#part two coming soon

[celaenaeiln]

One of Dick's greatest strengths is his ability to manipulate every single person in existence.

Genuinely I think this makes him the smartest person in the room. Not only is he a brilliant detective, but the fact that he's able to outmaneuver and control virtually everyone including other geniuses and masterminds makes him the most terrifying. There's a reason why his enemies have give up using intelligence against him and simply resorting to brute force.

Now hold your horses before you bring your crowbars and let me explain.

Dick once said, "On an even playing field, I always win."

And it's true. But how do you even the field if your enemies are geniuses, detectives, or metas?

"Well, if you don't like how the table is it, turn over the table."

And that's exactly what Dick does.

Let's begin from his younger years. Dick is 19, newly out of Batman's wing and in no position to take on a skilled mercenary on by himself. But the mercenary isn't going to stop just because he says please. So.

DEATHSTROKE WAS CLEARLY NOT EXPECTING TO GET OUTPLAYED BY A 19 YEAR OLD.

"You're right Slade, he's not a fool so choose a dumber kidnapping victim next time."

Ofcourse this is the least of his abilities.

This cover is perfect because it shows how two of them are literally in a constant game of chess. And evidence of Dick's tactical expertise was never more obvious than the bombing of Bludhaven.

By all means Dick had won.

And he's right. Dick is incredibly intelligent, and he has to be given how he maneuvered the entirety of the world to save him city. Not just the heroes and villains, but everyone - the heroes, the villains, the government, the civilians, the organized crime - everyone. He ruled the freaking world at that moment.

@haroldhighballjordan actually made a post about this that explains this scene so well

But yeah Slade knew he lost so in his petty vengeance what he basically did was set the whole fucking chessboard on fire.

The perfection to which Dick had calculated and moved millions of people to force Slade into abandoning their game and leave him shrieking and seething in rage over his loss. Another reminder that this game only happened because Dick manipulated Rose away from her father, away from his control to a better life.

Spyral is one of my favorite comics because it shows just how good of a manipulator Dick Grayson is.

One of Dick's coldest traits is his ability to manipulate a situation to fit his needs.

In the beginning Dick wanted to calm the meta down and take him in but the second his opponent let out the slightest hint of weakness, look how fast he flips his words. This man is brilliant.

And his planning came to fruition as the meta wore himself out, allowing Dick to take control of the situation and the opponent with no harm to himself-a quick, two second exit. He can manipulate emotions, thoughts, and people to get what he wants like he's playing chess with a child.

But it's not just other people- he can completely change himself to become a whole new person. In the earlier chapters, Dick is learning how to shoot a gun for the agency.

Dick's a terrible shot. Not a single bullet lands in the center of the target-there's no way he's ever going to shoot well....or atleast that's what he wants you to think-

"Yeah, well, that's what spies do."

"We lie."

He's a puppet master and the final boss.

part 2

[dangopango00]

DEMONIC FEATURES HCS

Random Om demon hcs + OM Demons x gn reader

Pt. 1 (Lucifer, Mammon, Levi) | Pt. 2 (4567) | Pt. 3 (Royal Trio) Coming soon

CW: suggestive but not much, just “slut” used in regard to clothing and vague suggestion of leviathan with two. 👍

A/N: ive had om since like fuck idk since that first genie event or sth WHATEVER the point is its been a MINUTE and i only JUST watched the anime 😭😭😭 theyre so sweet and silly i cant take witttttt i need to write for them i love them all so muxygehwhwhshshwbwb I swearrr om is one of the only otome where i can gaf about more than 2 or 3 characters

Also u should read them. All; I throw in general hcs too

Lucifer: The Peacock

- I think his wings should have eyes in them like its such a missed opportunity for a reference to his animal counterpart (peacock), a reference to biblical angels and a reference to the fact that he always somehow knows what everyone’s up to and what their ulterior motives are. Ik he has a few on his outfit but it just doesn’t give that otherworldly creature dread feeling you should get when looking at a demon (Not to go on a tangent but when I see a hot demon character I want to be afraid of them but then go “wait why is this hot”)

- Also while he technically has 4 wings, I think that when he flares out his wings they should expand in such a way that makes it appear like he has more

- I imagine his wings stretch out and look bigger whenever he feels proud of and satisfied with himself— esp when he’s around you; its cute tbh but he also does it when hes super pissed; are you gonna take that chance? 🤔

- Imagine if the little diamond on his forehead was a closed eye and every now and again it opens especially when he feels as if his pride is threatened or when he’s generally angry. Personally I think that would be sick af

- I KNOW THE MARKINGS ARE JUST LIKE BIRTHMARKS BUT IMAGINE THEY FEEL DIFFERENT FROM THE NORMAL SKIN like Lucifer’s markings could be feathers covering his jaw and below (see: Howl Pendragon bird form, kinda) and they feel like real feathers too

- I think we all agree that whenever he feels protective of you he’d wrap his wings around you and shield you from anyone’s view but his own

- Keeps a feather on you (probably gives it to you as a gift) so he can keep an eye on you at all times (This is not a pun; imo he can see through the eyes on his wings when he closes his main eyes and opens his third)

- Pact mark spans from the nape of your neck to about 1/3 your spine (pretty big but not humongous) and is in the shape of a peacock feather but when his powers/benefits are used the barbs of the feather move in a way similar to fire and the eye in the center opens (it kinda tickles and/or sends a chill down your spine)

- Pact mark allows him to locate you in pretty much any place without an uber powerful magic barrier or like interference (Which I think would make sense considering he always knows what’s up + he DID say making a pact with him entails you are his and he is yours [since you can summon him wnv I think and command him to do stuff])

- Something he already does but I just noticed lines up with peacocks is tilting his head when he’s sick of everyone’s shit

- OH MY GODDDDD HIS WINGS DRAPE DOWN LIKE PEACOCK TAIL FEATHERS. HE HAS LONG WINGS. LOOK AT THIS AND TELL ME THAT SHIT WOULDN’T BE MAJESTIC AS HELL ON HIM

Mammon: The Corvid

- I think his wings are nicely placed but I would make them curl/angle upwards more to more resemble bird wings (Ik Lucifer is the bird wing guy but hes a bird too 😞😞) kinda like this

- I think that while the bones are exposed on his wings, on the back of the wings there should be patches of feathers showing he lost them in his fall from grace aaaa 😫😫😫

- I know the demons have either wings or tails but like. Entertain this thought: Mammon with cute lil tail feathers 😭😭 mammon with a bird tail would just fit so well im sorry

- He subconsciously lowers/bows his head while talking to people he respects and admires (like you and Lucifer) like laying his head down on his arm or desk or sth

- Collects stuff that looks interesting— stuff he thinks he can probably use or fix up and sell. Pretty much proven but I feel I should emphasize how bad it gets, like he needs to clean his room at least weekly or his room will be full of junk 😭 (he js like me fr)

- Great at impressions; I THINK this was included in the story at one point (?) but idk so I will mention it here. Give him a voice and he can mimic it pretty well (Brothers would def use this to their advantage for silly little schemes if mammon weren’t charging an arm and a leg for his services gn)

- Will engage in anything he finds interesting and stimulating; the reason he sucks ass in school isn’t really because hes dumb but he has a hard time focusing on shit that isnt stimulating (that’s kinda how it is for most people but like especially for him, he indulges heavily into freedom/temptation; usually won’t do anything he doesn’t want to)

- Blinged OUT. More rings, a gold necklace thing (those thick round ones), more ear piercings and i like the drawing someone did with his fangs being gold however ntm as the absence of such things also shows his balance between his heavenly virtue and deadly sin (Charity vs Greed) and how despite his sin he really can be a modest guy

- Markings should cover his face and be little portals that let him summon grabby hands and sometimes he gets you stuff and sends it through the portal on your body (your pact mark)

- Speaking of pact marks, I think his is on your heart or right above and is like a dripping fingerprint that turns into a full blown hand print (maybe even the monkey’s paw?) when his powers/benefits are being used; Its hard to describe the feeling but when his hand goes through it feels like you’re gagged right then and there and its a little bit hard to breathe when you first made the pact because its a little uncomfortable but as you got used to the sensation and nurtured your magic ability, your breathing went back to normal

- I promised myself I wasn’t gonna get into outfits too much because they’re. Um anyway all I’ll say is he should have some slutty bellbottoms in his demon form idgaf

