#why must it be over so soon.... < he binge read it

[farceargon]

"He was alight with eyes, replete with arms that continued to tear from the ground and his own body, and stained with fluorescent blood and pus that poured down him in glowing rivulets. Insectoid legs, patterned like ribs, curled against his chest and ripped into an obvious, drooling seam that cut through the center of his body."

"His face was fuller and less skeletal, domed and long and divided into sections by snapping jaws that flared out like a star, each deformed by massive teeth that grew like ram’s horns from his mouth. A mane of tentacles whipped violently around his head and slithered down his back, excess arms and quills forming a halo behind him that traced a crown of spiraling blue-green fire."

-

Benrey's true form from @kogo-dogo 's fic, Human Resources Violation. Hey actual banger.

I REALLY LIKE THIS FIC. If you like HLVRAI you NEEEEEED to read it so bad. I stayed up all night making this and regret nothing. I cannot believe the fic ended with one of my most beloved things in existence (eldritch kaiju battle).

-

Without dramatic lighting below the cut.

[gay-dorito-dust]

First ofi love your Jason fic's, they are really great and they made me think could you write for Damian as well?

What about Damian x reader (gn or male pls) where they are really great friends but the family thinks they are in a relationship? You know the typical teasing girls usually experience as soon as she talks about a boy "oh is that you boyfriend" the same thing happens too Damian, and now he dreads bringing the reader to his house because his family always had something to say (except Alfred he's cool like that) and it also makes the reader uncomfortable. And one day Damian snaps at them for their weird behavior, telling them that they are the reason why the reader won't visit anymore

I hope this makes sense, if you don't like this, just ignore it.

Have a great day

Damian hated when he brought you over to the Manor and it’s not for the reasons many might expect. It was more so to do with how Dick, Tim and Jason seemed to always have something to say whenever you two were in a room together, only ever doing mundane activities but to Dick, Tim and Jason, it was viewed under an annoyingly unnecessary romantic context.

They firmly believed that in due to you being able to withstand Damian’s presence for as long as you have, that there must be romantic undertones integrated in every interaction between the two of you. The classic trope of friends being in love with each other but not knowing how to cross that line without ruining everything that was pre established from your longstanding friendship; Which was factually incorrect for so many reasons.

You and Damian weren’t anything more than friends and you both were content with that conclusion. However that didn’t stop you from feeling uncomfortable whenever Dick, Tim or Jason said anything about your suspected secret relationship that you’ve been poorly keeping from them. Damian hated that you couldn’t come to the manor without wanting to leave within the first five minutes of being there, he didn’t want to either but knew that you needed him for support whenever it does happen; and it was unfortunately an reoccurring theme within the Wayne manor.

The first time this happened you and Damian were in the library, reading. Your head was innocently resting against his shoulder and all because of the lack of sleep you had from binge watching the midnight release of the latest season for your favourite show. Had you been anyone else Damian would’ve laid you out flat but since it was you, Damian didn’t seem to mind but he then choice to chastise you for your lack to keep to a healthy sleep schedule.

‘You’re helpless.’ He stats and you pouted at him. ‘But Damian it was the last season! I had to binge watch it before people start spoiling it all over social media!’ You defended yourself but it was obvious that your friend wasn’t buying it for a second. ‘Tch. So was our test today but due to your habit of binge watching, and yet you just barely managed to somewhat passable score.’ He replied, not once looking up from his book as you leaned more into him. ‘Rude.’

‘I’m merely stating the-‘

‘Spare some room for Jesus there lovebirds.’ Both you and Damian looked over to see that Jason had entered the library when you were unawares and had a wolfish grin spread across his face. You tensed up at the implication, wordlessly removed your head from Damian’s shoulder and shuffled to the far side of the couch that you were both sitting on. All the while avoiding eye contact either him or Jason.

The latter (Jason) believed that this was done out of the fact that you had gotten caught but to the former (Damian) it was because you had grown uncomfortable with the comment made towards the nature of your assumed relationship to him. So all he could do without making the situation worse for you was to glare daggers into Jason, who only took this as Damian being mad that he interrupted his quality time with you.

The second time this mistake happened was when you and Damian were in the kitchen taking a much needed break from constant studying for the upcoming test at school, replenishing your hunger by wolfing down on some snacks. ‘You’ll choke if you keep that up.’ Damian said between bites of his own snack.

‘No I won’t.’ You rebutted, swallowing down the remains before shoving another bit of food into your mouth hastily and allowing for some crumbs to cling onto you in the strangest places, though mainly your cheek. Damian sighs and reaches across the table to rub the crumbs off with a handkerchief, muttering about how much of a messy eater you are. ‘Can’t even eat properly, never less sleep the required amount needed for proper functionality.’ He mutters under his breath.

‘Will you never left me live that down?’ You asked.

‘No.’ Damian replied without hesitation and you wondered if the question was even worth asking when he answered them in such a confident and sure fire way. Before you could get a chance to speak, Dick’s voice from the doorway butted in. ‘Do my eyes deceive me or is Damian being a gentleman for his lovely partner? Has hell truly frozen over?’ Damian was quick to retract his hand but it was too late, Dick saw everything and much like Jason, took it out of complete context.

‘We should get back to studying now.’ You said uncharacteristically stiff as you pushed yourself out of your chair and walked out of the room without so much of a word, shoulders hunched and head down when you passed by Dick, who watched in slight confusion as to what just happened. Damian on the other hand was starting to reach his limit with his brothers constant teasing, for how could they not see that it was clearly making you uncomfortable even if some of the teasing wasn’t aimed at you directly.

You took it personally on his behalf and he hates that in due to this it made your eagerness to spend time at to the Wayne manor dwindle. You were his first true friend and he didn’t want his brothers to be the reason you decided that you didn’t want to be his friend anymore. Damian wouldn’t admit it but deep down he was scared that he’ll loose you because of it, and that the only way to save your friendship would one day be reliant on your interactions during school hours. Damian knew he wasn’t the easiest to get along but he had to applause your persistence in wanting to befriend him, so much so that he didn’t want you ever thinking that he didn’t bother fighting for your friendship, because he would fight for your friendship with everything he had and then some.

For you’ve become a large part of him that he doesn’t think he could ever imagine living without now that you were so deeply integrated into his very being.

The third and last time you visited the manor was what made Damian snap. All you were doing was have a slow day with the added company of Titus, who was resting his head in your lap as you petted him; The poor dog missed you and it showed with how he whined whenever you dared to stop the pets, it would be made even more difficult not to as he would then paw at you persistently on top of all that.

‘I swear one of these days Titus will follow me home.’ You joked as you reminisced about the times when Titus would try and follow after you as pup and always disregarding Damian in favour for you and your cuddles. ‘He almost did once when you had to go home after our sleepover.’ Even Damian smiled softly at the memory of seeing Titus’ little head pop out of your bag after almost tearing apart the manor for the little mischief maker. He reached over to scratch the dog behind the ear -just how he liked to be scratched- and watched as Titus kicked his back leg in response.

‘He obviously still loves me a lot to be using my lap like this despite being too big to doing it anymore.’ You chuckled, looking down at the big dog with so much love and affection. Damian scoffed. ‘Don’t flatter yourself, Titus only likes you because you pamper and baby him.’ You gasped, covering Titus ears. ‘Don’t say that! Titus is still a baby in my heart!’ You exclaimed. The fully grown Great Dane then sneezed in his sleep and you acted as though he said something meaningful before looking back towards Damian ‘see, Titus agrees.’

‘Tch. You’re such a pain.’ Was Damian’s response as he looked away from you, only to see Tim stood a few feet away, watching you both much like how Dick and Jason did and Damian knew what was about to come out of his mouth before he even said it.

And apparently so did you as you managed to stand up, waking Titus up in the process, who was trying to get his bearings back as you said sombrely to Damian. ‘I’ll see you at school tomorrow, yeah.’ Before walking back towards the manor with Titus at your heels.

Before Tim could ask Damian shot him a murderous glare. ‘Batcave. Two days from now. Make yourself useful and bring Todd and Grayson with you.’ Was all he said before storming off towards the manor himself, leaving an taken aback Tim. His limit has officially been reached.

‘Why are we here Damian? Are you going to tell us that you need help with your partner-‘

‘Stop. Just stop with this nonsense you, Drake and Todd seemed to be hung up on because this false narrative you’ve created about myself and y/n is entirely make belief. And we’re suffering from it.’ Damian cuts Dick off but Jason was quick to speak next.

‘Why? Are you lovebirds not together anymore?’

Damian clenched his jaw but couldn’t contain his anger and annoyance towards this entire situation, wanting nothing more than for it to come to an end. ‘WE NEVER WERE TOGETHER TODD!’ Damian exploded. ‘WE WERE ONLY EVER JUST FRIENDS BUT DUE TO YOURS, GRAYSON AND DRAKES’ SHARED STUPIDITY, YOU’RE MAKING THEM UNCOMFORTABLE INTO EVER VISITING ANYMORE!’

‘Why didn’t either of you say anything-‘ Tim tried to talk but was quickly silenced by Damian who still had a lot more to get off of his chest. ‘WE TRIED BUT YOU WE ALL TOO BUSY TEASING US FOR BEING SOMETHING WE NEVER WERE!’ Damian liked to think he wasn’t the type to be quick to anger and how it was such a foolish thing to do. However Dick, Tim and Jason overstepped one too many times for Damian not to speak up about it, making sure it gets into their thick skulls that their weird behaviour almost cost him his friendship with you.

Jason, Dick and Tim felt stupid now and a little ashamed that their teasing could’ve quite possibly drove you away. It wasn’t their intention to do so, but they guessed that they admittedly got slightly ahead of themselves that they didn’t take into consideration of how you felt about all this. Now they felt like right dickheads.

‘I believe they’ve got the message master Damian.’ Alfred said as he looked at Dick, Tim and Jason who looked like a bunch of kicked puppies. ‘How about we invite master Damian’s friend for dinner so that you may tell them you’re sorry for your recent transgressions?’

Dick smiled softly at the butler whom had became another father figure to them. ‘That’s sounds perfect Alfred but only if y/n is comfortable to come.’ He, Jason, Tim and Alfred then all looked towards Damian who had calmed down significantly from his earlier outburst. ‘Tch. I’ll ask but I’m not guaranteeing anything.’ He says to them as he took out his phone to text you, adding a picture of an impatient Titus sitting at the front door waiting for you to come back for added effect, knowing how you couldn’t resist him.

It didn’t take long for you to reply with; ‘fine. I’m willing to bury the hatchet but as long as Titus gets to lay in my lap. That’s my only condition.’

Yep everything was going to be alright.

[woahiwrite]

hello!! i saw you were taking requests and wanted to send one!! i’ve been binge reading your headcanons too!! you’re such a good writer 🫶🏼

i was wondering if you could do kenshi with a princess! reader please 😵✨💗 thank you and i hope you have a good one!

Kenshi x Princess!Reader

Warnings: Descriptions of blood, not very graphic, no actual injuries to reader or any of the kast. Reader is female and described as just shorter than Kenshi. For the purpose of the story the tournament spans over a few months, I'd say 4 to 6, just for it to not feel like Kenshi and Reader fell for eachother in like 3 weeks[I don't know how long the tournament is but that is how it felt in the game]. Open ending

Thank you for enjoying my writing, you have a good one as well! For story reasons I decided to come up with another realm for the reader to be princess of, also because this ask gave me so much muse I came up with a bunch of lore too so I apologize if this isn't quite what you had in mind😭. I might make this into something more if enough people want it and I find myself with enough motivation to do so. I quite enjoyed this ask and I think it shows.

• As Princess of Warrealm, you were no stranger to kombat

• There was once a time when your realm had been prosperous, teeming with life, a true paradise

• Though that was before your birth, before your parents' birth, something you only read about in the history books

• Knowing you would be in danger if raised in your home realm, your parents sent you to Outworld, to be raised as Sindel's ward until you were old enough to join your family and hopefully break the millennium long state of war that plagued your realm

• First, you must learn how Sindel ruled and learn how to fight, training under Li Mei and one of the royal guard from your own realm

• As you came of age, you spent more time in Warrealm, participating in battles when permitted, and trying to come up with strategies to hopefully get a breakthrough

• This, is when Kenshi saw you for the first time

• Sindel had just finished her introduction of the tournament, her lips just parting as she went to welcome forth Liu Kang

• When suddenly, her eyes drifted over, and she seemed to still

▪︎ "Woah, who is that?"

