#wrote this in a rush i might edit later

[libraryspectre]

Ugh ok fine I'll talk about my murderbot casting opinions

Awhile back I noticed people getting irritated with Kevin R. Free as the audiobook narrator because he's a man with a Man Voice and it really rankled me. People of any gender can have any voice, and anyway, Kevin R. Free's voice IS fairly androgynous.

This is more or less how I feel about a man being cast as Murderbot. It would have been nice to have a nonbinary actor play Murderbot, because nonbinary actors need more roles, but Murderbot is not nonbinary. Murderbot is nonhuman and human labels are N/A. Gender is N/A. You could argue that is splitting hairs from a representation standpoint, but I think it's core to the theme of the series. (Also, it's great that nonbinary people relate to and claim murderbot as representation, we just need to acknowledge it doesn't experience being genderless in the same way a human does). Because of this, I don't think the studio was ethically obligated to cast a nonbinary person.

I think, from a worldbuiling standpoint, I would have liked someone with a fairly androgynous voice and facial features. This is because we know murderbot is sexless, with no secondary sex characteristics. As far as murderbot's flesh parts, the only relevant features I can think of are voice and lack of facial hair.

So, I'm actually pretty fine with a man being cast as murderbot? I think to follow the logic of secunit biology he should stay clean-shaven for the roll, and maybe avoid the deeper registers of his voice (I haven't heard him speak so I don't actually know what he sounds like.) His features are pretty traditionally masculine but that doesn't really matter, and he has big ol eyes that could help them play into the androgynony if they chose to.

My bigger initial problem was with Murderbot being played by a white actor. I think a lot of the readers' image of Murderbot has been shaped by the Tommy Arnold illustrations where it's dark-skinned. It doesn't actually say anywhere in the books, from what I remember, what Murderbot's skin-tone is like, but we do know it's made from a slurry of donor DNA and the Corporate Rim has people with a wide range of features (I avoided alluding to racial diversity here because we have no idea what concept of race the CR or any of the other settings actually have. Edit: to clarify, the characters are definitely racially diverse from our viewpoint. I just felt the need to caveat because the concept of race is very cultural and we don't actually know what cultural concepts of race the setting has, if any at all. This is my anthropology degree showing lol). It makes little sense for Murderbot to be white if its DNA is built from a pool of people with, most likely, a wide variety of physical features. At least.....I think it is? I realized after thinking about this for awhile that I don't actually know if Murderbot's DNA came from one human donor or a variety of people. So this whole argument could be moot. (If you could direct me to evidence for or against this I'd be grateful).

So, Murderbot being white might be technically fine, from a worldbuilding standpoint, but at that point I think it's just kind of disappointing to see another show with a really diverse supporting cast and a white lead. That being said, there's actually interesting commentary to that, considering Murderbot was created to be a cop. I actually think, if handled well, the image of a bunch of white secunits policing the enslaved masses could be some really effective commentary. And to some extent, it doesn't matter if Murderbot's DNA came from one person or a pool of people, if you take the stance that the Company is intentionally choosing white features for their SecUnits. The commentary stands.

My other concern was that they would whitewash other cast members, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Finally, the series having Martha Wells' stamp of approval encourages me that they've made these choices with intention and will handle them thoughtfully. I saw another fan point out that there is some power to the idea of seeing an actor on screen that most people would read as male, asserting again and again that it doesn't have gender, and now that I'm feeling more optomistic I agree.

And hey, I'm actually feeling optomistic!

[katsukiizmoon]

╰┈➤ ꒰🕸🍒┊Explaining | Katsuki Bakugou꒱

Can’t stop thinking about this post by @tired-biscuit and thinking even harder about catching Katsuki one night.

Will this turn into a thing? Maybe— (update from future! me: This is somehow 2.7k. I don’t know if it even makes any sense, mush brain. It’s midnight. Christ. Edited and added a little read more thing)

『♡』 f! reader, best friends to lovers, m masturbation, piv sex, arguing, anxious katsuki for a bit, some praise, fingering, idk guys sex stuff, unedited bc I wrote it half asleep

Katsuki fucks his fist sloppy, chewing on the end of his shirt. Slippery beads of precum well up and spill down the shaft and he circles his thumb over the head.

He chokes back a moan and squeezes harder, slamming his hips forward desperately in need of release. The tension in his body has been pulling like a rubber band for hours. It stretches farther and farther every time.

Tonight was torture for him. You’d worn those stupid shorts and a loose crop top. You never wear a bra under your crop tops, let alone around him.

Every time you’d lift your arms too high he’d get a peek of your pretty tits and jerk his head to the side. Your shorts were no different— showing off the underside of your ass cheeks and tight enough he could just make out the outline of your pussy. Normally both would be fine but, fuck.

His strokes get faster while his mind fuzzes. Lust clouds his thought process as he shoves the guilt to the back of his mind to deal with later. His face feels numb, his lips tingle, the metaphorical rubber band pulls tighter.

Tighter. Like his fist is while it squeezes down on his cock and spreads the precum all over him.

Tighter. Like he’s sure your pussy would be as it was wrapping around him and sucking him with each thrust.

The end of his t shirt is wet and slobbery. A thin sheen of sweat coats his body and the slapping wet noises of his thrusts is getting louder. His brows furrow as he closes overwhelmed eyes. With the sound of the water running in the background he doesn’t even hear you coming.

You’re usually a little loud when you’re sleepy and heading to the bathroom. Your feet amble beneath you without too much sense, body heavy, mind foggy— you’re a sweet little thing when you’re sleepy. One too many times has he woken to you running into walls while trying to get into the bathroom.

But he doesn’t hear you this time.

He pants and whines a little in the back of his throat, sloppily fucking his hand. He’s focused on the thought of you up under him. Sliding your shorts to the side and letting him eat your pussy. Bouncing on his cock in that big shirt you stole from him a year or two ago.

He’s a goddamn mess. The tension and heat in his tummy gets tighter, tighter, until he feels like he might pass out. The world is about to allow him the grace of relief.

And then you sleepily open your bathroom door. You’re still half awake with drool on your face and your eyes hardly open. You’d changed into comfier shorts and kept the crop top, which was now riding up on one side so that your tit was on display.

“Gotsta’ pee,” You blink hazily trying to figure out why your bathroom smells like fresh salted caramel.

He forgot to lock it.

Katsuki is frozen in place. He doesn’t know what to do, say, think— you just walked in on him jacking off in your bathroom. Precum is still dribbling out and all over his hand. He opens his mouth with a red face and lets his shirt drop to cover his abs, quickly shoving his cock into his pajama pants.

And you’re just standing there like you hardly even register what’s going on. Your eyes widen when two and two come together, making four. Watery carmine eyes meet yours as his lips tremble before he’s shoving past you with sparking palms.

He tries to rush out and makes a mad dash to your bedroom to grab his things. Embarrassment and guilt makes him panic, filling his being with a nauseous feeling. And he’s not sure what to do or say.

Does he say sorry? Does he confess? Does he block you and run?

For once, Katsuki doesn’t want to be brave. He is scared and he is tired of being the hero who has no fear. Anxiety makes his fingers shake while tears threaten to spill over his pretty tanned cheeks.

You come rushing around the corner with flushed cheeks and determined hands. Your fingers twist into his shirt and pull him back, spinning him around to face you. It’s a miracle you managed it with how much bigger and stronger he is.

Katsuki’s terrified gaze holds yours with a trembling lower lip. He might be much bigger but right now he feels small.

“Wait, wait, wait. Hey— hey what’s goin’ on?” You coo, pulling him toward your bed to sit. His feet move on their own accord and do as you please. “Why are you leaving?” Fingers twist tighter in his shirt.

The blonde gawks and scrambles for words. Quick breaths leave his lips with little to no time between. Katsuki wants to cry, scream, and just die. You caught him beating his fuckin meat in your bathroom and now you’re comforting him.

“What else m’ I supposed to fuckin do?” He grunts, putting his brave face and frown right back on.

“Get in bed and go back to sleep?” Your head tilts and you say it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Katsuki confusedly jerks back with a frown and snort. Thick hands grip his sweatpants for dear life.

“You want me to get in bed with you and go back to sleep after—after that?” The AC kicks on in the background and whirrs to life, sending cool air through the room.

“Yeah? Unless you wanna talk about it now at,” you glance at the clock on the nightstand “, two fourty five in the fucking morning.” You rub your face with your palm.

“I don’t think me jacking off in your bathroom needs explaining.” He spits, flustered and annoyed. His face scrunches up all sour and huffs, the tips of his ears still red.

You sigh and frustration bubbles in his chest.

“What? You can’t seriously want me—“

Your hand presses to his mouth and you shoot him a glare. Exhaustion spreads your features with a huff to shut him up.

“What’s going on? And don’t give me some bullshit. Just tell me what’s going on.” Your tone leaves no room for an argument.

“You and your stupid fuckin— stupid shorts and whiny voice and shit. That’s what’s going on!” He leans in so that his nose is only a few inches from yours and snaps.

“Me?” You mumble, obviously confused.

“Yes, you.” His fingers press near your sternum and poke with a growl.

You squeak and narrow your eyes, moving closer to him yourself and pushing his chest lightly.

“What about you?” You guffaw. You’re not quite wrapping your mind around the situation yet, still tired and not understanding what the big deal is.

And Katsuki nearly loses it. The tension so thick you could cut it with a knife, his mind racing and chest heaving. He’s been dealing with you practically torturing him day in and day out for years— and now you’re asking about him. But before he can speak you start rambling on.

“You run around in these goddamn sweatpants-“ you tug at the grey fabric a little “and you say I’M what’s going on? You still haven’t explained shit!”

Katsuki turns a shade of red you’ve never seen before. He starts noticing your close proximity, the way your breath still smells like toothpaste, your pout. Your lips are an inch away from his and it is taking every little bit of willpower he has to not kiss you.

“Yes.” A puff of air ghosts over your lips and you take in the sight in front of you. Feelings you tried to shove down bubble in your tummy and spread.

The rubber band that’s been winding in his gut and mind for far too long grows tighter. Stretched to the point of which it’ll never be the same.

Heat in your stomach starts to flow and consume your being as things begin to click into place. He was getting off in your bathroom, he said you’re what’s going on.

“Oh..” you breathlessly whisper. Something in you burns. If he feels the same way then.. it couldn’t hurt, could it?

Katsuki jerks his head away from yours and looks to the side. His shoulders tight, grey t shirt with a damp area at the bottoms wrinkling as he fidgets with it. It’s like he’s waiting for the sting of rejection.

You grab his jaw with unsure hands and guide him back to look at you. His big, misty and wide eyes peering into your own.

And then you kiss him.

Snap

All tongue and soft lips, teeth clashing against his from the awkward position. You dig your nails into his chest like he’s gonna float away if you don’t.

And katsuki just might. Because you taste just like he thought you would, your mouth moves against his like he was just fantasizing about before. He soaks in the kiss like it will be his last until you break for air while panting.

“Don’t you ever try to run from me like that again.” You whine and dive back in.

His body acts before he can think enough to stop himself. You fall back against the mattress, plushie beside your head. His thick heavy body presses you into it and weighs you down while big hands travel up and down you. He explores your body like it’s something to be worshipped.

Your own hands push and pull at him. They slide under his shirt and drag nails down his toned, tan back. Your legs open up so he can slot between them with a particularly good suck on his bottom lip.

A breathy moan leaves your lips and it sends fire down his body.

“Fuck— god.” He whines between kisses. The line of his cock presses against you through your thin pajama shorts and makes you antsy. Your fingers grip at Wheaty blond roots and tug.

“Is this— oh,” You can feel him drag against you through his sweats. “ is this what you were thinking about?”

Katsuki shakes his head.

“Close enough.” He gasps, guttural and needy as your teeth nip under his jaw. Your tongue slides down the column of his throat as his clothed cock does against your heat.

“Wanna know what I think about?”

His mind stills and he nods feverishly before diving into the crook of your neck to suck. Pink marks are left in his wake and his fingers slide under the fabric of your shorts to rub little circles on your clit.

It makes you stutter and forget what you’re doing for a moment, your legs shake and squeeze around him.

“Been thinkin’ bout your cock in me—“ your pussy drools all over his fingers and the breath gets punched out of him all at once.

“God you fuckin minx.” He growls and slips a finger into your already soaked core. He feels a little more sure of himself, a little better about it.

Your head throws back when he adds the second finger and curls them up. The pad of his thumb works in little circles and flicking motions rhythmically. You keep making these little noises that send jolts to his cock and make it twitch.

For the second time that night, his cock drools precum. It smears against the inside of his pajama pants and dribbles even more when your eyes go wide.

“Katsuki— god, like that, like that!” You babble until a particular stroke of his thumb has your body tightening and then shaking. Release covers his fingers and he yanks your pajama shorts off your body and throws them to the side.

“Good girl, that’s a good girl.” Thick fingers rub soothing circles over your pussy while he slides his shirt and pants off.

You feel his cock press against your folds and then his face is right above yours. He licks lazily into your mouth, hand coming up under your thighs to guide them around his back where your ankles cross over.

“Shit— y’so wet for me.” He mumbles between kisses and then links a hand with yours, pressing it into the mattress. “You want it? Want my cock?”

“Quit being a tease! Just give me your ohhh” You whimper and gasp, head throwing back and free hand coming to clutch at anything you can get your hands on.

He’s girthy and hot as he fills you up to the brim. There’s not a space untouched by his cock, making you feel so stuffed and out of breath you can hardly move.

“That’s it, you can take it.” He breathes into your mouth.

You slowly adjust to him and as soon as you relax, he pulls his hips back and thrusts. It makes you hiccup and lose your mind. The sheets are much too sweaty, AC be damned, and he looks like a literal god over you.

All tanned muscle and flushed cheeks. His pretty focused face scrunched up in determination not to cum immediately. You’re not sure how much you can take before you tear the sheets apart and scream.

He sets an even pace with his hips before propping your hips up a little and slowing down. It’s slow but it’s deep. His cock head touches something in you that has expletives leaving both your mouths as your nails dig into his shoulders.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck-“ he desperately tries to keep hold of sanity. But you taste good, you smell good- better than any of his fantasies. Your pussy wraps around him in ways he couldn’t imagine. You’re really sprawled under him and moaning.

His cock is frothing near the base because of how wet you are, pussy juice and precum sliding between your ass cheeks and onto the bed. Your pink bedsheets are damp and one of your plushies has been thrown off the bed in the midst of your feverish mess.

It doesn’t last long. His face crumples as he cums and he rubs your clit and pussy until you squeeze down on him right after.

His jaw drops into a low “o” when he cums. You thank every lucky star for birth control while you both come down off a high. The two of you lay there and pant for a while before his cock slides out of you and he collapses onto your bed.

“Holy fuck.” Katsuki mutters to no one but himself. Half of him can’t believe it. He feels like icy hot with his back and forth his thoughts are, reeling and trying to take in what happened and what is happening.

