#but he is a very dense plushie! which is fun

[tj-crochets]

The other post is getting too long so here’s the salmon plushie progress! Three more fins to make and attach, and eyes, but the first two fins are done and the fish is stuffed!

I filled it with mostly batting scraps, some fabric scraps, and a little bit of polyfil and it weighs about two pounds (that doesn’t sound like much but it’s a lot for a stuffed animal!)

[delvalentine]

BLLK relationship firsts: who was interested first, who confessed first, & who initiated the first kiss.

❥ Headcanons for: H. Chigiri, M. Bachira, R. Itoshi, R. Mikage, S. Nagi, Y. Isagi

❥ Notes/Tags: Implied time skip ages, SFW, gn!reader, spoiler-free

❥ WC: drabble (~350w each)

❥ PC: HDR ♡

♡ Yoichi Isagi

❥ Who was interested first: you

Isagi would be too in his head to notice your growing crush on him. He’s lucky you’re attracted to his ambition and talent, because he’s definitely the dense type to let flirting fly over his head. Hang in there.

❥ Who confessed first: him

After (finally) picking up on your (heavy-handed) cues, he tries to strategize the perfect way to step up your friendship and ask you to go on a date with him as a partner. He had it all figured out. Where he’d take you, what he’d say, what you’d say, etc. He ran the outcomes like the true strategist he is. But you show up in an outfit that makes his brain melt and he gets so anxious and tongue-tied in the moment that he basically just blurts out “will you go out with me?” instead of the rehearsed speech he had in mind. It’d be easier for him to play in a tie-breaking internationally-streamed match than try to be suave. Luckily for him, you already had him all figured out (he was sweating bullets and acting so stiff, after all) and was just waiting for your opportunity to say ‘yes’.

❥ Who initiated the first kiss: you

Once again, he had this masterful plan that crumbled to pieces when he actually had to put it into action. His nerves just aren’t adapted to dealing with you. Something about you makes him short-circuit and go blank, and it’s adorable to have Yocchan in the palm of your hand. While he’s stuck on the details of trying to direct the perfect first kiss, brow furrowed and quiet in his thoughts, you lean over and gently press a kiss to his cheek. He basically explodes, before getting shy and upset that you beat him to it when he wanted to kiss you. He doesn’t realize that you’re smart enough to know how to play him; you just need to make it a competition, and he immediately plays along. He’s inexperienced and you’re his first, but he learns quickly… about how to ‘devour’ you.

♡ Seishiro Nagi

❥ Who was interested first: you

He’s popular amongst the masses because of his height, good looks, athletic talent, academic smarts, and other wildly impressive traits. You never thought you had a chance in high heaven with him, so you settled for having a crush at a distance. You nurtured your feelings privately and had fun in your daydreams of dating the pro athlete. It was already enough for you to even meet him, but to imagine that he actually wants you to stick around?! That definitely made you feel shy, but he reassures you (and makes you fall even harder, dammit) by telling you that you make him feel comfortable. 

❥ Who confessed first: him

Nagi probably assumes that the two of you are together without actually establishing it because he thought it was obvious that he liked you back. He ends up announcing your supposed relationship during a live interview, which blows up your phone to the point where you have to delete your apps because they kept crashing. He properly asks you to be his partner after the misunderstanding, sheepishly offering flowers and a plushie of your favourite Pokémon as an apology. He looks like he feels genuinely bad about it, so how could you not forgive him? He isn’t a smiley person, but he can’t stop grinning when you tell him you’re happy to be his significant other. 

❥ Who initiated the first kiss: him

It would be very casual. He’d give you a sleepy peck on the cheek that flusters you because of how out of the blue it is. He’d have the nerve to look confused about why you’re so worked up about it and does the temperature check thing with his hand while peering deep into your eyes to see what’s making you so nervous—as if it’s not him. When you mutter that you were expecting him to ask, he asks you point blank if he can kiss you again. This is the moment where he realizes he’s addicted to making you blush because of him. 

♡ Meguru Bachira

❥ Who was interested first: him

He basically saw you and immediately went “I want that one”. He does everything he can to get your attention and get close to you. He’s not shy about pestering you to spend time with him and asks you specifically to cheer him on. This strategy backfires. His attempts to court you are so direct that you end up not taking him seriously, assuming he’s joking around like usual. He complains about this to anybody that’ll listen or tolerate staying in the same room as him as he whines about you not getting the hint. 

❥ Who confessed first: him

Bachi’s impatient and confesses way too soon. Even though you kindly reject him the first time, he persists. You end up becoming friends first despite knowing about his romantic feelings for you, and over time you start to develop them too. After all, he’s so nice to you and genuinely cares about you and making you smile. It’d be impossible not to fall in love with him. When you finally tell him that you’re starting to feel the same way and can return his affections, he’s over the moon. He never gave up.

❥ Who initiated the first kiss: him

He was so desperately touch-starved for physical touch that he asks to kiss you, his voice actually quiet and uncharacteristically serious for once, maybe some few minutes after you officially become his significant other. He opens an eye to peek at your expression after leaning in, which makes his heart stutter like it always does whenever he’s around you. It’s like he can’t believe this is actually happening even though he’s been trying to get you to fall in love with him like he fell for you on day one. He holds you so tightly it’s like he’s scared you’re going to vanish and he’ll realize it was fake—the way you lean into him tells him that you’re not. 

♡ Hyoma Chigiri

❥ Who was interested first: you

He has a striking look that caught your eye immediately. He’s used to getting confessions and is exceedingly popular, so you didn’t think you were special for liking him and never entertained the notion that he would like you back. It was important to you and him that you maintained a good friendship, but that platonic bond was quick to blur into something that was intimate in a different way. 

❥ Who confessed first: him

Chigiri has seen a lot of shoujo anime and knows the tricks and tips inside out. He gives you a picture perfect confession. The two of you go out in yukata to attend a matsuri/summer festival, your hair both tied back in ornate styles that complimented each other’s look. You play games together (where he wins you all the prizes you ask for) and share street food. He wipes powdered sugar off your lip with a thumb and laughs at your expression. When the fireworks burst out over the night sky, he reaches for your hand and squeezes it tightly. After all the noise has cleared, he asks you to be his partner. It’s romantic, and maybe it’s cheesy, but you happily say yes.

❥ Who initiated the first kiss: him

You cannot tell me he wouldn’t try a kabedon on you. Though he is very gentle with you and never aggressive, he does know exactly what to do to make your knees weak. He presses a fist on the doorframe above your head, simpering down at you, hair falling over his face, the pink only accentuating the burning look he gives you. He leans in slowly, giving you a chance to back out or ask him to stop, but you don’t. The kiss is very passionate and befitting of somebody that values chivalry and caring for your partner as much as he does. 

♡ Rin Itoshi

❥ Who was interested first: him

You first piqued his interest by making a sassy quip when he accidentally ignored you. He’s still getting used to the whole “be nice” concept but still doesn’t care much for people who aren’t involved in the soccer world. You’re one of the first to be noticed by him, even though the two of you are so different. He’s rarely this curious about somebody that isn’t a sports rival.

❥ Who confessed first: you

Rin would rather die than show somebody that he’s vulnerable, so even if it’s quite evident that he has romantic feelings for you, he simply pretends he doesn’t. You basically have to sit him down and say, word for word, “I like you and want to be with you” before he can work up the nerve to face his own feelings. He’s so used to people he loved leaving him that he’s terrified of going through the same hurt. He thought it’d be better off never even trying than having it fail or get rejected. The last thing he wants is to drive off another person he’s starting to care about. But then he looks at you and feels like a total idiot for denying himself the chance to be with you in the first place. He starts to bet on faith and love again. Even though he’s still scared of rejection or having a falling out, he’s willing to risk the heartbreak if he can have the chance to be with you.

❥ Who initiated the first kiss: him

He lives by philosophy. He doesn’t lose, and he doesn’t waste time. Inefficiency is worthless to him. Your first kiss with him is  surprisingly not awkward; he drops you off at your place after a quiet date and chastely presses a goodbye kiss to your lips with his finger guiding your chin up. He steels himself to sprint away after such an out of character display of affection, but is shocked (and surprisingly cooperative) when you grab the collar of his coat and pull him in for a deeper one. 

♡ Reo Mikage

❥ Who was interested first: him

He did not want to like you at first. You always teased him and never took him seriously; it was an emasculating experience for him since he was so used to having his way. But that annoyance meant he never stopped thinking about you, and sure enough, in true enemies to friends to lovers fashion… that “I hate them” began to morph into the panic of “Oh god, wait. Do I like them?”

❥ Who confessed first: him

He, delulu, definitely ruined more than a couple of flowers (and toothbrushes) to try and divine if “they love me, they love me not”. If the last pull ended up on “not”, he would immediately find another one and keep going until it landed on “they love me”. He’s so emotional and almost pathetic when he asks you out, a hot mess of a tsundere if you’ve ever seen one. He moreso declares that the two of you are together instead of really asking. He fully expected you to make fun of him like you always did, but you treated him with a lot more gentle patience which only sealed his fate of being head over heels in love with you. 

❥ Who initiated the first kiss: you

Even though Reo’s obsessed with you, you’re the one who kisses him first, mainly just to see his reaction when he’s caught off guard. He gets so flustered so easily and demands, stuttering, that you “explain yourself this instant!” Your explanation is another kiss, which just about makes him pass out. You kiss him when he tries to retaliate, cutting off every attempt of his to start a sentence until finally he gets the cue to shut up and accept your love. His face is so petulant when you’re done, but he’s too proud to ask you to kiss him again, so he ends up taking a leaf out of your book and moving in to take what he wants. 

[jophiel-shakes]

I’m not sure if you have a character limit, but could I get the glamrocks reaction to them developing romantic feelings (separately) towards a coworker? Thank you, your writing is amazing

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note :: everyone is conflicted cause they luv u

warning :: none

reader pronouns :: they/them

relationship :: pining

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Chica

She’s super excited!!

Feeling infatuation is exciting and new to her, and for her to feel for to you of all people? Amazing!

She’s actually very open about her attraction to you, sometimes too honest.

“Ohmigod, you look amazing today! My heart totally just skipped a beat!”

Her compliments can get a little embarrassing but she could care less.

Chica wants you to know how much she loves you with no shame.

Expect many gifts from her, mainly food. Maybe some plushies of her.

“Take this mini me, to remind me by!” Another addition to your pile of Chica related toys.

She is always asking you out, “Hey hey! Wanna get some pizza after your shift?” Or “I heard the theatre is playing some chick flick, let’s go see it!”

Chica can sometimes be a little overwhelming with her love but she only means well <3

Roxanne

She doesn’t come to terms with her feelings for a while, she tries to repress them. She’s too independent to have a crush!

When she does realise that she’s got feelings for you, she doesn’t want to accept it.

Suddenly she gets flushed around you, always asking herself “Are my standards that low?”

Surprisingly she’s very easily flustered, suddenly compliments from you break down her walls easily.

She’ll react like “W-What did you just say to me?!” Instead of “That’s all?”

She tries to keep up the persona of confidence but fails miserably.

You can totally tell she’s changed, but don’t understand why! The other glamrocks are basically screaming it at you, but you’re too dense.

Roxy will never confess, too embarrassing (and she’s deathly afraid of rejection).

Neither will you, because you have no idea about her feelings!

Pls help these pour souls.

Glamrock Freddy

Freddy is quite in touch with his emotions and knew right away that he had begun to develop feelings for you.

He just has no clue what to do with those feelings!!

He confides in his friends, who all tell him very different things.

Roxy said “Don’t bother yourself with love, get over it and focus on your image.”

Chica (the only sane one apparently) said “Be open! Wear your heart on your sleeve and show them you love them with lots of food!”

Monty simply said “Why the hell are you asking me?”

Conflicted, Freddy decides it’s inappropriate to confess his love due to your work relationship but shows you much love an attention through gifts and words of admiration.

The others don’t keep their mouths shut so you’ll find out sooner or later.

But the bear really dreads/looks forward to that day.

Love is confusing!

Montgomery Gator

Monty doesn’t hate these feeling…

Which is saying a lot considering that he’s him.

He’s always had a soft spot for you and now he understands why.

Granted, these feelings come with jealously and overprotectiveness.

He becomes a little clingy, but brushes it off as just spending time with you so you don’t fuck anything up.

His love language is actually quality time! Activities and lots of fun :)

He loves playing golf with you, he loves it even more when it becomes competitive.

He tried to give you a gift, flowers, once and it honestly wasn’t him but it was the thought that counts!

Because his love language is mainly quality time being around you helps him sort out his emotions and just bathe in the love.

If he embarrasses himself or makes a wrong move expect him to punch a wall- it’s not always sunshine and lollipops.

[luveline]

a special friend, part two [Fred Weasley, George Weasley x reader]

tags: reader-insert, platonic relationships, friendship, can be read as romantic for either or both, hurt/comfort, mental health issues, implied/referenced self-harm, dissociation, quiet reader, shy reader, sad reader

relationships: fred weasley x reader, george weasley x reader

wordcount: 3.2k

read part one here

The common room was always so clean. The house-elves must work themselves half to death with effort, as you never saw a hair or speck of dust where there ought not to be one. The small refreshment table filled and refilled through every new day and the fireplace was always roaring on cold winter nights. It was especially cold that evening, and so the members of Gryffindor house benefited from a crackling fire and hot chocolate coming out of the ears.

You basked in the warmth of the flame, sitting cross-legged before it. A cup of hot chocolate cooled in between your hands, which were both laden with bandaids and germolene. Fred and George’s orders, of course. You were not to scratch, bite or mess in any detrimental way with your hands, arms or skin. If you did, you were to report to them for immediate bandaging.

At first, they’d simply been spelling each wound away. This had an opposite effect, as the freshly healed skin was perfect for picking whenever your mood turned - which was often. You found yourself blinded and basked in the light of being cared for by others, and although you may have preferred complete autonomy over your own body, you couldn’t say you minded the attentiveness of the twins. They’d made it their personal mission to prevent any self-harm, accidental or purposeful. You weren’t sure you even knew the difference half the time.

A quiet had settled over the room. It seemed as though each red and gold student was content to breathe in the smell of chestnut and pine in peaceful, companionable silence. You found yourself smiling kindly at each person who looked your way. You couldn’t imagine having done that before you had become acquainted with the twins.

Acquainted was a word you used to protect yourself. Friendly was too confident, too firm. You sometimes dreamt of horror stories where you, confident and comfortable, admitted how much you cared for them. In these dreams, they laughed in your face. Poked fun at your hope.

Of course, Fred and George weren’t cruel. If they felt that way, they certainly wouldn’t rub it in your face or make you feel embarrassed about it. But some shame never went away, and you carried it like an ever-burning torch.

Despite the pleasant warmth of the room, chills racked your spine at the thought. You pushed it from your head, attempting to think of anything else. You traced a pattern through the braided strands of the rug you were lazing upon, first the flames of a bonfire towering ten feet tall, then a mirror of the powdered sugar landscape outside.

