#adding the bingo tag after this cause i want this on its own

[newtedison]

be still, my indelible friend you are unbreaking though quaking though crazy that's just wasteland, baby

[savagetrickster]

Smirk Upon Me.

Mirio Togata (NSFW) | BNHA

Request: Hi! I saw your bingo event and I would like to give you a suggestion for the prompt “Stolen kisses”. How about Pro Hero Deku, or Mirio, x Vigilante! Reader (NSFW possibly)

anime | character:  bnha   |   mirio togata 

word count: 1.3k+

prompt: stolen kisses

themes/warnings: 18+, Pro-Hero!Mirio x Vigilante!Reader, sex on the street,  public sex, wall sex, vaginal penetration, unprotected sex

a/n: I haven’t been writing nsfw pieces for a while so I’m a little nervous about this one. I’ve made it less explicit but still retained the spiciness (I think) ‘cause writing this made me quite…fired up. I hope reading would make you so too ;) pardon me for any errors i failed to catch; this is not beta-ed. 

special mentions: this idea concept was inspired by the many nsfw bnha fics that carried this ‘hit by libido quirk’ concept i.e. one of them was @/shoutodoki’s Libido

Taglist: the bottom of this post :D (if you’d like to be added, just drop me an ask.)

Mirio had never felt this aroused in his life before. 

Like any other man, “Lemillion” the Pro-hero had his own moment of needs, but this burst of lust right now was too much even for him. 

He won a victorious battle against that perverted villain but the libido quirk of hers still hadn’t let up one bit. 

Fortunately, he was lucky to be in a rather secluded resident area where most houses were already dark and quiet with slumber, and the streets still with occasional passing vehicles. 

The last thing he needed was civilians to see Lemillion struggling to tame the massive erection bulging through his skin-tight hero costume. 

The merciless ache to release the urge gripping him had crippled his ability to think straight.

It was apparent that all rationale thoughts had been wiped clean of his mind when he jumped at your offer.

Life as a vigilante was never boring. You’d dealt with many interesting cases. 

But nothing could be more amusing than bumping into the all-famous ‘Lemillion’ battling, no, more like struggling against his libido evident in the not-so-subtle tent stiff in his suit on your way home.

You’ve never liked Pro-Heroes; they’ve always come across to you as a bunch of narcissists who only did ‘hero’ work to validate their own existences and inflate their egos. That doesn’t mean you liked villains either, of course. Hence, you were a vigilante partly due to Stain’s idea of a hero. 

Lemillion was one of the Pro-Heroes who didn’t irked you, and honestly, you’ve been harboring an attraction toward this man ever since you ‘accidentally’ ended up fighting alongside him months ago in a villain attack.

So you had no qualms helping him with his problem.

Besides, you were familiar enough with this libido quirk to know that the victims of this quirk wouldn’t be able to muster thoughts properly until the libido effect faded off by itself, which could take hours. Or the victims released it with sexual intercourse.

And of course, you wouldn’t want to give the latter with Lemillion a miss. The sight of Lemillion and his erected cock bobbing at you in his tight suit was enough to make you soak through your panties.

You were reminded once again about the other effect the libido quirk had on its victim, or rather a related effect from not being able to muster proper thoughts when he urgently pushed you up against the wall right there and then, in the middle of the goddamn street. 

The sexual frustration pent up from trying to suppress his lust was enough to make Lemillion toss what remaining traces of reasoning he possessed out the window.

He got naked fast, and the splatters of pre-cum flung into the cool night air brought your eyes down to watch his cock spring stiff before him. Slippery fluid of his pre-cum cascaded from its flushed head, coating the slightly curled, generous length in dribbles.  It should not be surprising to find a cock of such thickness and length on a man like Mirio Togata, but nevertheless it took you by surprise.

Theorizing about this man’s girth from the way it bulged under his suit and seeing it in flesh was worlds apart. 

Shoving your dress up and yanking down your soaked panties, a satisfied groan escaped Mirio the moment he pushed his aching cock into your drenched fold in a needy haste. The guttural groan dragging through his throat ended with a strained comment of how tight you felt around him as your velvet walls stretched to wrap around his sheathing cock. 

You couldn’t help chorusing after him at how well he stretched you, fitting between your heated walls perfectly. He was so big and hard; you could feel every bit of his arousal pulsing in the stiffness of his cock.

The man didn’t spend a second more to think about the possibility of being caught thrusting himself into you by any peeking eyes from the windows nearby. 

Going at it with the Lemillion on the street was far too thrilling for you to care either. 

Legs spread apart by the crooks of his elbows, you bit into your bottom lips as you watched him hammer himself into you like a starved man. 

Your moans mingled with his as you savored the pleasure scrunching up his face and the feral way he pistoned his thrusts between your legs. 

Every thrust left a blazing trail of pleasure in your clenching wall. The ruts he plummeted into you were with fervor and deep — deep enough for his swollen tip to graze your womb every single time.

Your hands draped over his broad shoulders slid down his back, clutching onto him like he was your lifeline as white, hot flashes began to blind you in the building heat between your intermingling fluid. 

The tight, clenching muscles ridged across his back as his cock delved desperately into you, its bulging girth pushing apart your sopping folds in a frenzied speed. The wet, squelches slapped violently in the silence of the quiet street as he arched his back with his hips in a emphasizing angle, as if dedicating all his willpower and absolute strength into his thrusts. 

Like he was a man on a mission as he pounded his cock into you.

Breathy groans from you were accompanied by low growls rumbling in his chest as you stared at the dark houses behind him between weakly fluttering eyelids and lips hanging open in a euphoric daze.

One particular brutal prod of his engorged cock against your womb hit the spot, prompting the heat curling in your core to snap.

A sinful moan slipped feverishly from your lips as a hot burst of pleasure surged through you, lighting every nerve in an electrifying euphoria. 

High on the orgasmic thrill convulsing inside you, you felt your clenching walls grip his cock in a choking hold and heard him drag a broken groan through his throat at the peak of his own orgasm.

Mirio couldn’t help the delirious sigh sifting giddily through his lips, relishing the relief he desperately sought earlier engulfing him as his twitching cock released its bulging load in spurts of white, thick ropes onto your walls.

The moan from your high withered to a whimper as he rocked his pelvis languorously against yours, jutting his cock into you over and over until there was nothing left to ejaculate. 

You were surprised no one woke up despite how vocal and raunchy you two sounded.

The carnal heat between was quickly dissipating in the cool air as quivering, ragged breathing heaved and fell with your joined bodies.

“…Did I say you could cum inside me, Mr. Lemillion?” You teased between your harsh pants. You could feel his seeds pouring between your legs, leaving you in warm trails of trickles down your thighs.

Amusement tugged a side of your lips, carving a playful smirk as you felt his body stiffen under you. You heard him curse just as you were leaning away from his shoulders.

“M-My bad, I’ll take responsibility if anything happens. I swear I will—” 

You pressed your lips into his and your tongue slyly darted into his opened mouth mid-sentence, sensually sucking on his. 

Your lips quirked into a smirk once more against his as you drank in the delicious moan you felt rumble from the depth of his chest.

The brush of his hand against your cheek made you break away before he could do anything more. 

The smirk never left you as you gazed down at his flustered face.

“Just kidding, I’m on the pill.” You tilted your head haughtily at him.

You laughed and pushed yourself off him, walking away in the direction of your house, but paused partway.

“Oh yeah, feel free to steal back a kiss anytime, Mr. Lemillion.” 

You threw him a wink over your shoulder.

”You know where to find me.” A curt gesture at a certain house ahead, you turned to go.

“The name’s Mirio Togata!”

You heard him call after you, and your lips curled. 

tags:@shoutodoki​, @princessbunnie666, @glaringlights​, @platinumbelle​, @shamelessyouthqueen​, @lowermoons​, @xaki​, @shippingangel​, @itachianddazai, @khemz1312​, @kageybee​, @toothirsty4main​

[breadoffoxy]

Of Insults and Flowers

Summary: You weren’t sure what to expect when a hot customer comes barging into your shop, but the depletion of your flowers representing insults and falling in love was definitely not on the list.

Written for the  BTS Ghostie Writers Bingo Bash. Prompt: Florist!AU

Pairing: Jungkook x n. Reader

Genre: Fluff, one sprinkle of angst, humor, florist!AU

Warnings: Some language, cheesy flirting, kissing, an innuendo, Jin being the best chaotic friend, brother, and boss a person could ever want.

Word Count: 5,363

The day at the shop has been slow. Here you are trimming yet another thorn off yet another rose. One large pile on the left slowly shifting to become a large pile on the right. Your phone is hooked up to a little speaker playing music that's irresistible to dance to.

The clanging of the bell on the door makes you squeak as you quickly look up. Your dancing form is frozen as you hope that they didn't see your booty shaking.

A young man strides forward purposefully, large eyes intently focused on your form behind the counter. Crap he totally saw you dancing.

Double crap he is super-hot.

The brunette customer is decked out in all black from his large shirt, jeans, and clunky boots. Tattoos peek out from under his sleeves on muscular arms. Small silver hoops swing from his ears from his hurried pace.

When the man reaches the counter, his hands slam down on the surface making you jump. From their position you see more tattoos inked across his hands. The grip on your cutters tightens. The type of customer that is impatient, rude, and knows better than you have frequently entered your shop, but no one has ever entered like this. You're not sure what set the brunette off as you never seen him in your shop before. You would have remembered him if he did.

"How do you say fuck you in flowers."

"...Excuse me?"

"I need a bouquet to give to a...acquaintance. One that says fuck you, and not the good fuck you. Sure, he's good looking for someone his age but ah sorry that's not the point." He runs a hand through his dark locks. The action makes it look incredibly fluffy. "The point is, I need flowers that look pretty but are a proverbial middle finger."

The only sound is the music from your phone. Body rigid despite the tune you love, you stare at him with wide eyes.

An awkward beat passes between the two of you as you try to gauge the hot madman in front of you. He seems to finally notice the death grip you got on your cutters and the confusion in your eyes.

Black boots take a couple of careful steps away from the counter. He raises his hands in front of him.

"Sorry...I'm just really frustrated at this guy. I didn't mean to scare you."

Quickly the young man bows deeply. "Please forgive me."

Ok, now you are even more shook at the situation.

Your hand loosens its grip on the cutters a bit as you wave your hands frantically.

"It's ok, please don't bow. I was just really surprised."

The man straightens slightly from his 90-degree angle and looks at you with large eyes. The intensity of them has simmered down to a sheepish look begging for forgiveness. 

Oh god, the hot man just turned into an adorable puppy.

"Just don't walk into someone's store like that again, ok."

You place the cutters on the table gently but keep your hands lingering close to the tool. The man returns to his deep bow.

"That acquaintance must be a piece of work."

Straightening, the man huffs and smiles sardonically, "Oh, you have no idea."

"Fill me in, that way I can get the appropriate 'fuck you' across."

"Ok, so I work at Kim's." At the lost look on your face he adds "That small restaurant on the other side of the neighborhood."

"Oh, I think I've seen the sign before?"

"Seriously? Their food is to die for. Sorry, I keep getting off point. Jin, he's the head chef there. His brother is on vacation and he's been missing him which causes him to act up more. The two are a force together but on their own its a whole other story."

You learn that the man in front of you is a server at Kim's as he regales tales of his boss Kim Seokjin, head chef. He misses his youngest brother Taehyung dearly, and has been acting out as a result. Dad jokes have been at an all-time high along with bickering over every little thing with is servers. Without Taehyung there, apparently no one comes close to the man named worldwide handsome in the looks department causing him to gloat about his looks more frequently as well. Many of the stories have you laughing. Leaning against the counter you're completely invested in every word the young man tells you.

"So here I am because Tae wanted me to buy his brother some flowers as a gift. As a friend it is my duty, but I feel like this is my time to get some revenge as well you know?"

You nod sagely in complete understanding. "I think I have just the ensemble of flowers for you...ummm...sorry I didn't catch your name?"

"Sorry, I really am an idiot. I'm Jeon Jungkook."

"Nice to meet you Jungkook. I'm y/n. Just give me a minute and I'll be back with some flowers."

You ponder over the flowers in your stock for a moment before carefully grabbing some to take back to the counter. Jungkook looks over your colorful assortment in curiosity.

You pick up an orange lily from the pile for Jungkook to inspect. "If you want the biggest fuck you in flower then this is it."

Next you pick up a delicate white flower. "This is orange mock, which means deceit. I thought it would be appropriate as well."

Jungkook carefully takes the flower from you, fingers brushing against yours accidentally in the process. The touch makes you jolt slightly. It goes unnoticed as the customer appraises the flower.

"Why is it called orange mock when it's white?"

Slightly still flustered you do your best to answer. "Its um well... you see the flower looks similar to orange blossoms. if you smell it, it also smells citrusy kinda, and that is why they have that name. Fake oranges."

Jungkook tilts his head down and takes a deep breath of the orange mock. He looks up with a smile partially hidden behind the flowers. You think your heart may have stopped at the sight.

"It does smell nice."

"So, um this last one," you sputter and focus on the cluster of flowers on the counter instead of the customer who's smiling with glittering eyes over your shyness, "is a zinnia. They come in many colors but they mean thinking of an absent friend. I figured your friend would appreciate part of the flowers being partly symbolic in the way he wants."

Jungkook picks up the zennia that's a mix of yellow and orange with highlights of pink. "He would like that." With all three of the flowers now in his grasp he nods. "Plus, I get to be petty now."

"Exactly. Now how would you like these wrapped?"

"You wouldn't happen to have a small vase for these would you? Something that's not too expensive?"

"I got something that'll work."

You retreat to another section of your little shop and return with a simple and small glass vase.

"Will this do?" You tilt the vase for Jungkook to see the price tag on the bottom.

"Yeah that'll be fine."

Putting the flowers in your outstretched hand, Jungkook watches in fascination as you assemble the flowers together.

"Tada! How do you like it?" You exclaim after you put in the last flower.

"It's perfect, thank you."

Making a customer satisfied has never made you happier. Quickly you scribble everything down on the receipt pad as Jungkook pulls his wallet out from his back pocket. You give him the receipt which he quickly looks over before giving you his card.

"Alright, I hope Jin likes it." You can't help but giggle. "Thank you for your purchase."

"No, thank you y/n." He bows quickly again before picking up the vase. He walks out of your shop, but not before giving you a little wave goodbye.

A few hectic days pass after that as you fulfill an order for a bridezilla's wedding. You almost forget about the ordeal until a tall handsome man with wide shoulders enters your shop. You can't help admiring the man as you cut off a long piece of ribbon to tie around a small arrangement. That is until your eyes spot a familiar looking assortment of orange and white flowers in a little glass vase. Crap, you hope he isn't here to yell at you. Double crap because he is more attractive than Jungkook mentioned, if he is who you think he is.

He notes you eyeing the flowers he holds with wide eyes. "Recognize these do you?" He places them on the counter as he leans over it slightly. "Imagine my surprise when I thought I was being gifted this beautiful bouquet," One of his hands waves at the flowers before resting on his hip and his polite smile turns into a frown, "were part a lovely message from my brother, but also an insult from that brat."

The fingers on his other hand strum against the table, adding to your anxiousness. "You can imagine how shocked and upset I was when my beloved smart brother told me the true meaning of these flowers."

"I'm sorry about that sir." You force out your customer service voice. "Our refund policy would not cover these flowers as there are no defects."

"Oh no, I'm not here for a refund."

What is up with these hot men making you so confused.

"I want my own insult flowers to give back to him."

"...Okay?"

So here you are going over different flowers with the handsome customer who you learn is indeed Jin, mister worldwide handsome himself.

The two of you decided on monkshood, a pretty purple flower that's poisonous if eaten, among a bundle of pink and white Rhododendron. Basically, it’s a batch of flowers warning Jungkook to watch his back. You make sure Jin promises to keep the monkshood away from food and he swore on his pride a chef he would never ruin food like that for someone.

"Thanks, Flower, for the flowers." Jin winks at you with a chuckle. "Come by the restaurant sometime and I'll whip you up something good. My treat."

You stand there a bit baffled as the man makes his exit.

For some reason you're not surprised when Jungkook stops by a couple days later asking for more flowers to serve as insults to his boss. The two keep coming back and forth to your shop. You find it entertaining and honestly their feud is really good for your business. Seeing the attractive men always makes your day a bit better. However, you're starting to run out of different flowers that they would consider insults. Jungkook did just buy out all the buttercups you had left to give to his somewhat childish boss.

One day while watering your plants you receive a phone call. Cradling the phone between your shoulder and you're ear you answer, "Hello, this is Spring Day how may I help you?"

"Hello, this is Kim Namjoon from Kim's restaurant. I'm sure you're familiar with the name with your two loyal customers."

You can't help the chuckle at the tone of Namjoon's voice. "Yes, very familiar." The common visits of the two have sparked a unique friendship. It hasn't helped that the attraction you felt for the younger frequent customer has turned into quite the crush.

"The arrangements you have been making for my brother and Jungkook have been displayed around the restaurant and the customers have been noting how much they like them. We would like to hire you to supply flowers for our place sets if that is something you are interested in. If so, I have some numbers ready to go over with you."

"Ok Mr. Kim, thank you for the opportunity. Let's talk some business."

After Namjoon and you discuss prices and scheduling you eventually came to a solid agreement. When the phone call is over you can't help but do a happy dance. You're so proud of how your little business is growing.

Despite Jin and Jungkook visiting your store so often, you still haven’t visited Kim’s Restaurant until now. You stand out of the classy looking restaurant with your first delivery. Assorted colors of orchids fill the box, the simple yet elegant flower you and Taehyung agreed upon would work best to start with for now.

The youngest Kim brother emailed you upon returning from his vacation. He was the one in charge of the restaurant's graphic and interior design. He often worked as a host, greeting everyone who enters with a boxy smile. One was aimed your way just now as he helps you with the door to get inside. "Great to see you y/n, come in, come in."

Enthusiastically he ushers you into the restaurant. It's early in the morning so there are no customers yet. A lovely smell wafts from the kitchen as you follow Taehyung to a table further back. The restaurant is very chic looking with black and white pictures of various sizes and settings hanging on the walls.

"These photos are all beautiful Taehyung. Are they all yours?"

"They are." Taehyung is beaming at the compliment. "I took new photos on my trip so I can't wait to get those developed. Now let's look at those flowers."

Taehyung helps you carefully take the flowers out of the box and set them on the table. Namjoon, a couple of tables over with what looks like important papers and folders, tries to come over and help, but Taehyung shoos him away. "He'll destroy the whole batch if we aren't careful y/n." He whispers playfully to you.

"I can hear you; you know that right."

Namjoon just gets Taehyung's signature smile in return. The back door opening and slamming shut drags your attention towards the back hall.

"Yah! What have I told you punks about that door, huh?" An aggravated voice yells from the kitchen.

"Sorry Yoongi," comes a triage of voices. You're excited to see Jungkook come into view along with two other men. Your favorite customer stops with wide eyes as he notices you. A smile quickly blooms on his face and he makes his way over to you excitedly.

"Y/n! You finally came."

The two other men look at the scene with interest, recognizing your name instantly as it comes out of the youngest staff member's mouth.

"Hey Jungkook, sorry it took me so long, and that it's for work. I'm an awful friend huh?"

Jungkook whips his head side to side. "No, no, your business keeps you busy. I'm just glad you're finally here."

The young server leans close to you to get a good view of the flowers on the table. The other two servers behind him share a knowing look before approaching.

"So, you're the famous y/n, we've heard a lot about you." You turn to see the attractive men bow in greeting. "I'm Jimin." Greets the grinning blonde who gets elbowed by Jungkook after his statement.

"Hiya! I'm Hoseok, nice to finally meet you." He makes a cute sound effect as he also examines the flowers. "These are really pretty."

"Thank you, and nice to meet you too." You beam at the two servers. Jungkook's hip suddenly bumps into yours softly making you look at him questioningly. He only smiles at you so you bump your hip back into his.

"Wait, is that my Flower that I hear?" A voice comes from the kitchen as a head peeks through the server's opening in the wall that also lets customers see into the kitchen. "It is!"

Junkook frowns at the nickname as Jimin, Hoseok, and Taehyung laugh at his disappointed face.

"Hello Jin." You call out to the man walking his way out of the kitchen. He makes his way over towards you and opens his arms for a hug which you gladly return.