“Yeah—“ you roll and press your chest against him. A kiss to his jaw makes his heart throb. “God that was good.”

A thick, beefy arm wraps around you and he hides his face in your neck. He sighs and pulls you in closer.

“I better not be readin’ this shit wrong but..” He mumbles, yanking up the blankets over the two of you. “We’re a thing now right?”

You snort and laugh for a minute.

“Yeah, duh, dummy” You smack his chest and roll your eyes.

The AC finally does it’s job at cooling the two of you off and he grumbles and gets a towel to clean you off. It only takes a few minutes before the two of you are back in pajamas and laying on top of a throw blanket. The massive comforter pulled over the two of you.

You flick on the TV and scroll through some of the go to shows before curling against him with a sigh. When you glance up, you notice a deep frown on his face and grumble.

“What are you looking so pissy for?” You place a peck on his jaw and turn your attention back to the screen.

His big hands run up and down your body, thumbs dragging over your hips. With a look of defeat and a pout, he admits, “Eiji’ bet me a hundred bucks you liked me back.”

That earns him a smack on the chest. “Don’t you dare tell him it’s cause I caught you beating off in my bathroom, Katsuki.”

[ramblings-of-a-chaotic-neutral]

Hello again everyone! It's time for another Merlin au! This time featuring Uther's propaganda and a healthy dose of misunderstandings and pain! :D

This au was inspired by an idea that I pitched in a reblog of one of @tamaha's amazing posts! (Also, shoutout to my awesome mutual @achillesuwu, since you asked to be tagged when I wrote this! :) ) You can find that original reblog here!

EDIT: You can find part two of this au here!

In canon, we know that Uther had children drowned for using magic, and that most of those children were likely warlocks who were born with their magic. However, we also know that most people in Camelot believe that magic is a choice and that it's impossible for someone to be born with it, so how did Uther justify to his people both the existence of child warlocks and the killing of children for something that they had no control over?

Well, Uther utilized his propaganda to justify killing young warlocks. He found some ancient text that hypothesized that warlocks got their powers from being reborn demons, and he used those very shoddy sources to justify his actions.

He spun stories about how warlocks looked human, but weren't human at all. He told the people that while those warlock children might have looked like regular humans, they would grow into powerful demons that would hunt down regular humans and eat their souls to gain more power.

Uther's propaganda campaign was successful, and soon, warlocks were some of the most feared magical creatures in Camelot. The people were terrified at the thought of a beast that could consume souls and blend in among them, unable to detected until it was too late.

Warlocks were a regular element of the nightmares of all of the children in Camelot, who would jump at every shadow and wonder if it was a warlock, there to devour them. Arthur was among those children, lying awake late at night, trembling with fear at the thought of any person he passed on the street being a warlock who would eat his very soul, denying him any afterlife and instead turning his soul into more magical power for the warlock.

And fast forward to some point after Arthur's become king, Merlin has a pretty painless magic reveal. Arthur and the knights were out hunting, they all get ambushed by bandits, Arthur takes a bad hit that would probably be fatal, but Merlin rushes to his side and, without hesitation, uses magic to heal Arthur's wound.

Arthur was, of course, very upset to learn that his manservant and best friend has magic, and they have a big argument over it, but no one physically attacks anyone (despite Gwaine's threats to kill Arthur and the rest of the knights and run away with Merlin).

So, everyone endures a rather tense and awkward ride back to Camelot, where Merlin is the recipient of many irate glares from Arthur and reassuring looks from the knights. When they reach Camelot, Arthur bans Merlin from his presence until he calls for Merlin again. He says that he can't stand the sight of Merlin at the moment, but Merlin will owe him a full explanation later. Merlin tearfully agrees and holes himself up in Gaius's chambers for a few days, while Arthur makes an ass of himself with his foul mood, snapping at everyone in the castle.

The knights try to point out to Arthur that while, yes, Merlin had magic and had lied to Arthur, he had only revealed it to save Arthur's life. Most of the knights used that point as a tool to comfort Arthur and ease his temper, but Gwaine used that fact to rub it in Arthur's face how terrible of a person Arthur was being towards the man who had just saved his life.

Finally, after the whole castle had to suffer through five days of Arthur's prattish and unpleasant behavior, Arthur summoned Merlin to his chambers, feeling calm enough again to actually hear whatever nonsensical reasons Merlin would give for turning to magic.

You see, what Arthur, the knights, and pretty much everyone in the castle had assumed was that Merlin had probably just picked up on some small useful enchantments and healing spells for Gaius's old study of that material. Arthur was angry at Merlin for turning to magic, but he could understand where Merlin was coming from.

Everyone knew that Merlin cared about his friends to the point of idiocy, so it made logical sense that Merlin, since he had the resources available to him, would resort to learning healing magic in case of an emergency. Arthur understood that aspect of Merlin more than anyone else.

Knowing that Merlin's magic was probably just the result of him being a loving and caring idiot did help ease the blow for Arthur, and truthfully Arthur didn't plan on punishing Merlin at all. To Arthur, hopefully confining Merlin to his chambers for a few days would discourage any future stupidity along these lines, and they could put this entire situation behind them.

So, when Arthur summoned a distressingly pale Merlin to his chambers and demanded an explanation, he expected to receive some stuttered response about learning a few spells from some of Gaius's spare books and to extract a promise out of Merlin that he'd never turn to magic again, and then everything would be fine.

However, when a wrought looking Merlin opened his mouth to explain, Arthur's heart plummeted to the floor. At the very first words of Merlin's explanation, "I was born with it," Arthur's chest went cold, and he took a few staggering steps backwards until his back hit the cold wall behind him, his eyes seeking out his blade.

Merlin was born with magic. That made Merlin a... a...

"Warlock," Arthur whispered, his eyes teary and terrified all at once.

Merlin stopped his explanation and tilted his head at Arthur, a small grin pulling on his lips. Arthur flinched back slightly at the sight of it, unable to form a coherent thought beyond the all-encompassing terror, dread, and sorrow that swirled around his mind.

"Ah, so you do know the correct word for it then! Yes, I am technically a warlock, but the distinction doesn't really matter that much anyways."

Merlin made a dismissive gesture with his hand, as if his words hadn't just completely shattered Arthur's heart. Arthur couldn't even listen to the rest of Merlin's explanation through the rush of his heartbeat and breathing in his ears.

The terror gripping his heart shouted at him to fight or flee, don't just stand there waiting for him to decide that he's feeling peckish for souls!

Arthur suddenly registered the pallor of Merlin's skin and the hollowness of his cheeks and came to the awful conclusion that he doesn't have much time, Merlin's already hungry and Merlin was stepping closer there was no time to escape nonono!

Arthur closed his eyes, unable to look at what must have been Merlin unfurling whatever demonic jaws he kept hidden and preparing to eat Arthur's soul...

But the sensation of his soul being devoured, whatever that was supposed to feel like, never came. Instead, he just felt a hand on his forehead, and after a few seconds another one cupped the side of his face.

Arthur hesitantly opened his eyes, almost not wanting to look upon Merlin's happy, friendly face that had always brought nothing but comfort. He didn't want those caring eyes to be that last thing he saw before he died at Merlin's hand!

Slowly, Arthur steeled himself and blinked the tears from his eyes, willing to at least face his death like a true warrior, looking at it head-on.

But, as his vision cleared from the tears, Merlin didn't look like his death, or like any sort of soul-eating monster. He just looked like Merlin, and by god wasn't that the worst part of it?

Merlin slowly smiled at him as his tears dried, coaxing him away from the wall and towards his armchair by the fireplace. Merlin gently guided him over to chair and helped him into his seat, holding Arthur's hand the entire time.

Arthur, once he was sitting, looked over at Merlin, still holding onto his hand and whispering comforting words to him, and Arthur felt like a small, scared child again, freshly awoken from a nightmare and jumping at every shadow.

It took what must have been hours for Arthur to catch his breath, stop his tears, and cease his body's terrified trembling, and Merlin sat next to him the entire time, drying Arthur's tears and comforting him.

Eventually, Arthur looked Merlin in the eyes again, and he could find nothing in them but love and care.

Whatever Merlin was, however hungry he must have been after going five days without being able to hunt for souls to devour, he apparently didn't see Arthur as a target.

Arthur took a deep breath, maintaining eye contact with Merlin. Alright, Merlin might be a soul-eating demon straight out of Camelot's worst nightmares, but he saw Arthur as a friend, not a meal. Arthur... Arthur could work with that.

He just... he needed more information before doing anything else. Merlin was still looking at him with love and concern, and with each passing moment, Arthur became more and more convinced that Merlin was still Merlin, warlock or not. And damn it all, that still counted for something. It had to count for something.

Now that his fear was marginally under control, questions swirled around Arthur's head. How did Merlin even eat souls before this? How often did he need to eat? Did he need to also eat food, or did he sustain himself and his powers on souls alone?

Before he could ask Merlin any of the pressing questions that were on his mind, Merlin had already helped Arthur out of his chair and towards his bed, readying a limp Arthur for bed whilst the king was drowning in his own thoughts.

Before Arthur even knew it, Merlin was pulling blankets over him and snuffing out the candles in his room. Merlin promised to visit Arthur again in the morning to tell him more, and Arthur barely registered his words over the storm of his own thoughts.

When morning came, Arthur couldn't even tell if he had gotten any sleep throughout the night or not, but he woke up exhausted either way. Only a few minutes after the sun had risen, Merlin burst into the room, still looking paler than usual and helping himself to one of the sausages that was supposed to be a part of Arthur's breakfast.

Just the sight of Merlin eating anything made Arthur feel slightly queasy, imaging some terrified soul being devoured at Merlin's hands. Arthur took a deep, steadying breath before getting out of bed, allowing Merlin to dress him as he normally did.

Merlin, much to Arthur's relief, was still acting like nothing had changed, like he was still the same harmless Merlin that Arthur knew him as before yesterday.

If that was how Merlin wanted to act, then Arthur was fine with it. Truthfully, even with all of the questions that Arthur had surrounding Merlin's nature, he found that he didn't really want answers to any of them. Answers would make this new reality, one where Merlin was never harmless at all and where there was a demon hiding under his best friend's skin, real for Arthur. If Arthur didn't have any answers, then he could just... pretend that everything was still fine, like nothing was wrong.

To keep Merlin by his side, he would gladly accept ignorance and pretend like nothing had changed.

However, there was still one issue that Arthur needed an answer to, to confirm that Merlin was still the man who Arthur always thought him to be.

As Merlin was cleaning up Arthur's breakfast plate, Arthur cleared his throat, getting Merlin's attention. Merlin quickly turned around to meet Arthur's gaze, but Arthur didn't feel scared meeting his eyes this time.

"Merlin, I'm willing to let everything that was revealed yesterday be forgiven, and everything can go back to normal."

Merlin gave Arthur a beaming smile at his words, and Arthur continued with a solemn heart.

"However, there is one thing I need to know. You've never..."

Somehow, the words eaten the soul of an innocent person were so vile that they refused to pass Arthur's lips, so he chooses an alternative.

"... hurt anyone who didn't deserve it, right? And you never will in the future? If we are to have any sort of trust between us, you must answer me honestly"

Arthur figured that, if Merlin was indeed forced to eat souls to survive, Merlin was probably feeding on bandits or enemy soldiers that Arthur and the knights would've killed anyways. It was the only explanation, as innocent people didn't mysteriously turn up dead regularly enough in Camelot to indicate that Merlin was feeding on them, and Arthur knew, deep down, that no matter what he was, Merlin would never do such a thing.

Merlin froze at Arthur's words, his smile falling. He lowered his gaze briefly, before meeting Arthur's eyes once more, determination shining brightly in his eyes.

"Arthur, I swear to you, anyone whom I've hurt with my powers were enemies of Camelot. Whatever I've done, I did it to protect you and your subjects."

Arthur nodded, satisfied and relieved by Merlin's answer. Nothing had to change then, Merlin was still his friend and manservant, albeit with powerful magic and an appetite for the souls of his enemies. Arthur could... tolerate that.

As the weeks went on, Arthur found himself thinking about this new side to Merlin less and less. Merlin was still acting exactly as himself, so there was no reason for Arthur to worry, let alone dwell on any thoughts of warlocks.

(And if he had a familiar nightmare from his childhood featuring a warlock, then that was Arthur's business and Arthur's business alone.)

Everything was fine, and months passed without any incidents. That was, however, until Arthur noticed Merlin becoming paler, his cheeks hollowing out again, and his eyes sporting heavy bags. As he took in the changes in Merlin over the past few days, he came to the sickening conclusion: Merlin was getting hungry again, and would need a soul to eat soon.

But Camelot was at peace, there were noticeably less bandits roaming the streets in the past year, and no assassins had come to the castle in the past months. Arthur could see that Merlin's usual... hunting grounds... had been drying up, and he needed to find a solution immediately. Arthur shivered at the thought of what devastation Merlin would unintentionally bring down upon all of them if his hunger ever got out of control.

After several hours of brainstorming on Arthur's part, he finally had an idea. It sickened him to have to consider, but he would do what he had to for the sake of Camelot.

Arthur called for Merlin to follow him as he made his way into the dungeons, where only one prisoner was currently being held. The prisoner was a minor noble who had killed several of his own servants and then used his status as a member of the nobility to cover up his involvement in the murders.

However, the nobleman was sloppy, and there was evidence left behind that proved his guilt without a doubt. He was set to be hanged for his crimes in two days time, as per Arthur's own judgement at the noble's trial, but... if he was going to be executed anyways... perhaps his death may be of use.

(What Arthur didn't know was that the real reason why Merlin looked so exhausted was because Merlin had spent every night for the past week searching for and compiling evidence that the nobleman was behind the murders, as the bastard would've gotten away with it otherwise.)

To Arthur, the criminal's death could be used to ensure that Camelot's only source of magical protection (and Arthur's best and dearest friend) didn't starve to death or go into a hunger-induced rampage, whichever came first.

Slowly, Arthur made his way to the nobleman's cell with Merlin trailing after him, where the criminal was bound to a chair on Arthur's orders. Arthur solemnly opened the door to the cell, gesturing for Merlin to follow him inside.

As soon as Arthur set foot in the cell, the nobleman started begging him for mercy, pleading with him to lower his sentence, not knowing what punishment Arthur truly had in mind for him. Ignoring the soon-to-be dead man, Arthur turned towards Merlin, who was startled by Arthur's intense stare.

"Arthur? What's going on?"

"Merlin," Arthur choked out, his voice rough with guilt, sorrow, and fear alike. Merlin rushed to Arthur's side at the sound, trying to urge him out of the cell, away from whatever issue was causing Arthur such pain.

Standing firm, Arthur cleared his throat.

"Merlin, I need you to... to do something for me."

Concern marred Merlin features as he reached out to Arthur.

"Of course, I would do anything for you Arthur."

Arthur swallowed roughly, trying to force his next words out of his throat. He'd ordered executions before, hell, he'd even ordered this man's execution before, but this was much, much harder than any of the other orders he'd given.

