#block ‘self rb’ if you’d like

[starredforlife]

gonna reblog a shit ton of old work I’m so sorry be prepared

[bubble-dream-inc]

under your skin.

The last walk-in you expected to see in your tattoo parlor in one rainy day was a massive masked behemoth of a man. It came as even more of a surprise when you wanted to see him there again and again; and a final time when he kept coming back.

Pairing: Simon "Ghost" Riley x Tattoo artist reader

rbs greatly appreciated!

WC: 7K

a/n: listen, as a tattoo artist irl, the first thing i did when i discovered ghost had a tattoo was to think how i had to self indulge. i’d kill to tattoo this man personally. shoutout to @117s-girl, @somnibats and Eddie for the tremendous help when i had writer’s block, and @deafeningcat for the amazing beta read as always <3

tags: fluff, reader being horny for ghost, ghost being slightly ooc, mentions at verbal abuse, slightly suggestive and slight angst.

You remember the first time Simon Riley walked into your shop.

It was a cold and rainy day - like most days in Manchester - and you were idling by, doodling on a notebook by the front desk and listening to whatever was playing on the radio without paying it much attention. Glancing at the clock on the wall where the empty loveseat was, you were starting to wonder if you should go get something to eat while you waited, when the bell on the front door chimed, indicating someone had come in.

At first, you thought he was going to rob you, and in a second you were already kissing your expensive equipment goodbye in your head, cursing the fact you had decided to buy that pricey tattoo machine you were eyeing for so long just last week, but those thoughts vanished when the figure just stood in front of you. Silently, you eyed the skull mask and sunglasses that covered his face, wondering what was this guy’s deal, since it was way too grey outside to be wearing any sort of eyewear. Trying not to let his huge stature looming over you be intimidating, you were about to say something when his gruff voice cut the silence.

“You take walk-ins?” 

So he really was a client, you thought. Rummaging through the notebooks in the desk, you quickly glanced at your schedule, seeing your next client wasn’t supposed to come for a few good hours, and decided you were curious about the masked man.

“Well, it depends. What were you thinking of getting?” 

He stood still for a moment, and you wondered if he heard you at all, but suddenly he reached for something in the pocket of his jeans, extending a neatly folded piece of paper in front of you. His voice filled the silence again as you unfolded the paper, and you found the thick accent oddly calming coming from him. 

“I want it to be a sleeve. Covering my left forearm.”

You opened it to find a surprisingly intricate design, and it seemed like whoever did it made it with the intention of actually getting it as a sleeve. Not taking the masked guy for an artist, you found a signature on the bottom of the page, a chicken scratch that read “Tommy Riley”. Usually, you’d make light conversation and ask about the design, especially when it looked important, but something told you not to pry into this man’s business. Assuming he’s this “Tommy” fella, you just smiled politely, deciding you could fit the first session of it into your work day.

“Sure. It should take a few sessions, though, is that alright with you?” He simply nodded, wordlessly, and you decided that was good enough of an answer. 

Leading him into the procedure room after getting his approval on the price, you made sure to give him a consent form for him to fill out and sign while you traced the design to a stencil - making sure to cut the right adjustments to wrap around his visibly huge forearm. You wondered if he was a weightlifter of sorts, or maybe just a gym rat. 

Transferring the stencil to his skin and prepping your materials for tattooing was a completely silent ordeal, and your client seemed more than content in just letting the silence linger for the remainder of your encounter, and even if you were getting antsy by it, you were glad he didn’t comment on how visibly nervous you were when you wrapped your gloved hands around his arm to make the stencil stick - feeling his warmth and the protruding veins even through the latex that covered your own skin. 

“You have any other tattoos?” You asked, stepping on the machine pedal to make sure your tattoo machine was at the right voltage while he got comfortable setting his arm on the arm rest.

“No.” 

“Cool.” God, you felt awkward. “I’m gonna start now, tell me if it hurts too much.”

“Right.” 

You felt stupid saying that to a man that had arms the size of your head and was at least 6,4. As expected, he didn’t even flinch when the needles touched his skin, but you weren’t about to give up on your mission to make conversation with your mysterious client. While tracing it with the machine, you analyzed the design a bit closer.

“That’s some interesting art.” It wasn’t. It was tacky as hell, all missiles and skulls and other edgy elements, but you were not going to say that to him. “You like guns?”

“Something like that.” 

You gave up trying to chat him up shortly after. Even with the weird dad sunglasses on, you could still feel his stare on you, unnerving at best, and you wondered what was up with the mask. In your line of work, you’d met some interesting individuals, and you considered your shop a safe haven for all outcasts and misfits; you’d known, after all you did decide to pursue tattooing as a career. Still, something about this man - Tommy? - made you feel an itch to see what lied beyond the mask - both figuratively and literally.  At least it would take a few more sessions to finish his piece, hopefully he’d say more than five words at once to you at some point. 

It took you two hours to finish tracing it, and you deemed it was good to go and begin shading another day. Getting into professional mode, you gave him directions on how to care for it and asked him to come back after a month to start on shading it, and, as expected, he only nodded to you. Going back to the front desk, he handed the bills containing the price you had settled on, and turned around, leaving without another word. Out of curiosity, you picked up his file. The first thing you noticed was that he had left the “Occupation” space blank.

The second thing you noticed was that the signature read “Simon Riley”.

☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆

Simon didn’t come back after a month. 

A good few months later, you just figured he’d given up and was now walking around with an unfinished tattoo, or, worse, he had picked another artist to finish the job, and the thought made you angrier than you’d like to admit. Despite your annoyance, whenever you’d organize your clients files, you’d find yourself lingering on his, weirdly curious and feeling like he was a puzzle you were dying to solve.

A long time passed - you don’t know how much, but you’d say it was more than a year - before he showed up again, and, once again, it was unannounced. You were finishing a client’s tattoo when your friend - and coworker - knocked on the procedure room door, and when you’d told her to come in, she looked like she had seen a ghost. 

“There’s a guy in the waiting room asking for you. Said you were doing his sleeve…” She quietly announced, and you just stared at her quizzically, waiting for her to continue. "He 's…Big. Tall guy with a creepy skull mask.” 

She whispered the last part so he wouldn’t hear it, even if he was a good corridor distance away and the metal music coming from the radio would drown it out, and after a few moments you realized she was talking about Simon.  You remember answering something to her and finishing the tattoo on auto pilot before heading to the front desk, and, sure enough, Simon was standing there menacingly, in his whole huge aura, seemingly unbothered by how his height, frame, and mask were making the other clients in the shop regard him with uneasy looks. His eyes met yours once you showed up. You noticed he wasn’t wearing the sunglasses anymore, and his fabric mask had been replaced by a simpler balaclava and a hard skull mask on top that you hoped was made out of a synthetic material. 

Now bare, his gaze revealed its intensity to you, the dark hues following your every move in a way you supposed you could find intimidating if a small, very weird part of you didn’t find it attractive. He seemed tired, eyes cast downwards and with bags surrounding it, and you wondered what had happened when he was gone. 

“Hey.” You breathed, straining your neck to look up at him and completely forgetting about the other people in the room. “Riley, right? I’m guessing you’re here for the sleeve?”

He seemed slightly surprised you remembered his name, but the impression of seeing emotion in his eyes was gone in an instant as he simply nodded at you.

“Yeah. You got time?”

You didn’t. But you’d make it work, you weren’t about to send away the man who had, for some reason, plagued your thoughts so much for the last months. 

“I got a few more clients, but if you don’t mind waiting, i can fit you in?”

You hated how uneasy you sounded, your hands fiddling with a stray loose line of your ripped jeans as you waited for his answer.

“That works.” 

With his gruff reply, he turned and sat down in the waiting area, and you released a breath you hadn't realized you were holding. 

The hours went by, the clients came and went to and from your procedure room as well as your colleague’s, yet, every single time you left the room to go to the front desk have a sip of water or check your next client’s name, Simon was still there, patiently waiting, the loveseat seeming oddly small under him, and his all black, dark getup blending perfectly with the black walls of the studio. If anything, it made you even more intrigued, since most people would have left by now, considering how long a tattoo takes and he could just come back another day, but he didn’t show any signs of having anywhere else to be. The people traffic started to wind down, and soon enough, you dismissed your last client of the day as you were the only artist left in the shop and the sun had already hid in the horizon. 

“Glad to see you again. I was wondering if you had gotten another artist.” You laughed somewhat nervously, taking a breather by the glass door while Simon finished filling out another responsibility form, and you had to ignore how nervous you felt when he turned to glance at you with those dark and intense eyes of his.

“Got busy, that’s all.” He murmured, setting the pen down on the front desk and turning to the wall where your flash pieces were displayed. “And I like your work.”

Feeling your eyes widen, you tried to conceal how flustered the comment made you feel behind a cool chuckle, but something told you Simon could see right through you. Going back inside and pointing him towards the procedure room, you briefly glanced at the fresh consent form and realized he filled out his occupation this time, the words “Army” surprisingly not phasing you one bit.

Simon was the same as the last time, quiet as a grave. But, seeing as you were wrapping up the shading quicker than you’d anticipated, you decided this time you would not let this mysterious man walk out of your studio - possibly forever - without at least getting one piece of information out of him.

“So…does it mean anything?” You nodded towards his arm, trying to play it cool. Being in this field, you quickly realized not everyone gets tattoos that mean anything, and most of them are really just for aesthetics, but the signature below the original design had you wondering, even if the newfound information that he was in the military made the over the top missiles and dog tags inked on his arm make a lot more sense. He stared at you from behind the mask for a moment, making you feel queasy under his stare and suddenly very aware of how much you were draped over his arm trying to get the shading on one particular skull to look just right.

“Yeah.” After a few moments he replied, a wave of sudden relief washing over you upon realizing you had not, in fact, crossed a line. “My brother made it.”

“He’s quite the artist.”

“He really was.”

Oh. 

You decided to drop the subject after the implication.

“And what branch are you in?” Not looking at him, you spoke in a low tone, too concentrated on the machine in your hands to realize you were maybe asking more than he was comfortable talking. “You know, uh, in the army.”

“Special Air Forces.” You realized he tensed almost imperceptibly, relaxing once you only hummed.

“Cool. I’d reckon you guys had tattoo parlors closer to base, though.” 

