#roof-top-split systems

[arizonaacandheating]

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[notjustjavierpena]

Yes

Series Masterpost | Main Masterpost | Support a disabled creator

A/N: Long awaited…

Summary: Proposal proposal proposal!!!!!!

Pairing: Javier Peña x f!reader (no y/n)

Tags: mature rating, fluff, husband!javier, domestic life, drunk hubby, proposals, kisses and love confessions, javier is WHIPPED for reader

Word count: 1.1k

Link to this work on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53458216

Yes

The bedsprings creak underneath Javier as he clumsily crawls onto your shared bed in the middle of the night, making him furrow his brow and start shushing them as if they can hear him. He is drunk, reasonably so, and a year older today. He is also recently back home from a night out with Steve that turned into a little (a lot) more than just a few beers.

He remembers texting you and you telling him to go have fun instead of feeling guilty about leaving you at home, but seeing your sleeping frame next to him is still the highlight of his whole birthday.

It is rare that he falls asleep after you, so now that he has the chance, he admires everything you are in this sleeping state; your mouth is slightly open, breathing quietly, and your eyes flicker behind your eyelids as you dream of something that he hopes involves him.

He loves you. He loves your soft lips, the curve of your nose, the color of your skin, and your hair. He has never found anything more sexy than your breasts and your hips, your perfect legs, and the harbor of your arms which brings him peace when he feels worn out. He blinks in disbelief at the fact that he gets to come home to you each day.

He wants to touch you to get some of all the tingling adoration out of his system but he doesn’t want to wake you. So instead, he flops onto his back and the bed shakes enough to make you stir. He swears under his breath, “Mierda.”

“Javi?” You call out in the next moment, voice thick with sleep, and he wants to tell himself off for disturbing your slumber.

“Fuck, sorry, baby,” he says and means it, “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You’re all dressed,” you point out, sniffing the air and grimacing, “And drunk.”

Despite your comment, Javier still crawls closer to you to kiss your cheek repeatedly. You start giggling at the tickling of his mustache and, when he tries to wrap around you like an octopus, squirming in his arms when they squeeze you, “You stink!”

“Just saying hi to my girlfriend,” he tuts.

“Well, hi,” you continue laughing, and Javier’s head swims. He continues attacking you with kisses, allowing himself to be silly.

Something takes hold of him right at that moment. He blurts it out on a whim, “Marry me.”

He knows that the proper thing - and the thing that you deserve - is to book a table at a nice place, order a nice bottle, and then take a nice stroll in the moonlight but you have just laughed (because of him!) to the point where tears have formed in the corners of your eyes and you’ve accidentally snorted, reaching up to cover your mouth and nose afterward in embarrassment. He doesn’t think that he can love you more than the way he does at this moment, so the words fly right out of his mouth and send his pulse through the roof when his mind catches onto the fact that he actually means it.

“Marry me,” he repeats in the middle of your giggles.

“What?” You ask, genuinely unaware of what he has been saying.

Javier pauses for a split second. He takes the sight of you in, not that he is contemplating if he has made the right choice because he is so sure. You are in black underwear and a loose tank top, breath minty fresh from brushing your teeth, and so beautiful in the dim glow of the bedroom. So beautiful that Javier falls in love with you a little more, “I just want you to marry me. Fuck, I want you to be my wife. I want this forever.”

It is a brilliant (or maybe tipsy) idea. He nearly falls off the bed as he moves to reach into his bedside drawer, aware of the way you are gaping at him as he has his back towards you. He fumbles for his mother’s ring which he has stashed in the bedside drawer for who-knows-how-long. As he turns back, you burst into laughter, half incredulous and half charmed by the absurdity of it all.

“Yes,” you say with the widest grin.

Javier’s eyes go wide. He suddenly feels very sober, looking down at you from where he is lying on his side, “Wait, what? You will?”

“Of course I will!” You exclaim happily, eyes flicking down to the gorgeous ring that Javier is clumsily pinching between two fingers. It looks old, its gold band’s appearance hinting that it is something with romantic nostalgia and has been worn by someone else for years. You don’t have to ask; it used to belong to the previous - or should you say original? - Mrs. Peña.

You hold out your hand. Javier eases the ring onto your finger which somehow is a perfect fit. The fact that you get to wear it now is enough to make your chest tighten with pride and anxiety due to the responsibility.

“It’s beautiful, Javi,” you sniffle, and then you throw your arms around him, pulling your body up against his chest until he automatically embraces you. His hands slip underneath your tank top, up your back, as you hug, and your hands settle on the back of his head and neck.

His grip tightens but not out of possession. Instead, it is for all the things that he wants to say but does not have the words to do so. He feels your soft hair against his cheek, closes his eyes, and gives in to your warmth. How did he ever become so lucky? You are his future, something he knows as home, someone with the face of his future children.

You stay like that for a while, and then as you start to pull away, you kiss him so hard that it’s a little ridiculous instead of romantic. The romance of it is in how you choose to ignore the taste of alcohol on his breath. Javier feels as though all air has been knocked out of him until you finally let him breathe again.

“I love you,” you smile as you say it, “Fiancé.”

“I love you too, baby,” he replies, realizing he has yet to kick off his shoes. He turns onto his back again and starts with the left.

“And happy birthday,” you continue and out of the corner of his eye, he can see you admiring the ring before laying your hand on the pillow so you can stare at it as you fall asleep again.

“Best present I’ve ever received,” he mumbles, suddenly tired from the alcohol and the emotion. He falls asleep next to you, fully clothed and still wearing a shoe on his right foot.

.

.

If you would like to follow my writing then go follow @notjustjavierpena-fics and turn on notifications 💖❤️

[whotookcry]

Tonight.

Just something short, nothing too serious, drinking mention

CW:terrible writing,

The charity gala was terribly boring to say the least.

You stood near the corner of the room, a highball glass filled to the brim with an unbalanced mix of tequila and grapefruit soda mix. A sorry excuse for a Paloma but a perfect drink to get you through the next three hours. Why you were invited to such a high class event with only less than 30 dollars to your name? Luckily you networked with the right people and landed here with just your charm….that and a certain family found out your side job of hacking into security systems for “fun” and needs you close by “in case of emergencies” as they say. More like keeping tabs on you but the free drinks do make up for it in your eyes. You walk around the crowd of people in the way of the middle of the dance floor. ‘Do people even dance at these things? Who even waltz anymore?’ You’re left eyebrow cocked seeing the few couples dancing to classical music. ‘Guess I was wrong.’ A soft sigh escapes your lips and you continue your journey to no where in particular.

“Hey. What’s wrong with you?” Your head cocked back to the voice behind you. “What? Nothing?” Your eyes focused on the tall man, his black on black tux complemented the red tie tucked into it. “Wow, never seen you so…..” you trailed off not wanting to insult him despite this is the first time you’ve seen him not covered in dried blood, dirt, and sweat. “Nice looking?” He scoffed not taking you seriously. “Gee, thanks. You clean up nice too.” You mentally face palmed but couldn’t falter now. “Thanks Jason. So…is this how these parties always are? I was expecting more drunk ceos or something.” You look away from him and peer back to the crowd of people just talking about how much money they made or why their spouses couldn’t make it. “Yeah, well I try not to make an appearance but Bruce said this one was mandatory….he’s accepting some award and it would be good publicity for ‘the whole family’ to be here.” He clicks his tongue behind his teeth before looking back down at you. “You look bored.” You sigh at his observation before looking back at him. “Terribly. The tequila can only do so much to keep me from jumping off the roof top.” Another sip from the black straw in your drink, burned down your throat leaving you to cough a bit before clearing your throat. “Someone’s gotta tell the bartender to work on his ratios..” you mumble making him laugh, “hey that’s the best part of a free drink. You’re getting more alcohol than mix. Best way to get drunk faster.” You immediately stop sipping on the watered down liquor and pause to adjust to this new reality you forgot could happen. ‘I should not have gotten this drink.’

This may have been your fourth drink but he definitely did not need to know that. You mentally prepared for the liquor to hit later in the night…but that’s a later problem you didn’t have to think about right now. Jason looked down at you seeing your mood change. “Oh don’t tell me you’re feeling it.” He shut his mouth to contain the laugh edging out the corner of his lips. Oh how you refuse to be in this predicament with Jason Todd. “Restroom.” You placed the empty glass on a random table and walked in the direction going further and further away from the bathrooms. Jason snickered behind you before following you at a distance. You pushed pass random elites, only uttering quiet ‘scuse me’s and sorry’s as you continue to a random hall you set your sights on. Jason not letting you out of his sight for a split second. As soon as your foot left the room, it was as if it all hit at once. You practically almost tripped over nothing. Rough hands grab your waist hastily to pull you back up. “Jesus, be careful.” Jason guides your wobbly body to a secluded part of the hall.

“You get drunk like this often?”

“I’m not drunk Jason. I’m tipsy. There’s a difference.”

“Bullshit. Tipsy my ass.” He found the situation entertaining. He would take this over talking to rich folk any day. “Hey. Look at me.”

