#the new binoculars are clearly better

[ivan-fyodorovich-k]

People seem to lack a sense of “obsolescence.” Something old might not automatically be garbage even if something new and better has come along. The older thing that is no longer in use might have been genuinely bad, but it’s very possible that it worked and maybe even worked quite well in its time—it may still work quite well now—but the new thing is still better or more effective. This is a question of societal and personal values and it has practical consequences.

I am trying to research vintage (and replica) rifle scopes right now, and it is extremely unhelpful to read people say that such and such thing is “garbage,” because I don’t know if that means garbage for its time, subjectively bad to the person speaking, or simply inferior to a modern high quality optic.

To give an analogous example, I have a pair of WWII binoculars. They’re clearly well-made, durable, good materials, and when you look through them, you can indeed see a thing that is far away as though it were closer. But my younger brother has a good pair of modern binoculars and when you look through them not only is the image better resolution than real life, it is brighter and I’m pretty sure you see colors invisible to the naked eye. It’s insane how good they are.

The old binoculars are still perfectly functional. The new ones just do the same thing much better.

[the-hilda-librarians-wife]

I was rewatching The Stone Forest and I really like to think that Hilda had to pass by the Bell Keeper’s outpost on her way out of the city limits. I like to think that idiot looked at what was happening, shrugged, and said ‘eh, she’s the scariest thing out there’

[jenicaclarisse]

YUNO GRINBERRYALL

Dating the notorious Yuno!

summary: dating the vice captain of the Golden Dawn is an experience you don’t want to let go.

genre: fluff (obvi) had to get him on here. How can he be so pretty? fanfic + headcanons cause I spoil all of you

A/N: I’m still an active member of the BC fandom and I’m thinking of making this a series. Please send requests of characters you want me to do!

;not proofread (💨)

———

Yuno isn’t the type to actively seek relationships, mostly just the type of person to reply and talk to somebody when first approached. And or somebody paired him up for a mission. So taking an interest in something other than being the best of the flock is new territory.

Getting to know him is getting to know him entirely. Despite his detached nature, Yuno is actually very open to getting to know you. Already seeing you as a romantic interest despite his goals, ambitions and dreams.

When actively entering the courting stage, Yuno is very competitive. Striving to let you know that you are one of his priorities and doesn’t see this “courting” as a one time thing. Don’t even bother speaking with other guys, Yuno will let you know he is interested.

His behavior changes, his demeanor is different too. It gets to the point his squad notices his absence after being done with a mission and is somehow nowhere to be found.

Klaus and Mimosa are naturally curious. What was he doing? What was he thinking of? Or who?

It’s perfect timing he was back in town.

“Do you think Yuno’s been disappearing lately?” Mimosa asks, walking with Klaus in the hall. She looks up at Klaus who was comically adjusting his glasses and posture.

“Yuno is responsible! We don’t need to worry! I think we should mind our own business!” Klaus shouts as he looks back at Mimosa who clearly knows better.

“You’re curious too.”

“..I’m not.”

Klaus continues to deny but is inevitably shut down. Mimosa has seen through anyway as he adjusts his glasses again with a resounding cough.

-

“Where do you think he went?” Klaus nervously asks, both he and Mimosa hiding behind a wall. Yuno looks to be waiting for somebody as he decides to indulge himself in some bread.

“Do you think we should even be spying? He’s a good man I assure you. Do you honestly think he’s being suspicious? Why do you-“

“Shhh shush!”

Mimosa puts a finger on her lip, effectively shutting Klaus up as he grumbles.

They continue to wait until they heard a voice. A magic knight from another squad! A girl…

“Yuno!” You happily greet him as you hugged him. Yuno is quick to reciprocate, patting your head as you let go of him. Yuno is seen with a soft smile as well.

“WHat!” Klaus’ voice breaks.

“Shhhh!”

Mimosa is quick to shut him up, but this time she puts a hand on his mouth to shut him up. Maybe she should’ve done the spying with a different partner.

“…They’re on a date.” Klaus surmises. After an hour pf following You and Yuno around town, he had made his conclusions. Klaus and Mimosa obnoxiously disguised themselves with accessories to prevent being recognized. Seeing the both of you holding hands and buying street food was convincing enough.

“Obviously!” Mimosa replies, holding a pair of binoculars as she continues to zoom on the both of you.

“Ahhm” You feed Yuno a piece of your crepe as he leaned down to eat his share. He goes back to his position as he hummed.

“Yummy.” Yuno wipes a piece of whipped cream from the corner of his lip.

Klaus is appalled!

Pointing and looking back to both of you, then mimosa, and again.

“Will you please calm down?” Mimosa exasperates.

“I just find it hard to believe!” Klaus is practically hyperventilating. “I didn’t take Yuno for the type!”

“He’s allowed to date.” She deadpans.

Eventually, the date comes to an end as Yuno walks you back to your headquarters. Dutifully letting you ride on his broom for more convenient travel. And an excuse to hold him (wink wink).

Both You and Yuno get off the broom as you dust yourself off. Yuno is quick to ruffle your hair again. Affectionately smiling at you as you hugged him goodbye.

“I really enjoyed my time.” Yuno tells you as you nodded.

“Thank you. It was really fun.” You smiled back at him and by the lords. You are beautiful.

Yuno gives you forehead kiss goodbye as you waved back at him and begin to enter the headquarters’ gates. Gazing at his back for a few more moments to savor more time to look at him.

You definitely have a story to tell much later.

Yuno stops in his tracks as he deadpans.

“I know you’ve been stalking me.” Yuno lets out a heavy sigh. Somebody flinches from behind a wall as a guilty Mimosa and Klaus makes their appearance. Klaus is adjusts his glasses again and clears his throat.

“We congratulate you!” He obnoxiously bows, as Mimosa scratches the back of her neck in an embarrassed manner.

“Impossible.” Yuno sighs and walked past the both of them.

“We did not think this was your after duties!” Klaus is quick to follow as well as Mimosa who right behind.

“How could you never tell us! We are your friends! Squadmates!” Klaus goes on a full rant. “We are supposed to tell each other everything! Aren’t we closer now?”

Before he gets to shout any further, Yuno was already on his broom and leaving.

“What idiots.”

———

HEADCANONS

When push comes to shove, you were eventually revealed as Yuno’s significant other. Causing an uproar with the people he was close with, particularly a certain sylph and an obnoxious person.

Needless to say Belle wasn’t the most happy. Grabbing and pulling Yuno’s face and hair in protest about getting a girlfriend. Her obvious glares towards and sometimes even stomping her feet.

“This is fairrr!!!” Belle screeches. “I was supposed to be your only love! Not that witch!” She grabs a fistful of Yuno’s cheek as she complained and complained. Glaring at you once again.

“Who even are you?!” She accuses you with a finger as you chuckled. “This isn’t a laughing matter!”

Yuno pushes away with his hand eventually, causing her to quiet down as she settles on his shoulder. She still doesn’t like you, but is afraid of Yuno’s disapproval. So she keeps put. But the jealousy is bleeding.

Meanwhile, Asta is swearing up and down like crazed man as he confront Yuno as they come across each other again.

“You jerk! You weren’t supposed to beat me in that department!” Asta holds his head as he rolled around on the ground. Passerby’s whisper as he whined. A child throwing a tantrum? Yeah. Looks like it.

Yuno merely smirks triumphantly.

“You pretty jerk!” Asta exaggerates. Continuing to get up on Yuno’s face as Yuno smirks, lifting his head up when Asta moves closer. But his screams eventually reside.

“But I’ll be wizard king! I’ll definitely surpass you!” Asta declares.

“No way.” Yuno counters.

“I’ll definitely will!” Asta is dragged off by Noelle. “Do you hear me? I definitely will!!”

Noelle slaps him across the head.

Yuno is genuinely so sweet to you as well. You cannot even deny the fact that he puts in effort to understand you more than he does with others. He makes you feel seen and heard.

And if you are the tempestuous type, he’s definitely the cool that’s gonna make you see reason.

He mostly calms you down with a gust of wind to your face and or he playfully teases you by messing your hair up.

You guys indulge in little challenges! Who gets to the end of the bridge first, who can finish a mission the fastest, or who can unlock a new spell in your grimoire. Let’s be honest, you loss on most of these things.

But Yuno lets you win from time to time, purposely running slower or maybe even challenging you to more activities. But don’t be fooled, it’s just a five second head start before he overpowers you. (Haha)

What he loves about you is that he feels comfortable around you (which is canon btw. His type is somebody who makes him feel comfortable. Which I believe you influenced that)

The fact that he can also participate in a conversation with you and or listen actively to you is his favorite past time.

He loves picnic dates because he gets to view the sky (and you)

He thinks you are the most beautiful woman in clover.

Belle still does not like you (lol) but Yuno is starting to slowly change her mind. But as of now she merely tolerates you.

Yuno absolutely loves food dates. Believe it or not he actually likes to get some scrub himself. As per charmie’s constant food she often gives. But mostly to restore his mana.

He loves trying new things with you. The relationship is rarely boring.

Whenever he’s busy he communicates with you with the communication wand. Often in private as he wonders off from the rest of his team. He definitely uses that communication device to his advantage to keep himself updated with you.

He thinks his fangirls are a pain.

Charmie wasn’t too happy with the news. She fainted with heartbreak but eventually accepted the power of the fates.

In conclusion Yuno’s a great boyfriend

———

reblogs, comments and likes are very much appreciated!

[00-jammy-00]

🫧 anon.

what about like. a baker yandere who owns the shop beside florist shop owner reader, yknow? like baker brings pastries to florist and he tries to be casual about it, but he gets sooo flustered because reader is just so sweet and nice and beautiful and wowowowwwww.

and they give him flowers for his shop, to be nice, but to him it’s essentially a marriage proposal……

Yan!Baker HC’s

Yan!Baker x GN! Florist! Reader

Content warning - Yandere themes, obsession, implied murder, nsfw mentions, masochist yan, possessiveness, HE MAKES YOU EAT CUM BREAD, stalking, horny yan, kind of dumb yan

A/N - I realised that I haven’t been doing enough masochist yanderes (in my opinion because I’m not insane.) so I decided to make this reader rude and cold but still somewhat friendly. If you want an alt version where the reader is kind, I will gladly write it if you send a request xoxo

——————————————————————————————————

Yan!Baker who knew it was love at first sight when he saw you angrily slam open the door to the dusty shop next door to his. That place had been empty for years so it was shocking to see someone finally buy it out.

Yan!Baker who hypes himself up in the mirror on his desk before finally marching over to give you a basket of fresh baked goods, all made by his own hand. He stumbles into the door after he decided to try and push the door that was clearly labelled “pull” before sheepishly stepping into your shop.

