#But then again i do kinda enjoy starting shit... Or rather. Ill push others to start shit

[mrfoox]

Team: accidentally flirts with people and give them the wrong idea/get myself into spicy situations I wasn't prepared for

[beann-e]

“ let’s go“

“ excuse me “

“ I said let’s go . “

Your eyes creased as you leaned back into your desk chair —leg moving to cross over the other as your hands landed together in a hold on your lap. Eyes looking up at the male in front of you.

“ look at you looking everywhere but this messy ass desk I see “

you scoffed “ if it’s so messy why do you keep coming down here just to add on to it ? “

his head shaking a bit at your comment he had to admit he was a bit interested in your words even though he originally came here for a purpose. He had to see how this would play out. So yeah he’d play your little game.

“ huh mister prohero “ your face lit up in sadness to mock the male in front of you “ aw wait I forgot I have to be exact with my words when it comes to you because your emotionally challenged“

you stood up placing your hands on the desk in between you and the blond haired male.

“ the only thing ‘ challenged ‘ here is this crusty ass run down building I had to buy glasses to find “

“ ouu where are they? maybe they could also help you see this“ you smiled before reaching into your suit jacket only to pout “ crap hold up it’s not in there it’s something I picked up specially for you hold on “

“ what the hell are you looking for in there your taking awhile “ he spoke louder after a couple minutes seemed to pass and you were still searching around

“ huh that’s weird — hold on I can’t seem to find it “

“ find what ? “ his face made up in confusion as his eyes followed your body that was looking through your desk only to turn and rummage through the drawers behind you“ fuck is it really that bad —you’ve gotta clean y/n “

“ yeah I know hold on I swear I know where it is I keep a lot of them just in case “

“ is it important or some shit ?— if not I can wait I swear i’ll just come back down here tomorrow“ he sighed still trying to look over you shoulder “ I just came down here to fuck with you before heading ho—“

“ yeah no you’ll want it a lot of people seem to want it these days — it’s hot on the market “

“ well what the hell is i— “

“ AHA “ you screamed your hand stuck in the drawer as he tried to peek over your back to see what it was his body shrinking when he saw your eyes whip around to lock with his. Him going back to the cool, calm collected guy he was minutes ago as he ran his fingers through his hair

“ here look it’s limited edition these days “

“ what is it like an all might collectable or some shi— “

His heart stopped when he seen you fully turn around and smirk your eyebrow slightly raised as his eyes slowly went downcast on your hand showing off the freshly painted middle finger.

It straightened to perfection as it stood tall only causing the male to fume silently and speak under his breath “ what the hell “

“ look baku it’s the fuck you so desperately want me to give “ You pushed it towards him as you walked around your desk to get closer seeing the upset face he held “ aw what you don’t like it “

you sucked your teeth reaching into your back pocket “ here i’ll exchange it for you “ you brought your hand out from your pocket and back into his face as he started to shake slightly. You knew you’d went too far. Your jokes always went further than a person wanted you to.

You were fucking with him

He didn’t like it

He wouldn’t like it this time

.. He liked it

— he liked it

wait he lik—

Your eyes widened as you stared up at him face going stone when you finally seen that his lips were pressed harshly on yours. His moves were rough hands fast and quick already knowing what to do while you struggled with yourself over where to put your own.

No matter how many times the male before you kissed you it always felt differently each time. Your body relaxed into his as he smiled into the kiss only to laugh and bring his forehead to rest against yours “ your so fucking stupid “

“ but I beat you in class ranks in high school “

his smile widened he couldn’t even find it in himself to be upset not when you were having fun with your joke “ yes yes you did “

you smiled softly only to have it wiped away when he opened his mouth again “ but I beat you in jobs you asshole “

“ hey prick I enjoy my job “ he nodded his head as he moved to sit in your work chair “ yeah no no of course “

his hand moved to pull a cup of old coffee from behind your computer as he looked at you “ I would totally be able to tell— babe all id need is an everyday trip to your luxurious work place“ he lifted the coffee cup and held it to his cheek smiling softly to mess with you

he swiveled your computer monitor to the side to show off the millions of coffee cups you had hidden from his and your employees eyes

“ god so many— how would corporate feel about this knowing you’ve got all this shit piled up back here— it’s screaming that you overwork yourself y/n “

“ uh i’m mostly worried about my bosses opinion “

he smiled up at you only to shake his head with a small laugh whispering under his breath “ fucking stupid—you’re your boss “

he laid his cheek onto his palm as he looked up at you anytime he was around you it was like he was completely swallowed whole by your vibes. You were such a down to earth person and that’s what calmed him no matter what argument or how many there were you always found a way to calm him and the situation down.

no matter what you said or did he would always find a way to look at you as though you were holding the whole world in your eyes “ and what does your boss say y/n ? “

you perked up “ ouu good thing I have em on call let’s see “ you reached out to grab your husbands phone hand wrapping around it tightly feeling the many scratches it had on it’s back from the slams of it on the table after one too many documents he’d filled out the night before at work.

He was always so angry and mean—even to objects

Your fingers moved to put in the password as he looked at you head leaning back to rest against the chair as he moved the chair from side to side you having his full attention before he reached out to grab your phone sliding over to answer the call

“ hi is this big bird ? or also known as red from angry birds ? “

“ Ill let you slide with your comments because your voice sounds kinda hot right now and i like your suit — but yes this is your local prick hotline how may I assist you today “

A smile made its way onto your face as you watched his own just grow larger and larger over time “ oh I see so this is the one and only katsuki bakugou hmm “

you tapped your chin “ so tell me what’s someone as unimportant as yourself doing answering your bosses phone “

“ ouuu hard question “ he played with his keys that laid on your work desk “ I came here to ask em out for lunch maybe go out to go karts y’know since there’s a little brat at home who’s been dying to ride one ever since they’ve seen that shitty commercial “

“ mmhmm so please enlighten me what does this have to do with you answering your bosses phone “

“ nothing “

“ oh ? “ your eyes widened “ well I heard several complaints that you were just telling your boss what to do as if their not head of your company or in other words your “ you whispered “ boss “

“ yeah I guess i’ve fucked up huh ? should have actually dressed up instead of coming to get em’ in sweats serves me right— here i’ll pass the phone to my boss since they seem to look more business professional today — I don’t feel worthy enough to answer my bosses phone “

“as you should — nice to know you’ve finally learned your place“ you bit your lip at his quietness expecting him to go off or say something snappy but he only encouraged you to continue with a small smile and a head nod.

Honestly he was enjoying you he loved your jokes even if they sometimes went too far or if they hurt his pride he loved to see you enjoying yourself.

He’d rather you be open and comfortable with him and tell your horribly stupid jokes versus beating yourself up and thinking you have to watch what you say around him

“ fuck it’s gotta be the pantsuit is that why your letting me do all this—you douche your probably paying more attention to my suit than me “

“ correct smart girl —role reversal? “

“ we’re switching back? “ you laughed confirming his statement “ role reversal “

“ fine by me “ you smiled as he held out your phone to you and you held out his to him.

“ yes may I speak to y/n bakugou ? “ he stated as he spoke into his phone

“ mm i’m not sure I know them could you be more exact “

he scoffed “ yes my boss — i’m looking to speak with my boss please “

“ oo a boss —wife —plus a mother that’s a lucky catch you should be greatful — le asshole“

His smile faded as he stared at your eyes that locked with his . In this moment nothing could compare to the happiness he felt except for when he took his child to their first quirk appointment and received the good news of them not only having his quirk but yours too. Happily he wouldn’t have to deal with his kid getting bullied sadly he had a mini icy hot running around.

This was why he married you and this is why he loved you because what felt like hours of conversation had only been 10 minutes. He felt like he’d been transported to another world when he was talking to you. What originally started out as him just coming to take his wife and daughter on a lunch date turned into him on the phone with his boss.

You,

yet again being reminded that he’d always fall under you in status , in authority , at home, in the marriage , at work , and in his heart. Youd always be the one in power

“your fucking funny — a comedian really —always keeping me on my toes so yeah—yeah a real lucky catch— ‘m fucking lucky “

[seancekitsch]

Thirsty Crow: Klaus Hargreeves x Reader Kinktober fic, part of the Prize Buck series

warnings/prompt: massage, light anal, praise kink, possessiveness, happens in the 60s and references the other 60s prize buck fics, klaus is insecure and a lil shit. I mentioned mouse corporation so if i get disappeared you know you gotta save me from orlando florida, cult mentions, its not referenced but klaus def has that gross beard that i kinda like, we think this gif is extra fun

“You gonna screw me today, Prophet?” You ask, using a nickname he’s starting to hate, wanting to get under his skin a little. Wondering, will that get him to really put some muscle into this massage? He’d agreed to this, laying you out naked in the tent on your stomach while the heat of the california sun beat down on you both, rubbing oils and lotions into your skin as he worked diligently, but holding back as if he didn't want to hurt you. Problem is, you needed this massage to hurt to take the ache and pain away.

“Hmmm, no. You've been kind of a brat, high priestess-” That fucking nickname. “-and I have some prayers to lead!”

That's maybe the most sarcastic you've ever heard him, the way his voice crescendos by the end of the sentence. God, was this ‘spiritual community’ starting to really wear the two of you down. Its been especially brutal the last few weeks. You had not been able to sneak off into the desert in a while and the two of you were beginning to talk about running to a mansion he had in Dallas for the winter.

“Fine then,” you huff, defeated, “I’ll go walk around the campground...again.”

“Off to see your little side piece?”

Fucking Madelaine. Klaus’ possessive streak was flaring up, as was his impatience and agitation. You hadn’t touched her since you and Klaus had foolishly attempted an orgy that sparked this possessiveness.

“No, you know I’d rather avoid another run-in.” Klaus rewards this response with a particularly satisfying move, a squeeze to the muscles that cover your shoulder blades that makes you groan, feeling some of the tension leak from your skin under his touch.

He continues his mapping and prodding and squeezing down your back, to the bottom of your ribs.

“You wanna know what you say to Madeleine?” you moan into his touch, the bone of his thumb hitting a particularly tight knot in your back, the warm oil on your back making his fingers glide without fiction over your aches. When he speaks again his hot breath is right against the shell of your ear.

“You tell her: Why the long face, Blondie? I’m already taken, sorry.” His low growl, the closeness, the heat, sends a shudder down your spine, sends electric shocks down to your core. If his hands go any lower- he’ll know. He’ll know his words have that effect on you. Not that he didn't already, but it's the embarrassment of being so easily turned on by just a simple sentence and a massage. You love how dominant he is in this time period, and you're more than willing to bend or spread to his will.

“Or… How about you just fuck me and let the mickey mouse club run itself for the day?” you groan as he pushes the knuckle of his middle finger down above your left ass cheek, straight into the muscle below, the good hurt.

He chuckles.

“This is why you're my better half, delicious creature.”

And the next thing you hear is the shuffle of clothing, Klaus shimmying himself out of the loose trousers he was wearing no doubt. He returns to close proximity to push your hair from your neck, to kiss a straight line down your spinal cord, hands tracing the curves of your sides as he goes until he reaches your hips. Those he grips from beneath, pulling them up until you are situated on your knees, just how he wants you. You rise to your hands to meet him the rest of the way as you can feel him start to run his hands over where you need him most.

“This wet? Really? You weren’t kidding. You need me pronto!” You practically keen at his touch, pushing your ass back hoping to make contact with him. He’s merciful, giving you what you want. His next action is to pull his hands away, to loudly lick and suck on the fingers that were just inspecting you, really putting on a show while you stare at the tan canvas of the tent in anticipation. There's a stain, you notice, dontgettooexciteddontbeneedy, and some paint splotches on the tent and- oh.

He sinks in without warning, giving you less than a second to adjust before he starts thrusting.

Klaus knows how to fuck you just to get you desperate, to get you screaming for him. His hands are all over you, the massage oil doing wonders to let his big warm hands push across the muscles of your back and massage you even now as he fucks you. He fucks you like you're one, not as in joined, one in the typical coupling sense. One as in the two of you are the same being. His left hand travels up your back, pressing down on the expanse between shoulder blades, urging you to press your face into the pillows, which you gladly do. The other hand travels to your hip, gives a tight squeeze, enough to leave a bruise, before traveling to your ass just above where his hips connect to you.

His thumb traces your ass cheek, but then settles in between, ghosting over the hoel he wasn't currently occupying as a notion crossed his mind.

“Has anyone-” a moan, “Has anyone been back here before?”

You shake your head no, but accompany it with a no that's much breathier and whinier than you intended. Truthfully, you were always worried it would hurt, not even thinking of trying it with any past partners. But Klaus? Klaus is different. He wouldn't hurt you in a way you didn’t want on purpose.

“Oh fuck, that a beautiful thought. This ass could be all mine. Mine to claim and mine to keep.”

Jesus tap dancing Christ, if he kept talking like this you’d let him fuck you back there right now.

“Yes- Yes, please Klaus, it's all yours,” you moan, “I’ll let you have it. Anything you want.”

A please dies on you lips as his thumb starts to gently rub against the hole, gathering some of the wetness against your skin, adding gentle pressure with each pass until he finally pushes in,

“Ooohh fuck, thats- yeah thats good. Oh tell me, say ‘Klaus, this asshole belongs to you.’ Can you do that, darling?” He's using the same voice that draws the attention of thousands of people, commanding, ungentle.

“Klaus, this asshole belongs to -oh,shit- it belongs to you. Please,”

“Please what?”

Please make me cum. Please do this forever. Please run away with me and all that fucking money. Please let's play happy couple in your mansion in Dallas. Just… please.

But that's not what you say. You don't say anything. Instead a high pitched whiny moan, octaves above your natural register makes its way past closed lips as you turn your head to look over your shoulder, to look Klaus in the eye.

“Oh you’re so fucking pretty like that. So good for me, so trusting.”

And he speeds up. Thrusting hard into you while his thumb stays unmoving inside you, giving you a taste of what could be. It's like a game cat-and-mouse, you think, but as he chases you he claims more and more of you as his own.

“Youre so fucking good for me, wicked thing, so fucking good. This cunt is so tight for me. This ass is so tight for me. Sweetest little cunt under the sun, and I have it all to myself.”

Not that your stupid little mouse brain sees the danger of a cat, or really cares about keeping any distance. It's not like this cat has ill intentions either. Maybe the cat can win. You're going to let him win, you decide, as the thumb inside you sinks just that much deeper, causing you to convulse and shake as an orgasm sneaks up on you, overtakes your entire being. Stars cloud your vision as you have to bury your face into the pillows, screaming into them as you come undone around him.

“Oh yes, darling, keep squeezing me like that- keep-” he stutters out, trails into a groan before he slips his thumb out of you and collapses onto you, still inside you.

You're sleepy and warm, relaxing under the weight of him, enjoying the feeling of him still inside you as he begins to press kisses into your hair.

“You're all mine, fraulein, all mine.”

You hum in agreeance.

“Just for me.”

Just for Klaus.

[icharchivist]

cries think I made my ask too long so like half of it got deleted bc I typed it right into the askbox. anyways. I come bearing a3 thoughts! at first i was gonna watch the spring/summer and autumn/winter ones and then give my thoughts on both but. turns out i had too many thoughts lol? which i shouldve expected but i actually kind of... got bored by the first two chapters of this event! so i skipped and went to the stranger. and then went back. (1/?)

and then i got to like "tsuzuru and kazunari are having a fight?" and jumped on that like a starving wolf bc helllll yeah! i rly adored kazunari in sardine search, i think he was great! hes just so nice and has good vibes. he and taichi are kind of similar i feel? but i think their respective ages contribute to a lot of difference in their characters. why does it feel like this askbox limit personally wants me dead. (2/?)

anyways! i rly enjoyed the improv scene devolving to a real fight. admittedly i was kinda surprised that the content of that improv wasnt rly too similar to their actual fight? like normally a3 has the story of the play run parallel to like the actual real character drama so i thought the improv might function as the play in this event... it was still good tho. the scene i mean. (3/?)

also i rly liked tenma ragging on them afterwards. like he was mean but. first i adore tenma. second he just felt like. a different meddling type to muku lol? like the vibes he gave me were always like... im going to be a considerate leader and watch out for the ppl under me! therefore im gonna make sure theyre doing fine! aggressively. i think tenmas also just like a friendly person who likes to take care of others in general? like im not saying hes omi or anything but just like. (4/?)

that time he offers his car ride to juza so they can go to school together like hes surprisingly open compared to his initial prickliness. also ive got thoughts abt the tenma juza SSR conversation thing i read. one day ill make a tenma and juza fic and complete a trifecta haha... but thats something for another day! back to the actual story. the way tsuzuru dives right in after kazunari! that was so nice. like its easy to see how much they care abt each other. (5/?)

to the point where like even while theyre fighting theyre like angry but still like fairly quiet bc i think theyre both at least trying to be considerate of each other. ah the moment kazunari didnt respond to tsuzuru trying to talk to him i KNEW he was sick tho. felt proud of myself for calling that one but also the reason i knew is bc i have used the "character being sick during an argument causing them both to make up with each other" trope myself before so uh. like recognizes like haha. (6/?)

anyways the cg there was fuckin beautiful like kazunari looks so sad in the middle bit but then u see his shy smile? like hes sick but hes also like. happy to be there. idk. lovely. i adore kazu i think hes just deeply sweet to other people. tsuzuru telling him "you make everyone around you feel as bright and cheery as the things you design” is so wonderful too (7/?)

now im thinking. ah tsuzuru probably feels quite drained after a script and such (i know i am when i finish any piece--its like the emotions just rush out of me) so i like to think that like yknow. kazunari dropping by his room or whatever helps him set himself back to normal! but also when tsuzurus like oh u left ur magazines here! i suddenly remembered. wait shit kazunari and tsuzuru arent even roommates. wonder how much they bother masumi lmaooo. anyways overall very good story! (8/?)

some more thoughts: itaru and citron were so cute in this event! just like. citron saying itaru winking makes his heart skip a beat and itaru quoting citrons wrong sayings (which. i am also guilty of today i told my brother "we'll jump that bridge when we cross it" so) also i love how yuki is like "thank god i wasnt partnered with that hack" but like. yuki. u could literally just not talk about him. like its so funny to me yuki is like wow i hate tenma but he wont shut up abt him haha (9/?)

i also was a lil taken aback at hearing itaru go "for the lulz" tbh... like it fits him. but im mad it fits him? anywaysss thats all i had for this one! im gonna watch autumn/winter and go say my thoughts on that soon. sorry the ask was so broken up, idk what happened!

OLA FRIEND! Glad to see your thoughts again omg :3c

tho omg the fact tumblr deleted it all + the ask limit was all so evil D: poor friend.

I'm putting my answer under a read more because. Well. *waves hand* it got long.

The non-play events can be perhaps a little harder to get into because unlike the plays events that you start with a clear idea of at least the main plot (re: "they are preparing a play, i know the leads so i know who it will focus on"), non-plays events take a little longer to first set up what event they're participating in, how to prepare for it, and then bring up the conflict and which characters are going to have something to do with said conflict. So i can understand that they're a little harder to get into when we know the plays awaits.

On top of that, the first few events still were a bit tame because since it was early when the app released, i think they didn't go too heavy at once in case some people were still stuck on earlier chapters (esp since especially Winter is hard to unlock)

ANYWAY glad that it sucked you in on the second read :3c

So glad you were invested in that conflict!

Totally agreeing with you about Kazunari, and very good point about Taichi as well! they aren't the Puppy Pair for nothing :'D (Yuki took one look at both of them together and just Knew. His suffering knows no end (lovingly)). But yeah i think they have a lot in common, they both are the really bright and friendly figure, both also started in overcompensating a bit because both wanted to be popular in some ways.

