#the only other show I've managed to finish was Crash Landing on You

[hiya-popstar]

Back for the first time in months to say I've finally found another K-drama (more comedy) that I love as much as Oh My Ghost. Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Jo. So fantastic.

I have a tendency to start K-dramas, but never finish them bc I can't handle the awkward comedy, over the top acting, or lack of chemistry between actors. I have a very low tolerance for cringe.

But both these shows do the comedy and drama aspects right. Truly laugh out loud. And the chemistry of all the actors is great. Everyone is likeable... No one seems too cartoonish.

Turns out both shows had the same writer. So why did she make two shows in 2015 and 2016 and then practically disappear. Let her write all the shows!

[bigball-thefrog]

i was kinda wondering if you could write something with Sabo. Like the reader is a current Strawhat but they were formerly part of the revolutionary army awhile back. And the reader and Sabo were close with eachother and eventually Sabo caught feelings for the reader. Like maybe they crossed passed during Dresrosa something like that☝🏻idk but thanks anyway!

Hi hi, I've just finished your request and I hope it is up to your standards, this is the second longest one shot I've written so I hope it is good, please enjoy.

Warnings/Tags:

Fluff

Dressrosa spoilers

______________________________

Narrator POV

You were only five when it happened, when your village crumbled and turned into rubble and flames. You wondered around trying to find your parents but instead you came across someone else. A tall man covered in a cloak, you couldn't see his face and felt quite intimidated by him, but he carefully took you by the hand and led you to a ship where other people were. They were the revolutionary army, and the man that helped you was their leader, Monkey D Dragon.

Since then you were taken in and raised by the revolutionary army. It was hard at first but after a year you had learned to read and study and began learning to fight. When you were ten years old you were one of the best there. Then one day they bought in a new boy, named Sabo. He showed exceptional abilities in both fighting and knowledge. So soon, you two became rivals, always trying to be the smartest and strongest. As you both grew your passion for being the strongest and smartest calmed down and the both of you finally started to be civil with each other and became friends and soon best friends. But, you calming down with your competitiveness wasn't because of you growing up and maturing, it was because you weren't passionate about being a revolutionary anymore. Yes you didn't mind helping people and liberating countries but... You wanted adventure! And freedom, not planning and missions and training daily. You eventually voiced your complaints to Dragon and surprisingly to you, he was willing to let you go, and he even had an idea. You both left for a place called Logue Town, he used his powers and you ended up landing on a pirate ship, that ship was the Going Merry, the ship of the Strawhats. When you were found you explained your situation and their captain, Luffy, let you join, and from that day you were now an official a Strawhat.

Meanwhile Sabo was upset. You had left while he was on a mission so hadn't said a word about leaving and when you came back, you were just gone... Dragon explained everything and he relaxed a little but, he missed you so much. Through all the, training, learning, missions, and competitions together Sabo had grown feelings for you and was planning to confess... And now you were gone and he didn't know where you were since you were out on the open sea as a pirate. But then when the newspaper report about the Strawhats in Alabasta came out and he managed to see a glimpse of you, and you looked fine, he was happy. Since then he was following your adventures with the Strawhats, gloating and bragging about being close with you whenever a new story about the Strawhats came out, and when you received your first bounty after Enis Lobby, he was quick to hang your bounty up as some ort of trophy. Then when Ace died and he got his memories back, he hung all three of your posters up, You, Luffy and Ace, now the people most dearest to him... His feelings managed to die down a little during the two years of training but when the reports of the Strawhats being back came out and he saw you and how you had grown up in those two years, all his feelings came crashing back, you looked stronger, and more mature.. Boy was he blushing when he saw how you looked again.

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You were currently sitting in the coliseum in Dressrosa, you were tasked with lookin after Luffy while he fraught for the flame flame fruit. You had met Ace back in Alabasta so you knew how much this fruit ment to Luffy. It was now the final fight with the last four competitors against Demante, Luffy was in a disguise with a fake beard, cloak, sunglasses and a helmet on, going under the name Lucy so he wasn't caught by any of Doflamingos people. But when he came out for the final fight he seemed different. He wasn't wearing the sunflower shirt as before and he seemed to have a different attitude, and the fact that he was now carrying a metal pipe as a weapon.. It seemed familiar somehow but not the Luffy kind of familiar, like it was someone else from your past. You got closer and watched the battle, his fighting seemed more calculated than usual and once again you were hit with the feeling that this wasn't your captain but someone else. Once he managed to get the flame flame fruit you saw him take a bit from it, why on earth would he do the when he already has a devilfruit?! But then he used the flame flame fruits powers and you were confused, did Luffy somehow have the power to use two Devilfruits like Blackbeard? No, even if he could, Luffy wouldn't use another fruit, and he said he wanted Aces fruit to go to someone he trusted so this definitely wasn't your captain.

Then he made the giant hole that drained the coliseum and into the secret underground factory, you jumped down with them. Once the chaos had cleared you saw the guy impersonating your captain and tackled him, "Who are you, and why are you pretending to be Luffy-..." That, scar... You took off the sunglasses and fake beard and.... "SABO?!??!" He chuckled and sat up and you got off him, "The one and only, how have you been?" He said and smiled at you. You looked at him up and down and saw how he had grown, you blushed a little but just ignored it, "Well I'm assuming you're here because of the Doflamingo situation but... How do you know Luffy, and why were you pretending to be him in the fight?" "Well, I wanted to be the one to inherent my brother's Devilfruit." you looked at him puzzled. Did he mean Aces fruit? Why did he call him his brother? Wait a minute... "You're Luffy's other brother?!?!" Sabo smiled, "Yes, sometime after you left I got my memories back and remembered my childhood with Ace and Luffy. When I heard Ace's Devilfruit was here, I didn't want it to fall into the hands of someone I didn't trust, so I decided I wanted to be the on to carry his Devilfruit powers." You nodded in understanding. It made sense that he would want to have Ace's powers since that was also his brother, "Wait, but since you were there in the arena, where's Luffy? I'm supposed to be watching him." "He's probably at Doflamingos castle by now. You sighed and Sabo chuckled, "So now you know the pain of having to look after Luffy huh?" Sabo smirked, "I don't know how you and Ace could handle him as kids..." Sabo laughed and looked behind him, "I'd love to catch up right now but I came here for a mission. But hey, since you don't have to look after Luffy now, do you wanna help me and the revolutionary army?" You looked over Sabo and saw them and smiled, your old friends. "I'd love to." You accepted and both ran to go join them.

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After all the chaos that took place in Dressrosa, you and the other Strawhats were all hiding and healing in Kyros' house in a flower field, away from the people and away from the marines. While Luffy was asleep, Sabo had come to say goodbye, he chatted with everyone for a bit then had to leave, you followed him out, wanting to walk him back to the boat and catch up. It was a calm walk, both of you telling each other about the adventures you both went on since you left and it was nice to see your best friend again, that was until Sabo looked more serious and looked at you, "So... Care to explain why you left all of a sudden those two years ago?" Sabo asked, your heart dropped. You knew this question was coming and you were dreading it but you managed to confess, "I wasn't... Happy anymore, with the revolutionary army.. Yes I loved helping people and countries but... I wanted more, I wanted to explore and adventure, when I wanted and wherever I wanted, with the revolutionary army it was either constant planning, fighting, training and I just got tired... The sea called out to me and I wanted to explore it. I told this to Dragon and he was actually the one that put me on Luffy’s ship. And I haven't regretted it... The only thing I regret is that I never got to say goodbye to you..." You finally got it all off your chest, Sabo's face softened and he pat your head, "I get it, you saw the chance at your happiness and you needed to take it, I'm glad you went for it and found where you belong. Even though I'm upset you left, I'm glad you're happy." He smiled at you and you smiled back. You both continued talking and eventually you got to their ship, you caught up with the others there but, they had to leave, you now had to say goodbye to Sabo after not seeing him for two years..

Sabo saw your upset look and embraced you, you wrapped your arms around him and just started sobbing. He lightly rubbed your head and tried to calm you down, "Hey... Please don't cry, you're acting like we're never going to see each other again..." "B-but, you're a revolutionary, I'm a pirate, we both go in different directions, how are we ever gonna meet again?! And just when I got to see you again, all the things I've wanted to tell you, all the things I've wanted to say!" Sabo sighed as he continued to comfort you, "Well it might not be too hard..." you looked up at him puzzled, "I just got my memories back, you really think I'm not gonna be keeping an eye on my little brother? And you too~" you smiled and he ruffled your hair, "I doubt this is going to be the last time that one of your pirate adventures lines up with one of our missions, and when that happens again, at least we're on the same side~" you nodded. Before you could respond and finally say goodbye, Sabo leaned down and kissed you right on the lips. And not just a peck on the lips, but a deep and meaningful kiss. He pulled away and cupped your cheek, you just stood there dumbfounded, "There, I've stolen a kiss from you so now we have to meet up again and you have to come see me, so you can steal one back~" Sabo let go of you and got on the ship. You snapped out of your shocked state when you heard the ship begin to move, you ran up to the edge and stood as far as you could to see them off and wave goodbye to Sabo.

Now, you were filled with a new feeling. A feeling of determination to steal that kiss back, a feeling of excitement for seeing your childhood friend again, a feeling of love...

______________________________

Alright, I have two more requests that I will try to finish this week, so please enjoy this for now, and I'll see you next time

Kelly🐸

[yikesitskennawrites]

The highlights of my year edition: 2023 to July 17th 2024

January 8th, 2023: I met my first boyfriend at my workplace. He was a customer and I was making his sandwich. We went out on a date two days later.

March 2023: I switched from night shift to opening and became assistant manager. I personally don't act like one because I never got a pay raise 🙃

June 5th, 2023: I moved out of my parents house and into a studio apartment with my boyfriend.

June 16th to the 24th 2023: I went to my friends university graduation before flying over to Las Vegas, Nevada to celebrate. It was my first time in a airplane and I loved it. I kept telling my friends that the airplane was gonna crash and the kid in front of me had a wide eyed look. I knew it wasn't but I loved joking about it.

We went to Tacobell Las Vegas. We saw this cute bird swoop in and land on the table.

Cereal Killerz, I had the oreo milkshake and it wasn't that great. By the way, my whole focus on this trip was to try out all oreo milkshakes I could because I love that specific flavor of shake.

We went to the Muesum of Death. I would add pictures but all the photos have flesh of donated bodies for science.

Omega Mart. It's like a interactive art museum.

The Rainforest Cafe, which was oof expensive. I got a $15.00 quesadilla because it was the cheapest on the menu.

Guy Feris Restaurant. I got trashcan nachos because it was cheap but I couldn't finish all of it due to how salty it tasted.

The Marvel Muesum. It was really just some marvel posters and statutes of the original six.

Dennys along the Strip. Second best oreo milkshake there tbh.

We went to this candy store that I don't remember the name of but it has a gummy bear chandler. I got this cotton-candy alcohol drink and it was amazing.

We also went to an ice bar, which sounds exactly like it is. I would add pictures but all of them contain my friends and I don't want to post them online.

We went to a Blair Witch escape room, no pictures of that; but, my friends did it as a little surprise because they knew I loved the Blair Witch movie. It's not the plot, but the acting that makes it great 😌

I spent my 23rd birthday in a airport to return home and the best milkshake I had was from Rubys in the airport. I have no intentions of returning to Las Vegas. It wasn't for me, I didn't like the heat or how expensive everything was. I didn't like the crowds, but what else would you expect for a popular tourists city?

July 16th, 2023:

I adopted a kitten. Her name is Pretzel and she has a bit of a bent tail and one of her pupils are bigger than the other. She loves to play with tootsies and she will yell at anyone she can.

July 22nd, 2023: I drove the seven hour drive from my small town up to Seattle, Washington for the first night of the Taylor Swift Eras Tour. It was hot and crowded and anxiety inducing because holy crap I've never been in a place with 65,000 people. I remember feeling the ground shake and it was because everyone was jumping and dancing along to her songs and it stimulated a earthquake.

September 18th, 2024: After being in pain and sick for a week, I ended up in the hospital because my gallbladder decided to expand to the size of a fist and it had to be removed. The doctors said if I came in a day later it would have imploded and I would be very sick or dead. They also said it was the biggest one they have ever seen and removed. I didn't want to go to the doctor because the American Healthcare system sucks. My hospital bill before insurance was just a little past $40,000. I only had to pay $3,000. Unfortunately, bad gallbladders run in the family it was just my time for mine. I wanted to keep it in a jar but they wouldn't let me 🙃

June 23rd, 2024: I celebrated my 24th birthday. All I wanted was Ruby's cake from the Nickelodeon show Max and Ruby.

