#are they checked out bc someone’s getting traded?

[zibanejad]

idk how you fix any of this team lmao

[i-c-u-p]

looking at chicken smoothie salt blogs as a casual player

[ranger-kellyn]

love that because two idiots decided to fuck during an ice storm instead of playing a board game or doing literally ANYTHING ELSE i get to be forced to live during the decline of the us empire

[lipstickmarks]

Steven to the Rescue

Pairing: Steven Grant x fem!reader Category: Hurt/comfort, fluff, domestic fluff Warnings: none Content: Hurt/comfort, fluff, domestic fluff, kissing, making out in public, reader has a terrible horrible no good very bad week and steven is there for her, Steven’s love languages are acts of service and physical touch, reader getting princess treatment, reader is kinda corporate girlie coded, steven being smooth, steven can cook, steven might be slightly ooc bc he is my silly putty and i am bending him to my will

Steven loved his job. He loved going into work everyday to consume any and all things related to egyptology. It’s what makes him able to withstand the abuse from Donna– which is lessened now that he’s been promoted to tour guide and she technically isn’t his supervisor anymore. But today, he simply does not want to go. 

He’s been watching you pace around his kitchen nervously for the past five minutes, checking your phone, watch, and laptop in quick succession. It had been… a less than stellar week for you.

Firstly, your job has been stressing you out by offloading duties onto you that weren’t in your job description because someone else had quit unexpectedly. Then, there was an error with your bank and your paycheck wasn’t deposited so you had to wait an extra 3 days to pay your bills. On top of it all, your phone service provider was having some sort of nationwide glitch so you barely had any service. 

Not only did you have twice the workload but you weren’t getting any of your work emails on time. Plus, you had to be in constant contact with the bank to sort out their issue. It’s why you’d come over to Steven’s flat before work, to use his internet and hopefully get a better signal. Plus, you two wanted to see each other. 

Steven had made some cranberry muffins and vegan egg bites for the two of you but your plate remained untouched while you paced around, waiting for a bar. 

“Love,” Steven murmured, reaching out to grab your elbow. You looked up from the laptop you were cradling in your arms and Steven nearly sighed out loud at the sight of your eyes. Beautiful, but so so tired. The universe has been running his favorite person ragged and it hurt him to see you so downtrodden by life. “You really should eat something before work.” 

You sighed and sat down your devices, trading them for a muffin. Steven cracked a smile at how your demeanor visibly changed once you took a bite. You always swore Steven put some kind of happy elixir into his food because it never failed to bring your spirits up. You gobbled up one muffin and reached for another. 

“Thank you for breakfast.” 

Steven leaned over and kissed the side of your forehead. 

“You’re welcome, darling. Hate to see you so out of sorts.” 

With you finally eating, Steven finished getting dressed. He had to go into work earlier than you did so he let you stay and finish doing what you needed to do. Before he left, he wrapped his arms around you and gave you a soft kiss. 

“I’m off then, darling. You’ll be okay here?” 

You gave him a reassuring nod as you swallowed a bite. 

“Yeah, I’m gonna finish up in a little bit. I have a feeling today is going to be better.” 

Steven beamed at you. He kissed you once, twice, three times and he knew if we went for a fourth, he’d cave and stay home with you. 

“Right, I’d better get going before I lose my job again.” But Steven made no move to leave. He was staring at you with that dreamy look, the one that had been perpetually fixed on his face ever since you two started dating two months ago. Steven was the perfect boyfriend. Gentle, thoughtful, and he adored you so much. 

“Go,” You told him. “I’ll be fine, really.” 

Steven gave you one last squeeze before walking out the door. 

—----------

Steven was finishing up a tour with a school field trip and he was buzzing from how well it went. Usually, preteens were their own unique breed of nasty– making inappropriate noises, laughing obnoxiously, and just generally being awful but a boy and girl had been asking tons of insightful questions, spurring Steven on and letting him flex his breadth of knowledge. And if there was any snark, the teacher shut it down expeditiously so Steven could continue. 

It was probably the best tour he’d given since he started working there. 

Plus, earlier in the morning, the curator had pulled him aside and said they were looking for someone to give virtual tours that they could record and post online. If he got it, it would mean a pay bump and more benefits. 

Things were finally going his way!

The group was just starting to shuffle off for lunch when Steven spotted you, standing off to the side of the museum entrance. His whole face broke out into a grin and his heart skipped a beat, but that elation faded when he saw your eyes. 

You had been crying. 

As soon as everyone was gone, Steven crossed the room to you. You both reached for each other. His hands fell to your hips and you clutched his bicep. 

“Love, what’s happened?” 

You tried to smile but your eyes were bloodshot and puffy. You were holding back tears and you looked like you were on the precipice of a complete breakdown. Like if someone pricked you with a sewing needle, you’d pop. 

When you spoke, it came out small and broken. 

“I tried to call you but my phone—” Your voice died on the word and Steven’s grip tightened around you. 

“Darling?” 

“I came to ask for a favor. My apartment… they called me while I was at work. A pipe burst.” Your lip quivered. “All my stuff is ruined.” 

Steven’s eyes widened. 

“No.”

You nodded, fat tears spilling down your cheeks. 

“They said it’s gonna take three weeks to fix it.” You started wringing your hands nervously and took a steadying breath before you spoke again. “I was hoping I could stay with you.”

Steven’s answer is an immediate yes. 

“Absolutely, love. Anything you need.” 

He couldn’t stand it anymore and he pulled you into a tight hug. Your head fell lamely against his chest and he felt your tears soaking through his shirt but he didn’t mind. Not one bit. You peered up at him, face hot and flushed with tears.

“You’re sure it won’t be a problem? We haven’t been dating that long and I don’t want it to be…” You floundered, searching for the right word but Steven knew exactly what you meant. He caught your hand with his and brought it up to kiss the back of it. 

“It won’t be. It'll be like a slumber party, yeah? We’ll bake cookies and watch films. It’ll be fun.”

You nodded but Steven could tell you weren’t convinced. After the week you’d been having, what reason did you have to believe anything else was going to go right for you? You looked like you were a single moment away from shattering entirely. 

“Do you want to leave now? I can take the rest of the day off. I can find someone to cover my afternoon tours.” 

You shook your head and wiped your eyes.

“No. No, I have to go back to work. We have an important meeting.” You sniffed. Steven’s heart broke seeing you like this. You just looked so defeated. 

Steven thought hard for a moment. How could he make this better for you? How could he lighten your load? 

“How about this? I’ll pick you up after work. We’ll stop by your flat and get anything we need and then we’ll go back to mine, hm?” He brushed the falling hair out of your eyes. “We’ll get a takeaway, watch your favorite show, I’ll even let you braid my hair if you like.” 

You chuckled a bit. 

“Can we get dessert?” 

Steven kissed your forehead. 

“Anything you want, love.”

You nodded and a genuine smile returned to your face. 

“Alright, well I better get back. I’m on my lunch break and it’s gonna take me 15 minutes to get back across town.” 

Steven stopped you before you could leave.

“Darling, have you eaten lunch?” 

You looked sheepish when you shook your head. Steven wouldn’t be having that. Wordlessly, he laced your fingertips with his and lead you down to the employee lockers. He opened up his where the only contents were a book of Egyptology, his spare glasses, a Tawaret funko pop, his lunch box, and a picture of you taped to the inside. 

He pulled out his lunchbox and placed it in your arms.

“Steven, no.” You gasped. “I can’t take your lunch.” 

You took his lunch. 

No matter how much protesting you did, Steven insisted, waving off your concerns with a promise that he would get something from a food truck at lunch. He hailed a taxi for you before you could argue any further. 

“Steven, I don’t have cab fare.” You said with wide eyes as the taxi pulled up. “Remember? My bank–”

He pulled out his own wallet and handed the driver his bank card. 

“Can’t have my beautiful girlfriend going across town on public transport. Someone might steal you away from me.” 

You flushed. Your stomach was doing happy flips from feeling so taken care of. Steven took his card back from the driver and tucked it away. You were full on crying now as you wrapped your arms around him and weeped into his chest. 

“It’s alright, love.” He murmured in your ear. 

You pulled back to kiss him. It was eager and much too sloppy to do in broad daylight on the steps of his place of work but you couldn’t help yourself. 

“Thank you for going to all this trouble for me.” You mumbled as you pulled away. 

“It’s no trouble at all, love.” He opened up the cab food for you and didn’t shut it until you were inside. “I’ll pick you up at your office at the end of the day, okay?” 

