#got home floating on air because I was FINALLY going to have a job and we would be able to pay our bills

[drafty-castle]

As an autistic, the poem is somehow less opaque than the actual fucking tests. I always fail them and lose out on a job every. damn. time. And people tell me I have to lie, tell them what they want to hear. But even that is a trap depending on the place.

Like:

“Do you believe people are generally honest?”

▪️ Yes ▪️ No

If I say yes, then I’m not looking out for thieves and am a liability. No job.

If I say no, then I am the thief and a liability. No job.

There’s no winning.

this is for a part-time job as a barista

[comically-callous]

Hello! I Hope You’re having a wonderful day/night. I was wondering if you can do a Wonka (2023) x reader where the reader is a show girl and is in love with Willy Wonka. And the reader works as a showgirl for slugworth (to Yk promote his chocolates). But reader and Willy falls for each other and it’s a whole forbidden love type thing since readers boss hates wonka.

Hello! Thanks so much for the request!! Gotta love the forbidden lovers trope (probably one of my favs tbh).

Willy Wonka x Showgirl!Reader (Wonka 2023)

Warnings!!!: Fem!reader, cursing (literally once, I'm pretty sure)

A/n: Baby's first request + Baby's first time posting fanfiction (AJGSHSHEJJXHDJDJ) Hope it's not awful.

Sometimes you wondered why you ever agreed to this job.

Being a showgirl wasn't as easy as a lot of people seemed to think it was.

Every other weekend, you performed at the local theatre to promote Mr. Slugworth's infamous chocolate. Two shows on Friday, two shows on Saturday.

Sounds easy enough. But, Mr. Slugworth insisted that no two shows could be the same.

Which meant that everyday you weren't performing, you were learning a new song and new choreography for your next performance. Which got very tiring very quickly.

Tonight was a particularly bad night. You were barely halfway through your show and already wanted to just collapse in the middle of the stage and sleep. Your costume felt tight, there was hardly anyone in the crowd, and your face hurt from how much you were smiling.

You had just finished your third number when the theatre doors opened. A young man walked through the doors. You recognized him from an incident in which he made your boss float through the air.

You briefly looked at him before going into your fourth number.

To your surprise, the man chose to sit right in the middle of the first row. Right in front of you. Now that he was closer you could see that he was actually pretty handsome. Dark brown curls that framed his face well and beautiful eyes that seemed to watch you in utter amazement...

You had to look away.

At the end of your performance, the man cheered loudly. Full on cheered, despite everyone else in the theatre simply clapping quietly.

He interested you with his sparkly eyes and bright smile. But, you knew you couldn't be interested. Your boss absolutely despised this guy. So, he wasn't cute and you weren't interested. That was that.

You were leaving the building through the back exit, happy to finally be out of your costume and headed home, when-

"Hi, there!"

"Ah!" You were startled by the sudden and enthusiastic greeting of... The guy you definitely didn't think was cute.

You sighed, regaining your composure after he had frightened you. "Hello." You said back simply.

"Sorry if I startled you there! I just wanted to compliment you." He said with a smile that for sure didn't make you want to swoon. "You are the most incredible singer that I've ever heard."

You couldn't help but feel flattered. "Thank y-"

"And you're an amazing dancer."

"Tha-"

"How do you even manage to dance in those tall, fancy heels?"

"I-"

"And isn't it strange to be taller than you usually are when you wear heels? Does that bother you at all?

You paused, making sure he was done talking before speaking again. "I guess being taller than usual would be strange at first. But, I'm used to wearing heels. So, being tall isn't weird for me."

"Like a giraffe." He said.

"Wha-"

"I'm Willy. Willy Wonka." He stuck his hand out.

You paused for a moment. Mr. Slugworth definitely wouldn't like the fact that you were talking to him... But, he wasn't here right now.

"I'm Y/n."

These little post-show conversations became something you looked forward to.

It was every Saturday, after your last performance of the night. He'd always be right outside the back exit waiting for you. Talking to him was always thrilling. Your heart beat a little faster whenever you were around him, breaking the rules... And maybe it was also because you thought he was cute.

You couldn't lie, over time, you'd grown to like him. And based on all of the lingering gazes and soft smiles he'd given you, you were pretty sure he liked you as well.

One day, you were backstage, looking into the mirror as you put on your makeup. You glanced up and in the reflection of the mirror was your boss, Mr. Slugworth.

This couldn't be good.

You turned around to face him. "Hello, Sir." You forced a polite smile.

"Yes, hello." He said with narrowed eyes. There was a brief moment of silence which you decided to fill.

"Did you want to talk to me about something?" You said, hoping the innocent head tilt you gave him was convincing.

"I know what you're doing." He said, ignoring your previous question.

Shit.

"One of my associates told me that they saw you and Mr. Wonka meeting behind this theatre every night."

You stayed silent. You knew you were guilty and you knew you probably couldn't talk your way out of this.

Mr. Slugworth continued. "I don't want an explanation or excuse from you. I just want you to agree to never speak with him again."

"What?!" You were shocked. He couldn't do this! He couldn't just tell you to stop talking to someone outside of work! He didn't have that power!...

Except, he kind of did. You knew how Mr. Slugworth was and you knew he wouldn't hesitate to fire you over something like this.

And that's why you agreed.

That night you left the theatre through the back exit like you always did. But, tonight you walked right past Willy.

"You were incredible tonight! I- Where are you going?"

You ignored him and kept walking. To your surprise, he began to follow you.

"You look sort of down.. Is something wrong? You can talk to me about it. I'm sure I can make you feel better!" He said as he continued to follow you.

He continued to try talking to you, and you continued to ignore him. He ended up following you all the way to your doorstep.

"Y/n? If it's something I did to upset you, I'm really sorry."

You took a deep breath and turned around, looking around to make sure no one was watching before you grabbed him and yanked him into your house.

As soon as he was in your house he looked around. "I like your curtains." He said.

"I'm not mad at you." You told him.

He smiled. "That's good to hear. I was already thinking of an apology chocolate recipe for you and it would've been-"

"Willy." He went quiet when you said his name. "Mr. Slugworth doesn't want me talking to you ever again."

"Oh?" He thought for a moment. "Well, that doesn't seem fair."

"Yeah. It isn't fair."

"Well, then don't listen to him." He made everything sound so simple. So easy. You wish you could see the world how he saw it.

"I can't just not listen to him. He's my boss." You looked at the ground. "And I need this job..."

Willy crossed his arms. He furrowed his brows in thought for a moment. "Huh."

...

"Huh." He looked back to you.

"What?"

"Why don't you just work for me?" He suggested with a smile. You were about to protest, but decided to hear him out. "Yeah! You can quit working for Slugworth, then you and I can update your act, and you can start promoting Wonka's Chocolate!" He said, excitedly pacing your small living area.

You thought over the plan. "Huh." You chuckled. "That's... Do you think that could work?"

He walked over to stand right in front of you, looking into your eyes. "I know it could work."

You shook your head with a smile. You were probably gonna regret this. "Let's do it."

"Yes!" Willy clapped and then stuck out his hand so that the two of you could shake on it. Instead of shaking his hand, you sort of let your emotions take control.

You grabbed his face and kissed him. After a moment you pulled away, a bit shocked at your own actions. You searched his face for any signs of discomfort and were met with a smile.

"That was better than a handshake." He said with a chuckle before leaning forward to capture your lips in a soft kiss.

Ok, you probably weren't gonna regret this.

[hellfirenacht]

Wing Man Bonus Story: Next October

This is a non-canon blurb for Wing Man. It’s non-canon because it gives Reader a specific birthday month. This was written for me and for @sheneedsrocknroll92 as we are actually twins with the same October birthday, ignore the gap year between us. 

You don’t need to know much about Wing Man to enjoy this, but you should read it anyway because it’s a finished 86k word Reader/Eddie fic and don’t you want to read a finished fic that long? Yes. Yes you do. (You also want to leave comments on all the fics you read when you enjoy them, js)

Anyway, say Happy Birthday to both of us. Also, sorry this is a few days late lol

1.8K Words

Plot: It’s your birthday, and you’re drowning in work. Thankfully, you have an amazing boyfriend to help you relax.

Tags: Eddie Munson x Reader, established relationship, fluff, overuse of the word slut (affectionate)

You loved your job, really. Most nights you wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. You got to spin and talk about almost anything that you wanted, play music you enjoyed, and even spend the occasional commercial break with your amazing boyfriend when he stayed late at the studio. 

But there were only so many hours in the day. Your nights from midnight to 6 am were spent on air. Your mornings were chores and errands while everything was still open, followed by sleeping until dusk where you’d wake up and would head to work so early to spend some time with Eddie at the recording studio, or at one of his gigs, or do any other number of things around the studio. 

It didn’t even occur to you that it was almost your birthday. You had been so wrapped up in your own work and helping Eddie and Corroded Coffin that it wasn’t until you saw Halloween decorations being put up around the studio that you realized that October was right around the corner, which meant that it was also almost your birthday. 

It was a bittersweet seeing the decorations. It felt like only a few weeks ago that you had decorated Family Video with decorations you paid for out of your own pocket. Shit, that meant it had been about a year since you and Steve had made the little deal that had led you to where you are today. 

You should drop by and see him soon. 

Even though you and Eddie had started living together months ago, it still felt rare that you got to see him outside of work. Corroded Coffin was doing better than anyone (except you) could have expected. That meant lots of rehearsals, gigs, talking to local publications for interviews, and being awake when you were asleep. You were really starting to miss him. 

It was the morning of your birthday, and you stepped out of the old theater-turned-studio into the cool October air. There was a golden shine on everything as the sun peeked over the horizon, and the air felt crisp and cool but not uncomfortably so. 

I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. That quote floated through your mind as you got in your car. 

Even though it was your birthday, there were still things to be done. You grabbed your half of the rent, picked up some deodorant and toothpaste and the largest bottle of conditioner you could find for Eddie. You stood in the cereal aisle staring at the colorful boxes, allowing yourself the moment to pick out one that was appropriately themed for the month and that you and Eddie would both enjoy, and finally made it back home. 

Eddie wasn’t home when you got back to your apartment, it wasn’t unusual. You might have had set hours, but Eddie’s schedule was all over the place. Ever the life of an indie metal star. 

You put away your groceries and made your way to the closet where you kept all of the halloween decorations. You managed to pull out two boxes and open one before you hit the wall. These days of going non-stop were starting to catch up to you, and you found yourself just staring at the box as you sat on the couch for an undisclosed amount of time. 

Yeah, you needed sleep. 

It was damn near a miracle that your birthday lined up with your next few days off. You could sleep for a few hours, wake up, decorate and then figure out where the hell your boyfriend was. Most days you two would be at the studio together, but there were some days where Paige had him off doing something else with the band. 

You weren’t jealous that Paige was Eddie’s ex. You were jealous that she got to see him more than you did lately. You trusted him completely, but you really missed having a normal schedule with him. 

You found yourself crawling into his side of the bed and nuzzling into his pillow. Sometimes it was nice to have the bed to yourself, but there were mornings like this when you wished that he was here and you two could just talk nonsense until you fell asleep. 

Just a few hours of sleep and then you’d get back to work...

You felt something nudge you, and your eyes opened just slightly. There was something, no someone, in front of you. You hoped it was Eddie. It probably was. He said something. You mumbled something nonsensical in return and closed your eyes again. 

There was another nudge and this time you could only lift your hand slightly and let it flop down like a dead fish. 

It was quiet for a long while after that. You finally opened your eyes and saw... nothing. Shit, you slept longer than you meant to. If it was this dark then that meant that it was night time now and Eddie was probably already at the studio again doing who-knows-what.

You peeled yourself off the bed and sat there, trying to reorient yourself. You loved your job, but the sleep schedule had been hard to manage, especially as the days grew shorter and you saw the sun less during the day. 

After counting to three, you pushed yourself off the bed. You’d make yourself something to eat, and probably spend all night watching Halloween movies until Eddie came home. 

When you stepped out of the bedroom, you heard music. Your eyes adjusted to the lights that had been turned on and you were soon standing in the living room, stunned. 

Your Halloween decorations had been put up, well most of them. You could smell pizza, and there was a record playing- your favorite one. 

“Morning.” Eddie said as he stepped out of the kitchen and gave you a kiss on the cheek. 

“Eddie you- what are you doing here?” you asked, staring at him as if you couldn’t believe he was really standing in front of you. 

“It’s your birthday?” Eddie said, as if he were the one that was confused now. “I told Paige I’m taking the next few days off.” 

It was your birthday. You had barely remembered your own birthday, and so hadn’t expected Eddie to either. 

“Oh shit, what’s wrong?” Eddie asked in a panic, his eyes going wide. “Did I get the wrong date?”

You shook your head quickly, feeling something wet on your cheek. Oh, you might have been tearing up just slightly. Left Turn Studios had been running you so deep into the ground you hadn’t even realized how exhausted you were. 

“No! No, you didn’t. It’s my birthday.” you said, taking his hand. “I just... I had almost forgotten myself and didn’t expect...”

Eddie squeezed your hand. “I know we’ve been working a lot.” he said. “Paige said things will slow down after Halloween for a while and I’ll have more free time. I just.. I missed you. I know I’m still new to the whole ‘being a boyfriend’ thing, but I wasn’t about to leave you alone on your birthday.” 

You were sat on the couch now, and Eddie pointed at you dramatically. “Hear me now” he pointed at you. “For tonight, I am at your complete command. This humble bard will be your personal jester and do whatever you ask.” 

You broke out into a fit of giggles. “Could you do the dishes?” 

Eddie’s chest puffed up and he gave you a proud smile. “Already done.” 

“Shit, you’re good.” you sighed, starting to feel better already. 

There was a buzzing noise coming from the kitchen and Eddie quickly jumped in. A steaming hot pizza was placed on the coffee table in front of you. “I also have some cupcakes in the fridge.” He explained. “I couldn’t remember if you liked chocolate or vanilla more so I just got both-”

“Keep talking like this and I’m promoting you from jester to wife, Eddie.” you threatened, giving him a kiss before digging into the pizza. 

“Would that make me your queen?” he asked, sitting next to you with his own slice. 

“No, I’m still queen. I think there’s a bunch of weird rules about that and if we got married you’d be Queen consort or something.” 

“Doesn’t that just mean I’d be the Queen's slut?”

