#also i replaced my earrings for the first time since The Incident!!!

[outfoxt]

I found my pants

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

OKAY HEAR ME OUT HEAR ME OUT.

Grandma cat!reader. Who was a old women who got experimented on and turned into a smiling critter but like the caretaker of the smiling critters.

Often seen walking around with a scruffed smiling critter hanging from her mouth(somehow-) and overfeeding the smiling critters or children.

How would a saved dogday and (maybe) good catnap react to the player bringing them to readers containment room. (She was locked in before the Hour of Joy due to something and just stayed there)?

I just want to see them get some sort of parental love 🥹😖

- Marshmellow🤍

I swear ya'll are gonna make me cry with these requests /nm <3

.....

Dogday

In your old age, you didn't wanna retire from Playtime Co. and spend the remainder of your life laying around, waiting for your body and mind to deteriorate.

So instead you became one of the few willing volunteers for the Bigger Bodies Initiative, being turned into a Smiling Critter (which made you especially happy since your grandkids adored the toyline and cartoon show).

In the show, the gang mentioned a grandma character several times (albeit she was unseen) and with Catnap being recalled from all promo materials, Playtime Co. took creative liberties and made you the newest feline replacement, fitted with a cinnamon scent and pie necklace.

Your tagline was something like "The Smiling Critters take care of our orphans, but who takes care of them? Why, their Grandma [Y/n], of course! She's full of love and wisdom!"

True to that, you became the caretaker of the Critters and children, ensuring everyone's fed well and staying out of trouble.

The incident with Bron (Thomas/Experiment 1199) had scientists rethinking how they'd introduce willing experiments to those...well..less-than-willing.

So you had a supervised introduction to the SCs (with children also present to discourage them from reacting violently). You were even given a containment cell you could retreat to in case of emergencies.

Luckily, you never had to use that room--as they accepted you and began calling you "grandma" since day one.

Dogday, especially, got attached to you.

You called him "DD" and "Doggy-Dearie".

Being a bit taller than the rest of them allows you to pick them up by the scuff of their necks if they're being too rowdy (Kickin and Hoppy, especially).

Even so, you're very sweet to all of them, letting them snuggle up to you as you shared stories and made them food so they could keep up with the little ones.

All was well in the Playhouse up until the Hour of Joy of course.

But you were unaware of it since Catnap sabotaged your room's lock, keeping you trapped to lower the Smiling Critters' morale.

Dogday was 100% convinced you were dead.

However you survived long enough for the Employee's arrival years later, never knowing what happened to the factory..

After rescuing Dogday, they find your door and powered it up, allowing the two entry into the perfectly intact space within.

Your fur was matted and you looked sickly, but you still jump up upon seeing the state your dear "grandson" was in.

It devastated you.

"My word..Dog-Dearie.." Your heart shatters. "Your legs..where are they? Where is everyone?"

Something inside of him ultimately breaks as he realizes you were alive...and you were here all along.

"G-Grandma...! Oh...god..I-I thought you were--" He crawls away from the Employee and towards you, sobbing into your lap. "You were h-here..this whole time! I-I wanted to see you, but..C-Catnap..he.."

"Shh, shhh..I'm here now, my sweet pup. It's alright." You hush, stroking his ears and resting a paw on his back, before looking to the Employee. "You must be terribly confused..as am I.."

After explaining your role--and calming Dogday down--the two tell you about what's happened to the factory, and at first you can't believe it...

Until you all wander through the Playhouse and see the horrid state it's in, but they're confused as to why none of the mini Critters attack you.

Only then do you mention feeding them over the years through little vents and holes in the walls, keeping their hunger moderately satiated.

Dogday feels awful, and even more upset at Catnap for lying about your fate.

But still, you don't show any ill-will towards any of the Smiling Critters, even if one of them had betrayed you all.

Instead you just let Dogday cling to you as you escape together and try your best to keep up.

Catnap

Like the rest of the Smiling Critters, Catnap considered you family and often went to you for snacks and such.

Or if he needs a break from trying to put all the rowdy orphans to bed in Home Sweet Home. Only then is he given permission to see you.

He always liked curling up in your lap, purring while you stroke his fur and tell him a story (which is sometimes an event from your old human life, albeit you do accidentally confuse yourself since ofc you're not supposed to remember any details of your old life).

The Prototype sees this as a problem, as Theodore Catnap was getting a bit too comfortable with his life here and needed a reminder of his mission....and so he tells him the truth.

About how you not only worked at the factory until you reached retirement age...but you were also a willing participant in the experiments.

And suddenly, he couldn't look at you the same way anymore. Only with resentment.

It wasn't fair.

You got to lead a long and fulfilling life. Theodore barely got the chance to grow up and be a normal kid.

You had the procedure and associated risks explained to you clear as day. Theodore never had the luxury of being warned ahead of time before he was grabbed and put under the knife after recovering from the incident with the green grabpack hand.

All he wanted was to free the others, but he ended up becoming their warden instead.

He almost forgot all of that because of you.

He refuses your food now, and you worry for him when you see how skinny he becomes as the months pass.

But he's very cryptic in the way he talks to you, the other SCs, and the staff...so you didn't know for sure what you did to upset him so much.

"Catnap, dearie..you're skin and bones. Let me-"

"I know what you were, and what you've become...the Prototype told me so."

You don't know what to say. What could you say when he kept talking about this "Prototype" person?

Despite his hatred, the SCs were conditioned to love you regardless, and so before the Hour of Joy Catnap decided to sabotage the locks of your containment room.

That way, he wouldn't be tempted to kill you...and he'd spare you from the grief of what he ends up doing to the other SCs, including Dogday.

Years later, when the Employee finally knocks some sense into him after saving him from being sacrificed to the Prototype, he takes them to your room, believing you to be dead from starvation.

Instead, though, they break you out and he discovers you're very much alive.

And Catnap just breaks down, groveling and begging for your forgiveness.

You were the one who always tried to reach out and comfort him, giving him some relief from the misery of being trapped in this factory....and he pushed you away.

But you don't hate him for locking you up, realizing that he still cared about you after all this time. Even when the Prototype told him about your past.

He wanted to keep you safe.

That alone proves he had a heart, and you reassure him of that as he cuddles up to you for a little while.

Once he's calmer, you go with him, Dogday (assuming he was saved), and the Employee to meet with Poppy and Kissy--both of whom are relieved to see you alive

[makeyoumine69]

Call Me Babydoll 5

PAIRING: DBF!Patrick Bateman x Innocent!Fem!Reader

SUMMARY: Patrick stays in your mind even after the disastrous Dorsia incident. Like a song you can't get out of your head, he continues to hum his sultry and sensual words and ways into your ears and heart. When he arrives unexpectedly with a surprise guest, he cannot deny that he is attracted to you. But is this even real?

CONTAINS: Angst, smut, masturbation (f), obsessive behavior, cursing and use of pet names, smoking, gaslighting & manipulation, humiliation & hyperfixation, Daddy kink, making out, marking, biting.

WORDS: 3.5k

A/N: Sorry to make you wait so long, I hope to get in shape soon and post more often!🥰

LINKS: [Ch.4]; [SERIES MASTERLIST]; [MASTERLIST]

Your mind was a complete mess, your heart nothing but glass dust. The echoes of your private conversation with Patrick on the outdoor terrace of Dorsia still lingered in your mind even after you returned home, though you couldn't remember how you made it since you had declined Bateman's offer to take you to your house.

The first thing you noticed when you crossed the threshold of your home was a strong, sweet scent of flowers. It was a familiar perfume that you already hated.

"Y/n? I thought you were already asleep in your room," and there she was - your father's girlfriend named Sophia, meeting you in the hall, smiling mischievously as she caught you doing something criminal. "Where have you been?"

Sophia was a middle-aged woman with Greek roots, she was really a nice person, always so kind and friendly to you, and most importantly - she never tried to replace your mother, for which you were very grateful. 

"I had dinner," you replied tiredly as you took off your coat. "Not a good one."

"Ouch���" She gave you a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before continuing. "Don't be sad, honey. You're an incredible person and I'm sure that one day you'll meet the right person." Sophia cheered this, smiling as if her words were a prediction of the future. "With whom you will feel that everything is in the right place."

Sighing, you tried to master something close to a smile. "Thank you, Soph." As much as you wanted to share your worries with her, you couldn't because she could tell your father everything. "I'm so exhausted I could fall asleep right here."

"Go rest," she mused, watching you go upstairs. "Tomorrow your father and I are going to visit my family."

"Good luck with that." You replied before disappearing from her vision.

It was obvious that you wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, thanks to the endless thoughts that looped in your head like a broken record.

Why did you ever think that a man like Bateman could really take you seriously? You felt deceived, embarrassed and madly frustrated, because at the end of the day, Patrick was just playing with you like a toy, twisting you perfectly around his finger. 

Fidgeting in your bed, you accidentally recalled the memories of the day he was here - you could still feel the remnants of his hypnotizing cologne as your sheets smelled of him. A lonely tear slid down your cheek, outlining the beautiful shape of your face - now so dull and dejected. 

If only you could rewind time and not allow him to get close to you, not even for an inch. Sobbing, you curled up like a kitten, pressed your knees to your chest and tried to drift off, but every time you closed your eyes - his gorgeous face popped up in your mind, making you believe that he really had blessed you with a curse. A curse to be obsessed with the man who would never be yours.

It had been a week since you had seen Bateman, and somehow you had even managed to live through your depression and hide it from your father, although it was quite difficult due to his numerous questions about your sad face and bad mood. At work, some of your co-workers were also trying to figure out what was wrong with you, so you finally decided to take a few days off to relax and get your life back on track.

In the morning of one of those days, you suddenly found yourself writhing on the sheets, breathing heavily and drenched in sweat. With an irritated groan, you threw the blanket aside, accidentally touching your painfully hard nipples. 

Oh shit, not again.

Closing your eyes, you didn't even notice that you were dreaming about him for the third fucking time in a row. You let out a muffled gasp as your trembling hand snaked down your belly between your half-opened legs to the center of your desire.

It was just impossible to resist.

"Aww, Daddy," you moaned softly, imagining it was his hand caressing your taut folds. "Please...I need more..."

Embarrassed but absolutely horny, you spread your legs wider, letting your own digits slide along your dripping pussy, and kept picturing his beautiful face as he praised you for being such a good girl for him. 

A loud gasp echoed through your room at the memory of his velvety, deep voice, playing in your head as if Bateman was really here, next to you, his hand wrapped tightly around your trembling throat as he wanted nothing more than to bring you to your climax, to see you collapse right before his dark hazel eyes.

"Mmhm, Patrick..." you frowned and shivered, your ministrations growing more impatient as you rubbed circling motions into your throbbing clit while feeling the impending orgasm building in your core. "Patrick, Patrick, please!"

To muffle your obscene moans, you had to bite the pillow next to you as you reached your climax, never stopping to massage your feverish nub. 

'You are so naughty, Babydoll. Look at the mess you have made.'

The echo of his sexy voice resounded in your clouded mind, prolonging your intense orgasm and you couldn't help but cradle your breast, only to pinch your hard little tip as you craved more. 

But unfortunately, after the haze of ecstasy wore off and you were finally able to think clearly, the bitter realization that it was all an illusion washed over you like a tidal wave, leaving you completely broken. It felt as if you had put all your energy into getting that high, and now you could barely move, feeling satisfied yet devastated.

Over the next few hours, you showered several times and refused to leave your room, no matter how much your father and Sophia tried to convince you. Shame and despair were eating you alive from the inside out, draining all your positive emotions like parasites.

Whenever you tried to distract yourself by reading, you were annoyed by your mind tricks because every character's name starting with the letter P automatically became 'Patrick'. 

You hated that man for infesting your mind, body, and soul. Before meeting Bateman, you even thought you were frigid, but now...now you were ready to climb on the walls from the consuming desire to be...possessed? Owned? Marked? 

A loud knock at the door interrupted your train of thought and you barely stopped yourself from squeaking - all these days, since you started having nasty dreams with Patirck, you felt like you were doing something bad and someone from your household could catch you. Quickly you approached the door to your room and after unlocking it, you let your vision - which turned out to be your father - in. 

"I thought you were taking a nap," he chuckled, but then his face changed when he saw your tired eyes. "Are you sure you're not sick, (y/n)?"

"I'm not sick, Dad," you rolled your eyes and crossed your hands over your chest, ready to be lectured again. "Did something happen? I was in the middle of proofreading."

Your father hummed, tilting his head to the side. "You took a few days off to work at home?"

Scowling with annoyance, you leaned against the door and mumbled: "It helps me relax and clear my head."

"Well, I just wanted to let you know that Patrick is here," you felt the ground disappear under your feet as he spoke. "He came to sign some papers and I thought you might like to join us in the living room. Soph made your favorite apple pie."

This information made your temples ache with tension, and you had to massage them to ease the stabbing pain. "Father, I... I'm not really in the mood for guests."

Especially when this guest was Patrick Bateman.

Your father just sighed and stepped back, which meant he wasn't going to try to convince you. Most of all, you hated to upset your family, even though you didn't want to see Bateman, not after the things that had happened to you during these long, crazy days.

"Okay, okay," you knew you would regret it, but now you didn't see any other option. "I'll be back soon."

With that, you closed the door, feeling the panic rising in your chest. It seemed that your father still thought that you were still on good terms with Patrick, since you had not told him anything about that damn dinner. Trying to pull yourself together, you quickly went to the mirror to freshen up a bit - the fact that you were worried about what Bateman would think of your appearance still bothered you, but there was nothing you could do about it.

Almost fifteen minutes later, you finally came downstairs, wearing a short black top and your favorite tight jeans, and no, you weren't trying to impress him - a little spice wouldn't hurt.

As you approached the living room, you began to hear a cacophony of different voices: your dad's, Sophia's, and another unfamiliar female voice that made you stop in confusion around the corner. Who was that?

"(Y/n), don't be shy, come here." Your father's comment made you frown and bite your lip in embarrassment as you felt like you were transferred back to your childhood.

Taking a deep breath, you stepped into the living room and immediately became the center of everyone's attention. Your eyes quickly found the owner of the unknown voice - a pretty blonde girl sitting next to Patrick with a small notebook in her elegant hands. 

Another blonde, huh? 

Putting on a friendly fake smile, you managed to hide your frustration and walked closer to the couch to take a seat next to your father, completely ignoring Bateman's intense gaze.

"Uh, this is Jean, Patrick's assistant," your father introduced the blonde girl to you, and she smiled shyly when you raised your eyes to her. "Jean, this is (y/n), my lovely daughter."

"Nice to meet you, (y/n)," Jean murmured and turned to look at Patrick, as if looking for his approval. When he said nothing, she continued. "Patrick has told me a lot about you."

"Really?" You replied skeptically, your hands already crossed over your chest as you desperately tried to keep your composure. "How nice."

Somehow your father managed to notice the growing tension between the two of you, and his little cough caught everyone's attention. "Sorry, my throat gets dry from time to time."

"No need to apologize, Mr. (y/l/n)," Bateman suddenly joined the conversation, causing you to almost jump in your seat. "How about your lovely daughter making us some drinks?" His white-toothed smile was blinding, but you did your best not to react to this provocation.

"Yeah, sure. I'll make them." You stood up quickly, seeing this as a great opportunity to escape.

"Let me help you!" Jean suddenly suggested.

"No no no, you don't have to!"

"Hey, let her help you," Patrick put forward and tapped Jean's knee several times, which you couldn't miss. "It's better not to refuse people's help, because we live in such a cruel world. You know what I mean, (y/n?)" 

His smug wink at you made your hands clench into fists, but you decided not to argue with him and just stumbled out of the living room, hearing Jean's soft footsteps behind you.

In the kitchen, the two of you didn't try to strike up a conversation, feeling uncomfortable but not hostile. With casual confidence, you took out two glasses and three cups under the attentive gaze of Patrick's assistant.

"Whiskey for the boys and coffee for the girls," you hummed to yourself, finally glancing at Jean, who was standing shyly in the doorway. "Maybe you want something else?"

"No," she gasped when you asked her. "Coffee is fine."

"Good."

As the blonde woman watched you make the coffee, she came closer and looked around the kitchen. "'Your house is very cozy."

"Thank you," you gave her a warm smile and picked up a silver tray for the cups. "My mother used to love an atmosphere like this," your sudden confession made you stop everything for a moment and Jean noticed your tension. "She would be very touched by your compliment."

The sad undertone in your words made the woman pause and think about what to say next, and you used the moment to get additional things for the coffee, including sugar, cream and vanilla. 

"I would only ask you to help me with this," you nodded at the nearly full tray. "And I'll take glasses and a bottle."

"Okay," Jean picked up some napkins before taking a deep breath. "Patrick was right when he said you were a lovely girl."

Frowning, you almost spilled the last cup of coffee when you heard those words. "Uh, I don't understand why you were talking about me at all."

"Well, we talked about you when I made the reservation for your dinner in Dorsia."

An awkward silence hung in the air for some time before you managed to pull yourself together and place all the cups on the shimmering tray. "Mmhm-yeah, that dinner was something, I have to admit," you let out a nervous chuckle, not wanting to remember the events of that evening. "Do you like him?"

"W-what?" Jean blushed almost instantly, her beautiful blue eyes averted from your curious gaze and she had to fix her stray lock of hair behind her ear. "He's my boss, and I like working with him."

"Is he a good boss?"

"Yes, he is."

Satisfied with her answer, you crossed your arms and grinned. "Glad to hear it, I mean seriously," you watched her bat her long eyelashes as you moved the tray over to her. "I think you two look great together."

Exhaling, Jean took the tray and giggled sheepishly. "What makes you think that anyway?"

"I just noticed the way he looks at you," you replied frankly, picking up the glasses. "Thanks for the help. Now I have to get a drink for the boys."

With that, you cast your most sincere smile before retreating from the kitchen, and once you were out in the hall, your face became blank and dull. The things you just said - were they just some kind of masochism? You kept asking yourself as you walked to your father's office, where he kept his favorite drinks that he only served to special guests.

Carefully, with cat-like grace, you touched a doorknob when you noticed that the door was half open. Concerned, you quickly turned around and when you saw no one, you quickly opened it and stepped inside, only to freeze in shock and it was a fucking miracle that you didn't let the glasses fall down on the floor.

Bateman was standing with his back to you, so at first you hoped he wouldn't notice, but as soon as you turned on your heels, the man spun around and the sight of you made him smile mischievously and absolutely charmingly.

"Wrong door?" Patrick chuckled and shifted his position so that you could now see him holding a bottle and a lit cigar in the other hand.

"You can't smoke in my house," you said in an irritated voice. "I'm serious."

"Oh, stop it," his mocking chuckle echoed in your ears, annoying you more and more. "Your father gave me permission. Besides, he told me he had a bottle of J&B, so I decided to take it myself, since you two were very slow."

Having said that, the man puffed on his cigar and blew several rings of smoke, causing you to cover your mouth as you started to cough. The sheer arrogance he radiated was poisonous and somehow suffocating, it was like a tight rope around your neck, no snuff could affect you like that.

"Why did you send Jean with me?"

"And why didn't you answer my calls?" Bateman interjected sternly, closing the distance between the two of you.

The sudden question made you lose your balance for a second. "Calls? What calls? I... I don't even understand what you're talking about."

With a cheeky grin, Patrick took a drag on his cigar and blew right into your face. "Hmmm, let me remember," he leaned against the door and cocked his head to the side. "The one right after dinner, and the one the next day, and the one two days after that."

It was strange, because all these days no one had ever told you about Patrick's calls, and you thought that if he had really made them, your father would definitely have told you, since he wanted you two to get along so much.

"All right, let's pretend that you really did call me, but I can't understand why?"

