#//he really doesn’t sound like it but he’s honestly almost too shocked to say anything

[starkidmunson]

glitter & crimson

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

It’s both exciting and terrifying to be in Chicago when they arrive Thursday afternoon. This is, unfortunately, very often as close to hometown shows as the band gets to these days. They have the night off, before the show tomorrow, when the band will find out if Steve and his friends actually show up to the gig or not. Despite not having a show, the band doesn’t get the whole day off; Paige had booked a few radio interviews before the gig to drum up attention.

He should have seen it coming when the radio host brought up the TikTok exchange. “So, be honest, have you guys coordinated with Harrington and his friends to get him to your show tomorrow?” 

“Not really. Our manager sent info and Steve gave it a thumbs up, but that’s really been it? But we’ve been busy with shows almost every night, and he’s had a lot of travel games the last few days, so we’ll have to wait and see if he’s able to make it out.” Jeff takes over the answer with ease, probably having predicted the attention.

“Did you really not recognize him, Eddie?” The host goads and Eddie lets himself chuckle.

“It may sound kind of ridiculous, but the genuine answer is yeah. I haven’t seen him in, like, 6 years. And, believe it or not, we didn’t exactly run in the same crowds. We knew of one another, I think, but there were hundreds of kids in our school.” Eddie always defaults to the truth in interviews; it’s the simplest route and leaves less room for people to poke holes in the narrative if he’s just honest.

“Will you guys be going to the Blackhawks game on Saturday?”

“We’ll just have to wait and see, man,” Gareth laughs, and just as quickly as the segment started, it’s over with their own latest hit playing them out of the studio.

A Thursday night off in the city wasn’t the most exciting thing in the world, but the band collectively made a trip to the bar closest to their hotel for wings and a few drinks. One of the guys must have posted something on social media about being out because as Eddie’s walking into his hotel, he happens to check his TikTok to find a message waiting for him.

harrington94 should I take it personally that you guys went out in my town and didn’t ask for recs or anything? 

eddiecc I honestly figured you’d be too busy and didn’t want to bother you.

harrington94 never too busy to show a friend around town. But I do appreciate having a down day, so thanks. 

Eddie wasn’t entirely sure how to answer as he processed Steve’s message. Friends? Is that what they were? Could they even really consider one another that? He ultimately decided not to think too much of it, in favor of keeping the conversation going. Maybe the more they talked, the less awkward the next two nights would be.

eddiecc I totally get it if you want to skip the show in favor of another down day.

harrington94 no backing out on me now, Munson. I’ve finally got the cool card with the Party. We’ll be there, no doubt.

Eddie feels a little smile creep over his face and his ears feel a little warm, but before he can answer that, text bubbles pop up again. He waits to see what else Steve is going to say before he does something embarrassing.

harrington94 now feels like a safe time to confess that I haven’t really listened to much of your music, though, so don’t think I’m rude if I’m not headbanging along with the boys.

That was more like the interaction Eddie had expected from their TikTok exchange. He never expected Steve to know their music and was shocked he even knew their band name when his response had been posted on TikTok.

eddiecc I honestly cannot exactly say I’m surprised to hear this. You never exactly struck me as a headbanger, anyway.

harrington94 i feel like that’s some kind of thinly veiled insult that I’m missing, but you’re not wrong.

The text bubbles appear again, and Eddie waits for him to finish the thought rather than respond.

harrington94 why don’t you text me instead? It feels easier than paying attention to this app I don’t really know how to use.

Eddie was quick to copy the number Steve sent and shoot off a text, weirdly enjoying the exchange the two were having and not ready to call it a night just yet.

__________

A particularly ridiculous meme from Eddie had Steve snorting from his spot lounging across the sofa. The next thing he knew, a pillow was flying at his face. He was able to react quickly enough to block it with his arm, dropping the phone to his chest, before glaring at Robin. She was watching him from the recliner across the living room.

“What the fuck?” He asks, tossing the pillow back in her general direction, more gently than she’d tossed it his way.

“You’re grinning at your phone like you’re setting up a hot date. Please don’t tell me you’re talking to Heidi again.” Robin pleads dramatically, twisting her body in the chair to face him. 

“I’m not grinning at my phone, shut up.” He grumbles, ignoring how hot his neck feels as he blushes. Instead, he picks his phone back up to finish the thought he’d been typing before he’d been interrupted. “I’m just texting with Eddie, that’s all.”

Robin’s eyes widened immediately, and she sprung from the recliner toward the sofa. “Give me your phone!” She demands, grunting as she fell face first into the sofa, missing Steve by an inch. He manuveres away from her without looking up from his phone, making his way down the hall to his room. “Steve, come on!”

“It’s not a big deal! We’re just talking! It’s fine!” He insists, tucking the phone into his back pocket as he turns into his bedroom.

But maybe it was a big deal? Steve couldn’t tell; this was the part he was never really good at. He had a tendency to miss signs everyone else thought were obvious, and he didn’t want to risk making things weird with Eddie if Robin thought he was missing something that wasn’t actually there. The texts with Eddie had shifted from Steve confessing his knowledge of Corroded Coffin was strictly limited to whatever the Party played in the car when he drove them places, to Eddie confessing he knew next to nothing about hockey. It seemed to level the playing field between the two of them, and at least made Steve feel more at ease about the time they’d be spending together between the concert and the game. 

When Steve had asked how the tour was going so far, Eddie had shared a link to an instagram, where fans were finding something to meme from each night of the shows. To which Jeff and Gareth were making memes in response, picking on one another in a way that felt like with some of his teammates. The message that had prompted the most reaction from Steve was the last thing Eddie had sent before Robin threw the pillow; a meme of Eddie looking confused, which Jeff had edited “So he’s not Joe Jonas?” over his head.

In his room, Steve leans over to pick up his charger, but he feels his phone lift free from his pocket. “Hey!” He calls after Robin, who’s sprinting down the hallway, laughing like the menace she is.

“I just want to see what you’re talking about!” Robin says, unlocking his phone. He’s just about to catch up to her, as she slides on her socks into her bedroom, closing the door behind her, right in his face. 

“You’re being a child, Robs, c’mon. Give me my phone back.” He sighs, resting his forehead against the door. He jiggles the handle, but as he’d guessed, she’d locked it behind her.

“Do you like him?” She asks through the door, and he sighs again.

“I don’t know,” He answers, honestly and exhaustedly. “I don’t even know him, you know? We weren’t friends, it’s not like I could tell you anything about him other than Tommy used to buy weed from him and he would stand on tables and yell in the cafeteria.”

There’s a long silence before Robin opens the door, meeting Steve with a little smile. She shoves the phone back into his chest and pats his hand when he takes it from her. “I think this could be good for you. That this could be good for you.”

“I’m trying not to read too hard into it.” Steve mumbles, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair nervously. He glances back down at the screen, to see what while Robin had taken the phone, Eddie had sent another text.

Eddie: How were your games? Are you doing anything special for your day off?

It makes something twist in his chest, that Eddie even cares, and he doesn’t quite know why. It must show on his face, some part of how he’s feeling, because Robin just smiles and nods. Maybe she knows how he feels, part of their weird unspoken telepathy, because she walks further into her room and pats the edge of her bed as she goes.

“Are you going to let me paint your nails for the concert?” She asks. Everything inside of Steve appreciates how she always knows when to give him space to try and figure his shit out on his own.

