#off of the top of my head I can name a bunch of other twisteds that actually look off putting 🙄

[toon-in-orbit]

Dude if you're gonna corrupt me with my own blood at least warp me beyond recognition. This is embarrassing

[arafilez]

☆ ⼂ ALL FOR LOVE ﹗

ꔫㅤㅤ ❜ [ skz ot8 x any reader ] ㅤ⋆ ㅤfluff, specific aus for every member 𓏧 alternatively where they ask you out on valentine's ㅤ warnings pet names ㅤ﹢ㅤ1k per member ꔫㅤㅤ ❜ [ og request ] ⋆ friend of a friend/crush skz seeing you read fluff on your phone 🤭💖 - anon. i did change it for valentine's day and made the request a part of the story but not the main one.

◗ ៹ BANG CHAN ›

idol AU! best friends to lovers now playing: sparks fly by taylor swift

Valentine’s Day is stupid! This is the first thought that registers in your mind as you enter the JYP building and see a whole bunch of staff congratulate a couple who you figure got together today. Your pace quickens courtesy of another urging text from Chan lighting up your phone and you groan at his impatience.

Knocking on their practice room door, you patiently await the frisking process before entering it. Your eyebrows scrunch back in confusion when you don’t hear or see anything happen. You knock the second time and nothing! Weird!

Your eyes travel to your phone where the texts from your best friend have stopped coming too, you text him a quick and short sentence about the door not opening. You wait for some more moments before knocking for the third time, and your patience gets better as you twist the room handle.

To your surprise, it opens easily and your frown visibly. Your eyes stray around the dark room as you place your foot in and turn on your phone's flashlight. But before you can do that, the practice room lights up and you look up abruptly and gasp loudly at the banner hanging from the ceiling- “L/n y/n, will you be my valentine?”

“What the-" your voice trails off taking in the low lighting bouncing off the red walls of the room and traces over the rose petals on the floor.

“Will you be my valentine?” You scream in surprise at the voice behind you and turn to see Chan standing there with a box of chocolates and a bouquet of roses on the other hand.

“You like me?” you speak up, words stuttering a lot more than you would like them to and his dimples appear as he smiles saying, “Yes, idiot I do.”

You like Chan, in fact, you like him a lot, to the point where pining over him is painfully obvious to everyone else. But Chan could not know that because he is oblivious enough when it comes to you. Your confusion must have been visible on your face because Chan promptly answers, “I know because I caught you reading a fluff fanfiction the other day during our practice.” A short pose follows and he continues, “About me. And after that, it wasn’t tough to interpret.”

Your face falls, he laughs at your endearing expression, and you whisper, “How?” You are very careful while reading fan fiction and never slip up. Not that you are regretting it right now.

“Mirrors reflect your screen, love,” he smiles, his eyes crinkling into half-moons and you pout in realisation. You look up and suddenly get shy and overwhelmed. The flowers, chocolate, decorations and the day itself come rushing back to you and you realise your best friend has asked you out and you have kept him hanging for the last ten minutes.

“I,” your breath falters before you muster a weak and small, “Yes, I will be,” before happy tears roll down your cheeks. Great, now you are crying like the emotional shit you are.

“Oh baby, don’t cry,” Chan hugs you grinning lightly and placing a kiss on top of your head and you croak, “These are happy tears, Channie.” His laugh vibrates along his body making you happier in his warm embrace, you look up and smile through the glossy eyes and he whispers, “I am sorry it took me so much time to understand, I am so stupid.”

“That you are,” a laugh leaves your throat and he fakes an offended face making you laugh louder and he whispers, “Shut up.” “Make me,” you tease and he chuckles before encasing your lips into a sweet kiss.

◗ ៹ LEE MINHO ›

college AU! enemies to lovers now playing: let me move you by sabrina carpenter

He is beauty, he is grace. He is Lee Minho the menace. Why did you have to pair up with this reincarnation of the devil for a dance project? Your heavy pants echo in the room after you run the practice and look at the clock. Half an hour late!

You know very well he does this to rile you up on purpose because the said boy is the definition of punctuality. He just finds special interest in setting all your nerves on fire. You sigh in annoyance as you plop down on the floor. Scrolling through Instagram you double tap on the posts with every one of your friends posting something with their significant others.

Frankly, you were surprised when Minho asked you to practice with him today. It is Valentine’s Day and according to him his mood will be “sappy” and “tired from fourteenth wheeling his friends” so practising is much better. You have nothing better to do either so you decided to agree.

Which was clearly a mistake.

You scroll absentmindedly before opening up the fanfiction you had left the other day. Resting your head on the wall you put on your ear-pods and start reading. The scene is really cute and you can feel yourself gushing and squealing lightly at the cute behaviour of the leads.

Minho has been watching you quietly gush over it for the past ten minutes loving your giggles. He reads a few lines over your shoulder smiling to himself at the thought of you and him doing it. You seem to like nose kisses and light pecks a lot, he registers as he continues reading from your screen.

You have not seen he has come in and he is thankful as he slides beside you on the floor. You jump up as he rips off one of the ear-pods and slips it inside his ear. All this happens too fast and you squeak trying to hide your phone.

“Lee What the fuck?” you scream but he shrugs you try to snatch back your earpods but he holds your hand saying, “I love this song, finally something you listen to that doesn’t suck,” he grins in a sinister manner and your protest goes to deaf ears as the beats of ‘Let Me Move You’ enters your ears.

Sabrina’s voice fills your ear and Minho glides you to the dance floor in a modern pop couple dance. He twirls you around and you laugh at the cliché steps as he holds you from the back after spinning you. The mischievous smile works its way up on his month and you giggle at the little out-of-routine fun you two are having.

You feel your heart racing as his hands slide down your waist and spin you around he grins matching your smile as you circle your arms around his neck and dance matching the fast beats. The prelude comes and you sway gently and then tap your feet as Minho sings the lyrics lightly making his voice sing-song at the “one, two, three dance with me tonight” line.

Your style matches so well that it makes you feel feral. He really was a great dancer.

The song ends and Minho holds you as you two pant looking at the mirror. The air becomes tense and your heart beats loudly and you blabber out before you can stop yourself, “You have a sweet smile when you are not scowling,” and add, “Not that I see it often.”

Stop talking, your mind screams but you continue, “I don’t like it that much”, liar. Have you noticed him smiling? Yes, the whole ‘enemies’ issue was a huge cliché in your head, and a part of you did hope and pray you would end up like the book couples.

“Yeah I know, you stare at it quite often,” he shrugs nonchalantly and your expression falters in a millisecond yet he never takes his eyes off yours on the mirror and continues, “It is very cliché to like your so-called enemy.”

Your pupils dilate and he chuckles, his soft hair bristling from the cooler of the room and before you can react he spins you and looks at you. Your cheeks grow warm at his intense gaze before he says, “I like you back.”

Your attitude returns with new-found confidence and you reply, “Now who is cliché? Asking me out on Valentine’s Day.” His shoulders shake from the laugh and you grin liking the new dynamic of you two. He dips his head pressing a light kiss on your nose and says, “I am but I can make what you read come true so shh.”

You shyly giggle registering he had earlier caught you reading fluff and pecking his lip you tease him saying, “Don’t make me wait, Lee.”

◗ ៹ SEO CHANGBIN ›

neighbours AU! friends to lovers now playing: dancing in the kitchen by LANY

You stifle a yawn as you struggle to stay awake after a tedious day at work. You curse inwardly at the universe for making you so single. Valentine’s Day and no one to come home to and curl up in their embrace was absolutely cruel however much you try to convince yourself it isn’t.

So when you hear your doorbell ring you are pretty much confused as to who it can be. The pizza you ordered five minutes ago cannot arrive that fast. Walking in your fluffy stickers you open the door and your eyes turn into saucers at the person in front of you.

Your neighbour Seo Changbin is standing there with a pair of CDs in his hand and some clothes in the other. Looking carefully you noticed he also had a single rose under his CDs.

“I know I am fine, but my hands are cramping, so let me in and then gawk all you want,” Changbin deadpans and you quietly let him in the confusion not clearing at all as to why he is here. Shouldn’t he be on a date with someone? Anyone?

“Why are you here?” you ask and he gives you a face before saying, “It is Wednesday, don’t tell me you forgot our ritual.” Your confusion only grows but you still take the rose as he hands it to you saying, “It is Valentine’s Day, I thought it would be rude to not at least bring a flower.”

“Thanks,” you take it, warmth filling your whole face and you look away. Even though he is being really casual about it, everything is just making butterflies flutter in your stomach. Your eyes fall on the CDs and you furrow your eyebrows and it finally hits you.

Oh. Oh.

Changbin, who apparently doesn’t have a date is here to spend his evening with you watching famous movies you haven’t watched before. You two started this ritual because you had randomly blurted it to him and his dramatic ass couldn’t handle you not seeing Mean Girls.

Since then every Wednesday you two watch one famous movie to “catch up” with the generation. You had initially rolled your eyes at his proposal but movie nights with Changbin became better as months went by.

“Don’t think too much and go put these on,” Changbin’s voice cuts in your thoughts and you look down to see pyjamas being handed to you. You don’t question him too much as you go inside and put it on. One thing you have learned is never to question Changbin.

Unless you want to hear a lecture.

You come out and your eyes widen as you realise why he told you to wear those. They were matching pyjamas. Oh. Your body warms up again as you realise you are now wearing matching pyjamas. Like a couple. Watching a movie. On Valentine’s Day. Like a couple.

You throw all thoughts about Changbin liking you behind your mind, he is a friend who helps you out and he is doing the same today. It is nothing much but your beating heart and crush on Changbin fails to live up to your convincement.

You walk towards the couch and watch his muscles flex as he brings the remote and turns on a movie called ‘10 Things I Hate About You’.

Like every other day he turns on the movie but unlike every other day, you find it very hard to focus when there is a whole zoo in your stomach. Just the mere thought of Changbin, who can get any date, spending Valentine’s Day with you is making you go feral. His head whips towards you as soon as you turn towards the screen.

It was a kiss scene. Oh.

You turn your head back to him and find him staring at you with a fiery intensity that you have never seen before. This is new, you think but you don’t miss the way his gaze obviously lingers on your lips before it moves up to your eyes. The air thickens and you hold your breath in mere anticipation.

So it is not only you. The roses and the pyjamas make so much more sense now.

“Changbin, if you want to do it, do it, do it, before we both start to regret it,” you whisper and the last part almost dies in your mouth as he presses his lips to yours. You fist his shirt as his hand caresses your cheek in the soft kiss and you can feel all the unspoken emotion and tension from the past few months.

Heck if you two weren’t so oblivious.

“I have always wanted to do this,” Changbin says, breathless as his lips hover over yours and your eyes hold his gaze and you whisper, “Me too.” He breaks into a grin and you smile lightly running your hands through his hair before he pushes you to the couch kissing you feverishly and the movie long forgotten.

Best Valentine’s ever!

◗ ៹ HWANG HYUNJIN ›

high-school AU! childhood friend to lovers now playing: 2002 by anne-marie

Your lips protrude in despair of your single life as you lean back on your chair and flip through the pages in your phone reading how much one of the leads works throughout Valentine’s Week to get the other lead.

“If you keep reading and sighing you will never get one in real life,” you jump up at Hyunjin’s voice and take a deep breath before deadpanning him. “Shut up,” you tell him and he raises an eyebrow settling down beside you as soon as the bell for first period rings.

The next day your eyes bulge in surprise as a single rose rests inside your locker. You pick it up and see the note attached to it- starting off slow a bit ;).

You narrow your eyes a little at the note and the rose and rack your head for anyone who likes you. The confusion rises when you don’t remember anyone and you suddenly wish it isn’t a prank. You keep the rose inside your bag and the note neatly in your back pocket. Sitting down, you see Hyunjin skip his steps and sit beside you casually whistling and you look at him.

“I got a rose today,” you trail off and he nods saying, “Good to know.”

“No Hyunjin, you don’t get it, what if this is a prank?” you whisper looking around to see if anyone is looking at you two and laughing at your stance. A chuckle escapes his throat as he looks at you saying, “It isn’t a prank.”

You scan his face and tilt your head and Hyunjin quickly amends, “I think.” You shake your head as the teacher enters, still feeling a little down about letting your intrusive thoughts win making you think it is Hyunjin.

The next day you deflate a little seeing nothing inside even though you are vaguely aware it is Propose Day and sigh lightly knowing I might well have just been a prank. Hyunjin seems surprisingly calm about the whole situation, any other time he would have made a whole deal about this and even though it irks you, you brush it off hating the dread in your stomach.

You are proved wrong when you find a box of chocolates the next day, with a note saying- Sorry can’t propose just yet. I hate your sad face, never make it again :(

You open the box hurriedly finding a mix of all kinds of your favourite chocolates and you look in the box, a custom-made one for gifts. Your heart warms at how thoughtful your secret admirer is and how whoever they are, is aware of your preferences. You open the wrap of one and pop it in your mouth, melting at the taste.

The next day you open your locker in anticipation and find a medium-sized teddy inside. Whispers of envy and awe pass through the hall as you lean on the door and read the note- My broke ass could only afford that, sorry. Forgive me?

You scrunch your nose at the cute tone of the letter and you whisper to yourself, “Of course I forgive you.” You skip your steps happily entering your class and see Hyunjin already there doing something with his camera. You stare at him unintentionally, eyes tracing over his flawless features and then feel guilty.

Obviously, someone else is trying to court you now, and you are still hanging over him, your childhood friend. You shake your head again as your mind fills with the possibility of the secret admirer being Hyunjin. No, he cannot be, he hardly seems interested whenever you talk to him about the gifts.

The next three days pass in a blur as your secret admirer makes up for the kiss and hug as a promise for later and you can’t help but feel giddy when Valentine’s Day comes. You try your best to not run to your locker but you end up speed-walking and open it quickly. Your eyes light up at another note from your admirer and you pick it up and read it.

Your brows furrow in confusion at the location mentioned as it was a park you used to go to when you were a kid. With Hyunjin, your mind registers and you push the voice to the back of your mind. Nevertheless, your secret admirer has told you to visit the spot so you will be right at the time mentioned.