You looked up, not expecting the soft warm light to make him look even more handsome than he already was. “Fuck maybe I am drunk.” You mumbled looking back down to his chest. “I’m fine!” You pushed pass him only for his arm to capture you again. Your body relaxes almost immediately in his arms making you curse yourself again. “I’ll take you somewhere you can calm down.” He chuckles picking up your head with his hand to look at your face. Your eyes squinting in the distance. It’s not that you couldn’t see, but the walls were starting to vibrate. “Fine.”

The walk was somewhat easy despite him basically carrying you from behind and you lost a shoe somewhere along the way. Not that he couldn’t save it, he just chose not to since it would risk you running off somewhere to be a hazard to everyone (especially the bartender) “Jason…I kind of want another Paloma.” You said as you both entered his hotel room. “You’re insane.” He shook his head and threw you on the bed causing your other shoe to fall off as well. “You need water.” He opened the small fridge under the tv, pulling out a cold water, “sit up.” He practically demanded causing you to whip your head back at him. “First of all-“ he pressed the now open water to your lips before you could go off on him for talking to you in that tone. “Drink.” You obliged silently glaring at him as the water slipped down your throat. Jason pulled it back as some of the water dripped down the corners of your mouth. He used his thumb to clean it off. His breath caught in his throat seeing your eyes still on him, watching him clean your face. He now sees the bigger picture. Not to say he didn’t find you attractive, he most definitely did. Seeing you, leaning back on your elbows just looking at him with his thumb on the corner of your mouth. He was tempted to see if you would suck on it but pulled away quick enough before the thought could be put to action. His throat cleared, “sorry.”

You fell back onto the bed now stared up at the ceiling processing the scene that just ended. “…so…back to the party?”

[butch-bakugo]

I mean we all know doey is canonically a system, a did one at that, maybe osdd, but I really don't know if I, as a did system, can say if he is explicitly bad system rep.

Spoilers for Poppy's playtime chapter 4, Danganronpa 1 and the movie split.

Like i can point to a number of representations in media that are bad. Toko from Danganronpa has a homicidal alter. The monster from split. Split at least showed some of the more realistic representation via showing a little and protector and other alters but lost any good faith interpretation when it spread myths about blind bodies gaining sight from sighted alters and the whole .. the monster thing. Hell I can point to a few ambiguous representations that border good and bad like Sunnydrop and moondrop from Fnaf.

But doey is different. Doey is the enigma, litterally. His systemhood isn't explicitly demonized and his alters arnt the reason he attacks you. Even, Kevin, the "bad alter" dosent cause it. Sure his "bad alter" or the more aggressive one who doesn't listen to authority and throws tantrums has a short fuse but the reason he attacks in the end is because your actions killed the people he wanted to protect and didnt even achieve their goal. To an extent, he's justified.

He's more accurate and harsh system rep in the form of the fact most persecutory alters are meant to be or trying to be protectors in their own special ways. Its his voice, not Mathew's or Jack's, that repeats their mantra and warning, that people who speak gently to them often hurt them. Its a defense mechanism. Mathew and Kevin are both orphans in a facility that experiments on children who got sent there either due to having no where to go or being the children of employees who met similar fates. It wouldn't be a stretch to say Kevin was a victim of our broken foster/adoption system, one wrought with physical, verbal, emotional and sexual violence.

Jack is confused, Mathew is trying to hold things together peacefully and Kevin is just trying to keep everyone safe, including themselves. I don't know if I can see doey, even if he turns into a scary monster who tries to kill you in the end, as bad system representation. Because he's justified. You just litterally blew up the one thing he feels he can do right and feels like he can do to redeem himself. He's justified in attacking you. The visual of three people being trapped in the head of a body just trying to get out as they rip at the seems was viseral as a system. When I imagine my alters within my body, especially to defend it, it's similar. Like your head splitting at the seems like that girl from late night with devil and all these people coming out.

I don't think doey is the most sanitized, clear and easy to digest system representation possible. I know some touchy just-realized-they-were systems in teen bodies and "endogenics" who have no business in this space are gonna cry from the roof tops with zero nuance that because he becomes a monster at the end and dies a sad death, he's bad rep. No if, ands or buts. We aren't talking about a well thought out, barely visible background character in some grifter qUeEr Netflix slop that's all fluff and no hard candy.

But. For what he is, it's... Good? Not great. Not the best *tm. But certainly way above the worst. Way above bad. Although I could argue it could be better and your fair to be on the fence, I think he is. I think he's good rep. He's raw. He's real. He's clear and he's justified. Although we could make arguments day and night about wether or not the team at Poppy's playtime intended for doey to be system representation or not, I think it's pretty clear he was and for being made by a group of people without a (outwardly) system amongst them, it's good rep. He's ok.

I think we finally have one. One who shows it's not a death sentence even if he dies at the end and shows it doesn't make you a monster even if he becomes one. He's no bigger, scarier or more ruthless than any other experiment, not by a long shot and I think that's good. I wish he survived, I wish he didnt turn into a monster. I wish he would of simply escaped but I think he's ok. I see the representation and I raise you, maybe let the next one live to the end but keep up the good work? Its clear from the outside you tried and did a fairly good job. We need more casual rep.

*edit: didn't know the persecutory alter had a name, fixed wording.

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

Can you please make one of Muntant mayhem x reader? I bet you will do a awesome job on it! By the way love your content! <3

Beauty in the Bodega: part 1 (Fluff)

MM!Leonardo x reader

Part 2

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

A/N: Thank you so much!😊💕💕 I’ve actually been wanting to write for Mutant Mayhem for some time now, but I just haven’t had any ideas until now💚 Inspired by when Mikey comments on Leo’s crush on April with: “Here he goes again”, and Donnie’s: “Every girl, man”, implying that MM Leo has had quite a few crushes in the past💙😏

Hope you enjoy!💚🐢

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

During a grocery run to the nearest bodega, Leonardo sees a girl that makes his heart skip and his insides feel warm.

Warnings: Spelling and Mutant Mayhem cuteness💙

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

The sewers beneath New York City were a chaotic blend of echoes as the four brothers moved stealthily through the shadows. With a memorized grocery list in hand, they moved silently and stealthily, just like their father had taught them to, each of them knowing exactly what to get.

Leonardo led the way, his keen eyes scanning the surroundings for any signs of trouble. His younger brothers, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael, followed closely behind, their ninja senses sharp as they navigated the labyrinthine tunnels, until they made it to the familiar ladder that led them to the world of the humans.

As they reached the surface, the brothers climbed the nearby fire escape before sprinting across the roof, until they found themselves on top of the building that housed the small bodega. Leo surveyed the area, ensuring it was safe, before nodding to his brothers. With practiced ease, they slipped in through the ventilation system.

In the vent just above the store, the four turtles found themselves staring down at the mostly empty store. The only human being, the ever absent minded cashier at the cash register, who was busy with a very infuriating crossword, mumbling about a word that was causing them a lot of problems.

With a quick nod from Leonardo, the brothers crawled out of the vent and split up to cover more ground. Donnie took care of the toiletries, while lip syncing to the music playing in the bodega. Raph was busy finding kitchen and cleaning supplies, while Mikey was digging his way through the best junk food. Leo found himself in the snacks aisle, contemplating the various options. He remembered what his father had told him before they went out. Make sure the Doritos were party sized. Party sized Doritos. Remember that Leonardo.

The bell above the entrance to the bodega rang, altering the cashier and the brothers to a new presence in the small store. All four of them knew what that meant - hide. With lightning fast speed Donnie disappeared up into the vent, Raph found a spot among the cleaning supplies, and Mikey hid up above on top of the long lamps. Leo stayed on the ground, hiding behind the shelves, relieved when he realized that the cashier still hadn't noticed them.

Through the shelves, he caught a glimpse of the person who had just entered the bodega, and his heart almost stopped at the sight, making him drop the Doritos bag. Of course he had expected a human, but he had not expected one looking like you did. Your presence, seemingly ordinary yet captivating, drew Leo's gaze. He couldn't help but watch as you moved through the bodega, selecting items with an easy grace.

You came into the store, humming to the music that was playing in your headphones, totally oblivious to the eyes of Leonardo that were watching your every move.

Leo’s brothers, scattered throughout the store, noticed his distraction and exchanged knowing glances. Raphael, spotting Leo's fixation, smirked and made eye contact with Donatello, who joined in the silent communication with a playful grin.

Leo tried to regain his composure, tearing his eyes away from you for a split second, as he moved to a different shelf, before you managed to see him. His heart was beating, not just from the fear of getting caught by a human, but the thought of how close you were to him. But as you moved away to a shelf further away, Leo couldn’t help but follow along, making sure that he was staying hidden.

Leo watched as you gathered your things before walking up to the cash register. You placed your stuff in front of the cashier, waiting as they groggily started scanning your items. Leo and his brothers used this as an opportunity to get the last they needed, before hurrying back into the vent, all while the cashier was focused on your items.

With all of their groceries in bags, they hurried through the vent and up onto the roof, just in time to see you leave out the front door of the bodega with your newly bought groceries, once again humming to the music in your headphones.

“It feels like / Skuba duba dabda dididaj / Skuba duba dabda dididaj / I love you / Another cliche baby”, you sang along, doing a little dance as you walked.

Leo watched you with a smile, his heart skipping a beat at the sight. There was just something about humans, especially the ones like you, that just warmed his heart. Carefree, dancing and singing down the street, without having to worry about who was watching. How he wished he could do something like that, with someone just like you.

