#Bracelet corner will be the next big event

[skyeslittlecorner]

Hello! I hope you're having a wonderful Halloween!

Will it be all right if I request the WHB King's reactions to MC wearing One of those sexy Halloween costumes (any of your choice!)

You're writing is extremely well done And I really enjoy reading your work!

Have a nice day or night :3

Hello! And thank you! And yes, and thank you! I'm writing this answer early, because the time it's posted, I'm probably sitting with family and friends. Hope I can brighten up your three minutes with my silly ideas 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

You came to Satan in a mummy costume, covering strategic places with bandages. He is delighted. For this joy he will kick anyone who looks at you, and he will want to take you here, now, in this corner, on this wall. The bandages you wore will grow to the status of relics. Satan will tie them around his wrists for difficult fights, and small pieces will be used to tie the most seriously wounded warriors, as a reward and support in healing.

Mammon won't be able to take his eyes off you when he sees you dressed as an Egyptian queen. Dripping with gold and silk, half-naked, combining inaccessibility with luxury... This will be Tartaros' favorite Halloween, because Mammon will take you on his knees and open up the throne room, accepting audiences for ordinary devils. Let all the devils see how beautiful and powerful their queen and his Master is, before he takes you to his chambers to ruin your expensive makeup.

Leviathan will be disgusted when he sees your exposed shoulders, tight corset and short skirt with a deep cut if you dress up as a pirate. What kind of idea is that? And that knife on your thigh. You want to fight with anything? With this? Foolish human. As a pirate, you should be ready to fight a kraken... and he can show you how dangerous and big the tentacles are.

You know those edible bracelets made of powdered candy? This is what the bikini Beelzebub will send you is made of. Only there will be less candy than on this bracelet. So that you can somehow go out on the town, you'll throw on his coat and tie it tightly around your waist. Improvisation is all you have left. You grab your markers, open the phone gallery and in the mirror, sloppily, scribble words on your body; Beel's tattoos. You'll steal Bael's glasses, and voila! Avisos, don't count on seeing your king, because when he sees you, he'll get obsessed. Do you want to be his so much that you're dressed up as him? Do you miss him so much? Come here. All you'll see for the next few hours is him and his clones; he'll point out every mistake in your tattoos and make you learn them by heart on his own body.

For Lucifer, you really tried your best with the makeup. You came in torn clothes, with fake wounds painted all over your body. The poor devil almost had a heart attack when he saw you. He rushed to check which of them were real, and when it turned out that none, you only heard a quiet whisper and felt a warm breath on your cheek. "Not very convincing." he muttered disapprovingly, as if he almost didn't panic at your sight. "I'll help you make them better." He licked his lips. Looking at his sharp fangs... your makeup can't compare to what they will leave.

For Belphegor the sexiest thing you can do is dress up as a mattress, but he guesses that wasn't the purpose of this event. You put on a sexy outfit, drew some card designs, and slid some cards and dices under your clothes and into ruffles. You decided to present the devil with a fait accompli. Took his favorite dice and threw it under your bra. "Oops." You spread your hands as if you hadn't done it on purpose. "I think you lost something?" Although initially unfazed, you quickly motivated him to search... even though your ornaments would soon be the last thing he was interested in.

Asmodeus was hard (as always) to figure out… so you decided to ignore him completely and just have fun. Let's test our king. Will he really think you're sexy in *everything*? Even if you dress up as an inflatable T-Rex? You were already excited when you found out that there was no such thing in hell. Sucks. Annoyed, you decided to tease your king. With Eligos and Paimon you spent a good few days, preparing a tight black dress, a curly wig, and specific makeup. To them, you looked simply sexy; but when you stood before Asmodeus, made up like Lust, his eyes widened. After all, he’s a man of culture who spends most of his time on Earth. “Sassy.” He smiled menacingly as he ran his finger over the tattoo between your collarbones. “Do you want to mock me or please me? Oh, well… Guess I have to ignite you.” Others better appreciate your creation before he sees you, because there will be absolutely nothing left of it.

[hwaslayer]

project: make you love me (jyh) | ten.

♣︎ spotify playlist | series masterlist

—summary: yunho can’t stand how you’re so wrapped up in the notorious campus fuckboy, park seonghwa. he would gladly love you the way you deserve, despite being shy, awkward and the complete opposite of seonghwa. thus, when he finds himself spending more time with you over literature reviews and random study sessions, he decides to take on the challenge to win you over.

—pairing: jeong yunho x f. reader x park seonghwa

—genre: (18+ - minors dni) strangers/friends to lovers, college au | fluff, angst, smut

—word count: 5.2k (sorry i know i said 5.5k.. had to chop off a bit and move it onto the next chapter lol)

—chapter content/warnings: cussing/mature language, flashback scene, yuyu and yeosang find themselves at a house party ayeee 🤪, yeosang assuming the role of wingman, alcohol consumption, intoxication, a sprinkle of seonghwa, dancing/throwing ass back, cute funny drunk yunho lol, making out, dry humping, sleepovers 😙

one night - sire | mi gente - j balvin | dj turn it up - yellow claw

Yunho looks at himself in the mirror, letting out a deep sigh. He opted for a simple outfit— one that could keep him cool in a packed house and not be too extra for a party. But, the longer he stares at it, the more he feels like he could do better. Or, maybe, you might not even notice him or think much of him in this outfit. 

How does he do this?

Honestly, he's not even sure what constitutes a 'house party' outfit.

"Nice." Yeosang nods as he stands near Yunho's doorway.

"It's too plain, isn't it?" Yunho eyes Yeosang's outfit. He's in a loose, black sleeveless top, a bomber jacket, jeans and boots.

"No, why? It's fine." It's Yeosang's turn to eye Yunho in his fit, and he honestly thinks it's perfect for tonight's events. Yunho opted for black jeans, a white Stussy shirt, and his converse. He has a silver bracelet dangling around his wrist, cologne sitting at the corner of his dresser. Yeosang doesn't smell it on him yet, but he thinks it's because Yunho is questioning whether it's too much or not. "You look good."

"Should I add some cologne? A light jacket?"

"Add the cologne." Yeosang laughs. "But, not the jacket. I'm literally only going in this because I'm just there for a few drinks and to be a wingman. Then, I'll see myself out." Yunho smiles and nods.

"Hm." Yunho hums. "I'm just going there for a bit, too."

"Mm, but you're going there to hang out with Y/N and grab her for a few dances. I refuse to leave until you get a moment with her."

"I don't know. What if she doesn't wanna, though? I'm not gonna force her."

"Seriously? With all the little walks you guys take and your study sessions?" Yeosang smirks. "Right." He looks at his phone. "Anyway, we're a bit late. Wanna take a shot or two and walk over?" Yunho shrugs.

"Sure." Yunho takes one last look at himself before spraying a bit of cologne and meeting Yeosang in the kitchen. Yunho doesn't like to drink much because he hates the feeling, especially the next morning. But tonight, he was feeling a little more bold— like he could use the extra liquid courage to be less nervous around you.

Not that he needed it, but it was a party. He'd like to be of some fun for you.

By the time Yunho heads out to the kitchen, Yeosang already has 2 red cups ready to go. He tilts the cup to the side, peeking at how much alcohol was inside—

Yeosang must have wanted him to die.

"This isn't a shot or two. This is half the bottle." Yeosang laughs and shakes his head.

"Not even. I swear dude, you'll be fine. We can pace ourselves when we get there. Plus who knows, they might've taken all the alcohol already."

"It's only been 30 minutes since the party started." 

"A lot can happen in 30 minutes." Yeosang picks up his cup and raises it in the air. "Cheers?" Yunho shrugs and taps his cup against his, internally dying at how much alcohol is in his cup.

"Cheers." Yunho swallows the first half in a big gulp before cracking open the coke can. He takes a sip before gulping down the last bit and making a face at Yeosang. "Don't ever do that again."

"You're welcome." Yeosang laughs. "Let's head out and get your girl." Yunho shakes his head, quickly cleaning the kitchen before shutting off the lights and following Yeosang out. Luckily, the party is at a house right behind the complex, so Yeosang and Yunho aren't having to walk too far. As they approach the community, Yunho can already hear the music blasting from down the street, followed by a few echoes of loud yells and cheers. Hearing the noise makes him feel a bit anxious, and he's starting to regret his decision based off of it alone.

But, he commits. He knows he'll see you soon, and things will feel a bit better.

It does help knowing Yeosang joined to make him feel more comfortable.

Approaching the house, Yunho can see that there are people packed on the first floor of the house and into the backyard. He follows Yeosang in, squeezing his way past all the drunk people to head to the kitchen.

"Here, gonna make you a drink to sip on." Yeosang says, pointing at the counter where all the liquor and soda are laid out. Yunho continues to follow along, even if his eyes are searching high and low for you. He hasn't seen you yet, and he's hoping he does soon.

He really just wants to find you and be with you.

♣︎ FLASHBACK

Yunho kicks the rocks beneath his shoes, hands dug deep into his pockets as he patiently waits at the end of the path. He's anxious, and a bit nervous; but overall, happy to finally see you. His head shoots up the moment he hears a door click close, footsteps jogging down the steps.

"Yunho!" You softly squeal, giggling as you run straight into his arms. He wraps you into a bear hug, slightly swinging you around before placing you back down onto your feet.

"Hey cutie."

"I missed you! You're actually here."

"I told you I came home early." You chuckle before gently squeezing his bicep.

"I know, but it's nice to know it's real." You smile. "What have you been up to?"

"Not much. How was your drive over?"

"I fell asleep for most of it. We stopped at a pitstop to grab more grub, but otherwise, it was okay." He nods.

"Club was fun last night?"

"Sooo much fun! I met so many new friends, and the DJ was so good! It was such a good time. I wish you had been there." 

"I wish I was too. But, next time. Yeah?" You nod.

"Sounds like a plan."

"I'm happy you had fun, though. You deserved it, all of it." You link your arm around his, absentmindedly following him to his car. You don't realize it until he's opening the car door, gesturing at you to wait until he grabs a few things from the seat. "I have something for you."

"What is it?" Your eyes sparkle as you stand and wait.

"You said you needed to get new lavender for your room, right?" You remember texting him that a few days ago, and you can't help but smile at Yunho's attention to detail.

"Are you serious?" You slightly pout when he hands you the small bouquet of lavender, plus a smaller bag.

"I-I also found those persimmons you like so much." He scratches at the nape of his neck, nervously watching you eye the gifts. Your expression is a tad bit unreadable, and Yunho can't really tell if he's crossed a line or if he's okay. But, to his surprise, you set the things down onto the trunk of the car and jump back into his arms.

"Yunho, you really are the best. Thank you for all of this."

"Of course. I guess it's my odd way of saying congrats?" You giggle, allowing him to press a small kiss against your temple. 

♣︎ END

But, unluckily for you, you're having to deal with a drunk Seonghwa who doesn't seem to get the point. You had been avoiding him since you arrived, sticking close to a few other friends in the backyard while watching an intense game of beer pong taking place. The moment you stepped away to go find your bestfriends, Seonghwa comes stumbling out of nowhere— ziplining straight to you once he spots you.

"Babygirl, can we talk?" You can smell the liquor on him, his hand wrapping gently around your wrist. "I've missed you. I've been waiting for you all night. Just give me a few mins—"

"Not now. I'm trying to find my friends."

"Your friends?"

"Seonghwa." You warn him because you know exactly where this is going.

"You sure it isn't Yunho? I hope it isn't." Seonghwa laughs at the possibility even though your expression confirms the answer.

"And if it is, then what? At the end of the day, it isn't your business." Seonghwa scoffs.

"Are you serious? I don't get you. I don't get it. I've been turning everyone down for you, and you don't even realize—"

"Okay, then go do whatever the fuck you want Seonghwa! No one asked you to do that, I told you this was over. Stop keeping tabs on me." You rip your hand from his grip even as he continues to call for you, walking away from the hallway into the crowded, but hyped living room. Every single person in the room was dancing; either with friends or with another person. You catch a glimpse of Yunho standing against the wall with Mingi and Yeosang, flushed cheeks and glazed eyes. He sips on his drink, eyes meeting yours across the room. You're in this cute cargo mini skirt, a cropped tee and Nike dunks.

Goddamn, you look good.

And if it wasn't for all this liquid courage, he wouldn't be thinking about grabbing you for a dance— just for funsies. Bonus that he gets you, all of you, to himself tonight.

You didn't even expect Yunho to show up at this point, being that he's said time and time again that he wasn't into parties. But, you're glad he is. Mingi and Yeosang must have done a lot of convincing, which they did. Though, the other part of it was the fact that he knew you'd be here and that might give him another opportunity to get even closer to you.

"Hey, what the fuck was that about?" Chaery pulls you out of your little staring contest when she comes out of the kitchen and gently squeezes your arm.

"Just Seonghwa being Seonghwa, what else?" You roll your eyes, still appalled at Seonghwa's audacity to try and gatekeep you for the night even though you're well aware there isn't one truthful bone in his body. You ended this, and you had no plans on falling back into his trap tonight. 

Not on the agenda.

"Dude, forget him, let's just have fun." Soobin says, pointing at your group of friends in the corner of the room. "Everyone else is over there." You follow them over, eyes glancing over to Yunho again. He's still conversing with Mingi and Yeosang, though his eyes follow yours mid-convo. It's almost like he's waiting for you, or waiting for the perfect opportunity to make his move. You're hoping he does, but you also have no problem making the first move.

Yunho is so, so attractive.

You would be lying if you said your feelings for Yunho weren't growing by the second.

You meet up with your friends in the living room; Hyunjin, Jongho, Taehyun, Minnie and Yeonjun already dancing along to the song and showing off their moves. You, Seungmin, Soobin and Chaery join along, before Yeonjun is passing his flask around so that your group can take more shots together. At this point, you're tipsy and definitely feeling yourself more as the alcohol continues to run through your veins.

Feeling yourself, feeling bold, feeling good despite Seonghwa trying to ruin your night and be all possessive— who the fuck was he to act that way? He didn't want it in the first place, so you'll give him a little taste of his own medicine.

You can't help but turn over your shoulder to see Yunho bouncing along to the beat while Mingi is scoping the room. You can tell he's trying to get Yunho to explore and find himself a cutie to dance with, but he responds with a laugh and a shake of his head. His eyes meet yours [yet again for the umpteenth time tonight] and the tension suddenly increases tenfold through his look alone. His tongue pokes out to wet his lips before he's giving you a small smirk. 

You want him.

"Why don't you dance with him instead of eyeing him the entire night?" Chaery says in your ear, making you drunkily giggle.

"I'm too shy."

"Shut up, since when? You look so good tonight, fuck Seonghwa. I refuse to let him ruin your night. Get up on Jeong Yunho, now." She quickly glances at him. "He clearly wants you too." Suddenly, the lights in the living room shut off, obnoxious, colorful disco lights filling different corners of the room. It's clear that the intention behind shutting off the lights was to get everyone to the highest level of hoe tonight, and it's working—

Hyunjin is dancing with Minnie, Soobin and Yeonjun are dancing with some other girls in your class.

Even Seungmin is pulling Chaery to the middle for a fun, platonic dance. 

"Go for it, dude." Yeosang says to Yunho, gently nudging his arm. "She'll be out there any second."

"Y/N come out here!" Chaery yells, pulling you deeper into the dance floor with Seungmin. You know she's plotting on getting you closer to Yunho because the two of them are only an arms-length away from where Yeosang, Yunho and Mingi stand. You laugh and dance around with your bestfriends anyway, until you feel a hand gently grab at your wrist and pull you from the crowd. You turn to see Yunho smiling, pulling you flush to his body before grabbing your hips. Mingi is focused on his dance with one of the seniors, leaning back against the wall as she works her ass against him, while Yeosang is pursing his lips together to prevent himself from smiling at you and Yunho dancing together.

And Seonghwa? He shouldn't give a fuck, but he does. Especially when he sits on the random bar stool and catches you having fun with Yunho [out of all fucking people], his girl for the night whining for his attention in between his legs. The worst part is that Yunho can fucking dance.

The sly motherfucker has gigs and can keep up with your rhythm. Since when?

It looks so natural for the two of you to be all up on each other like this, and it makes Seonghwa so fucking annoyed, slightly sick to his stomach even. How the hell was he gonna lose his main chick over Jeong Yunho? 

But, you could care less about what he has to think. Right now, all you can think about is Yunho giving your hips a squeeze, fingers hooked into the belt loops of your skirt as he dances against you and works with your rhythm. What a turn on. 

After a couple of songs, it's transitioning into yet another song and you're worked the fuck out. You turn to face him, giggling as he keeps you close and rests his hands around your hips. 

"Thanks for the dance." You tell him in his ear, hand resting on the nape of his neck.

"Are you staying for awhile?" He asks, pulling back slightly just to read your expression.

"I was, but I don't mind leaving early." He looks at you again, a small smile on the corner of his lips.

"Wanna get outta here then? I'm kinda over it." You chuckle and nod.

"Let me just tell Chaery." You look over at Yeosang, who is still observing the party with another friend of his. "What about Yeosang?" Yeosang hears you and shakes his head with a smile on his face, deciding he'll be home later just to give you and Yunho some alone time. 

"No, it's alright. I'm gonna stay and catch up with more people." He lies. You nod, hand laced with Yunho's as you navigate the crowd and gently pull Chaery by the arm. She waves happily at Yunho before she's dipping forward to hear what you have to say.

"I'm gonna head out early." Her eyes widen before she squeals.

"Oh my god! Yes! Be safe, okay?" She points at Yunho. "You better take care of her or I'm chopping your shit off, for real." He winces.

"Yeah, don't worry. I got her."

"See you later!" 

"Or not, don't come home! That's fine, too!" Seungmin drunkly adds, making you roll your eyes as you both continue to through the crowd and out of the house.

"Thank god." He says the moment you two step out of the door and get hit with the fresh, evening air. You chuckle as you make your way out of the front yard and out onto the street, finally feeling free from suffering at a crowded, stuffy frat party.

"I wasn't expecting you to be here." You look down at your hands still clasped together. As the cold hits, you're realizing you're still quite drunk and Yunho is too. He's much more talkative and giggly tonight. You like it.

"I wasn't either." He chuckles. "But Yeo and Mingi.."

"They did a lot to convince you, it seems." He shrugs.