A/N: im so sorry mammon fans for the neglect i didnt know what to really put since crows are just like. Silly feathery black blobs

Leviathan: The Serpent

- He should have poisonous spines on his tail that lie dormant but flare up whenever he feels strong emotion (embarrassment, anger, jealousy etc) and in relation to that he should have a few scales visible on his neck but more should appear leading up his face to his eye when he feels these strong emotions like his skin hardens and turns to scales (almost like how our veins bulge when we humans get very angry) it would be cool af ngl and kinda fits how his voice changes when hes annoyed (I SWEAR it gets all deep and like gravelly ig)

- ALSO i mentioned in another post but his eyes should become super snake-like (pupils slimming down) when he gets angry/envious but adding onto that, his pupils should dilate like a cat when he feels a positive emotion like excitement (though I think his pupils would dilate when looking at you lovingly, if you flustered him his pupils would constrict, not because its negative, but because he doesn’t know how to handle it)

- Grows much taller in his demon form imo since sea serpents are big as hell (he doesn’t become a giant or anything but he does grow like a foot or so which. He might as well be a giant bc hes alr pretty tall) Honestly I think all demons grow in their demon forms but he just grows an exceptional amount compared to any other demon

- Two…. Nvm iykyk fr a certified hood classic and i dont see enough of it in fics 😒

- Often accidentally sticks out his tongue while angry and bites his tongue and it just ruins the mood as well as any fear anyone had of him bye. Hes so goofy i just love him

- Long ahh tongue; snake reminiscent

- The back of his slut zip jacket should be vaguely shaped like fins + would it be wrong to say he should have slutty bellbottoms too? Can’t I dream? 💭 not as wide as Mammon’s though he’s not doing it like him fr

- Wraps his tail around you as if trying to shield you from public view with his spines whenever he gets jealous or protective

- I think it would be cool if the design on his jacket was a fishbone or if his tail was a bit translucent and showed bones inside (Ik tails don’t have bones generally but bear with me here) as a reference to how the Leviathan became a meal after being defeated

- Subconsciously moves slowly and methodically like the way he leans his head in slowly as you talk is very snake of him

- Big yawn (can open his mouth really wide)

- Pact mark is on the side of your neck, a bit closer to the front though and is shaped like a scale initially but grows into a very large patch of black scales with a purple underside, covering everything in the area almost like a bad rash when you use his powers/benefits

- Activation feels as if you’re being suffocated slowly, like water is slowly entering your lungs as the “rash” spreads at first but, again, as you get used to it this sensation wears off but a feeling that won’t ever wear off when activating the pact mark is the feeling that Levi is there looming by your side through the mark but just out of view whenever you try to see him; it’s a little maddening

- Can find you with sth similar to echolocation and it’s especially effective in water; can also spread the scales further with enough willpower and/or jealousy, basically creating a shield for your body

[flea-palace]

various phantom x text posts

[darcydarlingdabbles]

Born to Survive (1/2)

Astarion x f!Tav (tiefling), Canon Compliant,

Astarion's Romance, Act 1

1.8k of about 6k

part 2

Astarion's perfect little plan to seduce and manipulate Tav goes awry the first night he spends with her. But he should have known from the moment she agreed to meet him in the woods. // Part 1 of 2 cause this was longer than I planned for (heh). Astarion's dialogue is as close to the game as I could manage, with some embellishment. CW: Astarion's v healthy approach to sex/intimacy. MDNI This part is not explicit but part 2 is only that. Song Rec: Natural (Cover) by Kristen Collins & Kurt Hugo Schneider//

Astarion from the growing darkness watched as Tav knelt by the campfire, fighting with the instincts honed over centuries. 

Tonight, she was going to feel their razor’s edge—except she was going to live to see the morning. 

Maybe that was why the vampire was feeling a little bit of…hesitation, for once. He’d done this song of seduction and dance of deception more times than he could remember. It would be easy as any night on his back. She would be no different. 

So he thought. 

Tav was paying all of her attention to the fragrant herbs she’d gathered into neat bundles, binding them together, singing their edges to combine them, and deftly blowing them out again. 

It made Astarion scoff to think the tiefling had time to be concerned over such trivial matters. Tadpoles in their heads. Death stalking them at every corner. And here was the ranger, worried about potion ingredients camp supplies. 

And here he was, charming a mere ranger. 

Astarion watched as she brushed her long hair over her shoulder and out of her way to continue focusing on her task. His eyes traced the marks still visible on her neck. The twin punctures were worn so openly, brazenly advertising that she’d so willingly let a vampire feed from her. 

That was his way in. Because he remembered how…intimate that encounter was. A foreign concept from a life of feeding on rotten rats—but he was more than familiar with the way her body trembled under his teeth.

Astarion rolled his shoulders back to relax, composed his face into a charming smile, and sauntered over to the fireplace. 

“Darling, there you are.” 

“Astarion!” Tav jumped, nearly dropping the herbs into the flames. “Gods, you’re quieter than any prey I’ve tracked.”

He gave a flippant wave to ward off her comment. If only she knew how groomed he was to stalk the most clever and dangerous of prey. 

“I was just thinking about you. Remembering our time together, the things we shared…”

Tav straightened up from her crouch at the fire. She arched an eyebrow, and rested her hand on her cocked hip. “Astarion, if you need blood—” 

“I don’t just mean that lovely neck of yours,” he interrupted smoothly. He made a point of his eyes traveling over her figure, wondering what was hidden under supple leather armor—worn, well-used armor.”I’m growing to like the whole package.” 

“Really?” Tav asked, her tone dripping with a skepticism he didn’t appreciate. “I didn’t think a little dirt would do it for ya.” 

Her bright eyes raked over his impeccably kept appearance, which he had still managed after an abduction and days out in the wilds, thank you very much. 

But then Astarion noticed the slight swish of her tail. Though tieflings weren’t as common among his targets, he’d charmed and manipulated a few in his endless nights on the streets. 

Tav was either irritated…or interested. 

And Astarion knew just how to tilt that reaction into his favor. 

“Honestly,” he protested, stepping a bit closer to her. “And, you clearly like me too.” 

Her tail slashed back and forth, disturbing the dust near the fire. Even as she wore that face of suspicion and doubt. Cute little thing. Like a kitten who thought her mewling was a roar.

 “Come now, don’t be coy.” Astarion stepped artfully into her personal space, crowding her against the log that Karlach had placed as a bench before the fire. “Your body has already given you away…I could feel it.” 

Tav swallowed, and his eyes were drawn right to the graceful slope of her neck. 

As if she needed any more reminding of the night he first fed from her. How she had laid her head back into his hold. How he nearly lost control when he tasted the sweet nectar flowing through her veins—he almost forgot how she squirmed under him, but didn’t push him away. Then, that traitorous tail of hers curled up at the point. 

She may as well have broadcast her arousal to the entire camp. 

Astarion raised a hand, ghosting his touch along the defiant line of her jaw, down to her throat and the fading marks his fangs had left behind. She didn’t flinch at his almost-caress. In fact, she was already tilting her chin to it. 

“The little shivers, when I was getting lost, in your neck…”

Some feeling bubbled up unbidden from within the vampire. That moment, his first time taking blood from a thinking creature, well he couldn’t help it if that was special to him too. Astarion could still feel her fingers coiling at the small hairs at the back of his own neck.

It was…intimate. Like hadn’t known before. 

No. 

He quickly buried the foreign desires and slipped back into the persona that never failed to stoke them in others. Want was a weapon in his arsenal, one that he could wield with lethal dexterity. 

“You enjoyed it, didn’t you?” 

Tav’s teeth bit into her bottom lip, and she must know that she’d been caught. The agitated flicking of her tail slowed. Astarion knew that he had her when the pointed tip began to curl. 

“So I did.” 

A triumphant grin tugged at the corners of the elf’s mouth. He, deliberately, tilted his head to her, so the setting sunlight might catch his gleaming fangs when he grinned. 

He was always so careful to conceal his nature from unsuspecting prey until he could pull them into the shadows. But Tav’s obvious attraction to his vampiric features was something he fully intended to exploit. 

Such a wicked weakness for good girl. 

“So did I, more than words could say.” He let his rich voice drip with honey as he finally let his cool fingers touch her heated skin, skimming deftly over the fading twin marks. 

Tav shivered under his hand, but didn’t pull away. 

He had her now. 