Raphael couldn't resist a teasing comment, hitting Leo’s arm when he saw him staring after you. "Well, well, look who's got heart in his eyes again. Leo, you've got a thing for grocery shopping now?"

Donatello joined in, smirking. "I think I saw a spark between Leo and that cereal box".

Michelangelo laughed. "Maybe it's love at first sight. Or should I say, love at first snack?", he said and pulled out a pack of oreos from his bag, causing both Donnie and Raph to hold their stomach in laughter.

Leo tried to brush off their comments, a faint blush visible under his mask. "It's nothing. Let's just go home".

“Booooooring”, Donnie groaned out loud, as he followed Leonardo’s lead back to the sewers. But his brothers weren't about to let him off the hook that easily.

As they made their way back home through the sewers, Leo’s brothers continued to tease him, comparing you to all the other girls that have caught his attention over the yes. Was it really so bad that he dreamed of getting a girlfriend one day? All human teenagers his age did the same, so was it wrong of him just because he was a turtle.

As they were about to round the corner before the entrance to their home, Leo stopped in realization. He had forgotten the Doritos.

“Oh shit”, he mumbled, before giving his bags to his brothers.

“Yo, what’s happening, man?”, Raph asked in confusion.

“I forgot the Doritos”, Leo said in a hurry. “Tell dad I’ll be back in a minute! I’ll hurry!” And with those words Leo was down the sewer before any of his brothers could protest.

Leo made it to the ladder and pushed the sewer cover off, only to stop dead in his tracks. Right in front of him on the alley floor was a perfect party sized Doritos bag, with a note taped to it.

Leo’s first thought was that he should run. The fear that a human had caught him burning in his throat. But he didn’t run. Instead he looked around to make sure he was alone, before he reached out and grabbed the bag, bringing it down to the sewer. Once at the foot of the ladder, Leo took a look at the note taped to the bag. It was hard to read with his shaking hands, but he managed.

“Hey stranger! I think you dropped this at the bodega, so I thought I would bring it to you. (Y/N) <3. P.S. You and your friends are quite noisy once you get up on the roof;)”.

Leo felt like fainting. A human had brought him the Doritos that his dad had asked him for. Not just any human, but you. The pretty human from the bodega.

Heat creepy up his cheeks, as he took the note and hid it in a pocket on his belt. Thinking back on Raph’s comment, Leo couldn’t help but giggle a little. He might have a thing for grocery shopping now.

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

A/N: MM Leonardo with his crushes gives me “Cliche Love Song” by Basim vibes. Also the song used💕

[angel-of-the-moons]

I'm back again since it's been about a month since I last requested. I hope you don't mind me asking another story. So I was thinking of another Hobie one. There is honestly not enough stories about him and I love the way you write him. I was thinking of a more fluff type thing or possibly head cannons. You decide. Regardless about living with Hobie or just spending some downtime with him. Just a chill little thing I wanted to put out there. Thank you. I love your works and appreciate you 😘

Ilysm!!! I am sorry these asks have been rotting in my inbox! I'm finally working on them!!!

Ice Cream

Hobie Brown x Reader

TW/CW: Marijuana usage

Hobie is obviously aged-up in this

🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸

• When Hobie isn't rocking out with his band at pubs, or fighting the regime™ or working to save the multiverse with the Old Man, he's at home with you.

• He often slips into the window because he refuses to use the front door like a normal person (even if you live on the fifth floor)

• Hobie would find you wherever you were, on the couch, in the kitchen, in bed or in the bathroom; and would immediately wrap his lanky arms around you and breathe deep and relax every muscle in his body

• "Where've you been?" You tease, easing his spiked vest off his stiffened shoulders.

• "Dealin' with the Old Man and his nonstop bitchin'." Hobie said, clicking his tongue, leaning over to rest his chin on the top of your head, holding you against him once more as you carefully ease the rest of his punk paraphernalia off of his person.

• You lead him to the bed, and pull him down on top of you, using your remote to turn on the sound system, playing some of his favorite music tracks on a low volume for background noise

• "You're a goddamn angel, y'know that, luv?" Hobie sighed, closing his eyes as he listens to the soft patter of your heartbeat

• "Mmh, I try." You chuckle, your fingers idly fluffing his wicks and toying with them as you feel his breathing even out

• And in no time, he's out like a light, sprawled out over you like a lanky starfish

• Forget moving this man, despite his thin physique he somehow finds the magic in him to weigh as much as his old, beat-up van

• You're stuck in bed, so the only thing left to do is give in and join him for a nap

• When you two wake up, you work on your usual routine.

• Hobie helps cook, making homemade chips while you batter and bake some fresh chicken

• Once your lunch/dinner is finished, you both cuddle on the sofa and watch some shitty movie on your telly

• He 100% has gutter humor, as well as a perverted sense of one

• Is also very big into physical humor. I'm talking shoving tissues into his nose and pretending to be a walrus kind of physical humor. Whatever it takes to hear you laugh

• Totally plays his guitar for you, singing punk versions of almost any kind of song (except American country. That shite is a travesty upon the music industry!)

• Will often split his pot with you, either rolling joints or using a bong, he'll always offer you a hit if you need or want it

• If you can't handle it, he'll FaceTime you while he smokes on the roof. That way, you're still together and he isn't negatively affecting your health/personal preferences with his smoking

• If you're sick, Hobie will full on hit the breaks to whatever he's doing to take care of you (provided it's a possibility that he can do that)

• This includes sending a selfie with a middle finger to Miguel telling him to not bug him til you're better

• 100% a master at making simple comfort foods when you're sick. Cheese toasties, chicken noodle soup, vegetable soup, even homemade ice cream. He does it all for you

• Runs you a nice hot bath with some eucalyptus and Epsom salts to help your sore muscles and clear sinuses

• If you're nauseous, he'll put peppermint oil in the water with you and run to the market for some ginger pop to ease your stomach, maybe some ginger root tea while he's at it

• Will also buy you some of your favorite digestives just to make sure you get something solid in your tummy

• Will totally fake threaten you about blabbing to anyone about his "secret soft side" and "ruining his image"

• Everyone already knows, he's just blind as hell and doesn't notice lmao

• This man is 100% loyal. If any gal/pal/guy flirts with him, he will flat out shoot em down

• "Nah, mate. I already got the best partner in crime a guy like me could ever ask for. Nobody c'n compare to that!"

• Always makes sure he never worries you (or at least tries to)

• If Hobie is sick or hurt, positions are reversed and you become his personal nurse

• Totally doesn't pretend to be sick sometimes just so you'll spoil him

• You know he's full of shit when he does though, but you just humor him because he's cute about it

• Yeah, you both put up with each other's shit, but you'd never have it any other way

• However... Hobie definitely knows when he's in trouble.

• "Hobart Brown!" You'd shout.

• Yeah, Hobie could easily feel his blood chill when you use his government name

[canmom]

GQuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuux (it's prounced ジクアクス Jikuax)

due to shenanigans, I had the kind of odd experience of being completely alone in the theatre for Gundam GQuuuuuux (the 'movie', which is pretty much just a concatenation of the first four episodes of the show). I think the theatre is probably all automated and if I hadn't shown up, they'd have been screening it to an empty room. we're pretty near the end of the UK theatrical run before it goes to streaming, but it was kind of a surreal experience. anyway!

love letter to gundam '79 it certainly is - but thankfully not terribly inaccessible for it. it opens with a pretty extended version of its alt timeline in which Char steals the Gundam and uses it to win the war for Zeon, only to accidentally cause some kind of psychic reaction that lets him "see time" and maybe sends him into the future.

the real gundamheads will have already seen this and they'll have been able to be like 'oh it's that minor character from episode 39'; for me it was sufficient to be able to recognise that they were riffing on the first episodes of '79 at the start, and know who the hell Char is and why it's a big deal when he kills everyone on a certain spaceship. as cool as it was to see the robot battles done up with all the Studio Khara swag you'd hope, this part was definitely the most indulgent, and I'm glad the timeskip moved past it.

so in the present! we're on one of those big O'Neill cylinder space colonies that gundam likes to have, its politics loosely sketched: nominally independent, controlled by callous Military Police who will happily tear roofs off refugee houses; there's a secret underground of mobile suit battling but mostly peaceful enough that characters can have concerns like 'going to cram school'. Zeon are around and the top dogs of the solar system, but when a Zeon spaceship goes into the airspace it's a diplomatic incident.

after a botch job of a capture mission, Zeon's experimental Gundam GQuuuuuux and the time-travelling Red Gundam (which probably has Char's soul in it or something) end up in the hands of, respectively, a very energetic schoolgirl and an airy homeless femboy. and like, it's Khara so we have to make the inevitable comparison, the logic of the Gundams here has a strong flavour of Eva, both in the silhouettes they are given, and also in the special psychic system which lets newtypes fly the gundam with their miiiiind if they're attuned enough - there's also a heavy emphasis on the difference of scale between robots and humans (even a 'run along the arm' shot at one point).

narratively it bounds from setpiece to setpiece with all the energy you'd hope to see from the Gainax diaspora. its use of pop music definitely calls to mind the other side of the split over at Trigger, especially works like KLK - I can tell this is gonna be one whose soundtrack I'll listent to later.

remains to be seen how far they'll take the yuri vibes between Machu and Nyaan, especially since they gave her a blush reaction to meeting Shuji, but they had two "jump into each other and fall on the floor moments" between the girls already, so...

anyway, for all that it's by-way-of-Khara, there's still plenty of Gundam flavour to this. particularly striking is the setting: the action arranges us to go in and out of the surface of the O'Neill cylinder and there are some absolutely gorgeous shots of the cityscape curving up and around. plenty of dorky uniforms and space politics too. there's especially some real love put into the ways the robots move - it's got that 2D sensibility of hitting dramatic poses while things blow up, but also the way the Bits (tiny drones) fly around with little RCS thrusters getting them lined up is gorgeous. the space battles are colourful, energetic and mobile in all the ways you'd hope - as we've seen in the Eva rebuilds, Khara are really good at making their cel-shaded 3DCG feel good alongside 2D animation, and maintain the crucial sense of scale and weight.

