#and okay next phase of prep is happening!

[agentnatesewell]

the maiden lane historical romance series was written in 1730s london?? oh my nate and suri historical romance plans are so back!!

[midnight-bay-if]

My husband does this soo....

What if...Ro come into MC bedroom to wake them up then *gasp* realize that MC sleeping nakey? (Crushing and dating stage)

With asks like this, I want to be mindful of my fellow asexual folk, so I won't be too explicit, whilst still giving a meaningful response. Hope this is okay! :)

S: At the crushing stage, S would walk in, a good morning already prepped on the tip of the tongue, but their mouth would quickly close at the sight of you. Realising your position, they would immediately shut their eyes and turn their back. "Erm, MC, forgive my intrusion, but we must set out shortly." Then, they would quickly exit the room, avoiding the others while waiting for their blood to cool.

In the dating stage, S would walk in pretty relaxed, probably prepped with breakfast and a glass of water for you. Then, their heart would melt at the sight of you. There isn't a more wonderful sight in their eyes than you resting peacefully. If there's time to spare, S will sit by your bed for a while, stroking your hair until you wake up. Then, MC will guide what happens next.

Rain: At the crushing stage, Rain would be a wreck, haha. As soon as they walk in, they would be on the floor lol. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. I'm so sorry!" You wouldn't be able to get a word in edgeways before they're sprinting back out of the room. Don't expect much out of them for the rest of the day except squeaks of apologies.

In the dating stage, Rain will walk in, and although they feel their face burning, they will casually stroll up the MC, crouch down so they are at eye level with their sleeping face and press a soft kiss to their forehead. "Wakey, wakey, MC. Rise and shine." Once you've opened your eyes, the first thing they will do is compliment you. "You're looking as stunning as ever. And distracting."

Taj: In the crushing stage, Taj will open your bedroom door with a bang. Purposefully. There's no way you're sleeping in if the rest of them are awake. Once they realise you aren't decent, however, their belligerence turns into mortification. "W-What? Why aren't you wearing clothes?" They don't know where to look, and their embarrassment comes out as anger. "For goodness sake, MC, you had to know we were here. I... Damn it. Just get some clothes on."

In the dating stage, Taj will enter the room, spot you on the bed, and a smug smile will slowly grace their lips. You are theirs. Depending on how far along in the dating phase you are, they might climb onto the bed next to you, take your hand in theirs and place it against their cheek. "Time to wake up, Koel." Then, they will press a kiss against your palm. "I'm in need of some attention."

N: N is chaotic regardless of what stage you are in, lol. They aren't going to be bothered if you're dating or not. If they walk in and see you naked in the bed, they are going to stroll up to you, sit beside you with the cockiest grin on their face, and say whatever pops into their mind. "Is this show for me, my dear, because I am certainly benefitting." If the MC reacts negatively to this, they will laugh it off, shrug their shoulders and make another teasing remark. "Your loss, sweetheart." If the MC reacts positively, however, I wouldn't expect to leave the bed any time soon.

Umbra: In the crush stage, Umbra would walk in (or climb through the window—whatever took their fancy that day), and it would be one of the rare few occasions when absolute horror was visible on their face. You are awakening feelings in them they don't truly understand at all, except they know they feel suddenly very hot, which in and of itself is new to them. They will exit the room the way they came, not even bothering to wake you, too afraid that they might be seriously ill.

In the dating stage, Umbra will walk in, and upon seeing you, they will immediately slap a hand against their eyes to cover them. They're still unsure what the protocol is with this kind of thing. They would never want to hurt you or make you feel uncomfortable in any way. So, as they awkwardly try to navigate the room with their eyes still covered, they will call out your name. Only when you've laughed and given them permission to look will they drink in the view.

(Man, this was a long one, haha. I hope it's what you were looking for. Thanks for the ask.)

[sorenflyinn]

FOAMING IN THE MOUTH LIKE-- FINALLY AN AUTHOR WITH REQUESTS OPEN AND WRITES FOR OUR KING SHOJI!!!!

*ahem* I'm just really excited and hyped-

idk if you rather write this as a oneshot or a headcannon, it's up to you!

How about a telekinesis reader (think of tatsumaki from OPM) who is known to be dating shoji. Like-- the scene here is when shoji tells the whole class about his past like in the manga. Reader is someplace else when his history/face reveal happened. Mina or any of the girls in the class, out of curiosity and care for their friends, asked if reader already saw his face and all. And he's like-- 'Yeah and y/n had a VERY different reaction to it than all of you here.' and the whole class became like low-key angry till he laughed and explained how reader had the most perfect response to his reveal.

Because when he showed his face to reader, reader looked at him sadly while caressing the scar on his face and started saying like "Oh Mezo, what happened? This must have been painful *smiles sadly at him* but even with the scar, I still love you."

Cue Mezo malfunctioning. Because this bitch fr thought he was wearing a mask to hide his scars like 😭 'Im using this mask to hide my face in general???' Like he has to make sure and tried explaining and reader is like- "Huh? Scary? You??" Like-- that's why reader's reaction was his favorite so far. It was not out of fear or pity- it was anticlimactic turned romantic. (Reader probably already had seen too much in the hero field to be phased anymore lmao)

Sorry this got long-- I'm a deprived mezo fan since 2019. And only started brainrotting now when authors and content creators started giving him some love 💕

FOCUSED ON THIS SO HARD AS SOON AS I SAW THIS WONDERFUL IDEA SO I HOPE IT’S HOW YOU IMAGINED 🫶

IGNORING PREPPING FOR FINALS WITH THESE BUT IT’S WORTH IT 🤭

Shoji x gn!reader

a oneshot on how y/n reacts to seeing shoji’s face for the first time (along with class 1-a)

This contains manga spoilers, so read if you’d like

Mezo was worried about doing this without you, his girlfriend, there with him, but he said he would do it, so he’ll follow through with it.

When Aizawa asked for your help in regards to Eri’s power, Mezo decided that it was time to reveal his face to the rest of the class. He didn’t want you caught up in the trouble that might occur with their reactions.

As everyone sat in the main room, he took his mask off, bracing himself for his reactions before telling them all his story.

As he explained it all, their reactions were around the same, shock and horror painting their faces before they all went to hug him.

After a moment of silence, Yaoyorozu spoke up, “Have you shown Y/N yet?”

“Yes I have, and they had a very different reaction to it than you all did.”

All of their eyes widened in shock at what that could mean, and as Shoji realized they were taking it the wrong way, he corrected them, “No, no, they didn’t react badly, they just..”

~~~

You and Mezo were in your room, him fidgeting constantly as he sat on your bed next to you, watching you practice your quirk on different things around your room.

Just as a pencil floated into your hand, you looked over to him, a worried look on your face, “Hey, are you okay? You’ve been fidgeting a lot.”

He turned to you before diverting his eyes, nerves filling him after each second. Taking a breath to calm himself, he looked back at you, “I was thinking.. I’m ready.”

You blinked, “Ready for what?” After a moment you realized, your eyes lighting up in glee, and you gasped, “Really? Are you sure?”

He smiled at you, albeit, under the mask, but you could see the corners of his eyes crinkle a bit which was a telltale sign for you, “Yeah, I’m sure.”

Turning his body towards you fully, he took a deep breath as you did as well. You smiled gently before taking one of his big hands in your own, “Take your time, love.”

He squeezed your hand gently before letting go, his hands going up and lowering his mask. The bundle of nerves in his stomach seemed to quadruple, only for it to melt away as he felt your hand gently cup his cheek.

“Mezo.. what happened?” You gently rubbed your thumb over his cheekbone, “This must’ve been painful.. but even with the scars I still love you.”

It took him a moment to realize, but those words along with how you looked at him showed that you didn’t even realize that the shape of his face was different, and instead you thought his reason for hiding his face was the scars.

“N-No, I don’t hide my face because of the scars, it’s because of.. well, people always told me my face was scary..” He averted his gaze away from you.

“Wh- huh? ‘Scary’??” Bringing your other hand to his face, you brought his gaze back to yours, “All I see is an absolutely gorgeous man, I don’t see anything about you that I would consider ‘scary’.”

After a few moments of looking into each other’s eyes, Mezo’s arms were hugging you to him tightly. No words were spoken as you sat like that in his arms, calmness finally washing over his worries as if they were never there.

“Thank you.”

“There’s nothing to thank me for, Mezo.”

Pulling back, he looks at your lips then back to your eyes, and you nod softly with a small smile. Slowly leaning in, you share a soft kiss.

Bliss fills both of you as you pull back, going back to hugging as he lays back with you on top of him, your weight relaxing him as he feels the exhaustion of worrying catching up to him, causing him to fall asleep on your bed.

~~~

As he finished retelling the story, he looked up at his classmates who all had tears in their eyes as Mina was the first one to speak, “That- *sniff* was such a cute story.”

Right as she blew her nose, you opened the door to the dorms, slightly shocked to see everyone sitting in the main room, and even more, that they were all looking at you.

“I’m guessing I missed something important?” Looking over to your boyfriend, your eyes widened as you saw him without his mask on in front of them. He smiled at you softly, to which you reciprocated instantly, “It seems I did.”

Walking over, you start to see that all of your classmates have tears in their eyes which cause you to worry, looking between them and Mezo. “As much as I’d like to be caught up to speed, I should really go to be-”

You were cut off as Mina and the rest of the girls jumped and hugged you as Ochaco said something about how adorable that story was, but you didn’t think you heard correctly.

Stuck in their grasps, you struggled out a, “Ok, nevermind I’ll just stay here then.” Before hugging them all back.

[p1nkshield]

welcome weary traveler you’ve made it to chapter eight! It’s been a long time since I’ve updated, sorry!

Jason was very okay with being a zombie. It was what he joked about when things got overwhelming. He now had a new specific descriptor and a support system he never knew existed. I was strange. The level of self reliance he was used to was now no longer needed. If he were to fall ill he wouldn’t be met with confusion at his vitals or being treated like a case unheard of prior. It was comforting to have someone say, “that’s totally normal, it happened to me”. This would lose a bit of its luster as Jason phased through the kitchen floor with a yelp for the fifth time in ten minutes.

Danny grabbed onto his arm and pulled to no avail.

“Try to fly up instead just accepting your fate.”

Jason was too busy clawing at the floor like a cat being dragged to a bath to heed his advice. This was also to no avail as his arms swished through the floor like it was mist and he fell completely.

Tim was having a very entertaining morning. Watching idly as his older brother’s legs dangled and flailed from the ceiling of the bat cave made his coffee much more enjoyable. He had made a bet with Cass on how many times Jason would fall through before he got used to his newfound abilities. Cass had more faith in him than he did saying that he would fall under 200 times.

FWUMP

By the way things were looking Tim would not have to fight the condiment king for a whole month!

Jason was getting tired feeling like every step was a gamble. Danny was little help. The most he did was graciously build a barrier so that he wouldn’t fall into the mantle of the earth. Witnessing the feat was bewildering. He was scampering about the bat cave picking things up, asking “do you use this?” And then promptly dropping or tearing apart the tech based on the answer. He haphazardly squeezed together a projector-like device and turned it on, producing a neon green grid.

“What is that?” Jason asked as he tested this mesh with his foot.

Danny jumped onto the grid, displaying its bounciness.

“Baby proofing!” Danny joked

“As you develop your powers you’re not going to be able to fully regulate your intangibility. So until you’re phase trained this will help you from sinking into the ground.”

Was Jason going to sink into the ground? Phase training? Jason was getting a bit worried… it was probably fine.

THWUMP

Just as soon as Jason got up the stairs and got his lunch together he fell again. Green was starting to tinge the edge of his vision.

“That’s 15 times today! Start prepping your anti ketchup wash kit!”

Tim was keeping count? They bet on how many times he would fall?! Jason was starting to seethe.

“Jason! Try to think solid thoughts if your feeling yourself slipping!” Danny said, sticking his head through the floor.

Not helpful. Jason did not respond. He was very tired of falling. The first time had been a shock to everyone but Danny. They had all been eating dinner together, a small miracle, and Jason just fell out of his chair. He made a sound comparable to a perfectly cut scream as he was in one room then clipped into the next.

Right now the only thing Jason could do was think of that and breathe in an effort to calm himself down.

Tim took a tentative step back. “You okay?”

Jason thought the answer was quite obvious and simply glared in Tim’s direction.

Danny flew down from the kitchen and procured a glass of ectoplasm from the tanks and placed it into Jason’s hands.

“Drink.”

Jason drank and was immediately was full of much less rage than before. Great. He needed baby proofing and now got hangry like a toddler. Just great. At least he could see the humor in Tim’s bet now.

“Your wager.”

Tim was still tentative about the situation. “…Yeah?”

Jason downed the rest of the ectoplasm

“I want in. I bet less than 50.”

@skulld3mort-1fan @addie-lover-of-stories @ivymala07 @nottmuchtopost @stargazer-luna a @icecweme @dontfightmecauseillcry @seraphinedemort @tinybrie @kyrianclawraith @spoopyspoony @joyfulcollectordreamland @luffyrose @nixthenerd @darkstarsapocalypse @lemccr @busterkeel @britcision @inthereellife @vythika96 @chrysanthemum9484 @blankliferain @sara0055 @pike-s @xye-chan @blackroselina @malice-of-the-sunrise @gin2212 @meira-3919 @undead-essence @onlyhereforthechaos @charcoalstainedbones @ectoradiation @persephoneblackrose @farmercale @claudiashq @boo-ghosties @56thingsinaname @insomniaxonline @thefanficcup @terzatheunderscorerima @wolfeyedwitch

Lmk if you don’t want to be tagged anymore!

[waitingandwishing]

Army Dreamers pt.2

(Cross posted on tumblr and AO3)

Prev - Next Chapter

Rumbling had erupted from behind Y/N. She looked at the gate, which was opening by itself. When it had fully opened, it exposed a huge house with tables all over the lawn. On the front step, was a couch. A big guy sat behind it and a girl sat on it.

 "Will all of the applicants who passed the First Phase please enter," Even though she was far away, everyone could probably hear her perfectly fine. It hurt Y/N’ ears. "Welcome all!" She had blue hair wrapped in coils and lime green eyes. Her outfit was a see-through shirt with a black bra, paired with shorts and knee-high boots. "I'm Menchi, your Examiner for the Second Phase.

"And likewise, I'm Buhara," The male introduced himself. He had on a yellow shirt that exposed his belly-button and forest green pants, with no shoes. He had dark hair and equally dark eyes. A huge rumbling sound came from Buhara's stomach. People began whispering around Y/N, wondering what that sound was.

"Sounds to me like you're getting hungry," Menchi looked up at Buhara.

"Hungry? I'm famished!" Buhara corrected.

"Well there you have it," Menchi stood up and placed her hands on her hips. "The Second Phase..." She stuck her hand out and pointed. "Is cooking!"

People began complaining around me. Specifically, some guy with blond hair tied into a low ponytail. "What do you mean we're cooking?" He yelled. "We came here to take the Hunter Exam!"

"That's correct," Menchi didn't seem fazed. "The Second Phase of the exam will be preparing a meal that'll satisfy our tastes," She elaborated.

"Why do we have to cook?" Someone from the crowd asked.

"Don't you know? It's simple really! Because we're Gourmet Hunters," She gave us a smile. People, including the ponytail guy, started laughing at her.

"Talk about a let down," The same guy commented. Menchi didn't seem to be happy about that. Once the laughing settled down, the guy asked, "So, you're Gourmet Hunters. What exactly do you want us to make?"

"Buhara?" Menchi left the decision up to her partner.

Buhara stood up and spoke with a booming voice, "Today's required ingredient will be pork!"

"Pork? You mean pig meat?" Someone asked.

"Yes, idiot. What do you think Pork is?" Y/N said under her breath, annoyed at the complaining. They wanted to be hunters, so just go along with the exam! Killua glanced at Y/N with a smirk before turning his attention back to the examiners.

"Feel free to use meat from any species of pig in Visca Forest!" Buhara ignored the question. "As you see, you'll use these cooking facilities to prep your pork dishes. To pass the exam, you must create a dish to satisfy our discriminating palates."

"But we won't be evaluating taste alone, so take this seriously. Is that clear?" Menchi had her arms folded. "When we've both eaten our fill, this portion of the exam will be over."

"Okay, enough talk. Let's just get to it alright," Ponytail guy waved off her words.

"Let the exams’ second phase..." Buhara brought his hand up and smacked his belly, creating a gong sound. "...Begin!"

Almost immediately everyone turned around and started running to the forest. Including Y/N’s friends. "Man, this is way easier than the first phase," Leorio commented, the right side of his face was swelling up. Y/N wondered what happened?