The day feels extremely slow and boring and you run out of school when the bell rings. Hyunjin comes out too from his art class with the tube hanging from his shoulders and you hurry him up.

“Geez, what is with the enthusiasm?” he chuckles and you roll your eyes saying, “You would know if you ever listened to me.”

“Listen to you ranting about a person who is head over heels in love with you? I will do it soon,” he smiles and is met with another eye-roll from you as you two start walking. The walk is silent as your mind wanders over a few options on who can ask you out. There was Jongho from music class, Jungmo from Chemistry, Soobin from History, and Han the class president. No, he is after that girl named Alexa.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Hyunjin’s voice snaps you out of your trance but you reply without missing a beat, “A million won and I might tell you something.”

He lets out a light laugh and says, “We are at the place your secret admirer asked you to meet. You get surprised looking around and then the real question comes to your mind- how did Hyunjin know where you were asked to meet?

He can’t know because you didn’t tell him, unless…he is the secret admirer. Your head whips towards his direction and gasp loudly when you see the same paper in his hands. The paper in which the notes were sent.

“Hyunjin oh,” your voice dies down in your throat as you hold it up and a small whimper of emotion leaves your mouth. You open the paper and read the note- We used to play here and I have loved you since the time I knew what love was. Happy Valentine’s y/n

“You- you are, oh my,” your words stumble over and Hyunjin bites his lips smiling at you and you feel the warmth all over your beating heart. It spreads down your body and you find yourself dizzying from the rush of emotions.

“I like you, y/n,” Hyunjin speaks softly and his nose scrunches, his eyes turning into half-moons and he holds you as you look at him with adoration. “I like you too,” you stutter out and he giggles hugging you tighter.

“Now, how about the days we missed?” he speaks softly and you kick him lightly and his giggles tune-up to a full-blown laugh. Just like old times.

◗ ៹ HAN JISUNG ›

royal AU! forbidden lovers now playing: fool’s gold by one direction

The evening sun lights up the sky in hues of golden and red and you sit on the grass in the royal garden opening your book. Being a general for the royal army wasn’t easy, especially for the commander-in-chief. So the breaks you get are the most cherished and thus you prefer to spend them in the garden instead of your quarters.

The peace and quiet, the smell of the flowers, the light buzzing of the bees and the warmth of the sun feel absolutely wonderful as you turn the pages of the book. You giggle lightly at the cute scenes of the romantic novel you are reading and smile when you read about how the leads are absolutely smitten with each other.

“Do not let our enemies see the general giggling like that over a romantic novel,” you turn your head at the familiar voice and raise your eyebrows saying, “Your Highness.”

“How many times have I told you to call me Sungie?” he pouts and you bite your lips restraining your hands from poking his cheeks. He adjusts his hanbok as he sits down and you keep the book beside you to read for later. Right now you have a big baby to attend you. You turn to him and see a pout already adorning his face from the lack of attention.

“What are you doing here, Your Highness?” you ask and he grins, his eyes lighting up as he holds out a flower to you and your eyes widen. “Han, don’t-" You cannot complete your sentence as he puts a finger on your lips and shushes you. You stare at him with parted lips and sigh again.

You cannot be doing this.

He is of royal blood and you are a mere commoner. It doesn’t matter if you are a high-ranking official or not at the end of the day you are not from any kind of royal blood. Heck, the only royal blood you have ever gotten is from killing or hurting royals.

“Since you aren’t saying anything, I will take that as my cue,” you hear him say and before you can protest he gently tucks the flower in your hair.

Your eyes betray every emotion you are feeling when you look at him but Han’s bright smile doesn’t fade as he starts to animatedly tell you how his day went. Apparently, his new History teacher is so boring he fell asleep three times during the class. All while he is talking, you silently listen, your eyes shining with adoration at his enthusiasm.

“Do you know today is what day?” he asks suddenly and you nod. You are aware of different cultures and you read books which doesn’t qualify you as illiterate but Han still asks to be sure.

“You should not be spending it with me Sungie,” you voice out softly and Han lets out a dry chuckle looking away. He doesn’t care, heck he will spend every single Valentine’s Day with you. The rule is to marry a royal blood, there is no rule that it is compulsory to marry.

He will happily stay single his whole life if it means he can spend every day and every night with you.

“I know what you are thinking, but someday you have to see your suitors,” you smile without emotion and just the mere thought of it brings tears to your eyes. How many days have you spent thinking about what will happen when Han finally finds his suitor?

They will marry, that is what will happen.

Han holds your hand and you look at him and he says, “We should run away.” A laugh of disbelief rings through your throat and his mischievous smile returns as soon as he sees you double over in pure and unfiltered laugh at his ridiculous idea.

“That’s how I like you, smiling, for me,” he tilts his head watching you in adoration and you giggle, leaning over to his body and he engulfs you in his arms. Your breath hitches in your throat as you look up and Han does something you have always dreaded and wished at the same time.

“Will you be my Valentine?” he asks and you nod. You know this is wrong, you know you shouldn’t fall for him but when the grin breaks out in his face and you hear his laugh for your affirmation you realise you have never loved anyone more.

And when his sweet lips encase yours you forget every obstacle that will be arising from this blossoming relationship. After all, you can just always run away.

◗ ៹ LEE FELIX ›

brother’s best friend AU! grumpy x sunshine now playing: shower by becky g

Lee Felix Yongbok. The name that is the reason of your doom.

You look at him, your mouth agape as he plays the game in front of him for the thousandth time and still loses. You don’t even know why he is here, your brother left more than half an hour ago with his date. You have been stuck watching him gaming because it is so amusing.

Felix has always been bad at games and it is no secret. It is not like your brother or his other friends were great but watching Felix play a game was more fun than watching a comedy series. Speaking of him, he throws the controller down, a string of colourful curses leaving his mouth.

You had enough.

Sure he looks hot while cursing, and sure his arms flexing as he presses the controls makes you want to do unnameable things to him, or let him do to you, whichever works, and sure his blonde hair makes you want to run your hand over them while you press light kisses over his face, but you finally had enough.

You sign in annoyance when he picks up the controller again and you snatch it out of his hand, yanking open the cable from the plug point and look at him. He smiles brightly when he sees your grimacing face and jokes, “Come on grumpy don’t glare at me like that.”

“First, Jisung left over an hour ago, so what the hell are you doing here?” you hold up your hand when he opens his mouth to speak and then continue, “Second, it is Valentine’s Day, don’t you have anything better to do than play LoL? And thirdly, Felix give up god you are bad at gaming.”

He pouts and you roll your eyes at him. Everyone in your brother’s friend circle how straightforward you are. Jisung has tried to set you up with Felix because according to him you are in desperate need of some “sunshine” in your life.

Fuck him and his sunshine.

He is the reason anyway you think about Felix so much and develop a crush on him. It is purely because of him you think about Felix and whenever he is around you smile, feel like a thousand fireworks going off when he smiles, and do pathetic things like singing love songs in the shower and dancing in front of the mirror.

All the more reason to hate Han Jisung.

“I am spending the day with you, aren’t I?” Felix winks and you gasp at his answer. He casually gets up and you look behind as he pours himself a glass of water and you close your eyes calming yourself. You cannot be more delusional about his casual flirting than you already are.

He walks off to Jisung’s room and you exhale, hating for even being born. The way his words have set your whole face on fire should be researched. Hell Felix can graze his hands casually and you will be firing up for no reason. You open your phone in frustration and scroll until you find a fluff fanfiction you feel like reading.

The reader kisses the person’s freckles.

Cringe.

You will definitely read it.

And do it to Felix, your mind screams and you want nothing more than to punch your mind. You keep reading trying to focus on the story and not think how it is so fitting with Felix.

“For someone always scowling you like reading stuff that makes normal people giggle,” a deep voice interrupts your reading and you jump as Felix slides beside you, still grinning. You hate yourself for how your eyes instantly dropped to his freckles. They looked like stars littered along his cheekbones and you would want nothing more than pressing kisses all over them.

Stop it.

You force yourself to look into his eyes and it doesn’t help a lot since they look like a whole galaxy of stars. How can someone’s eyes hold so much adoration and spark?

“Why are you looking at my freckles?” he chuckles but you can sense the tinge of insecurity behind it and the answer rolls off your lips before you can stop yourself, “If I was yours I would just spend the day kissing them.”

Your eyes widen and you want the ground to swallow you whole while Felix's loud laugh fills the room. You look at him and the way his nose scrunches and soft hair falls on his lashes as he continues laughing and asks, “Is that a line from the thing you were reading?”

“No, stop it,” you whine and your ears, heck, your whole body feels on fire as you look at Felix who is smiling and looking at you. “You say that but you look at me like this,” you pout and it takes all of his strength to not press his lips to yours right then and there.

“Like what?” he asks and you glare half-heartedly but he continues, “If you mean like I am head over heels for you, then yes, I do look at you like that.”

Your breath gets stuck in your throat and you don’t trust your voice too much but you blabber out, “Don’t ask me out on Valentine’s, that’s cliché as hell.”

“I can do all kinds of cliché things for you though,” Felix’s smiles brighten and you feel your heart beating at an unhealthy rate. Is this a heart attack? Will you die now? But his next sentence almost make you pass out if he was not holding you.

His breath mingles with yours as he asks with his lips inches away from yours, “Kissing on Valentine’s is a bit cliché too right?”

◗ ៹ KIM SEUNGMIN ›

roommate AU! friends to lovers now playing: i like me better by lauv

You put on your earphones and sit down on the couch reading the latest update on fanfiction from your favourite author. You place the cup of hot coffee on the table beside and get comfortable on the couch. You check the time on your phone and realise it is still some hours till Seungmin comes home from his practice.

With your lack of a date for Valentine’s, you have decided reading is the best way to solve all your wanted desires and cute scenarios while Seungmin, who claims he also had a lack of date (he didn’t, you literally saw him rejecting people) will be at vocal practice with his friend Jeongin.

You giggle when you read the fluffy scenes, kicking your feet and giggling to your heart’s content. You do not notice Seungmin returning at all and he understands that when you don’t reply when he calls your name. Seungmin runs a hand through his hair as he enters and his confused gaze falls over you sprawling on the couch.

He chuckles at how cute you are behaving and how cute you look in the oversized hoodie. He places his practice bag down, walks behind you and looks at your screen loving how oblivious of his presence. His mischievous side acts up and he starts reading loudly from the line he can see, “He places a soft kiss on the forehead, then traces them down the yes, and the nose, to the lips of-“

Your eyes open wide in shock and you jerk up and three incidents happen at the same time- you scream at Seungmin, one of your earpods falls off and the coffee in your hand spills over your clothes and hand.

You hiss at the burning sensations on your palm and thumb and Seungmin’s eyes widen as he pulls you by your hand. “Min what?” you ask confusedly as he sprints with you to the kitchen sink and throws your hand under the cold water. You look at him in shock, unable to process how quickly the situation escalated.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry,” he murmurs and his fingers run over your burnt area under the water. Well almost-burnt. The coffee wasn’t that hot and it would not even escalate to a first-degree burn.

“Min, hello to you too,” you joke and he grimaces upset at himself for causing such a situation. You open your mouth to say you are fine but he shushes you and makes you sit on the kitchen counter. He brings down the first-aid box and slightly blows on the region. The action releases a whole cage of butterflies in your stomach and his concerned face over a little harm makes your heart tighten.

“I am sorry, I didn’t mean-“ his sentences is interrupted as you put your finger over his lips and say what you have been trying to say for the last fifteen minutes, “Minnie, I am fine.”

“Are you sure? I think we need to give some more ice,” he murmurs but before he can drift away, again, you pull him by his arms against your body. Seungmin stumbles over his feet and you giggle at his confused puppy behaviour before repeating your sentence, “Minnie, I swear I am fine.”

“Okay,” he complies and you laugh before saying, “You are too cute trying to take care of me, you know?” His nose scrunches and he puts his arms around your waist and murmurs, “I don’t want you getting hurt.”

His tugs lightly on your waist and you tip forward getting close to him and your breath hitches at the proximity. His caramel eyes look so beautiful up close that you never want to look away. You can get lost in his eyes. Literally.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he whispers, the tension thickening as his body presses to yours and warmth spreads over your cheek but you whisper back, “Like what?”

“Like you want to never let me go,” he says and his breath fans your face as you make out the little details of his face. His hold tightens around your waist and you find yourself replying, “Maybe I don’t.”

His eyes roam over your features and land on your lips and that gives you the courage to lean in. Seungmin takes the cue and presses his lips to yours in a sweet kiss. You hum kissing him back as you feel him smiling through the kiss. Your lips move together perfectly just like they fit like two missing puzzle pieces.

Seungmin’s hands caress your waist and you fist his shirt lightly and when you finally pull back a big grin breaks along his face making you laugh along. You sway lightly in his arms and a teasing smile reaches your lips as you ask the cringiest question existing to mankind.

“How about you kiss my wound better too?”

◗ ៹ YANG JEONGIN ›

office AU! co-workers to lovers now playing: silver tongues by louis tomlinson

What is better than working after-hours on Valentine’s Day? Absolutely fucking nothing. You sigh at your unfortunate state and continue typing on the computer finishing up the last slide for your colleague’s presentation who has clocked off as it was Valentine’s.

It was just two slides but you being the perfectionist you were couldn’t just leave it like that and thus completed it fully. After you are finished you huff and lean back on the chair. The creaking noise echoes in the empty office and you look around. Your desk was comparatively closer to the glass window of the building.

That is now giving you the perfect view of the streets decorated with pink and red fairy lights and the couples walking below. The street is buzzing with love and it is making you feel lonely. Another year, another day, you think. It will pass.

Swiping open your phone you quietly check through your notifications, most of them your work emails or bank account reports and sighing you clear them out. You swipe up a few notifications from your friends and some garbage notifications like the weather.

What the hell are you going to do with knowing the weather at eight in the night!

Your eyes fall over a particular notification- the update of a book chapter you have been waiting for. You eye the office once again. Alone. Swivelling in your chair you open your work computer and login through your account in Incognito. Nothing better than reading on a big screen.

