#plus an explanation under a keep reading

[sluttyten]

Now I sit in my room anxiously for the next hour and a half waiting for tickets to go on sale, and then I drive anxiously across town too

[philon-awards]

Philon Awards 2024 Shortlist

(in alphabetical order of the title; shortlist based on the results of the nominations phase)

Short fic (word count under 10K):

And Filled With Tomorrows by Android_And_Ale

A Perfect Fit by ThereBeWhalesHere

Cherubim by vanilla_extract

Engineering a Fantasy by CampySpaceSlime

Fly Over My Grave Again by gunstreet

Harrekh t'Harrekhi by CampySpaceSlime

How to Win Plants and Influence Lizards by indeedcaptain

Seeing, Unseeing by Jenna Hilary Sinclair (JennaHilary)

The Mess Hall Incident (or why Bones really wants to eat his salad alone, thank you) by discorporating

The Sight of a Touch, or the Scent of a Sound by Moreta1848

Long fic (word count 10K-50K):

All Things Fall and Are Built Again by spaceisgay (ChancellorGriffin)

DESK JOBS by WerewolvesAreReal

How Do I Know He's Mine by HDDrabble

Hurt by ThereBeWhalesHere

Please Don't Take Him Just Because You Can by spaceisgay (ChancellorGriffin)

Space age country girl, stone cold miracle by thembonesthembones

the fine print, and other things james t. kirk doesn't read by onlyafterhours

the yeomen of the garden (and laundry) by cicak

Way from Within by gunstreet

Novella/novel (word count over 50K):

Bodyguard by BurningAmber

Grief as a four-dimensional figure by Moreta1848

I Shall Do Neither by onwhatcaptain

It's Not An Illusion by Borealisblue

mol-kur by uhuraprime

Quell the Cosmic Tides by Plus3Charisma

Regulatory Relations by indeedcaptain

The Exiles by Moreta1848

The rebel and the nerd by Moreta1848

The recitation of names by Moreta1848

Podfic:

Blood Fever (written by T'Lara) by 1lostone

I must confess (written by USS_Queertastic) by 1lostone

milk and honey (written by spaceisgay) by foundbyjohndoe

milk and honey (written by spaceisgay) by cookiemom6067

The 1,000 Hour Sleep (written by spqr) by cookiemom6067

Traditional art:

Alright mr Spock by knezidon

kiss by vanilla-phantoms

Parading with Pride by Purple_Enma

Spock's Tattoo by SButler (Shelley Butler)

Tender Hands by Purple_Enma (Tumblr post)

The Ritual by Purple_Enma (Tumblr post)

Digital art:

(untitled Spock nude) by spirk-my-love (Florian Gray)

By the Fireplace by lorvee

Captains' Gambit (comic) by lorvee (Tumblr post)

Commission for BurningAmber's fic "Bodyguard" by asyncamestel

Harrekh t'Harrekhi by Purple_Enma (Tumblr post)

Mess by eldar_of_zemlya

Morning Sex by nightcrawler1

TALKING TO GHOSTS by emilinqa

Vulcan's Forge by CelestialVoyeur (Tumblr post)

Poetry:

all of me, unguarded by indeedcaptain

blanket me by USS_Queertastic (BoldlyQueertastic)

Shared Space by CelestialVoyeur (poem is chapter 6 in a collection of poems)

The Curious Case of Captain Kirk by CelestialVoyeur (poem is chapter 5 in a collection of poems)

to have and to hold by CateAdams

Zines:

KiScon 2023 Official Zine (editor: 1lostone) (download link)

Wild Heart – A NSFW AOS Spirk zine (editors: borbtrek, remylebae, nicbutnasty) (download link)

You can also see the shortlist on this Google spreadsheet. Make a copy to have your own spreadsheet to keep track of what you've already read and how you liked it.

Voting will open on 10 September 2024! Stay tuned for the announcement. You can also find this shortlist plus the rules and explanations concerning the voting process on the KiScon website.

[reidswhre]

A vague request for Spencer x reader!! (only if you want too, obviously.) Maybe some hurt/comfort?? I'm such a sucker for those.

spencer reid x fem!reader

summary: you keep your nightmares and insomnia to yourself till you reach a point where you can’t handle it anymore, it’s great your boyfriend is there for ya.

warnings: nightmares, insomnia, anxiety, low self-esteem due to the lack of sleep, however, it’s hurt and comfort! 🫶🏼

a/n: it's a bit rushed but I'm a little inspired so I did it before my inspiration disappeared, i hope you like it. also english isn’t my first language so let me know any mistakes. as always my request are open feel free to send me yours!

Sleeping is supposed to be something pleasant. It usually reduces stress and improves your mood. It’s the favorite activity of many people—in fact, it used to be yours too.

Until insomnia and nightmares began. At first, they weren't that bad; they scared you a bit, but nothing more. Then they became terrible, making you feel so awful you wanted to throw up, which led to unstoppable insomnia.

You used to sleep maybe 3 hours a day at most, and it was killing you. Not only were you unbearably tired all day, but you also had a mood so bad that even you couldn’t stand yourself. As a result, you started treating people around you poorly, which made you feel awful, but at this point, it was beyond your control.

You hadn’t told anyone either—you didn’t want to worry anyone unnecessarily. It wasn’t needed. You were probably just going through a rough patch. Maybe Mercury was in retrograde.

“Hey.” Spencer’s face greeted you when you opened your apartment door to let him in.

“Hi,” you replied with a small smile.

“I really missed you,” he said as he walked into your apartment, planting a kiss on your forehead.

You smiled. “Really? I missed you too,” you said sincerely. “You were gone for a few days.” Spencer’s job often required him to be away, and you handled it pretty well.

“Yeah, the case was tough,” he explained as he placed some bags in your kitchen. “How’ve you been?”

“Me? Well... good, I guess. Nothing new,” you shrugged.

“Are you sure?” He raised his eyebrows, questioning you.

“Yeah, don’t worry.” You looked away, feeling uncomfortable.

Again, you didn’t feel comfortable telling anyone that you hadn’t been able to sleep properly for weeks. There was no point in saying it.

“What’s in the bags?” You pointed at them, trying to change the subject.

“Oh, I read that green tea increases the body's relaxation capacity and helps with sleep. Plus, the amount of L-theanine is higher than caffeine, so it’s a great option to avoid insomnia,” he explained while taking the tea out of the bags.

“You think I need that? Why would you think that?” you said, your mood shifting a bit.

“What? No, I don’t think you need it. I just thought it’d be good to have to relax a bit. Personally, I’m sleeping fine, but I don’t see any harm in drinking it,” he said, looking at you.

“Well, I’m sleeping great too, so I don’t need it, okay?” There it was again. You had no idea why you were treating him this way—he hadn’t done anything wrong.

“I never said otherwise,” he said, frowning.

“Good.” You looked at the floor, feeling uncomfortable.

“Hey, are you sure you’re okay—”

“I’m perfectly fine,” you interrupted him and walked out of the kitchen.

You entered the bathroom in your room and splashed some water on your face, hoping it would refresh you. You looked at yourself in the mirror. You were a bit pale, with dark circles under your eyes that you hadn’t had in years, and your lips were dry. You felt terrible—like a completely different person.

But you decided that if you stayed there any longer, Spencer would come looking for you, and you’d have to give explanations you weren’t willing to share.

When you got back to the living room, you saw him sitting on the couch with his cup of tea and another cup next to him that was probably cold by now.

And you felt horrible.

Horrible wasn’t even enough to describe it.

He had bought and made tea just to help you relax a bit, even without knowing that this was the very thing driving you crazy.

And you had responded terribly.

“Spencer, I—” You tried to start.

“I think it’s better if we just go to bed, don’t you? It’s been a long day,” he said, getting up from the couch.

“Uhh... yeah, sure,” you whispered, staring at the floor.

Your heart was racing, sweat was running down your forehead and neck, and your head was spinning as you tried to push away the dreams that had been tormenting you.

“Hey,” you heard a voice in the distance. “Hey, listen to me, love, hey,” the voice repeated in your head.

“Hey!”

You suddenly sat up in bed, completely disoriented.

“Hey, you’re okay, right? You’re here with me,” Spencer said, looking at you while placing his hand on your knee. But you couldn’t really hear him. Your head was ringing so loudly it felt like it was going to explode.

“Sweetheart?” Spencer stroked your cheek, concerned.

Suddenly, you regained a bit of awareness. You looked at him and his worried face, then around the room. The clock read 12:38 AM. Your hands were sweating, and you were cold.

All of a sudden, everything you’d been carrying for weeks collapsed. It just fell apart, and you started crying like you hadn’t in a long time.

“Oh my God,” Spencer whispered as he wrapped you in his arms, holding you tightly.

“I’m so tired,” you sobbed into his neck.

“What’s going on, love? I need you to tell me, okay? So I can help you,” he whispered in your ear, his voice soft.

“I haven’t been able to sleep for a few weeks now,” you mumbled against him. “I have insomnia and lots of nightmares. I can’t take it anymore.”

“Why didn’t you tell me anything?” he asked, gently cupping your face in his hands.

“I—I don’t know,” you sobbed. “I didn’t want to bother you, and I didn’t want to seem weak, I—” You stumbled over your words.

“Don’t say that. You could never bother me, especially not with something this important. It’s serious, and I don’t think you’re taking it seriously enough,” he said, looking at you with his kind brown eyes, caressing your cheek with his thumb.

“I thought I was just having a few bad days, I don’t know—” you tried to explain through your tears.

“It’s okay, we can work through this. Tomorrow, we can see your therapist and check on how you’re doing, alright?” he said, kissing your forehead.

You nodded without saying anything, feeling safe.

“Let’s get that tea, yeah? I’m sure it’ll calm you down a bit—unless you don’t want it now either, hmm?” he teased you a little.

You let out a small laugh. “I want it.”

“Good, because I was going to make you drink it anyway,” he laughed with you.

“Hey!” you frowned.

“Don’t give me that face,” he said, kissing your furrowed brow.

“Thank you,” you said genuinely.

“For what? For making you drink tea?” he laughed.

“No, silly. For helping me, even though I didn’t treat you very well tonight,” you said, looking at the floor.

“Are you kidding? Of course, I’ll help you. It’s the least I can do. I love you, okay?”

“I love you too,” you said, giving him a small kiss on the lips.

You were probably going to sleep well tonight.