“Obviously.” He laughs softly, following her into the bedroom to sit on her bed and watch her move around collecting things to paint his nails.

~~~

The following day, Steve spends more time than he would like to admit picking out an outfit to wear to the concert. He can hear the Party starting to get antsy in the living room, even though they’d still be plenty early if they left right now, so he decides to just roll with the white shirt and fitted khakis he’d dressed himself in several hours ago before he started overthinking his choices. He finished the outfit off with a black zip-up fleece and black and white Nikes. 

A final check of his hair had him walking out of his room and into the living room, where chaos erupted.

“It’s about time!” Dustin exclaims, practically bouncing up and down with excitement on the sofa.

“It took you that long to come out looking like that?” Mike asks, but Max just snorts and shoves his shoulder.

“Let’s just go.” Steve rolls his eyes, glancing over at Robin who jingles car keys she’s already holding, before leading the way out of the apartment.

In the car, he shoots Eddie a quick text to let him know they’re on the way. Eddie’s quick to reply, giving the message a thumbs-up reaction. Unbelievably, the Party somehow manages to get even louder than usual once they were inside, and it doesn’t take long for a security guard to find them. They’re led through the back tunnels of Wintrust Arena, and Steve gets a little nostalgic for playing hockey in college. He’s snapped out of it when a girl passes out their pass lanyards and gives each of the Party a voucher for free drinks and snacks. 

“This is too much, really,” Steve protests as she hands him the voucher, but Paige insists with a kind smile. 

“We get this kind of stuff from every venue and rarely get to use it to its full extent. The guys want to do this for you and your friends, just enjoy it.”

The Party loads up on treats at the nearest food station, while Steve and Robin grab beers with Paige. As she collects her drink, Paige hands Steve a palm-sized bag of earplugs. He frowns at them, which makes her laugh. 

“Eddie said this isn't really your usual kind of scene, and these shows can get loud,” she taps her own ears to show she has similar earplugs in. “Should also help prevent headaches or anything else that might keep you off the ice tomorrow.”

“Please, he’s too stubborn to stay off the ice. The amount of migraines he’s played through is outrageous,” Dustin bounds back into the conversation, earning a chuckle from Robin. Steve throws his arm around the younger boy’s shoulders, pulling him just a little too close and too tight. Dustin exaggerates choking noises, flailing around and making a scene, but Steve refuses to let up.

_____

There’s more anxiety than usual thrumming through Eddie as he and Jeff make their way through the arena, to where Paige had said she’d take Steve and his friends for snacks. As they walk up on the group, however, Steve quickly pulls a younger boy with a head full of curls into a headlock. He lets the scene continue for a moment before he nudges Jeff.

“At what point fo you think we should intervene?” He asks with a smile, making Jeff chuckle. Steve, however, freezes, then shoves Dustin away. He turns to give Eddie a sheepish smile, and Eddie can’t help but raise an eyebrow. 

Steve lets out a huff of a laugh, running his fingers through his hair, shrugging and tipping his head in the boy’s direction. “This is Dustin. He’s like my little brother. I’m allowed to pick on him when he’s being a shithead.” Dustin nudges his elbow into Steve’s gut, who’s quick to smack his arm in response. Before Eddie can stop himself, he’s twisting a curl around his finger and biting back a grin. He does, however, make a conscious effort to not chew on his hair. He knows he’d never hear the end of it, fawning over Steve Harrington after a whole 10 seconds.

Eddie offers a hand out to Dustin, hoping Jeff and Paige would let his little tells fly under the radar. Just this once, they seem to, as he greets the Party. “Hey man, I’m Eddie. Nice to meet you.”

“I know who you are, holy shit, man.” Dustin eventually fumbles through, shaking Eddie’s hand and grinning up at him. 

Steve rattles off the introductions for each kid, like a proud mom, and Eddie greets each of them politely, but his eyes keep falling back on Steve. He catches his little smiles and the way he nudges different members of the Party, squeezes their shoulders, ruffles their hair. It’s gentle and sweet and it sends a warm feeling through Eddie’s chest. His smile softens as he watches their interactions. All too soon, Freak leans into the area they’ve gathered in and whistles.

“Shit, guys, we gotta go.” Jeff sighs, and Eddie pats his shoulder before he turns back to the group with a grin. 

“Just hang with Paige and try not to get into too much trouble, we’ll get drinks after?” Eddie asks, looking at Steve, who smiles back and gives a little nod.

As Eddie runs to catch up with Jeff and Freak, he wonders exactly what he’s gotten himself into here.

____

It’s more fun than Steve expects, the concert. The excitement of watching the show from the suite quickly bores the Party, as they realize it’s the same as watching hockey games from a guest box. They eat their snacks and drink some through the openers, but during the break before Corroded Coffin, Lucas and Dustin drag Steve around to the side stage. Robin promises to stay with the others, and reminds Steve to wear the earplugs. 

He’s grateful Paige had slipped them to him as they get beside the stage and he realizes just how loud the crowd is when the lights go down. From where they’re standing sidestage, he can see Eddie, Jeff, Gareth and Freak in a little huddle. They bounce around with their arms around each others backs, before yelling something Steve can’t quite make out. They’re handed their instruments by the crew. As they’re taking the stage, Eddie walks up in their direction and pokes his tongue out at them, before ripping into a guitar riff to make his entrance. 

Despite himself, Steve finds his head bobbing along to the drum beat, and even sings along to the songs he recognizes. It’s hard to take his eyes off Eddie through the whole production. He’s a little ball of energy, bounding around from one end of the stage to the other, bantering with the other guys in the band and drawing the fans into his chaos during talking breaks. During a drum solo, Eddie climbs onto the front of the kit and holds his guitar up in the air over his head. Steve watches, mesmerized, as Eddie holds his gaze for a moment that feels like an eternity but is probably only a few seconds. Eddie winks at Steve, then, before he leaps back into yet another riff. It shouldn’t have had so much of an impact, but Steve finds it kind of takes his breath away.

It’s over before long, and Paige is quick to guide Steve and the boys back to the club box. He smiles as they walk behind Dustin and Lucas, gushing over how great the show was. Back in the box, Steve and Paige agree to meet across the street at Fatpour. He charms his way into using the upstairs as a private room with a signature to the manager and flashes a smile and wave to the few people downstairs who seem to have recognized him. 

The band makes a loud entrance as the Party works their way through appetizers, and Eddie is quick to find his way to Steve. “You seemed to have enjoyed yourself, was it more fun than you expected?” He asks around a grin.

“I never said I wasn’t going to have a good time,” Steve defended through a smile, making Eddie laugh and Steve thinks that might be the best sound he’d heard all night, despite having just seen the concert. Eddie glances around then, locking eyes with a bartender to get their attention.

“What’s your poison?” Eddie asks in the most cliche way, wiggling his eyebrows a little, but Steve shakes his head.

“Strictly on water tonight. Gotta get up early tomorrow.” He says, and Eddie softens and nods. Once their drinks are in front of them, he holds his glass up to Steve in a mock toast.

“To making it the fuck out of Hawkins?”

“Cheers to that.” Steve laughs, clanking their glasses together and taking a sip.

“Any reason you stayed in the Midwest?” Eddie asks, before he can stop himself. “Sorry, you don’t have to… you don’t owe me an explanation.”

“Nah, it’s… a few reasons. Couldn’t go too far without them, and most of ‘em followed me here, anyway. And then the chips fell and I ended up on the Blackhawks and there’s kind of no other team I’d rather play for.” Steve explains, leaning a little closer to Eddie with a smile. “Speaking of; are you ready for the game?”

Eddie can’t help but grin back at Steve and laugh a little. “You know, I honestly have no idea what I’m getting in to here. All I remember from watching games on TV is that it’s violent.”

“Not always.” Steve defends quickly, before showing a slight mercy. “It’s cold in there, because of the ice. You’ll want to wear layers.”

“Layers. Noted.” Eddie stores the information away for tomorrow, suddenly concerned he hadn’t even thought about an outfit for the game before the conversation.

As they talk, Robin appears with a basket of cheese curds but pulls it away as Eddie reaches to take one. 

“What’s your favorite movie?” She asks, and Steve laughs and shakes his head at her.

“Is this a quiz? I’m not good at tests, I flunked out of senior year.” Eddie whines before he stops to think about it. “Uh, well. The answer you’d probably expect from me is Almost Famous, but it’s actually a close second to Dead Poets Society.” 

She narrows her eyes at him but slides the basket in his direction. “I can’t tell if you picked either of those because you thought it was the answer I wanted, or because they’re actually your favorite, so I have to give you curds.”

“They’re actually my favorites!” Eddie laughs around a mouthful of cheese curds.

“Dead Poets is one of Robin’s favorites, too.” Steve offers, and Robin nods.

“Steve will tell you his favorite movie is Risky Business, because he thinks Tom Cruise is hot, but it’s actually Go Figure. You know, the Disney movie about the ice skater who joins her school’s hockey—” Robin is grinning until Steve clasps a hand over her mouth.

“Robin is incredibly annoying when she wants to be,” He grumbles, and Eddie can’t help but laugh at their antics.

“Well, now you’ve got my attention. If Go Figure isn’t your favorite movie, what is?” Eddie asks.

Steve thinks for a moment. “I think Back to the Future feels like a safe answer.” He shrugs, and Eddie glances at Robin to gauge her reaction. She seems to approve, as she gives Steve a soft smile, pats his back, then stands from their table.

“I’ll leave you two alone, I suppose.” She says, leaning close to both of them. “Behave, got it? No funny business before the game.”

Steve flushes and flounders a little, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he just huffs and takes a sip from his water. While Eddie feels his whole face get hot in a blush, he can’t help but laugh a little.

“Is there funny business we could have gotten up to?” He dares to ask, and it’s worth it just to watch the way Steve blushes and bites at his lip. 

“Maybe. But I guess you’ve got to wait until after tomorrow’s game to find out.”

________________________________________________________

Wow! Thank you all so much for the overwhelming support you’ve shown this little idea I had! I might just keep this going as a series, with updates on Mondays (Tuesdays at the latest). This is also double the word count of part 1, oops, lol.

I'm going to try to tag everyone in the replies because I hit the character limit! Tumblr wouldn't take them all, so sorry to everyone I missed, I still love you and appreciate the support!

[riordanness]

crazier - p.jackson

pairing: percy jackson x reader

wordcount: 1.2K

warnings: slight slut shaming??

“You’ve gotta be kidding.” I stare at my best friend, half in shock, half in horror, half in amusement. Fine, I know that technically that equals 150%, but I failed maths in school, okay?

Percy laughs, a mischievous glint in his sea-green eyes. “I'm never kidding,” he says. “Especially not with you.”

I shake my head slowly. “I am not getting on a skateboard, Jackson.”

“Come on!” he pleads with me, and it takes every single bit of willpower I have to resist his puppy dog eyes. They remind me of a baby seal, cute and sweet and innocent.

“Why?” I whine a little, swinging my legs underneath the cafeteria table. I stare down at my ‘food’, something that I think is supposed to resemble mac’n’cheese and is actually just smushy looking yellow stuff.

“Cause it’s fun,” Percy says. “And I’ve wanted to teach you since forever.”

“Really?”

“Well, okay,” he relents. “Not forever. I haven’t exactly known you for forever yet, so… I guess I’ve wanted to since we first met.”

I raise an eyebrow. “And, tell me, how did we meet, Percy Jackson?”

Percy grins, shoves an extremely gross and greasy french fry in his mouth, and scrunches his nose at me. I’d never admit it out loud, but that nose scrunch of his was the single most adorable thing under the sun.

I toss my ponytail. “C’mon. Tell me.”

“Well, basically… I saw you, thought you were cute, you saw me, thought I looked like trouble, and we became friends.”

I roll my eyes lightly, but I’m pretty sure my slight embarrassment is obvious. Percy had thought I was cute? Yikes.

“I didn’t think you were trouble,” I tell him. “I knew you were trouble.”

“Oh yeah?” Have I mentioned how cute Percy looks with his eyebrows raised in that slightly teasing way? I shouldn’t love it as much as I do, but… well. I can’t help what reaction I get from this boy’s good looks.

“Hi Percy.” A girlish voice from behind me greets my best friend with a flirtatious smile. “Don’t you just hate sitting here with her?” Ruby shoots me a distasteful glance, and I make a face at her. “Wouldn’t you rather sit with us?”

Ruby is the prettiest and most awful girl in school, and she’s obsessed with Percy. Not that I can really blame her…

“Uh, no thanks,” Percy says, his lips tight in a thin, polite kind-of smile. “I’m perfectly fine sitting here with y/n.”

“But she’s so… boring!” Ruby sighs dramatically, widening her blue eyes wide. “And you and I are so… interesting.” She steps over to him, and traces a finger up his hoodie sleeve.

It’s Percy’s turn to make a face. “Uh- thanks again, Ruby, but no, really. I’m good.” He looks at me, and a little bit of his calmness washes over me. Somehow, I feel a whole lot less threatened by Ruby, almost like magic.

Ruby rolls her pretty eyes. “Well fine.” She gives me another glance, looking me up and down. I shoot her a fake smile.

“Have fun with… her,” Ruby says, her dislike for me practically dripping from her mouth. “I’ve heard good things about her abilities with boys.”

Percy is on his feet in an instant. “Don’t talk about y/n like that.”

Ruby laughs, somehow sounding both pretty and delicate and ruthlessly cruel. “Oh honey. Just telling it how it is.”

“You won’t say anything of that sort about her again.”

“And why not?” Ruby gives him the eyes.

Percy hesitates, looks at me, then his gaze hardens. He stares down Ruby. “She’s my girlfriend. And I do not like you talking about my girl like that.”

I’m frozen, half impressed, half confused, half in love. And yes, I know that’s too many halves. We already discussed this.

Ruby doesn’t exactly know what to say. “Oh,” she squeaks, and then turns on her heel and makes a hasty exit.

Percy doesn’t look at me as he sits back down. There’s silence for much longer than I can handle.

Finally, I find my voice. “Your girl, huh?”

Percy almost flinches. “I’m sorry.”

I laugh, a little breathlessly. “No. It’s fine, honestly. It was… kinda cute.”

“Oh.” Percy’s cheeks are pink.

Before I could say anything else, the bell for the end of lunch rings. Kids all around us get to their feet, scrambling to get back to class.

I glance at my best friend. “Wanna ditch?”

“Thought you’d never ask.”

Twenty minutes later, the two of us are sitting side by side atop the skate park, our legs dangling.

“Still want to teach me to skate?” I ask.

“Course I do,” Percy says.

Neither of us have mentioned the girlfriend thing, but I kind of want to. I’ve been crushing on Percy for years, and it’s honestly about time he finds out about it. I love the guy, but bloody hell he’s oblivious.

“Teach me then,” I say nonchalantly.

“Wait, for real?” Percy twists to face me.

I give a shrug. “Why not? It’s not that likely I’ll die.”

“I won't let you die.” Percy grins. “Come on!”

I honestly thought skateboarding would be easier. Turns out I have absolutely terrible balance, and can barely even stand on the stupid board, let alone move around on it.

“Here.” Percy’s hands are on my waist, steadying me. Well, steadying me physically, but sending so many butterflies all through my middle I almost die right then and there. “Just breathe,” Percy says, “and don’t panic.”

“I’m not panicking,” I say, my voice clearly panicky.

Percy laughs, and I decide that it is my favourite sound in all the world.

“I love you.” At first, I think I must be so scared about this skateboarding thing that I’m hallucinating, but no. It’s real. Percy Jackson really just said that.

I struggle for words. “What?”

“I love you, y/n,” he repeats, a little more hesitant this time. “I’ve been loving you for as long as I can remember knowing you. And when I pretended you were my girlfriend earlier with Ruby, well… I realised how much I wanted that to be true.”

I have a stupid smile on my face. But right now, I don’t even care. “I love you too, Seaweed Brain.”

Percy grins, tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear, and presses a kiss to my forehead. “Ice-cream on the beach tonight?” he asks. “I’ll prepare everything and ask you to be my girlfriend properly.”

I laugh a little. “It’s a date.”

“Yeah.” Percy’s smile is like melted chocolate, warm and smooth and gorgeous.

“Now, get me off this ridiculous skateboard.”

[xxaraaq]

𝙈𝙧. 𝙉𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙜𝙪𝙮

masterlist

word count | 4.5 k

cw | smut, rlly lowkey asshole Armin

Armin x Black!reader

A/N | If you see a typo no you didnt. But I hope you enjoy.

 He was raised to be a gentleman – a sweetheart, if you will. And on the surface he is, all big smiles and boys laughs, but in reality, he's every lover girl's nightmare.

 He’ll be the first one to tell you that he loves you while he’s texting another girl, the one to take you on dates while he has five other people lined up after you give him what he wants. And he thought you would be just another number to his list, but oh was he wrong.

The first time he saw you he was at his sixth house party of the month. He was bored out of his mind if he was being honest, only here to see his friends and get shitfaced. He was in the middle of nursing a cup of god knows what when he saw you, clad in the tightest dress he thinks he’s ever seen. 

He almost chokes on his drink, eyeing you up and down. “Who the fuck is that?” He asks no one in particular. “Who?” Eren says, following Armin’s gaze. “Her.” He says, smirk already on his face. “Y/n? I don’t think you could handle that bro, trust me.” Eren says, scrolling on his phone. “Is that a challenge?” He asks, curious about the sudden doubt coming from his best friend. “No, it’s a warning. I’m telling you, she’ll have you begging for more, then act like she never met you.”  “It sounds like you’re one of her victims.” He scoffs, amused with the sudden caution. “Look, you do what you want, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Now he was really amused.

He looks at Eren one more time before getting up. He was honestly interested to see what the hype was all about now. He sees you laughing about whatever with your friend, not really caring. “Excuse me, is it okay if I talk to your lovely friend for a minute?” He asks your friend, taking her by surprise. He sees her glance at you for approval before she smiles and leaves. “Hey country club, I was wondering when you were gonna stop staring and come up to me.” You say, a pretty smile gracing your face. “I didn’t wanna interrupt the wonderful conversation I’m sure the two of you were having.” He says, taking in your shining brown complexion. You really were fine, ass and hips showing out in your light green dress.

“Just say you were thinking of the best way to tell me that you wanted to fuck me. It’s ok, I’ve heard it all” You say, putting your drink on the counter. “Well if you say it like that it makes me seem like an asshole.” He jokes, sultry tone making you twist your legs together in want.

“I thought you only fucked with blondies with blue eyes.” You say, playing with one of your passion twists. “I swear that's a lie. Everyone’s fair game.” He says, making you laugh. “You mad corny!” You laugh, hitting his shoulder playfully. “What, you don’t like corny?” He asks, leaning in closer. “Na, I like it. Keep it up and I might let you fuck me.” You whisper in his ear, smirking. “Might?” He asks, feigning offense. “Boy you heard what I said.” You say, looking him up and down.

–

He doesn’t know how he got in this situation, but he’s not complaining.

He took you back to his apartment, and next thing he knew he was near four orgasms in, threatening to press crescents into you hips as he fucked you into the bed.

Fuckk, I’m gonna cum.” You moan, meeting his thrusts. “Best fucking pussy I’ve ever had.” He slurs, eyes glossed over in lust. “S’good, keep fucking me like that, just like that.” You mewl in fucked out bliss. He presses your back down in the perfect arch, reaching deeper inside you. “Oooh fuck.” You yell, eyes rolling to the back of your head. He smirks, lopsided smile on his face. “S’good baby? Tell me how good it is.” He teases, thrusting harder to make you jolt forward in shock. “S- s’good, so good.” You babble, lost in ecstasy.

He fucks you until your both shaking, mind too blurred to think about anything besides pleasure. It’s until he’s nutted for the sixth time that he couldn’t take it anymore. He thought y’all would stop after that, but you weren’t done. He was surprised when you pushed him onto the bed and got on top of him, sinking onto him like you’ve been waiting for it all night. He hisses at the over stimulation, not knowing how much more he could take. “Shh, just let me make you feel good.” You coo, placing open lipped from his neck to his sternum. You both knew he wasn’t call it quits, say it’s too much, so you lifted yourself halfway off him just to slam back down, moaning in unison.

He’s so happy he didn’t listen to Eren.

-Nene

[persephoneflowerpetals]

Disney Hades x Pregnant Reader Headcanons

Back at it again with some more headcanons lol! I simply adore my f/os being all domestic, so this was really fun to write! And as always, these headcanons are pretty self indulgent lol. Enjoy!

He doesn’t believe it at first because he’s so in shock, so once you tell him you’ll have to say it again for him to really get it lol

He kinda always wanted an heir to his domain (even though he complains about hating the place and wanting to rule on Olympus instead)

Now that he knows you’re pregnant he’s all about preparing for the baby to come

He gets a little nursery ready and attempts to baby-proof the place as much as he can (he’s not completely successful since the underworld is so big and dangerous, but he wants to make sure the baby stays safe when it starts learning to walk and crawl)

He also comes up with tons of names for the kid and will constantly suggest them when they pop into his head

“Hey, babe. How does Dionysus sound? A girl name? I dunno, I’m still thinking about that, but it should definitely be a name as pretty as yours that’s for sure.”

This god is more than willing to become your faithful servant during your pregnancy

Got a certain craving that’s hard to find? Don’t even worry about it, he’ll find a way to get it for ya

Feeling sore and achy? One massage and living heating pad (aka him) coming up!

Also he won’t let you do much while you’re pregnant

No picking up heavy stuff, no chores, no work, only rest and relaxation for you

If you actually want to do some things he won’t let you do then just let him know, it’ll take some convincing because he’s stubborn and hard-headed, but he’s nuts for ya, so he’ll give in eventually lol

Also this god is super clingy when he learns you’re pregnant

He is by your side almost 24/7 to make sure you’re okay

He’s constantly checking on you and making sure you’re happy and comfortable (that’s mainly his anxious side coming out because he’s really nervous about having a baby)

Hades is gonna have a lot of pent up emotions about all of this (mainly anxious and apprehensive feelings), so you may want to talk with him about it if he looks stressed

He didn’t have the best dad growing up (I mean, he literally tried to eat him and his brothers) and he doesn’t know anything about kids or babies, so he’s really nervous that he’s gonna mess up and become a horrible parent to his kid

Please reassure him! He really needs to hear good things from somebody (especially you)!

If you start getting nauseous and getting morning sickness he’ll totally be there for you holding back your hair (if you have long hair lol), wiping your face, and giving you water

Also if you get sick somewhere he’ll get Pain and Panic to clean it up lol

And if you get sick on him by accident, well that’s okay too, he knows you can’t help it

This dude eats worms and spends his days with dead, slimy souls floating in a river, so he can handle some vomit lol

If you’re in “nesting mode” as he calls it and you just want to nap for most of the day then he’ll make sure the place is absolutely silent so you can rest

He may have Pain and Panic guarding the bedroom door while you rest if he has to work or go somewhere while you’re resting, but if they get too loud he’ll get angry

Honestly, if anybody’s too loud he’ll get angry and pretty much just roast them (if he ends up waking you up from that he’ll feel bad and profusely apologize)

He will wake you up when it’s time for a meal, though, but he’s alway super gentle about it

He’s constantly checking on you to make sure you’ve eaten or have had enough to drink, he wants to make sure you and the baby are healthy at all times

Not only does this dude dote on you, but he spoils you like crazy (as if he doesn’t already when you’re not pregnant lol)

Lots of soft, fluffy pillows and blankets for you to sleep on

Hot bubble baths so you can relax

Top quality meals

Anything you desire is yours, only the best for you, babe, no expenses spared

He always has to be touching your baby bump when he’s around you, it’s just the way he is

He’s a very handsy god, so he already touches you all time time anyways, but when you’re pregnant his hands are constantly on you in almost an overprotective way

Even while he’s sleeping with you he’ll just always have his hand on your belly as if it’s instinct

He also loves to “gossip” with the baby

He’ll lay with you while he rubs your baby bump and talks to the baby about his day or the other gods or stuff that ticks him off

“What do you mean they can’t hear me? Of course they can hear me! Now where was I? Oh yeah, so Zeus says-“

Oh and he totally freaks out when he feels his first kick

“Did you feel that!? They just kicked! What a little fighter, huh!? Gonna be tough just like their dad! I’ll have to teach you how to beat up kids on the playground!”

And if you think he’s all riled up now, you should see him when the baby comes lol

[wildemaven]

supply & demand

Pairing: Benny Miller x F!Reader

WC: 1785

Warnings: 18+ Blog; mentions of alcohol and consumption of alcohol (casual drinking), slight anxiety around crowds, other wise just some language and fluff

A/N: okay listen, Benny is… well, Benny. And the man occasionally infiltrates my thoughts— and he’s been doing it a lot lately. I decided to let him have the spotlight for second. Honestly, it was either Benny and a single mom or this— this won. And I don’t even know what it is entirely lol This isn’t beta’d, so all mistakes are my own. The title is based if this song.

Wild Love Masterlist

Crowds have never been your thing. Too many people crammed into a specific area, leaving little to no space to move around freely. 

Same goes for lines, like the one you’re standing in now— well, less a line and more a mob of people waiting to buy their food and drinks before the show starts. 

It’s a warm Saturday evening, the slightest hint of a breeze keeps the air cool against your skin as you continue to wait as you inch your way closer and closer to the front of the line, hoping you’re able to get back before the concert starts. 

The local amphitheater, a boutique-style outdoor venue with a mixture of lawn space and chairs surrounding the stage, was hosting your favorite band for the night. Their summer tour listed a stop in your city, which was the perfect excuse to get tickets and enjoy an evening with your friends. 

“You come here often?” You can’t be sure the question is being directed to you, but it grabs your attention and you look to your right in the direction the smoky voice came from. 

You’re met with the bluest eyes already focused on you, his smile beaming brightly as he waits for a response— oh! He is talking to you!

“Do I come here often? I could be wrong, but that definitely sounds like a cheesy pickup line.” You can’t help but match his smile, catching on to what his question implied. 

“You got me. I’m Ben— my friends call me Benny. But you can call me whatever you want.” His hand raises in your direction as he introduces himself. 

“Hi, Ben.” Un-tucking your arms, then wrapping your hand around his, the grip is firm and doesn’t last nearly as long as you’d like it to. 

His gaze is almost too intense, especially in such close proximity. You look away briefly to collect yourself, the nervous energy buzzing through you is paralyzing in the best possible way. It’s no shock to see him already watching you when you gather enough courage to let yourself look back at him.  

“Do you have a name, too?” He asks, leaning over to make sure you can hear him properly over the growing crowd of people. 

“I do.” You give it to him, and cringe internally at your inability to converse properly with this gorgeous man. 

“That’s a beautiful name for a very beautiful woman.” 

The compliment makes you feel instantly warm, shuffling along together as the line shifts forward again. 

“Ya know— it would sound really good with my last name.” He suggests boldly. 

“Oh wow! Cute, charming and confident— triple threat!” You both burst out laughing, his shoulder knocking into yours. 

“Next!” The cashier calls out to you. 

“That’s me. It was nice talking to you Ben.” You give him your best smile and a small wave, he reciprocates with a two finger wave before you turn and make your way up to the booth to order. 

“I’ll get two beers please.” You ask. 

“That’s $16.” She says, placing in front of you two clear plastic cups filled with pale amber liquid and white foamy head nearly spilling over the top. 

“Thank you.” Reaching into the back pocket of your cut off shorts you’re met with nothing, your hands frantically patting your remaining pockets— nothing. 

“Shit! I left my money in my purse— can I go grab it real quick?” You ask, hoping she’ll be understanding— although her stressed out appearance says she’ll be anything but understanding. 

“Next!” The cashier grabs the two cups and slides them off to the side.

“Here— it’s on me!” A newly familiar hand drops a $20 on the counter, then grabs the two cups and holds them out to you, you gladly accept them. “Keep the change ma’am and have a great night!” 

The cashier rolls her eyes and takes the bill to be added to her money drawer. 

“Thank you, Ben— you didn’t have to do that.” Holding your beers out in front of you as you make your way back through the crowd in the direction of your friends. 

“‘Course I did. Can’t leave a damsel in distress and beerless.” His large hand settles on the small of your back, his touch electric and thrilling. 

“Wait! You didn’t get yourself anything?” You stop and turn to him, a grin slowly rising on his pretty face. 

“That was my last $20. They charge too much to use a card, with the fees they tack on just to swipe, you’ll be broke before the night is over. Don’t worry ‘bout it, I’ll go bum a beer off one of my buddies, they’re good for it.” 

“Here, take one of mine then.” Shoving one of the beers into one of his empty hands. 

“No, I can’t— honestly, I’m fine.” Refusing to accept the offer, placing the beer back into your hand. “How ‘bout instead of a beer, you give me something else?” 

“Ben— don’t you think that’s a little presumptuous to assume I would put out for a beer?” You tilt your head and smile—  not really opposed to the idea though. 

He pulls out his phone and starts typing at the screen, chuckling at your remark. 

“I was going to ask you for your number— but if you’re offering?” He holds his phone out to you, grabbing one of your beers so you can type in your number. 

“Love Of My Life? I think you’re getting ahead of yourself there Ben— especially for just meeting.” Reading the name he had already typed in the contact information for you. 

“Nah, I don’t think so.” Taking the phone back once you’re done and placing it back in his pocket. 

“What makes you so sure?”

“Just a gut feeling, I guess.” He says confidently, once more.

“You could just be hungry?” You tease. He shakes his head and laughs again, you like it when he does because his smile makes you feel a little giddy. 

“Well, I guess this is where we part ways for now. Thank you again for the beers, you saved my night.” Not really wanting to part ways, but you know your friends will be worried if you’re gone too long. 

“I’d buy you all the beers in the world if it meant I’d get to see you again.” He looks bashful now, with his hands tucked into his front pockets, looking to where his foot is kicking at the ground. 

“Play your cards right and it might be sooner than later. I’ll see you around sometime, bye Ben.” That catches his attention, giving him a wink before turning to make your way to your seat— you miss his fist pump in the air as he turns into the opposite direction. 

The moment you get to your section, you’re grateful that your group was able to get seats near the isle, less of a chance to annoy other concert goers when trying to get in and out of the row. 

“What the fuck took you so long? We were about ready to send a search party when we saw you forgot your purse!” Your friends share their concern as you stand in front of your seat, the opening act already playing their set of songs. 

“Sorry! The line was long and annoying. You know how I hate crowds— makes me feel all sorts of anxious.” You explain with your focus now on the stage, letting the crisp beer bite the back of your throat as you begin sipping at it, the frothy foam tickling your upper lip as you take a decent gulp. 

Just as the opening song comes to an end, a pair of strong arms wrap around your shoulders, pulling you against a firm chest. 

“Anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?” A question only meant for you to hear, the husky tone sends a shiver down your spine, a kiss to follow to your temple. 

“A few times tonight actually.” You turn to face the owner of the voice. “Here, got you a beer.” Placing the full one into the awaiting hand. 

“Thanks, Love.” The term of endearment never gets old and makes your chest flutter.

A large hand settles on your lower back and pulls you close, slowly slipping lower to grab a handful of your ass, causing a quiet moan to escape from your throat. A confident pair of lips moving over yours as a thank you. It’s a nice kiss too, one that holds promise for something more intimate when you’re alone later. 

“Benny! Where the fuck are our beers?” An annoyed man shouts from a few chairs over. 

“Pope, chill the fuck out man. There was a little snafu at the beer stand, someone forgot her purse so I had to use the $20 to cover her drinks.” Benny yells back to his friend, you nestle your face into his chest to hide your laughter. 

“Okay… So that still doesn’t explain where our beers are. You have a card don’t you?” 

“Yeah, but those fees are a bitch to deal with—“ Benny starts to go on his tangent about credit card fees. 

“If what you’re about to say doesn’t include ‘I’ll go get you your beer Pope’ I don’t want to hear another word out of that dumb mouth of yours.” 

“Ben, Babe— hold my beer and I’ll go back and get them theirs, otherwise we won’t hear the end of it.” You look back over your shoulder to where Will is trying to calm down an overly annoyed Santi— while Frankie and his wife laugh, completely unbothered by the whole situation. 

“I’ll go, I don’t want you to miss any more of the show.” You thank him as he gives you one more less than chaste kiss before setting his cup under his seat and exiting the row of seats. 

You remember he doesn’t have any cash, so you grab a few bills from your purse. 

“Ben!” You yell to him, hoping he can hear you over the loud music, thankfully he does and sees you waving the money in the air at him. 

“You know those fees are ridiculous, you’ll be broke before the night is even over.” You tell him as you shove the money in his front pocket, his hands tilt your face up to him and he smashes his mouth to yours again. 

“Get a fucking room you two!” Your friends heckled from behind you. 

“Love you— don’t know how I’m ever gonna repay you.” He mutters, the stubble littering his upper lip tickles yours as he speaks. 

“Mmm, love you too. You can start by promising me your last name.” 

“Oh trust me, Babe— I plan on it.” 

[ashwhowrites]

Hi! really love how you work angst to happy endings in your stories, they’re written so well! Can I request a story that goes something like this?:

Let’s say the guys are having a hard time progressing at a certain point in Eddie’s campaign and one of them suggests to take a peek at Eddie’s notebook for some hints and they ask reader if she could help distract Eddie. When they almost get caught reader ends up kissing Eddie to distract him from seeing one of the guys. The kiss kinda gets heated for both of them but once the coast is clear reader abruptly stops the kiss and leaves but now Eddie suddenly has heart eyes for reader and tries to romance her after. she does fall for him until he finds out the truth about the kiss and gets all upset thinking she doesn’t like him at all.

Idk what else but please make it a happy ending! Hehe thank you!

I love this! Absolutely. I hope this is what you wanted :)

Never proofread

Y/N has been part of Hellfire for a few months now, and Eddie has been stuck on her since. He used his leader status to convince her she needed to be seated next to him at all campaigns, an excuse to be near her at all times. But he also didn't want a relationship, so he didn't try to become anything more.