You lean back satisfied and read it feeling giddy at the scenes the author has written. The kisses and the hugs are so satisfactorily written you feel literal butterflies reading them.

“Reading stories on a work computer, should I be reporting this?” you jerk up at the familiar voice and are instantly met with a pair of foxlike eyes. His mouth presses together trying to suppress a smile as you tried to hurriedly close the tab in the computer.

When you are done you take a long breath and look towards him and ask, “What are you doing here?” An amused smile reaches his lips but he answers nevertheless, “Came to take some files.” You nod your head but can’t look away from his face. The low light of the office casts a warm glow on his defined cheekbones and a light shade on his dyed caramel hair.

It is not like you and Jeongin were friends, but you weren’t acquaintances either. You two were somewhere in between and given his bright smile and even brighter personality nobody can hate him.

“Don’t you have a date?” Jeongin asks casually still holding onto your gaze and you chuckle shaking your head. Your love life is basically DOA. He sighs in relief unknowingly and before he can stop himself he continues, “Do you want to catch up with dinner?”

You whip your head towards him so fast that he stutters and blabbers, “I mean not today if you are busy, someday later or we can forget I said it.”

Did Yang Jeongin, the man who works in an office with his prim and proper attire, wears glasses, but dyes his hair for style and is the eye candy of more than half the office, ask you out on a date?

“Today’s fine,” you blurt out and you see the red blush spread from his nose to his cheeks. You are sure you are blushing too and you look away trying to arrange the already-made files. Jeongin stutters out an okay and keeps quiet, the awkward silence hanging as you quickly tidy up.

Ten minutes and an awkward elevator ride later you and Jeongin are walking down the decorated streets and attempting small talk which gradually are beginning to loosen you two up. You talk about your favourites and he talks about his own funny incidents, mostly with his older brother Minho.

You two enter a bar and order a drink each simply sitting down. By the time your drinks arrive the loud tempo has reduced to a slow song and you gasp in shock. This is your favourite song. You look at Jeongin who sips on his drink slightly, his glasses resting a little low on his nose and messy hair sprawling over his forehead.

One drink cannot make you tipsy but you blame it on the drink anyway when you ask, “Do you want to dance to this?” If Jeongin is surprised by the request, he doesn’t show it and nods, a small smile creasing up his cheeks.

He takes your hand and you twirl around the dance floor. Feeling a little bolder you circle your arms around his neck and sway to the beats of the song. All the time Jeongin never takes his eyes off yours and you feel yourself flustering under his intense gaze. His eyes trace your features and linger lightly on your lips before returning to your eyes.

The moment is so intense it makes you light-headed and his musky deodorant infiltrating your senses didn’t help at all. As the song finishes, Jeongin is unable to look away but he lets go reluctantly.

You miss his warm flush against your skin already but it returns as soon as he says, “If you don’t mind, do you want to catch a proper dinner tomorrow?”

ꔫㅤㅤ ❜ [ ara's note ] ㅤ⋆ ㅤthis is kind of a personal favourite and even though I have no one to spend Valentine’s with I love being delusional lol. I enjoyed writing these too much and so I would really appreciate feedback and reblogs. my personal favourite is Felix even though he isn’t my bias but it was my first time trying grumpy x sunshine and I loved it so much. Happy Valentine’s everyone ꔫㅤㅤ ❜ [ taglist ] ㅤ⋆ ㅤ@haneagerr @jeonghanfr ﹢ beta readingㅤ@kyrjnie @haneagerr ㅤmain mlistㅤ skz listㅤ navi ㅤ add to taglist

© arafilez on tumblr. please do not copy and repost my work as your own.

[wordy-little-witch]

Buggy brainrot-

I spent a few hours today in the EER with mama and had to distract myself Somehow so you get my silly lil snippets of music video stories in my head-

Buggy accidentally seduces a bunch of people and doesn't even NOTICE because of his special brand of oblivious survival rizz

Basically during the 2 year skip where he gets named a Warlord, he does in fact attend a meeting or a few. The first one, he's a mix of audacious loudmouth show boating and critical assessing eyes.

By the second one he's decently comfortable with knowing the names and faces of his vicinity - he's plotting and he's got more than a few cards, knifes, and other items up his sleeves.

At some point, the meeting goes from relatively calm to absolutely hog fucking wild and somehow, someway, someone's belonging winds up damn near launched into the upper rafters of the room. There's a strict No Devil Fruit policy, enforced by a seastone earring, so while the arguments and in-fighting ensue, Buggy just kind of scoffs, walks put, comes back with a pole, jams it into the broken tiled flooring and proceeds to ignore them while he climbs. Pole art isn't too terribly different from his aerials and trapeze, and he's done just about EVERYTHING under the sun at last once, so it's nothing unfamiliar. His gloves are uniquely textured so he can safely handle his Muggy and Buggy Balls, too, so carefully using his momentum and muscles to climb and shift up the pole smoothly is a pretty simple matter.

He gets to the top, hooks his legs and feet properly, and twists his spine to reach out, unaware of the sets of eyes boring into him.

Mihawk is stone faced, but there is a heat to his gaze. Doffy's sunglasses have slipped down his nose a little. Kuma is pointedly Not Looking. Hancock is... frankly pretending to be uninterested but lowkey is staring. Buggy is oblivious, retrieves the hat or sash or earring, whatever it was, and shifts his weight, releases a hold and smoothly drops, stopping just before the floor to daintily rise, sashay over, and plopped the item on the table, fixing his gloves.

It's the silence that has him looking up, arching a brow. "What?"

Then he sees the time.

"Oh. Meeting's over. Bye~"

And baby boy DIPS.

(Nickelback - Midnight Queen)

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Shanks POV post-Rogers-disbanding, pre-Execution, the cabin brats solo on the seas

He's watching Buggy charm the absolute hell out of a guy at a bar in some no name little town. They've been landlocked for nearing a week now, their previous ship shot to hell by a pirate crew hounding their tail after they'd been sighted some three islands back. The ship held together long enough to pull a full miracle put of nowhere, helped along by a storm. Since then, they'd been gathering cash to pay off her repairs to keep moving, unwilling to part with Speed after all she'd done for them so far.

One source of income came from Buggy's silver tongue and sticky fingers.

The blue haired pirate was leaning over the counter now, twirling a loose lock of hair as he giggled, fluttering his lashes. The man he was buttering up was a few years their senior, bejeweled and slicked hair, a flush of intoxication on his cheeks as he warmly regarded the pretty thing at his side. Shanks could relate, at least a little, on the way the man's attention was focused so thoroughly on Buggy.

Pink tinted lips quirked into a smile, head tilting invitingly, to which the man responded as expected. He was under the blue haired pirate's spell already - Shanks checked the time - three minutes in. Not a new record, but close.

He wasn't sure how to feel about it all, honestly. It was not jealousy, not truly, that curdled his stomach. Instead, something bloomed viciously in his abdomen, something akin to possessiveness. Sure, he figured absently, people can find Buggy pretty in his disguise.

But Shanks was the one who saw his entirety.

Shanks saw the tan lines on pale skin; Shanks knew the taste of his freckles and skin; Shanks knew the scars on his left hip and between his shoulder blades; Shanks could map Buggy's face from memory with lips alone, and he damn well knew it.

The world can be played by Buggy, but Shanks would know the game.

And an hour later, outside of that little bar, he would welcome the smaller body leaning unflinchingly into his side, arm around the other's shoulders, heart full and his lover's pockets heavy, and Shanks would look back, would meet wide, dark eyes with a pink smudge on his chin. And Shanks would grin, sharp and unrepentant, turning to guide those same pink lips up to his own.

He's wear his boyfriend's lipstick with pride.

((NEFFEX - Rumors))

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Buggy wears skirts whenever the fancy strikes, and sometimes it works perfectly for parties. He'll be the first to say that people who don't love dancing in skirts have never tried it before. While his fashion tastes aren't always expected, he revealed in the freedom there - and his crew thrived in such environments.

That was why he hadn't thought to make a big deal out of the first skirt day since Cross Guild was established. It simply WAS, in the same way as the weather, the same way as the meal plans, simply just footnotes in it all. He'd gone most of the day without seeing the two newest additions to the island, and frankly had forgotten to be vigilant of them.

It was a good day, a new shipment, a celebration, nothing too extravagant, just a fun night with his people. Really, Buggy hadn't even thought to glance up for yellow or violet eyes.

The crew was boisterous, but that was normal, music playing and laughter ringing. Buggy was sandwiched between Alvida and Marianne, a newer islander from a small island out East. The dialect there was unfamiliar by and large, but Buggy had grown up learning it from a man he considered a father, and Mari had so few who spoke her mother tongue.

Buggy simply had the idea to make tonight Extra fun.

After all, nobody partied like a Roger, and Roger always had the best songs. Bugs wasn't too bad with a fiddle. When asked, Mari beamed, no slouch herself, and offered to take the lead.

So they took to the stage, each swiping an instrument with playful glares, and heels tapped the rhythm as they began, hop-skipping as they bobbed and weaved, clapping joining as people whooped and hollered, making merry and enjoying themselves.

It was midway through that Buggy was caught playfully, fiddle lifted as one of the older mercenaries bowed him out, picking up the tune. He laughed happily, hands fisting his skirts as he twirled and danced, thoroughly enjoying himself-

And then he caught sight of Mihawk. He was watching, an odd note in his eyes, and Buggy could just barely see the way the other seemed to lean into the music. Fueled by a wild idea, high on the adrenaline and joy, Buggy walked over and offered his hand.

And Mihawk accepted.

He was a great dancer, and Buggy was delighted to be lead in a familiar dance, beaming boldly at the goth man before him. Traditional dances like this were few and far between - it only made them more fun.

That night began a change - first of which culminating into Mihawk fluffing Buggy's skirt with an almost-smile, a quiet statement following. "I should quite like to do this again some time."

Buggy only realizes later what that implied.

((Celtic Woman - Níl Sé'n Lá))

[loveshotzz]

argyle x fem!reader

High for this

warnings: established early relationship, idiots falling in love, cock warming, slight dirty talk, slight praise kink if you squint (Argyle just wants to be a good boy), smut, cream pie, weed smoking.

word count: 1.9k

authors note: This was a request I got in an ask that I answered a while ago. I couldn’t find it so I hope this finds whoever it was. They wanted cock warming while stoned with our good boy Argyle.

The rays of sunshine that peak through the opening in your curtains pierce through the white wisps of smoke that cover your room in a dense fog. Wrapping around you and your boyfriend like a blanket, the hot box has you inhaling double with every hit.

Half lidded brown eyes stay transfixed on yours, flicking down every so often to watch the way your lips wrap around the pineapple tobacco of the blunt. His tongue poking out to wet his bottom lip every time your cheeks hollow out. Your skirt sits bunched up at your hips, his fingers digging into the soft dough of your curves underneath.

Your bare toes barely touch the floor from your place straddled on his lap on your desk chair. The tips of them dragging against the carpet with every subtle rock of your hips. Somewhere between giggles and complaints about his day at work, your soft touches turned into something needier. A quiet “just sit on it” falling from his pink full lips.

Pants pushed halfway down his hairy thighs and wandering fingers that shoved your panties to the side, your slick walls now pull him deeper — twitching every time you hold a hit in.

It's been 10 minutes and half the blunt like this.

One hand on his shoulder while the other keeps the blunt pressed to your lips, your nails dig into his shirt when he readjusts in the seat. A moan sits teased at the tip of your tongue just begging to roll off with every subtle move he makes. The corners of his mouth twist up when he feels the way you clench around him in reaction, so he does it again daring you to give yourself away.

Leaning forward you keep your eyes locked onto his when you tap the end of the blunt to his bottom lip. The small motion pushes him deeper, earning you the moan he was trying to get. Still, you keep yours tucked behind your bottom lip that’s tugged between your teeth. His hand leaves your hip to take the blunt between his long fingers still glistening with your slick from earlier, dark eyes narrowing at you while his cheeks hollow taking a drag.

Giving him a megawatt smile that he can’t help but return with smoke billowing between teeth, you press a delicate kiss to his pushed up cheek before you start peppering more along his jaw. Dragging your lips across the heat of his skin, you take your time tongue darting out just to get a taste of him. Burying your fingers into the silk of his long mane at the nape of his neck you feel the way his hips push up when you put all your focus around the sensitive spot hiding behind his ear.

You hum against his skin at the feel of him, the slow drag of his length along your fluttering walls that grip him always trying to take more. Your hips chase on their own as the moan you’d been withholding falls from you in the form of his name like a gasp for air when he meets your thrust. The tip of him teases the spot he always seems to find with ease as your nails drag light along his scalp. Giving his roots a gentle tug, you lift your head up.

The black pools of his pupils swallow every bit of the coffee color that usually floats around his eyes when they meet yours in a hungry lust filled daze. The last of his hit leaves through his nose as his fingers dig harshly into the side of your hip.

“Baby, it’s my turn.” Arching your brow you straighten your back so the pads of your toes touch the carpet making sure to clench yourself as tight as you can around him, tongue swiping across your top teeth satisfied when he has to close his eyes cuss words muttered under his breath.

His head falls back as he ignores your teasing to take another hit, the hand on your hip encouraging every light grind you’ll give him. His lips tug at the corners when he sees the way your brows furrow with every brush of his mushroom head. Using his strength to pull you to his chest the new position has him hitting the spot he’s been teasing this whole time. Putting the blunt out, he grabs at your chin tilting your head up to meet the press of his lips.

It's tentative at first - gentle. Always teasing when he knows you’re at your neediest. You can feel his smile when your impatience gets the best of you and you swipe your tongue against his bottom lip, begging to steal his hit with a small whimper and drag of your hips. He exhales into your waiting mouth when you squeeze your walls around him with just enough force to break his resilience, your inhale flexes your muscles in a way that makes him twitch — dangerously close to finishing before he’s even had his way with you.

Taking advantage of his hands on your hips you lean back when you blow out what’s left, adding another moan to the ones you’d silently been collecting from him the whole time.