July 17th, 2024

I'm doing alot better mentally. I'm thriving so much more than I was earlier this year. I feel like a Sunflower with the warmth of the sun beaming down on me

[sinvulkt]

20 Questions For Writers

Wow, thank you so much for the tag @fanfictasia !! I've wanted to participate in something like this forever!! 🎶✨��✨️

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Right now? 66.

"Yes, as a star wars writer, I am very proud of that. No, I do not intend to change it anytime soon."

I really need to focus on (and finish) some of my WIPs, and that mean trying not to disperse my energy amidst one shots (no matter how much i love monthly challenges and fic exchange events). Also I'm very proud of that 66 count and want to appreciate it xd.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

321k words!!

(More or less 100k / year 🎶 little me would never believe that 0.0

My school exam results sure don't, with how they are dropping 🤣)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Star wars mostly (Vaderkin or my OC Sinvulkt), then Marvel (Dr Strange), Dream SMP (Dream), Le Visiteur du Future (Renard) and more recently Batman (Bruce Wayne) as well as Avatar: the last airbender (Zuko).

Plus the original stories I am supposed to write but almost never end up doing xd (the engagement in fandom compared to original stories make the switch hard xd).

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

1. Dreamt of a Never Ending Sky (Dream SMP)

669 kudos

2. To Fly Free Under The Morning Sun (Star Wars)

480 kudos

3. On the Edge of Twilight (Star Wars)

380 kudos

4. Scales of Embers (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

353 kudos

5. Crash Landing on Space Australia (Star Wars)

319 kudos

I'll never know how my Dream SMP fic got so much engagement. Good timing at a moment the fandom was in effervescence, I guess. Scales of Embers scoring so high is also a surprise 0.0. I discovered it had that many kudos today. It’s a shame the Dr Strange fandom is small because I think my Dr Strange WIP What If Doctor Strange Lost His Humanity ? would have deserved a place here. It definitely does in my heart.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! As a reader, I always feel super happy when the author shows that they’ve read and appreciated my comments. I know that personality an author who answers make me more likely to want to drop a comment.

As an author, I absolutely want to show how much I love every single comments, so I try to answer them all. But I get a little overwhelmed sometimes, bcs lots of other stuff going on irl or another reason. As such, it can happen that I don't feel the energy to answer a comment on the spot. And if I don't answer it on the spot (using the power of the wiggy dizzy nice happy feeling of getting a comment), I don't necessarily have the energy to answer later on. I currently have something like 60 unanswered comments I think? TT.TT

But rest assured that whether I answered or not, I absolutely adore and cherish every single ones!! Comments are amazing! ✨️.✨️

(This kind of engagement is one of the only reason I managed to settle into such an active rythm of writing after years of trying then dropping the hobby~)

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Glance at my fics.

Uhhh... This is a hard question here... Many of them have angsty endings XD

Mostly the ones at the beginning (the worst written ones xd). I wonder why~

Also a lot of them don' have endings yet XD

I'll say amidst the 'old' fics from 2021, Day 8 - Screaming (Star Wars) would be the angstier one (or most horrible one ig xd).

But as far as recent fic go... While I haven't finished writing it bcs its wordcount exploded in my face, I already plotted / drafted it a few months ago and I know the ending, so I'll choose:

Batman’s Downfall (To Stand Alone) (Batman)

I noticed my kind of angst doesn’t have much success around these parts 🫠🤣. Oh well. I cherish it all the same :3.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Sometimes I think I wrote too many fics. It's hard to select one.

Uhhh... My fluffiest works are one shots in Of Feathers and Freedom serie, but they are part of the series so it’s not really an 'ending'.

...

I'll answer for the crackiest story rather than the happiest ending bcs all my finished fics ending are ominous open ending at best xd.

The Blob Adventures Of Excentrics Jedi (Star Wars)

Because it's cute blob drawings of our crazy team of OC in taaoej, and I love them (although we are all angst lovers in taaoej, so it's more crack-angst, and we don't know the ending bcs there isn't really one. Not yet at least. Hopefully never).

8. Do you get hate on your fic?

Just my own innervoice as far as I'm aware. But then I've always been rather clueless when people tried to 'hate on me'. The message usually just got lost somewhere in dreamspace immensity, never computing.

I've found the fandoms communities really welcoming at the very least!!

9. Do you write smut?

No.

I don't really enjoy reading smut. Nor romance for the matter. I don't think I'd enjoy writing it.

But maybe I'll try one day, for the sake of experimenting all genres.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I never did. I don't know why. Maybe I just never felt the need to mix characters and universes. There are amazing crossovers out there though, so who knows, maybe one day I'll try one.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of. In all honesty, I don't think my works are nearly popular enough to get stolen xd.

My writing style isn’t that good yet, and my dislike of romance when the majority of the fandom community is ship-powered means I end up in a corner quite niche. (A corner I love, that being said. Yay Crack, Angst and Gen~)

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but maybe I'll translate some of mine in french someday. Be it only so that I do write fiction in my native language from time to time.

Anyone that wanna translate my fics, feel free to!!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Yes, To Fly Free Under The Morning Sun (Star Wars)!!

I’m still waiting for my co-author @purpleopossum to come back to me / get back in star wars mood to continue that one. 🫠

Can’t say my hopes are that high up after all this time, but it’s the redemption | healing part of the serie and I don’t really have fun writing alone redemption | healing part... i prefer doing the whole mayhem that create the injury in the first place. And with how long some of my fics hiatus are (and I got no excuse for those xd), it’s only fair for me to wait. (I did write more other works for the dragon Vader serie in the meantime xd).

I made an oath to myself to never leave a work unfinished though, so we’ll see. If in several years purple still doesn’t wish to continue it, or if she inform me she is dropping the story, I’ll try to make some kind of ending. It’s part of the game i guess.

Alternatively, the The Amazing Adventures Of Excentrics Jedi universe is a group of star wars OCs that we made together with @pat-the-togorian , @asteral-feileacan , @ct2002-rema and Xylian. I don’t know if that count as co-writing? We usually write our OCs pov.

But in all cases, co-writting is very fun and I’d definitely do it again if other opportunities arise in the future.

14. What‘s your all-time favourite ship?

The absence of ship is my all-time favorite ship. Otherwise, "main character / digging their own grave" would be my 'favorite ship' since I tend to synch with idiots snarky jerks disasters.

15. What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

To Fly Free Under The Morning Sun (Star Wars) that I mentioned for question 13? 🤣

More seriously, I'll answer On the Edge of Twilight (Star Wars)

Because it's my vent fic. I know the main plot line, I vaguely know the current arc, but no one can predict where the next arc will go. It's all pure impulse and while I have a vague idea of 'ending', I refuse to plan a path towards it. This fic specifically, I want to keep pure impulse. So I'd love for it to become some kind of "The NeverEnding Story". :3

16. What’s your writing strengths?

I write.

No seriously, it's not something I did four years ago appart from vent poems here and there. Writing is in itself a huge writing strenght!

Otherwise I'm also a bottomless well of idea. It's pretty neat.

17. What’s your writing weaknesses?

... romance?

Or dialogues. Lastly I have a lot of frustration around the transition from dialogue / transition / dialogue. I feel like I'm crap at properly timing that.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

It's fun. I do it for games sometimes. Since apparently writing normally is not chllenging enough for my brain sometimes. It did teach me bits of mando'a.

Recently for Sēċan (Star Wars) I decided last minute to put the whole droid dialogue in morse, and I regret none of it.

I'm usually only doing it for one shots though, and never 'official existing' languages until now.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Star wars :p

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

Now that's another hard question, how am I supposed to select one.

I'm gonna answer the whole Of Feathers And Freedom (Star Wars) serie. Bcs wings. :3

Tag time~ (if you wish to)

@purpleopossum @pat-the-togorian @cinderfeather @beguilewritesstuff @purple-iris @dreaminghour @ravenite-void @trickstress333 @bluntblade @doctorgeekery @stewardofningishzida @jenae-0 @trickstress333 @kittonafoxgirl @pastelcourage @salparadiselost @kefalion @charlottevader @ravenstakeflight @starr234 @aelaer @sarcasticfirefighter @mckiwi @linzerj @sonderwalker @exomal @tonhalszendvics @nephilimswitchlight @firejay112 @only-here-for-the-star-wars @ajedilikehisfather @makaronik @chickadeechickadoo @dirtkid123 @numerousbees1106 @akizumy @25centsoda @udekai @wendingways @silvereddaye @in-company-of-misery @wisechaosglitter @kuraiarcoiris @alright-anakin @wyvunn you're more than welcome to join on the interview fun!! (Or to ignore the tagging if not interested xd).

I know I tagged. I lot of people. Some of you may recognise my pseud, some may not. But I thought it would be interesting to hear the answer of the various authors with whom I interacted on ao3 over the years, so I went and digged up those with tumblr I could find from my inbox 🤣

(Hopefully I didn’t bother any of you >.< - otherwise I apologize. Same for if I accidentally tagged a non-writer.)

I'd love to hear your answers! 🎶

[rachelbethhines]

60 Years of Doctor Who Anniversary Marathon - McCoy 8th Review

The Professor & Ace: The Left Hand of Darkness - Behind the Scenes

There's potentially several things you can cover in this section during the wilderness years. There's sequels, spin-offs, documentaries, articles, books, interviews, Big Finish, and various unrelated films that have nothing to do with Who but seem to be cast with nothing but actors from the old show.

But for my money, the absolute wildest thing to come out of this period is straight up Bootleg Who.

Same actors, same writers, same basic premise, same characters in all but name.. or even in name in some cases... But it's not called Doctor Who so legally it's not Doctor Who you see.

Man, UK copyright is weird.

There were two prominent bootlegs at the time.

The Stranger, staring Colin Baker, was a series of direct to video films with a few spin off audios. He and his companion 'Miss. Brown' (played by Nicola Bryant) travel through time and save the day... you know, just like in Doctor Who, but they never say their names and you never see their actual method of travel.

The second is The Professor and Ace, aka The Time Travelers, aka The Dominie... yeah this thing had a lot of monikers. It's called the Professor and Ace on Audible where I bought it so that's what I'm going with.

This was an audio series staring Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred as two time travelers, one a mysterious 900 year old alien called the Professor and the other a delinquent teen called Ace... but her real name is Alice in this, not Dorothy, so it's totally a different character guys.

It's insane!

It's glorious!

It's the closest you can get to official Doctor Who with out it actually being officially licensed Doctor Who.

Even the 60s Dalek movies are more canonical than this...

Which is in some ways is a shame as, it's actually good. Or at least the one episode that I listened to was.

The series manages to be mature without being grotesque. It succeeds where I think things like the Virgin New Adventures fails.

There's cursing, but it never feels out of character, or unwarranted, even as Ace peppers her dialogue with the usual kid friendly slang.

There's mature topics discussed but nothing is gratuitous or in your face. It's all real things being brought up like, loss, grief, and trust; bad childhoods and the effects of traumas ... not gory violence for the sake of being shocking.

There's nudity, but only in scenes that call for it in the story... like medical treatment or a bath after running around in the jungle. It's not awkwardly sexullized, but there to add realism to the story and to help ground the setting.

It's basically Who for grown ups, not 'Who for teens that want to appear grown up'. Therein lies the difference... despite what the original cover would have you believe.

Was this really needed, BBV?

Anyways, I've waffled long enough. Let's get down to the actual story shall we?

Ace becomes separated from 'The Professor' and winds up in a crashed spaceship. She's the sole survivor of the wreck and is rescued by a mysterious man named Dorsai.

Dorsai is also a survivor of a previous wreck. A group of scientists crashed landed on the planet that they had originally intended to study. With no workable communications and no hope of rescue from pasting ships due to the remoteness of the planet, the group built a home out of the wreckage of their ship and continued their work.

Dorsai is the only one left now as the rest of the crew have died off one by one. Ace doesn't trust the man, but finds herself reliant on him for survival. Not only because he's the only person around who knows the area and has all of the supplies... but also because she's been blinded by the crash.

(The Left Hand of Darkness By Hisi79)

Like I said previously, this feels more like a continuation of the adventures of Seven and Ace on screen then the actual official continuations we got. Heck in some ways it's an improvement over the tv show itself!

Remember how I bitched about how vague Ace's arc was in The Curse of Fenric novelization?

Yeah, this actually addresses that!

We finally find out why Ace hates her mum. It's nothing we couldn't have figure out with some basic guess work, but it's still nice to actually hear it from the character herself. You know, because it something that effects her and informs her decisions... like why she travels and why she doesn't trust anyone but the 'The Professor'.

We also delve deeper into her blind faith in 'The Professor' and how shaky her strongman act really is, but in a way that feels real and frightening, and not her being manipulated by virtual gods to further some convoluted plot point.

Finally, we address the elephant in the room that I think was set up in Survival but was never fully resolved... Ace going home for real. Not just to see her school mates... whom she all quickly forgets in favor of hot catgirls... but actually returning to where she left off and confronting her problems/past.