"I just hope it's that simple," Kurapika said.

After, Gon started sliding down a hill on his butt. Y/N chased after him and fell down on top of Gon, letting out a grunt as her leg slammed into Gon's back. "Sorry, Gon!" Killua followed shortly behind Y/N. "WOOoo!" He shouted excitedly as Leorio and Kurapika followed in pursuit.

Killua's celebration soon turned into screaming as his arm collided with her head. What's worse is that Leorio and Kurapika hit us three soon after. "OW!"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Killua yelled.

"Following Gon," Y/N answered with an eye roll.

"I knew that much," He grumbled.

"I found them," Gon pointed to the right of them.

"Huh?" Leorio yelled. Y/N winced, it was so loud… She wasn't expecting them to be... This. They were pale bubblegum pink, had large snouts, and were chewing on some bones. And Goddamn they were big… "They're all... Chewing on bones," Leorio pointed out. "Don't tell me, they're carnivores," Kurapika jinxed himself.

"Seriously-"

The pigs had suddenly noticed us and let out a roar, charging towards them with an unknown amount of aggression. Y/N quickly stood up, grabbing Killua’s hand and started running. 

'Ow... my head. I swear if I have a concussion I'm gonna scream...' Y/N thought as her head throbbed. At least her violin was okay. Y/N followed Leorio and Kurapika, with Gon and Killua trailing behind her. The pigs had charged straight on at them, like a bull seeing red. What did they ever do to them?! Well, they were trying to kill them to eat but that's besides the point!

The group soon ran into other people, who started screaming and running as well. The pigs were faster though and flung them into the air using their snouts. "These pigs are insane!" Leorio yelled.

"Yeah! No shit!"

Someone tried to throw a rock at one, but their snout broke through it. Another tried ninja stars, same result. Gon had jumped up and tried to kick one, but it brought its snout up to guard. 

Y/N heard Gon yell and turned over to him. He jumped into the air and hit the forehead with his fishing rod. The pig fell down on its back, defeated by a twelve year old.

"So, the foreheads are the weak spot," Y/N heard Killua say.

She smirked, quickly picking an apple from the ground and chucking it towards the pig's forehead. It fell unconscious. "Well, that was a lot easier than I expected..." She muttered to herself before packing her violin up again. Seeing that Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio had already killed theirs, they all ran back to the house. Everyone soon got their pigs and followed along.

'Do I have to cook it all? That might not cook it all the way through and overcook the outside...,' Y/N thought, bringing out a knife.

Cutting it into smaller, more manageable slices, Y/N mixed soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic and Worshestersh... Worshestershire Sauce? Okay she knew she got that wrong. How do you even pronounce Worceshter... Y/N plopped the pork slices into the marinade. Hopefully it won't be too dry. 

'It might be a bit burnt... probably needs some seasoning too...' Y/N thought as she pulled out a few spices. She looked around and tried fishing out the ingredients she thought would work best. Which would probably not work at all. 'Tsk, there's not enough time. I'll have to cook them now...'

Y/N took out the pork slices and stuck a skewer through them, setting them on the fire. Turning it continuously, she watched the meat cook. Albeit a bit burnt, her pork had finished cooking and she held it away from the fire.  “Ooh, that smells good.” Killua chimed in, peeking his head into Y/N’s cooking station with a mischievous smirk. She sighed.

“You want one, don’t you?” She asked and Killua nodded. Y/N sacrificed a bit of pork for him and he smiled happily.

“Thanks, you’re the best, Y/N~” Killua cooed before going back to cooking his food.

People have already started to bring their food up, but every one of them was brought back. Y/N noticed most of the people were making fun of Gourmet Hunters so…  Karma she guessed? "Not a single applicant has passed yet," Leorio said.

"And Menchi has yet to take a single bite," Kurapika added. "Wait, really?" Y/N chimed in and Kurapika turned to her with a nod. "Yeah, she hasn't eaten anything..." Kurapika muttered. "Well, maybe she just has more... refined taste?" Y/N frowned, slightly confused. Maybe she was just taking her anger out on everyone. (She honestly reminds me of Gordan Ramsey. Wouldn't be surprised if she called someone an 'idiot sandwich' or became enemies/best friends with him.)

"Seriously! Can't anyone out there make something to satisfy my taste buds?!" Menchi yelled.

Y/N quickly grabbed a few bell peppers and cut them into slices. Putting the cooked pork on a plate, she put the bell peppers on the side. 'Well, no one likes raw vegetables, right?' She took the bell peppers and cooked them slightly on the grill. Kurapika snapped his fingers and Y/N looked over at him as he started talking.

"That's it! The Second Phase is a cooking test, but they're judging us based on originality and observation," Kurapika said.

When Leorio went up, he only added a flag to his. "Tell me, how much you love it," Leorio confidently said,

"He's not serious is he?" Y/N deadpanned as she looked over at Kurapika. He shrugged.

"Is this supposed to be a kids meal?!" Menchi yelled Gon decorated his dish with flowers. It was sweet and cute, but didn't help him pass. Poor Gon, he'd have to try next year Y/N supposed... Kurapika added lettuce and other ingredients with his. "Okay, my entry is next," He said.

"Well, finally, something that resembles an actual dish," Menchi twirled her stick around. She took her first bite of the challenge. "Gross!" Menchi yelled. "Presentation is important, but not at the expense of flavor. You're basically no better than number 403!" "Damn." Y/N coughed, trying to hide her laugh as Kurapika sighs in defeat.

"Better luck next time," Leorio sneered.

"At least she actually took a bite out of it." She muttered, passing him to hand up her entry.

"Hm," Menchi hummed. Buhara took a bite and passed it. "At least it doesn't look dry. And, the vegetables aren't raw...," Menchi grumbled. She picked up a piece and took a bite. Swallowing, she looked at Y/N then back at her plate. "It’s passable… But it's boring. Remember, presentation is important too." She failed Venus and Buhara scarfed the rest of it down.

Honestly, Y/N was okay with it. Menchi was pretty chill with her so she didn’t really feel like being upset at failing. Killua was up next. Buhara, again, gave Killua a pass. At least he appreciated the food? Menchi on the other hand... "It's literally bleeding!" She yelled. "It's extra rare," Killua calmly replied and Y/N laughed. Menchi failed him, both for his attitude and entry, and Buhara finished the rest.

"That was so much food, I couldn't take another bite!" Buhara patted his tummy.

"Yeah, I'm pretty stuffed as well," Menchi said. She quickly stood up and told all of the other applicants, "So, none of you pass to the next phase. Exam's over!"

People, again, muttered and whispered loudly. But the only one who really spoke up was none other then, you guessed it, ponytail guy! "This is unacceptable," He broke his table. "Do ya hear me?! I will not accept this!"

'Like chattering monkeys…’ Y/N sighed internally as she heard the same old argument all over again.

"Say what you want, but you still failed," Menchi kept her cool.

"Shut the hell up! You asked for pork and we gave it to you! We risked our lives-"

"Your challenge was to prepare a pork dish that both Examiners would find delicious, and none of you even came close to succeeding. You all did pretty much the exact same thing." She ranted, "I mean, it's like you didn't even try! And when it looked like you had, it was just fancy plating with no flavor to back it up! It's clear that none of you took this seriously!"

"Yeah, but pork? No matter how you cook it, it's still just pork," Some bald guy said. 'Well, depends on who you ask. Maybe, if you stopped being selfish, you'd see that sometimes it means more than that...'

Menchi grabbed the bald man by his scarf, "You wanna say that one more time?! If I hear any more crap from you, I'll shove my arm up your ass and knock your teeth out! Got it?! You sorry excuse for a human! I dare you to say it one more time!" When she was done, she let go of him and sat back on the couch, crossing her legs. "So as I was saying, not a single one of you has the guts to cook anything remotely new or innovative. And those that tried... Had a terrible choice of ingredients."

"Hey, shut up! I'm not here because I'm trying to be some gourmet cook, but a Hunter!" Ponytail guy said, and the crowd agreed with him. "My goal is to become a Blacklist Hunter, and no stupid Gourmet Hunter is gonna tell me I can't!"

"Then it's too bad that a 'stupid Gourmet Hunter' is your Examiner. Better luck next year, I suppose," Menchi shut down his argument. Y/N chuckled as the Ponytail guy was red as steam basically poured out his skin and ears. "Why you... Don't you mess with me!" Ponytail guy turned red and went to punch her, but Buhara intercepted him. He was sent flying and hit one of the towers, landing on the ground.

‘How the hell did he survive that?’  Y/N frowned to herself.

"Buhara, please don't interfere," Menchi told him.

"I'm sorry, but it looked like you were gonna kill him if I didn't step in," Buhara explained. Menchi let out a laugh and picked up some swords.

"Let's get this straight," She started walking down the steps. "We frequently venture into dens of ferocious beasts, in search of the finest ingredients," She threw her swords in the air and started juggling them. "And every Hunter is proficient in at least some form of martial art. You lack focus and the will to experiment with new things," She caught them with one hand, "And that alone, disqualifies you all from becoming Hunters."

Silence took over the atmosphere.

Y/N suddenly heard a loud sound similar to a helicopter and looked up. What was an airship doing here? "The Hunters Association Symbol!" Someone pointed out.

"It must be someone from the exam committee," Someone else said. A cloud of dust coated Y/N's vision as someone landed in front of Menchi. When the dust cleared, it revealed an elderly man. "Who's the old man?" The same voice asked.

"He's the head of the Exam Committee, and he's responsible for the Hunters Exam," Menchi explained. "Chairman Netero."

"Oh, I just work behind the scenes," Mr. Netero waved it off, being humble. "It's not all that impressive. I only interfere with the Exam when little issues like this one pop up. Now dear Menchi," Menchi called to attention. "It has come to my understanding that you've chosen to fail all this year's applicants, the reason being their general reluctance to challenge the unknown."

"Not exactly, Sir. I snapped when a candidate insulted Gourmet Hunters and, I'm afraid I made the Exam harder than necessary," Menchi admitted, her head turned to the ground.

"I see," Mr. Netero nodded thoughtfully. "It seems you're aware that this Exam is completely unacceptable."

"Yes, it's just that I get so emotional when food is involved. I'm not suited for this position," Menchi threw her head up. "I must resign. Please allow them to retake the Second Phase."

"Sadly, I don't know where I'd begin to find another Examiner on such short notice," Netero told her.

"My deepest apologies, sir," Menchi bowed and stood back up, standing taller than Netero.

"Wait, I have an idea," Netero held up his hand. "You continue serving as Examiner, but you yourself must participate alongside this year's applicants in completing whatever challenge you choose," Netero proposed.

"The examiner is taking the Exam with us?" Y/N turned to Killua, "Does that really make sense."

"Hm? No, not really." He frowned.

"This seems pointless, just let us pass already," Leorio griped and Y/N rolled her eyes.

The Chairman let them all take a ride on the airship to Eagle Drop Mountain. She stood near the back, not wanting to get squished by everyone. Y/N sat against the wall and folded her arms, awaiting to arrive at the mountain, but it seemed to be taking a while. She looked up when Killua sat next to her. "Gon had to go to the bathroom," Y/N explained.

"Do you know when he's going to be back?" Killua pulled his knees up to his chest, resting both of his arms on them. He seemed to be contemplating something, but Y/N didn't feel the need to ask.

"No idea. Maybe I should've gone with him, I mean, Hisoka's basically hunting him." Y/N scoffed. She heard footsteps and saw two green shoes in front of her. Looking up, she asked, "What took you so long?” Killua sat up straight and waited for Gon's answer.

"I ran into Hisoka," Gon answered. "Killua was right, we should stay away from him."

"What happened?" Y/N pried.

"It was kinda weird. He just looked at me and smiled, but it was enough to freak me out," Gon admitted. He seemed a bit shaken up, his whole form on edge.

"Ah well, don't worry about him." Y/N reassured him, "He's all bark, no bite. Just a nibble maybe but not a bite unless you piss him off." "Really?"

"Yeah, I doubt you could piss anyone off, Gon. I'm sure you're going to be fine." Y/N smiled as the intercom came on.

"We have arrived at Eagle Drop Mountain. Please line up quickly and as formally as you can," The intercom announced.

Standing up, Y/N heard and felt her bones crack as she stretched her muscles. Walking with Gon as Killua walked behind them, everyone loaded off the airship and spread out over the cliff. Y/N paused, waiting for Killua to catch up with a smile.

Killua’s eyes widened slightly, his expression unreadable as she walked with him. He stared at her before smiling slightly and continuing to walk. 

Killua and Gon both crouched next to the cliff, while Y/N stood a safe distance behind them. "This is it. Take a peek at what's down there," Menchi told the applicants. Leaning over Gon and Killua, Venus saw strings and strings of web, a light fog covering it.

"What is that?" She asked Menchi.

"A Spider-Eagles web," Menchi answered. She seemed to have no concerns, so Y/N thought it should be safe. But then again, she's probably done this thousands of times and this was nothing new to her.

"They built their webs way down there?" Gon asked, a smile spread over his face as he looked down.

"Probably to keep predators away," Y/N guessed.

“That would make sense. Afterall, the animals would just fall straight down," Killua agreed with her.

"Are we technically predators? And if we are, this isn't really stopping us..."

Soon enough, a gust of wind emitted from the mountain. Making a certain ponytail guy fall back. Y/N snickered as Menchi seemed unfazed by the wind. "Look past the web to what's underneath,"

Squinting her eyes, Y/N tried to dive deeper into the mountain. She saw clusters and clusters of... eggs. "Hey, those are-" Killua started.

"Those are Spider-Eagle eggs," Menchi interrupted. Killua huffed and stuck his cheek out.

"Spider-Eagles build their webs in deep ravines such as this," Netero started walking toward everyone. "It helps protect their eggs from other animals."

"Also, the eggs are commonly known as 'Dream Eggs," Netero stepped past ponytail guy.

Ponytail guy spoke up. "Wait a minute, do you mean-"

"You bet I do," Menchi interrupted again, walking to the edge of the cliff. Spreading her arms out, she jumped. Falling down the cliff at a high speed, her hands grabbed onto a web and, after doing a flip, she hung there.

"Even if she grabs a few eggs, how's she gonna climb back up?" A voice spoke from behind Y/N.

"Gah!" Y/N yelled and whipped her head around to see Leorio, “Where the hell did you come from?”

"Calm down! Jeez!" Leorio complains.

Y/N rolled her eyes as she saw Menchi had let go of the web and grabbed an egg. "Is she trying to get herself killed?" Leorio asked, staring down the cliff.

“Yes, she’s committing suicide.” Y/N said sarcastically. The gust of wind came back, carrying a smirking Menchi with it.

"That looks fun," Of course that was Killua's first reaction.

"Of course it does." Y/N sighed, “We’re gonna die…”

"This ravine has updrafts that are crucial to the Spider-Eagle," Netero began explaining again. "The wind helps the newborn chicks as they fly up to safety."

Menchi landed next to Netero and held up her egg. "Now I just need to boil it and I'll be all set."

"You've gotta be kidding. You really expect us to jump down there?" It was ponytail guy again, but this time, he seemed scared.

"I've been waiting for something like this!" Y/N turned her head back to Gon, who had exclaimed the former statement with a laugh at the end. The group all jumped down.

_____________________________________________________

"I would like to introduce myself to the remaining 42 applicants," Netero said, a green bean-shaped person by his side. "I'm Chairman Netero, for this year's Hunter Exam. It's a pleasure to meet all of you."

"And I'm his secretary Beans," Beans said, being the person next to Netero.

'Beans? Who names their child beans?' Y/N thought as Beans continued speaking.

"I had originally planned to make my appearance during the Exams last phase, but, seeing as plans change, I have to say I enjoy the tension in the air," Не gave you guys a smirk before continuing to explain. "I think I'll stick around for the remainder of the trip." Beans straightened his posture before speaking, "We are sche duled to arrive at our destination at exactly 8 AM tomorrow morning. You'll find dinner waiting for you in the dining hall. You're also welcome to rest, of course. Do as you please until we contact you." Looking at the clock overhead, it read 9:04.

"Hey Gon, Y/N, let's explore the airship!" Killua offered.

"Yeah!" Gon yelled.

"I'll join you two later, I want some food first," She declined, even though she had the egg, it wasn’t very filling.

"I'm sure we'll pass by the cafeteria," Gon pointed out. Sighing, she nodded and followed them throughout the airship.

Killua and Gon ran ahead of Y/N as she trailed behind them, keeping an eye out for the dining hall. She was really really really hungry. "Here it is!" Gon stopped in front of a double door, his nose having led him there. Wow, Gon had really good senses.

