#bug tale isn’t your normal au

[bugtaleaskblogoffical]

A poorly made animatic to explain some lore within bugtale ^_^

[cellard0ors]

Fic: Movement (2/?)

Still dedicated to the wonderful @peachworthy. you read part one than you know - GMM Rhink AU - College Student Link/Pornstar Rhett AU

“Got it right again, man! You’re going to ace this test!” Rhett crows as he tosses down another notecard and Link pumps his arms in triumph. The two of them are settled in the kitchen, piles of books and notecards spread around as well as few bottles of beers and some bowls of chips.

Link picks up one chip and pops it into his mouth, grinning at his roommate fondly, “Well, couldn’t’ve done it without you, pal. You are, without a doubt, the best study buddy I’ve ever had.”

“Aw shucks, gonna make me blush,” Rhett laughs even though it’s Link who feels his cheeks actually grow warm, his friend’s laughter a common cause of the occurrence.

They’ve been living together for over a month now and it’s been beyond amazing. Link would’ve never guessed a guy like Rhett and a guy like him would work so well together.

It’s like they’re the world’s weirdest, most convoluted puzzle yet all the pieces click together to form a full picture that is nothing short of a masterpiece. True, there’s a lot about Rhett Link doesn’t know yet (and gosh is there a lot he wants to know) but their friendship is running smoothly.

Well, smoothly save for the massive crush Link has on the guy, albeit he’s doing his damned best to squash it. Yes, Rhett’s attractive and yes, he’s the first guy Link’s ever met that he’s felt a real zing for, but the fact of the matter is – Link would much rather have him as a friend and roommate than lose him as a…well, Link’s not sure if he’d lose him, but the mere possibility keeps Link’s lips sealed.

Besides, it’s okay to crush on someone and never act on it. People do it all the time. Not to mention that it’s a bit…odd to crush on someone in Rhett’s line of work. Isn’t it?

Link can’t think of too many people who will admit to crushing on an adult film star. Regular, mainstream film stars, sure – but adult film stars?

Yeah…

Although, to be frank, Link’s sure there are some that do. And, hopefully, some of them are not the creepy internet troll-y kind of people, but genuine salt of the earth folks like himself. Because, okay, he is crushing on one so…

Rhett is toying with the cards, maybe looking for the next question to quiz Link on when he asks idly, “Y’know, Link – I gotta say, I admire your stamina.”

That remarks makes Link choke on the drink he’s just been consuming, a cough clearing it up some as he croaks, “I’m-I’m sorry?”

Rhett hums noncommittally, as if not noticing the gaffe, “You’ve had yet to grill me about my job. Normally, once folks hear about it, that’s all they want to talk about.”

“Oh,” Link breathes out loosely, “Well, ah-? It-? It just…seemed rude to-to ask…”

“Been over a month living with me now. You telling me you ain’t interested?”

“I didn’t say that!” Link quips back much quicker than he would like, but Rhett just gives him the most perfect smile. All sincere and warm beneath his beard and remember, Link, you’re doing you’re best not to crush on him!

Rhett is still toying with the cards, eyelashes downcast, the very visual definition of shy as he murmurs, “Just sayin’…I don’t mind if you wanna ask some stuff.”

Link’s eyebrows rise in such a way as to damn near bump his glasses off, “Y-You sure?”

Rhett draws in a deep inhale and then sits the cards down. He crosses his arms and leans back in his seat, looking quite serious even despite the casual red flannel and jeans, as if this was more of an interview (or perhaps an interrogation?) than anything else, “Shoot.”

The a million and one questions that Link has kept at bay about Rhett’s job and more personal life threaten to cave his skull in as they crash about in his mind. However, he has to go with the obvious, “Know this’ll be predictable, but…why?”

Rhett just bobs his head in an understanding nod even as Link pushes on, “Why and how?”

Rhett sucks on his teeth before picking up his own beer and taking a fortifying sip before continuing, “The two are kinda interconnected to be honest. Had a fallin’ out with my family. Think I mentioned it in passin’ to you once. But, to clarify; they weren’t too happy with my chosen living destination nor with the fact that I’d come to terms with the notion that I’m attracted to both the ladies and the gents.”

Link’s mind immediately (and joyously) clings to ‘the gents’ remark, bookmarking it for future reference, even as Rhett continues his tale, “You grew up where we did. So you get it.”

Link does. And then, to nail the point home, Rhett adds, “Probably get it a lot more than others. If my…instincts are to be believed.”

Shit.

SHIT.

Link’s whole body immediately bursts into flame, the tips of his ears so hot he’s sure they’re glowing bright red.

Rhett knows I’m gay. He knows. I thought having a radar for that kind of thing was bullhonkey, but he knows and oh, lord, oh lord – do I give off some sorta vibe? I know that girl in my screenwriting class, Stevie, she teased me about being an A-Level twink or something, but I didn’t think-!

Rhett’s laughter carves right through Link’s insecurities, “Take a breath, brother! Look like you’re about to pop!”

Link does and Rhett just shakes his head, still grinning, “Point being – I was pretty much a babe in the woods when I came to LA. Not two nickels to my name, so I took whatever gigs I could get. Managed to snag a few commercials and things of that nature, but you know the drill. Jobs are hard to come by. And a guy of my height?”

He blows out a big breath and tosses all of those luxurious curls about with a rueful head shake, “Yeah, most people fingered me for a baller, so – again – jobs were hard to come by. But then, wouldn’t you know it? A friend of a friend of a contact told me about this part they thought I’d be perfect for.”

Another deep barrel chested chuckle emerges as he reminiscences, “Mighta been nice of ‘em to let me know it was actually a part of me they thought would be perfect.”

Do not zero in on his crotch! Do NOT zero in on his crotch! Charles Lincoln Neal the Third DO NOT-!

Link keeps his eyes so steadfastly forward he probably looks like some bug eyed zombie. If Rhett notices, he doesn't comment, “Anyway, when I found out what the role was, I had planned to politely decline but, y’know, the money they offered…”

There’s an easy shrug and this Link can look at. He looks at Rhett, who looks a bit sheepish as he scratches at one side of his beard, “I mean, again, you grew up where I did. So, you know how the whole ‘wait until marriage’ thing was drilled into your head, but I figured it wasn’t like anybody would know. My family’d cut me off, my friends were few and far in between, and the people on set…”

Now he looks a bit happier and Link can’t help but smile along with him, “The people on set were all right. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard the kind of stories people tend to spin – the exploitation, the drug abuse, other questionable stuff…place I was at wasn’t like that. I mean, maybe I just lucked out or something, but it was…”

Another shrug and he goes for his beer again. Link figures this is as good a time as any to get in another question, “So, you did that and then you…? Just kept going?”

Rhett nods as he drinks, the bottle leaving his mouth with an obscene pop that Link is going to do his best to forget all about right now and certainly not recall at any point in the future (and most certainly NOT when he’s jacking off later), “Yeah, I did the one and the director really liked me. He pull me aside and told me about this company he was trying to set up with a couple of buddies of his. They wanted to go in a classier direction – know how funny that sounds, but he was serious.”

“So, what? No, like, blockbuster porno knock offs? Like ‘Sex in The City and ON the City’ or ‘Arma-get-it-on’?”

“Think you stole that last one from an episode of CSI.”

“I did, doesn’t change the question.”

They’re both smiling like a couple of fools, but the mood is good and the atmosphere light as Rhett sighs, “Yeah, nothing like that. I’ve actually worked with a few female directors, shot some things with great budgets, nice lighting, good costumes…”

“Oooo, costumes,” Link teases in the silliest voice and Rhett swats out at him. Link avoids the hit even as Rhett rolls his eyes, “I’m serious, dude. Some of the things that department pumps out looks better than anything you’d see in Hollywood.”

“Hmm, some kinda wood,” Link snickers and this time Rhett’s swat makes impact, brushing Link’s shoulder and Link would be embarrassed by the giggle he lets out, if it weren’t for the way Rhett’s nose is all scrunched up, making him look beyond adorable, “You’re sucha brat!”

Link sticks out his tongue and Rhett just laughs. They turn their attention to the drinks and chips for awhile before Link circles around to another question, “You like it then?”

“It’s a living,” Rhett confirms, not really answering one way or another, “Like I said – make great money, work with some really nice people.”

“Uh,” Link scratches behind one ear, “Hate to ask, but, um…clean people?”

Rhett doesn’t seem offended, “You bet. Have to be. Another reason I’ve done this as long as I have. Money's great, but the safety is even better. I’m currently under contract with that same company I told you about – the one that director brought me under. On top of wanting to,” he air quotes his next words, “be classier’-”

He drops the quotes, “They wanted to provide an excellent work environment. Heck, me and the other actors and actresses probably have a cleaner bill of health than the entire state. Can’t shoot scene one until you’ve got the A-Okay.”

“Huh,” Link absorbs that with some surprise, but then, he supposes it really shouldn’t be. The adult film industry is a big lumbering beast right alongside it’s more recognized counterpart. No reason one shouldn’t be as cautious as the other. If anything, one has more right to be cautious.

Thinking on this, Link suddenly feels an odd pang. It’s a shame in one way that’s one viewed as more reckless than the other, more questionable. But, when viewed through a mostly puritan lens…

Not wanting to get too philosophical, Link switches gears, “You been in a lot of films?”

“My fair share.”

Another dodge, but Link will let him have it. However, he can practically feel devil horns rise as he asks with a naughty gleam to his eye, “Win any awards?”

Rhett’s practically preening, “Several.”

“Really?” Link asks with some surprise, but Rhett suddenly looks quite naughty himself. Naughty and…a bit too hot for Link’s liking as the heat that always seems to surround him when he’s near Rhett rises and woo boy, he’s really failing at this squashing-the-crush thing.

“If you’re a good boy, maybe I’ll show you one of my trophies some time…”

Everything in Link melts into a puddle and he’s not sure what expression he’s wearing, but it’s one that makes Rhett’s whole face light up, “…or maybe, just maybe, I’ll show you a little somethin’ else…”

If it’s possible for a melted puddle to also explode, then Link’s just done it. Rhett bursts into guffaws as he reaches forward and, very smoothly, pushes Link’s jaw up because Link’s jaw? It dropped. He didn’t even feel it drop.

And then, to just add more fuel to the fire, Rhett rubs the pad of his thumb along the bottom of Link’s chin, right below his lip, “Damn, son…you’re just too much for words.”

“I…”

That’s it.

That’s all that Link can offer.

Just one sound, one vowel.

Silent and stunned and Rhett draws back, looking like the cat that ate the canary as he lets him go and rises up from his seat, “Think you need a moment. I’ll be back in a bit.”

And – just like that – Rhett saunters out of the room.

[writing-the-end]

LoL Chapter 28- In Shadow

Masterpost

A Wizard Hermits tale (AU, designs, ideas belongs to @theguardiansofredland)

Returning to his hometown, Etho hs to balance his past with his present, as well as keep Keralis and Grian from embarrassing him in from of his old teacher and town. 

_______________________________

Etho always thought he was a handful- he may act mature, but his mind is full of mischief that would make even a criminal stumble. But dragging Keralis and Grian through the misty swamps of his home, he realizes there are more ways than one to cause trouble. 

Keralis goes sloshing away, swallowed up by the fog. The only way Etho knows he still exists is by the loud splash of the bug wizard, followed by a string of curses in his thick accent. Keralis returns to Etho’s side, wrestling a stag beetle and cooing at how lovely it looks. 

Grian on the other hand, Etho couldn’t get to shut up. “I think I have half the swamp in my boots.” 

“You could just fly.” Etho points out. 

“But I can’t see anything!” Grian’s whine echoes through the thick copse of trees, bouncing off submerged ferns and aged wood. “How do you even know where you’re going?” 

“Secret ninja techniques.” Etho muses, following the trail at his feet. Beneath the water, he can feel ridges carved into the stone, under the silt. Guiding him to his hometown. 

Keralis’s eyes get wider than usual at the sound of a branch snapping in the distance. He whips his head around, pulling on his hat and brushing closer to Etho. “Are you sure we’re alone?”

“We’re not.” Etho grins. Both Grian and Keralis whimper, searching the fog like they’re trying to see a ghost. They might as well be. “The town knows we’re coming. They’ve already seen us, even if we haven’t seen them.” 

“Ninjas.” Grian whispers. The trio continues in silence, or at least as silent as Grian and Keralis can be, sludging through the swamp. Grian chatters with himself and the bug wizard, his voice bouncing up cypress trees as tall as towers, clambering over the roots. He gets a foot tangled in the submerged vines, and goes headfirst into the slow moving brown water with a yelp. “Etho, when the hell are we going to get to this town? I haven’t seen any signs that we’re even close.” 

“Ah, yeah. I haven’t seen a spot of dry ground this whole time.” Keralis adds. “Are they on stilts? How does a town like that stay out of the swamp?” 

Etho feels the carved markings beneath his feet turn into a radiating circle, like a ripple across the surface. He stops, grabbing Keralis and Grian, a grin appearing on his unmasked face. “We’re here.” 

Grian turns around in a full circle, looking at the copse of trees. “Uhhh, are you okay Etho? This looks the same as every other part of the swamp.”

“Maybe it’s hidden in the fog? Fog magic?” Keralis waves his arms around as if he’s attempting to feel around in the dark. 

Etho leans against a root, grinning. “Try looking up.” 

Grian does so, and gasps. 

Above their head, a town hovers over them. Lantern lights split through the fog, unveiling themselves like a stage curtain, warm yellow glows dancing off the wood and paper. Beneath the strung lantern lights, dancing will-o-the-wisps above their heads, bridges of plank and rope connect tree to tree and guide the townsfolk across the swamp without making a sound. 

The fog continues to disappear, and the town of Shellor unmasks in ripples. Homes and businesses nestled in the massive trunks of the trees or perched on the expansive branches, the open air filtering the earth and water tone of the swamp air through bars, abodes, shops, and shrines. For a second, Grian wishes Mumbo was here to rant about the engineering marvel above his head. How much time it must’ve taken to build a town in the sky, where they even get the fire from, and hidden out of sight, out of sound. He never even realized they were walking beneath it. 

“How...how do we get up there?” Keralis tips his head, holding onto his hat so it doesn’t slip off. 

“Normally, adults can just climb up ourselves.” Etho launches from the root, grabbing hold of a branch and swinging himself up, higher and higher. “And Grian can fly, obviously. But- I’ll grab the basket.” 

“Basket?” Keralis watches the two disappear among the intertwining bridges. A second later, something is dropping back to the ground. It’s not a basket he thought it would be. It’s a lift of sorts. The wood floats like driftwood on the murky swamp water, the walls opening to invite Keralis in. He clambers on the wood panel, surprised to find that the weight hardly even shifts. Even when the walls pull back up around him and the basket starts to rise, he feels like he’s on solid ground. It’s the smoothest lift he’s even been on, something that would put Darlon to shame. 

Etho and Grian have their heads poking over the railing as Keralis rises up. “A pretty neat invention, huh?” Etho laughs, running a finger along the rope, watching the pulley system release the weight a distance away. “It’s not used often anymore, really just for when kids need to get down, supplies, the like.” 

Keralis stumbles onto the bridge. The warm glow of lantern light invites him deeper into Shellor, and the scent of food makes his stomach growl. Spices that dance with the mist, a warm rumble of quiet laughter from the nearby restaurant. But everyone’s movements are lithe and silent, even if their talking isn’t. Everyone in the town walks without a sound, like cats stalking their prey. Exactly how Etho walks, constantly spooking Keralis when he’s in the middle of reading or baking. 

It quiets down, and even Etho pauses. Grian and Keralis turn around, surprised to find Etho prostrating before a shrine. They never took him to be the god-worshipping kind. But they sit down next to him, looking at the shrine. It’s made of stone- how that got up here, neither of them can guess. Lanterns are kept aglow and the crescent shaped bowl protected with a carved wooden gazebo. After a few moments, Etho speaks. “Manys, god of the moon. Patron to Shellor, teacher to the art of stealth. I remember my first lesson to harness my power was to watch the full moonlight travel across the swampwater. Silent, but present.” 

“Is that how you learned to be a shadow ninja?” Keralis whispers while Grian lights a dying candle. 

“Nope.” Etho chuckles. “I definitely took a more...physical approach.” 

“Etho!” All three hermits stiffen at the shrill shriek of the shop owner a few bridges down. “I knew you’d come back! Don’t think I haven’t forgotten about all that candy you stole!” 

“Ah, that’s what you mean.” Grian muses, watching as Etho is given an earful by the man. It’s the first time Keralis and Grian have ever seen Etho embarrassed, the pale skin under his white hair blushing red, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Mr. Toku, I think Etho has heard well enough.” A warm voice, quiet but persistent, cuts through the berating tirade. Before her first syllable was uttered, Keralis and Grian knew this was someone of importance. An unusual sense of raging peace, like sitting next to a swollen waterfall in the middle of a forest, exudes from the woman like an aura. She turns, and immediately sweeps Etho into a hug. “It is good to have you home, my pupil.” 

“Hello Reverent Nama.” Etho squeaks, hardly able to breathe against such a tight hug. A weak smile appears on his face, the one person he missed most when he left being his teacher, the head monk of Shellor. Nama. He doesn’t even remember her real name, he’s always called her Nama. 

“Look at you, so tall! You grew like a shoot, Etho.” She grabs his cheek, looking at the scars on his face. “I still remember the day your magic first showed itself. Have you been using my teachings, anak ko?” 

“Nama, I remember it all. But you know me.” He offers a sly grin, but nods silently. “I still like to watch the moon, though.” 

“The best teacher, and the mother always with you.” Nama’s voice dips into a lower octave at her sagely advice, before rising back up as a smile creases her warm, deep toned skin. “But you must be starving, walking through the swamp. Come, bring your friends.” 

She waves her hands, blue and white robes beckoning the weary travelers deeper into the town. A glint of lantern light catches Grian’s attention, and his eyes go as wide as saucers at the sight before him. The biggest gong he’s ever seen in his life. Taller than Grian, even with his wings stretched high above his head, the silver metal glimmering like the moon at the center of the town. Archways decorate and dance around the massive instrument. Grian’s drawn to the gong like a moth to the flame. 

Only to be thwarted by Etho. He grabs Grian by the collar, dragging him back in line with Reverent Nama and the other monks. Keralis giggles and teases Grian even as they enter the raised, thatched house. Bowed roofs similar to the arches and pagodas they saw before protect angular, woven walls and open windows. The swamp breeze filters through the mat-strewn floor as Nama opens the sliding door. Nama disappears into an upper level, before returning with a steaming teapot and five different plates of food. The boys sit at the low table, suddenly alone with the leader of Shellor. Silent as shadows, her peers had disappeared. Like ninjas. “I assume this is not just a family visit.” 

“How did you know?” Keralis croons, sipping on the warm tea poured before him. His eyes light up at the fried, wrapped treat set on his plate. His massive bug eyes only unnerve Nama, repositioning in her seat at the sight of such strange friends Etho brought. 

“Etho isn’t exactly the visiting kind. A practical pupil, even to the day he left.” 

“Nama, you of all people know how to gather information. You see what the moon sees.” She nods at Etho’s words. It’s not hyperbole- it’s her magic. “Surely you have information about husk monsters attacking all over Lairyon.” 

“Why does that interest you, Etho?” Nama gazes over the rim of her teacup.

“We intend to stop it.” Grian states, flat and plain. Etho seethes, sending imaginary daggers at the blond angel before him. He needs to be more subtle than that! 

“Finally, someone to take up the mantle.” She responds. “I have heard worrisome things, are you three sure you can handle such a task?” When all of them nod, she continues. “Then you need to start here- husks have been attempting to enter Shellor for the past few days. They have broken through our mist barrier, but have been unable to reach the town. I do not think they will stop trying until they reach the bridges.”

“They want to steal your magic, your power. They’ll kill you all.” Etho growls. 

“Exactly as what my informants told me. Do you boys think you could defeat an army of mindless creatures?” She pauses, looking at their faces. Seeing the glint in their eyes and knowing. “Excuse me, I have underestimated you. It seems you have already done so before.” 

“We’ll need more than just your information, Reverent Nama. We need supplies, tools of stealth that only Shellor can create. We need to use every advantage we can find to stop these husks. To stop-”

“To stop Magistrate Dolios, yes.” Nama nods, a growl breaking through her neutral expression. “Whatever you and your friends need, I will be happy to give. But for now, eat! Tell me, anak ko, who are your friends here.” She leans over to Etho. “Is the one with the large eyes okay? Is he some sort of hybrid?” 

Etho chuckles, and welcomes the warm food of home into his body. He missed the taste of good palabok, wishing at least one other hermit could cook his hometown’s food like Nama could. He introduces Keralis, quickly explaining his magic, then moving onto Grian. Even Nama, in all her wise counselling, was shocked to learn he was an angel mage. She knew they existed, beneath the watchful eyes of the moon, but to see one in front of her? And in a guild as wayward as Etho describes? 

Their plates are filled as fast as they’re emptied, food appearing out of what felt like nowhere. Etho smiles as he hears laughter rise from his friends and teacher. He left Shellor because he felt restrained. But to be home? It felt freeing, now that he’s an adult. Now that he has his guild, he feels more connected to here than ever before. They continue talking well into the night, until the fog fades and the moon observes the quiet swamp. 

Nama closes her eyes, falling into a quiet meditation at the dinner table. But when her eyes open, it’s anything but calm. She rises so fast her knees almost spill the table over, robes fluttering like leaves in the wind. “They’re here. Oh gods, they’re already at the barrier.

“You wanted lessons in stealth? Well, lesson number one- don’t let your enemy see you.” Nama motions for another monk, and he casts his magic circle. In one deep breath, he inhales the magic. And a gust of wind from his lips blows out every single candle. Only the full moonlight bears illumination upon the town. 

And the distant crack of lightning, an ashen storm visible through the spindly cypress trees.

Townsfolk shuffle in the dark, accustomed but alarmed. Night is when Shellor is most alive, lanterns lit and moon in full view. Nama sends her monks to scout ahead, to be the first line of defense, before marching towards the center of town. 