"Oh, it's so cool to see you in your chef's outfit." Jin's wide shoulders fill out his black chef's jacket which is tied tightly around his thin waist. The chef's ears turn slightly red at your compliment. "Oh stop...tell me more."

"Ok, that's enough back to work." The grumpy voice calls over from the open area into the kitchen. The man with dark hair, you assume must be Yoongi, nods in greeting before disappearing.

"On my way Yoongles!" 

You swear you can fell the sigh that came from the kitchen.

"Don't think I forgot my promise to treat you to something y/n. Prepared to be blown away." The tall chef blows a kiss to you dramatically before reentering the kitchen.

"Ok guys," Namjoon claps at the servers. "Let's go over today's items." He ignores the collective groans. "You're good Taehyung and y/n?"

You nod as Taehyung answers, "All set."

Jungkook hips bump into yours as he follows the others to Namjoon's table. He smirks over his shoulder and sends you a little finger wave, which you return. Straightening your shoulders, you turn back to Taehyung and the two of you get into business mode. You figure out which arrangements you want on each table, making the displays form a slight pattern based off color. Taehyung and you now stand near the host's table, eyeing the flowers approvingly.

"This look's good y/n, thank you for the hard work."

"I'd say a lot of this is a win for you. You have a really good eye Taehyung."

Taehyung playfully puts a hand on his heart and looks at you with the cutest expression. Namjoon walks from the back and nods at the flowers approvingly as well as he passes.

"Y/n have a seat please." You follow the two Kims to Namjoon's table where you discuss further business. That is until a bowl of japchae is put down in front of you. The sight and smell of it make your mouth water.

"Compliments of the Chef." Grins Jungkook, who is now changed into his server uniform of a black button up long sleeves shirt tucked into black slacks with a sleek black belt. Not used to seeing him dressed so sharp, you can't help that your eyes look him over appreciatively.

"Sorry y/n, but Jungkook isn't on the menu."

You whip your head to look at the youngest Kim brother looking slightly affronted. Taehyung's head is resting in his hands propped up on the table and is grinning at your reaction. Taehyung winks at you while Namjoon snickers as he busies himself with his papers.

"Eat it before it gets cold y/n" prods the grinning server besides you. You pick up the chopsticks ready to bury yourself into the heavenly looking japchae and pretend you don't exist. Flavor explodes in your mouth the taste is-

"I wouldn't mind if you wanted to order me though."

You're choking on the noodles, coughing to try to clear your throat. Oh god this was how you're going to die.

Hands are hitting your back trying to help you clear the food. Luckily the food gets cleared quickly and a large glass of water is placed next to you. Quickly you gulp down the water as a large hand gently rubs up and down your back soothingly. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah..." You clear your throat for good measure. "Yeah I'll be good."

The perfect server, Jungkook refills your water quickly.

"Thanks."

"Don't kill our customer and florist now Junkook." Namjoon slightly disciplines.

"Sorry boss. Sorry about that y/n."

You see the young man look sheepish and enter a deep and apologetic bow.

"You're going to kill me one of these days Jungkook I just know it." At your teasing tone Jungkook brightens up immediately.

“If that happens, I’m sure it would be from me giving you too much love.”

You roll your eyes at his cheesiness. He’s clearly learned from the best.

“Now go on, give it a try.”

You take another bite of food, and you're grateful no one says anything as you appreciate the taste slowly.

"Tell the chef this is amazing and thank you."

"He'll be glad to hear it." With a slight bow, Jungkook heads back to the kitchen. The sound of some sort of commotion starts back there making everyone at the table shake their head.

"Sorry for the trouble y/n."

"It's no problem Namjoon. I'm quite fond of it now."

Time flies by before you know it. You're busy at Spring Day fulfilling orders and spending your time at Kim's, not all of it for business. It's a lively environment, and going there has made your days so much more enjoyable. It also made your crush on the server Jungkook a whole lot stronger and into something more real and concrete. His flirting still shocks you every time much to everyone's amusement at the restaurant.

The bells on the door clang loudly making you stop your dancing to greet your customer. A loud voice greets you back. "Hello Flower! How are you today?"

"Hey Jin. Just cutting thorns off roses...again." Seriously cutting thorns off roses seems to be a never-ending task for you but that's what you get for being a florist.

"So, what brings you in today?" You glance at the calendar tacked up to the wall. "It's not delivery day."

Jin looks at you with a mockingly offended expression. "What, so I can't just come here to visit my favorite florist?"

"I'm the only florist you know Jin."

"Fine, fine you got me. I am here for a reason."

"I told you I don't have any new revenge flowers to give you. You'll have to do repeats if you want any."

"Nope that's not the reason I'm here today, but you know you really need to get some new ones in."

You raise an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to get to the point.

"What brings me here today is..." He taps a drum roll on the counter top. "...is love."

"Love?"

"Yes, love!"

"Ok, I'm getting a little offended with your blank stare of yours right now." Jin confesses.

You lean against the counter, careful not to smush any roses, and rest your head on the palm of your hand. "So, tell me of this love of yours."

Jin mimics your position and you feel like two kids gossiping.

"Well they are really sweet, and they get super cute when their shy. He li- I like their smile and laugh. Makes my heart flutter and all that."

"Uh-huh. What's their name?”

Jin winks at you. "Now that's a secret y/n."

"Of course it is." You can't help but roll your eyes. "So, does your lover know about your feelings and this is a gift, or are you needing to use the flowers to confess."

"The second one." Jin points finger guns at you.

"Alright, do you know what their favorite flower is." You straighten up and reach out for your inventory book.

"Uhh, what's your favorite flower."

The binder falls to the ground with a slap after your surprise caused you to fumble it.

"J-Jin," You squeak. "Are you confessing to me?"

You love Jin, but not that way. Your heart beats faster despite that, it feels like a hummingbird in your chest. You've never received a confession before.

"What, no no no, not me! Oh god I'm sorry I didn't mean for it to sound like that." He denies until he sees the look of disappointment in your face. You know you are not interested in him like that but his strong refusal makes your eyes sting.

"...Oh, that's fine. Good yeah, because I don't see you that way either." You try to play it off, but your voice doesn't sound that convincing. You bend down to pick up your binder. quickly trying to get your act together, you stay hidden a second longer behind the counter than you need to.

When you pop back up from behind the counter you keep your eyes focused on the inventory book you open up and avoid looking at the handsome man in front of you.

"So unlike revenge flowers, there are a lot more flowers that represent love."

Large hands cup your face and to pull your gaze to meet warm eyes that are worried yet reassuring.

"y/n there are so many people out there that love you. All of us at the restaurant," He pauses to wipe a stray tear with his thumb. "It may not be all romantic love, but you're part of our family now. So, don't be sad. I know there's someone who will give you the love you deserve. You got that Flower."

You nod your head in his warm grip. His hands stroke your cheeks before pulling away.

"These flowers are for...for someone else, but I know I can trust you to make something beautiful full of love."

You sniffle, but a smile is on your face now as you flip to the page you need. You’re lucky to have such a good friend. "Well let's get started on making the best confession bouquet that's going to knock their socks off."

Jin smiles at you reassuringly as the two of you look over your stock. You explain the flower meanings to him as you go along. After analyzing a variety of choices, the two of you decide to go with a simple arrangement of red tulips and orange blossoms.

At first Jin was wanting to go for the iconic roses, but you explained that something different with a similar meaning might be good by impressing the receiver with not the default choice. It could just be you and your high stack of roses you still have to dethorn, but you’re a little tired of the beautiful flower. Jin quickly relents and goes for the red tulips that you explain represents a declaration of love, and to believe the person giving the flowers is honest in their feelings.

He does question your choosing of orange blossoms as a filler flower to the bouquet over the traditional carnations, but you explain that they have a similar meaning as well and it would be something unique. It has nothing to do with the memory of Jungkook serenely smelling orange mock and looking at you in-between the delicate blossoms. Orange blossoms allude to innocence, eternal love, marriage and fruitfulness. You ignore the eyebrow wiggle Jin gives you at that last part.

"Do you want me to wrap these up for you, or just the bundle as is?"

"Wrap them up like one of your french flowers for me would you."

You roll your eyes as he laughs at his own joke.

"You should come by the restaurant tonight. It's dessert night." The chef sings to you.

You started the tradition of joining the staff at Kim's for a meal once a week after the store closes. Once in a blue moon, Jin and Yoongi go a bit over the top and make crazy beautiful fragile pieces of art they call desserts. When the rare mood strikes them to undergo the delicate process of creating such treats, the rest of the staff dresses up for the occasion to match the aesthetic food and to feel fancy once in a while.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Jin smiles fondly at you and carefully takes the flowers out of the shop, but not before giving you his signature flying kiss as goodbye.

Your shoes click on the ground as you approach Kim's. You glance at the time to make sure you weren't too early as it was dark inside. You peek inquisitively through the glass and you see Taehyung waving at you in dim lighting. After getting to know Taehyung better, you don't question things like why he would be standing alone in the dark at the front of his restaurant.

You wave back as the man rushes towards the door to let you in.

"Don't you look beautiful tonight."

"Same goes to you Taehyung."

Really Taehyung was dressed in rather laid-back clothes then what he normally wears for dessert nights. However, he's always beautiful no matter what he does which is so unfair.

Glancing around the dark restaurant, you don't see anyone else, though that could be because of the poor lighting.

"Why is it to dark in here Tae, and where is everyone?"

"They're out back. We're trying out something different this time."

He makes a dramatic bow and holds his arm out to you. Giggling at his antics, you link arms with his and he leads you through the restaurant.

Taehyung pats your arm reassuringly before unlinking his from yours as the two of you stop at a table adorned with a set of candles. With another flourish he pulls out one of the chairs at the table for you to sit at.

You look at him, to the romantic table settings, and then to the chair before hesitantly sitting down.

"Ok Tae, what is going on?"

He just grins that boxy smile of his before moving back into the kitchen, leaving you to sit anxiously at the table. Your fingers fiddle together before a figure steps out from the kitchen.

A quiet gasp escapes you as you take in the man dressed in black walking slowly your way. He's wearing his normal working attire just like Taehyung, the black button up shirt, black slacks with belt; but this time the top few buttons are undone showing you a tease of skin. The sleeves are rolled up showing off his strong tattooed arms that he knows you admire.

And he's holding a bouquet of red tulips and orange blossoms.

"J-Jungkook..I..what are you..."

You turn in your seat, about to stand before he motions you to stay sitting. He kneels in front of you and takes your hand in his. He brings it up to his lips, his eyes never leaving yours as he places a delicate kiss on the back of your palm.

You feel your heart trying to beat out of your chest, blood flushes to your head and it feels really hot all of a sudden. He holds the flowers for you to take without letting your hand go.

"Someone told me you like these."

You take the flowers and breathe them in. "They're perfect."

"Just like you."

Your foot kicks out at him lightly, embarrassed at his words.

"The flowers are telling you to believe me you know. Do you, do you believe in me?"

You see the earnestness in his eyes as he looks at you, remember all of those non-accidental touches as his thumb runs circles on your hands, the sweet words that come out of those perfect lips, the way your heart beats faster every time he's near you and dulls when he is gone. How you dreamed of kissing him as you lick your lips, his eyes following the movement.

"I do."

He leans forward until his lips meet yours in a soft kiss. His lips trace over yours as soft as a petal would. Shyly, you push your lips towards his, continuing the kiss. Your grip on his hands tighten as the hand with flowers seeks the table blindly as your bodies come closer together. His free hand comes to hold the back of your head, tangling itself in your locks to angle your head to deepen the kiss. You can't stop the breathy moan that escapes your lips, making Jungkook smirk into the kiss.

"Ok, time for dessert!"

The yell makes you jump, startled to remember you are not exactly alone. Jungkook groans as he breaks the kiss and glares over his shoulder.

"Jin they were having a moment!" Yells out Yoongi as Jin bustles out of the kitchen carrying two plates of dessert.

"I don't want them to have any more of a moment because I don't want my place of business to become unsanitary with their fruitfulness."

"Don't worry boss, we'll take our fruitfulness somewhere else."

"Oh no you don't, not after Yoongi and I made you these. Now sit down and eat."

You hide your face with a groan. Some things change and then some never do.

[star-spangled-bingo]

Star Spangled Flash Bingo

Wohoo this is our first flash bingo and it will run from January 18th to April 18th - we might do another after that depending on the success of this one and how our schedules look by then. Consider this a trial for both you guys and us. 

Let’s get some questions out of the way first: 

Can I sign up for the flash bingo if I haven’t signed up for a full card?

Yes you absolutely can. Just like you can sign up for this one as well as the other. 

Can fill a square from my regular card and one with this one with the same fic?

Yes if you double the acquired wordcount. The same goes for every other media. Just double the minimum and you’re good.  

Will we receive a badge for blacking out a flash card?

You betcha

Can I sign up for more than one flash bingo card?

Afraid not. Not this first time around at least. You have to pick one and commit to it. HOWEVER if you finish long before the flash is over and contact us via ask we might be able to let you sign up for a second flash card ;)

Important Dates for Flash Bingo

Sign Ups: Starts Jan 18th and closes March 18th 2021

Last chance to post a flash fic: April 10th 2021

Last chance to post masterlist and request a badge: April 18th

All blackouts receive a badge and will join our hall of fame under flash bingo participants 2021

General rules for the Bingo is the same as for the main bingo but let’s repeat them shall we:

Purpose of the Bingo

The focus is still the three caps but each card comes with a few challenges on its own. Scroll down to find a link to the cards and the rules for each. 

All Bingo cards are SFW as a rule but that doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to write smut if you are over the age of 18. We just want to give every writer a chance to participate no matter if they write smut or not (hey that rhymed). 

Restrictions

- No abusive ships are allowed. Some ships like Winteriron can be abusive if you focus on the negative but can also be based on healing, therefore they are a grey zone and fall under think about what you write, if you chose a pairing such as that one. Shipping Bucky with Rumlow will always be abusive and as a rule no villains shipped with heroes allowed. (Loki might be an exception cause he is a grey character, just think before you write with him too).

-No pairing an adult with an underage character. No aging up or down. This goes for side pairings as well so no Starker!

- No incest - that goes for Thorki as a sidepairing as well. Adopted or not they grew up as brothers.

- No non/dub con are allowed either. 

- You can’t write smut if you are under the age of 18. If we catch you doing so you will be blocked from the bingo page and banned for participating.

- You can’t write smut if you are under 18. Everyone can write fluff, angst, crack, etc.

Formats and requirements

- Fics must state what square you fill, warnings, word count and pairing - if no pairing just write general (check the format page for ideas on how to format your post)

- Social Media AUs, Aesthetics, Edits, Fanart, Fanvids, podfics must have square filled, pairing and if needed warnings. 

- Everything you post as a fill must be original and new content - or if you read someone’s fic as a podfic explicit consent from the author must have been given and they have to be credited on your post. 

- Fics must have a minimum of 250 words - fics over 500 must have a keep reading to be reblogged. 

- Use common sense for when posting artworks into long posts. They might need a cut too.

- Aesthetics have a 4 picture minimum and preferably accompanied by a 100-word description or drabble - words are not a must

- Gifsets has a 6 picture minimum.

- One piece of fanart in form of a drawing by hand or a computer program is considered a fill. 

- Social media Aus must be a min of 6 pictures. 

- Podfics must be a min of 3 min.

- Fanvids must be a min of 30 sec. 

- All content can be added via link not to an original Tumblr post if you so choose as long as there is a Tumblr post with the format requirements we can reblog and the Tumblr post must be linked too on the masterlist you create when your card is filled. 

- IF WE FORGOT YOUR TYPE OF ARTWORK SEND US AN ASK AND WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO WORK SOMETHING OUT - we are pretty open to all types of creative outlets but it’s hard to put restrictions of stuff we don’t know or know very little about.

- One square per fic/artwork. If you write a series each chapter can be considered a fill or the entire series can be a fill if you so choose. No combining squares within the bingo.

- You are free to combine our bingo with another bingo with no additional requirements added from our end. Just make sure you follow the other bingos rules too. 

- If you combine with our main bingo though we ask you double the minimum requirement of your chosen media for it to count as a fill for both. Otherwise we will ask you to choose. 

- Warn accordingly. If warnings are spoilers put them in the tags and tell people to check your tags for additional warnings on the post.

- You don’t have to use the same media for the entire card. You can have 3 fics and 1 vid and the rest fics fx.

- Tag us @star-spangled-bingo and make clear the fic is for SSB SPRING FLASH 2021 and use the #SSB Spring Flash2021 on each square you fill.

Sanctions for breaking the rules

- If your post lacks a keep reading we won’t reblog it but it will still count as a fill.

- If you don’t tag us we can’t reblog you and if you don’t say it’s for SSB2020 in your header we won’t count it as a fill until you edited it into the post. This seems strict but we got 2019 floating and it is impossible to know which card what is for if you don’t mark it down for us. 

- If your fill fail to meet the minimum requirements your fill will be reblogged but won’t count as a fill unless you add to it to meet the minimum. 

- If your post doesn’t clearly show square filled, we won’t reblog it and it won’t count as a fill until you edited it in. 

- If we discover you write smut and are under 18 - you will be blocked from the bingo blog and banned from participating in the bingo in the future even when you reach the age of 18. 

- If you break this rule: No abusive ships are allowed. No pairing an adult with an underage character. No aging up or down. No incest and no glorification of non/dub con are allowed either. All of these go for side pairing also so no Thorki and Starker. Your post won’t count as a fill, nor will it be reblogged. You’ll get a reminder of our rules the first time you break it and the second you will be banned from the bingo.

Find the Flash Cards and the rules that are specific to them here!

Find the format requirements here!

Sign Up for a Flash Card Here!

Best of luck and have fun!

Kari, Erin, Jules and Becki

[simplybakugou]

Take Care of You

↝ Anything can happen when you’re alone in Recovery Girl’s office with the one girl you have a major crush on...

BINGO SPACE: Hair Playing

⋆ PAIRING: momo x fem!reader ⋆ WARNINGS/TAGS: fluff :) ⋆ WORD COUNT: 2486

A/N: another @bnhabookclub​ bingo piece? yes :) i’ve learned that writing for the girls is so much easier and enjoyable for me (maybe its just my bi-ness showing lol) but i really like writing for other characters now! thank you to @pinkcowgirleggpanda​ for requesting momo for this prompt!

FULL BINGO MASTERLIST

✐posted 07.29.2020✐

“Y/N, don’t get too caught up in all this,” Recovery Girl commented, moving away from the raucous occurring in the training room.

“You don’t have to worry about me, I’m just watching everyone work so hard,” you said, catching up with your mentor as you walked by her side. “They all have such strong and flashy quirks, it’s so cool!”

“You also have a strong quirk, too, remember that,” Recovery Girl said gently, smiling slightly at you.

Going to a notorious school such as U.A. had its perks, especially since so many of your peers were in the limelight due to their quirks. But you were in the support class, helping out Recovery Girl as your quirk was a healing quirk. You knew since you had developed your quirk that you wanted to help people in pain and lessen their suffering through the alleviation of your quirk. Being able to work with a hero like Recovery Girl definitely let you not only showcase your quirk but also strengthen yourself in the areas where you were lacking.

“I know but it’s cool to see them fight,” you replied with a smile.

“It seems that the kids are finishing up here,” Recovery Girl said, turning around and making her way back to her office. “No one seems to be injured so we can be on our way.”

“Alright,” you said, waving goodbye to a few of your peers that you managed to befriend in class 1-A. You made eye contact with Yaoyorozu specifically who sent you a small smile in your direction, causing you to nearly choke on your breath. Since the first time you saw class 1-A face to face while assisting Recovery Girl, Yaoyorozu was the first one to catch your eye. She was stunning to say the least, and she was intelligent and diligent. Watching from afar you could see how she cared for her classmates, showing exactly why she was one of the strongest students and the number one in class.

The more you showed up during their trainings, the more a few of the students from class 1-A paid attention to you, especially the girls. They appreciated how kind you were when healing their injuries and didn’t hesitate to protect you when creeps like Mineta attempted to purposely injure himself in order to get closer to you. But amongst all the girls you couldn’t help but stare at Yaoyorozu at times. She practically took your breath away and that was just when she was standing still doing nothing. 

“What’re we doing next?” You asked Recovery Girl who sat down at her desk.