I don't know how heavy they're gonna take it, emotionally. watching this was a blast, but so far more the Diebuster end of the Gainax/Khara spectrum than the Eva one, so I'm not sure how much substance we're gonna have. it's a huge amount of fun in that ridiculous Gundam way, though, giant robot spectacle from the best in the biz, so I'm extremely eager for the rest to arrive‚ especially if it stays looking this cool for the whole cour.

[gamergirlbonestaskforce141riot]

Chapter 12 Nemo dat quot non habet (No one gives what they do not have) - Cartagena Part 5

Sorry for the lateness, people, lots of shit going on

Taglist: @glitterypirateduck @letsreadallday @jamesrifftapes @mmyrrhh @sofasoap @sinyaaa

Dedicated to my lovely anon, whose asks help me a lot with stablishing lore and give me strength to continue writing. These last weeks have been awful, but seeing my inbox full with your asks and Nrds make me smile. I'll get to them now that this is out of the way

Warnings: None, rotten fluff. It got too long so I split the chapter

Previous / Masterlist / Next

‘‘Again’’ Ghost grumbled, pointing with the pencil at the sheet of paper lying among them on the kitchen table. ‘‘We’ll stop here to gear up and split up’’

On the paper there was a crude map of Mejía’s house location, drawn by Soap from memory with Riot’s help, and a big part of the roads and rolling hills around.

‘‘You and I will go to the point you think will be best for you to cover the perimeter with your sniper rifle’’ Soap leaned in, grabbing the pencil from Ghost’s hand and marking a small X on the top of a certain hill. ‘‘This one seemed to be the highest. On the other hand, this house here has more floors and seemed to be empty’’

‘‘Looked vacant, no security system either’’ The Lieutenant nodded, recovering the pencil and marking the house as well. There were already a collection of little marks all over the paper, where they had been discussing the different points of interest. ‘‘We’ll check the hill first just in case, but if it’s not high enough I’ll climb the roof’’

‘‘Then we’ll drive up to the house and check the inside before searching whatever it is that Captain Rico was looking for when he had Mejía killed’’ Gabi added, too cheerfully to Ghost’s liking, but ah well, that was her nature. Johnny was looking at her with fondness, with that same stupid look in his baby blue eyes that Tommy had when he was courting Beth.

Shaking his head, Ghost turned his gaze towards Riot, whose right knee was bouncing lightly, pressed against his thigh beneath the table. The mention of her former CEO had darkened her eyes, now lost somewhere on the paper but not really seeing anything. Arms crossed, jaw clenched, no doubt fantasizing with how many bullets she’d put into the bastard’s skull.

The sun had barely risen over the horizon when they all had got up to have breakfast and gather around the table to review the plan.

There were a lot of unknowns. A lot of open space around the house, neighbours, prying eyes and ears. It should be done quickly so they could disappear just as quick, vanishing before the police or Guardia Civil could be called.

‘‘We should have everything here ready to go. And change cars again before leaving for Granada’’ Riot murmured at last, leaning forward and grabbing the pencil, making small marks on the paper as she spoke. ‘‘We’ll leave the van here, to cover the house entrance. The position you are aiming for is one that allows you to see the back of the house and the back garden, where the explosion happened’’

‘‘Then the roof will be better. I’ll have a more direct angle and a wider range of action’’ Ghost nodded, and gently took the pencil back from her hand, seeing the way she was gripping it. ‘‘In and out, you two. The second you sense something’s wrong, I want you two out of the house and down the road, are we clear?’’

Gabi nodded swiftly, but Riot smiled tiredly, looking up at him.

‘‘We need to find whatever Gonzalo had, Laswell wants it’’

‘‘I don’t give a flying fuck about what Laswell wants or not. You’re entering there with a civilian, which is like going in alone with a hand tied to your back’’ Ghost ignored the outraged squeak coming from Gabi, his hard brown eyes staring right into the blue-gray irises that made him loose sleep. ‘‘The very second you feel something isn’t right you are getting out of here, or we’ll have words. Don’t make me get down there to drag you out’’

‘‘Oh, you would do that?’’ Her smile widened, just as tired and sad as before, and he felt a strange, passing moment of his heart aching when the scar on her face twisted and pulled from the corner of her lips, making her smile even more uneven.

‘‘March down there and toss you over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes to get you out, you stubborn brat?’’ He leaned forward, ignoring Gabi’s giggles and the shit eating grin that Soap was showing, until their noses almost touched. ‘‘Try me’’

‘‘I’ll take your word on it’’ Christine rolled her eyes, but her smile seemed to be more sincere then. More genuine. Almost flirty. Chuckling deeply, Ghost straightened up and looked at Johnny, pointing at him with the pencil.

‘‘If something happens you’re on the move to check on it and terminate whatever it is’’

Soap nodded solemnly, still sporting his usual grin, but his baby blue eyes were as serious as they always were when discussing important things. Ghost was glad he could count on him.

‘‘Good’’ The Lieutenant nodded, leaving the pencil on the table and then bringing the paper to the kitchen sink to light it up with his lighter. ‘‘Pack up, check we’ve emptied the place, and off we go. Wheels up in fifteen tops’’

The other three murmured their agreement and the group separated to go check their belongings. Most had been packed already the moment the had got up from bed, but it wouldn’t hurt to check.

Ghost leaned against the bathroom’s open door, observing Riot as she brushed her hair, with the intention of tying it up in the usual bun she wore while on duty.

‘‘I meant it’’

Christine smiled at him, looking at him through the mirror’s reflection with a bunch of bobby pins caught between her teeth, busy trying to keep the loose strands in place.

‘‘I know’’ With a soft, quiet giggle, she continued with her task, comfortable with his presence. Simon was looking down at the crown of her head, almost transfixed. The domesticity of the situation wasn’t lost to him.

He continued looking, listening to her hum and frown at herself on the mirror, trying to keep the bun in place and brushing back loose strands from her face to pin them too. His fingers itched to reach forward and sink in her hair, pull from it, bring her back towards his body so he would lean in and bury his masked face in it, and drown in the scent of her shampoo. In her scent.

But they had a job to do.

‘‘How does it look from the back?’’

Simon blinked slowly, taking him a couple of seconds to understand her question, and shrugged.

‘‘Looks good to me’’

On the mirror, Christine’s brows raised almost to her hairline, feigning surprise and offense, and his shoulders tensed up. What had he done now?

‘‘Only good? Aw’’ Her voice sounded uncharacteristically whiny, but the sly grin curving her lips betrayed her. Simon relaxed and chuckled, shaking his head.

‘‘Are we talking about your hair?’’

‘‘I don’t know, are we?’’ Her coy smile made him bark a short laugh, and he straightened up from his position leaning against the door to devour the small distance between them with just a step. Her back to his chest, his chin resting on the top of her head. Trying not to think how close her body was, and how easy it would be to close his arms around her and never let go.

‘‘I prefer your hair down’’ Simon rumbled, resting his hands on the sink at each side of her. Caging her in. Christine didn’t complain, and the fleeting moment of stiffness was so brief that he didn’t notice, or if he did, said nothing. She just smiled at him on the mirror, with the faintest hint of pink blossoming on her cheeks.

‘‘Difficult to justify, wearing a police uniform’’ God, he was so close. So warm. Towering over her in his dark hoodie and jeans, only needing to put on the rest of his gear and the full mask to become Ghost again.

Simon tutted, half joking and half truly displeased, and buried his covered nose in her hair, unable to resist the temptation. Christine left the brush aside and placed her hands on his, on the sink, pushing back just slightly to feel herself more enveloped in his warmth.

Dark brown eyes met blue-grey ones on the mirror when Simon looked down at her again. Slowly, his right hand left the sink, with hers still on top, and splayed open over her belly to bring her even further back against his chest, pulling her flush to him.

‘‘Belarus was different’’ His voice was lower than before. The bathroom’s door was open, and they both could hear the chatter coming from the master bedroom as Johnny and Gabi finished collecting their things. The fifteen minutes had been up a bit ago. ‘‘We were alone, in the open. Now you’ll be inside a building with a civilian’’

Christine nodded softly, looking up at him. Her heart was beating faster, the dark shadow inside her gnawing at her organs, bellowing in her ears to get away, to push him away, to escape. But she forced herself to stay in place, her hand still on top of his now over her belly, feeling his scorching warmth even through her top.