“We do.” He huffed. “But I know the guys. Not nearly as clean as here.”

At that, you chuckled gently, missing the way Simon’s eyes softened at the sound.

You continued the piece in comfortable silence, distantly registering the pitter-patter of the rain that had just started falling on the street beyond the front doors. Finishing it up, faster than you would have liked, you decided the corny design looked good - really good - on him, and he might have been the only guy possible to pull it off, which could have been related to how big and strong his arms looked. Wrapping the tattoo in plastic film and reminding him to not keep it on for too long, you had to focus on acting professional and not let him know you were ogling at the recently inked piece of skin. The long sleeve shirt he had rolled up to his forearms did not help you one bit, nor did the way his eyes followed your every single movement.

When you got back to the front desk - relieved to find the rain had stopped - you expected Simon to just pay and leave silently the same way he did the last time, but he actually lingered, letting his eyes wander through the flash pieces displayed in a neat corkboard in the waiting room - this one with your name written on top. You actually don’t know when he got your name - something told you it was when he asked your coworker for you. He seemed quite interested in one particular design that had been gathering dust for a long time on the board, considering how big it was.

“See something you like?” You followed his gaze, realizing it was a ram skull chest piece you had completely forgotten about; it looked too dark and menacing for most people looking for walk-ins and flash tattoos. “That one was meant to be a chest piece. Works for the back, too.”

Simon studied it for a few moments. What was up with this guy and skulls? Finally, he turned to you.

“When can you do it?”

☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆

The third time Simon Riley walked into your studio, it was, by far, the most memorable one. 

Unsurprisingly enough, he had decided to set an appointment for the chest piece to be the last one of your day, a week later; whether he enjoyed the night time better or just wanted to not be bothered with other people around, that was a mystery to you. There was a third option in the back of your head, but you told yourself it was delusional, and your fascination with the masked man was, in fact, one sided. That didn’t stop you from greeting him with a cheery smile as you looked up from where you were doodling on your notebook on the front desk, pretty much like your first encounter. However, you didn’t think too much of what exactly the chest piece implied as you headed to your procedure room with Simon in tow. It hit you like a ton of bricks when you freezed for a second, holding up the carbon stencil in your hands.

“Uh, you might wanna…take off your shirt. It’ll be more comfortable for you.” 

Preparing the stencil gel, you tried your best to ignore him and not let your eyes wander too much as he lifted the unnecessarily tight black t-shirt over his head, careful as to not remove the balaclava and skull mask combo, folding it neatly and setting the piece of cloth over your table before standing next to you in front of the full body mirror. 

I’m a professional. I’m a professional. I’m a professional.

If you thought Simon was huge before, that was an understatement. 6,4 feet of pure, naked muscle stood inches away from your much smaller body, and you were extremely relieved to realize that he had, probably out of consideration for you, shaved his chest beforehand - the same couldn’t be said for the faint happy trail very clearly peeking from his jeans, sitting way lower on his hips than you’d like. Scolding yourself over and over for fawning like a horny teenager, you hoped the nervous tremble in your hands as you delicately smoothed the gel over his collarbones wasn’t as obvious as you felt it was. Even through the latex gloves you could feel the heat coming from his pecs, as well as a few minor scars that shouldn’t give you too much trouble. You decided to ignore the very visible and very big bullet scar on his side. As he adjusted his dog tags to hang behind his neck so as to not get in your way, you finally peeled the stencil off, trying to calm your frantic beating heart as he analyzed it in the mirror to make sure it was in the right placement. 

It got worse when he actually laid on the tattoo table - comically dwarfed under his enormous frame. Sure, you had tattooed a fair share of chests along the years - both men’s and women’s - and it never really flustered you, after all, it was your job, seeing skin was a very big part of it. However, as you lowered your torso on the bed and tried to adjust your hand to sit as comfortably as possible on his chest, you thanked the gods it was such a big tattoo; you had no idea how you wouldn’t mess it up if it was a tiny one. But you doubted Simon would ever get a tiny tattoo. Above all, you could appreciate how he maintained his breathing slow and steady and, again, didn’t even flinch as the needles touched him, making you like him as a client even more. 

“I’ve heard you guys in the army got…codenames?” You started, desperate to start some conversation before your intrusive thoughts won. “What do they call you?”

Slowly, you were getting used to his brief silence before answering you. It seemed like his way to decide if your question was worth answering or not, and you were glad he had found them all to be so far. 

“Ghost.”

“Very fitting.”

You were surprised to hear him exhale in a way that resembled a very weak laugh, and you felt giddy knowing you made your ever so quiet and serious client laugh - or something like that. Feeling calmer, you continued the very big piece, strapping in for a long next couple of hours.

They passed quickly, your hand working almost in autopilot as you traced the tattoo’s lineart and made light conversation with Simon - Ghost. You learned he was a Lieutenant, liked bourbon and the mask never came off. Granted, it was mostly you speaking and him answering, but you were glad he was entertaining your nervous ramblings, and you were only slightly embarrassed to admit to yourself you found his southern British accent very soothing on his deep, gruffy voice. In turn, you told him a little more about yourself; why you got into tattooing and even a few funny stories from dealing with past clients. 

Finally deciding it was enough strain on his skin for one session, you set your machine down and admired your work, smiling under your mask. Taking a generous amount of the tattooing balm on your fingers, you swallowed your nervousness before gently spreading the substance on his chest so it would heal nicely, not missing the way he relaxed under your touch. If you weren’t so busy panicking by having your hands on such a massive and attractive man, you could ponder on how he seemed to be enjoying that as much as you were. With your approval, he got up to examine the piece on the mirror, and you caught yourself staring into his strong, chiseled, and scarred back, before averting your eyes, choosing to focus instead on cleaning up the inky mess you made on your trolley. You once again went through the now familiar ordeal of him silently thanking you, paying, and leaving into the night.

As Simon Riley left the studio that day, carrying an unfinished piece of your work right on his chest, you realized something clearly had changed in the air between you two. You just had no idea if it was a good or bad thing.

☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆

The next time Simon showed up, a month later, you were stressed out of your mind.

You were booked, so you didn’t really have any open spots next to closing time the way he liked it, so he had to settle for coming a bit earlier than usual, which meant there were actually other people in the studio for once, including the one on the front desk yelling in your face.

You couldn’t really remember what he was yelling about, just that you were suddenly regretting your decision of working with people and wondering if it was worth it to stoop down low and insult him back the way he was doing to you. You figured the moment he started yelling about his already finished tattoo that it was most likely another scam attempt coming from him, but it didn’t really matter anymore once you zeroed in on the hulking figure that showed up unexpectedly behind your unpleasant client in the form of your masked savior. For a moment, you were scared things were going to get violent, but Simon didn’t have to do much. It took one glower from him, his gaze sharp enough to cut from way above the smaller man, and he was suddenly stuttering apologies and leaving the studio in a hurry. You ignored the looks the other people in the waiting room were giving the two of you, offering a tired, but extremely grateful smile, to Ghost.

“Hey, Riley.”

He was still staring at where the man had left, and the annoyance on his usually so stoic gaze came as a surprise to you. 

“What happened?” 

You were already heading into the procedure room, too shaken to deal with the stares of the people in the waiting room any longer, and shot him a sheepish look from over your shoulder. 

“Just a rude client being difficult. Not the first time he gave me trouble, either, but it happens.” 

Simon didn’t seem too happy with your answer, but he let it slide, for the moment. Heading into the room and closing the door behind you, the air fell into a familiar silence, broken only by the cluttering sounds as you set up your supplies, and, to you, your still frantic heartbeat in your ears by the less than pleasant interaction just a few minutes earlier. It was unlikely, given how observant he was, but you hoped Simon didn’t pick up on just how shaken you were. Still, you took a few moments to calm yourself down as you tested the machine with your feet; Simon had already made himself comfortable on the table, and soon enough you fell into the rhythm of inking him, the same way you had grown used to in those last few months. Focusing on a particularly stubborn piece of skin where the ink didn’t paint as easily, you were lost in thought when his voice pulled you back to reality.

“Are you scared of me?” You heard him ask quietly from above you, instantly knowing he was referring to the way your earlier client had run off on the sight of him. Pausing your ministrations, you looked up from his chest to find him already staring at you in a way that made your heart skip a beat. Since you were currently working on the details on his collarbone, you haven’t realized how close you actually were to his face, and suddenly you were hit with the realization you could feel his breath through both your masks; and an intoxicating scent of cigarette smoke and cologne. Caught in a trance by his dark gaze, you realized a little too late you were gawking and not really answering his question, which made you feel very glad for the surgical mask covering your suddenly very red face and flustered expression. Looking down to continue your work, you tried to find your words once again.

“Not really. I mean, the mask was off-putting at first, but I've had some odd people as clients. You’re cool, though. You remind me of those big, scary guard dogs, but in a good way.” Cringing at the lame answer, you felt like a kid talking to her crush in middle school all over again, and the huff-slash-chuckle that left Simon only made it worse. It seemed like he wanted to say something else, but he didn’t, and in your flustered stupor you couldn’t find any words either, so you just let the air around you fall into a comfortable silence over again. If it were anyone else, you’d be wary of the constant quietness, but, for some reason, Simon’s presence was enough to make you content, even if no words were exchanged. 

Blacking out the parts that had to be inked was a piece of cake for you and your enormous needle - which you were glad was being used on Simon, since, most of your other clients would have been crying from the pain only halfway done with the black - and soon enough you were heading out to the front with him, readying yourself to bid him goodbye and, disappointedly, only see him again in the next month, once his tattoo was healed enough for another session, however, as you approached the waiting room, he made no move to leave. You thought maybe he was, again, inspecting your work displayed on the wall, the prospect of continuing to tattoo him after his chest piece was done getting you giddy already, but he was looking nowhere but in your direction, eyes unreadable behind the skull mask.

“I’ll wait until you close. Who knows if that asshole won’t come back expecting me not to be here anymore.” 