“You’re thinking concubine, probably.” 

“...Can I be that instead?” 

You nearly choked on your pizza with laughter, feeling lighter than you had in days. “Yeah, sure. I’ll promote you from bard to slut if you keep being nice to me. Wait, aren’t bards known for being that way anyway?”

Eddie looked at you in mock-offense. “You dare suggest that I, Eddie Munson, humble bard, would sleep my way to the top? That I could not wed you on charm and love alone and that I would sell my body?” 

“....Isn’t your current band manager your ex?”

His jaw dropped and twisted into a face that had you falling back on the couch, laughing with tears in your eyes. 

“That’s not- that.. No, that was- I’m- We’re-” he sputtered, unable to hold back his own laughter. “Shit, maybe I am a slut.” 

“As long as you’re only a slut for me, that’s fine.” You leaned over and kissed him, still feeling those butterflies in your stomach as he kissed you back, setting his own pizza aside. 

A while later, Eddie was cleaning you both up as you lay naked on the couch. You reached out to get some post-sex cuddling but he jumped up suddenly as if he remembered something. He cursed and ran into the kitchen. 

You sat up, amused as you saw his naked ass disappear and reappear moments later with the tray of cupcakes, a few sporting lit candles. 

“Eddie, my love, you are naked and handling fire.” you said, looking him up and down in amusement. 

“What would I not do to entertain?” he replied before launching into Happy Birthday. 

You took a deep breath and blew out the candles. 

“I meant to do this before sex, but...”

“We’re not exactly good at going in order.” you finished, grabbing a cupcake with heaps of pumpkin-orange frosting. 

It was well past midnight when half of the cupcakes were gone, and you and Eddie were laying on your cramped couch with him as the big spoon. You two would probably regret it in the morning, but right now there was nowhere else you’d rather be. 

The two of you watched as Pamala Voorhees revealed herself as the killer and you played with the rings on Eddie’s fingers. You could feel the rise and fall of his chest, and you knew that in a few minutes his arm that you were laying on would fall asleep. 

“Happy birthday.” Eddie mumbled, his grip tightening around you. “I love you.” 

You pulled his hand up and kissed his fingers softly. 

Last year, you and Steve had a deal to wingman for each other to help you both get dates. In the end, Steve only managed to help you get one date but that date led you to finding everything you could have ever wanted. 

“I love you too, Eddie.” 

Tag List @k8loo @terrormonster55 @sp1dyb0y1008 @crocwork-clockodile @ali-r3n

@mxcheese @josephquinnschesthair @gagasbee @peaches-roses-sins @witchwolflea

@vintagehellfire @royale1803 @cumslutforaemond @prestinalove @browneyedgirly93

@perpetualmessmachine @thebook-hobbit @cultish-corner @grishaversecaptivated @sortagaysortahigh

@siriuslysmoking @huffledor-able541 @pookiesnatcher @eddiesguitarskills @browneyes-8288

@sheneedsrocknroll92 @kores-mun-son-n-more @eddiebuttcheeks @kirsteng42 @dreamerjj

@moonisu @em022O @cosmorant @kurdtbean @wheels-of-despair

[cyberkitty1]

Hi can I ask for a miles 42 x telekinesis reader

Like she and miles got in an argument about how he hasn't been around and not making time for her at least

Miles knows she has powers

She knows he's the prowler

She gets mad and the objects in the room start flying around

She doesn't notice and keeps ranting to him about how he's shit and she slowly lifts herself from the ground

Still not noticing BC she's angry

Make the ending fluffy and cute

I tried, I got lazy because ive been getting similar asks with the same character so im trying!!!

“ So where have you been?” You say leaning against the doorway looking at Miles who came home at 2 am in the morning. You closed mouth smiles at you “ I’ve been out ma, you know.”

You sigh resting your face in your hands “ Miles no I don’t know, where have you been? You keep leaving early in the day and coming home next day at like 3 am!” Raising your voice a little.

“ Chill out I’m home right?” he says shrugging you off. “ No I’m not going to “chill out” how am i supposed to when i never see you. Why are you always gone?”

In the moment you are able to see what he’s thinking “ It might be time for me to tell her, shes getting suspicious.” You tense looking at him in his eyes, feeling like you could see his soul.

“ Time to tell me what? What are you hiding from me Miles” He sighs looking at the ceiling muttering “shoot.” So you do it again, if he’s not going to tell you, you will figure out on your own.

“I am The Prowler”

Those words in bald pounded though your brain. “ Why? why would you keep something this big from me? I told you about my powers yet you cant tell me that you are a gauntlet, mask wearing vigilante? or what are you?” He opens his mouth to say something. “No stop! stop talking! You’re telling me you have been lying to me this while time? how long have you been this” making hand motions everywhere.

“ Miles I have always been there for you since day 1! ok?! Day one! and now your going out killing people?!” everything in the room starts to shake. Miles looks around realizing what happening “ Please calm down, mal explicar todo.” (ill explain everything)

“No you cant just explain and everything’s all better! Miles this is the biggest lie you have ever told me? Do you know how i feel?” The tears start to fill your eyes, vision becoming blurry. Everything around you was floating even your hair. Miles was freaking out.

“Please please calm down ill explain everything” when those words left his mouth you felt your body get lighter.

“Miles there is nothing you need to explain! I get it; you are the prowler! Someone who kills people robs people and does it with no remorse! How could you keep something that big from me?!”

You were about 1 foot above the ground when you finally realized, am I in the air? Everything around us is in the air. You see the fear in his eyes, maybe you do need to calm down.

Taking a deep breath you release everything including yourself, you take a deep breath eyes closed. “ Im going to give you 10 minutes to tell me”.

“ Desde que murió mi padre, mi madre ha estado trabajando turnos extra, llegando a casa cansada y sin energía. No podía soportar verla así. ella es mi mamá, me ama pase lo que pase!”

(Ever since my father died, my mother has been working extra shifts, coming home tired and drained. He couldn't bear to see her like this. she is my mom, she loves me no matter what!)

“El tío Aaron consiguió un trabajo en el que pudo dejarme participar para que pudiera obtener más dinero para ella.”

(Uncle Aaron got a job that he was able to let me participate in so he could get more money for her.)

“Hice algunos y obtuve mucho dinero, pero cuando traté de retirarme, no me dejaron. Si me iba, te matarían a ti y a todos los que amaba. No puedo perderte.”

(I made a few and got a lot of money, but when I tried to withdraw, they wouldn't let me. If I left, they would kill you and everyone I loved. I can not lose you.)

You just looked at him taking in everything, you overreacted most definitely. “ why didn’t you tell me? I could have helped you” “ No it was easier that you didn’t know i didn’t want you to worry mi vida.”

He continues to explain his troubles to you, telling you what he’s been thinking when he pauses.

“Sabes que te amaré siempre ¿verdad? Todo lo que quiero es que estés segura”

(You know that I will always love you, right? All I want is for you to be safe)

“ I know Miles and I thank you for everything you do for me”. You say kissing him on the forehead.

“ And I love you so much” you look at him with the most loving eyes you could muster.

—————————————

A/n: Guys I think i’m going to finish my last 1-3 requests about earth42! Miles Morales and not take anymore for a while because I feel they are getting repetitive and I don’t want you guys to get bored of what i’m writing so if you would like to request other characters i would love that so much!!!

[thesparklingwriter]

words of comfort

" You’re not alone in this world anymore, so please just stop acting like you are.”

word count: 0.8k

original ask

tags: hurt/comfort, kaeya is working too hard and reader says 'no more of that', there's a mild innuendo at the end but i couldn't help it it was the kind of opportunity that i know kaeya wouldn't pass up but I've been so conflicted as to leave in or not because i feel like its too soon but kaeya's also the type of guy to not dwell on things too much after it's solved but i still feel like it might be too soon but we all know he wouldn't pass on an opportunity like that and i'm just going to let you read it

taglist | masterlist

Perhaps Kaeya underestimates how much you notice. He thinks he’s done a fantastic job of hiding how exhausted he is from you, from everyone. He’s been putting a little extra effort into his work, so desperate to prove to himself that he could work harder, that he could take things seriously, he could be better for you. You’d never asked that of him, and he knew you wouldn’t, but something in him made him think you deserved better. And he couldn’t stand the thought of ‘better’ being someone else, so he buried his worries and concerns into his job in hopes he could work them away.

When he finally gets home, he’s convinced that you’re fast asleep already—a fact that doesn’t fill him with excitement. Rather, it increases the feelings of inadequacy he’s been feeling recently. He slumps onto the couch, rubbing a hand over his face and pulling off his eyepatch. 

“Kae?” He hears you coming down the stairs and sits up with a fake casual air.

“Hey, sunshine.” he grins. “How was your day?” 

“It was alright,” you say quietly, reaching to turn a nearby lamp on. He must have been so exhausted when he got in that he didn’t even have the energy to put the lights on. “Yours?”

“Same as usual,” he says, pulling you onto his lap. Being close to you makess him feel like he’s floating in the clouds. You protest slightly, but he ignores you, his hands gently massaging you. “How come you aren’t asleep?” 

You look at him properly then, in the warm light of the lamp, and you curse yourself for not putting a stop to his working sooner. Of course, you noticed he was tired, and coming home later, and you tried your best to comfort him the best way you could without making it too obvious. Sometimes it was staying up late for him, or sneaking into headquarters during the day to bring him lunch or just distracting him a little to force him to have a break, but your efforts clearly haven’t been working, and you’ve left it way too long.

“Kaeya,” you say quietly. “Tell me the truth. Same as usual?”

Kaeya maintains his aloof composure, and if you didn't know him as well as you do, you might have missed the slight twitch in his right eye. “Why the sudden interrogation, hmm?”

“You come home late, you’re so exhausted that you don’t even take your jacket off or turn the light on, and you don’t even make it to bed some nights. I’ve tried to make things more comfortable for you without saying anything for your sake, but it’s not working.” Tears bunch in your eyes as you speak, and Kaeya feels the guilt mounting up again. More than anything, he wanted you to be happy. He didn’t want to bring this to you and he thought he was hiding it well enough.

“Sunshine–”

“No. I’m not going to sit and let you waste away. I care about you so much it hurts. Watching this happen to you hurts. You’re not alone in this world anymore, so please just stop acting like you are.” The tears really start coming then, and you can’t speak anymore. Kaeya quietly pulls you to his chest, gently rubbing circles into your back.

It was never his intention to hurt you this much. To be honest, this was what he was trying to avoid the whole time. You made the long days and short nights bearable, with the smile you gave him every morning, and the patience you had for him. You were healing him in places he didn’t realise he was broken, and somewhere along the line, he had taken that for granted and allowed insecurity to replace the peace he should have felt.

“Kaeya, I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me. You deserve peace, you deserve to be happy. You deserve to sleep at a godly hour.” You pull away to look at him properly, gently wiping stray tears from his face. “Am I that unapproachable?”

“No,” Kaeya replies. “No, you’re not. I just assumed you had better things to worry about.”

“‘Better things to worry about’? The only thing I worry about is you when you throw yourself into work like you’re trying to run away from something. I’m scared for you sometimes, Kae.”

“I’m sorry for worrying you,”  he replies carefully. “My intention was never to hurt or scare you. I just didn’t want to be a burden.”

“You are not a burden. You will never be a burden to me. You never have been. Okay?”

Kaeya nods. You cup his face in your hands, gently planting a kiss on his forehead and suddenly all his worries and insecurities melt away. If he had known that all it took to calm his thoughts would be a few words from you, he would have gone down that avenue first. It would have been significantly less work for him.

“You’re taking a day off tomorrow,” you say quietly. “And we’re getting you out of that stuffy jacket and going to sleep.”

Kaeya smiles softly. “Just my jacket?” He smirks, and you laugh, taking his hand and standing up.

“We’ll see.”

author's note: hello kaeya nation it has been a hot minute ToT

nonnie i cannot apologise enough for my inadequacy in getting back to you on time i don't even know if you're still around, idk if you survived the shadowban of 2023 but i hope you get to see this

taglist: @tartigglez @aixaingela @atlaincorrect

[rosielovesspence]

Playing Dangerous- F.P. Jones

Summary: The one where you flirt with a cop after wasting his patience.

It was hard to  be friends with the Archie group when they constantly got you into trouble with the law. It became easier when you got used it, and once you all turned 26. “Come on Y/n, we’re adults we can handle this!” You scoffed staring at Archie, “Exactly! We’re adults, we shouldn’t doing childish shit like this! We can get in trouble with the sheriff! Just cause it’s J’s dad doesn’t mean we can’t be arrested!” The group had been in your kitchen for about an hour, trying to convince you to help them break into some warehouse they swore they needed into. “Please Y/n? You know, we can’t do it without you” They were persistent, and Betty was whiny. “Fine, but if I get arrested you assholes are bailing me out.” 

You had somehow gotten in with no problems, finding nothing however you glared at the group from over the shoulder. “Oh look, nothing here.” You leaned over on a box, staring at Jughead, “What did I tell you?” He just awkwardly shrugged, “It has to be here, something does.” Just then the door slammed open and you all turned. “Shit.”

You sat in the back of his cop car, groaning, god of course you got arrested for those fucking idiots.”Everybody knows i’m a good girl, officer.” You stared at him through his back window as F.P. stared back. “Mhm, sure sweetheart.” You bat your eyelashes subtly, looking for something to get you out of his car. “Do you always work alone so late?” He wasn’t working alone, the others had been picked up in the other cars, but FP picked you up. You assumed he’d get Jughead and Betty. “Stop with that. Those try-hard doe eyes.” You wanted to scoff, God older men were dicks, but you just looked down. 

“The door was already open when we got there, you know.” You were trying to justify yourself. “Oh yeah, then tell me princess, why was the lock broken?” He had looked back at you for a moment. And somehow you didn’t find it repulsive, usually the princess comment would off-put you but from FP it felt weirdly like-able. “I wouldn’t do a thing like that, that’s for sure. The door was already open, I swear i’m not a liar.” He stopped to stare at you, your melty puppy eyes as you tried the sympathy approach. Unlike other men his age though, you couldn’t get what you wanted, he wasn’t as creepy, he didn’t fall as easy. 