A tangerine haze takes over your room, the sun outside starting to make its descent to the other side of the world covering your boyfriend in the kind of light that begs to take your breath away. Despite the teasing, the high suddenly makes everything feel softer - nicer.

It reflects in the way his hands loosen their grip on your hips so his fingertips can trace up and down the dip in your spine. While yours find themselves weaving through the sea of dark chocolate hair that you can never seem to stay away from, relishing in the way it feels gliding between your buzzing fingers. Your eyes find each other silently trying to communicate the three words it’s too early to say while your hips drag slow with purpose against his. Noses nudging, his breath fans hot across your parted lips.

“What do you think?” His voice comes out just above a whisper, his lips a ghost against yours when he speaks.

“About?” Smirking against him, his hands find their way back to their original home on your hips, giving your sides a squeeze the giggle he earns makes him chuckle.

“Giving me what I want?” Pressing a kiss to the corner of your mouth, he follows that one with more along your jaw using his nose to nudge, opening up the expanse of your neck for him.

Smelling the remains of the perfume you’d sprayed fresh out of the shower this morning, his hums of approval against your skin makes your hairs stand on end and your fingers tug harder on his roots. Hips swiveling against his just enough to stoke the heat of the flames begging to consume you, he starts bruising your skin with a starved mouth. Paying special attention to the spots that have you pulling him deeper into where he wants to be.

“I don’t know, have you earned it?” Your words have him twitching inside of you for the second time, and he nips at your skin with a little more pressure.

“Come on bonita, you know I’ve been a good boy.” Taking your earlobe in his mouth, he has you shuddering on top of him. All your remaining resolve disappears when he sucks hard enough for your eyes to roll in the back of your head dropping your full weight onto his lap.

The blunt ends of his nails dig into the skin hidden under your skirt when he bottoms out, the sound of your slick drowning out the record you’d forgotten was even playing. Lifting his head up from your neck he captures your lips in a messy kiss that leaves your head spinning. Tongues meeting in between clashing teeth, your hips move against his finding a steady rhythm.

“Doesn’t that feel nice baby, just like this?” Scooting lower into the seat the slight change has him even deeper, gasping when he hits that spongy spot with the tip of his cock - all you can do is nod with an open mouth while you hands find purchase on the back of the chair.

“I’ve earned this don’t you think? I’ve been good, yeah?” Flipping your skirt up so he can watch the way you wrap around him, he looks up at you from under his lashes when he uses two fingers to start rubbing lazy circles on your swollen clit. “Tell me.”

Applying more pressure when he sees the way it makes your face scrunch up, your voice catches in the back of your throat when you try to give him the answer he wants.

“Come on baby, dímelo” your dripping walls grip him tighter when he asks again in spanish, your toes pushing against the carpet to give yourself some leverage to take back an ounce of the control.

Lifting yourself up enough for him to almost slip out, you drop yourself back down letting him fill you to the hilt. His cheeks are flush and brows are knit together when he looks up at you, grinding down harder - you hold his eyes.

You make sure to clench hard around him in time with the swivel of your hips before finally giving him what he wants.

“So. fucking. good.” Each word is punched with a bounce on his lap and a whine slipping out from between your pouty lips. Slick skin slaps together with each thrust while his eyes get lost behind his head.

Giving your clit a break, both his hands find their way to your ass. The thong you wore for him gives his greedy fingers free reign over your smooth skin, grabbing handfuls of the soft fat he encourages the switch in dynamic pulling you both back up.

“That’s all I ever want to be for you — la diosa, look at you.” He groans at the slow roll of your hips, the orange haze turning purple he can’t keep his eyes off of you.

Your half lidded gaze matches his when they meet, words of adoration left unspoken passing through one look. Your hands leave the back of the chair, the need to touch more of him brings them back to his shoulders, every stroke feels better than the last taking your time like this. Hitting every spot that makes your body light up, your lips glow when they press against his — the sun disappearing into the kiss.

Feeling yourself get closer, the build nestled deep inside of you starts to feel like a kaleidoscope of butterflies ready to burst through the seams when the pads of two of his fingers find your button again. He swallows his name stealing your breath with his eager lips, unrelenting he doesn’t stop his circular motions until he feels your body start to seize and shake — coating him when you cum.

Your fluttering walls and the grind of your hips have him twitching, mouth going slack against yours when he follows with his own quickly behind you. His fingers dig hard enough to leave bruises on your ass while he paints your walls in a way you’d just recently given him permission to do. You take your turn to steal your name and his breath with a smile on your lips.

It takes him a minute to kiss you back, as you busy yourself pressing more to the corner of his mouth and the warmth of his cheek. Turning his head when he gets enough composure he’s quick to collect what’s his. The post orgasm high mixed with the one you chased wrapped it the snuffed out blunt beside you has you both giggling in a complete love sick mess.

[tohisprettyc00l]

Wild witch! reader x Hunter

A/n: This takes place during season 2a. Also your 16.

p/n: palisman's name

f/f: favorite flavor

You were very well known around the Boiling Isles! But less of a celebrity and more of a wanted criminal. Not that many people disliked you, but not many people dare talk to you. Which definitely hurt. But you carried on, not like you could do much about it. I mean you could get a sigil but there was no way in hell that was happening. So for now you'll have to deal with the dirty looks and getting chased by scouts.

When you were going about your daily routine you noticed a few scouts and sighed. You pulled your palisman out in preparation. But the leader of the group caught your eye. The Golden Guard. Most of the time it was some other random scout. On a day that you could assume much wasn't going on it was Warden Wrath. So needless to this was more than a shock. You rationed they most likely weren't here for you. I mean in a market a whole bunch of shady business was going on. Nonetheless, you made sure they couldn't see you just in case.

While you were trying to avoid needing to break out of the Conformatorium again, just in case they saw you. But then you overheard The Golden Guard talk and instruct the scouts to find you. Well, there goes any hope of having a normal day at the market. You grumbled as you snuck towards a stand selling rotten candy and Hex-Mix. The vendor's eyes shifted to you and a wanted poster of you. "Are you-" "Yeah, yeah can you just give me the Hex-Mix?" You tossed a few snails on the counter. The vendor quickly gave you a bag and gestured for you to leave.

You got on your palisman and prepared to leave. "There they are!" You heard a voice yell. "Here we go." You thought out loud. You started to speed off while you overheard The Golden Guard yelling at scouts behind you. You made a bunch of random twists and turns to get them off your trail but they would just not leave you alone. "Titan didn't know anyone in the Emperor's Coven was competent." You thought. Suddenly magical rope constricted you. After some struggle, you broke free. After that mini-heart attack, you went as fast as you could finally losing them. You landed on top of a mountain and sighed. The first time it was a challenge to get away. Hopefully, that was a one-time thing. But nothing could go your way when it comes to the law, could it?

The next week you saw the same Golden uniform. Right as you comprehended who it was, the figure was running towards you. The same magic rope was shot at you but you moved out of the way. "Y'know I thought it was pretty cool to be more wanted than Eda. But I somehow forgot this part of it." You stopped the rope with plants. You heard the Golden Guard groan from behind his mask. You chuckled and wrapped yourself in abomination goop, transporting yourself to your house. You looked at P/n and sighed. "I'm sorry but it seems like you're going to need to fly a lot whenever we go out." Your palisman nodded playfully. "Such as now, I still need to get griffin eggs."

You thought about putting an invisibility spell on yourself when you first entered, but you would just get rid of it in the end. So you flew to the market, fully visible. You quickly bought griffin eggs and then left. But suddenly you were wrapped in abomination goop. You tried to break free but couldn't. "There's no way to break free, so don't waste your energy, or do, I don't care." The Golden guard said. He started walking with you. "So why do you arrest wild witches." "It's against the Titan's will." You raised one of your eyebrows. "But the Titan made wild magic. Also, they didn't make sigils." The Golden Gaurd paused. "Stop trying to mess with my head." He snapped out. "Okay?"

You soon aboard a ship. he slightly shoved you onto the ground. "So what's your name?" You asked as you got up. The guard started to whistle. "Hey!" You yelled. You could tell he tensed up a little bit. "What's your name?" "You don't need to know." He stated. "I wanna know who's kidnapping me." "If I tell you will you shut up." "Probably not. But I'm not going to stop asking until you tell me." He grunted. "Fine. My name is Hunter." "Cool my names y/n." "Yeah, I know."

You walked over to Hunter and kept asking him questions. "Shut up and sit back down." You just rolled your eyes. "Okay tell me, witch, what will shut you up?" "Besides freeing me?" "Besides freeing you." You thought for a moment. "Take me out to diner." Hunter sighed, "Be serious." "I am! Can't go to jail on an empty stomach." "Fine." Hunter drifted the ship downward. He landed at a Dairy scream. "Eyescream? really?" "I didn't have to do this. And besides, there is food besides Eyescream." "Only insane people order burgers a DAIRY scream." "There's cheeseburgers." You slightly chuckled.

Hunter got out a red bird palismen. It turned into its staff from. He did... Something that definitely wasn't abomination magic. It moves the goop from around your waist to around your wrist. You made a mental note of the bird. "There. Now you can eat easier." "I'm probably just going to get an f/f milkshake though." Hunter quickly draw a plant glyph and made it wrap around your legs. "You know glyphs count as wild magic right?" "I don't have anything else to use. It's for the greater good." Hunter excused.

You hummed as you waited for Hunter. He came out with a milkshake. "Okay let's go back to the ship." He shoved the milkshake in your hand. You walked out of the vines with ease. "So why do you have a palismen? I thought Belos hated them." Hunter stiffened and stopped walking. "Yes... But he made an exception." You can tell he was lying but decided not to push it. Soon you arrived back at the ship.

Hunter looked at his watch and became panicked. "Crap, crap, crap uncle's going to kill me!" "Why?" You asked. "I was supposed to be back ten minutes ago!" "So? I've been to the castle it's only five minutes away." Hunter started up the ship. "That's fifteen minutes late! I can't keep disappointing  him." You put down your milkshake and walked over to Hunter. "It's going to be okay dude. You brought me to him didn't you?" That barely seemed to calm him down. "Breath with me." You said. You slowly breathed in and out.

Hunter calmed down and then glared at you. "Why do you care what I feel?" You paused, "I don't know, I guess because you're the nicest out of everyone who arrested me. Also, I've heard that you're only 16. You shouldn't be worried about your uncle punishing you for being 15 minutes late." He paused and he got rid of the handcuffs. "Leave." "What-" "Please just make it seem like you escaped." You nodded and got out p/n. "Ha! You could never keep me in one place for too long!" You exclaimed despite no one being able to hear. you. You winked then flew away. You might not know why Hunter let you leave, but for once, you felt like there was a bright future for you.

A/n: I accidentally copy and paste the fanfiction in the middle of the fanfiction so sorry if I fucked it up sorry.

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Hi there, first off I'm really sorry for deleting the comment! While I wish I could keep it up the private messages were too much. Sadly I don't think I can report whoever it was. Reddit has this weird thing where if you pay for it, you can privately send some messages without any username or something to be shown. So yeah some random person got really upset at the idea of PJO being in Greece and decided to pay money towards Reddit to let me know.

As for the xenophobic things that were said about Greeks. I have to rely off the top of my head since I deleted them pretty quick. It was a bunch of "nobody cares about you Greeks, the country's a shithole that has to rely on tourists, you can't even claim to own the mythology because you were a bunch of colonizers who took other POC myths and made them your own" stuff.

Barely nothing about why they hated the idea of having the series in Greece. I think it was just some xenophobic ass who pretends to be progressive. But man I did not expect the subreddit to hate the idea of a Greece setting so much. By the time I deleted the comment it was at -20 downvotes.

-🌟Anon

I planned on replying sooner but chronic illness is a bitch. I am outraged that people feel comfortable being such assholes for fucking nothing, and they have completely false arguments on top of that.

I am sorry that it was such an unpleasant experience, and I hope you are feeling better now. Those malakes should go fuck themselves, plain and clear. They are such stupid and incompetent bullies that they'll fart your dick and balls (Greek expression for "they don't have the guts to do shit to you"). They are cowards and their "progressiveness" is no more than a shitty excuse to make everything about them and bully people in the name of "justice". They probably got their friends to downvote the comment and did a small smear campaign. Cause I find it hard to believe that a whole subreddit actually hates Greece.

I am all for recognizing when Greeks have done and do something bad/wrong but the statement "you can't even claim to own the mythology because you were a bunch of colonizers who took other POC myths and made them your own" is just factually wrong in so many levels. Even the smidge of truth in that statement is so twisted that I cannot give them right. So, they're spreading misinformation on top of everything.

You are in charge of your actions and feelings, so if you feel the comment is best deleted, then that's okay. My humble suggestion - in general - is to not give these fuckers an inch. I had my fair share of them here, for years. When they realize their cyberbullying doesn't work anymore because people don't get intimidated, they just whine to their equally fanatic friends. The only power they have is whining online, and when people back down, they get encouraged and do the same thing to more people.

Unless you feel your safety is threatened, or you feel too unwell to engage (all valid!), then ignore them and just leave your opinions online where people will inevitably see them. Do it once, do it twice, and you'll see that nothing more than unpleasant messages (which you will just delete and block) will happen. Your comment was civil and completely harmless. You are on the right here.

Even if I agreed with their opinion, their approach of behaving like violent crybabies is simply inexcusable. Tolerance has its limits. Their behavior should not be tolerated, because it leads to the opposite of tolerance. (It's a famous paradox) The only thing that stops them from joining a nazi party is their life circumstances.

P.S. A friend of mine wants to comment on the subreddit with your (or a similar) message. Would you send me the link of the post with the Hot Takes so they can do that? (She's feeling a lil' silly - and no, it's not me :p)

[patheticbatman]

As of Chapter 81, this is crew of the Courageous from Time to Orbit: Unknown, a marvellous space drama and mystery by @derinthescarletpescatarian . Original sketches & character guide below. Many of the character appearances are based on headcanon, but the ones with asterisks are based on canon sources.

