#and even that photo is actually of his attack string!

[athela-3]

For some reason, I have a lotta vertical photos of the Kamisato siblings. (Please click for full pics, as they are not all previewed in their native aspect ratios.)

[Ayato: @yukihime03]

[chocsra]

✧ STORMBRINGER CHUUYA AS YOUR GUY BSF IS ....

✧ w/c: 588 ✧ content: drabbles & headcanons of cute things with stormbringer! chuuya

☆ a shocked yet distasteful groan pulling from his throat when you show him a picture of a celebrity you find cute, grumbling about how your taste in men sucks ass. you didn't think he was jealous, just shocked at the creature he was looking at. though sometimes, you barely graze the envy on his face when you actually interact with another boy; especially if he's your type, because chuuya knows. still, he brushes your friendly smile with stupidity—because the dude you're talking with 'isn't even all that.'

☆ like having an annoyed caretaker, always keeping an eye out for you, rebuking your recklessness. just appalled that you have this much carelessness for your life on a day to day basis. but even though he'd scold you gently for anything stupid or clumsy you pull, you'd always find a gloved hand reaching out to you, providing support. either when you've stumbled, or you're about to jump off a ledge from even the smallest of heights.

☆ falling face first into the ground whilst trying to fight off one of the port mafia's powerful enemies because your shoelaces were untied. humilated, you found yourself sitting on a bench as chuuya unashamedly scolds you for your rookie mistake. knelt down as he still ties your shoes. "do you double knot your laces?" he'll ask, if you already said yes, the boy would finish one shoe with a tight squeeze, before gently patting your ankle to lace the other one, "well you better start triple knottin' em!"

☆ late night calls about the silliest things. chuuya would have his camera on in his pajamas, either mindlessly fiddling with his guitar, doing some chores, or cooking simply out of boredom. he'd rant about his day, the jewel marketing circulation, this crazy fuck named 'dazai', how much he admires his superior—kouyou, and his friends which call themselves 'the flags'. in return, you can tell him all the school gossip you've picked up on, new music you caught onto, your rants in your notes app.

☆ exchanging knowing side glances at each other when someone's being annoying or a dumb fuck. it's the kind of look two sassy girls would stare at each other with a secret disdain for the person in front of them.

☆ chuuya keeping a hair tie on his wrist for you and him only. at first, it was extra incase he lost his own hair tie, but soon, if you ever needed one, he always keeps extra on his wrist so you wouldn't have messy hair flying everywhere.

☆ taking unwanted photos of chuuya while he chases after you to delete them. sometimes, it'd be mid sneeze or the boy yawning carelessly. he definitely cares once you've did a close up shot where he looks like the epitome of a ginger leprechaun. he'd (try to) snatch your phone and now gives you the stinkiest side eye when you even try to point your phone at him.

☆ unconsciously resting an arm behind your shoulders when you're both sitting side by side. for chuuya, it provides a comforting stretch for his arms, and it feels safer knowing that he can just manuver you if there was ever an unexpected attack. for you, the fact that he just does it so casually makes you a nervous wreck.

☆ believing wholeheartedly that he's human. afterall, you wouldn't feel this much adoration for a code of strings, no? you always internally chide him if he thinks otherwise, but as friends, you thought it's better to give him a comforting pat on the back.

✧ chocsra™

[anticomedygarden]

Percabeth hurt/comfort post Tartarus ptsd?

Basic I know but you can't go wrong torturing some comfort characters 😂

one of my favorite pjo tropes! so so true, thanks for the prompt. (you're my first ever prompter! bit of a landmark for me :) )

-

Staring deeply into his blue comforter like it held the secrets of the world, Annabeth didn't need to be a child of Athena to know that her boyfriend wasn't really there with her. It wasn't the first time one of them had found the other like this, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

He wasn't making noise or moving, actually not doing anything at all, which led her to believe that he wasn't having a panic attack or a flashback. Dissociation then.

After a lot of trial and error following the titan war, they'd figured out touch - especially involving water - helped ground him the best, so she didn't bother with trying to talk to him, not knowing how far gone he was yet. Instead she got some ice out of the water bottle on his nightstand, happening to glance at the few pictures she'd been able to bring for him to Camp Jupiter. Sally, Grover, Tyson, Thalia, the Stolls, Clarisse, and a few other campers smiled back at her.

If she'd known they were going to fall into Tartarus, she'd have packed a few more.

Turning away from the photos with a sigh, she sat down cross-legged on his bed and winced when the mattress bouncing got no reaction from him, so she gently picked up his arm in the hand not holding the ice and starting rubbing it up and down his tan forearm.

"Percy?" she murmured. "I'm gonna count backward from 100, okay?"

Predictably, he didn't answer, but she started her countdown anyway, studying his form for any changes. His jet black hair was falling into his down cast eyes, low enough that she couldn't see his seagreen irises. His pants were creased where his elbows rested on them, and she realized he was wearing the same thing as he was when his watch ended an hour ago. It hurt to know that he could've been like this for so long and she had no idea, but there wasn't anything she could do, not without leaving the ship vulnerable.

Then - movement. His hand twitched; she didn't dare stop, though, not wanting to risk backslide, just kept on counting and rubbing the ice up and down his arm.

A few minutes later, he pulled in a sharp breath and sagged a bit so that the only thing Annabeth could see was the top of his head. She'd lost count of how many times she'd made it to a hundred and back at this point.

"Percy? Are you with me?" He waited a bit and nodded minutely. "Can you try and breathe with me?"

She drew in an exaggerated breath slowly and let it out even slower. He didn't join her, so she tried again. This time, he managed a shaky, slow breath that almost aligned with hers.

After a few minutes passed and he seemed to be more present, she put the ice down on the nightstand, and he sagged even more, head landing on her shoulder like his strings had been cut.

She ran her fingers through his thick curls, illiciting a sigh from him. "Hey, baby."

His breath hitched, and she was afraid for a moment he'd start panicking, but she soon felt her shoulder grow wet.

"We're together," she whispered, hoping his words from so many (weeks? days?) ago would bring him some comfort.

They were still the most important words in the world to her.

At some point, his hands must have unclenched because she felt his nails softly scrape her thigh. "How long was I gone?"

"I don't know," she said honestly. "At least 15 minutes, an hour at most."

"Damn."

Sadly, he pushed himself off of her shoulder, leaving it cold and salty. "What's the last thing you remember?"

He looked off into the distance, thinking. "I remember sitting on the bed to get to ready to shower, and nothing else."

Her heart clenched as that meant he must have been gone closer to an bour. Do you have any idea what triggered you?"

"Uh...I think maybe when I looked across the hall and saw your empty bed..." He trailed off, and she nodded.

"I'll keep the door closed from now on," she promised. It wouldn't be any kind of major change since she never slept in that room anyway. The only reason it had been open was because of habit from Coach Hedge.

Now that Percy was present and they were both calmer, they started getting ready to shower, not wanting to be without the other. (Only shower. Neither of them were ready for more at the moment.) It wasn't long before they were climbing into bed together, both considerably more refreshed but exhausted from a long day on the Argo II.

It had to get better at some point. It just had to.

[wolfpackmuses]

So! I’ve finally come up with some headcanons and ideas for a Tokoyami fantasy AU verse. Some of these aren’t really based off any specific media, some of them are based off DnD concepts, and some is just pulled from some other fantasy stuff I know about.

With that, I’ll share some of those below!

Tokoyami in a fantasy verse does a lot of work as a merchant for many of the local markets, with him owning an apple farm on the outskirts of some city/village.

However, despite the outward portrayal of him just selling apples and other apple-related products, he does live somewhat of a double-life.

For his double-life, he does occasionally take up jobs to hunt down certain targets as a bounty hunter and uses his companion, Dark Shadow a large crow-like bird to travel and to help track down targets.

In this sense, he can use Dark Shadow as a tracking bird that can be used from the air while he travels on foot to wherever the target may be.

Dark Shadow can actually take the shape and size of a normal crow, if it is needed, and Tokoyami has the specific ability to call him back by a certain phrase to where he takes on a normal crow appearance.

For most of what Tokoyami does though, he does end up using a bow and arrow to find his targets and get them from range. While he is versed in some short range combat, thanks to his father’s insistence on at least learning how to use a sword, long range combat is his expertise.

Tokoyami, for the most part, takes on the characteristics of the Ranger class from DnD, mixing in elements of the “Beast Master” archetype, like having Dark Shadow to hunt with him, and the “Gloom Stalker” archetype, such as being able to attack quickly like in Stalker’s Fury or even through evading and dodging enemies in Shadowy Dodge.

That said, he is not overly powerful or anything and there are limitations to what he can do, like the short range combat or his inability to always avoid dangerous situations.

Tokoyami’s life prior to him taking on his apple-farm and bounty hunting wasn’t the most extravagant. He grew up in a household that was more middle-class, with both parents also being merchants and his family not having the most money.

However, both of Tokoyami’s parents did go missing when he became a teenager and it is assumed they ended up getting ambushed and taken during a travel back from a nearby market festival.

Tokoyami, despite this, kept up his parent’s legacy and has become mainly known as a successful merchant with lots of fun goodies in apple flavoring, but is more widely known as a proficient bounty hunter in “darker circles”.

Tokoyami also is not the most trusting of people, as many can imagine. So if you come across him, expect him to give you the cold shoulder for a while.

One final thing to mention: Tokoyami also knows how to play string guitar and, at one point, considered it to be his career path once he was able to get out into the world a bit, before his parent’s disappearance. Tokoyami does sometimes still play, but he’s seemingly done it less due to not… really having a need to, even if it’s something he’d love to continue doing.

General art of what he and Dark Shadow looks like can be found below. Original art was by Mia0309, but I can’t find an active source for said photo.

[linkandorf]

Hello!! As you may or may not know, I've recently been designing a lot of fun characters based on real life spider species, and other arachnids as well! It's been a minute since I've shared any of these designs, so I figured I'd show off some more of them today! I also had my wonderful biologist friend @aphid-kirby help me identify some of these real life spider species, since I usually just search "cool spider photos" on google images for inspiration without caring what I'm actually looking at. So let's check out some more characters based on these real life spider species!

Here's Jambo and J.J., based on the Chirotheca telaincola and Ambulorbis psychedelia, respectively. In real life, these two species, despite not being very closely related, are both commonly referred to as "Scuttlebugs", causing some confusion for which one is actually being referred to. For that reason, I thought it would be fun to make them siblings! Jambo is the rowdy but protective big brother, and J.J. is the cute but also strange little sister.

This is Giacomo, based on the Triplumoculus spissumembrum. The real life species is known for it's three equally sized eyeballs, as well as it's floating limbs. Nature is crazy! Giacomo seems laidback on the surface, but he actually thinks quite highly of himself. If you were to have the right "Ability", so to say, you might be able to "cut" him down to your level. Or something.

Craftwell here is based on the Araneacaudex luxtranquilium, a tarantula known for it's strange blocky-like appearance. Similar to the real species, Craftwell is quite polite during the day, as he's quite the social butterfly, despite his bookish appearance. During the night, however, he gets VERY sucked into his hobbies of reading and writing, and it would be a grave error to disrupt him at this time of day. He drops String and Spider Eyes.

