#who am I forgetting…there’s so many out there…

[angelfic]

jason todd x reader

warnings — mentions of blood, death, violence, weapons, jealousy. unedited!!

a/n; i have to fight myself not to make reader have certain traits of mine like my anger issues but sometimes she deserves to be a little crazy. as a treat.

JASON TODD with someone that matches his freak.

You have so much patience and grace for him and he loves you for the way you make him feel less broken every day you’re together. But he won’t lie that he enjoys it when you’re the one who goes a little crazy.

He teaches you self defence pretty regularly, because he knows he can’t always be there, protecting you on the streets of Gotham and he’d rather you be prepared for any given scenario.

You’re a good student, listening to his every word and successfully mastering most of the manoeuvres he teaches you. He enjoys teaching you for many reasons, one of them being that he has an excuse for keeping his hands on you. But his favourite thing is the way your eyes light up when you manage to knock him off his feet or land a hit.

You ask him if he’s alright because there’s a pink flush kissing his cheeks and he mumbles that he’s fine, but really he’s blushing because he’s embarrassed about the sick thoughts he’s having about you being able to physically hurt him. That is until you grab one of his knives off the table.

You twirl it between your fingers, seemingly fascinated with the way the warm lighting of your apartment reflects off the blade, showing off its fatally sharp edges.

“Would you teach me how to stab a guy?”

He feels like he’s had the wind knocked out of him. Your voice is so sweet, asking him such a question so politely and who is he to deny you?

Never in a million years will Jason think he deserves you, and there’s always going to be a little voice in his head that says you could leave him at any given time for any one of your choosing. Which is why he gets jealous really easily, but he tries his best to hide it as not to scare you away.

Not that it would, since you never bother hiding the scowl on your face when you catch another girl throwing glances at him now and then. Jason doesn’t even notice the other girl until he looks over at you and sees the dark look in your eyes and suddenly his blood runs hot.

God forbid a girl tries to talk to Jason in a flirty way, because you’re immediately there, wrapping your arms around his waist, fingers sneaking under his leather jacket.

“Hey, babe,” you say, voice deliberately sweet as you look up at him. “I was looking for you.”

“That so, sweetheart?” he murmurs, amusement flickering across his blue eyes as his arms naturally find your waist. He completely forgets there was even another girl talking to him until you turn around to stare her down.

“And you are?”

“Oh, uh, no one,” she says, faltering slightly, her eyes still glued to Jason. “I was—”

“Right,” you cut her off, a smile gracing your face, but your voice is flat and devoid of any emotion. “We were just leaving.”

You don’t bother waiting for a response before you’re dragging him out of there and he’s gladly letting you.

Your smile drops as soon as you’re both alone and you’re letting go of him, walking faster ahead of him. He catches up to you easily, trying not to laugh when you bat his hands away. “I hope the two of you are very happy together,” you snap, refusing to look at him.

Jason grins, stepping in front of you to stop you. You cross your arms over your chest, glaring at him. “You could have shut that down, you know.”

He exhales a laugh, tilting his head and smiling even wider at how pissed off at him you look. “There was nothing to shut down,” he says truthfully, stepping closer to invade your personal space and uncrossing your arms to pull you closer. “Plus, I like seeing you a little jealous.”

A little is a bit generous since you look downright murderous, but he’s not complaining in the slightest.

You still refuse to look at him. “I am not jealous. I could have easily beaten her ass,” you mutter.

Jason huffs out a laugh, and when you scoff and turn away, he catches your wrist and tugs you forward so you stumble against him, using his chest to steady yourself. His lips ghost against your ear, making you shiver slightly as he whispers, “My money’s on you, babe. And for the record, you’re the only one I’m ever looking at.”

Your irritation melts into something else entirely and you playfully roll your eyes at him. He knows he’s got you now, just like he’s aware of how much you pretend to hate that he knows how to handle you.

When he comes home, covered in blood finally allowing his shoulders to sag with exhaustion, you don’t even flinch at the sight of him. You smile when he enters your apartment, dropping a kiss to his cheek in greeting and guiding him to sit.

“Any of this blood yours?” you ask, calmly. He doesn’t miss the concern in your voice and the way you’re subtly checking each area covered in blood for any hint of a wound.

He shakes his head and your body relaxes. “Good,” you mutter, focused now on scrubbing away a spot of dried blood from out of his suit. You don’t bother attempting to clean his hair since you’ll get it out in the bath a bit later.

He watches you, waiting for you to ask a question that never comes. The question that he feels like the members of his family are always asking in an attempt to morality check him.

You’re not like them, though. Your expression remained unfazed when the washcloth in your hands is more red than whatever colour it was before.

His jaw tightens. “You’re not gonna ask?”

“Ask what, Jay?” You tilt your head, pausing in your movements. He hesitates for a second.

“How many?”

Understanding dawns on your face and you slowly nod. “Ah. Well. Do you want me to ask?”

He studies you for a long moment as you resume your work with the washcloth, moving to the areas that the blood seeped through a gap in his suit to coat his wrists. The quiet hum of your shared apartment settles around you both. Then, he shakes his head. “No.”

“Alright then,” you say softly, setting the washcloth down. His bloodied shirt is next, torn in some places, damp with sweat from overexerting himself. You grab the hem, pulling it over his head and he lets you. Tossing it to the ground, you hesitate for the first time tonight when you catch sight of his torso. You frown, fingers skimming over his bruised ribs. Your touch is light, careful. You finally meet his eyes, unflinchingly. “Every single one of them deserved it.”

A sharp exhale leaves his lip, something between relief and something else — something darker. He shudders out a breath and finally allows himself to touch you, knowing you won’t break.

Pulling you closer, he rests his head against your chest, melting into you when your fingers start to lightly scratch against his scalp.

You aren’t scared of him. You never would be, he was pretty certain of that. He even sees some of that same darkness in you that he used to wish he could rid himself of. And he loves you for it.

Jason has never been more fucking gone for anyone in his life.

a/n cont.; only difference between reader and a psych ward patient is that she’s outside

[monowires]

okay i doubt anyone will care about this nonsense rattling around in my skull, but i have a gale opinion to deliver.

i’ve seen a couple takes about gale mentioning mystra during the outer planes scene - “with you i forget my goddess” - that say it feels crude or odd of him to mention her in such a personal, intimate moment. i am one of the veritable few (or perhaps many, if i have simply not seen this opinion elsewhere) who felt quite touched by that line.

mystra has basically been involved in gale’s entire life. even before they were lovers she was his teacher and, of course, the goddess of the Weave. after his falling out with her he spent an entire year alone - due to the orb, yes, but it is very obvious that being cast out by mystra also had an immense effect on gale’s mental health during that time. i mean, it doesn’t take long at all after meeting him for him to open up about it at least vaguely; it’s been on his mind for a year, and he has had no one (except for tara) to talk to about it.

it’s also very easy to infer that he’s terrified of being cast out again, although he views it in such a way that he wouldn’t blame you if you did - because he still thinks he needs to earn mystra’s forgiveness. he still feels like he is the only problem. when he tells you about the orb, he immediately starts talking about how he wouldn’t blame you at all if you wanted to get rid of him, and even when you’ve romanced him he talks about being undeserving of your love and that he’s going to do everything he can to make it so that he is. he very clearly doesn’t think of himself as a worthy partner, and you cannot tell me that’s not because of mystra.

so no, i don’t think it’s weird or crude for him to mention mystra in such a personal moment. because what he’s saying there isn’t “you distract me from mystra”, he’s saying that the relationship makes him forget all of the self-doubt and insecurities that mystra sowed in him. it makes him feel like he may actually be worthy of love. it makes him feel like he’s more than just his mistakes.

anyway this probably didn’t make ANY sense but it was bouncing around in my skull like the dvd screensavers.

[dragonoftheshadows]

I too, am angry. Yes, communication is easier... but it's communication of EVERYTHING. Lies, truths, doesn't matter - its everywhere and everyone is seeing it. To use the internet is to be bombarded by these things.

What the internet has done that hasn't eradicated fascism is ruined many people's ability to check the truth of things. How often do you see something on the internet and stop to check if it's real before liking/reblogging/commenting? I certainly don't always do so, even if I try to be careful.

People have the power to anonymously say things they might never hope to say out loud, and people can be carried away by the ability to anonymously support these things. I'm not saying anonymity is bad, per se, but this is definitely a factor.

Then you can have people - let's use Donald Trump for example - who can peddle a lie and have literally millions of people believe it before it is disproved. Take the dogs and cats one, right- he was claiming, if you don't know, that Haitian refugees were eating people's pets. That lie was first picked up by the MAGA people, sure, but carried by loads of people who weren't in that group. Even once it was disproved, there are still people who think that's true.

