#where you see a dead well SHE SEE A BIG BLUE SKY

[inusmasha]

"Kagome" is the inner you that gazes down the mouth of an old dried up well, and despite the circumstances, still takes the daring leap of faith because she believes in miracles.

[beautifulplaceofyouth]

JJK FF/ROYAL GUARD

CHAPTER TEN | SERIES

Ch. 1

Ch. 2

Ch. 3

Ch. 4

Ch. 5

Ch. 6

Ch. 7

Ch. 8

Ch. 9

Ch. 10

When you keep bumping into your personal royal guard by accident not knowing he is your guardian angel

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook!fallen angel!royal guard! × fem!reader!virgin!princess

Word count: 2.1k

Rating: 15+

Genre + warnings: Fluff, paranormal romance, historical fanfiction, Kook being cold and mysterious, being his sexy self. Caring and possessive!jk! Really horny towards his princess, being a big seductive tease. Dead bodies - corpses and much blood. JK kills everyone who dares to hurt his princess. MAKES PROMISES TO BE SAFE. The story isn’t real, just my imagination running wild so just enjoy reading!

a/n: Finally a small update, guys! I will stop making excuses and will hope you will not kill me for vanishing like every time I promise coming back sooner but still...yeah. I hope you forgive me.

You were standing by the large window.

The castle’s walls seemed to surround you.

The windows let out on a long stretch of fields leading to the border of the woods.

Since your fallen angel left, it has been three hours  since Jungkook disappeared. Three more hours without food; three hours without hearing news or seeing anyone besides the servants running around like little heads in a tornado.

It made you restless.

Your legs started moving before your mind did. The white dress was fluttering behind you while you walked through the corridor.

It’s been three hours.

Three more hours and no updates. Your thoughts were racing and your stomach was growling. But there was nothing you could do, nothing you can say, until Jungkook returns.

As you turned the corner into the hall where the servants and guards resided, you stopped suddenly. Something was wrong.

You frowned.

As you neared the palace exit, a witch-maid stopped you before you can leave further.

“I’m sorry, my queen but the king didn’t allowed you to leave the castle for safety reasons. We still are under attack,”  the female servant said apologetically. “Please return to your chambers.”

She tried to take your hands, which you quickly pushed away.

What were they thinking?

That Jungkook would come back in less than ten minutes?

No. Jungkook wouldn’t. Not now.

He is probably dead. Killed by vampires, maybe. Maybe captured in battle and taken prisoner. What if he got hurt?

No. He’d never let a vampire touch him unless…unless…

You ran outside and searched in every part of the grounds. No sign of him anywhere.

Then why the hell haven’t you heard anything yet?!

‘I’m not letting any vampire near my guard,’ you thought fiercely. ‘And if they do get near my angel, I swear to God...’

Looking up, the sun is barely visible. A thin veil of clouds covering half the sky, dark grey.

There was no sign of any vampire in sight.

Where the heck is everyone if there is attack?!

Tears welled in your eyes as you sat down on the ground and leaned your back against the stone wall of the castle’s exterior. There was a small pond a few meters to your side, a beautiful blue lake reflecting the sky above it. The moon was hidden behind the clouds, casting an eery orange light over everything in the vicinity.

Your heart was beating fast, threatening to burst through your ribcage. Tears stinging your eyelids, you felt your cheeks getting wet.

You wiped your tears off angrily. You are being foolish.

Jungkook wouldn't be dead. He can fight for himself but he knows how much you love him and if something happened to him…

Oh god, please don't let something happen to him. He’s strong but he's too young to die. Please God, let him be okay. Let him survive.

Jungkook’s POV

The sun was setting when Jungkook flew over the woods of his territory with his sword in hand, prepared to defend his home.

As he descended closer, he noticed many vampires fighting against the guards on the other end of the forest clearing.

With the sharp edge of his sword ready to strike, he landed heavily between several vampires, sending them flying to different parts of the field.

His presence was enough to scare most of them away, leaving two vampires with their backs turned towards him who weren’t afraid of him whatsoever.

Without hesitation Jungkook lunged forward with his sword and stabbed one of the vampires in the back with all his force.

His opponent fell, unconscious and bleeding, but still alive.

Jungkook ignored him as he jumped to the other vampire, slashing his blade across his throat before landing behind the first one again to stab him in the back.

Two vampires had surrounded Jungkook.

One with blonde hair, the other with red. They charged at him simultaneously.

Jungkook dodged each of them with ease.

Suddenly, the blood lust filled air vanished.

A cold, piercing sound echoed through the forest.

In a matter of seconds, the second vampire was dead. His eyes staring wide open as if asking for help and pain. The red head also fell lifelessly onto the ground.

Blood flowing from his neck, he didn’t have a chance to scream.

Slicing remaining vampires in half, the blood was the only thing left on him when he finally finished. Seeing his guards dead, he could only  watch them fall and the bodies turn pale and gray, their skin wrinkling and turning into dust.

The other vampires that were still around looked at him with horror and shock.

They wanted to run. They wanted to kill him.

But they couldn’t move, not a single muscle in their bodies dared to move; not even their hearts.

“You’ve been warned,” he snarled,” Attack what’s mine again, you will be taken as my trophies  for all eternity."

The vampires began fleeing after that, screaming in fear and terror.

Jungkook took out the swords he used in the fight, sheathing them neatly once again, before turning to look around.

Death’s  scent was everywhere. Blood was smeared everywhere, along with some pieces of flesh scattered throughout the area.

The bodies of his guards lay sprawled all over the ground. Their faces twisted and bloody, covered in dirt.

Jungkook closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath.

Now since the danger was gone, the only thought on his mind was you.

When he opened his eyes, he could already see you.

You were walking out of the forest, your face pale and frightened.

He didn’t need to look at you to know that the blood from these deaths must have affected you greatly. As if sensing him, your eyes met his, a look of complete devastation and sorrow filling their depths.

“Jungkook,” you whispered in fear, looking around the field as though searching for enemy still lurking by but there was no one left alive except for the king himself.

His jaw clenched when he spotted you, knowing you have disobeyed his order for you to stay at the castle. His guards haven’t stopped you from leaving and now you’re here, in the middle of the battlefield which is no place for someone like you.

Looking like an angel in a white dress, Jungkook looked ready to kill again when you slowly approached  him.

The wind was playing with his raven hair, dancing through his bangs and causing small droplets of sweat to roll down his body.

He looked like a predator waiting for its prey to come close and bite it.

Your gaze flickered between the corpses laid on the ground, their eyes frozen in fear and pain.

Y/n POV

Seeing your angel in the middle of that made you realize how strong he really is.

The blood was on his armor and even his face scarf. His eyes were the only thing holding you steady as you dared to walk forward.

His chest was rising up and down.

“What are you doing here, princess?”  he asked harshly, making your body shiver.

You looked down at the ground, ashamed of yourself.

Why were you so careless? You shouldn’t be here! It’s dangerous. Too dangerous to be out here alone!

How long have you been standing here? Did you hear the screams of vampires earlier? Did you hear them running away?

Did you hear them dying? Did you understand what was happening?

Your hands trembled as you looked at the bodies laying on the floor; lifeless.

“Answer me.”

He didn’t wait for a response, he grabbed your chin roughly, forcing your eyes to meet his.

“Princess. Why are you here? Answer me.”

You didn’t answer right away. Your heart thumping painfully inside your chest.

After a moment, you answered in a weak voice, “I just wanted to go for a little walk. I lost track of time and ended up here.”

His grip on your chin tightened and his lips curved in anger.

“You’re such a liar, love.”

Before you know, he kneels in front of you. Putting his sword on the ground, he takes your hands in his.

“You shouldn’t be here. What you did was dangerous. How can I protect you when you don’t listen to me? You would have been captured on the way here, possibly killed by those bloodsucking monsters!”

“I’m sorry Jungkook. But I just wanted to make sure no one hurt you. I know you can defend yourself just fine but…”

“It doesn’t stop you from worrying. And I appreciate it very much, but you don’t have to do this. I am stronger than these creatures.”

“But you don’t always have to be. You’ll get attacked by them sooner or later, you know. You won't be able to take them down with a sword on your own. Sooner or later, they'll find you.”

“No they won’t. This forest is protected by powerful magic. My kingdom is safe as long I’m here.” He explained, trying to reassure you.

“But not enough to attack this place?” You inquired quietly.

“Someone tipped me off. That’s why they got inside. No one without my magic permission can go through the barrier of this land. Its separates the human world.”

“So they can still be out there and continue to attack,”  you said bitterly.

“That’s why I must kill them all.” Jungkook declared, determination in his voice.

Tears welled up in your eyes, threatening to escape and fall down your cheeks at any moment.

You quickly wiped away any evidence of your weakness before looking into his eyes with a determined look of your own.

Before you can chicken out, you step closer to him when he is back to standing position. His eyes darken when he notices the movement, his nostrils flaring when your scent washes over with the death smell all over the field.

It was like a flower has bloomed in the middle of the grave, filling his whole being with the sweet fragrance of your happiness and life.

You stood on your tiptoes while he stood on his, looking at him intently in the eyes.

His gaze never wavers. Neither does yours.

Neither of you breaks eye contact until finally you pull him towards you, hooking one finger underneath his mask, playing with the seam of the fabric slowly.

“What are you doing, darling?” His voice is husky, full of desire for you even it was wrong in that moment.

How can you touch him like this after he has slaughtered every vampire? He had blood on his hands and corpses still laid all around you so how come you’re not afraid to touch him?

“Making sure you’re not hurt,” you whisper, lifting his mask to reveal a strong jawline who can cut steel and lips that look tempting yet deadly.

He stares back at you, the intensity in his eyes making you want to drown in his eyes forever. He grabs your waist, pulling you against him tightly, his hand caressing your lower back, the heat of his palm seeping through the thin cloth of your dress.

“You’re making this harder for me, princess. You can’t stay here longer. It’s dangerous,”  he says softly, leaning closer to you, his hot breath fanning your cold skin as he whispers.

"I don’t care.” You say, closing the gap between your lips and pressing them softly onto his.

At first, he tried to push you away.

But the minute you parted your lips to deepen the kiss, he gave up.

As your tongue ran along his bottom lip, tasting each other, you wrapped your arms around his neck while he gripped both sides of your waist.

He lifted you easily in his arm and you placed your legs around his hips, holding on tightly when you felt yourself getting dizzy and lightheaded.

Lifting up into the sky, you almost scream when you realize that he has intended to fly you back to the castle. His wings even through the mist shine with the specks of light that peeked from the clouds.

Not daring to look down because of your fear of heights, some minutes later you brace yourself for landing when he flaps his wings to stop his  speed abruptly, causing you to cling onto him like a koala.

When he puts you down gently on your feet, you let out a soft sigh of relief.

Jungkook pulled you in his arms, cradling you close and soothing you as best he could.

“I’m sorry, baby. Didn’t want to startle you like that. I just can’t imagine you walking through that mess.  It must have been terrifying.” He whispered tenderly, stroking your cheek with his thumb.

You leaned into his touch, melting at the sound of his deep, rumbling voice calling you baby in that loving way of his, feeling warmth blossom inside your chest.

Feeling safe. Protected.

“You need to stay indoors while I go back to finish the job. Someone still can be lurking in the shadows and watching us so we have to take precautions,”  he says sternly, grabbing the hilt of his sword and taking a few steps backward as he looked behind him.

“Come back to me safe, please.” You pleaded.

He sighed as he turned around, walking towards you again.

He reached out to caress your cheek once more before giving you a soft smile.

“I promise you.”

You nodded as he took off with a flap of his wings. The air surrounding him seemed to shimmer with an ethereal glow, the wind caressing his skin like a lover as his figure disappears among the thick mist in the distance.

p.s. All images and gifs are not mine, some of the edits are mine edited but not every picture. All the credit goes to their rightful owners

DO NOT REPOST THIS WORK AS YOUR OWN BECAUSE THIS IS THE ORIGINAL OWNER’S STORY

If you like, please reblog or like the post so I can post the next chapters :)

🅒 All rights reserved

[cipheramnesia]

Part 7: The Tower

a story by @rox-and-prose and @cipheramnesia

Dusk turned the Nevamil sky a flat aquamarine, and made visible the red lights blinking atop the Citadel. It was the tallest building in the capital city, Aureodar, even visible from the far off gridded streets of old houses converted into apartments. The last time Laika had seen it was a field trip for school.

The little blue Kirov was somewhere between the mountains and Genghis Khan and the most anonymous hopper port they'd been able to find in Aureodar. She worried about Sy, seemed ages past she'd been this physically far, though it was hardly more than weeks. Wires and talismans crossed over the streets, bikes and busses swooshed wet pavement, and linecars screeched overhead, all wrapped around her and her backpack and familiar unknown faces of the United Eastquad Block.

Ghosts gathered around her, whispering. You keep coming back here little wolf girl, you'll never get away from this place. Little wolf girl, you know you belong here. Freak. Queer. Sissy. Killer. Monster. You thought you were better than us, you never were. Laika let them needle and claw her. They were her ghosts, not the other way round. Every horrible word only built her up. Luna was with her in that way.

Most of the houses on K Street were mods, from early to late first century post-terraform. They were all retrofited from the original single family modules, but they were tough as nails, old construction built to weather thr storms of atmosphere generation. Number 1132 was where she was headed, lights were still on in the third floor windows.

Laika took a last look around on the front door's stoop. The poles for street lights and warden ropes all had at least three CCTV cameras and arrayed parabolic empathy receivers tuned into psychic conflict between morality and legality. She flashed a tight little smile at the familiar old glass eye of the state before pulling a short crowbar out of her bag and cracking the door open.

The third floor smelled of some sharp, fragrant allium along with sweet woody flavors and cooking meat, enough to rouse her stomach. Deep breath, ignore the ghosts, knock. A woman with her black hair in a bob cut, rolled up sleeves on her billowy dress, a little sweaty and confused, almost a quarter meter shorter than Laika. A wave of gaming sounds, net music, and oven warmth joined them both on the landing.

"Hey Tara," Laika said.

The other woman looked closer. "Laika? Oh tides, it is!" She wrapped Laika up in a big soft hug inside thick arms, crushing her stick body. "I thought you, I don't know, I thought you were dead! I mean, there were rumors?"

"Uff! Uh, hey. Sorry to be like, unannounced. Is it okay if I come in?" Laika hesitantly patted Tara's shoulders until the hug relaxed and her feet were back on the floor.

"You just have to, please. I'm sorry, when did you get back, why didn't you call?"

Unlacing her boots and slipping them off, she said, "I just got back today, um. I've been a bit off the net you know." She dipped her hand in the tiny basin by the door and thumbed a drop of water on the polished river stone at the altar. "But I wanted to see how you'd been, I guess. It just, well it's weird. That smells amazing."

She saw a couple kids blasting through uncreatively humanoid aliens, loudly and luridly across the living room screen, followed Tara into the kitchen and dinette area and watched her stir around sizzling veggies and meat in a wide dish. "Thanks," Tara said. "The spawn over there don't always appreciate it, but you know how... well, how kids can be..." Tara frowned awkwardly.

"Yeah, uh. Yeah." Laika rubbed the back of her neck. "So what all have you heard?"

Tara stuttered with a little embarassment. In the distance Laika could very faintly hear sirens, but she knew they weren't for her. The people who would come for her didn't use sirens or advertise their presence.

Half paying attention to Tara, she added, "Well, uh, some is true. But... you knew it was bad at home. Stuff happened. What about you though? Like, two kids? Wow!"

Tara probably was relieved at the change of topic, and Laika was glad to take a minute, but she couldn't focus all the way. She was waiting.

[liciapeonia]

REQUEST PLS!:3

Pls do jinx x artist!fem!reader where theyre soulmates and (like in scot pilgrim(?) And your name) they meet eachother in their dreams, then reader just paints/sketches jinx because shes her muse and also so that she wont forget what she looks like if the dreams stop happening

DEF ANGST-COMFORT🙏

In a nutshell, the reader was born in Zaun but had great opportunities that took him away from his childhood and threw him into a fast-paced and stressful world, but strange things happened in his dreams that changed his destiny. I made a reader who has heard of jinx but doesn't remember the rumors about her very well and has never seen her before.