Astarion loomed closer, his cool breath ghosting over her pointed ear. “I was so…very pleased with what you gave me, darling. You deserve a reward.” 

He expected her to melt into the caress of hand and his words, but Tav stiffened under his attentions and pulled back. Confusion flickered over the elf’s face before he could conceal it behind an innocently wounded expression. What did he say wrong?

“I don’t need a reward, Astarion.” Tav’s tone was firm, but irritatingly gentle. Which just made him want to snap his fangs in frustration. She ducked back to pick up her abandoned herbs, bundling them up neatly, and literally slipping right out of his fingers. “Some people help just for the sake of helping, you know?”

Astarion bit back the scathing retort that rose to his lips. 

It wouldn’t do him any good in his current objective, and might just shatter the fragile mood he had so carefully constructed. 

Instead, he forced a disarming chuckle and slid onto the log seat next to her. “Of course dear, I simply meant we could take an evening to ourselves.” Her tail twitched next to him. “Get away from camp, get some…privacy.” 

Astarion’s silver tongue was not about to fail him now. Tav’s back was to him, taking her time packing her herbs away, a tension lingering in her shoulders that he wanted to sooth away with his hands—or his mouth. 

She was proving to be more of a challenge. No matter, he enjoyed a good game of cat and mouse. Though he had no intention of being the mouse. 

Tav turned back to face him, those jewel-like eyes scrutinizing his face, like she was trying to pierce the winsome smile he plied as a well-worn mask.

She leaned closer, bringing her earthy smell of herbs and leather and something wild that made something in him ache for more. To have her closer—to feed, obviously, nothing more. 

For a fleeting moment, Astarion was certain he had Tav ensnared at last. 

“We don’t need to leave camp for you to feed on me, you know?”

Gods dammit. 

There it was again, that insufferable, good-guy tone that made him want to tear his perfect curls—he’d already seen Tav run headlong into danger over some undeserving wretch just under the pretense of doing the right thing. It might just make Astarion ill. 

“And you don’t owe me for it, either.” The sincerity in her voice was making his cold skin crawl. 

Astarion had lived long enough to know that altruism was a myth. Benevolence was meant to beguile. And anyone offering a hand would want their palms greased. 

Tav was either a fool, or the trickiest devil he’d tangled with yet. 

The misunderstood outcast card was not his favorite hand to play, but it worked so well on those with a savior complex. 

“Oh, I understand.” Astarion said softly, arranging his face into a petulant pout. 

Tav’s brows furrowed, and she finally looked back up at him. “You do?”

“I do. Stealing off into the woods with a vampire…” He let his voice trail off, oh so hopelessly. “It is a lot to ask you to put your faith in me.” 

“Astarion, that’s not—” 

He cut her off with a wounded sigh. “You do not trust me.” 

Astarion stood and turned away, shoulders slumped in feigned dejection, waiting for her to take the bait.  She would get to her feet and follow. He could count it down in his head. 

Three, two, one…

“I do trust you.” Tav’s soft voice was almost pleading. 

A slow, satisfied smile curved Astarion’s lips, surprised she’d yet to faint from that bleeding heart. 

“Then, trust me.” Astarion purred, closing the distance between them in one sinuous stride. He loomed over her, feeling the rush of her pulse fluttering at the base of her neck. 

Tav reached for his hand, but the vampire deftly bypassed it. His long fingers encircled her wrist, the heat of her skin sinking into his palm and warming him already. 

Her eyes were wide, nearly luminous in the gathering dusk, but he let his gaze linger on her mouth, his own lips parting ever so slightly. 

“Trust me, when I promise you a night you will never forget.” He lowered his voice and let shadows fall over his crimson eyes. 

Tav shivered, and Astarion knew it had nothing to do with the temperate air. He could smell her arousal, heady and sweet, as obvious as the almost perfect curl her tiefling tail was making. 

“Okay,” she breathed, her word a little more than a sigh. “I trust you.”

A victorious grin spread over his lips and through his veins. He finally had her right where he wanted her. Under his hand as he cupped her cheek, drawing her close, his breath ghosting over her lips before finding her pointed ear.

“See you there, lover.” 

part 2

[thestarrysparrow]

Some Gigs pico park screenshots, part one.

Ones that go together:

Anddd my favorites:

Then some quotes I love:

"I know this game just came out but I think we're the best pico park players" -Grian

"Pew pew pew pew" -pretty much all of them on the space invader type level.

"HIGH FIVE GRIAN, HIGH FIVE GRIAN" -Skizz on the level they can't touch each other.

"Skizz don't suck my block, please. Stop it" -Gem on the remember one.

"I have a heart condition." -Grian at the end of this one when they finally get to the door:

They are hilarious and it's so fun watching them play XD. Will be posting a one with screenshots and probably quotes from part two! Have a good timezone!

[i-drop-level-one-loot]

will you please do a part 2 of pet owner!!!! It was so good!!!

Working on part 2 for Kirtch and story boarding three stories from asks while also pretending to be a functioning adult ❤️

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Total $hit$how: Hand Me My Shovel

in which Joy has some strong opinions

cw: referenced violence, death mentions

previous // masterlist // next

×~×~×

Joy’s meeting with Sahota had felt a lot like treading water; expending a shit ton of energy and still going nowhere. The others hadn't fared much better. Kaius seemed more sour than usual on his return, and Benji came back from his hour half an hour early. Harbor hadn't come back at all. She'd almost been afraid the morale would slip completely after the bout of failures, but she should've known she could count on Jer to save the day.

“How'd you do it?” It was the number one question on her mind as soon as she’d caught the look of quiet triumph on his face. He might as well have lassoed the sun.

Jericho took a seat across from her. Training had dissolved into lunchtime not long after he’d left, and Joy’d gotten lost in her own thoughts and lingered in the kitchen even after the other two had gone back to the mats.

Hi mouth tightened at her question. “I guess… I convinced him we could help.”

A fair strategy, but it felt like there was more to it. “What did you say?”

“I'll tell you later.” His voice dropped. “Joy, I think we should talk about something.”

Oh she did not like that tone. One syllable in and she knew something was wrong. “What is it?” she asked carefully, casting a habitual glance over her shoulder. No one in the kitchen, no one in the hall.

“It’s Harbor,” Jer replied, glancing down at the table, eyes on his clasped hands. “He… he hurt Sahota. Pretty bad.”

“What?” She felt her brows knit together at his words. “How bad is pretty bad?”

“He started…” Jericho exhaled, paused as if considering something. “I don't know the extent. He was pretty beat up when I got there. Seemed like he was in a lot of pain.”

“Fuck.” Was that why Harbor hadn't come back once his time was up? She'd thought nothing of it until now; he didn't like hanging out with the group, and was all scowls and bitey comments when he was forced to. Nothing new there, but beating up Sahota? That was lower than she'd thought he'd stoop. Did he resent losing the fight on day one? Was he trying to prove something?

“Are you going to tell anyone else?” she said at last.

Jer shook his head. “No, not… not yet. We're supposed to work together. We don't need any more of a rift between us and Harbor.”

“We also don't need a bully on the team,” Joy said. One bad apple would spoil the mission. She didn't want to have to worry about looking over her shoulder whenever Harbor was around.

“I don't know the full story,” Jericho said. “I think we should talk to him about it before jumping to any conclusions—” 

“I trust everyone had a productive training day?” Vic’s voice seemed to come out of nowhere, and Joy nearly jumped out of her skin.

Shit, how much did he hear?  The thought was instinctive, another habit from making quiet deals and trying to keep out of trouble. She felt she should laugh at her paranoia, especially regarding this, but didn’t it make sense?

Vic was good at acting friendly, but in the last three days alone he’d encouraged them to kill a stranger and watched his partner’s torture as casually as he would a popcorn flick. She had the feeling he’d be quicker to encourage Harbor’s violence than put a stop to it, and that was the last thing they needed.

“I heard Sahota let you all dabble in interrogation,” Vic said, striding into the kitchen. “Did you have fun?”

“I wouldn't call it that,” Joy said, shifting in her chair.

“That's life for you. Never as interesting as the movies.” He took a seat at the end of the table, steepling his fingers. “I understand you made a wager on behalf of Rebecca Finley.”

Sahota’s deal. She’d gotten so wrapped up in the Harbor bullshit she’d forgotten what they’d won.

“Unfortunately, said wager was made without my knowledge,” Vic continued, “and can't be honored in either direction.”