Common sense could tell you that, from a man with Trump's views, this would be a lie, but even just 5 minutes of googling at the time told you the truth, too. Think about where you get most of your news info from, where do you get most of your political knowledge?

Even if people sound politically knowledgeable or are usually honest/correct/reasonable, they are still fallable, ghey could make a mistake or they could have a very specific set of views on one topic and so on. I include myself in this, by the way. I make mistakes, I forget to go to a reputable source, I don't remember to check my facts. Go look up everything I say in this post and let me know if I got it wrong.

And, for news sites... is it a reputable one? Are they usually correct with info? Are they biased left or right? Who funds them? (In other words, regarding this last one, do they have an agenda that could affect what news they produce?) It's a bit of work, but this the world, this is people's lives we are affecting.

Now, back to Trump and his lie about the Haitian people. That's clearly a racist attack on these people and their culture, specifically what foods they might or might not eat. By the way, from a quick internet search, it's nothing that should make people from the US (Listen, I forgot the word for this general culture) uncomfortable, by which I mean nothing they themselves wouldn't eat.

Trump didn't even care whether they ate those animals AT ALL, which is how you know this was a racist attack on their culture and not an honest mistake - it wouldn't have been a mistake anyway coming from him, but I'm trying to be politically neutral here. That took me not even 30 seconds of common sense and a quick squizz at the internet to figure out.

Wake up people. This is what is destroying the world.

TLDR: many people no longer properly understand how to find a reputable source and think critically about whether things are true, in part thanks to the internet. This makes it impossible to eradicate things such as fascism. It makes it easier for people with extreme views to gain support and get into power, even if some (or many) of those supporters don't fully understand or believe in those peoples ideas.

I'm very angry that fascism is possible in a world after the invention of the internet. communication has never been easier and hating fascists is supposed to be a commonly accepted and widespread belief. this is extremely frustrating

[goddamnitmahtin]

Danny’s Designer Friend

Okay so hear me out. Danny jumps universes a lot right? It’s a part of running errands for Clockwork. He may be the Ghost king but since he was Clockwork’s mentee at the same time, he had to run time errands sometimes. It took him to some really interesting places.

Some places had magic, some didn’t. Some had heroes that used their own devices and some had heroes that used magical artifacts to manifest abilities. Some didn’t have heroes at all. Some universes had lots of technology and some were working to catch up. And obviously, Danny had his favorites. And he had his favorite people from each.

So…. Danny had an idea.

…

Bruce looked around suspiciously, alert to any dangers that may be in the area. He and all of his children were on duty when all of a sudden he ended up in a modern mansion of sorts with an indoor waterfall.

“What in the world-?” He heard Tim say as Red Robin appeared as well.

“Oi-!” from a surprised Spoiler as she appeared.

Sword slashing noises as Robin appeared, apparently trying to slice the air, “What is this trickery!”

Next Duke in his pajamas and Nightwing appeared, landing on top of one another. “Get your sweaty ass off me,” Bruce heard his son say as he pushed his older brother off of him.

“GUYS!” Oracle called as she fell. She had teleported in but her chair didn’t seem to have come with her. Red Robin and Spoiler caught her just in time.

Orphan appeared silently.

Then Oracle’s wheelchair popped in, dropping onto Signal just as he had stood up. “Oh come on!” he exclaimed as a post it note apology appeared on his forehead. Presumably for forgetting the chair.

Lastly, Red Hood appeared, guns out and ready to fire. That is, if only he had anything to fire at. He quickly put them away once he realized it was only the bats and birds. The others wouldn’t have noticed it but behind his helmet, Jason was wide eyed, noticing the post it note. He only knew of two entities that used that form of communication and one meant something significantly better than the other.

After a few moments of Red Robin and Spoiler helping Oracle into her chair, footsteps could be heard approaching. Everyone tensed, ready for a fight. Except Red Hood who could feel his core tugging at him familiarly.

Two people approached. First person they were able to see was Danny. He had decided to show up in his kingly glory, his ceremonial cloak billowing behind him. As he got closer, they could see a very short woman with black hair and round glasses smoking a cigarette walking with him. Despite Danny being a king, she was the one in charge.

The woman walked up to the group with a judgmental look, “Every one of you. When I point, you tell me your title and occupation. Go.”

Nobody said anything.

“You guys better do what she says,” said Danny chuckling. Their faces so far were hilarious.

Slowly, the family obliged, starting with Red Hood.

“I go by Red Hood. I’m a crime lord. And a vigilante I guess,” Jason said. He knew enough to know they weren’t in any danger.

The others followed along until finally it got to Bruce, “I’m Batman. Vigilante.”

The short woman scoffed and immediately started pointing out the flaws in everyone’s outfits, “You all look ridiculous! What is that, bunny ears? And you! Red, green and yellow are far too many colors! You look like a traffic light! You! Those shoes are impractical and appalling! Do any of you know what style is?!”

She walked up to Duke, “I have seen photos of your suit and it is disgusting! Too bright!”

She gestured wildly to the group, “And NO CAPES!”

The woman then went up to Red Hood, “You are perfect darling, practical and filled with personality. You are my favorite.”

Danny chuckled, “He’s my favorite too.” The king shot a knowing smirk to Jason who under his helmet blushed from the comment.

“I am designing you all new suits right away!” the woman exclaimed with a wild look in her eye.

Danny couldn’t help but start laughing at this point. The looks on everyone’s faces were pure gold. This was the best idea he had literally ever had.

“I can’t wait to see it Edna. I can pay for it too,” the king said, sneaking a glance at Red Hood, “Anything for future in-laws.”

[malum-forev]

What's Past is Past

Summary: After months of not seeing Bucky, you're sent on a mission together, faking your way through a marriage. But it doesn't seem either of you are ready for it.

Ex-Bucky-Barnes x Spy-Reader

The bustling city and towering skyscrapers fade into an endless stretch of flat road faster than you expected. You never thought your job would take you beyond New York-then again, you never thought you’d be fighting alongside Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. 

For someone who consistently complains about subway delays and long for the fresh air your friends back home rave about, you’re surprisingly emotional about leaving. Even if it’s just for a month. 

Maybe it’s because you always imagined that when you finally left the city, it would be with the man of your dreams behind the wheel. 

But this? This is nothing like what you imagined. 

Sure, you have a diamond ring on your finger and a good man by your side but it’s all fake.

You pass through the only street in town, where time seems to have stopped. Everything looks as if it’s been suspended in the 1960’s.

“It says the house is just up the road.” 

It’s the first time in four hours that Bucky has spoken. He mumbled a broken hey when you got in the car, but after that, the only sound between you was the low rumble of the engine.

You hum in agreement. 

The house is nice-it’s not what you would’ve choose for yourself, but it’s nice. 

“I’m gonna get set up,” You don’t turn around as you step out of the car, heading to the trunk. 

“Let me help you with your stuff,” Bucky opens it before you can stop him.

You grab your suitcase before he can touch it. “I don’t need your help.”

“I was just trying to be nice,” he mutters as you walk past him. 

Inside, you set up your equipment, all facing south, toward your target: an ex-HYDRA assassin who’s been causing trouble.  

In any other situation, Bucky would be the worst person for this mission. But your new neighbor has had his mind wiped so many times he probably can’t tell his left hand from his right. He’s trained to kill. And you can’t have that.

A few hours later, there’s a knock at your door. 

“I was thinking of ordering a pizza. You want any?” Bucky asks, rolling his neck. 

“No, thank you.” You keep your eyes on the screen. The faster this mission ends, the faster you can leave all this behind. 

“C’mon, you need to eat.” He sighs, leaning on the doorframe. “You want your usual?” You freeze. 

“Don’t do that.” You try to sound firm, but your voice barely comes out as a whisper. “Do what?”

Finally, you look at him-for the first time all day. His steel-blue eyes meet yours. 

You’ve thought of this moment for months, ever since  everything between you imploded. But not even your wildest scenarios compare to the real thing. 

You thought you were completely over him, but the ache in your chest calls you a liar. 

“Don’t bring up  our pas,” you rip your gaze away. 

He throws his head back with a dry laugh. “Am I supposed to just forget that you like your pizza extra toasted? That your favorite color is navy? That you smile when the clouds turn darker?”

“Yes.” You snap. “You’re supposed to forget everything, that’s what you wanted-“

You stop yourself. “I can’t go down this road, Bucky.”

“Bucky?” He echoes with a scoff. “We’re back to regular names?”

That does it. 

You let out an incredulous laugh. “Yes! We’re back to our regular names, because that’s what you wanted! Did you expect me to still call you Jamie when you dumped without so much as a goodbye?”