• Hearing Johnny's question, Kenshi turned to follow his gaze, and he immediately found himself intrigued, though also concerned

• Strutting forward, bloodied spear in hand, you made your way towards the throne, your skin dripping, and clothes soaked, with crimson

• Sindel watched you approach, ignoring the worried glances from Kitana and Mileena as you knelt before the steps

▪︎ "Empress, I am sorry for this interruption."

▪︎ "Do not worry yourself, I have been awaiting your return, you are unharmed?"

▪︎ "Yes, Empress."

• Sindel seemed to visibly relax, and she nodded her head with a small smile

▪︎ "Good, go clean yourself up, the tournament will begin soon."

• You stood, turning swiftly, before walking out of the throne room without so much as a glance spared to anyone else

• Bloodied footsteps trailed behind you, leaving Kenshi to wonder if it may stain the pristine white floors, and if so, why Sindel didn't seem mad you did so

• He did not see you again until the banquet that night

• You were seated beside him, looking amused at the disgusted side glances he sent towards Kung Lao and the slightly worried ones he gave to his own plate

▪︎ "The food of Outworld is not much too different than that served in Earthrealm, it will not harm you."

• Kenshi looked at you in shock, and then quickly shook his head

▪︎ "That isn't it at all, Princess."

• It was your turn to be shocked

▪︎ "Pardon?"

▪︎ "Oh, are you not one? I had assumed because of how close you had seemed with the royal family."

▪︎ "I am, just..not from Outworld. A story for a later date, perhaps. My story won't provide much entertainment to your dinner."

▪︎ "I'm not that hungry."

• You gave him an apprehensive look, before nodding your head

• You explained to him the history of your Realm, unsure as to if he would know it or not

• That Warrealm was once called Idyllrealm, and that it was once a place unlike any other

• Some from Chaosrealm had came and formed their own battalions, hellbent on taking down the royal family so that Idyllrealm could be a true paradise, another realm gloriously free like their own

• The war seemed never-ending, as people became corrupt by Chaosrealm ideals

•  Idyllrealm received little aid even with their good relations with Outworld

• As time went on, Idyllrealm was better termed as Warrealm, for the battles that waged on constantly

▪︎ "So, Outworld is like a safe haven for you?"

▪︎ "Precisely."

• Kenshi was further intrigued by you then, there was just so much to learn from you

• To learn about you

• He could relate with you on wanting to free your people from corruption, and if he wasn't so focused on saving his Clan, he would've offered his aid to you right then and there

• Though, he didn't know how much of a help he would be without any abilities to aid in such warfare with people who seemed to come out of fantasy stories

• But to say it was love at first sight would be incorrect

• It was more admiration

• Though that admiration didn't take very long to turn into love

• You had found Kenshi attractive, not just for his looks, but his personality and his goal that was so similar to yours

• You didn't really realize, but the both of you quickly became good friends

• Even despite the Earthrealmers taking victory after victory in the tournament, you felt no ill will towards them

• If anything, you almost rooted for them to win

• Outworld did not need any battle, and you knew General Shao did enjoy the thrill of bloodshed, he had even aided in a few battles in Warrealm

• So if Earthrealm won, the realms would stay in peace, and it would allow you to keep your mind set

• After all, if Outworld fell into war, you would almost feel obligated to fight alongside them

• Most of your life was spent there, after all

• Though to take your minds off those thoughts, you always could talk with Kenshi

• He told you about life in Earthrealm, and you told him about life in Outworld

• You'd often share drinks together, sometimes alone, sometimes with the company of the other Earthrealmers

• They all liked to hear your stories

• (You ignored the flirtatious comments by the one who went by Johnny Cage)

• It was all good and fun

• You made friends with the Earthrealmers, and even sparred with them whenever you all wanted to

• Of course, you hid this knowledge from Sindel, Mileena, and Kitana

• You didn't know if they would accept any sort of relations with those of Earthrealm outside of the tournament

• Even ones as innocent as friendship

• Though you knew you wanted more than that with the swordsman

• As time continued to pass, and the tournament grew closer to its end, you found yourself growing dreary

• Kenshi felt the same

• It showed in one of your nights basking in the moonlight, drinks in hand, staring out over the city

▪︎ "Raiden fights General Shao and Princess Mileena in a few days."

▪︎ "Are you worried for him?"

▪︎ "Not quite, I think he'll be fine. He is the champion for a reason."

▪︎ "Then why do you sound so somber?"

▪︎ "I'll miss the view here in Outworld, it's quite..beautiful."

• Glancing over at him, you found Kenshi to already be looking at you

���︎ "Outworld is home to many of my fondest memories. I find myself making new ones a lot more, recently. Some fonder than others."

• Stepping closer to you, Kenshi slightly leaned against the railing as he looked down at you, the distant explosions from fireworks reflecting in his gaze

▪︎ "What are your favorite ones?"

▪︎ "How about I show you?"

• Feeling his hand come up to cup the side of your face, your hand gripped the side of his suit jacket, keeping him close as your lips pressed together

• The kiss was more passionate than you had expected, your heart thudding in your chest as you stepped even closer to him

• When you pulled apart, you were both left breathless

• Tongue briefly darting out to lick your lips, you smiled up at him as he did down to you

▪︎ "There, my most loved memory yet."

▪︎ "I'm glad I made the list, though I hope I won't have to become a memory."

• You huffed, pulling back from him but dragging your hand down until you held his hand in yours

▪︎ "Hopefully not."

[c0la-queen]

Hybrid Boys AU | Drabble

Warnings: No interactions in their human forms, though those forms are hinted at subtly a few times, perverted boys if you squint, I honestly had fun writing this, let me know if you want to see more of this AU

Words: 2.9k

Author's Note: Heavily inspired by the Call of Duty "Woof Woof" series by charliemwrites ! I love their writing and I highly recommend checking it out!

--

Imagine being someone living a perfectly normal, content life. You have your own little house, a place just for you, that sits right on the edge of the woods. You have a comfortable job that pays well and isn't too mentally or physically demanding - hell, you could even say you even liked your job.

It was your day off, a day completely to yourself. All of your household chores were done, communication with your job was muted until tomorrow. You had the entire day to laze around. And that is exactly what you did. It was rainy and gloomy and sleepy, so there was no reason to leave your bed for a long time. Drifting in and out of sleep, watching Tik Toks, and reading on your phone. It wasn't until probably around noon that you finally dragged yourself out of bed to eat. Since you were planning on cooking something big for dinner, you had something simple and easy for lunch.

After that, you decided to treat yourself and do some self care. Everything shower, shaving your legs, skin care, and repainting your nails. You finished it all around 3 p.m. and, dressed in fresh lounge clothes, you made yourself a comfortable little spot on the couch to binge through one of your favorite shows until dinner time.

That's when Prince showed up.

Not the singer. He has nothing to do with this.

Prince was the name of the big, orange wolfdog that you found in your backyard that day. He had gotten your attention with his barking. None of your neighbors had any dogs that you knew of, so there was no reason there should have been any dogs in your yard. So, you went to investigate.

The dog looked pitiful, soaking wet and covered in mud. He had been barking at one of the puddles of mud that the rain had created in your grassy yard. It had made you laugh, because he almost seemed… offended? Like he was yelling angrily at the puddle.

He must have heard you laughing, because his focused turned to you. For a few minutes, you and the dog just stared at each other through the glass. Then, he 'boof'ed. He didn't really seem aggressive…

Naturally, you opened the door.

Maybe baby talking a random wolfdog - that likely came out of the nearby woods - wasn't the best idea. But hey, you weren't exactly known for making good ideas. Why would you need to think when there was a big, gorgeous dog just waiting to be pet?

Not that the dog seemed to mind. He accepted your pets happily, despite your caution approaching it. Your sister was a dog trainer and had taught you years ago how to properly introduce yourself to a wild dog. You went through every step, keeping your distance, angling yourself away from him, extending your hand without looking at him, staying completely still, etc. It wasn't necessary, though, because as soon as he got a sniff of your hand, he was all over you.

About 30 minutes later, you were standing in your kitchen looking at a freshly dried, freshly fed Prince laying on the cool tile. You had decided to name him that due to the majestic way he walked and because after you got the mud out of his fur, you had to practically drag him away from the mirror. You had never heard of a narcissistic dog, but boy, did this dog love looking at his reflection.

You called up your sister after that, chatting with her on speaker phone as you cooked pasta for dinner. Based on the picture you sent her and the verbal description of the way Prince was acting, she gave you tips and advice on how to properly care for your new dog. You felt yourself grimacing at the news that you would need to give him a mainly raw meat based diet. Raw meat, regular grooming, mental stimulation, plenty of exercise, and, of course, lots and lots of love. Once the phone call was over, you sighed and sat down on the couch with your bowl. Only to be met with Prince with his chin on the couch cushions, staring intently at your food.

Damn the dog distribution system.

--

It was two days later that Monster came into your life.

Prince had proved himself to be quite the cuddle-bug. Every second that you weren't at work, he was practically glued to your legs. Every night, you would step out of the shower to find him waiting outside the bathroom door. (The first night, he had tried to push his way past you to follow you into the bathroom, then whined like a baby when you closed the door in his face.) Every bedtime, he jumped up onto your mattress and made himself comfortable in the crook of your legs.

That's why you thought it was odd when you woke up without him.

It was the middle of the night, and your groggy brain struggled to catch up with the present. The bedside clock read 1:45 a.m., though the numbers were blurry. Why were you awake? Oh, yeah. There had been a dog barking. Prince? No, it sounded muffled, like it was outside.

Where was Prince?

You figured he must have gone off to investigate the barking. After a moment, you exhaled deeply, pressing the heels of your hands into your eyes.

It would probably be a good idea to bring him back to bed, so he doesn't try to pick a fight with whatever stray is in the yard.

As you climbed out of bed and stumbled towards the door (you didn't bother to put on any further clothes, since your neighbors weren't close enough to see you - leaving you in a crop top and underwear) you didn't think about how quiet the house was now. In your half asleep daze, you didn't register that the barking had stopped. Nor did you pick up what sounded like hushed murmurs coming from the kitchen - which ceased altogether when you yawned loudly.

No, when you stepped into your kitchen, the cold tile raising goosebumps along your arms, all you saw was Prince standing in front of the sliding glass door and a brand new dog standing on the other side. This one was smaller than Prince, but still big enough to be recognized as a wolfdog. It had light brown fur and impossibly dark eyes. Oddly, you got the feeling that it was glaring at you.

Upon your arrival, Prince sneezed softly - his version of a snobby huff. Only acknowledging him with a hand through his fur, you passed by him and crouched in front of the glass. The dog on the other side took a wary half step back. This one wasn't going to be as trusting as Prince was. No matter. You knew how to handle this.

With a hum, you stood and walked off to the other side of the kitchen. The two dogs watched you curiously as you dug through the fridge for a moment.

Prince barked in indignation when you walked back over with a container of deli ham. You giggled as you had to keep him pushed away while opening the door. The new dog moved back onto the grass as you stepped out, though he stayed at the edge of the porch. Eyeing you.

You set the food down on the concrete, as close to him as you could get, before moving away from it. You stood flush to the glass doors, ignoring how Prince was pawing and whining for your attention.

You watched as the brown dog's eyes slid from you to the food and back again, before very slowly inching closer. You made sure to stay still.

It sniffed around for a few seconds, then dug in.

After that, you had no trouble getting him to follow you into the house.

Seemed like the way into his heart was through food.

It wasn't too long after getting him properly wiped down that you wandered back to bed and fell back to sleep with the familiar weight of Prince beside you, now joined by another.

Later, you'd blame it on sleep, but his slightly intimidating appearance prompted you to settle on the name Monster.

