#when i first started adding them i was like oh i'll just whip these out real quick

[army-of-bee-assassins]

i have just added a truly irresponsible amount of elementary gifsets to my drafts

[flyingwargle]

atsumu is a morning person. he loves the quiet of the early hours, the drowsiness that sharpens into focus, the peace that follows the rising sun. although it pains him to separate himself from his partner each time, the drowsy, soft smile on sakusa's face when he sits at the breakfast table is worth it.

he quietly slips out from bed and into the kitchen. it's their first weekend off after rigorous training to prepare for their match against vc kanagawa, but not even off days is enough to shake atsumu from routine. he rummages through the cupboards for ingredients to make pancakes, an indulgence they definitely deserve. putting on his cooking playlist at a low volume, he gets to work.

it surprised him to learn that sakusa is not a morning person. it takes him at least three snoozes before he could be persuaded to get up, and no morning is complete without coffee. he's also much more receptive to physical affection while half-awake, although atsumu prefers to keep this tidbit to himself, if only to steal a few kisses from his usually reserved partner.

the pancake batter is done in minutes, measurements engrained in his muscle memory since childhood. sakusa likes his pancakes simple - a dollop of cream and butter. atsumu, on the other hand, goes all out, dressing them with fresh fruit and syrup, topped with a crown of cream. he slices the fruit, chills a bowl for the cream to whip once sakusa is awake. pan left to warm on the stove, he ventures down the hallway, knocking lightly on the closed bedroom door. "omi? ya awake yet? i'm about to start cookin'."

he hears shuffling, but nothing else. it's still early, according to his partner's standards, but hey, an extra hour awake just means more time together, right? atsumu enters, adding, "we can check out that park 'samu told me 'bout, said there were geese or somethin'."

sunlight strains against the curtains. a vague human shape is tucked beneath the blankets, unmoving as atsumu approaches. he peels the covers aside, greeted with a glare. "mornin' to ya too, omi."

"do you know what time it is?" sakusa's voice is much deeper after waking, harsher but without any of its bite.

"just after 10. c'mon, omi, yer burnin' daylight. we have tomorrow off too, so we can cuddle or whatever. oh, but we gotta get our cardio in." atsumu dismisses the thought. "that can come after cuddles. pancakes?"

sakusa sighs, low and heavy. "fine. just give me some time to get up."

"i'll get the cream whipped, then." atsumu leans over to kiss his cheek, smiles at his drowsy expression. he retreats, heading back to the kitchen to continue his work.

soon, the cream is chilling in the fridge, the batter is left beside the stove, pan warm and ready. atsumu knocks on the bedroom door again. "omi?"

he hears grumbles this time. pushing the door open, he sees his partner is still in bed, covers pushed aside from where he left it. when he meets sakusa's eyes, it's tinged with pain. "is somethin' wrong?" atsumu asks, worried.

"just pain in my hips," sakusa mumbles through gritted teeth. "sorry."

"don't say that. i'll grab yer heat pad. ya need painkillers, too? best ta take one with food."

"i think i'll be okay. just need some heat on it."

atsumu nods, slipping in and out within seconds. he helps position it under him, his partner letting out a tiny sigh. "there was pain in my knees too after practice," he admits quietly. "i'd rather not move much today if we have to do cardio tomorrow. sorry."

"s'no problem. just relax, 'kay? when ya feel better, let's move ya to the couch so i can feed ya breakfast and we can watch somethin' on tv." atsumu sits beside him, reaching over to squeeze his hand. "the geese can wait."

"i didn't know japan had geese."

"right? 'samu has to be lyin'."

it takes time but eventually, sakusa is coaxed out of bed and into the living room, supported the entire way. he settles on the couch, heat pad shifted to his other hip, massaging his wrists as atsumu makes pancakes, returning to his side with two plates. "want me to feed ya?"

"i can handle it." sakusa takes a fork, uses it to slice off a piece from atsumu's plate. he pops it in his mouth. "it's good."

"what's a man gotta take fer ya to say it's delicious?"

"a michelin star."

atsumu rolls his eyes. "those aren't measures fer good food an' ya know it."

sakusa chuckles, but it ends with a hiss as his hand jerks, fork falling from his grasp, landing with a clatter. atsumu puts his plate down, snatches the fork in an instant. "are ya okay?"

"yeah. just felt a jolt of pain." he sighs, hand lowered to his lap, using his other hand to massage it.

"guess i'll hafta feed ya now," atsumu jokes. when he doesn't get a retort, he blinks, notices the deep frown on his partner's face. "omi?"

"you shouldn't have to deal with me on your day off," sakusa mumbles. "i'm just being difficult."

"if i see my partner's in pain, i'm gonna do what i can to make it better. i hate that i can't make it go away completely, but i can help care fer ya and make life easier fer ya." his tone is serious, eyes bright with a cocktail of love and determination. "yer never difficult, omi. now shut up an' let me feed ya."

sakusa stares at him, incredulous. then, "you better get a clean fork."

"obviously," he retorts, standing.

"and a dishcloth to clean the floor. we don't need ants in the apartment."

"'samu dropped an entire pot of curry once an' we never got rats or anythin'."

"add to that sentence, and i'm revoking your kitchen privileges."

"are ya gonna cook? we both know ya suck at it."

sakusa rolls his eyes. "no, i don't. i learned from the best."

"aw, thanks."

"i meant your brother."

atsumu pouts, and sakusa simply laughs, a light chuckle that fills the room with light. floor cleaned thoroughly, atsumu sits beside him, feeds him bites of pancake in between conversation, checking in with his pain. dishes left aside in favor of watching tv, atsumu rests his head on sakusa's shoulder, simply enjoying his company.

the geese can wait another day.

[osamusbigtits]

it's an odd day for motoya. he's spending time with osamu and osamu alone. they haven't really gotten much one on one time. typically, suna is with them. suna is the one who brought motoya into the relationship.

but sitting here on the couch, watching a cheesy romcom with osamu, motoya wonders if he's doing it wrong. this whole dating his boyfriend's boyfriend thing.

osamu's been very involved with suna and motoya. and motoya never minds; in fact, he loves the added attention. he's gotten time alone with suna, for then to talk and explore and figure things out.

but motoya isn't quite sure where he stands with osamu.

motoya chances a glance over at the man. osamu sits casually, legs spread and an arm thrown on the back of the couch. he checks his phone with every occasional ping. motoya assumes there's a myriad of things osamu must worry about ranging from his restaurant to his twin brother.

motoya checks his phone to a rather apparent lack of notifications. he frowns.

osamu sits up and stretches. motoya shamelessly watches the flex of osamu's muscles and his eyes dart to osamu's tummy when his shirt lifts up and exposes the skin.

"hungry?" osamu asks.

motoya takes a moment to collect himself. "I could eat," he manages to reply.

osamu hums and stands up. "I'll whip us up something real quick, darling," he says and walks away. motoya's face flushes at the pet name.

motoya brings his focus back to the movie. he gets easily immersed in the story. he loves a good romcom, especially one where the main character is stuck in an internal battle of what man to choose.

"there's a clear answer," motoya mutters to himself as the main character hashes out her grievances to her best friend. "the one tried hitting on your best friend."

"you're so cute," a voice appears beside motoya, making him jump. osamu laughs. "sorry, didn't mean to scare you. here you go." he hands over a plate. some rice with some beef in a sauce.

motoya takes the plate happily, always excited to eat osamu's cooking. "nah, I'm just jumpy," motoya says, brushing osamu off.

motoya takes a bite of food and hums in pleasure as the flavors dance along his tongue. even something so simple can taste so good. it makes motoya a little jealous. his cooking skills extend to basic meals, mostly being able to heat up a frozen meal.

"that good?" osamu asks.

"I don't know how you do it," motoya mumbles, taking another bite. "but everything you make is heavenly," motoya finishes with a sigh.

osamu laughs, but when motoya sneaks a look over, he can sew a faint blush on osamu's cheeks.

motoya hesitates. he should ask osamu about cooking, right? why does this feel worse than a first date?

"what got you into cooking?" motoya asks. he watches osamu as he continues to eat, hoping that it was a good question to ask.

osamu lights up. "my ma always brought me and tsumu into the kitchen. she thought cooking was an important skill, and it turned into sort of a hobby for me. in high school is when I really started to cook on my own and try to experiment," osamu rambles with a smile on his face.

"oh yeah! suna's talked about how you would make lunches for him."

osamu flushes. "yeah, my crush wasn't subtle."

motoya giggles. "still took suna a while to notice, didn't it?"

osamu smiles. "it did."

they lapse into silence. osamu continues eating peacefully, a small smile on his face. motoya sets his plate down and let's his mind wander.

"what are... I mean, how do you feel about... me?" motoya asks. he keeps his eyes firmly on the tv, even as he feels osamu peering at him.

osamu hums, taking a moment to think.

"I think you're cute and I do like the time we spend together." heat rushes to motoya's face at the simple compliments. "I wouldn't mind getting to know you better or even date you. but I want to put the ball in your court. yknow? I never want to force you into something you don't want."

motoya takes a moment to think. he plays with a loose thread on the couch.

"can we?" motoya asks and meets osamu's eyes. "date. I mean."

osamu searches motoya's eyes and for a moment, motoya wonders if he shouldn't have asked. but osamu smiles, soft and warm like the smiles he gives to suna. warmth rushes through motoya's chest.

"I would love to, sweetie," osamu murmurs. he reaches out and takes motoya's hand.

motoya relaxes. "thank god. I was a little scared you hated me and thought I was ruining your relationship," motoya admits.

osamu laughs and wraps an arm around motoya's shoulders. "please. rin and I don't need any help ruining our relationship. besides, you're too adorable to hate."

motoya weakly pushes osamu's shoulder. "you're too much."

motoya smiles as osamu kisses his cheek.

why didn't he do this sooner?

[echantedtoon]

Summon Not For Fun Ch1 Heed The Warnings

Be wary for meddling in the affairs of the supernatural, for that is when Black magic and monsters come out to snatch away the non-believers.

(Basically Demon Killer and Kid x Reader au purely based off some fanart of the two I found on Pinterest I'll be including the art/links to the art that inspired the fic. No images are mine. There's going to be three chapters. The first one will have two different endings one for each character.

Tagging: @the-ginger-draws

If you to be added to the taglist lemme know

warning for demon summoning if that makes you uncomfortable. I just made up some stuff for this based off video games where that happened hope that's ok.)

"Let's summon a demon!"

A thunderstorm rolled across the sky that night. The sun was just setting over the horizon with the last few rays of daylight disappearing but it was hard to tell when the dark storm clouds took over the sky and claimed them as their own. Thunder shaking the lanes of the windows and lightning sounded off like an angry whip from whatever deity was angrily stomping around the clouded skies, lighting up the sky and city below for nothing but a brief second.

It would've been absolutely dark if you hadn't lit up a few candles inside the comfy room and placed them on the table to light up the room. The warm light comforting against the scary night sky that just appeared as the last few daylights were chased away. The candlelight was pretty but you might be asking yourself one question. Why are you using candles to light up the room when you can just turn on the light switch on the wall or use a flashlight like a normal person?

Well because it wasn't your idea. It was your friend's.

If it were up to you, your bedroom light would've been on in an instant and you four wouldn't be sitting here in the dark. But as another thunder clap shook the sky outside, her face had scrunched up into a mischievous grin wide enough to let the other three ladies around her know that she had come up with a devious idea. It started when of your friends said that they were bored during the usual sleep over activities and so you suggested watching a scary movie instead!

"How about The Death Book?"

"What's it about?"

"It's about this girl who finds this blank diary and everything she writes in it becomes true! It turns out the diary is possessed by a demon who becomes obsessed with her and grants her wishes with horrible twists!"

That's when your most devious friend gotten that look before hijacking the convo. "I have a better idea! Y/n, you have any candles?"

"Only scented candles. Why?"

"That'll work! Go get them all and we'll do something that's actually thrilling!"