Yan!Baker whose heart swooned when you glared at him with those terrifying eyes. It made the hairs on his neck stand and his cock throb. You were so hot! He introduced himself shakily and gave you the basket before running off with a hard on.

Yan!Baker who made it a habit to drop by your shop every single day to deliver new pastries. He claimed to have added a special ingredient, yeah, the ingredient was pretty fucking special. It had him sitting alone upstairs jerking himself off into a bowl just to see your face scrunch up as you begrudgingly complimented the taste of the new bread he’d made.

Yan!Baker who, when he wasn’t delivering you homemade baskets, was watching you from his upstairs bedroom with a pair of binoculars held in one hand while the other was used to fist his dick. God you looked so good when you were tending to those flowers.

Yan!Baker who tripped on his own feet and slammed into his counter when you had given him a tiny pot plant for decoration. You are giving this to him? Willingly? Is this love? Do you love him? You want him, don’t you?

Yan!Baker who becomes so much more obsessive, any person who dares flirt with you is gifted to you as fertiliser asap. You’re his, you gave him that little plant to show your growing love. You knew everything, didn’t you? You knew he watched you in the shower, didn’t you? That’s why you ran your hands down your body like that. You’re so sly!

Yan!Baker who will do anything for you. He would sell his whole family business if you some much as asked. Glare at him, you look better that way. Roll your eyes and degrade him, only makes him love you more. You call him creepy? Nonsense baby, you must be thinking of someone else! He’s looking out for you. And looking at you. Always looking at you. Only you.

——————————————————————————————————

Likes, reblogs and comments are greatly appreciated, requests are open <3

please do not copy, repost or translate any of my works on other platforms without my permission.

[spaghettificationandpretzels]

Hi! For the kink thing you're doing - could we please please get a Billy Russo competency + overstim kink (or competency and praise, whichever pairing you prefer). In my mind the reader gets *ideas* when Billy is building something (bc those damn IKEA dressers are difficult) or maybe she goes to Anvil one day and sees him doing like training with recruits or something? Anyway, sorry for the ramble and thank you in advance!

I am!

Masterlist

In the Sniper's Nest

Contains: Consent and kink negotiation, hand kink (you get an extra one), competency kink, fingering, overestimation, P in V, fluff.

1.5K words

You check out the new instalment at Anvil, a sniper's nest that Billy seems to love.

Despite his ear protection, he still heard you ascending the steps of the sniper's nest. It was Anvil's newest toy, the tall structure standing out above the skyline of the flat warehouse. He pulled aside his ear muff and pulled the earplug free, pushing himself up from his position lying on the table in the middle of the room to rush over to greet you. "Hi."

You tapped your own ear muff with a smile. "What?"

He pulled them off your head and placed them around your neck as you yanked the earplugs out. "These are a good look for you."

You chuckled. "Yes, that gun is very loud."

He smiled and leaned down to kiss you, his hand soft on your cheek as you leaned against him. He pulled away, brushing your hair from your face as he looked down at you lovingly. "Now what are you doing here?"

You sighed. "I missed you, you've been busy and we've been missing our lunch dates." You furrowed your brow. "Why are you in your suit?" Normally during training, he wore his grey fatigues.

He sighed. "I just got done showing our client our new space. They were very impressed."

You took the chance to look around the small room. It was set up like an embedded sniper outpost, the walls covered in large charts about wind speed and bullet type, even though it was furnished like a dining room in a dilapidated apartment. The only things that really stood out were the new couch in one corner and the shelves of binoculars and PEE along one wall. "It looks even better than the photos." It really felt like you were in enemy territory.

He took your hand and led you to the table, gesturing to his rifle with a smile. "You wanna watch?"

You nodded, and he walked around the table to the shelves, picking up a pair of safety glasses and a set of binoculars. He placed the binoculars on the table and pulled you close, sliding the safety glasses over your face before booping your nose as you held back your giggles. "You're being silly, Billy."

He bent his head and kissed you again before helping you climb onto the table and settling next to you. His shoulder was back bracing the riffle as you looked through the lens, and the shot shook the room while smoke billowed from the barrel. You didn't see anything until he tapped your shoulder and pointed to one of the trees at the very edge of the property. Another look clarified what he was shooting at as another shot rang out, and a left was blown clear of its branch.

It happened like that each time, the green leaves disappearing in a puff as the boom of the gun jerked the table until he ran out of bullets. When he finally placed the weapon on the ground, you still found yourself unable to look away from the sight, he hadn't missed a shot the whole time. He ran his hand all the way up your back, finally breaking your attention away from the tree. You removed everything from your head and turned backwards to face them. "That was very impressive."

He was smiling, his ego clearly boosted by the look of amazement on your face. "I gotta go back to the armoury and clean my rifle. You wanna come?"

You nodded. "Of course I do."

The trip was short, only down the stairs and through a door before you were standing in an expansive space loaded with guns. He made his way to the large table with you following close behind and began to dissemble the weapon, taking it apart piece by piece before cleaning each part with care, his face a mask of concentration as the burnt gun powdered turned into shiny metal.

"You see something you like?" He looked so smug.

You most definitely did, each movement of his slender fingers was precise and controlled more like a dance than a tedious process he could do with his eyes closed and one hand tied behind his back. "Yes, many things, would you like me to list them?"

If you thought he was smug before, that was nothing compared to how he was now. "Nah, I think I have a pretty good idea."

The gun was put away in his personal spot, and he washed his hands in the slop skin as you watched on, swaggering up to you and lifting you onto the table when he was done. "You need something from be gorgeous girl?"

You nodded. "Many things."

He settled between your spread legs, his fingertips playing with the hem of your jeans as he gazed into your eyes. "Are my fingers one of them?"

It was hard to concentrate on anything when he was touching you, but you knew if you didn't answer, nothing would happen. "Yes, I would like that very much."

He smirked and popped open your jeans, slowly undoing the zip if only to toy with you before his fingers met your core. "You got something you need to tell me about, because there's no way my poor landscaping and the smell of gun oil has got you this wet."

He wasn't pulling any punches, there was no tease or slow build, he was doing exactly what he needed to bring you right to the edge before your brain could catch up. "You're very good at things…" You took a deep breath to gather yourself as heat spread out from where his fingers were on you. "And I like that you're good at things."

The feeling of his fingers leaving your skin shocked you into action and you tugged at his clothes while he tugged at yours, and before long, you were both naked with your clothes in little piles around you. "You know what else I'm good at?"

You knew exactly what answer he was looking for by the way his thumb was rubbing at the inside of your thigh. "Yes, yes I do."

He smiled and returned to touching you with the same insistence as before. It didn't take long for the pressure to build in your core, and he knew it. His beard scratched your skin as his lips worried at your neck, and he smiled into your skin as you clenched around nothing. He didn't stop there, his long fingers filling you before the aftershocks could fade.

Everything was so steady and practised, the fingertips on your G-spot, his lips on yours, each move intentional and purposeful until you were once again cresting the hill into bliss. He was unrelenting, pushing and pushing and pushing until one orgasm faded into another and space reduced to just the two of you in the empty Anvil warehouse.

"Please, Billy, I can't take it anymore." That was only half a lie, you could have told him no if you needed to.

He chuckled warmly, pulling his hand away and sucking his fingers into his mouth with a groan before speaking. "So you don't want me inside you?"

His tone held just a hint of mischief, and you nipped his shoulder as he chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes."

You nodded. "Yes please."

His forehead fell against yours as he slid inside you, taking a careful pace as you leaned your weight into him. He wrapped his arms around your body, controlling the pace as you wove one hand into his hair and held the table with the other. As his speed picked up, he pulled back to watch your blissed out face, grunting like an animal with every thrust as he took in the sight of your screwed tight eyes and heaving chest. "Billy..I."

He kissed you softly, whispering against your lips as his fingers made their way to your clit. "I know, gorgeous, I can feel it. How about you be a good girl and cum for me again."

You were powerless to resist his request, not when he said it so sweetly and as you were swept into the undertow of it, his teeth sunk into your lower lip as he followed you.

You stayed together for a breath before he finally stepped back, smirking as you twitched. "Sorry."

You huffed. "No you're not."

He kissed the corner of your mouth with a smile. "You're right about that."

He reached down for your clothes, dressing you piece by piece before dressing himself. Your eyes went wide, and he paused, looking at you intently as if he could decipher your worry. "Umm, is Jerry watching the cameras?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "I made sure they were turned off when we walked in here."

You fained offence and shoved his shoulder playfully. "You ass, you planned this from the start."

He nodded and kissed you again. "Yep. You can't be mad, you love me."

You sighed. "I do but I'm expecting you to make it up to me, I can't have you scheming all the time."

The look of lust on his face told you what he was thinking. "Oh, don't worry, I will."

Fin

@thegirlwhowritesfics

[unreliablesnake]

MDNI. Dark!Simon. Mention of sex and masturbation. Stalking. Afab!reader.

Simon noticed you didn’t have curtains when you walked to the window on a chilly morning to close it. It would have been a perfectly innocent act had you not done that wearing nothing more but lacy black panties. Your perky tits and hardened nipples made his mouth water, then he took a better look at your face and he could feel his cock twitch inside his jeans.

From that day on, he often found himself drinking his coffee by the window with the best view of yours, and he even took out his binoculars to see you better. It was amazing how often you walked around naked or wearing your lingerie only, clearly not worrying about how well anyone could see you.

Or did you do this on purpose? Were you looking for the attention of someone?

Watching you cook in a thong that showed your perfectly curved ass to him and a tank top that barely covered your breasts was his all time favorite activity. You were making pancakes today, and while he was sipping on his beer by the window, Simon found himself wondering if he could ever get himself to make a move on you.

Something told him if you turned him down, you would suddenly notice him staring from across the street and start to either wear more clothes or put curtains on the windows. He didn’t want that. Seeing you was usually the highlight of his day. So he chose to stalk you a little longer, spending hours by the window on slower days at home to catch a glimpse of you.

He could see your bedroom too. Simon watched you sleep several times, saw you pleasure yourself with that pink dildo you seemed to love so much, and there was one time when some guy fucked you until you passed out. He could do better. He knew he would be able to show you a whole new world if he had the chance.

This is why he wrote you several letters. One for every other day, short and sweet, maybe a little creepy if he looked at it from your side. You’re cute. You’re beautiful. You look sexy in that sequin dress you wore the other day. Was that guy your boyfriend? Would you ever have a threesome with that redhead friend of yours? God, I wish I could show you stars, love.

