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[writingmeraki]

kiss the shit out of you — k.mg drabble.

❝ in which you thought there'd never be a time when you would experience first-hand jealousy but turns out you aren't an exception to this emotion.

( or in which your boss seungcheol loves to find new ways to push your buttons. and push you towards mingyu too. you might just punch him or thank him. )

pairing: secret!agent mingyu x secret!agent reader, established stage. genre : fluff, angstish. warnings : jealousy, mentions of bars and drinks, death threats, no actual kissing guys im sorry

a/n : pri comeback with another secret agent mingyu drabble. who cheered. not a full on comeback but hey i picked this up from my abandoned clusters of wips and welp this is how it turned out, let me know what you think !! also urm if the writing is a lil yk wonky pls bare w me it's been a long while <3 also the summary probs sucks my bad g again it's been aaa whileee :DDDDDD

word count : 1.8k

“I want to kill you.” 

You glared at Cheol as you clenched your fist to your side resisting the urge to punch the shit-eating grin off his face. 

Not an ideal sentence to tell your boss but the situation he’d kept you in was going the way he predicted and not how you thought it would. 

It started earlier in the day when he called Mingyu and you along with Chan and Seokmin in to do a mission which would require disguises and putting on an act. It was simple really he said, you all had to attend a gala, which had the member of a gang you’d been trying to catch attending as well. 

Butter him up, a few drinks later and he’d let the information you seeked slip out with ease. This particular member was one who caused a lot of mishaps, knowingly or unknowingly, he was hard to track but this was a sure tip as his name was also on the guest list.

It all seemed okay until he told you the twist. You would be the servers along with Chan and Seokmin. You looked at him in confusion wondering if he forgot Mingyu was also called in and was right beside you also wondering something similar. 

“What about him?”

“Oh right. He’s going to be attending as a couple with Yura.” He said it nonchalantly while looked towards you,

“It shouldn’t be a bother to you right? Considering it’s just a few hours and most importantly for the job.” He had a smug look on his face to which you slowly narrowed your eyes at him. Mingyu was going to oppose, but you shushed him. 

“It’s for the job Gyu, it wouldn’t matter to me.” You knew he had more to say but he just frowned and nodded at your words.

You knew what card he had been playing, you could remember him asking you that what if there came a time your partner would have to act as a couple with someone else would you have gotten jealous and you also remember you scoffing at him saying, it would be for a mission only anyways, why would you be? He protested saying it was natural to feel jealous but you told him that then you would need to get a grip instead of being unprofessional. 

Now you could feel your words bite you back as you tried not to glare at the way she seemed more than excited to be with ‘the most sought out’ agent.

You scoffed at yourself, feeling an even worse guilt at being jealous. The kind where you trusted him, but you couldn’t help the ugly emotion to rise up and as time went it seemed to rile up.

It was going to be one of the rookies, her first big assignment being this. Her name was Yura, from what you recalled. 

Your relationship with Mingyu was not exactly public. Again it was your idea. It seemed all your ideas were eventually coming to bite you in the back. Maybe this was your karma for something.

Eventually looking away from the couple, you sighed as you sat down by the bar.

“Oye, you aren’t supposed to sit, you’re the server here.” Before he could speak further, Chan elbowed your boss to which he glared at him but eventually gulped a little when he saw the look on your face. 

Now, Choi Seungcheol was no coward. But he knew better than to already fuel a fire that might just burn him alive. Quite literally. He thinks he’s spoken enough when he sees your stare harden.

“Haha, or not, yeah um…continue to sit as you wish, besides we’re just back up here…I’ll uh, I’ll go finish the um…cleaning the glasses.” 

“Get me a drink. Strong.”  

And as your pretend bartender colleague made you an actual whisky on the rocks — training required prior days to mission — your eyes automatically once again drifted off to him. 

Your partner, your boyfriend, highlighting the your factor harshly in your thoughts as you looked at the pretend couple. 

Jealousy, you learnt that day, is an ugly emotion but a fascinating one too. It might slowly chip away at your self esteem and build on a pile of undeserving guilt but it somehow helps in emphasising just how much one means to the other. 

It was a horrible pit at the bottom of your stomach but an unflattering brush in the depth of your heart. Both making you more confused and therefore, anger being the only emotion that would make sense. 

You could hear her giggles as she leaned in closer to his side, her arm practically cushioned between his and you clenched your molars in the assumed anger. 

It was as if he could sense your gaze. He always could, since a long time actually. As though his mind seemed to embed you, your presence right into his unconscious to the point he could practically feel your gazes on him. 

Maybe an exaggeration but he thinks when it comes to you, it all seemed to fall less.  

His eyes flickered to see where you were directing yours at, and immediately he had to put in his all to not just move away. He was trying his all honestly, the reason he accepted was because he was sure you were also okay with it. 

Professionally. Of course.

Emotionally? Personally? 

You may have just been on the edge of punching someone. Seungcheol, you wish. 

The way you were looking seemed nonchalant but this was the man that loved – loves you. Of course he knew when you were anything but. 

Before you could even move your attention to him from where it had darted to – Yura subtly moved her hand above Mingyu’s. It was so subtle but you were very observant, unfortunately in this case, hand clenching around the now almost empty glass of alcohol. 

It seemed in a flash, he abruptly pulled away, murmuring an excuse of getting another drink and you rolled your eyes at the pet names that smoothly rolled out of Yura’s tongues for him. You could feel your sanity level drop at that point. 

Taking a deep breath, you reminded yourself as you shut your eyes for a second, that this was a mission. A job. You couldn’t, shouldn’t fuck this up because you can’t keep your newly acquired emotions in check—

A hand on top of yours was the next thing you felt. And even before you opened your eyes to face the owner of the hand, you already knew. 

“Hey.” Minyu softly whispered, facing affront while you turned your head in his direction. He was close but not enough to seem suspicious, hand being hidden from the view of the others at the table. 

Even though it was just a small touch, he kept it there as he spoke out to Chan. Mumblings of the drinks, a few details about the information he managed to get. 

Yet all you could focus on was the warmth that radiated from his hand above yours. The way his hair was styled, the way his longer strands stood out perfectly, the way his pinkish lips moved as he spoke, eyes briefly shifting to yours when he did and it seemed he noticed your blatant checking out as one corner of his lip rose up. 

Dammnit, his suits were always your weakness. 

“Hi” He tried again, briefly shifting his head in your direction which seemed to snap you out of your daze as you blinked a few times.

“Hey.” You turned your hand that was facing down, and he briefly looked over and intertwined his fingers through yours.

Chan hastily looked over as he made the drinks, deciding he could probably slow down making the few drinks, and not like he was an expert at being fast anyway.

“Be careful.” He whispered to your pair, to which you looked at him and rolled your eyes but gave a short nod. 

“Are you alright?” As Mingyu asked, you froze up for a moment, wondering if your obvious discomfort was already known to him. 

Gulping, you nodded because it seemed easier to nod than to let your words out in fear of stumbling over reasons for your discomfort. 

Jealousy, was again, odd. It made you ashamed, a lump in the throat due to feeling like perhaps you were just overthinking it all.

You didn’t even realise you were blatantly showing your nervousness, eyes looking at anywhere but his and mulling your bottom lip. 

“You don’t need to worry over anything, ‘s going fine okay?”

“I can see that.” 

The words came out sharply than intended, and he blinked owlishly, eyebrow raising at you with an emotion that seemed familiar to both confusion and wonder in his eyes. 

“You don’t seem okay though.” He bit the bullet and told you his actual thoughts. He would have even said his assumptions but he did not want to tread too far. 

“I’ll be fine, stop worrying about me. Your girlfriend wouldn’t appreciate that.” 

Aha. There it was.

He scanned your face. The scoff was prominent as you narrowed your eyes ahead.

“You know you're the only one that matters to me right?” And even though he was tempted to tease you at the moment, he figured he'd save it for later. 

His hand squeezed yours, as if to amplify his words, their meaning to you. How much he truly meant them, he hoped that it would somehow reach to you through the simple motion of squeezing your hand tighter.

And somehow, he knows it did when the crease between your brow slowly disappeared, when the scowl on your face dropped and a seemingly exhausted sigh escaped you.

Jealousy was…tiring.

“Yes, I know.”

Without thinking, he leaned in closer to you, mouth grazing your ear as he spoke, the sudden warmness of his breathing so close making you shudder slightly.

“Tell you what baby? You can simply kiss the out of me when we get back. You know, remove all your anger, I heard it's a great exercise.”

The abruptness of the statement made you pull away and you couldn't help but giggle at his words, feeling a lot lighter than previously. A warm feeling spreads on your cheeks at the thought of his pink lips captivating yours. 

And of course, no one in this world could surprise you the way Kim Mingyu does. 

Well two could play at this.

Leaning in closer, your eyes gleamed with an equally mischievous flair to his, you whispered, only for his ears.

“As if I need permission to kiss the shit out of you, I hope you know I can and will do it anytime, anywhere.” 

His smile turned into a smirk as he glanced back at the table, seeing how his colleague was occupying the others, knowing he could go off for a few.

Looking at you determinedly, he stood up, pushing his hand forward,

“Bathroom break?” 

And of course, anywhere Kim Mingyu would go, you'd too. 

Placing your head in his, you nodded with a chuckle at how unserious this was getting,

“Sure.”

Lucky for the both of you, it seemed you were good at keeping your words. And kissing of course. 

perm. taglist ( open ! ) : @mansaaay ; @gyuguys ; @toplinehyunjin ; @cherrylovescheol ; @stagefrjghts

( if you want to be added just send an ask/reply to this !)

all written works as well as images and edits (unless credited) belong to pri. do not plagiarise, repost, re-edit or claim as yours. pics mostly found on pinterest.

writingmeraki Ⓒ 2024

feedback is always appreciated 💌 !

links : main navi ! | svt masterlist ! | info !

[vrystalius]

Trick or treat!

My request is this: A y/n who didn’t know they can see ghosts and Kyojuro who cannot! On a scale of 1-10, how confused would he be watching his beloved suddenly have a conversation with thin air while they went out to buy a halloween costume? :3

Ghosts?!

Kyojuro standing beside you while you casually talk with a friendly shop-ghost. Either his worst childhood fears came true or you hit your head pretty hard. He wants to believe the latter.

Pairing: Kyojuro x gn!reader

Kyojuro’s eyes were burning holes through your skull while you were conversing with a polite, pale and dead fellow that was suggesting that a demon costume not a good choice to go with, given that any lower level slayer can get scared and attempt to slice you. You hummed and put that costume back where you got it from, but before you could grab the angel costume from another shelf, you felt a shaky hand grab your arm. Kyojuro turned you around to face him, his eyes wide and smile rather wonky. He glanced around the store to check for anyone close by.

“My sun, who were you talking to right now?”

You grinned and pointed at the floaty ghost beside you. He leaned over your shoulder to look at where you are pointing at, then shook his head. His usual booming voice got reduced to a nervous whisper.

“There’s no one here.”

“You can’t see him? Oh! I thought you could see them too!”

Them? Them?! What are you talking about?? Are you being affected by blood demon art or are you not feeling well? How much water did you drink today?

“I cannot, love. Let’s sit you down somewhere—“

Kyojuro carefully sat you down in a changing cabin and closed the curtain behind him. His hands were firmly resting on your shoulders. You couldn’t decide if he was looking deathly afraid or worried right now. You heard about his childhood fears a couple of times, how when Senjuro and him used to share a room they always lit a candle before sleep, or else they both wouldn’t fall asleep in fear of the dark. Surprisingly, his little brother got faster over the fear than he did. Once they had separate rooms, Kyojuro wouldn’t stop lighting a candle every night until he was 14. His fear of the dark and the creatures in it wasn’t overcome until he finally became a slayer and was able to fight what’s hiding in it, but Ghosts? He is still afraid of them, and if you’re able to see and interact with them, that means that they are real. Very real.

“Ghosts— do you see them? Are they nice? …To you?”

Kyojuro’s grip on your shoulders tightened while his voice got shakier. You placed yours reassuringly over his, giving it a couple pats.

“Yes I can, most of them are pretty nice. Yago, the one in the corner of our bedroom, he’s kind of mean sometimes. I thought you knew him, he kept talking about how—“

“The who in our what?!”

“I-I was joking, sorry. It was too tempting.”

Your husband let out a soft whimper and knelt down in front of you, holding onto your arms.

“My flame, my sun, my everything. Please, please let be bring you to Shinobu to let her check you out. I think you’re not feeling well.”

For the sake of his own sanity and not wanting to confront the slim chance of his childhood fears coming true, Kyojuro really wanted to believe that you are either joking, lying or not feeling well.

Overall, 10/10 is very confused and afraid. Will have a heart attack when you start talking to “Yago” in the middle of the night.

Thank you for requesting, I hope it’s okay I headcanoned him to be afraid of ghosts :,D This was very fun to write! <3

Anyways, make sure to EAT, SLEEP and DRINK enough!!

Take care of yourselves <3

Here’s the trick or treat event 🎃

Here’s the event masterlist 🎃

[mothwingwritings]

From The Heart

F!Reader X Taiju Shiba

HAPPY LATE VALENTINE’S EVERYONE!!! I meant to post this the day of but you know how it is. This one goes out to all my Taiju girlies, sorry I have been lacking on content for him. Please accept this as a token of my love to you and a sign that I miss him dearly.

This isn’t technically linked to There’s Just No One Like You, but I did write it in the same vein, so it can be considered a little bonus chapter of sorts. He’s not as much of a butthead in this-I wanted to mess around with a sweeter, more bashful Taiju. :3

Enjoy and as always, thank you thank you thank you!!!

WARNINGS: possessive behavior, Taiju makes you cry exactly one tear, some miscommunication but not a lot because I hate it and it’s my least favorite trope, Koko flirting with you even though he knows you are a spoken for woman, mentions of sexy stuff but nothing overly saucy, heavy petting.

“Happy Valentine’s day Taiju!”

Excitement laced your voice as you approached the man in question, a huge smile on your face as you brandished his present, eager to see his response.

However, the initial giddiness you felt was quick to dissipate when you noticed the resentful expression that had settled on his face. Taiju eyed the gift box that lay in your outstretched hands as if it were full of insects, the home made chocolates you had spent all morning slaving over met with a look of revulsion. His piercing gaze drilled holes through the cutely wrapped box of treats you enthusiastically presented to him, his animosity palpable the longer he stared.

A thin layer of sweat began to coat the back of your neck as he continued to turn his nose at the box, his unamused scowl unflinching as he gawked at the gift in complete silence. You swallowed, shifting your feet where you stood. A blush crept to your cheeks as the seconds crawled by, his lack of verbal response making the atmosphere oppressively awkward.

“… Chocolate?”

The word sounded as disgusted as his expression looked, and you flinched when his sharp eyes directed themselves your way.

“Y-yeah,” you stuttered, tightening your grip on the box, “I made them for you this morning. I was going to make them last night but I ran out of time…” You looked down at the misshapen lumps in the box, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.  “Um, I know they aren’t the prettiest, I kind of rushed to make sure they would be done in time… They still taste pretty good though.”

It was true that the presentation was a bit lackluster, the simple red box that housed the chocolate was just something you had lying around and you didn’t have any molds or fun sprinkles to turn the candies into cute shapes or otherwise decorate them. The time constraint didn’t give much oppurtinty to focus on the aesthetics of your gift, so to make up for that you made sure the taste would be incredible. You typically weren’t one to brag, but when they cooled enough to taste you were impressed by your hard work, truly proud of them despite how wonky they appeared.

But looking at Taiju’s sneering face scrutinizing your creation made any feeling of accomplishment wither away and die. A nervous pit expanded in your stomach, dread overtaking the joy you felt in gifting them to Taiju. Maybe he didn’t like chocolate? You knew he wasn’t super huge on sweets, but you figured gifting him something traditional, something made from the heart, would at least garner a smile or a thank you.

You felt like an imbecile as he snatched the box from your hand, huffing as he turned on his heel.

“I’ll see you tonight,” he called over his shoulder, “wait for me.”

A deep frown settled on your lips, your eyes following him as the distance between you grew. Eventually he was entirely gone, his exit causing a single tear to slide down your cheek. You were quick to wipe it away, sniffling as you attempted to compose yourself.

You’d just have to try harder next year.

~

“There she is!”

The unmistakable voice of Kokonoi rang out behind you, causing you to sigh in annoyance. The day was half over and you considered yourself lucky to not have been bothered by him up until now. You had hoped your luck would continue through the whole day, saving you from his smart comments or weird insinuations. But that seemed to be too much to wish for on a day you were already struggling to get through, so here he was to add another trial to your trying holiday.

And you were just starting to feel better, too.

You turned around to greet him, but shot him a puzzled look as soon as you locked eyes with him. He stood before you, hands cupped in front of him as they reached out towards you, posed like he was looking for some kind of handout.

“Well?”

His question only confused you further, your brows furrowing as you cocked your head to the side. He sighed in frustration at the gesture, slumping his shoulders in mock dramatics. Your ignorance had apparently deeply wounded him.

“And here I thought you had made enough chocolate for all of us,” he shrugged, shooting you a teasing look, “Guess I was mistaken.”

“Chocolate…,” Confusion still permeated your features as you spoke to Koko, “What are you talking about?”

It was his turn to look puzzled, “Yeah, your home made ones? The ones you gave to Taiju?”

Noting the look of realization dawning on your face, Koko continued.

“The boss hasn’t shut up about them all day. The way he’s been going on and on about them made it sound like you had toiled over them for days, becoming a veritable chocolate factory.”

A deep blush settled over your cheeks, “He… Wait… What?” You struggled to find the right words, thrown by the fact that Taiju had not only acknowledged the gift you thought he had hated, but was gloating to others about it.

Koko frowned, “Why are you looking at me like that, did you not make him chocolate? I doubt he would accept them from some other chick, and it seems like a lame thing to lie about.”