[lucabyte]

thinking about the very specific reading of isat i had during act 3 for the most part

anyway yeah ill ramble here about this. since it actually explains my headcanons for what the disappearing island wish was

disclaimer: taken as a whole this is way too allegorical for what i'd consider a holistic reading of isat, but it was part of my running theories at the time.

anyway my guess for the real-world equivalent of the island ended up being French Polynesia by the end of the game. I had initially thrown a dart at siffrin being greek wrt europe, sisyphus allusion, enjoyment of plays and seafairing-- but the moment that little guy started getting real weird about stars and specified they were from an island i switched my guess to him being polynesian. And then that reading only really strengthened from there (and i was pretty close, tbf!)

but yeah during act 3, especially the king plotline, i started thinking about the themes of cultural erasure + lack of identity that the game has and how that plays wrt vaugarde's extremely welcoming and diverse nature.

reading far too much into it but it made me wonder if they are the results of a fallen empire of some kind. somewhere that gathered people from across the globe (as empires are known to do) before dissolving into what seems to be a localised theocracy of some kind?

like. vaugarde is basically the Good End for an empire. Fully demilitarised (they barely have use for police to the point where the defenders are surprised by burglaries, and almost CERTAINLY have zero army), extremely diverse, not caring where one comes from.

(either that or they've been a socialist utopia like, forever? and thus just aquired migrants perpetually... but ka bue is characterised as harsher by odile in a lot of respects so one can assume its not that the whole planet is Niceys All The Time.)

this lines up pretty well with the um. Whole France Thing. Boy do they own a lot of islands still that they maybe shouldn't. Also lines up with bonnie's word-of-god french creole dialect. So Vaugarde as the welcoming, ideal form of former-colonialiser-nation is like. one i vibe with if we're gonna read too hard into the worldbuilding as presented.

Anyway all this to say I did for a time wonder if the Northern Island wish was 'For The Island To Be Safe'. Assuming this world to have any level of inter-country conflict-- Wish craft is powerful stuff, and a singular island might not be able to defend itself against those seeking to take it by force. Hiding the island from the world would protect it.

... though that felt like an unusually cruel read. The implication that cloistering away like that is a 'valid' strategy for a culture to be safe (albeit with the splash damage of hurting any diaspora).

Plus, wish craft is superbly powerful, with evidently its use on the island only becoming more widespread after it was discovered how to make it work Consistently.

(i work here under the assumption that Siffrin's growing cloak is imbued with wish craft, assumedly the same as the king's armour? Since there's no way that was created at that scale...)

So it almost makes more sense, to me, for the wish to be to 'Protect The World (universe) From Us' or to 'Keep The Universe Safe'.

Wish craft being so second nature to the Islanders (See: Siffrin, favour tree), that a wish that breaks the universe is almost inevitable were the knowledge to become widespread and ingrained.

This too is an oddly cruel read, that a culture's rituals can be dangerous to that degree, but ... ? Dunno. Like I said, reading it as hard allegory makes it fall apart somewhat. Symbols can mean many different things at once until you flatten them for direct analysis like this. I don't think it's quite so 1-to-1, and it's honestly slightly too 'no story only lore' for my tastes, so I did push a lot of this stuff out of my analytical mind once I started getting to the back and of act 3 and into act 4.

Anyway. Not the most coherent explanation in the world, but still some thoughts I had mid-game that i figure i should put somewhere at least, even if I don't think they are really what the game is going for.

As a bonus, the discussions on what the island wish were in this context also lead my friend @samhainian to speculation on the colour wish that i really enjoy. Which is....

The wish that removed colour from humans perception of the world being something along the lines of:

"I wish the world was simpler"

ergo, removing colour as an invocation of Nuiance VS Black and White Morality. The world is simpler, easier to understand.

I think it's a fun headcanon! I like it.

Well anyway. A work is more than the sum of its parts and dissecting something so sloppily as this often does it a disservice. So don't take my theorising as anything more than a general rundown of where my head was at mid-game before i had all the pieces. The emotional core of the story is far more where it's at for ISAT sooooo. [Shrugs and scampers away]

[alliseaisfandom]

Some Coven of Chaos headcanons

(I haven't watched the finale yet and so I'm coping already just in case. For arguments sake we assume the road was real and at the end it gave Jen, Billy, Agatha and Rio the rest of the coven back, because I'm sappy and live in denial)

They're all alive and meet for holidays. Keep that in mind for the rest of the list.

Jen mixes the best drinks. Alcoholic or not, everyone is convinced there's magic involved. She's got a lifelong ownership of the liqueur cabinet at everyone's house.

Alice can play the cello. Billy is the only one who knows this fact. That is until he can get her tipsy enough to break it out someday play for the coven (he almost got it at Samhain)

Lilia has a "memorial pool" in her backyard.

She was also the one to veto Cats out of Billy's suggestion list for musicals they could go to

Said musical outing has yet to happen since almost everyone voted in a different thing

Agatha voted for wicked.

Rio voted for beetljuice (there was a fight over this, Billy remembers very little of it other than hearing Eddie yell "just because you say it three times doesn't mean your vote counts more". It was the first time he brought Eddie to meet the Coven, and sure at the time he didn't know he was arguing with Death Herself, but Billy was impressed regardless)

Lilia voted for Carmen. When told that Opera was not on the list, she argued that dying granted her an extra vote.

Alice agreed, and so West Side story lives on Billy's whiteboard with 2 votes

Jen voted first and picked Chicago, which Billy also voted for, unfortunately when he tried using Lilia's argument, he was reminded rather aggressively and extensively by Rio that being unmade and Dying are actually two very different things

It's the most anyone has ever heard her talk at once and Billy still regrets not taking out his notebook to remember more of it

Unfortunately he only remembered that he did in fact die as William after he and Eddie were on their way home

Rio hates easter with a passion. She has a great time during Good Friday and then sulks for the rest of the weekend

She also steers clear of most of South America and southern Europe in the ends of cotober-beginning of November, not that she doesn't like the Death related holidays, it's just that people keep spotting her even when she doesn't want them to! It's exclusive to that time of year and she's been trying - and failing- to stop it for centuries

The Titanic was a gift from Agatha to Rio. Yes the Iceberg was an accident, in the way that it rendered useless the very precarious fire she'd set to one of the engine rooms

Rio was very thankful.

Billy's school organised an end of year trip to Italy. That night he got a call from Lilia where she told him the best places to go to, what tourist traps to avoid, and asked if he could bring her back a package stashed away under the floorboards of what he eventually found out was a heavily guarded historical monument

The first time they all actually got together to celebrate anything was Alice's birthday dinner

Agatha found herself with 6 unwanted guests in her kitchen and zero explanation. She did not kick them out, a fact she loudly proclaims to regret as often as possible

There is a group chat

Billy, Alice e and Rio are the most active in it, with Jen following, a bit behind because she "actually has a real job that takes up time that you all seem to have free for some reason" (her herb garden died that afternoon and she refused to answer any of Rio's texts for a week after that.)

Lilia never interacts, and they're not entirely sure she receives the messages, as everyone's phones glitch when they try to check

Agatha leaves them on read

Jen was invited to a beauty event in New York. She brought Billy as her plus one, who proceeded to act as her agent all night, getting her two new brand deals, and a spot on a talk show. She brings him along every time now

To be continued

[tragicvampireromanceisland]

some real quick, realll loose sketches because i've been thinking about how the powers of the heroes and villains (the ones engaging in direct combat, at least) would stack up against one another....pluuus what's the point of a superhero au if you don't draw everyone fightinggg smh....!! my final consensus is that these three pairs would be the most evenly matched in battle! explanations under the cut.

PLUS some silly aftermath doodles of our heroes as well :) (morph isn't ACTUALLY stuck, she's just being dramatic....)

solarflare vs. deadheat:

basically brute strength against brute strength! these two always give each other the NASTIEST bruises when they fight. while flight and super strength is usually an advantage for sol in dodging and countering attacks, you can't exactly push flames out of your way. however, flight does give her the advantage of forcing deadheat to resort to more long-ranged attacks, which are less powerful. deadheat's immunity to fire also extends to sol's laser vision—in fact, he can even absorb and redirect it with the use of his staff! and while it's difficult to maintain, deadheat can use his flames to propel himself upwards for short bursts of time, so he can sort of fly as well! any stone barricades or projectiles he creates are no match for sol's punches though. good thing he doesn't pull any punches, either!

miss morph vs. blindside:

a far more tactical matchup. while sol's heat vision can sense blindside's immediate presence, this is only when he is right in front of her. important to note: blindside's also got several other obstruction techniques, like his smoke bombs and his general stealth prowess! so enter miss morph, who has the advantage of ALL sorts of heightened senses, depending on what she shifts into. infrared vision, echolocation, electroreception, vibration detection, enhanced hearing...she can even camouflage herself if needed, to further confuse her opponent. though, be warned! blindside is a master of surprise ambush regardless. he's great at immobilizing opponents by swiftly targeting their pressure points. miss morph has to constantly stay on her feet and keep shifting her form to avoid getting hit!

that being said, morph kind of hates whenever she has to fight blindside, simply because she has to utilize so many animal forms at the same time. it feels very gross and frankenstein-y to her, and the added discomfort is definitely a disadvantage with the possibility of throwing her off her game.

kuiper vs. espritvoyant

while the most glaring advantage kuiper has is that she's immune to esprit's mind reading abilities, they're also evenly matched in a lot of other ways (well, whenever kuiper isn't stumbling over the giant, obvious crush she has on her enemy HUH who said that). while teleportation is usually esprit's easy out whenever an attack is hurled at her, it's a hell of a lot more difficult to achieve that when you're fighting someone with super speed. it's a neck and neck battle when it comes to these abilities: kuiper has to be constantly aware of her surroundings in order to predict where esprit may teleport and close the gaps, which also puts a strain on esprit's teleportation abilities, which have a pretty small radius limit when used in such rapid succession.

esprit's telekinesis offers a huge advantage when paired with a power that can easily spiral out of control like kuiper's, though. it's fairly easy for esprit to turn their battles into hellish obstacle courses for kuiper, burdening her with both dodging all of esprit's attacks as well as trying to attack on her own. kuiper's ability to leave afterimages if she runs fast enough is normally a decent confusion tactic, but something easily detected by esprit. her telekinesis can send out a pulse through the air to disrupt surrounding molecules and distort the afterimages.

while every hero has fought every one of the villains at least a few times, these matchups tend to be the most common. it's best to play to your strengths, after all! have they perhaps also learned a few things about their enemies along the way...? only time can tell...🤭

[sheerfreesia007]

Card Up His Sleeve

Pairing: Lee Felix x Reader

Word count: 2,603

Content warnings: Gambling, gang activity, exploitation of a teenager, mention of depression 

Summary: As a kid you had a natural talent and skill at playing cards, your grandfather had recognized it and cultivated it. But now as an adult who had to grow up far too soon to help your mom you found yourself back at your old habits of gambling at poker. What happens when you win too many games at the mob boss Lee Felix’s card house? Will he finally catch you or will you get away once again?

