#what does this fall onto... doomed straight..?

[zallosaurus]

bonus lololol

[craziertogether]

mike fell for will first.

it’s a bold statement to make but i stand by it.

i firmly believe that mike fell for will first and realized it was wrong first. as bylers we talk a lot about how mike had mountains of queer coding and was “gayer” than will in previous seasons. which i think this is why the GA tends to think that will liking mike is fanservice or doomed to fail because they only saw the confession in the van scene. (apart from lacking media literacy) i genuinely think mike had always seen will as special to him, genuinely as like the light of his life, and while society/his family conditioned him to internalize his feelings, his own lack of self worth pushed him to hide his true self (but will later push him towards will). i think the biggest indicator to mike that his feelings could never be expressed was when his own father stated “see what happens mike?” yes it could’ve been seen as a half assed ignorant comment or a warning to mike but i think mike actually interpreted it as, “will being queer was the reason for his demise”. not only the demise of death but mixed with the downfall of how society viewed will as an individual. mike was already apart of the outcasts and not well liked, but mixing that with how no one even really mourned will, now that really scared mike.

so how does this all play into my claim? mike was in love with will when he died. part of him died that day with will. that was a good reason of why he didn’t hesitate to jump off the edge (yes for dustin but there’s more to it than that). thus, when a nearly impossible possibility that will was alive came to be, mike jumped at the chance. yes, because he loved will. but more so he had found his self worth back. it’s why we see his drive to repair his “relationships” dustin, lucas, and el, all of them now working together for the sole purpose of finding will (and yes keeping el safe). it’s why i believe he is no longer hesitant to show his full devotion to will at the end of season one, by being the first to run to will when he wakes up and why he chooses will repeatedly during season 2. he loved will all along, he loved that will gave him strength and self worth again. (something i might add he never felt with el, he ALWAYS felt weak and inferior and with el it only magnified that when we see how she has powers and could save people something he doesn’t think he can do.) as social pressures kept rising, it all pushed him to fall back onto heteronormativity. and yet, even in his peak “straight bro” era. his love for will outweighs that, he chooses will through the storm that is season three and why he biked miles through the storm after the rain fight (bane of my existence btw). i don’t think it’s because he started to recognize his feelings for will in season 3 which prompted his obsession with el, i believe he always did know about them, from the start. and it’s why he continues to go back to will even when he does everything in his power to keep up his facade, he still knows that it’s will that he will always choose. so by season 4, when mike’s back to his bs and forcing his attraction to el. we see it completely fail, over and over he incriminates himself and finds himself going back to will. again you ask why? because will has shown him what he has always needed, someone who sees his worth and is willing to stay with him even when he doesn’t see his purpose anymore. will empowers mike, not because will is weak and needs a savior because they just fit together and do that for each other. it’s the same reason will finds his own strength to confess (though with a cover) to mike. will finds his voice through mike, mike finds his strength and purpose through will. everything they need (emotionally), they find just that in the other.

[littlecandyman]

inspired by this scene in fried green tomatoes

"How does this taste?" Satoru asks, putting a burnt piece of what was supposed to be a cookie in your mouth. "The truth."

"Oh," you say, chewing it for a second. "They're, um... bad." Not nearly sweet enough, flat as his ass and again, burnt.

"Hmm." He walks over to the trash can and dumps the entire plate in. Probably for the best.

An egg is cracked over your head, sliding straight off and into your mixing bowl of correctly prepared cookie dough. You freeze for just a second, turning to face Satoru in disbelief.

"Why did you do that?" You ask, mouth hanging open at the audacity.

"You forgot to add eggs." His back is to you, cleaning the dishes from his apparent failed batch.

You eye the container of sugar next to you on the counter. You don't even remember picking it up before you sling the contents at his back. He stiffens and fills a glass of water.

What happens next is a blur.

The water hits your face and you throw a handful of flour at him in return. Chocolate chips end up down your shirt, cocoa powder in his hair. You're both giggling as you fall onto the floor.

"I can't believe you," you laugh, smearing your hand over his face, coating it in whatever the hell is on the floor with you.

"You started it," he shrugs, sticking his tongue out at you.

"What the hell happened in here?"

Suguru enters the kitchen in horror at the mess. You and Satoru are on the floor covered in baking ingredients, not a single clean surface left.

"They said my cookies were bad," Satoru laughs, using your shoulder as support to stand.

"You know you're going to have to clean this up?" Suguru says, arms crossing over his chest.

You roll your eyes as you stand, grabbing a handful of butter and hiding it behind your back. "Always so serious," you say, a grin stretching your face from ear to ear. You wrap your arms around his neck and then smash the butter into his hair, effectively poking the bear.

His lips flatten into a straight line then he cracks a second egg into your hair, splattering onto the floor. You turn to make your way back to the safety of Satoru but Suguru's arms lock around your waist.

You squeal in delight and slight terror, your hands shooting out to Satoru to pull you back to him but your butter slicked hands keep slipping from his, dooming you to whatever fate Suguru chooses for you.

a/n: sorry for calling satoru flat assed :(

[jjwolves]

ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ LOVE UNDER WILL ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ

This headcanon list was commissioned by @master-eclectic ! Thank you so much for your support, it means the world to me <3

What: Headcanons of ENA as a Yandere X Reader

Who: ENA by Joel G

How Much: ~700 words, ~2 mins

Credits: Banner Image -> Joel G, Divider -> @aquazero

You like ENA a lot—perhaps more than anyone else you’ve met in this constantly fluid world. She cares deeply for you right back, albeit in her own strange way, always bringing you gifts and comforting you when times are tough. Sometimes she does the comforting, sometimes you do the comforting. It’s nice. It’s simple. It’s kind of weird. ENA is kind of weird in everything she does, so her more alarming patterns of behavior end up being a drop of static in a sea of missing signal. You don’t notice that her infatuation with you runs deeper than her usual childlike curiosity—it’s something psychological, and fiercely jealous.

You don’t find it odd how she stares at you, because she stares at everyone, smile unchanging. But one day, when you’re watching a drive-in movie where the vehicles are projectors with legs, you turn to ENA halfway through to find that she’s been staring straight into you the entire time, a placid smile resting on her face. “You’re seeming very action-adventure today. If I held your hand, would you let the cosmic wheel creak to a stop?” Heart thumping, you give her your hand. She turns doom and gloom in a heartbeat, clutching your hand tightly, blue interlocking with yellow. Tingling tears fall onto your knuckles. “So beautiful… I don’t deserve to hold this! But I don’t care! I’m gonna hold it anyway!” You get annoyed glances from neighboring robots trying to watch the movie.

She starts stalking you in ways which are very uniquely hers. Once, when you were brushing your teeth, the chill of being watched ran up your spine. You whipped around to your window to find nothing there, but when you turned back around to the mirror, ENA was inside, startling at being seen and scurrying off to hide somewhere less visible in the mirror-realm. You hang a curtain over it just in case. Another time, you walked past one of the paintings hung up in your hallway and suddenly realized that there was something off about one of them once you reached your room. You ran back and found ENA posing inside one of the paintings, shifty eyes the only giveaway that she knew she was caught (and being slightly creepy). “Ah, dearest… You must admit that I gel well among the firmaments!” You reluctantly agreed that, yes, she did look like she belonged in a painting. ENA blushed and gave the closest thing to a bashful chuckle you’d ever heard out of her.

ENA normally isn’t obsessive, but her love, her adoration for you, sharpens the hazy, vivid colors dwelling in her heart into something screeching and unpredictable. A yellow that threatens to burn and a blue that promises to drown. Being near you has her flying high, bright as ever, spinning you around and keeping you to herself in a tight embrace. “You’re the dawning spring of my heart. And I’ll never let you go!” She stills and looks deep into you. “Ever,” she adds, but with a tone light and airy. She wouldn’t want to scare you away, now!

When you spend time with other friends a little more than with her, she sinks into mental storm. She’s not used to this feeling, so she doesn’t know what it is, but anyone else would tell you it’s jealousy. And it’s intense. Her blue side starts getting a lot more talkative when ENA feels like you’re paying too much attention to other people. She wails and cries on your shoulder, not so subtly smelling your hair in between sobs. “It’s—not—fair! Why do you spend so much time with them?!” She slumps forward and looks upwards, her blue eye meeting one of yours. You explain that you’ll always like her the most, but that there are other people who are important to you as well. “NO!! Boo-hoo… You’re only supposed to love ME! All those other people should just disappear!” You’re perturbed, to say the least, and not by the fact that your clothes have essentially become ENA’s impromptu handkerchief. (That part’s par for the course.) Either way, you hold ENA tighter as her floating hair pieces gently brush against your ear.

[anonymityisfunwriter]

it will come back.

"i warn you, baby, each night, as sure as you're born, you'll hear me howling at your door..." - hozier, it will come back

pairing: yandere!bucky barnes x reader c.w.: dark!bucky (he definitely does some questionable things, but nothing graphic)

a.n. - it's official, i've become addicted to lower case fics. they're just so much fun. they've got a vibe, you know? anyway, this is my first attempt at a darker bucky, so i hope you enjoy!

Bucky Barnes Masterlist | AnonymityIsFun Masterlist

this is your fault. it’s all your fault.

you know better, or at least, you should have known better.

what else could you expect from a man like him? a man robbed of his humanity for so long. a man so close to ferality. that's who he is in all matters of you, a man more beast than human, no better than an animal when it came to you.

that’s how you should’ve treated him. as a beast. prowling back and forth in their confinement. poised to devour any unlucky soul that got too close. so long as he was caged, you were safe.

you didn’t though. you didn’t treat him like the beast he became the moment he saw you.

maybe in another life, he could've loved you in a normal, sane way. in another life, he could give you the sweetness you deserved. in a life where he wasn't so twisted and tormented, he would have done just that. the flowers. the chocolates. the romance.

but this is love, he tells himself.

this raw, deranged, twisted, obsession.

this is his love.

he loves you.

he swears he does.

in this life, this is the only way he can show you just how much he loves you. just how far he's wiling to go to love you.

something happened to him the moment he set his sights on you. perhaps something broke. perhaps something mended. but maybe this was always who he'd been. all he knows is that heaven is not fit to house the love he has for you.

it didn't matter. the moment he set his sights upon you, you were doomed.

he wanted to scream, to bellow a warning to stay as far away from him as possible.

he stayed silent during that first meeting. his jaw tense, spine straight as an arrow, fists clenched so tight he was sure there would be indents in the metal of his vibranium palm.

"it was nice to meet you, sergeant barnes." you made a point to place yourself in his line of sight, forcing him to look at you in those bright, wide eyes. "i look forward to working with you."

that was your first mistake. he had the strength to stay away. to resist the feeling creeping up his spine. but you just kept rattling his cage. calling out to him with your siren song.