Fuck it! This is cannon to me. This is where she leaves the Doctor for real and what she and Seven were discussing in Power of the Doctor. It's my box of head-cannons and you can't take it from me!

[veebs-hates-video-games]

I'm not entirely sure what to say about Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. It's good?

I first attempted to play it forever ago, but I only made it like 70% of the way through. I never had a GBA or anything else I could play GBA games on, but my ex had gotten me a Dingoo. Picture basically a GBA Micro, except with four face buttons and an SD card slot, and also it had emulators for basically every 2D platform from the NES through the GBA (and there was a third-party PS1 emulator you could install that worked ok with a decent number of games too).

It worked pretty well for most stuff I played on there, and it seemed to be going perfectly with Aria of Sorrow too, but I eventually managed to get it stuck in a weird state where no matter what I did it would crash ~30 seconds after loading my save. I never could figure out why or how to fix it, and I just kind of gave up after a while and never touched it again even though it had been a lot of fun.

And then finally a couple years ago Konami took a break from releasing shitty low budget spinoffs of formerly good series and making pachinko machines and put out the Castlevania Advance Collection, and then finally more recently the Switch version was on sale when I wasn't in the middle of a bunch of other stuff and felt up to playing through the entire game again.

It's still one of my favorite metroidvanias (and definitely my favorite Castlevania) up there with stuff like Super Metroid, and it holds up pretty well. I did a 100% souls run and had a good time with it. I know I've complained multiple times recently about Squenix trying and kinda failing with their attempts at proper real time combat that actually feels good in stuff like Harvestella and NEO: TWEWY, but here's this GBA game from like 20 years earlier running on a potato that feels tight and crisp and has good feedback on stuff.

I can tell something does that stuff well when I start picking up on things like noticing you can cancel out of the recovery lag from attacks if your attack is a few frames before you land from a jump, letting you attack again almost immediately. I never figure things like that out when they're so mushy that it's not obvious or hardly makes a difference.

And of course the pixel art still looks good and the music is still fun, and the writing is obviously still complete nonsense just like it's always been in Castlevania games. I probably won't ever get around to the other ones in the collection, but this one is still definitely worth it after all these years.

And just to show how far behind I get on making these posts sometimes, I screenshotted that when I saw it on Steam because it was almost the same day that I got it, and I saved it as a reminder to poke @ion-somnia about it because it was a funny coincidence and I hadn't in a while. And then obviously I didn't, and then even more time passed after I finished the game before getting around to this, so I'm totally doing great at doing all sorts of things before I half/completely forget about them, which is really useful when I try to write these posts so I can remember later what I thought about things when someone asks me. Might work better if I remembered to write them before I forget playing them...

Oh also the fake out intro for the Balore boss fight is too good:

[hklnvgl]

(tagged by the lovely @ailec-12 ✨)

I posted 1,471 times in 2022

48 posts created (3%)

1,423 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@flitwickslittlebrotha

@charactershoesfic

@werewolffeelings

@bloody-wonder

@grrrrrr-argh

I tagged 884 of my posts in 2022

Only 40% of my posts had no tags

#trc - 243 posts

#tdt - 206 posts

#mdzs - 111 posts

#pynch - 79 posts

#d - 54 posts

#aftg - 32 posts

#greywaren spoilers - 32 posts

#fic - 17 posts

#greywaren - 15 posts

#ask - 13 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#i also want to check the country of others by leïla slamani out from my library so whenever i do that i'm pushing it to the top of my list

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Rules: List the first lines of the last ten (10) stories you published. Look to see any patterns you notice yourself, and see if anyone else notices any. Then tag some friends.

i was tagged by both @flitwickslittlebrotha and @kelliealtogether thanks!!! 💕

the real hawk: Ronan knocked, and then knocked again with more force.

est quaedam flere voluptas: On some hidden level, Adam wanted to be the kind of person to effortlessly enjoy parties.

Yiling’s apples: There were plenty of homeless people in Yiling.

overflowing: Sirius regretted many things.

little dolls for sale: It wasn’t the first time Ronan had thought about it.

enormous are the groves: Adam poured himself out of his car, barely pausing to close the door after him.

into silence: It was Blue, Gansey and Henry’s fourth going-away party.

the plum tree flower: Adam inhaled deeply when he got the door open.

arm as a pillow: Declan didn’t technically live with Jordan.

stars parting: The nightmare wasn’t special.

all in all i'm pretty happy with these first lines! so much that some of them doubled as summaries 🙃 i'm not sure who's been tagged already so i'm just gonna tag @of-stars-and-moon @ailec-12 @parakeatswrites and you guys can ignore me if you've done it already 💛

10 notes - Posted February 21, 2022

#4

ages ago (i'm super late sorry 🙃) @andrea-lyn tagged me to do this! 💛 (thank you lovely!!)

Rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (or so) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought to the world in 2021. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

when the world is one color (pynch, 2k). so this is the first of the many one shots i managed to write and post last year and i'm very happy with how it turned out! aka how to combat being cold with hugs (missing scene, post-trk, pre-epilogue)

but for their voices (pynch, 5k). this was very exciting to write bc it was fun to explore adam's thought process in this cdth-inspired au. aka adam is not unkowable if you stare at him long enough (different meeting au, college)

a persimmon (pynch, 1k). oh dear i struggled so hard to finish this little piece bc there were many different things i wanted to include, but i'm quite happy with the result! aka adam panics bc he's horny (missing scene during ch. 39 of trk)

the puppeteer (pynch, 3k). i made myself cry while writing this one. aka once upon a dream (sickfic, mi-adjacent)

yiling’s apples (mdzs, 2k). i've fallen hard for their story so i had to write something for it. aka why does everything important happen in yiling (pov outsider, gen)

tagging @ailec-12 @of-stars-and-moon @cheeeryos @behindtheatlantic @parrished @catboyadamparrish @flightspathfic @kelliealtogether @parakeatswrites 💛💛

12 notes - Posted January 11, 2022

#3

back in march (😅😅) the lovely @ailec-12 tagged me in this game! i'm super late but 🤷‍♀️

rules: tag 9 people you would like to know/catch up with

Last Song: can't remember as usual 🙃

Last TV Show: twenty-five twenty-one (yes it's destroyed me thanks! 🥺)

Currently Watching: crash landing on you (it's a rewatch!)

Currently Reading: you are not like other mothers by angelika schrobsdorff and i'm listening to beloved by toni morrison's audiobook

tagging @ive-garden @creativefiend19 @kelliealtogether @of-stars-and-moon @parrished @sleepy-skittles @purgatorybfs @catboynecromancy @cheeeryos 💛

12 notes - Posted August 3, 2022

#2

Describe yourself with ONLY pictures you have! You cannot download or search new pictures.

i was tagged by @parakeatswrites @kelliealtogether and @behindtheatlantic 💕💕💕

See the full post

13 notes - Posted August 22, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

writing prompts 💖

it's been a hot minute since i last opened prompts and i don't really have lots of time in my hands to write but i think having little things to serve as inspiration is exactly what i need to get back to my usual writing rythm! so. please send me a pairing and a prompt and i'll write a little one-shot 💕 (i'm mainly in the mood for writing pynch and wangxian but if you wished to see any other pairing just send it my way and i'll see if i can write something for it!)

thanks @ailec-12 for helping me compile this lovely list of prompts! 💛

50 Angsty Questions Prompt List

more questions

dialogue ideas

kiss prompts

more kisses

100 dialogue prompts

bad things happen bingo

minifics

anon asks are of course welcome as well! 🥰 thank you!

14 notes - Posted August 23, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[bleachanimefan1]

Dragon Ball Legend Part 19

Frieza's Terrifying Transformation,

Frieza smirked as he began to build more energy. Then everyone saw Frieza body stretch, growing a little taller. Then Frieza's armor began to crack, and it shot out everywhere almost hitting everyone. Dende yelped as a sharp piece landed near him. Vegeta gritted his teeth as he wiped off the blood from the scratch on his cheek. "Is that all? You grew two inches and got rid of your armor. You call that a transformation?"

"Oh Vegeta, it pains me to see you behaving this way. What a waste. I have favored you so much. Why couldn't you just have continued to obey me?" Frieza asked.

"Obey? I only pretended to obey you, idiot! I've been waiting patiently for any chances I get to destroy you once and for all!" Vegeta shouted at him.

"Yes. You're just like your father. A good king. You probably don't even remember him very well, do you Vegeta?" Frieza smirked. 

"What are you saying?!" Vegeta demanded. Frieza chuckled.

"You remember? You were there safely tucked away on my ship while your father was making his ill-fated plans. He planned a rebellion to get you back but failed. So I killed him, along with everyone on the planet. I really wanted you to enjoy the fireworks, Vegeta. They were to die for." Frieza laughed. Vegeta snorted.

"How absurd. You were afraid of the Saiyans so you destroyed their entire race along with the whole planet and yet you left the strongest one alive. You fool! This is one mistake that you're going to pay dearly for!" Frieza twitched angrily and glared back at Vegeta.

"Why you insolent tree monkey! I've had enough of this! You're the one who's going to pay! Talk! All you are is a bunch of talk. Allow me to show you something that not even your father hasn't seen in his lifetime!" He shouted, furiously.

"What?!" Vegeta exclaimed, shocked. Then Frieza yelled as he started to build up his energy again!

"I don't believe it. Absolute madness!" Vegeta stammered.

"It was nice knowing you Krillin and Ocarin." Gohan replied.

"So long Gohan." Krillin said.

"We are not going to die here. We can't!" Ocarin shouted as she looked at Frieza gritting her teeth. How can he have so much power!? This guy is a freak! Frieza began to grow even more taller, his body getting more bulkier and his horns even longer. As he finished, Frieza looked back at everyone else. No one moved a muscle as they stared back at him at his unsettling appearance.

"Well, this is it. I hope you're not disappointed." Frieza smirked. "My, my, what's the matter with you little insects? You seemed frightened. Vegeta, your speechless." Then Frieza's tail shot out from the ground, hiding underneath it. Necke quickly moved and It was heading directly towards Dende! 

"Dende, watch out!" Ocarin cried out. Dende screamed barely managing to dodge Frieza's tail in time and it crashed into the cliff's behind everyone. Frieza pulled his tail back to him.

"It retracts!" Krillin exclaimed shocked. Ocarin glared, angrily at Frieza. Her body and hair began to flicker turning blue and white before returning back to normal.

"You bastard!" She shouted. Frieza stared at her silently in shock for a moment before he smirked.

"Oh, now this is surprising. You want to go first?" He taunted at Ocarin. Ocarin growled at him but didn't move from her spot. Frieza turned to Vegeta. "By the way, Vegeta, didn't I forget to mention that while I'm in this form, my fighting power is at least over a million?" Everyone's eyes widen in shock.

"What?! No way!" Vegeta sputtered.

"O-One million?!" Gohan stammered nervously.

"Allow me to demonstrate." Frieza began to gather more energy and the wind began to pick up, spinning wildly. Before anyone could react, Frieza created a whirlwind blowing everyone off their feet. Everyone was scattered and separated from each other as they were violent tossed into the air. The wind tore the plateau apart, completely demolishing it. Ocarin saw Necke close to her struggling to fly and she quickly grabbed him. Soon, the attack stopped. Ocarin looked down at Necke in her arms.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Necke nodded.

"Yes. I'm fine." He replied. Ocarin smiled then started to look around, trying to find Krillin, Gohan and Dende or Vegeta, even though she didn't like him very much. But they needed all the help they could get at the moment.

"Krillin! Ocarin! Where are you?!" She heard Gohan cry out and saw him a few feet in the air further away from her.

"Over here, Gohan!" Ocarin called out to him. Gohan smiled before he spotted Krillin with Dende and Vegeta floating next to them. Krillin had a scratch on his head.

"Are you okay!?" Gohan asked, worried. Krillin smiled.

"I'm fine. Just a scratch. No problem." He assured Gohan and Ocarin.

"What's with the long faces?" Everyone quickly looked down at Frieza, seeing him standing on last remains of the island. He smirked maliciously looking at each one of them. "Cheer up! It's a beautiful day to die! Don't you agree, Vegeta? Now all we have to do is decide which one of you gets to die first." Ocarin, Krillin, Gohan and Vegeta braced themselves, getting ready for whatever Frieza had planned. Dende and Necke cried out as they hid their face, scared to look at Frieza.

Before anyone could react, Frieza quickly darted a fast speed heading towards his target.

"Ocarin!" Gohan screamed out to her in alarm. 

Damn it! Ocarin quickly closed her eyes as Frieza darted straight towards her. She gripped Necke tightly in her arms and just before Frieza was an inch closer, Ocarin quickly vanished within thin air, along with Necke. Frieza's eyes widen in shock as he stopped dead in his tracks.