"This is the dining hall?" Y/N asked apprehensively. "Doesn't really look like one."

"Guess there's only one way to find out," Killua said. Не opened the door, running in with Gon behind him. She looked both directions before walking through the door. It wasn't long until they were kicked out. It was not the dining hall, in fact, it was the kitchen, but they had finished some food moments ago.

"Well, I guess that wasn't the dining hall after all, hm Killua?" Y/N smirked.

"Oh shut up." Killua stuck his tongue out at her. Y/N stuck hers out as they turned to look out the window, prior to Gon's request of course.

"Woah!" Gon and Killua pressed their faces to the window. "It's like it's covered in jewels!"

Pressing her own face against the window, Y/N looked at the town below them. "We're so high up, it's weird." She muttered.

"It is kinda weird," Gon said, staring down at the town. "So, I was wondering... Your parents… Are they- I mean, where are they?" Gon carefully worded his question.

"They're alive. Probably," Killua shrugged.

"Probably?" Y/N repeated, though it came out more as a question.

"Yeah, probably." Killua nodded nonchalantly.

"What do they do for a living?" Gon asked Killua.

"They're assassins." Killua replied.

"They both are?"

Killua looked at Gon for a second, before letting out a laugh. "That's your response?" Не asked, laughing and throwing his head back. "You really are a riot, aren't ya?" Killua said. Не looked over at me and asked,

"What do you think about it, Y/N?" His tone was pretty light.

"Well, some families are weirder than others?" Y/N let out a small laugh before thinking, “Although, I’m curious. How’d you get rid of the bodies?”

"You both are weirdos," Killua laughed and Y/N chuckled. The three of them sat down on the bench. "You're not the first people I've told about my parents, but you guys are the first to take it seriously," Killua had a light laugh at the end, leaning his head against his hand.

"But it's true, right?" Gon asked.

"Why'd you think that?" Killua asked back.

Gon shrugged. "Just a feeling I have."

"Weird," Killua laid his head down. "Most of the time, people only like me because they can't tell if I'm being real or not," Killua placed his chin in his hand.

"I'm from a family of assassins, yeah? So, they're all in the business of murder. And my entire family, they've got real high hopes for me." Killua looked at Y/N, "But y'know, I really can't stand it. Who wants their whole life mapped out for them anyway? When I said I wanted to leave, they all freaked out on me!" He dropped his hand and looked at Y/N and Gon. "My mom had tears just streaming down her face and she kept screaming at me about how I had the potential to be a top assassin." 

Gon and Y/N both laughed at his horrible predicament of a family. "Horrible parents, right? No wonder I'm so rotten!" He sat straight up, closing his eyes. "Then we started fighting, so I slashed my mom in the face, stabbed my brother in the side, and ran away from home." He brought his hand up to his chin, making an 'L. "I'm sure they're out for blood now. If they come after me, I'll kill 'em. When I get my license, I'll hunt them down to the last one," He goofily smiled. "I'm willing to bet they've got pretty hefty bounties on their heads."

"I mean... Gotta get that bag right?" Y/N snickered as Gon laughed and turned to her.

"What about your parents?"

"My parents?" Y/N thought before pursing her lips, "My dad was pretty distant.”

"What about your mom?" Gon asked.

"I have four siblings so she mostly takes care of them.” Y/N shrugged, “It’s not as crazy as Killua’s family although I know my dad was involved with the mafia for a while.”

Gon looked at Y/N with a nod. "That's cool... So, where're you from? I'm from Whale Island."

"Kukuroo Mountain."

"York New City.”

"You're from the city?" Killua turned to Y/N with a blank expression of curiosity, his white hair looked really fluffy. Why was it always really fluffy?

"Yeah, quite boring there actually. But Heavens Arena-" Her sentence was cut short due to a weird feeling running through her bones. The three of them all abruptly stood up. The aura was full of deceit and bloodlust… How emotional.

"Is something wrong?" Hearing the familiar voice, Y/N looked to where the sound came from. She ended up meeting eyes with Netero. Still a bit on edge, she didn't answer.

Luckily, Gon did. "You didn't see anyone come from over there, did you?"

"No, I didn't," Netero answered.

Killua's eyes narrowed for a second, before going back to normal "You're fast. For an old timer."

"That's a bit of a stretch… " Y/N muttered, standing up straighter and crossing her arms.

"Oh," Netero raised a brow. "That trick? I just barely moved, that's all," Netero sheepishly grinned.

Y/N felt the tension build and decided to intervene. "Uh, Mr. Netero," She called. "Is there something specific you came here for?"

"Now, now, no need to be so formal," Netero said, looking at her specifically. "I just got a little bored and decided to look for some company, that's all. I've been meaning to ask you, any thoughts on the first and second phase?" He asked all three of us. Why was he acting so... Friendly now?

"It's a lot of fun!" Gon yelled. "There haven't been any written tests yet, I was relieved to see that." Oh someone please protect this innocent ball of sunshine...

"I'm disappointed, honestly," Killua bluntly delivered. "I expected this to be a lot more challenging. I take it I can safely assume the next phase'll be more interesting?"

"I guess we'll see," Netero responded. "And what about you?" he looked directly at Y/N.

She looked at him dead in the eye and answered as soon as his eyes averted mine for a split second. "It was fine. Sort of entertaining… I guess."

"Well, being active is a big part of being a Hunter," Netero pointed out.

Killua glared before turning around. "Let's go," He demanded.

"Just one moment!" Netero called out.

Killua stopped. "Yes?"

"Would you like to play a game with me?" Netero offered.

"Game?" Gon asked.

"And to make it interesting, if you three can beat me, I'll give you your Hunter licenses on the spot," Netero bribed.

"I guess it all depends on the game," Y/N debated whether or not she should play. After all, what if they lost? Would they be disqualified from the Exam?

"Really? I'll play!" Gon yelled, excited as always.

Killua sighed. "I guess I can join."

"Are we allowed to use weapons?” Y/N asked.

"Well, that wouldn’t be fair, would it?” Netero grinned and Y/N gritted her teeth.

“I refuse.” She said, "I'll watch though."

"Fair enough. Do the two of you still want to play?" Netero asked.

"Yeah!"

Killua nodded along with Gon. Somehow it was hard to tell who was the lost puppy following its owner in this position. Killua glanced a split second at Y/N before turning to The Chairman again. "I'll try it first," Killua said confidently. Hm, maybe Y/N's assumption about him was right. He knew he was powerful.

"Go right ahead," Netero nodded.

Killua walked past Gon and began walking in circles around Netero. His footsteps made no sound as he walked and, soon enough, his stance started echoing. Doubles of Killua surrounded Netero, all walking in a circle. 'A nen technique? I didn't know he knew how to use nen...' Y/N thought to herself.

"I see a bunch of Killua's!" Gon said and Y/N nodded as she observed closely.

Killua broke off and went for the ball. As soon as he did, the rest disappeared. Every time he jumped for the ball, Netero would jump back, keeping a safe distance. 

Once Killua jumped farther back, the two stood and stared at each other. "That's all? How disappointing," Netero shook his head. Bouncing the ball up, he balanced it on the bridge of his nose, leaning his face back.

'He's making him think less rationally. Dulling his senses slightly maybe? Don't let your guard down, Killua.' Y/N thought as Killua growled and pressed his feet to the floor, causing him to go flying horizontally. He kicked Netero's leg, a grunt could be heard from the latter of the two. 'Oh…  that's gotta hurt… '

"His pivot leg," Gon cringed and Y/N sucked in a breath.

"Gon, your turn," Killua hopped on one leg over to Gon, tagging him in.

"Um, okay," Gon looked at Y/N. "Are you sure you don't wanna try, Y/N?"

"Nah," She waved it off, "Now go, get the ball."

Gon nodded and started stretching. Killua sat crisscrossed next to Y/N, folding his arms. He frowned as he scrutinized her face.

"Something wrong?" She asked.

"No." Killua said plainly before sparing a quick glance at Gon, then back at her. "Just looking at your ugly mug."

"Oh, look who's talking." Y/N said and Killua rolled his eyes with a smirk.

"At least I don't wear shirts like... That." Killua pointed to her white shirt. She rolled her eyes.

"Why? Does it hurt your eyes that badly?" She asked.

"No, I'm just concerned that it might scare off anyone you want to talk to." Killua spat back.

"Wow, thanks for the fashion advice from someone who wears boots like that." Y/N gestured to the purple... Boots? Shoes? She didn't even know what those things were.

"I'm-"

"Why don't you try to attack me together?" Their attention snapped back to the game to what looked like a sweaty Gon and a smiling Netero.

At some point, Killua had gotten back up and started going for the ball again, because both him and Gon took their over-shirts off and were fighting Netero for the ball. 

Safe to say it wasn't going well. Gon and Killua landed on the ground as Killua groaned in defeat. Killua stood up and announced, "Aw forget it. I quit. You beat me, alright?" He turned around and grabbed his shirt off of the ground.

Gon stood up as well and pointed to the clock, "Don't quit. We still have lots of time. And besides, we came so close just now."

"You're really clueless, aren't ya? It's hopeless," Killua said. "The old guy barely used his right hand or left leg. He's toying with us. We could keep at this for an entire year and never beat him."

"Figured it out, did you?" Netero placed a hand on his knee, "I was thinking I was being pretty slick about it."

"I get it now," Gon said, with Killua laughing in the background.

"You sure know how to piss me off, old man," Killua sarcastically laughed. "Let's go Gon, Y/N!"

"I think I'll play for a little while longer," Gon said. Killua stopped walking and ran up to him.

"Are you deaf?! Didn't you hear what I just said?" Killua yelled. "It's pointless, we'll never get the ball from him!"

"S'okay, 'cause I don't really care," Gon said calmly. "We only used up half of our time limit and I wanna see if I can get him to use his other

"I… See," Killua said, slightly dumbfounded. "Fine, I get it. Good luck then." Killua waved behind him as he started walking. "Are you coming, Y/N?"

Thinking it over, she nodded and stood up while giving Gon a thumbs up. "Have fun!"

"I will!" Gon yelled back.

As the duo circled through the hall and made a good distance from the room they were just in, Killua started becoming… Off. "You know, I'd think you'd be better at hiding your bloodlust." Killua said as his voice turned dark and dangerous.

"You're good at hiding yours. And besides, this bloodlust has been keeping Hisoka from Gon. He would've approached us sooner if I hadn't been reeking of it since the moment I saw him look at Gon the wrong way." She said quietly.

They continued walking through the circular hallway until Y/N bumped into someone accidently. "Hey kid." One of the guys said, "You bump into us and ignore us?" Y/N rolled her eyes and continued walking. It wasn't that big of a deal, was it? "You brats… " They grumbled and ran towards them, reaching for Venus’ violin case until suddenly they fell to the ground.

Blood.

Dark red blood pooled out underneath them as they continued walking. Y/N wiped blood off of her cheek as Killua looked at her, confused. "You’re not freaked out? Or grossed out?" Killua asked curiously.

"You're not the only one who can kill." Y/N said as she secured her violin case, "But I never liked blood.”

(Tell me if I made any mistakes with Y/N in the comments, please!)

[spread-positivity-everywhere]

Umm okay so recently I had a breakup......there was this one person that I have been dating for past one and a half year.....and it was good and all......he was going through a bad phase in his life and we were maintaining a long distance.....I went to the college and he was still in our home-town preparing for the entrance.......during that one year of his prep, I have seen him having multiple breakdowns and moments of low self-esteem and it honestly used to break my heart to see someone I love going through all that stuff.....I really wanted to be with him, near him to give him a hug whenever he wants, to soothe him.....I tried my best to keep him company (since he cutoff from everyone but me, I was his only friend)....he used to tell me about everything, his dreams, ambitions,traumas and everything and we had a great chemistry.......his result got fucked up again the next year due to some scams in the country and he was very depressed that time, I was in the town during that time and tried to hangout with him as much I could and then I had to go back to college.....he was still there and there were a lot of questions about what college he might get(he was strongest at that point, he could've given in but he didn't and i am sooo proud of him for that)......later he got a college somewhere nearer to my college...not as near but atleast we weren't 2739km away and I was soo happy and we all were......he is a medicine student while I am an engineering major...... suddenly after getting into college he kinda started neglecting me, and when I confronted him, it turned out that it was not "manageable" for him, this relationship and all and that he wants a partner who can be physically present and he wants me but in a different way as in he wants to go on walks with me, go to gym with me, share lunch with me and he doesn't think that it will be practical enough to continue this relationship further......I was so heartbroken because how could he? But he promised me that he will try and after 2-3 days he broke up with saying he can't manage( not to mention it was just 4 days into college and he hadn't figured out anything but he instantly decided to give up on us) also he used to tell me about how his new college friends go on dates and all.......the first week was very hard on me, but it seemed like nothing really affected him and he still wanted to be friends.....I couldn't be friends because I wanted to move on and it physically pained me to see him change soo much....he was ruder/colder....but still wanted me to be friends with him and kept texting me or sending me reels on Instagram ........ weird thing was that he said he can't manage but then after the breakup he was still texting me quite frequently and quite quickly when he didn't do that during those first few days of college..... implying that "managing the relationship" was never an issue..........I don't know exactly what he wants but I am pretty sure I am never going back..........

Break ups aren’t easy but they almost always happen for a reason and honestly, if he was neglecting you and pretty much everything else in his life (from the sound of it), maybe this is what’s best for him right now. It doesn’t mean it’s forever, but also, you shouldn’t wait around and try to see what happens. It won’t be easy, but it’ll get better in time.

[strangerthingssteddiebrainrot]

This was written for the Steddie Valentine's exchange fic. Many thanks to @be-the-spark-flyboy for organizing the event, and to my Secret Valentine @it-gets-worse-at-night , I hope you enjoy the fic!

Note! It gets a little spicy near the end, so if you wanna skip that then look for the lemon line break!

5 Times Steve Left Eddie Speechless and the 1 Time Eddie Returned the Favour

Or

The Punkification of Steve Harrington

5 - The Haircut

Monday morning were the worst Eddie thought to himself as he grabbed his books from his locker and slammed it shut. He was in a mood today, but it helped him as he could see the newly crowned Billy and his ilk being obnoxious a few lockers down from him, Billy bragging about how he kicked Steve's ass because he suspected the man to be targeting his little sister. Eddie snorted to himself, anyone with eyes could see how much Billy loathed his sister, constantly leaving her behind and correcting everyone who said sister to call her 'step-sister'. But god forbid anyone question the King and his law, so of course all the girls were fawning over his 'selfless nature'. The whole thing made Eddie want to puke, even if he was internally cheering over Steve Harrington getting his comeuppance twice in just as many years.

Just as he was about to take off to class, a sudden silence fell in the hall. Turning back to see what happened, his jaw, along with everyone else's, dropped. There was Steve Harrington, walking into school with a busted face, and all the hair shaved off the sides of his head leaving him with only his signature swoop going down to the nape of his neck. It was a drastic change for Steve 'The Hair' Harrington, and it almost overshadowed his busted face and the angry line of stitches running along his hairline.

He was gratified to see that he wasn't the only one struck speechless, even Harrington's old gang were looking at him in open mouth shock. The only one who didn't seem phased was Hawkins High newest top dog and asshole.

"What's the matter princess, I beat you so bad you had to go and change your whole identity?" Billy taunted.

Stopping, Steve just looked at him with utter disinterest. "No actually, I had to shave it because someone couldn't win a fair fight and had to smash a plate over my head and send me to the hospital to get stitches."

There was a heavy pause at that, and Billy went from looking smug to looking furious.

"What the fuck Billy? You didn't say anything about that!" Surprisingly it was Tommy that spoke, eyes fixed on the stitches that wove around Steve's forehead and temple.

"Oh what? Did King Billy not tell you about how he tried to beat up a 12 year old kid? How his sister was terrified to be near him? How he nearly beat me to death cause I wouldn't let him do it?" Steve challenged, head held high like this was all beneath him.

Shouting in rage, Billy grabbed Steve by the shoulders and pushed him into the lockers. Tommy started to shout something and moved forward, but Carol and another girl held him back.

But Steve didn't look bothered at all. He just leaned in and whispered something to Billy that caused him to jerk back. After a few tense moments and more whispering, Billy released him and stalked off down the hallway.

Pushing himself off the lockers, Steve straightened up his clothing and walked away. He passed by Eddie in the process and their eyes locked for a moment. Steve gave him a quick glance up and down, then he spoke to him.

"Nice vest Munson." And off he went as the bell rang overhead.

Eddie couldn't get a word out.