The dark emerald background of the invitation mocked you from its place on your coffee table while its pretty gold lettering called to you like a siren stirring your curiosity to life. 10th Annual Poker Night was written across the top of the invitation in glittery gold lettering while the explanation that it was being hosted by mob boss Lee Felix’s popular card house called Dealer’s Choice was written below in flowing script. Your eyes darted down the invitation reading the dress code for the event as well as the date and time for it. In the back of your mind you wondered why you had received an invitation since you hadn’t ever been to Dealer’s Choice before.

Leaning back on your couch you wondered if you should attend, it had been almost a full month since you had played cards at one of the more popular card houses. You always had a pattern for yourself, when you won big at one of the popular places you would always lay low afterwards for a month and play at the smaller lesser known card houses putting on the front of you losing money. It was a well curated act that you had put in place so that you never came under scrutiny of the card house owners, never wanting to be banned or to get on their radar as a card shark.

Ever since you were a kid you had always had a talent for playing cards, your grandfather had discovered it when he would babysit you for your single Mom while she worked. He would always play card games with you to pass the time so that you weren’t bored whenever you were with him. It had become a great way for the two of you to bond plus when he found out how good you were at the game he began to cultivate the skill and talent that you naturally had.

When you became a teenager your grandfather passed away from old age and your mother fell into a depression that resulted in her losing her job which had the domino effect of your house being foreclosed on and you both becoming homeless. While at your wits end trying to keep the both of you afloat by living out of your grandfather’s car and visiting the food banks every week you spotted a group of gang members outside one of the food banks. They were out there in the alleyway next to the food bank playing a game of Texas Hold'em and betting on the pot. You had stood at the entrance of the alleyway just watching them before one the members spotted you and yelled at you to scram. But you stayed there watching with avid eyes as the cards moved quickly and the money grew in the pot. When another member spotted you and asked you if you wanted to play you told him that you had no money to throw in the pot and he waved you over to take his spot. 

“I hate playing cards, here take my hand and see what you can do with it.” he said nonchalantly and you eagerly moved to his side and took his place. When you went through two hands and were able to win one of them the gang members had become interested in you and your skills. They began to ask you questions about who you were and why you were hanging around the food bank and when they found out your sad story they asked if you’d be interested in joining their gang and helping them win some card games. You had happily agreed but told them that you wanted a cut as well so that you could take care of yourself and your mom. The members had agreed to give you a part of the winnings and had even helped you out with a small studio apartment that was in their district for you and your mom.

You had spent years working with the gang all the way up to college before you moved away to get a degree in business management. Your mom had come back around with the help of doctors and medication and you had managed to save up enough money from the card games to purchase a condo for the two of you in the same district as the gang. They had taken care of you in one of your darkest times and you held a great sense of loyalty towards them and didn’t want to leave them. But college had pulled you away and they had promised to take care of your mom while you were gone and look out for her.

But when you had returned you had found that the gang had been taken over by mob boss Lee Felix, and while when you finished your degree you had planned to come back and work for the gang again you weren’t so sure if you wanted to work for a mob boss. Thankfully the gang had kept your identity a secret and Lee Felix had no idea who you were. 

After that you got a job in a low level manager position in one of the many businesses around the city. The job gave you enough money to be able to cover the condo fees as well as all utilities and groceries for you and your mother. It also gave you enough freedom to be able to still play cards at your leisure. You were able to get back to your passion of playing cards with the added bonus of swindling money from people.

Looking back at the invitation you smirked softly as you felt the adrenaline begin to kick up inside of you. Silently you made the decision to go to the event and made an appearance, what’s the harm that could happen? It wasn’t like Lee Felix knew who you were right?

*-*-*-*

The extravagance of the card house was unmatched by any others that you had been to. Dealer's Choice was an elite card house that you had never even bothered to think about going to because of how high end it was. You were more welcome and comfortable in the seedier card houses where there was no dress code and oftentimes someone wound up slammed onto the card tables. It’s what you grew up with and has become almost a part of your essence. 

You walked through the front foyer area of the building looking around yourself with unsuppressed awe on your face as your eyes darted around the walls. It was all so opulent and grandiose that it made you feel so out of place. Taking in a deep breath you straighten your spine and lift your chin with pride before moving further into the building. As you move through the multiple rooms you spot some of the gang members that you had known back in the day and you nodded at them with a soft smile which they all eagerly returned before you came to a large room with multiple card tables set up.

You stood near the doors keeping yourself out of everyone’s way as your eyes moved around the room mapping out the layout. There were numerous tables set up around the room holding different card games and you let yourself lean back against the wall as you heard the sound of cards shuffling together fill the room. Letting your eyes close gently you smiled softly as you were transported back to those days of playing cards with your grandfather and the memory filled you with warmth. When you felt a presence next to you your eyes fluttered open and you turned your head to stare up at a very handsome man dressed in an expensive looking black tuxedo with short platinum blonde hair. His eyes were a sharp piercing dark brown that almost looked black and you gasped softly as you realized who was standing next to you.

Lee Felix, the mob boss that had taken over your old gang turned his head towards you and smiled warmly at you. You tried to keep any reaction from your face as you recognized him but you knew something had slipped past your control when his eyes dilated slightly as his smile widened.

“From your subtle reaction I assume you know who I am.” he said in that low tone of voice that he was famously known for.

“Yes, you’re Lee Felix.” you said easily as you nodded your head and his smile morphed into a smirk which had the hairs on the back of your neck.

“I have to admit I’m ashamed to know that I don’t know who a beautiful woman such as yourself is.” he husked out softly as he leaned towards you and you locked your knees so that you wouldn’t lean away from him as his complimenting words fell over you. You didn’t want to show him any sign of weakness, you knew he was a man who would absolutely exploit your weakness to control you. You had no misconceptions of what type of man he was but you also knew that if he caught you lying to him he would be even more dangerous so you gave him your name with a soft smile hoping he’d leave you soon. “Do you play cards?” he asked as his eyes darted around your face before moving to the floor where the card tables were.

“I do. Poker is my game of choice. I was just trying to figure out which table to join.” you said to him as you turned your head back to the room.

“Why don’t you join me?” he asked suddenly and your head whipped back to him and he grinned wolfishly at you causing the alarms in your head to start sounding out. “I have a private room and would love to play with you.” he said softly while leaning against the wall next to you.

“Oh I couldn’t.” you said softly as a nervous chuckle escaped your mouth in a short staccato beat.

“Please I insist.” he said imploringly and suddenly his hand was slipping around your waist as he guided you through the room to an almost invisible door at the side of the room. You felt your nerves begin to race as he opened the door and began to guide you into the room, you knew as soon as you entered this room you would be in his territory which caused you to worry.

“Wait!” you said suddenly and turned in his arms as he looked down at you with a soft look on his face.

“You don’t want to play with me?” he asked, sounding downtrodden as his eyes connected with your own wide worried ones.

“It’s not that. Will it just be us? Or will there be more players?” you asked in a rush and he grinned wickedly before ducking his head down towards you.

“Call me selfish but I’d like you all to myself right now.” he husked out and you gasped softly as your head tilted up towards his. He then successfully guided you into the room.

The room was small and intimate with just a single card table in the middle of it with just two chairs. While the room was well lit it still held shadows along the walls and it made the focus more on the card table then anything else in the room. Felix walked you over to the table and pulled out one of the chairs for you. You shivered slightly as you felt his fingers graze along the back of your neck as he moved to sit in the chair across from you.

He offered to let you deal the cards and you smiled warmly at the gesture before you began to cut and shuffle the cards. When you dealt them out to each of you your mind focused more on the game than on the man across from you but you surmised that was your mistake when he spoke up again to you.

“So how often do you play cards? You seem to know how to play well.” he said curiously and while you were more focused on the cards you answered him honestly.

“My grandfather taught me when I was a kid. And I’ve been playing here and there ever since.” you explained to him as your eyes darted around the table taking in the cards laid out.

“That’s a long time. How come you haven’t ever come to Dealer's Choice before?” he asked curiously as he leaned forward on the table while watching you with avid eyes not even paying attention to the game. He dismissively threw down his cards when it was his turn and smirked softly as he watched you tilt your head in confusion at his move. 

“Dealer's Choice is too high end for me. I don’t fit in here.” you tell him as you lay down your card and win the hand. You sweep up the cards and he watches you quietly for a moment letting his eyes dart up and down your body.

“You seem to fit in now.” he said softly and your head whips up to look at him surprised before you duck your head slightly.

“I polish up well, that's all.” you say dismissively and you watch as his eyes dilate once more while staring at you. Your nerves are back again and you wonder if you’ve said too much to him.

“Is that why you frequent Back Door Stacks?” he asked curiously as he tilted his head to the side. You had been dealing out the next hand when his question filters through your brain and your head slowly lifts to stare at him wide eyed. He smirks widely at you and you feel a cold sensation trickle down your spine. “Oh yes, I’ve known all about you darling. Ever since you started playing cards after coming back from college. Imagine my surprise when I found out the reason for my least popular card house to lose a good chunk of money every three to four weeks was all because of you. I have to admit you have a good system, but you forgot one little detail, I own all of the card houses in this district and even some in the next district. And I don't like losing money, so how are you going to pay me back?” he taunted and teased in a sultry tone as he dragged his finger along the table while watching you with sparkling almost manic eyes.

“I-I” you begin to stutter softly as your eyes focus completely on him knowing that he had you in his palm. You were worried that he was going to make you pay back all the money that you had won from his card house, money that you didn't have. He smirks wickedly at you before tapping the card table forcefully.

“So let’s make a wager darling.” he taunted you softly. “If you don’t want me to punish you for stealing from me after all these years you’re going to play me in poker. Best two out of three wins.” he bets and you gulp softly before quickly nodding your head agreeing to his terms. You silently cursed yourself for letting him get the jump on you but you squared your shoulders as you dealt the next hand and watched as Felix’s eyes heated with excitement at your change of attitude.

“May the best person win.” you said confidently and Felix smirked deliciously at you from across the table.