“Aizawa let me know that the kids are going on practice missions. They’re supposed to be going after a few of the upperclassmen in pairs who are acting as villains.” She paused for a moment. “It should be some good practice for them to undergo what a mission is like for pros who are often thrown with other pro heroes at random sometimes.”

“I see. And are we on standby to help them out, too?” You asked.

“Yes. You can head out and wait with those students who are waiting for their turn in the classroom if you’d like. I know you’re close with a few of the girls in there. I’ll page you down when I need you.”

You stood to your feet, already making your way out the room as you were excited to be around your friends. “Alright, I’ll see you soon!”

As you made your way through the mildly crowded halls, waving to a few of your classmates you recognized, you couldn’t help but feel nervous the closer you got to class 1-A. You initially felt overjoyed to be able to be around other students you had befriended, especially since they weren’t in your class and you didn’t see them as often as your own classmates. But you knew that if you ended up being around that specific person again, you wouldn’t know how to act.

“Y/N!” Mina exclaimed as she spotted you by the doorway. She didn’t hesitate to throw her arms around your neck, embracing you in a hug. “What’re you doing here?”

“Recovery Girl told me that you guys are going on practice missions so she’s letting me hang in here until she needs me,” you informed her as you both made your way to the back of the class where the other girls were sitting. The class was relatively empty as most of the students were preparing for their turn or strategizing with their partners for the makeshift mission. Aizawa was still in the room, overlooking the students at his desk. He greeted you briefly as you sat next to Uraraka.

“Who’s up right now?” You asked the girls. Currently Jirou, Uraraka, Mina, and Tsuyu were the only ones sitting together. Hagakure was nowhere to be found and you couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment to see that Yaoyorozu was missing from the group as well.

“Yaomomo was one of the first ones to go,” Tsuyu said.

“Yeah and I feel bad for her; her partner’s Mineta,” Jirou said and all of you felt a similar shiver run down your spine at the sound of the pervert’s name. 

“Poor girl. I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes right now,” Uraraka said, earning nods from the rest of her friends in agreement.

“But anyways, how’re your classes going, Y/N?” Mina asked, leaning her head on the desk you were all crowded around.

“Yeah! How’s working with Recovery Girl been?” Tsuyu added.

“My classes have been relatively fine. Working with Recovery Girl can be challenging, especially since I realized how little I don’t know about my own quirk. But overall it’s been pretty fun! I mean, I want to be a hero that helps people and heals them so this is the best practice I can get for that,” you explained.

“Your quirk’s pretty cool, too,” Jirou said and you smiled, thanking her. For the next few minutes you caught up with your friends, learning about all the crazy times and instances that occur in class 1-A. It was unbelievable that these were the same students being constantly caught up in the League of Villains’ schemes and you couldn’t help but feel sorry for all that they had to go through.

As Tsuyu was speaking, your phone began buzzing in your pocket, alerting you that Recovery Girl needed you back in her office. “Well, it was nice catching up with you guys even if it was for a few minutes.”

You waved goodbye to your friends and to a few other students you hadn’t spoken to but had just noticed you and you made your way back to the office. You couldn’t help but wonder who it was that needed your assistance. 

You pushed open the door to the office and nearly choked on your breath at the sight before you. Recovery Girl turned to you. “Oh, you’re here.”

“What happened?” You asked, standing on the opposite side of the bed that Yaoyorozu was laying upon, her face red as she looked feverish.

“One of the upperclassmen’s quirks can induce their opponents into a sickness. It looks like they gave her a fever but she’ll be alright.” Recovery Girl proceeded towards the door. “One of the other students had a minor injury so I’ll be heading over there to see the damage. Just wait by her side and decrease her temperature with your quirk while I’m gone.”

You nodded, hearing the door shut and you grabbed a chair to sit beside the bed. You could feel your hands shaking as you looked down at Yaoyorozu’s body, hesitant to touch her but you quickly got yourself together, understanding that you had to put your feelings aside for her sake. 

Within no time you lowered her body temperature so that she wasn’t sweating profusely as she was when you first saw her. Your hands were resting on her face as you continued to activate your quirk. You felt your nerves going insane at the proximity of your body with hers and you felt like you were going to spontaneously combust.

Finally you removed your hands from her face, letting out a sigh as you had used your quirk for a consistent amount of time. You got up, grabbing a cloth and running it underwater to bring it to Yaoyorozu’s forehead.

“Y/N?” You could hear from behind you. You turned your head, seeing Yaoyorozu flutter her eyes open as she was visibly distraught by her change in surroundings.

“Oh, y-you’re up!” You said, wanting to internally curse yourself out for stuttering. It was shocking how disoriented she could make you feel just by being alone in a room with her.

She sat up, bringing her hand to her head. You went back to her side. “Be careful. One of those upperclassmen hit you with their quirk and you got a fever because of it. You can rest in here all you want.”

You gently pushed her against the miniature headboard, wanting to make sure she wasn’t overexerting herself. “Recovery Girl did what she could and I’ve been reducing your temperature, too, so it shouldn’t take too long for the quirk’s effects to wear off.”

“Thank you, Y/N,” Yaoyorozu said with a smile that immediately made you feel flustered. Her cheeks were still red from the fever and her hair had fallen out of her usual ponytail as her long black hair cascaded down her shoulders.

She was so beautiful.

“N-No problem!” You mustered out.

She leaned back on the headboard and closed her eyes. “Did you need anything? Some water? Maybe I can reduce your temperature a little more?”

“No, no, I’m fine! You’re already doing so much for me I couldn’t ask for anything else,” Yayorozu assured you. 

You noticed beads of sweat dotting her forehead and strands of her hair sticking to it. Without thinking, you raised the cloth in your hand to her forehead, dabbing away at the sweat. Yaoyorozu opened her eyes and you made eye contact with her, once again causing you to feel flustered. “S-Sorry, you just--”

“It’s fine, Y/N, you don’t have to be so nervous around me,” Yaoyorozu said with a laugh.

It’s not my fault you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen… you thought to yourself. 

Still, her hair seemed to be bothering her. “Do you want me to tie your hair?”

“Oh, you don’t have to!” Yaoyorozu exclaimed. 

“It’s fine, I don’t mind,” you urged. You could see how the fever was causing her discomfort and she was burning up as every minute passed by. Her hair wasn’t helping with the situation either and she seemed physically drained due to the quirk’s effects to fix her hair herself.

“If you insist,” Yaoyorozu said with a small smile. She turned her back to you so that you had a full view of the back of her head.

You raised your hand up, holding a few strands of her hair in your fingers. They were soft under your touch and you quickly sectioned her hair into two parts, holding the first part in your hand. 

“Was I unconscious for a long time?” Yaoyorozu asked as you simply braided the first section.

“Not really. Maybe fifteen minutes? I was just told to bring your temperature down and stay here while you recovered.” 

“I see. I really do appreciate everything you do for my class and the people you help. I’m so lucky to have a friend like you.”

Your fingers stopped moving in the midst of braiding the second section of hair. Friend… you were just friends… “R-Right.”

“Is something the matter?” Yaoyorozu asked, recognizing the unsteadiness in your voice.

You shook your head, even though she couldn’t see you at the moment, and twisted the two braids into a bun so that her hair wouldn’t stick to her face or the back of her neck. “Nothing’s wrong. But I’m all done!”

You stood up, moving towards Recovery Girl’s desk and the cabinets of supplies. You didn’t want her to see you, to see the frown on your face. But Yaoyorozu brought her hand up, managing to catch you by your wrist so that you stopped moving. You felt your face burn up just from her touch.

“Are you sure you’re alright? You seem upset.” Yaoyorozu obviously couldn’t understand the way you felt about her and hearing her address your relationship as “friends” made you feel a way you couldn’t describe into words. 

A sigh escaped your lips as you turned to her, feeling disconcerted by the change in atmosphere. “I’m sorry, Yaomomo, it’s just that… I like you.”

“I like you, too,” Yaoyorozu simply said.

You shook your head. “No, not like that. I meant I like you more than just friends.”

“I like you more than friends as well”

Your eyes widened at her response, your jaw nearly dropping. “WHAT?”

Yaoyorozu chuckled at your reaction, falling into a fit of coughs right after. You crouched beside her, not hesitating to make sure she was okay. “I’m fine,” Yaoyorozu mustered out in between coughs.

Yaoyorozu chuckled again after her coughing fit, raising a hand to your cheek. You nearly passed out just from her touch but managed to pull yourself together as you looked up at her. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

“Y-Yeah, of course!” You piped out, your voice an octave higher.

Yaoyorozu parted her lips as she began to say something else but was interrupted by the door opening. You turned your head, eyes widening at the sight of Recovery Girl watching the two of you with a big smile. Yaoyorozu began blushing and you nearly jumped back from the bed to put some distance in between you two.

Recovery Girl laughed it off, helping Yaoyorozu once more so that her fever went down enough for her to make her way home. She smiled shyly at you, telling you that she’d see you tomorrow and once again thanked you for looking after her and for the new hairdo you gave her.

Recovery Girl continued to watch the two girls nervously interact with one another, feeling like a proud mother as she watched her daughter manage to talk to her crush. “What was that all about?”

You crossed your arms over your chest, grabbing your bag and throwing it over your shoulder. “It was nothing, okay?”

You could only hear your mentor laugh as she said her goodbyes to you and you attempted to catch up with Yaoyorozu, wanting to walk home with her.

That afternoon in the Recovery Girl’s office was one you’d never forget. The girl you had been crushing on since the beginning of the year had returned your feelings. 

And you couldn’t wait to see how your relationship would bloom from there.

If you’d like to be added to my taglist, please join here!

Taglist: @pinkcowgirleggpanda​ @xtsundere-princess​ @wesparklebitch​ @hot-pocket01​ @iamthe-leaf​ @ahrinine​ @kirisclementine​ @happygalaxymilkshake​ @hookedinto-fictionalworlds​ @entraptas-kid-sister​

[spookidema]

Love Potion # 6

Day 3 of Spooki Month 

Witch!Kim TaehyungXFlorist!Reader (Reader being a florist isn’t really mention but they’re a florist)

Genre: Fluff and slight crack

Summary: Sometimes you forget that your roommate/best friend was a witch. You didn’t care that he was different. You loved him all the same. You loved him and all his witchy way. But you just forget about that fact early in the morning when before opening your store you accidentally drink one of his potions, and now he occupies your thought more than usual.

Author Note: Soooooooo day 3 is hella late. I apologize. My job has had me working so much and then Hurricane Delta knocked out the power to my house for days. I haven’t really been able to think straight. But I hope you enjoy.

Tagging: @alwayschoosechocolate​

In retrospect, you should never drink your tea mixed with the first thing you put your hands on in the fridge when you are half asleep especially when you live with your best friend, who is an actual witch.

"(Y/N), I can tell something is going on with you."

Speaking of witchy best friend, here he is. Kim Taehyung. Your best friend for a good part of your life. Ever since his parents took you in when you were 9 after Tae found you trying to steal strawberries from their farm, but that’s a story for a different time.

"Huh, what are you talking about, Tae," you questioned. Your eyes never leaving the collection of poems that you were reading to clear your head.

"I've been standing here for ten minutes watching you read the same page before glancing at me and going back to reading the same page again," Tae stated." You usually at least acknowledge me coming down, Flora."

'Maybe cause I can't look at you right now without my heart racing out my chest,' you thought as your face turned involuntarily at the use of your nickname.

"You even had Tannie and your kitties worried," Tae continued mentioning his familiar and your three furry companions." Mars was side eyeing me before I came downstairs like I did something."

"I don't know what's going on with him today," you said turning the page." He hissed at me when I tried to give him love. Moony and Ginger were weird too."

"That's not normal,(Y/N)," Tae said taking the book away from you making you look at him for a split second. "Please tell me what's going on."

What does he want you to say? That you can't figure out what's going on with you? That you can't stop thinking about the small things that you love about him? How its difficult just to look at him right now without confessing that you would bring him the moon and stars if he asked you to?

"Tae, I really don't know what you are on about," you forced yourself into a straight face." You don't have to worry. I'm fine. Don't you have to make a youth potion for the lady down the road?"

"Yes but-"

"Tae, that potion takes hours and she needs that for her Halloween party tonight," you reminded him causing to give you a face that said you weren't done talking about what was going on.

As Tae turned to leave back up stairs, the Golden Maknae of your friends group, Jeon Jungkook walked in. He went straight to Taehyung and attached himself to him.

"Hyung," Jungkook sang in Tae's ear.

"Kookie," Tae sang back." What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be helping Hobi-hyung and Namjoon-hyung?"

"Hobi-hyung sent me here," Jungkook answered jumping on the counter beside your arms. "Said he had a bad vibe."

Tae snapped his head to you throwing his hands like 'you-see-what-I-mean.' You rolled your eyes at Tae again. All of this causing Jungkook to look between the two of you.

"What the heck is going on with you two," Jungkook asked.

"Nothing," you said shooing Tae off back up to your apartment upstairs.

"She is acting weird," Tae said as he left causing you to breath out in relief.

You drink from your tea that you made before you came down to the shop. Lemon ginger tea with honey.

"Why does it smell like you are drinking a vanilla cake," Jungkook asked wrinkling his nose like a rabbit. "Don't you usually drink ginger tea?"

You looked at him puzzled and smelt your tea. It smelt unlike how your tea usually smelt. It smelt slightly like lemon ginger tea, but it also smelt heavily like a strawberry field and mint leaves.

"Funny," you said sipping the drink." It smells like strawberries and mint to me, but I know I made lemon ginger tea earlier. I must have added something weird from the fridge."

Jungkook's face flushed a pale color quickly before he asked", can you chug that real quick?"

"Why," you asked back with a raised eyebrow.

He touched the side of the cup slightly.

"It's cold. I'm going to make you another cup," he explained. You looked at him skeptical. "Hurry before I take back my offer."

Still eyeing him weirdly, you chugged the last half of you tea and handed him the mug. A shutter shook your body soon after making Jungkook mumble inaudibly. He scanned your face quickly before his eyes settled on your own.

"Bingo," he said before dragging you from around the counter. "We need to go see Namjoon-hyung."

"Why do we need to see him, Kookie," you asked as you were getting pulled from your shop. "I can't leave my shop unattended."

Jungkook waved his hand, and as you left the shop, the door locked itself and the closed sign was placed on the door.

'Smartass,' was all you thought as you were drug through the streets to Namjoon's.

~

When you two arrived at Namjoon's, Hoseok was at the door before Jungkook could open the door.

"So I was right then," Hobi sighed after looking at you. "They drank something. What are we going to do with you, (Y/N)?"

The two men pulled you into the living room, and Jungkook pushed you to sit on the couch.

"(Y/N), you know not to drink any of the potions we mix without us giving it to you cause we know what it is," Hobi lectured as you sunk into the couch.

"I-," you started before getting cut off.

"No buts,(Y/N)," Hobi cut off. "This is something we learn as kids."

"But-"

"I said no buts," Hobi cut off again. Namjoon walked into the room as he continued to lecture you.

"Hobi, what is going on," Namjoon questioned stopping you from becoming a part of the couch, and Hobi from turning into Professor McGonagall. "Usually its me doing the lecturing."

"They drank a potion from their fridge," Hobi said throwing his hand toward you.

"Was it on purpose or an accident," Namjoon questioned rounding the couch with what looked like a cup of coffee.

"I-," Hobi started before closing his mouth.

"You don't know," Namjoon stated simply. He looked over you like Jungkook did earlier. "Did you drink the potion on purpose,(Y/N)?"

"I honestly don't know what you guys are talking about, Nams," you answered becoming one with the couch. "I've been drinking my tea I make every morning."

"And you didn't mix anything with it," Namjoon continued to question.

"Not that I know of," you said honestly." I was exhausted this morning from not sleeping well so I really don't remember."

"Their tea smelt like vanilla cake to me," Jungkook spoke for the first time since walking in", but to them, it smelt like strawberries and mint. Doesn't Tae smell vaguely like strawberries?"

"And doesn't Jimin smell like cake, Jungkook," Namjoon said side eyeing the maknae causing him to stutter and blush. "Have you been feeling strange today, (Y/N)? Anything out of ordinary?"

You looked anywhere but Namjoon's eyes as you shook your head. This was embarrassing to you. After Jungkook had you finish your drink, the thoughts of Tae got worse. Before they were a slight annoying whisper that wanted to make itself known, now they were shouts that wanted to spill out your mouth.

"(Y/N), we need to know what's going on or we can't help you," Namjoon sighed as he sat on the coffee table in front of you seat sitting the coffee he had beside him." We already know you drank something by the color of your eyes right now."

You gave Namjoon a weird look as you pulled out your phone and pulled up the front camera to check. You were kind of shocked when you saw that your eyes were their normal eye color with a bright pink ring around them.

'The fuck,' you thought as you stared.

"Now are you going to tell us what's going on," the '94 liners asked together.

You thought about it for a second. If you told them what was going on, they could help you not be trapped with wanting to blurt out confessions to your best friend. Though they would probably tease you for a bit.

"If I tell you," you started to ask, "will I have to go into complete details or can it be slightly vague?"

All three witches looked at each other.

"Complete details," they said together making you sigh.

Complete details is what you gave them. Details on how it seemed like your small crush on Tae seemed to explode after you starting drinking your tea. How it was a slight explosion before Jungkook had you chug the rest of you tea before it became a volcano eruption. How the animals in your shared apartment were acting weird. How your feelings for Tae were always well hidden until now. Now you felt like shouting them to the world.

After you finally finished word vomiting what was going on, Namjoon summoned his potions book from his room and started researching. He muttered curses while reading as he would read a page and it didn't hold the answer he wanted. It felt like forever before he finally looked up from the book.

"It could be one of two things,"Namjoon started," it could be regular Amortentia-,"

"But that creates strong obsession and infatuation with the giver of the potion," you interrupted, "and I had a crush on Tae before this and I'm not obsessed with him."

"I'm thinking it was mixed with something to cancel that out," Namjoon said closing his book. "The only option we have is to ask him what he could have made that would have done this."

"WHAT? No," you frantically tried to stop them. "Can that not be an option?"

"We have to or you will stuck like this for who knows how long," Hobi said pointedly." Now shush, we are calling Taehyung."

As they called Tae, you were searching the room for exits. This was now something you wanted to do.

Then a knock came to the front door, and walked in the man of the hour.

"That was quick," Jungkook chuckled.

"You said it was something to do with (Y/N) acting weird," Tae said jumping over the couch to sit beside you. "Now do we know what's up."

"Kind of, but first," Namjoon answered, "have you been brewing anything that's a mix of Amortentia that cancels out the obsession and makes it where the drinker's thoughts of their crush gets stronger to where they just want to blurt it out?"

Tae thought about for a second before locking eyes with you making you blush pure red.

"Amortentia and Veritaserum," Tae admitted. "Someone wanted me to make it so they could confess to their crush. I thought something was off when I checked the fridge after talking to you earlier."

"Why in the hell would you keep that in the fridge,” you mumbled crossing your arms.

"Cause you usually know which bottles are potions or not, flora," Tae said grabbing one of your hands making you uncross your arms. "Although this one looked like honey in its bottle."

You groaned loudly slapping you palm to your forehead.

"And I always add honey to my tea," you said. "Explains a lot."

"So does this go away on its own or is there an antidote," Namjoon asked.

Tae shook his head," The person I made it for wanted me to make it to where they had to confess or it wouldn't go away. Said it would be motivation to actually do it."

'Well I'm dead,' you thought groaning again.

"Well there you go,(Y/N)," Jungkook said grabbing the '94 liners," your solution. Your time to shine."

Jungkook drug Namjoon and Hoseok out the room.

"(Y/N), do you have something to tell me," Tae asked as he turned toward you.

"We need to get you a small fridge to put in your room," you told him trying to avoid what you were going to have to say to the man.

"We'll deal with that later, flora," Tae said. "We now need to deal with the problem on hand at the moment. Now is there something you need to tell me?"

"Nope, not a thing," you said dodging the question again.

"(Y/N), this isn't a joke," Tae said getting really serious. "I made that potion for someone that is about as stubborn as Jungkook, and it won't go away. I think I know what you want to say, but you have to say it yourself."

"I don't know what you are talking about, Taehyung," you said lowly being stubborn. The words your body want to blurt out were right at the tip of your tongue wanting to escape.

Taehyung groaned out loud.

"Why are you so damn stubborn," Tae questioned.

