#But yeah they're open for interactions in this verse if anyone wants! ^^

[outoftheirdifferences]

Additional post - Bluey verse!

For the Spaniel Sisters, and for Da Vinci!

First off, the Spaniel family. Their four kids are a little older than Bluey and Bingo, but they live just down the road from the Heelers and so know them well. Annette and Collette, the family’s oldest daughters, are ten-year-old twins: just at the age of finding younger children adorable, they often like to visit the Heeler daughters, but consider themselves a little above some of their wilder games. (This doesn’t stop Bluey and Bingo from trying to involve them anyway!) Their brother Scamp is eight, but not greatly interested in ‘that family down the road’; his sights are set on greater adventures. And their littlest sister Danielle is seven and much more of a playmate (almost) Bluey’s own age.

Da Vinci Dalmatian, in contrast, lives a bit further away. From a big family, she’s thirteen and a middle-school student; though she’s debating the idea of dropping out in order to pursue a future as an independent artist instead. After all, with as many siblings as she has, would her parents ever really notice if one daughter skipped the rest of her schooling? In aid of this, she takes painting commissions around town; she’s most well known for the family portraits she offers, and it’s through Bandit and Chilli commissioning one of their own family from her that she met the Heelers.

[platoniccereal]

Some of my modern au HCs include

-Kuni and Aether T4T

-Kuni is rooming with Heizou and Kazuha, the only two people that can endure his ass- Heizou bc he doesnt just take Kunis shit and Kazuha because he has perfected his Zen

-Heizou AND Kazuha can tell that Kuni has been far more chill with Aether in his life and openly softer. Meanwhile it seems like Aether is starting to be a bit more 'selfish' as he says more frequently "no" to people instead of helping everybody out

-Kuni has an aweful relationship with his mother and got only trauma from his adoptive father (Dottore) so kid's just fucked all around.

-Kuni plays bass and is p good at it too.

-Aeth is actually not very good with delicate crafts like sewing, embroidery, knitting or any of that, but he is super sporty and a surprisingly good home repairman.

-Aeth makes friends fast and is very popular so he heared 'you should stay away from Kuni, he's trouble.' quite often. In actuality Kuni is least likely to send you to hospital for the wrong comment. That's Aethers job.

-A thing that is very specific to them is that Kuni started to just hook his pinky finger with Aethers. Mostly out of emberassment but Aeth took it and used it to then slowly deepen their physical contact. Since Kuni has days where physical touch is a no go this is the most he will manage on these days and Aeth completely accepts that.

-despite what most would imagine: Kuni is... Pretty chilll with Aeths popularity. he never makes a scene, he doesnt get mad at Aether if someone flirts with him- he trusts him completely to stay faithful. When Heizou and Kazuha heared of that it was a big shock because gaining Kunis trust is fucking difficult and a long process. But it just turns put that Kuni has no energy to waste in being jealous. He gets insecure a few times but jealousy is rare with him.

-AETH HOWEVER GETS REAL PISSY. He does NOT like people making a move on HIS boyf and Kuni ALWAYS teases him about it.

-Nahida in this is actually Kunis social worker therapist kind of person and she actually formed quite a bond with him.

Yeah thats all i got so far haha

-🐦

hdhshzgs thank you for sharing!!! i love love love how expectations get turned on their head with their behaviour and aether being the fighty-punchy one, and kuni being the trustful one!! AND THE PINKY THINGY. 😭 ALSO T4T SCARAETHER *bangs fists on the table.*

totally can see all their roles being that, with how canon here is utilised, NAHIDA IS HIS SOCIAL WORKER THERAPIST PLEASEEE i need to see scara on the chair in her office the very first time, i bet it didn't go well at all, but i also bet she earned his trust, too. 😭❤️

and i loveeee anemo boys interacting i wonder if the tone deaf bard is in the picture somewhere ehe. AND AETHER BEING THE JEALOUS ONE IS NSHDHD.