"Merlin, I need you to... take care of this man, as you normally do for enemies of Camelot."

Merlin reeled back with shock, looking somewhere between confused and hurt.

"Arthur, you can't possibly mean for me to..."

"I'm sorry, but yes Merlin, it needs to be done."

Merlin stared at Arthur for a few more moments, before slowly nodding his head and turning towards the bound criminal.

As Merlin stepped closer to the doomed noble, Arthur closed his eyes and turned his head away. Perhaps it was cowardice, but if there were ever a time for Arthur to show such cowardly behavior, it was here. He didn't want to see this part of Merlin.

He did, however, hear everything. There was a scream from the criminal, which was sickeningly cut off by a loud wet crunch that echoes off of the cell's walls, and then there was no sound in the cell except a very loud silence.

Arthur slowly opened his eyes to the sight of Merlin standing in front of a corpse and tried to believe that everything was still normal.

And that's a wrap on this au! Man, that got darker than I expected it to be.

Be sure to let me know if you'd like a continuation of this au!

And, as always, thank you for reading through my ramblings! :D

[thunderingwisdom]

morning daze

Fandom: Honkai: Star Rail

Rating: Mature/Minors DNI

Pairing: Jing Yuan/Reader

Word Count: 1340

Summary: You're used to your partner coming home late, and you're used to him lavishing his attention on you. It never gets old, and your love for him only grows.

a/n: mom I LOVE him!!! also I tried to keep this one as gender-neutral as possible, I think it worked out?

honestly i just have jing yuan brainrot-wrote this in a rush might edit later?

tags: mature themes, implications of nsfw themes, cuddling, toothache

Consciousness beckons, curling around you, pulling you closer. The morning light tries to reach you through the thin barrier of the linen curtains as you cling to the last vestiges of sleep. 

An arm tightens around your waist. 

Perking up, but fighting to keep your eyes shut, you try not to react to the warm breath ghosting over your neck, to the smile pressing into your skin. 

“You got in late,” you murmur, voice thick with sleep. It was nothing out of the ordinary–he would either come to bed really late or not at all. “Did you get any sleep at all?”

His mouth doesn’t leave your shoulder; a long inhale is his first response, followed by a sound of laughter low in his throat. 

“With such a beauty in my arms, sleep itself insisted on postponing our meeting,” he tells you, hand ghosting across your ribs. There’s not a hint of sleep in his voice. He laughs when you squirm and moves to press it low on your belly, moving the sheets aside. 

“Flatterer,” you accuse sleepily. “Even an accomplished general needs sleep.” 

“Maybe this general needs the warmth of his beloved more.” An edge of possessiveness underlines his touch, his hand continuing its journey over your hips, leaving a trail of warmth that you swear you feel down to your bones. 

“…you have to go back soon, don’t you,” you ask resignedly, fingers reaching for his bicep, dancing over his skin. Old scars littered throughout, a story you quite enjoy following with your mouth. “Jing Yuan..”

“In a few hours,” he reassures you, nipping at the delicate skin below your neck, chuckling at the way your shoulders jerk. “Preparations for the Wardance are about to commence.”

“Perhaps these few hours would be better spent asleep, regaining your strength?” You grumble, knowing he would be fine but unable to help it.

“My dear, you severely underestimate the influence your affections have on this haggard soldier.” 

“And what kind of affections are on your mind?” You ask, amused, as his hand creeps lower; you turn your head to brush soft kisses where you can reach, readily meeting his mouth when he leans in. 

A rush of warmth low in your belly, familiar–it never fails to find you when you feel him smiling into your kisses. Which is almost always. A soft curve to his mouth, gentle eyes, leaning into your touch–a side only you get to see. 

“Whatever my beloved sees fit to bestow upon me,” he murmurs, the lightest of sighs leaving him at the butterfly kisses you leave on the corners of his mouth, his cheek, his jaw. “Although, if you keep this up, my simple mind will surely be lured down wicked paths…” 

“Simple,” you muse out loud, turning over in his arms to see him properly. Jing Yuan meets your eyes steadily, giving you a moment to search his face. Tired, but in good spirits. “If our general’s mind is rendered such, what would become of the rest of us?”

“There are people more than capable of taking over. And we get to live out the rest of our lives in this bed, of course,” he responds easily, both his hands teaming up to stroke up and down your back. “I’m sure we could scrounge up a meal or two.” His palms slide lower, curving over your rear to press you closer. 

You laugh into his skin, sliding your arms around his neck. Questing fingers sneak into his wild hair, gentle as they rake across his scalp. He groans into the crown of your head, melting in your arms. “I don’t think I could live with starving you.” 

“A life spent between your legs is a life without regrets,” he says promptly, if a little dazedly. “Truly, that would be the one thing I couldn’t regret even upon pain of torture.” 

You roll your eyes, fondly yet exasperatedly, hands gliding down to knead gently at the nape of his neck. A burst of affection has you kissing him deeply, a foot sneaking up his calf. 

He’s not one to turn his brain off easily, but you know after all this time spent together that kissing him long enough will get you close. Whether it’s fierce, fueled by a need to be as close as possible—or slow, gentle, pulling you in with the desire to just feel. You’ve worked hard to give him this, a place to feel safe and shed his armour. 

“One of these days, I’m going to keep you here for days, coaxing you to sleep and filling your belly until you grow round,” you inform him, the hint of a playful growl in your tone. And yet, it’s your heartbeat that quickens at the darkness that shades his eyes. 

“Filling my belly? Not with food, I hope?” He purrs, teeth sinking into the soft flesh below your jaw. His hands dig into your skin at the sounds that escape your mouth. 

You long to pamper him more, kneading away the knots in his muscles and chasing away the shadows in his eyes. When you get the occasional evening together, you’re eager to spend it lounging in the tub, exchanging lazy kisses and tales of your lives before each other. Or you cook together, finding new dishes to adore or experiments to laugh at. 

The first time he let you sit him down and work a brush through his hair, he fell asleep in the chair. It relaxes him in a way nothing else can, even if it often leaves you giggling at the way he paws at you, pressing his face into your stomach. The claws of self-consciousness had long faded, with each worshipful touch of his hands, and his greedy mouth. 

That was another thing that came as a surprise. 

“You leave me unable to form a coherent thought, and yet I can nearly hear you thinking,” Jing Yuan comments, nuzzling your hair. “Rather cruel of you, darling.” 

Once he let himself settle into your life tougher, you began to see glimpses of it. He’s greedy–for your gaze, for your thoughts, for your hands on him, and the taste of your skin. 

“Would it help to know you’re the one in my thoughts?” 

“But of course. If it were someone else, I’m afraid I would have to put in extra work to eradicate the very thought,” Jing Yuan declares. A shudder climbs up your spine at the thought of him doing more work, although you being the focus of it might not be a bad deal. “Hmm, actually…”

“Who could ever find the space to slip into my mind with this greedy general occupying every inch?” 

It makes him laugh, eyes curving at you. “Now who’s the flatterer? And if you spoil a starved beast too much, it’s only natural for it to become greedy.” You feel his breath against your mouth—hovering, teasing. The intent in his gaze is clear as his prowling comes to a close.

“You’re right. I should’ve trained you better,” you lament. “Is it too late now?” 

“I’m afraid it is,” he tells you somberly, a twinkle in his eyes. “The hunger is ever-present, and it feels endless.” 

“I have food in the fridge,” you suggest innocently, fighting a grin as you tap his chin. Jing Yuan snaps at it playfully, and your laughter leaves you in sputters. 

“Good. You’ll need it,” he nods decisively, before turning you over onto your back, climbing over you with more grace than is truly fair. You want to sigh at the way your legs fall open, accepting his place between them. “I hope you won’t mind if I eat first?” 

He leans in for a kiss, then another. You want to tell him to get more rest, and he waits, watching you with a smile. But you love giving him what he wants and know you’ll get to hold him after, when he’s sated and dozing against your chest.

You’ll try your luck then, to keep him close a little longer. 

[twinklix]

idk if your requests are currently open but i just think that sex with changb!n would be so good and rough at the same time, like his thrusts would start painfully slow but would later pick up an animalistic pace, hitting your sweet spot each. 👏🏻 fucking. 👏🏻 time. 👏🏻 making sure he's balls deep inside you while whispering praises on your ear, as he continued with his movements — his hands rubbing your clit while the other pinches your nipples turning you into a moaning mess underneath him. the overstimulation would drive you crazy and will have your legs shaking as pleasure takes over your entire body, his tongue dancing with yours as he rammed his cock inside you not stopping until you reach your nth orgasm for the night.

I'm sorry for the word vomit. Can I be 👻 anon? Hehehe 🤭

Rough Dom!Changbin x Reader | wc 800

an: welcome 👻 anon !!! 🤍 sorry this is so rushed but i might do a better longer version or a follow up bc i loved what u wrote in ur request sm !!

warnings: smut, dirty talk, established relationship. implied unprotected sex (thats a nono), petnames (baby, angel, beautiful), overstimulation. not edited!!!

18+ MDNI

but yes!!! omg imagine~

I think he’d start slow and soft, wanting to take care of you and savour your body and touch.. but the man only has so much control when it comes to you…

“fuck..so beautiful…” he’d breathe out as he undresses you slowly, kissing down your body as each beautiful inch is exposed to his hungry eyes.

A while later (after two intense orgasms on both his fingers and tongue) he finally lined his length up with your entrance, kissing you deeply as he slid in slowly, trying desperately to minimise the sting his thickness always caused.

Your combined noises went from one mouth to the other as he filled you up torturously slow. His mouth left yours finally only to latch onto your neck and collarbones. Lightly biting and kissing red marks into your soft skin.

“b-binnie..please move” you’d whimper out, desperate. He’d only reward you with a chuckle muffled into your skin before he finally moves. His hips pulling out just as slow as they pushed in.

Soon he was thrusting into you. Slow and deep. His kisses and bites didn’t stop. It all felt good. So good.

But you wanted more.

“Binnie faster” it left almost as a choke, desperation, annoyance and pleasure all seeping out of the words.

Another chuckle escaped him as he finally unattached himself from your neck, looking down at you as he kept thrusting. Slow.

“Does my baby want me to go faster?” God he wouldn’t be able to ignore the way your request made his cock twitch inside you. He’d thought about so much he wanted to do to you. So many ways he wanted to have you. But he always opted for being softer with you. But it sounds like you didn’t want that.

In your haze you managed to nod desperately. “please binnie i can take it!” Begs left your lips only spurring him on, breaking down all ounce of restraint he had left. A hum left his lips as he nodded. He offered no verbal answer, only leaning down to kiss you deeply as his hips pulled out again but this time they slammed back into you.

Amidst the kiss your eyes shot open and a yelp mingled between your lips. He drew his lips away as he looked down at you. One of his large arms reached to move your legs to rest comfortably on his shoulders as he looked down at you.

“I’ll give my baby what she wants” he finally spoke before beginning to thrust again. But this time was different. Hard and fast and his pace only grew with every thrust.

Your eyes rolled back, loud moans leaving your agape mouth in strings as his cock drilled in and out of your hole at a speed you’d never felt before. Plus his size and strength added to it all. His body almost enveloped yours in size as his muscles flexed as he used all of his godlike strength to fuck you.

And god he’d love seeing you like this. Fucked out and in so much pleasure all because of him. God it only egged him on more.

A veined hand reaches to your chest, squeezing and fondling your breasts as the room filled with the sound of skin slapping on skin from his harsh but heavenly abuse on your pussy.

“feel good angel?” He’d ask between grunts, a cocky smirk on his face. “this what you wanted?”All you could offer in response was a fast nod and a moan. Your hands gripping the sheets beneath you tightly as all thoughts abandon your mind.

A clench around his cock would break him out of his trance as he angled himself to perfectly hit that sweet spot deep inside you with every single thrust.

“Bin!” You’d manage to yelp out as your grip on the sheets tightened. He’d laugh as one of his hands reach between you to rub your bundle of nerves in quick sloppy circles.

“Come on beautiful. Cum on my cock. Show me how much you love me fucking you like this.” His words would push you over the edge, a scream leaving your mouth. His pace never faltering as he continues to slam in and out of you, toying with both your clit and nipples as he watched you with gritted teeth.

It would be the most intense orgasm you’d ever had, your body going almost limp as you came down.

When your brain comes back online you’d notice the sting of overstimulation burning your body up as you looked at your boyfriend. “Bin! too much!”.

A low laugh would come out of his chest as he leaned down to kiss you deeply. “you said you can take it baby, come on. Give me another”

[allertonhoe]

haunted - rafe cameron (18+)

* * * I know if I'm hauntin' you, you must be hauntin' me * * *

note: wrote on here //years// ago but haven't in a while, pls be kind !! also kinda rushed to get it out asap since not october anymore lol so sorry if the editing isn’t amazing

content warnings: 18+ MDNI - smut, original afab!reader, unprotected p in v, toxic relationship (on-and-off dynamic), mentions being under the influence of alcohol + drugs, desecration of a room in a strangers house smh, not actually halloween-themed but angsty af ❤️

length: 2.1k words

It was like a practiced routine at this point. A different Kook’s place getting sacrificed every weekend for another unsanctioned rager, the older adolescent crowd seizing any opportunity to get wasted. Plus there wasn’t much else to do on Figure 8, and it’s not like any of your parents really paid enough attention to stop you. More than likely boozed up themselves at the country club down the road.

You’d lost count of how many drinks you sculled back and joints you’d puffed pretty early on. The cocktail of substances that rushed through your system directing your conscious, your hips twisting along to the music without a care about who might be around. But you could tell there were a pair of eyes fixed on you, and you didn't need to look that way to know who was staring you down.

You couldn’t do anything, go anywhere, without your name being tied back to your ex-boyfriend, Rafe. Living in such a small, gossipy town, your long-standing (yet very contentious) affair was a hot topic. You knew it was all your mother ever talked about at the club with her girlfriends - she didn’t have much else to brag about anyway. Plus with not very far to go, there was no avoiding him forever.

One day, you'd been bickering and everything suddenly came to a head, storming out in the middle over a detail you couldn’t even recall anymore. He didn’t follow you out, didn’t text you later to apologize or check in on the status of your relationship. Both of you too proud to concede first, dragging out another melodramatic rift that didn’t need to happen. Your equally stubborn attitudes being your main obstacle instead of the original argument itself.

You ran in the same circles, that's how you'd gotten close in the first place. Your mutual friends urging you to just skip to the inevitable and reconcile, tired of hearing about your tumultuous dynamic. Catching brief glimpses of the brooding boy at every local function you showed up to, whether it was some annual club fundraiser that one of your parents were on the board of or another random house party. Always sensing his unwavering glare but never actually approaching to clear the air with you.

And from his unchanged demeanour, people would probably assume everything was fine. Rafe typically staying reclined against some wall, arms crossed over his chest, watching over you the entire night like some malignant curse. Shooting dirty looks at any guy that even glanced your way. Attempting to cope by chugging down more alcohol, trying to keep him off your mind and just have a good time with your friends, but you knew he wasn't just focused on your immediate surroundings.