After the fifth letter, you paced the living room with a terrified look on your face until you finally broke down and cried on the floor for the next hour.

“Don’t worry, baby, I’ll make you feel safe,” he whispered as he pulled out his cock and began to pump his hand. You looked so lovely with those puffy red eyes.

[plainclothesdisaster]

Red Knight Chapter 3 - Ghosts in Gotham

DP x DC | Dead on Main

Jason Todd encounters one Danny Fenton in the streets of Gotham and suddenly he's thrown into a world of ghosts and monsters. Will he embrace this life? Or will it just end up with him dead again?

Read on AO3 | Beginning | < Prev | Next >

--

Jason didn’t go home. Instead, he melted into the shadows across the street from the diner and waited. A few minutes later Danny emerged and got on his motorbike. He revved the engine and began to speed away.

Jason would find out who the hell this guy was. (And if he was totally full of shit). He waited a moment before shooting a grapple line and pursuing.

Fifteen minutes later he found himself on a rooftop across the street from a simple apartment on the fourth floor of an old building. Using the binocular zoom on his helmet he watched Danny inside. He looked tired and utterly human as he went though the motions of getting ready for bed. As he took off his shirt Jason winced at the scars all across his body— most noticeably the Lichtenberg figure that cascaded up his arm and over his shoulder. The amount of electricity needed to leave that kind of mark— something like that should have killed him.

Maybe it had.

Minutes later Danny turned out the light and went to sleep. Jason didn’t leave. The pit was quiet. It stayed quiet all night.

In the morning Jason followed as Danny took the train across the city to Gotham University. Jason blended with the other students as he tailed him through the halls until Danny entered what appeared to be an upper level mechanical engineering lecture. Instead of following him in He headed back to Danny’s apartment.

He opted to pick the lock— better not to leave a trace. Inside he found a fairly typical college apartment. Sparse furnishings, a couple faded band posters tacked to the walls, game controllers strewn about. It was homey. Nice.

Jason found nothing out of the ordinary in the kitchen, nor the closets. No laptop or phone— must have taken them with him. Jason rifled through papers on the messy desk- lecture notes, sketched diagrams, grocery lists- and started to think that he really wan’t going to get anything good on this guy. Then he touched something that jolted him with an electric shock.

Jason pulled his hand away with a whispered curse while shuffling off the remaining papers, revealing some kind of metal belt. It had wires sticking out, chips exposed, clearly an unfinished project. What gave Jason pause was the faint strange glow about it, green with the same energy he saw in Danny’s palm and in his eyes.

He reached a hand toward it again. As soon as his fingers got close he felt the buzz of energy start to sharpen. The pit under his heart snarled. He pulled his hand back.

Mysterious gadgetry certainly was a little suspect, but by itself didn’t point to any nefarious intention. He thought about taking the belt to study it further, but doing proper diagnostics would require help from Tim, or worse, Bruce. No, thanks. Too many questions he didn’t want to answer.

He glanced at the papers again. He saw a full name there. Danny Fenton.

Danny Fenton. A powerful not-meta meta. Also, by the looks of it, just some average guy. That didn’t mean Jason would take his guard down. He knew that metas and monsters often hid in plain sight. And the ones that did it well were the most dangerous.

//

Jason went back to his apartment and slept through the rest of the day.

He woke up that night with a gun in his face.

A shadowed smile leered down at him. “So you are the new ghost boy. You’ll make a fine addition to my collection.”

A green blast split his bed down the middle as he leapt out of the way just in time. Who the fuck?

Jason grabbed the bat he kept next to his nightstand and took a wild swing at his assailant. As the sleep cleared from his eyes a seven foot tall robotic guy with a flaming green mohawk came into focus. His attacker stopped the bat in his hand with surprising strength.

“Ah good, you do have some fight in you.”

The robot guy punched Jason in the gut, launching him across the room. That hurt, way more than a hit from a common goon. What the hell was this guy made of?

Jason pulled himself up and grabbed a gun off the kitchen counter. He leveled it with easy precision. He planted one shot in the robot guy’s chest, the other between his eyes.

His aim was perfect.

Neither shot connected.

The bullets passed right through him. Jason’s mouth went dry.

“Hah, those puny weapons won’t work on me. Now this-“ what could only be described as a rocket launcher emerged from the robotics on the robot guy’s shoulder- “this is a real gun.”

The rockets fired, fueled again by that green energy. Jason bolted for the window and crashed out onto the fire escape, taking a hit to the side as he did. The blast burned but thankfully didn’t break the skin. Still hurt like a bitch though. The pit screamed, but the rage felt more focused now than it had before. Methodically he swung his way down to the street, landing bare-footed and in his sweats, unmasked and unarmed except for the useless gun in his hand. His attacker pursued, emerging through the wall and flying after him.

Jason gritted his teeth. The green energy, the familiar powers— it was too much to be just a coincidence. Ghost, he named his attacker in his head. Like Danny.

He ran.

The ghost caught up with him before he’d made it two buildings down. “Is that all you can do? Scurry around down there like a scared little mouse?”

More blasts assailed him from more varieties of guns. Jason dodged, but just barely. If he could just make it to his safehouse then— then what? He could shoot this guy with more guns that didn’t work? Hide behind walls that the ghost could walk right through?

He heard the next shot too late. A glowing rope wrapped itself around his ankles, sending him stumbling to the asphalt face first. Weak, he thought as he spit out gravel. He’d never felt so weak, not since coming back. For the first time since he emerged from the pit he no longer felt invincible.

His attacker landed with a metallic clank. Jason glowered as the ghost cracked a jagged smile. “That’s it? Your combat is weak. Your banter is lacking. Your head is hardly worth mounting above my mantle.”

Anger smoldered beneath Jason’s heart, pulling in on itself versus the usual explosion. His legs were bound but his hands were still free. He tightened his grip on his pistol.

With a roaring yell he heaved himself half up and swung the gun on the ghost again. He focused his anger, focused that pointed energy, and pulled the trigger.

A bullet shrouded in green flame exploded from the barrel. It connected with the ghost’s stomach, sending a shower of sparks spraying as it tore through the robotics.

The ghost looked down in shock.

Jason smiled in triumph. “How’s that for a real gun.”

Then Jason unloaded, pulling the trigger as fast as he could make it go. He kept shooting even when he should have run out of ammo, each shot a flaming green spark that took a chunk out of the robot ghost with every hit.

“What is this? Impossible!” The ghost took off yelling, retreating back down the street. Jason ripped the rope from his ankles and got on his feet to chase.

Ghost or not, this part Jason knew. Bad guy on the run, him in pursuit. He let his shaken nerves melt into a familiar resolve. The ghost shot back at him but Jason’s focus was unshakeable. His phantom bullets took the guns clean off the robot suit till it was covered in shredded metal.

Finally the ghost flew up, desperate to get out of range, defeated. “I underestimated you whelp. Until next time.”

With that the ghost activated his jet pack and flew away into the night. Jason kept shooting till he vanished over the rooftops.

//

That was not the last attack. They came nightly after that, some new kind of ghost would appear and stir up trouble. He’d notice them on patrol now- glowing vultures on the roofs or a green lion stalking in the park or translucent octopi floating down the streets. Had they always been there and he just hadn’t noticed? Or had they just showed up? The more he watched the more it seemed that other people didn’t see them.

Or maybe they just didn’t care. Just another one of those Gotham things.

Most ignored him entirely but caused trouble in different ways— lurking in sewers and tugging at people’s hems or floating through stores causing electronics to malfunction. Harmless mostly. But ever present. Those ones eventually noticed Jason watching and they’d always look back at him with surprise or curiosity or a sick kind of delight.

Sometimes Jason would pick the fight. He punched a ghost creep following a lady too closely as she walked down the street. Chased off a demonic possum that was oozing some kind of goo into the river. Other times the fight would pick him. He stared too long at a vulture and it swooped down on him, brandishing impossible teeth. A headless guy jumped him outside his safe house. He looked awfully similar to one of Gothams former gang bosses.

He was getting bette at harnessing that green energy and he could reliably shoot energy bullets from any of his guns. He also found that an old fashioned punch would also do the trick.

Once he saw an oily black creature at the edges of his vision, larger and more sinister than any of the other ghosts he’d encountered. A brawl in the street broke out a moment later so he didn’t get to investigate but somehow that one made him feel more unnerved than all the rest.

He didn’t understand where they were coming from or why they were here. He knew someone who probably would.

During daylight hours he gathered intel on Danny Fenton- or at least he attempted to. It was like the kid didn’t exist before he showed up as a student at Gotham University. The internet was shockingly clean of any records or photos.

Jason was beginning to think Danny Fenton was just a pseudonym until finally he got a relevant hit. He found an article published in a now-discredited scientific journal by Dr.s Jack and Madeline Fenton, detailing their paranormal research. The paper theorized about a separate dimension of post-concious beings. Suggested ways to make a portal there. It was too similar to what Danny described to be coincidence. Those were his parents, that was the portal that killed him. Maybe it was all true.

But Jason didn’t find any evidence that they had successfully created the portal. The paper talked about it in theory, not practice. The only evidence of them making it real was Danny himself. If he even believed Danny’s story.

Using a trick he stole from Tim he searched the housing records database and found a property under their names in Amity Park, Illinois. Satellite imaging showed a house that looked like a ufo had crashed landed on top of it. He chuckled to himself. That must be the place.

He was out grabbing a bite of dinner and considering a little field trip to Illinois to investigate further when the next ghost attack happened.

One second he was biting into his sandwich, the next three giant glowing green rats, just like the nasty ones that roamed Gotham’s sewers except 10 times bigger, burst out of the kitchen of the restaurant and out into the street.

Jason abandoned the sandwich and chased them out the door, pulling out his gun as they ran down an alley.

“Quit causing trouble on my turf,” Jason growled as he loosed a few blasts in their direction.

The rats stopped and turned back toward him halfway down the alley. The biggest one sat up and looked at him with sharp eyes. “Your turf? You got it twisted buddy. This here is our turf.”

Out of nowhere a fourth rat tackled him from behind. It’s boxy teeth clamped down on his shoulder with a sickening crunch. Jason yelled as he was thrown to the ground and suddenly all of them were on him, clawing and biting.

Jason clawed and bit back. He carried a gun even in his civvies (obviously) but couldn’t reach it in the thick of it.

He was truly starting to get pissed when suddenly the temperature dropped ten degrees. A voice came from down the alley.

“Hey.”

The rats froze. As a group they all looked toward the voice. At the mouth of the alley, plastic bodega bag in hand, face stern, stood Danny.

“What the hell is this?”