"What?!"

Ocarin appeared behind him a few distance away, teleporting next to Gohan. He let out a startled yell when she suddenly appeared beside him. Ocarin panted as she tried to catch her breath, slowly regaining back her energy, to keep herself stable in midair.

"Ocarin?" Necke asked, worried.

"I'm fine." She assured Necke. Then her eyes widened when she saw Frieza make his move again. 

"KRILLIN! MOVE!" She screamed out to him. At the last second, Krillin quickly tossed Dende away from him and Frieza collided into the Z fighter, impaling Krillin on his horn. Ocarin and Gohan and Dende and Necke gasped in horror.

"Krillin, no!" Gohan cried out.

[rattyoakenbitch]

❝𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠❞ ─ 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐦

after all this time, i start asking why i'm staying

were you ever mine?

are we something that's worth saving?

❥ content ; gn reader, eventual fluff, angst, happy ending

❥ warnings ; cursing, themes of cheating

❥ synopsis ; you're will's s/o. when he comes home from work, you can tell he's off. what you didn't expect was him to kick you out.

❥ a/n ; none!

"Will?"

You call out after hearing the front door to your house open and shut. When you don't get a response, you get up from your laying position on the couch and approach the front door.

There, Will stood. His back was turned to you as he hung up his coat, and although you could not see his face, you could immediately tell he was off. Even the energy around him felt dark and tense.

"Oh, hey, hun.." You said anxiously, trying not to set him off in any way.

Will didn't react to your voice. Instead, he backed away from the clothing rack and walked past you, not even bothering to spare you a look. This wasn't the first time Will acted out like this, especially considering he was exhausted all the time from the work Crawford gave him. But he would at least greet you soon as he walked through the door, not flat out treat you as if you didn't exist.

"Will," you sighed dejectedly, more to yourself than to your boyfriend. You quietly followed him upstairs to the master bedroom, where he began to strip off his work clothes, changing into something more comfortable. Still, he ignored your presence. You had to make another move.

You slowly approached him from behind, placing your hands on his shoulders. You were immediately taken back when he forcefully removed himself from your touch and walked away to another corner of the room.

"Will, I just-"

"What?" he scoffed mockingly, "You just want to help?"

"You're my boyfriend, Will, of course I want to!"

He laughed.

"It certainly doesn't help when you breathe down my neck every fucking minute."

Tears pricked in your eyes, Will's vicious tone scaring you. You searched Will's own eyes, trying to find any trace of remorse or regret. He had none. You didn't even know who you were looking at.

"What are you talking about, Will? When you want space, I give you space. When you want love, I give you love! What more do you want from me?"

"I want you to leave."

And then it was quiet for a moment. You both stood there silently, feet away from each other, eyes burning holes into the others.

"..What?" You stared in disbelief. "Wh- What are you saying right now, Will?"

"I want you to leave. I want you gone, Y/N. I don't need you anymore."

"No," you bit your quivering lips, hot tears spilling down your cheeks. Will averted his stare from your crying form, the floor suddenly becoming more interesting.

"No, you're lying. You're just saying that. You can fool everyone else, but you can't fool me."

"I'm sorry, Y/N." Lies. "It's best if you just leave."

You choked on a sob. "What?! Where is this coming from all of a sudden? We were okay just the other day!"

Will remained silent, still not daring to make eye contact with you.

"Is there someone else?"

"I- No, Y/N. I don't owe you an explanation."

"So this is it, then? You're just gonna kick me out?"

"Please, Y/N. Don't make this harder than it already is."

"This is hard for you?! You're not the one getting kicked out!"

Will sighed, somehow managing to remain calm while you screamed at him.

"I'm sorry." And the conversation ended there.

You began to pack your bags. You also phoned a friend, asking them if you could crash for a bit until you had a stable job and a home. You were not about to sleep on the sofa tonight.

You opened and slammed drawers, taking your anger out on furniture as you took your belongings with you. You also did it to spite Will, who attempted to get some sleep. But he did not complain. He continued to act as if you didn't exist.

It made you wonder. Where did it all go wrong? How long has he thought about leaving you? Was there another person?

Will wouldn't answer your questions. At this point, you didn't wanna know.

You were able to finish packing up within an hour. Will was still wide awake during that time, listening closely to the angry banging of furniture, quiet sniffles and shaky inhales as you tried the best you could to keep your composure.

You loaded all your bags into your car, getting ready to head to your friend's place. You went back inside to get a couple more things and look around the house a final time. You stopped by the front door as you were about to leave, your eyes landing on a picture on the windowsill of you and Will. Your already tired, red eyes welled with tears again. You opened up the frame, sliding the picture out and folding it into your pocket. Not like Will would want it in his house anyway.

And so you left.

You didn't say your goodbyes. You just left.

A week had gone by. Will carried on with his job as usual, attended his therapy sessions, but he never once mentioned you. Not a lot of people knew about you and Will's relationship, or what was once a relationship. Since his coworkers already knew so much, or what Will deemed to be enough information about him, he wanted to keep your relationship secret. Not that you minded.

The only person who knew of your relationship was Alana Bloom and Jack Crawford, but even when it ended, he didn't tell them anything. He didn't tell them how guilty he felt the night he kicked you out. He didn't tell them he still had nightmares about you being harmed. He didn't tell them how he was the one harming you in his nightmares. He didn't tell them how empty he felt when you blocked his number and social medias (ok sorry but like little headcanon here?? will has an instagram and it's just pictures of him fishing / or of his dogs fnsmdnskdjsk).

He never told them how he tried not to stay in his house as often, because it reminded him of you.

He was definitely acting strange at work. It was easy to tell. Even Bev pulled him aside to inquire about his health. But he continued to keep his mouth shut, until he couldn't.

Will rushed to the front door when he heard little taps on the metal screen. Secretly, he hoped it would be you. But when he opened it, there stood Alana Bloom. Will always thought Alana was beautiful. But how could anyone disagree?

Her long, dark waves that framed her perfect, slim face were never unchecked and unkempt. Makeup or none, preppy work uniforms or pajamas, she always seemed to look her best.

You even found yourself feeling small and insecure when Will invited her over for you to meet. But he assured you that she could never even compare to you. You believed it.

Alana's thin lips curled up into a soft smile. "Will. Can I come in?"

"Y-Yeah, sure." He let her in and she walked through the front door for the first time in forever.

"Jeez," she chuckled. "How long as it been?"

"Maybe too long," Will simply replied.

Alana walked around the house, scanning every detail while Will patiently trailed behind her. The dogs were playing outside, so it was just the two of them.

"Why did you decide to come over today?"

"I've been worried about you." She turned around to face Will, who stopped a few feet in front of her. "But now that I'm here in your house, I can see why you've been acting off."

"What's your diagnosis, Doctor?" Will joked, an attempt at lightening the tense air.

"Y/N. They left, haven't they?"

There it is.

Technically, Alana wasn't wrong. You did leave, but Will never clarified in what circumstance.

Will looked at the ground.

"Yeah.. Took all the photos too."

"Hey," Alana began, her finger resting under Will's chin, prompting him to look up at her. "You don't have to hide from me."

A week had gone by. A long, lonely, miserable week. You crashed at your friend's for two nights before your parents invited you to live with them while you worked on getting back on your feet. They didn't live too far, so you thanked your friend for their hospitality and moved in with your parents.

As you finished unpacking your stuff, you realized you were missing some things. You cursed at the realization you would probably have to pick up some stuff from Will's.

You still had the key, so you would have no problem getting in, unless he had the lock changed of course. You were only worried about running into him.

What the hell?

You got dressed. You didn't wear anything fancy, but in case you ran into Will, you felt obligated to look presentable and show him that you could still make it without him. You decided on doing a bit of makeup. Again, nothing fancy. Just enough to conceal the dark circles under your eyes and make your features pop.

And then you headed on the dreadful drive to Will's place.

When you got there, you were too nervous and too focused on making the trip quick to even notice Alana's car in his driveway.

However, what did catch your attention, were the many dogs Will owned. They ran up to you as soon as they recognized you. They panted as they jumped and wagged their tails, expressing their happiness the most they could. You tried your best to pet them all, your mouth lifting up into a smile. You didn't realize it but you really missed the dogs.

You dug around for the key in your pocket and pulled it out, quietly unlocking the front door and letting yourself in.

"You don't have the hide from me.."

Your eyebrows furrowed together at the sound of a female voice.

When you walked into the living room, you were horrified to see Will with another woman. Alana.

Their lips were locked, engaging in a passionate kiss, not even noticing your presence. You felt sick as you put the pieces together.

"Now I know why you kicked me out," you whispered, half to yourself and half to Will, who almost about pushed Alana off him at the sound of your voice.

Both their cheeks heated up in embarrassment when their eyes fell on you.

"Y/N! I'm so sorry, I thought-"

"Look, I only came to pick up some stuff. Then I'll be out of your way." You didn't once look away from Will, deciding to totally disregard Alana's presence and apologetic mutters.

With that, you rushed out of the living room and into your bedroom, searching under the bed and in the closet for your missing items.

You heard faint talking from the living room but tuned out most of it, deciding it wasn't worth your time or even your business in the first place. Then you heard the front door shut and a car start from outside.

Before you could process what might've happened, you heard Will's footsteps stop outside the bedroom.

"Y/N, we should talk."

"No, we shouldn't."

"You blocked my number."

"What good would it do if I kept it?"

"Please, hear me out."

Disgruntled, you turned to face Will, sending a cold glare his way.

"Look, unless you found a way to make a time machine and give me back the time I wasted on you, I don't want to speak with you."

"Why won't you just listen to me?!" he snapped.

You scoffed, "Well surprise, douchebag, I have feelings and you hurt them!"

"Well, I'm sorry, alright?" he calmed down now.

"Are you? Really?" You shook your head. "A sorry won't fix this, Will. Not after what you did. Gods- I can't even look at you right now."

You laughed. "You know what fucking sucks? After all you did, after the cheating and the lies, I'm still in love with you."

Will teared up. "I was never with Alana, Y/N. It's always been you."

"Then, why, Will? Why did you throw me out so coldly like that?"

"I began to have dreams, Y/N. Nightmares," Will admitted, his voice beginning to break. "Nightmares about people hurting you. Criminals. It was too real. As much as I loved- As much as I love you, I never wanted you to choose me. I don't want people using you as a weapon against me. To hurt me."

You slowly walked towards Will, stopping a foot away from him. You looked up into his glossy bambi eyes as he spoke.

"It was when the nightmares got worse, when I was the one hurting you, that I realized you weren't safe with me."

You cried. "Oh, Will. I wish you had told me."

"I couldn't. I didn't want you to remember me that way."

You laughed. "Well, I ended up remembering you as the asshole who kicked me out, instead."

Will managed to give you a smile through his tears.

He brought his hand to your shoulder, and gently lead it up your neck to the side of your face, cupping it lightly and brushing his thumb across your cheek.

"I would never hurt you, Y/N."

"I know. I know, Will. You aren't a monster for having nightmares you can't control." You brought your own hand up and placed it against Will's, leaning into his warm touch. "I'm still here. I'm alive. In your hands. And I feel safe with you."

Almost hesitantly, Will leaned in, connecting his lips to yours. His body felt tense, but when you kissed him back, you felt his worries disappear into the air.

He pulled away, resting his forehead against yours.

"Stay with me tonight?"

[bekkachaos]

For ask game - 3, 11 and 37 🥰

3. Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

Nothing specifically comes to mind other than like, obvious no-nos. Although any trope where fulfilling it would drastically change the fundamental aspects of the character/s I just can't do.

11. Is writing your passion or just a fun hobby?

I mean, why not both? It's always been something I've wanted to do, ever since I was a kid I've wanted to write. But it's also fun (mostly once I've finished writing the thing and can be happy about it 😅). It is a fun passion that I don't think I'd ever be able to stop!

37. Talk about your current wips.

Well thank you for asking Nonnie! I have so many, it's silly, I need to focus on one! But here are some of them:

Buddie

Now I'm new to Buddie, I haven't published any but I have started 3 fics now just to get ideas out of my head!

Grey's Anatomy AU (untitled) - this will be a beast, I've got a hell of a lot of notes already, started my Grey's re-run for inspiration, and 6k words under my belt. Dr Eddie Diaz (aka Dr Dreamy) and intern Buck are burned into my brain already.

Fire up the night (something's burning in me) - this is a story where Buck and Eddie hook up, both a little tipsy, but then Eddie avoids talking about it with Buck because he's scared of changing things, scared of what the whole encounter made him feel and what that means. Buck gets discouraged, and he feels like Eddie regrets it and is embarrassed by it, so he patches things up as best he can and they go on not talking about it, but it doesn't go back to normal. There's going to be a lot of therapy sessions and they're both going on self discovery journeys. Slow burn and miscommunication (aka boys please just tell each other how you feel)!

