#snark writes

[snarkythewoecrow]

exposure therapy

(7159 words) by snarkymuch

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 9-1-1 (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Tommy Kinard Summary:

Tommy stood there like a beefy Disney prince, a sparkle of knowing amusement in his eyes, to which Buck silently responded by pinching his brows together and frowning—confused and curious about what Tommy seemed to know that he didn’t. “Well, if it’s okay with you,” Tommy said, “I think I’ll stick with Evan—I got a feeling he’s gonna be worth getting to know.”   And getting to know each other was something they very much did. xXx He’d spent so long thinking it mattered—always somewhere in his mind, the worry that a part of him was a lie—not sure of his own name—but now he got it. He did. Because when he’d left Pennsylvania, he’d done it feeling like a failure at being the Evan his parents had wanted for a son—and then years later, after learning of Daniel, the curse of his name only felt worse. And he’d expected it to stay that way—despite the copious amount of therapy he endured—though in his defense, he never knew that someone like Tommy had been waiting in his future—ready to say his name a million different ways until he learned to love the sound of it again.

An introspective look at Buck making peace with his name and himself, along with some realistic, banter filled sex between these two stupidly in love beefcakes, with some daddy kink sprinkled in for a treat

@theotherbuckley look it's finally done! lol

[lordascapelion]

[iicaru2]

something about how wyll calls his romanced partner his “shining star,” and how i didnt know that at all, and the first time i romanced wyll HAPPENED to be in my first origin astarion campaign. something about him saying “to think i almost missed the light” to astarion, who at that point in time would still be in the process of manipulating him for protection/realize that hes a fool whose fallen for the literal fairytale prince a younger him once fantasized about marrying. something about astarion taking every opportunity he can to remark on how handsome and sweet wyll is, despite apparently despising heroes— and wyll doing the exact same thing, despite being a literal monster hunter. something about wyll having special unique lines for origin romances in his act 3 romance scene. how even if you dont romance him, if youre playing astarion and approach him at the epilogue party he is absolutely Delighted to see you and remarks on how much he missed you (and your hair, lmao). just something about two characters who have had their autonomy stripped away from them for years finding love and safety in each other. i dont think i can ever be normal about these two.

[snarkythewoecrow]

so, I saw this post, marveled at @raccoonmoon's stunning art, then my brain did this twitching thing as it pondered @greekgeek24's headcanon about Dot, then I went and vomited a bunch thoughts at @buckybeardreams, then ran off to a word doc and created this, which couldn't have happened without these people and their combined awesome even if they didn't know it

anyway, have a little one shot about Steve, a dress, and the longing for things you can't always have--and the happiness you get when you can

Pretty in Pink

this picture is a quote from Norman Rockwell

[vaguely-concerned]

the hossberg questline has me shaking solas by the shoulders like a ragdoll like 'for pity's sake the flowers are here the flowers ARE growing again tender shoots are finding their way back into even this dark and broken world if you would just pause for a moment and look and sTOP FUCKING STEPPING ON THEM FOR FIVE FUCKING MINUTES oh my GOD does the phrase 'self-fulfilling prophecy' mean anything to you or did you not have those back in the day. trick question bitch I know and you know you did open your eyes hope is here already hope is here if you could bear to let it in. I'm sorry it's not the saplings you loved once but they deserve the chance to live and try and thrive or fail too'

*merrill voice of keeping it so incredibly real* I think he's broken the thing he wanted to save. (*incredulous fenris noises of you pity him??*) *merrill being so incredibly valid and on point cont.* breaking the thing you love the most is not restricted to semi-gods but it sure means you can do it the worst anyone's ever done it little guy and then keep doing that for thousands of years

all jokes aside I do love this metaphor that winds through the whole game in both imagery and dialogue, right down to rook and their LI being depicted as intertwining flowers in the ending slides

[mishy-mashy]

Bruce is actually really attractive, and I have enough reasoning to make a list

He's:

Tall (. Tall enough to hit his head on the vault doorframe)

Long-legged

Has a straight nose bridge

Has high cheekbones (more noticeable in 2nd pic below)

Has a strong jawline

Sharp eyes, but they aren't small (plus eyebags if you're into that)

Overall, he has strong, attractive facial features

Has broad, refined shoulders. You can tell he works out (or he did, when he was alive)

Even has a thick, muscly neck

He has MUSCLE. Is SCULPTED. NOICE. VERY NOICE. (nice arms. Nice shoulders. Nice neck. Nice legs. Nice butt-)

(There are actually panels where you can see some of his muscles. Other than those already shown here, he's got bricky thighs-

-and in the panels where we first get his name dropped, he's got those shoulder blades too-)

The one time we see him smile, and he actually has a scary one

Has small, kinda sharp pupils, and his eyes remind me of a cat. We only ever saw him tense or defensive, so his resting/listening face is really cute

Other than the physical appearance stuff, he also:

Takes shit without batting an eye (patience, knowing it's just how Kudo is, etc)

Kudo being all "Cut the crap Bruce and give it to me straight", after Bruce tests his blood and is rightfully Concerned because they just faced AFO

Put up with Kudo's experimenting and testing over Yoichi's transferable Factor

Did ya'll see the look on Kudo's face when he realized he had Yoichi's Factor/will? Kudo was going to start in nonsense and Bruce just dealt with that.