“No I made them it’s just,” you shook your head, trying to pull yourself back from the shock, “Is he really bragging about them? When I gave them to him he seemed less than thrilled.”

Koko gave a sharp laugh, “Maybe he was just trying to play it cool in front of you or something because trust me, he’s been borderline obnoxious with how much he’s been enjoying them,” Koko took a step towards you, leaning down so that he could look into your eyes, “Made me a little jealous, ya know? I was hoping maybe you had some left over for your old friend Koko~?”

Your face settled into an irritated expression, garnering another large sigh from the raven haired boy. “I guess not. Though it makes me sad, it’s probably for the best. Boss looked like he was damn near ready to kill one of the other guys when they jokingly asked for a taste.  If I got my own directly from the source he’d probably kill me.”

He lowered himself even closer, causing you to take a step backwards to create some distance. A blush flitted across your cheeks at the proximity you shared, nervous that someone may walk by and misconstrue the scenario they saw before them.

“Though maybe someday I’ll get lucky,” his voice was low as he spoke, his eye contact unwavering as he held your uneasy gaze. He raised his hand to his mouth, placing his index finger across his lips, “if you ever feel like making me a batch in secret, I promise not to tell Taiju. I’d never turn down goodies from you, even if you were just using me as a taste tester for some other man.”

Koko gave you a knowing smirk, causing you to blush harder.

“Stop joking around,” you frowned, pushing past him to continue on your way, “I’m sure you’re not hurting for chocolate from girls today, Koko. Go bother one of them if you want something.”

He laughed once more, this time sounding slightly less jovial than previous.

“Guess you’re right. But still, offer stands if you ever need a sampler.”

~

You felt Taiju’s arm around you before you even sensed him.

Your body lurched, startled by his sudden appearance. Having been so engrossed in the show you were watching you didn’t hear him come through the door, nor did you notice him sneak up behind you.

“Did I scare you,” he smiled down at you, pressing a firm kiss to your head, “You need to pay better attention to your surroundings, what if I was some burglar come to haul you away?”

You gave him a wry smile, relishing the feeling of his closeness, “I wouldn’t be too worried for myself, but I would feel bad for the burglar. Once my boyfriend catches wind of my kidnapping, I don’t think it would end very well for the man trying to cart me away.”

You felt his chest rumble as he laughed. “True enough, but I wouldn’t be too happy with you either, letting some other man touch you so easily.” Goosebumps littered your arms as he placed a lingering kiss on your neck, “I’ll let it slide this time, but if you let me catch you like this again I’m going to have to punish you.”

Before you could comment further, Taiju lifted his left hand before you, revealing the vibrant bouquet he had been concealing. Your eyes widened at the colorful array of delicate pink roses and round white peonies beautifully clumped together, delicate baby’s breath placed along the edges as a lovely finishing touch. The flowers smelled as amazing as they looked and you happily accepted them, a smile illuminating your face.

“Thank you Taiju,” you exclaimed, taking a moment to bask in their beauty, “They are so pretty! I love them!”

He gave you another kiss on the head, “I’m glad you like them. I could have waited until white day, but I would have felt bad accepting such a great gift today without showing my appreciation in return.”

You turned back to him, a nonplussed look on your face. “You mean… You really did like the chocolates I made?”

It was his turn to shoot you a look, “Yeah? What man wouldn’t love their girl making them chocolates on Valentine’s Day?” You swore you saw a slight tinge to his cheeks as he lowered his head, nuzzling his nose into the crook of your neck before he spoke again, “It was cute as hell. And besides, they taste amazing.”

You placed your hand to your chest, breathing a small sigh of relief. “I’m so glad to hear that, I’ve been worrying about it all day.”

“Worrying?”

“Yeah,” you huffed, “You seemed so mad when I gave them too you! You had this look on your face like you were grossed out the moment you laid eyes on them.”

“Idiot,” he mumbled against your skin, “You completely misunderstood. I was pissed off because you spent the whole morning away from me. I had a Black Dragons meeting for most of the day so I was worried I wouldn’t get to see you, on Valentine’s no less.”

He sighed, detaching himself from you slightly, “Then I found out you were doing some adorable shit like making me homemade chocolate and I didn’t know how to react. I was still mad you weren’t by my side, but…”

You cocked an eyebrow at him, “But?”

He sighed again, scratching the back of his head in vexation. “I was also really happy. No one has ever made me chocolates before and I never really cared too much about receiving them from anyone previously. But getting them from you today, knowing that you made them with your own two hands…” His blush returned, this time much more noticeably, “I don’t know, it was exciting I guess.”

You laughed, enamored by the rare bashful expression plastered on Taiju’s face. “Good to know after all this time together I can still excite you with such a small surprise.” You nudged him gently, garnering an almost sheepish sounding grunt from him in response.

“You know you could have chocolates all the time if you wanted, all you have to do is ask.” You mused for a second, before adding “Well, only if you promise not to look at me like I am some kind of gross bug again when I hand them to you.”

He smirked, taking the flowers from your hands to place them on the table beside you. You remained fixated on him as he walked around the couch, gasping as he pushed you back against the soft cushions. Before you could question his motives, he crawled atop you, latching his mouth to yours in a searing, needy kiss.

“Getting a little ahead of yourself, aren’t you?” His voice was husky as he broke the kiss, “You should know by now if I want something I won’t ask, I’ll just take it.”

He crashed back into you, working his mouth against yours with increasing ferocity. You whined as one of his hands gripped your thigh, the other snaking its way up your shirt to fondle your chest. His tongue slid inside your mouth, moving against yours as he groped you, your body growing hot each place he connected with you.

He caught your bottom lip between his teeth, gently biting down as he pulled away, licking the taste of you from his lips when he disconnected. Staring down at you with a lust crazed look in his eye you felt your sanity begin to waver, a shiver of anticipation coursing through your body over what was to come. Noting this, Taiju smiled, baring his teeth in an animalistic grin.

“And right now, I want something much sweeter than chocolate,” he rasped, pressing himself ever closer, “I’m gonna take all of you, and I will give you all of me in return.”

He kissed you once more, this one decidedly sweeter despite the desire that hung heavy in the air.

“Happy Valentine’s sweetheart, let’s make it one neither of us will forget.”

[fischyplier]

Misfits and Magic Season 2 Episode 2 "Magma and Mingle": My Thoughts and Analysis

So here are my thoughts on Evan and Sam. Am I the only one that doesn’t see their relationship progressing into romance? I can understand that in this season Brennan and Danielle are having more scenes together. At this point, Evan and Sam's relationship feels platonic to me, but who knows what could happen in the next few episodes. I prefer platonic relationships because they feel more interesting than just romance. Also want to take the time to say, I love and appreciate all the hard work that went into this and every season of D20. Thank you to the crew, the players and Aabria cause misfits and magic has become very near and dear to my heart!

Click below to read more, warning long post:

Anyways, Evan has gone through a LOT of traumatic experiences since childhood and continues to till this day. Evan's body is riddled with scars, broken bones that healed wonky, etc. He got stabbed on a bus at night trying to retrieve a talisman for Boodle 10 months ago. And I would not be surprised if he's been through more but hasn't had the opportunity to tell his friends or elected to say nothing. I can't help but to read too deeply into the quote "dream small". Is it cause I feel that Evan has learned to dream small in order to not get his hopes and expectations too high? Just a theory... A game theory! I'm sorry.

After 3 years of no contact the pilot project are back! But they haven't really had the time to sit down and catch up. In the video below, Sam says "I feel like there's a lot of things that when we talk you don't tell me." Which kinda leads me to believe, Evan doesn't want to worry his friends so he bottles up his feelings and doesn't open up. And when he does it's always with a smile and jokes to mask the hurt. He isn't just sad, he feels like a burden and tries to not take up space. I can really relate to this.

Even Brennan says Evan is in deep pain. The breakup he went through didn't help but there is more under the surface we as the audience still don't truly know. The experiences of being a lonely unhoused teen is the reason why Brennan chose "belonging" as Evan's ideal track. Because that is the one thing he's been deprived off, humans are social creatures and need to interact with others. What happens to a developing brain when that is taken away? When all you know is your shadow, loneliness and hunger? So when his friend says we can talk, he takes that as a serious invitation. Evan now surrounded by friends wants to do everything in his power to protect those he loves. He doesn't expect it to be reciprocal. You can see that when he says "if I've ever done a bad job about being here for you, I'm always here for you" after Sam says we can talk. When Brennan tears up with that incredible delivery of "I missed you"... I keep rewatching that part! Evan is always on the go, needs to be prepared, needs to be ready when shit hits the fan. Sam has created a safe place where he doesn't need to be hypervigilant and can relax, maybe open up and be a little vulnerable.

Sam is rightfully concerned that something deeper and terrible is going on with Evan.

When Evan continues kicking a half dead Salamander that isn't a threat to any of his friends, a darkness in him wants to kick it mercilessly for pure enjoyment. That even his eyes turns black. The first thing Sam does when she sees this is to attempt to drench it in water like Jammer did. Cause she said that this has become "unnecessarily dark" and that "this is freaking her out". That she'll even resort to spitting on the creature if it means that Evan will stop kicking that crap out of it. The water cools and stops the creature. Sam is a great friend that sees Evan do something twisted and wants to help so desperately. You do not have to be falling in love with someone to do the right thing! I still think they should just be friends.

I love that in this season we can really see their friendship blossom and not just be surface level chit chat. As they get closer hopefully they can help each other in ways they really need. In the preview for the next episode Evan says, "I don't see you the way you are afraid people see you." Sometimes it takes someone outside of your point of view to see aspects of yourself you are too close to see. And I think that's beautiful.

That leads into my next point, no I don't think the progressing of their relationship means that romance is in the air. I can't remember where I read it but another person said it best, intimacy doesn't mean romance. You can get close to someone, be a shoulder to cry on and depend on without developing feelings. You can love and respect your friend and keep it at that level but develop on that intimacy of a great friendship. I feel like it made the most sense for these two to get closer in this season because they have more in common now. Before it was just the fact that they were students learning magic at Gowpenny and being NAMPS (non magical person or let's be serious MUGGLES!). But now Evan and Sam have both underwent break ups and that's something they can really connect on. I really hope they don't get together right after cause that sounds like a rebound and to me, story wise pretty boring. And in my honest opinion, jumping into another relationship right after being with K is a little too soon. Evan needs a friend not a lover, at least for the time being. He needs to keep his inner darkness and insecurities in check. That or a therapist.

Hopefully this doesn't age like milk, and if they do get together I guess I'm wrong! :3

Thank you if you read till the very end, here is a gif of Brennan giving you a thumbs up!

Why? Cause you are pretty cool!

Please consider liking or reblogging this post if you liked what you read. And I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode and if I should continue!

[eyelessfaces]

better safe than sorry

poe dameron x reader

edit: this story has a prequel!

summary: tired of fighting with poe regarding his recklessness on missions, you chose to lose him by breaking up with him rather than by him dying thinking you'll be less hurt, only the weight of that decision keeps crushing you a bit more each day.

warnings: obvious mentions of a breakup, obvious angst, mentions of injuries, mentions of death

tags: f!reader, exes to lovers, feelings (lots of em), bb8 is a child of divorce, absolute idiots (that are still) in love, fluff

word count: 2.6k

I had so much fun writing this<3

better safe than sorry masterlist

masterlist | taglist | ao3

The suffocating feeling crept inside your chest every single time. 

Every time you walked past him, lowering your head so you wouldn’t be tempted to make the moment linger, every time you scanned a room and your gaze caught him far away, every time you heard his voice, during the meetings, or involuntarily, when you heard his joyful laugh erupting from tables behind you in the cafeteria, it hurt every single time you were reminded of Poe Dameron.

And it was a shame, because he was probably the most popular man on base, so it hurt constantly.

Alright. Maybe it wasn’t only being reminded of him against your will that made it hurt, because you simply couldn’t not think of him anyways.

Even when you didn’t see him or didn’t hear of him, the little details of your everyday life constantly reminded you of him.

His scent was still clinging to his jacket he had given you, the jacket you wouldn’t dare to wear as if you didn’t feel worthy of it. The jacket you still kept and slept close to, inhaling its smell as you curled up in your bed.

His towel was also still in your refresher, and every time you saw it you made a mental note to give it back through Finn, but you could never bring yourself to actually do it. 

It also happened that every time you talked to Finn your tongue was burning with the want to ask how Poe was doing, but you avoided the subject for your own good, even if it was a bit selfish. You knew that if you asked Finn to give him the towel he would ask you how you were holding up regarding your break up, and you knew that your facade would crumble.

You wondered if he suffered too. You wondered if the littlest detail reminded him of you, if the quickest glance in your direction made his heart ache the way yours did.

You secretly hoped it was the case. 

Not that you wanted him to suffer, you just hoped he… still cared. You hoped he still cared about you the way you still cared about him.

And he did. 

He had to battle with his own mind to stay focused on his job, because you were the only thing on his mind.

He could have replaced you. Quickly. Easily.

As soon as it spread around base that Poe Dameron was free, the ones that had been waiting endlessly for this moment finally took their chance. 

He could have replaced you. He could have had plenty of opportunities. He could have gotten laid to try to forget about you for a few hours. He could have tried to make it more than just sex and try to fall in love with someone again to forget about you for good.

But he didn’t want to, because the wound was still wide open, still bleeding.

And what hurt the most with this wound was the fact that he thought the both of you were doing fine before you decided to break up with him. 

Kriff, more than fine, he was planning on getting rid of the ring on the chain around his neck so it could go at your finger. 

He didn't want to bandage this wound.

—

It's the afternoon and as you're making your way to the hangar to try to finally fix the wonky lever on your ship to avoid getting killed, your head turns at the sound of panicked and frantic beeps, and you spot BB-8 rolling towards your direction through the hallway you’re walking in. 

He slaloms through and around the crowd of people in his way, and they’re just like you, staring down at him, surprised at how fast the little droid is; it's surprising that sparks aren't forming under him on the floor.

Once the droid is down at your feet he doesn't stop rolling, but now he's doing circles around you, still making a cacophony of erratic beeps. 

You can't even figure out what he's trying to tell you considering how untamed he's being, and if he’s panicked, his behavior is starting to make you feel the same way. 

"Calm down Beebs, what's going on?" you coo, going down at his level, one knee on the floor. He rolls over and stops in front of you, beeping more composedly this time.

You frown as he beeps, readjusting your position. "Poe's hurt?" the words make your heart jump as you pronounce them, and every thought drowns in your head.

The droid beeps again to confirm, and you give him a small nod, biting on your bottom lip before getting up on both your feet and hurrying to medbay, the droid heeling you. 

You try to catch your breath once you finally arrive there, and as you can hear your heart beating in your chest in loud thuds, your heart actually sinks once you see Poe. 

It doesn’t sink in despair or in profound worry, it sinks in disbelief.

It sinks in disbelief because besides a broken arm enveloped in a cloth held by his neck, Poe seems perfectly fine. His head turns to you as he’s sitting on the edge of the medbay bed, and he looks surprised that you're here. You can understand.

You sigh and throw your head back, cursing the droid for making you worry so much and embarrassing you. 

You feel relieved that Poe is alright, but you also feel awful for the situation BB just put you in.

BB comes behind you and beeps joyfully, and Poe looks down at him and laughs. "Oh buddy you didn’t just do what I think you did, did you?"

The droid looks proud, his plan has worked.

You sigh again, tucking your hands in your pants back pockets. “He's a good actor. I truly thought you were dying.” you turn to BB, and point at him accusingly. “I can’t believe you just did that.” you hiss, and the droid keeps on beeping proudly.

"Why did you do that?" Poe asks, lowkey impressed, as his eyes follow the little droid rolling over to him. BB doesn't reply and just parks at the feet of his master.

You look around the room, not sure of what you should do now that you're here. You walk over and sit on the edge of the bed across from Poe.

"Are you okay though?" you ask, throwing your chin at your ex boyfriend's injured arm.

“Well life’s not exactly the same since we–”

“Oh– I was talking about your arm” you cut him off, feeling the heat rise to your cheeks. 

No matter how hard you tried, this encounter would just be awkward huh?

"Oh yeah, just a rough landing.” he declares chuckling, looking down at his arm. “It's gonna take more than that to kill me." he mutters, his gaze darting to BB-8.

“This is exactly why I broke up with you, you know.” you throw accusingly, and he pinches his lips in a smile.

“Yet you still ran to me when you heard I got hurt” he can't hide the smirk on his face, he doesn't want to anyways.

You want to tell him that BB made it sound like he was dying so of course you wanted to be by his side, because you still care about him, but you decide to keep your mouth shut because whatever will come out of it will for sure make you want to dig your own grave.

So you chuckle and look down at your feet, and when you decide that you should probably go, he speaks again.

"You know you're kind of like his mother" he smiles softly, breaking the silence as he looks down at the droid at his feet.

You scoff, but your heart actually skips a beat. "Yeah so we're his divorced parents, right" you joke, though it’s half true, and it’s a miracle your voice doesn’t flinch because a small lump is slowly starting to form in your throat.

Poe grins timidly, and you look down at BB looking back and forth between you and Poe.

You want to speak again, but so does he, so you’re both blabbering out incoherent mumbles at the same time. 

You both laugh, and he points at you with his valid hand.

“You first” he offers, cocking an eyebrow, wondering what you were saying.

“I was about to say I should probably go.” you nod, sinking your hands into your pants pockets.

“Oh” 

“You?”

He bites down on his lip before talking. “I miss you. I was about to say I miss you.” 

You close your eyes and sigh, and the lump in your throat only keeps on growing bigger. You shouldn't feel so sad, because you brought this upon yourself, but you can't help it.

“I know. I mean– me too.” you nod, looking up at him. He looks sorry, and you feel sorry. "I miss you too." you admit, and admitting it only makes it feel even more real.

He weakly smiles at you, and the atmosphere in this room becomes too much, and you feel the need to leave.

"Okay. I should get going. Be careful with that arm" you softly smile before walking out the room.