You expected to end up in a cell for the night, cursing your stupid group, but you had stopped at the station. He had uncuffed you and led you into his office. Now you were confused. As you sat down awkwardly, trying to be still as delicate and princess-like as you were in the car, hoping to convince him to let you go home. “So we’re still on the princess act.” He noted as he sat across from you. “So, what was a group of kids doing in a warehouse?” You had finally snapped and let out a small scoff. “I’m a full grown adult, thank you very much, 26 almost 27.” FP smirked, he had gotten you to break. “I know, calm down, our birthday is next month.” You froze, why would he know that? He didn’t even have your records out. “So, we wanna try again? Why were you there?” 

You wouldn’t spill, sitting in front of, arms crossed over your chest as you held your tongue. “Y/n. Just tell me, I could just throw you into a cell, it is my job.” You looked up at him, a playful glare, you had a new approach to getting your way, and with the way he stared, you were winning. “Fine we can stay here all night then.” He began to pull out paper work. “Yay, I like your company.” He stared at you, your sarcasm soaked words floating in the air. “Brat.” You wanted to yell, you hated being treated like a child, but you held your breath because it also did something else to you. Any insult you had thought to throw back had been lost when he looked back up, staring into your eyes with that kind of intensity. “What, lose your insults?” You pushed your hands onto your lap, looking down, embarrassment flooding your brain. “Jesus, I’ll take you home.” You had realized he was staring at the clock, and the fact that it was now 1:37 in the morning. “What about my information?” He chuckled, “You weren’t gonna give it to me anyway.” You smirked, “True, I might give you something else though.” He stared at you, your words being sudden and out of nowhere. “Hey, maybe a kiss.” He laughed quietly, assuming your words a joke. But when placed a kiss to his lips, he was stunned. “I can walk myself home, unless you want to drive me.” You gave him that gushy smile, that 20 minutes ago was aggravating as hell, now, he was enjoying the lingering stare. “Yeah, not a chance, I’ll drive you.” You grinned, “Good choice, officer.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

@b0nes-phobic​

[cranberrymoons]

hi! i'm sage. I'm glad you're here!

you can find my writing on ao3 here and under the 'my fic' tag on this blog and in the masterlist under the read more. reblogs of other peoples' fic are tagged as 'fic', and writing resources etc are tagged as 'writing'

fic masterlist 🩷

look who's inside again 16,846 words | rated m | buckley-diaz family, chris character study, reconciliation, follow-up/prequel to i'm holding on (barely)

chris misses his dad. he misses his mom. he misses buck. he's still trying to figure out what it means that he misses them all in the same way.

close ain't close enough (til we cross the line) buddie | 9,884 words | rated e | infidelity, possessive sex

buck and eddie are not even approaching normal about each other; things escalate quickly (aka: the sexting fic, part 2)

don't slow this down buddie | rated e | 2,581 words | getting together, domesticity, intimacy, hand jobs

They’re twenty seven hours into ninety six off, three more days of nothing stretching out in front of them. Nothing but this, and Buck, and the early afternoon sun pouring in through the big loft windows. "I guess I don't have to go."

911

i'm holding on (barely) buddie + helena character study | 12,543 words | rated m

August comes, and with it comes Eddie. Eddie and that friend of his who was there back at the start of the summer, the one Christopher has talked so much about over the past few months. Buck this, and Buck that, and – All of it. Helena takes one look at them, and she knows. eddie and buck take christopher home to california; helena and ramon decide to follow

nothing wrong with me loving you buddie | 4,496 words | rated e | infidelity, sexting

He’s not thinking about it. He’s not. He’s definitely not. Buck leaves for the night, gets in his car and drives away like everything’s normal – normal because it is, it literally is, it’s the most normal night in the world, and Eddie is the most normal he’s ever been, and then maybe an hour later, he gets a text. buck and eddie watch red white and royal blue together; one thing leads to another (aka: the sexting fic)

breathe in, breathe through buddie | rated t | 1,045 words | 803 coda, pre-relationship, pining, bed sharing

Eddie blinks back at him, and Buck feels his heart give a lazy thump in his chest. “Long night,” he says after a moment. It’s the first thing either of them have said since they left the station, since they ended up here by silent agreement. Eddie nods, and Buck feels himself smile. “Did I tell you I got to steal a motorcycle?”

ring like silver, ring like gold buddie | rated e | 1,163 words | established relationship, car sex, being FREAKS about domesticity etc

“Did you see the way Parker’s mom was looking at you?” Gasps. Huffs against his neck where Eddie’s skin is flushed and hot, sticky from their mingled sweat and the flat expanse of Buck’s tongue. “Asking if you wanted to help chaperone the Spring Fling.” 

late night high (i'm floating) buddie | 1,649 words | rated e | drug use, self-realization, mustache burn 😌

eddie gets very very high and realizes several important things about himself; buck's just trying to follow along

an aching in my heart buddie | rated m | 1,154 words | first kiss, beach camping, poetry

It’s dark out here past the lights of the city, air crisp and fresh and new in a way that makes him feel like his lungs can finally fill up for the first time maybe ever in his whole life. No smoke. No smog. No haze of dust or ash hanging over everything and sneaking into the crevices. Just air and the salt spray of the sea and Eddie sitting next to him on the beach with their shoulders pressed together.

i'm a cliché (who cares) buddie | 7,326 words | rated e

“You okay?” Buck asks, and Eddie blinks, lets out the breath that had gotten caught in his throat. “Yeah,” he says, even though – no, not really. “Sorry, just – a surprise, I guess. Hearing from him.” Which is weird, come to think of it, because they used to be close. Closer than anything, as close as – well, as close as him and Buck, but in a different way. In a way that felt frantic and clinging and desperate, something to hold onto while they were being shot at. Eddie hears from an old army buddy; it brings a few things to the surface.

let me put my lips to something buddie | 2,524 words | rated e | blood kink, possessive sex

It’s a rush, having sex with Buck. And he thinks part of it is probably down to this, the fact that it’s something that finally feels right-sized after a lifetime of not. That’s a big part of it, but another part of it is that it’s him. Him. Everything. The way it feels like they could consume each other like fire and it still wouldn’t be enough.

we all fall down pre-buddie | 1,634 words | rated m | infidelity/angst

Buck hates that he was here for this. He hates that he was here for this, Eddie and his girlfriend and the fucked up thing with the woman who’s not Shannon, and Buck just standing there in the middle of it, the four of them trapped together in Eddie’s living room on a random Thursday night like something out of a soap opera because they all happened to converge at once. when the metaphorical house burns down, you don't want to be the only one left standing in it

closer than my hands have been buddie | 4,578 words, rated M

Eddie never feels easy. Tommy feels easy, but Eddie – he doesn’t. He doesn’t feel easy now, and he didn’t feel easy last night, and he didn’t feel easy the night before that or before that or before that. Well, except for the parts where he did, when everything felt easy and loose and uncomplicated. Free. He misses that feeling. buck and tommy are together, and eddie's fine with that. it's fine. it is.

i feel a change in the weather (i feel a change in me) buddie | 2,133 words | rated M

It all comes to a head on the hot dusty path up to the top of Runyon Canyon. It feels inevitable, feels like something they’ve maybe been inching toward in fits and starts ever since they met. Feels right and easy and lived-in already, like a favorite shirt that’s been folded in the back of the closet for years, just waiting to be picked up and put on. buck and eddie go for a hike, kiss in the sunlight, and fall in love, not necessarily in that order.

you and tequila make me crazy buddie | 1,533 words | rated M

His arm is still draped over Eddie’s shoulders, hand still holding the other side of his head, and he shifts so that his fingers push up into the hair at the back of his neck, thumb slotting up against his ear. And he’s so close. Half an inch closer and he’d be able to feel Eddie’s heartbeat under his tongue, solid and sure and alive, and – “Hey,” says a voice above them, sharp enough to cut straight through the fog that’s settled over them. “There you guys are.” in which buck and eddie lose chimney because they're drunk and horny

for the rest of mine buddie | 644 words | rated M

It happens on a Tuesday night, with the soft whirl of the dishwasher running in the kitchen and ESPN on low in the background and Chris’s homework left laying out on the coffee table when he went to bed about an hour ago. 

heart in throat (am i dreaming?) buddie | 1,227 words | rated T

I kissed someone, he imagines himself saying eventually, when he’s ready. I think I really like him. Just like that. No big announcement, no declaration, but just – just letting it sit there and breathe between them.

already standing on the ground buddie | 1,195 words | rated T

Buck lets out a laugh, one hand coming up to scratch at the back of his neck. Laughing like he’s relieved, like he can’t quite believe the words coming out of his own mouth. “We were on a date.” And – Eddie blinks. “Oh.”

such a sweet thing (i wanna do everything) bucktommy | 5,582 words | rated e

Buck doesn’t want to take it slow. He doesn’t want Tommy to ease him in or treat him gently. What he wants is to suck a dick.

stranger things

here you come again stommy | 16,172 words | rated e

Steve and Tommy haven't talked in nearly three years. After everything, maybe the best way forward is back.

so fondly today steddie | 8,267 words | rated E processing trauma, getting together | tumblr post

Eddie's hair is pulled up on top of his head, and there’s a piece of it falling down to frame his face, and Steve’s sleep-deprived brain sends a shock of want rushing through him. Want: he wants to touch? Wants to look? He’s looking. Wants to… something? He feels electricity crackle at the backs of his teeth and he blinks, wanting. Wanting so badly that something aches inside his chest. (it's been a few months since everything, and steve is beginning to realize some things about himself)

get it off your chest steddie | 7,415 words | rated E rough sex, spanking, read the ao3 tags! | tumblr post

“You think this is me taking you apart?” Eddie asks. He lets go of Steve’s hair and plants a hand in the center of his chest, then gives him a shove toward the bed. “That’s adorable, Steve. Seriously.” (or, steve and eddie have life-affirmingly good sex) aka my Consent Is Sexy manifesto

dressed up to the eyes steddie | 8,737 words | rated E rough sex, spanking, read the ao3 tags! | tumblr post

Steve almost didn’t come out tonight. It’s been a long day, and he kind of just wants to be at home in his sweatpants, curled up on the couch with takeout and an old movie, but – But he’d agreed to be social tonight – if nothing else, in Robin’s honor since she was supposed to have a date tonight but is trapped in bed with the flu – and so… here he is. Being social. Ish. Socialish. Steve and Eddie are strangers in a bar... or are they?

something so pretty steddie | 3,087 words | rated M | tumblr post

Eddie raises Steve's hand to brush a kiss over his knuckles, then catches him around the waist again, swaying them back and forth to the rhythm of a Bangles song coming from the radio. “I said you look pretty, and I meant it. Deal with it.” Steve feels a reluctant smile pull at the corners of his mouth. “Really?” (the girls paint steve's nails and it causes him to feel several enormous feelings)

can't start a fire steddie | 3,831 words | rated T | tumblr post

“Are you sure this is okay?” Steve asks in an undertone once everyone has arrived that first night. He looks genuinely nervous, which is… insane; he’s a bat-wielding, bat-biting jock who saved the world, and Eddie’s just – “I don’t think your friends like me very much.” Eddie feels the corners of his mouth draw down as he follows Steve’s eyeline to where the others are huddled in the corner talking amongst themselves. (steve doesn't need people taking care of him. except, maybe he kind of likes it when they do)

the sweetest thing steddie | 14,022 words | rated E

It had started out simple enough between them, Eddie making some off-hand comment about Steve not being able to hold out for a whole month and Steve, ever unable to back down from a challenge, rising to the bait. “Whatever,” he’d said, rolling his eyes. “A month? Please.” He could do a month. Easy. He just hadn't counted on Eddie being – well. Himself. eddie goads steve into a No Nut November challenge; he never said anything about taking it easy on him

the seas be ours (steddie pirates au) (2 works, 10,943 words, rated E)

Eddie The Dread Pirate Munson captures the Harrington heir with the intent of ransoming him back to his family for an easy payout. He really could not have guessed what he was getting himself into.

back in the new york groove (26,823 words, rated E) summer 1999 | tumblr post | ch 6/? rockstar eddie/middle school teacher steve, soft dom steve

“Ha!” Eddie says, jabbing a finger into Steve's chest. “I have a publicist. That automatically makes me cooler than you.” “Oh yeah? Well I have about eighty twelve year olds back in Santa Monica who think I’m the coolest guy on the planet.” (new york isn't home, but it's the next best thing) Steve and Eddie chaotically parenting their gen-z toddler in the late 90s (part of the future fic series)

future fic series (23 works, 64,995 words, rated G-E)

a love letter to the idea of home or, the happily-ever-after future in which Eddie is a rockstar and Steve is a middle school teacher and they have a bunch of kids and live by the ocean (rockstar eddie + middle school teacher steve)

a love to last past saturday night (3,550 words, rated T for now but will go up in later chapters) | ch 1/? coffee shop au

There’s a little cafe at the end of Steve’s block that he’s only ever been in once.  It’s called Corroded Coffee and it’s dark in there and maybe a little pretentious, but not pretentious as in… people reading classic novels or having discussions about French Cinema. Pretentious in the sense that there’s an intimidating collection of vinyl records taking up half an entire wall and they use single origin arabica beans and the scary baristas look at you sideways if you order regular milk in your latte.

misc. series:

kinktober 2023 (14 works, 39,566 words, rated T-E, stranger things)

a collection of fics written for kinktober 2023 and eddie month 2023 prompts – works can also be found on tumblr under the "kinktober 2023" tag

steddie microfic (16 works, 6,502 words, rated G-E, stranger things)

a collection of microfic written for the monthly steddiemicrofic challenges – works can also be found on tumblr under the "steddiemicrofic" tag

discord drabbles (16 works, 8,479 words, rated G-E, stranger things)

a collection of drabbles/microfics written for daily discord prompts – works can also be found on tumblr under the "discord drabble" tag

steddie holiday drabbles (29 works, 21,715 words, rated T-E, stranger things)

the 2023 fic advent calendar! a collection of fics between 300-1,000 words each, written for steddieholidaydrabbles' prompts and warm-up rounds – works can also be found on tumblr under the "steddieholidaydrabbles" tag

[the-bearer-of-bad-ideas]

do u have any ocs 👉👈 a moot of mine asked and now i wanna know if u have one!!!!!