this also made me realise that i don't have a very fleshed out concept of them in the modern au, purely vibes ✨. but i also imagined twins being the popular ones, school/college sweethearts, all that. but there's no true connection, and twins rarely reciprocate people's feelings bc this is also the vibes i'm getting from canon. it's all just. sweet, and that's it. scara is avoiding any connections on purpose but got better over the years to at least not act like a rabid cat. i think he's very proud and doesn't let anyone get under his skin and. err, snobish. and well versed in social cues and etiquette enough to violate it constantly with precision. he's the quiet guy which sometimes make people think he's an easy target who will take shitty behaviour and then there's a literal death ray turning their way as he glares and opens his mouth.

him and aether are kinda established in my head, and they're very open and chill with their relationships bc i want my boys to be happy and if pda could create energy aether would power a city and it required a lot of work to get here but they're committed. also they have each other as their lock screens and their message history is the funniest thing with aether being constantly on a brink of getting an aneurysm and scara's dry as a desert answers. ☝️

[deathdxnces]

tell me what u think 1shot irelia would be like ...

— @windchaser

rubbing my little fly hands together

i hope you're prepared because this will be very long iasudhfihasdf

ok ok i think a lot of it would depend on like. the group dynamics/how the group was formed/what everyone else is like. but, if i had to just take the idea and run with it, what i think would be important for irelia in terms of story/characterization would be:

i think her being put on a pedestal as a hero and not handling the pressure well but still forcing herself to meet people's expectations and standards and trying to shoulder everything alone could easily be translated to a scenario where that was more fame-related. especially if we're talking idols there is a lot of pressure, and many of them begin training to be idols when they're still very young. i think it could be the case for her in this verse (first as a dancer, when she was very little, then training to be an idol, when she was a bit older), and that she'd still be very harsh on herself trying to not let anyone down, inevitably letting people down because it's impossible some people won't be disappointed, and still feeling responsible for it.

but yeah going from that i think, like with ahri and kda, irelia in 1shot would've been an idol in solo career before the group was formed.

i also think she still can come across as cold/haughty at first, like in base verse, even though she'd be very warm and attentive towards fans and stuff. around the group itself she'd likely be a lot more open and warm (maybe not at first, or not toward all of them, but given time and working together probably)

on that note though i really don't know how well she'd get along with someone like vayne. like. they are in the sentinel event working together but they? don't even really interact and honestly i don't think vayne's usual attitude goes well with irelia's aksjfnsjknf i think they'd either be super efficient together or clash and that might just always continue to happen regardless of how long they've been working together

in part that's also because i think she'd still be very prone to take the lead. for all the pressure she puts on herself and how much she doesn't want it, in every verse irelia just continues to take the lead nonetheless lmao and i think in this verse she'd be far less reluctant to do it. and i don't think it'd be purposeful, or that she'd mean to take the center or anything of the sort, just that she can be a bit commanding and take charge without that being a conscious decision and more because she gets carried away. but i can see it not going well sometimes (and vayne seems to me the kind of person who wouldn't take very well to that?)

i can see her being fine with talon actually. again, it depends on how he'd be in that scenario? but even if he's still broody and edgy and not very friendly i can see irelia being ok with him. maybe not at first, but eventually? not sure. she doesn't really have a reason to hate all noxians so she'd be a lot less aggressive regardless.

same thing for phel in that depends on how he'd be. i honestly don't know much about his personality? but i feel they'd get along. and that alune is always around even if she's not part of the group, and that irelia would like her too

i might be biased because of your yone also but i always think irelia would love him kajdfkan i said that to you before but it's the big brother vibes. if ocean song was also in the same universe, i imagine the group would've been formed fairly recently/after they're all already adults, and that it was after yone first started to share his work as a lyricist (and maybe now is singing his own songs?) which i think it's nice and that she'd be supportive of. they could even have met before 1shot was formed, considering yone's involvement with music and her own. either way, i think irelia would love to be around him and they could talk about music and lyrics and dance routines and choreographies and that even when it isn't work related she'd enjoy his company. just chilling in silence is good too. and i also think yone seems like one of the few sensible people she'd easily listen to? so there's that. (actually..... with vayne, irelia, kayn and talon in the same group i feel yone might. have to be the voice of reason there sometimes kjdfnkjsandf)

and then. there's kayn. they of course end up dating. kayn might be a little too supportive of her being mean, but i also think the idea of him being someone with whom she doesn't feel pressured to be perfect (which is very important for how her feelings for him developed, i think) would still be present. i like to think no one expected they would get along well because they have significantly different personalities but they surprisingly work well together from the start.