4 - The Vest

Next time he saw Steve was near graduation, when they were prepping for the celebration that he wasn't going to be a part of. A-fucking-gain! They were bringing out chairs from storage when Eddie almost collided with a chair carrying Steve, Steve's reflexes saving him a painful collision since Eddie was about as athletic as a rock.

"Whoa! Sorry about that. You okay Munson?" Steve asked, turning his body so the chairs were facing away from Eddie, his front on display.

And again, Eddie found himself speechless. Only absentmindedly giving a nod to answer Steve's question, his eyes fixed on the article of clothing Steve was sporting.

It was a jean vest, probably used to be a jacket if the exposed frayed edges from where the arms used to be was any indication. But what really got him was the stitching on one of the front pockets that proclaimed, in slightly sloppy lettering, 'The King is Dead', with a little crown sewn in. The sight of it sent something through Eddie. Sure, everyone noticed the change in Steve ever since he and Billy fought; Steve was much less concerned about his appearance, ditching his polos for plain tees and the occasional graphic, always paired with Levi's, and while he was still pretty charming the school had been all atwitter when one day Steve came in with orbital piercing on both ears. Simple silver hoops, but shocking all the same when they were attached to Steve fucking Harrington. No longer was he a asshole, but he actively ran interference between Billy and his merry band of fuckers and people like Eddie. And whatever Steve had whispered in Billy's ear that day, it seemed to keep him at bay, the rest of their time together passing in glares but no retaliation even when Steve really let his bitchiness out.

Noticing his gaze, Steve ducked his head slightly and gave him a bashful smile. "Yeah, hope you don't mind, I've seen your vest around so I took some inspiration from it. It's not done yet, but what do you think?"

Looking at him expectantly, Eddie couldn't think last the buzzing in his ears. Sure, Steve was attractive, anyone with eyes could see that and Eddie was not immune, but having that gaze focused on him was paralysing. Because in addition to the vest, Steve had kept his hair buzzed on the sides and it showed off the light scar on the side of his head from where the stitches had eventually come out. So seeing the vest paired with the buzzed sides and pierced ears, Eddie could only think of what he'd look like going full metal. Wiith tattoos and a leather jacket and black jeans, and the image was enough to fry his brain, leaving him just staring dumbly at Steve. Who was looking more concerned the longer the silence went on.

Just when Steve opened his mouth, however, they were interrupted by someone calling Steve's name.

"Stevie! Any reason you're taking so long? Where's my delivery?" Carol Perkins sing-songed at Steve.

Out of Steve's old group of friends, surprisingly it was Carol that actually bridged the gap between them and started up a tentative friendship with him again. Not that it keep her from dating Tommy, or bullying other kids, or keeping the Hawkins High elite from being the main group she ran with. But every now and then she'd be seen with Steve, gossiping to him, even tolerating being with Nancy and/or Johnathan who, despite the rumours of cheating on Steve, still kept close to him even when all three of them looked very uncomfortable.

"Sorry Carol, coming!" Hefting the chairs back into his arms, giving Eddie a lovely show of shifting muscle, Steve gave him an apologetic smile and took off.

All the best really, not like Eddie could've gotten a word out anyway.

3 - The Music Comment

Eddie hadn't seen, let alone thought of Steve Harrington ever since he graduated and Eddie didn't. Twice. But he had taken some new freshmen under his wing, good kids all of them, even if Lucas was a part time jock.

So imagine his surprise when a session ran late, the sun in the process of setting, and his offer to give them a drive home was declined. They said their babysitter was coming to get them which eased his concerns, and the others if they way their shoulders relaxed was any indication. Hawkins wasn't as safe as it used to be it seemed, the town having been rocked by the confirmed death of Barbara Holland and the shutdown of Hawkins lab. Good riddance in his opinion, the lab never sat well with him or Wayne, and while he wasn't friends with Barb she had been a nice enough girl, smiling at him when they passed each other in the hall and never joining in the jeering and laughing at his expense.

He was brought out his thoughts when the sound of a car pulling up distracted him, the sound of Wham! coming from its open windows. It was a very distinct BMW and Eddie could feel his eyes widen as none other than Steve Harrington parked and exited the car, Dustin and Lucas going to greet him while Mike hung back and scowled.

And oh dear god it seemed time had been good to him. Now with a helix piercing fitted with a thick hoop gracing one ear, and a nose and eyebrow piercing, Steve stood against the side of his car in a casual lean, his vest once again on his body. He looked good, his hair long on top with the sides still shaved, a dark green Henley underneath, and dark wash Levi's. God he looked good, and it got even better when he pulled out a cigarette and lit up, offering to Eddie, Jeff, Gareth and Martin. Only Eddie accepted and Steve pulled out a lighter for him to use.

"Can I try Steve?" Lucas asked, gesturing to the cigarette.

"Hell no, none of you little shits should ever smoke. It's too late for me but if you haven't started, then don't. Especially you Lucas, you're an athlete now." Steve said sternly, pointing at each of them threatening.

"God Steve, how do you look like that but are still so lame?" Mike complained, battling Dustin in a game of rock paper scissors for the front seat.

"Hey, shithead, you wanna try explaining to Nancy why you're breath smells like smoke?" Steve shit back, smiling in victory when Mike grumbled but backed off.

"Speaking of which, why the hell are you listening to What! of all things when you've changed your look so dramatically?" Eddie asked, teasing grin on his face.

Steve just shot him an unimpressed look, breathing out smoke. "And white you to be judging someone for their looks? Think just because I look a certain way I should also listen to certain things? Sounds pretty conforming to me."

And Eddie's brain just broke at that, stuttering through different responses but unable to come up with a response that didn't make him sound like one of the elitist dicks that tried to gatekeep communities. After a solid minute of nothing, Eddie just brought his hands together in a prayer like gesture, and pressed the tips of his fingers to his lips, still silent.

"….is he okay?" Steve asked, confusion and concern equal parts present on his face.

"Yeah, don't worry about him." Jeff said, amusement in his voice as he side eyed him. "He's just having a moment. That was a pretty good comeback."

Face lighting up with a smile, Steve stubbed out his cigarette as the kids settled into his car. "Thanks man, I try."

Waving goodbye to them, Steve turned to get into his car showing off the back of his vest. Stitched into the back was a flower like shape, but with what looked like teeth inside the petals. Nails were seen in all around it as well, 'Babysitter' written across the top, and at the bottom 'monster hunter' was written in black marker. To make things worse for Eddie's racing heart, there was a D20 die tattoo'd on the back of his right bicep.

Then the sight disappeared as Steve got into his car, closing the door and starting his car, taking off with the kids waving goodbye from the windows.

The others waved back, but Eddie was still struck dumb, and frozen in place.

"Was that a fucking D&D tattoo?" Gareth asked.

"Yeah I think so." Martin replied.

Eddie just thought to himself, well he didn't get the last word in. But at least this time he managed to speak at all.

2 - The Glasses and Aids

Eddie was ready to pull out his hair. He admired Max's spirit, he really did, but not when it prevented her from accepting help that she really needed. She kept refusing help from everyone, convinced it was some sort of pity which caused her already prickly nature to turn on them. He was pretty sure she would have turned down physiotherapy as well if it hadn't been mandated by doctor, considering she'd broken every fucking limb on her body.

And now she was denying the need for glasses as well! Her fucking eyes nearly exploded, she was lucky to have eyes at all, but god forbid she do anything to help herself because she prescribed it as a weakness!

All of them were trying to be patient with her, some succeeding more than others (Mike and Dustin really needed to learn the art of delicacy), but they were all wearing down and getting sick of having the help they offered thrown back in their faces. Now, for instance, Steve had taken Max to the den (because of course his fucking mansion of a house had a seperate living room and den) closer to the back of house when it seemed like she might used her newly healed arm to chuck a glass at Lucas's head when he suggested she use one of the guest rooms for a nap. Her energy levels weren't back to normal yet, and the physio sessions didn't help. As a result she would often nod off in the middle of hangout sessions, assuming she didn't just head back home to the modest bungalow she and her mother had been given after everything finally wrapped up. She was already in a bad mood because she needed her wheelchair after today's session, and Lucas sent her over the edge. No doubt she was fighting a migraine as well, her squinting and easy acceptance of Steve's offer to move to the back a dead giveaway. They'd all learned to read the signs by now, but the stubborn little shit refused to even look at the glasses that had been prescribed to her. They tried to avoid the TV when she had the energy to come to group hangouts, but she chafed against it, insisting they continue as normal regardless of whether she could see the screen or not. Another slight to her independence it seemed.

Once everyone had a moment to breathe though, Nancy suggested bringing her water and painkillers, an easy peace offering. Eddie volunteered to go, his hide thicker than most given his whole high school experience. So off he went, but as he got closer he could hear Steve and Max talking, and before he could think about Eddie slowed and quieted his steps, listening in.

"....eve! That's the end of it, I won't wear them! I'm not fragile and I won't let anyone treat me like I am!" Came Max's heated voice, thankfully not yelling this time but still higher than normal.

"Max," he heard Steve sigh. "Needing glasses is not a weakness. You have scars, because you helped save the fucking world. There is nothing weak about that. Your eyeballs almost burst in your skull and there is nothing more badass than that. But now those scars are causing you issues that you need help for, and there is nothing weak about that. If anything, it's badass, it's metal, it's bitchin, cause those scars are proof that you lived, you won and Vecna is dead and in the dirt because of it. So please, please, just be open about the glasses. There's no shame in that."

Eddie waited for Max's response, but it seemed the conversation was over as Steve just let out another big sigh.

Backing up a bit, Eddie made sure his footsteps were loud as he pretended to just be coming down the hallway, presenting the water and pills with a flourish, not phased when neither of them smiled. Mostly he was just grateful Max took the pills.

—-------------------

It wasn't two days later that they all gathered together at Steve's house again. Eddie had a small one shot planned for the kids, it would be Jane's first time playing and everyone wanted to come to support her. While Eddie and everyone set up, Steve had gone to get Max. She didn't have any physio today thankfully, but she still had regular doctor's appointments to make sure everything was healing properly.

The front door opened and Max walked in with her cane, and they stared as they realized that, miracle of miracles, she was wearing her glasses! The square lenses suited her face and the fiery red frame added to their personality, and complemented her face, making her look just a little softer around the edges, more the young girl she should be and less the harrowed shell of herself.

She did however look a bit dazed, and as she settle into a chair, she looked around and asked. "Did anyone know about this?"

A quick glance around showed everyone looking just as confused as Eddie felt.

Dustin was opening his mouth, presumably to ask her to clarify, but just then Steve made his way inside with his arms full of bags from his trip to the grocery store. And perched on his face was the cutest pair of oval lenses perched on his nose, a pair of wire rimmed glasses that even with his punk look, made him look so fucking cute!

There was silence for a moment, then the table exposed as all the younger kids crowded Steve throwing questions at him. Rolling his eyes at them, Steve turned to head into the kitchen, the motion showing off the hearing aid attached to him. That of course prompted another barrage of questions, nevermind the fact that Steve hadn't even addressed the first wave. Thankfully the noise followed Steve as he took the groceries to unpack them, Steve promising to answer the questions if everyone chipped in and out the food away, Johnathan and Nancy following, no doubt curious as well.

"It started with Johnathan we think, it wasn't his first concussion but it did kind of set the tone." Eddie jumped when Robin's voice came from beside him. She smiled sadly at him before continuing. "He had gotten a concussion from basketball a few years before, in middle school, but Johnathan really beat his ass in '83. Then, well, you saw what Billy did to him." Eddie nodded. "Then, the evil Russians. We told you about that, right?" Eddie nodded again.

When he was recovering in the hospital, they filled him and Wayne in on everything, including what really happened at Starcourt. How they were tortured and injected with unknown drugs in a secret underground Russian lab. It was horrifying, but he felt worse for Steve who had taken the brunt of the physical torture.

"He started getting headaches after that, bad ones. Migraines really. The doctors said it was all the damage from the concussions. They recommend the glasses, and then the hearing aids when the ringing in his ears never went away. It got worse again after…everything. He should be wearing them all the time, but you know Steve." Smiling sadly, tears in her eyes, Robin finished.

Eddie pulled her into a hug, both of feeling for the man who put himself through so much harm for the safety of others.

—--------------------

Steve started wearing his glasses and aids more often after that. Not every day, but whenever he didn't Max would refuse to wear hers as well. So they both started getting better about it, bullying each other by refusing to wear their glasses if the other wasn't. Everyone could see the change in their health after that, less headaches and less irritation. Everyone was especially guilty that they hadn't noticed how much pain Steve had been in this whole time. But he brushed them off, saying it was his job to worry about them, bit the other way around.

Bad days still happened, days where Max took off the head of whoever tried to offer her help, days where Steve had a furrow between his brows and couldn't stand bright lights. But slowly and surely, they were getting better.

Regardless of how much time passed though, Eddie was always left momentarily speechless whenever he saw Steve in his fucking glasses.

1 - Saying it First

All things considered they really hadn't been together that long, but when you had to fight for life back to back with someone, it tended to speed things along. So really, six months, six years, it didn't really matter.

It wasn't even hard to get to this point. After they'd pulled their heads out of their asses, ie, some meddling from Robin and the kids, they fell into a loving relationship fairly easily. It turns out Steve had a crush on him ever since he struck Eddie dumb with his music comment while picking up the kids from that fateful D&D session. He didn't have the words for he felt back then, not until Robin introduced him to the world of queers when they took a trip to Indianapolis for her to find the local scene.

So he'd already gone through a sexuality crisis by the time spring break rolled around and had come out of it a proud little bisexual. So they'd been crushing on each other the whole time, just too shy and afraid to ask for fear of ruining their newfound friendship (and rejection, of course).

Steve had warned him of course, that he was intense, that he didn't do things half assed when to came.to the people he cared about. But for Eddie, who's closest brush with 'a relationship', was handys in a back alley with the same guy three weeks in a row in a bar in Indianapolis, the outpouring of affection was like a balm on his soul that he didn't know he needed. Steve wasn't afraid to use pet names, to place an arm around him and cuddle close, to kiss him as soon as they were in a place they could do so, even if the kids gave them heck for being disgusting.

So I really shouldn't have been a surprise when one night at Steve's house, during a heated make out session, movie forgotten in the background, Steve pulled back and stared into his eyes.

"I love you." He whispered, like he was hoping the words would get lost in the darkness.

Eddie couldn't speak, again! The words just got lodged in his throat, and he could feel himself start to tear up. So he just, nodded instead. Hiding his face in Steve's neck and curling around him, arms coming up to hold him close and he cried and nodded, trying to return the words but making noise instead.

"I know babe, I know, I hear you. Hold on Eddie, Eds, that can't be comfortable." Pulling back from Eddie just enough, Steve pulled off his vest and Eddie could bury his face into the soft shirt underneath.

Eddie hadn't even realised he'd been pressing his face into the Wizard of Oz patch he'd recently sewn onto one of the lapels. Steve reached up and gently caressed the indented skin, kissing the area before pulling back in to cuddle close, tipping them into their sides so they were laying on the couch. They spent the rest of the night like that, wrapped around each other with Steve whispering how much he loved him in between sweet kisses.

Eddie was once again left speechless, but this time for the best of reasons.

+1 - In Bed

Falling into bed together after enjoying a nice homemade dinner, they were eagerly stripping each other's clothes off. It was their first Valentine's day together since they became a couple, and they spent it doing some corny things together in the new Munson trailer. Wayne had taken an overtime shift that day with a very pointed comment about being safe that Eddie did not appreciate and caused Steve to turn red as a tomato. But at the same time Eddie couldn't not appreciate it. After all, it was Valentine's Day, and while they couldn't spend it out and about like other couples, he still planned to leave Steve speechless with some good sex.

Fully naked now, Eddie laid Steve out in bed, pressing him into his new, clean, mattress, telling him without words that he was in charge tonight. Which seemed just fine to Steve, he laid back and raised his arms above his head, displaying himself for his lover.

Groaning at the visual, Eddie made his way down Steve's body, licking and nibbling his way down, paying special attention to his nipples as it turned out they were quite sensitive. He stopped every now and then, sucking hickeys into the skin, prolonging the journey to build the tension up, even as Steve squirmed and tried to push Eddie down with hands in his hair. But Eddie was not to be rushed. You see, while they'd gotten to know each other's bodies very well the past few weeks, knew exactly how to make the other cum screaming, a bit of careful probing (heh), revealed that for all of Steve's extensive knowledge and experience with women, there was a certain act that Steve had never even heard of before.

So of course Valentine's Day, lovers day, was the perfect time to introduce Steve to a favourite activity of his.

Close now to his destination, Steve spread his legs, no doubt anticipating a mouth around him, but Eddie's goal was just a little lower.