But we do have, on one hand, Kazunari who wanted that rather late in his life while Taichi always thrived for that, the fact Kazunari made friends easily and it's just that he was scared of getting to the next level, while Taichi always struggled with this quest for popularity. In a way too both of them were at least scared to share a part of them, Kazunari worrying to show his thoughts, and Taichi being a spy and all of that... which impacts them really differently considering the guilt it puts on Taichi. And then you add their age into the mix, especially the fact Kazu is the oldest of his troupe and Taichi the youngest of his, it makes them fairly similar all while being fairly different.

both are so interesting to me and i love them bothhh, so it's always nice to see them have focus.

admittedly i was kinda surprised that the content of that improv wasnt rly too similar to their actual fight? like normally a3 has the story of the play run parallel to like the actual real character drama so i thought the improv might function as the play in this event

i love how you are seeing the patterns a3 tends to do it's so neat!

It's true the fight isn't really similar to their actual fight, though i do love that they had "swapped" their personality for the act and ended up insulting each other for theirr swapped personality. Like, Kazunari insulted part of himself in Tsuzuru's character and Tsuzuru did the same?? and then the fight escalated and the way Kazunari broke character hurts bc it's really that Tsuzuru hit where it hurts. But yeah it still wasn't too relevent to their actual fight, though i think the thing is that their fight was as such mostly because they tend to clash often due to their personalities rather than just this singular reason why, so to have the play go more "it's their personalities the problem" kinda hurt lol. But yeah still agreed that it didn't reflect much on the plot itself

I was rereading the improv bit to answer correctly and man since we're going to talk about Tenma next, i just. Love that when Kazunari, breaking character, his eyes sad, tells Tsuzuru "you have no rights talking to me like that..." it then cuts on Tenma being upset. Bc like. Exactly like you say, he wants to look out for the people under him. and like. Kazunari is his friend. A friend he also snapped at once and insulted for being who he was, so he probably could have relived a bit of his fight with Kazunari seeing those two fights; Except that now Kazunari is one of his closest friend and he doesn't like that.

Also like. It was also because he could still hide under the plot of the improv but it's so rare, and it never happened before that point, that Kazunari stands for himself in a "the way you treat me is unfair"? Like again re: his fight with Tenma, when Tenma snapped at him, while Tenma was unfair with him, Kazunari took the blame, called himself annoying and all yaknow?

The fact Kazunari is starting to accept that he can take more place for himself is something the whole Summer Troupe have been trying to help him work on, but especially Tenma. Tenma is always there trying to push Kazunari to say what he means, to express his feelings, to stop hiding.

And for once, Kazunari does that in front of everyone... and it's because he's breaking because of his fight with Tsuzuru.

I think Tenma probably felt it was even more of a reason to get involved like, this is the thing he's been working on with Kazunari about, and now he's being all hurt about it, not on Tenma's watch!

And i totally agree with your take on Tenma! (and would LOVE to read the Tenma and Juza fic once you get to it :3c). I think, Tenma is really caring and is trying to take a place as a caretaker and all, but unlike Omi, he has absolutely no reference for it.

Omi is the eldest of multiple brothers and everything indicates his parents have always been lovely to him. Add to it how he ended up leader of a delinquent crew he was clearly looking after, Omi has a history of taking care of people, of nurturing them, and he knows what he's doing. Meanwhile Tenma grew up on TV sets, mostly surrounded by adults and not by people his age, mostly getting advice from being ordered around by directors i think. And his parents are distant, hyperfocused on their job, not really nursing with him. So Tenma meanwhile really didn't have a family emotional support and was in situation where he couldn't befriend other kids his age. His only reference was probably Igawa (his agent) and i think for a long time he didn't exactly see it, and Igawa remained mostly professional so there was probably the idea of it not being sincere? That Tenma had to grow out of.

So like, they're both extremely nurturing and caring, but my point is that Omi has experiences in it and is at ease with it, while Tenma has been so alone and in places were he had no support system that even if he wants to support others, he still struggles with how to do it because he has no set exemple. And that's his development in the main story arc, to learn from how Izumi shows she cares in order to care back at them all.

Like i mean the way Tenma yelled at them about their mistakes at first feel like he would have picked it up from some directors on TV set yaknow? Probably hearing them say that with no consequences on others actors, seeing it worked, didn't think "that's an abuse of power and the actors probably all think badly of their director for that" but "wow that works", tried it on his troupesmates and realized this is... not how that works. And it's spending time watching how Izumi encourages them that have him fix his way to approach it.

So yeah i got lost too into it but like. I feel you on Tenma i love him so much and i love his development so to see him get pissed and involved there? was really nice. even if he was aggressive about it. He's still learning.

ANYWAY back to Tsuzuru and Kazunari, totally agree with what you say next. They still care a lot about each other and yeah they're at a point where this consideration they have for each other make their anger more quiet than trying to attack one another (Banri could NEVER-). so yeah totally agree with you!

DLKFJDLKF i LOVE the reasoning on "recognizing that Kazunari was sick". Your writer's powers making you see through... *coughs* unlike Tsuzuru....

AND YEAH ALL YOU SAY ABOUT THE CG.. YEAH. Kinda crying thinking about it again now LDKJFLKDJF It's just. Everything about it is so soft and tender. The things Tsuzuru tells Kazunari are soo so sweet sobs. They're just adorable i love those kids. and also i feel you for Kazu he's just that great huh?

The whole set up about Kazu dropping by his room is so so cute! I love it! Like probably the very first time Tsuzuru braces himself because "oh no i'm not in the mood to stand mister hyperenergy himself" but Kazunari quickly adjust his energy so that Tsuzuru can just recharge without being overwhelmed. Yes it would drive Masumi completely nuts. Which i think is a plus for Tsuzuru like, hey, if Masumi gets annoyed once in a while it's a win. But yeah also i think that Tsuzuru and Kazunari should really have the Artistic Soldiarity of Students in Art school Probably Working Until Very Late To Complete Their Projects. Would love if at the end Tsuzuru gave it back yaknow?

but yeah their story was really nice i'm so glad you liked it! :D

oh god yeah Itaru and Citron were SO cute in it too, i also love the comments Citron makes about Itaru's winks. Just there flirting in front of everyone like those two embarrassing friends huh. (probably with Muku being all starry eyes considering he greatly admires both Itaru and Citron and, well, Romance.). And yeah i love how Itaru ends up so much into Citron's rhythm (and this idiom you said? is glorious actually, 10 points for you)

DLKFJDLKF what a call out toward Yuki. "yes i hate Tenma,no i won't shut up about him, also if YOU say you hate Tenma i'm going to stab you with my needles, have a nice fucking day.". I love their dynamics so much aha

And yeah Itaru is there cursing us the whole time with the fact he's the greatest nerd ever and it fits him perfectly. It makes me laugh so hard.

Thank you so much for having shared your thoughts there! it's always a blast to read through them and i dearly enjoyed it! (+ it makes me relive the event a little and it makes me soft!)

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! So glad you had so many thoughts about all of this, what a blast.

thank you for sharing, and looking forward the Autumn/Winter reactions :3c

Take care!

[miridiums-writing]

Squid x Miridium

Miridium = she/he. Short as shit, I am 5’1 irl soooooo, miniture, I accidentally turned into a flustered mess who can’t deal with any compliments but the dynamic works

Squid = they/them. The taller one, I didn’t specify height because brain went no, squid kinda turned into a mysterious flirty advisory and I’m not complaining

Summary ; squid and Miridium have been enemies for years, battle after battle they have fought with no clear winner, but this time squid is determined to finally win

Warnings; blood, gore, fighting

Tag list : @squid-god-supreme since it's literally about you

Miridium crashed into the large oak door, his breaths laboured from running so far after them. Without considering what he was running into, he roughly pulled the door open. “Come on squid, stop playing this ridiculous game with me.” She heard a chuckle near the back of the room, Miridium looked around the room, quickly observing this is what looked like a theatre, with a large stage near the back. Just like squid to choose something like this to run to, they were always one for dramatics. Miridium crept forward through the pews, listening out for any other movement in the room, by the time he had reached the stage he had still heard nothing at all other than their own footsteps against the polished wood floor.

Squid was crouched at the back of the stage, their sword resting against their leg. Their own breathing wasn’t quite as haggard as Miridium’s, though in comparison they had had more time to rest. They smirked to themselves as they heard his footsteps get closer to their hiding place. Squid could distinctly remember from all the other times they had fought how easy it was to fluster Miridium, and pushing his buttons was squid’s most favourite past time. They could hear him hesitate at the stage stairs, come on Miri just a little further and this battle is mine for the winning.

Both got poised and ready to attack the other, their swords twitching to get unsheathed. With a shout squid jumped out from their crouched position, pouncing onto Miri, thankfully Miri had unsheathed his sword just in time and both swords crashed against each other, then the true fight began, each blocking and attacking the other with immense speed and agility, the only sound surrounding the room was metal against metal, and slight grunts at both ends as they battled for the win. Squid pushed their sword against Miri’s, their faces close together now, squid smirked down at Miri, seeing his face of concentration and rage. “Why don’t you just let me win for once shortcake?” Miri glared up at Squid at the nickname, every time without fail Squid had somehow managed to get under her skin and annoy the hell out of her. “Shut up!” she yelled, finally pushing squid back, causing them to stumble slightly before they inevitably regained their balance, their smirk only growing larger. “Fine, guess ill just have to be more persuasive!” They ran back at Miri, sword raise ready to attack her. Miri, quickly jumped out of the way of the dangerous blow. Though he misjudged his landing and felt himself starting to fall from the stage. In a blind state of panic for their wellbeing squid grabbed a-hold of her hand and pulled her towards themselves, their arms circling protectively around her body.

When the adrenaline on both sides starts to dull down is, they realized the position they were in. squid pulled their arms away from her and took a step back, giving them the space, they assumed Miri would want. “Just, don’t do that shortcake, you’ll take a nasty fall.” Miri had still yet to say a word to squid, her own brain had short-circuited slightly, and she had no idea what to do, her emotions going haywire. Her head repeating the same sentence again and again as it tried to understand the events that had just taken place. It meant nothing. “Lets just pretend that never happened. Besides,” she picked up her sword from the ground. “I was about to win.” Squids usual signature smirk etched back onto their face. “Oh yeah, lets see about that.” Both fighters raised their swords once more before a gut retching wail sounded from outside. Miri’s face turned white as she looked up at squid. Squid’s eyes hardened as they turned their gaze to the door, waiting for one of those things to enter. “How many do you think there are” Miri said quietly, afraid making too loud a noise would attract those things to them. “Can’t believe I’m saying this,” squid said, tucking their sword under their arm and putting the left hand out to Miri. “Let’s fight together for once and get the hell out of here, then we go on like nothing happened. Its my fault this happened, I drew us too far away from the circle” Miri considered their offer for a moment before she nodded to herself and put her hand in theirs. “Just this once, then we forget.” They shook hands before they turned to the door, swords raised once more and ready to fight it.

The door was smashed open off its hinges as the thing pushed its way through the door, it didn’t really have a name other than the thing, it didn’t seem to resemble anything anyone had seen before the worlds fall. It was a grotesque creature with horns along its back, its skin a pale off-white colour covered in a clear slime, it a rather rotund body, with small stubby legs, 10 in all. Its mouth was the worst. Closed it just look like a creepy smile, but as its moth opened, they could see its rows and rows of teeth, with a hole that went straight down to its stomach. It made a wailing noise as it slugged across the floor into the room. The things weren’t incredibly fast, but they didn’t need to be. They always came in large packs, and both Squid and Miri knew the others weren’t far behind, if they both wanted to make it out alive, they were going to need to work together.

Squid and Miri glanced at each other, nodding in a reassuring way at the other and turned their gaze to the thing, both ready to fight for not only their own survival, but the others too

Both Squid and Miri were drenched in the disgusting slime now, wounds adorned both their bodies. They had fought long and hard, a pack of 20 of them had surrounded the building and had taken over 2 hours to kill them all. Miri wasn’t quite as badly wounded as Squid as they had a bad habit of swooping in at the last moment and stopping him from getting hurt. Miri trudged over to Squid, putting an arm around them and helping them up, they both hobbled away from the carnage. While scoping out the area earlier Miri had noticed a first aid stand not too far from the building as it looked like an old run-down amusement park. Squid’s body weight leaned heavily onto Miri, causing them to struggle to pull them along, but knowing that he owed them his life. Squid tried to keep their groans of pain to themselves, trying to be as helpful as possible, so Miri didn’t feel like she was doing all the work.

Miri kicked the door down of the broken building, pulling Squid inside with her and placing them onto a seat in the corner before searching through all the drawers and cupboards for some kind of assistance. In her panic she then realized how disgusting her hands and clothing was, she rushed to the sink and thanked god that the water still ran before removing her top layer of armour and setting it aside, leaving him in a black shirt and leggings. Once he had cleaned himself up, he collected up bandages, sterilised wipes and anything else he felt might be needed. Squid had toppled over now, their wounds beginning to take a real tole on them. With quick precision and fluidity Miri removed Squid’s armour and set it beside her own before carefully pealing away Squid’s shirt. Their wound was rather deep, one of the things must have managed to bite them at some point. It was oozing blood and looked rather agitated. Miri was no medical professional, but even she knew this was way above her. The only thing she could thing to do was to clean it, sew it as best she could, bandage it and Squid back to the Circle quickly before they died.

Squid was starting to lose consciousness now and if they fell asleep, they wouldn’t be moving anytime soon. Miri tired to keep Squid awake, even at one point hitting them, but nothing seemed to work. Setting his resolve, he lay squid down across multiple chairs, and got to work cleaning their wounds.

Squid’s eyes started to open, the pain in their chest being much worse than they remembered, and much worse than any wound they had received before. Squid looked around the room, trying to get their bearings before their eyes landed on the figure slumped and asleep in a crumpled heap against the counter on the floor. Squid could recognize the curly green hair from anywhere, and a soft smile fell onto their face. Miri had dragged them here and had even fixed them up. If Squid didn’t know any better, they would think she went soft. Squid carefully pulled themself up from the chair and hobbled over to her side. Squid let their arm drape over their body, and they settled themself against the counter. Without even thinking twice about it they set a kiss against Miri’s forehead.

Its funny to think all of these years they had fought and battled one another, and one afternoon everything had changed. It squid was honesty with themself, and they often weren’t, being here like this with Miri was nice, it felt natural, it felt right. As squid passed out once more, they only hoped that Miri would feel the same

PLEASE REBLOG IF YOU ENJOYED!!

[chierafied]

hi there! jilychallenge here to give you your prompt for the 'quarantine with me?' month ❤ hope you are safe and well! your prompt is: "lily had a random one night stand but when she tries to sneak out the morning after she finds out that her one night stands' flatmate tested positive and so lily, james and sirius all have to quarantine together in james tiny apartment for 14 days, chaos ensues" looking forward to seeing what you create! :)

A very belated one shot for April’s @jilychallenge quarantine edition!

Muggle AU, fluffy goodness, 4,352 words!

A Two Week Trial Run

Casual sex wasn't something Lily Evans had. Ever.

She didn't judge those who chose to do so, but it just wasn't for her.

Or that’s what she had thought, anyway, because whoo, last night... 

Last night had sure taught her to never say never, Lily mused, staring at the bloke beside her softly snoring in the mussed up bed.

He'd been funny and fit and charming when they'd met at the pub. Lily had appreciated the flirting; she'd had several drinks in her and had been feeling down and in a need of a pick-me-up.

And her girlfriends – Marlene especially – had egged her on until Lily had finally given in. Why the hell not? What did she have to lose?

So she'd left the pub with him, had some really good sex back at his place and fallen asleep.

It was only now in the harsh light of the morning and with her head pounding from the hangover that regret was starting to creep in.

Well, not regret exactly, Lily amended, watching the guy's face scrunch up in the most adorable way in his sleep.

More like a minor existential and/or identity crisis because Lily wasn't this person who got shit-faced and went home with a guy. 

Except she’d proven herself wrong on all accounts last night. 

Not only had she had a one night stand with a total stranger, she had also enjoyed every second of it – that she could remember at least.

These mental crises were not making Lily's head hurt any less so she pushed them aside.

Priorities: find her clothes, dress, find her handbag, dry-swallow a pain killer, sneak out, walk of shame. 

Lily hadn't even got out of the bed when the door of the room suddenly banged open.

"Mate, you are not gonna believe – who the hell are you?"

Confused, Lily stared at the young man standing in the doorway wearing a band t-shirt and a disgruntled expression. 

Briefly, Lily wondered if he had a hangover too because judging from that pale cast of his face and the hoarse voice he seemed to be doing just as poorly as Lily – if not worse.

The bang from the door being so rudely flung open had startled Lily's companion awake.

He was sitting up now, his black hair sticking up every which way as he groggily reached for his glasses from the bedside table.

"None of your damn business," Lily snapped, crossing her arms.

The man swung to glare at the yawning man next to Lily.

"What did or didn't you do to her, James? Being so cross first thing in the morning."

"Maybe she is cross because first thing in the morning because you decided to burst into the bloody room," James replied.

He slanted Lily a glance and offered a small, crooked smile.

"This is my flatmate, Sirius. He can be a bit of a prick so just feel free to ignore him."

“I wouldn’t recommend ignoring me,” Sirius immediately retorted. “Not until you hear me out.”

James sighed and flopped back, his head slapping against the pillow.

“What is it?”

“I got the results.”

“What?”

“The test I had to take, remember?” Sirius huffed. “I tested positive for the thing.”

James sat up again, his knuckles white where he clutched at the blanket.

“What? You what?”

Lily’s gaze flitted between the two men, the heavy feeling in her stomach having nothing to do with the nausea she’d been trying to ignore.

“What’s going on?” she asked, her voice faltering.

“Sirius has the virus,” was James’ grim answer.

“What?”

“I got orders to go into quarantine for at least two weeks,” Sirius continued. “And so should anyone who I may have exposed to the stupid thing so… Welcome to Chez Potter-Black, Miss None of your business.”

Beside her, James was cussing up a storm and pulling at his hair.

Lily crawled under the blanket. 

Was this karma? she wondered. The universe agreeing that one night stands weren’t her thing and eagerly teaching her a lesson?

Whatever the reason behind the current mess of a situation, Lily didn’t like it one bit.

She pulled a pillow to cover her face. And screamed.

Once the anger had gone, panic settled in.

James could understand it, he was feeling rather upset for the turn of the events himself and swamped with guilt at having dragged Lily to this mess. He probably shouldn’t have gone out to the pub last night, but he’d just been so sick of Sirius’ drama queen act and bitching that he’d had to get out. 

And just because Sirius had been on the skiing trip in Austria with Remus recently didn’t have to mean anything. He certainly hadn’t been showing much of the symptoms the media kept talking about. The virus had felt like a distant thing; the test Sirius had been to little more than a formality to make sure everything was fine.

But now nothing was fine, James thought glumly, slumping against his headboard.

The only tiny glimmer of light in the current mess they’d found themselves in was that Lily was still here, and would remain here at his flat for the next two weeks.

It was a rotten thing to cling to, James was ready to admit that. But even so, he didn’t mind at all having her around.

He’d been so surprised that she had even agreed to come back to his place last night. He’d been halfway in love with her, cliché as that was, before they’d as much as crossed the threshold of his flat.

And those feelings hadn’t faded in the light of the day.

He sat, still in his bed and watched Lily as she paced his room. She made for a fascinating sight, and even with the pale, wan face and the mussed up hair she was so beautiful James’ heart ached. She was muttering to herself while she paced, and from the snatches James could hear, he understood she was comprising a to-do -list of some kind.

James was more of a spontaneous nature, so seeing someone come up with a plan so fast was super impressive.

Then, Lily stopped pacing and went to dig around in the handbag she’d had with her last night. She pulled out her phone and swore.

“Do you have a charger I can borrow? I need to ring a ton of people.”

“Of course.” James scrambled out of the bed. “And if it isn’t compatible with your phone you can use mine to ring as many people as you need.”

They found the charger, and soon enough Lily’s phone was charging.

The two of them sat back down on the bed, side by side, and looked out of the window to the grey London skies.

“I’m sorry,” James blurted out. “This isn’t how I thought this morning would go.”