—

There’s a good chance you’re experiencing the frequency illusion – the phenomenon of learning the meaning of a word then hearing it everywhere, because the frequency at which you accidentally run into Poe after your encounter in medbay is quite embarrassing. 

Awkward smiles are your only exchange, but the way he pinches his lips when he smiles at you makes you want to kiss them every single time.

Another downside of it is also that the more you see glimpses of him, the more you want to see him. Properly. It’s becoming a problem.

And the more you try to ignore it the more you’re reminded of the problem in question, and it’s a never ending circle.

Which is why you’re standing outside his quarters with his towel in hand, and while you’re still hesitating whether to do this or not, there’s part of you that tells you that this is absolutely stupid.

But there’s also that other part of you that craves the sight of him, the sound of his voice, his smell, his touch, the taste of his lips, and that part of you takes control and buzzes at his door.

It opens a few moments later, and BB-8 rolls behind him, beeping happily. You can’t help the small laugh that escapes your mouth, and Poe looks back at his droid, chuckling.

“It’s, uh– your towel.” you say, handing him it. He looks up at you then at it before taking it from your hand. “I’ve been meaning to give it back for a while but I kept forgetting”

“It’s just a towel, you could have kept it, you know.” he chuckles, throwing the cloth on his console.

“Yeah. It’s not just about the towel. I wanted to see you.” you admit, refraining your smile. You do a poor job at holding it back when a smug smile appears on his face.

“Oh yeah? You wanted to see me?” he asks smugly, leaning his forearm against the doorframe.

“Mmh” you nod, raising your eyebrows. He gestures for you to come in, and you kneel down to rub BB-8's head, making him roll on himself. “How’s your arm?” you ask looking up at Poe.

“Good. All healed up.” he nods, looking down at BB who leaves the room as if to give you some privacy.

"Good." you sigh, standing back up, placing yourself to stand in front of him. There's a strand of your hair that falls in front of your face, and he takes care of pushing it away, the tip of his fingers softly brushing against your forehead, his hand then resting at the juncture between your neck and your shoulder.

The gesture makes your breath catch in your throat, as if you're a teenager with a crush when you know Poe so well and you're accustomed to his soft gestures. 

You guess the context is what makes it so special, so fragile.

You lightly clear your throat, doing your best to seem composed.

“I uh, it’s stupid. The reason I broke up with you is stupid. I got so scared the other day when I heard you got hurt and my only thought was ‘You’re stupid, all of this is so stupid, he’s gonna die thinking you don’t love him and thinking your principles matter more than him’.” you start, and he opens his mouth but you continue to speak before he can. 

“This is not what happened because you weren’t really dying but that thought has been haunting me ever since. Away from you or not you’re gonna get hurt anyways and I’m gonna be in love with you anyways and I can’t change the way you are so if I had to choose, I’d rather be by your side.” you nod, chuckling nervously, your heart beating so fast you wonder if he can hear it.

He softly chews on his bottom lip, nodding.

“Okay.” he whispers, and he sighs before pulling you into his arms. A sigh of relief escapes your mouth as your forehead rests against his shoulder, and your arms wrap around him as he cups the back of your head. “It’s my fault too. I’m sorry. I’ll change, I promise” he whispers into your ear, and you look back at him, putting a hand to his face.

“I’m not asking you to change for me. I’m asking you to be a little more careful.” 

He nods before leaning in and kissing you, and you can only deepen it.

It is probably the most healing kiss you’ve ever exchanged, and when you pull away you still remain close. Your nose brushes against his as you play with the curls behind his ears, and his eyes crinkle as he softly smiles at you before leaving some more light kisses at your lips. 

He rests his forehead against yours before pulling away, and he comes back to reality at that moment, and you can see something looks wrong when he starts pacing around, his hands over his hips.

"I'm leaving tomorrow." he declares, looking back at you. "I signed up for a month-long mission." he can see the frustrated look in your eyes, and he almost feels guilty for leaving you so soon after you've been reunited.

“A month long?” you repeat, and he slowly nods, pinching his lips. "Poe Dameron you better come back al–"

"–Yes I promise you, I'll come back alive, and without a scratch" he cuts you off, chuckling. "I promise. No risky maneuvers." he assures, taking a step closer to you.

"Alright." you smile, bringing him closer to kiss him again.

You fall asleep clinging to each other, his back pressed flush against your chest and your arms tightly wrapped around him.

When you wake up the next morning, he's already long gone, his side of the bed so cold you could even doubt he has ever been there if you didn’t have the vague memory of him leaving a kiss on your forehead before he left his own quarters.

The month where he's gone feels like the longest month of your life, but the reward of it is that when he comes back he's exactly the way he was when he left, not a single scratch in sight. 

He begs you to take a day off of work to spend time with him and catch up, and during that day he brings you to a pretty planet he discovered while on mission where he asks you to marry him, the ring around his chain finally finding its right place after so many years.

—

masterlist | taglist | ao3

prequel | better safe than sorry masterlist

star wars taglist: @apollo-enthusiast @lockleysgrl @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @alexxavicry @mystinky-butt @beccabecs521 @welcometostayingawake

I had so much fun writing this please give me feedback :'))

[the-s1lly-corner]

Hii! Idk if you've ever done something similar, but what do you think about TADC x Skater! Reader? Like, Reader always have their skates on, like it's a part of their digital costume or smth. And i really mean ALWAYS. Someone spilled water on the floor? Reader slips down. They go on an adventure and a part of the floor is inclined? (Like a hill for example) There goes reader down the hill. I think it would be pretty funny lol

Btw, i really love your page, keep it up and don't overwork yourself

TADC cast x rollerskater!reader

Anon I am so so so sorry !! I dont know if I personally got jumbled up or my inbox has been wonky silly goofy or I just got thrown off because of so many people sending stuff in, but I also missed this as well as some other requests 😭😭

This one may be a little short since I've never skated <\3

Written this as more platonic leaning !

CAINE:

Probably poofs himself his own rollerskates, literally the only time you see him on the ground and it's so weird to look at. You guys both slip and fall because bubble wiped themselves across the floor or something

Obviously leads to bubble getting popped

Honestly seeing caine struggle to keep steady while using the rollerskates is... very funny.. look at his lil legs wobble (tell anyone and he will tilt the ground of the next IHA)

POMNI:

Honestly she would probably slip on the floor too if its wet or has marbles. She looks like she would comically fall over, with her legs flinging straight up into the air before plopping down

Looks at you confused as you visibly try to calculate how fast this one little slope will make you go, she probably forgets you have skater feet in the beginning

Subconsciously tries to grab and stop you when you start rolling, but because shes so small you just drag her with you

Theres that squeaky noise as shes being dragged across the floor

Yk the sound

JAX:

Throws marbles on the floor as well as other things that can make you stumble or slip... probably soaps up the floor.. thank god hes just a circus rmemeber and not like, a ringmaster... this dude would tolt the floor in so many different angles just to fuck with you... thankfully, he cant do that!

Though in another timeline... perhaps you werent so lucky...

Not much to be said here, with the bit with zooble in the pilot (the arm thing), jax is more than ready to use peoples unique digital qualities to please him or mess with them, and you being his friend only makes you slightly less likely to be messed with

RAGATHA:

Keeps a hand on your shoulder when she notices the floor is tilted, tends to walk with you while holding your shoulder still. She can only imagine what it's like to be s victim of slopes.. it would drive her nuts.. as long as shes around shes going to do her damndest to make sure you dont roll away or slip... unless jax literally throws marbles in front of you two at the very last second because who can predict that..?

In any case where theres an IHA with a DEEP slope I think she just might resort to carrying you so you dont go FLYING down

ZOOBLE:

Okay you guys might not have the same issues but they can relate to you in the jax department, with him using your qualities to his advantage. Its absolute hell.. I think it would be this shared thing that leads to you guys building a relationship in the first place

That one meme where it's two people at the bar and they overhear each other saying "I hate (x)" then they start making out

Thats you guys ranting about the bunny/j

Offered you some parts before realizing that you cant swap out your limbs like they can

"Ah, bummer"

KINGER:

Has probably asked you why you dont just take them off when you vent to him about jax putting marbles on the floor. Kind of sounds like when people say shit such as "oh you're depressed? Just cheer up!" But like, kinger says it in a genuinely.. not malicious or tone deaf way.. like I dontt think he knows, or perhaps he thinks you're like zooble with detachable limbs and you have another pair of feet hanging around somewhere

Gives a soft "oh.. " when you demonstrate that they are attatched to you

Offers to let you strap pillows to yourself to soften any blows when you fall, let's you have his softest and thickest pillows... what do you mean it throws off your balance...?

GANGLE:

You have probably accidentally rammed into her after misjudging how steep a hill on the ground was

Good news! She stopped your momentum!

Bad news, shes all tangled up in your skates (owie!) And her comedy mask is broken (oh no!)

Please be careful getting her out. We don't want her ribbons to tear or get damaged, we cant have our girl start fraying!

[dvskf4llz]

HELLOOO!! Cloudy here!

Could I request some HCs for some of the hermits (Maybe Ren, Etho, Grian, Scar, Mumbo, Bdubs and Xisuma?) during Christmas w the reader (GN) who is there S/O?

Merry Christmas you wonderful being! Always take care of yourself <333

-☁️

CLOUDYY!! THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME THIS IDEA

Thank u thank u everyone aswell

Merry (belated) crimus :3

I genuinely didn't have any ideas for the others so I couldn't do all of them sorry cloudy 😭

This is going to be really short cuz I'm writing this as I'm not feeling well so I apologize

(I'm literally just going to end each one of the HCs with a mistletoe kiss cuz why not)

Christmas HCs with the Hermits

𝓢𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓪𝓵 (𝓼𝓮𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓮) 𝓗𝓮𝓻𝓶𝓲𝓽𝓼 𝔁 𝓖𝓝!𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻

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

(Not proofread)

Grian:

-Grian would be type of person to still pull pranks even if it's Christmas, he would try to make the pranks more festive and decrease the amount of tricks he'd pull atleast

-In the morning, you'd wake up to him standing infront of you with a mischievous grin on his face making it obvious that he had a few festive pranks up his sleeve

-When you went outside into the snow, snow immediately got dumped onto your head

-After you got most of the snow from your hair/clothes, you were immediately greeted by a bunch of snowballs in the face who were thrown by none other than Grian

-After a few light-hearted pranks, he'd stop eventually so that you could calm down

-You two of course would make a few gingerbread houses and some gingerbreadman cookies together, Grian would even sometimes throw some flour at you which ended up resulting into chaos...

-The kitchen ended up looking like it snowed inside, but you two teamed up to clean it together

-After all the gift-giving, snowball fights, the flour fights and pranks, Grian had one last trick up his sleeve

-He set up a certain something ontop of one of the doorways he was sure you would walk under, and to no surprise, you did

-You saw Grian standing right in front of you with the same mischievous grin he had earlier while pointing up, you instinctively looked up only to see a mistletoe, of course.

-In the end, Grian did get his kiss and was all happy about it as the two of you spent the rest of the day cuddling

Xisuma

-Since Xisuma was the prime admin of the server, it was a bit hard for him to get some time off to spend the holiday with you. But eventually he did end up being able to get off for a while just for his lover

-He was a bit tired but nonetheless still had the spirit

-You two would spend the day by making snowmen, attempting to bake cookies, opening gifts and cuddling

-Xisuma would definitely be making sure you were covered enough before you went into the snow so that you wouldn't get a cold, he was just concerned for you of course

-He'd let you throw some snowballs at him, eventually he would also throw some snowballs to you as well just to get back at you

-He helped you build a snowman, placing the main body of the snowman while letting you place the head and decorate it however you wanted

-With baking cookies, you both would have equally divided regular cookies so that you could decorate them

-His designs on the cookies were a bit wonky but nonetheless cute, he even tried to attempt to draw your face on the cookie with the icing but kind of failed, you still appreciated it though

-You also happened to set up a mistletoe right above one of the doorways while Xisuma wasn't looking, you lured him over to that doorway and stood underneath the mistletoe with him

-When Xisuma realized the mistletoe was there, he chuckled before lifting his helmet up slightly to give you a loving kiss

-At the end of the day, you two cuddled onto the couch and watched some Christmas movies together <3

Ren

-mans would definitely be waiting at your side for when you wake up, he was just so excited to spend the Christmas Day with his lover

-It would be 6 am in the morning and he would be absolutely energetic still (Dog thinhs /hj)

-Once you were awake he'd immediately rush you to get changed so you two could go out in the snow already, which of course you did change into some warmer clothes

-As soon as you were out on the snow, he'd pull you with him to have a playful snowball fight

-What Ren didn't know was that he underestimated just how good you were at snowball fights, he would be constantly getting hit by snowballs, only ever getting the chance to hit you with a few sometimes (or it can be the other way around if you aren't that good w snowball fights)

-You two would make a snowman together and call him "Renbob", you even got to hear a Renbob impression from Ren himself

-You two would definitely be making gingerbread houses together, Ren was trying to go for a more architectural house while you were just making a simple one

-Of course, you would also join in the fun in the Grand Prix boat race since there was no harm in doing it. Overall, you did have fun most of the day

-So by the end of the day, when you both arrived back to your shared base, you and Ren just so happened to walk under a mistletoe together

-Ren would not hesitate to make you face him and kiss you passionately, his tail wagging like crazy as soon as he felt you kiss back

-You and Ren did end up ending the day with cuddling and loving kisses <3

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

Yeahhh that's it, sorry it's rlly short

Not feeling too well so I had to make this short

I'll maybe edit this and make it a bit longer (maybe even add a few more hermits) when I feel better

Again, so sorry for forgetting this and so sorry for making it short TT

Happy (Belated) Holidays everyone!!

[bedoballoons]

─⊰⁠⊹ฺ❄️𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤⊰⁠⊹ฺ❄️

{༻~Mixing up the meals~༺}

A/n: Just a little birthday fic for Thoma the tomato! (This is honestly for you fairy anon so I hope you enjoy <3) I KNOW IT'S LATE AND IM SORRY!!

Other birthday fics I've written:

Albedo

Freminet

Kazuha

𑁍༄Thoma:

Thoma whistled a little tune as he tossed ingredients into the big pot on the burner, doing little tricks with vegetables as you chopped up carrots for yet another dish that was simmering nearby you. You didn't know why he was making so many different meals at once, but it didn't bother you...in fact the entire mood was a happy one, he seemed happy and you were definitely happy.

"Alright, so after we make the food are we going to meet up with Ayaka and Ayato? Should I start making you a cake now?? I'll top it with dango!" You turned to him excitedly, but his smile faltered...had you said something wrong? "Thoma? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing really haha, guess it's just strange to have a day dedicated entirely to me. I enjoy days where I can spoil you and Milady and My Lord. Of course that doesn't mean I don't appreciate everything you all do for me on this day!" He chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck as he waited to see what your response was.

"That's...really sweet of you Thoma, but just like how you enjoy spoiling us...we feel the same about you. I want to give you gifts and celebrate you and I know so many others want to as well..." You kissed his cheek with a light blush and turned to get something out of your bag, "I was going to wait to give this to you till everyone else had given their gifts, but I think you should have them now."

You reached into the bag and retrieved a batch of homemade cookies, the frosting a little wonky and their shapes a little derpy...but Thoma was almost in tears, "You made me cookies? You usually don't cook unless you're with me...thank you beautiful. I love them." He accepted your gift and leaned in to kiss your lips softly, wrapping his arms around you as you whispered, "Happy birthday Thoma"

ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚~Happy birthday Thoma!!~*⁠.⁠✧

[theetherealbloom]

UNEVEN ODDS — CH. 3

Chapter Three: Light Carries On Endlessly Even After Death

Summary: The Reader is dragged into the Last of Us universe and has no choice but to watch the events unfold or will she be able to change what was already written?

Paring: Joel Miller x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Age-gap Romance, Violence, ANGST, tiny fluff, PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, Crying, Singing, Suggestive content, the pandemic, character death, Zombies, eventual SMUT, MY SCIENCE IS WONKY, probable plot holes, rusty writing

Word Count: 9.7k

A/N: This chapter is inspired by a mix of quotes and songs! Super unrelated, but it occurred to me, if I was in TLOU universe, I would not survive. I need my antidepressants and immediately would call it quits LMAO. (I know dark humor sorry :,) If you want to see my thought process (idk if you want to) I’ll put it at the end notes! Thank you for your comments, reblogs, and notes! I genuinely appreciate it and it means alot to me &lt;3

Song: Make You Feel My Love by Adele

Previous Chapter -> Next Chapter | Series Masterlist

TLOU WORLD — 2023

TEN MILES WEST OF BOSTON – DUSK

You trek your way into the forest, you hear your footsteps squishing through the mud and dirt, and the pounding of your breath. The sun is beginning to set, dusk then brings you moonlight, a time to reflect on the day that has past and look forward to the day that will be refreshed by the glow of the sun. It is the time when the birds sing farewell till the stars call them to sleep under the wings. Each color intensifies in beautiful solemnity, uniting in the darkness. 

No one spoke for the entirety of the hike, the silence carries your melancholy, yet it is a permanent friend of your subconsciousness. The deafness is only broken by ragged breaths and the beating of human hearts. Joel comes to a stop, his back facing you and Ellie as he speaks, “We’ll camp here for the night. I’ll take watch.”

You look to Ellie who merely shrugs, the two of you say nothing and begin to set up camp on the forest floor. You hear the rushing water of a river nearby and realize where you’ve ended up. Placing your backpack on the floor, you raise your arms and stretch to the sky, undoing the painful knots in your back and neck. You let out a sigh of relief and prepare for the inevitable. Joel calls out your name and you turn to face him, ready to take on the brunt of his pain and rage.

His eyebrows lower slightly, and the tone of his voice goes down a pitch, “You and I need to talk.” You take an uneasy breath and nod in agreement despite the sweat coating both palms. He takes a step closer to you and asks, “Did you know?” he raises his voice a little, “Did you know about Tess?” You look down in shame and whisper, “Yes.”