‘‘I’ll be prudent’’ She felt the rumble against her back when he chuckled, with his chin still on top of her head. ‘‘Don’t laugh at me, I promise I will be careful’’

‘‘No plan resists the contact with the enemy’’ Simon murmured darkly, with a deep sigh. There was something in the back of his skull. Picking at his brain. Something that told him that something wasn’t right, that something didn’t add up. The same feeling he had since Laswell and Gabi explained thee plan back at base.

‘‘We’ll make do’’ Christine shrugged, her fingertips now tracing his knuckles, feeling the scars of past fights engraved in his skin. ‘‘I have a bad feeling about all this though’’

‘‘You too?’’ He chuckled again, relaxing his shoulders slightly. If someone else had the same feeling, maybe he wasn’t that crazy. Or maybe both of them were crazy. He didn’t know what idea amused him the most.

‘‘I always expect the worst…’’ She started saying, but Simon was quick to finish the sentence.

‘‘… that way I’m never surprised’’ He smirked under the mask, glad to hear her quiet laugh. From the other side of the wall, they could hear Soap and Gabi dragging their suitcases to the entrance of the apartment. ‘‘Good to know we’re on the same page’’

‘‘Are we going to be one of those obnoxious…’’ Christine interrupted herself before saying couple. Were they? How could they not? They were acting like one except on the physical sense. She wondered if he would ever get tired of waiting. She wondered if she would get tired of waiting.

Simon felt the same uncertainty at her words, but the way his own brain finished the sentence had him feeling something that he had believed dormant, extinguished, for years.

Hope.

‘‘… obnoxious couples that finish each other’s sentences?’’ He rumbled a low laugh, one of those that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand out and a shiver in her gut.

‘‘Yeah’’ Christine nodded softly, the pink hue on her cheeks a bit darker now and one of her small, shy smiles. The ones that were rare to see and so different from her usual cheeky one. ‘‘One of those that are always together, do everything together, and are absolutely disgusting to see’’

Simon laughed, sincerely for once, and raised his left hand to brush a rebellious strand of her hair back to place.

‘‘You might get tired of me before getting there, lovie’’ He laughed harder when she swatted his arm, pretending to be offended, and pointed a finger at him.

‘‘No refunds, Lieutenant, you’re stuck with this mess’’ Her blush deepened. She felt stupid, he thought it was adorable. His own ears were as red as hers, and the parts of his face that were visible were blushing, too.

Simon leaned forward to brush his covered lips over her ear, pulling her closer to his chest, and grinned to himself when he felt her tremble.

‘‘No refunds, Sergeant’’

Soap started calling from them, and reluctantly, Simon let go of her, straightening up. Christine sighed and checked her hair was in place one last time before starting to gather her toiletries.

‘‘Wheels up in five’’

[cottoncandyswirl828]

Zuma Appreciation Week: Day 7 - Ryder and Zuma

Ah, what could be a better way to round off Zuma Appreciation Week than a tribute to the age-old friendship between a boy and his dog. We don’t really get to see Ryder just hanging out and bonding with the pups anymore, which is a real shame since the bond Ryder has with his pups is clearly a strong one. They all share such a sweet connection with each other and let’s face it; we’re all a little jealous of Ryder for having six adorable talking pups that he gets to spend all his time with. That boy is living every dog lover’s dream. Zuma Appreciation Week has been a lot of work but also so much fun to do, I’m really glad I could do this, so let’s end this on a high note, complete with some headcanoned backstory.

“You won’t get away with this, Moby!”

“And what makes you think you and your little Paw Patrol can stop me?”

Moby swam off in his Moby-mobile, taking with him the magic clam shell of Puplantis he had stolen, with Ryder and Zuma in hot pursuit.

“Hahaha! Without the magic pearls, Puplantis will crumble. Then the mer-pups will have to leave and I can have Puplantis all to myself! No more annoying singing or dancing or big celebrations, just me and my inventions!”

McSquidly gave a squeak of annoyance.

“… And McSquidly too.”

“Not if we have anything to say about it!” Ryder declared, as he and Zuma followed Moby into a system of underwater caves. “Zuma, see if you can find a shortcut so you can get ahead of him, then we’ll have him surrounded.”

“Aye-aye! Ruff! Sonar!”

Using his pup pack’s sonar device, Zuma quickly mapped out the cave system and found a series of tunnels that could get him in front of Moby.

“Bingo.”

Ryder and Zuma split up, with Ryder continuing to pursue Moby as Zuma slipped into a tunnel that Moby had failed to notice.

“Come on, McSquidly, we’ve already shaken one of them, just have to lose the other and we’ll be home free.”

A sharp turn caused Moby’s vehicle to hit the cave wall. Not enough to damage it, but enough to shake McSquidly from his perch on top of the sub, causing the squid to reach their tentacles over the windshield of the Moby-mobile.

“McSquidly! I can’t see!”

The Moby-mobile started to swerve wildly out of control, banging against the walls and ceiling of the cave as Moby continued to try and steer blindly.

“That’s far enough Moby- Woah!” Zuma popped out of the side tunnel, blocking Moby’s path which led to the two vehicles colliding. Zuma was more than grateful that Ryder had built their vehicles to be able to withstand heavy blows, otherwise that crash could’ve been pretty bad for him.

“You again? Where did you come from?”

“The jig is up Moby! Now hand over the clam shell, it doesn’t belong to you.”

Moby growled as he looked between Ryder and Zuma, realizing he was trapped between them. Then a sudden rumble shook the cave.

“Ryder! My sonar says the caves are starting to collapse, we gotta get out of here!”

Rocks started to fall from the roof of the cave, causing a small opening to form. Moby smiled as he saw his chance to escape.

“McSquidly! Ink ‘em!”

McSquidly nodded and shot a cloud of ink at Ryder and Zuma, blinding them. Meanwhile, Moby slammed his vehicle into the crack in the ceiling, making it big enough for him to escape but causing more of the cave to collapse in the process.

“And for good measure…” Moby used his sub to push a large boulder over the hole he created, preventing Zuma and Ryder from following him.

As Moby made his escape, more rocks came tumbling down on Ryder and Zuma, landing on Ryder’s sub and trapping him in a pile of rubble.

“Ryder!”

“Don’t worry about me, I’m fine. You need to go after Moby and get the clam shell back.”

“No way! I’m not leaving you here in a crumbling cave!”

“But Moby’s getting awa-”

“Moby can wait! You can’t! This cave is coming down fast, if you stay here, you’ll be crushed!”

“So will you. I’ll be fine, just get out of here.”

Zuma sighed, he should’ve known it was less about catching Moby and more about getting him out of danger.

“I’m not leaving this cave without you! Either both of us get out of here or neither of us do! Now let me get rid of those rocks.”

Zuma used the claw arms of his sub to lift the rocks off Ryder’s sub, while using his own sub to block any more rocks from falling on Ryder.

“Be careful, Zuma!”

Once all the rocks were cleared, Ryder tried to start up his sub, but one of the larger rocks had crushed one of the sub’s propellers.

“Dang it. Go on without me, I’ll only slow you down.”

Instead of arguing, Zuma just grabbed Ryder's sub with one of his claw arms and began dragging him through the cave.

"Zuma! You won't make it out in time with my sub weighing you down! Please, just leave me, I can find my own way out."

"No way! If I was in your position, you wouldn't have left me, so I'm not leaving you!"

The caves were beginning to completely collapse at this point. Zuma had to swerve and dodge falling boulders as he towed Ryder through the cave, doing a double-take every time there was a near-miss to ensure Ryder hadn't been hit.

The cave entrance was finally in sight, but rocks and boulders were quickly piling up, threatening to block their way out.

"You won't be fast enough to get out before the entrance is blocked if you keep towing me! You have to let me go, I'll call for back-up and Rubble can-"

"NO! We can make it! We just need to keep going!"

"Zuma, I promise I'll be fine, just-"

"I'M NOT LEAVING YOU TO DIE IN A CAVE LIKE THEY DID TO ME!"

Zuma pushed his sub's engines to their absolute limit, shooting through the water faster than he'd ever dared to go before and making it out of the cave right before the entrance was blocked completely.

Zuma sighed in relief and let himself relax into the seat of his sub. "See? I told you we'd make it out."

But Ryder gave him a weird look that Zuma couldn't quite place, he seemed... Sad? Worried? Sympathetic? Zuma couldn't find the right words to describe it.

"Zuma... What is it you said about being left in a cave to die?"

"Oh, just a bad memory from my puppyhood is all. You don't need to worry about it."

Ryder wasn't at all convinced. He got out of his sub and gestured for Zuma to do the same, which he reluctantly did.

"That cave you were left in... Was it the same cave I found you in?" Zuma was quiet, but he nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Zuma thought for a moment, and an awkward silence passed between them.

"... I used to live in a shelter for strays. The shelter was pretty understaffed so we didn't get a lot of outdoor time, but one day we were all taken to the beach for a beach day. It was actually the first time I'd ever been to a beach, and I had so much fun. There was so much space to run and play, and I wanted to explore everything, so when I found the cave I just had to see what was inside. But, then there was a cave in. Everything was suddenly pitch black, and I could hear people shouting from the other side. When they realized I was the only one inside, they just... Left me... Said that one tiny pup just wasn't worth the effort to move all those rocks... So they just left me in the cave and went back to the shelter."