"You seemed very upset after dinner," the man strove to parry your provocative question, though his eyes glowed with the thrill of the challenge you were giving him. "I just wanted to check on you, since your old man is worried about you too much, and... I didn't need any trouble to close the deal."

Another disappointment.

"Business above all, huh?" No matter how hard you tried to hide the pain, your voice still sounded somber. 

"Shhh," his sudden touch on your lower lip caused something heavy to fall in your stomach. "Don't be like that, Babydoll. I'm just doing my job."

"Even now?" You taunted him blatantly, though your panting could be clearly heard in the room.

The sexual tension between the two of you was palpable in the air, but you both remained still, even when Bateman approached your neck to inhale your sweet scent, mixing it with the sharp smell of snuff.

What the hell were you doing? 

When Bateman pulled away to place the bottle on the nearby bookshelf, he grabbed the glasses you were holding so desperately that your fingers began to curl. Then the man squeezed the cigar between his white teeth and, with practiced ease, picked you up and carried you to your father's desk. As he set you down on the wooden tabletop, he didn't let you protest, pressing his large palm over your mouth.

"Now, now, little girl," he cooed, exhaling smoke before pulling you a little closer. "C'mere, I'm going to show you something."

Carefully but determinedly, Patrick grabbed your chin and drew you closer so that your mouths were barely an inch apart. Pressing his thumb along your lips, the man forced you to part them, and in the next moment, he blew some smoke into your mouth before sealing it with his own. Intoxicated by both the smoke and Patrick's sudden intrusion, your hands clutched desperately at his broad shoulders, cramping the expensive fabric of his pinstriped suit. After all these days of desperate need for his touch, this kiss was like a sip of water in the desert; it was vital and overwhelming. With every breath you took, Bateman's movements became bolder, less tentative and more demanding; his warm hand slipped under your short top to caress your shoulder blades with feathery strokes that almost drove you to moan against his lips, but you struggled to stop yourself.

"Patrick," you gasped after breaking the kiss. "What the hell are we doing?

"You tell me, Babydoll." 

"No, because it was you who told me you didn't want to be a babysitter. Did you forget?" 

When you tried to slide off the desk, he wouldn't let you, pressing you closer to his strong body and finally putting his cigar in the ashtray not far from where he was holding you. "I always remember my own words…" With that, he placed both his hands on either side of your knees before moving them slowly up along your hips and God, Bateman was doing it so damn slow on purpose, forcing you to jolt from the strange tension in your lower belly - the feeling that had become your personal drug. "Oh, don't pretend you don't like it. Your body speaks for itself."

You tried to pull away from him as you couldn't stand the way his hazel eyes were stripping you down, but the more you struggled, the more Patrick grew impatient, so he just yanked roughly by your hair, forcing you to tilt your head back and expose your delicate neck, which Patrick didn't miss the chance to mark, biting your tender flesh and then sucking the mark with a muffled groan.

There was something feral about him and that 'something' was making your body respond to his every touch, every little contact.

Nuzzling your cheek, Bateman lowered one of his hands to your bare stomach, drawing invisible lines along it before suddenly cupping your throbbing pussy through the tight material of your jeans, making you squeal and shake on the desk.

Just as Patrick was about to kiss you again, you both noticed a commotion coming from behind the door and then realized it was your father, you both didn't even have a chance to move as the door was quickly opened, revealing a very compromising picture.

P.S. Thank you for reading until the end! I don’t have a taglist. You can follow my side blog @makeyoumineagain and turn on notifications to know when I update!

[greenbergsays]

YOU LOST YOUR AIRPODS IN THE CHIP AISLE???? Was it like a momentary loss? Noticed they were gone, went back, found them? Or did they disappear from the chip aisle never to be seen again?

I lost them in the chip aisle twice.

So, like. The story is this: I kept my AirPods in the outside pocket of my old bag. That pocket, incidentally, is also the place where I kept my work keys for my old job, so more often than not I forgot to zip it back.

My brother and I had gone to the store to get stuff for sandwiches & chips and when I bent over to get a variety pack of chips, the AirPod case slipped out of the unzipped pocket, fell on the floor, and the AirPods went flying in two different directions

That first time, I was only able to recover one earbud, even though we spent like 30 minutes in that aisle looking for it. I rectified that situation with my credit card, which might be a little irresponsible but I justified it to myself because I worked in an open office at my old job and needed wireless, noise-cancelling headphones to drown everyone else out so I could focus and I wasn't allowed over-the-ear ones.

For a few weeks, I got really good about double-checking that the zipper to that little pocket was closed. But I got distracted one day like two months later, I didn't check, and it happened again.

The same aisle of the same exact grocery store, the same bend-over-AirPod-case-falls-out scenario. That time, we were able to recover both of them, and thank God for that, because I wouldn't have been able to justify another replacement to myself. I felt guilty enough about the first time.

Ever since the second time, my brother won't let me get out of the car with my AirPods anywhere on my person and even when he knows I left them in the car, he won't let me go down the chip aisle.

It's so bad that if his kids accompany us to the store and I go near the chips, they're like, "Ohhh, Aunt [Dessie], you know you're not supposed to be on this aisle! I'm telling!"

I'm not gonna say that it's unwarranted or that I'm undeserving of it, but two years without an incident should mean something

[intergalacticfop]

Dating the Jacket Part 2

The Case for the 17th Century

Part 1 here.

In Part 1, I compared my riding jacket to some early/mid-18th century examples, contemporary to the time which the Met Costume Institute gives for the original. I appreciate how the Met came to this decision, but while getting close-up experience constructing my own, I began having questions about that date range. In this part, I will show some strong similarities it shares with earlier styles of the 1670s and 1680s. First, a reminder of the jacket in question:

Jacket, Italian, 1981.314.2. dated 2nd quarter 18th c. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Here are some of the characteristics of the jacket that it has in common with jackets from the 1670s-1680s.

unpleated skirts

close-set buttons down the length of back and side vents

"hounds-ear" turned back cuff cut in one with sleeve

narrow, horizontal pockets

contrasting cuffs

There is a large caveat, however, that none of the examples I have seen show a wide neckline. Most necklines are either obviously cut close to the neck or are obscured by hair and cravats, but are still almost certainly cut to the neck given that the role of cravats is to hold the neck of a shirt closed. "Floating cravats" aren't really a thing here.

So I suppose the question I'm asking here is: are the other details of decoration and construction I'm explaining here persuasive enough to overcome other factors, like the neckline and the Met's own dating? Let's begin!

Here's the painting I saw that really made me think "wait...am I onto something?"

Mary of Modena by Simon Verelst, c. 1675.

This isn't an isolated incident either, as you can see from the two images below--one of them actually from Italy!

Left: Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate by Louis Ferdinand Elle the Younger, c. 1675. Right: Noblewoman attributed to Pierfrancesco Cittadini, before 1681.

These three women are wearing a version of the justaucorps, which emerged as part of men's fashion in the 1660s, eventually replacing the doublet. Since women's riding jackets of this period were so closely modeled on men's, I think it makes sense to look to men's jackets for information on style and construction, especially since, to the best of my knowledge, there are no extant women's riding jackets for me to access and compare.

In this early version of a justaucorps, you can see some of the shared features with my jacket: numerous buttons along the front, side, and back vents, narrow horizontal pockets, and unpleated skirts:

Man's coat, 1660-1675, Palais Galliera

Here is what Norah Waugh had to say in The Cut of Men's Clothes, 1600-1900:

During the 1670's and 80's the coat acquired a straighter and more elegant line by being more shaped on the underarm and centre back seams. The sleeves also became more fitting and reached just below the elbow with long narrow cuffs--'hounds' ears' cuffs. The early habit of adding a variety of trimmings and accessories lingered on and they were an essential part of the design of these early simply-cut coats. (Waugh, 52)

She further adds that in in the 1690s cuffs and sleeves began getting cut seperately, and skirts started being pleated around the start of the 18th century. To illustrate this point, here is a comparison of the diagrams she made for a 1681 coat compared to a 1720s coat--the period in which the Met partially dates their jacket.

Left: page 59, diagram XV. Right: page 64, diagram XVIII. Both in Waugh, Cut of Men's Clothes, 1964.

In addition to the changes mentioned above, you also see the disappearance of the side-vent buttons and buttonholes, buttons being spaced further appart, and a larger, shaped pocket flap. Speaking of pockets...

The Met's jacket has pockets that I haven' really seen anywhere else. A slit was cut in the fashion fabric and then the raw edges were bound with that same fabric. There were only 2 buttonholes, one on each end of the pocket slit. I recreated this faithfully in my reproduction. This is something I haven't been able to find in any 18th-century jackets, and even in the 17th century you see narrow rectangular flaps as often if not more frequently. Below are two pockets with similar elements to my own. On the left, this coat appears to be cut without a pocket flap and the edges left raw, since it's made of a high-quality, non-fraying wool, and all the buttons are functional. On the right, we have a pocket with a narrow flap, and only the first and last buttons are fastened in the buttonholes.

Left: Wedding Suit of James II, 1673. Right: Wedding Suit of Sir Thomas Isham, 1680. Both in V&A.

side note--look at how narrowly the buttons are spaced--a much more similar arrangement to my own jacket than examples from the early/mid 18th century.

And then there are the cuffs. In part one, I observed that the large jacket cuffs in the 2nd quarter of the 18th century tended to be of the same fabric of the jacket, or match an accompanying waistcoat. In the period 1670-1680 however, you are much more likely to see cuffs that contrast strongly. This can be seen in the portraits of Mary of Modena and Elisabeth-Charlotte of the Palatinate above, and the painting of men from the Tuscan court of Ferdinando de'Medici

Portrait of Three Musicians of the Medici Court by Anton Domenico Gabbiani, c. 1687.

The two figures in the foreground both have strongly contrasting brocade cuffs, much like the cuffs of my own jackets. However, they do not have applied decoration around the cuff edges. That doesn't mean that ornate trim, like pleated ribbons and silver braid didn't happen. For one, Elisabeth-Charlotte has floppy gold and silver lace trimming her cuffs, and for another, we've got ANOTHER Italian gentleman below:

Carlo Borromeo Arese by unidentified artist, 1674.

It's a lot of look but he seems happy about it.

As an added bonus, the brocade ribbons in his portrait remind me of the ribbons on the Met jacket too!

So, on the strength of this evidence, if I were to propose another date for the jacket at the Met, I would suggest the 1670s-1680s. Keep in mind though, I am not an expert, and I also acknowledge that dating may be challenging considering how Italy was fragmented into different kingdoms at the time. Trends in Naples would act differently than in Venice, Tuscany, etc., and regional fashions Are a Thing. So much English-language research, the research that I can access, is focused on fashions from England and France, meaning that variations in other parts of Europe can go unrecognized. I do not want to wholly discount the possibility that some trends lingered longer in some parts of Italy. However, I think that there are very definite similarities in style and construction between this jacket and other examples from the 1670s and 1680s.

So--is that it? Have I successfully made the case for an earlier dating of the jacket? Well...maybe? Ultimately without more information about the jacket's history, information that may well be lost forever, we cannot say for certian. And the neckline is still a bit of a puzzle. In all the examples of 17th-century women's riding jackets I found, they all had the usual high neck. Here are the options as I see them:

The Met is correct, this jacket was made up sometime between 1725 and 1750

This jacket is entirely a product of the 1670s-1680s, and reflects either a heretofore unnoticed trend or just one woman's own idiosyncratic tastes

This is a 1670s-80s jacket that was later altered, perhaps in the 2nd quarter of the 18th century in response to trends for wide-necked riding jackets. The silver lace trimming the jacket neckline doesn't appear elsewhereon the jacket, so it could possibly be a later addition

Split the difference...it's from the 1700s/1710s! Except fashion isn't really like math where you just find the average between to points and it's the answer. But, I suppose it is possible that there was a tailor somewhere still working off of older patterns who adapted to later tastes.

It's entirely a fantasy of a later date, like some 19th century nonsense. The details of the jacket like the numerous passementerie silver buttons (which are extremely fiddly and annoying to make and time-consuming...ask me how I know), and the overall cut of the jacket with seems clearly cut to fit over stays, read as sufficiently authentic to me, but it's worth acknowledging that this is an option, just not the likeliest one.

Given the details of cut and construction, I am most inclined to options 2 or 3. But of course, this is all my non-professional opinion. I hope, however, these posts show how historical costuming and clothing reconstruction can be used to promote deeper understanding of original garments, and encourage the sort of questions that lead to deeper research.

Additional Resources:

FIT's Fashion History Timeline has good overviews of trends:

1660-1669

1670-1679

1680-1689

jeannedepompadour.blogspot.com has a good collection of images of riding habits.

Norah Waugh's The Cut of Men's Clothes, 1600-1900 (Faber and Faber, 1964) can be found in various places.

[w3bgrl]

universal deviation

synopsis: changbin and juyeon officially deny their dating rumors; now it’s time to talk about it privately.

date: april 5th 2019

era: miroh

word count: 2.3k

featuring: kang juyeon, seo changbin, jyp, bang chan

warnings: n/a, just angst! maybe hinted misogyny at the end?

a/n: lied in that ask lol merry binchumas to those who celebrate! ps this occurs after their music bank performance! also ummm calling jyp ‘jinyoung’ is so weirddd (°_°)

“so…i’m sure you both know why i called you in today,”

changbin and juyeon sat anxiously before their boss in the jyp entertainment conference room with sweaty palms, tongues nearly bitten in half as he spoke.

“but, i wanted to get on top of this issue before it could get too out of hand. especially since you’re in the same group. firstly, however,”

they swore they could guess what was coming next.

“congratulations on your first win yesterday!”

juyeon and changbin let out a breath they had been holding since the moment they entered the room and smiled with the relief of some weight being lifted from their chests, thanking him humbly in unison.

“i have high hopes for the future of stray kids.” jinyoung eye-smiled in the same kindred way he always did to make others feel more comfortable in his authoritative presence. “i believe your time to really shine will come sooner than later, and i look forward to watching you all grow as artists.”

his smile fell now, replaced with that stone cold expression they had become quite familiar with during their trainee days. “but, all of that starts with maintaining your images for the fans. so, i’d like to get a direct quote that explains the situation and clarifies the status of your relationship with one another.”

“before we begin,” jinyoung slid the notepad beside him closer to where he could write “i’ll remind you that the company dating policy states that romantic relationships are strictly prohibited for the first 3 years after debut. in your case, this will be in 2021. i think as idols, the first three to five years after debut should be focused purely on promoting. so, with that said, is there anything in particular you would like to be cited?”

for the first time since sitting down the accused pair now looked at one another with knowing eyes. it was a good thing they read each other better than jyp because obviously they saw right through the others feigned innocence. juyeon was the first to turn back to their boss, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before she spoke.

“um…i know to be more subtle showing affection to my members for the public eye, so i apologize for acting without thinking. i will be more careful with my actions moving forward.”

the older man nodded approvingly and began to transcribe her account on his notepad. at this same time, changbin nudged her foot with his own under the table, eyes meeting from the corners of their vision. his eyebrows just barely knitted together like he disapproved of what she said, and as jyp looked back up, juyeon shifted to cross her legs.

“so,” he sighed and clicked his pen a few times “i’m just gonna go right ahead and ask; are you two in a relationship?”

changbin was the one to speak this time. “no.” he said stolidly, his tone flat and almost disinterested. “we’re just friends.”

“close friends.” she added

there was a moment of scrutiny from the man across the table who stared at them with narrowed, unmoving eyes. to be completely fair, both of their answers did sound a little uncertain, like they weren’t on the same page about where they stood. yet, jinyoung simply nodded and jotted down their words.

“that is good to hear, teamwork is an important piece of the puzzle. i hope this incident won’t impact your friendship.”

it was a blessing their boss wasn’t paying them any mind when he said this. even the most oblivious person in the world could have noticed the thunderstorm that brewed between them, growling and snarling as lightning struck with his words. they shared another knowing glance.

the trip home was quiet.

changbin and juyeon walked side by side with an unfamiliar distance between them, sullen eyes wandering from the cold tile flooring every few seconds to get a glimpse of the other. neither dared to mention the dark clouds that hung over their heads and instead fell head first into the busy swirl of anxieties, only starting to get dizzy once they arrived at their front door. changbin prayed that someone - anyone - would be home to ease the aching tension between them but all hope was lost when he wiggled the handle to find it locked.

the younger boy sighed heavily as he fished in his pocket for the key and hurriedly unlocked the door, obviously frustrated and yet he still held it open for her.

once in the entryway they both turned away from one another to take their shoes off and throw their stuff down haphazardly by the door. from his spot on the ground to unlace his boots changbin could see juyeon face him for only a moment before she left to disappear around the corner of the living room, a heavy thud followed by a grumble echoing off the wooden floors. he finally worked the shoe off his heel and meekly followed after to find her slumped into the couch.

juyeon looked up at him through her dark lashes and, though her features were tainted with woe, she offered him a weak smile. changbin felt a kick to the chest and left a noticeable gap as he sat down beside her, his mannerisms and movements now much softer than just a few moments ago.

there was a good long pause where both of them searched for something to say. anything would have sufficed, honestly, because this melancholic silence was really starting to eat away at their shared sanity. or what little was left of it at this point.

“please say something.”

she’d never heard his voice so frail, so weak. like a child asking for reassurance that things were okay. and unfortunately, the older girl didn’t have anything reassuring to say. she opted for another approach instead.

“sorry for getting you caught up in all this.”

changbin habitually reached out to tuck the stray hairs behind her ear so he could see her face but decided against it halfway. he sat back. “it’s a two-way street, joong. you can’t take all the blame.”

“but i am to blame.” she hummed, her gaze everywhere but him “we wouldn’t be here if i just…didn’t do…what i did...”

“…ju.”

finally she looked back over at the delicate flower beside her who blinked away tears as he shifted in his seat. “i’m glad you did. if not i would’ve spent the rest of my life wondering what it would be like. whatever it—”

he stopped himself. he knew what it was. they both did. and it was a part of the past now, there was no point in weaseling around anymore. still, he couldn’t put the word to it.

“—it was nice. and for what it’s worth, i wouldn’t change anything. if given another chance i’d do it all again. i’d rather die at your hands than never have felt them at all.”

she couldn’t help but smile at his words. he was always so poetic.

“you’re really special, you know that? i don’t know if anyone’s ever told you. i don’t know if i ever told you. but i hope you know. there is no one else in the world that even comes close.”

while the older girl rarely allowed her painful emotions to be shown in front of anyone else, changbin was someone who wore his heart on his sleeve - feelings displayed before him for anyone to bear witness. so when he finally gave up on fighting the tears and let them fall in thick streams down his cheeks that met at the scar on his chin, juyeon had to look away.

“don’t do that.” her voice was shaky as she nudged him with her foot “i’m not going anywhere — neither are you. i’ll be right here for a long time.”

he finally broke his gaze from her figure to wipe his wet face. “i know - i just…i just wish things were different. i don’t want this chapter to be over yet.”

there was a beat before her response.

“i’ll keep the corner folded on your page.”

her words resonated a bittersweet song that played on his heartstrings and when he was finally able to convince himself to look back over at the close friend beside him, there was already that familiar doting smile on her lips. he could feel his eyes getting wet again as she reached out to wipe the overlooked tear on his cheek and, for the first time, her touch left a sting.

“i know your feelings are locked up tight and all but…” he winced “how are you so okay?”

juyeon took a deep breath, subconsciously self-soothing. “i have to be. at least on the outside.”

“you can’t keep that up forever”

“it won’t be forever. just for…” her comforting smile became muddled as the timeline began to unfold before her “…for a while.” she said. her mouth tasted bitter.

he wanted to refute her claims - to tell her that it was okay to show them (him) how she really felt, especially in the privacy of their own dorm. but as he took just a second longer to think about it, he realized she was right. they weren’t just automatically in the clear once the statement came out, and though he’d certainly have to make some adjustments, juyeon especially would be scrutinized far worse than he ever would. or any other member for that matter. it happened before for less. he just couldn’t stop wishing that things were different; the people and the standards and their boss and —

“hey,”

her soft hum pulled him from the spiral.