Also something I noticed when looking back at the images here; Bruce has bandages on his arms in the void. But not when he faced AFO in the sewers.

Were he and Kudo cutting their arms open in their experimenting over Yoichi's theory? Is this why Kudo has two gauntlets instead of his one? Why we never see his bare arms in the void? That he always keeps his arms down so there's no slip?

Is smart enough to run blood tests, plus has enough common sense to pick Shinomori as his successor

He picked a guy who avoids society, has an Ability to detect danger so he can always stay away from AFO, is also a coward so he's never going to go throw himself into danger, even without knowing instinctively he stands no chance, etc.

Meanwhile, Kudo chose Bruce, who he played Hot Potato Yoichi with; but he did also trust Bruce, and put the only pure combative Ability in OFA through Bruce.

These two made their choices based on what they valued and saw the Factor needed.

Is logical, analytical, and calm.

He tried advising Midoriya on their Abilities in One For All, especially his own.

Midoriya then tried ignoring him about using Fa Jin for the first time, but found he was right, thinking: "Dammit!! I had [Lady Nagant] right where I wanted her, but... ugh! The Third was right. My parallel Quirk processes are all screwed up!" (ch. 314).

Plus, when Midoriya fixed his processing mistakes, Bruce was analyzing the way he reached his new conclusion. Pure facts, no bias, very calm, just saying it as it was.

We never see him panic. When he's caught by surprise in the sewers by AFO, Kudo, and Yoichi's little bubble event, he immediately reacts. He doesn't falter, he just knows he has to do something right now.

Was more willing to listen than Kudo to Yoichi's beckon, and probably was just following Kudo's rejection of Midoriya

While we don't see Kudo's face, we see Bruce's eyes when Yoichi calls on his heroes. Bruce was more open and receptive, or at least more impacted.

Bruce was also the one to start talking, while Kudo just kept quiet.

He actually communicates a lot

When Yoichi called them to support Midoriya, Bruce started talking to paint a picture of why they thought the way they did, so Yoichi understood where they were coming from.

(Though he seems to beat about the bush sometimes, since Kudo spoke up to be direct on how they couldn't just put their trust in some starry-eyed teenager. Plus, when Kudo tells him to just tell him what's wrong [double Factors])

When Midoriya first used Fa Jin against Nagant, Bruce came out just to tell him he knew what he was trying, but that Midoriya wasn't ready; and Midoriya found he was right. Midoriya just didn't want to listen to him then.

He asks Kudo for clarification after finding Kudo had two Factors in him after the sewer incident ("Just to be sure, All For One didn't touch you, right?") Kudo knew him well enough to go "stop beating around the bush and tell me", so Bruce was probably gonna start with questions, theories, and trying to understand everything in general, before saying "yeah you have two Factors. Don't know why".

Is strong-willed and loyal.

He followed Kudo, even to death, carrying on the cause he started until it ended with him.

Plus, when talking about how AFO needs a strong will to override OFA's own, we first see Bruce, Kudo, and Yoichi.

AFO couldn't steal OFA because the will was too strong for him, and that was back during Banjo's time. Since Shinomori never actually tried opposing AFO and just hid, we can assume the first Three (Yoichi, Kudo, Bruce) already had an accumulation of strong willpower that made OFA un-stealable. Those three are a strong enough foundation, and the main wills, that the other users just become bonuses.

Kudo, also saying that Midoriya needs allies with the same will and drive as him... hey Kudo, you're talking about yourself and your old allies, aren't you? That's why you look at Yoichi and Bruce when you say this.

Not only is Bruce attractive, but he's got good character. THE END.

[bonebrokebuddy]

It’s time for a, “things I sent to my twin’s inbox but she said I should post myself because I never post my own work and she’d like if I stopped spamming her inbox with ideas but I forgot about it and just kept it in my drafts notes for months and now finally I’m posting the fucking things.”

Or for short:

DP X DC PROMPT #7:

————————————

Danny visits metropolis and people are deadset on believing that Danny is either Clark’s little brother or his nephew from Illinois… despite that Clark can literally not be related to him. Not that the people at the Daily Planet know that, but even the ones who do know are giving him a hard time.

“I’m adopted Jimmy!” Clark threw his hands in the air in frustration. “You are very aware of that.”

“But he looks just like you Clark, you even talk the same!” Jimmy peaked around the corner, catching a glimpse of Danny talking to Lois in the employees lounge.

“He has a upper midwestern accent. I’m from Kansas, Jim. Not all midwesterners know each other!”

“So?”

“Jimmy. You know damn well why we can not be related.” Clark subtly gestured to his cheap “I believe in aliens” mug. Jimmy was Clark’s best friend and most of the time he really appreciated the kid’s keen eye but Jimmy also seemed to be constantly dead-set on figuring how to give Clark a headache.

“But he looks like a mini you! Have you asked him if he has a spare spaceship lying around anywhere?” Jimmy snarked as he glanced over to Danny and Louis who were finally heading back from their break.

“Jimmy, I will put you on the moon and leave you there.”

“Alright sheesh. I get it, I’ll drop it.”