"That. And, maybe the fact that I knew you were coming?" You shoot him a look before smiling down at the ground.

"You know you don't have to use the party as an excuse to hang out with me more, right?" 

"I don't know, you're a really pretty girl who has a really busy schedule. Thought it was a good way to sneak myself in a bit more outside of school and friends." You snort and nod.

"Yunho, I like your company. We can always hang out. You don't have to subject yourself to this mess."

"Eh, I'd say it was still worth it." You giggle.

"So, where are we going?"

"Down the street and back to my place?" He asks nervously. "If that's okay with you, of course. There's really no intention behind it, and I know you wanted to see my place, so I just—"

"I'd like that." He smiles. God, the fucking boldness spewing out of him right now— who is he?

"Okay." The walk is back up the hill, super quick and nothing too treacherous. Though, it seems like it lasts for 5 seconds when you're holding Yunho's hand and listening to him talk about everything he's observed at the party. He's making you laugh so much that you don't even remember the last time you had a stomach ache from someone telling you their party experiences. Everything is just so natural with Yunho, you can't help but accept the fact that your feelings for him do grow every second you're near him.

"Oh my god, I think I got a workout from that walk alone." He chuckles as he unlocks his door and steps aside to let you in.

"Good, at least our workout is covered for the weekend." You look around at the apartment. It's bare, but it's clean. They have a couch with a coffee table in the living room and a good sized tv. The kitchen is spotless, with a few containers of protein and Shaker bottles lying around the counter [thanks to Yeosang] and some bread and fruits off to the side.

"Wow, it's cozy and clean." Yunho chuckles.

"We try to keep it clean." He looks at you with glossy, drunk-dazed eyes. "And guess what? It's really hard." You snort.

"I beg to differ. You and Yeosang do a good job." He pops into the fridge and flashes a water bottle.

"Well, that's always good to hear." He laughs a bit. "Need some water?"

"Please." He smiles as he hands you the bottle in his hand. You both take a good gulp or two before Yunho starts to slowly walk down the hallway. 

"Quick tour - Yeosang's room, my room." He smiles. "End of tour." You laugh.

"Thank you for that." 

"Do you wanna hang out in my room or out here? It's up to you, I don't mind either way. Just want you to be comfortable." He says. You point to his door and he simply nods. He swings the door open to his room and it almost surprises you how neat it is inside. You're only peering in from the hallway though, carefully taking steps into his room before you're fully in his space, eyes wandering from wall to wall. He has a drawer against one wall, with a few figurines lining the top surface. He has a corner desk with two monitors, probably to help with his gaming [you assume; Seungmin and Soobin have been trying to do this setup for ages], and a good sized bed that has its navy sheets neatly fixed. His room isn't entirely huge, so it's obvious he's tried to utilize his space as much as possible.

"I feel like I'm intruding in your space, though." You say as you continue to eye his room. Yunho comes behind you, watching as you observe the surroundings.

"Trust me, you're not." He says softly from behind. You feel his presence close in on you from behind, chest almost grazing your back. "You can relax." He chuckles a bit, hoping it'll help you feel a little better. And he thinks it works, especially when you start to walk towards his drawer and carefully run your hand across his figurines and special edition funko pops. They were mostly given to him throughout the years by his older cousins. The gifts will always be special to him, especially now that they've all moved to various places around the world and he rarely ever sees them anymore. 

"Do you collect these?" Your eyes are still on the figurines while Yunho follows behind. He shakes his head as if you can see him.

"Not really, my cousins gifted me those."

"Sweet." You glance at him with a small smile. Then, your attention darts to the random pile of photos sitting at the corner. Your hands almost get ahead of themselves, beginning to reach over to grab them when you pause— "Pictures?" You look at him with that doe-eyed look again and he melts a bit.

"I found them while cleaning out a few things. It's mostly with my cousins and—"

"Baby Yunho with mom?!" You raise up a picture, one that has baby Yunho in a hat, striped t-shirt and shorts. He's sitting on the lap of who you presume is his mother, throwing up a thumbs up with a huge, hearty smile. "You are so cute, look at you!" He blushes, but he takes the photo from your hand and snags the others before you can see anything else embarrassing. 

"Uh, yeah. That's mom. I need to get a frame for these, but until then—"

"Let me see the others!" You pout, trying to reach for the others in his hand. He raises it, laughing at your effort when he's damn near as tall as the Salesforce Tower in SF. It's so adorable, and so, so endearing that you want to see this so badly. "Yunho, hey." You whine. "That's not fair. I wanna see baby Yunho with his cousins."

"You will, once I frame them and make it look more presentable." You give him an unsure look and he smiles. "Promise." You huff and scrunch your nose. "You're really, really cute, you know that?"

"If you think this is gonna make me forget about it, it's not gonna work Jeong Yunho." You look up at him as he closes the distance between you two.

"Oh, it's not?" He teases, his face dipping down towards you in an angle that'll make it so easy for him to just kiss you, indulge in you, right at this moment.

"Mm, no." You subtly bite onto your bottom lip, but Yunho catches it. There's a small pause, some silence sitting in the air while Yunho's eyes are darting to your features— the mole near your bottom eye lid, long, thick lashes, plump lips.

Yeah, he wants to kiss you.

"Y/N?" He breaks the silence first.

"Mhm?" His lips only a mere inches away from yours at this point and it's obvious where this is going. God, you can't wait.

"Is it okay if I..?" You nod quietly as Yunho leans in to meet your lips. At first, the kiss is soft, sweet. He only pulls back to quickly read your expression, but it doesn't last for long when you're pulling him by the shirt for another kiss. This time, it's deeper. There's hunger, there's need, there's want. Yunho quickly drops the photos back on top of the drawer before cupping your cheeks. His tongue lines your bottom lip before inserting it in, a small whimper leaving your mouth when his tongue starts to dance around with yours. You push him back so that he plops onto his bed, boldly climbing onto his lap without a care in the world as you continue to messily make out with him. The quick moment you release your lips from his, he's chasing after your bottom lip— gently sucking onto it and biting it before pulling back. One hand is at your waist, fingers starting to hook onto the belt loop of your skirt when he feels you subtly grind against him. He lets out a breath while the other hand gently squeezes at your thigh before coming up to cup your cheek. He kisses you on the lips once more before he trails down your jaw, feeling your hips working against him as you let out small moans. 

Your skirt is barely doing justice to cover you at this point, and it's driving Yunho crazy.

But, that's what brings him back to reality. Though it's hard as fuck to fully come back down from cloud nine, he doesn't wanna do this the wrong way. He wants to take you out first, wants to treat you properly and have your first time [if ever] naturally occur— not a drip of intoxication. You were worth much more than that, and he was not trying to be another Park Seonghwa who solely treated you like an object, a 'prized' possession; another body he could add to his list.

"Wait, wait." He whispers near your ear after prying his lips off of your jaw. 

"What's wrong?" You look at him with some sort of fear, or worry. Yunho immediately shakes his head in response because there's nothing wrong with you; he just wants to do right by you.

"As much as I really, really wanna do this right now, I wanna do things right with you." His eyes land on yours as his thumb continues to caress your cheek. "Especially don't wanna be intoxicated if it ever gets to that point. Is that okay?" You give him a soft smile and nod.

"More than okay." 

"Okay." He comes in for another sweet, gentle kiss against your lips— one where he stays there for a bit before slowly pulling back. "I don't wanna mess this up."

"You won't, Yunho. You couldn't." You brush the hair out of his face before lazily wrapping your arms around his neck. His hands rest at your waist while he looks at you, eyes darting across every inch of your face.

God, you are so beautiful. So sweet, and so beautiful. 

Seonghwa is the biggest dumbass he has ever come across. But to each their own!

"Do you.. wanna make some pb&j sandwiches? Watch a movie while we lay down? Play a board game?" You giggle.

"Actually, a pb&j sandwich followed by a movie while laying down sounds amazing right now." 

"Okay, let's do it." He taps your waist. 

"Wait. Do you have clothes I can borrow and change into? Cause I definitely don't wanna lay down in this." He chuckles and walks to his drawer after the both of you get back on your feet. He hands you some shorts and a longsleeve, telling you to use whatever in the bathroom that you might need to freshen up. "Thank you." You plant a chaste kiss to his cheek before freshening up in his bathroom and changing into his clothes. You smile to yourself, smelling the scent of his detergent on the pieces of material, feeling how soft it is against your skin. 

When you walk out, Yunho is already toasting some bread while grabbing the peanut butter and jelly. You giggle as you place your clothes down in his room, slipping yourself onto the counter near him while he goes to work.

"Yunho, the peanut butter to jelly ratio is off." 

"No, it's not." He holds up the bread slice with a thin layer of jelly.

"It needs more jelly. You can still see parts of the bread cause there's not enough jelly." He laughs and nods.

"Okay, cutie. I'm on it." He adjusts the ratio until you're happily clapping and take the sandwich from him. You bite into it with so much satisfaction that Yunho can't help but be pleased with himself. You're happy. Here— with him and this sandwich.

"Hey." Yeosang suddenly walks through the door and slightly furrows his brows at the two of you laughing over pb&j sandwiches. You're sitting on the counter with Yunho now slotted in between your legs.

"Oh, hey! How was the rest of the party?" He shrugs and tosses his keys aside.

"Alright, I guess. You guys didn't miss out on much."

"Are Chaery and them still there?" He nods.

"Yeah, but they were getting ready to head out too." 

"Want a pb&j sandwich?" Yeosang laughs.

"I'm good. Thanks." He spots Yunho's clothes on you and prevents himself from smirking a bit too big. He doesn't know you too well enough to tease, plus he feels like he can't just flat out assume, so he keeps it to himself and bids you two farewell instead. "I'm gonna shower in a bit and head to bed. Fucking beat."

"Goodnight!" You and Yunho call out before he disappears into his room. You and Yunho giggle at each other as you continue to satisfy your drunchies before getting yourselves ready for the movie. The both of you settle on a true crime documentary for god knows why [definitely not shits and giggles], but as long as Yunho was around, you felt comforted enough. He hands you an extra toothbrush from his stash, reassuring you that he wasn't pressuring you to stay unless you really wanted to.

Which, you did.

It was late. You were comfortable in his clothes. Of course you'd fall asleep mid-documentary. Plus, Yunho wasn't gonna let you leave this late even if you lived across the lot. 

Once you and Yunho get more comfortable and clean up in the kitchen, he shuts off the lights and closes his door— leaving you to stand awkwardly in his room as you wait for him. He chuckles a bit and grabs his laptop off of his desk before nodding towards his bed.

"You can lay down, you know?" 

"It's your bed. You should pick which side you want first." 

"I'll hang out on the end so that the monsters don't come and get you in the middle of the night." You laugh and shake your head, slipping yourself near the wall after Yunho pulls his sheets back. He settles in right after, allowing you to snuggle against him as he sets the laptop on his tummy. "Are you okay?"

"You're comfy." He snorts a bit as the movie starts to play.

"Definitely gonna fall asleep."

"Am not." You whine.

"Probably 20 mins tops."

And Yunho's right, except it barely hits 20 minutes before he hears the soft snores against his chest. He smiles down at you before shutting off his laptop, setting it on the floor near his bed before adjusting his position so that the two of you were snuggled deeply under his covers.

He could get used to this, and he doesn't know if it's more of a good or bad thing right now.

But he doesn't ponder for long— setting a small kiss on the top of your head before shutting his eyes and letting the drowsiness take over.

♣︎ taglist: @s-nsanshine @soupbinlily @tyongff-ff @jiminiscricket @g1g1l @staytinyinmybpack @woomyteez @gfksz @bitchwhytho @savluvsmingi @thisisntmyrightera @hyukssunflower @miriamxsworld @tmtxtf @kuromibabe04 @lmnhead @carrietwrites @tournesol155 @persphonesorchid @txt-yaomi @marsattacks @mxnsxngie @h-nji @mundayoonimnida @jalapeno-princess @nakiiko @asjkdk @kunikku @idkwgoh @kyeos4ng @agust-d2 @araknoid @bintificreads @primoppang @betray-the-light @aurorasjoongie @wineyoungie @yunholuvrsblog @mingigiggles @jaerisdiction

[star-sim]

california dreamin' ☆ jay park

☆ non-idol! jay x fem! reader ☆ summary: in the final months of your relationship, jay reminisces the taste of beach waves, southern california, and you. ☆ genre: fluff, angst (ish), 80's au + timeskip, this is set in southern california, classic rich boy x alt girl ☆ warning(s)? brief mentions of poor parenting ☆ word count: 1.6k words ☆ this is my entry for @flwrstqr and @cupidhoons polaroid love event! based off of "california dreamin" by the mamas and papas, love the retro cali aesthetic

"Do you want to run away with me?"

Jay pulled the salted caramel apple lollipop away from his lips, the sour taste lingering on his tongue as its crystalline texture rolled against his tastebuds. His brows crashed together.

"What?" he eyed you quizzically, but you kept your eyes trained on the deep blue water that swayed against the coast.

"It's obvious that we're not wanted here," you said plainly.

Jay sucked in a sharp breath, his hand jerking out to clutch your shoulder. "That's not—"

"There's no point in denying it," you shot him a look. Your next words came out wry and bored, almost like you're annoyed, but Jay could tell that you were feeling the exact opposite. "You know damn well that your parents couldn't care less about you, and my old man's always too busy to remember whether or not I left the house."

The corner of your lips quirk up, a dry grin spreading across your face as you reached across to smack Jay's arm playfully. "No one will notice if we're gone."

Words bled onto his tongue, threatening to spill out, but Jay held them in. 

After all, you were correct.

Jay met you in the summer of 1987. You were both sixteen, and Jay recognized you from his sophomore chemistry class�� how could he miss your smudged eyeliner and black nail polish? The difference this time was that you were the cashier at the surf shop next to his dad's private beach.

Maybe it was the way you chewed pink bubblegum boredom, giving him a deadpan expression as he spluttered out your name, or maybe it was the fact that even in ninety degree Southern California weather, you still managed to wear a black bikini top with skulls and rhinestones on it, but Jay found himself frequenting that surf shop a little too much that summer.

Yes, it was his fourth time coming into this surf shop in one afternoon. 

Yes, he didn't need to take his time looking at each and every shell necklace on the display next to the cash register. 

Yes, he knew all about surfboards and most definitely did not need to ask for your assistance.

Yes, he knew that you were staring at the water droplets rolling down his chest as he ran his hand through his wet hair, his sun-kissed skin glistening under the golden sunlight.

Yes, he knew was staring at your bikini top, but any man in his position would do the same. 

And yes, he knew that you knew that he knew this.

That didn't stop Jay, though.

If there was something that his absent father was able to do for him, it was to teach him to never have shame. That's why Jay shamelessly walked into that surf shop every day, just to see you.

It took a few (multiple) tries before you agreed to go on a date with him. He brought you flowers, necklaces, rings, handbags, all kinds of luxury items, but you ignored him each time. 

It wasn't until Jay noticed the bracelet on your wrist— it had a frayed tassel and seashells of different sizes, some of them chipped and others burned by the sun— that he realized what he should bring you instead of expensive gifts.

Alas, a clumsily-made bracelet composed of mismatched seashells that was just a little too big for your wrist. When Jay presented it to you, a proud grin on his face, it must have been the first time that he'd ever seen you smile.

Since the summer of 1987, you and Jay agreed to keep your relationship secret, because people always had stuff to say. You were going strong, and what made summer the best was that you could freely love your boyfriend without the pondering eyes of your peers.

Two years later, it was the summer of 1989, and you and Jay were now sitting on the ledge before the beach. In a few weeks, summer would end, and you and Jay would be apart. But this time, apart for longer than you'd ever been. You were staying in California for university, but Jay's parents were sending him out of state.

Soon, it would be autumn, and you would have to say goodbye to not just Jay crawling through your bedroom window, sneaking out to the local beachside diner, slipping love notes into each other's lockers, and making out behind the bleachers, but also running your fingers through his chlorine-bleached hair and feeling the warmth of Jay's body as the two of you napped in the sun.

Jay looked at your face. Under the orangey sunset, he could see the light reflecting off your eyes. With the scent of peach in the air, and the glow of your skin, Jay's chest felt heavy.

How could he possibly leave you? How could he leave you when you tasted like California?

Yeah, it would be hard to say goodbye to you.

It would be hard to say goodbye to you, and nobody else.

Jay's eyes fell to the bandaid on your palm.

He knew you'd think the same about him.

There was a reason that you and Jay got on so well.

For one, it seemed like Jay was the last thing on his parent's to-do list. His only purpose was to carry on the family name and live out their legacy. But if neglecting their son and being absent in his life was their legacy, he didn't want any part in it. There was a reason that Jay spent every day of summer at the beach, not at home.

As for you, Jay hated your dad. He'd never forget all the times you ran to him, tears and smudged eyeliner running down your cheeks. You insisted that you were okay, but Jay had to bite his tongue so hard that he bled to keep his mouth shut.

In a few weeks, Jay will be the Park family's heir studying out-of-state, and you'll be you from California. 

But for now, it was just Jay and you, sharing a lollipop at the beach, basking in the humid night air and listening to the waves.

You gave him another sly grin. You repeated your question. "Do you want to run away with me?"

You always liked to smile like that when you were upset about something; it was your way of concealing your feelings, but Jay knew you better than anyone.

Jay's thought about running away before. Many times, actually. And he's thought about running away hand-in-hand with you more times than he could remember.

Jay slid his arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer to him. He pressed his lips to your forehead.

"You know we can't," he said against your forehead, though the way that he held you close said otherwise.

"Says who?" you hummed, resting your head on his strong shoulders, taking in the scent of seaweed, sea salt, and Jay's faint cologne. 

Jay stayed silent. He knew that answer to that question. 

Says no one.

"Seeeee?" you dragged your syllable, a cute lilt in your voice. You slithered your arm around Jay's torso, poking his side. "Nothing— no one— is stopping us."

Jay chuckled, squeezing your waist twice. "Where would we go if we ran away?"

With you gently clutching his jaw, pressing wet kisses along his skin, you breathed, "Anywhere we want."

You cupped his cheek. In the winter, his skin was paler, but in the summer he was a golden honey tan. His cheeks, as a result of being in the sun nearly every day for the past three months, were littered with blotches of brown, red, and pink. With a gentle finger, you slowly dragged it against his skin, connecting each blemish to each other with invisible lines.