“It’s okay,” Lily said. “I mean it’s not. It’s messed up. But I don’t think this is your fault.”

For a moment, they sat in silence.

James’ fingers itched to pull Lily close, but he didn’t want to presume or overstep. Just because they’d been together last night didn’t mean they were, well, together.

“So,” Lily said after a while, “out of curiosity, how did you think this morning would go?”

James swallowed. He buried his nervous fingers in his hair.

“Um. That, well… I was hoping to cook you a nice breakfast I guess. And get your number.”

James slanted Lily a glance and saw a wry smile twist her lips.

“A nice breakfast, huh? I suppose we can have that much at least. As soon as my stomach is settled and I sort this thing out a bit.”

“Sure, of course.” James met her eyes. “I promise I’ll do whatever I can so you’ll be as comfortable here as possible.”

Warmth flashed in her stormy green eyes. “Thank you.”

“Right.” James tugged at his hair. “I’m going to leave you to it. Give you some privacy so you can ring whomever. And get that breakfast started.”

James was already getting to his feet when Lily’s arms came around him.

He froze, his giddy heart leaping into his throat as he held her close for a much too short a moment.

But any moment with Lily in his arms was better than one without her, so he welcomed it, and the small glimmer of hope that sparked in his heart.

Lily had called in sick to work. She’d got Marlene to bring over a bag with a bunch of clothes and other essentials. And she’d more or less settled in, awkward as it had been at first. 

James had been wonderfully accommodating and had pretty much given his whole room for her to use. He wasn’t the issue.

Neither was his flatmate, Sirius. Despite their less than favourable first meeting, Lily was starting to slowly like Sirius, ridiculous as he was.  He didn’t appear to be all that sick, but he was milking it for all it was worth. 

Having had a male best friend, many many years ago, Lily had personal experience with the whole man-flu thing. And it hadn’t taken Lily very long to realise that Sirius was all about the drama.

No, both blokes were kinda brilliant in their ways. The awkwardness of the first few days was mainly because of the minor identity crisis that still haunted Lily. 

Besides, she just didn’t know how to feel about James, because, well… He seemed like a great guy but it was odd to have had shared such intimacy with someone she was only now starting to know.

And that’s why you don’t do one night stands, Lily chided herself while furiously kneading bread dough in James’ tiny kitchen.

The kitchen was barely bigger than a cupboard, but it had become a retreat for Lily. As long as she was in there, baking, the boys would leave her alone. 

Much as Lily did love socialising with her friends, she was an introvert at heart. 

And suddenly forced to share very limited living quarters with two strangers, one of which was ill and very extra and the other super fit and sweet and confusing and also utterly going stir-crazy though it was only their third day in, well… 

Fun as the guys seemed, Lily needed some time for herself. 

Baking had always been one of the ways she dealt with stress, and with two young men in the house, both in a possession of a bottomless stomach, it all worked out pretty well.

Lily had reached her inner zen and was just finishing shaping the loaf when the sound of James clearing his throat bought her back to reality.

“Sorry. I’m gonna squeeze past you,” he warned, then walked into the kitchen. 

In the very confined space, it was impossible not to be aware of him. She had to bite her lip when he slipped past her, his arm brushing her back.

Her nerves were humming, instantly standing at attention. And much as Lily had chided herself about the one night stand in the past couple of days, it once again became painfully clear that her body had no regrets.

Thankfully, James appeared oblivious about the reaction his presence and proximity caused because he proceeded to open the fridge.

“Didn’t wanna bother you so I tried telling Sirius he could wait a while and I’d get him a coke later but… Well, you can imagine how that went down.”

“I’m half surprised I didn’t hear the resulting tirade,” Lily said, staring at her loaf of bread.

“Well, clearly you’re preoccupied.” James stood in front of the fridge for a while, and Lily could feel the weight of his gaze on her. “You don’t have to keep doing this, you know.”

“Doing what?” Surprised, she looked up and at him, though just a moment before she’d promised herself she wouldn’t. Ignoring him was safer. 

“Baking. We can cook. Sirius is a pretty great cook when he isn’t busy playing the sickly frail little princess. And you’re our guest. And –”

“And nothing,” Lily cut in. “I know Sirius is milking it but he is sick, and letting a contagious person prepare food isn’t the best idea.”

“You’re right. Sorry. Still, it’s not fair to you. Let me help.”

“I appreciate the offer,” Lily said, her heart beating just a little faster. “But there’s only enough room for one chef in this kitchen.”

“Quite right,” James admitted with a chuckle. “I can all but feel the walls closing in on me.”

Lily smiled at her loaf. “Look, I promise I don’t mind. I enjoy baking and it relaxes me and I need relaxing in my life right now.”

“I hear that,” James said, with a rueful edge to his tone. “Every time I open the news it seems this virus is getting worse and worse.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, as long as you’re sure we’re not taking advantage,” James said, shifting from one foot to another.

“You are not,” Lily assured him. “And you are helping out a lot; you can’t really expect me to eat this all by myself.” 

James cast a look around the kitchen. When he spoke, Lily could hear the smile in his voice. “Yeah, that might take you a while.”

“And then I’d burst and that wouldn’t be pretty,” Lily said. She gestured at brownies that were cooling on the counter. “Take one to Sirius, maybe it will shut him up for a moment.”

“You are amazing,” James told her, sending her heart into a wild flutter.

Then, he left the kitchen with the bottle of coke and two brownies he snatched from the pan as he passed. 

His laughter, however, lingered. And when Lily finally slid her bread into the oven, she was still grinning like an idiot.

The days dragged on slowly, even though the three of them had found various ways to entertain themselves in the small two-bedroom flat.

They’d had a video game tournament, which Sirius had naturally won. The surprise – to all of them, it seemed – was that Lily had come in second. After that, they had gone on to binge-watch every single episode of Queer Eye available on Netflix. 

There had been many long conversations spanning a whole variety of topics. 

And, of course, endless squabbles because that’s what happens when three differing temperaments, all of them in various states of ill-humour, were forced to share a confined space for an extended period of time. 

There had been one spectacular evening of badly sung karaoke to songs found on Youtube. That had helped to balance nicely the countless hours they had spent playing Scrabble or Texas hold ‘em. 

Lily had been filling their kitchen with all manners of baked goods and James had become a clean freak, tidying up the place and disinfecting surfaces several times a day.

And despite all these diverting pastimes James was still the one who was handling it the worst, which was a feat considering that this was his flat and unlike Lily, he hadn’t been stuck in an unfamiliar environment with two strangers. 

But James was an active person. And an extroverted person. He loved going out. Without his regular morning jog, the stress was really building up. 

He’d tried getting some move on with the help of the home work out videos that the internet was suddenly full of, but it just wasn’t the same.

Lily’s presence wasn’t exactly calming either. Although James loved to have her around, she seemed to possess the unique ability to render James instantly back to his fifteen-year-old self: jittery, stammering, and desperately wanting to appear cool in front of his crush, the initials of whom he kept doodling in the margins of his notes.

It was a state he hadn’t found himself in since those early days of his very first bout of puppy love. And while a part of him felt giddy about the unexpected return and what it might signify, the timing of it was decidedly unfortunate. 

Oddly enough, the moments of the day he had come to appreciate the most, during which he had found most calm, were the ones in the late evenings that he would spend in Lily’s company.

He’d handed his room over to her use and had gentlemanly volunteered to take the couch in the living room. One evening, he’d come in to get a fresh shirt out of his wardrobe and had found Lily lying on the bed.

So as not to blush at the sight and the memories it evoked, he focused his attention on the device she was holding.

“Is that a tablet? Looks small.”

Lily glanced up and spared him a smile that immediately made his heartbeat pick up. 

“No, it’s an e-reader.”

“Really? I haven’t seen one up close. Must be convenient.”

“It is. Reading relaxes me so it’s a good way to ensure I always have a whole library with me.”

Lily grinned at him, and by that point, James had wholly forgotten about his shirts and his wardrobe. 

He sat down on the edge of the bed.

“What are you reading?” he asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

“Just started this murder mystery,” Lily said. “It’s been nice so far.”

“Sounds cool,” James said. Then, a little wistfully, he added: “Haven’t been able to read a book in ages myself.”

“Really?” Lily, who clearly must be an avid reader seemed almost scandalised by this. “How come?”

“I guess all the research papers in uni put me off from some of it. Mostly though it’s like I just can't concentrate enough to take in the information, you know?”

“Ahh, makes sense. Sitting still doesn’t seem to be your forte,” Lily commented, her eyes twinkling in a way that softened the teasing.

James let out a short laugh. “That’s too true.”

“Maybe you should give audiobooks a try,” Lily suggested.

Feeling bold, James took a leap. “Maybe you could try reading out loud.”

Lily blinked, but rather than outright sputter at the idea, she tilted her head in thought. 

“Would you really like that?”

“Yeah I think that would be nice,” James said, the glimmer of hope in his heart gaining strength.

And that was how, every evening now, James and Lily would both be lying down on his bed while Lily read the murder mystery aloud to him. 

It settled James, in a way few things in life did. He wasn’t sure if it was Lily’s nearness, the warmth of her voice or the engrossing story they were reading.

Most probably some combination of all of them.

All James knew was that he already was dreading their quarantine coming to an end, because as maddening as being stuck in the flat was for him, this new evening routine was something he would sorely miss.

But even more than that, he would miss the company of one Lily Evans.

Time had become a strange, mystical creature. Though each day had felt like a slow crawl, the weeks had taken flight.

One morning, while sipping her tea, Lily was momentarily stunned as she realised twelve days had passed. 

In just two more days, she could go home.

Sirius was still sick, but his symptoms had remained mild and he had improved in the past couple of days. By some miracle, neither James nor Lily had contracted the virus, as both of them still felt completely fine. 

Perhaps all James’ maniacal cleaning during the long, slow days of their quarantine had paid off.  

She was smiling into her cup of tea when a bleary-eyed James sat up on his makeshift bed on the sofa and ran his hand through his hair.

“What time is it?”

Lily glanced at her phone. “It’s almost half-seven. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“You did,” James said, putting his glasses on, “but it’s fine. I usually wake up much earlier than I have been this whole week.”

“Ah, right,” Lily said, remembering their conversation from several days back. “Well, soon enough you’ll be back jogging every morning.”

“I can’t wait,” James said fervently, earning another smile from Lily.

James got up from the sofa and stretched. 

Lily unashamedly admired his physique while he bent to retrieve his trousers and pulled them on. 

While James walked past her into the cupboard pretending to be the kitchen, Lily busied herself with her breakfast.

James emerged a moment later and sat down at the small table next to her, a cup of coffee in hand.

“You know what’s funny?” Lily asked, after a moment of quiet companionship.

Sirius wouldn’t wake up before 10 o'clock, so they always had mornings to themselves.

“What’s that?” James asked, his elbows propped on the table, biceps curling just below the sleeve of his t-shirt.

“I felt so awkward being here with you guys at first,” Lily confessed. “And now in less than two weeks I’m almost used to this.”

James was silent for a moment, one nervous finger tapping at his coffee mug, his jaw clenching.

Then, he swallowed and met her eyes.

“You know what else is funny?” he asked in a soft voice.

“What?” Lily managed, her own voice hushed by the storm she could see in his hazel eyes. 

Anticipation crept up her spine and she leaned towards him. Her breath caught at the expression flitting across James’ face.

“I don’t want you to leave.”

Lily’s heart leapt and her stomach erupted with the butterflies. She’d barely even processed the words, when James continued, a definite blush colouring his cheeks.

“I mean,” he said with a slight stammer, “obviously you’re looking forward to going home and I want you to go home too and this whole thing has been just one big mess and I feel like we’ve done everything the wrong way around –”

Lily reached across the table and gently took James’ hand that had been restlessly drumming against the tabletop.

He fell silent and when their eyes met, his blush deepened.

James sighed, and run his other hand through his hair, messing it up even more. 

It was a gesture that had become both familiar and endearing to Lily in these past twelve days, and her heart ached. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way about anyone,” James said at last, squeezing her hand.

“Well then, after I get home you’re gonna have to ring me and ask me out for a real date,” Lily said, unable to hold back the smile blooming on her lips. 

She wasn’t sure either if she’d ever quite felt the way she did right at this moment, wrapped up in the tenderness of James’ obvious regard. 

“Does that mean I’m getting your number after all?” James replied, grinning at her as the mood lightened. 

“Yes.”

They smiled at each other. 

And because it was ridiculous how much her heart could race from just holding hands, Lily couldn’t help adding: “If you fail to ring me, I will hunt you down. After all, I know where you live.”

James burst into laughter. 

Lily had thought she couldn’t be happier than she was just then, watching James laugh. But she was proven wrong in the next moment when his thumb brushed across her knuckles.

Maybe they had done everything the wrong way around as James had said… But it had certainly worked out.

If this was just the beginning, she couldn’t wait to see what would come next.

Two days later, early in the morning, they parted ways.

There were no tears, but they held each other for a long moment, both of them just as unwilling to let go. And the kiss Lily pulled James into in the doorway was lingering as well.

The memory of it still warmed her, as Lily got safely back to her flat. 

The peace and quiet that greeted her were both welcoming and unsettling. After not being alone for so many days, being on her own felt strange. 

But also good.

She kept busy for most of the day, making sure she was stocked up on food and that everything seemed clean and nice. 

She might no longer be in quarantine, but the news of the virus seemed to get worse and scarier day after day, so she was in no hurry to get back out there.

That evening, Lily was happy – no, she was ecstatic – to be lying in her own bed at last. 

It was smaller than the one she’d slept during her quarantine and her sheets didn’t carry James’ scent… But snuggled into a small mountain of pillows she was perfectly comfortable even as she frowned at the e-reader in her lap. 

She couldn’t continue the book. The words kept getting stuck somewhere between her eyes and her restless brain. She couldn’t concentrate on the story when her mind was busy reminiscing the evening moments spent in James' company.

A smile tugged at her lips until the sound of her ringtone dragged her away from the memories. 

Lily reached for her phone, the smile turning into a proper grin as she saw the name on the display.

“Hello?” she answered the phone.

“So I’d ask you out,” James’ voice drawled from the other end, “but it seems there’s a global pandemic out there.”

“That does sound like a small drawback,” Lily replied, falling right back into the easy banter, as if she’d never left.

“Raincheck on the date?” James said.

“Definitely. I’m not letting you off the hook so easily,” Lily said.

“Good. I’m very comfortable on the hook,” James said, earning a laugh from Lily. “But now to the real business.”

“Which is?” 

“So the investigator was lured into the cellar, right? And then the door was bolted shut. Does he get out? How?”

Lily snuggled back into her pillows, her smile so wide her cheeks were starting to hurt. 

“Well you’ll have to listen and find out,” she told him.

Then, she picked up the e-reader with her free hand and began to read out loud.

[repmet]

Fic: Iris

For FowlFest2020: Obscure Character Appreciation Day. Iris is actually an OC, but her family is mentioned so... that counts right? Shoutout to @ms-nothingspecial for betaing  and listening to me stress about word choice for far too long.

--

The fairy shuttle port at Tara was an impressive operation. Ten thousand cubic metres of terminal concealed beneath an overgrown hillock in the middle of the McGraney farm. For centuries, the McGraneys had respected the fairy fort's boundaries and, for centuries, they had enjoyed exceptional good luck.

- Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident

--

Iris McGraney is born at midnight on a full moon, which for a McGraney is the very best of luck.

The birth goes smoothly and without complications, and Iris is born quietly, wailing briefly to let the world know she’s arrived, before settling on her mother’s chest, quietly basking in the comfort of her family around her.

Iris McGraney is born lucky. Then again, her family always has been.

--

When Iris is 7 she gets sick, as children do.

Plans are made to see the doctor in the morning, but McGraneys have a certain way of treating illnesses first that most others don’t.

Iris is well enough to listen to her Dad tell her to keep the bedroom window open all night, even as he bundles her up in blankets and turns the heater on.

He puts a note on the sill along with a single gold nugget, just in case.

“We’ve invited them in before, but it’s better safe than sorry, isn’t it? And you should never ask without offering something in return. It’s rare they take it but it’s only polite.”

The McGraney’s were always digging up gold, especially near the fairy fort. Iris knew it was a secret though, or else everyone would want to come dig on their farm which would make the cows sad.

“Now, go to sleep,” her Dad tells her, tucking her in tight. “You’ll feel better in the morning.”

Iris doesn’t wake all night, and in the morning, the note is gone, the small piece of gold now sitting on her night stand.

Iris picks it up and runs to the kitchen.

“It moved, Daddy!” she announces proudly, the picture of a healthy child. “They didn’t take it but it moved.”

Her father laughs and hugs her.

“That’s how they let us know they were here.”

--

When Iris is 14 a severe looking boy in a suit sits down across from her at a cafe she’s in, and puts a phone on the table.

Iris recognises the model, it’s seven months away from being released and the hype is already intense.

“For a moment of your time.”

Iris stares at him.

“My parents are gonna think I fucking stole this.”

The boy sets a letter down on the table as well. Iris has a brother so she ignores the letter at first and continues staring at the boy, hoping to unnerve him. He seems unbothered, maybe he has siblings too. She picks up the paper and reads a very official looking letter from the phone manufacturer congratulating her on being selected to test an early release prototype.

It’s fake of course. Iris isn’t an idiot, she is however a teenager in a tiny village with not much going for it. In short, she’s bored and whatever the hell this is, it’s interesting. Also her parents don’t know shit about technology or how major releases work.

She shoves the phone in her backpack.

“What do you want?”

“The fairy fort on your property, I want to know about it.”

Iris raises her eyebrows, that’s hardly top-secret information.

“I don’t know, man, it’s been there for ages. We take care of it, respect the boundaries, and we get lucky.”

“In just the past fifty years your family has uncovered a lost work of Holbein the Younger, a sword owned by Íriel Fáid and seven seperate stores of gold. You’ve also never lost an animal to bovine spongiform encephalopathy in all the history I could find of your farm.”

Well it was more gold than that at last count but they’d stopped being so vocal about it and also-

“Yeah... what’s that last one?”

The kid gives her a disdainful and patronising look. “Mad cow disease.”

“Right.” This dude is a dick. “Like I said. Lucky.”

“It seems a bit more than lucky.”

Iris shrugs. “Look man, you don’t need to believe in the People if you don’t want but you’re in the wrong town. We eat that shit up here, the Hill of Tara borders our farm, there’s three fairy-dedicated gift shops in this village alone.”

He looks interested now though, leaning forward in his seat.

“The People?”

His eyes are weirdly intense, Iris can’t wait to tell her friends about this. Orla is super into vampires right now, she’s going to love it.

“Fairies, the fae, the fair folk, aos sí, whatever you want to call them. Maybe it is just luck, I’ve never seen one-” She frowns, a memory bubbling up then she shakes her head, brushing off a dream of a small winged figure on her windowsill one night. “The People is what my grandparents called them though. Capital P.”

“What else did your grandparents tell you about them? Did they have any superstitions specific to your family?”

Iris doesn't even need to think on that one.

“Grandpa Rob had this thing where he would make everyone wash their hands after we came back from church. Said it was not to harm the People with the holy water, but no one else I know does that, even the Creideamh Sí families.That means -”

“The Fairy Faith,” he interrupts. “Yes, I’m aware. I’ll need to know anything else your family knows about them.”

He pulls a laptop out of his bag which looks like nothing Iris has ever seen and her family is pretty well-off (selling lost works or art tends to help).

“This is getting to be more than a moment, dude.”

“I can take the phone back.”

Iris laughs, he’s not wrong that the phone is worth more than a short conversation, but the threat is just plain funny coming from a pre-teen who looks like he’d never seen the sun in his life and a stiff breeze would knock him over.

The man standing behind him, who Iris initially assumed was his dad but now isn’t so sure, clears his throat and there’s something in the way he does it, or maybe the way he glances down at her, that makes it very clear this tiny undertaker looking child would be leaving with either his answers, or the phone.