"Cause I'm not going to risk losing you," you answered absentmindedly.

"You would never lose me,(Y/N)," Tae said grabbing your other hand that he didn't already have. "You are too dear to me for that to happen."

You looked toward Taehyung. His face was set with a soft smile. His eyes bright like the sun was reflected in them. His presence casting a warm feeling through your body.

"So many words want to spill from my mouth like a fountain. Like I want to explode from keeping them in," you mumbled so low that Tae almost didn't hear you," but I really don't want to lose you."

"Would it be easier if I tell you something," Tae asked softly. "Admit to something?"

You nodded choosing to stay quiet. Tae cleared his throat before speaking.

"There wasn't someone who asked me to make that potion," Tae admitted." I made it for myself and Jimin, who admitted he wanted to confess to Jungkook but kept losing his nerve much like myself."

Your jaw dropped slightly. You had no idea.

"I wanted to confess to them so bad, but every time I would go to, I would clam up," Tae continued." They are literally the best person and I don't know what I would do or where I would be without them."

"You would still be the amazing person you are now," you said. "I wish i was that person. You make me want to hang the moon and stars if you asked."

You went wide eyed and started to stutter with a blush.

"I mean I-," you started before you stopped yourself.

"You would hang the moon for me,(Y/N)," Tae asked grinning his boxy smile. You squeaked a 'yes' cause Tae to pull you into his his lap. You squeaked again as he wrapped his arms around your waist.

"Good, cause I would do the same for you," he said looking you straight in the eyes. The pink had disappeared from them. You started to say something before he quickly cut you off. "And not just because you are my best friend. You are my best friend and the person I care for the most in this world."

You were a tomato at this point as you admitted that he was the same to you as well. He smiled at you for a bit causing you to get shy and hid your face in his neck.

"Stop staring," you pouted into his neck, "you are being weird."

He chuckled.

"Being weird as in looking at the person I've had feelings for for years who also likes me back," he continued to chuckle."Suure."

"Take me on a date before you say cheesy stuff like that, Tae," you smiled.

"Let's go on one then," he said unwrapping his arms and sliding you off his lap.

"Wait, now?" you barely got out before Tae pulled you out of the house.

"Yes, now," he said looking back at the with a bright smile causing you to smile back.

Maybe drinking that tea wasn't so bad.

[petrichoravellichor]

Subway Stop Smiles

(Read on Ao3)

Ship: Garth/Kelly, Garth & Jack (platonic)

Rating: G

Tags: Alternate Universe, Dentist Garth, Toddler Jack, Fluff, Singing in the Subway, Disney Songs, Brief Mentions of Oral Hygiene, Meet-Cute, Kid Fic, Pre-Relationship, Implied Future Garth/Kelly

Summary: While playing guitar at a subway stop, Garth meets a lost little boy, Jack, who is looking for his mother. Turns out Jack's mother, Kelly, is everything Garth has been looking for as well...

Word Count: 1,616

Written for @spnfluffbingo (square filled: Child AU) and @spnrareshipbingo (square filled: Kelly). 

  **********

On his days off, Garth liked going to the subway station near his apartment and playing guitar for tips.

It wasn’t that he was strapped for cash; in fact, things at the dental practice were going great, so much so that he’d recently hired a third assistant and a fourth receptionist. Still, talking to patients about strategies for improving oral hygiene and scraping the plaque off their teeth did little to feed Garth’s hunger for creative endeavors, so that’s where his stints in subway came in.

(Plus, he used the extra money he earned to buy some wicked cool prizes for his young [and young-at-heart] patients: going to the dentist, he reasoned, was a lot more fun if you got to leave with a bombass yo-yo that flashed bright colors when you spun it or your very own copy of Where the Wild Things Are.)

Today had been a good day. Garth had arrived at the station a little before nine in the morning; it was now just after twelve, and he’d already managed to net around fifty dollars, enough to buy at least a couple new bits of swag from the novelty toy store a few stops away. He’d just bent down to put his guitar back in its case when he heard a wail and looked up to see a train pulling out of the station and a young boy sitting alone on the platform.

The boy was small, maybe four or five, and he was crying and clutching a stuffed dog. The few people that still milled about the station were either ignoring him outright or casting him furtive glances that clearly said they’d rather someone else deal with the situation.

Garth frowned. People, man, he thought, shaking his head. Acting like a crying kid’s the end of the world. He snapped his guitar case closed, then headed over to see if he could help.

“Hey, bud,” he said, smiling. He squatted at the boy's side. “You OK?”

The little boy sniffled and looked at Garth with large, watery eyes. “I want my Mommy," he said in a small voice.

Garth looked around at the mostly deserted station, but now that he’d approached the boy, no one else was paying them any mind. Whoever the boy’s mommy was, she didn’t seem to be around.

Little man must be lost, Garth realized with a pang. Let’s get him found. He turned back to the little boy, sympathetic. “Aw, I’m sorry you can’t find your mommy,” he said, then added, “It’s OK, though: I’m actually a Professional Mommy Finder!” Garth held out a hand. “My name’s Garth. What’s your name?”

The little boy regarded him warily, his only response to wipe his eyes and hug his stuffed dog closer.

Right, stranger danger. Garth chewed his tongue thoughtfully for a moment, then gave the boy another smile. Time to go stealth. “Wait!” he said, raising a finger, “Don’t tell me, let’s see if I can guess it!”

He sat back on his heels, assuming an expression of deep concentration and scratching his chin; a few seconds later, he snapped his fingers and pointed at the boy, excited. “Asmodeus! Your name is Asmodeus, isn’t it?”

The little boy scrunched his face, confused. “No.”

“Oh snap!” said Garth, smacking his forehead. “Did I say Asmodeus? I meant Balthazar.”

That earned a smile. “No.”

“Darn. OK, how about...Crowley! I bet it’s Crowley.”

The little boy giggled and shook his head. “No-o!”

“Well, why not?” demanded Garth, grinning. “Crowley’s a great name! In fact,” he said, leaning forward to whisper conspiratorially, “I bet it’s even better than your name!”

The little boy looked indignant. “Is not!”

“Why? What’s your name?”

“Jack!”

Garth chuckled. Bingo. “Jack,” he repeated, nodding. “You’re right, that’s a much better name! OK, Jack, let’s go sit over here,” he pointed to a nearby bench, “and we can talk some more. Sound good?”

“Yeah,” Jack agreed. He followed Garth over to the bench, setting his stuffed dog down on the seat before climbing up to sit with his legs dangling off the edge.

Garth sat next to him with his guitar case on his lap, folding his arms across the top and leaning forward to rest his chin on his hands. “So, Jack, where did you last see your mommy?”

“On da twain," said Jack, who was busy situating his stuffed dog in his lap.

“On the...” Garth glanced over at the empty track. “The one that just left?”

Jack nodded. “Yeah.”

“Why aren’t you with her, bud?”

Jack held up his stuffed dog. “I dwopped Wolfie,” he said.

Garth nodded, reaching out to shake one of the dog’s stuffed paws. “Hi, Wolfie, nice to meet you. You too, Garth!” he added in falsetto, causing Jack to giggle again. “OK, so you dropped Wolfie. Where'd you drop him?”

Jack pointed at a spot on the ground a few feet away. “I comed back to get him," he said.

“You got off the train to get Wolfie?”

“Yeah.”

“Without your mommy?”

“She put da gwocewies on da seat,” explained Jack.

“Oh, she was putting the groceries on the seat?”

“Yeah.”

Now we're getting somewhere, he thought. “Okay, so she was busy, and she didn’t see you get off. Then, after you got off, the train left.”

Jack’s lip twitched; he looked like he might start crying again. “Yeah...”

“Hey, hey, it’s OK,” Garth said quickly, in the reassuring tone he usually reserved for anxious patients. “I’ll bet your mommy’s on the next train back. We’ll wait right here for her, ’kay?”

Jack nodded, and Garth smiled. “Cool beans. In the meantime,” he said, setting his guitar case down on the ground and snapping it open, “you wanna hear a song?”

**********

They sang “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”, “Down By the Bay”, and “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”, and they were halfway through “Hakuna Matata” when a train pulled into the station.

“'It means no worries for the rest of your day-ay-ays!'” sang Garth, strumming out the rhythm. “'It’s our problem free philosophy—'”

“Jack!”

Garth looked up, and his jaw dropped. Hakuna ma-wowza...

The voice had come from a pretty brunette woman wearing a green sundress and a straw-brimmed hat. She had a grocery bag over each shoulder and was rushing toward them. “Jack!”

Jack’s face lit up, and he scrambled down off the bench, Wolfie falling once again to the ground. “Mommy!”

Mamma mia, thought Garth dimly. Jack, bud, no offense, but how do you walk away from her?

The woman knelt and swept Jack into an embrace. “Thank God!” she said, pressing a fierce kiss to the side of Jack’s head before pulling back, hands resting on Jack’s shoulders. “Jack, baby, you can’t do that. You have to stay with me when we’re on the subway, OK?”

Jack nodded, looking contrite. “I sowwy, Mommy.”

“I know, just—” she let out a shuddering breath and pulled him in for another hug; as she rested her head on Jack’s shoulder, her light green gaze flickered over to Garth for the first time.

Aaand it’s go time. Garth cleared his throat and tried to rein in his thoughts, which were currently galloping around his head like wild, heart-eyed horses. He raised a hand to his mouth for a quick breath check, then disguised the motion by smoothing his hair. Yippee-ki-yay, mamacita.

“Hi!” he said, standing...only to nearly trip over his guitar case. He steadied himself at the last moment, managing a cheerful "Meant to do that!", then picked Wolfie up off the ground and headed over to Jack and Jack’s apparently super-hot mom. “Careful, bud," he said, holding out Wolfie with a smile, "you dropped someone.”

Jack beamed and reached up to take the dog. “Gawf singed songs wif me!” he said, hugging Wolfie to his chest and turning to look at his mom.

The woman studied Garth for a moment, then gave him a slow smile. “Gawf, I presume?”

Garth chuckled. “Guilty as charged,” he said, then held out a hand. “I also answer to ‘Garth’, though.”

“Garth,” the woman repeated, smile widening. She reached out and clasped his hand in hers. “Thank you for taking care of Jack. I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”

Just let me look at that smile for a second longer, thought Garth, and we’re even. Then he remembered he was supposed to answer out loud. “Oh, uh, don’t worry about it,” he said, hoping he didn’t sound as bashful to Jack’s mom as he did to himself, unless maybe she likes bashful? “All in a day’s work, Ms....?”

“Kline,” the woman said; then, with a twinkle in her eye, added, “I also answer to ‘Kelly’, though.”

Duuude...

“Mommy,” interjected Jack, pulling at Kelly’s dress, “can Gawf eat wunch wif us? Pwease?”

Garth felt a surge of affection for the little guy; still, he didn’t want to press his luck—truth be told, it didn’t usually last this long—but before he could respond, Kelly beat him to the punch.

“Only if he wants to,” she said, and her smile...Garth was a dentist, he knew smiles. Hers was different: in less than five minutes of acquaintance, it’d become his favorite. “We were going to eat at Benny’s a few stops away,” Kelly continued, nodding over her shoulder at the incoming train, “if you like Cajun food and want to join us.”

Garth had no idea if he liked Cajun food, but he definitely wanted to join them, and maybe have a chance to see if Kelly’s laugh was as gorgeous as her smile. He had a feeling it probably was.

“Yeah,” he said, smiling. “Count me in.”

[dvp95]

quiet on widow’s peak (1)

pairing: dan howell/phil lester, pj liguori/sophie newton/chris kendall rating: teen & up  tags: paranormal investigator, youtuber phil lester, dan howell is not a youtuber, online friendship, slow burn, strangers to lovers, nonbinary character, background poly, phil does some buzzfeed unsolved shit and dan is a fan word count: 3.2k (this chapter & total) summary: Phil's got a list of paranormal experiences a mile long that he likes to share with the world. Abandoned buildings, cemeteries, and ghost stories have always called his name, and a particular fan of his has a really, really good ghost story. Bingo squares: met on tumblr

new wip? NEW WIP.

read this chapter on ao3 or here!

The wind is loud in this one. That's frustrating, and it makes Phil's job a lot harder, but he can't control the weather. Be cool if he could. He does his best to level out his voice and the background noise of Mother Nature before he settles in with his good headphones and really cranks the volume.

It's even more annoying to listen to the alternating crackle and whistle right in his ears. Phil has dealt with worse during this whole process, though, so he finds the strength to power through it. He listens to the full thing three times, scribbling a few timestamps down on a Post-It pad as he does. He takes a break after that, does some stretches around his tiny bedroom and tiptoes out to get a snack without waking the whole damn house, and then he's right back in his apparently ergonomic office chair to subject his ears to more of this nonsense.

Wind, wind, and more wind. And sometimes just Phil's own voice. Nothing of note.

Phil is about to give this video up as a loss altogether when he hits one of the final timestamps and... can't figure out what that noise is.

For the first time since he opened this file, Phil grins. He exports the clip and plays around with it in Audacity. Some videos are always more fun than others, and Phil had felt like he was slogging through this one until now.

"Do you hear that, Theodore?" Phil murmurs. The tiny cactus on his desk, thankfully, does not respond.

It sounds like a person. It sounds like a person, whispering, and it definitely isn't the wind, and it isn't Phil's own voice, because he's in the middle of a question in this clip.

Phil might just be going crazy from sleep deprivation or wishful thinking, though. He pulls out his phone and texts the only group chat that doesn't cause him anxiety, which is comprised of the housemates that he actually gets along with. Anyone up? he asks, adding a single eye emoji for good measure.

Even though it's gone two in the morning, he gets immediate responses from all of them. A string of vaguely dirty emojis from Chris, a simple yeah from Sophie, and a cheerfully morbid did you know that insomnia leads to an early death? from PJ.

Wanna listen to a noise for me?

Within three minutes, Phil's bedroom is full of people in various states of sleepiness. All of them are in ridiculous pyjamas - including Phil - and PJ's hair in particular has taken on a mind of its own. Phil's room isn't really big enough for all of them, so there's some awkward shuffling before PJ claims the office chair. Phil sits at the foot of his bed with Sophie and Chris on either side of him, pressed close against each other's shoulders. It's a good thing he likes these people.

"I mean, it isn't the wind," is PJ's confident opinion. "Did you have anyone with you?"

"No, it's just me and my camera against the world," says Phil.

"No need to be a twat," Chris informs him. He taps at PJ's upper arm, impatient. "Let me have a go, then, if there's something there."

Chris is famously bad at hearing things in white noise, but PJ acquiesces the seat easily enough. Phil laughs, watching them do a weird step dance around each other in the small space between Phil's bed and desk.

"I can't hear any specific words," PJ says as he flops down across Phil's pillows, making himself comfortable. Phil just nods, because neither can he.

"How d'you know it's a person, then?" Sophie asks. Her voice is probably the only one soft enough for the hour. Their other housemates hate them for their frequent all-nighters, but Sophie is kind and quiet enough that she slips under the radar.

"You'll see for yourself."

When Sophie goes to respond, Chris interrupts in a hilariously loud voice, as if he's forgotten that having headphones on doesn't mean they can't hear him. "It's some kind of ghoulie or ghostie! I can barely fucking hear it, Philly, why didn't you mic it?"

"Why didn't I mic the ghost?" Phil asks, bewildered. Naturally, Chris doesn't hear him.

Sophie taps Chris on the shoulder and stands, leaning over his shoulder as she takes her turn listening to the sound clip over and over. Chris spins in the chair a few times and gives Phil an unhinged sort of grin.

"You got something this time," says Chris. He sounds like he's having just as much fun as Phil is, now that there's actually a thing to listen to besides his own voice and the loud, loud wind.

"I think so," says Phil. "Why didn't I mic the ghost?"

"I'm saying it would make your job a lot easier if you mic the ghost, yes."

"If I could mic a ghost, I'd be a millionaire."

"Then you better get on it, eh?" Chris laughs, spinning a bit faster. Phil has never seen the man sleep. It's a little bit worrying.

"Sure," Phil says, giving up on trying to teach any logic to someone who's clearly long lost their hold on it. "Next time I spend all night in a graveyard, I'll mic any spirits that might be hanging out."

"Shut up," Sophie tells them, mild.

Chris mimes zipping his lips, wrapping an easy arm around her waist, and PJ laughs.

For the first few months they all lived together, Phil had struggled to keep up with whatever dynamics were going on between the three of them, but he's long since given it up as something he's not going to understand.

After a moment of quiet, Sophie nods. "I hear it," she tells them. Even with the headphones on, she's quiet. "It's not words, I wouldn't put any subtitles over it."

"Yeah," PJ agrees. "Just let your audience duke it out in the comments like they always do."

"Thanks, guys," Phil says, feeling a sort of warmth sink into his shoulders. He notices that Chris is pulling up another application and half-heartedly protests. "Chris, you don't need to edit this one for me. I still haven't paid you for the last video." Or the one before that. Or the three or four previous. Phil has it written down somewhere.

"Don't be stupid," Chris hums, already clicking around erratically. It makes the editor in Phil want to scream, but he has to admit that Chris manages to find more weird visual stuff to isolate than he could on his own.

"I feel bad," says Phil, chewing his lip.

"I've told you," says Chris, "you can pay me back in chores and sexual favours."

PJ's slippered foot knocks against Phil's hip, and he grins brightly when Phil turns to him. "You know, I do have a bit of a laundry backlog."

"Funny thing, that," says Sophie.

Biting back a laugh, Phil shakes his head. "Alright, alright. Everybody leave their laundry in front of my door tomorrow."

"That's a no on the beej, then?" Chris asks, raising a single eyebrow and pointing dramatically at Phil. It has been near two years of this, and Phil is still too afraid to ask if it's a joke.

It's not as if Phil's answer would change if it wasn't a joke, because he's not interested in Chris, and he's especially not interested in becoming entangled in whatever nonsense his housemates have gotten themselves into. But, still, he might be kinder about letting Chris down if he were being genuine.

"That is a no," Phil confirms. "But I will wash your pants."

"Kinky," says Chris. He turns back to the screen and makes an incomprehensible hand gesture. "This is pretty shit. You know that, right?"

Yeah. Phil does know that. It's getting harder and harder to have the same optimism in every video that he'd had when he first started recording his wanderings around the supposedly-haunted places of Rossendale. He'd brought the camera with him when he left, but might have left that optimism behind. Phil only kind of believes in supernatural things - the way he only kind of believes in giraffes or true love - but it's been more fun than anything else to pick up a camera and try to find some evidence.

He's been doing this since he was nineteen, though, and he's getting a little bored by the formula of it all. Go into a haunted place, try to communicate with the spirits, pick up some garbled words or creepy noises, highlight visual oddities like orbs, and let the internet tear it all to shreds. Honestly, he'd have more fun making proper horror at this point in his life.

Phil shrugs and pulls his knees up to his chest. He wants to hide away from the sympathy in Sophie's eyes, from Chris' blunt words. "Yeah. I'm getting kind of... I don't know. Restless."

"Maybe you should ask people to submit things again," PJ suggests. "That went well last time."

It had, actually. Phil had needed to sort through a lot more ridiculous stories and obvious hoaxes than usual, but he'd found some nuggets of gold in all that hay. Or however that saying goes.

"People did like having their stories read out," Phil says slowly. "I'd just need to be extra sure that nobody's, like..."

"Ripping off r/NoSleep," says PJ.

"Yeah, exactly."

"We can help," Sophie says, and Phil could cry at how easily PJ and Chris agree with her.

He really doesn't deserve to have such great people around him. They've got work and lives of their own, but they're always happy to spend time crowded around Phil's computer listening to weird noises together. Phil sometimes wonders what they get out of it. Do they just like helping him, the way he has fun holding the boom for PJ's films or testing Sophie's concoctions? Or are they just as fascinated as Phil by the weirdness of it all? Do they want to see the cool instances of paranormal activity, too? At this point it feels nearly impossible to ask.

"That's going to be a lot of washing pants for me," Phil sighs. He doesn't know how to thank them, not when they always just wave it off.

"Sure is," says PJ. "But you should... ask the audience!"

"Your Chris Tarrant is pretty good," says Phil, only a little surprised by it. PJ's voice is as much of a tool to him as the rest of his body, and it's one he's always been skilled with. The impressions still tend to catch Phil off guard sometimes.

PJ tips an invisible hat. "Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week."