"What about Houston?" Jay rasped, leaning into your touch. "I know you've always wanted to go there."

"Well, where do you want to go?"

Jay thought for a moment. "Either up north to Seattle— or maybe London— What about NYC?."

You stared at him quizzically, your eyes narrowing and your lips turned downward; you always did that when you were hiding something. 

"What?" Jay nudged you.

"I dunno," you shrugged. "I feel like those places are just so uncharacteristic for you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

You shrugged again, your bottom lip jutting out. "I thought you were a sunshine typa guy." Your eyes flickered up to him. "All those places are so gloomy."

"I mean," your boyfriend sucked in a sharp breath. "I guess. Maybe I just want some change. California is beautiful, but...."

He trailed off.

"But?"

"I want to explore more, yanno? Get to know places outside of California."

You didn't press any further.

The rest of the night was quiet, only the taste of disappointment, longing, and the salted caramel apple lollipop lingering on your tongues.

This was all but a memory to Jay.

He gazed outside the window, tuning out the voice of yet another woman in his living room.

Jay ended up studying in Seattle, just as his parents had wanted. It's been years since he left California. Him and you ended up breaking up on good terms for the sake of distance, and he eventually lost contact with you. He met a few other women, tried out dating them, but it never ended up working out.

There was no place else like California.

It seemed like everywhere else, all the leaves were brown, and the sky was gray. Dreary, gloomy, and full of clouds, so unlike the sunny and golden California.

It took Jay a long time to realize that the reason he longed for California again was not because of the constant smell of sunscreen or sound of synth music pervading the streets. It wasn't the laughter that seemed to bounce off the walls or the vibrant color-grade over every memory in his mind.

He longed for California because he longed for you.

You were California. 

And for a while, he'd be dreaming of California. 

[1016week]

1016 Week 2023 - The Round-Up (Part 1)

Hi fellow Piarlies, and happy holidays!! ❤️ Whatever you're celebrating IRL, we'd like to invite one and all to come celebrate Piarles with us here on Tumblr! 💙 Today, on the 26th (AKA, the 10+16th) we are celebrating our beloved squid boys by posting the final round-up of all content created for 1016 Week 2023.

One of our favourite things about fanweeks and fandom events is how they can bring together a whole group of people to create something amazing together. And in this fanweek, we certainly did that - with Piarlies from all corners of the fandom working together, we created more than fifty new pieces of Piarles content! 😍👏❤️💙Once again, we would just like to say the BIGGEST thank-you to everyone who participated and made this possible - you guys made this event succeed beyond our wildest dreams, and we truly can't thank you all enough for it <333

Please enjoy the official masterpost of all the 1016 Week 2023! Don't forget to give our wonderful creators some love in the form of reblogs, replies, kudos, comments and bookmarks ❤️ (P.S. - this post coincides very nicely with the timing of 2023's Just Leave A Comment Fest, so if you're interested in taking part in that wonderful event, and you've been looking for somewhere to start... why not with some of our amazing fics here? 😉💙)

Below the cut is Part 1 of our official round-up: you can find Part 2 here ❤️💙

Day 1 - Monza

Monza + Montreal embroidery by @gaslybottoms [cross-stitch]

you're my guiding lightning strike by @wolfiemcwolferson [fic]

Pierre finds out the soulmate bracelet he's worn since he was 14 has been coded to the wrong person's DNA. He gets the right bracelet. (A Piarles soulmate AU)

all roads lead back to Monza ♥ by @brasiliangp [edit]

I Will Never Ask You For Anything (Except a Dream) by @espithewarlock [fic]

Monza is the one race a year where they are allowed to have each other. They do not talk about it the next day.

we've got our whole lives (no ending this in sight) by @duquesademiel and @chaesonghwas [fic]

On the night of their ninth anniversary, Charles and Pierre travel to Monza together.

sanctuary by @fenesacha [fic]

From the comfort of their shared bed, Pierre watches Charles lean over the railing of the balcony and reach out to the screaming fans below.

monza-themed web weaving by @crimsonicarus [web weaving]

holy ground by @your-littlesecret [fic]

Charles can’t really pinpoint where Monza became their place. It might have started with one or another fan post and they just took it to their hearts. Or: Even with all the changes through the years, Monza will always be their place.

Day 2 - Social Media

we were meant to be as one by @wolfiemcwolferson [fic]

Pierre & the librarian with a secret Tumblr account.

crushing down like waves on the sand by @your-littlesecret [fic]

There’s nothing that could explain the change in feelings, but if Charles thinks about it… if he really thinks about it, there’s nothing really new there.

seven rings by @duquesademiel [fic/edit]

With You Around Me It’s Just So Easy To Be In Love by @espithewarlock [fic]

Their relationship was no secret. They posted about it everywhere on social media. Nobody believed it.

Scuderia Ferrari social media admin AU by @effervescentdragon [fic]

"Mr. Gasly. You have an impressive portfolio, and your CV is one of the best I've seen. What I want to know is, what will you bring to this job? What is the thing that distinguishes you from all the other candidates for this job?"

Piarles + social media AUs by @brasiliangp [edit]

plug me in by @fenesacha [fic]

After a long race, Pierre logs into Twitch and clicks on Charles' stream.

you and me would be (a big conversation) by @chaesonghwas [fic/edit]

When the media pairs up Pierre with Esteban of all people, Charles steps in to help. It doesn't quite go as planned.

social media-themed web weaving by @crimsonicarus [web weaving]

Day 3 - Blasphemy

maybe i don't want heaven by @chaesonghwas, @duquesademiel and @wolfiemcwolferson [fic + playlist]

Pierre kneels thrice: once in front of God and twice in front of Charles.

pulvis et umbra sumus by @your-littlesecret [fic + moodboard]

Great disrespect shown to something Holy. The action or offence of speaking sacrilegiously about sacred things; profane talk. And what could be a greater disrespect than Pierre and his demonic blood, loving Charles, an angel in essence?

Take Me by the Hand Before I Come Undone by @espithewarlock [fic]

Pierre believed in what he could see, hear, feel, experience with his own senses. He worshiped exclusively at the altar of Charles Leclerc.

piarles + take me to church by @singsweetmelodies [edit]

a well loved bicycle by @fenesacha [fic]

Pierre turns around one last time before he begins to pedal away. There is a boy standing at the fence, slightly shorter than him and Esteban. His fringe, light-brown and soft, is being blown into his eyes, but he doesn’t flinch, even as the freezing rain starts to fall. Pierre never saw or heard him approach.

blasphemy-themed web weaving by @crimsonicarus [web weaving]

blasphemy embroidery by @gaslybottoms [embroidery]

Day 4 - Free Day

crochet calamars by @gaslybottoms [crochet]

I hunger for you only by @wolfiemcwolferson [fic]

Charles has a request.

i wanna be a good boy, i wanna be your sex toy by @your-littlesecret [fic]

“I think we should make a bet.” Pierre hums, looking into his eyes. “Not a bet. A reward. Whoever has the first win this year-” Charles smiles deviously, like he’s just thought of the perfect reward. “Whoever wins first gets a ‘free use’ day of the other.” Pierre frowns, “A- free use day?” “Yes. A day where you can do whatever you want with me. Or me with you. Whatever.”

Coloring Outside the Lines by @espithewarlock [fic]

One male profile did catch his eye, a deceptively simple CharlesL16 username hiding exactly what he was looking for. Half the photos were perfectly innocent. Curled up on the couch in a comfortable sweater, sweaty and flexing at the gym, angled shots of him playing the piano, and more that made him look domestic and cozy. There was always a twist, though, and Pierre was instantly hooked. He found himself creating an account and subscribing almost unconsciously.

(i watched it) begin again by @chaesonghwas [fic]

When Juliette is 6 years old, they decide on taking her to Monza. She loves it.

ringing, it's too early by @duquesademiel [fic]

Pierre can't sleep. Charles can't wake up. They might fight about it, but in the end, they love each other more.

how d'ya like them apples by @fenesacha [fic]

Wearing one of these hands on each of your hands at all times, communicate to your teammate the names of these films. You may not raise your voice. You have five minutes. Your time starts when Jenson blows his whistle.

piarles + longing by @crimsonicarus [web weaving]

Our Love Is Not Illusion Based by @espithewarlock [fic]

Having magic wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Most of the adults would happily admit that having a Witch in the village was a good thing. Charles thought that Pierre's magic was a great thing.

❤️💙

[secondwednesday]

lesbian lestappen

Max takes off her jacket, slinging it over one arm, and turns to watch the room. There are women here of all ages and creeds, and something swells in Max to see them flirting so openly with each other.

An older woman is sitting at the other end of the bar. Her graying hair cut in a severe line across her shoulders, brushing easily against the silk of her blouse. She smiles at Max over her glass of wine, all maroon.

Max almost approaches her, when someone else catches her eye. On the other side of the room, leaning on a high-top, wine glass in one hand, is Charl Leclerc. Her back is to Max, but Max would probably recognize her anywhere as an occupational hazard of nearly growing up together. Her thick, chestnut hair is curled and spun up in a hairclip, exposing the long line of her back. On her wrists are those infernal bracelets and that ugly sponsor watch, and when she laughs, Max hears it echo in her chest all the way across the room.

As if sensing a disturbance in the universe, Charl turns her head to the bar and locks eyes with Max immediately. Max freezes and panic scours through her body. The chances of Charl being here should be next to nil. There are only so many women who work in Formula 1, and beyond that, only so many who live in Monaco. Max came here because she never thought that she would bump into someone from work.

“Max?” Charl exclaims.

She excuses herself from the others at her table before Max can make a strategic retreat.

“Hello,” Max mumbles, gripping the stem of her wine glass so hard that it may shatter.

“I can’t believe I’m seeing you here,” Charl says, her grin spanning ear to ear.

“What are you doing here?”

Charl laughs, tilting her head back, as if Max has made some grand joke. “I imagine the same reason you are here.”

“Like for the event?” Max asks as if she’s stupid. She feels stupid. She feels as if the truths of the universe have decided to realign without her awareness.

“Yes? Aren’t you?” Charl tilts her head, putting the full force of her big, green eyes onto Max.

“Yeah, obviously, but you’re not gay?”

“Max, you knew this about me,” Charl responds measuredly.

“No, I didn’t!”

“Max,” Charl says again, with an exasperated tone. Like Max is being willfully obtuse, which she isn’t. Although the rest of the picture is becoming clearer by the second.

“But that was…” Max trails off.

They had bumped into each other on some yacht in Abu Dhabi two years ago. Max was absolutely high on the win of her first championship, and Charl was high on, well, all the free booze. There was a moment, a tucked-away corner, where Charl pressed Max against a wall and made out with her like the world was ending. Then she pulled away with wild eyes and ran off.

Charl flushes, her eyes darting downwards as she tucks a loose strand behind her ears. Unfairly, she is still the prettiest woman that Max has ever laid eyes upon.

“Yes, that was the heat of the moment, but it is because I am a lesbian,” Charl says. “Did you not know that?”

“No!”

As far as Max knew, Charl was straight and, like many straight women under the influence of alcohol, made out with other women sometimes. Max was an easy pick. She’s distinctively masculine, and she was the first female champion in F1 history. On a glimmering yacht, she was riding a wave of gold and glory and legend, the hottest thing that ever graced racing history.

[artificialinsanity]

Hunting the Missing Link

Story Summary: When a mysterious individual crash-lands in the sleepy town of Starlight Edge, four unassuming individuals begin on a journey to find its origins, kickstarting a chain of events that would alter thier lives forever.

Chapter Summary: When Emily gets a new car, she takes them for a road trip to all thier favorite places, as a start to the most interesting day in the rest of thier lives.

[Next]

Story under the cut.

Just a few hours drive west from Empire City lies a small, sleepy town by the name of Starlight Edge, with a population in the low ten-thousands. Though small, the town is quite a hotspot for tourism due to the Starlight’s Edge of which the town is named after - a massive 100-foot cliff overlooking a series of 16 waterfalls flowing into a deep lake, known by the residents as Lake Selene.

A few miles away from Starlight Edge, on a street leading in from the town, lie 4 houses in a cul-de-sac, though only one has a vehicle parked outside - a yellow sports bike. Inside this house, a young hyena woman is tinkering with something while the 8am news plays in the background.

“In global news, Sonic the Hedgehog appears to have stopped the evil Doctor Robotnik yet again in the outskirts of Metropolis Zone,” reports the newscaster. “Sources say the Doctor, quote, ‘Didn't put up much of a fight.’”

“Why does this idiot keep trying these stunts!?” shouts the hyena to an audience of none. “By this point he should KNOW it’s not gonna work!”

Dressed in black with the proper safety equipment, the hyena is hard at work; soldering electronics together with a tutorial on her phone. Electronics lay all over her “garage”, from busted CD players, to old computer motherboards, to failed projects, parts and tools litter the place like they’re a rare commodity. Outside her work space, her living space isn’t much better, with clothes scattered all across her furniture, mainly centered around a single chair in the back corner.

Next to her TV is a slew of various SEGA video game consoles - Genesis, Saturn, and even Dreamcast - and next to those is a shelf full of video games, all of them about Sonic the Hedgehog. From the first one on Genesis to the last one on Dreamcast, she has them all. She even has the ones released after that, but those are on her PC, which lay just next to the shelf of video games.

With one final solder, the hyena raises her safety goggles to her forehead, eager to test out her contraption, when she hears a knock at the door. Steadily, she removes her safety gear, attaches her contraption to her wrists, and begins preparing herself.

This perky young hyena girl has big dreams, big ambitions, and a surprisingly ample bosom. Her fur is a creamy tan, like a warm latte, contrasting well with her clothes dark as night, much like the markings dotting her fur. She wore a light, yet tight black tank top with a cute yellow star adorned on its front, a black-and-purple tartan skirt with a purple waistband, some tight black sport shorts, purple combat boots that go up to her knees, and a crop top leather jacket with pins of some of her favorite musical acts - Neck Deep, State Champs, and All Time Low. Her eyes were a much darker shade of brown than her fur, much more akin to the trunk of an old and world weary oak tree. The contraptions she placed around her wrists were gold ring bracelets. Upon her hands, she also wore fingerless gloves, revealing the black tips of her fingers; and also had small purple glasses, which she wore on her nose. As for the girl’s name? It was-

“Stella!” barked a deep female voice from beyond the door. “You ready yet? I got something to show you!”

“Just a minute, Emily!” Stella yelled in response. Quickly turning off the TV, she rushed out the front door, eagerly awaiting what the day may bring.

“There you are, slowpoke!” said Emily. “What took you so long?”

“Sorry! I was fixing up my Light Bracelets.” Stella replied. “Why’d you call me out, exactly?”

“Come on! I got something to show you!” exclaimed Emily, clearly excited; which was rare for the porcupine, as she mostly stayed to herself. Her quills were a deep maroon, like autumn leaves, with her pupils a fiery red. She wore indigo boots with white stripes on them, jean shorts, and a pink tube tank top, with an indigo vest overtop. She was also one of the few members of this group to wear eyeshadow, hers being a striking lavender in color. She also had white gloves with spikes on them, as well as spiked bracelets around her wrists.

Emily took Stella two houses down, where a rounded object covered in abstract haphazard D.I.Y. canvas rest just out front, where it didn't just an hour ago.

"What's this?" questioned Stella, knowing full well what might be under the sheet, but feigning ignorance for pleasantries.

“Can’t say right now,” replied Emily. “Gotta wait for Lyla and Vicki first.”

Emily looked around.

“...Hey, where are Lyla and Vicki?”

Just then they noticed two figures racing down the street, one of them hovering just above the ground. As the figures got closer, Stella and Emily noticed it as a cheetah and a crow, rapidly approaching. As they got even closer, the cheetah slid to a stop just in front of the others, while the crow flew face first into a telephone pole. Everyone winced.

"Ooh, you okay, Vicki?" asked a concerned Stella.

"I- I'm fine!" said the timid crow, holding her head, dizzy. "Just a small bump, is all."

"I'll trust you on that, Victoria." Stella then replied.

Victoria is a shy, mild-mannered crow. Shorter than the rest, she wore a pristine white dress overtop her black feathers, though now its formerly spotless appearance has taken on dirt, grime, and a small bit of snow from the wintery ground. She doesn't seem to notice, or care, though. She's spacey - appropriately keeping her head in the clouds and rarely focusing on the situations at hand. Her hair feathers are always frazzled, despite her keeping them in a ponytail, and her boots are as black as her feathers, making them almost invisible unless you're focused on them. She also wore, on a chain around her neck, a small yellow heart-shaped gemstone, burning with a small flame to match, kept inside a small iron cage. Supposedly, in the time she’s owned it, Vicki has never seen the flame go out. 

"Probably shoulda warned ya about the pole, Vic. Sorry!" Said the cheetah in an oddly chipper tone.

"Yeah, maybe you should have, Lyla. She could have gotten seriously hurt!" Stella yelled

"Don't yell at her, Stella! I'm fine!" said Vicki in response.

Lyla is an upbeat, chipper cheetah with a heart of gold and balls of steel, despite being a girl. She will charge into any situation and will not stop until she either saves the day, or gets so hurt she has to retreat. She's impulsive, sporty, and VERY friendly, but has a fear of heights. She's also somewhat inattentive, often not realizing the true gravity of a situation. She wears a navy blue sports bra and sport shorts, as well as sneakers in the same color. Her short, manic hair is a rich, creamy brown, that falls overtop the rest of her bright yellow fur, and her eyes are a deep, rich blue that almost pierces into your very soul. She smiled, rubbing the back of her head in a bashful manner.

"You know I worry about you, Vicki," Stella said. "I just don't want you to-"

"I get it, mom. You don't have to lecture me, I'm fine," replied Vicki in response.

"Now's not the time for arguing, you three!" exclaimed Emily. "We can worry about this later - I have something to show you all."

"I take it it's underneath that car-shaped cloth?" Stella pointed.

"I told you not to peek, you jerk," Emily teased.

"Oh yeah, sure, I'll just NOT look at the biggest thing on the street right now. Sure. That sounds reasonable." Stella jokingly replied.

"Alright, I get it!" Emily jeered. "You've made your point."