Two warm bodies settled in the carpet on either side of you. A long arm wrapped around your shoulders confidently. The floral scent of your perfume mingled with the strong scent of burning caramel and something woody, the signature fragrance of the Weasley twins.

George moved first, plonking a stuffed toy into your lap. He positioned the neck carefully so that the teddy bear was sat as comfortable as you were.

“For you,” said Fred.

“An early Christmas gift,” George added.

The bear was spotted unusually like some sort of hybrid creature. You wondered where they could possibly have acquired such an artefact.

“We saw him and thought of you,” they said together.

That was rich. And maybe correct. After all, it was a weird looking plushie and you weren’t exactly renowned for your normality. You didn’t say much, simply handing off your cold drink to George without so much as a sideways glance and brought the bear to your face. You grazed your nose against its brown stomach and inhaled, breathing in its clean scent.

Both twins were used to the general quietness that came with your presence and didn’t pressure any response. You knew you should’ve said thank you, or even smiled gratefully, but you just couldn’t make your mouth move the way you wanted. You placed your hand on each brothers leg and applied the barest amount of pressure, hoping it showed gratitude.

“Well, I’m starving.”

“I’m so glad you said so, my brother.”

“Yes, I’m craving something savory, Gred.”

“Something juicy, Forge.”

“Such as?”

You looked between them like a muggle attending a tennis match, back and forth and back and forth. They ran circles around you for their own enjoyment, you assumed, but maybe also to make you feel more included.

“Y/N, fancy a trek to the kitchens?”

Before you could say no, or yes, or make up your mind and decide what it was you wanted to do, your stomach growled. Fred grinned wickedly.

They ushered you out of the portrait hole and down the stairs without preamble, flanking your sides like bodyguards. You didn’t mind, taking time to smile at the castle ghosts and portraits as you went.

The twins shot each other looks when they thought you couldn’t see. One said, how do you think she is? Another said, I think she’s however you think she is. Both said, she seems okay today.

It would feel a little patronizing if it weren’t so foreign - to have people care about your well-being so deeply they made changes to their day to see you and went out of their way to make you feel good; you’d find it condescending if it wasn’t so delightful.

That is to say, you felt conflicted. Happy that somebody cared, ashamed that they also felt concerned. They worried over everything these days, what you ate and what classes you had and oh, ghostie, do you need help with that? Y/N, sweetheart, let me carry that for you, lest your arms grow too tired.

It was… nice. It was nice, even if it was painful. Sometimes, it reminded you why you didn’t allow yourself the pleasure of friendship in the first place.

You hummed to yourself. Making sound had become a little easier. You weren’t inclined to say a whole lot, but allowing yourself to be louder, to take up space, had come easier the longer you spent with them. Neither Fred nor George minded if you huffed after too many stairs or if you clicked gobstones together at the foot of their beds.

The song was one of those cheesy Christmas numbers you’d heard on the radio. It was warm and comforting, bringing tears to your eyes if you thought about it too much. George slipped into song with you easily, humming much more loudly and obnoxiously. Fred just grinned to himself, keeping dutiful watch of the corridors.

You bubbled like a shaken can of coke by the time you arrived at the painting that enclosed the kitchen doorway, feeling too happy for your own good. Despite feeling very hungry, not a lick of fatigue or unhappiness tinged your mood, though the fuzzy numbness of every day threatened your well-being if you stopped to think too long.

The door swung open obediently after your half-hearted tickle insisted upon by the boys.

“What do you feel like, Y/N, sweet or savoury? There’s bound to be something you’ll fancy,” George said.

You held in a grimace. There were lots of things you wanted to try, the kitchens smelled like so many amazing things. The cloying smells of jam and treacle and custard, the hearty scents of gravy and roast dinner. It was too bad, then, that most everything you ate tasted stale. For years, your tastebuds had been slacking. During your worst days, food held no taste at all, resulting in your decreased appetite.

A tingling began in your fingers. You didn’t know what to say, or how to say it, how to convey that you didn’t really feel up to anything at all. You knew they would protest as they always did when you didn’t eat.

“Bread,” you managed. Bread was a safe choice. Dense enough to feel filling, easy to keep down, and bland to begin with.

Both boys were frowning but trying not to at your choice.

George moved forward, catching the attention of a harrowed looking house elf. They conversed with familiarity and soon you were being beckoned to a table that was relatively clear. Within minutes you were surrounded by bread, crusty rolls and sliced sourdough.

George casually nudged a bowl of tomato soup in your direction.

The surface shined with grease. It even had a swirl of cream and a sprig of basil afloat.

He looked at you, eyes pleading.

“You too,” you said.

This appeased him. The boys sat across from you with their own bowls, eating in the horrific way that teenage boys do. By the time they’d finished, you’d managed half of your own meal and two slices of bread. The nausea you experienced from just existing was starting to build, accompanied by the disappointment of your bland meal. You’d hoped an improved mood would help your appetite, but you still felt unsatisfied.

The boys grabbed a passing plate of tarts and ice cream.

Your good mood was wearing thin. You bit down on the tip of your thumb and stared at the grain of the table.

You bit down harder.

“Hey. Hey! Don’t do that,” Fred said, reaching forward as if to grab your hand. You pushed it under the table.

George pushed the plate of confectionary closer to you. “Chew on one of these instead, hm?”

You took it all back - this was patronising. Lovely and thoughtful and very, excruciatingly patronising.

You didn’t want to say no, or push it away, or eat anything else or even laugh it off. You wanted to do nothing. You lay your head down on the table, closing your eyes. You caught a murmur or two between them, though you couldn’t make out the words with your ear pressed so hard against the wood and the other covered by your falling hair. The table was smooth and cool under your skin.

A chair scraped against the floor. Footsteps. A broad hand against your back.

“You’re like a steam train running out of coal sometimes.”

You knew he was hoping for a response, a joke, a sign you’d been cheered up.

Through slow blinks, you could make out his face. Endlessly amused and a little sad, framed by the candlelight. He was beautiful, you thought absently. They were both beautiful.

“You okay?” he said quietly.

“Mm,”

“Mm? Is mm a yes or a no?”

“Mm,”

“Alright,” he said, rubbing a soothing path up between your shoulder blades and down again. It would’ve been dizzying if you could think straight, it made the numbness a little woozy. You preened beneath his touch like a pleased cat, feeling the unhappiness melt just a little.

It was crazy how affection could make you feel better, even if it didn’t always solve the problem.

Embarrassed, you mumbled, “you’re going to kill me.”

Fred smiled. “How so?”

“You’re fattening me up like a lamb to slaughter.”

He didn’t quite laugh, huffing through his nose. He really was very handsome up close. His hair was curling at just below his ears, a lush auburn colour that complemented his pale, freckle adorned skin. His eyes were a heart-melting brown so that his pupils were lost. The look he gave you was searing like he knew exactly what you were thinking about him. Your ears were tinged with heat, cheeks filling with colour.

He retracted his hand.

“Wrap some of those up, Georgie. Ghostie needs her bed.”

“It shall be done, brother mine!”

You smiled despite yourself.

-

For your birthday, the twins had gifted you a simple necklace. The chain was silver, reaching to just below your collar bone. It had no charm or jewel. It was perfect.

It helped you sometimes when you felt out of it to run it between two fingers or tug it gently from left to right, feeling the chain links rolling behind your neck.

You’d tried that, among every other coping mechanism drilled into your head by George and Fred over the past few weeks. You drew circles were you wanted to scratch, put plasters over fingertips you wanted to pick at. You took big breaths and did the stretches George insisted on. You even tried getting a full night’s sleep - nothing worked.

It filled you with guilt. You felt as though you were letting them both down by struggling.

You stared out the window of the dormitory at the sky, moonlight spilling onto your skin and staining your clothes a gauzy silver. You’d read once that sometimes when the planets were in rotation, you could see them as though they were as close as the moon.

This didn’t seem right to you. How could Mars seem so close? It was an optical illusion. The planets revolved around the sun, but humans had once thought they revolved around Earth instead.

It must’ve been a very strange experience to realise you weren’t as important as you thought. The Earth was just the Earth, spinning and wobbling its path through space.

You shook your head, feeling lost. It was ridiculous to project your feelings on the solar system. But still, you couldn’t help but feel like, despite its inhabitants and its systems, the Earth was so lonely.

Your necklace began to grow cold until it was almost like ice against your skin. One of the twins, or maybe both, had charmed it to change temperature. Cold usually meant, ‘Ghostie, you awake?’

You cringed against the sensation. Why couldn’t they booty call you like normal young men, throwing stones at your window with a boom box? Or, for merlin’s sake, an owl?

You grumbled to yourself, throwing the fleece blanket from your body. You were hardly dressed for company in knickers and a tank top, so you threw on a grey zip-up jacket and a pair of pyjama shorts that were hardly any better than the knickers. Luckily the jacket hung past the shorts. You wanted to care that you were dressed scantily, really, but the boys wouldn’t care and you didn’t have it in you to find something else.

You trekked down the stairs, your trainer socks slippery against the well-worn wood. Fred stretched languidly in front of the fireplace, a pack of exploding snap cards and a mountain of chocolate frogs beside him whilst George was sitting much more straight-backed on the sofa.

“I’m cold,” you said, announcing your arrival. The redheads turned to look at you over their shoulders. Fred rolled his eyes at you and flicked his wand. The necklace slowly heated until it was pleasantly warm against your collarbones.

You clambered over the back of the sofa with little grace, folding your knees underneath you and leaning heavily against George’s arm. He wrapped his arm around your shoulder.

“If I were a lesser man, I’d ask where your bottoms were, Y/L/N,” said Fred, shuffling the cards dexterously.

You raised your jacket wordlessly, exposing your bottoms.

“Wouldn’t you know, they were there the whole time.”

“You assumed the same as me, George.”

George didn’t reply, though his expression said he was similarly embarrassed.

“And do you always let girls you presume to be half-naked climb all over you?” you asked.

“So talkative,” George chastened.

“Don’t change the subject! I’m interested in the answer,” said Fred.

“Oh shove off! You insufferable tyrants.”

Ah, so he knows how it feels now, you thought. You looked up into his face, the line of his jaw.

You looked down at your legs, feeling fatigued. Smooth stretches of skin and fine hair interrupted only by thin white lines. The low light made them almost impossible to see. They shined like silver when you moved, caught by the light of a nearby candle. They felt a lifetime away now when a young you had used pins and quills and little carving knives to punish yourself for bad behaviour.

You traced a slightly thicker one with a pointed fingernail. You pushed it nastily into the scar, but it didn’t hurt.

You sighed.

Fred and George were half arguing about something you didn’t catch, Fred through a mouthful of chocolate.

It was hard, always being miserable. People often criticized the moody for ruining the mood, but it wasn’t as if you could choose how to be. You wanted to wake each day and be happy and entertaining and absurdly good-natured, like the twins. It was an abject cruelty, then, that every day you woke up and felt the immeasurable dread of continuing on another day. Not even magic could help you with that.

You rejected Fred’s offer to play, happy to sit and watch the boys play. You let yourself slide into the space George had vacated, curling into a tight ball. Your stomach hurt.

Godric, there was always something fucking wrong with you.

You were frustrated. The boys could tell. Their game of snap was stretched thin, and you knew it was your fault. You wrinkled your nose at the smell of singed hair, restless. You squirmed against the warm leather under your skin, feeling sticky and out of sorts.

You closed your eyes against the aching and slept.

You woke up crying.

Fred shifted in his sleep. He was leaning against your legs, his hair and face smushed into the leather beneath you. George was facedown in the carpet. You pressed a hand to your mouth to muffle any sound.

The clock on the wall read 4 minutes past 4 o’clock in the morning. You’d only managed an hour and a half of sleep.

You couldn’t remember what you’d been dreaming. Maybe somewhere familiar. Faces you recognized. It didn’t matter, only the feeling of being crushed by the air. You reached out without thinking, grabbing Fred’s shoulder.

He roused gracelessly, blinking through squinted eyes at you. A hard sob rocked you to the core, the feeling of breathlessness sinking deep into your chest.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurting?”

You couldn’t answer. You grasped for his arm, begging him to do something, to save you. You felt as though you were going to run out of air.

“Hey, you’re alright. You’re okay. Let’s breathe, should we? Breathe with me.” He grabbed the hand you’d pushed over your mouth and brought it to his chest. You could feel him take a huge inhale and you tried your best to replicate it.

“Good! That’s good. You’re doing so well.” Another big breath, a long exhale.

“You feel that? The leather under you.” He grabbed your free hand and put it on the seat. “Feels weird, huh? Dimples and wrinkles.” He dragged your hand over the texture repeatedly.

A big breath.

Eventually, your breathing returned. The crying stayed.

“Don’t cry, ghost.”

You frowned. It was odd to be looking down at Fred instead of up. He pressed your hand tighter to his chest.

“Bad dream?”

“Don’t remember,” you whispered.

“It was just a dream. You’re okay. I promise.”

George snored. Fred rolled his eyes. You laughed through the tears, blinking the last of them away.

“Go back to sleep. I’ll be here.”

You knew he was telling the truth.

[smilesrobotlover]

Ok no one actually asked for this but I really want to share the first part. I hope that it’ll help me with the other parts idk. The main emphasis is on Wind and Four (mostly Wind.) TW for kidnapping mention and kidnapping

The small group of heroes trekked through the dense forest, snapping twigs they stepped on, moving the branches that hung in their way, and chatting to pass the time. It’s been a while since they’ve seen monsters, so they were getting very bored of the lack of action. It took hours for them to spot anything that wasn’t part of the forest, but they all sighed with relief when they spotted something not forestry and very man-made: a bustling town. People rushed around trying to complete their errands before the sun went down, kids played their ball games, and shopkeepers were getting plenty of business. It was a big town with buildings lined up neatly, making little alleyways. Tucked away near the edge of the town was a beautiful courtyard with a fountain spewing out in the center and several birds bathing in the water. It was a charming, lively place, but the group sensed that something was amiss.

They started asking around if anyone has seen monsters, if they know about the hero of the legends, and so on… but this seemingly carefree place did not know of such things. The old man figured that since there were no monsters to hunt down, they’d relax and then move on with their journey. The group spent their time getting food, looking for supplies, and looking at the fun trinkets at the various shops scattered around town. A large portion of them checked out the bizarre toys on display in one particular shop. The shop owner was a man with light blonde hair, he had a long nose and his small, dark eyes watched the group suspiciously.

“Why is that doll so creepy looking?” Warriors shuddered at the sight of a doll with only eyes and a vague nose, with wisps of hair on its head.

The boys immediately turned to the creepy doll and grew interested in it. Four had the courage to grab it.

“Woah woah, what are you doing?” Warriors asked, backing away with his hands up.

“I’m just looking, I think it’s rather handsome,” he said, holding the doll close to him.

“Well put it back. It might be cursed or something.”

Four stared at the doll silently, and with a mischievous grin, he got closer to Warriors holding the creepy doll up.

“Smith- don’t you dare- get thing away from me!”

Four began chasing the captain around the shop, causing a bit of a mess, while the others looked at more toys. Twilight observed a metallic figure, built with various metals. It looked like it resembled a horse.