SKZ Taglist: @intartaruginha, @kayleefriedchicken, @babigriin

[futurecorps3]

Hi!! I would like to request Kaz x f!reader

I’m so sorry that this is so long and if this isn’t making any sense I can’t explain things for the life of me😭 If you do write this, thank you so much, ily :)

Anyway picture this, a reader who is quite sneaky decides that it would be very funny if she snuck a little note with something like „I live for the way you smile so brightly” into Kaz’s coat when he’s not looking. She manages and when Kaz doesn’t bring it up at all, she sneaks another note in. This continues bcs the reader just thinks Kaz is ignoring it and automatically throwing out the notes without reading them or smth. Over the time the notes get a little bit more brave like „you looked very pretty today, Brekker” and become genuine copmliments. Now i have two ideas how could the ending go. Kaz just casually mentions in a conversations with reader the sweet notes which reader is completely shocked by Or reader finds themselfs curiosly looking around Kaz’s office and stumbles upon a little box on his table. Thinking it’s gonna be some kind of jewelry she opens it and sees ALL the notes she snuck into his coat. But uhoh Kaz steps into the office and his eyes widen when he sees reader standing over the box. Reader gets flustered trying to explain what the fuck was she even doing there but is greeted by Kaz’s silence. He’s embarrased about her now knowing that he has been keeping the little notes since the very beginning ijsksjdks istg I’m going insane

𝐒𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐲

Masterlist<3

Summary: The one where Y/N thinks she's being sneaky. Pairing: Kaz Brekker x fem!reader Warnings: None I think!! Word Count: 2.3K Requested: Yes

A/N: YES YES YES YES I LOVE THIS!!!! I wanted to use the one where he mentions it casually in a conversation but it all led to reader finding out by accident. Tysm nonnie, enjoy, I'm sorry about the huge delay. Tough couple of months, hope u understand and that I did justice to this beautiful prompt, ily2 <3

˚ · • . ° .

It all started as some stupid game. One only Y/N knew about. Everything about it was very silly, the sneaking around, coming up with what the note would say and when to put it inside his coat's pocket. The first time, the girl snuck the neatly folded paper when he excused himself to go to the restroom and left his jacket behind. Easy.

It read 'Your smile lights up the room, Brekker'. Cheesy, untrue and quite simple. She'd bet all her kruge on it, though. That bastard had a wickedly expressive smirk, so his full smile must be as sentimental as his smirk, right? Maybe her note would make him giggle in the confines of his office, maybe Kaz would burn the paper or toss it in the trashcan he so neatly kept under his desk. Truth is, Y/N didn't have an explanation or reason as to why she started all this nonsense.

The prospect of making Kaz angry or laugh even when she wouldn't witness it was probably it. The girl happened to be a sucker for the adrenaline rush of delivering her teasingly sweet notes, too. She got bolder and more creative, even getting the chance to sneak one during a job where she and Kaz had to pair up.

None of the crows knew except for Jesper, and surprisingly, he didn't tease her about it. When he caught her tucking a little pink piece of paper into the inner pocket of his boss' coat, he scoffed with a little smile and downed his whiskey glass.

"What on earth does it say and... why?" Jes smirked as Y/N returned to her seat next to him. "Not relevant, my friend. Don't snitch," "I could never, love." He laughed at his friend's eccentricities and let it slide. Another little secret shared between them wouldn't hurt nobody. Plus, her favorite sharpshooter had plenty to say when he was there to see Kaz discover the notes.

"I'm telling you, he smiled!" "Jesper, I don't care if he did," the girl giggled. She did. She cared a lot. "Kaz Brekker doesn't smile" "He did that weird upside down frown, not quite a smile, but he wasn't exactly displeased." Y/N had to hide the blush creeping up her cheeks by turning around, downing her glass of scotch. Had she really made Kaz smile? Or, somewhat, change that angry expression he seemed to keep, like it was carved carefully and perpetually on the sharp features of his face? There has to be an award to that, she thinks.

That note she remembered; there was a playful banter happening like many times before at the slat between the crows. They were all sitting down at one of the tables after a long day of kicking out pigeons upset because they lost all their money, drinks and giggles shared in a tired, dazed stupor.

"There is no way we could've made it without him. I mean, imagine me trying to carry Nina's dead-weight down two flights of stairs and out of that house." Y/N laughed as they recalled how useful Matthias turned out to be. "He's my favorite" Nina smiled, kissing the Fjerdan's cheek as he smiled proudly with a light red tint on his face (could be from the alcohol but they all knew his girlfriend made him nervous).

"And Inej, dear, I know I'm yours" the grisha teased her friend, pulling her close as the Suli girl smiled, not confirming or denying the allegations. Then Wylan, a bit tipsy and, for some reason defensive, hugged his boyfriend and declared: "Well, Jesper's my favorite," downing his glass. Jesper pulled it aside, pecking his head lovingly. "Inej's mine".

Wylan perked up from his place in Jes' arms with his mouth agape, making everyone break in laughter as the couple argued, their demo-man leaving the table with his boyfriend chasing after him trying not to laugh "Wait, dear I-I'm joking!" "No you were not! Take the couch". After they all calmed down, Matthias finally spoke. "Demjin, tell us, who's your favorite?".

Theatrical silence fell over the group. Kaz's heart sped up a little and Nina could tell, but said nothing. Then, as he scanned the group with a light smirk and his eyes lingered on Y/N for a minute longer, it sped up even more to then recede. "Oh, I know," the heartrender laughed, grabbing her glass to pour more alcohol on it. "You don't, Nina. I don't have favorites. You're all pretty solid assets," he said, voice deep and Y/N wondered how it would sound whispered in her ear.

"That's the closest we're getting to an 'I love you', guys. Hate to break it to you" Inej joked as everyone agreed. After a few more minutes, too tired to keep going, they all went to bed. Kaz woke up the next day to a note on his doorstep that said 'you're my favorite'. It was a bit different from the others he kept in his office. The letter was cursive, written in a rush on a slightly yellow piece of paper. Black ink.

"You plan on ever telling her?" A voice came from his side. Jesper stood, still in his white sleep shirt and trousers. "No one makes you smile. You should tell her, you know, at least." He was greeted by his boss's silence and the sound of his door closing.

Now, of course he knew. In fact, he figured it out after the fourth note or so, but Y/N didn't need to know that. Selfishly, he had been keeping that weird aching in his chest the girl brought all to himself for almost a year and it was getting tiring. Until he figured it out. He just hoped, to anyone who was willing to listen, that the notes weren't some joke for her.

He hoped that all those nights they spent enjoying the silence, the conversations where he'd let the wounded boy talk instead of the bastard of the barrel and she would listen attentively, almost lovingly, meant something to her. And that the notes were her way of saying 'I'm here and I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon'.

Y/N knew the game she came up with ended up being a breath of fresh air for all the compressed feelings she had for the boy. She had no problem with it. In the end, she was telling him every single thought that crossed her mind when those icy blue eyes turned into warmth when they were alone and he let his guard down. The things she knew she'd never say to Kaz's face.

Or so she thought.

It was a big coincidence, like a butterfly effect. Y/N came back from one of her many investigations (a trip to the Geldstraat to gather some information) and was walking up the stairs to Kaz's office to tell him what he found out. "Turns out you were right, he has two kids" she began, entering to an empty room. She should've left, see if he was in his room or downstairs watching the tables. Yet she didn't leave. Instead, with a heavy sigh, she sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

It gave off more of the energy from a studio rather than an office. He seemed to appreciate neatness, from the bookshelves with books arranged alphabetically to the candles placed in the appropriate places so the room could be lit perfectly at night. So, of course, she was going to notice the rectangular red box sitting messily on top of a stack of papers right in front of her.

Again, would've, could've, should've stayed in the chair. She got up and peeked. A shock ran through her body, suddenly feeling so very cold she almost turned to see if the window was open. There sat all of her notes, some a bit more used, probably from him folding and unfolding them several times. At the top was the one she sneaked just that morning; "I sometimes wonder if you think about me just as much as I do. Probably not. Have a good day, though".

A million questions running through her head. Why was he keeping them? Did he know she sent them? And most importantly, why was she so stupid!? Y/N could've just... not! Just not write those stupid notes like she had some stupid teenage crush on stupid Kaz and keep her stupid feelings to her stupid self. But no. She always had to be too much, huh? Her words and emotions spilled out of her like a river. The thing was so big it showed over her wrist.

The creek of the door. She was so inside her head she didn't hear Kaz's steps. Shit. Shit. Shit. Hoping it was her imagination playing tricks on her, she turned around. Hope died and there stood Kaz Brekker, wide-eyed and pale as a corpse. She felt like she had to say something and saints she tried, but the knot on her throat only let a choked, unintelligible sound.

It could've been hours, really. Both of them just stared at each other. Kaz was so unbelievably embarrassed he wanted to ask Jesper to just shoot him in the head to end his suffering, begging on his knees for someone to come and help him. He was never this careless, not with things like the notes. He left them out, going through them for the fourth time that week, to get a drink downstairs. How did he miss Y/N walking through the door?

"Kaz I was just here t-to uhm tell you what I found out on G-Garson. I promise I didn't mean to snoop around l-like I wasn't looking through your stuff. A-anyway who a-are these from? They're very swe-" "You don't have to pretend, Y/N."

He knew. A new dread consumed her, and she dropped her eyes to the floor as quick as humanely possible. So stupid. So stupid. "So stupid" "What?" said Kaz, letting out a breath he didn't realize he was keeping in "I'm so stupid, I'm sorry, Kaz. I-I don't know why I wrote those". Was she truly apologising to him, her head bowed in shame? For what? He looked forward to discovering one of those sweet little notes every day, wondering what kind of message she had left him this time.

Hope. He remembered the hope. Maybe he was this upset because the notes would stop now that she knew he knew? His eyes widened even more when he realized Y/N was standing right in front of him, waiting for Kaz to step out of the way so she could escape this torture. "You're right. You shouldn't have. Y-you should've just told me"

"Tell you what, Kaz?" the girl asked, taking a step back and looking straight into his eyes like he was doing. Kaz Rietveld spoke before Brekker could. "Tell me I am your favorite, that I'm on your thoughts nonstop every single fucking day, and that you consider I look lovely even with my hair in my face. If it is true, tell me right up front. I don't think I could stomach it being some crazy game, so please tell me it is real." Perplexed, she stared.

Kaz wanted it to be real, and she knew damn well it was. "You know I don't like games, Brekker. I mean it. All of it. Every single word is just me trying to catch my name in a whisper in your reactions... counting on making you smile, or at least, to temporarily jolt your thoughts from the generally dreary state they seem to be in."

He led a leather hand to grab hers, tangling their fingers with his. The boy couldn't help but notice how beautiful her eyes looked under the candlelight, warm y/e/c welcoming him home. Making him feel at ease in that saint forsaken land, knowing that with her by his side, everything seemed to be just fine.

"Y/N, since you entered my life, I have been acquainted with a new kind of light. Your presence has brought a certain innocence and laughter that I have not known before. Your character is resilient, as if it has been shaped by the hardships of this city. In my eyes, you are the embodiment of light, and I cannot help but find you lovely at all times, too"

It was a love that defied all logic and reasoning, a love that transcended the boundaries of time and space. They had each found in the other a place of serenity, a sanctuary where they could be themselves and forget the chaos of the world outside. With every passing day, their bond grew stronger, until a little piece of heaven was crafted, right there in their midst.