Dash is based on the Celericaecilia rubrumacula, a very tiny red spider capable of running quite quickly, and is known for being much more aggressive their blue-colored relatives. Dash is just a little guy :) In his design, I made sure to reference the many defining features of his real life counterpart, such as

This is Goldie, based on the Cephalospica retropoda, a spider with very distinct coloration that is also known for it's horn-like protrusion and strange placement of it's back pair of legs. Scientists still don't know why this species Evolved like this, but according to the Pokede- I mean, uh, scientific reports, they can't even tell it's front from it's back, so whose to say. Oh, and, uh, Goldie is, uh... cool... and red :)

My good friend Mr. Glove is based on the Myriachirotheca manususpendium, a spider with very strange behavior, in which it weaves it's web into glove-like accessories, despite spiders not having fingers! How weird! But it makes for a good anthro design, so that worked out huh! Mr. Glove is sort of an eccentric salesman, who would be happy to weave you your own pair of gloves. For a Price.

Stabitha is based on the Confodiopoda homophagus, a terrifying spider known for hiding in the shadows due to it's almost entirely silhouetted coloration, waiting to strike at it's prey. This spider doesn't just bite it's prey however, but it'll actually stab it with it's sharp legs! Yowch! A spider that sits and waits... hunting it's prey... such a violent and aggressive method of attack... so of course I turned it into a Hot Woman.

This is Muffet, based on the Araneavenditor panifica. SHe's from under tale .

[sunriseverse]

For the drabbles!!

5. “I heard a noise.” Iron triangle

HI RAY thank you for the prompt!!! this is about 10x as long as an actual drabble BUT have some iron triangle fluff :)

-

Pangzi and Wu Xie are very sly—or, at least, Xiaoge thinks, bemused, they are attempting to be sly. For anyone else, anyone who doesn’t know them as well as he does, it would, perhaps, even work, but Xiaoge has been through almost every imaginable situation with them, and so, his ability to discern what they are attempting to do is probably significantly higher than the average person’s.

Take, for example, right now: Wu Xie, blinking sleepily up at him over a bowl of xifan, a hint of focus in his gaze as he asks, in what must be an attempt for a casual tone, “So, Xiaoge, what are you up to the next few days?”

From anyone else, this might be a normal question; after all, it’s hardly unnatural to wonder what someone you live with it planning on doing. What makes it suspicious, though, is that Wu Xie has always been content to leave him to his own devices, and the fact that Pangzi is clearly hanging onto every word, significantly more awake than Wu Xie is. Xiaoge takes a moment to think, both because he would like to eat a little bit more in case Wu Xie starts bombarding him with further questions, and because he doesn’t want Pangzi to be alerted of the fact that he knows they’re up to something. In the end he shrugs and says, “Nothing.”

“You should get out into the woods!” Pangzi says. “The weather’s so nice, I bet it’s nice and cool in the mornings. You haven’t gone out much recently, have you?”

Xiaoge glances at him, glad he doesn’t have the urge to stare at people (usually), because if he were anyone else, he’d stare at Pangzi for how suspicious that string of sentences was. As it is, he just noncommittally eats another spoonful of breakfast—or lunch, really, but Wu Xie never gets up until after ten, so breakfast with him is lunch for the rest of them—and wonders what, exactly, the two of them are up to.

“You could take photos,” Wu Xie suggests around a yawn. “I always hear birds, and there’s probably more in the woods. Not to mention the sunrise—those are beautiful. Hey, you could put that camera Hei Yanjing sent us to good use! It’s not doing anything but collecting dust on the shelf, anyway.”

This time, Xiaoge does allow himself to stare for a moment, fond amusement rising in his chest. They’re definitely up to something, but it’s not anything harmful, or he would have realised it by now, and so, he feels fairly content to just let it play out however it will, so he says, “Alright,” and pretends not to notice the elation that spreads across Wu Xie’s face, quickly hidden, or the crafty gleam in Pangzi’s eye.

They clearly want him out of the house for some reason, so Xiaoge takes his sword and heads into the forest after they finish eating. It’s hardly a hardship—the solitude of the woods is welcomed; as much as he loves Wu Xie and Pangzi, they tend to be loud men, taking up entire rooms with their presence. Some days, it’s hard to be around that sort of brilliance for long, even if today that isn’t the case. He takes the camera Hei Xiazi had sent as a gag gift, and hangs the strap around his neck, not particularly worried about how it might weigh him down—after all, the most dangerous things around here are the goats, and they don’t usually attack, nor can they climb trees, so he has an escape route if he ever needs one.

He goes into the woods the next day, as well as the one after that. The others think they’re being sneaky, but the back of Wu Xie’s had has a smear of frosting on it when he gets back one day, and the next, Pangzi comes back from a trip into the city with a packet of birthday candles hidden at the bottom of the bag of necessities they can’t get from the village market. Pangzi hurries him out of the kitchen (“I heard a noise, go check that that old crow isn’t back.”) in an attempt to make sure he doesn’t see them, but Xiaoge’s gaze is sharper than he gives him credit for. They are trying so hard to hide whatever it is from him, and while it isn’t working, Xiaoge can’t help but feel a warm, sunglow affection curling beneath his ribs at their attempts.

It all comes to head about four days after the initial morning where he had noticed it. He comes back from the woods with a half dozen photos of wildlife, and only has a moment to step over the threshold before Wu Xie is rushing up to him and exclaiming, “Xiaoge! Close your eyes!”, which is all the warning he gets before Wu Xie is raising his hands to block his view. Amused, Xiaoge allows him to do so, closing his own eyes as he slips the camera strap off. Wu Xie, realising that he’s not looking, takes the camera from him, with the order to stay where he is. Xiaoge does as told, breathing evenly as he waits—an action which draws in the scent of burning wax. So that’s where the candles went, he muses.

A few moments later, Wu Xie bustles back, and takes him by the hand to lead him down the hall and towards the kitchen. It’s sweet, that Wu Xie bothers—Xiaoge could probably navigate their home deaf and blind, just from muscle memory, but the fact that Wu Xie takes the time to carefully lead him along, warning him to avoid various obstacles, is sweet. When they reach the kitchen, Wu Xie makes him sit down in the large chair in front of the window, and Pangzi says, “Okay, you can open your eyes,” and when Xiaoge does, he’s met with the sight of a slightly-lopsided black-frosted cake with gold accents that may have once been attempts at flowers, but which resemble more piles of stones.

“Happy homecoming!” Wu Xie exclaims, grinning, and takes a seat next to Pangzi on the other chair.

“Go on, blow the candles out!” Pangzi encourages, smiling as well. There’s fifteen candles—one, Xiaoge realises, for each year since he’s returned from beyond the Bronze Gate. The flames flicker cheerily, wax running slowly down the sides.

It’s moments like these—Wu Xie’s leg pressing against his own, Pangzi’s hand finding his under the table, the affection clear in their expressions—that remind him of the enormous love that lays between them, sometimes barely noticeable from how accustomed he is to it, but awe-inspiring as soon as it catches his attention again. He can’t help but smile as he leans forward to blow out the candles, and Wu Xie and Pangzi cheer, before Pangzi gets up to bustle around for a knife to cut the cake, and the sunlight is spilling in through the window and illuminating everything in a soft glow, and—nothing in life is perfect, not really, but this comes close.

[jessicagailwrites]

Writeblr Garden's Pumpkin Pitch Event: Six Strings & Stardust

Read for free on Substack

World-renowned pop sensation, Naomi Bell, becomes entangled with Benjamin Ferreira, the charismatic front man of a rapidly rising rock band, sparking an electric connection during one charged weekend. Their blissful time together shatters under the weight of expectations, propelling them into an intense, highly publicized feud. A media frenzy ensues as Naomi and Ben exchange sharp words and veiled accusations, even as their fame soars. Despite the growing chasm between them, their hearts persistently pull them closer. Determined to reunite, they embark on journeys of self-discovery, confronting personal demons, navigating the treacherous landscape of fame, and rekindling their initial passion. As their paths converge once more, they find solace in shared experiences and an unbreakable bond, rising above the fabricated feud that tore them apart. This is a tale of forgiveness, redemption, and the indomitable spirit of two artists who defy the barriers erected around them.

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Trigger Warnings:

anxiety

alcohol abuse

panic attacks

parental manipulation

language

Tropes:

found family

lovers - enemies - friends - lovers

opposites attract

Excerpt under the cut:

“Naomi Bell to set 19. Naomi Bell to set 19.” The static overhead announcement sounded for the fifth time for the photo shoot that was supposed to start an hour ago. I can quote it word for word now, something I’ll probably be reciting in my sleep tonight. The style team for the world’s most renowned pop star shifts uncomfortably on the fringes of the set. A short woman with a sharp bob haircut checks her watch for the twentieth time and groans in frustration at the wasted minutes. This photoshoot was supposed to be wrapping up now; instead one self-centered diva is throwing off everyone else’s schedule.

The set is adorned with several guitars ranging from vintage electrics to the most modern, streamlined acoustics on the market. In a stroke of, what they are calling, genius, top guitar designer Banshee Guitars is launching a new campaign with two of its musical ambassadors to demonstrate not only the breadth of its own range of style but also the unifying power of music across different people. Apparently, Naomi Bell and I are the perfect combo from their roaster to illustrate these polar opposites.

I was here thirty minutes early and the urge to say “fuck it” and leave is eating away at me. The style team assigned to me has applied the most elaborate version of my stage makeup on my face and neck. It’s beginning to irritate my skin, adding to every other thing about this that irritates me. My head falls back as I lean over the arm of the decorative chair I’ve been trying to get comfortable in for an hour to attempt eye contact with my manager. He’s equally unimpressed.

“I’m leaving in five minutes.” It is the sixth time I have made the same threat.

Martin simply holds up a perfectly manicured finger to silence me. He doesn’t even look up from his phone. He rarely does.

“No, you aren’t,” he replies with his usual dry and apathetic tone, still never looking my way.

I bite back the comments that are begging to spill from my lips. I’ve been trying to play nice, but I still can’t stifle the growl of frustration. The amount of work I have to do that isn’t actually making music is astonishing to me and something I can’t get used to.

The announcement rings out again, calling Naomi to the set. This time, a frantic bustling of voices follows from one of the long hallways that lead to the various dressing rooms and other studios.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” a chorus of melodic apologies ring out, getting closer and closer until a burst of pink and glitter emerges from the hallway.

“I’m so sorry! I hope you all haven’t been waiting for me too long.” Her singsong voice carries around the space as she hurries towards the set, stepping carefully and gracefully over power cords and props in her sky-high platform shoes. It’s all pink, the glittery crop top she’s wearing, the vinyl skirt hugging her hips, and those enormous shoes.

In the same room, it’s easy to see why they chose the two of us. Naomi is so bright. Everything about her is migraine-inducing, from her platinum hair to her bleached teeth. And she is so short; I could tell from across the room. It’s the most surprising thing about her. She always seems so larger than life in performances I’ve seen online — that’s not even mentioning the powerhouse that is her voice.

“Only an hour and a half.” I scoff as I stand and stretch out my legs, feeling every second that I spent waiting in that chair. This is the only evening I have to myself for a while and I had hoped this shoot wouldn’t cut into it too much — that dream is shattered. Our tour really kicks off after tomorrow night’s show, and we’re going to be busier than ever.

A small pout pushes at Naomi’s lips. “I’m really sorry. I got held up in wardrobe.”

I’m spoon-fed the opportunity to evaluate the aforementioned wardrobe. How it took so long to dress someone in so little clothing is beyond me.