You had no idea what she was talking about but decided to humor her and go get them and matches she asked for. You had a few scented candles collecting up space in your closet, most were Christmas gifts you were just planning on regifting that year anyways since you never really used them. But you were curious about what your friend was up too so you grabbed up all the bars, the different scents making your nose snort, and brought them out to everyone watching you take them out of your closet and plopping them down on your bed. Your friend then proceeded to grab a glass jar containing a 'holiday sugar cookie' scented white candle, lit it, and then got up to turn off the lights and ask you to close the curtains.

Oh! She wanted to do the classic ghost story telling in the dark game! Nope. As soon as you turned around and you along with your other two friends looked at her, the statement left her mouth.

"Let's summon a demon!"

The three of you stared at her and her smile lit up by the scented candle, a nice scent of sugar cookies in the air. The only sounds being the thunder still rumbling outside. Eventually one of you broke the weird silence.

"You mean like...Use a ouija board? That's something everyone does at sleepovers-"

"No! I meant actually summon a demon!," she corrected excitedly clenching a fist!

"Uh..Have you lost your dam mind?"

"Oh come on! We all know that ghosts and stuff don't exist anyways!" She waved a hand dismissively. "We've tried using a ouija board since we were ten but nothing ever happened so why not try taking it up a notch!"

"Because it sounds like a waste of time." You deadpanned raising a brow. "Why go through all the effort to do something when we already KNOW that it's just stupid Hollywood stuff?"

"For the thrill of it!" You three looked at each other. Two of you having bored looks while the third looked worried. "Come on! Just this once! And if nothing happens I'll pay for two pizzas from that pizza place we all like!"

"...Throw in those chicken tenders and a couple sodas and you have a deal," your bored friend bluntly stated.

"DEAL!"

"I don't know.." Your friend that looked worried frowned. "This is how a bunch of horror stories start. What if something really happens?"

"PSH. It won't. If nothing happened when we used a ouija board then we got nothing to worry about!"

"And you just magically happen to know how to summon a demon how?"

"Not just a demon!" Her hand pointed up as she grinned. "A Yokai!"

"A yo-..What?"

"A Yokai! Or oni if you prefer to call it that instead! It's a Japanese spirit!"

"We know what that is! And you happen to know that how?"

"During my culture studies at school I was studying the local folklore and stumbled onto an old legend of the area! They say that a night monster used to roam the lands and strike down people every full moon until a shrine was put up for him. It's still there now! I visited it during a school trip!" She explained excitedly. "I did an interview with the caretaker for my extra credit report and it turns out his family's descendants of the shrine maidens that used to be there!"

"That's good and all but that still doesn't answer my question."

Your friend groaned loudly and slumped her shoulders with an eye roll. "He said the shrine maidens used to have a symbiotic relationship with the specific oni. They'd perform a ritual once a year and leave him offerings to keep him and his 'army' from running rampant."

"And he told you how to summon this thing?"

"Yeah because he didn't believe in it. I don't either since ghosts and goblins only exist in books and movies. But what's the harm? If nothing happens I'm buying everyone food and we can have a good laugh if we do happen to summon something we might get a wish granted! Whaddya say?"

There was more silence from you three until your bored friend sighed and rolled her eyes from where she sat. "Fine I guess. Sounds like a win win situation. And I wouldn't mind getting an A on my next math exam."

You sighed. "Alright. Let's just get this over with."

"That's the spirit! But first thing's first!.. Does anyone know if it's a new or full moon tonight?"

Your nervous friend, who still looked nervous, had to pull out her phone and look it up online. The glow of the screen making her face light up in the dark as the thunder still rang out and the first few raindrops began hitting the roof of your home.

"Full moon b-b-but does it count if the storm is blocking out the sky?"

"He only told me it has to be a full of new moon, not that you had to see the moon. We're also gonna need right white candles to represent the right moon phases, something red to draw the symbols in, and an offering from each of us that has some kind of connection to our wishes!" Her eyes lit up in excitement. "Let's try it out!"

If it got you free food and your rowdiest friend to be quiet, then you weren't going to complain. So you four got to work. A friend found an extra red lipstick when she dug out her bag and like you said before, you had a bunch of scented candles you weren't using....but that begs the question.

"Does scented candles even count?" You gazed down at two white scented candles with the scents labeled 'fresh morning snow' and 'shortbread blast'.

"He just said that the candles had to be white, not that they couldn't be scented."

"Yeah. But there's another problem. I only have seven white candles. .." Your eyes looked around the mini candle collection. The others were different colors like the red one that smelt like cinnamon and the purplish-black one labeled 'midnight lilacs'. Eventually you found a glimmer of white in the limited darkness with only your phone to see, and pulled out a candle that was half white half brown labeled 'chocolate and vanilla delight'. "I got a brown and white one. Does that count?"

"We're gonna have to make due with it. Well just put the white half facing the center and maybe that'll help."

Well if that's all you had then you four really were going to have to make due with what you had on hand. One friend helped you cleared up space in your room at least a yard and a half clear, while your devious friend drew red lipstick marks onto your floor and the fourth began placing the candles in a circle around her lighting them up as she went until both stepped away and you four were left looking down at the circle of eight candles and three symbols in the center of them. Lightning clashed outside behind the curtains barely lighting up the room but you managed to make out three words written in Japanese kanji in red lipstick.

You didn't know what that meant but it was ominous in your eyes. The room smelt far too heavy with the pretty scents of sugar cookies, vanilla, daisies, and a few other scents. It was overwhelming and one of you snorted from it all.

"Dam. It smells like someone spilt the entire isle of Fabreath from Wallace-Market in here." She waved a hand before pinching her nose and turning to her. "So what now?"

"Now we put down an offering related to what we want to wish for? Like if you wanted to wish for a million dollars you put down like some rare collector coins or something! Just look around and see what you got!"

While the others looked through their bags, you mindlessly searched around the room for something meaningless you could just throw meaninglessly into the circle. Your eyes gazed over at your jewelry box...and you shrugged. Why not? You had a pair of thick hooped silver earrings your uncle gave you for your birthday last year. They were even real silver, just cheap copper ones painted to look silver. You never wore them anyways so they'd be perfect for this. You opened up the lid narrowing your eyes into a squint. Despite the light of your phone, it was hard to see in the dark. Your hand moved things around inside the box. Old necklaces and things jingling until you saw them. Ah! There they were! Right next to your great grandparents' wedding rings. Now THOSE were actually worth a lot. Real gold and studded with real diamonds. You inherited them box along with their old jewelry box but that didn't matter right now. You wanted the useless tacky earrings next to them. Even now most of the shiny silver paint had peeled off revealing the cheap copper hoops underneath.

"C'mon Y/n! Hurry up! I want that pizza as soon as possible!"

You looked around mindlessly just reaching in and grabbing two round things into your hand. "Coming!"

"What did you grab?" Her brow rose as you just rolled your eyes.

"Just some old jewelry. What about you?"

She held up an ink stone. Probably got it from her school bag. "I was gonna use it for an art project but since I want an A for my exam and I have to write on the test, it was a good enough match."

"Sounds like a good start."

Your other two friends pulled out a book on rare poetry and a small bag of store bought mochi candy. ...Strange offering but you guessed it was the only thing that they could find. Your friend instructed you all placed the offerings on the strange words in Japanese and stepped back without a second thought to look at them....And you four stood there in your pajamas with nothing but the candles to light up the darkness and the rain still pounding at your rooftop.

Silence other than the storm rang out and you four looked around the room exchanging looks sometimes.

".....Is that it?"

"I told you it was a waste of time! Let's just get some food now. I'm starving!"

"Wait! I forgot about the last important step!" She held up her hands as your mutual grumpy and hungry friend turned to go flip on the light switch. "I need to chant the incantation and then we have to say what we want!"

Her arms folded. "Well get on with it! I'm hungry and this is really not fun!"

"Alright, alright! Let me try to remember what the guy told me!"

She stood there staring at the mess of lit candles and lipstick smeared kanji scrunching her brows in deep thought. You and your grumpy friend exchanged mirrored deadpanned looks before she cleared her throat and held her arms out.

"Full moon on the rise. New moon hides from eyes. Abyss of darkness conquering the skies! We summon, summon him from the ground. To our circle lit and round. Oh, Come from slumber, to seek out what we offer! Great one of Moon bound light, we ask for you to once more walk the night!"

Her voice shouted out loud enough that you were sure you'd be getting a complaint from the neighbors tomorrow morning. As she finished her chant, a lightning bolt struck out temporarily lighting up the sky outside as the rain poured out...As you all waited looking around more.

"Would you look at that? Nothing happened again. NOW can we get food?"

"Wait! We didn't say what we wanted yet!," she protested to her, "The wish is a part of the ritual so let's complete it ok?!" Your friend groaned but she quickly excitedly exclaimed. "I wish my mom would finally give me the secrets to famous udon recipe so I can start selling it myself!"

"Um..." You nervous friend cautiously and worriedly looked around the dark room. "C-Can I m-meet my favorite author please? O-Only if that's ok! I'm fine if nothing happens really!"

"Oh what the hell. I want an A on my next exam."

...All three looked at you expectantly. "What?"

"Say something, Y/n."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. What did you put down?"

You shrugged. "Some cheap jewelry I don't want honestly."

"OOOH. Wish for something good then! Oh! Oh! I see you always sitting by yourself! Ask him to get you a boyfriend?," you friend teased making you laugh.

"Really? We summon a Yokai just for me to ask him for a boyfriend? If he was real, he'd probably think I was crazy."

"Well it doesn't have to be a boyfriend. You can ask for a sign of who you're meant to be with." That devious smile returned again. "Y'know that caretaker guy told me a lot of maidens would pay the shrine maidens to do rituals and summon the onis as offered brides in exchange for good fortune for their villages. Why don't you ask him to put a ring on it? You'd be the first person to be get a real life monster boyfriend. All the monster lovers on the Internet would be so jealous."

"Plus you're beautiful," your grumpy friend added also with a teasing grin. "You made home coming and prom queen in highschool!"

You laughed again. "Looks aren't everything." You could barely contain the giggles. You then rolled your eyes sarcastically. "But sure." Your hands clasped together and pressed against your chest as you spoke. "Oh great Oni please hear my pleas for your heart!" Even your nervous friend giggled along now as you dramatically fell to your knees. "Bind our blood in ceremony and let me share your name." A hand outstretched to no one as you fake acted out processing your love to an invisible imaginary person. "Under the stars of the heavens, I solemnly swear, that this hand will always be kind and never cruel. That my voice will only speak truth. That this life is now forever yours." The outstretched hand pretended to take the imaginary person's hand. "Now as yours is mine."

A loud snort went off as one of your friends fell back on your bed where she sat giggling out the cheesy lines you were making up on the fly.

"Bind our souls to infinity and I will promise you love and devotion through sickness and health and beyond the realms of death." You continued to speak remembering some lines from a rom com chick flick you saw last night. "I will love you in all your forms now and forever. Through several lifetimes and back." Your voice was low and smooth now speaking it like you meant it with pride. "From now to infinity. Unyielding. Untainted. Undeniable. With this voice I promise you my love and heart. With this offering, I ask you to be mine!" You then bowed your forehead to the floor as everyone continued to giggle loudly.

You all continued to laugh and laugh and laugh as you finally broke into laughs again too and sat back up-

And then all the candles went out at the same time.

Pitch black immediately enveloped the room and at once all laughs ceased. Nothing but silence rang out other than the rain and thunder and occasional strike of lightning. You four stayed silent as you all say there in the dark before your friend became grumpy again.

"Ok. Haha. Very funny, Y/n. Now we can't see shit!"

"That..w-wasnt me," you stuttered out staring at the floor in front of you silently and wide eyed.

"Sure it wasn't. You're literally kneeling in front of them!"

"I don't have the ability to blow out right giant candles at once! Besides some of them were out of my reached! I'd have to crawl over! It wasn't me!"