“You’re acting like you wanted me to stay?” Bucky crosses his arms. “Like I was the perfect boyfriend?”

You shake your head. 

An amused look flashes through his face. “Are you saying I was better than the guy you’re with right now?”

“Bucky, stop,” you warn. 

“C’mon,” he raises his eyebrows. “Tell me, who’s better.”

“Oh, you want a final review? Is that why you’ve been trying to contact me? So I can give you a letter of recommendation?” You roll your eyes. “Fine, here it is. You were a great boyfriend. Attentive, loving, gentle. Until you let your own insecurities eat you alive. I tried to help you, Bucky. But you wouldn’t let me.”

Your voice cracks. 

“Then, you packed your shit and signed up for the longest mission you could find,” Your eyes prickle. “You left me. And I had to hear from someone at the compound that you’d already moved on.”

Bucky swallows hard, his eyes searching yours.

“So,” you clear your throat. “Overall, I’d give it a 6/10.”

Bucky opens his mouth to say something but you stop him. 

“Let’s just get this mission over with,” you twist the fake ring on your finger. “I have someone to get home to.”

Authors Note: tbh idk what this is, I was just dyyyyinggg to write over here again! I've been MIA becauseeeee I wrote a book LOL. Nothing to do with marvel, sadly but I would love to know if anyone here would be interested in reading it. If so, please let me know in the comments so I can tag you when I upload the first couple of chapters on here!

Anywayyyssss thanks for the love and support! Don't forget to like, reblog, and comment. It helps out a lot! Remember: my asks are always open!

[runawaybridee]

"flowers, i know. pretty sappy." - k. bakugou

fluffy drabble, snuck in some kamijirou:3, 474 wc (so short)

katsuki bakugou thinks of himself as a rough guy. he doesnt think valentine's day is that important. it's just a stupid holiday. it's not like it means anything important, right?

it's ten till six, and he's just got back from training. after many grueling hours. he makes his way to your dorm (aizawa will definitely murder him, but he doesnt really care).

as he's reaching for the knob, he hears your pretty voice. "it's like.. does he even like me?" he can hear your whiny tone. "i dunno, ribbit, maybe he just forgot." that damn frog. of course she's in your dorm, right when he wants you to cuddle study with him.

he continues listening to the conversation, he's not eavesdropping, just.. being a caring boyfriend.

"tsu, how could he forget? it's constantly in his face! i mean denki 'nd jirou are even going out for valentine's day!" bakugou lets out a soft huff, silently cursing himself for not thinking about this stupid holiday. he didnt forget, shitty hair has been talking about it 24/7. he just didnt think that you wanted him to ask you.

bakugou finds himself standing in front of his mirror, hyping himself up like an idiot. he got flowers, also some chocolates. he spent 10,000 yen on these flowers. he feels pathetic, he doesnt worry about little things like this.

the most embarrassing part of this is walking all the way to your dorm, which is on a different floor, and he obviously has to walk through the common room in front of his classmates. he gives mineta a dirty look when he hears him snicker. "shut it, you damn extra. you dont even have a girl to be your valentine." that shuts up the purple boy, who just pouts like a child.

he's at your door now, his knuckles hovering over the wood before he finally knocks. he hears your voice call out, "coming!" what if you dont like the flowers? what if you shove the chocolate in his face and rip the bouquet apart? oh god--now youve opened the door.

he clears his throat, "uh, hey." he shoves the bouquet into your hands. "kats'? what is this.." he scoffs, trying to mask his nervousness for indifference. "flowers, i know. pretty sappy.." you raise a brow, looking up at him.

"why did you get me these?" "'cause yer my valentine, idiot." he says quietly, his nickname for you. "i am?" youre a clueless thing, even though he's your boyfriend of five months, he's not the most affectionate. you dont mind, because he makes up for it in other ways.

"yeah, you like 'em?" he murmurs, sound almost.. insecure? you nod quickly, "i do! i love them, kats'!" he looks down at you, picking at his fingernails. "i also got you chocolate, but.. it melted in my pocket."

you laugh, your eyes managing to crinkle. "come in, babe."

bakugou sighs in relief, stepping into your dorm. he closes the door behind himself and stares at you. "so, valentine, wanna watch a movie?"

this was so rushed omgomg, hes slightly ooc but idrc🤕also not proofread lols

masterlist , taglist

[erinwantstowrite]

no i am not an oc person but i would love to read a fic with the premise of bruce falling in love with a civilian

like imagine they find out he’s batman and is like cool okay! but then like freak the fuck out and fangirl when they meet wonder women. 😭

i'm imagining them as like someone who like works at a bookstore or is a teacher, or maybe they have an office job- something fairly normal. and they have two living parents, maybe they're a middle child. based on how old bruce is now (canon can suck my weener) this oc has a couple of kids from a previous marriage that ended semi-amicably and they're fine. i think someone who is very good at adjusting to anything but has a very normal perspective on things. so they don't really flinch at learning Bruce is Batman, but they also question "You dressed as your childhood fear? Do you want to talk about that?" leaving Bruce stunned. sometimes the kids will be ranting about a case they can't solve and this person will chime in while looking for their reading glasses with "is this the same person that jason was talking about having a clown car?" and it ends up being that jason's entirely separate case has the strange vehicle they were looking for. and it just points out that 1) this person listens to them when they talk 2) really shows how far communication goes if they tried it out and 3) their lack of knowledge works as a benefit, and often times it's because they all see so many insane things that they forget about the mundane details

i also think it's a perfect dynamic to put in there. someone that actually has no involvement whatsoever beyond just being supportive from the sidelines, who can view their family as a family rather than coworkers who have shared trauma. it goes to show that such a normal dynamic would be far more interesting to read than some eye-catching bullshit that they keep throwing into the comics for wow factor. you could do so much with the most simple of ideas. whereas if you lean in to shock value every time, your audience gets bored very quickly

[cocogum]

The Great Wave - Chapter 14 Review

‼️SPOILERS FOR THE CHAPTER‼️

This chapter felt shorter than the other ones in this second volume so far.

But that doesn't matter.

CUZ GUYS WE FINALLY SEE DATHURA AGAIN ‼️❤️‼️❤️‼️❤️‼️❤️‼️❤️‼️‼️❤️

When the chapter covers were only available, I originally thought that she ended up being the guardian of the Tree of Life but it looks like she just settled somewhere vacant in the Sadida Kingdom.

I don't mind cuz as long as she's there, I'm happy hehe 💗💗 She's such a beauty omg

Dathura saying that she's been called once again by Amalia makes me assume that Dathura asked for her help once before but we know it couldn't have been in Season 4 because she was only seen protecting the Tree of Life as it's last defense.

So the first time Amalia has asked for help must've been in Season 5 when Harebourg will be seen as the antagonist. I'm only making assumptions here but it could be true. In a way, it makes sense because Dathura technically does have a connection to Harebourg since she used to be a past member of the Brotherhood of the Frogotten just like him. So maybe she could have helped Amalia by trying to talk to Harebourg or maybe explain to Amalia what may be going when he'll become a problem for her kingdom. Because let's not forget the fact that he wanted Amalia's kingdom to have endless wood to warm up Frigost.

But anyways, Amalia asks Dathura to help her find a remedy for Yugo.

Cuz apparently the belladonna only slowed the process. It didn't actually fade away on its own because it thought it did its job.

Dathura disconnects herself from her meditation spot and guides Amalia to some hidden territory in the Sadida Kingdom.

I found it a bit odd when Amalia asked her where they were here, since she was supposed to have lived in the kingdom her entire life AND WAS ABSOLUTELY THE TYPE OF KID TO HAVE ROAMED AROUND THE PLACE AND MEMORIZE ALL OF IT BY HEART.

But then again, this entire area is ALIVE so it can do whatever the fuck it wants lol

Dathura just flies away as if she didn't say the most hippie spiritual shit ever.

BUT LOOK AT AMALIA'S ADORABLE FACE WHEN SHE ADMIRES THE PLACE 💗💕💗💗💗💗💗

my little queen is such a softie for nature 💖💖💖

Also let me just say how much I love the fact that Dathura is referring to Yugo as "our" king. She was so chill with Yugo in season 3 and we can tell that she's still cool with him because she accepts him as the king of the Sadida Kingdom.

And that speaks A LOT on so many levels when you know that some sadida citizens do not accept Yugo's people but then you got a part of the Sadida God literally being cool with the king they hate. Like come on now, if you're a sadida AND an eliatrope hater, what are you doing??? You keep blabbing about how the eliatropes are being a menace and "staining" your sadida culture when one of your demigoddesses (who LITERALLY keeps a portion of your god's power, mind you) is straight up just vibing with the man you hate.

