution.” He replied restlessly. Because it really was fine. He couldn’t count on one hand the amount of times he got pissed at Wrecker for simply being near him when he was upset.

“Still, I shouldn’t have gotten mad.” Echo insisted. Crosshair rolled his eyes. They just had to play the blame game, didn’t they?

“Oh, shut up.” he said after blasting the final droid. “We don’t have much time before the detonators go off,” he informed him. Echo nodded before nudging his shoulder lightly. Crosshair smirked behind his bucket.

“Let’s get moving then.” Echo responded before running off. Crosshair shook his head with a huff, then followed the ARC.

Wrecker let out a wide yawn as he entered the cabin. That mission had been exhausting, even for him. He hated it whenever they had to split up. That felt like too much of a close call when Echo stopped answering his comms, and then Crosshair stopped answering his comms.

Those two were a force to be reckoned with, though. Even if he couldn’t get into contact with either of them, he knew they would protect each other. He had been overjoyed to be proven right when they both came running out of the cave system, not a scratch on either.

He and Tech had been making bets on how long it would take Crosshair to admit that he was going soft. Wrecker thought he would admit it, some day, but Tech insisted he would never say it out loud.

He didn’t really need to say it out loud, though, because Wrecker had walked in on the cutest scene when he entered the cabin. He suppressed a laugh as he saw what the two were doing.

Echo sat on his bunk, leaned against the wall, with Crosshair’s head resting on his shoulder. He had his arm wrapped around Crosshair’s slender shoulder, and his head rested on top of the sniper’s.

Wrecker covered his mouth as he let out a small chuckle. He bit his lips to force back any more laughter. He glanced around the cabin looking for a way to take a holo (even he knew getting some kind of blackmail on his brother’s was always a good idea, even if it wouldn’t really work on Echo. Crosshair, on the other hand, was a very different story).

He grabbed Tech’s datapad, then took a quick holo of the two. His heart plummeted as the flash went off, and he quickly chucked the ‘pad back onto the workbench. As Crosshair stirred, he pantomimed simply walking over to his own bunk to take a nap.

“Wrecker,” Crosshair said, a deep warning in his voice. Wrecker hummed innocently at his brother. “Delete that holo.” He demanded. Wrecker looked towards the datapad on the workbench.

“What holo?” he countered. “I didn’t take any holo!” He held his hands up innocently, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Wrecker.” Crosshair hissed, glancing at Echo’s sleeping form. The reg’s head had fallen onto Crosshair’s shoulder as the sniper had woken up.

“Really, Cross, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Wrecker insisted, looking anywhere but at Crosshair. He tried his best to suppress his smile.

“Fine.” the sniper hissed in defeat, “what do you want for it?” He relented. Wrecker let out a smug laugh of victory.

“You still have those candies?” He asked, knowing the answer. Crosshair’s flinch and immediate scowl only confirmed it.

“I hate you.” He grumbled as he got a small bag out of his back pocket. Wrecker held out his hands with a smile as Crosshair gave him five little chocolates.

“Awww, thanks Cross!” Wrecker said, as though Crosshair had just given him a gift out of the kindness of his heart. The sniper only flipped him off in response.

“Go to sleep, Wrecker.” Echo mumbled, making the two jump. The ARC still had his eyes closed, and his head was even more buried in Crosshair’s shoulder. Crosshair leaned back against the wall again and rested his head on top of Echo’s. He refused to make eye contact with Wrecker.

The bruiser only laughed. He popped two of the chocolates in his mouth before getting into his bunk. 

NPT: @travellingnorthwards @imreallymenow @ladysongmaster @jessica-caillte-jessicannot-draw @charliezzzz @here-comes-the-moose @saturn-sends-hugs @royallykt @padawancat97 @renton6echo @somestorythoughts

[thefooljester]

hii! if u dont mind, could u write hcs —or oneshots, idm, for toby and brian (seperate) with a girlfriend who has curly hair and shes kinda insecure abt it ?

u dont need to but i hope u have an amazing day !

(and if ur okay w/ emoji anons, can i be 🍰 anon?)

hello 🍰 cake anon, sure thing >:3 im kind of late but well i hope YOU have an amazing day my whole week was kinda meh but what can you do its quite short though i guess

- - - - - - -

reader is insecure about her hair type

features: ticci toby, brian [hoodie]

reader: female

warnings: none

...

You are insecure about your textured hair

TOBIAS E. ROGERS

Toby has a curl pattern too, you know? His hair is hard to tame, it’s unruly, but… he doesn’t really take care of it. It grows, he cuts it – rinse and repeat. He’s never once had spent a thought on the texture of his hair nor had anyone ever commented on that when there were others thing that drew… more attention. Plus, he is a man and identifies as one… he is rather clueless when it comes to social pressure to conform to the beauty standard since it is just much more prevalent with growing up female.

It’s unlikely that he notices you’re insecure about your hair unless you tell him, to be honest.

I mean… he sometimes wonders why you take such meticulous care of your natural hair when he just grows his out without paying it a second thought, but then again, he finds you pretty either way, believes you’re out of his league either way. Bad state or lusciously healthy, he couldn’t care less…

He does hate it when you stand in front of the mirror and assess yourself cautiously though. Of course he notices your eyes daring to criticize yourself… He might not come to the conclusion that your hair texture bothers you, but he’ll try his best to cheer you up.