You nodded and Steven leaned his head through the window to give you one last kiss. 

“Last chance to play hooky with me for the rest of the day?” 

You giggled and shook your head. 

“Tempting, but no. I’ve got to go be a grownup.” 

Steven smiled at you and mouthed a silent “okay.” He stepped back onto the curb and once the road was clear, your cab pulled out into the street. 

Once Steven was out of view, you opened up his lunchbox. He had a habit of overpacking in case he was stuck on the bus for a while and needed a snack, which came in handry because you were starving. You ate his sandwich, chips, soda, half a bag of grapes, and a cookie. 

At a red light, your driver turned back to you. 

“Your boyfriend is so sweet!” She swooned. 

“You don’t know the half of it.” You giggled. “This is his lunch.” 

She gasped.

“Shut up! That is so cute! Oh my gosh, you’re so lucky.” 

You grinned.

“Yeah. I am.” 

—-----------

The rest of the afternoon went painfully slow for you.Thankfully, you got so busy with work that you temporarily forgot you were broke, without a phone, and temporarily homeless. 

When it was finally time to go, you headed toward the front desk, intending to use the landline to call Steven but when you stepped into the hall, he was already there. You had to do a double take at first because you thought you might have been dreaming or seeing things. But no, this was real life. 

Steven Grant, your nerdy, sweet, perfect boyfriend was chatting to your office receptionist with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. 

“I never realized the museum was free! I always thought it cost money, that’s why I haven’t brought my kids.” The receptionist said, embroiled in a conversation with Steven. 

“Loads of people think that, actually but yeah it’s free entry. It only costs money for tours. Though, if you’re bringing your little ones, I can’t recommend the tours enough. You get loads of extra information that just reading the pamphlets won’t give you. Not to toot my own horn but I give a pretty educational tour if I do say so myself.” Steven said with a relaxed smile. Ever since he’d been promoted to tour guide, he’s been so much more sure of himself. He’s still the goofy, sweet, bumbling nerd he always has been but the constant exposure to his passion has cushioned him in a cozy little bubble of Egyptology, vegan baking, and you. How could he not feel content? 

“I think I’ll take them next weekend.” The receptionist said as you arrived at the desk. “I’d like a tour with you as well.” She looked up from scribbling the museum information on a Post-It note and saw you. “Oh, here you are, darling! Does this sweet man belong to you?” 

Just as she asked, Steven held out the bouquet to you. Red roses, pink tulips, white calla lilies, and some hydrangeas to fill it out. 

“He does.” Your cheeks hurt from smiling so hard. You took the bouquet from Steven and smelled the flowers. Steven gently pulled your purse strap off of your shoulder and took his lunch box out of your hands, holding them both and holding his free hand out for you. 

“Are you ready, love? The cab’s waiting.” 

Do not cry. Do not cry in your place of work. Do not cry because your boyfriend is being so sweet and you’ve never felt this cared for in your life. 

To avoid your voice coming out high and squeaky, you nodded and took his outstretched hand. Bidding goodbye to the receptionist, he led you out the doors and into the cab, leading you home. 

*****

It feels strange.

You’re not sure why. You’ve spent the night at Steven’s flat before, had dinner, read books, spent all night in his bed, but this felt different. 

You were standing in Steven’s bathroom, hair damp from your shower. The second you got back to his flat, you’d made a beeline to the shower, eager to scrub all of your misfortune off. And you felt so strange, so out of place. 

It was a little more intimate knowing that you’d be here for three entire weeks, which put a decent amount of pressure on a fairly new relationship. You and Steven would be seeing each other in undesirable states, have to give each other space, and somehow maintain the dynamic of your relationship despite these new circumstances. 

You unloaded the grocery bag of toiletries that you picked up from your flat on the way here. Thankfully your hygiene essentials and skincare weren’t damaged. The same couldn’t be said for your clothes, though. 

At least it was the weekend and you didn’t have to worry about outfits for work. You could just lounge around in the sweater and boxers Steven had given you, or nothing if you preferred. Steven certainly wouldn’t mind. 

“Love?” Steven’s voice came through the bathroom door. “The food just got here. I’ll queue up a movie for us.”

“Alright.” You called out. “Be out in a minute.”

“Take your time, darling.” 

What on Earth did you do to deserve that wonderful, wonderful man? 

After changing, you stepped out into the living room where Steven had arranged the takeout boxes, poured you a glass of wine, and queued up “Tangled” on the TV. 

“Steven…” You plopped down on the couch next to him. “We could’ve cooked, you didn’t have to order out for me. I don’t want you going to any trouble for me.” 

Steven looked at you with a glimmer in his eyes that only love could be the catalyst for. He took your chin between his fingers and angled your face to meet his lips in a sweet, slow kiss. 

“Darling, why would it be any trouble to care for you?” 

And just like that, as quickly as a match burns out, all of your anxieties and apprehension faded away. You didn’t feel out of place in Steven’s flat or mistreated by the universe. Here, in Steven’s arms, you only felt loved.

[katoska]

Theory why Betelgeuse left Lydia's side to "go to the little boys' room" and took over for Richard at his booth for a bit:

Yes, he could have dealt with Jeremy without playing dress-up and taking over Richard's job, and didn't have to enable Richy to get a little more family time in the process. They could have saved Astrid just fine without that, so it seems unnecessary, for him to do that. OOC, even. Except

2) Richard wouldn't owe Betelgeuse a big favor for said taking over of his job and enabling the extra family time with Lydia and Astrid. Also, ofc, for saving his daughter from trading places with Jeremy. Betelgeuse did all that at great cost to himself: A Code 699 violation (see screenshot of transcript from reddit below) gets you extra time working as a civil servant, it gets your topside privileges revoked, and it voids any marriage you entered into, so his contract for payment from/marriage to Lydia was meaningless (well, if it had been a marriage certificate rather than just an agreement to get married in the future. and if he'd actually signed it. and then possibly only if he'd signed it before entering the Netherworld so there'd be a marriage TO void, rather than... not signing it at all... *sigh* he totally burned that half-signed and not-yet-binding contract himself bc he understood she wasn't ready to marry him yet, is what I'm saying, but I digress).

1) Lydia wouldn't have gotten closure for her ex's death without it. Closure which she sorely needed, because the fact that Richard's body was never found plus her seeming inability to see his ghost (Richard: "I know you two can't see me, but I check in on you all the time") add up to her having been in denial of his death. She couldn't see his ghost because she really really did not want to see proof that he was dead. So now she gets to move on from him. Which is very convenient for B. Especially as Richard is unlikely to be able to visit her anytime soon even now that Lydia has accepted his death and should be able to see him again, but I'm getting to that.

Still 2): Anyway, B doesn't do favors. He does business. If people are allowed to take over for others at their jobs in the afterlife, but those jobs are also a form of punishment where you have to "do time" at them for a specific duration, then those work hours are a currency that you can give away or trade. You can, if you find someone who is willing, get someone to do your time for you (hell, you can even get a naive Breather to trade their actual Life for your afterlife existence).

So yeah, I don't think Betelgeuse took over Richard's booth just out of the goodness of his heart. I think they made a deal, one that means that B will be topside again much sooner than the Deetz' will expect so he can get back to trying to seduce Richard's ex (hey, Richard always supported lost causes, so... 😆), while Richard will be stuck at work, unable to visit the Living for a long and unspecified amount of time. Not that his family's gonna notice, bc they never used to see him visit them, anyway.

And yeah, according to someone from reddit who decyphered that page in the Handbook, there's a bit about how the Deceased who violated Code 699 has to cease Trading, if applicable.

But I think that only goes for post-conviction of the crime, not as an automatic consequence of the crime, as B was also still able to visit the Living World to attempt the church wedding. Which, actually, is yet more evidence that this latest marriage attempt was more for the sake of declaring his feelings and testing the waters (and showing off, and getting rid at the competition) than him trying to actually get, and stay, married. Cause the church wedding would have been voided by a conviction, too.

Anyway, that's my theory on B's incredibly considerate, and therefore incredibly suspicious, detour to Richard's booth and letting Richard have his heroic moment.

And tbf, Lydia and Astrid are Richard's family. So it wouldn't even be unreasonable to expect Richard to pay for the legal trouble B got into from saving them. Like, I'm sure he'd have done it anyway, but if B can pass on that buck then ofc he's gonna.