“one day we’ll look back and laugh about this. and things will be different, but it’ll be okay. it is okay.”

changbin caught her fingers to pull her hand away from his cheek, deciding instead to cherish how perfectly the puzzle pieces of their palms fit together just one more time. he watched his thumb trace over the tattoo on the back of her hand and spoke so softly it was almost like he didn’t want her to hear him.

“i’ll ache over you until then.”

juyeon gave his hand a squeeze, and in that soft voice he used to adore, she put the final nail in the coffin that sealed their fate. maybe it was cruel of her; finally putting a word to it now of all times. but to her it was more like a secret message to the universe. like folding the corner of a page to revisit it later.

“the love isn’t going anywhere, bin. it’ll always be here.”

without the context she kept hidden inside, her original theory was correct; it was cruel. and her choice of words hit him like a truck. though he’d never been stabbed before, changbin could imagine that it felt pretty similar to this. and just as the tears began to fall again, there was a commotion on the other side of the room.

the pained pair whipped their heads in horror to see what it was - who had just stumbled upon something they definitely shouldn’t have - only to find chan waddling out of his room, eyes bleary with sleep. his hair stuck up in all places and as his focus zeroed-in on the recently accused chan was quickly brought back to reality.

“hey — are you okay? the meeting?”

changbin still hadn’t gotten past that word yet; love. it rang in his ears like his morning alarms, jarring and above all else, frustrating. that just left juyeon to handle the damage control and thankfully she was quick to jump into action.

“meeting went fine, binnie just felt bad i got in trouble.” she feigned nonchalance and fluffed his hair while he wiped his tears “but it’s okay, nothing’s changing and there should be a statement soon.”

changbin sniffled and plastered on a weak smile with a thumbs up to help the cause. it seemed to work as chan nodded with a yawn.

“well, i’m glad it went well. sorry you got in trouble, biya.”

she stood with a shrug, finally leaving the younger boys’ side to lighten the tension she felt with a joke as she grabbed a drink from the fridge. “it’s fine. just can’t be friends with my friends on camera, that’s all.”

chan chuckled dryly, “you’re funny, but that actually makes me very sad.”

“want a hug?” she offered over her shoulder as she unscrewed the lid.

“of course!”

the leader (who seemed like both the oldest and the maknae at times) giggled and happily bounced over to her, arms wrapping around her waist to lift her off her feet in a tight bear hug. he made incomprehensible squeaky noises as she wheezed and set her back down with a pat on the head.

juyeon laughed breathlessly as a result of having all the oxygen squeezed from her lungs. “better?”

“for now.” chan beamed. the chirp! of a twitter notification made his phone vibrate in his pocket and upon checking it he looked back to changbin, tears gone but the emotion still prevalent. “the rest of the boys should be bringing food home soon and then we’re going to the studio. you guys coming?”

both parties hummed in response.

he nodded and began to backpedal toward the bathroom. “kay, then i’m gonna go take a quick shower before i have to fight for it.”

“don’t slip!” juyeon called after him

“we’ll see!”

chan entered the bathroom and made sure to lock it behind him before looking in the mirror to find the natural perplexed expression he had been biting back. did they think they were slick? juyeon and changbin may have been able to fly under the radar to their boss, but really, how could they ever deceive someone who knew them as well as chan did?

[high-mackrels-musings]

Populism and Demagoguery in the Star Wars Prequels

Star Wars has always been a political film, from the beginning the original trilogy was influenced by the political situation of the time, George Lucas has stated that he was influenced by the Vietnam War which was happening at the time. Lucas has stated the following regarding Palpatine in 1981 showing that Lucas was taking influence from some real-world events happening at the time.

he was a politician. Richard M. Nixon was his name. He subverted the senate and finally took over and became an imperial guy, and he was really evil. But he pretended to be a nice guy.”

Indeed, many who saw the Star Wars prequels when they were first released saw parallels and criticisms against the Bush administration at the time, Lucas himself came out to say the following about that:

"We were just funding Saddam Hussein and giving him weapons of mass destruction. We didn't think of him as an enemy at that time. We were going after Iran and using him as our surrogate, just as we were doing in Vietnam. … The parallels between what we did in Vietnam and what we're doing in Iraq now are unbelievable."

As such, one can reason that Lucas always wanted there to be a message against war, against empire building, against autocrats. But there is an underlying message that I think warrants some thinking as I feel it often gets overlooked. That is Lucas’ forewarning against populism and demagoguery as seen in the Star Wars prequels. Lucas forewarning in the prequels is about the fall of democracy, and how easy it is for people to replace a system for promises.

First of all populism itself can have multiple meanings by multiple people, and the term has been in use since at least the 19^(th) century, to avoid squabbling over terms and definitions for the purposes of this piece, I shall use it in its description from the Encyclopedia Britannica that is:

A political program or movement that champions, or claims to champion, the common person, usually by favourable contrast with a real or perceived elite or establishment

But Populism also often comes with the accompaniment and is indeed often conflated with demagoguery, following the definition from Merriam-Webster, a demagogue is a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises to gain power. Both tend to go together and in recent days they have been used together, either way I shall try to examine the Star War’s prequels and how they examine both.

I should also note that I am not a political scientist nor am I a scholar on the subject, so should certain inaccuracies present themselves it is through my own ignorance of the subject.

Using this definition though, we first see the elites in the form of the corporations, the Trade Federation in The Phantom Meance is the elite, a powerful force with a seat in the senate that has successfully blocked Naboo, a mid-rim planet with much less influence than perhaps some core worlds. The Republic is hopeless in ending this through public debate painting it as ineffective, the opening crawl tells us the Supreme Chancellor must secretly dispatch Jedi to hope to resolve the incident.

While the Congress of the Republic endlessly debates this alarming chain of events, the Supreme Chancellor has secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, to settle the conflict.

Of course, we the audience know the Sith are secretly pulling the strings to make the republic weaker, slowly weaking key institutions that could have otherwise resolved such incidents.

A populist and indeed a demagogue, will often point to the failings of institutions and systems to show that the will of the people is being ignored. Queen Amidala herself is young, and we often hear of the people of Naboo. Which leads us to our next display of Lucas’ warning against populism, Palpatine’s whispering into the ear of Padme. His influence on her is clear, especially as he rails against the Republic.

The Republic is not what it once was. The Senate is full of greedy, squabbling delegates. There is no interest in the common good. I must be frank, Your Majesty, there is little chance the Senate will act on the invasion.

Key words being used here by Palpatine such as the interest of the common good, and while Padme has faith in Valroum, Palpatine’s words quickly dissolve this trust with this as seen in the scene in the senate chamber:

Enter the bureaucrats, the true rulers of the Republic. And on the payroll of the Trade Federation, I might add. This is where Chancellor Valorum's strength will disappear … Now they will elect a new Chancellor, a strong Chancellor. One who will not let this tragedy continue.

Palpatine himself might have a point, the Republic is stagnant and rife with corruption, but the usage of half-truths, the promises of a stronger leader, and of course he is positioned as the replacement for a new chancellor himself. Lucas shows us the dangers of such leaders who will use real dangers and problems to gain power for themselves.

Of course, the problems of the Republic don’t come to an end because of Palpatine’s rise, by the time of Attack of the Clones the separatist movement has grown to include attempted murder of Padme, who’s first intent is to blame Count Dooku. Dooku himself might be seen as an example of a populist, his desire to reform the Republic was born out of a genuine place of concern, but it is easily manipulated by Palpatine evolving him into something much worse. Lucas foreshadows the dangers of political ideologies with populism by showing us how populists and demagogues might manipulate otherwise good meaning people.

Manipulation is something at the forefront of Attack of the Clones, Palpatine certainly has cultivated a sort of cult of personality that often comes with populist leaders as seen by real-life populists. Anakin shows signs of accepting the sort of populist message as well, as seen during the conversation with Padme at the lake. The two discuss democracy and when pressed on his beliefs on the subject answers:

 Padme: You really don't like politicians, do you?   Anakin: I like two or three, but I'm not really sure about one of them. (smiling) I don't think the system works.  Padme: How would you have it work?  Anakin:  We need a system where the politicians sit down and discuss the problems, agree what's in the best interests of all the people, and then do it.   Padme:  That is exactly what we do. The trouble is that people don't wlways agree. In fact, they hardly ever do.   Anakin:  Then they should be made to.   Padme:  By whom? Who's going to make them?   Anakin:  I don't know. Someone.   Padme:  You?   Anakin:  Of course not me.   Padme:  But someone.  Anakin:  Someone wise.   Padme:  That sounds an awful lot like a dictatorship to me.  Anakin:  Well, if it works…

The slow acceptance that for change to be made a strong leader must emerge, that only a strong leader can make such changes, we see it with Palpatine’s manipulation of Jar Jar, in the discussion with senators regarding granting the chancellor emergency powers, Jar Jar told that someone brave like Padme would propose such measures is quick to action, his emotions played on just like many populists do. Palpatine of course accepts the powers, with the clear vocal approval of most of the senate, he has gotten this far by manipulating people into giving him even more power now.

When discussing democracy George Lucas had the following to say:

All democracies turn into dictatorships—but not by coup. The people give their democracy to a dictator, whether it's Julius Caesar or Napoleon or Adolf Hitler. Ultimately, the general population goes along with the idea …

It should come as no surprise then that the third film continues this theme of this erosion of democracy, despite the continuing granting of powers to Palpatine he is still highly respected in the republic, this is further expanded in the novelization where Matthew Stover writes:

Palpatine of Naboo, the most admired man in the galaxy whose unmatched political skills have held the Republic together. Whose personal integrity and courage prove that the Seperatist propaganda of corruption in the senate is nothing but lies … Palpatine is more than respected. He is loved … Without Palpatine, The Republic will fall.

Revenge of the Sith has painted a picture for us of how well-beloved Palpatine is that he is essentially unopposed. Such is his power that only Palpatine can decide when the emergency is over and when he needs to give up the power, leading even the Jedi to worry about the state of the democracy, Ki-Adi to state:

If he does not give up his emergency powers after the destruction of Grievous, then he should be removed from office.

Of course, this is all part of Palpatine’s plans, as Lucas wants to show us the fall of democracies, Palpatine uses the Jedi’s attempt to arrest him to monger fear, he destroys his last opposition and gives a rousing speech to the senate:

In order to ensure the security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society, which I assure you will last for 10,000 years. An Empire that will continue to be ruled by this august body and a sovereign ruler chosen for life. An Empire ruled by the majority, ruled by a new constitution.

Palpatine has now successfully stoked the fears of the galaxy and of the senate to grant himself more power than any other being in galactic history. Leading Padme to say the following:

So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause.

The people and the government have accepted the stoking of fear by a demagogue and populist.

In a conversation with George Lucas, fellow director James Cameron discussed the aforementioned line about the fall of democracies and how George Lucas had contextualized the fall of democracies in a science fiction setting. Certainly, we see Lucas’ condemnation of populist messages.

I have stated before that the prequels are about greed, as opposed to the failure of the Jedi as is often believed by some. Lucas warns us of Anakin’s greed and of the greed of politicians, and corporations. But his condemnation of populism and the embrace of it by the masses might hint at a deeper greed, a greed for safety, a want to sacrifice liberty and democracy for the sake of safety, as Palpatine was always promising.

We perhaps never see Palpatine as a breathing fire branding populist, nor a conspiracy-laden demagogue, but the signs of a sly and well-spoken politician are something that Lucas wants the audience to be wary of and that is how easily such people may exploit the weaknesses of our democracies.

[antihibikase2]

Revival Herb

Trade with @rivalhughs! First time writing Cheren Ohashi, and I absolutely love his team.. and how he dotes on them. Diane my beloved..

Thank you for trading with me Mait, I hope you like it! :]

The item wasn’t damaged in any way, at least, from Cheren Ohashi’s perspective.

But of course, to the shopkeeper who caught his Liepard red-handed, every little detail was of utmost importance- the Dark Gem she had taken from the table was spotless, gleaming beautifully under the sunlight, but the shopkeeper insisted that she had chipped it with her fangs, even if Cheren was certain there was nothing to fuss about; he didn’t think she could bite down that hard on a gem of all things.

Then the shopkeeper brought up a good point; simply holding onto the gem would drain it of its properties, especially if the Pokemon who had held onto it knew a move that matched its typing. 

Though he had no solid evidence that the Dark Gem powered up his Liepard in any way, he did think the shopkeeper had the right to be a little upset.

Unfortunately, Cheren didn’t have the money to pay for the outrageous price of the precious gem, so instead, the shopkeeper sent him to Chargestone Cave to fetch him another one from the dust clouds.

He couldn’t be too angry with Diane, his Liepard- she was just a little naive, convinced that she was sneakier than she actually was. Perhaps it was partly Cheren’s fault for spoiling her, but he couldn’t help it.

It was also partially his fault for being too caught up in his thoughts to notice what she was doing- she wasn’t particularly known for being the sneakiest of Liepards after all.

But he doesn’t need to dwell on what has happened; all he can do now is busy himself and find a replacement for the gem before he goes on his way.

Diane kept her head lowered the entire time as they trekked inside the cave, passing through shimmering rocks of glowing blue. Cheren couldn’t help but feel bad for her, the light of the cave only illuminated her dejected features.

Purposely, he leaves a part of his bag open, the head of a Revival Herb poking out and swaying with each of his movements.

Naturally, this catches Diane’s attention, bringing her out of her stupor.

For a minute, she wonders if she should try, given that she had just failed her earlier mission..

But to Cheren’s delight, she bites and slightly pulls it out of his bag. 

He pretends to not notice, stifling a small laugh as she purrs contently, her trots becoming more chipper as they walk deeper into the cave.

“You know, Diane,” He says, still not glancing at her so she gets to hold onto her treasure a little longer. “Maybe it’s not you being bad at sneaking. Maybe the shopkeeper just had too good of a hearing, like Bianca.”

Her ears perk up.

“It’s been awhile since we saw her, right? You want to see her again, Diane?”

Her tail swishes faster, on account of her being unable to do more than a muffled meow.

“Me too.”

Cheren stops in his tracks as he settles into a nice enough spot, one where dust clouds are sure to appear if he waits long enough.

He lets the rest of his team out to play as he sits on a smooth surface, while Diane finally shows off what she's stolen from him. 

"Oh, now how did you take that from me?"

A magician never reveals her secrets, Diane's proud face says all too smugly.

Cheren chuckles, taking back the Revival Herb from her mouth. She looks relieved to be free of its bitter taste.

"Aren't you sneaky! See, you're not so bad after all!"

Diane does a pleased meow and settles right next to her trainer with little kneads of her paws, finally in lighter spirits, the previous incident gone from her head.

"You know," though Diane is listening, it seems as if he's musing thoughts to himself. "I should have traded this herb for the gem. You buy it for around the same price, if not higher."

Diane cocks her head in confusion. 

"It's a Revival Herb. It's a really good item. Expensive though," He gently spins it between his finger and his thumb. "Bianca had lots to share. She gave some to me and some to Hilda."

At the mere mention of her name, his gaze seemed to soften.

Diane noticed his change in moods immediately.

"Sorry. We lost against her again, didn't we? We'll do better next time."

He says that, but there's a part of him that wonders if it's true at all. 

"Who knows? Maybe that Revival Herb will come in handy."

There's a small smile of amusement in his face when Diane looks displeased at the thought of having that bitter thing in her mouth once more.

Cheren wonders if he's willing to see such a face again if he does end up using the Revival Herb in battle; the thought is enticing, but he pushes it back.

He wouldn't need to waste a turn and rely on items that his Pokemon will hate; he just needs to work harder, just like his other friend, Bianca.

Work harder, work smarter, work better.

If he does that, he wouldn't have to lose against Hilda all the time.

If he does that, he wouldn't be frustrated with doing something he enjoys.

He knows so.

Doesn’t he?

From the corner of his eye, he spots several dust clouds start to appear.

He watched as Lucian and Nerida- his Serperior and Simipour respectively, raced each other to the clouds before Cheren could command them. Lucian manages to dig out a Drilbur from hiding, while Nerida's attack causes small gems to pop out of a hole- none of which are black.

He thanks them for their hard work, and Nerida flashes him a dazzling smile in return. Lucian continues to stay on guard.

Cheren finds himself resting his hands on his palms as he watches his beloved Pokemon scurry about; Colm was preening his feathers on a dark corner of the cave, while Bijou and Axel looked around curiously, intrigued by the floating stones.

He calls the other two over to sit next to him, giving them loving rubs and pats.

“Sorry, you guys give it your all for me, and yet here I am,” He laughs a little bitterly. “Letting you down.”

All three of them make displeased cries, as if they were trying to comfort him.

He can’t pretend to understand Pokemon like that guy does, but he knows his team, and they know him in return.

He appreciates the gesture.

“It’s fine. You don’t have to help me feel better.” He reassures them with a small smile. “Really. Just keep doing your best, and I’ll do the same.”

After all, it’s all he could do right now.

He pushes down on the bubbling insecurity that he feels in his throat.

But, he feels tears prickle on the corner of his eyes, and his bottom lip quivering at the thought of his most recent loss.

The sound of burrowing is heard from afar, and this time, Colm joins in as Lucian and Nerida pound on what seemed to be another Drilbur.

To their surprise, multiple black gems spew out from the hole.

Quickly, he tries to rub his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket while Diane, Bijou, and Axel are too occupied celebrating with the other three over their prize.

He’s not going to let this loss get to him- how could he call himself a trainer otherwise, to let something like that crush his self-esteem?

His Pokemon, working together even without the need for his commands, was proof he was doing well.

Wasn’t it?

Nerida gathers handfuls of the gems gleefully, as if she was holding the rainbow in her palms. Lucian and Colm only take the black ones back to their trainer, while Diane peers over the rest in interest.

“We got more than what we asked for,” Cheren says, taking one of the Dark Gems in his fingers and inspecting it. “You think we could sell some to that guy?”

Axel picks up the Revival Herb that he had been inspecting earlier.

“..oh, you want me to give some to Bianca and Hilda?”

The suggestion makes the other Pokemon perk up in agreement. They make several noises that he can only assume was them talking over one another about his closest friends, happy at the thought of finding them gifts despite their previous battles.

In a way, Cheren felt slightly envious over how carefree they were.

Even though they lost, even if Cheren wasn’t strong enough..

His Pokemon could smile freely right now as if nothing’s weighing them down.

Cheren could only imagine how that felt.

Still, that small smile never leaves his lips, even as the slight feeling of guilt and jealousy lingers in his chest. 

He takes a few of the other colored gems into his hands, internally monologuing the teams of his friends so they could make use of the items. Diane in particular picks up a small Water Gem in her mouth, placing it right next to his hand.

He thinks of Hilda and her starter Otto.

Then he thinks of Bianca and her starter Blaise.

The feeling of nostalgia makes him feel warmer- better about his current situation.

He takes a fistful of Dark Gems into his pockets, whistling for his team to follow him outside- he doesn’t realize how dark it’s gotten outside. He supposed he could continue training tomorrow instead.

Adjusting his bag, he pushes away the feeling of having wasted his time in Chargestone Cave instead of bettering himself and his skills. 

Deep down, he knows that isn’t true.

After all, with the little gifts in his possession, he felt more eager than ever to see his friends once more, to meet up with them as if they were younger children again, showing each other the treasures they’ve picked from their hometown.