Her mouth was open before she could stop herself. “What? You can't—”

“Cavan.” His tone was a warning, like a rattlesnake shaking its tail, and Joy snapped her mouth shut, clenching her teeth together to keep the words in. The evening meeting where he'd shown them the video was still sharp in her head. Vic could be real fucking mean when provoked. He was a little too similar to some of the army sergeants she'd known in that way, and that wasn't a fact to be proud of.

“As I was saying,” Vic said, “I'm vetoing the deal you made. However, in an effort to reach a compromise, we will be going with a third option instead of either extreme. Finley's off the menu. No more energy will be wasted on deciding what to do about her; we'll just bypass the matter entirely.”

But we earned it.

With the effort of pushing back the sea, Joy managed to bite her tongue. Jericho had earned it, and he hadn’t said a word. Better not to provoke another shouting match with Vic. She knew she wouldn’t come out on top.

“Is that all you have to tell us?” she muttered, unable to keep the irritation out of her voice.

“What are we doing instead?” Jericho asked at the same time, his tone considerably more reasonable than hers.

Vic inclined his head towards Jer. “In the last hour, I've been scouting new assignments,” he replied. “I'm pleased to say I came out the other end with a task for each of you.”

Joy crossed her arms, pressing clenched fists into her sides. Okay, this was good. As long as she was beholden to Vic’s will, she’d better be getting shit done.

“I’ve already spoken to Mr. Manak and Mr. Ruebin. They'll be leaving tomorrow morning to search Finley's drop site for relevant intelligence.”

Her knuckles pressed in deeper, and she had to fight to keep a neutral tone. “Didn't you just say she was off the menu?”

Vic chuckled, and she couldn’t help but think he was entertained by her frustration. Why? Because she couldn’t protest without being threatened with jail time?

“Finley is,” he said. “Finley’s stuff is another matter. Mr. Davis, you and Mr. Harbor will be using my computer to access anything you can on Rotorworx. With your combined skills, you should be able to find weaknesses in their website. Get us some usable information if you can. And Miss Cavan.” His eyes landed on her. “You'll be accompanying Sahota on an expedition of sorts. I've located one of Rotorworx's old project sites. There may be residue there that can clue us in on the Reality Cage.”

Finley could’ve clued them in on the Reality Cage, if Vic wasn’t so hell-bent on doing things his way.

“Okay,” she said, still rigid in her seat. “Cool. Where is he?”

“He’s resting,” Vic said.

She and Jericho shared a glance. Bet he was. The one bright spot here was that the assignments had been divvied up in such a way that Harbor and Jer were paired together. If there was any sense, any fucking decency left in the guy, Jericho could bring it out. If not… Maybe he and Vic were just cut from the same cloth. And in that case, she wanted nothing to do with him.

“I expect you both to tackle your taskings first thing in the morning,” Vic said, getting to his feet. “Rest while you can. It’s imperative we don’t waste another day.”

With that, he left.

Joy slouched back in her chair as soon as his footsteps had faded, looking up at the ceiling. “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“He has a plan in mind,” Jericho said. “If he thinks Finley is a waste of time—”

“So what if she is? He can’t just snatch that away.”

“He’s in charge.”

“So is Sahota. Doesn’t he get a say?” She huffed, letting her arms drop to her sides. “What if this keeps happening? The whole ‘my way or the highway’ thing?” She shot a sharp look in Jericho’s direction. “What if it gets one of us killed?” She’d dealt with bad leadership before. Experience didn’t mean shit if you weren’t willing to choke down your ego and listen to your troops.

“I don’t think it’ll go that far,” Jericho said quietly. She wondered if he was trying to convince himself.

“He was fine abandoning Sahota. What if next time it’s one of us on the screen?”

Jericho winced. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do about it.” He let out a sigh, tapping the back of his hand. “It’s just this one mission, then we’re done. We won’t have to deal with it anymore.”

She knew he was right, but it still felt like the wrong call. “Is it worth it? What if we end up with another Finley, but he makes us go through with the murder part? Is it worth it?”

He was looking at his hands again. “What about the Cage? This mission isn’t just for us. People are in danger.”

“I know, just…” She clenched her jaw. “Maybe we can do it without them?”

“Joy…”

“We could.” Just her and Jer could do it. Sneak out of here and break the dangergate before things went south. Benji would probably get in on it too, maybe even Manak. Then they could do things her way. They had a location. All they really needed was a crate of C-4 and a description of the Reality Cage.

But Jericho was shaking his head. “I can’t,” he said. “I can’t take that risk based on a maybe. If we leave, we’re still on the wanted posters. I can’t run forever.”

Her burst of rebellion deflated as quickly as it had risen. He was right. She couldn’t ask him to put his kid on the line like that, and even if she was acting alone, she still wanted to see her family again someday.

“Okay,” she said, nodding. “Okay.” The kitchen fell silent. No distant footsteps, no brilliant new ideas. They were stuck following Vic’s orders. She just had to hope he’d keep them in the realm of sanity.

“So,” she said, once again slouching in her chair. “Harbor.”

“Harbor,” Jericho echoed.

“Should we talk to him now? Before tomorrow?”

“I don’t know,” Jer answered. “I don’t think so.”

“No?”

“I think he might see it as an attack. I think… I should just try to bring it up naturally.”

“It should feel like an attack,” Joy protested. “He did something wrong, and he needs to know it.”

“I don’t know,” Jer said again. “I think he… I don’t know, there’s something not adding up with him. It doesn’t fit.”

“Maybe he just hates Sahota,” she offered. “He was the only one who voted against the rescue.”

Jericho shook his head. “I don't think he meant to take it as far as he did. Maybe something set him off.”

And that was just what they needed on the team, someone with an unpredictable temper. Harbor was already hard enough to work with.

“That's no excuse,” she said.

“Let me try tomorrow, okay?” Jer replied, giving her a sincere look. “If it goes bad, we’ll confront him together.”

If it went bad, she wanted him gone. Sure, the guy had psychic powers or whatever, but that didn’t excuse any of his bullshit. If he wound up going overboard and hurting anyone else, she’d take care of him herself.

“Okay,” she said. 

“And speaking of…” He gave her a curious look. “You'll be with Sahota tomorrow.”

“Yeah?”

“Can you…” Jer grimaced. “Can you try to check on him? See how he's doing?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Because that went so well last time.”

“This is different.”

“Different how?”

“He…” There was that hesitation again, like Jericho was about to drop some big reveal but thought better of it at the last second. “He seemed upset,” he said.

“Sahota was upset?” She frowned. “Like… he was mad?” Hell, she would be too.

“More like… sad,” Jericho said. “Overwhelmed. I don't know.”

Sahota and sad just didn't compute. Overwhelmed, she could understand, but sad about what? Harbor? The failures of his trainees? Based on everything she'd seen from him so far, it didn't make sense.

“Can you do it?” Jericho said, giving her what could only be described as puppydog eyes. "See if he's okay? Tomorrow?”

Joy sighed. Taserbot mazes she could handle. Lab expeditions, she could handle. Feelings? That's where things got dicey. But despite her own reservations, she nodded. “Tomorrow.”

×~×~×

@theonewithallthefixations , @violets-whumperflies , @whump-me , @pirefyrelight , @soheavyaburden , @snakebites-and-ink ,

@sodacreampuff , @starfields08000

@whumpsday , @kixngiggles , @echo-goes-aaa , @whumpcateyes , @clickerflight ,

[ovrour]

okay, alot of you guys wanted a part two so guess what…im whipping it up in the kitchen, hopefully it’ll be out by tonight🤓☝🏼.

lots of love, alondra💋.

[maitaiwiththecorpses]

Begin Agian.

inspired by Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

__________

The singing skates on the ice.

The scrape and sting.

It all comes back to one thing: Hockey.

__________

When his heart beats too fast, Aiden always knew exactly what to do. Go to the rink, lace up, and force his skates to move in parallel lines. Each skate would face straight ahead, an even distance from each other, and never touch.

Aiden would do this for hours and hours and it always worked.

Until her.

__________

Aru is a hockey player. She doesn't look like one, or even act like one. In fact, you could even say she doesn't skate like one.

She is, though.

Where every other player on the ice is all straight lines and sharp edges, Aru skates in cursive- delicate turns and moves that are so small but have an attitude bigger than the rink.

She is not a figure skater. At least, not anymore.

Her style has enough nuance that, matched with her lithe body, makes her nearly invisible on the ice-

Until she has the puck.