Jinx x fem!reader

Your days in Piltover are hectic as hell and the hours pass more than you can keep up with. You're an artist and you're very good at what you do. When you were a kid you used to make big graffiti on donkeys, then you moved on to paper and over time you started selling your paintings and drawings among the gentlemen of Piltover who declared themselves liberals who promote mixing between different people, just a bunch of rich liars.

And when night came and you collapsed on the bed, you had no dreams, nothing until everything changed…

A breeze blew past you, you opened your eyes and realized you were sitting in a different place, different from anything you'd ever seen, different from anything you could ever imagine. The air was fresh with a refreshing smell, a large field with flowers, you seemed to be high up, you could see a river below and in the distance large mountains, the sky was a beautiful shade of pink, and large trees were everywhere This was a place you never expected to see in your life, it was so different from what you were used to.

All the tiredness from your body seemed to have been washed away, all the pain, all the anxiety, it was a kind of total feeling of peace, getting up to sit under a tree and wait until everything was over, you saw it all with a brilliant glow and even though you felt small and alone under the big tree you couldn't be happier, but then something took your peace away.

Then you heard something that didn't sound like the wind or some kind of animal, it was… a woman. She was looking at you, her hair was big and blue like her eyes, eyes that looked like sapphires for how beautiful they were… she went quickly to your side, not too far away, sat down and started looking at the mountains.

When you looked at her, it somehow felt like you knew her, but you didn't know where….

“Do I know you?” you ask, catching her eye.

“Maybe I'm kind of famous, I have a very good reputation…, do I know you?” she asks looking at you.

“No, I don't think so…, even with all this fame, I don't think I know who you are, what's your name?” you say without knowing why you felt nervous about such a simple question.

The woman looks you up and down incredulously at your question ''People know me as Jinx'' she says trying to make you understand the real fame she has but there was no change in her face you didn't look scared or frightened as people usually do.

Then the silence returns.

“It's the first time I've seen such a beautiful place,” you say with a sigh.

“It's the first time I've seen you here, usually it's just me and the … it would be nice to see you here again.

You look at her confused ''What does that mean?'' and you are happily awoken, you can hear the horns outside all the infernal shouting that wouldn't let you sleep and that forced you to get up.

Usually, you woke up in a bad mood but this time it was different. You woke up with a feeling of doubt and you woke up with the image of Jinx. It was such an insignificant conversation, so small but it caused something in you every time you thought about it.

The day went by and the strange dream was also forgotten and when you hardly noticed, you were almost dead with sleep, falling into a deep sleep and hitting your face on the green grass of a beautiful mysterious place.

This time you turned over and lay on your stomach looking up at the sky, which was pink and purple, and once again the girl appeared, clearer, more beautiful, and more mysterious than last time.

“Hey toots you come back’’

''yeah…I wanted to see your blue hair again'' you say now smiling at her. She looks at you for a while ''you know… it's not every day that someone invades my dreams'' then she sits up looking at you.

''Me..invading your dream? no, in reality, it's you who's invading mine,'' you say jokingly to her.

She smiles slightly and from a small interaction like that, small conversations developed, then endless dialogues about the things you both like, the things that motivate each other, everything you both do, and this went on for months.

Until it ended

It was another tiring day and you were excited to go to bed and see Jinx talk about your day, complain about the people you're working with, and just hear all about her day about the bombs, new weapons every little thing she could think, off as she rambled on about the voices that wouldn't leave her alone.

But after you fall into a deep sleep nothing happens, a simple black takes over your eyes, and without even seeming to pass an hour it's already the next day … no Jinx no jokes no laughter no hugs no … her sparkling eyes every time she smiles at you.

As time went by, the reality of work continued, life didn't stop just because you were sad and every time you lay down to sleep you prayed that you would have one more minute with her, but that didn't happen, as time went by you began to think that the supposed magic of her being real and you having a connection was all in your head. Jinx was just a subconscious invented by your mind to support the load of daily anxiety, even a kind of bad joke from your brain.

Some people say that time heals everything, but in this case, your time didn't stop, and time has the incredible ability to distort memories, a reminder that is not always reliable, so you did everything you could not to forget her face… or even distort it. Every day, whenever you could, you drew pictures of her face, her hair, the depth of her eyes, trying to hold on to the failure of an imperfect copy of her real beauty.

When you found yourself a part of you had already incorporated a bit of her, your artwork is now different more stronger, more pigmented with waves that looked like fire, with lots of blue and pink, and with a lot of her and you there. Over time you didn't have to stand behind people showing them your paintings, they would come up to you and choose one. A lot of rich people put your paintings in their galleries or in their bathrooms and with a life full of money it was time to go back to your past.

You moved to Zaun, no one knew you had money, you wore the same old clothes, you didn't buy anything too expensive, you went to some places and remembered when you were younger, now you don't do your drawings for money, you ventured around painting on walls and over time you saw people you had left behind and ironically you see people you didn't even want to left behind.

The middle of the night was just like any other noisy night, but that night it was even louder. That's what it's like to paint a huge punch near one of the hottest nightclubs in Zaun, there was no one around, you were wearing a headset on one side of your ear.

''It would look really cool if you put some green monkeys on top.''

'' Green? I was just thinking about …..'' then you turn to the person behind you, finding their voice slightly familiar and coming face to face with your dear Jinx, you open your eyes wide at the person in front of you, surprised that she's real, surprised that she's here, surprised that …

She looked at you in disbelief even more than you ''Are you real?'' she asked and the only thing you could do was nod, your eyes almost overflowing, you came up to her, put your hand on her cheek as she slowly wrapped her arms around your torso and finally Kissed, a kiss that started off lightly curious but began to get more intense as the seconds passed, a kiss of need, the kind that makes you both run out of air.

And while everything was happening, one thing was certain in your head: things will change.

Kiss and cheese

[blacklegsanjiii]

wait what if in lunarian!sanji but sanji and king escaped together and ended up in wano? :0 mb sanji and yamato can end up friends, depending on the age gap, and it would be funny if this was also transfem!sanji bc she and transmasc!yamato would prbly bond over gender and shitty fathers. sanji would likely be very upset with kaido over yamato's explosive cuffs and want to help him escape, but not quite sure what king would do if that happens

So based off the other Lunarian!Sanji asks I just answered(I'm so fucking sorry) and King managed to take Sanji to Wano with him, the closed off island would be the safest option for them in the long run. I don't think King would be a bad father necessarily, not after what he and Sanji had gone through but he would make bad choices regarding their safety.

So they arrive and surprisingly there's another child around Sanji's age. Yamato tells Sanji he's a boy and Sanji says he and his dad are Lunarians because he's like seven/eight. They start hanging out and eventually Sanji asks about the cuffs and Yamato tells him with a sad voice and Sanji vows to help him. He runs and tells his dad what's going on and Alber holds him and tells him they'll have to be careful about how they go about this.

When Sanji is older she realizes she's a girl and Alber nods, could see the signs from years ago, the way his child was drawn to the more feminine kimonos and liked long hair. Alber makes the changes easily. Yamato and the others do as well, gender has never been much of a hassle to them, Yamato saying he's Oden can get annoying but that's about it. Yamato and Sanji constantly talk about trying to find ways to trade bodies and stuff.

When Sanji's older, around 14, she offers her freedom and her greatest treasures in exchange for Yamato's. Kaido grins and agrees, unyielding to Yamato's arguments as cuffs are placed on Sanji and his are taken off. Later Yamato chastises her as King frowns at his daughter. She holds her ground and shows no regret, she is in a place where she and her father are safe from being captured by those that would harm them.

When Ace shows up and fights Yamato and Sanji watches with Otama, big smiles on their faces as Sanji feeds them. When Yamato produces Ace's vivre card and tears a corner off the paper and says it will reunite them one day.

"It will reunite us." Sanji says as she snatched the card from Yamato.

"I can't leave you here!" Yamato argues.

"People who come to Wano don't leave, Yamato. I am safe here. Enjoy the world." Sanji smiles sweetly at her old brother.

"I promise, when I'm stronger, my crew as well, we will come back for you!" Ace bows and rises with a promise. Yamato is staring at Sanji with fear and joy and gratefulness as he hugs his younger sister and promises to come back. Sanji and Otama wave them off as they leave. Later Sanji watches Ace's vivre card burning on the dock one morning, tears streaming down her face because she doesn't know what's happening as it vanishes to ash and she collapses to her knees sobbing. King finds her, hyperventilating and her eyes wide at him, the blue and red orbs glassy with tears as he takes her back to their quarters.

Sanji accepts her place and hates Queen because he knows what she is, and what her father is and King is more often than not about to kill the man. Many new people join the beast pirates. Time passes and King leaves to defend Wano from a fellow emperor of the sea it sounds so Sanji takes to the sky and finds Otama's village which has...visitors. Including a familiar hat and head of white hair. Sanji always visits with fruit and such for Otama and her family so she lands with a powerful thud on the ground. Otama, in Ace's - he's supposed to be dead - arms and Yamato smiling widely with a completely different crew from last time. Yamato rushes and hugs his little sister as Ace and Otama cheer at the sight of her. Everyone else is ready to fight however. Sanji is unamused however, hand on her hip as she glares at Ace and Yamato specifically, noting the absolutely massive scar on Ace's chest.

"You died." Sanji glares at Ace.

"Just for a little bit, I got my fruit back." Ace laughs. "Yamato was okay!"

"How would I know that? I only had a piece of your vivre card. I can't leave Wano to find out!" Sanji snaps at them and they both look sheepish. "Find me when you decide to fight Kaido. I will help."

"Wait, Sanji, you should stay!" Yamato calls as Sanji drops the bag of fruit and flies off to the capital, ignoring the yells from everyone below. Yamato is left to explain Sanji is basically his little sister and that's partly why Germa teamed up with Big Mom, they want Sanji and Yamato won't let them take her, it just happened to fall in line with Law's plan. Yamato explains Sanji and King are Lunarians and Wano, despite being under Kaido's control, is safe for them.

So when the raid of Onigashima is happening Sanji helps Luffy and everyone and with Kaido dead and Wano being free she feels at peace. The cuffs won't take her hands anymore and all of Wano may eat so she spends her time feeding literally everyone. All of them. Otama is brought to the capital by Ace and Yamato and she's cheering for Sanji's freedom and the food.

"What do you mean Sanji's freedom?" Nami asks the little girl.

"Sanji's bracelets from before, they would have taken her hands if she tried to leave Wano or was away from the capital from too long." Otama explains. "She's the best cook in Wano! So it was always special when she could come visit and bring us food when she could! Or her father would in her stead sometimes."

"Oh, the leather guy?" Luffy asks.

"Yeah!" Otama cheers as Sanji laughs and holds her.

"Well, now that you're free you're going to be my cook, right?" Luffy asks her. Sanji frowns at him.

"I...who would stay and protect Wano? I know Momonosuke and Hiyori are capable leaders but there is much to be done in Wano." Sanji asks.

"Your father would. Wano is his home as much as anyone else's." Yamato nods. "Travel with us Sanji! I've found a person to fix our bodies like we wanted when we were children!" Yamato commands happily. Sanji is blinking at him because yes, her brother has changed but so has she and she is unsure if her father would even take care of Wano after what had happened with the raid and everything.

He does of course, he makes his apologies to Momonosuke and Hiyori and vows to protect Wano like he had under Kaido. He does in fact basically kick Sanji out of Wano like Zeff kicked Sanji off the Baratie. She's staring at her new crew, in an iris purple kimono with her wings out and sighs and heads to the galley.

[hannahssimblr]

“Jude! God, c’mere.” Michelle thrusts me into the centre of the group, where someone has propped a card against a vase on the counter. I ensure to arrange my features carefully into some sort of surprised expression. 

“Oh, what? This for me?”

“Yes,” they cry. It’s a handmade card that says ‘you’re dead to us’ on the front. “Aw, Jesus, thanks!” I say, and they laugh and watch me while I open it and start reading some messages scrawled on the inside. There are so many of them, many even squeezed into the tiniest corners, or sideways along the edge.

‘Good luck on your big adventure!’ some say. Others share a memory, wish me luck, express jealousy at my escape. I close it. 

“I’ll read this late when you’re not all gawking at me,” I tell them, which gets a good laugh despite the lack of comedy, and as I look around at their faces, their sad, sentimental smiles and I wish the night was over already, and I was already gone. I feel exposed, like a man under a spotlight without something to say. Would they like me to entertain them? To read their messages and get emotional in the middle of my kitchen?

I catch Jen’s eye. She’s behind the others, by the patio door, dressed in a very funereal black, and an expression to match. While chatter resumes around me, I jerk my head towards the garden, and without words, she understands. She slips through the door and out into the night. 

Jen and I wordlessly follow the path that winds down from the house to the pergola at the back of the garden. We sit on a bamboo settee shielded by trees from the road, where the occasional car passes. The breeze lifts pieces of her hair that frame her face. 

She is staring towards the kitchen, its yellow light pouring out into the garden when she breaks the silence. 

“What a weird party.” 

I exhale a laugh through my nose. “Honestly, I didn’t know if you’d even come.”

She purses her lips. “I’m not totally sure why I did.”

“Maybe you had something you wanted to say.”

“Maybe. Though I wasn’t sure you’d want to hear it.” She looks at me then, her brown eyes dark in the failing light as they study mine. “It surprised me to see Evie here.”

“Me too. I didn’t think she’d come.”

“On her own, too.”

I shrug. “Shane and Claire were busy. They were going to their debs.”

“Ah, the debs.” She picks lint from her black mesh top and laughs humourlessly. “Bet you’re sorry you’ll miss ours. I know how excited you were to suit up for it.”

Even the concept of wearing a suit makes me uncomfortable, as though an invisible tie is pulled too tightly at my throat. “You’re going, I presume.”

“Yeah, with Michelle. The two of us are kind of like the dateless losers in the year. Feels about right to end it all this way.”

“I didn’t think Michelle would be interested in all that stupid stuff, if I’m honest.”

“I think that’s what you assumed. If you’d asked her, she might have told you something different.”

“Hm,” I say. “More evidence of being a kind of shit boyfriend, isn’t it?”

An infinitesimal smile nudges at her lips. “I always said you were better apart. She really brought out the worst in you.”

“It felt that way, to be honest. When I was with her, I really didn’t like myself, or I wasn’t completely myself around her.”

“Well, then. Hopefully, one day you’ll find someone who lets you be yourself. It’s what everyone wants for themselves.”

I nod. “Yeah, that’s true.”

“I kind of thought you’d found that with Evie.”

I sigh, suddenly irritated, while she draws into herself, hands tucked under her arms. “Sorry,” she says. “I don’t know the right thing to say about her.”

“I kind of wish you wouldn’t say anything to me about her, because, like…”

“It isn’t my business, and all that,” she finishes, and with a nod, she turns her face toward the bushes flanking the garden with their spiky black leaves silhouetted against the deep blue sky.

My voice trembles. “Jen, I don’t want to be angry with you right now, like, I don’t want to go off and start this new part of my life when I feel this way, but the things you said to Evie at the festival, I just… It’s like, no matter how much I think it over, I can’t come up with a reason you would say those things to her.”

She tugs the sleeve of her top between her teeth, just shaking her head. I lift my hands from my lap to look at them. They are quivering, so I clench them into fists as I continue.

“You should have been there on that second night, Jen, and seen the way she was crying. The things you said got into her head, you know what I mean? You can’t just make shit up and tell it to someone like it’s a fact. I know you love to gossip and tell stories, but this is what happens when you go too far. It has real consequences. Like, a real impact on people.”

“Yeah.”

“You told her I was staying.”

Again, she agrees, eyes still fixed on the garden. 

“Jen.”

She swallows, hard. 

“How come you said that? It’s not like I ever told you I was going to do that, is it?”

She mumbles something incoherent. 

“What? Come on, just talk to me.”

“I assumed you would.”

“You assumed? Why would you assume?”

I realise that speaking is difficult for her, as she is holding back her tears. I should feel more sympathetic towards her, but I’m righteous. With a steadiness I know is shrinking her, I stare into her face.

“Maybe it was both that I assumed and I hoped. Like, a mixture of the two.”

“Go on.”

“You seemed happy this summer, at certain moments. It was just… like,” a laboured swallow, “you’d come home late after being with her, and you were just… Happy, and talking all about her and going on and on about the funny things she said to you.”

“So?”