"Well it's not me! I'm standing up!"

"It wasn't me!" "I'm sitting all the way over here on the bed."

Silence fell Once Again as you all sat there

"....It must've just been a draft! There's no such thing as ghosts and demons! Get the light! I'm tired of this game now!"

Someone was heard stumbling and shuffling around in the dark before you heard hands patting along the wall and then a serious of clicks as someone tried turning on the lights. "It won't turn on!"

"No one panic!" Someone finally turned on the flashlight on their phone and lit up the room. "The storm just cut out the power supply. Let's just get some food and call it a night!"

"Wait! The offerings!"

The light shines towards the middle of the circle. One bag of mochi candy, an ink stone, and a book still laid there. Where was your earrings? You pushed the book aside and froze as you realized that it wasn't a cheap pair of earrings that greeted you..but one beautiful gold ring.

"My great grandmother's ring!" You quickly snatched it up safely into your hands in horror. "I-I must've grabbed them by mistake!" Wait. You remembered feeling two hoops in your hands. "My great grandfather's ring!" Quickly you pushed aside everything else and was horrified to discover that it was gone. "IT'S MISSING!!"

"Calm down. It must've rolled away or someone accidentally kicked it in the dark. It's still around here."

"Yeah. And so is everything else. I CALLED IT! I TOLD you it wasn't gonna work! Now order the food!"

"B-But my ring!"

"It's too dark to look with the power out. Let's just wait until it's day time and then we'll look around. Ok?"

"I-...*sigh* Alright."

"GREAT! Now let's eat. And don't forget the chicken and drinks!"

Little did all of you know that the curtains were moved back on their own. Glowing eyes staring at your beautiful face and a glittering gold band wrapped around his ring finger.

[twisted-wonderland-shenanigans]

Helloooo!

I don't really know how this thing work, because this is my first time and all.

But maybe heartslabyul people with a easy to forget Yuu?

Like Yuu could forget that they haven't eat yet and stuff, and could go on for hours before feeling hungry.

Yuu is pretty much dumb?? I wouldn't say dumb but more of a himbo? They can comfort you in their own way

Maybe you could call me

☕ Anon?

Or

Cafe anon ?

Is that how you do it???

Thank you to you this message, because you reply to this message!

- New Anon

Hi there, Cafe / ☕️ Anon! Thank you so much for sending in this ask. I know it can be a little intimidating and confusing if you don't do it often, so I appreciate it! And yes, this is how you can tag yourself as anon when you're still shy, though I've also seen some content creators dub anons based on the topic of the ask they sent in, so I guess it's whatever makes you comfortable!

I know I had done an "easily forgetful Yuu" in this post here, though it was more generalized rather than dorm specific. I can go a little deeper though, since I'll be focusing only on a handful of characters! Since you didn't specify any pronouns, I'll be using they/them for now so please keep that in mind if you want to send any future asks! >w<

I hope you enjoy this! I'll go ahead and say this now, but I imagined Kronk while I was writing this, and it made me happy~ ÚvÙ

////-------////

It was Ace and Deuce who realized early on how forgetful Yuu was, having to remind them why the four of them were prancing around an abandoned mineshaft dodging and not just having a midnight field trip. Despite being oblivious to the danger they were all in (especially when Deuce practically threw them onto his back and kicking away a giant centipede trying to bite them, or when Ace had to yank them back from falling into a large hole in the floor), Yuu somehow managed to stay calm enough to create a plan to beat the sludge phantom monster. As soon as the four retrieved the mage stone and destroyed the phantom, Yuu was so proud of their friends that they couldn’t resist reaching out to pet them while saying, “Good boys!”--much to the embarrassment and confusion of the monster trio.

As the days passed, Yuu and Grim spent the majority of their free time hanging out at Heartslabyul, getting to know everyone–including Riddle–very well. It was almost uncanny how easily Yuu was able to calm others down before trouble could start, whipping up spinach cream puffs with Trey and fawning over every animal in the dorm. So cheerful and content even with the visits with the researchers, it was hard to imagine the human ever getting angry–a little upset and pouty, but they would always bounce back with a smile.

“Totes a himbo,” Cater commented, adding a few hashtags to his latest post.

“What’s a himbo?” Deuce asked.

“It’s someone who’s big and strong yet oblivious or dumb,” Ace explained, smirking as he added, “Just like you!”

“Oi! I’m not stupid, Ace!”

“If the horseshoe fits!”

“Guys, take it easy,” Trey said. Thinking for a moment, he said, “It doesn’t exactly sound like a nice word to describe them…even if they are a little oblivious and forgetful.”

“It’s fine, really!” Cater said. “Himbos are described as being attractive but not quite so smart. Those tend to be pretty popular characters in media. See? As NRC’s only human rez, Magicam has been blowing up with likes and comments. Everyone loves Yuu!”

“Wow. Wait…what’s with the video of Yuu in a frilly apron and oven mitts?”

“Oh, that? I caught Yuu trying to open a box of treats for the lil’ hedgehog they were watching, and they forgot to take off the oven mitts. See the lil’ guy in the apron pocket? Totes adorable~!”

It was at that moment that Yuu came in, looking worse for wear as Riddle followed after them with a concerned expression. “Dude! What the hell happened to you?” Ace asked in shock.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Yuu asked, looking confused.

“I found them on campus near the forest,” Riddle said with an exasperated sigh, the faun pulling out the first aid kit and guiding Yuu to a stool. “They were attempting to climb a tree. Fortunately, they landed on a bush from a high point, so they didn’t get severely injured…as you can see, unfortunately, it was a thorned berry bush.”

“A baby bird fell out of the tree-ow!” they yelped, wincing when Riddle began plucking the thorns out of their clothes and skin with tweezers. “The little guy’s mom was worried, so I carried her baby up to her-ouch!-nest.”

“Jeez, did you slip off a branch or something?”

“Well…after I got it back in the nest, I…kinda forgot that I was standing on a branch and walked off.”

“...you…walked off the branch…”

“Yeah?”

“...how the hell have you not broken a leg?”

Yuu shrugged, wincing as Riddle began cleaning the scrapes and spots the thorns had been. “Aaaand…check!” Cater said, having taken another picture of Yuu’s messy self and typing away. “Ridiculously nic and oblivious. That’s our Yuu-bo!”

/—-----/

“Dinner’s ready!”

“Sweet! Breakfast for dinner? What’s the occasion?”

“I figured I’d do something nice and easy to make for everyone as a treat for helping me when I got hurt earlier,” Yuu explained, twirling the spatula in their hand before scooping up another pancake and flipping it onto a plate atop a stack of fluffy goodness. “Plus, Trey’s been working hard to feed us, so I wanted to help out!”

“Whoaaa, look at this spread!” Grim said, already drooling as he sniffed. “Eggs, bacon, sausages…oooh! These waffles have a heart stamped in the middle!”

“Oh yeah! I wanted to try out the new waffle iron one of Cater’s fans sent, and it works really well! It makes it easy to make a breakfast buffet.”

“I’m pretty sure the fans wanted you to have it anyway,” Trey uttered with a wry smile. Aloud, he said, “Thanks for making dinner, Yuu, but why don’t I take over? You’re still recovering from the fall.”

“I’ve got it, thanks! You already do a lot for everyone, so it’s your turn to relax.”

“Well…if you say so. Is this what you made for breakfast this morning?”

“...this morning?” Yuu repeated, expression going blank. “Oh…I think I forgot to eat breakfast this morning. Oops!”

Just then, a long, loud gurgling growl erupted from Yuu’s stomach, the room falling silent as everyone stared at them. It was Deuce who spoke as he asked, “Yuu…when was the last time you ate?”

Thinking for a moment, Yuu admitted, “Since…last night…I think? I remember feeding Grim, but…I got distracted and forgot to get a plate for myself.”

“Seriously? How in Twisted Wonderland are you still functioning on an empty tank!?” Ace said.

“I got so busy that I forgot I was even hungry! Let me just finish up this batch of pancakes and I’ll get some food, okay?”

“Nope. Not good enough,” Trey said.

Before Yuu could respond, the mixing bowl and spatula was plucked out of their hands by Trey while two of Cater’s clones appeared on either side of them. Led to a chair that was pulled out by a third clone, while the original hippogryph finished stacking a plate full of food before sliding it in front of them. “There we go! Make sure you eat every bite now, okay, Yuu-bo~?”

“Wha-? But what about the pancakes and waffles?” Yuu asked, looking concerned. “I gotta finish them–”

“I’ve got it taken care of,” Trey said, the pans sizzling as he added several more strips of bacon and poured the batter on the griddle. “Just sit there and I’ll finish the rest. We don’t want you passing out on us just because your blood sugar is low, got it?”

“Trey is correct,” Riddle chimed in. “Given your status as a critically endangered species, if word reaches the research institutions, they may suspect the school for neglecting your health and may seek to relocate you for closer monitoring.” His stern gaze softened as he said, “We also worry about you as fellow students…and your friends. We can only do so much, so please…don’t forget to take care of yourself.”

For a moment Yuu sat there in stunned silence, seeing their friends nod in agreement. Then…they smiled, looking misty-eyed as they sniffled. “Thanks guys…that means a lot. I’ll do my best to take care of myself!”

/—----/

After that day, Yuu did their best to remember to eat, the Heartslabyul students making sure to remind or invite them over for a meal. Slowly this began to trickle into the other dorms, some of the other students inviting them to sit for a meal as well. Even Grim and the Ramshackle ghosts chipped in, either packing extra lunches or helping them clean up and reminding them to eat whenever they get preoccupied. While Yuu was still forgetful at times, they had nothing to worry about so long as their friends were by their side.

[i-can-even-burn-salad]

Till Death

[ID: The title of the story, till death, written in light green, brush-stroke letters over a photo of a blonde woman in black clothing, walking through a dense forest, facing away from the viewer. All other images are divider lines, showing four small brass bells. End ID]

Her garment covered him like a soft green blanket. It didn’t keep him warm, because there was no warmth to keep, but it made him feel a bit safer. One tiny barrier between his broken body and the teeth of the forest, but perhaps it was enough. Perhaps she was going to stay with him until it was over.

📖 Synopsis

Finnian is a wandering healer down on his luck. When one of his patients dies, the village turns against him, beating him half to death and abandoning him for thirst and scavengers to finish what they started.

Eilis lives deep in the forest, hiding from the world. When she finds him, impaled on a tree and barely alive, she can‘t leave him to his fate, even if it means upending the peaceful life she has built for herself.

As Finnian slowly recovers, days filled with quiet companionship make the prospect of him staying less daunting than either of them had expected. But he carries too many scars, and Eilis too many secrets, threatening to destroy their fragile relationship as the shadows of the past draw closer. When everything falls apart, will they save each other, or will the price be too high?

📖 About

Genre: Dark Fantasy Love Story

POV: Third person past tense, dual POV

Wordcount: 110k

Status: final_final_v2_thisone.doc

Content Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, gore and rape, including, graphic eye/hand trauma, attempted hanging, strong deathwish, insects, animal attacks, torture (whipping, strangulation, cutting, flaying, burns, broken bones), forced to watch, self-sacrifice, abusive marriage & childhood trauma

Vibes: left for dead / falling leaves / “please don’t leave me” / crows on the branches / making fire (the novel) / sweet berries / small touches / “i'm sorry” / the chiming of bells / a stubborn goat / unreliable magic / the smell of honey and milk / “don’t hurt her”

Moodboard | Playlist | Lego Finn & Eilis!! :D | Printed Version | "Advertisment" | Locket | Another Ad | The Black One

AU: Forsaken - Forgiven - Forever

Custom artwork links below, contain spoilers as well as sketchy violence and gore <3

Left for Dead | Despair | Worry | Compliance | Forced to Watch | No other Way | The Wheel | Happy End

📖 Cast

Finnian

As a healer who cannot use his magic to heal, Finnian has spent the last fifteen years barely scraping by. He hates his profession, he hates people, and most of all, he hates himself. Unfortunately for him, someone else hates him just as much.