[forlorn-crows]

one time someone asked me for a little something about cirrus and mountain's friendship. i don't know where that ask ran off to, but. tagging @askingforthesun bc i think i mentioned this to you randomly one day.

sometimes cirrus asks mountain to help her shave. gives them a chance to spend some alone time together and catch up. slice of life & banter for a sleepy sunday.

words: 680

“Ah, there it is,” Mountain hums, running his thumb along the newly shaven patch of skin.

“There’s what?”

“Your cute little mole.”

“Oh,” Cirrus snorts, thwacking him with the end of her tail. 

“Whaaat,” Mountain complains. He swishes the razor in the dish of water on the nightstand, laying it on the towel so he can go back to admiring the little blobby heart-like mark nestled in the fold of her upper thigh. “I love it. One of my favorite kissy spots.” The earth ghoul dips down as if to do just that, only to get a hiss and a face full of feathers.

“Uh uh,” she scolds. “No. You’re gonna give me pimples.” As if Mountain doesn’t already know this.

He sighs dramatically, resting his cheek on the opposite thigh. “Can you blame a ghoul for wanting to kiss such a perfect spot?”

“For an untrimmed bush? Yes. Because we both know once you start, you’re gonna get all horn-dog on me and I’ll be left indecent,” she pouts. 

Mountain tuts and rolls his eyes. “Would not,” he protests. He’s terrible at lying. With a pointed glare, Cirrus says as much. “Okay, maybe I would.”

“You have,” she corrects. “And I am not in the mood.” It’s not malicious, the way she says it. More haughty, teasing, and matter-of-fact, re-settling herself against the pillows with a wriggle of her shoulders. 

Mountain chuckles, placing a kiss to her bare thigh instead. “Alright, darling.” He runs the pads of his fingers lightly over the edge of her hair, feeling for rough spots or stray hairs. Pulls the thin skin to check in the creases too, mentally taking note of where to pick back up. 

“Thank you,” Cirrus chirps, crossing her arms playfully. 

Mountain just smiles and picks up the safety blade again. He shaves carefully along the crease of her thigh, brow furrowing as he concentrates. Cirrus has dark hair, so it’s easy to see, but he always vows to be precise when she’s asked him for help.

He cleans the blade again. “How’s mentoring going?” They’ve been talking about everything and nothing, mainly Cirrus’ newly developed finger joint pain (“So stupid, I’m how old and this vessel is just now deciding to fuck with me?” “You have been going hard on that baby grand recently, though, Cir.” “It’s new, it needs breaking in!” “Little harder on the hands, isn’t it?” “Well–”).

“Aurora?” Mountain hums an affirmative. “She’s . . .” Cirrus interrupts herself with a laugh. “She’s a handful, I won’t lie. In the best of ways.”

“She’s an eager one. Maybe more than Sunshine,” he muses.

“Yes,” she sighs. “So eager. She makes me feel like an old woman sometimes.”

“A wise old owl.” Mountain’s smirk earns him another tail smack. “You are going to make me miss a spot,” he accuses. 

Cirrus ignores him. “She has so much energy. She fits in wonderfully, and Sunny is taking well to mentoring, too. But Lucifer, that inner fire of hers . . . somehow it’s more pronounced than Sunny’s, if that were possible.”

“She’ll mellow out,” Mountain assures. “Sunny did, too. You and Lus have a calming influence.” The earth ghoul sets the razor aside and surveys his work. He hums, considering. “How’s the shape for you? I know you wanted a bit less this time, but I didn’t want to take too much off before I trim.”

“Hmm . . .” She peeks over her torso, assessing. Mountain hands her the mirror so she doesn’t have to crane her neck. She palpates her mound, pulling away hair from the shaved perimeter and spreading her thighs to see the rest. Tilting the mirror this way and that. 

“No, that’s great, sunflower, thank you.” 

“You’re welcome, darling.” Mountain takes the mirror back and trades it out for the comb and scissors. “Same as usual for length?” 

Cirrus nods. “You know I can always bring you my clippers too, right?” 

“Call me old fashioned,” Mountain shrugs. “Sometimes it’s nice to slow down. More time to catch up.” He offers her a smile, one that she mirrors fondly.

“Can’t argue with that.” 

[spacenintendogs]

httyd hcs abt the gang's relationship to eret bc we were deprived.

eret has a sense of camaraderie with all of them eventually, but it's super rough to get along with anyone besides astrid & hiccup at first

him & astrid get along the best, obv. they spar, they talk shit, they open up abt serious things, they trade information

eret dealing with how quickly he's changed his life & while astrid doesn't fully understand she rmrs how quickly her mind had been changed & getting used to it.

stormfly still plays fetch with eret (with a stick or... with him LMAO but it helps him get used to falling from large heights & trusting he'll be caught by a dragon, either her or skullcrusher)

hiccup immediately trusts eret as much as he trusts anyone he's known for years & eret doesn't know if he deserves it but he strives to make it so he does

eret has HIGH respect for hiccup & understands what he's going through to an extent as the son of a chief (tho hiccup is chief now). hiccup is one of the only ones who know eret was son of a chief.

yea i'm going off of what was said abt fire tides with eret being the son of a chief

eret figures out exactly where toothless likes to be pet & always has to give him a scratch under the chin to say hello

fishlegs enthusiasm for dragons & infodumping is a lot for eret at first, but very quickly fishlegs unabashedly is sweet, gentle, shy, patient, & still has the ability to bite back at ppl (mostly snotlout & the twins) & eret is like okay word

fishlegs helps eret understand skullcrusher more, as he's more than eager to step into the role of teacher (this makes hiccup happy)

fishlegs tells eret abt his family's regatta history & eret is actually invested!! he's interested!!! in turn, eret shows fishlegs his ship!!

eret: (sees meatlug) oh. (gives her a snack) (gives her a snack) (gives her a snack) (gives her a

we know snotlout sees eret as a rival but eret doesn't Care™️ but it'd be funnier i think if eret doesn't Care™️ but also enjoys mildly taking the piss out of snotlout for fun

it's so easy to work snotlout up & after eret's had his fun for a few months he casually brings it up to snotlout & snotlout wants to crawl into a hole & die

they do become good friends & it's weird for ppl outside of the gang bc eret is so dry towards snotlout vs snotlout still getting in eret's face (affectionate)

hookfang just likes to push himself into eret's personal space & cuddle(?) so eret just allowe it LMAO

it's ruffnut's bluntness that has eret finally relax around her.

she defends him in a rather mundane event of eret getting heckled (again) by berkians who don't trust him (this is like, month 5 of him living on berk) by looking at each viking & roasting them calmly from the ground up with information they didn't know she knew

eret tells her thanks & she just... smiles at him. so he gives her a kiss on the cheek & it's a rare moment of ruff getting slightly flushed

tuffnut is actually very easy to get along with. he always checks on eret & makes sure he's doing alright (in his tuffnut way)

tuffnut is so blasé abt things while also being one of the most hyper ppl eret has ever met & it's so intriguing to eret how someone can be a walking contradiction but make it make sense so easily

tuffnut gives eret unprompted pep talks & eret tries to respond in kind instead of fully brushing tuff off & tuff is like :D

barf & belch are as chaotic as their riders & maybe... maybe... eret will enable them on occassion (yes he will. what? it's funny).

eret rlly learns abt everyone & learns to like them for them as they like him for him :)

also they all saw him without a shirt ONE TIME (1) & haven't shut up abt it since

[thegoldencontracts]

Let's Play!

After seeing Azul fall asleep at his desk, you decide it's time for an impromptu game night to relax. Of course, things end up being the opposite of relaxing.

Notes: Just pure fluff, GN reader, some flustered Azul at the end bc he was smug the whole fic and we can't have that hehe

"That's lovely to hear."

"Azul?"

"I barely said anything!"

"Mhm. Exquisite!"

"Wha- are you even listening to me?"

"You're not listening, are you?"

"Truly, fascinating."

"..."

"Azul? Did you just fall asleep?"

"..."

And that was how you ended up calling for an impromptu game night, just the two of you. It'd be fun! And maybe Azul could go to bed at a normal time afterwards.

"You just fell asleep, didn't you?"

"This is entirely unnecessary, you know."

"I do know," you said. "But it'll be fun. Do you even know what that word means, takoyaki?"

"Don't call me that."

"No can do, takoyaki. Now, what game do you want to play first?"

Azul just glared at you petulantly. You glared back. After a while, he gave up.