The head rat spoke up. “This is our turf. Tell the new guy he needs to buzz off before we make him.”

Danny folded his arms. His face was stoic but his voice had an icy edge. “I think you should be a bit more friendly to your neighbor.”

The rats reacted immediately, untangling themselves from Jason. “Jeez your majesty we were only joking. Mi casa es su casa and all that.”

“Good. Now scram.”

They scrambled away down the alley with a skittering of claws, running like they had hellfire under their asses.

Jason let out a long breath. Danny looked at him with complete recognition even though he was bare faced and in street clothes. Of course he could clock him out of costume. Why didn’t that surprise him?

Jason propped himself up on one arm. “Your majesty?”

“They don’t mean it as a compliment.” Danny huffed as he knelt down next to Jason, reaching out a gentle hand to inspect his wounds.

Danny’s jaw tightened as he ran a thumb over a gash in Jason’s arm. Jason pulled back.

“I’m fine.”

Danny reluctantly sat back. “There has been more ghost activity lately. Sorry I didn’t catch these guys quicker.”

“It’s okay. I dealt with the rest just fine.”

Danny tensed. “The rest?”

“I’ve been dealing with them since we got coffee. Nearly every night.“

Real anger flashed in Danny’s eyes for just a moment. It surprised Jason, and reminded him how much Danny wasn’t telling him.

“Why didn’t you call me?” Danny looked at Jason with such bare concern it made his heart feel sticky.

Jason grumbled. “I had it handled.”

“How??” Danny whined.

Jason pulled out his gun, pointed upward. Danny frowned, skeptical, until Jason pulled the trigger. A green blast shot into the sky. He shouldn’t have gotten so much satisfaction from surprise on Danny’s face.

“Oh,” Danny said. “Neat trick. That’s new?”

Jason nodded.

Danny sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Okay. Despite that, there’s no way I’m letting you deal with these ghosts on your own.”

“Let me?” Jason scoffed. “I don’t need your help.”

Danny raised an eyebrow. “So you were planning on being rat food just now?”

“I almost had them.”

Danny chuckled. Jason didn’t waver. Then Danny got that glint in his eye.

“Okay. Then prove it.”

“What?”

“Show me you can actually handle a ghost attack and I’ll leave you alone.”

Jason wanted that, right? To not have to think about Danny Fenton popping up randomly in his life again? He ignored the twist of confusion in his gut.

“How? There’s no ghosts.”

Danny stood up and gestured to himself with a smirk.

“You’re joking.” Jason deadpanned.

“Try me.”

Guess that was always how this was gonna shake out. Sure, why not. Stone-faced and without hesitation Jason pulled a second pistol out of his belt and shot a green blast directly at Danny with a sizzling crack. Danny took the hit on the shoulder with barely a flinch. He glanced down at the burn hole on his shirt. The skin beneath was unbroken.

Danny’s smile widened, and there were those fangs again. “That it?”

Jason clenched his teeth and sprang into action. He launched to his feet as he brandished both guns in front of himself, shooting rapid fire.

Danny moved like a practiced fighter, ducking and weaving around the shots. A handful hit him but they didn’t break his focus or his stride. Jason stepped back to keep distance but Danny was quicker. Suddenly he was close enough that Jason felt the coolness of his breath.

His fist came quick. Jason threw up his arm to block. He barely managed to keep his feet under him. The next punch connected with his gut and sent him shuffling backwards, but still upright. He used the space to pull up his guns again and fired.

Danny jumped and suddenly he was lighter than air, floating and flipping over Jason’s head. Jason tracked him with the guns and spun as Danny landed, again too close.

Jason holstered the guns and opted to grab Danny by the front of his shirt with both hands. He turned and slammed Danny into the alley wall.

“You are strong I’ll give you that,” Danny said, the amused grin on his lips mere inches from Jason’s, “But ghosts have tricks.”

Suddenly Jason was holding nothing but air. His fingers clenched into fists.

Barely a breath later Jason felt a cheek next to his, behind him.

“Boo.” Danny said directly in Jason’s ear. Jason elbowed backward reflexively, connecting with Danny’s gut. Danny let out a satisfying oof before slipping out of reach.

It fell into the rhythm of a brawl then as they traded blows. But even with the bits of ghostly flair Danny threw in, it felt off. Danny wasn’t fighting like the other ghosts he’d faced. He was fighting like a human. He was holding back.

Jason ground his teeth together as his anger bubbled to a boil. Stepping back to steal enough distance, he pulled out his pistols. He let the anger swirl and coalesce under his heart. He focused and pulled both triggers at once.

A massive green fireball exploded from the combined gun barrels, hurtling toward Danny.

There was no time for Danny to dodge. Jason relished the surprise on his face. But right before the fireball collided, Danny extended a palm and a translucent green shield appeared, covering him. The fireball dissipated on impact.

Jason groaned in frustration. Another power he didn’t know about? How was that fair?

“Why are you holding back?” he demanded.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Danny’s shield disappeared. “But I could ask you the same question.”

“What?” Jason was barely keeping up as is.

“I think you can do better than this.” Danny challenged.

Jason tightened his grip on his guns. Danny relaxed his fighting stance. “Can’t you go toe to toe with Batman? Even my sister would at least be making me sweat.”

Again that roiling focused anger under his heart, swirling like a supernova. Danny just looked at him with that shit-eating grin. He let the fire of anger burn hotter to cover the rising of something else underneath.

“Be serious.” Jason growled.

“Make me.”

With a roar Jason blasted another huge fireball and the fight was back on.

Jason actually wanted to hurt Danny now. He wanted to prove to himself that he could. He moved faster, punched harder, let out more of that fire with each shot.

The next time Danny got up close and Jason swapped to his fists, Jason noticed a green fiery glow had formed around his hands. Danny did too, when he winced for the first time after a punch connected. The pit under his heart hummed in triumph.

After that it was less easy for Danny to slip away into intangibility, more easy for Jason to press the offensive. Finally Jason swept Danny’s legs from under him and pinned him to the ground, a mirror of the first night they met.

Jason’s breath came in pants. He gripped Danny’s shirt tight in his fist.

“Not bad.” Danny flashed his fangs.

Jason lifted a fist to punch that stupid smile off his jaw but Danny threw up a hand and caught his fist, inches before it hit, stopping it with unshakeable strength.

“Believe me now when I say I’ve got it handled myself?” Jason kept his tone even.

Danny eyed Jason’s still-glowing fist. “More now than before, yeah. But-“ Danny pushed Jason’s fist aside with infuriating ease. He pulled his legs out from underneath Jason with intangibility and floated smoothly to his feet.

“I’m still going to help you.”

“That wasn’t the deal. You said if I-“

A blast of green energy to his stomach cut him off, stronger and faster than any of the punches they’d traded. Danny grabbed Jason by the jacket and they flew, up to the top of the twelve story building. Danny looked at him with empty eyes. And dropped him.

Jason didn’t scream. He scrambled for his grapple gun. He was falling too fast. He got a hand on it, too late- but it didn’t matter. Danny swooped down and pushed him intangibly through the ground at the moment of impact. He felt himself being dragged up through darkness until-

He was stuck in the alley pavement up to his waist. Danny crouched next to him.

“I promise this is a warning not a threat. I didn’t realize that patching up your core would put you over the threshold to get ghostly attention. They won’t stop bothering you. And they won’t all be small fry. If you won’t let me take care of them for you, at least let me give you a fighting chance.”

Jason glowered up at him. “You’re not going to let me out of here unless I say yes.”

Danny smiled, the most brilliant thing in the dark street. “Bingo.”

Next >

[starlitcorgi]

Fic Preview: Dragon AU

Tags: GoYuu, Dragon AU, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Aged Up Characters

Hi Guys so I don’t usually do this but it’s been ages since I’ve posted new works or updates. I’m finally all moved into my new house yay but it’ll be a few more days until I have time to really sit down and write. So I thought I’d post a section of a fic I’ve been working on for a while. I’ve wanted to do like a Dragon AU for a while so hopefully you guys enjoy this snippet. I’ve also been working on an original idea for like a light novel that I plan to give a GoYuu twist this year something fun and different. So yeah lots of plans as well as hopefully finishing off some of my ongoing works.

“Sensei are you sure about this?” Yuuta asks his voice laced with unease.

“You were right Yuuta, he’s here I can sense Suguru’s cursed energy. It was my screw up in Shibuya that lead to all this. There’s no way I’m letting him live a second longer than I have too” he states matter of factly.

“I get that you want him gone sensei but still we’re in another alphas territory and if it weren’t for his omega stepping in last time I wouldn’t be here to bring you here right now” he sighs running a nervous hand through his hair. He shudders as he recalls that unpleasant encounter with a being he never wanted to cross paths with again.

At first he’d thought the alpha he was looking at was his sensei despite the fact that said sensei had been sealed in the prison realm during the culling games. But in his defence they were identical, the only difference being that the immense power radiating from that alpha was not fuelled by cursed energy. It had made his hair stand on end and his alpha shake in fear, even Rika had been cowed under that forceful gaze.

Had it not been for the timely arrival of its mate he’s pretty sure he’d be dead and buried right now. Honestly if he’d not sensed Kenjaku’s cursed energy residuals around the perimeter of that things den, he’d have kept the entire ordeal to himself. But that omega had saved his life, had even been kind about it…so he owed him.

Whatever Kenjaku wanted from this bonded pair it can’t be good, so for better or worse he’d relayed the information to Gojou not long after he’d been freed. Of course the moment he learned that Kenjaku was lurking around here he’d wanted to track him down. Clearly this was personal for Gojou, his pride had been wounded not to mention the trauma of seeing his dead best friend being worn like a cheap suit by that parasite.

Still though he has an awful feeling about this…

“He really does look like me…how is this even possible?” Gojou murmurs clearly thinking out loud.

Not having the benefit of the six eye, Yuuta is forced to rely on good old fashioned binoculars to observe the scene playing out in a clearing a few meters ahead. Gojou inches forward manipulating his cursed energy, effortlessly concealing himself so he can get closer to listen in. It took everything Yuuta had not to shout out in surprise when his sensei yanked him along with him. Seriously would it kill the idiot to warn a guy instead of dragging him around like an unruly pup, it’s humiliating.

It’s things like this that piss his Kohai and senpei off, the man’s alpha seems to take pleasure in asserting his dominance at every given opportunity. Gojou is the strongest and when he’s not forgetting to impart important details he’s a pretty good sensei too but he has a mean streak. He hides it well behind false cheeriness and bratty behaviour until he doesn’t.