Eilis

Deep inside the forest, in a little hut with only her ducks and goats for company, Eilis is hiding from her past. She can’t trust, she can’t speak — but she also can’t turn the wounded stranger away, even if it means risking her heart.

📖 Tags

There aren’t many, because I have yet to think of a tag for the two protagonists. The only tag I am currently using is #wip: till death, for tag games and ask answers talking about this wip.

I don’t know what genre to call it — it does not quite fit the common cornerstones of Dark Fantasy, or Dark Romance, but oh boy, it definitely is dark.

It won’t be posted on Tumblr, instead arriving directly as ebook, because I am just done dealing with this site.

As of Aug 20th, the first draft is done at 110k words! Now I'll bother my friends, let it rest for a few weeks, then edit it. Fingers crossed!

It's out! Download the ebook here.

[slayfics]

OMG.. This is it..

My first ever request to you..

Y/n x Katsuki

It's a battle between Y/N vs. Katsuki, where Y/n won the fight and probably his heart.. And since then he always challenge her for a duel subtly wanting to spend time with her..

I hope this is okay.. Thank yoooou 💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙

Katsuki and Kansatoki spar.

Kansatoki Hikari hero name Persuasion. Her quirk is the ability to sense others emotions and change them when making contact. She fights with a whip in order to get others close to her so she’s better able to touch and influence them.

Authors note: I usually do these at the end of my fics- however, I have a huge complex about this so I’m going to say this upfront. Sapphire requested this fic and after discussing with her about writing around what quirk the reader should have she encouraged me to write it with my OC instead. I’ve never written an OC into a story so I’m extremely excited and nervous to post this. I also still feel incredibly selfish for writing my OC instead of making this a self insert 🫣. I hope you enjoy the debut of Persuasion non the less~

Today's training exercises were to be just a simple spar between classmates. It had been a while since the class spared each other since first starting at UA. Everyone had made improvements since the start of the year. Some made major improvements in working on their special moves, while others made adjustments to their costumes or even added support items.

The class anxiously waited to hear who the first sparring match was going to be. Finally, Aizawa announced the spars were to be randomly paired and announced the first two classmates.

"Persuasion and Bakugo you will be the first spar. Everyone make your way to change into your hero costumes and meet at the gym," he announced.

The class began to shuffle, grabbing their costumes and leaving for the locker room to change.

"Hey, Hikari!" Mina exclaimed, catching up to her friend. "Are you nervous?" She asked.

"Nervous?" Kansatoki asked.

"Yeah! To spar with Bakugo. Everyone usually gets pretty messed up after going against him," She laughed.

"Oh- No he doesn't scare me. Besides I have some new stuff I've been training with so I'm excited to try it out." Kansatoki replied.

"Ooo really? I can't wait to see! I'll be rooting for you," Mina smiled.

"Thanks," Kansatoki smiled in return as the girls headed off to change.

The students slowly gathered in the gym and waited for the training to start. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood and excited to spar again with classmates except for Katsuki who impatiently waited for Kansatoki.

"It shouldn't take her so damn long to get into a hero costume," Katsuki grunted.

"Aw come on Bakugo, we're in no rush. Besides, I remember she said something about asking for a new costume. Probably takes some extra time getting used to," Eijiro said, trying to calm Katsuki.

"It still shouldn't take so damn long," Katsuki grumbled.

Eijiro laughed off his friend's irritation, "I get it, I'm anxious to start training too man. I'm actually excited to see her costume, she asked for pictures of my costume to use as a reference," Kirishima said.

"Hu- you sure about that?" Katsuki asked with a subtle pink tint arising on his face as he looked past Eijiro.

"Well okay, just pictures of my sleeves to use as a reference but yeah why?" Eijiro added.

"Because that costume doesn't look anything like yours," he said, motioning towards Kansatoki who had finally shown up to the gym.

Eijiro turned around to find Kansatoki and quickly turned back around after he did. Kansatoki's new costume was far more revealing than her previous one, almost to the same extent as Momo's.

"Oh-" Eijiro exclaimed, his face also tinted with a pink blush. "No, I suppose it doesn't. I guess it makes sense though, being that she has to touch someone to use her quirk."

Aizawa called for the class to get in order so the matches could begin.

"Good luck man, and don't be too rough on her, ok? Remember she's our friend." Eijiro said before he made his way with the rest of the class to watch.

"Whatever," Katsuki said as he left for the sparring area in the gym.

Kansatoki was waiting on one edge of the arena with a determined look on her face.

"You really think that new costume is going to help you? I don't care how much skin you show, you're still not going to be able to touch me," Katsuki called out.

"Well see about that. I've got a new support item too. I've got to say I'm kind of excited you're the first one I get to use it on," She grinned.

Katsuki opened his mouth to make another smart remark but was interrupted by Aizawa who lazily yelled "Start."

Kansatoki grabbed at her side, pulled out a whip, and cracked it against the floor.

The classmates watching in the stands erupted with commentary. Some supportive yells for Kasnatoki mixed with surprise at the debut of her new support item.

"That's the new support item she's been talking about training with?!?" Denki yelled in astonishment. "Is that even- allowed!?"

"Oh my god- Bakugo is a lucky bastard." Minoru mused beside him.

"Mineta you perv!" Mina said, slapping the back of his head. Then turned back to watch, "YOU GOT THIS PERSUASION!" she yelled.

"What kind of dominatrix crap is that?" Katsuki yelled lunging forward attempting to hit Kansatoki with a blast.

Kansatoki avoided it cartwheeling to the side then wrapped her whip around Katsuki's feet trying to bring him to the ground.

"What's the matter? You're not into it?" She said with a wink.

"Tch-" Katsuki let out an annoyed puff of air, as he let out another blast freeing him from the whip around his feet, and made his way into the air.

"Too afraid to get any closer?" Kansatoki yelled up at him.

"You're going to regret saying that!" Katsuki yelled at her with another blast from the air. This one was even stronger than the last. Kansatoki dodged again as the smoke from the blast filled the gym.

"How does that one saying go?" Kansatoki said as Katsuki frantically scanned through the smoke trying to find her. "Oh yeah missed me now you have to kiss me," She laughed as the smoke began to clear giving Katsuki a view of her again.

"Cut out that damn seductive crap," He yelled.

"Why is it distracting? "She asked, smirking at him. Katsuki attempted to hit her with another blast. This time giving Kansatoki exactly what she had been waiting for. Unlike the last two blasts, Katsuki used both hands this time allowing her to wrap her whip around both his arms at once.

She moved swiftly avoiding his blast while keeping her grasp on her whip tied around his arms. Using the smoke caused by the blast as cover once more she moved in closer, this time having some control of where Katsuki's next blast would go thanks to her whip.

Placing her leg in between his and behind his foot she pushed him back causing him to trip and fall onto the floor. Before he could let out another blast she straddled him and his wrapped-up arms. Restricting his arms to the point that if he let out a blast he'd be aiming at himself.

Katsuki struggled under her, enraged at himself for being caught. Curses and insults spewed out from him.

"What's the matter? Don't want to blow your own balls off?" She teased him.

"Shut the fuck up," He yelled angrily still trying to free himself.

"Why don't you just tell me what you want to feel?" Kansatoki said, struggling to keep him down. Her own arms were occupied with making sure he didn't escape.

Katsuki groaned and continued to fight a bit longer before accepting being unable to get out from under her. "Just put me to sleep already bitch-" He barked.

"How boring- of all the things I could make you feel that's what you chose? So be it I guess," She replied. Unable to touch Katsuki with her arms due to being occupied with keeping him pinned down, Kansatoki moved closer kissing Katsuki on the cheek. Instantly he stopped struggling under her and fell into a deep slumber.

"Oh crap- she won! Way to go Persuasion" Eijiro yelled.

"I WANT TO FIGHT HER NEXT!" Minoru yelled.

"Yeah something tells me she wouldn't use that move on you dude," Kamanari laughed.

Kansatoki moved off of Katsuki and touched his face gently, causing him to wake up.

"You know, you're kind of cute when you are asleep and not barking so loud," She said, teasing Katsuki.

"Tch- whatever enjoy it while it lasts. You're never beating me again, got it?" He grumbled.

"Mhm sure Bakugo," She said, rolling her eyes as the class moved closer to congratulate her.

"Whip me next please, my dominatrix queen," Minoru said.

"Not even in your goddamn dreams extra," Katsuki said blasting Minoru.

Kansatoki began to walk away with her classmates congratulating her when Katuski called out to her.

"Hey! We are sparing again tomorrow after class so you better be ready!" Katsuki yelled, causing Kansatoki to turn back to him.

"Oh, are we? That's a bit presumptuous. What if I'm busy," She said playfully.

"Yeah whatever, I'll see you tomorrow at seven in the gym," He said, ignoring her playfulness.

"I already told you Bakugo I might be busy, but I'll think about it," She said, winking at him before turning to leave.

[neewtmas]

ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴀᴜɴᴛɪɴɢ ᴏꜰ ᴀʙʙᴇʏ ʜᴏᴜꜱᴇ // ᴘᴀʀᴛ ɪ

pairing: george karim x fem!reader

wordcount: 1.1k

summary: a case that takes longer than expected, an unrequited crush, and the hardest decision you ever had to make

a/n: this is the first part of a multiple part series! we've got fluff, a little angst (will get worse as the chapters go on), a little locklyle on the side, mutual pining and all the good stuff! Also a happy end, that much I can promise :)

masterlist part II

taglist: @maraschinomerry @sstrawberriel  @poisonquinzell @holymotherfxrkingshirtballs @the-high-lady-of-3am-crackposts @shampoocovers99 (if you wanna be added or removed, just tell me)

The house was quiet except for the chirping birds in the bushes right outside 35 Portland Row. It was unusual for you to be up this early, and even more unusual for everyone else to still be sleeping. But this morning, after forgetting to put down the blinds the evening prior, you got woken up by the sun and decided that this was a perfect opportunity to do something nice for your friends.

After you quietly put on some clothes and sneaked down the staircase, your first objective was getting fresh pastries from Arif's just down the street. The morning air was still the slightest bit chilly as you walked down the sidewalk, empty bag in hand. A tiny bell sounded as you opened the door to Arif's small bakery, and the delicious smell of freshly baked goods was almost overwhelming. You chatted briefly with the girl behind the counter, while she put your order of pastries and doughnuts into the bag you brought.

"Oh before I forget it, we got the Honey Pistachio Cupcakes back in the rotation," the blonde girl said, pointing over to the display. "I remember you asked for them a while back." You smiled at her. "That's fantastic! I'll get one of them, please."

She packed up the muffin and moved over to the register. "Are they your favourite?" Your cheeks grew warm and you bit your lip. "Something of the sort, yeah." The girl gave you a knowing smile as she handed the bag over the counter.

When you were back in Portland Row, you first opened the kitchen window to let in some of the fresh morning air and then started to set the table. Small particles of dust danced in the sunlight that came through the open window as you moved through the kitchen quietly.

Lockwood was the first to wake up and when he sauntered into the kitchen, you had just put down the last piece of cutlery. He looked around. "Wow, (name)! What's the occasion?" You shrugged. "Nothing particular. I just woke up early today." "Doesn't matter, that looks so good. I'm gonna wake up the other two." He left the kitchen and you heard him move up the stairs, much more energetically than he had moved down just a few minutes ago.

You took the kettle off the stove and poured four cups of tea. Each one of your friends liked their tea a little differently, but by now you knew exactly what to do. Just as you sat down the last cup over the respective plate, Lockwood came back into the kitchen, followed by Lucy and George. Lockwood seemed to burst with energy, while the other two were still a little sleepy. "That looks amazing," Lucy said, as she took a sip from her tea. George said nothing, and he looked like he was about to fall asleep again. Ever since the incident with the mirror, he had been more tired than usual, often sleeping in until lunch. His curls were a mess, and you had the urge to run your hands through them. You loved it when he looked like that.