[chaos-is-beautifvl]

𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐩 𝐩𝐭. 𝟐

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: eddie munson x fem!reader

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: after the first accidental and absolutely horrid incident with your dad, eddie isn’t all too keen on the idea of meeting him officially. spoiler alert: he has every reason to be worried || part one

𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: hopper!reader, fluff, tad bit of angst, ‘freak’ used derogatorily + affectionately, assumptions, hopper being this close 🤏 to having a heart attack, joyce being the best mom (besides steve), slight mean hopper bc he cares about his kids, mike again being a little shit, el being confused, jonathan needing to learn how to read the room & mentions of sex

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 4596 (these are my blood, sweat, and tears - no actually, i think i got a paper cut)

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: the long awaited sequel of doac is here! also, you guys are absolutely insane. 2,000+ NOTES??!! thank you so much! i hope you all enjoy part 2 as much as you did the first. feedback is golden, so please let me know what you think. feel free to send me a request. guidelines here and check out my other eddie fics here!

stay tuned for bonus chapters & maybe a part 3???

“I don’t think I can go through this again... Once was enough, but twice? No, no, no.”

Hopper was strewn across the couch, arms over his head and legs splayed out. He slumped over like he was tired of carrying the world’s weight on his shoulders.

“Can’t do what, Hop?” Joyce questioned, replacing the clothes in the dryer with the clothes in the washing machine. “Let your kid grow up?”

“Grow- Hold on, you’re on her side?”

Joyce rolled her eyes, starting the dryer and bringing her laundry basket over to the table to fold the clothes. “There are no sides.”

“No, no, you are. You’re on her side.”

“Okay, fine. I’m on your teenage daughter’s side, who has done nothing wrong.”

“Nothing wrong-?” Hopper sat up, ignoring the instant head rush that followed. “Joyce, she had a boy in her room - a boy - and if I hadn’t gotten there when I did, who knows what would have happened? I swear, it’s Mike all over again.”

Joyce tossed a pair of mismatched socks on the table, resisting the urge to roll her eyes again. She loves the man, but he constantly pushes her buttons. “I mean, she is at that age. It was only a matter of time before she got curious and started exploring her sexual-”

“Joyce!” Hopper groaned, covering his face with his palms as though that would prevent his ears from hearing her words. “Why the hell would you say that? You know something I don’t?”

She shot him an annoyed look, not withholding her eye-rolling. Heaving a sigh, Joyce turned to her laundry, taking note to sew the hole in Will’s shirt.

“She’s almost an adult. Do you expect her not to know or be interested in those things?” She refrained from using the forbidden ‘S’ word to prevent Hopper freaking out. Again.

“No! What kind of question even is that? What? Do you expect Jonathan and Will to be doing those things?” He threw his hands in the air, returning Joyce’s annoyed look. 

“Will, no. Jonathan, yes. I mean, c’mon, Hopper, you saying you weren’t like that when you were their age?”

The man could only grumble. Joyce was right. While he was significantly older, he hadn’t refined much since his teenage days. The problem was that even though he was as wild and free as ever, that didn’t mean he wanted to imagine or see his kids doing the same. The thought was grossly unfathomable to him.

Joyce sighed as she cast a glance at Hopper. She could see his inner turmoil, and although his reaction was overly exaggerated, she offered him some solace. 

“Look, Y/N is a good girl. I’m sure nothing is or was going on. It’s likely just what she said - they were playing around. Kids do that, you know. If you can somehow pull your head out of your ass, you’ll see why she didn’t tell you about him.” As Joyce was speaking, Hopper opened his mouth to spew what she knew were more excuses. She held her hand up, effectively shutting his mouth. 

“You don't even know the boy. He’s sweet, and he seems to care about Y/N a lot. That should make you happy.”

It did. Hopper wouldn’t admit it aloud, but he was glad that the little punk treated his daughter well, even if the man thought the boy had other intentions.

Joyce snapped as an idea came to mind. She turned to Hopper with a coy grin, and he didn’t like where she was headed. “Dinner. We’ll have dinner. And if you decide you still don’t like it, fine. But you have to try at least.”

After a few contemplative minutes, Hopper begrudgingly resigned, sinking further into the couch. “Fine. Dinner it is.”

——

You don't think you’ve ever seen Eddie so skittish. His eyes were wide and alert, and he constantly looked over his shoulder so he would be prepared if your crazy dad came charging at him again.

“D-Dinner?” Eddie sputtered over his words. “You want me to go to dinner with you and your dad? Your dad tried to kill me!”

The nearby patrons of the cafeteria stopped talking after Eddie's outburst, turning their full attention to you two. You smiled sheepishly, waving a hand dismissively. You were granted a reprieve when someone yelled across the cafeteria, and all staring was redirected.

You sighed, turning back to Eddie. “Look, I know my dad was…”

“Crazy, insane, deranged? Murderous, maybe?”

You grinned at Eddie's interruption. While you felt bad, seeing him so frantic was adorable. You hid your amusement behind your hand, clearing your throat and trying to get back to the issue. “You’re right. He was a bit murderous, but if he got to know you, he would love you.”

Eddie sent you a skeptical look, and you adjusted your words. “Love might be a bit strong, but he would definitely like you. I’m sure. I like you, and I happen to have very great judgment.”

“That’s debatable.” Mike interrupted as he plopped down in the seat next to you. 

You rolled your eyes, “Funny. Don’t think I asked for your opinion.”

“No, what’s funny is how Hopper tried to kill Eddie.” The boy opened a can of Coke, and the sizzling annoyed you just as much as he did. “He was like, ‘I'm going to kill you for dating my daughter’.”

Mike’s impression of Hopper wasn’t that far off, but his levity of the situation deterred your endeavors of convincing Eddie to come to dinner. Eddie was back on alert, not that he’d ever stopped being overly cautious.

“Dating?” Gareth asked as he and the rest of the crew joined the party. To say that you wanted you and Eddie to be alone was understated. “Congrats, guys. I didn’t even know.”

“Thanks, man. Just let me know if you see a man about yea high with a murderous look in his eyes.”

“Context, please.”

“Can we just leave it alone? Yes, Eddie and I are dating. No, you will not get any context.” You quickly shut down the impending questions that would follow once you and Eddie started explaining. 

You don’t think Eddie was paying much attention to the conversation anyway. He resorted to virtually sitting in your seat, hoping you might save him if your dad came around. You wanted to reassure him by explaining that even though your dad was homicidal the first time they met, he wouldn’t actually kill him. But, as you thought about it, you honestly didn’t put a thing past your dad. It is Hopper you're talking about. 

You overheard Dustin asking how nobody caught on to you two dating because he caught on after the first few times you hung out together. You couldn’t help but agree silently. You and Eddie had not been subtle about liking each other at all. 

Pushing the conversation to the back of your mind, you rekindled the one with Eddie. “He said he’d give you a chance, and, believe it or not, my dad hardly goes back on his word.”

Those were the wrong choice of words, it seemed, with how Eddie finally stopped glancing at all the available exits for his escape plan and whipped his head around to look at you with widened eyes.

He was progressively looking like a deer in headlights the more he thought about being brutally murdered by the chief of police. “So, he was, like, serious? About, you know, killing me?”

“Eddie, he never said he was going to kill you.” He didn't exactly say the words, but his actions proved otherwise. You didn't voice those thoughts, though.

Sighing, you grabbed Eddie’s hand. “I really like you, and it would take so much more than my, like you said, deranged dad to change that. And you totally don’t have to go if you don’t want to, but I want my dad to see you the way I do.”

Your words seemed to do the trick. Eddie laughed, and his grin resulted in one of your own. “Could’ve just told me you were obsessed with me, sweetheart.”

You rolled your eyes, pushing him away from you, “Shut it, Munson.” Pursing your lips to hide your smile, you squeezed his hand, “So... dinner?”

Eddie leaned his head back, hair sweeping behind his shoulders. He hummed before sitting up and wrapping an arm around you. “Dinner.” He held up a finger before you could thank him. “But only because I feel bad you’re terribly infatuated with me.”

“I hate you.”

“You love me.”

“Aww, aren’t you guys cute?”

“Shut up, Mike,” both of you groaned, resulting in laughter from the group.

——

You think that inviting Eddie to dinner was a grave mistake. Hopper had been staring Eddie down the entire time, which made for an awkward conversation.

Just when you were about to ask your dad to stop terrorizing your boyfriend, he stabbed a fork in his mashed potatoes. “So, Munson, what are your intentions with my daughter?”

“Dad!” You groaned, sending him an annoyed look.

“What? It’s a simple question. It shouldn’t be too difficult for him to answer. Or maybe it is with all those extra years in school.” He grumbled the last words under his breath, and you were so close to giving him a big piece of your mind when Eddie replied.

“It’s fine, Y/N. And, uh, sir, I have no ‘intentions’ with your daughter. I just think she’s really cool, and she’s such an amazing person. So, yeah,” Eddie glanced over at you, offering a grin. “No intentions, but I really like her, sir.”

You took a sip of water, hoping the coolness would diminish the heat that swarmed your face at his compliments. Eddie was never one to shy away from telling you how he felt, but your heart skipped a beat or two faster with how he looked at you.

Eddie’s response was a good one, and there was nothing Hopper could say as much as he tried, so he only grumbled as he ate his potatoes.

The conversation went back to normal - talk about school, the new mall they were building, blah, blah, blah. Then it took a surprising turn.

Jonathan was pretty quiet during the entire span of dinner, scarfing down as much food as he could. You knew it was due to the hefty amount of purple palm tree delight Argyle left him with on his last visit.

That’s what led to him speaking. “Hey, Eddie…” Jonathan squinted as if he wasn’t sure Eddie was the one sitting in front of him. Eddie hummed, and Jonathan nodded, convinced that Eddie was indeed sitting in front of him.

“You still, uh, you still coming on the trip with us, man?”

Eddie’s head shot up so quickly you would think he got whiplash. His mouth opened and closed like a fish. You sent a wild look to Jonathan, waving your hands to get him to stop talking.

You hadn’t exactly meant for it to be a secret; you just never got around to telling your dad about it. And, in light of recent events, you decided it was best to wait until things blew over, but Jonathan seemed intent on ruining that plan.

Mike raised an eyebrow at your frantic movements, and you coughed, reaching for your water when Joyce sent you a concerned look. It seemed you weren’t transparent enough because Jonathan continued, despite your attempts at diffusing the situation. 

“This chicken is so good, Joyce,” was said as you picked at the piece to prove your point.

“You know,” Jonathan blinked slowly, mistaking Eddie's nonresponse as confusion. “To the Cali trip. I talked to my man, Argyle, and he can’t wait to meet you, you know, thinks you’re pretty rad.”

The silence that followed was loud, terribly so. Your fork was lifted halfway to your mouth with the chicken you suddenly didn’t have an appetite for anymore. 

Mike’s expression developed into shock and slight amusement, which pissed you off, but it wasn’t the time to reprimand him. Will’s widened eyes caught your gaze, sharing your mortification. Joyce looked like she might be close to laughing with how her lips rolled together. You wanted to be annoyed, but honestly, you can’t fault her. 

And El, not knowing why the table’s facial expressions ranged from mortified to humorous, tilted her head in confusion. Her brows furrowed, and you made a special note to start explaining things more. She was lost most of the time, and it’s your job as her big sister to direct her on the right path. That’s something you’ll worry about later, though.

Meanwhile, Eddie looked like he might shit a brick - a perfectly rectangular one. You’re sure you look the same. 

And Jonathan, the cause of the array of facial charades, was just as confused as El until it settled in. You wonder if some genetic thing makes the Byers form similar expressions. His face morphed into shock, like the rest of the crowd. The next he made was guilty, and you’re so glad he feels that way about the mess he created. His shaggy hair flipped around as he turned to you. You could barely understand the words he tried to mouth, but they were apropos of the situation, like ‘I’m so sorry.’ 

He should be.

A harsh clang of silverware on the table made everyone jump, removing them from their stupor. You don’t know how you or anyone else could have forgotten about Hopper. You slowly dragged your eyes over to your dad, and his expression exceeded all your expectations of what it would be. It’s comical and terrifying, and the way Eddie’s face paled, you think he might have actually shit that brick.

Hopper’s face was red, resembling the color of the salad bowl. Like the first unpleasant time he met Eddie, literal steam came from his ears and nose, nostrils flaring as he gripped the table.

You were trying to think of anything that could appease the situation. You screwed up. Majorly. Totally. Tragically. Your heart attempted to flee your chest cavity in hopes of escaping what appeared to be a perfectly disastrous situation.

“What. The. Hell?!” Hopper’s words came out in disgruntled anger, interrupting your meticulous planning, and you wished you hadn't tried to introduce the two. After all, you are the daughter of a cop, and this cop is notorious for taking things over the top.

“Dad, wait, I can explain-” The words tumbled out of your mouth before you thought of an actual explanation.

“Oh, you sure can, missy. Please tell me why you not only lied about who was going on the trip, but you were going to sneak off with him and do god knows what.”

You blubbered over your words as you twisted your fingers. You knew your dad had a temper, that much was evident when he tried to attack Eddie, but this was worse. You hated when he was mad, even more so when he directed it toward you.

“What, you have nothing to say? Go on, tell me! Tell me why my daughter has become someone completely different since meeting this freak!”

Any thought of not talking back in fear of making your dad angrier disappeared. You could handle him being mad at you - you didn’t like it, but it was tolerable. What you refused to tolerate was him treating Eddie like shit.

Standing up, you slammed your hands down on the table, rattling the silverware and the people at the table. You weren’t known for your outbursts so seeing you in this state was surprising to everyone, even your dad, who raised an eyebrow.

“You do not get to talk to him like that. God, Dad, you wanna know why I didn’t tell you? I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d do this - overreact.”

Hopper’s eyes widened, and he stood as well. “You think this is overreacting? Oh, trust me, you haven’t seen overreacting yet.”

“Don’t you hear yourself, Dad? You haven’t even given him a chance, and yet, somehow, your mind is all made up. Do you see the problem there?”

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see everyone itching to get away from the table, and honestly, you wished you could do the same. But instead, here you were, arguing with your dad about your boyfriend while said boyfriend was sitting next to you, looking petrified.

Hopper sighed frustratedly, dragging a hand down his reddened face. “No, Y/N, the problem is with him. I don’t want my daughter dating someone one step away from being his dad-”

Eddie stood up this time, and all eyes shot to him. He cleared his throat, “You know what, I think I’m gonna go. The food was great, Mrs. Byers, but I have a chemistry test tomorrow. And, well, I wanna pass, so yeah.”

“Ed-” You felt terrible. You wanted this dinner and practically forced him to come even though he was reluctant, and now he was leaving early because your dad couldn’t keep his so wrong opinions about Eddie to himself.

“It’s okay, really,” Eddie grinned at you, trying to show that he wasn’t affected as you were. He whispered the last words, “Hey, at least I know what it’s like dating the daughter of a cop.”

His reassurances did little to reassure you. So, when he left, and everyone at the table was trying to make it seem like they weren’t there, you turned to your dad. There was so much you wanted to say to him. You would have told him how much of a literal asshole he was.

But all you could say was, “You didn’t even try, Dad. You said you would.”

With that, you walked off, following after Eddie, hoping your dad hadn’t ruined your relationship with the one person you didn’t want to lose.

The front door slammed shut, and Hopper had half a mind to tell you to come back inside, but he kept it to himself. It was tense then, and Joyce, who needed to have a lengthy chat with Hopper, told the kids to give them some space.

They hurried away, mumbling, "I have to use the bathroom anyway," and "do you guys wanna play video games?"

Once the table was clear, Joyce turned to Hopper, awaiting an explanation. Hopper plopped down in his chair, covering his face with his hands as he groaned vehemently.

“Do you see what I mean? And she says that I’m overreacting.”

Joyce’s muted response prompted the angry man to remove his hands from his face and send her an inquisitive eyebrow raise. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“C’mon, Hop, do I really have to say anything?”

“So you agree? I mean, I can’t be the only way that sees a major problem with-”

“Jesus, Hopper, are you serious?” Joyce furrowed her eyebrows as she glared at the man sitting next to her. She had put up with his initial disinterest in Eddie because most dads are like that, but she was annoyed now with him actively being an asshole.

“Look, I get it, she’s your daughter, but you’re going to ruin your relationship with her if you continue acting like this.” Hopper opened his mouth to no doubt spout a series of excuses when Joyce held up a hand, signaling him to shut up. “Do you really want to know why Y/N didn’t tell you? She was scared, Hop. Scared of how you might react because she likes a boy you wouldn’t give a first chance. And she hid it because she didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“But, Joyce-”

“No buts, Hop. Eddie, who is very sweet, by the way, hasn’t done anything wrong. You’re letting your judgment get in the way and doing the same thing you did with El to Y/N, and you saw how that worked out. So, you tell me, what is your problem?”

Hopper didn’t answer the question everyone was asking, instead sulking in his seat like a petulant child. He pulled out a cigarette and didn’t even bother to light it, just letting it hang between his pouting lips.

Joyce shook her head, crossing her arms, “We can sit here all night until you fess up, or you can just pull your head out of your stubborn ass and tell me what’s going on.”

The man rubbed his forehead, sitting up in his chair and hanging his head low. He stared at the chip in the floorboards before heaving a dreary sigh. “She’s my girl, Joyce. She’s my little girl, and yeah, maybe I was overreacting-”

“You think?” Hopper didn’t even have the energy to roll his eyes.

“Just- look, I know that she’s getting older. They’re both getting older. But she’s my girl, Joyce, my little girl. What if she gets older and she-” Hopper choked on his words. “What if she gets older and forgets all about her old man?”

“Hop…” Joyce sighed. “Our kids - they’re gonna get older. We can’t change that. But if there’s one thing I know about Y/N," she ducked her head to meet his eyes. “She is never going to forget her dad... as long he stops acting like an asshole.”

Hopper chuckled, wiping a stray tear from his face, “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Give him a chance, Hopper. He makes her happy.”

“Okay,” he resigned. He lit his cigarette, furrowing his brows, “How come you’re always right? Is it like a woman’s intuition thing?”

“No, you’re just a moron most of the time.”

——

“So,” Eddie inquired as he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, “Got a place in mind?”

After storming out the front door, you made your way to Eddie’s van, thankful it was still there. You thought he would be long gone after your dad practically bit his head off, but no. He had just started his vehicle and was contemplating if this time Hopper would actually kill him when the passenger side door flung open.

“Please don’t kill me!” The words were frenzied as Eddie squeezed his eyes shut and held his hands in front of him as if that would protect him from Hopper’s rage.

You grabbed his hands, laughing as you slid into the van. “Wasn’t planning on it.”

“I don’t know. Anywhere with you is good.”

“M’kay, how about…” He hummed before taking a right turn to a lookout point. “Here?”

“Here’s good.”

For the first time, the air was awkward between you two. You didn’t like it, but you didn’t know what to say. What do you say to someone after your dad was an asshole to them during dinner and then proceeded to call them a freak more than once?

Eddie’s “so…” was said simultaneously with your “I’m so sorry.”

You made eye contact, and he let out a laugh you couldn’t help but copy. “Sorry,” he said after catching his breath, “you can go first.”

“My dad,” you started, looking away from him and instead focusing on the view outside. “My dad was an asshole to you, and I know that I can’t make up for that, but I am so sorry, Eddie. Believe me, if I knew he would act that way, I would have never pushed for dinner.”

“Y/N-”

You shook your head, forcing yourself to make eye contact so he could see your genuineness. “No, Eddie. He said some really hurtful things, and I’m really sorry. And, uh, I would totally understand if you, I don’t know, didn’t want to be with me anymore because, well, who wants to deal with a dad like mine.”

“Do you-” Eddie leaned forward, resting his arms on the steering wheel. “You don’t actually think I want that… right?”

You shrugged, toying with a stray thread on the hem of your shirt. “I would understand if you did.”