It takes everything he has to keep his control, jaw clenched and narrowed eyes, “Why?” he says. A question so simple, a three-letter word holding so much weight, and so much anger towards you. “Why didn’t you tell me?” You swallow and avoid responding, choosing silence over an argument. He scoffs and shakes his head, and you cross your arms across your chest. The more he fumed, the smaller you made herself.

You shift your weight from one foot to the other, and only look up to see his broad shoulders and back facing you, he mumbles with a quiet rage, “I’m gonna go check the area and make sure it’s safe and that there aren’t any infected nearby.”

“This ain’ gonna work if you keep hidin’ secrets from me Hummin’ bird.” He turns and walks away, disappearing into the woods. “Well, that was dramatic.” You turn to find Ellie sitting comfortably, back resting against the pine tree in a crisscross position, you open your mouth to ask if she was okay but decided against it. Instead, you nod, “Yeah. I’m, um, sorry about that.” Ellie only shrugs, “He must’ve loved her or something.” Your gaze softens as you whisper into the cool navy twilight, “Or something.”

YOUR ORIGINAL OBSERVABLE UNIVERSE — JANUARY 2023, NOON

WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY, FUNDAMENTAL QUANTUM PHYSICS LAB

The sleeves of your white lab coat itch your arms as you focused on typing up your report. The clacking sound of your keyboard could be heard from around the lab as you typed. You were invited to assist in a study focusing on quantum mechanics and theory. The lab wasn’t as busy today, most of them had decided to join the conference that was being held at Harvard, busy networking and connecting with possible investors or fellow researchers.

It was only you and Adam that was left in the lab, his excuse was he would rather put acid in his eyes than shake hands and give fake niceties. He’s nearby testing his new hypothesis, and decides to make conversation with you, “If we manage to prove this, then it is possible, somewhere in the many worlds, a pandemic happened earlier in a different universe.” You roll your eyes in amusement, “Yeah, I guess so.” You’re in thought for a moment before asking, “Do you think humanity won? Like, they overcame it?” He hums, “Maybe. Or maybe they lost.” You snort and throw a careless joke, “Everyone would blame our shitty government and us, the scientists. How ignorant must you be for it to happen twice?” 

“Well, all disaster movies start with a scientist being ignored.” He says matter-of-factly, and you give no response,  and you continue typing up your report. Silently hoping that if it were true, that humanity would still have hope, small but just enough to let the shine through, and believe that they haven’t lost yet. You look at the time and log out of your work computer, packing up your things, and asking Adam if he would like to join you for lunch he politely declines, so you bid him farewell as you head out the doors to step on the grey pavement of the campus and make your way to a nearby restaurant. It’s a beautiful day, you think to yourself, clear blue skies and a cool breeze that caresses your skin. You take notice of the blue butterfly fluttering its wings and flying right past you, you smile as it leaves an afterimage of change.

TLOU WORLD — 2023

TEN MILES WEST OF BOSTON — CIVIL TWILIGHT DAWN

You wake up with a deep inhale, your eyes struggle to open, and try to understand where you were. Tired from the dream, well, a memory that replayed like a cassette tape on a player that pressed rewind. You blink a couple of times before rubbing your eyes awake and retrace your steps in your mind as you recall what happened last night, only to remember giving Ellie your jacket and waiting up for Joel to come back from scouting the area for any signs of danger.

You sit up a little straighter and crack the aching parts of your neck, you look next to yourself and see Ellie lightly snoring up against a tree, still asleep. You look at the familiar jacket draped over your body that had kept you warm during the cold night. Joel must’ve placed it on top of you when he found you barely awake and functioning.

You can’t help but smile and feel your heart flutter at the thought of him taking care of you. You feel the muscles of your cheeks tighten as you try to hide away your smile and hoist yourself up quietly, not wanting to disturb Ellie’s slumber. Letting Joel’s jacket drape off of your shoulders, you use your hands to hold the collar, creating a cape that drapes behind you. 

You head towards the sound of the stream, it burbles as it travels along its bed, bubbling over rocks and branches. It was a delicate duck-egg blue, like the delicate sweep of a painter's brush. It snuck and snuck its way past all impediments, even the river's stones. Twigs spun across its murmuring surface, small messengers from the mountain trees that had brought them there. The creek rushed across the riverbed's pebbles. It sounded like a starling flock's airy, silky spin.

In the background, the mountains stood silently, a sullen presence of sky-punching glory. Snow brooches adorned their lofty peaks, which were encircled in angel-white wreaths. A weeping torrent cascaded down the granite wall. It appeared to be a silk-blue slide pouring down the mountain. It looked to be bound in silver as it carried its burden of ice crystals. It emitted a distant thrumming sound, similar to the constant rumble of a drum roll. It glowed brightly as it fed the riverbed, the forest's lifeblood. It was a breathtaking sight.

Your gaze turns to fine Joel’s figure kneeling, hunched over, and quietly picking stones from the river’s edge. You watch from a distance as he silently stacks a pile of stones to create a cairn, a memorial for Tess. You make sure your footsteps can be heard as you approach him, but he gave no acknowledgment as you decide to sit atop a large rock. It takes a while before he looks at you, and finds you staring right through him with sorrowful eyes. 

You let out a huff of air before speaking in a neutral tone, “I don’t mean to keep secrets from you. If I had come here a day before the pandemic, a day before your birthday, I would have done everything to make sure this never happened.” You paused for a moment then continued, “You asked me why I didn’t tell you. I didn’t tell you because I thought I could do it on my own. I’ve been doing this for my whole life, keeping the peace and fixing things by myself, and I got it right every time. And the one time I get it wrong it cost someone’s life.” 

You feel your voice quiver as you spoke, eyes darting to look past him, afraid of the rage and grief he feels, “Someone you loved is gone. I’m sorry, Joel. But God, I know that will never be enough and no amount of apologies will bring her back. I had a chance and I fucked up. If I could… If I could press rewind and trade her life for mine I would if that would make it any better for you.”

“No.” Joel states and your eyebrows furrow in confusion, and slowly bring your eyes to look at him, “No?” And he shakes his head and picks up another rock as he says, “I accept your apology, but stop doin’ that.” You tilt your head quizzically, “Don’t do what?” He gruffly replies, “Minimize your life as if it doesn’t matter. As if it ain’t just as important.” She felt her breathing pause and peered intently at him before trying to argue, “But–” He shuts her down before she could go on, “Stop it, as you said, no amount of apologizin’ is gonna bring her back. She’s gone. I made a promise to her that I’m plannin’ on keepin’, you gonna help me or not?”

That throws you off balance, you expected him to lash out, maybe throwing a rock or two at you, not this. Slowly you nod, “Yes. Yes, I will.” Joel looks and searches for any form of malice or lies and finds none. He simply stretches his arm to you, the rock he previously took from the river’s edge, and holds it out to you like an olive branch. You slide off the rock you were sitting on and take the rock from his hand, crouching down and quietly placing it on top of the cairn. 

You stare at the pile of rocks for a moment, quiet in thought, but then Joel says your name in a whisper that wouldn’t even fog the glass, you raise your eyes to look at him as he asks, “Was she, in your world, did she, um, already um…” And you already know what he’s wondering before he tries and say the words, so you save him the trouble of continuing, giving him a nod you reply solemnly, “Yes.”

“And when we get to Bill and Frank’s? What do you know about that?” He says, and you blink back your tears, flashbacks of that episode occur in your mind, remembering their love for each other and what would happen once we got there. You apologetically smile at him, “Out of respect for the both of them. It’s best to find out when you get there.”

His eyebrows arch inwards in concern, “Are they okay?” And you hesitate, thinking how to appropriately word this without lying, but then you remember, “Yes, they’re content.”

Joel’s eyes look back down at the cairn the decides to get up. You see him hold out his hand for you, and you take it to hoist yourself up. “Let’s go back and see if Ellie’s awake.” He states, then let’s go of your hand, making his way back to the kid. You stand there for a second, glancing at the pile of stones that represent her legacy, then back at Joel, you decide to walk forward toward your future beginning to unfold.

TEN MILES WEST OF BOSTON — DAY

The sound of birds chirping can be heard as you walk behind Joel, finding Ellie awake with her sitting upright with her knees pulled to her chest and your jacket still being used as a makeshift blanket. Joel goes through his pack to get a bark of food and Ellie breaks the silence to question you, “You want your jacket back?”

You nod and grab it from her as she holds it out to you, putting it on, you remove Joel’s brown jacket to place it on top of Ellie. Her face drops, “Seriously?” And you shrug to whisper, “You guys need to talk too.” You begin to pack up and wear your backpack.

Joel takes a bite from his food only to crumple the wrapper to throw it at Ellie as if she was some dog. You look at him in slight annoyance as Ellie rolls her eyes and takes picks it up from the ground to also take a bite of food. He makes himself busy as he adjusts the strap of his worn-out backpack, trying to ignore the kid, but Ellie is persistent, “I’ve never been in the woods.” She chews before continuing, “More bugs than I thought.” Joel doesn’t respond, disregarding her statement, and fidgets with the buckles and straps. Ellie huffs, her shoulders tense and her voice louder as says, “Look, I’ve been thinking about…”

Joel shoots straight up to swing his backpack over his shoulder, “I don’t want your sorries.” Your eyes swing over to Ellie as she retorts, “I wasn’t gonna say I’m sorry. I was gonna say I’ve been thinking about what happened. Nobody made you or Tess take me. Nobody made you go along with this plan.” Joel stands there as he listens to her go on, “You needed a truck battery or whatever and you made a choice.” Then her voice lowers an octave and slightly quivers, “So don’t blame me for something that isn’t my fault.”

Joel has his jaw clenched and you could see the vein in his neck preparing to burst, but all he does is give a silent nod at Ellie, then she looks away. Joel picks up his rifle and Ellie stands up to walk to him, backpack, and food, in one hand and Joel’s jacket in the other. She stretches out her arm for Joel to take it from her, a truce, as he gently grabs it and folds it. A small smile stretches across your face and you relax.

“How much longer?” Ellie asks him, and he responds calmly, “Five-hour hike.” The kid nods and states, “We can manage that.” 

You take note of the trees arching and twisting from above you, the leaves creating patterns with their shadows, and not a single blade of grass out of place. It’s surprisingly quiet and almost peaceful as you follow Joel and Ellie across the wooden bridge, letting your mind wander, and quietly hum tunes that remind you of home. And when you no longer wanted to hum, you reflected on what happened on September 26, 2003. When it all fell apart on Joel’s birthday. The day seemed so normal, with clear blue skies and a celebration of life between a father and a daughter. You should have known, but now you learn, blue skies were a sight you never trusted again. 

“You’ve gone this way a lot? No infected?” Ellie asks, seemingly exhausted from not talking for so long. “Not often, no,” Joel replies, steadily looking for any form of danger, “What are you looking for?” And you respond for him, “People.” Ellie hums in acknowledgment, “Are Bill and Frank nice?” Joel replies lightly, “Frank is.” Glad you’re behind the two, and maybe it’s the past that’s talking, but flashes of their love come back to you in a blur. 

Ellie continues asking Joel the question, “Where’d you get that scar on your head?” You frown at that and remember exactly how he got it, he sighs at her. “What? Is it something lame? Like you fell down the stairs or something?” Ellie teasingly said, and his whiskey-deep voice gravelly replied, “I didn’t fall down any stairs.” 

“I fell down the stairs a lot in high school. Every year for four years.” You mumble your input without any thought and Ellie looks over at you with concern, “How the fuck are you still alive.” And you frown slightly, “To be honest, I have no fucking clue either.” The kid turns back to Joel, “Okay, so what then?” Ellie asks and Joel vaguely replies, “Someone shot at me and missed.”

“See, that’s cool. Did you shoot back?” The young girl states and looks at Joel with so much wonder and amazement, Joel glances at her and then responds, “Yeah.” Ellie continues, “You get him?” He’s practically done with her asking so many questions but replies anyway, “No, I missed too. It happens more often than you think.” 

“Because you suck at shooting or, like, in general?” You then bite back a laugh at Ellie’s comment, however, your eyes crinkle as you do. Vexed, Joel turns to look at Ellie, then away from her, “In general.” You snort at his response and this time he looks over his shoulder to look at you and you stare right back at him. 

Ellie glances at Joel’s revolver gun in its holder and looks back up at Joel, “You know, seeing as it’s just the three of us, and she has a gun already, I was thinking I should pro–” Joel doesn’t hesitate with his response, “No.” Ellie only rolls her eyes at his response and keeps quiet for a bit.

The three of you step over a fallen electric pole and turn a corner, “Cumberland Farms.” Ellie reads out the sign as you pass by it, Joel hurries his pace a bit before saying to you both, “Hang back a minute. I gotta grab some stuff I stashed.” 

“Stashed? Why do you have stuff stashed here?” Ellie asks still following Joel, irritated he says, “You ask a lot of goddamn questions.” She smirks, “Yes, I do.” Joel opens the door to the store, the sound of metal scraping against the floor as he does. “So, you gonna answer me or what?” Joel sighs and gives in, “We hide supplies on routes in case we find ourselves short on gear which I currently am because…”

“No way!” Ellie exclaims happily, and hurriedly makes her way to a Mortal Kombat machine, “You ever play this one?” You watch her mash buttons and mess with the joystick, while Joel lingers around, “I had a friend who knew everything about this game. There’s this one character named Mileena who takes off her mask and she has monster teeth and then she swallows you whole and barfs out your bones.” She sighs, “Oh man.” You look to Joel, entertained by him looking through a bunch of junk, Ellie turns to notice what you're looking at, “You forgot where you put your stuff.”

Joel shakes his head and denies, “No. I’m just zeroing in on it. It’s been a couple of years.” You lightly laugh, your shoulders slightly bouncing up and down as you do, “So, what? You’re using echolocation to look for it?” Joel only glances at you and sighs. Ellie smiles and says, “Okay, well, I’m gonna take a look around. See if there’s anything good.” Joel kicks something and replies, “Trust me, it’s all been picked over already.” Ellie hums thoughtfully, “Maybe, maybe not.” She makes her way to an open door and asks, “Is there anything bad in here?”

“Just you.” He retorts, and Ellie sighs, “Ah, getting funnier.” 

Joel shoves something and it doesn’t budge, “Fuck.” You laugh again at his struggle, and he looks at you unimpressed, “Do you, by any chance know where it is?” You smirk, “Yep.” He raises his eyebrows at you, “Do you wanna, maybe, I dunno, help me?” You twist your mouth to the side, cross your arms across your chest, and look up, mockingly thinking, “Eventually.”

Joel sighs at you, one hand on his hip as he does, then he says your name in a low-pitched voice, and you smile innocently at him from across the store. “And why won’t you tell me where it is?” You shrug and playfully say, “I like seeing you struggle.”

Electricity fills the air and you feel the warmth on your face, his brown eyes have now turned a shade darker than usual, and you watch him breathe a little deeper. Your tongue darts out a little bit to wet your lower lip and feel your heart race wildly. He stands there confidently, you notice his salt and pepper hair, his beautiful tan skin, and how the lines under his eyes and forehead remind you of maps you wish to trace your fingers on as they stretch, and there are too many miles to count. 

Wide-eyed in realization, you open your mouth, finding words to explain or excuse yourself but found none. Closing your gaping mouth, you quickly turn around to walk out of the store. Joel says your name, low and thick, you can feel the vibrations through your bones, it stops you in your tracks with your back facing him, “Where do you think your goin’? Turn around.”

You close your eyes for a second and try to quiet your beating heart, you follow his command, like a puppet on a string. “Where is it?” He asks as you feel his stare roam all over your body even from the large gap between you two, and you blink owlishly at him and out of breath, “Um, it’s at, um…” You clear your throat and try again, “It’s at the end of the aisle, underneath the newspapers.” 

“Come over here and help me lift this shit.” And your feet move forward to the man who is now crouched down and waiting for you. You kneel next to him, and as you tilt your head to look at him, you are now inches apart and unknowingly even closer at heart. You shyly look down on the piece of wood hiding his stash, “You should um, probably open it.”

He says nothing in response and you watch as he pulls his knife out and slices through the wood to create a small gap to lift it off the ground. You help him move it to the side, fingertips brushing against each other, feather-light touches that ignite a fire within you. In the corner of your eye, you see him begin to dig through the supplies he had left behind. It then occurs to you that you haven’t heard from Ellie in a while, you look to Joel with a concerned look, “We haven’t heard Ellie in a while,” you whisper.

He nods and proceeds to call for her, “Ellie?” He receives no response and the worry expands in your belly. Joel gets up and so do you, this time you try to call for her, “Ellie.” Getting nothing as well. Joel pulls out his revolver and turns to you, “Wait here.” You nod and follow his request, he approaches the door, “Ellie?” and she walks out fine and unscathed, “Picked over, my ass.” She says holding up a box of tampons. 

You let out a sigh of relief, even though you knew she would be fine, but the nagging voice in the back of your mind reminds you that things could change for the better or worse in any situation. Your being in this universe has an effect now, especially the fact you’re running around with the two main characters of this story. Whatever you say or choose not to say will have repercussions if you’re not careful. That’s something you learned the hard way.

Joel puts his gun away as Ellie shoves her find into her pack. He kneels down to put away the green toolbox and rifle under his stash, Ellie watches and asks, “What are you doing?” He responds, “There’s not much ammo out there for this thing. Makes it mostly useless.” You help him put the board back on and to no one’s surprise she tries to take advantage of the opportunity, “Well, if you’re just gonna leave it there…” Joel stands and you follow suit, he looks at Ellie sternly, “No.”

He turns to walk out of the store and Ellie follows after him, defeated. You watch the two go-ahead before glancing at the open door, knowing exactly what Ellie had found down there. Swallowing down your fear, you force yourself to keep going.