"bucky," you rest your hand on his shoulder. you're trying to soothe him. you don't realize it's a kindness neither you nor him could afford. "it's alright."

he stiffens, that's the first time you've ever touched him. it's the first time he's ever heard his name fall from your lips. not sergeant, not sir, but his name.

his chest heaves, rising and falling as he tries to control himself. you think it's just the adrenaline of the mission. you don't have any idea how overwhelmed he is by your presence.

it's your own kindness that was your undoing, that was his unraveling. years of discipline, years of training, years of strength gone with a touch.

if he didn't love you so much, he'd hate you.

from that moment on, it all spiraled. he spiraled.

he wasn't a patient man, not by any stretch of the imagination. but for you, he'd wait. for you, he'd bide his time.

first, he watches. he watches and look for ways to insert himself into your life. it was almost too easy. for a shield agent, you were careless. doors unlocked. blissfully unaware of your surroundings on long, morning runs. you barely realized how he'd slithered his way onto your missions.

it helped you were vying for his approval, for his adoration. you didn't know that you had it from the moment he saw you. he started slow. inserting himself into your daily routine. a simple good morning. a good night. passing by you in the corridor, always offering a quick grin. he listened to you. to your ideas. your wants. your little anecdotes.

soon, you were close enough to invite him into your apartment. if only you knew that he'd seen it before.

"bucky, we're friends, right?"

he gritted his teeth. friends. no. you weren't friends. you were the love of his life. you were everything he had ever wanted, everything he would ever want. you were the center of his universe. he couldn't tell you that. not yet. "yeah. why do you ask?"

"i just wanted your opinion on this guy."

"a guy?" his voice is so clipped, so gruff, he's shocked you can't hear his teeth grinding together. his fists clench. can't you feel the rage rolling off of him?

"yeah, this agent," you sigh. "he keeps asking me out. i keep trying to let him down easy, but he's not taking the hint."

"oh."

your eyebrows furrow. he almost smiles to himself. you're so aware of him, of what he does or doesn't do. you're worried you upset him. you're worried you shouldn't have told him. he likes that you're this concerned about what he thinks. "should i - i'm sorry i shouldn't have said that to you."

he places his hand on your thigh, giving it a light squeeze. "no, i'm glad you told me."

it was too easy for him to swipe your phone when you weren't looking. too easy for him to find out which agent dared to try to take you from him.

and it was even easier to get the agent paired with bucky on a field mission. just the two of them. overseas in an unfamiliar country. there were just so many things that could go wrong.

he was respected in the avenger's compound. and in this moment, he's glad he put in the work to earn that respect. he didn't think they'd respect him so much if they knew how easy it was for him to sabotage that agent. he couldn't kill the guy, but if a gun shot to the leg wasn't enough of a warning, there were other ways to get him off your back.

all of this was your fault. you opened the cage, whether you knew it or not. you pushed him to this. you showed him the warmth of your doorways.

you could've left him alone. left him to the land. left him to the cold that he knows from the depth of his bones. you should never have let him taste your warmth. you shouldn't have uttered a single word to him, not when he's sat in silence for so long, not when the sound of your honey sweet voice in enough to feed his hungry soul.

you can't show warmth to someone stone cold.

you can't feed someone starved for decades.

you can't show mercy to someone used to the harsh, unyielding world.

you should never have let him in unless you planned on keeping him.

or he'll come back.

"bucky," you pant, running to bucky's room after hearing about his disastrous mission. "i heard - i heard things went wrong on that mission. i thought you were -"

"i'm okay. don't worry." he tries to bite back the smile at the tears pricking at the corners of your eyes. you were worried about him.

your words come out in short bursts. "i just - the guy - he's the one i told you about - i heard he was shot - and - and that you were on the mission with him-"

"that was the guy who wouldn't leave you alone?" there's an intentional lilt to his voice. of course he knew. but he didn't want to give away just how much he knew. you weren't ready for that. "he's okay, if that's what you're worried about."

"i was worried about you." your eyes lift to his, shining with tears, with admiration. you were so close to putting the final nail in your coffin. "i was so worried about you."

he should tell you to run. the lion should never live with the lamb. if only you'd left him to the land.

"i'm okay. i promise."

run, he silently warns you.

run.

run.

"i just- " your frantic eyes find his again. you don't say another word. you lunge forward, planting your warm hand on the side of his face. your lips meet his in a frenzy.

too late.

it was far, far too late. it was too easy for him to become addicted to your presence. how easy you are for him to need. how easy you are for him to crave.

he'll always come back for more. he'll never be satisfied. he lived deprived for so long.

you should've know the reason they locked him away and threw away the key. he's a greedy beast.

and he's decided, he can't live with a taste. not anymore.

"i just want to talk to you," the agent pleads with you. he follows you down the hallway, still limping on his leg after that gun shot. "just hear me out."

"look," you sigh, stopping for a moment out of pity. "i'm sorry you got hurt, but i've already told you, i'm not interested."

"you're not interested in me, but you're interested in the maniac that had me shot?"

your eyes widen at the accusation. "you're lying. and don't - don't talk about bucky like that."

"i just thought you should know what kind of man you're falling into bed with."

"you're just jealous." you're about to turn on your heels when he grips your bicep forcing you back around. he squeezes tightly, forcing you to stay in place. you look down at the white knuckled grip, "you're hurting me."

"he told me that i should be more careful next time. that next time it wouldn't be in the leg. you should ask him about it."

you wrench your arm from his hold. "stay away the hell from me."

you felt guilty about your reaction. even guiltier when he turned up dead just days later. the details of that assignment were so fuzzy. even an entire investigation turned up nothing.

"i can't believe he's gone," you softly cry into bucky's shoulder. "we were friends for so long, you know?"

"i'm so sorry, that can't be easy for you," bucky coos at you.

"i don't what happened. he was acting so strange the last few months and then we got into that fight. i said terrible things to him."

"you got into a fight?"

"he said some things. about you. about us."

"about me?"

"yeah." you nod, tears still stinging your eyes, but offering no other details of that argument. you didn't want to upset bucky with those strange accusations. "these last few months, he was like a different person. he wasn't the friend i knew. i'm sorry, i know i'm rambling at you. i just - i don't know how to feel."

"you don't have to be sorry," bucky promises, he strokes your back up and down, following the curve of your spine. "i understand."

"thank you." you tuck your head into the crook of his neck. "you're being so sweet to me."

"i would do anything for you."

you're not sure what it is. the inflection of his voice. the way the words fall from his lips without pause. or the intensity with which they ring in your ears. you freeze, peeling yourself out of his embrace. your heart hammers against your chest, the blood pumping faster and faster.

you look up and, for the first time, you get a glimpse of it. those blue eyes are almost unrecognizable. that vibrant blue is gone, replaced by something much darker. almost lupine. feral.

it was the first time you ever flinched away from him. you stumbled back, afraid of him.

if you didn't know better then, you certainly did now.

but it's too late for you. he's supposed to unlearn the warmth of your skin, the taste of your lips? he's supposed to let you go? just like that?

no. not a chance in hell.

he doesn't know why you can't see it. can't you see that blood that stained his hand was for you? that agent will never lay another hand on you. you'll never wince under his grip again. he'll never plant seeds of doubt in your head ever again. you're safe. here. in his arms.

you sent him away that night. but he doesn't care. it doesn't matter. he'll always find his way back to you.

he'll always come back.

can’t you hear him just outside your door?

Bucky Barnes Masterlist AnonymityIsFun Masterlist

a.n. this is my first attempt at writing a yandere fic, so let me know what you think! reblogs and comments are always appreciated! 💛

Taglist: @marianita195 @meli18gonzalez @ludicbouquetfromearth @matchat3a @famousbreadcherryblossomsstuff @valoraxx @blue786sworld @buckyandgeraltsupremacy @geminigengar @ansaturn @ecolle @lexhalstead3 @ybflkmj @mediocre-daydreams @shanye1112 @thegirlnextdoorssister @toomanyfanficsbruh @moonlightreader649 @breathtaking-cynthia @mirikusashes@beans-and-toast @niyahcoca @katiechikin @elxvrr @antiheroxsblog @infamouslyclumsy @krissydclayton93 @buckysbarne @deadheadwbedhead @qualitygiantshoepsychic @whitexwolfxx310 @getosprettyboy @matchat3a@weallhaveadestiny@mostlymarvelgirl @honeydew3064@michealharrypotter @mrs-bucky-barnes-73@withyoutilltheendoftheline@the-photo-hoe @rae-nna@sarachabeans1

[ninjatrashpanda]

Why I think Buck and Tommy will reconcile

So I just wrote this up as a response over on r/AO3 on Reddit, and I said "Fuck it, it's Tevanniversary today, let's spread it!"

So, below to cut is a little essay about my very positive stance on Buck and Tommy getting back together. I've seen a lot of doom and gloom around, and if you wants something positive, please, go ahead and read!

Warning though, I go into leaks and spoilers here!

8x11 is the reason I think they will get back together, mainly because of tropes, the question of "What would the point be?" and general BTS. Instant sorry for the essay 😬

So, point 1, Tropes and Writing Choices:

Let's start before 8x11, though. Buck and Tommy are broken up for four episodes before they hook up. Three of those episodes feature direct, hard Tommy mentions, all in the context of Buck yearning for him and starting to bake specifically to distract himself from thinking about him. The only one that doesn't is 8x09, but that episode still heavily digs into Buck's abandonment issues, which Tommy's departure amplified. Additionally, 8x10 has Buck straight up say that Tommy breaking up with him is when he feels his life started falling apart. 8x10 also has Buck give Eddie some cookies for on the way. He was baking again.

Now, onto 8x11. The episode starts with Buck being unable to properly unpack because, in his own words, if he does, it makes it real that Eddie and Chris are gone for good. Keep that in mind. Because of this, he shows up at Madney's house, with arms full of, you guessed it, baked goods.

Buck then tries to hang out with Ravi, who's annoyed af and throws Tommy at him. Tommy opens up and tells Buck that he was yearning just as much as he did. And that's when Buck shifts from awkward to initiating their hookup. The next day, Tommy makes it clear he wants to try again, and we already know Buck wants too, but before he can agree, Tommy puts his foot in his mouth by calling Eddie competition, and Buck puts his foot into his mouth by implying he doesn't have feelings for Tommy anymore, which we know is not true, but Tommy doesn't, because Buck has never actually said anything to that regard. So Tommy leaves.

When Buck goes to talk to Maddie about Tommy's insecurities, Buck gathers ingredients and utensils to bake. Again. During this conversation, he makes it clear that he wants to call Tommy. Not Eddie.

The episode then ends with Buck unpacking and making the house his. Which means that he made his peace with Eddie's departure. Something he still has not done with Tommy's. This episode has firmly put Buck and Tommy into Will They Won't They territory, and I don't know how familiar with sitcoms and rom-coms you are, but they usually Will.

Point 2: What would the Point be?

Tommy's role in 8x11 did not have to be filled by Tommy. It could've been any random guy (or gal, for that matter) Buck hooked up with to bring up Eddie and the Buddie situation. Going into leaks and spoilers for the rest of the season there is no need for Tommy to pilot the helicopter in the two-parter. In fact, there's no need for a helicopter in the two-parter at all. Tim could've just not written one in. Those things are expensive, he would've been better off choosing something else. Additionally, the funeral in presumably 8x16 for presumably Bobby features Tommy standing in line with the 118. Why? He doesn't work there anymore. Hasn't in almost ten years.