I think that you (and I) should lose clothing - the 118 attend a rescue at a bar, and the manager thanks them by comping them tickets to the show later in the week. Only he fails to mention the show is a striptease, with the lead being the hottest thing Eddie has ever seen, and the man is stripping out of a fireman's uniform of all things.

Malex

Groundhog Day AU (you're gonna be the one that saves me) - I've been working in the next chapter of this fic where Michael wakes up, meets Alex Manes and has the best date with him, it's perfect and he can't stop thinking about him. So he wakes up the next day and goes to see him, but Alex doesn't remember who he is. He realises that he's woken up on Friday again, repeating the day over and over, and what better way to spend the day that trying to get Alex to fall for him again?

Accompanying Fics for An Oasis in the Stars - I have notes and rough ideas for a series of mini fics set in the universe where the humans crash land on the oasis. Each one would follow a different character (the main fic having centred around Alex and how he was falling for Michael). I'm thinking three mini fics, one each for Liz, Kyle and Michael.

[avmisworld]

NCT Dream when you're clumsy:

A/N: Ok but y is this pure crack lol

Mark:

"Shit, are you okay?", Mark utters, running quickly to the place where you stand, rubbing your head with your hand, a pained pout on your small face. Even you don't understand how you managed to walk into a wall, but apparently everything was possible when it's your clumsy self.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine", you mumble, your lips quirking up unconsciously at the sight of your worried boyfriend, his eyebrows furrowed and a cute frown settling on his pink lips. No matter how much times these things happen to you, Mark still managed to be worried every time.

"Maybe you should put some ice on that", Mark suggests, moving your hand gently to suspect the slightly swollen spot on your forehead, his deep brown eyes inspecting you carefully before he grabs your hand and drags you to the kitchen. "You really amaze me sometimes, you know that?"

Renjun:

You're getting out of the bathroom after your shower, your dark hair pulled into a messy bun and the skin of your face sporting a red blush from the hot water, when you hit your leg on the side of the bed, your face immediately contorting in pain as you grab your hurt limb.

"Owie~", you whine, making your boyfriend look up from his phone, laying on the bed lazily with his gray sweatpants and black t-shirt, just passing the time until you finally finish your excessively long night routine and finally be ready for sleep.

Renjun playfully rolls his eyes at your blatant attempt to get his attention, but he still gets up despite the exhaustion swimming in his veins, walking up to you before kneeling down to look at your ankle, inspecting the red spot carefully before deciding it isn't anything serious. Now that he knows you're fine, he won't hesitate to tease you. "Yah, I've been waiting for you this whole time only for you to try and break the bed?!"

Jeno:

Jeno came running into the room the second he heard the crash, his footsteps making screeching sounds against the parquet floor of your apartment as he finally reaches you, practically slamming into the kitchen doorway.

"Wha-", your boyfriend stops mid-sentence as he sees the state you're in, staring at the floor with a miserable expression, your hands still held out and your gaze locked on the pile of glimmering white porcelain, which used to be plates.

"Hey, come here, you might get hurt", Jeno scolds you, walking over to you quickly and grabbing your wrist, gently leading you over to the living room before ruffling your hair, noticing the embarrassed expression on your delicate features. "Y/N, it's just plates, it's not a big deal, we can always buy new ones. Now stay here while I go clean the mess."

Haechan:

You're running, your boot-clad feet frantically digging into the snow covered ground, trying to run away from your boyfriend, who's running after you with a massive snowball is mitten-clad hands and a shit-eating grin on his face, when you manage to slip on the powdery substance, falling straight on your bum with a loud 'oof'.

"Oh my god", you can hear Haechan cackling behind you, and you manage to blush despite the cold, frowning to no one in particular as you stand up, brushing the specks of snow from your black jeans. "Shut up."

"Baby, you literally fell for me right now", Haechan says proudly, wiggling his eyebrows as you snort, amazed by his ability to turn your every action into a symbol of your undying love for him. But you don't miss the way he secretly makes sure you're fine, steering you away from the slippery slopes as you start your snowball fight again.

Jaemin:

You're helping Jaemin make some instant noodles in the kitchen after he insisted on showing off his cooking skills, which included boiling water and ripping open packets of seasoning, when you somehow manage to close the drawer on your thumb after taking out two pairs of chopsticks for the two of you.

At the sound of your pained shriek, your boyfriend turns around immediately, his eyes wide with worry before they land on you, quickly understanding the situation when he watches you sniffle, rubbing your now-red finger with your other hand.

"Oh jagiya, come here, let me kiss it better", Jaemin mumbles, forgetting about his 5-star dish as he walks over to you, taking you to the sink and washing your thumb gently before moving to kiss the red spot on your finger, his lips more often than not landing on your cheeks and lips, until you find yourself laughing once again, your embarrassment and pain slowly fading away.

Chenle:

"I don't get it", you mutter with a defeated expression, watching as Chenle repeats the dance move he's been trying to teach you for the last hour, his body moving gracefully as he repeats the move once again, a small smile quirking at his lips when he sees the cute pout adorning your lips.

You sigh, trying to repeat the move, but of course your ankle somehow manages to twist beneath you, resulting in you letting out an embarrassing whimper as you drop to the floor, deciding to give up so you won't sprain something necessary.

"You're so clumsy, you know that?", Chenle sits next to you, bringing his hand up to stroke your hurt ankle, before he sends you a wide grin and ruffles your dark hair gently when you huff at him, annoyed at the fact he outed you with such an unbothered attitude. "But you're the cutest when you're clumsy."

Jisung:

You and Jisung are walking down the beach, watching the sun set slowly, coloring the bluish-greenish water in a lovely golden hue, and then you go and ruin the moment by stumbling on the sand, your boyfriend managing to catch you at the last second by sliding his hand around you waist.

"Oops", you say sheepishly at the sight of Jisung's wide eyes, smiling awkwardly when Jisung lets you go, a smile of his own framing his thin lips as he intertwines your hands once again, and you can practically feel the second hand embarrassment oozing from your boyfriend's very presence.

"You good?", your boyfriend asks you after a few seconds of him trying to stop the giggles bubbling up in his throat, not wanting to make your feel more embarrassed than you already were, and he'll pull you slightly closer when you nod, letting you no silently that he loves you not matter how clumsy you are.

[suwya]

Till the Stars Had Run Away - Chapter 6

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Summary: Killian Jones was a voyager. Actually, he was many things, or at least he had been - a lieutenant, a brother, a loving boyfriend - until everything had turned upside down and his life had hit an all time low. So, he gave up. Aboard his spaceship he abandoned Arcadia, his planet, navigating the stars and other solar systems in search of... well, he still didn't know what he was searching for, but his rule was "never remain in the same place longer than necessary."

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Rating: M

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Prologue; Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

AO3

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A/N: Sorry for the waiting, but real life came along and I had to stop writing for a couple of weeks. Thank you @thisonesatellite for being the best beta reader I could ever ask for. And thank to all of you who are reading this. Happy Labour Day!

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Chapter 6 . .

Be not inhospitable to strangers,

lest they be angels in disguise.

(W. B. Yeats)

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When Killian regained consciousness he found himself in what reminded him of a military hospital. There were thin white curtains around his bed, but through them he could spot other beds like his, most of them empty. The room seemed large and dimly lit.

He closed his eyes and remembered the crash landing, the unknown desert planet, the great rock that was about to crush Henry, and that feeling of unease and imminent danger he had felt just before the impact. Where was he? And above all what kind of situation was he in, a good or a bad one? He opened his eyes again, and noticed he wasn’t alone. A woman was checking his IV, and a nearby monitor was beeping intermittently.

Killian tried to sit up, but a stabbing pain in his lungs made him desist immediately. He groaned loudly.

“Look who’s awake.” Said the woman, who was now staring at him. “Hello, handsome.” She added cheerfully.

Killian had found himself dealing with uncharted waters several times in his life. He decided to play the waiting game. “This is usually my line, well, more or less.”

“Really? In this case, I'll warn my husband not to approach you.”

“Don’t worry I'm not into men, not recently at least.” He smirked.

“Oh, but my husband is quite the charming one.”

“I still prefer the company of a fair lady, if I could choose.” He winked and chuckled, and a dull pain made him gasp.

“Take it easy.” She immediately shifted her attitude from playful to worried. “How do you feel?”

“As if I've been hit by a rocket.”

“Not a rocket, but yes, you’ve been hit hard. You’ve suffered two broken ribs. And believe me, you were lucky, it could have been worse. Do you mind if I run some tests and see how you react?”

“No problem.”

While the woman was busy measuring his temperature, making him follow a small blue LED light with his gaze, and extracting some blood to examine later, he took advantage of the opportunity to observe her more closely. She had short black hair and green eyes, bright and lively in contrast to her very delicate skin. Killian found himself thinking of another pair of green eyes, which had been filling his thoughts frequently lately. The memory brought him back to reality quickly.

“What is this place?” He inquired, eager to know what had happened while he was unconscious.

“Welcome to Vernal-Den.” She answered smiling.

Killian tried to remember if he had ever read about this planet. “Never heard of it.”

“Yeah, we’re not very popular.”

Was she too concentrated on checking-in his vitals, or was she being too concise on purpose? He didn’t know, but he intended to keep an eye on her. “How long was I out?”

“A while.” Another elusive answer.

He decided to test the waters. “Were there ….other injured people with me?”

“If you’re referring to Henry and Emma, they are perfectly fine.” She seemed sincere. “They are staying at our place. Henry has visited you every day since you came in.”

“And Emma?”

“Well, she can’t come in. She’s not a relative of yours. But she has spent long hours sitting just outside that door.” She said pointing towards the exit. “I had to order her to go home and get some rest.”

After that she excused herself, saying that she had to attend to other patients.

He realized she hadn’t even told him her name. He didn’t know if he could trust her or not. The fact that she had avoided some of his questions sent chills down his spine. And most of all there was the Emma problem.

Why couldn’t she visit him? Was it true that it was only a matter of rules? Or was she in some kind of peril? He needed to know what was happening behind those doors that separated him from the woman that had been pestering his dreams in the last ten years of his life. He had to know that she was alright. To hell with rules! He thought. And by the way, when was the last time he followed one. He had to get out of this place. He tried to sit up, but the pain in his lungs was so strong that his vision started to blur and cold sweat formed on his temples. He lay back down on the bed, aware that in his conditions he couldn’t have gone far before collapsing unconscious on the floor. He promised himself to solve the problem as soon as he had enough strengths, but he couldn't dwell too much on that thought, because sleep was reclaiming his mind again.

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~·~·~·~

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Time passed very slowly, or so it seemed, but maybe it was simply the fact that every day looked the same. Killian was mostly asleep, probably due to the painkillers introduced through the IV, and when he woke up he couldn't tell how long he had been out, he couldn't even tell if it was day or night. There were no windows in that room.

During one of the moments when his mind regained consciousness, he felt the mattress drop slightly to one side and he slowly opened his eyes.

“You are awake! How do you feel? Can you breathe? Of course you can, you would be dead otherwise! Does it hurt?” Henry was sitting at the end of the bed, and he was asking a lot of questions, as usual. “Sorry.” He suddenly looked contrite. “I should let you rest, but…”

“It’s ok, lad.” Killian cut him off. “I’m glad to see you’re all in one piece.”

The boy greeted him with a wide grin.

Killian remembered the last moments before getting injured, and he was relieved to know that he had been able to prevent that rock from hitting Henry. But other worries crowded his mind. “How about your mom?”

“She’s fine. She’s outside. They won’t let her in. You know, only relatives and all that stuff.” He explained.

“I see. And why are you…?”

Henry didn’t let him finish the question. “I told them I’m your son.” He whispered with a conspiratory smile.

“Clever boy.” Killian’s chuckle turned soon into a cough due to the pain.

“Does it hurt?” The boy asked, frowning.

The man dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. “It’s not a big deal.” He didn’t want the lad to feel responsible for his well-being. “How many days have passed since we landed here?” He asked, changing the subject.

“I don't know exactly.” And at Killian’s questioning look, he added, “It’s complicated.”

“How so?”

“People live underground here,” The boy started to explain, “With no opportunity to look outside. And there are no clocks. My watch had probably broken when we arrived, it doesn’t work anymore.”

The man hummed, he was starting to understand. The lack of windows, the elusive answer he had received from the dark-haired nurse… everything was beginning to tally in Killian’s head. “I want you to think carefully about everything you saw outside this room. Did you feel something was wrong?”

The boy shrugged. “I don't know.” He seemed to ponder. “This place is strange. Lots of corridors and passages underground. We are not allowed to go out into the open. They say it’s dangerous. But I never felt a threat or something. I would rather say it’s boring.”

“Why boring?”