They crouch behind an ancient looking camphor tree, even with limitless wrapped protectively around them both Yuuta isn’t convinced they’re truly hidden. Luckily for them though Gojou sensei’s doppelgänger has his ire firmly fixed on Kenjaku and Uruame. Those radioactively blue eyes glaring down at the duo like a displeased god about to unleash punishment on unworthy worshippers.

“Leave” his voice rings out like splintered ice echoing off the surrounding forest.

“Not without my son” Kenjaku fires back, despite the appearance of strength he’s trying to convey Yuuta can hear the way his voice shakes, can smell the recoil in his scent. For now at least his sensei seems content to watch events unfold.

“Your son?” the alpha lets out a sharp bark of laughter “You dare call yourself a parent after what you did to my omega, what you plan to do to him?”

“Your omega?” Kenjaku questions right back “He’s barely an adult and you’ve tied him to you already? They say it’s impossible for two of you to exist at once but seeing you now…that insufferable arrogance…you’re a Gojou through and through” Kenjaku spits.

“Bite your tongue parasite, don’t speak of things you can’t even begin to comprehend. I’m no sorcerer and I haven’t been for a few millennia now” the alpha snarls baring fang. Uruame is shaking so violently it looks like they’re in the midst of a seizure, the air temperature drops as ice spreads along the ground.

“More to the point don’t speak of arrogance to me, you used these culling games to overturn the natural order. Your god complex is showing sorcerer, unsurprisingly though you don’t have the strength or the cultivation to back it up. What a pathetic god you’d be, you’re weak and inferior in every aspect and you dare to come to my home and try to abduct my mate” the air surrounding them is artic and were it not for Gojou’s infinity blanketing them they might just freeze to death.

“Don’t underestimate me” Kenjaku threatens but it holds no weight, he’s no match for this alpha and everyone here knows it. Clearly they’d been hoping to snatch the young omega from under his alphas nose because there’s no way they could beat him in a challenge “If you hadn’t interfered I’d already have won”

“You sorcerers are all the the same” the alpha taunts “you think cursed energy and Jujutsu are the only powerful forces in this world when in reality cursed energy is the weakest of all energy. So you sealed my descendant, did you really think he was the only one capable of stopping you?” he snorts in disbelief.

“So tell me then just what are you?” Kenjaku demands.

“I am what your dear friend Tengen should have become if he hadn’t allowed his cowardice to hold him back” the alpha smiles a smile so sharp you could cut yourself on it “I’m a dragon spirit and this is merely my human form”

“Nonsense” Kenjaku bellows clearly not prepared for such an answer, though why he found it so hard to swallow Yuuta wasn’t sure. He himself had been on the receiving end of that menacing aura when he’d accidentally found himself here last. It was obvious that the energy flowing through this alpha was potent and ancient. Being a mythical being suits him.

“Is it? I think you know it’s the truth, otherwise how could I have concealed him from you for all this time? If that child hadn’t stumbled into my domain during your little experiment you’d never have found us” he tilts his head smiling wider so his alpha fangs are on show.

“It can’t be, this wasn’t supposed to happen…you can’t…” Kenjaku growls in frustration.

“Ironic isn’t it? You worked so hard to create the perfect vessel for Ryomen Sukuna but instead you created the perfect mate for me. If you’d just stayed away from us I’d resolved to leave you for the sorcerers to deal with. Jujutsu affairs have nothing to do with me after all but if you insist on trying to feed that filth to my mate then I have no choice but to act” the air crackles with icy energy, he’s the living embodiment of winter.

It’s not obvious at first the way the air around them has changed, they’re protected by infinity after all. Until he looks at Sukuna’s follower more closely, he’s seen this curse user manipulate ice to torture his Kohai before. So he can’t help the satisfaction at seeing the element turned back onto them, like karma coming home to roost.

Great shards of ice spring from the ground piercing the sorcerers body, blood gushing from the wounds soaking through their pure white robes and turning them crimson. Uruame takes gasping breathes trying to breathe through the agonising pain but it’s clear that each one brings them closer to death.

It’s then that Yuuta realises they’re breathing in crystallised ice on the atomic scale, particles so small they can’t be seen by the naked eye. Death by a thousand cuts both external and internal, blood drips from their nose, their ears and mouth, even their tears are tinged red. The curse user is bleeding out in front of their eyes but as gruesome as it is he can’t seem to look away.

Even more terrifying he realises that the alpha gave no verbal commands, he didn’t use a hand gesture or seal meaning he didn’t need too. This alpha was so powerful that all he had to do to activate his abilities was to think it and if that’s the case he could attack them without any warning at all. It makes him shudder when he realises just how easy it would have been to end up in Uruame’s place. After only a few minutes the writhing and rattling breaths stop, Uruame is dead, unable to heal themselves with reversed curse technique.

Kenjaku just watches in horrified silence, he too is breathing in the same air as his underling but it seems the alpha doesn’t want him dead yet. There’s a mania in his eyes, one that looks so familiar and yet not quite right.

“One down” the alpha almost sings in a low rumble but unlike his sensei it’s not playful, it’s gloating.

“A thousand years of planning and this is how it ends” Kenjaku mumbles.

“Oh come now don’t be like that, weren’t you going to make yourself a god? Isn’t that what this was all about hmmm? You came here for my mate aren’t you at least going to challenge me?” the alpha taunts.

“Hah, hah, ha, ha, ha. Challenge you? You’re a freak of nature whether you’re a sorcerer or a spirit or a god. You say that like I even stand a chance, no matter what you always come out on top whether you deserve to or not” Kenjaku huffs in disbelief and yeah Yuuta gets it, to outsiders it looks like Gojou and this alpha were simply born powerful. Had he never become a sorcerer Yuuta himself may have succumbed to that line of thinking.

He’d noticed it, the way others looked at his sensei, the way they assumed that Gojou had merely been handed everything he had on a silver platter. That he’d woken up one day and instantly been able to master his cursed technique. Kusakabe sensei was a prime example, grousing about how easy Gojou had it, clearly jealous of his sensei’s strength and skill. But those who knew Gojou, really knew him, like Shoko, Nanami, Yaga and the previous owner of that body…they knew different.

His sensei may have been born with a coveted technique but he’d still had to master it, he’d still lost people he cared about in the process. And his life certainly wasn’t easy, the man did nothing but work, he had no real life outside of exorcising curses day and night. Even with everything he sacrificed to prop up their society nobody thanked him for it, not really. It was just expected that he would do it, that he’d put his society above all else until he broke.

“You really are weak aren’t you? Where’s your pride sorcerer? Are you sure you’re an alpha?” The alpha goads only to smile when that pulls an indignant snarl from Kenjaku.

“You’re insufferable just like him” Kenjaku growls “I can’t stand the sight of you”

“The feelings mutual” the Alpha smiles “but enough of this idle chatter, I’m not one to leave a seed for future trouble. You have to die for what you’ve done to my mate and for what you’ve schemed to do and I don’t plan to make this easy for you”

The moment the Alpha launches himself into the air Kenjaku runs, he doesn’t even try to fight but he doesn’t get far. When he tries to exit the clearing he activates one of the many seals surrounding it and is thrown back inwards. Gojou perks up beside Yuuta, watching in quiet disbelief, the way Kenjaku is picked up by that invisible force…it looks exactly like limitless in action.

They don’t have time to dwell on it though because in the blink of an eye the Alpha is on Kenjaku, he uses pure martial arts to beat the parasite black and blue. Yuuta can only imagine how jarring this must be for Gojou to watch, even if they both know it’s Kenjaku, it’s Suguru’s face he’s wearing. His sensei just stays eerily still taking it all in, he’d say something but honestly he doesn’t want to draw unwanted attention to them.

Of course Kenjaku tries to fight back, tries to heal himself too, every curse he releases is instantly destroyed by the alpha. His spiritual energy clearly every bit as toxic to curses as cursed energy is…huh?

“Is this really all you’ve got?” The alpha asks him in disgust “You really came to my domain, to take my mate and this is all you’re capable of? Pathetic. Even if you got your way and used Yuuji to reincarnate that false king, you still would have ended up here. The only difference is it would have been Sukuna who finally put you in the ground. Since the king of curses is unable to join us allow me to be of service” he sneers meanly.

“I rarely use this ability, it’s rather gruesome but given everything you’ve done I think you’ve more than earned it. Oh and don’t worry about Yuuji he is exactly where he belongs” the next moment what look like human hands made of ice rise up from the ground. They grab onto Kenjaku by the arms and legs and then they begin to pull the curse user apart slowly. The scream that leaves him is bloodcurdling, he feels his sensei recoil beside him but still they don’t speak. The silence is deafening, even more so than Kenjaku’s cries of pain, he knows the alpha is purposely drawing this out by the cruel smirk on his lips.

“They’ll come for him” Kenjaku manages to get out between screams.

“They can try” the alpha simply replies “but I’m his alpha and he is my omega, I’m well within my rights to kill anyone stupid enough to challenge our bond”

There’s a sickening crunch as Kenjaku’s limbs are torn off before his torso falls to the icy ground with a dull thud. The alpha crouches down beside him before touching his index and middle fingers to Kenjaku’s forehead, there’s a pulse of energy from his fingers and then Kenjaku is gone.

The screaming and gurgling noises stop as Kenjaku draws his last breath. Yuuta looks over at Gojou, his eyes are wide with…horror? He reaches out a hand and squeezes his sensei’s shoulder reassuringly, in a way this is good. Now at least Gojou won’t have to be the one that kills that body again.

The alpha doesn’t waste a single second, the moment he rises to his feet the body of Getou Suguru is engulfed in blue flame. It turns to ash in mere seconds and is scattered on the fall breeze across this tranquil clearing.

“If you think I can’t sense you, you’re as stupid as that parasite. Leave my domain before you join him, descendant” he growls in anger and frustration. It’s the same frustration he’d spoken to Yuuta with a few weeks ago. Before either of them can respond they’re both thrown back out of the clearing, the infinity like force casting them out into the surrounding woodland…

[wishchip106]

watching dark pheonix rn live commentary

charles hair looks wacky af girl get a fringe cover the forehead or something

he’s signing the adoption papers thats his daughter 😿

it said it was 1975 this does NOT look like the same school from dofp 🤨

WHERE DID ALL THE TREES GO???

ok now we’re in space huzzah 1992

uh oh the rocket broken

HE’S BALD

he got the president on speed dial damn

RAVEN WHAT IS THAT HAIR COLOR fuckass bob

no one getting that basketball back damn

nyoom

charles really needs to get side rails in cerebro other people go in there too they gonna fall off

he connected to nasa

yikes ominous space dust ☹️

raven is literally the leader of the x-men

ITS THAT WOMANS FAULT FOR MENTIONING THE CAPTAIN

how tf is jean breathing??? 🤨

that blast should’ve killed BUT ALSO HOW IS SHE CASUALLY FLOATING IN SPACE??

that part of the pheonix force or something?

the xmen got fans thats crazy 🤨

charles keeps canceling classes does anyone actually learn in this school?