They also very distinctly tried to keep Lou's return a secret.

All of this to say: What is the point of bringing Tommy back for these things instead of just using extras, day players, etcetera, who would be once again, much cheaper? Why would they keep it a surprise instead of advertising it if it was only for a few one offs? To me, there's three potential answers, here in order of how likely I think they are:

BuckTommy reconciliation, either this season or next.

Tommy is built up to potentially get booted up to main next season. With Peter and Ryan potentially leaving/stepping down, and Gavin all but confirmed to, there's slots available, and Tommy has proven to be lucrative. No matter if it's love or hate, Tommy brings numbers.

Tommy is built up to potentially move to Nashville. Same reasoning as above, he's a character with a sizable number of fans and has proven to bring in numbers. While not as big as one of the mains, he could bring over some fans.

Point 3: General BTS/Leaks and Spoilers.

We know Tommy is in at least two more episodes (8x15 and whichever episode the funeral takes place in, presumably 8x16. He could also appear in 8x14, but that depends on how the plot goes.), potentially more. Again, none of these appearances are necessary in any way. Tommy's role in the two-parter could be given to a character of the week, his presence in the funeral when he doesn't work at the 118 is out of the ordinary anyway. All of this while Tommy and Buck's relationship is not at all resolved in either direction. The fact that he's here at all is sign enough that a reconciliation is at least on the table.

Also, and this one doesn't prove anything lol, but I thought it was interesting either way: In a recent interview, Tim Minear quite literally referred to Tommy as Buck's boyfriend. He also used 'ex' and 'bed buddy' in the same interview, so that he slipped into boyfriend is interesting. This one is absolutely tinfoil hat territory though, and I wouldn't read into it if it wasn't for everything else here lol.

So, uh, that's it. Keep in mind, the tropes used alone would have me convinced that they're getting back together, but the BTS and leaks are amplifying it. I currently stand 95-5 on whether it happens or not.

But also, even if they don't get back together, I won't care that much. I have fanfic. Tevan fandom thrived after the breakup, and we'll continue to thrive no matter what happens. I'm just observing the tropes I'm familiar with and drawing a conclusion based on it. And that conclusion is reconciliation.

[frantic-fiction]

What Once Was

Pic credit: iiven

Astarion x gn!reader/ gn!Tav

Summary: Astarion and you decided it was best to remain friends, following the fall of the Absolute, Astarion finds he is regretting letting you go.

Warnings: Angst, Angst with a happy ending, Astarion being bad with communication, Astarion is bad with feelings

Word Count: 1.8k

Masterlist

"Astarion," Tav whispers, their breath warm against his ear as their fingers trail down his forearm, nails lightly scraping the surface. Hesitantly, they intertwine their hand with his. Their warm doe eye pierces straight into his, and he feels vulnerable under the intense stare. "I care about you, but maybe what you need right now is a friend, not a lover."

Astarion freezes his body still as a marble statue. Inside, his mind is a storm of confusion. Emotions he barely remembers flood him, swirling in a chaotic whirl that leaves a sharp ache in his chest. He gripped Tav's hands as if they alone were the sole thing keeping him bound to the material plane. Maybe in that moment, they were.

A friend?

When was the last time Astarion had a genuine friend? He doesn't know, but somehow, the word seems too mundane to describe the beautiful person in front of him. Tav, the first creature in 200 years of agony, showed him kindness and love, showing him that he was more than the mindless puppet Cazador molded him to be.

The topic was too heavy to unpack fully at that moment. Astarion had just tasted freedom. He was free of that monster and was learning what it meant to live again. He was too confused and broken to figure everything out, and so what more could he have said?

"I-I would like that."

***

A thunderous round of knocks pounds against the front door, jolting Astarion from his novel; he exhales a long, heavy sigh, flipping the page as he sinks deeper into his armchair. The crackling fire provides a once comforting backdrop, now barely audible over the persistent knocking. He tries to ignore it, his eyes skimming the lines without truly reading. But it's becoming harder by the second.

"Astarion!" Your voice is slightly muffled from behind the door. "Are you seriously going to leave me out here in the cold?"

"Where's the key I gave you?" Astarion calls out; his voice tinged with irritation. He remains firmly in his chair.

You're quiet for a moment. "I may have lost it, b-but it's not my fault, I swear!"

Astarion clicks his tongue, tossing the novel onto the side table, and moves to the door. "If only the history books knew the real hero of Baldur's Gate instead of their exaggerated grandeur." Unlatching the bolt, Astarion swings open the door with a smirk. You stand impatiently on his doorstep, arms crossed over something, lips puffed out in a pout. "If the world knew the real you, I doubt you'd have many admirers singing your praises."

You push past him, pressing a warm jar into his chest as you go. "You're just jealous I'm famous and adored. Now stop being mean to the only friend who puts up with you, you grump."

Astarion's heart clenches as he stares at the jar of blood in his hands. He watches absently as you flit around the room, tidying up the minimal mess he's accumulated since your last visit.

Friend.

The word stings like sunlight on his skin. A rock settles deep in his stomach at the reminder.

Astarion has many regrets, but letting you slip through his fingers is the one that haunts him most. If he could go back, he would pull you into his arms and never let go. He would whisper how much he loves you and beg for time because he can't imagine facing the darkness without his light.

But it is too late for that because how do you ask someone as bright and full of life as you to return to someone as broken and doomed to the shadows as him? Astarion has to settle for the barest comfort your friendship can offer him despite the pain that comes with it.

"Hey, Star, could you sew this button back on after your meal?"

Your melodic voice pulls Astarion back. He turns and heads to the kitchen, where you are already seated. It's only then that Astarion truly takes in your appearance.

Gods, you're beautiful. You're wearing clothes that perfectly accentuate your body, stirring a sense of longing in Astarion. You're even wearing the delicately embroidered scarf he hand-crafted for you last winter. Why did he let you go?

Astarion swallows hard and retrieves a chalice from the cabinet. "Of course, my dear."

"Thank you! I can't believe I popped a button."

Astarion pours the blood into a glass, watching the deep red liquid swirl as if it's the most captivating sight. His eyes flicker up briefly before darting back down. He asks carefully, unsure if he wants to hear the answer.

"What's the occasion?"

You drop your chin, a bashful smile tugging at your lips. You fiddle with the fallen button, spinning it on the table before slapping your hand over it and repeating the action.

Astarion takes a sip and waits. The sweetness of your blood coats his tongue, and he savors the mouthful. It's nothing compared to drinking from the source, but you felt it was best to do it this way. You said the prior act felt too intimate for two friends and blurred too many lines, and Astarion felt he had no place to voice opposition.

He takes another quick mouthful, knowing he only has so much time to savor the blood before it congeals into an unpalatable gel.

"I-I have a date."

Astarion chokes on the blood, pulling the glass from his lips as a fit of violent coughs overtakes him. An unsettling feeling churns in his stomach, making him feel like vomiting, but it's not from the burning in his throat.

"Is it really that surprising that someone would ask me out?" You scoff, taking Astarion's coughing as an act of humor rather than the painful surprise he's currently feeling.

"No-" Astarion wheezes through another round of coughs. "That's not-"

You come over and smack his back harshly. Astarion's unsure if it's to help him or express your anger, but the pounding against his back seems to finish his fit.

"I thought vampires couldn't choke," you mumble under your breath. He can hear the annoyance drip from each syllable.

"I am quite the unique spawn, it would seem." Astarion wheezes, slumping into the chair you were previously sitting in. You opt to lean against the counter away from him. "So… who is the special lady or gentleman who has captured the hero's attention?"

Astarion cringes at the hollowness in his voice. He doesn't care to hear the answer, and it's obvious. He doesn't care to hear you gush about whoever has captured your heart and will whisk you away tonight, ripping the last sliver of you he has left.

"Don't pretend to care." You glare, a scowl stealing away your beautiful smile.

"It's rather uncouth to assume your best friend does not care, my sweet," Astarion lies, hurting for all the wrong reasons, but you don't need to know that. "Now, are you avoiding the question because you're afraid I won't approve?"

"No," you respond, not meeting his eyes, opting to fiddle with the button again.

"Then out with it."

"Do you remember the bard?" Your smile says all he needs to hear. Your voice fades to the white noise of his mind.

Astarion feels like he's dying all over again. The damn bard, the suave casanova with a voice as alluring as his smile. 

The two of you, Shadowheart and Gale, met at an old, bustling Tavern earlier in the month. Astarion had wished to stay home, but you all dragged him out of his house.

It wasn't a terrible evening; the wine was decent, and despite his best efforts, he enjoyed hearing what Shadowheart and Gale were up to. Astarion was having a good night. At least until the bard sauntered over with his brightly colored ensemble and his dashing smile, asking you for a dance. Astarion had hoped you would decline, but you bashfully accepted his outstretched hand and let the bard whisk you away.

For the remainder of the night, Astarion watched glumly as the bard swung you around the dance floor. He watched you giggle as you spun, dipped, and turned into his sturdy arms. He watched as you fell for his charms. Astarion felt what was left of his heart, the sole piece that belonged to you, crumble into powder. Because there you were, happy with a man who was everything he could never be. A man you deserved. A man with as much light and life as you.

Astarion left early, not wanting to see the love of his life slip further away, missing the crestfallen look that dawned on your lips the moment you saw Astarion slip out the back.

"Astarion?"

Your voice brings him back. And suddenly, Astarion realizes he can't let you go. He will lose you forever if you leave his home tonight; Astarion cannot live with that. He cannot live without you by his side. He cannot live without your smile, your laugh, and your touch, everything. 

Astarion wants to be selfish and keep his light, even if that means dooming you to the dark.

"Don't go," he chokes out, voice cracking. Astarion is out of his chair and stumbling to your side before he can tell his legs to move. He's cradling your hands, his eyes pleading for you to understand the gravity of those two simple words.

"What? Why?" You balk, stepping back.

Astarion matches your step. "I think you know why, Tav," he says, his voice firm this time. He cups your face with his palm, and you inhale shaky, seeming to freeze under his touch.

"Astarion,"

"Stay," he pleads, stroking his thumb over your cheekbone, eyes burning with desperation and hope.

"Astarion," you say softly, tears pricking at the corner of your eyes. "Why now?"

His heart breaks, feeling tears burn in his eyes, knowing he might lose you forever. "Because I can no longer pretend to be happy with just being your friend."

Astarion crashes his lips to yours before you can respond, pouring his desperation and passion into the kiss. You gasp, clutching onto his shirt in surprise before meeting his kiss with equal enthusiasm. He swears he can see stars and feel warmth deep in his chest. When he pulls away, he's panting, his eyes searching yours.

 "I love you," he confesses. "Gods, I love you, Tav. I should have never let you go."

"Astarion, I-"

Astarion pulls you close, wrapping you in a tight hug. "Please, Tav," he whispers, his voice thick with tears. "Just stay."

"I'm not leaving," you assure, nuzzling in his hold. "I-I love you too. I've always loved you, you know that. But after everything, can we just...can you-" You pause, struggling to find the right words, torn between past traumas and new beginnings.

"I don't know," Astarion admits, "But I've never been more certain about anything than I am about you. The rest, we'll figure out." 