[contrasting-realities]

Old Glitchtale AU

During 2021 and 2022 I had an AU for glitchtale that was pretty much a side story of season 2. I actually still like this AU even though it's extremely old by my standards, but here we go.

Jamie

An aspiring investigator who loves solving mysteries but can also be very nosy, to the detriment of others at times. She dreams of solving a major cold case and tries to discover the secrets of her city. Eventually gains an ability similar to Ronan but with the power to create electricity between her bullets. She also has incredible intuition and can see things others would overlook.

Oliver Ward (Puppeteer persona only appears on photos/video)

A very shy and timid boy who hates direct confrontation. Carries a rabbit doll with him at all times for emotional support. Oliver is quiet and comes from a lower class background, which taught him responsibility and the value of saving at a young age.

Justine (God this is so old)

A mysterious girl who lives in the woods, she seems to have a goal of some kind and is driven by a strong sense of justice and vengeance for some kind of purpose...

These three are the protagonists, with Jamie being the main character. Jamie is a student at Toriel's school and she is struggling with her magic. Like, she can't summon any weapon to save her life. Due to this she is thrown into the 'magical special needs class' which she isn't happy about, especially since her best friend is dual traited (Integrity/Perseverance) and is gifted at magic. But that's not all, Jamie dreams of being a private investigator when she grows up and is eager to investigate and solve mysteries around the city. So, when she gets dumped into this special class and gets bored, she notices that one of the other students, that being Oliver, seems to be traitless, which confused her because why would a traitless kid sign up for a school for magic?

So Jamie tried to find out the key to this mystery, by stalking Oliver around school and asking others about him. This understandably freaks Oliver out and he tries avoiding Jamie but that doesn't work. After a bit, Jamie vents to her friend about the lack of progress on this 'mystery' since no one has ever seen Oliver's soul or his magic, her friend is annoyed and suggests that she should just ask Oliver what his deal is and Jamie thinks that's a great idea.

Cut to her cornering Oliver in a dark alleyway at lunch and pressuring him like some kind of police investigation, this causes him to have a mental breakdown and Jamie gets her answer. He wasn't traitless, Oliver is one of the few survivors of a trait inversion and his mental breakdown causes a magic outburst of FEAR strings and puppetry. Jamie runs and starts asking how a bravery soul could be brown before Chara arrives and helps protect the kids. Chara chastises Jamie for effectively stalking and bullying her classmate just so that she can get answers, and also explains what an inverted soul is and because of this outburst, Oliver might die from strain on his already damaged soul.

Jamie feels very guilty and tries to help Chara fight these strings despite not having magic before something strange happens. She is attacked by Oliver's magic but is suddenly able to generate electricity after the attack through some kind of trait mutation. She uses this to help Chara and get to Oliver, she apologizes but he can't hear her and she gets tied up by the strings and is forced to fight Chara. While in this state she sees several of Oliver's memories, which detail the severe bullying he went through since he was young by a kid who hated that his parents tried to pamper them despite their poverty, it eventually grew bad enough (physical and emotional abuse, the dots on his hands are burn scars) that he lost his trait and then suffered a soul inversion that caused him to go nuts and kill his bullies, before he nearly died in the hospital later on. Jamie manages to make it to his inner self who understandably wants nothing to do with her but she manages to get him to listen and she apologizes for causing him so much harm, as she didn't know anything about his past.

(Oliver never attempted to defend himself from his bullies because he had a serious imbalance in his soul between the physical and mental aspects, he had effectively no physical bravery which is the opposite of Agate.)

This ends the rampage and both Oliver and Jamie are in tears afterwards, school is closed and everyone goes home. Jamie and Oliver don't meet up until the next day where things are very awkward between them before the teacher addresses yesterday's incident and explains exactly what is up with Oliver before moving on with her lesson. Jamie is ostracized at school after this but Oliver stays by her because he doesn't want what happened to him to happen to her, as that one kid who tormented him spread lies to get everyone else to hate him. Jamie asks him why and Oliver explains this to her, but she is clearly suffering from immense guilt after yesterday.

Oliver winds up going to the doctor after school because of yesterdays incident and the topic shifts to the cost of said appointment since Jamie deduced that his family must not have that much money. Jamie is worried but Oliver brushes her off and says that it's fine, because his parents are taking over loans to cover his medical care. This doesn't calm her and she winds up running to her best friend for help, since her family is loaded, and tells her about Oliver's financial issues. Her friend is not happy to see Jamie after what she did and blows up at her for nearly killing someone, but she does wind up getting her parents to pay for or reimburse Oliver's parents since it's for him but she still isn't happy with Jamie.

Jamie winds up hanging out with Oliver after school since nobody else wants to be around her and she cautiously shows him some of the mysteries she's been investigating. They wind up having fun, as long as it wasn't invading anyone else's privacy or causing harm, and they continue to do so for a while. They bond for about a week before shit really goes down.

They decide to investigate the woods around Mnt. Ebbot due to rumors of the area being haunted by spirits, and while this is a bit uncomfortable, they reason that said ghosts probably weren't the monster kind since they had integrated into human society and that these ghosts were humans who had regrets on Earth... what they find is something else entirely.

They run into Justine for the first time who warns them about going any further, when Jamie asks if she's a ghost she refuses to answer and leaves after Jamie argues with her about everything being fine. Beyond her is... something else entirely, a place that claims to be a famous boarding school in the mountains but from what Jamie and Oliver can see is some kind of cult run by monsters that exploits and abuses human children. Both are shocked by this but decide to run before they get caught.

Justine goes after Jamie late at night, she breaks into her window and tells her to run, not from her, but from those who ran the summer camp because they surely noticed her by now. Jamie says that she's crazy before a magic bullet comes flying at them before Justine stops said bullet with her magic. Jamie runs while Justine fights the monsters attacking her, but several also go after Jamie when she leaves the front door but she knocks them out with her magic and her dad's taser. A few attempt to enter her house but are quickly killed by Justine.

Jamie realizes that Oliver would also be targeted like this and goes to warn him. She somehow makes it to his family's trailer and forces her way inside once his mom opens the door. She wakes up Oliver and screams that they are being targeted but he is confused and only asks her what she's talking about. Jamie explains before Justine is thrown through the wall alongside a strange pink blob monster, she runs back out and fires magic at two more monsters and a few humans. Oliver, Jamie and his mom and dad choose to flee after this.

For a while they stay near government buildings, particularly the AMD office before Justine shows up and claims that it's safe for them to go home because she 'sent a message to them'. They do so and the next day at school a certain pink girl arrives for the first time...

So this is where it overlaps with the Bete Noire incident, Oliver and Jamie run from the city and try to use the chaos as a cover to find more about and stop this cult pretending to be a boarding school. Justine is revealed to be a Bete Noire similar to Betty, but whom was created by a former student to destroy not only the school but the organization running it which turned out to be the monster Illuminati which controlled humanity since the ancient war.

Jamie, Oliver, and Justine manage to lure out this organization's leaders during the chaos of the Bete incident and manage to beat them eventually exposing them to the public. This causes a massive shift as Betty decides that the escaped monsters are none of her concern but that this organization was the real threat. She joins Jamie's group with heavy resistance and most of the glitchtale cast slowly turns around to fight these people. A few more truths come out like how this organization was experimenting on humans (Jamie's reaction to inverted magic is the same as some humans reacting to monster magic but it can happen several time with her) and that they basically have Betty's motives, that monsters will cause war if humans don't control/eradicate them, but in reverse.

[liminalpebble]

Eddie's Education: Chapter 21

Minors DNI

Masterlist link

Chapter 21

The rain came down in loud gray torrents outside of Leia's warm little apartment while the team huddled together in her living room, thinking out loud and trying to plan, sharing every scrap of information and experience from the last few hours.

The news had spread to the entire town by now that Dr. John Ferguson, dean of Hawkins Community College had died that morning from a heart attack. Although no one in that room (or in most of Hawkins for that matter) would particularly mourn the death of such an unpleasant man, the little team was fairly certain it was no ordinary death.

Dustin was pacing in the middle of the room, thankfully taking the lead since Eddie and Leia were both too exhausted to even think clearly.

“Okay,” Dustin said clapping his hands, cracking his knuckles, and talking through his deductions like a dorky Sherlock. “I pulled a few strings at the coroner's office and saw the postmortem notes and photos...”

“Hold the fucking phone! You What? How?” exclaimed Steve.

Dustin resumed, saying loudly, “It doesn't matter Steve! We needed to know for sure that it's Vecna.” Steve threw up his arms in a resigned huff. Dustin continued in a softer voice, setting his hand gently on Leia's shoulder. “It is Vecna, Leia, I'm sorry.”

She nodded her head, saying with a bland expression, “great...”

“But!” Dustin said, holding up his finger. “I have a theory. The good news is, this time it doesn't seem like he can break through someone's mind enough while they're awake to physically hurt them. I think they have to be asleep for him to have his full power...power to kill. I guess killing him once must have weakened him. Also...”

“Wait! He used to be able to physically harm people when they're awake?” Leia asked, puzzled.

“Yeah..but...but now he could probably only make you hallucinate, scare you at best, when you're awake. He wouldn't be able to kill you...and of course music can pull you out as well,” he explained as if that would make her feel much better.

Eddie screamed at Dustin.“For fuck sake, Henderson!” as he came over to put an arm around his girlfriend, who still looked exhausted and vacant. Leia crossed her arms and simply nodded numbly, thinking sure, this might as well happen. She was rapidly getting to a point where nothing surprised her.

Dustin and Robin grimaced and side-eyed each other. “Sorry,” she whined out. “But we didn't want to talk about that too much and scare you more if it wasn't necessary and, look, wasn't necessary. Yay!” Robin gave a weak, sarcastic little cheer. Leia sat down heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Eddie planted himself protectively next to Leia, and snipped, “is that all, Dustin? Huh? Any other great news for us?”

“Actually yes, butthead, there is better news. I think I know how to defeat him this time. I think that he was able to survive because after he technically died, his body remained and was reanimated by whatever power he sucks up from the upside-down. Whatever power the upside-down has, it's like a defibrillator times a thousand, and must regrow tissue better and faster than stem cells. It's the same reason Eddie survived. He was in the upside-down long enough that it restarted his heart and brain, then helped knit his body back together in a way that would have been impossible in our world.”

Eddie twitched and subconsciously stroked a finger over where his scars laid in ridges beneath the cotton of his shirt; as if even the mention of all of this made them throb and itch again.

Steve piped up. “So we need to kill this fucker again, and this time we have to make sure we drag him outside of the upside-down?” “Correct, dear Stevie. If we pull this bastard out of the weird biological stew that's keeping him on life support he won't stand a chance. I bet once we get him out of the upside-down he won't even be able to invade minds anymore. He needs his anchor-point to do so...has to be plugged into the outlet to charge up, and he can't move his body from that place in the upside-down as long as his mind is invading someone's here.”

“Are there still portals? And how will we know where his new nest is in the upside-down? We'll need to map it out,” Robin added.

“Well, we don't know...we're gonna have to....”

“What about weapons....

“Does anybody know how to get a hold of El again?”

“Why don't we...”

Everyone was on their feet again, debating and talking over each other...everyone except Leia who was still sitting in the same hunched position, eyes glazed over. No one noticed in the fury of their raucous discussion.

As she sat, in a twilight between waking and sleeping, she heard him; his voice like the creaking of an old door that shouldn't be opened.

Look at them.