At some point, you found yourself wandering through the hallways in search for a bathroom. Getting peace from the chaos as you found refuge in some random guest room. You scrambled into the attached ensuite, clumsily closing the door behind you as you assessed your surroundings as best as you could in your intoxicated state. Eventually composing yourself enough that you could return downstairs, but not expecting to be startled by a tall figure lurking as you returned to the bedroom.

“Fuck, Rafe. You scared the shit out of me." You announce, unsurprised as he grinned to himself at your unsuspecting alarm.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to."

“Did you follow me up here?” You question, getting your answer when he began to mimic a kid caught in a candy store.

"You, uh... You look really good." He compliments, shamelessly ogling you as he gradually approached.

You rolled your eyes, trying not let the sweet words affect you, especially knowing he was doing it to get a rise out of you. He knew it was better to get you alone, when the girlfriends you’d been venting to weren’t there to remind you about how distraught you’d been. Where he could trap you with his comforting musk - a blend of sea-salt, weed and expensive aftershave.

"Come on. Don't be that way, baby..." He pleads.

"I'm not being any way. And don't call me baby." You assert, trying your best to stand your ground. You knew how little it took for him to get under your skin, which took even less effort in your tipsy state.

"I miss you." He admits bluntly, his broad frame towering over you dauntlessly.

"I'm not doing this right now. I’m drunk, I’m sure you’re off your shit too." You protest, rubbing your scrunched-up face in distress.

"You don't have to do anything,” He reassures, his hands taking yours to uncover your features before dropping them to grip your hips. “And we don’t have to talk.”

That was your predicament - You were each other's weakness, unable to turn down the bold advances he would throw your way. Remembering of how much you adored how gentle he was when it was just the two of you, the opposite of his usual aggressive tone and shortness with everyone else. Falling victim to him again just from his commanding touch, trying your best to ignore the way he chastely kissed your exposed shoulder.

“We both know this isn’t a good idea.” You declare, but didn't outwardly reject him.

“Us a bad idea? Since when?” He surveys, sporting a cocky smirk as he realized it wouldn’t take too much convincing on his end.

His half-lidded eyes stayed on you as he waited for your response, gauging your reaction. His lips deliberately hovering over yours, dangling over you like bait. Unsure if it was because he didn’t want to overstep or was coaxing you to make the first move, trying to get you to give in first. He brought one of his hands up to your cheek, instinctively leaning into him as his thumb brushed over the skin.

“Rafe…” You remark softly, knowing he was already breaking down your walls again. “I can’t keep doing this with you. This back and forth. This break has been good for me...”

“So you’re done with me?” He retorts, emitting a scoff from you.

“I know you wouldn’t let me shake you off that easily Rafe.”

“Then why are you still picking a fight?” He raises his brow, his arrogance shining through.

“Because it’s more fun being a pain in your ass?”

“Yeah?” He grills playfully at your mouthy comment, too caught up in his teasing to notice he'd been subtly directing the two of you towards the bed.

“Seems to keep you coming back.” You reply, mirroring his steamy expression as he drew you closer.

He kissed you like it was all he’d been thinking about since you'd unceremoniously walked out all those weeks ago, like he needed to actually convince you to reconsider him. His movements in sync with yours as he helped you lay backwards, letting him take complete charge. Proceeding as if there had been no time lost, as if there was no unresolved tension between you. A disappointed whimper leaving you when he pulled away, which was quickly amended as he pecked down your neck hungrily.

“You always have me coming back, baby.” He mutters smoothly. “Doesn't matter how long it’s been…”

Holding his intense stare, you took the hem of your top and stripped off the fabric, silently affirming that he could keep going even though your body language had given him more than enough permission. He follows suit, removing his own shirt without hesitation as he returned his focus to you. Hooking his fingers into your skirt and ripping it off, only preoccupied with how good it felt being back here with you.

“You just walked out with no fucking explanation. Nothing. You really believe I’ve thought about anyone else?”

“Then show me how much you missed me” You request simply, Rafe wasting no time as he brought his lips back to yours.

He looked down at you like you were his hunted prey, only a thin ring of his striking cerulean irises visible around the edge of his blown out pupils, knowing at this point it wasn’t just the result of the coke he’d done earlier. Reaching behind your back and unclasping your bra, his vacant hand fondling one of your breasts, basically covering the surface with his large digits.

Dragging his lips up and down your torso, the only sounds filling the room being your ragged panting and the muffled noise coming from downstairs, neither of you paying any mind to the party still going on. Carefully making his way across your flesh, nipping at the skin as if to physically imprint you with his mark once again. Not that you'd even entertained another man’s company during your time apart.

His pace was agonizingly slow as he made his way to your panties, watching as he pecked down your stomach gingerly, tending to every area he stopped at. Your breath shuddering when he took the waistband between his teeth, not breaking his heated gaze as he tugged them down your legs. Fumbling to discard his own pants and boxers, hurrying to continue his initial task.

You gasp as his fingers purposefully skimmed against your core, your hands flying to his chest for some stability as you surrendered into his touch. Feeling his accelerated heart rate under your palms, the hasty rhythm matching your own just from the building anticipation. Giving him the same kind of attention, you confidently took him into your grasp, earning a similar, fervent response from Rafe.

Your shared desire unwavered as you angled him towards your entrance, the muted gesture doing more communication than you had for weeks. Instantly getting the fix that no drugs or alcohol had been able to satisfy. The hint of unrest that had been lingering since your last encounter vanishing at his invasion, trembling as he stretched you out and made himself comfortable inside you.

"Fuck," He grunts deeply, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, a wave of pleasure washing over him. "That’s it baby."

He only let you adjust to him for a few moments, too caught up in the fact he had you again to hold himself back any longer. Fucking you like he was making a statement with every thrust, knowing exactly what he needed to do to elicit the reaction he’d been craving from you, your walls enveloping him snugly with every jolt. His name falling from your lips like some sacred chant, sporting a cheeky grin as you fed his ego.

“Never letting you go like that again.” He proclaims, his words only pushing you further. “You’re damn frustrating, but fuck, you’re mine.”

His hand threaded through your hair, holding you firmly as he rested his forehead on yours, not letting up his fierce momentum. A familiar pressure started to build within you, Rafe never having to work too hard to bring you to bliss, slipping back into your accustomed dynamic. Knowing you wouldn’t last much longer, but recognizing the same went for him as his movements got sloppier. Absolute euphoria taking over as he relentlessly pounded into you.

“Say it. Tell me you’re mine.” He growls out, hearing the faint vulnerability laced underneath the demand.

“I’m yours…” You agree smoothly. “Always. Only you.”

This only drove him wilder, making him cling onto you even tighter, realizing he’d been just as lost without you as you’d been without him. Neither of you holding back the urgency that had built up, channeling whatever unspoken resentment that remained into your frenzied actions. Not too worried about how uncoordinated or desperate your efforts had become; just content that you were back together like you were supposed to be.

“R-Rafe, I-” You stammer, barely able to even get that out.

“I know, baby. I got you.”

A strangled moan escaped your throat as your orgasm hit, being fully consumed by him, his own release following seconds later. Leisurely making out as you reveled in your highs, cuddled like you were the last two people on Earth and not in some random bedroom hiding from a sea of your drunk peers. Not in any rush to get up right away, Rafe wrapped his arms around you protectively, holding you against his chest.

You’d kinda forgotten how much you loved being the object of his affection, how right it felt being held and kissed and taken care of by him. It was obvious as you both laid there that you wouldn't be neglecting your relationship again anytime soon, especially over some petty argument. Not missing the smug look on his face as you caught your breath, already back to finding the somewhat patronizing gesture more endearing than you probably would’ve an hour ago.

“What?”

“Do you even remember why you were so mad at me in the first place?”

[kemistre]

εïз┊𝐈 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 — feat. takami "hawks" keigo

synopsis. what could possibly happen in the last few hours of your nightly patrol? surely nothing too crazy, right?

— content warnings. suggestive, angst, yelling, arguments, alcohol, drunk hawks, cheating, blood, use of 'fuck' quite a bit, i can't think of anything else but please lmk if you find something! — word count. 2,531

εïз┊author's note. this might be crazy ooc but i had the idea and i wanted to write about it <3 anyway this is in no way edited i just wrote it and now i'm posting it so it's not perfect! i might edit it later, too sleep rn😴

patrolling during the latest hours of the night was something you were never partiularly fond of. it never failed to send shivers down your spine, the act of walking up and down the streets of the city at its darkest hours.

at least when the sun was shining, there were plenty of heroes on watch making sure nothing could happen to the civilians that roamed-sometimes even the civilians would lend a helping hand. good things happened while the sun was out, but never when the moon took its place in the sky. robbery, arson, assault, murder; these were the most common crimes that the night patrol had to take care of.

and tonight, that was you. there was a part of you that just wanted to go home where it was safe and sound in your boyfriend's arms, but the other part knew you just had to get this shift over with. three hours had already past with nothing major happening, which was a win in your book.

you walked along the cracked sidewalk, the only things lighting up your path were street lights and the few businesses that kept their lights on throughout the night. a sigh fell from your lips, your breathe becoming visible through the icy air.

a jolt zipped through your body as you heard a loud crash, shouting coming from not so far away. it was sudden, a man in a unifrom came rushing out from one of the buildings in front of you. "are you a hero?" his voice echoed down the dark street. "there's a lunatic in here!"

a pit formed in your stomach as you ran as fast as you could towards the man. the shady nook. it was one of the largest bars in the city, at least once a week a hero would show up to escort someone home because they got way too drunk.

"i'm here, it'll be okay." you smiled, putting a hand on the man's shoulder before taking a step inside. your eyes widened at the scene in front of you. a man in a grey hoodie punched another man on the floor relentlessly, blood spewing everywhere while the rest of the bar chanted 'fight! fight! fight!', multiple having their phones in hand recording the ordeal.

"everyone please calm down!" you raised your voice, although no one heard you as they continued. you raised a brow and cracked your neck before rushing over to the man in the grey hood. you put your hand on his chest, pushing him away from the man beaten to a pulp on the hard concrete floor. "stop it! that's enough!" the man shoved your hand away before stumbling out of the bar, barely making it out without falling flat on his face.

you began following the man out of the building. a nervous smile found its way onto your lips as you handed the bartender a slip of paper with a string of digits on it. "sorry about this, call this number and an ambulance should be here soon."

as you caught up with the man in the hood, you spoke again. "sir, i'm going to need you to come with me. we need to get you to the police station so you can sober up and explain this mess." following closely behind him, you grabbed a hold of his wrist attempting to make him stop.

once again, he shoved your hand away as he turned towards you. "you can't take me to the police station, darling." his words were slurred, his voice hoarse. you recognized that voice. the wind picked up, coincedentally blowing back the hood that covered the man's face.

with wide eyes, you spoke. "hawks?" why was he here? "it's three o'clock in the morning, why are you fighting people at bars?" your stomach churned, curiousity filled your mind as you stared at the man who made you want to become a hero doing something as crazy as fighting as innocent civilian.

he chuckled, a smirk making its way on his face. "just living the life, sweetheart."

you let out a sigh. "living the life is not-" he turned around as he continued walking in the opposite direction of you. "where are you going?!"

"home."

"your house is this way." you stopped, pointing behind you as he looked back at you.

Eventually, he decided that you were correct despite it taking twenty minutes to come to that conclusion. he laughed, "oh what would i do without you sweetheart?" you gave him a nervous smile as you two continued to his house. you never thought that you would be walking takami keigo home after all that had happened.

"hawks, where's your key?" you looked at him, puzzled. "i thought you kept a spare under the mat?"

he shook his head. "no no, don't want any burgulars to get in babe."

you bit your lip, your heart beating faster the longer you stood here with him. "well where is it then?" he shrugged his shoulder, a cocky grin on his lips. you took a deep breathe in, forgetting home annoying this bird could be at times. you reached for the door handle, attempting to see if your old key would still work with these locks. although, despite what hawks had just said, the handle twisted, opening the door with ease.

you ushered him inside, turning on the lights to the large kitchen the two of you had walked into. being in this house was like walking down memory lane, although for you it was not such a good memory. it didn't matter, you were leaving soon. you'd be home soon. if you could just make it through a few more minutes, then you would be fine and never have to see him again.

hawks stumbled his way into the living room that connected with the kitchen, promptly taking off his blood stained hoodie. underneath was one of the compression shirts you bought him a long time ago, you were shocked it still fit him. he glanced back at you and spoke, his words slurred worse than they did before. "like what you see, baby?"

you rolled your eyes before clearing your throat. "i really should be leaving now hawks, it was nice seeing you."

a pout formed on his lips. "leaving already?" he mumbled as he stepped closer to you. you tried as hard as you could to keep the smile that was on your face the closer he got to you, but that smile quickly faded when he put his hands on your hips. "let me thank you for taking me home~" he cooed, his eyes staring at your lips.

you put your hands on his chest, keeping him from making an advance. "hawks.." you stared at him in disbelief. "i have a boyfriend, there's no way you don't know that, it's everywhere."

he rolled his eyes, his hands grabbing onto your wrists. "so? that bozo will never be as good as me, you know that baby~" his head dipped down to your neck making your body freeze up. before he could press his lips against you skin, you shoved him away from you. your shock and disbelief turned into anger as your expression change drastically.

your eyebrows furrowed, your voice rasied as you spoke. "stop it hawks!" your blood boiled as he rolled his eyes once again, that stupid grin on his face while he tripped over his own feet stumbling back towards the living room.

if only you had just left. if only you hadn't seen him at all, you night would've been so much better. you couldn't help but bring up the past as your mind grew fuzzy, your anger consuming you. "this is just a game to you! it's always just been a stupid game!" he stopped walking, hanging on to the marble counter for support. "toying with my feelings will always be so entertaining to you," you shook your head. "you used me again and again as just another one of your fuck buddies!" you grabbed a small vase, throwing it at his back.

he could've dogded it, but he didn't, letting a few glass shards pierce his wings and his back. "i loved you so much and you knew that!" you screamed, your voice couldn't handle it as it began to crack, tears welling up in your eyes. "you always knew i would be glued to you, you knew i would chase after you despite you never loving me back!" you let out a breathe you didn't know you were holding. "well you know what hawks? i'm happy now, i have someone who treats me right, treats me the way i deserve to be treated. and i couldn't ask for anyone better." tears flowed down your cheeks as your lips quivered, your face burning as your throat begged for water.

there was a moment of silence, tension and anxiety floating throughout the air. his wide eyes met yours, his voice cracking as he whispered. "is that what you think..?" his reaction to your words was something you never would have expected. his face was red, his mouth agape, his brows furrowed. all while a few stray tears fell from his eyes. keigo was..crying?

no. hawks doesn't cry. you had never seen him brought to tears before, not even when you left him. you shook your head in disbelief once more. "look at you now, acting like me leaving you was the worst thing to ever happen to you." you chuckled. "you can't manipulate me anymore hawks.

those few extra words you spoke made more tears fall down his cheeks, his chest rose and fell quickly, his breathe erratic. "y/n..." your name. he used your name? you couldn't remember a time when he did say your name. "you think this is an act?!" he raised his voice, leaving you almost paralyzed where you stood. a pit formed in your stomach as he continued. "i can't live without you y/n! i've been going insane without you here by my side!" he grabbed his chest, his voice hoarse and cracking at almost every word he spoke. "y'know something i've realized in this year you've been gone," he paused. "i don't..want to live without you." he let out a shaky breathe, his lips quivering. "i can't breathe without you, i need you. i need you like i need oxygen to survive."

this wasn't manipulation, it was his feelings in their most raw form. his words came straight from his heart, and that was something you never knew keigo could do. it was as if the inner workings of takami keigo's brain were layed out on the table like a blueprint to a building. "keigo..." you let out a breathe.