i think she always needs to go through the traumatizing event of having her entire family murdered so she can't have nice things here either. idk how (maybe i could take a page from what i already have in my modern verse for it but idk). either way. they're all dead. or maybe one of her brothers is alive so at least she had. someone looking after her...... i think i like that idea better so either kai or zelos survive to raise her c':

she'd be ridiculously attached to whichever brother survived, but i think it's fair to say her brother would also be very protective of her because they did lose all of their family, so.

and without getting into specifics it's also always fundamental irelia made swain lose his arm somehow (she could have cut if off depending on how/when it happened, or just damaged it enough he lost it anyway). in every universe. every single one of them. this one included. she has to do it it's mandatory it's a canon event askdfnksajdfn

but yeah either way i think she keeps the Tragic (and Violent) Backstory, that's probably not widely known. i could say her family is fine, like, kai'sa is w kassadin and everything in kda lore but. i don't want to, i think she needs to be a little tragic and violent actually. at least a little bit. as a treat.

hmmmm like i said at the beginning she started dancing when she was very little (very very little. like. 5 years old or something). but with her solo career and training i think she can do everything well, including singing and acting.

strict training and management also mean there's a lot she didn't have the chance to experience as a teen. i think the group would also give her a bit more freedom that she'd greatly enjoy.

don't let the tragic backstory and seriousness and insane pressure she puts on herself fool you, she can still be silly and often will be around the people she's comfortable with. she's also very caring and very kind and very protective towards the people she loves, that doesn't change. more than a little willing to excuse their Not Good behavior though

there you have every 1shot thought i've had, all of which were developed as i wrote this akjdnksajfdn

[handsomethrowrug]

4, 10, 12

Questions for the Mun! ( @musemelodies )

-

10. what genre do you most enjoy, whether in roleplay, or fiction as a whole? (fantasy, period, superhero, etc.)

In RP, I've mainly written in a somewhat ordinary slice-of-life with a hint of fantasty/sci-fi in recent times. The main fandom I've been in aside from here isn't overly active, so there wasn't huge potential for me personally to work on stuff (also being busy never helped). I do enjoy fantasy settings, like royal AUs... But in a slightly ironic sense, I'm not actually interested in things like D.nD.

I think I like it because it opens up the possibility of virtually anything. Truthfully, I have tried making AU verses to interact with others, especially on other blogs... Let's just say that I put a lot of thinking effort in for writing partners who actually didn't care because they got their "aw yeah I got someone into this" boost before jumping to something else entirely and never actually... doing anything? I used to know some very impulsive people. (thankfully, I stopped writing with those people a long time ago and cut ties with them completely for other reasons)

-

12. what roleplay trends do you remember from the year you started tumblr rp? how did you feel about those trends?

Yeesh, that's going pretty far back. When I started, private group rps on t.umblr were on the go, and they ran pretty well. The main one I was in stuck together for a good four or five years, and even though none of us write together anymore nowadays, we've still got our little d.iscord group where we sometimes chat. It's really nice. But the big difference was that even though there were still ads and the "we want these characters!" posts... People in the groups were reblogging the ads to try and promote it too. It wasn't just a constant onslaught in certain tags.

On a less nostalgic note.... Finding art/ a gif set of your character and either responding IC or roleplaying in the reblogs. That used to be more common and I'm mortified that I took part once (that I remember).

-

4. which muse of yours is your all time favorite? if you stopped writing them: why?

Okay. Anyone who has known me for a long time knows I'm a notoriously picky mun. If I take on a muse, I'm taking them on for a long time. They're getting overthought headcanons! They're getting a whole-ass backstory. I spent a YEAR writing out a backstory for one of my muses in two parts. I swear I am not exaggerating when I say it was over 30 pages on g.oogle d.ocs.