RAVEN UR THE ONE WHO STARTED THE XMEN

“i actually can’t remember the last time you were risking something” saying that to the man who is bald and in a wheelchair???

idk whether this is bias or not but honestly charles doing stuff with the press and getting people to like mutants and the xmen is a good thing???

i get raven is upset about risking their lives and such but its honestly that or being persecuted and hunted down daily 🤨🤨

pissing me off

dinner party wowie

intro to the most forgettable xmen villian ever

fucking tree aliens what the flip

oh damn his chest constricted

dazzler!!! 🤯🤯🤯

jean thirsty damn

why is raven hiding still i thought mutant and proud meant something

raven if ur upset go to genosha or something

charles is besties with the president lol

jean needs to get a new skincare routine her skin cracking

charles dad senses starting tingling (despite being a shitty dad 👀)

does no one else get that if charles didn’t put shields in place in jeans mind a lot more people would be dead??? like obviously he could have slowly taken them down over time but still 🤨

one of the writers might have beef with charles

jean going after her deadbeat dad but she doesn’t know that

they planning to manipulate her

yikes flashbang

how tf jean get there so fast

knock knock its me ur estranged daughter

bro does not look happy to see her

raven clearly has beef with charles

this a “lets all blame charles” movie

struggling forreal i’m defending him every five minutes

jean realizing her dads a deadbeat blaming her for her moms death damn

if he had to pick between saving his wife or jean he would pick his wife

charles wearing his ex’s clothes 🤨

scott being like “i love you pookie dont leave me 🥺”

the girls fighting

raven being the one who steps up

ah shit she dead ☹️

jean really flew outta there

sad moment r.i.p raven

hank is angry

“is it true? jean killed her? 🤓” BRO SHE JUST DIED SHOW SOME RESPECT

girl going straight to the alcohol, some habits dont die

“its your fault she’s dead” BITCH THAT WAS HIS SISTER

you cant expect charles to admit when he’s wrong thats what he and his ex-husband have in common

“no civilians past this-“ ”fbi” “oh okay” can anyone just do that? walk up to a crime scene and say you’re fbi

bro killed him

GENOSHA

jean going to her stepdads house

ERIK HELLO

bro why he fly like that 🧍

did he really make his furniture really low down 🤨

waiting for his husband

wouldve been better if he had white hair 😔

damn military

jean in a killing mood

magneto saving human lives 🤨 never thought i’d see the day

bro looks so stupid oh damn he was flung

“i am protecting them, from you” DAMN no one wants to help her

the president revoked his bestie privileges after one incident

charles struggling

girl are you drinking age 🤨 i sure hope so i’m a rule follower

yes who are you jean

OH DAMN DIDNT NEED TO GO THERE

heheh charles sleepin

biggass binoculars

“what? no charles?” girl i think ur a tad bit obsessed

he yaps about him to anyone who listens

his bestie dead oh no 🙁 give him a sec

welp time to kill her that’s totally what raven would’ve wanted

damn those aliens got a nice place what the heck

woahh space and shit oh wow the milky way

the aliens were lurking

she is special yeah

she lying girl don’t listen she gonna kill you (although that wont really stop you)

whats this bald lady’s name?

i wanna see all the other stuff erik keeps in that box

i can see charles actually descending into depression this is crazy

lol they all putting him in place give him a break 😢

boutta reconnect with my ex wish me luck 🤩

erik trying to act cool in front of his friends

woah f bomb

charles im gonna kill ur daughter sorry not sorry 😁

hair whip

“ur not the only one who can control minds 😏”

girl this is the worlds most powerful telepath maybe think about this for a second

the girls fighting again

bitch pulled a train out of the ground tf did you need that for???

making a grand entrance

damn getting his skull crushed like the first people he ever killed

he got throw out the window ☹️

yeah girl thats ur dad

NAH WHY DID THEY DO THIS

MAKING THE DISABLED MAN WALK WTF

that alien really got her claws in her

yes please see that charles still loves you (AS A DAD)

thats her dad 😿

i hate this alien ur ruining the moment

no don’t give it to her ☹️☹️

scott to the rescue

THEY TAKING THE XMEN TO THE POUND DAMN

oh damn charles admitted he was wrong good job

maybe bring these guys to therapy or something

erik thats ur stepdaughter chill

the aliens have hijacked the train 🙁

once again humans being stupid

he clearly just healed from those bullets why are you still shooting

hell yeah train fight scene

LMAO SHE JUST DIED

anyway moving on 😁

kurt’s angry now

WHAT WAS THAT EVIL GRIN

honestly feel like charles could do a lot more

yay magneto being cool as fuck

okay all the lackeys were defeated onto the main boss

oh damn storm got blasted

“you wanted her dead” “i had a change of heart” bro never decides whether or not to be evil

dad-daughter moment

at least they’re all still on the train

“i know what you did, you did out of love” THANK YOU JEAN

hell yeah marvel girl

we nearly at the end guys 🤯 (talking to myself)

damn she disintegrating all of them thats cool

she got stabbed ☹️

nvm she good

final boss moment

cgi hair battle which one looks more like its underwater

oh no don’t disintegrare ur bf

go to space you’ll be fine girly

lots of cgi going on

she died 😔

its fine she come back

thats a cool looking bird

you’ll be fine scott she does this from time to time

girl lost his sister AND his daughter someone check up on charles

bro completely erasing charles legacy damn 😔

its time for the gay people 😁

gonna appreciate this scene hold on

god these guys are so gay

bro staring at him with love in his eyes

IM SICK OF THEM RAAHH

love you cherik

and thats the movie

my dad told me the aliens were supposed to be skrulls but since captain marvel came out earlier in the year so they had to change it lmao

anyway go home the movies finished

[messrmoonyy]

can we have a snippet of the new one shot 👀

You can. And it’s a nice big chunk because I love you guys 😌

This one shot will be posted at some point this week. It’s about 90% finished and then I have to proof read. Looking at about 10k words of prawn with plot unless I cut some stuff out

You trailed a little behind her as she walked, simply so you could get a better look at her. Even there when there was no one else around, no one she needed to look tough for. She still oozed confidence. The way she walked. The way she kept her head held high. No attempts to shrink away. To hide. To walk in the way Ellie had done when you first met her, like she was too afraid to take up space.

Tess wanted to take up space. She wanted people to know who she was and what she was about. She wasn’t afraid… of anything it seemed.

In fact. You knew she wasn’t.

You’d heard the stories. The rumours. The things that Ellie had told you. That Tess and Joel weren’t… good. They didn’t do good things. They hadn’t. But a twisted part of you liked that. Wanted to know more. Details. Wanted to hear about what she had done and all she was willing to do to stay and alive and to protect the people she loved.

You wanted to be one of those people. Wanted her to do sick things to protect you, to prove all she was willing to do to keep you safe.

You craved a love like that. A desperate and all consuming kind. A kind you knew she could give you.

If she would just stop holding herself back.

“ got some runners “ she said looking over the ridge to one of the towns in the distance. They were pretty far out, looking almost like little ants dashing around the place from so far away.

You watched as her hands moved into a comfortable and familiar position with her gun, pulling the trigger and taking down the strays with ease. You were fixated. On her face, the way her eyes narrowed as she aligned her shot through the scope, the way her lips parted slightly as she steadied her breath. Ammo was precious and she made every shot worth it. You watched her fingers, how long and slender they were. You wanted to melt between them. Wanted to feel what it was like to turn to mush beneath her finger tips.

You had spent many nights dreaming of how they felt. How they’d feel in your hair, trailing across your back, wrapped around your throat, curled up inside of you.

You felt your cheeks flush with heat.

“ alright. Let’s keep moving “ she snapped you out of your daydreaming as she lowered the gun, one look over now showing the little ant like runners were motionless on the ground.

“ that was impressive “ you said, clearing your throat lightly in some attempt to distract your thoughts.

“ it’s practice “ is all she said, carrying on along the track. You wondered if this was some old hiking trail or something. If people had come through there years ago, walking that same path for fun. Not to shoot infected. Though you weren’t entirely sure how anyone could find trekking through the woods fun. But maybe that was because your idea of it was so tainted.

It was pretty. You couldn’t deny that. The morning sun in the mountains and the flowers in full bloom. But you had a much better view.

As you watched her you wondered if she ever thought things like that about you. You had caught her watching you before. Many times. And she wasn’t sheepish about it either. She didn’t immediately look away if she saw you had caught her, would hold it another second or two and then look away.

It did make you think.

She came to a stop again looking out at a town slightly futher out than the last. She pulled some binoculars from her pack and looked though them for a moment.

“ wanna take ‘em? “ she asked, lowering her binoculars and looking over at you. The sun was catching her just right, enveloping her in golden light like the goddess you so often heralded her as. You were very obviously staring but you couldn’t bring yourself to stop. Maybe it was because she could clearly see that you were. And were certain you saw her lips quirk into a smile. Just a subtle one. But a smile “ hello? Are you suddenly mute? “

She waved a hand in front of your face and you shrugged, not even a sliver of embarrassment in your face. You wanted her to see you. Wanted her to know you were looking.

“ my gun doesn’t have a scope “ she held out her own gun to you, swapping it with your own

“ have at em “

“ alright “ you moved to stand closer to her, looking through the scope at the small group of runners aimlessly wandering around across the way.

You were a pretty decent shot. Better than others in town for sure. But you were no one if not an opportunist. So you missed your first two shots. And then your third. Repressing your smile when you heard her slightly frustrated sigh.

“ I’m getting there im getting there “ you said, missing a fourth shot.

“ you’re wasting all my fuckin ammo that’s what you’re doing. Come here “ she moved to stand behind you, her hands falling over yours to readjust your hold, her chest pressed firmly against your back. You didn’t hold back your smile that time, unable to hold onto the giant grin that spread across your face at her closeness “ now try “ she said, stepping back but holding her hands to your shoulders.

You made the shot. Of course you did. Even if it did take a second longer than normal to steady your aim, Tess’ hands on you throwing you off.

“ that’s it “ she praised “ good girl keep that up “ that threw you again, freezing a little at the term of endearment. The praise. From her. God you were fucked.

You cleared the ridge of infected and turned your head to look at her with a beaming smile.