~~~

The club were growing frustrated, every week they played Eddie's campaign and struggled to make progress. Finding themselves stuck and no idea of the direction to go.

They tried to talk about their ideas when Eddie was gone, but he'd always find out what they were planning. Snickering that their ideas would not be successful. Every idea led to failure.

Now the club sat in the hellfire room, thinking hard of what the next step would be. Eddie ran to use the restroom, knowing his sheep needed time to plan their next move.

"This is impossible....maybe we need to cheat." Mike thought out loud. The rest of the club snapped to look at him.

"Are you crazy? He would actually kill us." Dustin replied. He truly thought Mike had lost his mind.

"But honestly it's all we got. There's no way we are going to make any progress without any sort of direction and you know he isn't going to give it to us." Lucas added.

Dustin felt wrong about cheating and Y/N did too.

"I don't know. He works really hard and that's an easy way out." She said, she didn't want to discredit all of Eddie's hard work.

"It's the only option." Mike said. Reaching forward to snatch Eddie's notebook.

The club quickly read through the notes, knowing Eddie would walk back in at any second.

Dustin quickly wrote down what he thinks would be helpful and used it to their advantage.

"Quick he's coming!" Mike rushed out

Dustin tried to write as fast as he could, "Just a lit-" But the door opened, and Eddie came walking in.

His eyes landed on the club suspiciously huddled together over the table.

"What are you guys doing?" Eddie asked, trying to get closer to peek

The club panicked, "Y/N do something." Lucas whispered in her ear.

Her mind blanked she didn't know what to do, but his heavy footsteps were getting closer and closer.

She panicked, feeling his body inches away, if he got any closer he would see what they were doing.

"Hey, I a-" Eddie was caught off when Y/N smashed her lips on his. He felt his body go into shock, her lips were warm and soft. Something he didn't really think about, but now he knew it was all he was going to think about.

Her hands were in his hair, his tongue slipping into her mouth. He was running his hands all around her body, craving to touch her and touch her everywhere.

She whined as he rolled his tongue against hers, a deep groan leaving his throat as she tugged on his hair.

Dustin cleared his throat, alerting Y/N that he finished writing down the notes.

The sound knocked her back to reality, and she pulled away. Her face was on fire as she refused to look at him.