Toby frequently calls you pretty and he’s fond of nicknames. You’re just a pretty girl, aren’t you? His pretty girl, his baby, his sweetheart. Why can’t you see that? Should he scream it from the rooftops for you to believe him? He’d do it!

If you do tell him you might be insecure about your curly hair, he’d smile at you wryly, tilting his head…

“But I think you’re beautiful? You’re my favorite person and I love you and your hair. Or no hair. Or straight hair. I don't care because I like you for you... You know?” (he’s so awkward please)

He doesn’t see what you see… and he’ll remind you of that – as many times as you need it.

BRIAN THOMAS [Hoodie]

Brian is more in tune with himself and you… and he knows how to read you. He catches you staring at women with perfectly straight, long, long hair sometimes… and there is this longing in your eyes when your hues drift to your own curls.

He knows that growing up female is already pretty harsh, but he’d never expected you to… feel bad about such a thing. It makes him angry on your behalf that your self-worth had been diminished so much that you wished to erase something from you that makes you who you are.

Sometimes sneaks up on you when you’re getting ready in the morning, taking care of your curls with various products – things that he doesn’t have to deal with, things that make you stand out, things that-

“Hey, let me help?” He says, that accented drawl in his voice that just melts your heart. Brian looks at you with so much pride and love in his eyes and it genuinely hurts him to see you so down.

He treats your hair like a treasure… not because he has any preference for or against textured hair, but because he loves you and this is clearly so important to you. You attach a lot of value to this arbitrary feature, which is why he wants to worship the parts you’re insecure about. You should be uplifted because you shine like a star no matter what. Always here to guide him through the dark, aren’t you? Let him polish the thing you believe makes you dull… just to show you that you could shine even more brilliantly.

“Your hair’s so pretty, darling. Don’t even worry about it. Embrace yourself or do you need a helping hand?” He'd even wink at you with this... (this guy…)

Learns how to take care of curly hair… just in case you want his help. Not that he’s preparing for the occasion. He just wants to… be prepared. But it’s not necessary. He's curious, that's it. Yes…

“Wash your hair for you? Sure thing.” His smile would be so bright and gummy – he adores that you’re finally stepping out of your comfort zone and let him partake in your self-love journey.

[ciaran]

the language of addiction is a plague. im reading an article and whenever addiction language enters the picture it all becomes so sensationalized due to the cultural forces that accrue around the concept of addiction, always framing the addicted person as suffering from some flaw of personality that needs to be overcome by self-control. the fear of addiction, the fear of substances that affect the body & mind, changing the way that person responds in the presence of that substance - comes from a place of deep anxiety about lack of control but spirals into an obsession with the supposed purity of the body, where desire is inherently corrupting. which is why people steeped in this manner of thought will start saying things like "we're addicted to cooked food" or "you're addicted to your phone" or "you're addicted to porn" - it all comes from this terror that your behavior is influenced by desire when desire is fundamental to the way we interact the world. pathologizing want and desire makes people distrustful of others who are openly wanting - to want to change the way you are (which is, of course, construed as a natural, uninterrupted, pure state) is a crime. to want happiness through drugs, through food, through sex, through pleasure, is dangerous, so dangerous and unacceptable that anyone who feels too good and pursues feeling good becomes threatening to society, which is built on making people believe that having very little of anything, very little joy is alright because joy is bad for you. what a fucking con.

[hecksupremechips]

Girl like. The reason he said "this is how it should be" and faced death with a smile....is cuz he wanted to die. For 2 years he sat there thinking he was worthless and deserved to die. If he hadn’t be shot, his death would’ve been suicide, he was fully planning to die in a gutter somewhere undetected. When saying "this is how it should be" hes literally saying "don’t cry because I’m dying, my death is a good thing actually because I fucking suck and you are better off without me". I don’t think that’s badass even slightly, it’s actually really sad and really shitty. Shinjiro is so convinced that he deserves to die and hates the idea of anyone giving a shit about him because he literally can’t wrap his mind around the idea that he will be missed when he’s gone, that his death is a bad thing actually. And his last words were meant to be comforting because he fully did not intend for anyone to be there when he died, he intended to die alone, so he says them as a reminder that he’s not worth crying over

Personally, if it were me, if I was holding my dying best friend in my arms who was deeply depressed and suicidal and he said "this is how it should be" uh. I wouldn’t admire him for it??? Like am I losing my mind when I say the way this game handles Shinji is bad or is anyone else seeing this too 😰

[oscill4te]

everything always peaks me. then im on the other side, see so much hostility, just as bad as what peaked me, and its like nvm. damn. oscillation at its finest.....

[insertcoolnameherethanks]

My one fear is that ST5 does go back in time and no one remembers, therefore Steve is still King Steve and loses the friendships he's made with the kids and Robin

[n0ct0urn1quet]

hgonesly at this point i really do wish i could just say Fuck It and disappear off the face of the earth for a little bit bc honestly . i donot want to be alive