This is because I'm personally not a fan of "I watched/played this thing, therefore I must take on this character that I liked". It doesn't work for me when it comes to writing inspiration. I prefer to go with what I call a 'three day rule'. If the urge to write the character lasts for at least three days (up to a week), I take the plunge. The last fully brand new character I took on was... End of April, 2023. Once they're on my roster, they're usually there for good Even if my inspiration moves, the potential is nearly always there. I mean, look at this blog! It was set up in 2017 and I disappeared for a few years!

However, I will be honest and say that Scar isn't my favourite character to write. Don't get me wrong, I love him and I'm hoping to push myself more with him, but there are others that are more in my 'comfort zone', so to speak, and that I've written longer/more consistently. Scar is still a challenge for me, at times.

-

I'm flip-flopping between a few, but I think the honour has to goes to Y.ancy.

He's from 'A H.eist with M.arkiplier', and one of the only characters I broke my own golden rule for. I wanted to take him on as a muse the day the production came out back in 2019 (all available for free on Y.outube :D ), and I would have if I hadn't been out of town to visit a friend that same day.

... oh my god I'm writing him five years at the end of the month.

For those who don't know, I suppose the easiest comparison of his personality is sorta, but not really, along a similar track of a certain C.entipede, even down to the accent (except my guy isn't actually from the area). Y.ancy is a tough greaser, and a convicted murderer (oh yeah, he's an incarcerated person), but he's also a loyal friend. He's got a small group of trusted friends, and he's absolutely no longer the man he was when he committed his crimes. He's hesitant to apply for parole because he's been chewed up and spat out by the real world. He needs to see the changes that have happened out there. (Though I do have a post-parole setting where he's adjusting to the normal world)

Oh. And you are literally introduced to him by a musical number. That's not a joke.

Admittedly, I've wanted to do some sort of crossover setting with him, but it's a fandom that was slightly taboo for the longest time (he's a fictional character but it's juuuust to the side of Y.outube R.PF). I did find an animated FC for him but... I wasn't sure, you know?

I'm already going on a ramble so I'll cut it off here. Y.ancy's a lot of fun because he's the ideal target for being the normal guy in a weird scenario.

Honourable mentions go to W.ilford W.arfstache (cartoonish at times, yet can do a 180 and hit with feels) and J.ack S.kellington (my actual longest muse, tbh. I took a break for other reasons and never really got back into the swing of things over there.) I'm literally restricting myself here because I will list off every muse that is either active or dormant.

[karmabcmb]

Guidelines

Hello there! Here we are again, because I love this muse and refuse to let him be ruined. A bit of craziness made me leave, three times, and it's not going to happen again. I've decided to tweak the rules a little bit, reword things a little and whatnot, so I'll apologize now if things sound harsh, but...well, that's a small apology, because apparently harsh is what I need to do. So, here goes:

This is an independent blog. I like to avoid any sort of fandom drama, and even though I know the inFamous crowd is relatively small nowadays, I'm still going to say I'm not directly affiliated with them.

I don't do OOC drama. If you're the type to start it, or enjoy being involved in it, good for you but please keep it away from me.

If you don't like something I'm doing, the unfollow button exists. The block feature exists. Use them. If it's something I can work on, by all means, I am willing to talk about it like adults, but otherwise? Move along.

On the subject of fandoms: I do not care which you're in, or whether I know a single thing about it. I am very open to crossovers and absolutely adore writing the most unlikely of meetings, or creating verses and exploring different aspects of my muse when he's centered in another universe, and so forth. Please, come at me!

The same goes for OCs. I don't expect OCs to be perfectly polished and whatever. A lot of aspects can show and solidify as they interact with other characters and situations, and I am all about being part of that. So, yeah, OCs? Bring 'em here, let me love them.

Shipping: As much as I want to, I'm not going to say that I won't ship on this blog. Things happen, muses mesh - I'm not going to shoot it down if the chemistry is there and everyone is on board. Just know I'm...a little gun shy, so to speak, about shipping this muse, so it might take me a bit to really get behind it. Once I do, though, god help you. I will bombard you with random crap about our ship until you're absolutely sick of me.