“That’s pretty sharp… and unsafe,” he pointed out, poking at it cautiously.

“I think it’s fun! Great for kids! Right Wind?” Wild said sarcastically, receiving a glare from the sailor. The sailor went back to staring at a wall of animal plushies. There were horses, dogs, cats, seagulls, and whales. The seagull caught his eye.

“You guys think I should get this for my sister?” He asked, turning around and holding it up for the others to see. “She loves seagulls, and seagulls love her.”

The others crowded around him, speaking their opinions while Warriors and Four got kicked out for rough housing in the background. Wind bought the seagull plush and they all left the toy shop, ready to regroup and continue with their travels. Wind couldn’t help but love this place. It was so bright and alive. Everyone was anxious to get to places faster, occasionally running into them, people simply sat and chatted on benches or by the edge of the town, it reminded him of Windfall Island in a way. Wind looked around as they met in the center of the courtyard by the fountain, which was surprisingly empty compared to the rest of the town. It added to the uneasiness that Wind felt underneath the bright lives these people led. While they waited, The little group messed around in the water, splashing it at each other, with Sky gushing about the tiny birds. Wind caught eyes with a boy- around 10 at most- wandering around the courtyard alone. He smiled when the boy stared back at him and did a friendly wave. The boy gave a shy wave back.

“Are you boys ready to go?”

Wind looked up and saw Time, Hyrule, and Legend walking towards the other group. Hyrule was quickly shoving potions in his sack and Legend sat down, massaging his legs. The old man crossed his arms and eyed the seagull Wind held.

“Did you get yourself a friend?” He asked.

Wind blushed a little and held the seagull close to his chest. “It’s for my sister. I thought that I’d send it to her in the mail… since… you know… the mail service is surprisingly good across dimensions…”

Time let out a hearty chuckle.

“That is very sweet of you, young sailor. Did anyone else get something?”

Four sat up and crossed his arms with a huff. “I was going to buy a doll, but Warriors wouldn’t let me!”

“Ok, first of all, it was creepy, second of all, you wouldn’t stop shoving it in my face!”

The group laughed at the captain as he argued with Four.

“Alright, let’s get going the-”

Time was interrupted by a woman screaming.

“Joel! What in Din’s name are you doing here alone?”

The little boy Wind saw earlier spun around and looked at his mother with guilt.

“S-sorry I was just playing…” He stuttered, but the woman waved his excuse away and grabbed his hand.

“You know you’re not supposed to be near the fountain by yourself! You’re lucky it’s still daytime, otherwise you would’ve been taken like the other kids!”

The group watched as the woman dragged the boy away. She turned back for a moment to glare at the mysterious group of travelers, before leaving the courtyard. The group looked at each other in confusion.

“What was that about?” Sky finally said. “What did that lady mean by ‘taken like the other kids?’”

“I dunno,” Twilight stood up and looked at the fountain in concern, “I feel like we should move away from the fountain…”

The group shuffled away from the beautiful yet somehow dangerous fountain and did a group huddle.

“I guess my instinct was right,” Time started, “have you boys sensed something weird going on in this town?”

“Yeah,” Hyrule jumped in, “It’s like a normal town but… I don’t know… everyone seemed like they were on edge…”

Wind nodded as they were talking, so they noticed it too. The strange anxiety everyone seemed to struggle with in this place. What was going on?

Sky petted the little bird that flew on his shoulders and frowned. “She mentioned other kids, you think there’s some… fountain monster kidnapping them? Is that why no one is ever by the fountain?”

“It’s a good theory, but we’ll never know unless we ask these people about it,” Legend said.

“Yes, and there’s one person who can give us the most information,” Four waved his finger around, everyone understanding who they needed to talk to. “The mayor.”

—----------------------------------------------

The group of 9 took up a lot of room in the mayor’s waiting room. A poor resident stared at the strange group as discreetly as possible, trying to focus on the book he was reading. Occasionally Warriors would look over at the nervous man and give him a casual nod, making the man more nervous about them. Finally, the mayor came out of his office and was shocked at the large group taking up the space in his waiting room.

“Oh my,” he started, fixing his wrinkled clothes. He looked at a piece of parchment, “which one of you is… Link?”

Everyone in the group raised their hands and shuffled into the mayor’s office. The mayor shook his head and closed the door behind him. He was a tall, middle aged man with brown hair kept close to his head and a goatee on his chin. He wore nicer clothes than everyone else in the town, yet he fit in well. He had kind eyes, but underneath was noticeable distress.

“Well then,” the mayor started, “Link…”

The boys looked around and Sky volunteered himself. The mayor nodded at him and sat down at his desk.

“You wanted to meet with me?” He asked, pulling out a pen and paper.

“Uh, yes… We’re visiting and… well… we were curious about the fountain in the courtyard?” Sky asked.

The mayor stared at them with no expression, as if he hesitated to explain. “The fountain was one of the first things built in this town. My great-great-great grandfather saw to it that it was built and also helped build this place. The different markings were inspired by the intricate designs of the zora, it is even said that the zora helped build it. Lake Hylia feeds it water, and the kids enjoy playing in that water. It’s what makes the courtyard a lovely place.”

Sky nodded, “Yes, it is a very lovely fountain and this is a very lovely town.”

“Thank you.”

“But… if the kids love playing in the water, then why are they not allowed near it?”

The mayor looked away, tapping his pen against his desk. He finally said, “I’m afraid it is none of your concern. Why should I trust a bunch of outsiders?”

The group was taken aback at the sudden distrust and hostility from this seemingly kind man.

“Uh, sorry, sir, but we can help with whatever you need. Whatever you’re struggling with, we can help you,” Sky gestured to the group and turned back to the mayor, “we’re fighters, and we are very skilled when dealing with monsters or bad people in general. We just noticed that something was wrong, and we want to help.”

The mayor stared at Sky with narrow eyes, then his eyes traveled to the rest of the group. His expression flickered with confusion when he saw young Wind, but he didn’t say anything.

“You do look like a tough bunch…” he muttered, stroking his goatee. He tapped his desk again and let out a sigh. “Alright, I suppose… if you can help us… that would be wonderful. You see… there have been kidnappings happening near that fountain. It started with my own two children, my son and daughter. Me and my wife tucked them into bed like we always do, and we assumed that they were asleep. Except… they left their beds and went outside at night. One of the shopkeepers saw them chasing after something, I don’t know what, and she saw them run to the fountain. She went over to get them but something knocked her out, and my children… were gone…” The mayor paused, clearly distressed from the loss of his children. He took a deep breath and kept going. “A couple of nights later, a couple noticed their child walking to the fountain, they said music was playing. As soon as he was by the fountain, shadows snatched him away, and since then, everyone’s children have been disappearing. Concerned parents lock their doors and make sure that their kids do not leave… but somehow, they are lured out… it’s been happening for three weeks… we don’t know what to do about it.” The mayor took out a handkerchief and wiped his face. He looked up at the group of heroes with pleading eyes. “Please, if you can save our children and stop these strange kidnappings, I will be very grateful.”

Sky nodded without hesitation and so did the others. “We’ll gladly help,” he said.

The mayor smiled a little and bowed his head in gratitude. “Thank you. You all can stay at the inn if you want, we won’t charge you, consider it payment for getting our children back.”

The group nodded, and soon left the mayor's office.

“Well,” Wild started, “what do we do?”

Everyone shrugged, they were concerned with the information they received. Twilight was reminded of when the Ordon children were kidnapped, the distressed face of the mayor reminded him too much of the distressed faces of the villagers. Warriors silently watched a group of children play with a ball protectively, ready to attack in case something were to snatch them. Wind, however, was angry. Who could do such a thing to children? What was there to gain from this? He thought of the poor, helpless kids missing their parents in a cage, and he shook his head furiously.

“We have to find them!” He cried, gaining attention from the others. “We should look around by the fountain and see if there’s a hidden tunnel or something.”

“Good idea sailor,” Warriors said, and immediately walked over to the fountain. The group followed and began searching for a clue. They tried pushing the fountain in all directions, Hyrule and Wild both searched inside the water for a trap door or switch, they nudged at every detail and looked around the courtyard, hoping to find something. But they couldn’t find a hint as to where the missing children could be.

Time and Twilight left to question the townspeople, but they couldn’t give them any ideas. It was always night when the children were kidnapped, and the kidnappers were always wearing dark clothing, so it was hard to see anything when it happened. When Time and Twilight returned, the group sat at the fountain in defeat. The sun was beginning to set, and everyone was rushing to get home safely.

“There’s nothing around here,” Legend stated, “I don’t think we’re gonna find any clues in the courtyard…”

“We might have to search around town,” Hyrule said solemnly.

Wind shot up and glared at them. “We can’t do that, that’ll take too long. We have to find the kids as soon as possible!”

Time stood up and placed a hand on Wind’s shoulder. “We are just as concerned as you are. But we’re not getting anywhere with this. We’ll rest up and look around town tomorrow,” he noticed the look on Wind’s face and quickly added, “we’ll do it early in the morning.”

The group all stood up and begrudgingly began to move to the inn in defeat. They were tired and very hungry, so they didn’t protest at the idea of sleep. They needed rest if they wanted to be strong enough to save the missing children anyways. But Wind was not having it. He couldn’t just eat and rest when there were kids missing from home. Kids who were probably terrified and needing a hero to save them. Just like Aryll…

He rushed over and stopped right in front of Time. He had an idea that he’s been pondering, and he was more than willing to do it to save the kids.

“I have an idea on how to find the kids… but you won’t like it,” Wind began sharing his idea, “Children are getting kidnapped right? Well- Well I’m technically a child right? So if I let myself get taken, then I can find the missing kids and save them! That way we won’t have to waste time looking for them.”

The group stared at Wind for a while. Finally, Warriors spoke up.

“Are you sure about that?”

Wind looked at him and crossed his arms defensively. Warriors immediately threw his hands up to calm the sailor.

“Look, it’s a great idea, but we don’t know who or what is kidnapping these children. You think we should at least wait and get an idea for what’s causing these problems?”

Wind looked down and shook his head. “I’ll be fine… Besides, nobody could ever get a good look at the kidnappers.” He looked over to Time, “please, let me do this… I can save these children.”

Time stared at him for a moment, his face expressionless.

“Even if I said no, you’ll still go and follow through with your plan, yes?”

Wind’s eyes went big as if he was just caught sneaking some of Grandma’s cookies. Time smiled at his reaction and patted his back.

“I know you’ll be able to rescue these children, young one. I will let you do this.” Wind smiled wide at Time’s confidence in him, but Time raised his hand before he could say anything. “However, I am not letting you do this alone. Smith, you’re going with him.”

Four let out a small chuckle and stepped out by Wind. “I knew you were going to pick me,” he laughed. Time observed the two heroes in front of him, ready to go into the unknown to save the kids.

“Alright then, you two can leave tonight… stash your swords away so you look defenseless… and watch each other’s backs. If it’s the shadow, you’ll be in danger,” Time rested his hands on both of their little shoulders, “but I know that you’ll be ok. You’re both tough and strong fighters… I’ll give you boys 4 days to save these kids. If you don’t return, the rest of us will come and help you, alrightt?”

Wind and Four nodded. Wind was determined to save these children, no matter what.

—--------------------------------------------------

Wind and Four cautiously walked around the empty town. It was midnight, and the only souls awake were a couple of stray cats darting away at the sound of the two little heroes approaching. The town at night was the exact opposite to the town at day. Daytime was exciting, lively, while night time was dark, gloomy, and scary. They hadn’t said anything, and Wind was truthfully nervous. He didn’t know what he’d be facing. If shadow creatures were kidnapping these children, then he didn’t know how he would fight them. Were they similar to the shadow they’ve been fighting previously? Or were they similar to phantoms? Wind didn’t want to get into trouble and have the group come and rescue him, that would just be embarrassing, then they’ll never treat him like a mature hero. Sure, he wasn’t super mature. He was still only 13 years old, but he’s seen horrific things and defeated Ganondorf. They weren’t ever condescending, and they treated him like a mighty hero, but Wind was still afraid that they’d treat him more like a child if he couldn’t do this. He looked over to Four who seemed calm about everything. Wind bit his lip and scratched the back of his head.

“Uh… sorry to drag you into this,” he said, breaking the silence.

Four looked over at him and smiled. “Don’t worry about it, it’ll be an adventure, right? Besides, we’re saving children, it’s the right thing to do.”

Wind smiled back at him and they traveled to the courtyard. It was a pretty spooky place at night, especially with the dangers of what lurked about. They waited for a moment, staring at the fountain, the water silently lapping against the sides.

“Maybe… if we started… playing around?” Wind suggested. Surely they wouldn’t look suspicious, right?

Four gave Wind a look and shook his head, “I’m not gonna start acting like a child.”

Wind shrugged and sat down by the fountain, resting his head in his hands. It was silent, and waiting for kidnappers was almost unbearable. Wind just wanted to get snatched so he could save the children. Four was growing ansty as well.

“Come oooooooooon… something come and kidnap uuuuuuuuus…” He muttered underneath his breath as he looked around. Wind smirked a little but continued to sit and wait. He ran his hands through the water, the cool liquid sending a shiver up his spine. The fountain was turned off, so there was just a pool of water resting in it. It made the night more silent. He continued to play in the water until he saw something bright reflect off of it. He looked over his shoulder to find something on the ground near one of the alleyways. He stood up and walked over to it. It was probably a trap…

Four eyed the shiny object curiously and followed Wind to look at it closer. The object on the ground was a green rupee, which reflected the moonlight brilliantly. Wind furrowed his eyebrows and looked at it closer. He never knew that rupees were so reflective. He looked up into the alleyway only to see two hands grab at him. He yelped as he was pulled harshly into someone’s strong arms. His first reaction was to fight back. He tried punching and slapping his captor, but quickly remembered that he needed to get taken. Ugh. Having to sit and do nothing was terrible! He stopped fighting back as his captor ran through the alleyways, the person being silent as they ran. He looked up to see Four running after him.

“Sailor!” He called out to him, trying not to get separated. He nearly caught up until something hit him hard in the head, knocking him out.

“Oh no!” Wind gasped, Four’s crumpled body in the darkness was the last thing he saw before a bag was thrown over his head, and he was carried away into the unknown.

[obeyme-kaidii-writes]

Alone (2/2)

Leviathan x gn!MC

Content Warnings - implied/reference self harm, self harm scars, LOTS of angst, kinda Yandere Levi, setting healthy relationship boundaries, happy ending

Summary -  After talking to Mammon, you manage to figure out what’s wrong with Levi and the two of you have a serious heart to heart, setting some important boundaries. PART ONE HERE

Chapter 2 - After

You had barely been able to concentrate during school. Your thoughts were full of Levi and what had happened this morning. You weren’t sure what had caused him to snap like that, but you were willing to bet it had something to do with why he was so upset yesterday. Now if only you could figure out what had upset him then, you might be able to figure out a way to help.

You sighed again, as you poked the food on your plate. It was lunch time now and normally you would be texting Levi to see how things were going in his classes and to update him on your day, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to do that until you got your thoughts in order and had a proper conversation with him.