It was their own personal heaven, a place where they could bask in the warmth of knowing glances and brief touches, and where the mere presence of the other was enough to soothe their souls. They had found a love that whispered "I'm here" in the moments when it was necessary, a love that made a home for a broken boy and a shelter for a scarred girl who would go to the ends of the earth for him.

And as they stood there, hand in hand, they knew that they had found something special. They had found a love that was strong enough to weather any storm, a love that would see them through the trials and tribulations of life.

Together with time, they had created a world that was perfect in its imperfection, a world that was full of love, laughter, and joy. And as they gazed into each other's eyes, they knew that they had found their own personal piece of heaven on earth.

˚ · • . ° .

Hi! Thank you so much for reading, hope you enjoyed:)

Remember, the best way to support writer’s works on here is by REBLOGGING WITH TAGS. I’d very much appreciate it if you did!

Thanks again, stranger. Hope you have a nice day<3

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

Homelander being obsessed with his sister HC V

Warnings: siblingxsibling implications, Homelander being such a narcissist that he falls in "love" with his own sibling, dubcon, manipulation, stalking, basically all the horrible parts of HL come out to play, MC has blonde hair and blue eyes like HL, different plot than 'All I Ever Wanted, All I Ever Needed', stockholm syndrome, dealing with aftermath, mental trauma

I II III IV

Oh you poor fool, did you really think Homelander would keep to his word? No, this only meant that he had to act under your radar. Stealth was required now to feed his desire to be close to you always.

He let you think that he was taking a step back. Grudgingly let you resume your previous life though you found little comfort in the family you once lived with. Time with HL changed you. Everything you'd known about your life was an utter lie manufactured by Vought. The hero you'd adored was. . . a complicated creature that wasn't like the golden man on the tv.

HL will draft thousands of texts to you but hesitate on sending them to you. He'll break and send you at least a text every other day. Tolerable, you think. You didn't know that he'd be using his enhanced vision to watch you read them and gauge your reaction.

Now is the time that stalker HL comes out to play since he can't be caught or you really would never forgive him. He didn't want another fight. He hated fighting you. It fought against his natural instinct to protect you. Plus you packed a punch that actually bruised his ribcage making it difficult for him to breathe for the next two days.

Often on his patrol breaks (and when he knows you aren't home) he'll fly by your apartment just to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary. You know, checking your drawers just to reassure himself that you were taking care of yourself and doing your own laundry. Particularly your undergarments.

Careful not to leave a trace when he does these inspections. Never staying too long.

You're non the wiser when you return to your apartment although you do notice how you have to buy more underwear lately.

He likes to keep the clothes he's taken from you under his pillow. When he goes to bed he pulls them out from their hiding place and places it next to his face.

your absence in his own apartments is suffocatingly pronounce

he hates how quiet it is, hates how his room is so empty without you there

and grudgingly you miss his familiar presence too

Your bed is suddenly too large without Homelander laying next to you. You hated when he'd pull you close to his chest in the middle of the night, refusing to relinquish you even if you had to pee.

You find yourself actually missing him and fuck does that make you resent him more. He completely uprooted your life. Him and Vought.

When exactly did you starting hating him less to actual start contact with him? You hate that you cracked after three days of being away from Homelander. Three days and you missed him like you hadn't seen him in a week. Hell, you'd been stuck with him for close to two months before enough was enough. That time spent together, all that trauma bonding, was bound to leave it's mark on you.

Loathing the idea that you may have developed a degree of Stockholm Syndrome. You'd read about it in books and seen it played out hundreds of times on tv.

You're annoyed when you close your laptop after spending hours of research. Especially after encountering this little passage: "An alternative explanation suggests that being in a captive or abusive situation generates intense emotional dynamics. Over time, individuals may adapt their emotions and develop feelings of compassion towards their abuser, particularly when subjected to kindness."

For the most part, Homelander had been kind to you (except, ya'know the whole fucking kidnapping thing). There were definitely moments where he made you uncomfortable but overall his intentions weren't necessarily malicious.

You recall a few times when Homelander leaned in too close to you and you thought. . . well you thought he was going to kiss you. But wouldn't that be messed up? Why would he do that? You didn't quite understand those odd moments where it sounded- it sounded like he was in love with you. There was nothing familial about the way he'd eye you.

In a short amount of time Homelander had done so much damage to your mental health. You found yourself unable to be without him. Perhaps that was the cruelest thing he's done to you.

[narrators-journal]

20$ make a fella holla

I don’t know if it’s obvious, but I can never describe Senku’s fucking hair. It’s just...how do you describe that shit??

Regardless, I hope this is a fun read, I just kinda had fun with it, tried to make it amusing to read, just a lil fake dating romp <3 Hope the romantic tone is there though at the end! I thought it was a pretty cute lil moment, at least.

Some people loved weddings, with the belief that they were the perfect time to bask in the love of your partner and joy of your family. Some, believed the events to be garish, stressful, exhausting nightmares for everyone involved. Which, was more or less the group you fell into.

Though, of course, you had no real issue with weddings, and someday may also wish to be married to your own future partner. But, that didn’t keep the sudden invitation to a family friend’s surprise nuptuals from coming out of left field.

So, befitting someone in your panicked position, you scrambled to find a date to accompany you to the event. Someone, anyone who could make sure you couldn’t be paired off with a complete and total stranger for pictures, and that no well-intentioned aunties, or eager, nosey grannies could offer potential dates and suitors.

Alas, your boyfriend had dumped you a month before, and none of your friends were free to attend with you. “When does this crap end? I’ve got a project to get to.”

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

“Senku, will you please quit complaining already? Do you have zerofucking social skills?” You hissed back in a similarly quiet tone your date at the reception table. Aka your roommate, Senku Ishigami. A slightly eccentric, odd-haired 19 year old science prodigy on his third year of college, and your last fucking nerve at the moment.

But, your annoyance seemed to simply bounce off of your ‘boyfriend’ as his crimson eyes glared back at you as he muttered quietly, “I do, but this is damned boring. Plus, this tuxedo is itchy as hell. I did my bit, why don’t we just leave already? The ceremony’s over.” “Because that’s passive aggressive and rude, Senku. Have you never been to a wedding?” You asked back, but before your ‘boyfriend’ could shoot back with some explanation about the useless nature of such events, one of your tablemates asked, “So, how long have you two been together?” in an attempt to start some less hissed and angry conversation. “Oh! Uh, about…” While you scrambled for a good answer, Senku jumped in to save you, “Going on two years soon. A little under a month before that marker, actually.” He answered, his boredom well hidden under his usual cool, unbothered demeanor as he spoke, but it still irked you.

Almost as much as his claim did, honestly. God, why am I not surprised that he doesn’t give a singular fuck about the plot holes I’ve gotta patch up if someone asks for details?You mentally fumed as your expression remained politely chipper and joyful as the woman across from you continued to ask questions. “How ever did you two meet then? I hope I’m not rude, but you two don’t seem like eachothers ‘types’.” She hummed, but before you could toss out some bland, cutesy meet-cute plot, Senku spoke once again, “Oh, kinda creepily, actually. She needed a room mate, I was just the person to take her offer.” Why not just admit I’m paying you to be here too?!“We didn’t like eachother at first, I usually don’t like super extroverted girls surrounded by dramatic friends and shit. Which, at first, that’s what she seemed like. I mean, jeez, let loose a machete-wielding maniac on campus and she’d have been prime ‘hot bimbo victim’ material.” Oh my fucking god, Ishigami, what next? Calling me ‘the old ball and chain’? How is this supposed to be believably romantic?!But, of course, the man continued regardless of your attempts to psychicly blow him up. “But, a month or so in, I realized my assumptions were wrong. She’s actually quite a funny, charming girl, with a good head on her shoulders, and some intellegence to her. And...well, y’know, I asked her out from there. Though, I have no clue why she agreed to date my ass, but she did! And I’ve held onto my title since then.”

As he spoke so easily, you were stuck with a nerves-laced smile the entire time. Only able to muster the occassional giggle to try and sell the romance in his take on your actual situation. Because, what else were you to do? Correct your boyfriend on your meeting story? That’d just out how fake the two of you were in an instant, so you mostly focused on your bland wedding reception food and tried not to give your room mate dirty looks as he spoke.

Thankfully, though, the woman across from you two seemed at least a bit charmed, or at least amused by the romantic twist on how your initial meeting with the odd-haired scientist. So, you could let out an internal sigh and redirect the conversation away from your ‘love story’ before Senku could cook up any other questionable tales. But, as you sat there in polite conversation as you ate your fillet mignon and mashed potatoes, Senku’s story was able to settle into your mind. Allowed to stew and marinate as the reception continued.

Why the hell would he got down such a weirdly honest route? He seems more the type to claim we met on tinder, not that weirdly sweet tale of growing to like me from an awkward set up. You asked yourself. Because, in the two years you’d had the man as a room mate, he had always favored blunt honesty over sugar-coating anything, so, it was odd that he had such a long-winded lie at the ready. And it you couldn’t explain it away as him having ‘prepped for the role’, you had to fight him just to put on a tux and pull his gravity-defying hair into a ponytail so he didn’t look weird in any wedding photos. He wouldn’t bother with that type of preparation. So...what? Was he being...honest?

It wasn’t an entirely comfortable realization to come across. Even if Senku had his moments of being attractive, and he was a pretty good room mate, he had the tact of a brick, and a blatant love for science over any living person, least of all you, right?

God, get a hold of yourself, girl.You chided yourself with a small sigh, only a glance thrown to your date to briefly study how he sat and ate his food, that glint of boredom back in his cherry-colored eyes. This isn’t some rom-com fanfiction. Your roomie hasn’t been harboring some deep love for you for two years unless your a beaker of nitroglycerin. You reminded yourself firmly, the flustered butterflies in your belly squashed coldly as you returned to the food in front of you.

Though, after a moment, you did dare another glance to your pretend boyfriend beside you, and this time, those crimson orbs looked back at you. And, as if the scientist had suddenly learned to read your mind, he leaned over until you could feel his warm breath tickle your ear when he whispered, “What’s with the weird looks? Surprised the unfeeling scientist has a heart?” in a playful,flirtatioustone that was almost alien to hear mixed into his voice. A tone you had heard plenty of time in your life, but still managed to cause you to gasp, and choke on your own spit. Like a true charmer.

“Oh! Oh shit, are you choking on something, hon?” Senku asked, instantly on his feet as you coughed on your surprise, “Jesus, maybe this is a good time to go. With your luck, dear, you’ve got a cold brewing.” He said, at least decent enough to fabricate some form of a lie before he took his opportunity and almost drug you from the reception hall just as you got your breath back. I’m going to kill this bastard.