"Fine, fine," he said. "Scrabble. And don't expect me to go easy on you."

"Like I'll need it," you said.

You quickly regretted those words. He beat you at every single round. How? It wasn't even close! Why was he just so good at this?

"How do you-"

"Heh," Azul said, a smug grin on his face. "It seems as if you're having some regrets."

"Why, you-!" You were getting fired up. "You know what? I'm picking the next game! We're playing Uno! Good luck winning every round of that!"

He did, in fact, win every round of that. Somehow. How? It was a luck-based game, for God's sake!

"I- how did you-"

"Trade secret, my dearest," he said. "I do believe it's my turn to pick our next game, then. How about Monopoly?"

Monopoly. Yeah, that would work. Monopoly was literally about rolling dice! There was no way he could rig that!

He did. Somehow. All the rolls were in his favor. How? You checked to see if the dice was loaded. It wasn't.

"That was just you cheating!" You said.

"Have you forgotten you're playing against a member of the Board Games Club?" He said, then at your deadpan stare, added "I learned to trick throw dice.

"But that's cheating!"

"No, it isn't. There are no rules against it."

You got the feeling he wasn't going to back down on this one. Luck-based games were out of the question, then. And so were skill-based games because he was good at everything. That was all games!

Wait. You had an idea. But you would wait before trying to implement it. You wanted to end things with a win for you. That way, you could pretend Azul was at a loss.

And so, you let yourself get clobbered, over and over and over again. Now, it was the last game of the night, and it was your turn.

"Any last wins to hand over to me?" He said, smug as ever. You were going to make him eat those words.

"Why yes," you said, relishing how what you said next wiped the smirk off of Azul's stupidly kissable face.

"Twister."

Azul glared at you.

"Ah, but dear," he said bitterly, "I'm afraid we only have two players."

"That's okay, takoyaki," you replied in kind. "I have a hands free spinner online.

Azul gulped.

"Are you certain this is your choice?"

"Absolutely," you said.

You could see the bead of sweat that dripped down Azul's face. Twister was a game about flexibility, something that Azul lacked. It also put people into compromising positions, kryptonite to someone who cared as much about their image as Azul.

"I-I see," Azul said. "Let us start, then."

Twister was far more satisfying than the other games. Azul struggled way more than you did, limbs trembling with exertion, and he still refused to give up. He was so adorably stubborn.

By the end of it, you were in an easy-to-hold downward dog position. Azul, on the other hand, was stuck in an arch. Heh.

"You sure you don't wanna give up, Azul?" You asked.

"Hmph. As if I'd- Ack-!"

Azul fell, and before he could hit his head, you caught him, before pulling him into a kiss as a reward for your bravery.

As you broke away, gently lowering Azul onto the ground, he looked away from you, face red.

Cute.

"Hmph," he groaned, mumbling his words, "what was that for?"

"A prize," you said. "For me. I won this round, after all."

"And I won all the others," he said. "And yet I haven't received any prizes."

"Do you want a prize, then?"

You said it as a joke, but he bashfully nodded.

"Well then," you said. "All you had to do was ask!"

As you pulled him into a kiss, you couldn't help but think that your boyfriend was absolutely irresistible.

[spacelazarwolf]

Also wrt the “transition for trans women is so much harder” like…we could do that too you know! There are absolutely aspects of transition that are easier one way, but that doesn’t make the entire process of transitioning easier in one direction than any other. It is no more helpful to say trans women have it harder because they have facial hair and other permanent effects of androgens that aren’t solved by HRT than it is for me to say “oh trans women have it so much easier because they can take estrogen to grow tits and just wear breastforms to pass in the meantime, whereas I have to get major surgery before people will stop misgendering me cuz my tits are so big that even binding isn’t enough.”

Everything i said there may be factually true, but that doesn’t make it helpful or reasonable to say. Breastforms are expensive, and not every trans girl on HRT will have an easy time growing breasts. Everyone has a different experience transitioning. Not every trans guy has an easy time growing facial hair, or binding, or with voice cracks. Some transfemmes have almost no facial or body hair, naturally softer facial features.

(Some transfemmes even naturally have tits! Lookin at you people with gynecomastia and other related intersex conditions!)

Like, especially with that person who said you couldn’t transition because transfems envy your body. Like, i just genuinely cannot imagine what gets in someone’s head to make them say things like “it’s transphobic to…*checks notes* be a trans man.” I hate to be the one to break this to them, but lots of trans men feel the same way about transfemmes! I sure did! Especially before i came out to myself I was so envious of my transfemme friends flat chests and deeper voices. I couldn’t understand why anyone would give up what I saw as clearly the better deal in favor of what I had. Does that mean it was somehow bigoted of them to transition? No! That’s literally the weirdest thing anyone has ever said!

seriously like. transition isn't easy for any of us! even in a perfect world it would still be stressful bc ur body is changing a ton!! instead of arguing abt who has it worse, we should be trading clothes and playing dnd.

[luke-hughes43]

quinn request!! maybe the reader is drafted from the 2020 she was first and the first woman in the nhl bu and she went to a team(you can pick maybe the leafs?) and she did amazing on that team but she didn’t love it and she traded to the cannucks at the end of the 22 season, and quinn just started being a captain so he kidna got closet to her pretty fast especially because she ended up moving into the apartment building he lives in so they started driving together to the arena and basically became really really great friends but quinn definitely has been falling for her and doesn’t want to say anything knowing how tough it is for her to be women in the nhl, maybe during the devils at cannucks game his family notice him smiling at someone and realize he really likes her and she scored a goal and the way quinn congratulated her was more than he does for anyone else, ellen maybe suggested to invite her to dinner after the game with their family, and she gets along with jack and luke so well and jim and ellen just adore her and mayeb that’s what gets quinn the push to finally tell her what he felt

oooo the ideas I have for this!

ok so she goes in the first round to like San Jose (who's historically terrible) but decides to stay in college for the year (say she goes to like minnesota or North Dakota). she signs for the 21-22 season and comes in lighting it up. her, trevor zegras and Moritz seider are the 3 calder finalists and she ultimately loses it to Seider.

she wasn't totally loving being on the sharks. she hated the city and hated that they were getting their asses kicked on a nightly basis. she just was not having a good experience despite producing every night she played.

during the 22-23 season, she asks to get traded. the sharks follow through with it and ended up getting involved in the bo horvat deal and she goes to Vancouver while bo goes to the islanders and the islanders send something to San Jose.

she gets to Vancouver and makes instant friends with Quinn and Petey. they welcome her in with open arms and both offer for her to stay with them. she ends up living with Petey for the rest of the season and even signs an extension with Vancouver for like 7 years.

she heads back to Vancouver a little early at their request because she is going the leadership squad earning an A while Quinn gets the C. that's when Quinn really starts falling for her.

he refuses to do anything about it bc she's the first woman in the NHL and being in the Canadien market is hard enough let alone being the first woman and does not wanna throw dating her captain into the mix.

he definitely spends the most time with her off the ice and ellen takes notice to how often she gets mentioned when she checks in with Quinn.

ellen really notices the lasting glances, lingering touches, and not so hidden feelings from her oldest to his female teammate. she also understands why he won't say anything about it so she doesn't press it. but she does basically force him to invite her out to dinner with them every time they are in town so that ellen can meet her.

as soon as ellen meets her, she understands why her son is falling for her. she's an amazing persona and absolutely stunning.

she doesn't start mentioning anything about it to Quinn to pressing him on it until the all star draft and he made a point to draft her first of the canucks and hugged her for a long time after drafting her.

that's when he realized that maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing to actually say something to her about his feelings.

this is kinda long so I'm gonna stop here and prob do a part 2 if y'all liked this.

[targwh0re]

New Ideas for HOTD Rhaenyra Fashion pt.7

First time I’m doing one of adult Rhaenyra’s costumes, and we’re starting off with the one I hateeee the most of all:

I just, it’s so-it’s so, wtf is this shit?!?!?

I get it’s a sort of call back go her of outfits when she was younger but bruh😶 you’re telling me this is what she chose. Even her younger outfits were better than that. And I get it, I get it, it’s supposed to be maternity wear but reminder that this:

Is what Alicent wore when pregnant with Helaena. And this is what Rhaenyra wore right after the birth:

Both are hella fire, stunning. The dress Rhaenyra’s wearing is very Velaryon esque, slowly, loose, a sort of beached of Greece type beauty. Now she can still wear Targaryen colors, but she can also still have some representation of her Velaryon marriage (as we really tryna post a happy front so no one thinks about daddy Harwin😘)

So I think she’s still be wearing something similar, but perhaps representing both family’s. This being an under dress:

With it blue threading running through the red it could easily be designed a scales.