“Whattya sighin’ for? Ya been doing it all day and it’s startin’ ta get on my nerves.”

Though he was trying to sound annoyed, you could tell that Mammon was concerned. He had apologized to you while helping you prepare breakfast for crashing your date with Levi yesterday. He knew he should have changed his plans once he realized everyone else wanted to tag along. (He didn’t bother to try to deny the fact that he still would have shown up on his own if it had been possible.)

You had been quick to forgive him, which Mammon appreciated, but he also wasn’t sure you had been really listening to him all that much. Your mind had seemed to be elsewhere. Normally he would have called you out on it too, demanding you pay attention to The Great Mammon and act a bit more grateful he was helping you out. But he got the feeling that even if he had said anything it wouldn’t have made a difference - you just seemed that distracted.

“Hey. Ya gonna tell me what’s up?”

His voice had softened now, the teasing tone gone. You looked up to see Mammon watching you intently. You tried to offer him a smile, but you were unsuccessful and the face you made was somewhere between pain and worry.

“I...ummm...promise this stays between us ok? You can’t tell ANYONE. And you have to promise that you will not try to do anything about it. Ok?”

Mammon did not like the sound of that. He furrowed his brow, but agreed nonetheless.

“I...I got in a fight with Levi. I think at least. I’m not sure. This morning he just wasn’t...well, he wasn’t himself. And it kinda scared me. So I left. And we haven’t talked yet. I don’t even know what to say to him.”

Mammon listened closely to your words. He still didn’t know what happened, but he could tell you were doing everything you could to avoid saying it. A fight with Levi? Pfft. What did you do? Insult Ruri-chan? How could you not be sure if you had a fight? And what do you mean Levi wasn’t….

“HE WHAT?!” Mammon jumped to his feet, ready to head home immediately and beat the living daylights out of his younger brother. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. That pathetic, whiny brat transformed on you?! What the fuck was he thinking??

“Mammon! Please! Calm down!”, you pleaded with him. People were staring now and you really didn’t want to cause a scene. The last thing you needed was more trouble with angry demons, upset because you disturbed their lunch.

Taking one look at you, Mammon sat down with a huff. He was still ready to rip Levi limb from limb, but had promised you that he wouldn’t try to do anything about what you had told him. He’d just have to come up with some reason to teach him a lesson later.

“Fine.”

“Thank you. It wasn’t like it was on purpose…”

“That’s even worse!”

“...He was just so upset. He was scared of something, but I don’t know what. And he just kept asking me not to leave.”

“So what are ya gonna do? You’re not seriously going back to him, are ya?”

“Of course I’m going back to him! Don’t be ridiculous. He didn’t actually DO anything. He got upset, but he let me go.

I just...need to find out what happened to him that got him so worked up. Everything seemed to be going so well until yesterday afternoon when y’all showed up at the tea house.”

“Oh.”

“What do you mean ‘oh’? Do you know something I don’t?”

“Errrr...well…kinda?”

You were glaring at Mammon now. ‘Kinda’ my ass, you thought.

“Alright alright! Stop lookin’ at me like that! I’ll tell ya! Sheesh.

Ok. So look. Levi’s the Avatar of Envy right? Means he gets jealous real easy. Up until now, y’all have sorta been off in your own little world and haven’t paid much attention to the rest of us.

But yesterday, we all showed up durin’ your date, yeah? When Levi wasn’t even at the table.

So I’m thinkin’ he saw us all talkin’ and havin’ fun and whatever and got jealous. And that’s what set him off.”

Ah. That made sense. Why didn’t you think of that earlier? How could you possibly be so dense as to not notice that your own boyfriend was jealous?? He’s the personification of Envy for crying out loud! You knew that! Jealousy should have been the first thing you suspected given the timing of everything.

“Ughhhhh,” you groaned, leaning back in your seat, covering your face with your hands. Just how oblivious were you?

“So, this morning, when he was saying all the stuff about not wanting me to leave….”

“Probably ‘cause he was feeling insecure and scared ya’d leave ‘im for good.”

You let out another loud groan of frustration at your own stupidity. You didn’t mean to, but you had hurt Levi unintentionally. No wonder he was upset. You knew that didn’t excuse his behavior, especially him grabbing you, but it at least gave you a place to start so that you could try to work things out with him.

“Thanks, Mammon. Don’t you dare let anyone ever make you feel like the stupid one, you got it? You’re a lifesaver.”

“Whatever,” Mammon replied, blushing. You couldn’t help but laugh. He really was a great best friend and you had never been more thankful that he was part of your life than right now.

————

“Levi? Hey, I’m home.”

You knocked on his door again, but still no response. You had been expecting that though. So taking a deep breath to calm yourself, you opened his door and let yourself inside.

What greeted you, was an absolute disaster. Figurines, plushies, books, and DVD cases were scattered everywhere. One of his computer monitors was even on the floor, cracked and ruined beyond repair. Your chest tightened as you surveyed the damage. What had happened after you left?

Careful of where you were walking, trying to avoid stepping on anything as best you could, you moved further inside the room to look for your Leviathan. When you found him, he was curled up in his tub, still in his demon form with his shirt removed. Seeing him like that made you gasp, and you had to fight back tears. He just looked so broken. His face was red from crying and stained with dried tears, his hair was a disheveled, tangled mess, and you saw what had appeared to be claw marks all over his chest, that by now were mostly healed but still appeared very fresh.

Without another thought, you slipped into the tub with him, spooning him from behind, pressing gentle kisses to his shoulder. You knew you still needed to talk to him, but you had to make sure he was alright first before anything else. He wasn’t going to be able to listen to a thing you said if he was still as worked up as he had been. Levi continued to sleep, breathing steadily, and you knew he must have been exhausted. Pulling the blanket up to cover you both, you settled down, snuggled behind him and went to sleep.

————

As Levi started to wake up, the first thing he became aware of was the blanket covering his body. He didn’t remember covering himself up and wondered when he had managed to do that. But while he was pondering about the origins of the blanket, he started to become aware of the warmth that was pressing against his back, and the arm draped over his side.

His breath hitched, and he desperately fought the urge to immediately turn around. You couldn’t possibly be here. There was no way you could. After what he did...he choked back a sob as another flood of memories and anxieties washed over him.

“Levi, you okay?”

That was your voice. There was no mistaking it. It was so soft, and clear, and soothing. Cautiously, Levi rolled over so he was facing you.

“Hey babe,” you whispered, brushing the tangled mess that was his bangs out of his eyes so you could get a better look at him.

Levi couldn’t hold it back any longer, and broke down again, in a mixture of relief and regret now that you were right in front of him. His guilt still weighed heavily on him, but he was so incredibly happy that you were here.

As you watched Levi cry, you did the only thing you could and wrapped him up in a hug. You didn’t want to tell him everything was “alright” because it honestly wasn’t, so you decided on “I’m here” as you rubbed gentle circles on his back.

“I’m here, Levi. I’m here.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry.”

“Hey, shhhhh. We will talk later ok? Just calm down right now, alright? I’m here. We will talk later. I promise.”

Levi nodded, burying his face into your shoulder, careful not to stab you with his horns. He had tried to shift back to his human form when he first noticed you, but he was still too anxious and agitated to manage it.

It took a good hour for Levi to finally calm down enough to talk to you. At some point his tail had become entwined around your leg, but his hold was gentle. You could tell he was being cautious and you appreciated it and the intimate gesture.

After another moment of silence as Levi gathered his thoughts, he started to apologize:

“I’m sorry,” Levi said, “I shouldn’t….I shouldn’t have grabbed you….”

Levi struggled to get his words out. His throat burned and felt so raw. But he knew he needed to say this. He needed to tell you how he felt and that he knew it was all his fault. He knew you were going to leave after you finished talking, so he had to make sure he said all he had to say before that.

“Thank you for saying that,” you replied, kissing his forehead, “I mean it. I really appreciate it. Thank you.”

You could tell he had more to say, so you calmly waited, rubbing his back gently and resting your cheek against his head, reassuring him that you were still here and ready to listen.

“I saw you with my brothers yesterday and...I just...I got jealous,” his voice was scarcely above a whisper now, but he kept going, “And, I...I...I know that you have to be disgusted with me after that. I know that...who wouldn’t…”

“Disgusted? Why would I be disgusted with you?”

“Because. Because I was jealous. And that’s not good, right? Good boyfriends aren’t supposed to be jealous. If I’m jealous that means I don’t trust you, right? Or that I’m a loser...which I know I am...but still. I shouldn’t have been jealous…”

“Aw, Levi, sweetie, there’s nothing wrong with jealousy. That’s normal. Everyone...”

“No! You don’t get it. I was really really really jealous,” he pulled back so he could look you in the eyes, desperate for you to understand just how despicable he was, “Really jealous. Like lock-you-up-and-never-let-you-go, yandere type of jealousy.”

“But you didn’t Levi; you did let me go.”

“It doesn’t matter! I still felt that way! I...I...I...still feel that way. Even now. I don’t want you to leave. I want you to stay here. Forever. And I don’t care if it makes you hate me. I still….I still don’t want you to leave me.”

You listened carefully as Levi spoke, piecing together how he was feeling bit by bit. This sounded like it was more than just the incident at the tea house that had bothered him. It seemed like this is something he had been struggling with and battling all on his own, hiding it from you out of fear. The thought made you pull him close again, and he didn’t even attempt to resist you, he just melted in your arms.

There was so much you had to say to him now that you had a clearer picture of what he had been dealing with, that you scarcely knew where to begin.

“Ok Levi, I’m going to talk now alright? And I need you to listen. Don’t interrupt me. Just listen. Ok?”

He nodded against your chest, he knew what was coming. This was the part where you would tell him how awful he was and how you never wanted to see him again and how much more wonderful all his other brothers were and how you regretted ever…

“I love you, Levi. You’re...well you’re my favorite person. The first one I always think of. The first one I want to share good news with. The first one I want to see when I’m upset. It’s you. It’s all you.

I want you to tell me these things. Please. It’s ok to be jealous. I get jealous sometimes too. And well, I think because you tried to hide it and keep it to yourself...I think that’s what allowed it to fester. But if you had talked to me about it? If you had talked about it, we could have worked something out. Together.

I mean, we’re supposed to be a couple right? So aren’t we supposed to solve problems together? That’s all I want.”

“How am I supposed to tell you that I want to lock you in my room and never let you leave? How is that supposed to help? It’s not like you’re suddenly going to let me do it. All it would do is prove what a twisted pervert I am…”

“...I might.”

“Huh?!” Levi jerked back once more so that he could see your face. He had to be sure of what he was hearing. You...wanted…him to lock you up…? That can’t be right. There’s no way you’d sink to his level of depravity, even if you were only doing it to comfort him.

“I said, if you were to ask me, I might let you lock me up.”

Levi was now frozen in place. His brain was misfiring and he didn’t know if he should laugh, cry, or just be plain embarrassed. Why were you saying these things? Did you even understand what you were saying? You couldn’t just say something like that. Here he was trying to control his darker urges and you were...encouraging them.

“We could do it like any other kink. Come up with a safeword. Have a plan in place. Talk about what was allowed and what wasn’t. I don’t see any reason not to, honestly. And if it’ll make you feel better, and give you some sort of outlet for your anxiety, then all the more reason to.”

He really didn’t know how to process this. He had just revealed the darkest, ugliest parts of himself to you, and you weren’t even batting an eye. He had assumed you were going to take off running at some point during the conversation and never look back, but you were still here. You were still talking to him, still trying to understand him. And he just couldn’t believe it. How could you love him so much?

“Hey, I mean it, Levi,” you reached out and cupped his cheek, stroking it gently with your thumb, “This isn’t something I want you to keep to yourself. You should tell me these things. You HAVE to tell me these things. If it’s something simple I can fix, then I can fix it. And if it’s not, then we can come up with a way to reassure you, and help you work through those emotions. Just...trust me a little, please?”

He wasn’t sure when, but at some point he had started crying again. But these weren’t the sad, angry, bitter tears from before. No, these were tears of pure relief. You understood him. You accepted him. You weren’t disgusted by him. He couldn’t put into words how happy that made him right now, so he just nodded again and held your hand closer to his cheek.

“So now that we are on the same page...do you think you could tell me what it was you were so worried about yesterday?”

Levi didn’t even need to think about it now, of course he would tell you. He’d tell you everything. His demonic form was finally fading away, and he curled up as close as he could manage next to you, wanting to feel more of your warmth.

“I...umm...just...well…you looked like you were having a lot of fun with my brothers. And I well, I wondered if you had been having that much fun with me...because I didn’t really talk with you yesterday. I just sorta did my own thing while you watched…”

You were struggling not to laugh now. You really needed to keep it together because you didn’t want Levi to get the wrong idea, but it was a battle that was more difficult than you would have thought possible under the circumstances.

“I’m sorry Levi,” you gave him another kiss to his forehead before resting yours against his, closing your eyes, “I’m not laughing at you I swear. I’m just laughing at the situation I guess? I mean, I don’t know what you saw when you found me sitting with your brothers, but I can promise you I was not enjoying myself. Frankly I was beyond pissed. Mammon I understood you know, because he’s always tagging along...but for everyone else to show up? It infuriated me.

And as for you being excited and ignoring me...sweetheart, that’s why I took you there in the first place. I know how much you love that stuff. And you are just so incredibly cute when you’re in your element and enjoying yourself. So I took you there knowing full well what I was getting myself into. That was the entire point.”

Well, now he just felt foolish. Everything he had been worried about...the anxiety that had been eating at him for the past 24 hours...he could have avoided it all if he had just talked to you earlier. He hated how simple it was.

“Is there anything else?” you asked, checking in on Levi as he continued to come to terms with the fact your idea of a good time included watching him be the biggest dork he could.

“Oh yeah, I guess. I uh, I wasn’t trying to ignore you yesterday. After we got home I mean. It was just like...like I couldn’t even hear you. I mean I could hear you...I knew you were talking...but I didn’t know what you were saying.”

You had to smile at his confession just now, maybe he hadn’t realized it before, but that was far from the first time he had stopped being able to verbally respond to you. There were plenty of other times where he had been stressed, that he just opted for laying near you and zoning out while you played with his hair or you cuddled and watched a movie together.

“I know, Levi. I get it. I don’t know if you realize this but...that’s not the first time something like that has happened. And I didn’t think for a moment you were ignoring me on purpose, ok?”

Levi breathed another sigh of relief. You were amazing, so incredibly amazing. How did he manage to be this lucky? He knew there had been other times where he had struggled to respond to you, and he thought you hadn’t noticed because you never said anything to him. But it turns out you knew the whole time and had already decided to embrace that along with the rest of his quirks.

The two of you continued to lay there in comfortable silence, holding each other close. You were hoping against hope that you had gotten through to Levi, and that he knew how much he meant to you and how willing you were to work things out with him. Telling you everything, and laying it all out there couldn’t have been easy for him. He was self conscious enough as it is about normal things, you couldn’t imagine how much resolve it had to have taken for him to open up to you about this.