Eddie blinked watching as she sat down like nothing even happened.

~~~

A few days passed since the kiss, and neither has talked about it. The club acted as if the kiss never happened. Eddie was starting to think maybe she found it a mistake.

Eddie craved her more and more. He feels he has fallen for her even more. He wanted her, but he fears she doesn't want him.

The club was successful in completing the mission. And to celebrate, the club went to dinner. Eddie sat across from Y/N, at the end of the table. The rest of the club was stuffed in the booth next to them.

The club was talking about their big win, with cheers all around. Eddie was proud of his club but curious as to how they pulled it off.

"How did you guys do it? You went from being so behind to knowing everything." Eddie said, looking at his club suspiciously.

"We might have cheated," Dustin admitted. He felt ashamed and he needed to get it off of his chest.

"When?" Eddie asked he had a feeling something like that happened, but he wasn't mad.

"When you were tongue deep in Y/N's mouth." Mike laughed

The club laughed but Y/N shrunk in her seat, Eddie's eyes snapping to her instantly. A hurt expression crossed his face.

She kissed him so they could cheat?

She didn't like him at all

"Oh? So that kiss was just a distraction?" Eddie asked. The shakiness in his voice made her look right back at him, guilt in her stomach.

He took her silence as an answer, "I'm gonna go smoke." He snapped, moving out of the booth.

He stormed out of the restaurant, not looking back as he leaned against the wall to light his cigarette. He felt like an idiot, of course, she wouldn't like him. She was way too good for a loser like him.

Y/N felt horrible watching him through the window, "Should I talk to him?" She asked

The group looked between her and Eddie, Dustin was the first to speak up

"I think you should."

She nodded and removed herself from the booth.

A gross pit in her stomach as she found Eddie against the wall.

"Hey, can we talk?" She asked

"About?" Eddie shrugged

"The kiss" She muttered out

"Didn't mean anything, so what is there to talk about?" He asked, inhaling the smoke as he stared at her.

"Eddie, look it wasn't like that. Yes, I kissed you as a distraction, but it wasn't nothing." She admitted

"No, I get it. You kissed me so you guys could cheat. No care about my feelings about anything of it." Eddie snapped, rolling his eyes.

"I knew cheating was wrong and disrespectful to you, and we shouldn't have done it. And it was wrong to kiss you out of nowhere, and as a distraction. And I'm sorry for that." She said

"I appreciate the apology." He said she hated that he had no emotion on his face or behind his voice.

She figured that was the end of it, nodding to herself as she went to head inside, but he stopped her.

"Why was your first thought to kiss me?" He asked, he hoped in some way she was attracted to him or even liked him.

She got shy at the question, feeling her face warm as she thought it over.

"Because I've always wanted to." She shyly admitted. Her hands were in her pockets as she looked up at him

The shock on his face was clear to see, the cigarette hanging from his lip as he stared at her.

He didn't expect her to actually be into him.

"Did you kiss back because you wanted to? Or so I wouldn't embarrass myself?"

"I wanted to." He admitted, smashing his cigarette into the concrete, as he smiled in her direction.

She smiled back, a new atmosphere enclosing them.

"Can you do it again?" She asked, stepping forward as she leaned in.

He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting up her chin with his finger.

Meeting her lips halfway, his stomach fluttered at the familiar feeling of her lips.

She tasted his cigarette, and she loved it. The kiss felt dirty and hot. Their bodies crave each other and now they can give in.

tags!

@bmunson86 @mxcheese @ladymunson @michaelfuckinglangdon @z0mbie-blah @biittersweet @mirrorsstuff @slightlyvicked @micheledawn1975 @ago-godance @magnificantmermaid @tlclick73 @hargrovesswifee @cityofidek @manyfandomsfanvergent @silky-luxe @lokiofasgard616 @loving-and-dreaming @eddiemunsonsbitch69 @thegemaqua @ashlynnkennedy @strangerthingsstories5255 @harringt8ns @pleasinghellfire @whoscamila

[artzychic27]

For the Actor AU, how did they feel abt the canon heroes' outfits? If they could, how would they have modified them?

Marinette: Basic as fuck! It looks like I’m wearing footie pajamas! If I were in charge of my costume, I’d give myself a full-on punk look because Ladybug’s are some badass motherfuckers. Oh, and boots that have soles equipped with a shock-absorbing cushion, and a heel that contains a reinforced spring to soften the shock whenever I land. And… Maybe a backpack shaped like ladybug wings to hold my Lucky Charms and anything I need to collect for my plan.

Adrien: Less leather! That stuff shrinks, and a full leather bodysuit is not comfortable. Also, because of the cat holders’ powers, it would be cool if heroes had some sort of medical supplies on them just in case, like stored in a utility belt. And I’m with Mari, those boots sound badass. What else?… Oh, definitely add some more color instead of just basic black.

Alya: Well, the Fox doesn’t seem like a combative hero due to the powers. I see Rena Rouge as a distraction, really, so her outfit wouldn’t be one of those “ready for battle” types. Here’s what I’m thinking, one of those noir-film type outfits. The hat covers my face a bit to give me an air of mystery, and the outfit would look almost casual that no villain would suspect me.

Nino: I mean… Carapace’s look is cool. It’s alright. I’m liking the goggles, but… I’d prefer if he had armor. He’s the fucking turtle hero! He should be ready to take any blow that a villain sends his way!

Rose: Where to begin? Look, you all know me; I love pink more than the next guy, but… Sometimes too much is too much. The Pig Miraculous strikes me as… More farmhand than ballerina. Yee, I know, the heroes come with a tambourine, but come on! While I do love the skirt, I’d trade it in for overalls, either shorts or a skirt. Oh, and add some black in there, too. Daizzi has a black circle around his eye, let him be represented!

Juleka: Studded jacket. That is all.

Luka: Oh, honey, either give me a hood so I can look like a cobra or get the fuck away from me with that outfit.

Myléne: The mouse strikes me as more of the elegant type, I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the pastel pink mixed with the grey, but I see Polymouse wearing skirts over Pigella. But, that’s just my opinion.

Ivan: Honestly, I’m fine with the canon design for Minotaurox. Yeah, he’s got pockets and padding, I-I like it. And if you show me a better design, I’ll happily take a look at it.

Marc: … I think all of the effort went into making Rooster Bold’s costume. He’s got rooster hair, the little tallons on the back of his boots, and a fucking tailcoat! He and Mayura are the only ones to have tailcoats! I’m not complaining, though. I… I actually like it, but it is a nightmare putting on and taking off that wig.

Nathaniel: Well, I can say I sort of know how some of the girls feel, because that suit was tight as hell! You could see my hip dip! Also, I would’ve liked to have a different hairstyle and maybe some color, because I am the only male redhead around for miles. Oh, and climbing boots becuase, I’m a goat, duh.

Alix: … Do I need to say it? Okay, give me some active wear! I’m traveling through a shit ton of different timelines! I need someone sporty and active when I’m on the go. Also, I’ll need a backpack like Marinette.

Kim: Not hearing any complaints from me! I liked Roi Singe, but being Scarlet Beetle is way cooler!

Max: The glasses can easily come off. What I need is a high collar or a bandana that can cover the lower half of my face in case my glasses become askew or someone is able to place my identity because all I have on my face are some stupid glasses! God, I’m so glad I’m doing this new show now.

Chloé: Oh, I just want wings.

Zoé: Same.

Sabrina: Can mine just not look like my clothes, please?! I’ll take whatever, just not that!

Kagami: I would prefer if I had some form of armor and not a spandex bodysuit. It would need to be lightweight but also durable to allow me to travel faster, of course.

[baddygab-bi]

Honestly, even setting aside the whole Buddie of it all, it all sounded like such an out of the blue, poorly conceived idea. So she might have been a nun and he’s got a problem with that? Is it because he hasn’t bothered to get to know her and now he’s shocked she didn’t tell him something and he doesn’t actually know her? Or because they in theory can’t fuck? Because both of those are questionable at best.

I agree with you about how the show just made Buck bi, so they are likely to double down on Eddie being “straight,” and in theory they have kept her around for SOME REASON because she’s had what five seconds of screen time and a couple mentions that she babysat Chris. And yet she’s still “there.” They actually did more to develop a relationship between Eddie and Tommy in one episode than they’ve done to develop the disaster with Marisol the whole time she’s been around. So who knows. It’s really late in the game to try and develop this now. They had chances and didn’t take it. So how would you ever get the audience on board? Tim already stated he doesn’t like relationships where the love interest can’t be involved in the story other than being a love interest. Idk it all seems like a waste of time to me lol

As far as the Buck coming out to Eddie scene, imo calling him brother (and hugging him and telling him he loves him brother - also in the supposed script) really seems like it could be Eddie reacting in a “I have to make this okay and reassure him of our unending connection” and that’s the only language he has for what they are atm.

But who knows if any of it is actually real. They change things all the time anyway.

I just think they could do a couple having intimacy issues without it being based on something super religiousy, you know? Like fine if it is, but also, it would show her more as a human if she was like “Yeah, you know, I’m just scared of being that vulnerable with someone.” Boom, we’d have character for her, which as of right now, we have none of.

I don’t think they know how to develop her character, and with that, the fine details of the relationship, with the lack of time that she has. We know she spends a lot of time with Chris, and that she and Eddie are close enough for her to be around all the time for stuff, but that’s about it. If they had built her like a real character I think I’d give more of a shit about her.

Dude, I swear when I wrote my brother examples I wrote “I love you, brother” first but then erased it because I thought it was too on the nose. Glad to know the writers and I are writing the exact same show when it comes to dialogue. I think that as of right now, the show is making Eddie straight just to make him straight. But I think in season 8, if they want to (pleaseeee) they could easily walk back Eddie calling him brother. It just feels very pointed that Buck is now bi and Eddie calls him brother when they haven’t ever called each other that (since early season 2) before. Almost like the show saying “look, Buck can like guys, can kiss guys, just not this one.”

Season 7 is fully written. But season 8 hasn’t even been started yet. We can only hope that they don’t do anything irreversible to Buddie this season.

[timetogosteddie]

Pre-season 4 Steddie, my beloved.

It wasn’t just a slow day at Family Video, it was a very slow day. He’s pretty sure watching paint dry would be a more intense activity than working this shift. Weirdly enough, a hot and sunny Sunday morning was apparently not a popular time for movie rentals. Who would've thought? 

They'd been working here for a little over a month now and if it wasn't for the fact that they could work together about 98% of the time, Steve probably wouldn't have made it this far. He knows less than half of the popular movies and almost none of the "cult classics", aka the films Robin liked to pick for the in-store tv. But then again, it’s not like he’d been an ice cream aficionado before Scoops Ahoy. 

There was one thing however, he was good at without even trying: Flirting. Sadly, most of the girls that come in are either here with their partner or simply not his type. In most cases, he still finds a way to flirt with most of them anyway, just because.

But well, with Robin working in the back and with no female customers - or any customers, really - around, Steve could neither flirt for fun nor gossip with his bestie. And so, Steve's reorganizing the horror section. It’s not really necessary, but it gives him something to do. At least until the bell above the door rings, alerting him to at least one new customer. 

He has to fight the urge to turn around, so eager to finally have some more life in the store. But no, he shouldn't scare the customers. Just give them a moment and then offer your help, he tells himself. He tries to relax for a bit, as he’s slowly rearranging the "top picks" shelf. 

'Chainsaws, knives for fingers, why does anyone watch this stuff for fun?' he thinks to himself, before there’s the familiar sensation of eyes on the back of his head. Happy to hopefully finally be of use, he turns around to answer any possible questions, only to find himself face to face with Eddie Munson. 

High School Steve, King Steve, Steve The Hair Harrington - in short, the Steve he definitely didn’t like all that much - would've called him 'the freak'. It was just something others called him, so he'd joined in, though he’d never said those actual words to Eddie himself, only said it whenever the jocks talked about him. Even then, he was never really sure why they called him that. He was different, maybe a little weird, but freak? That was a bit harsh. 

He's so busy wondering if Eddie remembers him from high school. More importantly, if Eddie is going to say something about it, if he does remember, that he doesn’t realize he’s still staring at the other. Shit! Be a professional, man. 

With a slight cough, he looks away for a moment, before slapping that famous customer service smile back on. 

"Hi!" Oof, that was far too loud and cheerful. Toning it down a bit, he continues. "Looking for some horror? I'll just-", he points to another box of videos, standing at the children's section. "I'll get out of your hair, give you a chance to look around." Omg Steve, why are you still talking? "If you need anything, just holler." 'Seriously? What is wrong with you’ , the voice in his head, a voice that sounds a lot like Robin, is practically shouting at him.

Eddie simply nods at him, though there’s a curious look in his eye. It’s like he’s trying to figure something out. Maybe this is the part where he finally remembers Steve. Steeling himself for that moment, he finds himself holding his breath as Eddie takes a step closer to the shelf. He stops and stares for just a moment, before turning back to Steve. "Any recommendations?" 

Steve’s shocked by the sincerity in his voice. He’s not mocking him or anything, just honestly wondering if Steve has any recommendations for him. It catches Steve completely off guard. 

For an agonizingly long moment, he just stands there frozen, already slightly turned away from the metalhead. He’s glad the other can’t see his face, as he’s pretty sure he’s doing a goldfish impression right now. Breathe, Steve. Breathe and think.

His brain decides to start working again and a moment later, he’s facing Eddie again.  "Depends what you're into." Okay, maybe his brain hadn't really started working again, because he somehow managed to make that one sentence sound both dirty and awkward. "I mean, if it's blood you're after, you can't go wrong with a little Texas Chainsaw action. If however, you like a bit more plot, I hear 'The Thing' is pretty good. And of course, there's always Nightmare on Elm Street or Halloween. Classics!", he finishes with a smile, hoping his answer sounded confident.

Judging from Eddie's thoughtful nod, he’s pulled it off. Next thing he knows, Eddie’s turning back to the shelf, picking up a random VHS to read the information on the back. Good, Steve thinks, as he tries to make his escape for a second time. He feels like going over into the children’s section would save him more awkwardness, right? 

He doesn’t fully understand what’s happening here, though. Why was this boy making him so nervous?

He turns, but gets no further than a step or two before he hears Eddie’s voice again. "Which one's your favorite?"

Should he just lie? He could, right? It’s not like he hasn’t lied to half the customers in here already, especially the mom’s wondering if a movie would be appropriate for their children. As long as he hasn’t heard Dustin or Robin speak of it, he’s pretty sure the movie is tame enough for families. 

Yeah, he should just lie. That way, the boy can either pick that one or pick a different one and be done. He should just lie, so that Eddie Munson can leave and Steve can stop feeling this fidgety and nervous. 

He should just lie, but he can’t. The moment those big brown eyes lock onto his own, he’s mesmerized. "Honestly? I haven't seen any of them." He at least has the decency to look ashamed at his confession. Is this the point Eddie’s finally going to laugh at him? 

The answer is no. Eddie simply raises his eyebrows at Steve’s answer, an amused look taking over his face as he tilts his head even so slightly in a 'go on, tell me more' kinda way. So Steve does.

Read the rest here:

[bloody-bee-tea]

BeeTober 2023 Day 20 - Wrench throwing

Suguru lets out a weary sigh when the curse they are supposed to exorcise hides inside a building. It’s always so much more work if they have to track these things down across multiple floors.

“Ah, come on, it’ll be fun,” Satoru says, clearly not at all bothered and just seeing him bounce on the balls of his feet has Suguru exhausted.

He truly doesn’t understand where he takes all this energy from.

“How can you be this enthusiastic?” he sighs out and Satoru almost shoves a pack of sweets in his face.

“It helps wonders with energy levels,” he promises, rattling the bag as if that could make it more enticing.

“Fine,” Suguru sighs out, taking one of the sweets for himself and while he doubts that the sugar is going to do anything for his own energy level the taste of it certainly does lift his spirits.

“Good, right?” Satoru asks, munching away on a sweet of his own and Suguru’s mouth ticks with an aborted laugh.

He’s just too adorable, Suguru thinks and then promptly shoves that thought away. It’s neither the time nor the place for this and Satoru would probably have his head for thinking that anyway.

“It’s okay,” Suguru lies, because it’s actually amazing but he enjoys the annoyed huff Satoru lets out.