And with no other words needing to be said, you held Astarion tighter, and he swore he would never let you go again.

This was heavily inspired by the fact I'm replaying bg3 (again) and romancing Wyll and went the friend route with Astarion. It was painful but I survived...mostly. Anyway, feedback always makes my day so let me know what you thought 🥰

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[luminique]

HEAR ME OUT, one sided love?? Imagine s/o doesn’t like lighter back, being oblivious about lighters feeling and only see lighter as a friend meanwhile lighter is so MADLY in love with them and is aware of s/o not liking him back but he can’t help it because you’re the only one that makes him feel this way even if his feelings aren’t reciprocated… they’re so doomed think about the potential angst!! 🫤

lighter isn’t perfect. his body is littered in scars of his past, his actions are solutions to mistakes he had made before. to say that he deserved something as rewarding as love didn’t sound right to him, but oh, would it feel right if it was from you.

it was definitely not an immediate fall, rather it was slower like starting a fire. you bring the materials you require, some wood and a starter. it’s difficult to get a fire going, even he knows that with his lighter in hand. his hand gets warmer the longer the flame is out but it doesn’t compare to the accidental grazes of your hand against his gloved ones.

he had poked you once with the spikes on his gloves. the look on your face when you brought your hand up to rub it while you apologized for it. why were you apologizing? every soft “sorry” that came out of your mouth was like sprinkling water onto the fire. best to get fresh firewood so that it doesn’t go out.

ensuring that the fire is a consistent flame is also important to prevent accidents. accidents like playfully taking off his sunglasses and putting it on yourself while imitating him. somehow, that didn’t cause the fire to go out, in fact, it made it burn even brighter than before. the redness on his face when he watched you was comparable to the orange and red hues of a fire.

he stayed close to the fire, close to you. feeling the warmth of love on his skin, finding it calming but also terrifying. it doesn’t rain often in the outer ring but that doesn’t stop him from worrying that it would all of a sudden. so he lies awake at night, thinking about all of the possibilities, the what ifs and its outcomes.

he thought he had considered everything. from keeping the fire from going out, to ensuring it was a stable flame, to tending it slowly and carefully. what he didn’t consider was getting too close to the fire, burning through what he thought was tough skin.

he was too focused on trying to maintain a certain personality, not quite showing his interest in you. so when caesar was talking to you about her love stories while everyone was hanging around the bar, his heart rate increased. just like how consuming alcohol affects one’s mental and physical state, so does it affect a fire. maybe someone poured his drink into the flames as he watched it burn even brighter than before, making him eavesdrop on your conversation.

but a large flame meant a higher possibility of getting burnt, and soon he saw the burn marks on his skin. as you continued to talk with caesar, the longer he let the fire burn him. how you had said that real love wasn’t like the stories, how you seemed disinterested in romance, how you had believed that no one was interested in you. at that moment, he ended up getting more drinks from burnice, hoping it would soothe the roaring flames within him. he drank so much and fell asleep to the soft crackling of the fire, your voice acting as background noise.

he woke up to the coldness of the bar counter pressing on his cheek. the fire had been put out by you when you tapped on his shoulder. the memories of last night flooding into his mind like water. maybe it was all some nightmare and you did like him back, but the sudden coolness of your touch made him realize the reality of it all.

you didn’t like him, and not because he did anything wrong but because he didn’t do anything in your eyes. you were feeding the fire in his heart and he mistook that fire for your heart too. he sat up straight, took one look at you and shook his head. you still cared for him, came with water and woke him up gently. he never intended to get so severely injured because of his own growing feelings for you.

his own feelings, you didn’t even know he had any for you. the pile of ashes, you both stared at it and yet only he knew that fire existed. the flames had misled him, danced around his heart that craved for you, that only asked for you as its fuel. now all he can do was sit next to what was once a big fire, feeling the cold on his skin despite the layers. no warmth left, no light left, no love left.

[mae-gi-writes]

Finders Keepers | Gally [TMR] - Part 4

In which Gally gets soft for one of the boys in the Glade, only…is it a boy? alternatively; In which Mai disguises herself into a boy to fit in the Glade, only to be suspected by the keen eyes of the Builder's Keeper.

taglist: @edynmeyer1 @ss28 @kurowvie @vaugarkel

Also available on Wattpad.

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-----

Don't look at him.

Gally stares straight ahead, not realizing that he's glowering at the wall where Frypan's apron is currently hanging. It's been three days and he's still not over his crazy theories because somehow his brain doesn't want to shut up.

He's tired, he lacks sleep and he merely wants to take a fat nap despite the risk of missing dinner tonight.

His fork, currently stabbed into a piece of meat from his curry bowl, is left unattended as he keeps on scowling at the apron like it's done something to him, and would've probably continued doing so if not for Alby's hand falling onto his shoulder.

"Gally."

That's when the said young man looks up at his leader, blinking and replying a gruff, "yeah?"

"You alright shank? You've been glaring at this wall for ages," the Leader motions towards Frypan's apron, "Fry did something to piss you off?"

"No," Gally resumes eating with a little too much vigor as Alby takes a seat across from him, "I was going to tell you that we're doing Bonfire night tonight."

"Why?" Gally says through a mouthful of food.

"Because we missed Mai's Bonfire night and I think everyone needs a break."

"Count me out then," Gally finishes up his bowl before he pushes it away, and when his leader's gaze turns stern, adds, "what?"

Alby leans forward just enough for the Builder to catch his eye,"You're a Keeper. How's it gonna look like to your Builders if you don't turn up?"

Gally's own blue eyes narrow, "I'm tired Alby. Just do it without me."

"We can't. We need you, and plus," a smile flickers across Alby's face, "who's gonna beat Mai up?"

Gally snorts at that, "the Greenie'll probably wet himself before he even gets to the circle."

"Is that a yes then?" Alby bumps his shoulder, "c'mon shank. Let's have some fun."

And that's how Gally finds himself mixing up his booze for Bonfire night, grumbling under his breath as everyone around him bustles with excitement. Stacks of wood are piled up high and Frypan's going all out in the kitchen, cooking up a feast for the occasion. Others are chattering his ears off and Gally wishes he can dump everything down the drain and find his hammock.

It is then that a particular blonde, second-in-command, sidles up to him, "ey Gal, you alright?"

"Fine as a ray of sunshine," Gally grumbles out, still not out of his hole of impending doom as he realizes what a mistake this is.

"Come and sit with us when you're done," Newt motions towards the table at the far back where Minho is knocking back a few drinks with some other Runners, "you look like you need a drink."

Gally has to agree with that.

He does need a drink.

As Alby lights up the bonfire and the flames bursts out like a million fireflies, the chatter of Gladers increase tenfold, the night slowly giving way to a much lighter atmosphere filled with hope and fun, an escape from the doom that usually fills their days. It's a different image from their routine and it's like a breath of fresh air, something that they need just so that they can hold on a little longer.

Finally done and ready to hit the sack, Gally decides to stride over to where Newt and Minho are currently discussing matters in hushed voices. He storms up to them, drops his body onto a nearby chair and takes a swig of his drink, relishing in the familiar burn down his throat.

The rest of the Builders are sitting at another table, laughter and boisterous chatter reaching his ears and making him want to walk away. It's in moments like these that Gally wishes he could be alone.

He hates noise, hates it so much more when it's useless.

And that's when the Greenie decides to plop in the seat right opposite him with a beam, "hey Gally!" the slur is evident in Mai's voice, causing the latter's eyebrow to rise up in curiosity.

He tilts his head towards Newt, eyes narrowed in suspicion when he glances over to Minho, "that shank's been drinking?"

"Mai wanted to know what your secret recipe was," Newt shrugs in response, seemingly undisturbed by the fact that this Greenie is literally swaying in front of Gally's face, "I think he likes it."

"That's an understatement," the Builder mutters. He spots Mai trying to swig another mouthful from his cup and quickly snatches it out of his hand before anymore damage is done, "that's enough for you," he snaps more sternly than intended.

Mai pouts, "but it's Bonfire night. Alby said anything can happen on Bonfire night."

"Yeah and if you keep drinking that clunk, terrible things will happen to you, slinthead. So slim it," Gally proceeds to toss the rest of it into his own cup, much to Mai's displeasure.

He makes a noise of protest from the back of his throat, "you're so rude, Gally. I was just trying to have fun!" his hands wave in the air in a dramatic manner, causing Newt and Minho to chuckle at the scene.

"Yeah I think you're right," Newt says, "the Greenie's a goner."

"He's a shucking lightweight, that's what he is," adds Minho.

Nevertheless, Mai is still challenged to a fight in the ring circle, and when Gally adamantly refused to fight a drunkard, is replaced by none other than another one of the Builders who seems all too keen to beat the newbie. A cut lip and a couple of bruises later find Mai sprawled out just outside of the circle, prompting hollers and exclamations of success, some sniggering as they leave Mai on the floor for Newt and Minho to pick up.

Gally's about to turn in for the night -- god knows he really does need that sleep and his hammock is looking tempting right at this particular moment -- when Newt dumps the Greenie beside him, cut lip and all.

"Gal, keep an eye on him for a minute will ya?" Newt says, and before Gally can say anything else, disappears into the crowd.

"Great," Gally mutters as another sigh falls from his lips. He doesn't have a choice but to gaze at Mai, whose face seems to be blossoming with new blue and purple decorative bruises every minute. "you look like shit."

"Gee thanks Gally, that's very kind of you," comes Mai's shaky inhale. Gally watches as the young Glader winces when he touches his face, "everything hurts," he whimpers like a kicked puppy and the Builder can't help but roll his eyes. Pathetic.

Finding a spare napkin that someone had left on the table, Gally holds it out to the Greenie, "here," he says gruffly, and when Mai doesn't respond, proceeds to press it into his palm.

"Thank you," Mai hiccups as he starts to wipe the blood of his face, "thank you very much...Gally."

The glader merely grunts in response. He's not quite sure how to respond to the rush of gratefulness in Mai's voice. He's not used to it, to people saying thank you and looking at him with anything other than disgust or fear.

Mai is different and he senses it. He's just not sure in what sense of the word.

Maybe because he's not what he seems--

Oh stop it, he says to himself. He should not be worrying about someone else's affairs when he has enough on his mind as it is.

So despite his reluctance to leave the Greenie alone with Minho and the rest of the Runners, Gally takes it upon himself to walk away to find the comfort of his hut, telling himself that the Greenie doesn't need him and in any case it's not his problem if ever something happens. He's not his babysitter after all, is he?

He tries not to think too hard about that.

----

The morning has started off on a wrong foot.

First off, Mai had woken up only to find a dark spot along the side of her inner thigh, a sign that her monthly duties are up. She'd scrambled around in a panicked heap as she tugged fresh clothes from her small rucksack hanging from her hammock before making a dash for the shower stalls, thanking god that it was still early morning and the sun hadn't risen yet.

She thought that would be the end of it -- setting a white protective cloth over her underwear and changing out of her dirty clothes -- but what she hadn't been expecting was the pain. It seared through her abdomen, squeezing her lower stomach as she made her way back to Homestead and Mai had no choice but to curl over, breathing loudly through her mouth as pain seized her body.

