♡ @nonscnse liked for a starter.

                    '  it's  barely  a  cut  '  she  sighs,  smile  lingering  up  on  her  features  as  she  continues  to  press  on  the  wound.  '  you'll  be  fine,  no  scar  or  anything  '  gaze  travels  upwards  to  meet  their  face,  gaze  narrowing  slightly.  '  want  to  tell  me  again  how  it  happened?  '

@s1aughteredlamb

she doesn't know what she's supposed to feel. it wasn't like they had any actual choice to what had just happened anyways. billie had pulled the queen card and taissa's heart had sunk to the bottom of her chest. but then running after her friend ... intent on chasing and killing her ... it was something that she knew she had to push down, for the good of survival. she knows that a how are you feeling wouldn't suffice. it didn't seem like enough. "you're alive for a reason." is all she can muster, her head pounding.

@pierprincess | starter call.

They had traded off the money and guns at the docks an hour earlier and, unable to sleep — unable to think of going back to her hotel room in an unfamiliar city, unable to think of the early morning flight coming in just a few hours — Mary had found herself on the meandering trek to the boardwalk. Miriam on one side, Orson on the other, bodyguards-turned-parental-figures to ward off any Good Samaritans.

There were more of them in California than in New Jersey. People less inclined to mind their own business.

She inspected the booths, the rides, the vendors with the casual disinterest of one who considered themselves above it all; maybe on the drive to the airport the smell of spun sugar and popcorn would still be clinging to her skin and hair, faintly turning her stomach.

Hands deep in her coat pockets, she stopped. The grin playing at the corners of her mouth was not quite all good humour.

"Tell me my future?"

Commissions for @son1c, @splashtail (and @sonboygemerl), @spoiledskullz, @sonia-the-hedgehog-2369, and @onesecretperson!!

These were so much fun!! Thank you all for commissioning me <33

XIN YA MOMENT

WHO: Cage & @xalecjacobs

WHERE: The Meadows, countryside

WHEN: Earth Week (April, 2024)

"Kinda miss the days we could do that," Cage gestured towards the playground, just off of the field that they were standing in. "Then again, I feel like we never had playground equipment that cool." It had been a little more rundown, basic, less interesting... probably a whole lot less safe, too, but that was besides the point. "Remember when we used to cherry bomb each other on the seesaw?" at that memory, he grinned, winding his arm back and letting the football in his hand fly towards Alec.

closed for @pureshoney .

hope  for  his  returned  had  fizzled  out  over  time  ,  his  disappearance  one  that  hit  her  hard  ,  and  the  child  in  her  arms  only  made  it  the  more  difficult  .  the  last  thing  she’d  expected  when  opening  the  front  door  of  her  small  apartment  was  to  see  him  .  the  amount  of  times  she’d  tried  calling  him  even  after  he’d  left  ;  never  received  a  call  or  a  text  back  ,  resentment  building  over  time  and  now  as  if  nothing  he’s  here  again  .  “  hendrix  ?  ”  name  drips  off  her  tongue  ,  surprise  written  all  over  cherub’s  features  .  davina  swallows  thickly  ,  attempts  to  keep  it  together  ,  and  not  cause  a  scene  .  all  in  an  attempt  to  not  wake  their  son  .  “  what  .  .  .  are  you  doing  here  ?  ”  tone  of  voice  is  soft  ,  spoken  words  a  whisper  and  she  tugs  the  small  child  closer  ,  her  digits  running  through  golden  curls  .  “  you  finally  decided  i  deserve  an  explanation  ,  is  that  it  ?  well  i  don’t  want  to  hear  it  .  ”

@eyeknowmayhem LIKED THIS FOR A STARTER ( from stockfly, for leatherhead ) !!