“Gonna find one you love one of these days,” he mutters under his breath and Suguru pretends that he didn’t just hear that. He’s too busy convincing his heart to beat regularly again anyway and by the time he can even think to react Satoru has ventured into the building, clearly on the lookout for the curse.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he sing-songs and Suguru rolls his eyes before he follows him. 

Sometimes he wishes that Satoru would take these things more seriously but as long as he jokes around like this, there really isn’t that much danger for them. Suguru knows from experience that it’s time to worry when Satoru goes focused and serious and so this is actually more reassuring than anything.

Still, he can’t help himself.

“Would it kill you to take things seriously for once?” he calls after Satoru who waves over his shoulder.

“Yes, actually,” he flippantly gives back and Suguru thinks it might not even be a complete lie. Satoru acts deathly allergic to everything that would require him to act like a true grown-up so who knows. It’s always possible that he will simply implode if he can’t joke around.

Suguru follows behind Satoru, always unwilling to let him out of his sight during a mission even though he knows Satoru hardly needs his protection and something wistful comes over him when he notices that the floor is entirely used up by a car shop.

“Ugh, it smells in here,” Satoru complaints because of course he does but Suguru only hums. “What, you like it here or something?” Satoru wants to know as Suguru moves his hands over some of the tools.

“I do,” he admits and a small smile plays around his mouth as he remembers summers in his village. “I think if they hadn’t found me I would probably be a mechanic.”

“No way in hell,” Satoru immediately says and he seems honestly affronted. “You’re meant for more. I mean. You’re so good with people, surely you’d wanted to do something social?”

“I don’t actually like dealing with people that much,” Suguru says with a shrug.

Sure, he knows how people tick and he is not above using his looks to get people to do what he wants but he doesn’t enjoy it.

The only one he truly enjoys spending time with is Satoru.

Who is staring at him as if Suguru had just explained to him that the sky is black.

“You don’t like people?” he breathes out, clearly shocked and Suguru shrugs again. “But you like me!”

“You hardly classify as a person,” Suguru shoots back and before Satoru can get the wrong idea into his head and flinch with the implication that he’s nothing more than his technique Suguru adds: “You’re more sugar than human at this point.”

Satoru lets out a surprised laugh, though Suguru detects how relieved he sounds anyway. As if Suguru could ever think of him as anything other than painfully, wonderfully human.

“I don’t even eat that much sugar,” Satoru tries to defend himself but the bag of sweets that sticks out of his back pocket immediately calls him a liar and Suguru lets him know as much with a pointed look.

“Rude,” Satoru mutters and turns around to continue their search for the curse.

Suguru can’t detect any cursed energy and clearly Satoru can’t either because he’s in no rush to press on.

“So, you imagined yourself working in a place like this?” he idly asks as he looks around the room and Suguru nods.

“I helped out during summer breaks in my village. I liked working there. It’s easy, fixing a car.”

Unlike with humans; there are so many nuances and everything is so incredibly grey instead of simply black and white. Cars are easier.

“That’s so—mundane,” Satoru mutters and Suguru frowns at him.

“You got something to say to that?” he challenges him but Satoru waves him off.

“No, I just—I can’t really imagine you with a wrench in your hand, you know,” he then says and Suguru raises an eyebrow at him before he reaches out for the wrench that’s laying just next to his hand.

“Here, can you imagine it now?” he asks and Satoru blinks before he ducks his head and hides his expression.

“You look like an idiot, you should just drop it,” he shortly tells Suguru.

“You’re an idiot,” Suguru bites back—not very mature, but who cares—and then he throws the wrench at Satoru.

He knows it can’t hit him, will bounce off uselessly against Satoru’s Limitless, so he turns away before it even comes into contact with Satoru.

But then there’s the sound of metal hitting flesh, a pained yelp and Suguru turns back around so fast he thinks he sprained something in his back.

“Ow, ow, ow, Suguru, what the fuck,” Satoru cries out, holding his hand to his shoulder and Suguru can do nothing but blink in surprise. “Seriously, what was that for?” Satoru asks again, rubbing the spot where the wrench must have hit him. “Is that how we’re going to express ourselves now? No longer with words but by wrench throwing?” he mutters under his breath and he flexes his fingers and moves his arm in a way that lets Suguru know it really hurts.

“Are you dying?” Suguru blurts out, his brain coming back online and Satoru glares at him over the rim of his glasses.

“If you had aimed a little bit higher I might be, yes,” he snaps, and Suguru is at his side in a second.

“Satoru, are you dying?” he asks, more insistent this time and he flutters his hands over Satoru’s body. “Have you been cursed? Is that it?”

“Suguru, what are you on about? I feel fine,” Satoru says and slaps his hands away.

“Your Limitless. Why didn’t it work? Are you sure you’re feeling fine?” Suguru demands to know and he already has come up with several theories on what the curse could have done to Satoru to disable his technique.

While Suguru completely panics though, Satoru goes eerily still.

“Of course it didn’t work,” he finally says and Suguru stares at him.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You threw that wrench.”

“Yeah, so? Did the curse do something to me?” he then asks because that thought hadn’t even occurred to him yet.

“Suguru, seriously,” Satoru sighs out and Suguru might still be panicking a little bit but he doesn’t miss the faint blush that spreads out over Satoru’s cheekbones. “You’re the exception to my technique.”

There’s the faintest tremor to his voice and it’s enough to make Suguru freeze.

“What is that supposed to mean?” he finally asks because he needs Satoru to explain this to him with more words.

“Haven’t you noticed yet? You can always touch me.”

“You can always touch me, more like,” Suguru says on reflex, because it’s usually Satoru reaching out for him, hanging off his shoulder, tugging on his clothes.

“Potayto, potahto,” Satoru says with a roll of his eyes. “Do you really think I disable my technique every time I reach out for you? It’s automated, Suguru, remember?”

“So I—don’t register for Limitless?” Suguru breathes out and he can’t stop himself, he reaches out and ghosts his fingertips over Satoru’s cheek.

His skin is smooth and warm and there’s no trace of Limitless.

“You don’t,” Satoru says, his voice noticeably higher than it usually is.

“But the wrench? You said you automated it based on velocity and mass. It should have registered as a threat.”

“It was thrown by you,” Satoru simply says, as if he isn’t overthrowing Suguru’s entire world with this revelation.

“You trust me,” Suguru breathes out and Satoru pulls a face.

“Come on, Suguru, of course I trust you. We’re a duo, right?”

“No, you—” Suguru takes a deep breath. “You trust me.”

He means to say ‘You love me’ but can’t quite find it in him yet but the distinction must be clear to Satoru now because he goes bright red in the face and Suguru didn’t even know he could blush like that.

“So what if I do?” he finally bites out, crossing his arms in front of his chest as if that could keep Suguru away if Limitless already doesn’t help him there.

But Suguru is not one to be kept away, not by Satoru, so he simply steps forward and pulls Satoru into a hug.

“I trust you, too,” Suguru whispers into Satoru’s ear and it only takes Satoru a second to reciprocate the hug.

“I should hope so,” he sniffs out, but Suguru feels how tightly he’s holding on to him and he knows that for all his bravado, Satoru was still worried about this.

Just like Suguru was. And Suguru thinks it’s only fair that he gives Satoru a secret of his own.

“I like all the sweets you bring, because you bring them for me,” he whispers into Satoru’s silky soft hair and when his breath hits his skin a shudder runs through Satoru.

“Noted,” he wheezes out and Suguru chuckles before he presses a chaste kiss to his throat.

“Come on, lets exorcise this damn curse and then I’ll take you out for dinner, alright?”

“A date?” Satoru asks, moving away from Suguru.

“A date,” he agrees and briefly cups Satoru’s cheek in his hand. “But work first.”

“Fine. I’ll obliterate this curse,” Satoru breathes out and immediately gets going.

Suguru can do nothing but stare fondly after him and by the time he catches up to Satoru the curse is already long gone. It was Satoru’s quickest work yet and Suguru has never before seen him this motivated.

He’ll have to promise him dates more often in the future it seems, not that it’s going to be much of a hardship.

Suguru will promise him the world, if Satoru lets him, after all.

[chaoticnezz]

Could you possibly do a comfort story with Larry from Sally face? It doesn’t have to be anything specific but maybe just friendly cuddles and reassurance? Thanks :D

Honestly, Larry would be an amazing big brother if he had a little sister, so I kinda imagine he would see you as one

🌸F!reader x Larry (platonic)🌸

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Addisons appartments weren't all too pretty, nor was it in the best condition. But the residents helped make up for it. Maybe some of the residents were magicans because it was extremely easy to get along with them.

Others not really so much. You had a few classes with a guy named Xander he was, in all honesty, the most popular dude in the school. Ladys wise that is. He just had such a carefree air around him, not to mention that he wasn't bad looking at all. his black hair always seemed so well taken care of, and he almost always had a smillllllle on his face.

Maybe that was what drew you to him. Maybe that was the first warning. A smile can be used for many reasons.

You watched as the leaves twirled in the wind as you sally, and ash all sat near the pond. Y/n didn't you say you were waiting on someone? huh, oh yeah, im waiting on Xander. You smiled at ash, but before she could say something, you heard the sound of a car door opening. Looking over, you saw Xanders smilely, face staring down at you.

Hey y/n! Ash and sally left you two alone say that they wanted to give you two some private time. Xander smiled and waved the two off. The second the two were no longer able to be seen, his smile dropped. Listen, im going to be honest with you. you're an awful woman. i mean, you can't even cater to your boyfriends desires. On top of that, you're not even good-looking. the only reason I got with you was because you had decent assets.

W-what, why are you saying all these things to me? See, you can't even understand what im saying. I don't want to be with you anymore. Is it that hard to understand. Before you could speak, Xanderes phone goes off. Now, if you'll excuse me I have a date with my girlfriend. Without another word, he got into his car and drove off. You didn't cry at first, maybe because the shock was a bit too much for you. Maybe that's also how you found yourself here.

Room 1B The room was located in the basement. Luckily, Lisa had given you the key to get in if you ever needed to. You enter the apartmenet and imedeantly went to the door that had the keep out door sign on it. You knocked, Who is it? It's me y/n, can I come in, please? Your tone must have been a little bit shakey because Larry rushed and opened the door.

as soon as the door opened, you fet it. As gentel as rain drops, tears began to fall down your face in an endless stream. Woah dude, are you like, alright? The only sound that came from your mouth was muffled clrys. Larry gently pulled you over to the bean bag and sat you down on it. You felt the bean bag dip on one side as Larry sat down next to you.

You hugged Larry very tightly. Surprised at first, Larry soon reciprocated the hug. The two of you sat in scilence that was ocasionaly broken up by a sob. Larry? your weak voice broken the silence. Yeah? Am I ugly? if you were able to see Larrys face, you would have seen a look of shock. Of course not, you're very beautiful, who told you otherwise? Xander.. he said that I was unatractive.

Larry hugged you tighter, Don't listen to what that asshole has to say! He has no taste at all! You should have seen that based on his shoes. you let out a small laugh and snuggled more into Larry. The two of you stayed like that for the rest of the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Larry beat Xanders ass afterwards :)

[iridawn]

Coming Down

this was written for @peccaberry, and takes place within SBS, so it gets posted here! this was done in exchange for the ending art - i was just asked to do a volorei piece in SBS, which honestly, i was already kinda hinting at just as a tip of the hat LOL

it's a bit of a short, semi-rough piece, but i'm very happy with how it came out, so i'm sharing it here! big shoutouts to pecca as always

"Another perspective of certain events happening in Hisui…"

“...Volo.”

“Hmm?” Volo turned with a mischievous smile at the mention of his name, perking up even more at the sight of the Survey Corps’ very own Rei. “Ah! Rei! How wonderful it is to see you on this lovely morning. How may I help you?”

Rei, however, didn’t look so cheery, almost looking cross with him. “What did you do, Volo?” He raised an eyebrow, his hands on his hips.

Volo’s expression changed to one of confusion. Was Rei mad at him? What had he done? He blinked for a moment, genuinely lost. “What are you referring to? I haven’t done anything, not to my knowledge.”

Rei crossed his arms as he frowned slightly. “Dawn looked pretty peeved while she was leaving for surveying this morning. I asked her about it, and all she said was ‘Volo is a dickhead’, which… didn’t exactly sound good.”

“Ah! My, she’s still upset about that?” Volo let out a slight chuckle. “Perhaps I laid it on a little too heavily…” He put his hand to his mouth in thought, closing his eyes to truly mull it over.

Rei’s eyebrows furrowed further. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Rei! Really, now. You look much better while smiling!” Volo gave Rei a cheery, flowery look, which didn’t seem to win him over. “But if you must know,” he said, leaning in and wagging a finger, “I simply made an offer to Dawn that she seemed quite eager to accept!”

“I’m a little doubtful of that…”

Volo began to pace around slowly, still leaning over as he did. “You see, I had found some Gracidea while on my travels, and I turned them into a wonderful bouquet – I figured it would be quite the gift, especially as the Pearl Clan’s leader is known to fancy them. However, due to the… difficulty in obtaining them,” he said, leaning back up, “I had to charge a hefty price. But 60,000 Poke is a very good price for such a rare find, wouldn’t you say?”

“Sixty thou– Jeez, Volo!” Rei’s eyes practically shot out of his head in shock. “No wonder she was so cross!”

Volo chuckled. “Surely, Rei, you understand the concepts of supply and demand! I’m simply doing what I must to survive.”

(Volo chose not to mention, however, that it was Ginter that recommended this sale to him – he seemed to have quite a knack for making a sale. It was best for Volo not to get on Ginter’s worse side, considering he already often got… distracted instead of doing his work, so he figured he wouldn’t throw him under a rock.)

Rei let out a hefty sigh, holding a hand to his head. “Volo, I know she’s being oblivious, but you can’t use that to pull a cheap trick like that on her!”

“Oh, come now! Really, she’ll thank me for it later.” Volo laughed cheerily, amused by the whole situation. “After all, someone’s got to push them in the proper direction! You’ve told me time and time again about how clueless Dawn is.”

Rei grumbled, hanging his head for a moment. “...She kind of is, but that doesn’t mean she’s not still my friend.” He looked back up at Volo, looking slightly less annoyed, but instead, a bit more hurt. “No need to rub salt in the wound for her. Dawn’s my fellow Survey Corps member – I’ve got to stand up for her. Let her be!”

Volo let out a small sigh, a bit upset with annoying Rei. “Very well, I suppose. However, all sales are final – I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to offer her a refund. But I shall practice more restraint in the future.”

Rei nodded, smiling. “That’s good. I have to admit, though… maybe flowers will be the kick she needs.” He put a hand to his chin, humming in thought. “Dawn’s already this deep in. She may as well commit and just go for it, you know?”

“Yes, I precisely agree!” Volo nodded enthusiastically, looking and feeling rather pleased with Rei’s statement. “I’m so glad you understand me, Rei! I was only looking out for her, truly.” He let out a light laugh, before a memory hit him once more, pausing his laughter.

That was right! He went to go find those flowers for a reason, after all…

Volo perked up suddenly. “Oh! Which reminds me. While I did sell most of my findings to Dawn, I did have something extra… Excuse me for just a mere second!”

“...Sure.”

Kneeling down and taking the backpack he wore off of his back, Volo went through his goods as Rei watched curiously. He sorted through what he had, before he found what he was looking for, letting out a small “aha!” in celebration.

“Wonderful! I knew it was around here somewhere.” Volo pulled something out of his bag swiftly – swiftly enough to hide it behind his back as Rei looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He could only grin cheerfully, which seemed to confuse Rei even further.

“You see, I did find a large set of Gracidea – a rare find, as you know – and their meaning is well known to someone like you. So…”

Volo swiftly pulled his hand out from behind his back, holding out a small Gracidea flower to a very surprised Rei.

“Consider this a gift of my gratitude!” Volo’s voice was upbeat and happy as he presented his gift to him. “After all, I have greatly enjoyed the conversations we have shared, my good friend.”

Rei stood almost completely still for a few seconds, which worried Volo much more than he wanted to admit. Was that too much on his end? 

He kept the smile on his face, wishing not to break character, but eventually, Rei blinked quickly and looked back up at Volo, smiling back.

“I...Thanks, Volo.” Rei slowly took the flower, looking it over with awe. “Gosh, this thing’s nice. You really didn’t have to go through all that trouble, though…” 

“Oh, think nothing of it, Rei!” Volo gave a smile, though this one was much more earnest. “And don’t worry – this one’s a gift. No need to pay me for it!”