"nothing i did back then was the right things, and i know that. i know how stupid i am for treating you the way i did, i took you for granted."

keigo inched closer.

"my pride, my shitty personality, my fucked past, i let it get in the way."

another inch.

"i fucked up, i fucked up big time, and i'll never be more sorry for anything else i've ever done then what i did to you."

another inch.

"my fear of losing the person i love most got to me, i didn't want to care so i couldn't get hurt. but i ended up loving you in ways i never knew i could."

you couldn't move, the words of the man you love freezing you in place. he crept close, slowly wrapping his arms and wings around you, making sure you were okay with the intimacy. his hand cupped the back of your head as he pulled you close, the way his arms felt around you made you never want to leave. "but i don't deserve you." he whispered in your ear. "that dynamight kid deserves you, he's a great kid i've known him for a long time."

your mouth hung open, the tears from your cheeks dripping into the floor. your breath grew heavy, your puffy eyes making your vision blurry. he let you out of his embrace, his hand now on the top of your head, smoothing back your messy hair. you looked up at him as his lips pressed against your forehead. his smile, a real, genuine smile formed on his lips. "k-keigo.." a mutter fell from your lips, that's all that would come out.

“i’m really glad i got to see you again, even if it might be the last. please stay happy for me, okay?" he slid around you, opening up his door leading to the darkness of the night under the moonlit sky.

your eyes followed him, your mind fried from the string of emotions you had been through tonight. it was too much, it was painful. your heart ached. he wasn't what you thought he was.

he wasn't arrogant. he wasn't manipulative. he wasn't toying with you. he was just broken. he loved you the only way he knew how- by pushing you away. and now that he was in a state where he could just blurt his feelings out, he could finally say was he was truly feeling all this time.

but what were your true feelings?

"i love you.." you voice was soft, as light as a feather in the wind.

keigo's expression shifted from one of pain, to shock from your words. he replayed them in his mind trying to ration out if they were real or not. his hand let go of the door, letting it close gently on it's own.

it was sudden, with only a few steps your hands cupped his face as your lips met his. instinctively, his hands fell to your hips, keeping you as close to him as possible. the kiss was sloppy, passionate as his callous hands began to explore your body. your heart pumped, your cheeks burning as your lips pushed against each others in the most impatient way, as if you two had been waiting for this moment.

he finally pulled back for a breathe, his nose touching your own as he spoke softly. "what about your boyfriend?" his eyes locked with yours, awaiting an answer from your soft lips.

"i need you keigo, i don't want to live without you." you mumbled into his whiskey-flavored lips, now wrapping your arms around his neck. you could feel some of the shards of glass that got stuck in his back from the vase. the feel made your body heat up.

he studied you: your eyes, your lips, your body, everything about you. "who i am to say no to you, sweetheart~?" he smirked into the kiss as he didn't hesistate to pick you up by the thighs, frantically making his way over to the couch before laying you down on your back.

your lips disconnected once more as he grabbed the bottom of his shirt, swiftly pulling it over his head. you followed him actions, lifting up your shirt and taking it off. keigo took the shirt from your grasp before throwing it across the room, his lips soon trailing down the side of your neck.

taglist :: there's none at the moment but just send me a message to my inbox if you wanna be tagged :3

[theother-victoria]

So I saw the Dan Heng IL leaks and one of the first things I noticed were his pointed ears…

SYNOPSIS: the cuteness aggression takes over after you’ve seen your lover’s true form. you don’t think he’ll mind you biting him, right?

CHARACTER: dan heng

TAGS: hsr leaks for dan heng’s identity, (name) is a menace, a little suggestive toward the end, uhh nothing else that I can think of, might seem rushed because I wrote this in one sitting

“Dan Heng, can I touch your tail?”

Ever since you left the Xianzhou Luofu and Dan Heng’s past was revealed, Dan Heng has noticed you’ve been a lot more touchy and curious lately. It was to be expected, given his new form.

(“Ooh, are those horns? Are they sensitive like March says they are?”

Your fingers had barely grazed them before Dan Heng batted your hands away and refused to look at you for the rest of the day, much to your dismay and crew’s amusement. If only you could see how red his face was.)

And now the newest victim subject of your curiosity is his tail. He hesitates from editing his entry in the archives before finally nodding. When he turns back around, you immediately pounce.

“Oh, it’s kinda cold!” you exclaim as you run your hands across the appendage. “And really smooth as well.”

The blue scales shimmer under the light as you lift it up and examine it. At one point, it twitches in your grasp and lightly smacks you in the face.

(You take that as a sign to stop.)

While Dan Heng continues to add entries to the archive, your attention is eventually directed to another feature of his that’s prominent from your spot behind him:

His pointed ears.

He didn’t have those before… hmm…

You sneak a glance at him- he’s preoccupied and not paying attention to you. Good. You don’t have much time to act and you seize the opportunity while it’s available.

Sneaking up behind him, you hold your breath and count down.

3… 2… 1… attack!

Dan Heng sees you too late and you’ve latched onto his shoulders by then. A second later and you’re (gently) biting the tips of his ears. He gasps and flinches and you smirk to yourself.

Success!

But your victory is short-lived and you suddenly find yourself on your back with Dan Heng on top of you with his tail swishing back and forth agitatedly. His head dips toward your neck and you feel sharp fangs nip and bite at the delicate flesh.

"I-ah, wait!" you cry out as you squirm in his grasp. "Dan Heng, what are you doing?"

"This is payback," he growls. “You knew exactly what you were doing, didn’t you?”

You freeze.

“… Maybe?”

Later, when the crew finds you asleep on his tail with a blanket covering your form, they know better than to ask.

[cards-of-rose]

study tip!! how i write essays

going from a long, intensive classical education to my current history major, i've had to write a lot of papers. at this point, i can write a 5 page paper in a few hours, and just a couple weeks ago i wrote a 20 page paper in a single day. i graduated valedictorian with this method (current cGPA of 4.0!) so i thought i'd share how i write them! grab some coffee and settle in - it'll be a long post, but i promise it'll be worth it. :)

first, the topic. if you don't have an assigned topic, pick something that fascinates you, something that you could write pages and pages about. you will. if your topic is assigned, find something in it that you find fascinating. even if you find your topic completely boring, there's always something interesting to glean from it! once you find this, you'll gain motivation, and that's half the battle.

write down a basic outline. when i say basic, i mean barebones. just a vague, 3-point general idea of what you think you might write your paper about. this will guide you in your research! you don't need to worry about writing your full outline just yet.

sources. after you have a basic list of points, it's time to find sources! if they're already assigned, you can skip this step. most of the time they aren't, though. this is the most important part of your paper. you can go to google scholar to find really good academic journals and studies!

generally, the number of sources you have depends on the length of your paper! a good guide is that your amount of sources should number half the length of your paper. so if you have a 5 page paper, 2-3 is a good way to go. if you have a 20 page paper, you'll want around 10.

evidence. skim over your sources and categorize each one under the point you made earlier. this will mean you have a quick reference guide when you're writing, so you don't have to go through a big list of sources when you're looking for evidence! under each source, put a few bullet points talking about the info that you can use for your paper.

outline. this part may seem daunting. i promise, though, it's one of the easiest parts of the paper! you may feel tempted to skip it, but having an outline makes your paper sound better and makes it easier and quicker to write. use the sources and bullet point info you used earlier to fill out your outline. start broad and general, then add details as you do your research! your outline should be about half the length of your paper. don't worry about making it super scholarly - this is just for you, so make it as informal and easy to understand as you want! be stupid, throw in memes, whatever gets it written!

every outline should include an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. i can go over the structure of an outline in another post, but remember the 3 points you thought up earlier? these will form your entire outline, and eventually your essay!

finally, write! open a blank google doc and view it side by side with your outline. once you get started, it's a lot easier to finish than you'd think, especially if you took the time to outline! this is when you can make your dumb outline into something that would make the ancient philosophers proud. don't worry about perfection. just write it as you go. you can edit it later!

quotes/evidence. once you've finished your rough draft, it's time to add the evidence! some profs want quotes, others want you to paraphrase. either way, go through your paper and put in the evidence you researched earlier. don't worry about citations just yet - just put in the link in a comment on your rough draft. it won't be hard to fix it up later.

edit!! please, please don't finish your rough draft and be done with it. you can save so many points by going over it again instead of submitting it in a rushed 3am haze. fix spelling and grammar, add citations and a reference page, edit for clarity, anything you need to make it sound like the best paper you can write! if you're proud of it by the end, you know you've done something right.

congrats, you did it!! make sure you start your paper early and don't wait till the night before - your grade will thank you <3

[madneedshelp]

All That Love - Josh Kiszka x AFABReader

Summary: It was a surprise to find out you and Josh were expecting, and when the idea for a fall date arises, you devise the perfect plan to tell him the news.

Warnings: absolutely sickening fluff because I’m feeling like it, mentions of pregnancy, allusions to sex

Words: 1.3k (just a quick little oneshot)

A/N: It's been so long since I've wrote a fic, and I wanted to post something for the Halloween fics @hearts-hunger was organizing. Besides, I cannot resist a little Josh fluff. Also, fair warning, this isn’t edited because I really wanted to get it posted but I am a busy gal.

It was so nice to have Josh home on a break from tour. Especially during this time of year. While he may have been the human embodiment of sunshine, fall was one of his favorite times of the year. All the horror movies and psychological thrillers that he considered masterpieces, the cozy weather, the seasonal activities, he loved all of it and you loved partaking in it with him. 

However, none of those things were what had you most excited for him to be home. 

Two days ago, you found out you were pregnant. It was a fairly common scenario, the two of you weren’t actively trying, but you also weren’t necessarily preventing. Besides, you had been together for ages and you both wanted kids, this would be a welcome surprise. 

While it would’ve been so plainly easy to tell him, you decided you wanted to do something special. After all, this was Josh. He always gave thoughtful gifts and surprised you with elaborately planned outings. You wanted it to be your turn to do something nice to tell him. 

“What do you think of carving pumpkins tonight?” You asked from your spot on the couch. 

Josh looked up from the book he had been reading. “Hm? Pumpkin carving?”

You nodded with a small grin, trying your best to keep your face a reasonable level of excited. You happened to be unfortunately bad at surprises. “Yeah, I thought it could be fun. We could go to that pumpkin patch and pick them this afternoon, then we could come home and carve them this evening. Might as well enjoy your time off, right?”

He leaned over to kiss your cheek with a grin. “Sounds perfect, I’d love to. What made you come up with this?”

“Nothing in particular, just sounded like a nice idea. I do have those sometimes. Anyway, since you were a fan of my genius plan, we better get ready and get going.” You stood and pulled him up off the couch with you. If he asked too many questions, you would slip up or cave, and you were determined to pull your little scheme off. 

“Someone’s in a bit of a rush.” He gave you a mildly suspicious glance. 

You shook your head. “No, no, I just figured I need time to shower before we go and plenty of time for you to join me.”

“Ah, I like the way you think, sugar.”

—--------------

It was late afternoon by the time you and Josh made it to the pumpkin patch, and it was still packed. These places were always a bit insane in the month of October, though. It was kind of nice, all the families and couples that were out having a nice time. You could definitely see you and Josh bringing your kids to do this kind of thing. 

Before you could start to get emotional, you snuck a glance over at Josh. He was also looking at the crowds. He seemed to notice your gaze and turned to face you with a grin. 

“What?” You chuckled at him.

He leaned in a bit closer and spoke in a low voice. “I want one.” He nodded his head slightly towards a young couple with a baby dressed up in an adorable little pumpkin costume. 

The three little words warmed your heart. It had been so hard not saying anything to him yet, but you knew it would be so worth it when you told him that night. “Me too, but I think this might be a conversation for later.” You whispered back, giving him a quick kiss. 

Thankfully, the “later” part of the day didn’t take too long to get too. By the time the two of you picked out your pumpkins, went home, and made dinner, the evening had arrived. Still, the excitement had you eager to finish your plan. 

“So, any idea of what you’re carving?” Josh asked as he finished setting up the carving station on the back porch of your house. 

You made sure the carving template you printed off was held out of his view. “I have an idea.”

“What is it?”

“A surprise.”

Immediately, you could see the intrigue overtake his features. “Oh? Well now I have to know.”

You made your way to the table and scooted your pumpkin to the opposite side from him. “Absolutely no hints. We’re going to carve them facing each other and you’re not going to peek.”

“You torture me so, my heart.” He clutched his chest in mock anguish. 

“Just sit down and carve your pumpkin.” You sighed. 

He made it approximately four seconds before he started in again. 

“What’s that in your hand?”

You looked down at the paper in your hand. “Just a template.”

“Are you telling me you printed off a stencil?” He chuckled smugly. 

You pointed your flimsy carving tool at him with a stern look. “Hey, I just wanted it to look really good this year.”

He shrugged, still looking entirely too proud. “Well, we can’t all be naturally talented pumpkin carvers, I suppose.”

“You better knock it off, or I’m not showing you the finished project.”

His hands flew up in mock surrender, teasing finally starting to ebb. 

You put on some quiet background music, and the two of you got to work on your pumpkins and chatted lightly. The stencil you picked took a bit long to actually carve out. It had two little footprints in the middle and the words “coming soon” surrounding it. Josh finished first, and luckily didn’t try to distract you too badly. Deep down, you knew it was because the unknowing was killing him and he wanted you to hurry. You wanted to assure him that the feeling was mutual, and the sooner you finished the pumpkin the better. 

“Okay,” You let out a breath. “The masterpiece is complete. Are we ready for the big reveal?”

He nodded excitedly, grabbing his pumpkin. 

You matched his smile. “Okay, you first.” 

He swiveled the pumpkin around to face you. He carved his triangle symbol onto it, which wasn’t really a shock. He even had it embroidered onto the back off on of his suits, amongst many other things. 

“Fantastic work, it looks great, Josh.” You gave him a small round of applause. 