If Iris were older or wiser, she would be suitably unsettled but today she just waves a hand at the mountain of a man.

“Chill, I don’t mind, just weird to be honest.”

“You’re welcome to whatever opinion you please so long as you answer all of my questions with as much detail as possible. Now, tell me more about the holy water.”

This phone better be worth it. (It is.)

--

When Iris is 19 the world ends.

Kinda.

Her PlayStation is ruined at least which is annoying as shit.

More importantly, the fairy fort is gone and there’s an actual fucking fort there.

“I always thought it would be a bit less… concrete.”

She’s not sure who she’s talking to, her brother’s moved to London and her parents are out at lunch with friends. But it’s rather the sort of day where Iris thinks she might not believe anything at all if she keeps it just in her head.

The door gives a loud bang and Iris yells and leaps backwards. The banging continues and she realises there’s someone on the other side.

“Are you okay?’ she calls, trying to keep the sudden nervousness in her chest from coming through the words.

“There’s a fire in here, and the suppression systems aren’t working.”

Iris takes several long breaths, processing several things. One, her family is not mad, fairies do exist. Two, they do in fact have a fort on their farm. Three, she might be about to meet them for real. Four, it’s kinda ugly and dull, she expected a bit more… magical?

She looks up to try and centre herself and catches sight of a plane, trailing smoke and flying disturbingly low before it disappears over a hill. In the distance there’s the sound of thunder.

Right, the world is possibly ending, perhaps that should be higher on the list. That part is plain not registering in her head.

She tells herself she imagined the plane, there’s no room in her head to process the alternative right now.

“Who are you anyway?”

Iris’ head snaps back up at the question. Right, fairies trapped in a burning building. Focus.

“Iris McGraney! Stand back, I’ll kick the door in.”

“This door is built to withstand more than you, human.”

Iris frowns, annoyed. “You prefer to suffocate?”

There’s a long pause then, from what sounds like a distance, the voice calls back, “Alright, give it a go.”

Iris is a farmgirl through and through. She’s been stacking hay and climbing fences and eating well her entire life, she wouldn’t be carrying the Dinnie Stones any time soon but she could best all the local boys in an arm wrestle and carry a small calf several fields if she had too.

Her first kick connects with a satisfying crack. The second gives more of a crunch and on the third the door snaps and slams inwards. It’s a pretty cool moment, Iris wishes the day wasn’t so surreal so she could bask in it more.

Smoke starts to billow out as soon as it meets the outside air and there’s a lot of yelling and organised panic as thirty-odd fairies of differing colours and various sizes of small come pouring out, most coughing.

One, in an official looking uniform, makes a line for Iris.

“You’re a fairy,” she tells him.

“Yes, a gnome if we’re getting technical.” He pulls out a handkerchief and starts dabbing at his forehead. “Thanks for that, by the way, Frond only knows what’s going on. One moment we’re getting the call that Haven’s locking down the next the electronics start sparking and melting off the walls.”

“The same thing happened in the house.” Iris tells him, rapidly compartmentalising, there was far too much to take in today. Fairies sure, but gnomes? She pushes it in a box for later. “My phone melted, and the TV almost started a fire.”

The gnome shakes his head worriedly. “This is not good, not good. No contact with Haven and all our tech going bust. I bet it’s that Koboi pixie somehow, right crazy one she is.”

Iris nods for a moment, then shakes her head. “No, I don’t know what that means.”

“Not good, is what it means.”

Iris looks across the fields to several columns of smoke rising in the distance, the further she looks in every direction the more there are.

Not good at all.

--

When Iris is 32 her parents die.

It’s sudden and so plain, after a life of quiet magic and unrelenting luck. Her mother took a turn too fast and hit a patch of ice.

They didn’t suffer at least.

She blames the People at first, but even as the anger bubbles inside her she knows it’s only grief behind it. She’s learnt over the years they’re just people themselves, no capital letter. They can do extraordinary things but miracles are miracles for a reason.

After the wake is passed and the friends gone home, her brother reluctantly back across the channel, promising to call that same night, Iris is at a loss.

She had expected to be but still.

The knocks at the door are so frequent she doesn’t even startle when another comes. She’s not sure she’s in a mood for more well-wishers but she’s not doing well alone either so- she sighs and goes to open the door.

On the other side is a black-haired man in a three-piece suit, still pale but Iris felt less concern now that he might combust if the sun ever does manage to find him.

“Artemis Fowl, I didn’t expect us to meet again.”

“You remember me.” He doesn’t seem surprised.

“Being interrogated by a ten year old tends to stick in a girl’s mind.”

He smiles. “I was 12.”

Iris invites him in and makes tea.

It’s a welcome distraction right now because you have to be living under rock in Ireland not to know how just very extraordinary Artemis Fowl the Second is. Three doctorates, Time Man of the Year at 22, already one Nobel Prize and smart money’s on a second soon.

If anyone could have done it at 12… well.

For a moment she almost hesitates, but Artemis gives her a real smile, as if he already knows what’s on her mind.

(In the years ahead she will come to know him well enough to realise that’s exactly the case.)

She hands him a cup and sits down.

“Tell me, Dr. Fowl, did you ever find the People?”

[clumsyclifford]

bella I would love a directors cut on literally any of the rilex you’ve written, but specifically it’s always her, and you, and me, or for these days you’ve been stuck in my brain 💙

OHHHHHH those are some CHOICESSSSSS lucy. fuck yeah. let’s get into it. ill link them both here but we’ll take em one at a time

it’s always her, and me, you

these days you’ve been stuck in my brain

here’s a cut for convenience cos i KNOW i’m gonna go long here.

okay! let’s start with the rilisex fic.

it’s always her, and me, and you

so like it says in the ao3 notes, this fic came from realizing just how frequently rian and alex kiss each other like, all the time? just? casually? for funsies? this was another one of those situations like i mentioned where the hook aka first line (“Rian's no expert, but he doesn't think normal friends kiss this much.”) just appeared in my head and i was like heyyy that’s a GOOD first line. i have to build from that line. that’s the hook, that’s the summary, that’s the core. 

something i discovered upon searching through the editing history of the doc: i had originally sort of intended to go a direction with this where in some other circumstance, rian would see alex giving jack a super casual friendly kiss and he’d get all sad/jealous and be like sure why SHOULDNT alex kiss jack after all its just a thing he does with his FRIENDS. but the fic ended up going a different way and honestly? im glad. i like this way better.

the role of singin in the rain in this fic actually has a HILARIOUS backstory because the night i originally wrote that conversation in the tour bus kitchen, i went into the club and said the following

and then. the next day. rian streamed with ricky, and i asked if he’d ever seen singin in the rain, and he ANSWERED ME and said he hadn’t. so first of all i had already written the scene and i then had to rewrite it to make it so rian wouldn’t have seen it but also!!! i literally asked rian fucking dawson if he’d seen a movie for the sole reason of using that information for fanfiction!!!! and he provided me with the information i needed!!!! whole thing is just fucking hysterical to me. ANYWAY.

ANYWAY, the other reason why sitr has such a big role in the fic is because megs and i watched the movie together while i was in the middle of working on the fic, so it was extremely fresh in my mind. in fact i can probably show you this: i had this comment left for myself when i was kind of trying to figure out if i could make a real metaphor of sorts with the sitr ot3 and the Big Three of this fic. some of this ended up in rian’s wild musings in the hotel scene but i did conclude that it wouldn’t really have worked and that was definitely true but anyway. fuck it, director’s cut, here’s the kind of shit i leave for myself to refer to

so that’s part of the reason why it became such a puzzle piece of this fic, but real talk, it’s also just because i love singin in the rain it’s one of my favorite movies lmao

briefly gonna also touch on lisa and why she’s in this fic because i realize that rian/alex/lisa is an interesting approach to rilex! first of all, i love lisa. i love alex and lisa. and it occurred to me that there was really no reason to split lisex up just to make rilex happen. plus there’s this tweet that really just pushed me over the edge of being like yeah, rilisex is extremely plausible. so that’s that on that.

as for the scene in the hotel room while they’re watching sitr, there is a small piece of that scene - from when alex starts kissing rian’s shoulders etc to “it would defy the laws of nature not to” - that i actually wrote before anything else in that scene. that small piece got stretched out and edited quite a bit from how it started but it did function as a sort of foundation around which i built the rest of the scene, because that small section sort of ~came to me~ absolutely out of nowhere, and i really liked the Vibe it had and i wanted to include it. i THINK that was the only piece of this fic that i wrote Out Of Order - for the most part this was written chronologically.

ALSO!!! omg this is exciting, this fic actually has a deleted scene!!!!!! i hate cutting scenes but i also hate having scenes that are less than 1k and this one didn’t really contribute much to the fic. i can probably share it here right? sure why not ! hopefully you can read this. it originally took place after the scene where alex and rian call lisa for the first time. the question of “what gets left into interview videos and what gets cut” is also just interesting to me as a (fic) concept in general so...eyes emoji, but here’s my mini-exploration that i cut from the original fic. enjoy lol it’s silly <3

oh! also one more thing!! the very final scene was included for two reasons. the first reason being that when i write getting-together fics, i really prefer to add on a scene After they Get Together because i love to write domestic established relationship stuff and i think that’s a satisfying reward for a reader who’s just slogged through all the mutual pining and bullshit to get the characters together. but the OTHER reason is that i got an anon (here it is!) and i read that ask and was immediately like well shit. now i have to fucking include this. for the anon and for myself. so you can thank that anon for that last scene. (also i wanted to include merrikat especially since i had to cut their little moment in the interview scene above.)

so....................whew. i think i’ve bled that fic dry. holy shit that’s a lot of Stuff. OKAY! let’s move on.

~

these days you’ve been stuck in my brain

so!!! THIS fic was the breakthrough after (what felt like) a long bout of writer’s block. long for me was maybe two weeks, but i am the kind of person who is always writing, and two weeks was a long time to go with little to no inspiration/motivation to write anything. i had also been in a weird narrative headspace because i’d been binge-watching disney shows (jessie > austin and ally > girl meets world) and i don’t know how well i can explain this but the way those shows are written is a lot snappier and cares way less for realistic and consistent character development or plots or relationships, and so i was stuck between caring a lot about including those things in my fics but also being unable to conceptualize them in writing because my brain was in Disney Writing Mode. does that make sense? this is rhetorical so let’s go with yes. so anyway. i was in a slump

actually what i ended up doing was basically googling something like “au prompts tumblr” or something and just scrolling through posts. i saw something about soulmate telepathy and i actually tried to write something totally different before i wrote this one, but the first attempt was a different concept and then the direction i took it was like......it wasn’t quite right and i realized that i was kind of writing dark disney style? there is really no way for me to explain what i mean by that because it seems really obvious to me but that’s just because i’m inside my own head so just take my word. 

anyway. attempt #1 of soulmate telepathy rilex went poorly, and this fic was attempt #2. i kinda took the soulmate telepathy thing and changed it as i saw fit and i also went back to skim helen’s telepathy fic because obviously she’s the pro and then i tried not to steal her ideas. and as i was writing it i kinda realized i was doing the whole quirky funny best friend character with jack and also doing the whole “somehow this not-very-dramatic situation with teenagers is treated as The Most Dramatic Thing Ever and that’s totally normal and nobody finds it strange” disney trope with rian and alex being soulmates and i was like (deep sigh) i have to accept that no matter how much i try to fight this, this fic is going to be tainted with disney. and that’s life

on top of that i will add that the real-life rilex were extremely inspiring during the two-day period during which i wrote this fic, because that was when the once in a lifetime video came out and in the brief pre-video livestream rilex were Beyond Married and that definitely helped in the writing of fic rilex!

hmmmm what can i tell you about this fic itself.................honestly, i don’t think there’s much to tell! rian is a band kid because in real life rian was a band kid and he’s staff manager at rita’s just like he was in real life. there is truthfully not a lot to unpack here that i can think of!

oh here’s something i guess: rian and alex go on a date in this fic! that is because watching So Much Disney made me realize that i often forget the fact that people just. go on dates. sometimes. look i clearly do not have an active romantic life but i also really liked the idea of alex and rian going on a date despite not knowing if they’d be soulmates or not and liking each other organically just by getting to know each other, rather than being victim to the whole soulmate thing. like i wanted them to build a connection so that they would want to be soulmates. and then the audience would want that for them too. stakes!! very important.

i can tell you i had a mild crisis over the title of the fic because i am not a fan of the word brain and i didnt wanna use that sticky lyric for the title when it had a word i hated but it was objectively a much better title option than the other one i had, which was “sticky just like the song in my head” but i obviously decided on the former and it has not upset me nearly as much as i expected it to so that was the right decision imo

so! i think that’s all on that! sorry (?) that it got so long although then again i don’t know what’s to be expected in a director’s cut for two long fics but thank you for asking me about these, i love them both so very much rilex is so supremely underrated but so very important

[laceymorganwrites]

Petrified

Word count: 1,366

Pairing: none

Warnings: a bit of angst, break up, toxic relationship, swearing

Band!AU

Song: Petrified - Call Me Karizma

I'm petrified, scared of letting you inside my headspace I testify, I'm obsessed with every lie you said, babe Sick of being scared of waking up So sick of loving you, I'm throwing up Sick of making music you don't listen to But tell your fucking friends the song's about you and it sucks By the way, I really miss your face Been a minute since you came into my place But the second that you do, we start to fight And then we fuck and then you leave And text me "It was a mistake", shit

The air was thick and damp in the little club you were at, it was quite cramped with the concert going on. You were a long time fan of Kuroo´s music, somehow it mesmerized you, the way he wrote his songs was so special and different from what you were used to and it drew you in. And yet you always were in the back, rather watching him and enjoying the music than being pushed around by his fans.

And I shouldn't love you Look what we've come to You're always in my thoughts, babe But never in my bedroom

His songs were always so sensual, so loving, he sang about his girlfriend all the time, he loved her so much it was unreal. And in the beginning of their relationship, he even posted about it on social media, he was always so excited for their dates. It was really sweet, sure, you didn´t know him or her personally, but his happiness was intoxicating.

And yet his smile didn´t reach his eyes anymore, he seemed to force himself on stage every night, there was no emotion behind his voice anymore, there was just emptiness. Kuroo looked so tired, so worn out, so done… you felt sorry for him even though it was none of your business. I'm petrified, scared of letting you inside my headspace I testify, I'm obsessed with every lie you said, babe I'm terrified, I want you out You've made my mind a haunted house I'm petrified but I love the way you frighten me, babe, yeah I don't wanna end it but I will I don't wanna end up in your will I don't wanna leave you but I swear to God, you're evil 'Cause you pop into my head just like it's pills By the way, I really miss your face Been a minute since you told me, "It's okay" But the second that you do, you're fucking lying 'Cause the spider webs are growing, taking over everything, fuck

The first time you met his girlfriend was by happen chance. She used to always come to his shows and be backstage, but you didn´t see her anymore since the last few months. Maybe she was busy, you thought. But in reality it was because she couldn´t care less. Hell, the only reason she was even with him in the first place was because he was famous and bought her all the things she wanted, because of him she gained a bigger following as well, it felt good being out with him and being stopped by fans telling her how pretty she was, how good they looked together, it made her feel good about herself.

But now she was bored of it all, she never cared about Kuroo as a person, she pitied him, he had too many issues for her to deal with, she was sick of him crying all the time, why didn´t he shut up about his stupid mental illnesses that weren´t even real? She hated attention whores and to her, he was the biggest one.

And oh how she hated his fucking music, it made her sick to the stomach, he couldn´t even sing, so why did he try so hard? All of his fans were so ugly as well, they were just as fucked up and pathetic as him, she didn´t want to be associated with such people.

You really didn´t want to hear those things as she told them her friend at the bar next to you. It was none of your business but it hurt. She was wrong, she didn´t know him, she didn´t know anything, so how dare she?

And I shouldn't love you Look what we've come to You're always in my thoughts, babe But never in my bedroom

But then again, you didn´t know him either, you just felt like you did because you were a fan of his music.

And yet her words made a fire burn inside of you, you were so fucking angry right now, why was she even with him then? It felt like she was insulting you, like she spit in your face. She turned to you and mustered you a bit.

“Why are you here? You don´t look like the other losers here, please tell me you were just getting a drink and aren´t here for his shitty music” she spoke to you and you had to physically hold yourself back not to punch her then and there.

“Actually…” you started, wanting to tell her that, yes, you were here for his music. His amazing music, because how couldn´t you be? He was beyond talented and even though he didn´t have the perfect singing voice, his words struck something inside of you. Maybe it was the imperfections that made so many people like you relate. Maybe it was the message behind it all, that you didn´t have to perfect to be loved, that you were enough as you were. I'm petrified, scared of letting you inside my headspace I testify, I'm obsessed with every lie you said, babe I'm terrified, I want you out You've made my mind a haunted house I'm petrified but I love the way you frighten me, babe

“Took you long enough, I always keep telling you not to hang around those losers” she spat, interrupting you. Now that Kuroo joined you, looking at the floor, not facing anyone of you, his eyebrows furrowing in pain, she completely ignored you.

You thought that she´d at least have the decency to be nice to him, since she was only with him for fame anyway, it was as clear as day now that you witnessed the way she really thought about him.

“They´re not…” he started, his voice quiet and timid, he wasn´t as lively anymore, you noticed it months ago but didn´t think much of it. After all going on stage night after night must be exhausting.

“Whatever. I´ll make this quick since I already wasted enough time on your sorry ass. It´s over, I´m so sick and tired of you, honestly, get your shit together. You´re not even fucking trying, you´re fucking pathetic” she didn´t even wait for his answer as she grabbed her purse and walked out of the bar. You are a ghost You haunt me at night And I am the host You are the virus You are a ghost You haunt me at night And I am the host You are the virus

Kuroo looked absolutely wrecked. Man, you couldn´t blame him, that wasn´t very classy of her, breaking up with him by insulting him, not even giving a real reason, not even giving him the chance to say anything, real fucking low blow.

He slowly sat down on the stool next to you and let out a sigh of relief, to which you cocked an eyebrow. He had every right to cry, to break down, to yell, to… anything. But instead he did nothing.

“I´m sorry, man. You deserve better” you said in an empathetic tone in the lack of better words.

When Kuroo looked at you, he chuckled slightly, it was weird but somehow his eyes were sparking again. They weren´t as dull anymore. It was weird.

“Yeah I do. Sorry you had to hear that, but it was about time… she kinda dragged me down, but I didn´t know how to tell her, so I just let it happen. Also, this is gonna sound stupid, but I always thought that it would get better again. That she´d love me again, but honestly, I don´t think she ever did”

[rainandhotchocolate]

Tension - Part 2

A/N Here is fun ol’ part 2! It’s a bit of a filler/ character building chapter, but I hope you still enjoy :) 

Part 2

Rain pounded on the windows of the library, a chill starting to creep into the castle as winter began. Y/N had always liked the rain, it meant that she could convince the house-elves in the kitchen to make her hot chocolates and cosy herself into the Slytherin Common Room with a blanket for the whole evening.

Thunder rumbled loudly, and Y/N couldn’t help but smile, thinking about finishing Slughorn’s essay on sleeping potions curled by one of their charmed windows. Remus knocked her shoulder, glaring at her.

“Can you please pay attention to me for one second?”

“Jeez, is someone on the edge of their cycle,” Y/N rolled her eyes exaggeratedly but Remus looked like he was about to growl at her.

“I asked you a question.”

“Yes, yes, sorry, I don’t know.”

“You should know, McGonagall said she was going to quiz us next week and I’d rather not get destroyed by the Gryffindors again, who, by the way, I literally never see in here, do they even study?”

“Ok, ok, calm down, I promise I will study before class ok?” Y/N reassured him, “And anyway, you’re ten times smarter than those twats.”

“I just wish they didn’t think they were gods gift to mankind, and with that little one following him around all the time boosting their egos…”

“Yeah I kinda feel sorry for him,” Y/N grabbed another book from the pile, “How bout I quiz you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah ok. Hit me.”