Blinking up at him, it took you a few moments to process what he had murmured under his breath, and, in an instant, your heart rate shot up as you tried to wrap your head around the implications. Had it been any other client, you would have laughed it off, telling him not to worry and that you could take care of yourself, but it wasn’t just about anyone. It was him. And for some reason, the fact made you only wordlessly agree with a nod of your head and wide eyes, certain he could now see how clearly flustered and red your face looked. An intrusive part of your brain was screaming at you that he was just being nice, and that the protectiveness was just because of his job and nothing else, but you’d entertain these thoughts later - if ever.

So, much like the second time you’d met him, the rest of your afternoon was spent with seeing Ghost’s massive figure patiently waiting in the way too small loveseat in the front room of the studio, living up to the scary guard dog imagery you had joked about to him, except, this time, in between clients you’d sit besides him to catch a break and make light conversation, the deep rumble of his voice soothing all of your worries in a minute. 

As the hours went by, it was way past nightfall when you closed up, everyone else had already left and you were exhausted after washing the studio on your own. True to his word, Simon loomed behind you like a shadow, quiet and intimidating, refusing to leave until he had walked you to your car in safety. You remember thanking him profusely, and him not making a big deal out of it, and the way your heart thrummed in your throat as you drove on autopilot to your house, trying to ignore the way Ghost’s figure walking besides you on the quiet sidewalk a few moments before felt just right. 

☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆

It was early August when you woke up in a very good mood that one morning.

Later you’d realize it was because it was the day of Simon’s appointment, but at the time you had chalked it up to just being a sunny day that brightened your spirits.

Business as usual, you went along your day, anxiously waiting for the place to empty out and you’d get your newly discovered favorite customer, not that you’d admit it outloud to him, or even to yourself. It was actually a slower day, with a big break between clients, which you were glad about, so between coffee and water breaks and chit chatting with your coworkers, soon enough the sun went down and the enormous figure of Ghost could be seen crossing the threshold of the studio’s glass door, responding your enthusiastic wave with a nod of his head, eyes relaxed behind the mask. As usual, he followed you inside the procedure room, and you remembered something.

“Lemme see how your sleeve is healing.” Extending your hand, you smiled cheekily at him, giddy after seeing his half-hearted eye roll, and he gave his left forearm for you to inspect. With his busy way of life, you’d have expected to be worse, but it was actually very well taken care of. “Wow, this has healed up perfectly, good job, Simon!”

You beamed up at him, but your smile faltered once you saw his eyes widening at the praise. Oops. He grumbled something in response and you decided to save him the embarrassment, releasing his arm with a chuckle.

No matter how many times he did it, every single time Ghost took his shirt off it made your brain short circuit, but you remained professional and fell into the familiar routine of tattooing him in comfortable silence, only this time it was broken not only by you talking first, but also him. It surprised you to hear him ask you questions first or tell you some non-compromising stories about his job, - making you chuckle a few times hearing about the shenanigans of this “Soap” friend of his - but you weren’t about to complain. You were lost in the familiarity of it all when you realized that you were actually almost done with the shading - meaning his chest piece would end one session earlier than expected. Trying to mask your disappointment, you wrapped it up, forcing a smile to a suddenly very confused Ghost. 

“I thought we were going to need another session but, uh, turns out it was…faster than i expected!” You gave him a slight, nervous chuckle, and you swore you saw his eyes widen behind the mask. 

As usual, you wrapped the ink in the plastic film - finding it very hard to make the masking tape stick to his large pecs - and gave the same instructions in a robotic way, following him to the front desk where he finished paying for his piece, all in absolute silence and with unreadable eyes. As the transaction was finished, he lingered, standing silently in front of you, looming. You couldn’t meet his eyes.

“So, yeah, i guess that’s it…” You gave another chuckle, offering him a gentle smile. “Hey, don’t be a stranger-”

“Do you want to go out with me sometime?” He blurted out, shutting you right up, and that stopped you dead in your tracks. You stared up at him, unsure if you had heard him correctly, and were waiting for him to say something else or even backtrack, but that never came.

“Uh. Yes? I mean, yes, sure! I’d love to!” You stammered, certain you were wide-eyed and a flustered mess, not expecting him to be so straightforward, or, even say anything at all. Simon seemed a lot more composed than you, even if the way he blurted his question out made it seem like he could be slightly nervous. You doubted he ever got nervous, though. 

“Great. Does this weekend work for you?” 

Thinking back on your schedule, you remembered that no, it didn’t.

“I’m booked with work…But, the next one I should be free.” You hated how awkward you sounded.

He nodded, and took his phone out of his pocket to extend it for you, and you assumed he was asking for your number in the Ghost-est fashion possible. You unlocked it, noticing the lack of a password and the factory wallpaper, realizing it was probably a personal and barely used phone, punching your number in and saving the contact. As you returned the device to Simon, you found solace in realizing he probably felt as awkward as you did.

“I’ll see you in a fortnight, then.” 

With a last nod of his head, he left, leaving you flustered, confused, but extremely giddy, and with a heart pounding against your ribcage. 

☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆

Simon came back a week before he was supposed to.

As usual, you were closing up shop when he showed up, distractedly walking around the front room of the studio as you organized everything for the night, the sound of the heavy rain outside covering up the creaking of the glass door, so when you turned around, his presence startled you. 

“Hi Simon! You’re early.” You chuckled once you recovered from your scare, but he didn’t match your energy. He was just standing there, stiff as a plank, and staring silently at you. Growing increasingly worried, you were about to ask if he was alright when he beat you to it. 

“I’m leaving for a mission. And i’ll be gone for…some time.” 

Your heart dropped, and you could only stare at his mask trying to process his words and find words, but ultimately settling on a quiet and disappointed oh. He finally approached you, and in less than a second he was standing towering over your figure, holding you in that familiar eye contact you’d grown to look forward to so much, even if you'd realized by his gaze that he seemed just as upset as you. 

“Will you…be in danger?” It was a dumb question, but you couldn’t help yourself, everything you told yourself the days about moving slowly and waiting for your first date to decide how much you cared flying out the window as you openly worried for him for the first time. Ghost sighed, and suddenly you were hyper aware of how close you stood.

“I always am.” 

Not breaking away from his intoxicating gaze, your words lowered to a whisper, a plea.

“Be careful. Please.” 

The air stilled around you, thicker in tension that got worse with each passing millisecond, all of those feeling like hours. Simon’s height had never seemed so intimidating, and you never chastised yourself so much before for liking how his intense aura made you feel, something that increased tenfold once he boldly got even closer to you. Opening and closing your mouth like a fish, hoping something would come out eventually, you stilled upon feeling his gloved hands gingerly touching your face - dwarfing you in them - and you swore your heart was about to leap from your chest to your throat in a matter of seconds. His steely gaze flickered downwards briefly before returning to your eyes, asking for permission for something you didn’t even know quite right what it was, but that you’d give him regardless. The rough texture of his gloved left hand reached your now slightly parted lips as he traced the bottom of them with his thumb, moving his other hand to slowly lift up his balaclava just enough to expose his - unsurprisingly - sharp, stubbled jaw and full, lightly scarred lips. You barely had time to admire what you could see of him before his face was merely inches apart from yours, your breaths mingling together from both of your parted lips.

“You don’t even know what I look like.” He mumbled against you. A silent beg for you to stop him now, but you wouldn’t even dream of it.

“I don’t care.” You breathed back, voice barely above a whisper, and that seemed to break his resolve, as in the next moment he was leaning in and finally capturing your lips with his. 

Kissing Simon Riley in real life was so much better than what you imagined. His height made it that he had to lean down an awkward amount to reach you and you actually had to stand a bit on your toes, but none of that mattered as you finally felt his lips move against yours, surprisingly slow and gentle for a man that looked like that, but you supposed he was always full of surprises. He moved his hands from your face to your waist, gripping with a little more force when you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him closer, encouraging him to kiss you harder - it would be a waste not to feel just how strong those huge arms of his could get wrapping around you. Groaning into your mouth, his touch soon became ravenous as he tasted you like a starved man, both of you now knowing it might as well be the last time you’d see each other, but you didn’t want to dwell too much on it, choosing instead to focus on the way he gripped the back of your thighs and lifted you onto the counter as if you weighed nothing, getting even impossibly closer to your smaller frame, never breaking the kiss. You felt like you could stay wrapped up in his arms for hours, but at some point you had to part your lips, keeping your foreheads touching and looking at each other without saying another word.

He waited until you closed up and walked you to your car again; except, this time, as you watched his retreating figure from the rearview mirror, your chest felt constricted, the unsureness of if he’d ever come back alive clenching your throat in fear. 

☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆

The late june spring air smelled good, and you were in high spirits. 

You hummed contently, cleaning with a paper towel wet with soapy water the last smudges on the inked skin, leaning back to admire your work. The black crow on his upper back turned out particularly good, and you found it amusing how its edgy nature went along well with the other tattoos already on his body. Spreading the hydrating vaseline to wrap the piece up took a little more than you’d take with other clients, since you were busy admiring and feeling up the strong, scarred back beneath your fingertips. 

“All done!” 

The man got up, admiring the crow in an awkward angle in front of the full body mirror, and you couldn’t help but keep staring at the muscular back and pecs that you could see from your position in your chair.

“Quit the ogling.”

His voice sounded gruffy, but slightly amused, which made you chuckle and get up, stopping by his side to lean against his huge arms and stare back at him through the mirror.

“Quit being hot, then.”

Simon rolled his eyes, but you knew he was smiling under the mask and possibly had the slightest red dusting his cheeks - since he was so pale, you’d always notice it when he had his mask off, and in turn, he’d always notice how you’d stare at his face with a smug smile. He looked over the tattoo once more before you wrapped it up, past the stage of giving him the instructions, all of them already second nature to him, considering it had been so many years he started getting tattooed by you.

“You know” You started as he followed you to the front door of the mostly empty studio, the only other sound being the tattoo machine of a single other coworker that was staying late in their own procedure room. “You don’t have to wait for me, you know I still got another client and it should take one or two hours more.” 

Ghost huffed, turning to you with his hands on his jacket pockets, the height difference between you never failing to take all the air out of your lungs.

“Nonsense. He’s not supposed to be here for another half an hour, right? I’ll go grab us some dinner from that place you like and I’ll be right back. I’ll help you close up then we can go home.” 