Towards the gong. It reflects the moonlight, blue luminescence titillating across the silver instrument. A mallet the length of Nama’s arm is plucked from the arch, but she pauses. Looking over her shoulder, she sees Etho practically holding Grian back, the angle bouncing in his boots. Like so many of her other pupils, and who is she to deny him something so exciting? She hands the mallet into Grian’s hand. He wastes no time putting it to work. With wings unfurling and hovering at the center of the circle. One mighty reel backwards, he swings. The mallet strikes the metal, and both Grian and the gong reverberate in response. A low, loud ringing warns the entire town they’re under attack. Grian still feels the sensation of the strike in his arms even after he lands. 

“The husks aren’t after anything in particular- they just want as much magic as possible.” Etho warns, pulling free his kusarigama, watching the darkness. In the distance, a blood curdling howl of a banshee turns even his blood cold. He doesn’t want to face that beast on good terms, much less a creepy husk version. 

“How can you stop them?” Nama questions, dipping her arms into her robes. She doesn’t need a weapon to be dangerous. 

“There’s no crystal.” Keralis warns. “But there is a darkness storm.” He points to the distant canopy, black clouds roiling across the sky. 

“We just have to defeat them. One by one, it will weaken the storm and purge the land of their presence.” Grian flutters over the side of the bridge, looking down. Below, among the swamp water and cypress roots, monsters and mages scrabble up the aged cypress wood. Throwing themselves higher and higher, unlike Etho’s smooth agility to the town. “No matter what, don’t let your fighters get caught by the husks. They’ll turn into one.” 

“Stealth is our trade, angel.” Nama hums, arm reappearing and offering up supplies to the trio. Smoke bombs, firecrackers, magical climbing gear for Keralis, an enchanted mirror to Grian. “We shall do our best, but you three are clearly the masters in this battle.” 

Nama steps back, and bows. Pride swells in Etho’s chest, almost causing him to tear up. If he didn’t hear the snarls of darkness consumed being of pure anger, hatred, and power, he probably would’ve. He’s never seen Reverent Nama bow to anyone else before. 

And then she’s gone. Disappearing among her robes, the hermits next see her down at the roots. Battling with a cold rage, like sunlight reflecting off the moon. Etho hands a few smoke bombs to his friends, grinning. “Let’s raise hell, shall we?”

[slutegoshi]

1Hi Beastars fandom! We got an actively updating Fanfic rec list!  Below is a collection of #Beastars fanfic I’ve read. This means just reading through some #Beastars tag on AO3. I can only read so much work a day, so the updates might come in a (or bi)weekly form and mass dump fic rec.  Enjoy! Read fic!  

SLUTEGOSHI NOTE: I love these all these fics so much and have gone back and re-read them several times over. I hope they become some of your favourites too. Remember if you have an AO3 account (or not) please leave positive comments and love on all these fics!  

RULES OF FIC: read tags  read with kindness constructive feedback doesn’t need to be destructive Explicit/Mature work should be read with discretion Keep Kink shame to yourself 

REC KEY ❤ - Slutgoshi recommendation Story Link - Author Link Rating - Completion Status - Word Count - Ship/Detail  or additional notes

Authors summary.

☆ TOP 5 FAVOURITE - of the week

1 . kill me more - sushishorts Mature - Complete work - 3976 wc - Haru/Legosi/Louis Summary: In which Louis knows, Haru urges on, and Legosi wonders.

2 .  The Wolf Trap - surveycorpsjean Explicit - Complete - 18,279 wc - Legosi/Louis, Action, adventure Summary: If you're going to play the game, you have to play it right.

3 .  A Tale of Moon - Wuffin_Arts (Chaptered Fic) Mature - Uncomplete - 8,000K+ wc - Louis/Legosi, Kid fic Summary: This story will focus on the life and drama of these two as they grow and learn more about themselves, and face the struggles of it all. 4 . Leave Me On Read - cutiefemdom Teen - Complete - 3624 wc - Louis/Legosi, cute, texting fic Summary: Louis gets Legosi's number to keep an eye on him but instead slowly falls in love. 5 . do we realise that we’ve already closed our eyes - aiineslin* Mature - Complete - 1631wc - Louis/Ibuki, sad, angst fic Summary: he has always followed where life took him, unflinching and unresisting. ** this fic is labeled restricted and might not be able to be read by non-ao3 users. if you can’t view it, it’s because it’s restricted by author.

☆  ★  ☆  FULL SLUTEGOSHI REC LIST  ☆  ★  ☆

SLUTGOSHI - Legosi Centric Fic 

☆ Fluff / Angst / Non Explicit How to Handle Your Harem - TheFancySquid Teen - Complete - 1218 wc - Legosi / multiple characters, comedy Summary: Legosi has a harem, plain and simple. But the animals in the harem aren’t too happy to have to share the grey wolf. muted emotion - sushishorts Teen - completed - 5245 wc - Legosi/Jack, Imprinting fic Summary: Jack isn’t an idiot. He’s a dog, and his kind are bred to be the most intelligent creatures of their world. Their biological strain is the end result of the strive for perfection. As far as he wished that his arrogance for knowledge would prove him otherwise, Jack knows the question that’s coming. "Who did you imprint on, Jack?"And he’s afraid to say the answer out loud. Wolf, Dog, and Deer - TheFancySquid General Audience - Complete - 1651 wc - Jack/Legosi/Louis, Old Friends Summary: Jack and Legosi have been best friends since the moment they met. They did everything together; looked for bugs, dug in the dirt, and thing you could think of these two would do it together. They thought their duo couldn’t be better, until they met Louis the red deer. Bloodstained Wolf - GoGetterBrae Teen - Uncomplete - 46,000+ wc - Legosi/Male!Reader, First Person fic Summary: Two male wolves in love but they couldn't be more different.

Collared - Reflet271 Teen - Uncomplete - 11,000+ wc - Legosi/Reader, Second Person fic Summary: Human beings are treated nothing more than slaves to animals. Some try to escape. Others accept their fate. So what will you do?

☆ NSFW

Come Vibe With Me - cripplingfanficaddict Explicit - Complete - 1843 wc - Bill/Legosi Summary: Bill gives Legosi a major vibe check, and Legosi absolutely hates it. Legosi then decides to get that sweet, sweet revenge.

Loyal to You - orphan_account Mature - Complete - 4455 wc - Legosi/Jack, Slow burn, angst Summary: Jack and Legosi had been inseparable since childhood and Legosi's sudden disappearances take a toll on his best friend in unexpected ways.

Lustful Thoughts - Welcumtotheshitholecanitakeurorder Mature - Complete - 7,582 wc - Riz/Legosi, One-Sided Pinning Summary: He knew that the thought of fighting the wolf was accelerating, but he didn't think it would push him off the edge.

OT3 - HARU/LOUIS/LEGOSHI

☆ Fluff / Non Explicit Your Favorite - orphan_account ❤ Teen - Complete - 772 wc - chatfic, humor, fluff Summary: Haru and Louis love their boyfriend, even if he is horribly incompetent when it comes to electronics (and flirting).

Morning In - callmecacti General Audience - complete - 841 wc - Domestic fluff Summary: Legosi's day off and they're having breakfast together. every morning, every night (I will love you the same) - Soqquadro ❤ General Audience - Complete - 1,400 wc - Fluff, Feel-good Summary: It’s a normal day, but those are the ones Legosi enjoys the most. terminological inexactitude - sushishorts ❤ Teen - Complete - 4006 wc - rumor mill, Canon Divergent Summary: In which the Drama Club believes that Legosi and Louis are fighting over Haru, and completely misses out on the most important detail of it all.

Porclelain Wolf - FatDragonLair Teen - Complete - 1,518 wc - Angst fic with happy ending Summary: After having a severe injury a week ago, Legosi hasn't been the same. Louis and Haru are worried for the wolf and try their best with fixing him. Wild Side - slycooper20 Teen - Uncomplete - 19,000+ wc - Included OC, Cannon Divergent, Cherryton Summary: An old friend of Jack's gets accepted to the prestigious Cherryton Academy, but when he gets involved with the mysterious grey wolf Legoshi, his life spirals out of control as an unsolved murder, a mysterious stranger, and a gang of lions all enter into his life.  The Way you Bloom - Sanomo Teen - Complete - 4,219 wc - Alternate Universe, adorable Summary: The day in the life of a flower shop owner isn't always fun, certainly not when she is a dwarf rabbit; but sometimes all it takes is a gentle wolf to brighten her day. ☆ NSFW

Bad Liar (Series) - pocketfullofbees Explicit - Uncomplete - 22,000+ wc - Canon Divergent, 120CH, BDSM Summary: Legosi and Louis share a feral first kiss. Legosi has to deal with the fact that he might be in love with the guy who let him eat his leg, and his rabbit girlfriend. The three of them try to hang onto each other while also trying to figure out this crazy adult world.

kill me more - sushishorts ❤ Mature - Complete work - 3976 wc - Getting Together, Haru and Louis scheme Summary: In which Louis knows, Haru urges on, and Legosi wonders.

To One I am Tied, to the Other I am True - Born This Gay (Sinpie_Senpai)  ❤ Mature - Complete Work - 6111 wc - Snapshot, Getting Together Summary: Legosi is in love. Louis is exasperated. Haru is fond of them both.

little red riding hood - dedicaiton Mature - Uncomplete - 1,046+ wc - Alternate Universe Summary: Haru is a little rabbit that explores deep into the woods to find a blood-red flower. But whatever is lurking behind those trees is seemingly more trouble than this venture is worth.

The Rabbit, The Deer and The Wolf - jekyllhyde Mature - Uncomplete - 1,300+ wc - Alternate Universe Summary: Haru and Louis are engaged and living together, both looking forward to a bright future as an herbivore couple who have been together for a few years.That is... until a big, bad wolf moves next door and their lives become a whole lot messier.

LOUGOSHI 

☆ Fluff / Angst / Non Explicit 

dream of me - grieve* Teen - Complete - 7413 wc - Pinning, One-shot Summary: Louis is in love with Legosi.

The Ride Home - Doubtfuldeer ❤ General Audience - Complete - 1352 wc - Domestic Fluff, One-shot Summary: OTP prompt: They comes home after a very long drive. Person A is wide awake, but Person B is extremely exhausted and falls asleep in a very uncomfortable spot. Person A wants to carry them to bed, but there’s a problem: B is really tall, and REALLY heavy, and A is very weak.

Utlerior Motives - Doubtfuldeer, pocketfullofbees ❤ Teen - Complete (series: on-going) - 4642 wc - Crack, Fluff, 701+ Summary: Louis and Legosi have some unexpected bonding time over some episodes of Rick and Morty (i'm unironically proud of this tbh)

Leave Me On Read - cutiefemdom ❤ Teen - Complete - 3624 wc - Louis/Legosi, cute, texting fic Summary: Louis gets Legosi's number to keep an eye on him but instead slowly falls in love.

Like a Beast Hunting For Love - cutiefemdom ❤ Teen - Complete - 1811 wc - Soulmates, Alternate Universe Summary: Early in their lives, all animals wake up to a soulprint on their wrist. It's the shape of the animal's paw they are destined to be with. For herbivores who get a carnivore's print it's a death sentence.Louis doesn't think he's meant long for this world.

musk - mokarozu Teen - Complete - 1011 wc - Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha!Louis Summary:  “Louis, I want..” Legosi said breathily, his heat growing far too unbearable. He yearned to be filled, practically aching at this point in time. He gulped, before finally giving into his temptations as he admitted.“I want you, alpha..”

☆ Long Form / Chaptered Work Mostly Uncomplete or Active Updating

I’m In Love With a Dork - aekyuu General Audiences - Uncomplete - 9,700+ wc - University AU Summary: In a world where Legosi doesn't drop out of high school and actually graduates, Louis enters a well-known University with a prosthetic foot that attracts a lot of attention and fear from other animals. Legosi, feeling bad for what he'd done to Louis, and witnessing other animals "bullying" Louis, also enrolls into the same University to protect him at all costs.

Craving More Than You’re Given - doopstory ❤ Teen - Uncomplete - 74,000+ wc - Canon Divergent, 120 CH Summary: Friendship finally established, Legosi and Louis start to really get to know each other.

A Wolf with Little Heart - TheFancySquid ❤ Teen - Uncomplete - 41,000 wc - Alternative Universe, Dark!Legosi Summary: Legosi is a rude, obnoxious, and down right mean and negative person to everyone around him. But for what reason?

Repose Unto Terror - wurmz Teen - Uncomplete - 2,600+ wc - Canon Divergent, Louis cares fic Summary: It was the least he could do to maintain this state of purgatory, to fund this male's survival. Under any other circumstances, with the prohibitive cost of preservation, he was certain that Legosi wouldn't have been allowed to linger in limbo for so long. It was the least he could do, Louis repeated to himself, to use his wealth to fund the basic survival of a male who gave himself for the prospect of a new future.

wanted life enough to risk the open field - jurassicqueer Mature - Uncomplete - 6,200+ wc - Canon Divergent Summary: Legosi's chronic worrying keeps him up until long walks are the only way for him to sleep at night. One warm, humid evening, he stumbles upon the bloody mess left by Tem's attacker-- except Tem is still alive. This changes things.

Salut d’Amour - Doubtfuldeer ❤ Mature - Uncompleted - 13,000+ wc - AU Orchestra Summary: An AU in which Legosi is a violinist, and Louis is a pianist. All Legosi wants is to one day play a duet with Louis, but he ends up getting much more than he bargained for.

Over There - Big_Hairy_Stallion68 ❤ Mature - Uncomplete - 17,000+ wc - Cannon Divergent - 123CH, Slow burn Summary: What if the society of Beastars was only part of a larger world? What if there was an alternative, a different place to live in, a different society with different customs? What if Louis and Legosi had enough of the bullshit and just wanted a... regular life?

A Tale of Moon - Wuffin_Arts  ❤ Mature - Uncomplete - 8,000K+ wc - Louis/Legosi, Kid fic Summary: This story will focus on the life and drama of these two as they grow and learn more about themselves, and face the struggles of it all. Penumbra: Part 1 - Srugging_Altas103 Explicit - Uncomplete - 23,000+ wc - Cannon Divergent Summary: To be a gray wolf was a damning fate in Legosi's eyes. Despite his best efforts, he would always been seen for the predator he was. However, one fateful day led him to begin a less-than-wholesome relationship with Louis, challenging everything he had ever thought about himself. To be gay was a damning fate in Louis's eyes. Despite his best efforts, it continued to fester within him, threatening to destroy the future laid out for him without mercy. He needed to cope; any insecure straight guy would do.

El esclavo Luna y el amo Sol - Kmilarts (Language: Spanish) ❤ Explicit - Uncomplete - 23,000+ wc - Alternate Universe, Slaves, Top!Louis Summary: Raised as a slave to be treated as a free person, the slave Legosi became free with his master Louis. You will get more than just freedom, you will also have the love and family that someone of your caste should not have, but sometimes the world gives good things to people who deserve it.

Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me  - kastiyana Mature - Uncomplete - 27,000+ wc - Alternate Universe, Body Guard!Legosi Summary: Louis is a rich heir of the Horns Conglomerate, future CEO, future Beastar, his life seems all planned... until this exasperating wolf is hired as his bodyguard.

☆ NSFW

Guess You're Apart of Me Now - butterfingers69 ❤ Explicit - Complete - 4,239 wc - Trans!Louis fic Summary: Shortly after Legosi left the hospital after being shot Louis and him agree to meet up and talk. They soon realize that not only are they connected, but perhaps they don't mind.

The Wolf Trap - surveycorpsjean ❤ Explicit - Complete - 18,279 wc - Legosi/Louis, Action, adventure Summary: If you're going to play the game, you have to play it right.

tame - TrashKing (Vanya_Deyja) ❤❤ Explicit - Complete - 2561 wc - possessive legosi, shishigami louis Summary: Legosi is not leaving here without Louis.

Heat - TrashKing (Vanya_Deyja) Explicit - Complete - 2213 wc - Rut, Knotting Summary: Interspecies romance is taboo, politics is complicated, but this? This is simple.

Secret Lovers - Zeuspower6 Explicit - Complete - 2731 wc - Top Louis, secret relationship Summary: Louis and Legosi are in a secret relationship, but a few of the drama club members start to get suspicious.

Hurts So Good - cutiefemdom Explicit - Complete - 1637 wc - Dom Louis, Dirty Talk Summary: "Unruly puppies have to be taught to behave." Legosi doesn't realize that he's being too rough during sex so Louis decides he needs some disciplining.

Disgusting - TrashKing (Vanya_Deyja) ❤ Explicit - Complete - 2268 wc - Masturbation, Verbal Humiliation Summary: There's something very perverse about how Legosi sits with his predatory instincts all the while frantically denying them. Unfortunately for him Louis lives to make his life a hellscape.

Sweet Release - Skrap Explicit - Complete - 1050 wc - BDSM, CBT, Smut Summary: A story about Louis and Legosi's time in bed and Legosi's relatively new toy.

Release Your Inner Wolf - Nacht_Writer Explicit - Complete - 4698 wc - Smut, Knotting, Exhibitionism Summary: Legosi is the only one Louis' trusts to grant him his darkest desire: to be fucked and marked by a carnivore.

Smoke Under the Moonlight - omnic Explicit - Complete - 4515 wc - Dom/Sub, Bottom Louis Summary: Legosi visits Louis at his dorm during his early morning smoke.

i would go down on you for days - orphan_account Mature - Complete - 2009 wc - Pinning fic Summary: Legosi often dreams of Louis.

in love(with your existence) - sweetycat Explicit - Uncomplete - 1,685+ wc - Cannon Divergent 114 ch, Porn With Plot Summary: Louis The Red Deer can proudly state that he’s never been speechless. Surprised, sure. Shocked even. Yet, he inevitably has a retort to whatever is being communicated to him. He has resolve.It all goes to shit the day his canine friend confesses his herbivore fetish. (or, Louis has a different reaction to Legosi’s confession in chap. 114)

A Good Alpha - cutiefemdom Mature - Complete - 8442 wc - Alternate Universe, Alpha!Louis, Omega!Legosi Summary: When Louis had presented as an alpha it hadn't been a shock to anyone, despite the fact that he was a herbivore.What was shocking was his mate.

My Temple (In You I Feel Safe) - cutiefemdom Explicit - Complete - 2596 wc - Canon Divergent, Knotting Summary: Louis knows it's obvious to every beast within a ten foot radius that he is going to into heat. What's worse is that those beasts happen to be back-alley sellers who are all carnivores. In one word he is: fucked.

This Wolf Is Mine - cutiefemdom ❤ Explicit - Complete - 4198 wc - Canon Divergent, Possessive Behavior Summary: Just like how Legosi had a fetish for herbivores, Louis was coming to accept that he might feel the same way about carnivores.One carnivore in particular.

A Royal’s Scent - cutiefemdom Explicit - Complete - 21,776 wc - AU, Prince!Louis, Louis/Jack, Louis/Legosi Summary: Prince Louis had already had enough on his plate before a wolf was apprehended on the border of his territory, thank you very much. Too bad his lessons never taught him about the intricacies of the wolf mating cycle. Dorime (Series) | Hail Mary | Full of Grace - frymyrisole Explicit - Complete - 20,416 wc - AU, Priest!Legosi, Mob Boss!Louis Summary: The day he came, Legosi's life turned upside down like the pancake his mom used to make every Sunday morning. The old doors of the church swung wide open with a resounding creak. A male red deer walked in an untouchable air to him. He was dressed to impress with an all-black three-piece suit. His shirt, his pants, his fancy little vest, all fitting tightly on his body. He even had a black jacket draped over his shoulder, the fabric trailing behind him like a cape.

Mío - Dakuraita (Language: Spanish) ❤ Explicit - Complete - 3,293 wc - Alternate Universe, Top Louis Summary: In a Universe where Louis is the boss of the mafia, Legoshi is his back guard ... however despite all he has lived through, the wolf has not let the rabbit of his heart go; Louis, on the other hand, is now only interested in the wolf and the dynamics they have developed over time. It is unforgivable that Legoshi is not his. It's yours, only yours.

MISC SHIPS / GENERAL B★ FIC

☆ Fluff / Angst / Non Explicit

I’m Simply Pina -  TheFancySquid ❤ Teen - Complete - 973 wc - Trans!Pina Fic Summary: Legosi stopped suddenly. He sniffed the air. There it was again, that familiar scent of a female. Legosi looked down at the club members below. He scanned over all the members, trying to isolate the source of the scent. His eyes finally fell on the far too familiar dall sheep, Pina.

Meanwhile at Cherryton - Sunset_Rider Teen - Uncomplete -  4016 wc - Jack Centric, 701, General  Summary: Jack is awake late at night thinking about the past and the desicions he has made.

do we realise that we’ve already closed our eyes - aiineslin* ❤ Mature - Complete - 1631 wc - Louis/Ibuki, sad, angst fic Summary: he has always followed where life took him, unflinching and unresisting.

pavo christatus - SatyrSyd37 ❤ Teen - Complete - 2839 wc- Dom/Kai, Canon Compliant Summary: Kai’s a mongoose. Dom’s a peafowl. It’s no wonder Kai’s drawn to him…he just wants to eat him. Right?

☆ NSFW

Bill Sneezes in Kai's Face While Attempting to Film Himself Shotgunning a Vape Cloud into His Mouth - BeAggressive ❤ Mature - Complete - 1988 wc - Bill/Kai Summary: Bill thinks it's funny, at least.

Gaffer Bias - BeAggressive ❤❤ Mature - Uncomplete - 8329+ wc - Bill/Kai Summary: The first night of Bill's first show as head of the drama club went great. Bill has a horrible idea that will probably ruin night two.

Jack x Juno - Haw ❤ Mature - Uncomplete - 4,700+ wc - Juno/Jack, Literally the cutest fic Summary: Juno is a heartbroken mess. Jack is still lonely. When their fates collide will that be fixed?

Fading Anger -  Haw  Mature - Uncomplete - 3,800+ wc - Kai/Sheila Summary: Kai is a little shit and is love with a beautiful Leopard.

Cornered in the Bathroom Stall - TheFancySquid ❤ Mature - Complete - 2,309 wc - Riz/Pina, dubcon, smut Summary: Pina is cornered in the bathroom by Riz the brown bear.