Now that the anxiety, tension, and fear had left Levi’s body completely, he found himself struggling to remain awake. He wasn’t ready to sleep yet. Sleep was a waste. If he slept, you really would have to go.

You could see how much of a fight he was putting up to remain awake. His eyelids kept drooping, and his head would occasionally bob, before he’d jerk himself awake once more. So cute, you thought.

“Hey, why don’t you get some rest? I’m gonna get started cleaning things up. But I promise I’ll still be here when you wake. I won’t go anywhere without telling you, ok?”

Levi nodded, he was so exhausted at this point, and your permission was all his body needed to stop its attempts at resistance. The last thing he remembered before he drifted off was the feeling of your lips on his cheek as you climbed out of the tub, and tucked him in.

————

Leaving Levi in the tub, you set to work tidying up his room. If you were being honest, you wished you could stay by his side and get some rest yourself, but you knew that this had to be taken care of first. You didn’t want Levi to see the damage he’d done to his room when he had been in his demon form, because you were sure he wasn’t even completely aware of what he had been doing. If he saw things as they were, you imagined it may only send him into another guilty spiral of anxiety, and you didn’t want to chance it. You would just have to explain things to him later.

As you worked, you couldn’t help but think of just how upset he had to have been. He loved his collections. He treasured them and went through great pains to preserve them so that they could always be enjoyed in perfect condition, as intended by their creators.

But seeing everything scattered about how it was only served to remind you of the depth of his self loathing. He had been doing so well as of late, that you nearly had forgotten just how dark his thoughts tend to turn. For every thing you loved about him, he had something he hated about himself.

And while he was proud in his declarations of love for his interests, he also was very much aware how people viewed him because of it. You wished you could get him to see himself as you did. Then maybe he could learn to have just a tiny bit more confidence, and just be slightly less anxious all the time. You didn’t want to change him - you just didn’t want to see him suffer.

Just as you placed the last figurine back in its rightful position, you felt your DDD vibrate in your pocket. It was Mammon, and he was checking in on you.

“Hey. Everything goin’ alright? He’s not refusin’ to let you leave, is he?”

You were about to type a reply, when another message came through soon after,

“If ya don’t answer me I’m comin’ over there and kickin’ his ass.”

He was looking out for you, and it warmed your heart. You had dumped a lot on him earlier, and he had been so supportive and understanding. It couldn’t have been easy for him, you knew, to let you go back and see Levi again after the things you had confided in him. Mammon was insanely protective of you. And you really couldn’t blame him, especially considering you had had a couple near death experiences at the hands of his brothers, Levi included.

“I’m fine. Levi is asleep.” You sent your message through quickly, before deciding to send along another with a new selfie attached as proof of your condition.

“Good. Stay that way. Dinner is soon.”

You smiled as you flicked the screen of your DDD off, and slipped it back into your pocket. Looking over the room once more, you felt a tiny bit proud at how well you had done restoring order.

You didn’t notice it, but Levi had woken up a little bit ago and had been watching you work. He was so grateful to you for cleaning things up, even if he was embarrassed that you had to have seen him like that. The fact that you managed to return everything to its rightful place was a testament to how much time you had spent with him, and how much attention you paid to things he was interested in, and it made him feel so incredibly loved.

His memories from most of the day were fuzzy, as they usually were whenever he lost control of himself like that. He was thankful he had managed to keep it together long enough for you to leave this morning too. He didn’t know what he would have done if he really had hurt you, instead of just taking out his anxiety on himself. The thought made him shiver, and as he pulled his blanket tighter around his shoulders, he realized his shirt was missing.

His cheeks flushed once he remembered that only a few hours ago you had been snuggled up close to him, and therefore had to have noticed. Even though it made no sense after everything else that had happened, the realization embarrassed him greatly. You may have already been intimate plenty of times before, but letting you see him naked outside of those times still felt awkward.

When he looked up again, he saw you smiling at him. You had been watching as he tried to cover his body with his blanket. The fact that he was blushing and embarrassed about his state of undress helped you relax. If he had the wherewithal to care about that, you knew he was going to be alright.

You walked over to him, and knelt by the edge of the tub, crossing your arms and resting them on its side. Levi looked away from you now that you were close, and you reached out to tuck some stray hairs behind his ear. It was a sweet gesture, but entirely unproductive given the state of the rest of his beautiful purplish, blue locks.

“Hey you. How are you feeling?”

“Better. Just a little tired, I guess.” He gave you a sheepish smile, “Umm, thank you. For cleaning up. I know it had to have been a hassle. Sorry you had to see things like that. But ummm...thanks.”

You shook your head, “Don’t worry about it. That’s what I’m here for. I mean, you’d do the same for me right?”

Levi blushed again, and gave you a small nod. Of course he would do the same for you. How could you possibly think anything else? He might not be as eloquent as you, but he definitely would have done his absolute best to be there for you. He wouldn’t have abandoned you, that’s for sure.

“I uh...think I need to shower. Before dinner, you know.”

“Hmm, maybe I should join you,” you teased, a smile playing at your lips.

“Yeah, maybe you should.”

Now it was your turn to be embarrassed, and your face flushed crimson. You were used to being the one with the upper hand, and you weren’t sure how you felt about this sudden role reversal. But one thing was for sure - you certainly enjoyed that hungry, needy look in his eyes as he waited for your response.

[perditus-a]

                                  50 Headcanons Challenge

He has a unique bird language strictly specific to himself, but cannot understand other birds nor communicate with them. 

His feathers shift slightly as time goes on, so the ones on the ends and lower are older than the ones closest to the base. 

His two sword feathers are unique in that he usually uses them last if he can. They’ve been growing the longest, hence their size, and are his strongest ones. 

Keigo does rifle through his wings and clean feathers that get too old though, because if they become too strong and dense it makes it harder to fly. 

The larger the feather, the more it can carry and withstand. His two feather blades can handle several hundred pounds - but they’re slower to move so there is a limit to how big he should go. 

His wings are strong, but as a child he couldn’t really lift himself as easily. It took a lot of fluttering wings and tripping and falling to get to a level of flight that was respectable. 

His wings are trained not to react to his emotions, but when he isn’t trying they’re VERY emotional! They rise in excitement, droop in anger, and flutter with intense happiness and love. They also tense up in anger. 

Keigo’s visor nullifies the enhanced sight he gained from his bird-like qualities because it’s too much and causes eye strain. He also has contacts and glasses that do the same function. 

His earmuffs protect his ears during flight but also dull sounds so he can focus. Since he has his feathers and vibration sensing techniques, he can afford to lose it in exchange for greater focus on the field. 

Yes his eye marks are birthmarks! But he also adds on a little eyeliner to make them look smoother. 

He collects jewelry, especially earrings. He’s specifically fond of studs and has different sets. He even cheekily buys some to match his best friends as well.

Keigo can use JSL and ASL. He decided to pick it up so that he could communicate with deaf people on the field as well as vocal people. He thinks it’s important and advocates for it to be included in curriculum, though to little success. 

He also uses Morse code and has trained his sidekicks and interns to use it as well. He uses it in conjunction with his feathers. 

Keigo is well trained in hand-to-hand, but his specialty deals with swords and generally keeping his distance. 

Much of his training in his youth was geared towards flight. A lot of the little quirks about his...well quirk... were discovered along the way and then focused on if they proved to be useful ( his vibration sensing ).

He can play guitar sort of, he’s not specially trained or anything - he can recognize chords and play based off of that but can’t come up with much on his own. 

He has a pet falcon - their name is Kaze and they’re a TOTAL asshole to Keigo and everyone. But he trained them to deliver messages and do all kinds of things, so he’s stuck with them. 

Keigo is trans! He has opted to not do any surgeries and probably never will due to being comfortable enough as is. He does wear binders though! 

Keigo is bisexual - but tends to lean towards males. 

He despises the League of Villains, but does have sympathy for specific members and the MLA. 

He never went to any school before the commission picked him up, and learned things by reading newspapers and listening to people from the side. 

He never had friends before the commission - his father wouldn’t let him see anyone. 

Though he’s had social training, genuine stuff is actually a problem for him and more often than not he’s faking it. Completely. 

The spot between his wings on his back is a sweet spot, and feels relaxing to rub. It makes him calm down from a panic attack. 

Keigo is terrible at games unless they’re pay to win. Then he’s at least decent. 

Keigo actually makes nests when he sits around and stuff, and have blankets all over his office and stuff. It’s completely subconscious, and he just does it without thinking. 

He loves to kiss, it’s very very fun for him. 

His preference for pets is dogs, despite having a Falcon. He doesn’t have the time to take care of one...but he wants one BADLY. 

He can hold his breath longer than most due to his quirk, and it’s why he can fly in the air without requiring a mask. 

After the WAR ARC, his ability to hold his breath is severely weakened and he can’t fly as high anymore without a mask. ( if he ever even gets his wings back TO fly). 

His bones are dense but hollow and light, allowing him to take flight easier. It makes his body weigh a lot less than normal people his age, but it’s completely healthy. 

Keigo’s favorite food is chicken, followed by strawberries and peaches. He’s a big fruit guy. He makes all kinds of fruit smoothies during his own time. 

He has crazy balance, but losing his wings makes him stumble and fall a lot. Keigo is used to having a heavy weight on his back, and without it he’s clumsy and more likely to fall or knock in to things. 

Keigo’s wings actually glow under the right type of light! His wings are very much like normal bird wings, and thus have the same properties. The colors are red/blue/purple with dapples of white.

He can see ultraviolet things, when his eyesight isn’t being diminished by his equipment. He dislikes it though. 

He had always wanted a sibling as a kid, but has since grown out of that and desires a family instead. 

He hates his father, but he’s always loved his mom even when she neglected him or said mean things to him...he wanted her to love and want him. It’s why he left, so he could give her a better life and hoped that maybe she would finally love him. 

He didn’t start liking Endeavor until he busted his dad, though he grew more fond of him due to the plushie. He originally liked All Might, but he became more of an impersonal hero at best - Endeavor felt very real to him. 

He’s considered dying his hair, but decided to keep it the same. He would rather have something to resemble his mother. 

Keigo’s not really afraid of injuries and death because of his mom’s creepy quirk. It’s why it was easy for him early on to accumulate to it. 

He loves motorcycles and hate’s most normal modes of travel. He does have a car, but it’s specially modified to allow him to relax his wings and not feel cramped. 

Keigo only wears designer clothes while out and about, because it’s for his personal image as well as contracts his agency has. 

Speaking of which, he models on the side as well as hero work! It’s pretty fun for him, but he doesn’t do topless shoots unless it’s for charity aimed at supporting LGBTQ+ groups. 

Keigo can turn off his vibration sensing, but sometimes it’s difficult and he can get sensory overload. He usually counts under his breath when he’s feeling overwhelmed and needs a moment. He tries to hide this though. 

His feathers are also sensitive, and he doesn’t like them being yanked. They only remove painlessly when he uses his quirk to do so. 

He hates fire as well as storms. 

Keigo also hates swimming, because the water makes his wings heavy and it gives him a back ache. 

He has smacked in to a window once. Only once. He was a little intoxicated at the time since he very rarely drinks. 

Keigo can’t taste spicy food at all! So he tends to make overly spicy food and his friends suffer for it. Oops.

Keigo absolutely loves swords!!!

[slutsofren]

Magical Mysteries / Chapter 2: Goodbyes & Promises

Summary: You’re stepping away from your home in London to follow your father on some mysterious assignment from the Ministry. There’s trouble in the air but you and your best friend, Ben Organa can’t put your finger on it. Guess that’ll be a problem for later you.

Read on AO3 here!

“Do you have to leave,” Ben whined. You gave him a short laugh as you packed your suitcase. He had come over when you sent Anubis, your cat, to deliver him a letter, telling him that you and your parents were leaving for Paris for the summer.

Ben sprawled his large body across your bed, looking over the various records you had imported from America- you were currently obsessed with Motown music. Diana Ross’ soulful voice filled your bedroom, singing of love and warm embraces. “Yes, of course I do,” you responded, albeit a little disgruntled seeing him put his feet on your bedsheets.

“Feet. Off. Now,” emphasizing with a lighthearted wack on his nice black boots. Ben let out a loud groan, adjusting his massive body. He had grown so much over the past few years, you had too but not nearly as much as him. Ben liked to joke that you were an entire foot shorter than him but that was further from the truth.

“How long will you be in Paris then?”

You stopped folding the corduroy skirt in your arms, “I’m not sure, truthfully. Father says we should pack for the entire summer just to be safe but I suspect he doesn’t wish to stay so long.”

“Good, because I will apparate there to get you and bring you home,” he lightheartedly admitted.

“Oh, hush Ben, you know you’re not allowed to apparate.”

“Actually, little Miss Fontaine, being the appointed son of the wizarding community, you should be keen on noticing that I can do whatever I want.”

You gave the dense boy a panned look, cocking an eyebrow. “You say that yet you’ve seldom gotten in trouble since I met you!” Ben grabbed one of your plushies from your bed, a black bear that you had since childhood, and tossed it in your general direction. “Hey!”

The laughter that filled your bedroom felt like literal sunlight on a depressing day, you always felt joy being around your one truest friend. “Listen, just be safe okay?” You gave him a soft grin and nodded.

“I’ll try,” you raised your hands innocently, “there’s no guarantee that trouble won’t find me.”

“Remind me why you have to leave again,” Ben whined.

You turned around and had your back to him as you went though your salves and tinctures, thinking of which ones to pack with you. “Apparently the Ministry is sending my father to Paris for some project and he’d be gone too long so my mother and I are going with him.”

“Yeah, but,” he sighed, hugging a pillow close, “Why? My mother has said nothing about sending you guys down there. It doesn’t make sense.”

You turned to face him once again, leaning against your desk. “Then, I don’t know. My father got a parcel the other day and there was a letter and some book. That’s all I know.”

“I wonder why you’re being sent to Paris then. Sounds nice but, not for that long.”

You sat next to him on your bed, your tan wool skirt crinkled around your waist. He rose to sit, facing you. A small frown was setting on his lips, “Promise me you’ll be safe?”

You let out an airy laugh, “I said I’ll try!”

He grabbed your hand. “I’m not playing around. There’s been whispers of something bad happening,” he pauses. “It’s been driving my mother and the rest of the Ministry up the walls. You’re my best friend, if anything happened to you and I couldn’t do anything to help? I’d be devastated.”

“Nothing is going to happen to me. I promise. Besides,” you assured him, “My father is the strongest wizard I know!”

Your father was the head Auror at MACUSA when your family lived in America, but since his transfer due to some unfortunate situations, your family was uprooted and he accepted a lowly title with the Ministry of Magic.

It didn’t mean much to you but you knew how strong and powerful your father was, the only thing wrong with him was loving a no-maj, a muggle. Shame was never in your vocabulary whenever it came to who your parents were, but it was something you weren’t fond of talking about, even to Ben.

“I thought I was the strongest wizard you knew!”

You stuck your tongue at him and jumped up to finish packing. Ben stayed, as he always did. Your home was the one place where he felt safe enough to let his guard down, knowing that you would never sell him out to the Daily Prophet. This was the one place he felt content.