__________

His mom's a coach. It's pure coincidence that she ends up being his coach, though.

"Boys, huddle up!" Aiden skates over to her, taking his helmet of as he goes. He's not calculated, though, how fast he's going, and ends up having to turn at the last minute into the boards. "Aiden," she reprimands, and he knows that he's in for it on the car ride home.

She clasps her hands. "Listen. You all know the girl's team coach, yes? Shakhuni? Well, he and I have noticed some... animosity between the two teams."

"I don't understand, coach," one of the guys- Blythe, I later realize- says. "We don't even talk to the girl's team-"

"Don't! Don't give me that bullshit, Mr. Fahey. Or do I have to pull up video from last week's party that you all attended? Don't think I didn't hear everything." Aiden winces, recalling the events of the party. Blythe and Rudy, his cousin, had poured a keg of beer on a few members of the girl's team while they celebrated their win against a rival team.

Shit. He was at that party. He could get totally screwed over for this.

"Their coach has talked his team down from going absolutely batshit on your asses, but you know what? I was about to let them beat the shit out of you all- you deserve it. Davey College is a tough team to beat, and last I checked, you all couldn't do it. The least you could do is celebrate them. And for the record, Mr. Fahey-" Blythe immediately recoiled. Aiden couldn't tell if he should laugh or feel sorry for his teammate. "It isn't better that you don't speak to the girl's team. You're part of the same department, you should be like a family."

"So what are we doing about it?" Aiden asked, pushing off the boards to join the group.

His mom gave him a stink eye before continuing. "You will have to share the rink." Sounds of shock and dismay bubbled up from the team. "Meet with their team- discuss a time, discuss scheduling. I don't care how you do it, just know that you are now in charge of how much you are allowed to practice."

Up till then, Aiden's day had been going pretty well.

Until now.

__________

"What the fuck do you mean we have to share a rink?" Her coach walked away flippantly, not responding. "Boo?!"

"Ms. Shah, I don't get paid enough for this, go complain to the dean if you're really upset."

She stumbled off the ice, not even bothering to take her skates off before trying to catch up to her coach. Her skates felt clunky on the carpet floor, but she reached him eventually, and when he felt her jerk his shoulder back, he finally relented.

"Malini is really trying to imbibe these boys with good values, Aru."

"At the cost of our training? Huh? Is that how it is?"

He pushed a crumpled post-it note into her hand. "You have a meeting with their team captain at two. You're to discuss and lay out the groundwork for a future schedule. Stay strong, don't let him walk all over you."

"That is so bullshit, Boo, you know I wouldn't let him-"

"Aru. Cool it. You're not on the ice anymore. Just- do what's best for your team, you hear?"

She sighed and let him walk off- this argument wasn't worth either of their time, and she needed to get dressed. Aru undid her skates and took off her gear, leaving on the white long sleeve and pulling her high-waisted jeans out of her bag. If there was one thing good about gear bags, it was that they were like voids- they never ran out of space.

"Hey, Aru?" Hira skated over with both their sticks. She'd left it on the ice after storming to Boo. Hira handed it to Aru, a frown on her face. "What's the verdict? Are we actually doing this?"

"I have to meet their captain in thirty minutes, so, yeah, I guess we are."

Hira crumpled her face in disgust. "Don't they get that this is so insensitive after last week?"

"It's not my place to argue. Apparently the dean and director of the sports department are in on it too." She finished putting on her sneakers before locking up her gear bag and grabbing her regular backpack. "I'll tell you how it goes, ok? You can fill Brynne in, too, just don't let it get too big." The dean wanted to keep the incident on the down-low, so in theory, only Aru, the coaches, and the boy's team captain were supposed to know about this meeting, but Hira had watched everything go down, and Aru wasn't about to stop her teammates from getting in on all the bullshit.

Until the bullshit got too much.

__________

An unknown number was ringing on his phone and his mother was glaring at him to pick up.

"Ma, you don't have to drive me back to the house."

"I'm not driving you to that frat house, Aiden, I'm driving you to the conference room."

"Already?" He jumped forward in his seat, eyes wide at his mother. "I haven't prepared any pointers, I can't meet her yet."

"She just got off practice, you'll both be on the same level. And that's her calling, if you didn't know, so you better pick it up, or she'll stick a puck up your ass the next time she sees you."

Aiden picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Arundhati Shah speaking. Is this Aiden Acharya?"

"Uh, yeah. This is Aiden. You can- you can just call me Ai-"

"Alright I'm at a Starbucks right now but apparently there's a conference room at Kingdom Quad we were supposed to meet at. It's a little out of my way, so I'm going to be a bit late. Please keep the data from your team ready for access incase we need to analyze team value."

"Excuse me-" Aiden was officially scowling. Team value? Is she for real?

His mom lit up with a bright smile. "What is she saying, what is she saying? Put her on speaker, nah?"

Aiden cleared his throat. "Um, Arundhati, I'm gonna put you on speaker, I'm here with Coach Acharya."

Immediately, Aru's tone changed from cold and unfriendly to warm and inviting. "Nice to meet you ma'am, though not in person. I was just saying I'm going to be a bit late to the meeting seeing as it's quite far away from where I am right now and I didn't get the details until just recently-"

"Oh, no worries, Ms. Shah!" Seriously? Since when did his mom get all chill? "What's the point of me having a car if I don't help out a fellow female athlete. Send Aiden a pin of your location and we should be there soon!"

"Sorry, who's we-?"

"Send the pin, dear!" And then, with no warning, his mother pressed cut on the call.

"Ma!"

"What? Did she send yet?"

"We're not picking her up!"

"Oh yes we are. And you are going to sit in the back seat with her, too. This is team bonding for a reason. The animosity between even the captains is so thick." She sighed heavily. "I have never been so sad to see such unsupportive men and women's hockey teams of each other. Truly. In my time, your father's team and mine- we were best of friends. Half of our teams were dating each other, the other half acted like siblings. You know- in our second year, both hockey teams decided to pool money and buy a house together? We all lived together for the next three years- every member of the teams. It seems, though, that the house has fallen out of favor with the girls and now you boys are the only ones using it."

"The house is a bit big," he relented, putting up Aru's location on the GPS. He saved her number in his phone as he did it - Arundhati Shah Women's Hockey Team Captain (Cranky)- and turned up the NPR on the radio.

"You see? That's what I'm talking about. You're not using it to its full potential, just like your defensive line." And all of a sudden, she was back to Coach and not Mom, lecturing about how weak the defense can get. "Arre, Aiden, go to the back, we're pulling up on Aru's location soon."

"Ma, please, I don't want to sit next to her, it's gonna be so awkward."

"Aiden. Listen to me, beta. In life, you must do the awkward shit first to get to the good shit next. Now get out of the front seat."

Aiden heaved a sigh as he climbed into the back, nearly somersaulting into the seat before he buckled up.

"Arundhati! Hello! In back you go, now." His mom smiled brightly through the window at the crowded Starbucks outside, gesturing to the back seat with more joy than she should have possessed.

"Oh, thank you Coach Acharya-"

"Please, dear, it's Malini Auntie. I knew your mother in college very briefly. Plus, Coach Acharya is my ex husband." Aiden scoffed in disgust at the mention of his father. One hell of a coach he was.

"Oh, well. Thank you, Malini Auntie, I really appreciate-" Arundhati stopped midway as she slid into the backseat, making eye contact with Aiden. "Oh, that's what you meant when you said 'we'. Hello, you must be Aiden Acharya."

Aiden cringed internally at his full name- this girl was so frigid and formal, what was her problem?!

"It's just Aiden, really no need for the Acharya part."

"Ah, Aiden, what are you talking about? You must be proud of who you are. You are the son of two very famous NHL players. You must hold your last name with pride. Arundhati, you'll have to teach my son a little something about pride in yourself- I love your name so much, and you let people call you Arundhati?"

Arundhati looked nearly nauseous next to Aiden, but tittered half-heartedly. "No, ma'am, as proud as I am of my name, I do typically ask people to call me Aru."

His mother went silent in the front seat. The point she'd been trying to make had been upturned. The car went into park outside of a large building surrounded by spring grass. "Ahem. Aiden. Ms. Shah. I will see you both next at the joint team meeting." She turned back to look at Aiden. "Beta, do try to be flexible, haan?"

"Thanks, Ma. Bye."