He waved a hand dismissively. “Why thank you, but the show isn’t over. We have to see your pumpkin before both can truly be appreciated.”

“Alright…” You bit your lip and turned it around slowly. 

As soon as he read it, his face cleared of all joking manners. The soft glow from the candle inside the pumpkin cast his face with a small bit of light, but it was enough for you to tell a faint sheen of tears coated his eyes. 

“Does this mean what I think it means?” His voice was practically a whisper. 

You nodded, your own eyes welling up too. “I’m pregnant, Josh. We’re gonna have a baby.”

He was in front of you in an instant, pressing a kiss to your lips as he embraced you. A few silent, happy tears escaped both of you as he leaned his forehead against yours and his hands traveled to rest on your stomach. 

“We’re having a baby,” He chuckled breathlessly, voice a quiet rasp.

“Yeah, we are.” You grinned, mirroring his soft laugh. 

He looked from your stomach then back up to meet your gaze. “I love you. I love you so much, and I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you as happy as you’ve made me. I love our life and I cannot wait to watch it grow together.” 

“Likewise, Josh, I love you. Forever and always.”

[drconstellation]

The Passion Of Jimbriel

Part 1: The Entry into Soho

The story of events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus, and the days following, until his ascension to Heaven, are collectively known as the Passion narratives. It comes from the Latin "to suffer," or "to endure."

More than one op has mentioned there are parallels to this in S2, so I thought I would try and find how well the whole narrative was followed. Oh yes, is the short answer, it certainly does! And how! And in places you might be surprised about. I hope this series of metas might answer some of the odd mysteries of "why is that there...? that are still floating around at the moment for you.

I've tried to match the narratives to scenes and incidents in S2 as closely as I can, but I only have sketchy Anglican Christian background, so if you have had a more thorough Catholic upbringing than me and see something I have missed, slip me a message and I'll do my best to edit things.

A word of warning before we start - it's not a linear match-up. I'm planning to run through the traditional sequence of the Passion in order, but will match with the S2 scenes as needed, and those are scattered back and forth in time. It's Catch-22 again - everything thrown up in the air and landing at seeming random places, where ever they seem to fit best for the narrative.

AZIRAPHALE: Ah, you startled me. GABRIEL: Is that good? AZIRAPHALE: I just didn't see you coming.

I actually thought I might start with this little scene, where Jim gives Aziraphale a jump-scare by creeping up next to him silently. Annoyed, Aziraphale tells him to make some noise as he moves about, and Jim trolls him with some creaking noises, before starting to sing.

There were prophecies about the arrival of Jesus, but the ironic thing here is that Aziraphale, someone who has a vast collection of prophecies and is someone you could consider an expert, had no warning of Gabriel's arrival - he just crept up to the door as a nasty surprise!

Starting proper, there were the three temptations while Jesus was fasting in the wilderness.

Making bread out of stones (I've also covered the Eccles Cakes here in the Altar of Eccles Cakes. They have multiple purposes!)

2. Being tempted to jump from a pinnacle of a temple and relying on angels to break his fall.

3. Being tempted to worship Satan in return for ruling all the kingdoms of the world.

This one was actually covered in S1, at Golgotha. I know Crowley mentioned to Aziraphale that he was the one who tempted Jesus, but I wrote a meta about it because I realized most people were missing the joke in the TWO demon names that Aziraphale suggested Crowley had changed his name to, and how that relates to that particular temptation.

The last miracle performed before the Passion was the raising Lazarus from his tomb, four days after he had died.

After Crowley is dragged down to Hell for an interview with Lord Beelzebub and finds out they are being threatened with the Book Of Life for being involved with Gabriel, he rushes back to Aziraphale and says they have to hide them. As they decide they will try a shared minor miracle Jimbriel descends the spiral staircase:

GABRIEL: Hello. Where did you come back from? CROWLEY: Outside. GABRIEL: Outside? Hmm. Is it big? Can I see the outside? CROWLEY: No, no, no, no, no. No, no no. You need to stay here, inside the bookshop. We can look after you in here. Just stay here.

Inside? Inside the tomb? Aziraphale has even 'wrapped' him up for the occasion.

Later, we find out that:

AZIRAPHALE: Jim is in his bedroom upstairs. I told him bookshops are always closed on a Wednesday. As for Inspector Constable, at a guess, they were sent to verify the 25 Lazarii miracle you and I seem to have accidentally performed together the other night. CROWLEY: That's how you lot measure miracles? How many times it could have brought someone back from the dead?

Uh huh. The miracle of Lazarus.

The Entry into Jerusalem

Jesus made his way into Jerusalem by donkey to show that he came in peace, not as conquering king on a horse. Gabriel does the same.

But he walked in, you say, on foot!

Yes, but he walked by the Dirty Donkey pub on his way to bookshop.

Next, was the Cleansing of the Temple.

What temple? The bookshop, of course! Is it not a temple of books?

Aziraphale sets Jim to cleaning it, with a duster.

I'd say you could also call the bookshop a temple to Crowley - it is decorated in his colours, after all. The presence of Jim initially drives the merchants and money dealers demon away, snatching his sunglasses from his mini-altar as his goes.

The last step on the Passion I'll cover in this meta is the Anointing of Jesus. It tells the story of how Jesus had an expensive perfume, worth a year's wages, poured on his feet from an alabaster jar by woman who was considered sinful. The gathered Disciples were aghast at this waste - they asked why she did not sell the perfume instead and give the money to the poor. Jesus thanked her for preparing him for burial.

This one had me stumped for a while, and I had to think hard about where something had been "poured out" on feet, because I was pretty sure no one had been "anointed" on the head, which is another version of this part of the narrative. Then I remembered seeing a GIF that was Aziraphale focusing on the floor for a number of seconds after Crowley had upended the box Gabriel had carried to the bookshop with his fly in it to read the message on the bottom of the box.

My precious...! You poured them out at your feet, Crowley!

Alabaster is a soft white stone that is easy to carve. The bland cardboard box makes a good analogy for this. And in it we see Aziraphale has filled it with priceless treasures - not one but two lost Shakespeare plays!

If at this point you are going "Wait - Wot? Now you're telling me both Jim/Gabriel and Crowley are playing the part of Jesus here?" I'm saying yes. It's not the first time I've said it. I'm not the only op who has been saying it, either. And as we head into part two of this meta you'll see Crowley take on more of this role from Jim/Gabriel. The two of them have a lot in common, much more than you might have suspected or might even want to acknowledge. This is the past echoing into the present again. I think it also gives us some interesting things about the future to contemplate.

Next: Part 2 - Trials and Denials

Where we move on to the Last Supper, and the Arrest of Jesus before his before he is judged before a court of priests and then Pontius Pilate, and the gathered crowd.

This post was inspired by @mr-period 's long meta Remembering Something Forgotten-Where is Jimmy Boy?

More reading on the Dirty Donkey in my meta here.

[water-to-drink]

A Star’s Introduction

(Characters): Yae Miko, Childe, Pantalone, Charlotte, and Xinyan

(Synopsis): As the new kid at school you try to remain low to hide a big secret that determines whether you would be staying at the academy or not

(Tags/Warnings): gn!reader, reader is a superhero (star guardian), some foul language, dialogue heavy, I wrote this in one sitting so might be rushed, talks about selling organs, reader is called “new kid”, barely edited (lmk if I missed anything)

(Word Count): 1.2k

(A/n): Sorry for being gone for so long, depression has been kicking my ass but I’m back. This idea has been bouncing around in my head for a while so I hope you enjoy

Genshin Academy, a prestigious institution that host bright students from all corners of Teyvat. Many from highly influential families, but that doesn’t mean students from much humbler backgrounds don’t attend

Many backgrounds and cultures come together to form a beautiful mosaic that reflects the academy’s aim for a more inclusive society

The same stuff you’ve heard before in many other schools. This is where you find yourself, having recently enrolled into the academy you would say things are going pretty good for yourself. You have a small group of friends and try to stay out of the sights of the school’s most influential students, well you try to keep a low profile for reasons that will be brought up later, but as you are running down the hallways it seems that the First Star has other plans for you here

“Why hello, new kid~”

You don’t have to turn around to know who it is, the sultry voice with a mischievous tint to it. The one and only Yae Miko

“Lady Yae! Can we please do this another time, please!” You pleaded the last part but it seemed to make the fox chuckle a bit

“I promise it won’t take too long, why are you so adamant about pushing our plans to a later date?” She asked whilst circling around you, her ears moving with a bit of excitement. “Could it be that my dear new kid already has plans with some other rascal?”

“N-no Lady Yae, I just have to do something. Alone. By myself!” You directed your hands towards the door to put emphasis in your need to leave urgently

“Yeah they promised to tutor me!”

fuck

Another headache inducing person comes between you and Yae. The ginger mop of hair slightly obscures your view of Yae but from what you can see, she’s getting a kick out of Childe challenging her for your time

“Right you promised to tutor me in history?”

“I don’t remember promising that! I said I’ll think about it!”

“You’re so mean, Tyro!” Childe says while clutching his chest in fake hurt

“Stop calling me that and why don’t you go to Al Haitham or Zhongli or someone other than me?”

“Zhongli’s busy and Al Haitham refuses to acknowledge my presence.”

“I don’t blame him, you are quite the headache.” Yae mutters under her breath just loud enough for the ginger to hear

Childe whips his head around and starts to walk towards Miko. You blocked out what they were saying and slowly backed away from them until you reached the corner and then your walk quickly turned into a run. You ran down the halls to find an empty room until you found one that had the lights turned off, you stepped inside and instantly bumped into something. A very expensive sounding crash hit your ears, the lights instantly turned on revealing a broken vase right by your feet

“Oh my stars!” You gasped not noticing the other figure in the room

“My my, that vase was around 500,000 mora.” A deep voice came up from behind you and to your horror it came from none other than Pantalone

“Do you know how you’re going to pay for it, unless…?”

“A kidney will pay that off.”

“I-I beg your pardon…?”

“A kidney is around 450,000 back where I’m from.”

“Why is selling your kidney your first option…?”

“But if that doesn’t cover it I could sell some blood or parts of my skin to make up for-”

“I was insinuating you working for me, not selling body parts, dear archons!”

“So out of the goodness of your heart you’ll overlook this tiny oopsie?”

“Oh no, it still has to be replaced.” The raven haired student said with his usual smile

You looked around to see if there was a way out but alas, there wasn’t just you and him. In defeat you turned towards Pantalone

“Okay, I’ll work for you to pay off the vase. Just can we start this tomorrow, I have something really important to do.”

“Hmm.” Pantalone rubs his chin seemingly not noticing or intentionally ignoring you getting more antsy by the second. “I think I have work for you to do that cannot wait until tomorro-” The sound of a large explosion cuts him off

You look out the window to see a hydra like monster terrorizing students out in the courtyard

Disregarding your conversation with Pantalone you run out of the classroom, heading to the rooftop

The charm on your bracelet rattling, a constant reminder of the vow you made to the First Star many years ago. A vow to be a Star Guardian a beacon of light dedicated to protecting all life from monsters that threaten to plague this world and many others into total darkness, upon reaching the rooftop you look around to see if anyone is there and thankfully there isn’t

Taking a deep breath in you prepare to say the phrase for as long as you stand and till you take your very last breath. “Starlight Transformation!”

With that your body is enveloped in a blue light your school blazer replaced with the white lightweight armor, your loafers replaced with white boots with blue linings, your normal color hair now is a vibrant shade of blue. Everything completed with a four pointed star in the middle of your chest

You’re ready for action

You leap off the roof and extend your hands out

“Lux! Aura!” You called out to your magical companions, a pair of capybaras appear and each turn into two shotguns in your hands

You began to shoot at the monster, mainly aiming for the many eyes it has.

Out of your peripherals you see a girl with pink hair and glasses about to be crushed by one of the monster’s heads

Rushing you get her out of the way just in time

“Don’t worry! I got you…”

“Charlotte!” Charlotte answered. Her eyes look over your shoulder and as you followed her gaze to see the monster charging up a beam in its mouth to shoot right at you

Before you could move out of the way the hydra blasts the beam right at to both of you

Charlotte preparing for the blast opens her eyes to see a shield had formed around you two

“I said that I got you,” You smiled at her as you lept onto the rooftop. “now get to somewhere safe. I’ll finish this guy off.”

Jumping back down you continue to shoot at the monster’s weak spots until you were certain it had been weakened significantly

Standing right in front of the hydra you get ready for your final attack. “Starlight Bullet!” With the pull of the trigger the monster disappears in a burst of smoke

“Ugh, now I can finally go home.” You sighed whilst stretching

Walking in through the school’s entrance the next day you see students reading the school’s paper, your friend Xinyan runs up to you and hands you the paper for you to read

‘Mysterious Hero Saves Academy From Monster’’

It only took you a few seconds for things to click, Charlotte from yesterday is Charlotte of the newspaper club

“You look so awestruck, I know it’s so cool having a superhero at our school, it even says that they might be a student too.” Xinyan said gleefully unaware of your emotional turmoil

All your efforts to remains under the radar in both your regular life and Star Guardian life down the drain in a moment of carelessness. Oh may the First Star guide you

[scrapheapchallenge]

"Just Neil Gaiman being wholesome again" but also Rob Wilkins being extra wholesome too! On Tuesday evening I went to this talk https://living-knowledge-network.co.uk/library/the-worlds-of-terry-pratchett By Rob Wilkins and Neil Gaiman.

Neil was co-author of "Good Omens" with Sir Terry Pratchett, and they collaborrated on many other books together here and there, just not sharing co-author status too - read this article for more info: http://www.elizabethcallaway.net/good-omens-stylometry?fbclid=IwAR2hVnd8aTYFBZqphk8SzYt8j1NucBl5mUxbDscF3kljQ9Bpuq2leUW2S6I Confirmed by Neil yet again on Tuesday.

Rob Wilkins was Terry's PA, and now manages his estate, as his representative. He also wrote "A life in footnotes" - the official biography of Terry.

On Tuesday evening, I arrived at the British Library very early, and was guided up to the Piggot Theatre lobby to wait by a security person, so I was there before anyone else, including Rob. All the staff were absolutely lovely. When they noticed there weren't any gaps for wheelchair spaces in the audotorium, facilities engineers were summoned and made short work of unbolting a set of 3 seats to make a wheelchair space for myself and another wheelchair user who turned up later.

Then Rob turned up, carrying a mannequin, Terry's leather jacket, scarf, hat, and other stuff.

Now the email we recieved before the event said that Neil wouldn't have time to do any signings that evening, although they didn't mention Rob, so I asked him if he might be able to sign my copy of "a life in footnotes".

He happily said yes, and once he'd sorted his things out, he came back out to chat to me for a while and OMG he was the loveliest person EVER!