[crimeronan]

eda and darius are especially hilarious because they are The Same Person. have we ever talked about this. i know i've been thinking about this for Years now and i can't remember if i've actually written any meta about it.

these are both ornery closed-off emotionally repressed adults with 10,000 personal issues and zero social life except for their weird gremlin roommate whom they treat like family even though the weird gremlin roommate is a giant pain in the ass. they both get followed around extensively by literally The Most Annoying Children In The World who refuse to take an "i'm a negligent burnout who should never be responsible for kids" hint until the kids finally manage to be so annoying and so relentless and so genuinely goodhearted that the ornery adult is like FINE. this is my FUCKING CHILD NOW. I GUESS. go on to become the child's mentor and then the child's parent or at least to blur the lines between those two. teach the kid about an area of interest they're hyperfixated on. complain mutinously the entire time they're doing it. constantly talk about how they're going to bed and/or want naps and/or don't want to work. engage in insane rivalries with extremely dangerous people sometimes for thematic plot reasons and sometimes just for the fun of it. can turn into giant really hot monsters made of magic. fail to let anyone in on what they're thinking or feeling or planning even on pain of death. truly both start out as completely miserable burnt-out bastards who then regain the life in their eyes when they start hanging out with their random pseudo-orphaned children with turbo autism.

like. listen to me. They Are The Same Person. you think they aren't because darius looks like this high-fashion super cool spy dude who managed to lead a coven without raising suspicion for 30 years and eda is an alcoholic nightmare lady who sleeps in a nest filled with animal bones and digs through actual trash piles for a living but I NEED EVERYONE TO UNDERSTAND. THEY. ARE. THE. SAAAAME

[waywardsou2]

Drunk!Logan X Drunk!MaleReader: Part 3

I kid you not I rewrote this 4 fucking times before I was happy with it. But it's finally here. So enjoy. It's a bit of a slow burn I will say but stick with me. We will get there soon enough

@oktcunez @fictionallymarried @a-short-ass-disappointment @generalgoldfishldrm @moth-eats-paper

Summary: A week had gone by and you were ignoring Logan. It was for the best. The less space you took up the better it would be for everyone. But Logan didn't agree.

Word Count: 1.2k+

Tags: comfort, fluff, arguing, Corney family crap, platonic (for now)

A week goes by and you do your best to ignore Logan. Keeping your head down, completing your tasks and trying to stay as busy as possible by working with the children. Helping them to adjust to their new life. To get a handle on their powers or just keep them company in a strange but welcoming environment.

You saw Logan often, teaching his history class and walking about the halls. You caught him looking at you on multiple occasions but you either started him down or made your way out of his line of sight.

What had happened between the two of you had created a rift. How that was possible when there was nothing to disrupt in the first place you didn't know. But there was tension between you two. Anytime you are in the same vicinity the tension was so thin you could have cut it was a butter knife.

You just hoped he didn't plan on confronting you about it. You could deal with this uncomfortable mess between the two of you, but you couldn't deal with what would come if you tried to unpack what happened.

Much to your frustration you think about that night often. Regretting the entire night and every choice you made since.

It's not like you wanted to avoid Logan, but you had been such an emotional idiot you couldn't stand to be around him. You were embarrassed for yourself, everything that happened that night was never have supposed to come out. No one was ever supposed to see you angry and resentful like that. No one was supposed to get close to you. If they did you always ended up hurting them. And no one was supposed to know about your past or what happened to you.

Those were your rules. They kept you safe.

But your shell had been cracked. And Logan knows, he doesn't know every thing. But he knows more than you wanted anyone to know.

Another day goes by and after you help usher the children to bed you head outside to the gardens.

You hadn't been sleeping well so most nights you wandered about the garden. Not making it inside until the first days light had already started to illuminate and lift the veil of night.

Logan had noticed too, every night for the last week he'd listen to you walk around the halls and outside. Hear the click of the door and your foots steps down the concrete. He knew he shouldn't have invaded your privacy like that, but after the bar he didn't trust you to be alone.

At first he was apprehensive, believed you were repeating the actions of that night when no one was around. But that wasn't the case. You seemed more calm when you were outside. Often just standing out in the wind. Letting your hair get blown about your face.

He kept his distance, he knew you didn't want to talk to him. That much was clear. And he realised now how far he might have overstepped.

But for some reason tonight was different. After watching you for a while, he saw as you sit down on the stone edge of the fountain. You looked peaceful, the most relaxed he had seen you...ever.

He needed to talk to you about what happened that night.

So he followed you outside and approached you as you sat on the fountain.

You heard as someone walked down the steps to the garden and you groaned internally as you watched Logan walk towards you. The time had come, you were going to have to talk about your fuck up from the other night. You watched and waited as he approached you and sat down a respectable distance from you.

"Come to talk to me now that you're sure I'm sober?" you ask pettily

"I came to see if you were ok" he said, deciding to ignore your snark.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"So painting walls with blood is a past time of yours then?" he counters you

You roll your eyes "Logan what do you want? You wouldn't leave me alone at the bar and then you followed me down the alley and now after a week of me ignoring you, you come back to check in on me"

"I told you, I wanted to see if you were ok"

"And I told you I'm fine. End of discussion"

"Someone who's fine doesn't act the way you do"

"Oh yeah? Because you know me so well"

"I know that people who are fine don't go around punching walls, I know that someone who's fine doesn't stay up until the AM without sleeping for days at a time. I know someone who's fine doesn't spend every waking moment trying to keep themselves busy"

How did he know you had been staying up at night? Has he been watching you more than you thought?