The rest of the day felt more of the same, jovial chatting between the two of you until the moment you had to leave. Ben was given permission to temporarily move into your home while your family was gone, “No, I couldn’t allow that Mr. Fontaine.”

“Enough with the formality, Ben, you’re family to us. You know to call us by our first name. Say it with me now, Atlas and Luna.”

Faintly, you could hear your mother laughing in the next room, preparing the area in the kitchen for your portkey travels.

Ben looked at you, only mildly defeated. “Atlas, I don’t feel entirely too comfortable just moving in.”

Your mother took this to come join you all in the living room, “Here then, take this.” She handed him an old charm of hers that your father, Eric, casted a spell on back in America when the two first began dating.

The charm was in the shape of a small simple silver ring, and would allow Ben entry to their home safely and quietly whenever he pleased. “I- Thank you, Mrs- I mean, Luna. Thank you. I’ll be sure to take care of it.

Your family left, choosing to travel by portkey. As your family arrived in Paris, the sun was kissing the sky goodnight as the moon slowly rose over the eastern horizon.

The summer home was fairly nice, it was located in the Quartier de Purpliers, just off Rue Damesme. The house was two stories and looked like it was pulled out of a French Art Nouveau gallery.

The walls were decorated in dark contrasting colors depicting women of all shapes and sizes, many of which winked at you as you would walk by. You laid a hand on the stairwell railing, giving each magical portrait a polite greeting.

In your temporary bedroom, there was a framed portrait with a small plaque reading: Divan Japonaise, a lithograph by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec raised above the bed.

“Oh, hello,” you put your trunk and enchanted satchel down.

The woman in the painting looked over her shoulder and nodded at you, acknowledging your presence. Her sly smirk kind of irked you, as if she knew what your future held and wanted to bare witness silently. Your mother explained that the house was used for Ministry personnel only and therefore magical friendly so you only hoped that this was her general look, hoping others took notice of her mystery.

There was a tapping on your window, somewhat spooking you. When you approached it, you spotted Athena, Ben’s loving owl, in all her grey glory with a wax sealed letter in her beak. “Come inside, little one.”

She flew into the room and landed on the bare desk in the corner. She dropped the letter as soon as you gave her obligatory head rubs. As soon as she let out a gentle hoot, Anubis came running up the stairs, wanting to greet his dearest friend too.

You gave a small chuckle at the two getting cozy on your bed as you sat at the desk and opened the letter from none other than Ben Organa.

“Didn’t think I’d write so soon? Of course I did. Well, I forgot to mention when I left that mother dearest has to attend another gala later this summer in London. She’s bringing me along but I wanted to know if you’d want to go- as friends, you know? I’ll let you know when the date of the gala is later and you don’t have to worry about a dress or anything. I’m sure mother will have something with her people set up. Anyways, let me know, we miss you already here. Ben.”

You laughed out loud at his letter, he writes like he talks sometimes. You turned to the two furry friends on your bed, “Athena, would you mind if I sent a letter back with you? You can rest here for tonight.”

The great horned owl gave you another hoot and tucked herself back into the snuggle pile with Anubis, graciously accepting the rest period. You would send a reply with nothing short of the same humor and lightheartedness as his, accepting the invitation and looking forward to going back to London for a few days as you were positive you would be a little homesick for the city.

The letter set you brought with you contained your favorite seal, a soft purple wax and your stamp marked with a bushel of lavender. Ben gifted you this set for your first winter celebration as friends six years ago, he even got the wax enchanted so it would never run out. He always knew how to give the best gifts, they were always well thought out and items that could be useful and practical. This warmed your heart very much.

Grabbing one of your spare pens you wrote back, “I’m glad to hear from you so soon. Athena stayed the night so I hope you won’t be too worried for her, she’s enjoying some time with Anubis on the bed. To answer your question though, yes! I think it’ll be fun, just keep me informed, I’ll let my parents know. I think I have some floo powder somewhere, if not maybe see if I can get special permission from Madam Minister to apparate back home. Hint hint. Anubis and I miss you dearly. XO, Little Miss Fontaine.”

You slowly folded the letter together into a pocket, making sure to add a small snippet of lavender under the seal. It was always fun being a little extra with your snail mail. Behind you, you could hear both yours and Ben's companions resting peacefully but as for you, there was something that gnawed on the back of your mind, filling this night with restlessness.

If there was only an answer to your worries, you felt there might have been a small reprieve.

[johannesviii]

Top 12 Personal Favorite Hit Songs from 2014

The “least good” of the three best years of the 2010s. This is still a top 12. Because I can, and I will.

I know. People also call it a bad year. And I think they’re wrong.

Disclaimers:

Keep in mind I’m using both the year-end top 100 lists from the US and from France while making these top 10 things. There’s songs in English that charted in my country way higher than they did in their home countries, or even earlier or later, so that might get surprising at times.

Of course there will be stuff in French. We suck. I know. It’s my list. Deal with it.

My musical tastes have always been terrible and I’m not a critic, just a listener and an idiot.

I have sound to color synesthesia which justifies nothing but might explain why I have trouble describing some songs in other terms than visual ones.

New job, which is the one I still have currently. Also, I discovered Doctor Who in December 2013 and you know exactly what happened in 2014 because I dived head first into the extended universe as soon as I finished New Who and I’ve never really recovered since then. The end of the year was highly stressful, with my cat being sick, my father needing a very dangerous surgical intervention, and me being so stressed out I was basically unable to sleep for days. Might explain why there’s a lot of cute songs on this list, I needed cute stuff.

That year wasn’t very generous in good albums from bands I liked. Epica released The Quantum Enigma, and it was okay, Within Temptation had Hydra, and it was also okay, and Coldplay had the very underrated (in my opinion at least) Ghost Stories, a mostly melancholic album full of bittersweet post-breakup songs. So I’m left with no choice but to declare The Birthday Massacre’s album Superstition my album of the year for 2014. They had stayed at a consistent level since Pins And Needles so I wasn’t expecting anything better from them, but boy do they delivered. Here is Divide, it’s about a subterranean world and it might be a metaphor but as you know I’m very literal-minded! Here’s Beyond, about a lady falling in love with a strange woman who might be some sort of fae or supernatural entity!! I love most of the album and there’s only one subpar song on it. I know they’ll never get a crossover hit but they’d deserve it so much. Look at the state of the world. We’re so ready for a new mainstream wave of energetic, angsty, weird music. Just bring it on.

There’s only one non-elligible song that truely pisses me off this time, and it’s Traffic Girl by Indochine, another single from their Black City Parade album. It’s about a policewoman in North Korea who has to wave and smile at non existant traffic all day long and the song presents her as a modern hero. It’s one of my favorite songs on the album and I’m so mad it didn’t make the French year-end list.

Here’s a list of honorable menti-holy shit why is this list so long

Albatraoz (AronChupa) - Riiiiiight at the limit between catchy and annoying. But it’s blissfully short.

Chandelier (Sia) - I would like this more if it wasn’t that painful to listen to, I swear.

Magic in the Air (Magic System) - Insert my usual comment about these guys and their fun & happy songs.

Un Jour Au Mauvais Endroit (Calogero) - Great music, good lyrics. It’s still Calogero and I tend to dislike how overdramatic he usually is. Not enough to ruin that one song for me though.

Je Garde le Sourire (Black M) - This isn’t the last time he’s gonna appear in this post.

Prayer In C (Lilly Wood & The Prick) - A bit repetitive but in a good way.

Budapest (Georges Ezra) - A bit repetitive but in a good way 2, the return but in a completely different genre.

The Monster (Eminem & Rihanna) - We’ve now entered the songs which I considered putting on the list, and yeah, there’s a lot of them even if this is a top 12. “Bad year for pop music”. Yeah. Right.

Addicted To You (Avicii) - This is good, and the music video is great, and I want to stop feeling emotional about Avicii. Please.

Don’t Tell Em (Jeremih) - I. Uh. What the f█ck. Okay. There’s no way I can justify this. I simply adore this beat even if the lyrics are really, really bad. It’s just visually stunning and I really wish the song itself was better.

Photomaton (Jabberwocky) - I don’t think this would have charted without the success of Kavinsky the previous year. But still. Wonderful stuff. Well deserved.

Madame Pavoshko (Black M) - This was on the first version of the list but in the end I really had no room left for it. It’s a song about a guy telling his old teacher he made it in life despite the fact she labelled him a hopeless case at school. With such a premise, it could be an angry song, but no, it’s upbeat, sarcastic and fun. Wonderful stuff.

Le Graal (Kyo) - Kyo? Wait, you mean the embarrassing emo guys from my 2002 and 2003 lists? These guys?? They were back on the charts after ten years?? And suddenly everyone thought it was cool to like them again?? Including me??? Sounds fake but okay

Turn Down For What (DJ Snake) - The last cut. Stim music at its finest, sharp, aggressive and colorful. Everything I ever wanted from a hit song.

Well, that was long. Here’s the actual list.

12 - Wake Me Up (Avicii)

US: #22 / FR: Not on the list

“So wake me up when it’s all over, when I’m wiser and I’m older” should make no sense. You can’t get wiser if you’re asleep. At least that’s what I would probably say if I didn’t feel this. There’s a lot of times in my life I wished I could be switched off and woken up a couple of years later and be like “hello I’m back, I feel better now, what did I miss”. I totally get it.

The only reason this song is so low on the list is the drop. I don’t like it very much. The rest is damn good.

11 - Boom Clap (Charlie XCX)

US: #34 / FR: #84

Boom! Boom! Boom! CLAP. That song got me after its first seconds. Love its atmosphere, very cotton candy-like, very fluffy, with a sharp voice. Doesn’t work well if you listen to it on a loop, though, and that’s the only negative thing I can say against it.

10 - Stay The Night (Zedd)

US: #94 / FR: Not on the list

This on the other hand works very well on repeat and that drop is golden. I’m afraid I don’t have anything very interesting to say about it. It stayed on my playlist from 2014 to summer 2019, though, so that’s an impressive feat.

9 - Rather Be (Clean Bandit)

US: #41 / FR: #18

Several critics I follow have commented this song is 1) mostly meaningless 2) too perfect to say anything about it and I agree. It’s also too perfect to be really passionate about it, unfortunately, but still, very, very good stuff.

8 - Magic (Coldplay)

US: Not on the list / FR: #66

You already know I don’t really like lowkey emotional songs and I also hate the first act of Coldplay’s career, so why on earth did I like Ghost Stories so much and why is Magic making me feel so emotional, you ask? Well it’s because the music itself isn’t bland. It’s lowkey but rich, dense and colourful, and it works much better than whatever they were doing before with their slow boring songs. Also, I really struggle with dramatic vocal performances on quiet emotional songs (which is why I tend to have issues with Adele’s voice on some of her stuff), and here the balance is just ideal. Soft colors, soft textures, soft voice, this is like a colorful plushie you’ve lost for years and just found in the attic and it brings you to tears. I adore it.

Also the part of the lyrics that goes “And if you were to ask me / After all that we've been through / Still believe in magic? / Oh yes I do”, that makes me want to hug someone and never let go.

7 - Waves (Mr Probz)

US: Not on the list / FR: #15

This is completely hypnotic. It’s perfect to drive, to walk, to draw. to sit on a bench and look at the trees. It’s just wave after wave of pastel colors with a good beat and it washes away your anxiety slowly but surely. Therapeutic and beautiful without ever feeling bland. Wonderful stuff.

6 - Uptown Funk (Bruno Mars & Mark Ronson)

US: Not on the list (#1 on the 2015 year-end list) / FR: #3

Everyone loved it and I wasn’t an exception. You all know it and I’ve got nothing new or interesting to say about it. A ton of fun. Love the lyrics.

5 - Sur Ma Route (Black M)

US: Not on the list / FR: #7

If you’re wondering what’s going on in this picture, the guy is parodying a lot of famous movies or series in the music video. It’s a simple but super energetic song about trying to trace your own road in life and all the problems you encounter and how you can’t always count on people you thought were your friends. It’s very propulsive and motivating and it’s my favorite song from that guy even though he made a lot of good songs. Just great stuff. Check it out if you’ve never heard it.

Speaking of being on your own...

4 - Ain’t It Fun (Paramore)

US: #47 / FR: Not on the list

I miss hearing that kind of thing on the radio and yes, I’m aware that makes me sound like an old idiot. Oh how I wish this had been released in 2010 when I just started to work, that would have been perfect. I know the song is supposed to be sarcastic with the whole “ain’t it fun being on your own” angle, but yeah, when your life wasn’t great before, it’s actually liberating to “live in the real world”, even if it sucks at times, even if it’s difficult and you have responsibilities and all.

Also the music video is super cute. Love it.

3 - Pompeii (Bastille)

US: #12 / FR: Not on the list

I’m honestly surprised this is only #3 on this list considering how much I loved this one back when it came out, and don’t get me wrong, it’s still a song I love to this day, just... a bit less. Maybe it’s because of overplay? I’m not exactly sure considering #1 was also played very often and I never ever got tired of it. And it’s well written, and it’s not every day that you hear a song about two dead people talking about the wrath of the gods after their city was engulfed in ash.

So yeah. Not sure what happened there. I hope this band is eventually gonna have another hit like this one. Bastille, more of Pompeii and less of Happier, please.

2 - Dangerous (David Guetta)

US: Not on the list / FR: #8

A few months ago I heard Memories by Maroon 5 and I was instantly filled with a truely disproportionate amount of rage for such a bland pop song. See, I love it when music uses well-known classical tunes and completely changes their context and tone, but Memories doesn’t do any of that, it’s just the Pachelbel canon with some bad lyrics on top. So yeah, it’s a pet peeve.

Dangerous, on the other hand, is a song mixing a small loop of Toccata & Fugue in D minor and it basically uses it as an ominous pseudo-police siren in a song about illegally cruising a car with your possibly criminal, possibly gangster crush and not knowing if you’re scared, in love or feeling the thrill of adventure, or all of that at once. I. Love this damn song.

When the only bad thing I have to say about a song talking about driving at night way too fast is “eh this isn’t as good as Kavinsky”, you know you’ve found gold.

1 - A Sky Full of Stars (Coldplay & Avicii)

US: #51 / FR: #9

As much as I love Dangerous, there wasn’t any doubt about what would top this list. I’ve spent about ten lists explaining how my appreciation of Coldplay kept growing over time and four lists explaining how much I loved Avicii, and this song is the best of both worlds. The first time I heard it, I was driving and, no joke, I was so overwhelmed I had to park my car to properly concentrate on the song.

One day I will have to paint this song to explain how fantastic it looks and I’d have to use purple, china blue and pink watercolor inks and basically paint a psychedelic night sky full of little lights and yeah, this is basically another of these songs that are deeply satisfying on a synesthetic level, and it joins this very select club with the blue song called “Blue”, the song full of bright flashes called “Lights” and the song that looks like gentle pulsing lights called “Fireflies”. I’m trying (and failing) to learn how to play it on the piano. I know the chords, and I suck, but I’m very determined.