Miguno & Durham - AleksWulfe, legosiwithagun Mature - Complete - 975 wc - Mild Smut Summary: "We're going to fuck, of course. During lunch you said if you died 15 times on the final boss I’d get to fuck you," Miguno responded. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS

☆ (aka, currently reading / popular in fandom)

We're Only Animals: Book 1 - doopstory, NilesTheWhiteTailedDeerQueer Mature - Complete - 307,678 wc - Alternate Universe, Louis/Legosi Summary: This is an alternate universe where instead of attacking Haru in the beginning, Legosi attacks Louis, drastically altering the events of Beastars. Pining, danger, love, loss, it's all here. Can Legosi figure out his purpose in life and will Louis be able to come terms with his true feelings about becoming the Beastar? And can they figure out their true feelings for each other in a world where their love is forbidden?

St. Cherryton Hospital - http_petrichor General - Uncomplete - 13,000+ wc - Hospital/Good Doctor AU Summary: Carnivores can't be surgeons. Everybody knows that. What if they go haywire and eat organs from donors, or just ravish the patient while in operation? Legosi has known this all his life, too. But he could still dream of being one.Then, one day, he saves a boy's life. Then, he finds himself as a surgical resident at St. Cherryton Hospital. The first carnivore to ever become a surgical resident. How will society react?

A Vigourous Haws - Hartatak  Mature - Complete (?) - 2461 wc - Crack, Discord Vigs/Haw, #FanficitionStars Summary: Wasting no more time, he hastily rose up on his two feet with the help from the bed that had supported his resting body, only to realize a few new shocking facts. “Why am I naked? And why is my body is covered with ... fur?”

READING LIST (Not Yet Categorized)

Selfish - doopstory - Complete - Louis/Legosi Quite the Twist - MadAcries - Uncomplete - Louis/Legosi, Gosha/Gouhin Bare Back Black Alley Boys - Mico_Kun - Uncomplete - Louis/Legosi The New Waiter at Cherryton - peachie_teaa - Uncomplete - Louis/Legosi

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ 

Q: Hi, I don’t see my fic on here? A: I haven’t read it! Send it to me.  twitter: @vote_dogs | discord: @DogVote ask box

Once I’ve read a fic, it will be placed on this rec list. The categories will grow or change based on how fic transforms in the BEASTARS fandom so expect this rec list to look different all the time! New languages will be added, or translated to english, I google translated a spanish BEASTAR fic and it was beautiful (You will see it on here). I’m so excited to read more fic! BEASTARS is a gorgeous and complex and inspirational manga series; these stories only add multitudes of theory and dynamics. That means YOU need to write fic. DM me here or on Discord your link. Spread work, say hi: #Fanficitionstars. Ask me to proofread/beta a fic? dogvote123@gmail.com

[bewaretheidesofmarchyall]

Camping Trip Headcanons

Ever wondered what the sides would be like while camping?

One of the plot points on this was inspired by a post by @aidensm8

So. Camping trip (I’m just going to assume this is a human AU). Roceit and Logicality just kind of became a thing.

-For starters, they get extremely lost.

-They were planning on camping in an actual designated camping spot. However, it all went downhill when the map was lost.

-There had been bickering throughout the entire car ride as to who got to hold the map. Eventually, a rotating schedule was decided on.

-By the time they’d been walking in the wrong direction for three hours, everyone had a different opinion on who actually lost the map.

-Roman blamed Janus, Janus blamed Virgil, Virgil blamed Logan, Logan blamed Remus, and Remus blamed Patton (who had never once touched the map. Remus knew this, and was only accusing him for the sake of chaos).

-After being lost in the woods for a while, they decide to pitch the tent. There were quite a few attempts, but in the end the monstrosity they assembled looked vaguely like a tent.

-A few things about the cast of characters

-Roman: Still the dramatic dude we know and love. Everyone’s around sixteen or so in this AU, and he’s got all of the Getting Out Of This Small Town dreams. One day, he’ll be famous, just try to stop him.

Currently having a bit of a rivals-to-lovers thing with Janus.

-Janus: This dorky snek. Wants similar things to Roman, but with a vein of cynicism that is leading him far from theater and towards law.

He and Roman have been competing for parts in various school plays since freshmen year. 

-Logan: Logan knows so very much about space and so very little about dealing with pining after a friend. But he’s planned this camping trip to perfection and he’s going to have a “totally unplanned” chat with Patton under the stars.

-Patton: Patton is oblivious as to why Logan is so excited about camping and the planning process, since he normally hates the outdoors.

Anyway, he’s really excited to go on a trip with all of his friends and eat marshmallows! 

One thing to note about Patton is that he has a small mark on his forearm the approximate size of a bug bite. This will be important later.

-Remus: Remus has a plan to make this camping trip...memorable. By which he means ✨Disturbing for all parties✨! Yes, he’s got a prank planned, which is why his backpack contains a live screech owl.

-Virgil: Virgil has a reputation at being the best at telling horror stories. Some kids can whistle with a blade of grass, some kids can curl their tongues, but Virgil’s talent is scaring people out of their minds. And he’s proud of it!

-Okay, back to your regularly scheduled programming

-Even though they’re lost, everything’s fine! They were able to build a fire (Remus brought a blowtorch), and when sunset came everyone was set up.

-Patton has found a variety of cool rocks, which he shows off to everyone.

-Logan looks up exactly what kind of rocks they are in his guide.

He brought a guide for this.

-Roman has been singing a veritable jukebox of musical numbers while setting everything up.

-Janus is trying to outsing him. 

-Virgil is trying get either Remus or Logan to bet with him as to when exactly they’ll become a couple.

-Remus tends to his screech owl.

-Soon, it’s dark, and marshmallows are consumed. Remus declines to stick his over the fire, instead lighting it with the blowtorch and placing the entire thing into his mouth, stick and all. 

-Then, it’s that much awaited time. Horror story time.

-Janus tells the first story. Very gothic horror Edgar Allen Poe stuff, better in terms of world building than actual scare factor.

-Roman goes next. His story isn’t that impressive (witchcraft and such), but his acting more than makes up for it.

-Remus tells a tale of the zombie apocalypse. There is cannibalism. However, he seems a little distracted, almost like he’s worried that a live animal in his bag will make a noise at the wrong time.

-Logan goes next. He’s not the best at horror stories, given his tendency to a) take things too literally and b) give all of his characters basic common sense.

So he tells some non-fiction instead.

He lists unsolved cases, tales of UFO’s, mysterious disappearances with no explanation. He declines to mention the likely scientific reasons for these events.

It works.

-And then, it’s Virgil’s turn. 

Damn.

He’s very good at it.

He somehow managed to make “tHeRe’S a MuRdErEr iN tHeSe WoOdS” actually nerve-wracking again.

Janus and Roman end up holding onto each other in fear by the end of the story. There’s indeed awkward springing apart and throat clearing, thank you for asking.

-They’re all ready to go back to the tent when Patton reminds them he hasn’t told a story yet.

-They sit down, somewhat relieved that they’ll have a less scary tale to finish the night off. After all, it’s Patton.

-Pat takes the flashlight, fiddles with the switch, and smiles innocently. He then proceeds to tell his friends exactly why he’s scared of spiders.

-When the flashlight dies at the end, there are screams, and not just from Roman. Everyone is terrified. Patton’s just eating the extra marshmallows like nothing is wrong as his friends have an existential crisis.

-Later that night...

-Virgil is questioning everything now that he is no longer the best at telling horror stories. So, when he sees Remus sneak off, he doesn’t stop him.

-Instead, he offers to join him in whatever spooky mischief he’s conducting. 

-Remus reveals Señor Scoodly-Scream, the screech owl. He plans to release the live bird into the tent at 3am in the morning and just kind of see what happens.

-Virgil agrees that this plan is a good one, but thinks that there a few things they can do to improve it.

-One of the factors of a good scare, he explains in an almost scientific voice, is that the participants are already on edge. If a live owl is released, sure, they’ll be shocked. But if they already have a feeling something is going on, and the imagination is allowed to linger, and THEN something is released?

Pandemonium.

-See! He still knows how to spook people!

-He suggests that they get long, spindly sticks that looks like brittle fingers to scrape against the walls of the tent. And the two of them head off together into the woods, hushing each other’s laughter and Señor Scoodly-Scream’s squawking. 

-As subtle as they tried to be, Logan had been keeping an ear open for when Remus would try to do something. So, after a few minutes, he follows them. 

-On his way out the door, Patton wakes up and joins him. The two of them try to follow Remus and Virgil.

-They go in the exact opposite direction as the devious pranksters, leaving Janus and Roman alone.

-Logan is jumpy for many reasons. He’s alone with his crush, it’s the middle of the night, he’s alone with his crush, many spooky stories were told, he’s alone with his crush-Our guy has a lot going on. Is it any wonder that he isn’t paying much attention to where exactly he and Patton are going?

-Roman is the fifth to wake up, only to realize that everyone except for Janus is just GONE.

-THEY’VE CLEARLY ALL BEEN MURDERED BY SPIDERS, OR THE MURDERER IN THE WOODS, OR ABDUCTED BY ALIENS

-Janus is the last person to wake up. It hard to not wake up when someone is screaming two feet from your ear.

-But upon finding that everyone else is gone, he’s almost tempted to join in the shrieks. One person leaving is one thing, but four people?? No, they’re clearly going to die in the middle of the woods.

-The two of them freak out. Roman suggests going to search for the others, and Janus point out that every horror movie suggests not! Doing! That!

-But Roman is adamant, and Janus isn’t going to be alone right now, so the pair of them sneak into the woods.

-Meanwhile, Remus and Virgil return with sticks. They scrape the walls of the tent. No reaction. They scrape louder. No reaction. They rattle the tent itself. Nope.

-They even release Scoodly-Scream into the tent! NOTHING.

-When they check, they realize that no one’s there (except the owl). PANIC ENSUES.

-Remus and Virgil come to the conclusions that everyone in the tent was eaten by spiders and they were lucky that they got out when they could. Remus decides that they should try to run back to town and out of the woods ASAP. 

-Which is what they try to do! However, they forgot one crucial detail: They’d been lost at the beginning of this camping trip.

-So, everyone’s kind of going in circles. Logan and Patton are having a stroll in the night air while everyone else runs like electrified hamsters.

-Roman and Janus have been holding onto each other for a solid fifteen minutes before even noticing. They both pretend that they didn’t notice, reasoning that it’s due to the cold, or the alien abductions.

-Suddenly, they hear a stick break. They freeze, seeing an outline of something of around human size in the distance. It moves again, and Roman and Janus rush at it, yelling and tackling the figure to the ground.

-It’s Remus. They don’t have time to apologize before Virgil comes out of nowhere and tries to fight them off with a stick.

-Once faces are spotted and no-one’s attacking anyone anymore, the four of them decide to head back to the tent.

-Then, they remember Logan and Patton.

-Logan and Patton are lost. You think everyone else in this fic is lost? These two are so lost you wouldn’t believe it.

-Eventually, their flashlight dies. The two of them are lost in the woods, in the middle of the night, with no flashlight.

-But without the flashlight, it’s easier to see the stars.

-Logan and Patton stop to rest under a tree. Logan points out the constellations. Patton points out that he has feelings for Logan. Logan.exe short circuits.

-The sweet moment is broken when they hear screaming. The two exchange a quick glance and run in the screaming’s direction.

-Meanwhile, Janus covers his ears as Virgil and Remus have a spontaneous screaming contest. The mood is light-hearted until they discover a dead flashlight on the ground under a tree.

-This freaks out the Everyone, and they scatter in fear accordingly.

-Roman trips over a rock and rolls down a hill as the others escape. The bulb of his flashlight breaks, and he is alone in the dark. He hates it, and panics, and is convinced that whatever evil force is in this woods is going to kill him.

-Janus notices that Roman isn’t with the group any more. All of his instincts tell him to run and save himself, and that’s what he does! For five seconds.

-Then, he runs back toward Roman (and potentially axe-murder). The two of them find each other at the bottom of the hill, and a thought enters both of their minds.

Oh.

OH.

Oh no.

-It’s pitch black now. Every flashlight has been taken out of commission. 

-All three groups run smack into each other at the top of the hill. After some more shrieking and stick-fighting, it’s established who everyone is. A collective sigh of relief is breathed that no one is dead.

-Slowly, carefully, they make their way back to the tent. It takes a while, but for once someone pays attention to where they’re going, and they get there eventually. 

-Everyone’s tired, and ready to catch what little sleep they can during this hell-night. Logan unzips the tent.

-And Señor Scoodly-Scream flies into his face.

So, there it is! Camping! Romance! An owl full of rage!

I hope you enjoyed this mini-fic :)

[gamerwoo]

[Tales from the Pack] Mingyu: Renegades (Part Eight)

Characters: Mingyu x female reader

Genre/warnings: werewolf au, fantasy, angst and fluff

Word count: 3,129

Summary: You’d always been accustomed to the werewolf lifestyle, seeing as your brother was one. You think nothing can surprise you anymore, especially after being imprinted on by one of his pack mates, but you should know by now to never underestimate fate.

Previous | Next | Renegades Masterlist

“Hao isn’t coming for breakfast,” Soonyoung reported as he sat down at the table.

The pack was having breakfast as per usual, and Soonyoung and Chan had to go get the missing members of the pack: Wonwoo and Minghao. Wonwoo, of course, refused to come out of his room as always. He really was only ever at dinner and that was it. However, Minghao not coming down was new.

“Why?” Seungcheol questioned.

“Soonyoung said we shouldn’t wake him up,” Chan shrugged, rubbing his head like he got hit. “He thinks he was talking to Jia because he was mumbling to himself. I wish he said we shouldn’t wake Wonwoo up...”

Seungcheol sighed, “Alright, I’ll go get him. Jooyeon, stay here and eat, okay? If anyone tries to take your food, stab them with your knife.”

The alpha left the kitchen, knowing nobody in his pack would dare steal food from a mate, but definitely not one who was good with knives. He went up the stairs and down the hall to Minghao’s room. Before he could knock on the door, however, Minghao threw the door open.

"Seungcheol!” he exclaimed breathlessly, gripping onto the alpha’s shoulders. “We have to go! Jia found them!”

Seungcheol looked at the younger wolf with concern, “Hao, what’re you--?”

“_____ and Mingyu! Jia found them!”

-

Jia never understood how her dreams worked, but she chose not to question it. Finding people in their dreams brought her to new places, so she didn’t think twice about the tiny hut she ended up outside of. The fact it was unfamiliar to her didn’t stop her from going inside, either.

All of the lights were off, save for a dim light in the corner. She could faintly see somebody in the light that she’d only seen maybe twice in her dreams: Mingyu. He was sitting up against the corner, his head lolling to one side like he was going to pass out at any moment.

“Mingyu?” her voice was soft as she approached the tall wolf.

He lifted his head, his hooded eyes blinking to see in the dark, “Jia? …Jia!”

While Jia was relieved – she’d been trying so hard to connect with him or you for so long after Minghao told her of your disappearances – she noticed that Mingyu didn’t look his best. It was just a dream, but she usually saw people how they were. It worried her.

“Mingyu, you look awful,” she frowned, seeing how flushed and sweaty his face was once she had gotten closer. She sat on her knees in front of him, placing the back of her hand on his forehead. “You’re hotter than normal. Are you sick?”

He let out a strangled laugh, nodding, “_____ and I both. Can you believe I got her sick? She was trying to take care of me, but now she can’t stop throwing up.”

“Where is _____?”

“She stays in the bedroom, and I stay in the living room. I don’t want to get her even more sick, so I’ve been staying away from her.”

“How did you get a fever this badly, Gyu?” Jia frowned. “You can’t have just caught a bug, right?”

“Stepped in a wolf trap,” he chuckled, shaking his head as he stared at the ceiling, “a few weeks ago. I fucked it all up. There’s silver inside me that we couldn’t get out; I’m not healing as well without the pack. She tried so hard to help me but there’s nothing we could do. A pack found me and freed me from the trap; they’re trying to help.”

“How did you find this place?” she wondered.

“We walked and walked until we found this abandoned place. Once I got infected, _____ tried to help me but then she got sick too.”

Jia suddenly sat up straighter, looking around. She had to get this information to Minghao, but she wasn’t sure how much time she had until she woke up. She had to get information as soon as possible and work quickly.

“Mingyu, do you remember how to get to where you are now?” she asked urgently, holding one of his large hands in both of hers.

“_____ is going to kill me for telling you…” he groaned.

“You both need help,” Jia stated, her eyes pleading. 

Mingyu stared at her for a moment before letting out a sigh, “Walk south from the backyard until you get to a clearing. Go to the center and turn west toward the boulder there. Keep going until you find this place. There’s a big willow tree by it – can’t miss it.”

Jia nodded, “I’ll tell Minghao to come find you.”

Mingyu suddenly clutched both of Jia’s hands in both of his. When she looked up at him, his eyes showed fear, “Please hurry. I know we have help but I’m worried about _____. She needs to be back home…with her brother.”

“And with you,” Jia smiled softly. “Keep yourselves safe until we find you.”

“Are you leaving now?”

“I don’t know how much longer until morning. If I wake up before I can tell Minghao...”

He nodded, suddenly pulling Jia to him with whatever strength he had left. His arms were burning hot, but Jia endured the hug.

“Please hurry,” he whispered.

And then she was gone.

-

You awoke to the soft sound of humming. You peeled your eyes open to see Kyung sitting above you, placing a cool, damp cloth on your forehead. She smiled at you when she saw you wake up, sitting back and stretching.

“Morning, _____,” she greeted you as usual. “Mingyu let us in. He sat in the living room all night – does he always do that?”

“Yes,” you choked out, your throat dry, “he doesn’t sleep well on the couch, but Rika doesn’t want us together.”

“Ah, he’ll be back to normal in no time,” she promised, waving the concern away like it was nothing. “You will be, too, trust me. We think you’re just dealing with a flu.”

You were grateful that the pack that found you and Mingyu were willing to help. Most of Jiung’s pack were working to help Mingyu with his silver infection -- Jiung’s mate, Chanseong knew a lot about things like that and was over here a lot more, now. However, even with you around, Mingyu wasn’t healing as well as he should. He needed his pack, and you knew that.

You felt guilty. If you had never asked him to leave, Mingyu wouldn’t have gotten hurt and gotten an infection. Neither of you would be sick. Maybe you’d still be fighting with Wonwoo, but at least your mate would be okay. He could die from this, and it would be all your fault.

“Kyung!” you heard Jiung’s voice from the living room. He entered the room, his golden eyes landing on his sister. “Mingyu says his pack are coming for him. I think his fever is getting worse. He’s never had any contact with them, has he?”

You immediately sat up, making your head spin, “Wait, what exactly did he say?”

Jiung looked confused, but continued, “He said that he spoke to one of the mates named Jia in his…dreams?”

“They’re coming…” you whispered to yourself, letting the thought sink in as a smile took over your face. “Jia found us.”

“Seriously? It wasn’t just a fever dream?” Kyung scoffed. “That’s amazing.”

“When do you think they’ll arrive?” Jiung wondered, looking genuinely curious. 

“If they’re given directions, maybe twelve hours,” you decided. 

“So you’ll be home soon, then,” Kyung smiled. “I’m happy for you.”

“Come on, I’ll help you to Mingyu,” Jiung offered, already walking over to the bed to help you up. “You should celebrate by being together.”

The alpha easily picked you up in his arms and brought you out of the room with Kyung following. In the living room, Mingyu was laid out on the tiny, old couch. There were a few more of Jiung’s pack with him, working to mix medicines and treat his wound. 

As soon as he sensed you, Mingyu struggled to sit himself up, letting out a grunt. “_____… Jia… She found us!”

“I’ve told her, Gyu,” Jiung chuckled at Mingyu’s excitement as he set you down in your mate’s lap.

Mingyu’s skin was incredibly hot against you, even burning through your clothes, but you didn’t move away as his arms weakly wrapped around you, and he nuzzled into your neck, “I hope you’re not upset with me for telling her where we are.”

You shook your head, resting your arms over his, “No, Gyu. We need to go home now.”

-

Wonwoo bolted to his feet, his chair falling back, and the table almost completely tipped over onto the half of the pack that sat on the opposite side, “What?!”

As soon as Minghao told them that Jia spoke to Mingyu, Wonwoo was already planning on going straight to get you. All he wanted was to make sure that you were okay.

“I know where they are!” he told them, babbling excitedly the whole time -- he was just proud that his mate could help them, even when she was who knew where.

“How are they?” Joshua wondered. “Are they doing okay?”

Minghao hesitated before shaking his head, “…No. They’re both sick. Mingyu got stuck in a silver trap, and _____ has gotten sick from taking care of him.”

Joshua’s eyebrows furrowed as he processed this, “If Mingyu’s sick from the infection, how would she get sick from him? Unless he has the flu or something.”

“It doesn’t matter!” Wonwoo interrupted, slamming his fists on the table. “_____ is sick; we need to go now!”

“No; you will stay here,” Seungcheol told him, holding a hand out to him to tell him to sit down. “Things were tense when she left, and it’s better that we bring them back here before you go after Mingyu again.”

“Who should go?” Chan asked.

“I think,” Soonyoung spoke up, “that at the very least, Seungcheol and Chan go. Mingyu will need help getting home, and we don’t really know how serious _____’s situation is, but I’m sure Mingyu will want to get her back here quickly to be checked out by Josh.”

“Why not just send Josh?” Jeonghan shrugged as he shoved a piece of bacon into his mouth. “He can help heal Mingyu while he’s there, and take a look at _____.”

“Jeonghan’s right,” Seungcheol decided. “I’ll take Josh, and Jun and Hansol just in case. Hurry and eat, we’re leaving in five.”

-

For some reason, Mingyu didn’t let you go all day. Normally, he wanted you to keep your space, but he insisted he needed you with him for that day. His temperature was higher than he’s ever felt, but you just dealt with it for him.

“Come on, I’ll take _____ back to her room,” Jiung offered when the sun had set.