“So, like, I thought you’d end up going out with her in the end, and that you felt so strongly about her that you’d stay in Dublin to be with her. I don’t know, it didn’t seem that crazy an idea. You were acting like you were in love or something.” Now, she looks at me, her eyes hurt, but still searching for confirmation. Perhaps, if she were especially astute, she might have seen somewhere on my face the flash of emotion that jolted through me. I convince myself she hasn’t seen a thing and clench my jaw. 

“I think that was a fairly stupid assumption to make.”

“I don’t. You’ve always done things because pretty girls wanted you to. It’s like your life is based around chasing whatever feeling it is that you get when one of them likes you.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is.”

“It’s not,” I insist. “Look at me now, huh? I’m leaving her for Germany.”

“Fine,” she whispers. “I just thought you’d stay. That’s all.”

“I won’t.”

“I know that.”

“I’m leaving.”

“Yeah, I get it.”

“Do you?”

She exhales, frustrated, and throws her hands upon her lap. “Yes, I know it. Look at me, here, at your going away party. It’d be pretty fucking mental if I didn’t know it, wouldn’t I?”

“Yeah, but it’s not like you’ve acknowledged it.”

“You haven’t talked to me in two weeks.”

“Before that, Jen.”

She fixes the full, passionate force of her stare at me as tears fill her eyes. “Because I don’t want you to go, do I? Because I thought if I didn’t look at it, then it’d all just go away.”

I feel a surge of emotion. My throat tightens as though clenched by a fist. “Well… It doesn’t.”

“Yeah,” as the first tears spill onto her cheeks, she wipes them away with the heel of her hand. “I just didn’t want things to end. I thought if you stayed for her, then I wouldn’t have to lose you, and nothing would change.”

“They have to, though. That’s how life goes. Everything changes and everything ends, and we all just get older and things move on.”

She whimpers. “But you’re moving on without me.”

I reach out and stroke her knee with my thumb over the loose threads of the hole in her jeans. “Yeah, I suppose I am.”

“I just don’t know what I’ll do.”

“You’ll just live your life, and I’ll live mine, and-”

“We’ll be apart. How can I go without seeing you all the time? You’ve always just been there, and now I’ll have to get used to you being so far away, and never seeing you, and you’re, like, one of the few friends I even have, and you-”

“No, come on. You’ll make new friends in college.”

“I don’t want new friends. I don’t want to meet new people and have to explain these little things about me, and my backstory and what I like to watch on TV and order at the takeaway, and what sorts of jokes make me laugh. You already know it all, and you’ll know them better than anyone else ever will, because you were there when I decided I liked them.”

“Jenny, we’ll still talk, and we’ll visit each other-”

“There’s no point pretending it’ll be the same, because it won’t. You’re going to say you’ll stay in touch with me and we’ll be best friends forever, but that won’t happen. You’ll find people who are better, and just forget.”

“Never.”

Beginning // Prev // Next

[captain039]

Wasteland heat (Redone) PT 3

Cooper Howard(The Ghoul) x reader

Warnings: Violence, blood, gore, AOB dynamics, heat, oral F receiving, smut, swearing, fallout stuff, implied cousin incest, virgin reader, drug usage, needles, plus size reader, sexual assault

Previous part <-

It's been about a day now, following Lucy, glancing at your pip boy now and then to see if you're still on the right track. She shared the coordinates with you in case by some horrid accident you get separated. The night was quiet, Lucy sometimes commenting to herself or asking how you were. You couldn't shake the feeling of needing to go back to Filly back to whoever gave off such a scent that made your whole brain short-circuit. You felt like a fool so caught up in it, of course, the surface would have this effect on you, it had its effects on everyone. You stare at the head a little too long, wrapped up in Lucy's blanket, which is now bloodied. You couldn't believe she actually went through with it, you swore she'd never hurt a fly really, but then again he'd already been dead.

"Get some sleep ok? I'll keep watch" She offers you a smile and you hesitate on sleeping you cock your head and pat the blanket that isn't big enough for the two of you, but she smiles and lays down beside you, half on half off the blanket, same as you. 

"Hell of a time up here huh?" She chuckles head turned to you as you look at her. 

"Can say that again" You chuckle a smile finally on your face which makes her beam. You sigh relaxing next to her, shoulder to shoulder as you watch the stars. It's surreal, watching the small twinkle of white dots in a dark sky, listening to the wind occasionally pick up, it was almost peaceful if it weren't for all the horrors everywhere. 

Morning comes and you set off again a little lighter than yesterday, you're less on edge and feeling a little hopeful as you walk by Lucy through the brush. You come alongside a river, it's pristine and blue, well not pristine, your rad meter goes up to 10 and it makes you sad that such a beautiful thing is tainted. 

"It's pretty" You comment and Lucy nods admiring the old worn-down houses in the blue water. You hear a small noise and Lucy places her hand on her gun before you see a small creature by the water, a deer, small and fragile enjoying the greens. 

"Woah" You whisper as Lucy grins and you slowly approach with a small amount of grass in your hands. It seems more intent on sniffing you both which makes you laugh softly and gently pet its soft fur. Your moment of bliss is interrupted, something comes from the water and snatches the deer, its cry making you stumble back. It grabs Lucy next who is closest to the water. You stare in horror at whatever mutated being this is and grab onto Lucy. You kick the creature with your boot before Lucy shoots it and it disappears. 

What the-" Before you can finish it snatches the head off of Lucy's backpack and swims back into the water. 

"No!" You follow Lucy as you chase the thing down the river, her tracker beeping its location, you get to a jetty before you can follow it anymore.

"What?" You mutter unsure of what just happened and how your one chance just got stolen by a mutant. You don't hear him, but you feel him instantly, hand on your neck, gun to your head and a hard warm body near yours, scent filling your nose, alpha.

"Lucy-" Is all you manage as she turns around wide eyed and the gun cocks. 

"Sir-" She holds her hands up as you shallowly breathe. He isn't choking you though, he just holds your throat almost gently, but that's the crazy side of your brain talking. 

"Hello, again, look, please don't shoot-" She doesn't finish interrupted by him.

"Where is it?" He asks and her eyes glance away nervously and his grip tightens. 

"OK! ok I lost it!" She laughs nervously and his grip loosens. 

"Sorry sweetheart" You swear you hear ever so quietly before a hard butt of the gun is punched into the back of your forehead. You cry in pain going to your knees as he points the gun to Lucy instead and holds you by your hair. You have tears in your eyes pain flaring where he hit and now holds, your hands flying to his wrist. 

"Something's got it!" Lucy yells gesturing to the water and he grunts. 

"Gulper got it" He says and you see her frown at the word. You hear a soft whine behind you and try to glance back, you hear the pattering of feet and suddenly the dog is by your side. You feel relief flood you that she didn't die from the man's stab. He hums and lets go of your hair before he's struggling with Lucy and tying her up. The dog by your side licks your face as you try to stand and fail as your world spins. You groan holding the back of your head and feeling wetness you bring your hand back in front of you, redness coating it, you gulp a bit thinking you might be sick. 

"Sir, please stop!" You hear Lucy yell and it makes your head pound as you watch her get tied with rope, an anchor attached to her. 

"Stop" You barely get out going to stand but his gun points to you. 

"Stay there" His voice has this tone and every fibre in your being practically whines and submits to it. You fight an inward battle as he ties Lucy to the winch mechanism. He forces her to submerge, her body just on the surface and all you can do is whimper. He pulls her up and she coughs and gasps for breaths. 

"Sir, Torture is wrong!" She yells and he hums. 

"You know I read about it once, Torture, in one of them newspaper studies" He lowers her back into the water glancing at you briefly before bringing her back up. 

"You're right it is wrong and it doesn't do shit, but I ain't torturing you, you're bait," He says finale and lowers her back in, going to the edge and whistling. The noise feels like electric shots through your brain and you lower your head curling in on yourself, still on your knees. You hate how you can't move, hate the pointed look he gives you when you try too. You see Lucy start thrashing and panic rises in you, something jolts the rope and you see him start to pull her up only for the mechanism to stick. 

"Damn it" He mutters and pulls the beam over pulling her and this 'Gulper' out. The dog starts barking and Lucy is yelling while the man stabs the creature. Lucy manages to free herself of the ropes, the Gulper going for her boot instead, you move now finding yourself ignoring the command he gave and grabbing her. You tug her as she whacks the creature over the head with some bags. It winces and returns to the water while you drag Lucy to safety. She pants loudly, hands gripping your shoulders before she gently cradles your head, seeing the blood. 

"Mother fucker!" You hear before his gun is cocked to you both again. 

"What! I wasn't going to let you use me as bait and get eaten! The golden rule" She yells at the alpha. 

"Golden rule?" He questions. 

"Do unto them with you want done unto you!" She huffs out a breath.

You hear him mumble to himself before he growls, grabs a rope and snags it around Lucy's neck. 

"Stop!" You yell before he's got the rope going around your neck also. 

“Wastelands got its own golden rule” he snaps.

“What?” Lucy huffs out.

“Thou shall get distracted by bullshit every time”

"Move" He growls at you both, soon enough he's dragging you both across the wasteland. 

Next part ->

[giantchasm]

A Ginormous Assortment of Floralia Headcanons

Just because I haven't been posting headcanons lately doesn't mean I haven't had Kirby on the brain! Recently, I shared a LOT of my thoughts about Floralia on Discord, and I've compiled and organized them here to share! Enjoy!

On the islands themselves:

-Royal Road is the most important island of the bunch, at least when it comes to discussing the Insectoids and People of the Sky. This is where both of their homes are situated. The island is (Or... well, was) divided into two halves — those of the Insectoid Kingdom and that of Sky Kingdom.

-Sectonia took over the Sky Kingdom during her tyrannical rule, caging its people. Oddly enough, though, now that she’s been overthrown, there’s actually less of a concrete divide between the two groups. They interact almost like one big kingdom.

-Although Royal Road is by far the most populated island, the other islands have their own little communities. In particular, there are quite a few small villages in Fine Fields and Lollipop Land. These communities weren't really involved in the royal drama until Sectonia also conquered them, and with her reign of terror having ended, they've gone back to their regular lives.

Everything else (Going over Insectoid biology and culture, the history of and relationship between the two kingdoms, ETC) will be placed beneath a cut, as this post is over three-thousand words long. Please check it out, though, if you'd like!:

On Insectoid biology/culture:

-Floralia has MANY types of Insectoid. Every type of bug you can think of, they have! Ladybugs... butterflies... stickbugs— you name it! There are even beings similar to some animals we DON’T classify as insects considered Insectoids, such as spiders and snails.

-True Insectoids are not related to or 1:1 to the bugs of our world— they simply resemble them. There are many differences. For example. They’re a sort of cross between arthropods and mammals, unlike any creature we have here on Earth. They have blood (referred to as ‘hemolymph’) that’s red when inside of their bodies but that turns blue when exposed to oxygen.

-True Insectoids are the anthro, sapient insects like Sectonia and Taranza. Meanwhile, Lesser Insectoids are… well, actual bugs! True Insectoids do not see Lesser Insectoids as their equivalent or as equals and thus do not object to people eating them. In fact, they’re a staple part of True Insectoid cuisine!

-Most Lesser Insectoids (also sometimes just called ‘bugs’) are eaten already dead. However, live Lesser Insectoids are occasionally eaten by the wealthy and are considered a delicacy. Some Lesser Insectoids are eaten more or less than others. Those such as wasps and particularly poisonous bugs can only be consumed safely when prepared very carefully— somewhat like pufferfish. If not properly cooked and cut, eating them can lead to injury, illness, or even death.

-True Insectoids have more formal names for their subspecies, being called things like Arachnids, Sectra and Mantidae. Meanwhile, Lesser Insects are referred to as spiders, wasps, mantises, et cetera. Sometimes True Insectoids can be referred to by the same names as Lesser Insectoids, although this is seen as informal, albeit not impolite slang (Think of calling Taranza a spider instead of an Arachnid as something roughly similar to calling a television a TV or a cat a kitty. Like I said— not rude, but not really professional.)

-True Insectoids are one species with many subspecies. Despite looking very different and having wildly different abilities, they’re still closely related enough to crossbreed, although this is seen as somewhat taboo.

-Insectoids have a strong natural affinity for Soul magic. Some derogatory folklore posits they were created by Death itself as opposed to Void like the rest of the living beings. Insectoids themselves do not believe this, of course, but it’s, if nothing else, still a common People of the Sky wives’ tale/superstition

-Different types of True Insectoids have various abilities and unique skills, most often connected with their proficiency for Soul Magic, but not always. For example, Mantidae (mantis people) have super speed and the ability to teleport, Hercules (beetle people) have super strength, Papillon (butterfly people) have a special connection to the dead and ability to receive omens of the future, Sectra (wasp people) have the ability to influence the thoughts and feelings of the weak willed using their pheromones, and Arachnids (spider people) are capable of both puppeteering and bodysnatching.

-All Insectoids are seen as untrustworthy and scary by other species, but Arachnids especially. They’re viewed as manipulative schemers, even amongst other Insectoids thanks to the aforementioned abilities. This is despite the fact that almost no Arachnids bodysnatch and the fact that all Insectoids have similarly terrifying powers. In part, this is because of an incident detailed later in the kingdom history section, but truthfully, said incident is mostly just an excuse to have someone to step on. If it weren’t for that, they’d have found another reason to look down on Arachnids.

-Arachnid bodysnatching is a two-part process. First, they sting their victim with their stinger and administer a special type of venom. This puts their victim in a comatose state, rendering their mind dormant and unable to fight back as the Arachnid then assimilates them. Arachnids have a special organ for storing souls, and this is where they keep the souls of their victims when they bodysnatch. All Arachnids wear a stinger cover at all times, lest they accidentally jab someone. Even if bodysnatching isn’t performed, the stinger venom can cause comas, brain damage, and even death.

Aforementioned venom can also be administered via the fangs, but it’s much less potent. More often than not the fangs are simply used to administer a second type of more traditional venom used for killing prey. Or… well, it was back in the day. Now, it’s a bit of a leftover evolutionary trait, considering Arachnids aren’t doing much hunting any more

-Arachnids are one of, if not the only type of Insectoid to have hair. It’s seen as strange and generally viewed as unattractive by other Insectoids, but amongst spiders it’s a point of personal pride. They take very good care of their hair and love to style it

-Clothing is not seen as something necessary for modesty in Insect society. There is no social taboo regarding walking around naked. More than anything, clothes are simply a way of showing off status and power, as well as accentuating beauty, and are most often worn to things such as balls or coronations. Arachnids tend to wear clothes more often than other Insectoids because back in the day they used to make their own clothes with silk! This is much less common nowadays, however, although some Arachnids remain tailors!

-Sectonia wearing so little is seen as scandalous, but not because she’s near-naked. It’s because it implies she’s so perfect she needs very little to make herself look any better. It’s just another show of her ego and generally seen as conceited.

-Hercules love to decorate their horns with jewelry. This is a tradition mostly unique to them. Although- uh- is only really a ‘thing’ amongst the wealthy Hercules. There’s a very big class divide in the Insectoid Kingdom, and commoners can’t really afford those sort of luxuries.

-There are three types of Sectra: Drone Sectra, Worker Sectra, and Royal Sectra. Almost all male Sectra are worker Sectra— weaker, meek Sectra noticeably easily influenced by a Royal Sectra’s pheromones. Worker Sectra make up the majority of female Sectra and are strong, diligent fighters. Then, of course, there are Royal Sectra— those of the Sectra royal family. These can be both male or female and are MUCH larger and more powerful than other types of Sectra, not to mention far bigger: being almost three times the size of other Sectra and generally towering over most Insectoids. It’s rumored they achieve this form by being fed a special type of magical honey when they’re young, as opposed to the royal family having any TRUE difference from other Sectra

When Joronia/Sectonia assassinated the rest of the royal court, she killed all of Royal Sectra and the Worker Sectra serving them, but left the Drone Sectra alive as footsoldiers. She was able to use her new pheromones to turn them into disposable, utterly-obedient meatshields. It’s kind of horrifying

-Almost no other subspecies have gender dimorphism as noteworthy as the Sectra and their Drones vs Workers. The one exception is Antlers— Ant people with a similar hierarchy, except in small family units instead of larger groups. Because of this, Sectonia was able to create an army of Antler Drones as well.