"Eddie?" Steve asked, confused when Eddie bypassed his usual stop and went for his thighs instead.

Eddie had a plan though, so he ignored Steve for now. For once, he was going to leave Steve speechless!

With determination in his veins, Eddie hitched up Steve's thighs to rest on his shoulders and got to work.

🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋

Later on, cleaned up and in bed, Steve already asleep and Eddie on his way there, Eddie reflected on his work.

He didn't quite get Steve speechless, but he decided that incoherent was just as good.

+Extra - Chocolate

Waking up alone had Steve shooting up in panic as he thought Eddie had left him, that he was too much and Eddie finally had enough of him. But as he forced himself to calm down, he realised that he could hear banging around in the trailer which could only be Eddie, and that's what had woken him up. He heard Eddie's muffled voice as he spoke with Wayne, no doubt getting some breakfast since a quick glance at the clock showed that it was early morning when he would be coming home from work. Relaxing, Steve sunk back into the bed, rolling onto his front and gathering the pillow into his arms so he could bury his nose into the softness, inhaling Eddie's scent of weed, spice and the faintest hint of tobacco from the rare cigarette he still indulged in, even despite Robin's glares and lectures.

The only question was where had he gone. Steve had been looking forward to waking up slowly, savouring the feeling of being held warm and safe in Eddie's arms.

Soon enough Eddie was stomping his way back to him (the man could not move quietly), but Steve appreciated the attempt Eddie made to open the door quietly and sneak back inside. Only to immediately jump and yelp when he met Steve's eyes from where Steve lay on his front in bed, blearily looking at him from the pillow.

"Hey princess, was hoping you'd still be asleep before I got back." Eddie said, dropping a bag onto his nightstand and removing all his clothes besides his boxers, climbing into bed and gathering Steve close.

"Mmm, I was, but it's kinda hard to miss you stomping around like an elephant." Steve teased, pushing Eddie back so they could lay chest to chest, propping his head up with a hand so he could look at Eddie.

"Fuck off Stevie." Eddie said with no heat, giving him a kiss on the forehead.

Humming in pleasure, Steve asked. "Where'd you go anyway? It's early."

"Welllll, the best part about the capitalistic hell that is the hallmarks way of extorting the people of their money by manipulating them with 'love' and shaming people not in relationships," Eddie went off, making air quotes with his fingers when he said love, smiling at Steve's blank, unamused face. "Is the day after when they have to clear out their stock of cards and chocolate by putting it all at half price." Eddie finished, grabbing the bag he set down earlier and emptying it at their sides, Valentine's Day cards and a wide variety of chocolate spilling out.

"I was thinking of saving the cards for next year, never to early to get a head start after all, and I don't know what kind of chocolate you like so I got a fewwwww, why are you crying!?!!" Eddie nearly shouted, his eyes widening and panicking as he struggled to sit up with Steve still pressed against him and refusing to let go.

Laughing through the tears making their way down his face, Steve pressed his weight down, keeping them laying on the bed.

"I'm alright Eddie, really." Steve said, ignoring Eddie's skeptical look since his tears wouldn't stop. "I'm just happy. No one has ever gotten me chocolates before. Or at least, not since elementary school."

"What? No one?" Eddie looked shocked at this, squeezing Steve to himself and placing kisses in his hair.

"Yeah… I mean, I'm the guy right? Usually I was the one buying chocolate, or flowers and cards. Assuming I was even in a relationship at this time of year."

"That's bullshit. It takes two to make a couple doesn't it? They're weren't treating you right Stevie"

Huffing out a wet laugh, Steve rested his chin on Eddie's chest and looked up at him adoringly. "How about this then? From now on we both get each other chocolate or flowers or cards for Valentine's Day."

Struck dumb that Steve assumed a future where they'd be together, for a while it seemed like, Eddie couldn't even be annoyed that Steve Harrington had, once again, left him speechless.

But even as he thought it, he watched as Steve opened his mouth only for nothing to come out. Instead he giggled, settling down against him and cuddling in close.

So it seemed they both left each without words this time.

Eddie could live with that.

Based off of my favorite punk!Steve artwork!

https://at.tumblr.com/fairysteve/703217386757734400/3e0hndymns4p

This will also be posted to my ao3, link will be in the comments!

[izzasecretredacted]

okay this has to be the last prep post I’m getting antsy everyone here got oc’s with all these cool stories and I’m just here trying to get every last thing in a row so screw it this should be enough to get me started atleast.

btw I’m not gonna bother with examples for stuff in this post. Maybe I’ll edit some in later if anyone wants to use these for themself, but if you just plan on following my thing then hopefully everything will be clear as I go on.

Solo RP Homebrew~

Find out If… (Reactive)

When you need to know if something out of your control happens, come up with something that you think could happen, and roll+likelyhood:

10+: It happens exactly as you thought. 7-9: Its close to what you thought. Roll for one below.

Someone unexpected is involved. (Find out Who)

Its tied to a plot in an unexpected way. (Find out Why)

Its effect is unexpected. (Find out How)

6-: Its nothing like you thought. Roll all three.

The likelyhood for this roll is…

+3 if you’re 100% certain it will go as you think. (roll for npcs only)

+2 if there’s very little doubt.

+1 if its more likely to go this way than not.

+0 if you have no clue which way it’ll go.

-1 if what you think is not that strange, but a longshot.

-2 if it would be a truly remarkable event.

-3 if it just isn’t happening. (roll for npcs only)

Find out Why… (Reactive)

When you need to know the cause of something, roll a d100 on the Plotline table, and determine the cause based on the session's current tension.

Low tension: The cause is something reminiscent of that plot.

Med tension: The cause is an indirect consequence of that plot.

High tension: It was caused directly by the plot.

Climax: Someone caused this because of the plot. (Find out Who)

Find out Who… (Reactive)

When you need the identity of someone, roll a d100 on the Character table, and determine their identity based on the session's current tension.

Low tension: They're reminiscent of that character.

Med tension: They’ve probably met that character at some point.

High tension: They’re directly connected to that character.

Climax: They are that character.

Find out How… (Reactive)

When you need to know what an event means for the story, roll a d10 on the table below. On a 1, 2, or 3, a specific character is affected. Go with the corresponding effect for that character.

(character specific)

(character specific)

(character specific)

Highlights an adversary’s appeal

Makes someone face temptation alone

Pokes someone’s dilemma

Offers what someone wants at a high cost

Threatens someone's attachments

A rival grows in power or standing

Gives someone an ultimatum

Anna’s effects

Betrays her trust

Threatens the natural world

Takes her out of her element

Sessions

At the start of each session, decide what type of session it will be. That session type will have its own phases to be completed in atleast one scene for each phase. At the start of each scene, state what you need to progress to the next phase of the session, and your plan to get there.

A scene consists of 5 nonreactive moves, done by the captain or crew by their own volition and not in response to something that’s happened to them. If after those 5 moves, less than 3 were down-beats, then you can start the next scene by moving on to the next phase. Otherwise, the next scene will still be on the same phase.

First scene will be a job, so will have these phases:

Research: Asking around and casing the area.

Approach: Positioning everything/everyone to start the job proper.

Execution: Get it done and get out.

Sessions start at low tension, but can raise tension as it progresses. The tension can raise as a scene progresses and affects the consequences of a downbeat. The tension does not change at the start of a new scene or phase, only a new session.

Tension chart for downbeats on a job (all moves prompted by tension are considered reactive):

Low Tension

Something gets in the way, forcing you to change your plan. (Find out Why)

Someone gets in the way, forcing you to change your plan. (Find out Who)

The tension rises to med. (Find out How)

Med Tension

Captain or crewmember must Defy Disaster to avoid a condition. (Find out Why)

The crew are forced into a Fight. (Find out Who)

The tension rises to high. (Find out How)

High Tension

Captain or crewmember gains a condition. (Find out Why)

Captain gives a string to someone. (Find out Who)

The tension rises to a climax. (Find out How)

Climax

Captain or crewmember Stagger. (Find out How)

Someone starts to pose a clear threat and gains a short term clock. (Find out Who)

If there is already a clock, progress it.

Captain and crew get separated. (Find out Why)

Also, I’m probably gonna fudge “Find out Why” and “Find out Who” if I have a really fun or just straightforward idea for them, but I’m gonna avoid fudging for really consequential stuff. It’s not that I’m against cheating (its based lul) its just to make it more fun for me

[starseedfxofficial]

Master Depth of Market & Bullish Pennant for Next-Level Forex Wins The Hidden Formula Behind Depth of Market and Bullish Pennant Mastery Picture this: you're at a bustling flea market, trying to haggle your way into buying that vintage lamp that you just know is the missing piece of your living room. The seller knows the exact price they want, you have a limit on how much you're willing to pay, and everyone around you is also negotiating for their own treasures. This chaotic give-and-take, my friend, is the depth of market in a nutshell. But hold on, we're not here for vintage lamps (unless, of course, they somehow boost our trading skills). We’re here to unlock the secrets behind Depth of Market (DOM) and that fancy-sounding chart pattern called the Bullish Pennant—two powerful tools that can be your ticket to catching that big move before everyone else is even awake. Think of it as spotting the last pizza slice at a party and reaching for it before anyone else realizes it's even there. In this piece, we're diving deep—way deeper than the average ‘Buy Low, Sell High’ cliché. We’ll unpack how Depth of Market gives you that juicy inside scoop on what’s really happening behind the scenes, and how a Bullish Pennant could be your cue for a "next big breakout". Ready to skip the obvious and level up? Seeing Beneath the Surface: The Depth of Market Deep Dive Depth of Market, often known as the DOM, is like reading the room in a poker game. It’s about knowing what each player—or in this case, each trader—has up their sleeve. It’s essentially a look at the orders waiting to be executed at various price levels. If you’re wondering why that matters, here’s the juicy bit: DOM is a crystal ball that helps you spot the hidden intentions of big players. It’s like catching a glimpse of a magician prepping the trick—suddenly, the impossible seems a lot more predictable. Now, this is where we get real. Most traders use DOM at a surface level—like, "Oh, look, there’s a lot of buy orders there, maybe it’ll bounce!" But a true depth reader? They’re playing a different game. It’s about finding where big institutional orders are resting. Picture them as big boulders in a river. The current—or market price—has to navigate these boulders, and knowing where they are allows you to anticipate which way the current might go. And if you’re worried that this sounds complicated, think of it like spotting the candy dish at your grandma’s house—it’s always within reach, but only if you know exactly where to look. The hidden advantage lies in observing how the big boys place and cancel their orders. And yes, we’re talking ninja-style observation—no flashy moves, just pure stealth. Spotting the Bullish Pennant Alright, so you've got your Depth of Market superpower engaged. Now let’s talk Bullish Pennant. This little beauty appears when the market's got a lot of upward momentum, but it’s just pausing for a breather—kind of like a marathoner grabbing a cup of water before charging ahead. It’s a consolidation pattern, formed after a strong move upwards, where traders are essentially regrouping before deciding to push further. The beauty of the Bullish Pennant is that it combines two powerful signals: consolidation and breakout potential. A lot of rookie traders panic during this phase—they see the market moving sideways and assume the show’s over. But here’s where the real magic happens. Smart traders know that once the consolidation ends, the pent-up energy can lead to a massive move—like a rocket that’s been stuck on the launchpad. How to Play It Like a Pro: Keep your eyes peeled for a narrowing range, followed by a volume spike as price breaks above the resistance. Remember, you want to be in before everyone else starts screaming, "Breakout!" The Underground Trend: How DOM and Pennants Team Up What if I told you that the Depth of Market and Bullish Pennants have a secret love story? Okay, maybe not quite as dramatic as Romeo and Juliet, but these two tools do work wonderfully together. Here’s how: while most traders only look at DOM to identify resistance and support, you can use it to see whether there's significant buying interest building up during the consolidation phase of a Bullish Pennant. If you notice a cluster of buy orders at certain levels while the Pennant is forming, it’s a strong indication that the market’s prepping for another leg up. It’s like seeing a bunch of people queuing up to grab concert tickets—you know something big is about to go down, and you’re already in line. Common Mistakes (And How to Laugh Them Off and Learn) Let's be real—trading mistakes happen. Like that time I went to buy EUR/USD and accidentally clicked GBP/USD. It was a classic sitcom moment where I watched the GBP plunge faster than my faith in online dating apps. But these mistakes are all part of the game, and every trader has a story or two. When it comes to Depth of Market and Bullish Pennants, the biggest mistake is thinking you can predict every move perfectly. Pro Tip: Don’t get tunnel vision. A DOM signal might be misleading if there’s a spoofing game at play—this is when a trader places large orders with no intention of executing them, just to create a false impression of supply or demand. Think of it like someone loudly proclaiming they’re about to buy the entire donut shelf at a bakery, only to walk away and leave everyone else in a frenzy. Stay nimble. Understand that DOM is best used for context, not for jumping into trades without a second thought. And Bullish Pennants? Don’t chase every single one like it’s the last bus of the night—wait for confirmations. Why Most Traders Miss Out (And How You Won’t) Here’s the truth: most traders ignore DOM and stick to what they think they know. They’re like someone who only reads the headlines and thinks they’re an expert on global politics. DOM is your opportunity to peek under the hood of market sentiment. Combine that with a Bullish Pennant setup, and you’re suddenly seeing beyond the headlines—you’re reading the fine print that others miss. To take advantage, you need patience. Let the pattern form, watch for DOM to confirm it, and be ready to act with conviction. The magic happens not when you’re rushing but when you’re quietly anticipating—ready to pounce like a cat on a laser pointer. Elite Tactics and Strategic Advantage - DOM for Confirmation: Always use Depth of Market as a secondary confirmation for your technical setups. A Bullish Pennant forming? Check DOM to see if there’s a buildup of buyers ready to push. - Patience with Pennants: The beauty of the Bullish Pennant is in the timing. It’s not just about seeing the shape; it’s about watching the market breathe, consolidating before that final upward sprint. - Avoiding Fakes: Use the DOM to watch for potential spoofing, so you don’t get caught in a trap. If orders seem to disappear just as quickly as they appear, chances are someone’s playing games. Concluding with the Punchline Depth of Market and Bullish Pennants aren’t just advanced concepts—they’re tools that, when wielded with precision, give you a massive edge over the guy just watching the news. The trick isn’t to just know about them, but to understand how to use them together to anticipate the market’s next move. Think of it like chess—you’re not just playing one piece at a time; you’re planning your strategy several moves ahead. And remember, trading doesn’t have to be stressful or overly serious. It can be a thrilling game of outsmarting the market, all while enjoying the ride—with plenty of laughs at the mistakes you’ll inevitably make along the way. After all, what’s a good story without a few twists and turns? Get Even More Out of Your Trading Journey If you found these insights helpful, why not take your trading to the next level? Here are some exclusive resources that can help you stay ahead: - Latest Economic Indicators and Forex News: Stay informed on market movements and groundbreaking concepts with real-time updates. - Forex Education: Expand your knowledge with in-depth resources, advanced methodologies, and little-known strategies. - StarseedFX Community Membership: Join for expert analysis, daily alerts, live trading insights, insider tips, and elite tactics. - Free Trading Plan: Set goals, manage risks, and track progress with our detailed trading plan. - Free Trading Journal: Enhance performance and refine strategies with real metrics using advanced methods for progress tracking. - Smart Trading Tool: Optimize your trading with automated lot size calculations, insights, and order management. —————– Image Credits: Cover image at the top is AI-generated   Read the full article

[joshuacid]

Update part 2!

Wasn’t able to make a video this time haha. 

Whatʻs been happening over the past 2 weeks?

-Over these past two weeks I’ve been crossing out a lot on my pre production list. I’ve actually collected all of my participants but I’m looking to collect at least a few more. Other than that, I actually finalized my surveys and emails that will be sent out on February 15th. Along with that I will be sending out two PDFs that include instructions and the prompt for my activity; I actually just finished that right before typing this. So, overall these past two weeks have been mainly talking to people and making documents. 

Whatʻs coming up for the next 2 weeks?

-The next two weeks will consist of collecting little more participants as backups just in case something happens with the original 20 participants. Other than that, I will be finishing setting up my instagram account which is @art.therapy.impact, and I will be posting my first two posts. Also I will be setting up and prepping my graphs and charts for the production phase. Speaking of that, I will also begin working on the production phase as my participants will be beginning their activities. 

Hiccups/Hurdles/AHA moments

-I can’t really think of any hurdles or hiccups that I’ve had this past week other than trying to talk to the participants. A hand full of them didn’t really understand the first bit of instructions, but after some talking over the phone they all understood.

Any deliverable drafts to share?