Like seriously Amalia you gotta shut them up someday or another.

Another thing that I enjoyed was that I now know, thanks to Dathura, that there is a shortened way to say Grougalorasalar's name. It's Asalar and I don't know why but I find it so cute to say 💕💕 Like it's cool and yet adorable at the same time I don't know how else to explain it.

Amalia then explains what Grougalorasalar wanted and that he'll start attacking again if Yugo doesn't accept giving away the artifacts.

But I am SO GLAD that out of all the things Yugo refuses to give, it's the eliatrope dofus for very obvious reasons.

Like I explained back in the last chapter, Grougalorasalar wanted the Eliasphere since it doesn't belong to them and because Yugo's people have a habit of naming things after their people if they find any powerful artifacts that can support them. But in no way, shape or form does Yugo ever need to give his eliatrope dofus to him. These eliatrope dofus literally belong to the eliatropes because, again, those are the primordial eliatropes' recall points. Not to mention that they've been created by THE ELIATROPE GODDESS.

Like come on what is bro doing asking for something that belongs to them!? I agreed with him about how Yugo and his people were actual troublemakers without even trying, but taking away the dofus that respawns them?? Hell nah man, I stay away from that shit.

So Dathura picks out a plant and properly reduces it to the actual remedy before she tells Amalia to discuss this whole Grougalorasalar situation with Joris.

After everything he's done for the world, it looks like bro still can't get away from the short height allegations from mortals and immortals alike ��😭

Talking to Joris makes the most sense since he used to be Asalar's vessel but yay, we get to see Joris back! I can just tell that all the joris fans were happy to see him in that 15th chapter cover and now get to see him being mentioned in this chapter lol

DATHURA CALLED AMALIA A FRIEND DISLDKDLWPWPROFODOEEO 💖💗💖💗💗💖💗💖💗💖💗💖💗💖💖💗💗💖💖💗💗💖

Anyways, after suggesting Amalia to speak with Joris about all this, she warns her not to upset Grougalorasalar no matter what hers and Yugo's decision will be.

Don't worry shawty, these two morons got this in the bag 🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢

[tls12lessthan3]

*looking disdainfully at orv top kudos page* kdj doesn't even fucking hate himself in these

anyway, have you made a fic rec post? I would love to see some well characterised orv fics but I don't know how to find them and you are the only person who knows hsy personally through prophetic visions :DD

i have not made a general orv one! im honoured you trust my taste enough to ask though honestly i'm not the biggest kim dokja angst fiend so im unsure if you'll get what youre looking for. still i'll give it a shot

i am the dreadful need (and the devotee) - i have recommended this before and i'm doing so again. a vaguely orpheus and eurydice inspired story focused on the inevitability of looking back. it's technically yoohankim but mainly a sort of yoo joonghyuk character study that i highly enjoyed

The Act of Creation - a post-epilogue tranfem yoo joonghyuk fic that is a fandom classic (to me at least) by my dear mutual! a very sweet fic and a good extrapolation of many of the trans themes/moments in yoo joonghyuk's story

The cough that won't go away - an adorable hanahaki au ( i shant spoil who between) set about 10 years post epilogue. made me laugh a lot and captures a lot of the warmth in the relationships in kimcom

the false last act - top 10 fics that make me wanna puke and throw up and die and kill myself and die again. slash pos. really good epilogue fic!!!

The Scars of Dreaming - a fic centred on conversations between oldest dream and kim dokja carried out over a period of time as they both try to adjust post-epilogue.

and you will find your way in any given storm - thee na bori/lee jihye fic as far as im concerned.

what the living do - another good epilogue fic. epilogue fics tend to be a favourite of mine im realising.....what can i say im fascinated by that time in their lives and i think this fic portrays it well

Moments that the Words Don't Reach - another epilogue fic this time focused on han sooyoung taking care of yoo mia after yoo joonghyuk leaves for space. when i say this devastated me beyond belief i am not joking. i will be thinking about the scene on the subway forever and ever

a couple general author recs are:

stuffandsundry has a lot of good fics but i especially recommend this selencroft fic, this 0th turn fic, and this 999th lee jihye fic! theyre all short oneshots that capture moments of relationships in orv that make my heart hurt

namci is another i recommend, they have a lot of good oneshots that i think i've recommended before. alternatively making me cackle and nod thoughtfully at character analysis. i would especially suggest this yoohankim university au

sonasona is an orv veteran and has a delightful array of works to show for it. what remains is a particular favourite as i adore cigarettes and the metaphorical implications thereof

i'm sure there are others im forgetting right now but these are more or less the best from my bookmarks so..hope you enjoy :)

[fanonical]

Did you ever get my ask? I asked about what to do when a child loves something by a problematic author. How do you go about telling them if they’re too young? SHOULD you tell them? I’m talking about current 10 year old HP fans and children who like the Coraline movie. What do we do when it’s them and not adults? We forget about the target audience too much when we talk about things like this as if it were exclusively childhood nostalgia of Millenials/Gen Z

For fuck's sake, I didn't want to rise to the bait here, but this is making me mad because it's such a straw argument, so fuck it, I'm taking the bait. For context, this is anon's first ask:

Anon, first off, you are responding to a post that is five years old and about a subject that we pointedly do not post about anymore, and that alone makes me think you're not responding in good faith, but whatever.

Look, I work in a fucking library. We have HP books. If a child comes up to me and asks 'hey where's the HP books' I am not going to a) kick them in the face, b) tell them they're an idiot or c) refuse to answer. I am going to tell them where the fucking HP books are. I don't put them on displays I make, but I don't censor them, because we are legally not allowed to censor books in the library.

But I guess you're asking more if this is a kid who's in my life, as opposed to a kid who I just kinda come across. So, okay, I have a 9 year old neighbour whose family are friends with mine, we play video games together occasionally when her mum and dad need someone to watch her. And this kid reads books! And this kid reads fantasy books.

If I was seriously talking to her about the HP books, I might tell her about JKR! I would say something like 'I used to like the HP books, but then I learned that the author said some really nasty things about trans people like me. Now I don't like them so much any more.' And we could have a conversation about that, you know! I've talked to this kid about transphobia in terms that are appropriate for her age. We've had discussions about gender before. I think she'd listen to me, and form her own fucking opinion about it! 'I don't like the author of the HP books because she has said some nasty things' is a concept you can communicate to a five year old.

But also like. You're kind of acting like by taking away HP from this (hypothetical in your ask) kid they don't have any other books. Which...isn't true? If all copies of the HP books disappeared off the face of the earth tomorrow, kids would be reading other stuff, as they are currently reading other stuff! My 9 year old neighbour is a huge Jacqueline Wilson fan, she loves the Daisy Meadows rainbow fairy books. I want to introduce her to the Morrigan Crow books. We could get retro and start introducing kids to the Edge Chronicles, I fucking loved those books. Artemis Fowl. A Series of Unfortunate Events. There are so many other book series for kids in this world. I work in a fucking library! I can tell you that the kids are into Tom Gates, Dogman, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Percy Jackson, Babysitter Club, Dork Diaries, and (exasperated sigh) David Walliams books, based on a sample size of every kid I encounter at work. I get asked for all of them far more than I do for HP, actually.

I don't think you'd be ruining every kid's lives by taking away One Series from them. (Particularly not one that's losing some relevancy every day - and I mean that in the sense that it's not an ongoing series, the last book came out in 2007. Nearly 20 years ago. For a nine or ten year old, that's almost double their entire life.) And I don't think you necessarily would be taking it away from them to say 'hey this is the reason I don't like these books'. I trust your average ten year old to be able to have a reasonably mature conversation. You're making it sound like they're all Oliver Twist holding out their gruel bowl saying 'please sir I only read one book'.

Anyway. All this to say, I think kids have the ability to have conversations about media. And there are other books in the world. So, no, taking HP or Coraline or whatever away from kids is hardly snatching candy from a baby. Kids are smarter than you think.

[lore-ren-theories]

noooooooo the extent of parallels between Cole's personal quest in inquisition and Solas being a spirit—I know many have pointed out how Solas being confirmed to be a spirit recontextualises Cole's personal quest.

Cole's personal quest and the contrast between Varric and Solas's views in it, in turn, also really furthers my appreciation of Solas's arc in Veilguard.

I'm partway through Noah Caldwell-Gervais' A Thorough Look at Dragon Age, a quote from the video:

"I love the idea that spirits have true, immutable natures. That the way they survive such a chaotic flux of improbabilities, is by being inflexibly true to themselves. It is the material world that is full of hypocrisy and contradiction by comparison. By siding with the world of spirits, Solas is admitting, essentially, that the human world is too hard for him. He is weary of everything that makes it so complicated and so disappointing. It would be easier to go back to how things used to be."