“Okay, let’s correct that, yeah? I definitely don’t want to break up. I wasn’t lying when I said all that to your dad.”

You stammered, trying to list all the possibilities why Eddie not wanting to be with you was reasonable. All of which included your dad. 

“I thought it was pretty hot, honestly.”

You raised an eyebrow, finally directing your gaze to him. He smiled sheepishly again, embarrassed. “Your dad is… he’s a work of art, but that has nothing to do with you. And I mean, the way you stood up to him - highly doubt anyone in their right mind would do that - I don’t know, it was interesting seeing you riled up over little ole me.”

“Pretty hot or interesting? Gotta pick, Munson.” You cracked a grin at the red tint that rose to his cheeks

“Hot,” he nodded, certain of his answer. “Definitely hot.”

Then the air was back to normal, and it felt good to breathe it in. You tutted and shook your head, “Who’s obsessed with who, now?”

“Oh, I’ve always been obsessed with you, sweetheart. You’re just in denial about being obsessed with me.”

You could only roll your eyes, turning to face the door so he wouldn’t see the smile on display. The two of you sat in comfortable silence, watching the night settle over Hawkins until Eddie spoke.

“What about you?” You acknowledged his question with a hum. “You sure you still want to be with me? I mean, I know you’re completely infatuated with me." That made you chuckle. “And you’re also pretty close with your dad. Believe me, I don’t want to stop what we have, but I also don’t want to mess that up.”

“I don't want that either.” Eddie frowned slightly, and you realized how your words sounded, so you corrected them. “What I mean is, I don’t want us to end. My dad means a lot to me, and I love him, but I also love you. And I really don’t want to lose you. I meant what I said before. It would take so much more than my crazy dad to make me not want you. Screw this whole goddamn town. I could care less what they think.”

You finished your rant with a huff. You felt relieved, finally having said everything you’ve been holding in since this whole fiasco with your dad and Eddie began.

You don’t know what you were expecting Eddie’s expression to be after your winded rant, but you certainly weren’t expecting to be met with a budding grin. Raising your eyebrow, you questioned why he looked so amused.

“You love me, huh?” You were confused until it hit you. You accidentally told Eddie, of all people, that you were in love with him. 

You’re never going to live this one down.

“Shut up.”

Eddie dramatically splayed himself across your lap. He threw his arm over his head, fanning himself with his hand as if he was but a distressed maiden. 

The brunet opened one eye, keeping the other squeezed shut. He held his hand up to his ear, “I’m sorry. I don’t think I quite heard you the first time. Could you repeat that again?” You rolled your eyes, looking away from his simpering grin before you gave in and wore one yourself.

“I said I hated you.”

“I can’t believe that you, Y/N Hopper, love me, Eddie the freak Munson.”

“Yeah, well, unfortunately, you’re my freak.”

Eddie smiled up at you, and this time, you mimicked him. “I guess it’s time to tell you that I’m in love with the daughter of a cop.”

——

🏷 𝐭𝐚𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @this--is--music , @riotkayla , @lili-pond , @murnsondock , @ecikilljoy , @salembridger , @boomhauer , @under-the-clouds , @insssanemind , @reidstea , @th0rswh0res , @graywrites20 , @tracymbcm , @chrisevansangel , @lizziesfirstwife , @wiieiei , @iloveeddiemunsonnnn

——

[christinasyellowflowers]

Early Signs | Luca Changretta

Luca Changretta x F!reader

Summary: The Italian capo receives good news when he arrives home.

Requested: By Anonymous

Warnings: Pregnancy.

Note:  English is not my native language so beware there may be grammar or spelling mistakes.

I struggle with the title, like usually, so sorry!

I'm sorry for the delay! I hope it meets up with your expectations lovely anon. Enjoy!

Do not repost please!

Feedback is appreciated!

"Amore mio?"

Luca's voice echoed throughout the house.

Y/N refused to call out to him, afraid her voice would crackle from all the crying, so she remained silent waiting for her husband to eventually walk inside the kitchen instead.

It has been a horrible day for her.

Firstly, upon arriving at her workplace that morning, she’d been informed that due to her swelled bust the clothes were unable to fit her anymore. Thus, she’d be replaced at both upcoming runway and magazine photoshoots, and to make worse, by none other than her rival in the industry.

Craving for a distraction as well as food, with this atrocious news she hurried through the busy streets of New York towards the direction of her favourite café, which served the best icebox cake in the city. Beside the delicious desserts, however it was also the café, cozy and quiet, that Luca took her during their first date.

The two had met at Mr Spinietta’s basement, where Luca visited frequently to acquire his tailor-made suits. Y/N worked as a simple seamstress assistant. She was quiet and timid, yet ambitious and dreamy about her future in the modeling industry.

Luca grew fond of her over time, at the point where he’d demand to be assisted only by her. He loved how her cheeks would be reddened by his flirtatious comments, and got carried away when she'd get into the conversation when the subject fascinated her.

“Closed?” Y/N hissed irritated at the sign on the door that read closed due to renovations.

By the time she arrived home she was a complete mess. Sniffing her nose, while wiping away her falling tears. Y/N seemed unable to stop the tears escaping her eyes, and since she didn’t wish to upset Luca she entered the kitchen and dismissed both the cook and the maid for the day. She took a seat on the table where a bunch of half peeled onions were left on the cutting board and waited.

“There you are.” Luca said, entering the kitchen.

When Y/N perked her eyes up to greet him she noticed the wide smile plastered on his face. She simply smiled back in return before averting her eyes again.

“Is something wrong?” Luca frowned, walking towards her and resting his hands on her shoulders.

“No.”

Yes

“No?” he arched a brow, obviously unconvinced. “There’s a waterfall on your face, cara mia.”

“It’s from the onions.” she protested weakly. “It’s burning.”

“So, there’s nothing wrong?” he whispered in her ear, while slowly moving his hands downwards to her hips.

“I got something for you.” she said, avoiding the question. She abandoned the onions and the knife and took a small box outside her handbag.

Luca eyed her curiously, without making a move to take it from her hands. He already knew about the incident that took place this morning, however he wished to hear it from her Y/N. To his utter annoyance you appeared more calm than he had expected. Usually, you couldn’t wait for him to arrive and rant about something that bothered or made you furious, knowing pretty well he’d do his best to fix it for you in any way. He loved to spoil you and he made sure to let the world know about it.

“Thank you.” he told her after a slight pause, taking the box from her.

Y/N watched as his eyes narrowed at first, and afterwards widened in realization while taking the content of the box in his hand.

“Is that a…” he trailed off, eyes glowing in excitement

“It’s a baby gown, yes!” she smiled sweetly. “For such a horrible day, this was the best news I could receive.”

“I will have that rival of yours fired, if you wish.” Luca whispered, playing with the cotton fabric, smiling widely.

“Wh-” she looked taken aback, before signing in frustration. “I don’t even know how you knew about this! Promise me you won’t harm her.”

Instead of replying, Luca gave her a long tender kiss, murmuring Italian nonsense against her lips, and making her giggle.

“I should’ve taken those Italian classes.”

“Oh, you should.” he nodded, kissing her again. “Our son definitely will.”

“Son? I don’t want a son!” she argued. “The last thing I need is a little troublemaker running around the house, screaming he wants to be a capo, like his old man.”

“Old man, huh?” he smirked, picking her up in his arms and making her squeal. “Let’s go upstairs and I’ll show what this old capo can do.”

“Luca, we’ll have to be careful!”

“I am always careful, carina.”

“And no bonding, Luca” she said warningly.

“No bonding.” he repeated with a laugh.

“Also, I dismissed the stuff.” she informed him. “There’s nothing for dinner.”

“We’ll go out.” he responded. “And we can have some icebox cake afterwards.”

“That won’t be possible. The café is closed due to renovation.” she pouted.

“That’s too bad.” he said, putting her on the bed. “But let it be a problem for later, yeah? Now, more kissing and less talking.”

~~

[footygirl114]

Protectora (Mapi Leon x Reader)

Highly recommend reading part 1 (Protective) to understand the back story! I had a new friend tell me that they have these imagines read out loud to them during work, so it had to be long enough for that, but it took off on its own :)

After months of living in Alexia’s spare bedroom you finally decided it was time to look for your own place. Not that you didn’t love Alexia, and living with her was great. You knew that you would never be able to regain your independence if you didn’t move it. It also was very hard to pursue any relationship with Mapi if you both had her teammates around all the time. 

Its not say you both never got any alone time, but you were still holding back after the way your last relationship ended. You had been doing better about feeling like a victim, and letting your old friends get into your head. You still had your moments, they were better because you would call Mapi and she never hesitated to listen to you and hold you when you cried. 

Both her and Alexia were your rocks and you owed them a-lot. They both never wanted anything in return, they were happy to see you be happy. You had also gotten very close with most of the team, you were like an extra teammate without having to be on the field with them. Only Alexia, Jenni, and Leila (who was Mapi’s roommate) knew that you and Mapi had a thing. They were also the only ones who knew about your past. 

You had explained away the club incident as bad blood and they never pushed. They also never took you back to that club but you were out with the team for every celebration. You had also gone to a lot more games and were excited because today they would be able to win the league and get the trophy and you would be there to celebrate. 

You were sat with Alba at the game so you both were able to talk about the players freely, since you both knew them well. Watching them cruise to a 5-0 win was awesome and the atmosphere was amazing. You stood there watching them celebrate and you were thinking about how glad you were that you ended up in Barcelona. 

After they had received their trophy and medals the team started to make their rounds. Alexia’s first stop was to see you and Alba, she came over and gave you both big hugs. You caught Mapi’s eye over Alexia’s shoulders and she started to make her way over as well. 

She crushed you in a hug over the railing and you whispered in her ear “Im so happy for you”

She turned and pressed a kiss to your cheek and pulled back and asked “Will you come celebrate with us tonight?” 

“Excuse me I am right here, I thought I was your favourite Maps” Alba said with a push to Mapi’s shoulder. 

Mapi leans over to press a kiss to Alba’s cheek but she keeps her hand on your arm holding tight to your forearm “Sorry Albs, you’ve been replaced, but you can still come party with us tonight” Mapi tells her. 

Alba rolls her eyes at this but still has a smile on her face as she says “I guess I can understand, Y/N is my favourite too.” 

At this Alexia gets involved with a “hey, I’m your sister! I thought I was your favourite”

Alba laughs at the outrageous look on her sisters face but says “you have a million fans Ale, sorry Im not one of them” 

All three of you laugh at the pout on Alexia’s face as she sulks away. 

Mapi turns back to you and asks sweetly “I brought my stuff for tonight to the game, are you okay if I come back to yours with Ale to get ready?” 

“Of course, I cant wait. I know I’ll barley get to see you all night based on your teammates” you tell her with a laugh. 

“Perfect, I'll see you soon then” she says but cant help leaning in and pressing about kiss to your cheek. 

You hold her there as you whisper in her ear “You looked hot out there” and you pull back to see the blush on her face. “go sign some autographs Maps” you tell her with a shove away. 

She’s still blushing as she turns away from you, you hear Alba say beside you “wow, Ive never seen her blush like a school girl before” you cant help but laugh. 

***

You had your own bathroom at Alexia’s place and thank god you did. When you thought it would just be Mapi coming by before you all went out you were wrong. It seems like half the team showed up at Ale’s place to get ready. It was madness and you had hidden in your room when they started to yell and cheer about the game. 

You were in your bathroom getting ready when there was a knock on your door, and then Mapi’s head stuck through the opening. “I come in peace” she says

You wave her in and she closes the door and comes to lean on the counter beside where you are putting your make up on. She just stands there in silence watching you when you ask “what are you doing?”

“watching you” she responds softly “you are beautiful you know” 

You blush and cant meet her eyes, you just finish putting on your make up. 

She waits till you are done then reaches over and tugs you to stand in front of her, she puts her knuckle under your chin and you look up into her eyes as she says “Im serious Y/N, I know you haven’t had the best experiences in the past, but I want to do this right. I want to treat you like the queen you deserve to be and that starts with me taking you out on a date. If you will let me?”

You look deep into her eyes and you know that she was not going to do anything to hurt you. “I would love to go on a date with you” you tell her and lean forward and place your lips on hers. 

She gives in but doesn’t let you deepen the kiss, she pulls back and says “I'm serious Y/N, I need to do this right for you, let me take you out on a proper date first. Then maybe you’ll get a goodnight kiss and an offer for a second date” 

You look up at her with tears in the corners of your eyes and you respond “Thank you” 

“You deserve the world, let me try to give it to you” she says with a smile, and she pulls you in for a hug. You linger in the comfort you have found in her embrace. 

It only lasts so long before you can hear the crowd in the living room yelling both your names. You pull back and grab her hand to yank her out of the room and into the crowd of the living room. 

**

Its less than a week later that you are standing in your room trying to figure out what to wear on your date, she was going to be there in half hour and you may be panicking slightly. You are staring into your closet when Alexia comes in and hops on to your bed. She sits there staring at the disaster of a room and asks “what’s going on Y/n?”

You turn and look at her as you say in a rush “You cant say anything, but Mapi is taking me on a date and I have nothing to wear” 

She sits there staring at you.

“well are you going to help me?” you ask her, with your hands on your hips.

She shakes her head and says “you told me not to say anything!” 

At her response you grab the nearest thing to you, which is a mini soccer ball, and throw it at her. 

“hey, that could have hurt” she whines as she’s now playing with the ball. 

You stare at her with an incredulous look as you say “seriously? You play with one all day everyday” 

“Fair, but anyway why are you so worried about this? I thought you and Mapi have been having a thing for months?” she asks confused.

“She’s been super patient with me, you know I have been struggling. She’s been there for me, but this is the first time we're going on an actual date. She says she wants to treat me right” you can feel the tears fall down your cheeks as you continue “Ale, I don’t know if I can open myself up again, Im so worried that she is going to see that I’m not enough and that I’m broken”

Alexia had immediately gotten up and wrapped you in a hug when you started crying, she lets you cry for a minute. When she pulls back she places her hands on your upper arms and says “Y/N you had something terrible happen to you, but that does not define you. If anything I see you as stronger because of it. You were able to get out of that situation and do something about it so he cannot hurt anyone else. I’ve watched you these last few months come back to being the cousin I know and love. I think Mapi has helped you with that, and I think you’d regret it if you didn’t give her the chance” 

You pull her into another hug and bury your head in her neck, although you were older, she’s always been taller and wiser. “thank you for having my back” you tell her. 

“If you don’t feel ready you know she’s going to wait for you” she reminds you gently. 

You shake your head and say “when I’m with her she makes me forget the doubts, she makes me feel like me again” 

“Okay” she says with a smile “Lets get you ready then” 

About 20 minutes later you hear the knock on the door, you look at Alexia with wide eyes since you aren’t ready yet. She laughs at you and says “I will go distract her, but hurry up”

A few minutes later you walk out to Ale and Mapi both standing around tv watching the highlights from their game last week. You roll your eyes at them and say “seriously how many times are you going to watch this?”

Alexia doesn’t look over but she says “as many as I want” 

Mapi turned to you when she heard you voice, she makes her way slowly toward you while taking in your appearance. You definitely owe Ale for convincing you to wear the sundress. She steps up to you and grabs your hands and says “Wow eres tan hermosa.”

You blush under her praise but respond with “thank you” and a kiss on her cheek. 

“Okay both of you get out of here before I have to bleach my eyes from this mushy fest” Alexia chimes in from the back. 

Mapi doesn’t look away from you but turns her body to give Alexia the finger. She then says to you “Lets go Hermosa, we have reservations to make” 

***

She takes you to an expensive sushi place for dinner, she remembers you mentioning that you hated living in Madrid because the sushi was never as fresh. You mentioned it in passing, but the fact that she was listening and remembers makes your heart full. You had an amazing meal, where you both got so caught up in talking that you missed the clean up crewing around you. You noticed when they started putting up chairs on tables that it was almost midnight. 

You both apologised to the staff and left. She drove you back home and walked you up to your door. 

“thank you for tonight, I had an amazing time” you tell her with a small smile. 

She steps into you and places her hands on your waist as she says “Me too, and for the record incase I didn’t mention it already, you look amazing.”

You blush but respond by leaning into her, putting your arms around her neck and pressing your lips to hers. She responds by deepening the kiss and pressing your back into the door behind you. You down know how long you both stood there making out against your door, but a door slam from down the hall breaks you apart. 

You look at her with the kiss swollen lips, you reach your hand up to run your thumb along her bottom lip. Her eyes have darkened as she bites your thumb playfully.

You laugh at her antics and ask “So when will you let me take you out now?” 

“No, I will be taking you out next” she argues back. 

You know this will go on, so you give in and say “Fine you win, as long as I get another goodnight kiss” 

She leans in and presses her lips to yours again, this time much gentler, and slower. She pulls back and says “Buenas noches hermosa.” She waits for you to unlock the door. 

As you go to close the door you look back at her and say “Goodnight babe” 

***

The next month passes in a blur of dates with Mapi, you cant believe you have found someone who treats you like a literal princess. She refuses to let you open any doors, she’s constantly bringing you coffee when you are stuck on long work calls, she will text you goodnight every night and good morning every morning. She is like a dream. 

The week before she asked if you were her offical girlfriend, of course you said you were. She then asked if you were comfortable being on instagram, and that you could say no if you weren’t. You told her that you didn’t use any social media, but she was fine to post you, just maybe not of your face. 

Her next instagram post was a picture of you and her hugging after the championship winning game, you had your head buried in her neck so you couldn’t see your face in the picture. She captioned it as ‘Mi amor’ she told you she wanted fans to know that she was taken so they would stop asking her if she was. 

The team knew of you two dating but they were all confused since they thought you already were dating but keeping it a secret. You just laughed and finally told the team your story and why you moved to Barcelona. They all were behind you if you wanted to go and fight your ex and ex friends, but you talked them out of it. 

It was the week of the champions league final, and you could feel the excitement and tension in the team, Alexia had invited everyone over to have a team dinner and celebration before they buckled down and got serious about no drinking before the final. 

You had been in the kitchen helping prep food for the meal when your phone rang, you didn’t recognise the number, but you had clients sometimes call for freelance work so you answered it. “This is a collect call from an inmate at the Madrid correctional facility, Do you accept this call?”

You panicked and dropped your phone, Alexia was in the kitchen with you and she turned when she heard the drop and said “what is it?”

You shook your head and couldn’t answer her. You just gestured to the phone as you sunk to your butt on the floor, you wrapped your arms around your knees. 

She stepped forward and picked up the phone and heard the message “No I don’t accept, lose my number” she said and hung up the phone. She then crouched by you and says “Y/N, he’s still in prison your safe here” 

At this point the front door opens, and you can hear your girlfriend and Jenni talking as they enter the apartment. As soon as Mapi sees you on the floor she is on her knees beside you. She places her hand on the back of your neck, and the other on your hand. “What happened hermosa?” she asks you.

You shake your head, but still haven’t looked up from your feet. You do reach out and grab her hand and squeeze so she doesn’t leave you. 

“She just had a call from the prison asking if she’d take a call from an inmate” Alexia informs her. 

“That bastard” you hear from Jenni

“Y/N I need you to look at me with those beautiful eyes” Mapi tells you. 

You take a deep breath and look up at her. 

“there you are hermosa” she says, she reaches out and wipes the tears from under your eyes “You are so much better than him, don’t let him take your happiness from you. He is where he belongs” she tells you in a strong voice. 

You hear what she’s saying but it still his voice in the back of your head, you can feel the tears still sliding down your cheeks. 

“Y/N, remember you are safe here we all have you, he is not going to ever hurt you again” Alexia tries this time, and you can hear other players agreeing. 

You look up and see half the team gathered around the kitchen, all looking ready to murder him. You turn to Mapi again and see the protectiveness in her eyes and you know you are safe. “thank you” you say to everyone but you squeeze Mapi’s hand so she knows you also mean her. 