-I can’t really think of anything to share other than my google drive filled with documents for my project. But I can share my Instagram account that I will be utilizing for my project, the username is art.therapy.impact. Feel free to follow! I’ll be following everyone back. 🤙

Visual documentation of the progress. (Please upload screenshots, WIP videos, etc.)

-Okay ignore what I said in the last question haha. I’ll share my google drive with my documents right here. Not officially done placing everything in the folders.

Where are you on your timeline?

-Now as of right now, I’m finishing up my pre production phase and basically ready to start the production phase. Just hoping I’ll be able to keep up with this pace haha. 

We got this guys!

[thelikesofus]

Words Fall Short (Tongue Tied and Lonely)

AKA The Miscommunication Fic

Buddie | 9-1-1 on Fox | 13k words | angst with a happy ending, buck is an unreliable narrator, fridge-related angst, eddie is a little bit oblivious

Buck misoverhears Eddie complaining to Hen at work and presumes the worst. He slowly starts to phase himself out of Eddie's life and Eddie doesn't know why.

Read on AO3

Buck doesn’t like to jinx things but even he can admit that it has been a pretty good day. The sun has been shining, the calls have been routine and few and far between, and with the end of their shift closing in, he is lined up to spend the evening with his two favorite Diaz boys for their obligatory Friday movie night. Of course, just as often seems to happen in Buck’s life, just as things are looking up, something comes along to ruin it. 

"He's just always there." He hears Eddie complain and Buck's heart immediately stops, as do his feet as he comes to a halt just behind the bunk room door. 

"What do you mean?" Hen is there too, with Eddie. 

"I dunno, Hen. He's Buck, you know what he's like." Eddie sounds exasperated and Buck is having flashbacks to the grocery store and you're exhausting . "He's always there, cooking us dinner, driving Chris to school, buying our groceries, sleeping on my couch."

Buck instantly wracks his brain, trying to remember the last time he slept at his loft. He knows he was there on Tuesday but that was just to water his plants and pick up an extra work shirt. He still went back to Eddie's that night, made the pasta recipe he found on Facebook, and—slept on Eddie's couch. 

God, how has he not noticed? No wonder Eddie is annoyed, Buck hasn't given them a night to themselves in weeks. Eddie probably wants to spend time with his son, relax by himself, hell, do his laundry without Buck chattering away about narwhals the entire time. 

Buck's heart feels like a small, fragile thing in his chest, barely beating and cold as ice. He turns on his heel and decides he’ll sleep on the couch in the loft instead. When Eddie asks him later whose vehicle they're driving home in, he apologizes and pretends that he has a meeting with his landlord that he forgot and bows out of movie night. He'll make it up to Chris later, maybe take him to the zoo next week — if Eddie's okay with that. Maybe that's still him being too much . 

He ignores the pinched and confused look on Eddie's face at his dismissal and quickly shouts goodbye to the rest of the crew before ducking out to his Jeep and driving back to his loft. 

The loft, not home. He hasn't referred to it in his head as home in months. Home is lego-covered floors and three pairs of shoes by the door. Home is Finding Nemo and bedtime stories and beers on the porch under the glow of the inside light. Eddie’s house has been Buck’s home for longer than he realized and now he feels like an intruder. He had carved out a space for himself without a thought about how Eddie would feel about having his home invaded. Well, Buck will not be a stowaway any longer. 

The loft is cold and still when he unlocks the door, kicking the pile of junk mail and bills aside with his foot as he enters. After a shower, he finds an old, scratchy sweatshirt and the pair of joggers that shrunk in the wash to be the only 'comfy' clothes left in his drawer. 

He traipses into the kitchen to start prepping dinner. He hopes that keeping his hands busy will distract him from the ghost of Taylor that still clings to the walls of his apartment. He doesn’t miss her, not the way he thinks he should. They ended on good terms, good for what it could have been — with his penchant for deflection and her love of sharp words. But he’s spent the last six months trying to move forward, to become comfortable alone in his skin. Learning how to fill his time without putting half his worth into what he can provide for someone else, for a significant other. But now, being back here in his empty loft, it feels like a step backward, like he’s not only been using Eddie’s hospitality but using Eddie as a scapegoat for Buck’s need to feel useful. God dammit .

His fridge is empty. There's a couple of carrots, half a jar of olives, and the leftover naan bread from the takeaways he and Eddie had for lunch the day they were both here because the plumber was at Eddie’s fixing a leak in his ceiling. That was three weeks ago and the naan is moldy. Get it together, Buckley.

Buck leans his elbows against the kitchen counter and presses the heels of his palms into his eyes. He tries to take the deep, even breaths that Doctor Copeland had taught him. He throws the naan in the trash, calls the Chinese place down the street to place an order, and munches on one of the carrots while he waits for the delivery guy to show up.

Continue on AO3

[mickey-henry]

𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲

pairing: bucky barnes x reader

summary: bucky’s been flirting with you, but hasn’t taken it further than that. frustrated, you decide to take matters into your own hands.

word count: 2.1k

warnings: occasional swearing (but not much) and frustrating flirting (I’d be melting if it was happening to me). besides that, this fic is pure fluffy fun.

author’s note: hello there! this is my second fic; I’m very excited to post it! I found the header image here, and if you want to listen to the song I reference in this fic, you can listen here. bold text indicates singing, while italicized text refers to inner thoughts. likes, reblogs, messages, replies, and comments are cherished! I hope you like it! 💖

Bucky Barnes is an acquaintance at best. The two of you rarely work together, and with conflicting schedules, you see little of each other around the compound. On a random Friday in April, however, something changes in you. The moment is nothing out of the ordinary. You’re sitting on the couch in the main living space, re-reading one of your favorite books. Bucky has just returned from a mission; you glance up to see his exhausted expression. He catches your eye, winking with a smile, before walking to his room. Your heart flutters and your head freezes at the response. “Oh, no,” you think to yourself. “Maybe that was a one-time thing? I don’t actually like him, right?” Wrong. 

Ever since that night, the mere presence of Bucky Barnes drives you crazy: his stunning blue eyes that squint ever so slightly when he smiles, his adorable nose that crinkles when he laughs, his pillowy lips that you lose yourself in, his  fluffy hair you can’t help but imagine running your fingers through, his scruff speckled jawline that you wish would brush along your hands, cheeks, anywhere really. He occupies your dreams; you can’t escape this man even if you try. Today, he drives you crazier than usual. He stands in the compound's kitchen in a tight black t-shirt, one that leaves nothing to the imagination. This is the first time you’ve seen him in short sleeves, in anything other than tactical gear. You can’t help but stare as he prepares his lunch. The shirt hugs his frame tight, accentuating his biceps that had no right to be that big. “Gosh, he must spend hours in the gym to look like that.” You then notice the vein in his right arm protruding from his skin, tracing it with your eyes. You didn’t think he could become any more beautiful, but here he is before you, incredible as ever. 

You’re pulled from your reverie when Bucky calls your name. “Yeah?” you reply, barely masking the startled stutter in your voice.

“Pass me the salt?”

“Oh! Sure, of course,” you muster, taking a sip of water from the glass in front of you as you hand him the salt shaker. 

“Thanks, doll,” he flirts with a smile, the same one he gave you that night when he got back to the compound. You nearly choke. “Bucky Barnes called me a term of endearment?!? Holy shit.” Your heart swells and you look down at your glass in a desperate attempt to hide the blush creeping its way across your cheeks. “Goodness gracious, I respond this way from a simple word?” You couldn’t imagine how you’d feel if he touched you. 

It didn’t take long to find out. The following day, you stand in the kitchen prepping your lunch, singing softly along to the song playing from your phone. Bucky appears soon after. He stands close to you for a moment, closer than necessary, but of course you don’t mind. He has just showered; his cologne lingers in the air, intoxicating you. Somehow, you keep singing along, showing no sign that your mind is elsewhere. 

“Ugh, he smells amazing. This man has too much power over me; this is ridiculous! I don’t even remember what I was doing—”

“You have a beautiful voice,” he compliments.

“Thank you, Bucky,” you softly reply, your heart racing at his praise.

“Let me get by you real fast, doll,” he says, moving to walk behind you. 

“There he goes again with the pet name. My god, could this get any worse—” 

He places his hands gently on your hips as he moves beside you. Electricity travels through your whole body; you’re internally screaming at his touch. His hands feel better than you imagined. Even though the contact lasts only a moment, the effects of his touch linger after, leaving you speechless. 

You hear a musical chuckle from the man behind you. “Is he teasing me? It sure feels like it,” you wonder. There is no way that he can’t see the effect he has on you. Before you can even formulate another thought, he touches you again as he moves back to the other side of you. “That was definitely on purpose; certainly he wouldn’t do this by accident. Right?”

Your eyes linger as he finishes putting together his lunch. He catches your gaze and smiles. “See you later, sweetheart,” he says with a wink before leaving the room. “Okay, that answers my question; that was very intentional. What am I going to do with myself?”

You don’t know how much longer you can take his teasing. Throughout the week, he ups his antics, calling you pet names more than your own, stealing touches whenever he can get away with it, smiling whenever you make eye contact. The tension is insatiable; thoughts of Bucky follow you everywhere. You decide to take matters in your own hands; Bucky did not seem to be planning to make a move anytime soon. If he is going to tease the hell out of you, you might as well get some payback. 

───────────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ･ ─────────────

Tony’s announcement of Friday night karaoke gives you a wicked idea. However, for it to work, you need to recruit help. You know just who to ask. It doesn’t take long to find Sam and Steve; they spent a ton of their free time sparring in the gym. They seem to be at the end of their workout, their movements slow and sloppy, relying on witty retorts to throw off the other. They stop when they notice your arrival. 

“Hey!” Sam says with a smile, hugging you as you approach. You squeeze him tightly, even with his sticky sweat coating his arms. You greet Steve with a hug too.

“What brings you to our neck of the woods?” Steve asks as you let go.

“Can I ask you guys something? And you promise you two won’t laugh at me? Especially if I'm reading this wrong?”

“Of course,” answers Steve. 

“Yeah, for sure,” replies Sam. 

You hesitate for a second, taking a deep breath. “Does Bucky like me? I swear he does. He keeps teasing me, and I don’t know how much longer I can take it. I think I am practically in love with the guy at this point, he’s so beautiful and—”

You stop as the boys exchange glances and begin laughing. 

You cross your arms, hurt. “You said you wouldn’t laugh at me! I can’t control how I feel.”

“No! Wait! We aren’t laughing at you!” Steve says between giggles. 

You furrow your brows. “Then why are you laughing?”

“Bucky’s obsessed with you,” Steve answers after calming his laughter. 

“God, yes, you’re all he talks about nowadays,” Sam adds. 

“What?! He does? Why? Are you shitting me right now? Because that would be really freaking mean—“

“No! Of course not,” Steve insists. “Don’t you see the way he looks at you?”

“And the pet names he gives you?” Sam adds.

“And how he can’t seem to keep his hands to himself lately?” Steve finishes. 

Now you feel stupid for even asking. Of course you noticed all of those things. They were all you ever thought about. “Well, yeah, but maybe he does that with all the girls.”

“What girls?” Sam retorted. “The only women who are here often enough to cross paths with him are you, Natasha, and Wanda. Wanda’s with Vision, as weird as that is, but love is love. Natasha shoots daggers at anyone who looks at her with love in their eyes. That leaves you.”

“Why in the world would he like me? Of all people? He’s out of my league,” you sigh,

Sam’s scoff pulls you from your thoughts. “Bucky? Out of your league? He’s a crazy ex-assassin with emotional issues! If anything, he's out of your league.”

“You’re a catch, why wouldn’t he like you?” Steve assures.

Steve and Sam always know just what to say to make you feel better. “I guess you’re right,” you admit with a defeated grin. 

“So, you know how Bucky feels. What are you going to do about it?” Steve asks. 

“I have an idea, but I need your help.”

“We’re listening.”

You divulge your plan to them. They smile, hyping you up. 

“Dude, I’m so down!” Sam exclaims, clapping his hands in excitement. 

“You think this will work?”

“Definitely,” Steve assures. “This is going to be amazing!”

“Okay then, we’re doing this. Let’s go find Bucky. Time to initiate phase one.”

───────────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ･ ─────────────

Bucky is sitting on the common room couch, flipping through a book when he sees you, Sam, and Steve enter. He exchanges a glance with you, smiling as your eyes light up. The three of you sit down. You’re sitting next to Sam, closer than usual. There’s a brief moment of silence before you speak. “Sam, are you going to karaoke night?”

“Of course! Wouldn’t miss everyone’s drunk-ass singing for the world.”

“Will you be my duet partner?”

This catches Bucky’s attention. He looks up from his book. Why the hell were you asking Sam to sing with you? You normally ask the girls...

“Sure thing, baby. It’ll be a ton of fun!” Sam smiles. 

Baby?! What?! How dare he call you a pet name, his girl, right in front of him? Well, you may not be his girl yet, but Sam knows how he feels about you. What the hell is he thinking?

“Yay! This’ll be so fun!” You hug him, grabbing his hand before continuing, “Wanna practice with me in a bit?”

“Find me when you’re ready, sweetheart,” Sam answers, kissing your knuckle before letting go of your hand. 

Sweetheart?! What the fuck was going on? Did he miss his shot? Would Sam really do that to him? Bucky can barely handle his swirling thoughts. He storms out of the room without looking back. 

Steve can’t help but laugh once Bucky is out of earshot. “That worked a little too well, wouldn’t you say so?”

“That wasn’t too far, was it?” you ask with a worried expression on your face. 

“Nah, don’t worry about it. He’ll just come on even stronger now. He won’t give up on you that easily,” Sam assures you. 

───────────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ･ ─────────────

Bucky can barely contain his anger as you step on the stage with Sam, giggling and smiling at your karaoke partner. Jealousy engulfs him. He can barely listen to the start of the song, ignoring the catchy beat blasting through the speakers. He doesn’t recognize the song, but looks up from his drink when you sing, “Hey Bucky boy, what you doing tonight? I wanna see what you got in store."

He looks right at you. Did she just say Bucky?

Sam echoes, “Hey, hey Bucky!” Well, that answers his question.

“You're giving it your all when you're dancing on me. I want to see if you can give me some more,” you continue, twirling your fingers through your hair.

“Hey, hey Bucky!”

“You can be my man, I can be your girl, and we can pump this jam however you want,” you sing, swaying your hips to the cadence of the lyrics.

“Hey, hey Bucky!”

“Pump it from the side, pump it upside down, or we can pump it from the back and the front,” you wink as you finish the line. Bucky sits up suddenly, crossing his legs, his face turning beet red. You smile, knowing the plan was working. Steve laughs from beside him. He keeps his eyes glued on you as the two of you continue the song, utterly entranced. You look him right in the eye as you end the song, “I want you tonight.”

You saunter over to where he is sitting after high-fiving Sam, confidence filling your chest. “So, what did you think of my performance, Bucky?”

You yelp as he grabs your hips and pulls you down to sit on his lap. His voice deepens, “you’re such a tease, you know that right?”

You laugh. “I’m the tease? Really? You’re the one who just pulled me onto your lap and taunts me with flirtatious remarks and smiles all freaking day. My god Bucky, make a move already—”

He cuts you off, pulling you in for a kiss, his flesh arm grabbing the back of your neck. The team whoops and cheers. 

“Glad you finally made a move, Bucky,” you pant as your lips part from his.

“Best decision I ever made in my life, doll.” Before you can respond, he kisses you again, the karaoke bar fading in the background as you finally embrace the man of your dreams.

[q-gorgeous]

The Best Nasty Burgers You’ll Ever Taste

Prompt: Flynn Walker never knew where he came from. What happens when he wonders what else there is besides the ghost zone? (PR289) @greyheartwriter

Word Count: 1672

ao3

ffn

hello flynn walker

The ghost zone was a lonely existence for the only human that lived there.

Flynn was nearing his early twenties, he thinks? And he’s never seen another human in the ghost zone. He doesn’t remember much about where he came from, and he’s sure as heck that he wasn’t born in the zone. Everything else is dead here, he’s the only thing that’s alive, aside from the plants in his garden. That’s gotta mean he came from somewhere else. That he wasn’t meant to be here. 

He’s been prepping stuff to leave for awhile now. He wants to explore more of the ghost zone, find that infamous portal to the human world and see what’s on the other side. His friends talk about it every time they visit him and when he asks if he can go with them, they always tell him it’d be a drag for him. What is he gonna do? He can’t terrorize or mess with people like the ghosts do. They’ve also told him about the halfa, how he’s ruining their fun all the time. But he didn’t really think he’d like it if they came to where he lived and wrecked the place either. So one day when he sees him in the ghost zone, he flags him down.