She felt that gnarled hand under her chin again, as it lifted her head. Her apartment was again bathed in a surreal dark blue luminescence, everything looked hazy and sub-aquatic, but she could make out the shadowy figures and echoing sounds of her friends as they bickered and yelled. They were right there but seemed so far away, untouchable. The air moved languidly, fluidly, carrying sound more slowly, and weighing down upon her skin. Leia tried to stand but was cemented to her seat on the couch, she couldn't even rotate her head to see any more of Venca sitting next to her. Out of the corner of her eye she could barely see that he was slouched easily into the sofa next to her, an arm around her back as if they were a couple on a date. As if it were Eddie and herself, watching a movie.

Eddie! she tried to say. But the words only came out in her mind.

Hmmm...what about him, Leia? You think he could save you? Look at them, squabbling like children. You think any of them could save you?

I'm not sure...but...but maybe I could save them?

His hand was now smooth and cold and human; Henry's hand. He turned her head to face him, to meet his piercing blue eyes. Are you about to propose some kind of deal?

He cracked a lopsided grin, amused by the idea. I'm listening.

What if I came willingly? What if I let you kill me or take me, or whatever horrible thing you want with me, if it means you leave the rest of them alone? Especially Eddie.

He sighed and moved closer, looking more deeply into her eyes, reading the truth in her thoughts.

Oh! You really mean it don't you? It's adorable that you think you have any bargaining power here. You're smarter than that. Listen to me...he said, his voice becoming audible, lips moving as he spoke.

“I will win, no matter what. I will decide who lives and who dies, no matter what. And I will take you, no matter what. It'd be best if you make peace with that. I'll even get rid of the people who have hurt you and teach you to relish the death of your enemies, just as I do. I'm offering you such a lovely gift! Accept it.”

Looking into her mind, he could feel the fear and despair seeping in. He tutted as tears began to travel down her cheeks from the dark pools of her eyes, but he enjoyed seeing her break like this, so vulnerable. “Now now. Don't be sad,” he said breaking into a wide smile that didn't reach his frozen eyes. His long cold fingers wiped away her tears. “and don't be afraid. I have no desire to kill you. I'd rather not harm a single hair on your precious head,” Henry said, combing his bony white fingers through her black locks.

“Why?” she asked in a trembling whisper, her voice now free to leave her mouth.

“Because these days, I hunger for predators a good deal more than their prey. They...taste different. More meaty, more sustaining. And, thanks to your friends, I need heartier meals to regain strength these days.” He pointed over to where the shadows of her friends were still talking, “Of course, I have no trouble devouring some of the prey as well if they inconvenience me too much.”

Leia closed her eyes weeping, terrified of his power, feeling totally helpless to save her friends or herself, or her dear sweet Eddie. “No no...don't close your lovely eyes, darling,” Henry said with an artificially sweet smile, as he psychically forced her lids to open. “I want you to see. You'll be by my side, after all, when it all comes to pass.”

One cold hand wiped her tears away, while the other covered her forehead gently, like a nurse checking for a fever. Vecna was showing her his plan, his ideal of a utopia made in his image. As he did, he licked her tears off of his long fingers and hummed in satisfaction at the taste of her hurt, her sorrow, her gentle but stubborn empathy and kindness and grit which coated his tongue like sugar. It was somehow especially delectable. If the sour rage of the predators was his supper, she was an absolute confection of a dessert, and he would savor her eternally. She fascinated him far too much to kill her, this rare little bird. No. She would make a fine and clever pet for him...forever.

“Leia!” Eddie was screaming at her as she sat on the couch, eyes fogged over. Steve, vaulted over to her CD player and shakily hit the play button, cranking the sound up and blurting out a mantra of “Come on come on come on!” as they all clustered around the sofa.

Whenever I'm alone with you, you make me feel like I am home again...

Robert Smith crooned out as Leia's obscured pupils swirled from dead gray back to her usual warm black-brown. She heard the music and her mind latched onto the opening chords like a rope pulling her to shore. The hand on her face no long felt bony, cold, and otherworldly. It felt warm and familiar. The fluid air in the blue-scale hallucination began to shudder and swirl down, like a deep pool being drained, leaving the warm colors of reality. She felt her head surface into lighter air and took deep heaving breaths. Her physical body awoke with a start, eyes flashing all the way open, lungs heaving for breath, Eddie's terrified face was in front of hers, his warm hands cradling her face as she came back to the waking world.

“Eddie!” she gasped, throwing her arms around him, shaking like a frightened animal. She began to rush her words out. “He...he was in my head...he gets inside of me. I...I tried to make a deal...myself for you and he wouldn't take it, Eddie. He won't...he won't stop. He's going to take me and I can't protect you...or..anyone. If he can get to me he can get to all of you....oh god.”

Eddie held on tight. “Shhhhh. Shhhh. Hey...hey it's okay. We'll make a plan okay...we'll fight together.”

He pulled away to look into her eyes. “Look at me...together...okay? We're all gonna do it together.” The gathered group nodded frantically to her, just as Eddie did. Then he kissed her quickly, desperately.

Leia looked around, still shaking, but entirely back in the room now, breath becoming more regular. She swallowed, gaining composure, come on, roll with the punches. It's what you're good at. Use what you've learned. She reminded herself, then said in a measured tone, “I think whatever plan you come up with. I shouldn't know it. If he can get into my head whenever he wants like this, I can't know your next steps.”

Dustin clapped a hand over his forehead. “Holy shit. Obviously. Why didn't I think of that?”

She gave a wry smile, “To be fair, Dustin, you've very suddenly had a lot to think of.

Robin said, “Right. Well, whatever we plan, we have to plan without you, but can you at least tell us what he's telling you? It might help us. I'm sure he's giving you clues. He likes the game of it.”

Leia took a deep breath. “Give me a second. It's like trying to remember a dream...well...I guess that's exactly what it is. He...he doesn't want to kill me.” Her face twisted in disgust. “He wants to keep me as a pet. He said he is more interested in killing predators than prey because it gives him more strength, but he's not averse to killing prey if it gets in his way.”

“Jesus!” Steve huffed, looking up with his hands on his hips.

Dustin just nodded seriously and said, “Good, Leia, that's valuable information.”

“Oh...and...and he said he won't take me with him yet. He said he has another 'gift' for me and it's not ready yet. He said to tell you all to...” She grimaced, like she was holding back bile, “to let me sleep well for a few nights. He has other work to do and he wants his pet to be healthy when he comes back for her.”

Dustin shrugged, “Well, you do need to sleep. We can't keep you awake forever like this. And if he visits you again, he doesn't intend to hurt you. It might give us more information. Oddly, he might be doing us a few favors here.”

They all looked at him, staring him down in slight disbelief at his blunt bedside manner; all except Leia.

“What?” Leia said, eyeing them all up. “He has a point, guys.”

Eddie flailed his arms stood and saying, “Nooo. No way. No fucking way we're just gonna trust that he means that shit he said and....and...give you to him??” His voice was rising, cracking.

Leia, looked him in the eye standing up and grabbing him by both arms, “Eddie, listen to me. We have to be rational here. Anything we do now has a risk. If he visits me, he can't visit anyone else at the same time, right?”

She looked to Dustin for confirmation. “Right.” he said with a nod.

“Then he can't get to whoever the next 'gift' is to murder. He can't get to any of you. The longer I keep him distracted, the less dangerous he is. Dustin, what...what if all of us make sure music is playing while we sleep, will that block him out from being able to get any of you?”

“Yeah,” Dustin said, eyes flitting around following her train of thought, “Yeah...brilliant. That would work. The only times he's been able to get to you is when the music stopped, and we can't all stay awake all the time.”

Dustin took the lead, deciding which of their team would be room mates for the next few days. Sleeping in shifts and keeping the music playing for the other. Steve and Robin lived together, so they were an obvious choice, and babysitter Steve was quick to offer Dustin a place at their house.

“Eddie? Leia?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Yeah, we got it.”

“I...I fell asleep last time and the music stopped and he got to her, man. I don't trust myself,” Eddie said, shaking.

Dustin nodded and said quietly with a hand on his shoulder. “I'll stay with you two here then? I know it's not an ideal...uh...romantic scenario.”

Leia chuckled. “It's okay, Dustin. Our minds aren't exactly on that right now. I mean, the first priority is killing an otherworldly demon wizard, after all. Besides, I'll make you breakfast in the morning.” she said with a smile.

Robin, came closer, her sky blue eyes gazing down to meet Leia's. “How...sorry to ask...but how are you taking all of this so well?”

Leia shrugged, “Vecna's not the first asshole who's tried to ruin my life, intimidate me, and bully me into submission. I guess I know the type.” She paused and smiled to Eddie, “and thanks to people who believe in me, I'm learning how to fight back.”

@sunflowerdaydreamer @veemoon

[siphonophoresupernumerary]

You reblogged the discuss the blue curtains I beg of you post again, this ask is your excuse to go off on any blue curtains you're thinking of rn bc I'm curious

Why thank you! I was going to put this off because A) tis the season and I'm busy and B) I don't remember any blue curtains to discuss, but! I'm between things and I've remembered something I've wanted to discuss for a while, but since no one has seen it I just kinda was quiet about it.

So Swiss Army man is a movie that I saw a couple years ago, and maybe 5+ years after it came out. It might have been during quarantine? I was watching a lot of movies instead of sleeping back then. Anyway. Theres basically only two actors in it: Paul Dano(of batman/riddler fame) and Daniel Radcliffe(Harry Potter and then just a string of weird films)

Swiss Army man opens with a man(Paul Dano/Hank) on a tiny island trying to hang himself, he is alone, we never find out how he got there. His attempt on his own life get interrupted when someone washes up on the beach. A corpse(Daniel Radcliffe).

The corpse is the Swiss Army Man. His farts can propel his body like a jet ski in the water, infinite clean water spills from his mouth when his arm is pumped, his throat can be used as a mortar to launch objects of any kind, his erections always point north.

And he isn't quite dead. The body (Hank names him Manny), can only barely speak, cannot move his body consciously, and knows just about nothing at all. Hank tries to help him remember, but only a little bit ever comes from Manny, maybe even nothing, everything supplied by Hank's own mind

Hank and Manny find their way to the mainland, still far from civilization, but they have to work together, and they spend a lot of time talking. Since Manny doesn't actually know anything, Hank supplies some backstory to Manny, a girl he loved (her image is on Hank's phone), an enjoyment of Jurassic Park.

"Hank leads Manny to believe that Manny is in love with a woman named Sarah, who rides the bus alone every day. Manny falls in love with Sarah, and it is this love that motivates him to try to find civilization with Hank. In reality, Hank is very much in love with Sarah, having seen her riding the bus every day but never talking to her due to his own shyness. He has a photo of her that he took secretly while on the bus set as the wallpaper on his phone..." -wikipedia

They build a set, the bus, people on the bus, recreating the moment, Manny playing Hank, Hank playing the Sarah.

They kiss.

Shortly after there is a fight between them as Manny finds out that Hank never actually talked to her, and he wishes to be fully dead again. They make up after being attacked by a bear, Manny finally gaining bodily movement. Manny carries Hank's unconscious body to Sarah's house, Hank waking as they get close and enter her back yard. Her daughter finds them, and Manny tries to show her some of his powers, Hank stopping him, the police get called, Manny becomes an inanimate corpse again.