At his friends' not so gentle encouragement, Phil makes a few posts on his socials to ask his followers for new creepy things to explore. It might be the middle of the night in Brighton, but he has a feeling that Chris isn't leaving his desk until he's found every instance of an orb or strange shadow in the fifty minutes of currently uncut footage.

It seems like Sophie is on the same page, because she excuses herself to make tea for everyone. PJ leans over Chris' shoulder and watches the clips without sound, his lips moving as if he's murmuring to himself.

Sometimes this feels more like a group effort than Phil is comfortable with. He's never been very good at asking for help. As grateful as he is, he still itches with the need to take back control of the situation. He uses the slow trickle of fan submissions to distract him from that feeling, because all three of them do make his videos better when he stops being so possessive over his footage. Phil flops onto his back and scrolls through the incoming emails, tweets, and Tumblr messages to see if there's anything promising.

For the most part, the answer is a resounding no. Some things are blatant lies - there are countless ripoffs of films or novels that Phil happens to be familiar with, a few things swiped from creepypasta or subreddits, and his usual amount of conspiracy theorist fans insisting that some high profile person or other is a lizard - but most of it, to Phil's dismay, just doesn't grab his attention the way he wants it to.

Sophie comes back with tea and snacks. She leans her head against Phil's shoulder and watches him cycle through his apps, fact-checking idly and sighing every time something easily proves to be a hoax. Her hair smells like coconut and she makes a soft humming noise every time she lifts the mug to her lips. Her presence alone, small and warm and supportive, is enough to keep Phil from throwing his phone across the room and having a right sulk about how his career is in a tailspin because nobody makes ghosts like they used to. At some point in the night, Sophie's breathing evens out to the point that Phil thinks she's asleep, but then she reaches out to tap a tiny finger to his screen.

"What's this, then?" she murmurs.

Phil has been zoned out entirely for at least fifteen, and he blinks back into reality. There's a new message in his Tumblr inbox, one that seems like it must be over the character limit for asks. He must have submissions turned on or something, that's the only possible explanation for an actual essay being sent to him. It's barely broken into paragraphs with very little punctuation and no capitalization, and Phil has been staring at screens for far too long to try and parse this on his own.

"Can you please make sure this isn't, like, the entire Bee Movie," Phil asks, handing Sophie his phone with only a slight twinge of anxiety. He trusts her not to go snooping, but. Still. "I need to pee."

"Mhm," Sophie hums, already apparently lost in whatever stream-of-consciousness has been dropped into Phil's inbox.

The floorboards in this old Brighton house creak, and Phil has always envied some of his housemates for being able to sidestep the noises. It doesn't seem to matter how long he lives here, how much he tries to avoid making any noise, it's like the floorboards are determined to creak under Phil's weight. He winces as he passes two bedrooms whose occupants surely don't appreciate creaking outside their doors at such an ungodly hour.

At least he doesn't run into any walls this time. The nightlight in the bathroom at the end of the hall is the only thing lighting Phil's way, and he tends to stub his toes on absolutely nothing in this kind of semi-darkness.

When he makes his - very, very creaky - way back to his own room, he's bewildered by the scene that greets him. PJ and Chris have joined Sophie on his bed, and all three of them are poring over Phil's phone as though they're looking at a map to the Holy Grail.

"Hello," Phil says slowly, closing the door behind him. It creaks, too. "You aren't going through my pictures, are you?"

"No," Sophie and PJ chorus without looking up.

"You got nudes on here or something?" Chris asks with a mild sort of interest, clearly also too engaged in Phil's phone to put his all into the flirting.

"I don't," says Phil. It doesn't sound convincing, even though it's true, and he waits for Chris to tease him about it some more. When he doesn't, Phil has to admit that he's curious. "So I guess it isn't a meme or something?"

That makes them look up, in almost comedic synchronicity. Sophie blinks a few times, as if she's coming back to herself. She holds out Phil's phone and shakes her head.

"It's not a meme," she says. "And near as we can tell, it's genuine."

Phil joins them and takes his phone back, adjusting his glasses. His bed really wasn't made for four people, but his housemates have never had any personal space amongst themselves, and Phil isn't one to say no to human contact when he isn't getting it anywhere else.

The message is just as hard to read as it was at first glance, but Phil puts his brain to work. If his friends are reacting like this, it usually means he's in for something good.

hi ok so the thing is that this is completely ridiculous and i dont think its what youre looking for at all but theres a building near my uni thats got a ton of stories around it and it only started happening like this year like it isnt an old obviously haunted type of place but theres a lot of weird shit that goes down there so i found all the references to it online that i could and ive summarized them here (w/ sources ofc im not a dick) and its all just this side of strange so it seems like the sort of thing you might be interested in ok here we go SO

And it goes on like that. Phil feels his eyebrows raising as he clicks the provided links in the following walls of text, which are exactly what they're advertised as. Not a single rickroll in there. Just a handful of posts on Reddit and Facebook and independent blogs about various experiences people have had with a particular abandoned building in -

"I know this place," Phil says, surprised. He looks up at PJ's grin, Sophie's wide eyes, Chris' palms rubbing together in exaggerated interest. "I've been to parties here. Well, okay," he corrects himself before his friends can do it for him, "I've gone with Martyn to parties here and left early."

"Yeah, it isn't far out of Manchester," PJ hums. He bounces in place a bit, like he's suddenly energized enough to go jump on the soonest train up north.

"It didn't seem that weird," says Phil. "It's been a few years, I guess, but it wasn't even that scary."

"Sounds like it's only just started, though," Chris pipes up.

Phil isn't sure how much he likes that. The idea of a place he's been a few times, half an hour from his childhood home, being so suddenly full of haunted activity feels... weird. Still, it's catching his interest in a way that nothing else has in months, so.

"I'll look into it some more tomorrow," he decides, glancing at the time. His brother is probably still awake, to be honest, but Phil doesn't want to be that guy asking 'hey, do you remember the Wilkins place?' before dawn has even broken. Again. He has definitely done that sort of thing in the past. "I'll have plenty of time while I do, what, seventeen loads of laundry?"

"Something like that," PJ laughs. "Want us to clear out?"

As nice as the company and help has been, Phil still feels a rush of relief at the concept of being left alone again. He nods, still scrolling idly through the Wilkins place submission.

It hits him, very literally, too close to home to ignore. He wonders if his fan knows that, if this is somehow an elaborate prank that will end up just wasting Phil's time, but he's too curious to leave it alone. He'll just have to ask around, see if anyone else has heard these murmurings.

Til then, maybe he ought to try and get some sleep. Phil's computer, still open on the editing software, tempts him.

Well. What's another couple hours at this point?

[sorenmarie87]

My Star Child

Summary:  Chuck brings the stars to you.  

Square Filled: Stargazing (Fluff)

Pairing(s)/Character(s): Chuck x Reader, Your brother.  

Word Count: 1,479

Warning(s): THIS IS SO FLUFFY OMG.  One sexual comment about an orange but that’s about it.  Reader has agoraphobia.

A/N:  This was written for @spnfluffbingo2019

I do not own any of the pictures I used in my aesthetic. I also hate to say this but if you’re reading this fic - please be over 18.  

SPN Fluff Bingo 2019

Chuck came into your life when you needed him the most.  It was like your prayers had been answered when he wandered into your room.  After that, the two of you spent everyday talking and getting to know each other.  You knew that when he wasn’t there, he was at work.  He told you that he worked weird hours.   You sent him a text from your brother’s phone once you were released.  It wasn’t until you got home to check your phone, but there was a text from Chuck asking if you wanted to get dinner with him sometime. After the accident, you were afraid to leave your house.  So you replied and your first date was at your house.

You barely talked about the accident with him, but whenever nightmares woke you up at night, Chuck was the first one you’d call.  The two of you had been together for a couple years before you asked him to move in.  

“My brother is going to take me to my doctor’s appointment tomorrow and as much as I hate this, grocery shopping afterwards.  You made a list of what we need right?”  Chuck kissed your temple and pointed towards the counter.

“There’s some stuff that I need to pick up for a project, but I can do that after I get off of work.”  You made your way back towards the kitchen counter with a pen in hand and added a few more items to the list.  

Chuck moved behind you to get to the fridge. You heard him rummage around until he found the last bottle of wine you had.   You smiled as you opened the cabinet in front of you and handed him a couple of wine glasses.  He filled one and handed it to you.

“I'll be fine by myself, won't I?”  You traced the rim with your thumb as Chuck finished pouring his glass.  

“Of course you will.  Your brother will be with there and you know I’m only a call away if you need me.”

You smiled before taking a sip of wine.  “Yeah, I know.  You wanna go watch a movie?”

“Bad Times At The El Royale?”

“You just wanna see Chris Hemsworth without a shirt on.”  You smirked and watched a faint blush form on his face. “Aw babe, don’t be embarrassed.”  

“Can’t help it.”

“I know babe, I know.”  You squeezed his empty hand as the two of you walked down the hallway towards the bedroom you shared.   

“Mini movie marathon until we go to bed?”

“Yes please.”  You fell asleep long before Chuck.  He smiled as you rolled over on your side away from him.  He reached for his tablet that was sitting on his night stand, and made some final adjustments to a surprise he was planning for you.  

--

<<  My doctor wants me to start journaling and he upped a couple of my meds.  He also took me off that one pill that was causing stomach problems.  

>> It’s about time.  

<< Right?  I have to get blood work done but after that I get to face hell.

>> You’ll do fine.  I love you~~

<<  Love you too, Chuck.  

Chuck smiled as he pocketed his phone and pulled his glasses on.  If he wanted to get this set up before you got home, he had to work fast.  The bed room the two of you shared had those plastic glow in the dark stars all over the wall.  With a can of paint in one hand, and a couple different paint brushes in the other, he carefully removed the stars one at a time and in their place a permanent star was painted on the wall.  He looked up at the ceiling and frowned.  

“Damn it, I should’ve brought the ladder with me.” Chuck ran a hand through his hair with a sigh.  “I really didn’t want to do this but, here goes nothing.”  With a snap of his fingers, the ceiling was covered with painted stars.  He groaned as he hooked up the projector to his laptop.  He knew that for the other part of this plan, he'd have to use his telescope in the back yard, but that could wait until the sun went down.  

Chuck snapped his fingers once again and everything was put back into its place.  He took his time coming downstairs once he heard the front unlock and voices downstairs.  You were finally home.  

Even with your brother’s help, it still took you three trips to bring everything in.  Your brother was sitting at the kitchen table with a drink in front of him.  “You know, you could help me put some of this away.”

“I don’t live here.  Why don’t you get Chuck to help you?”  You sighed and rolled your eyes and threw one of the oranges that had gotten loose at your brother.  It missed him completely but Chuck strolled into the kitchen with it in his hand.

“Do we have runaway fruit or did you try throwing something at your brother?”  That actually made your brother laugh.

“You can take that orange and shove it up your ass.”  Chuck laughed as he placed the orange he was holding in the fruit bowl on the counter and kissed your cheek with a grin.  He moved away quickly as you attempted to swat at him, and started putting the canned food away.

“There are other things you can shove up there, Y/N just no oranges.”

“And on that note, I’ll see you guys next week for dinner.”  Your brother hugs you and he claps Chuck on the shoulder before leaving.  You hear his car start up and the two of you work on putting the rest of the groceries away.

--

“I’m pooped.”  You flopped face first into the couch as Chuck finished up the dishes from dinner.  “Is it bedtime yet?”

“Not quite.”  Chuck lifted you up from the couch with a huge grin on his face and sat back down on the couch, placing you in his lap.  “I worked on something while you were out today.”

You shifted so that you could run your free hand through his beard.  “Was it something for work or what?”

“More of a personal project for the woman I love.”

“What did you do Chuck?”  Moving your arms around his neck, he picked you up once again.  Only this time the two of you headed upstairs towards the bedroom and you raised an eyebrow.

“Look, there’s nothing sexual about this.”  You looked at him as he opened the bedroom door and tossed you on the bed.  You bounced on the bed with a chuckle as he kissed your forehead.  “I need to do something real quick, so you need to wait here.  Don’t move, okay?”

“Fine.”

“Are you sleeping?”  Chuck’s voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere but you kept your eyes closed.

“Just resting my eyes.  I’m currently waiting for this handsome man that I call my boyfriend to get back.”  You cracked one open and he was hovering next to the bed with a smile on his face.  “You haven’t seen him by chance have you?”

“I might’ve passed him on the way in.  He was mumbling something about how excited he was to give his girlfriend some form of present.  He didn’t say what it was though.”  Chuck laid down beside you in the middle of the bed and he lifted his arm so that you could rest your head on his chest.  “He did tell me one thing though.”

“What’s that?”

“You need to look up.”

You opened your eyes slowly and took in the sight above you.  Protected on the ceiling was the night sky in all its glory.  “Chuck, oh my god, how?”

“I know that stargazing is one of your favorite things to do but since the accident - you don’t leave the house that often.  I just wanted to bring the stars to you.”

“It’s so beautiful.”  A tear slid down your cheek and Chuck wiped it away.  “I never thought I’d get to see this sight ever again.”

“You’ll get there eventually, Y/N.  I know you will.  Until then, let me be the one who brings the stars to you.”

The two of shared a kiss before Chuck pulled away and started pointing out constellations.  You watched as a shooting star went across your ceiling and you smiled.  “I love you to the moon and back, you know that right?”

“I love you too my star child.”

It wasn’t until you started to drift asleep that you noticed the room was different.  You made a mental note to ask Chuck when you wake up but you went to sleep with a smile on your face.  The man who created the stars was the one who brought them to you.  That would be another conversation for another time.

--

Forever Tags - @lovetusk @coffee-obsessed-writer@justballoonfishthings @mirajanefairytailmage @kazosa@wings-of-a-raven @docharleythegeekqueen@clockworkmorningglory@lefthologramdeer @ellen-reincarnated1967 @holyfuckloueh@idreamofplaid@buckyscrystalqueen @ilovetaquitosmmmm@n3rdybird @super-fan-of-all-things @disneymarina @sandlee44@babykalika2001

[riskeith]

The Voltron Paper - No. 58,436 (1,784)

FEATURE STORY A breakdown of the relationship that has caught everyone’s attention

PAIRING: Keith/Lance

RATING: teen and up audiences

TAGS: alternate universe, lifeguard lance, journalist keith, surfer keith, pov outsider, newspaper article, (partially), mentioned allura, minor adam/shiro, (those two are very very minor), fluff, getting together

read on AO3 or under the cut

CATCHING… LOVE?

Romance in the waters

Locals have been flocking down to Altea beach like seagulls to a packet of hot chips recently. Why? Well, it’s not because of the alluring ocean, nor the beautiful juniberry flowers which have just bloomed. It’s not even because Unilu, who sells trinkets at the pier, has stopped driving a hard bargain! (Alright, that last one’s a lie. Sorry folks. I was hoping if I published this it would force him to lower his prices. I’ll get you some day!)

Do you know what it is yet? Here’s a clue: it involves our star lifeguard Lance, and a brooding newcomer named—

“—Keith. My name is Keith,” he repeated for the nth time, exasperated. Keith didn’t want this job, he didn’t want to be stuck under the blazing sun, with people everywhere. There was a reason why he started doing this—so he could work in a more serene environment. Except, the person in front of him, who was glued to a pair of binoculars, barely paying him any attention, said he couldn’t leave his post, not even for an hour. And thus, here he was.

He would admit, though, that Lance’s dedication to his work was admirable. In fact, it was why he was here (aside from the ‘can’t abandon my people’ thing). Lance completed a massive rescue during a particularly nasty rip a few days back, and Keith was here to interview him. He was just about to try and ask his question, again, when Lance exclaimed—

Bingo! That’s right. The pair are such a spectacle, people want to see them banter and flirt!  No one would’ve imagined this at the start; when Keith first came down to this lovely area, he didn’t get along with Lance at all! He was pictured storming off in frustration after day three! There were actually concerns raised about their dynamic, and the impact it may have on the beach.

“Oh definitely,” head lifeguard Allura told me. “We were afraid they’d scuffle and cause a scene! We hadn’t had a fight in a while, and wanted to keep it that way.”

Long-time beachgoer Shiro gave a statement too, remarking, “I reckon they’re just young blokes whose personalities clash a bit. Naturally, this’ll result in some tension between them.”

Fiancé Adam then added, “Yep, tension, if you know what I mean,” waggling his eyebrows. Shiro simply rolled his eyes lovingly, and Adam chuckled, then kissed Shiro on the cheek.

(Doesn’t that sound cute? But seriously, I was still there, guys! I also asked Shiro if he would formally be joining the lifeguard team any time soon, but he said he had to focus on the wedding first. Look out for a piece on that as well!)

Before long though, the two seemed to soften up around each other. The rumour is that they spent Lance’s lunch breaks up in the tower together, and I wonder—

“—do you ever get frustrated that people don’t listen?” It was a lot easier to talk with Lance now. Keith wasn’t sure how the change came about, but he welcomed it. And he wasn’t asking this question for the sake of his interview. Sure, it might be included, but most of their conversations were off record, a chance for them to get to know each other. Keith wanted to see if Lance was the same person he appeared to be on the shores. (He wasn’t, and Keith decided he liked this version of Lance most—the one who talked sincerely with genuine passion, the one who held Keith’s gaze steady, but not as a challenge.)

“For sure. Something I don’t get is why they don’t read the signs. It’s fine if they can’t comprehend the words, the language barrier isn’t on them, but look at the pictures, you know? I’d think that a big red cross would be universal for ‘NO’, but nope, they’re ignored all the time.”

Keith nodded, chuckling. He’d helped save people before too, and remembered thinking this after becoming frustrated that people kept wandering into the ‘dangerous currents’ zone.

“Any message you’d like to give them?”

“Yeah, look. All I have to say is just listen to us when we tell you something. We don’t say things lightly, nor do we do things willy-nilly.”

“Well, what do you like to do outside the job?” This question was in no way related to work, and Keith knew Lance knew it. There was no surprise on his face though, however Keith did see the glimpse of a smirk.

“I’m here even when I’m not working, I reckon. Sometimes I’ll just go for a swim, other times I’ll take my board out for a ride. I have a day off soon, maybe you could join me in the water? I’ll show you a few beginner’s tips and tricks.”

“Sounds great.” There were some things Keith wanted to show Lance too. “Back to the previous story though, I bet—"    

—they behaved differently behind closed doors, out of the public’s eye. Their demeanours outside certainly didn’t change. In fact, their rivalry seemed to reach its peak when Keith revealed he was a pro surfer!

Lance had been sitting on his board, gesturing at Keith, probably trying to teach him the basics. What he didn’t know was that Keith was pretending to be a novice. He pulled it off well, I must say. Looking timid while paddling out, toppling from his board before he could even stand up—he had it all down. Lance could be seen laughing at him, while Keith clung onto his board, scowling.

Keith got the last laugh though. As a big wave came in, Lance prepared to surf it, and after getting up, looked around to show Keith, only to realise he was right next to him! Keith’s smirk could be seen from miles away, and the shock caused Lance to topple right off his board and into the water.

They seemed to have a conversation out at sea, wherein Lance gasped and flailed his arms. Keith just smiled. Then, they got back to surfing. Later, they told onlookers it was a competition, but I think we all knew otherwise.

The two of them looked like one with the other, and with the water, out there. They performed various tricks and manoeuvres, but moving in sync, subconsciously coordinating their moves. It was a show, honestly.

And surely, if we experienced all of this just watching them, there was no way they didn’t felt the chemistry too, right? Well, despite knowing this, as they came back to shore, something happened that surprised us all.

They were holding hands. Keith was holding hands with Lance. Of all the crazy things that just happened, he’d argue this was at the top. He wasn’t sure why. It could be due to the fact there was a crowd in front of them (who were cheering?), but also because it was so… soft. It wasn’t really like them, he thought. Their dynamic had never been this muted. The events leading up to this certainly weren’t.

After Lance got himself back onto his board following the fall, he directed a very angry and confused expression at Keith.

“What the heck was that?”

Keith couldn’t help but laugh. It didn’t quell Lance. When he revealed that he was a former professional surfer, Lance’s eyes widened.

“Alright then; show me your moves, Mr Pro.”

And of course Keith took the bait.

Once they took to the water together though, it didn’t feel like showing off. It felt like they were creating something; collaborating; communicating with something other than words. Keith had never felt like this riding waves before, and he knew it was the same for Lance.