Zuma was starting to cry at this point, and Ryder wrapped his arms tightly around his pup.

"I… I just couldn't leave you in there! All alone in a dark cave. I didn't want you to think I didn't care, or that you weren't worth the effort. And I... I didn't want to be alone either. I didn't think I could handle being in another crumbling cave without you there. I was just too scared."

Zuma wrapped his front paws around Ryder’s neck, whimpering and nuzzling his chin as much as their scuba masks would allow.

“Hey, it’s okay, Zuma. Everything’s okay now. And even though you were scared, I’m very proud of you for being brave and for not giving up.”

“You’ll always be worth the effort, Ryder, even if it means being in a dangerous spot, it’ll always be worth it.”

“And you are too, Zuma. Those people made a huge mistake leaving you behind, because they missed out on an amazing pup. You were more than worth the effort it took to find you in that cave. If I could go back in time and do things differently, the only thing I would change is I’d adopt you sooner, before the whole cave disaster happened.”

Zuma smiled, wishing he could wipe the tears from his eyes. “Thanks, Ryder. I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear that.”

“Anytime, Zuma.”

A beep sounded from Ryder’s pup-pad.

“Ryder!” Chase’s voice called from the other end, “I found Moby and got the clam shell back!”

“Great work, Chase! We’ll meet you back at Puplantis.”

Zuma blushed slightly in embarrassment, he had almost forgotten about Moby and the clam shell.

“Glad Chase was able to catch him after I let him get away.”

“You didn’t ‘let’ him get away, you saw there was a more immediate danger and took care of that first.”

“Well, maybe next time don’t be so insistent on being a martyr.”

“No promises.”

[sheriffgrimes-archerdixon]

We are the ones who live

Hi loves! So sorry for being away for so long. This imagine has been sitting in my drafts for a whole year but I hope it’s okay… hope you’ve all been keeping well! Love you all! Don’t forget to send in requests!!

Tw: mention of attempted suicide but nothing in detail.

Surviving the apocalypse was one thing but surviving in it and kicking ass was another. But today was one of those days where everything was going wrong. Your feet silently lead you through the broken building, clambering up the stairs as silently as possible your eyes searching around. You had gone on a run with Maggie, rick and Daryl and a herd of walkers had forced you all to split. Even now a herd abruptly creeping up on you was incredibly out of the blue. “HELP!” A sudden yell came from the top floor of the building and you without even hesitating sprinted up the stairs glass crunching under your shoes before you barged through the door and to the roof seeing two hands clawing at the top of the roof attempting to cling on… what the hell? You quickly and mindlessly walked towards the hands worried that it was a Walker who just hadn’t let go but as you got closer you noticed the familiar brunette. “Maggie—“ you gasped immediately dropping to your knees and grabbing onto her wrists, hers fingers a pale white colour from how hard she was holding on as she panted “y/n… I- I you can let me go… i—“ “no. Enough.” You kept a tight grip on her wrists ignoring the fact that your palms which had grown clammier were not helping keep a grip on her.

You attempted to pull her up with all your strength but it was frankly impossible, having no food or energy in either of your systems it was a recipe for disaster. “Y/n I’m telling you to let go of me.” Maggie begged but you only shook your head. “No.” You spat out Maggie gazing at you sadly before she began slightly moving clearly attempting to get you to let go and suddenly her wrists slipped from your grasp and as if your life flashed before your eyes you without hesitating threw yourself towards her, hand luckily grasping onto Maggie’s forearm you almost all the way off the building— the drop down terrifying. Paralysing. But you kept a tight grip on her “we’re the ones who live Maggie. This is suicide!” You growled out glaring into her eyes. She was being selfish. You kept a tight grip on her wrist— even if you let go of her you would fall face first down due to her weight not evening you out anymore. “Maggie we’re both surviving this.” You said simply your jaw clenched as your arm throbbed slightly your shoulder feeling like it was about to dislocate but you didn’t care. “What the fuck even happened?” You questioned the look on Maggie’s face saying it all… had she tried to commit suicide? You shook your head keeping a tight grip on her until suddenly out of nowhere you felt hands grabbing at your ankles

“What the hell happened?” A rough voice spat out. Rick. Relief swarmed around you “rick don’t pull me back.. Maggie” you choked out being slightly winded from the pressure you had to keep Maggie alive Daryl peering down “rick keep a grip on y/n… I’ve got Maggie.” Daryl said fearlessly, examining the situation before him before finally noticing the building Maggie was dangling from had windows and window ledges. Not big but big enough. He shrugged his crossbow off of his shoulder tossing it on the ground before he easily swung off the edge tiptoeing against the windowsill “Maggie give me your hand. Trust me.” And slowly Maggie agreed grabbing onto Daryl’s hand as he swiftly pulled her close to him, awkwardness there but more pushed down as he quickly helped her return to the roof before he clambered up himself. Rick kept a tight grip on your ankles before he eventually began pulling you back onto the roof until you were flat against the surface again, panting from fear, being face to face with death. A different kind of death like falling to your death was terrifying… rick helped you stand and wasted no time in pulling you in for a tight hug closing his eyes in relief gripping onto you tightly as you held onto him just as tight trembling from adrenaline and fear “don’t do something like that ever again.” He murmured into your ear as he cupped the back of your head not letting you go and you only nodded not being able to promise anything knowing you’d risk your life over and over again for those you love. Eventually you pulled back from rick before hugging Maggie tightly knowing you’d have to keep an eye on her for some time…

“Best get going before we get swarmed.” Daryl grumbled not wanting to disrupt the reunion but he knew damn well the walkers could walk stairs if they really wanted to. Everyone else seemed to agree and Rick placed a hand on the small of your back “Maggie in front with Daryl” he demanded so he could keep an eye on you both before he lead you down the stairs “what was she doing?” He questioned to you quietly and you only shrugged truly not knowing, rick nodding in understanding. “I’ll keep an eye on her.” He murmured keeping his hand on the small of your back and you nodded smiling slightly. No matter how many days passed in the apocalypse you would forever be grateful for being so lucky to have Rick in your life.

I know this was short sorry! Trying to get back into writing!! Send in requests pls!!!

[berrymascarpone]

A Brief Tour of Seireitei

So I’ve been reading the Soul Society Arc again after finishing the Bleach manga a while back and now that all the plot tension has already been resolved, I’ve found myself looking at the scenery. And by scenery, I mean the architecture and city planning of Seireitei.

Now, the good thing is Ichigo and co really get around a bit in this arc, not to mention the cuts to the captains and lieutenants doing there thing in the background, so here’s a brief tour following along with them.

The first thing we notice about Seireitei is that clearly they spend much more on infrastructure in the city than in Rukongai. That is where all your tax money has gone folks, to nice tiled roofs, whitewashed walls, fancy windows.

But also, considering the magically appearing wall that just straight up falls from the sky when you go near, it’s probably a good idea to have some way of demarcating where you have to stay away from in order to stay un-pancaked.

(Also electrical wires? Just what era is their infrastructure from?)

It looks like there’s a pretty open layout here, but later on, the streets get more labrythine, with long walls splitting the space into narrow roadways.

However, from above, it appears that these complicated halls are actually just blocks of mazes, separated by normal roads. Are they compounds? Is this just the geography of that particular area? Are they individual houses? Who lives there?

And although the streets look pretty narrow from these angles, another ground angle shows that they are actually pretty wide. But also, you might run into something like, uh this.

We all knew the Gotei 13 was pretty fucked up, but uh, yeah. Makes me wonder which earlier generation captain had this installed.

Anyways, after destroying many of those walls, Ichigo and Ganju eventually make it below the uniformly tiled floors to make it to the sewers (or are they storm drains? They feel very tall for sewers.

These remind me somewhat of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel, which I had to look up once for a fic, so that makes me think it’s more of a stormwater system. Also, apparently they don’t mark their manhole covers in Seireitei? And it looks kinda fragile too, what with only that tiny little ledge to hold up such a big board. What happens when a particularly heavy person (and we know there are some real big boys in the Gotei 13) steps on one of these tiles and falls through? I imagine Komamura and Zaraki Kenpachi have learned to memorize the locations these manhole covers, or they accidentally step through the floor every few blocks.

Once we exit the underwater canals, we arrive at Sōkyoku Hill, the most scenic view of Seireitei, and also where they lock up and execute their prisoners. I guess they would at least get a good view before they die?

Not only is it on a hill, but the architecture takes quite a brutalist turn. All square blocks and flat tops (except for the nice little row of towers up there? And also a few sky bridges, for the scenic view.)

As a side note, this area appears to be surrounded by several warehouse-like buildings. Not sure if it’s actual warehouses, and this is the prison/industrial district of Seireitei, but interesting to note.

But also, when Ichigo and Renji absolutely wreck a few of these buildings in their fight they appear to contain…absolutely nothing?? Like not even some broken furniture, or debris.

Anyways, after a bit of regrouping back in the underground waterways (which also have some room-like areas a bit further away from the water…for…reasons…) our heroes finally venture forth into brutalist architecture wonderland.