Henry was trying to find the right words to explain it. “All the days are the same, people repeat the same actions every day. They say it’s useful to maintain a routine. But I don’t think Mary Margaret and David are bad people.”

“I’m sorry, who?” Killian asked.

“Oh, yeah, Mary Margaret, she is your nurse. We’re staying at her home. She is very nice. And David is her husband. He showed me the greenhouse. It’s awesome and huge, you should see it! But I don’t think he works there. I don’t know what his job is.”

Routine? New people? A greenhouse? Well, that was a lot of information to process. But Killian felt sleep calling him back. Next time I see that lady Margaret, I’m going to ask her not to put more painkillers in my IV. He thought. “Thank you, Henry, for everything. But I may need to rest for a while now.” He managed to say before falling asleep again.

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~·~·~·~

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Emma knew Killian was feeling better, Henry had told her about their short chat, and some of her child's enthusiasm had even infected her positively, but she continued to feel restless, she wanted to make herself useful. Most of all, she wanted to see Killian again.

All this absurd situation was her fault. And no, she was not thinking about the fact that Killian was lying on a hospital bed because of some bad decisions she had made lately. No. She was not going down that path again. She had already spent a lot of hours regretting many choices done in the last month.

But this was nonsensical, why couldn’t she visit a friend that was hurt and maybe in need of some company? She had actually had a chance to say that she was his wife; after all in the eyes of her guests, she and Killian had a son together, so why not lie a bit more and make Mary Margaret believe that she and Killian were married. But the thought of a possible long time spent together on this planet feigning to be a happily married couple scared her, and she couldn’t go on with the lie.

So there she was, sitting on a very uncomfortable metal chair in the waiting room. She had spent more hours there than she could count.

David had passed by to greet his wife, and he had offered to take Henry with him, on the way back home. So she was left alone with her thoughts.

Mary Margaret peeked out the door with a steaming mug in her hand. “Take this. It will help.”

She agreed with a nod. “Thank you.” She sipped some of the hot liquid and it felt like her nerves were starting to relax a little.

“You should go home and rest. It's late.” The woman said.

“Mary Margaret let me enter.” Emma pleaded for the umpteenth time.

“We have already talked about it. You know I can’t do that. There are strict rules down here, and the best way for us to survive is to follow them.”

“This is insane. I’m not a dangerous criminal or someone who is plotting to destroy this planet. I just want to see him. Please.” She begged.

The dark-haired woman seemed to be pondering all the possible consequences. “All right.” She sighed. “Let’s just say that I’m going inside and leave the door ajar, by mistake, of course. I have to check some very important documents, so I’ll be busy and concentrated. I’m not going to ask you what you’re going to do in the next... fifteen minutes or so. Okay?”

“Thank you.” Emma handed her the cup back, rising from her chair. “You won’t regret it.”

After Mary Margaret disappeared behind the door, Emma waited some minutes before going after her. The room was large and there were many beds, she had no idea where Killian was, but after a quick look at the surroundings, she discovered that only a couple of all the beds were occupied.

She approached one of those and gently opened the curtain trying not to disturb the patient lying inside.

Killian seemed asleep. He was pale, with dark circles under his eyes. She could only imagine the pain he was going through. She had her heart in her throat because she felt responsible for the situation. If they hadn't taken a detour because she had requested it, they'd probably all be home safe and sound by now.

“Hey, beautiful.” He greeted her with a painful grin.

Immersed as she was in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed that he had woken up. She smiled, trying to be strong and not show her inner turmoil. “Do they treat you well here?”

“I'm not complaining. The nurse is kind and the food is edible.” He tried to downplay the situation. “Although I would prefer the care and attention of a certain blonde.” He winked.

Emma chuckled. Then she went closer to him and sat down on the side of his bed, trying not to cause him any more pain. She looked him straight in the eye, and then, gently, she took his hand in hers, intertwining her fingers with his. She saw him swallow hard, and the beeping of his heartbeat accelerated on the monitor. She smiled softly again. “Thank you for saving my son’s life.”

She saw how he wet his lips before answering as if his mouth had been suddenly dry. “It was the right thing to do.” Was his answer, but his voice came out slightly choked.

Emma looked back, checking if any hospital employee was nearby, “I shouldn’t be here, and unfortunately my time is running out. But I wanted to see you... needed to see with my own eyes that you are ok... well, more or less.” She whispered, with her gaze lowered, avoiding eye contact. The physical connection of their joined hands was already arousing too many contradictory emotions inside her.

“Aye. I know the feeling.” He replied, letting her know that he had been eager to establish contact with her throughout his stay in the hospital.

At those words, she stared at him again. “Get well soon.” She bent down and dropped a mild kiss at the corner of his lips. “We need you.”

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~·~·~·~

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Killian was lying on his back staring at the ceiling. This time there was no way he would fall asleep again. Every time he thought about what had just happened his beeping monitor sped up. He blushed. It had been just a chaste kiss, nothing compared to the hot and breathtaking one they had shared a few days before. But she had said it had been a one-time thing and he had promised himself not to indulge in those lustful thoughts anymore. Yet, this last kiss had seemed much more real, and meaningful... it had left him with a feeling of hope.

Hope and distress. Emma was such a strong and beautiful woman, a marvelous creature, as he liked to describe her in his mind, and a princess even. And what was he? A rebel, and a scoundrel. Or a rapscallion... whatever. Okay, maybe not anymore, but he had been in the past, for many years. He had been trying to redeem himself lately. But was he worth enough of her? That was the million dollar question.

He was still ruminating on it when the known brunette peeked out the curtains. “Hello. How are you today?” She greeted him with a bright smile, as usual.

“Better.” He hoped the monitor on his right wasn’t showing his state of mind.

She came closer. “Do you mind if I check your ribs? It's time to change the dressing.” After a short pause, she added, “I'm sorry, but we don't have the best equipment to assist our patients. We have to work with what we have available on this planet.” She said pointing to the bands that covered his chest.

Killian nodded, and Mary Margaret started to untie the bandages. She seemed concentrated on her task, probably she was trying to avoid causing him any pain. It was only when she started to apply an ointment on the bruises, that she spoke again. “You love her.” It was just a whisper, and Killian doubted if he had heard correctly. But then she added “Emma.”

It wasn’t a question, and he pondered what was the correct answer, or if she was expecting one. “I'd go to the end of the world for her… Or the multiverse.” He said eventually.

“And she for you, I take it?”

Killian chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“What’s the problem?” She looked at him surprised. Then took some clean gauzes and started to wrap them on him.

“She's bloody brilliant, an amazing woman. She fights for her son and always does what’s right.” Killian’s voice was so full of admiration.

“Is there something wrong with it?” Mary Margaret inquired.

Killian shook his head again. “She raised the bar very high. The fact is, I don't think I measure up.”

The woman folded the old bandages and took the ointment bottle, then she stood up, she was making an exit when she stopped short. “Since you came here I've been watching you.”

“I don't know if I should be flattered or scared.” The man tried to ease the tension of the moment.

“We don’t have many foreigners on this planet, but believe me, you're not one of the bad guys. You sacrificed yourself for the sake of a young boy. There's good in your heart.” She smiled at him softly. “I’m going to look for the doctor; I bet you’ll be leaving this room soon.”

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~·~·~·~

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The following day started the same as the previous ones. But during the first hours of the evening a man in a white coat came to visit Killian. He explained the medications and precautions to be taken to him, some movements that he should avoid for a while, and other tips for a speedy recovery. Then he handed over some papers for the patient to sign to be discharged. Finally some good news.

After a while redressing and packing up his few belongings in his satchel Killian went to the door. Walking hurt a bit but nothing he couldn’t bear.

Mary Margaret was already waiting for him, and a tall blonde guy was with her. “You must be Jones.” He said. When they shook hands, Killian learned his name was David Nolan, and he remembered Henry had mentioned him in his conversations. “I’m going to take you to our humble abode.”

Nolan's house was in fact modest. A loft with a large dining room, a kitchenette, a bedroom, and a small bathroom on one corner, all open, without doors, except for the bathroom. There was a raised bedroom opposite it, whose access was a metal stair.

Dinner was good, if a little awkward. Emma didn't interact much, and Killian wanted to ask if something was troubling her, but he preferred to wait for a better time, perhaps a less crowded one. Henry entertained them with what he had done throughout the day and kept repeating how glad he was that Killian was back with them.

But the man was still a bit cautious with those new people around him. He didn’t know them, especially the Nolan guy, who had been silent for most of the dinner, glancing sidelong at him as if he wanted to study him thoroughly before making a personal judgment. The feeling was mutual, Killian thought.

Just after dessert, David started to speak. “What will you need to restore your ship?” He asked.

“Uh… a new stabilizer, I think, and some parts of the propulsion engine for sure. But I’ll have to look closely at the damages to be sure there’s nothing else broken.”

The blond man nodded. “Not many ships come and go from here. But I hope we can find all the pieces you need.”

“Thank you, mate.”

“Tomorrow I’ll take you to the hangar where your ship is. We’ll have a look at it.” He seemed sincere in his generosity.

“May I help?” Henry barged in.

A chorus of “No!” echoed the room.

“I appreciate the support, but it could be dangerous.” Killian explained.

“I hate being here. I feel trapped.” The boy complained.

Mary Margaret sighed. “This is a feeling that will vanish with time.”

The woman was no doubt trying to instill some optimism, but Killian didn't like the idea of staying in that place longer than necessary. “Well, then, let’s hope we could leave this planet before the feeling has entirely vanished.” He made a grin and passed his hand on his side.

“Time for resting.” The brunette stated although it sounded more like an order. “But before that, we should change those bandages. Emma, would you like to help me?”

“Me?” Emma, who had been silent and a bit on the sidelines all evening, seemed to re-emerge from wherever she’d gone.

“He won’t be able to do it by himself when you won’t live here anymore. It’s better if you learn how to help him.” Mary Margaret clarified.

Emma looked like she was going to object, but in the end, she asserted. “Sure.”

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~·~·~·~

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If a certain nervousness had taken hold of Emma as she climbed to the upstairs room, it disappeared the instant Mary Margaret helped Killian get rid of his shirt. That wasn’t a thorax, it was a nautical chart. Most of it was covered by gauze, but she could still spot many marks and scars.

There was a tattoo, two of them to be exact, but Emma saw just one at first. It was on his right forearm; it was a big red heart with a dagger running through and the name “Milah” across it. Emma made a mental note to ask him later who she was.

Mary Margaret showed her how to unfasten the bandages, and then she ordered her to stand behind him, to help better in removing them all.

On his back, Emma saw the second tattoo, on his right shoulder. It was an old nautical instrument she had read about in a book when she was younger, but she couldn’t remember the exact name. The drawing was beautifully detailed, even if it had faded, it was probably older than the other one, she thought.

And when all the gauze was out of the way, she saw them: tiny, blurred, old scars that studded most of his back. Emma wondered what kind of life he had to endure when he was very young.

Mary Margaret asked her to help with the ointment. She had already opened the bottle and was showing the blonde woman how much cream to use. But Emma wasn't listening, standing now in front of the man, her attention was caught by the glorious chest hair that was covering most of his torso.

Okay, there was also a big, horrible bruise on his right ribs, but Mary Margaret was saying that it seemed on the way to a fast recovery, if the yellow and purple veining was some indication.

Emma was ogling and she wasn’t ashamed of it either. The amount of hair decreased in the lower part of his chest, leaving a black trail that disappeared under the hem of his pants.

"See something you like?" Emma was abruptly taken back to reality by a smug Killian that was smirking at her while arching an eyebrow. She blushed. She was caught red-handed, but she couldn’t let him win. She took advantage of the fact that Mary Margaret was looking for something in a nearby drawer, to get closer to him. She looked at him lasciviously from under her lashes. “Maybe?” She purred.

Now it was his time to blush, he looked intently at his feet, but she found the bright red that appeared on his ears extremely endearing. Point for Emma.

Mary Margaret taught the other woman how to fix the bandages, and Emma had to use some tiny hooks to hold them together. She did not miss the opportunity to casually slide her fingers over a part of his chest hair that came out of the bandages.

“Bloody Hell!” Killian muttered.

Emma retreated her hand immediately. “Sorry. Did I hurt you?” Worries that she had done something wrong clouded her gaze.

“Apologies.” Killian was scratching behind his ear, in evident embarrassment. “While I do enjoy two lovely ladies attending to my needs, I'm not used to someone taking care of me…” He smiled and brought his mouth close to Emma’s ear: “I’m usually the one who devotes full attention to a woman’s needs.” He whispered, but clearly not as quietly as he would have liked, because Mary Margaret's answer - “Well, you will have to put that off for a while” - made him blush again like a schoolboy scolded by his teacher.