THANK YOU FOR ASKING I HAVE SEVERAL

okok so the main ones areeeee probably broanch (and all the other characters in sywpq by extension) and donovan but ive got some others

donovan doesn't have much lore but shes pretty much just 15 year old art kid who likes bunnies and drawing anime gore she makes those stickman fight animations in her free time and probably is somewhat scene now that i think about it??? that girl is blasting millionaires in the back of the classroom loud enough for everyone to hear lmao

i had a dream where i was having a panic attack in class and she calmed me down and gave me her hat and was very niceys so i made her real because she was nice lol

donovan is also not her real name but she thinks her real name is stupid so she doesnt go by it and she took the name off a book or something

^^ she

and then i put the sywpq stuff under the cut cus its long lol

ok so SYWPQ

first off I CANT FIND MY GOOD DRAWINGS OF THEM :((((( BUT HERES THEIR GENERAL DESIGNS

fair warning i wrote most of the lore when i was like 11 so its a bit stupid but eh

broanch is this girl from an alien race (called steyaes) that split off of humans a really long time ago and has kind of just been hopping planets ever since

the patch of galaxy they ended up in was very barren of resources so this species kinda spent a lot of time just floating around in the void in a sorta hibernation like state or hopping between asteroids and small planets, whatever they could find, and using the limited resources before jumping off to look for another

theres also a thing that like. evolved?? or something??? in thats essentially jsut magic they have magic powers. imagine like a video game stamina bar that empties as the character uses it to manifest objects and attacks and yeah thats pretty much it (it takes a lot of energy to use so it's not used often for anything more major than like. controlling small objects, manifesting clouds {saoirse does that a lot}, electrical shocks, etc, but it can be used for larger things like combat)

(broanch's power stuff is more suited to combat while saoirse's and juneau's are more for controlling water and air)

she had a shitty childhood, parental neglect n all that, and spent a lot of time playing by herself and with this pair of sisters she befriended (saoirse and juneau), and pretending that she was in charge of various different things and this eventually manifested into her really wanting to host some type of tv show

when she was around 16 she ran off cus. shitty home life. and since steyaes are one of the relatively stronger human-adjacent species she ended up taking up various jobs bounty hunting or going off looking for rabid animals that were causing issues so she can kill them or whatever

she kinda just went around doing whatever for a couple years until eventually

one day she and saoirse were on this random planet they found that didnt really have much going for it but they were just kinda talking doing whatever, when humans found it

at this point in the universe humans do know theres other civilizations out there and have talked to them but they all kinda tend to keep to themselves so the humans on the ship are a lil surprised to find someone here

since this planet is otherwise entirely empty theyre like "ok cool this is ours" but broanch basically just goes "nuh uh i was here first" and starts fighting with nasa cus this planet is HERS actually ueah totally uh huh

....and then i dont exactly remember what happens at this part cus again i made most of this when i was 11. but. basically they dont really resolve the fight but because its happening there's loads of tv coverage and broanch is immediately like "WOW IM ON TV :DDDD" and decides that now is when she should finally bring her tv show host dreams to fruition

since she's only known for being on this planet she decides to use it as the prize for her new gameshow and then also decides (purely to piss off nasa) that the show is going to be run as a club at a random highschool cus why not lmao

the show is called "So Ya Want Planet Q?" and the contestants are all 16-18 year old students at a highschool in bumfuck nowhere america

she did not tell them going into this that is was a gameshow and advertised the club as an "afterschool hangout thing"

episodes are recorded live through saoirse running around with a camera and the show functions similar to something like total drama or bfdi (i made this entire thing in the trenches of my bfb hyperfixation lmfao) except instead of elimination by vote theres a point system, and the games change pretty much every episode, ranging from fairly normal stuff like trivia to a literal bomb defusing thing at one point

broanch is the main host and does all the talking and saoirse is the cohost and helps set up challenges and man cameras, and acts as the voice of reason to broanch's stupidity

saoirse's spent more time on earth and knows more about social norms and culture and shit so she's also the "resident human expert" because broanch has no fucking idea what shes doing

saoirse and juneau im still working on fleshing out but theyre pretty much just. normal. idk

saoirse's the cohost obviously and while juneau does help with the show occasionally she generally thinks its a bad idea so doesn't very often

i have a few other misc characters but those are the two i draw the most :D ive got another thingie called like plantii or somethign but again that was mostly made when i was 11 and also all the lore is on my laptop profile that im still locked out of :(( ill find it eventually though

[peace-coast-island]

Diary of a Junebug

Golden petals floating on the Dandelion Pond like stars in the night sky

There’s something about dandelions that feel whimsical and carefree. Maybe it’s because of the whole making a wish and blowing the petals away thing most of us did as kids. When the breeze hits just right, the sight of the seeds flying away looks almost magical. Simple things like that often leave an impression on a child’s imagination that sticks with us for a long time.

Even though I’m no longer a child, I still like to believe that wishing on a dandelion can help make things a little better. Wishful thinking does help in some cases, and maybe that’s what helps you get through a hurdle, or at least puts you in the mindset to be able to give you that mental push you need to move forward. Sort of like planting a seed in hopes that it’ll take root - at least, that’s how I see it.

We’re out on a retreat in a nice little place called Dandelion Pond with some friends. The place was recommended by Tianna, a friend of Mindy, Marlo, and Cheyenne from their college days. Isabelle had her eye on that place for a while after hearing good things about it from Leif, so it’s been on our list of places to visit. The only problem is the timing as the place tends to get booked quickly because everyone wants to enjoy the dandelions, and off season isn’t an option because it’s closed. Finally, after about three years of waiting, we finally have an opportunity to visit thanks to Tianna and Mindy.

The Dandelion Pond is obviously the centerpiece, though the charming little cabins shouldn’t be overlooked either. They give such a cozy cottagecore vibe, which is totally my thing, adding to the whimsy the dandelions bring. I’ve taken so many pics of the dandelions and architecture for journaling inspiration, especially anything with a lovely floral design that I can easily replicate by drawing.

I think I could easily spend an entire day looking at nothing but dandelions without getting bored. Seriously, I’ve never seen so many in one place! It looks so soft and peaceful that I wanted to lie down in the fields - though it would be awkward with all the dandelion seeds in the air. They look magical floating in the sky, not so much when they’re stuck all over your hair and clothes.

Along with just having a chill time, this get together also serves as a long overdue reunion for Mindy, Marlo, Cheyenne, Tianna, and Art, Tianna’s childhood friend. Turns out this is the first time the four of them met up together since graduation, so they have a lot of catching up to do. Kinda fitting for a reunion to take place in a dandelion field.

Mindy’s doing well now that she’s settled into a routine and just living life again. Her daughter’s enjoying school and making a lot of new friends - Mindy says she’s quite the social butterfly. Now that she’s on summer break, her schedule’s a bit more free, though not for long as she’s starting a new job next month, which she’s looking forward to. I remember her saying that she was a bit hesitant to go back into the fashion business, which was why she decided to go back to school to expand her opportunities in case she wanted a change, so her new job is sort of like testing the waters as it’s related to fashion design, though more of a freelance thing instead of a corporate one.

Cheyenne and Tianna just finished a show that ran for three weeks, so instead of heading back home right away, they decided to hang around the area and do some sightseeing. Then Tianna got a message from Art saying that he was in the area, saw her performance, and wanted to meet up since they haven’t seen each other in years. They both grew up in the same city, left for college, and never returned, though they keep in touch often. As for how long since they last saw each other in person, Tianna said Art was roughly the same height as her and now he’s over half a foot taller, which is still throwing her off because she used to babysit this guy.

Tianna’s got an interesting upbringing, which led to her having mixed feelings regarding her hometown as her father’s kinda famous over there. It’s not really a secret or scandal like some journalists make it out to be, more like a combination of many factors as to why he never acknowledged her to the public. The first reason is obviously privacy as he’s sort of a celebrity - the rags to riches entrepreneur type - while her mother didn’t want that kind of life for herself or their daughter. Second is that while he is her father, he’s not much of a parent in the sense that he’s still like a kid himself. Tianna and her mother long accepted that, so it’s not a big deal as some people make it out to be. She sees him as more of a fun uncle, someone who can be a blast to hang out with once in a while, but that’s about it.

The city Tianna and Art grew up in is Ravenstad, which is home for many successful entrepreneurs behind super fancy luxury brands. Tianna’s father is known as The Whimsical Chocolatier, and according to her and Art, he really is like a fairy tale character. Along with being known for his chocolate that’s bound to leave you spellbound, he is also a legit warlock with a flair for the dramatic. In other words, his stage persona and true self are one and the same, which is why Tianna considers him a big child who will never grow up. Fun to be around, but also static, unchanging, and superficial.

As for how the whole thing became public, it was thanks to one of her father’s business rivals, who happens to be her grandfather in an unexpected turn of events, which then resulted in another media storm - but that’s another story, one that Tianna doesn’t really care for. Basically, before coming to Ravenstad, her parents met in Marchweg, which used to be the center of the chocolatier world decades ago. Her father came there with big dreams, except things didn’t pan out the way he expected over there, especially when a certain businessman was threatened by his presence. Then he met Tianna’s mother, who was later revealed to be the rival’s illegitimate daughter he refused to acknowledge, and he swept her off her feet.

So they were young and in love, with nothing but dreams to carry them away. However, Tianna’s mother was more of a realist, so while she did initally get carried away with her lover’s idealism, she also knew when it was time to wake up and face the music. That wake up call happened when she became pregnant just went his dream was really starting to take off. As much as she loved him, she also knew that their relationship wasn’t gonna hold up, especially since his family would inevitably come last in his priorities. Tianna says her mother made the right decision to step away from his spotlight. And in the long run, she believes the distance between them is the reason why she has a fairly good relationship with her father without resentment.

In fact, one common thread between Tianna and Art - and Cheyenne and Mindy too - is having a parent who ultimately prioritizes themselves over their own kids. It sucks, but some people just aren’t meant to be parents in the same way some people refuse to grow up and learn from their mistakes.

In Art’s case, it’s his father who’s the problem, which is why they haven’t spoken to each other since he left Ravenstad. To sum it up, his father’s the type who throws temper tantrums when things don’t go his way, often taking it out on his son. As a result, he applied to schools overseas to get as far away from him as possible, to which his father made a rude remark about him becoming a foreigner. While he’s open to a reconciliation, he knows it’ll never happen. Besides, after Tianna and her mother left, he has no reason to stick around, not in a home where he always felt unwelcome in. No use dwelling over shit he can’t control nor was even his responsibility in the first place.

Art ended up getting a generous scholarship in Sunyong where he’s now studying for his master’s. As for why he’s here in Brightstable, it’s for a research project that just wrapped up. Along with that research project, he’s been so busy with classes and moving to a new place, so now with all that out of the way, he has his first break in months. And what better way to spend that free time than to reunite with an old friend?

If they hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known that this was the first time they’ve seen each other in over a decade. There’s something special about those kinds of friendships where you can almost pick up where you left off, even when decades have passed. Now that they know that they live a couple hours away from each other, they’re making plans to visit and hopefully hang out more regularly.

Seeing Tianna and Art has made Mindy nostalgic for simpler times when she was with her two best friends. I’ve heard many stories of their escapades and shenanigans they would get into, usually because of Mindy’s psychic powers. Like most childhood friends, they all drifted away to the point where they’re now basically strangers. Last she heard, though it’s been years since then, Lise’s running a farm and raising a family while Eddie’s somewhere in the music industry.

As much as she sometimes wishes to go back to those days when life was less complicated, she knows that they’re long gone and the only way to go is forward. She’s had it rough with an unhappy marriage, an unfulfilling job, and deteriorating relationships with parents - really, what kept her going was her daughter. Like with Tianna and her father, Mindy came to accept that her parents are not the kind of people she could always rely on when the going gets tough.

She doesn’t think they’re bad people, though she finds them frustrating, especially as she got older and realized that life isn’t as black and white. At least her dad’s willing to work things out, though Mindy complains that he can be unserious at times. She doesn’t think he’s being intentionally insensitive, more like he just doesn’t like dealing with the hard stuff, so he just simply ignores it. The fact that he has the luxury to do that without consequences makes it even more infuriating. Carefree, but in a really superficial way - the toxic positivity type. Yeah, not the most reliable to turn to when you need a shoulder to lean on.

Her mother is another story, and all Mindy will say is that communication’s a two way street, not that meme of that guy talking to a brick wall. She wants to work things out with her, but she can’t do that until her mom’s willing to sit down and listen, which is apparently a tall order for her.

I think most of us have times when we wish we could go back to when things were a lot simpler, when we had less clutter taking up our minds. I don’t necessarily mean childhood or adolescence, more like times when life was generally uncomplicated and you weren’t as bogged down by as many burdens or responsibilities. Maybe ignorance can be bliss in certain situations where we’re too young or naive to fully realize the ramifications of something. But in my experience, those kinds of people who prefer to live in blissful ignorance have basically stunted themselves, holding on to that foolish idea that as long as they don’t grow and change, life will stay simple and uncomplicated for them.

Instead of being a flat, one dimensional person, I’d rather be like a dandelion scattering its seeds to the wind. To set myself free and allow myself to grow and change for the better. To learn from my mistakes and experiences and impart my wisdom to those who need some guidance. Never underestimate the effect of making a wish on a dandelion - it won’t solve all your problems, but it can make you feel a little lighter.

Read on AO3

[blackbutler-readerinsertsandjunk]

Ahem... Angst me mommy! I remember because last I sent a request of angst you said we were supposed to say that. Anyways can you do modern scenario Agni x reader with absolutely soul crushing? So basically I want the reader to get hit by car literally and be in the hospital when Agni arrives there BUT I want it to have fluffy ending. I got hit by a car once I always laugh about it but people say I'm morbid XDDD

looool you don't HAVE to say that haha!! it's just a joke ;)

... but thank you tho! I'm sorry you had to go through that, dang :c I'm glad dark humor could help you tho, sometimes it helps! and I really hope you're doing ok nowadays <3

You really should have seen the car coming, shouldn’t you?

Except, well, you were doing everything you were supposed to be doing. It was the driver who wasn’t following all the rules, so you think perhaps the universe (and your boyfriend) can forgive you for getting hit by a fucking car. You hope so, anyway.

You’re on a few painkillers right now, so you blame that for the fact that the incredibly stupid pun of, Surely an accident isn’t bad car-ma, is it?? floats through your mind. Ugh, you’ll have to cringe at yourself later.