Kyung had gone home about an hour ago, but Jiung had hung around with two other members of his pack -- one was Hanbin, and you remembered the other was named Jaesang -- to keep an eye on Mingyu. However, his fever wasn’t going down, but the medicine seemed to be keeping his infection from getting worse.

Mingyu growled lowly, his arms barely tightening around you from how weak he was, “No.”

“Mingyu,” you sighed, “don’t–”

“I said no,” he said a bit more firmly this time.

Jiung chuckled, finding Mingyu’s pouting funny rather than rude, “At least let us help you both to bed, then. I’m sure this couch isn’t doing too great on your back, Gyu.”

“Yeah, you shouldn’t sleep on the couch anymore,” you frowned, running a hand through Mingyu’s sweaty hair -- but it was also just an excuse to be with your mate again. What was the point keeping the two of you separated when both of you were already sick? “Let him help.”

Mingyu pouted, letting out a huff, “Fine…”

So Jiung and his two pack members helped the two of you to bed, with Mingyu weakly growling from behind you the whole time. As soon as he was laying down with you safely by his side, Jiung smiled to himself.

“I’ll swing by tomorrow to see if your pack has come already,” he promised. “Sleep well, you two.”

“Thank you, Jiung,” you nodded as the alpha left.

Mingyu let out a tired sigh, snuggling deeper into the blanket, and closer to you. He was pulling you literally on top of him and burying his face in the crook of your neck as his eyelashes tickled your skin.

“Why are you suddenly so cuddly?” you gigged softly.

“Because I feel like shit, and I just feel like cuddling you,” he stated. “My instincts tell me to cuddle, so I cuddle.”

“I think they’re broken because of how sick you are,” you joked, putting the back of your hand to his forehead.

“Don’t make fun of me, I’m sick,” he grumbled, holding you closer. “Go to sleep.”

“I love you,” you whispered as your eyes closed.

“I love you,” he mumbled, already half-asleep.

-

Something shook your shoulder, pulling you from your dreamless sleep. You blinked, trying you clear the sleep from your eyes as you slowly sat up. Once your eyes adjusted, your eyes landed on four familiar faces, all of them looking relieved and excited – save for Hansol, who was looking curiously around the room and sniffing the air.

“You found us!” you cheered, tossing your arms around the one who was waking you: Joshua. “Oh thank God, you found us!”

However, Joshua frowned and pulled away, studying you, “That’s strange… We were told you’re sick but you don’t feel hot.”

Mingyu stirred at the noise, slowly waking up, “Huh…?”

“Morning, Gyu,” Junhui grinned.

The familiar voice of his brother had Mingyu wide awake, “Guys! You did find us!”

But Joshua was more focused on you now rather than the reunion, “Mingyu, I thought _____ was sick.”

“She is sick,” Jiung spoke up as he entered the room. He was smiling, looking at the few members of your pack. “Hello, my name’s Bang Jiung. I’ve been taking care of them ever since we found Mingyu.”

Hansol slightly leaned in toward Jiung, scrunching up his nose as he sniffed him before standing back against the wall again. He seemed to smell…something that interested him, but even he couldn’t tell what it was.

Seungcheol looked in a state of surprise when he heard the alpha’s name, “You’re Jiung, the one who helped Junmyeon’s pack?”

“I am,” Jiung chuckled with a nod. “Are you Jihoon? Junmyeon mentioned talking to a Jihoon.”

“No, I’m Seungcheol. We have three alphas, and–”

“We can do this after,” Joshua interrupted. “Jiung, how often has _____ been getting sick?”

“Everyday,” he replied. “Not throughout the whole day, but still everyday.”

Joshua turned back to you, studying you carefully. He placed the back of his head to your forehead, then your cheek. Hansol came up behind him to watch, and Mingyu kept his arms around your waist.

“So is she sick?” Junhui wondered as he cocked his head to one side, looking at you too.

Joshua’s nose twitched, sniffing the air. He leaned in closer, inhaling deeply. Mingyu growled softly, his hold tightening as much as he could while he was weak. Joshua just raised his eyebrows and leaned back again.

“Something’s…different...” Joshua mused. He turned back to Jiung. “Around what time does she get sick?”

“I think–”

Before he could finish, you could already feel that familiar sick feeling building up in the back of your throat. Hansol saw it on your face, and grabbed the bucket already by the bed, holding it out for you. You grabbed the sides with both hands and let everything out while Jun reached over to hold your hair back. Mingyu’s hand rubbed your back soothingly while Joshua studied you, his brows pulled together in concentration.

“Well, _____,” Joshua began, “judging from the fact you have no fever, you’re throwing up everyday but only early on, and the fact Mingyu growled at me for getting close to you, I’d say you’re not sick at all. Actually, I’d say you’re completely healthy.”

“Healthy?” you coughed, trying to stop the dry heaving.

“Josh, she caught whatever I have,” Mingyu insisted. “You have to help her.”

“She can’t catch what you have, because you’re sick from an infection,” Joshua stated, crossing his arms over his chest. “I can’t help her, Mingyu – well, not for nine more months.”

Everybody stopped, staring at Joshua before all eyes were on you. Joshua was smirking, Junhui’s shock melted into a wide smile, Hansol was looking around at his brothers as he took in the announcement, and Seungcheol was just...surprised. Jiung was grinning and chuckling to himself from the doorway as Jun and Hansol started celebrating together. Seungcheol was waiting for your reaction, but you were still processing. Even Mingyu hadn’t seemed to have moved.

“Josh…” your mate finally spoke up. “_____’s pregnant?”

“Yup,” he stated with a proud smile. “Congratulations.”

“Oh my god…” he breathed before you felt his body flush against yours, his face pressed into your back as he let out something that sounded like either a laugh or a quiet sob. His hands found your stomach, resting there like he could somehow already feel anything there. “Oh my god… _____, we’re… We’ll be parents!”

Hearing Mingyu say it made it really hit you. Your eyes were welling with tears, and you put your hands over Mingyu’s. Your pack family – including Jiung – looked so happy for the both of you, and you’d honestly never felt happier.

“Sorry to break up the moment,” Seungcheol spoke up, “but we have to get Mingyu checked out, and we need to get both of you home.”

“I still have some medicine here,” Jiung told him, nodding toward the living room. “I’ll give it to you. We can talk about your situation, too.”

“Sounds good,” Seungcheol nodded. “Josh should try healing up Mingyu before we leave, anyway.”

As the two alphas left to talk, Joshua managed to coax Mingyu to stop clinging to you so he could check out where his leg had gotten caught in the werewolf trap. Mingyu winced and hissed in pain, but didn’t say much else.

“So,” Junhui spoke up as Hansol sat beside you, resting his head on your shoulder because he had missed you, “how are you going to tell Wonwoo?”

You paused, meeting eyes with Mingyu. That was something that completely slipped your mind. You’d completely forgotten how upset your brother would be.

“Good Lord, can we take one problem at a time, please?” Joshua groaned.

[missorgana]

some kind of love story

pairing: finn/poe dameron

fandom: star wars (sequel trilogy)

rating: general

word count: 2282

summary: Finn might have met a real life Disney prince. And he forgot his jacket. (coffee shop AU)

(it’s midnight so,, technically day 5 BUT this is my fic for day 4 of my finnpoe week uwu. this is not beta read and kind of stupid but i was having cinderella thoughts for some reason?? hope yall enjoy this!)

read on ao3

Out of all things that could happen on Finn’s part time job, meeting a cute guy wasn’t one he anticipated.

Of course, he meets people here all the time. There’s a steady stream of new students coming and going, working for a few months and quitting because of stress, or because they quit their studies altogether.

Finn’s been here for almost half a year now, though, and found it a comforting place, as sleep deprived as he may be on his shifts.

He mostly works alongside Rey, who became his best friend in less than a week of the two meeting, and Rose, who was more quiet but utterly charming once they opened up to each other.

So work can’t be that bad with them around, is his point.

But when it comes to the customers, it’s unusual that he’ll talk this much to any of them, even fellow students, really.

Obvious pleasantries are always exchanged when his classmates happen to stop by, but again, when Finn’s working, his mind usually stays behind the counter.

He can’t possibly pinpoint the reason why this guy is special.

Well, okay, that’s a lie, because the curly haired stranger who walks in that morning looks like a Disney prince, thick brows and calloused knuckles once he grabs the cappuccino Finn made him.

That’s probably why. Truth be told, this person also seemed interested in much more conversation than the usual lot, and his subjects of conversation are probably also a factor in what drew him towards him.

It’s when Finn writes his order down on the cup, as one does, and the handsome man on the other side of the counter says, “Woah, buddy! You drew that?”

Typical of him to leave his notepad laying around for everyone to see.

Finn blushed, because it’s such a rare, personal thing for him to show his art, pretty much the only ones outside his teacher and fellow art students who’s seen it is Rey. And even that took a lot of begging on her part.

But he nods, the other man having to move aside for customers, but soon enough, this stranger approaches him when he’s finally free, at least for five minutes, and they may accidently longer than allowed when Finn is, you know, working.

“You study art?” is what he asks next, and suddenly, he’s complimenting him on the way he drew the features on the face of Taylor Swift, and telling Finn about music, the one he’s studying himself.

Of course, he looks taken out of an indie band, Finn ponders.

Also, yes, he likes Taylor Swift. The stranger laughs warmly, which might’ve been a bad sign, only he’s asking for his favorite album.

This conversation takes him out of everything he was thinking about.

Finn comes back to that thought when Rey calls him a nerd and urges him to help her out with the machine, so sadly, he’ll excuse himself.

Something inside his head makes him watch whoever this man is. Small peeks.

He’s typing away, headphones in, wearing bracelets on the right hand, tapping his chin, presumably when he’s thinking.

Alright, maybe that’s quite enough observation.

He’s wearing a red scarf, though, and a jacket that has definitely seen better days, and Finn might feel funny about all the times this guy fixes his hair, blowing strands out of his face.

He finds himself hoping he never gets a haircut, because God, there’s something about it.

The man almost looks golden in the morning light.

And he even catches Finn glancing over one time, which, embarrassing, if he didn’t wink back at him.

Okay, that definitely sparked something under his skin. In his brain, or his heart, or something.

Finn is far from a poet, clearly.

This chance encounter can’t possibly stir up something like a crush in him, he tells himself, someone he’s met for approximately half an hour, and yet, his attention keeps going back to him.

He’s captivating, and not just because Finn thinks he could definitely be a heartthrob folksinger if he wanted to. Maybe he’s already working on that, who knows.

So imagine the halt when he turns his gaze towards this mystery, who he definitely felt the eyes of when his back was turn, not that he can confirm it or anything, and finds an ever so empty chair staring back.

Oh well, business as usual.

Rey’s rants of her history professor, and discussions of their visit to Han and Leia’s next week easily take his mind off it.

Maybe he just imagined this too beautiful to be true stranger, Finn reasons, although Rey definitely told him to “Quit staring at the customers!”

He’s got a suspicion she definitely knows there was only one customer, in this scenario, she laughs at him like it, anyway.

It’s by 4pm, end of Finn’s shift and time for him to press some sketching in before a late dinner, his usual Sunday night, that he finds it.

A remnant of whatever happened this morning, and proof that no, he definitely didn’t imagine a dreamy customer admiring a simple doodle he left unsupervised.

Red patches on lapels and sleeves practically points the jacket out for him, still placed neatly over the back of the dark leather armchair.

The mystery man forgot his jacket.

Well, Finn can’t just leave it here, can he? 

So maybe he reluctantly places it in their shit yall forgot box, title proudly credited to Rey, strangely hoping he’ll be there when it gets picked up.

Rose’s obsession with romantic novels might be rubbing off on him, he assumes.

Only explanation.

…

Finn solely drinks iced latte, but for some reason, he surprises Rose and himself by trying out that cappuccino they sell so many of.

It’s alright. He’s been accustomed to cold coffee for forever, now.

The stranger who was here last week is not a cause of this random change, of course. It’s not wrong to expand your horizons, after all, like his professor’s told them.

But speaking of that stranger, his jacket’s still in the box.

He would find it strange, someone not urging to get their stuff back, but at the same time, Finn doesn’t know if he’s studying at the same university, or area.

Probably not.

He’s got to admit to himself that he would have noticed. Or he thinks so, at least.

Thinking of this guy somehow makes him fidget with his notes, and furrow his brow, just slightly, when thinking about their meeting.

Not something repeated to Rose, albeit she’ll love a story like this.

It’s like this, Finn thinks, some love stories start. He’s being kind of cheesy right now. But they have that intimacy of the other seeing his art already, not on purpose, but he can’t find the annoyance he’d usually feel.

Instead, the compliments rack up everything else inside his brain.

Rey will definitely bug him about this if he tells her. Demand an extended version of the tale, or possibly sigh at the tragedy of her girlfriend and best friend both being hopeless romantics.

Might as well call it what it is.

The Disney prince, that’s what he names him in his head, he doesn’t return this weekend.

It’s a stupid thing to focus on, Finn knows.

But the jacket’s still lying there, which is honestly too bad. He’s got a feeling about those patches, the thread, the rainbow pin on the chest pocket.

Some kind of secret history.

Maybe he’s hyperfixating, but he’d like to know more.

Or maybe Finn just wants the damn jacket to be picked up.

…

Another week passes by until Finn lets his thoughts slip to Rey.

She’s amused and thrilled, which is just about what he expected. Told him to “Check the damn jacket for a label of ownership, a phone number, something.” but he’s almost scared to break his fantasy if he touches it.

Very similar observation he’s doing to when they met.

Rose asks him about it, of course, it was only a matter of time.

“Weird he hasn’t come back for it?”

Echoing his thoughts. This prince Charming figure he has in head keeps expanding, Finn making up theories of what he could be doing.

Is this fantasizing normal?

Rey just laughs when he asks, Rose wholeheartedly approves, exactly like it’s done in Hollywood films, Han mumbles about something about the youth.

Leia tells him Han was exactly the same, so that’s some relief.

Finn’s thinks he’s got whatever this streak of thought is under control, figuring it’ll pass, figuring he’ll find the jacket gone one morning, that this obsession doesn’t mean anything. Couldn’t mean anything.

Only he decides to sketch a new face, one he recognizes as a man he’s only met once, and Finn just has to finish it once he started.

Okay, now it might be getting embarrassing.

Also, hot coffee might not be too bad, he confirms. Rey’s shocked, to say the least, even the boss bats an eye.

It’s significantly less sweet than his usual, which is huge minus in his mind, but somehow, there’s still a charm about it.

Finn is scared he might be consumed with the idea of this guy. He’s really not a damsel in distress, as much as he feels like one.

He wonders what the man’s voice sounds like, when he sings that is.

And why he doesn’t get his jacket back, already.

Is Finn getting impatient? 

Rey even asks him, after three weeks with no sign, “Your eye candy’s still not back?”

He can’t quite glare at her, but a pout she should see, it’s what she deserves, because he can’t really help it.

Finn doesn’t dare to touch the jacket, no, because it’s personal property, and he’ll feel gross about it.

Is this anticipation the same as in those fairytales? Like, did Cinderella feel this after meeting a prince? Prickling hands, a knot in the stomach, biting the bottom lip?

What a silly thing. But he can’t pretend he doesn’t enjoy it, a little bit. This isn’t like the first date he was on, in any way, weirdly.

A tad more magical.

The drawing is almost finished, though.

It doesn’t have a name. That’s another thing Finn’s missing, a name.

…

And suddenly, Finn’s fantasy gets thrown out the window, for something more real.

That is, after those three weeks without a clue, his thoughts straying towards things he’s never thought of before, mind buzzing for almost anything, the proclaimed Disney prince finally shows up.

Thoroughly unexpected, by now, he was starting to make peace with the scenario of the jacket being forgotten.

Yet, here the perfect stranger with the perfect hair is.

Okay, perfect might be a strong word, he’s only seen him twice, after all. But Finn’s running out of words.

The guy’s standing there in all his glory, seemingly recognizing him, with eyebrows shooting up and a smile spreading on his features.

That made him feel something too, because of course it did.

This is why Rose nudges his shoulder, telling him she’ll handle the next couple of orders. That’s just a lot.

Finn doesn’t get time to think it over, because cute guy’s here, and before he can even ask for it, the jacket’s handed to him.

He laughs. Almost a glorious sound, Finn scolds himself since it’s just a laugh, but somehow, he’s feeling deprived of this sound.

Whatever this total stranger did to him, it’s clearly not going away anytime soon.

Good thing cute guy seems just as hesitant to leave as Finn feels about turning his back to this.

He thanks him, sincerely, and he replies with no problem, because it really wasn’t a problem, except this new thing in his mind that won’t go away is kind of a problem.

Now, he gets a name. Poe.

Finn doesn’t really know how he imagined the name to sound, but this is, also, perfect. He didn’t make up any names prior, because not many seemed to fit.

To be honest, the words glide off the tongue of real life Disney prince in front of him, telling Finn he was out of state and would have picked it up sooner.

That explains it.

Doesn’t explain Finn’s, uh, pining, as Rose called it. Seems irrational to himself.

This new acquaintance, Poe, does ask about that drawing he saw, if he’s finished it.

Well that’s embarrassing, because he’s worked on that portrait of a certain someone, instead.

Finn hates his brain.

That is, until, “I’ve kind of been thinking about you, so.”

He swears to his heart, to his whole body not to blush. He probably does, anyway.

They don’t really know what to do with each other, at this point, least of all since Rose calls for his help, but her voice sounds like she probably wants him to hurry and make a move, like they do in the movies.

Finn’s not a Disney princess, he’s never tried this before.

Not in this way, where he feels like this is once in a lifetime, a crush, he knows now, that might grow inside him to something more.

Poe does get the last word, telling him he has a concert coming up this Friday. Just as surprising as their previous encounter.

“I can play some Taylor Swift, if you wanna come?”

Okay, how can he turn that down, though?

That’s maybe going to settle this warm feeling in gut. The words in his throat. Who knows.

Rose makes him promise to tell him everything, and she wants to come to the concert for support, and Rey too, and the giddiness is all over her face.

You know what? Finn’s pretty excited, too.

[soopersara]

Why and when did you start shipping Zutara?

You want the long version or the short version? Just kidding! There really isn’t a short version. My history with ATLA in general is kind of a mess. 

I saw my first episode of ATLA around the time it was airing - I think it was in 2008 or so when Book 3 was almost done. Anyway, I was babysitting some of my younger cousins, my aunt told me that the boys were allowed to watch a couple of episodes of the show they’d been recording on the DVR. Cool. I’d never heard of it before, but if middle-school me didn’t have to come up with a ton of activities to occupy three little boys until their bedtime, I wasn’t gonna argue about it. 

So I got the boys settled in on the couch, hit play, and I watched my first ever episode of ATLA. The Western Air Temple. And HOLY BUCKETS, dude, I was hooked. Honestly, in a way, I started shipping Zutara right then and there. There was just so much emotion and tension between the two of them. And sure, it was clearly not a romance yet, but the whole point of the episode was Zuko trying to join the Gaang, and for me (then and now), Katara felt like the emotional center of the Gaang. She was the one who seemed to have the most personal history with Zuko, she was the one who was most opposed to him joining, and she was the person whose approval Zuko seemed to want the most. And... damn. I wanted to see that conflict play out and resolve SO BADLY. I wasn’t consciously aware of this at the time, but there’s an old saying that love and hate aren’t opposites, love and apathy are. And that was the first time I ever felt the truth of that statement and wanted to watch the enemies to friends to lovers dynamic play out.

But then my babysitting night ended, and my parents drove me home, and I spent the rest of my middle school and high school years back in my normal life in a house with one TV, no cable, and no internet. I couldn’t have watched the rest of ATLA if I wanted to, and I was unaware of... the majority of what was on the internet in general at that point, so I didn’t know that fandom was a thing. Also, my family has... poor taste in entertainment. They don’t like ANY fantasy/sci-fi, not because they had problems with the plots, tropes, or themes associated with the genres, but because they think that people who enjoy those genres are “weird” and because of that, they’ve never bothered to consume any stories in those genres. Which meant that they teased me for my tastes in stories. A lot. All the time. I wouldn’t have had the guts to watch ATLA in my house even if I had access to it. So I just let my brain run wild extrapolating story ideas from the tiny snippets of ATLA that I had seen and started never finished a few original stories with nuggets of inspiration drawn from the Zutara dynamic.

Then I went off to college a few years later and it occurred to me a couple of times that I could probably find ATLA and watch it online, but I never actually looked for it until a few of my friends in the dorms mentioned that they loved this old kids’ show called Avatar the Last Airbender. I waited until I finally had free time (the few days when I was stuck on campus after finishing finals), and finally got around to watching it. 

And watching ATLA was... not what I expected. Based on what I’d seen of the show several years earlier, I knew that Zuko started off on the wrong side of the war, but I wasn’t prepared to see him be such a raging jerk for so much of the show. Don’t get me wrong, I loved him the whole time but it was a I want to shake you and and tell you to pull your head out of your ass because I know how much better you will be later and I want that NOW kind of love. I knew based on the episode intro I’d seen in middle school that Aang was the protagonist, but I wasn’t prepared to see him drive so much of the show, since he was just... not the central character in the first episode I saw. And on some level, I knew that there had to be a lot of history as enemies between Zuko and the Gaang to cause the amount of animosity I saw, but I didn’t expect his joining the Gaang to come so close to the end. I thought there would be at LEAST a solid season with him as a Gaang member, not... half a season. 

So... I liked ATLA. It was good. The finale was a huge, beautiful spectacle that worked so well on an emotional level, but... there were enough things that niggled at me that I didn’t see it becoming a major interest of mine. At the time, I really only had media/stories that I revisited over and over and over because I loved them unconditionally and media/stories that was... too flawed or not compelling enough for me to revisit.

But ATLA was different. I thought it was going to end up in my list of “meh” stories that I liked but bugged me enough that I’d never go back to it. But I just. Kept. Thinking. About. It. And after a while, I started watching the show over. And over. And over. But those problems still niggled at me, and I didn’t really know how to articulate what my problems with the show were. 