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~·~·~·~

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Suddenly it was bedtime. Everyone was busy making preparations and taking shifts for the bathroom to change for the night. Killian was upstairs, staring at the bed he knew he had to share with Emma, who was arranging a pillow on the nearby sofa. He passed a hand through his hair and then scratched a spot behind his right ear. “I'll crash on that couch.” He stated as if it was the most logical conclusion to a battle he was fighting inside.

“Don't be ridiculous,” she scoffed. “It's barely long enough for Henry. Plus, you’re still recovering, you absolutely need to rest.”

He didn't seem very convinced. “Emma, I'm not sure this is a good idea.”

“And why is that?” Was her exasperated reply, turning towards him with her hands on her hips. “What are you going to do? Seduce me with a couple of broken ribs and a ten-year-old boy sleeping next to us?”

He lifted his arms and surrendered. “Fair point.” He conceded.

In no time they were all ready for the night and Henry was snoring softly on the sofa. Killian was supine, staring at the ceiling and thinking about the events of the day. In any case, sleep had no intention of coming, but he tried not to move. He didn’t want to wake up his roommates. Emma was lying close with her back to him and he didn’t know if she was already in the arms of Morpheus.

He turned his head to observe how her upper body moved with the rhythm of her breathing, blond curls covering her shoulders. Killian had to repress the urge to touch them. And as if responding to his call, she stirred and turned to face him.

Her eyes opened lazily. “Still awake?” She murmured.

“I have the feeling that I’ve slept enough for the rest of my life.” He whispered. “But you can’t rest either, I see.”

She didn’t answer.

Perhaps it was the closeness, perhaps it was the fact that they had spent the last few days apart. Killian didn't know how he found the courage, but he lifted his left arm as an invitation. “Come here,” he said.

She seemed to ponder the situation, chewing her bottom lip. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

He decided not to think about all the possible implications of that sentence. He was falling in love with her, he was aware of it. Probably the simple doubt that she might not reciprocate was already hurting him, but he knew that at that moment she was referring only to his physical bruises. “You won’t.”

She slipped under the sheets towards him, resting her head gently on his left shoulder and placing a hand on his chest, avoiding the bruised part. Not many minutes passed before her lids grew heavy and she dozed off to the rhythm of his heartbeats. Killian placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

[drblood-bringer-of-death]

Yay! Another Tyrian x Watts fanfiction for Nuts and Volts week! Seriously I cant get enough of these guys! Anyway, hope everyone over at @nutsandvoltsweek enjoys it!

Waltzing into love

Warnings: literally just some mild cursing.

They hated it. Every single second of being stuck in the stuffy, crowded room full of pompous, rich assholes. Arthur glared at anyone unfortunate enough to make eye contact with him and he stayed as far away from the dance floor as possible. He hated parties as much as he hated people. He would much rather be back in the grimm lands, tinkering away at his inventions without a single interruption. But he was not the only one who hated being there. As grand and beautiful as Atlesian parties were, they had a very strict policy to them. No Faunus, No improper dress, and absolutely No exceptions. Tyrian, as sporadic and chaotic as the man was, unfortunately was the best fit to go with Arthur to this party. Salem decided that Hazel would be too intimidating, Emerald and Mercury were too young,  and Cinder would have stuck out like a sore thumb. So Tyrian was voluntold to attend as Arthur's date. He sulked even more than Arthur did. He might have even hated it more than the mustached man. Due to the strict policy, Tyrian had to wear what he considered "constrictive" clothing. And worst of all he couldn't even use his tail! Arthur had insisted he hide it, since it was against the rules. Tyrian fought him on it, to no avail as he knew Arthur was right. So the two brooded in their fancy clothing in a corner of the ballroom. They avoided everyone and if it wasn't for Arthur's accursed reputation he would have never even attended this godforsaken party. Maybe he could figure out some way to fake his death or even actually die just to avoid these parties.

"This is pointless!" Tyrian growled.

"It's not entirely pointless, but it's Incredibly dull." Arthur retorted, focusing all his attention on his scroll.

"Why did I have to come here?! I hate this! I feel like I'm restricting all my natural instincts!" Tyrian continued to complain as he pulled on the dark purple tie around his neck.

"Stop pulling at that you'll undo it! And you know why she chose you to come with me. And stop tugging on the tie!" Arthur said angrily as he turned towards Tyrian, who had managed to actually undo his tie. "How did you even? Ugh just let me fix it!" Arthur swatted away Tyrians hands and grabbed ahold of the tie. Fastening it once again.

"Ahem, am I interrupting anything?" The unwanted and annoying voice of Jaques Schnee broke through Arthurs grumbling. His brow twitched in annoyance and he sighed before facing the unbearable aristocrat.

"Why Jaques, what a pleasure to see you again." Arthur lied through his teeth.

"A pleasure as well. Who, may I ask, are you?" He directed the question towards Tyrian who stiffened as a response.

"Uh, Tyrian Callows, associate of Watts here." He shook the older man's hand in forced politeness.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Callows. I had no idea Arthur was into such… interesting company." His tone of voice and the way he glanced at Arthur smugly,  clearly portrayed that he suspected something else. "why I'd even say you might be planning something… more forbidding." Tyrian pailed, could he really figure them out that easily? He looked at Arthur and they shared a panicked look.

"Jaques if you're suggesting-" Arthur started to accuse him but Jaques cut him off.

"Oh come now Arthur, you know i wouldn't care if you were gay, it's quite common nowadays, and I've been suspecting it for a while anyway-" Watts and Tyrians faces went bright red. "I was simply baffled that you managed to find someone to deal with your arrogance." He finished.

"I-my arrogance- excuse me?!" Arthur said offhandedly. Jaques only laughed at him.

"Relax, you know that the General himself is gay right? Really it doesn't matter here, why not show some affection! Have a dance or two! There's nothing to hide." And before Arthur, pr even Tyrian for that matter, could stutter out a response Jaques turned on his heels and walked away smirking.

"Does he think-? I mean really?" Tyrian asked before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. His entire body shook with each inhale of breath. As he laughed and laughed Arthur's face grew more and more red, out of both embarrassment and anger.

"You shut up!" He snapped at Tyrian. Whose laughter seemed never ending. Making Arthurs anger grow.

"Re- hehehe- relax Arthur. Haha, as far as we know, this could be an advantage." Tyrian offered through dying giggles.

"What do you mean?" Arthurs anger sizzled but he stopped feeling the innate need to punch the Faunus. Tyrian wiped a tear from his eye.

"Well think about it. You could gain some massive publicity points if you came out as gay, and if we did it here it would be massively successful. All we have to do is dance a little bit and maybe hold hands. People will come to the conclusion on their own and it'll be all over the news tomorrow. "Infamous inventor Arthur Watts supporting his community through love!" Can you imagine that?" Arthur paused.

Unhinged, deranged, murderous, insane… and intelligent. Those are the words Arthur would use to describe Tyrian right now. As unpredictable as the man is, he could read people and play off them better than even Salem herself.

"That… could work." Arthur poundered. The plan was foolproof, and even if it went wrong then it would cause protests in the communities drawing grimm in. "Yes. It would work quite well." Arthur hummed to himself and Tyrian smirked.

"Well then let's get to it and put on a show!" He cheered in a manic giggle as he pulled Arthur away from their protective corner and into the center of the dancefloor. Arthur huffed behind him, not expecting the pull. Although he should really expect everything from Tyrian.

"I told you to relax already Arthur! All we need to do is dance a bit and act all coupley." Tyrian smirked again and Arthur got some sort of primal feeling in his gut to run. As if something far more sinister than even they had planned was happening. But he ignored it, it was not the first, or last, time he would have that feeling while with the scorpion.

"It's Impossible to relax with you" he retorted harshly, shifting himself and Tyrian into a waltzing position. Slowly the music ran through the room and the many people around them began to move to the three step beat.

"Your words wound me Arthur," Tyrian mocked. "I'm the most relaxing person I know! Well besides Hazel." He held back a giggle.

"Your a caffeinated maniac trapped inside a padded room. I absolutely do not find you relaxing!" Arthur all but growled.

"A bit touchy aren't you? Was it something that Mr. Schnee said that caught your nerves?" He smirked wildly at Arthur who tried his best to keep his composure. As he tried to calm his breathing Tyrians insane smile reached his eyes. "Oh my, your heart rate picked up! I must be onto something!" Arthur started to panic.

"You did not- wait you can sense my heart rate? No, nevermind that!" He attempted to gather his thoughts as he and Tyrian glided across the ballroom floor, sliding in time with everyone around them. If you weren't right next to the pair it would be like they were just enjoying themselves and not having a frantic argument.

"Poor Arthur Watts, not admitting that old Mr. Schnee was right! What an exciting evening this has become!" Tyrians giggles seemed to pour out of his mouth.

"Would you just shut up! I've already said that to you tonight, you psychopath! Now stop talking and lets finish this stupid dance!" Arthur was pissed off now, he couldn't stand looking at Tyrians pretty eyes or his handsome face any longer. So he decided to do something about it. As the song approached it's climax he brought Tyrian into a sudden spin, catching the scorpion off guard. As he pulled Tyrian back into him, he made up his mind. Placing one foot behind Tyrians and throwing his center of balance off, he dipped the younger man. He heard people around them gasp, some of them seemed shocked, but through all the noise he heard two distinct things. One: Jaques Schnee saying " I called it!", and two, Tyrian Callows' sharp inhale of breath. He pulled them back up. Releasing Tyrians lips as he did, and then he turned and walked out of the room.

Tyrian stumbled, that was not expected at all. He knew Arthur was gay but he never dared to dream that Arthur liked him. He got over the shock, more delayed than he'd like, but nevertheless he rushed after Arthur and found the man pacing an empty hallway.

"Why did I do that? What was the logic of that? It was pointless, im pointless. For fucks sake we're both adults why couldn't I just talk to him!?" Arthur mutters to himself as he paced, not even noticing that Tyrian was right next to him. "Damnit, that was so stupid! Why is he so handsomely intimidating? What can't I just be normal-"

"Because you're Arthur Watts, inventor and doctor, smarter than anyone else i know and absolutely hopelessly in love with me" Tyrian interrupted, his voice caught Arthur off guard and he would never admit how much that genuinely scared him.

"Ty- Tyrian look, what I-" he was cut off as said man lunged at him suddenly, crowding his precious space.

"Just shut up and kiss me again" the scorpion demanded as he rolled his eyes and pulled Arthur into him. Their lips crashed together again, yet the feeling was different. Before Arthur could barely feel the kiss at all, but now he felt like sparks were flying down his spine and static was invading his mind. Arthur let himself fall mentally, his brilliant mind failing him when he needed it most, so he just let it happen. Let his body do the talking for once.

Tyrian on the other hand was practically shaking with joy, he had a crush on the doctor for a while now but he truly never believed Arthur would like him back, let alone make the first move! He could not be happier even if his own goddess showed up just then! He felt as if nothing could ruin this sweet moment of love. And he was right, not a soul came out of the party to find them and they were left alone in the hallway. As Tyrian let go of Arthur he smiled. Not a crazed, classic Tyrian smile, but a calm, genuine one. Arthur felt his heart skip more than one beat, and he was sure Tyrian felt it too. Soon enough Tyrians soft laughter bubbled out of his mouth.

"What's so funny?" Arthur asked, his usual scoff lightened just a touch.

"Well the fact that we literally waltzed into love." Arthur's eyes rolled.

"That was cheesy." He huffed as he set his head on Tyrians shoulder.

"No, parmesan is cheesy." Arthur sighed. The moment was ruined by the man who created it. And he could not help the small smile that was hidden by his mustache. Maybe tonight was worth the party.

[kirsty585-scottiegirl585]

Lunch Break

Pairing: Lena Luthor/Reader

Summary: The reader surprises Lena on her lunch break. Cue cuteness, fluffy and a bit of making out.

Words: 1,296

A/N: So this is the first story I've written in a couple of months, the first one I've written for Lena and the first one from a reader's perspective so I hope it doesn't suck too much. Started writing it for my good friend @mcgrathandwives and was supposed to be a little bit smutty and revolve around Lena and the boots she wore in 4x02 (I think). This is what it turned into.

As soon as Lena walked into the room, you knew you were fucked. The black and white floral top, tucked into her sinfully tight skirt was one thing. But the thing that made your chest constrict, part your lips and stop the blood flowing to your brain? Those thigh high boots. The one's that were clinging to Lena's soft and supple skin. The very skin that your lips had trailed up, tongue collecting a combination of sweat and salt, the musky scent that could only belong to Lena overpowering your senses.

She brushed into her office, eyes glued to the large stack of paperwork in her hands. Eve had let you in, not twenty minutes ago, stating that Lena was just finishing up a meeting. You could barely even remember the reason you were visiting, the bag of food on the small table completely forgotten about as you watched her hips sway, a little more than normal with the fabric clinging to her legs.