You continue to walk along the road, the clouds march on and the trees bow down to give their leaves, to offer you some shade along your journey. Walking by you see the wreckage of an airplane atop a hill, broken parts, and pieces scattered along the field. Ellie breathes out, “Holy shit.” The three of you stop walking to gaze at it fondly, “You fly in one of those?” The kid asks you and Joel, and he replies, “Few times, sure.”

Ellie is looking up at you, searching for your answer, and you give her a nod, “Yeah, a couple of times.” She brings her focus back to the wreckage and sighs, “So lucky.” Joel disagrees, “Didn’t feel like it at the time. Get shoved into a middle seat, pay 12 bucks for a sandwich.”

“Dude, you got to go up in the sky,” Ellie says, and you frown, simple things that got taken for granted, you knew all too well. “Yeah, well, so did they,” Joel says with dejection in his voice, then decides to keep moving. Something all he’s ever known. Ellie mutters, “Grim.”

“So everything came crashing down in one day?” Ellie questions and Joel nods, “Pretty much.” Ellie doesn’t settle for that and chooses to follow up with a, “How? I mean, no one was infected with cordyceps. Everybody’s fine eating in restaurants and flying in planes. And then, all at once? How did it even start? If you have to get bit to get infected, then who bit the first person?” She pauses, “Was it a monkey? I bet it was a monkey.”

You huff in amusement, “If it were a monkey, this wouldn’t have happened.” Joel looks at you then turns back to Ellie and replies, “It wasn’t a monkey. I thought you went to school?” Ellie frowns, “FEDRA school. They don’t teach us how their shitty government failed to prevent a pandemic.”

You flinch at her statement and think for a nanosecond, fuck. You hear your memories echo back to you. You snort and throw a careless joke, “Everyone would blame our shitty government and all the scientists. How ignorant must you be for it to happen twice?” Adam replies, “Well, all disaster movies start with a scientist being ignored.”

You painfully exhale and look to Ellie, parroting back the words you heard not long ago, “All disasters start with a scientist being ignored.” Joel and Ellie listen to you intently as you remember what had happened, and you continue on, “A scientist named Dr. Neuman sometime in the 1960s had feared this would happen. People laughed and brushed it off.” 

You close your eyes and try and untangle the strings of memories and information about their world, “Your outbreak started in Jakarta, Indonesia on September 24, 2003. A flour and grain factory,  on the west side of the city. The perfect substrate. A normal woman suddenly turned violent, attacked four of her coworkers, and bit three of them. They locked her in the bathroom and when the police arrived, she tried to attack them, and they shot her. The people she bit were taken for observation. You could imagine what happened a few hours later.”

You open your eyes to realize you had stopped walking and see Joel and Ellie analyzing the new information, you press on, “No one knows who bit her first, but there were fourteen coworkers missing. Possibly already spreading the virus. The cordyceps mutated because the world got warmer, and some of it go into the food supply. Flour was the case, and there were certain brands of food that were sold everywhere all across the country, and across the world. Bread, cereal… pancake mix.” You paused, unable to go on, so Joel picked it up from there and continued walking as he spoke, “If you eat enough of it, it’ll get you infected. So the tainted food all hits the store shelves around the same time Thursday. People bought it ate some Thursday night or Friday morning. Day goes on, they started to get sick. Afternoon, evening… they got worse. Then they started biting. Friday night, September 26, 2003. And by Monday, everything was gone.”

Ellie is quiet for a bit then nods, “It makes more sense than monkeys. Thanks.” Joel lifts a shoulder, “Sure,” while you only nod with the silence that you continue to carry. Joel raises his arm to stop you and Ellie, “What?” She asks him. He exhales, “We’ll cut across the woods here.” Ellie looks at him skeptically, “Isn’t the road easier?”

“Yeah, it’s just… There’s some stuff up there you shouldn’t see.” Joel says, the tone in his voice very fatherly. You look to Ellie expectantly, as she cheekily smiles at him and walks ahead, “Well, now I have to see.”

“I don’t want you to.” Joel comments disapprovingly, but Ellie marches on, and he grunts, “Serious. Ellie.” You follow after the two, and the young girl asks, “Can it hurt me?” Joel replies straightforwardly, “No.” She turns and walks backward as she talks to him, “You’re too honest man. Should’ve said ax murderer.” Ellie carries on walking normally, while you and Joel look at each other consciously, with full awareness. 

You decide to take a risky leap, gently take his hand, and squeeze it reassuringly. His weary eyes are drawn to your linked hands, fingers interlaced like a beautiful zipper of prayer. Hands are the maps and compasses we use to navigate our lives. Some people read palms to predict the future but you read hands to predict the past. Every scar has a tale worth sharing. Each calloused palm and fractured knuckle represents a missed punch or years spent in a factory. Your eyes tell him, ‘It’s okay, let her know.’ And he seems to understand, giving you a short nod. Because, what is a girl if not a buzzing creature discovering what the world will take from her?

“Whatever it is, I think it’s gone,” Ellie yells out to you both, only to stop short moments after to look at the ditch below. Skeletons were jumbled together and littered the dirt. You and Joel reach Ellie, with hands still intertwined, she’s looking up at you both for an explanation. Joel emits a long, deep, audible breath expressing his sadness, “About a week after Outbreak Day, soldiers… went through the countryside and evacuated the small towns. Told you you were going to a QZ, and you were… if there was room.” He hesitates, “If there wasn’t…” 

These people were wiped clean away, leaving only a wristwatch or a blanket. The only proof that they ever existed. Ellie feels out of sorts as she mutters, “These people weren’t sick?” Joel replies fixed and controlled, “No, probably not.” The girl nods while blinking away her melancholy and frustration she asks quietly, “Why kill them? Why not just leave them be?” You take a shaky inhale before responding, “Because dead people can’t get infected.” 

Joel squeezes your hand in reassurance, and it grounds you from remembering what had happened that sunny day. How easy it was for the government and military to manipulate everyone into believing everything was under control. People that you trusted and elected for a hopeful cause only for them to betray you in the end. You tip your head up to Joel and he looks at your sparkling eyes, looking up at him searching for some kind of answer. But he gazes at you, with no answers, instead, is filled with promises. Because what is an adult if not a terrified being desperate to protect something you can't save?

AMHERST COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS, LINCOLN, – NOON

You, Joel, and Ellie approach the electric fence gate surrounding the small town of Lincoln. The site is hauntingly beautiful, a white large house can be seen from a distance, while trees dance in the wind, you can picture this neighborhood having plenty of kids playing out on the street without a care in the world. As you approach the gate, there’s a number keypad attached to the side, he glances at you and Ellie, “Stay there.” He punches in the four-digit code and there is a high pitch ring, indicating that the passcode was correct, and the metal gate unlocks.

Joel opens the gate for Ellie to walk through first, and then you. He closes the gate behind him as he follows you both inside. The environment is suspenseful and suspiciously quiet, Joel places his hand on his revolver while noticing the wilting yellow flowers outside the house. He pushes down on the door handle, surprised that it was left unlocked, he removes his revolver from the holster and cautiously walks inside. Ellie mumbles, “What the fuck?” while Joel yells out, “Bill? Frank?” Your palms begin to sweat and you discreetly wipe them down on your pants, Joel turns to look at you and Ellie, “You stay there. You hear anything… you see anything yell.” 

“What if they’re gone?” Ellie asks and Joel doesn’t respond, only looking at her before turning and opening the door to the kitchen. She sighs and proceeds to look around the house. A grand piano sits in the living room, and Ellie curiously presses on a bunch of keys to listen to the notes play. And then you spot it, head tilting, you carefully take the envelope and key that sat on top of the wooden table, and feel the sense of sorrow you knew followed you around like a shadow. 

You look to Ellie who was staring at you expectantly and then hand her the letter. You didn’t need to read what you already knew. Your footsteps are heavy as you pull out a seat from the dining room table, and fold your arms atop the desk before bending your head down. Your muscles were aching and exhausted, while the pounding in your head decided to return for another round. Ellie pulls out the chair next to you and opens the letter, quietly reading it.

You hear Joel from down the hall, trying to knock and unlock the door of Bill and Frank’s room, but hear the front door shut from the wind. This causes him to jump and call out for you and Ellie. None of you decide to reply. He stalks down the hall and turns right to the dining room, to find you quiet and resting your head against the dining table with Ellie reading the letter.

“It’s from Bill.” The girl says, and Joel decides to holster his revolver again. She reads aloud,  “‘To whomever, but probably Joel’. I figured I fell into ‘whomever.’” And then shrugs, “It came with this,” she pushes a key across the dusty table adjacent to her and he removes his backpack before tossing it to the floor. He grabs the key to inspect it and then states, “So they’re dead?” Ellie nods, “Mhm. You wanna…” Joel shakes his head no, “Go ahead. You do it.” 

Ellie clears her throat before reading out loud the words you cried over for a good week, “August 29, 2023. If you find this, please do not come into the bedroom. We left a window open so the house wouldn’t smell but it will probably be a sight. I’m guessing you found this, Joel, because anyone else would’ve been electrocuted or blown up by one of my traps. Hehehehehehehehe.” She pauses in confusion but goes on, “Take anything you need. The bunker code is the same as the gate code but in reverse. Anyway, I never liked you but still, it’s like we’re friends, almost. And I respect you.”

You can already feel the flip in your stomach before you’ve even heard the part that would hit him the most, “So I’m gonna tell you something because you’re probably the only person who will understand. I used to hate the world, and I was happy when everyone died. But I was wrong because there was one person worth saving.” 

And it all comes rushing back to you, the love story of Bill and Frank, a chance meeting that would have only happened during the end of the times. You quietly tried your best to sit up straight, but your posture is still drooping and sagging. Placing your elbows on the table, and folding your hands, interlocking your fingers, you closed your eyes and let your head rest against your hands. And when your eyes closed, your guards came down, tears freely flowed down your cheeks, mentally deadened, tired, and nauseous as you listened, “That’s what I did. I saved him. Then I protected him. That’s why men like you and me are here. We have a job to do and God help any motherfuckers who stand in our way. I leave you all of my weapons and equipment. Use them to keep…” Ellie stops abruptly, not wanting to continue. 

Ellie purses her lips together in a line while Joel snatches the letter to read what she could not. To keep Tess safe. He swallows down his guilt and anger, “Stay here.” You open your puffy, bloodshot eyes as you hear him storm out of the house leaving the door open behind him. Feeling out of focus and indisposed, like a single loose thread that comes all undone. You curl one leg up to your chest and let your chin rest on top of it, and you can feel the snot dripping down your nose as you do. Bring the sleeve of your jacket, to wipe it off from your face, then use the palms of your hands to wipe the tears away. 

But it proves useless as the tears continue to flow, Ellie silently moves to stand next to you and then gives an unexpected, but not unwelcomed, hug. You continue to cry harder, choking on every breath you take as you do, as you wrap your arms around Ellie’s waist and silently stroke your hair. Joel comes back to the house finding the sight of you broken and sobbing uncontrollably. Ellie only looks at him with saddened eyes, and a silent plea to help you.

You’re uncomfortably shattering into pieces,  stitch by stitch it tears you apart, and a stained-glass variation of the truth leaves your brokenness on display. Joel walks behind you, unsure what to do or say, but he can feel the magnetic pull of wanting and needing to help you, quietly he asks you, “What do you need?”

He wouldn’t have heard it if it wasn’t incredibly silent if your voice hadn’t echoed off the walls, your voice hiccuping, so small and soft as you admit, “I don’t know…” But Joel does. Without question, Ellie gently lets go of you, to be replaced by Joel’s large arms wrapped around your shaking frame.

The seasons will eventually change, and you may choose to go into them shattered and busted, with stiff souls, wounded hearts, and raggedy spirits. But the tiny part of you will continue on because hope endures the agony of sadness; it does not require your protection or defense. For now, you will allow yourself to cry, sigh, and wish for things to be different in the comfort of the two people you’ve grown close with. Later, you will discover raw, wrung-out calm when you allow yourself to be human.

After a reprieve, you willed yourself to stop crying. You take a shaky inhale and be the first one to pull away from Joel. Sweaty, puffy, and slightly dehydrated, from the amount of crying you’ve managed to do in a small amount of time. You feel drowsy, exhausted, overwhelmed, and embarrassed. Rubbing your face with both hands, you heavily exhale and try to regroup yourself as you do.

Joel gently holds your wrist to reveal your face, he’s kneeling down in front of you, “You good?” Your eyes shift uncontrollably across his face, not able to focus on him properly but you nod anyway, you have to keep going, “Mhm, yes. I’m good now,” you said. He gives you a short nod and slowly pushes himself up to face Ellie who was quietly sitting down again, “Show me your arm.”

Ellie stands up and lifts her sleeve to reveal the bite on her arm already healing. Joel nods and says, “I just finished making a truck battery. It’s charging right now.” Ellie nods back, “Okay.” He continues on, “I have a brother out in Wyoming. He’s in some kind of trouble and I’m headin’ out there to find ‘em. He used to be a Firefly.” Ellie continues to silently nod, indicating that she was listening to him as he spoke, “And my guess is he knows where some of them are out there. Maybe they can get you to wherever this lab is.” 

Ellie blinks, “All right. Listen about Tess…” But Joel shuts that down pretty quickly, he lifts his hand to stop her, “If I’m taking you with me, there’s some rules you gotta follow. Rule one, you don’t bring up Tess. Ever. Matter of fact, we can keep our histories to ourselves. Rule two, you don’t tell anyone about your… condition. They see that bite mark, they won’t think it through. They’ll just shoot you. Rule three, you do what I say when I say it.” 

Joel looks at you pointedly, “Rule three applies to you too Hummin’ bird.” Your face scrunches up in annoyance and exclaim, “But I’m a grown adult!” Joel only lifts his eyebrows, “Do you know exactly what happens now from here on out? You ever lived in an apocalyptic world?” You move your eyes away from him and mumble defeatedly, “No, and just a few hunches and theories, I guess.” He harrumphs and looks at you and Ellie, “Are we clear?” He says. You both respond, “Yes.”Joel’s eyes narrow and says without smiling, “Repeat it.”

“What you say goes,” Ellie says and he looks to you for the same statement, “What you say goes, Cowboy.” He lets out a huff and shifts his weight to his other foot, “Okay,” he mumbles. The kid questions aloud, “So what now?” And Joel decides it’s time to start preparing, “We grab what we can.”

Loud footsteps are heard as the three of you descend the metal stairs, Joel flicks on a switch and the lights flicker open. The sound of the 80s playlist playing can be heard filling the room. Joel goes to pause it while Ellie takes a good walk around the bunker, and looks at the wall of guns, “Holy shit. This guy was a genius.” You laugh lightly at her comment, walk over to Joel’s side to look at the playlist and security cameras, saying “Well, under normal circumstances, this would be seen as paranoid.”

Ellie snorts in amusement and acknowledgment, she turns to Joel and asks, “Why was the music on?” Joel places his hands on the table and replies contemplatively, “If he doesn’t reset the countdown every few weeks, this playlist would run over the radio.” Ellie makes her way to the side of the monitor, she peeks at it and states, “‘80s.” He glances from behind him, not wanting to dwell on it any longer, and tells the kid, “Grab some cans from over there. Nothin’ dented or swollen.” She lingers a bit by the wall of guns on display and points at it saying, “Dude.” Only to be replied with Joel’s firm, “No.” Ellie exasperated, “There’s a wall of them.” He gives her one hard look and Ellie pinches her lips into a thin line, walking away to start grabbing the canned food.

Joel’s gaze turns to you, while you tilt your head to the side to look up at him, and you feel a question forming on the tip of your tongue, the way you hold your breath as you wonder if it’s even worth bringing up, you and him inches away from touching, lingering and wanting you to say something. Instead, you pull away from his malt-musing mountain gaze, away from the comfort of his warmth and inviting pull. Afraid of what this could mean, or the possibility you might wake up and find yourself alone again. To only find his ghost wandering in your kitchen, haunting you if this all turns out to be nothing.

“I’m gonna go, um, help Ellie.” You say pointing behind you with your thumb, and then stumble your way around the bunker to look for the young girl. He watches you leave his side, and if he could have one wish it would be to have more time. He’d like to stop the clock and make time stand still because this is just how he always wants to feel. To hear the way she stumbles when she answers, and just for a little bit, secretly, he forgets about his cynicism because he can't wait to see what happens next.

You three end up going through everything in Bill and Frank’s home. On the upper floor, you and Ellie look around the bedroom as Joel opens the door to a closet, pulls on the pull cord switch of the light, and grabs a box of women’s clothes in Ellie’s size and yours. You and her open the box and happily dig through the pile of clothes that had been left behind. Eventually, you settle on a basic white tee, a pair of cargo pants, new white socks, and a lovely maroon leather jacket.

All three of you decide to check on the battery, Joel turns the knob of the charger and grunts, “Needs another hour.” Ellie checks the faucet by the sink and turns it to the right and happy squeals, “They have hot water! I’m taking a shower.” She then looks to Joel who was busy sorting through the clutter, “And then you’re both showering. Because seriously…” And before walking away she makes a sound to signal you both that you reeked of sweat and more stench imaginable. She walks away to go back inside the house and leaves you both alone together. 

Not knowing what to do or say, you give yourself a hug, arms folding in front of your middle, eyes darting to everything but him. Joel watches the way you shift around the bunker. He does not know what you are thinking, how you prefer your tea, if you take sugar in your coffee, or whether you like walking in the rain. He takes notice of the way you keep going just like he does, when you laugh it sounds like a melody he’s all too familiar with but there’s a different hidden note between each breath you take. 

You are impossible. Impossible is admitting you came from a different universe, it’s also attempting to connect in this world, trying to hang on to others while everything around you is exploding. And yet you’re standing there in front of him, real and full of light. He does not want to believe it, he worries in his mind that he will destroy each and every part of you, engrossing darkness and bitterness he has accumulated for the past twenty years. Beginning on the day the world fell apart, when it took Sarah away from him. And the weight of the world was placed on his shoulders.