--

Soldier made an appearance another two days later.

You had finally found the time to go to the store, after being swamped with work and having two big dogs to take care of. On the bright side, Prince and Monster got along great. Sometimes you thought they actually knew each other, with the way they acted. Whenever Prince was swarming you and pushing against your legs, Monster would bark and nip at him. Though, that would just turn into the two of them play fighting.

It was already dark by the time you stumbled through the door with too many bags hanging off your arms. You had to buy two collars, two sets of dog bowls, plenty of non-destructible toys, treats, chews, and food that would fit their wild appetites. If your sister hadn't been on shift when you decided to come in, you would have been hopelessly lost within the aisles of the pet store. You made a mental note to get her an extra special gift this coming birthday.

You hummed softly as you set all the bags on the kitchen table, too lost in your thoughts to notice an obvious lack of dogs swarming you. You had decided to get Prince a lilac collar and Monster a deep blue one.

A particularly aggressive bark from Monster caught your attention. He never barked like that, not even at Prince. Your blood went cold. What could have gotten Monster that riled up? Why was Prince not barking? Where were the two of them?

Calling out for them resulted in a scrambling of claws against tile. Your boys came out of the hallway, tails wagging and perfectly okay. You leaned down to pet Prince when you suddenly stopped in your tracks. Standing in the hallway was… a third dog. This one was bigger than both Prince and Monster, with caramel colored fur that stuck up in some places. Its eyes were… strikingly silver, gluing your feet to the floor.

A third wolfdog? How did it get into your house? Why were Prince and Monster acting so calm now, after Monster had barked like that?

You barely registered Prince bumping against you, too busy tracking the newest dog's every move. It walked through your kitchen nonchalantly, sniffing the shopping bags as if it had lived here its entire life. It didn't seem to be acting threateningly in any way. The opposite, in fact - it was probably the most relaxed one of all of you.

Prince sniffed your cheek, the loud inhale of air next to your ear bringing you back to reality.

Hesitantly, you cooed at the new dog, holding your hand out to it. You made sure to keep your eyes on the floor, as to not provoke it. From the corner of your eye, you watched the dog stop and stare at your hand. Less warily than Monster had been, but still on guard, it walked closer and sniffed at your hand. You felt its nose move from your palm to your wrist to your forearm, before moving back down and running its tongue along your wrist. The cold sensation made you involuntarily giggle.

As unnerving as this third dog looked, it seemed perfectly calm.

After setting out food for the newest addition, you went about wrangling Prince and Monster to get their collars on. Prince was as happy-go-lucky as ever, but Monster seemed off. He seemed tense. Which, on the surface, is a weird thing to say. But these dogs had proved to be the most expressive animals you had ever met. The emotions displayed in their actions could almost be mistaken as human. Monster kept looking back at the new dog every so often, ears twitching or huffing softly before turning back to you.

After the three were settled down, you had a moment to think.

Prince was settled on top of your legs, Monster just shy of your feet. The new dog was laying on the rug, facing the front door attentively. Almost like a guard dog.

Or… a soldier.

--

Life with your three wolfdogs was turning out to be hectic.

It had really only been a week since Prince had shown up at your door, yet here you were with three of them. Prince and Monster hadn't changed, still tussling whenever they had the chance. Soldier didn't really bother to stop them, though he nipped and snapped if they got too close to him.

You noticed a couple of things about Soldier. Firstly, he was quiet. You hadn't heard him bark or growl at all. Sure, he would sneeze and huff, nip at the other two or snap playfully at your fingers for treats. But he was never vocal. The second thing you noticed is that he was always alert. If not for his lack of a collar or chip, you'd have thought he was someone's security dog.

The three of them seemed to be best friends. However, sometimes it proved to be a disadvantage to you.

Like when you were trying to shower.

Unlike when it was just Prince, you couldn't keep them out of the bathroom. Even if you tried, you could only push one of them away while the other two simply slipped past you. After a couple of times, you stopped trying.

The weirdos just sat there while you showered. All laid down on the floor, just outside of the glass shower door. You brushed it off as them simply being clingy. They probably liked the cold tile, too.

Prince had just gotten done licking the condensation off the glass, when they all suddenly sat at attention. Even Monster woke up from his nap, staring at the door alongside the other two. Your eyebrows furrowed as you looked in that direction, trying to figure out what had caught their attention.

A loud bark from outside sounded. The three dogs all scrambled to their feet racing out the door - ignoring your protests. With a sigh, you shut off the water and grabbed your towel to follow.

You wanted to hit your head on the wall. Here you were, dripping water all over your kitchen floor, wrapped in only a towel after a perfectly good shower had been cut short.

Loitering outside of your kitchen was a fourth wolfdog. This one was the biggest of the four of them, bulky with chocolate brown fur and eyes to match. By the time you had actually gotten out to the kitchen, Prince, Monster, and Soldier had just been sitting in the kitchen, staring at him. You felt like you had just walked into the middle of a members-only meeting.

The final dog shifted its focus onto you when you walked in. You would almost call its gaze scrutinizing, like it was judging you. You stared back.

After a few moments, the dog chuffed. It pawed at the door, not even struggling to reach the door handle. You chewed on your bottom lip, deliberating. Was it really a smart idea to let this random, massive dog in? Nothing bad had happened the first three times that you did it. But that luck couldn't last forever, could it? Could this dog be the one to get aggressive, to attack you and possibly inflict major injury?

For some reason, your gut told you it wasn't. That it wouldn't.

You decided to trust that feeling.

You let the dog in.

--

Superhero turned out to be the leader of the four.

That's the only way you could explain it. The other three seemed to naturally listen to him. They followed him on walks, behaved when he snapped at them. That's not to say he was set apart from them. He still played with them, still joined the cuddle piles. But there was a clear sense of respect. Some innate canine instinct that recognized him as some sort of pack alpha.

Maybe that's why you butt heads with him so often.

It sounds ridiculous on paper; getting into arguments with a dog. But Superhero had some serious attitude. Your best guess was that he wasn't used to someone challenging his authority, or trying to boss him around.

But you weren't one to give in, either.

There were times where he would try to herd you in a certain way, trying to get you to go where he wanted, if he deemed your destination unsatisfactory. You would always push back, clicking your tongue and glaring at him.

You even had your sister come visit to see if she could find a way to train it out of him. She couldn't even get him to crack.

So you were stuck with a dog that would mouth off to you every time you tried to get him to do something.

Oh, well. At least you would always have something warm to cuddle. Or several somethings.

Your life was going to be so much more interesting now.

[otomehoneyybearr]

Act 12

Episode 1: The Bing Bang Dream

Working w/ Maybelle Lace

Note: As you read, you will see that some sentences highlighted in a different color, this is what they indicate.

Pink: Flashback of the past

Blue: The Character(s) is/are acting

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???: Its dangerous, so make sure to hold onto our hands.

Sakuya: Okay!

???: Come take a look, Sakuya. The ocean continues on to the other side.

Sakuya: The ocean is so big!

???: That's right.

???: Did you know, Sakuya? In this town--

.....

Citron: …uya… Sakuya... Are you alright?

Sakuya: ...ngh.

Sakuya: Huh...? Why am I...?

Citron: You had been crying in your sleep. Did you have a scary dream?

Sakuya: ….I can't remember much of it but I think it was about something nostalgic. It made me feel lonely…

Citron: A nostalgic dream? Was it the time when the Big Bang created the universe?~

Sakuya: I don’t think it was from that long ago..!

Citron: Oh! We must eat breakfast soon, or we’ll miss practice!

Sakuya: You’re right! Let’s hurry!

....…

Misumi: Wasn’t that guy with the enemy?

Muku: Who is he?

Tenma: Wait, what IS your name?

Sakuya: Oh, my name is Saku.

Tenma: Right, apparently, this guy’s searching for the planet he was born on.

Izumi: (Rehearsals for the second part are going smoothly because of the success from the first half. The advantage of having a second part is that we can make use of both strong and weak points from the first half.)

Izumi: (The members that appeared in the first part of the play already feel comfortable with their roles because of their prior appearance, and since the Spring Troupe members finally get to make their appearance in the second part, they have a high level of enthusiasm.)

Izumi: (Everyone’s collective energies is creating a good atmosphere in the practice room.)

Izumi: Let’s take a short break.

Chikage: Since the atmosphere of the play has already been set from the beginning, everything has a fresh and different feel from the usual.

Itaru: I’m getting excited now that the costumes are complete.

These men (づ￣ ³￣)づ

Tsuzuru: Well, this IS the kind of fantasy feel you love after all.

Itaru: I've been found out.

Citron: Itaru is easy to understand.

Sakuya: I’m so happy I finally get to perform with the spring troupe!

Citron: Now, you will no longer feel lonely, Sakuya! Dreaming of the Big Bang will only make you cry.

Tsuzuru: What the? How are those two things even connected?!

Sakuya: I can’t remember exactly how it went but I don’t think it was about the Big Bang!

Izumi: Is it true that you cried from your dream?

Sakuya: Oh…well… It’s a dream that I’ve been having every now and then.

Sakuya: The scenery is unfamiliar to me... but it’s not a scary dream though.

Citron: If Sakuya cries from his dreams again, all of the members of the Spring Troupe are required to gather in room 101.

Sakuya: But everything is okay though!

Chikage: I’ll be there anytime if it’s for our leader.

Tsuzuru: No need to be shy about it Sakuya.

Masumi: I’ll go if I’m awake.

Itaru: Yeah… he’s definitely not coming.

...…

Masumi: Should we get started?

Izumi: Hmm, let’s wait a bit longer… In anticipation of the performance soon, this afternoon—

*Door opens*

Rento: Yo.

Akashi: …Um, sorry to bother you.

Izumi: Oh, hey you guys!

Izumi: Thanks again for providing the wonderful lighting during the first part of the performance!

Izumi: It’s because of you guys, that we were able to take our production to a higher level, and the audience absolutely loved it.

Rento: Well, ain’t that swell.

Akashi: N-No, it was nothing… Izumi… it’s because you gave me such wonderful colors…

Masumi: Too close.

Akashi: ?!

Izumi: Masumi?

Masumi: Four meters away.

Izumi: Why?!

Itaru: The Masumi sensor went off.

Citron: A forecast of the storm of love!

Kazunari: Renton!

Rento: Hey! I brought over the CD that I bought the other day.

Kazunari: Yippee! Gimme gimme!

Izumi: (As expected of the two with high social skills, they became friends before I knew it.)

Tetsuro: …

Izumi: Tetsuro! Didn’t see you there!

Tetsuro: …

Akashi: Ah…

Izumi: (I wonder if they’re seeing each other eye to eye? Maybe they’d get along well since they’re both the quiet type.)

Tenma: Both Tetsuro and our two new guys sure have strong personalities.

Rento: The troupe members here are also characters.

Yuki: Can’t deny that.

Izumi: You guys are all reliable though because of your skills.

Rento: It’s a small theater, so we can only do so much but let’s make the second half even better than the first.

Akashi: I-I’ll do my best…

Izumi: Now that you mention it, it would be nice if we could upgrade our equipment a bit more.

Rento: Yeah, you’re right… last time I brought in my own equipment.

Izumi: But, if we can make this performance a success, we may be able to renovate the theater and level up in various ways!

Rento: Well then, let’s do our best.

Kazunari: Does this mean you’ll continue working with us?

Rento: Well, I’ll do it as long as I don’t get fired.

Akashi: Ah, me too

Izumi: Great!

Izumi: Alright, first, I’d like to reintroduce you to the leading roles of the second half of the show, starting with Sakuya.

Sakuya: I’m Sakuya Sakuma and I’m the lead for the second half of the show. Once again, I look forward to working with you.

Rento: Yea, nice to meet’cha.

Akashi: What bright… colors.

Izumi: (In addition to the high level motivation, the staff has been strengthened, and the interpretation the troupe members have of their roles have deepened through the success of the first half.)

Izumi: (If we can progress without a hitch until the curtains open, our second half will definitely be a success as well!)

.....

*Phone rings*

Reni: …

Yukio: Hello?

Reni: It’s me, kamikizaka.