The good part is that the painkillers, whatever sort of cocktail they have you on, are doing their job ― you’re not feeling much pain. Thank God. You’re just sore of vaguely aware that your body feels like a single huge bruise, and you’re tired.

As soon as AGNI comes into the room, your brain is trying to snap to attention. There he is, there’s the person you love. He looks so… concerned? You’ll have to apologize to him as soon as you can form a coherent sentence.

“Aah, jaan, what happened?” he murmurs, coming to sit next to the bed. Almost immediately his hand comes up to gently cup your cheek. “W… well, I know what happened… sort of… oh, my God, (Name).” He shakes his head. “How do you feel?”

“I’m okay. Kinda tired… my brain is all shaky… like I can’t… it’s fuzzy, you know?” You’re not sure how else to describe it. Still, you let your eyes close for a second as you feel so comforted by his hand on your face. Whatever else might be true at any one time, Agni makes you feel safe. As long as he’s here, everything’s going to be okay. “When will they let me go, love? I want you to take me home.”

You might be whining a little bit. You think you’re pretty justified, though. More justified than you are on most other days, at least.

He shakes his head. “They want to keep you overnight, just to make sure there aren’t any problems they’ve missed. You’re very lucky, do you know that? This could have been a lot worse. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“I’m sorry I worried you.” You reach up to slip your hand over his, taking a breath. You’re pretty sure you have a broken rib or two… it kind of hurts to breathe. The painkillers can’t fix everything, you suppose. “You’re still going to take me home, aren’t you?”

A soft laugh meets your ears, and he presses a light kiss against your forehead. “What are you talking about? Of course I will. As soon as the doctors tell me I’m allowed to take you home, we’ll go home.”

You nod, giving the conversation an air of finality. (… At least, in your mind.) “Okay, good. I can’t wait to go home. Will you stay with me tonight, though?”

“Where else would I go?” You can hear the smile in his voice even while you recline back to try and rest. “I’ll text Soma that I won’t be home tonight. Although… he’ll probably come right over when I tell him what’s going on. Is that okay?”

“Mhm. That’s fine. Tell him not to flirt with all the nurses; they might take away my pain medicine if he’s too annoying.”

Agni laughs again. “They wouldn’t. But I’ll tell him to keep that to a minimum. Do your best to relax for now, alright, jaan?” Before he moves to take his phone out, he runs a hand through your hair. “Don’t worry. Once we get you home, I’ll take good care of you.”

[duck-in-a-thrift-store]

Alright we've finally reached the basement and backyard! This one might be extra long because there's a lot to cover

(image credits to/designs made using the app HomeByMe from Dassault Systèmes SE)

I don't think you can tell from the picture but there's a retaining wall across the front due to the hill that butts up against the front of the house, as mentioned in the last installment. There wasn't a front yard in the last part bc I imagine they're kind of right on the road (sort of like the og full house) and the driveway wraps around one side and down from the road in front to the garage in the back (I had already added a lot of extra space and stuff to this level and the app was starting to get a little glitchy so I decided against expanding the area further lol)

So anyway, the basement is where a lot of the various practical function type rooms are; we've got the laundry room in the front, the kitchen and the dining room on the right, etc.

There's the garage, please ignore the car that's in there as there weren't a lot of options and I know that one little minivan (I think it was a minivan?) is definitely not going to cut it for a household of this size but they didn't have any actual vans and I didn't have space to include multiple cars, so just use your imagination and picture that there are two more cars parked outside along the driveway or smthn (I'm thinking Steve has his car but he mostly lets Nancy or Jonathan drive it since his vision is starting to get worse, Eddie has his van, and Argyle still has the surfer boy pizza van bc he got to keep his old job but got transferred to a new location. Don't question the logistics of that it's not important)

You're probably wondering what the hell a "dog room?" is. I couldn't think of a better name for it, but basically I decided they should have a dog and that they adopt a stray they find, and this is the room where they keep the dog stuff. He's got a bed and a crate and his bowls in there, and it's also where they keep his food and all the other dog-related supplies. There's a door giving direct access to the yard from this room, and a hook by the door to hold a leash. All that said, the dog doesn't end up actually being in this room all that much besides when he eats, since everyone takes turns letting him sleep in their rooms and he's pretty much glued to his humans' sides when they're home

Beside the dog room is the aforementioned laundry room. I haven't decided for sure yet whether each person is responsible for their own laundry or if there's a designated laundry-doer (as well as other assigned chore roles) so we'll have to come back to that later

Next is the kitchen, and I'm following the lead of what seems to be majority consensus in fandom that Steve is a good cook, so he's usually the one making family meals in here. Also, El frequently sneaks down into the basement for late night eggos, and Will- who had become familiar with this habit of hers during their time in Lenora- sometimes accompanies her (trust that this au will have some strong willel sibling vibes bc its one of my favorite underexplored tropes in canon)

The kitchen is connected to the dining room; they're not actually separate rooms there's just a sort of mostly-for-aesthetic-purposes divider between them. The dining room is where they sit when everyone shares a meal or when they have company over for dinner, otherwise people just sort of take their food wherever they want if they're eating alone. They eat dinner together most nights

There's a door from the dining room out onto a patio, which is fitting since the patio is pretty much just a smaller, outdoor dining room (that's a picnic table in the middle). They grill sometimes but also just go out there to eat like, pb&js and chips in the warm sunlight and fresh air. It's also a place to sit and dry off or hang out after a swim, and the lower end has a pool shed where they store stuff like floats and nets and salt bags

Past the pool shed is the actual pool, which is an emotionally weighted part of the setting for several characters. El doesn't like the pool very much and mostly avoids it at first, but eventually she grows to love swimming (this au is also going to involve a lot of reclamation of things formerly tied to trauma). Steve on the other hand has very mixed feelings about the pool which he mostly tries to ignore. Mike tends to get weirdly clingy when Will wants to swim and always insists on going with him

Next to the back door is the external stairs to the deck on the first floor, and right inside the door is another mud room (don't ask me why they need two I didn't know what else to put in the space ok? Besides maybe it's just a matter of preference, some people prefer coming in through the basement and some prefer coming in through the first floor). Further in is the living room, which is sort of a more formal/intimate gathering space in some ways compared to the den upstairs; the den is for friends and neighbors, the living room is for family, if that makes sense? Or just for more "serious" company or family meetings

Back out into the yard, there's the gardening/tool shed, where Argyle likes to build birdhouses and the original party likes to tinker with old electronics, and where they keep the supplies for the greenhouse right next to it. They started growing their own fruits and vegetables out of necessity at first, back when everyone was nervous to leave the house, but now its use is mostly split between what Steve grows for use in the kitchen and Eddie & Argyle's home-grown weed

I think that's just about everything. The next installments will most likely be about roommate pairings and more in-depth bedroom designs

[thequietmanno1]

Thelreads, MHA 284, Replies Part 2

1) “Why Bakugo? You think would suspect that there’s something wrong with the kid that didn’t had a quirk for 15 years then suddenly has super-strength, then less than a year before has energy tentacles and is training to be able to fly? I don’t see aaaaaaanything wrong here, it makes perfect sense his quirk would allow him to do that.”- If the other powers are as flashy and obvious in use as Black Whip, and can’t be subtly used in a fight, like for instance, using Float to get some extra air time mid-leap, then it’s gonna become really obvious really quickly that Izuku actually has multiple powers instead of just a weird singular ability, like everyone else does. And then people are gonna start wondering about him, about how this random powerless kid suddenly got multiple powers out of nowehere. Because the public does have a widespread perception of beings with multiple Quirks, but it’s not that of a hero, but that of the Black servants of villainy, the Nomu. And then people are gonna notice the coincidental timing of how everything started going to shit, starting with the League’s first appearance, right around when Izuku first joined UA. And then people are gonna be thinking “what’s this kid’s connection to the Nomu? Is he secretly a villain spy? Say, wasn’t there talk of a UA traitor some months back…” 2) “Honestly, I would love to see a floating power exploding, can just imagine Midoriya being yeet’s into the sky at mach 5 while people just stare at him getting smaller and smaller at the distance, until finally disappearing like Team Rocket.”- Coincidentally, Izuku’s new ringtone for his phone is “Rocketman”. No, but seriously, they need to be on edge for whenever the laser eyes Quirk starts manifesting, that power can go wrong very fast. 3) “And there ain’t no rest for them, like the songs always warned us about”- All Might never broadcast the information about OFA even after he seemingly killed the man whom the power had been cultivated to defeat. One reason was how personal the whole situation was, but the other, as he somewhat outlined to Izuku during the beginning chapters, is that his condition left him needing to pass his power on, but he didn’t know who to pass it onto. Taking the teaching job at UA wasn’t just to sort out which young student was worthy of the power, it was because only a young, innocent and idealistic child could be trusted to use it in a heroic manner at first. The adults of hero society are too cynical and in many ways concerned with the materialistic over the substance of the job. Even Stain, who shares All Might’s fervour, took that in the opposite direction to become a killer of those he deemed corrupt, showing just how easily those same convictions can be twisted and abused. And if the sheer power of OFA was backing those twisted convictions, then it’s be the second coming of AFO all over again. In many ways, in a world where it doesn’t have the enormous might of AFO to contend against and focus on fighting, OFA is actually a great liability and danger to the wielder than it is an asset. And even if Izuku does eventually overcome Tomura, he’ll still be struggling with the fact that he’s now a marked man for both Villains and heroes who might be hoping for their chance to take OFA for themselves, if they can convince Izuku it’s a good idea. It’s just like Spiderman: Far From Home, really.

4) “Oh, you’re gonna accuse All Might of hiding something? I hope that’s not the case All Might, because we’re way past the point where you should keep secrets.”- Well, in this case, he’s not exactly keeping it a secret, especially since he left evidence that Bakugo picked up on and is fine discussing it with him – it’s specifically Izuku he’s keeping in the dark about it, and that’s because he judges that, quite rightly, Izuku’s simply got so much on his plate that whatever concerns he’s got can wait a while longer until Izuku can better master the powers he does possess. It’s not keeping these secrets hidden forever, it’s merely delaying telling them to Izuku until he’s in a better position to cope with more burdens. 5) “All Might… I can’t believe you’re still doing this shit.

Yeah Yeah sure I bet you’re just ashamed about how Nana died, it probably was your fault and yadda yadda JUST TELL YOUR BOY ABOUT EVERYTHING ALREADY GODDAMMIT”- Well, you’ve had 19+ asks about this, so I won’t add more to the pile. I will just say that, this is the first concrete piece of information we’ve had on the 4th and prior users besides the 1st, as the ones prior to Banjo are those who are right in the Dark Age of Quirks, when AFO’s power was strongest and record keeping was at its worst, meaning there’s arguably very little to find out about them until Izuku can converse with the other vestiges more freely. And the only information we’ve learned is, that the 4th’s death was somehow special than the others’, and it may somehow still have an impact on Izuku himself, despite the gaps between them, which is All Might’s greatest concern. (MHA ch 257) 6) “Oh? Well, I mean, if it was a bit less than 200 years, and there was like, 8 people before Midoriya… Alright, okay, I think now the counting is starting to make sense… But alright, what`s the next quirk on the list? Do tell us, oh venerable All Might, holder of all the knowledge.”- And the minor hint here that there might be more to the deaths of the previous holders than meets the eyes, with All Might’s slight hesitancy about confirming the deaths of every one of the previous holders and the shadowed eyes. The number 4 is traditionally associated with death in Japan, and for some reason, the 4th wielder’s passing was especially noticeable compared to the others… 7) “I can hear the “tsc” of disgusted being uttered by this fucking tsundere. But yet, he didn’t deny it.”- This time, the disgust is aimed at himself, for his inability to fully swallow his pride yet and just apologise to Izuku outright, like some part of him knows he has to, in order to fully atone for his transgressions against him. They made up, but some things still need to be said for the healing to truly begin. 8) “OH HOLY SHIT WE ARE HAVING A MOMENT OF REALIZATION HERE?!

OH MY GOD FINALLY

Alright Bakugo, you’re good on my books. I still hold a grudge for the “jump out of the roof” thing, but I can let bygones be bygones considering you’re finally admitting that you were an asshole.

holy shit this chapter is a goldmine after tall.”- Bakugo always knew that Izuku was naturally more heroic than him, capable of doing the selfless saving deal on instinct that Bakugo had to put effort into, and that rubbed him the wrong way. Not only because it made him feel inferior to Izuku, but also because it’s just not natural for somebody to be that selfless. People are inherently selfish in some manner, for bad and for good reasons, and Izuku being so willing to give of himself without really thinking of the consequences is actually a really bad thing, something that Izuku is naturally blind to, but Bakugo always knew on some level that if he became he hero, he'd not only outshine him, but he’d quickly burn himself out doing it. Perhaps, underneath all the complex and layered emotions in their relationship, some deeply-buried part of Bakugo wanted to protect Izuku from himself when he wanted to make him give up on becoming a hero. As it stands, now Izuku has both the immense power and partial training to enforce his maniac “save everything” willpower into reality, he’s running the risk of eventually turning out like the legend of the Giving Tree, a Tree that gave and gave of itself selflessly for other’s needs until it was naught but a dead and desolate stump. 9) “Of course he doesn’t, it’s Midoriya, he never held that against Bakugo, he always wanted them to go back to being friends, it was I that was the one saying “No! Bad boy! Bad!” and spraying him with a water bottle every time he mentioned something along those lines”- And to fit further into the “endlessly giving” themes, Izuku would freely give out his forgiveness of Bakugo’s past transgressions at any point if it was brought up, whether or not Bakugo had done anything to really earn that forgiveness himself, which is why he’s kept quiet about it all this time, Bakugo doesn’t want Izuku to just plainly accept his apology, he wants to do something for him, that’d make him earn Izuku’s forgiveness for real. It’s refreshing that Bakugo’s stubborn pride is for once being used to justify why he and Izuku haven’t really made up for the right reasons – he won’t let himself be forgiven unless it’s preceded by him actually earning that forgiveness, in order to do it “properly”. 10) “A lot of people online would be mad at you making that comparison All Might, but I think it is quite fitting. Both did some fucked up stuff, hurt people they loved because of their obsession with being the best, and both realized their mistakes and are trying to atone for it, Endeavor by leaving his family and Bakugo by helping Midoriya.