“ pretty good huh? “ she was much closer than you’d thought, so close you could see the individual lashes on her eyelids, the freckles that sprinkled across her nose.

“ pretty good “ she confirmed, she had a slightly quizzical look on her face as she looked at you. Her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

[the-sidekick-club]

Tea on the rooftop garden ☕

@heroes-villains-side-blog★​​@tratieisdabest★@just-a-space-rabbit​​  

TW: Past Traumatic Event Mentioned, Serious Injury

❘〣❘〣❘✿❘〣❘〣❘

“Thank you for inviting me over for tea, Kim,” Mender said as she took another cinnamon roll. 

Kim smiled in reply. “Well, tea and cinnamon rolls are always better when you can share them, and sorry for the spontaneous message.”

They were sitting on the terrace of Kim's apartment building. When Kim had moved in they'd asked the landlord if they could make a garden on the rooftop, and they were allowed to, but on the condition that they would get half of everything Kim produced. 

But despite that, Kim liked spending their free time tending to their little rooftop garden. And since it wasn't harvest season yet, the two strange friends were enjoying the last of the summer sun in Kim’s little green haven. 

“Don’t worry about that,” Mender said, munching away. “These last two weeks have been so hectic, I really needed this break. And to just get away from all the hard work with the agency for a bit.” 

“I can imagine it’s been hectic, dealing with Dragonfly and all that. I mean, Nizorro Blimp News still hasn’t stopped talking about you!” Kim said with a light smile, but when Mender was not smiling back they pivoted, “Sorry… guess it’s been a lot. Is everything okay?”

“It’s getting better,” Mender answered after a small pause. “Because of the prolonged exposure to the Desolite in the power suppression cuffs, I had to spend two nights in the med-bay, though one of those days was just for observation. Still, I don't think I’ve ever felt that ill and weak before in my life.” 

Mender looked back up at Kim, who had remained silent, and part of her wanted to ask them about that night. Mender wanted to confirm her suspicion that it was them who had actually sabotaged the weapon, which helped to save both her and Shadows... But she knew that Hirra had already tried talking to Kim about that, and that they had denied doing it. Although Mender certainly didn't believe that Kim was telling the truth, she knew that she was not going to get Kim to talk about it yet. “Just glad that Lady Alexandria took all the interviews for me, so I didn’t have to,” she finally said after the small silence.

“Well…” Kim said, “let’s just hope the worst is over and that you get a nice event-free week.” 

“Ha! In this city? Keep dreaming!” Mender said, smiling.

Meanwhile, only one block over, Hirra was sitting on another rooftop, spying down at the two with her binoculars. “I can’t believe this!” she grunted. “That crime-stopping, goody two-shoes of a hero sidekick! That's my sibling! You sibling-thief!” she yelled as she saw the two laugh at one of Kim’s jokes, still unaware of her presence. Finally, she whispered, “Time for some sneaking!” and began to move closer.

“What recipe did you use for the cinnamon rolls?” Mender asked Kim just as she was about to take another one. “They taste so different from the ones my family makes.”

“It’s a Northern recipe,” Kim answered, “it’s less sweet and has different icing. Shadow and I have been making these for years. I can give you the recipe if you like–”

“NO! YOU. WILL. NOT!” Hirra jumped down in front of the two. 

Mender immediately took a battle stance, startled. But didn't get out of it once she realized it was just Hirra. While the two were sort of friends after the creating the sidekick club, and regularly had study sessions together, the two were nemeses… ish. Anyway, to prevent harm to either friend, Kim quickly got in-between them both. “Hirra? How long have you been spying on us?”

“Long enough! How dare you? You can't just give out Shadow's secret recipe like that!” Hirra said, tone clearly indicating outrage. 

“Secret recipe? Oh, Hirra…” Kim said, trying to calm their sibling. “Shadows and I found that recipe online! It’s not a secret.”

“It’s secret as far as I'm concerned! ALSO!” Hirra yelled even angrier, before mumbling quietly, “Why did you only invite her…?” She looked over at Mender, who now felt awkward and confused. 

“Because,” Kim said, while planning their words carefully, “sometimes it’s NICE to only have one person visiting at a time. Like, as a completely random example, a movie night with homemade stew and snacks this Friday.” 

There was a silence that fell over the trio before Hirra let out a single “Oh… you only invited me?”

“Yup!” Kim said, slightly sarcastic but still gentle. 

“Right…” Hirra said before turning to Mender. “HA! You only get a dumb tea party with Kim, while I get a full movie night!” But before Mender got to make a comeback, Hirra had already gone for the cinnamon rolls “But I’ll still take those!”

“OI!” Kim yelled as Hirra jumped off the building and ran off,  “HIRRA! Get back here with our cinnamon rolls!” they yelled, but it was too late, as she was already gone.

“Do you want me to go after her?” Mender chuckled, as she looked down to the streets below. 

But Kim only smiled before turning away, “No, you’re still on break! Now, if you'll excuse me for just a moment.”

“Where are you going?” Mender asked as Kim opened the doors to the stairs. 

“Getting more cinnamon rolls! I always make a double batch of them. I’ll be back in just a moment!” they answered as they closed the door behind them.

Mender was just about to sit back down before Kim suddenly got back out again. “Hey!” they said, grabbing Mender’s attention.

“Yes?” Mender asked, slightly disappointed that Kim had come back empty-handed. 

“Do you want to watch a movie? As revenge on Hirra for the stolen cinnamon rolls,'' they asked, grinning. 

Mender grinned back; they would absolutely love to watch a movie, and rub it in Hirra’s face. 

So, a few hours later, as Hirra finished munching the last cinnamon rolls, she got a notification on her phone. It was from… Mender? She rarely sent Hirra texts. What if she and Kim were hurt?! She quickly clicked on the notification to see… A SELFIE OF THEM AND KIM WATCHING A MOVIE WITHOUT HER and… MORE CINNAMON ROLLS??? Those backstabbers… 

Then again, maybe she should have seen it coming that Kim would do something in retaliation for their stolen snacks… 

“Touché.” she mumbled to herself. 

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

[ali-annals]

The Meeting

G | Jason apprehends a burglar. Marinette gets a secret admirer or two. | 0.4k 

Part 1     Part 2     Part 3     Part 4     Part 5     Part 6     Part 7   Part 8     Part 9

Hood lowered his binoculars. Someone in a black leather and armoured costume was slinking around his base. No one should know it was his base, much less that he was here, so was this someone for Talia, who was letting him crash here?

If so, were they for Talia, or ‘for’ Talia?

Deciding it was better safe than sorry, Hood returned his helmet to his head and took off.

~~~~~

Lady Bug leapt to the window, having carefully calculated the momentum she needed and the correct timing so the sensors wouldn’t go off. She gasped as something grabbed her ankle and yanked her down.

Twisting to face her opponent, she withdrew a baton from her belt and extended it. Opposing her was a tall, built man in dark grey and a red helmet. Guns and various knives were strapped all over his body.

“Who are you?” they blurted at the same time.

“I’m Red Hood, who are you?”

“Lady Bug. Why are you here?”

“I live here. Why are you here?” he repeated.

“To visit someone. Clearly they’re not here,” she sniffed.

“Who’re you looking for, Little Bug?” he straightened from his defensive posture.

She bristled. “I’m not a little bug. Why I’m here is none of your business.”

“It’s my business when you’re breaking into my place to get it,” said Hood dryly. “It’s in my interests to help you, so you don’t get taken out by one of my extensive security precautions. Cleaning up bodies is so boring after a while.”

“Especially when they’re where you live,” she agreed. “Fine, I’ll go.”

She turned and leapt up various hand and foot holds to the top of the fifteen-foot barrier around the property.

Perching at the top, she paused and called down, “I don’t suppose you’d tell me a clue to the Dragon’s new quarters, would you?”

“You suppose correctly,” he called back cheerily.

Flipping him off, she dropped off the wall and disappeared into the night.

~~~~~

The next day Jason called Talia.

“Hey, T, it’s me. Do you know why a Lady Bug was buzzing around my place last night, looking for you?”

“Lady Bug, you say?” mused Talia. “Hm…I believe I do. If you come across her again, do give her a clue to my whereabouts. I’m curious about this one.”

Talia, curious about someone? That person was valuable, Jason considered. Lady Bug had two new admirers.

[sankta-starkova]

BURN IT DOWN

005; THE AXE FORGETS

previous chapter | next chapter | masterlist

summary: the one where harlow kaz goes into a new mission with her best friend to help the rebellion but ends up meeting a man who changes her life completely

wordcount: 1.3k

It was finally the day to leave and go on the mission and Harlow wasnt ready, she never would be ready but she had decided that she had to be.

She walked along the mountainside, remembering the Bonfire last night as she walked away from the last five months spent with her best friend in Aldhani.

"What's an imperial Lieutenant getting involved on this?" Cassian asked, breaking the silence between him and Vel.

"What difference does it make?" Vel questioned, now understanding why Harlow always said that he asked too many questions.

"Everyone else seems to know," he said and she sighed, looking over at the group before quieting her voice.

"He fell in love with a local woman and they killed her, he lost his taste for the empire," She explained, looking over at Cassian, "Everyone had their own start to a rebellion,"

"And Harlow and Cinta," he asked and Vel shook her head.

She knew what he meant, a man doesn't just look at a woman in that way if he didn't have some sort of feelings towards her.

"Don't get too attached. Me, Cinta, Harlow and Nemik are heading back to Coruscant as soon as this is over," she said, looking away from him.

"I'm just curious," he said, stuttering over the first few words slightly.

"You're not thinking with your head," she said, practically spitting the words at him.

"Who are they?" He asked, his voice more forceful this time.

Vel sighed, "Their parents and village were killed by stomtroopers and they moved in with a rich family on coruscant," she explained.

Cassian nodded his head slightly, now it made sense as to why she hated the empire so much, why she had gotten angry at luthen when he mentioned his dead father.

They were going to make it out alive and that wasnt a doubt, she had planned this perfectly and if they stayed on time it should work out.

They walked for around another hour before Vel called a break, the group stopping in a clearing.

Harlow turned around to see Skeen holding his knife to Cassians throat, her eyes going wide as she watched the scene unfold.

"Don't move, cause you know what'll happen," Skeen said, focusing all of his attention on Cassian.

Harlow jumped into a fight or flight mode. She started to walk over against her better judgement, holding her gun out and pointing it at Skeens head, "Put the knife down Skeen," she ordered.

He looked back at her and pulled the knife towards him, slicing off the necklace around Cassians neck. He held it up and they all looked at the blue sky kyber that Luthen had given him.