Yukio: Reni?! Oh, thank god… I need you to listen to me!

Reni: Huh? What’s wrong?

Yukio: My daughter came to see my play the other day!

Reni: O...oh… I see.

Yukio: I was happy when you and I talked over the phone but I'd didn't think I'd be able to see my daughter in person too. It made me really happy.

Yukio: This show was super important to me because it was my last performance in that theater. I’m so glad my daughter got to see it.

Yukio: Now, I’ve moved to a new town and joined theater troupe here. It’s hard work but it’s fulfilling.

Yukio: I‘ve got to admit though, seeing my daughter made me miss everyone else in Japan.

Reni: …I’ll bring you back to Japan. That’s what I promised you.

Yukio: Yeah… Oh, speaking of which, what’s up with you today?

Reni: Actually, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.

Reni: I was talking with Kashima regarding your disappearance and heard that you left the theater world due to “certain circumstances”.

Reni: I didn’t get to ask you directly the last time we talked but I ended up hearing about the incident from Kusumi Ikaruga.

Reni: With the help of Syu, I managed to get some information which led me to a certain person.

Reni: I understand you are keeping silent for the sake of your troupe’s members here in Japan. However, in order to properly corner the opponent, I need this information.

Reni: I want you to believe in me and tell me the truth.

Yukio: …

Reni: If my understanding of the situation is correct, then the one who banished you from the theater world in Japan was—

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Next

▼・ᴥ・▼

[mslanna]

If you are still taking Raphael x Tav prompts, then can I request Raphael reacting to Tav coming to harm due to associating with him? Like other fiends (devils or demons) attacking his mouse because the perpetrators wanted to send him a message or mortals attacking Tav for consorting with a fiend or something like that.

I'm going to go continue my binge reading of all your Raphael x Tav prompt fills now! 👋

Hi Nonny,

I am kinda still doing prompts though I didn't finish any of the approx 10 that languish in my inbox lately. 🙈

Hope you liked what I came up with for this one.

As for Raphael dealing with people who hurt his little mouse…

More Than Skin Deep Pleasurable Pain

White Bird Must Fly

The plan didn’t go as planned. Raphael stared down at the small form lying curled up, mouth agape, sleeping without a care. As well they should. Tav was safe in his house.

And yet they decided to leave it again and again. He had allowed it. A caged bird loses its appeal after a while. The same bird, basking in assumed freedom and still returning to its cage unawares of the door ready to fall close? Delicious.

Tav returned. Ignorant or just ignoring the golden tether around their neck. Raphael rarely tugged on it. The necessity hadn't arisen yet. He ran a finger along Tav’s jaw. They mumbled, twisted, fell quiet again.

They had lied. In the beginning when Tav thought they could fool their devil. Bruises and scars strewn over their skin, a delectable map for intimate meetings. ‘From fights’,’ they’d say. Carelessness. Running into something. Falling over their own feet.

Raphael didn’t doubt Tav was capable of those. But his little mouse was a lot quicker on their feet, a lot smarter and agile to incur that many blue patches. He adored the bruises on them – if he had administered them. When Tav called out sweetly when they received them. Such a pleasing creature and so eager to please.

The bruises did not recede. Whenever Raphael’d undress his favourite toy, they covered Tav’s skin in all states of healing. Unacceptable. All marks on Tav’s body were to be his. They belonged to him and nobody – nobody – got to hurt them.

Tav hedged and evaded his questions. Who? Where? Why? They protected the perpetrators. Something that was also unacceptable. But their fierce protectiveness for those Tav cared for, was one his favourite traits of his little mouse. Ready to defend him at the drop of a hat.

They’d taken to taking a small flask of water from the healing pool with them. For emergencies, they lied. To hide the bruises before their return, he knew. It didn’t help. Anger simmered under his skin as he wondered where their skin was freshly healed as his lips and fingers traced it. A distasteful lie he wouldn’t live.

So Tav refrained from healing themselves. Still, the mixed marks on their skin annoyed him. Tav should bear only his marks – teeth, nails, fingers. They were his tapestry. On cue, Tav turned and pressed their forehead against his thigh. Raphael ran a hand through their hair. His.

Even fast asleep, Tav sucked on his thumb immediately when he slipped it into their mouth. There had to be a way to punish those who hurt them for mere association with him. Regardless of whether Tav wanted to protect them.

Raphael moves his thumb, thinking and Tav’s tongue chased it obediently. Anybody who laid hand on them deserved to die. Tav knew this. The reason they were recalcitrant and told him nothing. Maybe some sweeter torture would wring names from Tav’s lips. But under those circumstances, the only name Raphael wanted to hear was his own.

There was also the question of punishment. Death would be suspicious if used to often. And it had to look natural. Tav would suspect him soon enough anyway. It was worth a try. He plucked his thumb from Tav’s mouth. It earned him a pouty little mumble.

The easier way – the safer way – was to just keep Tav from traipsing around Faerûn. Tav trusted him. He could lean on them, involve them in his infernal affairs and bind them in the hells. Raphael smiled and slipped down on the bed. Tav would never see it coming. They’d be all his as they were now.

Raphael pulled them against his chest and relished in the arching of Tav’s back against his body. He rolled over them to take the weight off his wings and cradled Tav close. Their body was a cool pearl in the raging fires of his ambition.

For all their physical prowess, Tav was exceedingly easy to steer. Especially from ones the trusted – loved. Engulfed under his wing, Tav stirred and pressed closer. Easy lies already piled up behind the devil’s teeth. He only had to make sure Tav thought it was their idea, their decision.

Tav would bear no more marks of worthless scum on their skin. Tav would be at his side always. Raphael closed a hand around their throat where the golden chain was almost tangible. Such a perfect little thing on a perfect golden string.

Read on AO3 No account? No Problem. hmu for an invite.

[astridthevalkyrie]

baby we’re barely (holding on) | hawks x reader

A chance encounter leaves you reminiscing about the past and pondering the future. Who would have thought the number two hero has thought about you just as much as you've thought about him?

warnings: references to smut/sex but no actual smut in the story

a/n: i caught up with the mha manga today so my binge is finally over..........i cannot believe hawks is who i have decided to spit out 2k words of pure artsy fluff about. i did not see this coming i thought it would be aizawa i wanted it to be aizawa. tenko-centered fic possibly coming soon??

"Yo, Hawks!"

His wings react before his head does, and if the way a few of his feathers fluff isn't a sign that he's pleased to see you the unreadable grin on his face is. "There's my favorite hero. I thought I'd see you on stage today."

That stings slightly, but not because he said it, you'd half expected it too. Only Hawks must have cracked the case on how to get such acclaim in such a short time. It's part of the reason you sought him out in the first place, a couple years back. Oh, damn, has it been that long? You'd been such a mess back then. Today might just be dedicated to showing the man that you're not a popularity-crazed maniac anymore.

When he hugs you, it's by the waist again, and you realize no time has passed at all. The you that was a seventeen year old meeting an eighteen year old Hawks had butterflies from this cliche move of his and twenty-one year old you is no better. You're just a tad too into this cocky persona; and it is a persona, no doubt about it. Within that feeling is a scolding lesson to accept people for who they are, but that's difficult when Hawks doesn't make that common knowledge. The only reason you know it's fake is because of that one night, that night, the night he had whined desperately in your ear, "Keigo. Say my name when you come for me, please."

And that remained the only time you'd ever said it. Another reason why Hawks' hands on your lower back, a touch that he would never let linger so much with any other pro, briefly sets your common sense ablaze.

"Would you get a drink with me?" His hair is not as perfectly in place as it seems on screen, you note, but the slight crookedness makes him all the more endearing when he cocks his head. "For old times' sake?"

"Day drinking? You don't seem like the type, birdbrain." Ah, good, nicknames to fall into an easy rapport.

"I'm just getting apple cider." Hawks' eyes twinkle—jeez, who actually stood in the mirror perfecting something like that? You're more sympathetic to your younger self now more than ever. "Agreed to meet with the flame hero later, gotta keep my senses about me. You're friends with Mirko, yeah? The two of you should swing by too."

A stray finger brushes over your elbow, the course pad gently pressing into your skin, right next to your pocket, where the cable for your earphones is sticking out. Hawks hums at the sight, tapping his own headphones wordlessly, a small smirk on his face.

There's more words when you read between the lyrics, a newly burgeoning eighteen year old hero had said to you, dontcha think?

How odd. Had it been Hawks speaking then, or Keigo? Who is speaking now?

"We can pay you a visit, yeah." One of his arms is still wrapped around your waist, and more people are starting to flood into the backstage area to offer their congratulations, so you tap his headphones too, in the same spot, and raise a brow. "But that drink?"

He steps back, an immediate lack of warmth greeting you. He's surprisingly heated for being so cool and, well, avian. It would be ironic if he wasn't, though, and the heat was only coming from how well your body remembered how his felt pressed against you. You should feel like a pervert for these thoughts, but Hawks is the one who's still in your personal space.

And there he remains. Even when you exit the hall, even as you're away from the heroes and walking amongst civilians, he stays glued to your side, stuck like a protective boyfriend. It's a good time to remember that your feelings for him had never been about sex, appealing though it was. It was because, back then, as a new hero yourself, Hawks draping himself over you, whistling against your cheek as he praised you from behind your shoulder, at the time, it had felt like...like...

The sweetest form of love. Something you knew was fleeting, but real.

You let it happen. and it was easy. Maybe because he made it painfully obvious that he wanted you just as much as you wanted him, because he'd looked at you as though you were a dream he could never hope to have. At the end, Hawks hadn't pulled away, had he? It'd been you.

"Sorry," you blurt, at the same time he asks, "So how much did you really think you were gonna get in the top ten today?"

The two of you blink at each other. "Sorry rescinded," you mutter sourly.

Hawks chortles, knuckles bumping into yours. "Well, I won't bother saying apology accepted then, but you get the sentiment. I, ah, don't think you have anything to say sorry for, though."

Slipping your hand into your pocket, you close your fingers over your phone. "You sent me eight texts, and I didn't respond to any of them."

You've read through those eight texts so many times that you could recite them in your sleep. Best be with your eyes closed too, or else the onlookers would recognize the way your head bowed in guilt. It started with hey, we should talk and u free tonight? Then, after a couple hours, it was i didnt mean to make things weird.

At around 4 PM. i know ur areas change 2nite

Two hours exactly after. damn not even a *tonight huh

okay i respect it

i'll see you when i see you, chickadee :)

And, finally, a year later.

i miss you so fucking much i cant stand it

Despite the longing, despite how you'd very nearly teared up the first time you'd read that last message (and then following hundred times you reread it obsessively), you didn't respond. You didn't let your paths cross again. The only reason you even sought him out after today's ceremony was because you'd found that damned feather bracelet yesterday and your hopeless naivety had won out over your supposed maturity.

If anything, your explanation only makes him more amused. "You counted? That's adorable, chickadee."

He opens the door for you and your eyes meet his. Underneath that boyish charm is a kindness, a teasing look reassuring you that he really doesn't hold anything against you. You're not sure if that means it didn't actually hurt him all that much or that he's had enough years to recover from the hurt. It is not naivety, but cruelty, that makes you hope that it's not the former.

To make you feel better and worse, Hawks quirks a brow like he's accepting a challenge. "Nothing to apologize for. Don't believe me?" In a second, he's bringing your hand up to his lips, bowing his head to kiss your knuckles and spread a furious rush through your veins.

It's not the former. Your heart beats painfully. It's not the former. It might not even be the latter. Perhaps Hawks and you were one and the same, never getting over it and just continuing to smile brightly every morning regardless. Maybe even though you're only twenty-one, this damned feeling of an old, overgrown soul that you have is mirrored in him.

An overgrown soul with all the kicking feet and high-pitched giggles of a teenager.

"Alright, birdbrain," you say, and maybe you've learned a thing or two about making your eyes twinkle from him too, "thank you. To answer your question, I wasn't super confident, it was a wish more than anything else."

As you walk into the cafe he's chosen, you wave at a little girl whose mouth had fallen open as soon as she caught sight of you. "You'll make it next year," he observes casually, the statement sounding like a promise coming from him.