I’d also add an open fronted petticoat so that she could keep her arms warm and protect her belly or breasts if she feels the need as a woman whom has freshly given birth.

I’d use these three for design reference:

Taking the pattern from the red gown, the design of the green gown w/ the white designs, and then the golden medallion chains binding them together from the third design.

I’d change the color of the petticoat to a Targaryen black, and trade the white designs for gold ones more similar to the ones we on her blue dress. As you can see the zigzagging in the first picture of the three is reminiscent of the blue threads on the red dress meant to be worn under so honestly those could just be changed to gold. Keeping the golden belt with the rubies in the second picture, I’d disregard the highest neck piece with the laces in the front. I’d keep the spacing of the open front in the third picture, turning the bands of the front to match the fabric of the underdress. The gold on either side of the bands could be formed into dragons heads (perhaps reminiscent of Syrax’s head if ur feeling fancy). Lastly, I think I would make the inside fabric of the petticoat a velaryon blue, replacing the yellowish color we see on the interior of the dress in the third picture.

Sorry if that was confusing, I might’ve got a little too descriptive to show you what going on in my mind 😭

As for her Jewelry, I just saw a Reddit post made before hotd came out about the color of Joffrey and Jace’s dragons. They were actually correct for the most part about Vermax (Jace’s dragon) so I have faith in their theory that Tyraxes (Joffrey’s dragon) is red & black or something similar.

(If you want to read their theory about how the colors of the dragons belonging to Rhaenyra’s first three sons reflect the Conquerors original three dragons and Dany’s three dragons check it out on Reddit u/OneirosDrakontos)

That being said I’d want to reflect his hatchling, or at least egg on her jewelry. (Bc I also saw someone say Rhaenyra wears a ring for everyone of her three sons @atopcat) Maybe it’d be cute if she did something to reflect their future dragons after their birth with her jewelry as well.

Red and black for Tyraxes, gold for the ring she wears for him:

Her hair is more of a simpler extent, as I feel like though time hasn’t calmed down her fashionista tastes to an extreme extent, she’s more concerned about her newborn baby than her hair right now.

Something like this, but instead make it a half-do w/ hair still hanging free from any binds/braids:

Replace the pink ribbon and bow with two Velaryon Blue colored bands with gold design embroidered onto it, golden thread braided at the edges of the fabric. Perhaps the bow could be replaced with a golden three headed dragon pin stick through the braid so it appears as if mini dragons heads are roaring at those walking behind her.

[loveinhawkins]

For the made up fic title game "1983 is Calling" bc 1983 by Neon Trees randomly came up on my Spotify lol

god i love this title so much. i think 1983 is calling has a Steve Harrington character study written all over it.

-

In the November of 1983, Steve Harrington’s world falls out from underneath him. When his feet finally find solid ground again, everything looks a little different, like he’s an Alice who’s grown just slightly too tall for his surroundings.

And maybe most people in his shoes would chalk that up to finding out that monsters are real, that a kid can come back from the dead. But Steve knows that’s not the whole truth.

What’s really tripping him up is the dangerously quiet anger he didn’t really know he was capable of; he spends many sleepless nights staring up at the ceiling, hearing his father’s words come out in his voice, slipping through clenched teeth, finish the sentence.

It’d be easy to brush it off after the quite frankly insane series of events he’s lived through, to claim that wasn’t me.

But it was. It was.

It’s not a dramatic transformation. If anyone was really looking out for it, maybe they’d notice him being just a touch more reserved in school. Slower to react, more careful with his words.

He doesn’t sit with Tommy and Carol in the cafeteria—and while there’s an ache in that decision which he steadfastly ignores, he finds that he doesn’t really mind sitting alone sometimes.

In the quiet, he has more time to think. He tries to keep his assumptions in check, finds that he cares less and less about cliques—does his best to ensure that his first thought about someone isn’t a judgement.

He remembers the casual indifference he had when watching Jonathan Byers put up a poster for his missing brother. His unbothered drawl, God, that’s depressing.

Never again, he decides.

Above all, he doesn’t want to be cruel.

One lunch, he sits with Jonathan, and they swap pudding cups, Steve trading chocolate for butterscotch.

“I… listen, Jonathan, I shouldn’t… shouldn’t have said what—what I said,” he starts, awkwardly, inadequately. “About. About your mom, and your family, and…”

It horrifies him still, the words that came out so easily, never mind if they were echoes of things he heard.

Joyce Byers is one of the strongest people he knows.

“Thanks,” Jonathan says, delayed. He smiles tightly, but Steve knows it’s not personal, that the guy’s still on edge from… everything.

Steve smiles back.

But there’s still a thorn that he hasn’t quite prised out.

“And I…” He lowers his voice. “I shouldn’t have called you that. Y’know.”

Jonathan’s eyebrows go up. “No,” he says mildly. “You shouldn’t have.”

“I…” Steve rubs a hand over his mouth. “I hate that… there’s nothing bad about…”

Jesus, what’s wrong with him?

Jonathan’s expression softens. He blinks, and he has that pensive look on his face, like he’s seeing the world through a camera lens—like the flash has lit up something unknown.

“I agree,” he says quietly, and then he digs into his pudding and asks genuinely about Steve’s holiday plans, talks about getting Will an Atari for Christmas.

At New Year, Steve is abruptly conscious of the fact that he really, really needs to look like he’s having a good time. He doesn’t want to analyse who the performance is for. If it’s for himself, he’s not convinced.

But drink dulls the anxiety; he laughs a lot, sways with Nancy in his arms because that’s what he’s supposed to do.

Even in the euphoria of the midnight countdown, he can see Nancy smiling too brightly, like her face might crack with the strain.

Do you feel it, too? he almost asks. Are we always gonna be back there? Are we always gonna be running from it?

The semester after winter break starts off reluctantly.

There’s a few classes with mixed year groups: they get an absolute horror of a substitute teacher in second period, one who insists on them copying things word for word from the blackboard. She makes her funeral march down the desks and shouts at a student for mis-spelling ‘January.’

“Psst,” comes a voice, before she reaches Steve.

He looks over to see Eddie Munson in the seat next to him, handing over an eraser.

“Wrong year, Harrington,” he whispers.

Steve glances down at his paper. Sure enough, 1983 stares back at him from the top margin.

Steve scoffs. “Figures.” He uses the eraser and passes it back to Eddie. “Thanks.”

“No problem. I wish we were still on vacation, too.”

“Eddie Munson.” The teacher slams a ruler down on Eddie’s desk so hard that Steve flinches. “Shall I send you outside for talking?”

“Oh, no, ma’am,” Eddie says, without missing a beat, “I’ll surely cry. Profusely.”

As other students stifle giggles, Steve manages to write the date down correctly before the teacher peers over his shoulder.

He can’t help noticing that even with the eraser, there’s still an imprint: 1983 faintly engraved on the page.

Well, Steve thinks wryly, so it goes.

[rarepears]

This is the Shen Jiu marries an Arabian prince and gets super into astronomy anon, but I just thought of like.

So, the Arabs do a lot as merchants. Which would probably put them mainly in contact with Shang Qinghua.

It makes me wonder if transmigrator!SQH ended up negotiating a contract with the besotted prince and went "I CAN GET MY POOR LITTLE MEOW MEOW OUT OF HERE AND STOP FEELING LIKE SHIT OVER HOW HIS STORY ENDED!!!!" and proceeded to immediately do everything in his power to make that marriage happen because while he has zero confidence that dropping Shen Jiu in the lap of someone who adores him unconditionally will fix him now or ever, it definitely can't make things worse, and will in fact go a very long way to preventing things getting worse.