"Alright, so what's under the cloth? Better be something good," Stella asked. "If I find out you bought a damn mom car, I'm going to be most displeased-"

"Don't worry, princess," Emily teased, "I know your taste in cars is very exquisite."

"It's a symbol of EXPRESSION!" Stella yelled.

"So you've told me a thousand times," Emily responded, rolling her eyes so hard they could drive down the mile street to Starlight Edge and back. "Don't worry - I picked out my favorite. And it should be one you'd enjoy."

Emily grabbed the cloth, said "I present to you:", and yanked it off with force, revealing a red Mitsubishi Eclipse sedan, with a vanity plate reading "VELS"

"VELS?" questioned Stella.

"It's our initials," responded Emily. "Vicki, Emily, Lyla, Stella. V, E, L, S."

"Chaos, why didn't I pick a name with a better initial?" joshed Stella, snickering. "Like Andromeda, or Aurora?"

"Oh yeah, because 'VEAL' is SO much better-" Emily teased.

"At least it's a real word!" yelled Stella in response.

"Whatever," brushed Emily. "So, you guys wanna go to the shops, and take this puppy for a spin?" She said, twirling a keychain on her index finger.

"YEAH!" Lyla, Stella, and Vicki all cheered in unison.

"Great! Let's go!" Emily exclaimed, excited.

Emily hit a button on her keychain revealing possibly the coolest thing about her new car - It was a convertible.

Everyone's eyes lit up brighter than the moon.

"Wait," Stella puzzled, "would putting the top down really be a good idea? It's January."

"Well, it's not snowing right now, is it?" Emily responded.

"Hmm, fair enough."

They all jumped into seats - Emily took the driver's side, as she's the only one legally allowed to drive; Stella took the passenger's side; Lyla sat behind Emily; and Vicki sat behind Stella. With everyone seated, Emily put the key in the ignition, turned it, and sped off down Parker Street into Starlight Edge.

It was a cold January day in Starlight Edge - the town had just been hit with 6 inches of snow just a few days before, and the town itself lit up brighter than ever before with the reflective snow on the ground. The small town adores its winters, having wonderful celebrations with each one. Just in from Parker St. is the shopping district, starting with Saturn Blvd., the biggest street in shopping in Starlight Edge by far, with stores, fast food restaurants, and even the Hogpine Mall, still kicking despite the decline in malls all over the world. Stella likes dropping in from time to time to pick up a CD or 2. After the shopping district is the residential district, where the citizens of Starlight Edge, well, reside. There's a few small shops in here - small mom and pop shops, convenience stores, bars, and some more fast food joints, but most of the space is taken up by housing. And just beyond the residential district is where the tourism takes charge - on the far East edge of town lies a renowned observatory, public pools, springs, parks, forms of entertainment like sporting fields, amusement parks and arcades, and beyond even ALL OF THAT lies the ever famous Starlight's Edge. Though that's MILES away from the town for the safety of its citizens, of course.

As the red Mitsubishi Eclipse pulls into town, the question arises among its passengers: Where to first?

"First things first, I should REALLY pick up Vimu," Stella said first. "I wanna have him with me, and make sure he's okay!"

"Then I wanna go to the bar!" Vicki yelled.

"Are you even old enough to drink?" Lyla asked, half joking.

"Oh, I'm not interested in alcohol!" Vicki responded. "I wanna swindle some suckers at darts and billiards! It'll be fun!"

"After that I wanna go to RCS Field on the East End," said Lyla. "My 1200 meter record is 25:58, and I wanna see if I can beat it!"

"Good luck with that!" scoffed Emily. "The only person who can run 1200 meters faster than 25 seconds is Sonic himself!"

"You don't know that!" yelled Lyla in response.

"Okay, but before you do that, I wanna buy CDs at the Hogpine Mall!" Stella butted in. "RCS Field is on the other side of town! It'd be a long drive there and back!"

"Stella, it'd be far quicker to get your CDs on the way back," Emily said. "If we're going to the far side of town anyways, better to get it out of the way as early as possible."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Stella said. "After, then."

"And then after all that we can get some fast food and go home," said Emily. "Sound good to you guys?

The car said "Yeah!" in unison.

"Great, then that's our day. Hope you're all ready!"

"I know I am!" said Stella.

"In it to win it!" said Lyla.

"I'm ready!" Vicki chimed in.

And with that, thier day had truly begun.

- - -

Thier first destination was Clysedale Care Clinic on Stellar St., the street Stella got her name from. The clinic takes care of all manner of creatures, from Chao, to Wisp. They're very trustworthy, with plenty of glowing reviews, which is why Stella has enlisted thier services for a while now.

Emily pulls the Eclipse up front, and Stella gets out.

"Wait here, guys," Stella said. "I'll go in alone."

She walked in the door, and the bell rang to signal her presence. Upon walking up to the counter, she was greeted by one of the Clysedale siblings - Ezrieal.

"Welcome to Clysedale Care Clinic!" They say in that customer service tone. "What can I do for you today?"

"Hi, Ez!" says Stella. "Is Theo in today? I'm here to pick up Vimu."

"Ah, of course! Let me call them out!" Ez says, before disappearing into the back. After a few seconds of muffled shouting Stella couldn't understand, a tall figure emerged from the back. They had glasses and brown hair, and just kind of looked tired all the time. His eyes quickly looked to Stella, seeming to know exactly what she was thinking.

"You're here to pick up your Chao, yes?" They said in a sleepy tone.

"Y- Yes, sir." Stella stammered, slightly intimidated. Dr. Theo always gave her a weird feeling.

"Let me get him for you then," He replied, disappearing into the back.

After a few seconds, they re-emerged with a white robotic chao with a screen for a face.

"Vimu!" Stella shouted, and gave him a big hug. "Oh, I'm glad to see you're okay!" Vimu made a cute little chime in response.

"Your Chao was a tad bit… unorthodox for us," Dr. Theo said, "But he appears to be perfectly healthy. No slowdown, no clutter, no viruses. One of the healthiest we've ever seen."

"Thank you for your services, Dr. Theo!" Stella exclaimed. "How much do I owe you?"

"The standard fee, my dear," Dr. Theo replied. "30 Rings an hour."

She paid the fee - 2,160 Rings. The price was steep, but it was her own fault for not coming to get her Chao sooner.

Theo did some counting, gave a satisfactory nod, and put the rings in the register on the front desk. "Once again, it has been a pleasure doing business with you, Miss Stella."

"I'm just glad the work you do here is so sublime!" Stella said. "Thank you!"

"Any time, my dear. Do come back if you require our services again."

"Of course! You guys are the best in town! Have a good day!"

"You too, Miss Stella."

With Vimu in hand, Stella walked out of the clinic, and got back into the car. Lyla and Vicki immediately greeted Vimu with pets and treats.

"Weird group of folks, those guys," Emily made an off-handed remark.

"Yeah, but they do good work, though," Stella replied. "They're not hurting anyone, so I don't judge."

"They've got some odd vibes about them, though," Emily said.

"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing, Emily," Stella assured as Emily pulled out from the clinic and got back on the road. "Where to next?"

"Mighty Bar & Grill," Emily said. "Vicki's request."

Vicki pumped her fist in response.

That would take a trip to the residential district, which, like most things in this town, was relatively uneventful. After arriving at Mighty Bar & Grill, on the corner of Calmac St. and Griffith Rd., the band of four went in. Lyla, Stella, and Emily sat at the bar - Vicki had other plans.

"Don't you think it's a bit early to get sloshed, ladies?" the barkeep, a British mouse with the nametag Carrie queried.

"We're not here for alcohol," Emily responded. "These 2 are underage, and I'm driving these idiots."

"What? I'm 21!" Stella interjected. "I just personally abstain."

"Fair enough," replied Carrie, pulling out a glass. "What'll it be?"

"You got any sports drinks?" said Lyla.

"I'll take a sparkling water," said Stella.

"Orange juice for me," said Emily.

"Very well," Carrie responded. "It should be ready in a few minutes. In the meantime, have some fun!"

Which is what Vicki was already in the process of doing. She was haggling as many patrons as you could ask for at 10 in the morning to play her at various games, claiming she could beat them with her eyes closed. She'd even take bets - sometimes up to 500 Rings! Her strategy was foolproof - deliberately missing the first few shots, but then cleaning house after turn 3 or so. Darts was easy - with a steady aim, and enough precision, she could hit the bullseye or triple 20 every time. Pool was a bit more difficult, requiring a bit more skill to be able to handily win without sight. But Vicki's been at this for years - she's studied the slight variances in every pool ball, being able to pinpoint each ball without even knowing what color they are. Sure, for every 5 wins at pool, she had at least one loss. But that was the thrill of the game to her.

After getting thier drinks, Stella, Lyla, and Emily all went off to do thier own separate things. Stella perused the various arcade games at the bar, playing Sega classics like Hang-On, and House of the Dead with Lyla joining in. And when she wasn't playing with Stella, Lyla was indulging in some of the other games at the bar, namely the basketball hoop. She missed nearly all her shots, but she had fun at least. Emily, however, just sat at the bar, drinking her orange juice and scrolling social media on her phone. She didn't want to get too involved into anything, because she had to drive these dorks across town when this was over.

By noon, Stella and Lyla had gotten bored of the activities, and Vicki was finishing up her escapades, beating some poor sucker at Darts 501 for the fifth time in a row. He wasn't even drunk.

"Come ON!" he said, agitated. "There's no WAY this is legit! You HAVE to be cheating!"

"Maybe it's just a skill issue, Charles," Vicki said to the patron, spinning a dart on her finger. "I'll be taking those 50 Rings you wagered now."

"NOT till I have proof you ain't cheatin'!" Charles yelled in response.

"Forget it, man!" another patron yelled from across the bar. "She's legit. Just give her the money."

Charles, reluctantly, reached into his pockets and gave Vicki 50 Rings.

"Thanks for being such a good sport, Charlie," Vicki said smugly. Charles just glared in response.

"Yo, Vic!" Lyla said to her. "You almost finished yet? We've been here almost 2 hours now!"

"Yeah, I'm done," replied Vicki. "Let's go, then! Don't keep me waiting, slowpokes!"

As they went to leave the bar and reenter the car, they had a small conversation.

"What's got you so cocky?" Stella asked.

"Feeling like I'm on top of the world with all those victories!" Vicki responded.

Vicki accidentally walked into the door on her way out, causing the rest of the group to wince, though Stella winced the hardest.

As they got out of the bar, Stella asked Vicki "You okay?"

"I'm fine!" Vicki retorted. "That was all part of my scheme, anyways…"

"So how much did you make out with this time?" Emily inquisited.

"Meh, only around 850," Vicki responded, disappointed. "We gotta come back here after 8pm when everyone's sloshed - I'll make out with plenty for sure!"

Vicki giggled to herself, and everyone else smiled and joined in, laughing and giggling all the way to the car, where they then headed to RCS Field on the East side of town.

RCS Field was a hybrid football and track field, where the local football teams regularly practiced. While physically large, the field itself drew few visitors, namely due to the small size of the town, and the fact that the only games that really took place here were local anyways.

Lyla didn't really care much about the local football team - she was banned for being too violent as a kid anyways. What she cared most about was the track.

Olympic sized at 400 total meters around, Lyla practices her speed here many times a month to ensure she's in top shape, still trying to beat her best time - A little over 25 seconds for 3 laps around. She's tied it 3 times since she set it, but never passed it. She's hoping today she can break it wide open, though at this point, even a millisecond faster would be enough for her.

The track was in pretty good shape, as the architects had the foresight to put a glass roof overtop the field, so that the players would be unaffected by the weather, though Lyla did have to brush a small bit of snow off the track, as it had started snowing by this point in the day..

Lyla lined up at the starting area, with Stella on stopwatch duty, and Emily and Vicki on the sidelines for moral support. Stella was just glad she wasn't the one running.

"What are you gonna do when you beat it?" asked Stella. "You'd need some kind of a celebration."

"Think I might load up on lasagna and pig out for a bit." Lyla replied. "But that's IF it's possible."

"Alrighty then," Stella said. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"GO!" Stella shouted as she started the timer. And with that, Lyla was off to the races, literally. She had a bit of a rough start, as she typically does, but after a few minutes, she put her arms at her sides with her fists in front, and ran as fast as she could, completing 3 laps in 31 seconds.

Lyla was a bit upset, but she didn’t let it get to her - her first run wasn’t going to beat her record anyways. So she lined back up at the start, and ran the track again, and again, and again, over and over, slowly but surely closing the gap. 30 seconds. Then 29. 28 seconds. 27…

While Lyla was running, Stella began shivering. It was the middle of winter, and the thickest jacket she packed was a leather jacket that didn’t even fully cover her torso.

“Brrr! Is anyone else feeling a bit chilly?” She said to the rest of the group. Vimu huddled up next to her to try and warm her up.

“Maybe you should have packed for the weather, then,” Emily said, pulling out a puffy jacket.

“I don’t feel cold!” shouted Vicki.

“Here, take this then.” Emily threw a wool blanket at Stella. Stella nodded as thanks.

Lyla kept running, over and over running 3 laps around the track, closing the gap ever further, down to a 26:01, then 25:98.

“Just a little bit more!” Lyla exclaimed. “I think I can do this!”

Lyla lined back up at the start, determined to run as fast as she ever had. Stella yelled “Go!”, and Lyla was off, running at speeds she hadn't reached before. However, halfway through her second lap, she tripped on her feet, falling to the ground. However, making a miraculous recovery, she rolled into a ball, got back up, and finished the rest of her laps, finishing with a final time of…

“25:5…9.” Stella read off the stopwatch.

“59!?” yelled Lyla. “I tripped and fell, and was able to miss my record by a single millisecond!?”

“Well, this rounds up to 2 places, and milliseconds are counted in thousandths,” replied Stella, “So it could be anywhere from 1 to 10 milliseconds.”

“So? I missed my record by 10 milliseconds! By tripping and falling!” Lyla screamed. “Can I get a redo on that? Please?”

“Sorry,” Emily butted in. “You’re out of time for today. It’s 3 pm - The sun’s almost setting.”

“Damn it!” Lyla yelled. “But I’m coming back to tackle this tomorrow! I know I can do it!”

“Yeah, but we have other things to do today,” Emily replied. “Sorry.”

Everyone slowly walked back to the car, Lyla upset, but regaining her composure shortly after. Getting back in the car, they realized it was snowing harder than before. Not snowstorm levels, but definitely more than the light sprinkle of earlier in the day.

Emily drove the car back to the west side of town, but stopped at a grocery store instead of the Hogpine Mall.

“You didn’t clear this destination by us beforehand,” Stella said. “We cleared our destinations with you.”

“I know,” said Emily. “I just need to pick up a few things real quick. I’ll only be a second, I promise.”

And with that, she got out of the car and went inside. Stella, Lyla, and Vicki were left in the car to do whatever they wanted, though for some reason, Emily left the top down on the car. After 20 minutes, Emily still wasn’t back yet, so everyone was just doing their own thing. Lyla was playing a Game Boy Advance, Vicki was reading a book, and Stella was listening to music. Suddenly though, something caught Stella’s eye - someone shivering in a back alley. With the snow, Stella knew they wouldn’t last long out here, and considering the person was shivering in an alley, they likely didn’t have any place to go. Stella looked around for some way she could help, and noticed a taco truck on the other side of the street. After quickly instructing Vimu to stay put, Stella began to hop over the car door, when Lyla took notice of her.

“Where are you going?” she questioned.

“I’m just going to do something real quick,” Stella responded. “I’ll be right back.”

And with that, she hopped out of the car, and ran to the taco truck.

“Ahh, if it isn’t my favorite customer!” the truck owner said to her. “How many will it be, Stella?”

“Five, please, Donnie!” Stella replied.

“And I take it 3 more for your friends?” Donnie joked.

“No, just 5,” Stella said with a giggle.

“Coming right up!” Donnie said. “They’ll be done in just a minute, so don’t go anywhere!”

“OK!” Stella responded. In the wait she was able to get a longer look at the stranger in the alleyway - They appeared to be a female wolf with black, matted fur. She was covered in dirt and snow, and shivering from the cold. Her clothes; a red flannel, black jean shorts and combat boots, and white fingerless gloves, were tattered and torn, not nearly in enough shape to survive the winter. She had a gray muzzle and yellow eyes, and looked clearly distraught, almost on the verge of tears. Stella felt really bad for this woman.

“OK, kiddo!” Donnie said, startling Stella. “Here’s your tacos!”

“I’m, uh, still 21 years old, but thank you!” she said in response.

“Just because you’re 21 doesn’t mean you’re not a ‘kiddo’, kiddo,” responded Donnie. “25 rings please!”

Stella paid the 25 rings, and proceeded to move to the other side of the street, slowly. Lyla caught a glimpse of Stella, and noticed her going into the alleyway.

What are you doing, Stella? Lyla thought to herself.

Stella approached the mystery girl slowly, so as not to startle her. She was whimpering, rubbing her hands together next to a small fire for warmth. As Stella got close enough to the girl, she began to take notice of her, at which point Stella outstretched her hand and offered a taco.

“Here,” Stella said. “Take this.”

The girl did not. Instead she growled, bit Stella’s hand, and sprinted away on all fours, behind the store and out of sight of Stella.

Weird girl, Stella thought to herself, as she walked back to the car.

“So what happened?” Lyla asked Stella as she hopped back into the Eclipse.

“Not much,” Stella lied. “I bought tacos though!”

“Sick!” Lyla responded.

“Your hand!” Vicki pointed out, noticing the bite mark. “What happened?”

“I saw a homeless girl in the alley, and offered her a taco, but she bit me and ran away,” Stella answered.

“You gotta be more careful around strange girls, Stella,” Emily responded, exiting the store. “Is it infected? Do I need to take you to the hospital?”

“I’ll probably be fine,” Stella responded. “Just gotta wash it and bandage it.”

“Nuh-uh. Not good enough for me,” Emily responded. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”

“Alright, fine,” Stella responded. “I bought you a taco!”

“Sick” Emily said as she took it, and began the drive to the hospital.

- - -

“See, Em? I’m fine!” Stella said as they left the hospital on the east side of the residential district It was just about sunset now after everything that had happened throughout the day.

“Better to know for sure than to assume,” Emily retorted.

“But I’m going to be fine,” Stella said, pointing finger guns at Emily with her newly bandaged hand.