It doesn't matter as much as it used to, and you tell him as much. That little girl's expression is more than enough of a reward, hell, just him buying you a drink is enough of a reward ("who says I'm paying?" Hawks remarks, sliding over a card across the counter as soon as you've put in your order). This casual exchange means more to you than a lot of things, actually. It gives you something new to replay in your head over and over again, instead of...

Sheets clutched in your fists, his heavy breath on your neck, switching between using his tongue and teeth, in between apologies that sound like sorry, i'm sorry, i've never done this before and a muffled groan when you tell him that you, too, are also a virgin. The absolute disarray in his expression, as though he couldn't decide whether he should remove your clothes or just kiss you, but he kept returning to your lips regardless. You remember each kiss you'd shared with him that night. There'd been a lot of tongue too, as expected of two horny, inexperienced teenagers who were simply intoxicated on the feeling of having their feelings reciprocated.

But that night wasn't all you remembered. You also recall vividly the evening he'd flown you up to the top of a building, and let you rest your arm on his shoulder as both of you sipped on apple cider, with him pretending like the drink was scorching his tongue and you pretending that you were drunk. Stay with me, Hawks! you'd dramatically cried. He'd winked, and you think he was actually drunk that day because he'd leaned in, close enough for you to feel his breath on your lips, and whispered, I'm not going anywhere, chickadee.

The most surprising thing was that you hadn't kissed him right then and there, as you two celebrated your youth.

"So what's next for you? Aiming for the number one spot?"

"Eventually, of course." A set of perfect teeth flash a confident smile at you. With a slight clink, he sips his cider, humming thoughtfully. "But first, I, ah, might actually be AWOL for a bit."

"Oh yeah?" You sip your drink as well. "A special mission or something?"

"Or something. Let's just say I gotta keep my head low to avoid giving off a cocky self image."

"Can't imagine what could possibly give people that impression," you drawl sarcastically. He shrugs innocently.

"That's actually why I thought it'd be best to catch a drink with you now. I don't think I'll be able to meet up or even text in the next few months. But don't worry," and he winks at you even as a sudden unease grows in your stomach, "if you get to eight texts, I'll definitely respond then."

Unsurprisingly, you're not a fan of how it sounds like he's saying goodbye. You just allowed yourself to re-enter his life and you wanted to make time to properly apologize to him, to make up for lost time. You don't think you necessarily deserve a second chance, or another brief whirlwind romance, but you still want to buy him a drink to return the favor.

"Hawks," you begin, leaning forward, "what is the commission making you—"

A hand cups the back of your neck, but he doesn't tug you forward. Instead he meets you at your seat, and presses his lips to yours.

This feels like a dream. You must have dreamt this at least once in your several dreams about him.

"Fuck," he breathes, as your lips mold to fit his, sounding like he's never had such an absolute honor. "You're perfect, chickadee. I'll miss you."

You surge forward too, not as inexperienced now, and your hand cups his chin, figuring you'll apologize to your PR team later if someone gets a picture of this. To the outside world, it will look like a hero who fell for her coworker's charm, but to you it looks like something too good to be true.

Faintly, you feel a hushed message amongst the sensation. A fight is coming. I can't talk. We'll need your help.

The first thing you think is strategic. Questions burn in your brain, about who and where and when. That is your twenty-one year old self, and in her maturity she takes precedence. A hero you are first, a hero you will remain. The second thing, however, is a wide-eyed question that your seventeen year old self asks. Did he only kiss you to give you a message?

Thankfully, that fear is assuaged the second he breaks away, continuing to look at you like you're his salvation. Even if Hawks is that good of an actor, you'll let yourself get played, and if things go south, you'll accept it as a just retribution for abandoning him when he needed you. What you won't do is make that mistake again. You both are barely holding on, just like this whole society, and maybe you're holding onto a long gone memory of an eighteen year old who taught you what love was. But you'll continue to hold on, and if the wait kills you, you'll just send eight rapid texts in succession, and he'll come back to you.

A feathered bracelet presses into Hawks' hand. "I want that back the next time we hang out, birdbrain. Don't forget."

Keigo’s eyes twinkle again. "I'll keep it with me always."

Then he kisses you again, and this time no message is relayed.

"When we burn this world down," Dabi whispers, a glee in his gaze that Hawks avoids looking at, "she'll go down with it too."

The only change in his expression, a contrast to the fire that blazes in his chest, is a simple grin.

"Yeah, man, I know. We all gotta make sacrifices, don't we?"

[oonajaeadira]

For the Love of Fic: August 21

Now that the busytimes are over, I just desperately wanted to get back to the fic world. And I may have binged a little. No punishments plz. I have a lot of catching up to do.

Also dang, there's a lot of Jack this time around. There must be whiskey in the water...

🪐 = Year of Themed Creation fic

.

JOEL MILLER

Kindred Spirits by @all-the-things-2020 🪐 It's Anne of Green Gables, but with Ellie and Joel. Really, y'all, this one caught me in my chest and had me tearing up more than once watching Joel come back to life for the love of a new daughter. My heart!!!!!

Surrender Chapter 10 and Chapter 11 by @ezrasbirdie So now we've gotten to the end of Kin and I'm still tense about Joel and Ellie even if I understand that their story will lead them back to Jackson. But now I'm just worried about Daisy. She's so vulnerable, so convinced that love is an accident or will always be so fragile and fleeting, I'm so afraid she'll run from it before she has a chance for it to really sink in. I just want to smoosh her and never let her go.

.

EZRA

Taking Root by @the-blind-assassin-12 This short story takes place in an existing Ezra storyline, but you don't need to know that series to appreciate this fluffy bit of lovely, heartwarming give and take between Ezra and Cee as they make a gift for someone they love and care for.

E is for Exhibition by @butchmandalorian 🪐 Pro dom!Ezra is back, my beloved, and this time it's sex in a movie theater. He is such a menace and loves his work so much. I really wish the man was real. I am not a BDSM girl, but there's just something about butchmandalorian's Ez that gets me in all the right places.

Kinktober in June: Focus by @leslie-lyman Holy balls, y'all. This is mesmerizing in every single sense of the word: a little hypno-kink will do ya. Even without his arm and his humanity, Ezra still has many skills. The ability to manipulate and get what he wants. A silken voice. Patience. And apparently, that's all you need too.

E. - "Are you sure you're ready for this?" by @missredherring A drabbled writing exercise wherein Miss Red takes the prompt out of the smut box and into a softer place. Which is totally my jam.

Miles and Time by @never--doubt 🪐 Have I said yet how much I love Ezra? Or soulmates? I've never seen this mechanic before--the one where you have numbers on your wrist counting down the distance between soulmates. I love it. There's a lifetime of angst, but man, Ezra's worth the wait.

.

JACK DANIELS

Draft Release: Dial Up the Jack, Dim the Whiskey by @artemiseamoon 🪐 You know, I had the same reaction to Jack that OFC Bria does here. Initially, I thought he was ridiculous and full of ego, not worth losing my heart to. But she gets to see the Jack that's deep down inside that Whiskey persona and...well...never say never.

untitled by @brandyllyn Hi would you like to be punched in the heart with just 600 words? Why don't you read what happens when Jack comes back from taking another bullet to the skull? I feel like this could be the prologue to a story that could end up so so sweet...but damn, that last sentence is a doozy.

Saying I Love You With Flowers by @songsformonkeys 🪐 I'm not really a flower person myself, but if I was getting them from y crush constantly, I could be converted real fast. Is there anything as lovely as when Jack's both a scamp and a gentleman all at once? He's the master at it and I am a puddle at his feet.

How Wrong You Are by @haylzcyon A short and sweet piece wherein Jack professes his care in the aftermath of a sketchy getaway. Haylz is never over-saccharine, but hits all the notes just right, just like a damn fine Whiskey indeed.

Bangathon: Position: Kneeling Reach Around (with Marcus Pike) and Position: 69 by @prolix-yuy My goodness, LJ is great at the smut and I love how she writes Jack. He's a confident lover, putting the object of his affection exactly where he needs them...and where they will soon understand they need to be. He may go after what he wants, but he never pushes too hard and always makes sure it's what they really want. I would 100% want to be in this man's mustachio'ed embrace. Yee-effin-haw.

.

JAVI GUTIERREZ

Music Box: Prologue by @beecastle Aw yeah, we're getting Little Mermaid AU! This is a quick prologue setting us up for wanting more--both in terms of story AND in terms of the reader character wanting to learn more about humans. I'm hoping there's a certain sweet human in her eyeline soon....

To Your Rescue by @flightlessangelwings 🪐 Oh to be in the employ of Javi Gutierrez. To have his attention, his yearning looks, his protection. Really, my favorite thing would be to fall asleep watching movies with him...and you'll get that here too.

Litha by @grogusmum 🪐 Javi and his beekeeper girl are sweet as honey and I'm not gonna shy away from saying so. I love that he appreciates her taking an interest in his hobbies and family celebrations and shows that he cares for her interests by helping her celebrate a sweet Midsummers!

.

MARCUS MORENO

Taste by @@radiowallet I generally don't read Marcus but I will always ALWAYS make an enthusiastic exception for Cat's Marcus. He is a true hero, both sweet and confident, pulled so ardently by his needs but really getting off on saving the day for you. And, of course, there's Cat's style of writing which is song in itself. If anyone can make me fall in love with period sex, it's her, it's Marcus, it's this sweetly smutty fic in all its soft, yearning glory.

.

TIM ROCKFORD

First Mistake by @hopeamarsu 🪐 I am really delighted by this little character study. Hopes took what we see in the trailer and turned it inward, focusing on Tim's physical sensations and trains of thought. The way he registers the take-out he's eating, how he craves the whiskey in his desk drawer, his frustration as he looks at the clue board trying to make that crucial connection. It's a beautiful little piece, simple and yet full of so much.

.

PERO TOVAR

untitled by @writeforfandoms I am such a sucker for Jen's modern-not-modern Pero. He is learning, but still such a menace and a hedonist that I can't help but giggle at him and adore him in equal measure. I love when his puppydog nature rears its head like it does here as he tries to keep his reader all to himself on a nice picnicy day...

.

JAVIER PEÑA

The Third Date by @lowlights What Laura has done here is pretty much described my perfect third date with Javier. I mean, it's Javi being soft, giving his attentions, doing soft naughty things in public. But even more than that, it's tacos, y'all. Sign me up.

.

DIN DJARIN

Year of Small Joys: Stargazing by @keldabe-kriff 🪐 I love that Lyr is focusing on small joys. It's totally my jam to see my favorite characters just having a moment of peace or happiness, just to see their reaction to something I find lovely or to hear their thoughts about something I'd never stopped to notice. This time it's Din and stars, which really should be old hat for him. But he still finds a beauty in stargazing...

.

OBERYN MARTELL

2023 Summer Kiss Prompt #8: Oberyn Martell - Apology Kiss / Jealous Kissing by @something-tofightfor I might be living for this modern AU playboy Oberyn and his proclivity to be vulnerable in my presence, to open up and be real when hurt feelings are on the line. He did wrong, but I think he'll make up for it, and boy howdy do I want to be on the receiving end of that.

.

SPECIAL GUEST CORNER

OBI-WAN KENOBI

A Chance Taken by @ghostofskywalker 🪐 I know that Obi-Wan has his duty, but wouldn't it be nice if he always harbored feelings and had plans to settle after the war? This one is living that dream....I wants it.

.

BOROMIR

The Advice of Hobbits by @ironmandeficiency I mean, nobody should take advice from Merry and Pippin. And so it goes without saying that nobody should take love advice from Merry and Pippin. Ever. Poor Boromir. But I'm not gonna lie. The results are pretty cute.

[troutfur]

Tonight is Writer's Choice night because I said so and because I binged the whole of the new book over the course of my day off and it gave me ideas.

Tomorrow we're back to taking prompts from the audience, in accordance with my guidelines, but as a clarification since I've got more than a handful: Mapleshade's Vengeance is in fact one of the books I haven't read. And I'm not sure it's a book I even want to read. After the whole "yeah it's totally a good idea to write an article telling kids that if they don't jump into a flooding river to save someone else they're going to Hell, just get social media to shut up" fiasco from last year it just has left a sour taste in my mouth.