Also makes me think of SQH eventually being like the only one Shen Jiu kept in contact with, because yes he's annoying and pitiful, but when he was pulling the "marry Shen Jiu to besotted foreign royalty" bandwagon, it wasn't because he wanted to get rid of him, it was because Shang Qinghua wanted Shen Jiu to be around people who liked and would appreciate him, rather than stuck rotting in Harem Drama Hell. Maybe initially they only kept in contact for trade agreement reasons (which was ostensibly the purpose of this marriage) but SQH always made sure to a) bring some of Shen Jiu's favorites from home, b) genuinely make sure he was okay, and c) check and make sure that his husband was still besotted. Maybe Shen Jiu discovered SQH had a "smuggle my scariest shixiong to......... Eh I'll figure it out" plan in the event of Shen Jiu being mistreated? Or one of his least favorite courtiers says something snide and before Shen Jiu can get a word out Shang Qinghua says something that makes the man cry with fear. Idk how they get to the point of "spiritually you are siblings" but I am having visions of Shang Qinghua and Shen Jiu drinking anachronistic coffee (bc this is Airplane's novel ofc it is) over tanghulu and red bean paste buns and not mentioning the peak lords even once. Just chatting about trade and SJ running the kingdom with his husband and fabric and cool knives. Possibly with a side of Shen Yuan being a prince (adoption? Magic? Who knows) and SQH being his favorite uncle.

.......I wonder if SQH warns Shen Jiu that Binghe is coming/keeps him updated on demonic happenings.

.................wasn't OG Rat Qinghua supposed to get murdered by MBJ for betraying him.

Oh no.

NOW I am going down rabbit holes of Moshang typical violent misunderstandings and lack of communication, except this time SQH is the adoptive younger brother of an Arabian queen, and oh God the court intrigue and politics and drama you could pull with that. Esp if Shen Jiu eventually just. Yoinks SQH. "If this ice king wants to keep you around then he's welcome to start fucking acting like it."

And ofc Shen Jiu's husband won't say shit besides "oh we gotta welcome my brother in law appropriately! Make sure he has clothes and nice rooms etc etc" because he's also familiar with the little merchant/logistics lord who is absolutely wide eyed fluffy hamster levels of ADORABLE (bc I firmly believe SQH is the cutest little thing second to nothing but White Lotus Binghe, and also oblivious to this) and correctly thinks that having SQH's spymaster/logistics capabilities working for them is a good thing.

So SQH gets a break, gets to wear some super pretty clothes, gets to never have to worry about freezing to death, or getting injured accidentally or otherwise, etc etc. The courtiers, especially the scientifically inclined ones, adore him, partly bc he's cheating using modern knowledge. But he tells such wonderful stories! And he runs things so efficiently!

The Queen is sharp and brilliant, beautiful and vicious when provoked. His younger brother is just as intelligent, but is absolutely adorable, skilled at organization and he tells the *best* stories.

(please I just want Shang Qinghua to get so much of the appreciation he craves that he doesn't even know what to do with it)

MBJ and LBH are both sulking in the demon realm bc Shen Jiu is forcing them to think about what they've done and use their words.

......ok now I want "disillusioned but naive" Binghe and "learned but foolish" Shen Yuan to get a romance. They both learn that life and the world isn't what they thought it was together. Shen Jiu is furious but Binghe has taken every bit of his running a kingdom advice to heart and is truly genuinely doing everything right. Finding out the beast refuses to so much as hold hands with A-Yuan until Shen Jiu has approved of him would, once upon a time, have caused him to double down on disapproval. Now- with his doting husband who looks thoughtfully at the pair and says, with the look on his face that means he's thinking of their own relationship, "maybe we should give him the chance to disappoint us first. Something tells me he's not going to,"- Shen Jiu sighs heavily and sets about making a true good faith attempt to finding out if Binghe and a-Yuan are suited to each other.

(the main reason he does so is because his a-Yuan loves monsters, and Binghe will be able to take him to see as many as he wants while still being single mindedly focused on keeping him safe.)

YES YES YES!

EVERYTHING IS A BIG FUCKING RED YES!

SOMEONE MAKE THIS INTO A 100K FIC BECAUSE THIS IS PERFECTION!

[More in #Shen Jiu is forced into an arranged marriage to an Arabian Prince AU]

[according2thelore]

do you guys think the ls boys would take the younger ones on a (normal, non-apocalyptic) hunt? bc I could see that going one of two ways:

1. smothering overprotectiveness, literally checking that es!boys guns’ are loaded correctly before they head out. es!dean can barely get a glimpse of the werewolf bc sam is literally standing in front of him the whole time.

2. LS salmondean are so used to hunting with each other and being at the top of their game and having SUCH faith in their brother’s abilities that they very much are out of step with their younger selves, like: sam tosses the lighter behind him without looking, thinking es!dean will naturally catch it & light ‘em up, but dean is fully across the graveyard swinging an iron poker. this ends up with an easy hunt being kind of a disaster and someone gets hurt (maybe es!sam — if it’s s1 sam, he’s by far the least experienced & most out-of-practice of all of them).

(it seems you guys are getting tons of asks feel free to ignore this if it’s stressful!!!! i do not need a reply i just love your thoughts)

HOLY SHIT!!!!

I CAN SEE EVERY EQUATION!!! YOUR BRAIN!!!! IS A MASSIVE BRAIN!!!!!!!!

i had to write them both because WHAT

if they go hunting, it's small, and it's unavoidable.

LS!Dean picks up a newspaper out of habit when he does the shopping that week, and on the front page in ink-smeared gory detail, lewis dalton, age 57 found dead in home, ripped to shreds. no sign of forced entry. lived alone.

ES!Sam finds the newspaper.

"hey. this is our thing, right? it's up in hastings. that's pretty close."

LS!Dean keeps trying to demur like well, no, someone else will take care of it. he can call some friends, and they'll check it out.

"are they closer?"

"well, no, but--"

"what's the harm? let me go tell the others."

and they come to a (hesitant) agreement that, yeah, they're probably best suited to it. because things that rip people to shreds don't usually stop at just one hamburger helper.

it's the quickest hunt ever because LS!Sam&Dean don't let ES!Sam&Dean even see the monster

it turns out to be the vengeful ghost of the vic's uncle.

before they even get there, LS!Sam&Dean do a full weapons check. they take practice swings with all of their iron implements, and mutter to each other about which ones have the "best balance" and the "most force." they solemnly present ES!SalmonDean with their weapons, an iron pipe and iron poker, respectively.

LS!SalmonDean keep trading worried looks the whole way to the cemetery, and ES!SalmonDean feel weirdly like they have two overprotective dads driving them to a hockey match with a notoriously intimidating team of middle schoolers.

they do a checklist when they get out of the car, and ES!Sam's eyes widen when he sees LS!Dean pull four gas cans out of the trunk.

"are we lighting the whole cemetery on fire?" he asks

"it's a back-up." LS!Dean says soberly.

"all three?"

"yes. wait until you see how many match books i brought."

he makes ES!Sam put five in each pocket.

they track it down to a cemetery outside of town, and ES!Sam&Dean don't protest too heavily when LS!Sam&Dean say they've got the grave-digging covered. it's a little condescending, but a) no physical labor is a plus and b) holy goddamn mother of good god. the sweating. the panting. the flushed cheeks. the bulging muscles. it's like a chippendales show.

when the ghost pops up, LS!Sam vaults out of the grave one-armed like an olympian and knocks it away with an iron poker before backing up towards ES!Dean, head on a swivel.

ES!Dean's picked up his iron, but LS!Sam is standing so close that he ends up having to hold it mostly out to his side. LS!Sam is circling him quickly, making sure that nothing has the chance to sneak up on him.

"two o'clock!" LS!Dean shouts from the grave, even though he's dozens of feet away, like the older winchesters had worked this out beforehand, and ES!Dean looks up, but LS!Sam's bulk is in the way. ES!Dean tries to swerve around him, but LS!Sam is already reacting, shielding dean with a single minded focus as he takes a swipe at the ghost presumably there.

LS!Sam even has a hand out behind him, making sure ES!Dean isn't going to do something stupid like help on the hunt that they came here to do.

ES!Dean feels like the president. he's pretty sure if he sneezed really hard, LS!Sam would whip out his gun and start shooting individual dust motes out of the air.

ES!Sam wants to help, as he can see LS!Sam is wedged between ES!Dean and the ghost that's coming after them doggedly. but LS!Dean whistles to catch his attention, and nods back down at the grave.

ES!Sam jumps down into the grave to help, and has been digging for a few minutes when he hears a screech--abruptly close. he startles, looking up, and LS!Dean is panting and throwing his iron weapon aside before jumping back into the grave. when the fuck did he crawl out?

"did the--why didn't you say--"

"no big deal," LS!Dean pants, wiping blood from his temple. "it was barely there for a second."

they crawl out of the grave when they're ready to salt and burn, and when ES!Sam starts to run away--about to take a swing at the ghost coming after them--LS!Dean drops the book of matches with a curse and overtakes him, swinging his iron girder shard with a strength that--if there were a baseball and not a ghost there--would have broken world records.