Please do not force ships. That is all.

Replies may be slow. I work a lot, but I'll always try to pop on at least once a day. Whether I just lurk, send memes, or actually write, though... it'll vary by day. Patience is appreciated.

Minor godmodding is okay. Things like, assuming my muse passed yours something when prompted in a thread is generally okay. If I had a different plan, I'll definitely let you know but for the most part, it's cool. Anything more than that, and it'll be a problem

I will not write with anyone under 18. I myself am 21+ and it weirds me out, so for my own comfort, I prefer not to write with minors. Also, I am not going to shy away from subjects that may venture into 'adults only' territory - I'm not against smut, if things work out for it, down for violence and foul language, dark themes, and so on - so that's yet another reason I say 18+. Do not lie about your age. If I find out you have, I will block you, no questions asked.

I read everyone's rules and about pages, if they're available. Common courtesy, as far as I'm concerned, so I always make a point to do so.

Mutuals are welcome to my Discord, Telegram, Steam, etc., If they would like. Just hit me up and I'll be happy to give you my handle. Let me know who you are, though, if you add me, just so I don't have to play 'creep or not creep'.

I'm not gonna make you send in a password or anything to interact with me. Instead, I'm gonna do a little thing: if you're feeling up to it, throw a word at me in an ask, and I will write a little starter for our muses based around that word. Not a requirement, but hey, we're all here to write together, right? Let's kick it off right away!

And that should do it! Thanks for taking a second to read through these, and I look forward to writing with you all!

[chasholidays]

Hi! I'd really love a Bellarke AU set in the 'verse of The Adventure Zone (and it can be completely up to you if they're involved w the main plot or regular agents of the Bureau of Balance) -- I love your writing, thank you so much !!

Bellamy doesn’t really know how he ends up with a job at Fantasy Costco.

There is, for certain, some kind of interview process. The experience of it exists in his mind, but hazy, as if it happened in a dream. In all honesty, he would believe it really did happen in a dream, if anyone told him that. It seems more plausible that Garfield the Deals Warlock comes to people in their sleep and asks if they want to work for him than it does that he advertises in the paper or something.

Regardless of how he ends up there, Bellamy does, for the most part, like his job. It’s retail, but there are fewer customers than at his previous jobs, and the customers aren’t nicer, but he at least develops more personal relationships with them. And, of course, his boss is a giant wierdo, but, again, that’s fairly standard for retail.

And, of course, he’s on the moon, which puts him in a good position to, perhaps, find a better, cooler job.

Which is why he asks Clarke, about two months into his employment, “How would I get a job at the Bureau?”

Clarke is a fairly low-level Bureau of Balance employee, something like his equivalent, in her own organization. It’s just that being a low-level employee at the Bureau of Balance involves going out into the world and finding dangerous artifacts to help save the world, and being a low-level employee at Fantasy Costco involves cleaning up vomit in the aisles. Which he assumed there wouldn’t be much of, because all of their customers are professional adults, but apparently that’s not as much of a help as he hoped it would be.

So, again, a new job might be nice.

“I ran into a Grand Relic and didn’t die,” she says. “I think it’s company policy to hire anyone who does that. Why?”

“I wouldn’t mind a change in careers,” he admits, and immediately looks around to see if Garfield is going to appear out of nowhere and murder him for disloyalty. Which is another reason he wants to leave. He actually is disloyal, and Garfield actually is terrifying. “I already drank the Voidfish juice, and that’s half the battle, right?”

She smiles. “I guess. I think interacting with a relic is a lot more of the battle.”

“And you do that?”

“As little as possible. I just do research.”

“I could do research,” he says. “I could probably interact with relics.”

She looks amused, and he knows exactly why. He doesn’t know a ton about Bureau business, but he hears stories. He knows how many Bureau employees have gone rogue, how many faces he doesn’t see anymore because relics have tempted them.

That might be the real reason he wants out of here. He doesn’t want to wait around for one of the people he likes to go missing or go evil while he’s restocking artifacts.

“What makes you think that?” she asks. “Not saying you’re wrong,” she adds. “Just curious.”