You begin to hum to yourself as you take a walk around the bunker and appreciate the lengths Bill went through to keep him and Frank safe. Joel finally gives in to the tug of war in his mind and asks, “What song were you hummin’ on the hike here, Birdie? I didn’t recognize the melody this time.” His question pulls your attention away from the wall of guns and you incline your head toward him, “Oh? Uh, just a song from my world, I guess…” He looks at you expectantly and you take it as a cue to continue, “It’s a song by Adele.” You said as you scrunched your nose a bit.  A look of puzzlement crossed his face, “Who’s Adele?” he says. You slowly blink at him, “Damn, your world ended too soon and robbed you of Adele.”

The conversation continues on, it goes from books to favorite drinks, and bit by bit you’re beginning to piece together the man in front of you. It astounds you, how he kept going even when the world took away the people he loved. And later you hear Ellie yelling from the house, telling you both she’s done, you look to Joel and he tells you to use the shower first. You smile at him and give him a small thanks as you head up the stairs. The small talk you both had left him floating and hates that his mind continues to think about worse-case scenarios and look for emergency exits just in case. But is it courage or faith that he shows up every day? And maybe one day he won’t be afraid.

After the nice steaming hot shower, and changing into your new-ish clothes, you yell Joel’s name to tell him it’s his turn. He proceeds to go into the bathroom and you go downstairs to see Ellie messing with the piano keys, you gently tap her shoulder and she looks up at you with adorable eyes full of wonder, “Scoot over.” The kid moves and you sit down on the piano bench next to her, you mumble, “I’m surprised it’s still tuned after all these years.” Ellie’s ears perk up, “You know how to play?” and you tilt your head to the left, “Just enough to impress friends now and then.” She smiles, “Can you show me? Please?”

Your mouth pinches in thought, wondering which song you could play, “Hrm, I guess I could. But you might not recognize this piece of music since it was never released here.” She nods excitedly, “It’s no big deal. I need to hear you sing since you keep humming all the time.” You roll your eyes at that, “Okay, okay.”

You ready yourself, comfortably slouched, and your head down. Your fingers glide over the keys and you begin to sway as you play the starting notes of Adele’s ‘Make You Feel My Love’. “When the rain is blowing in your face. And the whole world is on your case. I could offer you a warm embrace. To make you feel my love,” You sang softly as your fingers continued to dance over the ivory keys, your spirit became virtually an allure with each small sway of your head and body. Joel silently walks down the stairs, enchanted and allured by your melodious voice. He leans on the frame of the foyer, slicked back salt and pepper hair, and currently has the softest eyes for you.

“The storms are raging on the rollin' sea. And on the highway of regret. The winds of change are blowing wild and free… You ain't seen nothing like me yet.” You sang and the buildup as it developed into a slow roll that shattered into the souls of everyone who listened like a tremendous tsunami. Joel and Ellie were entranced by the enticing music emanating from your voice, resulting in a tranquil silence. The lyrics soared and swelled from the depths of your spirit as if everyone in that room could sense your hope and affection. Your love became their love, and the audience and singer became one.

“I could make you happy, make your dreams come true… Nothing that I wouldn't do. Go to the ends of the earth for you, to make you feel my love. To make you feel my love.” You vocalized and slowly stopped playing on the ivory keys, letting out a sigh of relief you turn to Ellie who is in awe of your talent and skill. “Damn, I wish we could bring this with us.” She says and you throw your head back in laughter, your shoulder moving as you catch your breath, “Joel would break his back carrying this thing.” 

“You callin’ me old, sweetheart?” Joel says smugly, you and Ellie swiftly turn to look behind you, to find him relaxed, happy, and all cleaned up. You can feel your body begin to burn in embarrassment and attraction to the pet name he called you. Including the fact, he’s pulling off the wet look pretty damn fucking well. Ellie saves you from having to explain yourself and comments on his appearance, “Well, don’t you look pretty.” 

That brings him back to reality and begins to become grumpy old Joel once more, “Shut up.” He mutters and then tosses her a stick of deodorant which she catches. The kid looks at it and comments, “Nice,” then proceeds to get up from the bench with you following after the both of them.

You make your way to the blue Chevy S-10, Ellie goes to the front passenger seat but Joel clicks his tongue, “Go sit in the back, Ellie.” She groans and as she was about to walk to the back of the Chevy you shake your head, “It’s okay, you can take it for the meantime, I suspect you haven’t been in a car before.” And Ellie is practically vibrating with joy as she hops inside the car, Joel looks at you from the rearview mirror and you give a thumbs up while Ellie continues to explore parts of the car, “It’s like a spaceship,” she says and you hide a laugh while Joel mumbles, “It’s like a piece of shit Chevy S-10 but it’ll get us there.” And after a moment he adds, “I think.”

Joel begins to put on his seatbelt and he tells Ellie to do the same, but she only gives him a perplexed look, which he then shows her and she clicks it in place while smiling, “So cool.”

He turns the key and the engine rives to life, Ellie opens the glove compartment and finds a cassette tape, he glances at her, “Would you leave it?” Ellie gives him a cheeky grin to slide it into the radio. “Put it back. Ellie.” Joel states in a serious tone. Linda Ronstadt’s ‘Long Long Time’ begins to play, the first ever song you hummed a couple of days ago. You look out the window to the left, Joel and Ellie converse as you tune out the rest of the world, only listening to the music. You hear the buzzing of the gate open and Joel drives into the open road, and the lovely voice of Linda Ronstadt reminds you that love will transcend into every universe, and the thought of that lulls you to gently close your eyes and let yourself fall asleep.

Previous Chapter -> Next Chapter

End Notes: (Idk do people read this? Btw this is lengthy since lol almost 10k words o-o)

Yes, Type 9 is The Runner-away-er of Conflict… hecking I had this whole argument planned out at first, all the yelling and fighting between the reader and Joel and nearly going through with that concept, but in the end decided against it. Because to me, it felt too soon. It wouldn’t progress the story forward, it would have just taken twenty steps back lmao. Joel is the type to keep going, to keep moving cuz he has to. So him reminiscing would be out of character and the reader getting mad and confronting him wOULD ALSO BE OUT OF CHARACTER LMAO

Anyways, as you read, I ended up giving them a moment to mourn and talk it out, because I felt like you needed to hear those words too. Do not throw away your life just to make someone happy. That’s destructive. 

I tried my best to write about grief this chapter, and had to rewatch Episode 3 to put myself through the torture again hooray! Towards the end, you can see my writing become somewhat poetic(?) but honest. I didn’t want to extremely exaggerate it but just enough to hopefully make u cry a bit. If you did cry pls tell me, it tells me that I wrote okay enough for you to cry)

But I also wanted it to give you some hope and to remind you that you are a light in many people's lives I promise.

Furthermore, I lowkey procrastinated on this chapter, I was hoping it would be out by Wednesday but the new Hogwarts Legacy game has me in a chokehold so I 1000% got distracted!

OFF TO EPISODE 4 I GOOOO I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING UR COMMENTS MWA ILY &lt;3

-Grace

TAGLIST:

@memento-mora @elijahssuit @tartiflvtte @lillylilly2 @kyuupidwrites @amethystwonder11 @syd-vixious @themysticmonstercturtles @kidkrow666 @soulofapatrick @ponyboys-sunsets @superflymaterial @chaotic-imposter @vainbimbo @eva-stark @loki-an-idiot @littleshadow17 @undermoonlightwalk @afternoon-evening @notmysunnydale  @slurmp69 @gyllord @aerangi @mac5323 @friskynotebook @romans-roys @earth-to-lottie @chaotic-imposter @kodzuvk @hawkins-2000 @reallysparklychaos @trust-dreamcatcher @darkened-writer @memeorydotcom @welcomebackfelicia @rainbowpitofdoom @omg-its-typical-aesthetics-fan @marvelsimpcz @dorck26 @evienorville @munsons-queen @little-miss-bi @mxltifxnd0m

●▬▬▬▬๑۩۩๑▬▬▬▬▬●

[babiepupp]

Hi!! Idk if u write for Scaramouche/Wanderer, but could I maybe get a short imagine/hcs him with a regressor? Maybe with a padded baby regressor? Thank uuu!! Bye bye bear!

Of course! I’m sorry it took a little while!! Also I’m sorry I’ve been taking so long to get to your other request, I’m a bit stumped on ideas for it!

⋆୨୧˚ Carer Scaramouche HC’s + imagine!!˚୨୧⋆

♡ He didn’t quite understand what age regression was at first, and why you would mentally regress to babyspace and was hesitant to take care of you at first.

♡ Once he did however, he began developing a soft spot for the little one and slowly warming up to them while they were in that state, buying them the occasional soft toy or baby item for them.

♡ Due to being a harbinger, he always acts big and tough around you in public, but when it’s just the two of you, he’s a calm, caring person. He loves bouncing his little one on his knee.

♡ He often goes by Papa or Dada, but he doesn’t really mind and allows his little to call him anything they’d like or prefer.

♡ He was absolutely terrified by the idea of diaper changes, running to consult with Yae and Ei on what to do, but with a lot of assistance and guidance, he became quite efficient at them!

♡ He makes sure to keep Childe away from his little one, he doesn’t want Childe to get them into any mischief.

And now! Onto the imagine, enjoy! 🐾

☆ ^_^ <3

There was never really any peace for Scaramouche, his day full of scheming, training.. more scheming.. more training..

But in the midst of all the chaos and stress, he had you, his precious little darling. He let out a long sigh as he shut the door behind him, striding into his quarters in a huff, but when he saw them, his frown became a soft smile.

“Sweetheart.. I’m home.” He said gently, walking over to where you lay, on your baby activity mat. Scaramouche had procured many different things for you to create a safe haven for you to relax, a playmat, many stuffed toys and even a cool crib with the finest sheets and even a hanging mobile.

He crouched down besides you, running his hands through your hair as you babbled, nodding as if he could understand every word.

“Ahh.. I see. I hope you haven’t got into any mischief since I’ve been away?” He asked, raising an eyebrow as he leant forward, gently rubbing your tummy. He thought you were such a cute baby, so wholesome and adorable! He patted your head, getting comfortable on the mat next to you, smiling at you all the while.

He chuckled lightly, watching your expression become that of surprise as he covered his face, peeking through his fingers to see your reaction. He loved playing little games like this.

“Peek a..” he murmured, stopping for a moment to build suspense before uncovering his face.

“Boo!” He smiled, watching as you burst into a fit of giggles before reaching for one of your stuffies, holding it carefully.

“Well now I’m home.. do you want to play with Papa for a little? And then I can get started on dinner?” He asked, adjusting the buttons of your onesie.. it seemed you were a bit too small to get dressed by yourself, the buttons were all wonky!

“There we go.. I’m very proud of you for managing to not only change yourself, but get into your onesie!” He praised, pressing a kiss to your forehead before he began to play along with your games, he was truly lucky to have such an adorable and lovely little one such as you.

This was really fun to write, and probably my longest post so far! I hope you like it! - Bear 🐻

[strawurberries]

5 🍒 and 3 🍓 for post-Trimax Knives (I refuse to believe)

Trimax Knives deserve some love too!

Knives: "Make Me"

Authors Note: I actually haven't finished reading trimax yet (I'm so sorry guys I'm a fraud) but I will someday! So, sorry if this is a little wonky. I tried to make it have a domestic feel <3

Warnings: Implied sexual actions, nothing explicit.

He hated that he loved them. 

And he hated that they weren’t afraid to love him. 

“You know,” they hummed as they started to finish cleaning the dishes, “I love you so much.” Unprompted, unasked for, and completely out of blue—all humans, he had decided, are strange but this one? More-so.  He supposed one had to be strange to love him, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t ponder the weirdness of the whole situation. Him? Loving a human? And said human loving him back? Ridiculous. It made him want to puke.

He didn’t respond to them.

“You’re hard to love sometimes,” they set his favorite mug down gently. He watched as several water droplets slid down the ceramic handle. “But it’s worth it in the end.”

He stared at them. 

“Even when you’re glaring a hole into my back,” they glanced at him over their shoulder with a grin, “I still love you.”

That expression. . . that love. He can’t handle it anymore.

“Stop it.” He crossed his arms and returned to looking at the bowl of soup Vash had brought over—it was. . . a mediocre soup but his lover had told him that it’s the thought that counts (even though he mostly disagreed with that). Vash had dragged him to his house months ago, given him a human—sorry, allowed him to live with a human—, and came by everyday to give his god-awful plain, unseasoned soup. 

They hummed in a questioning tone, “hmm?”

“Stop saying that.”

“That I love you?”

“Yes.”

They put the dirty plate down and turned around, thinking for a moment, “how about. . . no.”

He scowled, “stop.”

“I love you~” they teased, “you big, baby. I loooove you~ with my whole, silly human heart.”

He stood up, both to get away from the soup and to confront the arrogant human in his—sorry, their—kitchen. “Stop. It.” He came to rest a mere foot away from them, arms crossed and chest broadly shoved in their face.

“Make me,” they grinned, “or are you too scared?”

“You’re going to regret saying that.”

They crossed their arms and mimicked him, “I don’t think I am.”

Vash didn’t get to deliver the next bowl of soup.

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1095 - Initial Thoughts

We are back

and the big guns have come out to play

Luffy's down, Kizaru's down, Bonney's dangling off a demon And it's been 6 weeks since we last saw Nico Robin, we just want her back safe

TCB has been slow and tumblr's already showing panels so I had to use mangaspurs today, translations are a bit more wonky on that side so sorry if a bit of context is lost.

Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the Official Release too

Another monkey thief cover page this time with Buggy's nose

Marines naturally panic, those who don't want the upper part of their face removed are heading for the hills in confusion

Those allowed to see are of course ready for action as Bonney has stabbed a Gorosei

Saturn however stops them 'If I didn't want to get stabbed I would've dodged'

Whatever Saturn is doing it seems to be sourced from his eyes, as he fires a projectile (still thinking Haki) to knock Bonney off and grab her

Sanji tries the same but he also gets headstruck

The sword wound heals as well when removed, as anticipated

The Vice Admirals circle Vegapunk and the pirates, but again Saturn wards them off, very confident about the situation

He also reprimands Kizaru for taking so long

Kizaru is conscious, but he admits that he cannot move, which Luffy all deflated and wrinkly understands, so I'd say that counts as Luffy defeating an Admiral

Saturn though quickly goes to stamp the life outta Luffy

Franky for the save with a Strong Right to get him out of trouble

Saturn exudes his confidence by reminding that even though Luffy and Bonney's appearances are unexpected, they are massively surrounded

I wouldn't challenge fate in finding a way to escape Saturn, there's a giant leaving its slumber...

He thanks Vegapunk for his contributions, but then asks him - in order of most painful - who he should kill first? As they want him to suffer for opposing the World Government

It seems like Saturn also has some kinda pressure that's keeping Sanji, Franky and Vegapunk from approaching him

Bonney however stares daggers at Saturn claiming he killed her father

Not only was Kuma a slave before, he was also apparently from a tribe that 'committed a great crime', the Buccaneer people

I'm guessing it's Buccaneer because they translate it like 3 different ways in this chapter

That knowledge has surprised Vegapunk, either he was sure they didn't know or he didn't know

Surrounded by Marines and held up by Saturn as he orders them to shoot her head, Bonney remembers the words of her father, words about his young desires to bring freedom, and be like the Sun God Nika

Sanji and Vegapunk protest her execution, but they're still held down

Bonney asking Kuma if Nika will set her free is telling too, was Bonney also once a slave?

Kuma Flashback Time, right into his birth in the Sorbet Kingdom 47 years ago

Nani? Gentle, caring parents who unconditionally love their child? I can hear the death bells already

It seems the father was known as Klap, Bartholomew Klap, and he had the Buccaneer blood passed down to Kuma

The WG seemed intent about erasing it since they had spies in the hospital when Kuma was born, who leaked the information

Naturally the dragons took Klap back as a slave, along with Kuma and his mother despite Klap's protests

Kuma was strong as a kid, but abused

While in slavery the mother did die, Klap had to tell Kuma so I'd guess the Dragons killed her

Klap also tells Kuma about Nika, the same way Kuma would tell Bonney

But that would be his last tale to tell, as the Dragons shoot him in front of Kuma for being 'too noisy'

38 years ago in the West Blue we skip ahead

The Celestial Dragons are literally culling people in a non-WG country, and they do it every 3 years!?

This time it's God Valley!

God Valley wasn't even a Celestial Dragon place, they just wanted its resources and are killing the natives...how colonial

The King of God Valley doth protest, and protest until his swift death

Young Figarland Garling is the culprit, he's popular with the ladies and seemed unfazed by getting deducted 10,000 points for killing someone before the start

This time they're also sending out problematic slaves into the cull

And Saturn was there, completely unchanged in age

This is the field we saw in Kuma's memory bubble with Bonney, he was trying to escape God Valley and was being dragged back

Someone from the top notices that Kuma has Buccaneer blood

Buccaneers apparently have giant's blood too, maybe furthering the whole theory of Joy Boy being a giant before

There's only one person in the world with a laugh like that though

Young Ivankov was a slave too, and had a sister, Jinny, who looks like she'd be Bonney's mother given her looks and the fact that she's already eating meat

And now a break? Oda c'mon man, that means it'll be at least 8 weeks since we last saw Nico Robin

Well it looks like we will be delving into that Kuma flashback after all.

Not much else to tell I don't think, good to verify that Kizaru is defeated, and that Saturn is more than just talk I mean he did floor Sanji with a glare.

Given the build up I feel like Luffy is gonna - pun intended - bounce back to save Bonney, since he is Nika, but then the Sleeping Giant may assist with the rest. I am still hoping that Franky can get some shine in this arc but not as hopeful. We didn't get any of Zoro vs Lucci either so unclear how that's going, it should've been over before this anyway.