"Ah I see, we'll I guess you've got me figured out then, why do you even need to ask me?" you were getting irritated, you had never met someone more persistent or patient than Logan. Most people would have socked you one or deemed you a lost cause by now.

"I don't actually, and that's the point. I need to know that you are ok"

"Why? Why do you care so much about me?"

"Because everyone at the school brings with them some heavy baggage. And I'm guessing you are no different. But unlike everyone else here you haven't found a single person to stick by. Jean has Scott, Kurt has Storm, and Rouge has Billy. But you keep your distance"

"So? Maybe I'm just better off alone"

"If that were the case you wouldn't be here"

You knew he was right, if you had been so great on your own then you would still be roaming the streets living off charity and keeping your head down from soldiers still looking for you.

"I just- people don't want me around. So if I don't have to take up space, I won't. It's easier when I can go about my business unnoticed. I don't disturb anyone"

Logan's brows furrowed, why come here then if you didn't want to be around people?

"But that plan went out the window at the bar that night"

And then it clicked, the reason you were quiet, hardly ever collaborated on missions and were avoiding Logan all this time. You were avoiding him, not because you actually wanted to, but because you believe that you would be a bother if you were around him. You were angry that your emotions had gotten the better of you, and believe that you would be less of a burden by staying out of Logan's way so that he could forget about it.

"You don't have to push people away, in the X Men we care for each other. Like a Corney rom com type family. And you are not the exception"

Logan's words gave you a pang right next to your heart. It had been longer than you could remember that someone had shown such genuine care and compassion. Even if Logan articulated it strangely, the message got through. And you felt touched. You heart swelled and so did your eyes as tears resurfaced in them.

As you stayed silent Logan couldn't tell how you were taking his words so he assumed he had overstayed his welcome. He stood up and began to walk away, as he turned away the words climbed up your throat and you called after him.

"Logan!... Thank you"

He smiled and nodded his head and made his way back into the mansion.

And so began your unlikely friendship with The Wolverine

Here we go! We are slowly getting somewhere. If you would like to be notified of future chapters follow me and comment asking to join the tags.

I also take requests so shoot me an ask if you have something in particular you would like to see.

Part 4 here!

[al-luviec]

id like to thank ninjago episode snake jaguar for everything but nothing all at the same time

[snarkythewoecrow]

anyone want to see a tiny snippet of a bucktommy thing that I'm pretty sure will be developed to fit into the current one-shot I'm writing? perfect, in that case, have a snippet :)

Buck groaned, palms pressed against the shower wall, the spray hitting the back of his head as he bowed his neck, allowing him to stare at the chrome temperature adjust. Water streamed off his cheekbones, nose, and chin. He spit out the water that continued to try and drown him. “Just stop—stop it, okay?” The words were kitten-weak—and despite the protest they contained, he didn’t move away from the hands sliding along his spine, the calloused thumbs that were forcing the fibers of his muscles to relax in a way they hadn’t in days. “Evan.” The tone was flatter than the corn fields in Iowa, and it felt antagonizing, though only because it felt like letting go—letting go of the guilt and moving on. Inevitable but necessary—and he didn’t think he was ready. Sometimes, people just died—calls went wrong—but punishing himself felt right—hiding in the hurt seemed like his penance for failing—and that was more bearable than the pain of acceptance and the peace forgiving himself would bring. “Why won’t you just stop?” “Because you deserve to feel good—because you’re doing that thing where you feel guilty about being taken care of—and because stop it isn’t your safeword”

[cracklinhaze]

for better or for worse, i've written another stan pines one-shot despite my other wips begging for me to finish them...

all these things i've tried, boy

"stan pines deals with the aftermath of sock opera as clumsily as he knows how. "

[bloody-bee-tea]

Beetober 2024 Day 9 - Baby

This fic was entirely powered by Halo from Rea Garvey

Katsuki knows that something is wrong the moment Shinsou steps into his apartment and it has nothing to do with the brown folder he slams onto the table.

Katsuki eyes it warily and he wonders what's going on because even though he's one of the top three he still doesn't have enough clearance to know exactly what's going on with Shinsou's missions. And Shinsou takes his job too damn seriously to be doing this lightly.

But it's really not the file that tips Katsuki off, it's the look on his face.

"What crawled up your fucking ass and died there?" he demands to know as Shinsou flops down next to Katsuki on the couch.

“Undercover mission,” Shinsou says with a little nod towards the file. “Estimated to take around six months.”

Shit, that means they want him to go in deep and embarrassingly enough Katsuki’s first thought is that he’s going to miss him. Which is just stupid and not worth further exploring so instead he leans forward, reaching for the file, one eye still on Shinsou to see if he’s going to object.

Shinsou only watches him, those unnerving eyes on Katsuki as he flips through the debrief and yeah. This fucking blows. Shinsou really has to deal with the absolute scum of the earth in his line of work.