Preamble out of the way, enjoy Sunbeam's ThunderClan polycule, feat. pfurr dynamic worldbuilding:

On the night Nightheart went missing, Sunbeam went into her new nest feeling dejected. The whole of ThunderClan had been buzzing with a celebratory atmosphere but hearing her mate had left had her double-guessing herself at her decisions so far. The cryptic reassurances from StarClan Squirrelstar conveyed to to her had for sure not had remotely close to the intended effect. With no clear reason why he was gone she was left wondering if Nightheart’s wenwi --his maternal grandmother-- was even telling the truth or just trying to save face for her awbyyo --her bloodline.

As she settled in to sleep, Sunbeam felt a paw prodding at her side. “Hey.” Sunbeam raised her face to see the tortoiseshell face of Nightheart’s sister.“I know you haven’t officially joined the pfurr, but... would you like to sleep with us? At least until my brother’s back.”

“I...” Sunbeam was a bit taken aback. She turned her face towards two other cats cuddled with each other, their faces expectantly towards her. Those must be her empf --her nestmates-- Sunbeam guessed. “I thought Nightheart slept alone. He did mention you but with how he spoke I thought he was a--”

“Oh no, no!” the molly was quick to interject. “StarClan no, he’s not nearly bad enough to be a hug’koo.” In their language that was a word meant ‘cuckoo’, but it could also mean a cat that had been expelled from a nest. “He just has fallen into the habit of sleeping on his own. Being made a warrior late and all.”

“But he left his Clan to court me,” Sunbeam protested. Having let that slip out she wanted to swallow back her tongue. Berryheart would certainly have thought that an offense grave enough and she hoped upon reconsidering Finchlight wouldn’t agree with that view.

“And he’s not going to lose his place in his birth pfurr from that,” Finchlight said with a shrug. “You just try again the other way ‘round. The elders may say it’s disrespectful but I’ve always thought it was jus the smart thing to do.”

“It’s not like I have a sibling to share a nest with who I care about offending,” Sunbeam mused, rising to her paws as she followed Finchlight back to her nest.

“Really?” she asked. “An ul-arramew? You don’t very much act like one.”

“No, it’s not like that,” Sunbeam said. “I have two brothers in fact. But one of them took a SkyClan mate and the other was not very pleased. And so...”

“Oh,” Finchlight said. “I’m sorry I pried.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Sunbeam said. “What’s the courtship period for if not for meeting your soon-to-be mate?” The word she used there was empf for in their language there’s no distinction between one’s romantic partner and any other cat one share a nest with.

“Settle in,” Finchlight offered as she carved her space between alongside the other two cats, a golden tabby tom and a pale brown molly, who were already settled on their nest. “It should be enough for all four. We had it expanded for Nightheart forever ago but since he insists on being by his lonesome.”

“Hey,” Sunbeam greeted with a flick of her tail which the other cats responded to in kind. Though everyone in the nest was cozy and fit rather neatly the atmosphere didnt’ seem yet conducive for actually going to sleep. “So... Nightheart never mentioned any other empf other than her sister. When did you all start courting?”

Myrtlebloom and Bayshine went wide-eyed in surprise for a moment before clarity dawned on them and they gave an amused purr.

“We didn’t court,” Bayshine --the tom-- clarified. “We’ve just... kinda always shared a nest.”

“Pryyp?” Sunbeam piped up.

“Our wipfurrs” --that means mothers-- “were always close. And Sparkpelt had not been in the right mindset to nurse or take care of Finchy or Nighty towards their first moon or so. So they nursed with us and the habit of sharing a nest just kinda stuck.”

“Did he never tell you?” Finchlight asked.

“No, he didn’t,” Sunbeam said in surprise. “That’s lovely of her and lovely of you. When he spoke of ThunderClan he always stressed other things.”

“Typical,” Bayshine said with an eyeroll. “Such a complainer that Nightheart. There was once towards the beginning of our apprenticeship when he...”

The nest continued gossiping about their missing member until sleep overtook them. As she drifted off into sleep, with her head rested on the soft fur of her soon-to-be empf she began to give off a purr. There may be a piece of their nest missing but now she could work on loving and being loved by the rest of them.

[zhnnveuxpasdrmir]

Trying to explain that this quiet, braided anthology of short-short, thought variant, actor driven one-offs is a must-see breakthrough teleplay, a timeless masterpiece!, a work of explicable magic.

I was one of the six people in the world that actually saw this in 2010, but I'd only caught a few bits of it at the time. They were arresting as hell. It's exciting to finally get a chance to appreciate it now, due to the grisly stupidity of all corporate media conglomerates, and the ease of getting high quality archives of unfairly treated past media anonymously on the dark web, along with heroin and guns! 😁

I liked how The Booth At The End examines the fallacies inherent to popular reads of morality, and somehow criticizes specific religious cultures without once mentioning any of them, or admitting to any particular central framework by name. The script is rooted in widely understood monotheist ethics.

It's unrepentant, dour, merciless, and openly, loudly, glaringly deceptive in its candor.

Xander Berkeley. Holy shit. was just unbelievably powerful on this show. Every actor turns in a lifetime achievement award worthy scene, but mr Berkeley is just: setting your disbelief aside, so casually! You believe. The unthinkable is thoroughly plausible in these weency, handy little scenes that.... feel longer. You'll think it was an hour. It was like six minutes.

I don't know fully why this isn't a better known show! Maybe it's too hard to face. If you have an interest in the craft of acting, in show, this little one-sitting binge demonstrates expert theatrical film making.

And these goddamn endings will fuck you up for life!

so here's my theory on the Man, Doris, and the doom of human kind:

oh he's certainly not the Devil. He's a creation of G-D though for sure. As is Doris.

If he has to be a specific character from the stories, he's The Christ, not exactly The Messiah, but something a lot more like christian Jesus if he'd lived on since Resurrection, only through a magical realism lens instead of a worshipful one. The Man is aware of what G-D is, knows it's not what humans think it is. Some say "the wandering Jew" but no: this is not and never was a human.

if Doris has to be a specific character from the stories, she's Satan, or a fallen angel, but let's be real, G-D's ex-favorite, luring the new boy away from G-D's detachment, and into "the trap". I don't agree with the above article in thinking it ended too soon, it ends exactly where it should, where it has to.

because that demand Doris makes is real, and it's one that our planet's conception of G-D has always, always failed. She's right to state this demand, and the Man must comply. Both of them will be literally destroyed by the task. This is shown over and over in both seasons.

The Booth At The End is a genius series of stage teleplays that criticizes flaws in popular conceptions of G-D, how it distorts our perceptions, and how those distort our experience of need. Each "normal" character symbolizes a specific 'mistake' or foible; each supernatural character represents an attempt, by 'history' ambition institution or spiritual quest, to understand and eliminate those errors. The two seasons are a diptych demonstrating respectively How and Why we are trapped forever in a Hell of our own device. 🌞❤️

[kafkaoftherubble]

Typical 华人 behavior: 收集宝玉 (2)

Holy shit, is this really how we are starting 2025?!

不成体统！ 在人家注目之下公然傻笑？！

I thought we'd never do those "so I read chapter xxx of manga xxx and this is my thoughts" since Jujutsu Kaisen ended, but fuck man, Jujutsu-Kaisen-Dari-Negara-Cina over here is gonna continue this tradition if the mangaka keeps cooking some Lingyu-spotlight cuisine.

Figure 1: Fionn and his new friend's faces after seeing us laugh like morons at Lingyu's expense.

(Also, does he always have such... chubby earlobes? That's so cute! We had cute, chubby earlobes too! It was when Children Lyns' earlobes were infected!)

---

So the Gang has to work with a family they used to have beef with. Not just any kind of beef! It's the "I coveted Chulan's powers and gave him grief" type of enmity.

But for the future, they have to work together now. The secret to getting back to a neutral, or even favorable, position, according to this 风会长， is flattery.

Flatter the old man! Flatter his ill-tempered, tyrant of a grandson!

Chulan, Linglong, Wang Ye and even goddamn Baobao have no issues with that. Hell, Baobao's social ineptitude is maxed out to S+ rank, but her silently eating everything the old man had on the table still became her own way of flattering him. It even made him laugh and dote on her!

And this is why, 咱们高尚的张灵玉大真人, Most Noble Great Daoist Master Zhang Lingyu, is in a crisis. If Baobao's autistic ass managed to do this, he thinks he has to too. For the good of the group and the future, they are trying to build!

But FIRST! Like my dearest Fionn, Deep Thinker Bro needs some rationalization!

It's not like one should never say the words they don't mean, or do things they don't mean to do. If it hurts nobody, what's wrong with a little flattery, right? When you were the Master's personal disciple, everyone showered you with compliments. Did you honestly believe those were all sincere?

To be honest? Yea. I'm pretty sure the you at the time thought they were all sincere, man. Because you're the type of guy who only says shits you mean.

Yes, guys. Love his face here. He looks like he's meditating on the most critical moral issue of our times: "Is it evil to lie to someone that their pants don't make their ass look ripe?"

If I could accept other people's flattery without question, then why is it wrong for me to flatter others? No. I must adjust my mindset! I must change!

What does it mean by "training?" It means perfecting your conduct!

“修正自己的行为！这就是修行！” 灵玉真人你这句真的是大材小用、牛刀小试、用一辆车撞死苍蝇哦。

Now that you mentioned it... Both Wang Ye and Chulan (and this old man) are obviously drunk from drinking, and yet he's not. Lingyu can lowkey hold his liquor, huh?

But anyway. Easy to flatter a senior. Just say you uber-respect him and will do anything for him as a junior, and voila. Grandpa gives you that sweet, sweet Chinese New Year red packet money.

The issue... is the asshole grandson!

Wang Bing! I... I... Come on! Think, think! The essence of flattery is in its kernel of truth! As soon as you find a single good thing about someone, seize on it and exaggerate it! This guy... He gotta have something good in him...... ............. ........ His..... good..... part....... Damn it! Why didn't you make up a script before you start addressing someone, Lingyu?!

And I can't believe the beef between Wang Bing and Lingyu was that...

Lingyu fucking slapped him during the tournament arc.

It was probably in a battle, but that slap had really pissed this 玻璃心 princeling quite a bit. I'd like to imagine he slapped him for his impudence too, cause' that's some shit Lingyu of that time might do, man.

And also, Wang Bing is obviously still a little pissed about it if you pay his expression a little attention...

OH NO, THIS IS BAD! I CAN'T FIND A SINGLE GOOD THING TO SAY ABOUT THIS GUY!!! MY BRAIN IS GIVING UP! SHOULD I SIT DOW—NO! IT WILL BE TOO AWKWARD! IT WILL BE IMPOLITE! FLATTER HIM! YOU CAN DO IT! THINK OF ANY WORD! THEN SAY THAT WORD!

While bro is having a whole-ass Saiki Kusuo Monologue to himself, Wqang Bing has been yapping about how humbled he totally has become thanks to Lingyu punching him in the face and everyone else showing him how weak he actually is. Oh, now he totally knows he's been treated with kid gloves on by his own family this whole time, and that he will need everyone's help in this, yadda-yadda...

It's the sort of purple lies Chinese people love to do in social events, man. Projecting humility for social purposes. It's not actually meant to be taken serio—

"THAT'S GREAT, WANG BING! YOU HAVE SUCH ACUTE SENSE OF SELF-AWARENESS!"