The Kuma flashback is already hitting us with surprises though; God Valley didn't belong to the Celestial Dragons, but then what does that make of the incident? Ivankov and Kuma were there so will we see it? Roger and Garp had to defend the Celestial Dragons, but were they more defending the slaves the Dragons had already planned to slaughter? We also have to wonder how baby Shanks ended up in a treasure chest. The introduction of Jinny being potentially Bonney's mother adds more implications, since that'd mean that Bonney is also Ivankov's niece, unless the clone theory on Bonney is that Bonney is in fact a clone of Jinny raised as Kuma's daughter. There's also the matter of Buccaneer races, if Bonney is biologically Kuma's daughter shouldn't she have those genes too that the WG would wanna erase? A new chapter of questions has opened and unravelled.

But seriously where is Nico Robin???

[as-u-w1sh]

You'll be alright (Wanderer x AFAB! Reader)

Hello! This is my first post on Tumblr! I really like scaramouche so I decided to make some of my own content of him! I hope you enjoy! <3 I apologize if it's wonky! It isn't proofread... ehe-

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Summary: You kept Scaramouche from hitting the cold floor and now he's repaying the favor back while having some character development! Pst! I think he likes you!!!!

(Scaramouche/Wanderer x AFAB! Reader: Fluff/very light angst! 1.3k words)

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Warning! Descriptions of danger, mentions of SA, trauma!

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How can one be a god if they lack a gnosis? How could one reach this supreme level of ascension over other beings if they lack a key part in being one of Teyvat’s gods? How could’ve I have been within arms distance of my goal yet so far? There’s a plethora of questions that will never be answered and would it even matter? It didn’t matter at all. I don’t ultimately matter. As soon as the last thought appeared, the tubes attached to me tore, as I pathetically begged for my gnosis to be given back. It’s rightfully mine so why? Why can’t I have it back?

                                                         But.

As soon as the gnosis was in Lesser Lord Kusanali’s hands; unfortunately, even I knew that it was defeat. Too much to bear; my chest hurts. Everything hurts.

Why would I believe that my inner being hurts if I don’t have what it takes to be an actual human?

Nothing but a discarded puppet.

Just like a puppet, my strings had finally been cut.

*No one’s POV*

Scaramouche closed his eyes as the blur of the Traveler and Nahida left his vision. Without the strings to control him; how could he possibly move? Nonetheless, he accepted it. Thrown away once more. Nothing new, Scaramouche is used to this. The emotional trauma and fight causing his consciousness to slip gradually into the abyss he despised much so. His godly mechanical ‘form’ fading from existence as there was no use in looking at a mirror of himself; a failure. Scaramouche never hit the ground though. A strange pair of warm hands held him as he forced himself to take a glance at the being who decided he deserved to be treated as if he wasn’t the bad guy. As if he wasn’t just about to destroy the natural order of Teyvat. As if he wasn’t just about to commit undeniable atrocities if he had succeeded.

He doesn’t even deserve the warmth of a real pair of human hands.

It doesn’t matter if they felt better than the insufferable metal tubes that had just went through his back.

Yet, he couldn’t help but relish the feeling of what a real heart can provide.

Warmth, for he would forever be cold.

Like the radiant sunlight on his skin of the meadows in the painful past.

He hated the sun.

Oh how, he loved how it caressed his superficial body though.

Who did these hands belong to?

He shifted to look up as he laid in the lap of a maiden. The maiden he attempted to struck as he fought the Traveler. Why does she hold him with so much warmth? The mysterious maiden pursed her lips as she wiped the singular tear that fell down the puppet’s cheek; she was the barrier of Scaramouche and the ravaged floor. She gently held his hand and took pity on him. The only thing the maiden could think of is that this “boy” is like a wounded animal lashing out in fear; she put her hand on his chest. All she whispered was, “I’m sorry for those who had hurt you. You’ll be alright”, the indigo-haired boy’s breathe hitched. His throat caught with emotion as the light shined from above behind the maiden who ‘saved’ him. A halo of light that shrouded her amidst the darkness of the room they were in. The maiden took a small cloth to wipe his silent tears as he drowsily was captivated in her presence. Y/N put the detailed handkerchief in Scaramouche’s hand.  The puppet was lulled into a sleep like state as Nahida and the Traveler with Paimon watched on.

Nahida couldn’t help but smile.

The puppet did indeed have a heart.

Not one of a “human”, per say.

But.

One of his own within his man-made self.

*Time passes*

“Crap! Crap!”, I cursed as treasure hoarders corned me against the edge of a cliff. I took a quick peak at the fall gap and man; I was really NOT excited to possibly die. I scooched bit by bit as the treasure hoarders yelled obnoxiously, “just hand over the embroidered garments and anything valuable. We will let you go!”, the “leader” smiled at me. He looked to his gang chuckling. Yeah, right. I’m not dumb!

“Funny how you want me to strip in front of a group of disgusting lowlifes!”, I gagged. Ever so close to the edge as my breathing grew erratic. It’s either let these men degrade me and use me for their own inhumane pleasure…or…I jump.

“Just saying! If you jump, we will just snatch your possession from your body from the bottom dead…or here while you take your clothes off!”, the hoarders neared closer as I observed their hideous predatory gaze.

“The forest would be kinder to my body than you ever would!”, I huffed while I fell back as to what seemed like my demise. I could see the sheer horror on the treasure hoarder’s faces as I let my body go limp against gravity; come get your stupid valuables from my corpse then! I clenched my eyes shut and waited. Until, I heard shrieks as screams from the cliff edge I fell from. A bright flash of blue as well as a rough gust of wind that surged through me. I identified a silhouette reaching out from me as the mid-day sun surrounded their body. I closed my eyes again as the sun blinded me while this person’s hands clasped around my body. The stomach-churning feeling of gravity came to a gentle halt as two cold hands held me. One under my knees and one around my back. I wrapped my arms around their neck out of fear of falling.

A soft voice spoke, “I’m sorry for those who had hurt you. You’ll be alright”, I fluttered my eyes open. The wind still surging and the faint jingle of a bell of sorts; the smell of clean linen and faint cologne. A boy with indigo hair and matching colored eyes. Vibrant bold red eyeliner lining his observing eyes. Eccentric styled clothing with similar blue tones. He occupied an anemo vision; no wonder I felt the wind.

“who are you and why-?”, I asked as he let me down on the floor from the way he was carrying me. 

He chuckled mischievously, “you will remember soon and anyways. I was just repaying the favor”. This boy still held his hand out to me, “come on”, he tipped his hat. I was dumbstruck. Yet, why do I feel like I’ve seen him from somewhere.

My heart was beating loudly, and I could feel my ears flush. My mind wasn’t alerting me, and neither was my heart for sure.

I softly ran my hand into his own, he squeezed it immediately, “there we go, see, not that hard”.

“I…Have we met…?”, I paused, and he stared at me with an indescribable expression. Ease? Embarrassment? Tenderness? What was it? Either way, he is beautiful.

“Tch…such dumb questions. Yes, we have met before briefly”, he cocked his head to the side slightly and never once letting go of my hand. I giggled lightly and he murmured, “what’s so funny?”

“Nothing, I just feel happy to see you for some reason”, his cheeks were a tinge of pink as soon as I said that.

“I’m about to leave you here if you keep stalling!”, he grumbled as he tipped his hat to hide his face. “Okay Okay…I get it. Where to?”, I asked.

Nonetheless, I couldn’t deny there was a connection of sorts.

What did he mean by ‘repaying the favor’?

Ah, I should ask his name, shouldn’t I?

How odd, I swear I’ve seen him somewhere before.

_The end_

Let me know what I can improve on! Tysm for reading! I'm sorry if it wasn't super long!

[mothwingwritings]

Dreaming Of World's End

Reader X Zenos Yae Galvus

Waaah it has been so long!!! I apologize for the absence! I have been working on and doing all kinds of stuff (fics included) as of late so I did one of my classic dip outs there for a moment, but I’m here! Just plunking away as usual. :)

With Dawntrail coming up I have been focusing a big chunk of my free time on trying to beat Endwalker (I am slow in all things, video games included lul) because I wanna be there with the herd with Dawntrail comes out!!! I have no idea if I am gonna make it, but I am doing the best I can to catch up!!!

That being said: Zenos brainrot propelled this fic from my brain, to my computer, to you. Was I and am I also writing a bunch of other things? Yes. Is this the only thing I could momentarily focus on writing-wise because I have been compromised by my love for this fucked up man? Also yes. I’m sorry. It’s bad. I was already obsessed with him in Stormblood and now that I am deep within the clutches of the Endwalker msq… It’s over for me guys. It was a good run, but rip to me. My WOL may be playing hard to get, but I’m sure not. Zenos if you are reading this, you can just have me.

So without further ado, here is a Zenos fic I have been working on! My love for him aside, I think Zenos is a super fun character to write for, so I really hope I did him some justice! This is a reader insert fic, but you are the Warrior of Light in it so feel free to insert your OC’s and WOL if you like! I tried to keep the reader neutral, but I will say it’s def aimed more at a female reader/character and if you are a shorter race like a Lala it will probs be a little wonky, so my apologies. Also, I am about half way? A little over half way? through the Endwalker main story, so potential spoilers up to that point. This fic takes place sometime between post Shadowbringers and the first part of Endwalker.

Nothing overly explicit, but due to the nature of this fic it is 18+ please!

Thank you so much for reading!!! <3 I truly hope you enjoyed!

WARNINGS: Unhealthy relationship (if you can even call it a relationship), intense infatuation, implied noncon, noncon mentions,  a lot of fighting and mentions of fighting, mentions of death and the end of the world, unwanted touching, Endwalker spoilers.

It was always the same dream.

Amaurot. The end times. Death, destruction, chaos. Streets tainted by endless misery, stifling woe permeating the air as people ran about frantically, picked off left and right by horrendous, nightmarish monsters. Screams pierced the air as the remaining survivors struggled in vain, desperate to escape a fate that they could not avoid.

Just as any other night, he would watch it all unfold with cold indifference. Walking through the crumbling, fire charred lanes of this shell of a once bustling city, he would take it all in at a leisurely pace, maintaining a stride no more rushed than if he were taking a pleasant stroll. His features would be void of distress or malaise, his face a blank slate as he paraded down roads lined with bodies and devastation.

Zenos could say it was because he had grown accustomed to it, have the same dream each night and the grisly scenario that laid in wait past your closed eyes was bound to no longer shock you. But that would be a lie, as this ghastly nightmare had never truthfully bothered him to begin with. He simply didn’t care, not about the dying planet, nor its inhabitants that suffered the same fate. This scene from another time, this moment from a faraway place that no longer existed, he couldn’t bring himself to feel any form of remorse for the phantoms left to wallow helplessly in this endless, hellish loop, even if his own star was on track to share the same fate.

An echo of the past was just that, to dwell on it was a fool’s errand.

But tonight, it was not the end of times that greeted him when he closed his eyes. In its place stood an immaculate hall appearing to belong to some manner of grandiose castle. Pristine and orderly, he sat upon a large throne questionably positioned in the middle of the walkway, facing so that a vast expanse of the hall was clearly within his view.

Had he been here before? It was hard to say, having been trapped by palace walls most of his life they all blurred together after a certain point. Perhaps this wasn’t even a castle, but some manner of fortress. The varying weapons displayed neatly along the surrounding walls certainly made it feel as if this was more than just a mere abode for royalty to live out their boringly opulent lives, perhaps it doubled as an armory of sorts? Every sword, spear, and battle axe looked immaculately cared for; their blades so sharp simply looking at them made you feel as if you had been sliced.

His time to dwell upon the mystery of his surroundings was quick to dissipate however, as he felt a familiar presence approach him from behind. He remained still when a delicate hand was placed upon him, crawling from his arm to slide unhurriedly across his broad shoulders. The caress occupied the entirety of his thoughts, manicured nails scratching lightly against his flesh as they raked across his back, pressing just hard enough that they left a pleasant burn in their wake.

“There you are,” a deceptively alluring voice purred in his ear. Phantom arms draped themselves loosely over his shoulders, their fingers moving to trace a swirling pattern upon his chest. Goosebumps littered his arms at the brief contact. “Were you hiding from me?”

A small smile spread across his lips. What elation merely hearing your voice caused.

Were he not already aware of it, he would recognize he was in a dream from this interaction alone. You, only you, would be welcomed to touch him this way. But even were he to offer invitation, you would never do so of your own free will. There was a mixture of pride and revulsion that kept your interactions with him void of skinship, save for the fleeting contact that occurred when you were locked in combat.

His motivations, the way he chose to experience the world, your differing values and opinions. Like night and day, they barred you from reciprocating his feelings towards you. Because of this, he was left to revel in your touch exclusively in the realm of dreams.

“On the contrary,” he hummed, “you have been the one to keep me waiting.”

A low chuckle reverberated from your chest, sending a shiver down his spine. You rose to your full height, pulling away slowly until you disconnected from him completely. Even if the contact was nothing more than an attempt at provocation, he missed your touch the moment you detached yourself.

“Well then I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, my lord,” you enunciated his title tauntingly, the playful lilt in your voice exciting him further. He heard you take several languid steps away from him before you spoke once more. “That is, if you even have a heart that can offer forgiveness.”

Zenos rose to his feet, turning to finally face you. Your back greeted him as you stared up at the myriad of weaponry covering the back wall, the hand that was moments ago atop his chest now gracefully running across the hilt of a long sword. Your fingers lingered on the handle, moving as if you were going to grip it, but never completing the task.

Zenos smiled. You were toying with him.

“You jest,” he spoke, taking a measured step your way, “if anyone has intimate knowledge of the existence of my heart and whom it beats for, it is you.”

Your posture stiffened in acknowledgment of the insinuation, yet you refused to turn his way.

“Is that so,” your voice seemed distant, as if you were unwilling to accept the burden of the intense desire he held for you, “Forgive me, I must have misread the situation. Due to the nature of how our meetings always end, I figured you only ever wanted one thing from me, and that is my blood.”

A low chuckle rumbled from within him, his eyes crinkling in amusement. For all that you were, all the skills and knowledge that you held, you could certainly be dense.

“I desire all you have to offer,” he answered plainly, “Your fury and malice, your rage and rancor, your disdain and desire,” he continued to approach you, each step slow and deliberate as he closed in on your staunch form. “Your love and affection are no different. I want to consume your every thought, just as you consume mine. I want you to taste me in the air you breathe and feel me crawling under your skin, even when I am far removed from your presence.”

He stopped several steps away from you, keeping his distance but lingering close enough that it bordered on intrusive. He raised his hand calmly, reaching out to grab a stray lock of your hair between his fingers. He gingerly caressed the silky strands, smirking when he noted that even such slight contact caused a shudder to lurch your otherwise statuesque form.

“You can play the fool all you want, but you cannot hide the fact that the same beast that dwells in me is also within you. They call out, craving each other to the point of madness.  We need each other. This dance we share must continue in perpetuity, lest our fierce yearning for each other’s presence turn us to savages incapable of rational thought, driven to the point of committing mass, undiscriminating destruction as a means to appease ourselves.”

He smirked, placing a gentle kiss atop the tendrils in his hand, before letting it slip from his grasp completely. “And you would do anything to divert that misfortune, would you not hero?”

Your shoulders began to quiver, shaken by the threat of violence he could and would commit simply to be by your side.  An impatient sigh escaped his lips, “So come, what better way is there to quench each other’s thirst and prevent calamity than through a mutually beneficial rendezvous? Surely even someone as set in their way as you are is in agreeance.”

“I was under the assumption that you planned on battling me until the world was torn asunder, regardless of if I entertain your perversions or not,” Your voice dripped with disdain as you spat your response at him, “If that is the case, pray tell why I should not cut you down where you stand? Why must the dance continue if the outcome is all the same?”

Your words made the smile on his face grow, stretching his lips to an unnatural degree. Taking another step forward, he leaned in until his mouth grazing the shell of your ear. Placing his hands firmly atop your shoulders, he gave a tight squeeze as he responded.

“Because we share one destiny,” he pressed his cheek flush against your head, inhaling deeply before releasing it in a slow, shaky sigh, “even now as you try so hard to deny me, our fate is intertwined, my warrior. You cannot escape me, and I have no desire to escape you. The dismantling of this world as a result of our conquest is all but inevitable and I welcome it with open arms.”

“I won’t let the world crumble to ash.” Your bold declaration was spoken as if it were fact, the conviction in your voice sending a surge of wanton excitement coursing through his veins. “Say and do as you like, the future you seek will never come to pass.”

Oh, how he adored you.

“Hmm,” he hummed, “You can try and stop me, but you cannot escape what has been predestined.”

During the course of the conversation, your hand had had traveled to the base of an axe, your fingers wrapping around it to grasp the handle in a constricting hold. All of the anger that had been bubbling up reflected in the whites of your knuckles, the tremor of your hand becoming more apparent as your composure slipped further and further. The cool demeanor you initially donned had completely shifted, overridden by the immense agitation his presence was inviting.

The axe was ripped swiftly from the wall, lacking fluidity. There was no care for keeping the wall in tact or making sure all the other weapons that surrounded it stayed in their spot. You ripped it down with one great tug, bits of stone and surrounding armaments clattering noisily into a massive steel heap on the ground as you finally spun around to face him. Zenos had seconds to react as you swung down in a wide arc, the finely sharpened blade slicing easily through the decorative tiling that coated the floor, decimating the ground where he once stood.

“There we are,” Zenos growled in anticipation, sizing you up with a bloodthirsty grin, “you are a vision to behold when you let your ferocity consume you.”

You deigned to answer him, your icy countenance his only response as you straightened your posture, considering your next move.  Your distaste for him was clear as you hefted your axe from the ground, dust settling around you as it was freed with a mighty yank. Weapon in hand, you came for him in a relentless torrent, striking at him in a flurry of breakneck swings. In the ensuing madness, he grabbed the nearest weapon he could reach-a sword that was more ornate that functional, but it would serve its purpose for the time being.