“When do you start?”

“Why do you think I’m going to take it?” Shinsou drawls out and ah.

So there is a problem. One that is holding Shinsou back.

“Are you stupid? Of course you’re going to take it,” Katsuki gives back, because there is no way Shinsou is going to reject this. They specifically asked for him because he’s the only one who can do it, because he’s just that good at what he does.

He’s the best, really.

Katsuki would hate this admission a lot more of he were in direct competition with him, but lime-light heroes and underground ones are so fucking far apart, they might even be playing entirely different games.

“I just—” Shinsou clenches his teeth and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees and burying his head in his hands.

“You just what?” Katsuki snaps out because he hates when Shinsou does that, when he starts to say something and then censors himself for no fucking reason at all and Katsuki is just about at the end of his patience and ready to kick him right in the thigh when Shinsou looks at him.

Katsuki was not prepared for the fear on his face.

“What if I go too deep?” he whispers out, wringing his hands. “What if I—end up liking it?”

“Are you fucking stupid,” Katsuki gets out because he can’t believe this bullshit and he kicks Shinsou in the thigh for good measure, too. He wasn't quite prepared for the way Shinsou’s long fingers wrap around his ankle, but then again, he's also not struggling to take his leg back, so there’s that.

If Shinsou wants to hold on to something Katsuki is certainly not going to complain if it's him.

“Are you seriously telling me that you’re considering refusing a job practically tailored to you because you think you might cross a line and turn into a villain?”

Shinsou blinks at him.

“Maybe?” he then offers, almost carefully and now this, this is all wrong because Shinsou Hitoshi is a lot of things but he’s never ever careful, not around Katsuki.

“I’m going to fucking kill you,” Katsuki almost cheerfully says and he lets his hands spark for good measure too as he gives Shinsou his most unhinged smile.

True to form, Shinsou doesn’t even seem bothered by it and now that’s more like it.

“Bakugo, I’m being serious right now,” Shinsou sighs out and Katsuki can tell that he is, can see it in the tightness around his eyes and the hunched up back and the slight shaking in his hands.

It only adds to the ridiculousness of the situation.

“You’re being a stupid piece of shit, is what you are,” Katsuki shoots back and leans forward, right into Shinsou’s space, so there can be no doubt that he listens to what Katsuki has to say back.

“You did not transfer into the Hero Course to now turn into a villain. You did not survive Aizawa-sensei’s bullshit training to now turn into a villain. You did not rise fast in the underground community to now turn into a villain. What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you even know yourself?”

Katsuki’s words do not have the intended effect, he can tell, because he can still clearly see the doubt in Shinsou’s eyes.

“But what if—what if I find out I like it?”

“Shinsou, Denki asked you once if you could make him cheat successfully during a test and you were so enraged by the mere suggestion that you nearly killed him during the next training session. You are not going to like any of it,” Katsuki nods towards the file. “It’s going to be brutal and it’s going to suck ass, and yeah, it’ll probably leave you off worse for wear and with a need of several new therapists but it’s not going to turn you into a villain.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Shinsou, why are you a hero?” Katsuki demands to know, flexing his fingers to get his own quirk under control.

Shinsou just makes him so goddamn angry and the fact that he doubts himself like that makes Katsuki want to smash his face in.

“Not for a very noble reason, if you’re fishing for that,” Shinsou says with a sigh as he leans back against the couch and Katsuki snarls at him.

“Tell me the goddamn reason!”

“Out of spite, really,” Shinsou mutters and then huffs out a little laugh. “I’m a hero because everyone only ever said all I would be was a villain. I’m a hero to spite everyone.”

“And that is why you’re going to stay a hero,” Katsuki immediately says, because for all that they both like to talk around their issues, they also know each other and it hadn’t been hard to suss out Shinsou’s reasons for heroism.

Shinsou only looks at him with one raised eyebrow and Katsuki huffs out an annoyed breath.

“If you were just a bit weaker, you wouldn’t be here and we wouldn’t need to have this conversation because there was no job offered to you. You’d be a goddamn villain. But you’re not; you’re made out of steel and fire and spite and that’s why this job is not going to do you in. It’ll only make you want to try even harder. You’ll be a better hero for it.”

“Six months is a long time,” Shinsou lazily drawls out and finally the tension has left him. “I’m going to come back all wrong.”

“So what? Come back all wrong—but come back—and then spend the next six months piecing yourself back together. We all do it after missions that go a little too deep, a little bit sideways. Sometimes with help, sometimes without.”

Shinsou’s eyes slide over to him and Katsuki knows exactly what he’s thinking about because Katsuki’s last fucked up mission wasn’t that long ago and some nights he still wakes to fire in his bed and smoke in his room.

Shit happens. They get over it. That’s just how it goes. It’s gotten easier, getting over it, with Shinsou there to meet his more volatile reactions. Piecing himself back together has been easier when someone’s there who’s not afraid to cut himself on all of the shards.

“It’s not that easy, I’m not exactly—” Again, Shinsou cuts himself off, clearly frustrated with himself and Katsuki rolls his eyes because he knows what Shinsou wanted to say.

I’m not exactly easy to get along with, even on good days.