“Hey!” He shouts, waving his hands in the air. “Hey! Down here!”

Flynn sees Danny shoot him an initial look of annoyance but it soon turns into confusion when he sees that it’s a human waving up at him and not a ghost. He flies down and lands next to Flynn. 

“What are you doing in the ghost zone?” Danny asks.

“You’re the halfa, right?”

“Yes?” Danny says before frowning. “Did one of the ghosts kidnap you from Amity Park?”

“No? Is that the town all the ghosts go hang out in?”

“If by ‘hang out’.” Danny does some air quotes. “You mean terrorize people and destroy property, then yes.”

“Can you take me there?”

Danny gives him a look. “You didn’t even know what it was, wouldn’t you rather go back to the town you’re from?”

“I want to see where you come from. Where I might come from.”

“Where you might come from?”

Flynn sighs and looks at the ground. “I can barely remember anything from before I got stuck in the ghost zone. I don't remember anything about where I came from. I was really young when it happened.”

“How have you even survived here for all this time?” Danny asked. 

“You’d be surprised how much fresh water exists in the ghost zone.” Flynn shrugs. “And some of the ghosts who found me had some old seeds stashed away that they were collecting. They figured they would get put to good use if it meant keeping me alive.”

“And the ghosts didn’t just take you back to the human world?” Danny threw his hands up in the air. “All that time? Especially now? When there’s a working ghost portal that’s open almost all of the time?”

“I don’t know! Go ask Ember or Johnny why they won’t take me.” Flynn throws his arms up into the air back at Danny while Danny mumbles something about how would do just that. “Besides, before that portal opened there were no other constant portals. I would have still been stuck here until a couple of months ago anyways.” 

“Okay. I’ll take you back to Amity Park but you’ll have to talk to my parents about this. I can’t imagine being stuck in a place made of ectoplasm for the majority of your life is healthy.”

Flynn walked back to his little hut and grabbed one of his bags. “Do you know why none of the ghosts have told your parents about you being a halfa? They talk about it all the time but none of them have given me a clear answer.”

Danny shrugs. “I have no clue but I’m not complaining.” He picks Flynn up and starts flying towards the portal. “I always figured it had to do with some sort of ghost camaraderie even though it’s clear they all hate my guts.”

Flynn hummed. “I guess.”

They fly all the way through the ghost zone and through the portal. Danny phases through the house and out onto the street, dropping Flynn off in an alley before he transforms to his human form. 

“So.” Danny says, peeking his head out from between the two buildings. “What do you want to do first?”

Flynn thinks about it for a second. “I want to try a burger.”

“You’ve never had a burger before?”

“Nope.” Flynn shakes his head. “You can’t grow burgers out of the ground off a plant so it’s not something I could have in the ghost zone. I’ve been told they’re really good though.”

“Oh you have no idea. The Nasty Burger has the best burgers.”

Flynn’s brows furrow. “That doesn’t make sense.”

Danny wraps his arm around Flynn’s shoulders. “Ignore the name. It’ll be the best burger you’ll ever have.”

“If you say so.” Flynn shrugs. 

They walk to the Nasty Burger together. As they walk inside, Danny waves at two people standing in line.

“Hey Sam! Tucker!” He runs over to them and gestures at Flynn. “This is Flynn. I found him in the ghost zone. Flynn, these are my friends Sam and Tucker.”

“What do you mean you found him in the ghost zone?” Sam asked. “Does he live here?”

Danny shakes his head. “No. He was living in the ghost zone when I found him. We’re gonna hang out and do some human stuff around town before having my mom check him out.”

Tucker’s been squinting between Danny and Flynn since they walked up to them. 

“Sam, do you see the family resemblance?” 

Sam looked between Danny and Flynn a couple times before her eyes widened. “Oh my god, you’re right.”

“What?” Danny asks. “How could there be family resemblance? I just found this guy in the zone like half an hour ago.”

Tucker shrugged. “I don’t know, but he looks a lot like you.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “I think you’re imagining stuff. Come on, let’s go order our food already.”

The four of them walk up to the counter and they order. Flynn doesn’t know what most of it means or why there’s so many meaties in one sandwich name, but soon they’re taking their food to a table and sitting down. Flynn unwraps his burger and when he takes the first bite, his eyes open wide. 

“This is delicious!” Flynn exclaimed. “This is so much better than eating carrots and potatoes every day for months!” 

Flynn’s burger is gone in just a few bites. He picks up a second one that was sitting on his tray and starts digging into that one too. 

“If you think burgers are good, wait until you try bacon.” Tucker says. 

“Or ice cream.” Sam adds on. 

“Or deep fried oreos.” Danny says.

Flynn’s looking between the three of them. “Can we try all those things?”

The three friends look between each other before looking back at Flynn.

“Why not?” Danny says. “We should go all out on your first day back in the human world, right?”

QQQQQ

“That was great!” Flynn says, swinging around a plastic sword he got from the amusement park they went to. “The ghosts told me I’d be so bored here because I had no ghost powers! I don’t know what they’re talking about!”

“Ha.” Danny laughed. “Betrayed by one of their own. I can’t wait to mock them for it.”

They walk up to the front door of Danny’s house. Danny turns around to face Flynn with a serious expression on his face.

“Okay. Just remember, no mention of me being Phantom. Got it?”

“Got it.” Flynn nods. 

Danny nods his head back at Flynn and turns around and opens the door. 

“Mom!” He calls. “I have someone you need to meet! Phantom found a human that’s been living in the ghost zone for the past fifteen years or so and so he dropped him off here. We think you should check him out just in case!” 

“We’re down in the lab sweetie! We can take a look at him in a few minutes. We’re in the middle of a conversation right now!”

“This way.” Danny waves Flynn towards a set of stairs that lead down into the ground. Flynn could feel it get colder the further down they go and he’s looking at his feet as his foot hits the bottom step. He looks back up at the sudden sound of broken glass. 

There’s two women staring at him, as if they’d seen a ghost. One of them has a shattered glass sitting on the ground in front of her. 

“What’s going on-” 

A man walks up to them and when his eyes land on him, he stops mid sentence, just staring at him. 

Danny mumbles something about forgetting someone was visiting when the older of the two women walks up to him. 

“Where did you find him?” She whispers.

Danny points a thumb over his shoulder. “Phantom found him in the ghost zone. He just dropped him off at the front door a few minutes ago, Aunt Alicia.” 

“Fifteen years ago I lost my son.” She whispers, staring at Flynn. “I watched him walk into a swirling green portal that appeared in the two minutes I had my back turned. By the time I saw what was happening, he had already walked in and the portal disappeared.” She choked back a sob. “I thought he was gone forever.”

“Wait, we’re actually related?” Danny asked. 

Danny’s mom nodded. “Yes. This is your cousin, Flynn Walker.”

“Woah.” Danny said quietly. 

Alicia walked up to Flynn slowly, her arms coming up.

“Can I hug you?”

After a moment, Flynn nods. 

He doesn’t remember much about his life before the ghost zone, but he did remember someone with warm red hair who sang him songs about bears and trees.

[skullchicken]

The one time I played Four-Dimensional Love Chess in Shadowrun

I like giving love interests to my player's characters cause romance is cute and fun and helps flesh out their personalities. Usually I go about it fairly straightforwardly - this time I did not.

The Set-Up

So it, in a way, started when I began playing with my current shadowrun group. It was after the first mission, when we were still in the phase of establishing characters, their backstories, their current lifestyles.

The decker of the group, Prometheus, is a sort of Robin-Hood-style decker. Well, mostly he's the typical driven-by-revenge-stoic-guy, but in his backstory he explicitly has a line about looking out for the little guy.

Symbolic Picture

The player himself was sort of new to roleplaying and to coax him into getting some experience with being in character, built on that during downtime, like:

Me: You said you live in an appartment building in Stuttgart, right? Your character is currently probably gaming, yeah?

Prometheus: Yeah he doesn't leave his room much except for missions.

Me: There's a knock on the door. It's the owner of the restaurant on the ground floor. You remember her because some days ago you helped her out when some gangers caused a fuzz in her establishment. You overheated their gear into sparking and spooked them out of the building.

Prometheus: Ah, okay, I open the door a smidge, but leave the chain on and go "Uh... hello?"

Me (as owner): "Hello. Thank you so much for helping out recently. I brought you some peking roasted duck." And she does indeed have a plastic bag with a container in it with her.

Prometheus: ... I open the door and accept with a thanks.

Me: "You know, you should really make sure you eat enough."

Prometheus: "Uh... sure."

Me: "You can come over anytime, if you like."

Prometheus: I nod and start closing the door. "Um. Thank you."

Me: There is a glint in her eyes. "How about next week? My daughter will be over. She is very smart."

Prometheus: "I'm sure she is."

Me: "Studies medicine. Very pretty."

Prometheus: "Great. Well, I gotta go, so..."

Me: "Oh, sorry for keeping you." And she leaves.

The Wind-Up

Over the next few missions (and in real life several months), a few things happen, as you can probably imagine. They save a decker from a rival gang named Duster, who was employed by the german branch of the mafia, for example (the game takes place in the ADL/the Allied German States). She has now become indebted to them, which is why she sends them some money every month. Every once in a while I also mention the restaurant owner. You could say that her trying to set the very reluctant Prometheus up with her always off-screen daughter becomes a bit of a running gag.

Then one day my group decides they'd like to go on a trip to Gran Canaria in their downtime. Shadowrunners need vacations, too!

Now me, I don't know shit about Gran Canaria. But I do know some stuff about Teneriffa, since I went there on vacation once, which is close-by. So to save myself some GM-prep, I decide to relocate the group through railroading, like so:

The first day after they've arrived on Gran Canaria, they get a call by Duster, who informs them that the mafia has arrived in droves on the island and there's word of mouth that they're looking for them. Lucky for them, Duster has a friend who works on a resort in Teneriffa in her semester breaks and they just had a cancellation on short notice. Of course, Duster will foot the bill - she owes them a lot of money anyways, might as well pay it off this way.

You might see where this is going.

They did not.

The Bait

So they arrive in Teneriffa after a very stressful 24 hours of packing, traveling, bad news, packing, traveling - and Prometheus has insomnia as a disadvantage as is. And to top it off, Duster's friend, Xiang, who's welcoming them, informs them that since they arrive so very late, they can't really offer warm food.

Prometheus: Can I at least get drink?

Me: Yeah sure. Xiang, even though she has bags under her eyes as well (because of course they're short-staffed) mans the bar. And since you look just that pitiable and she's hungry herself, she offers to make you a ham-sandwich.

Prometheus gratefully accept - and so they get talking. Xiang, as it turns out, has a habit of diving into deep questions quite quickly (she's bad at small-talk, she admits) and soon they are talking about a bunch of different things. Their view of the world, altruism, capitalism etc. In short, it's what counts as flirting with people like them and they seem intrigued by each other.

Probably didn't hurt that she looked like this.

So the days go by and they keep having cute little moments, like her offering to make him a herbal tea to help with insomnia ("scientifically proven that it helps. I study medicine, I wouldn't just plop down some placebo in front of you."), he gifts her a mug with a capybara on it from his trip to the animal park and finally, on the second-to-last day, they agree on going on a date at the local carnival.

The Snap

After some shenanigans with the rest of the group, e.g. getting lost in a mirror labyrinth or competitive snack-eating with the fighter/tank of the group, Xiang and Prometheus decide to retreat into the ferris wheel for some romantic alone time.

And then...

Xiang: "Hey, if you don't mind me asking: Your English is really good, but you have an accent I can't quite place..."

Prometheus: "Ah, yeah. I'm British by birth but lived most of my life in Germany."

Xiang: "You speak German, too? (Switching to German and laughing) Man, what have we been speaking English for all this time? I'm from Germany, too! Where do you live?"

It was around this time that the coin dropped.

Group (OOC): ooooooooOOOOOooooh....

Prometheus: (flatly) "... Stuttgart..."

Xiang: "Really?! Oh my, that's great! That means we could meet up sometimes. I mean, I study in Dortmund right now, but my Mom owns a restaurant in Stuttgart!"

Group (OOC): OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Prometheus: "... really now..."

Xiang: "You know, it's a bit funny, since we're speaking of her. She's been trying to set me up with this rando from our apartment complex for months now. Maybe this will finally shut her up, haha."

Group (OOC):

OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Prometheus: "You know... I don't think it will."

Epilogue

This wouldn't be the last time I would foreshadow some stuff like that, but it was definitely the funniest because no-one saw it coming. Prometheus' player mentioned he had kinda forgotten about the restaurant owner until it came up again here.

By the way, they're still together in-game and a pretty cute couple at that. To end a long-ish story, here's Xiang's reaction when she also put two and two together on the ferris wheel.

"Oh my god, Mom is going to be insufferable.

She must never know."

[shuadotcom]

Memories of You | KSJ

❧ Summary: Your memories with Seokjin are some of your favorite.

❧ Pairing: Seokjin x Female!Reader

❧ Genre/AU: Fluff, established relationship

❧ Rating: NC-17

❧ Warnings: Some profanity, a very brief sex scene that’s not super descriptive, brief mention of a stalker

❧ Words: 2.4k

❧ Note: Happy belated birthday Mars baby! @joheunsaram​. I’ve been working on this slowly and it’s finally here for you! I was so torn on who in hyung line to have this be about, but I’ve seen you in Discord talking an awful lot about Seokjin lately so I went with him! Enjoy some painfully fluffy fluff! 💝 And thank you to the always wonderful @bangtanhome​ for being my beta so last minute! 💜

“Hey, so, I don't want to be rude or anything, but your skirt is tucked into your underwear.”

Seven years ago this was the first thing Seokjin ever said to you on your first day at your new office. You were nervous going into the day, having just transferred to this branch, moving across the world to manage a new group of people in a new country.

You were just leaving the bathroom and can remember the way your face heated up and how quickly you ran back into the bathroom, a few tears sliding down your cheeks as you wished you could disappear. Not only had your day only started, but your new coworker that pointed out your embarrassment just so happened to be exceptionally handsome.

After splashing some water on your face and taking a few deep breaths, you exited the ladies’ room to see the man standing outside, hands in the pockets of his slacks. He lifted his gaze from the floor and met yours. There was something about the way your eyes locked that made your face flush all over again as your heartbeat sped up. You couldn't properly describe what you felt at that moment, but it was something.

“Um, hi,” he cleared his throat and offered his hand out to you. “I'm Seokjin.”

“Y/n,” you managed. His hand was warm and soft and you didn't want to let go.

“I'm sorry about what happened. I just… I didn't want you to walk around like that. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who saw it anyway, but I wanted to keep it that way.”

“T-thank you.” Your hands were still connected and neither of you made a move to let go. It wasn't until an older woman you knew to be the manager of another team cleared her throat, making you both separate. She pushed past you into the bathroom with a look of annoyance. You and Seokjin share a look before laughing.

“So we don't offend any more people, would it be okay if I walked you to your office? I’d be more than happy to give you a grand tour of the building this afternoon if you want.”

“That'd be great.” Seokjin smiled wide at your words and led the way. During the short walk, you learned he’s been with the company for three years and he promised to brief you on everyone and everything there is to know about being here. Once you arrive at your office door, you locked eyes again before he said goodbye and turned to go back to his desk.  Your earlier nervousness and hesitancy melted away at the prospect of this new person in your life.

“As soon as you texted me your address, I knew exactly where you lived.”

Seven years ago that was the first thing Seokjin said to you on your first date. You remember the panicked look on his face after the words left his mouth.

“Wait, I didn't mean it like that! I promise that I haven't been stalking you! One of my best friends named Namjoon lives in the same apartment building as you. He's up on the third floor so I've been there a lot. Please don't hate me or hit me or leave me or do any combination of the three! I swear, we can go back right now and go to his apartment and ask him!” Seokjin looked genuinely terrified as he glanced between you and the road with wide eyes. 

Honestly, you found the whole thing amusing.

“Seokjin, I believe you.”

“Y-you do?”

“Yes, it's not that serious. I was stalked back home for a little bit and as soon as I met the guy, I knew he was kind of off. I get no vibes like that from you.”

Seokjin let out a sigh of relief, but then his face frowned again as he gently asked about the stalker you mentioned. You were at a point where you could talk about it and went on to tell him about the man that had been in your college creative writing class. He was always interested in your writing and was always asking you questions about it. You were only classmates and never anything more, but you had gotten a bad feeling about him the first time you spoke to him.

Your early hunch was right of course when two months into the class you found out that he had been following you home for weeks. He would also follow you to work and even monitor your social media usage. You weren’t sure how long it would've gone on if he hadn't broken into your home one night and climbed into your window at the exact moment that your roommate walked into the room.