You shook your head with a giggle, watching as he came closer to you, and were about to protest more but he gave you a look that left no chance for you to be stubborn, shutting you right up. Taking one hand out of his pocket, Simon lifted his mask just enough for you to see his jaw - which you had already admired that morning while he was shaving - and his lips, leaning down to plant a soft kiss on your cheek. You smiled, feeling him murmur just so you could hear it.

“See you in a minute, love.”

With that, he left, leaving you to watch fondly his retreating form from the glass door, as you chuckled dreamily one last time and went back to your procedure room.

[faaarawayyy]

hai!!

i’m bea/benrey! either name is good!

my pronouns include but r not limited to hey/hem/heir, she/her, and he/him. you can find all my pronouns and how to use them here!

i label myself nonbinary and dolphinygender but im rly just a creature ^_^ also aroace and platonically objectum! i’m taken in a queerplatonic relationship <33 also im otherkin/nonhuman!! (oceankin + robotkin)

i am a minor, and i have autism and adhd, so please keep these in mind when interacting with me! nsfw/18+ blogs please dni for both our comforts

i have tons of interests but i am especially fixated currently on dungeons and dragons, spore, kirby, rain world, and all my own ocs!! my biggest spinterest will always be in marine life/the ocean, i have my #marautism tag for all that stuff

i also post my own art here! most of it is of my ocs but maybe sometimes ill post misc fandom stuff if i ever feel like making fanart!

i don’t have a strict dni rly cuz i just block n move on casually but just, i feel it should be fairly obvious that youre not welcome here if youre a bigot or a proshipper or a zionist or just super nasty!! stay far away from me tyyy

anyway. beside that. tags and other blogs beneath cut and have fun here!! feel free to interact in any way i dont bite!! peace n love

@bluelightovermurder | my dnd/dunmeshi/ttrpg posting blog. lots of character related rbs

@starryseastims | my stimboard blog! feel free to send requests!

@tmd-clangen | my (as of now inactive) clangen story blog! post-apoc horror and challenge-based, be aware it contains lots of dark themes

@delfinxxia | currently inactive artblog lol. i may repurpose it someday? idk but it’s there

@recoveryranger | also inactive pokeblr blog. idk when ill get back into it haha

misc. notes

my content warnings are formatted like the following example: #cws #blood #death (etc). common ones likely will be: blood, gore, death/animal death, eyestrain. if you need anything more specifically tagged, feel free to send in an ask stating what you’d like tagged, anon or not!

my oc art is not free use but any of my fandom art may be used for noncommercial and/or personal reasons with credit! (ex. using my art as pfp)

i don’t usually do requests, art trades, or commissions, but i’ll post if this is something that happens at any point

tag guide

#clicksnsqueaks - just me saying stuff

#textbubbles - misc. textposts not said by me

#reblog - self-explanatory

#ask - asks i’ve received and answered! i’ll tag your username too but you can also request me not to

#ask game and #tag game - if i rb ask games or get tagged in something

#others’ art - self-explanatory, art that other people have made

#friend art - also self-explantatory, art from my friends/mutuals :>

#important - things that are. well. important. serious posts only

#4me - stuff that was made for me, gifts/commissions/etc.!

#4later - resources and compilation posts usually, might tag them specifically with #art resources or #life stuff as well

#fav - stuff i REALLY like

#mecore - things that r just. mecore. yknow

#me-tagged - stuff my friends/mutuals tagged for me YAAAY

#inspiration - awesome stuff that makes me feel inspired

#silly - stuff i think is funny

#wholesome - stuff i think is cute or nice or uplifting

art-specific tags

#my art - self-explanatory!

#srb - occasional reblogs of my own work

#my ocs - also self-explanatory! contains all original characters of mine, fandom or not. #oc: [oc name] tags will also be added for specific characters, and fandom tags if they apply

#others’ ocs - for other peoples’ characters that i’ve drawn

#fanart - art i make of characters from any media! fandoms and individual characters will be tagged

[karamell-sweetz]

welcome to my blog!

pls drop a like once you’ve read this post! | last updated 24 october 2024

BASICS

my name is karamell! its a pleasure to meet ya :D

i go by she/her and am cis female :3 not too fussed abt pronouns tho!

at present i am 17, my birthday is the 16th of june. i’m australian + filipino, so sorry if i post something at an ungodly hour for your timezone lmao

this blog will be for my fandom reblogs, art and countless ramblings! i have a separate account dedicated to undertale multiverse content -> @karamellz-multiverse-l0g (i don’t post there a lot because undertale is on the backburner for now!) i’m currently aiming to get into an animation course for university, so all my art is working towards that :3

i am also self-appointed chairwoman of the rui kamishiro fanclub! not that that’s too important… but i like saying it lol

BYF

i don’t tag my reblogs/queue usually so uhh good luck poring through that >< all of my original posts are tagged for convenience though, you can find my tags in the search bar :3

in relation to that i’m VERY multifandom so srry if you get bombarded with stuff that doesn’t relate to you haha! but hopefully you’ll like the stuff i rb too, i’m a firm believer in the power of brainrot spreading and most of my fandoms are from the same niche anyway!

i dont have a dni because realistically i cant rlly control who sees my stuff, but if you or the stuff you post make me uncomfortable i’ll just block you. no hard feelings <3

FANDOMS + FAV LIST

project sekai - rui kamishiro, tsukasa tenma, wxs, n25, okay actually its everyone i love proseka soo much

vocaloid - miku, una + deco*27, n-buna, kikuo, pinocchio-p, inabakumori, picco, harumakigohan, maiki-p

d4dj - unichørd, hapiara, lyrilily

bandori - pasupa, morfonica, hhw, ras

enstars - trickstar, alkakurei

love live - rina tennoji, shioriko mifune, hanamaru kunikida, ruby kurosawa, you watanabe, ayumu uehara

fragaria memories - romarriche

milgram - amane, yuno, mahiru

undertale (utmv) - xtale, ink, murder time trio

danganronpa - shuichi saihara, kaede akamatsu, k1-b0

twisted wonderland - heartslabyul (deleted the game because UGH the grind)

denonbu - harajuku district

revue starlight - lalafin, karen, aruru (i love all of them tho)

cookie run kingdom - had a very minor fling with this one so you won’t see it a lot

genshin impact - also minor fling, have not played past liyue. solely here for the banger character designs

mcyt (idk if i’ll reblog anything from here but i know a little bit of the dsmp lore and am attempting to understand life series??)

other things you may see: lalaloopsy + other doll lines from that era, mlp, warrior cats, cute art i think is nice, lunime gacha games (i was very much a ‘gacha kid’ back in its prime), puyo puyo, writing stuff, THE COLOUR PINK, webcore, memes, cool crafts, yorushika, other teenage girl things idk

TAGS

karamell yells - ramblings and random stuff, may include headcanons and analysis

karamell doodles - my art! mostly fanart at the moment

karamell’s wips - works in progress (stuff i’ll never finish probably)

karamell’s pocket - posts i want to come back to

karamell gaming - random game screenshots

karamell rolls the gacha - my gacha pulls of varying luck

karamell’s mailbox - asks, submissions, tag games, all that fun stuff

karamell’s rq pile - drawing requests (which are always open btw, feel free to send some in if you’d like!)

karamell stop missing the blonde clown - thirsty? brainrot posts about tsukasa tenma because boy do i love him

karamell’s confections - various big projects (videos, edits, etc). all the cool stuff i make that isn’t normal art basically

karamell’s burning pile of ocs - see image below:

(utmv submissions for this will be posted on my sideblog)

UPDATE: the number is now 350 instead of 244!

when in doubt. rui scribble - various random scribbles of rui kamishiro because i like drawing him

karamell asks a question - mostly polls and stuff i need help with

say hi to my sideblog guys - self rbs from my utmv sideblog @/karamellz-multiverse-l0g. just for a little bump! :)

ALLIURA - general oc posting, inc. OCtobers, oc challenges, animatics, doodles etc. i might make a sideblog for this later when i have more time to work on it

TAGS FOR MINI-SERIES

karamell’s project precure au - project sekai x precure (updates never)

wxs revue au - project sekai x revue starlight (updates randomly)

karamell’s birthday treat cafe - food-themed fandom birthday drawings (on break for a bit)

kamikou seniors trio - tsukasa ena rui posts because i want them to hang out

the mizuruiena agenda continues - mizuki rui ena hanging out

rui dress agenda - rui in dresses what did you expect

rui fanclub sekai - read my blog description. just silly things about a hypothetical rui fanclub

FIND ME! (links are underlined!)

youtube - karamell-sweetz!

tiktok - karamell.sweetz

pinterest - karamellxsweetz

art fight - karamellxsweetz

ao3 - mirai_spxrk

FRIEND ID (GLOBAL SERVERS ONLY)

bandori - 4636316 (karamellxshowtime!) (i might be out of friend space tho)

d4dj - ffzoJpPf (mirai.chørd)

project sekai - 168505012555628545 (karamell?!)

enstars - 7709727947 (karamelloid)

that should be all. enjoy your stay on my silly little corner of the internet!! 🫶

[villain-shipping]

🥀 ABOUT

hello! this is a brand new selfship imagines/prompts/questions blog with a focus on villains (though some posts will likely be more generalized). non-fandom-specific.

although not all posts will be nsfw, this blog is for people who are 18+ and open to seeing suggestive/explicit content. minors who i notice interacting with such posts will be blocked.

submissions/requests may be opened in the future.

further blog info can be found below the cut.

🥀 TAGGING

as this blog develops i will expand on the tag list, but here are some for now.

#cw [trigger] — i.e. #cw gore — common triggers. if you need a specific one tagged, send me an ask and i’ll try to implement it, within reason

#suggestive — suggestive but not explicit; implications of sexual content

#nsft — explicit (written) sexual content. unsure how often this will come up yet

#[descriptor] f/o — e.g., #monster f/o, cyborg f/o, #demon f/o, #older f/o, etc.