Great, and with those monthly duties came the consequences. As if she had time to deal with those in a camp full of boys that were not even aware of what she was exactly.

She was mentally kicking herself for not having divulged the truth in the first place when she's suddenly met with a familiar-looking asian.

"Hey Mai," Minho leans down to frown at her contorted face, "are you okay? You look like shit."

Despite herself, Mai forces a shaky smile onto her lips, "yeah, I'm fine. Just hungover."

"Ah, that would be Gally's doing," Minho grins as he falls into step beside her, "you can tell him off at Breakfast."

"Do I look like have a death wish, Minho?"

The latter lets out a bark of laughter, "yeah you're right. Not a wise idea."

Still, Mai has no choice but to feign that she's not that bad, trying her best not to curl over her stomach whenever a cramp would suddenly pulse through her abdomen. Her pelvis was aching and her spine felt so sensitive that every turn and motion had her wince in pain. Frypan took notice around mid-morning before asking her if she was alright, to which Mai reassured him that she was. But not wanting to have her in the kitchen and engulfed by flames for a second longer, the Cook then decides to send her out to the Builders to give them food instead.

"Are you sure Frypa--" he shoos her away with a wave of his hand, "I'll be fine, just go give them their lunch, would ya? These shanks are probably starving."

So Mai does as she's told even if every step makes her want to scream.

She'll need to change at some point in the day, but she's not quite sure how to do that without raising suspicion.

Reaching the Builder's area is like stepping through a different dimension. They're all big and huge and look like they could pack a punch, and Mai swears she feels all eyes on her the moment she steps around the half-built pieces of furniture. Quickening her pace, she finds the table where all plans and drawings are laid out before placing down the sandwich bag onto its surface.

Her brow is filled with sweat and she swears she might collapse, but then spots Gally and a few other Builders making their way towards her, and straightens up, "hey Gally," she says meekly, trying not to think of the embarrassment she'd made of herself last night because of his concoction.

"Greenie," he nods at her, eyes moving to the bag in question.

"Ah, Frypan told me to come give you guys lunch because you have a busy day today," she explains as she unwraps the bag. Handing out the sandwiches to each Builder that give her muttered thank you's, she leans down to get the last sandwich, her figure trembling with effort.

That doesn't go unnoticed by Gally, whose frown deepens tenfold, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," she's quick to dispel his doubts as he takes the sandwich from her hands, quickly grabbing the empty basket and turning around to get away as soon as possible.

Her vision darkens and for a moment she sees stars.

Mai sways, stumbling against the side of a tree and causing all Gladers to react.

"Hey!" Gally's first to grab her, yanking her up and against him, "shuck. I'm bringing him to the Med-Jacks," she hears him say to the other Builders before she's suddenly scooped up into a pair of strong arms and brought to a chest so warm that she almost nuzzles into it. Gally's scent wraps around her like a blanket as he brings her to the Med-Jacks hut. He smells of pine and something like grass after it has rained, an earthy smell mixed in with the scent of boy that he carries around with him and if she closes her eyes, she's sure she can fall asleep to it, burrowed in its comfort.

She's not quite certain of her whereabouts until she hears Gally speak again, his voice rumbling through his chest and resonating through her, "Greenie collapsed a few minutes ago," he seems to be explaining her situation and a second later, Mai is deposited onto one of the beds before a hand is laid across her forehead.

"He's got a fever," another voice says, "we gotta strip him."

But when a sudden pair of hands clasp onto the edge of her shirt, Mai's eyes fly open in realization. She squeaks out a loud, "no!" causing all Gladers to fall back in surprise.

"Y--You can't--" Mai grips her shirt so tightly that her knuckles turn white, "no, no, please--"

Gally's the one that speaks up first, "You're burning up Greenie, we gotta take it off and let you cool down."

Still, she fights off any hands that come close to her, clasping both arms around her middle and curling up her legs in defense, "no," she gasps out, "you can't."

She spots the two Med-Jacks exchanging glances, but Gally is getting impatient, for he snaps out, "stop being a crybaby and let them do their job. We haven't got all day--"

"Please," her eyes land on his own and he curses at the way they're begging him, pleading. Mai's voice drops to a whisper, "please don't."

"Alright Greenie, no need to get antsy. We won't do anything," one of the Med-Jacks speaks gently, pressing a reassuring hand onto her shoulder so that she has no choice but to lie back down, "but we're gonna keep you in this room for a little while, 'cause we gotta monitor your condition. Sound good?"

Mai only nods in relief, and the Med-Jack responds with a smile, "good that, Greenie."

"Stupid, stubborn shank," Gally mutters under his breath. Mai's about to open her mouth to thank him, but he's already whirling around and walking out before she can even try to formulate a sentence. She sighs out in exasperation and closes her eyes. Gally is so complicated in all senses of the word, she just doesn't understand where his temperament comes from sometimes. What she's pretty certain of though, is that for one reason or another, he's mad at her. It's clear from the way he's stormed off and in any other situation Mai would've just brushed it aside without caring. But somehow, she can't.

Maybe it's the fact that despite all this aggressive exterior he's been the extra helping hand she needed throughout those few days, which makes Mai guilty of the fact that she hadn't been able to even thank him for being there when he's got loads of other stuff to do around the Glade. She makes a mental note to find him later.

In the end, Jeff and Clint -- the two Med-Jacks-- allow her to have a bit of a shut-eye until she feels better, attributing her symptoms to that of a common cold. By sundown, Mai has gathered enough energy to stumble out and towards the Homestead, just in time to bump into a sweaty Minho along the way.

"You still look like death," he comments, causing Mai to scowl. He extends a hand towards her, "need some help?"

"I'm--" Mai's brain stutters. No, actually. She's not fine, and so quickly replies with, "actually, yeah. Please."

And so this is how she finds herself being supported by the Runner as they make it back to the Homestead just in time for the Dinner bell. After forcing her down onto one of the seats so that she can at least regain some of her strength with Frypan's food, they are soon joined by Newt and the Track-Hoe Keeper Zart, who quickly usher her off to her hammock while stating that they'll take care of her utensils, all while brushing away her thanks.

Mai's heart can't help but swell with gratitude at how eager they all seem to be in helping her, and struggles back to her Hammock where she all but collapses into it. Her breathing is shaky and unsteady and she places a hand over her heart, feeling it vibrating right through her chest.

Maybe she just needs to sleep a little bit more. She knows she's gotta shower -- with her period, it's even more complicated -- but that'll have to wait. She resigns herself to sleep, rolling to the side before closing her eyes.

"Hey Greenie."

Her eyes fly open. She almost jumps up, spotting a disgruntled Gally standing beside her hammock, a towel slung around his neck and -- did she ever notice how handsome he is with just that mere towel?

She clears her throat, swallows thickly, "hey Gally."

He shuffles a bit in place, looking uncomfortable. Silence prevails and Mai blinks at him. It's not in his nature to be so quiet, "is there anything I can help you with?" she asks instead.

Finally, he grovels out, "I'm gonna shower."

"Oh," she blinks once more, "uh--okay."

"You need to shower."

"I--" flames of heat burst through her face, "yes, I do."

He sighs and frowns at her, "Are you coming or are you gonna ask one of these other shanks to stand guard for you like a shuckin' idiot?"

"Oh, right." Realization dawns on her, "you're right, uhm--" but the young man's already storming off at this point. Mai scrambles for her set of fresh clothes and a new cloth pad before dashing to him, almost tripping over her own feet as she does so, "wait, I'm coming!"

He didn't have to, but he did ask. And that's enough to make Mai grin at his broad back. Gally can act all tough and intimidating, but there's no way there's only just that. No, he's hiding behind this cold and menacing exterior for other reasons. But it's good enough to know that deep inside somewhere in the crevices of his heart, he cares in his own way.

[synthetickitsune]

Demon!Hoshi (SVT) | Devil angst | 0.8k | gn!reader tw: blood and cutting (kitchen accident) A/N: there's also the shitty version of this for anyone interested lmao

On the nights you lie half-awake, body twisting in the sheets in desperation, he’s looming over you. The shadows grow longer and deeper, like claws closing around your form. You’re trapped in his grasp, never to escape. Lying in the palm of his hand, at his mercy. He could crush you like a bug, or provide protection as if you were just a little bird with broken wings. 

Soonyoung knows it’s one and the same in the end. His obsession is fatal, your fate’s been doomed ever since he laid his eyes on you. A messenger of hell, his nature is to scorch the earth you’re to walk on.

He leans closer to you, takes in your feverish state. You’re vulnerable when you’re at the edge of sleep, the sweet relief just a breath away. Writhing, desperately clawing at the blanket that provides no protection or comfort. You must be exhausted, you poor thing. He caresses your cheek. It sends shivers down your spine, makes your bleary eyes open just a crack. You don’t see him, of course you don’t. He’s a nightmare, a curse. The one to torment unseen, the creeping terror, the one who brings misery by his existence alone.

You get no rest. He follows wherever you go. He brings the downpour when you expect sunshine. He makes your hands slip when you carry fragile objects. His gravity throws off your balance when you try to stop yourself from falling. 

Siphoning your misery into power, he grows stronger. All he has to do is be. To exist. His nature is to bring calamity. And you’re the object of his terminal affection. Just the sight of you heats up his body, makes his tongue lick his lips. 

He’s the blade that cuts your palm and his nostrils flare smelling your sweet blood in the air. Breaking the rules is what demons do. He’s not supposed to help you - despite his powers, it’s the one thing he’s unable to do. But his one act of mercy towards you will be cleaning up after the consequences of his presence. 

His tongue wraps around the knife. Moan rips from Soonyoung’s throat. The metallic taste has never been so sweet, as if tailored to his taste buds. The edge cuts his tongue. The hellspawn’s blood mixing with your own, sealing a contract you don’t need to know about. You’ve been his since the first second. 

You’re crying too hard to notice the blood missing from the knife.

Yet another night when sleep evades you. Your body aches, your sanity begins to crack. He sits on the edge of your bed, shushing you and stroking your hair. He needs you to stay aware. That much he can do. You toss and turn, no mind paid to his gentle affection. What a typical, ignorant human.

You’ve grown so fragile. More so than you already were. All the pain he’s brought onto you, and yet you can’t escape his grasp. Or is it that you don’t want to? Soonyoung sucks on his teeth, reliving the memory of your blood on his fangs. One day he will bite you. Have a taste right from the source just for the pleasure of it. But you’re still too lucid for that.

Perhaps it wouldn’t change anything if he manifested in your world. Only for a while, only enough to have some fun. You’re so dear to him. His favorite piece of art, his favorite little creature. You deserve to be marked properly. To have the contract made properly. To know who owns you, who turned your life into living hell. Honestly it’s doing you a favor. At least you’ll know to expect the worst when the time comes for you to depart from your world.

The dawn breaks and something inside you does too. Soonyoung senses it, sees the defeated expression on your face morph into a blank stare. You’re so lost you’d probably come running straight into his arms if he told you he could take you away from all this suffering. He can’t. But after all this time one little lie would be but a drop in the ocean.