“Quit being such a stupid idiot,” he huffs out. “Fuck, you act as if I don’t know that you soften yourself for everyone but me. You smooth all of your edges over when you’re with the others.”

“How would you know?”

“Because you don’t do that shit when you’re with me,” Katsuki confidently says, because there is no way the vitriolic, cutting, sarcastic piece of shit he gets on an almost daily basis is what anyone nice gets to see.

And Katsuki likes it like that, thank you very much.

“I don’t,” Shinsou admits and Katsuki nods.

“So it’s easy. If you come out of that mission fucked in the head, you come to me. I’ll piece you back together, no matter what. You know where to find me.”

It’s an offer, as much as it is a promise, because there is no way Katsuki is going to let Shinsou shatter because of something like this.

And if he has to piece him back together from scratch then he’ll fucking do it, too.

~*~*~

Hitoshi stares off into nothing. He’s so—empty that his hands don’t even shake. There’s blood dripping into his eye from the cut he didn’t let the paramedics look at and his entire body aches but it’s nothing that’s incapacitating enough to warrant a trip to the hospital, so Hitoshi had simply slinked off at the right moment and now he doesn’t know what to do.

He doesn’t know what to feel, really, and so he simply continues to stare off into nothing.

It takes him a while to fish his phone out, but he does, eventually, and he distantly marvels at the fact that it’s charged. His handler must have done that, because he was the one who gave it to him during the short debrief they just had and Hitoshi’s hands still don’t shake as he pulls up his contacts.

He should probably call his parents, but he can’t quite bring himself to do that. Aizawa understands too much and Yamada would just fret about his everything and Hitoshi is not ready for that. He can’t have anyone fuss over him, or look at him with that deep understanding in their eyes and so he clicks on the one contact who is not going to do either.

“What?” Bakugo’s gravelly voice rings out and Hitoshi blinks when he remembers that it’s the middle of the night and Bakugo likes his sleep.

Well, he already woke him up, might as well keep going.

“I need to see you,” Hitoshi rasps out, his throat still sore from being choked out earlier that night and there’s only a brief silence on the other end of the line.

Yeah, Bakugo probably didn’t expect it to be him, considering his mission wasn’t due to end for another two weeks or so.

Things just went a little sideways and Hitoshi had to improvise.

“I’m keeping your cat company,” Bakugo finally says. “Fucker’s been lonely without your ugly mug around.”

“Fucker’s been way too spoiled with you, he used to be fine with being alone,” Hitoshi shoots back, because this is what they do, and the normalcy wraps around him like a warm blanket. This is something he doesn’t have to think about.

“You keep telling yourself that,” Bakugo grumbles. “You’re going to come home or what?” he then asks and instead of answering Hitoshi hangs up and simply starts walking.

He doesn’t have to think, his feet carrying him home without issue and he doesn’t even get to open his own door, because Bakugo is right there, standing in the dimly lit hallway with grey sweat shorts and one of the stupid muscle shirts he likes so much and Hitoshi almost slumps where he stands.

“They let you go home like this?” Bakugo asks judgementally and motions at the entirety of Hitoshi.

“Slipped away before they could get to me,” Hitoshi admits and takes one unsteady step forward. “Gonna let me in or what?”

“This is your goddamn apartment,” Bakugo says but he steps to the side and allows Hitoshi to shuffle into the hallway. “You’re early. Didn’t expect you back for at least another two weeks.”

“Shit went sideways,” Hitoshi mumbles and he remembers how the breath stuttered out under his hands.

He feels as if he might be sick any moment now.

“Yeah, that happens,” Bakugo mercilessly says and takes Hitoshi’s hand, guiding him towards the bathroom.

“No, you don’t—understand,” Hitoshi gasps out, his hands suddenly trembling so hard that it shakes his entire frame. “I killed two people.”

Bakugo warily eyes him and Hitoshi almost flinches back.

“Yeah, that happens, too,” Bakugo almost cruelly says and Hitoshi wrenches his hand out of Bakugo’s grip. “I read the file, remember? You were supposed to kill if shit went sideways.”

“But these weren’t sanctioned,” Hitoshi says, voice faint and trembling. “I just—did it. How can I still be a hero like that?”

“You did it because you were supposed to keep your cover. You were supposed to do whatever it takes to make this mission a success,” Bakugo says, suddenly all calm in face of Hitoshi’s mounting panic and Hitoshi wants to hit him so bad.

“They congratulated me on a job well done,” Hitoshi hisses out because he thinks for all that happened, he’s still convinced that that is the most fucked up of all.

“Remember my mission?” Bakugo suddenly asks him and it’s surprising enough that it derails Hitoshi’s spiralling panic. “Where I made a decision and a family died?”

“Yeah,” Hitoshi mutters because of course he remembers that. Bakugo almost spent a month at his place after that, and some days Hitoshi is still talking him down from a panic attack.

Bakugo is lucky Hitoshi’s sleep schedule is shit already, because otherwise he would have killed him for the frequent night calls.

“It wasn’t a good or bad decision. It just was a decision. And they keep praising me for it. Someone congratulated me for a job well done on live TV mere hours afterwards. They were still searching for the bodies then.”

“I remember.”