I gave him a print I'd signed of my ink portrait of the Bentley, and some stickers of my other Bentley illustrations, and he said "WAIT! I have presents for you too! I'll be right back!" Then rushed off to the green room. (Below are the ink portrait, then I gave him small stickers of the "this is fine" flaming Bentley - which I was also wearing on my t-shirt that day - and my most recent digital portrait of Crowley and the Bentley - and yes it is all hand drawn, not a photo manipulation, feel free to zoom in. A couple of years separate these 3 drawings and I'd been working hard on learning photorealism.)

He came back and gave me Terry and Neil badges, which he explained you only get if you meet them in person. I had met Terry (and incidentally Rob as well) years ago at a book signing, plus I met Neil, albeit briefly, on Tuesday as he came through the lobby and said hello.

He was happy to chat and especially about cars, which he also loves. He confirmed that I was 100% correct about the "2 whole cars and a cab for CGI" between seasons 1 and 2, and that the interior colour change is nothing to do with plot it legitimately is just continuity errors if they forgot to cover the new Bentley's new seats with covers matching the old Bentley's orange ones. (The cab only also has orange leather seats).

When I told him about this year's RREC (Rolls Royce Enthusiast's Club - also for Bentleys) Christmas card design, he was delighted, and asked to take a photo of the image I had of one on my phone because he wants to order some as well.

I showed him my re-usable coffee cup from "give me coffee or give me death" which we were given on the set tour, and which I had Sir Derek Jacobi sign at a comic con the other week. Rob thought that was wonderful, and then did something extra sweet...

He asked me "if you're ok trusting me with this for a little while, would you like me to sneak it back to the green room to ask Neil to sign it for you as well? Then I'll come and find you afterwards to give it back again."

HELL YES! I couldn't believe it! I hadn't wanted to ask because we'd been told that Neil wouldn't be signing things due to lack of time, so for Rob to spontaneously make the offer was not something I was expecting. He did also take my Occult Edition of Good Omens to ask if Neil would sign that as well.

I didn't fully expect that he would, and was prepared for him to come back later and say "sorry he was too busy", and that would have been fine, but no: Neil DID sign them both!

Neil writing "burn this (big fancy) book!" was a spin on how Terry used to sign copies of Good Omens: "burn this book" - which is actually embossed on the rear cover of this edition.

Later, Rob also signed it for me, as did Colin Smythe, who was Terry's publisher and lifelong friend.

We were sitting at the front, only about 7 or 8 feet from Neil, the talk was wonderful, we laughed, we cried a little, and Terry was with us in the form of the mannequin with his jacket, scarf, and hat (which are also on set of Good Omens at all times while filming, and also even during rehersals/table reads - so he's always present.)

Rob is honestly so bloody wholesome, he was hugging a lot of people, and ever so sweet, taking time to chat to other people as the venue filled up, and stayed behind to sign things and talk to other folks as well.

I also got to chat to Dr Pat Harkin and Dr Jan Clarke, who were the researchers who spent months of hard work tracking down Terry's lost short stories in the national archives in Boston Spa, which were released in a compliation book "A stroke of the pen." If I'd known that they'd be there as well, I'd have taken that book and asked them to sign it too. They were in the audience and sitting next to us with Colin Smythe. I was truly surrounded by Pratchett royalty, and everyone, without exception, was SO friendly and lovely.

I had done two prints of the Bentley drawing and stickers, for Rob and for Neil, in case I got chance to give them to them, and when I gave Rob his, I said I had some for Neil as well, and again, he OFFERED to take them to give them to Neil for me.

Although I didn't get chance to thank Neil in person, I wanted to reach out to let him know I was very grateful for his kindness as well, so sent him a message via his "ask" channel, although not with an expectaction of reply - just for him to see privately and know that I was appreciative. But he chose to actually publish it as a public reply, which was lovely of him. I hadn't wanted to thank him publicly just in case he didn't want others to know that he had signed some items after all. I'd been expecting to have to wait until he did a proper public appearance with signing at a comic con or something - although with him living in the USA, not the UK, I may have had to wait a long time.

So I guess the answer is to getting an autograph - turn up 2 hours early, and be very VERY nice and polite to Rob Wilkins 😅 (but also don't expect results - I didn't, it just sort of happened).

[prince-rowan-of-the-forest]

Where the Ashes Settle

----

Roman was prepared for normal day, leave the hotel, get coffee, go to the station and head home.

He hadn't made room in his schedule for getting caught up in a villain fight, nor getting kidnapped by the villain and his arch-nemisis, though.

----

| Ao3 |

Warnings: Injury, kidnapping

Pairings: Anxceit, possible future anarociet depending on how you wanna interprit.

Word count: 3437

Notes:

I wrote this whole thing today because I was bored and wanted to have some fun. I've been wanting to make a superhero au for a very long time but I'm too lazy so here's a oneshot instead. :) - i't's not really edited as of right now, I might come back and fix it later, but I can't say for sure.

----

Roman was just a civilian.

He had no useful powers, as much as he’d always wanted to be a hero, being a super one is just not on the cards. Voice Projection. That was Roman’s power, he could make his voice be heard from anywhere, with a microphone it was amazingly useful during concerts. But he could only make his voice as loud as he could yell, so the most he’d be able to do as a hero would be… to cause confusion, potentially. 

So Roman wasn’t a superhero, he was a regular person, an indie singer who was nowhere near as well known as he wanted to be, doing gigs in pubs and at small events who didn’t have the money to hire the bigshots or specifically wanted acts that no-one had heard of. It was fine, Roman loved singing, holding the attention of a crowd was something he was good at, writing and performing music had been something he loved since before he could remember.

He was well aware of the more super goings on of the world, of course. He followed the heroes almost religiously, their instagram stories, the events they were doing, the latest battles they’d won against upstart supervillains. His favourite was a longstanding battle between one of the top heroes - Viper, who was surprisingly popular despite his dark and mysterious persona - and one of the most renowned villains in the country - Tempest, who looked and played the part of arch-nemesis very well.

Roman followed their battles over the internet, watching the videos and footage. Their fights were always immense and almost beautiful, they were evenly matched, skill wise, and they both had crazy power sets. Viper could shapeshift, between human and animal forms, including - to Roman’s delight when he saw the battle - a dragon. Tempest could create - as his name suggested - storms, he could walk on the clouds, draw lightning strikes from the heavens, create heavy rains and strong winds whenever he wanted. 

It was brilliant to watch, after the fight had taken place from the comfort of his mediocre apartment living room.

It wasn’t quite so great to be there in person. 

He’d been getting a coffee at a cute little cafe he’d found whilst staying for a week in a town a few hours out from his own for a few pretty good gigs he’d been able to snag and he was just about to head to the station to get his train back home. He’d decided to stop by the shop on the way. He’d known something was wrong when he’d stepped back onto the street, coffee cup in hand, guitar case slung across one shoulder and backpack on the other, to find it deserted. 

Thunder. He heard it first as he made his way down the street, turning the corner to see the dark, angry clouds gathering just up the street. He rushed forward - blinded from the danger by his eagerness to see the fight - maybe he’d be able to film it if he could get a good view! Witnessing a battle in person - especially one on this magnitude - was rare and absolutely granted bragging rights over all your family and friends, so Roman wasn’t about to pass up such an opportunity.

He must have approached from somewhere behind Tempest, as he creeped along the street and pulled out his phone to record - even as the wind whipped at his hair, thankfully it wasn’t raining. He knew that this was stupid, he’d be in a lot of danger coming this close, but he felt almost like he had to.

Further up the street Roman spotted Viper, shifted into some kind of big cat crouched atop an already damaged car, making up some kind of blockade at the other end of the street. Roman could hear yelling and crying from behind it - he must be protecting people that way. The pair of supers began to fight properly, thunder booming in the sky as they clashed. Viper turned mid-jump into what looked to be a griffin, and ran at Tempest. Roman watched in wonder as the two clashed in front of him. 

Lightning struck, too close to him to be safe. He let out an involuntary yelp for fear when the building began to catch fire. His eyes darted between the rapidly spreading fire to the fighting pair. Neither of them had noticed. He heard a scream from inside the building and - panicking - Roman decided he would have to do something. 

“Hey!” He called, but his voice was lost to the raging winds. He tried to use his power, placing his voice nearer to Viper - “Hey! The- the building’s on fire! To your left!”

Viper looked over, golden eyes widening for just a moment, before he was slammed into by Tempest. 

Shit -! Roman thought, glancing back at the building again, breath quickening, he’d just gotten Viper hurt - he was sure he could probably face legal action for interfering like that, and the people in the building were no closer to getting saved. His power really was useless after all.

Roman was just trying to figure out what to do when the fire began to spread too close to him - across the debris already on the floor. He took a few steps back only to scream as something came hurting at him in the wind. The bit of flying debris smacked into his shoulder hard, sending him flying to the ground and leaving him winded. His vision swam as he laid there on the ground, distantly aware of more yelling than before, was it closer? And the crackling of fire, the screaming of sirens somewhere far in the distance. Roman hoped they’d be fast enough to save the people in the buildings. 

—

“Shit!” Virgil yelled when he heard someone scream from far too close to them to be from the crowd. Rearing back from where he’d been about to punch Janus and looking around just in time to see the civilian standing far too close to the fight get flung backwards to the ground - almost into the raging inferno that was the building behind him. 

Janus shifted back to himself as he stared at the same sight. Virgil growled, well aware people were still watching, and darting forward - grabbing the hero by the collar of his shirt and holding him close, making sure his expression was mean enough to appease any watching cameras even as he whispered his split second plan to the hero.

“I’m going to ‘kidnap’ him,” Virgil said, voice barely a hiss, “And run, make it look like you beat me and then get the people in that building out- I’ll make sure he’s okay back at the apartment. ”

“Be careful, Darling,” Janus told him, before transforming into a giant beast and grabbing Virgil, with a snarling growl, flinging him across the street towards the knocked out civilian. Virgil landed expertly, made a show of looking around as if disoriented and got up. Janus roared and Virgil took that as his cue to run, scooping up the civilian and grabbing his things on a second thought before grabbing one of his clouds and swiftly escaping the scene, starting a downpour as he did so. He hoped maybe it would help with the fire. 

He really didn’t want innocent people to get hurt. 

—

When Virgil arrived at the apartment building, the civilian now fully unconscious in his arms, he was stopped by his security guy, Logan. Virgil groaned internally as Logan questioned why Virgil was carrying some knocked out guy and why the fuck he had a guitar. 

“Don’t question me ,” Virgil snapped, his voice slipping into his supervillain persona’s for a moment, startling Logan. He’d have to apologise later, but he had no time for Logan’s never ending questions right now, “When Viper gets here, let him in.”

Logan looked at him skeptically, but Virgil’s expression hardened, practically daring Logan to argue with him. Eventually he just sighed and nodded, allowing Virigl to make his way into the building. He saw Logan rub his forehead out the corner of his eye as he walked away. Maybe he should make him an apology cake.

Carrying the civilian up the stairs was easy when you were able to manipulate the wind to give you a boost. When Virgil finally arrived at his apartment he went straight to the spare room and laid Roman down carefully on the bed, placing the guitar and bag nearby before setting about checking him for injuries. 

He wasn’t burned, thank goodness, but Virgil was worried about his shoulder where the debris must’ve slammed into him. There were bits of it embedded in his skin and the joint looked dislocated. Virgil just prayed that was the worst of it as he - as gently as he could - popped his shoulder back into place and removed the biggest pieces of debris. Cleaning him up and bandaging his shoulder properly. He was used enough to doing this for himself by now. 

Until Virgil heard Janus arrive at his front door, Virgil stayed sitting by the bed, making sure the civilian was okay the entire time.

—

Roman felt groggy when he woke up, like he’d drunk too much at a party or something, though he couldn’t remember any party. This wasn’t his house either - the bed he was lying on felt unfamiliar - and very soft. The covers were tucked up to his chin and he felt very warm and safe here as he stared up at the plain ceiling. No fluorescent lights - so probably not a hospital either. Where the hell was he?

From the next room, he could hear voices, though he couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. When he tried to move up, pain shot through his shoulder enough to make him gasp - and then his head started to feel like it was splitting apart. Right, he remembered now. 

Just because Roman remembered what had happened to him before he had clearly passed out, that didn’t help him to understand where the hell he was, or who was talking in the other room, or who these lovely purple bed covers belonged to. 

His head was killing him, so he closed his eyes again. 

“He’s been asleep for almost a full day now,” He heard someone say, the sound causing shooting pains in his skull, was that voice kinda familiar? It felt like it was, but Roman couldn’t place it, “I’m starting to worry it might be worse than a bump on the head.”

“Perhaps it would have been better to take him to a hospital, Darling.” The second voice said - this one was even more familiar than the first. He started to think he must be dreaming, though, because surely Viper wasn’t actually here. He’d heard that voice enough in interviews and publicity stunts, maybe he was dreaming?

“Yeah well - it wasn’t like we had much time to make that call,” The other voice huffed. 

“I know,” Viper sighed, “If he doesn’t wake up in the next half hour we should take him to the closest hospital.”

The other voice scoffed, “And what, tell them: ‘Oh hey doctor, here’s this guy I almost killed yesterday and then kidnapped because we didn’t know what to do!’ How would that go over, you think?”

“...You’ve got a point,” Said Viper. Roman stewed in his own thoughts as he pretended to sleep, yesterday, almost killed, kidnapped - that familiar voice… Was that Tempest ?? - what the hell was Tempest doing here with Viper, and had they really kidnapped him? What the fuck was happening?

Roman groaned softly as the pain in his head spiked and both of them went silent.

“Is he awake?” Tempest asked, Viper made a noncommittal noise in response, before seemingly walking over. 

“Hello, darling,” Viper said, voice much closer now, “Are you awake?”

That soft tone was so different from the sarcastic, sassy persona he always displayed for the public. It made Roman feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

“Hey- I thought I was ‘darling’!” Tempest said, from further away. He sounded like he was pouting and Roman resisted the urge to laugh as he peeled open his eyes again, having to blink a few times as the light made his head spin.

“You’re ‘Darling’, with a capital ‘D’, Darling, everyone else is a lowercase ‘d’ darling,” Viper dismissed, before looking back at him and smiling. That was Viper alright, his signature scales were glittering gold in the dim light of the room and his mismatched eyes - one blue, one gold - were looking at him with an expression so caring and soft Roman almost reeled back. Why on earth was the hero looking at him that way? His hair was loose, tumbling to his shoulders in blonde waves and topped with a fancy hat that seemed a little silly compared to the comfortable clothes he was wearing. 

His gaze wandered warily to where Tempest stood, a fair ways behind Viper - leaning on the wall beside the door. His identity wasn’t quite so obvious, considering his costume consisted of a mask and a hood. But Roman recognised his electric purple hair and violet eyes regardless. He had his hands stuffed in the pockets of an oversized hoodie and seemed fairly relaxed in posture. 

“Will you sit up and drink something for me, darling?” Viper asked, gently placing a hand on Roman’s shoulder to help him up. The movement made him feel dizzy, but he did think water would be pretty nice right now. 

“...Where am I?” Roman asked after taking a sip of cold water from the glass Viper pressed into his hands. 