-There is SOME, more minor, gender dimorphism in other subspecies, though, usually pertaining to size or appearance. For example, female Arachnids are noticeably bigger than male Arachnids, being able to reach twice their size. Joronia, being a trans woman, was always small, even for a DMAB Arachnid, and this is something she was super insecure about. Even Taranza was a little bit taller than her. When she took on the form of an absolutely humongous Royal Sectra she reveled in it. If it weren’t for the horrific bodysnatching thing, the euphoria she felt would almost be cute

-Floralia has no real education system. Instead, education is received through private tutors. This, of course, worsens the class divide, because only the wealthy can afford to truly educate their children. Taranza’s family taught him basic reading and writing, but he received no other tutoring. The only reason he’s as smart as he is is because he had a deep love for learning and would spend DAYS in the library studying and teaching himself things

-Before the Dreamstalk, there were “sky ferries” run by flying Insectoids that took people between the different Floralian islands. Hercules ran these most often because their super strength made carrying these ferries incredibly easy.

-Sectonia, despite being a “Sectra,” for the most part, had traits that were unnatural for them— being a beautiful Frankenstein’s monster. Sectra never have patterns as vibrant as she did, but she had them because she stole that bright indigo coloring from another type of Insectoid. Sectra never have shapes, let alone hearts in their wings, but she did, because she took those from a Papillon. In general, she was very, VERY uncanny valley— like one of those people who gets too much plastic surgery. She was a perfect, absolutely artificial freak of nature— a being who never could have been born naturally, and this gave all of the other Insectoids the heebie jeebies

On the two kingdoms/general history:

-The five most iconic True Insectoid subspecies are Arachnids (Spider people), Sectra (Wasp people), Hercules (Beetle people) Mantidae (Mantis people) and Papillion (Butterfly people). This is because these are the subspecies that make up the five royal families. It’s said that when the Insectoid kingdom of Floralia was first founded eons ago, it was founded by those five families, and as such, every one has right to the throne. Heirs from each family duel when they come of age to determine who becomes ruler until, of course, more heirs grow up and one eventually takes that person’s place.

-Duels between heirs for the throne were incredibly intense and violent, and sometimes ended in tragedy. While there were always healers on the scene, it wasn’t unheard of for heirs to occasionally die of their injuries. These heirs were always martyred, though, being seen as brave and unwavering by their people. Because of this, there was almost some pressure for heirs to actively fight to the death rather than surrender. No-one died during Joronia’s duel for the throne, though.

-(Suicide TW) Speaking of heirs dying, it wasn’t unheard of for heirs to sometimes take their own lives after losing the duel for the throne and their chance of becoming king or queen. These heirs, in contrast, were ostracized in death, and seen as cowards who abandoned their lineage.

-It’s said that once upon a time a heir actually ran away from Floralia before the duel for the throne. This heir— a Hercules, decided he wanted no part of this, and fled to the lower world, where it’s said his descendants still live. (Notably: Buggzy). Taranza sometimes fantasized about running away with Joronia in a similar fashion, but she was too fixated on the idea of winning the crown for him to ever seriously suggest it.

-There has been strife between the Insectoids and the People of the Sky almost as long as Floralia has existed, with the two groups fighting over land and power. In particular, the People of the Sky have the larger, more beautiful half of Royal Road, and this is something most Insects have always seen as unfair. Despite Sectonia being widely hated and feared by the time she launched an attack on the People of the Sky, some Insectoids supported her fullheartedly in that endeavor, at least, simply out of spite

-Several hundred years ago, there was an incident involving an Arachnid and the People of the Sky. At the time, the Insectoids and People of the Sky were at war, and allegedly, this Arachnid— a royal duke— decided to put a stop to it through dubious means. In the dead of night, he bodysnatched the ruler of the People of the Sky. Then, he pretended to be them as he slowly destroyed the kingdom from the inside out. Eventually he was caught and killed, but by then it was too late. Irreversible damage had been done to the People of the Sky’s livelihood.

When they confronted the Insectoid kingdom, the other royal families claimed they had no idea and used the duke, alongside Arachnids as a whole, as a scapegoat. Although there are rumors all of them were in on it and orchestrated the scheme together, simply using the duke and his fellow Arachnids as their fall guy in the wake of being caught.

Truthfully, it doesn’t really matter. Even if the duke DID do it alone, it wouldn’t excuse the poor treatment of Arachnids… and if we’re being real: it was never about the duke for the other Insectoids. It simply benefits the other royal families to have a family seen as “lesser,” and so they maintain the oppressive stereotype for their own benefit.

-Once upon a time, there were actually three noteworthy species in Floralia. Alongside the People of the Sky and Insectoids there was a third group: a large family of nobles who lived in a mansion in Wild World and sometimes traded/communicated with the other two. However, one day they seemingly just… disappeared. They stop reaching out, and when the People of the Sky and Insectoids went to check on them, it was as if they’d vanished into thin air. There are rumors of how they were cursed and whisked away to Hades or that one of them went mad and killed all of the others in a rampage. No-one knows what the truth is, though, just that that mansion is deeply unsettling and supposedly haunted now.

-It’s rumored that, eons ago, the lower world and higher world were connected by a tower in Nutty Noon that stretched into the sky and bridged the gap between them. However, that tower has long since degraded, and by the time of Triple Deluxe, the worlds had very little contact. The upper world still knew of the lower world— being able to peer down on them, but very few people living in the lower world knew of the upper world’s existence

-Sometimes gossip from the lower world still reached the upper world, though, particularly through flying species like Bronto Burts and Birdons. As teenagers, Taranza and Joronia heard stories of a horrifying tyrant who ruled the lower world with an iron fist. It was said this person had a hundred mouths with sharp, bloody fangs, and that he’d steal all of the lower worlders’ belongings. Joronia fantasized about one day traveling to the lower world, defeating this monster, and freeing the people. Little did she know the “tyrant—‘ actually a simple penguin, would one day end up helping free HER people from her.

-A very long time ago, back when the lower world and upper world were still connected, Ancients visited Popstar and Floralia, dazzling the people of both worlds with miraculous inventions such as the Fountain of Dreams and Star Rod. When they offered to let the two worlds join their intergalactic society, however, both declined, preferring their easygoing, lazy lives. Some people from the upper world and lower world left to join the Ancients, but Popstar and Floralia as a whole did not become a part of their utopia… and in hindsight, this was almost certainly for the best

-However, it’s through encountering these Ancients, particularly human tech Ancients, that Insectoids received their names. That’s why they’re called things like Arachnids and Mantidae despite not actually being related to real bugs. Humans simply saw them, went “They look like bugs!” And it stuck.

-Joronia was the first Arachnid ruler in over a hundred years. Her winning the duel was completely unexpected. She was a very unpopular queen, not only for being an Arachnid, but also for generally being seen as rebellious, irresponsible and childish. She tried very hard to make people like her, but never really earned the kingdom's love. This, of course, played a part in her eventually snapping while under the mirror's influence. She bodysnatched the other heirs, alongside many more bugs to create her perfect body— one that she felt the people could never reject, and went on to rule the skies with an iron fist.

-Sectonia killed… like, a lot of people during her tyranny. She slaughtered and/or assimilated the entire royal court. Public executions were commonplace. All people even SUSPECTED of being traitors were killed… sometimes, alongside their innocent families. Taranza did a lot of these executions himself, as Sectonia never wanted to get her hands dirty.

-As I alluded to earlier: nowadays the People of the Sky and Insectoids get along better, as after Sectonia was overthrown, the People of the Sky realized most Insectoids were just fellow victims of her tyranny and sympathized with them. They’ve bonded over their shared hatred of the ex-queen. You know what they say! The enemy of an enemy is a friend.

-The Insectoids and People of the Sky generally have very different cultures and traditions, meaning different holidays, although there is one they share: Floralian Independence Day. Every year, the two kingdoms get together and celebrate Sectonia’s death, having a feast and engaging in general festivities. They also leave offerings at the Dreamstalk, which they see as a symbol of their freedom. It goes without saying that Taranza loathes Floralian Independence Day with a burning passion

-Speaking of Taranza: as the tyrant queen’s right hand man and enabler, he is not well-liked. Hell, he wasn’t particularly liked even BEFORE the tyranny by virtue of not being of noble blood and only joining the royal court through Joronia DEMANDING he be allowed to become her retainer. Occasionally, Insectoids and People of the Sky make attempts on his life. When he goes out in public, people give him a wide berth. Teenagers egg the castle (which he now lives in alone) to upset him

On the People of the Sky:

-They aren’t born naturally. They’re planted. Two parents make a seed together that sprouts into a baby Person of the Sky

-When they sprout, a flower that matches the flower on their head sprouts alongside them. The two are connected. If the Person of the Sky dies, the flower wilts, and if the flower dies, the Person of the Sky becomes very ill before, most often, dying as well. These flowers continue to grow throughout their lives, and never reach a completely mature state. They can get pretty big. Nothing like the size of the Dreamstalk, of course, but some are as big as trees!

-They have a strong affinity for Flower magic and can even communicate with plants, but most plants don’t have anything too interesting to say. They mostly just make their needs (More water, more sunlight, ETC) known. The one exception to this is the plants that are born alongside the People of the Sky. Allegedly, they speak their deepest, most subconscious feelings and thoughts.

-They’ve had a democracy for a while. Their monarchy fell after the incident with the Arachnid duke. They’ve been helping the Insectoids get used to living in a democracy now that their own royal family has been disposed of.

-Their bones have rings based on how old they are, like trees. That said, I wouldn’t recommend cutting them open to find out their age. That’s just mean.

-They photosynthesize alongside consuming food, and need sunlight to live. Many People of the Sky actually died in the dungeons while jailed by Sectonia. In the dark and starved of that necessary resource, they withered away. She knew they’d die in those conditions, but did not care, having long since lost all compassion at that point.

[onskepa]

Hello, this is my first request so excuse me if it's misunderstanding

So, I had a dream about neteyam x human reader who is a woman. Reader it's paralyzed from the waist down, like Jake. But the only difference is that she doesn't and won't have an avatar. Usually, she doesn't leave her room so when Neteyam comes over, he has to carry her everywhere so she thinks she's a bother. He assures her that carring her it's not bother and it's rather adorable to see her tiny frame in his big arms.

Thank you<3

Helloooooooooooo darling~!! Quite the dream you have XD

Alrighty! Hopefully this comes out to yours and everyone's satisfactions~! enjoy~!

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

Susyang

The story of Jake Sully, the sixth Toruk Makto, the Olo'eyktan of the Omatikaya clan, has been share all over pandora. How he arrived in such a weak form but managed to rise and defeat the sky demons.

Susyang, a human girl was born in Pandora. She along with another human named spider. But there is a large difference between them. Spider is very strong, athletic, and can freely move where ever he desires. Susyang? She cant.

When her mother was pregnant, things were fine until during her birth. Things did not go well. During her birth, her mother passed away, and the birthing complications affected her lower half of the body. Was never told what went wrong but susyang's chance of walking was taken before she could even open her eyes.

Forever to never use her legs until her last breath. Strapped in a wheelchair to move around the lab, and forever to be inside. Pandora is already dangerous enough for a human to move around. Susyang hold no chance to last an hour.

But she makes the most of it, reading so many books about pandora, watch the scientists do their daily work. Would even chat and talk about interesting plants or animals they found.

One of her favorite things to talk about are the native people. The na'vi. How she wishes to meet one. Norm did his best with his avatar body, while happy, susyang still sees norm through his blue body. To meet a real one, to interact and play. Wouldn't that be a dream...

"Wait another human kid lives with you?" little kiri asks to spider. Everyone was eating some fruit they collected and enjoying a bright sunny day. Spider nods, "yeah, she is really nice and super smart!". Interested at peak, kiri asks more, "why hasn't she come out with you? is she smaller?". At that, spider's smile falls a bit into a sad expression.

"She cant" he replied. Lo'ak turned, his eyebrows forming down, not understanding. "What do you mean she cant? are there enough masks?" he asks, spider shook his head no. "It is not that, its just....she cant leave so easily like me. Her legs don't work". Lo'ak and kiri immediately know what he meant.

Their father has explained his time as human, how he was limited to his wheelchair because of his dead weighted legs. Sadness and pity took over their emotions, "well what if we come to her instead? We can play with her and so she wont feel lonely" kiri suggests. Spider liked the idea and already the three began to plan things out.

The following day, everything was normal in the lab. Susyang was reading a book when spider came into her room already setting the wheelchair in front of her bed. "Hey, come come!" spider was very energetic and seemed to be in a rush. Raising her eyebrow, susyang looked at spider, "why? is something going on?". Not really answering her, spider carefully lifts susyang from the bed and gently to the chair. Quickly securing her legs, spider wheeled her out of the room in high speeds.

The sudden action startled susyang, making her squeal a bit. "Spider! hey hey! stop it! where are you taking me!?" feeling a bit scared she is under spider's mercy. Spider didn't reply as he strolled her to the entrance of the lab.

Suddenly coming to halt, susyang who was closing her eyes opened after a moment. Spider went in front of her and extended his arms wide with a huge smile. "I want you to meet my friends! this is kiri, lo'ak and neteyam sully!", susyang opened her mouth wide in shock. Her head lifting up to see their massive height. True na'vi! in front of her!

How badly she wanted to say something, but all came out was tiny squeaks and cute noises. The na'vi kids giggled at her noises thus making her blush in embarrassment. "She is so cuuuuuuute~!" kiri coos as she gently squishes susyang cheeks.

Lo'ak played with her hair, getting the feel of her soft texture while neteyam bend down to her level and smiles softly at her. Susyang blushed a bit seeing him. But she had to keep her cool no matter what!

"spider told us a lot about you. We decided to come and play with you" neteyam says. He carefully observed her actions, the tiniest hint can say much about a human. "u-umm th-thank you!" she smiles sweetly, feeling lucky and thankful for spider.

Neteyam got closer, opening his arms, susyang looked at him, "n-neteyam...!"

"Neteyam please I beg of you to not drop me!" 15 year old susyang clung tightly on the back of 15 year old neteyam. The boy chuckled, making sure his friend was holding tightly as he climbs higher on the trees.

Today neteyam planned things out for susyang to enjoy. After meeting each other, they became inseparable. Connected at arms, both neteyam and susyang were just really close to each other.

Despite susyang insecurities, neteyam is always there to cheer her up. Making sure that she belongs in pandora just like spider. Which is why neteyam has a nice surprise for her. With the help of his father and brother, they build a gift susyang would love.

Arriving at the north river, neteyam cleared the way to reveal something to susyang. "No way, is that...?" susyang says, looking at what is in the water.

A boat. A simple boat fitting for na'vi size. But it was beautiful, was decorated with lovely carvings and full of beautiful flowers. "Oh neteyam...this is beautiful!!" susyang says with emotional joy in her voice. With a huge sigh of relief, neteyam relaxed. It was two weeks of hard work to create it, with every carving was dedicated to susyang, in hopes this would be a better travelling method for her.

Carefully and gently, neteyam lays susyang on the boat, where it is softly cushioned with fibers and leaves. Making sure she is secured well, he hops on, and with a paddle, he begins the journey.

Settling in a peaceful silence, susyang takes notice of the small details of the boat, touching it as if it was made of glass. There is clear evidence that it was done by love and care. It made susyang appreciate it all more.

Looking up at neteyam who is steering the boats direction, she smiles in adoration. Her dear friend had spent so much time to make sure she is comfortable and safe while being out in the forest. It made her feel a bit....guilty. Had her legs work, perhaps she would have been as free as spider.

Arriving at their destination, neteyam picks her up bridal style. "How much further is it?" susyang asks, "not far, almost there" neteyam answers. What else is there to show? Susyang knows every corner of the forest after so many years.

Few minutes later, they arrived in a small hut, above the trees but near the river. It was lovely, cushioned softly, and everything was close at arms. The shade was perfect, the view was perfect. All was perfect. "What is this...?" she asks silently, but neteyam heard her. Placing her in the middle of the hut, he gestures to the whole area, "this is is for you. Me and the others worked on this so you can enjoy the forest, way better than being stuck in your room".

Neteyam smiled brightly as he explained, feeling quiet accomplished and proud. Anything to make his dear friend smile. But then he heard sniffles and weeping. Looking down, he sees susyang crying. Quickly bending down to her side, he cradles her in his big arms.