To me that last line sounds like one of the 'easy lies' Solas tells himself, but this did get me thinking.

Even before the Veil, Solas saw so many spirits corrupted after taking on a body. Becoming mortal (killable) and unchanging brings with it not only regret, but a very complex and foreign regret for somebody that used to be formless in an unfixed world.

From the DA wiki, a summary as I can't look up the conversation word for word right now:

Nevertheless, it is not unheard of for spirits to evolve and become more "human" by coming to terms with grief, heal from being emotionally hurt, and thus be able to learn from what they endured. By coming to terms with grief, a spirit is able to grow as a person and not "wash clean" like a spirit.

The way Varric continues to believe in Solas's ability to change despite his wrongdoings is something you can take on yourself as Rook, whether that's because you sympathise with Solas or because you want to honour Varric's wishes.

Varric says Cole needs to work through his emotions, Solas replies that a spirit doesn't work through emotions, it embodies them. Then Varric says:

"But he isn't a spirit, is he? He made himself human, and humans change. They get hurt, and they heal."

That's just like how Varric approaches Solas. Varric knows Solas is an immortal ancient elf, but he doesn't know that Solas was a spirit once. Even if he did, this line indicates that it wouldn't change how Varric would have approached him. Solas became 'human' by taking on a body, just like Cole did.

Solas admits to Cole: "I am not a spirit, and sometimes it is hard to remember such simple truths." but when you consider that spirits don't die in the traditional sense, this truth doesn't really sound all that simple.

Solas's biggest fear, dying alone, is something inconceivable to a spirit, and it's such a human fear.

Varric (or Rook's memory of Varric) tells Rook: "Because you always chose the hard truth over the easy lie. Solas, on the other hand..." which further drives the point home: Solas exists in a state of utter denial about how human he is.

Solas being in favour of Cole remaining a spirit reflects Solas's own regret of taking on a body, and fear for Cole's life in what's to come if Solas succeeds, it would also harm the world as spirits of compassion are already so few and far between. Yet Solas being in favour of Cole remaining a spirit may serve an additional purpose: one of denial.

If Cole can exist in this world and remain a spirit, then Solas can conveniently forget that he no longer is one himself. If Cole becomes more human, longer lifespan aside, how different is Solas really from others who are 'human', too?

When Rook asks Solas to atone for what he's done, Rook effectively asks him to also come to terms with his grief and take the time to heal from being emotionally hurt so finally he can learn from what he has endured.

Just like that you're extending the same opportunity to Solas, that Varric did to Cole: the opportunity to become more human.

I love Varric's view that yeah sure, Solas has all these extremely complicated reasons for doing what he did, but at the end of the day he can't bear to face the pain he is in. He's just as human as the rest of us, which means he can learn from his mistakes and that maybe some day, he can heal.

There's plenty to say about how Veilguard handled Solas's motivations for tearing down the Veil, how he's characterised, etc. but personally I'm a sucker for this kind of framing of his story.

It really resonates with me. Sometimes, you don't need complicated solutions to your problems. You don't need to deep dive into why you are the way you are, or why you do the things you do. You just need to share why you're hurting so you can get a hug, a comforting hand on your shoulder, and some much needed words of reassurance.

Every Solas deserves a Varric in their life.

[wishforhome]

and i want to know what would happen if i surrender to the sound

chapter one: sentiment’s the same but the pair of feet change

9,582 words | explicit | chapter 1/8

pairings: viago/rook, lucanis/rook, rook/other rook, viago/teia, general polyamorous madness

Viago can get himself together to go on stage; something about being behind a bass, he can hold it in front of himself like a shield, pretend that he's not surrounded by people. There’s the stage lights and the sound, and somehow this is enough for him to forget about the audience altogether, to imagine that he is still fucking around in his garage, playing for the hell of it, playing out of habit, or something. Something other than what it is.

Read on AO3

Rooks&Crows is either Treviso's next indie darling, a disaster waiting to happen, or Thedas's most musically inclined polycule. Possibly (definitely) all of the above. Their lineup: an uptight bassist, a chaos-magnet guitarist, a hopeless romantic keyboardist, a drummer who's trying very hard not to fall in love with everyone, and a lead singer who's trying to hold them all together.

FINALLY – I am so excited to present the first full chapter of the Veilguard band AU that @mxssful and I are working on. This is one of two "main" stories planned in the series; moss is writing the other one (and it's so good you guys, I am dying, it's so good and I'm so excited for it), which will focus more on Rosa, the band's chaos gremlin guitarist.

I owe so many thanks to people on this: @mxssful for obvious reasons, but also @inquisimer, @effelants and @crabs-with-sticks for so much cheerleading and listening to me ramble. Honestly so many people gave me words of encouragement or advice on this and I can't list everyone – y'all are so great, I don't even have words.

A very, very special shout-out to @idoltina for being my beta on this chapter.

[rederiswrites]

[read it on AO3]

It had been a week since they’d found D’Meta’s Crossing. A terrible, helpless week, in which they’d turned up no new leads, no next steps. No way to fight back against the vastness of this cruelty and destruction. A horrible emptiness and fatigue had crept into Arden’s every waking moment.

“I don’t know, Varric,” he said. “I just don’t–how can something so cruel exist? Why would any thinking creature do this?”

There was a moment of silence as Varric shifted in his cot, trying to sit up more. Arden got up quickly, arranging the pillows behind him, until Varric settled back with a nod of thanks.

“You know, I like to pretend I have a knack for words, but that’s one I can’t explain. People do a lot of evil. Sometimes they’re just so tangled up in their own hurts, they think they’re just protecting themselves. But this? I think this is something different.” Varric stopped, scratching his chin where the stubble was getting thick. “Solas said they were Blighted. Well, that’s like Corypheus. Like Meredith, at the end, given what we know about red lyrium. I think they were always cruel people. But the Blight made everything so much worse. And if that’s true–Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain, they’ve been Blighted for thousands of years.”

On the floor next to Varric's cot, Arden put his head in his hands, pressing his palms against his eyes. He leaned into his hands hard, trying to gain an inch to think. Maker, why couldn’t he just think?

“I feel so…bad!” he finally burst out. “Varric, why do I feel so bad? What’s wrong with me? I can’t sleep, and I can’t wake up. I ache! And there’s this…this burning in my chest, and it just won’t go away. It’s like I could swallow it down but I can’t.” For a second, he felt himself shake, as if he were about to cry, but as always these past days, no tears came. “Am I Blighted? How would I know?”

“No,” said Varric. “No, I don’t think that’s it. Rook, you ever lost someone? Someone close?”

Arden looked up, confused. “I mean, my grandmother.”

“The one that called you ‘boy’ and liked to tell you they should’ve left you on the battlefield as a baby?” Arden nodded. “Yeah, not sure I’d call that someone really close, then,” Varric said dryly.

“Why? What’s that got to do with it?” Arden asked.

Varric sighed. “Because I think what you’re feeling is grief.”

The two of them sat in silence, the shadows of the room wrapping around them. Arden stared at Varric, but Varric was looking into the invisible distance, seeing who knew what.

“Grief?” It didn’t make sense. 

“Grief,” said Varric, “is a terrible thing. It eats everything around it. It drains you, body and soul. You feel it in your heart.”

Arden sat with that, eyes closed, and at last he felt the bloom of tears against his eyelids. He took a shaky breath.

“D’Meta’s Crossing. All those people. Children. There were children, in the–” he couldn’t say it, and couldn’t erase it. In the pulsing, tangled masses, amidst the boils and sickened roots. In the piles of dead, heaped up by the uncaring hands of people who had once loved them. “All dead. And how many more, Varric? How many dying right now, and I’m just sitting here, and I can’t even pull it together.”

“Yeah, that’s the grief. I’m sorry, Rook.”

“How…how do you manage? How do you live with it?” There were tears on Arden’s cheeks now, but it was no relief. “It’s crushing me!”

“I know. I know, kid. I’m sorry. It–” he broke off, closing his eyes for a minute. “It gets lighter, bit by bit. You go for stretches where you forget. Sometimes you wake up in the morning and it’s not the first thing you think about. But it’ll hit you again, out of nowhere. You just…get used to it.”

“It feels impossible.”

“Yeah, but people do it every day. And it’ll teach you something, too.”

“What’s that?” Arden asked.

“To value what you have, while you have it. To make sure you love things while they’re here.” Varric sighed again. “Especially if you didn’t do that before it was too late.”

It hurt so much. Arden took breath after breath, but every time it felt like he wouldn’t be able to take the next one.