I drew Celi first! I figured I would do the people in front, who I would have to draw most of their bodies, and work from left to right. Celi has had multiple organ issues, so she looks a little drawn (lol) and is still recovering in her wheelchair :). I drew her with small braids just hanging from the top of her head, as I imagine she’s too tired to take care of her hair very often, but still wants to keep some, so she has a sort of cap of braids. There’s probably a term for the style, but idk. Celi is of North African descent.

Next to Celi is Renn. His head looks wonky because I was drawing at an angle at the time. He’s been mostly depilated, and I imagine him in a sort of Aang-meets-European-in-a-tracksuit outfit because he’s calm and tries not to do much drama, but is condescending. Renn is of West Asian/American/Tarandran descent.

Then we have Public Universal Friend (PUF) 2 with the twists. I figure it doesn’t want a lot of hair to take care of, and this style keeps it out of its face. Same clothes as the other PUF. It is kneeling, with one leg propped up. It is of coastal Southern East African descent.

*Then laying on the ground is Tal. Ke is looking at kes tablet because ke doesn’t like focusing on other things. Tal is unfortunately at the wrong angle to show off ke’s face tattoo. Small afro kept stylishly kept, along with some garters and a short skirt. Ke is laying down because ke feels like it. Ke is of West African/American/Texan descent.

*Then we have Aspen, the POV character, smack dab in the middle. Canonically, they’d don’t have a headband as far as we know, but I think their hair looks nice pushed up like that. They are wearing a jumpsuit like last time, but this time has a belt for flair, because Tal and Sunset convinced them. Aspen sits cross cross because they can and it’s a common sitting posture in Arborea. They are of West African/American/Arborea Atlantican descent.

Lina is kneeling like PUF2, but facing the other way. I gave her buns and square jewelery because I based her off of a Hopi woman’s ’do that I really liked, and Lina can be short for names like Catalina. She has freckles because they’re fun. She’s gained some muscle and weight since the last picture, which is great! She is of Hopi/Latin American descent.

Last is Sunset. She is a zeelite, a subculture interested in replicating and investigating pre-Neocambrian (aka our time) cultures. She is largely inspired by what she knows of punk, pastel goths, drag, and to be honest, Barbie (2023). She is voguing because she knows and appreciates the importance of looking good. Sunset is of Central African/of Sirius descent.

Now for the top row, left to right again!

First, we have Heli. She wears functional but pretty clothes because she appreciates utility but always wants to show off what she’s got. The newest addition to the crew, she’s a little spiky, but has a soft spot for Adin. She was inspired by a picture of a Sistergirl from Australia (my headcanon, I only saw a picture of her and was unable to find more specific information). Heli is of Indigenous Australian descent.

*Next, we have Adin. I keep forgetting to draw him with tattoos, so I added a neck one last minute. His look has probably changed the most - his canon picture came out only a few months ago, so I drew him differently the first time. Adin cooks a lot, so he doesn’t try to wear anything or have a hairdo that could be ruined by cooking. Adin is of West African/Arborea Atlantican/American/Texan descent.

*Next up, the tallest of the bunch (and I forgot to draw his left arm until last minute, we have Denish! He’s doing the Arnold Schwarzenegger pose. The gentle Giant of the group, I was unable to recapture his face quite the same way as last time, but I still think he turned out well. He’s one of my favorite space pirates. I think he wears high collars to hide Tinera’s hickeys. Denish is of West African/American/Texan descent.

Right in front of Denish is PUF 1, AKA Dr. PUF. Still has tousled hair, still has the same robe. PUF is kneeling. It is of European descent.

*Hanging off of Denish is Tinera! She’s changed also, as her official looks came out, though I think I’ve kept her pretty nice looking still! I forgot to give her glasses though :(. I gave her Garnet (Steven Universe) finger gloves because they look cool. Tinera is of Central African/Lunarian descent.

Under Tinera is Sam. He’s partly visually inspired by the Dad of some kids I watch, and Ballister from Nimona. He likes to gaze at the stars and wonder about all the stories that will be told about them. Sam is of South Asian descent.

*Lastly is Keldin (AKA Captain Sands). He’s always dressed well and keeps his hair well-coifed. Hardly anyone from the ‘first’ crew likes him. He is standing awkwardly farther away because he knows everyone near him isn’t his tan. Keldin is of West African/American/Trandran descent.

[palesmokeisinthevoid]

Transfem Shrimpo Doodles and doodles for a…kind of self indulgent probably ooc au based on a Pokémon nuzlocke I’m doing.

Shrimpo and Toodles are siblings to me. Nothing will change this. Shrimpo will absolutely make fun of Toodles but if anyone else does she will throw her brick at them. She also lets Toodles paint her nails.

Poppy and Shrimpo <3. Honestly starting to sort of ship it but here it’s friendship. Poppy helped her figure things out. I’m imaging that when a few of the toons were first made they kind of came to the conclusion that they weren’t the gender that was originally intended for them, so that was fun script changing for Gardenview/j, Shrimpo was made real later on due to her…personality (I imagine the toons and Gardenview came before the cartoon, mainly to explain some headcanons, so some existed before the Cartoon such as the mains, the starters, etc. and others came from the cartoon such as Shrimpo), and didn’t realize a toon could be a different gender than what they were intended.

Shelly and Shrimpo friendship is everything to me you can pry it out of my cold dead hands. Ichor is pretty malleable so toons can change their appearance if they get a hold of some extra. Sprout didn’t have top to give surgery even before he realized he was trans but he gave himself the scars anyway because he thought it was neat…and now Shrimpo is in similar circumstances/j

Just Shrimpo and Teagan having tea. Nothing much to say here I just wanted to draw them

And now the weird au I have no name for

All these designs are based vaguely off of Pokémon and random ideas I had while doing a nuzlocke (specifically of a rom hack which is why the Pokémon are so mismatched) which is still ongoing.

Basically weird stuff happened, all the toons and twisteds got thrown into another dimension that keeps having other dimensions fuse with it to the point that this is just a regular October for them…anyway due to another substance in this dimension reacting a bit weird with ichor due to their similar properties it kind of started changing the most of the toons appearances and these are some of those designs

I got a Magikarp so of course I had to make Shrimpo the pathetic fish…and then the overpowered serpent. She started out with her canon design and then got the extra shrimp features…including arms. And also the marks from her skin, because I thought that would be fun.

Toodles ended up as a Togepi and the first move she pulled from metronome was FUCKING “Snipe shot”, so now she has a sniper rifle that no one can take from her because she can just summon it back to her. Not much changed much about her physically outside of her blush marks becoming triangles. The wings are just fakes because she got a new hoodie.

Rodger will one day be a graveler so four arms, not much to say. He is wearing alpha sleeper though since his suit got kind of…destroyed. By growing a second set of arms.

Razzle and Dazzle are a Galarian Yamask. They aren’t having a great time. They got knocked out at some point, Dandy found them and then got a terrible idea and enacted the first part of the idea on whichever one of them woke up first…unfortunately for Razzle, he’s an early riser. So uh, face shattered, Dazzle got lied to about the cause and then Dandy convinced him he could fix Razzle’s head if Dazzle just helped him with something. Razzle’s fucked up physically and mentally and Dazzle is just having a bad time.

CENTIVEE!!!! She got Venipede!!!! CENTIVEEEEEEEEEEE. I just like bug looking characters. She’s got a bunch of legs and three pairs of arms.

Shelly was the starter! Totodile! She’s got some croc stuff going on, nothing too distract she’s just a little reptile.

Cosmo probably would have come out normal looking outside having his caramel skins cheeks if he didn’t look a god straight in the eye. Now he’s gained their interest and if one gains a gods interest they can end up with some…new limbs or horns. In this case Cosmo got both since he ended up as Pidove and I wanted to incorporate the weird mask thing on Unfeasant so uh…Horn going straight through his eye! Fun!

Dandy is a Budew. Weird sleeve things aren’t sleeves, they are, in fact, a part of his arms. He’s got some twisted features too since…well, twisted dandy is dandy

Finn died in game. He was a Wooper, but he’ll be back eventually…the next time I get a fish Pokémon. Once that happens he’s never getting his legs back/j. Man is stuck as a mermaid…or Mayhaps a siren. Depends on what fish I get.

[chibifoxwrites]

@dunedragon Ask and ye shall receive!

Two children stood in a white room, one with arms crossed across her chest and an eyebrow cocked in mild interest while the other was playing with the hem of his hoodie.

The girl was wearing a cropped blue jacket over a black top with leggings under a pair of shorts, an orange symbol outlined in gold prominent on the left side of her jacket.

The boy was wearing a large orange hoodie that seemed to swallow him whole and almost covered his shorts while a bright blue headband with a matching symbol was snuggly tied around his head.

Regardless of where they came from, both were part of the Hikari family.

"So," the girl started. "I'm guessing your name is Netto too? How did you get here?"

The boy flinched before answering. "Actually, my name is Lan and I honestly don't know how I got here. I remember going to bed and hearing a voice talking about the likes meeting one another. When I looked around, I couldn't find MegaMan and only saw this giant robot looking thing. Then, I was here!"

Netto nodded slowly, lips twisted in a grimace. "One, it's good to know that you have some form of RockMan in your world from what it sounds like. Two, I think were were brought here by Duo."

"Who or what is Duo?"

"He's a NetNavi from the edge of the universe and operates purely on logic as he judges other beings from their planets, decides whether the species or race is good or evil, and then destroys the planet if he deems it evil," Netto explained, much to her counterpart's horror. "He dropped by my planet some years back to judge it, but the test was rigged by his companion, Slur. A bunch of criminal NetNavis were resurrected and mostly given to people who had less than good intentions. A few people were innocent, but a majority of them were career criminals. Long story short, my friends and I beat the bad guys, exposed and deleted Slur, and sent Duo on his merry way among other things."

Lan decided not to ask about the last bit of the sentence that his counterpart muttered under her breath.

"Well, you sound like you've been doing some cool stuff for a while. I just got my NetNavi. Dad gave him to me as a gift when we moved back to DenTech City," the boy explained.

Netto blinked at her counterpart in confusion. "You moved back to Densan?"

"DenTech City, but yeah! Before that we were living in Cyber City! I lived in DenTech when I was younger but we had to move for Dad's job. He then got transferred back to Sci-Labs Headquarters after the mayor was arrested." Lan then shrugged. "Turns out the mayor made it so Dad would transfer and slowly tried to get him to unearth some powerful programs that had been hidden away a long time ago."

Netto sighed. "Our family can never have a moment of peace, at least that is universal."

"Um, just how bad is it? I mean in your world?" Lan asked. "I just started a new school and MegaMan keeps trying to drag me into situations, like trying to make new friends not like I had many in the first place back in Cyber City, but what about you?"

"I'm basically part of a super sentai group that goes around the world and stops cyber crime. People keep thinking that just because they're smarter than the average human that they have the right to steal the hard work from other people to rule over everyone on the planet, so we have to kick ass and take names. I've lost friends in the line of duty and I've been betrayed by them too, but a majority of my team are still friends with me and with each other. We have goot times and we have bad times, but at least I have RockMan and the rest of the family beside me." Netto went quiet for a bit and blushed. "Also, I have my boyfriend so that helps too..."

Lan smiled and softly clapped his hands together. "Hooray for you!"

Netto smiled when something caught her eye. "Has that door always been there?"

Lan turned around and jumped back. "No, no it was not."

"...We're gonna have to go open it to find out where we are, aren't we?"

Lan sighed and took off his backpack before rummaging around in it. A few seconds later, he pulled out a kabuton stick. "I have other things if you need one."

Netto smiled. "Oh, I think we're going to get along just great."

[villainscomplex]

Odds and Ends

Forgot to post my piece for the One Piece Grandline Gunsmoke zine over on twitter... my bad.

if you were wondering if i was off my bartocav shit? the answer is no <3

Also on: AO3

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

Days prior to their first encounter, Bartolomeo catches wind of the stranger in town. 

His companion leans into his space, wild hair sticking out from beneath his hat. He’s grinning his gap-toothed grin, breath heavy with the stench of alcohol. He’s known Gambia as long as he’s been in this town, and the man never changes. That said, most things around here stay the same, so the news of a stranger spreads as quick as wildfire. 

It piques Bartolomeo’s interest immediately. He lifts his gaze, and the silent acknowledgment is enough to keep Gambia going. 

“Apparently, he’s stickin’ out somethin’ fierce,” the other man continues. “Ain’t nothin’ like the rest’a us. The real prissy type from what I’ve heard, but he’s goin’ around asking questions. Somethin’ about the gold river.” 

The people around these parts know better than to go snooping around. The town is packed full of outlaws, and one wrong move could be a bullet in your head. People come and go, but they’re all the same at the end of the day, claws sharp and guns loaded. 

“Must be real slow,” Bartolomeo remarks, grinning wickedly. “Makes ‘em an easy target.” 

“That’s yer plottin’ face,” Gambia looks vaguely concerned. “What’re ya planning this time? Ain’t we got enough trouble without ya startin’ more?” 

“Where’s the fun in that?” Bartolomeo laughs, reaching over to slap Gambia’s shoulder. 

His companion looks a little nervous, but he doesn’t question any further, sinking back into his seat. 

The gold river. That’s a name Bartolomeo is far too familiar with.

He kicks his boots up on the table, stretching up so far that his chair tips back. The bar is perpetually filled with noise from the rowdy bunches that call the town home, temporarily or not. 

That had been days ago, and Bartolomeo has been keeping an eye out for this supposed stranger. He’s just starting to think the guy skipped town or finally got what was coming to him when the bell over the saloon’s wooden doors jingles loudly. The hinges creak loudly, but it isn’t the sound that draws the attention of Bartolomeo, among others. 

Bartolomeo understands why people were saying the man sticks out. His efforts at blending in are mediocre at best, clothes still visibly higher class than the majority of them can boast. It’s the rest of him that really gives him away, face clean and hair falling in silken, golden waves over his shoulders. He’s got the top two buttons of his shirt loose and a clean black hat tipped down on his head. 