Theres more after this, but heres the thing. the movie is about self-restraint, shame, and social norms. Manny doesn't like that Hank hides parts of himself from him, is distressed when things that his body does freak out Hank. He is a corpse, an entity without a life, and Hank is alive, and has wasted his pining for someone and never acting on it.

Manny's powers and animacy only work when Hank believes in him, when Hank isn't hiding himself/things from Manny. Manny is finally able to move his limbs when Hank has told him everything. When Hank is embarrassed for him he stops functioning altogether.

I live a lot of my life inside of boxes, my head, my phone, my computer, and keep as much as I can from leaking out for others to see. Partly because of this movie I have tried to do that a bit less, be my true self more often, not just palatable versions of me

[mccoys-killer-queen]

Nick Perri & Walt Lafty in concert

I'd never been to this venue before, it's essentially a tiny movie theater! So I only went to this bc Nick filled in for Adam Slack of The Struts back in May and his band also opened for them. Turns out he and Walt were in a band called Silvertide in the very early 2000s, so they kinda reunite every now and then and tour together as two solo acts. They call this the "Going Solo Tour" and this is the second year in a row they did this. Everything about the tour promotion is Star Wars themed.

this is the first show i actually got to at a late time bc the venue is that tiny and this is such an low publicity act (underground if you will lol) that I was not worried at all about "getting there at a decent time"

this means doors were at 7 and i got there at 6:40

this lobby place is h i p. string lights draped from the ceiling, dim lighting, random artwork, vintage couches, splattered floors; the works.

Walt actually came out to use the bathroom before doors and despite never having seen a pic of him before I just knew it was him for some reason

AT FIRST GLANCE I THOUGHT HE LOOKED LIKE THE LEAD SINGER FROM LEVON (WHOM IS H A W T) AND I HAD A HEART ATTACK

I was the only person on the guest list LMAO

I swear I overheard someone say "she's with the band" very quietly and it made me like C: "do I pass that well as someone important"

an older man asked me if I was with the band bc he saw me doing test shots in the lobby and I said "sort of"

Nick poked his head out of the doors at one point and I was like :DD bc i only saw him one time and it made me so happy to see that this year is coming full circle

so this venue,,, half the seats are couches.

I was up front in this entirely cushioned chair and i must say, most comfy i've been at a show fr

i should mention this takes place on the anniversary of my first ever concert uwu

the music they were blasting before the show was F I R E (the who, heart, bowie, etc.)

when the show started they just flooded the tiny stage with smoke and deadass- a dramatic star wars/carol of the bells orchestra remix started playing

walt is fucking hilarious i was DYING he's just so funny he's a dork

him telling us a story before every song he played

him saying nick is a much better guitarist than him bc "you know i only strummy strummy right"

after one story he looked at his setlist and went "ok time for this next song.... if i can remember how to play it" and forgot for like a solid minute and said "adhd brain at its finest"

someone in the crowd said something about a lobster suit and walt was like hOW TF DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT STORY HOLD ON- I AM TELLING THIS-

so the story goes that like c. 2001 Walt went to a yard sale and found a VHS case and on the cover was a photo of Ronald Mcdonald in a "half black half white tuxedo and holding a .45" and he asked the yard sale guy what it was and he said "oh i made that movie it's about fast food companies going to war with each other. I still have the Red Lobster costume I made" and he dug out the costume from his basement and showed him and it was like LEGIT HIGH QUALITY and Walt said "$15 later it was mine" so he went offstage at Silvertide's next show and came back out wearing the lobster suit with the mic gaff taped to one of the claws since there was no hand function in them

apparently Nick didn't even know some of this story until last night

the two of them advertising for the venue's food multiple times simply bc they wanted to gush about how good it is

Nick doing his solo set and Walt standing in the back having a convo with him at times as if there wasn't a crowd between them

I cannot for the life of me remember what Walt said from the back of the room when Nick asked him a question from the stage, but Nick made this face when Walt answered him:

I felt so weird moving around even as little as I did bc THERE WAS NO ROOM IERFNOERWINFROIFNRF i went to the center twice (one for each solo set) FOR A FEW SECONDS EACH and even then I felt like I was in the way so badly LMAOO

when I did that for Walt he made sure to look right at the camera and sarcastically smile the doofus

Nick Perri is so goddamned talented I hate it like hOLY SHIT HE CAN SHRED

the lighting at this place was terrible so all my photos kinda look bad in terms of quality oifnveosrinferf

I lost one of my DL buttons in the chair I was sitting in :( oh well I didn't really care about them anyway

I sat in the lobby again after HOPING to meet them bc again super tiny venue there was maybe like 50 ppl in the crowd at most

this is the first show I did not buy a shirt from bc "we didn't do shirts- everyone does shirts"

at one point I noticed Walt was sitting at a table and then noticed that Nick was BEHIND ME at the merch table and there were these two kids that kept talking to both of them and I didn't want to interrupt bc I don't even listen to these guys I just think they're cool

Walt came up to me and i asked if he has insta and he disappeared for a minute and came back with a business card and we talked about the design for his new album

I mainly came for Nick bc he's the only one I knew of prior to this show and I didn't want to interrupt those two dudes talking to him so I just waited patiently at a table nearby and at one point Nick just beelined to me bc he knew I was waiting and said hi and jfc he's so charming it was HARD not to catch feelings yet another time after a show

i thanked him for getting me into the show and i already had my camera out so I held down the scroll button and all the photos flew by like a fast slide show playing the whole show in reverse and he was like "woahh :o"

did I mention how charming he is like uwuwuwuuwuwu

I told him how i saw him in harrisburg back in May with The Struts and how I was kinda happy Adam wasn't there bc i got to see him instead and he was like 🥺

he said he liked my earrings (big sparkly lightning bolts) and i said I got them at 5below and he was like what's that :o so I told him and i think he realized what I said bc he just kinda smacked his forehead and went "oh- duH"

i asked him for a photo and the second I put my front camera on us we both simultaneously went to fix our hair, to which i said "ugh i hate my bangs" and he said "I think they're cool bangs c:" and I think my heart stopped

the photo of us looks SO GOOD??? literally best pic i've ever gotten with an artist??

that was basically it, I hung around for another minute and then left

bonus:

so i had to park in a parking garage a block away. you get a ticket and have to put it in a machine when you come back. the machine sucks it up and you pay. well turns out it gives it BACK TO YOU AFTER U PAY and that's how you GET OUT OF THERE?? so me being a dumbass took my change and went back to my car and when i was trying to get out the barricade wouldn't lift bc it WANTED ME TO INSERT A CARD??? i was like BUT I PAID???? luckily this maintenance officer guy was there and saw me leave my car and opened up the barricade for me and I was like :#D thanx sorry I've literally never had to pay to be in a parking garage before

[bellafragolina]

I had to sneak in before they got closed again. 👀

So hear me out, we all talk about ingo and emmet's s/o getting swept away into Hisui and how they would react, BUT what if it was Guzma, Raihan, Leon, and piers s/o that got swprt away?? How would they take it.

Thank you for all your hard work, and I look forward to all your works! 🥺💕

yesss let's hurt these boys

🍓🍓🍓

Guzma:

The grunts claim you just disappeared, a bright flash of light and then gone. They're panicked and some are actually crying, so Guzma sends them to relax while he goes out searching for you. You're not answering your phone, and he's getting angrier by the minute. Not at you, but at whoever has done something to make you worry him and everyone like this. He's ready to kick ass when he finds your things abandoned near where you and the grunts were hunting for wild Pokémon

Nanu isn't pleased to get a visit from Guzma, but when he learns what happened, he's more sympathetic. He organizes for some officers to come to the island, then conducts a proper search for you. They find nothing, and Nanu has to physically restrain Guzma from attacking the officers he claims are "doing jack-all" Plumeria eventually comes and drags Guzma back to the Shady House to give it a rest, but Guzma can hardly lie still, especially in your empty, shared bed

The longer you're missing, the angrier Guzma grows. He's one second away from attack most anyone, besides Plumeria and the grunts. He doesn't blame the kids for what happened to you, and he scares off any reporters that try to harass them. You'll come back, he reassures his guilty grunts, even if they have to beat down a legendary Pokémon to get you back. He's not giving up that easy

Raihan:

Your disappearance floods the social medias as soon as Raihan realizes you're not just late getting home. He contacts the police, then has the entire internet memorizing your photos so they can look for you around towns and cities. Leon is a big help during the search, using his Champion status to get people out into the farthest reaches of Galar to search for you

Raihan dedicates himself to your search. Each failed attempt has him re-strategizing and going again, and again, and again. When he's not in the station, practically leading your investigation, he's at home, making sure his and your Pokémon are taken care of. There's not a moment's downtime, and he doesn't take one moment to process just what might've happened to you. He refuses to humor it

When months pass and they're no closer to finding you, Raihan breaks down. He completely removes himself from everything, his gym, his socials, his friends. Leon comes to him, worried and trying so hard to be supportive. He challenges Raihan to a battle, desperate to get him trying, and Raihan accepts. Win or lose, after Leon asks him if he's ready to give up on you. Raihan nearly tears him apart to even suggest it.

Leon demands to know why has he given up then? He's sitting here, alone, doing nothing. They should be out there looking for you. And when Raihan retaliates that they've already searched the region for you, Leon clasps his hand and reminds him Galar isn't the only region. They'll find you, together.

Leon:

You're out together, lost in the Wild Area, searching around for any sign of where you might be. There's no cell service, so you decide to do a loop of the nearby area in search of landmarks or signal before returning to the Carizard. Leon does his loop, and returns to the car. Then he hears you shout. But when he makes it to where you were, you're not there.

Leon is terrified, he searches the Wild Area for hours with his Pokémon, shouting for you, but he can't find anything. All that's left is your bag and phone, you're nowhere to be seen. When night starts to fall, he's forced to give up and try and find civilization. With your wellbeing on the line, it's not difficult to find the closest town and report to the authorities what happened

Leon doesn't rest. He pulls strings, abuses his powers, begs any and everybody to help him find you. But your gone. The entire region is combed, but they can't find you, no one can. Not even him. It tears him up, but he can't stop looking. He'll ask every region, he will search every region, he'll search the bottom of every damn ocean before he gives up on finding you. Because it's his fault your gone, so he's going to find you again if it kills him.

Piers:

It's starts with you not showing up to one of his gigs. This is weird, since you told him you were gonna be here, but he decides not to worry about it. You've not called to say something's happened, and he's not heard anything about you getting into an accident, so he leaves it be. But when he tries to call you after and you don't answer? You're not at home, no one has seen you. He starts to worry

Police find your phone on the path you usually take to Spikemuth, lying on the side of the road alongside a bag full of your things. Piers clutches said bag to his chest as the police tell him there's no sign of you, or what happened to you. No struggle tracks, no footprints, not even a hint of a Pokémon being around that interacted with you. It's like you just. . . vanished.

Piers waits for you, waits for any sign of you to show up, even though it never does. He writes songs about you, the love he lost, taken away to somewhere he can't follow. It tears him up when they pronounce you dead, and he can hardly stand to be at your funeral, knowing there's no body to prove that you're really, truly dead. But he stands through it, being strong for Marnie, even though he knows deep in his soul you're still out, trying to find your way back to him

🍓🍓🍓

shout out to @fluffabutt for helping me not sound like a broken record with these. i appreciate you babe <3

Have a great night, love!

[neochan]

GENRE | smut, idolverse!