#not mine or #rb — imagines/prompts/etc reblogged from others

🥀 BOUNDARIES & OTHER NOTES

no official DNI (as they tend to be ineffective), but i will block blogs that post content that causes me discomfort. this includes (but is not limited to): shipping with characters who would not be able to consent (i.e. children or non-sapient creatures), inc*st/fauxc*st, and n*ziism. if your blog features these and i notice you interacting with my posts, you will be blocked.

i don’t have the time or energy to thoroughly vet all the blogs i reblog from (the majority of which i do not follow and whose posts i find through tags) or those that reblog from me. please don’t assume i agree with op on everything because i rb’d their post, or vice versa. if i unknowingly rb from someone genuinely heinous, please politely let me know via ask or dm.

i try to treat others in good faith and i expect followers to do so as well. remember that not everyone selfships the same way. as a villain-centered blog, i support self-shippers who prefer fluffy scenes and healthy relationships for comfort reasons, and i support self-shippers who ship for the sake of making interesting narratives and character conflicts between their self-insert/oc and f/o; etc. i see no issue with writing conflict-filled stories and unhealthy dynamics as long as the writer is doing it mindfully and understands how harmful these relationships would be in the real world. similarly, i see no issue in self-shipping with villains in general (from morally gray ones to absolute monsters) as long as it’s done in a way that’s self-aware and doesn’t downplay or excuse the character’s actions. (regardless, as noted above, certain topics are over my limits and blogs posting about them will be blocked.) be mature, be mindful, and be respectful.

i will not engage in any discourse. this is a hard line and trying to break it will result in a block.

finally: blog owner uses he/him pronouns and is mlm + on the aroace spectrum. i prefer to use the term “faves” instead of f/o’s personally, and i’d like to keep my faves private for now, besides the obvious.

i haven’t run a blog like this before. if it begins to stress me out i will nuke it. lol.

thanks for reading this far ♥️ i hope you enjoy this blog! go kiss that absolute monster!

p.s. anon asks are off for now while i settle into this blog. if you’d like an ask to be answered privately in the meantime, please specify so!

heartbeat dividers: linked / mdni banners that will be used on this blog: linked

[syntheticvanilla]

𓈒 ◌ ° 𓂂 𓂃 welcome ~~ 𓂂 ⚙️📙✧

I’m Amanda, but you can call me Amy if you’d like! I’m 18 and in my freshman year of college. I’ve been in and out of the selfshipping/yume community for a few years. I’m looking for more self ship friends, so if you’d like to be mutuals feel free to shoot me an ask or a message! I follow from @par-ty but my main blog is @junecast-moonfast.

✧🧪🥽 𓂂 𓂃 more under the cut ~~ 𓂂° ◌ 𓈒

My only f/o is Viktor from League of Legends. I’m very casual about self shipping, so I’m comfortable with sharing my f/o and with my f/o being shipped with other characters. I know a lot of people aren’t comfy with sharing though, so I won’t be offended if you block me for having the same f/o!

𓈒 ◌ ° 𓂂 𓂃 tags ~~ 𓂂 💉☢️ ✧

#🔧 — my posts

#☢️ — favorite posts

#⚙️ — imagines

#🧪 — aesthetic

#🔩 — misc

#🧡 — asks

#💉 — tag/rb games

[the-count-and-the-raven]

About Me :)

Discord: count._.chocula

Hi im Raven / Count Chocula, whichever you like better

(Formerly known as countchoculaart & thecountandtheraven)

Him / Them • transmasc • queer

I edit this all the time (to update things or just fuck around w/ colors) so you can read however many times you’d like

Current hyperfixation ☆

- Hannibal

Special interest:

- Will Wood (+ LITWTC)

Fandoms ☆

Will Wood (and the tapeworms) [WW(ATT)]

Life In The World To Come [LITWTC]

Hannibal

Lemon Demon

Human Zoo

Jack Stauber

Mitski

Five Nights at Freddy’s [FNAF]

Vocaloid (mostly miku)

The Walten Files [TWF]

Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared [DHMIS]

Various children’s shows (always welcome to reccs)

Some other stuff I can’t remember atm

Musicians i like but am not in a fandom for:

MARINA

Lemon Demon (half in the fandom but idk enough lore)

Oingo Boingo

The Oozes

Dazey and the Scouts

Destroy Boys

Various other fem punk bands

A Verbal Equinox

My Chemical Romance

Jhariah

Sir Chloe

Roar

Younger Hunger

Solya

Sodikken

+ More i can’t remember rn but my spotify is poopityjoopity if you wanna stalk it :)

#count chocula art is where i put my art if i hAD ANY

#save tag is kinda self explanatory, for stuff i wanna come back to

#non rb is kinda self explanatory but i don’t use it anymore but i mostly just use ->