“I interact with a lot of weird shit,” he points out, which is not actually untrue. “I know relics are on another level, but that’s why I’m asking about training. I could get better at it.”

“You really want to do that?”

“Is there a reason you think I shouldn’t?”

She shrugs, but it’s not convincing as a casual motion, and something like lead settles in the pit of his stomach. She doesn’t want him to do this. It doesn’t mean he can’t, but he sort of assumed she’d be supportive.

“I figured Fantasy Costco wasn’t a bad gig, but now that I’m thinking about it, I’m not surprised you want out. You’re one of the only employees other than Garfield I’ve ever seen more than once.”

“Yeah, that’s the other thing. We’re losing employees and never getting them back, so I’m worried there’s some kind of arcane portal in the back where Garfield’s sacrificing people or something. Feels like the kind of job I should get out of before they want me gone.”

“Better to quit than to be sacrificed to the arcane portal in the back, yeah.” She worries her lip, but her expression is steady, and he can’t make up his mind what the problem is. “You might as well ask the director. I don’t know how they hire for any other positions, but like you said, you drank the Voidfish juice, you already live here, I don’t see why the Bureau wouldn’t want you.”

“That’s what I was thinking.” He finishes his beer and waves at Gina for another. “But you think I shouldn’t,” he adds. It’s obviously true, and he might as well get the most information possible.

“I didn’t say that,” she protests. “Just–it’s dangerous. You know that, right?”

“It’s all dangerous,” he says. “And you do it.”

“Maybe we should both quit. Start a new business in Faerun.”

There’s levity in her voice, but like everything else she’s said, it doesn’t quite land, and he takes a second to consider her. She’s always tired, but it seems worse than normal tonight, and she’s gotten more and more weighed down as they’ve been talking.

“You want to?” he asks.

“No, not really. Just a bad day.”

“You could have told me.”

Her smile feels a little stronger this time. “I would have eventually. I was just–decompressing.”

“So this was the wrong day to ask about quitting my job and coming over to yours, huh?”

That makes her actually laugh, soft but real. “It’s not that I don’t want you around. But it’s nice to have someone who feels–safe.”

“If I was in the Bureau, we could keep each other safe,” he points out. “A lot better than you can keep me safe if Garfield goes rogue.”

“That’s true. I think you should do it,” she adds. “Just–be careful, okay?”

“I haven’t even gotten a job yet.”

“Be careful all the time with everything,” she says, and he smiles.

“Always am. So, tell me about your bad day,” he says, and it never gets to the point where he feels like he gets it. But by the end of the night, she’s relaxed again, smiling and easy, and when they say goodbye, she thanks him.

“You should talk to the director,” she adds. “It would be nice to have you around more.”

“I will,” he promises. “Get some rest, Clarke. I hope tomorrow goes better.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

*

Miller hits Fantasy Costco the next day, which means Bellamy not only has a chance to get a second opinion on his potential career change, but can try to figure out what exactly is wrong with Clarke.

“How’s life at the Bureau?” he asks. He’s ostensibly showing Miller the new arrivals, but that’s mostly so that Garfield won’t think they’re not busy. As a regulator, Miller’s away from headquarters more than Clarke, and he and Bellamy have to be a little more creative in their hanging out.

“Fucking bad week,” he says.

“Yeah?”

“One of the seekers went rogue.”

“Shit. No wonder Clarke was in such a shitty mood.” Something occurs to him. “You weren’t with him, were you?”

“No. Seekers work alone. Regulators monitor reclaimers, when we do it.”

“Seems kind of stupid, if seekers are going rogue.”

“They’re supposed to be able to deal with–”

He and Miller both realize what he said at the same time and wince, but it’s too late to change it. Garfield appears out of nowhere, his usual leer in place, directed at Miller. “Did someone say deal?” he asks, and Bellamy flees.

It stays with him for the rest of the day, though. It’s not just that seekers are, apparently, going rogue, which he used to primarily associate with reclaimers and regulators, it’s that they’re considered to not need help. Almost everyone in the Bureau has teams, but seekers do their work alone, on behalf of distant allies.