[kmze]

Hey, Megh here. Not sure if you remember but I sent you asks few weeks back.I just finished reading your s6 recap.I agree with with what you had to say about Bonnie and Kai. As much as l like the idea of an irredeemable villain,on a show like this, it's quite obvious why they wouldn't head toward a legit relationship involving the bad guy taking an interest solely on a WOC when they have had main villains and side villains drooling over Bonnie's white friends.I also liked what you said about Stefan's and Klaus's speech even though I don't necessarily agree with the Klaus part(I guess we can agree to disagree).I think the actor who played Stefan did an incredible job in that scene and I will fully admit I watched it at least 10 times and that's like a lot LOT for a cynic like me who's not necessarily sold on them or any other couples on this show.What's interesting though is that the emotional weight and sincerity of "I understand if you need time to heal" was completely tossed out of the window in the first episode of the following season when he says something like " you heal and meanwhile we are friends". At first, I was confused and thought I had misread.Later on, after you replied and linked me to the Dries meta,I could understand parts of it even though not all of it.Something about Stefan that season rubbed me the wrong way and left a terrible taste in the mouth.And then there was that gross sexist mysogynistic surrogate-unpaid nanny to a middle-aged widower plot being turned into overtly sexist suburban wife beaming over foaming dish-pan plot which is nothing but a curated invisibilisation of domestic drudgery of women. It must have been wild for you watching it live back then with all the BTS drama that you hinted at in your speculation if it was such a whiplash for me binge watching.Let's see what you think of it now upon your rewatch.

Hi Megh yep I remember! Yup exactly! It just felt very obvious that as soon as the villain was only interested in Bonnie JP acted like omg you heathens how could you ship Bonnie with such a monster as if ships like DE and KC didn't exist. And ultimately I wouldn't have wanted romantic Bonkai (unless it was some dark storyline like the off arc with SC) but I wanted Kai to continue pining for Bonnie and her not giving him the time of day or using him when she needed much like how Caroline treated Klaus. I don't ship KC or think that scene was anything beyond Klaus giving his intentions of what HE wants from Caroline and not taking her feelings in regard at all. I just mean the love confessions work in Caroline's favor of staying alive because the way this show works is the more men who care about you (especially the high-cachet ones like the Mikaelsons and Salvatores) the better. I absolutely loved Stefan's confession though and the way it's shot is beautiful and I like that it had callbacks. My favorite thing about SC is how many parallels and callbacks they have, sometimes I admit it's not obvious and it's more nuanced than people want but I enjoy it. I cannot stand a lot of the cliche love declarations made on this show and SC was always the one who never felt like that. Even their wedding vows were filled with callbacks.

Oh watching that season live while active on tumblr with an anon inbox AND random spoilers coming from a KC blog took years off my life I think. The good news is I had a bunch of days off from work recently with no plans and decided what better way to spend it then watching that trainwreck again, which means my recap up to episode 12 is done and will be published later today! I completely agree that bench scene was so awkward and probably should have been the biggest hint that season was going to go off the rails. Watching it again was almost like therapy because it confirmed everything I felt and wrote about wrt Dries. I didn't mind crazy revenge fueled Stefan as much as most but I did mind that they kept rushing all of SC's scenes and never had any scenes where they just TALKED about what was going on. It was just such a drastic change from S6. I just finished episode 13 of that season and I did feel like they started to get more on track in episode 11 but it's short lived because of Stefan going on the run.

God the Caroline and Alaric "relationship" still makes me shutter with how disgusting it is. I don't know if it's my hatred for Alaric, Matt Davis being creepy or what but it is a severe low point on the show. I maintain they should have given Caroline a real fiance and we could have had some "crash the wedding" shenanigans with Stefan and Damon. Damon would have caused chaos to stall the wedding while Stefan makes his move or something.

[usagirotten]

Why 'Bodies' Is Your Next Netflix Obsession – Trust Us, We're Hooked!

Ready to embark on a new binge-watching journey? Well, we've got the perfect series that's about to become your latest obsession – 'Bodies'! Now, I know the struggle of choosing the next show is real. The endless scrolling, the uncertain sighs – we've all been there. But let me tell you, 'Bodies' is not just another series; it's an experience, and I'm here to spill the beans on why you should add it to your watchlist ASAP. The crime and sci-fi series follows four detectives from different periods – 1890, 1941, 2023, and 2053 – who discover the same body in Whitechapel, east London. Then, they begin to unravel a disturbing conspiracy spanning decades and have to try to work together to solve the murder. "Based on the mind-bending graphic novel by Si Spencer, Bodies is a police procedural with a twist. When a body – the same body – is found on Longharvest Lane in London's East End in 1890, 1941, 2023, and 2053, one detective from each period must investigate. "As connections are drawn across the decades, the detectives soon discover their investigations are linked, and an enigmatic political leader – Elias Mannix (Stephen Graham) – becomes increasingly central. Did he have a part to play in the murder? Or is something far more sinister at play? "To solve the mystery, our four detectives must somehow collaborate and uncover a conspiracy spanning over 150 years."

1. Gripping Storyline that Keeps You Guessing 'Bodies' is not your run-of-the-mill series. Nope, it's a rollercoaster of suspense and drama that'll have you at the edge of your seat. The storyline weaves through unexpected twists, leaving you guessing and theorizing after every episode. It's like trying to solve a mystery while being hooked on a gripping novel – you just can't put it down. 2. Characters You'll Root For (and Against) One of the key elements that make 'Bodies' stand out is its characters. From charismatic leads to enigmatic villains, each character is meticulously crafted, making you feel like you're part of their world. You'll find yourself cheering for some and booing at others – a true rollercoaster of emotions that keeps you invested throughout. 3. Perfect Mix of Thrills and Chills If you're a fan of heart-pounding moments and spine-tingling suspense, 'Bodies' delivers in spades. The creators have nailed the balance between thrills and chills, creating an atmosphere that will make you reach for that extra blanket while binge-watching late into the night. 4. Stellar Performances that Leave a Mark The cast of 'Bodies' is nothing short of phenomenal. The actors bring their A-game, making you forget they're playing characters on a screen. You'll laugh with them, cry with them, and sometimes, even question their motives – that's the level of immersion you can expect. 5. A Community of Fans Awaits You What makes watching 'Bodies' even more exciting is the community that comes with it. Engage in discussions, share your wild theories, and connect with fellow fans who are just as obsessed as you are. Trust me, the 'Bodies' fandom is a welcoming space where everyone speaks the same language of anticipation and excitement. So, Why Watch 'Bodies' on Netflix? Because It's an Adventure Worth Taking! Whether you're a seasoned binge-watcher or just looking for something new to spice up your evenings, 'Bodies' on Netflix is the answer. So, grab your snacks, cozy up on that couch, and let the 'Bodies' marathon begin! Don't just take my word for it – dive in, experience the thrill, and join the 'Bodies' fan club. You won't regret it! Read the full article

[unladielike]

With a glimmer in her eye filled with excitement, Reanne was eager to share about her experience playing the new recommendations Vivian had suggested to her. It was not a stretch to say she had binge read both the titles that encompassed the Collar x Malice world over the winter holidays, and she was visibly eager to share just how much she enjoyed it. Almost buzzing in her place, she plopped the games to her friend's hands and began her spiel, ❝ I finally played them. It was actually more enjoyable than I thought. Sure, I didn't like half the guys or their romances, but I was still so engaged with the whole plot line. All the tension kept me on the edge of my seat! Still, I wish I could romance that Chisato guy from the sequel. I dunno what it is but I wanted to flirt with him so bad, and yet the answer choices were so CRUEL by not allowing me to! Honestly, I liked the bonus routes we got more than the main guys. Hideyoshi was so precious and he really should've been a main route— ❞

          UNPROMPTED ASKS. » always accepting!

    As soon as Reanne plopped the games into her hands, Vivian would stare back at her rather expectantly, for judging from the excited gleam in her eyes, she can only assume she must have played it through to the end... and it turns out Vivian was right, because the next thing she knew, Reanne subsequently began excitedly yammering about the game.

    Of course, she hadn't expected her to like all the love interests, but knowing the plot lines and characters at least drew her in was enough to make her face eventually brighten with an exuberant smile.

    "Oh, thank goodness you enjoyed it! Why, on the off chance you didn't, I was ready to propel myself to the moon and curse myself for presumptuously recommending a game you didn't like," she finally exclaims after Reanne finishes her lengthy review. "But it seems I do not have to resign myself to that unfortunate fate after all! Either way, I shall gladly take note of your infatuation with Chisato."

    Sure enough, Vivian would then nod repeatedly, allowing a mischievous grin to spread it's way across her lips. Naturally, she doesn't bother telling Reanne what she had in store for her, because if she did, that would only manage to ruin her birthday surprise... which was something she didn't want. "And yeah, those bonus routes were definitely a nice touch!" Vivian goes on to acknowledge. "Aside from Chisato or Hideyoshi, though, do you happen to have other characters you're partial to?"

@aeipathcy

[beautifulbows924]

A Single Dream, A Thousand Realities

Morpheus, Dream of The Endless x Gender Neutral!Reader

Masterlist

A/N: So I binge watched The Sandman this week with my partner and I couldn’t help but become infatuated with Morpheus- I’m not certain I have his character down fully yet, but I’m opening up requests for him (tentatively) and writing this series! Thanks again @darkened-writer for beta reading this for me (they have their own series for him, everyone should go check out)! As always, I hope you enjoy. Feel free to leave any feedback you have in the comments and if you like my work consider leaving a tip! Thanks:)

Rating: Teen (Series: Explicit)

Word Count: 600+

Warnings: Hospitals, Angst, No Spoliers, Bad Dreams but they aren’t described.

Summary: Death asks her brother a favor… You.

Next Part: A Waking Dream, A Dreadful Nightmare

A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities. - J.R.R. Tolkien

Prologue

“Brother”, Death calls, bathed in the viridescent light that veils over the heart of the dreaming. There’s a tinge of urgency in her tone, concern.

Morpheus allows the shadow of a smile to cross his face as he turns to face her, “Sister, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon”.

Death sighs and the smile disappears as fast as it once appeared.

“Is something wrong?”, he swallows thickly.

“I’m afraid I’m here on business Morpheus… I need your help.”

Antiseptic and bleach fill the air, a cleanliness so heavy it’s uncomfortable, suffocating.

“Why did you bring me here?”

Death reaches forward, “Not why. Who”.

Her hand wraps around the linen curtain, pulling it back to reveal- a human.

You.

“They’re dreaming.” It’s a statement, not a question.

But an answer is given nonetheless, “Yes”.

“Are they to see you soon?”, he asks, moving to sit at your bedside, his fingers running along the paper thin blanket the hospital must have provided. Death remains silent.

Dream considers taking your hand in his, seeing to it that your last time in the dreaming is a favorable experience.

But he thinks better of it, choosing to instead mess with the card he pulled from the wilting flowers by the door.

Get well soon, it reads. Cursive font, no signature.

Did you have no one to care for you? No one to truly sit by your bedside and keep you company at your end?

“Why are they here?”

“They were-”, she begins as you stir in your sleep.

A pained gasp escapes your parted lips, accompanied by a string of heavy breaths and the steady rise in the beep of the monitor.

Morpheus shares a look with Death, their gaze only breaking as his hand envelopes your warm one.

He can feel your kindness, hear your laugh, smell your favorite flower.

The beeping rushes faster, your heart thudding against your chest.

The fear your mind is gripped with grabs hold of him, but he easily pushes it aside. “Rest. Breathe”, he instructs airly, reminding you of his own hold on your dreams, “You know me, I won’t let anything harm you. Not while you’re under my care, in my realm”.

The beeping slows to an even chirp.

“You’re good with them, when you try”, Death says, placing a hand on his shoulder, “Humanity”.

He stiffens, “I suppose”.

Death sighs, frustration etched on her features, “I don’t pretend to understand why you choose not to care for anything, but I need you to put that aside for once”.

Morpheus huffs, “Why? What could possibly be so important about one human.”

Her eyes leave him to scan you, “…They were supposed to die yesterday, today, 5 years from now”.

Dream’s eyes flash with mild shock, but his face remains impassive as ever, “What do you mean?”.

“I mean, their end changes.”

He looks at her skeptically, “That’s not possible”.

“It is”, she replies matter-of-factly, “It’s changing at every moment and I need to know why”.

His eyes fall from her to you, your face drawn in peaceful slumber, what is it that’s so special about you?

“I’ll find out what I can”, he says finally, his eyes unmoving, transfixed on you.

“Thank you, brother”, she nods, disappearing to fulfill her duties.