You’re so out of it you don’t react to the gentle pressure on your head, his hand still caressing your hair. Sweet one, aren’t you? Can you sense him now? Do you want to savor him, his real self, before you’ll have to endure what he is? How precious. Of course he’d grow obsessed with you. You’re feeding him so well. All your pretty tears, all your adorable misery infuse him with more power. He gets drunk on it, drunk on you. This particular flavor of agony that makes him dizzy. 

A loud bang makes you shut your eyes tightly. Oh no, what is it now? Did his presence make something precious fall and break? Did another appliance have an unexplainable and disastrous malfunction? He doesn’t know, all Soonyoung feels is delight. His heart is filled with such a tender feeling that he dips his head down and kisses your temple before licking off the stray tear on your cheek. You don’t flinch.

Oh how he cherishes you. 

He can’t wait to drag you to hell with him. 

[riddlemearose]

Twin Stranger

(CW: temporary character death)

“Champion!”

Link twists as much as he can, cursing under his breath as his arms wobble violently and the piece of rubble presses down harder onto his ribs. Wild drops into a crouch beside him, one hand squeezing Link’s shoulder. Link can't shy away from the touch like he usually does, but thankfully Wild doesn't let his hand linger.

“Are you hurt badly?” He asks.

Link shakes his head, gritting his teeth. The question, the implication of incompetence, stings. “Get it off.”

“Already on it.”

Wild reaches for the Sheikah Slate at his side but pauses, ears twitching. He twists on his heel, a shield quickly stitching itself into being from ribbons of Sheikah blue. A Guardian beam slams into the metal not even a second after Wild raises the shield, and the force of the blast makes his heels dig into the dirt.

Link strains his neck the best he can to look and kind of wishes he hadn’t. Several Guardian Stalkers – infected with malice, great – are scuttling across the grassy field towards them. The toxic magic drips off their legs and leaves burning pools in their wake.

Wild curses, hunkering closer to the ground so the shield can cover Link better. His eyes dart between the Guardians.

Link tries very hard not to look at the burns that cover his alternate self’s face. Everyone has been reticent to talk about just what, exactly, had happened to Wild, but the scars on his face and body say more than enough.

He’s been wondering if he and Wild – and every other version of them that may exist – are always doomed to fall to the Guardians. It’s something that’s been in the back of his mind over the last three days, ever since the stranger with his face arrived and helped free Mipha and Vah Ruta.

He doesn’t know if he’s ready to learn the answer to that question, to learn what fate has in store for him.

Wild breathes out hard through his nose and squares his shoulders. “Ah, fuck it.”

A Guardian beam slams into the shield, causing him to snarl. The metal begins to buckle and strain from the force. Link can feel the heat of the blast ripple through his hair.

Another Guardian starts to line up its shot; Link can hear it beeping rapidly.

Wild jams his eyes closed.

“I know you guys are there, and I know you can hear me.” He says softly, speaking to someone Link can’t see. “I need your help. Please.”

The air around them thickens. An unseen presence brushes kindly against Link’s forehead, and moves on to settle onto Wild’s shoulders.

When he opens his eyes, they glow slightly, illuminated by something inside him that hadn’t been there before. He grins at Link. “It’s gonna be okay, Champion.”

The beeping of the Guardian reaches a fever-pitch. Link knows Wild’s shield will not hold this time. He takes a breath, wanting his last one to be peaceful, and whispers an apology to Princess Zelda and to his family. He thinks of his little sister, remembering her bright, toothy smile.

The Guardian lets its beam loose.

Someone very familiar yells.

Fire erupts around them as the world turns teal and orange.

Link stares as Daruk appears out of the teal fire, his Protection closing around them. The Guardian beam ricochets off the barrier and sets the meadow to their right ablaze. Smoke and burned blades of grass eddy into the air.

Daruk looks down at Link, eyes solemn and sad, and vanishes.

Wild, on the other hand, lets his shield fall to the ground with a dull thud, and takes off in a full sprint, pulling the Master Sword from his Slate as he goes. The blade chimes loudly, glowing a bright, divine light.

For a moment, just like it’s done every time Wild has held it, Link hears a soft whisper of “Master,” on the wind.

It’s hard to watch from this angle, but Wild streaks across the meadow, cleaving straight through one of the Guardian’s legs. As it topples, unbalanced by the sudden loss, he leaps up and buries the Master Sword to the hilt in its eye.

As the Guardian begins to flash and shudder, Wild drops into a crouch. Five targeting lasers lock on and spirit flame dances around him once again.

This time it’s Revali who appears and launches him skyward with barely a second to spare. As the five Guardian lasers destroy the ground where Wild had just been, he plucks a bow from the Slate and pulls the drawstring back.

The world slows to a crawl, the sudden deprivation of sound making Link’s ears ring. He watches as Wild lets ancient arrow after ancient arrow fly all while Revali’s ghostly form swoops around him, using his Gale to slow Wild’s descent.

Each arrow finds its mark, striking the Guardians’ blue-fire eyes. Revali turns his head, barely slowed by the Champion ability Link and Wild share, and meets Link’s gaze head-on. Just like Daruk, Revali looks solemn, but he still throws a mock-salute Link’s way.

Wild lands in a roll as time snaps back to normal. The Guardians around him explode, purple smoke twisting up towards the blue sky. As he gets to his feet, another Guardian laser flies towards him and slams into Daruk’s Protection a second before it would've hit Wild. He still staggers from the surprise of the hit, and the three remaining Guardians close the distance rapidly.

Daruk doesn't vanish this time. He murmurs something, inaudible over the clanging of the Guardians’ legs, but Wild nods. The Master Sword chimes again, the sound almost vicious, and Wild raises his free hand, snapping his fingers.

Daruk’s figure is replaced by Urbosa's. She tosses her hair and bares her teeth as lightning strikes all around them. As the Guardians freeze, circuits shorting out, she turns to seek Link out, and her proud expression softens into one of sympathy.

She snaps her fingers again, raining more lightning down onto the Guardians. Wild darts around her, a blur of blonde hair and divine light carving through the Guardians’ legs and chassis with ease.

The Guardians crumble beneath the Master Sword’s blade, malice wisping up into the sky above as they explode, and Urbosa’s form gently fades away.

All that’s left behind is Wild standing amidst the destroyed husks. He begins picking his way towards Link, carefully stepping around the puddles of malice strewn across the grass. Link watches him, a million different emotions swirling around inside him, with frustration and bitterness chief among them.

It’s not the first time Wild’s saved him, but he still doesn’t know how he's supposed to feel about it. He's not given the chance to decide though, because two things happen in quick succession.

The first is the Master Sword, sheathed on Wild’s back, lets out a furious chime that's so loud it echoes in Link’s ears. The second is one final Guardian comes charging over the crest of the hill.

Its targeting sight finds Link’s pinned body, blue energy already gathering around its eye as it beeps rapidly.

He sees Wild whirl around to face it, mouth open as he yells. Instinctively, both he and Link pull on their Champion ability in a vain attempt to stretch the seconds out, but the world only stutters, time tripping for a moment before carrying forward undaunted.

The laser flies true. Link thinks he manages to scream before everything goes black.

He floats within oblivion, surrounded by nothingness until someone's hands reach out to cup his face. Teal light dances behind his eyelids.

"LINK!"

He chokes on a cough, wheezing, and feels hands roll him onto his side.

"Hey, hey, you're okay, just breathe." A high, panicked voice chatters above him, holding him steady.

Someone else is talking too, someone Link recognises. He struggles against the hands holding him and manages to end up on his back again.

Wild cradles his head carefully, letting Link come to rest in his lap. His face is bloodless and pale. Mipha sits beside him, shimmering with teal flames.

She smiles when his gaze lands on her and reaches a hand out to rest against his cheek. The touch is so cold it burns against his skin, and Link barely suppresses his flinch.

Mipha's eyes are so, so sad.

"Rest, Link." She tells him, voice distant as she begins to fade away. "You're safe now. You're going to be okay."

Link stares at her disappearing form, swallowing back another wave of bitterness that clogs his throat. He doesn’t look at Wild.

Mipha’s grief-stricken eyes are the last thing he sees before fatigue pulls him under.

(This is now a full fic on AO3, which you can read here)

[incesthemes]

this is the exact halfway point in 1.20 dead man's blood. it's also the first time we see dean stand up to john in any capacity. from here on, too, dean continues to hold his ground against his dad, and his defiance grows more confident and definitive.

the first half of this episode therefore represents the "status quo" of their family dynamic: sam is angry and defiant, dean is blindly loyal, and john is domineering. we get a sense of what life was like for them before the series began and how the family functioned. the second half, then, represents sam and dean's development. sam and dean are working more as a unit, and they demand to be treated as equals not only among each other but to their father as well. this half shows sam seeming to get meeker in a way now that dean is defending him (sam deflates falls back into a comfortable routine with john, his yessirs a vast contrast to dean calling him out and an even vaster contrast to his own shouting matches with john in the first half of the episode)—this is the dynamic they're working toward and have been working toward this whole season.

but this halfway point is so cool. because right after this moment, dean is left helplessly torn between two options:

sam gets in the impala, and john gets in his truck. the two vehicles become physical manifestations of the choice dean now has to make: john or sam? status quo or development?

he gets in the impala. he chooses sam.

but the cool thing about it is that the impala is dean's car. of course he was going to get in his own car. it's a no-brainer. but at the same time, this doesn't stop the impala from representing sam in this moment. what this means, then, is that dean never had a choice in the matter: he was always going to choose sam.

dean lacks narrative agency for the majority of season 1. he constantly defers to sam's decisions, and even when he does make decisions that would lead to significant development for himself (see 1.11 scarecrow, where he chooses to let sam have his independence instead of clinging onto him, signifying a massive step forward for his own sense of self and independence), sam inevitably shapes the outcome of those decisions, leaving dean in a position where he isn't actually choosing things for himself (and sam returns at the end of the episode, preventing the possibility of his growth and keeping him defined by his place in his family).

this moment in dead man's blood is symbolic of that lack of agency. dean is tied to his brother, doomed to choose him because it's the only real option presented to him. this isn't to say that's a bad thing by any means obviously, just that it's an interesting setup for his narrative arc. dean is set to spiral straight into sam's orbit, helpless to stop it or escape, and frankly he doesn't want to, either. sam is the center of his universe, after all, and choosing sam was what he was raised to do. sam is his everything—including the master of his story.

so when dean chooses sam and gets into the impala, there was never any other option for him. dean was always going to choose his brother, was always going to stand up to john and defend sam and himself, was always going to get into his own car. unlike sam, whose season 1 conflict is between his fate and his family, dean's fate in many ways is his family, and he has nothing to convince him off that path (indeed, the one time he does falter in this during season 1 is because he's again deferring to sam's decision to leave him).

and the best part about all of the whole metaphor, to me, is this:

sam is the one driving the car.

[bluebellowl]

Ok, fnaf submas idea(maybe)

Now, i cant remember if you said something about a train chase scene between the twins and the player or not but if you didn’t then that is what i am proposing.