You brought over the pastries you bought and sat them down in the middle of the table. "Here you go. They should be warm still." Lockwood and Lucy immediately grabbed a doughnut each, and you pulled out the cupcake the girl had packed up separately. You sat it down on George's plate and his head whipped up. "No way! Where did you get that?" His eyes sparkled with excitement and he smiled at you in a way that made your heart flutter in your chest. "I just saw that they had it back on display again and thought you might like one," you said bashfully. "Of course I do! You're the best, (name)." You lowered your gaze to your plate so that he wouldn't see the way you were blushing.

You spent the rest of the meal in comfortable silence, the only sounds were those of knives on plates and cups getting sat down. "What's the plan for today?" Lucy asked, pushing her chair away from the table and leaning back. "I need to get some of our rapiers checked" Lockwood replied, glancing at his watch. "But that has time until the afternoon."

"I saw a sign when I walked to Arif's earlier. Some old rich lady died and they are selling her book collection. Do you maybe wanna go, George?" you asked, trying to sound casual while wringing your hands together under the table nervously. It was always nerve-wracking to ask George to spend time alone. You had not yet the courage to ask him out on an actual date, so you just hoped he could pick up the hints.

He smiled apologetically. "That sounds great (name), but I have to go to the archives this afternoon. Why don't you go with Lucy?"

You could feel yourself deflate slightly. Another rejection. Either he truly didn't understand what your intentions were, or he wanted to let you down gently. The latter was more likely, seeing how smart he was he had surely figured you out by now. "Sure. Maybe I will." You forced a smile. No need to let him know how you were feeling.

When the kitchen was clean again, you and Lucy made your way downstairs for a training session with Joe and Esmeralda. You started with some basic warm-up moves. "Do you still wanna go to the book sale later?" Lucy asked as she circled Esmeralda, rapier held high, ready to lunge forward. "If you want to. But if I'm honest, I think I'm not that interested anymore" you said, mirroring her movements on Joe. Lucy lowered her rapier and turned to you. "You know, I'm sure he'd love to go there with you. But he talked about needing to go to the archives for days now." You smiled tightly and watched Joe swing back and forth from the force of your hit, the anchoring in the ceiling creaking. "It's fine. No big deal."

This afternoon, you sat in the library, when the telephone in the hall rang. Before you could get up, someone else picked up. When you stepped out into the hallway, Lockwood, still in his coat, was holding the phone. He turned around, and you could tell from his expression that whoever was on the phone had great news.

"Yes, of course. We will be there tomorrow night."

Lockwood put down the phone, and he looked like he could barely contain his excitement.

"We have a new case. And it sounds like a good one."

thank you for reading, feedback is appreciated :)

Part II

[gamergirlbonestaskforce141riot]

It's the little things (4)

Previous / Next

The gang was out on a Saturday evening, Price's idea, and stopped for coffee. The outdoor terrace was mostly full of people taking advantage of the warm weather, but they found a table big enough for them, next to a group of people with several dogs.

Dogs who were so happy to receive attention.

Gaz and Riot immediately were all over the floor playing with the pups, while Soap protested loudly from his seat and Price and Ghost went inside to order.

"Hi, good evening. We need five drinks, name's John" Price dealt with the bartender, a bored looking man who didn't seem to find strange to serve two big muscled men, one of them wearing a black balaclava. "Two black coffee... two macchiattos... and another macchiatto, but this one with warm milk and not pipping hot. Thank you... here you go, I'll pay with card"

Ghost was looking out the window, waiting to help Price carry the drinks outside. Gaz was lying on the ground with a Dachshund and a Fox Terrier proudly slumped over his chest, and Riot was kneeling, squeezing and scratching the ears of an elated Irish Wolfhound whose tail was wiggling hard enough to hit its owners legs like a whip as they laughed.

Even Soap was patting nervously the head of a yellow Labrador Retriever who had decided the Scot was its current best friend and sat on his shoes.

"Here you go, five drinks under the name John" The bartender called out, and Ghost turned around to grab one of the card holders. But first, he checked each of the macchiatto cups.

All three of them were burning to the touch.

"Which one is the warm one?"

Price stopped, with his hand already on the door handle, and looked back when he heard the tone in Ghost's voice. The bartender shrugged, and the Captain almost smirked. Oh boy.

"Made all three the same"

"He asked for one to be warm" Ghost's voice wasn't particularly hard, yet, but the bartender had to be some kind of special stupid to not sense that he was in danger, in Price's opinion.

"What does it matter, mate? It's not that hot"

Price walked back to the bar counter, ready to intervene, but the looming giant was faster.

"You either remake it, or I throw it at your face and you tell me if it's that hot or not... mate"

The bartender looked up, and for the first time seemed to have a bit of worry about his well-being. As he hurried to remake the drink, Price chuckled, nudging Ghost's side with his elbow, holding the other card tray with the black coffees.

The Lieutenant just ignored him, his smoldering look fixated on the bartender to make sure the twat did as told this time.

Five minutes later they were at the table with the drinks, waiting for Riot and Gaz to get off the ground now that the dog owners were leaving. Soap sighed with relief.

Riot sat beside Ghost with a wide happy smile after being smothered in love by the dogs, and looked at the three macchiattos, hesitating. The Lieutenant grabbed the one with a sharpie mark on the side and handed it to her.

"Oh... it's warm" Her smile was relieved now, with her scar it was difficult to have too hot or too cold food or beverages, the tissue was very sensitive. Happily, she started adding sugar and stirring.

Gaz and Soap were laughing, comparing their own macchiattos, and Price sipped his black coffee, smiling indulgently. These moments with his kids were what made everything else bearable.

Still grinning, he observed while Riot kept explaining something about the dogs to Ghost, who was just looking at her, his balaclava hooked over his nose to sip his coffee from time to time.

Oh, if only he could sneak a photo to show Heather.

[bridgertonbabe]

give the people more on alex and eliza pls im so obsessed with them

I'll give a bit more insight into their story in the Harry Potter AU.

Lizzie had spent the first few years of Hogwarts falling more and more in love with Alex, but by the end of her fourth year she had grown tired of the heartache and jealousy she constantly kept suffering from with every single person Alex chose to kiss and date right where she could see them. Sick up and fed with her crush never seeing her in the way she wanted him to, she decided enough was enough and that she had to get over him.

Once she was back home for the summer holidays she bumped into a muggle boy, Tyler, who lived in her neighbourhood and who she had always found cute. They had hung out on a few occasions previously and when she had last been home for the holidays she got the sense he might have been trying to flirt with her, though she hadn't paid it that much attention as she was still pinning all of her hopes on Alexander Bridgerton maybe one day liking her back. Just before they parted ways, Tyler surprised her by asking her if she wanted to go on a date with him, and Lizzie happily agreed. Right from the first date Tyler made her feel good about herself as she got to experience for the first time what it felt like to be around someone who really liked her and wanted her romantically. Their first date ended with a kiss and from that day on they spent the duration of the holidays with one another, wanting to savour their time together for as long as they could before Lizzie had to return to her boarding school in September.

Meanwhile at My Cottage, Alex noticed the absence of his younger brother's best friend seeing as Lizzie had spent previous summers visiting their home whenever she pleased. He didn't say anything at first, thinking perhaps she had gone away with her family for awhile or even wondering whether she and William had fallen out. It wasn't until over halfway through the summer holidays that Lizzie's name got mentioned as the family were having dinner.

"How was Eliza today?" Sophie asked William and immediately Alex whipped his head up from his plate at the mention of her name.

"Yeah she's well." William answered with a mouth full of lasagne.

"I didn't know you guys met up." Alex remarked (had William mentioned it to him prior he would have tagged along just to see her face again since this summer had been the longest time he had gone without seeing her since she had started at Hogwarts).

"Yeah she finally had some time for me what with Tyler visiting his grandparents."

"Who's Tyler?" Violet puzzled.

"Her boyfriend."

Alex had picked the exact wrong moment to take a sip of his drink as he ended up choking on it in reaction to the mention of Lizzie having a boyfriend. He just about managed to cough up the remainder of his drink back into his glass as Charlie unhelpfully whacked him on the back a couple of times.

"A boyfriend!" Violet gasped with awed interest. "I didn't know she had a boyfriend! What house is he in?"

"Oh he's not at school with us. He's a muggle."

"A muggle?!" Alex spluttered after putting down his glass. "She's dating a muggle?! Why in Merlin's name would she date a muggle?!"

In response to his incredulity the table fell quiet as all his family turned to him with surprised expressions and a couple pairs of narrowed eyes.

"Huh. I never had you down for being an anti-muggle, brother." Charlie said.

"And might I remind you you're one quarter muggle." his dad added with a warning intoned in his voice.

"No, that's not... that's not what I meant." Alex shook his head, looking desperately from first his father to his eldest brother and lastly to his mother, hoping she understood that he didn't mean to insinuate anything negative about muggles.

Fortunately for Alex, his mother took compassion on him and gave his arm a reassuring rub. "Are you just surprised she's dating a muggle because you're not personally familiar with anyone else dating outside of the wizarding world?" she kindly suggested.

"Yeah." he swallowed. "Yeah that's it, I swear. " he insisted to the rest of the table, who all decided to give him the benefit of the doubt before continuing with their meal.

As surprising as it was to hear Lizzie was dating a muggle, the thought of her dating at all rattled Alex badly to the point he kept tossing and turning in bed at night as his mind kept projecting the image of Lizzie kissing a faceless entity. He tried badgering William for more information about Tyler, but his brother had never met the guy so there wasn't much he could say about him other than the glowing review Lizzie had given him when they had met up the other day. The best he could gather about Tyler was that he lived in Lizzie's neighbourhood, they had been somewhat friendly prior to dating, he was a year older than her, and he made her giggly and girly (much to William's immature disgust). Though he should have been happy for her or even disinterested like William was, Alex couldn't help but be bothered that Lizzie had a boyfriend. She had never dated at Hogwarts and to Alex's knowledge she had never so much as had a crush on anyone so the sudden turnabout of her having a boyfriend had stunned him completely.

It wasn't that Alex thought it strange for Lizzie to have a boyfriend; on the contrary it made perfect sense for a girl like her to have garnered romantic interest. She was sweet and considerate, modest and humble, artistically talented and passionate, hard-working and helpful, sincere and down to earth, incredibly pretty with perfectly kissable lips-

And suddenly Alex jolted in his seat as he reflected on what had just crossed his mind, as well as taking further note on how emphatically his heart was now beating from focusing all of his thoughts on Lizzie. It instantly became obvious to him why Lizzie dating someone else was vexing him so much; he liked her. He liked her more than he had previously ever thought and the reason he was annoyed by someone else dating her was because he had come to the crystalising realisation that he wanted to be the person dating her. He could have kicked himself for only just figuring out just how much he liked her now that someone else had beaten him to dating her, and he let out a pained groan and buried his head in his hands as he realised that so long as she was happily dating Tyler he'd never stand a chance of getting to be with her.

[maitaiwiththecorpses]

Don't Let Go

ahahahhahahahahahahahahhaha @the-princess-fangirl and @loife1m thanks for the one shot prompt

After the final battle, after discussions and reunions and funerals.

It finally sank in.

The nightmares, the trauma, a PTSD of sorts.

Anxiety.

He wasn't sleeping anymore. At first, Aiden just wasn't tired. Nidra had him nice and rested for a good two weeks.

But then, Nidra kept him awake.

What he saw when he had escaped the land of the waking-

It was beyond anything he wanted to relive.

If Aiden went back to sleep, would he ever wake up?

It started to wear on him, the sleeplessness, the sweaty anxiety of even getting close to his bed, his brain screaming for an out.

It went on like this for a month before one day, he snapped at Aru.

"Gods, Shah, do you have to be so extra all the time?" He spat out.