LS!Dean at one point literally picks up ES!Sam by the waist and puts him out of harm's way, to which ES!Sam shouts, startled, and flails.

ES!Sam manages to run back to the grave and light the matches and drop them into the grave. the bones light.

the bones finally burn completely, and the four of them stand above the grave, watching them crumple into ash.

LS!Sam&Dean are panting, covered in sweat, dirt, grass, and blood. ES!Sam has mud on his boots. ES!Dean is blinking, confused, because he's not sure what the fuck just happened.

"that was fun!" LS!Dean says, wiping sweat from his forehead. "i have never been more stressed in my life. can we go home now?"

total time seeing the ghost: Sam, 32.51 seconds; Dean, the 44.09 seconds it took for LS!Sam to run back to him with the force and single-minded killer instinct of the terminator, a sight so simultaneously arousing and frightening that dean's dick gave up in confusion

this is the worst hunt anyone has ever been on, they collapse in a heap of tangled limbs at the entrance of the house, it's a miracle they don't accidentally kill each other

as soon as they get they get a lead on the werewolf, it's followed the vic's brother--don--to the vic's house, where he's boxing up lewis's belongings.

don is already a werewolf glove when they get there--the werewolf's got one hand inside of his stomach, and his leg is torn apart below the right knee.

LS!Dean whips off his belt to use as a tourniquet, and tosses it to LS!Sam who catches it without even blinking, moving as one unit.

ES!SalmonDean run head-first at the thing, and ES!Dean gets tossed bodily through the dining table. ES!Sam sneaks up behind it and gets his gun with silver bullets knocked out his hands as the beast whirls around and tries to tackle him.

LS!Dean can't take a shot because if the bullet goes through, it will hit ES!Sam, so he jumps on its back like a madman and uses his body weight to throw them both back. it lashes out at LS!Dean, who now has no belt, and rips his pants right off. its claws tear straight through the waistband of his jeans, and leave a nasty rake on his left thigh.

LS!Dean, pantless, reassesses his strategy. ES!Dean is just now getting up, and is shocked to see his own bare legs. it takes him a full fifteen seconds to realize that those are in fact, not his own legs.

ES!Sam, taking his moment, runs back to the supply bag that's next to LS!Sam, who has effortlessly applied a tourniquet to Don's leg, and is applying pressure to his abdomen.

LS!Sam is rooting with his other hand in the bag, getting ready to help LS!Dean in the fight, but ES!Sam bats his hands away.

"oh my god. i'm dead. there are triplets with guns!" don mutters, delirious. and okay. there are only two of them. but alright. allowances can be made for hypovolemia.

"i've got it! back off!" ES!Sam shouts, knocking LS!Sam's hands away more firmly.

"dean has no pants!" LS!Sam roars, and both deans go,

"not my fault!" and "stop looking at him!" simultaneously.

a sound like a dog yelping from behind them, and they turn around to see ES!Dean and the werewolf take each other to the floor.

"did you fucking punch it?" LS!Dean screams, chasing after the tangled, tumbling ball of fur and leather that's rolling wildly across the floor.

"i panicked! i goddamn panicked!" ES!Dean screeches, shoving the leg of the destroyed table into the werewolf's mouth that it bites almost clean in half.

ES!Sam finally finds another gun buried under the chains and lock picks and assorted knives.

"i've got the silver!" ES!Sam shouts, trying to jump over LS!Sam, who sits up at that exact moment to receive a full-strength kick straight to the brain.

LS!Sam is unconscious. the vic is still bleeding out. LS!Dean is trying to bodily force the werewolf off of his younger self, who is hitting the werewolf on the head with the two halves of his now-broken table leg and shouting obscenities like the world's worst drummer.

ES!Sam yells, "dean! catch!" because someone has to hold pressure on this wound now that LS!Sam is unconscious, and slides the gun as hard as he can in LS!Dean's direction.

bad thing: there are two deans.

they both instinctively turn around to catch whatever has just been thrown, and the werewolf that had been resisting LS!Dean's arms now slams into ES!Dean underneath him at full force, who was now splayed, arms open on the hardwood.

ES!Dean now has at least two broken ribs. and slobber in his hair. he kicks out at the original crack of his fucking bones and the gun goes skittering in the other direction, so LS!Dean chases after it. as soon as he has it, he whips around and shoots all nine bullets into the werewolf's back across the room.

ES!Dean is now covered in blood, has broken ribs, and thinks--for a second--that holy shit! he just got shot!

LS!Dean has no pants.

he is also bleeding profusely from his asscheek.

ES!Sam is three inches deep in don dalton's abdomen.

LS!Sam is groggily waking up, also covered almost to the elbows in blood, and with a knot the size of a baseball on his head.

"you just committed suicide, fucker!" ES!Dean wails, before he realizes. oh. okay. he's fine.

they all shakily stand up (except for ES!Sam, who drops LS!Sam's cell phone into Don's abdomen, then wipes the blood off on his jeans while dialing 9-1-1 (thank god for face id on these newfangled cell-phones. sam's phone is a little confused, but yeah? that's the same facial structure it guesses.)).