"What's wrong? does it hurt? did I do something wrong?" he asked, worry heavy in his voice. Susyang only cried louder, letting her salty tears fall from her eyes. Now neteyam felt really panicked. Was it not to her liking? Was it too rough the cushions? Not enough space? Was the items too far away? Each second passed and neteyam's inner worries were rising.

"y-you....!! and th-the others.....!! did all this for m-me.....!! I am s-so sorry for making you do this....!!" was all susyang could say without it being a mess of tears. His ears perked up at that, why is she apologizing?

"susyang....no no, there is nothing to be sorry for. Why would you say sorry? You haven't done anything wrong" neteyam says gently. Stroking her back, trying to sooth her. But her tears keep falling without stopping.

"n-no...!! its because of these stupid legs!! I c-cant do anything! I always have to rely on someone and I hate it! I cant even have an avatar of my own! stupid legs! I am weak! pathetic! I am nothing but a burden to you and everyone else!"

This was the first time neteyam heard her confess like that. He understood that not having functioning limbs can be a burden but never to this extent.

Cradling her in his arms, he gently rocks side to side as means to hopefully calm her down. Placing a small kiss on her head, he waits it out for her to cry it all out. Perhaps it was the pent up frustration that needed to be released. Keeping your emotions all bottled up is never a good thing.

"sssshhh....you are not a burden susyang. Not to me, not to anyone. You are everything to me, nothing about you is a burden. I enjoy spending time with you and I enjoy doing these things for you. When I hold you, feeling your tiny body against mine, I feel like I can protect you. From any danger in this world. And I am happy with that. Your happiness means everything to me".

Those words struck susyang right in the feels. Making her stop crying at once. But instead of sadness, her tears were replaces with that of tears of joy.

"w-what? why are you crying again!?" neteyam asked with more worry again. Susyang laughed and put her whole body weight on him. "I am not s-sad silly.....!! I am just happyyyyyyy!!" she cries while smiling. Neteyam always seems to find a way to get to her heart.

As she let her happiness show, neteyam just gives her more kisses and laughs a bit. As long as susyang is happy and comfortable. That is all it matters to him.

Aaaaaaaand that is all for this one! idk if this is a bit too long but who cares! Hope you liked this one! until next time! see ya!

Susyang = fragile

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

How would the bros react to SO trying to cook dinner and failing horribly? (Big mess/totally burnt) Sort of in reference to that one Ink and Error say a lot where it was like:

E: Ink, what was the one thing I told you not to do?

I: Burn the house down

E: And what did you do?

I: ...Made you dinner?

E&I: ...

I: ...Aaaand burned the house down.

Undertale Sans - Welp. Like the good old days... Sans is not mad. He's so used to it he doesn't even blink. Maybe it's concerning now that he thinks about it but, you know... It's too much work to clean. He's not helping you. Have fun with that. Bye.

Undertale Papyrus - He immediately starts to scream at Sans for messing his kitchen, hysterical, and orders him to clean. You're hiding in a corner, behind the fridge. You're sure that if you don't move, you won't get into trouble. You're lucky Sans is not calling you out because he's too nice. He starts to clean, staring into your soul the whole time. You don't know how to breathe anymore.

Underswap Sans - Oh, he helped you make the mess. However, when Honey comes home and has a mental breakdown seeing the mess in the kitchen, Blue throws you under the bus and teleports out lol. Good luck with that! Welp. Honey is mad at you.

Underswap Papyrus - He doesn't want to be mean, but, uh. Your cake is the worst cake he has ever seen, and he saw a lot of cakes in his life. I mean, it's entirely black, inside and out. There's nothing to save there. He doesn't even know how you possibly burned the cake on the inside. Did it catch fire or something? When you say yes, he goes silent. You didn't burn your cake in his oven right? You don't answer. He opens the oven and falls on his knees, high-pitched screaming.

Underfell Sans - He gives you some flowers. "It's for me? Oh, thanks, you're sweet." "nah pal, you don't get it." "I don't get what?" "it's not a gift, it's for your funeral." The main door creaks open as thunder echoes behind Edge. Welp. That was a good run but you're dead now.

Underfell Papyrus - Edge is walking around. You can hear him whisper "PLEASE IT'S JUST A NIGHTMARE, WAKE UP" again and again, more and more distressed. When he realizes it's real, he apologizes, goes to the yard, and starts to scream insanities at the sky, so angry. He's pissed off. You're not leaving that kitchen before it's shining again. He swears he will knock you out if you do.

Horrortale Sans - Nothing too unusual actually. He is kinda used to trash the kitchen as well when he's looking for a snack. He even helps you to hide everything under the sink and shows you how to pretend nothing happened until Willow finds out later. He's your pal in this difficult time.

Horrortale Papyrus - When he realizes it's not Oak who did the mess, he looks at you with stern disapproving eyes. How could you. He had hope in you, but here you are. Does he really have to do everything in this house? He can't believe it! He's also mad you burn the food, actually. You ruined lunch, and he's not talking to you for a few hours. He's mad.

Swapfell Sans - He doesn't care. But the next day, his coffee machine is gone. He took it to his room. Safe from you and your unhealthy ways of cooking. What if she gets intoxicated? You can't hurt his coffee machine. It's his baby. Burn the rest of the kitchen if you want, but if you touch his precious baby again, you're dead.

Swapfell Papyrus - He's impressed with your cooking skills. Even hee never made that much mess in the kitchen before. You must have some hidden talents. He's not helping you to clean though. He's just here to pick a snack, making even more mess by doing so, then he leaves you there all alone lol.

Fellswap Gold Sans - He twitches seeing the mess, completely silent. He's staring for two minutes now, and you're starting to be concerned. That's it until Wine creaks his neck to look you in the eyes and tells you that you have five minutes to clean everything before he breaks down and starts to chase you around with angry blasters. This freaks you out enough, knowing he will absolutely do it, that you start frantically cleaning out of fear.

Fellswap Gold Papyrus - He's so nervous for you. Are you out of your mind? Do you want to die? Why? You know Wine will kill you, why would you keep trashing the kitchen? Please, you're scaring him, stop! He doesn't want you to die... He's getting more and more distressed. Please, he's begging you!

[kastlenetwork]

Hi! So I'm pretty new to the kastle fandom and wanted to know if there are any like- classic fics or interviews or memorable moments in panels and cons (with the actors) that I should know about? I know about the interviews that are on the kastle wikifandom page but only because I've read them.

helloooo! welcome to the family! it's been quite quiet lately, but frank and karen are always in our hearts lolol and every now and then there's a little resurgence, so that's nice. umm first up interviews. there's a lot of little quotes here and there that were a big deal. we didn't get many interviews of the two of them together, if i remember correctly. i think two comic cons were pretty exciting.

here are some interviews from comic con 2017 yup

this is a cute clip from last year, where deborah talked about how jon's intense but really uplifted her. and that they want to work together again.

(i'm looking at kastle's wikifandom and, really, the big interview quotes all seem to be there.)

“ … just in terms of whether this is Jon’s story to tell or my story to tell, you just want to kind of be respectful of everybody’s contributions. Jon and I have certainly felt that there is room for a romantic story in there. And there were certainly scenes where we took it farther in some takes than we did in other takes. We’ll have to sort of wait and see what the editors chose, and how far they decided to push it. But we as actors allowed for that possibility.” -deb cinemablend

deborah and jon were both supporters, but deborah was always including frank into karen's romantic potentials:

“But all of the romance I’ve gotten to play, with any of the characters in the series, whether that’s Frank or Matt, they all come from a need. From a lonely person, a person who doubts whether she is deserving of love.” -deb collider

**

“I like that Karen can say, ‘How far down this road of violence of revenge do you go before you’re ripped apart?’ and he can look at her and go, ‘I’m already ripped apart. And you are, too.‘” -deb 92.1 bobfm

**

“When professor [Jeph] Loeb [Marvel TV head] told me we were gonna do a series on The Punisher,” Bernthal continued, “first thing i asked him is would I have the pleasure and the honor to work again with one of the most honest, the most kind, and the most talented actors I’ve ever had the privilege to work with.” --jon ew

oh! karen page being announced for the punisher. very cute.

"i just want to say, you guys don't love him as much as i do" was very exciting when it happened lmaoooo. the hope for kastle was high.

*****

i'll be honest up front and say, i tend to forget a lot of stuff? so, basically, i can read a fic and then read it again months later and it's like a brand new experience. which is both a blessing and a curse. so, i basically just zoomed through my bookmarks to try and find some things?? 😩😩

(i'm scanning my bookmarks and.............a lot of them are basically just smutfdjklgsdfjglkdfjglkdfjg)

ballads for a dead man ❤❤ [three parts, unfinished] Safe up in the mountains with Frank following a bloody showdown in Hell's Kitchen, Karen wonders just how much more complicated things between them can get. She's about to find out.

these heavy words, your open heart 😘😘 (this was a kastlechristmas gift to me from @carry-the-sky 😊❤) “You told me once that I was honest. That I don’t lie to you. But the hospital—you asked me to start over, and I said I didn’t want that.” Karen sucks in a breath. Frank’s eyes are still on her, wide and bright. It’s the most vulnerable she’s ever seen him look. “I lied,” he says.

The Reporter  [kinda iconic ❤👀] Force Recon missions keep Marines isolated, entrenched for long periods in covert locations. They rarely received visitors, and in Frank’s long experience, the visitors were almost never civilians, let alone gorgeous blondes with mile long legs and sky blue eyes. Frank was trying not to stare. They all were. Well, everyone except Bill, who’s face had just split into a shit-eating grin.

The Flower Cam [oh god, the flower cam! i just remembered!! ❤] It had been a long time since there had actually been any flowers in the window. She must have trashed the white roses after his latest bullshit at the hospital with Madani and the kid. Good. Good for her. She should forget about him. But still… Frank couldn’t help but check every once in a while.

actually just, everything in their ao3. i have all this bookmarked.

(..................god, my bookmarks are really all smut. this says a lot about me.)

Castle’s Auto Shop ❤❤ yes. yep. Karen Page is in need of a car mechanic. Castle’s Auto Body Shop seems a reasonable choice. There’s just one problem: This little auto shop has become a well-known spot where less than honorable people to go get their car fixed…only to have justice find them at the next stop light. Having her brother’s truck fixed there means Karen will have to own up to a few secrets in her past.

Blood and Bone ❤❤❤! this is the fic that has seared itself into my brain. i've never once forgotten this. iconic. Frank Castle is a boxer at the top of his game. Laconic and anti-social, he has a reputation for being an incredibly-tough interview. Karen Page is a sports reporter trying to prove herself in a male-dominated field. She's done playing games--trying to be the "Cool Girl" who caters to the male fantasy--and now she's on a mission to take no shit. "For a while, the fact that an interview with Castle lasting longer than 5 minutes even existed was big news. Splashed all over the message boards—circulated among boxing and Castle fans alike. The very concept that someone actually got the man to sit down for more than a breath of time and give multiple-sentence answers to a question—it was huge. Massive. It was the only thing Castle fans could talk about. Until three months later, when Frank Castle disappeared. Then that was the news. It was the only news."

this is hard lmaoo how ludicrious. i have about seven collections from some of our events, as well. there's loads of good stuff in there:

kastlesmutweek 2018

kastlesmutweek 2019

kastlechristmas 2018

kastlechristmas 2019

kastlechristmas 2020

kastlechristmas 2021

kastlechristmas parent collection

[lorifragolina]

A Hallmark Christmas Movie in Summer

And now, we're almost there! The poll spoke up and I'm posting the last corner of my first @harringrovesummerbingo card! I had so much fun writing this one, it's my favourite, because both of them are so silly and stupid and funny, and I adored Max, she is a little brat, affectionately!

I love Hallmark Christmas movies and they are perfect for one of them, witha little summer twist!

Title: A Hallmark Christmas Movie in Summer

Square & Prompt: C1 "Caught in a thunderstorm"

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 3679

Major Tags: Idiot to lovers, Hallmark cheesiness, plant shop.

Summary: One is a successful professional person in a big city, probably already an associate, with a healty, handsome neurosurgeon partner. The other is a ripped lumberjack or something similar, living in the same old little Midwest village, maybe not so educated but really good at feeling. One returns home for Christmas and the other turns their entire world "upside down". Now make it in Summer, the one is a bit of a loser and the other is a sort of ripped lumberjack in the same old little Midwest village... Could a thunderstorm draw Steve and Billy near each other?

Read it in AO3

Perfect. Just perfect.

The day couldn’t go worse. 

Not only that, he left his card at the reception of the hotel that morning, so he had to come back  after a three hour drive. Not only he forgot to stop at the last gas station when that red light of the battery turned on, so now the car was at side of the road, out of power, and he just noticed that he left the house’s key inside, but now, the sky was becoming black and silver, the cold air was blowing against him and he could see the lightnings and hear the thunders really near. He was in the fucking middle of nowhere, alone, frightened, and lost.

Well, lost… he probably would prefer being lost. He crossed the “Hawkins” city sign and sighed. 

His parents had sold his childhood home and he came back there to see it for the last time, to take the last things he wanted to keep; he got the chance to take a break from his shitty life in Denver, where his girlfriend had just dumped him for another, less loser, guy, he lost another dead-end job in a insolvent company and he had just to leave the tramp flat he couldn’t afford anymore.

Steve Harrington was coming back to Hawkins in the worst way: heart broken, broke, unemployed and futureless.

And soaking wet, because the dark sky melted down in a cold, heavy and pouring rain in a second, drenching him from head to toe and making him feel even more miserable. 

The city seemed empty and turned off; finally he saw the only open shop along the street that had a light inside and ran to it, opening the door wide at the ting of the little bells, and he took shelter inside.

“Fuck to this shitty city, fuck the rain!” he exclaimed while the door closed behind him, his hair still glued on his forehead and eyes, drippin miserably on the floor.

“And a good day to you too, Harrington”.

Steve’s heart skipped a beat, and he slowly raised his head, moving his wet hair with a hand.

He tried to say something, but words died in his throat and he stayed there, still like a statue, mouth opened, totally blanked.

His enemy, his nemesis, his senior year nightmare… his secret high school crush was there, at the other side of the bar, smirking at him with those perfect blank teeth, his pink lips, his soft flawless skin, his sparkling blue eyes and his blonde curls covered by a hanky, a short sleeves shirt that showed his tattooed toned arms, and a tattoo peeking out  from the collar too, and a black apron cover him and a bouquet of colorful flowers in his hands.

Steve looked around furtively, during an instant that seemed to last forever, to the shop he just entered; buckets of flowers in the floor, shelf with vases with various shades of green and in many shapes, a light floral scent of dried flowers and fresh water. 

He just invaded a plant shop, and Billy Hargove was in charge of it. 

Outside, the storm continued.

“Billy?” he finally murmured, and Billy smiled more, becoming more bright, if possible.

“Hi, Harringrove. Long time no see,” Billy finished the bouquet and smiled again, making Steve blush, and he noticed it, giggling. “Back home, finally,” he added.

Steve shivered, the water still dropping from him. “Just… just visiting my parent’s house… they… they…'' he looked around. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to take cover…”

Billy waved a hand. “Don’t worry. Typical summer thunderstorm”.

Steve could barely breathe, everything Billy said sounded terribly hot and flirty, but it was surely his fault because he didn’t expect to find him here, working between flowers and making a bouquet. He was golden tanned, and he wondered how he could get a color like this in a shithole like Hawkins.

“My car broke and I have…”

Billy smiled again and opened his mouth to answer, but in that moment the door opened again with the jingle of the bells. 

“Jesus Christ, everything happened to me! It always rains when I do some deliveries by foot, damn shit… oh”.

A short figure, covered by a yellow raincoat, dripping like Steve, had entered the shop cursing with a high pitch voice.

Max took off the hood, shaking off the water, and stared at Steve with the same surprise as him staring at her.

“Steve?” Max eyes darting to Billy.

“Hi… Hi, Max…”

“What’s going on?”sShe asked, while Steve was asking the same thing to himself.

“Steve’s car broke and he got caught by the rain like you,” Billy said in a warm, soft voice, and Steve shivered again. “He’s just visiting, right, Harrington?”