Aru whipped her head at him, a 'how dare you' look crossing her face. "Aiden Acharya, I'm going to give you one chance to rethink that sentence before I walk out of here." Immediately, his heart rate spiked, seeing stars in his vision and his throat closing up. She's gonna leave you-

"No, please," he said hurriedly, sounding strangled. "Don't leave- I'm so sorry, I-" He took a giant shuddering breath. Here we go again, his brain sang, a mocking song to bolster his anxiety further.

Aru was by his side in seconds, dropping all anger and taking hold of his shoulders. "Wifey? What's going on? Hey, no-" she wiped his face- it was wet- he'd started crying- oh dear- and she searched his eyes, worry clear in her frown. "Can I hug you?" She asked. Aru was trying to make it very clear- in his state of distress, he was in control- nothing would happen without his consent. Aiden nodded in response, feeling Aru wrap her arms around his waist and letting his head bury into her shoulder.

They didn't talk for what felt forever, and the silence, the contact, it calmed him down. She was not leaving, he could feel the sentiment in every stubborn fiber of her being.

"Sorry." He said abruptly, pulling his head up. "For yelling at you. I didn't mean to- I'm just really tired."

Aru nodded solemnly. "Exhaustion makes us act badly. Thank you for apologizing. However, I'm more worried about the fact that you're so tired." And ready to have a mental breakdown at any moment, Aiden thought. She didn't say it, but it was there, in the air, unspoken.

"I haven't been sleeping since Nidra," he said numbly. "And not cause of the saved up sleep I had- that's gone now. I'm just." His hands shook and he shut his eyes tightly. "I never want to feel like I won't wake up again." He exhaled, reaching for hands and giving them a squeeze. "I'm scared, Shah."

Aru said nothing for a moment, then, "I didn't sleep for weeks after the Sleeper took me." Aiden looked at her quizzically. "My brain kept telling me, 'if you go to sleep, you leave yourself vulnerable.' And I believed that for a long time." Aru smiled sadly, thinking back to those tremulous times. "I mean, I got over it. Eventually. But it was so rough- and definitely not as bad as what you're going through right now. Because if that was bad, then this is definitely worse, because, Aiden, you died." She looked him directly in the eye, her own looking glassy. "Nidra took you."

"Yeah," he whispered. Sometimes, he couldn't believe it himself.

"I needed someone. And I promised myself in the unlikely event that something similar happened to me or someone else, that I would get help." She squeezed his hands now, comforting and warm. "I can help you, definitely, but maybe you should go see an Otherworld therapist?" When he hesitated to respond, she quickly added, "not that you have to decided right now- it's just an option."

"Ok," he said, curling into her. Aru placed the laptop and notebooks on the ground, making more room on the bed as he closed his eyes. "I'll think about it."

"Alright," she said, leaning into him.

Before he fell into the first of many more hard-fought peaceful sleeps, his brain pleaded,

Don't let go.

To which a small, hopeful flame in him responded,

She won't.

[shaperaverse-brainrot]

All of those winter prompts look amazing. But if you're feeling creative, can I ask for number 8 with Jill and Michael? Please 🥺

Thank you so much for the ask! (Also anyone reading this, feel free to send in more winter requests from THIS prompt list (or any other random prompts with Shaperaverse characters) if you would like. It might take a couple days but I'll get to it probably)

(Ao3 link) (I'm sorry I angsted the prompt, I couldn't help it :( )

8. Eating gallons of ice cream despite the cold weather.

He couldn't stop staring at her. He didn't think he'd ever be able to stop.

It felt like a dream, wandering down the streets of a narrative they had been in so many times before. Jill looked so much older, her brightly coloured hair starting to grey, the wrinkles on her forehead so much more pronounced than they ever had been before.

So much more pronounced than Michael ever thought they would get to be, when he'd lost her after the war.

Yet, after all this time, here she was, laughing by his side. He had expected awkwardness, to be blamed for her imprisonment, or for not freeing her sooner, or for the years apart to take their toll, driving a wedge between them. And…

And she hadn't. Jill clung to his arm for warmth, like she always did when the narrative had a chill and she refused to put on a jacket, claiming it would ruin whatever outfit she had made for herself that morning (Not that it had stopped her from insisting they get ice cream together — for old times sake, of course — and the frozen nature of the bag was certainly adding to the cold). Nothing had changed, apart from the tightness Michael held her with, as if the hellscape would somehow snatch her back if he let go for even a moment. It would be all his fault again.

“You alright, Michael?” Jill asked, seeing his expression. Michael nodded, at first, as he had always done when someone asked him that, before turning back to Jill, the many, many conversations they had once they got back home playing in his mind, and shaking his head.

“I'm glad you're back.” He said, for what must be the hundredth time since the rescue mission.

It didn't compare to the million times he had missed Jill in the last decades. Nothing would.

Jill gave a sad smile, pulling him onto a nearby bench, her hand pausing for just a moment over his metal arm, as it always did.

“You know,” Jill said, the tone of her voice clearly trying to lighten the mood, give Michael something else to focus on. To tell him stories, as he used to do to distract her when lonely thoughts got too much. “They didn't have ice cream in hell.”

Michael blinked, as Jill pressed into his side, bringing the bag onto her lap, and pulling out the ice cream. It was the wrong season for shops to sell cones, but, as Jill had delightedly claimed, that hasn't stopped them from buying multiple tubs and spoons, determined to have their feast.

“What?”

“It would just melt.” Jill shrugged, casting a hopeful glance to Michael. Her strategy seemed to be working, if the glint of a curious smile.on his face was anything to go by. “Now… Triple chocolate with chocolate chips? Cookie dough and strawberry jelly? Strawberry and raspberry whirl with whipped cream?”

“...What is it with you and over-elaborate flavours?” Michael asked, taking one of the tubs at random.

“Trust me, these are very tame compared to what some narratives have in store.” She said, handing Michael one of the spoons, before prying open her own tub, and stuffing a spoonful in her mouth.

A moment passed in silence, until Jill made a face.

“Oh, that's cold.”

“Brain-freeze?”

“Mhm.”

“Would you like my jacket?”

Jill smiled, closing her eyes in contentment. “Who needs a jacket when you're basically a hot water bottle?” She dug her spoon into Michael's tub, taking an equally big portion, as Michael wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

He really had missed this.

[ghostchasersmagazine]

"The Challenger" from Speed Buggy Issue #4

Transcript under the cut:

Coming out of the turn, Speed Buggy was running second with just one lap to go in the World 200. The fastest cars in the world had dueled for 198 laps and now they were finishing the next to last lap. Just ahead, the official whipped the white flag down on Dude King who was two lengths ahead of Speed Buggy with Tinker at the wheel.

Now, Speed Buggy whipped past the offical and got the white flag indicating they were starting the last lap.

"C'mon Speed Buggy," Tinker yelled, hanging in behind Dude King's big black racer. "This is the lap that counts."

Around the first turn, closing in behind King's big, powerful car, Tinker was tailgating. Using King's car to break the wind, Tinker held position until the last turn.

"Can he do it, Mark?" Debbie screamed, jumping up and down in the pit area to get a better look at the two leaders coming around the last turn.

Mark grinned. "Don't worry. Tinker, Speed Buggy, and I planned it this way, Debbie!"

Out of the last turn, Tinker was already mashing on the gas pedal, picking up passing speed while he was still behind Dude King. Then, he whipped past the big, black car at the head of the stretch, puled up even with Dude King, then edged ahead.

"Watch it, Tinker!" Speed Buggy yelped in alarm as Dude Swerved his heavier race car at them.

Speed Buggy dodged, moving ahead, and at the finish line Speed Buggy was a half a length ahead. The crowd roared because Speed Buggy was well liked while Dude King's black car was hared nearly everywhere they raced.

The race judge whipped down the black and white checkered flag. The race was over! Speed Buggy had won!

At the finish line, after Speed Buggy had gone around one more time, Debbie kissed Speed Buggy on the hood and hugged Tinker. They were all happy as the offical presented the team with a check and a beautiful silver loving cup.

"That's terrific!" Speed Buggy griped. "You get a nice fat check and a loving cup. What do I get?"

Tinker laughed. "You'll get your oil changed, I'll give you a nice lubrication job, wash and wax your paint, then give you a long, cool drink of oil."

Speed Buggy winked. "Sounds great, Tinker. I was only kidding anyhow. I like racing. Especially against Dude King's big, black car."

The happy crowd left the race track. Tinker, Debbie, and Mark went to dinner. The race cars were left at the track as darkness fell.

There was silence for a long time, then finally a parked red racer made sure no drivers or mechanics were around.

"Nice race, Speed Buggy," the red car said. "If I couldn't win, I'm glad you beat the black car."

"Me too," a sleek white car added. "Dude King is a dirty driver."

Then the black car started its engine with a menacing roar.

"Knock it off, you creeps," King's car threatened. "I woulda beat Speed Buggy easy if Dude King didn't let Tinker outsmart him."

The red car snickered. "Speed Buggy could best you without Tinker's help." The other cars chimed in, agreeing. They loved needling the black race car.

"Oh, yeah?" the black car snarled. "I'll bet I can beat Speed Buggy right now!"

Speed Buggy scoffed. "No, you can't!"

The black car responded with a roar, so Speed Buggy started his engine. Both cars, with only the other cars watching, moved to the starting line. The red racer beeped his horn to start them and they were off!

Now, Speed Buggy knew what strategy the black car would use. He stayed right behind Speed Buggy and Speedy knew when the last lap came, the black racer would whip out and try to pass him in the stretch.

Speedy ran fast until the next to last lap. Then, as they went down the backstretch, Speed Buggy slowed down. Slower. Then even slower. And the black car roared and snarled threateningly, bumping Speedy but Speedy refused to be rushed.

Into the final turn.

Now, with the homestretch ahead, Speedy suddenly accelerated. He peeled out, his rear wheels whipping dust and gravel into the lights and grill of the black car right behind him.

Cough, cough, splut, the black car choked and was trying to see as Speed Buggy roared ahead to win easily by three lengths.

In the morning when Debbie, Mark, and Tinker arrived and said hello to Speedy, Speedy had such a smug look, Tinker asked him about it.

"You look as though you had a good rest, Speedy," Tinker said.

Speedy laughed. "I dreamed I won a big race without you to drive me," Speedy replied, "so just watch out. I may not need you!"

[pof203]

A Summoner Birthday

Special Quest: Snow

My, such a picturesque place. I can see why you wanted to bring me here.

Yes. This place may just be zeroes and ones, it's still very special.

You brought Snow to the virtual fairytale world for some fun.

Snow: I have a feeling that we might find something interesting in town. Why don't we stay here?

Lupin: I don't see why not. Let's see what's here.

With that, you and Snow just wonder around Candyland.

A short while later, you and Snow find yourselves at the dessert station where treats are made.

Snow: This looks promising. Perhaps I can make something for my darling master here. I wonder how it enters the real world.

Lupin: Kurogane says the food here can be printed in the real world. If you really want to bring it back to Claude.

Snow: That's marvelous. Perhaps we shall make a chocolate soufflé. It's one of his favorites.

Lupin: Okay, let's do it.

And so, you and Snow begin working on your soufflés.

As you work on your soufflé, you see Snow's is a bit too perfect.

Lupin: You know, it never hurts to be a little creative. I'm sure even Claude would understand.

Snow: Oh, I could never do that. I don't want to do anything that may not turn out well for my darling master.

Lupin: So you won't even decorate it?

Snow: ... Well, I might add some touches to it to make it look grand. Nothing is too good for my darling master.

Lupin: Here, why don't I help you?

A little later after your soufflés are backed, the time came to decorate them. You decided to add whipped cream and top it off with a strawberry. Then, you look over to Snow's soufflé which he simply covers in powdered sugar.

Lupin: Is that all? Remember what I just said.

Snow: Forgive me.

Snow looks around to see what else he could put on his soufflé. Finally, his eyes land on a bowl of cherries.

Snow: How about these cherries? They seem different enough.