Blue eyes skip across the crowd. They’ve gone silent, gazes sharp and hands dipping down to waists as they assess the threat in their midst. The blond man has the sense to drop his gaze at the very least, heeled boots clicking across the rickety wooden floor as he crosses straight to the bar. He’s got this irritated little twist to his lips as he slides into one of the stools, leaning in over the counter.

Bartolomeo grins crookedly. Even the way the other man walks is distinctive, back straight and steps forward and sure. He’s making an effort to blend in, but it’s shit enough that even Bartolomeo notices. He slings one arm over the back of his chair, settling in to continue watching the stranger unabashedly, uncaring if he’s caught. Conversations begin again, but they’re quieter now, and the other outlaws continue to side-eye the stranger. 

“Excuse me,” the blond murmurs, tipping his head at the barmaid. 

When she crosses to him, his voice drops just enough that Bartolomeo can’t hear him anymore, but whatever he says makes the woman look a little more nervous. 

“I ain’t heard of nothin’ like that, sir,” she tells him, slipping away to refill drinks at another table. 

The blond opens his mouth to call after her, but he catches some unfriendly gazes and seems to think better of it. Bartolomeo finally sits up from his slump and rises up. The screech of his chair draws the blond’s gaze, alongside a few others, but Bartolomeo ignores them as he sidles over to the stranger. 

The other man scrutinizes him, crosses one leg over the other, and then immediately uncrosses them like it had been subconscious. Bartolomeo spins him around in his stool so they’re both facing the bar again, slinging his arm over the blond’s shoulders.

“Listen,” Bartolomeo leans in, but his grin isn’t too friendly, “most’a us have already heard about ya, so let’s be real clear. Yer a stranger here, and we don’t take too well to ya. Let’s just say blending in ain’t your strong spot.”

The blond glowers at him as Bartolomeo slides into the seat beside him but doesn’t let him go.

“Well,” Bartolomeo pats the man’s arm expectantly, “got a name?”

Blue eyes, sharp like twin flints of flame, flick to him. “What do you want to know for?”

“‘Cause I hear yer goin’ around pokin’ your nose where it don’t belong,” he drawls. “People round here don’t take too well to nosy passersby.”

“I’m just passing through,” the blond snips back, unexpectedly more fierce than Bartolomeo had given him credit for.

“Yer real funny,” Bartolomeo remarks, leaning onto his elbow against the counter.

The blond screws up his face into something resembling distaste, sliding off his stool and out of Bartolomeo’s space. He looks irritated, undoubtedly still wanting to seek out what he’d come for, but coming to the realization that nobody here is willing to lend him a hand. Bartolomeo waves the woman at the bar back over, and she pours him a cup without him needing to ask. The blond eyes her, but she scurries away again before he can open his mouth. 

“Well,” the other man huffs out a breath, “this has been helpful. Goodbye.” 

He turns on his heel and gets two steps closer to the door before Bartolomeo turns on his stool, leaning back against the bar top with his drink in one hand. 

“I know where it is, by the way,” he drawls out, “the gold river, I mean.”

The blond starts, halting mid-step. His head turns, just slightly, but it’s enough that Bartolomeo knows he’s listening. 

“It’s a death wish ‘ta go alone,” he continues. “I could help ya get there. Might be a shot of surviving with two of us.” 

The stranger fixes him with a stony stare. His lips draw up in a scowl, but he doesn’t dignify Bartolomeo with a response. Bartolomeo watches him continue out the entrance, heels clicking against the wood. His grin widens, all teeth. 

“I give him a day,” he says to himself, turning back to the bar. 

His prediction is off, but only by a few hours. Sure enough, the next evening sees the blond man marching back into the bar, wearing the expression of someone trying to salvage his pride. Bartolomeo watches his approach with a self-satisfied smirk. 

“Changed yer mind?” 

“Do you really know how to get there or are you just screwing with me?” He demands. 

“Nice to meet ya, too,” he retorts. “Yer new name is gonna be ‘Stranger’ at this rate.” 

The blond looks like he’s beginning to regret the decision to come back, gaze darting to the door like he’s gauging if this is worth it. Bartolomeo will admit that it probably won’t be, but he’s going to have fun either way. 

“Course I do,” he continues. “Been there plenty. It’s a real dangerous trip though, so my help ain’t free.” 

There’s a long moment where the two of them simply stare each other down, each waiting for the other to break first. Finally, Bartolomeo nudges out the chair across from him with his foot, knocking it against the blond’s leg. The man scoffs, yanks it out, and drops into it with his arms folded over his chest. 

“Cavendish,” the man relents. “Was that so hard?” Bartolomeo snarks. “Bartolomeo.” 

“What’s your price?” Cavendish asks impatiently, crossing one leg over the other and then thinking better of it again. 

Bartolomeo’s observance is here and there, but Cavendish is obvious enough about hiding his habits that they’re easy to spot. He definitely isn’t from any place like this with that sort of posture, manners, and attitude. 

“I’ll help ya get there, but in return, I want a share of the prize yer chasin’,” Bartolomeo tells him. “After that, we go our separate ways and never hafta deal with each other again. Sound like a deal?” 

He sticks his hand out across the table. Cavendish eyes it for a moment, gaze flitting over soot-stained fingertips. Finally, he sighs, grabbing the other man’s hand and shaking.

“Fine,” he scowls, “I’ll play your game for now. Try to cross me and it’ll be your last.” 

Bartolomeo barks out a laugh. “Oh, yeah? Pretty boy’s got teeth. Good ‘ta know.” 

Their partnership is temporary, but Bartolomeo thinks he’s going to enjoy it while it lasts. Cavendish doesn’t seem as pleased about it, but he’s visibly resigned himself to this, so he wipes his hand against his pant leg and leans back a little as Bartolomeo leans in, dropping his voice to discuss their plans. 

He doesn’t drill the blond on his origins or what he’s looking for at the gold river, but he’s got no interest in talking about himself either, so it’s only fair this way. If the man is trying to get to known gang territory, he must be desperate, and Bartolomeo’s got some business of his own in the same direction he’s been meaning to wrap up.

Their soft conversation is lost to the volume of the packed bar, but a plan formulates slowly. Bartolomeo isn’t the planning type of guy, but this will work for now. 

Cavendish leaves first. He’s still an eyesore in the town, so when the sky begins to grow dark, he slips out of the bar. Bartolomeo watches him vanish around the corner and downs the rest of his drink. Once the sun sinks entirely behind the horizon, he slides his boots off the table and rises, stretching languidly as he makes his way out of the saloon. 

Since they’ve established Cavendish doesn’t exactly blend in here, it’s Bartolomeo’s job to secure their transport. He isn’t exactly a subtle-looking figure either, but he walks the walk, so most people don’t glance twice. 

On the eastern side of town, the land opens up into a range. Bartolomeo knows of the man who owns the area, but he also knows there are always horses running around inside the fences. He leaps over the wooden posts, staying low to avoid being spotted as he creeps further in. 

His luck holds out, presenting him with two horses strapped up to the fence side. Their saddles are still on, but Bartolomeo can’t tell if they just came back from riding or are preparing to leave. Either way, this might be his only chance, so he crosses toward them. Both of the animals look nervous when he approaches, but they don’t cry out as he unties them, taking both back toward the opposite gate.

“Oi!” 

Bartolomeo curses, picking up his pace. A gunshot echoes behind him as he throws the gate open and leaps onto the back of the larger of the two horses, barely managing to adjust himself in the saddle before they’re taking off out of town. The shouting fades behind him as he struggles on the saddle, but it’s only a matter of time before they continue their pursuit. 

Cavendish steps out of hiding as he approaches the agreed-upon spot, taking the reins of the other horse from Bartolomeo’s hands. He barely has his foot in the stirrup before the yelling picks up again, and he wheels around to glare at Bartolomeo. 

“You got caught?” Cavendish demands. 

“Get on the horse,” Bartolomeo snaps back, clutching his horse’s reins as the creature shuffles nervously. 

The blond glowers, swinging onto the other horse. The two take off into the night, pursued by the sound of a few angry men. Cavendish pulls ahead easily, Bartolomeo trailing a few feet behind as he sways on the saddle, struggling to keep up with the horse’s movements. A bullet whizzes past his ear, startling the horse. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Cavendish demands from up ahead. 

“It ain’t listenin’ to me!” Bartolomeo barks back, fighting to stay on the saddle as the creature rears up. 

The horse whips around sharply, successfully dislodging its rider. Bartolomeo grunts as he hits the dirt, rolling to avoid getting crushed as the horse takes off back toward town. He can see the outlines of their pursuers as one breaks off to catch the runaway, but he isn’t going to give them the chance to catch up. Bartolomeo wheels around on his heel and starts running. 

Cavendish makes a sound of frustration ahead of him. He doesn’t appear to be having any problems with his horse, Bartolomeo notes, as the blond wheels around and starts back toward the outlaw. He flies past Bartolomeo, and then whips around again, coming straight for him. 

“What are you doing?!” Bartolomeo demands, backpedaling in an attempt to get out of the horse’s path.

“Get on!” 

Cavendish reaches out a hand as he flies past, and Bartolomeo grabs it without thinking. He jumps, and Cavendish shouts as he yanks him up over the horse’s back. Bartolomeo isn’t even sitting properly, draped behind the blond on his stomach, but Cavendish picks up the pace regardless. 

“If I’d known you were such a terrible rider, I wouldn’t have suggested horses!” 

“I am not a terrible rider,” Bartolomeo grunts, and then he nearly has the wind knocked out of him by a particularly hard step. “Let me sit properly, at least!”

“Get over it!” 

By some miracle–a miracle, truly–they get away. 

Having lost their pursuers, presumably hours later by how dark it is, the two continued to travel up until the sun is well over the horizon, rapidly heating the sand around them. It’s only then that they seek shelter, finding it in the form of an overhang of rocky shade by a pathetic creek. It’s a death wish to be caught out in the middle of the desert in the middle of the day, so it’s safest to take a break during the peak daylight hours and continue once it starts getting cooler at the end of the evening. 

Bartolomeo slides gratefully and unceremoniously off the back of the horse, the soreness in his legs visible in his gait.

“What made you such a good rider?” Bartolomeo huffs as he inspects his chest from his new spot in the dirt. “Ya ain’t even got a horse of yer own.” 

He’s certain he’s going to bruise after their rough getaway ride. It won’t be the worst he’s ever had, but he’s still going to complain about it. Cavendish cinches the horse’s reins around the scraggly tree growing up against the stacks of rocky terrain they’ve picked to rest at.  

“I do have a horse,” Cavendish informs him, “he just isn’t with me right now.”

“Left ‘im at home, huh?”

The blond’s gaze flits away, focusing out across the path ahead. “Something like that.”

He’s hiding something. Bartolomeo had figured as much from the get-go, but Cavendish constantly deflects anything that could even give something small away. He isn’t sure what personal connection his horse has to do with his story, but Bartolomeo decides he’s bored of prying anyway. It’s enough, though. He sees the way Cavendish runs his palm down the length of the stolen horse’s face, and then he turns away. 

Bartolomeo doesn’t know when he falls asleep, but then he’s waking up to the sound of Cavendish shifting around. The sun is beginning to sink beneath the horizon, bringing cooler air slowly with it. He parts his jaws in a wide yawn, stretching until he earns a satisfying crackle through his shoulders. Cavendish makes a face, but he doesn’t comment on Bartolomeo’s manners, even though he visibly wants to. 

The blond unties the horse. “Are you finally awake? It’s time to go.” 

Bartolomeo huffs in his direction, but he gets back to his feet, dusting off the back of his long coat in a futile attempt to get rid of some of the newly acquired dirt. Sure enough, it doesn’t work very well, but he thinks the effort is what matters. Cavendish hops back on the horse’s back, giving Bartolomeo a chance to properly get adjusted this time before he takes off. 

Over the next two days, it becomes clear that with one horse down, travel is noticeably slower. Bartolomeo isn’t miraculously better at riding, and Cavendish doesn’t magically have infinite patience.

“This isn’t working,” Cavendish snaps first. 

“Well,” Bartolomeo scoffs, “good thing ya won’t need to worry about it much longer, then. We won’t be able ‘ta even bring the damn horse much further.”

Cavendish glances back, giving him a nasty look. “What the hell do you mean?”

Bartolomeo jabs a finger up ahead. “We gotta cross those mountains. Between the railroads and the animals, a horse ain’t survivin’ there.” 

The blond catches him with a sharp smack to the side, deft and practiced despite currently holding the horse’s reins. Bartolomeo scowls back at him, hand flying to cover the aching spot. For someone as skinny as Cavendish is built, he smacks hard as hell.

“Oi!” He snaps. “The hell was that for?” “For not saying that sooner!” 

“It wasn’t necessary until now!” 

“Oh, so you were just planning to abandon both horses the entire time?” 

“I ain’t heartless! There’s a town just before the mountain footpath begins!” Bartolomeo snaps back. “Are ya happy now, princess?”

Evidently, the reply satisfies him. Cavendish snorts and whips around to face the path ahead again. Bartolomeo is dreading this journey more and more, but it’s far too late to turn back now. He probably can’t go back to that town, even if he wanted to, but it had been fun while it lasted. 

They reach the town just before sunrise. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Given they’re both technically outlaws, this is the best time to leave the horse and rush through the town to the mountains. It would be easier to find a place to rest there once they knew they were out of danger. 

Bartolomeo slides off of the animal’s back, staggering when his feet hit the ground. Cavendish dismounts with considerably more grace, securing the horse to a post near the town entrance, where someone would spot it quickly once the sun came up. The route through the town is faster than circling around it, so it’s best to bite the bullet now and risk it to rush through. Bartolomeo takes the lead, and Cavendish trails a step behind him, blue eyes hooded beneath the shade of his hat. 

Their luck holds out this time, and they make it through without incident, clearing the last half of the town just as people begin to rouse for early chores. Bartolomeo peers up at the mountain footpath. This is the most time-consuming part of the trip, and they’re on foot to make it worse. 

Cavendish is obviously anxious to get to the gold river, so they’re going to have to find a faster way to cross. Bartolomeo knows a way, but he gets the feeling Cavendish isn’t going to like it very much. 