Once his shift ends, he goes to the Bureau and asks to meet with the director, and to his surprise, she agrees.

“From Fantasy Costco, yes?” she asks, surveying him with mild curiosity. “How may I help you?”

“I want to partner with Clarke Griffin,” he says. “As a seeker.”

“I see. Seekers don’t have partners, usually.”

“Yeah, that seems weird to me. They’re in danger, the same as everyone else. Apparently you had someone go rogue yesterday–” She winces, and he presses the advantage. “I assume you don’t want the same thing to happen to Clarke. I don’t either.”

That gets her attention in a new way, and she looks him over again, as if she’s seeing him for the first time. “So, you want to protect your friend.”

“I want to help,” he says. “I know whatever you’re doing here is hard and important, and I’d rather be doing it than stocking fantasy utili-kilts in bulk.”

“When you put it like that, the logic is inescapable,” says the director, dry. “Have you talked to the other interested parties?” At his blank look, she sighs. “Clarke and Garfield the Deals Warlock.”

“Is that an official part of his name?”

“No one knows and everyone is afraid to ask. Feel free to update me if you find out. Assuming there are no objections from anyone else, I have none.”

“That’s it?” he asks, wary. “That’s your entire application process?”

“I do review all hires on the moon. If you weren’t Bureau material, you wouldn’t be working at Fantasy Costco.”

“So you’re saying Garfield the Deals Warlock is Bureau material?”

There’s a brief pause while she considers this, and then she recovers. “Okay, good talk, keep me posted.”

Bellamy just grins. “Yeah, good talk.”

*

He’s been to Clarke’s room once before, when the two of them got too drunk and she decided he couldn’t be trusted to make his way back to his own place. So, even though he was, again, very drunk, he finds his way back there once he’s done with the director without too much trouble.

Clarke opens the door looking a little frazzled, softer than he’s used to, with her hair in soft waves. She’s wearing pajamas, even though it’s not that late, and he has to smile.

“Hi.”

“Hi. What are you doing here?”

“Coming to see you, obviously. I asked the director if you could have a partner.”

She frowns. “You want to be my partner?”

It’s tempting to try to deflect the question, to tell her that’s not it, but it is the heart of it, isn’t it? It would be stupid to lie about it.

“Yeah. I didn’t know what I’d do, but–I don’t know why seekers don’t have people looking out for them. It seems like that would be useful.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I don’t know if you know this, but I worry about you. When you’re off the base. I’d feel better if I knew someone was looking out for you. If I was looking out for you. But if you don’t want–”

Her laughter is soft. “Do you know why I didn’t want you to join up?”

“Because you were having a shitty day and you were in a shitty mood?”

“Close. I liked not having to worry about you. And I liked knowing you were here when I got back. I didn’t want you to be off on Faerun when I was gone. It would have sucked.”

Bellamy takes a step closer, and Clarke raises her hands to tug him down by the front of his shirt, the kiss warm and perfect, except for the way he can’t stop smiling.

“So you do want a partner,” he murmurs.

“A partner sounds perfect.”

“Great, because I need backup, like, tomorrow.”

“Backup for what?”

“I have to quit my old job.”

She laughs against his neck. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of Garfield the Deals Warlock.”

“Don’t tell me you’re not.”

“I definitely am.” She pulls him down for another kiss. “But we’re a team now, right?”

“As soon as I quit, yeah.”

She tugs him toward the bed. “Great. Let’s do that tomorrow.”

He grins. ’“Tomorrow sounds perfect.”

*

“You’re quitting?” Garfield asks. He honestly sounds more confused than hurt, which is honestly a huge relief. “But why? Fantasy Costco is where dreams come to come true! Where will you go?”

He glances over his shoulder at Clarke. “I think my dream actually did come true. So I’m going to go to the Bureau and find a new one.”

“How touching. I will need some of your blood before you leave.”

It probably says bad things about him that this strikes him as relatively benign, as requests go. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Okay, well, uh–thanks for the job. It was really–something.”

“Good luck on your next adventure. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.’

It sounds vaguely like a threat, but there’s nothing to say but, "Thanks. Looking forward to it.”

Because, really. He can’t wait.