That is the sort of character development I love, that is a redemption arc there. It’s not a goal, it’s a journey.”-  A lot of people were comparing them even before this chapter, what with their spiky hair, flame powers, rivalry with the main hero/holder of OFA- losts of people were noting how Bakugo is basically Endeavour 2.0, but being given his own realisation and redemption moment whilst he’s still young and hasn’t made the kind of mistake you can’t take back yet. In a way, learning from the missteps of the past to do better in the future, especially since he also overheard the whole traumatic backstory from Shoto at the same time as Izuku and it probably resonated a lot more with him and his victory-obsessed streak than he was comfortable with. 11) “And you better say something before Shigaraki sees you and remembers when you didn’t want to join his League of Legends team back at kamino ward. He has never forgiven, and he has never forgotten.”- Somewhat Ironic to put it there, because presently Bakugo is faced with the very real fear that he won’t get the chance to actually apologise to Izuku like he wants to, and in trying to save him from himself and his mortal enemy he may wind up losing that chance and his lease on life at the same time. 12) “Oh, are both of them gonna jump in the fray to help Midoriya? Hide your roads, the big guy is stepping in once again!”- Bakugo doesn’t yet have his own Quirk’s firepower honed to the level of destruction that the experienced Endeavour can pull off, but he’s in much better shape than him. If he can make an opening for Endeavour to land a big damaging hit when Tomura’s injuries are slowly stacking, then there’s a chance they might actually be able to pull this off without Izuku having to finish his Farewell to Arms moment. 13) “OH HOLY SHIT SO MIDORIYA WAS HITTING HIM WITH 100% MOVES ALL THIS TIME?! AND HIS ARM IS STILL HOLDING ON

JESUS THIS BOY IS FUCKING PISSED FOR REAL”- The downside to Float is that, lacking self-population to help ground his attack attack in mid-air, Izuku’s higher-level attacks actually blow him backwards from his own inertia. It’s useful to “fly” with in a certain direction, as he showcased in the training with Uraraka, but when actually hitting somebody he’s gonna go flying backwards just as fast as they do. However, with Black Whip, Izuku’s ensnared Tomura and is using the tether to reel him back in for another blow again and again, no matter how far apart they’re knocked back. In essence, he’s turned Tomura into a human paddleball.

14) “MIDORIYA IS READY TO COMMIT MURDER HOLY SHIT WE DO BE IN THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER AFTER ALL”-  Mercy is a privilege afforded to those you can best with ease. Tomura’s made himself too strong for Izuku to do anything less than land the killing blow on him as many times as it takes to make him stay down. 15) “Midoriya that’s not the unexpected speech that you think it is, we saw you pretty much blow up every single bone in your body getting here, you really think we were expecting anything but you self-sacrificing in the name of protecting others? Pssht, my boy, what I am surprised is about is how there’s still solid bones on your arms after those last few minutes of fighting”- It’s not just that he’s sacrificing his well-being and potentially his life to stop Tomura. The doctor warned him that overdoing the ligament damage like he did against Muscular would permanently paralyse his limbs afterwards, leaving him crippled for life and incapable of being a hero, in much the same way that him being Quirkless handicapped him from getting the profession in the first place. Midoria going this far may have already done too much damage to his body to recover from. At this point, the worse outcome for Izuku isn’t that he dies fighting Tomura, it’s that he survives, but has to deal with the rest of his life stuck helpless to save others in danger around him. Izuku may very well be killing his hero career with every single blow he unleashes on Tomura, and it still might not be enough.

16) “And this was everything I ever hoped for him. I said a lot how even though I despised Bakugo as person, I always liked him as character because I could see the pride being carefully chipped away chapter after chapter, and in some cases that chipping was with a sledgehammer, but even so, it was a slow process until he actually changed.”-

@thelreads

[5-seconds-in-heaven]

Bad Teacher, pt 3

Mid-morning sunlight filtered into the room through the windowpanes, flooding the floor and furniture with light, and I watched specks of dust float helplessly through the stagnant air before floating off into shade through still-sleeping eyes. After making a mental note to vacuum, I reached my arms up over my head to stretch as I laid appreciatively in the warmth of my blankets. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I propped myself up on my elbow and reached for my phone. 10:42, the time on the screen read. I never claimed to be a morning person.

I set my phone aside then, sitting up fully and stretching my body more before swinging my legs over the side of the bed. I stood, taking in my surroundings more: the dirty socks on the floor, the long-haired calico — that’s Momo — curled up at the foot of the disheveled bed, the books and vinyls and plants all in their places being gently kissed by light sunshine and dust. Inhaling deeply, I realized a small smile had formed on my face.

In the bathroom, steam slowly clouded the mirror as the streaming shower water hesitantly came to temperature — just below 3rd degree burns, that is. I moseyed back to the bedroom to get my portable speaker, because I can’t do anything without music. My own naked form in the full-length mirror beside my bed caught my eye on my way back to the bathroom. I paused and took a minute to admire myself; the curves on my body reminded me of winding backroads and bountiful hills. I used to spend a lot of time hiding my body and myself, I allowed my insecurities to rule my life. With time, I have learned to love being me. As I traced my silhouette slowly, with purpose, I surrendered to my thoughts, giving them access to roam. With my aforementioned insecurities came little luck in love throughout my teenage years — my home life definitely didn’t help. When I got to college, I found more freedom in escaping my family and the constraints of my hometown. I dabbled in going out with different guys, and I even had my first hookups. I was friends with benefits with this one guy I spent a while talking to, but it never amounted to anything more. That is the story with all of my sexual escapades.

However, it had been a long time since I was that chubby-cheeked, freckle-faced, cut-in-half-2x4-plank-of-wood of a girl. I was still small in stature of course, but I had gained some hips and bust thus far in my young womanhood. I was 23 now, and I finally found a decent job after searching for two years; I graduated early from my university with a major in journalism and a minor in women’s studies. I’d been reporting for an up-and-coming music magazine that specialized in underground rock and alternative music. Basically the best job ever. Being that I chose to go to university half the country away from my family in Minnesota, I obviously had to move out at the start of freshman year. I welcomed this move with open arms, although I know I’ll be working my ass off for the rest of my life to pay off my student loans; it was still worth it.

I smiled fully at myself in the mirror, thinking I looked pretty fucking good, if I did say so myself. I did a little dance and gave myself a small spank on the butt, giggling to myself, “To think there are people out there who didn’t want all of this.” Tossing my head back and letting out a laugh, I left the supermodel in the mirror behind to go wash the eye boogers and drool off of my face.

Speaking of those who got away, my mind drifted through my old crushes. The skater boy with the beanie who I used to see skateboarding past my house in the summertime who I never spoke to but made longing eyes at as I lazed in the hammock or the grass by the tree, the boy who played guitar for me who I discovered was not as down to earth as he portrayed himself to the world. My cheeks heated as I thought of one specific crush.

Mr. Hemmings.

I groaned and held my head in my hands, cringing internally as the scalding water ran over my frame. Late nights on Tumblr with my hand between my thighs came rushing to mind — along with pages upon pages of smut featuring this certain high school creative writing teacher. Smut-filled stories written by yours truly, the same shy, insecure virgin who didn’t talk to a boy until college you know and love.

I’d like to act like this wasn’t a common occurrence for me, that I had the ability to walk through my life without inwardly punching my own face for my past actions, but I am plagued by the memories of my own hormonal, criminally horny prepubescence every day of my life. Before I knew it, I found that my hand had again made its way between my thighs at the image of Mr. Hemmings’ face in my head: his lips trailed light kisses along my jaw and down my neck as his arm reached around me and held my body closer, tighter to him. His other hand teased my hardening nipple between his fingers, and he smirked against my skin as I tossed my head backwards, breathing out a sigh of relief at his touch. Lightly, he dug his fingernails into my skin as he dragged his hand down my back. That same friendly hand now snaked it’s fingers down my front to separate my folds and, light as a ghost, tease my —

Yeah… this is gonna be a long shower.

—

Squeezing my hair in the towel, I strode back into the bedroom, feeling refreshed. On the nightstand, I could see my phone lit up from a notification. It was a text message from an unknown number.

Unknown Number

You know, you’re a pretty talented writer.

I stared at the message, puzzled. Possibilities ran through my mind — past clients I’d written pieces for, old friends. Deciding to deal with it later, I put my phone down and set to starting my skincare routine. As I moisturized, my phone buzzed again.

Unknown Number

I suppose I can thank myself for getting your creative juices flowing.

Now I found myself intrigued. Who is this mystery man sending me vaguely flirty, vaguely ominous texts? Should I be horny or changing my locks? Either way, I’m horny. My fun time in the shower didn’t cut it. Alright, I’ll bite. I shoot back a quick text and make my trek across the quaint apartment to the fridge to chug some orange juice out of the jug. Why dirty another glass when I’m the only one who drinks it anyway? In the pocket of my sweatpants, I felt my phone vibrate. At least this mystery texter is quick to respond.

Me

you can thank yourself, but who should i thank?

Unknown Number

The man who got you started in creative writing, of course.

Creative writing. My stomach hit my feet and my heart jumped to my neck, immediately halting my breathing by lodging a lump securely at the base of my throat. I felt my heart beating fast and hard, my cheeks and ears heating promptly, as I paced the hardwood flooring and chewed on my fingernail. Why on earth would my 11th grade creative writing teacher have sought out my phone number? and then texted me with it?!

Alright now, get ahold of yourself, YN. It’s not out of the ordinary for an old mentor to reach out to past students, especially to congratulate them on their success, right? It’s no secret that I had been able to achieve great things thus far in my work, and I’m sure I help myself in that aspect by reposting my work on my social media platforms occasionally. Obviously, he had seen one of my articles. I’m still getting ahead of myself here; I haven’t even confirmed that the person on the other end of the phone is Mr. Hemmings. Mr. Tousled-Hair Hemmings. Mr. God-The-Things-I-Would-Do-To-Run-My-Fingers-Through-Those-Golden-Locks Hemmings. It could be someone else entirely, for all I know. Better get to work.

Me

many people have helped me get to where i am today.

Unknown Number

Alright, I secede. This is Luke Hemmings. Or Mr. Hemmings, if you still prefer that.

Heat rushed to my face all over again. I let out an audible scream before slapping my hand over my mouth and flinging myself onto the bed, flailing my extremities and squealing as I dove my face into the pillows to silence my episode, certain the paper-thin walls would inevitably fail to keep the sounds from my neighbors curious ears. Rushing to sit upright, I stared at the message through wide eyes. The confirmation was there, directly in front of me on the screen in my trembling hands, but I refused to believe it. I continued to stare at message, dumbfounded and confused. I wondered what piece he had seen that had made him want to reach out to a student he hadn’t seen in six years. I’d better respond, I didn’t want to be rude.

Me

Luke!

I stared at the message, nose crinkled. Is it less weird to refer to your old teacher by their first name or the name you called them by years ago? Does being sexually attracted to them influence the decision making process? I deleted the text, deciding to try a different approach. I also decided to bypass the questions about how did you get my number and whatnot.

Me

Mr. Hemmings, it’s great to hear from you! your class definitely had a great influence on me.

Unknown Number

I can see that in your work. I have to say, I’m impressed. It is tough to find good reading material these days. Your story definitely has some plot holes, and it ends on a cliffhanger, which is obviously problematic. A good author doesn’t leave their fans hanging indefinitely, you know. But for your age at the time, I’m quite happy with the quality of writing.

Panic shot through me. I felt the soles of my feet tingling as all of the air left my lungs, like wind rushing out of a clearing of trees. My mind raced through every piece I’d ever written — every editorial, every fluff piece. There was only one story he could have been talking about. But what did he mean he was impressed? He was happy? Is there any world, any universe in the metaverse of universes, where my old high school teacher would have actually been into the smut my prepubescent self wrote involving the two of us? That he would have found it years later and sought me out?

Just then, my phone buzzed from another text notification. This one contained a file.

Unknown Number

attachment: The Bad Teacher.wordx

[echantedtoon]

Butterflies In The Stomach

Just a what if couple I thought was interesting.

(This will reference all three of the Fairytopia movies. I left the ending open to anyone's interpretation.)

It  started when he got a scroll from a babbling puffball. A scroll from Azura to help out the wingless fairy and to go quickly. He obliged. After all an order from Azura was to be followed through. And thus started one of the the most extraordinary adventures of his life. Especially with a group of people who he never expected to be traveling with at all. Including one extraordinary fairy.

Elina.

The wingless fairy that no one expected to be the catalyst of Laverna's plans. The savior of all Fairytopia. The one whom stopped the evil and rescued them all. In the end returning peace and gaining what she wanted most im the world. To fly. However he still remembered their interactions. Their small interactions with one another. 

"Thank you, Hue. Thank you for showing me what it's like to fly!"

He was her first flying experience. Possibly the only time she's ever flown before. He didn't think of that at the time only doing his job as Azura had asked of him. But now, at this moment, it held special to him. He didn't know how or why it started. Perhaps it was after he'd gotten very sick. He'd ingested some of the sickness Laverna poisoned the air with and had gotten incredibly weak as a result. Elina noticed making him land for his own good. He insisted on going to protect her. It was his job! He was supposed to take her where she wanted to go and keep her safe. But I'm the end she was the one who went and he was forced to rest. But not before she kissed his cheek. Perhaps that's when all these feelings started. The fuzzy feeling in his chest and warmth in his cheeks. And when she declared that she'd be confronting Laverna he couldn't just let her go alone.

"I'm coming too! Because y'know.... It's my job."

It all worked out for everyone in the end Laverna was defeated and Elina was gifted wings by the Enchantress. That was almost a year ago behind him now and he has been put on an extensive order for a break from any work along with anyone else affected by the sickness in order to ensure a full recovery as ordered by the Guardians and the Enchantress. He was so happy when he was FINALLY given the ok to start working and especially flying for long periods of time again. And the first place on his stopping list was Azura. Surely she'd be able to help him figure out what complicated emotions were going on in his body. It's just a good thing he lived a few branches away from her in Fairytown. The blue flowers everywhere filled the air with a sweet perfumed scent as he flapped his wings and waved through the branches of the flowers until reaching a very familiar fairy house. He stopped just in front of the door inhaling the nerves away as he just walked up to the door and knocked. In all honesty he wasn't even sure if she was going to be home. After all she WAS a guardian and she had very important business to take care of. With one last sigh his hand reached out and loudly knocked. There he then waited. Perhaps she really wasn't- He jumped when the door opened and a very familiar blue haired fairy flew there smiling at him.