Sure enough, it’s the following day when Cavendish finally vents his frustrations. 

“This isn’t going to work!” He throws his arms up. “It’ll take days to cross at this rate.”

“Well,” Bartolomeo finally approaches the subject, “there is a faster way, but it ain’t gonna be easy or fun. Might kill ya, actually.”  

Cavendish eyes him. Bartolomeo grins, all teeth. 

When they arrive at the tracks, Cavendish puts his foot down. He crosses his arms over his chest, glances both ways, and then whips around to glare at Bartolomeo.

“Absolutely not.”

“Well, ya wanted a faster way. This is the better option.”

The train sounds in the distance, and Cavendish glances back. 

“Let me get this straight,” Cavendish puts one hand up, “you want us to risk our lives jumping onto some rickety, moving train?” 

“S’that or keep goin’ on foot, yeah. It’ll probably be fine.” The sound of the train grows closer. “Better make yer choice now, princess. We gotta start running soon if we’re gonna get on without losin’ something.” 

Cavendish tears his hat off, frustrated. “If we die, I’m going to haunt you in the afterlife.” 

Bartolomeo doesn’t think he could have come up with a more effective threat. He’s not sure he could deal with Cavendish for the entirety of the afterlife, however long that may be. Cavendish puts his hat back on and takes off along the tracks, Bartolomeo in close pursuit. The train rounds the corner behind them, swaying along as it speeds up the tracks. It’s coming fast, but not so fast that Bartolomeo thinks they’ll have too big of an issue getting on. Cavendish pulls a few paces ahead of him as the train blows by them. 

Bartolomeo waits until it’s about halfway past him and glances back for his opportunity to board. He sees it coming up with the next car, a handle sticking out just low enough for him to catch. As soon as it nears him, he snags it and hauls himself up. Ahead of him, Cavendish hasn’t boarded yet, but he spots Bartolomeo as the other boards. Even without words, the two exchange a nod. Bartolomeo grins, making sure he’s secured before he stretches out, holding his hand out to the other man. 

Cavendish catches it with a shout, leaving the ground as he jumps for it, his other hand clutching onto his hat. Bartolomeo throws the entirety of his body weight back, staggering into the body of the car and hauling Cavendish in with him. Both hit the ground in a heap, gasping at the exertion, and then Cavendish laughs, loud and breathless. 

“We did it,” he manages, eyes wide and hair windblown. “I thought I was going to lose an arm.” Startled by the laughter still, Bartolomeo only has the capacity to blink back at him. He’s a little out of breath, between pulling a grown man onto a train and then having the air knocked clean out of him by the weight of the same person falling onto him. Cavendish has the sense to roll off of him first, sitting up to fix his hair and clothes. 

“I told ya it would be fine,” Bartolomeo says, matter-of-factly, once he gathers his bearings. “That wasn’t so bad.” 

For once, Cavendish cracks a smile. “I’ll give you this one. I suppose it wasn’t awful. It was almost fun.” 

Well, Bartolomeo isn’t expecting the confession, but another sharp grin cuts across his features. He’s starting to think Cavendish isn’t as big of a stickler as he’d initially thought. He’s prissy, but there’s a daring guy somewhere deep down in there. 

Bartolomeo stays on his back, splayed out across the floor of the train car as it bumps beneath him. It isn’t going to be the most comfortable trip, but it’s leagues better than the hike they would have had otherwise. Cavendish shifts to lean up against the wall, kicking Bartolomeo’s leg with his foot. Bartolomeo gives him a side-eye. 

“Listen, I’m only going to say this once, and if you mock me I’ll push you off the train.” Cavendish jabs a finger at him.

Bartolomeo does not doubt him. 

Cavendish sighs, turning his gaze away. “Thank you. For helping me.” 

Bartolomeo cackles, turning over to face the blond. “Listen,” he says, “I got my own agenda too. I’m sure ya know that. I helped ya for my own reasons, but it’s still been fun.” 

“I know that,” Cavendish scoffs. “I could tell you were the selfish type from the get-go. Even so, I’m sucking up my pride for this, so just accept it.” 

Bartolomeo glances him over, but Cavendish refuses to meet his gaze. Finally, he lays back down, closing his eyes. 

“Okay,” he concedes, “yer welcome, then. Now, I’m gonna sleep while we can.” 

Cavendish’s gaze flits over to him just before Bartolomeo closes his eyes, but the blond remains silent. As Bartolomeo sleeps, the train carries them through the night and across the mountainous terrain. He doesn’t dream, but there are a few times when a particularly harsh bump rouses him briefly enough for a glance around. At some point, it seems Cavendish doses off too, head dropping to the side, and his hat resting in his lap.

When he really wakes, it’s from Cavendish shaking him.

“We’re out of the mountains,” the blond tells him, “get up. We have to get off soon, right?” 

“Hope yer good at breaking falls,” Bartolomeo mumbles, sitting up with another wide yawn. 

This isn’t Bartolomeo’s first rodeo, but he’s sure it will be entertaining to see Cavendish leap from a moving train. Gazing out of the train car, Bartolomeo takes in the familiar surroundings. It’s been a while since he’s come this way, for good reason, but it’s probably about time to settle that anyway. It’s not the type of thing he intended to drag anyone into, but he’d warned Cavendish from the start. He’d promised to get him to the river, and even from here, he can see the distinctive shine of it beneath the early sun.

Once they get there, they can go their own ways, and Bartolomeo will sort out his own mess from there. That will be that. 

He pointedly ignores the little twinge in his chest. 

Cavendish comes up beside him, hanging onto the side of the opening. “That’s it, isn’t it? The river.”

“Sure is,” Bartolomeo confirms. “Yer almost there.” 

Out of the corner of his eye, almost imperceptibly, Cavendish frowns. Bartolomeo doesn’t have time to think about that now–it’s their stop. He takes a few steps back and then gets a running start for the opening in the car. Cavendish shouts as Bartolomeo leaps out into the open air, hitting the ground into a roll that sends a shock up his shoulder, but leaves him mostly unharmed. 

“You’re insane!” Cavendish’s voice is nearly swept away by the wind. 

Nonetheless, Bartolomeo watches him disappear deeper into the train car. He takes the running leap, flinging himself into open air with his coat spiraling around him. Despite his prior statement, he looks almost thrilled, hair whipping past his face as he twists to catch himself in a roll. It’s the clumsiest thing Bartolomeo has seen from him thus far, but it serves its purpose. The train speeds on ahead, leaving the two of them in the dust. 

Bartolomeo joins him further up the hill, and together, they make the final trek to the river. “Oi,” Bartolomeo says as they grow near, “there’s somethin’ else ya should know. I meant it when I said these parts were dangerous. There’s a g–”

Sharp, cackling laughter slices through the air, cutting him off. Bartolomeo’s countenance turns steely as he turns to face the owner of that hyena laugh. Bellamy grins back at him, all teeth and vicious promise. 

“Long time no see, Bartolomeo.” The man sneers. “Thought you’d never come around.”

“Gang.” Bartolomeo finishes between his teeth. 

“Oh,” Cavendish exhales beside him. “This was your unfinished business.” 

Bartolomeo’s hand settles on the pistol at his waist. “Best we part ways now.” 

Cavendish hesitates. “You better not die.”

“Aw,” Bartolomeo grins lopsidedly at him. “Are ya worried about me?” 

Cavendish doesn’t admit it, but his expression gives him away. “We started this together. We’re finishing it together.” 

“Gold’s all gone!” Bellamy calls out mockingly. “That’s what you’re here for, right? You’re months too late.”

Cavendish turns, fixing Bellamy with a stony glare. Bartolomeo realizes, with a start, that he has never seen Cavendish’s anger, harsh and chilling. If looks could kill, Bellamy would have dropped then and there. Even Bellamy visibly hesitates in the steely blue stare. 

“I’ll get what I came here for,” Cavendish snarls. “You just watch.” 

“This is between you and me, hyena!” Bartolomeo moves forward. “Let’s finish this, here and now. Ten paces.” 

Bellamy’s hand goes to his own pistol. “You must have a death wish.” Bartolomeo grins. “We’ll see.” 

He circles around, crossing to stand across from Bellamy. All he can do now is hope his aim is true; otherwise, Cavendish will be finishing this journey alone. It’s ten paces, and they finish this. He counts them. 

Ten, and Bartolomeo turns, draws his gun, and pulls the trigger. 

Pain lances through his shoulder. He drops his gun, staggering back as he clutches the wound. Still, through his pain-blurred haze, he sees red bloom across Bellamy’s chest, and the man drops like a rock. He probably isn’t dead–Bartolomeo doubts it, but this is still his victory. It’s over. He turns to Cavendish, making a motion like he’s tipping a hat. 

“Guess yer stuck with me after all, huh?” 

The blond looks relieved. Bartolomeo can’t help but feel the same. 

Cavendish helps him tend to the wound, tearing off a piece of his own coat to stop the blood flow. He sticks close to Bartolomeo’s side as they cross towards the compound at the side of the river. They’re lucky–Bellamy’s lackeys aren’t here. As long as they get out soon, they might survive this yet. 

“You’re insane,” Cavendish says again as he shoulders open the door, peering around to make sure they’re really alone. 

“I’m starting to think ya like that,” Bartolomeo barks out a pained laugh. “What’re ya gonna do now? Bellamy ain’t a liar; gold’s probably gone.” 

Cavendish lowers him into one of the seats in the room, but his gaze isn’t on Bartolomeo. It’s fixed on something across the room, glinting in the faint light. He crosses towards it, picking it up and turning it over in his hands. It looks like a jewel - an old one, from what Bartolomeo can tell, but clearly well cared for. 

“It was never about the gold,” Cavendish breathes. “Bellamy’s gang robbed my hometown. They took two things from me–this heirloom, and my horse.” 

Bartolomeo can’t help it; he laughs. Somehow, this makes sense. Cavendish is some rich boy posing as a cowboy to get his things back. The pieces slot together seamlessly. 

“Guess that’s it, then, huh?” He asks, leaning back. “We both got what we came for.” 

“Farul is probably outside,” Cavendish says in lieu of a response, turning the jewel over in his hand, and closing his fingers over it.  “I should get him and go home.”

It sounds like he’s trying to convince himself. Bartolomeo gazes back at him in the dim light of the building. He’s not much of a people person, but even he can tell that they’re both thinking the same thing. 

“We had fun, didn’t we?” Cavendish asks, looking up. 

“It ain’t gotta end, ya know,” Bartolomeo holds his gaze. “There’s always another adventure. Ya just gotta say the word, Cav.” 

“Don’t leave,” the words come spilling out. “Go on more adventures with me.” 

Bartolomeo grins in that wolfish way of his. He’s never considered himself a people person, much less a partner person. But he does want to continue adventuring with this annoying spitfire of a man, even if he’s sure it’ll drive him crazy down the road. That’s a risk he’s willing to take. He staggers to his feet, facing Cavendish.

“Where to?” 

[twistedtummies2]

Year of the Bat - Number 24

Welcome to Year of the Bat! In honor of Kevin Conroy, Arleen Sorkin, and Richard Moll, I’m counting down my Top 31 Favorite Episodes of “Batman: The Animated Series” throughout this January. TODAY’S EPISODE QUOTE: “As Napoleon told me, ‘A strong will can fuel a frail physique.’” Number 24 is…The Demon’s Quest.

This is the first of a few entries on the countdown that’s actually a two-part story. The episode marks the official start for one of Batman’s greatest villains, Ra’s Al Ghul. The character had ACTUALLY debuted as part of a twist ending to another episode, “Off Balance,” but it was with “The Demon’s Quest” that Ra’s became a fully-fledged member of the Dark Knight’s Rogues Gallery in the series. This story also happens to be the first on the list actually based on a pre-existing comic, namely the seminal story “Daughter of the Demon,” created by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams. The two-part story begins with Ra’s Al Ghul appearing in the Batcave, officially introducing himself to Batman and making it clear he knows Bruce’s secret identity. However, Ra’s isn’t there to fight the Caped Crusader. Instead, he wishes to join forces with him: it’s revealed that Robin has been kidnapped, and – coincidentally – it was by the same people who have recently kidnapped the Head of the Demon’s own daughter, the lovely Talia Al Ghul (whom Batman also previously met and became fascinated by in “Off Balance”). I don’t think I’m spoiling much by saying that it’s later revealed Ra’s is the one responsible for the kidnapping, and all this was a ploy to try and win Batman over to his side. However, Batman isn’t taken in by all this, and when he learns more about Ra’s and the Society of Shadows (a.k.a. The League of Assassins), he quickly turns from working with Al Ghul to trying to find a way to stop his mad plans of destruction. Ra’s was already pretty well-known in comics at the time, but for various reasons, hadn’t really reached mainstream popularity yet. While it would be a lie to say the DCAU catapulted him to stardom, his appearances in B:TAS and later spin-offs DID help to make him more familiar to non-comic readers around the world. Chances are that Ra’s wouldn’t be the villain he is now if this show hadn’t come about. (Well…this show and “Batman Begins,” but…details, details.) The character was played by the late, great David Warner, and is perhaps the definitive take on Ra’s beyond comics proper. (Not necessarily the best or my favorite, mind you, but certainly the one closest to the original source, in a lot of ways.) This two-parter established the villain and the kinds of stories he’d be most prominently featured in from this part on. The episode feels sort of like a cross between Indiana Jones, with a hint of pulp fiction like The Shadow or The Phantom thrown in, crossed with…well…Batman. It’s a globetrotting adventure story that just so happens to involve superheroics in the mix, so to speak. It’s definitely one of the most epic stories in scale the show ever produced. I honestly feel pretty bad for leaving this one so low in the ranks. There’s really not much I can say as to why it isn’t higher up; I guess, end of the day, I just like other episodes more. Make no mistake though, this is a great story to look at: if you’re a fan of Ra’s Al Ghul, and if you’re only going to watch one episode of the character from this show, make this two-parter your pick of the bunch. You won’t regret it.

Tomorrow we move on to Number 23! Hint: “At what point did I become life’s punching bag?”