“My apartment,” Tempest answered, not moving from across the room. 

“...Why?” He asked, frowning.

“I needed to get you out of the way so that Jay here could save the people in that building,” Tempest shrugged, earning a look from the hero, he groaned, “He’s literally in my house - I don’t think him knowing the first letter of your name is a real issue, here.”

Roman frowned, “Wait- but-” He thought, trying to put the pieces together, hadn’t Tempest struck that building with lighting? “Didn’t you… mean to set it on fire?”

“What? No, of course not,” Tempest looked almost offended at the accusation, “I missed with the strike, that’s all.”

Confused, Roman looked between them, Viper chuckled, “There’s a lot more going on behind the scenes than you know, dear,” He said, gently patting Roman’s shoulder. He felt himself melt beneath the touch. 

“Like… what?” Roman asked.

“Things you don’t need to know about,” Tempest said, finally pushing himself off of the wall to walk closer. He sat back down on the edge of the bed and offered something to Roman, “Here, painkillers - if you need them - you took a nasty hit, they’re still in the packaging.”

Roman watched the both of them as he took the painkillers, examining the packet before taking one.

“I… owe you an apology for that, too, had I known you were standing there I would’ve made sure the debris didn’t hit you.”

It suddenly made a lot more sense why despite how destructive and violent Viper and Tempest’s fights were, no civilian ever actually got hurt. 

“Thank you for the warning, by the way, darling,” Janus told him, shifting to gently card fingers through Roman’s hair.

“Hm?” Tempest asked, looking up in confusion.

“He warned me about the fire… I’m assuming you used your power?” Roman nodded, “I’m sorry I couldn’t act on it sooner.”

“It’s… fine, I just wanted to do something - did everyone get out okay?” Roman asked.

“Yes,” Janus nodded, “I got everyone out unharmed.”

Roman breathed a sigh of relief, wincing at the pain in his shoulder as he did so. He looked around at the other two, before sighing and resting his head back against the headboard. 

“That’s good,” He mumbled. 

“You’re welcome to go back to sleep,” Tempest said, “As long as you eat something first - you’ve been out for at least twenty-four hours by now.”

Roman groaned, even though Tempest was right, he was hungry, and having attention drawn to that fact just made him hungrier. 

“Fine,” He mumbled. Tempest looked thoughtful for a moment, before nodding to himself.

“How about I order pizza for the three of us,” he suggested, “We haven't eaten dinner either - do you like pizza?”

“What kind of heathen doesn’t like pizza?” Roman asked, trying not to laugh. Laughing hurt. Tempest chuckled and pulled out his phone. 

For a long few minutes, they just sat there. Viper was playing with his hair and Roman didn’t mind in the slightest - aside from being a little confused - and Tempest was messing around on a phone, supposedly ordering them pizza.

Eventually, Viper broke the silence, “What is your name, darling?” He asked. 

“Oh- it’s Roman,” Roman said, “Roman Piper.”

Tempest looked up from his phone, eyes a little wider than before, “Roman Piper, as in - the singer Roman Piper?”

Roman was too flabbergasted to speak for a moment, “I- yes- yes, that’s me, you’ve uh- you’ve heard of me?”

Viper just hid his face with his hand and chuckled as Tempest lit up.

“ Heard of you? Dude! I love your music!” He said, “I… can’t believe I fucking kidnapped my favourite music artist.”

Roman couldn’t help it, he snorted, bursting out laughing, though his cheeks were red, “I was actually um- here to do a few gigs… but uh- I think I appreciate this, actually, saves me the hospital bills.”

“Downtown? In that old bar a few days ago? I was there -”

Viper tapped him on the shoulder, leaning in and whispering, “He’ll talk about you for hours if we don’t stop him, darling, though - for the record, your music is lovely.”

Roman blushed a deep red, hiding his face in his hands. Don’t get him wrong! He loves meeting people who liked his music, but when those people where the most notorious villain in the country and his arch-nemisis (Though Roman was starting to think something else was going on there too) who he’d been looking up to for yours it was a little bit different.

“I’m supposed to be resting, right?” Roman said, interrupting whatever tangent Tempest was about to go on. 

“Yes, you are,” Viper said, smiling. 

“Hm,” Tempest said, “I could put on a movie or something while we wait for pizza?”

Roman brightened, “That sounds wonderful - hm… would it be a step too far if I asked for your real names?”

“Hmm…” Viper said with a soft smile, “You can call me Jay, if you’d like, it’s halfway there - perhaps I’ll give you my real name in the future, darling.”

Unable to help himself, Roman grinned - the idea that they might not part ways once this whole ordeal was over was a lovely one. He was honestly starting to quite like these two - not to mention how curious he was about whatever ‘behind the scenes’ things were going on. 

“If that’s what we’re doing,” Tempest said, standing up and offering a hand to Jay, who took it, in turn offering his arm to help up Roman, “then you can call me V, for now.”

“Lovely, both of you,” Roman smiled, letting Jay put his arm around Roman’s back for stability after he stumbled a little to lead him out of the bedroom to a dim, cozy living room strung with fairy lights. It was cute and warm and safe - very homely and cozy looking - totally not what he would’ve expected from the villain had he been asked two days ago. Now it seemed… a little more fitting. 

Jay guided him to sit down on the sofa and V quickly joined them after grabbing a small stack of DVDs that he handed to Roman to choose from. He was delighted to find that they were all disney. 

After a long period of deliberation that had V chuckling and Jay sighing, in exasperation, Roman finally settled on Moana - which he handed to V to put on. Before long, the three of them were squashed together on the two-seater sofa, with Roman in the middle. Something in the back of his mind told him that he shouldn’t feel as safe as he did, considering he was in the home of a supervillain, cuddled between two extremely powerful people who he didn’t really know the intentions of. 

But despite that, he felt the warm haze of sleep drift over him as the movie continued and they ate their pizza in calm, comfortable silence. 

Roman was passed out on Janus’ shoulder before the film even neared its end.

----

Tags: @full-of-roman-angst-trash @your-local-random-dino @cutebisexualmess @glacierruler @roseianxiety @bella-bugatti-frogetti-baguetti @scalesfeathersnfur (if anyone wants to be added, let me know!)

[genderbinaryisforlosers]

in honour of posting chapter 4 of Stars Maligned, please enjoy this AITA post i wrote in-character for the events of the au

AITA: I told my friend he should pursue what makes him happy rather than what's expected of him?

I (3900, A) recently had a conversation with a friend of mine (4200, M) who we will call Robin. Robin is a very selfless person and it's caused him some problems in the past with giving up things he wants for other people. The main thing is he was pressured into marrying someone (we'll call her Sparrow, 3400, F) by his family. The first time I saw him after the wedding (quite a while after, the craziness with the borders recently means we didn't have a chance to meet up sooner) he seemed miserable and I was really worried about him, so when we had a private moment I told him what was on my mind. I don't see the point in staying in a marriage that makes you unhappy with someone that doesn't care about you and family's approval is not the be-all end-all, especially with how they treat him. I and several other friends have made it clear in the past that we would happily support him if he ever needed to cut them off, but he doesn't even seem willing to consider that it might be for the best.

Anyway, after I expressed my thoughts he challenged me to a duel? He said I'd wounded the honour of both himself and his wife and that if I didn't apologise he would have no choice but to engage me in combat. This seemed totally unfair to me but I really didn't want to fight him over this so I wrote an apology letter - I really put effort in, like I said I did not want to fight - but it seems like he was really set on duelling me because later that day he sent our mutual friend Raven (2700, M/A) to issue the challenge. AITA?

EDIT: You all seem to be being obtuse on purpose. I waited until we were alone to say my piece to Robin, I obviously would never say in front of his wife that he didn't love her, I don't know why you are all fixating on that.

EDIT 2: Alright yes at one point I had feelings for Robin and it didn't work out but I don't see how that's relevant. There are more reasons than infatuation to step in with someone’s love life. His family only rushed him into marriage so quickly because there was supposed to be another wedding that was called off. And since I played some small role in that (long story) I suppose felt I owed it to him in some way.

[comment: truestpinkpeony (OP)]: Okay, answering some questions since apparently you're all incapable of working from "limited information" (I told you a lot but okay).

1. No, I am not the same user who posted "WIBTA if I objected at my friend's wedding (I am the best man)?" I was not the best man. Not even a man.

2. Sparrow seems like a perfectly nice person but she and Robin have nothing in common. She also didn't choose to marry him, there was pressure from her family as well. A lot of you have assumed that I have it out for her or want her out of the picture because I'm in love with Robin (I'm not, we had feelings for each other but that's behind us) and that's not true. I'm sure there are also things she could be doing that would make her happier, I just don't know her and would obviously not comment on the life choices of someone I don't even know.

3. If I didn't apologise after the initial challenge, obviously YTA, that is not what I'm asking. I did apologise and Robin still challenged me to a duel, that is what this post is about.

4. The cancelled engagement was neither his nor mine, and I was not in love with either of the fiancées. Again, people seemed determined to read this in the worst faith way possible. Maybe the parties in question were better off not marrying each other, regardless of how hurt or petty they felt in the immediate aftermath?

5. To the person who asked if there's a history of duelling in our friendgroup, not exactly? But before Robin got engaged there was an incident where my friend (henceforth known as Cardinal, 3100, F) challenged Robin to a duel which then became a duel between Robin and Raven? IDK it's complicated but it all worked out. EDIT: That duel was nothing to do with this duel or Robin's marriage so it's not relevant. Stop asking to hear more about it.

[comment: bilberry_pie_x]: The first duel was over an aborted love confession from OP to Robin.

[comment: truestpinkpeony (OP)]: WTH. Take this comment down and DM me!

[comment: truestpinkpeony (OP)]: Since you will not stop asking about the cancelled engagement, one half of the couple in question is now happily married to somebody else and the other half passed away.

EDIT: NO I DID NOT KILL HIM. I was not even in the room yet.

EDIT 2: I will not be answering any more questions about this.

What are these acronyms?

-

WIBTA if I poisoned my best friend's crush because he (crush) challenged them (friend) to a duel.

All relevant information contained in title.

[comment: surf_n_turf]: We know that's you Cardinal lol.

[creativechaos1020]

So not that long ago the group that I take part in writing workshops with did a workshop on Haiku and Haibun, and I went a little off the deep end and wrote a funky sci-fi short story Haibun thing. Anyway, here you go. *Note: I might end up editing and changing it later. ------------------------------

The docking bays stand tall over the promenade, a pier of iron and steel beneath which roam hundreds of arriving faces. Shuttlecrafts slowly empty themselves of scavengers and refugees, survivors who have seen their homes destroyed. Around me every face has been marred by desperation and every arrival is heralded with relief.

Sea of brown and gray Hungry mouths, aching bodies Safe for the first time

Legends stalk through the crowd, saviors from a bygone age. A steel-suited force once thought forgotten. Staves, swords, knives, guns, all equally deadly in their iron grip. It is hard not to notice the breaks and dents in their once exquisite armor.

Warriors of Old Leaving their worlds behind Battle among stars

Through the translucent sheen of the docking bay’s energy shield we watch as our once blue and green home is overtaken by a swath of shining red. The promenade’s steel booths, once dedicated to trade and commerce, are repurposed and used to distribute food among the starving crowd. A violent plague sweeps across the planet below, and we know we will never return.

Eating at long last A first night among many Watching our world burn

Days become weeks, weeks become months as our would be saviours repeatedly plunge to the planet below. Whispers of small victories spread through the station’s corridors, rumors of safe havens and thriving populations feeding desperate hopes. It would be easy to miss that our saviours’ numbers seem smaller with each return they make.

Battling the plague Plunging Heroes Fall Beneath The Hope of Masses

The station slumbers, its people adhering to their anachronous routines, small comfort for the displaced. My footfalls ring out among reticent corridors, the night quiet giving its own familiar ease. Reprieve is broken as metal clashes. Nearly hidden, two legends quarrel.

A knife is fumbled Shining steel shears armor Sword slides between ribs

Hasty, heavy footfalls rush from the secluded battlefield before fading into obscurity. Unseen, I approach the fallen champion, unprepared to give the aid I offer. Their wound does not bleed, streaks of red splayed beneath steel skin. Trembling hands open damaged armor, as I make my greatest mistake.

Plague engulfing me Tendrils through body and mind It’s taking control

My world becomes red. All consuming Rage. All Consuming Hunger. No Me, only Us. One body perishing, the other still weak. The enemy’s strength lies ready before us. Our forming corpse drags itself from the wreckage. Our weakling slides inside. We are weak no longer.

Wielder unwell Infestation levels high Simply will not do

WE CANNOT BE PURGED. Pain runs through our body, lightning through my bones. THERE IS NO YOU, THERE IS US. Screaming assaults my ears, my mouth dry from the exertion. YOUR TIME IS LIMITED. THERE IS STILL ANOTHER. Vision grows black, consiousness fades.

Recover, wearer. Infection levels dropping, You will be alright

An electronic voice speaks into my ear as my eyes slowly open. A steel second skin covers me, though I do not feel it’s weight. I begin to sit, to stand, slow careful movements made easier on my aching body by armored systems I do not understand. My eyes catch sight of the corpse beside me and it is made clear, plague has reached us.

Carrier running Searching for the next victim To give to the plague

Screaming pulls me from my stupor and I begin to run. As I near the sound, I find three survivors laying before me, red streaks running from superficial wounds. ‘They have been infected,’ the voice informs me moments before they begin to stand. They lunge, but I am armored and they are not.

Blood now on my hands Refugees become corpses I do what I must

Running. Fighting. Running. Fighting. I pour through the hallway, my steel steps echoing just behind my mark’s. Each moment his steps seem closer. Each moment my armored hands are stained with more of the blood of fellow survivors. I see him turn a corner and he is mine at last.

Nowhere left to run I must bring this to an end Lest he doom us all

His rust-red sword lashes out, skilled, but worn. Expert strikes slowed by fatigue are easily dodged. He pulls back and begins to circle, I cannot let him recover.

Fist stands against sword A sharp pain through my belly I cannot fail here

YOU COULD HAVE BEEN US. My arms wraps around him, pinning his in place. NOW YOU SHALL PERISH. My head impacts his again and again. WE SHALL BECOME ALL. He struggles, but despite my wound he cannot escape. YOUR EFFORTS ARE FUTILE. His body goes limp, but I continue until my own sight grows dark.

Neophyte Legend Dying alongside first foe Fate has other plans

Bright light in my eyes awakens me. Rage, Hunger within my mind. Deep breaths keep it calm as my body recovers. Months pass, armor and body are both repaired but my mind is not the same. I will learn to manage. Soon I take my first plunge.

Fighting planetside I can sense its location A boon from my curse

Armored warriors, we battle the plague below. An unexpected boon becomes our greatest strength. We gain ground, make progress, and our numbers remain strong. In moments of reprieve my mind turns to the station above.

Watchers from above Spots of blue on a red sphere Fueling their hopes