“So. Shit is fucked up. It’s fucked up all around, you’re not special in that way. Yeah, you killed, so what? That’s part of your job, even more so than mine. Now, the real question is: did you like it? Did you like any of it?” Bakugo asks as he leans forward right into Hitoshi’s space and Hitoshi rears back as if Bakugo had socked him in the face.

“No! Fuck, I hated every second,” Hitoshi almost yells out and he did.

He played his part and he played it well, he knows that, it’s the only reason he got deep enough to get all the people he was supposed to get, but he hated every second. His skin kept crawling every time he had to aid in one of their crimes, he almost threw up more than once and he has lost so much sleep he’s not sure he can ever make up for it.

Bakugo only shrugs.

“So, you’re not villain material. Wasn’t that what you were so worried about? You’re still a goddamn hero and your work on this mission only proves it.”

He says it so nonchalantly, as if there could have never been a moment of doubt that it takes Hitoshi’s breath away and that’s all it takes. Bakugo’s steady trust in him is what does him in.

Hitoshi’s breath starts to come hard and fast, more sob than breath, really, and he sinks to the floor right where he stands. He buries his face in his hands, hot tears sliding down his cheeks but Bakugo is there.

“Shh, that’s it, baby, deep breaths,” he mutters, kneeling down to wrap his arms around Hitoshi and then he simply holds him until Hitoshi’s eyes run out of tears and his breath returns to normal.

“Better now?” Bakugo asks and Hitoshi snorts, because he can’t believe that the honest answer to that is “Yes”.

“Can I take a look at that cut then? You keep getting your blood fucking everywhere,” Bakugo says, voice annoyed, but softer than it normally is and Hitoshi knows that it bothers him and his endless need to keep things tidied up and clean.

“If you have to,” Hitoshi sighs out and allows Bakugo to pull him up and shove him into the bathroom.

He is notably less careful with Hitoshi now, as if he’s no longer waiting for Hitoshi to break and he supposes that’s fair. Hitoshi’s pieces are all over the floor already, anyway, so there’s nothing left Bakugo can break.

He can only put him back together now.

“Sit down, you towering freak.” Bakugo points to the toilet and Hitoshi plops down without comment.

“Thanks,” Hitoshi mumbles as he watches how Bakugo whips out the first aid kit and he’s not even sure what exactly he’s thanking him for.

Probably his entire existence.

“Yeah, whatever,” Bakugo dismissively says as he dabs at the cut on Hitoshi’s brow non too gently. “You did the same for me.”

“Would do it again, too,” Hitoshi admits, and he pointedly does not think about the sick feeling in his stomach when he imagines Bakugo going to someone else after a mission goes wrong.

Hitoshi feels as if it’s his privilege to see Bakugo all torn up and help him through it and he wonders if Bakugo would hate that, or if he thinks the same.

“Same,” Bakugo quietly says and Hitoshi thinks he might have his answer right there.

They fall silent while Bakugo works and Hitoshi marvels at how much steadier he already feels. He knows that a shit ton of nightmares are in his future, and probably just as many hours with a therapist, but if Bakugo is there, it might not even suck so much.

“I think you should move in,” Hitoshi says apropos of nothing when Bakugo puts butterfly stripes over the cut and his only answer is a huff before Bakugo leans in and presses a kiss to his temple, making Hitoshi tingle all over.

“I spent the last month here because Fucker kept feeling lonely,” Bakugo says without meeting Hitoshi’s eyes as he turns away, busying himself with putting the kit back together.

“I might feel lonely, too,” Hitoshi drawls out, his eyes fixed on Bakugo and so he sees it when his posture loses some of his tension.

“If you wake me up with one of your stupid nightmares, I’ll blast you to hell,” Bakugo tells him instead of giving him a real answer, but this is better.

This is right.

They don’t talk about things, not like other people probably do, but they get it. They get each other and Hitoshi thinks he might take this over some heart-to-heart bullshit every day.

“Fair,” Hitoshi shrugs and forces himself to get up.

He still aches all over, the last fight really hitting him now and he can hear his bed scream at him from all the way across the apartment.

“You coming or what?” he asks over his shoulder when Bakugo simply stares after him and by the time Hitoshi has shed his clothes and slid under the covers, Bakugo is right there with him.

He doesn’t crowd him in, doesn’t try to press closer, seemingly understanding what Hitoshi needs without him having to say it and just for that Hitoshi tilts forward until he can press his forehead to Bakugo’s shoulder.

“Good night,” Hitoshi mumbles, sleep now dragging him under rapidly and for the first time in almost six months he gives in easily.

“I’ll be here,” Bakugo says and the promise wraps around Hitoshi like an extra warm blanket.

That first night, Hitoshi doesn’t have nightmares, but even after that, Bakugo’s words hold true for every single one that follows after. He’s always there.