“Be more careful next time,” Emily scolded with a sigh.

“Whatever,” Stella says in response. Vimu made a happy noise.

Emily looked up into the sky. “It’s getting late,” She said.

“Maybe we should be heading home?” Vicki added.

“Good idea! My legs could use a break from all this walking!” Lyla chimed in, stretching.

“Were we out all day?” Stella questioned. “Maybe we should make tomorrow a bit more low-key.”

“Good idea, ladies,” Emily chimed, pulling her car keys from her pocket, pleasant with how the day went on. “Get in. Let’s go home.”

The drive home was less talkative and less chaotic than the rest of the day had been. Everyone was mostly just talking about some of the things that happened today, and new interests of thiers - but softly so as not to disturb Vicki, who had fallen asleep in the back seat. Suddenly, the topic turned to sports, and Stella tuned out, looking out the side of the convertible car that still had its top down. She began looking at her bandaged up hand in the fading sunlight, and for a brief second thought she caught a faint glimpse of the mystery girl again, but when she turned to look again, the girl was gone, almost as if she was never there.

“You okay, Stel’?” Emily asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Stella sheepishly said in response. “Must be a bit tired, is all.”

“I feel you there,” said Emily.

By the time they had arrived home, the sun had fully set. Checking her phone, Stella noticed it was 5pm, which made sense, as it was late January. Everyone had gotten out of the car, and was about to head inside and turn in for the night, when Stella looked up and noticed something.

A meteor shower! Here! The Starlight’s Edge would probably be a better place to view it, but nobody wanted to miss a single second. Light shows like this were a rare occurrence, especially meteor showers and shooting stars! Everyone began “ooh”ing and “ahh”ing at the pretty lights and colors, and quickly began pointing out pretty stars. Stella even pulled out her telescope, The Constellation as she called it, to get a better view.

“I like that one!” Lyla said, pointing to a star that was shooting especially fast.

“That one’s very pretty!” Stella said, pointing at one of the brighter stars in the sky.

“I think that one’s pretty cool,” Emily said pointing at a large star.

“That one’s not even moving!” Stella responded.

“Should we wake Vicki up?” Lyla inquired.

“No, let her sleep,” Stella replied.

“Uh, guys?” Emily asked, slightly concerned and pointing at a particularly large star.

“Yeah, we get it, Em. You like the large one,” retorted Lyla.

“No, I think she’s onto something,” Stella said, now worried. “Is it getting bigger?”

“Hit the deck!” Emily yelled, causing everyone to scatter into different directions. Which was a good call, as the “star” crash landed in front of the Eclipse, tearing open the pavement and waking Vicki with the noise.

“What’s going on?” Vicki slurred, bleary eyed.

“We don’t know!” Stella yelled.

“Stay calm, Stella!” Emily commanded.

“Looks like… a person?” Lyla noticed.

To which she appeared to be right - as what has just crashed into the pavement is no ordinary debris or meteor. Sure, it LOOKED almost otherworldly, as it sparked on its way down, but what remained in the crash site looked far too…

…Mobian…

To Be Continued...

[frostcorpsclub]

This our first room that requires some extra context! As you may recall, the Schneeflocke Manor is decently old and is full to the brim with rooms, not just for the family but for the staff. That is the case here, Jonah and Jeans rooms are connected because many decades ago the top section was a room multiple maids shared and the floor below was storage room for some of the supplies needed to do their work.

Figure 1- Luckily for me, the Sims 4 has a whole pack related to DIY primarily knitting! This is his crafty corner. He has lots of storage for his knitting, crocheting, felting, etc. supplies. Jonah can knit at his desk and look up new designs to make on his little tablet w/ keyboard attachment, or take designs from the knitters almanac next to it. Though he prefers the grandma vibe of knitting on the rocking chair in the corner. On his little hallway table he has a box for crossstitching and a box for friendship bracelet making.

Figure 2- The entrance to his room, with only one scone because POOR people were put here!!! The flowers on the wall are felt sculptures Jonah made 🙂 There's also his pride flags.

Figure 3- Jonah's sleeping nook which is a posh chic dream. He has two dressers, one of which is acting as like a tv table. His vanity has his colognes and male skincare stuff, along with his big box of haircare so he can take good care of that giant curly lions mane of his.

Figure 4- I kind of struggled with filling up this space so I went with a big mirror for Jonah to mix and match outifts and a carpet visually guiding the eye to the staircase.

Figure 5- Jean's corner of absolute insanity, the wall is covered in different files, papers, and posters pertaining to different cold cases, conspiracy theories, and unexplained events. She has a bookshelf with books pertaining to them. Ideally there would be some red strings here and there. Jean is convinced everyone else is just really dumb and she's solved so many of these. Sometimes she's right. She has a sick ass frog rug and some crafts her twin brother made 🙂

Figure 6- This is the whiteboard where Jean maps out her newest theories and forces whatever poor sibling she's trapped down there to listen, usually Jonah or Jolyne. Jack will also humor her because he's loyal to his country but deeply untrusting of the government. Giant metal flower she found outside (see: stole from a playground).

Figure 7- Going from left to right we have a bucket of water balloons that Jean uses for pranks with Judah, which are so much worse when you remember he makes ice bombs LOL Jean has this sick ass hexagon shelf filled with random items she insists are haunted oddities. Her wall is a mixture of cool art she's stolen from humans and macrame Jonah's made for her!

Figure 8- Jeans bed and dresser, topped with some quirky knick knacks. Above her bed is Jeans attempt at being artistic like her brother.

[descentintosiblingcon]

Chapter 3

Balmung is stalking the twins. A hero after our own hearts.

Mireille sends Shugo an email offering to show him her secret base as a token of their friendship (If we meet at the Four Corners located in Arizona, hold hands in a circle and pray hard enough, that won't be a sexual euphemism).

Meanwhile, Balmung is talking to a spooky hidden council on the twins' current council (I'm guessing they're SEELE.). He specifically brings up Aura's encounter with Shugo which he somehow knows about. Not-SEELE is not pleased. Balmung doesn't think it's that big of a deal but Not-SEELE reminds him of an incident in the past that was bad for some reason. Balmung says if they're so worried, they should just log into the game themselves. Not-SEELE rolls out the "we're busy, stop attacking us for having lives" excuse while Bmung patiently endures. It's midnight so Balmung bounces as Not-SEELE yells at him to stay for more yelling. He politely responds that being the only one working, he spends less time working when they're yelling at him, doesn't he? They neuteredly lets him go as he leaves.

Next at Mireille's secret base (a rented room...thankfully not at a love hotel), Mireille confirms that the twins have limited-edition characters. Shugo asks about the girl and the bracelet (and who apparently made out with him...how did I miss that?). Mireille explains it as a unique event configured for them due to their characters. Shugo tries to dismiss it as gossip but Rena says the logic is at least sound. Shugo wonders if the bracelet has anything to do with the mystery as Mireille lights up at the sound of a mystery. Everybody's confused but Mireille thinks if she sticks with the twins, she has a higher chance of getting rare encounters.

Mireille then gets a new email from a friend of hers named Ouka. Whatever she sees causes her to drag the twins to the town square. There, at the notice board, they read the current game event is White Valentine Day*! Where the first 100 players to use the Murky Door to go to a new area will get love items! Rena has to explain the literal concept of an event day to her brother as Mireille darts off again, a terrifying mutant combination of hearts and dollar signs in her eyes.

They get there and...no prize. Shugo spots a stem and pulls it, tearing out a large heart-shaped vegetable. Mireille splits it open like a sadistic carnivore and out pops a treasure chest! As Shugo sobs from her violence, Mireille tries to claim the treasure inside only to discover a note.

(It now occurs to me that Mireille is just Moe Wario. Not sure what I'm going to do with this information.)

Rena, opening her own inexplicable treasure chest, discovers a bomb in hers. Mireille is done and demands for the prankster messing with them to show up and fight in person. It's then that Rena remembers that the officer in charge of this activity is named Barumonk and he apparently does stupid shit like this all the time. Rena happily stereotypes him with a vengeful Mireille as Shugo notes how scary girls can get when they're vindictive. Still, despite their humiliations, their resolve is steeled and they still want to search for the rare items.

Yeah, they don't find anything. Re-readin the notice, Mireille finds out that the actual prize is in a pumpkin. Mireille grabs it and celebrates...before the pumpkin transforms into Pumpkin Head, an enemy. Mireille is about to easily smoke him with a spell but Shugo tries to hog the glory with his bracelet. Mireille lets him so that she can observe the bracelet's powers up close. The bracelet...doesn't work. Mireille frustratingly tries to jump in...her spells are sealed. Shugo is also cursed. And Rena is charmed. Shugo goes into (disturbingly jealous) big brother mode and stabs Pumpkin Head to death with his daggers, stopping the effects and finally getting the rare item to appear. Shugo silently thanks Rena for teaching him about the equipment and the battle system. Oh and the random effects? Shugo's fault. When the bracelet fails to activate, status aliments affect the party elements. Thanks, noob.

So they finally open the chest for the rare item and...inside is a sailor suit (schoolgirl outfit) and a maid costume. The chapter ends with Shugo ending aroused at the thought of his sister in a maid outfit. Way to be, Legend of the Twilight.

THOUGHTS:

Nothing wrong except for the ending. Decent chapter. Balmung is becoming my favorite character despite the start and now we have a reason to hold back on using the bracelet until we know more about it. We also got a myth arc started about the Last Mystery. Woo, tolerable reading!

White Day is celebrated in Japan on March 14, a month after Valentine's Day, where people give gifts to those who gave them gifts on Valentine's Day, usually chocolate. It's basically a whole Sadie Hawkins' Day to give girls the opportunity to show their affection to boys rather than the other way around.

[rosemaryandarsenic]

Battle of the Bands (pt.1)

pairing| Gareth Emerson x female reader

readersynopsis| Gareth and Y/N are a part of competing bands, but circumstances arise that pull them together instead of apart.

warnings|Cursing, mentions divorce, name calling, drug use, relationship issues, scary upside down things.

AN: Gareth and Y/N are both 18 in this, events of S4 happened but everyone made it. Eddie is on house arrest, Max is in a wheelchair and the Byers moved back into town. Not sure how far Im going to take the whole plot with the upside down, this story will mainly focus on Gareth's and Y/Ns experiences. This part doesnt talk alot about the Battle of the Bands but its coming!!

The crisp winter air is beginning to lose its sting, fading into the spring as the snow melted in puddles around Hawkins. It’s March, and everyone is beginning to buzz with anticipation as the school year comes to an end. Graduation is just around the corner, along with the battle of the bands - the first of its kind in the small town. There are several bands set to play, among them, Corroded Coffin. Gareth’s excitement has been escalating every day, to the point where he’s been drumming on everything. It’s lunch time and he’s tapping  on his plastic tray in the line like his life depends on it when he feels a tap on his shoulder. 

“Can you maybe shut your fingers up and move along?” A girl, barely above shoulder height is staring up at him with an annoyed look. 

“Earth to the freak, I asked you a question.” She says again, a strand of hair falling over her eyes. 

“Sorry.” He stutters, moving forward, not realizing he’d been holding up the line. 

She’s pretty, big eyes graced with black eyeliner. A black T-shirt and ripped black jeans, spiked bracelets and a silver chain around her neck with a little skull dangling from it. It looks almost identical to his, which makes him blush. He’s trying not to stare as he escapes the hustle and wanders to the table where the rest of hellfire is seated. 

“I’m telling you, it’s going to be legendary.” Andy says, as Gareth slides into his seat next to Jeff. 

“You don’t think that we’ll get kicked out for it? I mean come on dude, the fact they’re even letting us play is insane,” Jeff mumbles, shoving cubed potatoes in his mouth as he talks. “The only reason they allowed us to compete is because Eddie graduated and that other metal band is playing. We’re already in deep shit after subbing our front man.” 

“What other metal band?” Gareth asks, looking confused.

“Are you serious man? I told you - its those chicks from marching band. The Screaming Minnies.” Andy sighs.

“The Screaming Meemies.” Jeff corrects him, shaking his head. “They signed up last week.”

Gareth tried to recall the name, unable to picture any girl in Hawkins starting a metal band, let alone a group of them. Except one - the girl in line, the new girl. 

“Wait - the one with that new girl, the goth looking one?” He raises an eyebrow. 

“That’s the one, its Y/N and two freshman I think.” Jeff finishes, sliding his plate to the side. Who would've fucking thought?

The day crawls on, Gareth watching the clock and losing himself to boredom as teachers went over assignments. He couldn't stop thinking about the band, or the face of the girl in line this afternoon. He’d seen her maybe twice when she’d started mid-term at Hawkins High, and he couldn't recall much about her. She seemed gloomy, always in darker clothes, which was unusual around here. He knew she was a senior like himself, but they didn’t have many classes together. Metal huh? In times like this, that was shocking. Since Eddie’s release from jail, and graduation, looking or acting remotely different put an enormous target on your back. The Satanic Panic, newspapers called it. Even the boys had stopped wearing their Hellfire shirts, opting for solid black clothes or grey hoodies. He hated it, with a burning passion. Gareth still refused to stop wearing his vest, opting instead for removing the buttons. In the privacy of his own home his walls were still plastered with band posters and D&D art, but it wasn’t the same. Expressing yourself shouldn’t be a crime, but they had to play it safe. After nearly losing Eddie, they all were scared of death themselves. It’s what had brought Dustin and Mike closer to Gareth this last year, especially Dustin. Gareth had spent all of summer wrapping his mind around the story Eddie had shared one night, the only time he’d ever opened up about his near death appearance. How Dustin had saved his life that night after he’d been attacked by bats - demo bats he’d called them. Jeff and Andy had never believed Eddie killed Chrissy, never asked questions, but they had stayed at home much longer before seeking Eddie out. No one blamed them. The whole thing was a mess. 

The bell brought Gareth back to reality, and he grabbed his books and pencil as he shuffled into the hall with the rest of the students, pulling his hood up as he shuffled to his locker. May could not come soon enough.

The beginning of April rolled in as the band practiced, doing homework together and sneaking to Eddie’s in the middle of the night. Mike was starting to get the hang on vocals, his voice a surprisingly good match for Eddie’s gravely tone. The two were a lot alike, which also helped, but Mike was distracted. His girlfriend, Jane (who he called El, despite being told to quit), proved to be a major hinderance to his ability to focus. They fought a lot, over god knows what, and Will (the newest addition to the group, who’d been welcomed with open arms) was constantly trying to repair the damage. Dustin spent most of his time on the phone with his girlfriend Suze, and Lucas was with Max, who was now happily harassing him from a wheelchair as he followed her around like a guard-dog. Jeff and Andy both had girlfriends as well, nice people who mostly avoided everyone. This left Eddie, Gareth and Will on their own at random hours, usually filled with slasher movies and bitching about Mike or the jocks at school. Will and Eddie were both excellent DM’s, so occasionally they’d loose themselves in campaign discussions. Tonight was one of those nights, and Gareth had excused himself early, driving back to his house with the windows down, Van Halen blaring. The country roads were nice this time of night, mostly undisturbed by the ravines that now tore through Hawkins. No one was ever out now, even though the curfew had lifted. It was peaceful, almost, only disturbed by the smokey haze that fell over the town even after months of clean up. 

He turned the music down as he drove into the city, and the suburbs, not wanting to disturb the quiet. Turning the corner, he nearly jumped out of his skin as he noticed a shadowy figure darting across the road. They were running, from something that he couldn't see, hood up with strands of hair flying. Only a moment after the figure had run past him, something large bounded after them on all fours. A dog maybe? It was huge, maybe the size of a person. The figure stumbled, clearly out of breath as the creature jolted towards them. Is that Y/N? Gareth honked, both the figure and the beast turning towards the sound. It was her, the girl from school. Her eyes widening at the car, she used the moment of distraction to run, this time towards his vehicle. He pulled to a stop as she practically flung herself through the open window on the passenger side. 

“DRIVE.” She screamed, as the creature swung towards them, now on its hind legs. Its head expanded into a flower shape, exposing rows of razor sharp teeth as it let out an unearthly howl. 

Gareth’s heart pounding, he slammed on the gas pedal, flying past whatever the fuck that thing was and down the road. It followed, bounding after them.

“WHAT IS THAT?” He screamed, careening around another corner too fast, sending a trash bin flying. 

“I DONT KNOW!” She screamed back, tears running down her face as she held on for dear life. The beast was beginning to fall behind as he sped towards the longest stretch of road he could find - a strip leading to the next town. They flew past street signs, thankfully no other cars in sight, towards the edge of Hawkins, the creature chasing them. He didn’t bother to look in the rear mirror until they flew past the Welcome to Hawkins sign, when Y/N yelled over the wind, “You lost him.”

He slowed to the speed limit, heart racing as he continued to drive, silence falling over them until the city lights started to surround them. They were thirty minutes out of Hawkins, in the neighboring city before he finally pulled over, panting still from the adrenaline. Y/N was also breathing heavy, her hood now down, exposing the smeared makeup on her face and the panic in her eyes. 

“What in the absolute fuck.” She kept mumbling under her breath, “WHAT THE FUCK.” 

Gareth was no better, hands still on the steering wheel, fingers white from clenching it so hard. He felt light headed, trying to rack his brain for a logical answer. There’s no fucking way - unless? He yanked the drivers door open and tumbled out, scanning the street for a payphone. He groaned, seeing nothing, and let himself lean on the car. His body felt like a rock underwater, groggy with shock. If that was one of the beasts that Dustin and Lucas had talked about, things were about to get nasty real quick. He gulped in air, trying to focus his thoughts as Y/N stumbled out of the car. 

“Gareth?” She walked around the back, coming towards him with her hands shaking. “Gareth, are you okay?” 

He nodded, still reaching for air. “We need to find a phone.”

She scanned the street, coming to the realization he had moments ago. “Maybe there’s one down the street?” She questioned, anxiously wringing her hands. When she’d moved here, she’d been resentful - Hawkins was boring. Nothing happened in small towns. But here she was, with the rival bands drummer in the middle of the night after being chased by something out of a nightmare. 

“I’m gonna check,” she said, walking hurriedly towards the next row of buildings. He followed her, pocketing his car keys as they both scanned the landscape for some indication of an open store or payphone. Barely a block away, a diner lit up the night, and they both ran towards it. Y/N swung the door open, florescent beams pooling out onto the pavement as she made her way to the counter.