How i imagine it going is at first the player/gregory is taking the train to some new area that’s been unlocked with the twins having been a neutral party throughout most of the game until now or freddy mentioning them and helping gregory reach them to unlock fast travel(with little train stops here there that have been found across gameplay)

And upon the first encounter the twins become hacked and attack gregory as the train is going with you the player racing to get the conductor car with the twins following in suit behind you quickly (either rushing at you on their two feet or that really creepy bent-backward crawl on their hands and feet and their heads turned[360 turning capabilities?] in order to accommodate that position)

Once you get to the front car you then have control of the train and veer it onto an unfinished track, freddy contacts you and sets up some type of like bomb or something, you somehow escape the train before it crashes leaving the twins to scream metallically (and somehow fearfully) into the trash area. Fast travel is still accessible, you just don’t have the twins there to manually run the train, its on autopilot now until you get them back up.

Alternatively, if one them catch you, you either get fucking decked/punched to death (one punch only shown) or suffocated. Gruesome yes but i imagine afton getting real fuckin sick of the player at this point and commands animatronics to kill on sight no matter what.

And depending on who you find first they will either follow you around the trash dump(Ingo after you get him a battery) or head straight to the nearest train station to wait for you(Emmet).

Once they’ve been reunited you take em to the repair area, find a few leftover parts and fix em up as much as you can. Ingo’s voicebox still has that unnatural, glitchy, autotuned baritone and Emmet still twitches(he twitched and sputtered a lot before the repair, a result of his fall) here there due to faulty wiring/coding that would require an engineer and coder to fix fully, not a child. That and the parts were a little outdated.

Oh man I'm eating good today!! Thank you so much for that plot idea. I'm having a lot of fun juggling that around in my brain!

Some of that I already sorta used in previous fnaf AU pieces.

Like crashing the train into the trash dump and befriending the twins again after finding them down there.

or

Using the train as a means of fast travel to make navigation easier but with a catch.

But you mentioned that the twins are neutral at first, but the first time you actually encounter them they'll attack? Will they be a mystery at first then? Like you only ever see a portion of them from the back? Freddy would probably insist they'd be such nice fellows, like he does with music man. I wonder what would move him to place a bomb in order to blow them up. Maybe the train crashing off tracks and the fragile pizza plex floor might even be enough to doom them.

I do love the idea of them just straight up punching Gregory to death upon sight as their jumpscare. Just unrestrained violence. And you know those guys have the Newtons to crush an adult skull! Suffocation might be even creepier I think. Just their manic eyes staring you down, hands around your throat at your vision goes dark. As if they were simply putting you to sleep.

[machineheraldandy]

RETROFANG: talking about the ship

Xina Kwan x Miguel o’hara

For the 1992-1995 spiderman 2099 comics, and the world of tomorrow 2099 comics that followed.

Welcome back to me rambling in a way that probably doesn’t make sense

Miguel x Xina is one of my comfort ships, something I love, it’s flawed, but beautiful, it tells a story that the writers no longer want to show which is upsetting, it’s flawed loved of two people who care for each other deeply but cannot bring themself to be together, one is self destructive, while one seeks for ways to help. A relationship to its core doomed to fail.

The first time we ever see Xina is when she is that of what we can assume to be around 12-13, both her and Miguel were young students attending school together, two people that would later stick together and not befriend anyone else that we can see, and from the very starts it’s love at first sight for Miguel, you can see with the way it’s drawn to the plot that falls that Miguel falls instantly In love, and it can be argued that Xina also fell in love, or at least let Miguel flirt without being uncomfortable. He gives her a glance, and turns his head to follow her as she does the same before they officially talk.

Later on it’s straight away to flirting, asking to go to the pool, a possible sign of trying to get what a child may consider a date in a way. They spend the rest of their school years friends, and helping each other, it appears that even if both In love, they decided to take it slow, become friends, then best friends, then lovers, a way to build up a healthy and trusting relationship, a relationship that shows Miguel waited years to be with Xina, waited years for her.

This is what I consider deep love, a love that movie, craved but also feared, a love he had to destroy in order to destroy himself

The next time we see Miguel with Xina is when he is moving into his alchemax apartment (it appears), which due to the way we assume Xina is, and how she is in general, even if she went to an Alchemax school, she doesn’t really like Alchemax, yet would do things in support of Miguel working there, she saw flaws in his design and yet hang on, because she loved him, it’s then hinted that they of course did it, but it also shows one of Miguel’s biggest flaws when it comes to Xina, he loves her, but waits too long to learn about her. In later times he learns what she likes, what she does, but here it’s shown that he didn’t even known his best friend had gotten a tattoo of her favourite real life person, something he would have known because they are seen to be best friends that stick together.

Which brings up the issue and possibly why their relationship ended so soon, yes Miguel definitely found Dana attractive, and was emotionally cheating in front of Xina, but at his core he wasn’t ready to be a good partner, he wasn’t ready for a healthy commitment, he couldn’t even properly care for what Xina loved, even after knowing her since they were basically pre-teens. Miguel was not a good man at this time, he’s he waited for Xina for years, but he was too much of a bad person to hold onto her after finally getting her,

You also take into consideration that he is self destructive, he loves Xina more than anything and therefore he had to destroy it fast, he had to find another fast to destroy what he had, he had waited years for a woman, he has her, now he has to get rid of her in a way she will never want him back, how does he do that? Cheating. Emotionally first, and then physically.

When we end up seeing them again it’s because LYLA is broken, LYLA who resembled Xina in the way of it being based off of her tattoo, Miguel doesn’t care for Marilyn Monroe herself, he cares for the fact she is xinas tattoo, hence him only now caring for xina’s interests, caring too late. He becomes desperate to fix her because she is in his way a way to be close to Xina without havent to be near her, he loves Xina, but he can’t return, he messed it up too much on purpose. Though that ends fast as he soon learns that the best person to go to, to fix LYLA is Xina, which could possibly also be seen as an excuse to see Xina again. Once let in the first thing he does is go to her bedroom, to remember the old times, to live in the past, the past he craves but can’t get anymore.

You also see that Xina who is still single and assumed to have stayed single after Miguel, still loves and misses him, her bedside photo is them together. She loves him, she wants him, but she hates him as of now.

Within this time we also see Jack, Xinas Android, Miguel mistakes him for a partner, and seems to be almost jealous, upset. More signs he still loves her even if engaged to Dana, you also see Xina making it clear she doesn’t want him there and hates him, but she doesn’t kick him out, and it’s clear as much as she was uncomfortable, she cared enough to listen, cared enough to help, and of course we know this was going to happen, as even if she claims she just wanted to see him “crawling back” as a joke, it’s clear from the photo in her room, that she wanted him back deeply.

When she talks to Miguel many things are clear, one she is lying about things and two she is desperate to be the one he needs the most, even if she doesn’t want to make that clear.

She lies when talking about why they dated she claims it’s because she felt sorry for Miguel, but once again her photo in her room proves that wrong, along side the fact that she caught Miguel cheating as she came home early to be with him and to make him happy, she deeply cared for him, it was never about his dad, it was always about their love.

You also see how she is almost trying to push him away and is mocking his fiancé, Miguel doesn’t stop her, almost as if he wants her to insult Dana, because truthfully he doesn’t care for Dana the way he should, he cares for her as he loves her as she is what he considered dumb, someone that can’t question him, someone that blindly follows. Yet he sees Xina as smart, independent, and important to him, he loves that about her, yet is also scared about that. Because it means she can help him see his errors, and he doesn’t want to be shown, he wants to remain blind

Next one I want to talk about is this comic panel, you see that Miguel is finally caring for her interests, he is taking the time to get her real old things such as a gumball machine, because he knows she loves it, he is caring enough finally, he knows what she likes, what she want, why she wants it, he cared for her deeply and after years is finally showing it. Only now

next bit in this panel Miguel mentions the fact he was going to end it, he directly tells Xina he is planning to end it in a way, and Xina instead of making a joke, instead of being her nasty self she has been a few times, instead asks him to join her on a trip. Alone. She cares for him enough that she is literally wanting to spend time alone with him as a way to possibly keep him alive but to also reconnect, something that shows her deep love for him, and deep need for him, and also just the fact she is a great friend. These are two people stuck in a bad world they suffer in that still care for each other deeply.

(NO image as I don’t feel comfortable with that)

SA mention

I am bringing up a scene we end up seeing soon into their trip together, a flashback to Kron attempting to harm Xina, this is poorly written and used as a way to show Miguel and Leon’s hate for each other, they directly use Xina getting SA’ED as a way to push two boys fighting. This is no doubt disgusting writing.

But in the sight of this being about Miguel and Xina it has to be bought up in the way that Xina would put himself in danger, and put his family at risk, risk being abused by George, risk loosing everything, risk possibly even being killed by George, to keep Xina safe, he before now refused to fight back, refused to lay a finger on Kron as he was scared for himself and his family. He was frightened, yet he risked it all for Xina. He did at a point nearly bail on Xina, he was scared the worse would happen to him, but in the end he Kepler her. He kept her safe, even if it was poorly written and should have been shown in a different way that didn’t make a man the savour of a woman facing SA

Nor that’s over we get into the venom arc, the arc where Kron as venom attacks Xina and Dana to get to Miguel, something that reveals Miguel’s even deeper connection to Xina, he out of impulse screams for Xina, he is more worried for her, though he is still very worried for Dana, in this he has to save both, he only successfully saves Xina, and Dana passes away, this isn’t used for shipping Xina and Miguel, in fact Xina ends up leaving. This is shown as a way to show their friendship only, they don’t get together, as they both mentally can’t, Miguel lost his fiancé even if he wasn’t the best partner, and Xina had survivors guilt, she hates herself for hating the woman that slept with her boyfriend, a woman who hates her interests (shown by how she hates Gabriel’s retro interests) she so ends up leaving, I can argue that this was the best ending for the comic, until Miguel and Xina returned later. They both weren’t mentally stable, they both yes loved each other, but they would have ruined each other if they tried again.

The next time we see Xina is when she is happy to see Miguel, even slightly seeming to mess around, she cares for Miguel still, and Miguel still cares for her, but she has seemed to move on, she doesn’t care for a relationship, she has a job to do, people to help, and tech to work on, but yet she is still close to Miguel, she still holds onto Miguel, she still in a way loves him, even if as of now that love is platonic, and the same can be said for Miguel, he is trying to find Gabriel, he doesn’t have time for trying to get with Xina,on top of that but they only see each other for what can be assumed to be less than 24/7’S, they aren’t ready to try again, it’s too quick, and the story handles that well, it doesn’t make them a couple, it makes them friends, who still may have feelings for each other.

In the end they end up leaving, Xina just had her best friend did, and Miguel still needs to find Gabriel, they never end up together, from there on Xina stops showing up, she doesn’t appear in canon at all, she is gone from Miguel’s life, if we don’t count time storm a non canon story; it has been nearly I believe 27 years since she was last since.

It is a bitter sweet ending to her story, and she doesn’t get seen again, but it’s also a bittersweet ending to Miguel’s orginal love life for 2099, after that they force him into Peter Parker’s love interests within stories, or he gets tempest from the past, not his time, which I still love, she just isn’t from comics I read. For the year 2099, for the future Miguel has no life without Xina, he is stuck literally and metaphorically in the past.