I assume this area is a prison complex, since, judging by the texture, it appears to be made out of Sekkiseki, the reiatsu-suppressing stone. Also interesting to note, the buildings appear to be placed haphazardly, at odd angles. Is this to confuse invaders and/or escaped prisoners? Is it because their city planning consisted of Yamamoto scribbling out something on a napkin? Is it because this hill was one big sekkiseki deposit and they had to carve buildings out from the ground, so their planning had to follow the natural contours? And why is there absolutely no one here? Like the empty warehouses, this area seems to be abandoned. Are there not enough prisoners, or did the last crisis in Soul Society wipe out enough people that there aren’t enough to fill these houses? Is it like those fake buildings that are actually subway stations and the top part is just for show?

Anyways, it seems like I’ve hit the limit on the number of images I can add on the mobile app, so I’ll continue in a part 2 once I get around to it.

[respondedinkind]

closed starter for @bloodstainedstar

Khan's plan to smugge his crew into safety by putting them into the very weapons he had designed had failed on him; Just when he'd thought he could do it, that everything would go according to plan, the promise of a better future so close he could taste it on the tip of his tongue...

...He'd been discovered by one of Marcus men, and that man had managed to notify the Admiral about his intentions before Khan's hands had brought an end to the unfortunate one's life.

The mentioned one is dead now, yes, but security is onto him and Khan has no other choice but to escape alone, without his people, the ones he holds most dear - because if he doesn't, he will end up being stripped and tied to a biobed, turned into a slab of meat that gives all it has for Marcus to use for his own, sick plans to start a Klingon war.

As much as it pains him, the thought of leaving without the men and women he'd promised to protect - he runs, leaves, manages to steal a shuttle and, somehow, ends up in space. Time feels like a bit of a blur, so Khan doesn't recall every single moment that has happened - he's here, and he has to make some new plans---

---But then, something else happens.

Suddenly, the Universe... opens up in front of him. Quite literally so, as if it tears itself apart, causing blue eyes to widen at the foreign sight. Khan has never seen something like this and he's stunned by the sight, lips parting...

That's when everything happens in such a quick succession that it's hard for even his superior brain to keep up; A white light appears, swallows him, his shuttle shakes and a thousand warning alerts pop up, vanish, pop up before all of the systems are failing. Khan blinks and squints, squeezes his eyes shut at a sudden G-force causing bile to rise inside his throat---

---And then, like that, his shuttle is falling toward another planet that looks remarkably similar to Earth.

What...?

Khan, still confused by everything that has just happened, scrambles to try and get the systems back online but to no avail. The continent grows with the seconds that pass and he gets closer, closer, closer; His shuttle is briefly picked up by a current of wind, it seems, allows it to sail a bit but it's still very much about to crash-land in the middle of what seems to be a rather big city - part of him wonders if no one is actually noticing the aircraft falling like this, if, perhaps, he's too fast for any defense system to react.

He does know, though, that he needs to leave this vessel before he'll hit something with it - bright irises scan what he can see from his position and he makes a split-second-decision he isn't too sure about whether he'll regret it or not.

But, he actually opens the door to his right and---

---Jumps.

The shuttle continues to fly without him, lands somewhere a but further away while Khan flies through the air, toward what appears to be a rooftop of a bulding; He curls his body, lands with his shoulder first and rolls himself off this way, but the impact is still quite rough. He rolls and rolls and rolls, the force of his movement pulling him along - and he manages to hold onto the edge of the building at the very last second before he falls, fingers grabbing onto the stone as he dangles off the side.

Blinking, gasping, Khan needs a second to process this, the whole of what has just happened; He groans, then pulls himself up and back on top of the roof, still catching his breath while allowing his gaze to roam as he crouches there...

...Where the fuck is he? It looks like earth from what he can tell. But... This city is unfamiliar to him.

[scrollsfromarebornrealm]

Prompt #30: Two Heads Are Better Than One

(CW: blood, gore, violence)

-----

When hunting vampires, two heads are better than one.

(old Tonawatan proverb)

*******

The night had gone to the hells in a handbasket. With a ribbon attached.

"ΑΑΑΑΗΗΗΗΗ! ΑΛΛΑΑΑΗΗΗΗ!! AAAAAAHHHH!!"

"Shut up!" Mathye bellowed, but he knew it'd fall on deaf ears. The Dustwatch deputy hadn't stopped screaming since the vampire attack had begun. How they'd not passed out for lack of air, the doctor didn't know and really couldn't question at that particular moment.

"ΑAAAΗΗΗΗ!! ΑΑΑΑΗΗΗΗ!!! ΑΑΑΗΗΗΗΗ!!!"

Nor could he pause what he was doing to make them shut up. With a growl, Mathye threw out more little seed-balls, channeling Weave directly into them. Plants exploded into life and surged to more than twice their normal size-blackthorn, buckthorn, hawthorn and rowan, he needed to create a hedge between himself and the undead. Garbled screams and curses came from the vampire thralls that ran straight into the still growing plants, and with satisfaction Mathye watched as the hedge continued to grow and push forward. The only problem was now that he couldn't see what was in front of him-but at this point, it didn't matter.

This isn't going to stand up to their leader, however. Dimly Mathye registered the screaming had stopped-and risked a quick glance behind him. The Dustwatch deputy had fainted, and the rest of the town's makeshift hunting group had fled.

Sonva-

Mat! Augustine's voice cracked to life on the linkpearl. Mathye!

"I'm here, I'm here!" Mathye lifted his right hand to his ear, while he shoved the left into another pouch strapped to his waist.

What happened!

"The remedy didn't work, that's what happened! The fool overpowered these numbskulls and went screaming towards long-in-the-tooth out there!" The oldest child of a local wealthy farmer, bitten by one of the higher-tier vampires that haunted the region. The plan had been to keep them drugged while the remedy to purge the vampire's toxin from his system did its job...but the local townsfolk had decided to use the victim as bait to lure in the undead. Too late Kemakka had heard of the mad scheme and had sent Mathye and Augustine to help or in this case, kidnap the victim and get them back to Stonewood, where they could receive better care. However, the vampire had attacked the town on two fronts with a small army of ashkin-and forced the brothers to split up, along with the town's defenders. And while Mathye had his hands full with a panicking Dustwatch deputy and terrified townspeople, the vampire's victim had broken free of their bonds and overpowered their guards. Too late Mathye had noticed and could only watch as the vampire tenderly embraced their lover...before ripping out their throat in a shower of blood and gore.

That had started the Dustwatch deputy's screaming.

Then the vampire's thralls had swarmed, and Mathye had found his hands full. The last he'd seen of the vampire, they'd been stuffing their victim's heart into their mouth.

I'm not that far away! Mathye spun around again, taking in his surroundings. His eyes spotted something perfect-a two-story building, complete with upper balcony and even better, a ladder to the roof.

"Hey Augustine?"

Mat?

"I have a bad idea." Silence over the linkpearl, and then the air crackled with the most profane oaths Augustine knew. Mathye winced-some were borderline blasphemy; he'd be setting out a few apology offerings on behalf of his sibling-

"Curse later! Get on top of that two-story!" He barked, triggering the pearl to keep it active. Right hand now free, he reached for his herb-knife-just as voidflame attacked the hedge in front of him. The plants screamed as they died, their voices stabbing into Mathye like a thousand blades-their agony was his agony. Unable to stand, let alone form a coherent thought, the doctor collapsed to his hands and knees, struggling to draw in a breath. The stink of voidflame and the smell of burning wood filled his nose, and his stomach roiled.

"Well, well." A silky voice purred in the air above him. "One of the Bishop brothers! I never thought I'd be so lucky!" Mathye glared at the leather-patent shoes in front of him, fingers curling into the dirt as he tried to keep breathing.

"You're the sour one though." The world around Mathye blurred. Suddenly he was dangling in the air, fingers tightening around his neck. Seed balls fell from one of his pouches, the stitching had come undone.

"If I bite you, you'll probably give me indigestion." The vampire blinked as Mathye started to wheeze with laughter. "What's so funny?"

"Indigestion." Mathye whispered, his voice raspy. "That's about to be a real big problem for you right now."

"Huh?"

Mathye reached for the Weave again-strings of it coming from the seeds that were in the vampire's belly and shoved his power into them. The vampire's eyes widened-and then it started to scream. Roses and nightshade erupted from its flesh, stems and flowers engulfing the creature's body, choking off it's scream as they bloomed from its' throat. Mathye suddenly fell to the ground as the fingers gripping him let go, and he watched as the vampire's head suddenly disappeared in a bloom of flower petals and black blood.

Augustine had made it to the roof.

Mat!

"I'm okay, I'm fine..." Mathye wheezed. "Just...need a nap. And a shower. And a drink." He watched as the gruesome display in front of him collapsed under its own weight.

"Maybe all three at the same time."

[lancasterroofingtxus]

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[inevitably-johnlocked]

Five Fics Friday: January 12/24

Happy Friday everyone!! I hope you had a wonderful week, and are ready to enjoy some more fic recs to get you started on the weekend! Enjoy!!