“Can we use your phone?” She asked, the waitress on the other side of the counter looking disgruntled. She was about to refuse until she saw the tears on the girls face, and handed her the phone from behind the counter. Gareth stood next to her, waiting as she held the receiver, then turned to him. 

“W-who do we call?” She said. Neither of them had thought ahead. The police would laugh them away, ask why they were out so late anyways. 

He took the phone, dialing Eddie’s number. It rang a few times before he picked up, sounding sleepy. 

“Hello?”

“Eddie, listen -“

“Gareth? What the fuck man?”

“Eddie shut the fuck up and listen to me.”

Silence on the line. 

“Eddie?”

“Im fucking listening, why do you sound like you just saw a fucking ghost?”

“Long story, I…uh, I need a favor. I’m with someone in the next town-“

“What’re you-“

“We saw something man.”

“Something?” Eddie’s tone changed, serious now, wide awake. “Where exactly are you?”

“A diner. We lost it on the road out of town, dude, I’ve never seen-“

“Stop. Stay there.” Eddie sounded worried, scared even. “Someone will be there soon, just fucking stay there.” 

The line dropped, and Gareth felt his palms get sweaty. Shit. Y/N is staring at him, confused, as he puts the phone down. 

“We sit tight.” He says. She nods. She’s getting the feeling he knows something she doesn’t, and now is not the time to question it. 

They sat for what felt like hours, ordering coffee and not drinking it, both of them lost in thought about what they’d just seen. Eventually, Gareth took a sip of the now lukewarm drink in his hands and sighed, looking up at her. 

He cleared his throat, sticking out his hand. “Gareth Emerson.” He said, and she laughed a little, making him turn pink. 

“I know.” She smiled. “Y/N Y/L/N.” She said, taking his hand. His palms were still sweaty, as were hers, but the touch felt oddly calming. 

“I, uh, I’ve seen you at school.” She mutters, sipping her own coffee and grimacing at the bitter taste. “You're in Corroded Coffin, right?”

“Mhhm.” He hums, taking another drink. “Your in the Screaming Meemies?” 

She nods, shaking her head. “I hate that stupid name, but yeah. I’m the guitarist.”

He smiles, hands wrapped around his mug. “Drummer.”

Gareth is wracking his brain for something to say, but nothing comes. He’s never been the greatest with small talk, even in emergencies. It seemed silly to be talking about normal things after what they’d just seen. 

“So…you moved here mid-semester right?” He asks.

She nods, “From Nebraska actually.”

His eyebrows crinkled together, “Nebraska?”

“It’s not so bad,” she chuckled, “all my family is - was - there.”

He nods, seeming to note the way she corrected herself, but not saying anything. 

“My dad found a better job here in Hawkins,” she continues, “so we moved up during the holidays.”

“Seems like you're handling it okay,” he says, looking at his hands. “I’m sorry though. Moving sucks.”

“Have you moved a lot?”

“Not recently. Not since my parents got divorced.” He says, looking back at her face now. “They split when I was twelve.”

She nods. “You go with your mom or dad?”

“Mom.” He smiles. “My dads a piece of shit.”

She smiles back this time, laughing under her breath. “My mom is shitty too.” She nods, taking another sip of coffee. “At least we get one, right?”

He nods, understanding. “Yeah. At least we get one.”

They sit in silence for awhile longer, till the door of the diner swings open again. Will and his brother, Jonathan, stumble in - Nancy wheeler in tow. 

“Jesus Christ!” Nancy says as they walk towards you, taking in both of your frazzled appearances. Gareth doesn’t know Nancy well, hardly at all in fact, but he’s heard Eddie’s stories. She’s a powerhouse. Jonathan…well Jonathan’s awkward. He’s quiet, but he’s fun, especially when he smokes. Always carries his camera around with him. 

The drive back to Hawkins is stressful, Nancy following as Jonathan drove Gareth’s car back with everyone else in it. Will gave them the third degree, wanting every detail about the encounter. Gareth told his part in less than a minute, honestly embarrassed at the realization that he’d barely seen the creature and nearly shit his pants. Y/N’s part took longer, and she told it curled up in the backseat beside him.

“I was walking home from band practice, and decided to take this short cut through the woods.”

“The woods at night?” Jonathan piped up, and Will shushed him.

“Yeah. I grew up near something similar so I didn’t think about it,” she shrugs. “Anyways, I was almost to my part of town when I heard something behind me so I hid. I couldn't see anything behind me so I figured I was imagining it, yknow? But every time I started moving it felt like something was there. It freaked me out, and I was only a few blocks away at this point so I decided to run for it. My dad’s out of town, but we have a gun in the kitchen. I planned to get inside and call the cops, arm myself. The problem is when I start running for it I hear it again, and I feel something slippery. It’s like this vine appeared out of nowhere and gets all twisted around my foot. It knocks me off my feet and I….” She trails off. 

Will nods, giving her a reassuring look. 

“We’ve heard some weird shit, its okay.” Jonathan says. 

“It felt like it was pulling me,” she shivers, “like the vine was alive and slimy and….” She stops again. “It dragged me towards this tree, and I swear I saw the trunk open up, like this hole with ooze pouring out of it is ready to swallow me. So I start kicking and screaming. I must’ve gotten free because I felt it fall back, and I just start running again. I don’t know where I am or where I’m headed, I’m just trying to get the fuck away from whatever that is.” She pales as she talks, gripping at the sleeves of her hoodie. Gareth leans in, letting her scoot closer to him for comfort.

“I get out of the woods and the sound is back, like somethings behind me so I just keep running. I heard its feet on the pavement, they made squelching sounds.” She shivers. “That’s when I saw Gareth’s car.”

Jonathan and Will give each other a look, silently conversing as the car goes quiet. 

“How big was this thing?” Will asks quietly, shifting in his seat. 

“Probably twice the size of Great Dane.” She says, staring out the window. Gareth puts a hand on her leg, attempting to comfort her and hoping it's not too much. He can’t imagine how scared she must’ve been, seeing that. She has the same look that he see’s on Eddie and Lucas’s faces sometimes. When they think no one is looking and the shadow falls across their eyes. 

“Whatever it is, it's gone now.” Jonathan says, confidence in his voice as they pull into town. “I suggest we go home and re-convene in the morning to decide how to proceed.”

Y/N nods, her shoulders finally falling as she sighs. It had been a long night. She quietly gave him directions to her house, and they dropped her there, watching to make sure she made it inside. The kitchen lights were on, and Gareth let out his own sigh of relief as he saw her lock the front door and walk away, presumably to her own room. He’s not sure why he’s so attached to this girl, he barely knows her, but after tonight he feels responsible. 

Will turns in his seat, and gives him a look. “Demo-dogs function on a hive mind. It’s not gone but it’s probably moved on to hunt something else.” He says quietly. 

“You saved her life.” Jonathan says, not turning. “And yours. We’ll figure out the rest.”

—-

Gareth slept badly, which came as no surprise. Too much was happening, between school and the events of the evening. Two emotions settled over him, the first - dread. Every sound in the night made him jump. He couldn’t get out the image of the demo-dog rising on its hind legs. The second was…more complex. It felt like something had changed in him tonight. Next to the mental picture of the creature, there was the face of a girl. Y/N, to be exact. She’d been wild, terrified obviously, but she’d held her wits about her.  He couldn’t drop the memory of her leaning into his touch in the back seat. He chided himself, it was probably the shock of things. It had nothing to do with him. And yet, the thought stayed. He groaned, finally giving up on sleep entirely when the clock hit 4 am. Whatever the fuck had happened wouldn’t change the fact that he had one month left of classes before freedom. They’d deal with it. Until then, he had the band.

—-

Y/n lay in her bed, eyes blankly staring at the ceiling as she tried to rest. Her heart was still pounding, an anxious feeling in her stomach. Fear mixed with an unease, much more unsettling than fear alone. Closing her eyes she pictures Gareth's hand on her thigh again, the warmth radiating off of him, the gentle reassurance grounding her. She watched him from the moment she started at school, noticing his curly hair and dimples tucked away in some of her classes. At lunch, she’d sit opposite to him so she could watch him talk amongst his friends. He never seemed to say much, but his face showed every emotion like a book. It was captivating to her, and she kept it buried deep inside. Senior year was not the time to get attached, she’d be gone soon anyways, to start a real band and get the fuck out of this town. Except now her stomach only filled with dread at the thought of him being gone. He had seen it, most of it, he knew. It seemed like the Byers understood, but how many of them would truly be able to do anything? She climbed out of bed and shuffled to her closet, where her guitar sat leaning against the wall. It soothes her, the feeling of the strings against her fingers. The guitar hums with sound, vibrating against her chest like a hug. She thinks again of Gareth's face, his hazel eyes, the curls around his forehead and the chain around his neck. His hands. Come what may, he’d saved her life, and here she was. The rest could wait till the morning. 

[fa-headhoncho]

Untitled TFATWS Fic: Part 1

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Prompt/Background: After turning yourself in to the government following the events of CA:TWS, they lock you up for the crimes you committed during your time at Hydra. Spending years there until Captain America got you on parole during the blip to help fight Thanos. Now, after doing community service acts and helping the broken society, when they give the new Captain America the shield, you’re thrown back into a life you didn’t want.

Word Count: 1871 (ahaha, yea)

Reader: Female

Warning: parole officers might be triggering??? idk

Author’s Note: I’ve decided to end my 141 part Wattpad Sebastian Stan imagine book and post on Tumblr instead :’), a happy day. Also, I’M SORRY THAT I LIKE SLOW BURN SERIES OK? Schedule for this series is every Thursday. ALSO IF YOU HAVE TITLE IDEAS FOR THIS SERIES, LMK! PLEASE

Masterlist

Part 2  Part 3  Part 4

=====

The sound of your heels echoed throughout the dimly lit room as you make your way through the exhibit. The walls take you back in time, reading how Captain America came to be and all his past accomplishments. They even updated from the last time you were here, documenting the events on the Blip.

You didn’t even know where you were going, absently letting your emotions and feet lead to where it felt you needed to be.

“For a former spy, you’re not really good at sneaking up on someone.” Rhodes’ voice greets you once you open up the curtain to a different area. A small smile sneaks its way across your face seeing the two men in front of you.

“Bit out of practice.” You spit back, walking towards them. “It’s nice to see you again, Rhodie.” You open your arms out to him and he gladly takes the hug. “Hopefully life’s been treatin’ you well.”

“For the most part,” He chuckles out while pulling away from the embrace. You move on to the other man, him happily wrapping his arms around your waist as you wrap yours around his shoulders.

Sam lets out a breath into the crook of your neck before pulling back. “You doing okay?” You ask, looking at his face for any sign of emotion. He nods but there was something in his eye that told otherwise.

You open your mouth to push him for the real answer but Rhodes cuts you off, “Well, I have to get going. It was good seeing you, (Y/L/N), hopefully, we work together soon. Remember what I said, Sam.” With that, he leaves the room to leave you and Sam alone.

The room fills with silence as the two of you turn to the iconic suit and shield in front of you. You try to watch Sam from the corner of your eye but he just stands with his back straight and his eyes forward.

“You know, I’m sure Steve would understand.” You decide to say, clasping your hands in front of you. “I didn’t become as close as you did, but from my time with him during the Blip, he tried his best to help everyone. He had a lot of responsibilities and issues of his own along with having a whole country looking up to him... 

“It was a lot… he opened to me about it one night before… you know.” You admit which makes him finally look at you. “He told me what he was going to do and all I could do is support him… I asked him what he was going to do with the mantle and he said give it to you.” Turning your head, you make eye contact with him. “I asked him if he was sure.”

He lets out a snort at that, shaking his head at you. “Really gotta do me like that?” He wipes his hand across his face then stuffs his hand in his pockets as he turns to face you. “I thought we were having a nice bonding moment and then you had to drop me like that?”

You can’t help the giggle that escapes your lips at his whining. “I’m being serious, Sam, stop.” You hit him on the shoulder. “He said there was no doubt in his mind that you do what needed to be done with the shield. He trusted you and your judgment, Falcon.” You emphasize his hero name which he just rolls his eyes at you.

“Yea, I’m sure he did.” He smiles and then changes the subject, “How’s parole treatin’ ya, still got the collar on?” He gestures to your ankle causing you to lift your dress pant leg, flashing the electric bracelet around your ankle. He lets out a hearty chuckle at it. “Still can’t believe that they have you on a leash.”

“Price you gotta pay for freedom.” You shrug and drop the cloth. There’s a beat of silence between the two of you, both of you taking a glance back at the exhibit and the shield.

“Have you talked with Bucky recently?”

“No, I was going to ask you.” Your heart sinks at the realization. “We’ve been texting a bit but I haven’t seen him since I spent the weekend with him a couple of weeks ago.” You shyly admit and look down at your feet.

“Weekend, huh?”

“Shut it, Sam.” You knock your foot against his. “We didn’t do anything, he doesn’t like me like that. Plus, he wouldn’t even let me spend the night. I had to go to a hotel, he sleeps on the floor, Sam! I’m worried about him.” It took weeks for you to convince him to let you come over and you finally knew why when you step into his apartment. It made your heart sink, it looked like if a Hydra cell got a remodel. “He has two chairs and a tv.”

“Living modestly I see.” He snorts out, covering up whatever he was actually thinking. It’s now your turn to roll your eyes at him, frustrated that he isn’t willing to talk about this. “Hey, he’s still figuring stuff out, okay? He just got all his memories back and he’s still working on living with his past. You should know better than I do to give him time.” His tone is soft as he lightly scolds you. You hang your head at his words, knowing he’s right.

It took some time for you to come to terms with your past when you turned yourself in after Hydra and SHIELD fell. You took accountability for your actions during your years at Hydra and spent a few years in jail before Steve took action to help you get on parole. That didn’t mean you weren’t fully recovered.

“When are you joining me on the field, anyway?” Sam changes the topic noticing how you went silent and your eyes looked past him. “I could use you on some of my recon missions.” 

A large smile forms on your face at the mention of your parole. “A couple more check-ins and I’m good, I think.” You excitedly inform, “They actually want to talk to me about something, and then it’s the last three months. Saving the world made my good behavior skyrocket.”

“I’m sure it did.” He smiles, “Well, let me know what happens. I’m heading down to Louisiana soon and my sisters want to meet you. She heard about your work with the soup kitchens in New York and she wanted some insight.”

“Really? Give her my number, you know I’d be happy to talk with her. I’ve been thinking about trying to get my officer to convince the big guys to expand my tracking radar so I reach out more.” You start to ramble about the ideas you’ve been having for more community service actions. During the blip, Steve got you into volunteer work and it sparked something inside of you. He said it might give you a new purpose and he couldn’t have been more right.

The two of you spend the rest of the day together, catching up on everything that’s been going on. You didn’t realize how much you missed his snarky comments and banter until he smothered you in it, “making up for lost time”, he said. He continues the bullying by texting back and forth for the next few days.

It was nice to have a friend after everything that happened over the last few years. Steve and Nat were gone so the friendships you built up during the blip were just a memory now. Yea, Bucky and you were friends but it was a bit more complicated than that.

It’s a few weeks after that and they’ve already named some prick the new Captain America. You were frustrated at Sam but you realized that he couldn’t have known that this was going to happen. Especially since when you reached out to him and he was more furious than you were. Bucky was a whole other story. When the press conference aired, he immediately called you and went off about Sam. You couldn’t offer answers so you just told him to talk to him about it. This didn’t involve you.

Now, you were sat at some random government office in DC. You were beyond nervous, leg bouncing and fingers tapping. Kevin, your sweet parole officer, had called you in for an emergency meeting. He didn’t mention anything about the content of it but he assured you not to worry. It didn’t help, though, your mind was scrambling trying to think of anything you could’ve done to break your parole or anywhere you could’ve gone that went outside your tracking radar.

“(Y/L/N)?” The familiar voice echoes through the lobby makes your head snap up. Kevin, your knight in a cashmere sweater, stands there with his hands in his pants pockets. He nods his head, gesturing for you to follow him.

He leads you down a long hallway, stopping at the end of it and holding the door open for you. You send him a grateful smile before entering the office. It was very different from his usual office. The tall windows lined the wall from floor to ceiling, making the already large room feel even more spacious. It was a bit unsettling compared to his close-knit office space located in an old house on the outskirts of DC.

Kevin moves you two to the large conference table on the other side of the room, having you sit before he does. He takes the chair at the head of the table, sighing as he opens the folder and takes a few papers out.

“Sign these.” He slides them over to you but you furrow your eyebrows in response.

“What’s going on?”

“You’re being released.” He announces, leaning back in his chair with a tight-lipped smile on his face. Your jaw drops and your heart picks up but you can’t help but question it. You quickly compose yourself and look down at the papers.

“Isn’t it a bit too early?” You ask while briefly scanning the papers. “I still have two months left, not that I’m not grateful but where is this coming from?” This was happening too suddenly, Kevin was good with warning you about the activities that go on behind the scenes of your parole and he didn’t even mention the thought of an early release.

The brunette man lets out a sigh, running his hair through his long hair. He then leans his elbows on the table with his head propped up on his palms, he opens his mouth to answer but is cut off by the office door opening.

The new Captain America and his sidekick come waltzing in, a few of his goons following as well. He didn’t need the uniform or shield for you to recognize him since his face has been plastered on every channel since they came forward with him. He’s all everyone could talk about.

“He released you.” You barely hear Kevin as your mind goes into spirals. What the hell did this guy want? Why is he even here? What the hell did he want with you?

[innytoes]

Another chaos prompt: Want to help egg my ex’s house? for the Flynn ship of your choice!

Listen, Flynn was a big girl. She knew that things between her and Tamara hadn't been going great lately. She'd wanted to give it another go, or at least have a good talk before deciding to break up, so they could maybe part as friends. Or at least friend-ly enough that they could get their stuff from each other's apartments without drama.

Except Tamara didn't want to talk and part like adults. Tamara had decided that the best way to break up was to go to a party with Flynn, meet up with her side-piece there, kiss her in front of everyone, and dump Flynn publicly, demanding her key back on the spot because 'she didn't trust someone as shady as her'. Which, coming from a cheater, really was something.