#raven’s ramblings is random shitposts & stuff

#fav has all my favorite little trinkets and yippees

#i love tumblr is pretty much the same as #fav but more specific the the silly shenanigans of tumblr

~~~~~Big ugly block of text~~~~~

17 • I’m some kind of queer + transmasc (-iSH) but very tired of gender • I respect your opinions unless they don’t respect me • this was originally supposed to be an art blog… don’t expect much there • I also like playing video games from the 90s - 2010s • UHH

☆ Gimmick ☆ Blogs ☆

@self-ish-daily

@litwtc-referrer

@willwoodoutofcontext

☆ New gimmick ☆

@is-your-post-purple

☆Userboxes☆

(Stolen from various ppl)

[asterismos-art]

You can call me XP or Asterism. I'm a digital artist, mostly specializing in character design and concept work. I’m not going to share too much personal info here, but if you’d like to learn more about me as a person feel free to shoot me a message on here!

IF YOU LIKE A POST BUT DON'T REBLOG I'M BLOCKING YOU DONT DO THAT SHIT <3

This account is technically a portfolio account, but I do still expect the basic Tumblr etiquette of sharing posts that you enjoy.

I have more information under the cut, but the TL;DR of it all is “don’t be rude to me, and I have my blog organized into various tags.“

I believe my art should be seen by anyone, and as such I don't have a set DNI. However, I expect you to treat me and my art with respect. Whether you agree with what I say through my art or not, I expect the respect you give any other person. I do not want to gatekeep my art, but I will not hesitate to block you if I don't like your attitude about what I create. 

I plan to keep my posts organized by theme, I will try my best to tag all posts with the appropriate tags so you can filter out the things you don’t want to see! This post will have all of my existing tags if you’d like to filter my posts by them.

personal.png - personal works, usually related to my identity but can also be about loved ones

health.png - a specific personal tag dedicated to art i make about my mental and physical health.

passerine.png - works related to my theriotypes

ERROR34 - my more... mature pieces. If you are under 18/ageless and reblog these posts I WILL block you.

fanworks.png - fanart!

readme.txt - information/update posts

don’t rb - self-explanatory, do not reblog posts tagged with this.

[moominsuki]

✎𓂃MY TAGLIST !

ll when going through my blog, click on the tag you’d like to browse, and you will be redirected to a page of all the posts i’ve made with that specific tag. ||

✎𓂃IMPORTANT TAGS。°˖⌕

#moominsuki™ - anything by yours truly.

#navigation. - masterposts/all about my blog.

#✎𓂃[ loveletter ] 💌。°˖⌕ - new notification from inbox.

#✎𓂃from: [ anon! ]。°˖⌕ - all anonymous asks.

#✎𓂃🧭。explore page°˖⌕ - important pages.

if you’re off anon or if you’re a mutual, your ask will either be tagged with ✎𓂃[ your alias/emoji! ]. or ✎𓂃[ your username! ].

✎𓂃GENERAL TAGS。°˖⌕

#✎𓂃⊹ monologue💬 .ᐟ‍。°˖⌕ - my rambling on the dash.

#✎𓂃stamped: (fandom)。°˖⌕ - my writing sorted by fandom.

#✎𓂃uma thirsts。°˖⌕ - all my nsfw content; minors must block this tag.

#✎𓂃reblogged。°˖⌕ - all reblogged content not incl. srbs.

# ✎𓂃recs。°˖⌕ - reblogged writing i want to share.

#✎𓂃gallery。°˖⌕ - reblogged art i want to share.

#✎𓂃icymi🔃。°˖⌕ - self rbs in case you missed it.

#✎𓂃read later。°˖⌕ - to read.

#✎𓂃!!。°˖⌕ - signal boost.

✎𓂃WRITING TAGS。°˖⌕

#༝˚૮ .♡ katsuki. : all my posts about katsuki.

#༝˚૮ .♡ character name. : all my posts about any character.

#‧₊˚♡ katsuma. : selfship tag for katsuki & i.

# ~ character name - rbs/content about any character that isn’t my content.

—! FREQUENT ANONS

-

[self-spaghettification]

rb as this is my pinned post, (despite rebrand) here’s a

preface to my blog

hellooo i’m riley :) they/he, young adult, adhd, pan+nb, & my side / general stuff blog is @freefloatingtemporally , dm for nsfw tdp acct

i moved over to twitter in early july !!

@viiravos : art, writing

other stuff:

top posts, aaravos masterlist & my meta (analysis) list

fic recs

april fools rayllum shipper bit

go here to view the site with the theme as intended :)

this blog is primarily sfw besides cussing i believe!

My page WILL have TDP spoilers and they WILL NOT always be tagged (bc I don’t catch everything/don’t have the time for that tbh) additionally i will be posting tdp criticism sometimes, post s6, but it also will usually be tagged

about me

eensy teensy op lore rant: i am a programmer but i also have a variety of hobbies and bounce between them like a ping pong ball. im adhd, nonbinary, pansexual, and ace-spectrum. my username came from this, i’m not too shy about sharing info about myself. and i’ve been in fandom & drawing since 2016 :)

you can learn more about me here

i also took ap lang and lit in hs so like? analysis credentials ish hwejrwehrwejr lmfao

i’ve been in the fandom since may 2023, although i’ve been casually watching the show since season 1 came out.

i’ve only watched the show like 3 times total except for, mainly, the aaravos scenes (look don’t @ me HFJSKJFDSK) or for screencap reasons aaand i haven’t read through much of the bonus content </3 [puzzle house, tox, etc…. though i believe i do know most of the important bits :) ]

i'm kinda lazy and am a slow reader buuut i do like making fic, meta, code, art, uhh probably whatever you can think of i'm down to make it. actually, i'm not super familiar with 3d art. so. not that. rip

my fav characters are aaravos, viren, terry, claudia, and callum, and crow master (tho every character has their merits) —tier list

i generally do not take interest in ships outside of viravos & kimditi, except in specific contexts: ie, the relationship dynamic affecting how characters will be manipulated

i also made a guide on what i've learned about tumblr so far if you're interested!

boundaries:

be an interesting person worth talking to I guess

I don’t like Leola and try my best to forget much of season 6 happened so—discussion and new perspectives are great, but please don’t come into my askbox only saying how good it was or feeling sad about Leola or Aaravos. Expect a short response if you do 😭

not a pro or an anti but a secret third thing

if you’re going to call proshippers groomers keep that shit to yourself. i’m friends with some and saying stuff like that is not ok i don’t like incest, underage, aged up, or noncon, so you won't see any of that on this page, but —everyone deserves a safe space to do what they want if it’s not harming anyone 👍 also depending on how u look at it like viravos is a weird ship for age differences, dubcon depending and all that too so yeahhh :) —>

i try to operate on a don’t like, keep scrolling, basis: outside of people with the same stance, the occasional salt and sometimes being a hater in a lighthearted way (or i hope that’s how it comes across), i kinda keep my opinions to myself. but if someone is bothering me for what i post, i'll hear you out but i'll defend myself. + if we’re mutuals / interact a lot and something i did made u uncomfortable or upset, please let me know! Feedback is important-it’s the only way people can grow and change. At least, if it’s considered.

i'm picky with blocking ppl. generally, it's fine to disagree with me about things. even if certain things bother me abt someone in fandom as long as we can still connect over something else it's usually not a deal breaker by any means. i favor blacklisting content and tags.

i will take writing/art/analysis requests

feel free to tag me in things, tag games, send posts/asks, or dm me! i take a sec to get back sometimes but i always try to anyway!

i’m fine with tdp crit, and i sometimes have my own (but it will always be tagged dw) ! + i kinda yap alot

co-creator of the aaravos cult discord B)

It’s tiny and while I’d say u gotta like aaravos generally please don’t ask to join if I/someone there doesn’t even know you, yk, is mutuals/friends with you!! that’s about it

find me here!!

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/self_spaghettification Twitter: https://twitter.com/viiravos Tiktok: https://tiktok.com/@viiravos Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viiravos C.AI: Aaravos Bot (39k chats) ->my thoughts on AI usage Discord: freefloatingtemporally

tagging system

all of my original posts are under the tag #self-spaghettification if you’d like to see what i think without scrolling thru rbs! (not all my thoughts are bangers. but hey, they’re there!)

i also very much enjoy organization so i tag everything i rb, so anything related to aaravos will be under #aaravos, any tdp theory will be under #tdp theory, and so on :)

analysis tags: tdp meta, tdp analysis, tdp theory, tdp speculation, tdp parallels, tdp s5 speculation, tdp s6 speculation

Foil/ non-shipping-relationship tags:

Claudia & Aaravos: starlight

Callum & Aaravos: caallum, keys

Misc: parallels

other big tags: #my art, #my writing, #my edit (s) my #aaravos playlist! #tdp poll ,,

stuff not always under my main tag: #q&a , #tag game & then general shit that is like #riley rambles and #spaghetti salt

i do have tdp s6 spoilers / leaks but they’re all tagged. if something’s not initially tagged it will be eventually

have a nice scroll! ❤️

new banner because these fuckers wont leave my brain and they don’t pay rent >:(

[tittyblade]

tumblr etiquette 101

a list that is nowhere near exhaustive, from yours truly.

First off, welcome! Whether you’re a twitter veteran looking for anything but whatever twitter is, or a new user just done signing up, glad to see you in our ranks beloveds! Welcome home. Refer to this quick tour to make sure your fandom experience (or tumblr experience in general) is a positive one!

Disclaimer: I know it’s long, but please try to read or skim through til the end if you’re new here! This is by no means meant to be a rule book (for the most part lol), only a guide to help you get settled easier!

1) Your blog

This is where people will see and interact with you, so put some effort into it!

Try to choose a name (url) that’s simple. You can see it as your brand, it’s how people will perceive you and remember you. If you’d like to interact with other users here (and not use the site just for the content) it’s better to have something short and sweet, preferably without spaces. (Of course, these are only suggestions.) Rest assured, you can change it literally any time you want.

Have a theme. Utilize the tool that lets you edit your blog’s color or the font of your bio! You can make it match your profile picture, or your blog if it has a theme of its own. Make it feel homey :]

Fill in your bio. People will be checking out your profile probably more often than you think. Don’t leave it empty! Put in any information you’re comfortable with sharing and isn’t too personal (like your age if you’re a minor, or other TMI that can be found on other people’s carrds). It’s always better to add a name/nickname people can use to refer to you by, but feel free to use your blog description to shitpost still.

You can have an intro post. More often than not, you’ll see a blog have a pinned post, a post permanently appearing at the top of a blog until you pin another post or unpin it. You can make one of those, if you’d like to introduce yourself in more length, link any other socials or a carrd, and show others visiting your blog how you tag things so it’ll be easy for them to navigate. Not an obligation.

Keep your anonymity and your safety. It should go without saying, but there’s no harm in repeating it just in case. Your comfort, privacy and safety has the utmost importance. Don’t share any information you don’t want to. Don’t share your age if you’re a minor, or any other incredibly personal info. I’d encourage you to go by a nickname that’s not your real name, (blog name, your brand, remember?) since there’s safety in anonymity, and that’s lowkey one of the big deals of tumblr, but that’s up to you still.

Choose what you want to be visible. Your liked posts and who you follow are all things you can set to keep to yourself and hide from the publics eye, how handy! You should go through all the setting while you’re at it, set it to your comfort.

Side blogs are a thing. You can have multiple blogs that you can use for different things (see: different fandoms, art blog, etc) to keep them organized or away from your followers. Just remember that the replies and off-anon asks you send will be from your main blog, as well as where you follow other blogs from.

2) Interacting with others

You’ve set up your account, now comes the fun part!

Follow to your heart’s desire. If you care about others seeing who you follow, fear not! In tumblr, usually only two types of blogs keep their following visible to others: newbies, and big blogs using it to point people on other good blogs’ direction. Just turn it off, and go ham following people.

Customize your dashboard. Gonna mention just two things here: this is another reason why it’s really important that you follow blogs without sparing, your dash will collect dust otherwise; and you should turn off “best stuff first” in your dashboard settings, to have a better community here and all.

Follow tags. You can set it in your settings that posts with your followed tags appear on your dashboard.

You can check the og post for edits and context. When you see a reblogged post you don’t understand the context of (or don’t recognize the character in case of fanarts), click on the profile so it will take you to the original post. From there you can check the original poster’s tags to get the context, or see if there have been any edits made to the post, since when you edit a post it doesn’t update any past reblogs.