"Hue. What a pleasant surprise. I haven't seen you in ages," she happily greeted him before backing away and gesturing at him to come in, "Won't you come in?"

"Oh. Um. *ahem* Yes. Thank you!" He was so tall he had to duck just to enter the home and his wings tucked away further to drag behind him. Ah. Her home looked as beautifully decorated with plenty flowers. "I do hope I'm not intruding on anything." He turned as the door closed.

"Would you like anything to drink? I have some wonderful dandelion tea and it tastes wonderful with some buttercup milk and honey."

"Um..Sure. Thank you." It would be better to accept to be a polite guest.

She waved a hand and an entire giant tray carrying a tea set floated down from no where in blue sparkles. "Now what brings you here on this fine day?" She set a out making him a cup as soon as the floating tea set stopped in front of her. "Have you been recovering well?"

"Huh? Oh yes! I've been given a full recovery! Thank you for asking!" He cleared his throat again and tried not to be nervous. "I just... though it would be a good idea to report to you personally that I'm going back to work!" He nodded and blinked as a tiny cup was held out to him. "Oh..T-Thank you ." He slowly took it from her.

"It's good to hear that you're well again. It'll be good to have you around again."

He slowly nodded. "Um...There was another reason as to why I came here now that you brought it up!" She turned to him with a smile as he sputtered. "Um...Well it's complicated..I just...E-ELINA!! I heard you visited her lately. *ahem*" He strained a smile. "H-H-How is she doing?"

Azura rose a brow but still smiled. "She's perfectly fine. I was just congratulating her on a job well done for saving Fairytopia once again from Laverna's evilness."

"PFFT?!" He choked on his drink and nearly spat tea all over Azura whom just continued smiling. After coughing a little bit he stared back at her in disbelief. "I-I beg your pardon?!"

"Oh yes. I don't think you've heard about it yet since most of it happened in an entirely different kingdom. Why don't you just get yourself another cup of tea and I'll tell you all about it?"

And she did. The entire thing. From the poison in the coast they had to clean out, to the newfound thankfulness the Mermaidia royal family had to the Fairy people for Elina's great service, to how Elina helped to save all of Fairytopia once again with the help of a mermaid named Nori and the mermaid Prince Nalu to keep Laverna from getting the Immunity Berry in her clutches. To the Enchantress adding another condition to Laverna's banishment. If she left the Bogs of the Hinterlands, she'll become a real toad forever. That should detour her a bit more. Although his mood soured a bit remembering that Merman. Oh yes. He remembered Nalu. The merman he met briefly about a year ago at the coast while being chased by fire birds.  He rubbed him the wrong way but...he didn't understand why? He should have more regard considering that it was a prince he was thinking about but..He didn't like the way he interacted with Elina. Again he didn't know why. He was clearly within his right to treat her nicely and he never saw Nalu be rude to her in anyway so why would he not like that?

"Hmph. Yes. I'm sure Prince Nalu would send for Elina," he said a little annoyed sipping on that tea with a frown. Although he didn't know why. Azura just rose a brow at him. "She is the hero of Fairytopia after all and is more than capable of helping him."

She hummed. "You seem to dislike the idea of Elina helping Prince Nalu, Hue."

"Of course not. I'm not upset. Why would I be upset with Prince Nalu needing her help? The important thing is that everyone is safe and sound and Laverna is defeated still."

"I agree. And I look forward to attending Prince Nalu's wedding next year."

Hue froze. Blinking big purple eyes at her. "... Wedding? Prince Nalu? What wedding?"

"Why Prince Nalu's wedding to his fiance Nori. She was the one who helped Elina save his life." She rose a brow still smiling knowingly as he sighed in relief. "He was kind enough to invite all the Guardians and the Enchantress. Who did you think he was marrying?"

"I-...N-No one. I was just shocked is all. *ahem" W-Well then. It seems I have stayed long enough." He stood up clearing his throat and placing the cup down. "T-Thank you for the tea. I-It was good seeing you again. I should be going on my usual patrolls now. Take care, Ma'am."

And he left. He should really. Azura was rather busy getting ready to usher in the first blush of spring with the other guardians and their apprentices and Ms. Azura hadn't picked out a personal apprentice herself. Months passed by and the new blush of Spring came and went delivering the first rainbow of the new year when the new year came in those few months. He did try to forget about it but his mind always revolved around Elina. Her smile. Her laughter. Her kindness and soft nature. The kiss she gave his cheek- He tried to shake it off so much. But it always came back. He felt relief when he knew she was not the one Prince Nalu was marrying and that she was alright. And the blush's first rainbow only reminded him of the rainbow in her eyes and how special she was. He didn't understand why at first but even he couldn't be blind forever. The realization hit him while flying one day. Nearly made him run into a tree from shock.

He had feelings.

For Elina.

Nononono!! This couldn't be happening! ..But it was. Hue had gotten himself hopelessly, utterly lost in a crush. Sigh. Oh well. There really wasn't anything he could do about it other than wait till it passes. In the meantime he should really see Azura again. Word was that the Guardians were recovering from being infected by toad venom. While he heard she would be alright, he still wanted to go and make sure she was alright. He arrived at the home and knocked on the door. Someone yelled at him to come in and he obliged opening the door and ducking through the doorway. He found said Guardian relaxing in a lounge chair and reading. Azura looked...pale, with bags under her tired eyes. Just like someone who was sick. But still she smiled at him. 

"Hue. What a nice surprise," she greeted with a smile. "It's been awhile. How are you these days?"

"Me? What about you? I heard you were sick and came to check on your well-being. You look pale."

"Oh I'll be fine. The doctors already assured everyone that we'll be fine in a month or two. Already we're able to fly again without any problems but they insist on us resting as much as possible."

"Good choice. But what happened?! I only heard that Laverna returned AGAIN and you were poisoned by toad venom!"

"Come in and have a seat. I'll tell you all that happened. I could use some company that isn't a book anyways."

He obliged and she did tell him. Everything. From Azura  choosing Elina as her apprentice (no brains that would happen), to all their training, to Laverna tricking Elina into releasing her and deceiving everyone with disguises (THAT EVIL WOMAN), how ten years of winter almost came, and how Elina and the other apprentices once again saved Fairytopia. And once again he was shocked at just how amazing she was. 

"But... She's alright isn't she? E-Elina?" He looked worried.

Azura only smiled knowingly. "Of course she is. She's home right now."

He sighed relieved before nodding. "Of course. ..I would expect as much." He then nodded. "Well then. That clears up that. I'm only glad things once again worked out for us all. If there is anything I can do for you while you recover-"

"Actually. There is." She smiled and waved a hand. He blinked as paper and a pencil flew over to her in a swarm of blue sparkles. He watched as she grabbed them, wrote something on the paper, before rolling it up, and holding it out to him. "I want this message to be taken to Elina." He perked up. Elina?! "Would you deliver it for me?"

He blinked for a moment before lighting up and taking the scroll. "Of course! Magic Meadow is only a few hours away from Fairytown! I'll be there and back before the day's over!" And he'll be able to see Elina again! "I'll get right to it! You can count on me, Azura!" He immediately turned to leave.

Azura only smiled waving him good bye. "I know you will, Hue. Safe flying now."

He was taking off within seconds. Flying through the sky and quickly towards the Magic Meadow. Towards her. Towards Elina. The blue flowers of Fairytown flew by underneath him before they slowly became a darkened woods within two hours, then another hour passed and they turned into a lush green wide open field filled with giant flowers, and lush grass and many other people flying around him. Fairies and Pixies. There was quite a lot in the Magic Meadow. The Guardian Topaz really had her work cut out for her. He waved at a few of them as he flapped past descending to the ground and towards that one flower he knows Elina lives in. It felt like just yesterday he was here and flew with her as she first got her wings nearly two years ago now. Ah. There it was. He was quick to land and fold his wings down as he immediately stood up and looked around. Yes. This was the place, and this was the flower. Now all he had to do was find Elina. His heart was pumping in his chest at the thought.

"E-Elina?," he called out placing a hand on the giant flower. No answer. Perhaps she wasn't home? He knocked on the petal louder. "Elina?! Are you home?!"

"Hue?" He froze at the soft kind voice. That's her! "Is that you?"

"Elina!" He quickly turned with a smile..but blinked at what he saw. It was her alright. Hair as golden as sunshine. Eyes blue as sky. Smile bright. But she looked so.. different than he'd last seen her. Her wardrobe changed from than pale pink dress to a dark magenta one with the bust striped with all the colors of the rainbow. Her wing..Oh her wings were VERY different. They were once a pale pink when she first got them back then but now they looked to be made of stained glass. They were completely clear and see through as the edges but gradiated into rainbow colors near where they met her back...He blinked as she landed. "Elina? You look so... different. Ah! B-But a good different! You look amazing!"

She smiled as she landed and held out her arms in a hug. "Thank you! Hue!" He froze as she hugged him. "It's been so long!" She then pulled away to smile up at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Um.." He cleared his throat and hoped she didn't see the red on his face. "I came to visit you of course!"

"Prrrrata! Bibble adacca peemba!" 

He blinked now noticing the pouting puffball companion. Oh right. He nearly forgot about him for a moment. "Oh. And you of course." The puffball smiled in satisfaction as Hue looked up at the giant flower. "*ahem* And that must be Peony. Azura told me all about her. She's a rather beautiful flower."

Elina tilted her head to the plant, and seemed to listen to something he couldn't hear. "She says thank you. How is Azura? I haven't had time to visit her yet."

"She's doing well. Should be recovered fully soon enough. Oh! That reminds me!" He held out the scroll to her. "The reason why I'm here. She wanted me to deliver this message to you."

"A message?" She slowly took the scroll from him.

"Yes..So how was the apprenticeship? Azura told me you did well."

"Oh fine. I met so many new people. London's even helping me learn to speak actual toad, in case Laverna returns again. He's an oread after all."

He paused at the mention of the man. "Oh...So you..met someone."

"I met lots of someones. Lyndon's a good friend. We've been writing letters since he's been busy with Lumina." She opened the message as he again sighed in relief. Oh. They're just friends. Elina read the message. ..Then blinked. Then exchanged looks with her puffball before both looked up at him confused."Um. Hue. Is there something else you need to tell me?"

Now he looked confused. "No. Why?"

Her answer was to hand him back the open scroll and he took it confused but froze once he read what Azura wrote.

'Ask Hue about his feelings towards you. I believe you two should have a talk.'

"Hue. Is there anything you need to say?"

He opened his mouth and looked panicked between the scroll and her many times... before guilty lowering his arms and antennas. And sighed. "Yes. There is something else."

"What is it? You can tell me."

"I think... I've fallen for you."

There was silence between the two of them for a long moment before he blinked as a hand took his and purple eyes widened in surprise at her. 

"Hue. I think we do need to have a talk "

[hazbinextgeneration]

Butterflies In The Stomach

Just a couple I thought was interesting. I don't own anything/belongs to Mattel.

(This will reference all three of the Fairytopia movies. I left the ending open to anyone's interpretation.)

It  started when he got a scroll from a babbling puffball. A scroll from Azura to help out the wingless fairy and to go quickly. He obliged. After all an order from Azura was to be followed through. And thus started one of the the most extraordinary adventures of his life. Especially with a group of people who he never expected to be traveling with at all. Including one extraordinary fairy.

Elina.

The wingless fairy that no one expected to be the catalyst of Laverna's plans. The savior of all Fairytopia. The one whom stopped the evil and rescued them all. In the end returning peace and gaining what she wanted most im the world. To fly. However he still remembered their interactions. Their small interactions with one another. 

"Thank you, Hue. Thank you for showing me what it's like to fly!"

He was her first flying experience. Possibly the only time she's ever flown before. He didn't think of that at the time only doing his job as Azura had asked of him. But now, at this moment, it held special to him. He didn't know how or why it started. Perhaps it was after he'd gotten very sick. He'd ingested some of the sickness Laverna poisoned the air with and had gotten incredibly weak as a result. Elina noticed making him land for his own good. He insisted on going to protect her. It was his job! He was supposed to take her where she wanted to go and keep her safe. But I'm the end she was the one who went and he was forced to rest. But not before she kissed his cheek. Perhaps that's when all these feelings started. The fuzzy feeling in his chest and warmth in his cheeks. And when she declared that she'd be confronting Laverna he couldn't just let her go alone.

"I'm coming too! Because y'know.... It's my job."

It all worked out for everyone in the end Laverna was defeated and Elina was gifted wings by the Enchantress. That was almost a year ago behind him now and he has been put on an extensive order for a break from any work along with anyone else affected by the sickness in order to ensure a full recovery as ordered by the Guardians and the Enchantress. He was so happy when he was FINALLY given the ok to start working and especially flying for long periods of time again. And the first place on his stopping list was Azura. Surely she'd be able to help him figure out what complicated emotions were going on in his body. It's just a good thing he lived a few branches away from her in Fairytown. The blue flowers everywhere filled the air with a sweet perfumed scent as he flapped his wings and waved through the branches of the flowers until reaching a very familiar fairy house. He stopped just in front of the door inhaling the nerves away as he just walked up to the door and knocked. In all honesty he wasn't even sure if she was going to be home. After all she WAS a guardian and she had very important business to take care of. With one last sigh his hand reached out and loudly knocked. There he then waited. Perhaps she really wasn't- He jumped when the door opened and a very familiar blue haired fairy flew there smiling at him.

"Hue. What a pleasant surprise. I haven't seen you in ages," she happily greeted him before backing away and gesturing at him to come in, "Won't you come in?"

"Oh. Um. *ahem* Yes. Thank you!" He was so tall he had to duck just to enter the home and his wings tucked away further to drag behind him. Ah. Her home looked as beautifully decorated with plenty flowers. "I do hope I'm not intruding on anything." He turned as the door closed.

"Would you like anything to drink? I have some wonderful dandelion tea and it tastes wonderful with some buttercup milk and honey."

"Um..Sure. Thank you." It would be better to accept to be a polite guest.

She waved a hand and an entire giant tray carrying a tea set floated down from no where in blue sparkles. "Now what brings you here on this fine day?" She set a out making him a cup as soon as the floating tea set stopped in front of her. "Have you been recovering well?"