[spurgie-cousin]

so apparently we're basing the "Samuel's GF Is An Evil Master Manipulating Super Villain" assumptions on another assumption, which is that Samuel is cognitively impaired?????????????

sorry to just post a reddit argument like this but I'm at a loss for words. like we're really just gonna diagnose strangers so we can make up fanfiction about them and their significant others. and it's all OK because it's a snark page! ok

Edit: and as a person who has been all too aware of the Rods for a looooong time, I do feel comfortable saying there is nowhere near enough evidence to diagnose any of these kids with a cognitive impairment. Jfc

[altschmerzes]

Wait wait wait...to get snippets of Driving A Wedge...we just...ask? 🥹

....can we have some more, please?

that is PRECISELY the way to get them and yes you absolutely may :)

this is from after the rescue also. river is having some trouble... adjusting. the world feels like a very different place - or, rather, the world feels like the same place and he is not the same person. he's particularly having trouble sometimes keeping lamb and frank separate in his mind for reasons he is Not planning to examine too closely. this is a longer clip so most of it is under the cut.

--

“Or what? What are you going to beat me with if I don’t, sir?” The word he’s just used barely registers to River, but it does register. He spares just a fraction of attention to it, cringing internally, but there’s far more to be worried about at the moment than that particular slip.

Because Lamb is rolling his eyes and snapping back, taking a step towards the side of his desk like he might be about to come around it and saying, loud and annoyed, “I don’t know, Cartwright, you seem to have all the answers today, what do you suggest?”

Everything goes a little strange, then. River’s breath catches in his chest and he doesn’t know what he was expecting Lamb to have said in response to his ridiculous, bratty challenge but it wasn’t that. He can’t quite think clearly anymore, and maybe he hasn’t been thinking clearly this whole time, really, maybe his stupid fucking brain hasn’t been working right since he woke up this morning, but it doesn’t matter. Working brain or no, River knows he needs to answer, needs to say something, and ideally say it soon. Lamb is giving him one of those looks that Lamb has given him a thousand times before but he doesn’t know what to make of it this time. And in case the question was real, ignoring it is no kind of option. River knows now that he’s fucked up and fucked up badly and he doesn’t need to be making it worse for himself.

What do you suggest? There are… options. River could say any number of things, any number of items around Slough House that would do the trick, but he just can’t seem to pick one of them. It doesn’t feel real. None of this feels real.

Lamb has never been violent to him before, and River is honestly finding it bizarrely difficult to picture, even now, to imagine ahead of time how this is could possibly go. It’s making it hard to predict, to have some kind of expectation of what to prepare himself for in anticipation of what’s about to happen. (Maybe. Maybe about to happen. River doesn’t know for certain, does he? Maybe this is insane. This is probably insane, right? It’s not like Lamb is actually going to— He couldn’t truly plan on—)

Still, it’s Lamb. People have made the mistake of assuming he isn’t capable of much anymore, and River doesn’t intend to be one of them. He’s capable of plenty, and River still hasn’t given him an answer. Lamb asked him a question and he hasn’t answered, and there’s no point in avoiding it. If there’s even the thinnest chance it was serious, that Lamb wanted him to make a suggestion for what to— Just. Further disobedience never made anything better. Always made it worse.

“There’s an extension cord by my desk,” River says in a voice from which he strips of every bit of that emotion he can possibly remove, and he doesn’t even have to think that hard to come up with it. He can see it in his minds eye, the dusty off-white coil of hardened plastic that he thinks he ought to put away somewhere it won’t be a tripping hazard every time he catches sight of it.

Fuck that would hurt. There would be blood. Worse than a belt. Probably a lot worse.

River’s hands are trembling a little bit and he can feel them doing so, shuddering in uncontrollable little shivers. He should stop. He knows that he should figure out a way to stop them, to wrestle down his reactions and suffocate them, but he had never been quite so good at that part as Patrice. That steely thousand-yard stare in the face of all but the worst pain is something that River just never got the hang of and it still eludes him now. His eyes are wide and he doesn’t know what the rest of his face looks like but he’s sure that there’s something happening on it, especially because he can see Lamb’s face and the look that he wears is nothing like the one he’d had on moments earlier.

“What?” The question is nothing short of shocked.

[shinyhappysims]

SISTERS IN CHRIST!!!!! HELP!!!!!! I need URGENT PARYER!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!1

As you may know, my beloved eldest daughter went missing about a year ago! Niran and I have been absolutely DEVASTATED and have been tirelessly looking for her. We have built a RAPPORT with the local police department, who said they couldn’t immediately file a missing persons report as Glory-Jane was no longer a minor in the eyes of the LAW. However, as an UNMARRIED young lady, she is still under Niran’s authority, so she is still OUR responsibility! Today, we stopped by the police station to see if they had any information and they LAUGHED IN OUR FACE! I asked why they were being so DISRESPECTFUL, and they RUDELY replied that if I did one single WEB SEARCH, I would have found my “FAMOUS” DAUGHTER!!! WHAT?!?????

The cops then tossed a magazine our way and on the cover was my DAUGHTER, who’s no longer using her GOD HONORING NAME, and has been fashioned in such an UNBECOMING manner! Glory-Jane hasn’t been the easiest child to raise, but I couldn’t imagine her becoming this… DEMONIC individual, modeling for the WORLD! Please pray that SATAN loses his grip on my DEAR GIRL! GLORY-JANE, if you come across this sweetie, your name is not JANIE, we named you with a PURPOSE! Please come home!!! Your beauty would be best used to attract a GODLY husband and be passed down to your CHILDREN that would be raised in a GODLY HOME1!!!!!

All the best, Jamilah <3