"let's do this again" ES!Dean says, before throwing up all over his boots.

~~~

which one it ends up being i think depends entirely on what the monster is, and how far along they are in this little misadventure. i think as time goes on, they'd be able to be more reasonable about their younger selves. at first, it's hard, because it's such a shock. ES!Sam is not a baby, but to LS!Dean, that is literally his baby. it would take him a couple of weeks? months? to recognize the fact that these are adult men that have experience in the life.

personally, i favour the former because it makes me giggle and twirl my hair but practically, the latter is more likely.

and do not apologize! i love getting these asks and hearing from y'all! i worry i'm bothering my mutuals with them--i'm sorry mutuals! i love you! so much! i am kissing you!

charlotte's been busy w work, but honestly she's dodging a lizzy-sized bullet bc i am thinking abt these boys all day.

thanks again for this ask, anon! your brain! i loved your little descriptions of each scenario! brilliance!

ps, i went more humorous with the second, but oh lord. you've got me thinking about The Angst. oh gosh. i might have to...i might have to make a full narrative ficlet about it. would that be something you would be interested in?

regardless, mwah! <3

-lizzy

[staybabblingbaby]

Janitor AU (Ambush Part) a1 d2

[Caution: These are not full fics, or even full parts of fics for some, these are part of my writing progress archive!]

Concept: Reader is a member of the cleaning staff at JYP. With a decent history of managing to avoid the idols on staff, Reader keeps to themself and keeps their head down. A chance encounter with SKZ in one of the practice rooms may change that...

Word Count: 1,293

Notes: LMAO Just saw that I already posted this and just didn't put it on the ML. RIP. I'm keeping this one instead of the old one <3

I remember spitting this out really fast and then hitting a dead stop and hating everything about it. Not sure what that was about, it's a pretty standard first attempt for me. Not feeling editing notes rn, so just. have at.

This was pretty heavily inspired by a BTS fic on Ao3 that was MUCH smuttier and about a Brat, but I can't remember the name anymore. If it reads as familiar to anyone, will you please tell me what it reminds you of? I'd love to give proper credits.

Original Notes: This is the first one that really looks like the w.i.p it is lol. The beginning is super awkward and I'll probably redo that entirely. This concept is inspired by another fic, but I'll have to hunt it down bc I can't find it rn. I saw that one and went "I want that but without the smut" and so I wrote it lol. This one needs a lot of work, but I probs got frustrated bc it looks like I left off in the middle of sentence lmao.

Warnings: None that I know of?

Masterlist link |

You hum lightly to yourself as you pull your hairband up from where it rested around your neck and push your hair out of your face. You double check that you have the appropriate ‘cleaning in progress’ and ‘wet floor’ signs up and turn to hijack the sound system every practice room was equipped with.

This was the most envied privilege of your assigned areas - you got to blast your music loud and proud as you cleaned instead of hoping your headphones can go loud enough to be heard over your machines without bursting your ear drums. It was envied in your opinion anyways. You wouldn’t trade areas for anything, even if the stink of sweat was overpowering sometimes.

You can’t help your amusement at the thought that there were some fans of the idols you worked for that would adore having to smell their stank every day. It was just an occupational hazard for you, though.

You’re sure being janitorial staff is no one’s dream, regardless of which building you happen to be cleaning. It works for you, though. You wouldn’t say it had been remotely in your life plan to be scrubbing huge mirrors, or airing out the smell of sweat from the JYP practice rooms, but you enjoyed the peace it allowed you.

Two years out of college, with an unrelated degree, in a country you’d never dreamed of moving to, and you still wouldn’t trade it for the world. The twists and turns of life that had lead you here hardly mattered anymore.

Besides, you don’t see the idols as much as you’d assume for someone who cleaned their practice rooms for a living. It was another privilege of yours, if anyone were to ask your opinion. Not that anyone asked you much of anything, aside from your supervisor. Your quiet existence as just another cog that kept everything running smoothly was soothing to you.

You could be loud and take up space outside of work. Not that you really did, but you could if you wanted to. Maybe you should. You were still virtually friendless a year and a half after getting this job. You only really spoke to your coworkers, and barely at that. Your homebody tendencies continue to sabotage your social life.

You had plenty of online friends, it was fine.

You’ve digressed. No idols equals privilege of your area. Right.

You knew several of the newer folks spent a few weeks after their hire giggling to each other when they got to see the idols just casually hanging around and doing their jobs, but you’d avoided them from the start.

At first it was just because you were shy and many idols had a bit of rbf going on. You’d been incredibly intimidated by both their beauty and their success, and your Korean hadn’t been as eloquent as you’d have liked it to be. By the time you’d spoken to enough trainees to relax around the idols, you’d still been unsure with your Korean. And then when you’d gotten that in order it’d been so long you simply felt awkward.

You’d been working in the building for a year and a half and had done a spectacular job at crossing paths with as few idols as possible. You weren’t about to seek them out now. You’d been sought out yourself a time or two, by idols that were close to the trainees you spoke with more frequently. Apparently you’d been labeled “the nice janitor noona with the snacks” and curiosity and food were fabulous motivators.

It didn’t happen frequently. When you’d asked about it, you’d learned that apparently you were being gatekept by the trainees. Ostensibly so they could keep your snacks for themselves, but you liked to believe they just liked you.

You finally get your phone connected to the speakers and start to blast your work playlist. You can’t help doing a little dancey-dance as you begin to sweep, mop, and wax the hardwood floor. What could you say? Your playlist was simply bop after bop.

You’re in the middle of dipping your mop handle low and pretending to sing along to Fall Out Boy when the door creaks open slowly.

You straighten quickly but there’s no way the person at the door didn’t see you goofing around.

“One sec!” You call out quickly, forgetting to speak Korean in your haste. You dash over to the sound system to pause your music, your ears ringing in the silence. When you turn around you’re confronted with the amused eyes of one Lee Know of Stray Kids.

“Ah, Lee Know-ssi!” You bow quickly but politely in greeting. “I’m sorry, this room is being cleaned right now, it’s not available for practice.”

Lee Know gives you a slow nod, looking like he was holding in a laugh.

“I know, I saw the sign,” Lee Know replies, tilting his head at you. You secretly let out a breath of relief at that. For a second there you’d thought you’d forgotten. “I was just curious who was playing music loud enough to hear outside.”

You immediately fluster at that, waving your hands in front of yourself, “Ahhh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to disturb!” You gesture at the floor machine sitting pretty in the corner of the room with your supply cart.

“I’ll be waxing the floor in a bit, usually the machine is loud enough to cover it. Hadn’t gotten there yet, though.” You laugh nervously, popping your wrists and fingers just for something to do with your hands.

Lee Know shakes his head, waving your apology aside. “No, you’re good, I got to see something fun out of it.”

You’re sure you flush bright red, and you cant help but bury your head in your hands with a groan. You can hear Lee Know stifle a laugh, but you’re too busy languishing in your humiliation to pay attention to him.

After a moment you peak at him from between your fingers. He still looks like he’s trying very hard not to laugh at you.

“If I bribe you with snacks will you erase this from your memory?” You plead with him. He raises an eyebrow at you and hums consideringly.

“Depends on the snack.” He finally concedes, prompting you to start towards your cart, much more at ease with a potential solution in sight.

“I’ve got a couple kinds,” You start to explain, “Everyone likes to ambush me for them, so I’ve learned to come prepared.”

You hear another huff of laughter from far closer than you were expecting, Lee Know having wandered over while you were distracted with rummaging though your cart. You have to move several things out of the way before you can grab the small basket containing your prize.

You may have gotten used to being ambushed for snacks, but that also meant you’d gotten used to hiding them so that you’d at least get to eat some of them. You swore the trainees could smell when you had their favorites stocked up. Animals, the lot of them.

“Who’s ambushing you?” Lee Know questions with amusement.

“Everyone who knows I have them.” You reply with false despair. “The trainees have a sixth sense for them, I fear.” Lee know snorts at that and you grin at him with equal mirth.

“Ah, yes, as a former trainee, I can confirm that they do.” He tells you somberly. You click your tongue and shake your head.

“I knew it.” you say, “They only love me for my snacks. And here I thought they just liked to talk.” You place a dramatic hand over your heart, acting hurt and betrayed.

Lee Know chuckles at you, but doesn’t respond as he leans in to

[jacenotjason]

*slowly appears from the void*

Would it be alright, if I requested some Fun Facts about Ma? I am so very curious and I wanna hear all the things about the characters-

Hey how did you do that? Ma facts? Oh sure >:D *throws goldfish into the void*

Funfacts n notso funfacts round with Ma!

(HERES THE AU!)

Fun Facts

She’d pierce more of her if she could, but.. ya can’t really pierce a bird? If i drew her in a human au she’d have WAY MORE piercings!

SHE CAN FLY! She just doesnt like to lol

Her hair isn’t naturally that neon rainbow, its black underneath! She regularly bleaches and dyes, usually in the company of others bc its always funner, and you need someone to check the back!

Ma is a mix of birds, but she’s mostly eagle!! Thats where she gets her big ol talons!

Her talons are really sharp! She always tells ppl to mind them when they’re close. (Aa i can imagine her saying that actually “I’m so happy you decided to-, watch the talons, sugar- come over today”)

She has a leather bag with spikes that says “PUNK MOM” in bright green, its her ma bag >:D she carry’s snacks, first aid utensils, and medication! Mostly anxiety medicine or pain meds.

She is the tallest neighbor, beating Barnaby by about half a foot

She went to Mother Mary’s School for Problematic Boys, after she came out. She was sent at 17

She met Barnaby there ^ she was astonished by how brainwashed Barnaby was, since he was sent there so young he was so accustomed to all the teachings. Poppy decided she wouldn’t just escape, she’d take Barnaby with her!

In the school, everyone went by their last names. (Adults called the kids “Son ____” and kids called the adults “Mother ____” and “Father ____”, kids call each other “Brother ____”. They thought they were a big family, basically. Its a very stereotypical cult.) which explains why Barnaby doesn’t know her deadname! He called her “Brother Partridge”, when they escaped they traded their real names, and ofc ma said to call her Poppy

Poppy calls her parents every year or so, (“just makin’ sure they’re still bigoted. Aha, just kiddin’, I don’t have to check.”)

I like to think Ma has a southern accent. I don’t actually know where she would’ve developed it, but it fits with the mom vibe ok?

She’s horrible at baking, but AWESOME AT COOKING. Like go to her house every thanksgiving. Not even, go for dinner she’ll happily cook you some heaven sent meal im serious.

Poppy was originally going to be completely greyscale, no neon whatsoever. I changed it bc it looked way too gloomy and.. bad.

Poppy would happily say yes to a “Hey Mister*” (*teens standing outside a store and asking adults to buy them alcohol/cigarettes. This literally never works, but Ma would get u some as long as u promised to be safe, and might even make u party at her house)

Not-So Fun Facts

Ok some context for this one: Barnaby was going to be killed by the cult. Before a sacrifice or killing someone that stepped out of line (thats what Barnaby did) they down a cup of wine to cleanse themselves before taking a life. Poppy knew they’d kill Barnaby and poisoned the wine. She pretended to drink it as everyone else did, and bit her tongue as she waited for it to work. If it took even just a few more seconds to kick in, Barnaby would’ve been killed

The poison wasn’t lethal, in Poppy’s words, “they’ll shit weird for a week and vomit more then a tween with bulimia, but they’ll live.”

If it wasn’t obvious her parents are transphobic

I don’t have a lot of notso funfacts for Ma.. shes doin ok <3