WARNINGS | smut

WC | 2.6k +

A.N | this is a repost of my older work. i hope you enjoy it <3

You could still hear the unintelligible screaming of thousands of fans as the boys filtered off the stage and into the greenroom. Another successful concert in the long string of tour stops. You couldn’t even remember what state you were in because the days of traveling, unpacking, setting up, and doing it all again the next day ran together.

The boys were dripping sweat, immediately grabbing bottles of water and towels to wipe themselves off. They had worked harder than normal today since during one of the sets the microphone cut out and they had to perform acapella. Someone was getting fired for that.

Taeyong flopped onto the leather couch dominating the center of the room, water in one hand, phone in the other. “People are already uploading photos.” He outstretches his arm so the others could view the pictures pulled up on his screen.

“Johnny you look ridiculous,” you point out, laughing as a fan had caught Johnny in the act of wildly waving his light stick.

“I was having a good time, okay?” He chuckles and walks into the dressing rooms to change out of his stage outfit. Half of the group filtered out to change and half stayed to peruse through the gifts left by venue staff and play on their phones until told otherwise.

You were wondering where Hyuck was when you heard his voice from the hallway. He saunters in and gives you a kiss on the cheek, “Enjoy the show?” His golden skin was tainted pink, hair matted to his forehead by the sweat that was trickling down the side of his face. He grabbed his shirt and lifted it to swipe at his face, revealing his cute tummy. You had to resist the urge to poke it.

“I enjoyed hearing thousands of pretty fans scream your name” You give him a smirk knowing that he hates when you downplay your relationship.

He nudges you with his shoulder, “You know I meant the songs,” his doe eyes look into yours, his long lashes brushing against his cheek when he blinked “Besides, you know I love you and only you.”

Mark began to nervously giggle in the corner while Doyoung made fake gagging noises from the vanity he sat at. “Oh, shut up.” You say, throwing empty water bottles at the two, “And hurry up I wanna go swimming before it gets too late.”

The ride home was peaceful once the swarms of fans cleared a path for the bus. Per the managers request you slouched down in your seat so know one could see you through the window. It didn’t make much sense because the windows were tinted, but Haechan had to argue for his life to allow them to let you tag along on the tour, so you didn’t question them. Once you were on the road, you sat back up and snuggled close to Haechans side. He rested his hand on your thigh, absentmindedly stroking you with his thumb. His head leaned back against the seat, eyes closed, listening to music. It was so loud you could almost make out the words but you didn’t say anything – you let him stay in his post concert utopia for the whole trip.

The hotel was about an hour away from the venue so that no one would find them, and they’d be closer to their next destination. It was nicer than the others because it actually had a pool. You and Haechan made an agreement to go swimming after the concert, and you couldn’t wait. The staff also rented more rooms, so instead of four people to a bed, it was just you and Haechan.

After checking in everyone filtered off to their rooms leaving the both of you to freely do whatever you wanted - within reason of course. You both got changed, your gaze admiring the hard lines of Haechans back. “Don’t stare.” He blushed, wrapping a towel around his upper body.

You pulled on your bikini which made Haechan go silent. You specifically picked this one because it brought out your skin tone well, and cupped your features beautifully. “Now who’s staring?”

It never failed. The butterfly feeling you got in the pit of your stomach when Haechan watched you with loving eyes. You wrapped a towel around your waist, allowing Haechans eyes to roam the tops of your breasts, peeking out from the almost too small bathing suit.

His cheeks turned pink once he noticed he was caught, “Let’s go”.

The hallways were quiet since it was almost midnight, so you wordlessly made your way down the stairs and out into the night air. It had grown considerably cooler than when guys first arrived that morning, but the sky made up for it. Pretty stars pricked the vast expanse of dark blue and black infinity. You could see the moon peaking out from behind a single cloud, casting a shadowed glow on Haechans honey skin.

The gate was closed when you walked up to it so you stopped to read, “Aw man, the pool closed an hour ago,” You set your lips in a pout, “no wonder the lights weren’t on.”

“Hey it’s okay, no lights, no cameras, they probably wont even notice we’re here if we keep quiet.” He moves closer to you, eyebrows raised expectant for an answer.

You hesitated wondering if you really could pull it off, after all you’d been looking forward to this for the whole day, “I don’t wanna get in trouble..”

“You said you wanted to swim and I’m going to make sure that happens,” He gets down on one knee, “step on my leg, I'm gonna help you jump the fence.”

He boots you over, and grabs your arms to help lower you on the other side, but his hand slips and his nails dig into your shoulder. “Ow, fuck.” You wince rubbing the spot he scratched.

“Sorry, sorry” He says giggling, jumping the fence with such quietness and ease that it looked unreal. “Come on, dare you to do a canon ball!?”

He ran ahead throwing his towel on one of the pool chairs and jumping in the water. You cringe away from the loud slap his body hitting the water made. You walk slowly to the chair, deeply inhaling the addictive chlorine scent.

He finally stands up waist deep in the water and pushes his hair back. The blue water reflected against him, making his skin sparkle. “Come into the water y/n” he splashed some water into your general direction, but not enough to touch you.

“Okay, Okay.” You drop the towel and slip into the water. It was cold. Really cold. You gasp and recoil away, but not fast enough, because Haechan has wrapped his arms around you and started carrying you towards the deep end. You struggle a bit in his grip but his arms provide an iron cage that you can’t get out of. “Haechan let me go!”

He presses a warm kiss to the back on your neck but doesn’t comply with your wishes, instead making a curve and bringing you towards the underwater benches. He fixes his hold on you so that now he’s carrying you bridal style. You stare up at him, water droplets falling off his chin. His eyes were already red from the chlorine and you hoped that it cleared up by tomorrow nights concert. His plush lips sat in a pout, strong jaw set. He was so very pretty; and all yours. You smiled to yourself, deciding to keep that image locked away in your memory forever.

Once he gets to the benches he sets you down and glides in beside you. “You know It’s colder than I thought it was going to be.” He lifts a hand and sheepishly rubs the back of heck, “and you look way hotter in that bikini than I thought you would.”

“I don’t know if that’s supposed to be a dig or a compliment.” You scoot closer to him so that your thighs were pressed against each other. Finding his hand underwater, you intertwine your fingers with his own.

“A compliment babe.” He chuckles and slouches in the water so that only his head sat above it. You both sit there for a moment until it becomes too cold to sit still.

“Well I’m going to put it to use and go swim.” You push off from the cement and paddle around. The only way to stay slightly warm was to keep moving. Haechan watched you, eyes crinkled in a smile, bottom lip caught between his teeth. It was fun to watch you play in the water but the bathing suit was making him think of other things you two could be doing.

And that was how it stayed. Haechan watching while you performed for him.

A while had passed, the calm exterior of the pool getting to you, making you drowsy. The cold blue water washed over your hands while you gently skimmed the surface, making your way over to where Haechan was. You hummed a short tune under your breath, trying to keep yourself distracted. it was close to one in the morning now, but Haechan still sat on the bench, slightly shivering from the brisk air, hands gripping his thighs under the water while his mind wandered far away from the present.

“Watcha thinkin’ about” you ask, moving closer to him, hoping to catch some lingering body warmth.

“Fucking you ,” he moved off the seat and dove under the surface, only leaving small ripples in his wake. You stand there for a second wonder how he could be so blunt, so forward in his desires; he was never like this.

He swam a single circle around your body before popping up in front of you, giving you a mini heart attack. He pushes you back against the tiled walls, “I’ve spent the last hour thinking about fucking you. Thinking about how pretty you’d sound.” His head dips down to kiss along your collarbone, and your hands grab the back of neck, holding him there while his tongue sucked bruises into your tender skin. His hands grazed the bare skin of your arms, giving you goosebumps.

He moaned into the side of your neck, biting and sucking away, wanting you to yearn for him like he did for you. He lifted his head so that his mouth hung over yours, his small puffs of breath fanning over your face while he tests the waters. “Can I kiss you?”

Without giving him an answer you pull him closer by the roots of his hair. His kissing was messy and sweet, and while your tongues moved together, his hips began rubbing circles against you, trying to gain some friction in the cool water. Small heavy breaths were the only sound you could hear, aside from the occasional splash as Haechan moved restlessly.

Your hand wandered down his chest and below the surface to where you could feel him straining against his shorts. You began to stroke him over the fabric, his hips pushing against your touch. He broke the kiss to watch as you peeled down the elastic from his hips, his cock freed from the restricting material of his swim shorts. You watched him twitch slightly as the cold water met his length.

“You can’t make any noise.” You place a single finger against his lips.

“No promises.” He whispers, a devilish smirk breaking way on his face. His hands caress you thighs, pushing your bottoms to the side. The cold water hit you, making you gasp and push into Haechan who just whimpers against your touch.

He tried to stay quiet, only soft grunts between gritted teeth and muffled moans as his hips pushed into your own. The water created resistance but it just enhanced how good he was feeling. He hurriedly grabs at your legs, pulling them up so that they sat around his waist. Your back dragged up the tiled walls, scraping your tender skin, but you could only focus on Haechans cock thrusting deeply in and out of you. He stared longingly into your eyes, filling you up completely, wanting to savor the way they fluttered in the back of your head.

“You love the way I fill you up huh?” He groans into your ear, a hand falling forward to grip the cement ledge of the pool.

You couldn’t respond without fear of moaning so you nod your head wildly. He began to bite and suck at your collarbone, pushing you closer to the edge. Looking down he sees your nipples, erect, poking through the wet fabric of your bathing suit. His eyes grow wide, hips stuttering into you. Fuck you were hot.

“Haechannie, I think I’m going to come.” You squeezed your eyes shut trying to focus on the feeling coiling in your stomach.

“Not yet.” He growls, hands moving to pin your wrists against the cement ledge, “Hold it princess, I know you can.” The water began to slosh around faster as Haechan thrusted harder into you. The sound was so loud its no wonder you didn’t hear the keys jangling against the hip of the guard making his way towards you two.

“Hey!,” he shouts running towards you, “The pool is closed! Get out! Are you two-” He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence as you and Haechan spring up out of fear and take off. It was easy to push yourself up onto the pool deck. The guard made the mistake of following you two and leaving the gate unattended. You and Haechan ran out, giggling, making your way back into the hotel. You didn’t stop until you got into the room and slammed the door behind you.

With your heart hammering in your chest you lean against the dark cherry wood . “Holy fuck we could’ve gotten in serious trouble.” You gasp out, clutching a hand against your wet bathing suit top.

“Babe we’ll be gone by morning, no one is gonna know.” Haechan paces in front of you trying to catch his breath. His shorts hung dangerously low on his hips, it was miracle he got them up in time.

“We’re so banned from this hotel.” A knock on the door makes you jump away from it, the worst of punishment's filling your mind. What were they going to do? They couldn’t arrest you, could they?

Haechan walks forward and turns the knob slowly, revealing a sleepy Doyoung. His oversized t-shirt hung off one shoulder showing off his gaunt collarbone. He was rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“What do you want Doie?” you ask softly.

“How was getting chased by the guard?” he gives a sleepy chuckle, still half in his dreams.

“How did you-,” A look of realization hits Haechan, “You reported us?” He whined, pushing Doyoungs bare shoulder so that he stumbled back.

“Sound travels over water dumbasses and you guys were loud, I was trying to sleep!” Protesting, he pushes Haechans wet shoulder back.

“Well, now we’re going to be twice as loud.” Haechan slams the door in Doyoungs face and grabs you, throwing you on the bed. You give a squeal, and hear Doyoungs fist hit the door.