You felt yourself shiver as you retold the story. Seokjin's arm immediately came up and draped over your seat, hand grazing your shoulder. He pulled you closer to him and you instantly felt protected; like an invisible shield had formed around you because of him. It was surprising, but you didn't question it. You hugged your sweater closer to your body and stayed in his embrace as he drove.

“Happy birthday, Y/n. I'm going to kiss you now.”

Six years ago that was what Seokjin said to you right before you shared your first kiss. You’d been on two dates up until that one. You’d held hands and hugged of course, and the last time he dropped you off in front of your apartment door, he kissed your forehead. That night was not only date number three, but also your birthday.

Seokjin caressed your cheek before tilting your chin up. His gaze flickered from your eyes to your lips before he brought his mouth to yours. The kiss was sweet and you could smell his sweet cologne and feel how soft and plump his lips were. You quickly let your tongue dart out and rub against his lips. Seokjin was surprised but wasted no time in opening his mouth as your hands lightly grabbed his hair and he firmly held your hips. His mouth was warm and he tasted like sweet cream and strawberries from your birthday cake which sat forgotten on the floor next to you.

The sounds of the city that had been busy around you a few minutes ago quieted down and everything felt fuzzy. It was such a cliche, classic romance movie moment, but you were okay with that. You could criticize everything later; for at that moment, you were busy feeling something wonderful you had never felt before.

True love.

“I love you so much and I want you to feel good.”

Six years ago that was what Seokjin said to you during your first time making love. He said he loved you a year into the relationship so that wasn't new. This was the first time it made you feel this warm throughout every part of you. He was between your legs, peppering kisses down the inside of your thighs. He had already prepped you with his mouth and fingers, now you were just waiting for him.

“I love you so much. Tell me if you want me to stop, okay?" You nodded and opened your legs a little more. 

Seokjin positioned himself at your entrance before he began slowly entering you. It stung just the slightest as you felt yourself being stretched more than ever, but it wasn't enough for you to want to stop. When he was sheathed inside of you as far as he could fit, he held onto your hips as you reached up to grip his biceps. He leaned down and kissed you as he began thrusting, starting slowly before moving quicker, causing you to make sounds that seemed much more obscene compared to the tender moment.

The whole thing was over rather quickly, much to your shared dismay. You were both simply too excited to finally feel each other, that neither of you lasted very long. After ever so gently pulling out of you, he laid next to you and brought you close to his chest. A few tears slipped from your eyes, but they stemmed from happiness and nothing else. You felt incredible and so loved and it was all because of Seokjin.

“I fucking hate the fact that you keep talking to him and that you don't even care about my feelings!”

Five years ago that was what Seokjin said to you during your first real fight. You’d been through a few small disagreements here and there since you moved into Seokjin's much more spacious apartment. It was always over what to make for dinner or what color to paint the extra room he had or about one of you working late at the office. You were still technically in your honeymoon phase until about a week prior. A handsome new employee just started and had befriended you which Seokjin hated.

“How can you say I don't care about your feelings?! Your feelings are one of the most important things to me!”

“Well, then why are you still talking to Jungkook?! He likes you and you don't believe me! The way you're being nice to him, it's leading him on and you're acting like you're too stupid to know! You're a smart girl Y/n, open your damn eyes!”

“It's not my fault you're so goddamn insecure! Not all of my friends want to get in my pants!” Neither of you spoke then, instead opting to just stare at each other.

Seokjin moved first, grabbing his jacket from the coat rack by the door. “I'm going to Namjoon’s tonight. I'll call you when I can think clearly and continue this discussion.” He left without another word, slamming the door behind him.

“Fine, asshole!” You yelled at the closed door. You lowered yourself onto the couch and before you could help it, you were letting out quiet sobs. You were frustrated, confused and so many other things. Every couple was bound to have a first big fight about something, but it still hurt. You couldn't do anything but wait until Seokjin came home.

“I love you, Mrs. Kim.”

Two years ago that was what Seokjin said to you on your wedding day. You ended up having two weddings, one in Korea and the other in your hometown. Your friends and family looked on with smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes at the sight of you. The wedding was simple yet beautiful as you glowed in your dress.

“I love you too, Mr. Kim.” You say, leaning up to kiss him. At that moment, you felt like everything was right in the world.

“Just keep pushing, you can do it, baby."

A year ago that was what Seokjin said to you as you gave birth to your first child. He was right next to you, holding onto your hand and wiping your forehead with a cloth. You had an iron grip on his hand as you pushed as hard as you could. All it took was one more push and another blood-curdling scream from you before the baby was out and in the arms of a nurse.

"It's a baby girl." Both you and Seokjin watched the crying baby as she was cleaned off and brought over to you. The little girl had her father’s wide, brown eyes and your nose. She stopped crying and was simply staring up at her parents.

"Hello little one, I'm your mommy."

"And I'm your daddy."

The baby continued to stare before opening her mouth and letting out a scream that surprised you both.

"She has quite the set of lungs on her!" Seokjin struggled to say over the screaming child.

"She does! And she's all ours!" You smiled up at him, your heart filling with happiness and love for the small child in your arms. The joy you felt now with your little family was indescribable.

"The past seven years have been the best of my life and I'm so beyond lucky to have been able to spend them with you."

An hour ago that was what Seokjin said to you at your anniversary dinner. While you’ve only been married for two years, you always celebrate the first day you met; when Seokjin’s first caught sight of your purple striped panties.

Once your daughter is settled into her crib, the two of you go into your bedroom and lay in bed together, still clad in your formal clothes. Your head is against his chest and his arms are around you.

"Babe, I have a confession," Seokjin starts.

"Hmm?"

"I wanted to ask you out on that day, you know - the day we met. You were so flustered and cute, but I thought I’d scare you even more if I did, so I held back."

"I was flustered and cute huh? Sure it wasn’t just the free panty shot I gave you?”

Seokjin gives you a flat expression. "No, smart ass. You caught my attention as soon as you stepped into the room. Then I overheard you later in the day talking to someone at lunch about the plans you had for the year and how excited you were to meet everyone on the team. You sounded so confident in yourself and your leadership. After that, I had it all planned out in my head. I was going to eat lunch with you and drop a very suave pick-up line about how we should go out sometime."

You snort and glance up at him. "Lucky for you I embarrassed myself when I did. I've heard your pick-up lines and no matter how attractive I thought you were I don't think younger me would've been that entranced to fall for it." Your comment earns you a few tickles to the ribs, a laugh bubbling out as you flinch away from him.

"Yeah well, now you're stuck with me and my bad pick-up lines forever." He places a kiss on your forehead and drapes one of his long legs over yours.

The word 'forever' fills you with glee. You consider yourself lucky every day that you’re able to say you’ll get to spend the rest of your life with this man. Seokjin isn’t perfect and you’ve been through many things over the years as a couple, but at the end of the day, the joy and love that you feel when you’re with him means more to you than anything. Knowing you've found the person you want to and are going to spend the rest of your life with is the best feeling in the world.

[queenofhearts7378]

Constellations Ch. 2

(Yes it finally has a title. Yes this is ending up multi chaptered. Yes there’s another part I’m writing. Yes I already have an outline for a vague plot....Yes I’m still blaming @ladylynse for this XD)

Prev. Chapter  -  Next Chapter

Danny was very much unprepared and underdressed for the time when some wizards fell out of his fireplace.

He paused in the doorway, spoon still in his mouth and cheeks full of cereal, as his brother stood up and brushed the soot off him with a displeased nose scrunch.

Danny swallowed. "And you couldn't just use the door?"

Honestly they're lucky his parents had left to chase down the Box Ghost earlier. Otherwise they'd be covered in a lot more than soot and ash.

Danny couldn't help the snort that escaped at the mental picture of Draco covered in ectoplasm and boiling in rage. 

Draco narrowed his eyes, seeming to pick up that Danny was making fun of him. "Using the Floo was quicker."

"....quicker than walking through the door."

"It's a wizard thing you wouldn't understand." Draco snapped back, his go to response whenever he couldn't argue against Danny's logic at the moment. 

"Uh huh. Anyways what are you doing here?" Danny asked, "You aren't supposed to be here for another two weeks."

Which was time previously planned for Draco to prepare for his summer in America while Danny finished school. Spend the two weeks after Hogwarts let out recuperating and making public appearances with his parents, then spend the rest of the summer with the Fentons.

Actually now that Danny was looking, it seemed Draco had come straight from school. His hair was lacking half its gel, he was still wearing his green tie, and his robes were a very boring black as opposed to the various greys and blues he flaunted around in the previous summer.

“Denebola, pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.” Drawled the man standing behind Draco.

“Hello creepy man that I have never met before,” Danny said, echoing his tone.

Draco choked on air as the discount Kylo Ren sneered at him.

“This is Professor Snape Danny.” A familiar please-don’t-say-anything-that-will-get-us-in-trouble tone coloring Draco’s words. “My godfather.”

Oh the potion guy. Danny remembers Draco talking about him now. He was friends with Draco’s parents, which didn’t really impress Danny that much as all of the Malfoy’s friends seemed to be really rich snobs or really racist. Mostly both.

But he was Draco’s godfather, the reason he got into potions, his favorite professor and someone Draco would willingly go to get advice from. So, Danny decided to reserve judgement till he met him. Well….he met him.

Danny looked Draco dead in the eyes, “My apologies.”

Draco closed his eyes in mortification, which made Danny grin internally. They were really getting the hang of the whole ‘speaking without talking to each other twin thing’. 

Professor Snape just scowled at him. “Where are the….muggles?" Disdain dripped off his words, instantly making Danny defensive. He had heard enough at Malfoy Manor about disgraceful, savage muggles from Lucius. Even Draco had echoed his father till Danny dragged him kicking and screaming into being a slightly decent person.

"My parents," Danny said, stressing the word, "Are working right now."

Okay maybe they were just being their usual trigger happy selves and running after Boxy, but there was no way he was telling Professor Snape that without it leading to an hour long discussion about ghosts. And Danny did not have time for that. He shoved a giant spoonful of cereal in his mouth as he met Professor Snape's eyes and-huh.

Draco never told Danny his godfather could read minds. He could feel the light brushes of a foreign mind attempting to gleam information from his surface thoughts. Danny didn't know if it was his wizard ancestry or halfa weirdness that made him sensitive to this kind of stuff. Either way, it was useful in keeping his secrets in his head from privacy invading school teachers.

Danny glowered at Snape and immediately thought of Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up music video.

The two of them stared at each other for a minute, making Draco more and more anxious as no one said anything.

Finally Snape broke contact, "Where should his things go?"

Danny tried very hard not to smirk after winning that staring contest, "You can just leave them here, we'll get them later."

With one last displeased sneer, Snape turned to Draco. "I'm needed back at Hogwarts. I trust you are in good hands."

Draco nodded, still looking tense and anxious as hell.

Snape walked back to the fireplace. He paused next to Draco, "Take care of yourself Draco."

Draco softened under his glare, "I will Professor. Thank you."

Snape nodded and shot one more glare at Danny, who still had Rick Astley echoing in his head, before vanishing into the fireplace in a swirl of green fire.

Draco turned back to Danny and said, "You stress me out."

Danny snorted before walking back into the kitchen to put his bowl in the sink. Draco followed after him, looking at all the kitchen appliances with a barely hidden curious look.

"Something else we have in common."

"What are you wearing?" He asked with a nose scrunched in displeasure.

Danny shot him a look, "My pajamas, cause I just woke up. I haven't finished getting ready for school. You should probably change too."

"Why?"

Danny started for the stairs, Draco still following at his heels. "You can't wear robes to public school. I think you can fit in my jeans."

"What?!" Draco screeched, halting at the bottom of the stairs, "I'm not going to muggle school with you!"

"It's either that or stay here by yourself for hours." Danny said as he paused outside his room. Draco scrambled up after him. "Cause my parents won't be home for a couple more hours, after which you'll be alone with them till I get home."

Danny smirked at him, "My parents are going to be thrilled to see you, can you really handle their enthusiasm all by yourself?"

Draco could barely stand Danny showing various forms of physical affection, as proven last summer when Danny would throw an arm around Draco's shoulders and almost get hexed. And Ancients forbid Danny try to hug him. Draco might actually lose the wand and just punch him. Danny had spent most of their correspondence over the school year prepping Draco for the Fenton welcome wagon so he wouldn't hiss like a cat when he gets hugged. Okay, and maybe Danny just wanted to see his overdramatic brother's face as he is subjected to his parent's bear hugs. 

Draco scowled at him, "Fine. But I'm not wearing any jeans."

Draco stomped into Danny's room and slammed the door in his face. He heard the lock click as it was shut.

"Hey! I still gotta get dressed!" Danny banged on the door, "C'mon Drake it's still my room!"

Danny groaned before walking over to the bathroom. He phased through the wall and landed on the fire escape. It took a few minutes, but he eventually maneuvered to his window and slipped in.

Draco had dug into Danny's closet and pulled out the most dressy tux Danny owned and was in the middle of putting it on. 

"You are not wearing that."

Draco scowled at him, "It’s bad enough I'm lowering myself by going with you-”

“Lowering yourself?”

“-But,” he said loudly, “I absolutely refuse to wear common muggle wear. If I’m going to this school, I will not look anything less than my absolute best.”

Danny stared at him. “Drake you will be thrown into the dumpster if you wear that to my school. Let me just-”

Danny jumped on him, trying to remove the suit jacket from a struggling Draco. Draco shouted and tried to twist away, only for Danny to pull it over his head. Once Draco was out of sight, and swearing loudly at him, Danny subtly used his intangibility to yank it off him. And if he happened to remove all of Draco’s hair gel that he used to keep his hair slicked back….well, that would have gotten him thrown in a dumpster as well.

Danny tried not to laugh as Draco glared at him, his hair fluffed up and looking vaguely like an angry kitten. 

"Do you know how long it takes me to fix my hair? I have to completely redo it now! And how'd you get that off me?" He pointed at the jacket Danny was throwing back in his closet.

Danny grinned at him, "Magic."

Draco gave him a flat look.

"Anyway we've got to go, otherwise I'm gonna be late again, and get detention again, and you'll be forced to either walk home by yourself or stay at school with me."

Somehow Danny had managed to get dressed and drag Draco out the door with him, texting Sam and Tucker his plans to walk so they could meet up on the way.

"What is that?" Draco leaned over to squint at the phone in Danny's hand.

"My phone. I told you about it last summer."

Draco hummed, "I thought it was broken?"

"Yeah, cause your magic blew it up. My parents fixed it." Danny shoved his phone back in his pocket like Draco was about to blow it up again. "Now what happened?"

Draco shot him a glance, before letting his eyes flicker around them. "I did try to tell you muggle 'technology' and magic doesn't always go together."

"Drake, you know that's not what I mean." He said softly.

Draco was silent, his jaw clenched and his hands shaking before he shoved them in his pockets.

They walked in silence for a while.

"You'll get hurt."

Danny looked at him.

"I…." Draco sighed, "I've never…."

Danny waited silently for him to get the words out on his own, knowing that pushing him will only make him clam up.

"You aren't like us. And I don't mean that in any bad way!" He said quickly when he saw Danny's face. "But you know what my parents are like, and their friends are so much worse, and you're the first person I've ever had to worry about. I just want you to be safe."

Oh Ancients, that was a lot to unpack there. 

Danny had known something had happened during school. The two of them spent the school year exchanging letters, both of them wanting to stay in contact. Danny would tell him about his school, and his parents' antics, and explain random muggle technology to get Draco prepared for his summer with the Fentons.

Meanwhile, Draco had complained at length about Potter and a tournament and Potter being insufferable about a tournament. There was a furious letter about being turned into a ferret and how Potter and his friends keep bringing it up. Draco sent him about three feet of parchment around Christmas just making fun of Potter at a dance and how horrible he was. There was a lot about some famous Quidditch guy and then a lot about Potter’s friend stealing the famous Quidditch guy.

Draco complained about Potter a lot, okay?

But Draco never sent him a letter about the tournament results or if Potter got eaten by a bog witch or whatever it was he was hoping for the last task. He just showed up, two weeks early and clearly shaken about whatever it was that happened.

That isn’t a good sign at all. And Danny had eavesdropped enough last summer to get a decent idea as to what was going on.

“This is….this is about him isn’t it?”

Draco flinched, which was enough answer for him. Danny let out a breath.

“We can-we can talk about this later. I care about you too Drake, and I know your family is neck deep in this mess.” Danny bumped his shoulder, “You’re safe here, that’s why Narcissa sent you here right?”

Draco leaned against his brother’s shoulder, eyes still flitting across the street and his jaw clenched. “Yeah. We’re safe here.”