So then I finished college and moved in with a friend. And after she introduced me to a few shows I’d never seen before, I decided to return the favor and introduce her to ATLA. And after that rewatch, I finally started picking out and trying to articulate some of my problems with the show. Two of the first things I realized were that I HATED Maiko as presented in canon (it reminded me too much of my high school classmates whose romantic relationships alway boiled down to “I hate spending time with him/her, but I’m horny.” UGH. I don’t know how many times I had to restrain myself from yelling, “JUST BREAK THE F*CK UP, YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY TWO HORNY TEENAGERS ON THE PLANET.”), and Kataang was... meh. I didn’t hate the idea of them being together eventually, but the development felt half-assed and the kiss in the finale was WAY too sudden for me. I finally remembered that I liked the idea of Zuko and Katara together way back when I first saw The Western Air Temple, and because the internet has a creepy way of reading my thoughts, Pinterest started feeding me Zutara fanart. I. Loved. It. Knowing that I wasn’t the only one who wanted them together was AMAZING (keep in mind, this was like... 2016. I came SO late it’s unreal).

I decided that I wanted to write a Zutara fanfic at some point, then got the idea for an Avatar Katara AU now my mega-slow updating WIP, A Tale of Ice and Smoke. And I started writing it. And posting on FFN. Then some of my scrolling through Zutara content on Pinterest led me to Zutara metas (which reinforced a lot of the conclusions I’d reached about my own issues with the story and helped me identify a few others that I’d noticed but hadn’t been able to express) and other people’s fics, and I started reading those while posting the first few chapters of Ice and Smoke. Then I finally created my own Tumblr and started getting more and more involved in the fandom. When I say that I fell ass-backward into this fandom, I mean it.

So. TLDR: I started either started shipping Zutara in 2008 when I saw one episode (to this day The Western Air Temple is still one of my favorites), or I started shipping it in 2016 after thinking about the show way too much, and deciding that fixing a lot of my problems with the series would most likely lead to Zuko and Katara being together. 

[littlemisskookie]

Loveless: Chapter 2

Loveless: Index Ship: Reader | OT7 Description: Spy/Men in Black!AU | You worked at an institution that dealt with aliens- aliens that were the fictional creatures we were told were from fairy tales. The job entailed love only for it, and nothing else. That’d all change when a mission goes wrong. Warnings: Future Smut, Comedy, MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, Violence, Gore, Panic Attack Word Count: 5,073

"We are expected to leave at 600 sharp. The Phasecraft 3000 will be waiting for us on deck and I expect all of you to be ready and well equipped."

You sat at the head of the table in the meeting room, the seven men flanking either side. You were colder and sterner than usual, far different from your typical demeanor. Inside you felt pent up and anxious, as though you knew that somewhere in this building was a ticking bomb, and you just didn't know where it was.

"Don't you think it's weird how we had thousands of numbers at the end of our equipment? Like Dr. Doofenshmirtz?" Jimin wondered allowed.

"Don't worry, Q, rest assured I'm always well-equipped," Jin said, smirking as he leaned back in his chair.

"I've seen your dick, dude, and you don't have much to brag about," Jungkook struck back.

"Alright, number one I was peeing and flaccid, and I'm a grower, not a shower. Second, who the fuck stands right next to someone at the urinals when there are plenty of available spaces?"

"Someone who wants to piss you off."

"Fuck you man!" Jin said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, at least I don't drop my pants and underwear around my ankles like Agent V!"

"It was one time and you just happened to see my ass! Get over it," Taehyung quipped back. "Leave me out of this. You're the one who admits to looking at other guys' dicks in the bathroom."

"I just wanted to see if he was all talk. And he was."

"For the last time, I'm a grower, not a shower!"

"Are you guys done blathering on about nonsense? We've got a mission at hand," Namjoon interrupted, clearly agitated. You'd figure after working for years with the same idiots, he'd get used to it.

"What's the big deal? We've done shit like this before. This can't be as bad as the Kraken," Hoseok questioned, yawning as he looked at his blunt nails. "Kill mission? Negotiation? Information? Or just subtle ways of moving the pawns around? We've handled it all, what's the big deal?"

"Haven't you noticed? The maximum amount of agents typically sent on a mission is five. We've got eight. This isn't our normal mission," Namjoon says, turning to you for confirmation, "is it?"

You lowered your eyes, knowing all of the men's gazes were trained on you. "Right as always, Namjoon. Perhaps your specialty should be changed to psychic abilities."

"I thought there was a reason you weren't being as witty as usual," Jimin said.

"I wouldn't exactly call it 'wit'," Yoongi grumbled into the pair of arms he rested his head upon, trying to drown out the noise in pursuit of his nap.

"Namjoon's right, though, this isn't the normal mission. And truth be told I don't feel as confident in this one as I would typically. We've never had to use this many agents, especially our best ones. It's... unsettling." You stared down at the paperwork in front of you, looking over the words you had been analyzing for the past hour.

"So what is it?" Hoseok questioned.

You sighed, sliding the stack of papers down the table. "A new species has been discovered on Earth, one unlike any of the others we've seen before. It doesn't reside in any of the universes or galaxies we know of."

"Maybe some of the other species finally did the do," Jin murmured. "I always knew the Mothman was getting a major bug boner for the Minotaur. They better invite me to their wedding if they really fornicated."

You ignored his joke as you looked over the data. "It doesn't appear to be related to any of the species we've come across, either. This isn't your average mission by any means- it's a highly risky one that requires the top agents."

"At least we all get along with one another, so we won't worry about that," Jungkook offered hopefully.

"Most of us," Yoongi murmured.

"I wasn't in charge of this lineup, and truth be told I'm surprised I'm being asked to lead the mission. There is a reason why we're the ones chosen to have the first contact with this new species," you continue. "I, for one, couldn't have picked a finer group of men."

"Fine is right," Jin snickered.

Hoseok elbowed the man in the ribs. "Way to ruin the sentiment, dumbass."

"What? You said it yourself. We've handled plenty. I'm sure this isn't that bad. Most aliens are relatively peaceful," Jin shrugged. "This'll be a walk in the park."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Jimin's face is sour, analyzing the paperwork in front of him. "We can forget everything we know when it comes to them. It's a blank slate, and we'll have to improvise in any possible scenario. There's no telling what could happen."

"Agent P is right- for all we know they can wipe us out within a minute for no reason. And I don't just mean the EAA." You can hear the nervousness in your voice. "I know this isn't the most efficient of options, and the Head of Board would be pissed to know I'm even offering you this, but something about this doesn't rub me the right way. Agent C, don't you dare make a joke about that expression."

He shuts his trap immediately, the joke dying in his throat as he slumped back down in his chair.

You continue your speech. "If even one of you wishes to leave the mission, I'll allow it. I'll make sure you won't be forced into this, and though we aren't supposed to harbor distractions, the last thing I'd want for one of my friends to die before my eyes. You seven, even Yoongi despite the major piece of shit he is, are the closest to my heart. I've seen agent after agent die before my eyes, but I know if we all go on this mission, nothing would be the same. I can't bear to let a single one of you go, despite the fact I know all of you are more than capable of handling yourselves. However, I discourage any of you from participating and urge you to let me do this on my own."

Immediately, chaos ensued. The men erupted in anger, offense, and shock.

"You're kidding, right? Please tell me this is one of your practical jokes," Jimin pleaded, his eyes wide.

"This is extremely stupid, even for you, Agent Q," Yoongi said, finally fully alert as he deadpanned.

"No way are we letting you go on a mission by yourself, especially with the risks you listed." Hoseok shook his head.

Jin simply crossed his arms, fuming. "I'd think you knew us better than that, Q! We aren't cowards, we won't back down from this. You said it yourself, we're friends. Friends stick together."

"He's right. We care about you too, Y/N. We feel the exact same way, but it's more reason for us to stick together," Jungkook assured you, placing a hand on your shoulder. "I was trained by the best, so I know I can handle it. I'm confident the others can, too."

"You're not alone in this," Taehyung grinned, trying to provide a sense of comfort. "You'll always have us."

You felt your heart warm at their sentiments, but couldn't reveal your emotions that way just yet. Instead, with an expressionless face, you turn to Namjoon, whose opinion you valued above all. "Agent B?"

"I think the decision is pretty unanimous, Agent Q," Namjoon said, a small smile on his face as he gave you a soft pat on your arm. "You're not getting rid of us that easily."

Were you not a master of control, you would've wept. Instead, you let out a sigh, up to interpretation for relief or frustration. You stared up at the boys, all anticipating your response, strong and firm as they stood their ground against your disapproval.

"Looks like we've got a mission on our hands, then, gentlemen."

-

"Everyone's got their suitcases packed and ready?" you question, trying to project your voice over the sound of the other jets taking off outside.

Everyone had their own suitcase- civilian clothes or disguises besides the standard black and white suit and tie, adorned with sunglasses. Extra necessities that could possibly be used for your own specialty, in case you needed to improvise. Taehyung would have spare parts for weapons to make on the go, Yoongi had torture tools, Jin first aid and medical kits, etc. There was a memory wiper for everyone, as customary as the shades. Extra weapons were standard in the luggage, as well as a basic foreign phrases booklet. You wouldn't really need that one with Jimin around, though. But most importantly was a little pen, where if one were to bite down on the tip of it, they'd consume a lethal poison. They'd be dead before they even hit the floor.

"Yes, ma'am," everyone answered, suitcases by their side.

You pulled out a pen from your jacket pocket, clicking the top eight times, each of them shrinking to be no more than five inches. About the height of Tinkerbell. The pen worked simply, just click it for as many customary suitcases there were within the radius, and it'll grow or shrink.

"Remember, gentlemen, we're going to attempt friendly interaction and such first. Still, keep weapons in hand and trained, however. We don't want to take risks," you remind them, each of them giving you a curt nod in reply.

You huff, taking in a deep breath as you began to board the jet. Your destination would be a small island off the coast of Australia, near where a plane had crashed. That's where the foreign entities seemed to be residing now.

You felt shaky, but looking back at your men, all confident and assured, you couldn't help but feel a bit the same, as though the aura was contagious.

Hopefully, this'll work.

-

Your jet landed on shore, and you waited for the foreign entities. Guns cocked and loaded, all of you prepared yourselves, forming a defense circle with each barrel pointed outwards, your backs pressed against one another's.

You furrowed your brows as you tried to look for where the entities were. They were supposed to be here.

Before you knew it the water before you seemed to swallow in, as though it were falling down a deep, long tunnel, sinking below and falling. Not swirling, like a whirlpool. Just caving in as though a new crater was formed. Your jaw dropped as an airplane, having been abandoned for years prior, bubbled up to the surface.

A group of about six or more entities was atop the plane as it went to the surface, all completely dry. Finally, the plane seemed to come to a halt, bobbing along the surface, the creatures balancing atop it.

You felt your heart sink into your stomach, your finger tense over the trigger with an urgency to shoot.

You didn't know why, but you suspected you were coming across one of the most powerful beings the world had ever known.

You studied them as the plane slowly floated closer to shore, letting them come into view. Their eyes were far bigger than a human's, unnaturally so. Their pupils seemed to be surrounded by tiny solar systems, a tiny dot within the pupil glowing bright orange, as though the sun. Their skin looked as though it were made of pure diamond, almost translucent, reflecting everywhere as the sun hit the water and bounced off of their skin, emitting rainbows wherever they moved. They dressed in robes of light silk that would protect whatever skin wasn't exposed from the blistering heat. Their hair seemed to be luscious and voluminous, cascading down and rippling in the golden light.

They were beautiful in a fascinating way, but when the head of the group went nearer, she smiled to reveal sharp teeth, you weren't so sure you'd call it beautiful by the end of this.

"So this is the tiny planet they call Earth, is it?" The voice sounded gravelly, deep, and feminine, reminding you of stones rolling down mountain tops, in a bizarre fashion. "Why is it so many venture to stay here?"

"Stay long enough and you may find out," you say, speaking formally.

She smiled, fluttering her long lashes, and you swore you could feel a soft breeze wash over you. Her bare foot stepped off the plane and onto the shore, her entourage following.  You could smell a sort of perfume that reminded you of citrus, and oddly enough she became more enchanting to you, as though putting you in a trance. No, everything was entrancing to you. The sky began to seep more colors, as though hidden gems within were coming to light. Everything was slightly iridescent, as though you were in a surreal dream.

Was she a god?

She studied you for a moment. "Are you the ruler of this planet?"

"Only the men beside me," you say, quirking your mouth to the side. This was good- real good. So far no malicious intent had been established. Simply wonder and curiosity, and on both sides. "Are you of yours?"

Her face soured, teeth hidden as she pursed her lips. "Was," she notes. "Much like yourself, I only lead with my loyal followers. We've run from our home planet."

"You seek refuge?" You look to Namjoon, and he steps forward, briefcase in hand. "We have paperwork and such for you to fill out if you wish to reside here. We cannot promise to anything, of course, and the process will be far harder considering we've never come across your species. No wars will be brought to Earth, however, under any circumstances. If you're still on Earth and your government comes looking for you, you'll be asked to leave immediately. You cannot interact with humans outside of the Extraterrestrial Association Agency, and you'll be required to share any and all information about your species."

She quirked a perfectly arched brow. "You wish to study our kind?"

"Of course," Namjoon snorted, unable to prevent himself from interjecting. "It's essential to learn about all you can, and with a new species, we cannot let the opportunity pass. Knowledge is the key to life."

She turns her attention back to you, a pleased smile shown with her pointy teeth. "Your follower is very wise. Is he a royal advisor?"

"I'm by no means royalty. I'm just leading these men," you inform her, watching as a member of her entourage takes the briefcase to Namjoon. Namjoon steps back with the other boys, still keeping his aim at the group. "And you?"

"Me?" She chuckles softly at that, as though amused. "I'm a scientist. Though I'll allow you to call me Jashwi. "

You can't help but be caught off guard by that, your brows shooting up. "Scientist?"

"You Eartheans aren't the only ones to seek knowledge," Jashwi says, her voice like silk. "My group believes in obtaining knowledge by any means necessary."

"We have a few departments that are similar," you note, thinking to Yoongi's torture methods.

"Might I ask if you all can lower your weapons? It makes my rapture a bit anxious." Her tone is serene, but you can't help but stress over her words.

"Rapture?" you repeat.

Jashwi chuckles. "An inside joke. It refers to a group of messiahs. Truth be told it's a group that all have a telepathic bond with the leader, which would be me. A singular bond with me can be formed, and I can open the gates for them to also speak to others who I have a bond with. Something that you dirt dwellers would call a hive, I suppose, but not quite."

"What are your capabilities beyond telepathy?"

She thinks back on that, thoughtful. "My species, the Anancites as we call ourselves, typically doesn't have any abilities- we're as ordinary as you. A tiny bit more immortal, and it takes far more to even attempt to hurt us. It's only very few who possess a certain spark that can even acquire a power bestowed by the gods. Though that certain quality we're looking to find out. No ordinary civilian, even of our kind, can even attempt to try to form the telepathic bond we share.

"Besides that, there's been known cases of water manipulation, which is what I possess. Others may control other elements, such as fire or air or earth- whatever else you can come up with. A specialty, however, is shadow bending, though that's more so a skill you have to learn than luck."

"Shadow bending? We've got a few of those who deal with those sorts of things. Demons and ghosts, mainly."

She shakes her head with a haughty laugh, as though she found you to be a rather amusing mouse. Jashwi's large eyes looked to you with glimmering curiosity. "You dirt dwellers hardly know anything, do you? So much for searching for knowledge. Shadow bending for us is to kill one's shadow. The shadow is where the soul resides, as both sides have to share it. You kill the shadow, you kill the person. It's something that many wish to learn where I live, for it's a skill so rare that one who possesses it immediately goes to the castle to live a life of luxury. What is it some of you call it? Ah, yes. It's to the same standard of Nirvana for some."

"Is that what you'll list as your weakness?" You could hear the soft shutter of the lens camera through someone's contact, a sound you had gotten accustomed to since your time at the agency. Based on the positioning of the sound behind you, you assumed it was Jungkook who took it upon himself to record the encounter for further documentation.

She shrugs, as though you were a small ant that had pinched her ankle, and she was a god. Unbothered and uncaring. "I suppose it'd only be fair. Blood bags such as you have far too many."

"What is it you consume?"

"We are by no means parasitic," Jashwi says demurely. "Our feeding is beneficial for both. Most species seem to need sustenance in harmful ways. Vampires drain lifeforce through drinking blood. Succubi drain lifeforce through sex. They only leave enough for them to regain strength for the next feeding, leaving an endless cycle only to serve one person's needs. No, we do not focus on selfish desires such as that. Nothing is for only one, but always for many, as it should be. I'll leave the question blank for now- you'll find out soon enough. Shall we move on?"

"And are you related to any other species?" You thought to the top of your head, trying to find something similar to them. You found nothing, truthfully, but it was worth a shot. "Sirens? Banshees? Vampires?"

She pulled the sour face again, scowling. "We choose not to interact with their kind, as they've proven themselves to be insufficient."

"Insufficient?" you muttered to yourself.

"Of course," she only said, her smile wide to reveal the sharp teeth. "And if there's one thing a true scientist hates, it's insufficiency."

"Might you state your reasoning for coming to Earth? Refuge? Vacation? Migration?"

She steps forward, inches before you. You hitch your breath as you feel all of the guns behind you point to her, her body towering over your smaller one. You'd most likely act as an 'insufficient' shield from the bullets.

"Didn't I ask for you to lower this?" She puts a single finger on the gun, lowering it so that it pointed to the floor whilst still being in your hands. "My rapture's still very anxious about my safety."

"Why are you here?" you repeat, voice hard.

She cocks her head to the side, lifting your chin with a single finger, forcing you to look at her. Her eyes take up perhaps most of the upper half of her head, and as you stare into her eyes, you see an entire universe is trapped in there. Spinning planets and moons and suns, orbiting around one another as though a digital map of her home.

Jashwi hums, staring into your eyes intently, too. You didn't have to turn around to know the boys were waiting for the signal from you to shoot.

"Do you recall when I told you about going to any means necessary for knowledge?"

"I do."

"Just making sure." You feel her fresh breath on your lips as she says that, and she lets you go. You stagger back and land on your ass, air slamming into your lungs as you realize that you were holding your breath that entire time.

"Might I speak to this one? The big one with the cute eyes," she questions.

Your eyes widen as you look to Jungkook, who seems just as shocked as you.

"Jungkook, y-"

"It's alright," he hastily cuts off, pushing past the others, gun still raised as he approaches her.

She holds his chin for a moment, examining his face as she turns it from side to side, her touch gentle. Jashwi then looks at his biceps, her touch cool as she traces the muscle beneath the nicely fitted suit.

"Would you describe yourself as strong, my boy?"

"I suppose," he says, his jaw ticked as he looked at her with a stony expression.

Jashwi looks over to your boys, quirking a brow. "Is he the strongest out of your group?"

There was no doubt about that. Warily, they nod.

She sighs, running her tongue along the inside of her cheek. "I suppose you'll have to do, then, little boy."

Her mouth opens wide, her entire face splitting in two, her jaw becoming unhinged as her mouth opened wider and wider. It was something like a bear trap, but far more terrifying. She had three sets of teeth, as though she were a shark.

Her grip on his chin was ironclad, keeping him in place and turning it to the side, as though to leave the neck exposed. Bullets fire at her carefully aimed to avoid Jungkook's writhing body as he struggles in her grip. The bullets simply embed themselves halfway inside of her, cracking some of the skin, as though she were a marble palace that refused to fall. At this point her rapture began to fight back, moving towards the men as they got more guns and blasters, testing everything they could for the creatures' limits.

Without thinking you're on your feet, slamming your body as hard as you could against Jungkook's bulky form. If he were stable on his feet, you would've uselessly bounced back to crash to the floor. Instead, he was knocked down, and before you could fall with him you're grabbed by the throat.

Jashwi doesn't bother to do so much as sneer at you, instead seeming disappointed. "I would've assumed a leader would understand better than her follower."

She raises you above her head, and you kick and thrash, her long limbs hoisting you far enough where you couldn't reach her. You could feel your face reddening fast. At this rate, you'll die.

Jashwi seems to sense that, as well as the urgency of the battle behind her. One of her men falls, Hoseok's blaster steaming after the newest hit. The body evaporated in the sun, as though it were water boiling into steam.

"Shoot the shadows! The little rainbows- now!"

Jashwi tenses, cursing under her breath as she tosses you up like a ragdoll, snatching you by your hair to allow airflow into your lungs.

"I guess you'll just have to do, won't you?" she says. "Don't disappoint me, little dirt dweller."

With that, she sinks her teeth into your jugular, and you can't even scream. She sinks all three sets of teeth into your throat, clamping down until she rips away, throwing the chunks of flesh out on the floor. Your head is barely kept together save for a bit of muscle, though there's still a gaping spot where flesh should be.

Your eyes were lifeless as your corpse hit the floor, blood everywhere as your body let it seep from the wound, running like a stream.

Jungkook still had most of the wind knocked out of him, all of it happening so fast. All he could do was watch as your body continued to bleed out before him, surrounded by nothing but blood, flesh, and chaos.

He can't help but crawl on his knees towards you, blasters and rays and more flying overhead. His eyes are fixed on your body, shock making him feel cold and numb.

No, you weren't dead. You couldn't be.

You couldn't be.

He didn't even have time to process it before Yoongi was yanking him by the bicep, putting him to his feet and shoving the blaster that had been knocked off of him into his hand. Yoongi gritted his teeth, glaring at the boy, eyes glassy. "Avenge her goddammit!"

He shoves the boy away as he aims once again at a moving shadow of one of the Acancites. It dodges the blasts, dancing around it. Jashwi hopped upon the plane, and soon enough the others wordlessly followed her, still dodging the blasts.

The crater formed again, the water parting as the rubble of the plane sank into the water, the crater resealing itself back up, the plane disappearing.

"Come back and fight, cowards!"

Taehyung enraged, fuming as he blasts into the water, watching the bright beam disappear down, down below, never to be seen again. He continues, over and over again, hot tears rolling his cheeks as he lets out whines and whimpers, his arms shaking.

"Agent V... Taehyung." Jin steps forward, pushing his arms down, ceasing the constant roll of blasts. Jin looks at the boy, who already seemed to be grieving whereas everyone else was still in shock. "Stop."