Send people asks... This is how you make mutuals, people! Do it off-anon if you’d like them to know your blog, or anon if you’d rather not! (You can still end your messages with a signature to show you’re the same person, -[name] is one example.) Send them nice messages, ask their opinion on something, discuss things, or just straight up shitpost lol. Go wild. The sky’s your limit and it’s definitely more than 280 characters.

...and let them ask you! You can set your preference in the settings, do it on desktop tumblr to access more settings tho! What you can customize on mobile is limited (like letting people ask you things anonymously, that’s only on desktop settings). In my personal opinion, it’s always better to tag their username (or a nickname you give them, if they’re a friend) on that post, since you wouldn’t want your interactions with your friends to get buried in your blog forever.

Comment on posts. If you have something to say but don’t want the post to appear on your blog you can add a comment. The owner of the post will get a notif for it, but for anyone else you need to tag them.

For the love of god, reblog. People will only see your liked posts if you have it visible to public and they specifically go on your blog to look at them. You like something? You reblog. It’s already hard for posts to circulate properly, if you don’t reblog them literally no one will see them. If not for anything do it for the artists. Just hold and drag on mobile to fast rb.

3) Your Posts

Finally here! Don’t be a lurker, post and engage!

Make use of “read more”. If your post is long, add it. That’s what you clicked on earlier to expand this post. On desktop leave an empty line and you’ll see three dots appear, and on mobile type :readmore: on that empty line.

Draft a post to come back to it later. Pretty self explanatory.

Queue your post. Whether it’s your own post or you’re reblogging, make use of the queue feature to a) not spam reblog and fill up the dashboard of people following you and b) keep your blog active while you’re gone. Mess around in the settings, it’s fairly easy to set up.

Schedule your post. Same as queueing, the only difference is you get to choose the exact time your post will go up. Handy if you want to schedule a post for certain dates like april fools, or 5 years in the future for some reason. 

Format your texts. You can do all kinds of fancy stuff here (that’s a link, try pressing on it). Twitter doesn’t have this, make use of it. Changes depending on whether you’re on mobile or desktop. (Desktop has less features.)

Check your stats. If you’re trying to understand the algorithm better or want to look at some pretty graphs you can get your data on that on desktop tumblr.

@ people in comments. You’ll get all the notifs when people comment on your posts but they won’t see your reply unless you tag them in your message.

4) Tags, and tagging a post

This is where my earlier statement “this isn’t a rule book” stops being applicable. It’s not a war crime to go against these, I won’t come chasing you (don’t take my word for this) but you’ll work up a bad rep. Just saying lol.

Do NOT crosstag posts. It’s really tempting to add unrelated tags to increase your posts’ interaction, I know, but that’s not what tumblr is about. Don’t be a dick and make other communities’ experience worse for them.

Always tag your posts with “crit/critical/discourse/etc” if it calls for it. There’s no exceptions to it. This is the reason you see people migrating to tumblr. Let people enjoy things.

Don’t main tag a critical/negative post. If your crit post is about “Thing”, you add the “Thing critical” tag, but not the “Thing” tag. People block crit tags if they don’t want to see it, don’t shove it in their faces by main tagging it. 

If you don’t want to see something, just block it. Another reason why people are able to survive on tumblr. You don’t start discourse, you don’t make call-outs, you block. You can find something for every community you can think of if you go looking for it. The worst of the worst probably won’t ever appear on your dash, but if you’re worried or feel the need for it, you know where the block button is.

Feel free to shitpost or ramble. More often than not you’ll see people rb a post with a comment, and their elaboration will be in the tags. The tags are only visible on your profile and the notifications of the owner of the og blog. Just a thing people do.

Reblog artists’ posts with nice comments in the tags! Commenting on a drawing is usually done through the tags (Not an obligation, again, just a thing people do. Feel free to add your comment on the rb itself if you’d want other people to see it tho!) and leave nice messages for the artists! It’s a win-win for everyone involved. 

If you have more than a single follower, always use the common tw warning tags. You don’t need to tw everything, but tw’ing some common things is the bare minimum human decency. Keep it safe for others. 

Tag a post “long post” if it’s really long. Pretty self explanatory. Don’t make people scroll through all that please lol. 

You can use them to organize your blog. This is more of a pro tip, if you’d like to not miss a post in your blog, cause they will start pilin’ up soon enough.

#Liveblogging is pretty fun. If you’d like to talk to people during streams, don’t forget to add the relevant tags still! Again, you won’t show up on people’s dash otherwise.

Whew! That got out of hand. Hopefully I didn’t bore you too much. Check out blogs like @heritageposts and @hellsite-hall-of-fame to honor our past o7. @mcytblr-hall-of-fame too maybe :eyes:. Anyways, don’t forget the most important rule of them all:

Enjoy your stay! You’re meant to have fun on here while also making friends (if that’s your thing). Just be kind and respectful of others, you’ll get the hang of the rest! <3

[possessed-pack]

Intro + Links

This blog is a group blog for all of the possessed Hunter fictives in our system--there's 8 of us, and you can find info on us below. We’re all in the @interstellarsystem which is a quoigenic DID system of 400+ members. We support systems of all origins here.

We’re bodily an adult and collectively use they/it pronouns, though we have individual pronouns listed below.

Basically anyone can interact, we don’t have a DNI, we will just block as we please. We also might not see your DNI, sometimes they're very inaccessible to us--just block us. We like sourcemates in general so we’re down to talk if you’d like to. This blog will serve as an alterhumanity focused blog for all of us.

Tag list and blog user list below the readmore.

Links:

Ask | Our Website | Main blog (with more links) | Trigger Warning Tags | Post dividers link

People who will be using this blog include:

Mal -- Tox/He/They, wolfhearted, deerhearted, Malachite (SU) fictionkind. Dating Vic, Sil, Tor and Vince.

Vic -- He/They, wolfhearted. Dating Mal, Sil, Tor and Vince.

Blunter -- He/They, wolfhearted.

Sil -- Voi/He/It, voidkin. Dating Mal and Vic.

Tor -- Rot/He/They, Alastor (HH) fictionkind. Dating Mal and Vic.

Vince -- He/They, darkness and The Unknown (OTGW) as hearthomes. Beast!Wirt (OTGW), Wilfre (DTL), Willaim Afton (FNAF), Bracken (Lethal Company), Husk (HH), Alastor (HH) and Jonathan Sims (TMA) fictionkind. Dating Mal and Vic, as well as @mystery-aberration and others without blogs in-sys.

Cer -- He/Him

Marrow -- It/They

Organisational tags:

#op - Original posts.

#rb - Reblogs.

#srb - Self-reblogs, other blogs we run included.

#ask - Asks.

#ask game - Tumblr ask games.

#name (pronouns) - Posts by specific members.

Alterhuman-related tags:

#alterhuman - Alterhuman things--or things with alterhuman vibes.

#nonhumanity - Nonhuman stuff.

#otherkin, #plural, #therian, etc - Tags are self explanatory.

#terrorpunk - Posts related to terrorpunk.

Source/identity specific tags:

#sourceposting - Posts about our sources.

#cryptid vibes - Cryptids, monsters, and things of the sort.

#hazbin hotel - It says it all on the tin.

#hunterposting - Posts related to Hunter (The Owl House).

#in the dark - Posts related to darkness and the things in it.

#tma - The Magnus Archives.

#otgw - Over The Garden Wall.

#owls in the house - The Owl House.

#wolfposting - Wolves (though sometimes extended to other canines).

Misc tags:

#aesthetic - Aesthetic posts. Might be tagged with things such as #nature or #plants if applicable.

#disability - Disability of any kind.

#neurodivergent - For posts relating to neurodivergency.

#queer - For posts relating to being queer.

[its-chips-main]

o/ hi friends & followers (& anyone else?)

gonna have a little favor to ask soon from those who have the spoons, mainly directed @ ppl who know me to some degree (i promise i dont actually expect anything from internet randos lmao- that being said anyone’s help would be appreciated)!!

since i recently found out i wont have a job to come back to next semester, ive decided to take the time to prioritize my creative ventures (mainly streaming, also art) instead. im very close to being able to apply as a twitch affiliate and would like to meet that goal by the end of this summer, so i plan on making a proper advertisement post for my channel in the near future! any and all support for that post would be immeasurably appreciated, from likes to rbs to reposts to just,, checking out my channel yourselves lmao (totally up to your own comfort level/ability, & absolutely no pressure to go out of your way for me!!)

i’ll also probably use it to rb for future going-live posts, so if you’d rather not see those for any reason, they’ll be in my self-reblog (.srb) tag for easy blocking!

huge thanks in advance to anyone who’s willing to help me out here, & especially thanks to yall who dont really care for this stuff but stick around regardless <3

[thehotspurs]

profuse amounts of maxiel rambling below, because there’s this one damn song that just reminds me of them so much and i can’t hold it in any longer

SO THE SONG “DECEMBER” BY NECK DEEP RIGHT-

i added it onto my maxiel playlist on spotify a while back and only just sat down and properly clocked how much the lyrics apply to them??

(OBVIOUS DISCLAIMER THAT THIS IS ALL IN MY IMAGINATION OKAY NONE OF IT IS REAL (well okay maybe like i little bit might be) TAKE IT WITH A PINCH OF SALT)

“stumbled round the block a thousand times, you missed every call that i had tried so now i’m giving up”

(for context, this song is in max’s POV cerca 2018) the idea that he’s spamming daniel’s phone, trying to get an answer whilst he’s most likely very drunk cuz he’s all depressed from dan leaving is just something that would happen plz

“a heartbreak in mid december you don’t give a fuck, you never remember me”

MID DECEMBER. dan’s last race for red bull was the 25th november, he’d most likely be finished up with everything red bull related in mid december, hence max’s obvious crippling heartache and worries that daniel will basically forget about him once he leaves rb

“while you’re pulling on his jeans, getting lost in the big city”

HIS jeans you cry?? WHOSE??? well, wish i could give you an answer but alas i can’t - that line always escapes my explanation :| could maybe make a tenuous link to “his jeans” meaning some form of renault clothing but hey i’m tryna keep it as real as i can when i’m literally attempting to make lyrics fit to two completely unrelated people! “getting lost in the big city” is just monaco i guess, maybe LA cuz dan loves it so much??

“i was looking out our window, watching all the cars go”

they live (lived?) in the same apartment building!! chances are they share the same view, hence the OUR window

“wondering if i’ll see chicago, or a sunset on the west coast or will i die in the cold, feeling blue and alone”

i just imagine this as max wondering how he’ll spend his winter break: 1. with dan in chicago (or pretty much anywhere in the US) 2. with dan in perth, hence the “west coast” (tenuous, i know) 3. at home in monaco by himself or in holland, without dan (which is devoid of sun and warmth because he’s missing dan)

“i hope you get your ball room floor, your perfect house with rose red doors”

rose red doors. rose red doors. rose red doors. its no secret dan’s dream was/is to drive for ferrari, and what colour do ferrari drive in? rose. red. his perfect house i see as the perfect car (aka one that isn’t as shitty as that 2018 red bull) with the rose red doors as the rose red livery. max hopes dan gets his dream one day, even if that isn’t with him

“i’m the last thing you’d remember, it’s been a long lonely december”

for better or for worse, max is the last thing daniel remembers of redbull. and again, with dan leaving rb officially after the last race in november, max truly is having a long, lonely december without him

“i wish i’d know that less is more, but i was passed out on the floor. that’s the last thing i remember it’s been a long lonely december”

max doing what every good angsty bitch does and drowning his sorrows in alcohol ❤️ perhaps he intended on apologising to dan but drank too much and fucked it up? who knows (not me, i’m just the messenger of whatever my brain brings up at 3am)

“cast me aside to show yourself in a better light, i came out grieving, barely breathing and you came out alright”