“I swear I’ll make a noise complaint.” He sounded more irritated than sleepy now.

“Go ahead, you’re just mad I’m getting laid and you aren't.” You playfully slap Haechans arm, but he nips at your hand. The other side of the door grows silent, Doyoung either going to report you two, or going back to his room defeated.

“Shall we pick up where we left off princess?”

[cable-knit-sweater]

Mayaaaaaa! *knocks on your window* are you alive in there???

That new photoshoot of Chris 🥵 I have thoughts. Many thoughts especially after the richy rich photos of Sebastian from this weekend. It feels like one of those Hallmarky movies.

Imagine this: rich CEO Seb is driving through MA on his way to some retreat or something that he's supposed to go to and find his zen after being totally stressed out. But his stupidly expensive car breaks down in this small town. Local mechanic Chris is there to fix it but it needs a part that'll take a day to come in. Chris offers Seb a place to stay at his farmhouse while he waits because they don't really have hotels.

There's homecooked food, lingering glances, horse riding through the beautiful countryside (it's autumn!). Lots of cosy sweaters, fireplaces and even pumpkin spiced lattes (which tastes better than any coffee chain Sebastian has ever been in).

Then Seb finds himself truly relaxing and enjoying himself for the first time in months - years even. Doesn't even check his emails once.

Oh, and they definitely have sex in that hayloft. Chris is picking out hay from Sebastian's hair with a soft chuckle, loving the way Seb looks in his borrowed clothes (those suits and shirts in Seb's suitcase were too formal).

Anyway - have a great day at work ✨ I'll be here when you need to flail 😘

Tej. I am barely alive. Just, hanging on by a thread, thank you very much for asking 😭😭😭😭

I too have many, many thoughts, most of them highly inappropriate and that my brain needs some more time to think through. Thankfully you’re much less unhinged than me and coming up with this BRILLIANT IDEA.

It’s frankly unfair for them to do this to us in such a short timespan. I’m still very far from being over how Seb looked at that event on Saturday, bc god damn he looked good 😫😫

And then to make it all worse, you ATTACK ME with this??? I am literally begging you to write this fic and also to never talk to me again bc what little was left of my mind has now combusted. FUCK FUCK FUCK.

I can just SEE IT so clearly. I’m so weak for the idea of mechanic Chris, in his white tank with oil on his calloused hands, sweat dropping down his neck from a hard day at work, and Sebastian just needing a moment because how the fuck is he supposed to string words together into sentences when there’s this walking wet dream in front of him?

And when Chris does ask him to stay, he’s so eager to say yes, but also thinking this is probably the worst decision ever, because being in close quarters with Chris is going to be a challenge, to say the least. There’s no way Chris is into him - and Chris definitely thinks he’s some sort of spoiled brat at first.

But it actually turns out to be the best decision he’s ever made, because of all that you just said. They get to know each other pretty quickly. Chris makes him realize what the important things in life are, and he finally gets to relax. Of course there are lingering glances, home cooked meals and cosy sweaters. Chris giving him heated looks when Seb is wearing Chris’s clothes. Sebastian feeling absolutely overwhelmed with how this man isn’t just ruggedly handsome, but also incredibly sweet and caring, and a bit of a dork. They just click, and it’s like they’ve known each other forever, but also like this is what Sebastian had been waiting for forever, and desperately needed.

He definitely can’t believe his luck when after the tension builds and builds, they finally give in, and yes, have sex in a hay loft, probably all over the property really. He never really wants to leave.

I absolutely LOVE this whole idea and the fall vibes, and now you’ve written your first Evanstan fic, I NEED YOU to write this one next, pretty pretty please?? I’m gonna be thinking about this all day in between screaming, probably.

I love you and your genius brain so much 💕💕💕

[mc-lukanette]

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6]

—————

A few days had passed since Marinette had burned the Adrien photos, and Luka was relieved to note that they hadn't come back since. Marinette seemed equally at ease, their daily calls becoming more and more relaxed with each time she told him about her still-empty wall. He did wish he could do a little more concerning the red string around her neck, but his mind was drawing a blank and she was happier than before regardless.

The main problem however, was the relation to the miraculouses. Everyone knew that Ladybug wasn't interested in Chat Noir, a fact that made the knowledge of the red string even worse. He wasn't sure if the red strings were tied to the miraculouses or not - or how if they were indeed connected - but he speculated that it was about more than just talking to Marinette about Adrien; Chat was a factor as well. He couldn’t imagine the societal pressure of Ladybug and Chat Noir being a couple, and no one had to do much research to realize that Chat Noir was okay with it while Ladybug was very much not.

He'd have to take on the red string from both sides of the masks, and it took one particular day for him to get his chance.

"You want me to go on patrol with you?"

Ladybug nodded, balancing herself on his windowsill as she replied, "If you'd like to. Chat Noir is busy tonight, so the position's opened and you're one of the people used to having a miraculous."

Luka caught himself before he could start smiling too much, knowing that it was Marinette under that mask and she wanted him to go on patrol because they were friends.

"I'd be honored to."

She beamed at him, and after the snake miraculous was on his wrist, he was transformed and the two set off for the rooftops together.

—————

Viperion glanced left and right as he went along with Ladybug. He'd been called enough by then to have gotten used to superheroing, though it was his first time actually on patrol. Given the situation they were in, he was thankful that Adrien was busy that particular night with what Viperion could only guess was Gabriel's orders.

The red string was still dangling around Ladybug's neck, though Viperion'd grown attuned enough with his fate sensing that he could stop focusing on it and simply see her if he chose to. It didn't stop him from thinking about it, but it helped.

Ladybug seemed to know the route to take, so he mostly followed after her, but it was partway through where she'd decided that they should take a break. Paris was always quiet right after akuma attacks, meaning that they could afford to take it easy since there'd been one just that afternoon.

They leaped buildings until they reached the Eiffel Tower, scaling the monument until they reached the top platform. He didn't miss that she'd avoided using her yoyo for the job, possibly to put them on an even playing field.

Letting out a breath, Ladybug leaned against the railing and she gazed over the city. Gesturing to the view, she explained, "We'll have a good vantage point from here in case anything happens."

Viperion chuckled. "You really do think of everything."

She blushed faintly, but took the compliment casually. "I'm just doing my job." She turned her hip to more easily grab her yoyo, then opened it and reached inside. "Anyway, are you hungry?"

He tilted his head in curiosity, then grinned as she pulled out a bag of macarons from the Dupain-Cheng bakery. It wasn't anything suspicious given that it was known as the best bakery around.

"Thanks," he replied gratefully, taking one of the macarons she offered him.

She grabbed one as well and they took a simultaneous bite of their respective treats. He was a little surprised to hear that she brought along snacks, but supposed it made sense if breaks during patrol were a common thing after akuma.

They settled down on the ground, Ladybug placing the open bag in-between them so they could pick them out at equal leisure. Tossing him an apologetic but teasing smile, she added, "Sorry, but cushions wouldn't fit in the yoyo."

He raised his brows at her, then glanced down at the hard ground below them. He snorted at her joke, noting, "It's nice to see you outside of akuma battles, where you can relax and play around more."

She smiled shyly at him, in a way that was so Marinette that he couldn't believe he hadn't figured her out sooner. "Thanks. Chat says I have no sense of humor."

He frowned, replying without hesitation, "Chat's wrong."

She waved him off, though he could tell that she appreciated the comment. Hearing that Chat had told her something like that was news to him, despite all the research he'd done into their relationship. Granted, he imagined that anything could be said off-camera and he couldn't have known.

"Does he say things like that a lot?" he asked, hoping he wasn't prodding too much. There was just something about how casually she'd said it that unnerved him.

"Huh?" She blinked, thrown off by the question, then rubbed the back of her neck. "Well... most of the time, he flirts instead. It's..." She hesitated, like she wasn't sure that she could talk about it. Glancing at him, then back to the open sky, she relented and added, "—it's a lot sometimes, but he does his job well enough, so it’s not like it’s a serious problem. I don’t know, it’s not like I’ve never wondered about the what ifs of having someone else, but whenever I think about it, I just—"

She squinted at nothing, Viperion's gaze flickering down to the string, which had became visible now that he was focusing on it.

It had tightened, pressing into the black of her bodysuit in a way only he could see, and he found himself squinting just like she was.

"—I can't imagine being Ladybug without him," she said.

He pressed his lips together, trying to suppress any reaction to the comment. He'd suspected it for a while, but actually seeing it was something else entirely.

The red string demanded dependency on Ladybug's part. He wasn't sure how much it pulled Chat on the other end, but judging from what he'd gathered from Marinette's luck and fate's blatant favoring of Adrien, he could guess.

Ladybug peeked up from her macaron when he remained silent, confusion passing over her features. "What? You look like you have something to say."

"Ah—" He looked down, brows furrowing as he hoped even more that he wasn't pushing boundaries. "—just... I know that he's been with you since the beginning, but I don’t think you need Chat Noir to be an amazing Ladybug."

She straightened, dropping her treat in surprise and then fumbling to catch it. Perhaps she hadn’t caught onto what her words implied, or had said them without thinking due to the string and was now facing it head-on.

He continued, "You've dealt with akuma plenty of times without him, and you work well with all your heroes. I'm sure you could make the best out of any partner you had." He smiled reassuringly at her. "Maybe Chat Noir only seems as good as he does because he's at your command."

Ladybug's cheeks tinted red, nearly matching her mask, as she ducked her head at the high praise. She raised the macaron back to her lips, chewing on it as if that helped hide her face.

It was only after she'd slowly nibbled the treat all the way down and swallowed that she replied, "T-thank you."

He shrugged, having only been honest.

"Chat Noir..." She cleared her throat. "Well, Paris would disagree with you."

"Paris is wrong too," he replied in the exact same tone as when he was discussing Chat. After careful consideration, he asked cautiously, "Do you mean how—"

"Yeah, the—" She frowned and waved both hands vaguely in a gesture that no one but him would've understood. "Yeah."

So she was all too aware of their status of a "couple" in the eyes of Parisians. It made sense with everything he already knew, but he hadn't wanted to be right.

The phrase she'd used when talking about Adrien resurfaced in his mind: made for each other.

He clenched his fist. She was being pressured on both sides of the mask, towards both sides of Adrien's mask.

"I don't like it," she admitted, "but Chat drinks it up and I guess the public is into the idea of this superhero couple. They see us like celebrities."

"It's not right," Viperion hissed, and Sass would've been proud of it. "You save Paris every week and you deserve to be respected."

"There's nothing I can do about it," she told him, almost in defeat. "Besides, Chat... he needs a pick-me-up every now and my pep talks don't always work on him. He pouted when I brought in a male hero for the first time."

"That's not your fault!" he argued. "Chat needs to be confident on his own. He can't keep relying on you or make you feel like you can't do anything without him doubting himself. You're under enough stress as it is, and—!"

He caught himself, his mouth shutting tight before he could reveal exactly how much he knew. Ladybug blinked at him, seeming puzzled by the outburst but not suspicious at least.

He took a breath, reminding himself to stay calm. Reaching back, he grabbed hold of his lyre and brought it in front of him, strumming a few notes and letting them settle the discordant song that was playing in his stomach.

"My point is... Chat shouldn't be someone adding onto the pressure. That's not a partnership."

Her shoulders relaxed, her eyes darting around as she processed his words. She looked conflicted.