[qierxing]

i’m the previous lads anon and i got rafayel’s latest 5* star and… him and xavier are dangerous;; the worst part is rafa has the whole “i’m lemurian :( we’re just built like that” excuse loaded and ready to go the minute you so much as question what he’s doing. and it’s like… well if he really is built like that how much can you ask him to against it? plus he’s so lonely all the time just let him be kind of weird and clingy, can’t a man love in peace? and so does xavier as he’s not from here and old as fuck, so he can go “ah i’m just old school and where i’m from it’s totally normal so it’s not weird at all don’t look into it too much though :)” and he says it so causally you just believe him because when has he lied or hurt you? zayn, on the other hand, is a doctor and can just pull the “i’m a doctor i know what’s good” and since he’s a childhood friend and your physician it’s like… he is right, he is looking out for you, when has he not? and i’ve gotten to know sylus better and… wow he is not subtle at all he doesn’t even try to excuse it he just does the crazy shit and gives no explanation whatsoever and you can’t really question him because he doesn’t even answer the question. all these men are like different stages of crazy but they’re all cut from the same cloth… i have so many thoughts, if i didn’t have commissions lined up i would be writing like crazy for them - especially xavier and rafa because they’re the least aggressive looking but they’re not even hiding it half the time

Now that I've read more of Rafayel's story and events, it's less so that he hides behind his Lemurian roots as an excuse and more of the fact he knows how to play you like a fiddle. Being practically a celebrity and being used to entertaining the masses means he knows exactly what to say when you're not happy or whether he should break out the puppy eyes and pouty lips. You're tired, he gets it, but he just wanted to spend some time together, y'know? It wouldn't kill you if you just stayed the night and kept him company.......never mind the fact your dinner might just be laced with drugs to make you stay longer :) who knows, really?

Xavier...........you bastard(affectionate). He toes the line between chill friend or making it so that you have no one else to hang out with. You don't notice your friends texting you less and less, not when Xavier's asking if you wanna get takeout or to see a game event together. So natural, so seamless. When he gets locked out of his apartment, you offer him your key, and suddenly, it's like the two of you are living together. You don't quite realize how much your life revolved around him until you realize one day that, you don't really have anyone else to talk to after an argument with him. No matter, he'll smooth over this patch so you won't realize how possessive he is.

Ahh.....see I know people will resort to Zayne doing medical malpractice to keep his darling close but. My hot take is that he wouldn't. He's much too professional and kind, seeing how much he cares about his other patients, and he's not that street savvy to cover up his dirty tracks if he were to do so. No, it's much more easier for him to leverage the tedious bureaucracy of medical procedures, meaning that if you even forget to schedule an appointment, it means that the system is now forcing you to be under 24/7 monitoring under your doctor. That's just the law! It's totally not because Zayne purposely didn't send you the reminder email. There's a lot of leeway and manipulation he can get away with just by being your doctor; and it grows with each and every little slip you give him.

[presidentlokis-hornyhelmet]

:33 jealous pavitr x reader bc the reader just bought merch of him in his spider form and its an adorable little plushy and he gets mad bc they keep kissing and cuddling it instead of him the entire day/night

I'm (Not) A Jealous Guy

👉MASTERLIST 🕸️

Pairing: Pavitr prabhakar x Gender neutral!reader Tags: Jealousy Summary: Pavitr is totally NOT jealous of a Spider-Man plushie. Not at all. Never. (..or is he?👀) Jealousy prompts credit :  @creativepromptsforwriting

Also Read on AO3

“Pavitr!”, you yell, hugging your wall of muscle from behind. He smiles, pecking your cheek.

You were out shopping with Pavitr Prabhakar, your boyfriend and your superhero. He evidently hates shopping, with what having to stand for hours at a clothing store, but savours evey moment with you. The increasing crime rate in Mumbattan has him on his heels all night, and with having to study for finals it’s a tad too much of a stressor- which is why he never turns down an opportunity to let you pamper him.

Plus, it’s a great excuse to be cozy. To constantly hold your hand, kissing it intermittently, throw an arm around your waist and hug you close to feel your comforting warmth and, of course, admire you in your little moments -the kink in your brow when you think too hard, the amazed eyes when you find the exact thing you were searching for…

Is it even possible to fall for the same person so many times? Again and again and again?

“Look what I found!”

Your cheerful voice snaps him out of his reverie and he looks down at the toy in your hand. Oh, wait- it’s a merch: a plushie. Not just any plushie, it’s a plushie of him.. as Spider-Man.

Pushing his coveted raven curls aside for closer judgement, his eyes narrow in scrutiny. Huh. No one told him they made these. (Aren’t they supposed to get, like, a copyright or something from him..? )

“You don’t like it, Pav?”, You ask, seeing his slightly frowned lips and narrowed brows.

The plushie had a big head and comically smaller body, stuffed to make him look more like a teddy than a crime-fighter. The mask was a lot less detailed -admissible, but –good God, are those webs under his armpits?!  Well, at least they got his hair right. Just the perfect amount of curls, nothing less or more. 

“No, I’m just.. surprised”, he said, finally. “He’s okay.. But, Y/n, do I really have a big head?”

You giggle, giving his shoulder a playful punch as you hug the toy close to your chest. “Of course not, babe. It’s just a plushie, it’s made to look comfy. And sooooo cute!”

“Hey!”, he pouts, “You said I was the cutest! And he doesn’t even have dimples like me”

Pavitr aggressively points to his dimples to make a point but you take the opportunity to poke and pinch his cheeks. He tries to slap your hand away, giggling.

“Gods, I have made a terrible mistake”, you say dramatically, failing to hide your laughter. “You’re right! Nothing matches your cuteness, Oh, Prince of Dimples!”

“Y-Y/n..”, Pavitr stutters, going instantly pink in the cheeks, bashful. He’s always been shy about his dimples. You’re the only person allowed to touch them, apart from Maya aunty, which you take full advantage of.

You giggle clutching the plushie closer and pull him towards the next aisle, not noticing his eyes comically narrow at his cotton counterpart. As if he vows rivalry with it.

‘This isn’t over, fiend.’

-----

The plushie is evil. That’s the only reasonable explanation Pavitr could think of. A minion sent by some evil overlord to take your love away from him. Yes, that must be it!

What else makes sense? You’ve been spending more time with the cotton-head than with the real him, cuddling it all the damn time and taking it with you everywhere. You no longer hug him, preferring the stuffed imposter instead.

His nostrils flare comically as you snuggle the plushie closer to your chest, kissing it. Oh, the audacity! It has even commandeered Maya aunty’s attention, making her call it cute and adorable!

Pavitr must put an end to this before the evil plushie minion harms either of you.

“Why do you insist on flaunting him in my face?”

Maya auntie had invited you both over for tea and you were watching TV when Pavitr asks this out of the blue.

In his defense, he’s had enough of his stupid fabric-faced doppelganger taking you away from him. 

The cookie is stopped halfway to your mouth as you turn to him, brows raised in confusion. “Who?”

Pavitr makes a stressed noise, jerking his hand towards the plushie seated cozily in your lap. As if it owns you.

“I just don’t understand what you see in him.”

Amusement colours your features as realization dawns. “Pav, babe”, You begin as normally toned as possible, trying so hard not to giggle in his face. “He’s a plushie.”

“Exactly! Why would you need him when I’m right here?”

With a smirk he stands up on the coffee table and stretches his arms out in the classic Shah Rukh Khan pose.

You can no longer control and burst out laughing, clutching your tummy as you fall sideways onto the couch, much to Pavitr’s confusion.

“Oh my God, you’re so jealous! This is great to watch! Maya aunty, come, you have GOT to see this!”

He jumps down, mouth fallen open and cheeks gone pink as he stutters out a denial. “W-what? You’re crazy! Jealous? Me? Pff. Never.”

The face he makes as he tries to save face is even more funny. Maya aunty passes by, tapping her nephew’s shoulder. “Oh beta, jealousy can wreck a relationship.”

Pavitr scoffs, putting his hands on his hips for emphasis. Oh yes, he definitely isn’t jealous of a toy.

“M-maya aunty, I’m not jealous, I’m being absolutely reasonable. What would I even be jealous about? Pfft! Why would I ever be jealous of a.. a plushie? That's ridiculous. You’re being ridiculous. I am sooo not jealous, Y/n”

But even Maya aunty can control for only so long. She cups her mouth to hide her giggles, holding onto the arm of the couch for support as she sits down.

Pavitr huffs, watching the two important people in his life laugh like crazy at him. He just squints his eyes at you both and turns away, pouting.

“Oh, Pavu…”, You go up to him and hug him from behind, finally managing to get your reigns. Turning him around, you cup his face and press your foreheads together. A shy smiles blooms in his face as your noses touch.

“The plushie is no match for you, meri jaan, you’ll always be my hero; my Spider-Man. Nothing can replace you.”

He laughs, pulling you Into an embrace, blushing and giggling as you kiss his dimples.

“Plus”, you say, pinching his dimples as you feel them go hot under your touch, “You’re so adorable when you’re jealous.”

“I…- I’m not- oh, C’mon guys!”

Maya aunty joins your laughter when Pavitr pushes you away, playfully rolling his eyes as he escapes your pinching fingers.

______

A/N: look who's alive !1!!! Sorry for going mia all of a sudden! Hope you enjoyed the fic tho <3333333 lots of love - plhh

[luciddaydreamsstuff]

Desert Duo Doodles! I am in way too many fandoms to count, including content creators and whatnot. It wasn’t until a doodle of some CCs that I realised how many were MCYTs. But I wanted to draw these two cause I liked how I drew Scar in the other original doodle and have drawn Grian a bunch but constantly changed the design. Now I have one that I like.

Under the cut are the individual drawings plus stickers that I forgot to add to the original but decided fuck it it’s done, plus some explanation about design choices and headcanons. (Does anyone even care about that?) Idk and idc, I’ll ramble anyways.

(you don’t have to read the stuff, I don’t really care, but you can if you want)

First off, this one was annoying since it was supposed to be a hug. I was too lazy to draw the Third/Sercet Life outfits, so they are in their default outfits with crowns representing the fact that they won at least one of the Life games.