"Huh? Oh yes! I've been given a full recovery! Thank you for asking!" He cleared his throat again and tried not to be nervous. "I just... though it would be a good idea to report to you personally that I'm going back to work!" He nodded and blinked as a tiny cup was held out to him. "Oh..T-Thank you ." He slowly took it from her.

"It's good to hear that you're well again. It'll be good to have you around again."

He slowly nodded. "Um...There was another reason as to why I came here now that you brought it up!" She turned to him with a smile as he sputtered. "Um...Well it's complicated..I just...E-ELINA!! I heard you visited her lately. *ahem*" He strained a smile. "H-H-How is she doing?"

Azura rose a brow but still smiled. "She's perfectly fine. I was just congratulating her on a job well done for saving Fairytopia once again from Laverna's evilness."

"PFFT?!" He choked on his drink and nearly spat tea all over Azura whom just continued smiling. After coughing a little bit he stared back at her in disbelief. "I-I beg your pardon?!"

"Oh yes. I don't think you've heard about it yet since most of it happened in an entirely different kingdom. Why don't you just get yourself another cup of tea and I'll tell you all about it?"

And she did. The entire thing. From the poison in the coast they had to clean out, to the newfound thankfulness the Mermaidia royal family had to the Fairy people for Elina's great service, to how Elina helped to save all of Fairytopia once again with the help of a mermaid named Nori and the mermaid Prince Nalu to keep Laverna from getting the Immunity Berry in her clutches. To the Enchantress adding another condition to Laverna's banishment. If she left the Bogs of the Hinterlands, she'll become a real toad forever. That should detour her a bit more. Although his mood soured a bit remembering that Merman. Oh yes. He remembered Nalu. The merman he met briefly about a year ago at the coast while being chased by fire birds.  He rubbed him the wrong way but...he didn't understand why? He should have more regard considering that it was a prince he was thinking about but..He didn't like the way he interacted with Elina. Again he didn't know why. He was clearly within his right to treat her nicely and he never saw Nalu be rude to her in anyway so why would he not like that?

"Hmph. Yes. I'm sure Prince Nalu would send for Elina," he said a little annoyed sipping on that tea with a frown. Although he didn't know why. Azura just rose a brow at him. "She is the hero of Fairytopia after all and is more than capable of helping him."

She hummed. "You seem to dislike the idea of Elina helping Prince Nalu, Hue."

"Of course not. I'm not upset. Why would I be upset with Prince Nalu needing her help? The important thing is that everyone is safe and sound and Laverna is defeated still."

"I agree. And I look forward to attending Prince Nalu's wedding next year."

Hue froze. Blinking big purple eyes at her. "... Wedding? Prince Nalu? What wedding?"

"Why Prince Nalu's wedding to his fiance Nori. She was the one who helped Elina save his life." She rose a brow still smiling knowingly as he sighed in relief. "He was kind enough to invite all the Guardians and the Enchantress. Who did you think he was marrying?"

"I-...N-No one. I was just shocked is all. *ahem" W-Well then. It seems I have stayed long enough." He stood up clearing his throat and placing the cup down. "T-Thank you for the tea. I-It was good seeing you again. I should be going on my usual patrolls now. Take care, Ma'am."

And he left. He should really. Azura was rather busy getting ready to usher in the first blush of spring with the other guardians and their apprentices and Ms. Azura hadn't picked out a personal apprentice herself. Months passed by and the new blush of Spring came and went delivering the first rainbow of the new year when the new year came in those few months. He did try to forget about it but his mind always revolved around Elina. Her smile. Her laughter. Her kindness and soft nature. The kiss she gave his cheek- He tried to shake it off so much. But it always came back. He felt relief when he knew she was not the one Prince Nalu was marrying and that she was alright. And the blush's first rainbow only reminded him of the rainbow in her eyes and how special she was. He didn't understand why at first but even he couldn't be blind forever. The realization hit him while flying one day. Nearly made him run into a tree from shock.

He had feelings.

For Elina.

Nononono!! This couldn't be happening! ..But it was. Hue had gotten himself hopelessly, utterly lost in a crush. Sigh. Oh well. There really wasn't anything he could do about it other than wait till it passes. In the meantime he should really see Azura again. Word was that the Guardians were recovering from being infected by toad venom. While he heard she would be alright, he still wanted to go and make sure she was alright. He arrived at the home and knocked on the door. Someone yelled at him to come in and he obliged opening the door and ducking through the doorway. He found said Guardian relaxing in a lounge chair and reading. Azura looked...pale, with bags under her tired eyes. Just like someone who was sick. But still she smiled at him. 

"Hue. What a nice surprise," she greeted with a smile. "It's been awhile. How are you these days?"

"Me? What about you? I heard you were sick and came to check on your well-being. You look pale."

"Oh I'll be fine. The doctors already assured everyone that we'll be fine in a month or two. Already we're able to fly again without any problems but they insist on us resting as much as possible."

"Good choice. But what happened?! I only heard that Laverna returned AGAIN and you were poisoned by toad venom!"

"Come in and have a seat. I'll tell you all that happened. I could use some company that isn't a book anyways."

He obliged and she did tell him. Everything. From Azura  choosing Elina as her apprentice (no brains that would happen), to all their training, to Laverna tricking Elina into releasing her and deceiving everyone with disguises (THAT EVIL WOMAN), how ten years of winter almost came, and how Elina and the other apprentices once again saved Fairytopia. And once again he was shocked at just how amazing she was. 

"But... She's alright isn't she? E-Elina?" He looked worried.

Azura only smiled knowingly. "Of course she is. She's home right now."

He sighed relieved before nodding. "Of course. ..I would expect as much." He then nodded. "Well then. That clears up that. I'm only glad things once again worked out for us all. If there is anything I can do for you while you recover-"

"Actually. There is." She smiled and waved a hand. He blinked as paper and a pencil flew over to her in a swarm of blue sparkles. He watched as she grabbed them, wrote something on the paper, before rolling it up, and holding it out to him. "I want this message to be taken to Elina." He perked up. Elina?! "Would you deliver it for me?"

He blinked for a moment before lighting up and taking the scroll. "Of course! Magic Meadow is only a few hours away from Fairytown! I'll be there and back before the day's over!" And he'll be able to see Elina again! "I'll get right to it! You can count on me, Azura!" He immediately turned to leave.

Azura only smiled waving him good bye. "I know you will, Hue. Safe flying now."

He was taking off within seconds. Flying through the sky and quickly towards the Magic Meadow. Towards her. Towards Elina. The blue flowers of Fairytown flew by underneath him before they slowly became a darkened woods within two hours, then another hour passed and they turned into a lush green wide open field filled with giant flowers, and lush grass and many other people flying around him. Fairies and Pixies. There was quite a lot in the Magic Meadow. The Guardian Topaz really had her work cut out for her. He waved at a few of them as he flapped past descending to the ground and towards that one flower he knows Elina lives in. It felt like just yesterday he was here and flew with her as she first got her wings nearly two years ago now. Ah. There it was. He was quick to land and fold his wings down as he immediately stood up and looked around. Yes. This was the place, and this was the flower. Now all he had to do was find Elina. His heart was pumping in his chest at the thought.

"E-Elina?," he called out placing a hand on the giant flower. No answer. Perhaps she wasn't home? He knocked on the petal louder. "Elina?! Are you home?!"

"Hue?" He froze at the soft kind voice. That's her! "Is that you?"

"Elina!" He quickly turned with a smile..but blinked at what he saw. It was her alright. Hair as golden as sunshine. Eyes blue as sky. Smile bright. But she looked so.. different than he'd last seen her. Her wardrobe changed from than pale pink dress to a dark magenta one with the bust striped with all the colors of the rainbow. Her wing..Oh her wings were VERY different. They were once a pale pink when she first got them back then but now they looked to be made of stained glass. They were completely clear and see through as the edges but gradiated into rainbow colors near where they met her back...He blinked as she landed. "Elina? You look so... different. Ah! B-But a good different! You look amazing!"

She smiled as she landed and held out her arms in a hug. "Thank you! Hue!" He froze as she hugged him. "It's been so long!" She then pulled away to smile up at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Um.." He cleared his throat and hoped she didn't see the red on his face. "I came to visit you of course!"

"Prrrrata! Bibble adacca peemba!" 

He blinked now noticing the pouting puffball companion. Oh right. He nearly forgot about him for a moment. "Oh. And you of course." The puffball smiled in satisfaction as Hue looked up at the giant flower. "*ahem* And that must be Peony. Azura told me all about her. She's a rather beautiful flower."

Elina tilted her head to the plant, and seemed to listen to something he couldn't hear. "She says thank you. How is Azura? I haven't had time to visit her yet."

"She's doing well. Should be recovered fully soon enough. Oh! That reminds me!" He held out the scroll to her. "The reason why I'm here. She wanted me to deliver this message to you."

"A message?" She slowly took the scroll from him.

"Yes..So how was the apprenticeship? Azura told me you did well."

"Oh fine. I met so many new people. London's even helping me learn to speak actual toad, in case Laverna returns again. He's an oread after all."

He paused at the mention of the man. "Oh...So you..met someone."

"I met lots of someones. Lyndon's a good friend. We've been writing letters since he's been busy with Lumina." She opened the message as he again sighed in relief. Oh. They're just friends. Elina read the message. ..Then blinked. Then exchanged looks with her puffball before both looked up at him confused."Um. Hue. Is there something else you need to tell me?"

Now he looked confused. "No. Why?"

Her answer was to hand him back the open scroll and he took it confused but froze once he read what Azura wrote.

'Ask Hue about his feelings towards you. I believe you two should have a talk.'

"Hue. Is there anything you need to say?"

He opened his mouth and looked panicked between the scroll and her many times... before guilty lowering his arms and antennas. And sighed. "Yes. There is something else."

"What is it? You can tell me."

"I think... I've fallen for you."

There was silence between the two of them for a long moment before he blinked as a hand took his and purple eyes widened in surprise at her. 

"Hue. I think we do need to have a talk "

[wandering-star-storyteller]

Kid Math To The Power! Chapter 2

(Hey kids! Today’s featured words are accelerate and antagonize.)

“When we last left off, the sinister antagonist known as Miss Power had just returned to Earth. Meanwhile, in our fair city, Wordgirl and Kid Math had yet another training session cut short because Becky Botsford had to go home for dinner. Kid Math wanted to stay and get some more practice. With Miss Power on Earth again, it looks like he’s going to need it…”

In the next town over, a small figure in blue sat on the roof of a fancy hotel watching the stars. There weren’t that many to see when you were in the big city, but he could make out several particularly bright lights. Humans hadn’t really figured out space travel yet, but it was cute to watch their planes and helicopters soaring just a little farther than the clouds. They’d even managed to launch a few artificial satellites and…

Kid Math sat up, squinting. There was a streak of brilliant blue light plummeting towards the ground at a 70 degree angle. It was too bright for a meteor(or was it a meteorite? He’d have to ask Wordgirl what the difference was later) and it definitely didn’t look like anything from Earth. Whatever it was, it had a 100% chance of crashing if nobody caught it soon.

Without a word, he leaped off the roof and put on a burst of speed(or accelerated, as his good friend would say), pushing himself until his powerful muscles started to feel sore. He had already calculated the exact spot where the object would crash. If a catastrophe was going to be prevented, he had to arrive there first.

Bracing himself for impact, he raced underneath the object and held it in place. An immense amount of force pushed against him for a moment before finally stopping. He hovered in the air for a moment to catch his breath before flying to a nearby field.

The object was a large spaceship that seemed to have lost control of the flight speed. He mentally reviewed the steps Wordgirl taught him for assessing damage. Step one, look for anyone who needed immediate help.

A walkway extended from a hatch and two passengers emerged.

The taller one floated effortlessly out of the ship. (Why bother with installing a walkway if you could fly? It didn’t sound logical to him.) A smaller creature covered with short amber fur clung to her shoulder.

Kid Math floated up to her. “There’s no need to worry! You can count on Kid Math!”

The stranger made a small motion with her only visible eye, rotating it in an upwards direction. “I don’t mean to antagonize you, but do you know you nearly punched a hole in my spaceship?”

It took Kid Math a few seconds to notice the fact that two handprint shaped dents were now embedded in the metal where he’d managed to keep it from crashing to the ground.

He looked at the ground. “You were about to crash near a densely populated area. I was trying to minimize damage. I’m sorry—”

The stranger waved a hand. “Don’t be. That was quite an acceleration! You’ve got some real spunk, kid.”

A compliment! She must not be mad at him after all. “It was a challenge, but Kid Math always finds a solution.”

The orange furry creature let out a shrill laugh. The stranger shushed him and put a gloved hand on the young Hexagonian boy’s shoulder.

”I actually came here for a very important reason.”

”What is it? Can I help with it?” Kid Math circled the duo, almost bursting from excitement. Tonight had been much more eventful than he thought. He’d even had a chance to show off his skills and save the day— er, night.

The tall lady smiled warmly. “I would certainly hope so. I’m a trainer of sorts. My job is to seek out the smartest of heroes and teach them how to go from powerful to unstoppable. Now, you— Kid Math, was it?— you’re from Hexagon, aren’t you?”

His eyes lit up and he spun in perfect 180 degree arc in the air. “Yes! Have you been to my home?”

She nodded. “I’ve heard about Hexagonian intelligence, but after tonight’s little demonstration, I think the stories may have understated your skill. There’s a lot to learn from superheroes like you. We could work together and find the best possible ways to find and train new generations of heroes. I could even show you a few strategies of my own.”

Kid Math landed next to her, accidentally spraying pebbles from the force of his landing. “You mean we could develop an algorithm to locate superheroes and then increase their odds of success? I’m in!”

She patted him on the head, making his curly hair a bit messy. “I was hoping you’d accept my offer. I’ve been looking for a new student. Now go get some rest. We can get started tomorrow at sunrise.”

A blue blur sped off, only to return 7.832 milliseconds later. There was Kid Math, looking sheepish.

His new mentor raised an eyebrow. “Back so soon?”

Kid Math scratched the back of his head. “I almost didn’t ask you something. What’s your name?”

She smiled again, showing all of her teeth.

”Call me Miss Power.”

“Oh no! What will happen tomorrow when training begins? What does Miss Power have in store for Wordgirl’s friend? Did anyone ever define the word “Antagonize”?! Tune in next time to find out! ”