"...I'm sorry," he added, settling his lyre in his lap. "Not for what I said, but—I didn't mean to bring the mood down."

"No, no." She shook her head, pulling her knees to her chest. "It's good that you did. I've actually—" Her voice grew quiet. "—been thinking about it lately."

"About what?"

She made the same vague gesture from before. "All of that. There's been a lot going on and it's given me a lot to think about."

He knew immediately what she meant.

"It's... frustrating," she groaned. "I don't like Chat that way. I mean, maybe sometimes he said or did something that I found charming, but that's just—not enough for me, you know? To only feel something like that for a second or two." She averted her gaze, growing distant. "Everyone seems to think we belong together, and... I hate that they might be right."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed. "Well, I'm a hero; a permanent one. I need to be there all the time. Every akuma, every purification, every Miraculous Ladybug. Only I can do it." She hugged her legs closer, burying her face in her knees. "I want a relationship. I want someone to date and be close to, but I can't have it. I'm always running away; always going somewhere with some excuse so I can go deal with the akuma, and I can't tell anyone! Can you imagine how that'd make my date feel?"

He opened his mouth, but a thought occurred to him at the last second that gave him pause.

"You... so you think..."

Once again, he hoped to be wrong. He wanted so badly to be wrong.

But Ladybug looked up, her expression pained as she confirmed, "There's only one person I could be with where it wouldn't have to happen."

His blood ran cold, he felt sick, and the memory of the red string flashed in his mind, wrapped around Adrien's ring.

Fate didn't just tie her to him; it wanted to make her believe that he was her only choice.

Viperion's grip on his lyre tightened, his teeth grinding together behind closed lips as he tried to maintain an aura of calm. He wasn't just angry anymore, he was livid, and he silently wished that the face on the other side of the butterfly miraculous was the universe so he could give it a piece of his mind.

How could you do that? How could you take a girl who's always worked so hard and tried her best, and treat her like she's nothing? No, not nothing, because then at least she'd be left alone. How could you treat her like a plaything, as if she's some prize for a guy to win no matter what? How could you manipulate her to think that everything's her fault, just so she never thinks to fight back against the ones putting pressure on her?

What's love if it's gotten through such force?

"V-viperion?"

A hand falling upon his jolted him back to reality, his head snapping up to see Ladybug there, her pupils shrunken in and her brows knitted in worry. Whatever his face had looked like, it'd scared her.

His first instinct was to feel guilty. He was supposed to be comforting her, not making things worse by letting all of his emotions show on his face.

His second instinct...

He tossed his lyre off to the side, Ladybug's gaze briefly following it until his hands fell upon her shoulders. Her eyes widened, and she let out a squeak as he pulled her onto his lap and into a hug.

The only thing he was grateful for in terms of her superhero status was that he could hug her as tightly as possible without hurting her.

"A-ah..." She seemed tempted to say something, but fell silent soon after and hugged him back, burying her face into the side of his neck. He felt her strength in the way she squeezed him, like she was starved for his affection despite them being in a similar position not too long ago.

He understood. Before, they were tackling her problems when she was Marinette, but Ladybug had never had someone to personally confide in concerning Chat.

She'd needed this.

"You already do so much," he whispered. "You should be allowed to be with whoever you want, and you shouldn't have to settle when it comes to love."

She sighed against him, like she knew deep down that he was right. "You don't know how bad it could get. Some hypothetical boyfriend wouldn't deserve that kind of treatment."

"I get why you'd feel that way," he said, "but I'd hope that this hypothetical boyfriend would know that you're worth it."

Her fingers twitched against his spine. "...You don't even know me."

"I know that you're creative. I know you're smart. I know you work harder than anyone else to keep Paris safe. I know you have a right to feel however you want, and if you think you need to earn being with someone who's not Chat, then you've more than done that." He slid his hand up to squeeze her shoulder. "I also know that you'll find a way to make it work, if you put in even half the care into it as you put into Paris."

"Vi—" She paused, her voice softening. "Luka..."

They stayed like that for a while, the bag of macarons going untouched an arm's reach away. Viperion just held her, sensing that she was feeling out what he'd said and that they didn't need words for it. That was fine with him; her love life was none of his business. He only wanted to help her have the choice to live it.

A breeze blew by, their bodysuits protecting them from the wind chill factor as their hair was lightly shifted by the gentle air. Ladybug stirred, letting out a noise like she felt personally slighted by the wind, then pushed herself up, her hands on his shoulders as she pulled away from him.

"We...we should get back to patrol," she admitted.

He offered her a small smile, noting that she seemed to be in better spirits at least. "Alright." He let her out of his lap, leaning over to the side to pick up his lyre.

He heard her retreating footsteps, along with a light, "You can keep the macarons."

He glanced up at her, surprised. "Are you sure?" he asked, knowing that he was mostly responsible for them not eating all of them. "Is that what you usually do on your breaks: let Chat have them?"

"Oh." She stood awkwardly in place, looking off at the sky before dropping her gaze to the ground. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she grinned sheepishly and replied, "Actually..."

He tilted his head, curious.

She peeked over at him, eyes half-lidded as she told him, "I've never done this with Chat."

He raised his brows, as if that would make her clarify, but she simply turned away from him and started doing a few stretches, clearly prepping to head back out.

Pursing his lips in thought, Viperion turned his back to her, giving attention to the little plastic bag resting neatly on the ground. Even though it was open, the little ribbon that had held it shut was still around it, suddenly feeling more special now that Ladybug had said something so... cryptic.

He looked out at the view they had, then Ladybug, then back at the bag, feeling extremely slow on the uptake as his brain pieced things together based on what information he had.

Then, suddenly his brain supplied: Wait... was this a date?

He buried the thought just as quickly, shaking his head and scolding himself for jumping to that so fast.

"Are you ready to go back to leaping rooftops?" Ladybug asked behind him, her tone light even if she was still in her own head.

"Yeah," Viperion replied, picking up the little bag like it was something precious. Hoping to lighten things further, he then added, "I'm new to this, so I might lag behind."

She chuckled. "You might. Apparently I'm a really amazing hero according to someone I know."

He grinned to himself. Even if she was just teasing, it felt good to hear her compliment herself in a way.

He had just tightened the ribbon to seal the bag back up, listening to the sound of Ladybug's foosteps, when he felt a sudden niggling sensation at the back of his head, or—behind him? He turned, puzzled, then leaped up as he caught sight of a teal wisp in Ladybug's path.

He rushed over as she yelped and tripped over what would seem like nothing according to her. Catching her just in time, he also realized belatedly that it may've been an overreaction, given that she was in superhero form; he could only blame it on reflex.

Ladybug stood up with a start, covering the lower half of her face in shame. "Ugh, that was so embarrassing, I'm sor—"

"It's not your fault," he hurried to say, not explaining further as he grew lost in thought, staring silently at the place where the wisp had formed itself.

He hadn't just seen the wisps this time; he had sensed them. That was new, and he wouldn't have questioned a new addition to his fate sensing had it not been the fact that he hadn't particularly done anything as Viperion; it usually took an instance or two of him using his power for something to manifest, but here...

He glanced up when he realized that Ladybug was looking at him curiously. Debating with himself for a moment, he ultimately trusted his gut and met her gaze, asking,

"Do you mind if I talk to Sass again after this?"

[shiftylinguini]

Ooooo. Can I try a prompt 'why is it so dark?' HP. Any pairing you desire, although I'm fond of Drarry, Jeddy and Perciver. No worries if this doesn't spark anything! Take care.

HI @skeptiquex I love this, thank youuuuu! Please enjoy this short Jeddy nonsense (that I am posting right now instead of leaving it in my drafts until I decide I hate it). Xxx

General premise: Teddy is a big deal, James is a fan. Having a crush is fucking exhausting. 

::::::::::

Whys it so dark 

James hits send and lies back on his bed, cool as a cucumber. Not really, he's trying not to hyperventilate, but hopefully his carefully curated lack of punctuation will make it seem like he's channeling cucumber. 

Teddy probably won't reply. He already has 6 million comments (roughly, James isn't counting) and he only posted the photo an hour ago. It's him, smiling over his dinner, being generally hot, ruining James's life (and several other people's too, judging by the level of thirst comments he's garnering. James lied, he is counting.) 

Teddy's always been hot. Even in his awkward, gangly teenage phase, he still had it going on as far as James was concerned. Maybe it's the age gap that meant that whatever stage James was going through, Teddy was going through the accompanying cool version of it. 

It was only when he got older that's he put together that thinking Teddy was perpetually cool, and great, and amazing, and fit, and smart―was called having a fucking crush on him. 

At eighteen, that was a devastating revelation, but now at twenty one it's just…exhausting. He just can't be normal around Teddy. Teddy says, "hey we hang out a bit now you're older, we drink, add me so I can tag you in my photos!" and James says yeah sure, like a dickhead, and now he's stuck here, a week later, leaving borderline rude comments on his God brother's stupidly popular post from his stupidly popular account in front of all his thousands of cool followers. 

He shouldn't have capitalised the w. If he was going for casual and devoid of punctuation and grammar, then he should have committed. Teddy's gonna see right through him. 

James is a dickhead. He needs to learn to be normal. Teddy is his friend, or something. Crushes burn out, right? 

James sighs and puts his feet up on his coffee table. It makes a worrying creak, but doesn't break, so that's a win. He Summons his wand from the back of the sofa (oops) and some crisps from the pantry (yayy) and wiggles his toes as he flicks the telly on. 

He can be normal. He can be chill. He's not gonna obsess over this. 

"Fuck!" His phone pings and James dives on it like the proverbial Potter on a Snitch. He's not chill, he never was, it was all a lie. 

He's got a comment reply from Teddy. And a pending heart attack. He shoves a cheese and onion crisp in his mouth, so he can at least have a delicious death. 

Ha ha its squid ink, idiot, Teddy's written, along with a string of emojis: a squid, the spaghetti, an octopus for some reason, and a laugh cry. And a heart. 

James files that last one away to obsess over later. 

One of James's best, and worst, qualities (depending who you ask, and what day of the week it is) is his impulsiveness. He's neurotic, but he's also got borderline 0 impulse control, and that's kicked into full gear when he replies: so it's meant to look like concrete? 

That might be funny. Is that funny? Whatever  the pasta does look road-adjacent. James soothes himself with more crisps. 

He's just considering that he might obsess over the heart emoji now, actually (he's finished half his bag of crisps, his schedule is free) when he gets a DM. 

Have you really never had squid ink pasta before??

James is frozen, sucking cheese and onion flavour remnants of his thumb. He's stuck like this forever. 

Nope, he replies with his non-chip hand. His phone vibrates on his thigh again just as James is extracting his thumb from his mouth and his head from his arse. 

It's good!! 

Prove it, James replies before he can stop himself, and then realises its both extremely flirtatious and kind of jerky. That's apparently his thing today. Fuck. 

Come with me next time and I'll buy it for you x 

"Oh no," James mumbles. He should have left his thumb in his mouth, or possibly shoved his whole hand in there, and his phone with it. He's fucked. 

That was a flirty reply. Was it? Yes. Probably. A kiss is flirty. But Teddy is Teddy and is just being nice, most likely, and broadening his baby Godbrother's food horizons via squid juice and flour. 

James replies, I'm free Friday and you're definitely paying x , chucks his phone on the floor and goes to stand outside and take a few (several) deep breaths.