“Nothing can ever be the way it was,” Arden choked out. The burning in his chest was so strong; it was agonizing. “Can we even stop them? Can we save anything? Varric–” and he said the name like a plea; please, please tell me it’ll be okay, but it can’t. It can’t be okay. “Varric, this is my fault.”

“Hey! Hey, look at me.” Arden obeyed, looking up at Varric, vision warped by the tears. “We’ve been over this. If this is anyone’s fault, it’s mine. Well, mine and Solas’. You did what I asked you to.”

“What difference does intention make if it destroys so much!?” Arden was nearly shouting, now. “What I’ve let out–it’s worse than anything Solas was doing! At least he meant there to be a world left when he was done! This–this is going to destroy everything!”

“Okay, you want to talk about fault?” Varric snapped. “Let’s talk about fault, because we’ve been over all this before but I know you’re forgetting. Who was it that found that knife in the Deep Roads, back when it was red lyrium? Me. Who was there when we freed Corypheus? Me. Sure, I thought what I was doing was good then, too. How many people have died? Nobody can count. We’re still fighting the red lyrium. Maybe we always will be. I’m too old to pretend about this, Rook. Almost every damned time something went straight to the Void in the last twenty years, I was right there in the middle. So do you hate me?”

“No!” 

“What about Solas? His ritual. His dagger. His war, that we’ve gotten sucked into thousands of years later. Do you hate him?”

“I don’t…I don’t think so? I mean, we’ve seen what he was fighting. I don’t even know what to think, any more.” Arden swiped a sleeve across his nose, trying to stop sniveling like a child. “I don’t know, any more.”

“We didn’t create all this cruelty, Rook. We just…tripped over it, I guess you could say. Tore the wound open. And maybe I should hate myself. And maybe some days I do. I’ve made a lot of mistakes. A lot of really big mistakes.” Varric stopped, taking a deep breath. “Maybe that’s why I don’t want to give up on Solas, who knows.”

“Varric, no–” Arden ached. Varric almost never opened up like this, and it was terrible to see.

“But you aren’t one of those mistakes, kid. You’re one of the best decisions I ever made.” Varric nodded to himself. “And I know that you’ll find a way through this.”

“How?”

“For now? One step at a time. Just figure out the next step, Rook. It’ll get easier once you’re moving.”

[lindsey-laufeyson]

Distractions- Chapter 18

Distractions Masterlist

Pairing: Reader x FWB!Tom Hiddleston

Series Warnings: SMUT, fluff, angst, friends with benefits

The next day at work you were exhausted and distracted, almost putting the wrong shade of foundation on two different clients and completely forgetting primer and setting spray on another. You never fell back asleep after you got home that morning and you spent the entire day constantly checking your phone to see if Tom had texted you, even though you told yourself you didn’t want him to. You needed space from him to get over whatever was going on with you. However, the longer the day went on without hearing from him, the more depressed you got. What the fuck was happening to you?

When you went to bed that night, you checked the On Demand Entertainment website to see if Tom’s interview was online yet. Sure enough, the video was just posted. You settled back against your pillow and pressed play. 

Tom was dressed in a classic white button down shirt with a navy suit jacket and trousers. He was also wearing his glasses, which usually meant he was too tired for contacts. Still, you always thought he looked especially sexy in his glasses. 

The interview started with the classically attractive blonde reporter asking about Tom’s latest projects. His face lit up as he answered her, like it always did when he talked about his work. It wasn’t long, however, before she began ramping up to ask him about his love life, at which point, he began fidgeting more than usual, touching his face, rubbing his thighs, adjusting his glasses, and running his fingers through his hair. 

“So Tom, many of your films and series revolve heavily around romance, something you seem to have quite the knack for on screen,” the reporter began. 

Tom blushed. “Well, thank you. You’re too kind, really.”

“But what about off screen,” she continued. “You would have a hard time convincing me that Tom Hiddleston doesn’t have someone special in his life.”

He shifted in his seat, crossing his legs as he laughed nervously. Your heart rate sped up a little bit. You told yourself it was just because you were nervous for him, but the truth was you were genuinely anxious about what he would say. “Actually, I am currently unattached,” he replied coyly. “I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a better answer than that.” He chuckled bashfully.

“In that case, I’m sure our viewers would love to know how you would describe your perfect woman,” she responded without missing a beat. You rolled your eyes. Hear we go, you thought.

Tom furrowed his brow and rubbed the pad of his index finger across his lips contemplatively. “Should have seen that one coming,” he joked. Then he blushed again and smiled, seemingly thinking of something. “I think my so-called ‘perfect woman’ is anything but perfect. Someone who is passionate, almost to a fault, who recognizes the beauty in everyone but herself, and who calls me out on things that no one else will because she sees me for who I truly am, not what the world makes me out to be.” His face lit up again, just like when he talked about his work. That usually didn’t happen when he talked about his personal life. Was he thinking of someone specific, or was he acting? You’d like to think you knew him well enough to know whether he was acting or not, but then again, he was incredibly talented. 

Once the video ended, you set your phone aside and stared at the ceiling, debating if you should text Tom or not. You definitely hadn’t cleared your head of those annoying thoughts and feelings from the night before, and you wanted him to be the one to text you first. Still, you were the one to leave abruptly this morning, and you should still be a supportive friend about his interview. After about an hour of wrestling with yourself, you finally picked up your phone.

Goddammit, you thought. So much for getting some space. 

A few minutes later, you heard Tom enter your house. “Sweets?” he called, looking for you.

“In here,” you responded from the bedroom. You continued scrolling through your phone, wanting to appear indifferent.

Your bedroom door was open, but he gave a courtesy knock on the door frame anyway. “May I come in?”

“I was under the impression that I didn’t have a choice,” you replied, never looking away from your phone screen.

He chuckled lightly and then flopped down next to you on the bed. He gave you a quick peck on the shoulder and then positioned himself so he was laying perpendicular to you, with his head resting on your stomach.  “Hi.”

“Hi.” Your eyes stayed on the screen.

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong, or do I have to hold your phone hostage to get you to talk?” 

“You will do no such thing,” you told him firmly, still not looking at him. “You were the one who decided to interrupt my quiet evening.” He swiftly plucked your phone from your hands and tucked it underneath him, forcing you to finally look at him. “Oi!”

“Talk,” he commanded. 

“There is nothing to talk about.”

“You literally just told me that you’re too in your head lately. So what exactly is going on in your head?”

You sighed and rubbed your face. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with, trust me.”

“Fine then. Tell me what you meant when you told me to take you out of my ‘rotation.’”

“You know what I meant.”

“Actually, no, I don’t. Do you really think I just have a bunch of women on retainer, ready to come when I call?” 

You raised your eyebrows at him. “You expect me to believe that you don’t?”

“Is that really what you think of me?” He looked concerned. 

“I didn’t mean it as a bad thing,” you said, running your fingers through his hair. “I just meant that you could literally have anyone you want. Why wouldn’t you take advantage of that opportunity?”

He sighed. “It’s a bit more complicated than that.”

“Care to explain?”

“Not particularly. I thought we weren’t supposed to talk about that?”

“You started it!”

“I just… I hope that’s not what you’re upset about.” He searched your face for confirmation, but you weren’t about to give it to him.

“It’s not. Don’t worry about it, okay? I’m sure you’ll find something or someone else to do while I work through my shit.”

“That’s not why I’m concerned. You’re my friend and I want to help you. I don’t understand why you won’t let me.”

You paused, feeling a lump form in your throat as you fought back tears. “Because it’s not something you can help with,” you choked out.

“Hey, hey, hey,” he said softly as he sat up and took your face in his hands. “You’re starting to scare me, Y/n. Please talk to me.” 

You closed your eyes for a moment, causing some tears to fall down your cheeks. Tom brushed them away with his thumbs. You looked back up at him. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” you whispered, your teary eyes darting between his eyes and his lips. With genuine concern still in his eyes, he slowly leaned forward and just barely touched his lips to yours. You brought your hands up to cradle the back of his neck and gently pull him closer to you. His lips caressed yours tenderly, moving cautiously. 

After a moment, he hesitantly broke the kiss, resting his forehead against yours. “Should I stay, or do you want me to leave?” he asked in a low voice.

“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” you replied, echoing his own words from moments ago.

“Care to explain?”

“Not particularly.” Though there was still sadness in your eyes, a slight smirk crossed your face from giving him a taste of his own medicine.

He gave a small chuckle. “Then I think I’d like to stay. I’d rather not leave you like this.”

Your stomach filled with butterflies, but your brain told you not to think anything of it. “You really don’t have to,” you told him as he stood up and stripped down to his boxers. “Honestly, I’m okay.”