They studied for the rest of the afternoon, only heading to grab the end of dinner once Remus was satisfied. Y/N watched as Remus picked at the chunk of mashed potato he had on his plate, whilst she ate some chicken and broccoli, holding off a little for treacle tart later.

“You feeling ok?”

“Fine.”

“Oh yes, you look super fine Moon-boy.”

“Would you shut up with that,” Remus always was angrier around the full moon, but there was a little part of Y/N that enjoyed teasing him just a little. She wondered if one day she might get a smile out of him during the full moon, but so far she hadn’t quite broken through.

“Alright, well go lie down, I’ll meet you later, ok?” Remus nodded, standing up slowly, keeping his eyes down and walking out of the Great Hall.

“He’s sick again?” Y/N turned to see a Severus watching him closely as he left the hall, eyes narrowed.

“Yep.” 

She ignored his consistent stares and continued her dinner. Severus was always suspicious when Remus didn’t turn up at their dorm every month, and Y/N was sure he would figure it out before long. She doubted that their elaborate lies regarding different wizard-borne illnesses would stop him from researching further, though it was fun confusing him with the occasional charm to put Dragon pox scars on Remus’ face.

“Shove off, Snape,” Regulus pushed him sideways on the Slytherin benches and sat next to Y/N, “Getting a good feed there?”

“I’m a growing girl, Reggie.”

“You did always love those family dinners,” He winked and stole a potato of her plate.

“Oh yes, my favourite,” Y/N avoided rolling her eyes, knowing that Regulus was still in the Black’s good graces, even if he joked around about their similar family traditions. She quickly finished off her dinner and grabbed her bag, “See you around, Black.”

“Adios, Malfoy.”

He winked at her and she rolled her eyes, following Remus’s route out of the hall and towards the dungeons. It was nearly 7 pm and getting steadily darker outside, meaning that Remus would have already been escorted to the Shrieking Shack, or as he called it, his fun personal torture chamber. 

Y/N went up to the dorm and slipped into bed, waiting for the rest of the girls to come in and fall asleep before she got up/ Y/N glanced around the room to ensure the rest of the dorm was snoring loudly. She had a bag stashed underneath her bed with supplies for the evening, sneaking them out of the dorm and into the Slytherin Common Room.

She paused, waiting on the edge of the staircase, scanning the room carefully until she was sure it was clear to sneak out of the front door and out of the dungeons. She followed her way along the edge of the staircases until she reached the first-floor corridor, keeping her hands along the wall to avoid having to light up her wand and wake the portraits. 

Finally, she reached the portrait of Gregory the Smarmy. She pushed it aside and stepped through to a small hole to crawl through, leading to a small set of steps leading downwards.

They led to the side of the castle and into the gardens where she could easily sneak toward the Whomping Willow. Y/N could already hear the screams coming from inside, taking a deep breath before she stretched her back and turned into her Animagus form. It was still painful getting used to it, and she winced as she got down on all fours and stretched out her back before following the passage down and into the shack.

She waited in the entrance for a moment, keeping her breathing short and quiet to try to hide from Remus. Remus and Y/N had a deal when it came to her aiding his transformations. She had to wait a few hours until he had already transformed and eaten, basically until he was calm enough to not hurt her. 

Whilst Y/N had protested, telling him that he should have someone with him when he changed, but with there only being one of her there was no one to tag team if things got hairy.

Once Y/N could only hear Remus huffing, and the sound of him walking over the wooden floorboards, or potentially broken furniture, she crept out towards the shack, her feet padding softly on the ground, not making a sound.

She made a soft growl, warning him of her presence in advance before letting herself be seen by the huge wolf panting in the corner. It had taken over a year, and a butt-load of research, before Remus’ wolf form had allowed for Y/N to enter without a small fight. 

They had found that since Remus was technically the larger and physically stronger of the two, it would require Y/N to ‘submit’ to him, which made Y/N extremely irritated at first. But now, as long as Y/N didn’t try to pull rank, they were able to be together inside the shack and keep each other company, letting Remus exert energy by play-fighting instead of hurting himself.

Remus wore out around 3 or 4am, curling up in the corner and falling asleep, growling softly every few minutes. Y/N found a spot in the other corner to ensure he didn’t accidentally scratch her in the middle of the night and fell asleep quickly, very worn out from the evening’s activities. 

Hours later, light began to stream through the dirty windows and Y/N woke up quickly, looking over to make sure Remus had changed back and grabbed one of the blankets she’d left by his side.

He gave her a weak smile as Y/N turned back, pulling on a coat and pair of pants behind a chest of drawers before going out to join him.

“Ready to go?” Y/N held out a hand, and Remus stood up precariously, leaning on her side, shivering in his blanket. There was blood dripping out from underneath it and she silently cursed, hoping that he hadn’t cut himself too deep. 

She helped pull him out of the passageway from the shrieking shack and tapped the root of the Whomping Willow to stop thrashing around in front of them.

“So that’s how you do it” A voice gasped loudly, coming from just beyond the tree’s roots. Y/N looked around wildly, attempting to pull her wand from her rucksack and face whoever was watching them.

“Sirius, and posse. Of course,” Y/N huffed, lowering her wand as Remus leaned harder on her shoulder, the cut clearly deeper than Y/N had anticipated, “Look can we have whatever this is later? I need to get Remus to Hospital Wing ASAP.”

“Need a fun break from the full moon huh” James cocked an eyebrow, wand still raised at the two of them. Y/N narrowed her eyes at him, reaching back towards her wand.

“What is this an ambush?”

“We were just curious what mister Lupin does every month, on the full moon,” Sirius smiled uncomfortably, watching the two of them closely.

“Well it sounds like you’ve figured it out, aren’t you the smartest bean in Hogwarts. Can we not let Remus die here please?”

“He’s not going to-,“ James started, but as if on queue Remus passed out, falling fast onto the grass.

“Shit- could you guys please put away your wands and help?” Y/N glared at them and they paused, looking much less macho than they did a minute earlier.

“Yes, of course” James finally broke, elbowing Sirius. They both went down to help Y/N pick Remus up. They didn’t say another thing until they heaved him up into the castle and to the Hospital Wing to a waiting, and very confused, Madame Pomfrey.

“What on earth are all of you doing here?” Madame Pomfrey pushed them all away from Remus has they set him down on a bed, “Do you know how dangerous the grounds can be at night?”

“Yeah, in the full moon,” Sirius muttered, and Y/N kicked him in the shin.

“Ok, I need you all to leave and let this boy rest, you can visit him this afternoon,” Madame Pomfrey shuffled them out of the hospital wing quickly. The boys turned to face Y/N almost immediately, making Y/N say in exasperation for whatever they were about to say.

“What are you thinking?”

“He’s dangerous!”

“Why do either of you care?” Y/N was taken aback, expecting much more hate and less concern, “This is really not your problem.”

“He could hurt someone!” James looked bewildered.

“Why do you think he leaves the castle every month!” Y/N stepped forward, eyes flashing at the two boys, “You have no right to come harassing him like this, do you even know what he goes through? Did you ever stop to think how painful it would be to have your entire body contort into something twice your size? Stop digging your nose into things that don’t concern you.”

“We were just trying to -.”

“What? Help? Save Hogwarts from an unknown beast? You know I bet if Remus was in any other house you would have bothered to research more into his condition before you jumped to conclusions.” Y/N hissed at them, turning on her heel and storming away from the two of them, leaving them flabbergasted.

“Who knew a Malfoy could care about something other than themselves,” Sirius raised an eyebrow, watching after her curiously.

“Well not all purebloods are alike are they mate,” James elbowed Sirius grinning, “Come on stop staring at her, let's go see what Peter’s up to. Maybe he’ll help me practice catching the snitch.”

“Drool over you more like it,” Sirius cackled, following James towards the Gryffindor Common Room, but he was still thinking about the fiery look Y/N had given him moments before.

General Taglist: 

@averytruerayofsunshine @siriuslyjanhvi @blushingskywalker @blackpinkdolan @thebabblingbookworm @cherrie511 @imlukesnirvana @avengersassemblee @maraudersandco @sly-vixen-up2nogood @katbernoulli @sirius-lysad @evyiione @minerva26love @aikeia @gollyderek @greatwombatblaze  @songforhema

Tension Taglist

@laue-bb  @fk12b @slytherpuffgal  @fairtaldes @desideriaenigma @j-brielmalfoy

[annavolovodov]

ya girl saw the downton movie and has some Thoughts

if you followed me at all from 2011-2015 then you'll know i am firmly Team Downstairs and did not want this movie to happen, just so you all know what position i'm coming from here.

everything below is gonna be spoilery af. if you haven't seen it yet and want info just hmu. if you have seen it and want to talk about it please message me bc i’m always up for chatting about Downton.

okay but the title sequence with the music building and cresting as we come up over the hills and get our first shot of downton... goosebumps. tbh i don't know shit about film making but i can't fault the technical aspects (costumes, music, cinematography). the impact of the increased budget was felt from the very first second.

for the plot i’m gonna split things by character to make it easier. i’ll probably go to see it again and maybe after that i’ll have some deeper Thoughts but i missed being able to liveblog during the film so enjoy my rambling first reactions.

upstairs peeps

everything with violet was iconic. i'm glad that they didn't neglect her relationship with isobel and ofc maggie and imelda played fantastically off each other. pretty much everyone has already highlighted the scene with violet and mary at the end and it tied things up perfectly between them. violet and mary are so so similar and violet has been pushing for her to inherit since before S1. the movie showed us that mary is basically running the estate even if she doesn't get the the title and i can totally see why violet is confident in the future of downton now. that being said, i don't think violet will actually die. maggie has been talking about leaving since 2012 and fellowes obviously put this in as a get-out clause for her should she want to go, but i reckon they’ll convince her to do more. if carson's palsy can be mysteriously cured, so can violet's conveniently vague illness.

i already knew that robert and cora weren't gonna be in it much, but i wish we could've seen cora finding out what was happening with edith and helping her out. it wouldn't surprise me if there was a deleted scene there cause that whole storyline felt a little disjointed. i completely forgot that cora knew about the pregnancy and was so confused at how the queen foud out about it all. i don't think we got anything in robert and cora's bedroom, or anything with cora/baxter and robert/bates, which would've also been very welcome but i guess they can only fit in so much.

onto mary: this may be an unpopular opinion but god i miss her long hair. yeah i know it wasn't the style of the time but her wig in this one was tragic and they need to fix it. i absolutely love that t*lbot didn't exist for a solid 95% of this movie and mary got her rightful place ruling downton. i wouldn't say i’m the biggest mary fan but her arc felt like one of the more satisfying ones of the movie imo.

as someone who has been firmly #teamedith from day one i am delighted to see my girl happy and successful. literally all her outfits were A+ and not to be gay on main but those scenes of her in her nightclothes getting ready for bed gave me my rights. i’m sad that she seems like she's either given up her magazine or has less of a role in it now based on what they said outside???? she did seem unsatisfied with aspects of her position so hopefully she'll go back to doing some writing and publishing cause that was a good fit for her, and if edith and bertie are “modern” enough to travel without servants surely edith moving away from traditional grand lady duties and back to her magazine that wouldn't be an issue. 

the mention of sybil being gone seven years? yeah. thanks for the pain. tom accidentally saving the monarchy on no less than two occasions is the ultimate "congratulations you played yourself" moment but the fact he thought the army had sent someone to check up on him is the level of republican i'm trying to be on. i'm a bit ehhhh on his relationship with lucy, mainly cause i'd rather the screentime given to the newbies had went to established characters. but like sybil/tom was a wholeass epic romantic slowburn spanning several years through a war and across class divisions n shit and meanwhile lucy/tom have known each other for forty eight hours and had three conversations in a hallway so like obviously that’s just gonna pale in comparison????? like it just is???? i guess i don't hate it but it just was a bit unnecessary and the time coulda been spent on better things.

isobel didn't have all that much to do on her own but i appreciated her scenes with violet and i love that she was the one to figure out that lucy was lady whatever's daughter. penelope wilton's facial expressions during some of the exchanges with violet were great. i see lord merton has also undergone a miraculous recovery from his apparently serious anaemia but he also didn't appear much which was a big win for me!

team downstairs aka the ones i turned up to see

as a downstairs supremacist who has watched the screentime distribution in previous fifty two eps of the show, it’s fair to say i had low expectations going in. i expected a grand total of 10 minutes for the servants combined and i think that's why i was unexpectedly happy with what we got. ideally we would've ditched the subplots involving the personal lives of the royals and all the stuff w imelda staunton and her maid but oh well it could’ve been worse and i'll take any breadcrumbs i can get. anyway i'm eagerly awaiting the team downstairs cut of the film one of yall will hopefully make when the dvd comes out. the only part that was far, FAR too upstairs heavy for me was the last sequence of the film after the royals left and i think we would've benefitted from rounding things off with team downstairs after the ball.

so i guess retirement magically cured the palsy carson had, but i guess after matthew’s miraculous recovery anything can happen at downton when it comes to health. Fellowes is getting a free pass for retconning this one cause i cba with more death/loss. mary going to carson for help and him immediately coming to her aid was very sweet. kinda wish we'd find out what he was up to post-Downton (except for his gardening) tho.

i was expected zero carson/hughes content in this movie and yet !!!! and yet!!!!!! we were somewhat well-fed. like carson (incorrectly) thinking he can control the other servants and mrs hughes' "oh that went well charlie, start as you mean to go on" hdjksjs i love them. and the lil scene in their cottage ugh. also we got more of them using their first names and yeah i guess that makes sense given they've been married for a while now but as i said, i had low expectations.

mrs hughes is still like the best person ever but wbk. her vs. the royal housekeeper = iconic. i kinda felt bad for royal whatsherface in some ways because she clearly didn't know who she was up against THE elsie hughes who has vanquished much scarier foes in her time. the other servants were never gonna win that battle.

the 0.5 seconds of baby bates *chef's kiss* perfection. god i am slightly bitter it was only 0.5 seconds given the fuckin multiseason journey leading up to his birth. tbh we should've ditched everything involving the personal lives of the rando new characters and let baby bates have some of that time but fellowes loves upstairs too much to let that happen. the small interaction was adorable though and i'm glad the mention of his name was subtle enough that we can retcon it cause i truly believe anna and bates would've came up with a more creative choice than that. genuinely i'm so curious about their whole living situation and how they cope with a smol child while working full time but i doubt fellowes even considered that so y’know. what can we do. i enjoyed the breadcrumbs but i wanted more.

i did go into this film with the mindset of "something awful will probably happen to anna or bates," cause that's what usually happens in these things but plot twist!!!! we saw them smile on multiple occassions!!!! what a nice change for us all! i swear every time anna bates smiles an angel gains their wings. her scenes with mary were good and i'm happy their friendship made it into the film. you know what else i was happy to see? the EXTREMELY UNDERRATED brotp between anna and baxter. there was a couple of moments with them standing next to each other or talking to each other and it warmed my heart. like yass two of my fave people are friends. it's a big win for me. 

i'm sure i read something about brendan being involved in another project which meant he couldn't film too much (i'm curious to whether this impacted the lack of baby bates scenes?) and while it's true that bates didn't have a ton of scenes, i didn't feel like he was absent which was good.

thomas had the best storyline imo. i don't blame him for being angry that mary brought in carson and it was actually very iconic of him to go off in the library like that. i found it hilarious that while everyone else was panicking at downton he went off on gay adventures. i really wish we'd gotten this "thomas makes a gay friend then discovers the village's underground gay scene THEN gets a boyfriend" in the show cause that would've been SO MUCH BETTER than some of the other stuff that got stretched out across the last couple series (like the love quadrangle with daisy/ivy/alfred/jimmy). like, imagine thomas’ movie plot as a series-long arc. the impact. i liked the guy that was his maybe-boyfriend and i hope any continuation keeps that relationship going.

mrs p and daisy continue to be the mother-daughter duo of the century. i thought both of them were supposed to be moving to the farm post-S6 but i suppose that would've meant they wouldn't be in the film hence why it didn't come to fruition. i guess they could all move once daisy and andy get married. mrs patmore didn't get a great deal to do but i still feel like i saw her a fair amount. comrade daisy was awesome and is definitely me when i see any monarchy-related stuff. somewhere over the last few seasons she's developed into one of the most interesting characters in downton and we don't talk about that enough. andy trashing the boiler was immature af but at the same time i feel like it completely makes sense for daisy to take that as a compliment. it’s just such a daisy thing to do?????

now, there is one thing i kinda fucked up here. while i went into the film with low expectations for everyone else, i fully expected baxley to be A Thing because how could i not and boy did i come out looking like boo boo the fool. i guess baxter and molesley have continued the tradition of Agonisingly Long Downstairs Slowburns which would be okay if we were still getting one season per year but is quite frankly rude when we're on rationed content like this. the first half of the film i thought it was gonna be revealed that they were together or something but then that scene at the end implied they're dancing around each other and my god is it frustrating. i would give so much to trade tom and lucy's romantic subplot for a baxter/molesley one but once again i know that's an unrealistic dream.

definitely not enough baxter in general but that one shot of her, anna and mrs hughes standing in the same frame was worth the price of my cinema ticket. still love molesley even tho he's a monarchist.

in terms of the overall downstairs stuff, i'm euphoric at seeing all these people interact with each other again. as we all know, found family is the best trope and since the servants are literally the epitome of that every moment focussed on them is like chicken soup for my weary soul. was the revolution against the royal servants realistic? no. was it realistic for the two people who came up with most of the plot to be the ones who went to jail for doing literally nothing wrong and would therefore want to avoid stuff that could get them in trouble with an all-powerful family? also no! however, seeing downstairs all working together for a common goal is content that appeals directly to me and i am thankful.

shoutout to the last scene which is the best way the movie could've ended it for me. use of first names AND walking home together? thank u fellowes.

tldr; team downstairs fan who was strongly anti-movie, went in with low expectations, was pleasantly surprised.  there are a shit ton of things i’d change but i just really loved seeing these characters who all mean so much to me again. obviously the only reason this film happened was for financial reasons rather than a desire to continue the storyline (cause the finale tied things up perfectly imo) but i wish they'd done a two-part miniseries instead to ensure everyone gets some screentime. two ninety minute specials every few years would work much better if everyone wants to keep downton going but i guess that doesn't bring the cash in like a movie does.

[mel0nbr3ad]

Bite Through the Cartilage 

SUMMARY: An asylum for the criminally insane experiences a riot and Bed, one of the patients, tries his best to break out in one piece. But with other patients holding grudges against him and giving chase, he might not even get out alive. (Very loosely inspired by Outlast.)

                                                     PART I: [BITE]

He didn’t remember his life before this. Didn’t even remember if he had a family, or a house out there. Wasn’t even sure of his own age. Because as far back as he could remember, he had been in this asylum for the ‘criminally insane’.

Kicking and screaming couldn’t even begin to express how much he hated this place. And scratching and biting the guards and doctors hardly quelled his fury over being confined in this shithole. Because he knew that he didn’t belong in here but out there, where the skies were blue and the grass was greener. There wasn’t even any grass here in the yard! Just broken concrete! What was even up with that?! There was just one big dead tree!

He had bitten so many guards and doctors that they never tried to get him to take his meds alone. And even when being held down and forced, he always made sure to draw as much blood from them as possible right before the sedatives kicked in.

The ‘meds’ seemed nothing more than drugs to keep patients compliant and quell their violent tendencies, but Bed puked up the little pills when no one was looking. And sometimes he even got away with not being given them at all, as some guards didn’t want to go near him. Or there was corrupt guards like Chief, who cared more to chat with patients than to do much else. Hell, Bed was sure he had seen Chief passing smuggled items to other patients more than once.

But there were of course the bad kind of corrupt guards. Like one that had really had it out for Bed, and had actually chucked him in solitary confinement with a particularly violent patient with red hair. And though the patient had been safely tied up in a straitjacket, Bed had sat in the opposite corner, unable to sleep while the guy’s cold eyes had been on him, piercing into his soul. And they hadn’t even said a word to each other during the agonisingly long hours they had spent together.