Steve nodded. “Yes, I…”

“Well, it’s late and I think nobody would come at this hour, so, what if we just close the shop for today?” Billy continued. 

Max hung the raincoat and took off the boots, smoothing her soaked hair. She shrugged and nodded, turning the sign on the door on “closed”.

“I better get going…” Steve took a step to the door, but Billy snickered a little.

“Oh, not at all, you can’t go around like a drowned rat. Max, can you tidy up while I help Harrington?”

Billy showed a door to Steve, and looked at Max with a crooked smile.

“Slut,” she mouthed.

Billy guided Steve upstairs stairs to the first floor.

“Do you live here?” Steve asked to break the ice.

“Yeah, it’s convenient with the shop. I thought you wanted to dry a little, you seem frozen”.

In fact, Steve felt the water dunking his hair and his clothes and he was beginning to teeth chattering. His hands were ice cold. 

“The bathroom is right there. I’ll get some more towels, if you want to take off those wet clothes”.

Steve kept telling himself that it was probably his fault because he was surprised and nervous, but Billy’s tone seemed really flirty.

He took off his shirt in the bathroom and opened the pants button, but he looked behind him and saw Billy standing there, looking at his narrow waist, some towels in his hands and a smirk in that pretty face.

“Please, don’t mind me, Harrington,” he purred. “We used to be teammates after all, don’t we?”

Steve blushed furiously. Yes, they used to be teammates and change in the same locker room, and he had a hard time in his senior year having Billy around. It took ages to understand that a part of this hate and intolerance against Billy was due to a little attraction too. It took ages for him to come out and accept his past crush on Hargrove.

And now he was half naked, embarrassed, in Billy’s bathroom, in Hawkins, the last place he expected to see Billy again, with his nasty look on his back.

“I’m afraid I don’t have many things that can fit you… but I can borrow you a tracksuit,” Billy entered the bathroom, closer to Steve, and left some clothes for him. “Do you need some underwear too?”

Steve felt his cheeks on fire. “No… I’m fine,” he tried to hide his face, dressing up quickly and drying a little more of his hair. 

“So you stay at the old Harrington manor?” asked Billy from the kitchen. 

“Yes… They are about to sell it and I’m checking…” he nervously went near the door. “I have to go now, I have to return to the car”.

“No way. I’m going with you and I’ll check on it.” Billy took his keys and made it clink, winking at Steve. 

“There’s no need…” Steve tried to brush aside Steve, but Billy nodded.

“Of course. I’m glad to help”.

Steve sighed and got in Billy’s car. He wasn’t surprised to see the infamous blue Camaro and to hear the roar of the gas that Billy liked so much in the old times. 

“It is the battery, nothing serious,” he said after checking the dashboard. “Luckily I have the jumper cables”.

Billy restarted Steve’s car and then cleaned his hand in his jeans, smiling at him. 

“Thank you so much, Billy”.

“No big deal,” Billy leant to his car but he didn’t feel like going away. He shared a little to Steve, who sat in his car, hands on the wheel, too embarrassed to stare back at him. 

“Well, Harrington, have a good time at Loch Nora,” Billy sighed finally, patting Steve’s car and opening the Camaro’s door. 

“Wait, Billy…” Steve gripped the wheel. “Can I… well, I’d like to… do you have plans for dinner?”

“I could cancel, why, Harrington?” he grinned, with sparkles in his eyes. 

“Well, I want… I want to thank you… maybe we can have dinner together?I… I have nothing at the house, anyway…”

Steve sweared internally and cursed himself. Why did he start stammering and begging so pathetically? He bit his lips. 

“Deal,” smirked Billy. “You buy,” he blinked again. Steve nodded. “Can you pick me up in an hour?” 

Steve nodded again and started the car, trying to go away before doing some other screw-up.

Billy had just the time to take a shower and fix his hair, then he dressed up a little bit and bathed in aftershave, as Max noticed in a loud voice when he stormed out the door at Steve’s arrival.

Hawkins didn’t have a lot of fancy restaurants, but fortunately one of the prettier has a table for them. 

Billy ordered a glass of red wine and Steve had the sensation that his way to drink it was too sensual for a simple thank you dinner, and he felt goosebumps all over his body. They chatted nicely about trivial things for half the time. 

“So, what is your life in Seattle, Harrington?” Billy asked abruptly in the middle of the second course.

“Denver,” corrected Steve.

“Denver,” nodded Billy. “Living the best life, right? How are you doing with your girlfriend?” he blinked. 

Steve gulped, swallowing a mouthful. There was no need to tell his whole pathetic story, but there was no need to lie either. They’re chatting about this and that.

“Well my girl dumped me recently, so not very good but one always survives, am I wrong?” he snickered, trying not to seem too miserable.

“Oh. I’m sorry, but I’m sure you’ll find someone better, plenty of fishes in the sea”, Billy smiled again to him. Obviously he hadn’t an idea about how King Steve had sunk so low lately. 

“And you?” Steve teased, raising his eyes at him behind his beer.

Billy scoffed. “Oh, no boyfriend at all,” he stopped a little, letting the word sink between them. “The dating pool is absolute shit, you know…” 

Steve pursed his lips. No, he couldn’t really understand how Billy was single, every man, woman, boy or girl, old or young, any gender and orientation should throw themselves at a stunning beauty like Billy, especially there, in Hawkins, where he should be surely one of a kind. He himself would jump on him either…

“I’m bi,” he shot suddenly, almost without filtering from his brain to his mouth.

Billy choked, blushing a little.

Steve praised the earth to open and swallow him. 

Billy finally smiled, slipping his hand near Steve’s on the table, without touching it, but making the move evidently. He grinned and changed the topic.

When they left the restaurant, the air was warmer than in the afternoon, the heat had already dried the fleeting rain of the thunderstorm, and Billy put his jacket on the backseat of Steve’s car. Steve left him in front of the plant shop and Billy waved him goodnight with a big smile, sighing while the car went away.

The next day started as a hot, shiny and clear summer day, and Max and Billy were working in the shop with the door open to let some fresh air enter. 

Steve appeared in the doorframe in the middle of the afternoon, waving Billy’s jacket as a shield.

“Hello… you left it in my car yesterday…” he lent the jacket to Billy. Max startled looking at Billy, surprised: it was his favorite jacket and he would never forget it. 

“Slut,” she mouthed behind Steve’s back, and Billy grinned at her. 

“Thank you, Steve. It had been a funny night and I wasn’t thinking about the jacket…” he purred, and Max rolled her eyes, while Steve blushed. 

“No problem… Well, I have to go, I… I have some paperwork to handle…,” he turned his back, but Billy stopped him.

“Hey, Harrington, your pantry’s still empty?”

Max sighed, and Steve turned to him, confused.

“Well, yeah… why?”

“What about a homemade dinner… to thank you for it?” Billy whispered softly to him, rubbing his jacket. 

Max wished to be abducted in that very moment: Steve babbled something unintelligible for a long, pathetic minute, before nodding and accepting, bright red like a pepper. 

“Great,” Billy stared at Steve’s eyes until Steve had to lower his gaze and stormed away.

Max stood with her hands on her hips. 

“Harrington, eh? You’re such a slut”.

Billy didn’t look at her face, but took his car keys. 

“I have to go for groceries. Ah, sleep out tonight, I need the house”.

Max shook her head. “What?”

“I need the house, so stay at El’s or Sinclair or whatever, understood?”

Max smirked. “You seem a little bold to me for someone who needs a favor”-

Billy rolled her eyes. “Jeez, ok, fine, please, could you please leave me the house for tonight? Please? ”

”You’ll have me for Thanksgiving and the spring break next year!”

“Are you nuts?”

“And Lucas. And El too,” insisted Max.

“You’re kidding,” Billy looked angrily at her.

“You’re the one who wants to get laid, not me”, Max returned to her work, waiting.

“Ok, ok, fine, you three at my house, whatever!” Billy snapped, and Max smirked. “So you’ll stay at El?”

Max nodded. “Ok, deal, I’ll sleep out tonight. I’ve already planned to stay at El’s, anyway,” she made him tongue, and Billy opened the door with rampage. 

“Bitch,” he snapped at her.

“Slut!” she yelled in return.

Billy opened the door and Steve entered the apartment, welcomed by soft light, a chill music and a delicious smell from the kitchen. The first time he didn’t notice many details, but now he could see a lot of house plants that seemed obvious, and some pictures of Max, Max’s graduation, a portrait and a photo with her and Billy eating an ice cream. 

Billy reached him with a glass of wine and Steve felt a little nervous.

“Is…. Max living here too?”

“Yeah, it’s me and her at the moment…” Billy read the worried look in Steve’s face. “She’s out for dinner,” he smirked, inviting him to sit on the sofa. Steve, instead, followed him in the kitchen where he was giving the last touches to the dinner. 

He had tied his hair up in a bun, with some blonde lock on his neck, a silk shirt, red, and Steve had to awkwardly admit that he had imagined it, the sleeves rolled up on his arms; he had already seen Billy’s tattoos last night at the restaurant, but now they were even hotter with the extra care he put in his outfit. 

Steve had tried to appear at the best too, and after all he hadn’t completely lost his touch, but he almost passed away when he saw the front, the shirt lazily unbuttoned and the tattoo that peeped out on Billy’s pecs, while his golden medal captured the warm light of the room. 

Billy led the conversation during the dinner, and Steve tried to relax, with difficulties, because it seemed that Billy could flirt so naturally that Steve couldn’t even try to resist. After all, an invitation like that had an obvious purpose. 

The food was delicious, another skill that Steve didn’t expect from Billy, but he was distracted by the charming conversation and Billy’s lips, along with more than a couple of the fresh white wine that matched perfectly to the shrimp pasta and the delicate sauce of the meat. 

When they finished, Billy tempted him with a stronger wine and they moved to the sofa. Again, Steve felt nervous for Billy’s proximity, their knees were lightly touching each other, and trying to guess how to carry on with the date.

He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, will Max…”

Billy shook his head. “Oh, she’s busy, she’s out for the night. A pool party or whatever”.

“Oh.” Steve nodded. 

“A pity you couldn't throw a pool party here again, right?”

Steve shrugged. “It’s life, I guess”.

Billy chuckled softly. “Although I can only imagine how big is the pool in your mansion in Denver,” he said, in a tone that Steve couldn’t read. He blushed, thinking at the dump he had called home for the last two years. 

“Well…” he considered putting all his cards on the table or maintaining a little dignity, at least for the moment. “Actually I don't exactly have a pool… actually I’m leaving my… my apartment, I need a fresh start, I guess”.

“Well, it’s good too. It’s a classic, right? The little city golden boy who leaves the Midwest and lives the best life in a big city…”

Steve bit his lips. 

“I guess you can make it successfully whenever you want…” again, Steve couldn't really read Billy’s tone, and it seemed a little mocking to him, but how could Billy know he was all but successfully and rich and that he had had a miserable life since when he left Hawkins without any idea? “Do you already have a plan?”

Steve shrugged again. “I’d always wanted to see California, but lately I was thinking of staying here for a while… like, downshifting a little”.

“Yeah, it’s like a movie, right? The successful man who returned to the shitty little place and made it a big win”. “Well if you’d say living in this shithole is a win...”

Billy blinked, and Steve cursed himself, wondering if he hurted his feelings in any way.

“I mean… there’s nothing wrong with staying here, of course… it’s not a matter of running away or failing, I mean… I’m happy to be there and…”

Steve forced himself to breathe slowly and stop the tornado of thought inside his head. He was better than that, and he could do better. 

He raised his eyes and looked Billy straight in his’. 

“It’s a matter of luck, too,” he said softly, smirking a little.

Billy smiled lightly and put down his glass, hanging out towards Steve; his hand slipped sweetly on Steve’s thigh.

“It’s a matter of opportunity too,” he whispered, closing the distance between them and kissing him. 

Steve released a whine of relief and answered gladly and fiercely to the kiss; he grabbed Billy’s forehead and felt Billy’s hot hands tucking directly under his polo. 

Billy’s chest was moving fastly, and his curls were loose and ruffled on the pillow. His lips were wet and parted, and he was looking at Steve topping him with a feral shine in his blue eyes; Steve shivered, although the contact between their naked bodies was almost scalding. He was about to zone out, he would never, ever imagined in his wildest fantasies he could find himself there, between Billy’s Hargove’s legs, his prohibited high school crush, balls deep inside him and making him squirm and whimper. 

Billy arched his back even more and clinged his legs on Steve’s back.

“I have been waiting for it since I was seventeen..“, moaned Billy. 

Steve blanked out. 

He woke up with the soft touch of Billy’s arms around his waist. It took a moment for him to remember where he was and what happened before falling asleep after the most perfect sex of his life.

Billy suggled on his neck, purring and kissing it softly, and Steve felt his considerable manhood, half hard, against his legs. He moaned of pleasure; his girl didn’t like morning cuddles, but he was a fan. 

Billy kept brushing his naked skin, burning him where he touched, and Steve reached out for a kiss, then two, and laid down on his back, taking Billy between his own legs, this time. 

Billy whispered, satisfied, trying to catch his breath, smiling in the curve of Steve’s neck. It was something he could get used to, Steve thought, if he had to stay in Hawkins, an advantage he had never considered.

After a while, Billy got up and put his briefs on, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“So, you’re thinking of staying in Hawkins for the moment?” he asked, and Steve blinked a little, surprised by the odd and abrupt question. 

“Uhm, yes, I think so…”

Billy stared at his eyes, grinning. “Well, if you come to California one day, you can stop and say hello,” he smiles, satisfied with the clueless expression on Steve’s face.

“What do you mean? I thought… you lived here. The shop…”

Billy chucked sweetly. “Oh, no. I’m just helping Susan for the summer, the shop is hers. She’s on honeymoon right now… this is her apartment. I live in California,” he enjoyed Steve’s astonishment. “I work there… modeling. I actually have a pool. Maybe you could enjoy a little party, if you’d come visit”.

Billy smiled slyly, while Steve was speechless. It took a couple minutes for him to regain his senses.

“But… I thought you lived here…” he repeated dumbly. 

“Well, I hope it’s not a problem,” Billy whispered, bending a little towards him. “Does it change things?”

Steve shook his head. He wasn’t surprised that Billy was successful and that he was a model, he was even prettier than when he was eighteen. Steve lost the opportunity once, and he was tired of feeling like a loser. 

He smirked, smiling at Billy and pulling him closer, grabbing his underwear.

“It’s not a problem. Not at all”.

[shieldofiron]

Nuevo Paraíso

For @discodeviant Happy Valentine's Day My Dude! Here's a RDR Au that's mostly an excuse for Cowboys Kissing.

Billy sat down in the dirt with a hard groan.

“Rough riding, friend?” Harrington asked, raising his dented flask.

“Don’t I know it,” Billy rubbed his lower back, “That stallion’s a nasty piece of work. Any chance you want to trade.”

“Not on your life,” Harrington shook his head, heels dragging slightly in the dirt as he looked over at Billy. That pretty head of hair had never looked so messy, nor so beautiful. “But don’t you worry. Maybe next town over you can find a horse to trade. Or one to steal.”

“Love hearin’ you tell me to steal in that fancy accent, Pretty Boy,” Billy nudged Harrington with his elbow. “Say another.”

“Boston isn’t fancy,” Harrington rolled his eyes, tucking his flask away without ever even offering Billy any. Selfish.

Billy didn’t know where they’d turned up this guy. He sure didn’t seem like an outlaw, with his graceful movements and pretty golden tongue. Pretty everything, actually. Not that Billy would let on. Even the rough scar that marred Harrington’s brow didn’t detract from his pretty face, only added to it.

“Fancier than Lenora Hills,” Billy shrugged, pushing away the thoughts. Harrington was too fine, too pretty to be real. He’d seen Harrington flirt with the birds of paradise, flashing those bambi brown eyes, pumping them for information and more. Harrington had made his choice and showed it plainly, so Billy wouldn’t try to kid himself.

Of course it happened sometimes. Don’t think Billy didn’t notice the glances between Marston and Morgan. He’d seen more than one cowboy ride in the saddle with another, though people might pretend it was just for lack of women. But Billy knew, there was always a choice. And Harrington was straighter than an arrow.

“Is that where you’re from?”

Harrington’s eyes sparkled with genuine interest, setting off a battle of the butterflies in Billy’s stomach.