     “ JUST OVER THERE should do, thank you, “ the father says to his child. Though he has two smaller arms with which to point with  ( his primary pair preoccupied with lugging a fairly hefty piece of machinery over his shoulder ), he nods his head towards the empty space on the floor of his labs to indicate to them where they could place whatever apparatus they’d taken from that warehouse.  ( It still takes some getting used to, remembering that he has these extra parts now to assist him; he’s spent over 50 years with two arms instead of four, so who could blame him. )  It still seems so SURREAL, performing these numerous heists. He’d shocked even himself whenever he robbed TCRI of their property and fled for the hills to start a new life, nearly 15 years ago; he certainly never expected that it would become a semi-regular routine.

     ( But, if nothing else, he’s a man of PURPOSE. All of this — what he was doing — was for a GREATER GOOD. In the grand scheme of life, this chapter will eventually close, and by the end of it, everything will have been worth it. So he keeps telling himself anyway. )

     Baxter carefully removes the machinery from atop his shoulder and places it on the floor with a small clunk. As soon as he does, he stands upright, arching his back with one hand placed on the small of it, wings twitching as he stretches it out. “ Really need to start warming up before these things, “ he mumbles, mostly to himself. Once he’s done that, he unsheaths an empty canister from his coat  ( oversized for him normally; perfect for him while he’s like this ).  “ It can do a number of things, but it can’t hammer out my creaky back for me, “ he jests.

     ‘It,’ of course, being the OOZE — the substance that created his children and also the same substance that transforms him into the fly mutant that he currently is. Often, he would enter their target areas as an unsuspecting human — then, when they’d least expect it, he’d change, catching them off-guard. This recent warehouse trip was no different.

     At his workbench, he stands the empty canister up beside several others  ( evidently, he’d have to make more at some point. Ah well, wouldn’t be the first time. Running out of mutagen is comparatively less concerning than the alternative ). Beside it, there’s a rack of other canisters with layered liquid. Pressing a button on it, the rack started spinning them; the liquid swiftly began adopting an azure hue.

     He exhales a small sigh while he waits, though green eyes find themselves wandering towards Leatherhead. He usually didn’t involve his kids for little more than an extra pair of hands, though there certainly have been times where they served as worthwhile BACK-UP. He usually makes an effort to avoid the latter, but it can’t always be avoided. And those moments were never NOT concerning for him, being a father and all, but it was fair to say that, given the WIDE ARRAY of creatures he was dealing with, some of them were more concerning than others.

     Leatherhead was one of them. Just…not for the same reason as others. Nothing had escalated when they were out — actually, it was incredibly TAME, all things considered. Probably because they’d been there. Turns out, the threat of JAWS is far more intimidating than that of an insect. But— aw, hell. He can’t help the feeling of GUILT. This simply wasn’t what Baxter WANTED for them. Which was why he was going to such GREAT LENGTHS in the first place.

“ . . . And how was that for you ? “ he inquires gently at first. Then he simply asks what is on his mind: “Are you okay ? “

The bell chimed as the door opened which caused Sunny to finally turn her attention away from the bowl of rice crackers to the door that flew open with a NEW CUSTOMER, finally! It was a slow day, so she hadn't had many people so far, she had considered closing up early until they arrived. She's quick to get out of her seat and a bright grin spread across her lips, " Welcome! Please take a seat ANYWHERE, I'll get you a menu and some water, if you want any recommendations feel free to ask! I'll always recommend some plain friend chicken and some beer, it's a killer combo!"

@mostmagicals ; ♡'d

" you say that we're just friends but i'm starting to think that the lines are a little blurred . "

WHO: Darrius & @kennaxsanchez

WHERE: Pine Grove Gardens, countryside

WHEN: Royal Gala (January 20, 2024)

Well, damn, it was cold. Which Darrius knew to expect -- January in Maine? Of course it was going to be more on the frigid side of things, not that he was going to complain. He had been born and raised in Chicago, he knew what he was getting himself into, knew what to expect, but even still -- damn, it was cold. He ducked inside the mansion, having just finished up his arrival photos in the rose garden, and rubbed his hands together, blowing on them to bring a little warmth to his skin, before turning to see someone else nearby, probably as cold as he was, if he had to guess. "Any warmer in here?" he asked, once he recognized McKenna, feeding a smile over his face as he made his way over in her direction. "They normally have the wood burning fireplaces going when we're working in here for the historical society."