There wasn’t really any patients that Bed got along with. It was hard to make friends when he was constantly trying to tear the guards to pieces and threatening the doctors with more than a few colourful words. And then losing track of the days, weeks, and months until he no longer knew how long he had been in this asylum. For all he knew, it could have only been a month.

He didn’t understand how patients like Criken could just be so compliant, and follow the rules without losing his shit. And could keep on a friendly smile and casually talk to the guards as if they were old friends, and not the ones keeping everyone locked up like prisoners. Something about Criken’s positive attitude made Bed wary of him, so he stayed the hell away from Criken as best he could.

Buck was an interesting patient, as while he was loud and sounded intimidating from afar, when you saw his face that fierce image broke. He was almost as compliant as Criken, though he was prone to so many loud outbursts that not all the guards were fond of him, and some patients even feared him. But he didn’t seem to be that bad of a guy.

There was also Zuthar who was timid when caught alone, but would switch his tune when backed up by his various ‘goons’. And weirdly enough he did have many goons, but as menacing as they could be they could be just as stupid (literally his own description of them). And that stupidity had led to many guards, and them, getting injured. Still, watching the riots that the group would incite was fun to watch from afar, as short-lived as they were.

And of course how could anyone forget Lawlman? For some reason, he seemed to have gathered a large following who would all go on and on about him as if he were the air they breathed. Honestly they were kind of creepy with their obsession, not that Lawlman had an issue with all the attention, as they always guarded him from harm.

Supposedly, a prisoner named Zyke had once escaped the asylum by jumping (or falling) from a window but this was just some rumour. To this day, patients scoured the asylum looking for the fabled window he had escaped out of, though it was likely repaired and locked by now.

Bed had definitely tried looking for the said window, between his escape attempts. Because despite being a ‘patient’ this place seemed more prison-like to the point that Bed wasn’t even sure if anyone was actually being cured of their mental illnesses, if they even had any at all. Because it seemed like rather than anyone getting better, instead they just got worse. And Bed was very sure that whoever he was before, had been sane. And now? Well, it wasn’t surprising that he was less so. But he wasn’t all the way insane—not yet.

Today it seemed like the guards were more on edge, and everyone’s meds and appointments with the doctors had been put on hold. And, as so many patients were addicted to all the drugs, more fights were breaking out than usual. And Bed, who had managed to already go a whole week faking taking the pills, was feeling more coherent than ever. His movements were faster, and he was able to think clearly and be more aware of his surroundings.

By the afternoon, Bed had witnessed three different guards be attacked by patients, with one having been stabbed in the neck with a plastic fork. So, unfortunately, all patients were to be put in lockdown and locked up in their cells. And as everyone walked to their cell-blocks, that’s when the power cut out suddenly.

“The fated day has arrived, brothers! Attack! ATTACK!” Lawlman yelled in the dark, and when the lights flickered back on almost instantaneously the guards were frenzied with mobs of patients.

When the guards were all down, the patients began attacking each other, maddened on their highs for blood-lust, and enjoying the drastic change from their boring lives as prisoners. And Bed watched from a corner as patients choked each other, poked eyes out, and bit so hard into each other that they tore out chunks of flesh.

Woah, he thought. What kinda therapy or drugs have these guys been on?

Due to his violent tendencies, Bed often got out of going to therapy as he was put in solitary confinement so much. And he was so glad he did. He knew that it wasn’t just the ‘meds’ that could make patients go crazy. And he had heard whispers of something bigger going on. Of rumoured ‘human experiments’.

Bed dodged through the mob, using his size and speed to his advantage, narrowly avoiding fists and feet. And he made it to where there was less fighting, where Criken was talking to a barely conscious guard in a friendly tone.

“If you give me the keys, then I swear I’ll get us both out of here,” Criken said to the guard, his body language and expression seeming so genuine that Bed couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable, watching the exchange. “I don’t want to die here, and neither do you. I bet you have a nice family back home, and no job is worth risking your life. So what do you say, pal?”

The guard nodded as he trembled and gripped a ring of keys in his hand, and slowly extended it to place it in Criken’s outstretched hand—only for Bed to have swiped them.

Criken turned to Bed, gobsmacked, and looked even more shocked seeing who he was. “Bed? Why would you…”

Bed backed away and quickly spotted the way out, but it was across the cell-block and he had to go back through the rioting patients. And it didn’t look like they were going to calm down any time soon.

“Bed, give them back, please.”

Bed shook his head. “Or what?! You’ll kill me?!”

Criken slowly walked over and for each step forward, Bed took a step back. “Of course not. We’re friends, aren’t we? We can all escape together. Isn’t that what you want?” he said, with such a sickly calm tone, as if Bed were a frightened animal—like a frightened piece of prey to be hunted.

“Friends?! Are you kidding me?! I don’t even know you!” And with that, Bed bolted away.

“BED!”

But Bed ignored the outcry, and continued on towards his destination. And he managed to get through the mob alive to the locked door. As quick as he could, he unlocked it, and winced when it creaked loudly, and was well aware that patients close by had been alerted to the noise.

He didn’t bother wasting time locking the door behind himself, and slipped the ring of keys onto his thin wrist as he ran. And as he ran through the solitary confinement cell-block, he started unlocking doors left and right, but pushed none open. All to cause more chaos, because he knew that more guards would be on the scene. He hoped that these patients were thinking clearly enough to be able to punch a few guards out, rather than be useless and sit around drooling.

The last cell door he unlocked was pushed open by its occupant immediately, who made Bed’s blood run cold at seeing the red hair, and the lack of a straitjacket. And just like the last time they had met, the guy said nothing and merely glared at Bed with malicious intent. If Bed had been feeling less on edge, then he would have joked about the guy’s expression being merely ‘grumpy, having probably just awoken from a nap after being oh so rudely disturbed by all the noise.’

Bed ran, again, not sticking around for a staring match, knowing he was too on edge to try to win (and didn’t want to risk being attacked by the guy). And like he had predicted, guards had indeed entered with nightsticks, beating patients, but seemed to be losing, the patients using their weapons for themselves.

And when Bed risked looking behind, he noticed with dread that the guy was definitely following after him, elbowing guards and patients out of the way, not letting anything stop him. And Bed supposed there was a reason why the guy seemed to be permanently in solitary confinement. It seemed like it was the only thing that could contain his raw fury.

Bed, like his life depended on it (which it did), ran like hell, barely avoiding obstacles, and almost slipping more than once, only able to maintain his balance due to his reflexes. And it didn’t help that there were so many bodies on the ground, unconscious and otherwise, and slippery puddles of blood. Like how rude was it to just splatter blood all over the floor? He couldn’t help but tut at the mess.

After going through a few more doors, he managed to make it to the backyard and when he looked behind himself, no one was there. He could hear distant screaming but his tail had gone. So for now, he was safe. Or as safe as one could be during a riot and murder-spree. So he pushed the ring of keys higher up on his arm, and slid his sleeve over them.

Small snowflakes were drifting down from the sky, and Bed already missed the inside heating. Because if there was one thing he could appreciate about this shithole, it was that. While there was still daylight, the temperate wasn’t too bad outside, but night was fast approaching and long.

In the yard, oddly enough, was Chief, Zuthar, and his gang of goons. And the goons, for whatever reason, were all stuck in the lone dead tree like cats, huddled together and calling down to the duo.

“Tim, I told you to go up there and get them all down,” Zuthar said, bewildered. “Not get stuck too! You’re meant to be the competent and brave one!”

“Since when? And hell, it was fucking Tom that suggested we try and climb this stupid tree. Blame him.”

“Yeah, fuck Tom!” Chief agreed, not at all helping the situation despite being a guard. And he seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.

“Fuck me? Fuck you!”

“Hey! Get down here and say that to my face!”

“No, fuck you, pig!”

“Don’t make me come up there!”

Bed approached, as he had to pass through the yard anyway to get to the next door. So he had no choice but to interact with them, though he wasn’t sure why the fuck they were out here, when barely an hour ago everyone had been meant to head to their cells. But he supposed that Chief had slacked on the job and hadn’t taken the lockdown seriously.

“Hey, Bed,” Chief said casually, as if he hadn’t just threatened another patient with brutality.

“Hey.”

Zuthar, less comfortable with Bed’s presence than Chief was (probably due to the fact that he had witnessed Bed stabbing another patient in the eye in the cafeteria one time), edged back a little. He edged towards the tree, probably considering climbing up and being with his goons. But Zuthar’s meekness definitely hid a scarily efficient leader (when he could wrangle everyone to focus on one objective, and not on bullying each other).

“What the fuck is even going on in there?” Chief asked, pointing to where the riot was happening. “Are they holding a party or something? I turned off my radio because it was giving me a headache.”

Oh, well, that does explain a lot. And doesn’t surprise me. “Kind of, but it’s a boring party with a lot of speeches.”

“Boooring,” agreed Chief. “…Why are you covered in blood, though?”

Bed looked at his uniform, which indeed was splattered with droplets of blood. And his hair and face were probably less than pretty. “Got into a fight with another patient. I won, of course.”

Rather than be concerned, Chief merely laughed. Often Bed wondered if the guy had a criminal history, as it was hard to shock him about this sort of stuff, and he stuck around with Zuthar and his boys way too much. As if they had all known each other on the outside.

“Yeah, fuck those other patients up! Less patients means less of you fuckers to keep track of. And hey, if I didn’t see it then there’s no need to report it. Not my pay-grade!”

Chief was one of the few guards that Bed had never attacked. “Haha, yeah… Never change, Chief, never change.”

He went on ahead, walking, not wanting to seem suspicious. And as he went through the next door, he never once stopped or hesitated from warning them of the truth.

If there was one thing Bed knew, it was to not trust anybody, especially those that seemed genuinely nice and friendly. He was going to escape out of this shithole alone one way or another, and not a soul was going to stop him.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

merkleymrack replied to your post “kinda a funny shtick of mine that i’m aro and have such strong takes...”

(1)i agree with u 100%, i think love is hyped up so much, partially because people looove the narrative that love can save you in some way. whether that's saving you from evil, from your shitty environment, from mental illness, from sadness, or from yourself. and that is basically bullshit. "love" as a mystical force and chemical attraction between 2 people doesn't and can't do any of that. real relationships forged over time, based on trust and compromise and a fundamen-

2) tally optimistic outlook on life can help you deal with life, but that's not as snappy. and i think this ties in nicely with what you pointed out about love being perceived as isolating (in a positive way almost) by lots of people: it is because they are co-dependent and attracted to this toxic relationship because it feeds the narrative that "love" is all they need to be happy or to be saved. thats my hot take of the day

talk series criticizing Romahnce, every thursday at 6

for real though let me accuse capitalism some more for Not Great Ideas About Romantic Love b/c like!! that’s basically all you’re allowed to look for in terms of reliable companionship and Any kind of close relationship from your peers. b/c the Nuclear Family is the imposed social unit of choice b/c extended families don’t allow for enough isolation / cut-off support networks......you Outgrow the nuclear family you were born into, and then you’d better find your romantic partner asap to start the next generation nuclear family, because you’re not gonna get other support / community anywhere else, better enjoy having friends before everyone righteously pairs off and sees each other way less, because it’s Totally Fine to have all of your time -> energy -> identity -> existence consumed by just your roles as Parent and Spouse

not to mention like, whenever people of any relationship status are super overworked and like, especially with having unreliable / inconsistent schedules that don’t line up and needing to work a thousand hours a week to scrape by, people have less time to spend with each other and to foster those connections when they’re like always At Work or exhausted and recovering from work or, when they Do have some free time, it doesn’t like up with the free time of their friends’..........like hmm too bad there’s not One Person who is super devoted to Just You and can always make time and prioritize You, Alone.......

Life Under Capitalism is dehumanizing and alienates everyone from each other and doesn’t value life and commodifies anything that people might find adds Value To Their Life and like, our grievances and suffering is just Personal Problems that need to be fixed through our Personal Choices, b/c community is strangled off, isolation is pushed, and you need to Have Money or Die, and there’s the idea that the Way Things Are is flawed but ultimately okay and works out for good people............and it all brings it around to like, the idea that actually Finding Romance is *all* that life is about and is the one route to happiness. like, this concept is just casually trotted out in whatever media as blatantly as that, that “what’s even the point of being alive if you don’t find that Special Someone” and everyone just kinda goes “huh, yeah, that’s true...” like, it’s just Fine to accept that life is a hellscape and you’d want to die if it wasn’t for this one nice magical thing (your true love(tm))......like, maybe there’s a problem with that? we shouldn’t all just accept that life is unbearable but romance is the sole cure? and it’s not even really Anti-Capitalist when a holiday movie / any romcom is all like “this career person thinks that Love is for suckers and only making money is good, but then eventually their romantic interest shows them otherwise and they realize that said romance / a dash of Family is actually what Really matters” b/c it’s just like.......hey don’t be upset that you can’t actually Get Ahead under capitalism!! the people who are making more money than you are unhappy, i promise! it’s fine that you aren’t really succeeding Financially, b/c you have Love, so be happy with that and don’t think that there’s any systemic issue here.

anyways and like yeah of course it does probably seem to people like Romance is the only thing that can improve [insert any bad situation about their lives] because what even else is offered to people, seemingly, right......it’s like, first of all i hope you have a good relationship with your Nuclear Family, b/c they’re the only ones who will be Unconditionally There For You......but even if you do, it’s not like those people can be Everything in your life........and re: friends it’s like, well, i hope you’ve made super lasting friendships in high school and/or college, cuz after you enter The Working World good luck making new friendships!!! even if you do you’ll drift apart b/c nobody has time to nurture the relationship!!!! meanwhile of course everyone should be looking for romance, and hey, that will transform your life and enable you to endure all the other miserable everyday shit you go through, b/c the one person who matters cares about you. and they’d better b/c that’s the only really strong mutually supportive “unconditional” relationship you’re guaranteed! clearly!!!

like of course positive relationships of any kind tend to Improve Someone’s Life......of course isolation makes everything worse for anyone......it’s not like a good romantic relationship SHOULDN’T improve stuff for people, but like, no way should it be the case that romance is the ONE THING available and it better fix fuckin Everything or else you’re on your own when it comes to dealing with those problems that Aren’t improved and if you can’t deal with it on your own you’re fucked, cuz it’s romance or nothing!!!! it would be totally convenient to like, be deeply in love asap and have that make everything amazing and hopefully it’s ur life partner so that you don’t have to worry about Struggling On Your Own like..........a romantic relationship is really all that looks to be on the table according to the Life Narrative that’s pushed really hard. and defining that romance as “this person will always be there for you for Anything and you’ll always be there for them and you’ll always be happy as long as you’re With Each Other” is really Something when life under capitalism guarantees no happiness nor for anyone to be there for you or care about you or help you otherwise

like yeah Friends are nice but they’re kind of sold as the nice optional bonus, or like, they’re there for you but you don’t have to be there for them, low maintenance ideally, and if they drift away when you don’t spend time on them or support them then that’s fine as long as you’ve got that romantic partner b/c that’s how romance is so often defined, as being More than any other relationship, like, hey i don’t Need anything else, i don’t Need anyone else, it’s fine if i only have you, for some reason we gotta view relationships as Tiered and know which one’s you’d consider disposable if you put them all through a winner-take-all tournament bracket.......brilliant approach which is totally fine if the agenda is “give people One Good Relationship with One person which must fulfill their existence and fix everything lacking” like ok

i mean there it alll comes back around to going “augh jesus christ” at Isolation packaged as romance where it’s like “[as long as Romance] it’s fine if i die, it’s fine if i don’t have anyone or anything else, it’s fine if we never engage with the world or talk to anyone else again”.......like fuck!!!! this is horrible!!!!!! god!!!!!! Isolation is Bad gang!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and abuse overlaps sooooo hard with isolation, and you’ve got that deliberately isolating tactic that abusive partners pull that like, you can’t spend time with family and friends, it’s me vs. them, and you should always be prioritizing More Time With Me and be perfectly happy with *Only* our relationship or you don’t *really* love me..........but then this same sort of Concept will be just be touted as Ideal Romance as long as both people are cool with it lol!!! like, i don’t even Want to be around or think about anyone else, this one person is my whole Life And World, other loved ones who????? it’s Just Us now and hopefully forever, #sweet

like it’s pretty Effed Up that people have to feel like there’s only one way to expect someone to ever be at all devoted to them or really care about / understand / support them and that’s through having a Current Great Romantic Relationship, which must and should be *everything*..........like, everything i think abt “this idea about romance seems awful” is about like........romance shouldn’t be this way for even people who currently have that kind of relationship, and it should Always Be Fine to be single, even if you want / hope for a romantic relationship.........i’m keenly aware that snagging a Romantic Relationship seems like the only way to have someone committed to being On Your Side and paying attention to your existence every day. but really of course that shouldn’t be the case......and when a romance IS had, why is it worse to have a grounded view of it like, when people compare it moreso to friendships rather than to being some kind of magical bond which effortlessly yields Everything You Need In Life, so now you don’t have to care about anything or anybody else

sounds mean or Cold or whatever to be like well the way i see it is that “romance is unnecessary” but i mean, first off it is, you don’t Need it and some people don’t want it. but imo it’s not Bad to see it as just like, a sick bonus, a really awesome thing if you want it and it happens, but like, of course life isn’t Worthless or Ruined if someone who Wants a partner is single / becomes single. like, ideally Being Single regardless of whether you want that to be permanent or not should actually be enough on its own for anyone to be happy!! nobody should Need to have a partner to be happy / feel like their life is okay the way it is. like, is it not actually more ~romantic~ or whatever to feel like okay, i would be fine and happy with being single, but i would rather be with this other person because i Want to be, but i don’t Need this relationship to be okay. vs. the whole like i *need* this relationship type “that’s the puppetmaster who cursed my dick” approach where it’s like, god believe me this isn’t my idea but i MUST be with you, i’m miserable without you so i basically have no choice, this is like, the universe holding me at gunpoint. why not have choosing to be with someone just like “yeah i prefer this to Not being with you and i think it improves my life overall” without anyone having to feel like it’s their only option for happiness

anyways i really can’t imagine the concept of like, a Romance just absolutely cutting down all these other aspects of your life b/c you don’t care about / Need that shit anymore being an at-all pleasant or appealing concept versus like, it just being its own positive relationship that enhances everything and Doesn’t become your sole source for so much shit like validation and commitment and intimacy and support / help and companionship and etc etc etc etc etc etc

i’m sure this isn’t the only tangent i forgot to throw in somewhere else but everyone knows my “'teen angst’ is largely comprised of anticapitalist sentiment in the face of the hellscape and cognitive dissonance of adult life under capitalism and YA media deals with this and the struggle to find genuine connection and value in everyday existence" takes, well, it’s kinda wild how it’s basically a requirement for any YA work to have a thread of Romance running central to the whole thing. not like that doesn’t happen in other Genres, and not like some works don’t lean into that way harder than others, and not like every main char Ends Up with the/a love interest at the end, but it’s like, jeez. imo supports my idea that romance is Supposed to be *the* panacea for the ailments of capitalism

[kvltprince]

I was tagged by the lovely @leporidaefluff (Thank you! it was the push i needed to get started on this instead of just going oh~ neat~!)

Rules:

1. Choose an OC.

2. Answer them as that OC.

3. Tag 5 people to do the same. Sorry if anyone has already been tagged, no obligation. @ heathie on whatever acct cos im a dumbass an i miss your bois(you miss em too), @randomwordsandstormydays, @randomfuzzbunny, @jornaquinn @chrysocolladawn ( @somewhere-withoutyou if you would...) and anyone else who would enjoy doing this. (if i get tagged again ill do anther oc. i would tag a few others but i feel weird tagging ppl i dont like ever talk to lol.)

What is your name?

"Lucy Grandchester, yeah that one.” 