"They fucking killed her! She-" Taehyung looked back to your corpse but was unable to bear the sight. Every agent had seen a mangled body, but something about it made him want to throw up and never consume anything again. He choked on his tears, shaking. "She can't be dead, right? Y/N can't be dead. Not her, anyone but her."

He starts breathing heavily, shaking from head to foot, and Jin moves him away from the water, sitting him down where he wouldn't have to see you. Not that it helped. He could smell your blood everywhere, the smell consuming him completely. Perhaps your corpse was already beginning to rot beneath the hot beating sun.

"Guys, he's having a panic attack. Step back."

Taehyung wrapped himself into a tight ball, hugging his knees as his weapon clattered to the ground. He felt so pathetic. He felt so useless. All he could do was rock back and forth, heart pounding in his ears as he let out a cold sweat, anxiety and dread coursing through him.

What's done is done. What's done is done. What's done is done.

No. No no no no no no NO!

You weren't dead. You can't be. Not you. You were the best goddamn agent he knew, you couldn't be dead.

"Breathe, Taehyung. Deep breaths. Close your eyes, clear your head," Jin reminded him. "You need to breathe."

He did his best, taking in deep breaths, crying as he did so. He wanted this to end. All of this. He hated this feeling. He hated every bit of it.

"This is my fault," Jungkook said, staring at the elder man as the panic attack began to subside after a few minutes. "It's all my fault."

"No, it's not. No one knew what would've happened." Jimin was in such a state of shock as well, unable to even cry. He couldn't process any of what had happened.

"It should've been me. In the end, I was so stupid. If I had done something else, anything else-"

"You're having survivor's guilt-"

"Y/N should be standing here. Not me." He looked to your corpse, feeling sick to his stomach. "I should be that right now. I went up to Jashwi, and then refused my leader's orders when she tried to warn me. If I hadn't done that none of this would've happened..."

"It was an honest mistake."

"This one cost someone their life," Jungkook cut in sharply. He took in a deep breath. "This is all my fault."

"We need to stop wallowing in our pity and go find the sick bastards," Hoseok interjected. "What're we waiting for? Why don't we just dive in after them?"

"Agent A..." Jimin trails off, his voice wary.

"No, don't you 'Agent A' me. It's Hoseok. We're friends. That's the last thing she said, right? We're friends. Not just coworkers." Hoseok stared down at the water bitterly. "And friends don't let other friends die in vain. She was the closest thing I had to family, and now that's taken away, too."

"We can't rush into things without thinking rationally," Namjoon reminded him.

"Fuck rationality! They just killed my best friend, and I'll kill the sick sons of bitches myself if I have to!" Hoseok shoved Namjoon's comforting touch off of him, flinching away, boiling. "What're you going to say to change my mind?"

Namjoon's gaze softened. "Are we really just going to leave Y/N here? Are we going to abandon her? In the heat?"

Everyone quieted down at that, lowering their gazes in shame. Perhaps some of them were being too self-focused on their own misery.

"We should get her home," Yoongi says, sucking in a shaky breath. He leans forward, using his sleeve to clean your face a bit, wiping away the blood so they could see your face clearly. "It's the least she deserves, and she... she deserved... Well, she deserves more than this." His voice cracked mid-sentence as he tried to choke back tears. Despite how often he'd tell you he hated you or how you annoyed him or to leave him alone... He didn't mean any of it. He just wished he made sure you knew that. Now it was too late.

Taehyung's quiet, trying to force himself to look at you. Never had he seen you with such a blank expression. With a shaky hand, he pushes some hair out of your face, lips trembling.

"She deserved the world."

[fandomliane]

I’m Still Standing (3/3)

The final part of my submission for @tilltheendwilliwrite​  Once again, this takes place in an Avengers AU, post Civil War, but I’ve chosen to believe that after a few years, they all forgave each other and worked together without Inifity War or Endgame happening. Still in denial.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC            Word Count:1955

Warnings: Somewhat stalkerish ex-boyfriend. 

Summary: I chose Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing”. This part completes the tale of how this song brought Mia Rivers and Steve Rogers together. Bucky and Sam make an appearance. It’s fluff. 

Once I never could hope to win

You starting down the road leaving me again

The threats you made were meant to cut me down

And if our love was just a circus you'd be a clown by now

You know I'm still standing better than I ever did

Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid

I'm still standing after all this time

Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind

I'm still standing yeah yeah yeah

I'm still standing yeah yeah yeah

Elton sang in Mia’s ears as she made her way down the street with her arms full of grocery bags. Taking the bus or a cab would have been easier, but after finishing up at work early and seeing the gorgeous weather outside, she felt the need to move. She was dwelling on the revelations from Caroline’s pub party on the weekend and was trying to figure out how to talk to neighbour Steve without seeming like an ignorant hick from the North. Mia really wanted to apologize to him for her blunders but wasn’t sure if she should.  So for now, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and she was in a fabulous mood.

Humming along to her tunes, Mia was startled when someone suddenly stepped out in front of her. She took off her sunglasses and found Colin standing there with his “I’m not impressed” look directed towards her. Sighing, she paused her playlist and mentally prepared herself to convince him once and for all, that she was done with him.

“Mia,” he began, in a demanding tone. “Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you for almost an hour? I know you are usually home from work by 5:30, and it’s almost 6:30. I also know you left early since I called your office to see what time you left at and-”

“Stop!” Mia loudly interrupted Colin’s tirade. “You did what? You’re tracking me and my movements? Colin, that’s sounding like stalkerish behaviour, and trust me, I have no qualms about going to the cops for a restraining order if you really are keeping tabs on me. We. Are. Done.”

“I’m worried about you, Mia,” Colin tried to sound comforting as he reached out to pat her arm in a condescending manner. “You’re still so new to the city and you don’t really know anyone. I love you. We were meant to be together since school. I know I messed up with Shannon, but it was nothing. She… She came onto me and-”

“ENOUGH!” Mia shouted at him, stepping back some more and struggling with her grocery bags. “I am done, butthe-sorry, Colin! This is over. You made your decision. You and I are not going to happen. We are not ‘meant to be together’. The only thing made to be together is popcorn and butter. Maybe chocolate chips and mint ice cream too, but us? No, never, not happening. Stop pretending you’re worried about me. I’m fine. Excellent, actually. I have good friends, I’m meeting new people and-”

“What new people?” Colin demanded as he took a menacing step in Mia’s direction. “Are you dating someone already? Tell me, Mia? Who the hell is he?”

“Actually, she’s met me, and no, we’re not dating. Not yet.” a deep voice broke in. Turning around, Mia saw Steve and two other rather large men standing on the steps of the building. While the two strangers looked at Mia and Colin with concern, Steve’s expression was one of tightly controlled anger.

Colin took a step back, appeared to gather his courage and growled, “And just who the hell are you?”

Steve took a step closer to Mia, pointed to her bags questioningly and gave her a shy smile that melted her heart. She passed him some of her bags and he handed them to one of his friends. “Better?” He murmured to her. She nodded, and smiled up at him. “I’m ex-Captain Steve Rogers, and these are my friends, James Barnes and Sam Wilson. Now who the hell are you and why are you bothering Miss Rivers?”

“Miss Rivers is my girlfriend, and this is none of your business,” Colin grumbled.

Mia scoffed. “Try again, butthead. And no, I am not apologizing for it this time. I’m your ex-girlfriend.” She looked up at Steve. “This is the one, Steve. The one I told you about, the whole reason we met. Apparently he thinks checking up on me at work and waiting for me at home are normal behaviours for an ex. I was about to explain to him again that my life is none of his concern and that if he continues this behaviour, I will be slapping a restraining order on his behind.”

“Oh, I don’t think that will be necessary,” Steve’s friend James commented as he slowly descended the stairs. “If I see his face around here again, I will be more than happy to assist his ass out of here.”

“Ditto.” growled Sam, as he scowled at Colin.

“Get in line, you two,” Steve mumbled. “I get dibs.” Mia looked up at Steve again, telling her heart to stop pounding. She was still wondering if she’d heard his ‘not yet’ comment correctly.

Colin took another step away from Bucky, almost tripping into the street. “Bucky Barnes? Like The Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes? Right. I’m going. Honest, I won’t come back. I...I … I'm sorry, Mia. I won’t bug you again.” He hastily retreated down the street without looking back.

“Ha! That was fun!” Steve’s other friend laughed as he came down to slap Bucky on the back. “Steve, keep this one around! I like her. She probably would have hit that jerk with one of these bags and concussed him if you hadn’t spoken up.”

Mia blushed, suddenly feeling shy and a little overwhelmed by the three men around her. “Thank you so much for stepping in, Steve. You really didn’t need to, but it meant a lot. And you two,” she said as she turned to his friends putting her hand on her chest, “thank you as well! My heroes! Saving this slightly distressed damsel. Here, let me take those groceries back and I’ll let you get on your way. I don’t want to keep you.”

Mia went to take her bags from Sam, but he just linked arms with her and started to lead her up the stairs. “No can do, damsel. My job here isn’t done till I’ve delivered you safely to your castle.”

Mia headed up with Sam, glancing back at Steve, mouthing “help!” Steve and Bucky chuckled, following them up to their floor.

At Mia’s door, Sam stopped, handed Mia the rest of her bags, made a low bow, and whispered, “Steve’s talked about you a lot the last couple of weeks. Give him a chance. He’s the best guy.”

Mia’s heart melted a little at Sam’s words. “I may have messed up though,” she whispered.

Sam gave her a wink and a shake of his head. “Nah, he likes it that you didn’t know him. Just talk to him, Canada. Get to know him.”

Sam and Bucky headed into 408, while Steve stood behind Mia as she unlocked her door. “Do you want to come in for a minute?” She tentatively asked. Steve smiled, nodded and followed her inside.

One year later…

Don't you know I'm still standing better than I ever did

Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid

I'm still standing after all this time

Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind

I'm still standing yeah yeah yeah

I'm still standing yeah yeah yeah

Mia looked up at Steve as she sang along with Sir Elton John, wondering how this one song could have changed her life so much. If she hadn’t discovered her ex cheating then she wouldn’t have been singing loudly (and drunkenly) in her apartment. She wouldn’t have bothered the sweetheart across the hall, and she wouldn’t be standing here in a VIP box in Vancouver with her boyfriend of 10 months, belting out tunes at an Elton John concert.

After the incident with Colin on the street, Steve and she had spent a couple of months getting to know each other better. They went out on traditional dates and spent a lot of time at Mia’s place talking about their different pasts, their dreams, and their plans for the future. They spent time with Bucky, Sam, and Mia’s friends, Caroline and Aaron. There was lots of teasing when Mia’s mistake regarding Steve and Bucky’s living situation had come to light, and Sam had loved joking Steve about Mia not recognizing Steve. After two months of casually dating, Steve had taken her to Coney Island and asked her to be his girl. That was the first night Steve had stayed over, and it soon felt like they were living together. She had known by month four, that Steve was the guy for her. She just hoped he felt that way about her.

As a one year meeting anniversary, Steve had arranged a surprise visit home to see her family and had made sure, with help from a certain Stark, that he had tickets to the concert of her favourite singer. Caroline, Bucky, Sam and other friends of Steve’s had come along to experience Mia’s home city in its summer splendor and she was thrilled to introduce her New York family to her Vancouver family.  

Mia’s parents hadn’t believed their daughter when she first told them who she was dating, especially since they too weren’t up to date on who all the American Avengers were. Her friends had teased her mercilessly when they found out how she had met Steve, but she could just laugh it off now.

Mia smiled up at him as she danced along to the song and Steve returned her sappy smile. He reached over and wrapped his arms around her, cuddling her in close. It was Mia’s favourite place to be, tucked in with her guy, knowing that she was loved and respected. She felt Steve take a deep breath, and then release her. He took her by the shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes. “Steve?” she murmured.

Steve closed his eyes, took another deep breath, and went down on one knee. Mia took a small step back and bumped into Bucky. He nudged her forward as Steve took her left hand in his. “Mia,” he began, as he looked up at her. “I never thought I would fall in love again after Peggy. I didn’t think I would be lucky enough to meet another woman who was strong, independent and fearless. But someone up there must be looking out for me, because they sent you to me. You have my heart, you are my heart, Mia. You have given me a place where I can leave the past behind me and you’ve given me hope for a future that I’d only dreamed of. Amelia Rivers, from the wilds of Canada, will you make my dreams come true and be my wife?”

“Oh, god, Steve, yes. Yes, yes, yes!” Mia cried as she threw himself into his arms. The people around her started clapping and cheering, as Steve stood up with Mia in his arms and kissed her deeply, not caring who was watching. As Mia and Steve broke apart to hear the congratulations of their friends, she glanced down at the stage to hear Elton John finish the song with a tip of his hat in their direction.

I'm still standing yeah yeah yeah

I'm still standing yeah yeah yeah

@tilltheendwilliwrite thanks for the challenge! It was fun. 

[ladyofcreation]

Abandoned WIP (2018 - Ladyhawke AU)

I’ve decided I want to “declutter” my writing space by pruning WIPs I’m not likely to return to. But I think it would be a shame to just delete them, so I’m sharing the stuff I wrote. I hope they’ll provide some inspiration, or at least that you enjoy them, as incomplete as they are.

This was my second attempt at a fic for the free choice day of AUyeahAugust 2018. With about 1642 words written between two separate scenes, I got a bit further with this one. The premise was a retelling of the 1985 movie Ladyhawke, with Nino as Phillipe, Adrien as Navarre, Marinette as Isabeau, and Fu as Imperius. If you’ve never seen the movie, it’s about an escaped thief getting roped into helping a medieval couple get revenge on the man who cursed them/undo the curse which separates them by forcing her to be a hawk by day, human by night, and him to be human by day, and a wolf by night. I thought it could be nicely adapted to this fandom by changing wolf to cat and hawk to ladybug.

However, I ended up dropping it as I found I wasn’t having much fun just retelling a story, and it was difficult to balance the personalities as shown in the movie with personalities that would keep them recognizable as Miraculous characters as well. The size difference between a hawk and a ladybug also made a rather critical plot event impossible (getting struck by an arrow), and while I attempted to deal with it by changing it to her getting sick instead, it just wasn’t working for me.

Ultimately, I think it’s an AU more suited to renditions of the memorable scenes/lines drawn with Miraculous characters rather than a written adaptation.

------------------------------------------------------

Captain Agreste was a peculiar man.

He wanted something from him, of that much, Nino was certain. No one would help out a fugitive thief who’d gotten himself in a tight spot without getting something out of it in return. But what that was, Nino didn’t know, and Agreste hadn’t said. Nino supposed he’d tell him in due time, so he resigned himself to sit quietly behind the strange man as they rode into the forest. One didn’t have much room to complain after narrowly escaping death at the hands of a squadron of soldiers, after all.

But the peculiarity of the man was hard to ignore. Dressed all in black, he seemed to take amusement with life, and had been quite merry and flashy while brawling with the soldiers. But under this, he seemed to carry a heavy sadness with him, as though troubled by some burden he had no wish to share.

The strangest thing, however, was his reaction when Nino spotted a ladybug on the man’s shoulder. He had moved to brush the beetle off, when Agreste had swiftly caught Nino by the wrist, an impressive maneuver while still maintaining direction on the horse they were riding.

“Don’t,” he said firmly, warning clear in his voice.

Nino listened.

They stopped early in the evening, the sun still high in the sky. The couple that granted them a place to stay for the night didn’t seem like the most savory of people, but sometimes you had to take what you could get.

Night fell as Nino gathered wood for the fire. He got the uncomfortable feeling that someone was watching him, and every noise seemed magnified and threatening in the growing darkness. He hastily tried to return to the barn.

He nearly made it.

There was a flash of motion in the corner of his vision, and Nino turned just in time to see, and barely avoid the swing of the axe, held aloft by the farmer. Nino had been right, certainly not the most savory of people.

The man swung his axe again, but something large and black and snarling leapt out of the darkness, tackling the man as Nino rolled away. He looked up to see the creature with its jaws clamped around the attacker’s neck.

A cat, Nino realized, as he saw the reflective, almost glowing green slitted eyes. The creature was a cat. But not an ordinary cat, not one that kept the mice away from the food. No, this was a big cat, like a jaguar from some exotic jungle – one that had no natural business being here.

In a panic, Nino fled into the barn, calling for Captain Agreste. There was no answer, and when Nino barged into his side of the barn, there was no sign of the man. His panic rising, he grabbed the crossbow and prepared to fire on the beast.

A hand plucked the arrow from the weapon, and Nino jumped, turning.

A woman, and certainly not the one of this farm, met his gaze steadily as she pulled his hands away from the crossbow.

“Don’t,” she said firmly. She turned and headed for the exit.

Nino didn’t know who this woman was, or where she had come from, but he wasn’t about to let her get hurt.

“You can’t go out there,” he said, but she waved off his concern, and began calmly walking out into the woods, against all logic.

“Am I dreaming?” Nino asked, wondering if this was some particularly lucid nightmare.

“You are,” answered the woman. Nino wasn’t sure if he believed her. He looked out into the woods again, and immediately regretted it.

The cat, finished with its prey, approached the woman. She reached out her hand, and began stroking it gently, and it followed her as she continued walking.

That wasn’t normal.

Just what had Nino gotten himself into?

The next day, during a break in their journey through the woods, Nino started rambling about what he had seen to Captain Agreste.

“There was a cat,” he said, “a big black cat, like a panther or a jaguar or something. I mean, it was seriously huge! I could’ve died…but it left me alone.”

Agreste seemed amused, as though he knew something Nino did not. Nino felt a little unsettled by it.

When he mentioned the woman, Agreste sat up, eyes intent on Nino’s, as though he wanted to soak up every word. So Nino told him, told him about the woman with the hair like night and eyes like day. When he had finished, Agreste’s expression had softened into something wistful.

“I’ve waited a long time for such a lady,” he murmured, staring down at the little bug crawling along his clothes.

It was not until the next day that Agreste finally told Nino what he wanted from him. And Nino was not too keen on the idea.

“Oh no, no no no,” he said. “I am not going back there. I escaped from there.”

“That’s exactly why I need your help,” Agreste said. “I need to get into the city to get to the Bishop. You’ve gotten out – you’re the only one who’s ever gotten out – you can get me in.”

.

.

.

Nino felt silly as he approached the ruin, insect cupped in hand. He was certain that whoever lived here would think him insane to request healing for a little ladybug. But Agreste had looked at him with such desperation that Nino felt he had no choice.

Nino called out, over and over, until an old man appeared.

“Hello, young man,” Fu greeted. “What brings you here?”

“I…” Nino said, hesitantly, “Captain Agreste asked me to come to you, with this ladybug he keeps with him. She’s sick and he said that you could heal her.”

Fu’s eyes widened, and he opened up the gates, urging Nino in before the sun, already low in the sky, set any lower. He had Nino set the insect down on a cot, much larger than ought to be necessary for such a little thing, and dismissed him from the room.

Nino was curious now. He had known from the beginning that there was something unusual going on, but this was nagging at his mind. For one, odd man like Captain Agreste to be strangely attached to a ladybug was one thing, but for this old monk to be showing similar concern? That wasn’t, it couldn’t be an ordinary insect. But just what was it, and why was Fu so secretive about it?

So, when Fu left, muttering about ingredients, Nino slipped over and picked the lock, returning to the room. He was not prepared for what he saw.

Lying on the cot, where he’d left the bug, was the woman he’d seen in the night.

Nino felt a jolt of fear run through him. His eyes were telling him something that his brain knew to be impossible, or at least unnatural. There was no doubt that this woman…this woman somehow was the ladybug. But how? Was she a witch? A shapeshifter? A spirit? But she lay there, shaking from fever, and such beings weren’t subject to such earthly illness, were they?

“Adrien…” the woman murmured. It wasn’t hard to guess who she was calling for.

“He’s fine, Captain Agreste is fine,” Nino said. “He told me to take you here.”

“Tell him…tell him he shouldn’t be so reckless…” she said, voice hazy and faint. “And tell him…not to worry about me…I’ll be…fine.”

“I will,” Nino said, because what else could he say? This was something beyond his experience with the world.

“I thought of…a funny joke he’d like…but I can’t…I can’t remember it right now.”

“Don’t…don’t strain yourself,” Nino said hesitantly. “You’re feverish.”

She made some faint noise of agreement, as the door opened behind Nino. Fu looked between the two of them.

“Go. We’ll speak of this later,” he told Nino. Nino was only too happy to oblige.

Was what he had seen even real? No…he knew it was. Somehow he knew it was real, even if it defied anything natural. He’d gotten mixed up in magic, and it was too late to get out now.

In the distance, he heard a yowl, and Nino shivered.

When Fu came to him later, the first thing Nino did was confirm his supicions.

“That cat is Agreste, isn’t it?”

Fu closed his eyes briefly and did not answer.

“What’s your name, young man?”

“Nino Lahiffe.”

“Nino…you have stumbled upon a sad tale. Come, sit.”

Nino did, and Fu continued.

“That woman’s name is Marinette. She came to our city after her parents’ passing. And we were all taken by her charm and kindness…many fell in love with her.”

Nino nodded. He could see it. The woman – Marinette – had quite a presence, and although he’d only met her a few times, she’d already had quite an impact on him.

“The Bishop wanted her for himself. He became obsessed with her, desperate to have her. She, of course, wanted nothing to do with him. She could tell the sort of man he was. And not the least, she already had taken a man as her love – the captain of the guard, Adrien Agreste. They were deeply in love, and a more devoted couple you could not find. But in secret…always in secret, until…”

Nino hung on every word, not wanting to press, but wanting to know all the same. Eventually, Fu sighed.

“I made a terrible mistake, and the Bishop learned of their relationship. Marinette and Adrien tried to escape his wrath, but, as clever as they are, they were powerless against the dark powers of hell that the Bishop called upon in his anger. With it, he cursed them, damning them to this terrible existence – Marinette, a ladybug by day; Adrien, a cat by night.”

[mo-ondial]

yall i have an idea

To all whos, whats, wheres, hows, whichs and whens, and really anyone: IDEA!