it’s no secret rb favoured max and yet forming this exceptional partnership where they respect each other on track and care too much meant no normal team principle would ever think about splitting them up, but dan can’t deal with being the second driver, and so has to cut ties to try and make himself as an individual look better to escape rb. in the end, max loses his best friend, his rock, his anchor, whilst daniel gets what he wanted all along

“but i’m sure you’ll take his hand, i hope he’s better than i ever could’ve been”

bit of a reach (but we love those here), dan shaking cyril’s hand to formalise those contract negotiations and finally getting out of rb. max knows how much he hated it, and he hopes renault can offer daniel what he couldn’t - happiness and success

“my mistakes were not intentions this is a list of my confessions i couldn’t say”

max didn’t intend on causing the crashes in hungary or baku and he’d never dream of wanting rb to favour him over dan. but he just can’t seem to admit it

“pain is never permanent but tonight it’s killing me”

he knows he’ll get over it eventually, but time heals and the wound is ✨fresh✨

“i miss your face, you’re in my head, there’s so many things that i should’ve said”

this is fairly self-explanatory, max just can’t stop thinking about what he could’ve done to stop dan from leaving

“a year of suffering, a lesson learned”

2018 was one big year of suffering. the retirements, the crashes, the contract politics. it was torture.

the rest is pretty much just repeats of the chorus so i won’t bore you with that!! but yeah, my rambling is over. if you made it to this point fair fucking play, i apologise as well because my 3am thoughts are never easy to read.

i’ll link the playlist below if you wanna listen to over 24 hours of songs that remind me of maxiel, no i’m not okay but thanks for asking.

[ethvn-torchio]

Walls Could Talk | Chapter Two

a/n: sorry this chapter took so long! writer’s block is a bitch 😩✌

Summary: Steve and Peggy's search brings them to Paris - where they happen to meet up with an old friend.

Warnings: an intense makeout session/implied sexual content (it’s not smut, i haven’t decided if I’m putting actual smut in this fic)

Wordcount: 1.5k (unedited, also I'm sorry it's so short 🙃)

AO3 | prev chapter | next chapter (coming soon!)

ᴏᴄᴛ 𝟸𝟿, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟿

ᴏxғᴏʀᴅ, ᴇɴɢʟᴀɴᴅ

Steve wakes up in a cold sweat, bolting upright in bed. Was he still dreaming? Was this...was this real?

He gazes at Peggy - to make sure she was there, that all of this wasn't a mere fantasy, who begins to stir.

So, not a dream then, at least. His heart is racing, his mind buzzing and yet still confused and his breathing erratic. She's speaking to him, saying something, and he isn't quite listening, his heart thundering his ears. Adrenaline surges through his veins.

“I’m...I’m sorry, Peg. I didn’t mean to wake you up,” he whispers. His pulse was still racing.

Lightning illuminates the room for a split second and he can see the sympathy in her eyes.

"It's quite alright, Darling. Will you tell me what's wrong?" She asks, trailing her fingers through his hair.

"I...I don't- I don't remember much," he admits. "It was just...some stuff from the past...or, future..." he could almost laugh at that if he was in a better mood.

She nods sympathetically. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

He drinks in her appearance, nodding slightly. He presses his lips against hers softly.

He kisses her, gently and imploringly at first.

His one hand softly trails down her back, and he notices her sharp intake of breath when his hand ghosts over her lower back.

"This hurt?" he asks.

She nods stiffly. "I do believe I forgot to tell you with everything that happened tonight. I had a bit of a scuffle in the restroom with a Hydra agent. She slammed me against the sink," Peggy explains.

An idea forms in Steve's head; a single minded goal to make her forget.

He would make the only thing on her mind be him.

Wordlessly, he smiles and dips his head towards her neck, brushing his lips against it. His teeth graze against a sensitive spot on her neck and she makes a soft "Oh,"

His hands go to rest against either of her thighs. He pulls back, pupils blown.

“Steve,” she whispers. She lifts her hips in a silent invitation.

He leans down to kiss her, his lips against hers, and she's already breathless. He doesn't want to rush things, but he can't resist her.

Her hand slides down his back, and she lets out a soft moan against his mouth. His hands trail up her shirt, he can feel the goosebumps on her skin. He kisses her neck, and she can feel his hot breath against her skin.

"God, you're so beautiful. I love you," he whispers.

"I love you too," she replies.

He pulls her in for a desperate kiss once again, pulling her close.

—

The rain came and went, and with it sunshine followed.

“Peggy. Peggy, wake up,” is the first thing Peggy is greeted with in the morning.

Peggy groans, rolling over in an effort to ignore him. “No, not now,” she mutters, burying her face in the pillow.

Peggy feels weight on the bed as Steve sits down next to her. She tries in vain to ignore him.

"Oh, c'mon now, Peg. It's a new day, it's time to get up," he says.

“You are far too cheerful considering how early it is,” Peggy complains, shielding her eyes from the light pouring in from the blinds.

“...Peggy, it’s eleven in the morning.”

Peggy groans, glancing at the clock as if to make sure he’s right. “Point withstanding, you’re still too cheerful.”

“Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” Steve teases, narrowly missing a pillow flung haphazardly at him.

“Do shut up, Steve.”

He snickers.

Peggy yawns, stretching her sleep-infused joints. "Where are we going, again?"

"Word is our target's in Paris,” Steve replies. “Or at the very least, someone important is.”

Peggy hums, sitting up. The blanket wrapped around her falls off, revealing her bruised back.

"Jesus, Peg. Have you seen your back? That looks like it hurts," Steve notes.

"Yes, thank you for that insightful observation."

"I just mean- do you want ice or something?"

Peggy shrugs nonchalantly. "It doesn’t quite hurt. I can deal with it, I’ve faced worse."

“To be fair, you are the woman who fell asleep standing up in a trench.”

“Exactly,” Peggy winks. She stands up, beginning to sift through her suitcase. “So tell me, Steve. When’s our train leaving?”

—

ᴘᴀʀɪs, ғʀᴀɴᴄᴇ

A few hours later, they arrive at their dingy, rundown hotel just outside of Paris. The lobby smells like bleach and old carpet, and a radio plays a somber, mellow jazz tune.

Peggy clears her throat, waiting for the receptionist to acknowledge them.

The receptionist does not, however, care to notice.

“Can we have a room, please?” Peggy asks the woman at the front desk.

The woman hardly looks up from her magazine. “Name?”

“Carver,” Peggy answers automatically before Steve can.

The receptionist takes a long, seemingly never ending sip of her tea. Finally, she says. “Take the elevator to the third room, first one on the left. Here’s your key,” the woman says, sounding as disinterested as she possibly can. “Enjoy your stay,” she adds dryly.

Peggy eyes her warily. There was something a bit...off, about that woman.

Perhaps it was just her imagination.

They make their way to the elevator, and Steve finally breaks the silence. “So...is it just me or was there something weird about her? I mean, she could’ve just been a disgruntled employee, but…” he trails off, scratching the back of his neck.

Peggy hums. “No, I happen to agree. Though, perhaps we were just inconveniencing her by making her do her job.”

The smile fades from her face. “Stop,” Peggy whispers. She tilts her head toward the door, which was ajar. She clutches her gun in her purse.

Steve snorts. “Maybe,”

She laughs right along with him, but she pauses abruptly outside their door.

It could be the maid...but they haven’t even gotten into the room once.

Silently, the two stalk toward the door. The smell of smoke escapes from the room when Steve nudges the door open.

Which, in both of their experiences, usually did not happen to be a good thing.

In the chair in the corner, there sat...

Howard Stark.

A collective groan escapes the couple.

“Howard, must you break into our hotel room?” Peggy scolds, turning on the light.

“We thought you were an intruder.” Steve adds.

Howard smirks, taking a long drag of his cigar. “Technically, I am. But don’t you kids worry - I bring a peace offering. By peace offering, I mean I’m inviting you to stay in my Paris apartment instead of this dump,” Howard gestures loosely. “I mean, I don’t think this building even has heat.”

Steve shrugs. “Wouldn’t it be better to stay somewhere inconspicuous?”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Peggy agrees, her arms crossed.

Howard sniffs. “Okay, fine, don’t accept my extremely generous offer to let you stay at my apartment. I know when I’m not wanted. Just know I’ll remember that in the summer when you want to come over because I have air conditioning and you don’t.”

Peggy rolls her eyes. “Quit the melodramatics, Howard. We’ll stay with you,”

Steve wraps an arm around her. “Yeah, we- wait, we will?”

“...What? This building doesn’t have heat, and quite frankly I enjoy summer visits to Howard’s house.”

“Attagirl, Peg.” Howard beams. “I’ll meet you two in the lobby,”

—

Later, the trio eats lunch at Howard’s apartment.

"-you are not funny, Howard." Peggy informs him, pointing at him with her fork. "You could've at least feigned innocence."

"Innocent? If you looked up "innocent' in the dictionary, you'd see my picture on it," Howard says defensively.

Peggy snorts at that. "Oh, please, Howard. With your history you could easily father a small country,"

Howard grimaces. "Eugh, kids hate me. Plus, who has time to tend to a baby all the time? I mean sure, kids probably aren't annoying when they're...late teenagers? But for most of their lives, kids just seem so clingy and needy."

Steve picks at his plate absentmindedly, reminded of a conversation he had with Tony.

"Clearly, you must've met a different version of my father. He was cold. He was calculating. He never told me he loved me, he never even told me he liked me."

The sound of Peggy’s voice brings him back to reality. "...That's because they're children, Howard. Babies aren't self-sufficient from birth. Do you expect them to come out of the womb ready for rocket science?"

"Well, thank you for absolutely shattering my argument, Agent Carter." Howard mutters, downing his coffee. Deciding to change the subject in order to deflect attention off of himself, he says, "Steve, you still with us?"

Steve snaps to attention. "I, uh, yeah. I was just daydreaming, I guess."

Peggy makes a mental note to ask Steve about that later.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Howard asks.

Steve shrugs noncommittally, continuing to eat with much less gusto than before. "Just thinking about our mission,”

Peggy eyes him carefully, choosing to say nothing but clearly knowing something was wrong. In due time, she would ask.

In due time hopefully meant whenever Howard left the room.

—

lmao so like i was listening to a bunch of james bond songs bc they’re dramatic and spy-ey right (cough cough tho a song that fits the general tone of the fic would be "the world is not enough" by garbage)?? and then there’s absolutely none of that in this chapter lmao. sorry if this chapter was boring compared to last one but i mean we can’t have constant action in the fic, silly goose. 

also can we talk about how it took me like 8 DAYS TO WRITE THIS and it’s this short i’m sorry ajsjdfkgjjklk 😶✌

taglist (dm me if you’d like to be added!):

everything taglist: @return-of-the-simp​ @thereblogcrusader @stillmourningtonystark ​

walls could talk taglist: @deedepee​ @rizwritesfandom​ (extra thanks to riz for helping me when i was struggling with being descriptive u a real one) @mcu-academy​​

If you enjoyed, please rb/leave a comment! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

[eliotquillon]

abt:

c - 18 - nonbinary lesbian (they/them)

i have no specific dni criteria because in my experience the kind of people i don’t want to interact with don’t tend to respect them very much, so i tend to block instead.

i don’t engage w lgbt discourse that doesn’t affect me because i really don’t see the point, but i do respect dnis and won’t interact w people who do not want people w x view following them. my general attitude is ppl have the right to self-identify however they want so long as they aren’t hurting others, and i’m not comfortable sharing any more than that tbh because discourse is generally redundant and i’m too sexy for it xxx

please tell me if i accidentally rb something where op is a terf/features terf rhetoric and i will delete it <3

minors can follow but i am personally uncomfortable w having mutuals under the age of 15 so please don’t be offended if i don’t fb lol

i only rly tag for fandom organisation purposes (mostly hive, alex rider, and trc). generally i don’t rb explicit nsfw images or things featuring gore/body horror anyway but please lmk if there’s anything you’d like me to tag

my dms are open for friends/mutuals i regularly interact w but i am not comfortable with literal strangers venting to me, which i hope you all understand!! this applies both on and off tumblr.

that’s it i think 💖💖 i hope this doesn’t come off as too standoffish bc i love interacting w all of you but i’ve been meaning to make these boundaries clear for a while now. have a nice day <3