@killswcth​ sent🌸for a starter

“you’re not in love, you’re obsessed”

Plotted starter for @mvndrvke | ⇢ INEJ.

   Kaz hadn’t known what to expect when Inej came back — they’d established the desire for something more between them, but at the time, he hadn’t been ready to take that step. She’d known it and so had he. Now, however … while Kaz was far from fully healed, nor did he think he ever would be, he felt better. Bringing Pekka Rollins to his knees, having him locked away in hellgate hadn’t fixed everything, but it had helped. He thought he could manage at least giving the fragile thing between them a try, if Inej wanted to. Given their last conversation, there was a part of him that expected her to say no — which, of course, he would’ve respected. Standing before her, his gloves far from his reach, his coat and hat hung up by the door, Inej had given him permission to try.

   He swallowed thickly, his heart racing and, like before, Kaz offered her the faintest nod. Gradually, he moved in close to her, tracking every slight breath, every fluctuation in her expression with an intensity he’d never allowed himself to indulge before now. He reached out — but hesitated, watching her. How did he word what he wanted to ask?  Kaz settled for a slightly clumsy ❝Can I …? ❞ Only when he heard Inej’s voice, wavering and thready like his own, nervous, but wanting … yes, did he slowly take the last step closer, reaching to curl his arms around her waist, his bare hands resting against her clothed back. Kaz exhaled as if he’d been holding his breath, his eyes fluttering closed — and he heard Inej do the same the moment they made contact. It made him feel … a little better. He wasn't the only one struggling.

   Kaz felt her hands slowly rest against his chest — it was almost too much, but he slid his right hand away from her back, faintly trailing it along her arm … and he took one of her hands in his. Revulsion and terror gripped him, but when his fingers found her pulse at the inside of her wrist, it helped. After a long moment of hesitation, allowing them both to get used to the sensation of contact, Kaz tiled his head forward and down slightly until his forehead gently rested against hers. He gave her hand a soft squeeze, as if for emphasis. ❝Heartbeat helps,❞ he managed, his voice rough, but quiet and almost gentle between them. He opened his eyes and gazed at her, imploring. ❝Tell me to let go and I will.❞

‘ should only be another day... maybe two. they're startin' to thin out. ’

daryl lowers his binoculars, looking over to @fortrauma if only to confirm that he'd been listening. this companionship of theirs is still fresh— they've only been moving together for a few weeks, at most. but when you spend even that much time around someone you don't know, it starts to become clear, at least to daryl, whether or not traveling side by side is going to work out.

they have a few things in common, at least. neither of them are particularly uncomfortable with silence— something daryl is grateful for. he doesn't know if they would have gone as far with one another if leon were the type to fill quiet moments with his own voice. and beyond that, they're both tactical; they excel in combat and work well as a team, especially when there's a goal that needs to be met.

so their partnership has worked thus far. daryl can't say he would be particularly distraught if leon suddenly decided to go his own way, but he must admit that it's been nice to have someone he feels like he can trust around. with a small gesture to leon, daryl slides his binoculars back into his bag. if the herd is clearing and they're moving on soon, they'll need to start packing up their little camp.

‘ — you figure out where we're headed? ’

"I'm so sorry! I should've seen where I was walking."

On a hot day like today having anything that could cool one's entire body down would be considered a blessing in disguise. However one important part of that was ensuring the liquid stayed inside the cup rather than being spilled all over the pavement from a certain yokai rushing headlong at the sight of someone who looked familiar.

"I'm more than willing to pay for whatever was in there. It's the least I could do to make up for my mistake."

@winterdying | s.c like

"I've only ever liked ONE person in my life, I don't think I'm really the person you should be asking for LOVE ADVICE." Claire gives a shrug of her shoulders in response. Not that she doesn't want to help, but she's not really sure she'll even be much help. Of course, she'll listen, but she's not entirely sure she has the experience or wisdom to offer any advice that would be beneficial.

@mostmagicals ; ♡'d