Billy turned his head and spit, “Yep. California. Ain’t north or south or nothing, just dead in the center.”

“I’ve always wanted to go to California,” Harrington rested back on his elbows, his dusty blue jacket pulling taut across his biceps. Billy just looked away, leaning back to match Harrington but keeping his eyes trained on the fire.

“Used to dream of riding out there with a wagon and a wife…” Harrington continued, “Drive out hard and make my way to the golden shore.”

Billy snorted, “I assume that’s not the way you came out west. Unless your wife is a real forgiving type.”

It took so long for Harrington to answer, Billy was forced to look his way. Harrington was looking up at the stars, his long neck bared, pretty eyes aglow. His expression flickered between happiness and sadness.

“No,” Harrington smiled ruefully. “No. It wasn’t like that.”

Billy blinked at the smoke blowing their way, but said nothing, just seeing how long he could get away with looking before Harrington called him on it.

“There was this girl. Nancy. She was in trouble, needed help. So I just… kind of… ignored the law,” Harrington hedged, as if he was being interrogated. “By the time we got back, there were lawmen on my trail, and Nancy… Nancy’d gotten engaged.”

“After you-”

“He’s a nice fellow. I can’t say a bad thing about either of them,” Harrington shrugged, and turned the full focus of his piercing gaze on Billy. “Wish I could, sometimes.”

“Don’t worry about it, Pretty Boy. Plenty of tail to chase out here,” Billy’s voice wasn’t shaking. It wasn’t. “Lotsa fillies would kill for a ride with you.”

Harrington didn’t answer, just looked at Billy like he was a bug under a glass, and then slid down, resting his head on his bedroll.

“The west does have something on Boston,” Harrington laughed, “Well. Many things.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“All these stars,” Harrington’s pretty mouth turned up into a smile, and he finally released Billy from his thrall, sweeping his gaze over the night sky. “It's difficult to see the big dipper through the city smog.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Billy glanced back at the camp. The other men were huddled around a larger fire, eyes mostly on their business though Billy could see Marston and Morgan talking heatedly out by the horses. They were just two silhouettes, close enough to kill. Or kiss.

Harrington laughed, the deep rich sound echoing through the night, drawing Billy’s attention back to him.

“You don’t like the stars?” Harrington asked.

“I’m a little more concerned with what’s happening here on earth,” Billy smirked.

“Indulge me, Hargrove,” Harrington’s knee fell a little, nudging Billy’s. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

Billy looked away, pulling a hand rolled cigarette from his pocket and a packet of matches, that he struck off his beard with shaky hands, before he could bring himself to answer.

“And what do you think is worth my while, Harrington?” Billy said roughly.

“Me,” There was no tease to his voice, just bold honesty.

Billy sucked on the cigarette, not sure how to play it. This could just be a trick, a way to make Billy admit that he was… that he sometimes…

“Very funny, Harrington,” Billy said dryly.

“Who’s laughing, Billy?” Harrington’s smile was easy. Soft. “Lay down with me.”

Billy just stared down at him.

“For the stars. At least, for now.”

It was just stargazing. Like they were a couple of moon eyed school girls instead of hardened outlaws. It should mean nothing. Probably did mean nothing. Maybe Harrington didn’t know he sounded like a Mary, didn’t know that Billy would even imagine it that way.

Still, Billy kept his trigger hand ready as he lay back in the dirt, tugging Harrington’s camp roll from under his pretty little head. Harrington only laughed, propping himself up on his arm.

“I used to know them all,” Harrington’s voice was soft, almost boyish as he looked up at the stars. “But  down there, almost at the horizon there, that’s ursa major. And ursa minor, above it, the little cup.”

“Big bear and little bear,” Billy shrugged, his shoulders making an embarrassing scraping sound in the dirt.

Harrington chuckled, “And you call me fancy. You know Latin?”

“Just from church stuff,” Billy huffed.

Harrington paused, and then shifted in the dirt, every noise making Billy’s overactive nerves prickle with fear. He settled down closer to Billy, brushing their pinkies together in the dirt.

“You big into… church, Hargrove?”

Billy wasn’t sure what he was being asked, especially not when Harrington was twisting his fingers into Billy’s stiff palm.

“Not really, Billy said gruffly.

“Me either,” Harrington said. “I prefer other forms of worship.”

Billy cleared his throat, “You know any more? Constellations, I mean.”

“Yeah,” Harrington’s hand feels cool and dry, callouses rasping against Billy’s palm, “Above and to… kinda the left. That’s Hercules.”

“Strong man,” Billy said softly.

“Yes,” Harrington scooted closer in the dirt. Warm breath danced across Billy’s cheek. Harrington wasn’t looking at the stars at all.

Billy felt like he’d wandered into a trap. He could still feel his father’s voice in the back of his soul, telling him it wasn’t right, that Billy wasn’t right. Somehow, a long time ago he’d misunderstood something, and he was still trying to go back and get it right.

“Did I read you wrong?” Harrington said lightly. “I thought…”

Billy sat up quickly, jerking his hand back, “I don’t know what you mean.”

“It’s okay,” Harrington sat up, “Hey, Hargrove, it’s-”

“I don’t know what you’re getting at, Harrington.”

“Keep your fucking voice down,” Harrington leaned forward and laid a finger over Billy’s lips, taking in Billy’s flinch with wide eyes. “I just… like you. I thought if I made some kind of overture you would finally get out of your head about the whole thing.”

“What?” Billy’s voice just came out as a cracked whisper.

“I’ve been hinting,” Harrington raised one scarred brow. “You thought I asked to share the watch with you for what? My health?”

Billy let out a shuddery breath.

“I like you, Hargrove. Thought we could watch the stars until these jackasses go to sleep, and then…” Harrington grinned, the glow of the firelight making him look almost devilish, “At least give me a kiss. Unless you really don’t want to, Sugar. But I think you do…”

It was the same tone as he used on the pretty fillies in town and by God, was it working on Billy.

“Sugar? Ain’t nothing sweet about me, Harrington,” Billy stalled.

Harrington had the nerve to glow, his pretty face lighting up as he licked his lips, “I’ll be the judge of that.”

Billy glanced back at the rest of the camp.

“We’re just lookin’ at the stars right now, Sugar. Nothing to see,” Harrington teased. “Come sit down for a while with me.”

He wasn’t sure if this was a good idea. Actually might be the worst idea he’d ever had.

But there’s never been so fine a thing as Harrington in his grasp. Not with those mooney eyes, that pretty face. His fine way of talking and his cool hand.

He could always sneak off before Harrington had a chance to tell anyone. He spoke Spanish better than any of them, so they’d be stuck holding their dicks while he made his way up North.

So he sat down in the dirt again, and let Harrington take his hand.

Harrington’s eyes were like a cattle brand on the side of his face, but he kept his eyes on the stars.

“My mama used to tell me that the stars were always the same, somethin’ constant. She knew all the names for ‘em,” Billy said, his voice gravel rough. “But… I don’t know.”

“You like constant things, Hargrove.”

“Yeah, I suppose I do.”

“So do I.”

Billy stared up until he felt like his eyes were blurring. Or maybe it was just the smoke from the fire.

“My father’s a powerful man,” Harrington said slowly, “Houses in Boston, Philadelphia, and he’s got a big parcel of land up near Bozeman, just waiting on a big old house to be built.”

“Huh.”

“He had designs on retiring, moving out west. Don’t know why, he’s about the most lily-livered man in all of Massachusetts,” Harrington’s voice wavered, “But he told me when I left, I ruined that because he can’t retire now. Not with no son to inherit.”

Billy frowned, blinking up at the sky, “Where are you going with this, Harrington?”

Harrington sighed, “I’m just sayin’. There’s a big parcel of land in the name of Steven Yancey Harrington, Senior, up in Montana. I just gotta get the money to head up there. Build myself a little place. Something constant in this fucked up world.”

Billy’s eyes prickled.

“I wouldn’t want to do anything but fish all day. Maybe get a chicken or two, sell eggs in the city. Hell, if I got enough money I’d say the hell with my father and build wherever I can find. Head out to the golden shores of California.”

“Sounds nice.”

“It’s gonna be. But it would be nicer with someone there. Maybe someone who knows a little latin, for when I’m a little slow on the uptake,” Harrington laughed.

“You’re not slow,” He searched the skies, wishing they could say what Harrington meant, because he wasn’t sure if he knew. “I feel slow. I hardly know what you’re talking about half the time, Harrington.”

“I’m talking about you and me finding a little slice of constant with each other, Hargrove,” Harrington’s hand tightened a little. 

Billy turned towards him at last and Harrington quickly glanced up at the rest of the camp before resting his hand on Billy’s cheek. “I hear there’s an awful lot of stars out in Montana. Man could get lost in a sky so blue. Among other things.”

Billy’s breath stilled in his lungs.

“I like you, Billy.”

“I like you too, Harrington.” It was more air than sound, half carried away by smoke.

Harrington’s breath brushed Billy’s lips, “See, I told you. You’re so sweet. Sweet on me.”

“Shut the fuck up, Harrington.”

“Make me, Sugar.”

It was a cool night out in the plains, just north of Nuevo Paraíso. Their boots made scraping noises in the dirt when they knocked together, hands grasping, tongues tangling. Billy didn’t lose his head but it was a close thing.

Billy never really knew much about the stars. He only cared about what was on earth, what he could hold and grasp. Constant things, like Harrington’s heartbeat under his palm, his sweet taste on Billy’s tongue.

But when he finally pulled back, trying to get his head on right… Harrington had stars in those big brown eyes.

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Light on the Darkside - Chapter Twenty Four.

Big thanks as ever to you all, the LOTD book club! :)

Previous chapters - One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty Twenty One Twenty Two Twenty Three

Tag list - In the comments. Please DM to be added/removed.

Words - 3,268

Warnings - 18+ throughout. Topics cover depression, suicide and eating disorders. Minors DNI!

“Oi! Put it down!” 

“But dad I can use it as a lance!” 

“Nah, son. No improvising medieval weaponry. It’s too sharp, drop it.” 

“N’aww dad! You get to play with weapons!” 

“That’s for music videos and album art. Put the bloody massive stick down, Wolf.” 

“Alright. If I find one that isn’t sharp, can I play with that one?” 

Closing his eyes, Steve groaned, brows furrowing as his best mate hissed with laughter at his pain. “That boy’ll be the fucking death of me.” 

“Can I, dad?” 

“Fine, go on, find another,” he called, watching his son run off at the speed of light across the muddy terrain. “Anything to save my pissing ears for five fucking minutes!” he then added in quieter tones, James still laughing.  

They’d taken the kids out to Kinver Edge for the day, a woodland escarpment four miles west of Stourbridge. It was over an hour away from where they lived, but definitely worth the visit. It brought back many memories.  

“Freya,” James warned, his child now taking over in the picking up something she shouldn’t stakes. “Put the rock down.” 

“I can’t! Need it!” 

“What for? I don’t trust that you’re not about to dash it at your sister.” And for a three-year-old, she had one hell of a throwing arm.  

“Demons!” 

“Ain’t no demons up Kinver, baba. Put it down.” 

“There might be, daddy! Who can say!”  

He couldn’t keep the smile from his face. “Well, if there is, you’re enough to see ‘em off all on your own, innit. You forget that you’re the chaos of the night, they don’t stand a chance.” 

The rock was dropped. “And I have the army of the dead!” 

“Yeah, you do!” he chuckled, Steve laughing at his side. 

“I love that kid to pieces, she’s such a riot.” he spoke, the pair watching as Freya pottered away over the mossier ground, Logan and Zara leading the pack in the distance along with Hugo and Otis, as well as Fenrir, Steve’s Northern Inuit dog. As soon as he’d seen them used as the dire wolves on Game of Thrones, he’d chewed Andrea’s ear off until she’d agreed they could get one.  

And James was stuck with French fuckery number one and number two. Because Ella had always wanted French bulldogs and he couldn’t say no.  

Continuing to walk, they navigated a path down to one of the draws of Kinver Edge, the famed and old red rock dwelling that apparently used to be inhabited by a herbalist until her death in 1617. Many folklore stories existed about the woman, most of which James and Steve had heard when visiting the place in their youth.  

“Ahh, the last time we were up here, sunshine. Getting stoned with them hot girls,” Steve began, the kids screaming with mirth on the other side of the rock formation, the dogs barking excitedly. “You over in that corner getting ridden by that bird you were seeing from... where was she from?” 

“Halesowen,” James confirmed, looking over, remembering his nineteen-year-old self, and the gorgeous twenty-year-old he’d been casually dating at the time.  

“And what was her name?” 

“Nicola.” 

Steve flicked his fingers, waving his hand in remembrance. “That’s it! That was her, and I was having a bit of her mate...” 

“Cerys.” 

“Yeah, her,” Steve grinned, remembering. “Oooh, that girl couldn’t half suck a dick. Telling ya. Quality blowjob skills, proper gorgeous an’ all. Fucking sky blue eyes and great big tits.” 

“Calm yourself,” James snorted, “but yeah, she was top grade sexy. Never told you this at the time, but after you and her stopped seeing each other, I was shagging her for a bit. She used to go up that rock club in Birmingham, XL’s. Gaz was seeing her best mate Nat, so yeah. Took me up there with him and it just happened one night. Broke the bed in Nat’s spare room giving her a damned good banging. Proper little wild thing, she was, innit?” 

Steve boomed with laughter at that revelation. “You fucking tart, Jim! Nabbing my leftovers, ya dickhead.” God, how they’d had some fun in their single years. “We were proper reprobates in our youth.” 

“Ain’t much fucking better now, man,” James chuckled, “just married ones with kids and mortgages and all that.” 

“Yeah, suppose you ain’t wrong there.” How different things were upon their return twenty-one years later. “Logan, don’t lick the rock, son.” 

“Why? Freya did!” 

“Freya, stop licking everything. It ain’t yours just because you lick it, we’ve talked about this,” James called, the tiny destroyer of worlds grinning at him, her mouth covered in red dust. And so, it continued... 

“Logan, mate, don’t pee off the side of the rock! There might be people walking below.” 

“Freya, don’t wipe snot on your sister.”  

“Wolf, that’s a branch. You’re not bringing a branch with you! Now look, the bloody dogs got in on it too! Fenrir, come back.” 

“Zara, don’t put mud on your face! No, it ain’t warpaint. Stop.”  

Steve was in hysterics at the last one, reaching for her as they caught up, dropping a kiss atop her head. “Something might’ve pooped in that, honey.” 

“Doesn’t smell bad, though,” she reasoned, giving him a quick hug before she was hurtling off again, threatening Wolf with a beating. 

“Yeah, you give him stacks, sweetheart,” Steve chuckled, shaking his head. “So how come big girl didn’t come along? She’s usually well up for this.” 

“Gone off swimming with her mates,” he revealed, unscrewing his water bottle and taking a few gulps. “That almost didn’t happen either, with the mouthful she was giving her mum this morning.”  

“Yeah? Guess I’ve got all this to come, but boys are easier. We just communicate in a series of grunts an’ all that.” 

“Yup, and girls screech, which was Lyra’s preferred communication at being told she wasn’t allowed to go to the cinema later. Like way later tonight. She knows she ain’t allowed out past eight, but nah. Really trying it on right now, so yeah, Ella is satan at the moment because she put her foot down and told her she’d be collected from Kitt’s at 6pm as arranged.” 

Steve clicked his tongue with a small grimace. “Nah, can’t be good, mate. Suppose it’s normal, though. Ain’t like we never challenged authority. Remember when we snuck out of your bedroom window and ended up in The Crown all night when we were fifteen?” 

Ahhh, the halcyon days of the nineties, where I.D’s weren’t checked if you looked eighteen, James and Steve looking much older than their years for both being tall and needing to shave from their early teens.  

“Fuck, yeah I do. Dad opening the back door and finding us on the shed roof pissed out of our heads, trying to climb back up to my room again! Sneaking us through the house so the duchess didn’t wake up. Man, if Lyra gets up to even half of what we used to, I’m gonna be going even more grey than I already am real fucking quickly, innit,” James laughed, remembering how cool his dad had been about it, wheeze laughing at the teenagers as they’d staggered around atop the shed. 

Their trip down memory lane was then disturbed by the demoness of darkness, shouting loudly. Freya did, after all, only have one volume. “Daddy! I’ve found a corpse!” 