Which was probably why she was hiding in the kitchens at this fancy event, crying. Apparently the wait-staff had told the chefs about what happened, because they set her up in a corner with a fancy cloth napkin to dab her tears away and a bowl of admittedly delicious soup.

She's just about finished crying (and her soup) when Carrie stormed into the kitchens. Oh great, just what she needed. Another ex to make her feel even worse about herself. She hadn't even known Carrie was at this event, but she should have guessed. Carrie was all about fashion launches.

"I heard what happened," she said. Which meant everyone was gossiping about them. Great. Except when Flynn looked up, ready to- she didn't know, throw the dredges of her soup at her or something- Carrie didn't look gleeful, she looked mad. "That was a shitty thing to do."

When she and Carrie had broken up, sure it had been catty, both of them still in high school and not quite adept at how to handle heartbreak yet. And sure, she'd sent the Candies to pick up her stuff from Flynn's place, along with a box of all Flynn's stuff. Including the friendship bracelets she'd made Carrie. But Carrie had never been outright nasty to her. Not even when they ran into each other at Julie's gigs. Not even when she saw Flynn with Tamara. It was awkward sure, and sometimes just this side of petty, but never awful.

"Want to get out of here?" Carrie asked, and she sounded so sympathetic. She awkwardly flipped her hair over her shoulder. "My dad has held events here before. I know a back door."

And hell, it wasn't like her night could get any worse. Hanging out with her ex - who was looking amazing, while Flynn looked like a mess - was probably a step up from crying in the kitchen.

"Want to help egg my ex' house?" she asked. No sooner had she spoken or three of the people in the kitchen, who were totally not eavesdropping, not at all - moved. Within seconds, there were two cartons of eggs, along with a platter of deviled eggs, on the counter next to Flynn.

"Want to help deviled-egg my ex' house?" she asked.

Carrie giggled, a mischievous gleam to her eyes that reminded Flynn of why she'd fallen for her in the first place.

"Let's go."

[stiltonbasket]

Can we have a hundred day celebration for Shuilan in renouncement? Would love to see Wangxian happily showing off their baby and the everyone being KO’d by her cuteness.

If anyone had told Wei Wuxian what his future would hold five years ago, he would have laughed at the impossibility, and then dug a hole for himself in his favorite radish patch until Wen Qing came along to fetch him. 

How strange it would have sounded to the Yiling Laozu holding court in the Burial Mounds, scraping by on thin luobo stew and the odd egg from market to feed A-Yuan, that one day a child of his would receive the blessings of all the Lan sect the moment she came into the world, and again thrice over at her hundred-day feast! It scarcely seems real to him now, after more than a year as Lan Zhan’s husband and the Lan Clan’s Xinhua-jun, and the sight of his richly dressed reflection in the looking glass bewilders him so much that he scarcely registers it when Lan Zhan materializes behind him with A-Lan in his arms.

“A-Lan looks so sweet, Lan Zhan,” he laughs, when his husband reaches out to touch his elbow--in a gesture that means come back, xingan, for I am here beside you, and you need never want for anything again. “She’s sparkling almost as much as you are.”

Lan Zhan dressed the baby in a tiny, glittering robe covered with beaded flowers, and whenever the light falls upon her little body, A-Lan glows like a moonlit pearl: so cool and soft and calm that Wei Wuxian can scarcely look away from her, even after the hundred-day feast is well underway in the banquet hall. He and Lan Zhan hold the seats of honor today, rather than Lan Xichen, and Xiao-Yu sits close beside them with his fluffy hair tied up into two pigtails.

“May I hold her, Hanguang-jun?” a kindly matron from the Cheng sect asks. Lan Zhan nods, and Lan-bao is swiftly transferred into Cheng-er-furen’s arms: puzzled by her sudden ascent, certainly, but happy enough to blink her big eyes up at Second Lady Cheng and coo like a roosting pigeon.

“Oh,” Cheng-er-furen gasps, as A-Lan kicks her tiny feet in their pink satin shoes. “Xinhua-jun, she’s beautiful.”

Wei Wuxian feels his heart quiver in his breast. “They say that one beauty recognizes another,” he says gravely, laughing out loud when Lady Cheng’s cheeks flush red. “Lan-bao can already tell, Lan Zhan, don’t you think?”

Lan Zhan presses his lips together and refuses to answer, but Wei Wuxian can see them twitching up at the corners. “That means he agrees with me,” he teases, as Cheng-furen slips a red packet into Xiao-Yu’s hands and kisses the toe of A-Lan’s little sock. “Don’t you, xingan?”

Lady Cheng rolls her eyes at their flirting and passes down the line with a smile, yielding her place to the next guest before going to find a seat at the banquet table.

“Ah, Wei-xiong,” the next well-wisher sighs, snapping open his favorite fan and holding it out to the baby. “A-Lan’s gathered quite a crowd today, hasn’t she?”

“Well, we did limit the full-moon ceremony to only our friends and family,” Wei Wuxian points out. As far as social events go, A-Lan’s full moon was one of the most exclusive gatherings of the year, open to members of the Lan sect and only by invitation to guests outside the Cloud Recesses; Ouyang Zizhen was generally envied as the sole attendee unconnected to Wei Wuxian by sect or familial ties, though he would have been invited anyway as Ouyang-zongzhu’s heir. “Lan Zhan was worried that we might fall ill during the monsoon season, so of course we had to invite everyone now that the weather’s turned warm again.”

Huaisang gives a meditative nod and lets A-Lan chew on the handle of his fan. “Lan-bao doesn’t have any teeth,” he yawns, when Wei Wuxian stares at the fan in disbelief and tries to pull it out of the baby’s mouth. “She can gum on my fan all she wants, I doubt she can put a dent in it.”

But the fan loses its charm before long, and A-Lan starts fussing in her blue satin wrap and refuses to settle until Wei Wuxian picks her up. The next group of guests offers their good-wishes one by one, leaving behind gifts like red packets and jade pendants and enough books to set up a new wing in the Library Pavilion; and a little while later, a shy two-year-old wanders up with his mother and presents a clumsily-carved dizi, just the right size for a toddler about as old as he is.

“I married out of the Cloud Recesses, so I live with my husband in Caiyi now,” the mother explains, as her son looks into Lan-bao’s crib with big eyes and makes soft cooing sounds in a clear attempt to play with her. “He runs a woodworking shop, so when we heard about the invitation to Lan-xiao-guniang’s hundred-day, Fang’er asked him to help carve a dizi for her.”

Wei Wuxian is so thoroughly charmed that he promises to stop by the woodworking shop later in the month, and present little Lan Fang--who seems to have taken his mother’s name, to retain his connection to her sect--with a learning dizi of his own.

“You can never begin too early,” Lan Zhan offers, catching Xiao-Yu by the sleeve to stop him from feeding his spicy peanut snacks to Lan Fang. “Does he prefer the flute above other instruments, furen? If so, he could come to the Cloud Recesses to study alongside Xiao-Yu when Wei Ying starts his music lessons.”

Wei Wuxian flinches, wondering if Lan Zhan has lost his senses--because what good mother would send her son to learn the dizi from the infamous Yiling Patriarch, even if he had been redeemed in the eyes of the gentry by his marriage to Lan Wangji? But Lan Fang’s mother is already nodding, looking fondly at Xiao-Yu as he offers Fang’er a bite of tangyuan, and the look in her eyes when she turns to Wei Wuxian is full of nothing but happiness.

“Xiao-Fang doesn’t get along very well with the children in Caiyi,” she sighs. “But he’ll surely come to study here one day, so if I could send him and know that Xiao-Yu-gongzi would look out for him--”

“Xiao-Yu will!” A-Yu exclaims, grabbing Lan Fang’s hand. “He’ll be A-Yu’s shidi!”

Lan Fang is more interested in doting on A-Lan, but Xiao-Yu is delighted by the prospect of having a junior sect brother, and tells the next ten people in line that he has become a shixiong now.

All in all, A-Lan’s hundred-day feast goes off without a hitch, and Wei Wuxian is nearly in tears at the sweetness of it all by the time Jiang Cheng arrives with a set of silver baby jewelry.

“A-Cheng, you shouldn’t have,” he chuckles, ducking his head so that Lan Zhan can pat his eyes with a cool handkerchief. “Lan-bao has enough jewelry for a new set every day, by now!”

“This isn’t just any set of jewelry,” Jiang Cheng informs him, motioning his head disciple to come forward and open the flat jewel-cases to reveal necklaces, bangles, ankle-bracelets and a longevity lock encrusted with silver beads.

Upon closer inspection, Wei Wuxian discovers that each tiny bead is a miniature clarity bell, etched with the Jiang sect lotus blossom and reinforced with so many protective charms that the collected set must have cost a small fortune.

“Didi,” Wei Wuxian begins, trying in vain to swallow the lump in his throat. “This, this is--”

“She won’t be able to wear these for long, but you could get them disassembled and extended with plain silver when she’s older,” his brother interrupts. “But A-Shuai says you should put them into storage when A-Lan gets older, because heaven knows I can’t afford another set.”

Lan Zhan frowns. “Why would we need another set?”

Jiang Cheng fixes him with a pointed stare, and Wei Wuxian feels his cheeks turn crimson when he finally gets the hint.

(Three years later, A-Lan’s hundred-day clarity jewels are passed down to a newborn baby sister, and no one is more pleased than her adoring jiujiu when Wei Chunyang wears them at her own full moon celebration.)

[whxreforsvkvna]

mirage errone pt. 8 || bakugo x reader

genre: Princess!reader x bandit!Bakugo, ft. Bakusquad

warnings: all bnha characters are above 18+ (unless otherwise mentioned), multi-chapter, minor (and some major) swear words here and there throughout fic thanks to Bakugo, Bakugo isn’t as rough as he is in canon

word count: 921

prompts: in which a self-proclaimed good-hearted bandit group kidnaps the wrong princess

a/n: i know it's been quite some time since the last update for this. senior year of uni is giving me the middle finger

prev || next

Despite your initial expectations; Today, unfortunately, was not destined to be a normal day for the townspeople. Your mere action of hitting a palace guard was deemed fit enough to be arrested for, apparently. What sort of rule was that when it came to defending yourself?

Title and rank aside, was it not acceptable to set your foot down in situations like this? According to the guards, townspeople and even Bakugo, it definitely was not.

“Assaulting the King’s men is like assaulting the King himself.” The guard spat, the corners of his mouth curling into a snarl. “To think you’d be able to get away with thievery was a foolish act in itself. But to raise a hand against authority? You are just asking for all sorts of trouble, Miss.”

Intimidated by his words, you cower further behind Bakugo, trying to hide yourself from their line of sight. Of course, this tactic was futile and seemed to only anger the guards even more.

“I do apologize for striking at you, sir, but I’m afraid I cannot give you my bracelet.” You weakly explained, clutching your wrist that adorned the said item closely to your chest. “It is the only thing I have left of my mother.”

Despite the current events unrolling, Bakugo couldn’t help but look back at you in pure confusion. The current Queen was still alive and well, why would a bracelet mean so much to you when you could see the gifter herself? Although you noticed his gaze on you, you didn’t meet the blonde’s stare. Instead, you firmly glared back at the red-faced guard, observing the way his fingers twitched towards his sword’s hilt.

“Enough of these feeble lies. If you are not going to cooperate with us, we have no choice but to arrest you and charge you for your crimes.” He abruptly unsheathed his sword and held it up to intimidate you further.

Before the gleaming metal of the weapon could come down to falsely strike, the attacking guard’s face was whipped to the side from the impact of a leather shoe. You audibly gasped, quickly looking in the direction it was thrown from to see the striking sight of Mina’s pink form a small distance away.

Bakugo took this opportunity to swiftly lower himself and deliver a sweeping kick to the man’s ankles, forcing the guard to topple over and into his companion. Rising back to his feet, Bakugo grasped your hand and began to run from the guards.

You risk a glance over your shoulder, seeing that Mina was no longer in your view. Their actions had worked nearly harmoniously, and you wondered how often they came into such encounters in order to read each other’s thoughts so well.

As you were dragged by your initial captor through the town’s streets, you nearly tumbled over only for him to catch your tilting figure and steady you once more. The straining action of running had you gasping for air in little to no time, but you forced yourself to match his pace.

You had managed to escape through the town by following an entirely different path that led to an opposite destination of where the campsite was.

“It’s to lead them on an empty trail.” Bakugo had briefly explained during your running, hand gently coaxing yours with a firm grip. If you weren’t in such a dire situation, you’d be flustering over the contact of the opposite sex.

Once Bakugo was certain you were a safe distance from the town, your pacing slowed to a brisk walk.

“To think you’d be stupid enough to hit a person as big as that guy.” He huffed out, helping you over a protruding tree root. “Well, then again, I’m sure it’s not all that uncommon to raise a hand to people who do not do your bidding.”

Your heart wrenched painfully at his words and you pulled your hand out of his grasp. You both halt in your steps, him turning back to look at you, a single eyebrow raised in question.

“I’ve never struck anyone before today,” your voice was barely audible due to your heaving breaths, but Bakugo hears you all the same.

For a brief moment, he found himself staring at you in scrutiny. Your eyes showed no signs of lying, but he knew of the horrid actions of the cruel princess through idle gossip. He categorized the look in your expression as a well-practiced one.

“I’m one to believe the victim before the abuser, I’m afraid.” He replied, shrugging his shoulders.

You wrapped your arms around yourself, lowering your gaze to the leaf-covered ground. It was true that Bibi had assaulted the help on more than one occasion, and to be accused of doing such things yourself made you ill to no end.

“Hey… Why didn’t they recognize you?”

You forced yourself to look back at him, and wrack through your thoughts for a convincing response.

I’m not Bibi.

I occupied the part of the palace that didn’t have many guards stationed.

I’m not Bibi.

I’m the bastard princess. My life isn’t worth enough to protect in our father’s eyes.

I’m not -

“Well, not everyone is allowed to see the Royal Family. The Commander is the only person that takes direct orders.”

“I see.”

The rest of your afternoon consisted of circling back in the forest, skimming the borders of town as you made your way back to camp. Throughout the time it took, the coil in your gut only seemed to worsen.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗

Tag List

@animexholic ; @the2ndl ; @rynsuki ; @portalprincess ; @vanni-latte ; @kiwanna ; @random-fandom-girl-24 ; @cloudsgathering ; @yaskna ; @mistalli ; @bubblegum-bixch ; @mizpotatobiscuits ; @ukiyo-levanter ; @ginevraxrogers; @machonango13 ; @paradigmax; @y-16o8;

[aimless-imagines-for-fun]

Damian Wayne Dating HCs

Pairing :: older/adult!Damian Wayne x fem!Reader

Headcanon :: How Damian gets into and acts in a relationship

Word Count :: 1,676

Warnings :: N/A

A/N :: The image I’m using I created with Artbreeder. 

I didn’t call Damian “Robin” and referred to him as a vigilante because Dick stopped being Robin at 25, Jason 22, and Tim 18. The Damian I’m writing is 22. We don’t see much of Older!Damian, and when we do he’s either taken up the mantle of Batman or The Demon’s Head for The League Of Assassins

Getting into a relationship (all of this is in roughly a year) :

Neither you nor Damian know when you started dating, it just sort of happened

He met you at a bookstore you worked at, and you noticed he always came in buying older books about history, warfare, and strategies.

You found the warfare and strategies odd at first but chose not to question it

You asked him out first.

“Why do you always buy these books?” “I like history.” “Oh cool, I do too... Wanna hang out and talk about the First Battle of Tarain?”

You were joking, he said yes to get out of doing a thing with Tim

You each thought it was going to be a small amount of time spent together at some local cafe. You two ended up staying until closing talking about history.

This becomes a bi-weekly thing, you meet up at the cafe, talk until it closes, or go out and talk in a nearby park until sunset.

Damian’s family notices, but choose not to question what he’s doing because it’s seemingly making him less annoyed with people

Dick starts getting curious when he sees Damian smile just a tad bit looking at a text from you

You text him random facts all the time, but they’re weird. “Did you know squirrels are behind most power outages in the US?”

Eventually, you two stop talking about just history and start talking about other things that interest each of you and your personal lives. 

You open up more than Damian

Damian pays close attention when he notices you’re talking about something you’re genuinely passionate about He pays attention to detail in general.

For your birthday he got you a leather swiss army medic bag from WWII. You cried tears of joy and jumped onto him for a big long hug.

That was the first time Damian’s heart skipped a beat. After seeing you overjoyed, he realized he likes seeing you happy. It gave him a warm feeling, but he doesn’t know yet he has feelings for you.

Yours and Damian’s first “official date” was to a fancy Wayne Ent. event. This time Damian asked you. He’s super stiff.

“Would you like to accompany me to the upcoming-” “Are you asking me out on a date??” “No, I’m asking you to accompany me-” “I’ll go.”

No one in his family knows your coming, except for Alfred because he was asked to pick you up and bring you to the manor the day of. Alfred is confused the entire car ride because you act super chill

When you show up, the other boys surround you. Dick realizes who you are instantly, Jason thinks you’re not human, Tim is afraid you’re like Damian.

Bruce is silent, and a bit thankful his son found a normal human

Damian picked out your outfit: A fancy dark Sacramento green dress with black heels, a pearl necklace, and pearl bracelets to match.

You panicked when you saw the jewelry and Damian instantly goes into “comfort mode” to reassure you it’s fine. The family is shook.

At the actual event, you feel SUPER AWKWARD. Your family had enough to get by in life, so you feel very out of place around all the rich people

Damian can tell you’re uncomfortable and so he tries to hold onto you at all times to help you feel comfortable

Ex: He holds your hand, puts a hand on your shoulder, stands directly next to you so your arms are touching.

You eventually feel comfortable, but, you’re both bored there, so you suggest hiding in the outside garden

Finally alone, you two start talking about the other batboys

“Does Dick always try to show off odd party tricks?” “Only when he sees a pretty lady.”

“Why was Jason just standing in the corner looking at everyone?” “He doesn’t like dressing up.”

“Come on, there’s no way Tim’s actually happy here.” “Did you see him on the dance floor?” He has awesome dance moves, he’s just very energetic.

You eventually start talking about something else.

You can hear the music from inside, so you two start slow dancing together.

He’s holding one of your hands and has a hand placed on the small of your back. You rest your head on his shoulder and have your free hand flat on his chest.