“Thank you, Volo! You know, uh…” Rei rubbed a hand behind his neck. “I don’t think I’ll be out surveying today. So, if you’d like, we could spend some more time chatting. I do think hearing about all of Hisui’s history is pretty neat, anyway…” His eyes glanced to the side, and he looked a little nervous about this.

That bashful expression on Rei’s face was enough to sway Volo almost immediately. It was hard for him to say no.

“Well, if you insist!” That trademark, cheery smile popped back up onto Volo’s face. “I suppose I too can be dragged away from my work duties to spend time with someone who I’m quite grateful for.”

Volo turned around, beginning to walk off, intending to head to Prelude Beach – it was a nice, quiet place, perfect for conversation like this. “Say, have you heard of the legend surrounding these flowers? It’s merely a legend at this point, but perhaps it could happen again at some point…”

Rei excitedly walked up to Volo, an eager expression on his face. “Do tell!”

Volo chuckled happily, before beginning to speak. “Well, you see…”

The two walked and talked for quite some time, something Volo greatly appreciated. Though he and Rei had only been communicating for quite some time, it was quite wonderful.

Even if it made his future plans a little complicated, he would simply… bury those away, should they come up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How’d the surveying go today, Dawn?”

Dawn blew a raspberry as she leaned on her hands. “Eh, could’ve gone better. I got a good amount done today, but then I got a little distracted…”

“Oh?” Rei tilted his head lightly in curiosity. “Something happen?”

“...Kinda, yeah, just, um… spent time with a friend, that's all.” Dawn’s voice trailed off a little bit as she finished her sentence, looking away from Rei.

Based on that reaction, Rei could take two guesses who that friend was, and that friend likely led the Pearl Clan. Dawn was never one for subtlety.

“Fair enough.” Rei gave a nonchalant shrug. “I’m no stranger to doing that.”

The two were just sitting in the small area just south of the village, nearby Prelude Beach. It was a nice, quiet place to talk, and it was one Rei had visited quite often. The sounds of the waves crashing into Prelude Beach were quite nice to listen to from a distance, and the place being quiet, (well, it was usually quiet, until that one guy started setting up that balloon game for kids to play in the afternoons…) made it a nice place to just talk with a friend.

Dawn and Rei would often go there just to chat, away from the business of Jubilife Village. He was glad that she took so well to the idea, and now they would often do this as a way to close out certain days. And, as it was rather late, with Dawn and Professor Laventon getting back just some time ago, he figured it would be a nice time to chat. Dawn seemed like she’d rather get the space to breathe, anyway.

At Rei’s statement, however, Dawn seemed rather interested. She turned her head to him. “With Volo, right? You two seem pretty close, anyway.”

Ah, the statement that always made his heart skip a beat.

“W-well, he’s just got a lot to talk about, I suppose.” Rei tugged at his scarf lightly, clearing his throat. “But I really do enjoy spending time with him. He’s a really fascinating guy! Pretty friendly, too.”

Dawn shrugged. “Fair enough. He’s definitely been a huge help, even if he talks to me like I’m some kind of chosen hero, sometimes. Not sure what that’s about, but, I don’t really pay it much mind.” She grinned. “Kinda flattering, in a sense…”

Rei snickered. “I guess that would be kind of weird.”

“Eh, you learn to shrug it off after the 5th time or so. Bit of a bizarre compliment, but I’ll take it, I suppose.” Dawn chuckled back, sitting back up straight. “But I’m sure he’s got a lot of interesting stories to tell. Seems like a bevy of history…”

“Oh, you’ve got no idea!” Rei’s expression practically sparked up, adjusting his position to face Dawn fully. “He’s always got some interesting stories about Hisui and his past, and it’s always interesting to see him talk about it in such detail. I feel like I’ve learned a lot about it, and I’ve always enjoyed that!”

“I’ve got a friend who was kind of the same. Really big into historical stuff.” Dawn smiled to herself, looking off into the distance. “Still, always neat to talk about. Glad you’re enjoying that! Sounds like a fun guy to have a chat with.”

Rei nodded. “Of course! Honestly, I’ve only started talking to him recently, but…”

He stared off towards the distance, towards the sky that was turning to dusk, stars beginning to appear.

“...I’m really thankful for him. He’s been a really great friend, so far.” An easy smile crept up on his face as he thought about Volo, and how wonderful his time spent talking to him had been. “I’m lucky to have someone who it’s so easy to talk to, and I feel like I get along with him really well. He’s a great guy, honestly.”

Volo was just a really great guy to talk to. The way he’d spark up when talking about Hisui’s history and myths, that smile he had on his face at all times, the way he’d always do nice little things for Rei whenever they’d hang out, it really did make Rei appreciate his friendship with him.

…It was hard to deny that he was hoping for something a little more, admittedly.

“Seems like it, heh.” Dawn smiled.

“Not that I don’t like talking to you, of course!” Rei looked over at Dawn and chuckled. “Sorry, didn’t realize how that sounded…”

“Nah, you’re fine. I’m not offended! I get it, anyway.” Dawn shook her head, laughing back. “Always nice to have a friend you feel pretty strongly about. I can relate, kinda…”

…Probably more than you’d think, he thought to himself, letting out a breathless laugh as he did. 

“...I’m hoping I can tell him how much he means to me, one day.”

Rei’s smile weakened a bit as he stared off into the horizon, bringing his legs in a bit more. His heart felt a little heavy just saying that. It was true, and he really wanted to tell Volo, but…

Doing so was a big move. And he couldn’t help but be nervous about it.

Sure, he and Volo had rarely spoke before, but just before Dawn dropped in, the two had really begun to grow close, as Volo seemed to enjoy having someone to tell his knowledge to, and Rei was very happy to listen.

(...And to admire his charming expressions.)

But as they grew closer, it seemed Volo was pushing forward a bit himself. He’d make small comments from time to time, and they stirred Rei’s heart something fierce. Things about Rei’s smile, or how his outfit looked nice on him, or things such as that… 

Sure, anyone would see them as simple compliments. But from Volo, they felt a lot more impactful. Perhaps that was just his mind playing tricks on him, but his feelings felt hard to ignore. And he really wanted to tell Volo at least that he meant a lot to Rei, if not a bit more, but…

Finding the words and courage for it was hard, he had to admit.

It wasn’t even that he was nervous about being wrong, but more so that it was a big thing. Being so forward would require a lot out of Rei, and… well, he still was a bit hesitant.

Maybe someday, he hoped. But right now, it felt as if it was still quite a monumental task for him to do.

Dawn looked over at Rei as he stared out into the horizon, putting a friendly hand onto his shoulder. He was a bit surprised, but looked over to see a very friendly smile on her face.

“Hey, I’m rooting for you, dude. You ever need someone to hype you up for it, I’m your girl.” She grinned, pumping a fist with her free arm. “You’ve got this!”

Rei looked a bit surprised, but couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks, Dawn. I’ll do the same if you ever need someone to help you muster up that courage.”

“...I, uh…” Dawn hesitated for a second, clearing her throat and looking away. “I don’t know what you mean by that, but… Thanks, Rei. That’s, uh, appreciated.”

Rei couldn’t help but let out a small, airy laugh at that, quiet enough so Dawn thankfully didn’t hear.

“Any time, Dawn.” 

He wasn’t sure when he’d be able to build that confidence, but he’d hopefully do it at some point. It might take him some time, but…

Surely, he’d be able to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A couple years later…

Rei stood outside the door to Professor Laventon’s office, taking a deep breath in, and then a deep breath out. It was rather late, and the professor – unlike anybody else in the Galaxy Team – was bound to be up. The small light underneath the door to his office seemed to indicate this.

He always was one for late nights, anyway.

…Just get it over with, Rei. 

Rei swallowed his nerves and knocked gently on the door, hearing a few footsteps before the door creaked open.

“Ah, Rei, my boy!” Professor Laventon’s voice had that same upbeat energy as always, but with a more hushed tone. “It’s rather surprising to see you up this late. What brings you to my office at such an hour?”

“Good evening, Professor.” Rei couldn’t help but smile at Professor Laventon’s jolly expression. It always did lift his mood. “You’re up awfully late. Do you mind if I come in? Just something I’d like to talk about.”

Professor Laventon let out a low chuckle. “You know I get invested in my research. I’ve been looking a bit more into the different variant of Typhlosion – the one brought in from Johto. Compared to our own, it seems to be quite prone to anger… Rather fascinating, if I do say so myself.” He shook his head. “But I digress. Come in, my boy – my doors are always open for you.”

Rei stepped inside, looking around as he did. Professor Laventon’s notes were scattered about, the place looking as messy as it usually did. The chalkboard was filled with notes, as well – it seemed Professor Laventon had been quite busy. With new faces coming into Hisui, more research was being done on the Pokemon that they had been bringing in. It made his job exciting, as always.

…But he had plans, and he figured he should be honest with at least one person about it. And he knew he could trust Laventon.

“...You look rather troubled, Rei.” Professor Laventon’s voice brought Rei out of his thoughts as he looked up and towards Professor Laventon, who had already pulled up a chair next to him. “Is something the matter?”

Rei smiled warmly, walking over and sitting onto the chair. “I’m alright, Professor. Really. Just… something I gotta tell you.”

Professor Laventon sat down on the chair that was at his desk, turned to face Rei. He only looked at Rei with an expression that indicated he was happy to listen.

Rei let out a small, sharp exhale. “...I’m leaving for a bit, Professor. I don’t know how long it’ll be, maybe for a week or so, but… I figured I should tell somebody, and I figured I could trust you.”

Professor Laventon looked a little surprised, but eased back into a light, playful smile. “Well, I suppose it would be good to tell somebody, after all! But I can tell this is a little more serious than that. What makes you want to leave, my boy?”

“...I’m going to go look for Volo.”

His cheery expression changed to one of surprise, before changing to something a bit more somber.

“...Volo?” Laventon looked down. “I’m afraid nobody’s seen him for years, Rei. I… We’re not sure what happened to him. Not since he had pulled that stunt with Dawn.”

Rei sighed, deflating a bit in his seat. “...I know that. And… I know what he did was… Well, it was heinous. But…”

He looked down at his hands. “I was too much of a coward to tell him how I felt, and… I know what he’s done, and I just want to see him again. I have to get some form of closure.”

“...How you felt?”

Rei looked back up at Professor Laventon, who took a moment to observe Rei’s expression, before he eased his expression into a more understanding smile.

“It’s been so many years since Irida has disappeared, as well. And… Well, she was going to go look for Dawn. She risked everything, she put everything aside, just for the chance to see the person she cared about again.” Rei looked back down at his hands. “And, well… I guess that stuck with me for a few years.”

He frowned slightly as he thought about that. He had planned to ask Volo out proper – to truly tell him how he felt – sometime after the festival. But Volo being busy with finding the plates (and by extension, the legendary Pokemon) with Dawn had put a bit of a stop to that plan, which was okay.

But then, Volo disappeared.

He had revealed his grand scheme atop the Temple of Sinnoh, and intended to stop Dawn – to take all the plates and start a new world. But Dawn had successfully stopped him, defeating Giratina and stopping Volo’s plan before it could ever truly begin. 

Volo, however, had simply left, speaking only to Professor Laventon before disappearing. 

Rei had no idea. Volo hadn’t communicated this at all to him. The only thing Volo had said to Rei was indirect – he had told Professor Laventon to communicate a simple message back to him.

‘Thank you for your kindness.’

That was it.

That was the last Rei had heard from Volo, and it wasn’t even from him directly. It was from somebody else.

That had hurt Rei much more than he wanted to admit. Not only did he not get to hear that from Volo, not only did he not get to even say anything back, but he never got to tell Volo how he truly felt.

And that feeling can really sting, especially over the course of a couple of years. Rei had slowly felt better about it, but it was hard to deny how absolutely horrible it felt, especially right after he had learned about it.

But yet, despite all of this, his feelings for Volo hadn’t changed. Because, despite everything, Volo had cared.

His final message before leaving for good was to simply thank Rei for his kindness. That was his parting gift to Rei. Despite everything he had done, despite how he had felt, that was what Volo had wanted to do for Rei.

It had been years since that, but Rei knew Volo had to be out there.

And he wanted to find him.

“...Seeing her so dedicated to what she wanted to do, and eventually, finding a way to do that… I want to do something similar.” He gripped his hand tightly, feeling it shake slightly from how firm the grip was. “I… I know what he’s done, but I still care about him. I just want to tell him that, in-person. Wherever he is.”

He looked back up at Professor Laventon, much more serious than before. “I don’t intend to go the same distance she went, but… I do at least want to look for him. I know he’s still out there. And I don’t know if he’s changed or not, but that doesn’t matter. I… I just need to see him again. Or at the very least… try to.”

Professor Laventon looked rather surprised, his mouth hanging agape.

“...I will return, of course. I don’t intend to leave forever. I just… I need to look at least once, Professor. I hope you’ll understand.”

For a moment, there was nothing but dead air. But after that moment had passed, Professor Laventon only leaned forward, putting a hand onto Rei’s shoulder.

“...I can quite understand that emotion.”

Rei’s expressions softened, now looking more curious than serious. 

Professor Laventon continued, only chuckling gently. “I, too, hesitated on telling the man I loved how I felt before I left for Hisui… and, well, it’s something I’ve regretted for some time.” He let out a low sigh as he sat back up, looking outside the small window by his desk somberly for a moment.

Rei had no idea. He was kind of shocked to hear this so suddenly, honestly.

But it was rather comforting to hear that he had experienced something similar.

“...So, I suppose I shouldn’t stop you.” Professor Laventon looked back to Rei, a smile on his face. “It would be wrong for me to stop someone who’s dedicated to the feelings in their heart, I think, and you certainly wouldn’t want to regret it. After all, I’m well aware you can defend yourself should something come up.”

Rei couldn’t help but tear up a little, only sniffling lightly as he did. “Thanks, Professor. Don’t worry, I promise I’ll come back. No matter what happens.”

“I know you will, my boy. I’ve got complete and utter faith in you. And I’m sure you’ll get that closure, whatever you end up finding.” Professor Laventon smiled earnestly. “I’m sure he’s still out there. He never did seem like one to go out easily.”

Rei nodded firmly, wiping his eyes. “Yeah. I don’t know where I’ll look, but… I’ve got some good ideas on where to ask. I’ll go from there, and… I’ll be back. I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but I’ll be back. I just can’t go on without having that closure.”

“I understand completely, my boy.” Professor Laventon stood back up, an eager smile on his face. “It’s quite late for the both of us, though. I suppose it’s about time we take our respective leaves to catch some sleep, no?”

“...Yeah, good point.” Rei stood up once more, making his way towards the door and looking back towards the Professor.

“...Thank you, sir. I really appreciate that.”

Professor Laventon, who was now blowing out his light, only shook his head lightly. “Of course, Rei. Any time you wish to speak, I’m always happy to.”

Rei couldn’t help himself, turning around and walking up to Professor Laventon and bringing him into a hug.

The professor was surprised, but returned the gesture, chuckling lightly as he did.

It felt nice. Rei was very appreciative of that, and it was just another boost to his confidence in seeing out his mission.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A considerable amount of time after…

It had been a few weeks since Rei had set out to try and find Volo.

He had started small, heading to the one area he thought would give him some answers – Cogita’s Ancient Retreat. He had already asked Ginter and Tuli if they knew anything, but they couldn’t provide any answers on where he had gone, simply stating that he disappeared with everything he had. 

So, asking Cogita was perhaps the next best option. And she had only made one, somewhat cryptic suggestion…

That there was a small island out in the distance that could contain the answers he seeked. It was an area that hadn’t been explored by people, mostly being viewed as an area where wild Pokemon roamed.

She spoke no further on it, and seemed to know just as much as anybody else did – but that clue was all Rei had to go off of, so he was set on doing so.

Seeking out the help of an old man named Deza, who had brought a Wingull with him from his home region of Hoenn, Rei had set sail for the island, which was a bit of a distance north of the Cobalt Coastlands. 

He had been there for a few weeks now, living off of the materials he had packed, as well as making do with what he could find on the island, with foods such as berries and other resources. 

Deza had said he would return in time should something go wrong, and Rei could send one of the Pokemon he had with him over to the shore should he need to return early. This was the plan, and he was ready for whatever was ahead of him.

Rei wasn’t exactly confident in his chances here, but if it was the best chance he had, then he had to do something.