“While I one hundred percent believe you,” he said sarcastically as he climbed back into your bed and gently brushed one last stray tear from your face. “I know I don’t have to. I want to.”

You looked into his eyes, searching for any sign that he was just doing this out of pity. When you couldn’t find one, you gave him a small smile. “Then I suppose I have no choice but to let you stay.”

“That’s my girl,” he said, smiling back at you. He’d never called you that before– his girl– and even though you knew it was just an expression, you were sure that if you’d been standing, your knees would have buckled. He kissed you again briefly and then laid down on his side facing you. You turned on your side so the two of you were face to face and he wrapped an arm around you and pulled you close.

”I noticed you wore your glasses for your interview. Did you get any sleep after I left this morning?” you asked him.

“You know me too well,” he replied, running his foot lazily up and down your calf. “No, I couldn’t fall back asleep after you left.”

“Shit, I’m sorry,” you groaned, hiding your face in his chest. “You were sleeping so soundly before I woke you up.”

“Why do you say that?” he asked.

You lifted your head back up to look at him. “You were snoring.”

“What? I do not snore,” he argued in disbelief.

“It’s just a soft, little snore,” you explained, trying to hide your smile. “It’s kind of cute actually.” 

He looked at you suspiciously. “Are you sure it wasn’t just that one time?”

You couldn’t help but giggle. “Oh no. You’ve snored every night that we’ve slept together. I can’t believe no one else has told you this before!”

He shrugged. “Not everyone is as honest with me as you are, darling.”

“Well, someone needs to put you in your place once in a while,” you teased.

He laughed. “You’ll have no arguments from me about that.” His expression quickly shifted back to concern. “Are you sure it doesn’t bother you?”

“I’m positive,” you assured him. “Like I said, I think it’s cute.” You tried to fight the yawn that crept up on you, but you lost.

Tom carefully tucked your hair behind your ear. “Go to sleep, sweetheart.” He kissed your forehead and held you close to his chest. You fell asleep almost instantly.

…

When you woke up the next morning, you rolled over to find that Tom was gone and there was a note on the side table. 

Had to rush to a meeting. I would have said goodbye but you were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to wake you. I hope you’re feeling better, and know that I’m always here if you need me. xx -T

With a heavy sigh, you let your forehead fall onto the mattress. This man was not making this easy on you. Why did he have to be so goddamn sweet? And why did you let him stay over in the first place? Even without the sex, you wouldn’t be able to get over…whatever was going on with you… if you kept up all this cuddling, and kissing, and sleeping over. Unfortunately, that meant that you had to set that boundary with him.

He didn’t reply right away, and your mind and heart started racing. Was it just about the sex for him this whole time? Did you just lose who you thought was your best friend over this? You felt yourself about to break down in tears, but then your phone buzzed.

You let out a sigh of relief, but there was still a small pit in your stomach. You desperately hoped that this would work; that the two of you could just focus on your friendship for a while and you would get over your silly emotions, and maybe you would go back to having casual sex one day, or maybe not. The important thing was that you wouldn’t lose him. You couldn’t lose him.

…

Tom threw his phone to the other end of the sofa and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and burying his head in his hands. You wanted to focus on being friends. Of course. Just when he’d finally admitted to himself that he had feelings for you. He wanted so desperately to take a step forward, and instead you took a step back. At least he hadn’t made a fool of himself like Evelyn had suggested he do in Hawaii. 

It was a few nights before you came to visit him, and he and a few cast members had gone out for some drinks. 

“So Tom, are you ever going to tell us who she is?” Evelyn said with a nudge to Tom’s side.

“Who who is?” Tom asked, confused. 

Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Do you really think no one has noticed when you get a text and you start grinning like an idiot?”

“I don’t grin like an idiot,” he defended. 

“Oh, you so do,” Lily, another co-star, chimed in. 

He chuckled nervously. “It’s just my friend, Y/n.”

Evelyn scoffed. “Your friend? If she’s just your friend, then why are you blushing?”

Tom felt his cheek with his hand and looked down in embarrassment. “She’s my best friend, actually. And yes, we sleep together occasionally, but it’s casual. Nothing more than that.”

“You sleep together??” Evelyn and Lily squealed in unison. 

He blushed harder. “Okay, tone it down, ladies. It’s not a big deal.”

“It’s a huge deal!” Evelyn contested. “You’re best friends, you sleep together, and she makes you light up like a fucking christmas tree… You’re completely smitten!”

Tom shook his head. “Stop. I am not smitten. We’ve had an agreement to keep things casual and that’s what we’ve done.”

Lily’s face suddenly lit up in realization. “Wait! Is this the friend that’s coming to stay with you this week?”

“Yeah, but–”

“Casual, my ass!” Evelyn accused, pointing her finger in his face. “You are SO smitten!”

Tom hid his face in his hands, failing to hide his ears which were now bright red. “Okay, fine… Maybe a little.”

Evelyn and Lily both let out another squeal, this time reaching a pitch only dogs could hear. 

Tom was actually surprised himself. Maybe it was because he was a bit tipsy, but they just got him to admit something out loud that he’d never even admitted to himself before. 

Evelyn grabbed his arm rather aggressively. “You have to tell her!” 

Tom’s head shot up from the cover of his hands. “Absolutely not,” he protested. 

“Why not?” Lily asked.

“Are you mad? What if she doesn’t feel the same? Then it’s going to be awkward between us and I could lose my best friend!”

Evelyn looked at him like he was stupid. “She’s coming all the way from London to spend a whole week with you!” 

“Because she desperately needs a holiday, and the only reason she decided to take it was because I already arranged it!”

“Dude, you’ve got it bad,” Lily said, shaking her head. 

“I do, don’t I?” Tom groaned, returning his head to his hands. 

Evelyn rubbed his shoulder in an effort to comfort him. “Look, see how the week goes. If you detect any sign that maybe she has feelings for you too, tell her. If she doesn’t feel the same– which I find highly unlikely, by the way– at least you know, and then you can move on. And if she’s truly your best friend, then this little hiccup won’t matter!”

Tom sighed and then turned his head to look at her. “You really think so?”

“I’m sure of it.”

He almost did it. He was going to tell you how he felt on the ride to the airport, but then you suddenly closed yourself off and told him not to come with you, saying you had to “get back to reality,” and it made him question everything he thought he felt between you the night before.

Despite Evelyn’s hopeful sentiment, however, you only seemed to pull away more and more after that. You stopped wearing his clothes, you were texting him less and less, you wouldn’t tell him what’s wrong, and now you just wanted to strictly be friends. He would no longer be able to kiss you, to hold you, to feel you in his arms while he slept, to wake up to your beautiful face. But he’d sacrifice all of that if it meant he wouldn’t lose you. He couldn’t lose you.

Taglist: @chronicallybubbly , @the-princess-of-loki , @princess-ofthe-pages , @darcylikesloki , @kikster606 , @foxherder , @simone818283 , @newtomofgods @christinebloodwrittings @tom-hlover , @lulubelle814 , @kingliam2019

[goldenlionprince]

Turning up the heat

Another one for @sorenphelps The Bodyguard AU where James tries to get to know Sirius a little better after the Gala and also get a little closer in the progress ;) (also tagging the other fandom crack dealer @neverenoughmarauders)

--

“So,” James says and flops down onto the couch next to Sirius.

Sirius looks up from his phone but doesn't move his legs to make more room for James. James doesn't mind.

“I thought we could play a little game.”

“A game?” Sirius raises an eyebrow at him. “I thought you have work to do.”

“The program is running,” James says with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I can't do much right now so I thought we could fill the time with me asking you some questions.”

“An interrogation?”

“A game,” James insists with a bright grin. “Don't worry, I won't ask you any classified information like your birthdate. I don't need to, Mr. Scorpio.”

Sirius tilts his head to the side like a dog who picked up on an interesting sound. “How do you know?”

“You're not the only one who notices things,” James says and taps his finger against the one on Sirius' right hand that has a small star sign tattooed on it. “And I asked Remus. By the way, you should tell him to update his firewall.”

Sirius sighs and pinches the brink of his nose.

“He didn't budge on the name thing, though. So you'll still be Soldier Boy.” James leans in a little closer to Sirius and waits until he drops his hand again. “For now.”

Sirius looks at him, the eyebrow raises again. “You're very sure about that.”

James just grins and doesn't comment on it. He flops back onto the couch and swings his legs into Sirius' lap. “So, questions.”

Sirius sighs and puts his phone away. “Shoot.”

“Favourite colour?”

“Red.”

James tries and probably fails not to preen in his red t-shirt. “As a kid, what did you want to be when you were all grown up?”