Mapi leans in and presses a kiss to your forehead and says “come on, let's get you cleaned up. In the meantime you idiotas can start the party!” 

She leads you to your bathroom, where she guides you with hands on your hips to sit on the counter. She steps in-between your legs and grabs a wipe from the counter to wipe your tears. 

As you sit there and she cleans you up, it reminds you of the first time she did this for you. It was almost 8 months ago and she’s still treating you the exact same way she did when you first met. You stare at her as she takes her time and gently cleans your tears. You reach up grab her hands and pull them down to hold in front of your chest as you look up into her eyes you say “I love you Mapi” 

She looks down at you and says “I love you too” and presses her lips to yours. 

You feel how full your heart is, but you cant stop smiling so your forced to pull back from the kiss. She also has the biggest smile on her face as you both sit there smiling at each other like fools. Until there’s a bang on the door and you hear Leila yell out “you fools have 10 seconds to come out before I come in there” 

You both know she’s serious so you step down grab your girlfriends hand and guide her back out to the party with her teammates. 

***

You get to experience the final in Turin, and you get to watch your girl become a champions league winner. You and Alba definitely lost your voices with how much cheering you did. When the game is over you breath a sigh of relief, you almost lost it when they went down 3-0, but they fought back and won it 4-3 in injury time. 

After all the medals and celebrations on field the players make their way over to the family section, like last time Alexia is there first and gives you all big hugs. But your eyes are locked on you love. When she makes her way to you, you don’t think twice about it and you pull her into you and press your lips to hers. 

When you pull back a few moments later you say “I am so proud of you baby” 

“thank you mi amor, thank you for being here” she says and pulls you back into her arms. 

You turn to her ear and say “I love you so much” 

“Te amo mi amor” she says back. 

You both bask in the moment not realising that your kiss and embrace will be posted online for the world to see, there would be more pictures brought out of you and now people know exactly who she is dating. 

***

It's a week later, you are out with Mapi at a cafe in your neighbourhood. You had gone out the night before and ended up back at your place where you both celebrated into the night. After a night of little sleep, you decided to go for a walk to get coffee and breakfast. 

You were sitting out on the patio outside the restaurant waiting for you meals, talking about the upcoming off season. It's then that you feel like someone’s watching you. 

You look around but don’t see anyone looking or suspicious, so you chalk it up to them probably looking at your footy star girlfriend not you. 

***

A few days later you are at the supermarket picking up some groceries when you feel the same feeling again, of someone watching you. 

You look around and don’t see anyone, but you know there’s something wrong. You pull out your phone and you call Mapi, but you knew she was at a physic session so her phone went straight to voicemail. You then call Alexia, who picks up and you can tell she’s running. 

“Ale! where are you?” you ask quickly. 

“out for a run, what’s wrong?” she responds

You think about how to say this “I'm at the store, and I can feel someone watching me. It's not the first time.” 

She pauses “okay, well who is it? can you see anyone?”

“No, but it doesn’t feel right Ale” you tell her. 

“Okay, checkout and head home. I’m 5 minutes from the store so I'll catch up to you on the walk. Just go the normal way” she tells you. 

You agree and proceed with her plan. You keep looking over your shoulder. As you get closer to home you start to feel more comfortable. 

You look down as your phone rang, you saw it was Mapi. You picked it up with a “hi my love” 

“Hola Hermosa, is everything alright? you don’t normally call when you know I’m at physio” she asks right away. 

“Yeah, I think I freaked out over nothing, I thought someone was following me” you tell her. 

“Y/N, funny running into you here” you hear said behind you, you turn and are face to face with your ex. 

You hear Mapi in your ear asking what’s wrong, and who that voice was. But you freeze. How is he here right now is running through your head. 

“Don’t do anything stupid” he says as he flashes you a knife and take a step closer. “Hang up the phone now” you do as he asks. He grabs your phone and tosses it aside.

You look around and don’t see anyone near you for help, you channel your inner calm as you know you have to stay calm for when Alexia can get here. “what do you want?”

He laughs “You know what I want. You are mine. You think you can try to put me in jail then move on with some girl and think you won’t be punished?” 

As he's speaking he’s taking steps closer to you, you are baking up until you hit a wall and he’s able to push you right against it. He places his forearm across your neck to gold you in place. 

“You’ve had your fun” he hisses, “its time for you to come home and clean up the mess you made. No one believes you, thats why they let me out of prison. They know you are a liar. As soon as you fix this we can go back to our happy life” he says.

You reach to grab his arm to stop the knife from being pushed towards you when he says “stop fighting me. If you get lucky and get away your little girlfriend will be next. She won’t know what’s coming for her if you try to run.”

You stop fighting and try to imagine your lovers face and know you need to do anything you can to protect her. “Okay I’ll stop, just don’t hurt her please” you plead with him. 

“Come with me now, back to Madrid quietly and I won’t hurt her” he tells you with a smile. 

You look at him and know you need to agree “Fine, I’ll come, but promise me you won’t hurt her” 

“SHE DOESN'T MATTER! FORGET ABOUT HER NOW! You are mine, she was just keeping your bed warm for me” He starts to lose it on you. 

“Okay, Okay, I’m done with her, take me back to Madrid” you say. 

It as this moment he relaxes slightly knowing you are coming willingly, You have a half second moment of hesitation but you realise now is your chance. You swing hard with your knee and get him in the family jewels, you then crush you palm into his nose as he reacts to the first hit. You shake off his grasp and dart back out onto the main road. 

As you turn the corner you see Alexia, and 2 police officers looking for you. She approaches you and you turn to the cops and say “He’s down there please get him” and you collapse in Alexia’s arms. 

“Are you alright Y/N?” is the first thing she asks you. 

You shake you head and ask “how did you know?”

At this moment the police officers walk back out with him in handcuffs as he sees you he yells “You bitch! How DARE you! I will find you and kill you and that bitch” 

The officers who have him in handcuffs guide him to the back of their cruiser and on his way in they may not protect his head on the car when he’s guided down. 

You look over at Alexia and know this may finally be over. Another cruiser has arrived at this point and they start to take your statement. The officers tell you that you’ll need to come to the station to get everything settled. You and Alexia both head to the police station. 

**

Mapi was going out of her mind, once the phone call with you dropped she had a feeling something was wrong. She called you, called Alexia and couldn’t get through to either of you. 

She called Jenni, who had no idea but offered to meet Mapi at yours and Alexia’s place to find out. 

Mapi and Jenni sat on your front steps for an hour waiting to hear from either of you. When Alexia finally called asking if you could pick them up at the police station, they both jumped in the car and were there in no time.

**

You had given your statements and answered all the questions the police had for you. You couldn’t believe you were here again. The only upside was Alexia was by your side the whole time. 

You had found out that once you and hung up with Alexia about someone one following you, Alba had called her. She called cause she saw a news story about a prisoner escaping from the Madrid prison, and it was your ex. As soon as she heard that, she knew that you weren’t being paranoid and that she needed to act quickly. She saw the police cruiser parked on the road so she approached and told them the story. They all reacted quickly and found you when you had come out of the alley. 

You couldn’t believe that he escaped, and then tried to tell you that he was let out. You now know that he has been charged with even more crimes and would spend the rest of his life behind bars at a maximum security prison. 

You were definitely relieved, but also worried about what people would think about you. You knew you had baggage before but this was even more to add to it. 

When you were done with the police, Alexia told you she organised a ride to get home. You followed her out of the police station and saw you love and Jenni leaning against the car waiting to pick you both up. When Mapi saw you she immediately stepped towards you but stopped about a foot away and asked “Mi amor, Can I hug you?” 

You melted at her asking for consent after all you had been through, you threw your self into her arms and whispered in her ear “I love you so much Mapi” 

“I love you too hermosa” she said back to you without hesitation. 

You could feel it right then and there, everything was going to be okay as long as you had this amazing woman on your team. 

[jpriest85-blog]

Recently completed @foxofsunholt character sheet for my Fey-fox Zahia.

It has compelled me to come up with more information and headcanons about Zahia:

In a classic adventure rpg she would definitely be a bard since she's charming, flirtatious, musically inclined, can cast spells, and would just as easily steal your heart as well as your wallet. 

When on the road she'll often busk or look for musical gigs in Fey friendly establishments when she needs to make legitimate money. I headcanon she plays her mother's Oud as it's one of the few things she was able to keep from her mother.

While Zahia has limited literacy when it comes to the written word, she's very skilled at reading and writing sheet music. So she's more familiar with musical notes than the alphabet. 

Zahia can be just as vain as Yoon when it comes to her hair, despite having to often rough it in the wood she makes sure she always has supplies for hair care amongst her necessities (possibility some sort of magical hair dryer with diffuser, and containers of homemade conditioner, cleansers, and styling products)

Probably has warrants in several cities because of the work she did for her uncle mostly involving petty theft, B&E, and larceny. 

Her Fennec fox form often gave her an advantage when she used to steal for her uncle. Her adorable appearance ment people often  lowered their guard so she could pick their pockets or steal any jewelry they wear. Her smaller frame made it easier for her to sneak into places, and make quick escapes. She also has very sensitive hearing due to her larger ears which was very useful when picking locks and safe cracking. 

There was an incident when Zahia was briefly "kidnapped" due to a mistaken identity. An elderly woman saw Zahia in her Fey-fox form and mistook her for her missing Chihuahua, Gigi. Unfortunately, the elderly woman was almost entirely deaf, so she didn't understand Zahia when she was squirming and trying to explain to the woman she wasn't her dog. Yoon was sent to find Zahia when Yalik became worried about her being missing for so long. When he finally found her he was delighted much to Zahia's horror, that the old woman who "abducted" her tucked fox Zahia into a bassinet and dressed her in a frilly little doggy pjs with matching bonnet and booties. Despite the humiliating dress up, Zahia's time with the old woman wasn't unpleasant. She was very sweet and dotting, if a bit eccentric though it seems the old woman was entirely alone. So at first she refused to leave with Yoon when he came to rescue her. Zahia felt too guilty to just abandon the old woman, so she convinced Yoon to help her find the real Gigi before she could return. He did eventually find the dog, although Gigi was a jerk to him. She refused to have anything to do with a shady mutt like Yoon. He doesn't even have a pedigree! No, she's going to wait right here for her Mamá to come find her. Until Yoon tricked Gigi by making her think her Mamá just replaced her with an even worse mutt than himself. Eventually, both Gigi and Zahia safely returned home, although whenever Yoon brings up the incident, Zahia reminds him she wasn't the one who was verbally dragged by a purse dog.

[absolutepokemontrash]

MC is Half Demon and They Look Awfully Familiar

(Underground Tomb edition!)

Hello friends and degenerate sinners, this is basically a mini headcanon set for Luci’s kid!MC about how the incident with Luke and the Grimoire would go down in this AU to tide you all over until Part 3 comes out! Enjoy!

It was a normal night in the good ol’ HOL... Lucifer was doing paperwork at an ungodly hour of the night, Beel was in the kitchen, and Mammon was screaming and running for dear life. Ah... sweet normalcy.

The custard incident remained the same, MC got force-fed custard and Beel threw a truly fantastic hunger tantrum that culminated in the wall connecting to MC’s room collapsing.

Cue lecture from Luci-father.

“I am very disappointed in you three.” Lucifer rubbed his temples as MC, Beel, and Mammon awkwardly stood in his room. Mammon of course, was trying to avoid the death glares MC was giving him. Poor bastard.

“Especially you two, MC and Beel.”

“Whuh?!” Mammon sputtered. “What about me?!”

“I expect this from you. These two on the other hand,” Lucifer raised an eyebrow at MC who was awkwardly trying to suppress a laugh at Mammon’s aghast expression. “Should know not to act like this.”

“We’re *snrk* sorry, father,” MC paused to try and muscle through a giggle. “It won’t happen again.”

“He ate my custard...” Beel pouted.

“So, MC won’t be able to use their room anymore due to the wall... collapsing.” Lucifer gave Beel a pointed glare.

Mammon smirked, and if he were sitting on a couch, we would have leaned back and kicked his feet up. “Well, obviously since I’m a kind and generous soul I’ll open up my room for poor MC to stay in. My babysittin’ rates are quite high though-”

“BABYSITTING?!” MC snarled, giving Mammon a death glare that could probably kill lesser demons.

Lucifer felt a twinge of pride upon seeing his child give someone his signature bone-chilling glare, if he weren’t supposed to be disappointed he would have given MC a pat on the head and let them hang Mammon from the ceiling.

“Uh- heh- MC, I’m your favourite uncle! Me babysittin’ ya should be an honour!” Mammon was sweating bullets and desperately looking to Beel for help.

“Levi is rapidly approaching favourite uncle status.” MC crossed their arms and huffed.

“Levi?! Wait- does that mean I was your favourite-”

Lucifer was almost tempted to stick MC in Mammon’s room just to have MC punish Mammon so he could get some sleep, tragically, his common sense won out. “MC will be staying with Beel. He has an extra bed in his room after all.”

MC looked over at Beel and smiled. “Could be worse, right? I’ll replace the custard.”

Beel’s smile upon hearing the last part could have lit up the entire Devildom. What a sweetie.

MC still chilled in Beel’s room. They finally got to ask more questions about Belphie, and Beel is more inclined to share what’s up because MC is his big bro’s kid after all!

Because of MC’s half demon-ness, they hadn’t met Belphie at that point in the story unlike in canon. They were just curious about their missing uncle. They ALSO already knew what Belphie looks like because Lucifer gave them an in depth tour of everything and he pointed out all the portraits.

MC, being the sadistic sweetheart they are, went out and bought themselves and Beel replacement custard. MC made sure to eat it right in front of Mammon.

But my oh my, who was texting them? *gasp!* Luke!

MC obviously let their little angel buddy into the house (Luke did not know about MC’s parental situation at that point, keep that in mind). Luke was fun to tease a little after all! And it was nice to have another kid around, but MC would never admit it.

Since MC had literally no reason to be afraid of their dear old dad, they went right up to him and asked him if Luke could stay over. No fear.

“Father?” MC leaned on the doorway to the backyard, Lucifer was playing fetch with Cerberus. MC had never seen someone play fetch so robotically.

“Yes, MC?” Cerberus’ middle head dropped a slobber covered squeaky toy into Lucifer’s gloved hand, the other two heads snapped at the middle one.

“Can I have a friend over?” MC asked, trotting over to give Cerberus some pets. On the first day the dog had tried to eat them, but after giving him some much tastier bacon treats, Cerberus was sweet as pie. Murderous and dangerous pie, that is.

“Do I know this friend?”

“Yes, it’s Luke. Can he stay over?”

Lucifer wrinkled his nose and rolled his eyes. “Cerberus is right here, you have access to a dog. Why on earth would you bring the chihuahua over?”

MC snorted and gave Cerberus’ right head some scratches behind the ears. “He’s not a chihuahua all the time, come on, it’s for the good of the exchange program!”

The two had a stare down for a little while, and to his absolute horror, Lucifer felt his resolve cracking. This child of his was too adorable for their own good. “Fine, MC.”

“Yes!” MC fist pumped as Cerberus’ middle and left heads tried to join in on the ear scritches.

“But note,” Lucifer continued. “I expect a full report to give to Lord Diavolo on this whole experience.”

MC frowned and debated sticking their tongue out at their father, they decided against it. “A paper? On a sleepover? Really?”

“Yes. Really.” Lucifer gave MC a flick on the nose. “Like you said, it has to do with the exchange program. Now go make sure the chihuahua doesn’t die and leave you with a mess to clean up.”

The look of complete terror Luke gave MC when they told him that Lucifer said he could stay over was completely worth the paper they were going to have to write.

“What?! You weren’t supposed to tell him I’m here!”

“He said you could stay.”

“Why?! Oh no... did he demand your soul as payment or something?! MC! You shouldn’t have put yourself in that nasty demon’s debt! Don’t worry, I’ll get your soul back somehow.”

MC should have been offended... but they weren’t. I mean, could you stay mad at Luke when he just offered to fight arguably the second most powerful demon in the Devildom to get your soul back?

Now that Luke’s presence in the house was known to everyone, the challenge was no longer keeping Luke hidden, it was making sure Luke didn’t say anything that would get him killed and making sure none of the demon bros made Luke cry.

Mammon was the main culprit of the teasing because Lucifer actually had better things to do. And he had a (totally not a) date with Diavolo so he’d be back late and wouldn’t be home to tease the chihuahua.

Mammon’s status as favourite uncle was hanging by a thread by the end of the first day.

Asmo thought Luke was positively adorable and also very annoying. He offered to paint MC and Luke’s nails. Luke declined, but MC was all for it. (Their cuticles were a MESS by the way, they needed the manicure.)

Luke’s nails were painted gold to match the gold on his outfit! Asmo was quite proud of his work, and was very offended when he was not allowed to try and braid Luke’s hair.

“It looks so soft!”

“You’re not allowed to touch my hair, demon!”

Satan still disliked MC on the basis that they were just a mini-Lucifer and hung out in his room or the library to avoid them and Luke.

It was incredibly annoying when Luke and MC burst into the library to look for cookbooks and treat recipes after Luke told MC about his baking endeavours. Satan debated ordering a pair of ear plugs on Akuzon...

Or perhaps a laser gun...

Both would make him stop hearing the children’s grating voices.

“You two, be quiet.”

“We haven’t spoken since we got in here...”

“You’re breathing too loud.”

Beel remained the only brother who was actually decent to Luke, they all played Go Fish in Beel’s room.

Levi was in his room playing his new video game just like in canon, but he could hear Luke and MC running around outside his room.

He was fully prepared to do that introvert thing where you stay in your room until you hear someone say goodbye to the guest.

Levi’s eyes were glued to his computer screen, just eight more skeleton monsters to kill and he’d get the achievement! His attention crumbled the moment he heard the dreaded sound of...

Guests...

“Hey MC! Whose room is this?”

The sound of a door opening and closing down the hall caused Levi to jump in his seat. Oh no... his worst fears were realized! There was another person in the house!

“That’s Asmodeus’ room. Luke you shouldn’t go around opening everyone’s doors-”

The sound of another door opening and shutting made Levi pause his game and look at Henry 2.0 for help. Maybe if he jumped into the tank and wrapped himself in his tail he’d camouflage into his surroundings...

BAM!

AAAAA! Not enough time! The guest was drawing nearer... he was going to have to... *barf*... SOCIALIZE!

“How about this room?”

Levi braced himself for the incoming social contact... Fs in the chat everyone...

“We shouldn’t bother Levi, let’s do something else.”

HAJEKDJSJSJSJD- BEEL! BEEL JUST SAVED LEVI’S LIFE!

The poor third born slumped back in his seat, the awfulness of socialization avoided. He uh... hadn’t actually left his room in maybe three days... maybe he should actually go outside... enjoy the nonexistent sunlight, y’know?

...nah. Levi went back to his game.

Since the kitchen was broken, Beel, MC, and Luke went out and get AkuDonald’s. They were all out of the toy that Luke and MC wanted so that trip was a disaster! A disaster I say!

Just the image of Beel happily chomping on his eighth burger while Luke and MC angrily pick at their fries makes me want to laugh.

Now the question you’re all waiting for, did Lucifer try and kill Luke and Beel and then MC for trying to take the Grimoire?

N O

“Whose room is behind that door?” Luke pointed to the door to the attic staircase.

MC shrugged and hit their knuckles against the door a few times. “It’s just the door to the attic. My uh- Lucifer said not to go up there because it’s just full of old junk.”

Normally MC would scoff at the idea of being told what not to do and do it out of spite, but MC was a child, and like most children, they hated scary attics. They hadn’t even attempted to open the door in the month they had lived in the house.