When he’s certain she’s gone, Morpheus leans down to your ear, “Welcome to the dreaming”, he whispers.

His lips linger there for a moment before he steps away, the heavy curtain falling back into place.

“Sweet dreamer.”

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you want to be tagged or un-tagged down below <3

The Sandman Taglist: None Yet!

[rcksmith]

Rules — Kaz Brekker

Requests: “Your works is incredibly good, masterpiece. Can you please smut with Kaz Brekker and prompts 34, 37, 47? Using your rules, they are wonderful. I will really wait))”

“could u do #39 with kaz???ignore if ur not comfortable with this!!”

“Hello, just binge read your kaz brekker smuts and they are amazing! Was wondering if you could do something with smut prompts 34,84,&72?”

Smut prompts:

34. “You’d better watch your fucking mouth.”

37. “I’m so sick of your voice. Why don’t you come over here and put your mouth to better use?”

“39. “You keep acting like a little brat and I’ll take you over my knee right here, I don’t care how many people are watching.”

47. “You look so good on your knees like that.”

72. “Fuck you.” 1. “I’m up for it if you are.”

84. “Let me show you what happens to little brats who don’t follow the rules.”

Couple: Kaz Brekker/ Fem!Reader

Warnings: swearing, NSFW,explicit heavy smut, dirty talk, dom!Kaz.

Word count: 2k.

A/N: All smut requests for Kaz must follow these rules.

Thank you so much for the requests and for all affection 💖 I decided to compile these requests, since they were the same central plot. I added all the elements that were asked for individually, and made sure that all ideas were respected and written down. I hope you like it and good reading.

English is not my first language, so I so sorry if have a mistake.

Requests are closed. Love you❤️

— — — —

There were two types of people in the world. The dangerous ones, with whom shouldn't play or challenge, people who are able to see and set your soul on fire with a single look, who exude power and domination with the way they walk. And there were people who loved to play with danger, with fire. People who felt the adrenaline pump in their veins and loved the feeling of being messing with something forbidden. Overcoming limits, challenging people on power.

Kaz Brekker was the first type of person. And you were second.

He was intimidating, dark and dangerous. An aura of mystery adored him like an underworld selvedge, and his caustic and intense gaze could very well be bought from what Lucifer cast around the world after The Fall. It was amazing how he hadn't left a trail of rubble where that gaze passed. People feared him, obeyed him, responded to his orders with astonishing precision. Everyone, but not you.

The surest comparison to define you would be to buy Jesper. Both with social personality, adrenaline addiction and seduction in their eyes. But you were a little more than that. More impulsive, more reckless, and more provocative. While Jesper knew all too well when to step back and keep your mouth shut, you refused to bow to Dirty Hands. Not because it was proud, but because it was fun, thought-provoking. Addictive. Every cell in your body felt extremely alive when you are under Kaz Brekker's dominant, angry, and dangerous gaze. He giving you a clear warning that you were swimming in turbulent water, but you were just plunging deeper into his waves.

You wanted to push him to the edge, the exasperation, to see what was really underneath that cold face and serious. Kaz could very well be the boss of the famous gang you were part of, but his rank wasn't enough to stop you. Never would be.

"Frankly, I just don't care." You told Jesper and Nina in one night, downing a shot of vodka.

"What?!" She looked at you dumbfounded. "Kaz is your boss and you argued with him about his plan!"

Nina looked alarmed, but all you felt was adrenaline and pleasure.

“Because it was a nonsense plan and…”

“What nonsense plan?”

And there was Kaz. With his height and his black underworld clothes, with his Lucifer gaze and mouth made for sin. You wanted him to sin. But you wanted l him sin with you.

Jesper and Nina soon stuttered trying to make up an excuse, but you weren't given to lies.

“Yours, in this morning.” Jesper looked like he wanted to stick his head in the dirt after your comment.

Then, once again, that fervent gaze was upon you, and every pulse in your body frantically pumped blood through your veins.

“Don't think I didn't notice your inability to follow rules, Y/n.” It was a warning.

“Oh I don't have a problem following rules “You rested your chin in your palm, with your elbow on the table, and held his fervent gaze, “,but only when they make sense. So that's the only way I can be very obedient, Sir.”

You heard Nina gasp, but your eyes didn't leave Kaz's. There was much more to that look than met the world could see. There was war for control, battles and ferocity. Kaz Brekker wanted to break you in half in that eye contact, but you wouldn't budge because a look. If he wanted you on your knees, you would be very happy to do it, but it would have to be the right way.

Kaz leaned toward you, closer enough for no one else to hear what he was going to say but far enough away that his mouth wouldn't touch your ear.

"You keep acting like a little brat and I'll take you over my knee right here, I don't care how many people are watching."

After that, the sexual tension between the two of you was suffocating, so thick it could have been cut with a knife. But nobody did anything to placate it, and you two just let it get bigger. Bigger and bigger. Until it's too late.

And in one night, it was too late.

"I won't do this just because you want to!" You crossed your arms over your chest.

Kaz wanted you to kidnap one of a mobster's kids to act as security when making a deal, but you wasn't going to kidnap anyone.

“You work for me.”

“No, I work with you.” It was a lie, but you didn't budge. “Don't think I'm here for lack of choice, Brekker. You need me as a vital member of this team and don't forget we're on an equal footing.”

His blue eyes turned almost black. Kaz Brekker rose from his office desk.

“Do you really think you're going to tell me how to act? Think you're gonna boss me around? Well, I don't think so.” His speech was slow and hot and dangerous, like that of a hunter prowling his prey and contemplating how pathetic you attempts to fight were.

“I don't give a damn what you think.” Your whole body was throbbing with life in that moment, as if fireworks had exploded in your chest. “But I won't do what you're ordering.”

"Fuck you." His voice was a growl.

A spot between your legs vibrated, and you gripped the taunt tightly. "I'm up for it if you are."

That seemed to be the pinnacle. The air crackled, the world shuddered, and Kaz's eyes roared with the flames of hell. He walked towards your with three long, purposeful strides, grabbed your chin in his gloved hand and brought you close to his mouth like you were just a rag doll.

Your breath burned in lungs, your unrestrained heart grew stronger and your entire body shivered. A low moan caught in your throat, but you could feel the warm, pulsing liquid stain your panties.

"You’d better watch your fucking mouth." Kaz's voice was husky, strong and gruff, like a boss. Your boss.

Pleasure invaded your body like waves of electricity, stealing your breath and making your blood burn in veins like scalding lava. Your whole body vibrated, screamed, begged. You wanted to disobey and be dominated. You wanted to fight and be defeated. You wanted to play rebellious and be demoted to a good girl.

And your desires must have been very explicit and pleading in your eyes, because Kaz let his lips curve into a cocky, smug smile. The smile of someone who knows he has power.

"You are such a hypocrite." He brought his body close to your. "Saying you're not easily obedient, likes others to think you're provocative and rebellious, but you're just a needy kid wanting my attention."

You moaned this time. A broken and delivered sound that gave away your entire game.

"I'm not one of the men you can challenge and get along with."

"I didn't think you was." You tried to rescue the last spark of provocation, your last fire of insolence.

“And yet you test me. Because you know what I can do with you.”

His husky words hit your skin, and Kaz pulled your chin more closer, until your lips were able to swallow his words. “Because you know I can break you.”

The moan came loud this time, desperate and needy. Kaz hadn't even touched you properly and you already felt ready to combust.

“Y-yes.” But if you were desperate, Kaz was burning with dangerous fury.

“I'm so sick of your voice. Why don’t you come over here and put your mouth to better use?”

Then his hand slipped from your jaw and stuck to the silky hairs on the back of your neck, closing his fingers there and bringing you with him to the armchair Kaz had been sitting in seconds ago.

They weren't sweet, affectionate, or kind touches, but that wasn't what you were looking for. You wanted roughness, fury, raw and strength. You wanted something wild, wanted had marks on your body the other day to tell a story. You weren't a woman who settled for the basics and wanted someone able to show you what a real fuck was. You wanted to be broken. And Kaz Brekker could give you that.

He sat down in the leather armchair and pulled you to the floor, settling you on your knees on the floor between his long, masculine legs. The awareness of what was to come filled your mouth with water, with desire, with lust, and you found yourself already leaning your mouth closer and... Kaz pulled your hair back, not hard, but firmly, keeping you away from his dick. For a while.

“Are you so eager to get my dick yet?” His free hand, now ungloved, glided to your face, running his thumb across your cheek in a firm, possessive touch. “Of course you are. Greedy slut."

Then came a slap. It wasn't aggressive, but you could feel the heat on your cheek. Your panties have never been so wet as they are now.

“S-Sir f-fuck.”

It was a plea, a whimper or a moan, you didn't know anymore. All you could feel was your pussy throbbing, mouth salivating and the overwhelming desire to put his cock in your mouth. It all hit you so hard that you wanted to cry with the wait.

Kaz lowered his mouth to your, slamming their lips together in a rough, brutal, dictating kiss. He invaded with his tongue and conquered everything you had, rubbing the hot flesh of your tongue in an erotic, maddening dance.

"Let me show you what happens to little brats who don't follow the rules." It was his sentence after back away his lips from your.

Unbuttoning his black pants with one hand and pulling the waistband down along with the boxers, he released the throbbing cock that sprang out with glory and grandeur. Thick, streaked with veins and with a pink head swollen and leaking with pre-cum. Everything about Kaz Brekker was delicious. Your moan at the sight was an opportunity that wasn't passed up. Kaz pulled your head by the back of your neck toward his dick, sinking into the velvety, warm, wet cavity of your mouth.

You accepted it readily, almost in desperation, tasting its taste with his tongue and sucking on his head like your favorite lollipop. Kaz moaned loudly, letting his head fall back and loosening his grip on your hair. Your eyes lifted to him, and the sight made you clench your thighs to ease the arousal.

His broad chest covered by the black button-down shirt rose and fell faster, his smooth white neck was exposed, and his firm jaw was clenched with fury. Brekker looked like the god of the underworld. And you loved it.

Your mouth suck to his cock better, increasing the back and forth movements and leaving a trail of hot sage. One hand rested on Kaz's thigh while the other aided the movements, spreading all the saliva down the length of his cock.

“You look so good on your knees like that.” His voice was more of a growl, and his grip on your hair went back to being firm.

You brought your eyes up to his once more, batting your lashes gracefully as you let out a few broken moans, sliding your tongue across every inch of his warm skin you could reach. Kaz gritted his teeth with your puppy dog ​​eyes. Losing all control and letting out a loud growl mixed with an aggressive curse, he thrust your head at him, sinking his entire dick into your hot mouth and hitting the glans at the beginning of your throat.

You gasped and he moaned loudly, increasing the back and forth and building with the movements of his own hips, fucking your mouth like it was the most delicious thing in the world.

"Fucking hell, what a velvet mouth!" He locked his teeth into his lower lip, using his free hand to slide his thumb across your cheek and give you a reward in the form of a small caress. "That's right, good girl."

You moaned, squinting your eyes and relaxing your throat. His compliment has done wonders for your feminine ego and your vanity, you've sunk your mouth down to touch the tip of your nose to his pelvis, and the grip on your hair has become rough as Kaz moaned loudly in a session of swearing and gasping.

He held you in that position, his whole body shaking with pleasure and despair, blood pumping like boiling lava through his saturated veins. With one last moan mixed with growl, he cum in your throat. In hot, strong jets, making sure you take every last drop. He tasted like salt, man and lust. And it was a miracle you didn't cum right away. The best liquid you've ever had.

Kaz released your hair with a hot gasp, and the hand on your cheek gently pulled you back. His dick came out of your mouth with a 'pop', saliva and tears mingled in your chin, your lips swollen and as red as roses at their apex.

You've never been so fucking delicious as you are now.

Brekker pulled you into his lap, settling you on his thigh and locking their mouths in a kiss permeated with lust and desire. You whimpered, body sensitive, pussy throbbing and throbbing. Your hands went to his hair as Brekker pulled the hem of your skirt up.

"Now, you're going to keep showing me how much you regret being insolent."

You smiled with teasing and malice. The night was just beginning.