After finishing their… thing (courtship display, Lance would call it), as they headed back to shore, Lance confessed.

“I really like you, and I think you’re amazing, and I hope I’m not under the wrong impression that—”

“I like you back,” Keith completed for him.

“Yeah.” Lance watched him with nervous eyes. Keith didn’t realise why until a beat passed.

“No, I like you back.”

“Oh!” Lance brightened up instantly. “Does this mean you’ll hang around? Because you mentioned something about wanting out from the bustle before…”

Keith didn’t take long to think about it, “Yeah.” He stopped consider it again, then nodded. “Yeah. I’ve missed this.” Keith gestured around them with an arm, where they were surrounded by ocean and sky blues. He then looked into Lance’s eyes, also blue.

“You could take up the lifeguard gig too.”

“Yeah? I bet I could pull off more rescues than you.”

Lance scoffed. “Fat chance.”

Keith paddled towards Lance, then leaned in close, hovering before his mouth. Lance got the message, closing his eyes, except Keith swiped at his hands, making him slip and fall. Keith ‘rescued’ him, grabbing his hand after he resurfaced. Before pulling him up though, he got close again, said, “Yeah?”, then finally kissed him. It tasted like the ocean—salty, but also familiar.

Keith glanced over at Lance now, who gave him a small, tender smile, and he couldn’t help but return it. He decided that this was nice. It was new, but hey, surfing had been that to him once too. As for—

—the rest, well, as they say: it’s history.

But it’s not over yet! I have some very exclusive comments from the pair themselves to close the article. (Be warned, they’re very sweet.)

“I will admit I didn’t like him at first. He seemed so serious and hot-headed. But as we talked, I realised that he really wasn’t like that at all. Okay, he still got angry easily, but it started being kind of hot, you know? Especially when it was directed towards those I couldn’t express my own frustration at, since I was on duty. Anyways, he’s a pretty funny guy, and surprisingly expressive. Also, tactile. Haha, don’t worry, he’s all bark and no bite. You’re not fooling anyone, babe! Ah, look at his blush. So cute.”

“Yes. No. What kind of question is that? Fine. I came here as a journalist, but I won’t be leaving as one. No, Lance, I’m not saying my occupation is ‘Lance’s boyfriend’. Um, well, I guess I started to fall for him once I saw how passionate he was about his work. He never loses his temper, and he’s really good with the people. I can see why he’s so well liked. Yeah, you’re very gorgeous. What? You’re the one who said it first! Well, I’m not joking. This guy… We’re going to work on that.”

(Lance and Keith will be surfing together again, be sure to come check it out!)

[isleofandroids]

Partners: Part Two (RK900 x Reader)

Fandom Detroit: Become Human

Word Count 1,873

Summary After being paired with the new addition to the DPD, you have to learn how to deal with the post-android events

PART ONE

Tags @x6-15 @sherlockspie @yallgotkik @avereality @riridmanngrl @jamiethenerdymonster @not-a-kat

—

The Detroit Police Department was buzzing with phone calls and randomized conversations between coworkers. Their voices filled the ears of the second deviant hunter as he sat at his desk, going through files to get himself refocused on the mission. The same whirring sensation from the day before was constantly in the back of the RK900’s software once he stepped into the building that morning and saw no sign of you. It was unlike his partner to show up late - possibly not at all - but even while the two of you worked cases together, he found your absence irrelevant to any investigations. Allowing himself to emit any worry for a human would conclude that he was having instability issues, and that couldn't happen.

However, he couldn't help but wonder. You were upset yesterday, which only grew to fury once he tried to get you to see reason. The situation was odd. The android had trouble calculating exactly what had happened, only coming to the conclusion that the shooting was the reason for your behavior. But why? The suspect ran away from its owners, evaded police, and refused to cooperate. It didn't plan on leaving with them, he could tell. Why couldn't you see that?

The attention of some employees were caught by a figure strolling in, sunglasses on and hands stuffed in the front pockets of their jacket. If it was possible, the android detective straightened his posture even more, adjusting his jacket. Blue orbs trailed your path as you took slow strides toward the desk across from the new recruit. He analyzed your current state - tired eyes, sluggish movement, posture more slouched than the times you held a sense of laziness when on desk duty. As a courtesy, he waited until you were seated to state his findings. “Your blood alcohol content is only .15 below the minimum intoxication level. You went back to the bar when we parted ways yesterday.”

You brought your index and middle finger together, sending the man a salute. “Bingo, Mr. Robot.”

Conner opened and closed his mouth several times as his LED flashed yellow, failing at computing a proper response. At the lack of comeback you raised an eyebrow, but only shrugged and occupied yourself quickly with recent case files. The RK900 continued to eye you, leaning over from his own space with arms crossed atop the surface. “I found a case on another missing android. Shall we head out after you're ready?”

It took a few minutes of papers shuffling and things being set down before you brought your gaze up to his, copying his action as you leaned in closer. Plastering a wry smile you asked, “Why? So you can shoot them before I get a real chance at getting them to cooperate?” You moved back into the computer chair and shook your head. “No thanks.”

The brunette tilted his head, possible ways of getting you to agree flitting through his system. Simply pulling you along wasn't going to do a thing unless he wanted more anger thrown his way. Stating the facts processed within his software the same way as before certainly would've been the wrong approach. If reasoning was going to be done, then it had to be with words that would get your cooperation and still have truth to them. “I will refrain from interfering with your choice of approach.” At your bored look, he added, “Doing so will only aid in a failed or delayed completion of the investigation. And I have no intentions of failing at all, Detective L/N.”

For a short moment all Conner received was a humming sound to ensure you were processing his words. Surely someone as determined as him wouldn't lie, especially when no matter how intelligent he was created to be, a human was still needed to empathize and make things easier when dealing with rogues. You sighed and nodded your head. Pushing the seat away from the desk, you stood up, grumbling about not even getting a chance to unwind. Your partner moved to follow, steps in sync with yours almost immediately. The walk to the car was quiet, the only exchange being when you asked him to give directions. Once the vehicle started down the road, it was all exactly that. There was no chatting about irrelevant things, teasing, or back and forth - just two people on their way to getting a job done.

Admittedly, the lack of conversation was beginning to weigh down. Usually, it wouldn't be a problem. However, the fact that nothing was happening because he upset her somehow didn't sit well with him. There were multiple subjects that could be brought up to most likely open the idea of starting a conversation. Each one more cliche than the last - weather, favorite things, pointless small talk. Was there nothing that would grab your attention? As he contemplated the current situation, his memory recalled the one and only time he'd been inside your apartment. Most of the information stored about your person were bits taken from what he saw and read. Your hobbies, where you liked to go, the places you traveled, some family members and friends. But the thing that stood out the most was your dog. A [breed] that was only a year old, but had an issue with one of its legs that day.

“Has it received medical attention?” You glanced over, confusion written all over your face. “Your dog. If my memory is correct, its front left leg was suffering from an unexplainable cause of injury.”

“Oh.” He hadn't been in your place for weeks now. “My dog is fine. She stayed overnight at a veterinary clinic - I've had her in some kind of physical therapy session since then.” Your fingers tapped against the steering wheel as you took a turn sharp turn. “I didn’t think you noticed.”

Conner nodded his head, eyes focused on the road as the remainder of the road instructions sat in the back of his mind. “We are partners, Detective. It proves to be more productive if we at least attempt at cooperating with one another.”

“Oh, is that why you would change the subject every time I tried to ask a personal question?” You asked condescendingly.

He took a few seconds to think about the response. “You try to see me as more than what I was made to be. What your kind deem hobbies or interests have no place in my creation. I have one goal and one initiative - to accomplish my mission in hunting and deactivating deviants. All other aspects that would make one human are of no use to me. Foremost, I am and will always be a machine.”

A newfound absence of sound arose during the time you mulled over his answer. You found it ridiculous how he constantly shut down the possibility that he could be or become as human as many other androids have. There were discrete differences in his behavior from when he first arrived to now. The way he addressed things, starting conversations unrelated to work or deviants, actually wanting to know about coworkers’ personal lives. So much already counted as a sign of software instability, but no matter how large the change seemed, you saw how he always managed to snap himself back into machine mode without doing the daily self assessment. Was it really such a horrible thing? Having free will and being able to fully express yourself? It was what everyone in America wanted and what most (including CyberLife’s technological beings) were able to have. It didn't help that Connor RK800 was already well into deviancy and expressing his emotions more when the newer model arrived. It just fueled the need to successfully complete the mission without letting anything disrupt his programming or focus. Including who he was assigned to work with (when push came to shove).

Conner, on the other hand, did in fact understand your underlying frustrations. After sensing the distinct change in your tone of voice each time those kind of moments occurred, he would take short time in assessing that you had hope in his transference. The reason was beyond what he was capable of guessing, and making assumptions only ever seemed to dim a talk into negative reactions and situations. The self assessments done each night after work were done to ensure he would not become one of those heathens, yet the same question always rose up when he spoke to Amanda.

“Have they succeeded?”

“Of course not.” He always said, completely aware of who the woman spoke of. “No one has been or will be able to corrupt my programming. I am confident that I will complete my mission without system disruption.”

Yet here he was. In the car with someone who made his wires and gears work the wrong way. Someone who would immediately question his being a machine from a simple comment, ask or action. Someone who just the day before caused his insides to whir around in a way that made him shut down in confusion - even if only for a few seconds.

Suddenly their tires came to a halt, and the brunette's head turned to look out the window. A large warehouse loomed over the car, light clouds fading away the darker the sky became as afternoon turned into evening. Windows were broken and doors were boarded shut. Trees and shrubs covered the surrounding area, puddles remained in the gravel from the previous storm, and most of the building's paint was chipped off or covered in graffiti.

“Well,” You clicked your tongue, “this looks like a fun place.” You muttered sarcastically, turning off the engine and opening the door. Noticing the lack of movement from the other figure, you bent down to look at him. “Are you coming or not?”

“I am.” Without much else than a slight nod, you shrugged and closed the door. As you went around the vehicle to start toward the entrance for the seemingly abandoned location, the 900 model glanced about the small leather space. Once the needed item was found somewhere in the backseat, he grabbed it and followed, again catching up and synchronizing his steps with yours. A hand held something out in front as you walked, and you glanced down to find a water bottle, raising an eyebrow at the object. “The blood alcohol content in your system has only decreased another .05 as your body broke away the liquor when you drove. However, your kidneys hold five percent of any consumption. Drinking enough water will assist in detoxifying your blood and prevent possible dehydration later on in the day.”

You opened your mouth to speak, but discovered nothing was going to be spoken from the amount of surprise the gesture gave. You cleared your throat, taking the bottle and unscrewing the cap before immediately chugging down a third of the clear liquid. Glancing up at the man, you screwed the plastic top back on. “Thank you.” You uttered, taking a quicker pace and continuing to survey the building and surrounding area.

Taken back by the two words he never heard leave your lips - at least not in his direction - his steps ceased. There was a beat of a pause as he watched you near a corner of the warehouse. “You're welcome, Detective L/N.”

“And stop being so formal. It's weird.” He heard you mutter.

His arms went behind his back, hands folded together neatly as he got back into matching your rhythm. “Yes, Y/N.”

Software Instability ^

[randomwoohoo]

Howdy! Here comes the fanfic series of Zootopia Tokusatsu AU!

Tokusatsu =  a genre of Japanese live action audio-visual entertainment usually, but not always, involving super heroes/heroines comabtting evil monsters. For example, super sentai (Power rangers), masked riders and metal heroes.

Hope you enjoy it~

Fanfiction.net link

Synopsis:  3 years after Nick and Judy started working together as police partners, Zootopia was encountering a threat, the monsters called Savages. ZPD (Zootopia Police Department) and DIB (Defense Intelligence Bureau) co-founded SCU (Savage Control Unit), the special task force with sole purpose to exterminate Savages. Nick and Judy were senior police officers but they tended to tackle the monsters a lot by becoming one, an armored hero mixed between fox and rabbit, Hybrid. The new cases, chaos and henshin heroes arrived!

     A fleeing sports car came to a screeching halt. Officer Judy Hopps and Officer Nick Wilde exited their patrol cruiser then approached a street racer. “Sir, you were going 115 miles per hour. I hope you have a good explanation.” Judy informed.

    However, when the driver’s window moved down, the lawbreaker was revealed to be… “Flash? Flash? Hundred yard dash!?” Nick took off his shades to get a good look at the driver. It was Flash the sloth.

“. . . N i c k” Flash called out the brand new cop’s name at a seriously slow pace.

    That was the first assignment of Nick and Judy as partners. It felt like yesterday although it had already been three year since back then. In the morning at the Zootopia Police Department headquarters, there were some minor changes here and there, new faces, transferred employees, some… had gone...

“All right. Everybody! Sit! Today, I have an important announcement.” A mammal standing at the podium was no one other than Chief Bogo, a male Cape buffalo and the chief of the Zootopia Police Department or ZPD for short.

“Sir, aren’t you tired from being a chief for many years? Consider settling down?” The fox senior police officer teased his supervisor.

“It’s too early to get rid of me, Wilde.” Chief quipped as a response to the first and still the only one fox cop in the department, Nick Wilde, which got a laugh out of others in the bullpen. This playful behaviour had become a routine at work. It lightened up the mood and helped reinforcing a positive impression towards the fox.

    Bogo put on glasses to read the report in his hoof. “Ahem. Y’all might have already known. Just to remind you, the missing mammal cases that occurred these recent years in the Canals, the Meadowlands, the Nocturnal District, Outback Island, Sherwood and Bunnyburrow-” He paused to glance at one officer after he mentioned her hometown. Senior Officer Judy Hopps, who shared a front roll seat with her partner Nick, was listening attentively. Moreover, she seemed tense. It was understandable for Bogo. He breathed in and resumed. “Just now, there is progress in those cases. Police from other precincts found clues that lead to Zootopia. A few of you are needed to work on them. Treat ’em as your priority. Assignments!” The buffalo was about to give assignments but he felt the urge to emphasize current situation. “Oh by the way, if anybody encounters Savage , escort citizens in the area, contact SCU and stay away from Savage. Understand?”

“Yes’sir” Every police in the bullpen burst out in reply, not exactly every single one.

    Bogo inspected Judy being quiet. She averted her eyes when they met with Bogo’s. He knew immediately what was on her mind. “Officer Hopps. Parking duty.”

    The bunny cop went all alert. “What!? Chief-” She wanted to argue. However, Bogo interrupted. “Now… do you understand?” He repeated intimidatingly.

.--. .- .-. - -. . .-. ...

“This is ridiculous! Can’t believe after all these years, I got assigned a parking duty again!” Judy grunted. At Downtown street, she and her partner, Nick Wilde, were standing next to a patrol car that Chief let them drive instead of meter maid cart because of current city situation… It would be dangerous, not fast enough to escape...

“Chill, Fluff. Besides, if either of us is supposed to complain. I should be the one since I tag along with you.” Wearing sunglasses, Nick swirled a cup of coffee in his paw.

“You don’t have to say that. I’ve felt bad already.” Judy sighed, feeling blameworthy that she was a reason the fox was punished as well… He would not let her go through hard time alone. That sort of made her happy, yet also built up a guilt.

“Hey, we are duo through thick ’n thin no matter what, Carrots. And where is your positivity? Couple of years ago, you still found a way to challenge ourselves doing this kind of tasks. Aren’t ya gonna write hundreds of tickets or something?” This was not the first time they were assigned a parking duty together but as Nick stated, Judy used to bring out a spirit to any assignments.

“I will if it’s possible! Look! There are scarcely few cars on street!” The bunny pointed out their surroundings. Road was clear, not many cars running or parking, which was probably what they expected when Bogo intended to keep them far from the battleground. Therefore, he gave them this disciplinary penalty for acting stubborn.

“Consider this taking things slow then.” The tod sip his coffee. “Snarlbucks blueberry coffee is delish.”

    Judy put on a half-smile. She loved her partner’s blueberry obsession but the smile turned to frown. “How can I slow down? The city is-”

“Go ahead, patrol, Judy, my dear.” Old lady voice attracted the doe’s attention, causing rabbit ears to flick. Judy turned around to greet. “Officer Mabel!” An elderly female goat meter maid, walking with a cane, waved the hand to greet back. “Don’t be worried. I can cover for you two. It has been a light work since nobody dares to roam the streets anyway.” said Mabel.

    Judy grinned and ran to open the driver door of police car. “Thank you, Officer Mabel! Call us if anything happens! Nick! Get in a car!” The bunny ordered, yet Nick tarried. “Hang on~ I wanna appreciate some peaceful moments more-” He was going to take another sip.  A door of passenger seat was opened from the inside, a bunny paw reached out and grabbed his tie. “Hurry!” Judy crawled from driver seat to passenger seat and opened the door to get her partner who struck a pose outside the cruiser. She dragged him in. The fox staggered into a car. “Mah coffee!” almost dropped his cup. They closed the doors in unison then the doe started the engine.

“Good luck” Mabel wished two officers luck as they departed.

- .... .. -.-. -.- / .- -. -.. / - .... .. -.

    After hours of patrolling around Downtown and Rainforest district, both arrived at Cliffside Asylum. There were a group of mammals yelling at a guard. Bunny cop turned off the engine to take a look.

“You folks ain’t allowed to come in here!” A wolf guard stopped teenage camera crew at the gate. The crew was consisted of bear, fox, rabbit, raccoon and skunk.

“C’mon! We’re not messing around!” A bear, holding a camera, shouted. A skunk flipped a script and assisted protesting. “We’re here to film a documentary.” Juveniles clamored. A rabbit buck brought out a phone to record a video. “This building is wicked! It was involved in former-mayor Lionheart mammal abduction and Savage-”

“No video!” The guard swatted buck’s phone away, standing ground to say no to the youngsters.

    Judy monitored the fuss, speaking nonspecifically. “Ever since then, this place has been forbidden. Suspicious-”

“Hold your horses! Forget about investigation. Even the high ranked police strenuously get a warrant.” Removing his shades, Nick interjected. The mentioned fact distressed the doe. She moaned while staring out the window. Shortly afterwards, Judy jerked, making Nick flinched. He shifted his focus to the same direction as his partner, spotting other raccoon going through the gate when wolf guard was busy dealing with camera crew.

“The thing is, you don’t need a warrant if you have probable cause-” Judy stated then Nick added promptly. “And you saw a potential criminal sneaking in.”

“Bingo~” The doe exclaimed. “Sly bunny~” Tod commented.

“Let’s go. And don’t forget your driver!” She said.

“How can you carry it with you all the time?” He questioned. “I have my own method.” Bunny responded. Nick and Judy got off the car and used this chance while the guard being distracted to sneak into the complex.

    Inside the asylum, which had dramatically changed, wrecked and abandoned, demolished walls, ceilings and floors, equipments and stuff scattering all over the place, blood stain…, the raccoon intruder held a flashlight in his mouth as he rummaged through a crumbled laboratory. “Where is it? Geez...” Raccoon expressed annoyance. He kept searching though his jaw felt sore from holding the flashlight. But he turned down the light and ducked under a table when he heard some noise, peeping who or what was coming. Two police officers, fox and rabbit, more than enough to identify who they are, scouted about. Nick pointed at one direction and moved his paw in and out, suggesting he should go that way. Judy shook her head to reject Nick’s suggestion. She pointed at Nick, drew her paw in and tapped her chest with index finger, advising him not to separate but stick together.

Shoot! Cops!! At least, it’s mammal. I can grab it quickly and get out of here before- Speaking of the devil, the most terrifying thing Raccoon wished he did not encounter emerged.

    The partner’s ears captured a scream. They rushed to the source of sound, surprisingly bumping against the intruder. Apparently, he was fleeing from something and there was no need to guess because it followed the raccoon not far behind. Its pupils were glowing in the dark. The duo instantly perceived what it was.

“RunRunRunRunRun!!” Judy commanded incessantly. They raced down the hallway, avoiding tripping concrete wreckage.

“Still some left in here? Good grief~” Nick grumbled.

“Savage ...” Judy called a monster that was after them, the mammal-like purple creatures which had threatened Zootopia since one year ago, their behavior resembled the fierce feral animals. Therefore, they were named Savage. This one looked similar to a jaguar. However, it had the exoskeleton covering its body and a strip of long fur lined down its spine. Its saliva dripped everywhere while it was chasing police and civilian on all four.