James closed his eyes, wincing slightly. “I ain’t a religious man, but I pray when we get over there that it’s a bird or some kind of woodland animal, cos’ with her, you never know.” 

Steve hissed with laughter. “She’d not be scared, would she?” 

“Nah, she’d be there poking it with a stick screaming ‘why are you dead, though?’ and all that. She’s too much like me for her own good.” They caught up with the kids, seeing quickly that it was a dead and decaying badger, Steve moving quickly to grab Freya when she went to touch it. 

“Oi, no touching the cadaver, little destroyer of worlds,” he advised, holding her in his arms as she began to fiddle with his long, blonde hair. Gone were the days of dyeing it dark brown with his two bleached streaks at the front, Steve back to his natural colour, plus a few silvery grey strands he couldn’t be bothered to dye. Unlike James, who dyed his every three weeks to keep them at bay.  

“Uncle Steve, can I have piggy back?” 

He nodded, pointing a finger. “Yeah, but no kicking me, right?” 

A kiss to his cheek was delivered, Freya beginning to scramble around to his back with his help. “Promise no kicks!” A further three kilometres were walked that afternoon, returning to the carpark and going their separate ways. Ten minutes into the journey home and James had two sleeping children in the back of his truck, the dogs settled in the front passenger footwell also nodding off. Long walks were a sure-fire way to exhaust those with abundant energy, that was for certain. 

They arrived home at just gone six, Ella obviously out fetching their eldest. He couldn’t see anything obviously set out for dinner, deciding to order pizza in for everyone instead after quickly calling his wife to check. She thanked him endlessly, telling him they’d be back in ten minutes. He noticed she sounded a little terse on the phone, swiftly finding out why that was when she and Lyra entered the house not long after, the latter causing a fuss.  

“Zara, take your sister to the den, go on,” James spoke, jerking his head in the direction, not wanting them to have to suffer what would likely be a full-scale attitude fit. “I’ll call you when the food arrives.” 

His second eldest nodded, picking up Freya and heading out. Five seconds passed before the kitchen door flew open, the harbinger of said attitude stomping in. “Dad! Tell her she isn’t fair, because I cannot with her. I really can’t!” 

“Is this about the cinema again?” he asked, leaning against the dishwasher and folding his arms, turning to give Ella a kiss. God, she looked tense. He envisaged she would need a large drink and a shoulder rub later that night, both of which he’d happily provide.  

“It isn’t fair! Kitt is allowed out until ten, so why can’t I be?” 

“Kitt’s a little bit older than you. Once you’re thirteen we can talk again about how late you’re allowed out, but while you’re twelve, eight o’ clock is late enough,” he explained, being met by further exasperation. 

“You’re only saying that to side with her!” she raged, gesturing towards Ella as she took a seat at the island, combing her fingers through her hair a few times with a sigh. 

“I’m saying it because it’s a rule we set as your parents, and what we say goes.” 

A loud huff filled the air, Ella chipping in to try and deescalate the situation. “Kitt also has Danielle with him, so he’s only allowed out late because of that, since she can take them both home afterwards,” she reminded her, speaking of Kitt’s elder sister, who was seventeen and had her driving license as of a few months before. 

“She could have brought me home, too! Or one of you could have picked me up!” she screamed, James frowning. 

“Lower your voice, Lyra,” he warned, watching his daughter stomp to the fridge, pulling a carton of juice out aggressively. “She couldn’t have brought you home because it meant you being out past your curfew, and that ain’t happening. Same with us picking you up. Plus, even if the time wasn’t an issue, I’m knackered and so is your mum. We drive you guys around for this and that all week. Now, be bloody told.” 

“You dad is right, love,” Ella spoke, receiving a thunderous look, “and you know you had to be in at six tonight because you’ve got homework to do, which you really should be making a start on now instead of arguing with us.” 

“I fucking hate you!” 

Oh, now she’d done it. “Oi, less of that. You ain’t getting away with swearing at your mum like that. Room. Now.” 

“But dad, I...” 

“Lyra, get upstairs. Now. I ain’t joking.” 

Grabbing her juice, she flounced from the kitchen, slamming the door so hard the glass pane rattled, James moving to behind his wife to begin kneading her shoulders. “Fancy letting those magical hands wander lower, baby?” 

He laughed dirtily. “Yeah, and I’ll follow ‘em with my mouth later on, too.” 

Tilting her head back, she kissed the side of his neck, leaning against his chest when he wrapped two massive arms around her. “I approve of this.” 

“Thought you might,” he winked. “So, good day apart from big girl being a beast?” 

“Yeah, it was great,” she replied, heaving herself up and reaching for the bottle of Merlot over on the other counter, pulling two glassed from the tall, slim cupboard beside it. “I got all the house clean, laundry caught up on, then had that one session that I needed to rebook because of my dentist trip on Thursday. I even had a nap in the bath. Woke up all bleedin’ crinkly like E.T! How about you?” 

He took the glass of wine she passed him, moving to sit down at the island next to her. Sitting felt good after an eight-kilometre walk. Their dogs agreed, neither of the potatoes moving from their spot on the rug in the lounge, where they’d flopped down as soon as they’d arrived home.  

“Yeah, had a right top grade time, with Freya being Freya. She found a bloody dead badger and didn’t even flinch. Then on the way back, she went headfirst into a massive puddle. Got most of it cleaned off her but she’s gonna need flinging into the bath.” 

Flung she was after they’d all sat down to eat together, minus a moody Lyra, who Ella had taken a plate up to and received nothing in response. Once the youngest two were bath fresh and in bed, their parents happily sank down onto the sofa to watch a film, choosing Goodfellas, one of James’s favourites.  

“Oh, can I watch this with you?” Lyra spoke, entering during the first ten minutes of the film. It was nice to hear her a little more cheerful, but then again, they could both guess it was only because she wanted something. 

“Hmm, no, sweetheart. It’s got a bit too much questionable content for a twelve-year old,” Ella spoke, after thinking on it for a few moments. She didn’t want to be overly strict a mother, but with the foul language – much worse than anything James came out with in front of the kids – and the murder, plus drug use, she didn’t feel it appropriate. 

“But you let me watch Guy Richie films and they’re full of the same!” she had argued back at her, as Ella knew she would. 

“Yes, but they’re not quite as graphically depicted.”  

A large huff left her mouth. “Treating me like a child.” 

“Newsflash, Lyra. You are one,” James offered, starting to feel his patience wearing a little thin. If Ella was being in any way unreasonable, he might understand the hostility, but in truth, she wasn’t. 

“You know what, dad? You used to be so much cooler, like even a few weeks ago but now you just take her side all the time! Tired of it!” Oh, god. Not round two. 

James merely shook his head, sighing hard through his nose. “And we’re tired of you being a drama queen over the slightest thing. Ain’t exactly like you’ve had a stifled upbringing is it, Lyra? You’ve spent virtually every summer since you were born at music festivals, we’re way more relaxed with things than our parents used to be with us, but nah. That ain’t enough, is it? Really getting tired of your shit, kid. The way you speak to your mum especially.” 

Leaving for the kitchen, her mouth threw back some further attitude. “Moody old bastard.” 

“Woah, no, no,” Ella spoke, pressing a hand to his chest and pushing him down when he went to jump off the sofa. If James was pushed too far, he had the tendency as ever to run his mouth, and loudly. Him and Lyra were entirely too similar in that respect, and it was the last thing she wanted to see happen. “Let me go, calm down.”  

She rubbed his chest fondly, leaning to kiss him before getting up, entering the kitchen. 

“What now?” Lyra snapped, Ella closing the door after her and pointing at the island. 

“Sit down.” 

“Don’t want to.” 

Her jaw tightened, eyes rounding. “I said sit down. Now.” Ella didn’t raise her voice a single octave, but the look on her face made Lyra understand loud and clear that she meant business, the girl moving to a seat, her mum standing adjacent. “Look, what you’re doing right now, all this gobbing off and pushing back against us, or rather me more often than not, I get it. You’re a teenager, it goes with the territory,” she began, Lyra rolling her eyes. 

“Here we go. Therapy bullshit,” she scoffed, Ella closing her eyes and counting to five. 

“It isn’t. This is me telling you I understand the mood swings, the challenging us. I wasn’t born at thirty-nine, Lyra. I was twelve once too, you know, and I was a gobby little cow to your nanny April as well. You need to stop throwing my job in my face at me when what I’m doing is no different to any other mother concerned for her child. And yes, you are a child still.” 

Her words were met with a sniff on nonchalance, Lyra beginning to pick at the ends of her hair as her mum continued. “Listen, you know your dad and I have been quite relaxed as far as parents go, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any rules. Life doesn’t work like that. It’d be nice if it did. I’d definitely like to tell the council to piss off on occasion with how much they bleedin’ rinse me for tax every year.” 

Despite herself, Lyra snorted, not quite able to bite back her little burst of laughter. “Suppose.” 

“If you met us halfway, too, we might be a bit more lenient with you, but as it stands, I don’t think we’re being too firm.” 

She continued the hair picking, her moment of being entertained over as the smirk returned. “Could have done that tonight and let me stay out, but no.”  

It was like running in circles, it truly was. “I’ve said all I need to on that front. Just try to meet us halfway, alright?” 

“Yeah,” she hummed, “whatever, mum.” It was a little less frosty than before, but her face said it all. While Lyra returned upstairs to head to bed, Ella collapsed onto the sofa, burying her head in James’s lap. 

“While you’re down there, little.” Emerging, she saw him wink, his grin widening considerably. “What?” 

“Dirty boy. But I will, don’t you worry. I need a damned good shagging to unwind a bit.” she spoke, turning over and stroking his thigh while continuing to watch the film. By the time they headed to bed, another few glasses of wine drunk, sleeping definitely was not on the agenda.  

In times of parenting hardship, they always had one another to fall back on. Or in that particular instance, fall onto a bed with. 

[kurtmustdie]

What if I just

(Miles) Sparkflight- nightrain-wing (usually appears black like a regular nightwing, but particularly likes using his rainwing power of color change to blend into environments. He has future sight powers, but he hasn’t harnessed them very well yet.)

(Gwen) Snowdance- icerain-wing (she has Snow White scales that look water colored blue and pink in some places. usually they’re very light, easy colors in the eyes, they rarely change to anything too harsh unless she’s really emotional. She treats her scales like a canvas.)

(Hobie) Ivy- rain-wing (lets his scales change color freely, no one really knows what his base scale pattern is like because he’s not one to cover up the emotion in his scales)

(Pavitr) Petrel- skyrain-wing (similarly to Swordfish, he only has select scales that can change color, but he really likes changing them. His base scale color is a true red tone, and he usually has blue and gold highlights on the scales he can change.)

(Miguel) Swordfish- Searain-wing (like a dark, dark blue, where only his light up scales change color. Being one of the only seawing he uses that to his advantage and communicates with himself under his breath with his light up scales. He basically looks like an rgb keyboard lmao.)

(Jess) Stardrift- night-wing (a dark, violet-black scaled dragon, her star scales on her wings look like shooting stars. Mind reader.)

(Peter B.) Petalite- sky-wing (average red skywing who’s adorned with little trinkets)

(Mayday) Malachite- skywing (a bright red flamescale, Petalite made everyone gloves that they can put on their talons to hold her.)

(LYLA) Limpet- lucky for her she’s the only human (scavenger, in this case). One of swordfish’s. . . Friends. . . found her one day and decided not to eat her so she (the friend) gave her to him as company. She thinks Swordfish is her pet dragon, Swordfish thinks she’s his pet scavenger. Everyone is very confused in this scenario.

(The Spot) Polka Dot: fucked up little rainwing who somehow got his hands on an animus talisman. Oops.

(Margo) Seawhisper- nightsea-wing (she’s a dark blue, lighter than Swordfish for reference, and has very gorgeous ombré sky blue to light violet light up scales. She has mind reading powers :3)

(Kingpin) Strongwings- big fuckin nightwing. Like huge. If you think Swordfish looks big for a dragon you’re not prepared to see this guy— er— this corpse, I guess. He’s dead.

They’re all connected through being animus. Other than Strongwings and Polka Dot, of course.

See it as like.. the talons of peace but everyone is less mentally stable.

I’ll come up with their dragon names later probably, and I might draw a few of them.

[charismatic-writer]

Because of my lack of motivation, but desire to share my writings, i will be posting some of my WIPs that i never got to finish, and will probably never finish.

Here is one of them.

TITLE: Her

FANDOM: Dream SMP

CHARACTERS: Ranboo, Mumza, Technoblade (mentioned), Philza (mentioned)

WARNINGS: Description of death/afterlife, in deoth description of panic attacks, Wilbur Soot is mentioned once, NOT PROOFREAD

WORD COUNT: 748

Ranboo Died. Ranboo was dead. They stood face to face with a Goddess. She called herself Kristin, the goddess of life and death. Ranboo was confused; they thought that when you die you were sent to some type of limbo. At least, that’s what Wilbur said when he came back from the dead. Limbo. Not whatever this place is. He was supposed to be in some type of hell. With fire! And demons? Is that what being in hell is like?

“Now what happened to you, love?” Kristin asks them, taking their hand and the two of them walk down a long narrow path.

“I'm not entirely sure... Last thing I remember, I was with Techno and Dream. We were leaving... the prison? I think it was the prison. It’s a bit fuzzy after that, but then I remember Sam holding me hostage... and I remember Techno-” Ranboo’s voice breaks, but they aren’t crying. “Techno was trying to get Sam to let me go- but- Sam killed me with his sword.”

Kristin stops and pulls Ranboo into her chest. “Oh my, I’m so sorry that happened to you dear. I promise that here, all that pain will go away.” But then she pauses. “Techno...? As in Technoblade?”

This gets a nod from Ranboo.

“Ah, Techno, he’s lovely, isn’t he?” Kristin smiles. “Now... we should probably find you a place to stay.”

“Ms. Death, I don’t want to stay here. I want to go back to Earth. I-I mean, I have a son, and a husband! I mean... I think I have a husband...? I need to go back and see my son! And I never helped Phil build the potato farm for Techno... I need to go back. I have to.”

Hearing her husband’s name catches Kristin off guard. “You know my Phil...?” Kristin asks the teen. “How do you know him?”

Ranboo looks confused. "You're 'Her'?" Ranboo asks. "I thought your name was Her, not Kristin.”

Kristin laughs softly. "No, Ranboo. My name is Kristin. I'll make sure to teach you about pronouns at some point."

“ Ms. Death. I really think I should go back to Earth. I need to see Phil and Techno again- I mean-He and Techno took me in after the war in L’Manburg. They let me stay with them in the Arctic, I even joined the Syndicate. I have so much with them back on Earth Ms. Death. I’m so scared; I just want to go home.” The teen’s face contorts as tears well in their eyes, trailing down their black and white cheeks

“Is that really what you want Ranboo?” Kristin asks with a sense of sincerity in her voice.

The teen nods. “I want to see them all again.”

“Okay, it’s settled then. I’ll take you back to Earth tomorrow morning. Until then, let’s get you settled.” Kristin led them back towards a humble cottage that sits in the center of a circle of trees, smoke flowing from the chimney, and a path of flowers leading to the front door. It was beautiful, and it fit perfectly with the gorgeous landscape of this place. Tall green trees, bright green grass and a big blue sky full of fluffy clouds.

“This is where you will stay for the night, and I’ll come get you in the afternoon to take you back home.” Kristin tells them, opening the door to the cottage.

“Thanks.” Ranboo states simply, walking into the foyer.

“Of course, love. I’ll let you get settled, and I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Ranboo lets out a sigh as Kristin closes the door to cottage leaving them alone in the large house. Reality hits Ranboo like a semi-truck. They were dead. And they were in some sort of.. Limbo? Or is this heaven. But either way they are dead. Sam killed them at the prison in front of Dream, and Techno. Michael is god knows where and probably in danger. It was so much to take in at once. Before they knew it, they were hyperventilating. Their breaths labored an uneven as he gasps for any amount of air he could get. He was dead- murdered in cold blood all because of Dream, and Sam, and the whole situation!

Their lungs ache as they continue to gasp desperately for oxygen. Their mouth was dry, and vision spotty. They felt like they were dying. Which- they were already dead so that couldn’t be possible, but it sure as hell felt like it.