RECENTLY BOOKMARKED

Spare Parts by Raina_at (E, 63,497 w., 10 Ch. || 24th Century / Futurism AU || Post TRF, Pre-TRF Relationship, Case Fic, Mutual Pining, Estrangement, Reconciliation, Science Fiction, Reunion, Nightmares, Angry John, Cybernetic John, Emotional Discussions / Heart to Heart, POV John, Scars, Past Drug Use, Forehead Touching, Emotional Lovemaking, Kissing, Apologies, Kidnapping, Rescue Mission, BAMF John, Bed Sharing, Top Sherlock) – Two years ago, Sherlock Holmes jumped off the roof of New London Hospital. Two months ago, he walked into John's clinic as if no time had passed at all. John hasn't seen him since. But then Sherlock knocks on John's door with a case he can't say no to, and while figuring out why the biggest manufacturer or synthetic limbs in the System is going after veterans, they also need to find out whether there's a way to fix what's broken between them. Part 1 of Realigning Gravity

Fade To Black by twistedthicket1 (M, 93,389 w., 29 Ch. || Split Personality Disorder / DID, Action, Romance, Violence, Implied Rape/Non-Con, BAMF John, Fluff and Angst, Baskerville, Human Experimentation, PTSD, Implied Self Harm, Trauma Amnesia, Past Child Sexual Abuse, Protective Sherlock, Smoking, Meddling Mycroft, Past Victor/Sherlock, Gay Sherlock, Sherlock’s Past, First Kiss/Time) – John Watson believes one day he'll just fade. That he'll drown in the black spaces of his mind, and that one day he will no longer exist. It's always been like this, the dark spots marking out moments in his life he can't remember. Where for just a moment he's someone else. Having a Dissociative identity disorder, he can't even be entirely sure he's really who he says he is. Then he meets Sherlock Holmes. A brilliant detective who when he looks at you can read your entire life story. John is immediately fascinated and afraid, half-wondering if maybe Sherlock can see the other personalities in him and half terrified of the thought of him finding out. Becoming his flatmate seems at once to be a wonderful and horrible idea. Yet as John's Blackouts become more and more severe and his other personalities begin to truly awaken and show themselves with Sherlock's help, the two soon discover that sometimes even the kindest person can harbour a demon best left untouched inside of them. Because not all of John's other personalities play nicely and some may be hiding secrets best left undisturbed...

MARKED FOR LATER

Hand Me the Salt, Love? by topsyturvy_turtely (G, 554 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff, Pet Names, Flustered Sherlock, Cooking, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, Fluff Without Plot) – John is cooking. Sherlock is not helping. Until...

Locked Room by Calais_Reno (T, 8,346 w., 2 Ch. || Alternate First Meeting AU || Pool Scene, Mystery, Near Death Experience, Drug Addiction, Serious Injuries, Temporary Amnesia, POV Alternating, Love Confessions, Happy Ending) – John wakes up in a locked room, unable to remember how he got here. The last thing he remembers is his hands covered in blood, trying to keep a soldier from dying. His roommate also seems to be suffering from amnesia, and has decided that John is a delusion. Part 33 of Just Johnlock

Walk of Shame by 72reasons (E, 14,355+ w., 9/? Ch. || WiP || Alternate First Meeting AU || Meet-Ugly, Bisexual John, Gay Sherlock, Alternating POV, Sad John, Suicidal Thoughts, Casual Sex, Strangers to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Threesome, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Frottage, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex) – John is just back from the war and wanders the city wondering what he’s going to do. One of his distractions is having casual sex with a beautiful, but annoying, woman. Sherlock usually refrains from sex, but in trying to stay sober he indulges in it now and again. Sherlock meets John on the street and sparks fly. Casual sex is one thing, but what about something more?

[thelongestway]

Travelling once again, so a) watch out for mobile formatting, b) this is a bit rough 'round the edges. Maybe will use restructuring/tweaking later. But the practice of posting rough drafts has done me enormous good so far, I'm keeping it. :P

Besides, it's nothing special. Just a little fieldwork. :P

Chapter 7: Relations

"This is certainly a busy station," Mensah said when we emerged into the gigantic glass dome on top of Courageous Station, shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun coming through the transparent roof. Thiago handed her a pair of sunglasses, which she put on.

"It's always like this during a Meet. Not so much on regular days, although the gardens are never empty," Reed said as ke came up behind Mensah. (Ke had plans around the gardens, and offered to take my humans there on the way.) Now out of kes work jumpsuit and looking much more relaxed than ke usually did, ke was wearing the kind of colorful wrap Dandelion's humans usually had off-duty and was shouldering a bag. Ke didn't even have their communicator on kem.

(I mean, in case of emergency, Dandelion could probably reach kem through Aspen. In contrast to Aspen's constantly shifting processes, she had hers mostly silenced and was now simply sitting alongside Aspen, not doing much aside from basic maintenance. That, and keeping a narrow connection into our feed work space, tracking us with maybe half a percent of her processing power.)

Mensah's 'busy' was a real fucking understatement. The top of the station was split up into multiple biomes (each with their own microclimate; there were airlocks and everything), but they were all teeming with humans: walking around, spreading out on the grasses in groups large and small, climbing the trees, eating food, talking or exchanging things. Most were regular-looking, but there were also a lot of genetically-augmented ones like Haze.

In the feed, Aspen kept track of all of them. There must have been thousands of humans in this topside park alone, but they made it look effortless, sweeping through the area with their multi-threaded processes, running their sociological analysis alongside the normal work a HubSystem usually did: environmental systems, traffic control, responses to queries from subsystems and so on. It made my head spin. Even ART, riding my outputs, said, That's a lot of data. Do you know everyone on the station?

Aspen laughed. Not personally. That would be a bit much, especially during a Meet. There are over a thousand clusters on board right now, and a little less than half of them are my charges. But I know who they are. Mostly. I try not to intrude too much.

"It's incredible," Thiago said. "Is this where most of the celebration happens?"

"One of the more popular sites for sure," Reed answered. "But the Meet happens all over Courageous and Waveskimmer Stations. Everyone has their own preferred spots."

"What do people usually do?"

"That depends. There's always a lot of work in the background. Resource exchange, processing, maintenance and all that. But that's four hours per shift, and the rest is spent with friends and family." Reed looked away from Thiago, surveying the gardens in wonder. "Taproot and stars, Aspen, we've been away for barely half a year, and the biomes have grown so much more complex. How?"

"Full credit to Rye and kes interplanting schemas," Aspen replied from Mensah's communicator. "And speaking of Rye, ke's asked me to pass along that ke'll be free around Dolphin's Watch."

"Oh? Excellent, that gives me some time to look around and find something specific to compliment before I meet kem. Thank you, Aspen."

Thiago was making notes somewhere in his feed, then said, looking up, "That method of communication can't be sustainable for the entire population, can it?"

Aspen and Reed laughed together.

"Absolutely not," Reed said. "There's an automated messaging system for a reason. People just check the nearest terminal."

"I do make the occasional exception for members of my cluster, however. Even the transplants," Aspen added.

Thiago's eyes lit up. Reed raised an eyebrow.

Hah, trying to map our family structures. Good luck with that, Aspen said in the feed, amused.

They're not that complicated, Dandelion commented off-handedly.

Spoken like someone who's never tried to figure out who they really shouldn't be dating outside of their own cluster.

Dandelion scoffed, but didn't disagree. (She probably had better things to do even when she was human.)

"How, exactly, are you and Aspen related? Did you grow up here?" Thiago asked, moving over to Reed like he was sighting on kem.

"I did part of my exile on Courageous Station," Reed answered, throwing a slightly uncomfortable look over kes shoulder to the biome ke was eyeing earlier. (If ke didn't get rid of Thiago soon, ke'd be stuck. But at least Thiago would also be easy to monitor.)

"An apprenticeship of sorts, then? How did you choose your cluster?"

Reed shrugged. "A new system sounds very exciting when you're twenty, so I took the first ship here after the wormhole to Trellin was opened. That was just a few months after Aspen, Dandelion and Note arrived, so there was a lot of work and not a lot of space available. It was mostly the Courageous cluster working on space-side construction to make enough room for other full clusters to come. Who else would I join?"

"But right now you're part of Tenacious cluster? How did that switch happen?"

"I applied and she and her captain accepted? I'm not entirely sure what you're inquiring about, Dr. Thiago..."

This was going to take a while. ART agreed, so it said to Aspen: You must have all of the demographic data for this station. Thiago should have tried to access it through you. Is this a teaching moment?

Yes, for me, Aspen replied, grinning. They had four tendril-processes hanging over Thiago. It's always a lot of fun watching someone try to study your own culture.

Humans--and human-based constructs--who studied other humans were incredibly weird. So I backburnered that conversation and instead followed what Mensah was looking at.

And oh shit, I should have been doing that from the beginning instead of wasting my time watching Thiago. Because the four humans she was looking at stuck out like a sore thumb here, even though they were wearing local clothes. (They were augmented. And Aspen's humans had very few augments. More than Dandelion did, but it was still corrective augments only, and I'd only seen twenty or so on the whole station so far.)

(They also had about twice the number of Aspen's tendrils trailing them, which was even more of a dead give-away).

And they were headed straight for the same raised structure in the middle of the gardens that we were going to.

System, query: identity of humans ahead? I asked.

Response: Caldera Exploration employees, Aspen said. Here with their representative office.