Reaching her desk, she set down the pile of paper, back tensed as she leaned slightly over the piece of furniture. The position causing an arch in the bottom of her back, the material of the skirt clinging that bit more tightly around her ass. You couldn't help yourself as your eyes followed the curve and all you could think about was standing behind her. Hand pressed firmly into the arch, while the other reached down the front of her skirt. Stuttered gasps escaping her mouth as you whispered in her ear all the things you could do to her in this position.

A startled gasp brought you crashing out of your daydreams, a hot blush covering your neck and face, realizing you had been caught. The smirk that lined her face told you that she knew exactly where your mind had drifted off to. Her pupils had widened and her chest was rising and falling ever so slightly quicker, so you knew that she was clearly enjoying your gaze.

“Hey, I wasn't expecting to see you until tonight, “ The soft undertone of an Irish accent did nothing to help the blood flow, currently rushing down your body. It was well-known that Lena had spent a fair bit of time at a boarding school in Ireland during her younger years, but the slight accent was not heard often. She knew what it did to you though, and would often let it slip when teasing you. Just one of the many examples of trust that built the foundations of your relationship.

“I knew you had that big meeting today, figured you probably skipped lunch preparing for it. So I brought you some food from that vegetarian restaurant down the road that you like, “ One hand brushed the back of your neck, slightly embarrassed at the romantic gesture, while the other hand waved vaguely in the direction of the bag.

You knew about Lena's past. How previous lovers had seen Lena as a prize to be won and a trophy to wear on their arms. How in college some had only acted interested, so they could brag later to their friends about how they had spent the night with her. Even as an adult, most of them either just wanted an opportunity to either sell a story to the press or have her as a status symbol. Whether she felt loved or not didn't come into the equation, as she was only supposed to look good while accompanying them to whatever social event was lined up.

You took it upon yourself to show her what a relationship should be like. Sending her flowers, just to brighten her day. Bringing her lunch, when she had busy days because she would often forget to eat. Leaving little notes around her house, each one listing a different thing that you loved about her. It had taken a while before she got comfortable with the sweet gestures.

One night in her house, the two of you curled up on her couch, an open bottle of wine and a roaring fire warming the air. She confessed to you that in the beginning she had worried that all the things you were doing were a trap. Lure her in, thinking you cared, only for you to betray her like everyone else had. She understood now, that you did these things because you truly cared, and she actually looked forward to each gesture now.

A hand stroking the side of your face brought you back into the present. Eyebrows furrowed, concerned she had done something to cause you to go silent. Tilting your head slightly, you were able to bring your lips to hers. A gentle promise that nothing was wrong. Her other hand moved up your neck, finding purchase there as she deepened the kiss.

You brought your hands up to her shoulders, kneading the clenched muscles for a moment, before beginning a descent. They came down the front of her chest, over the supple swell of her breasts before spreading along her sides. A moan slipped through her lips as your fingers splayed across her lower back. Reaching her ass you gripped a bit harder, pulling her more tightly against yourself. Not yet entirely satisfied, you continued down to her thighs, lifting her up with ease.

Long legs wrapped around your waist, both of you groaning as she started to rock against your stomach. The hand at your neck tightened as she got comfortable. Your lips had more of a purpose now and you waited for the right moment to slip your tongue in.

Stumbling backwards, the edge of the sofa met your legs. Somehow you managed to fall back, in a graceful movement and landed squarely on your ass. Lena, being the genius that she is, had the foresight to unwrap her legs as you fell, so her knees rested aside your thighs rather than behind your back. Both of her hands were in your hair, desperately trying to remove any space between the two of you. Her tongue met yours and started a familiar dance.

So caught up in each other, neither of you had noticed the office doors swinging open, nor the ball of sunshine that had swiftly entered.

“Ah my eyes! Stop eating each others faces!” Kara Danvers, also known as Supergirl, squealed. Hands immediately covering her eyes, before she spun around so her back faced you and Lena.

You could feel the heat from Lena's blush as she hid her head in your neck. All you wanted to do was push the Kryptonian back out of the office and continue having your way with your girlfriend.

“I'm not turning around until you both are separated!”

“Well you'll be standing there for an awfully long time then Danvers, “ You savoured the last few minutes in Lena's embrace, knowing that it would be at least several hours before you saw her again. Lena let out a contented sigh, clearly not wanting to let go of you either.

“Guys.....come on.....” Kara whined, normally something like that would annoy you, but the Danvers sisters held a special place in your heart. By now Lena had started unwrapping herself from you anyway.

Getting up, you brushed your uniform, trying to make it a little more presentable before doing the same to your hair.

“I could swing past after work and pick you up if you wanted? Maybe we could even grab a bite to eat?” She simply nodded before placing a chaste kiss on your cheek.

“Sounds perfect, “ She strode towards her desk, boss mode reactivated. Though she couldn't help but send you a small smirk before you left.

Passing by Kara, you couldn't help but lean in and whisper jokingly, “Paybacks a bitch Danvers.”

[leonawriter]

Waiting On A Word

Read it on AO3

Fandom: Doctor Who

Characters: Bill, Heather, Penny, Twelve (mentioned), Missy (mentioned)

Pairings: Bill/Heather

Summary: When Bill realises that the Doctor might not have been as gone for good as she'd thought, she decides to go back to Bristol to see if he reappears. She owes him a proper goodbye, even if nothing else.

...

It's hard not to be distracted, now. She can't even blame herself for it, either - here she is, serving chips again, when she could be out there, travelling the stars with her girlfriend.

Girlfriend. Wow, that's still new. Even a few months going around touring time and space couldn't get rid of how new that felt. 

Bill catches herself smiling, which is great, but she really needs to focus. It wasn't like she'd come back to work as a chip girl for fun, after all. There was a reason.

You saved me, made me back into me again, she'd said to Heather one day, as they sat on the top of a space station and watched the workers in their space suits float by, kept from flying free by the equivalent of ropes and cords. If it weren't for the Doctor, I wouldn't even have got that far. He saved my life - so many times. 

She could still remember shivering from the memory of the last time she'd been out in space without a suit or a helmet to protect her. Heather reminding her that the way they were now, they weren't in any danger. And then, the sudden thought to ask if her tears landing on the Doctor might have done anything to him, and Heather shrugging.

My mum always told me that if I was lost, she'd said, starting to think, I should stay right where I am. Or go someplace someone'd know to find me. At least, that's what I always thought she'd say. It makes sense, though.

Figuring that might work this time, or even that it was what she thought she needed to do, had still taken a few different encounters - some friendly and some not so - where Bill was sure they were talking about the Doctor - her Doctor, not any of the others, like the one someone'd said had raced through their market stall like a, well, a thing that sounded like it was a drunk giraffe wearing a bowtie, or the one that'd had the locals freak out because he was wearing so much white, that they apparently associated with death, and a weird vegetable attached to his clothes. A few mentions of someone calling himself 'Doctor' in a blue box and going on about broken promises was plenty enough to make her suspicious.

She had her ideas as to who those other ones were, though. 

He's her, he'd explained to her in the barn, sitting next to her but not quite as close as she could remember them being. At some point he must have died, and when he did, he became her. It's called regeneration. I've done it myself. At some point, I'll need to do it again, when this body's worn too thin. I've never been a woman, though. Who knows, maybe next time that'll be me.

He'd turned to her and smiled slightly, although even at the time she'd known it hadn't been a really happy one. In his own weird way, he'd just been trying to cheer her up.

Another dish washed and put on the drainer. She reached out for the next.

...

As soon as she could after reorienting herself from not having been home or anything for over ten years, revisiting all the places she used to know so well, and she began taking the initiative a bit more.

Heather held her hand on the way up to the Doctor's office, giving her a supportive look that she'd really needed when she gathered up the courage to just knock. 

The worst thing was when nothing happened. Just like the rest of the staff and students had said, he was just... gone. Ever since he'd got it into his head to test Missy. 

Heather took them through the door, just to check, but they weren't there long. Everything was exactly as she'd remembered it - the photos still there, perfectly untouched. Papers unmarked - she could see her last one there on the pile by her handwriting, which was weird - and a cup of tea gone cold, another reminder that it hadn't just been her and the Doctor, but Nardole, too.

There was an empty spot in the corner where the TARDIS should be, conspicuous by its absence.

Heather tugged at her hand as she felt her throat tighten, and the next thing she knew, they were somewhere else entirely, a few thousand years into the future, where the sky rippled in different colours.

...

When they came back next, Heather materialised in the kitchen behind everyone's backs and pretended all innocent like, as though she'd not just been on the other end of the cafeteria hall with that smile of hers. 

Bill didn't think the others much believed either of them, but without suggesting she was, oh, some sort of time-and-space hopping water alien, no one could argue much, either.

She'd normally have been annoyed when she was left on her own to finish washing up after everyone, but this time she didn't mind. They made a good team - when they weren't splashing soapy water in each others' faces, and Bill wasn't laughing because it reminded her of how Heather'd looked when she'd first turned into the Pilot, and how this was way less scary or freaky. Then Heather splashed her, and said you're like me now, and they'd ended up kissing in St. Luke's kitchen, Bill smiling just like she had the first time, dishes forgotten for a minute or so.

I still don't understand, though. Out of everyone, she chooses me.

Not a bad thing, though, just something more to smile and thank her lucky stars over.

...

A few days later found them standing in front of the vault the Doctor had kept Missy in, Bill feeling just a bit silly over how nervous she was just to be near that thing - the last time she'd had anything to do with that woman, she'd ended up converted into a Cyberman, and from what the Doctor had said, that wasn't the worst she, or he, had ever done - because she was like Heather now, right?

Heather squeezed her hand, and Bill knocked.

This time, she felt guilty to be relieved that nothing happened, even after a few minutes.

It really was just an empty box behind a door in the basement of the university, now. Nothing scary about it.

She hesitated as they were about to leave, though, a thought crossing her mind, a question that suddenly needed to be answered.

"You know how when you were first trying to find me, and the Doctor came down here to make sure it was all secure and everything? Could you have? I mean, got in there?"

Heather considered the vault doors for a moment, but then shrugged, turning back to face Bill.

"Dunno. Wasn't really after whatever was in some dusty old vault, was I?"

"It was kinda a 'who', not a 'what'."

Which was weird to think about, now - she hadn't known at the time, though she had wondered what could be so important. After their discussion on the roof that one day before Missy's test that'd gone to hell in a hand basket, it kinda made more sense. 

"That's what I was thinking, too," Heather says, a smile in her eyes, and Bill takes her hand again, thinking I'm glad you came back, and not for the first or last time.

...

They run into Penny not long after, in between kitchen duty and something infinitely more interesting, because of sudden cravings for Earth chocolate, which, despite what the stalls on some alien planets in the far future said, the taste was never going to be as authentic as it was bought straight from the supermarket

It was awkward, at first. If she was honest, Bill would say she was worried because it might look kinda like she'd been cheating, and with an extra ten (now a bit more than ten) years since they'd last seen each other, it'd taken until now to remember that they'd been talking about having a quiet movie night in someday.

It was a relief when everyone was properly introduced and everything was explained, there weren't any hard feelings.

"You know," Penny said once things had calmed down some, "I think it's all for the best anyway. I don't think we would've worked out. No offence, really! Just, I don't think I could keep up."

"What with world powers crashing our dates?"

"Don't even remind me," Penny said, covering her face with her hand somewhat. But they both ended up laughing, and drawing Heather in when Bill realised that she didn't know what'd happened, and then explaining about the whole incident with the Doctor saying that the first time they'd tried for a date, it'd been crashed by the bloody Pope.

Through trial and error, they still manage to end up having their movie night in, though it's probably nowhere near what they'd first planned for it being, with Penny being the only properly human human left in the room, the three of them watching Guardians of the Galaxy, and the three of them spending half the movie laughing at the inaccuracies - mostly Heather, pointing out that no ship would work without this or that really scientific thing - and singing along to the soundtrack.

It'd been ages since she'd felt this nice, this happy, this at home. Seeing the people she cared about laughing and smiling. She didn't think she'd seen Heather smile about something that wasn't showing her another new part of the universe before, and sometimes something normal, Bill had long since decided, could be really, really important.

The only thing was, there was still something - someone - missing.

...

AN: This was originally meant to have a scene at the end, which was half done when it ended up being deleted by accident. I might still be able to re-write it at some point - I really hope so, because that one scene was most of why I wrote this in the first place. But for now, I like the bits with Bill and Heather enough that I want to share them anyway.

That said, it was also done with the intention of it being slightly AU to the canon episode, wherein the Doctor was fully healed by Bill's space engine oil tear, so he's able to go places a bit before the events of the Christmas Special start. Additionally, the fic ‘Standing By’ is canon to what I’ve written here.