Ramble: For Grian’s design, I wanted to keep the bird/avian hybrid but also reference other series or past friend. The Life series has the poppy has memorabilia, the blue and red bracelet represents YHS/TS, and the eye necklace is for Evo. The tail is more so a mix of Watcher magic and Avian DNA, bird feet cause why not. The wing ears are hidden to look similar enough to his regular hair, I like to imagine that wing ears are a rarer trait and to not draw too much attention, he would use Watcher magic to change the colour of the wing ears to match his hair. The freckles are based off of the idea that Angel Dust’s freckles are actually just eyes (which were shown in the show), and I liked that idea. He didn’t have freckles before Evo but after in Hermitcraft he did, they are just eyes that are always closed though he can see out of them. It’ll be clearer in the next piece, but his eyes are based off of some bird eyes so a black sclera with coloured pupils. Grian just hides his eyes under his hair since they are more sensitive than normal. Also I didn’t wanna draw his eyes cause it was one of the things I kept changing before.

I’ll go into Scar later since it’s just a half body but he goes by the same rule of his outfit showing where he’s been. So the poppy and lavender for Third Life and the heart necklace for Secret Life. The earrings are based off of the crystals from Season 7.

Alter Egos! Or at least Hot Guy and Arianna Griande. Not much here, but you can see what I meant with the eyes beforehand.

Also, I can’t be the only one to notice or at least point out that Ari and Cute Guy have like the same or a least a very similar colour palette of pink and white.

Final one, and the two are taking a much needed nap. This could take place anywhere though I like to imagine somewhere in Double Life or somewhere between Season 7 - 10

(also I find it very funny how close these two’s bases were for Season 6 - 10. both were near each other in the futuristic district of season six, then next door neighbours at the start of season seven, I don’t need to mention much besides boatem in season eight, again near the start and most of season nine with Scarland and Grian’s timejump build, then finally again in season ten with Magic Mountain. just funny to me for some reason)

Ramble: Scar is like a hybrid between an elf/fae creature and a cat centaur (that I cannot remember the proper name for). The cat half is based off of Jellie, RIP, and his body is scarred because well I mean the dude is accident-prone it’s bound to happen. I imagine that Scar would wear slightly baggy outfits, like they hang off just a bit to not hug his figure. His hair is more based off of Season 9 with him leaning into the whole elf aesthetic, and I both hate and like the hair but whatever. Idk, I kinda just wanted to make him centaur based cause that visual isn’t something I see often. I imagine that hind legs are weaker than the front so he would switch between a cane and a wheelchair that you would see for animals. I might draw that later idk, but yea

If you actually took the time to read this incoherent mess, idk comment a content creator you like, no matter how niche they may be

[1moreff-creator]

Regarding your revised Eden!Culrpit Theory Post:

If you're okay answering this, why do you believe that people who believe Hu is the culrpit have to be reading her actions in bad faith? You said that Eden taking the tape means there's more physical evidence for her being the culrpit so arguments about her putting on a facade come from less of a place of bad faith.

However, Hu's wire is involved with the crime & there's no explanation for how it got there. 'Nico took it' but we don't necessarily know that or how, so there's arguably no less reason to assume Hu could be involved as well.

This isn't meant to be inflammatory either, I genuinely just want to understand what you meant by that; I'm impartial one way or another but I don't understand why you would need to be reading Hu's actions in bad faith while you wouldn't also be doing the same for Eden.

ty for answering if you do, and if not ty for reading anyway. ♥️

Hey! Yeah, honestly, I feel I expressed myself pretty poorly in that section of the post you’re referencing, in fact I’ve decided to edit it because I believe it came off as more aggressive and meaner than I intended it to. So it’s fair of you to ask for clarification.

CW: Eden!Culprit, discussion of murder attempt

Technically speaking, both theories revolving around Hu trying to kill someone and Eden!Culprit require some level of “bad faith reading”, in the sense that suspecting anyone of murder is going to make you look at most of what they say in a negative light. So I was wrong to use that term with Hu. I think a more accurate way of saying how I feel about it (and keep in mind this is just my opinion) is that “the level of scrutiny Hu and her lines are placed under is not justified by the concrete evidence of the case(s).”

That should make my feelings a bit clearer. I see the tape’s disappearance from the gym as near irrefutable evidence that Eden is the culprit, so I’m willing to bend and twist her lines of dialogue to fit the evidence. Dialogue has an openness of interpretation that the tape, in my opinion, doesn’t, though I get why that’s not how everyone feels about it.

However, I don’t quite see an equivalent for Hu. The wire in the Ace crime scene doesn’t incriminate her any more than the turpentine used incriminates Rose, or the letter written to Arei (by itself) incriminates Eden. I can pretty confidently say that either Ace or Eden took the tape from the gym; I cannot confidently say that Hu took the wire to the gym.

Despite Nico being caught mid-murder attempt (and they admit they did try to kill Ace), Hu is nowhere to be seen; none of her dialogue afterwards implies she was there; none of Nico’s dialogue points to her being there (their secret quote doesn’t count, we don’t know if that’s gonna be said this chapter or not); unless there’s some method theory I’m missing here, I’ve never really seen a method that requires Hu to be there alongside Nico, and Nico never denies being the one to take the turpentine, meaning they must have been involved since the start. You get the idea.

You need to somehow get around all of that if you’re going to believe Hu is involved in the Ace case, plus the fact that a lot of her dialogue seemingly contradicts the notion at first glance. Meanwhile, the only assumption Nico!SoloAceAttacker requires is that Nico, somehow someway, was able to take the wire at some point; and given there’s precedent to believe they can and would do something like that (turpentine), I find it quite easy to believe.

Obviously, it’s a matter of opinion. To some people, the wire is a smoking gun that proves Hu’s involvement, the same way I feel about the tape for Eden. And I guess, in that case, I can’t really blame them for reading Hu’s dialogue in a different manner. For me, though, the wire has perfectly acceptable workarounds. And I feel Hu being involved in either crime scene makes far more assumptions than simply saying Nico did everything themselves, which then by Occam’s Razor makes me inclined to believe the latter.

Thanks for the ask, and sorry if anyone felt hurt or offended by my original wording, it really wasn’t my intention.

[dragonshoardofworks]

DP x DCMK (x DC)

Where Danny and Shinichi meet at the Hawaii where's a Ghost Convention (pre-portal and Conan, when they're both around 11–12 years old) since both sets of parents are invested in the topic. (The Fentons because they're the Fentons and Yusaku because he's researching for one of his books).

They become friends and keep contacts through messages, sharing school shenanigans, crushes, cases and family mishaps.

The One Thing that Danny doesn't share, though, is his halfa status.

First, because Shinichi doesn't believe in the supernatural (according to him, magic is just unexplained science) and second, because his change is far from any kind of "normalcy" and Shinichi had categorically stated that he doesn't want anything to do with superheroes, he's just a "normal" detective and they (the Justice League) save the world.

Though, it's not unusual that, if something weird happens in a case, Shinichi asks Danny's opinion and intel since the Fenton's library has "weird"/obscure material. (If the answer gets him too close to superhero-stuff, Shinichi passes the ball to the JL, more specifically to Red Robin, but that's something for a following reblog of this thread.)

So when Shinichi becomes Conan and settles in Ran's home, he contacts our favorite boi.

(A bit late to the @crossoverdanuary party... (^～^;)ゞ Anyway, long post in chat-style, plus an extra, so I decided to use the read more function because it was getting out of hand... (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠) )

Shinichi: Hey Danny, do you know anything that should be killing you, but instead it shrinks you? Danny: Shrink as in size or age? S: Age D: Hold on, gotta check some books to be sure, but usually anything age-related is dark shit. What's for? Fun or case? S: ...It's for a case D: Well, that didn't sound ominous at all, then gotta go *faster* *few minutes later* D: Okay, the closest thing (still in the Mortal Realm) to what you asked is this jewel most commonly known as "Pandora" (if she knew, she would definitely lose her shit) D: it's a gem hidden inside another gem that glows red under the moonlight D: "if bathed in the light of the Volley Comet, it would shed tears capable of granting eternal life" S: This doesn't sound anything like what I asked you (⁠눈⁠‸⁠눈⁠) D: Cut the sass beanpole and let me continue D: since the legend exist and it's documented, it should be reasonable to presume that someone managed to attain it, right? S: ...right *squinty eyes* D: So if some scientist tried to reproduce the same results in the *scientific way* instead of the magical one, they could have either the original "Tears" or the one who consumed them and run test and experiment on them D: whatever the case, there would be either some inferior or failed products that instead of making you immortal, *de-ages* you, which is the next best thing (i.e. you would live longer) D: but since they were "failures" compared to the immortality elixir, they could definitely become poisons. D: So! Since you were so ominous, was it really for a case or did our dear Professor Agasa dabble in alchemy? 👀 (read) D: Beanpole, I know you read my explanation and since this is really dark shit you *have* to at least give me context D: because among the warnings that the grimoire gave me, there's the thing that you become somewhat cursed S: ...Or you're cursed or you're not, there's no "somewhat" D: He speaks! 🙌 D: Give me *the deets* *long pause* D: *Shinichi Kudo* ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ S: Okay, fine! I can feel your disappointed stare all the way to Japan, stop! >Д&lt; D: Then explain S: Okay S: so you know how I can't leave things alone when they have suspicious all printed on them? D: Your worst defect, yes, but continue D: ...wait D: Shinichi no D: HOW OLD ARE YOU NOW?? S: Still 17, thank you very much D: I mean physically, you little shit, don't dodge the question! S: ... S: ...we think 7 D: What in the Infinite Realms everloving fuck, Shinichi D: Okay, you know what? D: I'm coming to Japan and you can't stop me, you *midget*, I know what you're already going to say D: it's dangerous, yada yada D: nothing I've already seen and fought S: What do you mean?! D: Since you're *such a good detective*, deduce it yourself D: give me your coordinates in the meantime and don't you dare move from that spot S: If you send me Superman or anyone of his creek, I swear to Kami, Danny D: Please, Superman could only desire to be anything like me, now *coordinates* ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ *coordinates sent* D: good boy D: now get ready in 3 S: 3 what? D: 2 D: 1

🕵️👻

A full body shiver run over Shinichi as soon as the "1" appeared on the screen, so he looked up from his phone, searching for where the cold draft could have come from. However, the agency toilet window was closed and the closed door had a good insulation, last time he had checked.

So what...!

"Boo."

Shinichi shrieked with all the high pitch of an elementary schooler, as he whirled around to look at what, or better, who had whispered by his ear.

A white-haired green-eyed floating teenager with a black hazmat suit with white accents grinned almost maniacally at him, showing their fangs predatorily.

Anatomically they looked male and despite the unhinged expression, the body language didn't project "danger". If anything, it was loose and casual as if he (until otherwise stated) belonged here.

The unearthly glow suggested either some substance coating him that gave him that illusion, or there was magic afoot.

Irritation surged inside Shinichi: Danny knew his rules! No direct superhero meeting, only exchange of intel!