Lupin: It's a good start. How about these?

You show Snow a bowl of orange slices.

Snow: (unsure) I'm not sure how my darling master would react to oranges. How about these mint leaves? They seem nice.

Lupin: That would make it a little too minty. But I suppose if you want garnish, these lemon balm leaves might do the trick.

Snow: Or maybe these lavender sprigs. But then again, it's now the master's color. Maybe these rose petals?

Lupin: That could work, too.

So, you help Snow decorate his soufflé for Claude. When you are finished, you see that Snow's soufflé might look a little out there.

Lupin: Well, at least it's not plain.

Snow: I'm not sure. Will my darling master like this? I found that sometimes, simplicity is key.

Lupin: How about a taste test? Then we might see.

So, you and Snow taste the soufflé... It did not taste the way neither of you expected.

Lupin: (a bit disgusted) Ugh. The lemon balm did not go well with the chocolate.

Snow: (also a bit disgusted) Or the cherries.

Lupin: I guess just adding powdered sugar was somewhat a good idea. Maybe we should try again.

A little later, you and Snow remake his soufflé in which you just add powdered sugar. It tasted just wonderfully.

Lupin: (pleased) You were right. Simplicity is key.

Snow: I am glad to hear it. But what of your soufflé? Are you planning to present it to Wakan Tanka?

Lupin: I'm not sure. As an athlete, he usually eats healthy things. And when he does eat sweets, it's usually small chocolates or vanilla ice-cream. He even takes the occasional fruitcake. The only time he would eat something like this is during Christmas and that's usually short cake. I think this will be the first time I'll be giving him something like this.

Snow: Well, I'm sure whatever you give him, he will love it, since it came from you.

Lupin: I'm sure he will.

Snow: Though I must say, with my soufflé, it was nice to express myself a bit.

Lupin: I don't think I've ever seen you express yourself that much. You usually just do things for Claude.

Snow makes a small smile, knowing this is true.

Snow: I rarely show just who I really am to others, including my darling master. But when I met you, I sometimes find it hard to bottle up my emotions. Then, I have to remember that some emotions are not meant to be bottled up. There will come a time when you must set those emotions free. You showed me that.

Lupin: I just don't think that Claude would want to be with someone who isn't true to himself. I know I wouldn't.

Snow: Yes. I opened up to you and you love me for it. I often wonder if I should do the same with my master. Should I be true to myself in front of him? I feared I would not like the answer. But perhaps maybe I could be wrong. I want to be honest with him. I know you are honest with him.

Lupin: Yeah. When I first met you and Claude, I didn't know what to think. I always thought you both were just these hard-hearted Guild Masters just because your Guild fights a lot. But after getting to know you, I now know there is more to you than what you seem. You included.

Snow: Yes. It's times like these... I'm happy that you came into my master's study and told the truth. I think you for that. It shows just how much that I love you and him.

Lupin: (happy) And I love you, two.

You both embrace each other. Though his name is Snow, you have never felt such warmth from him, save for Wakan Tanka. You both know how much your hearts are connected.

After putting the last touches on your soufflés, you both decide to return home.

[brainyxbat]

Clockwork Island Adventure- Pt. 2

Meanwhile in Card Castle, a serious competition was underway: specifically, a game of poker between Nami, and her captors. "And I win again!" Nami boasted after laughing with victory, and gathered her earnings. "So sorry, guys."

Venus watched from behind the redhead, leaning against the dresser with crossed arms. "See why I didn't want to play?" She snarked. Despite her not being in the crew for long, she already knew not to get her money involved with the greedy navigator. Thanks for the warning, Zoro.

"She's going to make us lose everything!" Skunk One moped.

"Why don't they come to try and save you?" Honey tried to break her spirits.

"The traps must've got them," Boo-Jack guessed.

"It'd be easier if they were that weak," Nami retorted.

"They can get through anything," Venus added.

"Out of the frying pan... into the fryer."

Venus furrowed her eyebrows. "What?"

Nami looked at Pin Joker with annoyance. "It's "fire"." He glared, but stayed calm.

Honey stood on her feet. "I'll go, and check up on them."

"Running away, are you?" Nami beamed. "You owe me quite a lot." Venus rolled her eye. "You can pay with your body!" In retaliation, Honey stripped down completely, and turned completely into water, shocking the two girls. "What?"

Honey slithered down a pipe, as Boo-Jack rode out on his unicycle. "Let's go!"

Nami looked on in awe. 'Don't tell me she's...'

Venus turned to her, feeling surprised herself. "Is that what you meant, by her paying with her body?" Her innocent question was met with silence.

-

Elsewhere, the guys rode in a basket with a parachute above the town. "Cool! It's like an airplane!" Usopp commented in awe, as he and Luffy enjoyed the view.

"Watch out, there's a minefield below us!" Borod warned.

"Hey, look at those windmills," Luffy pointed out.

"Eh?" Usopp perked up.

Luffy took out his toy from the beach, and looked back and forth between it, and the real thing. "They're identical."

"It must be from here," Usopp observed.

Luffy tried to wind it, but it wouldn't budge. "It's broken."

"Give it to me," Akees held his hand out. After Luffy gave him the toy, he whipped out a blue-handled screwdriver, and began tinkering with the wind-up key.

He opened the top, and continued to work, as Luffy and Usopp watched in awe. "Wow, you're pretty good at this kinda stuff!" Usopp complimented.

"He's amazing!" Borod said, as he steered the makeshift balloon. "He can repair pretty much everything."

Just then, Akees put his screwdriver away. "There, fixed."

He winded the key, and sure enough, it was working just like new. "Cool!" Luffy gushed. "Wow, you're great!"

"Oh dear, are you still alive?" A familiar, female voice interrupted the happy moment. Sure enough, strangely-colored water descended from a pipe, and Honey started to manifest nearby.

"It's that hot babe!" Sanji swooned, as Usopp held him by the waist to keep him from falling. "I gotta see her again!"

"Calm down."

"What was that?!" Zoro demanded.

"Devil Fruit powers," Borod replied.

"Correct!" Boo-Jack threw Honey's long coat to her, as she fully changed appearance, back to being fully clothed.

"Melt-Melt Fruit. Boo-Jack, give them their prize."

Boo-Jack rode his unicycle along the rope tied to the basket. "Yes! Come to me!" Sanji gushed obliviously, but his face quickly changed to disappointment when it wasn't her approaching them. Boo-Jack threw a ball at them, and Sanji prepared to kick it away, but it suddenly jutted out black spikes all over. He wasn't quick enough to pull away; his already injured foot was impaled.

"Sanji!" Luffy exclaimed in terror.

"Right in his foot!" Zoro remarked.

Sanji started to fall, but luckily, Borod grabbed his ankle, just as Honey floated over. "Hold it right there!" Using her powers, she shot a large gush of water over the crew. Borod accidentally dropped Sanji, who bounced face-first on the grass, followed by a mine explosion.

"Sanji!" Luffy screamed, as they flew away.

-

Nami and Venus gasped in shock when the battered, tied-up cook was suddenly brought in, and thrown to them close by. "Sanji-kun!" Nami looked over him in concern.

"Your feet!" Venus cried at the bloody sight before her.

"Nami-san, Venus-chan... I'm sorry."

"Sanji-kun!"

Bear King approached them. "Look, I spared his life. That's how much I love you two."

"I see now," Nami stood on her feet, "Yes, I really prefer strong men like you."

"Yes!"

"But I need more time to think..."

"Me too," Venus agreed.

"I understand."

"So don't kill..."

"Skunk One!"

"Sir! I will convince them!"

"Wait!" Venus shouted.

"No!" Nami protested. "I said don't kill-!"

"Now, let's play." Bear King kept Nami and Venus back, as Skunk One flew away.

-

Meanwhile, the guys recovered from the crash landing outside the spade-bearing gate. "Damn it all!" Usopp fussed. "If only I had my slingshot."

"You wouldn't dare to anyway," Akees snarked.

"What?" Usopp glared.

"Borod would save me, even if he lost both feet!" He bragged.

It was then when Usopp noticed: Borod had a metal, prosthetic hand under his left sleeve. "Your hand... did you?"

"Yup, he always protects me, risking his life for me."

"You brag about being saved?"

That caught Akees off guard. "I'm just a kid, and I'm still weak, so..."

Usopp stood on his feet in anger. "It's not a question about being weak or not!"

"Stop it," Borod put a hand on the sniper's shoulder, "That's enough."

"It's not!" Usopp nudged him off. "I hate brats who think they'll always be saved!"

"As if I care!" Akees retorted.

"What'd you say?!"

"If that girl getting in Borod's business earlier thought she'll always be saved, would you hate her too??"

"Leave her out of this! I would never hate her!"

Through the argument, Luffy stared on in deep thought, then spoke up. "Okay! Let's go!" He swung his arms about in preparation. "Hey, kid. You can go home."

"What?!"

"Well, I'm not saving a weakling."

Borod's eyes widened in shock. "I'm not going home!" Akees protested.

"Okay," Luffy grinned, "Then fight! Gum-Gum Pistol!" With a single punch, the gate was totaled. "Come on!" He started to run inside, but quickly turned around the horde of angry guards, as they chased him out. "Oh, crap!"

"I'll take them!" Zoro ran in to help, followed by Usopp and the Thief Brothers.

"There's too many of them," Luffy fussed.

"Leave 'em to me!" Zoro stole a sword, and curb-stomped guards one by one effortlessly.

From the top floor of the castle, Pin Joker was watching everything. "Roronoa Zoro," He smirked.

"Ooh!" Bear King perked up when the elevator rose into the room.

"What?" Nami looked up, as did Venus.

The door opened to reveal a large, mystery device concealed by a white sheet. "So my doomsday weapon is finally done!" The patriarch eagerly ran over.

The trio of guards standing in front danced in celebration. "All hail the great Bear King-sama!"

"Much better than our last boss!"

"The King Cannon has finally been completed!"

"The spicing on the cake," Pin Joker grinned.

""Icing", you mean?" Nami corrected.

"King Cannon," Honey's eyes widened.

"Is that it?" Boo-Jack questioned.

"The legend about me has begun!" The weapon was wheeled out of the elevator. "I'll be the King of all Pirates!" He laughed evilly.

Nami turned to Sanji when he groaned in pain. "Sanji-kun!"

"I'm sorry... Nami-san, Venus-chan."

"Don't worry," Nami assured, "They're dumb, so Venus and I can-"

"No, you can't," Sanji cut her off.

"Eh?"

"I just wanted to save you... by myself..." The two girls looked down at him in sympathy, before they were surprised by him wiggling like a worm with a wide grin. "... then be hugged by you both as thanks, followed by this and that, and-!"

"You creep," Nami frowned.

"Going by yourself is reckless!" Venus scolded. "Why would you want to save us alone?!"

"That's a conversation for another time," Nami dismissed.

Just then, an angry Bear King came running. "Who are you to my fiancées?"

Sanji glared defiantly at him. "The one who rubs suntan lotion all over their backs."

"Sunblock for me," Venus corrected innocently.

"Shush," Nami hissed.

"What?!" Bear King shouted. "Crucify this creep!"

"No!" Venus protested, as Sanji was lifted by his ropes.

"He might be one of her crew, but I'm gonna kill him!" The cook was thrown roughly to the floor, and bounced into a stone wall.

He landed face-down, and was pinned down by Boo-Jack. "Watch your mouth. You weaklings have no chance against us." He wrenched his heel in his back.

Sanji glared up at him, weak from his injuries. "You'll regret those words before the day is over," He vowed.

-

Outside, the rest of the crew were warding off the endless guards; Luffy using Gum Gum Pistol, Zoro slashing and stabbing with his "borrowed" sword, and Borod punching them out. "What's this stench?" Usopp complained, closing his long nose.

Skunk One. He was perched menacingly on top of a tall pole in front of them. "Welcome to Card Castle. Your friend is waiting." He pointed to the sky.