I would love to Xina come back, she is considered Miguel’s MJ, the endgame, the person he loves more than anything, and really when you see the writing, when you see what was done, that is completely true, it was written that they were doomed lovers, but they could easily become good partners with time and effort, and if Miguel stops being self destructive

In the end they didn’t work due to Miguel’s self harm, and due to the fact Xina wouldn’t deal with what which is good for her. But if Miguel gets therapy…maybe. They could work.

Over all good doomed lover plot, painful for everyone that wanted them together forever such as myself

But in a non canon comic when Miguel is mentally more stable, him and her are married, and ended up growing old together :)

[eight-littlenightmares]

hellooo!! :D

kinda random i guess, but i decided to upload my Wattpad Little Nightmares fic to Tumblr as well!! i see a lot of other people in the whump community uploading their fics here, so it seemed like a fun idea.

SO. this fic is titled ‘Bad Idea’, it’s a Little Nightmares fanfic that basically started off the premise of ‘what if after Six dropped Mono, she wasn’t able to get through the portal because it’s a TV screen and Mono’s the only one with the power to go through TV screens???’ it was supposed to be a oneshot but i think it’s probably gonna end up being longer.

(here is the link to the story on Wattpad btw. i’m publishing the chapters there first ^^ / https://www.wattpad.com/story/388501374-bad-idea)

anyways. first chapter is under the cut :D

Chapter One

What seemed like a good idea has backfired pretty badly.

═══════

Six stares down into the eyes of her best friend, Mono. 

He isn't wearing his bag. His eyes are black, like all black, like a void, like a monster. Like the Thin Man.

He's holding onto her hand very tightly, staring up at her with fear in his expression. He doesn't say anything. Just waits for her.

She's caught him like this many times so many before. Like that first time, back in the forest, when he'd held up the bridge for her to jump from and then she'd caught him when he'd jumped. She'd caught him at the School when the Teacher had chased them through the vents and nearly killed them, and at the Hospital where he'd fallen forward when they'd opened the door. It had just become their normal.

This time is different though. She can feel it in her bones. She thinks she's supposed to leave him here.

It feels so wrong, but there's also something in her head screaming about how right it feels. Like they were always meant to end up here, like she was always meant to let go.

She's not thinking straight. She knows that. But she's just so hurt, and betrayed, he deserves this! He'd just left her for dead when the Thin Man came for them! She'd told him so many times to just leave the TVs alone, and what had he done?! HE'D KEPT MESSING WITH THE TVS. And then when the Thin Man had come out, he'd just hid under the bed like a coward and let him take her! He'd covered his eyes while she reached out for help!

And not to even mention her music box! She loved that thing, she'd felt so safe, it was the only thing that had kept her sane while her bones stretched and broke to turn her into that—that thing. And then he just came in and broke it, and he hurt her so bad. Maybe he does deserve this.

Because if he doesn't deserve to hurt for what he did, then that means that it's her who deserves the hurt. If she doesn't hurt him back then she's just accepting it!

The screams in her mind grow louder.

'LET GO, LET GO, LET GO'

Her expression must have changed. She sees his eyes widen, sees him mouth a silent 'no'.

'LET GO L̵E̶T̵ ̸G̶O̸L̴̡̛̩̙̳̹͚͚̝̗̠͒̄̐̀̔͒Ẻ̷̠̥͙͊͛͝͝͝T̸͕̓̓̓̂̀̂̇͠ ̵̢̧̲͇̹̣̆̽͠Ḡ̷̦̥̻̹̙͉̥͌́͜O̴̤̼͙͈̰͉͓̰̼͖̊͂͝ ̴̡͖͕̺͕̲̝̲́̉̔̀̋͆̔̋̚͝L̶̦͍̮̮̯̦̅́͜͝͝Ẻ̴̼̑̊͋̃̀̇͂͝T̵̡̪̮̓̽̏͂̔̆̔̏ͅ ̴̟͙͚͖͐͊̈́̒̔G̵̢̢̡͙̫̲͖̾͜Ǫ̵̡̱̮̮̬͇̈́̽̆̓͘̕ ̶͍̜̦̦͒̉̾̉̅̀͌̕͠͠Ĺ̶͉̠̭̭̦̩͚̈È̷̟͇̞͓̎̈́͋̂T̴̟̤̝͇̦̐͐͑̍ ̸̦͚͉̮̮̳̺̗̥̔̉͌́̀Ǵ̸̤͍̘̫̲͂̒̿O̷̡͚̩̫̓̉̀̊͗͌̎͆̑'

She lets go.

The look on his face as he falls makes her sick. He doesn't even scream, just stares up at her with tears in his eyes, one hand still extended, until he's fallen out of sight. He's gone.

She isn't able to stand up for a few minutes. All she can do is stare down into the void.

But then she feels the bridge start to crack under her knees. She panics and scrambles to her feet, putting a hand up in front of her eyes to shield from the blinding light coming from the portal. She reaches out with her other hand, expecting it to pass through like water—she doesn't know where it'll lead, but it has to be better than here.

But it doesn't.

Her blood runs cold as her fingers brush cold glass. Oh god. The portal is a TV screen.

She can't get through here without Mono.

She's doomed him, and she's doomed herself in the process.

She's too terrified to scream as the bridge crumbles, and then she's plummeting through darkness, wind rushing up around her, deafeningly loud. The eyes on the walls stare her down as she falls to her doom.

[triscribeaucollection]

take it high, take it far (Take It Home)

The absolute best fics are the ones that make you constantly crack up while being written, right? Right. Also, does it technically count as "accidental baby acquisition" if the reason for the acquisition is Garp the Fist literally tossing an unknown baby at you? Who knows!

---

Later (much later) Shanks will absolutely take the blame for this.

His Observation Haki was far and away better than Buggy’s; even in the middle of arguing about their next step, whether to find yet another pirate crew or start finally one instead, whether to stay together or split up, Shanks should have noticed the all too familiar presence bearing down on them like the avalanche to end all avalanches. Instead, their impending doom didn’t register until a pair of enormous hand shot into the alley he and Buggy were using for their argument, and seized each of them by the shirt collar.

“BRATS!” Garp the Fist bellowed, hauling both teens out into daylight. “Been wondering where you two went!”

“Shit!” Buggy screeched. Bits of him immediately flew apart, trying to bolt back down the alley and presumably to safety - except Garp adjusted his grip, getting an Armament-coated hand around the boy’s neck, and holding on with just enough pressure to keep his head from going anywhere.

Shanks could have struggled as well. Could have squirmed against the hold on his shirt, tried slipping out of the loose garment entirely, maybe even put his own Haki to use for all the good it would do. But he didn’t. He just let himself dangle, like a wet cat, with a despairing attitude of this may as well happen. (Roger was gone, Rayleigh nowhere to be found, no home or crew he’d grown up with, probably no Buggy soon, if the other teen got his way about splitting up-)

Garp gave Buggy a good hard shake, prompting his loose body parts to come streaking back, and then started carrying both of them down towards the docks. “Come on, brats! No good hanging around a seedy port like this, we’ve got places to be!”

“We do?” Shanks asked, bewildered, even as his gaze caught on a bar they passed by. Apparently Garp noticed, or else just didn’t like the question, seeing as he gave Shanks a good hard shake next.

When the world finally stopped spinning, they got maybe three seconds of a nice view of the ocean, before the Hero of the Marines straight up tossed both teenagers in a high arc, clear over the docks to land directly in a small sailboat. They screamed, of course. And again, when Garp dropped onto the tiny deck himself, causing the vessel to bob sharply and send waves out in all directions.

“Hey wait wait wait-!” Buggy tried to disentangle himself from being wrapped around Shanks, presumably to jump for safety, but Garp untied their mooring lines and pushed away from the dock too quickly. The sudden shove and abrupt movement almost sent Buggy toppling over the railing; Shanks caught and hauled him back, causing them to fall into a heap again. Garp snorted at the pair, tugging on a couple of lines to drop the sail. It caught the wind and fully unfurled with a dramatic snap a moment later, at which point trying to get back to shore would involve a lot more open water than Shanks felt comfortable letting Buggy near.

So. No longer in possible imminent danger of losing his best friend, and also off the hook to choose his next step right away, the red-haired boy let himself sprawl across the deck and stay there, ignoring how Buggy continued to berate/bargain/beg Garp, demanding to know what the old coot was thinking, offering treasure they didn’t have as a bribe, pleading to be let go and not arrested.

The old man just snorted again. “You aren’t under arrest, brats! I don’t know what you’ve been up to in the past couple years, and I don’t need to!” Shanks flinched; nearly two years since Roger’s execution, he should be able to handle casual reminders, but... they still hurt. “I’m on vacation right now anyway, you might as well come with me! Say, maybe afterward, you could sign up to join the marines!”

“HELL no,” both Shanks and Buggy hollered, visceral in their rejection of that particular idea. Garp didn’t push it; the line used to be a joke, whenever he fought Roger, that a couple of cabin boys couldn’t possibly want to really grow up and be pirates, they should enlist instead! It always got a rise out of their Captain, the threat that Garp might poach his kids, which was really the point more than any sincere offer.

It used to be funny.

Emphasis on ‘used to’.

Apparently Garp recognized that he’d crossed a line, as the old man didn’t say anything else for a minute. Neither did Buggy, or Shanks. And that meant all three of them heard it clearly, when a baby started to cry.

Shanks shot upward from his sprawl. Buggy’s eyes popped open so wide they threatened to fall right out of his head. Garp just huffed, and lashed a line to hold the ship’s wheel in place before he ducked into the tiny cabin. They could hear his muffled words drift through the open door: “Ahh, what are you fussing for, huh? Hungry? Need a change?” The crying tapered off. “...hmph, guess you just don’t want to miss the excitement. Here we go, then-”

Sure enough, when Garp stepped back out, he came with a baby carefully cradled in one hand. Buggy squeaked, and Shanks finished scrambling all the way up onto his feet. “Whyyy do you have a baby?”

“He’s my grandson!” Garp grinned. “Here!” And without further to-do, he tossed the infant.

Shanks dove forward with a yelp; even as he caught the kid in both outstretched arms, Buggy’s disembodied hands pressed up from below, supportive despite trembling with panic. “GARP! You can’t just throw a baby!”

“Sure I can,” the marine said, dismissive, already turned away to rummage in a crate. “Ace is strong, he can handle it! Did a lot of tossing him up and catching him again on the way here, makes him laugh!”

Kid wasn’t laughing now. Granted, that might have been because he was too busy staring up at Shanks, and Buggy leaning over his shoulder. Cute little guy, Shanks could admit. Very squishy looking. Then, without warning, two tiny hands reached up, pudgy fingers grasping at red strands- “OW,” Shanks yelped, the grip on his hair a lot stronger than he’d have guessed a baby that small could manage. Buggy, the bastard, just cackled at him, leaning away from the other little hand waving in his direction.

Shanks really hoped Garp’s vacation destination wasn’t too far away.

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Posted on AO3 as of about an hour ago!