“Hm, maybe he’s hiding something...” Luke puffed out his cheeks and knocked on the door. When met with no answer, Luke turned the doorknob. The door creaked open, and the two peeked inside.

A tall spiral staircase greeted them as they tentatively stepped inside. Not so-good Lord, the room was freezing, but it didn’t seem to bother Luke as he walked further into the room.

“What do you think’s up there?” Luke asked, craning his neck to try and get a look at what could be at the top of the stairs.

MC shuddered and crossed their arms. “Like Lucifer said, junk. Nothing important.”

There was a tingling feeling at the base of MC’s neck, their hand flew to the spot only to find nothing, but the uneasiness didn’t cease. Something was very... very off. A shudder creeped up their spine as Luke stepped closer to the staircase.

“Come on,” Luke tutted, placing a hand on the railing. “Demons are known liars!”

Luke was quite difficult to be friends with sometimes, MC had to admit.

With every step Luke took up the stairs, the sense of dread brewing in MC’s gut grew, but they remained rooted to the spot, it was almost like something was physically stopping them from getting closer to those stairs.

Luke stopped on the sixth step and craned his neck to look up again. “Hello?” He called out.

His little voice echoed up the staircase, he was met with no reply for a moment, until a massive shudder wracked both his and MC’s spines.

“Hello.” A voice replied.

Quick as lightning MC dove forward, taking three steps up the stairs despite what felt like electric shocks stabbing into their skin, and yanked Luke back down the stairs and out the door, closing it behind them. MC heard a lazy, carefree chuckle reverberate through their head, and a message that only MC could hear.

“Leaving so soon, Lucifer?”

...

Spooky right?

Anyway- back to Luke and MC being idiots together.

They headed back to Beel’s room to watch some Devildom kid shows, I assume Tom and Jerry just played on repeat.

Luke explained the reason he ran away from Purgatory Hall, and MC legitimately debated whether or not they should throw Luke out of the nearest window for all the jabs he was taking at demons.

“Simeon was going to go out for tea with Diavolo! He even said that I could ask Barbatos to instruct me on the finer points of baking!”

“What’s so bad about that?”

“They’re demons, MC! Simeon and I are angels from the Celestial Realm! We shouldn’t be consorting with demons.”

Once again, bless Beel and his lack of murderous rage when it came to anything other than food.

“MC, Lucifer would be upset if you broke a window.”

“What’s he talking about?”

“Nothing Luke, nothing you need to worry about.”

Don’t worry, no angels were harmed during the visit.

On day two of the extended sleepover, Luke and MC decided to go running around the house again.

“And this is the basement.” MC put their hands on their hips and kissed their teeth as they looked around the Underground tomb. “Perfectly creepy.”

Luke shuddered. “Is this house nothing but one creepy room after another..?”

MC smiled and stuck out their tongue. Their fear of the attic did not extend to the underground tomb. Not that they were actually afraid of the attic or anything...

“Why? You scared some big monster is gonna getcha?” MC teased.

“No!” Luke gasped. “I’m not scared!”

MC began to walk backwards into the darker depths of the tomb, their teasing tone echoing off of the walls. “Then come on! Don’t be chicken!”

Luke looked back and forth from the door out of there, to the rapidly disappearing figure of MC, he rushed after MC.

“I’m not scared of some dark basement.” Luke huffed.

“Why not~?” MC snickered. “There could be ghosts down here... tortured souls of those who were damned to Hell for all eternity~!”

MC swiped Luke’s hat and placed it on their head, Luke jumped at the sudden contact and began to try and get the hat back from MC.

“Stop trying to scare me!” Luke yapped, MC laughed and began to jog deeper into the tomb.

“Maybe there’s a monster that eats chihuahuas down here too! Who knows!” MC twirled the hat with their fingers and ran a little faster when Luke ran after them.

“I AM NOT A CHIHUAHUA!”

Sure, maybe it wasn’t the best course of action to tease and scare one’s friend instead of telling them what they said earlier was mean, but MC wasn’t the best at decision making.

When MC reached a dead end, they stopped and looked around, Luke crashed right into them. He managed to swipe his hat back from a now disinterested MC.

MC’s gaze landed on a book being held up by a statue, they padded over and looked up at it.

“Luke, do you know what that is?” MC asked, turning to look at their now very miffed friend.

“The... book? I don’t know.”

Truthfully, MC didn’t know either. During their first tour of the house, Mammon had interrupted the Underground tomb segment and Lucifer had to cut the tour short.

“It’s uh...” MC pursed their lips and tried to think of a convincing lie. “A spell book. Lucifer told me that it makes your magic really really strong, so he stuck it down here to hide it from Solomon.”

“Did I now?”

MC and Luke screamed and whirled around, there stood Lucifer himself, not looking terribly pleased with the two of them.

“MC, care to explain why you and the angel are so close to the Grimoire?” Lucifer’s words were icily calm, and MC knew that meant if they didn’t come up with a good explanation they’d be in big trouble.

“W-we were just playing down here...” MC trailed off, looking to Luke for some kind of backup before realizing what a stupid idea that was.

“Y-yeah! We were just-”

Lucifer stuck his thumb over his shoulder and glowered at the two. “Out.”

“Yes sir.” Luke and MC mumbled as they stepped away from the Grimoire, Lucifer relaxed slightly as the two walked past him and down the hall.

When the two got back up to Beel’s room, Luke suddenly gasped and turned to MC.

“You said it was a spell book!”

After that, MC got the feeling that Luke was no longer welcome in the house. What was the big deal about almost touching the Grimoire anyway? It could only override pacts and control demons-

Oh.

Balls.

Simeon got called to pick up Luke and before the two of them left MC assured Luke that he could come over and hang out anytime as long as he texted first.

Beel said Luke could come over and bake when the kitchen was fixed, poor Beel would have to do without Luke’s baked goods for a little while longer.

MC rested their chin on the coffee table they were kneeling in front of, stewing in annoyance. Their unfinished homework was practically mocking them, but the Demonology textbook was not what had them in their funk.

“MC, do your homework.” Lucifer said from the living room couch, he was comparing his phone to notes in a binder that was placed on his lap.

A grunt from MC caused him to raise an eyebrow. Their grasp on demonic language had improved, but Lucifer did not approve of them using their new skill to sass him.

“MC.” Lucifer chided, MC turned to look at him with a deadpan expression. “If there’s something wrong, either tell me, or do your work without complaining.”

MC turned back to their homework and tapped their pencil against the textbook, before puffing out their cheek and turning back to Lucifer.

“What’s in the attic?”

For the briefest of moments, Lucifer froze, he forcibly relaxed and went back to his work.

“Junk.” Lucifer replied. “Did you try and go up there?”

MC shook their head. “No, I went into the staircase room, but not up the stairs.”

Lucifer’s eyes flashed, he then took a deep breath and looked at MC. “Good, there’s nothing of interest up there anyway. If you did go up there you might break something or hurt yourself.”

“Okay.” MC sighed, trying to push the voice from the attic out of their mind. “What about the Grimoire? Why is it down in the tomb?”

Lucifer could feel his patience growing thinner and thinner with every question. “So it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.”

“Why not just destroy it?” MC asked, their question wasn’t meant to be taken as an insult or be malicious, it was just legitimate curiosity. “Wouldn’t that be safer?”

The first born hesitated before he answered. He looked over MC, before shaking his head. “...I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

MC’s eyes narrowed, but they went back to their work all the same. It would be about ten minutes of quiet before MC spoke up again.

“When Belphegor gets back from the human world, you’re going to have a lot of explaining to do, huh?”

Lucifer’s eyes snapped up to look at MC, who still had their back turned to him as they scribbled notes from the textbook. His grip on his DDD tightened as he replied.

“Why do you say that, MC?”

MC didn’t seem to register their father’s clipped tone, and shrugged. “Beel said that he isn’t answering his texts or calls, and when he sent up a letter Belphegor didn’t respond to that either.”

“The life of an exchange student is a busy one, as you can see.” Lucifer forcibly injected his last bit of remaining calmness into his words as he gestured at MC’s homework. MC laughed at that.

“Yeah well, I still make time to call my friends and ren back up in the human world.” MC giggled. “And I’m sure those text notifications about his older brother discovering that he has a child would make him pick up the phone.”

“Belphegor might have a much larger workload.” Lucifer retorted, trying to keep himself from snapping at MC.

“But still, you’d think he’d call his-”

“MC-” Lucifer snarled, MC whirled around, the fear and shock in their eyes caused anything Lucifer was going to say to die in his throat.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds, before Lucifer took another deep breath and turned back to his work.

“Not right now, MC,” Lucifer whispered. “I’m working.”

...

To be continued...

[dillpickledipp2]

Nurse Trouble

(Part 2)

Jeva's voice was smooth and deep, not that John was paying much attention to that fact. He was not.

"I can only imagine what you've been told." There were reasons he was called Trouble. In his own defense, they typically weren't his fault, and when they were, it was because he forgot to take his medication. Still, a reputation exists.

Marlin smiled, as if to say 'sorry, but I just had to'. John flashed a smile back. "Nothing bad John, or at least nothing I think is bad. Just some of your more interesting incidents. Like the incident in lab 404." John flushed red.

The incident with the cats. "Well, to be fair I wasn't the only one involved. If people can use genetic splicing to make cats that glow, making cats that I'm not allergic to seems pretty reasonable." He stuttered in defense. Sure, maybe trying to make their fur a more pink colour at the same time might have gone too far, but hey, he's a scientist at heart. Going too far is how every scientific breakthrough happens.

Marlin was trying not to laugh, again. Bastard. "As I said, Trouble, not bad. You simply have an interesting was of doing things." She continued grinning with that damn wide smile, clearly reliving the whole incident.

Doctor Jeva piped up beside John. "I wasn't sure what a cat was when I was first told the story, but having since learned; the story has only gotten more interesting." The Commander grunted.

Shifting, Müsk turned their body to almost completely face John. The feeling of being trapped and squished only increased in intensity. "I have also heard these... stories. I found the story of the charcoal bandits particularly amusing." The Commander spoke slowly in a gravelly voice. Their eyes were laser focused.

John turned an even fiercer red, looking truly of a tomato. He began to stutter once more, "Well that was... less justifiable I suppose."

Marlin was far too smug, with a gleeful grin, as she piped up again. "I'd like to hear that particular story from you, actually. I've only heard it 3rd hand."

They all looked over expectantly. "Ah," John said, "well, I was in my friend's dorm room when someone decided to prank my friends roomate by acting like cops except with water guns. It got a bit out of hand, and when I got involved there was a bit of a 'turf war' of sorts in the dorm houses." John scratched around his ear, nervous under the strong gazes on him.

"I grabbed my friends and we all ran to hide from the people with water guns. I grabbed some charcoal from a friend's art bag, and we used them for war paint. Next thing I know, we're stealing guns while people aren't looking. Not sure what else you may have heard."

"John, I think you're forgetting the part where you all started stealing floor mats, of all things, and writing on doors that the charcoal bandits came around." Marlin chided, voice clouded with mirth. John avoided her gaze.

"That was Han's idea."

Jeva chuckled slightly beside him, not helping at all. Shaking his head slightly, "You have quite the personality, I can see why you are called Trouble."

"If it's no problem, can I ask why I'm here. I can't imagine I was pulled just to relate stories, as fun as that would be."

Marlin cleared her throat, replacing her amused smirk with a professional smile. "Ah, no. John, I called you here to offer you the opportunity of a lifetime. How would you like to serve on The Yonsing?"

[street-smarts00]

Eavesdropping

Midoriya x f!reader

Summary: Y/n had just realized that she has a crush on her best friend, Izuku Midoriya. She confides in Mina while they were walking to class. However, someone just so happens to overhear their conversation.

Word count: 1.9k

Fluff with ⚠️language

This is my first time writing, enjoy!

“I still can’t believe it took you that long to realize it,” Mina joked.

Mina had once again brought up this embarrassing topic. God forbid you mention anything about crushes, it’s all she wants to talk about. But then again you are a bit of a gossip too, you just didn’t like when the topic of conversation was yourself.

“I've been single for the past 16 years, you really expect me to know how my feelings work,” you mumbled while the two of you walked to heroics.

It was exhausting talking about your new found feelings for one of your best friends, Izuku Midoriya. The two of you have known each other for over a year now and had just started second year; and only a few days ago did you realize that you had fallen head over heels for the guy.

“So when are you gonna tell him?” Mina smirked. “What? Mina I can’t tell him that I like him it will ruin our friendship” you replied as your cheeks turned pink.

“Why do you think it’s gonna ruin your friendship?”

You sighed, “Because it’s gonna make everything awkward. I won’t know how to act around him once he knows and it’s not like he likes me back.”

Your friendship with Midoriya was more important than some silly crush. He was always there for you, giving you tips on how to improve your quirk or fighting style, helping you study, and whenever you were in a shitty mood he always knew what to do to lift your spirits.

“Oh please that’s a load of bull shit”

“MINA!” You exclaimed.

“What? You really think he doesn’t like you? You guys are super cuddly and touchy and you two always have to be touching whether your holding hands or your arms are linked.” Mina explained.

You shook your head, “No Mina that doesn’t mean he likes me, he’s just a touchy person,”

She smirked, “oh really, well I’m friends with him and he isn’t cuddly with me. Or even some of his other best friends, like Iida or Ochako, has he ever cuddled with them during movie night?”

You opened your mouth to respond but no words came out. She was right. You thought that he was just a touchy person. You had never noticed that the only person he was physically affectionate with,was you. The constant hand holding, and arms linked or draped across the others shoulders, the cuddling on the couch during movie night. It was only you, no one else.

“And, it’s not just the physical affection, he also goes out of his way to help you, like all the time. More so then the rest of the class. And remember when you sprained your ankle during training a few weeks ago, he freaked out and offered to carry you to recovery girls office, and when you did get there he refused to leave until you were all patched up”

You were speechless. You thought all of that stuff was just his normal helpful personality. He’s always trying to help others. Did he really give you more attention?

“Holy shit,” you whispered. Your heart was beating a mile a minute. It felt like you were frozen in place even though we’re you still walking to heroics.

“Awww now you have to tell him! Come on it will be so cute. You’ll confess your feelings, you’ll start dating and then you’ll be in love, and then soon I’m gonna have to start calling you y/n Midoriya.” Mina giggled.

“Mina!” You hissed, and she replied giggling.

In the middle of your rage, you didn’t notice Shinsou pass by the both of you.

“Hey Shinsou!” Mina said cheered. You looked up and mumbled “hey.” He glanced over looking exhausted as always and replied “Hey guys.”

He walked passed the two of you and always out of your line of sight. However, right afterwards you heard him say “Hey Midoriya”

Wait what?

Did he just say? Nope he didn’t, he did not just say Midoriya. He did not just say the name of the boy you and Mina had an ENTIRE conversation about.

It felt like the world was spinning. Your hands became sweaty and you almost dropped the case with your hero outfit.

You glanced towards Mina and she had the same expression as you, eyes wide, jaw dropped and face pale. The two of you turned our heads and unfortunately there he was. Your best friend, green messy hair, worn out old red shoes, and an almost identical facial expression as you. Except instead of all the color draining from his face, it turned bright red.

He awkwardly smiled and waved his trembling hand. You reverted your head and stared at the floor; you couldn’t look anyone in the eyes.

How long was he behind you? How much did he hear? You didn’t want to ask, you were too mortified to find out.

In your grief you didn’t realize that you had reached the girls locker room. You and Mina quickly ran inside and you sighed the tiniest bit of relief now that Midoriya was gone.

——————————————————————

Heroics class was starting and you had barely spoken to anyone since the incident. Your mind hadn’t stopped racing. You played over what happened on the way here over and over again, trying to figure out how much he might have heard.

The only way you were safe from dying of embarrassment was if he only heard that last bit of the conversation where Mina had replaced your last name for his. If anything you could just play that off as Mina joking around or something.

You couldn’t gain the courage to go over and ask him cause there was a pretty high chance he heard EVERYTHING. He however, did have the courage to go over to you. You noticed him walking towards you and your insides felt like they are about to explode.

“Hey y/n” he said as he played with one of the gloves of his costume. You were surprised he wasn’t the same shade as a tomato right now. You on the other hand, we’re the shade of a tomato.

“H-hi Midoriya” you studdered.

He continued to fidget with his glove, “So about what happened earlier”

NO! No no no no! You were not ready for this. You did not want to talk about this right now.

“About what you said to Ashido, I . . “

“How much did you hear?” You had to know, it was eating you alive.

“Um well, a lot of it”

SHIT! Red alert! He knows, I repeat, he knows you like him.

“Oh yea right” you awkwardly giggled. “That was um, just uh. . . “

“All right class, let’s get started” All might interrupted.

“Today we will be working on close combat. You will all be in groups of two and we will take turns one at a time, so your classmates can observe and critique your work.”

——————————————————————

Thankfully Heroics went by smoothly after your little, but very awkward, conversation with Izuku.

You didn’t speak to him the next day at school either. You didn’t know what to say and you were terrified of what he would say about what he heard. Others had noticed too, it was odd that you two weren’t holding hands or had your arms linked let alone not looked at each other.

Once you headed back to the dorms you spent the entire afternoon in your room just like the day before. Midoriya even tried to talk to you. He knocked on the door and asked if he could come in but you said you were in the middle of an assignment. Which was a lie and he knew it because you had finished all your work during free period. You were just too scared to even look at him let alone talk to him.

You didn’t leave your room until Sero came and practically dragged you downstairs for movie night.

You heard a knock on your door and prayed it wasn’t Izuku. “Hey y/n, it’s Sero”

You sighed and got up from your bed to open the door, “Hey.” He saw your tired eyes, “are you ok?”

You realized he saw right through you and replied “yea I’m good just kinda freaked out about something,” His face fell and filled with worry, “do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really, its kinda personal and embarrassing, you replied.

Sero knew not to push you. You tended to have a hard time opening up and if he kept asking you would end up never telling him, or anyone at all. “Oh ok, but if you ever wanna talk I’m all ears,” he sympathized. “Wait, I almost forgot the whole reason I came up here. We’re gonna start the movie soon.”

Crap. You completely forgot it was Friday, and Friday was movie night. Where everyone sits in the common room and watches a movie. The movie night where you cuddled with your best friend on the couch every week. The best friend that you have a crush on. The same best friend that now knows that you like him, and might like you back but you're still not sure because there is no proof.

“Ummm ya know I don’t think I can make it to movie night I have a lot of work to do” you lied.

“But didn’t you finish all your work during your free period? Remember you put your feet on the desk when you were done and Iida scolded you for descracing school property.” He replied.

Damn, he was there for that?

“Oh Yea, so I guess I am free,” you said with a fake cheery attitude as you fumbled with your bracelets. You grabbed your phone, turned off the lights and followed Sero down to the common room.

Once you two reached the living room you noticed that everyone was seated ready to play the film. There were two empty spaces to sit. One of them was right between Midoryia and Jiro. You couldn’t sit next to him and cuddle for the next two hours without your brain exploding. You tried to go to the other vacant seat but sadly, Sero beat you to it.

You had no other choice. You slowly made your way to the couch and plopped down in the empty spot as the movie started. You crisscrossed your legs and played with your bracelets again. Midoryia took note of this, he knew you always played with your jewelry when you were scared or anxious. He leaned to your ear and whispered “Hey, are you ok?”

You didn’t look him in the eye. “Yea I’m good”

You hated lying to him but you couldn’t gain the courage to talk to him.

He leaned over to whisper in your ear again. “By the way, Mina was right. I do like you back.”

This was now the second time today that you felt your heart stop. You turned your head to face him. You were inches apart. “Promise?” You asked.

“I Promise.”

You both smiled as your cheeks turned pink. You leaned into him and wrapped your arms around his waist as he put his arm around you and pulled your closer.