As they got settled in the conference room, Arundhati seemed to be minding her own business.

Until she slammed a puck on the table.

__________

"Listen here, buddy. Here's what's going to happen. The girl's team is exponentially better than yours-"

"Woah there!" Aiden yelled, trying to interject. Aru wasn't having any of it.

"I'm not done speaking. You will speak when I'm done." She bit back the bitch! at the end of her sentence, not wanting to further antagonize him.

"Fine. Fine. Say what you have to say and we'll see- whaaaat is that?" Aru had slid her phone over to Aiden, pulling up the video from last week's party. In it, Rudy and a blond hockey boy poured a keg of beer over her.

"That was me, a week ago, after one of the biggest games of my life. Those were your teammates, a week ago, after one of the biggest games of my life." Aru remembered the rush of heat she had felt in embarrassment- she never threw big college parties, it had been such a bad idea to do it- and the sticky sweet of the beer all over her. The video cut off right after, but she had run to the bathroom and thrown up once the beer stopped pouring out of pure embarrassment.

It was one of the worst days of her life.

And Aiden was quiet, for once.

"Your team has a track record of being total bitches. Y'all minimize our wins and maximize our losses. You harass our players and treat them like shit. This is it. This is the final blow."

"So what do you propose?" Aiden said, nearly sounding remorseful.

"In terms of sharing the rink- there's an uneven amount of hours for the hockey teams to practice. I say the girl's team gets the extra hour. We perform better overall, we should get more ice time."

"If y'all perform so well, why do you need the extra time? Give it to the boys." Aru was starting to get irritated again- this man truly had no sympathy.

"We perform better because we work every chance we get. We should get the extra time."

"Why don't we split it in half? Thirty and thirty?" Aru shook her head. God, this boy was dumb.

"No one's gonna come to practice for thirty minutes, and the skating team practices right after this block, so I'm not willing to risk the wrath of their coach because your team went over." She noticed his fingers tapping on the glass of the table and nearly felt sorry for him. She would have been so much jitterier than him if she was in his position.

Aiden narrowed his eyes at the puck on the table, chewing the inside of his cheek. "Well, we're supposed to plan team bonding, yeah?"

"I mean, I guess," Aru relented, shrugging her shoulders.

"Why don't we have the teams share the rink? And instead of it being more of a focused practice it could be like a play time?"

Aru stared at him incredulously. "You want to give twenty four professional athletes an hour of playtime?"

"Yes."

This man was joking, right? But it was a good idea. It would satisfy the coaches in terms of 'team bonding' and if they planned it right, it could be utilized as an hour of training.

"Fine. Fridays at six is playtime." Aiden cracked a smile just then and Aru thought she would throw up. This was a significantly tighter schedule than she was used to, there was no missing just one practice because you were sick, or running late from another class. She'd have to find a way to make it up for herself- maybe come into the rink before it opened for some solo skating. It wasn't the best idea, but it would keep her conditioned.

"Ok. I look forward to seeing you at the team meeting," Aiden said, before promptly leaving the room.

__________

Eldritch House- College Frat, Or Symbol of Hockey Unity?

Aiden frowned at the article on his phone. This was new. There were pictures in it of the construction of the house he lived in with his teammates, and the first class of hockey players who lived in it. He spotted his own parents in a few of the pictures as he read the article accuse the boy's team of getting rid of the unity that came with their university's hockey teams and how it was a degradation of tradition.

He copied the link and sent it to Arundhati, remembering his mother's words earlier that day. The guilt of it all finally filled him as he sat in bed, he remembered all the shitty things the girl's team had gone through just that semester, and he felt even worse that now that he'd met Aru and seen the pain behind her eyes about the beer incident.

Needless to say, this caused a complete anxious meltdown. It was three am, and then suddenly it wasn't.

4:30 am

might as well get down to the rink for some early practice, he thought. He grabbed his gear bag, leaving all hopes for any chai for the next five hours behind.

He was close friends with the custodians at the rink, so they let him when he shows up at all odd hours of the day. "Mornin, Greg."

"Hope your morning grump gets cheered up in there, Acharya," Greg smiled a knowing smile, and Aiden frowned.

"Sorry?"

"Head on in, son."

Aiden just nodded gratefully, not awake enough to process Greg's cryptic message. When he entered the rink, Chandelier by Sia blasted, and the scrape of skates were already running.

Arundhati.

She had two weights strapped to her torso and calves, and she was doing a freakishly familiar routine on the ice.

2012 Winter Olympics.

Aiden remembered. He'd studied the pair routine for days in secret- he was obsessed. In a leap of faith, he put his bags down and laced up, falling in line right behind the other hockey captain, parallel to her.

She noticed him very suddenly, but before she could say anything, he pushed off hard and turned to face her, skating backwards and to the left- he tilted his head in question- you know the next turns?

She stared at him coldly, reaching her hands out to him, building speed and turning Aiden so he didn't bang into the boards. They crouched in time, and Aiden stood in just the right moment, spraying ice and spinning them giddily. Something flickered behind her eyes and she shook her head, subtly hinting that whatever this was was over.

Aiden let go, and she glided backwards on her skates, still crouching.

"You're a figure skater?"

"No. Not anymore. I just came here to train."

Aiden smirked despite himself. "With a skating routine?"

"It's a lot more intensive than you think. You just saw. Look, your already sweating." She gestured to his forehead, which was indeed beaded with sweat. "Now try doing it with fifty pounds on your body."

"That can't be healthy, Shah."

"It's fine," she snapped. "I don't need you policing my body and my rink."

"Arundhati-"

"Aru, please. It's unnecessary to be this formal at five am."

ok, then.

_________

"Aru," his voice sounded so foreign to her ears, with her name. She couldn't tell if she liked it or not. He was precise. That routine wasn't good, but he knew it. It scared her.

The weights pulled into her ribs- it was starting to hurt a bit. Tough it out, Shah.

"You know boy's practice starts soon, yeah?" Aiden searched her face for something, and she scowled at him. Did she look like she was in pain?

"Of course. Listen, if you're here to practice, that's cool and all, but I need to train, too. I'm gonna put my headphone in." She skated over to the rink side seats, tapping on her phone to get her music started up. She could feel his gaze on her back, and part of Aru wanted to turn around and scream "WHAT" at his face.

She didn't do that, though.

Pity.

_________

An hour went by, then two. Aru didn't stop. Those weights were totally hurting at this point, Aiden could tell from the look on her face. He could also tell that she couldn't hear him. He tried talking to her momentarily while her back was turned, and he found that she couldn't hear a thing with those headphones on. She'd do laps and laps on the ice and not a sound would get through to her. So he talked. He blabbered and blabbered to her while he did drills, not caring if he was heard or not- it was the perfect remedy to his midnight anxiety.

And then the guys started rolling in. Aru still did not notice. She had started doing drills in the middle right about when Aiden had gone off for a water break. He heard Blythe yell from the locker room, "get out on the ice, guys!" And then Aiden saw it. Tommy Glasgow, barreling onto the ice towards Aru at full speed, backwards. She was hitting the boards before he even jumped over them, and at the speed he was going, god knows that he would have hit the boards too had he not stopped.

_________

This is what happened to Malini Auntie, Aru thought dimly. Most people thought the professional hockey player had quit the sport due to her unexpected pregnancy with her son, but Aru knew they were wrong. It was the semi-finals. They were winning- they were supposed to go to finals within the week. Just five more minutes of the half. Malini didn't know she was pregnant yet- it was too early to see the signs, too insignificant. And then the accident happened. She got into a fight with the opposing team- they bashed her into the boards.

Malini Acharya broke three ribs and her femur that day. She also found out that 1. She was pregnant. And 2. Her career as a professional NHL player was over.

This isn't happening. Her career couldn't be over. It would be terrible.

"ARU!" There was a dizzying shout from above her. Or was it to the left?

Someone gripped her face- not too hard, but enough to feel. "Stay conscious, ok?"

Aru felt herself shake her head. She was so tired. She just wanted to go to bed.

"No. Dude. Shah. I need you to stay with me, ok?" Someone shouted 'ambulance' in the background- Aiden's hands were really warm. The rink is so cold- how did she not notice that earlier?

"Cold," she choked out, with a broken smile.

"Shit, she's going into shock. Hey, Shah, who am I?"