“A palaeontologist.”

James grins. “Did you have many dino plushies?”

Sirius shrugs. “A few.”

“Cute,” James laughs and readjusts his legs on Sirius' lap until Sirius grabs his knee and stops him from wiggling around so much. “I wanted to be an astronaut. Or a hacker.”

A grin tugs at Sirius' lips. His fingertips draw little swirls and patterns along James' knee. “I get you reaching for the stars but where does a child get the idea of wanting to be a hacker from?”

“My godmother,” James explains with a matching grin, full on enjoying the little touches. “She's coding really difficult stuff for the UN. I've learned everything I know from her.”

“And your mind immediately went to how can I apply that knowledge to criminal activities?”

James laughs and shrugs his shoulders. “It sounded cool, okay? And I kind of do it now anyway, I'm just doing it to point out security risks. I still get to have the fun part without the jail part.”

Sirius just looks at him, amusement sparkling in his grey eyes. “Shall we forget about all the times you use it for other things than pointing out security risks?”

“We shall,” James nods. “Next question. What's your favourite food in the whole world.”

“Dino nuggets.”

James frowns. “What?”

Sirius only shrugs. “Dino nuggets.”

“Yeah, I've heard that. I just wasn't aware I'm talking to a five year old.”

Sirius smirks at him. “I thought you knew my birthdate.”

“Yes, which is exactly why I don't know how this is matching up.”

Sirius only shrugs again. “I'm just not that much of a food person.”

James shakes his head in disbelief. “You're going out to eat with Remus once a month.”

“And why do you think that is?” Sirius says with a grin and pokes James' knee. “You're not the first person who finds my food choices questionable and in need of boarding my horizon. Didn't really work so far since I will still choose nuggets.”

“It's pressed meat,” James says offended, pulling his legs out of Sirius' lap and sitting up. “You can't be serious!”

A grin tugs at Sirius lips. “Oh, believe me, I am.”

James pokes him in the ribs. “This is outrageous.”

“It's just food,” Sirius laughs, twisting away from another jab of James' fingers.

“It doesn't deserve to be called food!”

Sirius shakes his head at James in amusement. “It's quick, it's easy, it has a fun shape. It does the job. It's really not that deep, James.”

“Oh, it is!” James gets up from the couch and makes his way to the front door, pulling on his shoes.

“What are you doing?” Sirius asks, getting up from the couch as well.

“Making sure you know what real food tastes like.” James answers and grabs his wallet and keys. “Since Remus apparently does a horrible job. But first we have to go shopping.”

“Right now?” Sirius asks but already follows James to the door.

“Right now,” James confirms and pulls the door to his apartment open.

**

It's over an hour later when James finds himself in the kitchen of his apartment, cooking his mum's curry for the first time since she passed away. It doesn't hurt as much as he expected it would.

He actually really enjoys it. He always liked helping his parents in the kitchen whenever they let him, but doing it on his own is just something else. Concentrating on the process helps his mind not to spiral. Seeing the ingredients turn into something his mother would have made makes his heart a little lighter.

Still, he really needs to text Remus a few restaurant suggestions because what the hell is that man doing?

James stirs the pot and lifts the spoon to try the curry, bracing himself for the wave of grief, but it doesn't come. Instead warmth spreads through him because the curry tastes exactly like it should. It's almost like his mum is here with him, just for a fleeting moment.

When James realizes Sirius is watching him, he makes a show of licking the spoon clean, his tongues travelling the whole length before he pops the spoon into his mouth and then slowly pulls it out again, winking at Sirius.

Sirius shakes his head at him and James grins, dropping the spoon into the sink and grabbing a new one. He dips the new spoon into the curry and holds it out to Sirius.

“Try it,” he says and holds eye contact with Sirius when he leans in and closes his lips around the spoon. James watches his every move so he won't miss his reaction.

Sirius takes his time, chews slowly and licks his lips. “Not bad,” he says finally.

“Better than dino nuggets?” James asks and rinses off the spoon before dipping it back into the curry. Sirius hums in thought and James holds the spoon out for him again. “Maybe you need a second try.”

Sirius leans in once more. At the last second though, James pulls the spoon a little further away, closer to himself so Sirius has to follow, then uses his chance to lean in himself and brush his nose against Sirius'.

Sirius frowns at him. “Last time I checked you weren't the curry I was supposed to try.”

“Oh, you can try me if you want,” James says, his eyes dipping down to Sirius' lips. He licks his own and leans a tiny bit closer but Sirius pulls back and clears his throat.

“I'll just get the table ready,” he says and grabs glasses and spoons from the counter, but James can see the faint blush on his cheeks before he turns away.

James grins. He can work with that.

[voidcat]

siren!togame x sailor!reader.

gender netural reader as always. slight mention of choji if you squint. thinking about our siren wbrk talk with mari again so have this... i forgot i wrote this during my tumblr break LMAO

when you first meet the siren with emerald eyes and silky hair, you find yourself too immersed in his captivating looks that you forget why youve been staring in the first place.

he is an odd one, not a man, but one.

it's not everyday for people in your line of... business to be running into his kind, although there has been a suspicious increase in their activity, but this one piques your interest entirely and completely.

recent news about a blond siren causing havoc, all fangs and feral, already off your mind, you approach the odd one on a day neither too cloudy nor sunny- just ideal, just perfect.

pleas and concerns your crew has voiced already gone, falling on deaf ears, you approach the creature, not captivated, nor enhanced-- that is, if you dont count fascination with curiosity as a subclass of that.

you're not fazed by his lack of surprise, but make a mental note when you notice he's not the talkative type.

his kind is bold, loud and clear, showing themselves off, "hello world, i am here, see me and feed me." or that's what the widely accepted opinion of them is.

as you draw closer, you spot he is not alone on the broad rocks and rubbles. seals who exchange equally confused gazes with one another stare at you and him, taking his stance as no danger posing.

it feels weird, to have finally reached the object of your goals for the past months. long days and nights of spotting this siren that is not like any other and now here you are, face to face with him. no longer just exchanged glances by the small window of your cabin that you were certain you made up in your head.

resting his chest against his palm, he wears a smug yet gentle expression. you're unsure if it's the eyes that make it genuine or the curled up corner of his mouth that makes it cocky.

by the time you'll know him as togame and more than just an 'odd one out' of his species, it won't take you many conversations, but it'll take a long time. such as the fate of being a feeble human on a ship and a feared creature of the sea.

getting onto the edge of the rock, you take one step further, resting your elbow there, mirroring his position as you rest your chin against your fist.

"so, what has gotten a beast like you tied down to a bunch of rocks? tired of us already?"

you're odd, togame thinks. normally sailors detest his species- if they can get over their fear. anyone within their peak form would be killing for this opportunity, to capture one, get years long revenge and so on.

instead, you approach him like a sailor to a maiden back on land, after eyeing her up all night, paying for her drinks across the pub...

smiling coyly, you wait, your gaze never wavering, ignoring the odd colors in the back and the confused sounds the seals make.

"maybe it's because i've simply have something better to do." he says and you halt, "got my crew right here." he follows and watches as your smile drops, confusion taking over.

he counts, 1, 2, 3... 10 seconds it takes for your eyes to dart between the seals behind him and Togame himself- still confused, until your eyes land on shells and torn off pieces of coral spread on a flatter rock between all of them.

a game?.. you wonder, tossing what he said to the side for now, how it implies they attack simply because they're bored.

well, certainly the blond one is- at least from what you've seen, all his attacks on ships, he seems to be living off the thrill of it, not caring as long as he swims away freely at the end of the day.

"A game, then." you voice your guess, gathering your initial confidence. or maybe it's lack of care, Togame isn't sure of it just yet.

"hmmh" he hums in agreement, as he turns to exchange looks with the seals. "care to join? we can teach."

the whole exchange from start to finish feels off. distant in a corner with no one knowing your exact location- all you've learned so far, even if he said those intentionally or not, and you swear those seals are an endangered species in these waters- last seen at least a century ago.

so they come out just for him? or for all of them? the questions swarm your head, you don't even realize you've been leaning further and further, slowly, your expressions long gone, face now blank, try to decide on a dominating emotion to display.

he seems to take this as confusion and giggles. breaking his pose, he leans towards your direction and holds out his hand "no need to be afraid now, we don't bite."

and within these words alone, you know it deep down, simply and with your entire heart that he means it- no siren voice involved, no odd feelings rising.

maybe that's how they truly lure their victims. no magic voice behind it but simply their charms. yet you are ready to take your chances.

taking another step further, you take his hand and let him pull you up to the rock he's residing on, genuinely, innocently, to play a game.