Is anyone up for a good trolling?

By this I mean, I’d like to collect some whatblogs who would like to participate, and then find a couple hivestucks and troll them! Not mean trolling of course, beta-troll style trolling; roleplay as a trollcall character and have some fun bugging them. (remember, your goal is that the one being trolled has fun being bugged by you, too!)

Like or reblog this post if you’re willing to be trolled! (reblogs are good so that more people see it and there are more players!) People might be a little mean, so people with kinda thick skin! But don’t worry, if you want, you can be assigned a nicer troll, just shoot me a message! (as well as don’t be afraid to block anyone, etc, you’re not being forced)

From the pool of people reblogging this, we’ll choose as many as there are patron trolls for them at random.

And if you want to be a troll, shoot me a message! Tell me who you’re going to be roleplaying as, so there aren’t any doubles, and maybe a quick description of how you’ll play them. (to balance out sessions)

And I’ll assign people. A couple of trollees and a patron troll each, and then everyone will have everyone’s urls. In addition, there’ll be a “memo” in the form of a discord with a channel for each “session” thing (you’ll be told which greek letter you get). If any cool pesterlogs happen, you can send screenshots there to share! (and it isn’t left to only people and their patron trolls, everyone should talk to everyone in their session! Make friends, and have fun!)

Questions? Ask! And also please pass this along, it’d be fun to have a whole thing!

@why-is-daraya-in-detention @whats-in-tyzias-mug @wherearemalleksotherpiercings @whosonlyneraslist @whatsinchahutsscrapbook @how-many-cult-blogs-are-there @whats-amisias-paint-made-of (also @ ing some more blogs helps too!)

And just some advice ~

Trollees, participate! Fire back at your patron troll, be funny, enjoy yourself! You’re playing yourself, but it’s also like you’re a character. Everyone, really, just have fun and make friends and yea!

Rpers, be interesting! It can be tempting to jump right in, and hey, some people can actually do that and I applaud you, but I highly suggest you write out speech rules! (or practise monolouges, whichever works!) Your most powerful weapon is a good way to make jokes, to be funny. An example I made for Remele:

Sentence structure: Short and jagged, and spread across too many messages/lines, similar to list items that turn into casual thought instead. Also similar to rambly tags.

Interactions:

Places self too close to people, immediately. No barriers for friendship, but also doesn’t follow normal friend making techniques, and more just assumes that she is besties with everyone on the earth. She is not.

She’s in the “you” fandom: this means she ships her friends, looks too far into things, stalks people out of love.

Humor:

Starts going off on tangents which sound like fanfics. Very bad fanfics.

Headcanons things that shouldn’t be headcanoned. I.e. “I have this headcanon that you’re married to a knife.” (out of nowhere, usually)

“I improved it.” is the response to telling tall tales that escalate into blatant and ridiculous lies. (also misquotations) (general response to when she’s contradicted)

Quirk:

*’s at the end of each phrase

Scours of text in parenthesis

Lots of multiples of letters

Scant punctuation

Repeats phrases in 5’s

(you will thank yourself later for easy quirks, unless you’re talented at that sort of thing unlike me)

So this kind of turns into*

Speech like this*

And*

This is what she sounds like*

Uh*

Yea*

Heyyy i have this new ship*

With you in it*

You’re in love with my friend*

But*

An AU of my friend*

so*

Now youre dating a neon pegasus version of my friend who likes guns*

You’re roommates*

Neither of you wanted to be roomates though*

Its a real slowburn*

But thennnn*

One day she saw you*

And you looked so beautiful*

She was silly for thinking clear skin would be nice*

Because*

Just*

Look at how beautiful your freckles loook*

They look like stars really*

(hey i have this headcanon that you have freckles everywhere*

and they're lime like your blood)*

(hey i also have this headcanon that

youre a limeblood)*

(and that you secretly indulge in knitting)*

(and you never part with this great scarf you made*

But*

You’re too scared to wear it out*

Because*

Anxietyyyy*

And its sad)*

Why dont you ever wear your scarf*

I bet its super cute*

Can i see it*

Show me your scarf*

Show me your scarf*

Show me your scarff*

Show me your scarffff*

Show me your scaaaaarffffff*

[floralreddie]

The Kids Aren’t Alright: Chapter Two (Zombie Apocalypse!Modern AU)

Note: woop woop here’s chapter two. probably some spelling mistakes so sorry about that lmao

Warnings: swearing, gore

Pairing: Reddie (they’re 18)

Synopsis: Richie is already having a pretty shitty day. First, he get’s a C- on his favourite subject, Science. Second, Bev totally called him out for being a giant douche to Eddie that morning. Three, he was totally being a douche to Eddie, because Eddie was making freaking googly eyes at some Senior dude. What’s the last thing needs?

The Apocalypse, that’s what.

Previous Chapter/Next Chapter 

forever taglist: @pearltheartist@mikoalabearwrites @arielgirly @trashmouth-smashmouth@mzcescapie@somenates27@reddiesballoons@cawcawhawkeye@richietoaster@sassy-molassy@fuckin-richie@zerealromaniangurl@notagoodplace4gods @itsway-past-mybedtime@homohayls @reddiefic@trashmouth-tozier69@temptedtozier@bitchardtozier@virgo-green @reddietofall @gczebos@tozierkasqbrak @temptedtozier 

@zerealromaniangurl @anniewdoodles@reddiefic @wyattsnoodles  

@deux-mille-deux  @eds-trashmouth @thecastlebyers

the kids aren’t alright taglist: @richiestoziiers @lcvsersclub  @idontknowanyfear  @giraffeattack21 @reddiesetrichie @help-the-fandoms-are-taking-over @samanthador1205  @losver-tozier @bailey121496

Chapter Two: Six Stops.

Richie might be fucking sick, and Richie is never sick. He’s downed half a bottle of cheap ass vodka in half an hour and still not puked.

He, Bev, Eddie, and Mike are sitting in the cargo bed of the truck, huddles into the middle with their arms and legs far away from the sides. Bill, who is normal anal as shit about how fats he drives, is whizzing down the suburban street of Derry with Stan and Ben in the front with him.

Around them, it’s fucking anarchy.

People are hurling things into their cars and pulling quickly into the road. Others are fighting off the deranged, hungry-for-human-flesh people that seemed to be, Richie had deduced, coming back from the fucking dead through bites.

Fucking zombies. Figures.

‘What the fuck,’ Eddie quivers out, and Richie throws an arm around his shoulders without a moments pause. Bev, who sits next to him, is huddled between his long legs, and Mike sits in front of Eddie, gaze hard as he stares out at the streets passing by quickly. ‘What the fuck?!’

Richie looks away when he sees a woman trip out of her house and fall. She is quickly followed by a ravenous looking child.

‘The News...’ Bev says, and she’s looking closely at her cracked phone, balanced between her painted finger nails. She taps at the screen, brown drawn together as she huddles closer to Richie. ‘It says it’s happening everywhere. All over the world’.

‘Fuck...’Richie breathes, pushing his glasses up his nose with his index finger. He taps on the glass divider between himself and the three sitting in the truck. Around them, the world wails. ‘Go via all our houses,’ Richie says, as Ben yanks it open and stares at him, face pale and eyes wide. ‘This shit is happening everywhere. We gotta get somewhere safe’.

Ben tells Bill and Bill nods, knuckles white against the steering wheel. Richie feels Eddie shudder as he turns back around. ‘They’re gonna go via all our houses-’

‘Don’t bother going past mine,’ Bev grumbles. ‘I don’t need to know what’s happened to him’.

Ben stares at her through the divider, before hurriedly relaying the message to Bill. Mike turns away from the road and pats Bev’s bent knees, his gaze serious. Even Richie, who is pretty sure he hates his parents, can’t imagine not caring if they were dead or not.

But he also knows that Bev’s dad calls her Bevvie, that he hates her hanging out with the boys, and that his touches linger far too long. 

‘You sure about that, Bev?’ Mike asks, voice low. 

Bev leans back against Richie, her gaze sombre. ‘I’m sure-’ She’s cut off by a sudden jerking and a screech of tires, and Bill’s loud yell from inside the truck. They all swear and grab at each other as the truck hurtles to the side, and Richie holds onto Eddie all the tighter.

Richie sees quickly what caused the sudden stop. Another car had hurtled out of the junction to their left. The man in the front, who Richie recognises at Gretta Keenes father, slams his windscreen and yells at Bill.

Richie also doesn’t miss the three bloody bodies wandering toward them, leaving behind the half-eaten corpse on the pavement.

‘Fucking drive, Bill!’ Bev screeches.

He does, and they all slide down dirty bay of the truck, leaving behind the groaning, hungry corpses. That was what they were, right? Just bodies. Hungry bodies and not people. That’s hat all the films said. 

They drive via Richie’s first, the closest house, and find a half open doorway with what looks to be a foot sticking out onto the porch.

Richie nods, stomach rolling as Eddie stares at the side of his head and Stan turns in his seat, green eyes watchful. ‘That’s all I need to know,’ he murmurs, and then Bill is stepping on the gas and off they go again. Eddie, with a quiet look and a prod to Richie’s shoulder, searches Richie’s gaze before leaning his forehead quietly against Richie’s chest.

Such an action would have once been followed with blushes from both parties, and pointed look from Bev, but in that moment Richie’s pretty sure there’s bigger things to worry about.

Next is Stan’s, and the story is much the same. The Synagogue doors are wide open, leaving a trail of dead bodies to wander out into the open. Stan chokes on a sob when he sees his father amongst the masses, his hand flying to his mouth. Ben reaches for his friend from his place in the seat of the truck, his arm looping around Stan’s shoulders as the latter buries his face in his hands and sits there, still.

Richie has to give fucking kudos to Bill, because he drives on, weaving through bodies and missing cars that are driving away from the mess of Derry. Ben murmurs, as they ask about his family, that they were away for the weekend, gone to New Hampshire for their anniversary. 

‘They didn’t answer their phone when I called earlier, in the arts room,’ he mutters, and no one quite knows what to say to that.

Eddie’s house is the worst, Richie knows. It’s near that creepy as shit Neibolt House, which looks horrible enough given the real life horror movie they were living. It’s only made so entirely worse by the fact that Eddie’s mother stands on the porch of the house, blood on her neck and chest, and flabby legs carrying her slowly down the steps and onto the grass.

Bill pauses in front of the house as Eddie leans over the edge of the truck and stares. This part of ton was quieter, further away from the mess of the centre. Eddie’s neighbours don’t even seem to be home at all. 

Still, Richie doesn’t know what to do. No one does. They all just stare, silent, at the sad and hopeless sight of Mrs Kaspbrak stumbling onto the grass, eyes wide and chubby had reaching forward for the son she no longer recognised. 

Now, Richie was never a fan of Eddie’s mother. She was overprotective and unhinged as shit, and hated the fact that her son was gay. Richie remembers Eddie crawling through his window whilst his parents were downstairs, probably drunk, and crying into Richie’s chest for hours into the night after Mrs Kaspbrak rejected her son. Not only that, but she was the fucking reason Eddie suffered from panic attacks and hated anything fucking dirty or wrong.

But, in that moment, Richie pushes that aside when he hears the tell-tale sign of Eddie’s breath catching in his throat. The small, dark haired boy lurches back, hand flying blindly to grab at the sleeve of Richie’s denim jacket as he heaves in deep breaths. 

Richie stares at him, mouth agape and words caught in his throat.

‘Drive, Bill!’ Mike yells.

He does, and Richie grapples for Eddie, cupping his jaw and turning him roughly away from the scene as they leave it. Mrs Kaspbrak stumbles on a broken ankle, mouth agape and eyes a glassy white. ‘I know, Ed’s,’ Richie says loudly over the sound of sirens and the trucks engine, as Eddie’s brown eyes fill with tears and he stares, panicked, and breathes harshly through his nose and mouth. ‘I’m sorry, Ed’s. I really fuckin’ am’.

And he is. Eddie’s upset. Richie hates that.

They drive, and Richie drags Eddie closer to him, his arm tight around Eddie’s form. He knows that Eddie is trying really fucking hard to keep the sobs at bay, but he feels his body jolt and convulse every few moments. Bev, who sits in front of him, has her legs drawn to her chest, her red hair the only thing visible as she buries her head between her knees.

Mike had pushed himself next to Richie, head stuck through the divide in the glass as he gazed out of the front window, murmuring low words to Ben.

Bill’s road, the nicest out of the seven of them, is quiet. There is one car driving quickly down the road, the boot nearly springing open because it is so filled with whatever the family had grabbed from their house. Richie watches them as they pass, noting the hard stares of the mother driving as she nods to the teenagers.

All of the houses seem quiet; all the curtains drawn. Richie wonders if its because most of the parents were at work and the kids at school. He wonders if some people even know what was happening further into town.

Bill’s pulls up quietly outside of his house.The door is closed. The windows shut despite the summer warmth. His dads car isn’t there. They all lean to look at it, and Eddie sniffles in Richie’s arm and looks cautiously over his shoulder. Slowly, Bev lifts her head from her knees and stares with bloodshot eyes.

‘Didn’t you say Georgie was off sick with your mom today?’ Stan croaks, voice raspy and tired. Richie pushes up his glasses, his fingers digging into Eddie’s arm.

Bill clears his throat. ‘Stomach bug’.

Richie thinks that might be a good thing. Maybe it wasn’t whatever the fuck was turning people into flesh eating zombies. Maybe it was a typical, average. everyday sickness. 

Maybe.

It is then that the door bangs open, and Bev flings herself back into the back wall of the truck, her gasping scream slicing through the once quiet of the street. ‘Jesus fuck!’ she yells, just as Stan yells and Bill...Bill is unbuckling his seat-belt with hurried, loud fingers and he is yelling, because Georgie is there, screaming, as Sharon Denbrough attempts to drag her son back into her house.

And her eyes...her eyes are a soul-less white.

Richie’s acting before he’s had time to process what the fuck is even happening. 

He unlatches himself from Eddie, ignoring the hands that scramble at his jacket as he flings himself over the side of the truck and lands clumsily on his feet. A sharp pain slices through his bones, but he ignores it, only pausing to kick the door shut that Bill was hastily trying to open.

‘Need you to drive off quickly!’ Richie shouts, as Bill stares hopelessly at him through the window with terrified blue eyes.

‘Richie, no!’

‘Richie!’

And Eddie...Eddie’s shout is the loudest of them all. ‘You fucking idiot!’

Hm...nice to know his friends appreciate the shit he does for them. He runs across the neatly cut lawn, brown eyes latched only onto the screaming, crying, and snotty Georgie Denbrough. He’d known the kid for most of his eleven years, and fuck no was he going to let Bill’s little bro die.

He does the first thing that comes to mind the moment he meets the struggling pair in the doorway to the Denbrough house. He reaches for Georgie’s free arm, lurches his arm back, and punches Bill’s zombie mom straight in the face.

It fucking hurts, but it does the trick. Sharon stumbles back, a long and drawn out moan coming from her drooling mouth. Her eyes, white and dead, fly to Richie’s face as her pale fingers unlatch from her youngest sons arm. Her face, already sagging and grey, contorts as she finds her new target.

‘Go to Bill, dude!’ Richie grunts, tugging Georgie back and practically throwing the kid in the direction of the truck. He turns only briefly to push the crying child, who stares for only a second at Richie, and then to his mother. ‘Go, I’m fine-!’ But then, as he sees Bev lean over the side of the truck and shout for Georgie, arms spread, he feels cold hands wrap around his hand and tug.

Richie’s about 80% sure what happens next, but he knows that Georgie goes running to the still turned on truck, his sobs echoing as Bev pulls him up, her scared yells only for Richie.

He whirls around to stare at Sharon Denbrough, a woman who was admittedly sometimes absent, but always welcomed Richie into her home. He almost feels bad about punching her. 

In that moment, with her clawed hands latching onto him and her contorted mouth rasping out harsh breaths as her jaw snaps, almost like a hungry animals, Richie understands how fully these fucking monsters had no remnants of the people they used to be in them.

He thinks he hears the soft thud of someone hitting the pavement behind him, as he attempts to kick at Mrs Denbrough’s legs and punch away her freakisly strong fingers that grasp at him. He’s not sure though.

What he does hear is Eddie’s vehement proclamation of, ‘I’m sorry, Mrs Denbrough, but get the fuck off of him’, following by the smaller boys bod hurling forward and fucking rugby tackling the groaning undead woman into the door frame.

‘Richie, let’s go!’ And Richie’s in fucking awe (and only a tiny bit turned on) as Eddie grabs onto his hand and yanks him forward, hair a mess and cheeks flushed, and before Richie knows it they’re piling into the back of the truck, and Georgie is sitting on Ben’s lap, and they’re driving away from the mess, the horror, that was Derry.

It’s quiet for only a moment (aside from Georgie’s quiet sobs), as Richie sits with Eddie staring at him, and Bev curled against Mike, and Richie’s chest is heaving and his glasses askew, before Bill is saying, ‘Thank you, Rich,’ in a soft voice.

Richie can only throw him the thumbs up in the rear-view mirror, still breathless.

‘To you now, Mike?’ Ben asks from the front, as they turn sharply around the corner and pass a car, still smoking, having crashed into a nearby tree. Something was trying to claw its way out of the mess, all burnt and grey skin.

‘Don’t look, Georgie,’ Bill says sharply. Richie unconsciously grabs for Eddie, still staring forward as they drive, now past the fields just outside the town. 

‘We got guns at the farm,’ Mike nods, strong arm holding Bev in place. Richie had never seen her like this, so fucking scared and quiet. ‘It’s far enough away that it should be safe...I hope’.

They lull into a quiet after that. Sirens sounds in the distance, and screams echo through the streets that they leave behind. Richie turns only when Eddie reaches a shaking hand forward to set his glasses straight on his long nose. Richie turns to him, squinting against the sun.

Eddie looks up at him, shoulders hunched as they lean against the wall of the truck, and his eyes are narrowed in an annoyed way that Richie is familiar with. ‘Don’t ever,’ Eddie murmurs lowly, knees drawn to his chest as Richie spiders a hand across his back and tugs Eddie closer to him. It wasn’t an odd occurrence, for them to be so touchy. ‘Do that to me again’.

Richie forces a smile onto his face, because that’s the only thing he can do to make himself feel better. ‘But, Ed’s,’ Richie counters lowly, as Eddie’s dark eyes narrow even further. ‘I like seeing you get a little fiery’.

[sourwolfstories]

what r some good long sterek fics pls help

Indelible Marks by billtheradish

The house never burned. The pack is strong. Derek will never need to be the alpha, and his sister is a troll. (Actually, most of his family is like that.)

Derek is an apprentice tattoo artist, and Stiles isn’t old enough to get ink of his own yet. But that doesn’t stop him from being interesting…

(This story is now out of buffer, but I will always announce when the next update will be, and am trying to keep to a regular posting schedule. Also, please be advised that this is essentially a rough draft. That doesn’t mean it’s riddled with typos, every chapter is edited, just that the overarching plot and side stories haven’t had a chance to be edited in full yet–but they will be. An edited version of this story will be posted eventually, so if the current length isn’t your cup of tea, just come back later.)

Home by TheTypewriterGirl

January seventh. Seven days since the start of 2015, and seven days since his father’s death.

The bastard, he thinks bitterly. The past year Derek Hale had made it blatantly obvious that he hated his scrawny guts, taking every given opportunity to shove him up against a wall, growl threats in his ears and roll his eyes whenever he stepped into the room, muttering some snide comment about how spastic or idiotic he was.

So why did he fucking volunteer to take him in?

Put Down in Words by paintedrecs

“Oh,” Stiles said, his voice coming out low and breathy, “fuck me.”

“I don’t think that’s on the syllabus, but we can check to see if there’s a spot open in any of his classes,” Scott said, grinning.

“This isn’t an actual professor, though,” Stiles insisted, unable to resist brushing his thumb over the sharp line of the man’s bearded jaw. He was laughing at something off-camera, the shot taken in three-quarters view, his coat collar casually rumpled and opened to reveal a sliver of a simple grey t-shirt. The whole thing was deliberately calculated to lend him a more accessible feel, and god help him, Stiles was falling for it.

*

When Stiles signed up for Dr. Hale’s intro to history class, he had two goals: knock out the credits his advisor was bugging him to complete before he graduated, and spend a few hours a week daydreaming about his sexy professor’s salt and pepper beard.

Derek, a few months away from turning forty and not sure when his life had started feeling so damn lonely, had never encountered someone like Stiles before. Bright-eyed, sharp-tongued, determined to throw Derek’s carefully cultivated world into disarray…and absolutely the last person Derek should be falling in love with.

Hallowed Grounds by damnfancyscotch

Everything in Beacon Hills is the same when Stiles comes home from college.

Well, except for the fact that he’s a published author now, Scott is halfway across the world with a travelling circus, Erica’s epilepsy has been cured, her boss offers him a job too, and there’s this weird black dog that seems to be following him around just to judge him.

Oh, and the murders, of course.

But other than that stuff… totally the same old BH.

The Boy and the Beast by Dira Sudis

In which events in Beacon Hills go rather differently from the start, and a Beauty and the Beast (ish) story ensues. (Scott is not a teacup and no one sings about their feelings.)

Love Thy Neighbor…He’s Hot by Triangulum

Derek and Laura seriously lucked out with Stiles as their neighbor. Yeah he can be loud, but he keeps it to normal hours, and he brings them food, they have movie nights, he’s so beautiful, and okay, Derek might be pining. The only problem is, Stiles has a girlfriend. And Derek HATES her.

OR

The one where Derek and Laura live next door to Stiles, and Derek has a completely out of control crush. A Sterek as neighbors one shot AU that got wildly out of control.

The Hollow Moon by thepsychicclam

It’s the summer after Stiles’ first year of college, and he’s working a crappy job and dealing with nightmares and anxiety - but he’s okay, he swears. He makes it through most days without too much trouble. Then, a certain werewolf comes back into town. Which Stiles doesn’t care about, nope, not at all.

After two and a half years, Derek returns to Beacon Hills with his small Pack. Though he tried to move on, something just kept drawing him back to Beacon Hills, he’s just not sure what. Now, he figures he can start building something like a life - but he keeps getting distracted by Stiles Stilinski of all people.