On top of that deeply satisfying visual, there’s the soft vocals so specific of the Ghost Stories album, and the very simple, very cute lyrics, and I simply hear “'Cause you're a sky, 'cause you're a sky full of stars, I'm gonna give you my heart” and I die instantly. This is high quality musical fluff. Come to think of it, this list is full of it, and this is the Ultimate Fluffy Song. One fluff to rule them all.

Sidenote, considering I fell into the DW audios right when this song came out, that’s one of my theme songs for Eight and Charley. Because of course it is.

Next up: The beginning of a progressive drop in quality but you wouldn’t be able to tell considering how long this list of honorable mentions is

[elizapbrooke]

A discovery of pancakes

This is my newsletter from Friday, May 22. You can sign up here.

I am disappointed to announce that the bird call I thought belonged to an owl comes, in fact, from a mourning dove. “One of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds,” Wikipedia says. It’s an embarrassing but maybe understandable mistake. I figured this owl was out during the day because it was a creature of New York like the rest of us, its circadian rhythm all fucked up by early morning garbage trucks and the blue glow of the Chase Bank across the street. The mourning dove’s coo is low and melancholy, a distinctive series of five notes. I’d certainly forgive you for thinking it’s a hoot. As I was listening to mourning dove calls on my computer and having this horrible realization, one landed on the fire escape and startled me with the loudest, most intimate rendition of their song I’d ever heard. It may as well have pressed its beak up against the glass. (I assume it thought there was a dove in the apartment.) I crept over to the window to confirm with my eyeballs what AllAboutBirds.org had already told me, and, yep, there it was. It felt so special to have a mystery owl in the neighborhood, but I guess doves are lovely birds too, with their plushy throats and elegantly tapered tail feathers. Anyway, my friend Sid tells me he’s heard owls in Gowanus, so I’m keeping my hopes up. This week I published a story for Curbed detailing the history and recent evolution of the home office. As I was fact checking it, I realized I’d accidentally talked to ten hundred sources, so please do enjoy the fruits of my labor. I’m not here to talk about home offices, though. A few weeks ago, I woke up in the middle of the night and discovered I’d been brainstorming pitches in my sleep. I was thrilled. On account of pandemic depression and seeing very little of the outside world, I’ve really been struggling to come up with story concepts, which is problematic because that’s my job. Most of my dream pitches evaporated upon waking, but I managed to hold onto one, and in my sleepy haze I thought it was possibly the greatest idea I’d ever had. It was: PANCAKES ARE HAVING A MOMENT IN QUARANTINE. I decided I’d email the New York Times first thing in the morning. In the light of day, I realized that there wasn’t really a story there. When you’re writing a trend piece, you want to be able to point to, I don’t know, at least four really solid examples from the public sphere. My evidence was:

Alex and I had made pancakes recently

We were planning to make them again

I’d recently discussed pancakes with Molly and Vivian

I’d heard you can make pancakes from sourdough starter discard (which actually does speak to the zeitgeist)

But here’s the thing. Pancakes are a great topic for a newsletter. So here is my pancake article.

***

I’ve always liked the look of a big stack of pancakes, but I never really got why people were so into eating them. I like a breakfast that is hyper-functional and maximally filling. Because I’m an aging hippie, my preferred breakfast is a double-sized bowl of Ezekiel cereal, which tastes like delicious cardboard and fulfills 42% of your daily fiber needs. Pancakes, like pastries, always struck me as glamorous but pointless. I was even somewhat distrustful of my mom’s pancakes, which are dense and nutty, not sweet at all. Her recipe came from a “chiropractor/health nut in San Diego about 31 years ago” and involves grinding your own flour from winter wheat berries, groats, rye, brown rice, and millet. I love them, but a family pancake breakfast still makes me feel very out of control. This all changed a few weeks ago when Alex and I decided to make pancakes for dinner. All I can say is that quarantine has a way of melting away the rigid little fucks you used to give. For once, the chaos I associate with pancakes sounded fun and freeing. Also we’ve been watching a ton of Parks & Rec, and I was feeling inspired by Leslie’s diet of waffles and whipped cream. We made buttermilk pancakes, extra fluffy ones that require you to whip the egg whites on their own for several minutes before folding them into the batter. Two with banana chunks, two with bits of frozen peaches, two blueberry, one bonus plain for me. I had mine without anything on top, enjoying the choking feeling of eating so much cakey carb. It felt like a hug. When I saw my friend Todd post a gorgeous stack of pancakes on Instagram, I asked him if he had any theories about why they’re such a good quarantine food. At first he thought I was trolling him, but when I told him I was dead serious, here’s what he said: “What I love about pancakes right now is that they feel both ordinary and radical at the same time. Ordinary because they are nostalgic, all-American, homey, comfortable, and approachable. Anyone can make them. But there’s also something really subversive about a stack of pancakes right now—the gluten, the non-plant-based butter and eggs, eating breakfast when Goop tells us we should be intermittent fasting, so forth. Eating pancakes in the time of coronavirus brings into focus how overwhelming wellness culture has become in recent years—celery juice and collagen smoothies will never, ever, ever beat a big, buttery, syrupy stack of flapjacks.” I would agree. Given my dedication to breakfast foods that involve sprouted beans—which predates our wellness moment but was certainly bolstered by it—I definitely find pancakes subversive. They make me feel nostalgic, too, but not for anything I’ve personally experienced. For weekends in high school that I spent ensconced in the television world of Gilmore Girls, maybe, where breakfast at Luke’s Diner is a comfortable routine. As I continued my journey into pancake reportage, I sought out the perspective of Sarah Jampel, an editor at Bon Appetit. While pancakes made from sourdough discard have their fans, Sarah is not particularly one of them. She’s also team waffle. I don’t really have a horse in the pancake/waffle debate, but Sarah makes a compelling case. “I have thought a lot about pancakes,” she emailed back when I asked if she had anything to say about the topic. “And yes, I have made them since isolation started—mostly because I'm ‘every woman’ and my fridge is overflowing with sourdough discard. ‘Put it in pancakes,’ I thought. The issue is that I need to add more flour (as well as butter or oil and leaveners) to sourdough discard to turn it into pancakes, so I ultimately end up using more ingredients for the sole purpose of not throwing some stuff into the trash or compost (but really, the trash). And even though pancakes sound nice in theory—why not start the day with a hot breakfast instead of the usual routine, eating a Clif bar with one hand while the other clings bare to the subway pole (huge sigh of nostalgia)?—in actuality they're inferior waffles. Unless you take care with your pancakes—loading them with lots of butter and separating the egg yolks and whites (this recipe's my fave)—they're too mono-textured.” Never fear: Alex and I loaded ours with an alarming amount of butter. I suppose it is to be expected that when you go out hunting for pancake insights, you come back with waffle testimonials. When I asked Alex’s high school friends to weigh in on the appeal of pancakes during a global shutdown, Nico said, “Waffles are the superior carb. They provide greater textural variety and are a better delivery vessel for condiments.” (Dylan has been eating toast all quarantine, and Dan “didn’t understand the question” because the only god he acknowledges is the Joy of Cooking’s pancake recipe.) My friend Molly has been eating a lot of savory pancakes under quarantine, for breakfast or lunch. She sautées a bunch of garlic and kale in olive oil, adding scallions at the last minute, and then sets the vegetables aside in a bowl. In goes the Bisquick, and she adds the kale mix on top of the pancakes as they cook; after a minute, she tops the pancake with shredded white cheddar so that when she flips it, the cheese turns crispy. She’ll eat that with a runny egg or garlic yogurt. I can’t wait to see her again so she can make one for me. Pancakes are one of the few foods that Molly has consistently been able to stomach during this period of immense anxiety. They have a strong positive association for her: in pre-corona times, she would make savory pancakes after playing soccer on Saturday mornings. Those games are one of the things she misses most right now. We talked on the phone while she made her daily trip outside to juggle a soccer ball. Molly likes to chat with friends during these breaks because bouncing a ball on your feet benefits from loose attention. “Cooking a pancake is similar,” she said. “It requires some focus but it’s not that hard. You don’t really need to cut anything. You just watch it.” Alex always says that cooking is meditative for him. I would respectfully disagree—to me, it feels more like hurtling down a mogul course—but I can see it with pancakes. You’re just systematically waiting and flipping, waiting and flipping. After making buttermilk pancakes, we progressed to Sqirl’s buckwheat pancakes for lunch on a Sunday. I can’t find the recipe online, but here’s a photo. For those who are lucky enough to have dodged my Sqirl talk thus far, it’s a phenomenal, semi-healthy breakfast and lunch spot in Silver Lake. Every time I’m in LA, I badger my companions into going right when it opens at 8 a.m. so we’re sure to get a table. When I was there to write about Dax Shepard in November, I high-tailed it to Sqirl right after our interview and embarrassed myself in front of the staff by inhaling bits of a particularly seedy cookie and having a loud coughing fit, after which I went around the corner to die in private. Alex and I thought we had all the requisite ingredients for Sqirl’s buckwheat pancakes, other than cactus flour, but the recipe calls for corn flour and it turns out cornmeal isn’t the same thing. We subbed in whole wheat, so they weren’t really Sqirlcakes, but they were still tasty in a restrained, earthy way. Alex convinced me to try one with raspberry jam, which I reluctantly admit was a great pairing. A week or two later, we made them again. I wasn’t really hungry because it was 2 p.m. and I’d already eaten lunch—Alex had just gotten up—but I pledged to eat my portion cold out of the fridge. Alex thought this was insane, but he sometimes forgets that I like my food a little squidgy. We went grocery shopping the next morning, which was as much of a bitch as it always is right now. Even though we’ve gotten the process down to a science, it still takes three hours from start to finish, with significant angst on my part about the cleanliness of the inbound goods. Finally everything was put away, and Alex headed off to take a shower. I was agitated and crazy hungry. I scrubbed my hands one more time, pulled the pancakes out of the fridge, and promptly dropped one on the floor while trying to get it into my mouth. I ate the rest in big, angry bites, one after another, standing in the middle of the kitchen. I didn’t want to sit down in my outdoor clothes. The pancakes were perfect, though. A shot of sweet, comforting carb straight to the heart.

[broken-clover]

Illyria Aquarium AU

I think I’ve mentioned I have way way too many ideas when it comes to this series, and that also includes AU’s! I never got around to writing it, so maybe it’ll be fun to toss out some ideas instead of letting stuff collect dust in my docs.

-Not exactly a standard Mermaid AU, instead it focuses on the titular aquarium, which more-or-less functions as a sanctuary for various types of mermaids (or ‘mer’) for them to be taken care of and studied.

-Dr. Asuka R. Kreutz is the owner, director, and board head, but god help you if you actually see him come out of his office because that’s usually a sign that someone screwed up royally if he has to come intervene. He’s a shut-in in just about every sense of the word, but somehow everything still manages to get done.

-(Correction: The interns get everything done)

-Dr. Aria Valentine, Sr. is a big well-known marine biologist who’s worked with mer for decades alongside Dr Kreutz, at least until she moved on to solo work. Most recently, she did a study on two lionfish-types, Elphelt and Ramlethal, at least until part of her home facility collapsed, which forced her to find new homes for them and talk to her old friend for the first time in about ten years.

-In the process, she also kills two birds with one stone when she finds that the aquarium has a need for a temp worker.

-Enter: Aria Valentine, Jr., known as ‘Jack-O’ by anyone and everyone due to her love of candy and all things spooky. She grew up watching her mom’s studies, and has inherited a similar enthusiasm. She’s poured over books and mom’s research notes, but ultimately she’s in no way prepared for all the advanced biology stuff since she doesn’t have a doctorate, so she’s mostly responsible for giving everyone food and managing toys, general housekeeping and making sure none of the mer have killed one another.

-Axl’s the senior temp, which basically just means that he’s been there longer. But you’ll be damned if he ever actually shows up on time for his shift. The only reasons he hasn’t been fired yet is because 1, they are chronically understaffed, and 2, he is ridiculously good when it comes to some of the ‘trouble spots.’ For some reason, even the shier mer seem to take a shine to him. He and Jack-O get along positively swimmingly (lol) which is good, because sometimes when things go bad the two of them are stuck working ridiculous shifts and need to be able to get along.

-Dr. I-no (formally Dr. Ringo, but don’t call her that if you value your life) is one of the marine biologists, even though she doesn’t really seem it at first. Sure, she’s positively brilliant, but she’s also got the dirtiest mouth of anyone you’ll meet and has no filter (so obviously, she isn’t allowed to do the kindergarten tours) and is kind of an asshole. She isn’t completely heartless, though. She’s prone to being easier on Jack-O and offering her advice, and ultimately, she does care very deeply about the mer she’s in charge of keeping healthy.

-Nobody knows where Dr. Raven came from. He’s surrounded by rumors. All that can be confirmed is that he and Asuka have worked together for basically forever and he was around back when the Aquarium first opened. He’s scrawny and creepy-looking, has white hair, and talks like an old man, but he can also lift more than everyone else so there’s a rumor that he’s either unkillable or some sort of cryptid who really likes mermaids. Despite that, he’s actually really friendly, even if he seems to get into a lot of accidents and injure himself without really noticing or caring. It does help that he’s also the human doctor on-site, and knows how to patch up his own wounds.

-That’s it. That’s the entire staff. They have a lot to take care of but they can’t find many people who are both qualified and interested enough to do anything outside of temp work. So things going wrong is remarkably common, though fortunately, nobody has been killed yet

Mer Residents

-Sol is presumed to be a sunfish-type, which confuses everyone on multiple fronts. He’s a lot faster than he looks, and he’s also far more aggressive than a mola has any right to be. Most sunfish are chill and relaxed, and Sol can and will attack his tankmates unless he’s sleeping or tearing through his dinner. This does not, however, stop Axl from trying to befriend him, with Jack-O often having to pull Axl back at the last second before Sol can bite off his hand.

-Ky is basically the aquarium’s equivalent of a mascot. He’s an electric eel, but he’s incredibly well-mannered and good-looking, so he’s very often a star attraction for visitors, and appears on a lot of promos and ads for the facility (and yes, they do also have plushies of him at the gift shop. Jack-O bought one her first day and keeps it on her desk). He can easily get exasperated by the more rowdy fish, but still likes to socialize. He and Potemkin get along well, and he’s got a weird rivalry/friendship with Sol that on occasion results in the sunfish getting zapped.

-Nobody is exactly sure what Sin is or where he came from. He looks kinda like an eel and he’s got the blonde hair, so it’s presumed Ky is one of the parents. He’s a lot stronger than Ky, though, and doesn’t like to sit still, so Sol often needs to be enlisted to catch him for any number of reasons. Sin just kinda appeared one day and with an eye injury, so the staff taped on a waterproof patch. He still gets around okay, though he’s a bit dense, so on numerous instances he’s bumped into his own tank wall.

-Potemkin is a whale shark, and the biggest mer by far (though humorously, he’s considered on the small side for his species) and even though he could knock down the walls with ease, he’s a very relaxed fellow who prefers making drawings on the tank floor and playing with his super-reinforced toys than causing any kind of trouble. Since he’s so calm, he’s often used to try and encourage better behavior with their more troublesome residents, which is doubly useful since he’s hard to beat up if it doesn’t work out.