It was an uninhabited island, thick with forestry and various Pokemon. Some of these hadn’t been seen in Hisui before, so Professor Laventon’s alibi of Rei going on a surveying expedition wasn’t exactly wrong. Seeing a place that was so natural, filled with Pokemon he had never seen before… It really was something else. 

Some were native from Hisui, but others seemed to be entirely unique to this small area. He would have to report his findings when he got back – he still wanted to figure out if that ground-type Pokemon he caught, the small creature that seemed permanently buried into the ground, had feet or not. It was truly hard to tell, and he didn’t exactly want to pull the poor thing out of the ground.

Based on his accounts, and keeping track of the area by making a map, Rei was now approaching the southeast area of the island. He had made some good progress so far, almost entirely looping around the island, and it seemed that someone was here. 

Rei wasn’t sure if it was Volo, or if it was someone else entirely, but…

It was worth a shot, at the very least.

The path he was taking was thick with wildly growing trees and grass, however, making it a pain to navigate. He also had to be weary of wild Pokemon as he made his way through, which made maneuvering quite a pain. He nearly got caught in a territorial fight between Pinsir and another Bug-type Pokemon, which had powerful spikey pinsirs on the top of its head.

If somebody was here, they had to be quite fierce to live in such a place.

But there seemed to be at least some semblance of a trail, and these and other small hints were what pushed him forward to find what he needed.

Eventually, after what felt like an eternity of pushing through tall grass and plants, Rei came to a small clearing in the forest. He wiped his face of leaves and other material in his face, and just in the middle of it, saw…

…A small tent.

It seemed untouched, silently sitting there. It looked rather plain, almost beat up – as if it had been there for quite some time. He was shocked to see anything like this here.

Despite this, Rei wasn’t sure if it was lived in or not. He very, very slowly approached the tent, trying as hard as possible not to make any noise. If there was somebody in there, he didn’t wish to startle them – but he also wasn’t sure if there was anybody in there, and he didn’t want to make noise to disturb and alert the local Pokemon, if there were any.

As he very slowly approached the tent, he made his way to the front of it, barely grabbing the front of it to try and peek inside, and…

“Excuse me. I do not wish to know who you are, but I only ask you leave me be. And I do not wish to see anybody else.”

A voice from behind made Rei almost pause in place.

He knew that voice.

His eyes widened in amazement, as he slowly turned around to see…

A man with tattered clothes, looking slightly worse for wear, but… that same blonde haircut as always, and the same look in his eyes.

Volo.

Who, upon seeing his face, looked rather surprised to see Rei, as well.

Rei was just shocked to see him. Despite all the time that had passed, seeing Volo in person still caused his heart to leap in the same way. Despite everything Volo had done, he still cared for him. He still loved him.

And that was okay, because Volo was right here, and now he could tell him that.

The air was still for what felt like an eternity, no sounds being heard as they simply stared at each other in awe.

“...Have you come to finish the job that your fellow Survey Corps member did not?”

Rei paused for a second. “I… I came looking because I wanted to see you again.”

Volo’s eyes widened in surprise, before easing into a light smile.

“I suppose you didn’t come just to hear some stories of Hisui, though.”

Rei shook his head, smiling back. “Just… I’m glad you’re okay. I didn’t know what happened.”

Volo walked up to Rei. “Well, I suppose I did leave without warning. I had my reasons for that.”

Rei could only nod.

“...It’s much nicer inside, if you’re willing to come inside.”

“Absolutely. Because there’s something I need to tell you, too.”

As Volo walked past Rei and stood at the entrance to his tent, that same, upbeat laugh could be heard.

“Perhaps, then, we have the same thing we’d wish to tell one another. If I can wager a guess why you’d come all this way to see me, anyway…”

Rei’s heart felt as if it was doing loops, now.

“...Probably.”

And with that, Rei headed inside.

Whatever had happened, Volo was here, and Rei could finally talk to him again.

Rei could tell him how he felt.

[laysdimplesareillegal]

Character Development: Chapter 4

Pairing: Monsta X Changkyun x Reader

Word Count: 1.4k

Warnings: yandere themes, kidnapping, general delusion, angst, guns, panic attacks

Character Development Masterlist

My muscles wouldn’t move, so tense I didn’t even have control over my own body. Then I heard the sound of the bullet hitting the TV behind me, absolutely shattering the expensive screen.

I can’t breathe. Instantaneously, I started hyperventilating, collapsing on the floor. I can’t breathe. I almost got shot, survived, and instead, am going to die from shock. There were hands on my shoulders, Changkyun had rushed to hold me as sobs racked through me. My skin was pricked and crawled; his hands on me felt like a cage. I couldn’t speak so I tried my best to wiggle away from him, brushing at his hands; I lacked strength to really push them off.

“It’s gonna be okay. Everything is going to be okay.” At first, I thought it was me speaking, but it was his voice, cutting through the ringing in my ears. He repeated that like a mantra, my mantra, I would say to myself. “You’re gonna be okay.” Why does he know I say that?

I forced large breaths of air in and out, trying to focus on anything that wasn’t Changkyun. His hands were suffocating me, his whole presence crowding me. Eventually, I regained some degree of composure. “Get away,” I huffed.

“You did this.” Changkyun was defensive

“Me? No, I didn’t!”

“If you had just listened to me, apologized, and taken back what you said, this wouldn't have happened. You forced my hand.” He sounded empathetic, but the message was ludicrous. “I would never hurt you,” he motioned to my hand. “I’m protecting you.”

If he was honestly trying to brainwash me, it wasn’t working. Protect? Never hurt me? I chanced a glance at his gun. If I wasn’t so afraid of him, I would laugh in his face.

“If I put this away, will it make you feel better?” He reached for the handgun placed haphazardly on the coffee table. Nervously, I nodded. “But, you promise not to lie to me anymore.” he raised an eyebrow. I nodded again. “Answer me.”

“I won’t.”

He walked the gun to the kitchen counter. “Now,” Changkyun turned around to me with a large smile. “Let's catch up like we should have in the first place.”

He got comfortable on the couch and stared at me–still on the floor. As if nothing had happened, he cheerfully patted the spot on the sofa next to him. Too afraid to defy him again, I wearily crawled my way onto the sofa.

“What have you been up to since you got here?” He asked as I got situated, sitting on my feet, I hugged and pillow. Why does he look so happy?

“Just learning my way around.”

“It’s a beautiful house, isn’t it?”

I nodded and he only stared back at me. “Yes.” Silence. “You’re Changkyun from the note, right?”

“Yes! I was in such a hurry, I’m glad you saw it. Again, I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up. You forgive me, right?”

“Uh yeah, I like being alone.”

“You’ll like it more when I’m here.” He retorted, curtly.

I doubt that. My thoughts must have been written across my face because he continued on.

“You know, it really hurts that you don’t remember me,” Guilt tripping me on a ridiculous request, “but you’ll love me soon. You’re someone who doesn’t make friends easy. I know that. But this way--” he gestured to the house around us. “--we can get to know each other without any distractions.” I think he means I’ll get to know him since he apparently knows too much about me already.

“My family–”

Changkyun cooed at me. “Jagiya, to the world, you ran away.”

I gave him a confused look. “I’m not sixteen! What am I running away from? My job?”

“You quit your job.”

Correction: he quit my job. Simultaneously, I wanted to know what he did to pick apart my life, and wanted to stay blissfully ignorant of everything he was capable of.

“Who are you?” I felt exasperated. “What do you want from me? Why are you obsessed with me? Please send me back home.” I covered my face with my hands as I began uncontrollably sobbing again.

This was all too much for one person to stand. For days, I had chronically had a cold sweat from all the anxiety, constantly on high alert, and now, just like I feared, in serious danger face to face with this maniac.

“All I want is for you to love me back.” His face looked torn and sympathetic as he rested a hand on the cushion in my lap.

“Don’t touch me,” I sobbed. “Please.” I added. The instability was giving me whiplash. He retracted his hand.

“What do you need from me?”

Fighting felt helpless. I was exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. “To be left alone,” I cried.

Changkyun was hesitant, obviously conflicted. After several long minutes of silence–apart from my ragged breathing–he sighed, dejected, “Okay.”

I caught myself before I let a thank you slip. I had no reason to thank him. “If you need me, I'll be in the study.”

I will never need you.

I waited for him to leave the room completely, before going to my room and locking the door, but I still wasn’t far enough away from him. I allowed myself to cry away the rest of my panic attack. My head was killing me. After crawling into bed, I cried myself to sleep.

 When I woke up, I saw the colors of the sunset light up the room. Or was that the sunrise? What direction was the window facing? I begged for it all to have been a dream. But my face had the distinct feeling of dried tears, and every muscle of my body was sore. Was that monster still in the house? My stomach ached. Could I sneak past him for some food– even just a snack?

Now, it felt like every step I took thundered through the house; I made my way to the kitchen. There he was.

“Hi sleepyhead,” Changkyun spoke gently and smiled.

How did he know I was sleeping? I locked the door and unlocked it when I came out. What, was he listening through the door? Or did he really have cameras like I feared? Could he see my every move, no matter where I was in the house?

“You were starting lunch when I came home, so you haven’t eaten since this morning have you?”

My mouth was dry from all the crying. “Is it still the same day?” I managed to rasp out.

He laughed to himself, “Your nap was that good? Yeah, it's still the same day. Let’s spend dinner together.” Bags of takeout sat open on the counter. It smelled wonderful; my stomach growled. “This is for you. You’ll like it,” he pushed a container across the kitchen island, towards where I stood.

“Sit over there.” I pointed to one side of the kitchen table. “Please,” I corrected myself when he gave me that same challenging look.

Happily, Changkyun took a seat at the far end of the table where I had pointed. He perked up when I carried the container of food and sat with him at the table–albeit, as far away from him as possible.

“This is nice.” This is awkward. I corrected him in my head. “Aren’t you going to thank me for the food?”

With a deep inhale, I steeled myself, “Thank you.” I gritted my teeth.

“You’re welcome.” He was absolutely beaming as he started on his food. 

Throughout dinner, Changkyun chatted, and I gave minimal one-word answers to appease him. When I finished, I excused myself–Changkyun was disappointed but gave no objection–to sleep for the night.

“Take some water with you.” What am I? A child?

Two bottles of water stood on the counter next to the discarded bag the food came in. Water pooled on the counter around them as another drop of condensation trickled down the side. At least they were cold. I nodded and took one upstairs with me.

I waited to get inside the safety of my bedroom so he couldn’t congratulate himself on knowing how desperate I was for a drink. The uncomfortable feeling I got from being in the same room with him trumped how uncomfortably thirsty I was. Cold water had never tasted so wonderful. I chugged the whole thing in one go. It was then I registered how tired I was. Despite just waking up, I was suddenly hit with an overwhelming wave of sleepiness. My vision began to blur, and I barely made it to the bed before I passed out completely.

[im-no-jedi]

MLWTBB: First Time For Everything

aka the (continued) journey into my self insert nonsense✨

chapter summary: the eventful night is over, and Hannah and Hunter are ready to go home, but neither of them are finished confessing to each other quite yet...

notes: this is a continuation of my story, “My Life With The Bad Batch”; I highly recommend reading that first before this one! I created a few new planets for this story. I’m also not 100% versed in SW terminology, so forgive me if some things are labeled incorrectly! each chapter will be rated accordingly, as opposed to the overall fic. lastly, there is romance in this story. hope you enjoy! 💙

add. notes: this chapter was edited and proofread by my sis @jam-n-ham! thanks sis!! 😋💙

closing message: and here we are, the end of yet another long, multi-chapter fic. it was a huge deal for me when I finished MLWTBB earlier this year, and although I said I planned on continuing the series, I honestly was unsure if I would make it this far. but I did! and I have a LOT more to come! so thank you everyone who took time to read this (as well as all of my other stories!), and I hope you all look forward to the further adventures of me and TBB! 💙💙💙

Chapter 19 (Final), 3200+ words, rated T (mostly just for smooching and a smidge of suggestive things 😋)

previous chapters: Prologue - Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 - Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18

✨MLWTBB masterlist✨

______________________________________________________________

The walk back to Hannah’s apartment wasn’t going to be quick, by any means. Even if there had been no threat of danger, it was still quite a distance between the watchtower and the apartment building. It was already quite late as well, and Hannah had definitely begun feeling the effects of physically exerting herself for most of the night. But as to be expected, Hunter took the lead and held Hannah by the hand, guiding her back through the dark streets of Ord Mantell with an air of caution and care.

Unsurprisingly, the trip was quiet for the most part. Even if they didn’t both enjoy the silence so much, Hannah’s fatigue made her even less talkative than normal. They didn’t go entirely without speaking to each other though. Hannah still had some questions she wanted answered.

“So, be honest,” Hannah began. “What was the first thing that attracted you to me? Physical or not, doesn’t matter, just the first thing that, like, made your heart flutter or whatever.”

“Oh man,” Hunter replied, scratching the back of his neck. “Uhh... probably your smile, I think.”

“Aww, really?”

“Yeah, you have a cute smile. And believe it or not, as sensitive as I am to sound, I really love hearin’ you laugh.”

Almost like she wanted to prove it, Hannah broke out into a fit of laughter. She covered her mouth to soften the loudness of it, but like usual, her laugh was almost too much to muffle.

“Dare I ask what part of me you were most attracted to first?” Hunter asked once Hannah’s laughter had died down.

“Oh gosh, I mean, I was pretty smitten with you right away. Even through the armor. Your body is... fantastic.” Hannah bit her lip and ran a hand along the back of Hunter’s shoulders, causing him to shiver a bit. “But also, like... you are stupidly handsome, dude. Tattoo or not.”

A flustered blush broke out on Hunter’s face and he cleared his throat. “You think so, huh?”

“Oh absolutely. I’m genuinely shocked you haven’t had girls flocking to you up until now.”

Hunter looked torn. Clearly, he wasn’t used to hearing such things. “Well, lucky you, I guess.”

There was no way he could fully hide anything from Hannah anymore, and her eyes squinted a bit as she studied Hunter’s face. “You don’t believe me, do you? Or should I say, you don’t agree with me?”  

“I mean... not really,” Hunter replied with a shrug.

Hannah scoffed. “And you get on my case all the time about disliking my own appearance?”

“Hey, isn’t it a good thing that we find each other attractive? Can’t that be enough?” Hunter’s tone was borderline irritated, and it both saddened and frustrated Hannah to hear.

A moment of silence went by before Hannah said anything else. “Have you always thought that way about yourself? Or was it because... others told you that?”

Hunter kept his face turned away from her as he spoke. “Bit of both, I guess... I try to not let other’s opinions of me affect me too much, but... I dunno, it’s a bit harder hearin’ it when you’re a kid...”

Immediately, Hannah wrapped her arms around Hunter’s waist and snuggled her face into his shoulder. “I’m sorry, babe...”

Hunter said nothing and just wrapped an arm around her, keeping her close as they continued to walk.

After another short period of silence, Hannah asked if she could ask another question. Hunter didn’t mind at all; he was still happy to answer her questions.

“Alright, so...” Hannah sighed and laughed a bit. “I’m probably the most curious about this above everything else. But it’s ok if you don’t have an answer for it.”

Now Hunter was genuinely curious to know what the question was.

“Do you... do you remember... or do you know in general...” Hannah sighed again. “Sorry, lemme start over. Do you know... hmm... no...” She cleared her throat. “What... what was the moment where you... where you knew... you know?”

Hunter had been holding back a snicker and finally let it out. “I don’t... Knew what?”

Redness began to show on Hannah’s cheeks, and she bit her lip in contemplation while looking down at the ground. “You know... when you fell in love with me?”

Hunter’s face immediately softened. “Oh... umm...” He went quiet for a moment to ponder the question. “I think I do, yeah. It was a while ago, actually.”

“Yeah?” Hannah’s face lit up. “Me too.”

“Oh yeah? How long?”

Hannah chuckled a bit out of embarrassment. “Since... Volruna...”

Hunter’s eyes went wide. “Really?”

“Yeah...”

“Oh... well... me too.”

Now Hannah’s eyes went wide. “Oh my gosh, seriously?”

“Thinkin’ about it... yeah. I’ve been in love with you since Volruna.”

If Hannah’s heart could’ve burst out of her chest, it would have. She clutched Hunter’s hand to her chest and looked at him adoringly. “I’ve loved you since Volruna too...”

For a moment, they just stared at each other lovingly, with Hannah keeping Hunter’s hand close to her chest. He could feel her heartbeat and it gave him a sense of calm he’d never experienced before.

“What was the moment?” Hannah eventually asked. “The moment where... you just knew.”