[unknown-writez]

Misfit Toys

Chapter Four: Down The Well- Part One

 As days passed I tried to go about my life like usual. I followed my routine but it wasn’t enough. My head was still stuck on Jerome. His laugh. His eyes. They burned in my mind. I was unable to shake them alongside with a newfound weight crushing loneliness. Before I was fine being alone. Even liked being by myself. I sometimes preferred it over the endless sea of fake people and coworkers but now with him in my head it twisted the once pleasing feeling into something dark. A reminder of my past and future. It also didn’t help that I started to receive phone calls from the ginger maniac. Who knows how he got one? I never answered them but that didn’t stop him from leaving messages on my machine. The messages were never threatening or scary in my opinion. Instead they were sugar coated and taunting. Some of them just said that he missed me and was thinking about me. He would say the words in such a tender and soft voice that honestly it made my heart ache. It was like he was a big part of my life. A long lost friend. Others were more playful. He would say he knew I was ignoring him and that it didn’t matter. He would tell cheesy jokes and throw teasing remarks my way like I was playing a childish game of cat and mouse. Everything changed though when one morning I woke up to the constant ringing of my phone. The bright screen displaying the name Jim Gordon. “That’s weird he doesn’t usually call me.” I thought while picking it up, grogginess heavy in my voice as I spoke a confused “Hello?” “Y/N? Are you okay?” he asked frantically “Yeah? why wouldn’t I be?” I asked in response rubbing my eyes trying to erase the tiredness from my features. “You haven’t seen the news yet have you?” he asked back “what are you talking about? I just woke up. It’s my day off.” I said getting irritated. Standing up I moved to the tv remote turning it on. “It’s Jerome. He and a bunch of other Arkham inmates broke out.”  Jim explained as the news flashed the same information. “Is there any reason he would come for you? Have you received anything from him?” He kept with his line of questioning as I thought back to my voice message machine. Looking at it I noticed the red flashing light meaning there was a new message. “Should I tell him about the messages?” I debated in my head “If I told him then I would most likely be given extra protection but then I would have to admit he was a part of my life. Everyone would look down on me and spread rumors. I didn’t need that on top of everything. I hated when people pitied me or talked shit without knowing me and no one really did. Sure I was friendly with everyone at the precinct but I wasn’t actually friends with any of them.  Besides, it's not like he was going to kill me. If he was, his messages would be much darker, something I knew he was capable of if he wanted to. So I decided to lie “No. I haven’t heard from him since that day at work.” Jim gave a sigh of relief saying “Good. Is there anyone you can stay with? Just in case.” I only knew one other place in this city. My dads and I hadn’t stepped foot there since I left. Shaking the oncoming memory away I gave a fake light hearted “don’t worry about me.” saying “goodbye.” and hanging up. The whole time my eyes never left the red light.

[ell-arts]

Excuse me, I hope Im not bothering you, but I have a couple questions on some of the things you would prefer when it comes to the fandom.

When it comes to dark or twisted au's that other writers create, would you prefer something more just a real 'what if' like 'An Interesting Arrangement' from @ribbondee ? Or would you dig deeper into something that would show more of a dark side to the characters like the 'Amnesia' segment from @cartooncadet666 ?

And of course the only other question I have right now (hence why I said a couple questions) When it comes to the art style diversity, what kinds of art have you seen the fandom make and if you have any favorites, which ones do you love the most?

Not bothering at all 💙

Interesting questions. I have to start off with saying that, ultimately, what I "prefer and not prefer" about the fandom should not be an indication of whether someone's work is good or not, nor should it bar the fandom from creating whatever they want. I have my own tastes and preferences just as much as the next person, and naturally we're all drawn to work that mostly aligns with our tastes/preferences.

Your first question is whether or not I would be more drawn towards an au exploring a character's dark side, or towards one with a 'what-if' scenario. My answer to that is that it depends on the content.

I like both dark au's and what-if au's, it just depends on how well they are written, and sometimes it also depends on the characters. I know this is going to break a lot of hearts, but since Betrayus is not my favourite character, I'd feel less inclined to check out a work centred completely around him in favour of checking out a work that features my favourite characters. This is not the be-all-end-all though, sometimes a work can pleasantly surprise me even if it doesn't have my favourite characters. It really all comes down to writing.

And as for your second question, hmm. A tricky one. I'd say that most of the fandom's art styles are generally cartoonish/2D stylised, but there's a wide swath of diversity within that category. If you show me a list of artworks in the fandom then I can easily point them out and name the artists behind them (at least on Tumblr), which is great because it shows that each artist has a recognisable style. I really don't like choosing favourites though, so I'd rather show you a list of pmatga artists whose styles I really enjoy, if that's okay!

@anti-cosmofangirl @inkteresting-art @ninjastar107 @pacgacha @breezoreceiver @toad-in-a-trenchcoat @xelys-xlys @ghostbunnyarts @famitendo @polina-quail @ask-nova-valentine @slumbergoblin

There are others, but these are the ones I can name on top of my head and who are generally still active (or actively posting pmatga art). I'm sure there are also a bunch of hidden gems out there that I've yet to stumble upon!

[veeveebee]

COMPLETE

Miguel x fem! Y/n

Sorry for any grammar mistakes

CHAPTER ONE

You were called to help Miguel with his suit, while he was training it got a bunch of tears in it.

You walk into the training room and immediately you see Miguel there, his brown hair slightly wet from sweating, his tired red eyes looking down at you. His entire chest was almost completely exposed, he was blushing. You wondered what he was thinking, maybe he didn’t want you to see him like this, exposed and helpless. Something about it turned you on. Although Miguel was much taller and stronger you wanted to see if you could take control of him, or if he’d let you take control. You never thought Miguel would be a bottom but you could change that.

“Can I take a look at your suit?” You asked, adding a bit of a sultry undertone trying to get a reaction. “Oh, yeah, that’s what you’re here for” you smirked and moved your hand towards his chest. You both were already close to a wall so you took the initiative to push him against the wall. “Huh?” He asked shocked “just trying to get a closer look” you were trying to get a closer look, but not of the suit. You started pulling at the suit, making it tear a little more. Now his whole chest was exposed. “Can i keep going?” He shook his head yes. You could feel his heart beating faster and his breathing speeding up.

CHAPTER TWO

You were so excited, it was so hard to keep yourself from tearing yours and his clothes of and riding him, but you wanted to go slow. You wanted it to last, you wanted to make him nervous. Miguel was always the tough guy so him being in this vulnerable situation made him oh so flustered, and god did you love it. “You’re cute when you’re squirming under me” you made sure to look in his eyes when you said this, you could feel the bulge in his pants growing. Every night you dreamed of this happening, now you had him all to yourself. You couldn’t wait to make him squirm and blush. You had so many ideas.

You kissed him, starting by just pecking his lips then going into basically eating his mouth out. Your tongue was twisting around his, it was rough but passionate. His plump lips were beautiful, you could probably get off by just looking at them. You moved your mouth lower to his tits, you started sucking on his ab pepperoni, his man tits, daddy milkers. Your tongue going around and around, he couldn’t help but moans “Oh my god.. mm-m! A-ah, y-y/n, be careful..” you rub his shoulders as you started tearing his suit near his groin, he tensed up. His dick sprang out as the suit was being torn, he was now completely exposed, completely yours for you to do whatever to

CHAPTER THREE

You started rubbing his dick gently. Slow and steady wins the race after all, right? You went up and down, and twisted your hand. “F-fuck please go faster..I want you to fucking milk me already..” he could barely get a sentence out due to all his moaning but you understood his begging and sped up, eventually you got on your knees and put his hard veiny cock in your mouth. He was shivering, he could feel every breath you took, your warm wet mouth all around his cock. He almost came right then but you didn’t let him, you took your mouth off of him. “Not yet, You can wait” he whimpered at the loss of sensation. You pushed him down to the floor, you rubbed his body all over. You kissed him again, it was like a dream. You were on top of THE Miguel O’Hara, his bare cock twitching against you ever so slightly, his hands on your breasts, it was all amazing. You pulled yourself away from him even though it was hard, you both longed for more, you wanted to feel all of each other. You lined yourself up with his dick, you started going down slowing. You could feel him inside you, you wanted this so bad. You both moaned each others name. You went all the way down and after giving yourself a minute to adjust you started going up and down, thrusting on his cock. You could feel every twitch, every vein, all of its warmness. You couldn’t describe it even if you wanted, it was too magnificent, too serene, too surreal. You felt like you were floating. You kept thrusting, Miguel moving his hips to help you. You could feel that he was about to cum, you were too. You kept going, searching for that high. You got it, you both came and screamed each others name: you were holding onto his chest tightly.

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 19 March 1953

Only one song this week, too, and it's another one I know from my childhood. In fact, this one's such a childhood throwback that I'd have had no idea, if you'd asked me, who it was by. So this one has definitely seeped into the cultural soundtrack:

(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window? - Lita Roza (peaked at No. 1)

Another landmark - our first set of unnecessary title brackets. I really dislike unnecessary title brackets, so this isn't a point in Lita Roza's favour here.

Though, it's a cover version of a novelty song originally by Patti Page, and written by one Bob Merrill (whose name I have definitely seen before in this project) so perhaps we can't blame Lita.

Lita Roza's not a familiar name, but apparently she's the first British woman to top the charts - she's a Liverpudlian, though of Filipino heritage, and briefly a resident of Florida, before moving back to the UK after World War II. Googling her, she looks very glam in just about every photo.

Amazingly, Lita's response, when asked to do a version of this song, was apparently "I'm not recording that; it's rubbish." She clearly relented, but only on the condition that she record the song then never ever sing it again, which is certainly a move.

The song itself, given this, is quite staid. It plods along, and you know the lyrics already. The singer sees a doggie in the window of a shop and wants to buy it, "I do hope that doggie's for sale."

It's cutesy, which I don't love, but I guess it's intended for kids? I can't see any reason why a grown woman should be singing about "doggies" and "kitties" though, it's just infantilising. The dog barks that come in at the end are not an improvement, either.

The elements of this that I do like are far and few between, but they are there. In particular, I like the implication that the singer is some sort of glamourous actress, or otherwise has business in California, and has to leave her lover behind, so buys him the dog to keep him safe from burglars and loneliness. It's a fun inversion of the stereotype of a man buying his woman things and wanting something to protect her while he's away - Lita's taking care of her boy, good for her.

I guess this makes this another "lovers separated" song, but with the fun twist that it's her heading off to California to be a film star or some other glamourous career move (?) rather than him joining the military, and she seems quite sanguine about it.

There's also the best line of the whole thing: "I don't want a bowl of little fishes / He can't take a goldfish for a walk."

I'm perhaps coming round to this song. Not much, but a bit.

I did get quite annoyed with this song, eventually. Despite finding some positives, it's just a slightly irritating kids' song, and the length of it meant that I ended up listening to it a lot while writing this. Worse, I can see that the song will be making a comeback in not too long. Grrrr.

Favourite song of the rather limited bunch: (How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?

[adamwatchesmovies]

Bronx Warriors 2 (1983)

When I began my exploration of the Post-Apocalyptic Action genre, I subjected myself to many films that could be described as "mediocre" at best. What few drops of amusement Steel Dawn, Exterminators from the Year 3000, Cyborg and 1990: The Bronx Warriors and contained were swimming in a sea of boredom. Bronx Warriors 2: Escape from the Bronx, a.k.a. Escape from the Bronx a.k.a. Escape 2000 is the film I'd been waiting for. A thin plot padded out with relentless carnage, bad special effects and endlessly entertaining action scenes. It’s a great bad movie.

Set several years after The Bronx Warriors, Trash (Mark Gregory) and the rest of the outcasts living in the lawless New York are being forcibly evicted by the General Construction Corporation. The corporation's private Disinfestors Annihilation Squad clear the space efficiently: they kill without a second thought. To fight back, Trash, Doblòn (Antonio Sabato), ruthless explosives expert Strike (Timothy Brent/Giancarlo Prete), his son (Alessandro Prete) and a crusading reporter named Moon Gray (Valerie Dobson) set out to kidnap General Construction’s president (Enio Girolami).

I didn’t think writer/director Enzo G. Castellari (with the help of Tito Carpi) would rip off “Escape from New York” a second time… but here we are. While Trash’s first adventure mostly stole the setting and world of John Carpenter’s 1981 film, this one steals the plot. There’s a bunch of other stuff going on with the reporter and Trash’s parents but they’re just pleasant time-wasters until the President is kidnapped and brought into a lawless wasteland from which he must be rescued. Yes, this time we’re cheering for the people of the Bronx rather than the eye-patch-wearing antihero looking to save him (though it should be mentioned that a Snake Plissken lookalike is prominently featured) but no one is fooled. On the upside, the bare-bones story and flat characters make room for action, action and more action.

What makes Escape from the Bronx such a good bad movie are the battle sequences. Vehicles in this universe must be fuelled entirely by dynamite. A single bullet tends to reduce them to smoldering, twisted wrecks… unless they don’t. The body count is absurd. There must be hundreds of dead at the end of General Construction’s rescue attempt, as people get electrocuted, shot, bashed in the head, shot, set aflame, shot, and killed in all sorts of other ways you do not expect. It’s a good thing the villains’ minions all wear identical hazmat suits which cover their faces. Otherwise, they would’ve had to hire an army of stunt people. Once in a while, you get that sweet sight of a dummy blown back by a ball of fire and you can even spot the wig coming off its head before the camera turns away. When we are shown charred corpses, they look as though they’re been severely sunburnt rather than brutally murdered.

The performances are in that sweet spot; either the actors are so stiff they might as well be made of plastic, or they’re over-the-top and turn every one of their lines into pure, golden cheese. While it does not contain the same kind of memorable moments as Miami Connection or The Room, Bronx Warriors makes up for it with many big surprises. The action scenes go on for so long they should become boring but they somehow don't and instead, turn into some of the funnest you’ve seen in any bad film.

Watch Escape from the Bronx (or whatever you want to call it) back-to-back with Escape from New York and you’ve got a perfect night of genuine and ironic fun at the movies. (On DVD, September 28, 2018)