"I knew it, I knew you were lying," he said, showing the necklace to everyone, "Sky kyber, he comes here with nothing but a 30,000 credit necklace,"

He steps away from Cassian but she still pointed the gun at him, her resolve clear as she cocked the blaster.

"He won't say why he's here and Harlow won't stop protecting him so please explain it to me," He said

"Put the gun down," Vel said, looking at Harlow and she shook her head. Vel repeated the statement again and Harlow held her hand up in surrender, putting the gun back in the holster, "We don't have time for this,"

"You know exactly who I am and you know I'll kill you for it," Cassian said, his voice clearly angry as he took a step towards Skeen.

"Everyone stands down," Taramyn said, his hand hovering over the gun in his holster.

Nemik called out that there was a ship coming and they all froze, stopping their fighting until he shook his head, looking through the binoculars, "I think we're okay, it's not heading here,"

"Well talk when we're safe," Vel said.

Vel walked in the back with Cassian, questioning him about the mission when he asked her about the

"I'm being paid," Cassian announced and everyone turned to look at him, "To be here, you need to know and that's it. I'm here for the money and if you can't live with that then I'll walk away and wish you luck,"

She stood with Taramyn, the two talking about the mission when she heard Vel let out an angry noise.

"The day before is always hard, too much time to worry," Cassian explained, "To take a risk like this, there's a difference between fear and losing your nerve,"

He looked out at the group of people around him, their scared faces that they tried to hide with confidence but he saw through it.

"You want out of this, make a choice, don't use me as an excuse," he said and everyone stood there, silent

"Harlow?" Taramyn questioned, "Did you know?"

"I knew, actually I'll come forward and say I brought him here when I saved his ass from the empire," She explained, not afraid of what she'd done.

"Who's paying him," Skeen questioned, narrowing his eyes at him.

"I can't tell you," she stated. Harlow wasn't going to give him up.

She stood there as everyone was silent for a second, "Is it your dad?" Taramyn questioned.

"He's not my dad," she said.

Cassian looked at her, curious as to what was going on. She seemed angry when she said that, almost like she didn't want people to hold this over her.

"Cinta?" Taramyn questioned, his suspicious eyes and interrogation moving over to her.

"They didn't tell me," she stated and he nodded, believing her.

"Lets get to the camp in one piece and you can kill us when we get there okay," Vel said, stopping the arguing as she began to walk off.

"You knew this?" Taramyn asked, looking at Vel.

Everyone started to follow her, Harlow and Cassian walking silently in the back, both of them feeling like outcasts in the group.

He could tell that the group was a lot more tense now and he hadn't meant to cause such an issue within the group.

"Yeah, I did," she said, looking over at him, "I joke that I saved you but uh, you kind of saved me there too,"

"Is he your father? That man?" Cassian asked and she shook her head.

"No, and that's a long story," she said, looking away from him. She had only known him for a few days and wasn't willing to share her entire life story with him yet.

"I've got time," he said, a half hearted smile on his face and she shook her head.

"I don't, now pick up the pace," Harlow ordered, walking faster and leaving Cassian slightly behind.

When they stopped walking, she stood in the back still, not wanting to cause any more uses than she'd already caused.

"We need to signal soon, let's get a fire up, let's go," Vel said, looking over at Skeen who started gathering wood.

Nemik walked over and stood next to her, neither of them saying anything and honestly, she didn't want to say anything.

"I'm sorry for not telling you Nemik," Harlow said, looking at her friend.

"It's okay 'Low, I get it, you had to protect him," he said, a smile on his face, "I trust you,"

"The choice was take him or call it off," she admitted, looking around at the shocked faces of the group.

She didn't know how to respond to that so she just stood there, taking a deep breath as she prepared for the mission that would change their lives.

"You didn't have to stand up for me like that," he said, looking into the distance at the rest of them.

[aelwynoshaughnessy]

got possessed & wrote a drabble

Kristen Applebees drives her guardians insane.

This is nothing new, seeing as she's been one of Jawbone's strays since she was fourteen; she is chaotic and loud and clumsy and she never remembers to switch her food out of the fridge before it goes rotten.

That does not mean, in any respect, that her guardians don't love her just as fiercely as the rest of their kids. Ergo, the current scene.

"Gimme," says Sandra Lynn, nudging Jawbone lightly so he passes over her ranger binoculars. "Any intel?" "She's just... God, I have never seen her sit this still for so long," Jawbone murmurs. Sandra Lynn fixes the zoom Jawbone fucked up so she can get a better look until Lydia pulls the binoculars from her hands.

"I still think we should've gone with the kids," Lydia says. The Bad Kids, off their own insistence and Kristen's slight bafflement, are perched in the singular tree outside Krom's, Riz hanging by his tail so he can read Kristen's lips.

"I think that would have gone poorly," Jawbone says gently. "Her parents hate everything we are. We've got to let her take the leap safely-- and that means watching from here. Anyway, Aelwyn threw like six wards on Kristen. If her folks try anything, they're going to get blasted all the way to Mumple."

The three adults of Mordred Manor reflect on that for a moment before Sandra Lynn groans and throws up her hands.

"I'm going insane." "Go do a lap around the house, babe," Lydia suggests. "I'm not going to run a lap. One of my kids is talking to people who hurt her really badly and god damn if I don't want to kill them. I'm staying right here."

"So are we," Jawbone soothes, squeezing her hand. "Lyd, can I borrow the thingy?"

"You know they're called binoculars, you're just annoying me," Sandra Lynn says.

"Oh, absolutely. That's my job! I'm a bit guy!"

The three of them smile at each other for a second and Jawbone checks on Kristen again. "Okay, they're arguing, but Kristen's clearly got the upper hand. We're good. Oh, come on, Fabian, put the sword away--"

Once the discussion leads-- as it always was-- to the Bad Kids teleporting through the window and causing a ruckus, Sandra Lynn sighs and drops her head against Lydia's shoulder.

"We should work on grabbing Kristen's brothers, too. We don't have enough kids here."

Jawbone snorts and Lydia cackles.

"I'm not kidding," Sandra Lynn says, stubborn as anything, as both her partners press a kiss to her forehead.

"Oh, we know you're not," Jawbone replies.

"Before Ragh n' Track left they tried a jailbreak and only stopped on Kristen's insistence," Lydia reports. "The second Kris gives the go-ahead, those boys are comin' right here. It'll be good for 'em."

Jawbone stands and stretches. "Okay, 'm gonna make biscuits for Kris when she gets home. Can you two make sure to tell her all her feelings are valid ones n' shit?" "I'm gonna threathen to make her parents my new target practice," Sandra Lynn vows, and Lydia holds up her spear in solidarity.

"That works, too." (When Kristen Applebees gets home, all three of her guardians hug her long and tight. It's exactly what she needs.

Across town, Bucky Applebees stares at his bedroom ceiling and allows himself to wonder about paths outside of the one he's been given.)

Kristen meeting up with her parents in Krom's Diner is funny to me because it conjures the image of Sandra Lynn, Jawbone, and Lydia watching through a Mordred window with binoculars making sure that nothing bad happens

[mconsent]

What the Future Holds for Eye Care Offices | mConsent

Providing comprehensive eye care to infants and children requires specialized approaches and tools. Pediatric patients have unique needs due to challenges with cooperation, communication, and accurate testing.

Fortunately, recent innovations are equipping optometrists with better technologies and techniques to enhance pediatric vision care.

Implementing these advancements will help optometrists detect issues sooner, slow progression of disorders, and improve vision outcomes for children.

1. Advanced Photoscreening Systems

Photoscreening devices provide a critical first vision screening for children as young as 6 months. The handheld devices use infrared cameras to photograph the eyes and detect several amblyopia risk factors within seconds without child cooperation.

This allows lifesaving early detection of issues like strabismus, high refractive errors, and media opacities that warrant further evaluation.

2.Enhanced Handheld Autorefraction

Devices now allow quick, portable autorefraction and keratometry testing on pediatric patients.

The animated displays with familiar shapes and characters keep children engaged and minimally distracted for more reliable readings even on pre-verbal patients. This aids early detection of significant refractive errors.

 3. Myopia Control Methods

New techniques like overnight orthokeratology, low-dose atropine eye drops, and specially designed contact lenses have proven up to 60% reduction in myopia progression in children.

Starting these interventions promptly at the first signs of myopia allows prevention and slowing of pathologic high myopia severity later on.

4. Expanded Amblyopia Treatment Options

Traditional amblyopia treatment using eye patching has expanded to include new modalities like iPad apps, Bangerter filters, and office-based vision therapy activities.

These can improve compliance and outcomes by offering more varied stimulation and treatment engagement. This reduces long-term visual deficits.

5. Objective Accommodative Testing

Dynamic retinoscopy and handheld devices allow objective measurement of focus and accommodation abilities.

This aids early diagnosis of accommodation anomalies like deficiencies and infacilities that can significantly impact learning.

6. Immersive Binocular Testing

Virtual reality headsets allow advanced 3D testing of binocular vision function using immersive games and activities.

This allows earlier identification of issues like convergence insufficiency, lazy eye, and subtle depth perception problems that may be missed on static clinical testing.

7. Pediatric-Friendly Refraction Tools

Refraction apps on iPads allow game-like activities to keep pediatric patients engaged during the subjective refraction process for more accurate and efficient prescriptions. Automated phoropters also minimize the need to switch lenses manually.

8. Genetic Testing for Diagnosis

Genetic tests from dry blood samples can identify over 300 inherited retinal and optic nerve disorders. This allows earlier diagnosis and management guidance without requiring child cooperation for imaging procedures.

9. Specialized Contact Lens Fitting

Smaller contact lens diameters, customizable peripheral curves, and advanced fitting techniques accommodate children's eyes as they grow. This expands contact lens correction options for pediatric patients.

Conclusion:

From photoscreeners to genetic tests, groundbreaking technological and clinical advancements are shaping the future of pediatric optometry.

Implementing these innovations will equip your practice to provide optimal eye care for infants and children. Leveraging the latest pediatric vision care tools and techniques demonstrates your commitment to helping every child see clearly and thrive.

[lifewithchronicpain]

I can’t believe the eclipse is almost here. I have been waiting for it ever since I looked it up in 2017 when the eclipse back then was nowhere near me. I’ve packed my suitcase and made sure to include the eclipse glasses and my binoculars only to be use during totality.

I’m glad I get to experience it with family but I feel bad for the niece, she’s 3 so she might not remember or if she does it might be vague. Nephew is 5 so he has a better chance of remembering the event more clearly.

I’m also looking forward to the clear night skies during a new moon for some excellent constellation viewing.