"What?" Everyone looked up, and to their horror, the cook was strapped to a cross.

"Sanji!" Luffy exclaimed.

"He made Bear King-sama a bit angry. So we crucified him a little."

The guards were scared away by a smelly, yellow fog spraying from his back, but the crew stayed, and covered their noses. "What's this?" Borod glared.

"Devil's gas! One breath, and you'll turn into a powerless lump. Have fun holding your breath!"

"You're kidding me!" Zoro fussed, "We can't just..." He tried to run, but his strength seemed to have been drained. "Luffy!"

The captain sat cross-legged on the ground. "I don't wanna do anything."

"Get a grip!" Zoro yelled.

Usopp and Akees watched from afar, avoiding the noxious gas. Usopp took a deep, nervous breath, and braced himself. "Akees, you said I didn't have the guts to do anything, right? Take a look at this, brat! Behold Usopp, when he does his amazing, cool stunts! Venus-chan needs me!!"

"Usopp!" Akees was shocked when the sniper ran straight in, and shimmied up the pole the stinky villain was perched on. He latched onto his waist, and held on tight.

"Lemme go!"

"Dream on!"

A weakened Borod pushed himself up. "That idiot," He panted.

"Leave this guy to me! Just go!"

Skunk One blasted himself off the pole with the gas. "Now eat that!" As everyone watched, Usopp blocked the tank... with his mouth! As he fought off the horrid taste, he was flailed around aimlessly. His stomach became greatly inflated, due to getting rapidly filled with gas.

"Usopp!" The little boy exclaimed in shock.

"Come, Akees!" Borod ordered, and made a mad dash to the castle.

"But..."

"Don't let his bravery be in vain! Hurry up!" After some hesitation, Akees joined them in their sprint.

-

On the top floor, Skunk One barely managed to make it, before he kicked a bloated Usopp to the floor. He let the gas out from his mouth, as his stomach deflated back to normal. "I can't believe that he's alive."

The girls watched from further inside. "Usopp!" Nami exclaimed.

"Usopp-kun!" Venus followed suit, but more shocked.

Bear King put his hands on their shoulders from behind. "Do you care about him?"

"Of course!" Venus threw him off, as did Nami.

"He's one of us!" Nami added.

"You both should care about me alone," He glared, "Crucify this guy too!"

"Yes, sir!" Skunk One obliged.

Nami grabbed a broom nearby, and began swinging at him, as Venus prepared an attack. "You big, stinky jerk!" Her eye widened when the redhead was quickly outnumbered, losing her weapon. She was pinned down to the floor by her throat. "Nami!"

"What are you doing?" He sneered.

"Don't spoil your dress, m'lady," Bear King picked her up with both hands, "And mind your manners. Skunk One, fetch the little one for me."

"Yes, sir!"

Venus glared when he began to approach her. "Touch him, and you'll regret it," She growled, and launched her energy ball at him. He jumped away to dodge it, only to do it again when she shot another one.

Usopp's exhausted eyes watched, as familiar black sneakers briefly showed themselves under the long, white skirt. "Ve-Venus-chan."

"I won't let him near you!" Venus promised through her attempted battling. Sadly, despite her best efforts, she was outnumbered, and forcefully escorted away. "Usopp-kun!"

-

During their trek up the spiraling staircase, the guys fought off even more guards effortlessly. They made it to a covered bridge, where something caught Luffy's eye. "Look there!" Usopp was crucified, just like Sanji! "Usopp!" They ran up more stairs, and encountered a spiraling pillar behind a grated wall. "What's this?"

"It's the mechanism protecting this island," Borod explained.

"Let's hurry!" Zoro urged.

They continued their sprint, but Akees was knocked to the ground, now unconscious. "Akees!" More guards came, one of them being the culprit. A furious Borod fought them off, and looked over his adoptive brother in concern. "Akees!"

Just then, a grated door closed, blocking off the exit, before the whole tower started to rumble terribly. The floor was rising! It abruptly slowed when the Straw Hats pushed on the ceiling. "What's happening?" Luffy questioned in shock.

"Akees!" Borod ran over to him, as he woke up.

"I'm just dragging you down again," He smiled weakly, and began to drift off again.

"Don't give me that, Akees! We're brothers, remember?"

"It's so heavy!" Luffy exclaimed, as the floor continued rising.

"We can't hold it for long! Borod, you gotta help us!" Borod ignored Zoro, as he lifted Akees off the floor. "What?"

Borod stared daggers at the two, then smiled. "Of all people. You disappoint me." He started shifting away, as Luffy and Zoro struggled. "Seems no one can fight the Card Pirates."

"What?" Luffy watched him in confusion.

"After I took your ship and all."

"You stole our ship?"

"I thought something was fishy," Zoro glared, "So it was you!" Borod jumped off the floor to a safer staircase. "And to think, Venus liked you! She's too good for you!"

"Like I said, I'm not looking for a relationship."

"You used us to get to the Clock!" Zoro exclaimed.

"I'm not after some damn clock."

"What?"

"I just wanted you to defeat these pirates, and save the island."

"B-but why?" Luffy stammered.

"I wanted to return Akees to his parents on this island."

"So this is his..." Zoro concluded.

"His birthplace," Borod finished, "I'm sure of it. Sorry for the trouble. And please take care of Akees, should I die here." Zoro glared during his struggle. "I have to fight them."

"Idiot! You don't stand a chance!"

"I don't care. There's no future if you run away." He glanced at the unconscious boy with a smirk. "Right?" With that, he sprinted up the stairs.

"Borod!" Zoro shouted, but went unnoticed. "He's ready to die. Luffy, can't you do something?"

"I'm afraid not." A door opened to reveal Pin Joker.

"Who are you?" Zoro's eyes widened.

"Long time no see, Roronoa." He pointed to the long, horizontal scar going from the top to the bottom of his face. "I have not forgotten the scar you gave me!"

Zoro sneered, but was confused. "You... who're you?"

"You don't know?" Pin Joker griped.

"Can't remember all the weaklings I've beat."

"Agreed!" Luffy nodded.

"I will teach you that he who walks first, squalls first."

""Falls first"," Zoro corrected.

That made him mad. "Shut up, and die! Featherdarts!"

Luffy braced himself when yellow feather-like darts shot out from the man's sleeve, but to his confusion, he didn't feel anything. At least, other than more weight above his head. To his shock, the swordsman took the full brunt! "Zoro... you...!"

"You lunatic! You almost scared me." He prepared his sword through the pain. "Sorry, Luffy. This won't take long."

Pin Joker chuckled mockingly. "Try it. Skunk's gas, and my poison darts... your body won't move."

"Damn." He went in for the attack, but another door closed, and he was stabbed.

"Zoro!"

He landed on his back in front of the captain. "Time to kick the one who's clown."

"D-down," Zoro stammered, before drifting into unconsciousness.

"Zoro!" Luffy screamed, as he was taken up the elevator, over Pin Joker's shoulder.

[artichokegarden]

Let me do this for you

Sam looked up from the heap of books covering the library table. Dean was propped up on one hand, and he was looking over at Cas, who had given up trying to read long ago. Sam didn't like the way Cas was shivering. It was weird seeing him so small, so vulnerable looking. He coughed and Dean started guiltily, quickly flicking a couple of pages in the huge folio in front of him. It was called "Anatomie of the Seraphim", and, worryingly, Dean hadn't made a single dick joke about it. 

"Hey, I think I've got something," Sam said. 

"Good. Because unless you're into woodcuts of wings with eyeballs in all the wrong places, I've got nothing. No offense, Cas." Cas squinted quizzically at Dean, who grinned back. 

"You're not going to like it though. So just listen first, and yell after, okay."

Sex Magic, Humor and PWF on AO3

Both Dean and Cas looked round at that, and Sam pressed on quickly, before he lost his nerve.

"So the deal is we can't fix what's wrong with Cas, but he can or he could, if he could just power up a bit – boost his immune system with an infusion of human soul or whatever. And he won't risk touching one of ours –"

"No, it's too dangerous. I don't have enough control," Cas said.

"Yeah, you've said. You keep saying. But if we don't have a choice –"

"Well this might be a safer way of doing it." Sam interrupted before the argument could go round again. "The transfer, I mean. It's a spell for transferring a whole lot of spirit or soul power from a willing 'initiator' to a 'preceptor', and it's temporary. Or at least there's a counterspell that the preceptor can use to give it back once he's done with it: 'the same and equal power may be returned thereafter'. And the spell itself is pretty simple. Technically, I mean." He mumbled the last part. There were other difficulties, and Dean was going to freak out over it. 

"Let me see," said Cas. Sam handed him the text, thankful for once that Dean's Latin was so crappy. He was peering at it over Cas's shoulder all the same. 

"Catenae are chains, right? And that's blood … penis … What kind of a spell is this exactly?"

"It's sex magic." Sam said, summoning all his patience, waiting for Dean to flip. 

"Like sex? Like sex sex? Or some sort of –" Dean flicked the pages of his angel folio – "'holie exhalation of radiante breath beating like to the waves through the lowlie bodie of the devoted supplicant' now with added eyeballs?"

"Sex sex. Basically, the initiator offers to give the power of their soul by blood and body, and then the preceptor chains them to an altar, whips them with a stick from a sacred tree, and then sets fire to the stick with some other ingredients, and uh the transfer happens when the preceptor comes. Inside the initiator."

"Where does the blood come in?"

"It's on the stick."

"Oh."

"No," said Cas. They both turned to look at him. Dean was chewing his lower lip. He stooped and picked up the blanket that had fallen off Cas's shoulders when he'd started reading. 

"I won't do this. Sex magic is an abomination. It's demonic. It takes something very precious, very human, and twists it into something ugly and transactional. I couldn't ask anyone to do this for me. I won't."

"Ugly and transactional is just a normal Saturday night for a lot of folks," Dean said slowly and automatically, wrapping the blanket around Cas again. "But I don't see how – not that you're not a good-looking guy, Cas – but this is some kinky stuff you're asking for. And if it's got to be offered up, then we can't exactly hire a professional …"

This was the bit Sam was dreading. He braced himself on the back of the chair.

"Yeah. And we don't have time for Cas's love life to take off. So here's the thing. The preceptor has to be a man – it's your typical sexist sex magic – but the initiator can be anyone. So. I'll do it." 

This was met with a stunned, unflattering silence. Cas and Dean looked at him. 

Sam kept going, "I mean, it's just sex. I don't mind doing it. For Cas, I mean. If it stops you dying, Cas. I'll do it. You don't have to be gay to have sex with another guy. It's just bodies. So if it'd work, then we should try it."

Seconds passed. 

"No. No way," said Dean.

"I knew you'd freak," said Sam. "But we don't have time for that. Cas doesn't have time. I honestly don't mind –"

"No way." Dean took a deep breath and his hands were balled into fists. "If anyone's gonna bend over for Cas, it's me. End of debate."

"Dean – " said Cas.

"You too, Cas. Shut it. This is the only idea we've had for days. Let's do it. The birds and the bees. Let's –"

He faltered for a second, then grinned. It was that same brittle shit-eating grin Sam had seen him wear a million times since they were kids, his everything's-fine-Sam-what-are-you-talking-about grin. There was no dealing with him when he got like this. Sam tried anyway.

"Maybe it'd be better if – "

"Dean – "

"No. We're doing it. I'm doing it. Sam, you make a list of ingredients. Call Crowley. He'll know where to find a holy tree for this magical ass whupping I've got coming to me. And Cas, you just, don't worry, okay. You just sit there and google butt sex. I'm gonna go take a shower. Come get me when you've got it all set up, Sam." 

He started walking out of the library.

"Dean – " called Cas.

"Butt sex," said Dean over his shoulder.

Sam stared helplessly after him, and then at Cas, who looked confused and unhappy. This was beyond him. He pushed the laptop towards Cas, and patted him on the shoulder. Then he grabbed the book and his phone and walked off out of the library to call Crowley. 

This had all the makings of a hot mess.