"Whaddya talkin bout?" She slurred. What was this man talking about? Stupid, silly, warm-

"I'm Aiden, and I just happen to be a super hot guy who likes you." She was being lifted now. Aiden sounded desperate. Stupid. Super hot? That's not accurate.

"I would say-" her eyelids fluttered. What is happening? "-more cute than hot."

"Ma'am I'm going to need you to stay conscious. Sir, could you continue speaking to her- it's best if she stays awake." Aru heard the crackle of walkie talkies, and suddenly she could hear her heart in her ears and her eyes were awake and wide.

"I loved walkie talkies as a kid, you know?" She said to Aiden. His hand was wrapped around hers tight, and he looked so, so pale.

"Shit, that adrenaline stuff they gave you really worked."

Aru felt herself frown. "Who's they?"

"The- Shah, you're in an ambulance. You're going to the hospital."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you a-"

The end, Aru.

_________

He'd been here for six hours. It was ridiculous.

"She's out now," a nurse came to inform him.

She had passed out in the ambulance. She had a concussion and a singular broken rib.

When he walked into the hospital room, she was there, staring him down. "You have anxiety."

A million thoughts raced through his head, "what."

"I didn't have any music in at the rink. I was listening the whole time."

"Oh. Well. Glad to know you haven't lost your memory."

"You need therapy," she said bluntly.

"Perhaps." He relented.

"You like me," she said, once again as blunt as can be.

"Oh, you really remember everything." He started sweating. What the hell was he thinking, confessing to her like she was on his deathbed?

"Aiden I don't hate you. I hope you know that."

"Alright Shah. I'm glad to hear."

"I wouldn't hate it if I could begin again with you."

"Me neither, Shah. Me neither."

_________

A/N: Does this fic have a part two? YES IT DOES!

[inkcat1987]

Little comic from these drawings here ! :D

Tw: dead body, blood, my au

[completemessash]

Impatient - Part 1 (a.i.)

notes: i started this the night before 5sos' perfomance at pal norte so that's where it takes place :)

Warnings: SMUT, Ashton x reader, blowjob, cum, well in this part only talking about those things, dirty talk and a horny drummer

xxx

“Ash, you need to get on stage soon”

“I know”, he mumbled against your skin, “But you’re so hot. Why would you wear this tiny outfit when you know I have to perform?”

“It’s not tiny at all”, you laughed, while half heartedly trying to push his head away from where he kept nipping at your neck and the top of your cleavage. And it really wasn’t all that tiny, you were wearing a dark pair of jeans and a crop top. Which was admittedly quite low cut and maybe you had chosen that top on purpose because you knew he couldn’t resist you, but it was nothing that you would count as ‘tiny’.

“I can’t help myself when you look like this, babe”

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re sitting behind a drum kit, isn’t it?”, you smiled, feeling the hardness against your leg.

“Mhm”, his answer was distracted. His hands were pushing under the top, cupping your boobs into his hands and squeezing them. You were thankful that they all had individual backstage rooms this time, even though all of them – except Ashton – had probably already ended up in one together.

“Ash”, you laughed again, which turned into a small whine when he bit the skin on your collarbone, “How old are you? You’re acting like you’ve never seen a pair of boobs in your life”

He stopped, pouting up at you. “I’m offended”, he complained, “And besides, I’m not seeing any boobs right now”

“You have like then minutes-“

“Plenty of time”, he argued and you gave in. Not that you would have declined this, but it was fun to tease him when he got a little desperate.

In no time, he had gotten your top of, unclasping your bra with practiced fingers, lips searching your flesh as soon as it had fallen to the floor.

“You’re such a boob guy”

He stopped again, that offended look on his face again. “Why do you have to insult me so much today?”

“I’m not insulting you”, you grinned, “Simply stating facts.”

“Do you want my cum on your boobs or not?”, he asked, yup, he was impatient today.

But you weren’t done teasing him yet: “Oh, so I’m not even getting anything? Probably have to jerk you off, too, huh?”

“Well uh-“

“It’s okay, babe, we only have ten minutes, you can always promise to get me off once we’re back at the hotel”

He nodded eagerly, then mumbled something about only having eight or seven minutes now and fumbled to open his pants.

[noirapocalypto]

─── ᴀꜱ ᴅᴜꜱᴋ ꜰᴀʟʟꜱ

─── ᴄᴏᴠᴇɴ ⋆┊ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴀʟᴇꜱ

Have really been wanting to create the family and figure out what each member of the coven look like! I haven’t exactly figured out how many generations there are, so gonna wing it for now ghdhfhdd there’s at least four generations so far. Casey and his sisters would fall into the “second” generation, Salem and his cousins being the third in present day 2077, and then Silas’ young daughter and if any of the other Hales have children—would be the fourth generation. 🤔 I’ll post each generation as I create them! [ x ]

ᴛʜᴇ ᴇʟᴅᴇʀꜱ:

ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʟᴇꜰᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀɪɢʜᴛ: ᴍᴏɪʀᴀ, ᴀɴɪᴄᴀ, ᴄᴀꜱᴇʏ, ᴄᴏʟᴇɴᴇ ʜᴀʟᴇ

─── ᴍᴏɪʀᴀ

ᴇʟᴅᴇꜱᴛ ᴄʜɪʟᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ ᴄᴏᴠᴇɴ ʙᴏʀɴ ✦ ʜᴇxᴇꜱ, ᴄᴜʀꜱᴇꜱ & ʙᴀɴᴇꜰᴜʟ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ ✦ ᴛᴡɪᴄᴇ ᴡɪᴅᴏᴡᴇᴅ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀ ᴍʏꜱᴛᴇʀɪᴏᴜꜱ ᴄɪʀᴄᴜᴍꜱᴛᴀɴᴄᴇꜱ ✦ ʟᴏᴜᴅᴍᴏᴜᴛʜ, ꜱᴛʀᴏɴɢ ᴡɪʟʟᴇᴅ, ᴠɪɴᴅɪᴄᴛɪᴠᴇ ✦ ᴅᴇᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ ᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴛᴏ ꜱɪʟᴀꜱ, ᴀᴠɪꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴏᴀʜ

─── ᴀɴɪᴄᴀ

ꜱᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ ᴇʟᴅᴇꜱᴛ ✦ ᴇᴍᴘᴀᴛʜ, ᴄʟᴀɪʀᴠᴏʏᴀɴᴛ, ᴘʏʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇʀ ✦ ʀᴇꜱᴇʀᴠᴇᴅ, ǫᴜɪᴇᴛ, ꜱɴᴏʙʙʏ ✦ ᴛʜᴇ ʙɪᴛᴄʜ ᴏʟᴅᴇʀ ꜱɪꜱᴛᴇʀ ✦ ꜱᴏꜰᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜᴇʀ ʜᴜꜱʙᴀɴᴅ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇᴅ ᴅᴏᴏʀꜱ ✦ ʟᴏᴠɪɴɢ ᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴏꜰ ʙᴇᴄᴋᴇᴛᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴀᴇᴠᴇ

─── ᴄᴀꜱᴇʏ

ᴛʜɪʀᴅ ᴏʟᴅᴇꜱᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏɴʟʏ ꜱᴏɴ ✦ ᴀʟᴄʜᴇᴍɪꜱᴛ, ᴅʀᴜɪᴅ, ɢʀᴇᴇɴ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ ✦ ʀᴇʙᴇʟ ᴡɪᴛʜᴏᴜᴛ ᴀ ᴄᴀᴜꜱᴇ ✦ ᴄᴏᴄᴋʏ, ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅʟʏ, ꜰʟɪʀᴛʏ ✦ ʟᴏᴄᴀʟ ᴡᴇᴇᴅ ᴅᴇᴀʟᴇʀ ✦ ᴘʀᴏᴜᴅ ꜰᴀᴛʜᴇʀ ᴏꜰ ɪꜱɪᴀʜ ᴀᴋᴀ ꜱᴀʟᴇᴍ

─── ᴄᴏʟᴇɴᴇ

ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀʙʏ ꜱɪꜱᴛᴇʀ ✦ ᴇɴᴇʀɢʏ ᴡᴏʀᴋᴇʀ, ꜱᴘɪʀɪᴛᴜᴀʟ ʜᴇᴀʟᴇʀ, ᴀᴜʀᴀ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ✦ ᴋɪɴᴅʜᴇᴀʀᴛᴇᴅ, ᴡʜɪᴍꜱɪᴄᴀʟ, ꜰʀᴇᴇ ꜱᴘɪʀɪᴛ ✦ ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪᴘᴘɪᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ ✦ ᴄᴀʀᴇᴛᴀᴋᴇʀ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴀʟᴇ ᴇꜱᴛᴀᴛᴇ ✦ ɢᴇɴᴛʟᴇ ᴍᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴀʀᴄʏ

[mmayawriter]

Chapter titles from my autistic brain

1.I ain't reading all that! 2.My Love, all mine, all mine 3.Holy Mother God, you made a mistake: me 4.*Action Winter Journey starts playing in the background* Well we're fucked. 5.How ba-a-a-ad can I be? 6.How bad can I possibly be? (Let's see!) 7.Cigarette Ahegao 8.Did you not read the colony policy? 9.Why is life so vile?! 10.Naughty from Matilda is playing in my head on loop 11.I've wasted like half of my summer (tryna hold on your hand) 12."No [name], you shut up!" "Hey, that's [name]'s [object]-" .and the first line is "Not anymore!" 13.Eenie meenie miney mo, now all ya clothes gotta go! 14.Nothing's new. 15.September 1st, 1998: Dear Diary 16.Don't lose your head 17.Gretel by Soddiken is a carbon copy of my life 18.I can't handle change. 19.Chop Chop Slide 20.Was it the Boogey man? 21.I hate who I was before 22.My face will be too mingled to identify 23.Send you at a wedding in Somewhere-Stan with you as the bride 24.Honey whatcha ya waiting fo-(SHUT UP (name)!) 25.Stay in don't help yourself 26.(name)'s Inferno (excuse me sir!)

[akiraiscute]

Gon X Reader !

No tw !! - May add some kissing on the cheek (only once):D

Gon was leaning again your shoulder as he waited for killua to be done with his fight, well. It’ll end very soon, like really soon but.. he just wanted to be close to you, he doesn’t know why himself but he just does! But you did let him be close to you so.. that must be okay to be close to you right? But anyways, he watched killua win which made him smile and moved up as he started to clap for killua and you did too!

He ended up spending the day either fighting or watching the fighting, mostly killua’s and yours! It was fun to see you fighting and he loved the way you fought and and-, well. Just liked the way you carried yourself! It was nice, and cool! At least he found it was cool.. and Gon wanted you to see him as cool but he was oblivious to the fact that you already did and that meant he liked you in a.. not sort of a friend way. But! Anyways, Gon and killua met up with you in your hotel room after your fight, Gon didn’t understand why you were hiding in the bathroom but didn’t question it until you walked out with some bandages on your arms, he looked at you concerned as you said and i quote.

“It’s from the battle, they were pretty bad since he knew nen and… he sorta burned my arms..”

You explained as you got on the bed, trying to go as gentle as you possibly can as you continued talking to killua and gon. Killua didn’t wanna question you as he already knew that you weren’t lying but gon was still concerned, after all! burning?! That still gotta hurt at least! After Killua said he was going to head to bed for the night in his hotel room, gon stayed back to stay with you which killua gagged at as he thought gon was about to say something love-dovey at least! But in reality, gon checked on your arms and kept saying

“I just care about you, you know? I didn’t even notice that he was burning your arms!”

“Neither did i actually..”

You said as you winced in pain, gon dugged his finger into the bandages. You couldnt blame him as you already know that he didn’t know what the fuck he was doing. But he was trying, at least!! So you could try to help him learn any way as he kept checking before he noticed he was close to you. You didn’t even notice that! He smiled before getting off the bed, not thinking anything of it as you were blushing and Gon went to find something cold in your mini fridge that was left in the hotel room, he found one ice pack which could do at least. Gon put it on one of your bandages then unwrapped them to put the ice pack under the bandages and rewrapped it, maybe he knew a bit?? Gon kept talking about his day with killua and how cool killua was fighting, he sounded excited as he stopped and kept talking. You were listening to every single word, as you already knew this but you liked it when gon spoke, and you did like it when killua spoke but not the way you liked it when gon spoke.. You didnt know why really! You liked killua and gon as friends, you should like it when killua spoke the same as gons but- you didnt.. it’s just weird honestly.

“You know, if you ever need someone to talk to gon, im here! So is killua.”

“Eh? Why are you saying this?”

“Oh shush, i just. Sometimes you’re out of your emotions and sometimes you don’t even think with your head so. Why not just say that?”

“But, Why noww?”

“Gon, you shut up and say thank you.”

“Thank you, thank you a lot.”

Gon giggled before saying that. It warmed your heart to see him smile, his own smile was so confident, so filled with light, so filled with love. Everything sweet honestly, you wonder how did you get so even lucky to be friends with him and killua! Someone who’s so happy and someone who’s so cool, and being friends with them both?! You always felt lucky. Being friends with killua and gon did come with some weird things like, killua being a Zoldyck and you and gon and kurapika anddd leorio having to get him out of the zoldyck manison and. Gon being absolutely reckless which.. you can’t say much since killua and kurapika called you both reckless but still, he was even more reckless than you! And that has to say something at least since you even find yourself pretty reckless!

Gon was getting ready to go and that i meant is him getting his bag and already being ready but he was still talking to you which you didn’t even mind afterall, it was nice hearing him talk! Of course it was. As you were saying bye, you felt to do something bold and so. You gave gon a kiss on the cheek and said bye and closed the door as fast as you possibly can. You were blushing alot and walked to your bed, being slightly embarrassed as Gon smiled happily and went back to his hotel room. He didn’t think much of it really, well he did but he only thought that you were being sweet as a thank you and he made sure to give you a kiss on the cheek back too as he didn’t wanna leave you alone without giving it but you already shutted the door.. but he already got dressed for bed and bathed as well since that was already his usual, mean-while you were already fast sleep. Literally, after showering before gon and killua got in your hotel room and getting dressed as you put your Bandages on. You didn’t have much to do besides sleep now! Which made you pretty happy as you got to sleep after a long but great day!

ANDD done, ik its short but like- i actually dont know what To usually do for gon if im honest😭 but im already done with this and probably gonna do a part two bc it’s fun writing cute stuff!!! I love it so much bro, and i love writing for gon:D im happy abt this tbh, It’s cute and at least sweet!! Got a lot more stuff for yall so get ready<3 mwah!! Love you butterflies!!

— Akira Logging Offf !!

[dialmforolrik]

So there's this really cool thing Spanish does with pronouns. I'll try to explain (I'm no linguist, so feel free to correct me!).

Pronouns can be used as an accusative to mark the direct object of an action, as in "me bañe y me vestí" ("I showered and dressed myself"), or in "te beso" ("I kiss you"). Simple enough, right? It's your standard accusative personal pronouns.

But here's the thing. They can also be used as dative when the action concerns someone even though they may not be its direct object. For example, you can say "se rompió" ("it broke [itself]"), which is an accusative, but you can also add a dative and say "se me rompió" ("it broke [itself] [on me]"). You could very well imagine, then, a mother warning their children "¡Se me van a matar si siguen brincando así!" ("You're gonna kill yourself [on me] if you keep jumping up and down like that!"). You could even say, so as to mark a personal affection for the action's direct object, "no se me ponga a llorar" ("don't you start crying on me").

Alright. But you can take that a step forward. If your partner is looking particularly cute when going out, you could tell them "estás tan guapo que se te me van a robar" ("you're so cute they are gonna steal you from me").

[clowndogvibes]

Welp, it's been two years since I drew all of @elbdot 's pokemon inspired outfits.... I think it's time for a redraw, don't you?

So, to celebrate the 6th year anniversary of El's amazing adventures throughout Alola...

LETS DO A REDRAW!!

March 2020 vs. December 2022

First up is Sweets! Still doing the cheerleader look, but with a bit more pizazz!! I also gave her a hairbow with the little wing parts!

Up next is Jenna!! I moved from a fancy ballgown to a more Swan Lake/Black Swan sort of vibe, with some inspiration from the latest Pokemon game with the crystals!

Next is Kira! An absolute sweetheart of a pokemon, I went with a more playful sunny vibe for her! Also added sunflowers for a nice touch!!

And of course, we can't forget her sister Leia!! She's got a sweet softer picnic vibe this time around!! Perfect outfit for spring!

Up next is our favorite motherly fish, Lumion! She's got a lovely sleek dress that's perfect for a flashy party!! It even glows!!

(And since I have run out of space for pictures... part 2 is coming right after this!!