-Faust is a spiny seahorse, but like Sol, he moves far too fast for one. They also have to be very careful what tank they put him in. It isn’t that he’s asocial- in fact, he’s so over-social that it makes all the other mer uncomfortable. He seems half-convinced that he’s a biologist too, and likes attempting rudimentary ‘checkups’ on his tankmates. He even managed to get his hands on an aquarium labcoat, and he won’t give it back under any circumstances. His favorite toys are hats of all kinds. He has a collection.

-May is a bottlenose dolphin, and she has won the unofficial ‘most destructive’ award. The girl does not know her own strength, and has shattered a tank wall out of sheer excitement on more than one instance. When she isn’t causing damage, she tends to cling to Johnny since they were transferred there together, but she does also play with the other younger mer, like Sin and Bridget.

-Johnny is a grey reef shark, and also the smarmiest punk among all of them. Most of his time is spent either attempting to seduce female mer, or stealing anything remotely shiny and hoarding it. To keep his entertained and minimally destructive, it’s a common game to hide shiny coins in his enclosure or hidden inside of containers for him to find in ‘treasure hunts.’

-Baiken and Anji are a pair of koi who generally keep to themselves. Baiken was initially brought in after being found stuck in a dam, which resulted in severe damage to their eye, arm, and fin, all of which needed to be amputated. They’ve got a prosthetic arm and fin now, but it hasn’t done much for their temperament, and they’re rather sour and surly, preferring to keep away from crowds. They are a biter, and have caused fights in the past.

-Anji is basically Baiken’s opposite, which is good, since he seems to be the only one they can stand. He’s the arsty type, and likes to do little dances to flounce his fins whether or not there are people watching. He can be a bit mischievous, so it’s advised not to let your guard down around him. 

-Chipp is a rainbow trout-type that somehow became convinced that he’s a koi. He mostly tries to follow Baiken and Anji around, but Baiken inevitably gets annoyed with him and chases him off. He is also a troublemaker, but more out of stupidity and too much curiosity rather than malice. He is one of the more sociable, though, and a very friendly fellow who’s good at making friends, as long as they can put up with his seemingly-endless energy.

[imthepunchlord]

A Loose Timeline

Sooo with the confusing details popping up in new eps and the possibility that some eps in s2 are before some eps in s1, going to try and piece together a loose timeline/ep order, at least what I think is most likely based on the details given. 

Origins 

Bubbler 

because Tikki had to remind Marinette about the powers which suggest that’s super early and Marinette’s still getting the grasp of it

Lady Wifi

Alya locked on LB, suggesting that she’s very new and exciting still 

Tikki is super nervous about Alya possibly knowing

Chat's crush is new and he’s eager to move forward and get closer to her

eager to know who she is and is grasping straws

Early enough that Chloe is considered LB (ignore that detail that he saw LB save her... just, no explanation there, aside from boy is dense, gdi Adrien)

Only time he has asked about a reveal out of a want to get closer to her

Before Puppeteer

Stormy Weather

Marinette’s suuuper awkward with Adrien, suggesting that her crush is really recent and she isn’t comfortable with him yet nor knows how to act around him

Alya still has high views of LB and Manon is excited about her too, suggesting that she’s pretty new still

Copycat

Early enough that Chat’s feelings are still new and easily on edge at the first sign of competition, probably first time to experience it

Petty and childish enough to not admit his fault and pins the blame on LB, could back this being his first partnership, also a first mistake he’s made on purpose to hurt someone; doesn’t want to admit he’s at fault 

Could’ve helped lead up to PQ with Theo thinking they’re dating and could’ve mentioned it to Nadja

Before Glaciator because LB isn’t aware of Chat’s feelings

Mr. Pigeon

Early enough that Marinette is still awkward and shy with Adrien; before Despair Bear and Gamer

Also early enough that Marinette has high praise for Gabriel, way before Collector

 In body language, Adrien flirts with Alya a little, before Animan

Adrien doesn’t respond to Chloe stealing a design, could be a point to post Despair Bear, or could lead up to it; with Marinette’s feelings still feel pretty new and her being awkward, leaning before Despair Bear

Pixelator

(thanks @whatarubberchicken and @some-italian for reminding about Jagged’s arrival)

For sure before Darkblade, Kung Food, and Animan; Jagged arrives in Paris

Marinette’s excited to hang out with Adrien, crush is still pretty new and still takes up a lot of her focus

Damocles helping LB protect Jagged can be another point to him being inspired to be a hero

Guitar Villain 

Dark Owl

Heroes around long enough to inspire Damocles to be one

Could lead up to Despair Bear, Damocles being set to prove to the Fire Department that they punish wrong doers (could also be post too)

Potentialy before Animan (maybe?), could lead up to Tikki’s tease at Marinette having a hard time talking to her crush

Honestly a little unsure of the placement, but kinda feels like DO could be early-ish

Animan

Nino and Alya start dating (I presume?)

Before Glaciator

Nino moved on from Marinette, before Evillustrator with Chat flirting with Marinette, not cool to flirt with your best bro’s crush, so Nino’s over his crush on Marinette

Before Despair Bear

Despair Bear

before DC, Kim still interested in Chloe, suggesting that’s before the rejection he went through

Adrien’s response to Chloe’s bullying

Was bothered by it in Origins, makes sense that he would tell her off sooner than later

His comment, in the end, backs him tolerating her misbehavior throughout s1: “Oh well, guess she’ll never change.” 

that suggests he sees no reason to try and change her behavior, so tolerating it instead for the most part 

Post Animan

DJWifi seen dancing together

Alya is still ultimate wingwoman

Before Evillustrator and Antibug

Chloe helps LB in the fight with DB, backs her idea that they’re best friends from working together

Also backs the idea that she could help with Vanisher

Santa Claws

Before Dark Cupid (Christmas before Valentine’s Day)

Chat visits Marinette’s first, could play off them dancing together in Despair Bear

Chat also drops by Chloe’s place, could work off Adrien and Chloe reconnecting in Despair Bear 

Dark Cupid 

Adrien’s feelings are still new and exciting, working with LB long enough he thinks it’s time to confess and see their relationship move to a new level

Before PQ because of the kiss

Before Glaciator because LB isn’t aware of Chat’s feelings still

Pharaoh 

potentially before Mime

Alya is still super excited about LB which suggests that she’s still pretty new

Akumas have been around long enough that Alya has a good idea on how it works and tells LB about the possessed item

Prime Queen 

picture of DC kiss, for sure DC before it

Copycat potentially before since Theo also could’ve been a source for Nadja since Chat did tell him that they were dating and it wasn’t de-confirmed. 

Horrificator

this one I have as a maaaybe, don’t know where exactly but for sure, post Animan 

leaning before Glaciator with DJWifi maybe still figuring out their limits

Nino going ahead and changing the script without talking to Alya

poor communication and a mindset to act independently and not talk with your partner

With Myvan I can see this before or after Glaciator, leaning before with the two still looking pretty awkward and shy with one another, but in Glaciator, they were comfortable. 

Evillustrator 

Marichat first meeting, before Glaciator 

Post Despair Bear, Chloe thinking she and LB are best friends because she helped in the fight

Before Puppeteer

Before Antibug, a fight with Chloe can be one point to lead up to Vanisher

Rogercop

Chloe still feels like she has a position of power in the class

Accusations go flying around, classmates don’t have each other’s back; suggesting before Darkblade, Refleckta, and Befana

Before Puppeteer

Puppeteer

Post LW, Evillustrator, and Rogercop with plushies Marinette made

Glaciator 

Marinette refers to Evillustrator only and said they met once, so takes place after Evillustrator; Gamer and Befana hasn’t happened yet

Post Animan, DJWifi getting ice cream together

LB is officially aware of Chat’s feelings and Chat is fine with her friendship

Mime

After Prime Queen, Alya mentions at the end that she hasn’t had an interview yet with LB, has now

Marinette and Adrien still aren’t close, before Gamer

Gamer

Another Marichat encounter, for sure post Glaciator 

Max is at odds with Marinette for beating him

they reconcile in the end

Alya wasn’t crazy about the potential Adrienette date

Could factor in the potential of this being post Glaciator, sour about Adrien standing them up and annoyed Marinette’s still interested (don’t know for sure though...) 

Adrien and Marinette have their first solo hang out and Adrien allows himself to be vulnerable with Marientte, helping them get closer, and late enough that he’s comfortable opening up to her

Darkblade

Marinette wins her classmates’ favor, gains a position of power in the class

Refleckta

Post Darkblade, Marinette is able to rally the students for a picture shoot in the park, all agreeing to help Juleka feel better

Potentially before Antibug, Sabrina lingers behind sees the group having fun, could factor into her akuma Vanisher (her feeling invisible with Chloe)

Kung Food

thinking it over, with the detail that Marinette was able to calm down talk to Adrien easier, for sure post Gamer

And Adrien being insistent on how amazing Marinette is can be backed by her actions in Darkblade and Refleckta

Timebreaker

Alix entrusts her watch with Marientte and Marinette is tasked with making the banner, suggesting post Darkblade and/or Refleckta, where Marinette proves her capablity and is well liked

Classmates hanging out suggests post Refleckta, especially with Juleka speaking out for once

Alix seems more involved with her classmates, suggesting post Refleckta where they all got to bond (aside from this ep and Gigantian, don’t remember any other times of Alix hanging out with anyone)

While still a little awkward, Marinette seems calmer with Adrien, suggesting she’s more comfortable with him

Befana

Post Gamer, Max is one of the classmates rushing up to help Marinette, also Adrien makes his own charm to give her

Post Glaciator, Andre the ice cream man is serving ice cream at the party, knows Marinette

Gigantitan

Girl hang out, all of them getting along and are friends, suggested for sure, post Refleckta

They try out a scheme to help Marinette get closer with Adrien, suggesting before Riptose when she overhears him refer to her as a good friend, but could be post in an effort to get past that

Princess Fragrance

Marinette first meets Fu, but not introduced to him as the Guardian, before Volpina

Maybe it also happens a bit earlier... for sure close enough for Marinette to remember Fu in Collector

Anibug

Post Despair Bear, Chloe feels she has a right to be apart of the fight

Sabrina feels invisible and underappreciated with Chloe from what her akuma implies, could be added in with what she sees at the end of Refleckta 

Chloe apologizes to LB and reconciles with Sabrina, could be a point to Marinette considering Chloe for bee

Jackady

Before Volpina 

LB isn’t suspicious of Gabriel

Gabriel learns/suspects his son is Chat

Volpina

Collector 

Directly post Volpina

After Jackady, Gabriel suspects/knows his son is Chat

Marinette and Fu both suspect Gariel 

Robustus

Marinette has a position of power in class, post Darkblade

Max knows to go to Marinette for help to get Markov back

Post Collector, Marinette visits Fu and learns about why earrings and ring can never be together

Riptose

Post Volpina, Marinette works to improve her jealousy

Post Jackady, LB and Adrien are familiar with each other

Post Glaciator, LB confirms to just view him platonically, Arien being attracted to Kagami could be a point of him starting to move on from LB

But with what’s given, this could be a potential timeline/ep order, working off what’s given so far. Not a 100% sure, but this seems like a possiblity. 

[beejuboxes]

  YumeTwins

$35/month

Free international shipping!

  YumeTwins is a kawaii goods box shipped worldwide from Tokyo! Each box includes 6 to 8 cute licensed items from popular Japanese brands. They include a variety of things, like plushies, stationary, and squishies. They focus on curating a selection of unique and quality goods.

It’s probably been over a year since I received a YumeTwins box! Since then, I’ve moved to Yokohama, Japan, where my love of cute things has only intensified. I poked around their website for a while, and I was impressed with how cute and easy to navigate it was. I also liked the sense of community; they seem to like to share about their own team and their customers.

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The box itself is sturdy with a cute purple and green design, including a cat pattern! The included insert tells you how to access the online zine. You simply go to the url and type in a password. You can check out past zines in their archive. They give you a detailed description of each item, including explaining any helpful cultural context. I can’t express how much I like that! So often Japanese boxes fail to explain what Japanese words mean, which is part of the fun!

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Each month they do different contests on social media. They also have a referral promotion, where you can win one free box by referring three of your friends (who get $5 off their box as well). It’s worth keeping an eye on their social media too for promotions and contests!

This month’s box has 6 items with the theme “Magical Future.”

Hello Kitty Halloween Donut Squishy or Snoopy Woodstock Bread Squishy

I got the Woodstock squishy, which I love! Watching “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” is one of our Halloween traditions. It’s soft, dense, and big enough to have a satisfying squish.

Cardcaptor Sakura Pillow Case

This 62cm x 43cm pillowcase comes in 3 different Cardcaptor Sakura designs. I’m not very familiar with this manga and anime series, but it has been recommended to me by friends. I like the magical girl style in general, and items like pillowcases are fun and practical.

Round Animal Kawaii Plushies

There are five possible animals for this round plushie: a cat, a dog, a hedgehog, a honey bee, or a lady bug. As a cat lady I was hoping for the cat, but they are all adorable. The toy is soft and well-made. My ladybug also has a heart for one of its spots, which is a cute detail. There’s also a bell inside this plush.

My Melody Memo Pad

My Melody is a popular Sanrio character, and she adorns this 10cm x 10cm notepad. I like having a stash of cute stationary, so this kawaii pastel design is a welcome addition.

Sumikko Gurashi or Rilakkuma Lanyard

Sumikko Gurashi and Rilakkuma are two of my favorite kawaii characters! I got a Korilakkuma lanyard. Rilakkuma is a very relaxed bear, but Korilakumma has the opposite personality. This lanyard says “Mischievous Days of Korilakkuma” and shows her in a bunny hat with strawberries (one of her favorite foods).

Kawaii “Higemanju” Cat Gamaguchi Pouch

The last item is a cat pouch from the brand Amuse. The pouch comes with a neck strap and a coin purse style metal clasp. The name “Higemanju” is explained in the online zine (yay!). “Hige” means beard and “manju” is a type of round Japanese sweet. So those words together describe the cute shape of the cat’s mouths and round body. I got the gray cat named “Gomao.” I think it’s a play on sesame seed, which is “goma.” He’s really cute, and I love his little grumpy-ish face! I see these cats in UFO catchers all the time, and I might just have to try to win him a friend…

Overall I was very happy with the YumeTwin’s October box! There was a good variety of items, all adorable and high quality. The Rilakkuma lanyard and Higemanjyu cat pouch were my favorites! This box definitely delivers for anyone who loves kawaii goods. I really like that there wasn’t any cheap filler, but instead a well-curated selection of licensed things. Plus, they include some practical items so you can have some cuteness in your day-to-day life.

If you’d like to subscribe, you can do so here. It’s $35 per month with free international shipping. The next month shipped out will be December. The theme for December is “Cozy Holiday,” which sounds awesome.

PR Sample. All opinions are my own, and no compensation was received. Affiliate links are in this review.

YumeTwins – October 2017 Review YumeTwins $35/month Free international shipping!