“Bunny! Aren’t you a cop? Shoot it!” Raccoon bawled.

“I have only tranq gun and it doesn’t work on them!” Judy’s lethal weapon was confiscated when she received an assignment that those types of weapons are not necessary.

“Use mine.” Nick gave Judy a pistol. “H-How?” Puzzled, the doe inquired. Subsequently, tod riposted. “I’m not the one getting punished. remember?” Both beamed at each other. Judy grasped Nick’s pistol. It is a bit too big for her paws but she could work on it. Nick offered his firearm since Judy is a better shooter than him. She started firing on Savage which was pursuing them.

“For the last time, no means no! You can’t go in-” The wolf guard addressed the final warning to the teenagers before ears perked up to catch the roar from the asylum. Wolf rotated to get a glimpse, three mammals running away from Jaguar Savage . “Okay, you kids do whatever you please. I gonna call SCU.” Guard and camera crew split.

“You! That way!” Judy told the raccoon, pointing different direction. They made it out of building, still Savage kept hunting them.

“Don’t leave me, Coppah!” He whined. Nick swiftly corrected raccoon’s thought. “We will decoy that monster. Now, go!” Fox stressed. The raccoon hesitated. He eventually escaped to hide around the corner of the asylum.

“Finally, we’re left alone.” The doe heaved a sigh of relief. “Ready, partner?” She stopped abruptly, so did the tod. They about-faced the monster and brought out the devices. “Here we go again” Nick was mentally prepared. Both put them over the front middle of waist.

    The devices are identical, arm-sized black machine with purple 1.25 inch diameter flat circle at the center, maroon motorcycle handlebar on the right half and silver syringe having a 45 degree tilt. The devices extended the belt to wrap around the wearer's waist.

    Nick pulled the syringe which has spring mechanism. It was drawn back automatically after he let it go. “ DRAW BLOOD ” Nick’s device spoke robotically. Blood filled in Nick’s syringe then it teleported into the syringe of Judy’s device. Judy pressed the syringe which sprang out on its own. “ INJECT ” Judy’s device spoke robotically as well. Fox’s blood was injected into rabbit. He fell asleep standing up, lying unconsciously on the ground.

    Savage was charging at the duo. Rabbit uttered. “Transform!” Then she twisted the device’s handle anticlockwise with her right paw. “ IGNITE ” Judy’s device spoke. The handle was twisted back by the spring mechanism. It released purple steam, followed by the hot purple mist explosion. Savage halted, viewing the mist swallowing the bunny whole. In the thick fog, device core illuminated, two amethyst headlamps shone up where Judy eyes are. The mist was fading, revealing a flamingo red full suit head-to-toe bio armoured Hybrid between a fox and a rabbit, obvious Judy’s body type, soft metal long rabbit ears, red long fluffy fox tail made of spikes instead of fur, light green torso with blue stripe on front dividing left and right, grayish-tan lower body except flamingo red feet, stylish headlights for eyes and fangs with a pair of buck teeth pattern on muzzle.

    Savage ’s instinct commanded it to assault the new threat. The monster stormed towards the armoured figure. Hybrid sprinted off, dodging to the right side, landing a right hook on Jaguar Savage ’s shoulder, knee bashing its throat. Savage angled its head upward. Hybrid palm struck monster’s chin.

“You punch like a bunny.” Judy jestingly criticized Nick who chuckled at a pun. How can he help it? He was literally in the bunny body…

    The monster bounced back, trying to attack the fox-mixed rabbit once again. Judy protracted the right paw claw, pivoting 360 degree, lacerating Savage’s face. It bellowed in agony. “And you are ferocious.” Tod remarked. “Like a fox~” Doe added. “Oy! That’s all you. Tenderness runs in my blood.” He protested.

    Savage veered off, hurtling toward a defenseless sleeping fox. Nick gasped “It’s going after my body!” He panicked. Judy pushed the syringe. “ ACTIVATE ” The belt voiced. Hybrid zoomed at an incredible pace, breaking through the wind, each step sent the dust flying everywhere, catching up with the monster in a trice. Hybrid hopped, trampling on Savage ’s back. It paused due to a severe blow, giving an opportunity for Hybrid to retrieve Nick’s body. Judy was carrying the fox to the side of building. She laid him down where it must be safe from harm. “Dang! I look good even when I’m napping.~” Nick complimented his presence. He rubbed his chin but Judy intervened. “Cut it out already! We’re far from done with that Savage.”

    When Hybrid returned, the monster had disappeared. “See! We’ve lost it!” The doe blamed the tod. “Relax, Carrots.” Nick pushed the syringe. “ ACTIVATE ” Hybrid’s ears perked up, harking the sounds of environment, tracing its location. “That way!” Duo shouted.

- .-. .- -. ... ..-. --- .-. --

    Jaguar Savage escaped from Cliffside Asylum and reached South Canyon. However, a trope of armed mammals were blocking a road. They were wearing tactical gears, bulletproof uniforms and face shield helmets, SCU logos are embroidered on back and right chest.

“Ready!” A white stallion signaled. SCU agents rifles properly. He continued. “Aim!” They target Savage . “Fire!” Horse bawled. The agents opened fire on the monster. It stood sideways to avoid the probable damages. Its shell deflected the bullets yet it began to fracture after the several hits. SCU team is specialized in exterminating Savage. They hastened to track down and eliminate the target as soon as they were contacted by a wolf. The jaguar was about to withdraw. “Quick! If it climbs up that hill, we won’t be able to follow it!” Stallion warned.

“Mine Mine Mine Mine~” The repeated yelling earned agents’ attention. It was as loud as or even louder than the gunshot noise. They stopped shooting to take a gaze. A weird rabbit knight was heading towards their way. Actually, it was the running bio armoured bunny fox hybrid. “Don’t ya steal my kill!” said Nick. Judy twisted the device’s handle anticlockwise again. “ CRITICAL BREAK ” Hybrid accelerated to the point of becoming a red blur with amethyst light lines alongside from the eyes. Hybrid leaped when getting close enough to Savage and roll front flip in mid-air. The partners double kicked the monster’s flank. The impact shattered its exoskeleton. The protracted bunny feet claws were inserted through the shell cracks, digging in Savage ’s flesh. Hybrid shoved the monster away, landing backflip on a ground. Every part of Savage was evaporating as it was dying.

    SCU gaped at an armoured mammal. “Applause~ Applause~ No need to thank me~ Just doing my job.” Nick babbled. “Freeze, Hybrid !” They did not get a round of applause. Instead, the agents were pointing the rifles at Hybrid . “I would love to stay but… Gotta dash!” Nick waved a paw. Judy, giggling at a fox’s frisky nature, took control of the body, skedaddling. Horse directed. “Fire tranq dart! Fire!” They shot nonstop at Hybrid, who pressed the syringe, “ACTIVATE” vanishing into thin air. “We lost them again!” White horse neighed after Hybrid evaded the special force once again without any traces.

“Let’s meet at the car.” Judy advised, holing up over the hill despite being on the road below merely second ago. “Roger~ See ya, Carrots~” Nick agreed. She pulled the syringe. Blood was drawn and teleported to other syringe as Judy detransformed. The suit let out purple steam then disappeared. Her body and clothes were back to the state before Nick and she fought the monster together.

.- --. .- .. -.

“Hello, this is Jim Tuck.” Just invading the prohibited area, saved by police and hiding behind the side of asylum from the monster, the raccoon made a phone call. “No, I haven’t got a thing yet-” He jerked away from his phone because his interlocutor brawled aggressively. “What was I supposed to do!? Savage almost killed me! Look! Just give me more time, okay?” He stayed silent for seconds, hearing the answer. “Good! Deal! Bye!” He hung up and sighed.

“Tough luck huh?” The voice startled Jim. He turned to find the fox officer. Jim tried to bolt but the tod could seize raccoon’s wrist first. “Chill out~ I’m not here to arrest you. In fact, I think I can lend you a paw...” Nick apprised.

- --- / -... . / -.-. --- -. - .. -. ..- . -..

[goingknowherewastaken]

Princess of the Stars (pt. 2)

Title: Princess of the Stars (pt.2)

Prompt: Read the A/N below this

Fandom: Star Trek (AOS)

Relationships: Reader x Jim Kirk

Warnings: n/a

A/N:  Okay so Jim’s b-day was what spurred me to post pt. 1, but the actual prompt is something I don’t quite want to reveal just yet right up here (even though I feel like it’s obvious as to what it is). If you don’t already have an idea of what it is, this part gives it away :)

This is apart of a series! You can read the previous parts here: Part One |

Princess of the Stars (pt. 2)

It was official.

You’ve discovered that there was nothing that you loved more than Jim’s lips on you. You always hated when they parted from you; from the quick pecks he gave your cheeks to the more thorough, unhurried moments the two of you shared over the past three weeks.

You sighed as he pulled away, the only warning being a soft kiss placed on your cheek, and watched him from your place on his couch. Standing up, he straightened his shirt and you mentally loathed the fact that you lost your cuddle partner. “Do you have to go?”

“Unfortunately,” he spoke after releasing his own sigh. “I need to do a final round of department checks before tomorrow.”

You knocked your head into the back of the couch. That was the downside of dating a Starfleet Captain; even when they were ‘off-duty’, they were still on call. “Right. Dignitaries.”

A forlorn Jim gave you a half-hearted hum. Of everything the Enterprise has encountered, 'Dignitaries’ topped everyone’s list of ‘Things We Don’t Want To Deal With’. One being aboard meant that everything had to be running according to Starfleet’s standards - or at least appear to be. 

Things...sort of get a little...lax...when you place a bunch of beings out in the middle of space with little to no prominent supervision by the brass.

Everyone had been cleaning up their acts the past week, from working on using proper titles to attempting to hid everything from booze to relationships.

Meaning, you and Jim couldn’t be seen having anything less than a strictly professional relationship for the next three days.

How the two of you were going to last, neither of you knew.

The thought tugged at your heart and before Jim could move away, you stood and wrapped your arms around his trim waist. When his arms responded in kind, you tightened your hold on him. With your face mashed into his chest, you muttered, “This sucks.”

Jim dipped his head and nuzzled his nose into your neck. A shiver raced up your spin at the sensation. “Yup,” he murmured in agreement, his warm breath ghosting over your neck left goosebumps in its wake.

You both managed to stayed in your bubble of contentment for a few more moments until his Comm chirped and caused twin sighs to echo through the room. Breaking apart, Jim pressed one final kiss to your lips and whispered a promise of ‘later’ before grabbing his Comm and vacating his quarters.

Left alone to your own devices, you huffed before crossing into his bedroom and crawling into his bed. It would be a few hours before Jim would get back; you might as well take advantage of your fee time and nap. 

Taking a deep breath, you inhaled the comforting musk of your boyfriend that surrounded you and slowly drifted off.

- - -♔- - - - -♔- - - - -♔- - - - -♔- - - - -♔- - - - -♔- - - - -♔- - - - -♔- - - - -♔- - -  

“Dammit,” you muttered, squinting down at the tricorder in your hand. Holding it up again, you proceeded down along the catwalk, scanning the pipping that ran alongside it. 

Of all the days for there to be a leak in the pipes, it just had to be on one where everything needed to be running flawlessly.

You ground your teeth as you waved you tricorder, the normally calming rumble of the engines and chatter of your fellow engineers doing nothing to smother your frustration. As you wiped a bead of sweat away from your forehead, gaining a smear of grease in the process, a glare on the metal grating ahead caught your eye. 

“Bingo!” 

Trotting the remaining distance, you knelt down and ran your tricorder over the clear substance before you. 

Water. 

Finally!

The frustration you were feeling lessened as you stood and searched for the leak. Spotting the faint trickle, the engines and surrounding voices faded even more as the problem gained your full focus. Stepping closer, you pulled out your comm. “[Y/M/N] to Scott.”

“Scotty here!”

You tilted your head and ran your fingers along the junction. “I found the leak. A junction in the pipes started to separate; right around where you figured it would be. Think you can get the water turned off? It should only take about five minutes to fix.” 

“Aye, I’ll get someone on that. Good work on finding that when ya did; the Captain and our guests have reached the Engineering half o’ their tour. Only just finished speakin’ with ‘em. Oy -” He broke off, calling out to an ensign near him to turn off the water. 

His tone made you snort. They hadn’t even been on the ship for four hours and already they were making waves. You waited until he was done talking before you said, “Let me guess, they weren’t too keen on the ever glamorous career of ‘Engineer’.” You heard the water slow in the pipe as you were speaking, watching as the trickle began to dissipate.

As you got to work, a sarcastic Scotty responded, “How did ya know that.”

You shrugged to yourself. “Eh, I’ve had to deal with my fair share of dignitaries.”

“Aye, that’s right. You’re from -”

"LOOK OUT!”

BOOM!

Between the warning shout that cut Scotty off and the explosion that rocked the ship shortly after, you didn’t have time to brace yourself. You yelped as you felt your feet slip on the water, causing your body to stumble backwards towards the low railing behind you. Seconds later, your pelvis had smashed painfully into the top metal bar and you began to tip over and beyond it.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!”

“[Y/F/N]!”

You barely heard the person’s shout over your scream as you flailed you body, closing your eyes for the -

“Oopf!”

Thud!

“Ooww...”

- soft-ish landing? 

You took several deep breaths and tried your best to focus on cataloging any possible injuries. So far the only thing you noticed was the heavy weight on top of you.

Scratch that. 

Heavy body.

Said body shifted over you and soon a pair of worried crystal-blue eyes were peering down at your own. “[Y/F/N]? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“No,” You groaned out. “Not that I know of. You’re just heavy.”

Relief crashed over his face and huffed out a laugh before slowly pushing himself into kneeling position next to you. “Funny,” he muttered, reaching out to help you up. Two sets of footsteps could be heard coming up behind you as you were pulled into a sitting position. “You never complained about my weight on you before.”

You gave him a look and he smirked as a reply. Just as you were preparing your retort, Jim’s eyes darted behind you and he schooled his features. As he pulled you onto your feet and you regained your bearings, he spoke, “I’m terribly sorry about that, Your Majesties. Are the two of you okay?” 

Jim removed his hands from your arms and you took the opportunity to smooth down your uniform as best you could. You needed to look at least a bit presentable if you were going to face -

Wait...

Your eyebrows scrunched in thought as you processed what Jim had said.

“We’re fine, Captain.” Eyes widening, your blood froze at the male voice that commented.

No.

“We’re just concerned about your crewman,” the female voiced. 

“Ah, yes, Your Majesties. This is Lieutenant [Y/F/N] [Y/M/N]. She’s one of the best Engineers to graduate from the Academy.”

You barely heard Jim’s voice as he boasted, your thoughts a hurricane inside your head. His hand gripping your shoulder to turn you around was the only thing to break your focus. 

And then...there they were. 

“[Y/F/N]?” He gasped out and she took a step towards you. Never before had they been seen this rattled.

So you did the only thing you could think of - you ran.

...to be continued

Let me know if you wish to be tagged in this or added to my taglist in general! :)

Taglist: @the-witching-hours12-3​ @wonders-of-the-enterprise

[xoxopandapanda]

Ma’am, Is This Your Dog

@inukag-week

Day five: AU 

(A/N: I was really having a hard time coming up with something, but I think this is a pretty okay idea. :P )

There was a dog in his apartment. He didn’t own a dog. 

And yet, there it was. Sitting on his couch in all of its white, fluffy glory, drooling out of excitement to see him. 

He lived on the 13th floor. How on earth did this dog get in here?

Inuyasha stared back into golden eyes that showed no signs of distress at being a location he wasn’t supposed to be. He took a step back, and looked at the door. Yep, that was his apartment number. He looked back at the dog. Nope, that wasn’t his dog. 

It wasn’t a small dog either. It was a very large, very fluffy, and very unexpected dog. If he had to take a guess at what kind of dog it was, then he would have to say an Akita Inu based off of the size and shape of it. 

But how did it get in here?! 

Inuyasha kept an eye on the dog, who besides smiling in the way dogs do and wagging his very large, very long, very unexpected tail around minimally. The dog clearly wasn’t too too excited to see him, but still showed some sort of joy at seeing a person. Inuyasha started to quickly inspect his apartment for damage. There was no sign of how the dog got in. And yet, he apparently had gotten in just fine.

This was the exact opposite of what Inuyasha needed. He had just come off of a 16 hour shift as a for-hire bodyguard/bouncer. It was a human event; some stupid yakuza had wanted something a little more than a human to guard it, but not wanted the risk of a full fledged demon who could be uncontrollable. 

While it wasn’t an ideal situation, considering the drugs that were there, it paid better than any job he had in a while and he needed the money for college. His half-brother certainly wasn’t going to put out any money for him.

Going to school part-time and working full-time meant that Inuyasha wasn’t really ever in his apartment besides to sleep. It was a single room with the bathroom attached, and that couch was where he slept.

But he couldn’t go to sleep because there was a very large, very hairy, very immobile dog sitting on it.

Couldn’t a guy just get some sleep?!

He started at the dog for a couple of minutes before realizing it had a collar on. Bingo! He could call the owner and get it out of here.

He approached the dog slowly, as he was unsure if it would make any sudden movements, and didn’t want to take any risks. The dog seemed very uninterested in him and had taken to scratching himself, releasing fur all over Inuyasha’s bed--couch. 

Reaching the almost mountainous dog, Inuyasha gently grabbed at his collar and felt for tags.

He almost shouted for joy when his hand grabbed them.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he took a good look at the tags. One was the dog’s vaccination records, and one was his name: “Namahage”.

Namahage. Mountain ogre. Oddly fitting, Inuyasha thought. 

He flipped the name tag around. “I’m not lost, just taking myself for a walk”.

It took Inuyasha a few moments before the words sunk in.

“I’m not lost, just taking myself for a walk.” 

“YES YOU ARE, YOU DUMB DOG. YOU ARE IN MY APARTMENT. YOU ARE LOST.” Inuyasha screamed out loud.

Namahage, the dog who seemed perfectly content right up until that moment, cocked his head and gave him a look that translated into ‘What’s your problem, buddy?”

“YOU, YOU ARE MY PROBLEM.”

“I know it’s been a while, Inuyasha, but I think I’ve been well behaved as of late.” Inuyasha whipped his head around to stare at the intruder to his apartment, still holding onto the dog’s collar.

“What do you want, Miroku?” Inuyasha growled, barely containing his rage.

“To know what the fuss is about.” Miroku walked through the doorway, and closed the door behind him. Inuyasha realized he forgot to close it when he came in. Damn dog distracting him. 

Miroku was the friend Inuyasha didn’t realize he had until one day he did. Miroku lived across the hall from Inuyasha, in just as tiny of an apartment, even though he was the head priest of a nearby temple. Inuyasha was a little suspicious that the reason Miroku kept a separate home from the temple had to do more with his wandering hand than anything else. But, Inuyasha didn’t want to know, so he didn’t ask.

Miroku finally got close enough to the see the dog fully. “Why hello there, Namahage! A little out of place, aren’t you?” The dog let out a little ‘boof’ in response and slobbered on Inuyasha’s hand.

“You know this damn thing?” 

“Of course, he’s the lovely Priestess Kagome’s companion! He loves to wander, though, hence his name tag. He goes home when he’s hungry, so she says she doesn’t worry since he must be full if he’s not home.”

“Well he’s a little lost to get into my apartment.” Inuyasha released the dog. At least he knew where to bring the ginormous thing. 

“You didn’t pick him up?” Miroku seemed confused at what was happening. He had assumed Inuyasha had found the dog, and, in some sort of comradery like way, brought the fluffy animal back to his apartment. 

“No, I came home and he was sitting on the couch like he owned the place!” Inuyasha animatedly waved his arms. “I can’t for the life of me figure out how he got in here or how my door was locked when I came in if he was in here!”

“Kagome-san taught him how to lock most deadbolts so that when he wanders home at night, he doesn’t leave things unlocked and at risk of being stolen or vandalized.  Namahage must have locked the door out of habit.”

Inuyasha stared at Miroku. This dog was taught to lock doors? What else? How to pick locks? 

He then decided he didn’t want to know. 

“So you know where the mutt lives. Good. Let’s bring him home.”

Miroku smirked. “Why? He’s just taking himself for a walk.”

Inuyasha fought the urge to punch his grinning face. “Because I want to go to bed and it’s time the walk ended.”