The enmity increased as he reciprocated your attacks. Parrying each blow with a steady hand, he responded to your blows with calculated strikes of his own, expertly countering your aggression. The air around the two of you had become electric, charged with hostility and fervor as you hacked away at each other time and time again.

Though frantic, the assault was far from inelegant. Each swing of your axe and swipe of his blade was an orchestrated maneuver befitting the couple who performed them. It was as beautiful as it was fierce, a true force of nature. To an untrained eye the activity would appear as nothing more than a blur of chaos, annihilating all that was in its wake. But to Zenos, a man who had dedicated himself to your study, it was a sight that made his heart ache.

He was witnessing a glorious preamble, a promise forged in battle between himself and his righteous and powerful hero, the only person with whom he ever felt a true connection. This battle, amongst all of its other perks, gave him purpose.

Fighting you, he felt alive. To be the sole receiver of all your ire, your discontent, your undivided attention… it was like a dream. He realized this encounter was most likely just that, a conjuring of your presence from his sleep addled mind, a side effect of his constant ruminations of you. You already occupied each of his waking thoughts, it only made sense that having you visit in his dreams would soon follow.

Be that as it may, the knowledge that this moment lived solely in his mind did little to dissuade his desire to get lost in it, to get lost in you.  If he couldn’t have you in the waking world, his dreams would have to suffice, at least for the time being. Besides, there were things he could accomplish in his dreams that would never be plausible elsewhere, moments of intimacy he could forge that would never present a chance of happening in reality.

A particularly rough blow sent Zenos reeling. The sword knocked from his hand scattered just out of reach, his body lurching to an abrupt stop as he collided with rubble that had piled up behind him. A quick glance your way revealed a small smirk ghosting your lips, a hint of satisfaction shining through your hostility. He could see the assurance reflected in your eyes, a swell of pride over the victory you would soon be relishing.

Zenos mirrored your glee, pleased you were having as much fun as he was.

As you hoisted your axe high, thoroughly preoccupied with your pending achievement, Zenos took the moment to strike. Launching himself from the ground, he rammed his body against yours, hitting you hard and fast. The speed at which he closed the gap astounded you as much as the collision had, causing the axe to topple from your hands, skittering out of your reach. A pained grunt escaped your lips as you collided with the ground, Zenos following suit atop you. His hand cradled the back of your head as you fell, catching hold before it could crack against the stony floor. It would do no good to have you suffer injury and pass out now, not as things were about to get truly interesting.

Positioning himself atop your fallen form, his body caged you in as you lay beneath him, panting and exhausted. Splayed amongst the rubble, your confusion morphed into a look of annoyance as you realized your situation had drastically changed. Your success had been stolen from you and now the thief had you cornered, trapped right where he wanted.

“I wish you could see yourself as I see you in this moment,” Zenos spoke between his own labored breaths, pressing into you ever further as his face hovered inches from your own, “Disheveled and feral, transformed by your bloodlust, you have never been more breathtaking.”

“I’m not like you,” you retorted sharply, “I don’t revel in such acts of savagery.”

Zenos chuckled, “And yet you seemed quite delighted moments ago when you were convinced victory was within your grasp.” You frowned as his hand found purchase on your chin, gripping it in a tight pinch to keep your focus fixed his way, “But here you are now, bested and at my mercy.”

You grimaced, “I have yet to lose to you. I refuse to concede defeat.”

In response to your bold declaration, he gave a throaty, booming laugh. How was it that you always knew just what to say to drive him absolutely mad with desire?

Unable to contain himself any longer, Zenos smashed his lips to yours, capturing you in a heated and hungry kiss. Your brain took a moment to comprehend the abrupt action, but as it did you began to struggle against it, thrashing and clawing at him in an effort to create distance.  Zenos remained firm, making it clear that you had expended far more energy than he had, leaving your assault lacking the power needed to stop him. Whines of displeasure snaked from your mouth as his grip tightened on your chin, squeezing so roughly you couldn’t help but gasp in pain. Eagerly seizing the opportunity, he muscled his tongue inside of you, lapping at the inside of your mouth aggressively. He groaned as he savored the taste of you.

When a need for air arose, he pulled back slightly, staring down at you with lidded eyes. Your saliva coated his lips, giving a glossy sheen as they curled into an offputtingly tranquil smile. His hand moved from your chin to drag languidly across your cheek, the brief touch of his rough finger tips sending a shiver down your spine. Your gaze wavered the longer you stayed trapped in this awkward position, your eyes brimming with uncertainty. You seemed unsure of where to look, what to do, how to escape. In his wishful thinking, Zenos wondered if perhaps you were even unsure if you truly wanted to escape.

Amongst your numerous charms, Zenos found your enigmatic personality to be one of your most appealing. Being such a virtuous being, your motivations, ambition, and drive were all easy enough to sort out. You are Hydaelyn’s chosen, the Warrior of Light, the people’s champion, and you live up to those titles and more. You are a hero through and through, a source of salvation for those you protect and a complete nightmare for those that offer opposition. There is no doubt that you are a force to be reckoned with, no matter what the encounter or situation may be.

And what good hero is without a nemesis? It’s a role the disgraced Prince and betrayer of his kin plays well. In his illustrious life he had gone through the motions, donned many hats, played countless roles, many of which were not of his choosing. But of all his grand titles, your adversary is most certainly his favorite, the only one that gives him any sense of pride. Your existence gave him purpose, and for you alone he kept up the hunt.

But he knew it was different for you. Though cut of the same cloth and driven by destiny to engage him, your feelings did not completely align with his own. You were driven by more than barbarity, more than a duty to save your people and your planet. There was something inside of you, something that made you YOU, that he could never truly know, no matter how desperately he wanted to.

You were his greatest conundrum, a true mystery, and when you look at him as you were now with those eyes that swirled with anger, uncertainty, grief, and something yet unspoken… What was he to do but become a slave to this maddening, consuming attraction?

He gloated about being the victor, but it was clear you would always have the upper hand.

“Get off of me.”

The demand brought him back to the present, sheer determination replacing the conflicting emotions that fought for dominance within you. He could tell by the bite in your voice that your vigor was returning, and given a bit more time and provocation, the battle would gloriously resume.

“Eagar to carry on with our dance, are you?” He responded, an almost teasing lilt to his voice, “Or is it that you just can’t stand the thought of defeat at my hands?

“I already told you, you didn’t defeat me,” you glowered, your rage becoming palpable the longer his unwanted presence loomed, “I came here to end this farce and I plan to do just that.”

A beat of silence passed, followed by a sigh. Parting your lips to speak, your voice came out quieter, more desperate than it had previously.

“I wanted to keep this is civil as possible and respect your wishes as best I could, no matter how twisted they may be. But even for your own benefit, you refuse to entertain the notion of making this situation even the slightest bit amicable. You speak of such lofty things as fate and destiny, but all I am witnessing is you causing unnecessary suffering, hiding behind my name to do so.”

For a split second, another flash of uncertainty danced across your features. You bit your bottom lip in vexation, a glimmer lighting your eyes as they swept across his handsome face, “There is more to this world, more to this life, than waiting for its untimely end. To live out your days perpetuating death and blind havoc is no way to exist, it’s a tragedy. Why can’t you see that? Zenos, I-“

As if taken by surprise, you cut your own words short, silencing the previous thought that had been brewing. Zenos felt as if you looked pained, staring at him with pleading eyes, face scrunched up in frustration. Even with all the hate you carried for him, you were still trying to understand him, still clinging to the hope that maybe you could save him too.

Here, on the cusp of annihilation, you were doing all you could to fulfill the role of hero and protect the people that you loved. In order to fulfill that duty, it meant he must be defeated. There could be no other ending, the inexorable conclusion to all of this was always cold and endless death. Whether it would be all of humanities or just his own was still to be determined, but it did little to change the fact that there was no future to plan for, only a violently rapturous and melancholic end.

To be cherished by you, to feel your love as if he were one of your dearest companions… It was a thought not meant to be dwelled on, but one he found hard to completely shake from his head. How would it feel to be earnestly and unequivocally loved by you? Perhaps in another world, another time, your souls would be reborn and given another chance. A fresh beginning to grow together, an opportunity to nurture something more than the misfortune this world had thrust upon you. Maybe in some alternate telling of this tale the two of you were together and happy, with nothing but a bright future awaiting you on the horizon.

But that was simply a foolish daydream. All that he had, all he could hope for, was the here and now.

You sighed again, steeling your resolve with a shake of your head, “Never mind. You have already proven to me mere words cannot move you, so I will save my breath.”

Raising your torso as much as his hold on you would allow, your eyes bore into his, fully accepting the challenge that lay ahead. Though still restrained, there was an aura of dominance that surrounded you. It was a warning to Zenos that your binds were temporary, whether he released you willingly or otherwise was his decision, but regardless the outcome would be the same.

“If it’s the end you want, it’s the end I will bring you,” your soft words clashed with the look of malice reflected in your eyes, your breath fanning his face as your noses nearly touched. For an instant your eyes darted to his lips, and Zenos wondered if it would be you to instigate the kiss this time.

“I will fulfill my role. I will be your end and your salvation.”

Your words pierced him, the proclamation sending sparks of excitement to course through him, igniting his soul. His whole body burned for you, intense and consuming, his need for you was beginning to show itself in ways beyond his control. Pressing his hips flush between your spread legs, he made his intentions known to you, a shiver wracking his body when you released a small gasp of surprise.

Clutching the remaining shreds of his sanity, he grunted as you writhed against his growing arousal, pulling your body up towards him until he had engulfed you in a tight embrace.

“Enough time has been wasted,” he snarled into your neck, his chest rumbling as his grip on you tightened, “let us deliver a ruin unto ourselves so extraordinary, so beautiful, that naught will remain but the scattered fragments of this forsaken world.”

Loosening his grip, he pressed his lips to your forehead in a chaste, yet gentle, kiss. Your brow furrowed at his touch, shoulders tensing as you drew yourself back from him, recoiling at the small display of adoration. He found the reaction endearing, even with his intentions laid bare and and his hardened cock pressed firmly against your core, it was the smallest token of his affection that caused you to squirm.

Repugnance, hatred, scorn- whatever you felt for him in this moment, none of it mattered, none of it deterred him. He loved you, and he would make that love known in the only way he knew how, while he still had time to do so.

“This shall be my final gift to you,” he purred into your ear, his grip latching securely to your tunic. With nimble hands he started to pull, exposing yourself to him bit by bit as the fabric turned to tatters in his hands.  “Let us relish it my friend, my warrior, my beloved. Destroy me, and I shall be your devastation in kind. ”

[radio-navlee]

Buddy Noah!

There’s not enough total drama tlk content.. so I caved in and made my own🤘🏻I loved Noah’s and Owen friendship! It’s so cute, especially in TDRR dude that melted my heart😖

Lee: Noah

Ler: Owen

Sure Total Drama was a reality show, but its not completely reality. See, the Total Drama producers had a schedule. Just so everything ran smoothly, they would film challenges on Tuesday, on Wednesday they would film extra stuff for filler, Thursday through Friday they would go through and edit the footage, and Saturday to Monday, the campers would have the days off. 3 days off just to cool down, that's it.

Noah sat on the bottom bunk, knees curled up to his chest as he flipped through the pages of the book he held Infront of him.

"Buddy Noah, are you just gonna read the whole time? You gotta learn to have fun!!" Owen joked nudging him as he walked by.

"If having fun means making a fool of myself on nationals television? Then no thanks I'm good." Noah groaned not taking his eyes off the pages.

"Aw c'mon buddy-" Owen whined, making Noah's eye twitch at the word 'Buddy' "-loosen up a bit!"

"Unlike you, I have a life outside of this show, so no I am not going to 'loosen up'" Noah said, extending his legs and using air quotations around 'loosen up' with his fingers.

“You gotta laugh a little! Be happy! People are gonna think you’re just a sarcastic..and no offense when I say this… a-hole!” Owen said taking Noah’s book and setting it to the side

“Hey! I was reading that!” Noah growled

“Noah, I can see right through you bud!”

“Yeah, no really it’s fine! Just take my book out of my hands why don’t you! I didn’t even see what page I was on!” Noah still annoyed at Owen previous action

“What I see, is a lovable, soft, teddy bear of a man underneath your cold outside persona.” Owen said smiling putting a hand on his shoulder

“..You couldn’t be more wrong.” Noah said looking up at him, shrugging his shoulder to try to get Owen off

“Cmon show me a smile!” Owen teased

“I think I see a smile!” Owen said is a voice making Noah cringe a bit

“We’re in a cabin, not an elementary schools picture day!” Noah rolled his eyes

“Smile for me Noah!” Owen said now poking at him

“Hey! Stop THat!” Noah jumped trying to push Owens hands away

“I see a smile~ I see a smile!” Owen sang now poking faster

“Dohont touch meHa!” Noah covered his month in order to stop anymore giggles from escaping

“Aw is my little buddy Noah ticklish?” Owen laughed, he stoped poking to see if Noah would give his an answer

“Gehet! Away frohom me!” Noah tried to sound angry but his body wouldn’t let him,

“Yeah yeah! You don’t sound like you mean it,” Owen said

“I- I did mean it!” Noah recovered fixing his voice to sound more like himself

“Sure” Owen smirked digging his fingers into Noah’s sides and scribbling over his stomach

“GAH- EAHAhahahHa!” Noah’s laugh was so unlike him, it was low but high pitched, it was loud but quiet at the same time

“Dohohont tihihihahickle mehehehe!!” Noah squirmed

“Now you’re smiling!” Owen said moving up to his armpits

“OWENOWENOWENOWEN!! PLEHEHEASE!!” Noah begged, laughing and screaming like he was being murdered, kicking his legs agents the bed

“alright alright” Owen let up, removing his hands from Noah

“Nehever! Doho that eveher again!” Noah threatened catching his breath

“Ah, but you enjoyed it!” Owen teased. Noah glared at him for a while, he then broke up into short giggles and snorts.

“Noah?” Owen asked confused, Noah realized what was happening and fixed himself up real quick.

You know when you just told a stupid joke and you look at a friend to see if they got it, but you both just stare at each other for a while until you start laughing? That’s what was going on. Something in Noah’s brain kinda went wonky after being tickled. It flipped a silly switch in his brain making him un-sarcastic, more friendly.

“Ach-em, Sorry.” Noah apologized, now feeling awkward as ever, he grabbed his book Owen put aside and started flipping through the pages to see where he felt off

“Sorry? Buddy you don’t have to be sorry!” Owen chuckled, making Noah feel more embarrassed

“Whatever, just, don’t talk about this to anyone? Alright! I don’t need people thinking I’m some sort of push over! You take this secret to your deathbed!” Noah said, back to his sarcastic tone

“Alright buddy! Whatever you say!” Owen smiled

( AA its kinda short and confusing, whateves! Alr luv yall!🩷)

[arminsumi]

Merry Christmas, Jay! I hope you are spending this Christmas well! I am back to my hometown lately and it makes me think how Eren, Mikasa, Armin and Historia could react to their cush coming to their hometown for Christmas while they are studying aboard hehe. And them noticing how much their crush change, grow their hair long and change their style to more elegant. And sorry for my english, I am doing my best but it's not my first language!

Thank you darling!! It's been a good but sleepy Christmas for me (¯▿¯)

Anyways, this is such a sweet request, I really adore the idea!

Home again

Fluff hcs / Tori + Mika + Eren + Armin

Content; fluff, pre-est friendships

Armin

Armin hops around his grandfather's house to set up cheesy 'welcome home Y/n!' decorations. He definitely arrives too early at the station!

When the train turns the curve and comes into view, his heart is palpitating madly. He has to brush his fingers across his undercut to soothe his nerves.

He blushes up to his ears when he gets to hug you. Hearing your voice makes him giddy, and you notice that his voice gets squeaky.

"It's so good to see you again..." He mumbles, then engulfs you in a cutely shaky hug.

He's so hyper and excited that you can feel his energy buzzing around you while you head back to his grandfather's house, where he's offered for you to stay for these holidays. If only you knew just how his heart flutters when you smile.

Eren

Eren stands on the platform looking entranced when he sees you exit the train. His heart has throbs in your presence, and he's rendered silent; usually he's the loudest mouth of the friend group, so it makes his friends giggle to see the effect you have on him, even after all this time.

"I guess we both decided to grow our hair out..." He flicks your hair behind your shoulder. He's too shy to tell you how pretty he thinks you are.

He's missed your smile more than he will ever admit.

Mika

Starts crying at the station, squeezes you so tight that she brings up that old inside joke you made as kids, 'the Ackerman hug' that crushes your bones.

Laughs with you about how you and her did the opposite; you grew out your hair, meanwhile she cut hers extremely short.

She's got that endearing shy smile around you.

The two of you go to the cafe where you first met so many years ago, and she's excited to hear about everything you've been studying and experiencing abroad.

She gets a twang of silly jealousy when she hears about the friends you made overseas.

Oh, and she may or may not accidentally blurt out about how she's had a crush on you for years.

Tori

Her whole face brightens when she sees you for the first time, and when she hears your voice, well then the floodgates open.

She's a positively sobbing mess, babbling about how much she's missed you, and how you look so absolutely gorgeous and elegant.

Wants to braid your hair when you get home to her dorm, where she offered for you to stay for the holidays since her roommate is out of town.

She set up a fort just for the two of you :( <3 It's got the old fairy lights that you sent her from school last Christmas.

Tori stays up 'till dawn talking with you because there's so much to catch up on. It's just like the old days, when you two couldn't shut up around each other, hyper words falling off your lips at light speeds.

It's difficult to rival her level of excitedness, though! Her eyes are literally blazing with it.

Finally exhausted, you fall asleep on her shoulder, while she lays there wide awake. She can feel her heart beat in her fingertips with the melody of affection.

Hey lovelies! Sorry if the writing is a bit wonky, I'm awfully sleepy today. Hehe, but I will proofread it soon. Stay well!