"Who are you and why did Fenton send you?" Shinichi gritted, crossing his arms to appear less like a 7 years old.

"You disappoint me, little detective, I thought you would have figured it out at first glance!" The supposed hero pouted, crossing legs and arms midair and staring back at Shinichi. "I guess that your fame had been an exaggeration, after all. Some East Highschool Detective you are!"

The teasing little smirk incensed Shinichi more than alarming him (the other knew his secret!), but the last thought made him pause.

Danny wouldn't betray him like this by informing whatever "superhero" of this situation just to help him without his consent. Their boundaries had been awesome like that and had been respected so far, despite the many trials both had faced.

So who was this person really?

Shinichi's mind focused back into deducing the teen before him, and the more looked, the more disbelief made way in his heart. (...He had said he would be coming to Japan, but not in that instant!)

"No way, Danny?"

"Fucking finally, midget! What took you so long?" Danny huffed, untangling then touching down on his feet and looking him over. "It even gave me time to take a look at your situation!"

"Hey! Your voice is different, so I could deduce it only because "if you exclude the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the Truth"! Since you would never spill my secrets to anyone, this must have been you!" Shinichi gestured to his friend, who flushed green when he registered the meaning of the words.

"Wow," he breathed, sounding pleased, as he scratched his nape, "you would believe that a ghost of me is still me instead of me betraying you, wow!"

"Wait, ghost? I thought you just become a superhero, not that you died!" Despite his insistence on not believing the supernatural, Shinichi had read the Fentons' papers on ghosts (the most recent ones, AKA the "no more biased version" as Danny had called them). And, while he hadn't told his friend this, the scientific breakdown of what makes a ghost what they are, had made Shinichi believe in the existence of ectoplasmic beings.

But to discover that one of his best friends had died, he hadn't known or could have done anything, plus Danny hadn't felt safe enough to tell him until it had become unavoidable, made Shinichi clutch his heart in agony and despair.

Probably sensing the shift and interpreting the action for what that was, Danny's face shifted into regret, as he knelt down before the shrunk detective and a ring of light lit up at his waist, washing over him and leaving a hoodie-and-jeans-clad raven-haired and blue-eyed teenager.

Slowly, as if not to spook a frozen Shinichi, Danny laid a hand on his shoulder, while the other took the free little hand to his NASA hoodies chest and splayed it there, allowing him to feel his heartbeat. As if he had known that only words wouldn't have been enough to convince the detective.

Slowly but surely, feeling Danny's sluggish but steady heartbeat, made Shinichi unclench, then lean against his friend's chest, head tucked under his chin.

Carefully, Danny wrapped his friend in a hug, knowing well that, while physical affection was welcome from him, Japanese social conventions and the Kudo's upbringing had left Shinichi a little adverse to prolonged contact.

As the apparent 7-years-old melted into the embrace and clutched Danny as well, followed by a suspicious wet sensation on his chest, the halfa realized that this was bad.

Shinichi had never sought comfort like that, according to professor Agasa (who Danny did keep in contact with, since he was more a parent than the Kudos), so to do this now...

"It's okay, Shinichi, I'll explain better what happened to me, but it's not your fault." Shinichi shuddered at these words and buried deeper in the embrace, making guilt shoot through Danny. He had caused this breakdown. The least he could do was to help him through it and some.

"And we're gonna find a way to solve what happened to you, I promise."

[writing-whump]

Matters of the heart

We were talking about Matt running into his sister Melissa at the hospital...Plus an update on how Isaiah is doing.

The doctor saying he wanted to be alone with Isaiah for a minute was probably the tenth clue that Seline missed that she was being clingy.

But what was she supposed to do? They were one approval away from taking Isaiah home. And okay, she was kinda making every nurse and doctor explain to her Isaiah's condition, medication and convalescence over and over...but how else was she supposed to know no one missed anything?

She was writing everything down, tempted to just record all the explanations. Everytime she asked she found out some new tidbit or tip and what if it proved to be crucial?

Of course she also called her mom who was currently calling all their contacts and doctor friends for tips as well. Seline wasn't about to betray Isaiah's confidence by sending his test results around too, but she planned on convincing him to let her do that. Her mom's childhood friend's husband was a renowned doctor with 20 years of experience and her grandfather's cardiologists were proven experts.

Leaving anything to chance wasn't an option for her.

Heart angina wasn't a cause or a diagnosis. It was a condition, a state of being.

Isaiah's hard-to-explain heart problems were becoming an new project for her. Even Matt sounded a little stunned that she was reading up on it on Google nonstop, when she wasn't currently hunting down the doctors or asking the other patients for their experiences.

But Isaiah's case was special. There wasn't an illness as a cause, there were genetic predispositions, but the doctors agreed the cause could be tracked down to Isaiah's shadow. And that stress could worsen if not downright be the trigger for something that wouldn't have had to emerge years to come. If at all.

Stepping out of the office, Seline was at a sudden loss at what to do in the waiting room. Her last week evolved around Isaiah like the moon around the sun.

What she was about to do depended on if he was awake, asleep, in pain, disoriented, keeping down food, asking coherent questions or watching Matthew. They switched around Isaiah like guards on duty, whenever the situation got to one of them too much.

The rhythmic beeps of machines, the muffled voices that carried down the hall about check ups, impatient knocks on the half-open door to the offices, the chit chat at the coffee machine...it was all so very familiar now it shocked her.

Though because of the familiarity, she recognised the sudden yelling as out of place fairly quickly.

Seline turned on her heel, following after the screams, ready to chew out whoever it was for the noise. The sight stopped her in her tracks.

"Don't lie, of course you are here to stalk me! I'm going to call security on you, you- you-" A young woman with long red pin-straight hair was yelling at no other than Matthew.

Matthew, who was currently slumped on one of the small uncomfortable chair as low as possible, hands decidedly stuck in the pockets of his pants. Staring in front of himself like he was willing the girl out of existence by no answering her accusations.

It might have been a weird position for a guy, like he was trying to disappear despite his considerable size - Matt was easily the biggest person in the waiting room - so it didn't strike her right away.

That was a very very submissive posion for a wolf. It was a refusal to engage in what his shadow clearly interpreted as a fight.

Seline's eyes went to the ground and sure enough, his shadow was twitching under the chair, but it wasn't growing or thickening. More like it was shrinking in itself despite the woman being smaller than Seline.

The situation scanned after three seconds, Seline felt such a protective rage at the hunched pose and the pressure this was clearly putting on Matt's self-control, she stepped in front of him with a giant smile. "Excuse me, miss, but what exactly is your problem?"

The girl blinked, perplexed at Seline's appearance. She wore a white coat like a doctor, but the pin on her chest said med student.

Melissa Blackwell.

Ah. That explained some things.

"This wolf is here unsupervised, stalking a hospital department-"

"He is a licensed wolf," Seline intercepted smoothly. "He can go anywhere he wants unsupervised."

"But- but he is obviously here because of me-"

"I told you," Matthew said quietly, though more towards Seline than Melissa. "I'm here for a packmember."

Melissa laughed, loud and bitter, it had Seline's arms crawling with goosebumps. "Oh sure you are. What kind of pack would take such a lost cause imbecil as you? Only one crazy samaritan I know of, and he probably grew tired of you months ago."

Matthew pressed his lips together and looked away as if it was true.

"Oh lady, I don't know what's your problem, but Matthew has a stable pack. He is his pack's second, in fact," Seline said, crossing her arms.

"Bullshit, that's what that is. Is he blackmailing you to defend him? Is he paying you to play his alibi? He is capable of that, threatening and scaring to have it his way. Really Matt, that's low even for you, threatening an innocent human girl-"

"I'm a witch," Seline said, never being more proud of the fact. "I can tell very well what he is and isn't capable of."

Melissa's face went white and blank, like that was an information she hadn't seen coming in the world she lived in.

Seline always forgot how much being a witch meant to people from shadow wolf circles.

She could also tell Melissa wasn't one and the hurt at the reminder had her wincing as if Seline gave her a physical slap.

Yep, living in a wolf family without magic and when your mother desperately wanted you to wasn't fun.

It also wasn't Seline's problem and she wasn't about to let the girl make it Matthew's, his sister or not.

Seline planted her hand on Matthew's shoulder, blue eyes throwing lightning bolts. "Would you mind taking your unfounded accusations and leaving us alone? You are disturbing all the patients with your blabbering."

Melissa breathed in loudly. "I have the right to be here, I'm on a job."

"You are obviously not very into it when you are capable of such a theater around patients after difficult operations," Seline said, voice dripping with poison. "You sure you are not here just for show?"

Human children often ended up in useful jobs for the pack, forced to be doctors and lawyers just to have any standing or worth in the eyes of their packs.

Melissa felt the blow alright. She opened her mouth, closed it and then whirled around. Practically dashing away from the hall.

Seline almost felt bad for her. Almost.

She let out a long breath, sinking on the seat next to Matthew. "Fuuh. That was no fun."

Matthew slid down further on the chair, barely hanging on it. "I'm sorry you had to see that," he said quietly, half his face hidden behind the collar of his jersey. It had her heart squeezing.

"That's okay. Not your fault she is such a bitch to you."

Matthew's head went back a little at the uncharacteristic swearing, but he still wouldn't look at her.

"Do you want to step out for a moment?" Seline said softly. "There is a terrace downstairs, I can go with you."

"I'm fine. I'm not going to- I swear I won't-" he broke off.

"I know you won't. Just in case it would help." She hesitated, then put her hand on his tight. "Hey. Look at me, Mattie." She hadn't used the nickname since the heart attack reveal at the hospital a week ago.

Matt took a shuddering breath, but after a long minute forced himself to look up at her.

Seline brushed the bangs from his face. "It's okay. You are not the guy she is making you out to be. Nothing she said is true."

"But she said what you also-"

"Nothing she said is true," Seline repeated sternly. "Never was. She is projecting her fears on to you, that's not your fault. You are not scary for existing and you aren't threatening when not sitting down. I made a similar mistake," she said with a wince, "but I know better now. You are not capable of hurting me. Or him. Or anyone. I know you aren't."

Seline cupped his cheek, thumb storking up and down. "What does she know, she hasn't bothered to see you for years." His eyes were glittering with unshed tears. "You only hurt yourself. But you would never hurt anyone."

Matthew gulped down heavily. "But I did. I hurt him by not speaking up...by not dragging him over to you."

It surprised her he brought it up himself. She bit her lip, only flinching a little before continuing to stroke his cheek. "It's okay. You aren't at fault for this." Her face soured. "You didn't exactly help, but I don't blame you for Zaya. I'm sure he doesn't either."

Matthew looked down in shame, but after a couple minutes straightened on the seat. Took her hand in his.

They waited quietly for whatever the doctor would say.