Kagome wasn’t surprised to see Namahage coming up the steps to her family shrine. She wasn’t even all that surprised to see Miroku with him, since Miroku often walked Namahage home. She was surprised to see the silver haired man with ears on top of his head.

“Welcome,” she bowed low, but keeping grip on her broom. “The Higarashi shrine welcomes you.”

“Your dog was in my apartment and I want to know how he got there.”

Miroku sighed. “What my friend means is that Namahage was unexpectedly in his home and we have come to bring him back.”

“No. I mean, how in the hell did your damn dog get into my apartment.” Inuyasha huffed and crossed his arms. He was significantly taller than this woman, and felt he could stand a good chance of getting answers out of her.

“Namahage comes and goes. I don’t really control him. He just eats and sleeps here. Most people around here think it’s good luck to have him in your home. He is a very sweet dog and only wants to see people.” Kagome smiled at the grumpy half demon, paying no attention to his tone. He wasn’t the first angry one, and he wouldn’t be the last.

“You don’t understand. There’s no way he could get into my apartment.”

Kagome looked at Namahage who had decided the conversation was too boring to be present in and went to lay down beneath the great tree.

“You’re right I don’t understand because I don’t try to understand Namahage. He brings only good will.”

Miroku added, “he probably felt a dog was present in that apartment and wanted to say hi.”

Inuyasha stiffened. He didn’t like to talk about his heritage, even though it stood out worse than a boil on the face. 

Kagome paid no mind to the sudden tension.

“If I had to guess, I think Namahage saw you on one of his walks, and thought you would be nice to visit. Unfortunately, once he knows how to get inside a place, he tends to do so very frequently until he is bored of it.” She turned and tried to smile as nicely as she could, but found only an awkward half-grin would come out. 

Inuyasha turned to leave with only a “keh”. Miroku sent her an apologetic smile and followed. 

Inuyasha was visited again by Namahage the very next day. He came home from his long shift out in the sun as a concrete-mixer operator in an affluent part of town. He was tired, gross, and humiliated. He had heard nearly every nasty thing whispered about him. He just wanted to lay down and pretend the world wasn’t such a cruel place.

He knew as soon as his door creaked open what was going to be sitting there.

This time, Namahage greeted him with a small ‘boof’ the same way he had Miroku before and a more wagging tail than before.

Inuyasha contemplated what to do. He thought about bringing him home, but then he would have to go out and look at humans. He decided he would let Namahage have the couch and just sleep on the floor.  

As he approached, the large, extraordinarily lanky dog got off the couch and sprawled out on the floor next to it.

Inuyasha planted face first into a fur covered couch and feel asleep to the sensation of Namahage gently licking his hand.  

When he woke, Namahage had gone, but this time he left the door unlocked.

“So he can’t pick locks,” Inuyasha murmured, before succumbing back to sleep.

It would be weeks before Inuyasha saw Namahage again. 

Inuyasha had picked up an odd job cleaning up garbage for a couple of weeks for menial pay. He was walking down the street next to a rather large shopping mall when he heard a commotion behind him.

Over the years, he had learned to keep his head down and guard up, so while he didn’t look to see what was causing the fuss, he kept aware of where it was happening.

Then he saw a massive, white puff ball dog waltz pass him like it was natural he was there. Then he heard people yelling and running after it.

Namahage had recognized him and stopped to give him kisses.

“Ma’am,” Inuyasha heard from behind him, “is this your dog? You aren’t supposed to bring pets to work.”

Inuyasha whipped around and stared at the man. Realizing the errors of his ways, the man backed up and left. Or maybe he was scared of the look the male half demon had given him.

Inuyasha gave it no more thought.

Namahage hadn’t even noticed.

“What are you doing? This is no place to be taking yourself on a walk.” Namahage continued to pepper his legs, hands, anywhere he could reach in kisses.

“Let’s get you home,” Inuyasha walked to put back his bin and stick, and began to make his way to the shrine. Namahage followed closely, happily walking behind and ‘boof’-ing at people he recognized.

Kagome wasn’t on the steps like before. Inuyasha realized that he hadn’t made it past them before and once he was at the top, he didn’t even know where to begin. Namahage didn’t go lay by the great tree like before, but decided to stay close to Inuyasha as he searched for Kagome.

Inuyasha also realized he couldn’t remember the priestess’s name. No point in calling out then, he thought to himself. He walked around the paths, and looked in every building until he came across her.

She was in the bottom of a well house, plucking at the weeds that had started to grow at the base. She was oblivious to his arrival and Inuyasha had a chance to admire her. She really was pretty, with her soft hair that shone a deep blue tone in the peeking sunlight and her delicate hands plucking softly at the vegetation but barely disturbing the dirt. 

He called out to her, like the man had to him. “Ma’am, is this your dog?”

Kagome’s head snapped up. She saw the silver haired man and her beloved companion’s head peaking over the edge of the well, little droplets of drool pouring out of his mouth. 

She made eye-contact to the man who was part dog demon. “Why, yes. Yes he is.” 

Inuyasha fought back a smile at her sincere answer.

“Oh good. I thought he was lost.”

Kagome stood up and began to climb out of the well. Before she could answer him he continued.

“But it turns out he was just taking himself for a walk.”

Kagome stood in front of the man. “Well,” she spoke carefully, not wanting to misread the man’s intentions, “shall we join him on his walk?”

Inuyasha held his arm out. “I think we shall.”

A/N I like this story line. Maybe I should make it a multichapter thing? I haven’t done that in a while.

If you want to know my inspiration for Namahage, it’s Wasao (a super cute Akita inu. He is on tumblr and I live for his pictures.)

[wendyimmiller]

The Wife, The Flu, and the Ecstacy of Entering a Gardening Dream State

Cincinnati, Ohio

January 23, 2020

Dear Marianne,

What a treat it was to receive your letter dated January 22nd. And so publicly too! What fun.

Despite myself, I somehow got caught up in flights of fantasy borne from your descriptions of your bucolic existence in the benevolent hills far enough west of D.C. to be out of the gridlock and yet still within the outer rings of its wealth. You have a good life there by the fireside with your Jack Russell, your garden (which I imagine to be picture perfect), and your former marine (whom I imagine is likewise).

Here’s our dog. He’s a spastic, old, not so smart and mostly blind mutt at the end of a long line of people handing him off to other people, but he has a heart of gold.

I couldn’t help but be reminded of how different things are here in the bitter, gritty, gloomy, and surly Midwest. The temperature has been oscillating here so violently that it has cracked buildings. Even our six-story skyscrapers! Yet, it’s always gray. Gray, leaden, heavy, oppressive, American gray, English grey, depressing as hell, and a daily kick in the gut gray. And the rivers are all flooding. There’s worry the levy might break and wipe out the trailer park. Currently I’m cut off from my nearest source of a Big Gulp by high water. Oh, and everyone I know, including me, is sick.

This weekend, Michele, who is never sick, got the flu. Started Saturday while she helped me move brush and branches from around the yard to the driveway. She’s usually such a good sport, but she was kind of lagging and losing focus. I was getting irritated, because I’d been pruning like a maniac and the yard was starting to look like a log jam. Eventually, we had gotten it all into a big pile by my old, rusty truck that won’t start, being sure to make it is as unsightly as we could and plainly visible to any county official that happens to drive by. Next thing I know, she’s practically passing out. And I had hoped she would cook that night.

As you mentioned, Michele has a sweet smile, an amazing smile. And she was so innocent when we got married that I had to instruct her on how to use it with police officers, bouncers, and the occasional asshole boss. But, when we both finally got in bed Saturday night, it was like that mouth had never smiled before ever. All it knew how to do was cough on me like I was in the first wave of liberators trying to come ashore and it was a germ machine gun.

A glimpse at that sweet smile. Taken last year during better times.

To my amazement, I awoke Sunday still feeling okay, but had to make an escape. It’s been a winter of working nights and weekends putting together PowerPoints, articles, and forever trying to get caught up at work. Michele’s mom died after a quick illness in December. My mom has pinged and ponged from home to hospital and now to a rehab center, and I too have been bouncing around between home and a dentist for a fourth try at a new crown and between various doctors trying to figure out why my left ear has been ringing off the hook. This included a horrible outpatient MRI, which required that I be totally still in an absolutely claustrophobic situation for what seemed like hours, even, as I’m quite sure, the staff were making fun of my crotch. Fortunately, the MRI didn’t find any of the tumors they were looking for in my noggin, so, yes, they examined my head and found nothing. Just chronic sinus infections. Two rounds of heavy antibiotics later, and my digestive system is so out of whack that I’m willing to promise anyone anything if it means I no longer have to live with myself. And now Michele had the flu and I was probably going to get it.

The garden beckoned, and I followed the call.

My mossy path brings me joy all through winter.

As does Epimedium stellatum’s spectacular winter foliage. (BTW, I could have moved that stick and some of the leaves, but in the interest of journalistic integrity, I left them there.

So Sunday there I was, gardening again like a lunatic. Finished cutting down a Japanese Raisin Tree that was causing three of my own seed-grown Katsura to lean right and starting to shade out the Arborvitae that are screening my neighbor’s shed. A bit of a bitter pill, because I had also grown the Raisin Tree from seed. In fact, I had germinated this species, planted it out, and lost it over winter three times until a friend I won’t mention had—under potentially dubious circumstances—gotten me seed that was supposedly from a cold hardy provenance from somewhere out there in the world that best remains unnamed. Well, bingo, this seedling survived every winter, grew like a son of a bitch, started shading out other stuff, and, at best, could be described as boring. It was probably too big for me to take down myself, and I wound up actually proving that when it fell just off target and stripped about half the branches of my Halesia diptera ‘Magniflora.’ This was a favorite tree of mine. Such is the lot of the impulsive gardener with a chainsaw and not a lot of money.

A pile of brush ready to go to the County composting lot. This includes an entire Japanese Raisin Tree, and parts of various Katsura, Gingko, Yellowwood, Poliothysis, Chinese Lilac, several Viburnum, Halesia diptera ‘Magniflora,’ three or four Japanese Maples, Cucumber Magnolia, Bigleaf Magnolia, ‘Yellow Bird’ Magnolia, Dawn Redwood, Parrotia, various Hornbeams, and more. It’s like a freakin’ arboretum blew up.

Aftermath of a massacre.

After bucking the Raisin Tree, I patched up the Halesia as best I could. The branching structure was about as squirrelly as they come without any help by me; now I feel I just sculpted in a way to empower it to show off its true self. Well, anyway, that’s what I’ll tell people.

But as the afternoon progressed, I reached that magical state where my entire existence became about the task at hand. No extraneous thoughts. Just focus. So insanely rare. The ringing in my ear was forgotten. My mother’s care plan, put aside. Michele suffering in the house somewhere, only strayed into my thoughts, when, on occasion, I would look up to see yellow wisps of coronavirus fog leaking out of small cracks in the siding of our house. Achieving this state of oblivion, this full immersion in my work, it was like an injection of jet fuel into my heart and soul!

By the time I had finished, I had greatly added to the pile in the driveway, I’d dug up a stump, and transplanted into that hole a tall, skinny, and surprisingly heavy Chamaecyparis of some species and selection I’ve long forgotten, lugging it clumsily but quickly across the yard like it was an 80 pound, 3’ x 12’ human organ that needed to go immediately into a patient.

The Chamaecyparis in its new home.

Then I replanted a couple patches of Epimedium and Corydalis which happened to get “outed” when the stump got grubbed out and the Chamaecyparis got moved. Eventually, I even found a little time to admire some blooms of hellebores, snowdrops, Iris reticulata, and a witchhazel.

Spring is just waiting to be unleashed! Sure sign of this is Iris reticulata coming into bloom.

Sedum and a Thyme chomping at the bit.

Monday, Michele’s doctor said she had the flu and by that evening I had a bad cough. Yesterday I got worse and woke up this morning with every nerve ending signaling that every cell in my body was at Defcon Five Crisis Mode and each of my many coughs felt like a demon carpenter was going at my throat with a rasp. An appointment with my doctor this afternoon put me on two new meds, including a new round of antibiotics. Great.

When I got home, it was almost sunny and relatively warm, so I visited the hellebores, snowdrops, Iris, and witchhazel. Sure, they are in a sea of mud with errant plastic plant tags, fresh stumps, a winter’s worth of dog poop, a pool cover full of dirty water and leaves, a plastic bucket or two, a rusty pickup, and a mile high pile of brush all trying to photo bomb every picture I take, but despite that frustration they sure are a much needed tonic. As much or more so than Tamiflu.

So anyway, thanks for the letter. I’ll pick up on some of your other themes next time. In particular, I want to go after those sourpus types you mentioned that throw shade on all the new gardeners who are not “pure” enough. But, for now, some chicken soup and bed.

Yours,

Scott

            The Wife, The Flu, and the Ecstacy of Entering a Gardening Dream State originally appeared on GardenRant on February 19, 2020.

The post The Wife, The Flu, and the Ecstacy of Entering a Gardening Dream State appeared first on GardenRant.

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[turfandlawncare]

The Wife, The Flu, and the Ecstacy of Entering a Gardening Dream State

Cincinnati, Ohio

January 23, 2020

Dear Marianne,

What a treat it was to receive your letter dated January 22nd. And so publicly too! What fun.

Despite myself, I somehow got caught up in flights of fantasy borne from your descriptions of your bucolic existence in the benevolent hills far enough west of D.C. to be out of the gridlock and yet still within the outer rings of its wealth. You have a good life there by the fireside with your Yorkies, your garden (which I imagine to be picture perfect), and your former marine (whom I imagine is likewise).

Here’s our dog. He’s a spastic, old, not so smart and mostly blind mutt at the end of a long line of people handing him off to other people, but he has a heart of gold.

I couldn’t help but reminded of how different things are here in the bitter, gritty, gloomy, and surly Midwest. The temperature has been oscillating here so violently that it has cracked buildings. Even our six-story skyscrapers! Yet, it’s always gray. Gray, leaden, heavy, oppressive, American gray, English grey, depressing as hell, and a daily kick in the gut gray. And the rivers are all flooding. There’s worry the levy might break and wipe out the trailer park. Currently I’m cutoff from my nearest source of a Big Gulp by high water. Oh, and everyone I know, including me, is sick.

This weekend, Michele, who is never sick, got the flu. Started Saturday while she helped me move brush and branches from around the yard to the driveway. She’s usually such a good sport, but she was kind of lagging and losing focus. I was getting irritated, because I’d been pruning like a maniac and the yard was starting to look like a log jam. Eventually, we had gotten it all into a big pile by my old, rusty truck that won’t start, being sure to make it is as unsightly as we could and plainly visible to any county official that happens to drive by. Next thing I know, she’s practically passing out. And I had hoped she would cook that night.

As you mentioned, Michele has a sweet smile, an amazing smile. And she was so innocent when we got married that I had to instruct her on how to use it with police officers, bouncers, and the occasional asshole boss. But, when we both finally got in bed Saturday night, it was like that mouth had never smiled before ever. All it knew how to do was cough on me like I was in the first wave of liberators trying to come ashore and it was a germ machine gun.

A glimpse at that sweet smile. Taken last year during better times.

To my amazement, I awoke Sunday still feeling okay, but had to make an escape. It’s been a winter of working nights and weekends putting together PowerPoints, articles, and forever trying to get caught up at work. Michele’s mom died after a quick illness in December. My mom has pinged and ponged from home to hospital and now to a rehab center, and I too have been bouncing around between home and a dentist for a fourth try at a new crown and between various doctors trying to figure out why my left ear has been ringing off the hook. This included a horrible outpatient MRI, which required that I be totally still in an absolutely claustrophobic situation for what seemed like hours, even, as I’m quite sure, the staff were making fun of my crotch. Fortunately, the MRI didn’t find any of the tumors they were looking for in my noggin, so, yes, they examined my head and found nothing. Just chronic sinus infections. Two rounds of heavy antibiotics later, and my digestive system is so out of whack that I’m willing to promise anyone anything if it means I no longer have to live with myself. And now Michele had the flu and I was probably going to get it.

The garden beckoned, and I followed the call.

My mossy path brings me joy all through winter.

As does Epimedium stellatum’s spectacular winter foliage. (BTW, I could have moved that stick and some of the leaves, but in the interest of journalistic integrity, I left them there.

So Sunday there I was, gardening again like a lunatic. Finished cutting down a Japanese Raisin Tree that was causing three of my own seed-grown Katsura to lean right and starting to shade out the Arborvitae that are screening my neighbor’s shed. A bit of a bitter pill, because I had also grown the Raisin Tree from seed. In fact, I had germinated this species, planted it out, and lost it over winter three times until a friend I won’t mention had—under potentially dubious circumstances—gotten me seed that was supposedly from a cold hardy provenance from somewhere out there in the world that best remains unnamed. Well, bingo, this seedling survived every winter, grew like a son of a bitch, started shading out other stuff, and, at best, could be described as boring. It was probably too big for me to take down myself, and I wound up actually proving that when it fell just off target and stripped about half the branches of my Halesia diptera ‘Magniflora.’ This was a favorite tree of mine. Such is the lot of the impulsive gardener with a chainsaw and not a lot of money.

A pile of brush ready to go to the County composting lot. This includes an entire Japanese Raisin Tree, and parts of various Katsura, Gingko, Yellowwood, Poliothysis, Chinese Lilac, several Viburnum, Halesia diptera ‘Magniflora,’ three or four Japanese Maples, Cucumber Magnolia, Bigleaf Magnolia, ‘Yellow Bird’ Magnolia, Dawn Redwood, Parrotia, various Hornbeams, and more. It’s like a freakin’ arboretum blew up.

Aftermath of a massacre.

After bucking the Raisin Tree, I patched up the Halesia as best I could. The branching structure was about as squirrelly as they come without any help by me; now I feel I just sculpted in a way to empower it to show off its true self. Well, anyway, that’s what I’ll tell people.

But as the afternoon progressed, I reached that magical state where my entire existence became about the task at hand. No extraneous thoughts. Just focus. So insanely rare. The ringing in my ear was forgotten. My mother’s care plan, put aside. Michele suffering in the house somewhere, only strayed into my thoughts, when, on occasion, I would look up to see yellow wisps of coronavirus fog leaking out of small cracks in the siding of our house. Achieving this state of oblivion, this full immersion in my work, it was like an injection of jet fuel into my heart and soul!

By the time I had finished, I had greatly added to the pile in the driveway, I’d dug up a stump, and transplanted into that hole a tall, skinny, and surprisingly heavy Chamaecyparis of some species and selection I’ve long forgotten, lugging it clumsily but quickly across the yard like it was an 80 pound, 3’ x 12’ human organ that needed to go immediately into a patient.

The Chamaecyparis in its new home.

Then I replanted a couple patches of Epimedium and Corydalis which happened to get “outed” when the stump got grubbed out and the Chamaecyparis got moved. Eventually, I even found a little time to admire some blooms of hellebores, snowdrops, Iris reticulata, and a witchhazel.

Spring is just waiting to be unleashed! Sure sign of this is Iris reticulata coming into bloom.

Sedum and a Thyme chomping at the bit.

Monday, Michele’s doctor said she had the flu and by that evening I had a bad cough. Yesterday I got worse and woke up this morning with every nerve ending signaling that every cell in my body was at Defcon Five Crisis Mode and each of my many coughs felt like a demon carpenter was going at my throat with a rasp. An appointment with my doctor this afternoon put me on two new meds, including a new round of antibiotics. Great.

When I got home, it was almost sunny and relatively warm, so I visited the hellebores, snowdrops, Iris, and witchhazel. Sure, they are in a sea of mud with errant plastic plant tags, fresh stumps, a winter’s worth of dog poop, a pool cover full of dirty water and leaves, a plastic bucket or two, a rusty pickup, and a mile high pile of brush all trying to photo bomb every picture I take, but despite that frustration they sure are a much needed tonic. As much or more so than Tamiflu.

So anyway, thanks for the letter. I’ll pick up on some of your other themes next time. In particular, I want to go after those sourpus types you mentioned that throw shade on all the new gardeners who are not “pure” enough. But, for now, some chicken soup and bed.

Yours,

Scott

            The Wife, The Flu, and the Ecstacy of Entering a Gardening Dream State originally appeared on GardenRant on February 19, 2020.

The post The Wife, The Flu, and the Ecstacy of Entering a Gardening Dream State appeared first on GardenRant.

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