Permanent Fixture by linksofmemories

Derek is Scott’s older brother. Stiles is Scott’s best friend. Derek is falling in love with Stiles. This is a bit of a problem.

Wild Horses by thepsychicclam

Derek’s a drifter with no home, no destination, and no will to live. Stiles works on his family’s failing cattle and horse ranch while all his friends are going off to college. When Derek falls asleep in a random barn, exhausted and half-starved, he doesn’t expect to wake up on the other end of the sheriff’s shotgun. And Stiles sure as hell doesn’t expect his dad to invite the drifter in for breakfast.

Play Crack the Sky by WeAreTheCyclones

Excerpt from “Hale Pulls the Plug on the Future of Rock,” Rolling Stone, Issue 1203 – Oct. 2014“Fans and music industry vets alike are left reeling in the wake of bassist Derek Hale’s sudden departure from Smokes for Harris. At a time when the foursome from Beacon Hills, California seems to be on the cusp of rock superstardom after just one double platinum record, Smokes has everything to lose.”

Excerpt from “Smokes for Harris: Gladiator,” SPIN.com – Feb. 2015“Smokes for Harris gives in a little to the pop punk of yesteryear in their sophomore effort, but rather than pandering to fans of a lost era they elevate the genre in a way that hasn’t been seen in quite some time. Frontman Stiles Stilinski works double duty as singer and primary songwriter and proves that he can handle the task even without former bassist Derek Hale.“

Three Marks by sanam

"And then there was pain again, but this time it was in only three places—his arm, below his clavicle, and next to his heart, all on the left side. It felt like the skin was being sliced apart, ripped open, flayed off—And suddenly it was done.Derek looked across the room and saw the boy on the floor, looking about as bad as Derek felt.”

Derek and Stiles learn that bonding is probably best done with ridiculous amounts of video games and maybe a little bit of time.

Windows by dr_girlfriend

Derek has a new neighbor who won’t stop looking.

Excerpt:

“You’re blind,” Derek said flatly, the anger draining from him so suddenly he felt almost woozy. His vision cleared, his claws sliding back into blunt fingernails.

“Thanks for the memo, genius,” the kid said acidly. “I can still fucking defend myself, so don’t take another damn step.”

“Fuck, I…I’m sorry,” Derek stuttered.

“What?!” The kid’s brow crinkled. “I mean — what?! You’re fucking sorry!?” His lips thinned into a harsh line. “What, is this some kinda Hallmark movie where you’re discovering the error of your ways because you don’t want to rob a blind person?! That’s fucking condescending, man. I’ll have you know that —”

“Just, wait.” Derek interrupted what was apparently the start of a convincing argument as to why he should rob the kid after all, feeling his head start to spin. “This is — it’s a misunderstanding. I’m — I’m not robbing you. You’re — you’re safe, okay? I’m taking three steps back. Just — just let me explain.”

“Explain why you came busting into my apartment? Yeah, go right ahead, man, I can’t wait to hear this epic tale.”

Gravity’s Got Nothing on You by zosofi

“Three weeks,” Derek says.

“Still don’t want to,” Stiles says.

“I’ll pay you,” Derek says, and that… that has Stiles interested. Alf’s Antique’s may be a great job, but it’s not a high-paying job, and half of Stiles’s tuition is coming from financial aid, so…

“How much,” Stiles asks, “are we talking here? Because I know your family, dude. And it’ll be kind of awkward after.“

“My family thinks you’re some sort of fucking gift to the world,” Derek seethes, like he’s jealous, “they’ll probably be pissed at me when we break it off, so don’t worry about that. Five hundred bucks.”

“A thousand,” Stiles says, because screw ethics. Also, the Hale family is loaded. Derek can deal.

Dating Backwards by RemainNameless

Pornstars Derek and Stiles work for the same company. Derek only shoots with werewolves and Stiles only shoots with humans. That’s not going to change after they meet. It’s really not.(It might.)

Didn’t See That Coming by knittersrevolt

Stiles leaves Beacon Hills in the dust after he catches his husband cheating on him.

He finds his way to New York where he starts working for the Hale House Nursery, accidentally adopts a werewolf baby (through no fault of his own thank-you-very-much), and somehow starts training to be an Exorcist Emissary. So, in general, life was going good.

Then he hears that demons have found their way into his hometown. Can he face his inner demons and go back to save the day?

No Homo by RemainNameless

Stiles’ sophomore year starts something like this:3 FourLokos+ 1 peer-pressuring cat- 1 best bro to end all best bros= 1 Craigslist ad headline that reads “str8 dude - m4m - strictly platonic”.Derek is the fool who replies.

There’s Monsters at Home by calrissian18

“How did you get past the wards?” Derek had put them up, with Peter’s grudging assistance, after the Alpha pack had made themselves at home a few times too many.

The guy pulled a face. “You mean the wards a five-year-old girl with the mental ability of a goldfish could deconstruct?” He blinked wide eyes at Derek. “Gee, I don’t know. It’s bound to go down as one of life’s great mysteries.”

Derek despised him.

Prince Among Wolves by tylerfucklin

Looking for full day/evening sitter. 2 twin boys age 4. Must have exp. w/werewolves. Must be human. No pedophiles. No teenage girls. Pay negotiable.

Between Men and Lions by standinginanicedress

“I thought we could be friends,” Derek offers, to which Stiles gets an odd smile on his face.

“Friends,” he repeats, an odd inflection.

“Yes, friends.”

Stiles laughs, just barely. It’s more of an exhalation of breath than it is genuine mirth or anything else, and then he smiles. “I’m pretty good at friends,” he says with a tilt to his head, and Derek clears his throat and has to look away.

What’s Best For Everyone, Isn’t What’s Easy by gatergirl79

Derek is gone and Stiles is left holding the baby…well, a cheery three year old named Leah actually. While Derek searches for her mom, Stiles plays daddy. When the sour-alpha wolf returns with his ex in toe, things get strained between Stiles and Derek. Especially now that’s they’ve realized just what they mean to each other

[clowndictator]

New Verse: Prince Kokichi

❝ I wasn’t born into this world a prince just to live a boring life! ❞

GENERAL

Kokichi is the younger brother of Korekiyo, Korekiyo’s Sister (I use tulpacest’s name for her- Ayumu), and Shuichi, with Ayumu as the oldest, then Korekiyo, and then Shuichi. Their nationality is ~vaguely European~ so they will go by their first names! Their parents and Ayumu are dead, their parents from an assassination and their eldest sister from her chronic illness (it had been known about her whole life, but it suddenly got worse when their parents passed away, supposedly due to stress).

Kokichi is his usual lying, “evil” self, for the same reasons he is normally. When he isn’t bugging his older brothers or sword training, he’s sneaking out to play pretend. Pretend isn’t used casually here; Kokichi has, at any given time, up to five different personas which he juggles proficiently. All of them have different names, wear different clothes, talk differently, and use completely different body language. They’re wildly different in socioeconomic status and he forms mostly genuine friends while acting. It’s creepy, but the real problem is when he gets bored and ruins the lives of those his personas befriend. Once he got a whole innocent family executed for treason and laughed about it once it was done. For obvious reasons, he’s encouraged... not to keep sneaking out, but he finds new and more creative ways to escape the castle the more he’s contained.

RELATIONSHIPS

Korekiyo: His oldest brother and the current King. Kokichi isn’t very close to him, but he likes to bug him when he can. Shuichi: The middle brother! Kokichi is a lot closer to Shuichi. He knows Shuichi is bothered by his escapades, so Kokichi happily tells his tales to him, some true, some less so. Miu: His fiancee, a princess from another country. He despises her and the fact that she represents the lack of real freedom in his life. They’ve only met in person a few times, but sometimes he’s forced to send her letters. Kaede: Shuichi’s fiancee, another princess from elsewhere. Kokichi thinks she’s nice but a bit too serious. Other Royalty: Boring! Unless someone has a cool personality, Oma tends to be incredibly bored by other members of royalty. Royal Employees (knights, religious figures, jesters, assassins, bodyguards, etc.): Depending on their role, he may spend a lot of time with these people. After all, Kokichi has a distant fascination with the “common people”, and these people in particular are ones he’s allowed to hang around.

TL;DR: Kokichi is a prince in a European fantasy setting. He is the younger brother of Korekiyo and Shuichi and he is engaged to Miu Iruma. His personality and behavior is very similar to Arya Stark from GoT/ASoIaF.

Like everything on this blog, this AU is open to all, not just V3 muses. Other Kokichi O(u)mas may also use this AU and/or change it to fit them. I’m very flexible with the relationships as well if you feel your muse is better suited for something else. (aka if you’re a Shuichi and ship Saiouma, you could say you don’t want Shuichi to be Kokichi’s brother) A summary of this AU will be added to the muses page shortly after I post this.

[calligraphist-artemisia]

I’ll Take Her Place (Chapter 4)

Summary:  AU. When Allura breaks the news that she is to wed Prince Lotor in order to continue the peaceful relationship between Altea and Daibazaal, Pidge knows that she has to do something to change that. And so, with a little help, she comes up with a new plan. A better plan

Pairings: Keith/Pidge (main) ; Shiro/Allura (minor), Hunk/Lance (minor) ; Lotor/Allura (one-sided)

Chapter 1 - Next - Masterpost

Also posted on AO3 and fanfiction.net

I just want to take a moment to thank everyone for all of the wonderful comments and feedback you've left so far! It really is the highlight of my day when I pop online to find new notifications waiting for me and it's what keeps me pushing to update more regularly. 

So here's chapter 4, a little longer than the others so far. I hope you all enjoy it!

Chapter 4

Pidge slowly woke to something with a pointed edge nudging her in the ribs. There was the sound of whirring machinery and she could hear Hunk make a questioning sound before yelping in alarm.

“What did you build last night?” Lance asked, sounding as though he was trying not to laugh.

Hunk shrieked. “Bad robot! Down!”

Pidge sat up in time to witness Hunk running to the other side of one of the Green Lion's massive paws, where he ducked down to try and hide from the flying sentry drone which was giving chase. She watched for a moment, rational thought clawing its way back through a sleepy haze. “Huh. Might be a few more bugs to work out than I thought... C'mere, Rover!”

The drone made a questioning beep before soaring back to Pidge's side. It went still when she pressed a switch hidden on one side.

“Rover, huh? Making yourself a guard dog so Hunk stops touching your stuff?” Lance asked.

“He's going to keep you from taking my stuff too, so I wouldn't start laughing yet,” Pidge informed him.

Lance sulked for a few seconds as Hunk cautiously approached them, clearly watching out for any more drones that may spring out and attack him.

“You're an evil genius, Pidge,” Hunk informed her.

She grinned in response. “I know. So what brings you two down to my lair this morning?”

Hunk and Lance exchanged a glance, each trying to wordlessly convince the other to talk to her.

Lance lost. “First of all, it's after lunch and no one has seen you since yesterday. Shiro was worried.”

“We were all worried,” Hunk interjected.

“Yeah, yeah, we're all worried. Also, your fiance sent a request that you have dinner with him tonight. So there's that too,” Lance said with a bit of a malcontent grumble.

Pidge scowled and dropped her gaze.

Hunk noticed. Of course he did. He was far too tuned in to the feelings of his friends sometimes. “You have to get to know him at some point,” he said logically. “Wouldn't it be better to start now?”

“It's only been a day! Barely a day!” Pidge leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes, already beginning to feel overwhelmed. Was it too much to ask that she have a single interaction with other people without anyone mentioning her impending nuptials? “I need at least a deca-phoeb before I'm ready.”

“Empress Honerva talked them up to six months from two, so at least you have a while,” Lance said, trying to be helpful.

Hunk nodded. “It was incredible! I thought Emperor Zarkon would have to step in and order the council members to increase the time for her, but she handled it all on her own! And it wasn't in that kind of scary way like Allura does, she just won them over with facts and clear reasoning.”

“Some highlights: proper courtship before any marriage is a minimum of three months, no matter the circumstances,” Lance said, holding up his fingers to tick them off, one-by-one. “We're not at war with each other, so demanding the two of you to be married immediately is ridiculous; planning a royal wedding will take a minimum of five months, and that's rushing it; oh, and who could forget my favorite, the dress!”

“Please tell me I at least have a say in what I'll be wearing,” Pidge pleaded.

Lance nodded. “Oh, you do. And that's why the planning portion takes so long. It's tradition for the bride to design her own gown.”

Pidge looked a little pale.

“Luckily, you have Lance to help you,” Hunk said, sounding amused. “Three married sisters and two sisters-in-law means he's a pro at weddings, especially dresses.”

“Babe, you forgot my cousins. And my Aunt who has married five times since I was four,” Lance reminded him.

“Oh, yeah... How could I ever forget Aunt Constantine? She was always my favorite... Do you think she's on husband number six yet?”

“I hope not. I really liked Reggie. He was nice.”

Pidge shoved her worries aside, burying them deep down in favor of focusing on her friends. It was so easy to lose herself in Lance's stories as he began to weave colorful tales of his eccentric and large family and his many experiences helping his relatives plan their weddings. With the two of them by her side, she pulled herself up off the floor and walked to the kitchen to get some food before going to face Shiro.

“How are you doing?”

Pidge looked up at Shiro as she began her pre-training stretches, easing her body into physical activity after a night of sitting on the cold, hard floor. She shrugged before bending down, folding herself in half at the waist to touch her toes. “I'm okay.”

Shiro crossed his arms over his chest. “Pidge, you spent twenty hours hiding in Green's hangar. That's not-!”

“Sounds normal to me,” Pidge interrupted. “Working on stuff helps me cope. Seriously, I'm fine. I got some work done and it gave me time to think. I'm okay.”

Shiro frowned at her, struggling to find the right words to say for the unusual situation they were in. Normally, the best route with Pidge was blunt honesty – no careful prodding into her feelings, no treating her as though she was made of glass – but something about her body language was screaming at him that wasn't time to talk at all.

She wasn't ready.

He backed off, at least for the moment. “We're just running simple drills today. Allura and I have a meeting with the Coalition Leaders in three vargas, so there's no time for more than that. And you have a dinner to prepare for.”

The only sign that Pidge had heard him was in her slight loss of balance as she continued her warm-up. She quickly righted herself as she lifted her left leg off the ground, stretching it out behind her.

“Queen Alanna has offered her assistance if you have any questions,” Shiro said. He hesitated a few seconds before adding: “We're all here for you, Pidge.”

Shiro could tell the exact moment she closed herself off, thoroughly done with their conversation. He'd stepped over that invisible line in the sand, knowing how she would likely react, but it was something he felt needed to be said or else he'd spend days regretting it.

He stepped away to give her some space and joined Hunk and Lance on their jog around the perimeter of the training deck.

“Okay, I haven't seen Pidge look that annoyed since that time you accidentally bumped her into a bowl of Trufalian meringue and started a whole chain reaction of everything on the banquet table crashing to the ground,” Lance said. “Which, granted, wasn't really your fault, but that isn't the case this time. So what did you say?”

“Just that we're all here for her,” Shiro explained. “It was poor timing on my part.”

Hunk looked stricken. “It wasn't something we did, is it? She was laughing with us earlier, so I thought everything was okay. But what if it was something we said? Maybe she was laughing just so we wouldn't worry. What if-?”

“I don't think it was anything you did or said,” Shiro cut in gently, stopping the Yellow Paladin before he could get himself worked up into a panic.”If we think this is hard for us to accept, think of how it is for Pidge. She's the one this is all happening to. Sometimes it will be easy and sometimes she won't want to talk about it at all. Right now is the latter.”

“Man, this is so messed up,” Lance grumbled.

Yeah, Shiro privately agreed. That was one way of putting it.

Pidge was a wreck of tangled emotions.

Training had helped work out some of her frustration, but it wasn't enough. Perhaps if it had been one of their monthly marathon sessions, which always left her swimming in sweat and so exhausted that she could barely lift her arms, it would have helped. At least then it would have been acceptable for her to shower and then crawl into bed and sleep for twelve hours. Instead, she had to shower and get ready for dinner with Prince Keithir.

What were the rules for something like that? What was she supposed to wear? How was she supposed to act? She wasn't even sure how a normal date back on Earth was supposed to go (having never been on one). She knew she could ask Hunk or even Lance, but at the same time she wasn't sure how any of their advice would help.

Logically, her favorite sweatpants were out. And her sweatshirts. Really, any form of casual and comfortable wasn't appropriate for dinner with her fiance.

Pidge groaned and flopped face-first onto her bed, letting herself wallow in confused misery for a few long minutes. She knew they were on a tight schedule, but was it necessary for them to immediately begin the 'getting to know you' portion of their courtship? She'd much rather spend the next few days (weeks) tinkering with Rover and writing new programs to try and locate her family. She just needed time for it to fully sink in.

“You chose this,” she bitterly reminded herself. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, refusing to let a single tear fall. “I chose this. Allura would be preparing to marry Lotor right now if I hadn't, and that's infinitely worse. I can do this.”

She didn't often resort to talking to herself, but it was surprisingly helpful. Pidge was not okay (sorry, Shiro), but she could handle it. She got out of bed and walked over to her closet, which housed what little clothing she'd picked over three years. Her original sweatshirt and shorts were still there, though it had been over a year since she last wore them. Despite what Lance said, she had grown a few inches since leaving Earth and her clothes no longer fit as well as before. There was the Altean dress Allura had gifted her on her seventeenth birthday and the robes given to her by Ryner after her brief stay on Olkarion, learning everything she could about their incredible technology. She had two pairs of sweatpants and jeans, as well as several plain shirts and sweatshirts, but those were just for everyday use.

Never before had Pidge found herself at odds with the lack of nice clothing she owned. Whenever there was a formal situation that required their attendance, she and the other paladins would wear their armor. There had never been a need for anything else.

She wondered if Prince Keithir would be insulted if she wore the Altean dress.

Someone knocked on her door just as she was reaching out to pull it down. Clad only in her green lion robe and matching slippers, she shuffled over and prodded the button to open the door. Lance stood there with a box in his hands, looking unusually unsure.

“I got you this,” he said, holding out the box for her to take. “I saw it at the Space Mall the last time Hunk and I made a run there for those fruits he likes. I was saving it for the next vacation Shiro and Allura let us have, but I thought you could use it more now. You might find the familiarity comforting, at least.”

Curiosity piqued, Pidge removed the lid and then froze, staring open-mouthed at the fabric waiting inside. She slowly pulled it out of the box, marveling over how soft it was.

It was like someone had taken her original sweatshirt and turned it into a stylish dress. The sleeves and down each side were the exact same shade of green, with white filling in the space between. A hint of lace peeked out from under the skirt. Her only wish was that it had the same high collar rather than a simple crew neck, but it was only a minor wish.

“It's perfect,” she whispered, finding it hard to get the words out. She knocked the box away as she threw her arms around Lance's middle. “Thank you so much!”

Lance hugged her back tightly. “That's what friends are for.”

Dinner was a quiet affair between them, which wasn't unexpected. Keither was hardly an expert at basic communication and his future wife didn't seem to be much better. Ten minutes in and he was already convinced that inviting her to have dinner with him so soon had been a Very Bad Idea. Except that it had been his mother's request and denying Empress Honerva was an Even Worse Idea, so there they were.

Sitting.

Alone.

Not speaking.

Keithir glanced up and cleared his throat, wracking his brain for anything to say. “So, uh...?”

“Yes?”

His thoughts abruptly derailed at her simple question. “Um... enjoying the food?”

Big amber eyes stared at him for a moment before lowering back to her plate. “It's good. Are you, uh, enjoying it too?”

Keithir absently wondered if it was alright to be glad she was struggling just as much as he was.  “Yeah, it's good.”

The silence resumed, stretching on and slowly consuming them. Any attempt from either of them was too weak to combat it.

It was the most awkward ordeal he had ever gone through, and that included his physician's four-hour long lecture on puberty and reproduction when he was younger.

Even worse, once the food had been cleared, their evening still wasn't over.

Keithir stood and moved around to help her out of her chair before offering her his arm. She stared up at him in confusion. “Can I walk you back to your room?”

“Oh,” she uttered softly. “Yes. Yes, of course.” She took his arm with no trouble and they began to walk through the castle together.

Normally, Keithir was content with the quiet. Most days he preferred it. Constant, never ending chatter, especially when it was small-talk, was one of his least favorite things. But he could feel the awkwardness between them, hanging thick in the air, and made worse by the fact that neither of them knew what to do or say to make it a little more bearable.

He found himself staring at her, only partly paying attention to where he was walking. His eyes were drawn to the shade of green she wore, and then to the dress itself. It was a simple thing, designed with comfort in mind rather than extravagance. It was...

“Cute.”

“Huh?” Pidge looked up, eyes wide as they met his own.

Keithir felt his face heat up. “Your dress. It's cute... Green looks good on you.”

She looked away, her cheeks reddening slightly. “Thank you.”

There was a brief moment where Keithir thought that was the end of it and that they were doomed to never break through the thick wall between them, but then Pidge sucked in a break and weakly grinned up at him. “Good thing I'm the Green Paladin, right?”

Keithir found himself smiling back. “You're right. Imagine if you were Blue instead.”

Pidge's laughter shattered what remained of the awkward atmosphere. “I'd rather not. Besides, that would mean Lance would be Green and I don't think he could pull it off. You, though...”

Keithir crinkled his nose. “Me? In Green? Not really my color.”

“Oh?” Pidge asked with a strange tone to her voice. “So then what is your color? Black?”

(Some part of him realized she was actually teasing him. It was nice.)

“Red.”

Pidge's smile dropped, taking the warmth forming between them with it, and she looked away. “Yeah. You'd look good in red...” She pulled away from him as they approached her room. “Thanks for walking me back, Your Highness.”

“Keithir. Just... just Keithir,” he told her as she punched in her code and the door slid open. She turned to bid him goodnight before going inside, leaving him to wonder how he'd managed to sever the fragile connection they'd made in a split second.

He stood there for a moment, lost and confused, and then slowly turned away as a bitterness swelled in his chest. “Goodnight, Lady Katherine,” he said to her closed door.

NEXT