How old are you?

“Fourty-five unless you are getting nitpicky about cryostasis. That doesn’t count unless I am joking with a ghoul, honestly.”

What do you look like?

He lets out a small half chuckle, "Oh, we are doing this okay. I’ll bite. Slightly short middle aged punk, long greying curly hair, undercut, with one leg and too many tattoos?”

Where are you from? Where do you live now?

Lucy uncomfortably takes down his hair and redoes his messy bun while sighing and becoming a bit short. “I’m from just the other side of that irradiated water near that gas station south of here. Name kinda gives it away. You have seen it? I honestly am not sure how it’s standing still between the bombs and everything else. It’s looked after now, and is a surprise asset to still have. I lived in Boston for a while after all that, and back in this area once Nuka World was opened, then back in the Boston area, and would you look at that I am back in Nuka World and it is a lot more comfortable now.”

What was your childhood like?

"...Unstable, for everyone. It got a bit better once my parents were dead... are we done with this line of questions? Or am I excusing you?”

What groups are you friendly with? Are you allied with any factions?

“Well, I started out trying to play nicely vaguely with anyone that didn’t try to shoot me first. That.... hasn’t stayed how it is. At least not fully, though i generally play nice until I am given a reason not to. I am friendly with the Disciples, the Operators, several of the Children of Atom groups that haven't irradiated their sense out of their heads yet, the Railroad.”

Tell me about your best friend.

He finally visibly relaxes the rest of the way after that history business, and takes a drink of a quantum. “Oh only one best friend? Are we in high school again? aw Alright. We have some parallel histories.” He swirls the glowing drink, but doesn't let himself get lost in his head too far. “Great humor, puts up with my shit somehow, doesn't blow my sneaking. Laugh that could take on the world even though they probably wouldn't. No I am not spoiling who I decided on. A man has to have some secrets somewhere and mine are in short supply”

Do you have a family? Tell me about them!

“My son Shaun never ceases to surprise me with what he can come up with, and how well adjusted he is. Codsworth is still helping out with the household, and helping keep Shaun from disassembling live turrets while I am away, though now he is living here at Fizztop with us. Surprisingly it seems to be an alright setup, and Shaun has taught a few people some upgrades in their downtime. There is enough room to keep things comfortable, and I have done some park remodeling since I arrived. My closest companions that don’t hate my choices I have made I consider family, but that has become a smaller circle than before.”

What about a partner or partners?

“Gage of course, he is my husband for whatever it is worth in the wasteland. Otherwise I suppose that depends how you are defining that. I am an affectionate person and some people seem to have rather strict definitions of where the edge of friend and partner should be”

Who are your enemies, and why?

“Several people aren’t speaking to me very well at best after I have settled into the Overboss seat here, on a personal level. The Pack were wiped out. The Brotherhood were wiped out. The Institute were wiped out. The minutemen are pretty pissed understandably. The Gunners still show up in vertibirds sometimes and are still pretty fun target practice. My settlements are generally comfortable, and my outposts mostly only have problems with gunners or trappers. Minor annoyances.”

Have you ever heard of The Brotherhood of Steel? What do you think about them?

“Yeah, of course. I think they got too headstrong for their flightsuits. I mean I understand but you really can’t do that shit and expect no repercussions. It was quite a firework show honestly, I wonder how far away the heat was felt..”

What about The Enclave?

"I don’t know much about them, only one of their ex-soldiers, he didn’t exactly tell me much. Cute, a bit odd. Not sure if it is the radiation that did that or not.”

How do you feel about Super Mutants?

He has a flash of a pensive thought drift across his face “There’s a few that aren’t so bad. Obviously the FEV isn’t mass-curable though, so not exactly much of a choice what to do about them unless you like getting a rocket launcher or a nuke in your face.”

What’s the craziest fight you’ve ever been in?

“Proobably~ around Bunker Hill, It was just, A Lot. That whole time was not just the specific fight. I don’t remember a lot of it, I’m pretty sure Gage half dragged me home after the main running around and meetings after the fight. I don’t think I had a full thought for a while.”

Have you ever fought a Deathclaw?

He thumb points to a sniper rifle leaning against the wall “Yeah, too often, thankfully usually I see them first, and I’ve gotten the sneaking thing down. They make pretty good steaks.”

Do you like fighting?

“Sometimes, honestly. Something tired and overstated about old habits or something boring. Really though, it is exciting and keeps the boredom away. Playfighting and sparring will do, no need to draw blood. I guess. Good to keep knife and sneaking skills sharp however you can.”

What’s your weapon of choice?

“A modded real sharp Throatslicer she called it, I swear Nisha found this thing in the loading dock or something it is the nicest box-cutter I have ever owned. Opens up anything.”

How do you survive? Your wits, your charm, your skills, brute force, some combination? (a.k.a. what’s your S.P.E.C.I.A.L?)

“Outlive everything around me usually by not being seen, notice it first, shoot it faster, stab it more, talk my way out of it, or by luck. I have zero real idea, but I can eat nearly anything and I bet that helps too.”

Have you ever been in a vault? What do you think about them?

"Of course, there are a bunch, and I was ushered into 111 to turn my life upside down. They seem to only be any good for salvage, horror stories, clean water sometimes, and if you are real lucky a trade post and a shave. I have a settlement vault that is doing well that I have taken over and built up, but that is not Vault-Tec related, obviously.”

How do you beat all the radiation around here? Has it affected you?

“I have a few recipes that are good for radiation, though it doesn't affect me very badly overall and I am slow to feel any sickness. I suspect that one day I will turn into a ghoul.” He is rather matter of fact and unbothered by this, and hints that he knows that not getting sick much from radiation means just that.

What’s your favorite wasteland critter?

“Probably the stags and gazelles and other herd animals. They are overall unchanged other than most have two heads now, they are still nice to watch”

What’s your least favorite wasteland critter?

“Honestly? radscorpions? Those fuckers are too quick and you cant shoot them cos they tunnel and they knock you on your ass and poison you and just UGH”

How do you feel about robots?

"Robots are alright if they are not causing trouble. Some of them are nice. Jezebel is not so nice, but she is guarding red rocket and bitching the entire time so shes no longer my problem. The Rust Devil’s robots are a pain in my ass for real.”

How many caps do you have on you right now?

"Plenty.”

Nuka Cola or Sunset Sarsaparilla?

He cocks his head slightly “I havent heard that one in a while. Depends on the flavor of Nuka Cola, I do like Sunset Sarsaparilla though, if you have any.”

Do you do chems?

"Not recreationally anymore. No, not because of him.” He nods toward Gage “It just, gets out of hand”

Do you ever think about the Pre-War world?

"Not as often as you would expect, I mean obviously there is the ‘oh i remember when that wasn't destroyed’ of things, but things are more comfortable than I thought they could be”

What’s your deepest regret? What would you do differently?

His eyes narrow slightly “I don’t really do regret. Things were done the way they were because it was the choice at the time. A choice now for an old situation isn’t helpful to living my current life or my old life. I am not living then, I am living now.” 

What’s your biggest achievement? Or what do you hope to achieve?

“Surviving all of this, and myself. Creating this strange semi-stability in this post apocalyptic place.”

What do you want for the future? For yourself? Your friends? The world?

“Keep me and mine safe, happy as we can be, and I hope that my found-family never fully stops growing. Curious what the future holds for my raiders and friends, there is so much potential, it could be risky but it is there. For once it is a good solid place to be, and it’s mine.” Lucy polishes off his questionable as hell drink with a smile.

[whumphoarder]

Festive Misfortune

Summary: Being lactose intolerant sucks. Being lactose intolerant during the Christmas season sucks even more.

Or, Tony tries to give his kid a carefree holiday party for once by serving a completely dairy-free menu. But of course, Parker Luck™ strikes again.

(In the same universe as Spider-Man’s Very Mundane Kryptonite and Face God and Walk Backwards Into Hell, but you can read them in any order)

Word count: 1,953

Genre: Fluffy illness, sickfic, Christmas theme

Link to read on Ao3

“So, you’re saying I can eat everything here?” Peter asked in amazement, eyes scanning the overflowing buffet table at the Avengers team Christmas dinner. “Including the lasagna?”

Tony nodded. “Every single dish. I catered the entire event from a restaurant specifically specializing in allergen-free dishes. Despite how it may look, there’s not a drop of dairy in sight.”

“So”—Peter moved over to the dessert section of the table—”the cannolis? The tiramisu?” He looked up at his mentor, near giddy with delight. “Even the cheesecake?!”

Tony chuckled. “For once, knock yourself out, kid.”

For just a second, Peter looked like he might cry. He settled for pulling Tony into a bone-crushing hug. “Mr. Stark, this is the best Christmas ever,” he said sincerely.

X

As expected, dinner was a rousing affair. The team joked and laughed as they ate, sharing anecdotes and recounting past missions with each other. With the exception of maybe two dishes that had weird textures, the catered dairy-free food was all surprisingly good. Peter tried a little of everything, gushing his thanks to his mentor the entire time to the point that Tony felt a little bad for not having done this before. Everyone agreed the crème brûlée topped tofu-cheesecake was the star of the show; Tony watched fondly as the kid polished off his third slice.

Once dinner was finished, the team moved into the common area living room to decide on a movie to watch. Or attempt to decide on a movie anyway.

“White Christmas,” Bruce said. “Hands down, best Christmas film of all time.”

“You can’t be serious,” Clint balked at him. He made eye contact with Tony. “Home Alone. That kid is a tactical mastermind.”

“I vote Die Hard,” Natasha said.

“That’s not a real Christmas movie,” Wanda complained. “I want to see Charlie Brown in English. I’ve only ever seen it dubbed in Sokovian.”

“Nah man, you gotta do the Grinch,” Sam said, walking in with a massive bowl of steaming popcorn.

Nat wrinkled up her nose. “Which version? Classic or Jim Carrey?” she asked as she snagged a handful of popcorn.

Sam shot her an offended look. “Jim Carrey is a classic.”

Steve was sulking in an armchair at the other end of the room. “I still vote Babes in Toyland,” he grumbled.

“Okay one, that definitely sounds like a porno,” Tony scoffed at him, “and two, that’s just because it’s the only one old enough for you to remember.”

“Hey,” Steve shot back, “I have the right to nostalgia just as much as the rest of you.”

“What about It’s a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street?” Bruce suggested. “Those have gotta be from your era, right?” He glanced up at the ceiling for confirmation.

“It’s a Wonderful Life, directed by Frank Capra, was released in 1946,” FRIDAY informed. “Miracle on 34th Street, directed by Les Mayfield, was released in 1947.”

Steve sighed and shook his head. “I was frozen in ‘45.”

“Ah.” Bruce winced. “Sorry.”

“Okay, I say we let the kid pick,” Tony declared over the chatter. “What do you say, Pete?” he asked, turning towards the unusually quiet teenager at the other end of the sofa.

Peter seemed caught off guard. “Oh. Um, I dunno…” He shrugged and shifted position, pulling his legs up and tucking his knees to the side. “I’m good with whatever.”

“C’mon, you gotta have some preference,” Tony pressed.

“I guess…I mean, the Grinch is always good. Or Christmas Vacation, maybe?” Peter suggested.

“Oh man, how did I forget about the Griswold family?” Clint exclaimed. “I’m changing my vote.”

“I’m down,” Sam agreed. “Exploding turkeys, insufferable relatives, electrocuted cats...what’s not to love?”

X

It turned out Clint could more or less quote the whole movie, and did so under his breath for the first five minutes solid until Nat threatened to silence him in a rather unsavory way. They were all much quieter after that.

The movie was amusing as always, but Tony was a little distracted. Peter kept shifting around on the sofa, only giving half-hearted laughs at the funny scenes. For the most part, his lips were pressed together tightly.

Tony frowned and leaned over to whisper at him. “You alright, kid?”

All traces of discomfort disappeared from Peter’s face as he quickly flashed his mentor a smile. “Yeah, of course.”

When they got to the swimming pool scene, Tony jokingly tossed a throw blanket over the kid’s head, blocking his view of the screen.

“Aw c’mon!” Peter complained, his voice a little muffled by the blanket. “It’s PG-13. You don’t even see anything.”

“No minors will be viewing sideboob under my roof, kiddo,” Tony declared.

Natasha smirked at him. “The hypocrisy is rampant.”

“Nah, I’m with Stark on this one,” Clint said. “Kid’s got plenty of time for that later.”

Wanda rolled her eyes. “You two are such dads.”

Still comically covered by the blanket, Peter got to his feet. “I’ll just use this opportunity to go to the bathroom,” he mumbled. “Enjoy your sideboob, everyone.”

The team snorted in laughter as the blanket-clad figure shuffled out of the living room.

X

When twenty minutes passed and Peter still hadn’t returned, Tony was starting to get antsy. Finally, he slipped off the couch and headed out to the hallway.

Upon discovering that the closest bathroom was unoccupied, he paused. “FRIDAY, where’s the kid?” he asked.

“Peter is currently in his bedroom,” the AI replied.

Tony’s brow furrowed. He’d just been teasing the kid about the sideboob thing—he honestly didn’t give a shit if Peter watched PG-13 or even R rated scenes for that matter. But maybe calling Peter out in front of a group of his literal heroes had embarrassed him more than Tony thought.

Figuring an apology was probably in order, he made his way up to Peter’s room. Technically, it was one of the guest bedrooms, but Peter stayed in it so often that it had morphed into his own space.

When Tony got there, he saw that the door was just slightly ajar. Through the gap, he could see Peter sprawled out face down on top of the bed, arms circled around his pillow which he was clutching to his stomach. His head was tilted away from the doorway so Tony only saw the back of it.

Tony hesitated a second before rapping the back of his knuckles against the door. “Hey kid? You planning on coming back?”

Peter pulled his head up and turned towards the doorway. Seeing his mentor, he immediately pushed himself up to sit up on the bed against the headboard. “Oh, sorry!” he gasped. “You didn’t pause the movie for me, right? Because you can totally keep playing it.”

Tony pushed the door open further and stepped inside. “They’re still watching, don’t worry,” he assured. “But you disappeared on us. What’s going on?”

Peter glanced down at the bedspread and shrugged. “Just got kinda tired. Wanted to lay down.”

Tony frowned as he moved closer to the bed. “Too tired to sit on a couch and watch a movie?” he questioned. “You feeling okay?”

“Yeah, fine,” Peter mumbled back, but his stomach cut him off with an angry-sounding growl. A grimace flashed across his features and Peter snaked an arm around his middle.

It was a gesture Tony knew all too well. He blinked at the kid. “You have a stomach ache.” It was a statement, not a question.

Peter gave him a sheepish look.

Tony blinked again. “Why the fuck do you have a stomach ache?” he demanded.

“Uh...sorry?” Peter mumbled.

“No, I didn’t mean-” Tony cut himself off with a frustrated sigh. “I just don’t get it. Nothing you ate should have had dairy, so why is this happening?”

Peter gave a half-laugh. “Welcome to my world, Mr. Stark.” He hugged the pillow back to his obviously cramping stomach. “It's fine—I'm used it it. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve ordered soy milk in drinks at Starbucks and got regular milk instead.” He shrugged. “Now I just get that iced tea lemonade thing when I go there.”

“This is unbelievable,” Tony muttered irritably. “FRIDAY, call up the catering company. I want to speak to their manager. Now.”

“No, no, it’s okay!” Peter said quickly. “You don’t have to get anyone in trouble! I’m sure it was just an accident.”

“No, they can’t get away with this shit,” Tony argued, the feeling of righteous anger rising in him. “If they’re gonna advertise their menu as dairy-free, it better be fucking dairy-free! I mean, what if you were someone who had an actual dairy allergy instead of an intolerance?” he demanded. “Then we’d be talking about anaphylactic shock, not an upset stomach. This is serious, Peter—they have to be held responsible.”

Peter rubbed a hand at the back of his neck awkwardly. “Yeah, so about that...”

“What?”

“Um…I wasn’t gonna tell you, but if you’re gonna yell at someone—” Peter steeled himself with a breath. “It might not be totally their fault?”

Tony narrowed his eyes at the kid. “What did you do?”

If possible, Peter looked even more uncomfortable. “Uh… it wasn’t really me either…” He glanced up at the ceiling nervously. “I was kinda checking with FRIDAY before you got here to see what might have gone wrong and it turns out this place has two different specialized menus you can order from.”

“Right.” Tony nodded slowly. He was well aware of that. “One is dairy-free, and the other is gluten-free. I ordered off the dairy-free one.”

Peter’s stomach grumbled again and he pressed a hand to it with a wince. “Yeah, so, the two menus have pretty similar sounding stuff…”

Realization suddenly dawned on Tony. “Oh my god,” he muttered, a sick feeling coming over him. “Tell me I didn’t…”

“No no, not everything!” Peter cut in. He gave a humorless laugh. “Trust me, Mr. Stark, I would be like, on the bathroom floor, praying for god to just finish the job if that were the case.”

That image didn’t make Tony feel even remotely better. He squeezed shut his eyes and pressed his fist to them. “Which dishes did I order wrong?”

“Just um… just the cheesecake,” Peter mumbled. His stomach grumbled again. “And like, also maybe the cannolis?”

Guilt flooded through Tony. “Great. Fantastic.” He huffed out a sigh. “I fucking poisoned you.”

“No, no it was an accident!” Peter said quickly. “And it was probably my fault anyway—I should have known there was no way that gloriousness was made of tofu,” he said with a half laugh.

Tony ran a hand over his face. With all the shit he usually gave the kid about eating things he knew would make him sick, knowing that for once Tony was the reason for Peter’s current suffering made him feel terrible. “God, kid, I’m so sorry.”

“It's fine! I wasn’t even gonna tell you because I knew you’d feel bad but then you found me and…” Suddenly Peter paled and hopped off the bed. “Um, I gotta go, be right back.”

“Pete, I swear I’m gonna make this up to you,” Tony called after the kid as he headed for the en suite bathroom. “Christmas is in five days and I am an actual billionaire, so dream big kiddo!”

Peter threw a mock salute in Tony’s direction as he scurried off. Just as he got to the door, he looked back and locked eyes with his mentor. “It was really good cheesecake, Mr. Stark,” he said sincerely.

As soon as the door was shut behind him, Tony let out another sigh and muttered at the ceiling, “FRIDAY, get my Audi dealer on the phone. Tell him I’ve got a rush order.”

Read Part 4 of the Lactose Intolerant Peter series

Fic Masterlist

[crystalninjaphoenix]

One Short Day

A JSE Fanfic

Yay, I wrote something that isn’t connected to pain for once in my life! Or at least, the most you get are hints and maybe a moment. I was planning on working on something else, but...I don’t know, I just felt like I needed something softer, and I’m sure there are people who need that too. So behold, an attempt at mostly-fluff! I just wanted to write the boys having fun out on the town, simple enough ^-^

It was rare that there was a full day they could all be together. A day where Schneep wasn’t working, Chase wasn’t recording, Marvin didn’t have a show, and Jackie didn’t have to bolt off at the last minute to do heroic vigilantism. A day where they could just do whatever they wanted, all of them, together.

They met up at Jackie’s apartment building. Naturally, JJ arrived first, then Schneep and Chase at about the same time. Just when they were starting to get worried, Marvin showed up, sprinting up to the group and skidding to a halt beside them.

“Late again, I see?” Jackie said when Marvin finally caught his breath. “Maybe we should just tell you we’re meeting thirty minutes earlier than we actually are.”

“Gimme a break.” Marvin rolled his eyes. “My phone was out of battery so I couldn’t check the time, then I got distracted.”

Jackie raised an eyebrow. “With what?”

“Um...” Marvin looked away, embarrassed. “I may have started playing Plague Inc...for an hour...or more.”

“Dude. Set a timer next time or something,” Chase said. “Ask JJ if you can borrow one of his watches if you have to, I dunno, anything.”

“Enough of this, we are wasting minutes,” Schneep said, checking his own watch. “Jackie decided what to do, what is it?”