It’s in this instant you each realize you have feelings for one another.

You two swayed around slowly until the song eventually ended.

When you two pull away, you stare into his green eyes briefly before you place a hand on his cheek and pull him down for a kiss.

Once In A Relationship :

You and Damian are a good pair because he’s serious and you’re go-with-the-flow. If he starts over-analyzing something, you start relaxing him. 

You two spend at least one day a week together, and you constantly text each other basic messages like “How was your day?”, “Are you okay?”, “Good morning/night”, “Have a nice day”

If you take over an hour to reply to Damian he gets anxious something bad happened to you.

He legitimately gets ready to start searching EVERY PART of Gotham until he gets a text “Sorry, I was taking a nap. Long day at work.”

When you two are together, you’re usually out or at your apartment. He only takes you to the manor if none of the other guys are there.

He took you once with everyone there. Never again.

Dick: “Oh my god! Look! He has a little girlfriend! How cute, Damian’s growing up.” “I’m 22.”

Tim: “You… You look so nice. Why? How is she so nice and you’re so… you.” “I’ll murder you and make it look like an accident.”

Jason: “How? Did you threaten her? Is he threatening you?” “Dames is super sweet.”

When you call Damian “Dames”, your nickname for him, they all lose their shit.

“DAMES?” “YOU HAVE A NICKNAME FOR HIM?” “DA-ME-SSS?” “DO YOU HAVE MORE?” “D-A-M-E-S?”

Your nicknames for Damian: Dame, Love, and Mr. Serious

Damian’s nicknames for you: Beloved, Love, and Sunflower

He briskly drags you away before you can say anything else, and you just go with it. 

“??I thought we were going to talk more to your brothers??” “They’re not my brothers.” “Okay. I appreciate you.” “.....I appreciate you too.”

You two don’t say “I love you” very often. Instead, you say “I appreciate you”. You do say “I love you” in private/intimate moments, but in public/at random you say “I appreciate you”

Damian isn’t possessive, just protective. There’s a difference. 

He’s never been in a serious relationship before and he’s never loved someone romantically like with you before, so he wants to make sure you’re safe and comfortable 24/7

The first time a random guy catcalled you while you were with Damian, he instantly defended your honor.

“What did you say?” He grabs the guy and easily raises him a foot off the ground. He forces the guy to apologize and lets him fall on the ground after.

Quickly, you reassured Damian he doesn’t need to go to such lengths to “defend your honor”. You tell him to ignore people like that guy because they’re nobodies.

After a few months, you start to pick up on the fact you two rarely spend time together after sunset.

You questioned him once about it and he quickly told you it’s because he helps his father with Wayne Ent. You never questioned him again.

You didn’t 100% believe his answer, but trust he wouldn’t do anything to hurt you

One time you called him crying at night. He was about to go on patrol, then dropped everything to go to your apartment and make sure you were okay.

Damian got a key to your apart about a year into the relationship.

There are times you go to sleep alone and wake up with him asleep, arms wrapped around you. He doesn’t do this often, only after a rough night on a patrol or a particularly dark mission.

Damian’s usually a realist, but when he sees you smile and laugh, he becomes an optimist for a split second

He isn’t big on PDA, so depending on his mood sometimes you hold hands when walking, other times you just lock your pinkies together.

When one of you notices the other is upset though, then you get touchy to calm the other down

Sometimes, when you two are alone at your apartment or the mansion, you don’t speak. You just rest and enjoy the silence while laying on top of one another.

If you lay on Damian, you’re literally on top of him snuggling into his chest. He holds one of your hands and rubs your back.

If Damian lays on you, you’re usually sitting and he places his head on your lap. You love playing and messing around with his hair.

When you found out Damian’s a vigilante, it was a massive accident

You called him while he was on patrol, whispering in a shaking voice that two men had broken into your apartment.

He booked it to your apartment and busted through the window, in costume.

After taking care of the guys and handing them over to the authority, he starts questioning you to make sure you’re okay. When you don’t answer he realizes he’s still in costume talking to you now.

You’re in shock because now a lot of things make sense.

You’re upset for about an hour(because Damian knows how to make you happy when you’re angry) and then you’re utterly fascinated by Damian’s other life

Damian tells you he doesn’t want you to know a lot because it could put you in danger and you’re the one part of his life that’s normal

You accept his wishes and continue with your relationship as normal.

There are only two things that changed:

One: Damian moves you to a more secure apartment and makes sure you have plenty of bats or batons you could use to protect yourself “just in case”

Two: Damian spends almost every night at your apartment after patrol now

[jasonsilverafterdark]

The Price of Admission  Part 1

The Whumpers' Soirée

Prompt/Event details from @the-whumpers-soiree

No warnings for this chapter, Part 2 is where the spicy stuff happens 

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Serge observed the crowd before him and wondered if any of this fellow blue bracelet wearers knew the price of admission. He himself wasn't entirely certain but he knew one thing, it sure as hell wasn't free as advertised. Free drinks, free hor d'oeuvres, a chance to network with San Francisco's wealthy and successful, please he wasn't born yesterday. It didn't escape his notice that those given a blue glow stick bracelet at the door (automatically it seemed without questions or explanation) were the young, attractive, and those not in possession of a tailored suit.

  He adjusted his own slightly, didn't quite fit him in the shoulders, a little too tight and snagged every time he reached out for one of those delicious little mini-mini-minced pie things. He really had no idea what was in any of them but damn did they taste good. Serge had found himself a not as well lit corner to observe in before deciding what, if any kind, of moves he wanted to make. The gold and blue lighting scheme made everyone in the room look slightly unearthly in an alluring way. Mostly blue banded people were crowed around the bar chatting amiably and glancing around. Surely he wasn't the only one to pick up on the differences between the two different colors of bracelets. Although no explanation was given. Perhaps, he laughed to himself, this was all some sociology experiment from UC Berkeley.

  May people regardless of bracelet color gathered by the large ornate window. It was a half circle done in the art deco style the rest of the building boasted. You could see the whole city from up here, all glittering lights and ant like people crawling around bellow. Serge had no desire to push his way through to get a closer look, he'd guess many of his blue bracelet companions weren't native San Franciscans or they'd know this very fancy lounge was open to the public when events such as this weren't being held.

  Movement caught his eye. Although everyone was moving to some extent these where the first people he'd seen heading towards the door rather than coming in. A red braceletted woman in an equally red floor length cocktail gown lead a smaller college age man out the door. Serges thought's jumped to the many many many unoccupied penthouses and suites bellow them. And this particular hotel's infamy for soundproofing. Well he himself was no stranger to these particular arrangements although never having done so he'd come prepared to sell his body for a wealthy backer to his startup. At this point without a success tonight the company would go under in a few weeks, maybe less. And he and his 'business partners' dreams of their little indie game making it big time would be squashed. Of course if Asher had any idea what he was about to do to insure that didn't happen he'd forbid it. That's why Serge had snatched up the invitation for himself instead. Asher was brand new to all this, straight out of college from middle of nowhere Idaho, but he was the best damn programer Serge had ever met. Completely unable to handle any social, business, or economical aspects of their company but that's where Serge came in.

  The price set in his mind he stepped forward and began his hunt.

The first group he got pulled into had three blues crowed around one red man who stared them all down with a calculating gaze. More college students, looking for grants to fund their research which would change the world. Some doing so in such a clumsy manner Serge had to excruciate himself from the group before he burst out laughing. Yeah those idiots had no idea what they were getting into.

  Next he got pulled aside by a red woman asking about his career goals. She was delighted to hear about his little start up but when he mentioned growing up in San Fransisco she suddenly noticed a friend across the room and swiftly left.  

Closer to the large window now he allowed himself to be pulled into a conversation by two red men. On the older side to be sure but still quite handsome. They wanted to know his thoughts on 'small, intimate' theater production they had attended and were trying to settle an argument over what style it was aspiring towards. Serge called upon any knowledge he may had gained via osmosis from his theater-kid-dropout-former-roomate.

  "But see if they were going for absurisum why even try to have a coherent plot?"

"It's a ploy." The taller man nudged his partner and rolled his eyes affectionally. "And you fell for it hook line and sinker, you old fool."

"Oh if I'm and old fool what does that make you?"

"Now settle another question for us young lad, who do you think is older?"

Yeah this conversation wasn't going anywhere. He quickly made his own excuses. While he was prepared for some things, double timed by a couple of theater gays was not on that list.

  Then his eyes caught a man across the room lounging in one of the ostentatious armchairs. He was unoccupied at the moment but surveyed the crowd with sharp eyes. Old money, but maybe not as wealthy as he'd once been. Suit not quite up to the news fashions but definitely worth more than all of Serge's savings put together. Stalky but handsome, slicked back brown hair, broad shoulders, and just a hint of a tattoo peaking out from his coat sleeves. Dangerous, a voice in the back of his head reminded him. But who ever said this evening had to be just about business and not pleasure?

  In what he hopped was a smooth move he took the seat next to Mr.-Old-Money-Handsome started with his prepared opening line.

  "Wow, when I saw this building my first time in San Fransisco I never thought I'd get the chance to be way up here." He'd decided to impersonate Asher's 'young fresh face innocent' personally as well as stealing his invitation to this event. The man fixed his gaze on Serge. "I had to shoulder my way through the crowd just to get a glimpse at the view."

"I never saw you by the window."

"Oh, have you been watching me?" Serge leaned forward laying the flirting on a bit thick.

  "Yes." The man's smile was all teeth.

[bunnypuppett]

Foolish x Reader 5+1 Things

this idea lowkey came to me in a dream 🤠

summary: reader is a totem of undying come to life via foolish’s powers, this is five times foolish taught the reader something new and the one time it was reversed

word count: 2,074

being a totem of undying came with a lot of advantages as well as disadvantages, you were immortal of course but in every other sense of life you had a blank slate of a mind. you were created by Foolish to become an assistant of sorts and for him this meant the undertaking of teaching you everything you would need to know.

1: you struggled with building at first, gathering materials was easy, and straight forward, but when it came to building you lacked the experienced mind that was needed for a big picture build which caused you to get stuck a lot, seeking out the undying god for help.

“Foolish!” you bounded up to the man, voice extremely loud as you were still working on keeping it at an appropriate volume when excited. Foolish didn’t mind though, he found it rather endearing, seeing someone on the server who showed what they truly felt without a mask or manipulation was refreshing.

“What’s up bubs?” He questioned, pausing from his sand collecting for a moment to give his full attention to you.

“I don’t know how to make this pillar more round! it keeps coming out square and i still need to add the pretty blue and green blocks you gave me but it looks so ugly like that!” you ranted on for a moment, tapping your foot in the sand, a pout evident on your features.

“Oh? i’m sure it’s not that bad, let’s go see!” He hummed out and you grabbed his hand, practically running to the temple to show the source of your current problem.

“See! it’s ugly, fix it please foosh!” You demanded and then all but shoved the blocks into his hands.

“How about I teach you instead? then next time you can do it yourself and won’t be so frustrated.” He stated and lead you to the pillar where he showed you to shave off corners and add dimensions to a build from all sides.

“Working with perfectly shaped blocks is hard but when you get the hang of making all the shapes with this one shape you can make anything from a pyramid to a sphinx.” He hummed and you watched in awe, Foolish never failed to impress you.

2: You were sat in the temple, attempting to make some bracelets for the former god of the sky and yourself, learning from tubbo that sometimes friends have matching accessories, after he had explained accessories to you of course.

“FOOLISH!” You screeched as you ran up to the god who was tending to his skeleton horses.

“Oh! Hi flower! what’s going on?” He turned his attention to you and gave a slight tilt to his head.

“I was just wondering how you measure how much stuff you need when you’re gonna make a wearable thing.” You spoke, trying not to give away what you were making, wanting to keep the surprise a secret.

“Well usually you measure using a ruler, but if it happens to be round or a piece of fabric there is a roll of measure tape you can use instead, i think i have one on me actually.” He spoke and reached in his inventory to pull out said tool. “I use this for nearly all of my builds to try and get a scope of how large i want things to be.”

You in turn then grabbed onto Foolish’s arm excitedly after receiving the tool and made quick work of measuring his wrist before running away.

3: You had been in the greater smp spending time with Eret, someone you knew foolish liked as well as trusted and you guys had somehow reached the discussion of birthdays.

“For foolish’s last birthday I gifted him an emerald and gold studded robe since i knew the one he used for the last formal event we went to was ruined.” They had explained before rambling on about some of the favorite gifts she had received. Although you wanted to

pause to ask what a birthday was you just sat there patiently listening. foolish had taught you proper manners recently and you knew not interrupting was a way to show respect to your friends. in the words of foolish it was “treat others how you wanna be treated.” and so you kept your mouth shut as to not interrupt.

later though when you returned to foolish’s summer home you found the god making dinner, a duty you two had been alternating on since he taught you to cook.

“Foolish?” you questioned softly, resting your head on his shoulder as you peeked at what he was cooking. a small smile came to the gods face as he turned to you, ever since you discovered your love language was touch you had clung to foolish like bees on flowers.

“yes buttercup?” he cooed at you and a soft blush dusted your cheeks at the nickname. you knew nicknames were a show of endearment but it still caught you off guard sometimes.

“what is a birthday?” you questioned and sat down next to the stove, getting comfortable as you waited for your answer.

“a birthday is a day where you celebrate the day you came into the world, everyone you love and care about comes together and you have a party and eat cake and open gifts.” he explained, a smile on his lips at the thoughts of his previous birthdays.

“Do i have a birthday? didn’t you make me foolish?” You pouted before hopping off the counter to take the test spoonful of soup foolish had been holding out for you.

“Of course you do silly, your birthday can be the same day i made you, everyone deserves a birthday, i’ll even make sure we celebrate when it comes back around.” He informed you before adding some more salt to the soup.

True to his word, a few months later foolish had planned you a party inviting Eret, tubbo, niki, puffy, ranboo, and tommy, all the people you had become closest to besides foolish. He also had Niki teach him how to bake you a cake, wanting it to be extra special for his favorite person. Everyone also got you gifts that day, but your favorite was the one the god of undying got for you, an enchanted trident very similar to his own, stating that his little helper deserved only the best.

4: with a yelp you landed on your ass and dropped your sword next to your person. “I don’t want to do this anymore foolish, i’m a builder not a fighter, that’s what you said! why do i have to learn this?” you huffed and felt tears of frustration gather in your eyes.

“hey hey, it’s okay breathe with me angel.” foolish spoke and kneeled down next to you, gently brushing your tears away. “i just want you to be able to defend yourself and the things you care about, there are some not so nice people you’ll meet one day and I don’t want you feeling helpless do you understand? i’m no master at fighting, but i want you to learn all i can teach you, and if you want to learn more i have a friend i can introduce you to.”

after the god’s explanation you found yourself calming down, grabbing foolish’s hand to help ground yourself. “I understand, i’m sorry foolish, it was just a lot and i’ve been so stressed lately trying to catch up to everyone else lately, and if you think it’s a good idea i’d love to meet your friend.”

foolish smiled and gave your head a gentle pat before standing back up, offering a hand to you. “lets go again, i’m sure you’ll kick my ass this time.” he smirked and you stood up with his help before snatching your sword off the ground, a determined scowl taking shape on your face.

5: you woke up in a cold sweat, heart thumping rapidly in your chest. after you caught your breath you made the decision to walk out of the temple and climb one of the sand dunes, laying down on your back.

you found your eyes trailing up to the stars, something you had grown to love, you often made up shapes out of them, like one would do while cloud watching as you unfortunately did not know what constellations were yet.

being so lost in your thoughts you did not realize foolish coming up to lay next to you until he was sat in the sand. “i was wondering where you were sunshine.” he hummed and laid down, turning to face you.

“i’m sorry, i just couldn’t sleep and when that happens i like to come out and look at the pretty star patterns.” you hummed and the god gave a wide smile. “you mean the constellations? all of those patterns have names, i know a few i can show you.”

foolish and you spent the remaining hours of the night going over the different constellations, as well as talking about anything and everything under the moon. at some point your hands found each other’s and neither of you realized how many hours had passed until the sun began to rise.

+1: foolish found you one day dangling your feet in the water and petting one of the cats that had followed you to the beach side.

“hey buttercup, there you are, i made smoothies.” the god hummed and gave you the smoothie which made you grin and sip on it as it was an extremely hot day, hence you dangling your feet in the water.

after a few moments of silence you turned to look at foolish who seemed to be lost in his thoughts. “hey, foosh what’s the matter?” you hummed and gave a soft tap to his arm. “nothing bubs, i was just thinking……can i tell you something?”

you found yourself nodding quickly, a small smile tugging on your lips. “of course you can, you can tell me anything always, that’s what you tell me right?”

foolish nodded and took a deep breath while grabbing your hand like a lifeline. “i like you, i mean i love you, i love your giggles and your passion for learning new things, i love your ability to make friends with anyone, i love how you always draw all of my animals to you, i love how creative you are, i love how badass you are with a sword and how witty you are. i just love you and i want to be with you.” he spewed out and bit his lip for a moment, thinking over his next words.

“you’ve shown me what love feels like, i never thought anything else mattered besides creating stuff and my builds, and my friends, and of course you’re my friend but it’s different yknow? you’ve shown me that i don’t have to be scared to love someone completely and since you’re immortal i’m not afraid to lose you like i will everyone else.”

you were in shock, of course you liked foolish, you had realized you did a few months ago when you asked puffy why you felt so nervous and flushed when the man was around. she had explained that meant that you liked her son which was exciting for her and a world shifting realization for you.

“i love you too foolish, i don’t know how i couldn’t.” you giggled and brought his hand up to your lips to give it a soft kiss. “you’ve treated me with nothing but kindness and have shown me what it means to live and i can’t thank you enough, my place is by your side.” you hummed as your cheeks flushed red.

foolish on the other hand though was elated and cupped your cheeks as he pulled you into a soft but passionate kiss. your hands found their place on top of the god’s and you deepened the kiss. after a bit you both pulled away, words lost with previous actions.

the man stared into your eyes for a moment before backing away and standing up. “cmon doll, let’s go to find a flower field, i want to show you how to make flower crowns and tell papa puffy the big news.”

you followed foolish of course, you would always follow him everywhere, he was your forever and you were his, you both had all the time in the world after all.