Hunter took in a breath through his nose and thought for a moment. “The Prism Palace... it was at the Prism Palace.”

Hannah blinked in surprise. “Really? Oh... was it when I gave you that little...” She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the side of his mouth, and he chuckled.

“No, but that was nice, thanks.” Hunter gave Hannah a little squeeze, which made her giggle. “Nah, it was... it was right before that actually.”

Now Hannah was even more curious and watched Hunter intently as he spoke.

“Everything that had happened up until then was... a lot. I wasn’t even sure exactly how I felt about you. I knew I liked you and I was definitely attracted to you. But... there was somethin’ else. Something I’d never felt before. And then when we got to the Prism Palace and you spilled your heart out to me –tellin’ me about your family and all that – I figured it out. I loved you. And you choosin’ to stay so that I could leave... kriff, it broke my heart. I knew after that, I was gonna do whatever it took to keep you safe. To not lose you again.”

Unsurprisingly, Hannah had been brought to tears by his words. She had already figured out the last part a while ago. But hearing him say it out loud, hearing the inflection of pure love in his tone... she could’ve melted. His hand was still clutched between both of hers, and she brought it up to her face to nuzzle into it, placing a few gentle kisses just above his knuckles.

“Well gee, mine’s nowhere near as emotional as that,” Hannah eventually joked with a chuckle.

“That’s fine,” Hunter reassured her. “Wait, hang on, lemme try and guess it. Just tell me: was it before or after mine?”

“Before,” Hannah answered, sounding almost ashamed.

The signature thoughtful pose of Hunter clutching the base of his chin reappeared as he pondered the answer. This time, Hannah finally admitted how cute she thought it was, which prompted Hunter to teasingly tell her to not distract him.  

After another moment of thought, Hunter grimaced a bit. “Don’t tell me it was the Loth Cat toy...”

Hannah threw her head back with a hardy laugh. “Why do you hate Grumpy Pants so much? But no, that wasn’t it. You’re close though...”

Hunter’s eyes squinted and he studied her face to try and ascertain the answer from her. “Wait... the sugar sticks?”

Hannah’s lips tightly pursed together. “It was during that moment, yes.”  

A puzzled look crossed Hunter’s face, and it made Hannah giggle.

“Let me just tell you,” Hannah said, letting out a small sigh. “So, it started before we even left together. I had... made this sort of bet with Omega – more like a promise, really. Cause I had gotten a glimpse of your softer side earlier, and I was so determined to see more of it. So, I told Omega that I wasn’t planning on even coming back until I’d gotten a laugh out of you. I knew it was gonna be near impossible, buuuuut I was up for the challenge.” She started laughing as she recalled the moment. “It was so stupid. Possibly the stupidest joke I’ve ever made in my entire life. But I said it, right after we’d gotten those sugar sticks, and well...” The memory made her break out into a fit of giggles. “You let out the most genuine laugh I’ve ever heard. At my stupid little joke. And I guess it touched me enough to realize that... that it wasn’t just a fleeting thing. I had strong feelings for you, and I could finally put a word to it. I was in love with you. And I haven’t questioned that for a single second.”

The touched expression on Hunter’s face spoke volumes. He felt the same way of course, never once questioning his own feelings for her. It made him even more regretful that he’d ever tried to stifle a relationship with Hannah. There was nothing that was going to separate them from that point forward though. Not if he could help it.

Hunter didn’t ponder these thoughts for long, as the context of Hannah’s confession was too silly to ignore. He couldn’t help himself and broke out into a fit of snickers. “I wish I could be more surprised by that, but I’m not. Your sense of humor is so weird; it’s adorable. Just like you.” He pulled Hannah in closer and gave her a big smooch on the side of her face, causing her to break out into giggles again.

“We’re both just a couple of weirdos, trying to make our way through the galaxy,” Hannah joked.

“That’s for sure. With emphasis on the couple now.”

“And don’t you forget it!” Hannah pulled Hunter’s face down to kiss him on the lips, making an audible smacking noise for emphasis.

The rest of the trip was spent recalling some of their favorite memories of each other. Since Hunter was so well-known for keeping an eye on things, it wasn’t surprising that he’d noticed so many things about Hannah. Brief little things that seemed so mundane to her were treasured moments to Hunter. And to his surprise, it was the same way with Hannah towards him. He wasn’t the only one who liked to take note of other people, and all things considered, the fact that she prioritized him so highly shouldn’t have been so surprising. Neither of them liked being in the spotlight for very long, but when it came to each other, the attention was a welcome act.

By the time they made it back to Hannah’s apartment, it was well into the night. The moon was high in the sky and already starting its descent down again. And yet, it still hadn’t felt long enough, and they both regretted having to end their time together. But it wasn’t really an end. If anything, their time together was just getting started.

Unsurprisingly though, Hannah wanted to use any excuse possible to not have to go the long stair-filled journey up to her apartment. “If I have to see one more step today, I’m going to explode,” she lamented.

Lucky for her, her newly acquired lover still had enough energy for both of them and practically dragged her all the way up the stairs. “See? That wasn’t so bad,” Hunter said once they’d made it to the apartment. “Easier than the watchtower, right?”

Hannah looked at him with half-lidded eyes. “Babe, you literally had to carry me up the last flight.”

“And?” Hunter teased as he carefully set Hannah down on her feet again. “Worked out great for me.” He got a playful bop on the arm and snickered.

“So how much you wanna bet they’re still up?” Hannah asked, keeping a hand hovered over the door panel.

“All of ‘em? Nah. Tech, maybe. You know how late he likes to stay up.”

“True... usually not this late though. If any of them are still up, it’s probably Echo. Call it a bestie feeling.”

Their predictions set in place, Hannah motioned for them to be quiet and then finally opened the door. As expected, the room was dark inside except for the small bit of light coming through the open door. The curtains hanging over the back door were slightly cracked, which allowed a sliver of light to cascade into the sitting area. Snoring could easily be heard and was immediately recognized as Wrecker and Tech, who were spotted sleeping on the couch together. Another figure was nearby, sitting up awake and reading a datapad on a pile of pillows made into a makeshift seat.

“Well,” came the instantly recognizable voice of Echo. “Look who finally decided to come back.”

“Told ya,” Hannah smugly said, playfully conking Hunter in the chest.

Echo sat his datapad down and walked over to them as they came further into the room. “So, how was it?” he teasingly asked.

Hannah and Hunter both looked at each other, then back at Echo again.

“Oh, it was terrible,” Hannah blatantly replied.

“The worst,” Hunter added, acting completely serious.

“Absolutely awful.”

“Hated every second of it.”

The unamused face Echo gave them broke Hannah enough to make her sputter and start snickering. “You know what,” Echo said, his tone as unamused as his expression. “It’s probably better that I not know what you two were doing. You can just keep that information to yourselves; I’m good.”

“Oh, come oooon, Echo,” Hannah said with a fake whine. “Don’t you wanna hear in detail about all the times we--”

“Nope!” Echo quickly retorted. “No thank you!”

Hannah began snickering again while covering her mouth to not be too loud. Wrecker stirred a bit in his sleep, which prompted everyone to keep their voices down.

“Well, I’m gonna get some much-needed sleep now,” Echo said in a quieter voice. “You two do whatever you’re gonna do. Just remember there’s other people in the room now.” He was playfully poked by Hannah before going back to his pillow seat, now with the intent of snuggling up into his signature blanket burrito.

“Guess that means it’s time for us to head to bed too,” Hunter said with a sigh.

“Yeah...” Hannah also sighed, but hers morphed into a yawn. “Wish we didn’t have to though.”

“I know...” Hunter grabbed both of Hannah’s hands and held them gently. “Just remember: this wasn’t our last night together. Not by a long shot.”

A soft smile spread on Hannah’s face. She already knew it in her heart, but hearing it out loud was still reassuring.

Per the norm, the two of them took some time to just stare into each other’s eyes and hold hands in silence. If they could’ve stayed that way forever, they would have. But Hannah felt herself physically unable to stay awake for much longer and was the one to eventually break the silence.

“Goodnight, handsome,” she softly said, giving Hunter’s hands a little squeeze.

Hunter ran his thumbs across the back of Hannah’s hands and held them just a bit tighter. “Goodnight... my love.”

The smile on Hannah’s face grew, and within seconds, her lips were on his, giving him a loving and tender kiss. They held the kiss much longer than necessary and were slow to part. Their clasped hands and gazes on each other remained as Hannah slowly walked backwards into her room. The last thing Hannah did was give Hunter an adoring smile before shutting the door for the night.

Hunter let out a wistful sigh once she was gone. He looked down at his own hands, still feeling the warmth of Hannah’s touch on them. They still had her scent as well, and he brought his hands up to his face to take a deep inhale in ecstasy. Even though he was tired, it was probably going to be a bit before he could fall asleep for the night.  

Regardless, he walked over to the sitting area and plopped down on the other makeshift seat of pillows across from Echo. Maybe it was the events of the night that had gotten him so pensive, but Hunter looked between each of his sleeping brothers fondly. He was so grateful for them, and especially grateful that Hannah had welcomed them all in as her own. She truly was everything he’d dreamed of having as a partner. Reaching into one of his pockets, Hunter pulled out the good-luck charm he’d been gifted, and he mindlessly began fiddling with it as he replayed the events of the night in his mind.

Meanwhile, Hannah was having a time of her own in her room. Right after she’d shut the door, she practically collapsed against the wall and let out a long, dreamy sigh. Her hands clasped tightly to her chest and her eyes shut as she reminisced on everything that had happened. She truly felt like the luckiest woman in the whole galaxy and had never been so happy in her entire life.  

Her eyes eventually opened again, and she was met with the sight of a small figure curled up asleep in her bed, surrounded by pillows and plushies. Hannah took a moment to fondly watch her sweet little sister, almost lamenting the fact that she couldn’t gush about the night to her right away.

After changing out of her clothes and into some comfy pajamas, Hannah slowly and carefully crawled into the bed, next to Omega. She tried her best to not wake the little girl, but to no avail as Omega began to stir once Hannah tried to lay down on her pillow. Omega’s eyes slowly blinked open to the sight of Hannah smiling down at her, and immediately she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up.

“You’re back!” Omega exclaimed, prompting Hannah to shush her. In a quieter tone, she began bombarding Hannah with questions. “How was it? Did you have fun? What did you do? Where did you go?” She covered her mouth and let out a small gasp. “Did he kiss you?”

The smile on Hannah’s face spread into a wide, cheesy grin. “Uhh, what do you think, sis?”

Immediately, Omega broke out into a flurry of happy squeals and practically tackled her big sister, causing her to go into her own fit of happy laughter. It was all over after that, as Hannah began going into detail about the night while Omega sat and listened intently.

They had no idea they could be heard from the other room. Even though they weren’t being that loud, Hunter could still hear them through the walls, and a delighted smile never left his face until their voices finally died down, signaling that they’d gone to bed for the night.

The last thing Hunter saw before falling asleep that night was the bouquet of fake flowers Hannah kept on her kitchen counter. From the small amount of light feeding in through the back door, he could see another small object sitting next to the vase: a small cup with a single blue-green flower in it.  

A perfect sight to end a perfect night.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[bookshelf-dust]

how did you gain traction with your fics? You and others have inspired me to get back into writing again, and I’m feeling a little disheartened bc I haven’t received any feedback… do you have any tips?? You don’t have to answer, love your work angel x

i won’t lie this made me kind of emotional?? you have no idea how much i appreciate you asking me this or saying that i’ve inspired you. me?? are you sure??

also i’m gonna try my best to answer this for you :)))

i started writing on wattpad before on here, and i did that purely because i wanted to. that’s why i write here too! i’d been writing stories in the notes on my phone and decided i’d revise them and give sharing them a shot. there isn’t a lot that’s made me as happy as writing does, so i guess my main piece of advice is to write because you enjoy it and write what you want. then all the other stuff will come later.

my blog is little and i quite like it that way, but there’s a set of billy headcanons i wrote that have a thousand and some odd notes? which might not seem like a lot to some people but it is to me. honestly i get scared to post so i tend to post things and then go to sleep. but that one is the most notes i’ve gotten. and it’s shocking because i posted that and didn’t think anyone would read it (i have very low expectations for myself).

so really i just write things i’m happy with and i post them and i completely understand the disheartening feeling that comes with a lack of feedback. i really appreciate comments and reblogs because they tell me if someone likes something and then that gives me motivation to write more. i have something i wrote that was the longest thing i’ve ever written, and it’s got less than twenty notes i think. and likes don’t tell me anything, you know? so i try to leave feedback on everything i read because i know what it feels like to not know if anyone is enjoying your work.

as for tips, i have noticed that there seems to be a time zone thing? like if i post at a certain time, no one sees it, but at another time it gets a little more attention? it’s odd. i also try my best at getting loads of tags in there. but honestly i didn’t start using tumblr until 2022 (almost said this year) so i’m still new and learning as i go. and i’m not totally sure about traction, i suppose? i think it depends on the characters too. my gareth work doesn’t do as well because he isn’t as popular a character. my eddie stuff does well right off the bat because he’s more popular, but then it sort of calms down after that. billy does well over time. i think sometimes people might be shy to share their feelings about billy. idk. maybe that’s bullshit and sounds silly.

so i’d say: do it for yourself. if you enjoy it, then write whatever you want for whoever you want. but i know it sucks to not have feedback. sometimes i post and it’s radio silent and it can hurt. and i think there is a definite problem with the lack of responses on here—i’ve seen people compare it to things like instagram where likes mean everything, and that’s not the case here. but really, if you enjoy it, keep at it. i think the good stuff comes later, if that makes any sense. sometimes i feel like quitting, but if i take a step back, i realize that i enjoy it and it doesn’t matter if no one reads it, because i had fun making up this little escapist world.

i don’t know if that was helpful at all, but again i really appreciate you asking me. thank you for reading my crap and for being here :)))

[ask-the-tempest-king]

(i want to go ahead and add this in so bear w me but)

Inside the delivered box was a letter. It read,

“Dear Dimitri— His Majesty— whatever. You know who this is from. It’s Silver.

I wanted to thank you personally for all you’ve done for Fhirdiad, and Faerghus as a whole. I may not be a native of Fodland, but you, and everyone at the office here, have made this Akaneian mutt feel more than welcome. You gave us a home we could proudly return to. You’ve balanced the gap between the poor and the rich (as best you can, and I’m not gonna harp on you for that. We can’t be picky), you’ve brought peace where it was sorely needed.

Basically the guys at the Post Office and I think you’re amazing.

So we all pitched in a week’s worth of our paychecks and had this made for you!

We put our heads together and decided on a little hello from my home country of Altea! This cloak is made and lined, inside and out with weatherproof Pegasus feathers. Back home, when Pegasi foals start molting, farmers (humanely) help pluck them from their wings. The down is used to line the insides of coats. The waterproof outer layer is made from shed outer feathers from our Pegasi in the stable (more likely from Eileen’s Butterscotch. He sheds so much, poor baby), so this coat is both stylish and rain resistant!

In my mother’s country of Macedon, the waterproof feathers were replaced with Wyvern scales, but I’m not exactly sure what Fodland’s laws are on descaling wyvern corpses for armor and clothing. Don’t wanna get testy.

I’ll end it here, but thanks for everything! We appreciate it. Truly! :)

- The Fhirdiad Fifth Division Fliers

(Eileen, Silver, Renée, Cedric, Miguel, Cassandra, and Stephen)”

She was right. Inside the box was a neatly folded cloak lined top to bottom with lighter than air Pegasi feathers. The outer layer trailed colors from plain white at the top to speckled gray, sweet caramel, and even Percival’s dingy bay towards the bottom. The inside of the cloak was lined with sapphire dyed, but still exquisitely soft, foal’s down.

*He gently feels the cloth of the cloak, marveling at the softness of it* I... I don’t know what to say. Thank you deeply, from the bottom of my heart. I’m incredibly touched by this act of kindness towards me, I’m deeply honored that you all appreciate my efforts enough to do this for me. I don’t know how I will be able to repay you for this, but I swear that I will continue to work to make you and everyone else proud.