Jackie immediately brightened. “Okay, so, we all know JJ hasn’t seen much of the town.” Everyone nodded. “So I thought we could give him the grand tour! Get lunch, go to the park, and I think the fair is open tonight so we can finish with that. That good with everyone?”

“So we’re just gonna walk all over town?” Chase asked. “Only two of us can drive, and none of us have a car right now.”

“Toughen up, Chase, walking’s good for you!” Marvin teased. “Right? Schneep, you’re a doctor, tell him I’m right.”

“He’s right,” Schneep said.

“See?!”

JJ snapped his fingers for attention. I thought we were wasting time? I certainly can’t lead the way, so I’ll ask one of you to.

“Right!” Jackie started off. “C’mon guys, lunch is waiting for us!”

They ended up at a local restaurant near the center of town called Kassie’s. It was a quaint little place, and since it was a warm day they decided to sit at a table outside. The chipper waitress gave them a plate of free fries, then took their order, and headed back inside.

“Is it just me, or is it kind of hot today?” Chase asked, fanning himself with some of the napkins.

“No, it’s not just you. God, I’m dying,” Jackie agreed.

“Jackie, you are not only wearing long sleeves, you are wearing two layers of them,” Schneep pointed out with a smile.

“Oh, you’re one to talk, Mr. Sweater-all-the-time!” Jackie rolled his eyes. “What about Jays? He’s got that vest/dress shirt on.”

JJ looked aghast. You four can run around and show your arms all you like, but I’ll have you know it isn’t proper for a gentleman!

“Are you implying we aren’t gentlemen?” Marvin asked, right before tossing a fry into the air and catching it in his mouth.

JJ raised an eyebrow. Indeed.

“I don’t care, it’s hot. I’m taking this off.” With a few flailing arms, Jackie pulled his hoodie over his head and tugged it off, revealing a Marvel-themed T-shirt underneath. “Ah. That’s better.” He looked around to see the others staring at him with wide eyes. “What?”

“Holy shit, Jackie!” Chase yelled. “Your arm!”

“Wh—oh fuck I forgot I was wearing short sleeves today.” Jackie looked down at his left arm. “Yeah, okay, I got scars, you can look all you want.”

“So that’s why I’ve never seen you in T-shirts,” Marvin realized. “Jackie, what the fuck happened?”

Jackie frowned, then coughed awkwardly. “Y’know...I’d rather not talk about it right now. Maybe later. Besides, Schneep already knows the story. ‘S how we met.”

“Honestly, you three are making mountains out of mole hills,” Schneep said. “Is fine now. You should see his torso, now those are scars.”

That only made the other three look more worried. Jackie sighed. “Look, guys, we’re having a fun day. We’re gonna have fun, and not gonna get all concerned, though I do appreciate it. And you—” he glared at Schneep “—need to stop saying that, ‘cause it makes it sound like I lost some epic battle instead of just having top surgery.”

Chase and Marvin relaxed in unison. “I’m still convinced you have, I dunno, fucking bullet scars or something,” Marvin muttered as Chase pulled the remains of the fries towards him.

“Oh yeah, but Schneep’s talking about the surgery. He’s done this before, and it’s no longer funny!” Jackie looked pointedly at Schneep when saying that last part, who just responded with a massive grin.

JJ was the only one who still looked concerned, but now that was paired with confusion. He looked around at the others. What is top surgery?

You could almost hear the hiss as the others all inhaled sharply in unison. They’d all forgotten for a moment that JJ didn’t know. Schneep cleared his throat. “Jackie, would you like to explain?”

“Right yeah. God, where do I start with this?” There was a slight pause in the conversation as the waitress returned with their food. The moment she was out of earshot, Jackie started up again. “Alright, so...” he leaned forward, hands clasped together, eyes wide and nervous. “You know how I call myself Jackieboy Man, right?”

JJ nodded. A moniker I never understood, but yes.

“Well, I didn’t always call myself that. Neither did anyone else. Because, well, they all thought that...I was a, uh, girl. Even I did. For the longest time I just sort of...accepted it. I only started to figure it out in high school. I got my first job, and one of the customers called me ‘that nice lady,’ and hearing it...just sort of surprised me. Like someone gave the wrong answer to a really easy test question. So...I started thinking, and eventually I realized that I wasn’t...actually a girl. That was when I renamed myself.”

JJ didn’t look any less confused. Why would they not understand that? Wouldn’t they be able to...see that you are not?

Jackie winced. “Well, no...you see, I...fuck.” Jackie put his head in his hands, took a deep breath, then looked up again. “I was born...in the wrong body. Top surgery is...it’s to get rid of the parts I didn’t want. Are you...are you getting this now?”

After a moment, JJ’s eyes widened. He nodded hesitantly.

“Okay. Good. Great.” Jackie sighed. “I don’t know if this word existed in the twenties, but nowadays we have ‘transgender’ as...a thing. When someone is something other than what their body is born as. I’m still a he. Or, just, anything but she, really. Literally call me anything but a girl. And please, don’t ask about what my name was before. Or what’s...down there. Those questions make me...really uncomfortable.”

My good man! JJ signed. Why would I do such a rude thing? And to my dear friend, nonetheless. 

Jackie’s shoulders slumped. He leaned back in his chair and exhaled in relief. He’d been dreading this conversation, but better to rip the bandaid off now. “Thanks, man. I...appreciate your understanding.”

JJ smiled. No trouble at all, Jackie! I may not fully grasp the concept, but that’s no reason to disrespect your wishes.

“If you want, I can answer questions. Just...later. And as long as you get I don’t represent everyone who’s trans.”

JJ nodded and gave a thumbs-up. There was silence for a moment, before Chase broke it by saying “Hey, guys, I made a Jenga tower out of fries.”

Schneep rolled his eyes, and immediately knocked over Chase’s tower.

“Aw you bitch!” Chase gasped. “You didn’t even play the game right!”

“Fuck your games. Actually eat the food like it’s supposed to be.”

“You’re just jealous cause you got a salad instead.”

“Maybe I am! Did you think of that?!”

“Dude, I just said I did!”

The rest of lunch was covered in the blanket of familiar banter. Jackie smiled to himself. God, he was so glad nothing changed.

About two hours later, the boys had made their way to the southern part of the city. That was where the park was. It had an official name, but everyone just called it “the park” because there was only one of them and it was shorter. The park itself was pretty big, with trees, paths, flowerbeds, and two playgrounds at either end.

Since it was the middle of the afternoon, there were quite a few families with young children hanging around, parents watching their kids climb all over the jungle gyms and pushing them on the swings. While Marvin and Jackie walked ahead, pulling JJ with them and talking his ears off, Chase and Schneep hung back a bit. Chase was staring at the families on the playground.

“Chase? Are you okay?” Schneep asked gently. 

“Yeah...yeah, I’m fine. It’s not a down day.” Schneep gave him a Look. “No, really! It’s just...y’know, seeing all the kids kinda bums me out. You know?”

“Of course I do, Chase,” Schneep said. He was probably the only one of the boys who did. “If you are feeling upset, you can go home.”

“No! God, no, that’s not what I meant at all. This has been good so far. I don’t want it to end.” Chase frowned. “Now I’m just...man. I’m starting to lose it.”

“Chase.” Schneep grabbed his hand. “If you are not enjoying yourself, we can always go do something more quiet. We would hate to push you to do something you are not up to.”

Chase considered it for a moment, then shook his head. “Nah, it’s not too bad. It helps that you guys are here, I think. But I’ll let you know...if it gets too much.”

Schneep gave him a long look, before finally judging that everything was alright. “Okay. You have to do that, or I am going to break into your home at night and yell at you for lying.”

“Okay, okay, I get the idea,” Chase laughed. He looked down at their clasped hands. “You’re not worried people are gonna think we’re a couple, then?”

“What? Oh. Is there no such thing as regular hand-holding in this country?! Besides, it should not fucking matter. Also you are not my type anyway.”

“Yeah, you’re not mine, either. You’re a guy.” Chase and Schneep both had a good laugh at that.

Marvin looked over his shoulder at the two of them. “Are you two gonna walk fast or what?”

“Or what,” Chase said with a smirk.

“Oh, you’re hilarious. A fucking comedic genius. Hey guys!” he said that last part to Jackie and JJ. “We’re gonna slow down so these two assholes can join us.”

“Marvin, how dare you,” Schneep said, mock-offended. “At least be more creative in your insulting us.”

“No.” The two mini-groups merged together to form the main group once again. “So what’re you two talking about?”

“Chase is worried that hand-holding makes a couple,” Schneep tattled.

“Bullshit,” Marvin stated. Jackie went “yeah!” in the background. JJ frowned at the use of language, but nodded. “What makes a couple is the kissing. And romantic interest in each other, which leads to the former.”

“You say, having not been on a date in at least five months,” Jackie muttered.

“Shut your stupid face, you...lovely person.” Marvin pulled his wand out of his pocket and twirled it, like he did when he was nervous. “We’ve all been kinda busy lately.”

“Yeah...that’s true,” Jackie sighed. “But maybe if you went out more, you could find someone you could go out with. Just once, if a commitment isn’t your thing right now.”

Marvin frowned. “Why in the wide world of wingmen would I go on a date once deliberately?”

“A night of fun?” Schneep suggested.

“With a complete stranger that I have no interest in? No. I need to have some intrigue in whoever they end up being.”

“None of you are gonna get anywhere with him,” Chase said. “He doesn’t get one-night stands.”

“Damn right I don’t! There’s no point!”

And it just seems improper, JJ signed. If you aren’t going to court someone, don’t approach them at all.

“Marvin! You have an ally!” Jackie gasped. 

“Good. Finally, someone who agrees with me.” Marvin held up his hand and, after a moment of figuring out, JJ high-fived it. “Yeah! There we go, you got it!”

Jackie checked the time on his phone. “Alright, it’s starting to get a bit late. If we want to get enough time at the fair, we’re gonna have to book it to the eastern side.”

They didn’t actually run the whole way there, despite Jackie wanting to. By the time they got to the fair the sun was starting to set. They bought tickets and headed inside, where the Ferris wheel and the roller coaster towered over the smaller rides and the carnival games. It was a weekday, but it was one of the first days the fair was open, so the fairgrounds were crowded but not packed.

Chase gasped. “Games. We can do the games first.”

You do realized they’re all rigged, right? JJ asked.

“Who cares? They’re fun! Games now.”

Soon, the others started to suspect that the reason Chase was so eager to play games was because he knew he would win every time. The dude was scarily good. A combination of sheer luck, skill, and fuck-it-let’s-take-a-chance-ness led to many more victories than the others, something Marvin and Schneep immediately called him out for.

“You are cheating, I am sure of it!” Schneep huffed, folding his arms.

“Nah, just have a knack for it. And, in this case, practice.” Chase tossed one of the wooden balls back and forth while he waited for the carnival worker to hand him his prize. “Ya gotta aim for a bit above the spot where the third jug sits on top of the other two, then throw hard. It’s a bit of an arc.”

“No, you’re a cheater,” Marvin asserted, muttering darkly.

“Aw, c’mon! Here, will this make you less salty?” Chase accepted his stuffed prize from the worker, then handed it right over to Marvin. “I got it for you! You like cats.”

Marvin glared down at the plushie. “You’re lucky it has a cute face,” he said.

“See?!” Chase smiled. He was actually having a good time. It was a good change of pace from the park.

Eventually, everyone had a prize except for JJ. They were running out of games to play, but then Jackie spotted one of those ‘find the ball under the shuffling cups.’ “Hey guys, you up for that one?”

JJ brightened. I’m actually quite skilled at those!

“Well, then, let’s go!” Jackie pulled him over, the others in tow.

The carnival worker was calling out the rules of the game. “You get one, you win one of these lovely roses, you get two in a row, you win one of these tiny fellows here, and you get three in a row, you win one of these adorable penguins! Step right up, step right up!”

“Hey!” Jackie waved to get the worker’s attention. “We want to play!”

“Well then, young sirs, the rules are simple. Keep your eye on the ball, see right here, right here, it’s under the middle cup. Now watch as I take the cup this way, then that, then this and oh look at that! It’s goin’ fast, it’s goin’ fast don’t lose it don’t lose it! Now, which one is the ball under?”

Jackie was fairly sure he knew where it was, but he turned to JJ anyway. “So, which one?” he asked.

JJ bit his lip, then reached forward to point at one of the cups...only for the worker to slap his hand away. “I’m sorry sir, please don’t touch the cups. To prevent tamperin’, see? Just tell me.”

JJ looked a bit stunned at the worker’s aggressive tone. But he signed It’s under the left one.

“Excuse me?”

“He says it’s under the left one,” Marvin jumped in.

“...ah, I see.” The worker lifted up the cup to reveal the ball. “Seems you were right. Do you want to try again?”

The boys glanced uneasily between each other. The worker’s tone had dropped from the polite-carnival talk to one that was a bit...short. She was also talking much slower than she was before, drawing out the vowel sounds. “He can hear you perfectly fine,” Chase said. “He just can’t talk.”

“Mmm...I see...” The worker pursed her lips. “Do you want to try again?”

They all nodded. The worker was silent this time as she shuffled the cups, faster than before. When she stopped, she looked at Jackie. “Which one is the ball under?”

Jackie had a vague idea where, but he wasn’t sure. “JJ, do you know?”

The left one again, JJ signed, less enthusiastically.

“The left,” Jackie translated.

The worker frowned as she revealed the ball under the left cup. “You boys aren’t cheating, are you? Those weird gestures seem like symbols.”

Marvin laughed bitterly. “Yeah, they’re symbols alright. They stand for words. Do you not know how sign language fucking works? He’s telling us the answers ‘cause he’s the best one at it. Now let’s do this one more time.”

The worker shuffled the cups impossibly fast. Once more, she asked Jackie where the ball was. This time, he had no idea, and just looked at JJ. JJ, in turn, stiffened a bit, eyes hardening. It’s under the right one, though I wouldn’t put it past her to sneak it up her sleeve.

“Right,” all the boys said in unison.

The worker reluctantly lifted up the rightmost cup to show the ball sitting underneath. “Congratulations,” she said dully. “You win one of the big prizes. What color do you want?”

Turquoise, JJ signed. “Turquoise,” Jackie translated.

They walked away from the booth in silence. After a few moments of walking, Marvin said, “I could totally put a curse on her.”

“No,” Jackie said firmly.

“Just one little spell. She can lose her voice for a week.”

JJ shook his head, then tucked his prize under his arm so he could use his hands to sign. Revenge is never the best answer. 

“It’s what she deserves!” Marvin snarled. “She was making that difficult on purpose. I saw her, she was going much slower with the customers before us. JJ, I’m so absolutely sorry on her behalf, cause god knows she’s not gonna fucking apologize.”

It’s okay, JJ insisted. Believe it or not, I’ve faced worse, especially in my day. They were much less friendly back then.

“I am sure you are not using that word in the correct meaning,” Schneep mumbled.

Marvin shoved his hand into the pocket containing his wand. “One hex. Come on. Just one. I won’t even make her ears fall off or anything.”

Everyone refused to let Marvin curse the carnival worker, and he reluctantly relented. At this point, they’d finished with the games, and all that was left were the rides. They took turns, one or two of them sitting out to watch the accumulated prizes while the others spun and flew and then stumbled off the rides. After trying most of the rides out, they took a snack break for ice cream and cotton candy.

“I think the Ferris wheel is the only one left,” Jackie said. “Unless we want to catch that sideshow thing. There’s supposed to be magicians—”

“Fake,” Marvin interrupted.

“—clowns, animals, and they advertised a knife-thrower—”

Schneep nearly choked on his ice cream. “No.”

“Okay, got it. No show then.” Jackie nodded. “But I’m not too sure about the Ferris wheel. I know at least one of us is afraid of heights.”

“Yeah, uh, me.” Chase bit his lip. “But I think I’ll be fine if I don’t look over the edge. Unless someone else doesn’t want to go on it, then I’ll stay off with them.”

“I’m good,” Jackie said. “Schneep? Marv? Either of you scared of heights?” Both of them shook their heads. “Alright. JJ?”

JJ signed, A bit, but after all these dizzy rides, I’ll take something calm like the Ferris wheel, if you please.

“Alright. Guess we’re going on the wheel, then!”

Night had truly fallen by this point. The Ferris wheel wasn’t exceptionally tall, but it still rose above everything else in the fair, providing a fantastic view of the colored lights below. Instead of having the traditional two-person seats, this wheel had booths that could fit up to eight people, so all the boys fit into one just fine. The wheel turned, and the booth turned with it. Chase squirmed, resolutely not looking over the side. Jackie and Marvin did the exact opposite, practically leaning out of the booth to look down below.

JJ tapped Schneep, signing something real quick. Schneep nodded, then yelled “Can you two stop that?! You are going to fall out of the fucking side, and you are making Jamie nervous.”

“Oh, sorry.” Jackie sat back down.

“Aww,” Marvin groaned, but pulled back into his seat. “I hope you know I do this for you, JJ.”

JJ smiled. Thank you, it’s appreciated. And I’m sure your body feels the same way, having narrowly avoided a fall to great injury.

“Nah, I would’ve been fine.”

The wheel stopped. Their booth was right at the top. “Oh, fuck,” Chase muttered, covering his eyes with his hands.

“You know, you didn’t have to come,” Jackie said quietly. “We would’ve been alright letting you stay down on the ground.”

Chase peeked between his hands. “I know. But...it’s really nice up here. Quiet. And with just you guys. As long as I ignore the distance from the ground, I’m good. You’re my friends, you know, and you make everything better.”

“Oh, Chase,” Marvin gasped. “That’s...really sweet!”

“What? Didn’t think we where friends?”

“It’s...always nice to be reminded.” Marvin smiled softly.

Well then consider this your reminder, Marvin! JJ wiggled his mustache happily. I consider you all my friends, maybe even family. You are all wonderful people and I love having you in my life!

“Nooo, stop.” It was hard to see in the dark, only lit up by the lightbulbs on the Ferris wheel, but it was possible that Marvin was actually blushing.

“You know what? I love you guys.” Jackie grinned. “Not afraid to admit it! Best friends I’ve ever had.”

Schneep cleared his throat. “Yes, I feel the same. You are all great people, and I am fortunate to have met you. I...love you as well.”

“Aaaahck!” Marvin appeared to be trying to fold into himself. “Too much love! Fatality!”

Chase chuckled. “Marvin! Accept our love!”

We love you, Marvin! JJ signed eagerly. Now you have to say it back!

Marvin made a strange sort of groaning exhale before inhaling deeply, calming down. “Yeah...I—I love you guys too. God, I love you guys so much. You should all know that.”

“There we go!” Jackie said, triumphant. “Marvin, you are, truly, the emotionally constipated one. And I thought Schneep was the worst.”

“Excuse me?!” Schneep gasped. “I assure you I am very love-sharing. I just do not use words too much because they are complicated.”

“Understandable,” Chase shrugged. “I can barely speak half the time, and I was born in English.”

I thought you were born in Ireland, JJ signed, amused.

“Oh, you know what I mean!”

The Ferris wheel started lowering, stopping and starting as it let passengers off. The boys stepped out of the booth and onto land once again.

JJ yawned. I must say that I’m rather tired after all this. I think it’s time we go home.

“Yeah, I’m starting to feel it,” Jackie agreed.

“You all are weak!” Marvin countered. “I’m good for another couple hours.”

“Watch you crash immediately upon entering your room,” Chase laughed.

“Oh, shut up.”

“I think JJ is right,” Jackie said. “It’s time to go home.”

Schneep nodded. “Yes, I could stay up longer, but I have morning shift tomorrow so I should not push my luck. I will see you all later?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Course, dude!”

“Definitely.”

Count on it!

With that, they left the fair. Eventually they split up, each heading their own separate ways until they eventually got to wherever they were staying that night. Some went to sleep immediately, some stayed up a bit later, but eventually they all went to bed.

And when they decided to do it, none of them had trouble for once.