He kissed the top of your head, “I missed this.” It may sound cheesy, but your insides felt like they were filled with butterflies.

“I missed this too”

Over on the other side of the couch a smug looking Mina whispered to Jiro, “I knew it.”

[smolcinnamonchipmunk]

The Animal Incident

(I’ve gotten back into O.bey Me! and I still fucking love the first Paws and Claws event for what I feel are VERY obvious reasons, haha. So here’s something self-indulgent while I keep working on WtR and stuff.)

Count: 4322

It has certainly been… interesting being around the brothers the last couple days while they were stuck “anthropomorphized”. I use the term loosely since they hadn’t turned entirely into animals, but rather had the ears and tails of certain animals. And a pair of dull horns in Levi’s case.

Oh, and they more or less adopted some of the characteristics of the animals they sort of turned into, which led to the first day being very nerve-wracking for all involved. For the others, because all of them but Levi gained attributes of mostly carnivorous animals. For me, because for the first few hours I was more in danger of being eaten by one of the carnivorous brothers than I had been in most of my time in the Devildom. It was something I’d been threatened with because I was a human surrounded by demons, but something that hadn’t been acted upon at all.

Thankfully, after a while of trying to avoid each brother in turn -a difficult feat normally, let alone when their senses were heightened- they were each able to rein in their animalistic instincts. At least when it came to potentially eating me, Mammon and Satan still tended to chase the ball around if I threw it suddenly.

It’d still be a few days until Luke could get ahold of the antidote, and with how rushed he’d been in the first place both Simeon and Solomon were also aware of the situation and had checked in around the time Lucifer was berating everyone for losing themselves to their instincts. He had allowed me to hang out with the angels and Solomon in the kitchen to bring them up to speed on what had happened after Luke ran off for the antidote. 

Luke thought I should have moved into Purgatory Hall until the demon brothers were ‘cured’, but I didn’t want to be too much of a hassle and refused, and eventually the residents of Purgatory Hall went home after ensuring that I knew I could count on them if something happened. Nothing did happen though, other than each brother being even more affectionate than normal and vying for my attention. 

Mostly, Asmo was always looking for affection anyways.

For now, I was taking the rare moment to myself, finding that I was almost constantly drained due to the fact that I was an introvert with seven roommates and couldn't really get much time to myself to unwind and relax. And, today seemed like about the same when there was knocking at my door, followed by Mammon demanding to be let in.

"OI! Kat, open the door," the demon shouted, making me sigh. I wondered if I should just stay quiet to make him think I wasn't here, but last time I did that he had lockpicked into my room to see if I had any valuables laying around. He froze when he saw me, but I got Solomon to charm my stuff after that.

"Give me a second," I grumbled, pausing my music on my phone and taking out my headphones, the book I was reading carefully closed and left on the bed as I got up and opened the door.

Mammon looked at me as the door opened, a chuff accompanying his greeting, "There you are! I've been knocking for almost an entire minute!"

"And I've been trying to relax in my room," I replied, eyes wandering to the tiger ears that had replaced his normal ones.

"Hmph, I guess you won't be interested in what I just found then," he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes since he knew my curiosity tended to get the better of me. Like, a lot.

".. Well, I didn't say anything like that," I stood aside to let the demon enter my room, instinctively glancing him over as he walked in to see if I could get a glimpse of what he had found. I wouldn't put it past him to lie about something interesting just to get my attention though. 

I closed the door behind him, walking over to the bed and hopping back up on it as I curiously asked, "What did you find?"

"You know how Luke's cake turned all of us into animals?" Mammon stopped beside my bed, hands on his hips while his tail idly flicked around.

"Gee, did it," I asked sarcastically, propping my head on a hand as I continued in more amused sarcasm. "I never would have thought. I knew something was different, but I thought it was a haircut thing."

"Yeah, okay, tone down the sass," he playfully pushed my shoulder and I stuck my tongue out for a second in response. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial of something that glowed an amber color. "Anyways, I was thinking about pranking the Angels and Solomon back!"

"Wha- why," I asked, curiosity turning into surprise and I instinctively felt defensive on the trio's behalf. "It's not like Luke did it on purpose. And the other two had nothing to do with it."

"Well, no. But Lucifer's been upping his annoying lectures these last few days because of this whole thing!"

"I think it's more because you keep knocking stuff over-."

"Hey, these tails are difficult to get used to," Mammon put a hand to his chest, his tail flicking in irritation. "And I'm not the only one who's accidentally knocked stuff over, Beel is the worst with his lion tail!"

"Either way, you're not pranking the angels and Solomon," I said, holding my hand out for the vial.

Mammon's ears flattened a little and his eyes narrowed, holding the vial protectively to himself. He let out a growl that I still wasn't used to, feeling my heart skip a beat as he said, "No, you're not stopping me from using this."

"Mammon," I stood up, my tone becoming more stern. "Don't make me command you to give it, you know I hate doing that."

"I'm not making you do anything!" 

He started trying to back up towards the door, presumably to try and bolt with the vial. My eyes widened and I reached across the pact I had with him while quickly hopping off the bed and stepping forward.

"Mammon, stop," I demanded, seeing him freeze in place when I did so.

I strode to my bedroom door and placed myself between it and Mammon, who was cursing under his breath about having been forcibly stopped. I started trying to grab the vial from him, but he kept trying to hold it out of reach. Granted, that wasn't very difficult with our height difference, but it was still annoying.

"Mammon, you ass, give me the fucking vial," I hissed, though I didn't command him to do so with the pact, just trying to nick it off of him.

"Not a chance," Mammon replied, the growl of irritation in his throat. "Do you know how difficult it was to get this stuff? If I give it to you, Lucifer will have my- HEY!"

I was able to make a particularly good hop to reach the vial that he held in the air. I wasn't able to grab the vial exactly, but I was able to hit his hand hard enough that the vial slipped from his grasp. Making a noise of triumph, I quickly went to grab it, but so did Mammon. My hands closed around the vial, but I found myself knocked over in the demon's haste to try and beat me to it.

The fall itself didn't hurt, but I had tightened my grip on the vial instinctively, the thin glass breaking under the unintentional pressure.

I yelped from the tumble, opening my hands cautiously at the sharp pain and feeling of a wet stain on my hands and shirt, seeing the shards of the vial in my palms and the amber liquid spilled all over me mixed with a bit of blood. I groaned and laid my head back down, dragging out an exasperated, "Fuuuuuuuck…"

"Fuck, Kat, are you okay," Mammon asked, the demon kneeling beside me. "I didn't mean to push you over, I was just going for the vial! Oh, I'm definitely screwed now, Lucifer's gonna kill me!"

"I'm fine," I replied, sitting up and looking at the pieces of glass. Maybe I'd ask Satan for some sort of healing spell if I didn't get all the shards out. I tried to shake my hands off, a few of the pieces slipping out of my palm and I started carefully pulling out the rest. Mammon had gone to my bathroom quickly while I did so to get my first aid kit and held out a hand so he could try to bandage one of mine. I mumbled a thanks and held out my right hand for him to put gauze on, curiously lifting my left hand to my face to try and sniff it.

It smelled citrus-y.

"What was even in that," I asked. Considering he had been planning to prank Purgatory Hall, I was very surprised that I hadn't grown an extra arm or something.

"Well, uh…" Mammon seemed hesitant to answer, keeping his eyes trained on bandaging my hands. Once done, he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "It's basically the same stuff that turned us into part-animal. There's supposed to be a bit of a delay, cause I didn't want them figurin' out it was me if it affected them before I could get away."

"Well, I mean, that should be fine then," I shrugged, looking over my bandaged hands. I had to admit, he did a really good job, my fingers not feeling too hindered by the coverings on my palms. 

But then something clicked. Whipping my head up to look at Mammon, I said, "Wait… you were also trying to prank Solomon…

"Mammon, does this work on humans," I asked, knowing the answer by the wince of shame at the question. I looked back at where the amber liquid had spilled, seeing that it didn't even leave a trace on my skin or shirt, presumably having absorbed the magical substance. Part of me was worried, but another part thought that the brothers had been getting along fine despite the animalistic stuff, so I should be fine...

"I-It does work on humans, but unlike the antidote Luke is getting, I don't know where we'd even start to get an antidote for this," Mammon said. He looked like he was trying to not freak out.

"Maybe Satan knows something," I suggested, standing up and automatically offering a hand to help him up. Obviously, he didn't take it since they had just been bandaged. "He's been poring over some of his books in case he could find a way for y'all to have an antidote sooner. And, he hates Lucifer, so he's probably not gonna snitch on you."

"We both tried lookin' for antidote stuff, we got nothing. But, we can ask him, I guess," Mammon frowned, getting up. He glanced at his watch, adding, "I-I’m not sure when it's supposed to kick in."

"Well, maybe we can reach Satan before- hnngh,” I held a hand to my head a wave of light-headedness hit me, making me stumble a bit in place. I saw Mammon jolt beside me, readying to catch me if I fell, but I waved him off as I tried to straighten and ignore it. I-I’m fine, we have to hurr-.”

My head throbbed with what felt like the beginning of a migraine, the light-headedness becoming worse. My vision spotted and blurred as my head spun. I must have fainted or blacked out for a moment because I found myself staring up at Mammon when my vision cleared up enough, leaning way too close over me. When I groaned and moved to sit up though, his face didn’t get much closer. Confused, I looked around and noticed that everything was bigger, a lot bigger. As in, big enough that I was actually in Mammon’s hands kind of big.

“Mammon,” I yelped in surprise, whatever grogginess and dizziness being pushed to the side as my heart skipped a beat and I felt a bit of adrenaline. The demon in question quickly moved to set me down now that I was aware, something I was grateful for despite my legs feeling a bit wobbly.

“I-I’m sorry, I grabbed ya before you could hit the ground, but I didn’t hurt you, right,” he asked, looking even more freaked out than when I’d first spilled the potion, understandably so. “I didn’t expect ya to faint.”

“I’m fine, b-but I’m more concerned about why I’m fucking small,” I exclaimed, struggling to wrap my head around my newfound size. “I thought you said it was like the animal thing!”

“It is!... M-Maybe it’s because you’re some kind of rodent?”

“I’m a WHAT,” I quickly looked myself over, something I’d neglected to do in favor of staring around. I realized I now had a brown and black furry tail almost as long as my legs, and when I reached up I found that my normal ears were now replaced by mostly round ones that twitched at my own touch. I didn’t know what they looked like, but that didn’t matter. Holding a hand to my head in confusion, I tried to make sense of it, saying, “None of you guys changed size!”

“I don’t know! Maybe because none of us are something that small, or maybe because it’s meant for angels and humans, not demons,” Mammon suggested, though it was obvious that he wasn’t certain of it himself.

“W-Well, this is a lot more inconvenient than I thought this was going to be,” I sighed, able to feel my tail move on its own and realized that I could hear a lot better than before, able to hear Mammon’s tail across the floor as it moved. The smell of the foliage and flowers in my room even seemed stronger than usual.

“You’re telling me,” the demon suddenly looked away a bit, raising a hand to cover his mouth.

“Are you okay,” I automatically asked, startled that he seemed more affected by this than I was. I moved to try and get a better look at his face, but he tensed and held up a hand to signal for me to stop. I hesitantly obeyed.

“N-No. Seein’ you so small is making my instincts flare up again,” he shook his head and sat back a little on his heels. “It’s already been difficult, but now you’re bite-sized and every movement is catching my attention.”

“Oh.” I stiffened a little at his answer. I appreciated the honesty, but an instinctive shiver of fear ran down my spine.

“Your fear isn’t helping,” Mammon’s eyes closed momentarily before opening and glancing in my direction. His tone and gaze held a bit of hurt, concern, and a glint that I’d seen enough times from Beel that almost had me taking a step back. “I know ya can’t help it, but I wish you’d just stop…”

“We need to get to Satan or Lucifer,” I said, trying to ignore his comment the best that I could. “Maybe even Solomon would know something.”

I turned towards the bedroom door a bit to suggest that if he didn’t want to draw too much attention that he could go without me, thinking that maybe I could climb onto the bed while he was gone and try to message Solomon or Luke. But, I was interrupted before I could even start, finding myself suddenly swept off my feet. I was barely even able to yelp in surprise, realizing that I’d been snatched up by Mammon as I was raised above the ground.

“M-Mammon?” I asked nervously, looking up at him. His fingers twitched around me and he looked like he was struggling, looking appalled.

"I-I didn't mean to, you just turned around and I couldn't stop myself!" He exclaimed.

My ears wilted back at how loud he sounded while my mind raced, trying to figure out what to do. Tigers were ambush predators, so I guess turning away had been a trigger for his instincts. But if my fear was making it worse, if turning away made it worse, and if me basically existing made it worse, what could I do?! I was in a bit of shock, so I hadn't really struggled, but I didn't doubt that would also make it worse. 

"K-Kat, ya gotta command me to stop. Tell me to put you down or something!"

My eyes widened in surprise at his request, startled and panicked. It had to be really bad if he was *asking* me to give him an order, knowing very well that he and the other brothers hated it with a passion. Spurred on by my own fear and his own, I tried to reach across the pact, demanding, "M-Mammon, stop!"

But I didn't feel the pact react, like it was dormant somehow. And judging by how his own eyes widened a bit, hands raising ever so slightly to his face, he also realized that it wasn't working.

"K-Kat, order me to stop," he repeated, voice wavering in his own panic.

"I-I did! I don't feel the pact responding," I replied, clutching onto his fingers as I tried to reign in my panic, tried to think of something. 

"Sh-Shit," Mammon hissed, the shaking in his hands getting worse. I'm not sure what the tremors felt like to him, but they felt like mini earthquakes to me, but what shook me to my core was the implications. "I- l-look, I don't think I'll be able to stop myself, but… w-well, while looking for antidote stuff with Satan, I came across a protection charm.. I promise, I-I wasn't planning on eatin' ya, b-but it was just in case I couldn't keep myself from trying to eat ya."

I blinked, finding myself overwhelmed and stunned at his small tangent. But I couldn't exactly say that I was comforted by his words. In fact, it only served to make me panic more since he really made it sound like he was about to eat me.

"Wha- b-but, you're not going to eat me, right?!"

His hesitation to respond was all the answer I needed, instinctively squirming a little in his hands as I debated maybe trying to wriggle free despite the potential fall to the ground. I could see his ears perk up a little.

"Nngh, I-I'm sorry, Kat," the demon was able to say, before starting to murmur some Latin under his breath while his shaking hands brought me closer to his face. Much to my dismay.

"G-Gah, Mammon, STOP," I shouted, instinctive panic washing over me. I didn't know whether or not any rodent instincts were making it worse, but I was pretty sure that even if I didn't have the ears and tail, I'd still be panicking at the thought of being eaten. You know, the thing every animal on earth basically spent millions of years evolving to AVOID. Including humans. 

I squirmed and twisted in his shaky hold in an attempt to get away, unable to focus on his Latin words as I felt his breath on my side. Something akin to a hiccup caused me to let out an actual squeak of fear, a thing I would have been embarrassed about if it weren't for the circumstances.

After a moment, I realized that he was done murmuring Latin. A split second later I let out a strangled cry when something large and wet slid across my arm and up, flicking past the side of my head and new ears.

I didn't need to look to know or make the educated guess that it had been his tongue, but that didn't stop me from glancing towards the source and paling at seeing his mouth a lot closer than it had been before. Teeth glinted in the room lighting, sharper and larger than I thought. I was so appalled at the sight that I didn't realize he started lowering his face a bit again, tongue slightly sticking out.

"Mammon, s-stop," I yelped, flinching and curling in on myself as his tongue licked across my side again. His fingers actually loosened, which would have allowed me a chance to escape if his licking didn't pin me to his palm.

His hands seemed far more steady now and he was letting out a sound similar to his greeting chuffs as his tongue raked across my side a few more times despite my very vocal and physical protests, my clothes clinging to the apparently rough surface of his tongue each time the muscle pulled away a bit. One of the licks tugged a bit too much and I yelped when I was lifted a bit off of his palm. Before I could move to unstick myself from his tongue, I suddenly found myself in darkness as he closed his mouth on my upper half. A bit of light illuminated my nightmarish surroundings for a moment as his mouth opened just enough to slide the rest of me inside.

The world was only still for a second before the tongue beneath me lurched and I found out what it was like as a hard candy when it started to lap at me and roll me around his maw, a hum mixing with the weird chuffing sound. I found myself drenched in saliva almost immediately in the warm and humid space, my arms shaking from trying to struggle. At this point, my throat felt a bit hoarse from trying to get Mammon to stop, the pact that was usually so readily there still unresponsive.

Terrifyingly, it wasn’t long before I felt myself being nudged towards the back of his mouth, able to feel my hands drape over the edge of the tongue despite me trying to scramble back.

“M-Mammon, don’t you f-fucking DARE!” 

The threat was empty and went unheeded, the tongue pushing up briefly before a thick swallow compressed everything around me and I was dragged down into his throat. I heard his heartbeat and breathing surround me, becoming louder the further I was drawn down his gullet. It was horribly constrictive. I could barely even wriggle, let alone struggle, at this point. Seconds dragged on, feeling like forever before I found myself sliding into a more open space.

What I could only guess was his stomach.

I couldn’t see anything, but that was a grace. I didn’t want to see the walls as they moved around me, able to hear a gurgle from somewhere as everything around me churned. At this point, I was too tired to do much more than try and push the stomach walls away weakly in comparison to the struggles I had been able to put up before.

“K-Kat, are you okay?” Mammon’s voice sounded very weird, loudly resounding around me yet somehow muffled through the layers of flesh and ambient sounds.

“You fucking ate me, NO!”

I felt Mammon flinch around me, feeling a brief pang of guilt through my panic. After all, I knew he hadn’t wanted to do it, but that didn’t stop the fear that had arisen from the whole situation. And, as much as I knew he wouldn’t want to hurt me, I also didn’t know how effective the protective charm was. Or if it even worked.

“Look, I didn’t want to! Is the protective charm working? I didn’t hurt you, right,” the demon asked, voice uncharacteristically saturated with worry and his own panic. Sure, he was bad at masking his care, but this was the most genuine concern I’d heard from him.

“I-I-,” I struggled to reign in my instinctive panic, focusing on whether I had been actually hurt. Traumatized? Yes. But, it wasn't like I’d ended up bitten or was currently being burned by… demon stomach acid. It hadn’t been pleasant by any means, but I wasn’t dying. And after living in the Devildom for months, I’d debatably experienced far worse. “I… N-No, Mammon, you didn’t hurt me. It seems fine… For now, at least…”

Everything seemed to relax around me, even if the stomach still moved around me. A light pressure on one side made me jolt a bit in surprise, Mammon saying, “I’m.. I’m really glad you’re alright. I’d never forgive myself if I accidentally ended up hurtin’ ya.”

“I-I appreciate the sentiment, but could you let me out,” I asked, already wanting OUT of the demons insides. Everytime the walls brushed and churned against me, it made me flinch and the constant gurgles kept my instincts -whether human or rodent in nature- on edge.

“I, uh… I might need a potion to make me hurl you back up… b-but, on the bright side, I can try and ask Satan if he knows anything about angel-human variants of  the animal thing,” he replied. “He’ll have all the ingredients for basically every potion, and it shouldn’t be hard to find one to get you out.”

“Ah.” 

The response wasn’t exactly one I’d liked, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. I yelped when everything jolted, my stomach dropping as it seemed Mammon stood up. The pressure on the one side increased and moved, realizing that the demon probably had a hand over his stomach and he gave a brief rub against me. That rumbling chuff mixed with a hum from before started up again, and I could only guess that he was trying to purr but tigers were incapable.

"Y-Yeah, if we're going to try and not make your brothers freak out about you eating me, you should probably stop that." || >